Happy Halloween!

We took the kids out (yes, both of them!) trick or treating tonight. Roddie pretty much snoozed in his stroller, but Norah really got into it. It took her all of .45 seconds to catch on to how the whole thing worked, although for the first half a dozen houses or so she exclaimed with amazement "That guy/lady gave me a treat!" For various reasons, like weather, and attitude, we had some last minute costume changes or alterations. Norah was initially going to be whichever Disney Princess is the pink one - here she is getting ready to go
While Roddie was slated to be a spider. As you can see, he didn't care much for the costume, though I am sure you will admit he is the cutest spider you've ever seen...

With the addition of a pink furry coat and hat, and topped off with her Princess tiara, Norah came out looking more Queen Elizabeth than Princess, but it seemed to work for her, especially once she figured out how to get up stairs without tripping and dumping her candy.

Roddie, on the other hand, with more of a jail-bird look. It really came together accidentally, since this is the warm clothes we have that fit him at the moment! I am sad to say that 'jailbird' also works for him, and he seems to like it better that the spider get up.

We were joined by another neighbourhood family who has two daughters, one just older and one just younger than Norah. Norah and the older girl, Erin, had a blast! They started out the night holding hands and running up to each house together. As you can see below, they enjoyed a ride from Erin's Dad at the end of the night!All in all it was a great night, Norah certainly enjoyed herself and I for one, had a blast watching her! I had to duck out a little early with Roddie, but apparently she was pretty much crawling up the steps of the last house, so I think she had her fill as well!

A Witches Spell?

I think a witch cast her spell on us last night... after going to bed at 10:30, I woke up at 6 this morning to find the entire house still in darkness - and perfectly silent. It's been a rough week for sleep, not because of Roddie, who has been giving us anywhere from 5 to 6 hours at least once a night, but because of Norah. I'm not sure what's going on, but she's been waking up in the middle of Roddie's long stretch all week - very unlike her. When I talk to other parents I realize we have it good with her, and her sleeping habits, but still, we are certainly accustomed to a full night's sleep!

I last fed Roddie right before I went to sleep, and had expected to hear from him somewhere between 3 and 4 as usual. When I woke at 6 with throbbing and leaky boobs, I thought for sure he'd be up soon. After a half hour of waiting, and still the spell had not broken (even Matt was still asleep!!) I had to go and pump. Sneaking quietly around the house so as not to break this wonderful spell, I snuggled back into bed for another half hour before Matt stirred - unaware that I had even been up! Like thieves in the night, we chatted amongst ourselves, praying that we would not break this wonderful spell, and eventually got up to read the paper. We were enjoying our coffee and morning paper when Norah came into the kitchen around 7:45, followed shortly by some announcements from Roddie that he too, was ready to get up. The spell was broken.

Whoever the witch was who cast the spell, I hope she comes back soon. She is a good witch indeed!

Lazy Blogger Picture Update

I've been a bit lazy on the writing front lately, although I have composed several insightful posts in my mind, but I just don't seem to ever get to the computer to punch them in! Picture updates are much easier, and as you might suspect, pictures are plentiful these days! Overall things continue to go well, Roddie is going to bed at a reasonable hour and sleeping at night more often than not, I'm into week 2 of my return to the gym, and I've hit the half way point in my maternity leave! We have a busy couple of months ahead, and we're looking forward to introducing Roddie to a lot more of his relatives!

Norah continues to be a great big sister. Here she is reading Roddie a story before we set out for the day. Roddie actually seems to be enjoying it!!
Roddie continues to be a happy baby! He rewards us easily and often with his winning smile! As you may know, Roddie shares his name not only with my Dad, but also my paternal grandfather, who was known as Papa Roddie. Papa Roddie had a special knack for making each of his 20 grandchildren feel like we were the favorite - a fact only revealed after his death! The oldest of these 20 cousins has a son who's middle name is Roderick, and her mom swears he shares some characteristics with Papa Roddie. She asked about our Roddie, to which I replied that all I could say for sure at this early stage is that he is just as good at charming the pants off of me... I think with this picture, you'll have to agree!

Speaking of charming, here is Norah posing for the camera in the middle of our annual pumpkin carving session...

And last but not least, here is me and my babies, all sharing Norah's blankets, at her insistence, in the Jungle Gym!

Roddie Report: Cooking with Mom!

Roddie's been doing great, getting bigger and stronger and proving to be just as much of a personality as Norah was (I may be in big trouble again when he's 2!!) He smiles often and is content on his own for small periods of time. He's been going down at night with a minimum of fuss (ok, anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes of intermittent fuss) but best of all, he's been sleeping like a champ, and I've only been up to feed him once overnight most days of the past week!

On to cuter topics... yesterday he was helping me get supper ready in the afternoon. He's a little young for the Bumbo, as he gets tired of holding his head up after about 20 minutes, but as you can see, he's doing pretty well! I think he's going to like to cook!

And here he is talking about it

We also went out to get pictures for his citizenship paperwork the other day, and he just looked so cute and cozy in his seat, that I had to take a couple of pictures!

Date Night!

Last night, Matt and I went out on a date. As I told Megan, who babysat for us... it's been two and a half years, it's about time. While we've gone out without the kids on occasion, in reality, it was for an occasion - either we had a wedding or other event to attend, or my parents or sister were staying with us. This time, it was for no other reason that we needed a little adult time! We weren't in desperate need or anything (ok, maybe I was) but I felt like it was just time for us to go out alone. It seems like most everyone else I know goes out, occasionally at least, without the kids. It's different when grandma and grandpa live near by, and dying to get her hands on your babies, but for us, with no family to push us out the door just for the heck of it, it took being deliberate about making it happen.

We didn't do anything special, just went out for dinner and then coffee, but it felt really big. I am pretty sure by the time Norah was 2 months old I hadn't left her alone with Matt, never mind a babysitter! I'm no suggesting that was good, or healthy, but it is reality! In any case, I completely trust Megan with the kids and she's like a surrogate Aunt to them, so I wasn't a bit concerned about them - but it still felt a bit like I was out without one of my appendages!

That feeling abated as dinner went on, and we actually enjoyed ourselves! Unlike my last maternity leave, I recognize a little better this time around that I need a little 'me' time (or, in this case, 'us' time). I've joined a gym with a nice nursery, and Roddie and I will head there tomorrow. I figured I may as well be productive in my 'me' time!

The best part about last night was that Roddie was asleep by 10:20 or so and only woke up once between then and 8:30, and Norah first called out to us around 8:00... as I said in my Facebook status, Life is Good!

Roddie Report: Flip!

Earlier this week, on the exact day of his 2 month birthday, Roddie mastered the front-to-back flip! I was taken a little off guard, as he was a little off that day, and hadn't been showing a lot of movement in the flipwise direction. In any case, he repeated it several times in a row for me, giving me the opportunity to capture a short video!

Since I really can't help comparing Rod's babyhood to Norah's, I checked when she first flipped - it was around 6 weeks, but we didn't see it regularly until much later, like around 10 weeks, so they are pretty much in line. Here she is, doing her flip thang!

School Pictures Part 1: Both Kids Together!

Last Thursday was school photo day, and some of the girls suggested that I take Roddie over to join Norah for her pictures. It was a bit of a production to get us all there more or less on time and clean and dressed, but I think it was worth it! Check out these cuties!

School Pictures Part 2: Roddie!

Young Roddie did pretty well for his solo photo shoot, giving the camera a few decent smiles...

School Pictures Part 3: Norah!

Needless to say, there is no problem getting Norah to smile for the camera!

Roddie Report: Picture Update

Again, a picture update for Papa. Roddie is doing well overall, though I think going thru a growth spurt, as he's back to eating 8 times a day (up from 6). As you might ascertain, that means no more 5 hour stretches at night for the time being... although a solid 3 to 4 is still happening. He's started smiling at Norah now, though I am not sure she's realized it! He's also started to hit the toys hanging from the jungle gym, though I don't think on purpose yet.

Here he is in his bouncey seat, hanging with us while we eat

Tummy time on Mommy and Daddy's bed

Pumpkin pose in the backyard yesterday morning

"Driving his car" while Mom washes the dishes... still not quite Bumbo time

Norah News: Picture Update for Papa

I've got lots to write about as I adjust to being a mother of two, but, as a mother of two, it's harder than ever to find the time. In the meantime, Papa has requested some new photos to show off to their Thanksgiving guests (yes, there is a Thanksgiving in Canada - don't get me started!) So a special hello to Nanny Dot, Percy and Louise and John and Patsy! Enjoy Mom's turkey for us, I'll be missing it this weekend!

Here's Norah making pumpkin cookies yesterday afternoon... note, no pants.
Here she is this morning, looking all grown up and ready to head out to run some errands with Dad

Could she be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerburg? Head to Harvard to drop out and then be rich? I gotta imagine they caused their parents some stress along the way... again, no pants... I LOVE potty training! Also may be time to pass along that hoodie to someone a bit smaller!

Last but not least, here she is last Friday, in an outfit she picked out herself

Roddie Report: More Pictures

We had a big day today, Rod had his first video call with Nanny and Papa up in Nova Scotia. Good thing too, because now that Susan is home from the hospital, he's going to have competition from little Hartleigh Grace - yup, she's got a name now! Anyway, we had some great awake time this afternoon, here are a few pictures.

Happy boy chillin' on the sofa...

Working on our Tummy Time...
Watch me reach for this toy!

Not quite ready for the Bumbo, and NO, it's not my sister's... I LIKE mauve!

Norah News: Picture Updates

Norah is really coming into her own as a 'big kid'. She has started spending time in the preschool room at school and is very proud to tell us all about it when she comes home. She's also becoming more and more verbal, and articulating her thoughts increasingly well. While she's a two year old, she's understanding much more clearly now that we're in charge, not her, and life at home is less chaotic as a result! Here are a few pictures of our big girl from the past week or so.

Norah modeling another one of Donna's beautiful creations... not in the mood for the camera however...
Norah's new big girl hairdo... no more pig tails that sprout from her head, now they sit more maturely :( Mom is sad about this!

This one just cracked me up... this is what I found when I went in to tuck her in before I went to sleep the other night. She's fast asleep, and somehow got herself into this contortion!

This, unfortunately, is a face we had been seeing a little too much of over the past couple of months... this day it was short lived, as she was just sick of me trying to take a picture!

Roddie Report: 7 week update

Roddie continues to do well, and smile at his Mama :) He's north of 10.5 lbs now and some nights I only need to get up once to feed him (and never more than twice) We also started putting him to bed 'sleepy' instead of asleep, and he did really well - took him about 15-20 minutes to settle down to sleep. It's amazing how much more relaxed we are about such things than the first time around. Some of you may recall the first time we got Norah to put herself to sleep... let's just say it involved my Dad, some good friends, some chocolate chip cookies and about an hour! In any case, she's been great about bed ever since, so here's hoping we get lucky again!

Rod is also doing great with holding his head up, and while he hasn't made a move to roll over yet, he is a big fan of the windmill move - he can rotate himself a full 180 in the blink of an eye! His legs are also getting stronger, he likes to stand up on his legs and can pretty much hold his own weight!

Here he is, practicing sleeping in his crib for the day (soon??) that he moves into Norah's room and out of our room!

We've been drinking a lot of tea again at our house... I think Roddie prefers milk, but big sister Norah really wants him to try to some tea!

Here he is, in the jungle Gym, holding his head up high!

... and making a move towards rolling over!

Now this is what they mean when they say sleeping like a baby! ZZZZ!

Introducing... My Niece!

My sister Susan's baby finally arrived around 9 pm last night. She doesn't have a name yet (at least not as far as I know...) but she was 7lb 7oz and 17" long (again, at least as far as I know) We've all been a little anxious for her arrival, as she was expected about a week and a half ago - better late than never! I think you'll agree, she's a beautiful baby girl! I understand Susan is doing well... but I'm sure you'll hear more about that later!

Welcome baby girl! May you be well named soon - Shauna is a nice name, just an idea....