Holiday Traditions

This year Ewan is much more aware and interested in Christmas and Santa Clause. Alan and I are trying to create some traditions that we can continue on as a family each year. I would love to hear about the different traditions that all of you have also adopted for your family during the holiday season. 

Visiting Santa is of course an important one and this year Ewan did a great job and had a full on conversation with Santa Clause! We also did our own family photo shoot, which turned out not too bad, considering I have barely picked up my camera over the past year. Another evening we made a gingerbread family after dinner - as you can see in the picture Alan took it very seriously!

Another tradition that I wanted to begin was an advent calendar. We opted not to do a traditional (in my family anyway) chocolate calendar and instead I made 24 numbered paper envelopes that we have hung across our fireplace. For this year each envelope has a holiday themed sticker inside and Ewan opens one each day. We are counting backwards from 24 to 1 so that Ewan can see the numbers getting lower and understand that there are fewer and fewer days until Santa will come. As Ewan gets older I would like to have a family event put in each envelope - such as putting up the Christmas tree, building a gingerbread house, a movie night etc.

I am also trying to make more home made gifts to involve Ewan in being a bigger part in giving. One of the gifts I am very proud of is a tutu that I made for my niece. Ewan watched me make it and then tried it on - and also happened to love it - I think I have to make him one as well! Another set of gifts we have made together are peppermint scented and coloured bath salts. Ewan helped me dye the bath salts and add the peppermint oil and then fill each of the jars. And he had a great time doing it. As a gift tag, I am going to print a picture of him making all of them. 

It is hard to believe that Christmas is already next week - December is just flying by, but we have had a great time getting into the spirit. We are also very much looking forward to the Nursery School Holiday concert next Wednesday!

Snow Day!

Yesterday I had taken a day off and Alan ended up being able to take a day off as well - so we were able to have a 'family day' together. After the amount of work that went into the float for the parade - we definitely needed a break!

It was an even better surprise when we woke up to the first snow fall of the season! Ewan was so excited to see the snow that he and Alan went straight outside to shovel while I made a big pancake breakfast. After breakfast, we drove out to Starbucks to enjoy a holiday hot chocolate and do some reading. Afterwards we made our way home for a relaxing afternoon of reading, building a snowman, more hot chocolate and decorating the house for Christmas - a little early, but it just seemed like the perfect day for it!

I hope everyone was able to enjoy all of the snow yesterday as well!!!

Last Trimester!

I am now currently in the last trimester of pregnancy- which I am both thrilled with and also a little saddened  - and also a little anxious. I am excited that very soon we will get to meet the new addition to the family and start on a whole new adventure together as a family.

However, I am also saddened that everything will also be changing - Ewan is at such an great stage right now - everything he can do and everything he says has Alan and I both amazed and entertained all the time. It is also wonderful to be able to give him our full and undivided attention and really just to be the three of us.

The anxiety is stemming from being away from the centre for 8 weeks - don't get me wrong, I am very confident with the staff that I have, however some things you just know because you are always there - like needing to dust the groove of a particular toddler toy or the top of a triangle in the pirate ship that collects dust like crazy or knowing how to set up the obstacle course for a particular theme. Writing these things down make them seem silly and I am sure the centre will not only survive, but will continue to thrive while I am away - it is just hard to leave my first 'baby' for that amount of time.

I have been trying to really stay in the moment when I am with Ewan and really make the most of the one on one time that we have together. I also feel like I should be trying to squeeze in special things that we can do 'just us' - like jetting off to Disney World! (Just kidding, not really, I kind of do really want to go.) But I am having a hard time thinking of things that we can really do only together. Maybe I should just be focusing on enjoying the day to day routine that we have created together. Any suggestions about things you did or wanted to do while it was just you and your first baby?

We are enjoying milkshakes together in the picture:)

The craziness of Fall!

Since September it really has been a whirlwind of to-do lists and events almost every weekend as well as jumping back into routines and schedules - I really only feel like now things are beginning to calm down.

As far as family life is concerned, I think we have a good routine and schedule that seems to be working for us and Ewan is doing much better than I had expected about adapting to his weekly schedule - that is unfortunately different every day of the week - but he is a pretty go with the flow kid and is taking the craziness of our life in stride. As a family we have enjoyed visits to the apple orchard, the pumpkin patch, a great Thanksgiving weekend filled with wonderful meals with family and friends, and a great Halloween night!



As for me personally, I am still waiting for the 'easy' part of this pregnancy to arrive. I have come to terms with my lack of energy and I am still trying to get to bed earlier and nap when I am home in the afternoons with Ewan. I am also taking an array of supplements to try and boost my energy and trying to fit in a few work outs throughout the week. I have also gotten used to the night time nausea. But now I am struggling with an all over rash and itchiness that by the evening is driving me crazy! I have been told it is nothing serious and that some women develop this rash during pregnancy and it will subside once I have the baby. So, only 3 more months to go!!! I have been to a naturopath and have some supplements to take and I am also taking oatmeal baths most nights - but any other advice from other moms who have had this would be wonderful!

As for A Gym Tale things are always crazy in early Fall, but everything seems to be falling into place nicely. Both the morning and afternoon Nursery School programs are running wonderfully and we have a really great group of kids that are really starting to show their personalities and friendships are beginning to bud. We have also had great parent participation so far this year. The Before and After School program has also found its rhythm and the program has been running really well. Weekends have also been busy with Birthday Parties and the hostess's are really putting on some great performances with the kids and as always we are striving to improve our customer service skills in order to make each visit the very best possible. Lastly, play classes have been an absolute pleasure to run and it has been great meeting so many new families. It is also hard to believe that registration for all the winter programs, camps, and the New Year's Eve Sleepover are also underway!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the wonderful Fall season that we have had so far and that all the kids enjoyed their Halloween! Here is a picture of my little elephant riding on a horse (his very own idea for a costume!)

I hope you all didn't fall for that last post....

I really hope that everyone did not fall for Alan's last post - but I have heard through the grapevine that many people couldn't believe that Alan actually opened the envelope. Not a single person has told me about the post directly- so I do appreciate that you all tried to let me have my surprise!

For everyone who does not know Alan very well - he would never have actually opened the envelope without me - but he has a sick sense of humour and thought it would make for a hilarious post and posted on my blog before I could stop him!

But Alan and I did decide to open the envelope - TOGETHER - and yes, we are having a Girl! We did it after a wonderful date night out and it was a perfect time to open it up together and we both really liked making it a special occasion and opening it in privacy as opposed to finding out in the ultrasound clinic. We are both very excited that we will have both a son and a daughter. Now for the next baby, there is no reason to find out as we will have one of each!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Envelope Opened! (Exercising a Dad's Right to Know)

Shhhhhh... I have to share some news..., but don't tell Lindsay...

This might be the last time I have the chance to hijack my wife's blog.

That statement is not necessarily meant to infer that I will not live long after writing this entry - although testing a hormonal woman's patience at this stage of pregnancy might suggest otherwise. At the very least, Lindsay is sure to change her password this time.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

(just, don't tell her Mom yet)

All I can hope is that Lindsay will grow to understand that I did what I did with her in mind. You see, I realize that my wife has been sick for six months, is always tired - regardless of how much she sleeps, can barely tie her own shoes, and worst (as far as she's concerned) can not stomach eating chocolate. No chocolate for God's sake! The last thing I want is for her to stress any more than she has to - not when I can prevent it.

And that's what I did!

By finally opening the envelope that hid our next baby's gender from us, I have alleviated needless questions that may have been festering in her head. And the best part is, she is likely to find out tomorrow during play classes when the blog and facebook news spills in. By that time I'll be safe at work and she will have all day to calm down and realize for herself the rationality in what I have done.

Some people might even say I'm a hero. The naysayers might suggest that I have acted strictly on a childish curiosity with no concern for my wife's wishes. My fellow man however would realize the sacrifice that I have made tonight.

In an effort to silence Lindsay's subconscious questions, I have taken on an extraordinary burden three months early for which I was not prepared. I will father a daughter.

Obviously, I'm looking forward to having a Daddy's Little Girl, dressing her in frills, and singing butterfly kisses; but eventually my princess-to-be will be a teenage girl... and... that... is... not... cool.

This is my burden.

Have I created a Monster?!

So I think I have created an Iphone - more specifically a You Tube - addiction in Ewan!!!

About a year ago, Ewan began using my Iphone for educational apps (anything by Duck Duck Moose is amazing for toddlers / preschoolers) mostly when we were out to dinner, at A Gym Tale if I needed to take a phone call, or out doing groceries. But it has slowly progressed to him moving on to You Tube - he can actually turn on my phone, open You Tube, go to his favourites, choose a video and then scroll through all the related videos and play those!!! I don't even know how he has a favourite list and how he figured all of this out?!

I new that a problem was beginning when he started talking about my phone in his sleep - 'phone mama? Please - I NEED IT!' - all in his sleep. And then last week he pick-pocketed me and I turn around and he is huddled in a corner of the party room at A Gym Tale with the volume down low watching a Thomas video! And I should have clarified which videos he does watch - thomas, mickey mouse club house, the shrek theme song, and some penguin videos he found somehow. Now Ewan doesn't watch TV, so the only media dose he gets is the Iphone or sometimes a movie - but he now says that he 'needs' the phone and will steal anytime it is in reach. I have started to limit his usage to just before dinner time as I am getting dinner ready, but in the mornings or mid day it is like he is having withdrawals!

I am hoping with a regular 'scheduled' You Tube video time, he will get into a routine of knowing when he can have his fix and will not try to steal at other times. However, I can only imagine this addiction will get worse as he gets older.

Now he does always see me with my phone - because of A Gym Tale, my phone is always on me or on my bedside table when I sleep, or next to the shower - maybe I have an addiction! But, in the event that someone had to call in sick or an emergency during business hours the girls at work need to be able to reach me at all times.

Oh Ewan, I have tried so hard to shield you away from television and it seems I have only created an addiction to another form of media!