Violet, Paleontologist.

We all went to the Museum of Nature last Saturday. The Museum is still about 2/3 closed for renos, but the part that is finished feels world class, and really, everyone is just there to see the dinosaurs anyway...and the exhibit on traditional Japanese flower arranging of course!
Dinosaurs are what we promised Violet - and perhaps we sold them a little too enthusiastically, because on the way to the Museum she kept asking,
"Big dinosaurs with big teeth?"
"Do they make noise?"
"Do they move?"

We wandered through the fossil room first, and they had one of those tables set up where kids could dress up as accident prone paleontologists and dig for fossils.
Triceratops teeth!
Then on to the dinosaurs. Violet saw the exhibit, and ran ahead of us into the room. Then she froze. It looked like 10 dinosaurs were about to eat her. She looks so small! We spent a good long time looking at them before she would consider touching one of them. Jem was unimpressed by the dinosaurs.

In other news:
Violet bit Jem. Chomped down hard on his poor little finger. That was our first case of sibling violence, but it seems to have been an isolated incident.

They still love each other.

Tea Party

This morning I was having a tea party with Violet. She's a real hostess.
"Here, have some chamomile tea, it will make you feel better" she said handing me the cup.
"Thanks Violet, this is lovely tea"
"It has barium in it!"

(She got the 'barium' from one of Curious George stories she loves)

Family Portrait #2

Violet drew our family. I don't know why Jem is drawn 3 times and I'm sideways (drunk again!), but I think it's amazing. 

Super Sister

When I returned from Toronto a couple of weeks ago, having been apart from Jesse and UV for a couple of days, I was surprised by how much Violet had missed Jem. She gave me a perfunctory hug, then asked "Where's Jem!? Can I see him!?".  She peered into the car seat, grabbed his hand, and then held it while we wheeled our way, slowly, out of the train station. Since then she's been super-sister. I think she's clued in to how much he adores her. She can make him stop crying just by sitting next to him, and she really likes that. She brings him toys, holds his hand as he jumps in the Jolly Jumper, and provides a running commentary on his actions.

"Mommy! He's taking his socks off again!"

"Mommy! Jem is talking to me!...what's he saying?"
It warms my heart. 

How can you not love a face like this?
She helped me in my first attempt in making bread from scratch. The process wasn't as difficult as I had imagined, but the result wasn't as wonderful as I had imagined.

She just tells it like it is, that girl.

Since we're on the subject of eating. Jem has started more interesting solids.

Squash!

Shoe leather!

Jolly Jemper

Man, I am on fire with these titles!
We bought Jem a Jolly Jumper a few days ago. Does he ever love it! We can't stop laughing at his screeching and bobbly head.
Sorry for the nausea inducing close-up.

Putting the Fun back in Funeral

My paternal Grandfather passed away last Thursday, peacefully (well, I imagine a morphine drip is peaceful), surrounded by his children. He had lived independently until a few days before his death and had reached the excellent age of 90. Even though he has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember, I didn't really know him; he was always so quiet, or out gardening. I wish I had asked him more about his life, especially about his immigration to Canada from Ukraine.

Jesse and I packed the kids in the car and drove to Toronto to attend the funeral. I hope this doesn't sound too morbid, but we had a nice time. We even got a little giddy about our 'funeral date night' when my Mom looked after both kids for the evening wake (yes, it's been a while since we've been out alone together). The services and gatherings were really nice, but it was the bonus time with family we don't get to see very often that made it so fun.

We took both kids to the service the morning after the wake, and I was obsessing over what to say to Violet about the body in the casket. As it turned out, I had to hand her over to Aunt Nina while Jem was fussing, so I missed the moment. Violet didn't seem phased whatsoever by the body, but she did start to get a little noisy after a while.

Nina asked her to be quiet.

She asked "Why am I being quiet for?"

Nina said "For Jesus"

Violet pointed to her Great-Grandfather in the casket and asked "Is that Jesus?!"

I could only see from the back that people were doing their best to keep a straight face. At the lunch after the service, Violet managed to get three different people to give her a slice of cake. She then ran around the hall for an hour shrieking "I'm ping-pong running!".

Jesse and Violet headed back to Ottawa in the car on Monday, but I decided to stay with Jem and take the train back later. We all delayed flights and work to spend that extra time together, and I'm so glad we did. It was nice to just have one good natured baby to take care of (though I missed both UV and Jesse very much) and just hang out together.

Jem had a good time too- especially reading a magazine in his new hat with Uncle Max.

Sitting and Nursing

I seem to be spending much of my time sitting and nursing Jem. Sitting around and nursing. Sitting around and nursing. Violet doesn't seem to mind, either snuggling in beside me or drawing with her crayons close by (of course, if Oma is here she is playing with her). She's still being a sweet big sister, and her interest in him is growing now that he's more fun. I'm often cautioning her to be gentle, but he never seems to mind her attentions, whether it's enthusiastically dangling toys 1 cm from his face or trying to rip his hands off pulling him to sit up. He just adores her.


I started him on some brown rice cereal last week, and he seems to enjoy it. Four months is maybe a little early for cereal, but the kid has teeth already; I figure this is nature's way of telling me he's ready for hamburgers...I mean cereal. He reached out for my face last week during a nursing session - so sweet. I'd forgotten about all these little baby milestones and I enjoy them even more the second time around.
I thought he would be a bit too young for the exersaucer. Apparently not! He's been hanging out in there quite a bit lately. Violet was never that into it, but he can happily spin around and grab/chew things for a while. This has, of course, renewed Violet's interest in the exersaucer. She can get herself in, but not out. Today she got herself in, and then asked for a banana. Since I was nursing (surprise!), I told her she could go and get it herself. She said "I can get it! But I'm stuck. Lift me out like a rocket!". I guess our numerous trips to the Museum of Science and Technology have made an impression.



In other news:
We were watching Pocahontas ( a recent fave of hers) and she informed me "Pocahontas lives at Value Village".


The past couple of days, she has been particularly contrary; a lot of whining and crying. Today was a better day, and as she brushed her teeth tonight, she told Jesse "I was pretty grumpy yesterday, hey?".
I find that so neat.

The Babes

Happy New Ears!

That's what Violet just said to me as I slipped into her room to give her a kiss before her nap. She was describing a drawing she had done at her playgroup. For Happy New Ears.

We had a lot of family come to stay over the holidays- the most this house has ever held. I really love having a house full of family, and it really feels empty now that they are gone. Violet loved having so many patient and loving people to cater to her whims. Now I just have to deprogram her sweet, innocent brain of all the choice phrases her Aunt Nina taught her to say.

Despite the fact we had all just rolled out of bed, many of us were sick, and the size of Angie's head, we're a pretty good looking bunch.

It is nice to get back into our routines now that holidays have passed...I guess what I really mean is thank goodness Oma is back.

This was Jem's first Christmas.

He met some family for the first time.

He cut a couple of teeth, my poor little apple-cheeked Jemy Roll!

We noticed a striking resemblance to his Djido.

And apparently he is a Leaf's fan...and a thug.

In other news -

Again, another pit-stop story.

Coming back from Toronto (where we had a super time, and Violet received a train set that is keeping her busy most of the day), we made our usual half-way stop.

While we were eating, a sappy Josh Groban song came over the speakers. Violet stopped eating and got really into the song, looking really emotional with a faraway look in her eyes. She looked as, pointed at her face, and said "the music makes my eyes look like this".

We Illin'

I had meant to post pictures of us decorating the tree, but I accidentally erased them all. Even the one were Jesse had to strip down to underwear and wrassle that bear!

We're all sick. Bleh.

I feel the worst for Jem, he is so stuffed up it's hard for him to breathe and nurse. Then I feel sorry for me, because I have to try and nurse him all night.

Violet had the worst of it last week. She's feeling a lot better now, but is having a hard time shaking off the demanding and whining groove. We indulged her last week (what else is there to do with a sick two year old?) and realized perhaps I had gone too far when she crawled into bed with us at 5:30 this morning, told me to massage her feet and then asked to watch "too much TV". Yes, definitely feeling better.

Well, aside for the illnessessess, we are excited for Christmas!

This morning was 4-wheelin' madness. Jesse had brought 'Trixie' in to school to work on, so we piled in the car and went to his school. He got it almost a year and a half ago and has been working on it since then, perhaps a little obsessively. It was too icy to really tear around, but it was fun anyway.

Then is was home to do a little gingerbread house decorating!

UV was the model of concentration when it came to applying candies.
So, family arriving for dinner tonight. More family coming tomorrow. MORE family arriving a few days from now. Then we are off to Toronto in the new year.

In case I don't blog at you in the next few days, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

NJVJ

Poor Sick UV

As I was putting Violet to bed this evening she began a conversation that was clearly fever induced. You have to imagine that the whole time she was looking at me with unfocused bleary red eyes. Kind of like that earnest drunk guy at the xmas party.

Violet: "Remember when I went to the hospital and they put the blood on my arm?"
(she recently had to go for a blood draw)

Me:"Yes, you were very brave."

Violet:"I didn't like the smell."

Me:"I'm sorry to hear that..."

Violet:"What am I talking about?"

Me:"I don't know...smells?"

Violet:"What happened to Princess Jasmine?"

Me:"I wish I knew..."

Violet:"What am I talking about Princess Jasmine?"

Violet is always extra special, but she is at her cutest when she is ill.

Jesse

Where are we going?

NOWHERE!

Jesse, Captain of My Heart, did manage to brave the snowstorm and go and get a tree. This is our first tree in this house, and we're going to decorate it this afternoon.
Last year, we didn't get a tree, as we were getting ready for our BIG TRIP to Qatar. Can't believe it's been a year. This year, the fine folks from Qatar are coming to visit us, as well as some very good looking people from BC.




In other news:
Violet came up to me and said "My feelings hurt. Please put some massage on my tummy".
I did.

How many couples can say that they have both broken eyeglasses by driving over them with a car? Just another sign that we were meant for each other.

Jem and Frog

I was showing Jem a little frog this morning. He reached out his chubby little fist and grabbed at it. I gave it to him. He looked at me for a while, then realized he had something in his hand! Then he realized he could move it closer to his face! Then he went cross-eyed with the effort, but hey - first time he's done that. He's three months old today, my lovely little Jembon.

In UV news:

Jesse and UV were on an errand last night, and drove by a MacDonald's. Violet pointed at the golden arches and exclaimed "A funny M like for Mama!". Smart, and still oblivious to that particular brand, it warms my heart.

In other news:

I think we're going to be able to fit all our guests in over the holidays with a few minor changes to the sleeping arrangements.

Jelly Star

Violet ate a jelly star sticker on Monday morning. We were playing, sticking them on the window, and I left her alone with them to answer the phone. BAD MOTHER. When I got off the phone, Violet ran past me into her room (the telltale sign that she's up to no good) with something in her mouth. I did a quick star count, and one was missing.

I freaked out - don't swallow that! bad for you! toxic chemicals!

Aaagh she swallowed it!

In retrospect, I might have overreacted, but the package said Made in China, and DO NOT EAT! So, my first instinct was to make her throw it up. It wasn't successful, and for the rest of the day she would look at me strangely and ask "what you do that to me in the bathroom for?". Anyhoo, spoke with the fine people at TeleHealth and Posion Control (while Violet was actually whining for more stars), and it turned out not to be toxic. She has suffered no ill effects from the star.

After I hung up the phone, I broke into tears. That (and only that) upset Violet, who ran into my arms and wouldn't look at me until I was happy again.

Now she tells people "I ate a jelly star, and Mama was angry, then she cried and I hid, and then I peeked and Mama was happy again".

Jem slept through it all.

That was Monday, and things have looked up since then. The laptop is back. I started a mommy boot-camp spinning class. We set up the Christmas lights and have made a dent in our first box of brandy beans and bottle of Southern Comfort. We have our traditions here.

Family Portrait

I set up the camera and tripod today to attempt to capture the elusive and shy Family portaitus. Out of one billion shots with wiggling children, here is the best. I might try again another day, or just photoshop our best faces together from the various shots. And YES, Jesse is growing a beard. It will be mighty.Violet then asked me if I would take a picture of her and her doll Baby-Baby. This is what happened when I asked her to look and the camera and smile. It really reminded me of a Calvin and Hobbs strip...

The laptop broke. Rats. I was just getting used to the art of nursing Jem and shopping on ebay at the same time. It's in for repairs, but that might take a long time.

A couple of mornings ago we woke up to a fantastic winter snowfall. Jesse and I looked at each other and both knew we couldn't wait to show Violet how everything outside had changed. We brought her into the living room and pulled back the curtains from the big window. Her face lit up and she breathed "snow!". Then she wanted to go play in the snow, but it was only 7 am, so for the next hour and a half we had to deal with "can I go play in the snow now?...now?....now?" until Oma was ready to take her out. All she wants to do is eat the snow. I even caught her picking up snow that had fallen out of the tread of my boots inside in hopes of eating it.

She eats cat kibble too.

Since we're on the subject of Violet being weird... she likes to play with stickers by sticking them one by one on to her forehead. For what reason, I do not know.

She also likes Jesse to sing Guns'n'Roses by glowstick as a bedtime ritual. It was cute until I heard her singing "Daddy works in porno now that Mommy's not around" (from the song My Michelle). Oh, I guess that's still cute, as long as no one else hears.Then there's the boy. He had his first doctor's appointment and shots yesterday. As expected, his sumo wrestler lifestyle (without the wrestling part) has put him in the 99th percentile for weight, height and head circumference. Huge, but healthy and sleeping like a champ at night. Hooray Jem!

One Liners

I wish I could record all the hilarious things that Violet thinks up to say. She keeps up a pretty steady chatter about anything that pops into her head. She'll even be talking about something before her nap, sleep for 2 hours, and immediately pick up where she left off. Here are a couple one-liners from the last few days that we're still laughing about.

Grandpa Santa Ralph came for a short visit last Saturday. You can probably guess what kind of facial hair Grandpa Santa Ralph has from his name. Violet exclaimed
"you're all covered in moustaches!"

While on a walk after dinner Violet looked up at the moon and called out "Hey! You got any sandwiches?"

For Libby

Jem turned two months old a couple of days ago. He can hold his wobbly head up for longer and longer. He likes to eat. He is easy going, easy to please, and smiles when I sing this little Ukrainian song to him.

In the background is Violet, who cannot tolerate a camera being pointed at Jem for too long without asking to see herself too. When Libby was here last summer we taught Violet to say "redrum" in that creepy voice, and Libby thought it was pretty funny. Also, she hasn't met Jem yet, so this one goes out to her special.

In other news:

Violet was drawing at the living room table yesterday evening. She stopped and whispered (in her theatrical whisper kind of way) "I'm going to go drink wine in my room", and left.

Hilarious!

The Long Car Ride

Driving home from Toronto this afternoon, we stopped at McDonald's for a snack. I told Violet I was going to order her a Happy Meal and she said "No! I want an angry meal!".
That was the kind of car ride it was.
Glad to be home!

Hawawe'en (UV pronounciation)

The more time that goes by since updating the blog, the more posts pile up in my head until I don't know where to start anymore and it seems overwhelming. Then I avoid writing.

The good news is that I now have a laptop on loan and wireless Internet upstairs so updating the blog will be much easier.

So can we start fresh here? Yes?

This is the first year that Violet understood what Hallowe'en was about, so we were really excited about taking her around the neighbourhood...and then raiding her candy stash. She wanted to dress up like a fairy princess, so we got her a little costume at the mall that included a tutu, wings, crown and a wand for whacking lamps off of tables. As the salesgirl was showing us how to attach the wings on Violet, she said "so I can fly!" in total seriousness. If I could bend the rules of gravity for this child, I would.

I was expecting Violet to want to go to a few houses and then home, but we stayed out for an entire hour. Every time we left a house she would call out "I want to go to another place!", and so we would. Jem was happy to come along in the stroller.

Brandishing the wand

About to hit up the first house

Candy gettin' face

Finally had enough. Check out the death grip on her bag of candy. We pull the bag out after dinner, and she gets to have one treat. So far, it's been all about the lollipops. More chocolate for me! This was a really fun Hallowe'en.

Jem is 7 weeks old today. I can't believe he's only been here for such a short time. It feels like he's always been here, sitting around looking at us and farting lots. He started smiling a few days ago!! The biggest, gummiest smiles ever. He is such a lovely and easy going boy.

In other news: Jesse, super-husband and captain of my heart, surprised me with tickets to go see Cats! last Friday. Oma and Grandpa tag teamed to look after Jembon and UV. Now I know why Jesse had been strongly encouraging me to pump milk and get Jem used to an occasional bottle the last couple of weeks. It was wonderful to get out, just the two of us.

In sadder, yet still cat related news: Rusty has moved on to the Heavyside Lair. Rusty had a long and fulfilling country life.

Best news ever: both kids go to bed at 8 pm.