Potty Party Time

Last Thursday, the thought of trying to potty train Heather came upon me, she has had a potty to play with for a while and had actually peed in it once about 2 months ago, but at the time I had no real plan on starting the training, neither did I have a plan on how I was going to do it. As a mum you are very aware of your childs actions and cues and I had become more aware of when Heather was having to pee or poop.
So armed with 20 pairs of colourful big girl pants, a potty, a potty party hat, a potty sticker board, a potty book and a pack of Huggies night time pull ups, we ventured forth into letting Heather become a big girl!!! After the first day of spending indoors, observing Heather's cues and getting her over the fear of the potty by having a funny dance with potty hats lots of hugs, praise and high fives everytime she sat and peed, things were going well. The excitement, happiness and self esteem that you could see in her face was amazing, as she realised that she could do this. Over the next few days everything went well, all be it, we have had a few accidents along the way, one on a park bench, while playing with friends and another while she was helping to put the shopping away and peed on a fresh loaf of bread!!! I'm sure there will be plenty more accidents, but the main thing is that she is getting the idea and really, there is no going back now.

Heather, the big girl now!!!

Boy with attitude

Finlay is now five weeks old and weighs 8lb 4oz, that is 1/2 lb heavier than Heather was at the same time. Heather on the other hand still weghs 19lbs and seems to refuse to cross the 20lb barrier, despite all that she eats, however she is on the go all the time.
Finlay started focusing on black and white cards at 4 weeks and now he is tracking them. That is about all that he does at the moment, as well as feeding, pooing -lots, puking and sleeping. It is quite amazing how different a second child is treated. I find myself worrying if he is getting enough attention and stimulation. The majority of attention is still focused on Heather. The main priority is to keep Finlay safe while Heather is around and when I am busy in the kitchen, more often than not he can be found in a carry cot on top of the dining room table or napping in his crib . Heather was always in the centre of the room, free to be left anywhere. If he is left on the floor, lovable sis crushes him with hugs and kisses, those are usually gentle and genuine, but can quickly become over zealous. If he is left on the bouncy chair, again he is smothered with love and bounced to sleep, and again the bouncy chair can very quickly be turned into a baby catapult!!!! However Heather has taken a liking to the bouncy chair and loves to test out the rebound. I count myself lucky that Heather still naps for up to 2 hours in the afternoon and I can bring Finlay out to play, well out of his little box!! He is usually sleeping, but I feel better that he is lying on the floor and occasionally opens his eyes.


At the 5 1/2 week stage I hit the wall. One night I woke at one of the two hourly feeds and brought Finlay into bed to feed him, I realised that my body and mind were not functioning as normal and that I was as tired than I had ever been before.I could barley keep my eyes open to feed him and I felt so exhausted. I had realised that this point had been approaching for some time as I was beginning to waken in the night with no baby and couldn't remember putting him back in the crib.
Thankfully James was off the following day and we took the kids up to the lake for a paddle. James took Heather into the water while I sat by the shore. my mind was working overtime and my body was working in slow motion, such a bizzare feeling. I was lucky to grab 2 hours sleep that afternoon.

Thundery afternoons

On a thundery afternoon , there isn't much to do except watch the storm or a DVD of your favourite story. Heather chose Cinderella , her favourite story and watched it on DVD for the first time and loved it.

Quarry Lake

All decked out for the beach party!!!

Canmore has its own local beach, well, people call it that, but it is actually a lake. This lake is well used in the hot summer weeks and for the past week we have seen temperatures of 30 degrees. So most of Canmore parents have been hanging out up there, it is a great idea to get the kids out to play in the water. The best time to go to the lake is early in the morning at 9.30 or in the evening for a bar b q when everybody else has packed up to leave, that way you miss the crowds and the hottest part of the day.The motto on toys is , you bring five toys and you leave with five toys, not necessarily the same toys!!!
This week we took Heather and Finlay up there for a bar-b-q with our neighbors, Nancy, Guy and their children and Heather's friends, Robin, Will and Cayden. It was a lovely evening and the older kids enjoyed jumping off the rocks, Heather just sat and ate!!!
I have also taken the kids up there early in the morning and Finlay enjoyed himself relaxing and sunbathing under a tree, while Heather enjoyed playing in the water and also thought she was waiting for the big wave to come so that she could go surfing!!!

Just chilling!!

Waiting for the surf at Canmore "beach"

And waiting.....

...and waiting.......

Fun at Cougar creek

We are so lucky to live where we do. But we sometimes forget how easy it is to take the children a 10 min walk out our back yard and take them to a lovely creek that they can enjoy. Heather had great fun at the creek, throwing stones in the water, sitting in the mud, playing with diggers and getting really dirty. She also insisted that she walk home by herself , before having lunch. She had a lovely morning and we all enjoyed a long nap in the afternoon.

Thank you for fresh air and water...the right combination for a toddlers long nap.

Mstr Finlay James

FEED ME !!!!! NOW!!!!!

Finlay has so far been a fairly content wee boy, as long as you attend to his needs quickly with no delay. I would describe him as a spirited baby, whereas Heather was an angel, as I mentioned before.
Heather was an easy baby to deal with, very accommodating and patient. I found her cues easy to read. She would wake in the night for a feed, I would change her, feed her, little effort to burp her and then she would go straight back to sleep, full and content. In the mornings I can remember Heather cooing to herself in the crib and amusing herself quite happily and I would beable to have a shower before her morning feed .

Finlay, however for the first four weeks fussed all night, no crying, just fussing, it was like sleeping next to a pig. That led me to wonder if he was hungry, needing a diaper change, having wind, or just being fussy, thus making it difficult to read his cues, especially in the middle of the night when you are exhausted and are craving for a 2 hour sleep!! Eventually he would cry to be fed. I would change his diaper and settle down to feed him. He has been a great feeder and gulps down his milk as noisily as his snorting, making little wincing noises as he goes, just like a pirana fish. During the feed, I would hear him groaning and pushing as he worked on his bowel movement and gas. Then I would hear the blast into his clean, fresh diaper. Great, another change will be needed. After the boisterous feeding, he would appear settled and then I would go to burp him and he would have large, strong burps, usually causing him to throw up. After what seemed an eternity, sitting there, with him lying on my chest, trying not to fall asleep, I would be sure that all the air was expelled, he was settled, oh and with another diaper change inbetween, I would place him back in his crib, and almost immediatley, he would get uncomfortable, fussy and then get these huge hiccups, which, again caused him to throw up, along with a few more explosions into the diaper, So once again, I had to take him and continue to burp him. This could take up to an hour, and considering the fact that he was waking every 2 hours, wasn't leaving alot of time for mummy's sleep!!!
In the mornings when he wakes he wants attending to straight away, fussing and squirming, limbs flailing around and coughing for attention, so if I haven't been organised and had my shower first, I have to change him and feed him straight away...my shower normally has to wait,...but I do get one....just after his lordship has been attended to!!! Once he has his needs taking care of, he is a pretty happy wee thing ....you just have to do things fast!!!!
Saying all that, we have found Finlay to be a fairly relaxed baby, easily portable at the moment when we drag him on little hikes and bundle him along, while we keep Heather active and entertained. He has been bundled in the front carrier, squashed by his big sister as she falls asleep in the stroller after her mornings of fun and he has even been patiently sat in the car seat while his mum does lengths at the pool and again when mummy takes Heather swimming and for a hot tub.At night he is wiling to go to bed at the same time as his sis, which gives me and James some down time, prior to the busy nights.

AHHH !!!!! THAT WAS GOOD, THANKS !!!!

Poor little mite, he does have a wee problem with his gut, we have gone through a ton of diapers as he has a poop at every feed and he does take his time to burp. It's probably just his immature digestive system, I like to say that it is a boy thing and also say that it is because he takes after his dad, who is also very gassy at times!!!
However, the last two nights have shown improvements, he is lasting 3 hours between feeds and he seems to be settling alot easier, with less wind and less hiccups, also less snorting and I am able to stay awake all day!!!

Folk music, face painting and farm animals

This weekend saw the Folk Festival come to Canmore and I decided to take both children to see some music and dancing. So with Finlay strapped to my chest and Heather dawdling beside me, we ventured to Centennial park to share some culture with a few hundred other people!!

Two pairs of hands is always better than one when you have two young children!!!

I found it quite the feet taking Heather to a crowded open park, with several hundred people and having Finlay strapped to my chest. Heather had to walk everywhere, Ms Independent and she was on her own agenda...it is a little bit more difficult to control her when you can't pick her up properly. But all in all we had a great time. Heather enjoyed some Capoeira, Brazilian martial art dancing , had her face painted and saw the farm animals. When it was time to feed Finlay, I took her to a staged story time thinking that she would sit and listen , while Finlay was fed. Well, she listened for the first 10 mins then wanted to go and see the goats again. So just got up and walked off. There I was, abandoned , I left the ruck sack and rug and went chasing after her with poor Finlay attached to the boob. With lasting comments from passers by ,"You've got your hands full there, dear!!!".......No kidding!!!










To tell you the truth though, it was worth it just to see Heather experience some new things , and although it wasn't as relaxing for me, Heather had a great time and is still talking about the goat pooping on the grass ...four days later!!!!!

Family Hike

We had a lovely family day together and went for a hike up Sulphur mountain. James and I literally packed the kids up and hiked up hill for 1 and 1/2 hours. Then the kids had a quick snack at the top and then we all had a rewarding gondola ride down.Everybody had a good nap in the afternoon for about two hours....the joys of having a new born in the house again!!!!