Buying me five minutes....

Just in case I forget, I thought I should write these down. Here is what buys me 5 minutes when my now very mobile, very busy, very curious little Koen is around...

- 2 words: recycling box

- 2 more words: Kleenex box

- highchair + calculator

- full roll of wrapping paper (this might buy me 10 minutes!)

- the Backyardigans - the interest only lasts a few minutes, but enough time to distract him from the open dishwasher

- Elmo Live

- basket of books

- a box and a bunch of blocks (to put in the box)

- a dried out pen with a cap (to take on and off)

- my cellphone, well, any cellphone

Now what if I did all of these in a row???

Happy Birthday Koen!

A whole year has gone by - unbelievable.

Dear Koen,

You are incredible. You are silly and sweet and so determined. You make the funniest faces and can be VERY loud. You are a great sleeper and a happy waker and you love to chill out in the stroller. Sometimes you seem so big, like when you are playing cars with Bodhi, riding in the wagon, or sitting up in your highchair eating a whole banana. Other times you seem so little still, like when you are cuddled in my lap having your last drink of the night, or crawling through the house in just your diaper with your little baby belly showing. You came into our lives like a lion - claiming your place immediately and haven't stopped showing us who is the boss since! You love to cuddle - but not for too long - too many places to go and people to see! You are a tough little guy. You let your brother wrestle you to the ground, smother you with hugs and kisses, and occasionally push you down - you just laugh and laugh. You absolutely love your big brother and your Daddy (but I'm still claiming that you're a momma's boy through and through). You love to sit on Daddy's lap and eat an ENTIRE apple. You love to take baths and get excited whenever we get near it - pointing and saying "baf? baf?". You are so smart. You are so funny. You are so wonderful. I love the way you make your presence known. The way you already play make believe. The way you only want to drink out of Bodhi's cup. From the moment you were born you have known what you want and you have sought to get it. This you get from your father. It is a wonderful way to be. You are an amazing little boy and I love you so very much.

xoxoxoxo

Mommy

A Day in the Life

5:30 - 6am: Wake up for the day, nurse

6:30am: Breakfast (quinoa porridge, toast and sunflower seed butter, waffles...)

7:30am: Get dressed

8:30am: Leave to take Bodhi to school

9:15am: Return home, nurse, nap

10:30am: Wake up from nap, snack (rice cakes, raisins, cereal, fruit...)

10:30am - 11:15am: Play with Mommy (songs, stories, toys...)

11:15am: Leave to get Bodhi

11:30am: Pick up Bodhi (Koen is VERY excited at this time of day - he crawls quickly into the classroom looking for Bodhi and always gets in there for a few cuddles with B's teachers)

12pm: Return home, lunch (hummus sandwich, veggie sticks, fruit, veggie patties, sunflower seed butter and banana...)

12:30pm - 1:30pm: Play with Bodhi and Mommy

1:30pm: Nurse and nap

3pm: Wake up, party time - this is Koen's most alert time of day, play with Bodhi, snack

4:45pm: Daddy gets home from work!

5pm: Dinner (veggie patties, tofu, steamed vegetables, hummus or bean dip, fruit...)

5:30pm: Play with Daddy

6:15pm: Bath and jammies

6:30pm: Bedtime (2 stories, nurse, song and cuddle, in bed) - Koen is a fantastic sleeper and falls asleep easily and on his own every night. He usually wakes up once in the night for some milk and then straight back to sleep.

And then start all over again!!!!

Growing up

I just took one look at Koen and can't believe how suddenly he looks so grown up. I can see a glimmer of "little boy" in there, the baby is already starting to fade. This gives me very mixed emotions. I have spent so much of Koen's first year (which is almost up!) waiting for him to learn, develop and grow and although I savoured in the little moments when I could, I think I may have let it all skate by a little bit. Koen is my last baby. After Koen there will be no more pregnancies, no more breastfeeding, no more diaper changes and no more midnight snuggles. This does make me feel a little sad (even though I know I still have many months ahead of me with the feeding, changing, and snuggling). On the other hand, I still can't wait for more learning and developing. I can't wait for Koen and Bodhi to really be able to play together, for us to spend more time together as a family, and for all of the Christmases and birthdays and holidays that lie ahead of us. My last little boy is growing up and will soon no longer be a baby. He'll walk and talk and play soccer and swim like his big brother. He'll go to school and he'll make friends and he'll sit up at the table. He'll help me bake muffins and he'll ask me for snacks incessantly. He'll still make huge messes but he'll be able to help me clean them up and he'll be able to answer me when I tell him I love him. And maybe someday soon he'll stop putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.

For now, though, I will enjoy my Koen, who is still (and will always be) my little baby.

Happy New Year and a Dance Party

We just came back from an absolutely spectacular family holiday at Mont St. Saveur with Grandma, Liz, Brett, Karen, Sophie, Clara, Bran, Vanessa, Lucy and Alice. Grandma was celebrating her 60th birthday so as a treat we rented a huge log cabin in the woods and spent 4 amazing nights together. The place was incredible complete with 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a huge fireplace, pool table, private hot tub and outdoor sauna, etc.. etc... We were lucky to get our own "wing" with 2 bedrooms and an en suite bathroom and a huge play area. It could not have been more perfect. The first night was my birthday and after the kids sang me happy birthday, gorged themselves on cupcakes and went to bed, the grown ups had a lovely dinner and played a couple of games. The next day, Grandma's birthday, we all went for a swim, played outside in the snow for hours, opened wonderful presents and ate wonderful food. New Year's Eve we had a loud and crazy dance party that Koen totally got in to and all the kids LOVED. And finally New Year's Day was spent tobogganing, skating, rolling around in the snow and enjoying each other's company. It truly was the best family vacation we've ever had and we won't soon forget it. Koen had so much fun and we didn't hear a single cry out of the him the entire time we were there. He even played and slept the whole way home in the car. We're home again now and back to life and reality (well, sort of, still a week until school is back).

2011 was obviously an amazing year in our lives with the arrival of Koen and although I'm excited for 2012 to make it's start, I can't help but feel a little sadness at the close of Koen's first year. We're now only a month away from his first birthday, my sweet little baby. This month's challenge to me is to enjoy every single moment.

Happy New Year little Koen! Thank you for making 2011 so wonderful for Bodhi, Daddy and I!

Koen's First Christmas

It really is the most wonderful time of the year! Amidst reems of silver paper, a million new buzzing toys (Bodhi got Hex Bugs from Santa), strands of colourful lights, carols and laughs, Koen was a perfect little Christmas baby! He sat through sing-a-longs, games of Minute to Win It, present opening and cousin playing and smiled the whole way through it all. This Christmas was a very special one for all of us. Brandon and Vanessa were here from Winnipeg with Lucy and Alice and we all were able to be together at Grandma's house in Verona. We woke up Christmas morning to a living room full of toys from Santa - Koen got a rumbling dump truck and stocking full of surprises. He ripped open all of his presents with gusto and proceeded to eat the paper. Gift highlights included: a new book (Z is for Zoo), cars from Bodhi, stackable rings, and a set of bongo drums. What a haul! We spent a great day playing in the snow, cuddling with cousins and Grandma, having endless meals, and then to top it all off - a rousing game of Christopher Christmas Minute-to-Win-It ("contestants" are given a task to complete in under 60 seconds). Koen was on timer duty with Daddy and laughed and smiled the whole way through while Bodhi stacked pyramid cups, Clara transferred candy canes from one string to another, Grandma caught a cookie in her mouth without using her hands and Uncle Brett shimmied 6 christmas ornaments out of a kleenex box attached to his waist - a regular sort of Christmas evening! He crashed at the end of the day and slept like a champ. Merry Christmas litle Koey-Badoochee! We love you so much!!!

Sleep Has Changed My Life!

This afternoon Grandma came over so that I could head out for a couple of hours of Christmas shopping. I quickly kissed the boys goodbye and jumped in the car before realizing how EASY THAT WAS!!!! No detailed lists of sleep aids, no anxiety over whether he would go down for a nap or not, no worry about how my Mom would put Koen down for a nap without having to leave Bodhi downstairs alone for hours on end. Koen's sleeping has definitely changed my life - as in, it's given me the semblance of one. I have all this TIME all of a sudden and I don't dread the very moments when I have to attempt nap or bedtime. I am able to enjoy rocking with Koen, reading him stories, singing him songs, and then quietly kissing him goodnight as he drifts off to sleep. Aaaaaaah. I am overjoyed that the sleep training has worked so beautifully up to this point. He's falling asleep easily and waking up happy. Now if we could only convince his big brother to sleep past 4am!