Go Canada Go!!!!

I am so excited for the hockey game this afternoon! Yonas is all ready to go (currently napping so he'll be in full cheering mode when the time comes) and we picked up a pizza and some munchies to enjoy while Canada wins the gold. I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty exciting game (it usually is when the US and Canada face off against each other!).

As for the rubber boots he's wearing...the kid's got a bit of a shoe fetish and has some sort of footwear on from the moment he gets up until bedtime. Yesterday he was throwing tantrums because he wanted to wear his skates when we went to run errands. No son, it is NOT okay or even remotely normal to wear skates when you are not skating.

Sleep and Such

Thought I'd do a little update on the sleeping thing. Surprisingly, it's worked really well. I even took down his crib today (sniff, sniff). After the first awful night, he has gone to bed at night without getting up once. He is still up once or twice during the night but even that has improved A LOT. Although, I am finding it creepy to wake up with a little face only inches from mine. He doesn't say anything, just stares at me. Weirdo! Naptime has been a bit longer of a transition but today he only got up once.

This video is from this morning (seriously, it's the best way to wake up...he crawls into bed with me and the dogs and chatters away while giving us kisses). I wanted to get him while he was talking cuz it seriously is super cute. Anyway, he was drinking my crystal light which was fine, but as I went to turn on the light he dumped the whole thing on the bed. What the heck? I know the kid does numerous things throughout the day seemingly just to tick me off but THIS? And then I watched the video....he was actually trying to feed it to Cassy. You have to watch really close to catch it (right when the light comes on you'll see him put the bottle to Cassy's lips). Anyway, today was declared laundry day nonetheless.

I thought I was a champ

Well for a little while anyway. Here's my baby sleeping in his big boy bed for the very first time...he's hard to see but his little hand is there so I'm sure the rest of him is too :)

It went well, too well I realize now. It took all of 5 minutes and me taking him back to his bed 5 times before he stayed there and fell asleep. I grabbed my glass of wine and feeling all smug and powerful came downstairs to enjoy the rest of my evening. I was even thinking to myself how easy that was and I must be good, I mean really good.

Oh haha, the joke was on me. At 10:30 he woke up. I took him back 26 times and then realized that he stayed in his bed if I was in the room so I sat on the floor at the end of his bed with my back facing him. After 45 minutes with him still happily chattering away to me and me no longer having any feeling in my tush, I realized this wasn't working either. So back out I went. It took another 40 times of me taking him back to bed before he went back to sleep. It was 1:02 AM. Huh, not such a champ after all I guess.

Then he woke at 3 and I was so tired I could barely function so I just gave him a bottle and back to sleep he went until 7:30 this morning. Yeah, I know, my bad.

Naptime didn't go quite as well as I had hoped. I layed him down at 11:40 and it took over an hour and 46 times of me taking him back to bed before he finally crashed.

But, it's got to get better....right?

Big Boy Bed!

Friends of ours gave us this little toddler bed that their son had grown out of. I set it up a few days ago in Yoyo's room and tonight I am taking the big plunge and am going to start "training" him to sleep in his new bed. I'd like to keep him in his crib cuz let's be honest, it's a lot easier and he goes to sleep really easily in it. BUT, I've noticed a couple of times him making somewhat feeble attempts to get out. Also, I don't want him to start thinking of his race car bed as a place to play and jump around before he's learned to sleep in it. Add to that that I am desperately hoping that this will help him learn to sleep through the night. He still falls asleep with a bottle (say nothing you judgers whose children have naturally learned to sleep through the night on their own...you know who you are :) ) and I think when he wakes up he "needs" a bottle to fall back asleep as he hasn't learned to fall asleep without one.
So yeah, I'm a little terrified at what the next few nights will have in store for me...Yoyo is one super persistent little dude and I know he will put up a good fight. So the plan is to keep a glass of wine close by and hope that I can out persist him putting him back in bed a million times over. Yeah, wish me luck.

We've had a busy last week. We've had a couple of playdates, gone tobogganing, went out for supper with one of my toon town peeps and her husband, took Yoyo skating again, and due to the fact that I don't have a babysitter yet, Yoyo even accompanied us to our friends house where we watched the UFC (and he stayed up and was happy the whole time...well except for when he got put in timeout for throwing a car on their glass coffee table...and the kid has got a really good arm so lets just say he's lucky I didn't have to pay for a new table out of his bank account!). This week we don't have much planned but the weather is supposed to be really nice so I'm sure we will spend a lot of time outside.

Living In Perfect Harmony...Almost

The dogs have been here just over a week now and all seems to be going well. The first couple of days Yonas thought Abby's name was "Abby Down" being that is what he heard me saying to her all the time. He was also a little annoyed at having his personal space invaded constantly. But now the three of them have seem to come to an understanding amongst each other. Yonas is getting used to all the kisses and now even puckers up for them and the dogs are loving following him around all day.

And Abby, who would eat herself to death if given the chance, loves when it's Yonas' mealtime as he likes to share with her...now I know where all his veggies are disappearing to. Oh and you'll notice he eats his toast with a fork...the kid hates getting his fingers dirty.

So yeah, I guess I'm pretty lucky at how well the transition has gone...Yonas has learned to tolerate them and they have been really good at letting him bug them even when they are eating. As for me, I'm happy...just readjusting to the daily woes of poop scooping and vacumming up dog hair!

First Time Skating!

With Yoyo's obsession with hockey, it was obvious we needed to get the kid on skates as soon as possible. Well, not surprisingly, it is difficult to find skates small enough. Craig finally found a little pair of Bauer's in a size 6...they are tiny and extremely cute :) So on Friday we went out to Millenium Place where they have a little indoor rink to take Yonas skating for the very first time. I figured he would either love it or hate it....he loved it! Which you can't really tell by the expression on his face but I think he was just concentrating so hard ;)
And while I get that all parents think their child is the greatest, Yoyo did really well for his first time! Near the end he was even trying to push off with his feet and he was able to use the pusher thingy (not sure what it's called) without Craig hanging onto it. People. the kid is not even 2 yet!!!
Looks like there really is a future little hockey player living under this roof!

And The Dogs Came Back

For those of you that followed my old blog, I'm sure you will remember my first "babies" Abby and Cassy. Well, they're back! Due to certain circumstance, my ex couldn't keep them anymore so last night they arrived. I am thrilled...it was really hard for me to let them go. And Yoyo is excited too, but a little overwhelmed at times at all the kisses the puppies want to give him. This afternoon I am going to make my first attempt at taking the 3 of them for a walk...should be interesting!

Happy Forever Day Yoyo!

It has now been a full year since you were handed into my arms and I got to take you with me forever. We've had a crazy year full of ups and downs but we are settled into a really good place now and I can't imagine being happier. I have not only learned alot about who you are but I've also learned alot about who I am. Being a mommy is more challenging than I thought, but also more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. You are growing and changing so fast and I know that this next year will fly by just as fast as this last one did and so I really need to cherish this time. So here's to another year together!

This was the first smile you gave me :) Now I'm lucky enough to get them every day.

Laying in bed watching you sleep in your little crib beside me was surreal. It was hard for me to grasp the fact that you were finally here and we were together at last.

One Year Ago Today...

I met you for the very first time. It's a day I will never forget. I only got to spend just over an hour with you but I got to hold you and snuggle you and even feed you a bottle. You fell asleep in my arms and to mark your territory, you even peed on me. It was bliss :)

You're not THAT big!

Often when we are out in public people approach us, interact with Yonas, and ask me how old he is. When I tell them, I almost always get the same response "wow, he's a big boy for his age" or some variation of that. So, yesterday I plotted his measurements and he really isn't that big for his age. For height he's only in the 30th percentile and for weight he's in the 60th. He still wears size 12-18 month pants (size 24 month shirts) and his feet are only a size 5. So I don't really get why everyone thinks he's so big?!?! Maybe it's the mature manner in which he carries himself when we are out.

All is Well!

It's been 3 weeks since we moved and while I do miss a few things (well, really just people), I don't know why we didn't move out here long ago. First of all, there is no wind! Seriously, this is HUGE! Living in SK you get so used to it that you almost don't really notice it, but here I notice almost every day when I step outside that it's NOT windy. So when the temperature is -10 it really is -10...none of that "oh, it's -10 with a -32 windchill" crap. So really, that in itself, makes the move worth it.
And our grocery store...I love it! Seems like such a silly thing to rave about but they have the best shopping carts for kids to sit in...Yonas LOVES sitting in them, plus they are still functional for loading it up with groceries. And the ladies there adore him (well really, can you blame them?). And they are always offering him treats while we shop...deli meat, cookies, suckers, cheese, etc (and the nicest thing is, they ask ME first if it's okay).
Plus, there is so much to do here. We have a monthly membership for Millenium Place (it also gets us into 2 other locations for free) which is an awesome place that has an indoor playground, waterpark, indoor skating rink, fitness centre, and lots more. And it's only $35! We go there all the time. And well, do I even need to mention West Ed Mall?
And one of the best things so far? Yonas has new little playmates that are close to his age and he loves to play with them. T & T are two little ethio boys who are only 2-4 months younger than him and D is the 3 year old "boss" that keeps the three of them in line! And we also have playdates with his buddy Austin who he asks for every day. We had a playdate with Austin on Sunday and he was sooo tuckered out after that he actually slept through the night! This was only the 2nd time he's done this...the first time was the night after he got his 18 month vaccinations. So bonus for mommy!
So yeah, all in all, it's been a great move for all of us.