Our Baby Size Life!

Archive for March, 2009

Spring is here! Yes! I love it! Winters cold, unfeeling grasp is finally letting go and the land shall live yet again! Yeeesss!  And what do we Canadians do when Spring’s-a-knockin’? Why we go to the sugar shack, or the “cabane à sucre” as it’s also known.  So, last weekend, we decided pack Sam up and to head on out as we were invited to a birthday party in a sugar shack.  It was a beautiful sunny day, about ten degrees celsius and every one was feelin’ good, ready for a fun time… Well let me tells ya, we almost killed each other on the way up there.

You see, this shack is were you’d think would be: way deep in the bush.  And this particular bush was over an hour away.  So onto google maps I go, pump in the address, print out the directions and we’re off.  However, these directions must’ve been written by Ray Charles, cause they didn’t have a clue where they were going, which pretty much means we didn’t either.  We struggled the whole way to figured out if we should go east or west on a highway, or north or south on another. Then when we finally arrive in the area of the shack, the directions end with us sitting in the middle of an intersection. Nice. Very freakin’ nice.

We then started driving up and down this country road that we knew the shack would be on, but after close to thirty minutes, we found nothing.  Melissa and I aren’t the best of friends at this point… ah couples! Luckily Sam was fast asleep in the back seat.  Finally, my brother calls asking where we were. He had forgotten his cell and was using his girlfriends, who’s number we didn’t have. He starts guiding us towards the shack and things are looking good when he suddenly cuts out.  Our cell phone’s battery is dead.

I swore. Loudly.

So Sam wakes up. Hungry.

It’s an hour past his bottle, and we are almost an hour late for the party.  We finally stopped when we found another sugar shack and asked them to point us towards their competition,  they did with a smile.  Following those instruction, we finally made it to this freakin’ hunk of planks in the woods.  Unpacking Sam, who’d by now had his bottle in the car, and headed inside, where we found my brother and had a good laugh.  We then proceeded to stuff our faces with the traditional sugar shack meal: ham, eggs, fried potatoes, beans, triple-cooked bacon, pea soup and a bit of pure maple syrup on top of everything!

Decadent. Delicious. Diabetic.

Now you might’ve noticed the lack of vegetables… Well yeah, you’d be correct… So, movin’ right along, what about dessert? Sugar pie, sugar donuts, sugar crepes… you seeing a pattern? And the “pièce de résistance”: maple toffee, or “la tire” as it’s called around here.  That’s when they boil down the sap from a maple tree until it becomes has thick texture.  Once that’s achieved, you lay strips of it on fresh snow. Wait a couple minutes and roll it up on a popsicle sitck! Quite a sugar kick but nothing’s like it! Funny thing is, Sam was not a fan! He didn’t like the sugar pie either, so we didn’t force him, and finished his dessert for him.

Overall it was a fun day, Sam loved the food, just not the dessert, and the party was a success.  All the fresh air and food had taken its toll on Sammy-boy, who once strapped into his seat, was out like a light for the drive home.  We followed my brother out of the backwoods maze of hell-streets back to civilization and made it back home in good time, Sam sleeping the whole way.

Whew!

Have a great weekend gang! Chat ya soon!

I’ve been home with Sam for the past couple of days because he’s banned, as per our pediatrician, from day care while he recovers from his sinus infection.  Yesterday was a real crap day weather wise, but today was nice and sunny.  Sam and I were eating lunch staring out the patio door with an air of quiet excitement because we were going outside!  Sam has taken to pointing at things in our backyard, like birds and trees.  But yesterday, we had a free-loafer in our backyard a young orange cat.  Sam head his face stuck on the patio door glass and this cat came right up to him , sniffed the glass twice, then licked it once and walked away to hide under my BBQ.  Sam was crushed and started to cry as his new-found friend left him!

While out on our walk today, I tried in vain to find a friendly cat for Sam to pet, but no luck. We did have a nice walk anyways that last about a half an hour. As we passed the local grade school, the smell of dead leaves and mud hit us.  Man that brings back memories of my days in the schoolyard, forced to go outside an play in the muddy yard in that stench.  There was always some dumb kid who would either push you or fall into the mud.  At least Sam has a few years to go before going through that.

We kept on our walk, me talking to Sam, pointing out hings and showing him this or that. I did this for a good 15 minutes, then we got home and I park the carriage and step in front, pull off Sam’s shades and… Zzzzzzzz. Snoring too. Oh well, I guess a grown man talking to himself isn’t too bad if he’s pushing a baby carriage eh? It was another great day with my boy.  While I enjoy working, nothing really beats some quality time with Sam… Well maybe when Melissa is home too

It’s back to work tomorrow, and Sam is shipped back to daycare! (Sigh) At least it’s Friday!

Have a great one everybody!

Hey people! What a crazy, sick, flu-ridden, ear infected, sinus infected week! Every since Sam’s been starting daycare, he’s brought home the whole array of kiddie sicknesses that one can bring back from a daycare. Kids really do share everything… and they then pass it on to the parents!  So, all that aside, I am, again, at home today with sick Sammy who’s recovering from a sinus infection. Yeah he’s doing good… the little bugger’s Irish! He’s tougher than nails baby.

Now, I know his birthday was about one month ago (already!), so I’m gonna breeze through the last part of his first birthday posts: the gifts.  After Sam had spaced out on the cake, we got him cleaned up and decided to let him use some of that newly acquired sugar-induced energy on unwrapping some gifts. And Sam didn’t disappoint with some very involved gift paper tearing… until all the wrapping paper was gone… Then he’d just crawl away, onto the next gift! So next year, we’re telling people to just wrap empty boxes!

Sam was spoiled as friends an family gave him some great stuff: clothes, toys, stuffed animals… and a huge, kick-ass kiddie play-set!  It’s got a soccer net, a basketball hoop, a climbing ladder and a slide!  I can see him having some good fun with this thing in our yard this summer!  The box was huge and Sammy-boy needed a little help unwrapping it, but as you’ll see in the pics below, he got it! Melissa and I would like to thank our awesome families and amazing friends for all their love and generosity!  We were even given a lasagna from our long-time friend has a gift!  It shows she knows me, because I can always be bought with food! And yes the lasagna was too good! SO thanks again!

That’s it for now, I hear Sam waking up from his nap and it’s time for lunch!

Take care and be good!

Hey folks! Between colds and flus, I have finally found some time to ‘keep on keepin’ on’ about Sam’s first birthday party. What a day it was! As I previously wrote, by 2 o’clock, Melissa and I were already pooped out and Sam was on his way. So, just before most of the guests arrived, I dipped upstairs with the birthday boy to put him down for a quick nap. He needed it, he was out like a light within a couple minutes… And knowing what I know now, in my sickly state, I should have followed Sam’s example, but I just couldn’t leave Melissa alone with the last minute preparations… Well yes I could, I was just to hopped up on cold meds to get any shut-eye!

Shortly after Sam’s put down, the guest started arriving. They all looked for Sam, but we kept telling them that he was sleeping but that he’d be up soon. Imagine, the guest of honor is sleeping when everyone is gathered to see him! Sheesh. A king’s life I tells ya! But, sure enough, like the little man of honor he was on that day, Sam waited until the moment was right. Until the fever was at it’s pitch and the anticipation could no longer be held, just then when tense was at it breaking point…

Sam yells: “Dadada!”

The general din of the party becomes an instant chatter of excitement as Sam makes his appearance! And thus began the parade of kisses and well wishes for the little guy. Around and round he went, from arm to arm and gettin’ kisses from everybody. If anybody was sick in the following week, they surely caught it here! But to Sam’s credit, even after just waking up, he’s all smiles and he takes the love beating in stride. He never cries or frowns, just willingly gets handed around until his final stop: the high chair. The Mecca. Sam didn’t know it yet, but his artificial sugar free life was about to change. Would a massive sugar rush ensue? We were all about to find out as it was time to unveil the cake and let Sam take his first steps into glucose induced hyperactivity. I now give you, in photos action, Sam cake tasting trip-out:

Family shot before the carnage	After too long a hesitation, Mom gets things started!	Elmo watches all!
Sam just stared like this for a good five minutes... the sugar trip kicking in.	Looking off into the distance... He's watching the pink elephants	Then he just started randomly lifting his arms... as if waving to those very same pink elephants
Mom comes in for the clean up, that cupcake will never be the same!

WP is having fits, so I’m stopping here, we’ll pick this up when I’m in a better mood.

The turf war drama continues… If you haven’t, check out part 1 & part 2 !!!

Sorry Mister Lennon and apologies to Oasis, but Sam is the Walrus.  Now don’t take this literally.  He didn’t sprout tusks and gain five hundred and fifty pounds with a mean penchant for fish.  Nah! He hasn’t made any friends in the carpentry business… No! He hasn’t gone all “goo goo g’joob”… Never! Enough references for ya? (I love that song by the way)

It seems our Sam just sounds like a walrus because his previously, seemingly, normal cold with a slight fever has evolved into a case of… Ummm hold on here, checking my spelling… yeah here goes: Laryngotracheobronchitis! I said GOD DAMN! It hurt to type that. That is what the doctors called it however, but from now on, to save this blog from any further blasphemy, I’ll just call it the Croup. That’s what the parents call it. It’s basically the baby version of Larygi… ah! AH! Finger Cramping!!! Well, you know what I mean, and it causes a babies coughing to sound like a walrus.

Yep. I’m serious.

And it’s pretty common too.  We found out all this fun stuff at the hospital, where we spent the good part of Monday morning after a night of hardly sleeping because  Sam’s wheezy breathing was worrying us a little too much.  Finally, by 5 AM, his breathing wasn’t getting any better, so we decided to head out for the hospital.  I gotta say, Melissa and I work like a well oiled machine cause we packed Sam and his stuff and got dressed and out the door in fifteen minutes flat.  We arrived there expecting a long wait, but surprisingly enough, we saw a doctor within twenty minutes and… Hold on… I heard  a thump. I think one our Canadian readers just passed out upon hearing the quick emergency room response time we had… Well, anyways, the doc says it’s the Croup and it’s not a dangerous infection, unless it’s not treated and/or gets worse.  So, any parents out there who’ve read here or elsewhere online that what your kid has is the Croup, get off your asses and get the little squirt to the hospital anyways. Got it? Good.

Treatment is easy enough: oral injections of cortisone twice daily with food and some good ol’ fresh air. The only downside is that the Croup gets worse at night. Meaning, that when Sam’s breathing gets labored, we had to dress him up, and take him out for a walk… In the middle of the night… In freakin’ February.  So, while not sleeping, but laying passively in the sleeping bag on our bedroom floor (I left the bed for Sam and Melissa), I took the little guy out for a midnight stroll around the block.  It was weird, it was cold, but it was quiet.  Me and me boy… bliss.  After the quick ten minute jaunt, Sam’s breathing had returned to an almost normal state, which meant I could get a little worry free sleep.  Melissa took the next stroll at 6 AM that same morning.

As of today, Sam is doing better with no wheezing, but he’s still got a cough.  His energy level is back were it should be and he as vocal as he ever was.  He’s also got four teeth pushing through on the top gum-line.  His cheeks are almost blood red at times and he’s constantly chewing on his fingers.  We give him chew toys, but he pushes them aside and gives his fingers another go.  You see, Sam is a multitasking kind of kid; he likes to get several things done at once… And  I haven’t even mentioned the growth spurts.

I know this post ain’t the follow up to his birthday party prep-time one, but I have not told you yet that Sam deemed us worthy enough to share his cold.  Melissa and I are just recovering from the flu, with myself being hit hardest (fever, vomiting, all that fun stuff you just want me to write about but will not).  Melissa is one tough cookie, let me tell ya. She had two babies to take care of and still managed to get herself to work and back… And I couldn’t even post… But it was a tough virus I tells ya! Vomit on the ceiling! Kleenex’s everywhere! Dog and cats livin’ together! It was chaos!!!

So check in soon for the continuation of Sammy’s First Birthday Party Extravaganza!

That’s it for now, thanks for reading… And stay healthy!

It’s taken me a while to post about this, but I just had so much to write about, stuffing it all in one post seemed like a bad idea. So what the hell, I’m splitting it up.  First we’ll tackle the preparation for our little guy’s party.  Now I don’t know how this idea snuck into my head, but when we started talking about his birthday back in January, I was under the impression that a baby birthday party was an easy thing to plan.  I’m thinking Sam’s only gonna be one year old; he ain’t gonna remember squat, right? So, we should put together an easy party: blow up a couple balloons, throw a few decorations around, wrap a box or two, pay for a cake and BAM! We are done folks.

Not so.

Mom had her say too.

Now wait just a second before you fill the comment box with the sounds of cracking whips or asking me where my pants are.  She brought up a couple interesting points in her argument, and I admit that while she was right on those, I was right on… well one or two others. So, like any couple, we compromised (I let her think she won ).  Having set the ground rules for the party, a hard decision awaited us: the theme. Did we need a theme? Did we have to have a theme? Would theme be overkill? Sam was not even one yet and didn’t really express interest in anything in particular. What kind of theme could we possibly do? Sam likes the nipples on his bottles… Should we do a nipple theme? Imagine the cake! Finally, after a week of brainstorming, Melissa and I sat in the kitchen eating lunch, while Sam played on the floor near by, when we suddenly had an epiphany.  Actually Sam clued us in: he tickled Elmo… And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sammy checking out the theme

Elmo floats above all!

Next thing you know, it’s Sam’s big day, and we are running around trying to get everything done in time.  Melissa’s big project was the cake.  It was the focus of the party, so she was using that sharp-shooter concentration of hers to get it done… No pressure!

Melissa working her baker talents...	...almost done...
Elmo! I'd say the cake was a success!	Hmmmm! Left over cake and icing means Elmo cupcake clones!

While Melissa was again displaying her culinary talents, I was on Sam duty. Did I mention I had a bad cold? Well I did. You know that guy you see on the news every year… The one who gets trampled by a bull in Spain during the running of the bulls? That’s how I felt. I was hopped up on DayQuil and Advil Cold & Flu pills. Should I have mixed? Maybe not, but they got me through the day!  Suddenly the door bell rang. It was around noon and the party was starting a 2 pm, so we weren’t expecting anybody, so I run up and answer: it was our neighbor and her son with a gift for Sam! His first official birthday gift! They gave Sam a set of children’s books, but not just any books. Her son hand picked, from his own collection, his favorite books and gave them to Sam.  Talk about a thoughtful gift! He was happy to give them to Sam since he had so much fun reading them when he was little. We loved his idea and thoughtfulness. I’ve written it before and I’ll surely write it again: we have great neighbors!

Sam unwrapping his gift... Once all the tissue paper was gone, he lost interest!	Melissa looking through the books... which one shall we read first??
Sam and our neighbor!

After our friends left, Sam was now ready for his party. Putting him down for a quick nap beforehand was a good move on out part… We knew he would have a busy day ahead of him, but we just weren’t sure how busy. Would he make it through? Would I (my really, really bad cold remember )? Would the house survive all Sam’s kiddy friends hopped up on icing sugar and soda pop? Sam Vs. the cake: who survives? Who got drunk and strip-teased on the living room table?

Come back soon, and I’ll tell you all about it!

That’s it for now folks! Take care and thanks for reading!