Kaelen was so much fun!

This Christmas was so much fun for us because of Kaelen. At first he was interested in opening presents but that lost his attention shortly after the stockings. He was then more attuned to chasing the cat who was in her glory with all of the wrapping paper scattered everywhere on the floor.

We all got spoiled rotten especially Kaelen. He got a lot of really thoughtful and cool gifts this year. One present that comes to mind is "Shout" Elmo. When you press Elmo's foot, he starts singing and dancing. Kaelen gets all excited and then grabs and hugs Elmo. It is very cute. Although the pictures don't show him hugging Elmo, you will get an idea of how much Kaelen like to play with him!

Yay! Santa Came!

We must have been very good this year as this was the sight that greeted us first thing this morning; a tree surrounded in presents and stockings full of prizes!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Excited for Santa

Although it looks like Santa already came, it was in fact Grandma who arrived this afternoon with a car full of presents. Kaelen has already learned the fine technique of being subtle when checking out what is under the tree.

From Our Family to Yours.......

Merry Christmas and all of the best in 2006, from our family to yours.....

Life Can Be So Unfair

Sigh.....one of these days, there will be some excitement to post rather than complaints. There are days that I just can't help but wonder what I did in my previous life to deserve such setbacks in this life. I know that is a selfish way to look at things, but I am in that bitter, selfish, "why me" stage right now.

We have lost yet another pregnancy. Back in August, it was one of those naive thoughts that went through your head thinking, "I honestly didn't think that would ever happen to me". After all, we had no problems conceiving, but apparently our problems are going to be carrying a baby to fruition.

On Sunday afternoon, I underwent laparoscopy surgery as well as a D&C for a possible ectopic pregnancy. Tests were showing that I had one which would explain the pain and bleeding that I had been experiencing over the previous week. Needless to say, it was a very emotional time for Paul and I, and one where I just wanted to scream at the world asking "why". Why us again? Did you not think that it didn't hurt us the first time in August that we needed to go through this pain yet again?

So as I sit here at home this week, trying to recover both physically and emotionally, I can't help but be bitter. How can you keep your spirits up like everyone tells you to do so? I know that everyone means it with good intentions, but it doesn't take away the hurt, the pain of another lost dream and the constant ache in your heart. You get to the point where you become resentful because you think that no one understands how you feel, but it is times like this venting, that you will touch someone's heart enough that they will share with you, their heartbreak of a similar incident. It is at those times, that you then truly realize that you are not alone, and then you can forge a bond out of hurt that becomes your dependency line as long as you need it.

Life truly sucks some days doesn't it?

All We Need For Christmas, is Kaelen's Two Front Teeth...

Never has that Christmas song made more sense to me than now. My baby's beautiful teeth are gone as a result of his attempt to do the waltz (or more like a Polka)with the kitchen chair. It is one of those "Would-A, Could-A, Should-A" moments for mommy but I try hard not to beat myself up. Accidents happen and I can't avoid all of them.

Kaelen's latest accident can cause long term side effects though, unlike his other minor scrapes and bruises. Paul took Kaelen to the Dentist Clinic at the Children's Hospital on Friday and saw Dr. Cholette, who happens to be the director of the clinic. After a thorough examination compiled with x-rays, she confirmed that Kaelen had imbedded his front right tooth and the tooth next to it, deeply into his gums. Because they were impacted at an angle, there is likely no chance for the teeth to survive. Due to the angle, the vessels that supply life to the tooth, were cut off, resulting in the tooth dying. She had mentioned that the end result will be the removal of both teeth, within 3 months.

Now many people have commented to us that this isn't a big deal because they are his baby teeth, but I am figuring that they have never had to deal with a situation like this. There is a chance that Kaelen could develop a speech impediment due to those missing teeth, and although the trauma to the area only occurred a short time ago, the pain that Kaelen is experiencing everytime something touches the teeth and gum area is extremely painful. Plus, he will be missing those teeth until the adult ones decided to come down - and that is hoping that those didn't sustain any damage upon impact.

Paul and I are trying to find the humor in this, and even going so far as to claim that Kaelen is sporting the Bobby Clarke look, however in the big picture we are devastated for Kaelen. He is a true trooper, but there is something fundamentally heartbreaking when you watch your baby in extreme pain and trying to deal with it. The only thing that we can do for him at the moment is to offer him lots of comfort, hugs, kisses and Tylenol. Hopefully very soon he will want to eat and he will let us get into his mouth to clean both his teeth and wounded area to ensure infection doesn't set in.

Poor little Kaelen. He just never seems to be able to get a break.......

Frosty the Snowman Was Happy?

Frosty should have come to life in our backyard today and it likely would have been more fun for Kaelen.

After a week of a deep freeze, -12C seemed balmy, so Mommy dressed Kaelen up and we went outside to play in the fresh snow. I was all excited to make a snowman, but the snow was too fluffy and light. Kaelen, just wasn't overly impressed - period. It was a struggle right from the start; putting the snowsuit on (an early Christmas present from Auntie Christie and Uncle Rob, to getting Kaelen out of the door and to get him excited about this fun little adventure. Errr...not. Kaelen set the tone for the outing right from the get go by face planting right into the snow and coming up screaming because the cold snow was on his face. And Mommy's reaction? Uncontrollable laughter, as you can tell from the blurry pictures.

Like Mommy, Like Son?

Although the consensus is that Kaelen looks like his Daddy, I am still trying to convince myself that he gets at least some of his looks from his mommy.

Only 4 More Sleeps till Sinterklaas Comes!

Okay, well in North America, we still technically have 23 more sleeps until Santa Claus comes to visit us and rewards us for being good. But, in Belgium, Sinterklaas makes his arrival on December 6th. After a few discussions with my beautiful Belgian friends, Sinterklaas seems to be a very interesting man. He lives in Spain, and throughout the year, he records children's behaviours in a big Red Book. Come November, he takes a boat up to Belgium with his horse Piet. Upon his arrival, he will dock into a harbour and be greeted by the town mayor and citizens. A parade takes place honoring Sinterklaas's arrival which is televised across the nation.

On the night of Dec 5, Sinterklass will listen down the chimney to hear the children's behavior, if good, then his horse Piet will go down the chimney to see if carrots or hay were left in the children's shoes or socks as an offering for Piet. If so, he will then exchange the offerings for a gift or candy.

There really is much more to this tradition. If you are interested, then please go to this website:

Belgium Christmas Traditions

I should mention though, that the spirit of Sinterklaas in Belgium is in honour of Saint Nicholas. He sounds like a truly amazing man and it is really too bad there are more of him around in this day and age.

So, on an ending note, I hope that Sinterklaas is good to you, Ellen and Jan. I have so much admiration for the both of you and do hope that one day in the future, I can bring my family over there to stay in your newly renovated home!!