Kaelen's Health Update

For all of you who are interested, Kaelen went for his 18 month checkup on Monday. Kaelen has sure come along way over the past year and a half. He has gone from weighing 5.5 lbs and 17 inches long to present; 29 lbs and 34.5 inches long.

It is hard to believe how time flies by and just how much your child grows and absorbs on a daily basis. It seems just like yesterday that we were in shock that our precious boy decided to make an early arrival and all of the uncertainties that came along with that. We have been lucky that Kaelen has been so healthy and resilient. Sure we have seen more specialists than you can count on one hand, but the good news is that those visits ended up reassuring us that our baby is going to be just fine.

Our newest adventure is going to be to visit a speech therapist as the pediatrician is concerned that Kaelen doesn't talk. He only has one real word, which is Dad. That word one day could actually mean Dad and other days it could mean pretty much anything and everything else. I am not overly concerned about this yet as Kaelen's level of comprehension is very good, so I have always figured that he will take his own sweet time to start this newest skill. Just like the walking, sitting up, sleeping through the night and the list could go on.

But I do give Kaelen credit: when he does decide to adopt his newest skill, he certainly does it with a bang and there is no turning back from there!

How Calgarians Play in the Winter

At the first drop of the snowflake on Friday afternoon, Paul rushes off to Walmart to purchase a sled for Kaelen as this is our first big anticipated snowfall for the year; which means there is a whole new world out there for us to show Kaelen. Being slightly overzealous, Paul comes home with three different sleds with the excuse that they were all on sale for a great deal!!

Saturday comes around and it is still snowing yet cold. But hey, when are we going to get an opportunity like this again in Calgary? Besides, -16C isn't that bad if you are dressed properly..........

So off we go to our steep hill (aka storm drainage pit) and get ready to introduce Kaelen to his first experience of tobogganing. As you can tell, we had absolutely no fun at all:


Kaelen in his chariot

Getting ready for Kaelen's first adventure

Ready.....Set.....

Go!

Add a little screaming from both parties and you will get the full effect!

As if tobogganing wasn't enough, we decided afterwards to make Kaelen into a snowman. One has to wonder at how far a parent's sense of humor will go at the expense of their child.......

These boots were made for walking;

And that's just what they'll do;

One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you........

Ring Around the Rosie....

This is Kaelen's latest favorite song and to go along with it; his favorite dance routine. I am sure that he picked it up from daycare, but I can tell you, that mommy has fine tuned it over this long weekend. The repeat button is worn off on the sound system as this is the only song that Kaelen is interested in listening to of late. The dance looks a little like this: mommy and Kaelen dance around in a circle, mommy falls with Kaelen tumbling after doing a full belly flop on my tummy. Not only is this a memory that will forever be imprinted on my heart, but a great way to get in a tough ab workout!

I just can hardly wait to hear what happens at daycare tomorrow when Kaelen has made this song as a full contact event......thank god little Jimmy won't be there until Thursday..........

Jaws Reincarnated............

My biggest nightmare is coming true again.....

Okay, that is a little excessive but lets just say that my vague memories of Christie stalking me in dark hallways, ready to pounce on my back and draw blood with her fangs is potentially becoming reality again.

Mr. Kaelen had a bit of an episode today at daycare. Whether Kaelen actually stalked poor little Jimmy is yet undetermined, but what we can confirm is that our little Jaws-Wanna-Be did pounce on Jimmy's back and draw blood with his little chompers.

As I sit here, I imagine getting a phone call from little Jimmy's mom yelling and telling me that her little angel is forever traumatized, is now scared of his own shadow and will be warped for life. And, despite our concern and obvious need to teach Kaelen that this is improper, I can at least safely say to poor Jimmy's mom that yes, Jimmy will be forever warped.....after all....look at me and what Auntie Christie has done to me..........

Psstt....wanna know a secret?

What is my secret? Just in case you haven't figured it out - I LOVE BEING A MOM!! God, it is the greatest job and feeling on earth! I honestly can't think of anything else that could overshadow this feeling.

The second best feeling? Watching my husband be an incredible Dad. There is just something about being parents that absolutely no one can prepare you for. All of the people telling you that it is going to change your life, you sit there with anticipation and nod in understanding; meanwhile you truly have no freaking clue whatsoever until that precious child of yours gets placed in your arms.

In that moment, your life changes forever. It is then, that you truly understand what the meaning of love is.