Trials And Tribulations

First Night Of Soccer

2010-06-02T20:12:00.000-03:00

After conveniently showing up on Monday just as his first practice was ending, we managed to arrive at the correct time. Needless to say, he's pretty proud of his new jersey, shorts, socks and soccer ball!

Almost 13 Months

2010-05-02T21:18:00.002-03:00

Here are a few shots without her sun hat - she's finally starting to get some hair-she had the exact same amount she was born with for about 11 months, which is kind of creepy when you think about it.

Brotha And Sista

2010-05-02T21:09:00.002-03:00

These two occasionally smack each other but for the vast majority of the time are quite delighted by each other. Sarah thinks the sun rises and sets upon Nathaniel and he relishes the role of the protective big brother which so far makes for lots of fun times together. I'm sure they will soon not be able to stand each other so we'll enjoy it while we can.

Sun Dress

2010-05-02T20:17:00.002-03:00

I bought Sarah a couple of sun dresses in anticipation of the warm days ahead and her walking-I find crawling babies and dresses don't mix well. Today was so hot that I dug one of them out and I thought she looked pretty adorable.

Walking

2010-05-02T20:14:00.001-03:00

Our little lady stated taking her first steps a few days ago and can now take 15 or so in a row without wiping out. She loves walking and is very pleased with herself. Time's flying!!

Fishing

2010-05-02T20:04:00.002-03:00

I've been introducing Nathaniel to the wonderful pastime of fishing over the last couple of weeks. We've gone on the Nashwaak, a stocked pond (that's where I caught the big rainbow trout) and a beaver pond out in the boonies of Penniac (where I caught the tiny little brook trout). We've been having lots of fun and Nathaniel is now the resident expert on beavers after our excursion to the pond.

Easter In Doaktown

2010-05-02T19:57:00.002-03:00

We headed up to Doaktown to Mom and Dad's cottage for Easter weekend and enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures. The Easter Bunny landed with a vengeance much to the delight of Nathaniel. It was pretty cute watching him squeal every time he found another cluster of eggs. Even Sarah got caught up in the excitement.

I found the blow-up Superman bounce back doll at the local Dollar Store and he was a big hit for $2 although I almost hyperventilated a few times blowing the damn thing up. It was quite satisfying smacking the thing around after. Someone should start a company where you can get your husband's face emblazoned on them-sure to be a best seller.

Sarah Turns One!!

2010-04-13T19:00:00.001-03:00

Happy birthday to our little girl! Hard to believe she is a year old already!

Little Sarah

2010-04-13T18:51:00.002-03:00

We had a streak of warm weather that prompted me to buy some shorts for Sarah but ran into the problem of her fat belly vs non-elastic waistbands. After lots of searching, I wrangled up enough flexible waistbands to accommodate my little piglet for the summer and this cute pair of plaid overall shorts. Yes, I know she will appreciate the orange plaid when she is 16.

Us

2010-04-13T18:46:00.000-03:00

We All Need Somebody To Lean On

2010-04-13T18:38:00.002-03:00

Our Little Munchkin At 8 Months

2010-04-13T18:31:00.002-03:00

Yes, this posting is 4 months overdue and Sarah looks different now, but I thought she looked so cute, I just had to post them.

Wrestler

2009-12-09T18:56:00.002-04:00

During Iain's arts and crafts session, he made this uh, beautiful WWE belt for Nathaniel who unfortunately loves it. I am so proud.

Paint Job

2009-11-20T20:16:00.000-04:00

My freshly painted front door, windows and columns! Yay!

Tiredness

2009-11-20T20:14:00.000-04:00

Look at the big rooster curl on top of his head! Haha!

The Ding Dongs

2009-11-20T20:13:00.000-04:00

Happy 88th Birthday Great Grammy Marg!

2009-11-20T20:11:00.000-04:00

Lego

2009-11-20T20:09:00.000-04:00

Check out the crazy tower Iain and Nathaniel built-love the bendy destruction shot.

Cowboy

2009-11-20T20:05:00.000-04:00

Don't know who I feel worse for in this picture, Ella or myself.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-20T20:03:00.000-04:00

Well, better late than never! Nathaniel was Superman because Karson was two years ago and Sarah was a girly (?)lion because Karson was a lion four years ago. Maybe I should pony up for Karson's outfit next year...

Naptime

2009-10-07T21:28:00.000-03:00

Iain walked into the bathroom and found Nathaniel sound asleep on the floor. The second picture is of him screaming that he wanted to continue sleeping on the floor when Iain tried to get him to go nap on the couch.

The Skating Machine

2009-10-07T21:25:00.000-03:00

Solid Food

2009-10-07T21:24:00.000-03:00

Mr. Baseball

2009-10-07T21:23:00.000-03:00

All Bundled Up For A Walk

2009-10-07T21:22:00.000-03:00

The Bearded Man

2009-10-07T21:21:00.000-03:00

Les Monkeys

2009-10-07T21:19:00.000-03:00

The Facecloth Bandit

2009-10-07T21:17:00.000-03:00

Visiting With Granny And Grandad

2009-10-07T21:16:00.000-03:00

Visit With Auntie Ruth

2009-10-07T21:13:00.000-03:00

Thanks again for the cute teddy bears - the kids love them!

Uncle Joe And Aunt Helen

2009-09-29T18:45:00.001-03:00

Off To Ontario

2009-09-29T18:41:00.000-03:00

Top pictures-WWII plane just as you cross the border into Quebec from NB. Nathaniel was quite impressed by the size of it.

Henry and Nathaniel in their matching cowboy pyjamas. Thanks again, Erinn! Oh, and hurry up and hah,ve that baby-I think 9 days overdue is enough!

Nathaniel and Iain's identical sleeping styles during a nap in Stratford.

Updates

2009-08-13T21:40:00.002-03:00

Even though Sarah has the sweetest disposition, spare time is at a premium, hence the lack of updates. I was surprised we had even taken as many pictures as we had we I hooked the camera up to the laptop. I am going through a real lazy picture taking phase and I am missing lots of events this summer but I guess that is why we have memories.

Sarah

2009-08-13T21:37:00.000-03:00

Random Pics

2009-08-13T21:27:00.002-03:00

Summer Days

2009-08-13T21:21:00.002-03:00

Enjoying the beach at Bob and Marion's cottage. Pictures by Jamie Barter.

The Florida Cousins-All Grown Up!

2009-08-13T20:57:00.001-03:00

Seems like yesterday I was living in Florida taking care of these brats, carrying Jamie around inside of a pillowcase...

Canoeing And Fun Times

2009-08-13T20:24:00.000-03:00

2009-08-13T20:16:00.001-03:00

Our sweet little girl-love the smiles and the big blue eyes.

2009-08-13T20:13:00.001-03:00

Checking out the bulldozer in Heather and Sebastien's backyard.

Nathaniel Turns Two

2009-08-13T20:05:00.003-03:00

Time flies! Can't believe our little man is two years old already. We had a bunch of family over for cake and ice cream and Nathaniel was a bit overwhelmed by all the great gifts he received. Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate!

P.S. Iain turned 35 also but he was the one taking all the pictures so I do not have one of him.

2009-08-13T19:59:00.002-03:00

Sarah enjoying the water park from the safety of her car seat and my friend Jackie's arms. She did get a chance to stick her feet in the spray a few times which she quite liked.

Water Park Fun

2009-08-13T19:50:00.002-03:00

Erinn and Henry were down for a couple of weeks and we had lots of fun hanging out with them. One evening we headed to a water park in Oromocto for lots of non-drowning water fun.

Painting Fun

2009-08-13T19:47:00.001-03:00

Yikes!!!

2009-08-13T19:42:00.001-03:00

Enough of the flash!!

Miss Chubsy 2009

2009-08-13T19:37:00.002-03:00

Thumb Discovered

2009-08-13T19:18:00.002-03:00

As much as I do not want her to suck her thumb, I find it extremely cute when she does.

Spider Freak

2009-08-13T19:12:00.002-03:00

This attractive hood came with a pair of PJ's. Could Nathaniel look any more ridiculous? Notice in the bottom picture he looks like he has buck teeth. Good thing he will be able to use his super powers to beat the women off him when he is older...

Kisses And Bunny Jackets

2009-08-13T19:05:00.003-03:00

Snagged the siblings having a smooch, which I thought was pretty cute and the bottom pic is of Sarah's new jacket that Mom bought her. I think the jacket should quell any questions about Sarah's level of "girliness" since I don't think it is possible to be any more girly than that-fluffy pink material, bows and satin covered buttons. Oh and bunny ears. How did this happen?

Ms. Smiley

2009-06-18T11:32:00.002-03:00

Just took some pictures of our happy little girl a few minutes ago after a bath. As you can see, she has the smiling thing down pat.

2009-06-18T11:19:00.002-03:00

Like the naked hockey pose? He found a dirty old work glove of Iain's and it is now his hockey glove. This is not a posed picture either. I came around the corner, and this is what I saw. Hope he makes it to the NHL so I can sell this picture to the National Enquirer for lots of money.

Messy

2009-06-18T11:15:00.002-03:00

Why you should always make your kids eat at the table.

The Stare

2009-06-18T11:11:00.002-03:00

Thankfully she is smiling lots now, will try and get some pics of it soon, because you can only handle so many weeks of the no expression, I will be a serial killer when I grow up, stare.

Bath Time

2009-06-18T11:04:00.001-03:00

A little bit of a tongue, a little bit of a smile and one big, fat gut!

Badness

2009-06-18T10:59:00.002-03:00

So proud of himself for sitting in the middle of his train set-something he knows he is NOT suppose to do.

Drummer Boy

2009-06-18T10:51:00.002-03:00

Thanks Mom, for picking this up at a yard sale. He does love it and thankfully he only goes for about 5 minute sessions and most importantly, Sarah sleeps soundly through his drum solos.

Slam Dunk

2009-06-18T10:37:00.002-03:00

Needless to say, I can't wait until he is old enough to start playing organized sports. I'm loving that he is loving his basketball net.

Our Babes

2009-06-18T10:29:00.001-03:00

Just before Sarah was born, we received an email from Lise Buick and she mentioned one of the things she loves about having two kids is watching them interact. I couldn't agree with her more! I love it when Nathaniel just spontaneously kisses Sarah or insists on holding her. For the last week, Sarah has taken a big interest in him now. She makes little squealy noises in the car to make him look at her then breaks out into a big gummy grin. Love it!

Mr. Disgusto

2009-05-16T15:10:00.002-03:00

A few nights ago, I was in the kitchen cleaning up and Iain was entertaining Sarah in the livingroom and we each thought the other was keeping an eye on Nathaniel. We quickly realized he was enjoying a little free time when he came into the living room drenched in water from head to toe.

Did I mention he had the toilet brush in his hand?

I didn't even want to touch him but a shower was a quick necessity. As I dragged him into the bathroom, there was water everywhere and about 2 tbsp of water in the toilet bowl. I had a fleeting thought of sanitizing him with some sort of cleaner but decided I really didn't want Family and Community Services seizing him permanently.

Gross little boy.

Sarah

2009-05-14T17:01:00.000-03:00

Nothing like a pair of hot pink velour pants to help you make it through the day.

Good Lord

2009-05-14T16:55:00.002-03:00

I was sitting in the kitchen emailing when suddenly Nathaniel started laughing hysterically. He had climbed into the baby swing and had it going about 100mph-without me noticing. Did I mention I was about 3 feet away from the swing when it happened? As you can see by the expression on his face that he thoroughly enjoyed dong something he knew was completely wrong.

Tough Guy

2009-05-14T16:40:00.002-03:00

Nathaniel split his forehead open when he tripped over a rock and smashed into the gate in the fence. He cried so hard that he didn't even make any noise for about the first 30 seconds. Makes him look tough now, though.

Pretty Kitty

2009-05-14T16:09:00.003-03:00

Jill dropped by to meet Sarah today on her lunch break and brought a wonderful book with her (shocking present from the literacy mentor for our school district- hee hee!!). Connection to the cat? There was some pretty pink tissue paper wrapped around the book that Nathaniel decided to reuse to decorate Francis with. Love the fact he was thoughtful enough to include a few trucks in case the cat got bored sleeping. This scene ended with a violent rocking of the chair that surprisingly enough the cat did not enjoy.

Conked Out

2009-05-14T16:06:00.001-03:00

A hard afternoon of watching Kung Fu Panda (aka Poo Panda) on the laptop in the kitchen.

Swingers

2009-05-14T16:02:00.001-03:00

Enjoying Karson's new swingset but not quite big enough to sit on the swing. Nathaniel learned a lesson the hard way-do not walk in front of your cousin as he is swinging.

Hard Working Kids

2009-05-14T15:57:00.001-03:00

Nathaniel and Sarah at the construction site. This is a classic case of monkey see, monkey do that started with me setting Sarah in the truck as a joke.

One Month Old

2009-05-07T18:48:00.001-03:00

Hard to believe our baby is a month old already!

Big Blue Eyes

2009-05-07T14:58:00.001-03:00

Put Some Clothes On Me!!!

2009-05-07T14:51:00.001-03:00

Newest Trick

2009-05-07T14:47:00.002-03:00

Nathaniel's newest trick-scaling the side of the change table and standing on top of it. Yay-because I don't have enough stuff to think about as it is.

Mr. Safety

2009-05-07T14:44:00.001-03:00

Nice helmet, dork! No, we do not make him wear a helmet inside the house-he just likes wearing Iain's backwards pretty much 24/7 for the last few days.

The Double Diaper Change

2009-05-07T14:39:00.002-03:00

No, it is not twice the fun. And yes, I really do change both of them at the same time this way. They seem to have learned to shit at the same time-the talent my children have. They have also mastered the art of singing, I mean crying as if the world is about to end, together in a beautiful duet every morning. It is certainly a highlight of my day.

Nice One

2009-05-07T14:29:00.001-03:00

Just caught Nathaniel rubbing Iain's deodorant all over his face saying, "Mmmmm...Daddy's deedee yummy!".

Thanks for leaving that on the couch, Iain.

Little Red Neck

2009-05-07T14:25:00.000-03:00

Trying out Karson's 4 wheeler and thinking he is the dude.

Sliding Fun

2009-05-07T14:22:00.000-03:00

Nice hair!

The Fam

2009-05-07T14:07:00.002-03:00

We went for a little day trip down to St. Andrews on the weekend and quite enjoyed ourselves. After going out for lunch, and listening to Nathaniel having his first public tantrum in a restaurant-we were so pleased, we went into one store where he had his first snit over a $5 toy. What a wonderful day of firsts!!!

We decided to walk up to Becky and Joey's house for a little visit and Nathaniel decided it was necessary to pick up every pebble and play with every spot of sand on the sidewalk. After we stopped indulging him, he decided that when he wanted to stop, he would just fall to his knees. After getting tired of dragging him along, we left him on the sidewalk and kept walking. We figured he would quickly scramble after his beloved mother and father. We walked a good 40 feet sans Nathaniel as he hollered out in a cheerful voice, "See ya! Bye Bye! Later!" and continued to lay on his belly on the sidewalk, waving. Guess that tactic was a failure.

After a quick visit with Becky and Joe, we headed to Holt's Point Beach where we were married almost 5 years ago. We hadn't been back since our wedding and I was a little shocked to see the massive salmon farming enclosures on the beach and part of the beach washed away (kind of symbolic of our marriage-hahaha!)...but once we were down on the beach by the water, it was nice. We hung out there for awhile and enjoyed the sun.

A very enjoyable day and two tired kiddies at the end of it.

Splish Splash

2009-05-07T13:59:00.002-03:00

Here are some gigantic salmon jumping close to shore much to Nathaniel's delight. Actually, it is Mommy throwing rather large rocks in the ocean to splash Nathaniel, much to his delight. Glad the massive salmon farming enclosures were absent the day we were married.

The Sun Goddess

2009-05-07T13:41:00.002-03:00

Here is a picture of Sarah sunning herself in a gravel pit. Actually, it is the beach we got married on outside of St. Andrews. Sarah is trying to avoid the pasty look her mother, father and brother all sport-dream on, little one!

First Time Wearing A Dress

2009-05-03T22:11:00.002-03:00

Okay, maybe I am a bit crazy with post-pregnancy hormones since my daughter is not only wearing a dress, but a PINK dress with PINK tights...but I have to admit I think she looks pretty cute. I guess it is okay for your daughter to dress like this as long as I don't have to.

Thought I would post this as evidence for all of you that Sarah will have a fair chance to be a girly girl if she so chooses.

New Blanket

2009-05-03T22:09:00.001-03:00

Thanks Aunt Helen for the great new blanket! Sarah loves being wrapped up in it!

Irving Nature Park

2009-05-03T21:58:00.002-03:00

Checking out the beach. It was strange to be there and not have 140 grade 8's milling around. Nice to not have to be constantly counting heads...this is a field trip we take the kids at school on every year, FYI.

Visit With Granny

2009-05-03T21:42:00.002-03:00

Granny flew in from Stratford for a nice visit with Nathaniel and to meet Sarah for the first time. After a few days of rain, we had some nice weather and headed down to Saint John for the day. Nathaniel had lots of fun playing hockey with Granny and Sarah enjoyed lots of snuggles. Rumour has it, Granny may make another visit soon and hopefully will drag Aunt Helen along for the ride!

Hmmm...There Must Be An Easier Way To Get That Pig

2009-05-03T21:25:00.000-03:00

Welcome To The Jungle

2009-04-16T13:50:00.002-03:00

I am the sun and the small universe known as our house apparently revolves around me. I sat on the couch for about an hour or so feeding Sarah and letting her nap and this is what our previously tidy living room turned into in. Everything and everyone shoved in around me-even the f-ing dogs that I half hate.

Big Brother And Little Sister

2009-04-16T13:43:00.001-03:00

I won't even tell you what time it was when this picture was taken. Let's just say it was in the AM.

Our Little Bunny

2009-04-16T13:22:00.001-03:00

Eyes Wide Open

2009-04-10T14:13:00.000-03:00

Here are some after bath pictures with her eyes open.

Sarah

2009-04-10T11:52:00.002-03:00

We arrived home from the hospital yesterday morning and all is going well. I feel fantastic compared to how I felt after Nathaniel.

Here is a little run down of the last week. We went in Monday morning to have the baby and the big question on my mind was whether I would have to be knocked out like I was for Nathaniel or be awake. The anesthesiologist kept trying to do a spinal, but it wasn't working. He thought he was just about in the right place then he would hit my back bone. After over an hour of being hunched over on the operating table, he decided to try an epidural needle in my back then thread a spinal through that. Success! I was so happy because I really wanted to see one of my kids be born. The freezing was pretty much instantaneous and was a very strange feeling or lack of feeling to say the least.

Once I was frozen, about 5 minutes later, out came Sarah! Just as my obstetrician was about to pull her out, she and the other surgeon started laughing like crazy. I figured that wasn't a bad thing, that most likely I wasn't about to die or anything. Then she said, "Look at the size of that baby!!" and all I could think was, "Great, another monster baby". Sure enough, 10 lbs and 5 oz later, the chubster emerged. She let out a big holler, which was great to hear, they brought her over to show me-she looked like a giant purple plum then wrapped her up and did a few tests on her. In a few minutes, they brought her over to Iain and we got to coo over her for about 10 minutes before Iain and the nurse went to the recovery room with Sarah to wait for me. After that, I just kept feeling better and better and things are going really well.

She is a great baby so far-sleeps, eats, looks around for a bit and then repeats the cycle. We are totally enthralled by her and I love her dark hair-it is almost black. She has big blue eyes, the exact same colour as Iain's. Nathaniel thinks she is quite funny but he wasn't very impressed when he woke up in the middle of the night last night and came into our room and wanted me to cuddle him and I was feeding Sarah. At 2AM, all 4 of us were in our bed, wide awake. Iain was not overly impressed but I thought it was rather humourous. Things got better after that and we all ended up with a good sleep.

So far, having two rats hasn't been as terrifying as I was thinking it would be, thankfully.

Our Sweet Little Sarah

2009-04-10T11:46:00.001-03:00

Here are some more pictures of our little girl. Love the kimono-nice easy way to change sleeping babies without them even waking up!

Proud Grandparents

2009-04-10T11:40:00.001-03:00

Nathaniel

2009-04-10T11:33:00.000-03:00

Sarah is here!!

2009-04-06T19:01:00.003-03:00

Just a quick line before I rush back to the hospital. Sarah Theresa Aitken was born this morning April 6th at 9:45. She is to put it mildly... healthy... 10lbs 5oz! and 21.5cms. Here are a few shots from her first day:

Potty Time

2009-03-24T14:27:00.002-03:00

Nathaniel has been tricking us for the last month or so by giving us some indication that he may want to be potty trained sometime in the foreseeable future. Since we are soon to have 2 babes in diapers, we are okay with that. He has been telling us when he is pooping for the last few weeks and likes to sit on the potty but we have never been able to coordinate the two with a favourable result.

As I was getting out of the shower yesterday (not a pretty picture, I know), he started screeching, "Poop!! Potty!!" so I ripped his diaper off and set him on the potty which lasted all of 3 seconds. Then I took the seat off and set it on the toilet which he thought was a much better idea. He sat there for over 20 minutes as he read the Globe and Mail (he seriously stared at the sports section for about 5 minutes) and we read stories together and looked at the flyer for Kubota tractors with great detail. This time, he actually peed! I was quite thrilled and am hoping for a repeat performance.

Gagetown Ferry

2009-03-24T14:21:00.002-03:00

We went for a little drive out to Gagetown and Jemseg on Sunday for one last ride on the ferry that may be shut down at the end of the month. This is the view waiting for the ferry to come pick us up-nice little swath of open water to paddle through. There were some pretty big chunks of ice in the open water area that made reassuring sounds as they smashed against the hull of the ferry - I quite enjoyed that!

Old Man Pyjamas

2009-03-24T14:14:00.002-03:00

I love these pyjamas! They are so soft and cute on him-makes him look like a little old man. I wish I had bought him a couple of more pairs in bigger sizes.

Change Of Date

2009-03-24T14:03:00.003-03:00

I received a phone call from my wonderful obstetrician, Dr. Samson, asking me to come in 2 days early to have the baby. Is there a more heaven sent request than that during the last month of your pregnancy?! I could have kissed her!

New due date - Monday, April 6th, scheduled for 8:30AM!!! Send positive thoughts my way as I lay on the operating table like I am about to be crucified with a needle in my spinal fluid as they chop a hole in my gut. Can't wait and it still sounds better than going through labour!

BFF's

2009-03-21T14:33:00.002-03:00

There is some serious love going on between Nathaniel and Karson. All they try to do is make each other laugh and Nathaniel copies everything Karson does. We had a sleepover on friday night and they were both thrilled.

On a funny note, Nathaniel calls Karson, "Dondee" which is his word for donkey. He absolutely refuses to call him by his real name and I took great delight in telling Karson what another word for donkey is...

I truly think Nathaniel knows he is being funny and takes great delight out of calling him that.

18 Days...

2009-03-21T14:22:00.000-03:00

Two and a half weeks until this next baby comes.

Yikes.

The Newt Suit

2009-03-21T10:32:00.002-03:00

We bought this suit at MEC and it is worth it's weight in gold if you have kids that enjoy the wet and muck. Nathaniel has put this suit through it's paces this week and it has done an excellent job. To give an example, he tripped and fell face first in this puddle and flopped around in it until I could waddle over to rescue him and he was still completely dry. I highly recommend. Plus I think he looks adorable in it.

Eater Of Snow

2009-03-21T10:26:00.002-03:00

As you can see, he is even trying to be tricky as he eats yet another handful of snow. He loves it-walking around plowing it into his mouth saying, "Snow, yummy!". He doesn't even pick nice clean snow, just whatever is closest which is taking a risk in a household where there are 2 dogs and 3 cats.

Nathaniel and I duked it out after this picture about not eating snow-I threw a snowball at him every time I saw him take a bite, he got really pissed, but eventually decided I was not going to run out of snowballs and decided to stop. Hopefully, this works.