Nathaniel

Sarah is here!!

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

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

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

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

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

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...

Two and a half weeks until this next baby comes.

Yikes.

The Newt Suit

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

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.

Nice Outfit, Dude

He will probably kill me for dressing him like this when he gets older but it keeps him warm and dry for now.

Puddles

There is a big puddle at the end of our walkway that has provided hours of amusement for Nathaniel this week. We finally received some half decent weather - sunshine and temperatures above freezing, so we have spent a fair amount of time playing in the driveway. Well, I do not do much playing, I sit on my stool and watch to make sure he doesn't drown in one of the puddles. We can't play on the lawn because there is still a good four feet of snow covering it.

Baby

Nathaniel loves playing with the set of Russian stacking dolls, with his goal of making it to the smallest one, also known by the original name of "Baby". He LOVES baby, squeals over it, even loves to carry it around in his mouth (which leads to a few fights over ol' Baby).

He knows what a human baby is and appears to be quite intrigued by them but he also calls his Glow Worm "Baby" so who knows what he thinks is growing in my gut. He may be a bit disappointed when he tries to pull her apart to find a smaller one or pushes on her belly and her face doesn't glow.

New Room

Over March Break, Iain tackled our spare/junk room and transformed it into a sweet place for Nathaniel. He is doing a pretty good job of sleeping in his bed and he loves going up there to play. He is quite proud of "Naniel's bed" (how he pronounces his own name).

Mr. Tooth Rot

When Nathaniel first started getting teeth, he quite enjoyed brushing them. Now that he has a mouthful, he just likes to eat the toothpaste.

One morning I looked in his mouth and his top 4 teeth were brown-I was horrified. So I started brushing his teeth with a facecloth and some tooth paste-I have to pin him down and scrub but he now has nice pearly whites again. I seriously thought he was going to have brown chompers until they fell out. We bought him this stupid $8 toothbrush that is soft and full of bristles that he gnaws away on and that helps also. He seems to enjoy it plus he LOVES biting my finger as I poke inside his mouth. He better thank me some day for caring about his fangs...

A Visit With Noah

My cousin, Tara, her husband, Mathias and their adorable son, Noah came and spent an enjoyable weekend with us in January. Noah was all smiles and cried for the grand total of 5 minutes. Nathaniel had a bad cold, whined constantly and stopped crying for all of 5 minutes the entire weekend. You can only say, "He isn't usually like this... " so many times before you even stop believing it yourself. We were so proud, especially when Nathaniel decided to try his drumming skills on Noah's head.

Blizzard of Oz

Okay, I want to blog about the insane snowstorm that is currently ransacking my house, but I need pictures to do it justice and I am scared I would get swallowed by one of the drifts if I ventured outside.

I can't even explain it. It looks like what snow looked like when we were kids. The scary part is that I am not 3 and half feet tall now.

Dudes

I witnessed what might possibly be the best dude moment ever in Fredericton the other day. As we were all acutely aware of, it has been a bit chilly here lately. I personally have no recollection of it ever being -42 degrees out. During this cold snap, Iain and I were risking our lives by venturing out of our house and scurrying into the Superstore on Smythe. As we were making our way across the parking lot, trying not to breathe because the air hurt, Iain pointed to a guy getting out of a car. This guy is THE Dude Of Winter.

Why? Because as he lifts his daughter out of the car while precariously balancing a smoke hands free in his lips, he has on as a winter jacket a vest. Over what you ask? Over a wife beater. As in, no sleeves and it isn't even zipped up. I was so amazed, that I almost felt admiration for him. He was sporting some pretty cool tats (sarcasm) that I guess must be displayed under any circumstances. And, he wasn't even in a rush. Who would do that? A dude would, of course.

He then reminded me of this gang of men in their late thirties who win the title for Dudes Of The Summer. I see this gang all the time and it kills me. Here is how you know if you saw one - they all have longish hair in various states of dirty but what distinguishes them from others are these three things: light blue, skin tight, tapered leg, Levis orange tabs, 10 speed bicycles and the complete absence of a shirt.

All summer, preferably on the hottest days, these men zip around Fredericton on their ten speeds with no shirts on and their jeans. I have seen them drive with only one hand as they balance a case of Alpine or even hands free as they light a smoke. There is some talent there.

Keep your eyes open once the snow melts, they are everywhere.

Hockey Mania

Nathaniel is currently obsessed with hockey. He loves watching it on TV, playing with his hockey sticks, looking at pictures, etc. Last summer, we were at a yard sale and I saw this net for $10. It is metal and had a new net and I figured if it sat in our garage until he was 10, I still came out ahead.

We took him to a UNB game last week, which he thoroughly enjoyed. As we pulled into the garage the next day, he finally figured out what the net was for and had a fit. We pulled it out yesterday and he had lots of fun hitting a ball into it and cheering for himself.

When we were at the UNB game, we were sitting by the bench and the goalie gave Nathaniel a puck. Saying he was pleased would be an understatement.

Le Artiste

Nathaniel enjoying his paints in the only spot he is allowed to play with them. He is really into expressing himself through body art. If you would like to purchase one of his original works of art, feel free to offer me a price.

Nate The Builder

Nathaniel built this tower out of dominoes the other day and was so sad when he knocked it over by a mistake.

Whatever.

Iain built this tower and Nathaniel takes great glee out of destroying anything he can get his grubby mitts on. Iain taught him this trick when he was about 6 months old which means anything that looks like it might be more interesting smashed is fair game in his mind. Good thing we are not knick knacky people.

Oops, I see I put them in the wrong order. It's a puzzle, see if you can figure it out. Hahaha!

Mr. Fleecy Suit

I bought this last year on sale and it is great for the days that aren't too cold or putting over jammies when he falls asleep in the car after a late night out somewhere. He looks so funny in it, Iain and I kill ourselves laughing everytime he wears it.

Just for the record, we have successfully weaned Nathaniel from "noonie" as he affectionately calls his soother. He hasn't had it for a week and hardly misses it at all which is surprising since he had a pretty powerful addiction going on there for awhile. Next challenge is moving him into his new bedroom and hopefully making it through most nights in his own bed, not ours. Four will be a bit squishy in a couple of months.

Christmas Pics

Iain and I attempted to get a few nice shots of the boys the week before Christmas. Now I know why you pay people to do these things. There were a few better ones than these but I can't seem to find them. You get the point.

I also seem to have no pictures from Christmas Eve or Christmas Day-we apparently taped everything and I do not have the patience to edit and post it, so just use your imagination.

We had lots of fun - family over on Christmas Eve, opening of presents the next morning and out to Mom and Dad's for more prezzies and Christmas dinner. Nathaniel was suitably impressed by his Christmas swag but continues to enjoy his plastic hockey sticks from the Dollar Store more than anything else.

He opened his stocking upstairs in our bedroom and he was so impressed by his gifts that Iain and I felt bad because we tend to not buy him a lot of toys. He kept saying, "Wow!!" over his $3.99 trucks - I don't think one thing in there cost more than ten bucks. Maybe we should indulge him a bit more but he still loves simple things, so I figure we have plenty of expensive Christmases ahead so I better enjoy this while it lasts. One of the girls I work with said all her two little girls wanted for Christmas as their big present was a lollipop one year. Nice!

Nathaniel vs Boo

Poor Boo! She is so fat, lazy and sweet that it makes it difficult for her to escape Nathaniel's clutches. He alternates between giving her kisses and clubbing her with a piece of kindling. I wish she would just give him a little swipe to put him in his place. The other day she had her paws around his head and was gnawing at him but he just laughed hysterically. I don't know which one is the bigger freak.

El Klutzo

Today, being a snowy day and all, prompted me to add to the list of physical harm I have done to myself during this pregancy so far. I was at the hospital for my first appointment with my obsetrician, Dr. Samson, who I love by the way, and on the way out of the hospital, my first step on the snowy sidewalk resulted in me wiping out flat on my back. I was horrified and embarrassed. Iain was waiting for me in the car and said as I hobbled over, "Did I just see you wipe out back there?". Yes, my gallant knight in rusted armour, I did. Thanks for springing out of the car to make sure I was okay. Arsehole.

I am fine and from the activity down below, the little girl is doing fine also. I think I need a bubble suit for Christmas to protect me.

The Twilight Series

I have watched the girls that I teach read the Twilight series for the last year so out of curiousity I borrowed the first one and started reading. I am now on the 4th one and I absolutely love the series. It also scares the shit out of me and I could do without the vampire dreams but a very enjoyable experience so far. Iain had duty the other night so I wouldn't read it with him being gone. I am a big puss so it most likely wouldn't scare anyone else nor is it really suppose to be a horror series.

Buy them - the softcovers are cheap and definitely worth it.

Vomitus Maximus

To copy one of Julia's recent entries, we were mowed down by the stomach flu last weekend. Nathaniel started the whole process by puking in the car on the way home from daycare. It was so bad we had to strip him down to his diaper on the side of the road and scoop handfuls of it out of the car. He was sick all night until about midnight. Poor little thing. He didn't know what was going on and he was so sick.

I took the next day off anticipating he may not be well, but of course he was up and running full speed for the entire day - wouldn't even take a nap. I was zonked. Around midnight, I started throwing up. And throwing up. And throwing up. It was horrible. Around 4AM, as I scurried off to the washroom for the umpteenth time, I felt really light headed. I said to Iain, "I think I am going to faint." He told me to stop being foolish and throw up. Then I passed out, smashed my head off the baseboard heater, broke my glasses, cut my face and gave myself a big shiner.

We called for an ambulance because at this point Iain is starting to feel sick, I can't stop throwing up and we are obviously a bit concerned with me being pregnant. I puked the entire way to the hospital, they checked the baby and I out and made me stay until I could keep fluids down.

Mom and Dad met us at the hospital to take Nathaniel, Iain went home and I slept and puked until they let me go home. Mom picked me up and came to our house and doctored Iain and I and took Nathaniel to her house again for the night. I seriously doubt we could have taken care of him, we were both so sick, weak and tired. Lots of fun!!!

We are all fine and the baby is healthy as horse and kicks the living daylights out of me 24 hours a day. Three and a half months to go!!

Helping Daddy

Surprisingly, he has left the tree and the ornaments alone. He is quite delighted when I plug the lights in but enjoys just touching things softly, thankfully.

Winter Fun

Nathaniel is crazy over the snow. I am going crazy stuffing him into his snowsuit, boots, mittens, hat, etc. It took me 15 minutes the first time to get him all outfitted for the cold.

After our first snow during the night, I took him to the window to see and he squealed he was so excited. He runs around saying, "Snow, snow" everytime he is outside and loves stomping on patches of it.

Oranges

Climbing

Nathaniel is part monkey. As I type, he is sitting on an end table. He got up there by stacking a bunch of books together and climbing up. Can't wait to see him perched on top of the refrigerator.