Kids Say the Darndest Things

Funny words from the mouth of Caleb:

"Chaput" - ketchup
"Eatmore" - oatmeal
"Gravy" - scary
"1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 18, 20" - his way of counting
"__________, best friend" - the first time he said "Colin, best friend" which completely melted my heart. Since then he has filled in the blank with some of his play friends, and even some movie characters. The funniest one: "Grinch, best friend." At least he's learning to see past people's rough exteriors!

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Caleb has developed the same love for the film "The Polar Express" that Colin has. And although he isn't reenacting full scenes yet, he's well on his way. He has ticket that he likes to get punched, and then "loses" it, and then runs around the house looking for it. And if you feed him the line "She didn't lose her ticket..." he throws his hand up in the air and replies "I did." He know acts out several parts, knows several lines, and has started to learn the songs. How cute will it be once Colin and Caleb can sing "When Christmas Comes To Town" as a duet?!

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We always knew Colin had a great memory. He loves to "read" you books - and if you didn't know better, you would be completely fooled, because he has memorized several books word for word, page by page. Although this is remarkable, he took it to the next level last week. Before, I always assumed he used the pictures in the book to cue his memory, help him remember what part of the story came when. But last week he wanted to read "The Monster at the End of This Book," and the actual book wasn't nearby. So he chose another book, and read "The Monster" to me from that book! Word for word, page by page, and not distracted at all by the fact that the book he was holding was actually something completely different!


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Colin seems to have a mental block on the number 17. He always skips it when counting. Yesterday, he counted to 20 for me in French - and yes, still skipped the number 17!

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Friends

Today I am especially grateful for friends. Over the past few days I have had friends really step in to help me out. I've never been partial to large group gatherings, preferring to socialize in smaller settings. I've always had people I like to hang out with, but until this "crisis" hit, I didn't realize just how many friends in how many circles I have. I am so grateful for all the help they have stepped in to offer, from watching the boys to making dinners to organizing frozen meals for when the baby comes - it's been amazing. And this isn't just a group of people trying to do something nice; these is a group of friends who are in tune with my situation and needs, and have truly discerned my needs and took the initiative to fulfill them. I've only lived in Orangeville for two years, and yet I feel more at home here than anywhere I have before. For the first time I feel as though my community is my family.

Health update

Today I had my first of 5 appointments as my OB checks into my dizzy spells, breathing difficulties and exhaustion. It was a little scary - I am not one who is usually found in a doctor's office, and this was certainly the most invasive medical appointment for me to date. I am currently hooked up to a small monitor that sits in a purse over my shoulder by all those little circle stickies that you see on medical TV shows. It monitors the activity of my heart, and I have a little log that I have to keep about what I do during the day and how I feel. The tape is itchy and the monitor is cumbersome - especially when I try to sleep. I keep it on for 48 hours and then they analyze the data. More tests and appointments to follow in the next few days.

Pregnancy Menu

How I wish I had found this menu a few months back! With my body craving healthy foods, and with me trying my best to get all my nutrients from food alone (without a supplemental vitamin), I often struggled with coming up with meal ideas. Today as I searched through the "Today's Parent" website, I came across this 7-day menu for pregnant women.

It's awesome!

Every meal is different, easy, and mouth-watering. Could you ask for anything more in a menu? Only more of them! And although there is no way I eat all that food in one day, it's at least nice to have some options at my fingertips. I may only have 5 weeks (or less) to go, but I'm hopping on this bandwagon today! And very likely most of these meal ideas will hang around in our menu even after the baby comes.

(If you want to have a peek, click here)

A baby shower for my third baby

I was pleasantly surprised last week when I received an email from an acquaintance from the community band in which I play. The band has seen this pregnancy progress since the start, and some of the ladies wanted to throw me a baby shower!

Now, what on earth could I possibly need, seeing that this is not only my third baby, but my third boy at that? I wondered briefly, but let the thought pass, awash in gratitude for such a thoughtful gesture. They have all loved sharing in this experience with me, and just want to celebrate.

Then, today she passed along the invite to me (it has the date, time and location as a reminder for me!), and I saw that this is actually going to be a "freezer shower." I had never heard the term before, but as she explained it on the invitation, I was amazed at such a brilliant and perfect idea. The concept is that instead of a baby gift, everyone brings a dinner that I can throw into the freezer for when the baby comes, so that I'm adequately prepared to feed my family without having to tire myself out with yet another chore. And this is actually the perfect idea for a third baby! With one baby, you can grab a few minutes when he sleeps. With two, you can still generally coordinate naps. But now with three (plus a husband) - that's getting busy, and warming up a can of Scarios just won't cut it any longer.

I am so grateful for good friends with brilliant ideas. This one is definitely going on my list of excellent ideas for the future.

More tests

I had my 34 week OB appointment today, and mentioned the dizzy spells I'm having that are occurring about every other day. As a result I have a battery of tests and appointments over the next week I have to go to. There are no big concerns yet, as all my and the baby's regular vitals are perfect. But dizzy spells are concerning, hence the tests.

The big disappointment was that I was advised if I have one more bad spell, I need to stop driving. Yikes! Not having the energy to walk all the time, and then taking away the car...and at this time of year. But since the first spell occurred while I was driving, and while I had Caleb in the car with me, it is by all accounts the safest thing to do.

I'm at the point now, however, that I'm ready for this baby to come any day.

Get it together, body!

Dear body,

You are not allowed to crave a certain food, and then reject it once I give it to you. This is especially not fair when you ask for chocolate and then punish me with hours of pain.

PS - I hope you enjoyed that entire crate of clementines I ate over the course of 4 days. You may be lacking in iron, but you have no shortage of vitamin C!