Tuesday, January 20, 2015

First Tooth (and other fun news)

This past weekend we celebrated my 36th birthday. I've been informed that this means I am still in my 'mid thirties' and not yet my 'late thirties'! Either way, it was a great weekend. Being a parent to an almost 5 year old, means that birthdays are very, very important days. I still clearly remember last year when I crushed Caleb on my birthday - not only did we have No decorations up but we also went to work as if this was just another normal day. Not this year, my friends! We had a huge potluck with several friends on Friday night, a family bowling party on Saturday night, plus balloons, flowers, cupcakes and my very own birthday cd - recorded by Caleb and Alan. It's only 2 songs long - Happy Birthday followed by You are my Sunshine, which is a bit hard to listen to on repeat, but it was a truly fantastic gift!

Getting some help blowing out my candles

The biggest surprise of my birthday was when we discovered that Odin had cut his very first tooth! He's only 4.5 months old, so I really wasn't expecting this, but sure enough - there was a sharp ridge popping out of his bottom gum. I feel like this little fella is going to be ready for college before I know it!

Toothy McGee

And now for some random winter fun pics!

People have commented on how much Odie looks like my uncle Jay, but we also hear that he looks like Grampie John. One friend noted how funny it was that we have one child that looks exactly like me (Cale) and one that looks exactly like Alan (Odie)!
Getting some love from Aly. The boys are so lucky to have such amazing cousins!! 
More cousin fun with Monica and Tanya!
This may be my favourite photo of all time - Caleb sporting a velcro suit at a bouncy castle event! 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Four months young


Our little fella just keeps getting cuter in his old age

Odin has been busy growing and learning. In the past 8 weeks he has grown 8 cm and gained nearly 4 lbs. He is knocking off milestones like nobody's business. He has an ever growing repertoire of sounds, is settling into a nap routine, he can reach and grab things with a surprisingly high success rate and he rolled over for the very first time last week.  Reliving these stages has been incredibly fun and absolutely fascinating. Watching his little hands reach out and latch onto a toy is just amazing, realizing he has dipped his hands into my bowl of chilli is a little less amusing but somehow incredible at the same time!

Caleb is thriving as well. He'll turn 5 at the end of the month and his independence, intelligence, memory, thoughtfulness and humour astounds me everyday. I love that his journey now includes a little brother - his partner in crime and sidekick for life. I've had the opportunity to witness some incredibly tender moments between the two of them, like seeing them hold hands in the backseat of the car, hearing Cale sing and talk sweetly to Odin if he needs to be calmed and watching as Cale cheers him on as he attempts new things. Life in this moment is truly wonderful.