Our Little Princess is a Bully!

Yes you read that correctly – she is a bully! Jacqueline is the youngest at her day home – there are a total of 5 kids – Jackie – 16 months; Lauren – 19 months, Luke – 2 years; Marti 2 ½ years, and Jorja – almost 4.

Since Jackie was not walking when she first started going, she was also the new baby, Anna (super amazing day home lady) was very insistent that everyone be very careful around her – she is the baby, etc. Well, I fear that all the babying has made Jackie realize she can get what she wants with a little bit of muscle.

It first started with some ear pulling. For whatever reason, she saw a need to come up behind one of the other kids at day home and pull both his ears. Yes, we laugh too – and Anna said she could barely contain herself as she saw this, but the poor little boy was crying, so Anna swallowed her laughter and Jackie got a time out. But that did not stop her, she has continued with some hair pulling, a few more ears and even some biting. The other day it was just the 2 little girls (Jackie and Lauren) and Anna was making them lunch – well Jackie must have been super hungry because she tried to take a bite out of Lauren.

So our little princess has turned into a bully. We are working very hard at teaching her to be nice to other people and seem to be getting better (now, the good days out weigh the “time-out” days).

Talking – her new favorite word is “BABY”. Right now all dogs are “baby”, but so is my belly. She will point to my belly and say baby – to which, I respond, yes, there is a baby in there – then she pulls up my shirt and pushes my belly button in – as far as she can if I don’t catch her in time. To that I inform her that she is going to poke her baby brother’s eyes out. It is super cute – but I think she thinks my belly button is called baby – I know she has no idea there is an annoying future little brother in there.

A New Chapter

Today I write this post with a heavy heart. I have caved. I have fallen. I have been trapped into the abyss, the minivan world has finally gotten a hold of me and will not let go….

I swore I would never enter this world! I swore I would always be an SUV driving Mom instead of a Minivan driving Mom. Not that I hold it against any of you out there that have a minivan – but I did not want one. I loved my SUV, I still love my SUV, but life changes…

Adam and I have made the decision to purchase a minivan – for a few reasons.
We were leasing the Blazer, and our initially plan had been to buy it out and then get Adam a pick-up truck; but with the price of gas the way it is – a truck is just not the best option for us.
That means that our biggest vehicle would be the Blazer, and with Peanut on his way, we are realizing we are going to need more cargo space for hauling 2 kids (in their massive car seats), a small wiener dog (but in a decent sized kennel), and all the amazing amounts of stuff a parent needs to haul in order to function with children outside of their house (this in itself is truly amazing and worth a whole post on it’s own).

Anyway – we are entering the world of minivans. After much debate, dealership visits and hours spent on the internet, we have decided to purchase a new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. They have re-designed it and added tons of new safety features. I have to admit, I am now looking forward to the new vehicle and the new chapter in our life it is leading us into.
I will post a picture once we get it – should be in a few days.

Talking

Jackie is quite the little jabber mouth, unfortunately she knows very little English. She is however very fluent in baby talk – not sure if this is the same dialect all babies speak or she has developed her own. But needless to say she is a very good little talker.

So far we have been able to introduce a few English words to her:
First word: Dada
Second word: Mama
Third word: Anna – day home lady

Dada or Da as it became shortened to, was her favorite word for a while – everything was “Da” – me, Adam, the dog, a tree – everything. But now her favorite word is Anna – she knows we are Mama and Dada, but everything else is Anna.

Name Update

I thought I would update you since some of you have submitted some "wonderful" names.

Al & Sarah - you truly had the best - Blueberry Hill would be a great name - no one would ever make fun of him.

Megan - unfortunately - Benny Hill is just not a name I can go with - I get Jenny Hill changed to Benny Hill all the time - and although he has been dead for a long time - people still remember.

Starr - I love the name Sabastien - however - Adam is not the biggest fan of it - so off the list it went.

There are a few names on our list right now - and Anderson is leading right now - but who knows that could change overnight....

Baby Names

Well now that we have narrowed down the gender we need to start talking about baby names. As many of you know, if Jackie was a boy, we had planned on calling her 9I guess that would be him?) Zachary. Initially we had planned on keeping the name at Zachary, but now we are discussing other options. But I am looking for some help, we need some ideas.

Here is what we are looking for – a longer name – since the last name is Hill – we would love to give our child a name that is 2-3 syllables long. Also – if it can be shortened – the shortened version of the name can’t rhyme with Hill – i.e. – William – great name – however it becomes Bill Hill. Not going to do that to my child.

So if you have any name suggestions for us – please leave a comment. If you are not a blogger member just leave it as anonyms.

Talking

Jackie is quite the little jabber mouth, unfortunately she knows very little English. She is however very fluent in baby talk – not sure if this is the same dialect all babies speak or she has developed her own. But needless to say she is a very good little talker.

So far we have been able to introduce a few English words to her:
First word: Dada
Second word: Mama
Third word: Anna – day home lady

Dada or Da as it became shortened to, was her favorite word for a while – everything was “Da” – me, Adam, the dog, a tree – everything. But now her favorite word is Anna – she knows we are Mama and Dada, but everything else is Anna.

Snips and Snail and Puppy Dog Tails

Peanut's face profile

Today Adam and I went for out ultrasound and we were told we are having a baby boy!

Before we even started having kids, Adam thought he would be a dad to only girls. I think he thought it would be his destiny to be chauffeur a vehicle full of giggly, screaming little girls in pink tutus to ballet class. I thought he was right, not that that was his destiny, but I could totally see us with only girls.

And we both thought with this pregnancy, Peanut was a girl, until I had a dream I was having a boy – well in my dream the ultrasound technician told Jackie we were having a boy before consulting with us to know if we wanted to know. But since that dream Adam has thought it was a boy, I still thought it was a girl.

I wanted a baby boy just as much as I wanted another baby girl. I wanted a girl because it would be easier, we have so much pink already. I wanted a girl because I wanted to have 2 girls close in age and grow up being sisters. I wanted a boy because I wanted Adam to have a boy. I wanted a boy because I wanted Adam to be able to take someone to Home Depot or someone to teach how to chop wood. I wanted a boy for balance. I wanted both for so many reasons and I am happy with whatever….

And now we know we are getting out little boy – it is a little scary, but since we are not the first people on earth to have a baby boy – I am sure we will do just fine.

This is a picture of his little penis - we are looking up at it - almost as though he his sitting on his knees.

Because we think she is adorable...

Top 10 reasons I love Adam....

10. he lets me sleep in at least one day of the weekend.
9. he works so hard in the evenings at home after having worked all day.
8. he can make me smile with very simple and usually silly things.
7. even though we have been together for over 5 years now, he still complains about my cup of coffee being too sweet – this means no sharing…
6. he loves my cooking
5. he lets me cook him anything I want – the only rule is no raisins – and he will eat EVERYTHING!
4. he has shown me that he CAN in fact build a really good deck.
3. he taught me to love camping and appreciate the great outdoors, however there are some things I still refuse to do – some mountains in my opinion are not to be climbed – they are to be admired for the their size and beauty from the air-conditioned seat of my vehicle…
2. he is the best Dad ever!
1. he loves me for who I am.

Almost 20 weeks

Life

I honestly do have an excuse for being a bad blogger – I am busy, and tired all the time. Here is my life:
- Wake up to my beautiful alarm clock calling us (Jackie) 6am
- Get ready for work 6-7am
- Leave for work – 7am
- Work 7:30am - 4pm
- pick up Jackie from Day home 4:30pm
- come home and get dinner ready / play with Jackie
- eat dinner 5:00 / 5:15pm
- play with Jackie, get her ready for bed 5:30-7pm
- put Jackie to bed 7pm
- crash on the couch 7pm
- think about blogging 7-9pm
-realize the computer and the couch are not anywhere near each other – therefore no blogging 7-9pm
- go to bed 9pm

Yup – that is my day, somewhere in there I am suppose to fit in some house cleaning – not sure where as you might surmise by the state of our house right now.
Also grocery shopping is in there too – again, not always sure where.

So, for all you faithful readers – or should I say, everyone that comes and checks for updates and receives none- I feel justified in not posting as often as I want to. That and it feels like so little happens…..

But life does happen so here is a short update:

Our yard:
After living her for 2 years, we finally have grass in the back yard. Brutis is extremely happy, he finally gets to run around, pee anywhere his little doggie heart contents.
Jackie is also very happy – this means she gets to spend a lot more time outside, walking around, exploring every corner of the yard.
We are super happy – thanks to our good friends Al and Sarah who came and helped us lay it, it looks fantastic.
The deck – Adam is almost done building the railing to the deck – much safer for Jackie and less heart attacks for Mom and Dad.

Jackie:
She is wonderful. We are enjoying her so much – she is a very busy little lady. Day home is going very well, she has some great friends there and since she is the youngest she is learning so much from all the older children.
She is a great little walker now – and has been known to chase Brutis around a bit (we look forward to when she can run confidently and they can chase each other – tiring each other out…)
Talking – she can say Mama, Dada and Anna (day home lady), everything else she says (and she talks a lot!) is in her own language.
Somewhere she learned to respond to questions, so when we ask her a question, she will either nod or shake her head – right now we are on shaking only, but of course this has provided some entertainment for Adam and I as we ask silly questions and get a funny response.
We recently asked her if she wanted a baby brother – shake the head – no; do you want a baby sister – shake the head no….

Adam:
Adam is doing well, but he has been working hard recently, getting the yard and deck done, but work is going well. We have been enjoying our place out at the lake, but again – we are working, we have fixed up the bunk house to be a playroom for Jackie and a guest house, and now we are looking at improving the yard / lot itself – right now it is all gravel or shrubs, we are looking at how we can change that, etc.

Me:
I am doing well. I really hate being pregnant in the first trimester (so much nausea) and then along come trimester 2 and 3 – and I love it. I enjoy the attention and anticipation. I have stated to be able to feel the baby (who we are referring to as Peanut) kicking – and that is my absolute favorite part of being pregnant. I feel good, other than being tired in the evenings, I am doing well.
Work for me is great – I really enjoy what I do – love the people I get to work with and I am kept pretty busy, I will definitely miss it come November.

Expanding

The official announcement:
I'm pregnant!
Some of you already know that - but now we are making it official. I am already 16 weeks - and due in early November.

Time has been flying this time - I guess that is what happens when you already have one to look after.

But now that I am out of the first trimester, I am feeling much better - I battle lots of nausea in the first tri. I am still super tired all the time - but I would expect nothing less when I am working full time and have a 14 month old at home.

So Jackie and #2 will be approx 20 months apart.

Walking

Welll our little princess has started walking! She started last week and is walking more and more every day. No picture yet - but I am sure we will capture one soon.

Camping Season is Back!

Camping season is back.... finally! Adam and I have anxiously been awaiting the return of camping season, and finally we got a chance to take advantage of it. We headed out to the lake the first weekend of May and had a great time. The drive there was a bit tough - we picked Jackie up from dayhome as we were driving out of town, but I am sure she will get used to it as we do it more.

We spend the weekend working on the bunk house, we threw out everything that had been left in it (from the previous owners), bought some carpet and now we are going to paint the inside and eventually buy a futon. We need a play room for Jackie when it is cold or raining (our trailer is currently too small) and it will also come in hand as a guest house.

We are headed back for the long weekend and can't wait!

Pictures

The Zoo

A while ago Adam and i met my parents and took Jackie to the Zoo for the first time. She enjoyed seeing all the animals, however if they were not moving, she did not know what she was suppose to be looking at.

The only animal she did not like was the adult elephants - maybe something the size of a minivan walking is a little scary to someone so small - but she did like the baby elephant.

We had a great time and got some great shots of some animals (the secret was to go early in the morning - not only are more animals active, but it was not as busy as it got later in the day).

Bad Bad Blogger

Hello everyone, I have to apologize for being such a bad blogger. Life has been busy, so here is a quick update:
- My work - work is going well - I am really enjoying it, it is a big company, lots of names to learn and my job has me doing a variety of things, so learning lots and lots of variety in the day.

- Adam's work - for those of you that do not know, Adam got laid off in late February; it has been a challenge to find the right job for him, but finally he found one and starts on Monday - he is very much looking forward to it. The huge silver lining in all this though has been that he has gotten to spend so much time with Jackie - Anna at the day home has said that she is definitely a Daddy's girl (Adam loved to hear that). They both have been having a great time together, however Adam's dinner making skills are still leaving much to be desired....

- Jackie is doing well at day home - we have had her at full days for a bit now, and we have really started to see her change and start to like it more every day.

Thank you for being so patient with my blogging, here are some photos to appease the masses....

Pictures

Big Changes

I will make the announcement official; I am going back to work! Yes, due to a few circumstances here we have decided this will be the best thing for me to do. So I have got a job as a Senior Office Administrator at Trail Appliances. I am very excited and my first day is tomorrow!

This means a day home for Jackie, we have got her in a fabulous one. The lady Anna is associated with a Day home agency, so this means unannounced spot visits and lots of support for her.

I just dropped Jackie off for her first time - today she is doing only a half day. It was not as hard as I thought it would be, but since this was the first time, she did not realize I was leaving and therefore did not cry at all - tomorrow might be a lot harder....

Jacqueline's Birthday Party

We celebrated Jackie's first bithday with lots of family and friends on Saturday. Jackie did quite well considering the 20+ people clamouring for her attention and photos.

I made 3 cakes for the occasion, 2 to be consumed by all the guests and one for Jackie to destroy - unfortunatley she did not accomplish my wish (she got pretty overwhelmed when everyone surrounded her and stated snapping photos.

Not the biggest fan of cake... yet...

She got quite a haul for her birthday - we are very happy she now has some new toys to keep her occupied. A big thank you to everyone!

One year Ago Today...

- Was my due date.

- I was nervous; someone told me it would hurt...

- Even though everyone told how much our lives would change, I really did not understand still.

- We went for a walk.

- I went into labour.

- We went to the hospital.

Swimming Lessons

Jackie and I recetly finished swimming lessons; she did great! Loved the water, had no problem with me dunking her at all.

These photos were taken on the last day of classes (don't worry - we passed). I am very much looking forward to taking more lessons with her and especially this summer.

Gourmet Crackers and Blue Cheese

As some of you know Jacqueline is a pretty picky eater. The one thing she likes is Sweet Potatoes and we struggle at almost everything else.

Well this afternoon, I was enjoying a bit of Gorgonzola on some gourmet crackers, I happened to be holding Jackie and as she was eyeing what I was eating, I thought, hmmm, should I let her taste it, I know blue cheese is an acquired taste. The thought passed through my head, that if I let her have some, she might not trust me and try other things we really do want her to eat. But I pushed that thought out of my head and let her have some.

Well I did not get the reaction I thought I would, instead I continued feeding her and marvelled.... we might have a gourmet food eater on our hands, what's next Caviar and White Truffles???



This is the reaction we got at dinner a few hours later as we tried to feed her Vegetables and Turkey.... gasp... how could we be that cruel..... but clue cheese who my sister detests and some say smells like dirty socks....

New Shoes

I picked up two new pairs of shoes for Jackie yesterday - I wish they made them in my size.



This pair is a brand new design by Robeez called Robeez Trendz - these are size 12-16 months but will not fit her for a little while yet. But I fell in love and just had to have them.