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Spoiled
I've been looking forward to having my family here for Jake's birthday party on Sunday. I love being the hostess, cooking and serving and all that. And I'm proud of our new home. It'll be great to have my family here to see how happy and settled we are in Canada.
So I called my Mum today and we talked about the party. We live about an hour away from here and I was curious as to how my sister and her boyfriend, Paul, would be getting here, as they don't drive. My Mum said that the back seat of her car would be housing the handmade toy box and many other gifts and that she had hoped that my sister and Paul could catch a lift with my brother and his girlfriend. The trouble with that, I'm told, is that my brother's gift won't fit in his trunk so will most likely need to go on his back seat.
What on earth could he have bought for Jake that won't fit in the trunk? (It better not be a huge stuffed animal!) And my Mum's back seat will be so filled with stuff that there's no room for my sister and her boyfriend...
Can you say... SPOILED ROTTEN?
Where we're at
Now that Jake can crawl, there's no stopping him. He's everywhere... within moments. He's up, he's down, he's under and around. He's under your feet, under the table, or trying to get under the carpet. He speeds around, only stopping for the occasional breath. And I must say that there is nothing cuter to me than seeing his little tushy wiggling away down the hall.
When Jake is standing, he likes to step back and forth on his own feet. This means that he is continuously pulling his own socks off. He's only got one on now and I just pulled them up just a minute ago.
He's a full time job. No doubt about it.
He had a hair cut today, a la Mummy. I got Stephen's electric shaver out and put it at the longest setting. Jake didn't like the sound and kept trying to turn around to see what I was doing. Not good when you're trying to cut the hair at the back! He looks adorable. Although Stephen says that it's too short.
The cow's milk is going pretty well. After a brief bout of constipation, we've cut down to bottles of half water and half homogenized milk. He's handling that well so we'll keep fazing it in slowly.
Jake did indeed get spoiled rotten during his birthday party. As I mentioned in my Photoblog, my brother and his girlfriend got Jake a big wagon. My sister and her boyfriend got him clothes and toys. And my Mum and Stepfather got toys and clothes too. By my estimation, Jake got about 15 to 20 new outfits, either shirts and shorts sets or shirts and trousers sets. Which is good because it means that we don't have to buy him any clothing.
Jake now has 8 teeth! Four on top and four on bottom. He uses them to bite the tip of my finger when I try to feed him something. He likes bread and jam for breakfast, which we tear up into small, bite-sized pieces, and, although he generally feeds himself, I sometimes brave it and give him a piece. It often means that he nips my fingers... so he goes back to feeding himself!
And the little man now weighs 25 lbs! Not so little anymore.
Ouch and ouch again
Jake had the dreaded MMR jab yesterday. I was a bit nervous about it - and still am - but it is the suggested route to take and I guess we just need to trust in medicine and medical research. The poor kid had that jab in his upper left arm and a Meningitis jab in his upper right arm. He wailed and cried as the nurse gave them to him and I'm sure he will never want to set foot in the doctor's office again.
He had his last jabs when he was so much younger and he probably doesn't even remember them. These jabs came at an age when he is able to remember people and places. This could be the beginning of a lifetime fear of doctors.
Jake saw his new paediatrician for his jabs. He was a very charming, older man, who really seeming to have a way with Jake. There were toys hanging from the ceiling and the doctor and nurse both tried ringing bells and waving toys around to try to distract Jake. It didn't really work as Jake seemed very suspicious of the two of them. I suppose that he was rigt to be suspicious; they stuck needles in his arms!
Poor kid.
This was just before we went to see the doctor:
Too much, too little
I'm calorie-counting... again. This time, I'm hoping to stick to it. I've created a spreadsheet in Excel and I'm keeping track of all the calories I take in. It really smacks you in the face when you realize just how much you take in!
For a woman of my height, weight and moderately active lifestyle, the estimated number of calories I expend in a day is about 1800 to 2000 calories. To lose weight, I will obviously have to take in less than that every day and increase my activity level. Stephen and I have started walking more frequently and, whether it means anything or not, I find myself up and running after Jake much more now.
As far as food goes, with about 400 calories for breakfast and 400 for lunch, I'm able to enjoy a fairly normal dinner without going over about 1500 or 1600 calories. At one point, while we were still in England, I was taking in about 1200 calories per day and going to the gym about 3 or 4 times a week. The trainer at the gym warned me that 1200 calories a day was not enough for me. But if I normally expend about 1800 calories a day, the advice online (at numerous websites) is that I should be taking in approximately 500 less calories per day to lose weight.
So I'm having a hard time balancing what's right and what's not. At the moment, 1500 calories a day and increased exercise will have to do.
When I take a shower...
...Jake pounds on the bathroom door and tries to get my attention. When I'm done, I wrap myself in a towel and let the little guy in. He sits on the counter and watches me as I blow dry my hair and put on a bit of make-up.
Back in the 80's.
I'm watching a show about the fads in the 80's. Remember leg-warmers? Cabbage Patch Kids? Flashdance? I remember them well. I had a Cabbage Patch Kid. Her birth certificate called her Jacinta Zia. I changed her name to Elizabeth. How creative of me.
Let me sleep!
I woke at 4:20am to the soft sounds of Jake cooing and giggling in the room across the hall. I listened to him for a few minutes, but knew that I'd never get back to sleep with him awake. Within a little while, the cooing became a moan and I went in to get him.
Jake was standing up in his bed and immediately put his arms out to me to be picked up. I, of course, cannot deny my baby a cuddle and promptly scooped him up. After a quick nappy-change, I decided that 4:20am was way too early to be getting up and I brought him into bed with me. Stephen had gotten up for work and I gave Jake his half of the bed. But the babe was having none of it. He was awake and he wanted me to be too.
I lay him down and gave him juice. He looked tired and started rubbing his eyes. Yipee! But it didn't last. He was up and about, all over the bed. He crawled up the bed and pulled himself up to a standing position against the headboard. When I just lay there next to him exhausted, not showing him any attention, he reached down and grabbed a handful of my hair. I yelped and pulled away, only to leave loads of hair still in his grasp.
So I lay my little angel back down again. This time, in an effort to evade my grasp, he headbutted me right in the breast. Then a foot to the neck, along with squeals of delight. Enough!! I sat up with him, feeling tired and frustrated. I held him at arms-length and said sternly, "what are you doing? Now calm down and go back to sleep!"
And you know what? He did. He lay down next to me and I draped an arm over him. He rubbed his eyes, yawned (so did I), and we dozed off together and slept until 9am. Much better.
Not bad, huh? And it only took me an hour to do! Arg!
Good boy!
I probably shouldn't write about this and the so-called "experts" will say that I'm damaging my son's future and giving his future classmates and colleagues ammunition to tease him with but...
We bought Jake a potty today and we put it in the bathroom right across from "the big toilet". He had a quick look at it but didn't seem that impressed. I decided that I was going to sit him on it before his bath every day, as he'd be stripped off, making the potty-thing a bit easier.
So Jake sat on the potty for the very first time earlier this evening and this proud Mum can, well, proudly announce that he pee'd! The first time!
Obviously, it may take ages to have this miracle repeated, but I'm proud anyway.
I can't drive yet. Legally, anyway. I can drive and have actually done quite a bit of it, but it is definitely time to get my license. Now that we have a baby, I know that there will be lots of times when I need to get us around when Stephen isn't available to chauffeur.
The way it works here in Ontario is that I'll need to study the book that I've just purchased for $14.00 then go in to the License Bureau and take a vision and written test. That'll give me my G1 license, which is like a Learner's Permit. It will allow me to drive as much as I want, as long as an experienced and fully-licensed driver is with me.
Interestingly though, I'm not allowed to drive on the highways, or anything with a posted speed limit of over 80km/h. This strikes me as odd as I'd imagine getting some valuable knowledge and experience from driving on such roads. But, oh well.
The G1 license will be with me a year (8 months if I decide to take driving courses) then I'll need to take another test.
So I've got the book and I plan to get studying. Stephen let me drive in a secluded and off-the-road area today and I find it exhilarating. I want to drive and I have no idea why I've left it this long.
Zzzz...
Car trip...
to here...
We took a drive through some man-made islands near Long Sault in Ontario. It's a beautiful area with loads of beaches and campsites and it's pretty closeby too!
