It's been a while...

Well this has been a while hasn't it? Oscar is now almost 3 and a half and a big brother to Lois who just turned 6 months old on Sunday. The time is flying. I am actually going on paternity leave again to take care of Lois this time, hopefully I can add some fun things here to liven it up again. For now here is a picture of Oscar and Lois, Oscar is showing little sister Lois how he used to us a teething ring.

1 month in....

Sorry for the delay in updating. I was waiting for Halloween to happen first.

 Last week was an excellent week with Oscar, all our classes went well, and then we had the lead-up to Halloween. On Saturday night, Grandma Lollie got a preview of Oscar’s costume and he was adorable. On Sunday, I realized I hadn’t bought a pumpkin for carving yet, so on the way to a family event, we stopped at JCs Orchard and picked up a nice one.

On Monday, Oscar and I went to our Musical Baby Bean class on March Road and before going in, I changed him into his alternative costume for Halloween: Winnie the Pooh dressed as a bumble bee. Once again this week, there were only 2 of us in class and the other parent had dressed her little guy up as well, so it was all good. We then headed to Lauren’s office to show Oscar off in his main Halloween costume

 and he was a hit as a little Happy Meal. We then popped by Grandma Ruth’s for a visit and fed Oscar lunch and then home for nap time. The night itself was a bust, as we only had 9 kids visit the door, so next year we aren’t going to hand out candy, but just go door to door with Oscar instead.

I am really enjoying my time so far with Oscar. It’s been almost a month now that I have been off and the time is just flying by. I love all the time I get to spend with him and how much more of a bond I am creating with him. I feel I am very lucky. I think all Dads should experience this time in their child’s life as you will never get it back again.

Week two is in the books...

Well, week two down and I love it all so far. Oscar and I had a great week last week. Monday to Wednesday we had classes in the morning and then on Thursday was our visit to Grandma Drummond day and then Friday was a relax day. The one kicker to the end of the week was snowsuit shopping for Oscar on Friday night. We went with Joe wear after pricing out the different options and seeing what was available and what would work for what we wanted. A lot of Oscar’s clothes come from the Joe line at Loblaw’s and they are a great price for clothes because your little one is going to grow right through it in next to no time. I find some stores have next to no selection and then others have huge Joe wear sections that offer the whole range of clothing.  The website http://www.joefresh.com/en/category/kids doesn’t show half of the items available in store and even the adult line of clothes is reasonably priced. 

Morning naps are a bit of a challenge for me to get Oscar to take at the moment. We really only have 2 mornings, Thursday and Friday, where we aren’t on the road or at a class at the time he is scheduled to be napping. So, unless he naps on the way home from class or to class, it’s a bit of a challenge. The one thing he seems to be doing is a bit of self-weaning. I am finding during the week he doesn’t really want his morning milk and the times I have gotten him to nap, it’s without taking the milk. Although for the afternoon nap, the milk is a definite must-have for him to go to sleep.  This is good in a way, as that means that the supply of milk I have in the freezer will last me longer.

On a final note for this week, I have to say that the one thing I truly love is when I go in to get him from his nap or first thing in the morning. I love the smile I get from him and the warmth when I pick him up and he puts his arms around my neck. It’s so worth it. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world. 

…the front door closes and then there were 2...

…the front door closes and then there were 2….Tuesday morning 8:20am…no time to think, I have to finish feeding Oscar his breakfast as we have to leave as we have a “Baby Sign and Sing” class at 9:30 in Bells Corners and we don’t want to be late. Breakfast done and upstairs we go for a quick wardrobe change and a one-handed tooth brushing for me (having not heeded Lauren’s advice earlier of making sure I get everything done before he gets up). Nice and dressed and into the van we go with an extra coffee for me and we are on the road to Bells Corners.  We had checked the day before to know where I was to go for the class, so it was a nice easy drive. Arrived a little early and saw another parent and her twin girls going into the class, so Oscar and I headed in. It is an interesting course, although looking back after having my other class on Weds (description to follow), I realized a lot of things that the teachers did different and how much I enjoyed the Wednesday class much more. So once the class was over, (and not soon enough as one of the other parents let their child partake in almost the entire class while sporting a rather full diaper and not changing her), Oscar and I headed to Toys’r’us, as we were looking for little egg shaker maracas, like the ones we had used in the class. Lauren had told me they had been used in the other classes. Oscar just loves that and takes them in hand and shakes, shakes, and shakes away... it is just so sweet.  We ended up finding some little maracas at Boomerang Kids. Back home in time for morning milk and then some play time before lunch.  Lunch, more play, then Jolly Jumper and nap time…all went smooth as silk…I must have done something wrong….nope…all is on schedule…wow. Downstairs I go, monitor in hand, and do a workout.  Oscar wakes up just around 4pm and we sit out on the front step and relax waiting for Lauren to get home….day 1 in the books…

Wednesday is our later morning for our Musical Movement class in Kanata, so we take it easy in the morning. Oscar has a short morning nap after breakfast and then we hit the road as I want to stop and pick up some Keurig pods for my coffee machine before class. We swing into Kanata and stop at Tweed and Hickory... love their selection of Keurig coffee pods, and then a stop at CD Warehouse to say Hi to Mark O and Steve B. We arrived at class a little early and meet one of the other parents and her son Walker. FANTASTIC CLASS today, what a change from yesterday’s class.  It was fun and organized and had structure and it was just so much better.  I could tell that Oscar liked it better too. Off we head home and Oscar has his morning milk just around 12:15, so that pushes his lunch back a little. No problem. We do some carpet time, play, and some reading, and then it’s lunch and more play time followed by Jolly Jumper and nap time. Today, he slept for almost 2.5 hours... it was excellent, I had a chance to work out and relax a bit. He woke up just before Lauren got home…phew….day 2 in the books…so far so good. J

Thursday morning is an early day as we drop Lauren off at work (in the afternoon we go to my mum’s for dinner). So we head out around 8:20am and head into the city. Traffic isn’t too bad until we hit Hunt Club and then it comes to a crawl. We finally get Lauren to her office just before 9am and we head to my mum’s to feed Oscar his morning milk as he is getting fussy. No such luck on the milk... he didn’t want it, but he was so excited to be at Grandma’s and was looking all around for her, but she wasn’t home. We headed out from there and went to run some errands and then head back home. Oscar was good as gold the entire time. We got home and he finally had his milk. Then we relaxed and it was the usual routine of lunch, play, jolly jumper and then nap and workout for me. He woke up at around 3:30pm and off we headed to pick Lauren up at work and head to Grandma’s for dinner. A nice dinner and back home….I think I am getting the hang of this…

Friday – I decided after Lauren left that I was going to head downtown to visit my old coworkers with Oscar.  So off we went and had a great visit for almost an hour and a half during which he was an angel. Got home and he was a little fussy so I fed him his morning milk and he drank that right down. After some relaxing, it was lunch time and then jolly jumper…I could tell he was tired so it was a shortened version of Jolly Jumper today. I had warmed up his milk and we headed upstairs for milk and nap, but that wasn’t to be the case. He drank about 1 ounce of his milk and closed his lips tight, not wanting anymore. I could tell he was tired, so I took him into the nursery and rocked him and he fell asleep and slept for almost 2 and a half hours. He woke up just in time for Lauren to arrive home.

So week 1 is down and done (yes, I know it was only a 4-day week) and I think it went really well. No real complaints on my part or Oscar’s part as to the way things went, but it was only week 1. J Let’s see what next week has to offer. 

Time is fleeting, madness takes control….but listen closely, not for very much longer…..

Time is fleeting, madness takes control….but listen closely, not for very much longer…..

Wow 4 working days left and I am done and then the real work begins. I will be honest... as the time gets closer, my confidence is waffling. I see what an amazing job each and every day Lauren does and the way she balances her time, and I am thankful we did a full color schedule with the times marked out for me and Oscar to keep us on track. Each day Lauren has little tips and tricks for me that will help make my days “easier” with Oscar. She has had the last almost 9 months with him and knows the ins and outs that I now have to start learning and using to my best advantage. 

Wrapping things up this final week at work feels kind of weird, knowing that I don’t have to come back to the building for almost a year to work, but will probably be back for visits.

Wow I thought that my first day with Oscar was going to be a relaxing day, getting to know the lay of the land so to speak, but Lauren called and his Sign and Sing class has now been bumped to start on October 11th, so Tuesday morning I am hitting the ground running. Okay getting a little nervous now…

9 working days to go....

Wow oh wow the time is ticking down….9 working days left till the work really begins. It is incredible the changes that are happening with Oscar and all the things he is noticing and becoming aware of in his world. Last Monday, he was 8 months old, and it made me think back to that night that Oscar arrived, and how cold it was when Lauren and I were driving into the hospital. We were so surprised at his arrival 3 weeks early and now to look at him and see that little crying baby is growing steadily into the little guy in front of me. He's smiling, with teeth coming through, saying the cheerful “Da-da”, and doing a full body shake when he sees me come in the room because he is so excited to see me. It is a feeling that fills me with such happiness and makes me smile.

On the weekend, Oscar and I went shopping at Bayshore for a new phone for me while I am off on pat leave since I have to turn in my Blackberry. When I got the phone, the guy asked me what I would like the last 4 digits to be, and with not even a moment hesitation I said 6727 - it's Oscar without the A. 

On the weekend, we have cousins coming to stay and they have 3 small kids, with a 4th on the way, so it will be a lot of fun for Oscar as our house is usually quiet and subdued.

The time is moving faster now and with all the preparation, I think I am ready.  

What a fair weekend it was...

This past weekend was the 167th annual Richmond Fair and Oscar's first chance to attend. Saturday morning was the parade from the High School to the Fair grounds and I took Oscar to see it. We got there a little early and settled in and we had a great time. I thought for sure when the fire trucks sounded their horns right in front of us he would get upset, but all that happened was that his eyes opened even larger and he just stared. I love being able to share that with him.

After the parade we went home for lunch and nap time for Oscar so he would be nice and rested for his trip to the fair in the evening.

Now does anyone remember their first trip to Ottawa Exhibition or anything of the like? It was a total assault on the senses of sight, sound and smell. Oscar was no different; we headed over to the carousel so I could take Oscar for a ride and I could tell he wasn’t his usual smiling self. We stopped at a kids game and the object was simple; the child just had to pick a rubber duck out of the little pool. Usually Oscar would love this, but it took a bit for him to grab one. He did win a cute little teddy bear that we added to his collection in his room. After the ride we went to the bouncy castles so that our friends’ kids could play in those; it didn’t go well for Oscar. He was on the verge of tears and the music and the lights and noise was just too much. I took him out of the stroller and put him in the carrier so I could keep him closer. He and I walked away and headed for a quieter part of the fair.  Once we were in the crafts building, he was smiling again and was almost back to himself. It had never occurred to me how overwhelming it all would be for the little guy. I felt bad and just wanted to hold him tight.

We grabbed some dinner and Lauren tried feeding him but we were still too near the loud rides and he just wouldn’t eat. Lauren suggested I take him away and feed him where it was quieter (we had brought some bottled milk with us). That worked and he ate and relaxed and then it was time to head home.

Hopefully next year he will enjoy it more; he will be around 18 months old and mobile.

All around, a Fair weekend.