Top Toddler List

I have to preface this post by saying this: Nathan, in case you end up reading this when you are older, please know that I love you more than you'll ever know... But when you have kids, you'll understand my perspective! So, here goes my "Top Five Ways Your Toddler Will Try Your Patience While Your Baby Screams Incessantly in the Background!"

5. He will follow you around closer than your own shadow, bringing you everything that he can find and carry in the house under the guise of being helpful.
4. He will wander in front of where you are trying to walk, at a slightly slower pace, so that you'll constantly trip over him and cause him injury as well.
3. He will think of every question his inquisitive mind can come up with, and ask it over and over again despite having already heard the answer multiple times.
2. He will inquire as to what you're doing and why you're doing it, every five minutes... even when the activity in question hasn't changed since the last time he asked.
1. He will inform you that there's a baby crying (in case you hadn't noticed...).

Ahhhh, I feel better! Just when I think I've got a handle on things, another bad day comes around to keep me on my toes... And to continually cry out to God for strength and patience. Today was one of those days. To those mothers out there who have days where you feel like you just can't do what's expected and required of you: you are not alone! Just do what I did today... Pack up your kid(s), get out of the house and do a little shopping or treat yourself to lunch out! McDonald's Playplace has been my sanctuary several times since Cody's arrival. And I'm starting to realize that that's okay.

An Overdue Update

Wow, I can't believe it's October already! We've been keeping busy over the last few weeks. Monte & I finally got our new driver's licenses, allowing us to drive across the border again, and so we were eager to hit the outlets in Burlington and grab a little of our beloved Taco Bell down south! (For those of you who aren't in the know, Canadian Taco Bell does not compare to the American stuff!). So we did some shopping, mostly at Carter's to outfit our little Cody and just spent the day out of the house together. It went surprisingly okay, even though we skipped Nate's nap. I am particularly grateful for American malls, who take into consideration nursing mothers when they design their family restrooms. It makes being out for 10+ hours much easier, as I don't have to sit uncomfortably in the back of our van every three hours to feed Cody. Hopefully one day our malls will offer similar rooms to accomodate mothers of young babies.

We also managed to hit the MCC sale, that same day. This was my first time experiencing what turned out to be the biggest event the Tradex hosts all year! And Monte was so excited to finally sample all of his favourite mennonite dishes. Nate had a great time playing in the large children's area, but we had to leave earlier than we wanted since he was starting to reach unreal hyper levels, having missed his nap.

We've taken several trips to Ikea recently as well. We're in the process of making our new home more to our taste, and Ikea is the most reasonable place we can do this. We purchased a storage shelf for the playroom, and new curtains and curtain rods for the living and dining rooms, as well as a few other little items for around the house. Nate loves Ikea; he enjoys playing in the kid's section, and LOVES their "cheesy noodles!" We love Ikea the most for their cheap meals: two hot dogs and a pop for two bucks! You can't beat that.


While I'm still finding adjusting to two kids very overwhelming at times, we are loving having our two boys and they're both changing, almost daily it seems! Nate's getting into doing puzzles and is very good at them. And on a recent garage sale hunt I found a brand new Lite Brite, and so we've started working on a picture together. He's generally a really sweet kid (not at all a strong-willed child), but his one downfall is mealtimes. We feel as though we're taken captive by this kid, at every meal. He takes a good hour to eat his food, and that's with constant reminders to take bites between all his chatting. It's not that he doesn't like the food or refuses to eat; he'd just rather talk and play and do everything else under the sun while eating. Mealtimes have become the most frustrating times of the day. Cody's smiling a lot now, and sleeping much better (about seven hours between his feedings at night) and I can tell his first laugh is just around the corner. He's a very gassy baby, and so he's often grunting and in discomfort, and - to be brutally honest - just stinking the place up!! I've never known a baby to emit such a stench! It's gross. I should expect it, living with three males. I suppose this is just the beginning of all the wonderfully disgusting things I'll be introduced to as we raise two boys. I couldn't be happier.

A Moment to Remember (or maybe to forget?!)

There have been many memorable moments since bringing home Cody, and figuring out how to be a family of four. Today held one of these moments. Cody has been extremely fussy this past week; we've been experiencing some struggles with him, and haven't had much success in fixing the problems. I started the day off with a horrible night's sleep and was therefore very very tired (more so than the last 8 weeks of sleep deprivation). Cody was fussy all morning and nothing I did stopped him from crying. Nate, as a typical 2 yr old, followed me around asking question after question, and constantly seeked my attention. By the time we finished lunch, the tears I had been holding in all morning couldn't be held in any longer, and Cody and I both just sobbed on the couch. Nate, being the sweetheart that he is, decided to bring me a glass of water I had just poured in the kitchen, to lift my spirits. The glass was totally full, and so water splashed all over the sides of the glass onto the carpet. Nate stopped after realizing he had spilled all my water, looked at me and burst into tears. He put down the glass and I coaxed him over to the couch to console him, since he was clearly upset that his attempt to cheer me up instead created a big mess. So all three of us sat on the couch and had a good cry. And then we were able to get up and move on with our day! Crying with my kids for no specific reason was certainly a low point, and one that made me feel like a failure as a mother. But I also know how much I love my boys and that sometimes life overwhelms you and the only thing you can do is react. I don't want to make a habit of breaking down in front of my kids, but maybe an occasional cry won't do any permanent emotional damage?! This memory will stick with me, I'm sure, as one day I'll look back on the disaster days we had and somehow still survived!

Mommy's Helper

Big Smiles!

We were so excited this past week to see Cody's true smile for the first time! Nothing makes those sleepless nights and fussy times more worth it than seeing your little one smile back at you. My heart has melted over and over again this week, and I'm addicted to getting him to smile as much as possible. Over the last couple weeks I've been exasperated (to tears) with nursing Cody, and so I'm very grateful for the reward of his smile.

Last night we hosted the Horban clan for our annual peach pie indulgence. My mom brought over two large pies, and we polished one off entirely, and ate half of the second. Monte being the peach pie lover accounted for at least one third of the eaten pie! It was so great to finally be able to host our entire family in our home and Nate was ecstatic (an understatement) to have Avri, Danae and Marea over to play in his playroom.

The Big 3-0!

Monte had his 30th birthday this past Sunday, and we had several occasions to celebrate this major event! We first got together with the Baerg family while Sylvia, Andy and the girls were out visiting. We enjoyed a waffle feast and then sat around in a sugar coma while the kids bounced off the walls! Then we had a dinner of nachos and other appetizers at the Horban house, with make-your-own sundaes for dessert (this is the perk of your birthday - my mom makes whatever the birthday person requests for the meal). And then on Saturday we had a few friends over for a bbq. Of course I either forgot to bring my camera to these dinners, or I had it with me but forgot to take pictures, so here are the very few I did manage to take... Nate sampling the chocolate whip cream off the beaters for the cake, and Jarris holding Cody - somehow Monte was not included in his own birthday pictures!

Thoroughly Exhausted!

The first couple weeks home with Cody were fairly easy. Monte stayed home from work for over a week, and Cody mainly slept and ate... And did well with both of those activities. But I was warned by a friend that usually by the third week the euphoria of having a newborn baby wears off. I’m amazed at how much I’ve forgotten from when Nate was this little; I wish I had documented more of the details of what I went through with Nate, through each phase since they change so much so fast. What my friend had said was true... by middle of week three, we were all exhausted and were very aware of just how little sleep we were getting, how little time we all had for each other, and how much we wanted a little time and space to ourselves. Cody went from sleeping 4 or 5 hours straight at night, to regularly feeding every 2 to 3 hours no matter what the hour. He’s also established a fussy time, around 8pm – just when Nate’s gone to sleep and I’m looking forward to having a little down time for myself!

What I struggle with most in learning how to be a mom of two kids is how to balance my time for both boys. I don’t have much one-on-one time with Nate anymore, and what time I do have for him is often spent disciplining him. So today I made a point of putting Cody to sleep in his room instead of in the bouncy chair that is moved to whatever room we’re in at the time, and take 15 minutes to read books with Nathan, giving my undivided attention. I was amazed at how just a little “mommy time” brought out the affectionate, sweet little boy I had known before Cody was born. We had been very diligent to ensure Nate got one-on-one attention with having a baby around, but it was usually with Monte. While that’s still so important, I realize Nate misses having alone time with me as well and I missed it too. It didn’t take much, but I could tell it meant the world to Nate and so I’m going to be more deliberate in taking time out to spend just with Nathan.