HAPPY THIRTEEN MONTH "BIRTHDAY" CHARLOTTE AND JACOB

Today marks 13 months since Charlotte and Jacob were born. It truly is amazing how much has happend since they arrived. This past week a year ago we celebrated some exciting firsts (both kids passed their car seat test, had their feeding tubes removed from their nose, had their heart rate monitor leads taken off and were discharged from the St. Mike's NICU) and a year later we continue to celebrate many more. From January 1 to January 30 Charlotte and Jacob have:

• More "babbles": Both kids continue to "babble". In addition to being able to say "dada, duh (dog), and dickle dickle dickle (tickle tickle tickle) the kids have added the following: Jacob's new babbles "care (our nanny Claire's name), mama (mommy) and dis (this) Charlotte's new babbles: dis (this), dat (that), and oooooo (oh)"
• Increased their pointing: Charlotte continues to point at everything she sees or wants. Jacob has just started to point at things over the past week.
• Expanded the types of solid foods they eat: Our nanny Claire has been cooking up a storm for the kids and they have loved everything she has made for them including: Shepard's pie, chicken and veggie stir-fry, chicken and veggie pizza, hummus on toast, and sweet potatoe
• Begun to walk with "assitance": Whether it's with the chairs from our table, stools from the kitchen or their Fisher-Price Ride and Stride Dino's the kids love to walk! More times than not we will find the stools from the kitchen and chairs from the table spread around the main floor as the kids move from one place to another on their feet!
• Started standing: Both kids have started standing on their own for a short periods of time (30 seconds here, 45 seconds there). Jacob figured it out first but Charlotte wasn't far behind. They are both very proud of themselves when they are standing and quite often will clap after they fall on their bum!
• More teeth: Charlotte now has three teeth on top to go along with her two teeth on the bottom. Jacob remains locked on his five (three on top and two on the bottom)
• Adjusted to "mommy" being gone during the day: Charlotte and Jacob have adjusted to me not being around during the day - since I returned to work on January 9th they have been spending their days with our nanny Claire. They have never once cried when we leave in the morning and are always happy to see us when we get home at night!
• Activities outside of the house: Music at Central Eglinton Community Centre on Friday mornings, Playdate with Sophia (a little girl C and J and Claire met at the drop in centre), Playtime at the drop in centre, Baby Time at the Northern District Library, and lots of stroller walks with Claire

ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER...

After a fantastic year at home with the kids I am heading back to work tomorrow. It has been a very emotional last week of maternity leave for me. I have shed some tears and have rustled with many guilty feelings about leaving the kids in someone else's care while I'm at work. Although we have a great nanny, named Claire, who the kids seem really comfortable with - I still can't help but feel like I'm going to be missing out on so many milestones while I'm away from them during the day. 


The kids must sense that things will be changing around here tomorrow because they chose not to nap this afternoon and they decided that today would be a great day to start "walking" consistently with their Fisher Price Ride and Stride Dino's they got for Christmas. While we were hanging in the basement this afternoon watching football, Doyle decided to put the kids behind the dinos to see what they would do. As he helped the kids steady themselves he let go of the dino and away they walked!!! They were so proud of themselves and wanted to do it over and over and over and over. They haven't mastered "steering" yet but have mastered controlling their feet while the dino rolls away in front of them. It was the greatest thing to watch and I'm so glad I was here to share this milestone with them. 


There is no question this week is going to be challenging on many levels - leaving the kids, worrying about whether I remember how to do my job, finding a balance between working and life at home and getting enough "awake" time with the kids. But one thing is for sure...at the end of the day (no matter how challenging it was) I get to come home to two of the greatest kids one mom (and dad) could ask for and I feel very fortunate to have my family beside me as I embark on this next journey....

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE AND JACOB...

On Friday December 30th we celebrated Charlotte and Jacob's 1st birthday in Jamaica. I am still finding it very hard to believe that they are a year old already. We feel so fortunate to have the kids in our lives. Not a day goes by when I don't think about how tiny and vulnerable they were when they were born. They have certainly come a long way in a year. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending everyday with them and will miss them very much when I head back to work on Monday. They continue to make me laugh everyday and I can't imagine not having them in our family.


From December 1 - December 30 Charlotte and Jacob have:

• Continued to gain weight: Charlotte weighs 18 lbs 11.5 oz and Jacob weighs 18 lbs 6.5 oz (a far cry from the 3 lbs 15 oz and 3 lbs 5 oz they were born at)
• Continued to pull up on everything: Charlotte and Jacob continue to pull themselves up on everything they can reach but have thankfully mastered getting themselves down as well. Their favourite things to pull up on include the coffee table, chairs, the couch, the gates at the bottom and top of the stairs, their crib, and the stairs.
• Started to climb the stairs: A few times when I've forgotten to close the gate at the bottom of our stairs I've found both Charlotte and Jacob on the second or third stair and heading up for more. 
• Took a few steps with their new Fisher Price Ride and Stride Dino: On December 12 Jacob took a few steps with his new Fisher Price Ride and Stride Dino that he got from Grandma and Grandpa. He is more interested in pulling up on things and cruising than actually walking forward though. 
• Clapping: Jacob mastered clapping his hands together and was so proud the first time he did it! Charlotte continues to clap up a storm and is just as excited about it as she was the first time she did it.
• No longer eat baby food: Both kids lost interest with food from the baby food jars. They will still eat apple sauce but other than that they would rather eat people food. In some ways this is easier but it others it is not because it takes more thought to figure out what we'll give them to eat during the day vs just popping open a jar of food. This did come in very handy when we were in Jamaica though because it was one less thing to worry about packing. 
• More "babbles": Both kids continue to "babble". They can say "dada" and a sound that sounds like "dog" ("duh") but other than that I'm still waiting to hear "mama"! They do seem to know to use "dada" when they see Doyle which is cute! Charlotte also mutters "dickle dickle dickle" which I seem to think sounds like "tickle tickle tickle" but only she really knows what she is saying!
• More teeth: Charlotte has four teeth (two bottom and two top) and Jacob has five teeth (two bottom, and three top - front two and an eye tooth)
• Pointing: Charlotte has started pointing at things. We respond by verbalizing what it is she is pointing at. She also puts her arms up when she wants to be picked up - she'll crawl over to our feet and raise her arms above her head
• Celebrated their 1st Christmas: Charlotte and Jacob celebrated their first Christmas with Grammy Pam, Uncle Andrew, Uncle Mike and the Jeffreys. 
• Traveled to Jamaica: From December 26 - January 2 we stayed at the Iberostar Rose Hall Suites with my Dad, Sandy, Kelley, Dave, Kieran, Quinn and Jal. It was a fantastic week away and the kids thoroughly enjoyed swimming in the pool, dipping their feet in the ocean and eating with the 'grown-ups'
• Activities outside of the house: More walks in the stroller, Stars and Stroller movie (The Muppets), and playtime at the drop in centre

BIRTHDAY PICTURES

Birthday celebrations with Grammy Pam, Uncle Mike and Uncle Andrew

Uncle Mike and Uncle Andrew help Charlotte open their new books 

Uncle Mike reading to Charlotte 

Grammy and Charlotte 

Uncle Mike and Jacob 

Birthday's are so much FUN

Charlotte getting help reading her card 

Her new silver spoon 

Opening their special silver spoons complete with their birth date engraved

Where's our cake...Where's our cake...

Jacob not sure what to think about turning 1 

Charlotte a little scared of the candle

Birthday celebrations in Jamaica with Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Gramz, Aunt Kelley, Uncle Dave, Kieran, Quinn and Aunt Jal

It's December 30th and we're officially 1 year old 

I'll just have a little taste of this before my cake

Kieran helping Charlotte celebrate 

Woah

Grandpa with the "official" birthday cakes 

Happy Birthday "Chatlotte and Jacob" 

Kieran explaining how this whole birthday thing works... 

Happy Birthday...Jamaican style...

Charlotte's first taste of her cake

Charlotte wasn't quite sure what was happening and Jacob was still trying to figure out what to do with the plate in front of him

Still thinking..... 

This chocolate stuff is yummy...

Who needs cake when you have chocolate sauce... 

Mmmmm.... 

The chocolate sauce was everywhere!

Jacob a little neater with his cake

Aunt Jal and Aunt Kel sharing in the cake fun 

Mommy and Daddy all smiles for the birthday celebrations 

A celebratory cigar and bubble gum cigar for Kieran and Quinn

A birthday swim

Mommy and her water babies

Birthday dinner - Mommy all smiles

Birthday dinner - Daddy all smiles

JAMAICA....YA MON

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

We have just returned from a fabulous week in paradise with my Dad, Sandy, sisters Jalynn and Kelley, brother-in-law Dave and nephews Kieran and Quinn, at the Iberostar Rose Hall Suites in Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

Our trip started at 3am on December 26th when we left our house for the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:15 a.m. We had a smooth check-in and were at the gate in plenty of time. Our plane left on-time and arrived in Jamaica just before 10:30 a.m. After clearing customs and finding our shuttle bus we were on our way to our resort shortly after 11:00 a.m. The kids were amazing travel buddies. They slept for over an hour on the plane and were very patient as we waited for our rooms to be ready. The rooms took a little longer than we expected but were well worth the wait. When we arrived in the room we realized we had been upgraded to an even better suite than we had expected. Our room had a lovely outdoor terrace with a wicker swing and very comfy couch, a large bathroom with double sinks, a jacuzzi tub and separate shower and a great open room with a king size bed and sitting area. The kids loved the tub and very much enjoyed all the crawling space they had. I was worried before we arrived at the resort about how we'd fit two cribs in the room but we had more than enough space for them. 

The resort itself was amazing. It was big enough that we never felt like we were on top of other guests but small enough that we learned where everything was quickly. We spent much of our time by the "shallow entrance" to the pool. Our kids, especially Charlotte, loved the water. The "shallow entrance" of the pool was great because they could crawl and splash around at their own pace. My nephews especially liked the fact they could swim up to the bar and get "slushy" drinks whenever they wanted! 

When we weren't lounging by the pool or swimming you could find us enjoying meals at one of the many restaurants around the resort. The kids ate everything and loved the buffet restaurant in addition to the a la cart restaurants (when they were awake). We were lucky enough to keep them on their regular routine from home so we would feed them an early dinner, throw them in the tub and have them in their jammies and often asleep in their stroller before we ate dinner. I had no idea what to expect from the trip where the kids were concerned - but it turned out that the kids exceeded my expectations. Both Doyle and I actually came home feeling like we had a vacation and a relaxing one at that! 

We feel very fortunate that we had the opportunity to spend this past week in Jamaica. Thanks to my Dad and Sandy for taking us on such an amazing trip! We certainly had a sun-filled, rum-filled, FUN-filled time away with everyone...I'm definitely going through serious buffet / swim up bar with drawl today ;)

The view from the lobby balcony

The view from the beach

Our rooms were the last four on the right hand side - bottom level

Other side of the resort (resort was shaped like a U)

Charlotte and "Daddy" enjoy a swim in the pool 

Doyle, my Dad, Jacob, Charlotte, Quinn, Kel and Kieran 

Dave pool side 

The view from our room

Quinn and Jacob enjoying some cousin time

Kieran, Charlotte and Jacob enjoying some cousin time 

Jacob trying to decide which drink he's going to have next from the swim up bar ;) 

Steel drum band at the beach BBQ 

The newly opened kids water play area (the day before it opened)

Beach time! 

The kids enjoying their "New Year's Eve" dinner on the terrace

Family shot 

Daddy and Charlotte 

Jacob and Charlotte sitting on the couch on the terrace

Aunt Jal and the kids

YA MON!