A VISIT TO THE ROYAL WINTER FAIR....

Claire and I took Charlotte, Jacob and Oliver to the Royal Winter Fair today. We were also joined by Charlotte and Jacob's friend Wesley and his nanny Lilibeth. 

It was a great morning filled with a visit to the Pizza Pizza petting farm, a walk through the cows, a stroll through the pigs and sheep and a stop at the Presidents Choice Superdog show. We all enjoyed our time at the fair and can't wait to go back next year!

Charlotte, Jacob, Claire and Wesley at the petting farm

J-man feeding the goat

Wesley and Lilibeth feeding the goat

Oliver sleeping his way through the fair

Lilibeth, Wesley and Charlotte still feeding the goats

Say "cheese" Wes...

Three little friends at the fair -
Charlotte isn't sure whether the animals will stay behind the fence ;)

Charlotte still waiting to see that the goats stay put

Hi cow...

Wesley and the cow

In case you were wondering...Oliver is still sleeping 

Charlotte and her bunny friend

Jacob's turn to pat the bunny

Watching the superdogs show

It's hard to tell in this picture but Jacob was dancing to the music at the show

Still watching the dog show

Wesley and Lilibeth at the show

Charlotte watching the dog show

Yup....Oliver is still sleeping - wake up O you're missing the fair ;)

Superdogs show

Another hard to tell shot..but this is Charlotte dancing to the music

HAPPY ONE MONTH "BIRTHDAY"...OLIVER

Oliver...one month old

Wow....Oliver is one month old today...how the heck did that happen?! The past month has flown by. It's hard to believe how quickly it went. As you can imagine things have been quite busy in our house over the past month. Charlotte and Jacob have been adjusting to having a new little brother around and Doyle and I have been adjusting to our new "lack of sleep routine" and having three kids under two in the house. As chaotic as it is sometimes it is hard to imagine life without Oliver. 

Although he has been busy sleeping much of the past month (sometimes more during the day than at night) he has accomplished quite a bit in a short period of time from October 9 to November 9 Oliver has:

• Put on weight (official weight to be added on Nov 16 following his appointment with Dr. Greenburg)
• Visited Mommy's old colleagues at eHealth Ontario 
• Visited Mommy's current colleagues at St. Michael's Hospital
• Visited Grandpa's office
• Went on his first TTC bus / subway ride
• Met his Great Grandma Cec (also known as "GG")
• Had a photo shoot at the photo studio at the Real Canadian Supercentre
• Met Lindsie Grey, photographer, for pictures at our house
• Had his first visit to the Club Foot Clinic at Sick Kids and received his first cast to correct his club feet
• Met many family members and lots of Mommy and Daddy's friends
• Attended his first Halloween party at the Central Eglinton Community Centre and co-hosted one at our house!
• Visited Grammy's house
• Attended the Royal Winter Fair
• Activities outside of the house around the neighbourhood: walks in the stroller, visit at Ralfe and Adam's house

Smiley Oliver - November 5, 2012
captured by the photographer at the photo studio at the Real Canadian SuperCentre 

Oliver "buddha" Brown - November 5, 2012

Eyes wide open - November 5, 2012

This photo shoot is a riot - November 2012

Oliver one month old - hiding his mouth

Comparison: Charlotte and Jacob one month old
(January 30, 2011)

Oliver's first visit to the Club Foot Clinic at Sick Kids

Today was Oliver's first appointment at the Club Foot clinic at Sick Kids. 

We arrived at 8 a.m. checked in and proceeded to the waiting room. I was expecting the room to be packed based on things I've heard and read about the clinic but there were only a handful of people there. We waited for about 10 minutes and were then brought into an exam room to wait for our consultation with Dr. Wright the orthopedic surgeon. We were seen first by the orthpedic fellow and then by Dr. Wright, the fellow and Barb the physiotherapist. They were all very nice and delivered some very positive news to us. They were very pleased with how much movement Oliver had in his feet and actually don't believe that he has a "true" club foot. We won't know for sure until we're through the casting process but we were certainly relieved to hear their news. We also learned that they may not even cast his right foot because of how flexible it is - we may be given a series of stretches to do with him and his foot to manipulate it into place. We will know more about what will happen with his right foot in the coming weeks. For now, he was given a cast on his left leg. We will return to the clinic next Wednesday to have it removed and his foot examined. From there Barb the physiotherapist will provide us with her recommendation on what happens next. We will likely receive another cast on his left leg (but no more than three) and we will talk in greater detail about what to do with his right foot. The other positive news from our visit today was that we may not need to follow up the casting with the brace bar and special shoes. Depending on his how feet respond we may only need to go through the casting to reposition his feet. Again, this will all become more clear over the next three weeks. 

Oliver handled today's visit like a champ. He was his usual calm self. He only fussed a bit as his foot / knee were held into place in order for the cast to harden. 

We are looking forward to seeing how things progress over the coming weeks. For now we're getting used to Oliver's "new leg". 

The casting process has begun

The "glue" being applied on Oliver's foot 

With the glue on it's time for the plaster

The plaster goes from the foot up to the thigh

Look how calm he is - you'd think he was at the spa ;)

A fiberglass coating is applied over the cast

Barb, the great physiotherapist and Doyle (sporting his "MO" for Movember)

Just about done with cast number one - it will be on until next Wednesday

Oliver's special feet....

Oliver's special feet -
you'll notice his left foot is more pronounced than his right foot

As many of you know Oliver was born with club feet - meaning his feet turn in instead of being in their normal position. Tomorrow Oliver will be embarking on a journey to correct the position of his feet. We are due to be seen at the Club Foot Clinic at Sick Kids at 8 a.m. We will initially meet with the orthopedic surgeon for an initial assessment and then move onto our consultation with the physiotherapist. Before we leave Oliver will receive his first set of casts which will play an instrumental role in correcting the position of his feet. We are still waiting to hear how many casts he'll need - because his feet are quite flexible, which is a good thing, we're hoping we'll be through the casting phase of the process faster than we would have been had his feet been more rigid. We will have a better idea after our appointment tomorrow as to how many casts Oliver will require. Following the casts Oliver will be fitted for a brace bar and special shoes which he will be required to wear for 23 hours a day for the first three months and then for 12 hours a day for at least a year or so. Again all of this will be more clear as we progress through our journey. 

When I first learned about Oliver's club feet at 21 weeks gestation I was quite sad and not sure what to expect. Now I'm kind of sad to say good-bye to them. To be honest I haven't really noticed them as much as I thought I would they are just part of who he is. 

So as we embark on this journey with Oliver and his "special feet" I can't help but feel grateful for the care and attention we're about to receive from the Club Foot Clinic team at Sick Kids! 

So long to Oliver's special feet

A special introduction....

Yesterday Oliver had the pleasure of meeting his great grandma "GG" for the first time. It was so much fun for me to introduce Oliver to my grandma - a very special moment indeed. She recently moved to Toronto from Iroquois Falls. We love having her so close and can't wait for many more "play dates" with GG!

GG looking quite smitten with her newest great grandchild - Oliver is number 9 

Cuddles with GG

Story time with Grandpa

GG, Oliver and Charlotte 

GG, Oliver, Charlotte and Jacob

Hands....

Halloween.....take three

After a party at the community centre and a party at our house with Charlotte and Jacob's friends, we finished off the Halloween festivities with a visit from Grams and Grandpa and the kids watching the trick or treaters come to our house. We decided to pass on trick or treating with them this year due to the rain and cold temps. We'll be out in full force next year no matter what the weather throws at us! 

Although the kids didn't quite understand the full meaning of Halloween this year they certainly enjoyed all the fun over the past few days. 

Halloween wouldn't be complete without a visit from Grandpa and Grams
in their costumes!  

Grandpa with his little flower and monster 

I just love the monster feet on Jacob's costume

Monster man....

Spending time with the pumpkin on the porch before the trick or treaters arrive

Loving their pumpkin friend...

So long Halloween.....see you next year!