The year in pictures...2007, so far

For some reason, the camera got a little heavy this year, regardless, we snapped a few.

Your 2nd Christmas at Ma's house


Then shopping with Mom and Papa


to see...DIEGO and DORA!


Well, you were excited at the time...and then came Bosco...which is a post in itself


you two became real close...a little too close


he eventually outgrew you...and kept growing


eventually, he tired you out


Your first date with James at the petting zoo...chapperoned, of course...


But I am glad to see that you are starting to take after your dad...


More soon. :)

Cinderbellaurorarielladdin

Sometime over the cold dark winter months, we decided that Disney movies would be a great learning tool for you. After a 10 month experiment, I have found out that Walt Disney is a marketing genius and I am a sucker. It's funny, when we left the hospital with you, I don't recall being in a hurry, but somehow I missed the guy handing out the manual on how to raise you. Which reminds me, I used to get so paranoid when we first brought you home, I feared if I set you down or lost sight of you somehow, that I would not even recognize you since you were so new to us in order to claim you back. That would not be a problem today. Anyhow, back to the title. During the day, we had Dora and Barney, and Backyardigans, at night your bedtime ritual was to watch molly on her big comfy couch. We used to get a kick out of you laughing at fuzzy and wuzzy. Then you graduated to Beauty & the Beast. After the 23rd viewing, it also became a favorite of mine too. After the 42nd viewing, we thought that expanding your video library might be in your best interest. So along came Cinderella, then Ariel, then Snow White, then Aurora, and finally Princess Jasmine. It was fun to watch the old classics, then the new ones, may I also add Finding Nemo, Shrek, Over the Hedge, Lion King, Jungle Book, and Cars to the list, and I believe soon will come Ratitouie, then again, I think mommy really wants to watch that more than you. You were captivated by them. All you wanted to do was watch a movie. I admit, for awhile there, they were a good babysitter. Regardless, you fell in love with the Princesses. Everything about you was princess this and princess that. You got Princess stickers, princess, colouring books, princess sheets, princess underwear, princess puzzle...whoops...you were bad the other day, we are holding off until Christmas to give that to you now. My point is you are obsessed with the princesses. You are going out as Cinderella this halloween. Everything you want is prefaced by Cinderella .....blank. If they made Cinderella cars, you would drive in one, Cinderella phones, you would want to talk on one, Cinderella planes, you would fly in one, and Cinderella homes, you would live in one. At one time you used to like going to Home Depot with me to drive the Tony Stewart race car shopping cart. Every time we go there now, we have to go by the electrical department so you can see the Cinderella lamp you saw two months ago. When we get groceries, we have to go by the card section so you can open the musical Cinderella and Aurora cards. At least we have negotiated on looking at them, vs buying them.

For a while, you had removable princess stickers on the wall. (You think they are gone because of a bad episode the other week, reality is they are in the garage waiting to go back on your wall for good behaviour) I used to love it at bedtime. I would lay down in bed with you to help you fall asleep, you would start at one end of your bed standing up, whisper, Good night Aurora, Good night Belle, Goodnight Ariel...and give each one a kiss. Also, point out all their feature, Snow white and her red lipstick, Cinderella and her slippers...it was precious. Hopefully we can do it again. That is something I have to record.

I guess as a parent, the main thing is perserverance. Right now, your movie's have been taken away for a week for bad behaviour, it is day 3, and you didn't ask for them today. You learn to do without. Like back in June, we lost your soother, or as you say, soo-soo, for real. We looked high and low. Nothing. Oh well, we thought. We knew you had to get rid of that thing, it was almost as bad as your obsession with the princesses. So, this was god telling us, start tonight. You cried a bit. The next day, couldn't find it. A couple of days later, 3 of them turn up after cleaning the house. We thought, give them back or continue on? Well, we got this far. Some nights, ok...30 of them, I had wished we gave it back. Thanks to your mother, we held out and survived. Bedtime was not a fun event for awhile. We had such a good bedtime routine, we really did. Up to bed, say our prayers, goodnight. You laid around and fell asleep.

Sometimes when you have something good, you take it for granted. Then when you make a change, it can be tough. We questioned our decisions sometime, but usually upheld them. Like this movie thing. It was easier to throw one in to keep you quiet somedays, than it was arguing with you. I think we finally got it though now. Long term, I am glad I fought with you and perservered versus giving in. I knew I had patience, I just didn't know how often and long you would test it for...according to your grandfather, another 40 or so years.

Earaches, earaches, and more earaches

For the most part, your mom will say she kept you in a pretty good bubble for the first year of your life. And as I think back, she was right. The odd fever due to teething, falling down when learning to walk, but otherwise, not too much going wrong. Somehow, springtime after you turned 2 went down the tubes, so to say. You had and earache, another, another, another...it went on. I think last count was 5 in 3 months. We had the doctor on speed dial. I didn't know what Suprax or Zrithromax was, but now I can tell you everything about them. I can almost give advice on the correct dosage for the right length of time.
Summer time went by without much of a hitch, you got a flu sometime late spring and watching you throw up was not the most fun. For the most part, you are a little trooper. It must be nice to just be sick, as opposed to have to complain about it too. Maybe that's just something I do. I hope you don't learn that from me. The fall has arrived, and already you have had 2 earaches. So, it is off to the specialist next week. Will it be tubes in your ears? Will it be wait and see? Who knows, but in a weeks time, hopefully the picture will get a little clearer for us. Last week, you just about wiped us out, you came down with an earache and croup. I think I slept more during the day, then I did at night. It's funny how once upon a time, our wish was to just get you to sleep through the night. Now my wish is that I get to sleep through the night, in the same bed. I'll let you in on a little secret. The is no mommy's bed, or daddy's bed. There is mommy and daddy's bed, and the spare bedroom. Daddy uses the spare bedroom often enough to try and get back to sleep, or to split comforting duties with mom to help you get back to sleep. One day you'll figure it out, or, we will, that's a toss up.

Ok, I'm a procastinator...

So, a year has gone by in your little life. If I could do it all over again, I would have taken the first year off, and started posting more frequently after that. Somehow, things get me sidetracked. The stuff you do, say, and the little person have become. I must preface, that we do love you. You drive us crazy some days, but for the most part, one special little moment with you, makes up for a day of bad behaviour, or week of illness. Regardless, the point is, I am remembering now.

So, shortly after my last post came your second haloween. You dressed up as a little pink dragon, with this protruding tail that wagged back and forth. You carried a little plastic pumpkin. I remember clear as day. We went up the street, you were just starting to speak, 'twick o tweat' sometimes came out of your mouth. Sometimes you were invited in, and in you went without a fear in the world. It didn't take long for your pumpkin to fill and I had to start loading my pockets. You would have knocked on doors all night if I had let you. It was precious. Haloween is a few days away, this year you are Cinderella.

Christmas came and went without too much fanfare. You were spoiled again. For your 2nd birthday, we went to Great Wolf lodge with uncle Dave, Aunt Maura and Ethan & Emily and Nana and Papa. I will show you the video some day. You loved the wave pool, the 2 water slides you were allowed to go down. We all had fun. This year, we are going again, with Peter and Beth, and James and Owen. Hopefully, the 4" you have grown, may allow you a little more freedom this year, I doubt it.

As the winter rolled on, mommy decided she needed a companion, after talking long and hard, we agreed on a dog. So on a cold winter day, we hopped in the van for the last day as a little unit, and headed for Peterborough. A good chunk of change later, we came home with a pup, a Great Dane pup. He start off as Ceasar, but came home as Bosco. He was a cute cuddly little pup. Unfortunately, I only had a vision for a dog as an adult, not as a puppy, and did not know what I was in for. I thought puppies would be like kittens, the play, sleep, make the odd little mess, sleep again. Was I wrong. I shouldn't complain, you and Bosco have become great friends. He looks out for you and will be a companion for a long long time. Even if it cost me a couch, end table, screen door, a pair of shoes, an umbrella, countless toys, a hundred dollars for emergency medicine, (that was the first 4 months) and who knows what is yet to come as he is only 10 months old.

As spring went on, you met aunt Sue who looks after you a few days a week. It was a rough start, but after awhile, I realized you were just playing me when it was time to drop you off. It worked for a while. Then I caught on. I am amazed at how young you learn where to test us.

Spring came and went. For the first year, you were all about being outside, now I need a pry bar to get you away from your movies. You have become quite the counter, not the best speller. You do try and learn words all the time, sometimes ones we would rather not hear from you just yet, blame that on your mother and I. You were real good about identifying ambulance's and fire truck's as we drove around town. When I took you to the fire station to ride in one with uncle Mike, you got scared and wouldn't go near it.

Summer was all about the park and the kids. For a 2 1/2 year old, you have the most friends on the street. Any given night there were 5-15 kids on our front yard keeping you amused and having Bosco amuse them. Now it is fall, finally. More to come with the year in pictures.