Christmas

Since we didn't know when Ellis would make her arrival, we didn't make any plans for Christmas this year. We knew we'd be at home (or at the hospital) but that's about it.

Jasper trying out his new kitchen set..at 5am

It ended up working out well that my parents and brother were able to come visit for the day and we all went over to Pat's parents house for dinner.

Peek a boo!

Ellis and Jasper were spoiled by their grandparents, aunts and uncles. Jasper was excited to get a kitchen set, some new books, trucks and a giant stuffed moose for Christmas.

Ellis cuddles

Jasper still loves to give Ellis lots of kisses.

Kiss attack!

Attempt at picture of the 4 of us.

Grannie took Jasper out to play in the snow before it started to melt. He is getting used to the snow- he seemed to enjoy it much better than last time. It may be because it was 0 degrees with no wind on Christmas.

Sled ride with Grannie

Not scared of snow anymore

Jasper even let Grannie throw snow balls at him and kept saying "more" each  time.

 

After nap time for most people in the house, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for some more gifts and Christmas dinner.

Reading with Grandma

New Christmas PJs.

We put Jasper to bed there in his travel crib, and he ended up sleeping over. It was a nice treat to not have to be up entertaining him at 5am. Apparently he slept int until 5:30 for Grandma and Grandpa.

Ellis eyeing up Grandma

We missed seeing all the extended family this year, but it was a good Christmas spent with a 6 day old. Merry Christmas everyone!

Ellis' first week

It has been a bit of a shock adjusting to having two kids in the house, but luckily we've had lot of help from family.

Eyes open!

Jasper is really interested in his new baby sister. He likes to give her kisses and hugs (sometimes a bit squishy) and wants her to eat his food and play with his trucks.

Jasper thought Ellis would like a pretzel

So far, Ellis seems like a pretty laid back baby. She likes to eat and likes to sleep and right now that's pretty much all she does. That, and make lots of dirty diapers.

Couch snuggles

Ellis and Jasper have been lucky to have all four of their grandparents and even two great grandparents visit this week. There have been lots of aunt and uncle visits, Skype calls from all over- even Uncle Andrew and Aunt Katie in New Zealand and Aunt Kate from the airport in St Louis.

Reading time with Grandma and Grandpa

Ellis barely fits into her newborn sized sleepers, but the three month size clothes are still really large on her.

Ellis got dressed

Jasper is still not napping well at home (he always naps a solid 2 hours at daycare), so we've had to get creative this week. We're thinking about ordering one of the cots they nap on at daycare to see if that will help.

Both kids asleep at the same time. Win!

Baby Ellis arrives

Ellis Mary Beaton made a quick arrival to the world on Monday December 19th at 6:03pm. At 3:00, I called Pat at work to tell him maybe he should come home. I called the midwife at 4:00, we got to the hospital just after 5:00, our primary midwife arrived around 5:30 and Ellis was born at 6:03.  The second midwife didn't make it until after Ellis was born.

Fresh baby.

After a pretty crummy pregnancy, it was good to get the labour and delivery over so quickly! We were lucky that there were no weather issues on the drive to Walkerton that night.

Proud Daddy

Ellis weighed 8lbs 12 oz when she was 2 hours old. She'd already eaten a bunch and pooped all over me at that point. We gave her the middle name Mary because she was born on Grandma Beaton's birthday. We decided to just stay the minimum 4 hours at the hospital for monitoring, and head right home.

Not a fan of the car seat.

It was nice to be able to sleep (well a little bit) in our own bed that night. Grannie and Grandad McIlroy were at the house to look after Jasper, so they were able to meet Ellis first.

Meeting Grannie

The next morning, Jasper awoke at his usual 5:00am, but with a brand new baby sister to meet.

Family photo (don't look so excited Jasper)

Jasper was confused and fascinated by this new little creature. He likes to practice his words by pointing out her body parts and hat. We tried to avoid him poking her eyes.

Nose! Eyes! Mouth!

Jasper get pretty jealous of Ellis when she eats, but for now he's pretty excited about all the visitors who have come to play with him.

Fall

Things have been pretty busy around here, but I thought the family would appreciate some pictures, since the toddler room doesn't post much on HiMama.

I've been away a bit for work, so Pat and Jasper have had some fun hanging out together.

Biking with Dad.

He still loves hats (that is an adult size hat)

 This fall has been extra warm, so we've been able to spend lots of time outside.

At tiny tots park.

 Jasper didn't go to any Blue Jays playoff games this year, but he did go to Gilley's to watch the games. He preferred to sit on his booster seat on the floor and read a book.

Reading on the floor of the bar.

Sometimes you're feeding your kid cheese pizza at a bus stop.

We've made a bunch of road trips this fall: to the cottage, to Toronto and to visit family. It's nice to have a bit more leg room in our new bigger car.

Playing in the new car.

Hugging True Blue at the Varsity Blues game.

Halloween

Jasper enjoyed the his second Halloween, although he really doesn't understand what's going on. 

Monster playing blocks.

On Saturday, Grannie was visiting and we went to a kids Halloween party at a local school. Jasper had fun playing with the toys and other kids. He even decorated his own mini pumpkin.

Monster in the balls

On Sunday, we carved some pumpkins for the front porch. Jasper liked the outside of the pumpkins, but he was kind of scared of the guts from inside.

Carving a pumpkin

 Tonight we had an early dinner and tried to take Jasper out trick or treating.

Acting the part of monster.

 We drove around town first to visit Jasper's aunts and uncles.

A little happier.

 Uncle Nathan was dressed as a giant creepy baby.

Visiting Nathan.

Next stop was to Uncle Scott on Princes St. Jasper was confused that Grandma and Grandpa weren't there.

All the candy!

Next stop was to Aunt Heather at the hospital.  Good thing the emergency department wasn't too busy!

Monster at the hospital.

 Finally, we went to see Uncle Matt at home. He had lots of candy for Jasper to choose from.

Monster with Uncle Matt

It was already past bedtime when we got home, but we still visited a few neighbours before calling it a night.

Back at home

Jasper started to get the hang of putting candy into the bucket by the end of the night. He still doesn't realize that it's edible. I guess we'll have to eat it for him!

Trick or treating from Grandad.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Science World

Friday, it rained in Vancouver, so instead of going back to Stanley Park, we decide to check out Science World instead. After a mid-morning free bagel stop at a nearby bagel shop, we walked down to the science centre.

Koala family

While Jasper took his morning nap, the adults spent an hour trying and failing to solve mind puzzles. I think we solved about 5 between the three of us.

Jasper solved the puzzles better than us

So many Jaspers!

Science!

All worn out

Vancouver Aquarium

Jasper slept in until 5:30 Pacific time this morning! I think he may adjust to the time difference just in time for us to fly home.

Running around the aquarium

Aunt Pat had to work today, so we decided to take Jasper to the Aquarium. We seem to have hit the sweet spot between summer crowds and school groups, so it wasn't too busy.

Gentle in the touch tank

Jasper was equally interested in the fish, whales and otters as he is in the seagulls and squirrels we saw out in Stanley Park.

Pat measuring his catch of the day

There was a good kids play area that Jasper enjoyed running around in. He especially liked to watch the other kids playing.

Baby seal formula at the animal rescue station

We had planned to also walk around Stanley Park, but ended up staying at the Aquarium until the end of the day.

Staring down a fishy

Back at Aunt Pat's place, we had a nice supper and put Jasper to bed at a reasonable hour for the first time on our trip. Ruby the cat wanted to share Jasper's travel bed. Jasper is equal parts scared and fascinated by Ruby.

Ruby likes the travel crib.

After Jasper went to bed, Pat and I wandered around the neighbourhood at bit. He filled up a growler at one of the many nearby brewpubs, and I got an organic ice cream cone.