I just wanted to share some pregnancy photos that I took for a friend last weekend…
We did a simple setup with a sheet and whatever lighting we had and just had fun while the kids ran around and made noise…
Jody is 36 weeks here and glowing 🙂
it was just really fun and I really enjoyed taking them….
There are really times that I wish that I could get into photography a bit more seriously…
(click on any to see larger or to see more of this set on Flickr)
Yesterday for Colin’s birthday we headed to TRU for him to get a gift for himself. We have been letting the boys pick out their own birthday girts for 2 years now and we love it. They get what they want and we end up spending less..
Anyway, we were walking around and decided to head to the Star wars toys, KhĂ©na was following us around with a little pink stroller that he had been pushing around the store…Colin and Simon headed to the section while Xavier and I were looking at something… then we headed there also…  Both of us thought that KhĂ©na was with the other..
When we were looking at the toys I realized that KhĂ©na wasn’t there… he was pushing the stroller around and often goes around an isle but always comes back within a second or two or when we call him … so I called out for him but he didn’t answer like he usually does…
I asked Simon if he saw him and he said that he thought that he was with me… Our hearts sank.
I knew that he wouldn’t  leave the store, but scenarios start playing in your mind in situations like that…
We both called out and Simon went looking one way while I went the other… we were starting to panic as every time we called out, there was no answer…
Then I heard the loud speaker come on and I just knew what was coming. The voice called for the parents of KhĂ©na to come to the courtesy desk…
Relief.
Simon arrived with KhĂ©na a minute later…
I asked what happened and Simon didn’t know… he hadn’t thought of asking but just comforted KhĂ©na who was scared and crying when he went to get him. KhĂ©na explained it to me a few minutes later… he couldn’t find us so he went to see a lady that was shopping and asked her if she knew where his mommy and daddy was. She didn’t know, but brought him to the front desk where he said his name and they called us.
I am so proud of him… he did the perfect thing and found someone to help him.
He decided that the cart was a good place for the rest of the shopping trip… he wasn’t going to lose us again..
It was a scary experience, we felt embarrassed for being called but so proud that he did the right thing, and it also opened up some very important conversations…
My sweet Colin turned six yesterday…
My boy is growing so fast. He still loves to draw and can spend hours doing that but recently a few video games have also really caught his attention. He is such a great kid and it is so fun to talk to him and just hang out. He has such an amazing imagination and loves to tell stories and does so with so much expession in his voice and eyes. He loves numbers and he counts to 100 and beyond… he just counts everything and add things up and subtracts and numbers just make sense to him… it is so cool to hear him…
He is such a happy and easy kid (though he can have his moments, don’t be fooled) He loves to look good  and be well dressed with his hair combed and teeth brushed… he is very proud when someone compliments him and loves to be the centre of attention.
Colin is my social butterfly. He will talk to anyone, anywhere… he is often drawn towards older kids and adults but this summer he made a best friend at SMUG, the Summer Montreal Unschooling Gathering that we went to at the end of June. Luckily, his best friend feels the same way and the other kids and us parents also enjoy each others company so we have been trying to get together more often even if we live a bit more then an hour away…
(playing a game with the older kids at SMUG)
Colin of course is still my mover and jumper… he will climb anything, jump from anything, run and dive and ride and is just always moving… He was climbing well before he could walk and continues to impress me with his moves…
There is so much more I could say… this kid is amazing…
Happy Birthday Colin! I love you kid!
My sweet Wilhelmina is 7 months old today…
I can’t believe time has gone by so fast… She is growing so quickly, changing so much and even got her first tooth today! (top tooth at that)
She truly makes us smile. She wakes up in the morning with the biggest grin, she cuddles and kisses and loves being in anyones arms… She loves to hang out with her brothers and wherever they go she wants to follow… Though I do know that KhĂ©na misses being the baby at times and has given her the permission to go back into my tummy more than once, he is such a great big brother along with Xavier and Colin and she loves them all…
Talking about Colin, it is amazing how much she and Colin look alike. She is seriously his double… everyone notices it and there are some pictures that we have of Colin that we can almost not tell the difference if it weren’t for the picture quality….
Xavier and her seem to share something very special. He wears her and carries her and has gotten her dressed and just loves to help take care of her. Not having a sibling of my own, I am amazed at the closeness all the kids have and their genuine love for each other. I think she is so lucky to have three big brothers to watch out for her, help care for her and who make her smile and laugh…
So, yes her first tooth has pierced and though she is not eating yet, she loves when I give her a carrot or piece of apple or cucumber to suck on… she has also loved licking the straw of my smoothie (made from frozen fruits and coconut milk) and loves to try to get water from my straw… I love this phase of experimenting, tasting. but not yet actually eating and swallowing anything…
I am going to write a more extensive post about EC but to mention is quickly, it is going great. We catch most pees and virtually all poos. With her crawling and interested in everything there have been a few more misses and puddles, but having her diaper-free all the time makes things easy. She still has the routine of having a pee before bed and waking up dry in the morning… We  are so confident in her staying dry that she sleeps bare bum and we are not nervous at all….
Wilhelmina is just a happy little girl… when we are at home she can spend hours playing and discovering. She also loves to be worn around the house and loves to go outside… She doesn’t mind when we are out for the day and will quietly stay in the sling and nurse and sleep and people watch and just be with me while I get things done. The only thing that she doesn’t enjoy after a long day is the drive home. She nurses less when we are out so often the drive home reminds her that she is hungry… Â I stop and nurse her and then we are on our way again..
So wow… 7 months old… Â what an amazing kid and I am not ashamed to say that I am enjoying having a daughter.
Well, it is here. Simon’s last official day of parental leave.
After nearly 7 months of being home and being a full-time family, Simon will be going to work tomorrow morning. I remember when Wilhelmina was born and would try imagine what she would be like when he would go back to work. Would she be stitting? Crawling? Cruising? how big would she be? what would she look like?
Now the day is here and she is more amazing than I could have imagined.
It has been amazing have Simon around the house. He does so much to help with the kids and let me devote time to Wilhelmina and even myself… Wilhelmina is such a Daddy’s girl and loves to be on his back while he is doing things around the house. The minutes she sees the Ergo, she craws to him or calms down if she is upset and it is her favourite place to fall asleep…
As much as I wish Simon could always be home, I am also looking forward to getting back into a daily routine. Giving birth and then having him home has made me feel lazy which is something that I can no longer do when I am back to being to primary caregiver to all four kids. I don’t mind being lazy sometimes, but after a while, it becomes a routine that is hard to get out of and I start feeling crappy and impatient with myself which then reflects on the kids. It is not the person I strive to be, and hopefully, doing more will mean that I will drop off a bit more weight which will also help with my energy and some negative feelings I have been having about myself.
I am not expecting to be 100% back to what I was doing before right away, but being home alone will do some good and going back into the role of primary caregiver will also feel quite nice.
I went and did the grocery shopping yesterday and made sure I had food for the week and a good list of  meals that I can make without too much preparation to ease into this first week… soon I plan on getting back into the normal routine of baking bread on a regular basis, doing more baking in general and getting back into a better house keeping routine…
So this long long weekend has come to an end… the house will feel quite empty tomorrow morning when we wake up without Simon in the house…
I feel so thankful that we were able to have such a long time as a full-time family…
