Canadian-isms

Today I was at my Bible Study and the leader was making some morning announcements. When she was finished, she said, "and by the way...who made that wonderful square?"
Square? What square?
I looked around trying to figure out what they were talking about.
A lady said that she had made it and then I realized they were talking about food!
I asked my friends what exactly was a square and they told me that it is anything baked in a pan and cut into squares...well I guess that makes sense!
There aren't too many things that are different language-wise about living here, but just for fun, here are a few terms that I have gotten used to over the past year!

1) EH
An interjection or prompt spoken by Canadians.
Equivalent to the American "huh?" or "right?"
Usually used to prompt a person to respond to what was said. or to indicate a lack of understanding.

For example, "the sky is pretty today, eh?"

2) HEY
a slang interjection or prompt often used in place of "eh" or "right" in order to make a sentence into a question; used in parts of Canada

For example, "It's supposed to snow tomorrow, hey?"

3) GOTCH
 Men's underwear

4) TOOK (also spelled TUQUE)
(noun) a knit cap, a beanie


5) TOBOGGAN
A sled. Not a knit hat!


6) WASHROOM
A bathroom.

7) LOONIE
A gold dollar coin

8) TOONIE
A gold and silver two dollar coin

Interesting, eh? :)

Three Months!

Grayson is three months old!

I know I say this every month...but time sure is flying by! Grayson now weighs 14.6 pounds! At our pre-op appointment on Friday the nurse called him a "linebacker" and I have to agree. No wonder my back hurts sometimes after carting him around!

Grayson is now wearing 3-6 months shirts and 3 months pants. Today he is wearing his first 6 month outfit and it still has lots of room (I love when they are a little big! It seems so snuggly!) He is in a size 2 diaper.

At our pre-op appointment we decided that we would take away Grayson's pacifier now so that after his surgery when he can't have it he won't be so upset. It has been hard, but he seems to be doing better each day. Last night I fed him at 7:30 and stuck him in bed. He ate again at 8:30 and never woke up! This was the first time he went to bed this early and stayed asleep, hooray!
Hopefully, Grayson will be happy after his surgery. The nurse told me to keep him from crying. Yes, keep a BABY from CRYING!! In other words, Grayson and I will be joined at the hip for the next few weeks. Charlie thinks I will be feeding him a lot to keep him happy, but I think we will be doing a lot of rocking in the rocking chair and he will be napping on me on the couch.
I asked a ton of questions at his appointment and feel okay about his surgery. It will take 2 hours to repair his lip and then about 45 minutes in the recovery room. They will alternate advil and tylenol for the pain and he will be able to eat right away! The scariest things I heard were to keep him from crying and that he can not take his splints off at all for the whole three weeks (even in the bath tub!). Other than that, the nurse said to take tons of pictures of him now because he will look completely different after the surgery. She also told us how wonderful the surgeon is, which really made me feel so glad he is getting his surgery done here! I also asked about the costs of this procedure and she said we would be paying nothing! Can I repeat that? Nothing! Wow, what a relief. Thank you Alberta Health Care!

Claire and Grayson at 3 months...I see more resemblances now!

Tomorrow is my first day keeping a little girl. I am going to keep her one day a week for four hours. I am hoping that Claire enjoys playing with her (she is almost two). I think it will be good for her to have a buddy for a few hours. Grayson is keeping pretty well to his schedule, so it seems manageable! Fingers crossed! :)

Monday Musings

Claire woke up bright and early this morning and at about the same time Grayson was making grunting noises in the pack n' play beside me. It was 8am and still dark-ish outside. Claire wanted to immediately put her new shoes back on. I found a great deal at Old Navy on Saturday and got her some black church shoes for 5 dollars! She has been in love with them ever since. I think she would sleep with them if I would let her. I never thought she would be more excited about clothes and shoes than toys!!

Grayson has been trying to sleep all night. He has now dropped his 11pm feeding and goes from 8pm to 4am. I have had a hard time getting used to this change! I get so uncomfortable and full and then my breast pads leak all over me! I just hate waking up to that!

Today has been "change out the toys" day! Charlie and I found a good deal on some storage tubs over the weekend and last night I started packing up clothes that don't fit Claire anymore. This led to me noticing the disaster that is the toy area in the living room. I have gotten really tired of picking up all the little toys that end up all over the floor, under the couch, across the coffee table, etc. So, after I put Grayson down for his morning nap I got to work! I moved out the drawers that held all of the toys and put them in the basement and brought down Claire's table we got her from IKEA. I am trying to "introduce" toys that Claire does not play with. So far, so good. She didn't even ask where the other toys went! Charlie and I are constantly surprised at what she does and doesn't play with. It has made deciding what to get her for Christmas tricky!

Claire has been in "big girl underwear" all morning and has already had one accident. Potty training just drags on and on. Yesterday we went to eat lunch with some friends at Olive Garden. Claire went potty in her first public restroom. (I had been dreading this, as I think public restrooms are gross and try to never use them myself!!) I put toilet paper all over the potty and as she was going the toilet paper fell in. Hmm. Any thoughts out there to help with potty training in public restrooms? I worry about our upcoming trip to the US for Christmas because I know there will be lots of pottying in the airports.

As for Grayson, I have been trying to decide whether to get him new swaddle blankets or not. He loves to be swaddled and sleeps so good when bundled up tight. But, now his blankets are getting small and I am not sure if we should suffer through him waking himself up by being loose or buy new ones. Also, I am dreading what his arm splints will do to his mobility. I read a website over the weekend that said that some parents were disappointed when they removed the splints because their child had regressed in being able to grasp objects, pick up toys, etc.

Grayson's first appointment is on Friday. I feel like this upcoming surgery has come so fast! We will meet with the anesthesiologist and nurse to discuss all the details about preparing for the surgery and care afterwards. I am going to be taking lots of notes! I have also been thinking about all the questions I need to ask!

With Grayson's surgery almost here I am also trying to decide what to do about Claire's Christmas. We are going to try out the Elf on the Shelf this year. I got one for my kindergarten class the last year I taught and have been anxiously awaiting the day I could bring it out! Charlie and I have been talking about whether to bring the elf to the US with us or to finish his stay before we leave. Anyone else have to have an "early Christmas" because of going out of town? I think Claire will be old enough this year to really understand Santa's visit.

Any comments on my random musings are welcome! Hope you have a happy Monday!

Life in Canada

One of my favorite blogs to read,  Kelly's Korner, is hosting a Show Us Your Life - International Day today...so I couldn't help but want to participate!
So, for anyone new to this blog here is a little bit of background on us! We moved to Edmonton, Alberta just over a year ago from Lexington, Kentucky. My husband is currently getting his post doctorate degree at the University of Alberta and this is the exciting place he wanted to move to, ha! I had kind of hoped to stay in the United States, but here we are!
This move has been hands-down the hardest thing I have ever done. I can honestly say that out of this "big move" has come many blessings. God has been faithful even though I still miss my family and friends who are now so far away. One of my most surprising blessings is my baby boy that I had in July. If you had asked me a couple of years ago if I would ever live in Canada AND have a Canadian baby I would've looked at  you like you were nuts!
So, now I have left my teaching career and am staying at home with my two year old, Claire, and newborn, Grayson. I use this blog to keep track of the everyday adventures we have..and of course..the crazy weather! If you look back a year ago this month you will find that our first snow was just a few days from now. Yikes!

Here are a few pictures from over the past year...

All of our possessions on the moving truck!



Last look at our house!

Welcome to Canada!

New house...found in a weekend...good job, Charlie!

First snow, October 25!

Minus EIGHT morning...November 19.

First Christmas!

January...dug a trench for our dog, Gus to go potty!

Big news...a baby is coming in July!

The snow is finally melting...in April!

Preparing for a baby boy!

Canada Day on a pony ride.

Welcome, Grayson!

Claire loves her baby brother :)

Okay...going through those pictures is so weird. All of the things that have happened over the last year just reaffirms that God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." (Ephesians 3:20) Thanks for stopping by!

Turkey Day and Claire's first haircut!

We had an exciting weekend here in Canada! Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and on Sunday we had our friends over for our second Thanksgiving here. It does NOT seem like we should be having "second" anniversaries here. Time sure has flown by! Anyway, I made exactly what I made last year. If you are curious here is the link to last years post.
I hate to say it but I only took a few pictures...and they were of Grayson playing with his buddy, Severin, on his activity mat. Oops! I meant to take so many more!

We had a really nice time together. Claire played so well with her buddy, Amaia, and we just pretty much sat back and watched.
Then, yesterday Charlie went off to work and the kids and I stayed home and had a "normal" day. I put Claire in big girl underwear and she stayed dry all day, hurray! I have been meaning to write a post on the horrors of potty training. It has been so hard, but Claire is doing pretty well...even if she is inconsistent still.
So, today I decided it was time for a haircut for Claire. I admit that I have trimmed it myself a few times, but it just now is long enough for a real ponytail so I thought it could use some help, ha!
All I have to say is if everything involved a pink chair and Mickey Mouse, life would be great! Claire got in the chair and sat so still and never made a peep. I actually had to pull her out of the chair...she was so happy in it!

I just got the ends trimmed up a bit, so it isn't much shorter. The lady gave Claire a certificate and saved her hair for me since it was her first cut. After she was done, Claire got sparkles combed into her new 'do. She told me when we got home that she "loves sparkles in her hair!"

What a big girl! I can't believe how much she has grown! Just to compare here she is last Thanksgiving...

Wow, she looks so little there! Hard to believe that in just a few months she will be three!

Free Admissions Day...again!

This year we decided to repeat our Free Admissions Day adventures. You can see our fun last year by clicking here. After church and eating at Red Robin (yum!) we headed to the Muttart Conservatory. This time we took some friends with us and I spent most of the time we were there feeding Grayson in the lobby. So my friend and I raced through each exhibit to catch up with Charlie.

The pyramids are fun to see and this year one of the pyramids was done in all pink flowers to honor Breast Cancer Awareness.

Grayson was asleep, but I wanted a family picture! This was the best we got...Claire never looks at the camera. She will say "cheese" while looking elsewhere. Not sure what that is all about!
After we finished looking around we went back outside to get in line for the free face painting. Claire had never gotten her face painted and she was really excited. She finally got to the front of the line and was put in the special "you're next" chair and burst into tears. She thought they had forgotten about her!

I thought her face looked so cute painted!

We got back in the car to head to the zoo and Claire was awake for maybe 5 minutes....pretty much long enough to leave the parking lot!



I must have gotten tired (or distracted!) at the zoo because I never got my camera out of my bag. Claire did wake up to see the animals, but by the time we got home we were all exhausted. Thank goodness for picking up pizza on the way home!

It's Fall...where's the corn maze?

On Saturday we drove out to Lacombe, Alberta in search of a corn maze. I had no idea Lacombe was so far away! It took an hour and a half, which isn't so bad, but Claire is just now the age that she kept saying from the backseat, "stop driving, Daddy! Please! Stop driving, Daddy!" And then she fell asleep, so maybe the trip made her tired!
We got turned around a few times, but we finally made it! Claire was super excited! She pretty much refused to eat lunch until she had jumped on the "jumping pillow."

I guess part of having two kids is trading off who is with whom. I have been spending a lot of time with Grayson! While Charlie took Claire to jump, I stayed with Grayson and fed him. While I was sitting on the bench feeding him the chicken show started! I was slightly embarrassed to be suddenly surrounded by a bunch of families with my nursing cover on!

Chickens at the chicken show...

Charlie brought Claire back and she really loved hearing the chickens tell jokes. She wanted to stay and dance to the music forever!

Then, we went to the petting zoo. You know Claire...she just loves to pet those animals! She kept picking up grass and trying to poke it through the fence to feed the animals. We have trained her to be thrifty...no quarter food for us, we use free grass, ha!

Little blue eyes peeking out!

I convinced Claire to leave the animals and ride with me on a huge tricycle. It was so much fun! The pedals were a little far for my legs, but Claire liked the ride!

Claire and I then went to the barn slide. I got her to the top and told her to race me and see who was the fastest. Bad idea! The slide was so fast that Claire landed face first in the dirt at the bottom. She was not thrilled. I felt so bad!

It looks fun, though!

To make up for causing a "boo boo" on Claire's knee, I stuck her on the pony ride. Aren't these cute? It was the perfect way to recover from falling.

We figured it was time to attempt the corn maze. I was really glad that they had a kid maze within the big maze. It made getting lost in the corn manageable.

Claire decided she was starving at this point and went through the whole maze begging for grapes. We were so glad that we hadn't put the cooler back in the car! Thanks Charlie for carrying everything! :)

Love that little face!

Claire wanted to jump one more time before we left. I was going to jump with her, but I chickened out. It was wild up on that jumping pillow!

It was a long, full day! We really had a lot of good "family" time together.

When we got home, I took this picture of Grayson. Isn't this shirt funny? It describes him perfectly!