I'm pregnant!

As many of my friends are aware by now, our family is preparing to welcome baby #2.  I haven't been as overt with this pregnancy as I was with Brayden simply because times are different.  I'm very busy with Brayden and distracted by my work, not to mention that the second time around doesn't feel as momentous as the first for some reason.  I mean, I'm still in awe over every new milestone Brayden hits and they seem to be happening every week, if not daily.  He has such a huge part of my heart right now that baby #2 is somewhat unfathomable -- until the birth day, I'm sure.

In an effort to prepare Brayden (who am I kidding, myself) for the arrival of his sibling, Andrew and I decided to find out the sex at our 18 week ultrasound.  Because I really enjoyed having everyone guess what I was having the first time around, I wanted to make sure we made the reveal to our families momentous.  Reveal parties are really trendy right now so we hopped on that bandwagon and hosted two!  One for my side of the family and another for Andrew's.  We had decided that since Andrew's sister would be in town visiting from Boston on Mother's Day, we'd delay the reveal until then. (Approx. 1 month.)

The reason for hosting the parties separately, however, was that in addition to my exciting news, my sister and bff Meg, is also expecting her first! Our due dates are a mere 7 days apart.  It doesn't get much better than this!  Meg and JK found out the sex of their baby on the same day as we did and they just couldn't wait to tell our family.  So, together, we told the Runza's and Kostka's the very next day and had to keep the secret for about a month until revealing to the Thomson's.

Recommendation: These parties are a lot of fun and work well at drumming up extra anticipation and excitement around your surprise!

The secret is now out!
Party #1: The Runza/Kostka Reveal

Meg and I baked/decorated these cakes at 1:00 a.m. with limited bakeware.

Jen's Team Girl (Andrew was supposed to wear
a neutral colour to the party...)

Meg's Team Girl

Jen's Team Boy

Meg's Team Boy

Baby T is a GIRL!

Baby K is a BOY!

Party #2: The Thomson Reveal 

Thomson Team Boy

Thomson Team Girl

Revealing the pink!

18 Apps that Take the Trouble out of Travel

I'm a real fan of parenting blogs.  I believe that the best source for learning about babies and growing kids is through other parents' experiences.  I'm also a big fan of apps and anything that promotes early childhood education and baby entertainment.  One of the blogs/sites I subscribe to is SavvyMom who recently posted some great apps for when traveling with LOs.

This is one of those posts I'll be keeping in my back pocket for our next big car ride or family vacation. I found it so great that I figured I'd share it with you! Below is the link to SavvyMom.ca where you can read all about the 18 apps that take trouble out of travel.
Bon voyage!
The/ List: 18 Apps that Take the Trouble out of Travel

Our first family beach vacation

I know, I know.  It's been FOREVER since my last post.  That I've been busy goes without saying -- I am a working mom after all -- but for the past two months I've also been battling sickness after sickness.  Oh, and we left the country for a bit during that time for our first family beach vacation! That vacation was such a wonderful experience for us and I've been wanting to blog about it since we returned a month ago.  Alas, here it is!

To begin, let me fill you in on how this vacation came to be. I had been pressing Andrew to go on a family vaca for a few months.  I really wanted to take Brayden on an airplane before we had to pay for a third seat plus, selfishly, I really wanted to escape to a sunny destination for a bit of a break from the blah weather and the normalcy of everyday life.  Well, doesn't my amazing hubby surprise me with a vacation to the DR for Valentine's Day!  The tickets had been purchased, the resort had been booked and all I had to do was make sure I was able to take the time away from my work.  Oh, and pack.  

Packing for this trip involved quite a bit of planning.  I started by drafting a list for the three of us, categorized by: toiletries; first aid; beach; evening and; bedtime. Then I hit the shops.  (All of Brayden's summer clothes were 6 months too small!) fortunately, by mid-February store were already displaying their spring/summer inventory so we had lots of cute things to choose from.

We left Toronto for Puerta Plata at the end of February and were joined by friends of ours, Jen and Neil, and their barely 4-month old cutie, Ashlyn.  Both Jen and I were extremely nervous about how the LOs would fare during the 4 hour flights but to our amazement, both did amazingly well.  Jen nursed Ashlyn during take-off and landing and I had packed an apple for Brayden to sink his teeth into which worked super well at keeping his ears open and keeping him entertained.  The best part about the flights was that they two kiddies slept really well.  There's something about the buzz of the aircraft while in flight that encouraged our babies to sleep.  Perfect!

We spent the week at the Iberostar Puerta Plata which was clean and had friendly staff.  Our rooms were on the first floor with close access to the pool.  This was perfect for us since that's where we spent most of our time.  Brayden was obsessed with the pool vs. the beach/ocean.  Though he loved watching the ocean waves crash, the boats sail by and the wind surfers' kites soar high up in the air, he was much more confident around the pool.  

Below is a photo summary of our week away.

Day 1: Brayden's feet touch sand for the first time.  He's was a little unsure about it.

Didn't take him long to get used to the sand beneath his feet!

Hanging out under our hut by the pool.

Jen and Ashlyn keeping cool and well-shaded.

A huge iguana...

... which Brayden was clearly not thrilled about as seen here, hiding under daddy's legs.

Heading out for a walk before dinner.

Nap time.  We were sure to keep to our daily routine, as much as possible, while on vacation.

Hanging out on our porch before breakfast.

Brayden and daddy looking up at the starry sky. Lots of "ews!" and "awes!" 

A.M. family pic by the pool.

We introduced Brayden to the delicious world of popcorn while in the D.R.  He looked forward to this favourite snack ever day at 4:00 p.m. 

One of our last nights.  Pictured here in the courtyard en route to the Brazilian restaurant for dinner.

Not so impressed with the big Brazilian hat on his head.

This picture describes our time away perfectly. All smiles!

Daycare - The start of something good?

Monday, February 6 marked the first day of daycare for Brayden.  The selection process, which took place almost 7 months ago, was daunting and emotional but nothing compared to what we've been through this week.  The daycare we've chosen is fabulous.  It's clean, reputable, in our community, family-oriented and the programming is school-based.  On paper, it's everything that ought to make the transition from home to daycare relatively easy.  Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case.  

They call this first week the "integration week".  It's when your child starts off with a short 1-hour visit (sans mommy) and gradually works his way to a full day stay by Friday.  I'd been looking forward to Brayden starting daycare for a few weeks now.  I'm back at work, working from home, and having Brayden at home with me has posed an interesting challenge.  My mother-in-law and sister, Christina, have been an amazing help but juggling everyone's availability to ultimately determine my own hasn't been ideal.  So, Monday, Feb 6 was a day I had been anxiously awaiting.  

Day one went decently well.  Upon dropping Brayden off at 9:00 a.m., he seemed taken by the two little blonde girls already playing in the playroom.  He was also greeted by two little boys on toys cars, which didn't interest him much.  I stuck around for about 10 minutes to make sure he was comfortable with his new surroundings then snuck out.  I didn't want to make a big deal of my leaving him.  Good idea? Bad idea?

My hour away was spent on a conference call for work and picking up a bevy from Starbucks.  The freedom was refreshing but I can't lie, I was itching to get back to the daycare centre by 10:00 a.m. and cuddle with my little man.  

The teachers told me that he was great.  He was having fun with the toys and other kiddos until around 9:30 when I suppose he realized I was gone and freaked out.  He apparently cried for about 20 minutes off and on unit I returned to "save him".

Day two we attempted two hours. The first hour entailed indoor play followed by an hour of outdoor play.  I was told he was a little upset throughout the first hour but calmed down once they got outside and went for a wagon ride around the playground. When I picked him up at 11:00 a.m. it was circle song time and he was sitting on the teacher's nap, completing the circle. He was calm and enjoying all the music.  As soon as his eyes caught sight of me, he started to cry with his little arms reaching out for me.  It was adorable.

With the success of the first two days, the teachers thought it be a good idea to have him stay for lunch on day three.  I wasn't available to drop him off on Wednesday so daddy took a turn at the drop off.  I guess Brayden's memory of the previous couple days kicked in as they were driving into the parking lot because Andrew told me that's when the tears started rolling. (heart-breaking)

At the 12:00 pick up, which was also taken care of by daddy that day, Brayden had just finished eating a yummy lunch of chicken and veggies and was evidently ready for his nap with lots of yawning and even a brief nodding off during the three minute car ride home.  Overall, a pretty good daycare experience.

Just when we thought he was progressing well, Day four took a turn for the worse.  Both Andrew and I had work functions that had us out of the house by 6:30 a.m. which meant calling upon my amazing MIL to step in for the 9:00 a.m. drop off. When I picked Brayden up at 2:30 p.m. (he was to stay for nap time this day) the water works were already on and I was told it had been a rough day.  He had napped for one hour but when he woke up at 1:00 and didn't recognize where he was he got upset and wouldn't go back down.  Poor guy...  The teachers told me that since it was such a rough day for him, it was their recommendation that Day five be a repeat of the Day four schedule which meant instead of staying for the afternoon outdoor play session that comes after nap time, he be picked up at 2:30 immediately following nap time. 

Which brings me to now.  It's 1:30 p.m. on Friday (Day five) and I have yet to get a call to pick him up due to hysterics.  This is very encouraging given that on Monday he's to begin the full time routine. I'm eager to go get him in an hour to learn whether he was any more calm today than yesterday.  Hopefully he forgets all the sad times he's had this week and holds on to the fun memories of song time and toys over the weekend because Monday we start all over again.