Mommy and Kendall day

Last Friday I took a day off from work because Aidan had a doctor's appointment in the morning. I decided to make the day 'mommy and Aidan day.' I took Aidan trampolining afterwards and it was just a great day. Today was your 18-month checkup so I thought I would do the same- take a day off and make it 'mommy and Kendall day.' However, it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to be. First off, you were sick and just cranky in general. It didn't help that you hate going to the doctors. As soon as the doctor told me to take off your clothes to weigh you, you started crying hysterically. The doctor couldn't even check your tonsils and check your hips because you were that bad. When the doctor checked your ears she noticed that you had quite a build-up of wax and you were actually suffering from an ear infection. Oh brother… She ended up not giving you your shots (because you were sick) and she told me to come back in a week. I hate when that happens! It was so stressful being there that by the time I left I was sweating like a madman. I couldn't even take down your measurements because it was that stressful. I think you weighed just over 9 kg. 

I wanted to take you to get your first haircut because your hair has been an unruly mess ever since you were born. I wanted the hair stylist to trim down your sides and just clean up your hair. However, because of your bad experience at the doctors office, you were just in a terrible mood and didn't want anything to do with getting your hair cut. I had to change position a million times to get the stylist to trim your hair. And your hair cut turned out to be a total disaster! You looked like a boy. You also had a bruise on your right cheek from falling on a table in our basement last night so imagine how bad you looked. I had planned on doing a little shopping afterwards (I wanted to pick up a few craft items for making your Valentine's Day cards this year) and maybe go for a nice mommy and daughter lunch, but the stress of the day just made me want to go home and crash. I ended up just going home, putting you down for a nap and cleaning the house. Not a nice way to spend a day off!

This was you passed out in the car after your doctors appointment. I would be too if I screamed for 20 minutes
straight. You were so upset that you actually peed on the doctor and farted on her while she was checking
your hips.

And this is your new haircut. Totally awful, no? The stylist gave you blunt bangs and didn't trim much
off of the sides. I can picture this cute if you had long hair, but now you just look like a North Korean boy.

Ms Helmut Head

Mommy and Aidan day

I had a carryover day from 2013 so I decided to take today off since you already had your annual physical exam today. I decided that we would make today Mommy and Aidan day. I was super busy at work for the past 2 weeks so I was so glad that I could spend a whole day with you. My co-worker had gone to an indoor trampoline place for a Forever21 event and I thought that was such a good place to take you. You can be a bit of a scared-y cat (actually, you're a BIG scared-y cat!) so I wasn't sure how open you would be to it, but I prepared you by telling you in advance where we were going so you wouldn't be overwhelmed.

We started the day by going to your doctor's appointment at 10am. Usually you are so good at the doctors, but for some weird reason you were in a silly mood. Whenever the doctor told you to do something you would fool around and not listen. For example, when the doctor was checking your tonsils, she lightly touched your chin. You screamed aloud, "She's tickling me!" and started giggling like crazy. Then when she was checking your eyes with a doctors light and told you to open your eyes really wide, you raised your arms, opened your eyes really wide and then stuck out your tongue and shook your head like a crazy person. Yes, I was annoyed, but more than anything I wanted to crack up laughing. You were so hilarious! The funniest was when she was checking your private parts. She got you down to your underwear and told you to lie on your back. She put on rubber gloves and pulled down your underwear to check down there. As soon as she lowered your underwear, you yelled out, "Mommy, she's touching my gotchu!!! (gotchu means penis in Korean)" I started laughing, but had to stop because I knew that would get you to act more silly.

Here's where you at right now:

Weight: 39.5 lbs

Height: 33.5"

The start of a hilarious checkup.

Your appointment ended sooner than I thought. Your trampoline time slot started at 1pm so we had a bit of time to kill. I thought that it would be a great idea to visit your Toronto grandparent's store since we hadn't seen them for a long time and since halbi is sick. You were so excited to go. When I saw halbi he lost so much weight… His eyes were also a bit yellow. I'm just praying that he is ok. He has his specialist doctors appointment on Monday at 3:30pm. I'm going to pray hard.

Halbi trying to get you to eat a ham and cheese sandwich. You loved it. You told me that halmi
was a great cook.

You said you wanted to be a "cooker" like halmi and halbi. Apparently you thought they were
cookers because they had on aprons. You kept yelling out your orders to them.

Just being silly all day long.

We had to leave pretty quickly because halmi and halbi's sandwich store was getting so busy because it was lunch time. And plus, we wanted to get to our trampoline place on time :-)

Mommy bought these Sky Socks for jumping. It has these special grips at the bottom that make
it really easy for you to jump.

You were pretty excited, but nervous at the same time.

I thought that I could jump beside you, but there was a bit of a separation between an adult jump pad and a kid jump pad. You were being pretty shy at first by trying to get me to come close to you, but it didn't take you long to really get into it.

All in all, it was an amazing day. You sweated a lot, I sweated a lot and we just had a blast
spending time together. Next Friday I have Kendall for mommy and Kendall day. I'm not sure
what I'll do with her, but I'm so looking forward to it.

Single mom

So daddy left at 4:00am this morning to go to Las Vegas with his friend James.

They will be gone from Wednesday to Saturday night. Daddy asked me on Monday if he can go to Vegas with James. I know a lot of wives would say no, but I really want daddy to enjoy his life once in a while. Having said that I'm maybe regretting letting him go because I feel horrible right now- I lost my voice, I'm dizzy and my nose is runny. Aidan is sick too so I might have to keep him at home the rest of this week until daddy comes back. Help!

Rough day

I know it doesn't look like it, but it was a rough day today. Mommy is sick with a cold and so are you and Aidan. Aidan's nose has been runny all day and you've also had a bit of a runny nose. Mommy lost her voice and my throat is swollen. I'm just really burnt out these days.

Daddy asked me last night that his friend James asked him to go to Las Vegas with him this week. Daddy asked me if it was ok with me and I said yes. I know that just means more work for me, but I know daddy deserves time alone to enjoy himself. He always tries to make it up to me so I can't get mad. I just hope that Aidan will behave while daddy is gone. Sometimes Aidan drives me crazy!

You were playing on the mat in mommy's office while I was doing stuff on the computer.
Aidan was trying to nap. He takes forever to fall asleep!

Dennis' friend James bought this doll for you. It's almost as big as you!

When Aidan is home with me this is how our day usually goes:

- Aidan wakes up and goes to mommy's room.

- Mommy is usually exhausted so I take Aidan pee and we go back to mommy's bed while Aidan rolls around and talks to himself. I usually don't get any more sleep :-(

- Mommy brushes Aidan's teeth and makes Aidan breakfast- usually waffles or pancakes. Today was pancakes. I put Aidan in his high chair while he watches his morning cartoons.

- Mommy goes upstairs to get dressed and ready. By this time you start waking up. I change your diaper and go downstairs to check up on Aidan. By this time he is finished with his breakfast. 

- Mommy feeds you solids. Today was butternut squashed with rice cereal mixed in (since you refuse to eat rice cereal on its own). After solids it's breast milk.

- After everyone is fed we go downstairs to play. 

- After a while you start getting tired so I put you upstairs for naptime. 

- Around 12:30pm we go back to the main floor so that I can start prepping Aidan's lunch. 

- After lunch mommy puts Aidan down for nap time. He usually takes a looooooong time to fall asleep. 

- You wake up while Aidan is in his bed trying to nap. I feed you breast milk and feed you solids again.

- I try to do some work in the office or watch TV while Aidan naps. You are usually playing on the floor or in your play pen this time.

- When Aidan awakes we play some more in the basement. 

- Mommy puts you down for a nap again.

- Around 4:00pm is when I start prepping dinner. Aidan is watching cartoons again while I prep.

- Around 5:30pm I put on Skype so Aidan can talk to his Vancouver grandparents.

- Daddy usually comes home around 5:50pm or 6:10pm, but today he went to the casino with his friend James.  

- After dinner Aidan plays again in the basement while he has his milk and cheese.

- At 8:00pm that's when I put Aidan to sleep.

- After Aidan sleeps I put you to sleep.

- I wake you up again around 11:00pm to breast feed you so that it will last you the rest of the night.

- That's it! Phew~

Here's a drawing I did while we were playing in the basement. Aidan was so happy. It's of his
socks that he wore today.

I had very ripe bananas so I baked banana muffins today. They were delicious!

So why was it hard today? It's because Aidan doesn't listen! I'm trying not to yell and spank anymore because I've noticed that Aidan has started talking back and even trying to hit and spit on me. I know the easy way to discipline is to yell and spank, but it's only good temporarily. Today I was trying to discipline Aidan by not talking to him in a raised voice and talking positively to him. For example, when he says to me, "I'm going to beat you!" I'll respond by saying, "Aidan, please don't say that to me because it hurts my feelings. Can you not say that?" He will repeat it again and I will repeat what I say back to him and also add, "Aidan, I love you. Do you love me too?" Whereas he will nod. Then I say, "Please don't say that to me again." And he will respond by saying, "I will not do it again!" 

Aidan does do it again, but I guess this is something that I will have to repeat over and over.

I think Aidan was tired today and when he is tired he is very difficult to handle. Even putting him to bed was a feat because he kept coming up with every excuses in the book to not go to bed. He was telling me he wanted another bedtime book, he was too cold, he was too hot, etc. etc. He threw 3 tantrums while I was trying to put him to sleep. I'm beyond exhausted, but I have to feed Kendall now before I go to bed :-(

Being a mom is not easy!

These boots were made for walking- Part 2

Remember these boots that mommy bought you a few months ago from Walmart? Well, they were so poorly made that the stitching came all undone. I was so mad because they weren't that cheap either. Since it's been snowing quite a bit I wanted to get you a new pair. However, stores don't carry boots anymore as it's already the end of February. Then, I remembered last night that your Toronto grandparents had bought you Croc boots when I went to NYC with them in December 2011. I always thought they were too big for you, but when I actually put them on you this morning they fit perfectly. They are a size 9 and you were wearing a size 8 in the Lightning McQueen boots, but they still fit. Perfect!

I love how light weight they are and they don't have stitching on the toe area. That's where the
Lightning McQueen boots all fell apart. 

New snowpants and some good news

Mommy went to the mall during the day with Kendall to do some final Christmas shopping. While I was there I also got daddy a coat that he's been wanting for a while and I picked up snowpants for you. Daddy had his work Christmas party tonight so I had to pick you up from daycare with Kendall. 

So onto the good news… daddy mentioned to me casually a while ago that he was nominated for an award that is given to exceptional employees at his company. They do this every year and the winners are awarded with a free trip to the annual awards conference at an exciting destination. Last year I think they went to Tuscany or maybe it was somewhere in France… The point is, it's somewhere really good. So guess who won this year? Daddy! Actually daddy and 7 other people won out of 1200 employees in Toronto and thousands worldwide. I'm so proud of him. It looks like he will be going somewhere in May 2013. He is allowed one guest and I'm hoping it can be me, but we will see. Kendall is still quite young so I'm not sure if it's even possible. They will be announcing the destination in the coming weeks.

Toronto halmi and halbi comes home!

Today your Toronto halmi and halbi came home after an almost 2-month vacation in Korea. I had to go with Kendall to pick them up at the airport in the morning so I missed your skating lesson again today. Last week there was no class and the week before I had a jewelry craft sale. Daddy said that you got a little bit better. There's another Aidan in your class who is a superstar. Daddy keeps comparing you to him, but I know every kid is different… Anyways, after I picked your grandparent's up I had to to out to lunch with my friends. I took Kendall with me and she was an absolute angel. She slept through the whole time I was the restaurant that my friends even forgot she was there! And we were there for almost 3 hours! Sometimes she can be an absolute dream baby. If only she could take the bottle better…

By the time I came home it was almost 4:30pm and starting to get dark. I took this picture of you and Kendall in the basement after we had dinner. Look how Kendall is able to hold her head up now. She can't do it for too long, but her neck is getting much stronger. I couldn't resist taking a picture of you and Kendall together. You guys are so cute!

Vancouver snapshots from your grandparents

I forgot to add photos that your Vancouver grandparents shot of you while we were in Vancouver in my last post. They took a lot of photos of you because they spent the most time with you while we were there.

You posing by your grandpa's watercolour paintings.

Do you know who the picture is of behind you? It's Auntie Jane and daddy!

The first few days we were there the weather was so beautiful so you were able to run around in their backyard.

Don't you look cute with your Vancouver Canucks gear?

You and your little ball.

My future football player. Look at that form!

Look how doting your grandma is towards you.

This was you at the park with your grandparents.

Aidan: Let me out!

Aidan: I'm the king of the world!

Aidan: So much to see, so little time…

Enjoying the swing.

I just love this photo. You look like a handsome little man.

You sitting on a field of dandelions.

Look at the beautiful mountains behind you.

Picture perfect.

Vancouver trip

We are back in Toronto now, but it was a good, relaxing week visiting your Vancouver grandparents.
I was afraid of how you would behave because just before we left on this trip you were not your usual cheerful self. You were very cranky and threw multiple tantrums the weekend before. I'm not sure why that was. Maybe you were a little under the weather… Anyways, here's a few snapshots I took while I was there of our brief stay there.

This was you in the plane going to Vancouver. Our flight was at 9:15pm so I was worried that you would be
cranky and exhausted since you have a tendency not to fall asleep. I gave you a teaspoon of children's gravol
hoping to knock you out a bit, but you were awake for most of the flight. However, you weren't as bad as I thought
you were going to be on the plane. You were a little restless at the end, but all in all it was a good flight. Having
your own seat really helped a lot. I remember last time it was a nightmare having you sit on my lap the whole
flight…

This was you when we got off the plane. You fell asleep 15 minutes before we landed. Sigh. The flight was 5 hours
and you slept when we were landing. Figures…

We took an easy day on Thursday, but on Friday Auntie Jane wanted to take you to the Vancouver Aquarium.
She took a day off to take you there. This was you on our way to the aquarium.

The weather was so nice on Friday. It was unbelievably sunny and warm. 

There was a huge tank filled with interesting sea creatures all over the aquarium.

Beautiful jellyfish.

I think these were mackerels. You were a little bit grumpy at the beginning, but you loosened up at the end.

Auntie Jane held you almost the whole time we were there. 

You were really shy around her at first, but you guys really bonded during this trip.

Look how sad you look here. I think you were a bit confused as to where you were.

One of the highlights of the aquarium was seeing a 4-D show. They gave us these cool glasses that you were
so excited to put on. 

The theatre workers were warning us that kids under 4 may get frightened and scared because the 4-D movie
had a lot of interactive features- shaking of the seats, things coming down from the ceiling, loud noises, etc.
However, you were totally unfazed. Meanwhile Auntie Jane and mommy were the ones that got scared watching
the movie. Haha.

Next, we went outside to watch the beluga show (which you loved), the seals and the dolphin show.

Here are the seals.

The dolphins were so smart. They did so many tricks.

You kept calling out for the dolphins to come closer, but they couldn't hear you. 

We went back inside to see the giant turtle and sharks.

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After our aquarium experience we were famished and Auntie Jane took us to a Japanese ramen restaurant
called Benkei.

There's a huge Japanese population in Vancouver and I really wanted to try the ramen restaurants while we
were there.

Auntie Jane and I ordered the Miso ramen and daddy ordered the spicy miso ramen.

Here's a little view of the restaurant.

Our ramens are here!

Here is daddy's spicy miso ramen. He loved it. I didn't think that he would because he's not a huge
fan of noodles.

Just next door was a marble slab creamery. You were treated with ice cream!

On the way home you passed out in the car. Aigoo aigoo.

On Sunday it was game 5 of the Vancouver Canucks vs. the LA Kings. Daddy was so stressed because the
Canucks were losing the series 3-1. He didn't want to do anything the day of the game so we just quickly
dropped by Metro Town to have some Pinkberry frozen yogurt. It was delicious!
BTW, they lost the game that night :-P

On Monday daddy and I went out on our own to Granville Island. We took the 50 False Creek South bus.

Granville Island!

Here's the Lobster Man. You can get fresh, live oysters and they will cook it on the spot for you. We didn't have
any though.

Granville- Toronto's version of St. Lawrence Market.

Vancouver has some lovely flowers.

Yummy meats.

Gorgeous produce.

By the docks on Granville.

Here's a map of Granville Island.

I took this outside a totem pole workshop.

Daddy and I ate lunch at Tony's Fish & Oyster Café. It was our second time eating there.

The daily menu.

I got the lunch special which came with a small cup of homemade clam chowder. It was sooooo good.

We also ordered fried oysters. Pretty good too.

Here's my fish & chips.

Daddy got the fish burger.

After Granville daddy and I headed downtown and walked along Robson. The city was quite dead after the
devastating loss the night before. Here's a sign outside of a Canucks team store.

Daddy and I also stopped by Rogers Arena to check out the team store. It was dead inside.

I think we were the only customers.

On Tuesday night Auntie Jane took us to The Afghan Horsemen Restaurant. She always raves about this place
every time we go to visit so I knew we had to check it out this time.

We sat on cushions on the floor. An interesting way to eat. My leg fell asleep multiple times.

We got this delicious bread with an eggplant dip. It was yummy.

I ordered a dish called Mantu, not knowing it is basically the Afghanistan version of a Korean 'mandoo'. 

Auntie Jane got a vegetarian dish. It was good.

And daddy got the lamb shoulder. It was delicious.

This trip was relaxing for me because daddy and I finally got some time to do our own thing. However, you were
equally happy because your grandparents took you some cool places. 

Here you are saying, "Cheese."

On Wednesday I met up with my Toronto friend, Lana, who was also vacationing in Vancouver.
We checked out Hapa Izakaya on West Cordova. Here is the lunch menu.

Lana ordered the salmon roll. She said it was delicious. Unfortunately mommy couldn't have any because
I'm not supposed to eat raw fish because I'm pregnant.

Mommy ordered the miso ramen. It was oh so good.

We also ordered gyoza dumplings. It was unlike any gyoza dumplings I ever tried because there was a layer
of daikon underneath the fried batter. It was pretty good.

We also ordered the chicken karaage. It's basically fried, boneless chicken. It was delicious.

The Hapa location was close to Gas Town so Lana and I walked over. We took a photo by the steam clock.
Unfortunately the weather was horrible that day.

We went over to Robson Street afterwards and checked out Cupcakes- a cupcake shop that Auntie Jane was
raving about.

Here are some of their cupcakes. I really liked the Blue Hawaii which is the one with the blue frosting. It was
a coconut and vanilla cupcake.

And their menu.

Mini cupcakes!

On my way back home I took a picture of the cherry blossoms. They are in full bloom in Vancouver now.

This was at the Vancouver airport on our way back home on Thursday morning. It was a very depressing day
because we were all sad to part ways. Your grandparents went crazy over you so I'm sure it was heartbreaking
for them to wait another 6 months to see you when you are changing so much.

This was Friday morning when we woke up in our bed in Toronto. We were exhausted, but glad to finally be home.