It’s Been a While…
Wow, how life has changed. The time I had for blogging has all but dried up. It’s all good, but it’s a dramatic change. Now that we are living somewhere that has discernible seasons, we are all about enjoying summer. Every evening and weekend we get out for a Family Bike Ride or other outdoor family activity, and during the day the kids and I have been enjoying the local wading pools and parks.
Life with three kids is BUSY! I love the big family, and I actually tolerate the ruckus that comes along with it better than I expected I would. But when they are not quiiiite old enough to help in really load-lightening ways it is very very busy. The housework is not unmanageable, but it can’t get left undone either. Mainly, though, it’s all about food. Six times a day, food. I think if I can get good at getting up early and preparing some things in advance then it will go a little smoother. But I’m having trouble getting ahead of that curve. Eventually I’ll work it out. Also we are still chipping away at the unpacking, organizing and discarding. Somehow I think that completion of this project is achievable. Maybe I should save myself some grief and admit that it is perpetual.
The kids got it in their heads that they neeeeeeded skateboards. We figured they would try them once and that would be that, so we were hoping to find a couple of nice cheap used boards. Then I found two very well priced boards in Superstore. Ohhh- it was Christmas morning in the Willms household! Here is a little vid of their first day with the new goods.
Added Another Two Wheeler to the Family!!
I guess having a “boy bike” made the difference. We traded training-wheel bikes with our friends who have a little girl. Now our boys won’t be further subjected to the pink bike 
Carrot Coriander and Harvest
The other day I had carrot coriander soup for lunch, and as I was finishing my bowl it occurred to me that Joshua might like to try it. Well, MY BAD for not offering it at the first. He was VERY irritated that there were only dregs for him.
For supper I made pasta sauce from scratch. Another winner. What an interesting kid. He just ate it off the end of the fork, just like that. Gnawed on a little corn spaghetti too.
Well both selections fit the OT’s suggestion of flavourful and thick but not lumpy. We purée our veggie-filled pasta sauces so the big kids don’t put up a fuss about content.
Other interesting items that Joshua enjoys include corn on the cob, limes, and this may not be so interesting but he shared my oatmeal with me this morning.
In other food related news, last night we had a salad largely made from our own garden vegetables! So fun. Felt great eating it. I choose to ignore the sprinkle of malathion.
We used the wee wee baby carrots, greens and all, in our chicken soup stock. Our peas are getting quite big and fat. I was so surprised to see so many big peas out there. Almost missed them amongst the unsown plants. I really must get out and weed now that the mosquito situation is not so crazy.
Family Bike Ride!! and owie
We had our first Family Bike Ride yesterday and it was magnificent. I LOVED it. What a wonderful sense of freedom and togetherness. It’s also exciting to go out all together AND get some exercise at the same time.
Our friends gave us a double bike trailer (!!!) so I hitched that to my bike and the boys rode in there. Eva and Andrew rode their bikes. Our friend Mark and his 4 year old son Alex rode their bikes. It was a parade!
We cruised to a nearby wading pool and the older kids had lots of fun together and with the Dads. Joshua enjoyed doing a little splashing and foot dangling too.
After that we went to the play structure. It was drizzling just a little. Eva decided to cross the monkey bars, which were quite high, and her hands slipped off the wet bars. She fell RIGHT on her bottom and it hurt her back. My poor sweetie!!! She cried and cried… and wanted to go home. We wished we could have snapped our fingers and had her there. She tried riding her bike. She was doing ok but was so upset that when she wobbled it put her over the edge. So we asked Micah to give up his comfy seat and ride at Joshua’s feet- three kids in the bike trailer. Not exactly the safest plan I suppose but, with Andrew carrying Eva’s bike as he rode, it got us home. Shades of Mexico.
Poor Eva’s back pain gave her trouble sleeping… she said it hurt all the way through to her tummy. This morning it was a little better but still sore. We’ll be going straight to the chiropractor tomorrow morning!
We did another Family Bike Ride this evening. Wasn’t quite so exhilarating as yesterday because Joshua cried the entire time. He had his grumpy pants on all day today. Teething pain, it seems. Eva and Micah were unperturbed by all the racket and quite enjoyed the quick cruise around the neighborhood.
Day Trip to Southern Manitoba
Yesterday Andrew took the day off. Wow we love having that guy around. Andrew has some family in Southern MB and we did a little day trip. We had a really nice lunch with his cousin and then we headed out to visit his second cousin’s dairy farm.
It was a highlight two years ago, and it was a highlight yesterday.
When we were last there, they were just completing the process of becoming organic. It was fascinating to see first hand what that means. I particularly remember them saying that their conventional counterparts asked them how they can raise the dairy cows without antibiotics, as per the organic requirements. They said that when you are raising cows organically, you don’t *need* antibiotics. The cows don’t get sick.
Since we were there they have also started to raise and sell broiler chickens, to sell fresh eggs, and to raise pigs for meat. Despite the higher-than-supermarket prices for the chickens and eggs, they were pleasantly surprised to find a large demand. And the two pigs- spring pigs like Wilbur from Charlotte’s web, which Eva and I are reading right now- have been great for them so far. They live in the shed which is usually vacant during these months, they dig it up which saves the farmers from doing it, and they don’t even smell bad.
They are so enthusiastic about what they are doing, and it makes so much sense; the different parts of the farm working together to sustain the other parts- and the earth. It is really exciting to see organic farming in action.
We were thrilled to leave with farm fresh organic eggs and ground beef. We enjoyed the nice bright orange yolked eggs poached with some bacon this morning.
Last time we were there they recommended I read Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and I loved it. What a fascinating read! This time the recommendation was the movie “Food, Inc”. We are half way through. Did you know that only 13 slaughterhouses in the U.S. process the majority of the beef? That a given hamburger patty may contain parts of literally thousands of cows? Crazy stuff.
Here in Canada the sale of raw milk is illegal. That is wild to me considering the edible non-food items for sale in every grocery and convenience store. I also learned that someone like our second cousin isn’t allowed to sell his broiler chickens direct to a restaurant. I wonder if there is a consumer advocacy group out there that we could add our voices to and demand change. We should be able to legally buy real food. Restaurants should be able to buy food from whatever source they choose, don’t you think?
It was a hot day and our fun on the farm pooped us out. This was the view in the back seat on the way home.
This was the view in the front seat. About a hundred self portraits were all part of the efforts to keep the head bobs at bay.
OT
We had a superfantastic OT appointment Thursday (the PT was away). Joshua showed her all his tricks plus some new ones. He was so charming too.
She was so impressed with the progress he has made. He is much more mobile now. Not making much forward motion, but kneeling, reaching, rolling, twisting, starting to pull up, standing well…
Also, I haven’t really told you guys much because we all know what happens when you talk about good sleep too soon after a change happens… Well it’s been long enough now to report that Joshua has made made major progress in the sleep department!!! Now he goes to bed at 7:30 and sometimes sleeps until after midnight. I do a short bedtime routine and then lay him in the pack’n'play in our room. Often he will complain for a while, but it’s not that same angry, desperate crying anymore. It’s grumbling. He eventually falls asleep without further intervention. We have our evenings back!!!
Also, I can now count on two naps a day. At about 9am and 1pm, I do a short naptime routine and then into the pack’n'play he goes. Sometimes he drops right off, sometimes he complains for quite a while. Sometimes he naps for 90 minutes, sometimes for 20 minutes. But I can count on him being in bed for a while at that time. And so can he. Another major change. The other good thing is that he sleeps well in the stroller, so if we can’t or don’t want to be home, I organize us to be somewhere I can use the stroller. This way we can still have our routine, but still be flexible.
The only sleep part that still needs to be worked out is the middle of the night. He isn’t keen on going back in the playpen after that mid-night waking. But we’ll figure that out.
Thursday he slept in really late and, as a friend put it, he had a “sparkle in his eye”. When he gets the sleep he needs, he is really shows us his true, joyful, personality.
The OT’s suggestions were to offer thicker, but not lumpy and more flavourful food. She suggested getting simple cause-and-effect type toys and also one that he can walk behind. She said usually those toys are quite light so it’s a good idea to put some weight into them. She gave me a few sheets with explanations and diagrams of different ways we can play with him to encourage further development. He has made major progress already. I have seen a bit of a commando crawl, and this morning when I put him down intending for him to be in the crawling position, he moved himself to sitting!
Also he is consistently signing “milk”. Very exciting for all of us.
Life is starting to feel a lot more normal and manageable. *sweet sigh* It is still busy but now it is an organized kind of busy, one where I can keep up with the housework plus make progress on clearing out unneeded and unwanted items. The kids are on board with culling their toys down and their rooms are starting to look tidier and more welcoming.
Poco a poco (little by little).
Summertime
I consider today the first day of summertime because last week was kind of weird what with Canada Day and whatnot. Now the kids are both officially off school and we have to settle in to a new routine. Today was a really good mix of play, work and rest.
The day ended on a high note. For once we finished supper early enough to have lots of unrushed playtime. We chose to spend it riding bikes on the front street.
Eva is a two wheeling star. She has grown in confidence and ability incredibly fast. And Micah is working on his two wheel skills! And yes, it is a pink bike. But it does the job for now!
Look at him go!
He's surging ahead!
But it's not all roses...
Yummy Yop and Rip-L-Chips (Oo, Old Dutch, we’ve missed you… perhaps too much) as a celebratory snack.
So Micah’s not a full blown two-wheeler yet, but he did some great work tonight. Andrew bought a bike that fits his tall self and has been loving darting down to work on it and going for bike rides with Eva. He has had an awesome grin on his face since he test drove it. So worth selling a lens for! My bike is being tuned up and we’re hoping to inherit or find a deal on a bike trailer. Once it all comes together we’re looking forward to lots of family bike rides.
Mothers of Change
I am so excited to be part of a new Canadian organization called Mothers of Change. We are a non-profit consumer advocacy group for maternity care. We are the voice of mothers who want maternity care which is based on evidence rather than fear, and which is gentle, respectful and honouring of the baby and the birthing mom.
We have begun blogging at www.MothersofChange.com. Come have a look. And comment. Please comment. We want to hear what you think and what your experiences have been. If you don’t feel comfortable commenting, email us. mothersofchange (at) gmail (dot) com.
Child Development Clinic
Today Joshua saw a developmental pediatrician (and accompanying med student). She was very very nice. I was a little worried about how it would go because Josh missed his morning nap and I thought he might be grumpy. But he was in good spirits and quite cooperative. And so flirty. Very cute.
She had him play with blocks, a large ring, a ball, and a sugar pellet. This last was to check on his pincer action. She also had him reaching and rolling.
Her assessment was that his fine motor skills were at about a 9 month level, his gross motor skills are in the 7 month range, and his verbal skills are at about a 6 month level. She says that because though he makes noises, he doesn’t put vowel and consonant sounds together yet.
She thought that speech therapy will definitely be needed, and that the Child Special Services program will be good for him. She was also glad that we have been seeing audiology, since of course good hearing is important for good speech. I am doubly glad we have some experience with baby sign language and expect we may use it more extensively with Joshua than we have with the other two.
She was very encouraging with the sleeping and eating stuff, which I appreciated very much.
At the end she weighed him and measured his head. I was so pleased to see his head come in at 47cm, the same as the pediatrician measured a month ago and 1cm less than Genetics measured it at several months ago. His weight, however, was 16lbs 14oz in a diaper, several ounces less than he weighed a month ago. Does make some sense, since he has been more active, not taking in a lot of solids yet, and apparently breastfed babies often do sort of plateau in weight around this age. But I would have preferred to see a clear weight gain since last month.
So eating continues to be an important issue. And I was so encouraged to see him get excited about food today!! Granted, soup is a liquid, but it is something. A big step in the right direction, as far as I’m concerned.
She had a great insight into Joshua’s congestion. She suggested that maybe Joshua has trouble managing his secretions and that is what is causing it. He has never drooled, but maybe instead of falling out his lips, extra spit falls back down his throat? And he just doesn’t have the control to handle it. And you know what.. since we’ve been working him out with the feeding, his congestion is less. Hm!
Unless we have any concerns in the meantime, Josh will go back when he’s 18-24 months old. I am hopeful we’ll have all kinds of progress to show off 
Andrew’s Photog Blog
- Maternity Shoot - Rena July 6, 2010
- Six Pines Farm Fun June 18, 2010
