Sunday, March 9, 2008
He's Pregnant
He's pregnant....or at least you would think he was judging by his latest food favourites. Simon adores pickles and you guessed it, ice cream. The first bite of both always makes him shudder but he can't get enough of them. We took him to Costco this week and we shared an ice cream. Simon sat patiently in the cart and waited for his turn - Daddy was smart by getting chocolate so he didn't have to share :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Simon's Play Group Birthday Bash
We've developed quite a friend base in the year that I have been on maternity leave. With all of our babies being so close in age, we decided that a combined birthday party was the was to go. So we planned a giant bash for the March Monkeys - Simon, Anabelle, Tyler, Nikolas and Ryan. Unfortunately, Niki didn't get to celebrate with us since he was exposed to the spots at that pesky daycare (why do we have to go back to work again?). The rest of the birthday babies had a blast though and were spoiled rotten by their baby buddies. Simon in particular enjoyed the balloons - he was almost guaranteed to be within 2 feet of the balloons at all times. He enjoyed his special monkey cake - banana cake with chocolate frosting compliments of his Nanna. He was a surprisingly neat eater - so much so that he was able to wear his shirt for the remainder of the day. Round 2 of his birthday party, aka the family party, will be in two weeks.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Hockey Afternoon in Canada
With all of our attention focused on our Pittsburgh versus Ottawa game in Pittsburgh, Matt and I failed to look ahead in the schedule to see when the next match up was. Well it turns out it was another Saturday afternoon affair and although tickets were sold out (at least those that were less than $200 a piece) we were lucky to be able to get seats from Debbie at a great price. Matt was super excited to be able to take Simon to his first hockey game, particularly since it was between his two favourite teams.
We made sure that Simon was well rested, packed lots of snacks and then dressed Simon up in his new Pittsburgh onesie. Simon was memorized by the Jumbotron and enjoyed the play on the ice and his adoring fans all around (despite the fact that he was cheering for the wrong team). Everyone laughed when he burst into tears after the first Pittsburgh goal, especially when he was perfectly fine with the rowdy celebrations after the Sens scored!
Two periods was his threshold and he required a significant amount of entertainment to get him through the third period. Thankfully since we were in the front row he was able to stand in front of us and bang on the rails. The game was close and I was dreading having to entertain him through an overtime period but thankfully Ottawa pulled through and Matt had to endure another Penguins loss to the Senators.
We made sure that Simon was well rested, packed lots of snacks and then dressed Simon up in his new Pittsburgh onesie. Simon was memorized by the Jumbotron and enjoyed the play on the ice and his adoring fans all around (despite the fact that he was cheering for the wrong team). Everyone laughed when he burst into tears after the first Pittsburgh goal, especially when he was perfectly fine with the rowdy celebrations after the Sens scored!
Two periods was his threshold and he required a significant amount of entertainment to get him through the third period. Thankfully since we were in the front row he was able to stand in front of us and bang on the rails. The game was close and I was dreading having to entertain him through an overtime period but thankfully Ottawa pulled through and Matt had to endure another Penguins loss to the Senators.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Simon's First Day at Daycare
Well my maternity leave is quickly coming to an end. Less than a week to go until I'm back at work. Simon and I have made a few trips over to our care provider to get accustomed to the new environment and routine. Today marked the first day that he went alone and for a full-day. He is such a champ and had no problems. Here is the note that was sent home by Ursula - I'm thinking you'll be seeing a lot of her comments in the blog now since she will be spending a lot of time with him.
Nap 9:30-11:20 :)
Lunch Orzo, mixed veggies, chicken and apple sauce for dessert. Tried milk out of the soft sippy cup. Got some out!! Clever boy!
We read "Froggy Bakes a Cake" before nap. Simon really seemed to enjoy it, he was laughing and giggling away.
PM Nap 1:45-2:30
Note: Erika was really sweet to him, she says she like him!!
3pm bottle only 3 1/4 oz. very distracted boy.
Simon was an absolute sweetie to look after!
Nap 9:30-11:20 :)
Lunch Orzo, mixed veggies, chicken and apple sauce for dessert. Tried milk out of the soft sippy cup. Got some out!! Clever boy!
We read "Froggy Bakes a Cake" before nap. Simon really seemed to enjoy it, he was laughing and giggling away.
PM Nap 1:45-2:30
Note: Erika was really sweet to him, she says she like him!!
3pm bottle only 3 1/4 oz. very distracted boy.
Simon was an absolute sweetie to look after!
Simon's Weekend at Nanna and Granddad's
Mum and Dad if you're reading this, we need you to make a guest appearance on the blog to write an entry on Simon's weekend.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Pittsburgh Visit
Matt turned thirty this past week and to celebrate this milestone birthday, I planned a trip to Pittsburgh for the weekend to take in an Ottawa Senators/Pittsburgh Penguins game. Matt is a long-time Penguins fan and has always wanted to take in a game at the Igloo but with a baby, getting tickets, taking off work, etc. it takes quite a bit of planning. I bought the tickets back in October and started to mentally prepare myself to leave my little guy for a weekend away. It was not easy leaving Simon, but it was reassuring to know that he was in good hands.
We took off bright and early Thursday morning and drove down to the Grove City Outlets - one hour out of Pittsburgh. We started shopping within minutes of checking into the hotel and soon realized that we had grossly underestimated the time that it would take to cover the outlets. In the end, we spent 10 hours there! We got some great buys - $2.99 pants and tops at The Children's Place (by far the best store there), $19.99 shoes and sandals at the Stride Rite store (which retail for about $50 here), shirts for 80% off the clearance price at Tommy Hilfiger for Matt and Simon, among other deals. I bought a ton (surprise) but it was much needed since I'm soon back to work and my wardrobe is covered in Simon stains and seriously lacking in style. Our hotel in Grove City was awesome - we had a huge room that was easily twice as big as the average hotel room and they had a nice hot tub which was a welcome relief after hours in the car and at the outlet. We went all out for dinner with a take out from Arby's :) We took full advantage of being able to sleep in and said a quick prayer that Simon was doing the same for Nanny and Granddad. We checked out and shopped some more!
We finally made it out of Grove City around 3:00pm and braced ourselves for an icy drive into Pittsburgh. I gripped the door handle the whole way and Matt and I had a few altercations about safe driving distance. In the end, my numerous references to being alive for Simon sunk in and we made it into town safely. The GPS lady led us slightly astray so we had to back track a bit to find our hotel. We were quite the sight lugging our stuff into the hotel lobby - what with two huge suitcases and about 20 bags from the outlets. The hotel that we booked was gorgeous - the Omni William Penn. I knew that I had picked a winner when the first guest we saw was Nabokov, the goal tender for the San Jose Sharks. Our room was large and had two washrooms - which took us a while to figure out since we just assumed that the door led to yet another closet. After some downtime, we got ready for dinner out. We went to the lobby for a bit and saw a number of other hockey players who were in town for a Sunday game - Joe Thorton, Jeremy Roenick, and a bunch of unrecognizable (to us) teammates. We had dinner at The Coal Hill Steakhouse. The food was just okay, but the view of the city was spectacular. Thankfully we survived the cab ride both ways (it was touch and go at times with the icy roads) and crashed after a long day.
Saturday was game day. Matt was psyched and I was glad it was an afternoon game so we didn't have too much time to kill. We went for a walk around the hotel rather than heading to the zoo as originally planned. We went into Macy's and did some more shopping and then back to the hotel to get ready to head out to lunch and then the game. We hung out in the lobby a bit before heading off since the Senators were also in our hotel. Being our home team, we recognized all of the faces. We sat in the lobby across from Gerber and Alfredson, went up on the elevator with Spezza, and Matt kept a close eye on the elevator to see all of the other players on their way to the arena. I felt a little like a groupie in my Ottawa Senators jersey so I put on my coat and tried not to stare. Once we got our fill, we headed out to a famous Pittsburgh lunch spot, Primanti Brothers to try out their sandwiches. The place was packed but we managed to find a table and ordered up their #2 most ordered sandwich, the Philly Cheese steak. Matt and I both agree that we never need to eat one of these again but we enjoyed the experience. The place was uber casual and the sandwiches were served up on a piece of wax paper and came complete with finger marks from the servers hands. Two slices of bread surrounded a cheese steak, coleslaw and french fries. It was a welcome relief to have to trek about a mile to the arena after eating one of these. When we got to the arena, I quickly realized that I was seriously out numbered in my Ottawa Senators jersey. Because Ottawa is a newer team, it is not uncommon to see numerous fans for the opposing team. This was not the case in Pittsburgh - it was a sea of Crosy and Malkin Pittsburgh jersey's and I was one of a handful of Ottawa fans so I had quite a few comments directed to me. Thankfully I made sure in advance that I would be safe wearing an opposing teams jersey and it was only some good natured ribbing. Pittsburgh was definitely the better team for 50 minutes but Ottawa managed to come back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game and put it into overtime. With 3 seconds left in overtime and my comment that it was going into shoot outs, Ottawa scored. Matt was a little deflated but he was glad for the chance to be a hometown fan for his Penguins. He also was pleased to have picked up some Penguins garb for Simon to wear for the next few years. We had another steak dinner this time at Ruth Chris Steakhouse and it was awesome - I had a recommendation for this one and I just wish that I had checked out one of the other restaurants that was recommended rather than going out on my own for Friday's dinner.
Sunday we packed up our stuff and started the long journey home. We stopped at the outlets to quickly return some of our less than stellar purchases after we had the chance to get buyer's remorse (and after totaling up our bills - ouch) and then stopped again in Syracuse to grab some dinner and stretch our feet. We rolled into Ottawa around 8:00pm and were so glad to see Simon still up. The worst part of the trip (besides the drive) was not seeing him.
We took off bright and early Thursday morning and drove down to the Grove City Outlets - one hour out of Pittsburgh. We started shopping within minutes of checking into the hotel and soon realized that we had grossly underestimated the time that it would take to cover the outlets. In the end, we spent 10 hours there! We got some great buys - $2.99 pants and tops at The Children's Place (by far the best store there), $19.99 shoes and sandals at the Stride Rite store (which retail for about $50 here), shirts for 80% off the clearance price at Tommy Hilfiger for Matt and Simon, among other deals. I bought a ton (surprise) but it was much needed since I'm soon back to work and my wardrobe is covered in Simon stains and seriously lacking in style. Our hotel in Grove City was awesome - we had a huge room that was easily twice as big as the average hotel room and they had a nice hot tub which was a welcome relief after hours in the car and at the outlet. We went all out for dinner with a take out from Arby's :) We took full advantage of being able to sleep in and said a quick prayer that Simon was doing the same for Nanny and Granddad. We checked out and shopped some more!
We finally made it out of Grove City around 3:00pm and braced ourselves for an icy drive into Pittsburgh. I gripped the door handle the whole way and Matt and I had a few altercations about safe driving distance. In the end, my numerous references to being alive for Simon sunk in and we made it into town safely. The GPS lady led us slightly astray so we had to back track a bit to find our hotel. We were quite the sight lugging our stuff into the hotel lobby - what with two huge suitcases and about 20 bags from the outlets. The hotel that we booked was gorgeous - the Omni William Penn. I knew that I had picked a winner when the first guest we saw was Nabokov, the goal tender for the San Jose Sharks. Our room was large and had two washrooms - which took us a while to figure out since we just assumed that the door led to yet another closet. After some downtime, we got ready for dinner out. We went to the lobby for a bit and saw a number of other hockey players who were in town for a Sunday game - Joe Thorton, Jeremy Roenick, and a bunch of unrecognizable (to us) teammates. We had dinner at The Coal Hill Steakhouse. The food was just okay, but the view of the city was spectacular. Thankfully we survived the cab ride both ways (it was touch and go at times with the icy roads) and crashed after a long day.
Saturday was game day. Matt was psyched and I was glad it was an afternoon game so we didn't have too much time to kill. We went for a walk around the hotel rather than heading to the zoo as originally planned. We went into Macy's and did some more shopping and then back to the hotel to get ready to head out to lunch and then the game. We hung out in the lobby a bit before heading off since the Senators were also in our hotel. Being our home team, we recognized all of the faces. We sat in the lobby across from Gerber and Alfredson, went up on the elevator with Spezza, and Matt kept a close eye on the elevator to see all of the other players on their way to the arena. I felt a little like a groupie in my Ottawa Senators jersey so I put on my coat and tried not to stare. Once we got our fill, we headed out to a famous Pittsburgh lunch spot, Primanti Brothers to try out their sandwiches. The place was packed but we managed to find a table and ordered up their #2 most ordered sandwich, the Philly Cheese steak. Matt and I both agree that we never need to eat one of these again but we enjoyed the experience. The place was uber casual and the sandwiches were served up on a piece of wax paper and came complete with finger marks from the servers hands. Two slices of bread surrounded a cheese steak, coleslaw and french fries. It was a welcome relief to have to trek about a mile to the arena after eating one of these. When we got to the arena, I quickly realized that I was seriously out numbered in my Ottawa Senators jersey. Because Ottawa is a newer team, it is not uncommon to see numerous fans for the opposing team. This was not the case in Pittsburgh - it was a sea of Crosy and Malkin Pittsburgh jersey's and I was one of a handful of Ottawa fans so I had quite a few comments directed to me. Thankfully I made sure in advance that I would be safe wearing an opposing teams jersey and it was only some good natured ribbing. Pittsburgh was definitely the better team for 50 minutes but Ottawa managed to come back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game and put it into overtime. With 3 seconds left in overtime and my comment that it was going into shoot outs, Ottawa scored. Matt was a little deflated but he was glad for the chance to be a hometown fan for his Penguins. He also was pleased to have picked up some Penguins garb for Simon to wear for the next few years. We had another steak dinner this time at Ruth Chris Steakhouse and it was awesome - I had a recommendation for this one and I just wish that I had checked out one of the other restaurants that was recommended rather than going out on my own for Friday's dinner.
Sunday we packed up our stuff and started the long journey home. We stopped at the outlets to quickly return some of our less than stellar purchases after we had the chance to get buyer's remorse (and after totaling up our bills - ouch) and then stopped again in Syracuse to grab some dinner and stretch our feet. We rolled into Ottawa around 8:00pm and were so glad to see Simon still up. The worst part of the trip (besides the drive) was not seeing him.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
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