Introducing Miles Xavier Fuller

Monday started off with me in full nesting mode, vacuuming the much neglected bedrooms, laundry and trying to get some last minute things ready in anticipation of our latest addition. Monday ended abruptly with the alarm clock blaring (it must have been set sometime during my frantic cleaning)and a frantic dive to turn the blaring noise off. I think that was the nudge I needed to start labour as 25 minutes later, the floodgates opened when my water broke. Unfortunately, even though it wasn't accompanied by labour, we had to head right to the hospital to be treated with antibiotics. After waking up Grandma, and then doing a trial run halfway to the hospital (we had to turn back for the camera), we arrived around 2:00am in full style sporting a bright pink beach towel which did wonders to disguise my leaky state! We were immediately ushered into a labour delivery room and hooked up to both antibiotics and Pitocin to get things going. Having been in labour for 36ish hours with Simon, I was expecting to settle in for the long haul and eagerly awaited my epidural to get some sleep. Turns out, our little guy had other plans as he made a quick arrival at 6:05am, after 2 pushes, he didn't even wait for the doctor to suit up and was delivered by our labour and delivery nurse, Shelley. Miles Xavier Fuller weighed in at a mere 7lbs. 9oz., almost 2 full pounds less than brother Simon (despite estimates of another big baby). He is 21.5 inches long and sports a full head of spiky black hair. It was a much easier birth than Simon and recovery is going well. Aside from the lack of sleep in the hospital (I didn't manage any from admission to discharge), things are going well. Miles is a bit jaundiced but I begged mercy to go home so we'll have to go for some additional testing and follow-up this week. Simon has done well so far with his role of big brother, particularly since Miles bought him some great gifts.

Simon Says.....

Two year olds come up with the best material. Simon regularly cracks us up with his observations/questions/comments. Here are some of the latest.

As said by Simon while I was blowing my nose this morning....

"Mommy, you have a boogie?"
My response, "yes"
"Can I see?"
I guess this is my own fault since I always show Simon the boogies after he lets me get them out of his nose since it is such an ordeal.

As said by Simon while driving blind through Toronto traffic back to our hotel....

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy"
No response from Matt who was trying to navigate traffic.
"Daddy I'm talking to you" (picture it announced slowly and with attitude for the full effect)

As said by Simon when we were vacationing at Sandbanks....

Me: "Are you ready to go to the beach Simon?"
"I'm too tired for the beach Mommy" - man we torture this kid

At the end of the day.....

"I'm done with the beach Mommy"

At the Toronto Metro Zoo.....

"The _________ are happy to see Simon" - apparently the animals are big fans of being watched by my child

At our place.....

Me: "Where's Mommy's baby"
Simon: "In Mommy's belly"
Me: "Does Simon have a baby in his belly?"
Simon: "Yes. And Grandma too." - yikes, probably shouldn't have started this conversation!

As said all week during our vacation....

"How about....Mommy do it.....Daddy do it....Simon plays with his trucks....." It seems as if every sentence started with this phrase and finished with "for a little bit".

As said by Simon while Matt and I were talking....

Simon: "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy"
Me: "Hold your horses Simon"
Simon: "Me ride the horses please?"

Pregnancy Photos

Lynsey was nice enough to take some pregnancy shots of me this time round. With Simon, I had them done much earlier and I remember it being much easier to move around and position myself. This time, I was very cumbersome and a lot of the poses come off awkward because I just couldn't get comfortable. Lynsey did manage to capture some great shots though. I was particularly impressed with the ones with Simon because we did the pictures on the bed which equals nothing but jumping and horsing around for Simon. Here are some of my favourites....

RCMP Sunset Ceremonies

The past week has been wet, wet, wet. It seems like everyday it is either raining or the forecast has called for rain. Of course, it is very sporadic and the weather seems to vary from one side of the street to the other so we decided to risk it and head down to the RCMP Sunset Ceremonies. The rain mostly held off, but there were a bunch of people who insisted on keeping their big honking umbrellas up so it was a bit of a challenge for Simon to see anything. Of course, Simon was not at all interested in what was on show, but instead, enjoyed the intermission where the tractor came out to do set-up and tear down. In fact, throughout the show, Simon would periodically ask, "where's front loader?". By the time the Musical Ride came out, Simon had lost most of his focus so Matt and I took turns being stepped on, jumped on, and just generally abused.

On the way out, we were able to get Simon's picture done on a police bike (not as cool as last year's picture with Auntie Maureen in her Red Serge) compliments of Matt's friend and then headed on to Luc and Laura's to pick up our car. Who knew that this was going to be the highlight of Simon's evening. Simon loved their two Doberman's and the cookie for each hand that Luc provided. When we asked Simon on the way home if he had fun all he talked about was Luc!

Two year olds can be bribed

I discovered that it is possible to bribe a two-year old, you just have to have the right bribe at the right moment in time (which in the fickle world of a two-year old is quite the challenge). The last haircut we attempted with Simon was a total disaster. He screamed down the place, Matt and I had to pin his head still and we still ended up with a lopsided cut that was still shaggy. Needless to say, it looked like it needed to be cut again the next day but Matt and I have been dragging our feet because we didn't want to go through that ordeal again. We had gotten to a point where Simon was so shaggy that he sideburns were almost below his ear lobes. I was feeling brave so I decided to attempt a hair cut solo. He had practiced on his playdough in the morning with Nanny so he was prepped for a haircut and I promised him a trip down Tractor Road and a new tractor book if he sat still. It seemed to be the right bribe for the moment since Simon sat still for the scissors and the trimmer - and the hair dressor was able to cut all of his hair so he looks like a proper little boy again.

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day fell during out trip to Sandbanks so I promised Matt a celebration day when we returned (the actual Father's Day itself was a bust for Matt - he made breakfast, lunch and dinner and I was a total crab and forgot all about it). I sent him out the Friday after we returned for a full day of stuff that he likes/needs to do, but can never find time for. First up, the driving range to hit a couple buckets of balls. Then off to a specialty store to pick up a few Pittsburgh Penguins hats to celebrate their Stanley Cup Champion status. Next up, a trip to the mall for a haircut, shopping for some shirts and shoes. The day finished off at the spa with a massage. I think Matt enjoyed his day but unfortunately we didn't get any pictures.

Ontario Science Centre

On our last day in Toronto, we headed to the Ontario Science Centre. Our membership at the Science museum here gives us free entry there so we figured it would be a great place to spend a few hours. They have a giant, hands-on kids exhibit and Simon loved it. It had everything from a working hot-air balloon, water, building blocks, ball chutes and of course, Simon even managed to find a dump truck. Matt was right in there with Simon showing him how everything worked, while I passed out on a bench. I did manage to turn this in to useful skill later on in the morning when I went up early to wait in line for the IMAX movie.

We also took Simon to see his first movie (well technically it wasn't since I took him to movies all the time on maternity leave, but this was the first one for him). It was called under the sea and was basically a documentary on the sea life and how it is endangered by the rising populations and temperatures. It was scary at parts but Simon loved it, not surprising since he loves to watch fishing with Poppa. Thankfully the IMAX effect didn't make him sick like the poor boy we passed in the hall on the way out!

We were all pretty tired out after 2 1/2 hours at the museum so we decided to call it a day and head home. Simon thankfully slept the majority of the way in the car so we could enjoy some silence.

Out of the Mouths of Two-Year Olds

With Grandma watching sports news and showing pictures of basketball.
Simon do you play basketball?
No, black guys do!

Uh oh, we have some educating to do.

Stanley Cup Champions

The endless hockey watching finally resulted in something to celebrate. Matt's team pulled off a victory and won the Stanley Cup. Matt brought the television outside to watch game 7. It went down to the wire and Matt managed to contain his reaction and only wake half the neighborhood when the time expired. I was expecting a few tears (I don't know why since I have only seen known Matt to cry twice since we've been together and neither of those times coincided with the birth of our children!) but he managed to hold it together.

"Run Daddy, Run"