Patrick at 18 months

Unfortunately you remember all of these milestones by the trips you have to take to the doctors office to get more injections. Yesterday he had the MMR and his last lots of boosters so 2 needles. This week he has a terrible cold and a really sore throat so I did wonder if they would go ahead but I’m guessing that if they postponed for every little sniffle the babies would never get jabbed. So we get Patrick undressed and the Doctor starts her exam. Patrick looks at her, then her stethascope and says “Hi – what you doin??” she almost fell off her stool she was laughing so much. His injections were uneventful and he didn’t even cry for the first one – as ever the thing that upsets Patrick is being held down more than the needle. He is now 27.5lbs so still on the 75th percentile and maintaining the 90th for his height. “Still a big boy” – don’t I know it!

So what does he do at 18 months? Well – chat, chat, chat, climb, climb, chat and then more climbing would sum it up! He attempts lots of words but his favourites seem to be “hi” to everyone and anybody, “what you doing”, no no no, bye, Rosie, car and the cutest thing recently is how much he loves Old Macdonald. You will catch him singing “ee ay ee ay OOOOOOOO” to himself and its really sweet. I’m pretty sure that he has a word for Grace but I can’t quite pick it out yet.

They have started to play more together and this mostly involves physical games like chase, rolling around on the floor or jumping on the beds. He still thinks his sister is the funniest person on the planet and wants to do everything that she can do. At the park he is very agile and adventurous which is a mix that keeps my heart in my mouth for the majority of the time. He also loves to play by himself and will sit happily for long periods playing with his cars, trains or Little People. We are starting to see some possessive behaviour and he will no longer allow Grace to just ‘trade’ with him. He isn’t a child for cuddly toys but you can certainly see his attachment to particular cars or trains. He loves Thomas the Tank engine and will say brum brum whenever he sees his picture, in fact it would be fair to say that he has an infatuation with anything that moves as he is fascinated by watching the cars go down the street.

He loves to play outside and hates it when he can’t go out for any reason. He has also started getting upset when Diesel goes to work in the morning and it is really sad to see him run across the floor and then cry when he realises that he has gone. My friends are constantly surprised by the level of energy that Patrick has. It is certainly true to say that from the minute he gets up in the morning he doesn’t stop running until he goes back to bed in the evening. He may be the first child to wear out the soles of a pair of shoes before he outgrows them!

Patrick continues to eat and drink well and I am pleased to say that he is completely off bottles and only has cups for milk and water. His favourite food is still home made meatballs, tomato sauce and rice but he will pretty much have a go at anything. As he gets taller so the little hands reach further and on Fathers Day he pinched a rasher of bacon off of the side of my plate which was interesting. He doesn’t appear to have the sweet tooth that Grace does and is much more into vegetables than fruit but as with all the kids he will go completely mad for a cheesy crisp!

Patrick at 18 months is quite an amiable little chap although his determination and will power are starting to emerge. Still, it wouldn’t do for life to get boring and its certainly never that with Patrick around!

Patrick at 15 months

Patrick at 15 months is definately not a baby anymore. He is an active, strong willed, fun loving, daredevil and sometime defiant little boy. His walking skills have quickly progressed to running and he can also bend down and up again, dance, twirl in a circle and climb up (and down) from the couch and our bed. He is pretty fearless and will try and walk down the stairs if you don’t watch him. He seems to be pretty adaptable and has worked out that he needs to swing his legs around to dismount things properly. There are few photos of him at the moment without some sort of scrape or bump on his head and they are all down to climbing. This month saw his first fat lip after he climbed on Graces stool and then fell off face first. He cried initially but got over it much quicker than his mother did.

His 15 month check with the paed meant more injections (will they ever stop??). I am much better at dealing with Patrick having injections that I ever was, and still am, with Grace. I made her some stupid promise when she came out of hospital that she would have no more needles and obviously that was never going to happen. Patricks complaint is not so much the needle bit rather that you have to restrain him in order for the doctor to get it in.

His vital statistics are pretty impressive. 26.4 lbs so he maintains that 75th percentile, he has climbed to over the 90th percentile for his height and his head circumference is off the scale. To quote Dr Fath he is “very tall”  …… not just tall but VERY tall. I cannot tell you how excited that Diesel and I are to have a tall son – lets just hope it continues!! He is certainly a big lad and so this weekend has been all about buying him a new wardrobe. We also bought his first pair of shoes as our trip to the UK won’t require his snowboots. I must check what size Graces first shoes were but his are a 6, the ones we got for Grace were only a 7 1/2.

The other first this month was Patricks first haircut.

We took him to the same place that we take Grace and he was amazing. I’m sure it is a little more expensive than a regular hairdressers but Grace loves to go and so it saves me a headache. He just sat in the chair and played with his cars while the lady cut his hair and she even managed to use the clippers. Personally, I wasn’t too worried about his hair but Diesel was fixated on the fact that he had a mullet and so it had to go.

The bathtime meltdown has begun and so my 5 minutes is up! It is this time of night that pushes any ounce of patience that I may have left!!!!!!

January 4th

I have just realised that today should have been Patricks birthday as this was the day of my scheduled c-section. His birthday seems like it was ages ago so its a very strange feeling.

He has celebrated this milestone by learning to stand up from crawling unaided, running from the kitchen to the family room (I kid you not!) and wailing if Mummy leaves his sight even for a second. Maybe he knows I am thinking of going back to work and is starting on the guilt trip already ……

Christmas Eve

 

So its Christmas Eve and the Dempster house is insane. Grace is bouncing off the walls which translates as bugging her brother so there has been alot of screaming. We have tried to keep things as calm as possible but the fact remains – Santa is coming tomorrow. I am starting to wonder how bedtime will go …….. will the threat of Santa not coming be enough?? Lets hope so as Diesel and I have work to do!

He walks

I think that today we can finally say that Patrick has started walking. He has been fairly solid on his feet for a while now but today he walked across a room (numerous times!) and after a while even began stopping and starting and changing direction. As I suspected he just needed the incentive of being away from his push along toys and as we were at Dominics christenning today he got his big chance. It is mad to watch him as I still think he looks too little to be walking. He is extremely pleased with himself and gives the biggest, cheesiest grin when he is congratulated. Perhaps it was the room full of doting women that gave him the incentive??

Both Grace and Patrick were great in the church today. The priest was excellent and not overly formal which was handy as Patrick talked through most of what he had to say. I was concerned that they would be overawed as it is such a big place but both were fine. So now full steam ahead for Santas visit on the 25th. The goose and the ham are in the fridge and I am going last minute cheese and vegetable shopping tomorrow morning. I keep trying to remember what we were doing last year and then remember that we were busy on hospital runs so that is why not much makes sense! We are all looking forward to a quieter christmas this year xx

Happy 1st Birthday Patrick

So baby Patrick is now 1 and it was certainly a day to remember. We had been forecast this big storm with a prediction of 20-30cms of snow. Torontonians are know for their exaggeration so no one quite believed it would happen. Guess what ………….. it did. All through Saturday night we listenned to howling wind and icy rain and then at about 8am it started snowing, and it didn’t stop until 5pm. It was unbelievable, the morning was a complete white out and then huge snowflakes started laying on the ground like a blanket. Apparently it was the most snow to fall here on one day in 63 years, we probably had about 25-30cms. Whilst we thought it was an adventure it wasn’t the greatest day for a party as so many people were snowed in and didn’t make it. The Holmes family (being true canadian adventurers) braved it in their mini van and nearly gave John a heart attack in the process and Emma and the children were dropped off as I don’t think Jim wanted to take the risk of parking the car anywhere. Claire, Paige, Dave and Monica also came but as they only travelled up the street we figured that we could sledge them in if the worst came to the worst.

Notwithstanding the weather we had a lovely day. Patrick woke up to a big pile of presents which his sister proceeded to unwrap and then play with for him. I think he was quite pleased when Monday arrived so that he could look at things for himself! He was a little star and really enjoyed having all the bigger kids to play with. I was pleased with my efforts on the cake front as people could even recognise what it was this time. Both of the children were shattered at bed time so we didn’t have too many problems putting them to bed.

Yesterday was Patricks 1 year check and shots. The girl before him threw a complete fit and I sat in the waiting room with that awful sinking feeling. In the event, Patrick was a very brave little boy. He gave the doctor a rather shocked look when she put the first needle in and then only cried for about 10 seconds after the second one. We are all agreed that he is a big boy and he weighed in at 24.2 lbs which is still the 75th percentile, his head is still on the large side at 97th percentile and surprisingly he has had a growth spurt and his length is now between the 75th & 95th percentile. I never thought one of our children would be described as long!!

Developmentally he continues to do everything that he should although the night time bottles should really be knocked on the head (works for me!!) He is increasingly verbal and you are under no illusion as to what he wants. He will shout at Grace if she takes his toys away and will shake his head and say nuh nuh nuh if he doesn’t want to eat any more dinner. His walking is coming along and today he travelled about 3 feet before he fell down and started crawling. He has all the tools to start walking but I think that whilst he has all of these things to push he has no need to. Maybe after our week in Barbados he might do it?

Patrick at 11 months

Well this month has been all about teeth and getting sick. Firstly those 2 top teeth have finally made an appearance. They seem to take forever and are still not completely down but at least they have stopped hurting him. His sickness really knocked both him and me for six this month as being on steroid puffers at ten months was not really what I would have liked. Still, he is back to full strength now so we will just have to see how he develops to see whether it will be a recurrent thing.

On Saturday he took his first step unaided and will regularly stand on his own unsupported. I do think that it is a confidence thing with Patrick as as soon as he realises that he is standing on his own he will either sit down or grab onto something. Movement is definately his thing and he is rarely still. For most of the day he will charge up and down the room pushing his bricks, bumblebee or latterly Graces car. Initially this caused a fair bit of upset as he would get stuck by a chair or in a corner and then scream until you ‘rescued’ him. Now though he has mastered the art of turning whatever he is pushing and can even navigate around objects left on the floor. If left alone he will also climb anything and everything and on Sunday climbed the stairs by himself (I was behind him!) and still had enough energy at the top to charge into his bedroom.

This movement has shown us another side of Patricks personality and we have seen what a determined little chap he is. He also has a bit of a temper and is quick to show you when he is displeased – even his sister has been on the receiving end this month so maybe the tide is turning.

Patrick met his Auntie Joan for the first time last week and had a wonderful week with her. Maybe she is biased but she thought he was a beautiful boy (who am I to disagree!!) and was glad that she came to spend some time with him before he becomes a toddler.

His speech seems to have come on a little bit this month and he has started to say mumma which clearly I am delighted about. He and I play a little game where I get him to pass me a toy I then say thank you and give it back to him. He thinks this is great and will play it for hours, whilst I couldn’t claim that he says thank you he does try to mimic the sound which is very cute. Like Grace he is very dextrous  with his fingers and they seem to get everywhere. He loves to point and when you sing to him he tries to poke his finger in your mouth to see where the noise is coming from – all fine until he connects with your gum and then it hurts.

Frustratingly for me, but great fun for him, is trying to feed him. Already he has decided that he is independant and so will take the spoon off you and try to put it in the bowl himself. All fine unless there is actually something on the spoon and then that ends up on the floor, wall, Rosie etc etc. The only other ‘trick’ I can think of for this month is the ‘where can I post this game’. All sorts of strange things have been posted into the bin, Rosies water bowl and various push along things. His favourite game in the bath is to stack all the cups together and although it sometimes takes him a while he does have the patience to persevere until hes done it.

I think thats it for now so next month will be the big ‘1′ and I’ll have tales of his first birthday party and then the dreaded MMR at his 12 month check.

Patrick 10 months (belated!)

Sorry Patrick when you read this at 18 ………… things have been hectic what with going to Chicago, then Diesel going back to the UK and now Halloween. Anyway, just ahead of that post here is the 10 month update.

The crawling is quite amazing and his turn of speed is just incredible. We now live in a child gated heaven although don’t have one at the top of the stairs which can lead to some hairy moments if Grace leaves doors open. For the most part though she is pretty good and Patrick must on occasion feel like he has 2 mothers as she nags him if he heads to the stairs. My initial thought was that crawling would be Patricks preferred mode of movement for a while but he has proved me wrong and is already up on his feet. He is very proficient at pushing his bricks across the room (even on the tile) and if he can’t stand up then he will do this funny little hop across the floor which is hilarious. He would always prefer to be standing and will pull himself up on anything and everything, it was a bit disconcerting the first time he came over to me at the cooker and did it. My Mum was here at the weekend and on her watch he learnt to climb stairs and walk whilst holding your hands. Hmmmmm my baby is turning into a toddler far too quickly for my liking!

Still ………………………………. no news on the teeth although I really think I can see one of the top ones breaking through. That has been 4 days now, with Patrick it is a really sloooooowwwww process. His sleep is a little better though and will pretty much go through to 5am most nights and then back to sleep until 7 am if we are lucky. Apart from his extended stay in hospital he had his first nights away from home this month when we went to Chicago. He is such a happy go lucky little chap that he takes everything in his stride. He was a little unsettled the first night but considering it was his first time sleeping in a travel cot I think he did brilliantly. October has been busy for Patrick and he had his first solo outing with Omi and Grandad too. Grace and I went to a birthday party whilst Diesel was away so my Mum and Dad visited friends and took Patrick too. They said that he was brilliant and not at all fazed by meeting new people and going to a new house. Canadians use the expression ‘playing strange’ when a baby reacts to a different situation but Patrick seems fine. I am pleased by this as at home he is a complete Mummys boy. He will let anyone else play, feed, change him if I’m not around but the moment he sees or hears me I am all he wants. ( I can’t say that I really mind although Diesel isn;t keen on him becoming a Mummys boy!).

No Doctors appointment this month although my lower back pain tells me that he is growing well. He is already in size 12 months which has come as a bit of a shock to me, especially as Grace was always 6 months behind in sizes and very rarely grew out of anything. His hair at the back is getting quite thick and like his Dads it never lays flat so he constantly looks like he has just had an electric shock. At the moment this is pretty cute but I’m hoping that in time it calms down.

Still no joy on getting Patrick to say Mumma, although he does have a name for me and will consistently call me Bubba. Dadda is still his favourite word and whilst he says it all the time he does also use it in context.

This month Patrick has really begun to demonstrate an interest in all things that move and I have started calling him my little engineer. He loves to open and close doors and drawers and will sit and turn wheels wherever he can find them. We play cars and trains together and he will push something along and try to say brum brum which is very sweet. He still loves to play ball and this month has mastered the art of throwing it before chasing after it.

We’re in trouble now!

Its official ………….

…………. Patrick is really a Canadian citizen. A surprisingly rapid turnaround by the canadian authorities delivered us his passport on Tuesday. On the one hand it means that we can now all leave the country should we want / need to but on the other hand it is strange that my son has a different citizenship to me. As Diesel keeps telling me, he is a British citizen by right too but the fact remains that when we go over to the States next week we will hand over 3 red passports and 1 blue one. Still, its all positive as he will hopefully have double the opportunities for work etc when he grows up.