Pre (Pre) School

Out little Livster started pre-pre-school last week. It's just like pre-school except it's....before it? I don't know, what I do know is that she loves it.

The Sunshine Hills Pre-School is just down the street from us in Sunshine Hills (obviously). Olivia's teacher, Teacher Lorrie, came to our house a couple of weekends ago to meet her and tell her all about school. Liv was very excited to hear about all of the activities she is going to do such as painting, singing, playing outside and eating snacks.

Her first day was great. I took the day off work and we all went together and met some of the other parents. After going inside, Livi was shown where to hang up her back pack, wash her hands and where to leave her shoes. She went straight in to the play area and found some toys. After we left, we waved to her from the good bye window and drove away.

After picking her up later on, she told all about finger painting with shaving cream. She had a ton of fun and looks forward to going back.

PNE & Playland

As per typical Vancouver weather, it rained and rained. Still a beautiful day in our fine city.

Like we do every year, we ventured out to the PNE yesterday. This was Livi's 3rd trip I believe and Emma's 2nd. Last year our little Emmers was only a few weeks old so she barely experienced anything.

This year with both of them being a bit older, it's getting to be more suited for them so their excitement was higher and they both had lots of fun. Our friend Kelly and her son Kyler joined us and everyone had a great time. Kyler and Livi were both able to run around together and go on all of the kids rides. After getting into the fairgrounds we immediately loaded up on food so everyone was fed full of burgers, hot dogs and poutine. Once that was out of the way, we made the mandatory diaper change and potty breaks at the parents station. (A wonderful idea where an entire trailer is set up for changing and cleaning up your kids). Next was a stop at the face painting booth where Livi and Kyler both got some cool designs done.

Since we got a break from the rain, the rides were next. Livi rode a motorcycle, hot air balloon, helicopter and two different trains. She's getting a lot more daring though she was a bit scared on the roller coaster.

Next up was a visit to see all of the animals which we didn't get pictures of. What else can I write here? Big horses, smelly cows, bunch of chickens. That pretty much sums it up.

Great day topped off with a tired car ride home and sushi for the Mom's and Dad.

Long Overdue Update pt.2

Since we got back from vacation the weather here in Vancouver has been unbelievable. We went the entire month of July without a single drop of rain.

So I'll start with Livi since she's the oldest:

Olivia is really becoming a little girl now. She speaks so clearly and in complete full sentences you always understand exactly what she's saying. There are however a few exceptions:

Hangen Jones = Indiana Jones
Hoop a Loops = Fruit Loops
Pockickle = Popsicle

Her dodey, pacifier, soother whatever the hell you want to call it has disappeared. She fell a while ago onto the concrete and cut a hole in her tongue and chin. No need for stitches thankfully and the doc said it should heal on it's own. During this time, using her dodey was too painful so she just stopped and now that everything is healed, she just doesn't have a need for it. I guess that's what you call a silver lining.

We have been attempting potty training for a bit now. We tried a cold turkey weekend where we just didn't use diapers all day. Well that didn't really click for her so we tried to ease our way into it. She goes almost once a day now at night before bed and she knows she has to go. I think trying another 'pee party' weekend will be our key to getting this thing now that she has figured it out a bit.

As for our little Emma, she is growing up way too fast. Her first birthday was a few weeks ago and everyone had a great time. There are a few more kids around now so Emma and Livi had some friends to play with.Sam had a vision of a rainbow party and did an excellent job. From the rainbow cake, to the rainbow confetti filled balloons and rainbow streamers, the little Emerald is one lucky girl to have a Mom like her.

She is walking and talking like a champ. Her vocabulary right now is quite limited. Mama, Dada, Wawa (Livi) Gaga (Grandad) and Mi-mi (Mickey) are about it. As for walking, Emma has been taking a few steps at a time for the past few weeks. Just one or two at a time then she lovingly dives head first on to your lap, a couch or unfortunately the floor. Bit of a daredevil but she's learning now. She can walk, stop and look around and then continue pretty confidently.

Long Overdue Update pt.1

Apparently the last time I updated this blog was 3 months ago. Good thing this is not my job because I would have been canned weeks ago. I will try to be a better blogger. I was writing about our upcoming vacation so I'll start with that as I try to update everyone (cough - handful of readers) on what has happened in the last 3 months.

The vacation was awesome! All four of us has an excellent time. Starting with a Mariners game on Sunday afternoon where we had a blast watching the game and walking around the stadium.

After the game we said goodbye to the Meads and headed to our hotel just south of Seattle and had a relaxing night getting ready for the big day.

The next morning we drove towards Mount Hope where the Great Wolf Lodge was located. Both girls had a nice long nap on the voyage which set them up for the energy they needed to yell and scream along with all the other yelling and screaming children. It was like Vegas for toddlers and every parent there knew it. I'm surprised the bar didn't have a mile long lineup. We arrived in the afternoon and for the next 3 days we had a great time enjoying everything we could about the resort. We visited the water park multiple times where both girls loved every minute of it and I loved getting buckets of water dumped on my head while Olivia laughed at me. The amenities around the hotel were done really well and there was plenty to keep us busy. The last day was extra special as Sam and Livi got pedicures and ice cream before we left.

After we said goodbye to the Great Wolf Lodge, we headed back to Seattle for the next part of our vacation. We booked a great hotel in downtown and didn't have any concrete plans besides a few different places we wanted to see. Most of our time was spent walking the city around the market and through downtown. We made sure to get ice cream every day as Nana and Grandad gave Olivia her own money to buy it with.The first days's ice cream was special since it was 'free ice cream day' at a quirky little place that served unusual flavours. I had "Whiskey Maple Crack" and have been itching for it again since.

Down along the waterfront we visited some interesting places. After an hour in the aquarium, we had lunch in a nice sourdough deli and then an ice cream. Olivia and I (the braver members of the family) decided it would be fun to go on the giant ferris wheel. Olivia did surprisingly well and made one full revolution before she decided it was time to come down.

One of the highlights of the trip was definitely the Woodland Park Zoo. We hit this on the way home since it was north of Seattle and it was well worth it. I hadn't been there since I was about 10 but we both knew the girls were going to love it.Every type of animal imaginable was available to see and we were definitely not dissapointed. The pictures below can speak for themselves.

After a long hot day at the zoo, we headed back home. I'll write part 2 shortly which updates everything else since then. Stay tuned readers (all 4 of you).

Nutley Family Vacation

It's almost vacation time!

On Sunday we're leaving for our family vacation for the year. Just a small trip down to Seattle for a week. We figured it's a bit of a waste to do any big trips while the girls are so little so we'll save those for the next few years.

We're starting out Sunday with a Mariners game with The Meads. Sam is the only one who's every been and it was at the Tacomdome so we're looking forward to checking out Safeco Field.

Monday morning we're heading a bit farther south to The Great Wolf Lodge for two nights. There's supposed to be a ton of activites there to keep everyone busy. From a full waterpark to to an ice cream bar/nail salon and a handful of restaurants and bars (woohoo!) we should be pretty busy.

After that it's back to Seattle for 2 nights at the Westin downtown. We've got lots planned and hopefully the weather is nice so we can walk as much as possible.

Looking forward to the whole thing and we'll take plenty of pics to update the blog when we get back.

Holy hell it's been a while. I seem to usually start this blog by explaining why it took so long to update. It's seems that everyone is too busy these days and the same goes for us. My job has been very demanding lately and that's when I typically write these entries. Oh well, guess it means I'll have lots of info to update with.

I'll start with Emma who has grown up quite a bit in the last few months. She is around 8 1/2 months old, has 3 teeth all on the bottom, laughs and smiles constantly, says a few words (Dada, Mama and Nana) and sits up all by herself. No crawling yet. She's very close to standing on her own so the wee Emerald may just skip straight to walking.

She definitely loves having a big sister despite Livi bullying her all the time. She follows her around the room and they are constantly hugging and holding hands. They share toys and Emma even tries to imitate Livi when she says something. Can't wait to see these two grow up together.

Emmers has eaten a variety of food and taken it all very well. I think we started with sweet potatoes (yum), squash (yum) and peas (yummers). Here's a video of her eating:



As well as a few pics:

As for the Livster, she is still our sassy little 2-year old. Lots of full sentences demanding we bring her to the park or playground or shouting out what movie she would like to watch. It's hard not to just smile. Her newest phrases are as follows:

Can't 

"Livi, let's go inside for dinner"

"Nooo, I can't!"

"Come on Livi, dinner is ready"

"I can't, I can't"

"Yes you can"

"I cannnnn't"

Very

"Very dark Daddy"

"I know, it's nightime Livi, time to go to bed"

"Very dark"

She also uses it completely grammatically incorrect as well:

"How's the popsicle Livi?"

"I very like it!"

She definitely keeps us entertained. Looking forward to a fun summer coming up with our vacation at the end of April. A few days at the Great Wolf Lodge and then a few days in Seattle.

A post about the Emerald

I know most of these posts are centered around the Livster and that's mainly because she's so active and charismatic. Sometimes little Emerald gets overlooked. She definitely doesn't get forgotten about by us and we equally divide our attention between these two scoundrels. It's just that Emma, let's face it, didn't do a lot.

The first few months it was sleep/eat/sleep/eat/poop/sleep. Then about a month ago she started her babbling and smiling and laughing. I think she's just trying to talk to Livi and join in on the running and playing. In the last week she's started sitting up on her own now and she loves it. She still needs a little help with her balance because she does gradually tip over.

P.S. The bottom left pic is a spitting image of Sam as a baby.

The little Emmers also has a funny habit of falling asleep anywhere. This is something that differs from her older, blonde counterpart. While Livi wouldn't sleep unless we turned off all the lights and put a blanket on her, Emma gets tired, closes her eyes and drops her head. It's kind of like watching a commuter on the skytrain after a long day at work. See the video below for an example:

Another thing she enjoys while sleeping holding on to things or putting them on her head:

So that's the focus of Emma's world right now. She's getting older and growing out of things quickly. You can tell she's a huge fan of Livi because she watched her constantly and reaches out for her. Livi can make her laugh more than anyone else by making faces or tickling her.

We love our little Pudge.

Ballet 101

I'm a Baweena!

Last week our little swan took her first dance class (run around and swing your arms class) and she obviously loved it. She followed along with all of the exercises such as "Hello toes, Goodbye toes", "Put on your tiara and skip" as well as my personal favourite "Pick up flowers, smell them and then throw them in the air".

She had a great time and it was a great way to exercise. A few more weeks of these classes and she'll be as good as (insert famous ballerina here).

 

P.S. Emma the spectator was very proud of her big sister.

Guest Post: Heather Von St. James

Last week I was contacted by Heather who has a blog herself about her story. She had asked if I would be interested in her writing a guest post on my blog in order to share her story. I read through her blog about her dealing with Mesothelioma as a Mom and agreed wholeheartedly to include a post made by her. I encourage anyone viewing to read her story below as well as visit her blog to raise  awareness.

A link to her blog: Heather Von St. James - Courageous Mother, Wife and Survivor of Mesothelioma

Dealing with Mesothelioma as a Mom

When I was just 36 years old, my life took a very different and unexpected toll. My husband and I had recently welcomed our newborn daughter, Lily, into the world. Lily blessed us with her presence on August 4th, 2005. During those first moments of her life, we could feel the love in the room, as both my parents and my husband’s parents came to visit us after the birth of our little girl. It was times like these when I felt nothing could bring us down. However, it seems as though this was just the calm before the storm.

After giving birth to Lily, I ended up heading back to work, but that is when I started noticing a few things that were going on. I constantly felt tired and I never felt like I had any energy. These are things that people often associate with being a new mom anyway, so I actually didn’t think too much of it at first. I also realized I was losing a significant amount of weight, totaling nearly 7 pounds per week. I finally decided to take a trip to my doctor’s office, and found out things were much worse than I ever could have imagined.

It was November 21, 2005 and our daughter, Lily, was 3 ½ months, when I received the diagnosis from the doctor. My doctor informed me that I had malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is cancer. Even worse, he told me that if I were to not get treatment, I would only have about 15 months to live. I ended up with this cancer because when I was a child, I had been exposed to asbestos, which can lead to mesothelioma in the future. Upon receiving the diagnosis, all I could do was think of Lily and how I needed to survive for her, and for my husband. It was then that I made the decision to go along with whatever treatment was going to keep me alive.

The procedure that I needed to receive was quite drastic to say the least. I had to fly down to Boston to meet with a doctor who specializes in treating mesothelioma. During the surgery, my entire left lung had to be removed. It took me slightly over two weeks to recover just from the surgery. I had to continue to recover to prepare for both chemo and radiation. I was trying to do all of this and still be a mom to my daughter. During my time in Boston, my parents took care of the responsibility of Lily. They were doing what they could to raise her, and were also receiving support from people in the neighborhood. It was the support of our family and kind people that kept me going.

As my daughter was living with my parents, she started to reach all of her milestones, many of which I missed. However, my parents were kind enough to snap pictures, and my husband would always show them to me. When I saw the pictures, I was really happy and I kept telling myself that Lily is reason that I am trying my best to beat this cancer. It’s been almost 7 years now and there is no sign of my cancer. I travel to Boston for scans every 6 months. It’s a lot to anxiety and sometimes anger to deal with, but it has changed my outlook on life for the better.

 

My husband and I, along with Lily and my parents, are constantly taking things one step at a time. We have accepted the obstacles thrown in our way and the challenges that life has put in our path, but have also realized that good things can come out of negative things. With that said, I will always be thankful for the supportive people we have had stand by us throughout this entire ordeal.

Emma's First Christmas/Night of the Living Stomach Flu

Well that was a Christmas that we will never forget.

Livi's Birthday was also the first day of my holidays from work. Olivia woke up in the morning to a brand new dollhouse completely assembled and ready for her to play with. (Thanks to her mother and I spending three hours assembly the bloody thing the night before). It stands about 4 feet tall and boasts wooden furniture including bathtub, canopy bed, kitchen table and a grand piano. Oh and it also has an elevator to suit wheelchair access or just the lazy Barbie's.

Like last year, Livi received a shout-out on the news.

After breakfast and a visit from Nana and Auntie Rachel, we drove out to Port Coquitlam to try a new play area called Kinder-Cafe. Lots of stuff to do and play with. Livi had a ball and played with all sorts of kitchens, play-houses, ride-on cars and even a bouncy castle.

For dinner we dined at the lovely Big Ridge Brewery where we met Nana and Grumpy. After dinner, the Livster received a special dessert, singing waiters and a confetti cannon. Then to top it all off someone made her a balloon animal. A great night for our little girl.

Then the trouble started. Friday night at around midnight Sam and I were up talking and we Livi threw up in her bed. We cleaned up and she threw up multiple times after that. After calling my Mom to come over and look over Emma, we took Livi to the hospital. The doctor checked her out and determined it was the stomach flu. She was to take Gravol and get her rest. We made it back home around 4am and put her to bed. 

She woke up the next day feeling great. Sam did not however. To keep Emma separated from Livi, Nana BB came to help. I took Emma for the day out of the house running errands and Livi stayed at home for a day with Nana. Later at night once Sam started feeling better she came downstairs and we all sat around. Shortly before bedtime, Livi threw up again. Emma went to off to Nana and Gaga's for isolation. We cleaned up and put Livi to bed.

The next day, once again, she woke up fine and so did Sam.It was now my turn. I won't go in to the details but it was not pleasant. Nana BB came to help since I was upstairs in quarantine. Livi was great all day until near bedtime and she puked. Same thing. Sam took her to the hospital again and the doctor tested her urine and nothing serious. Just a sensitive stomach. Back home and to bed. However now it was Nana BB's turn.

Morning of Christmas Eve, Livi's good, Sam's good, I'm good, Emma still good. The day was spent cleaning up and disinfecting our house. Everyone eating properly and getting plenty of fluids. Bedtime, we put out Santa's cookies and pint of Guinness (note: The Nutley household in no way encourages drinking and driving. Drink responsibly) Livi goes to bed while visions of sugar plums danced in her head....Then she puked. We took it as a sign of eating too much since it was only a little bit. Change her sheets and back to bed.

Christmas morning I'm the first awake at 7am. Jump in the shower and give Emma a bottle. (who during all of this commotion is just an angel and delight and couldn't be happier). We make our way into Olivia's room and wake her up with takes a lot of convincing. She was still feeling under the weather and had no idea Santa came to our house and left presents downstairs. Finally we get her up and when she sees her new pink car her mood completely changes. Excitedly she jumps in and wants to go for a ride.

We open all of their presents and head over to Nana and Gaga's for Christmas Day.We had a wonderful day with our my parents, Auntie Rachel, Uncle JP, Auntie Sheila, Uncle Patrick, Uncle Pete, Haydn and Alicia. Livi was still not 100% so she spent the day in her pajamas sleeping and cuddling but she came around a bit once her new microphone came out and she sang Twinkle, Twinkle to everyone. Emma was passed around to cuddle with everyone and was very happy and friendly on her first Christmas.

The next day we woke up early and drove down to have a second Christmas with Auntie Daryl, Uncle Alex, Beckett, Nana and Grumpy. Lots more fun and family times playing with toys. Livi was much closer to her usual self. Auntie Kinsey also came over for a visit and brought presents.

After a few days at home everyone was back to normal. We enjoyed our time off together going for walks and watching movies. New Years Eve was low key but lots of fun. Liv and I made a trip to the pub for a drink and visit.

Even Emma was excited. 

So after all of that the holidays were over. One we will definitely never forget.