Let's have our bath!

Isaac loves nothing more than to get down to basics on the change table and enjoy the freedom and fresh air...

Little Man has a way to go...

We enjoyed Isaac's first Christmas with three big meals in a row - Christmas Eve at our house, Christmas Day at my parents, and Boxing Day at Nonni's. Here's Isaac on the floor at Nonni's with cousin Michael. Isaac has a way to go before he's as tall as his cousin! The striped Christmas outfit comes courtesy of cousin Jayla... she got to wear it last year :)

If you look closely, you can make out the feet on his sleeper: little reindeer!

Merry Christmas!

Can you guess which one is our favorite present this year?

LMOC

... looks like the possibilities of being the Little Man On Campus are starting to dawn on him.

Learn to have fun, kid!

While on campus, Isaac had trouble getting in the mood for student life. Oh well, you've got another 18 years to warm up to the idea ...

"All their lives, radio listeners!"

Isaac and I navigated the TTC to the CBC building last Friday where they were having an open house in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank. Paddy came to meet us over his lunch hour, and we were part of the live taping of "Ontario Today". Friday's show included a performace by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, an outstanding Toronto-based chorale that you can check out at http://www.nathanieldettchorale.org/

On our way home on the subway we had a great talk with a fellow passenger who was in a wheel chair. I commented to him that it is quite difficult to navigate through the subway stations with a stroller, and obviously it's even more difficult in a wheel chair. As a last resort, atleast I can pick Isaac and the stroller up and haul him up stairs. Only about a third of the stations are wheel chair friendly. If you are in a chair, he said, you know where you can get off and where you can't. Imagine trying to navigate this endless city in a wheel chair - I have so much respect for that people that do; it's certainly not easy!

Lazy Saturday

The kids are conked out for the moment. Soon we'll all (minus the cat!) head out to grab up some Christmas decorations, lights, and hopefully even a tree.

Enjoy the approaching Holiday Season, everyone!
Paddy, Jen, Isaac, & Mitsi

Christmas Elves

The Christmas season is upon us, and the elves at our house are having fun getting ready for the holidays. Here's the four of us (including Mitsi the cat) doing a little elf dance:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1155981648

Heads Up!

The books all cry out for tummy time but neglect to mention that babies hate it at the beginning :-(

Little Man is finally starting to come around. At first, I would just leave him flat on the ground - not fun! I eventually clued in that giving him a head start by propping him up on his elbows would be much appreciated. Gaining strength over the past few weeks definitely helps as well.

Next week: push-ups!

Should we start Isaac on cola?

Express your opinion in our blog poll - how soon is too soon to start Isaac on cola? According to the add, we should have started 10 weeks ago!

They sure dress up nice!

We attended (half!) of Rebecca Wood and Chris Moncada's wedding on Saturday November 3rd at the Rosewater Supper Room here in Toronto. Rebecca and Chris had photos taken of all of their guests, here's our family dressed up for the special occassion! Congratulations to Rebecca, Chris and their daughter, Scarlett! What a beautiful wedding :) http://www.rebeccawoodphotography.com/

First Cold

All parents dread baby's first cold, with good reason! Isaac and I came down with a cold on Sunday night... probably the same one that Patrick was suffering from last week. We got a humidifier for the rooms and angled his bassinet mattress by putting a towel under one side to help with his nose drainage. It's hard to see such a little one in discomfort!! Here is a picture of us Sunday during the day, before the evil cold set in.

2 Months Old!

This smiling boy is 2 months old today :-)

Highlights from his checkup with the pediatrician from two days ago:

14 lbs 6 oz!
61 cm long!
It's official. Little Man is growing like a weed!

Lowlights:

Isaac was given his first vaccine. DTaP, I think. Not sure how I feel about them as much that you hear about inoculations and babies will worry a parent.

He actually got a needle in each thigh and wasn't a happy camper. In the end it amounted some localized swelling and a three hour crying spell. No fever, thankfully. The next day the bandages came off and his smiles came back.

Uncle Ian's 29th Birthday

We celebrated Uncle Ian's 29th birthday on Sunday November 4th at my parents house. Ian enjoyed his triple chocolate cake, and the two tired dads napped after a yummy lunch. Isaac enjoyed the company of his family, especially cousin Jayla, who bussied herself emptying leftover Hallowe'en candy and fruit from a bowl - again, again and again!

Isaac has a cousin!

Little Isaac already has a younger cousin :-)

We're a little late spreading this news but my sister Susie gave birth on October 9, 2007 to Sadie Joyce Cooke. Congrats, sis! You can see more of this beauty at teamcooke.com

...and Dad becomes a grandfather for the second time within a 4.5 week span. Congrats to you, too!

Little Bear

Isaac dressed as a bear for Hallowe'en and cruised the neighbourhood trick-or-treating. Our neighbours across the street have a fabulous Hallowe'en display, and this year they projected a scary movie on the side of our house to add to the creepy ambiance. We stopped in at Jenn and Elska's, where the bear was quite comfy in the company of the spiky-haired creature (Elska).

The Bees Are Covered In Next Week's Lesson

Isaac sure enjoys his books. At the moment, black & white shapes really grab his attention.

Here I am explaining to Isaac all he needs to know about the birds...

Grampa is A-OK

My Dad was up to visit this past Thanksgiving and it was his first encounter with Isaac.

Isaac (shown granting his approval) says his technique shows no signs of rust. Must be like riding a bike or something...

Congrats, Gramps!

Vacation in Mississauga

We spent the week of October 15-20 in Mississauga while the electrical wiring in our house was being updated. We stayed with Isaac's great-grandmother, Nonni, and had lots of visits from family members who also live in Mississauga. Great-uncle Bob was over every day (he lives within walking distance of Nonni's) and grandma McKay also made daily appearances, including bolting over on her lunch hour from work. She didn't want to eat lunch, instead opting to use every minute holding and reading to Isaac. We celebrated Aunty Carlene's birthday with cousin Jayla, and also visited with Great-great Uncle Calisto, Nonni's older brother. What a lovely week, embraced by family!

Cautious Bunny

Thumper, long rabbit ears twitching, pauses after detecting a rustling of the bushes and readies for flight.

Actually, Isaac is really having his nappy changed in a coffee shop but is similarly alarmed :-)

happy !SLEEPY! baby

Isaac is sleeping peacefully right now after a somewhat fussy night. It's not quite as pictured, given the time of night, but you get the idea.

A friend (Thanks, Drew!) dropped off the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and we watched it while we took a break from the Ontario provincial election coverage. It seems that some of the things we have tried will actually work or work much better if used in combination. Dr. Harp's approach using the 5 S's might just turn the trick. After a good swaddle, swing, and side Isaac drifted off quite nicely.

Sassy in front of Sassafraz

For those of you that are familiar with Toronto, Yorkville is the chi-chi part of town where the stars hang out during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Isaac went on a walk to Yorkville on Thanksgiving Day and needed a diaper change outside of one of the most trendy restaurants in the area - Sassafraz. So sassy, Isaac!

Namesake

This Thanksgiving Sunday found Isaac Albert Allan Smith face to face with Alan Shaw. Al is a former neighbour of Jen's and she long ago adopted him as a grandfatherly type. Despite our spelling mistake (now a permanent fixture on his official records), Isaac is named after Al through his second middle name.

At the spritely age of 86, he had apparently never held a baby before. Upon hearing this, Isaac promptly assumed the crash position :-)

Surviving Thanksgiving

Don't worry, Isaac. At 12 pounds or so you are not yet in the same weight class as that 14 pound turkey. It's him we are after :-)

Next year you'll have a whole lot more meat on your bones so it might be a different story...

Milk Coma

From what we've heard and read, breast milk is an amazing thing. Its composition and amount changes according to the time of day, season, baby's age, baby's demand, and probably more.

The initial milk that a baby receives in a feeding is referred to as the foremilk. It is high in carbs and is thin. I guess this serves to wake a baby up at the beginning of a feeding so he can get down to business. The composition changes as a feeding progresses and becomes creamier. This is referred to as the hindmilk and it also contains tryptophan. I guess this would help to knock baby out so he can dream of his next dairy cocktail.

While what I have said is anecdotal and based somewhat on hearsay, it seems to bear out. The little turkey sure looks like he got run over by a milk truck :-)

Mixed-Member Proportional

Isaac attended his first political gathering last night at an all-candidates debate in our riding, St. Paul's.

We are having a provincial election and referendum here in Ontario on October 10th. Isaac is not able to vote, but if he could he would definitely vote for the proposed new political system, mixed-member proportional (MMP). MMP would allow us to select both a preferred local candidate and a political party. The new system would have us choose "local" MPPs (Members of Provincial Parliament) in the traditional way in 90 newly created, larger ridings instead of the existing 107 constituencies. Then, we would also vote for the party of choice, on the second part of the ballot, to select an additional 39 MPPs from lists of candidates compiled by the parties prior to the election. This is the way that democracy has already evolved in New Zealand and Germany, ensuring that parties that have a percentage of the popular vote aren't completely frozen out of winning seats. For more information, see http://www.yourbigdecision.ca.

Isaac started fussing when the Conservative candidate got up to speak, subtly indicating who he won't be voting for :)

9 pounds 11 ounces

The midwives, Lindsay and Myriam, came for their last home visit on Saturday Sept. 22. The evidence that Isaac is eating well? He's gained 22 ounces in 10 days, weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds 11 ounces. If he keeps gaining a pound a week, the little butterball will be heavier than the Christmas turkey in December!

Isaac's first trip on the TTC

On Saturday we ventured down to Bloor Street to pick up some sushi. The weather was lovely, and Isaac slept soundly in the Baby Bjorn, woke up to snack at the sushi restaurant, and then started to make more stirring noises on the walk home. Plus, it was getting dark so mom and dad decided to jump on the Christie bus to make it home a bit faster. We rode at the back of the bus, and our punk kid wore is hat at a jaunty angle to intimidate the other Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) riders :)

Flatjacks

Every Thursday morning, my mother would make us pancakes for breakfast before school. This weekly meal fueled my life-long appetite for pancakes. Or perhaps it was her recognition of such.

In any case, whenever I had the opportunity at a restaurant, I would seldom pass up the opportunity for a fluffy, flour, milk, and egg-based excuse for maple syrup. Other people could never quite capture the way she made hers, though, and the difference lay in that one word: fluffy.

Dad's efforts would more closely resemble the traditional, fluffy variety. Mom's version more closely resembled a really dense crepe. I didn't necessarily prefer one variety of the other. Like I said, it's all about the maple syrup :-)

This weekend, I was curious to discover where the difference lay. Yesterday I made the standard pancakes as per The Joy of Cooking. This morning I dug out Mom's recipe and gave it a go. The key was a much smaller proportion of baking powder: 1 and 3/4 Tablespoons (TJOC) versus 2 teaspoons (Mom's). Given that baking powder is a leavening agent, this now makes sense.

For mainly my sister's benefit, below is the recipe for Mom's pancakes:

Pancakes

Add wet to dry

Beat together in 4c pyrex measuring cup:
1.5 C milk
2 eggs
1 T oil
1 t white sugar

Sift together in large bowl:
1.5 C flour
2 t baking powder
0.5 t salt

Turn when bubbles pop

New Family

What does it mean to be a family? Staring at Isaac every day for the past two weeks have given me lots of time to contemplate the meaning of this word. I've decided that it boils down to loving each other as much as we can and helping each other live happily and peacefully. Lots of cuddling is the key!

Baby Open House

Over the past week Isaac has become quite the hot commodity. To satisfy the demand, we decided to hold visiting hours today for a few friends.

Many thanks to the Bobocktons and Gulywags for the bounty of food! We'll be eating well again this week.

McKay Family Visit

Pictured above are Ian (Jen's brother), Carlene, and their daughter, Jayla. It was especially fun to introduce Jayla to Isaac. She is almost one year old and wasn't quite sure what to make of her new cousin.

As seen between her father and her grampa (Jen's father Jim), Jayla turns on the charm for the camera:

First Trip Out

We finally ventured out with Isaac for the first time. Our destination was a cafe around the corner for their weekly breast feeding support drop-in. I'm sure it will be something for Jen to look forward to each week. Now Jen just has to find mother baby activities for the other 4 weekdays! Next up: Mom & Baby Salsa?

Present was a handful of mothers with their babies and tots. So now we know a few more parents in the area. I'm sure that Jen will have befriended every recent or new mother in the neighborhood in no time flat :-)

p.s. He was pretty cozy in that harness!

3 of 4 Generations

Jen's mother, Louise, and grandmother, Mary (aka Nonni), came by to spend some time with the little guy. For each, he is their second grandchild and great-grandchild, respectively.

Margin of Error

When the midwives previously came to weigh Isaac, I thought they meant 3714 g when they said 7-14. That would have been very close to Isaac's birth weight of 3715 g / 8 lbs 3 oz.

My mistake.

It really meant 7 lbs 14 oz so he actually he lost 5 oz in three days. That would make more sense. During yesterday's visit, he weighed 8 lbs 5 oz. So, care of regular feeding from Jen (Thanks Mom!), he's now started to pack it on.

Sneezes & Hiccups

Here's a funny little video of Isaac doing the baby thing.

Weights and Measures

Tonight the midwives came over to check up on us. Everything seems to be going fine. When weighed, Isaac seemed to have recovered to his birth weight. I'm not so sure that it was supposed to happen this quickly but he has been feeding really well. We'll see what future measurements say.

Midwives are great. It's been a real comfort to meet with ours over these past months. For the next 4-5 weeks we'll still be able to enjoy their support, but then it is on to the family doctor.

Lesson # 1

When baby is sleeping, you sleep, too.

Yesterday, Isaac's grandparents came over and we took advantage of Isaac's afternoon nap to visit with them. It was great to see Jen's mom, Louise, watching her second grandchild sleep.

Later, as Isaac lingered over his nocturnal feeding, we admitted to ourselves that the daytime schedule we were accustomed to just might have to change.

All is quiet now as Jen is putting lesson # 1 into practice.

Home Sweet Home

After a short car ride, we finally got home. Jen was getting pretty anxious to unwind and get into the shower. I gotta say it feels a lot better to have him home with us in our space.

One small confession: we had to pull over halfway home to make sure he was comfortable and still breathing. Typical first-time parent paranoia :-)

At the moment, mom and baby are sleeping. Or rather, Jen is staring at Isaac sleeping. It's tough to close your eyes and miss watching the most fascinating thing in the world.

Respect of the people forever

goes to Jenn Steidman for winning the baby pool with a guess of:

> Sept 6 - 12:01am - Jen S

Thanks to Nima for initiating the pool and donating the prize :-)

It was a close call as the minutes ticked closer to:

> Sept 7 - 4:00pm - Jason

Jason said he almost picked noon. The judges have ruled that "could have, should have, would have plus a wicked time zone difference (14 hours ahead in New Zealand)" will not affect the results (unlike last time).

Jen Steidman! You have earned my respect. Forever.

Isaac Albert Allan Smith

Wow.

After a long night of labor, with the help of some lovely midwives, nurses, and doctors, Jen delivered our long awaited baby at 1:11PM on Friday September 7, 2007.

Isaac Albert Allan Smith weighed in at 8 lbs and 3 oz.

Mom and baby are still at the hospital and are doing well. They should hopefully be home sometime Saturday afternoon.

Soon to be our entire world

We ran out of time at the baby shower a few weeks ago to paint Jen's belly. Aware that it was pretty much the last chance, friends over tonight for 'Sundaes with Steidman' pitched in to get the job done. You couldn't ask for a more perfect canvas!

D-Day @ 40 weeks!

Jen is due today but there's been no action so far. Yesterday was actually week 40. I was never quite sure how today ended up being cast as the due date. Oh well, close enough.

The baby was so active last night. We're all three of us ready now. Jen will have to start trying things like eating curry and doing jumping jacks this weekend to speed things along.

And we're off!

Here is the pool of everyone's best guess as to when the baby will arrive:

Aug 25 - 3:00pm - Patrick
Aug 26 - 3:00am - Julie
Aug 26 - 1:30pm - Degan
Aug 27 - 12:17am - Hilary
Aug 27 - 2:19am - Jen K
Aug 27 - 10:00pm - Ian
Aug 28 - 2:00pm - Nima
Aug 29 - 2:20pm - Lynne
Aug 30 - 11:30pm - Jeff
Aug 31 - 5:10am - Karla
Aug 31 - 7:00am - Wendy
Sept 1 - 1:00am - Jonathan
Sept 1 - 12:00pm - Alie
Sept 1 - 3:00pm - Becky
Sept 2 - 5:00am - Trevor
Sept 2 - 5:30am - Dale
Sept 2 - 2:39pm - Drew
Sept 2 - 6:00pm - Lindsay
Sept 3 - 2:14am - Kevin
Sept 3 - 7:43am - Uncle Bob and Aunt Susan
Sept 3 - 10:38am - Lori
Sept 3 - 10:48pm - Luke
Sept 4 - 8:00am - Eric
Sept 6 - 12:01am - Jenn S
Sept 7 - 4:00pm - Jason

Stay tuned for the results!

39 weeks!

Jen was full term two weeks ago. It's such a comfort to know that if the baby came now it would be developed enough to not be considered 'early'.

Today's Parent has an email series that you can sign up for. Each one details what mom & baby are probably experiencing during each week. It's pretty neat but for the fact that after a couple of weeks of silence I finally got one today for week 37.

Better late then never. Let's just hope the same can be said for baby McKay/Smith :-)

Now taking bets

As we are winding down the third trimester, now is the perfect time to start making things interesting. Thanks to our friend Nima for broaching the idea.

Nima wrote:
> I say we start a Jen baby pool. Winning prize is the "Respect of the
> people forever". Price is right rules apply (closest without going over).

FYI, the supposed due date is August 30, 2007, but don't let that influence you.

Aunt Susie and Uncle Jeff visit Toronto

Baby Sadie hung out with her cousin for the first time, both babies still being in utero, for a weekend in July. Aunties Susie and Jen were a hit walking around town together, very visibly pregnant, telling everyone that the babies will be cousins!

Our new house

We took possession of our new house on June 25, 2007. Come and visit us any time! We think that our place is over 100 years old, one of the original farmhouses in what is now the neighbourhood called "Hillcrest Village".