One Month: Here We Go Again

And then there were three!

I can't believe I get to do these write ups again (and I can't believe I have to do these write ups again, ha)! But we are more than grateful for our newest little addition to the family and in favour of all things fair, baby number three gets his monthly updates too - even if they're a bit late in coming.

Sam has features that remind us of both of his brothers but he still has a look all his own. He's got lots of dark fuzzy hair, brown eyes (we think), and his dad's colouring. He's got lovely long fingers (great for piano!) and the adorable newborn fuzzy ears which I just love. Sam was 7lbs 3oz at his discharge and less than a week later at his first doctor's check-up weighed a whopping 8lbs 3oz. Way to go buddy! No idea what he weighs today but his newborn clothes certainly don't fit anymore and we're up to size one diapers. He's a great eater, a decent sleeper (wakes every 2hrs to feed), and has started to give us a glimpse of his infectious grin. So sweet!

When you've got three kids, schedules and plans just keep going so we've jumped right into life and Sam has adapted well. We've had visits from both sets of extended families, been on multiple outings to visit friends and even hit up the soccer field a couple times already too. I'm loving that I have a springtime baby which means we can actually spend time outside in the beautiful green world during daylight hours without having to put on layers and layers of clothing. That hasn't stopped Mother Nature from pulling a few tricks out of her sleeve, however. We've had two spring snowstorms, lots of rain and even a hailstorm in the past month! Nevertheless, I don't feel like we're having to stay sequestered inside weathering the long winter months... alone. Bring on the sun and fresh air!

Our sweet little Sam is such a joy to have in our family and I have to say the transition to three has been much easier than I expected. I didn't think it would be absolutely horrible but we were all bracing ourselves for a pretty big hiccough at the very least. To our surprise and delight the big brothers have both done an amazing job welcoming Sam into our tribe! They're very protective of his well being and are asking to hold him/(it - Max), offering to sing him songs, and are smothering him with hugs and kisses. Max actually takes it personally if he isn't included in the diaper changing process, ha! I'll take it! I didn't anticipate such a strong bond between the three boys so early but it's just lovely and warms this tired and happy mother's heart.

Sam, we were so excited to finally meet you and these first few weeks did not disappoint. Welcome to our family - it's going to be a great ride.

Introducing...

Samuel Andrew

04.21.16  |  2310h |  7lbs 8oz  |  21in

Pretty smitten with our little tribe.

Into the Woods: Hunting for Dinosaurs

Interview with a Three Year Old

Q: What is your name?
A: Benjamin Alexander ******

Q: What is your Chinese Name?
A: ****** Jie Wah

Q: How old are you?
A: 3!

Q: What is your favourite food?
A: Chicken breast

Q: What is your favourite colour?
A: Black

Q: What is your favourite song?
A: ABCs

Q: What is your favourite animal?
A: Uhhhh...a giraffe

Q: If Daddy was an animal, what would he be?
A: A walrus! (hehe)

Q: If Mommy was an animal, what would she be?
A: A giraffe! (Yes, bud, I know I'm tall)

Q: What about Max?
A: A tiger!

Q: Oooh, a tiger, and what about you? 
A: A whiraffe (Umm... half walrus half giraffe, haha?)

Q: What is your favourite toy?
A: Dinosaur puzzle

Q: What is your favourite television show?
A: Walking with Dinosaurs

Q: Nice! And what is your favourite dinosaur?
A: A-A-Apatosaurus

Q: How old is Daddy?
A: 27

Q: I think he'd like that. And how old is Mom?
A: 5 (yikes!)

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: A big boy!

Life: Rewind & Fast Forward

I've got a about six months of life to try and catch up on and rather than tackle each event in multiple posts (which I'm so great at doing, haha) I figured it is best to do a quick recap and get back up to speed. In short, we've been doing very well and adding many fun chapters to our book of life.

August: Girls' Trip to Vegas for fun, food and a full night of uninterrupted sleep!

September: Nature hikes in the mountains

October: Trip to a Petting Zoo and Pumpkin Patch

October: A woodland themed first birthday party for our one-year-old

October: A Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony

November: A trip to the Caribbean

 

November: Celebrating love at a family wedding 

December: Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

December: A trip back to my hometown for a surprise birthday party and some winter sledding

December: Warm and cozy Christmas with our extended family

December: A prehistoric party for our three year old palaeontologist

Phew! So that's the gist of it. Of course we had plenty of other not so exciting daily life activities, our share of illness to battle and events where a camera was not in attendance but these were some of our highlights. The New Year brings a slightly slower pace of life (at least for now) so we will be doing our best enjoy it as much as we did 2014!

Boo!

We had some very scary dinosaurs visit our house this morning. Ben's been obsessed with the prehistoric giants for months and Max is basically thrilled to participate alongside his big brother in any capacity.

Benji-saurus

Max-a-ceratops

We'll just pretend the whole experience wasn't like this most of the time, haha.

Happy Halloween!

Twelve Months: Our Birthday Boy!

Our littlest baby boy is one year old!

What a delight it was to capture this little series for Max's first year; just as we did for big brother Ben's first year. I'll admit that it wasn't always 'easy' (read: photo shoots became more 'dynamic' each progressing month) but I enjoyed it all the same.

Mr. Max is officially one year old. These past twelve months have gone by lightning fast (although I can't say the same about the night shifts). Just as Ben shaped and transformed our hearts so has Max made a wonderful impression on our lives. We are so fortunate to have two healthy, beautiful, and happy boys.

When I reflect on the past year I feel like we have been really blessed. Max was generally a pretty chill baby who didn't feel the need to throw us too many curveballs or yank our chains too hard. Max, being our second child, meant more confident and laid back parents, an older brother to provide extra loving, and a general understanding that 'everything is a phase so either enjoy or endure as need be'. We certainly were busier and more exhausted but I feel like I was able to savour this go around a bit more than the first time.

Max's personality is really starting to shine. He is a really sweet, energetic Mama's boy who loves to be included in anything and everything we are doing. He's constantly taking note of what Ben is doing and often mimics him too. It's wonderful to see the boys play together, usually 'nicely', and their fits of giggles are very infectious. He loves story time at breakfast with Ben & Mom and bath time in the evening with Ben & Dad. Max is good at exploring on his own too. He will crawl up the staircase to the train table and make a royal mess of the place. Then he'll make his way to the couch where he'll grab every cushion and throw it onto the floor. But I will give him credit when it comes to cleaning up; the kid is almost as good at putting things back as he is destroying them, haha.

Right from birth Max was a big boy and he has remained that way ever since. He's definitely leaner but certainly still mighty solid, giving my arms a good workout every day. He's been wearing size 5 diapers for months and dons mostly 12-18Month clothes. That being said, I popped a few of Ben's size 2Yr sweaters in his closet and Max can fill those out pretty well too. He's a fast crawler but prefers to climb and walk along furniture whenever possible. He's starting to walk while holding on to just one hand but isn't stable enough to stand on his own for more than a few seconds yet. He's got nearly 7 teeth (top four incisors and bottom 2, almost 3).

One thing that surprised us about Max this month is that his hair, which has been very minimal up to this point, is actually curly! Who would have thought? He's got a couple little wings behind each ear and the rest is rather suggestible when tousled. I don't know if it will stick around or not but it sure was a delight we didn't expect!

Max is still a great eater and a horrible sleeper. I guess we can't have it all, right? Positives first - it is a real relief to know that our boy will eat basically everything we do and that (knock-on-wood) we haven't encountered any allergies yet. His favourite food is definitely yogurt; he kicks and squeals every time I bring out a cup for him. Rice, protein of any sort, fruit, and cheerios are also a hit. Bananas took a back seat this month but perhaps will return to our regular rotation again soon. We still have the occasional nursing session, but mostly just for comfort at this point. I'm so thankful I don't have to stress too much about the food department and hope it remains this way for some time! Now for our big challenge, sleep. We still have multiple wake ups at night and these can last from 2 minutes to 2 hours in length. Danny and I take turns getting up but I'm starting to notice slightly longer stretches developing and pray these are the steps to progress. It's been a year and we have yet to sleep through the night (yes, we) but we'll get there, eventually.

Poor nights aside, we've had a great month as a family. We attended birthday parties, visited a petting zoo and pumpkin patch, went to Heritage Park, visited with both sets of Grandparents, celebrated Thanksgiving, and had a few playdates. We watched the leaves fall off the trees and enjoyed some new recipes (maybe I'll finally take to cooking?) Max's first birthday party was a real highlight with a little woodland picnic theme surrounded by family and friends. The month has been cozy and settled and comfortable, just like our little family of four has become.

What a privilege it has been to have you join our family and watch you grow these past twelve months, little Max. We love you fiercely and are so looking forward to many more years to come!

Love you so much Max! Happy Birthday!