life around here

We only have just over 2 weeks left before the big move. This is really quite unbelievable. Lots to do but we're not really doing anything much as it sure would be nice to sell the house before starting the mess of packing.

I'll start with Marty's news ... Sleep. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. It's been tough to get him to nap well as he seems to be in the transition from two down to one nap. He very rarely agrees to go down for a morning nap, but will often fall asleep in the high chair. Sometimes I can transfer him into bed successfully. However, he has not been sleeping long, even if it's the only nap of the day. I can't count on him going more than an hour. Sometimes he surprises me. In my desparation, I've been bringing him out of his bed (so his crying doesn't wake Max up). Sometimes (the word of the day it seems) he'll just crash on me again. Same thing happens in the early morning. He'll wake up to nurse but then will not go back to sleep unless I'm holding him. Lately I've just been bringing him back into our bed so we all get a little more sleep. More than a few times he's been crying in his bed but will refuse to nurse and just fall asleep, only with a back rub or me being right there. I know I'm encouraging some bad habits but it's just survival right now. With all the changes and disruptions coming our way in the next few months, I'm not going to bother trying to establish any routines or "training", and certainly not weaning. It's all working well so we stick with it. Basically, he sleeps on his terms, and usually looks pretty darn cute!

He really likes water and cow's milk too. The other day he even got a taste of a lime slushee. Loved it!
And yesterday he took his first few steps! He took a few more this evening so it won't be long now. Max witnessed it tonight and was so excited for his little bro.

Max is sooooo ready for preschool! I can't keep up with this boys' curiosity. Insatiable! His favourite thing to ask is "what kind?". I figure this is his way of getting more adjectives out of us. I've noticed that the bigger the words are and the more there are of them, the less he'll ask for more information. Funny kid. The past few days his new thing is "what time is it?". Sometimes the first answer is good enough. Sometimes he'll ask over and over and over. "What time is it NOW?" Today he wondered where the 20 was on the clock. Hhmmm. It's complicated, son. I'll have to dig out the telling time book I got last year.

Here he is being initiated into Mennonite Manhood - first sips of yerba mate. He really liked it! Paul wants to get him his own little gear. What little boy wouldn't dream of that for his third birthday? ;)

Still no bites on the house. This is causing some anxiety as we would have loved to have it all taken care of before leaving town. Ah well, the right buyers will come along soon enough. We're also still sorting out the situation for renting out the suite in our house in Abby.

We're getting ready for non-stop company. Reid is coming on Friday and on Monday starts his first week of active training as a member of the Canada Border Service Agency. We're so proud of you and are glad your reunion with Brenda is coming soon! He'll be staying with us until Friday when some other friends are coming for the weekend. (Leaving Sunday or Monday, I can't remember.) Then Paul's mom arrives Tues. 26th to help as we finally get organized to move ourselves outta here. She'll be flying up and driving down with us to help keep me and the boys company. Paul will be driving the moving truck and we'll be in the 'Burb. Max will start the journey in the U-Haul, we'll see how long that lasts. Either until he gets bored or Paul goes crazy from answering all his questions!

We're not looking forward to saying our goodbyes, but are excited for the adventures that await.