Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 37

2006-06-20 20:53 (Kristen) Once in a while, I start an entry at the same time as the night before. That's always a little odd. Jamie was up before 6:45 or so this morning (I refused to look at the clock), but had me out of bed by 6:45. Ugh. We read some books, watched three episodes of Thomas, and ate a reasonably good breakfast. He really wants to sit on my lap when he eats lately, which is cute but means that I don't get much food into myself. He's been very clingy, and I suspect that it's because he's unnerved about the soon-to-be-arriving baby. I think that I also mentioned that he's very fixated on the idea of nursing, and tells me often that he is a "little baby, and can't eat/do X." Then he flips to being a big boy who can use the potty, and do other things like go up and down the stairs. He's working it all out in his head. Today he talked to the "little baby" in my tummy, and gave it a hug, so it's good to know that he's coming around to the idea that the baby will live with us, and that it will be a Good Thing.

John took Jamie with him to do some shopping late this morning, and we all met up at Browning for lunch. John wanted to take Jamie with us when we got our hair cut this afternoon so that the stylists could have their quarterly dose of Jamie, so Ken didn't walk Jamie and I did before we got on the subway at 1:40. Jamie fell asleep just as we arrived at the station, and stayed asleep for two hours. The women at the hair dressers' love Jamie's colouring ("caramel," they called it), and his ability to tan (as do I). Then John took Jamie to Dr. Kennedy's while I was having my hair cut (John went first), and I ended up arriving there three minutes after they did. This is because their bus driver was a crossword freak, and wouldn't leave until a part of the puzzle was done. Like we could say anything. Jamie didn't get his shots todaay because of his allergy attack this weekend, and a part of me had to laugh, because every time we make an appointment to get his shots, something like this happens.

(John) He was very relaxed at the doctor's office, and I thought it was a good thing to take him there on an occasion when no needles or medicines would be involved. He tested the limits of his authority by instructing Dr. Kennedy to examine his ears (a former phobia of his), and she complied but drew the line at examining ours, and he was okay with that.

(Kristen) After our doctor's appointment, we trooped over to Browning to pick up Ross and Daniel, to take them to the Coffee Mill in Yorkville to celebrate the end of school for Daniel, and the upcoming end of school for Ross. (John: as tradition dictated, we listened to Alice Cooper's "School's Out".) All three kids were utterly wound up, but we managed to get through dinner without cutlery on the floor, or other disasters. Jamie enjoyed a little of everything that we ate, and drank at least half of a ginger ale float (his first). I remember my first float, and wonder if his was half as memorable. Then the kids played tag outside, and we went over to Yorkville Park to play on the walkways and the Big Rock. I sat back and watched (the privilege of being seven months pregnant) while the kids dragged John all over the park. Then it was time to go to Browning and eat the apple strudel that we got to go from the Coffee Mill, although it took a surprisingly long time for the kids to eat theirs as SpongeBob was on the television. Sigh. I hope that Jamie will sleep well tonight.

I should add that the midwife appointment went well yesterday; the baby is growing well, my blood pressure and other vital signs are good, and my pregnancy is going just about as well as it could. The baby is head down, and its head is very low; not actually engaged, but the midwife had to do some poking to make sure. I have this weird feeling that the baby is going to be early, and I have less time than I think to get ready. As long as it isn't born while John is away, we'll be peachy keen.

2006-06-21 23:10 (Kristen) I woke up before Jamie today, and managed to get everything ready for Hakobune (including his breakfast) before Jamie woke up this morning. Jamie was a little grumpy when he woke up, but we were gentle with him and he was ready to go around 9:00. It was an enjoyable trip on the subway to the daycare, but he wasn't that willing to let me go when we arrived. He ignored me when I finally left (as he does when he doesn't want to say goodbye), and wasn't willing to leave when I arrived to pick him up. I managed to get him to come with me, and we ate lunch downstairs while waiting for John to come and pick us up. We ran a quick errand with John, and came home. John had a few things to do before he could leave with Jamie, and they finally left at close to two, with Jamie very very tired at this point and wearing no shoes for a long series of complicated reasons. I took over from John at four, and Jamie woke up around 4:20. We had to come home, because Jamie had no shoes, but spent some time playing outside before it was time to go to Tai Tai and Ho Ho's place.

Jamie made John carry him all the way to his parents' house, with moments where he reached out and grabbed me so that he was stretched between the two of us. I told John that the head (which I had) was one of the heavier parts of the body, but it was little consolation to him. Jamie was very hungry, and ate all his dinner for the first time in a little while, and was happy to play at his grandparents' house while John went off to Scrabble. We left around 8:00, when Jamie started displaying what we might kindly call "signs of fatigue." I got him home, in time to find Iain and Clare playing on their front lawn. Jamie found them, Alexandria joined in, and soon all the neighbourhood kids were romping all over the place, with bubbles, wagons, and scooters flying up and down the street. I love it when this happens, as all the kids are so happy, and get so much exercise in.

I let Jamie play for an hour, until it started to get dark, and I told him that it was time to come inside. He eventually got me inside by saying that he needed to pee (as I, of course, got involved in a serious discussion just as we were to go in). He changed his mind the instant he was in and could get to his trains, however, but I rushed him upstairs a few minutes later as it became clear that he was merely distracted, and really did need to go to the bathroom. It was only a tiny accident, and we finished the job up properly. Since we were already in the bathroom, I put Jamie into the bath right away, with some intense discussion and tears over the fact that I wouldn't let Jamie play with the bathtub plug first. Jamie has a strange fascination with the bathtub plug, possibly because it has a long chain that lends it easily to imaginative train play. He has even taken to bringing it with him to bed, although I draw the line at letting him sleep with it (John did that once). Something to ask him about when he's older, I expect. The bath went well, and we read Yertle the Turtle before lights out. He took a long time to fall asleep, but I hope will sleep well tonight. We have a dentist's appointment tomorrow, Jamie and I, which I hope will prove to turn out well. I'm bringing paper, crayons, DVDs, and books--just in case.

"Little baby" update: the baby is shoving very hard against my ribs, and I am sure is starting to complain bitterly about the size of the condo it's renting. It's surprisingly uncomfortable, but I'm still carrying the baby in relative ease, and am grateful that the baby isn't pushing harder on my bladder or my stomach than it is.

2006-06-22 21:39 (Kristen) Jamie was up before seven this morning, and I suspect that he was either hungry or thirsty--probably both. I staggered downstairs with hiim when he started to complain that I wasn't letting him near the nurse-nurse, and when John piteously asked Jamie to let him sleep a little more, as he'd only had four hours of sleep so far.

Jamie watched Tomodachi Power (I rationalize that it's Japanese language practice) while I played dead on the couch for an hour, then I started to do barely functional mom things, like get breakfast together. John had an appointment with the City to appeal our property taxes, and Jamie and I were to go and get our teeth checked out at the dentist's around 11:15. I managed to drag Jamie away from his trains with a promise of a ride on a bus and the subwaay, and we managed to get to the dentist with a minimum of damage and stress. He was a little wound up with the trip, but enjoyed himself. John managed to be the first in line at the appeals board, so he managed to meet us at the dentist's office, which I appreciated. I had brought all sorts of stuff to keep Jamie happy while I was in the chair, and was glad that I had only had to drag out a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar to keep Jamie amused and not running all over the place while we waited for the bus at Bay and Bloor.

Jamie was interested in what was going on when I was having my teeth cleaned, but was very uninterested in having the hygenist look at his. He wouldn't sit on my lap, and after insisting on sitting in another chair, was still very upset and quite scared. Finally, Dr. Da Costa came in with four lollypops displayed prominently in his pocket, and charmed Jamie into sitting still while he looked inside his mouth (while Jamie sat on John's lap) with a mirror and a flashlight. Jamie's teeth are good, despite a plaque problem, which we can deal with by brushing with a different motion and a little more force. Jamie was delighted with his lollypop (sugarless, of course), which he had been looking forward to since we told him it was a possibility. He didn't want to go by the end, and we hope he'll be even braver when we go back to see Dr. Da Costa in six months.

Jamie went out for his walk with Ken, and with Daniel as well, who (unusually) decided to tag along. Jamie, unsurprisingly, didn't fall asleep and arrived at the Second Cup wide awake and dehydrated. He had almost fallen asleep in the car on the way back from the dentist, so I know that he was pretty tired by that time. John got some juice into him, and offered to take him to the toy store or to Withrow Park. Jamie fell asleep while making a decision about where to go at the corner of Logan and Hogarth (I think); John went back to the Second Cup, and Jamie slept from 3 until 5. When he came home, he wanted to see Daniel and Ross, and so we spent some time at Browning until John had dinner ready at 6:30. It was a quiet evening, complete with one of Jamie's enormous poos. John hadn't dealt with one before, and so there was much to-ing and fro-ing, "don't step there!"s, and laundry to do as Jamie managed to get most of it into the potty. Then there was the bath, and some books (he's enjoying "Yertle the Turtle" and some Japanese fairy tales right now) before we finally coaxed him to sleep around 10:30.

2006-06-23 22:25 (Kristen) Jamie woke up early this morning, but was still pretty tired. He ate well, for a change, and was in a reasonable mood for a tired boy. John went out to water the garden before taking Jamie to Hakobune, and came back in with a little pea pod from the pea plants that Jamie planted earlier in the summer. Jamie and John happily shared it as part of breakfast before heading out on the bus, the subway, and the streetcar to daycare.

Jamie was tired at Hakobune, and made John carry him there and back, but was happy to see me on his way home. He didn't eat much at the daycare, but I managed to get a fair amount into him after he arrived at Browning. We sent him off with Ken, and John says that Jamie slept for an hour and 40 minutes or so before waking up. Daniel went down to the Second Cup to meet John and Jamie, and Ken and Ross soon followed. When Jamie woke up, he dragged Daniel and John to Withrow Park, and I met them there (Tami gave me a ride, as John was in a huge hurry to make it back home for an appointment). Ross and Ken followed along after Ross had finished his brownie, and Daniel and Jamie had finished their icy treats from the ice cream truck by then as well. The kids played well until close to 5:30, when Ken and I called time and dragged them home. Jamie was filthy, and covered from head to toe in grey dust from the playground sand. We fed him dinner and changed him completely before heading out, briefly, to our neighbour Michelle's birthday party, and then to our Scrabble friends Geoff and Derrick's weekly Scrabble night. Geoff kept Jamie well amused while John and I played Scrabble. It was a shame that Jamie was so tired by the end, as it would have been nice to go off to Church Street and see the Pride Day festivities getting under way. However, Jamie was a little pumpkin and it was time to get him home.

i should also note that in addition to Jamie's powers of perpetual motion today, he has been eating all the food that he's been ignoring for the last few weeks. He has also taken to wanting to eat dinner on my lap, which is logistically a little difficult as I haven't much of a lap, and I can't eat when he's sitting on my lap, eating my food. We'll have to work this one out.

2006-06-24 21:18 (Kristen) I received a pass to see Superman Returns from Michelle, and John graciously agreed that I could go to see it this morning at 9:30, all by myself. I can't recall the last time I saw a movie in the theatre, let alone by myself. Oh... it was Valentine's Day. Well, it's a rare event, anyway. Jamie woke up around 8:30, and we managed to get him fed and into the car AND happy by 9:10. John and Jamie drove me down to the theatre, and then headed out to the market. For those who are interested, the movie was very good, and very much about fathers and sons. Jamie wouldn't enjoy it, however; not just because it's an adult movie with what he would consider scary bits, but because a very elaborate model train set gets destroyed in graphic fashion. I could just hear him (and Daniel's brother Ross, too) saying "Oh no, train! Oh no, train! Train crash! Oh no, train!" Train trauma. Not good.

I called John when I got out of the movie, and he and Jamie picked me up as they had just finished their market shopping. We took Jamie home, and I took him out for his walk while John finished grocery shopping. Jamie took about 40 minutes to fall asleep, as the Danforth was a Very Interesting Place today, but once asleep, he stayed asleep for almost exactly two hours. John came to meet us, and did some shopping for his parents' anniversary and for Ted's birthday (Ted and Alice, Ian and Amy came into town this afternoon to celebrate) as we were all to go out for dinner together tonight. Jamie was in a good mood upon awakening, and agreed to go home to get the car for dinner, even though this went against his idea of going to the toy store.

We went to Nami, which is a very nice Japanese restaurant downtown. Ted and family were there, along with Tomoko and Nobuko, and John's dad. John's mom went home early, saying that she wasn't feeling well, but was fine by the time we got home. Jamie ate edamame* (soy beans steamed in their pods), and marvelled at our sushi. We got him some teriyaki chicken and miso soup to go with his edamame*, which he ate most of. He got somewhat tired after the hour and a half mark, and started running around with his cousins after the crayons and paper palled. He enjoyed seeing everyone, but it was very much Time To Go around 8:20. We piled in and went home, despite Jamie's protestations (he deliberately says "hi!" when you ask him to say goodbye, in protest of the party's breaking up). We saw Chaerim and Kyup outside when we arrived home, so we let Hyper Tired Boy play with them for a few minutes before heading in. John and I went upstairs to do Getting Ready for Bed things, and Gary and Ayami played with Jamie. Jamie, reportedly, said "I'm tired" (he's been getting better about using the first person pronoun), and asked to be taken up to bed. Gary says that he doesn't recall Jamie ever doing that before. We took him upstairs and put him in the bath, and when he was clean he climbed out by himself, found me, and we read a story before he fell asleep by 10:15. I can't recall the last time he fell asleep this early. I am awfully bushed myself, so I think that I'll follow suit as soon as I am done this blog.

2006-06-25 22:43 (Kristen) John's brother and sister-in-law, Ted and Alice, were in town this weekend to go and see Lord of the Rings: the Musical for Ted's birthday. They asked us to babysit Ian and Amy (10 and about to be 7, respectively) so that they could go, and we agreed. John thought that it would be good to go to Centre Island, which sounded like a good idea. We called up Tom, and asked him if he, Daniel, and Ross would like to come along. Gary and Ayami joined in, and we have five adults and five kids: a ratio that I kinda like. And so, off we went.

We didn't have any difficulty getting down to the Island by TTC, and while the kids were all like hyperactive subatomic particles (ping! ping! Hey, he hit me!) we managed to keep the chaos to a minimum, and did not lose any children on the way. Jamie was pretty tired by the time we got to Centreville, so I took him for a short walk to calm him down enough for a nap. The Island was the most crowded I've ever seen it, as it was Dragon Boat Race Day (Two). Centreville was not too badly crowded, however, and Jamie fell asleep in ten minutes. He slept for an hour while we went on the train, John and I played minigolf (John won by two strokes in a closely fought match), and the kids all ran about. Jamie woke up after the hour mark, and spent the next while going on the train as much as he could with John, Gary, and Ayami, and whatever children accompanied him. I was not allowed, and stayed behind to watch the stroller, as designated stuff watcher, and did some crossword puzzles that I'd brought for just such an emergency. Pizza was eaten to maintain energy levels (and a vast quantity of cherries), and we finally made it off the Island by 6:45. The ferry was so crowded with Dragon Boat racers and their watchers that it took two ferries before we could get on one. Whew.

Tom, Daniel, and Ross stayed behind for more fun, while Gary and Ayami rode with us up to the Yonge line before hiving off. John, Jamie, Ian, Amy, and I ended up at John's parents' house for a snack and then some birthday cake for Ted and John (who had been waiting for his cake since his birthday, and rather patiently for him, too). Jamie loved the cake, which has whipped cream and fresh berries on it, and ate a big bowl of berries along with it. We finally went home at close to ten, and Jamie is only now getting out of the bath. We are all very very very very very tired.

2006-06-26 21:12 (Kristen) We must have tired Jamie out yesterday, because he went to sleep around 11:00 and didn't wake up until 9:30 this morning. John and I got up earlier, and went about our business for at least an hour before he stirred, and woke up beside John who was in bed for a quick rest after working in the garden. He woke up quite sweetly, asking where I was, and John brought him into the room where I was working to show him where I was. We all hung out on Jamie's bed for a little while, talking and playing, before heading downstairs (John: We took turns tickling him and he correctly instructed us "No, Mummy!" and "Papa damé!") Jamie scarfed John's cereal, and then watched Teletubbies for a little while before playing with trains. I thought that I would get some exercise with Jamie before we headed over to Browning, but Jamie wasn't really interested. I did get him outside, finally, and the ball with a tail that I bought for him to practice throwing and catching turned into a coupling for the Mom and Jamie Train (what a surprise). In this way, we raced our way over to Browning.

Jamie ate most of his sandwich and two slices of watermelon, not seeing the big bowl of cherries on the table. I asked Tami not to point them out to Jamie, as he would abandon all other food in favour of the cherries. Gary, to create trouble, pointed them out to Jamie loudly after Jamie got down from the table (knowing the cherry-coloured carnage that results). Jamie cheerfully ran over and insisted on eating cherries on Gary's lap, which made the rest of us laugh. He went out for his walk with Ken at 1:00, and slept for 90 minutes. He was awake when he came back to the Second Cup with Ken, and John called Daniel for backup. When I got the call, at 3:45, Jamie had dragged them both to Treasure Island, which was having its annual Summer Sale. (John: 30% off all Brio train toys! Whee! I was more than a little nervous because Jamie had been sent out without his diaper bag, and Jamie was getting nervous with the repeated warnings that we had no spare underwear.)

I hurried over (as fast as a pregnant woman with a diaper bag that had been forgotten earlier can waddle), and found Jamie ordering Daniel about on the train table. They were pretty wound up, so we left soon afterwards, but not before spending all our Pirate Points on a Brio roundhouse to give to Jamie either when John goes away for three days (or is it four?) to Phoenix, or when the baby arrives. Whichever need seems greater.

(John) We played there until Kristen came to relieve me. I was more than a little nervous because Jamie had been sent out without his diaper bag, and Jamie was getting nervous with the repeated warnings that we had no spare underwear.

As we were heading home, Tom called to say that he and Ross were going to the local outdoor swimming pool, and Kristen, Jamie and Daniel decided to join them while I made dinner. I understand that Tom managed to get Jamie to kick and dog-paddle simultaneously for the first time.

After the usual Monday night salmon barbecue, we watched our friend Mark Edelson win $12,000 on Jeopardy!. Jamie found the show interesting for about twenty minutes, pointing out "Scrabble Mark!", then decided it was time to watch Thomas the Tank Engine instead and proclaimed that Scrabble Mark was now "bleah", his universal term for anything he didn't currently want anything to do with. To make up for it, we've been watching TTTE for quite a while now.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

Back to Vol. 0 No. 36, or up to Jamie Chew's Web Log Archive. or forward to Vol. 0 No. 38.