Stinky Daycare Tour

This story was just too funny not so share...

Yesterday Grady and I went for a daycare tour at our third daycare. Going to look at day cares is depressing enough as it reminds me that my return to work is quickly approaching without having to deal with any other 'unexpected occurrences'.

Grady had an extra long afternoon nap yesterday before our 3:00 daycare tour. He woke up at 2:15 so we only had half an hour to get him fed dressed and out the door. Since he had slept through lunch, I fed him his solids and he quickly had a poop. I was thinking that this was great since he usually poops in the car as mentioned in previous posts. So we changed his diaper and were on our way. We were only planning on being gone for 30 minutes max so I grabbed my purse and off we went.

As I was taking him out of his car seat I smelt something a little suspicious. One sniff of his bottom confirmed that he did in fact poop again. What is it with the kid and cars??? I thought it couldn't be that big - how much could possibly be left in there? I decided to try and wait until we got through the tour and home before changing him yet again.

When we arrived I was very hot since I was wearing a winter jacket, had just carried Grady in a heavy blanket for a block. I asked the daycare worker if she would mind holding Grady while I took my jacket off. It wasn't long before the look on her face told me that something was wrong. I told her I thought he may have pooped. Great - now I have to change his diaper using the only diaper I have in my purse and only 2 wipes that had dried up in my purse since the last time I used them 2 months ago. Oh no.. this was the least of my problems. She handed him back to me and says she is going to wash her hands. Very quickly I realized that she needed to wash her hands as Grady's pants were soaked with, you guessed it, poop.

Since I didn't bring the diaper bag for our quick trip - I have no change of clothes... Great. In the process of changing his very leaky diaper there is poop everywhere... his pants, his onesie, his socks, on the change table... everywhere! I take off his socks and pants and try to rub the poop off his onesie. Thankfully it didn't cover the onesie like it did the pants.... They kindly mentioned that they have some spare pants that he could wear. I insisted he was fine and then finely decided it may not be a bad idea. So they come back with pink shorts. Yes - PINK shorts.

We continued the tour and all the 5 year old girls were huddled around us and asking how old 'she was? and could 'she' stay and plan? Finally one of the little girls asks 'Is that a little boy?' and then it dawned on me that he was still wearing the pink shorts. Now it makes sense... no one had ever called him a girl before yesterday!

Better yet... I got introduced to the assistant director who was not present when the incident occured and she kept saying your 'little on' instead of your son. I was thinking how can I explain to her the story of the pink pants an that I do not dress my son like this usually. She finally asked what my 'little ones' name was and I told her and then added that we had a little 'accident' hence the pink shorts.

Finally the 'stinky' tour was done and we were chatting in the office. Grady was jumping on my lap (of course) and his pick shorts fell down. I decided to leave the pink shouts behind and bring Grady to the car in big blanket I had brought in. James would have been so embarrassed if he would have been there. I am slowly learning that when you bring a baby with you - anything is possible. It is becoming harder and harder to embarrass me these days!

On a final note... the daycare director also pointed out that she can essentially choose which children to let in. After this incident - what do you think Grady's chances are??

7 Months and couting!

So we now enter the second half of Grady's first year. I am so excited for Grady to grow and change and at the same time miss the tiny baby that Grady was 7 short months ago. This has been a huge month of changes for Grady and I am so exicted to share it all with you! Here are the events of the past month in no particular order.

1. On December 30th, Grady has his 6 months immunization. At that time he weighed 18.1 (50 percentile) ounces and 26" long (25 percentile). He is still short and chubby with quite a little belly on him. This little man is a very good eater. What a long way we have come since he was born!

2. On that note... Grady is eating solids and eating them VERY well! He had been through most fruits and veggies and just started chicken on Sunday courtesy of Nana's kitchen! He has not turned any food down and seems to keep eating as much as James and I can shovel in. He is eating at least 6 tablespoons of food 3 times a day usually with multiple courses. Some of his favorites are applesauce, sweet potatoes, applesauce, peas, applesauce, pears... and did I mention applesauce???

3. Grady and I are also trying out a Gymboree class in the next few weeks. We have attempted twice to take a music class with Stacey and Nicholas and it just hasn't worked out. So now we are attempting a gym class. I can't tell you exactly what it is going to be... but I hope Grady likes it. This will be our first real class where it is at a scheduled time and we have to work around it. I really hope that Grady cooperates and doesn't sleep through the class every week!

4. This month Grady's sleeping continues to improve. Although he is not sleeping through the night yet as I see it. We have a 9ish hour stretch from 7pm to 4am. For about 5 days he slept through his nights meaning he would sleep straight until 5 or 530 and then wake up for the day. Lucky me. At least he was waking up happy... and still with a dirty diaper... I really wish he could kick that habit. I am really happy with all the progress he has made in the last 6 weeks but am still waiting for the day where I can sleep in again... even just past 7am. Who would ever have thought that 7am would be deemed a sleep in!

5. One of Grady's biggest accomplishments this month is that he is sitting all his own! It was like one day he couldn't sit and the next day he could. Now when we plan he sits on his own and I sit in front of him - I think he likes this much better than sitting between my legs facing out. He has become much more interactive because of it.


6. I feel like after we passed the 6 month mark that our days became easier. There was a time when I thought we were going to be housebound forever working around naps, feedings, and grumpiness. Now that I am no longer breastfeeding and Grady is napping pretty consistently... we have 2 hours of happy-ish awake time to do whatever we want. We have been having many playdates, walks in the beautiful January weather, and more outings in general. I really think that the second half of my mat leave will be much different than the first as I am more confident in my ability as a mom which leads to more outings that seem to be much less stressful.... well most of the time.

7. Grady has also developped an intersting habing of pooping in the car. We go to the mall - he poops. We leave the mall - he poops. We go to Nana's - he poops. We leave Nana's - he poops. Very strange.... My best guess is that all the car vibrations on his butt relaxes him and then he does his business. To say the least - this new habit has lead to several diaper changes on the front seat of the car. It makes life interesting!

8. On the weekend James and I took Grady to the pool for the first time. We have had the pool bag packed since October and just didnt' make it for various reasons. So with the above average temperatures we figured this was the time to venture out with the little man. When we arrived, James changed himself and I changed GRady and brought him to James who was already in the pool before I went to get in my own suit. When I came back out - Grady was crying. We were really surprised since he loves bathtime and this pool is warm salt water. It is actually a rehabilitation pool but it is great for babies as well. I think it was the noice that he didn't like. Since it was a Saturday the pool was packed with swimming lessons, birthday parties and just lots of kids in general. It took him a while, but he finally calmed down and enjoyed himself. I hope he likes it right off the bat next time.

9. Grady also started using a sippy cut this week. When he first started eating solids we tried the sippy cup with him and he was very eager to get the tip in his mouth but then didn't quite get the hang of it. So in the meantime Grady has been drinking out of shot glasses. Yes - shot glasses. They seem to be just the perfect size for him and we have many from the 'good 'ol days'. We tried the sippy cup again this week and at first he still wasnt' sure. Then we did the 'Mommy try, you try' thing and once he realized that sucking produced water.... he was all over it. No more shot glasses now. And the best thing is that he likes to play with it and try to hold it himself. He just seems to be a sponge these days... a little learning machine!

10. Also this week (apparently Grady has been a very busy boy this week!) Grady started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. It started a few weeks ago where we would put him on all fours and he would stay still before falling flat on his belly. Then just a few days ago he boosted himself up and rocking. It is only a matter of time now before he is on the move and life as we know it changes yet again! Can't wait to see all the trouble he will get himself into... or can I....

11. This one is more an accomplishment for me then Grady... but I wanted to share anyhow. I have finally scheduled my first night away from Grady. It will be in early April. My girlfriends in Saskatoon are heading to the Brittany Spears concert and I am going to go and spend one night in Edmonton with them. Full of visiting, food, shopping, and most importantly a full night's sleep. oops did I write that... I meant full of quality time with my friends :)

12. Last but not least.... I found out recently that one of my best friends Sara is expecting her first child the first week of July! I am so excited to follow her through her pregnancy and hopefully provide any help and advice she needs. I am very much hoping to give her baby bump when I see her in March. Congrats Sara and Kris!

Wow - this was a big month for Gradster as this is surely the longest post ever! He just seems to be learning and changing so much and I love witnessing every moment of it!

Our Little (almost) Crawler

Just Because....

Stages of Life

Take a look at these pictures and pay close attention to the background as they were all taken on the balcony of the Wainwright Hotel at Heritage Park here in Calgary....



This picture was taken on our wedding day (obviously) on September 10, 2005, So that means it was taken just over 3 years ago... seems like an eternity ago now. So much has changed since this picture was taken (again obviously). I think about what must have been going through our heads that day... I was thinking 'I wonder when we will have kids' and things like 'I can't wait for our honeymoon' and James was thinking 'When can I go and get a drink' and 'Haven't we taken enough pictures?'. I look at this picture and think how young we are and how much our priorities have changed in just 3 short years.


This picture, taken on March 1, 2008, was at Bo and Dave's wedding reception which also took place at Heritage Park. At this time we were 5 months pregnant and so anxious to see what the future would bring. Would our first child be a boy or girl? When will the baby be born? How will the birth go? What will life with a baby be like? Such different questions than 2.5 years later.



Finally, this picture was taken Dec 21, 2008 on a very cold Sunday which is why you can not see little Grady under the blanket. The whole R clan went to Heritage Park for the xmas brunch. Again, standing on that same balcony in front of the Wainwright Hotel is James and I, but this time there is an extra person... Grady. We have grown and changed so much in the short 10 months since the last picture was taken. Now we are parents. Things going through our minds that day... Is Grady cold? Is Grady hungry? Is Grady tired? I can't wait for Grady's first xmas etc etc you get the point. Everything is about him now and I can't imagine it any other way. How is it that a child can spend 6 short months in your life and he overtakes your world. We cannot imagine our life without him and all the joy he has brought us.

So there you have it... my reflection of the day. Children are a gift and we feel so blessed to have Grady in our lives. I hope that over the years we will continue to go back to Heritage Park with Grady and any other children we may have and take a picture on this same balcony that will always have special memories for James and I.