Dave came to visit

Our cousin Dave came to visit!
We had a fun, lazy Saturday...



Then went showshoeing up at Cypress mountain on Sunday.



Dad got a chance to carry Kale up and down the hills...



...and Mum got to bare her bosom in the snow!



(Jan 30)

Grandma Arlene's outfit

Kale got to try on this outfit that Grandma Arlene made for him one last time - it's gotten way too small for him!

(Jan 27)

Buddha Baby

Road Trip/Cono Part Two

I wrote the whole saga of our trip to and from Eureka but I have been putting off writing anything about after we got off the ferry. Sure I have been busy with Kale and it is hard to find time for many things but I think there was also a bit of avoidance and not wanting to talk about this topic.

We went straight to the hospital and got to see Cono relatively soon after we got there. It was hard to see him and to know how to interact with him. I was relieved that he was asleep because I wasn't able to be cheerful or chipper - though I guess I would have been if I had needed to. He had his chest and tummy exposed when he went in and I still find myself focusing on this belly button as this image of normalacy and health in the middle of all of the tubes and life support that was going on around him.

We spent a week in Victoria going to the hospital every day. Aside from Keva and I most everyone stayed at the hospital out in the waiting room most of the day. We didn't want Kale around hospital germs that much so I would only spend an hour or so with him there each day. Two days I actually separated myself from him and went to the hospital. The first time I left him with his Daddy and his Aunty and was away for almost three hours. It was stressful - I couldn't tell if the anxiety was from worrying about Cono or worrying about my poor baby boy starving while I was off at the hospital. He did pretty well while I was away, fussing but no real screaming. Two days later Keva and I both went to the hospital and left Kale with Kimber. He was asleep when we left and we were gone for less than two hours. When we got back he had just started to cry (kim swears he didn't cry until I walked in the door).

I hadn't planned on being separated from him this young, but I guess nothing about Holidays 2005 was what any of us had planned.

I went through a lot of strange emotions during that week. Frustrated that I couldn't been in the hospital all the time - to the point where I felt jealous of the rest of my family. It drove me nuts that they were getting to work on puzzles in the waiting room even though I knew that none of them wanted to be there and that I wouldn't be doing anything more for Cono by being there than in the hotel or out on walks. Funny how being a parent affects things and choices we didn't even consider.

We are still living in a period of waiting to see how he is doing/healing/feeling. His emotions vary (or at least the reports we get on them) and he seems to have some movement in his head (nodding yes shaking no) which we all take to be really positive signs. He had surgery today to put a feed tube directly into his stomach to replace the tube that has been feeding him through his nose up until this point. Prayer and thoughts are still welcome.

Naked baby time

(Jan 20)

First Laugh

This evening Kale had his first laugh. I was dressing him on the change table and he started pouting, so I tried playing peek-a-boo. Apparently, he loved it so much that he gave one of those big smiles of his and then laughed out loud. I called Molly upstairs to witness it and he did it once more.

I'm so proud of my big boy!

Christmas Sweater and a Smile

I know it has been done before but this is the first time I have manage to capture one of his magical smiles on pseduo-film. Aw the joy of his happy face. Plus he was wearing his stylish wool sweater that his Grandma Kitch bought him. Very much the boy.

Mum & Baby Snowshoeing

Molly, Kale and a group of other mums and babies went snowshoeing up at Grouse mountain. (Jan 17)

Kale and the others took a gondola up to the mountain...



They all loved the snow...



...and took lots of nursing breaks back in the lodge.

Great Grandma Lilly

Last Sunday, we went to visit my Great Grandma Lilly.

At first, I was not quite sure what to say.


But then, she sang to me...


...and danced with me...


...and told me stories...


...and soon, we were fast friends!

Ferret Carrier

Today Keva decided the ferrets were lonely down on the floor and brought them up for a little loving...

14 Week Weight

Yet another stellar weight gain week. Today we are 17 lbs and 3.5 oz (7810 grams). That is up 10 oz from last week.

Kale you are amazing.

I wonder if that was the fabled 3 month growth spurt. Was he eating more than normal?? It is so hard to tell.

Exersaucer Madness

This weekend we went to visit -

Jane for her birthday
Nikki at her parents house for the night and brunch the next morning
The Cook family for a spur of the moment drop in (and they managed to have a hand made baby blanket waiting - stylish with a stegosaurus)
Jen for Mexican lunch and a visit to her new apartment
and then Phil and Katie for Dinner and an overnight visit.

Katie brought out some of her younger baby toys for Kale and he was mesmerized by the exersaucer. He stayed happy in it for 40 minutes which may be a world record. Keva and I were all prepared to go buy one when she offered to loan us hers. We took her up on the offer! Thanks Katie.

You can see pictures of Kale in it on her blog:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7105/1465/1600/DSCN5555_edited.jpg

Photos with Family in Victoria

Auntie Kimber had the honor of being the first person we left Kale alone with. She swears he didn't scream the whole time and we try to believe her.


Uncle Gordon was mesmorizing with his hand mobile (and willing to change diapers).


Grandma holding Kale while I had the luxury of playing solitaire.


Umpa holding Kale on the ferry (shortly after the changing eye colour was observed).

Photos from Christmas In Eureka

Umpa reading nonsense stories to Kale















Kale and Mommy ignoring the unwrapping of Christmas gifts in favour of a tasty finger.















Kale on Santa's Lap















Kale showing off his strong neck muscles (and masculine chest).















A diaper change in Old Town, was too cute to resist.















And the ultimate stocking stuffer...

13 Week Weight

13 whole weeks, tomorrow Kale will be officially 3 months old. I still remember meeting a 3 month old baby when Kale was 2 weeks old and thinking they looked like a whole other species. Now I am there and it is hard to believe he was ever any different than he is. (Though every day I exclaim about something new he has accomplished...today he was grabbing his toes while Daddy was sitting him up in bed.)

We went to the drop in today and got weight. 16 lbs 9.5 oz (7.527 Kilograms). That is an increase of 14.5 oz over two weeks which is lovely. Keva had guessed he had gained over a pound because he definitely seemed chubbier but apparently all of this weight is chub.

Kale was in a great mood at the drop in today and smiled and talked at all the other babies. The last two times we went he had been really fussy so it was nice to see him actually interact (or at least try to) with the other babies. When he tried out his biggest smile on Sadie she looked away coyly. I guess she didn't feel like flirting.

Big Boy Chair

Kale likes sitting in dad's Aeron...

Kale's First Christmas/Hannukah/Road Trip

We left Vancouver on the 22nd heading to Eureka, California. We were hoping to make the drive in two days so we could have Christmas Eve with my family but were glad to have that buffer day in case Kale needed a little extra time for the drive. The first night of the drive went well and we made it all the way to Portland Oregon. Sure we had to stop a few times, and the binky was employed but over all it was a smooth smooth trip. All that sleeping had caught up with him though and so Kale had a pretty low sleep, high activity night with lots of nursing. I was a little tired as we started our second day and glad we wouldn't have to push it so much on our way back. After a lunch in Grants pass we made it to Crescent City and it was evident Kale was crashing. After a long nurse were we could hear the surf we headed out again. The last 1.5 hours were the longest but with pauses and patience we made it to my parents house right at dinner time. My fathers first words "hand me my grandson" were quickly followed by "I have some bad news." My older brother Conrad had had a stroke or seizure that morning (no one was sure - or at least the message were getting over the phone was a bit confusing) and was currently having brain surgery to reduce the swelling to the brain to see if they could keep him alive through the night. My mom, sister and younger brother had left an hour before we arrived. They were driving through the night to make the 8:30 am ferry to Victoria from Washington. My dad had stayed behind to tell us because we don't have a cell phone so they hadn't been able to get ahold of us during the drive that day. That night we all slept poorly waiting for phone calls to let us know if Cono had survived the surgery and if the drivers were still doing okay. All was as well as it could be. Christmas eve day we were all still deciding what to do. Kale was incredibly fussy all day and had a fever in the evening. I am not sure if it was teething or simply rebelling against having spent two days straight in his car seat. We managed to get his photo taken with Santa but that was about the most Christmassy thing we did. That evening we had Ed, Elena and Rodrigo over and did a Christmas Eve dinner as well as a gift exchange because it was becoming clear we would be leaving the next morning to join people in Victoria. I spent the entire day in total dread of the drive the next day. I almost wanted to buy a plane ticket so that I wouldn't have to sit in the car with Kale. Christmas morning we woke up and I don't think we even wished one another a Merry Christmas. We began picking up the house and packing up the car. We had gifts to fit in as well as my dad's luggage and a cooler of food to keep us fed along the drive. We left after lunch and started our return Journey. I couldn't believe we had driven all the way there only to turn back around after only 1 day out of the car. Thankfully Kale cooperated once again and we made it to Portland before he was crashing. My dad wanted to make it in to Washington and so we pressed on with a very fussy, hungry baby and I was thrilled to lay down in the hotel room and feed him and let him get some of that physical energy out. The next morning we arose very early to ensure we would make it to Port Angeles in time for the ferry. We had plenty of time and were able to breakfast and walk a bit before the ferry departed. I got anxious on the ferry, not sure how I was going to feel when I saw Cono. At this point he had survived two brain surgeries to reduce swelling, was in intensive care and they had recently determined that he was going to be paralyzed from the neck down. He could blink his eyes for yes and no which meant was able to make any decisions about his care and also that he was cognitively there. He was hooked up to every tube possibly, being fed, assisted with breathing etc... I tried not to think about it during the ferry ride and instead focused on the fact that Keva and Dad noticed Kale's eyes were changing colour when they were out on the deck of the boat. We wondered if they would go all brown, green or if they would just have a green center like his daddy's eyes. (We still don't know which way things are going but change is definitely happening).

Kale is waking so I will post more later...