Having a happy holiday

The crew is in Kelowna, digging out from the aftermath of a very merry Christmas. Did Henry get a lot of presents? Lets just say that if you own stock in any company that manufactures dinosaur-themed goods, you're welcome. Dexter gave himself his first tooth for Christmas, and is having a grand time playing with scrap wrapping paper and ribbons. Grandma Eileen is still a bit hobbled from her recent knee replacement surgery, but having the grandkids around has inspired her to walk without her cane, which is good to see. Tom and I are doing not much of anything, beyond the usual juggling of childcare tasks, reading of books, and eating of food. It's a nice way to spend the holidays.

White Christmas, anyone?

This is what our patio looked like on Friday, when I first blogged about all the snow we have:


This is what it looks like out there today:


The good news is that winter doesn't officially start for another four days.

If you listen closely, I bet you can hear me weeping. . .

The lull before the hurricane

Here's what's happening around these parts: Snow. Snow, snow, snow snow, snow. Snow. Seriously--there is an astounding amount of snow. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I have to invest in some real snow boots (I've been getting by with these "snow mocs"), and maybe even adult snow pants, to make it through the winter. Oh, the horror. As a west coaster, I really hate dressing appropriately for winter. But it's the thing to do around here, so bring on the knee-high snowmobile boots for grocery store runs and full-body puffer suits for walks to the mailbox.

Besides the fact that we're snowed in, all our activities are on hiatus until the new year. So basically we're sitting around waiting for Christmas. And waiting for Christmas is going to make Henry's head explode. He is so excited about it this year! We sing Christmas carols and play "Santa visits Henry's house" over and over again. I'm not sure he'll make it through the next two weeks without tearing through the drywall in a frenzy of frustrated anticipation. Ho ho ho indeed.

That's the fun stuff. Unfortunately, yesterday we got some bad (but expected)news: Henry has to have another eye surgery. It's been obvious since last spring that the strabismus is back. Or that it never really was cured--I'm not sure. It's nowhere near as bad as it was, but his eyes cross when he's focusing on something close to his face, and even when they look straight, his eyes aren't working together. The good news is that his vision is otherwise perfect, and the doctor says that since he's so young, there's still a chance that a second surgical correction could take well enough for him to start seeing stereoscopically.

Sigh. This surgery is going to be very traumatic for him, and us. He's already afraid of his ophthalmologist because of the eye tests he does, and he understands that going to the hospital isn't a fun thing to do. Last week he got a vaccination and I practically had to sit on him to keep him still for the needle, and he screamed a the top of his lungs throughout. So it's going to be very unpleasant and scary for him. I really wish I could believe that it will be worth it, but there's no guarantee the surgery will fix his vision. But I feel like we have to try. If it doesn't work this time, Henry can decide for himself when he's older about having further surgeries for cosmetic purposes. In the meantime, I just feel bad for my little guy.

Okay, I can't sign off on that gloomy note. Here are some pictures of Dexter to show how strong he's getting. The bouncy chair's days are numbered:

Tom's book

It's about to hit the shelves! Here's a description from the publisher's web site.

Oh my snow

Lordy is it ever dumping down today. It's hard to believe that official winter is still 3 weeks away, because we're getting hammered with cold and snow. Environment Canada is predicting this year will be the coldest winter in 15 years, so this could just be the start of a long, long season. Prepare yourselves for a good 6 months of weather-related bitching from yours truly.

Tom's brother, Jonathan, is visiting from California, and what a nice taste of a true Canadian winter he's getting. He's supposed to fly out this afternoon, but we're not sure his flight will actually make it. Anyway, the visit was short but fun. Henry loved having Uncle Jon here, and was very happy to escort him through the Dinosaur Museum. Jon and Tom took Henry sledding yesterday, an activity Henry has finally come around to enjoying (before now he only liked pulling his sled, not riding in it). We even went out for dinner with the whole crew and managed to eat a meal without either child having a meltdown.

In other news, Dexter is now 4 months old! He had his checkup on Friday. The kid weighs in at 15.5 pounds and is 26.5 inches long. He's a bit smaller than Henry was at this age, but still on the big side. I think he's in teething mode so he's been a bit grumpier than usual, but still cute as hell and mellow most days. We're also having some success getting him to nap alone in his cradle. This is huge for us because Henry never, ever napped in his crib. Dexter doesn't stay asleep for very long on his own (usually about an hour) and prefers to spend his nights curled up beside me, but it's a start. I'm hoping that we can move him into his own crib in his own room around the 6 month mark. Then we would only have Henry, a.k.a. the night stalker, to deal with. But I never get my hopes up when it comes to that kid's sleeping habits, or lack thereof. . .