Like her big brother, Connie loves to sing. Today, she decided she would try to help Colin get to sleep by singing him a lullaby. She was kind enough to let us capture it on video.
For those of you not familiar with this version, it’s a special dad customization.
We’re already adjusting well to life at home as a family of five. You’d think Scott was used to it though because he clearly has adjusted well.
The kids are still as enamoured with Colin as ever. They hardly give him a minute to himself. They are constantly rocking him, turning music on for him and suggesting thoughts for him (apparently, he already has a favourite song).
It’s so nice that everyone is adjusting so well. It really does seem like he has been a member of the family forever.
Day 2 for Colin and he got to meet his new brother and sister. To say they were excited to meet him would be a huge understatement. Dougie already had a big list of plans for his new brother. He was going to teach him to say “Dougie” and make sure he shared his birthday cake. Connie just wanted to sing the Rock Baby song (you may know it better as Rock-a-bye baby).
The kids weren’t allowed to visit until 11am so Scott brought them by shortly before lunchtime. They were so excited to meet Colin. They both came in and immediately started to look for him. Once they found him in the bassinet, they were desperate to hold him and kiss him.
The kids showing Colin the gifts they brought him
SO excited to finally get to hold him
He’s looking pretty happy to be held
Dougie loves his new brother
As does Connie
After all that holding, he was finally awake enough to get a picture with his eyes open
Not long after Scott and the kids arrived, the nurse came to discharge us. I was thrilled to go home! We got Colin dressed in his going home outfit and we were on our way.
Daddy and the kids made cupcakes to welcome Colin home – Dougie’s favourite, carrot cake
Poor Colin couldn’t get a minute to himself
It’s so nice to be home though with our new little guy
We could not be more excited to announce the arrival of the newest Sharabura. Welcome to the world little Colin!!
The day started out innocently enough. We had a doctor’s appointment to check on my blood pressure which had started to get a bit elevated. Scott decided to come with me to get the results and watch the kids. Unfortunately, my blood pressure was still a bit high so they sent us to the hospital to redo some blood work and check on the baby. I started on that while Scott brought the kids to a friend of mine’s house for a little while.
By the time Scott got to the hospital, we were just about done the testing. Unfortunately, my blood pressure was still a bit high and combined with some elevated liver levels, the doctor recommended that we induce the baby. We had already prepared ourselves for the possibility so, though it wasn’t our ideal situation, we knew it was the right thing to do.
Scott left to go home and get some supplies for the kids and our hospital bag and camera. Labour with both kids has gone on for a very long time so we felt we should have sufficient time for him to get there and get back. Unfortunately, we miscalculated there just a little. Scott was gone less than 2 hours but the baby decided he just couldn’t wait. Fortunately, Scott got back right after he was born and was able to hold him while he waited to be evaluated by the doctor.
Without further ado, meet our Colin.
Weighing in at a very respectable 6 lbs 2 oz
A nice length, measuring 20.5″
Overall, a very healthy little boy
Everyone is doing well and we’re so happy he arrived and is already doing so well.
Last week, we had what will hopefully be our last ultrasound before the baby is born. In fact, we had two. Because of the growth issues we had with Dougie, they wanted to be sure that the baby was growing appropriately.
The first ultrasound showed that the baby was measuring a bit on the small side (3rd percentile) so the doctor decided they wanted a second opinion. The next day, we were into the maternal fetal medicine clinic for another ultrasound. Apparently, they are the best of the best around here. They re-did the same test as the day before and everyone was much happier with the results. The baby is still not big (30th percentile) but totally an acceptable size. So, we will continue to monitor but have been told not to worry.
The best news was we got a cute picture from the first test. We had the kids there so the technician turned on the 3D view so they could see their new brother/sister.
Cute little face there. It’s looking like Scott didn’t win the genetics pool on the nose – again. 
For Christmas, Connie received a box of princess dress-up clothes and some fancy princess shoes. She was thrilled! Connie loves to look “pretty” and this was exactly what she needed.
Fast forward to today, we were busy upstairs organising the house and both kids were downstairs playing. Connie called me downstairs to help her put on a dress. Apparently, they had managed to pull one out of the box through a small hole (we hadn’t opened it yet). I opened the box so we could get the other part of the dress out and Dougie decided he wanted to dress-up as well. Next thing I knew, we had this:
All dressed up, down to the shoes.
They were both thrilled to dress up, but I think we may investigate getting some non-princess dress-up clothes so they have a few more options.
For Christmas, Dougie and Connie received a Big Piano from Santa. We’re planning to get a real piano in the spring but we thought this would be a fun toy for them until then. They both took to it immediately. Scott taught Dougie how to play Twinkle and he’s been playing on it ever since.
Dougie then tried to teach Twinkle to Connie. She still needs some practice.
As of yesterday, we are officially residents of Bearspaw, Alberta.
The kids are very excited about the new house, as are we! It’s a great setup for us and the dogs. I think we’re all going to be very happy here. We wanted to share a few pictures of what it looked like before we moved in (since pictures with all our boxes just don’t do it justice).
Front of the House
Kitchen
Eating Area
Family Room
Office (for Kim and the kids)
Sunroom (off the kitchen)
Laundry Room – this room actually makes me want to do laundry
We have four bedrooms upstairs but only pictures of the master.
Master Suite 1
Master Suite 2
Master Bath
Master Closet
In the basement, we have one additional bedroom as well as a sitting area
And small kitchenette
On a clear day, we have a killer view of the mountains.
We have a great setup for guests and hope we can entertain lots of friends and family in the new year.
This was Kim’s first birthday in Calgary (last year we were down in Texas for the big event) and there’s some things that you just can’t do in a warm weather location. After a year of hikes and mountain climbing with the kids, I figured something outdoorsy was in order, but she needed something a little bit more adventurous… and cold!
So, we left the kids with a sitter — a birthday present unto itself! — and headed out on an ice climbing adventure. (Can’t do that in Dallas, right?) We had a half-day of instruction and climbing, to a place delightfully named “The Junkyards”, beautifully set in the mountains near Canmore, less than an hour from our house. (For those of you interested in following in our footsteps, we booked through Banff Adventures Unlimited)
Kim modelling her skiing duds and her ice climbing gear — notice the lovely footwear
Close-up of the crampons — these boots are NOT made for walking on your hardwood floors…
The Junkyards — for perspective, the wall is just under 100 ft tall… are we really climbing up that thing??
The view from the Junkyards. It was a great day, though a little bit chilly (minus 15 Celsius) Evidently this makes the ice a bit chippier than normal, as if we didn’t have enough challenges!
Kim strapped in, getting some last minute instructions — and, I suspect, still half expecting that she’s on Candid Camera:
Away she goes!
She’s getting there — check out the feet — that counts as a “climb” right?
Hey, how’d she get up there?!?
Take THAT, scary ice wall!
Almost at the top!
Here she is on her way back down. It took us 15-20 minutes each on the first run while we got the technique down — and under 10 minutes the second time. Getting down was very quick — less than a minute rappelling down the ice face.
Here goes the husband… that knot will hold, right?
This is just like skiing… except uphill.. and more vertical.. and hey, this stuff isn’t exactly powdery… where’s the chairlift again?
I swear, this place reminded me of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude
How’d I get up here?
On the way up…
Woohoo!
The kids survived the stint with the sitter — we picked them up and had a nice dinner in Banff before heading home.
Happy birthday Wife!
It’s been a long time since we’ve celebrated Valentine’s Day around here. It just not something Scott and I were into and with it being so close to my birthday, it was easier just to skip it. This year, Dougie found out about it and has been wishing people “Happy Valentine’s Day” for months. Clearly, we would have to do something in recognition of the day.
So, off to Michael’s we went to buy some craft supplies. We decided that we would make some special cupcakes to celebrate. So, one heart shaped pan, some cake mix and some icing later and we were ready!
While the kids were napping, I made the cupcakes. Once they were up, we pulled the learning tower over to the counter so they could decorate cupcakes for Daddy.
Connie went first (please ignore the big bruise, she had a run in with our slide and the slide won)
First, she iced the cupcake
Then I gave her a bowl of sprinkles to decorate, they went directly into her mouth
Good thing she’s cute
A little demo from Mum and she understood. First get the sprinkles
Then sprinkle on the cupcake
A few more sprinkles and the cupcake for Daddy was done
Just need to make sure it tastes okay
After that moderate success, I was ready to give it a try with Dougie.
He showed a bit more skill in the icing department
Until I turned my back for a moment
I took over the icing from there. Once that was done, it was time for sprinkles.
“Dougie, maybe you could use your hand and sprinkle them on.”
A little sprinkling lesson for him too and he understood what he had to do.
Wait wait wait, that is not it!
Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!