He's Walking!!!

I don't think Sebby even realized that yesterday was a monumental day in his development! He took his first unassisted steps, walking the 4 steps from the bookshelf to where I was sitting at the table. I had a friend over for lunch and he really wanted me to read him a book. He took one from the bookshelf and brought it over to me. 

I wasn't totally sure if it was a fluke or if he is walking now but when Darren got home, he walked a few steps for him too. This morning in the kitchen, he walked around, and this afternoon at my friends house, he was walking all over the kitchen and living room. Yay!

The "standing but not walking" stage seemed like it had been going on forever. He has been pulling himself up to standing since August but his lack of balance made us wonder if we would have to wait months until Sebby would walk on his own. Lately it seemed like he was getting somewhat steadier on his feet, he would take falling steps towards me from the coffee table and bookshelf. However, I was quite surprised to see him talk his first steps!

Darren & I are pretty excited about this development. We are hoping that it will make things easier in the sense that we won't have to carry him everywhere. I know it can be a difficult stage in some ways due to the many bumps and bruises. Some kids are really slow walkers but I don't think this will be an issue with Sebby. We anticipate that once he is walking confidently, he will be running confidently and we will have to be even quicker at chasing after him.

I'm working on getting a video of him walking but he isn't walking "on demand" so far, instead, he walks when he decides that he wants to walk. Yes, our little Sebby sure has a mind of his own, sounds like someone else I know...

Sebby Had A Little Lamb, Little Lamb, Little Lamb...

Lamby is a little blue blanket with a lamb stuffed animal attached to it.

Over the past month or so, Sebby has become increasingly attached to Lamby. He learned that Lamby says "baaa" and has become interested in lambs in books and pictures as well. 

Sebby had been sleeping with Lamby since he was a few months old but never bothered with him during the day until recently. 

Every time we get Sebby after his naps & in the mornings, he is standing in his crib, clutching Lamby tightly. If Lamby gets dropped in his crib, Sebby goes back over and points at his crib, asking for Lamby. Lamby now joins him in his chair for many meals and in the living room for games. Too bad Momma won't let him go in the bath!

Lamby is a very loyal "partner in crime" for Sebby.

Don't Cut Their Hair When It's Wet!

We'd been talking about how to get Mr.Wiggles to sit still enough for a haircut for the past few weeks. His mullet was getting out of control, the sides were half way down over his ears and the back was beginning to look like a little girls hair. But we were a bit baffled about how to get it done.
yesterday afternoon he was sitting so still in the bath that I impulsively grabbed the scissors and trimmed the sides of his hair around his ears. It was great because he barely noticed that anything out of the ordinary was happening since he's not feeling well and the warm bath calmed him down and made him very sleepy.

I called Darren in to have a look then he took the scissors to work on the back, assuring me that he knew what he was doing. He had been paying attention at the hairdressers when he got his cut yesterday!

We didn't get a good look at the finished product last night because I put our little sick boy right to bed. This morning when he woke up, we had to laugh at our handiwork. The "layers" that Darren so expertly cut into the back of Sebby's head are quite uneven and the last half inch above his hairline is thinner than the rest. Our cute boy looks like a monk! Well at least he doesn't look like a girl anymore. And at least we didn't have to bribe him with candy or pay 10 pounds for this haircut.

Although we are hoping his hair grows back in quickly. Think we'll give haircutting another stab but next time we'll attempt it on dry hair. In the meantime, if you have experience cutting little boys hair, we're definitely open to suggestions on how to get it right!!!

Pictures to follow. I couldn't get him to stay still long enough to get a decent picture of the back of his head this morning.

One More Sleep

I can hardly believe that a year of maternity leave has gone by and I'm back at work now. Growing up, I always thought that I wanted to work and be a mom but I definitely reconsidered that position throughout my maternity leave, especially as it was nearing its completion. In the end, I went back because I knew it was what God wanted me to do.

During the past few months I had spent time praying and asking others to pray that I would get a sense of how God wanted me to be using my gifts to serve others during our time in Scotland. After receiving prayer at church one Sunday, I got a really clear answer that I was to return to work on campus. It feels good to know that God is asking you to do something and then to have the courage to do it. So I did it!

I am really enjoying the mental stimulation of being back at work as well as having an opportunity to use some of my strengths. I also enjoy having some variety in my schedule and tasks that are different from my everyday work on things like diaper changes, laundry and dishes.

Returning to work has caused me to be more intentional in planning my time so I have also been doing lots of fun things outside of work. I have been spending time with my brother & sister in law who are in Scotland for a few weeks with their kids.

Taking a break at the Transportation Museum to try out their carrier (the same brand as the one we just ordered). That's cousin, Camdyn, 45lbs, on my back!

I have also enjoyed helping out a friend by looking after her 6 month old. I figured it would also be good practice in figuring out how to juggle 2 kids!

Archie sleeping while Sebby has fun on the swing. 

He sleeps during a lot of our times together ; - )

Another thing I love about being back at work is the opportunity for me to more or less create my own job description and choose to say "yes" to activities that I enjoy and "no" to those that I'm not as interested in. This is another huge benefit to the immense amount of flexibility in my work. I am also thankful Darren & I have a work situation that allows us to arrange our schedules so that we don't need outside childcare for Sebby. This saves us money and more importantly, it gives Sebby more opportunities to have quality time with Daddy.

 

However, the trade off of this type of scheduling so far is that it has made for a few longer days (and evenings) for me. I am confident that things will slow down a bit once the initial busyness of working through HR agreements and paperwork, and defining expectations with new supervisors and teammates gets sorted out. Overall, it's a huge change to go from having so much freedom like I did on mat leave to having to give up nap times, mornings and evenings to work.

This evening I told Darren that this has felt like the longest week in recent memory. It's only been two weeks since I started work and in some strange way it feels as if the weeks have stretched into one looooong week. All day I kept thinking it was Friday. I was looking forward to a weekend, only to realize later on this afternoon it is only Thursday. But tomorrow is Friday!!

"Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend!"

 

For Someone Who Can't Walk...

Yesterday I was in the kitchen prepping dinner while Sebby was tinkering in "his" Tupperware cupboard. I turned around to see this...

     

Sebby climbing into the drawer of our kitchen organizer.

Today he got a little bolder...

 

I turned around to see him sitting on second shelf so that he could reach the gum packets at the back of the organizer.

Hope that tomorrow I don't find him on top of the counter! 

For someone who doesn't walk unassisted yet, he sure manages to get around. No more leaving this boy in the kitchen alone now that he can climb shelves and open the oven door!

Learning From Daddy

Sebby loves spending time with Daddy and he learns so much during their times together. I wanted to share some of the things that Daddy has been teaching him:

1. To appreciate good coffee 

Not that he has tasted coffee yet but Sebby puts his hand on the cover grinder and dances as it grinds. We're pretty sure he'll love coffee someday.

2. To help with the housework

Vacuuming is one of those chores that Daddy always does for us and Sebby loves helping with it! As soon as Sebby sees the vacuum come out, he goes over to Daddy and asks to be picked up. Daddy carries Sebby around while vacuuming and when he finishes, he leaves the vacuum out so that Sebby can "vacuum" for awhile. He loves this game too, crawling around on his knees, pushing the vacuum.

Daddy also likes to have Sebby watch him cook in the kitchen.

Soon he will be a very helpful little guy because Daddy is modelling how important it is to help out around the house!

3. How to play ball

4. To love reading

Daddy spends hours every week reading to Sebby. He has a pretty short attention span, except for when it comes to books. They often read for up to a half hour at a time (that's a long time for Sebby!). When one book is finished, Sebby yells "MORE!" and wants to start the same book over and over again.

He knows some of his books so well. When he sees the "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" book, he starts patting himself on the belly to the beat (it's a rhyming book). When he sees the musical books that Ah Mah and Yea Yea gave him, he starts swaying in anticipation for the music.

5. To be gentle, especially with ladies

Sebby went through a phase where he thought it was hilarious to hit himself and other people. Although he still hits himself in the face sometimes, he has gotten a lot more gentle, especially with me.

Every time he would try to pull hair or hit in the face, Daddy would say "No Sebby, be gentle!" And he would show him how to touch gently, saying "This is gentle, Sebby."When Sebby is gentle, Daddy always praises him for doing a good job. We now no longer have to tell him to be gentle, it has became his default.

Sebby is SO blessed to be learning these and so many other things from his Daddy.

Why We Missed Church This Morning

We were disappointed that we couldn't make it to church this morning. We had been really looking forward to getting back but we decided that it wasn't a good idea. Here's the story...

Since last Tuesday, I had been noticing little red spots appearing on Sebby's skin. The chicken pox had initially crossed my mind however, I concluded that it was likely another food sensitivity. We suspected that he may have been reacting to some of the spicy food that we had been eating lately. 

On Friday sister in law told me that her cousins kids had the chicken pox. We had been at a birthday party with them last weekend so I did a bit of internet research then ran everything by my mom. We concluded that Sebby almost certainly had a really minor case of the chicken pox. 

I'm so thankful that he doesn't seem at all bothered by the spots that are appearing, becoming swollen like little pimples then drying out and turning brown. The only downside to him having the chicken pox is that we can't get together with friends as we don't want to spread the chicken pox virus to other children or adults we know. (They can apparently still be contagious until the spots disappear).

I think Darren was glad to have an excuse to miss church today as he has some embarrasing spots on his face too...

No, not the chicken pox! 

He had a run in with Sebby's Little People animals from his Noah's Ark last night.

 

These animals are a lot of fun. I like them:

at mealtime....

in the bath....

and especially when Daddy suctions them to his face! 

 

Ha ha!

Sebby's Holiday Trip (Berlin, Prague, Vienna & Bratislava)

Sebby has now been on over 20 flights and continues to be an excellent traveler! This was our most ideal family trip so far because we were able to rent apartments in 2 of our destinations. This allowed us to put Sebby to bed at a decent hour then be able to enjoy hanging out a little later in the evening. Every time we travel, we learn more about how to successfully travel in a way works for all of us.

I wanted to share a few pictures of our little globe trotter during our holiday travels. Enjoy!

Our first stop was Berlin. Land of Christmas markets & amazing history lessons!

Patrick (my brother), Sebby, Darren & I in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

"Oooh, I wanna touch!" The Berlin zoo...probably one of his favourite days!

Riding on Daddy's shoulders during a walking tour of Berlin.

Prague was such a beautiful city!

In Prague with Daddy.

"I'm SO done with this walking tour!"

In Vienna we saw lots of strange & interesting animals!

"What IS this creature?" @ the Natural History Museum in Vienna.

"Pat & I are going to get this bird!" in the Hofburg in Vienna.

We enjoyed our last 2 days in lovely little Bratislava.

Visiting Bratislava Castle on a warm, sunny day. Beautiful!

I wonder if he'll be really disappointed that he can't remember all of the places that he visited when he was small?

Walkin'...sorta

My brother Patrick visited for a few weeks and Sebby had a lot of fun playing with him. Sebby learned many really cool things from Patrick including how to say "Pat" and how to use his walker.

We thought Sebby's balance wasn't good enough to push the walker around but we were wrong! Patrick set him behind it and he was off, running around the house full speed ahead!!!

 He was SO pleased with himself and his new-found freedom.

PS: The walker was another very fun present that Ah Mah & Yea Yea brought all the way from Canada!

Reading to the Music

Sebby got some pretty cool birthday presents from Ah Mah & Yea Yea. They are interactive books that read the story to you with music in the background. Darren & I find them really loud and we were planning to take the batteries out of them when Sebby discovered the books and couldn't get enough. 

One of his favourite activities is turning the pages so that he can hear the music in these books. He can spend minutes captivated by the music, turning the pages & bobbing his head to the music. He often begins swaying in anticipation before the music even begins to play. And when he gets to the end of the book he shouts "MORE" then starts over. 

Did you hear the "MORE"?

I was still tempted to take the batteries out until I realized that these books mean precious minutes of self-entertainment for Sebby. Earlier this week I was able to take my first shower without him in his highchair in the bathroom. Oh, the freedom to prep a quick snack or grab a shower while he plays! Well worth the annoying music that gets stuck in my head! 

Thanks Ah Mah & Yea Yea.

New Things

It happened again! We went away for a few weeks and while we were gone, Sebby learned so much. We keep saying that he is seems like such a "big boy" lately.

Signs 

For months, Darren & I have been working on sign language with Sebby but other than waving, he wouldn't repeat any signs back to us. One morning in Prague, he was eating banana and he said "more" then did the sign for more. It was SO cute! I couldn't believe he did the sign unprompted, oh to know more of what's going on in his little head...

Sine then, he's started doing the signs for "all done", "water," "pear" & "chicken." It's really helpful for him to be able to more easily express what he wants but sometimes he gets a little mixed up. Tonight at dinner he kept flapping his arms, doing the sign for chicken over and over again. Yup, its pretty adorable!

Understanding

Overall, we are noticing how much he has grown in communication. One morning on our trip, Sebby was whining so I asked him if he was hungry. He nodded his head yes and grunted. As soon as I gave him a snack, he was fine.

When I asked him another time if he wanted me to pick him up, he gave the same response, head nodding and grunting. (He usually tugs at our legs and whines when he wants us to pick him up).

Speech

He is learning to make more sounds and loves to chat to himself throughout the day. He is also getting good at copying the sounds that we make. We can tell that he is trying to say the words that he hears us saying.

When my brother, Patrick, was visiting, he learned to say "Pat." When we ask him a yes/no question, if the answer is yes, he will say "yea" or ignore us if the answer is no.

Dancing

Since he was in the womb, Sebby really enjoyed music. One afternoon in Vienna, Darren turned on some music and Sebby started dancing. He stiffly bobbed his head from side to side and pointed his finger and thumb gun in the air and waved it from side to side. Neither Darren nor I taught him to dance like that, honest! That dance is all Sebby! Now every time he hears music, he bobs his head to the side.


Personality

Sebby pretends to be shy but loves attention, especially from ladies. He doesn't like to go to sleep. He's a bit stubborn. He knows what he wants and wants things "now." He often shouts "more, more, more" until he gets what he wants. He likes to learn and figure out how things work. He loves books, when people read to him and looking at books by himself. He often asks us to read the same books to him over and over again. He especially likes books with things he can touch or little flaps that he can open. He loves to laugh and play rough games with Daddy. He loves to tease and make people laugh. He is such a fun little guy to be around!