Monday, July 25, 2011
Welcoming Rachel
We had made the calls the night before so the various grandparents had time to make their way into the city, so everyone was there to welcome Rachel. Here are some great pictures of the first visits when Rachel was hours old.
Birth Story
The full birth story will be published in Rachel's book (this of course means we need to make that book). However, here are some of the highlights:Kristine's water broke just as we were putting the final touches on Rachel's room. Specifically we were putting up the light in the room. Kristine came and sat down and said "I think my water just broke". We had that hanging moment of a thousand thoughts, then things started happening. We paged the midwife and she came over to check out how things were going. Nothing was moving yet, so we decided to try to get some sleep. It was only about 10pm. If things weren't moving by morning then we would make a plan from there. However, as we would shortly find out, things were moving just fine. Since Kristine had never experienced actual labour before, just the chemically induced kind, we weren't all that sure what normal was. About 11:30 or so we started timing what we though were contractions. They were all in the 5 minute range so we eventually decided to page again. The midwife came over and sure enough, we were fully into active labour - who knew! We activated Luanne, who was to care for Matthew while we went to the Hospital. She came over and Kristine's labour continued to progress. We were quite far along when Luanne got to us. We passed in the door and basically said "he's asleep, we'll call later, good luck". It was about 2:45am. The midwife followed us to the hospital in her car. We found out after that she called ahead to warn emergency that we may need them, and to get the room ready in delivery. We arrived, after a number of minor traffic infractions, and a lot of swearing, with as of yet no baby - so that is good. It was 3am. We did the classic Hollywood flight through the hospital - Kristine in a wheelchair, me pushing and Kristine breathing hard. We had a bit of a barrier at admissions- they wanted all the paperwork filled out, but the baby didn't really care. The midwife arrived and basically took Kristine to the room for delivery and I stayed signing things that I didn't read or even really care about. I ran to the room where they were flagging me down. 17 minutes later Rachel was here. Those 17 minutes (less for me) were pretty blurry, but Kristine was in fine form and the birth was generally without incident. Rachel was perfect, is perfect. The cleanup afterward took far longer, but I guess that is normal. At about 6am we had a little nap and at 8am we had breakfast and started calling people to tell them the exciting news!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Rachel Diane Arrives!
Who knew that the previous post would be so timely! Rachel Diane Hagyard Gerhard was born at 3:17am on Sunday July 24th at St. Boniface Hospital. She was 8 pounds 8 ounces, 52cm long.
Full birth stories will be posted soon, but here are some of the pics to get things started.
Full birth stories will be posted soon, but here are some of the pics to get things started.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
More Language
Matthew's language has continued to explode. It seems that every day he picks up another new word. It is getting difficult to keep track of how many words he has in his vocabulary. Not all of his words sound like the actual word, but he uses them consistently for the object he is talking about and we know what he is saying. Here is an update what he is saying these days.
Matthew has started to name his people, but had so far only accomplished naming us, Auntie Luanne (ann-dee) and his cats (doey). When we were at the lake at the end of June, the grandparents (all of them) started thinking that this was something that should change. So they began working on it. Uncle Derek, however, was successful first during a 'babysitting opportunity' (as we like to call them) and now Matthew has a name for him.
"uhn-go" - uncle
"mama" - Grandma/Grandpa. He has some trouble articulating the difference between the m and p sounds so they have only one name at the moment.
"nuh-nuh" - thunder. He picked this one up during a thunderstorm at the lake. He hasn't used it much since, but then we haven't had any thunder.
"bah" - ball.
"coo-gie" - for cookie. Along with this word, he knows where they are stored as well.
"cah-ker" - for cracker. These are kept right beside the cookies and both of them are very exciting. Whenever he gets one, he shows it to everyone he can and exclaims over and over "cah-ker!", cah-ker!"
"ap-oh" - for apple. He loves these at the moment.
"tae-toe" - for potato. He learned this word because he was confusing them with apples. They do look very similar.
"keeto" - for mosquito. He saw me swat at a mosquito with my hands and picked that one up right away. Of course, it is usually accompanied by a hand clap as if he was swatting at one too.
"moo" - for moon. Usually this refers to his most favourite book Goodnight Moon, but he identifies moons that he sees in any book.
"poo-pee" - for, well, you can figure it out. He has, on a few of occasions, even accurately used it to let us know that he was, in fact, poopy and needed a change. Getting ready for some potty training...
"yuck-ee" - yup, yucky.
"gickie" - sticky. His hands are usually gickie when he eats.
"gee" - for stick. There are many, many of these to be found outside and he inspects them all.
"toe" - for stone. Also many of these and a remarkable number of them end up in his hands.
"wee-wee" - windy. He learned this one at the lake too on a windy day. It is also 'wee-wee' in front of the 'wah'.
"wah" - for fan. There are many fans in the world (who knew?) and he sees them all. We hear this word a lot. They are so important to him that they even get a special 'good night' along with the cats. "bye-bye Doey, bye-bye wah."
"bye-bye" - used for both bye-bye and good night. Just depends on context.
"hi" - hi.
And finally, the vehicles. He loves anything with wheels.
"dah-do" - for tractor.
"kah" - for car.
"bee-ba" - for school bus, but actually it can refer to any bus.
"bow" - for boat.
"bi-ee" - for bike.
and strangely, for we don't know how or why he knows this one...
"ummer" - for hummer.
This little video will showcase a good many of his words for you. He is enjoying reading his First 100 Machines book with Daddy, which he usually does at the end of the day when Daddy gets home from work. You will also see "airplane" in sign language. He uses quite a bit of sign language too, but we'll save that for another blog.
Matthew has started to name his people, but had so far only accomplished naming us, Auntie Luanne (ann-dee) and his cats (doey). When we were at the lake at the end of June, the grandparents (all of them) started thinking that this was something that should change. So they began working on it. Uncle Derek, however, was successful first during a 'babysitting opportunity' (as we like to call them) and now Matthew has a name for him.
"uhn-go" - uncle
"mama" - Grandma/Grandpa. He has some trouble articulating the difference between the m and p sounds so they have only one name at the moment.
"nuh-nuh" - thunder. He picked this one up during a thunderstorm at the lake. He hasn't used it much since, but then we haven't had any thunder.
"bah" - ball.
"coo-gie" - for cookie. Along with this word, he knows where they are stored as well.
"cah-ker" - for cracker. These are kept right beside the cookies and both of them are very exciting. Whenever he gets one, he shows it to everyone he can and exclaims over and over "cah-ker!", cah-ker!"
"ap-oh" - for apple. He loves these at the moment.
"tae-toe" - for potato. He learned this word because he was confusing them with apples. They do look very similar.
"keeto" - for mosquito. He saw me swat at a mosquito with my hands and picked that one up right away. Of course, it is usually accompanied by a hand clap as if he was swatting at one too.
"moo" - for moon. Usually this refers to his most favourite book Goodnight Moon, but he identifies moons that he sees in any book.
"poo-pee" - for, well, you can figure it out. He has, on a few of occasions, even accurately used it to let us know that he was, in fact, poopy and needed a change. Getting ready for some potty training...
"yuck-ee" - yup, yucky.
"gickie" - sticky. His hands are usually gickie when he eats.
"gee" - for stick. There are many, many of these to be found outside and he inspects them all.
"toe" - for stone. Also many of these and a remarkable number of them end up in his hands.
"wee-wee" - windy. He learned this one at the lake too on a windy day. It is also 'wee-wee' in front of the 'wah'.
"wah" - for fan. There are many fans in the world (who knew?) and he sees them all. We hear this word a lot. They are so important to him that they even get a special 'good night' along with the cats. "bye-bye Doey, bye-bye wah."
"bye-bye" - used for both bye-bye and good night. Just depends on context.
"hi" - hi.
And finally, the vehicles. He loves anything with wheels.
"dah-do" - for tractor.
"kah" - for car.
"bee-ba" - for school bus, but actually it can refer to any bus.
"bow" - for boat.
"bi-ee" - for bike.
and strangely, for we don't know how or why he knows this one...
"ummer" - for hummer.
This little video will showcase a good many of his words for you. He is enjoying reading his First 100 Machines book with Daddy, which he usually does at the end of the day when Daddy gets home from work. You will also see "airplane" in sign language. He uses quite a bit of sign language too, but we'll save that for another blog.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Matthew meets Fred Penner's Dog.
We went for a walk tonight - Matthew and I - and by walk I mean more of a meander, or perhaps a dawdle. It is great if you don't really need to accomplish any particular distance in any specified time. Often the walks involve traversing the sidewalk in front of the three houses between us and the end of the block and then carrying him back. This is regularly a solid 45 minutes. Why? Well because everything is fascinating - which is also fun. Every vehicle (moving and otherwise) requires commentary; every plane passing overhead requires exclamation; every animal requires noting; and every twig, stick, branch, and now pebble and rock requires intimate investigation, consideration and ultimately retrieval should the item in question somehow surpass in some way the items already held tightly in his tiny fists, at which point the new item will be exchanged for the current item with great excitement and fanfare. God help us when he figures out pockets.
Tonight I decided that we would get into new territory. I carried him to the end of the block and we started there instead. Very exciting. Tonight we also discovered that we could hold more than one item in our hands. It started out innocently enough. We found a stick that we simply had to add to our collection, but the stick and rock that we had were so good that we couldn't bear giving them up. So we simply picked up both sticks and the rock. Well, this breakthrough caused a bit of a run on carried items. In about 5 minutes Matthew had 3 sticks, two rocks and a leaf held firmly in his grip, and he was considering another fascinating stick and how he might shuffle his loot to pick that up too. Luckily a "bu-bee!" (puppy) was spotted coming along the sidewalk taking its owner for a walk. As the puppy and its owner approached it turned out to be none other than Fred Penner. He lives in the neighbourhood and we have run into him before - he has even helped me push my dead car into our garage once. Anyway, he talked with Mathew and introduced his dog, which Matthew then started calling "Doey" of course. Matthew sat right down and pet the dog. It was quite fun. Fred had a bit of a conversation with Matthew and then we talked a bit. It came out that we were expecting number 2 right soon-like, so Fred offered, in a very humble way, some advice for when number 2 arrives. He said (and he didn't claim this wisdom as his own) that we should get Matthew a present from the new baby so that Matthew will feel special and start the relationship between Matthew and the new one off right. Now Matthew may be a bit young to figure that out, but thinking about how to make sure Matthew is special as baby number two takes up residence firmly in the centre of the universe is going to be an important part of this next month.
Eventually Matthew and the dog were done with each other, so Matthew said "bye-bye bu-bee" and we carried on. Fred and the dog on their walk and Matthew, me, and our various and sundry sticks, rocks and leaves on our meander.
Tonight I decided that we would get into new territory. I carried him to the end of the block and we started there instead. Very exciting. Tonight we also discovered that we could hold more than one item in our hands. It started out innocently enough. We found a stick that we simply had to add to our collection, but the stick and rock that we had were so good that we couldn't bear giving them up. So we simply picked up both sticks and the rock. Well, this breakthrough caused a bit of a run on carried items. In about 5 minutes Matthew had 3 sticks, two rocks and a leaf held firmly in his grip, and he was considering another fascinating stick and how he might shuffle his loot to pick that up too. Luckily a "bu-bee!" (puppy) was spotted coming along the sidewalk taking its owner for a walk. As the puppy and its owner approached it turned out to be none other than Fred Penner. He lives in the neighbourhood and we have run into him before - he has even helped me push my dead car into our garage once. Anyway, he talked with Mathew and introduced his dog, which Matthew then started calling "Doey" of course. Matthew sat right down and pet the dog. It was quite fun. Fred had a bit of a conversation with Matthew and then we talked a bit. It came out that we were expecting number 2 right soon-like, so Fred offered, in a very humble way, some advice for when number 2 arrives. He said (and he didn't claim this wisdom as his own) that we should get Matthew a present from the new baby so that Matthew will feel special and start the relationship between Matthew and the new one off right. Now Matthew may be a bit young to figure that out, but thinking about how to make sure Matthew is special as baby number two takes up residence firmly in the centre of the universe is going to be an important part of this next month.
Eventually Matthew and the dog were done with each other, so Matthew said "bye-bye bu-bee" and we carried on. Fred and the dog on their walk and Matthew, me, and our various and sundry sticks, rocks and leaves on our meander.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Cottage
We had a fine week adventure at the cottage. We got a railing built in the bunkie, Matthew learned some new words, and we got some great relaxing time with family. Here are some shots:
Mom and Matthew in the water
Playing ball (or "BA!") with Grandpa
We call this one "reflective pondering with tractor"
Grandma playing, Matthew watching
Ready for Canada Day
Captain Adorable
Sharing some sand with Grandpa
Golf. Matthew is home sleeping (theoretically).
Mom and Matthew in the water
Playing ball (or "BA!") with Grandpa
We call this one "reflective pondering with tractor"
Grandma playing, Matthew watching
Ready for Canada Day
Captain Adorable
Sharing some sand with Grandpa
Golf. Matthew is home sleeping (theoretically).Sunday, July 3, 2011
Terror on the High Seas
Boating is pretty much a given if you are going to be a Gerhard. My dad grew up on boats, Dave and I grew up on boats, our various and sundry spouses are now boat people, so it only stands to reason that our children will be boat people too. We have a not-insignificant fleet to choose from! So while we were at the cottage we decided that a little boating was in order. Nothing fancy, just a ride around the lake in Ed (the boat). Ed is an aluminum fishing boat. Stable, comfortable (albeit loud) and generally all around safe. Tyrannosaurus Rex (the canoe) can be a bit tippy, Pegasus (the dingy) is stable but small, David's kayak is a one person dealie (Matthew isn't really ready for that yet), and Shadowfax (the sailboat) is at Northern Harbour 45 minutes away. So for the quick jaunt of an evening, Ed is the way to go.
So we got all ready to do just that. This is Matthew in advance of the trip, complete with all the necessities including a bus and a chair. (the smile BTW is classic Grandpa Osborne, his namesake)
With all the appropriate gear, we are ready to go. We get to the boat and Matthew responds with what can only be described as abject terror. Total meltdown. Crying - sobbing really - clinging to mom and dad, and when we put him down he bee-lines back to the cottage. Of all the responses, this is the most unexpected, particularly give his heritage. However, the Bus adventure of several weeks ago, and the tractor incident before that, should have twigged us that Matthew isn't all that good with big, loud and new. Oh, he likes it fine from afar: he points at big trucks going by and is simply beside himself with glee and excitement. But they can just stay afar thank you very much.
So Kristine and I went through a significant conditioning regiment over the week that we were there, culminating in a significant boat ride where Matthew was generally fine the whole way. He wasn't happy about it and was a bit clingy, but he didn't freak out. We have hopes for him yet.
So we got all ready to do just that. This is Matthew in advance of the trip, complete with all the necessities including a bus and a chair. (the smile BTW is classic Grandpa Osborne, his namesake)
With all the appropriate gear, we are ready to go. We get to the boat and Matthew responds with what can only be described as abject terror. Total meltdown. Crying - sobbing really - clinging to mom and dad, and when we put him down he bee-lines back to the cottage. Of all the responses, this is the most unexpected, particularly give his heritage. However, the Bus adventure of several weeks ago, and the tractor incident before that, should have twigged us that Matthew isn't all that good with big, loud and new. Oh, he likes it fine from afar: he points at big trucks going by and is simply beside himself with glee and excitement. But they can just stay afar thank you very much.
So Kristine and I went through a significant conditioning regiment over the week that we were there, culminating in a significant boat ride where Matthew was generally fine the whole way. He wasn't happy about it and was a bit clingy, but he didn't freak out. We have hopes for him yet.
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