Been Busy -- 20 month update

I'm running out of pictures to post so here is a oldie, I can hardly even remember when Jacob was that small!? Funny how you forget ... time passes so fast that even when you feel like you are taking in the moment, years from now you will probably forget. It is also hard to believe that Jacob will soon be 2 and that this picture was taken a year and a half ago! Wow - has he changed!! I remember a time when I thought I had a nice quiet kid, then he became very vocal and made me very frustrated but now we are back to the kinda quiet kid that is usually a "good" boy and makes me laugh at least once a day! The things he does now are so comical and I'm sure they will get even funnier when he can really express himself. So ... now that Jacob is 20 months!!! These a few things that are different ....

1-His vocabulary is coming along so fast I can't even keep track of all the words he says. He repeats a lot of what we say now so we have to be more aware of the words we use. If he points to something and I say what it is he usually tries to repeat what I said and most times it sounds very close.

2-He still has his bottle (aka "baba") but usually only 2 times a day. I think a lot of times when he asks for his baba he is hungry and it is his way of saying "I'm hungry". But there are times when he asks for baba and we give him a snack but he still asks for baba, I think it is still something that relaxes him and sometimes you just need that glass of milk. We are slowly trying to get him off the baba but it is very hard, especially when he is often stubborn and will refuse anything but his baba. I need to remind myself of who the parent is.

3-He is now in a "big boy bed" and it has been surprisingly easy. There was about a week of him testing to see how many times he could escape but now that we shut his door he has given up on that and wont even bother trying. Although sometimes he wakes at 3am and we can hear him coming down the hallway looking for us.

4-He seems much more independent and will even let me sit for 20min to watch the news and have my morning coffee while he sits in the corner playing with his "choo choo". I never thought the day would come that I could sit and enjoy a cup of coffee while he played on his own! :) He also wants to do more things on his own, like zip up his jacket, try and put his boots on, and figure toys out.

5-I find it funny that he usually uses sounds instead of words when he talks. Like if I say we are going home to see Roxie (our dog) he will reply with "woof woof" and if he is looking for his stuffed puppy (which is one of his favorite things) he will look at me and ask "woof woof". If he sees a picture of a train he says "choo choo", if he sees a cat he says "meow meow" and if he sees a car he says "beep beep". Even though every time I show him pictures of these things I give the name of the animal and then tell him the sound it makes?!

I can't wait till he is just a little bit older and we can enjoy some of the cities activities like the Scarecrow festival and the Children's festival. We are currently taking swimming lessons, again! I was thinking of going into a Gymboree class instead of swimming but then a spot opened up and we signed up. Friends of ours are also in the class so it's nice that Jacob gets to see his friends. We also are still getting together with the Moms group every couple of months which is nice to see how the kids are growing up and interacting with each other. His new day home seems to be very good, we are quite happy with her. He seems like such a happier boy and seems to be advancing which makes me believe that she is actually helping my son learn and develop. Hopefully I can get some new photos off my camera and post some newer pics even though it is nice to see the older pictures and reflect on how things used to be.

New year ... new vehicle!! :D

We have had a fairly busy New Year so far ... considering it is only the 6th! We had a lease on our vehicle that was done on the 16th of this month so we decided to go shopping and see what was out there. I didn't really like my 06 Equinox, it was a little on the small side and hard to pack all of Jacobs stuff and a dog in. We found a 2008 Trailblazer that I really liked and I thought a fairly good deal, I hated that we leased my other vehicle so we purchased this one - I pick it up tomorrow!! I'm so excited, it is much bigger then the Equinox and I have always liked the look of the Trailblazer!! :) We did this on Monday, yesterday was the first Tuesday of the month so I went grocery shopping (I love grocery shopping!) and today is my MILs birthday so we have to go over for cake tonight, then tomorrow we go pick up my new vehicle!! I feel bad though cause my New Years resolution is already kinda thrown out the window!? I have been so busy that I haven't gotten a work out in and wont be able too get on the Wii till Friday! I know that is my downfall ... I need to work out more, at least 30 min a day!! I find it hard to believe that I can't get a 30 min work out in but its true...? I'm sure things will settle down a bit though and I will get my 30 min in!!

Jacob also started at his new day home on Tuesday, I think it went well!? When I went to go pick him up it was like he ran away from me and didn't want to go home yet!? He came to the door ... said hi (in his own kind of way) and ran back to play!? I take this as a good thing, she said he ate good and had a good nap. Last night he seemed good, not cranky and this morning he was happy too! I have a good feeling about this place and I'm sure Jacob likes it there too even though when I asked him if he had fun he said "no" and then I asked if he wanted to go back today to play and he said "no" again! LOL I'm sure that is only because he is so good at saying no and is just starting to learn yes! he he

This weekend is suppose to be really nice so hubby said he would take some of the Christmas stuff down that is outside and I will work on the inside to get it all put away! I'm getting a little tired of all the noisy push button toys Jacob likes to play with and would like to have more room in the living room that the tree is taking up! I will also probably go visiting again on Sunday, gotta show off my new set of wheels!! :)

Xmas re-takes

Well, we got our re-takes done and there are 2 that I like, he still isn't smiling in any of them but I suppose that is just the way he is? He has never been a "ham" when it comes to taking photos, the one with the green background is about as big of a smile that he gave the photographer. So now I have make it to the mall to place my order and get my Christmas cards out!! But tonight I have another interview with a day home so I wont be able to make it there till tomorrow~!? I think I'll be lucky if I get the photos by Thursday and get my cards mailed by Friday!! :( Next year I will be more organized, it just seems like Christmas snuck up on us this year!

I had a very busy weekend, it was packed full of Christmas fun! Saturday morning all the Moms came over for a Christmas party for the kiddies. It was fun to see all the kids playing, and socializing. It's neat to see how different each one is even though they are about the same age!? We had a gift exchange ... Jacob got a doctor set! ;) He seems to really like it, it came with a pair of glasses that he tries to put on all the stuffed animals. We also showed him how to put the pretend bandage on one of his toys and we gave it medicine so last night he grabbed the band aid and put it on the bear all by himself - it was cute!

On Sunday my work had a Christmas party for the kids, it was held at one of the hotels in the city that has a water park. This was our first year attending, it was fun except the water in the pool was sooooo cold! Needless to say we didn't swim for very long! Then we went to one of the banquet rooms to wait for Santa and have a late lunch (hot dogs and french fries). We kept asking Jacob if he was going to sit on Santa's lap and he kept shaking his head, it was cute! Jacob got a toy from Santa that already needs to be fixed but I think he had a good time playing with all the other kids.

On Saturday we also had a interview with a new day home, since I'm not too sure I like the one he is at right now. This new one seemed very good but of course costs more!? I have 2 more interviews before deciding which one I like. I feel bad for the day home lady that he is with right now .... I feel like maybe we aren't giving her enough of a chance, he has only been there for 6 days (2 weeks - 3 days each week) but he just seems like such a different kid from his last day home!? I plan on telling her tomorrow that we are looking for a new day home. Friends of ours also came over Saturday night which was nice, Jacob likes playing with his friends and it gives me something to do!

1st week @ dayhome

So we finished our first week at the new day home, or rather the first 3 days - cause Jacob only goes Tues till Thurs. I'm just not sure about this day home, but I suppose I'd feel that way about every day home that I have to take Jacob too? Tuesday seemed to go really well, when I went to pick him up she told me that he had just woke up from a nap (which made me worry that he wouldn't want to go to bed at his usual time but he did) and he slept through the entire night without waking once!! I was amazed and had my hopes set high that this would happen every time, I was wrong! So on Wednesday when I went to pick him up he was just sitting on their couch like he was waiting for me(which is weird and the same thing happened on Tues), he never sits still for me like that?! And she tells me that he didn't have a nap that day, which is not really a big deal - sometimes that happens. But when I got home he was sooooo hungry we couldn't make supper fast enough, he was so upset! We ended up giving him a bit of milk before supper and he still ate way more then he normally would!? So on Thursday I pick him up and again he is just sitting on their couch but this time she has him ready to go in his jacket and boots. She tells me that again he didn't nap!?!? So I asked her what she did the first day that he napped and she said nothing ... he just played till he crashed on the couch!? So I tell her that at home we usually just put him in his crib, give him a bottle and he falls asleep (I know it's bad but it's the only way he will fall asleep, without going for a drive). Then I asked about meals and what he ate cause he was starving the day before and she said they had roast beef and mashed potatoes that day for lunch but it was hard to get him to eat, which is possible (especially beef). Then when I was driving home I was thinking .... where were the veggies? He likes veggies and prob would have ate them? Thankfully hubby had dinner completely ready when I walked in the door so there was no waiting for supper to cook, so Jacob couldn't get cranky. But both days that he never napped he didn't sleep well at night either, I think he was overtired and just had a restless sleep. Hopefully next week is better or I might have to find another day home. The dayhome lady also said to me that he seems really shy and rarely leaves the little sunk in living room they have?! I know it does take him a while to warm up to people but not usually this long and it's odd that he doesn't want to leave the living room? I wonder if the other kids are picking on him? I wish I had a nanny cam so I could see what they do all day! It just seems like at the first day home they were teaching him things and here I'm not sure she is doing anything with him? It's so hard to trust a complete stranger with your child and hope that they do all the things you want while they look after 3-4 other kids!? :(

New Day home = good night sleep!! :D

Here are a few Christmas pics of Jacob, I'm not happy with any of them though. He was so tired - you can actually see the bags under his eyes in the blue and silver pic! It's totally my fault, I booked the appointment for noon!?!? WTF was I thinking!? He usually naps from noonish till 2ish? Needless to say I re booked his appointment for next Friday at 10am, which should be a good time for him and hopefully we can get him to smile at least once!? My girlfriend has also suggested using her for our pics, she has just started a photography business and takes excellent pictures but lives kinda far (although she said she would come to our house) and she could come over quicker then us waiting for the next appointment. I'm worried that if I wait to take him back next week and by the time we get the proofs and pick the photos we want I will have no time to mail my xmas cards. So I'm thinking of using my girlfriend, it might cost a bit more but she guarantees a smile and I could have the photos quicker so I can get my cards out! I totally should have done this last month!! Next year I will definitely do photos in November!

Jacob started at his new day home yesterday and he slept through the night !?!? Now I'm not sure if the two are related but that is the only thing that we changed so my guess is that he must have tuckered himself out playing with his new friends and therefore slept really good!? I guess we will see if it happens again tonight? The day home lady (Sandra) said he was really good, when I got to their house to pick him up he had a death grip on his puppy teddy bear and blankie (which seem to be his new thing) and when he saw me he kept saying "maa-ma" over and over. I love hearing him call me, it makes me feel so loved!

I think I'm all ready for Christmas, I still need to wrap everything and check my list to make sure I didn't forget anyone. I know I bought a few too many gifts for Jacob so I think I will just wrap them and save them in case a friend stops by and I need a gift. I'm pretty excited this year for Christmas, I think Jacob will also be excited ... at least for the first 20 minutes!

Dayhome search ....

So the day home search is harder then I thought!! It is so frustrating!!! :( I had the one interview with the lady that I wasn't too crazy about and then I was suppose to have another interview but she emailed and cancelled on me... said "something came up"!?! I take that as she changed her mind and doesn't want anymore kids so I scratched her name off my list and started looking for more day homes to interview. The problem I am having is that since I live in a area that is generally known for having lots of East Indian people that when I call to set up the interview most of them are hard to understand and have poor English. I called one day home and the husband answered, which I could barely understand and he was translating for his wife who was the one watching the kids!!??! They were French and even though I'm Canadian my French is not so good, what would happen if there was an emergency!? The other problem I am having is price, it seems like either everyone is raising their prices or I just lucked out and found a really cheap one last time!? I have had quotes as high as $600 a month for part time!! Right now we are only paying $250 a month, I'm willing to go as high as $350 a month but I don't think we can afford much more!?

So I have only really found one other day home that is in our neighborhood that speaks English and is in our price range. I go for that interview tonight and I'm praying that she is good and I feel comfortable with her!! Otherwise I might have to search for a day home close to my work and then I have to wake Jacob up early so that I can drive him in the morning. :(

One interview down ... one to go!

Above is a pic of our Moms group, on the left is when we finished our class and still had babies and to the right is at their 1st birthday party when most of them were toddlers!! So much has changed in such a short time and it's nice that we are still friends and the kids can still see each other.

So my weekend was good, Friday we went for dinner with my brother for his step-daughters birthday. It was hard with Jacob he just doesn't sit still for longer then 20 minutes so I walked him around the restaurant until our meal came (which took forever-but maybe that was just cause I was dealing with Jacob). Saturday we had our last class at the zoo and Jacob got to touch a ferret, a big bunny and a skunk! The class was so much fun for both me and Jacob, he enjoyed seeing all the animals and after the class was finished we got to walk around the zoo to see all the other animals! I would totally take the class again in the spring, it was tons of fun!! :) Sunday was our final swim class and I was a little disappointed, usually they turn the wave pool on for the last class but they couldn't for us cause there was an aqua size class going on at the same time and we couldn't go in the warm kiddie pool either cause it was closed!? The badge they gave Jacob in his book wasn't even the right badge for his class (it was suppose to be a duck and they gave him a frog??). So now I'm not sure what we will do on weekends ... probably visit family on Sundays like we used too and this Saturday Jacob has Christmas pictures. It will probably be Christmas before I know it anyway so maybe it's a good thing that our weekends aren't full!? I was also able to get all my Christmas stuff put up on Sunday, since I stayed home and didn't go see my Dad. Jacob LOVES the tree and all the lights! And hubby set up his train to go around the tree base which Jacob also LOVES! I can see the excitement in his eyes which makes me even more excited for Christmas this year - I can't wait too see his excitement when he see all his presents!! :D

So.... I am also on the hunt for a new day home ... which really sucks! I hate going for the interviews, they seem so weird and awkward!? There aren't too many day homes close to our home that are a reasonable price. So far I have found 2 that are kinda close (not as close as the one he is in now but still in Millwoods) one is charging $30 a day but meals are included and the other is $275 for 12 days and meals are included. The $275 one is definitely the better deal financially but she sounds like she is just starting out. So last night I had an interview with the $275 day home and I was right... she is just starting out (which is fine, everyone has to start somewhere) she has 2 kids of her own, age 6 and 11, and the 6 year old boy was crazy, hyper and very destructive with his toys. The Mom was also kinda weird ... we went into the boys room where all the toys are and she brought out these punching gloves and started hitting herself in the face and then said to Jacob "lets beat up Magoo" (the small dog they have) and proceeded to lightly hit the dog. I was kinda in shock!? I know its probably because she has older kids and you can probably do that with older kids, they should know the difference between play fight and actual fight but we are trying to get Jacob from NOT hitting!? My other concern with her is that she said she takes her kids too and from school everyday and so she would need a car seat for Jacob!??! WTF! Aaaaaa No~? I don't think so!?!? So if we do go with her (which I don't think we will) hubby will have to pick up Jacob at 3:15 so that she can go pick up her kids cause I don't want her driving my kid around!? I have another interview tonight ... lets all hope it goes better!! :(

On the search again ...

We are once again on the hunt for a day home!! I'm so mad, Jacob was doing so well at this day home - they were teaching him some sign, he was using the potty there and seemed to really enjoy them. She told me on Wednesday that her husband got transferred to Calgary so they are moving at the end of December. So I technically have 4 weeks to find a new day home but I think it would be best to start at a new day home at the beginning of the month so that gives me 2 weeks! :( It sucks looking for child care, trying to find one that isn't going to make you go broke and find one that both you and your child like. It's hard to put your trust in a total stranger and hope that they are treating your child as their own. So far I think I have one interview booked for Monday, just waiting for her confirmation email with her address and I'm waiting for a few other day homes to get back to me.

Tonight we are going for supper for my niece's birthday, Saturday is our final day at the zoo and I am going out with the girls for a "card making workshop". Sunday is our final swim class and I might go visit my Dad. I feel like my house is being neglected lately because I am always so busy on weekends and want to go visit family (especially since the roads are still good and winter isn't quite here yet). I really want to put my Christmas tree up this weekend and put away all my Halloween stuff never mind actually clean the house (vacuum, bathrooms and dusting). Jacob LOVES Christmas lights and has to point them out whenever he sees them! I can't wait for Santa to come this year, I think it will be fun! :)

Papa is sick

Well, I guess my Dad isn't doing so well. My brother called the other night to say that he stopped in to see how things were and it looked like my Dad hadn't been out of bed in a few days, hadn't eaten and hadn't finished taking his chemo meds for his first round. So yesterday my SIL stopped in to again and determined that he was dehydrated and needed to go to the hospital, so that is where he is now. I'm actually kinda happy that he is there, cause he has no one at home so at least this way there are nurses to look after him and he will get 3 hot meals a day! I'm hoping that they keep him in there for a while to try and fatten him up but I doubt they will keep him, with all the budget cuts!?

On the diet front, it's hard .... I finding that I am a stress eatter, and right now I seem to have a lot of stress in my life!! I'm good at work, probably because I only bring healthy foods but at night (especially if my hubby isn't home) I tend to snack more, not really bad but I'll have 2 NS snacks instead of the one I'm suppose to or I'll finish off Jacobs snack. My vice right now is coffee, my goal for the week will be to have one glass of water in place of one cup of coffee.

Jacob was really good last night, I think this dayhome thing is really working well! Apparently they have him coloring lots which he really likes. He actually slept straight through the night till 4:30 this morning, which is much beter then he was! However it took me forever to fall asleep, I tossed and turned for a good hour before finally falling asleep!?

I'm cooking my very first turkey this Saturday and I'm kinda nervous, hopefully I won't ruin everyones supper!? It's a potluck so there will be other food, I'm just doing the turkey, stuffing, gravy and maybe a salad?

Woke up this morning to snow!! The drive to work was rediculous! The accident report on the radio was crazy! I hate winter driving but can't wait to have fun with Jacob in the snow!! I wanted to take pictures of him with all the leaves on the ground but now they are cover in a skiff of snow?! Maybe I will take pics today after supper?

dayhome search, holidays and NS

Well, I'm back at work ... holidays were good - I feel like I got lots done, not everything I wanted but still it was good. I did some serious cleaning, set up our "guest room" in the basement and cleaned out my flower beds for winter!

We found a day home, in a way it sucks cause I know that MIL made sure Jacob was taken care of 110%, fed well and they always had outdoor activities and at the day home I'm just not as certain that he is eating good and getting some fresh air!? But at least this way he has interaction with other kids and will hopefully pick up on "good" behavior! Yesterday was his first full day at the day home and he let me leave him there no problem, a quick hug and I left ... no tears - it was nice! Then I went to pick him up at 5pm and apparently he had just woke from a nap and was a little upset but he is always upset when he wakes for whatever reason!? He didn't seem like he was in a huge hurry to leave and he wasn't too clingy when I got there. The day home lady is from the Philippines and is sometimes hard to understand but seems like a nice lady and I've always heard good things about Philippines and that they are hard workers and family is important to them. I guess we will see how this week is, I might still try looking for a different day home - it's just so hard to trust a complete stranger!?

On the diet front I am down almost 5lbs! Not too bad, could be better but at least the scale is going in the right direction! And I must say that it was hard to stay on track on my holidays so I'm hoping that now that I'm back at work I will see better results cause I can stay on track. I'm liking the new NS products and find that some of my old staples are no longer satisfying so it is nice to have new choices! I'm going to set a mini-goal that by Christmas I will loose another 15lbs! Should be do-able, that is only 5lbs a month!?

Lately we have been having a hard time with Jacob and his sleeping!? It seems to be getting worse not better, like I thought it should as he gets older!? Before he was 6 months old he used to sleep straight through the night from like 8 till 6am!? Now he goes to bed around 9pm and lately has been waking every 3 hours?!!? It's very frustrating and I'm not sure why, he used to wake up and coo in his crib, now he wakes up screaming! I wish I knew why it changed and how I can correct it! I'm certain that we aren't really helping the situation cause we know that if he wakes we just change him and feed him then he will go back to sleep no problem but if we don't give him that bottle then he won't go back to sleep right away and at 3am the last thing you want to do is pace the halls!? But if we keep giving him milk at 3am then he will keep waking at 3am for the feeding!? I'm almost certain that he just has the bottle as a comfort thing and it's like a soother for him which makes me almost want to try giving him a soother instead to see if that will help him sleep but then I think it's crazy to give him a soother now!? He is 15 months old and has gone this long without one, why start a new habit!? But at least this way he won't need that feeding and it might be easier to potty train him cause he will wake up dry?!

Speaking of potty training ... it's the craziest thing but Jacob is showing interest in using the potty and if we ask him if he has to use it he will go to the bathroom, grab his potty seat that is on the floor beside the toilet, put the seat on the toilet and wait for you to undress him. 80% of the time he usually pees on the potty! It amazes me that he has already connected the 2, he understands the urge to pee and where he is suppose to do it! We aren't pushing it too much but usually once a day he uses it, hopefully it will continue but I've heard a lot of people say that he will prob revert back and not use it for a while!?

Child care ...

So the email I was waiting for came through and I was so excited that she agreed to take on Jacob part time even though she just found out she is pregnant and not feeling so hot! I was suppose to call her later that evening, so I did ... we had a great talk and I was super excited that I was going to take Jacob over to her house on Sat so he could check the place out and then again next Wed when all the rest of the kiddies were there. YEAH!! We found child care with a Mom I knew and trusted and was only going to cost $25 a day!! :) Then the next day she emailed me and told me that she thought about it more and didn't think it was a good idea to take on another child, she thought it might be weird that she is telling the other Moms they need to find a new day home and then she takes on a new kid!? She was also worried that with her pregnancy she might have appointments or sick days and it wouldn't be fair to me. I see her point but BOOOOO !! I was so excited to finally find a day home where I knew the Mom and trusted her, now I have to go on kijiji and find a complete stranger that I feel comfortable with to look after Jacob! ? ((sigh)) It is so frustrating, and the thought of leaving him at a strangers makes my stomach turn. I have emailed a few day homes I found on kijiji and a couple of my Mommy friends so I guess the next step is to go see the homes and hopefully they are clean and acceptable? The worst part is that the longer it takes to find someone to take Jacob the longer my hubbies customers vehicles sit in the garage and the longer he goes without payment! Which in turn is making us go broke, so how are we going to afford a sitter when hubby can't make money cause he is looking after Jacob. It's a bad circle that I need to break soon and it's stressing me out! :(

On the diet front it's going OK, I think today will be hard cause I have to work at the track tonight and won't be able to bring my NS with me. I am also out of fruits and veggies so I can't even pack snacks!? I'm thinking that I will stop at the grocery store on the way to the track to pick up a pre-made salad or a small fruit/ veggie tray. I was planning on walking to the grocery store last night with Jacob but when I got home from work he was napping and when he woke he was VERY cranky!! Instead I just took him for a wagon ride and stopped at the park for a while. I must say though that I am impressed that NS changed their system and the new items I have tried are very yummy even some of my old favorites have changed but are still very yummy! I am allowed to go on the NS American site and get my "daily clicks" to earn me $10 off and I assume I am able to get the bears again as long as I record my weigh in's on the site. However, I may not be able to afford to stay on it if we can't find a sitter right away so that hubby starts making money!! :(

This weekend we start swimming lessons again (for the 4th time), I think Jacob will have more fun this time and understand more. Hopefully he will blow bubbles, apparently that is a big deal? I also want to head out to St.Albert to see my Dad and stop at "Once upon a child" to look for a reusable swim diaper (they look like the covers you put over cloth diapers). Speaking of Dad, we were going to go out there on Thursday for a quick visit but he had a bone scan done that day and was radioactive for 6-8 hours. He wasn't allowed to be around pregnant women or children so we had to cancel. The doctors think that maybe the Cancer has spread to his bones!? I don't know much but it doesn't really sound good to me!?

the first day of the rest of your life ....

So, still no photos to post!!? BOOOO !! I tried emailing pics from home to my work computer so I could add them on here but apparently we don't have the right program to make the pics small so when I tried emailing them they were too big and it wouldn't go through!? By next week for sure I will have pics to post!!!

Yesterday I started NS again and I must say that I am very happy that I was able to order everything off the American site so there are lots of yummy choices!! I have already tried a few new things and I must say they are really good!! I need to get better at my water intake but I am determined to get the weight off this time and keep it off!!

Jacob amazes me everyday, I wanted to share a few stories that I think are great! The other day he picked up a wrapper and I told him it was garbage so off he went ... opened the garbage can and placed the wrapper in there!! Then last night, hubby was having popcorn as a late night snack and Jacob went up to him and asked for some. So hubby gave him one to try, after Jacob ate it he ran over to the end table where his snack bowl was, grabbed it and headed back to hubby shaking it at him! It was like he was thinking ... hmm - that was good, I would like a bowl full please! he he Jacobs new thing is learning how to jump, it's the cutest thing to watch! He stands there and bends his knees up and down but doesn't get his feet off the ground, then he gets frustrated and will stomp his one foot while bending his knees up and down. He can now reach the tops of counters so we have to push things away from the edge and I can no longer close the fridge with him under the door (we have a bottom freezer fridge).

I go on holidays in a week, starting on a Wed and come back on a Wed. We have lots of appointments to attend and I'm hoping to get some stuff done around the house. I am waiting for a email from a day home to confirm our acceptance, it's like waiting for the phone call from the job you really want! The anticipation is killin me! Our regular plan with Jacob isn't working out very well and the sitter we were hoping to use (MIL) keeps cancelling making it very hard for hubby to get any work done and make any money!? I am hoping to get in this day home so that we can have more of a schedule that is predictable without causing any tension in the family. The only crappy part is that all the extra money I am making now that I'm back at work is going to go towards daycare instead of bills so we are no farther ahead then when I was on mat. leave!? Some of the day homes I called were as much as $45 a day, which is simply ridiculous! The one I am trying to get in is a friend and is only going to charge us $25 a day, which still sucks cause that money could pay off bills but we really have no choice.