Sunday, August 30, 2009

A terrible two episode has reared its ugly head again. Malcolm has now started to engage in full screaming tantrums. Luckily, he has never had an episode in public, but his behaviour at home is another story. Tracey and Roger hope that it has more to do with the teething than anything, but only time will tell. Three out of four molars have now come in with the last one still waiting to break through.

When he's in that altered state of mind it's difficult to reason with him, no matter what choice is offered every suggestion is met with extreme anger and downright screaming. So, despite his morning behaviour and oppositional mood Roger and Tracey decided they'd follow-through with the original plan and still take him to the PNE. Although Malcolm had fun on some of the rides, he didn't really show much enthusiasm for much else. Some-days, Tracey and Roger ask themselves whether it's really worth it to put so much effort into thinking of fun things to do. Here are some pictures from the PNE, you can see he did finally crack a smile on the slide. Whoa, isn't the summer going by quickly?

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Still a two-year old...

Despite how many of the pictures look on the blog, Malcolm can be quite a handful. He sometimes exhibits some oppositional behaviour that results in some frustration both by child and adult alike. Don't get me wrong most of the time he's a fun-loving, happy, and joyful little two year old, but as the title says: he's still a two-year old. His vocabulary is growing by the minute and everyday he says things that continue to keep everyone is stitches. Though, we've also found with this expanding vocabulary he's found a way to use it to display his own stubbornness quite clearly.

Now we're all trying to get him used to two pretty drastic changes that are about to occur... transition to the big boy bed/room and the arrival of his baby sister (yes, we found out on Monday, see picture below). We'll see how everything turns out. We're all hoping for the best.

A special shout-out to Hastings Little League representing Canada in the Little League World Series this year. A valiant effort in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They pulled out a stunning comeback today against the European team from Germany. What a ride it was.

Here are some recent pictures of Malcolm:

"Yeah baby!" Malcolm's favorite playground, Central Park in Burnaby.
"Hee, hee..."
"Strike a pose..."
Shopping spree at the Carter's Outlet in Marysville, WA (Seattle Premium Outlets). As Malcolm says: "They're all for my baby sister."

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Busy, busy...

The sleep situation is definitely improving, but it still takes some effort to get Malcolm to sleep. The wind-down routine takes more than an hour to complete. Again, we're all hoping that this is a temporary phase. Grandma and Papa have been responsible for putting Malcolm down for a nap during the week and luckily he's been pretty compliant. ]He's napping for at least 2 hours during the week and in the morning he has been getting up at around 6am, much better than the 5am wake-ups the past few weeks. We're all sleep deprived, but maybe it's good practice. Roger and Tracey are scheduled to go see this doctor this morning, hopefully they'll find out whether we're painting the room blue or pink.

Oh in other news, I will be appearing in the Havanese calendar 2010. Please click this link to order your copy: link I think I'm on the July page representing Canada. Check it out if you have a chance. All the proceeds will be donated to the Havanese Club of America (HCA).

To enjoy the summer we've been planning different outings around town. Today Roger, Tracey and Malcolm went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Cates Park. Here are some pictures from the past week. They are still planning a few other trips around town.


Title: "Unbridled Joy"
DSC_2875 - 2009-08-16 at 12-05-34
Title: "Weeee!"
DSC_2868 - 2009-08-16 at 12-03-49
Title: "Relaxin"
DSC_2791 - 2009-08-16 at 10-15-33
Title: "Me and Mommy"
DSC_2882 - 2009-08-16 at 12-15-12
Title: "Me and Papa"
Papa Mel
Title: "Let's go to Grandpa Harry's to get an ice cream!"
Grandpa Harry


Monday, August 10, 2009

Days start early lately...


So for some reason Malcolm is still on the 5am wake-up schedule. The craziest thing is that it doesn't even matter what time he goes to sleep. Roger and Tracey have put him down at 7:30, 8:30 and 9pm without any significant change. Oh and that's the other issue they've been having, Malcolm is fighting being left alone in his room. He calls back numerous times a night before he actually settles down to sleep. It's quite a ritual everyone is put through. He asks either Mommy or Daddy to sit in the chair in his room, then on the footstool, and then to stand inside the doorway, then finally outside the door. That pattern sustained some success for a while, but recently he just asks to go through the whole ritual numerous times a night. Last night the whole put down routine went on for almost an hour. The saddest thing is that his disruptive sleep pattern effects everyone in the house including me. Malcolm is still visibly tired, but is too stubborn to go back to sleep. As always we're all hoping it's all just a temporary phase. Oh, if you're curious "Operation Big Boy Bed" has been put on hold for the time being.
Hopefully we'll be able to transition him around the Labour Day long weekend.

This is a picture of my sleep deprived face, sad huh? No just kidding. Roger bought a new Flash for his camera and was testing out some off-camera stuff. Happy Anniversary Obi, 6 years we've been together.

Saturday, August 01, 2009

On Guard


DSC_2136 - 2009-08-01 at 17-21-12, originally uploaded by obiwanhavanese.
Roger, Tracey and Malcolm finally had a chance to go to the Moody Park Pool this evening. It's been quite a disappointment the last few days because their attempts have been thwarted by some closures. It's quite a nice facility, I've seen it on my walks many times. Here's a picture of Malcolm sporting his PFD watching the waves.