Happy 4 months Melody.

Four Months and we're chugging along quite well. Not much to report this week, although now that Melody has hit four months the immunizations are due again. Tracey and Roger will be heading back to the doctor soon to get that squared away. Malcolm's cough is still hanging on, but has improved considerably.

Special thanks to Chad, Wendy and Aaden for bringing back one of Malcolm's favorite treats from down south: Goldfish pretzels!

Here's another picture of Melody, check out those catchlights, Roger got out his flashes and umbrellas again.

Warm weather is on its way!

It was tremendously warm yesterday, almost 20 degrees Celsius. With the warm weather brings more walks. We managed to get out after dinner and take a stroll around the neighbourhood. As you can see from the pictures, Malcolm doesn't walk he runs. I don't know where the kid gets all his energy considering he doesn't have a nap. Yes, the afternoon nap has fallen by the wayside much to the disappointment of Tracey. It was something that we could all count on, but nowadays Malcolm just isn't tired enough to have a rest. Tracey still tries to get him to lie down for a while, but most days he just plays in his bed and declares "I'm done my rest now!" after a few minutes. Don't you just love how Malcolm's feet don't touch the ground and their hair in full swing... such movement, awesome.

Melody's first LOL!

We got quite a treat today to commemorate Melody's 16th week, she laughed out loud. It was the first time we put her in the saucer and unexpectedly for the first time ever she did this:

Melody's first laugh @ 16 weeks. from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Happy sweet 16 weeks Melody.

Happy sweet 16 weeks Melody. Not much to report since the last post. Malcolm got some medicine for his cough and we should be seeing results soon. Oh, btw if you haven't got the impression that Melody is doing well here are some stats: Melody is already over 15 pounds, almost 25" in length and has a 17" head. With these measurements it indicates that Melody falls within 75-90 percentile, meaning only 10%-25% of babies of the same age are bigger and conversely 75%-90% of babies her age are smaller, wow.

Smile...cry....laugh

Funny to think that all the worries and anxiety that Roger and Tracey had about the new baby really evaporated once Melody conformed to a routine. Really, in the past several weeks and months, the more challenging issues have been with Malcolm. He's certainly a strong willed little boy. For the most part, Malcolm is a polite, caring, and energetic kid; however, that energy can sometimes quickly turn very emotional. We all understand the physiological changes and development that a 3 year old brain goes through. These changes can cause disequilibrium that can in turn bring on tantrums, tears, and the like.  It's funny cause when they ask Malcolm why he's upset (in the moment), he often responds with: "I don't know?" Which probably indicates that maybe he can't really control what's going on inside either. The most upsetting issue with all the tantrums and tears is that the very next minute he can be totally fine, without a worry in the world, singing, dancing and smiling. Meanwhile, Roger and Tracey are still trying to get over all the disruption and stress that has just transpired. I think in recent days everyone has been better about it all. Roger and Tracey have tried to be more neutral to the situation and in effect Malcolm has been better as well. No one ever said that raising kids was easy.

Happy Birthday to me.

Hard to believe half a decade has gone by
Seems like it's been just a blink of an eye
Life has been great with my family so far
I love everything, especially the rides in the car
We're a close family of 5 with new baby in tow
Roger and Tracey have sure lined their ducks in a row
With me, then Malcolm now Melody too
They said they're done, for sure, Whoo hoo!
Transition and change that's what life's about
I wouldn't change it for even a bucket of trout.
Hard to believe that I'm already 5
Hope this doesn't sound too contrived
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday wee hee!

Happy 15 weeks Melody.

Melody's fifteenth week, whew! It's been great having the new baby in the house. Everyone is thrilled with what an incredible addition she has been to our family. I mean what more can we ask of a baby, she's eating well, she's sleeping well and she greets us every morning with lots of smiles, coos and squeals. She is an incredibly happy baby- I often hear Roger and Tracey remarking how lucky we are. Here is an example of Melody being her usual happy baby self. Isn't she just the cutest?

Melody's Balloon.

Melody loves tugging on the balloon, it makes her so happy.

Melody's Balloon from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Whew!

Well it looks like everyone is finally on the mend. The cold that has gone through the family has been the toughest on Malcolm. He's been coughing and coughing. It's been the worst at night and we've had some sleepless nights the past couple of weeks. As temper-mental as he's been, it's nice to get him to laugh and be funny. He's just not himself when he's got a cold. Let's hope it is the last one of the season.

Bowling and etc...

 Malcolm has been really tearing up the lanes on the iPod, so Roger and Tracey decided to try and take him bowling. Luckily there's a bowling alley within walking distance. Malcolm did quite well for his first time, but in hindsight one full game with 4 people was perhaps a little too much to ask for a 3 year old's attention span. He liked rolling the ball down the lane and despite the lack of velocity, he managed to hit a few pins.

Tomorrow will mark Melody's 100th day, Roger and Tracey were planning on a cozy Korean dinner, but with Malcolm fighting a cold it may be more difficult to arrange than first thought. She's been such a good baby. She's been sleeping and eating like a champ. As you can see in the photos below, she's really growing.

Malcolm and Melody Skate...

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Gold Medals Galore for Canada.

So officially, although Canada's "Own the Podium" campaign fell a bit short; Canadian athletes (especially the women) have been able to win the overall Gold title. Potentially, Canada will be able to win 14 gold medals this Winter Olympics. One word to describe it, AWESOME.

Melody turned 13 weeks old today and hopefully she'll be able to follow the Canadian women's example and strive for excellence. We'll be on edge tomorrow when Canada takes on the US in the men's hockey final.

Happy 12 weeks Melody.

It's been quite an interesting last few days. Malcolm's anxiety over insects has really elevated to a full blown fear. Last summer we had a few incidents where some bugs flew overhead causing quite a stir, but now he freezes and literally starts to shake in fear. The family has done their best to try and console him, but it's something that triggers quite a terrified response. It came to quite a head today when Malcolm saw a bug crawling on the table. The incident was met with tears, screaming and a sudden resistance to touch the floor with his feet. It took quite a while for him to get over it. We're really in for a not-so fun spring and summer, I think.

In other news, Melody is still doing great. She's still growing by leaps and bounds. Recently, Roger and Tracey have found that she's outgrown most of her clothes. In fact, many of the outfits she has are now of the 6 month variety. Did I mention that she's only 12 weeks old! We have giant baby on our hands folks.

Roger and Chad had a chance to go downtown to capture some images of the Olympics, here are some samples below:

Holding on to a dream...

Holding on to a dream..., originally uploaded by obiwanhavanese.

Canada's second gold medal today, whoo hoo! I know the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics started out with quite a dark shadow, but in recent days things have really brightened up. The family is going to brave the crowds tomorrow to see what downtown has to offer. They know all the pavilions and attractions have long lines, but they are still heading out to see and feel the buzz first hand. I wish them luck, I sure hope they don't get stuck waiting for the skytrain.

Happy 11 weeks Melody.

Well they are finally here after years of waiting the 2010 Winter Olympics have finally arrived. We're all pretty excited about it all and the lack of snow has all been made up in enthusiasm. Tracey and Roger managed to get some tickets for two events, figure skating and women's ice hockey. Well, actually Roger sold the figure skating tickets for a tidy profit and bought some the women's semi-final hockey tickets instead. They're still trying to figure out the logistics of it all, you know with the baby and all. The opening ceremonies were great, too bad about the cauldron malfunction. 

Melody is doing well, she's an eating, sleeping, pooping machine. Her second set of shots when off without a hitch. In fact, the doctor says that based on her size and development she could probably pass for a 4 month old. She is quite big and growing by the day. Here are some recent pics.

Happy 10 weeks Melody.

 So Melody went for her two month shots this week and is waiting for the second installment next Wednesday. The first round was quite good, no repercussions to speak of. She let out a tiny little cry and calmed down quite quickly, much like her brother did at her age. At her last appointment she weighed in at 13.3 pounds and was 24 in length. I think the doctor said that her head circumference was 16.1 inches. According to the CDC growth charts that puts her in the 90-97th percentile, whoa! Roger and Tracey are asking themselves, how did they create such a big baby?

Here's Malcolm and Melody sharing a moment.... Roger wasn't quick enough to actually get them holding hands, but it was close.

Oh, and the family also headed down to ride the Bombardier Olympic tram to Granville Island. It's a pretty slick way of getting around, too bad they're only here for a short time... back to Brussels after the games.

Melody is 9 weeks.

Nine weeks along and Melody is developing nicely. She will take roughly 2-4 ounces at every feeding. Melody is still growing at quite a rapid rate, but has slowed down a bit with respect to her milk consumption. Tomorrow she's heading to the doctor for her 2 month shots.  Let's hope all goes well with that. You know, baby sister is so strong. She's got so much strength in her legs that she can almost stand (too bad she doesn't have any balance yet). Another week in the books.

Here's Malcolm showing off his crayon claws:

Thank you Nuna!

Melody turned 8 weeks today, crazy to think that time has flown by already. She's growing everyday and really she's been such a good baby.  She's eating and sleeping like a champ, we're all keeping our paws and fingers crossed it continues.

We received a special surprise in the mail the other day, a package from our cousin Geum in Korea. She was so kind enough to send Melody's "dol" Hanbok and a pair of runners for Malcolm. Thank you very much "nuna" 누나. Here's a picture of the beautiful dress, it looks so much like Tracey's hanbok that they'll be a perfect match come November.

Happy Birthday Tracey...

What a wonderful day it is today

The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing

All helping to celebrate the day

Your family loves you and wants the best

Too bad we can't just let you lie down and rest cause there always so much to do

Taking care of us is a full time job and we all know that's the truth

At least tonight you'll get to forget about all of the spit-up and maybe have some vermouth.

 Love Obi.

7 Weeks...

Whoa, 7 weeks already. She's growing like a weed still. Last night wasn't very restful as she woke up to feed around 3:40am and didn't go back to sleep until just after 7:00am. It's tough on Roger and Tracey, but good news is that it's not affecting Malcolm at all. I don't know how he does it, but he's able to sleep through it all, despite having the door open to his room. Perhaps it's the white noise in his room drowning out the crying.

Oh, here's a picture of baby Jayden from Toronto. Meena and Jody are in town showing off their little bundle. Jayden is exactly 2 days older than Melody, but from the picture it looks like she might beat him up for his milk money.