Pediatrician, Hearing Test and ENT appointment

Pediatrician

At the beginning of November, Vincent went to his check up with his pediatrician. I thought this would have been his last appointment with her and she would release him as a patient. Since the only thing previously missing for her to release him was him walking.  Well sadly, this didn’t happen.  Vincent has been constipated. I thought it was just a minor problem, but it was worse. His pediatrician advised us to start giving him powdered laxatives in his drink.  We were to give him it every day. We were advised it might take weeks to months for it to be resolved.  At the appointment, Vincent weighed 31lbs 6oz and was 33 inches tall.  He also meets all of the milestones. The pediatrician decided to see him again in six months.  The reasoning, is she wants to see what the results of his next ENT appointment, hearing test, urology and his next physio appointment.

Hearing test

Vincent had a hearing test on November 26^th. They started the appointment by testing out the congestion in his ears and see if his ear drums react to sounds.  One of his ears still have a lot of congestion (liquid).  Also, his ear drums do react to sound, which is good.  The hearing part of the test went well.  Vincent can hear very well.  Usually, they give the toddler a toy to play with and see if he reacts to sound. This didn’t work for Vincent. He was more interested in playing with the toy then listening for the sounds.  Halfway through the hearing test, Vincent was done.  He was trying to get down and was saying “done”.  Overall the hearing test went well. Vincent passed.

ENT

This appointment didn’t go as planned. He still has a lot of congestion which means he will most likely need tubes.  She is also pretty sure he has big adenoids.  Vincent will most likely need tubes in his ears, during the surgery they would go look at his adenoids.  During the appointment, the ENT was asking questions on how Vincent speaks, and breaths. This is when I realize when Vincent speaks more than one word his voice becomes raspy. If this continues, they will need to scope his sinuses and go look at his vocal cords.  I need to keep taking videos of Vincent when he speaks.  We are to continue his Nasonex the next five months. We will stop the last month before his next appointment in the next six months.  We will not be making a decision about tubes in his ears for another six months as he is speaking very well. They rather wait for flu season to be over.

Since that appointment, I have received a call from Vincent’s pediatrician. She got the results from ENT and wants to see Vincent. He will be seeing her on January 10^th.

2019 Vincent Christmas/Birthday

Ballpit: At the end of summer, we found a blow up pool for very cheap. We decided to pick it up and make it in a ballpit.  Vincent really loves balls.

Tool bench: Vincent loves touching tools. We decided to get him his very own tool bench to play with it.

Little Cars: We found a good price for 20 cars so decided to pick it up as Vincent plays with these often.

Cleaning Set: Vincent loves to walk around with our broom. It very dangerous as he can break a lot of our fragile things. Now he will be able to clean himself.

Dinosaur Tub: He LOVES dinosaurs so these can help us learn all their names.

Mix Match Dinosaur: We got this one in French. It will help him learn his feelings. It dances and sings.

Train Set: Vincent just started enjoying trains in the last month. This will add to his new collection.

Mega Blok Truck: Vincent has a lot of mega bloks and loves them. We bought this truck so we can build things and play.

Trigger Warning: Depression

This blog is less about Vincent, more about me. If your plan is to give negative feedback about this blog then stop reading.  If you are more interested on how I am doing, then continue to read.

It is no secret that I suffer from bipolar and depression. We were all raised to hide how we feel from others, or toughen up.  Often when opening up to others is answered with responses such as these; “Toughen up, life is hard”, or “It’s not as bad as you think”, or “Cheer up, or no one will like you” and much more. These are all answers which my brain cannot accept due to the chemical and neurological imbalance of my brain.

Well I am trying something new, and talking about it in hopes of others understanding the hardship I am currently facing.   Since Vincent’s birth I was doing well, up until a few months ago. I am not sure what happened, but each day my depression started affecting me more and more. I tried to hide it by keeping my schedule busy.  However it is getting harder and harder to live day to day.  Vincent and Pat both do their best to help my mood. Spending my days with Vincent help my mood, as it a light in the darkness.  There are some days that I can’t function due to my depression or my migraines which I’ve had since youth.  Right now I can’t function without napping when Vincent takes his morning nap.   Once I wake up from the nap, I feel well enough to get my cleaning done.  I also try my best to do a few sessions of learning with Vincent a day. I would like to do four sessions, but these days I can only function doing two. That is separate from all his physio sessions.  The only thing that helps is taking naps and taking it easy. Pat understands and does his best, however there is only so much he can do as he needs to work.

What have I been doing to help my depression?  I have been cancelling some of my plans. I am trying to focus on myself when I can. Instead of having events almost every night of the week, I aim to do the minimum. I then plan to slowly add more stuff in my schedule. My goal for next week is to add the gym back 2-3 times a week. It was helping before, however when I got my 3 weeks cold, it made it difficult to find the energy to get back to the gym.

Vincent senses something is wrong, as he is often just wants to come and hug me.  If you wonder why I am not communicating as much, or cancel plans, just give it time. I am doing my best to get back on my feet.

Surprise CHEO Physio Appointment

Tuesday of this week (October 8^th), I got a call from CHEO asking if I can come in the next day with Vincent for a Physio appointment. They advised that there is still an eight month wait before he would be seen as he was the 30^th down the list. I jumped to the opportunity. I was both excited and scared about this appointment. I loved his current physio therapist and didn’t think I would be lucky to find another one that Vincent would love.

Vincent’s physio appointment went very well.  He clicked with the therapist just as much.  The best part is that she is francophone. When she found out who his current private physio therapist was she knew her work with Vincent wouldn’t last long.  His private therapist is his new therapist’s favourite private therapist in all of Ottawa.  She likes her clinic so much that when she retires she will go work for her part-time. 

Vincent is much more ahead, then she thought he would be when reading his file. What I love about starting Physio at CHEO is that the therapist has access to all his history. Before working with Vincent, his new therapist who we will name D showed me a chart on the steps toddlers take when it comes to walking. For example, it will show how much time it usually takes in each step.  The whole walking journey from beginner to advance can take months. Vincent is doing it in days. He went from walking a few steps at a time to a lot more.  After working with Vincent for just 30 minutes, she was able to pinpoint his personality and how to work with him.  She told me that Vincent is very smart. Most things you just need to show him once and he will do it.  That’s if he wants to do it. Vincent is also very stubborn therefore if he doesn’t want to do it he won’t.

A funny situation that happened during the session, she was trying to make him do a specific move. If he would do it, than he would get a toy to play with.  Vincent wasn’t in the mood to do it so he got down from the table and went to find her toy stash. He had seen where she hides them. The therapist laughed and said that was a first.  This session was mostly seeing his walk, play, climb to see what kind of work needs to done.  She agreed that Vincent’s core muscles need work. The next three weeks will be me working with to have stronger core muscles. We have a few games to play with him to get them stronger. She also recommended that I bring him to places like Cosmic Adventures to play and swim as those work the muscles.

I have decided to continue physio at CHEO and stop the private ones. I am sad our journey with W ended, but happy to continue with D.

ENT and Physio 2

ENT

On September 17^th, Vincent had his first appointment with ENT at CHEO.  The reason his pediatrician referred is that Vincent mostly breathes through his mouth.  Vincent also snores really loud. When he wakes up from sleeping there is a huge drool spot on his sheets.

At the ENT appointment, we were able to talk to an ENT nurse practitioner. She was able to look at the results of his hearing tests.  The main problems Vincent has during his hearing tests is congestion. The plan for ENT is for Vincent to use a Nasonex spray for the next three months. He has already been on it for a month. She believes his adenoids are really big. Big adenoids can cause the congestion in his ears. The Nasonex is supposed to shrink them.  We will be going back in December for a hearing test and to see the ENT.  We will be able to do another game plan on what to do next.

session #2

Vincent had his second session of Physio on September 27^th.  W was really shocked on how much progress Vincent had.  He was doing steps for her. The exercises that were given was really helping.  To encourage his walking we have a new set of exercises.

One of them is to sit in front of him. We will make him stand to lean right to left. This will encourage him to be able to start walking. Once Vincent gets going he can walk. He has a hard time getting started. Another exercise is for him to sit on a ball and for him to lean right and left. This will help build his core.

Another exercise in which isn’t related to walking is to change the way he goes up stairs. When looking at him go up the stairs, he always goes up the same way. We need to encourage him to use another leg. For example, right now he always uses his right knee to go up first. We need to encourage for his to use the other knee.

When writing this email (Oct 3^rd), its been 6 days since the Physio. Vincent is doing a lot of steps. He must try to walk at least 50% of the time in which is really good.

First Physio Appointment

On September 5^th, Vincent had his first physio session.  We opted for the in-home physio.  There are many reasons we decided to do it this way.  Here are a few reasons. There was less than $10 difference and the office is 25 minute drive without traffic.  There is also less distractions at home. Vincent is so curious therefore he wouldn’t have been able to focus. He is so curious and loves to interact with other people.

The therapist we got is part owner in the company. After finding out who is his pediatrician, she decided to make room for him.  I am really happy because she is fantastic. She has been doing physiotherapy with kids for 40 years. Vincent loves interacting with old people. He thought therapy was playtime with a grandma.  I was very nervous about starting physio. In my mind, I thought it was really my fault he wasn’t walking. Was I doing anything wrong?  Let us name his therapist W.  She did comfort me and saying it wasn’t me that was doing anything wrong.  When she walked in the house, Vincent crawled really fast to meet her. She said he is the faster crawler she has seen in her whole career. Why walk when he can crawl very fast.  After filling her in with his history, she started to look at him. While we were doing that Vincent was walking around with his walker.  The first thing she advised was to hide the walked. Vincent was trying to run with it. He also had his feet be very wide apart. Vincent can’t balance because he isn’t working is core muscles.  She showed me a few exercises to help him build his core. The exercises are:

Walk while making him hold on your arms. We need to slow him down and force him to walk with his feet straight. That will make him walk straight.  The second exercise is sit him in front of you with his legs straight and rock him back and forth singing row row boat.  The third exercise is sit him on your lap, hold his legs together and make him fall back and forth. He needs to catch himself.  The last exercise is lie him on his back, bring his legs together in the air and make him hold it. He absolutely loves this one as we play peek-a-boo with his feet. 

The next appointment is scheduled for the end of the month. Since the appointment, Vincent started standing on his own and doing a few steps here and there. I can’t wait to see how else we can encourage him.

Pediatrician/Dietician followup

Pediatrician/Dietician appointment

On August 28^th 2019, Vincent had two appointments. The plan was his closing appointment with the pediatrician and dietician.  I knew there was a good chance it wouldn’t be the last appointment with the pediatrician, however I wasn’t ready for all the information.  Nothing bad happened, it was just a lot of information.  Thankfully, I had my mother in law come to help out with Vincent. 

To start, Vincent weighs 30 pounds 4 ounces. He is 84 cm long.

Pediatrician

Vincent is 20 months old. At this point, he should be walking.  This is something he doesn’t do on his own yet.  It’s been about two weeks that he has been pushing anything around in order to walk. His favourite items to walk with are his walker, stroller bike, and umbrella bike stroller.  While walking, you do notice that his feet point towards the outside.   After walking while holding the pediatrician’s hands, she decided it would be best to send a referral to CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario).  Because the wait is most likely really long and we have private insurance through Pat’s work we will start private physiotherapy.  The pediatrician advised me that Vincent will most likely be walking by the time the CHEO appointment happens.

Vincent is right on track when it comes to talking. He can easily put two to three words together. He does get English and French mixed up but that is normal.

Vincent has been getting hearing tests every six months.  The last hearing test was at the beginning of June. I didn’t get to write the blog about it because we were in the process of moving.  He hasn’t fully passed one test, but they confirmed he can hear. The reason he is not passing, is that he doesn’t understand the part of the test where they put probes in his ears.  He does well when it’s a hearing test without probes. He can hear very well.  The only thing that worries the audiologist is they can’t pin point if he hears well in both ears or is it one ear that does most work.  The audiologist team also wonder if the reason he doesn’t hear very well is because he has a lot of congestion in his ears.  This is the info needed for the next part of the pediatrician appointment.

Vincent is being sent to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialist.  There are multiple reasons and this paragraph will explain it. The first is to make sure his ears are okay and that there is nothing blocking the hearing.  We know from his second hearing test at 12 months old that his bones in his ears are formed perfectly for hearing.  Vincent also snores really loud and breathes through his mouth like Pat.  The pediatrician wants to make sure that his adenoids and tonsils aren’t too big. They rather remove them if needed at a young age. This might in time help with his snoring.  Also when he wakes up he has a huge drool spot.  To help move things along with the ENT, Vincent is prescribed Nasonex.   That is the first step they will do to make sure it’s not his sinuses causing all the problems.  Therefore, for the next eight weeks, Vincent will be having Nasonex in his two nostrils once a day.  The first dose was very easy to do.  Let’s hope it continues.

Dietician

The dietician was very happy with Vincent’s progress.  The only thing needed is to add one cup of cow milk throughout the day. Also start Vitamin D drops in the fall.  She will keep his file open for a year but no need for another appointment unless required.

18 months old

Vincent is already 18 months. He turned 18 months on June 26^th 2019.  It’s hard to believe he has already been in our life this long.  Things have changed a lot and every day they change.  It’s time to make an update on how he is doing.   Vincent is not walking yet. He did start a few weeks ago walking while holding on our hands. Since we moved into the new house on June 2^nd, I saw a huge difference in him practicing to walk. He has been standing and walking along the couch a few months. Now he will walk from furniture to furniture.  His vocabulary is growing every day. He is easily at 50 words. He has even started putting words together.  Some of his words he says other than mom and dad are: “petée (fart), bon (good), beau (nice), good, dodo, hi”. Some of the words he says together are: “j’ai petée (I farted), C’est Bon (it’s good), T’es beau (you are nice), what the heck, daddy au travail (daddy at work). Vincent is a very easy-going toddler. We can take him everywhere and he adapts.  We go visit family and friends and Vincent will sit on the ground and play quietly hours on end. When we are at home, Vincent is very good when it comes to going to bed. If I let him know its bedtime or nap-time, he will crawl upstairs to his room. Especially for the morning naps, Vincent will ask to go nap.  He also has really got into reading lately. He loves getting stories read to. I can read up to 20 -30 minutes at a time and he will ask for more.  Vincent is also a big flirt. He loves to flirt with older ladies (in their 60’s and 70’s). Vincent also likes to check out women. He also now wears 2T clothing.  He will fit in 24 months pants and shorts, but shirts have to be 2T.   Vincent has had four haircuts up to now. During his first three haircuts, Vincent cried and yelled. His last haircut which was a month ago, Vincent didn’t cry. He was really good.  Vincent also loves swinging on swings really high. The higher we go the happiest he is.  Vincent is learning animal sounds. Currently, he thinks everything quacks like a duck.  When we brought Vincent swimming at my dad’s on Thursday evening, Vincent was scared of the pool. This is very unusual for him. He used to love the water. I don’t know if it’s because he hasn’t been in a big pool for two months or he doesn’t understand why he can swim outside.  As it comes to food, Vincent loves vegetables especially olives, meat and potatoes.

House Hunting

Pat and I are waiting patiently to get possession of our first home. In this blog I will write about what we were looking for in a home. What parts the new house has, and what made us fall in love with it.  We saw three houses that same day.  The house we are getting was previously conditionally sold when we asked about it weeks before. Happily for us, that offer fell through.

I will not write where the other houses we saw were located.  Here is the items we were looking in for a house. Pat and I talked about it lengthy, and were able to list the priorities.

• ·         3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms and a den
• ·         Minimum 2 bathrooms (only need 1 full)
• ·         Washer/Dryer in the unit
• ·         Dishwasher
• ·         AC
• ·         Not electric heat
• ·         Living room separate to family room (basement can be living room)
• ·         Storage
• ·         Mini backyard
• ·         Quiet street
• ·         A kid friendly neighbourhood would be a nice to have.
• ·         Within 15 minute drive to Pats work
• ·         East side of Ottawa

House 1:

Looking at the pictures of the first house, we knew this wasn’t going to be the one.  We still wanted to go see it so we can compare things to.  This house was beyond bad.  The basement looked like a dungeon. The rest of the house didn’t have nice lighting. And there were so many people in the house when while we were looking, that we didn’t get to see every room.

House 2:

This house was a nice house. The only thing is that it didn’t have AC. The basement wasn’t open concept, but it was still nicely sorted.  The rooms were big and there was nice lighting.  This house backed on a major street, which I would have been worried with Vincent.

House 3 (New home) :

Just by looking at the pictures, Pat and I knew that this place was made for us.  When Pat and I walked into this house, we knew it was the one. There were a lot of kids running around outside.  It’s in a small community of Blackburn Hamlet, which is close to Orleans. Which is good, since we do most of our shopping in Orleans already. There is three nice size bedrooms. Vincent gets the smaller of the bedrooms, as we need a bit more room for our office. There is also 3 bathrooms(only 1 full), including a powder room in the master bedroom.  There is AC and forced air. There is a family room in the basement. There is a lot of storage in the basement.  We have a mini backyard and the street is very quiet. This house meets all the requirements we wanted and more. There is a park within the parking lot of the townhouse units that is a huge bonus.

Urology Follow Up

Today, Vincent got his 6 month (5 months late) follow up with Urology Clinic at CHEO.  In the blog below will explain how the appointment went.

Since Vincent is now 1 years old, there was some decisions that we needed to take.  When we started with the Urology clinic, Vincent was considered the highest risk.  The reason is because he had a fever and infection (UTI) in his first year of life.  Once he turned one years old, status move down from highest risk to high risk.  As per the ultrasound, his right kidney is normal but the left is still swollen but stable. The Urologist therefore gave us two options to choose for the next step.

Choice 1

The first choice was to stop the antibiotics for one year and see if he gets another infection.  His follow up appointment will be made in a year's time. If he gets an infection, we will call the urologist and then we will decide to either go back on antibiotics or do surgery.

Choice 2

The second choice is to do further testing.  The test is called VCUG.  Vincent got it done last year.  A VCUG is when they put a catheter in his bladder, fill it up and then take x-rays while he pees.  Because Vincent is so young, they would have to strap him to a piece of wood while I hold down his arms.  It’s very painful to watch.  It might just be a 5-10 minute procedure but it feels like forever.

Which did we choose and why?

Pat and I decided to go with the first choice.  We did think it out and feel like it’s the best choice.  The urologist asked us how he does with his meds. Was it simple to administer it? We advised her that since his January hospitalization, it’s very hard to give him meds and that he spits them out.   Also as of April 1^st, OHIP+ is changing.  Kids with private insurance are no longer covered, therefore we would have to pay 20%.  I know 20% is not bad but if he spits out 3/4‘s of it then it’s not worth it.  The Urologist also explained that Vincent should be fine when it comes to UTI’s until we start potty training him.  The reason is because that’s when he needs to learn to hold in his pee and that will cause infections.  To help prevent infections, we can give him probiotics and let him eat yogurt.  Vincent loves yogurt therefore that isn’t a problem.

I hope this helps understand Vincent’s urology issue.

Why does Vincent and Pat look like twins

Why do Pat and Vincent look so much alike?

When people see Vincent in person, or in pictures, they all say the same comment: “Wow he looks like Pat”. Here is a blog with some of the reasons. In this blog, there will be some medical information. I am not a doctor, and the information I will write was given to me by Genetics clinic at CHEO, the different specialists Vincent sees, his pediatrician, and a document that was given to us by the Genetics clinic. 

When Vincent was in the Montfort Nursery, one of the pediatrician was worried about Vincent's health, and thought Vincent might have some syndrome due to some physical traits he noticed. He therefore asked if he could do a blood test, take pictures of Vincent (face and hands) and send it to the children's hospital for genetic testing. At the time, Vincent was having a hard time learning to feed and they wanted to see if there was another reason why. What caught the pediatrician on call was that Vincent only has one line in one of his hands (see pictures). After the pediatrician mentioned it, Pat and I looked at our hands and saw that Pat had the same thing. We only got the results a few weeks after when Vincent was already home. At one of Vincent's weight checks in, his pediatrician advised me they got the results of the genetics test and they had found something. I was really scared when she mentioned it, as I didn't know what to expect. The pediatrician didn't have much info as she had never heard of this genetic issue before. She then advised me that we will be getting a call from the genetics clinic at CHEO for an appointment with a genetics doctor. The appointment was quickly booked, and I asked Pat to come with me. I usually do most doctor appointments alone, but this one I rather not do alone. Let's say, we are both happy Pat went, as it made the doctor's appointment a lot better (remember he also only has one line in his hands).

Pat's hand 

Nat's hand

Vincent's hand

The genetics appointment happened when Vincent was a few months old. We went into the clinic, sat down and waited our turn. The doctor comes in to get us to lead us to the examination room. She seems Pat and Vincent and goes “WOW”. She said that Vincent and Pat look a lot more alike than most fathers and child. Once in the room, she was asking Pat questions like: “did you go to college? Do you have a full-time job? Any health problems?” Once Pat answered all the questions, and the doctor advised us that this appointment will be a lot easier than planned. Once we sat down she explained that Vincent has 22q11.2 duplication. This is a fairly new found genetic malformation. The only kids that were tested are usually kids that have other problems. There wasn't much testing down on healthy kids. The doctor advised we shouldn't be too worried as Pat is doing very well, and she is sure he has it. I would like to note that he has the DUPLICATION and not the deletion.

Picture from google

22q11.2 duplication

After some research, here is the information that I found relates to Vincent. The duplication is mostly found near the middle of the chromosome.  This duplication is genetic.  Parents have a 70 percent chance of giving it to the kids.  Most of the time, the duplication can be silent.  The effects of this duplication are usually health, development and behaviour.  The range goes from mild to severe.  During my research, I came upon the feature kids with this duplication have. Here is what Vincent has:

Different in heart structure: Vincent has a heart murmur. He did have to see a cardiologist, but was released from her care as she believes he will outgrow it. We are unsure if Pat had this as a child and it simply wasn't caught.

Problem with the root of his mouth: He has a VERY high palate, and so does Pat.

Hearing Loss: Vincent is still being tested for this. He has a second hearing test scheduled for June. During the last test, he had a mild hearing loss of the right side. We were advised that he has a lot of congestion on that side. Since then, he did have a very bad ear infection. Note that Pat's hearing was not tested a child. However, he has had tinnitus for as long as he remembers.

Growth Delay: Vincent has NO problem with this. However, Pat was short as a kid. Therefore, it is possible Vincent’s growth will slow down or it may not affect him at all

Developmental Delay: He has NO problem found so far. No issues were found for Pat.

Learning: Up to now, Vincent doesn’t have any of these problems.

Trouble feeding when newborn: Vincent had a lot of problems the first few weeks.

Facial: widely spaced eyes (like Pat), small lower jaw (like Pat)

Head: He does have a larger head, much like Pat

Body: Kidney issues, Vincent does have a kidney issue and sees an urologist. Pat was never tested, therefore unsure if he had any issue with his kidney’s as a child.

Pregnancy with baby’s with this duplication:

During the pregnancy, mothers can have gestational diabetes, early birth (around 36 weeks), pre-eclampsia, little fetal movement and a little extra amniotic fluid.  I had ALL these and Vincent was born at 35 weeks 6 days due to my health concerns.

I hope this blog, helps explain this duplication.  As it’s stated, there is not much information about this yet.  I hope to learn more as Vincent grows. I am very happy that Vincent is getting all the help needed.   The specialists make sure to research about this duplication so they help him the best way possible.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message me.

Vincent 6 months

Pat 3 months

TV shows I watch

Here is a list of the TV shows Pat and I watch together, I watch alone and series we have completed. There may be some missing as I don’t remember them all and listing through an app I have on my phone.

Watch together:

9-1-1

Elementary

Blacklist

Bull

Carter

Chicago Fire

Chicago Med

Chicago PD

Coroner

Criminal Minds

FBI

For the people

Fuller House

Hawaii 5-0

Homeland

Magnum PI

NCIS

NCIS LA

NCIS New Orleans

New Amsterdam

Ransom

Resident

Rookie

Suits

SWAT

The Good Doctor

The Good Fight

Watch Alone:

Good Trouble

Grey’s Anatomy

Heartland

Law and Order SVU

Million Little Things

Station 19

This is Us

Completed Series:

Baby Daddy

Blacklist Redemdemption

Body of Proof

Bones

Boston Legal

Castle

Cedar Cove

Chicago Hope

Chicago Justice

Code Black

Common Law

Conviction

Covert Affairs

Cracked

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders

CSI

CSI Cyber

CSI NY

Deception

ER

Fairly Legal

Flashpoint

Fosters

Franklin and Bash

Gilmore Girls

Glee

Harriet’s Law

Hawthorne

Hostages

House

Instinct

Intelligence

Leverage

Lie to Me

Life Unexpected

Malibu County

Mentalist

Nashville

Night Shift

Notorious

Numb3rs

Perception

Person of Interest

Prison Break

Private Practice

Proof

Psych

Reckless

Remedy

Republic of Doyle

Rookie Blue

Royal Pains

State of Affairs

Switched at Birth

Take two

The detail

The Finder

The Glades

The Good Wife

The Mob Doctor

The Nanny

The Practice

Two and Half Men

Unforgettable

White Collar

Without a Trace

Bucket List

Here is a short blog. I decided to write out my bucket list. It’s not long, but as life goes I am always adding to it.

• ·         Go to the States (Bolt Castle doesn’t count)
• ·         Go see the Globe Trotters
• ·         Go see Disney on Ice (Bring Vincent)
• ·         Go see Monster truck (Bring Vincent)
• ·         Take a trip to Newfoundland and do the long drive to the Vikings
• ·         Visit 5 different countries (Dominican Republic done, Bahamas done)
•         Be the best mom possible for Vincent
• ·         Frequently do new recipes

Weekday routine

Here is Vincent’s routine for during the week.  Most days he gets 2 naps during the week as he gets cranky during the afternoon.  On the week end, it’s more nap when he wants to as we are always on the go.  It also seems he doesn’t want to nap when papa is home.

6-7:30am à He wakes up on his own

7:30am-8am à sippy cup of milk and papa snuggles before he leaves for work.

8:15am-8:30am à Breakfast

8:30am-9am à Playtime with Maman

9:15am – 11:30am à Naptime (he will nap anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours)

12pm à Lunchtime

12:30pm – 2:30pm à Free play which is a mix of alone play, play with maman and snuggles.

2:45pm – 3:45pm à Naptime (anywhere from 20mins to 1.5 hrs

4pm – 5pm à free play while papa gets home

5:30pm - 6pm à dinner time

6:15pm – 7pm à swimming or bathtime

7:10pm-7:25pm à sippy cup of milk and snack (if he didn’t eat much at dinner)

7:30pm à BEDTIME

Freeplay: Vincent often plays around with different toys and reads books. His favourite now is emptying a shelf on the book shelf and play with cars. Every day he learns something new.

Thank you for reading.

First Christmas and Birthday Extravaganza

Since Vincent’s birthday is so close to Christmas, I decided to just write one blog. We started celebrating on December 15^th for Soucy’s Christmas.  We celebrated it early as Pat and I are out of town for Christmas and my dad was heading to Florida.   That night was pretty fun.  Vincent ate duck for the first time.  He absolutely loved it. He also got to eat cake by himself for the first time.  We wanted to practice his cake smash and the next day would be his photoshoot.

The next day we did the photoshoot for birthday and Christmas. He was very photogenic.  My dad did a great job taking pictures.

On December 22^nd, we left for Sudbury. We spent the holidays there. On December 23^rd, we had Vincent’s first birthday party.  It was a huge success. Vincent sure got spoiled. Christmas Eve, we went for dinner at my mom’s.  It was a nice quiet supper.  Before heading back to my sister’s, we went to see the lights at Science North.  Christmas day we had a brunch at my sisters.  We then went to my brother-in-law’s mom’s house for lunch and dinner.  It was a nice quiet day.  Vincent had fun with my niece’s cousin who is two weeks younger then him.  On Boxing day (Vincent’s actual birthday), we spent the day at my sister’s and had the final Christmas dinner.    Vincent had a lot of fun with all his gifts. He also had fun with his cousin’s gifts while they went to bed.