Peter and the Wolf

Yesterday we took advantage of some free tickets to go see WSO's (Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra) Peter and the Wolf, as part of their Sunday with the Family series. It was really nice. Emma really enjoyed it. The last ten minutes or so she was squirmy, but she's 2. Xavier slept through most of it, but when he was awake he was cooing along with the music.
Definitely something I would recommend to do with your children.

Babies don't eat Goldfish cracker's???

I spent part of the afternoon at the mall with the kids.
Time came for us to leave.
I had Emma go sit in her carseat, gave her Goldfish crackers as a snack and buckled Xavier into his seat.
While I was putting the stroller in the trunk of the car, Emma decided it was a good idea to share her crackers with her brother.
I went to buckle Emma into her seat and noticed the tail of a Goldfish cracker sticking out of Xavier's mouth. I proceeded to fish (no pun intended) about 3-4 more out of his mouth. One was at the back of his throat, previous first aid training told me to leave that one alone. Xavier was coughing and making noise, a sign that he could dislodge (or swallow) the cracker on his own.
I grabbed the kids out of the car quicker than I could think and ran back into Sears as fast as I could, found the nearest clerk and got some help. Xavier, swallowed the cracker with no problem.
Not quite the first solid food I was planning on giving him, rice cereal won't seem very exciting now!
We went to St-Boniface Hospital as a precautionary measure and it seems the little man is doing fine.
Let me tell you, that was one of the scariest moments of my life! Phew, glad it turned out good in the end!!

Stinky pee - part deux

Last week, Xavier had to go back to the doctor's to have a cath tube put in to extract more pee. Turns out that the enzymes in his pee has grown. The urologist suggested that we take care of the problem ASAP. Xavier is now on a list of different creams and antibiotics.
First we have the famous hydrocortison cream which we use for his eczema. I really can't wait for this to clear. It is looking much, much better and we are down to just using the cream twice a day (from four times a day).
Secondly, we have a cream that we need to "massage" into Xavier's foreskin, concentrating on the opening. The opening is small and the foreskin does not retract at all. We need to be very gentle with this. Hopefully this cream will help the situation. The enzymes are probably being created because of this problem. We apply this cream twice a day for six weeks.
Thirdly, we have a suspension liquid medication Cephalexin which we administer 4 times a day. This we need to do for 2 weeks. Once this is finished we need to get another medication called Septra.
Xavier has a follow up appointment in a week in a half. Hopefully all this medication will help. He will also need to go for an ultrasound to check to make sure his kidneys are not infected. He will also have another cath tube put in to extract more pee.
It's a lot of things to remember and put Xavier through, but it's nothing compared to Emma's little friend Sebastien. By the way, Sebastien has another flu bug, so let's keep him in our prayers. The sooner he gets better, the sooner he can be put back on the kidney transplant list, the sooner he can have his transplant, the sooner he can live Sick Kids in Toronto, the sooner he can come back home to Winnipeg! I always wonder how Jasmina and David do it. They definitely are superstars!

It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood!

On Sunday I decided to go for a nice long walk with the kids (they were riding the stroller of course). What a beautiful day. It was so warm I was walking with just my t-shirt. We ended up walking all the way to Kildonan Place, where I could nurse Xavier and change diapers. Once we arrived at Kildonan Place, we bumped into aunty Mimi and her three younger daughters and grandkids. We had a short chat before they had to go. It was nice to see them.
After nursing and changing, we walked back home. All in all we out for about 3-4 hours.
On monday we had a picnic lunch at Assiniboine lunch. We tried to play a little soccer with Emma, but it was so windy, we had to pack up and come home early.
As far as Xavier's stinky pee, we did have to bring him back to the doctor's. They stuck the tube into his penis, which he didn't enjoy in the least. It allowed them to get a cleaner sample of his pee. We are now just waiting for the results. I should find something out by tomorrow hopefully.
Poor little guy.s

Xavier's first swimming lesson

Today was Xavier's first swimming lesson. Since the class goes from babies to 3 year olds, he is able to be in the same class as big sister Emma. Of course, our dear girl swims like a pro, even the instructor was impressed by her. The instructor was also amazed at how comfortable our little man is in the water. Emma went in the water with Papa, so I was in charge of Xavier. He was so cute, he was moving his legs like a little frog. You could tell he really enjoyed being in the pool. For those who are wondering, the chlorine does not effect his eczema in any negative way, so it's all good.
Supposed to be a high of +20 degrees in Peg city on Monday. Can't wait for that! A picnic is definitely in the works for this foursome!!

Stinky pee and a visit to the firehall

Stinky pee in Xavier's diaper promted a visit to the doctor. Babies can have stinky pee depending on what Maman has eating, like asparagus for example. However, Xavier had stinky pee diapers over a couple of days. Turns out there's some enzymes in his urine. They are sending it to the lab for more tests. It seems that his pee pee hole is quite narrow, so depending on the results from the lab, he may need a cath tube. Poor little guy.
We also have to go back on Monday to keep checking on his eczema, it's really bad right now.
After we finished at the doctor's, we went to the firehall to get the carseats checked. They just needed a few adjustments, but overall, we were using them alright. Emma got to hang out with some of the firefighters and was even allowed to climb into the firetruck. She had a blast!

Museum bound

Today we packed up a picnic style lunch and headed out to The Forks.
We first went into the indoor eating area where we ate veggie sandwiches, spiced gouda cheese and grapes, complimented with lemon flavoured water. Very nummy indeed, as Emma would say. On a side note, did you know Emma calls any round fruit "apple"? Can be very confusing to some! What a girl.
After lunch Emma wanted to run around outside, which we let her do, with us following right behind. She really loved that aboriginal circle that's behind the Johnston Terminal.
We finished off our afternoon at The Forks, by going into the Manitoba Children's Museum.
Emma had a blast! She "drove" the train, worked in the construction area, found all the wild animals in the forest area and made sure to go down the tree slide numerous times. She went into the news area, where she was the TV anchor and made a little dance.
Emma really liked the area where you can play with wind by making scarves and loofas go through these vaccuum powered tubes.
All in all we had a great time. Oh yeah, Xavier slept through the whole thing!

beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!

We are now the proud owners of a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier. For how old the car is, it's in really good shape. It will make getting around much easier, especially for grocery shopping and doctor visits.

The Zoo!

We did our first trip to the zoo this year. It was also Xavier's first trip to the zoo (out of the womb). Emma had a great time! It was so much fun. Of course all of the Canadian animals were out enjoying the spring weather. The rest of the animals were still in their winter habitats. I've discovered that monkeys are better viewed in their summer habitat. An indoor monkey habitat is not a pleasant smell!!
I like going to the zoo at the beginning of spring. No crowds and it's not too hot for the kids. We were even able to see the rare white buffalo (not albino). I got some really good pics. I just need to figure out how to put a photo in a post. It keeps loading, but there's an error on the page so the "done" button doesn't show up. Very frustrating, I wish I were more tech-savvy to figure it out. Oh well. I will try to put more pictures on my flickr website.
In other news, we are considering the purchase of a vehicle, used of course. A big step for eco-friendly me, however, with two kids, not having a vehicle is getting complicated, especially with all the activities Xavier and Emma are enrolled in.
These are them: "Bebes, Parents et Gazouillements", "Families Connecting", "L'Heure du Conte", "Toi, Moi et la Mere L'Oie" and of course swimming.
I'm having the vehicle we're considering purchasing safetied as we speak, hopefully it can be safetied without any work needing to be done to it. Fingers crossed.