strong arms

strong arms
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Kea is so proud of the fact that she can carry her brother around....even though he already looks half her size!!!!!!!

raspberry jam!!!

raspberry jam!!!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Lastnight I went to my first knitting night since Ryland was born, and really enjoyed getting out for a bit, visiting with friends and dreaming about different projects I want to tackle once I have two free hands once again! When I came home, look what greeted me!!! Jamie had tackled the project of making and canning raspberry jam - yay! It's so nice to have him home again from Banff. Especially first thing in the morning when I can just hand Ryland off to him for that extra hour of sleep!!!!!

I just uploaded new photos on our flickr account, but have run out of Ryland's patience with my sitting here, so must go!!!

goopy eyes

goopy eyes
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Okay, so today is day three of Jamie's absence - Kea is recovering from her ear infection, both girls are waking up lots at night and now Tiegan has two sore, goopy eyes - need I say anymore about just how much fun I'm having single-parenting???!!!!!!

However, I did take a moment from the chaos of trying to cook dinner lastnight to snap a few photos - the girls were entertaining Ryland and burning off some extra steam at the same time!!!

I went to the ballet lastnight with my friend Kera - it was the Royal Winnipeg version of Dracula, and it was really fun!!! Our friends Tiffani and Lucy came over to babysit, so the girls had a lot of fun but were up way past their bedtimes. Yet for some reason they felt inclined to wake up at the usual 7:15 this morning - so I'm trying to remember how fabulous the ballet was as I work to survive this day! Jamie's home at 9pm, and you can bet I'll be counting down the hours!!!!!

Ear ache

Ear ache
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

So, Jamie had to go to work in Victoria on Thurs, and we thought it would be a lot of fun for the whole family to join him, book a hotel room at a place with a nice pool for the night, and visit a few friends that we never get a chance to see and introduce them to Ryland. And wouldn't you know it, Kea got her very first ever middle ear infection the night before we left, and then during the day her ear started to leak all sorts of lovely fluids....never a good sign! So we trudged over to the drop-in clinic to discover a throat/middle ear infection and obviously her ear drum had burst a little - antibiotics and strict orders to not go swimming for 4-6 weeks. Blah. Oh well, at least we got to see people, and the kids were very excited to be able to watch T.V.!!!!!

Tiegan also seems to have caught the same bug, as she was up all night coughing, and in the end we decided that noone would go swimming. On the ferry ride back to Vancouver, Kea asked Jamie why noone had gone swimming and Jamie said, "Well, I was tired and my throat was sore, Tiegan was coughing all night, Mom can't go and Ryland's too little - noone really felt like going." And Kea said, "and because I couldn't go, right? And you knew that I would probably be really sad if you guys went and I didn't, right? And so you chose not to go to make it a little easier on me, right? Because I would have been really disappointed you know." Uh, ya, of course, THAT'S the reason I meant to give you!!!!!!

We're having a slow morning over here in the McKay household - as is every morning when I'm alone with THREE kids! Who's crazy idea was this?!!! Not that it's been bad, just a readjustment to figure out a)how to juggle all of our needs, but more time-consumingly b) to remember just how much energy a newborn takes! We wake up and I feed him, change him and luckily the girls entertain themselves! I start making breakfast with Ryland in the sling, then he has a big poo (OF COURSE!) and starts fussing because his bum is a bit red. We go upstairs to change him, come back down, but then he won't settle without my finger in his mouth. So I bounce with him in the sling, stick my finger in his mouth and very awkwardly finish up breakfast one-handedly. I eat at the kitchen counter, still bouncing, while the girls eat and Ryland slowly falls asleep. Then I set up the paints that the girls have been asking for for 45 minutes, and try to put Ryland down so I can tackle some laundry - but of course, within 5-10 minutes he wakes up. So I sit down to nurse him, mediating a couple of arguments between the girls about paintbrushes and three year olds mixing paint colours. Ryland goes to sleep again, and this time I hold him in the sling while doing laundry. When he wakes up again, I grab a very quick shower while Kea holds him, and it is now 11am. After this, I may get a chance to get dressed, and then I'm determined to get outside for a walk and a much-needed play in the playground now that it is no longer raining! All I can say is, THANK GOODNESS today is a day when the girls are playing really well together - I don't even care that the house is a disaster as long as I don't have to listen to them fighting!!!!!!

I was just trying to convince Tiegan to put underwear on so that we can get ready to go outside and she turned to look at me with definite Tiegan attitude and declared, "I AM A QUEEN, AND QUEENS DON'T WEAR UNDERWEAR" and stomped off. Uh, okay then!!!!!!!

for Aunty Meg!

for Aunty Meg!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Here's a photo of Ryland in his funky new shirt! As always, our kids are far more fashionable than we could ever hope to be!!!!!

Ryland - 16 days
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

So, Ryland is now 2 1/2 weeks old, and we went in for our midwife appointment - he now weighs 10lb 7 1/2oz! Crazy, he's way bigger than either of my other kids at this age! Everything looks and sounds great - the only thing that sucks is that being the third child and all, he already has his first little cold. And he's not so thrilled at having a stuffed up nose, poor guy!!!!!

waz up?!

waz up?!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Thanks to aunty clare and uncle alex for already corrupting their sweet new nephew!

grandad's 80th birthday!

grandad's 80th birthday!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

Yesterday was my grandad's 80th birthday - and they celebrated by driving down to Vancovuer to meet their first great-grandson!!!! There's a few more photos on the flickr account, which you can access by clicking on this photo. Happy Birthday Grandad, may we celebrate many more with you! xo

one foot, two foot, big foot, little foot

one foot, two foot, big foot, little foot
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

This afternoon Kea was over at a friends house, so we enjoyed a couple of hours with just Tiegan and Ryland. I think that Tiegan really needed some more attention, and for us to let her bond with her brother in her own way - us watching to make sure she stayed gentle but not always modifying her! She tends to love yelling peek-a-boo at him (especially when he's sleeping!), shaking her head right in his face so that we worry about head bonking, and when she's finished holding him she just lets go! However, she's also really really sweet with him when given a chance, and I thought I'd share a few of the photos of her afternoon with him!

Jamie and Ryland

proud dad!
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

So, here is a photo of Ryland with his eyes open, as promised! Crazy to think that he joined our family one week ago, though at this time last Sat I wasn't even in labour yet!!!! Today we ventured outside for the very first time, and introduced Ryland to a very typical wet, foggy, grey Vancouver winter day!!! He didn't seem to think much of it, and just snuggled further down into his sling and went to sleep!

Ryland - day 5

Ryland - day 5
Originally uploaded by the four mckays.

One of these days I'll get a good photo of him with his eyes open! He's definitely more alert over the past couple of days, checking us all out and taking in this crazy world he has entered - sisters jumping up and down in his face, poking his head and occasionally screaming....such a different welcome than Kea the first child got, that's for sure!!!!!

We're all well - the first week seems to have passed in a blur of aches and pains, milk coming in, dealing with a few stitches, sorting out Rylands schedule, sleeping, eating and basic functioning. But today seems to be a turning point - more energy, breastfeeding has settled into a routine, the kids are sleeping well and seem to have settled into life with a new brother.....hopefully things remain this good from here on out!