Guess which Babe??

Guess which hawley baby this is??? Do they actually have any of their mother in them???

Christmas tree catastrophes

Tis the season to have a tree in ones house!! So, this year Adam decided that we would get our tree early (15 days before Christmas). This has a tale behind it which I will quickly relate. You see last year, we were hosting Christmas for the masses and out Adam went with the sunfire in an ice storm three days before Christmas to find a tree to celebrate our son's first Christmas. Low and behold (and much to only Adam's surprise) there were no trees to be found. Now when I say no trees, obviously there were trees as Adam pointed out this is land of endless evergreens, but rather there were none available for purchase. Finally, he managed to travel to the next town (no mean feat given the balding tires and ice storm in progress) and found a tree. One of the last I might add. The journey home with hand out the window holding the tree in place while snow and ice blew a gale proved to be too much for the poor sunfire which then got stuck in the snow thanks to the distracted driver. Finally, Daddy arrived home with a beautiful tree and Christmas was saved!
So, back to this year. In an effort to avoid such hazards Adam opted to find the tree early. This time he only had to head as far as the Goderich Mall (makes Cambridge's one hall mall look like the Eaton Center!!). Now, there are some trees there on display with branches out and looking lovely (or not) but my ever practical darling husband opted for the bound tree thinking that this was a much better choice as it could then easily fit inside the car (having only just gotten over the frostbite from last years escapades). However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which trees would likely be bound. Not the beautiful, perfectly shaped tree in all the Martha stewart/Goodhousekeeping magazines. No why would those trees be bound. Upon arriving home and unpacking the tree from the vehicle. The tree was brought into the front room for display. Upon unbinding (if that is a word) half the tree fell on the floor in clumps of dried, brown pines which lead to endless repetition of "uh oh tee" by one 18month old (whom I might add was very helpful in the whole tree decorating event as he swept up all the brown pines and put them back in the tree for us!). A "Robin redbreast" (known to most of us simply as "Robins") fell with a thud to the floor (that is some narrative license as this didn't really happen but, from the state of the tree we were expecting it). Not only did the tree have very sparse boughs (most of which was a shade of brown rather then green) but also the trunk had a very unnatural curve! Suffice it to say, we have the Charlie Brown of Christmas trees, the Scamp of the dog world!!
Adam quickly set about erecting the tree (with "help" of course) which took an enormous amount of time owing to the bowed trunk. We have thus decided that anyone celebrating Christmas at the Hawley household must either stand on one leg with head tilted to the left or be sufficiently drunk as to think the tree is straight (BYOB!!). That was enough for one night and so, the star was mounted atop the tree...and to bed.
THE NEXT DAY... no believe it or not the tree was still standing (if you can call the leaning tree of Quebec Street standing)...let the decorating begin! First, find the lights...oh yes, we borrowed lights last year from Nanny and Grandad....thus, off to the store in search of white lights on a green cord! Would you believe there were 80 boxes of green, red or blue lights on green cords but do you think there was one box of white lights on a green cord -apparently not! Off Adam and Ollie trekked (it was now a mission) none at Zehrs, none at Canadian Tire, none at ZEllers (we of course "skipped checking at Walmart on principle) and alas there were three boxes of outdoor white lights on a green cord for triple the price at Home Hardware (but apparently all was not lost as they had an amazing "scale electrics" display!). Upon returning with the new lights the packages were opened and plugged in to find that only half the bulbs were in working order. Fortunately, Ollie had found that they had included a little two pack of bulbs as replacements which he was now running off behind the couch with Dad in tow!! The replacement lights in the white light boxes however, are red!! Handy that!! Anyway, with Dad being the A1 electrician that he is...all lights werefixed...however, after 10 mins of trying to put the lights on the tree with Ollie helping it was decided that lighting the tree was a "while children are sleeping job". Thus, day two passes and the "tee" remains semi-upright with only a star on top for decorations!
DAY 3....Dad has a day off so, the tree is going to be completed!!! Once the children are safely in bed for a nap. The lights go on....the three boxes of beads (measuring 3m each for the 8ft tree) managed to adorn the upper eighth of the tree...so, off to the store (again) for more beads. Fortunately, on the earlier store trip note was made of the available decorations in town so, one visit was all that was necessary. Off to Zehrs for 4 boxes of 30m beads. Now, I don't know if any of you know what a pain in the neck those beads are (I know Nanny Banny does) so, soon the boxes of beads are opened and there Adam spends the next 2hours on the floor untangling the beads. There needs to be a happy medium in the world of boxed beads...enough in the box to cover the tree, but not enough to create the tangled mess that was our living room floor for most of the evening!! Alas, as of 22:00 (well past my bedtime) the tree was complete!
DAY 4: Ollie is up (before the sun) so lights are on and the "tee" can be viewed in all its finished glory with the "Baubles, beads and lights"...but for how long??? Ollie apparently came to the breakfast table with four "balls" in his hands (fortunately, IKEA christmas decorations are plastic...and bounce really well, and respond quite well to being kicked)...the beads have remained on the upper eighth of the tree however, the lower parts were subjected to the Ollweiser who decided that it was great fun (while Mum is busy breastfeeding and therefore, defenceless) to grab the beads and run around the room!! A decision has been made that the bottom third of the trees boughs will be hacked off...it will likely be necessary anyway since Nannie Carol is coming for Christmas and likely will singlehandedly fill all the space beneath the tree with the contents of just one of her three large suitcases!!
And that dear friends is the story of Christmas Present at the Hawley/Halligan household!! Here are a few pics of the epic event!!
Happy Christmas to all!!
Love
Rachael, Adam, Ollie and Emma..
oh one last thing...at daycare I was telling the women about the escapades at home re: the Crimbo tree and the decision to only decorate the upper third of the tree in years to come....that days craft was to decorate a paper Christmas tree...Ollie must have overheard the conversation and let his disapproval be known thru the art medium...when he handed in his completed Christmas tree...only the lower two thirds were decorated!!!

Extra photos

Just thought I would add a few photos from yesterday and today!! The ones with Emma in the red and white striped outfit are from today (Sat, December 9/06) and the others are fromt the day before...as you can see...Emma is impressed by all the hugs and kisses!!

Week 2-3

Well folks just thought we had better update the blog as there are some Nannies, Aunties/Uncles and cousins who have yet to meet not so little Emma and must be kept abreast of all changes!!
Emma is doing very well!! The week after she was born we went back for a re-weigh and she was allready back to her enormous birthweight!! I weighed her again last week and (with diaper, sleeper and onesie) she weighed 10 lbs 11 oz!! Her allready huge cheeks are filling out even more! She needs the padding because her big brother gives about equal number of kisses to facial swats so, the extra fat layer really just protects her from the blows! He is so sneaky we can't catch all swats! He will come up to her pretending he's going in for a kiss and then out of nowhere up comes the hand and whack!! She is usually quite good about it and doesn't even make a peep however, it is better when she does get upset about it so that we can show Ollie what he has done!
I think he is getting a little more used to her as he has now started to take an interest in holding her and hugging her (mostly just her head) as you will see by some of the pics. When these events occur there is always close adult supervision (x2)!!
We have had loads of snow this week so, Dad took about 20mins to get himself all dressed and ready for a good long play session in the snow....within five minutes Ollie and Dad were back in the house....apparently fusspot Ollie doesn't like snow on his boots and spent the whole time outdoors pointing to his shoes and saying "UHOH" a popular word choice this month...usually followed by "Uh Oh dear" a combo of uh oh and oh dear!
His favourite pastime at present is hiding things behind each other. This is why there is never any room to sit on our furniture. Apparently the little trucks like to hide behind the big trucks!! These are not the only things that like to hide. One evening while in the tub someones "pesis" (I'll let you guess what that is) kept bobbing up out of the bubbles saying, "Boo Pesis" Ollie is going to love me telling that one when he reads this as a teenager!! Last week in church Ollie kept ducking beneath the pew and popping up saying, "Boo Jesus"...he hasn't quite learned yet that that is the one person you can't really hide on!!
Anyway, without any further ado here are the latest photos!!
HOpe all are well...only 13 days until Nannie Carol arrives!!
Take care,
Rachael, Adam, Ollie and Emma

Meanwhile, Dad and Ollie

So, like I said, Daddy and Ollie have been spending lots of time together....I am not sure who is having more fun...this is todays project.....they came up and scared mummy in the shower. Really who expects to lions (that is what the mask is supposed to be) to roar at them in the shower!! Yesterdays project was cutting up Emma's new baby car seat box to make a parking garage for all the trucks that usually drive around on the couches (I think Ollie thinks that is the only reason we have couches, there is rarely a spot to sit without having to move some truck or other vehicle out of the way first!!).
Anyway...here is Ollie as a Lion.....ROAR!!!
Love to all
rachael, adam, ollie and emma

The Real Story!

Well it feels like forever since I last sat down to do an entry into the blog!! Adam has now lost the ability to say that he can't do the blogging as "he doesn't know how" which was always his excuse in the past which clearly is untrue!! However, I note that he fails to give all details which may not be wanted or needed by some but may be of interest to others! Don't worry I am not about to go into all the gory details of the whole labour and delivery however, there were a few complications that deserve mentioning so that you all know what a little superhero our not so little daughter really is!!
As you can see by the original (as we were about to go to the hospital photo) I was bigger than I was with Ollie but still not huge. Most people that met me would assume I was due much further on than I actually was...however, I knew the little person inside was larger than Ollie by the fact that at night even my ribs would start moving around from the big kicks beneath! That never happened with Ollie who was much lower down! I never imagined though I was host to a nearly 10lb bruiser...that only happens to my sister!!
Anyway, on the Monday that we had Emma, I had been to see the Doctor as she was getting a bit nervous about letting me go over longer as the anesthetist was leaving town on the wednesday (this means no emergent OR capabilities should an emergency C-section be necessary and more importantly no epidural capabilities!!). Anyway, so she decided to check and see how/if things were looking imminent. In so doing, she "broke my water" which means...you have to go to the hospital now and if you don't naturally go into labour than drugs can be used to induce labour! So, off we went home to tell nanny and grandad that they would have to stay another night and to get our bags (and to take our last family of three photo). At this point I was feeling "ok" but could tell that things were going to happen without the need for induction agents! By the time we got to the hospital (over the bumpiest road Adam could find at break neck speeds-you know what he's like Carol) I was in labour for certain. Now the hospital had been called by my MD and told that I would be arriving shortly and that they were to watch me and see if anything was going to happen. By the time the nurse finally got in the room, I was contracting one on top of the other with no real breaks in the pain! When I asked for something for the pain they told me that the MD would be arriving shortly as she was seeing her last patient and then would come over and check me before giving anything.....well, I don't know how long that took but it felt like forever!! By the time she got there...I was ready to deliver which sadly meant no time for drugs!! UGH!! I strongly recommend the epidural....a much more pleasant experience was had with Ollie's delivery rather than Emma's!! If the deliveries had been reversed, I don't think Ollie would be a big brother quite so quickly!! Anyway, enough about me.....Emma decided that although she originally was hesitant about coming into the world, once she decided to do so, she did so with a vengeance...and unfortunately, did not give herself enought time to get into the best position.....and given her allready huge size....this made for a more difficult delivery. She developed what is called a shoulder dystocia which means that her head delivered but then her shoulder got caught underneath the pubic bone and so she was stuck!! A VERY scary experience as a delivering doctor!! So, my lovely doctor broke a sweat, and tried the numerous methods to get her out finally, she had to take out her posterior shoulder (usually the anterior shoulder is the first to come out) and then Emma was finally able to arrive!! Not without causing a little damage to Mum! Because of this traumatic entry into the world Emma suffered a broken rib and a small pneumothorax (punctured lung), a bruised left arm and left cheek which you can see in some of the photos! However, the little trooper was a little angel despite her injuries and within the first week her rib fracture feels like it has healed!! I guess when you go from being one cell to a whole human in 9 months a broken rib is nothing!! The punctured lung reinflated itself by day 3 so, she is as good as new! However, I thought you deserved to know more details so that you could appreciate the little hero for what she is!! Mum and Emma are convalescing nicely now that Dad is at home for the week. He is taking care of everyone with ice packs for Mum, lots of time/affection for the slightly unimpressed big brudder (as Ollie calls himself) and lots of back patting for a gassy Emma at all hours of the night and day.
Emma is proving to be a different temperament to her older brother (we think, we can't really remember the earliest days at home with Ollie...not all the nitty gritty things) she grunts alot more, screams bloody murder and could wake the dead with baths (which we have decided don't really need to be done every other day) and getting her bum changed. She absolutely hates to be naked which Adam thinks will stand her in good stead and encourages to last until she is at least 40.....hopefully however, she won't scream quite as shrill or loud when she does have to get naked as an older person or the teenage (ie: multiple showers daily) years could leave Adam and I quite deaf!
Ollie is adjusting but not without a few hiccoughs. One has to be very careful when he want to give "Baby Emma" a kiss as sometimes she gets leaned on in an effort to do so or the kiss may turn into a swat. I tend to use the breastfeeding pillow with Emma which I didn't do so much with Ollie, not only because Emma is so much heavier than Ollie was but also because it acts as a first line of defense from her older brother who loves to point to Mum's "boobs" but really doesn't think that his little sister should be attached to them. Emma will often feed for 20-45mins which is a long time to listen to "UH OH Mummy Boobs" over and over and over again!!! He is quite funny when he does get into trouble for something, we try and ignore most things realizing that his whole world is topsy-turvy right now but there are certain things (ie: hitting your baby sister) that cannot be ignored....so, when he does get in trouble its like a little light goes off in his head and he decides to go for broke then doing everything he knows he is not supposed to do in some kind of frenzy...so, he'll hit his sister and be told sternly that we do not hit so, he'll go over and rip off a few flower petals, than tip his milk upside down whilst hitting one of his trucks all the while looking at the disciplining parent!1 Sometimes it is hard not to laugh!!
WEll, I think that is enough verbeage (I am allowed to make up words when blogging) as I know all you really want are some updated pics...so, here they are!!!!
Thank you all for your comments.....we do check to see if anyone has left a message daily, thanks to for all the cards and flowers and well wishes!
Take care,
Rachael, Adam, Ollie and Emma
xoxoxox

Emma's second day

After an eventful night, with not much sleep, everyone was up for the day at about 07:30, apart from Emma. After only going to sleep, after what seemed to be just one endless feed throughout the night, Emma lazed in until about 08:30, when she awoke for a little breakfast. Then back off for a doze.

Today was bath day, this was about as pleasant as it was for her big brother, Ollie hasn't let her know yet that bath time is actually great fun, when you get the hang of it that is.

Shortly after bath time, mum and Emma packed things up and got ready for the home coming. Ollie was thrilled to see mummy and daddy...and oh yes emma, back in the house. She was greeted with a few big kisses from her big brother and Ollie also let her share a few of his favourite toys.

Everyone is fantastic and glad to be home safe and sound at 160 Quebec. Thanks to everyone for all your warm wishes and congratualtion messages. Hopefully Rachael will be back on the blog soon and I can retire. In the meantime I will do my best to get pictures up and posted at the very least. I know there are lots of people around the globe who are desperate to see the little tub ball.

keep the comments coming.

emma charlotte hawley has arrived

well folks, as the title explains, Emma has arrived. A little overdue and over cooked, but none the less perfect in every way.
She was born at 12:46pm on monday 20th Novememer 2006, weighing in at a massive 9lb 13oz!!!! This came as something of a shock for both parents, but obviously a lot more of a shock for Rachael who had to do all the work in getting her out.
Mother and baby are both fantastic, Ollie seems somewhat unsure of the situation as yet, but I am sure he will be letting us know just how he feels in the next few days. Rachael is still in hospital with Emma and I have popped home to get some pictures uploaded onto this blog thingymabob. Rachael I am sure will give everybody a complete rundown of things, I will just be uploading a few photos for all to see.

So enough yapping from a very proud father of two....and here are the photos from today:

More from September

Well folks,
Can you believe I am now officially 16months old. I have finished walking and now what I do is run. Why walk when you can run is my motto. Besides this keeps mum and dad fit. Although I must admit despite my best efforts my mum is getting pudgy. We now refer to her big belly as Emma I am not sure why but occasionally when I give her big belly a kiss (as you'll see in one of my photos) her belly kicks me back.
I am attending quite a bit of daycare this month Dad says I'll appreciate it next month when I will get to see alot more of him. There are lots of kids there now. I am the oldest kid there. When I started I was the youngest but now all of them graduated to the bigger kids room so I am head honcho. I have recently taken to hitting the little ones which has accomplished nothing except getting me into the timeout chair on numerous occasions!! Mum and Dad have started doing this too at home. Yesterday when my friend Owen came over I spent quite a bit of time in my time out chair. Mum thinks it highly likely that Owen won't come visit again. Especially after he fell and got an ouch and I proceeded to hit him on the head because he was making too much noise!!
I love going to the park now. I skip the "wee wee" swings because I am far too busy. I love it when there are other kids around especially older ones as I like to watch what they do and try to copy them.
Well this is just a short one as I have to get off to bed. Mum is counting down the days until she finishes work...only 5 more ER shifts apparently!!
Take care all
and
Happy Thanksgiving this weekend.....My nanny and grandad are away so Uncle mike and auntie Janice are coming over and WE're NOT having TURKEY my dad says!!
Love
Ollie

August 2006

Well folks
Can you believe another month has gone by!! What an exciting month it was for me too! Mum and Dad have been working alot so, I have had plenty of trips to daycare...I always give Mum a hard time when she drops me off but I soon perk up and have fun with all the other kids there. My biggest news this month is that I STARTED WALKING!! I decided to wait until my Auntie Kate, and big cousins Ellie and Noah were around. That Noah made it look so easy and I was so desperate to chase after cousin Ellie that I thought I had better get up off my hind quarters and get moving. The official day I walked was July 30th. Since then I have perfected it and can even walk while clapping my hands. I have started to dance too when not holding on to anything. I love music. Mum and Dad often sing and if they stop I will ask them for "more dee dee!" which is short for singing. I often wake up thru the night to turn my birdies on that Grandad Bernie bought me for Christmas. I have a good old sing with them before going back to sleep. Sometimes I even get up and have a little dance - I think mum and dad have caught me a few times doing that.
I have plenty more words now. Mum and Dad say that they have to watch what they say around me as I often pick up at least one word per sentence. My word of the day is Apple. Have you noticed that alot of edible round things look like apples? Well, I have. I call alot of things an apple including: nectarines, clementines, peppers, onions and of course apples!!
I picked up more then walking from my big cousin Noah. He got alot of praise and claps while he was over here being so clever with his spoon and fork. I have decided to give it a whirl. I am finally getting pretty good at it although I still think its alot easier using my hands so I often resort to that. I still like to get quite messy with meals however, especially with the yogurt!! I taught him a thing or two also. I taught him how to get the big trucks to honk their horns and I taught him a bit of sign language. I think he also picked up a few new words from me!
While my big cousins were here we went away to a cottage for Grandad Bernie's birthday (he is turning 60 this year!!). We had a great time!! It was great waking up all the cousins bright and early. We would take turns me and Noah waking up in the night! I got to go for my first canoe ride and my first boat ride. I am a natural sailor! I must admit, I like being on top of the water rather then in the water, unlike my cousin Noah who seems to love it in there no matter what the temperature.
Oh...last but not least, I give great kisses now. I am not too choosey as to who gets them either. Sometimes Mum sometimes Dad sometimes both. Definitely to little ones at daycare or random little ones that I come across at airports etc who look like they need it.
I am looking forward to planting a big one on Nanny Carol who is coming over to visit me very soon!!
Here are a few of my latest photos.
Hope you are all well.
Take care,
Ollie
xoxoxox

July 2006

Hello Folks,
Well here we are halfway thru July!! I can't believe it. I have been very busy mind you!! Mum and Dad are both working quite a bit now so, I go to daycare for half a day for at least three days in the week. I didn't like it at first however, I am getting used to the place. I have decided that the ladies there are lovely and they seem to really like me. I have even ventured out of their laps to discover some of the many toys they have there- you'll never guess what, they have different toys there practically every day!! At first I would cry when my Mum would leave me but, now she seems to always come shortly after I have my lunch so, when she leaves I figure I may as well get on with playing with all the new toys and see her later!! Dad seems to be working a funny pattern. Sometimes he is with me alllllll day and then other days I don't see him at all, unless I wake up at night for a little drink and play (which I have been doing because my bedroom is sooooo hot, I think mum has finally convinced Dad to turn on the Air conditioning so that I can get a good nights sleep!!).
When mum and dad are off together we commonly go to the beach as a family. At first I didn't really like it. After all there was all this tasty looking gritty stuff under me but when I tasted it it wasn't very good!! Take my word for it....I tried it lots of times just to make sure it really was gross!! Sometimes Dad and I have an icecream at the beach. One time Dad took me up to the window where we would pay the lady for the icecream. On the way back to mum, I was busy eating mine and Dad was helping...and all of a sudden with a big plop, his ice cream fell into the yucky gritty stuff! I guess Dad has tried that stuff too and knows it isn't too tasty because he didn't even try to put his ice cream back on his cone!! I have a very interesting method of eating the ice cream. I tend to eat through the cone and go back to the top and then bite the bottom of the cone off so that all the ice cream drips and melts all over the place (maximizing the mess!).
I have a good few new words. I love to point out all the doors in our house and I do so very often. I can now say car so, I point them out to mum and dad whenever we are on our way anywhere! I also say "baby". Mum says I am going to have one of them soon so, I should know what to call it. I keep surprising mum and dad with more words out of the blue....the other day I said Ball...but I must admit that shouldn't come as a surprise...I love to hurl them all over the house....
Well, the silver thing that Mum and Dad used to have on me constantly doesn't seem to be as popular an item anymore but I did pose for a few lately...so here are some of my candid shots! Oh yeah, I say "cheese" now for the camera as well!! So a few shots that's what I am saying.
WEll take care everyone...I hope you are all well.
Ollie
xoxoxox

June 2006

Hello Folks,
Just thought I would write a quick note to update you on how I am doing. I am very well thank-you despite my multiple daily "ouches". I have learned how to say this word or rather a variation of it that sounds more like "Atch" since the "ou" part is hard to pronounce and I use it frequently. At first I didn't know what it meant but when I fell off the bottom step and mum asked me if it ouched I knew then. Now I commonly bump my head on the floor or on the wall very carefully so I can then say my favourite word. I also like to induce ouches in others by pulling mum's hair or Dad's nose and saying ouch while I do it!! I have several words actually now. I say, mum, dad (my real favourite and so adaptable, I use it for everything from my real dad to lights, cars etc), nana, dandad (Grandad), more, weewee, ouch, hot, and hat (sound alot like Atch).
I have had my first experience with Daycare. Unfortunately, the first day I went I had to go for the whole day. Mum knew something was wrong when the lady there said I was a very quiet boy who liked to be held and have stories read to me. She really knew I wasnt happy when the lady told her that I didn't eat any lunch!! However, I am no Mahatma Gandhi as I couldn't hold out, when I woke up from my nap I ate everything they had tried to give me at lunch time and then three more helpings!! I have since returned for half-day visits and am getting along much better. I am actually starting to venture off the laps of the lovely ladies there and checking out the toys. I have picked up a few things there as well. I finally have figured out what mum and dad kept doing at home with their hands, I now sign finished, in fact I sign finished after every bite, when mum and dad finish something, or when I hear the word finished. I also like to shake my head "no" which I do constantly at suppertime to Mum and Dad. I usually shake my head no and carry on by putting my hand over my mouth etc when they try to offer me the most labour intensive part of the meal (I mean what they have laboured over longest). I will of course eat my yogurt and grapes to be sure!! But don't offer me any meat pie!! I have also taken to shaking my head no while I am in the process of doing something I know mum and dad don't like ie: throwing food off the side of my tray!! That is one of my favourite wind-ups-it gets to both mum and Dad!!
I have developed a real sense of humour now. I am a very funny chap. As you can see from the photos below...unfortunately, Dad always steals my best material!
Anyway folks, I am off to look out the window for a few birdies so I had best be off. Take care and I hope you are all well!!
P.S. Here is the first photo of my little brother or sister...and there is one of mum's fat tummy at 18 weeks.
Ollie
xoxoxox