Baby Stuff – James & Carolanne

The Kids

Fri, 25 Nov 11 16:22:38 +0000

Occasionally, people tell me that they wish they could see more of our kids and our family. So here's a more personal entry. My son is such a good big brother. He's four now, and Julia is two. Carolanne and I really enjoyed this clip of him trying to teach his sister how to use the Wii. He was trying to teach her to play the bowling game.

Julia's Picture of the Day

Mon, 18 Jan 10 16:43:08 +0000

[caption id="attachment_734" align="alignnone" width="341" caption="Isn't she cute!?"][/caption]

Our Newest Family Member

Mon, 05 Oct 09 20:20:25 +0000

[caption id="attachment_678" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Julia Rebecca Anne Warkentin"][/caption] We are very excited to announce the newest member of our family. Her name is Julia Rebecca Anne Warkentin and she came into this world on Sunday morning Oct. 4'th at 10:19 am. She initially weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces and measured 51.5 cm. Both baby and mommy seem to be doing well, and we were permitted to leave the hospital 24 hours after birth. [gallery link="file" columns="2"]

Hurry up and post your guess on when you think our baby's birthday will be!

Mon, 07 Sep 09 21:36:53 +0000

Well, the estimated due date for this baby to arrive is quickly approaching and with it the end of our baby contest. Our due date is October 8, 2009. You can post your guess on either this post or the other one about the baby contest that James posted earlier. Competition rules are as follows:

Guesses must include both a date and time.
Guesses must be in by Oct. 1, 2009.
The person who guesses the closest date and time will be declared the winner and there will be a prize.
Guesses must be posted in the comments below this blog post to qualify. If necessary you may elect someone who has internet access to vote on your behalf.
If you guess more than once, your last guess will be the one we choose from.

Competition to Guess Baby's Birthdate

Thu, 11 Jun 09 15:25:21 +0000

It's that time of year once again, where we give you the opportunity to guess when our new baby will be born. Last year the winner of this competition was Tobias G. and his prize was a $20 gift certificate to House of James in Abbotsford. Original release here. This year, our estimated due date (according to our first ultrasound) is Oct. 8, 2009. Competition rules are as follows:

Guesses must include both a date and time.
Guesses must be in by Oct. 1, 2009.
The person who guesses the closest date and time will be declared the winner and there will be a prize.
Guesses must be posted in the comments below this blog post to qualify. If necessary you may elect someone who has internet access to vote on your behalf.
If you guess more than once, your last guess will be the one we choose from.

Easter Adventures

Sun, 12 Apr 09 01:01:42 +0000

[caption id="attachment_488" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="First Barbershop Haircut"][/caption] Ben had lots of fun today. We took him for his very first barbershop haircut and he got to sit in the old-fashioned barber chair. Carolanne had trimmed his hair a few times before this point, but he still looked very much like a baby. Now he looks much more like a little boy. He was a little concerned about wearing the protective sheet, so we skipped that and just changed his outfit later. Other than that, he did really well. It was a very cool experience because the shop was a little place in Yarrow that was actually set up like an old style barbershop. Apparently the owner has been doing this for over 60 years, and has pictures on the wall to prove it. We also had lots of fun with Ben in the evening searching for Easter eggs. Daddy played "Easter Bunny" and mommy and Ben got to look for eggs. We got a video of the whole process.

Pictures of Benjamin

Fri, 10 Apr 09 20:47:26 +0000

Benjamin's been having lots of fun with different things. Like Friday evening when my brother Will and Cynthia came over and we took our crested gecko out and he got to play with her. He loves her and was so excited. He even was holding out his arm and saying "aam, aam" ( he can't say the 'r' yet) It was really cute to see his reaction. He loved it when the gecko would jump and when the gecko was on him was trying to convince her to jump by telling her "jump, jump". He was not scared at all. We all had loads of fun playing with the gecko or at least watching Ben.

Benjamin has also had lots of fun visiting uncle Bernie at Blackwood where he works. He loves getting to see all the forklifts and the big trucks and loves it when uncle Bernie puts him onto one of the forklifts. One time when James and I went to Blackwood as we were turning into the driveway Ben just squealed with delight. The last time we went uncle Bernie was on his break so we asked one of the workers if he could call Bernie and mention to him that someone is here to see uncle cookie. Uncle Bernie calls himself uncle cookie to Ben because he gives him cookies and candies and other treats. Ben loves his uncles.

Benjamin has also had fun looking at all the pictures that Grampy takes of him. I love how in this picture he just settled in there and relaxed, while Grampy and Ben went through the pictures grampy had taken when they were over for dinner to celebrate grammy's birthday.

Ben has also enjoyed curling up into his sleeping bag that is attached to his couch the folds out into a bed. He'll get all comfy and lie there and watch cartoons or bring his Elmo toy with him and have a conversation with him. He's lots of fun to watch and see how he masters such things as the zipper on the side of the sleeping bag. He no longer needs my help to get in there.

Thankfully so far he has not asked me to come and join him like he does on the big couch or on his big boy bed. He's getting quite good at getting on and off his big boy bed and we were thinking that we would try to graduate him to sleeping in it after his 2nd birthday in May. We are praying that the transition goes well.

Sometimes he will skip getting comfy on the couch and just lie back on Rusty instead and relax.

Rusty is very accommodating.

Guess What.....!

Thu, 09 Apr 09 07:58:50 +0000

Ben pees on the potty!

Wed, 25 Feb 09 01:01:43 +0000

Well I guess our little boy really is growing up. He's now 21 months old and now he not only sits on the potty but will actually pee in it too. Before it was just copying what mommy and daddy were doing, but now he seems to have figured out that he's actually suppose to do more then just use it as a chair. Well, hopefully he will continue to be fond of using the potty. He got chocolate chips and a hotwheel car as a big treat for going pee on the potty. The nice thing is he liked the chocolate chips more then the hotwheel car. Which is good, because it is way less expensive to use as an incentive. We are both really proud of Benjamin for starting to use the potty properly. We are praying that he catches on fast. Tonight Grandpa and Grandma were coming over to babysit Benjamin, but actually ended up taking him back to their house for a sleep over. Too bad James has to go into work tomorrow or we both would be able to sleep in tomorrow. Oh, well, I know I am going to enjoy sleeping in.

Benjamin's Cumfy chair

Sat, 31 Jan 09 20:11:22 +0000

Benjamin loves Rusty! Sometimes as a chair, but other times to roll over or to charge at with his little ride on car or even to give kisses. Rusty puts up with everything that Benjamin does. They love each others company. It's so much fun to see how they interact. The day that this picture was taken Ben was rolling around on Rusty and then stopped and sat on Rusty's bum and watched a bit of a show while using Rusty as his chair. We thought it was so cute we quickly got the camera and managed to capture this picture before Benjamin got off.

Benjamin's full mouth

Fri, 19 Dec 08 15:28:47 +0000

Benjamin now has a complete full set of baby teeth, including all his 4 molars. The 2 back molars on his left side are not fully in yet, but they have made their appearance through the gums. I can't believe he already has a full set of teeth. That would explain the cranky times. I guess we won't have to deal with any them coming in when he's 2. We just have to deal with a little more of him being cranky as those last ones make there way through the rest of the way. It snowed this last Monday and so I took Benjamin out is the snow! It was the first time he has been able to walk around in that white stuff that is all over the ground. Daddy came home early, because of all the blizzard conditions, and continued working at home. It's a good thing he did, because they ended up closing the freeway. Benjamin had lots of fun outside in the snow and stayed nice and toasty warm. He was not too pleased though when we had to go in, because mommy was really cold. We are looking forward to this Christmas with Benjamin. It's already lots of fun seeing how he loves all the lights and now the snow. Just wait till he gets to play with his Christmas wrapping paper! I mean Christmas gift. Benjamin actually saw his gift early and really wanted it, but it's not the same if he would get it that early so I put it into hiding. He got him a little couch that folds out into a bed. It's neat, it even has a built in sleeping bag. Benjamin loves working on daddy's laptop computer. It's not the same to just type on a keyboard he needs to have some kind of screen to see what he is typing. Our little guy is growing up. He's now 19 months old as of the 15th.

More teeth!!

Tue, 02 Dec 08 22:06:06 +0000

You read that correctly Benjamin has more teeth coming in. His upper moller on the right side is almost completely in. I realized this while tickling him on the couch this morning. I read that these don't start coming in till around 20 months. I guess this would be why he's had all those moist shirts recently. Look at that little grin. He's so cute! Yes, I'm a little bias, but just look at him...I know his daddy would agree. He's learning so many new things. He's a little talker. He can say the sounds that a cow, sheep, snake, lion and tiger make. He points out "froggies" and says his version of froggie. He has not mastered the "F" sound yet. He also says Pa Pa for Grandpa and Bapi for Grampy. He can say doggy, kitty,car, pretty (which is all the Christmas lights that we see around) he also says ma ma and da da and daddy! He's so much fun to watch. We get such a chuckle at just watching new things he does and discovers. We found out he loves drinking V8 juice from a straw. It's one way to make sure he gets vegetables into his little tummy. We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and Benjamin was very intrigued by it. He's been very good around it so far. There are 2 ornaments that he's allowed to play with.

Benjamin's improving!

Thu, 02 Oct 08 15:29:34 +0000

Benjamin is getting better and better at walking. He can now walk greater distances without the use of something to hold onto. He still will hold onto our finger when we go on a walk and he loves to hold onto his little ride on car and push it all around the house. He's figured out how to move it over the little bumps that divides the living room from the kitchen. This also means that poor Rusty can't get a decent nap without getting attached by a little boy coming at him with his toy car. He loves playing with Rusty and they get along so well together. In fact they get along so well that they even share each others food. Benjamin will go and take his food over to Rusty and put it into his mouth. Benjamin will also eat Rusty's food if we have forgotten to pick it up off the floor in the morning. He loves bringing Rusty's toy to him and then taking it away and then giving it back again. He also enjoys playing in Rusty's crate. Rusty has been a great dog to have with Benjamin. He's so gentle with Benjamin. This new found walking skill has opened Benjamin's eyes to so much more and because of this he can also get into more things as well as have more accidents. He loves having his shoes put on and go for a walk. I will often try to go on a walk with him to go and get the mail. He loves it, but does not love when we need to turn around and head back.He loves being outdoors.

He can say car!

Tue, 08 Jul 08 12:02:18 +0000

Yesterday when I was putting Benjamin into the car he said "car". I thought wow that really sounded like car, but he probably won't say it again, but he did! Then he kept on saying it for quite some time until latter when I wanted him to say "car" to Uncle Will and latter to Daddy on the phone. Latter that day, when daddy got home from work,he did say "car" so Daddy could hear it too. He actually says it pretty clearly too. I think that's Benjmain's first real word besides "da,da" and "ma, ma".

My Birthday at the Beach

Tue, 11 Mar 08 20:04:30 +0000

We spent my birthday at the beach in Whiterock on March 5'th and got some great pictures of birds and of Benjamin. James was able to take the day off, so we had lots of fun together as a family. Benjamin was very intrigued at all the water. So much so that he had no desire to look at the camera.