Six Months and an Offering to an Elephant

How is it possible that Oliver is already six months? On Wednesday I took Olie to his well baby check-up and he weighs in at 17lbs 3oz (50th percentile) and is 68 cm in length (70th percentile). We now don't have to go back until he is nine months when he will be such a different baby, doing so many different things. I am so curious to learn more about him and watch his personality take shape.

I am positive that Oliver is teething, as he has not been the easiest baby over the past week. He is a little more cranky than usual, which I am not use to. Although, it brought back memories of my dear Truman and how challenging he could be at times.

In the food department, Truman was a champ. He ate well from the first day that we introduced solids and was always willing and eager to try anything that I put in front of him. Oliver, on the other hand is not enjoying the sensation of eating at all. We have tried rice cereal, oatmeal and carrots. Oliver becomes frustrated quickly and often needs to be distracted in order to get a mere spoonful in his mouth. The only time he is more willing to try is when Truman offers him the spoon. I will give it another go tomorrow, and if it still isn't going well, I'll stop and try again in another week.

On a very positive note, Truman gave up his soothers when we returned from Disney. Jerry and I were planning on this and thought it would be a good time for Truman to say good-bye. He was only using them at night and at school he hadn't used them at nap time since he was about 18 months. Jerry and I were anticipating a horrible reaction. Of course, whenever we anticipate things to be difficult, they often are not. So, when we returned from Disney, and Truman asked for his soothers for bed we told them that we left the soothers for the baby elephants at Disney. The first night was a little difficult (no crying however) but he has been amazing ever since. He even asked me if Oliver will give his soothers to the elephants when he is older!

Our Disney Vacation

I want to start off and say that this was one of my most favourite vacations of all time. Although, it may not have started out that way. You see, I was somewhat skeptical about going to Disney. I thought, sure it will be fun for Truman but I would have preferred to sunbathe on a beach somewhere. I was gently pushing Club Med, but my dear husband was too excited about this upcoming trip. Truman too was excited as his teachers at school told me that he talked about Disney almost every day. As we got closer to leaving for our trip I was constantly checking the weather in Orlando. It didn't look too promising. I think I repacked at least half a dozen times, taking out more of the summer stuff and replacing it with warmer items. To make things even better, my little Olie developed an ear infection and then both Olie and Jerry got the stomach flu two days before departure. I was so sad that we could potentially miss our trip. Luckily by Saturday late afternoon everyone was feeling much better.

Early Sunday morning Jerry packed everything into our sport sedan, and we were off to Buffalo. Just a few snow squalls and white out conditions on our way. Nothing, however could prepare us for the chilly weather in Orlando. Florida last week had record lows! There were a few mornings and nights that went below freezing. There was a frenzy over hats and mittens at the park. Myriah and I went to Target one evening to pick up some for her boys. We were out of luck, they had sold out of all of their winter items. Luckily we had worn our winter attire and therefore well equipped for the week!

Disney is a well oiled machine, everything runs exceptionaly efficiently. For example, I was in line getting a tea for Jerry and the patron in front of me spilled his coffee everywhere. Within seconds a person appears out of nowhere to clean up the mess. Amazing. The food was great and we ate very well, even though we left with food remaining on our plan.

It is such a pleasure watching the joy on your child's face. Truman was so happy this entire trip. Although, it was evident quite quickly that he preferred any ride that contained an animal. He wasn't too thrilled with "It's a Small World" nor the Peter Pan ride. I think he found them boring. His favourite ride was the Disney Jungle Cruise which he went on more than ten times, six times in one day in fact. He was even allowed to "steer" the boat.

It was amazing to wake up in the morning and see animals outside the window having their breakfast. We loved staying at the Animal Kingdom lodge. One afternoon on our warmest day, Jerry and I sat on our balcony (in our winter coats, drinking hot liquids) watching a zebra graze on the grass in front of our room. Amazing! Truman loved play finding the animals.

It took Truman awhile to warm up to the character. We had a character dinner at Chef Mickey's and he wasn't interested in meeting Goofy, Minnie, or Mickey in fact he wasn't interested in meeting any of them. Although, closer to the end of the trip he had a little more interest and gave Rafiki and Daisy a big hug. Ethan, out of all the boys loved all the characters and couldn't wait to meet them all. Maybe on our next trip Truman won't be so hesitant.


Oliver was a complete saint on the trip. He didn't make a peep on the flight down or back. He would sleep during most of our meals and slept for seven to eight hour stretches at night. He was so easy to travel with. He actually really enjoyed the Lion King performance and wanted to stand and watch the entire show. The minute I would sit him on my lap he would protest and want to stand again. Adorable!

We had a fabulous trip, and I cannot wait to return to the magical land. I am converted. I can't wait to see the joy and complete joy and happiness. I will cherish these memories forever.

Happy Merry

Goodbye 2009, hello shiny new decade! Another busy year over and another year to be thankful for so many things. The Topolski Family welcomed the newest arrival to our clan, we travelled to St. Lucia to visit Grandpa Topolski, and spent a lot of quality family time together. Truman was involved in gymnastics, soccer, music class, he learned to ride a bike, and became an amazing swimmer over the summer. Oliver learned to roll, grab onto objects and babble (his newest being "ba"). I am looking forward to another amazing year of watching my two boys grow.




Like every year, we spent the holidays at my parents place. This year, however, at times, was a mad house with Truman and Avery running around. I can only imagine what next year will be like when we throw potentially two more mobile boys in the mix. My father has promised to have the basement finished so that the kids have a nice place to play and sleep.



This year, as a family we decided that we would only give gifts to the children and exchange stockings with the adults. I cannot tell you how long it took us to unwrap gifts for the three little munchkins. I think it took several hours until all the goodies were opened. We did have a break or two for breakfast and naps, but it was an exhausting feat. I think next year we will have to set a limit for the kiddies too!!



Truman has been off since December 24th as his daycare has been closed for the holidays. I was honestly really worried how I was going to handle and entertain both children at home alone (as Jerry did have to work on and off). It was actually easier than I thought, and incredibly fulfilling. We were able to keep ourselves busy by going to the Science Centre and the library, we went for a few walks, and I even took both kids to the mall on my own. I think I will be a little sad when Truman returns to school. Luckily we have one more week together, as the Topolskis are leaving for a week vacation to Disney World on Sunday.




Mother's intuition is an amazing thing. My poor Oliver has been fighting a cold since Monday. What worried me most is that he was not his usual happy self. Instead, he would have screaming bouts where he would be unconsolable. He had difficulty eating for several days. Then, it dawned on me....he had an ear infection. So, first thing this morning, I headed to the pediatric walk-in clinic, and sure enough, our little one is fighting his first ear infection. I am sure this will be fisrt of many, as Truman, if you remember also had several ear infections before he got tubes. I just hope he feels better for our trip. My poor little Olie.