Lousy, lousy, lousy Bell

I suppose I should have expected it, since it's been some time since I've had any significant problems with Bell Canada service.  A while back, after numerous significantly frustrating ordeals, I gave up on them and switched over to Rogers for a year, but after the initial offer from them was up, Bell offered me a deal on phone and internet service which was too good to pass up, plus it didn't come with any contractual obligations.  And I have to admit - for the last year or so, I haven't had any major complaints.  In fact, if I ever needed to contact them, it seems they have rearranged their customer service department so you can actually talk to a real person (not Emily) within a reasonable amount of time who usually speaks decent English and doesn't sit at a desk halfway around the world. 
After today, though, I realized that Bell has not given up on its infamously and unacceptably lousy customer service, and is in fact working hard on stacking blocks onto its monumental tower of stupidity.  I called them earlier this week to arrange the moving of our telephone and internet service to the new house, which I asked to be set up for June 21.  This call took almost an HOUR to complete, with both kids screaming in the background at various times.  Glad to have that phone call out of the way, I started working on the rest of my infinitely long to-do list.  This morning, I tried to make a phone call and it didn't seem to go through - I assumed it was a bad number and didn't think anything more of it until later in the morning when the internet stopped working.  Strange... I went downstairs to reset the modem.  On my way back upstairs, I realized with a foreboding feeling that today was May 21...exactly one month before June 21... I'll bet that Bell tried to move our phone line today instead of next month. I had received a confirmation email about the moving of service, and it was definitely set up for June 21 but you never know what kind of mistakes this company is capable of. 
Sure enough, after calling Bell on the cell phone (which we reserve for emergencies) and having a quick chat with Emily, she confirmed that our service move was in progress and she assured me service would be up and running - at the new address - by 5 pm.  I got a hold of a customer service person and explained the situation - she apologized and promised that service would be restored to our current address within two hours.  Four hours later, service still wasn't back so I called again - and I was assured it would be restored by 5:00.  Guess what - at 5:00 it still didn't work!!  I called them from ZELLERS and chewed them out (the second time I called, anyways, since the first time I called I was hung up on), demanding that someone come and give me back my phone line TONIGHT, because I do not want to have no phone over a long weekend!  He told me that the phone service was working at my house and since I was at Zellers, since my phone didn't work at home, I couldn't very well check it, could I.  I told him to have someone give me a call at 9:00 to confirm it was working.  Aaaaand once I returned home, guess what, the phone still didn't work.  Surprise.  However, there was a dial tone at the NEW house so I guess Mike will be getting a call there at 9:00 (he's doing some work there this evening).  How stupid can you get??  Yes, we might have possession of the house already but what if we didn't?  Bell would have directed all our phone calls to someone else's house.  They'd better restore my phone service VERY soon, because this is just infuriating me!! 

UPDATE:  Although the phone is still not hooked up here and we have no dial tone, for some odd reason the internet has started working again... if you have a hard time getting a hold of us this might be why...  In the meantime I still have to figure out where I should go to use the phone to chew someone out over there at Bell...

Another Garbage Truck Day

Seeing as today is garbage truck day, the kids are both quite pumped to see the regular fleet of garbage trucks pass by the house.  Because our house is situated across the street from and near the corner of a park, we are in a unique location to see each garbage truck at least three times - adding up to 9 or more trucks passing by.  How could life get any more exciting?  The unfortunate thing about this day is that the trucks tend to come by right around when the kids are eating breakfast - and stuck in their chairs.  All through the winter I've either waited to give them something to eat, or let them out of their chairs when a truck was coming.  This morning, I made a perfect compromise:  I hauled their chairs into the sunroom so they could eat in there - breakfast AND garbage trucks.  Fantastic. 

Feeding them in there also afforded me a new view of our neighbourhood.  All those times that we've heard the train whistles from the tracks at the end of the street?  When Peter tells me that he hears the train and "look Mommy, train!" I've agreed with him but never really looked all that hard.  I discovered this morning (after almost four years of living here) that you can, indeed, see the train if you are sitting in the right spot. 
I've also learned this morning that "Loads of Raisins Raisin Bran" is not the most time-efficient breakfast for my dear oldest son.  "Look, Mommy, I found a raisin!".... "Look, Mommy, I found another raisin!!".... and every raisin discovery demands a response from Mom.... I think maybe we'll stick with Cheerios, lol....

New House!

May the fourth be with you!  (two days ago)  I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about blog posts the last little while as the closing date for our new house came closer and closer - and finally arrived on Tuesday.  It was originally suggested to have May 5 as the closing date, but we changed it to the day before, to take advantage of the Star Wars reference... not that either of us are Star Wars junkies by any definition (I think I may have watched all episodes once, can't say what Mike's watched but I definitely know he isn't a die-hard fan).  Just a quirky choice of date I suppose.
So, after a couple of busy, slightly stressful weeks of getting all the proper paperwork in order, we were finally able to pick up the keys on Tuesday at noon.  We've been doing some cleaning, painting, and decision making, and although there is a lot of work yet to do before it feels like "home", we are very excited!  I haven't posted pictures of the house yet, so here are a few...enjoy!   

A Year of Growing

I try to be consistent with taking photos of the boys as they are growing, and at various stages in their lives.  It can be too easy to put the camera on a shelf and forget to capture certain moments during a busy day, but once these moments are gone, you can't get them back.  I'm sure the number of photos will decrease as the number of kids increases, but I will try my best to keep up with the picture-taking as life gets busier.  I have been working on an on-going project since Peter was born, and since I've just completed Year One for both kids, I thought I'd post my comparisons up now... kind of as a public incentive  to tie me to my responsibility to continue this project for the rest of our kids in the years to come!

0 Months!  Just Born

5 Days

6 Weeks

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

7.5 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

11.5 Months

 12 Months!  Happy Birthday Boys!

Having Fun

I just love this picture - the boys are having a ton of fun tearing around the house

Baby #3

We had an ultrasound yesterday to check in on Baby #3.  It is an amazing thing to see this little baby wiggling around in his or her cozy little environment, and exciting to know that in a few months we will be able to hold him/her in our arms.  Baby was VERY active, and the ultrasound technician had a hard time getting the clear pictures she wanted for the exam.  Legs and arms moving all over the place, somersaults, and of course lots of thumb-sucking.  Estimated age was put at 18 weeks 4 days, 2 days further than the original ultrasound but not enough to change the official due date.  We can't wait to meet you, little one!!

 

What a Week!

And it's a Monday again, the beginning of another week.  It seems like it was just Monday, and here another one comes along!  This past week has been quite the eventful one, full of excitement and big changes.  First of all - WE BOUGHT OUR NEW HOUSE!!  It still doesn't seem entirely real, as everything went so very very fast.  We were sitting at the table, just finishing up Aaron's birthday dinner.  Mike had prayed for everything to go quickly with the whole house-finding-and-buying process, and we were about to get what we asked for... Randy, our real estate agent called us up at 6:00 and told us that he was standing in "our" house, and that he had an appointment to show it to someone else at 7:30, but if we could drop everything and get there right away, we could take a look at it beforehand.  So we packed up the kids, and made our way up to north St. Catharines, driving into a cosy, quiet, tree-lined street.  We took a look through the house, and we LOVED it.  It's a three-bedroom brick bungalow, hardwood floors throughout, and an untouched basement just waiting for us to finish it.  Everything is included in the house - appliances, couches, dressers, beds, tables.  The yard is a good size, and almost completely fenced already.  Lauren and Tom dropped everything in Hamilton and came out to St. Catharines to watch the boys while we went back to the office with Randy later in the evening to write up an offer.  The house had hit the market the day before, and we were the fourth offer to be submitted that day.  Randy called us up at 10:00 to let us know that our offer had been accepted, and we had bought a house!  Wow!  Less than four hours after seeing it, it was ours.  We can't wait to get possession (two weeks from now) and start moving over!  There are a few things we'd like to change, but everything in its own time. 
And other events of last week - of course, it was Aaron's first birthday, which I posted about earlier.  One year old already!  He's itching to figure out how to balance without holding on to anyone, and I'm looking forward to his first steps!  Last night he slept through the night, and didn't wake up until 7:00 - simply fantastic, I have to say.  I can do with more of that. 
I started potty-training Peter last week as well.  Monday and Tuesday we lived by the timer, 5 minutes on and 15 minutes off.  By Wednesday he was in underwear all day and dry through his nap, and he told me Thursday night for the first time that he needed to use the potty.  Last night, he stayed dry all night.  I'm very impressed by how he is doing!  He's had a few accidents, but far less than I expected.  He did have the messiest explosive dirty diaper of his life on Saturday, made especially notable by the fact that we were in the van at the time and I didn't have any extra clothes for him - as everything needed to be replaced, from his coat down to his socks.  Thankfully I had some extra clothes for Aaron, and they managed to fit Pete for the time being.  Yuck!  Sorry for the details but the whole episode was somewhat hilariously disgusting. 
So I suppose I need to start packing things up around here, bit by bit.  There's so much more stuff than when we moved into this house!  Plus it's a lot harder to do when you have two kids around - you can't really settle for "hey, how about you have this slice of bread for supper, and I'll eat this apple, since that's all that's left in the house".  Haha.  Thankfully we have lots of time between the closing dates of the two houses that we don't have to move in one day. 
The boys are currently playing together with a ride-on toy that Aaron got for his birthday from Tom and Lauren.  Usually it's an item which is the source of much argument, but Aaron is sitting on it and Peter is pushing him back and forth across the dining room "really fast!".  Quite entertaining to watch, as both of them are laughing and laughing.

Happy First Birthday, Aaron!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday dear Aaron,

Happy birthday to you!

Dear Aaron,
Wow!  Can it be that a year has already passed since we first held you in our arms?  Congratulations on your first birthday!  You've changed so much in this first year, and it has been a blessing to watch you grow and develop into the inquisitive and cheerful one-year-old that sits here in front of me today.  Right from the start, you were a content and happy little (big) baby, making the transition from one to two kids easier than we expected.  You are constantly melting our hearts with your warm smile and your playful antics!  Your sleeping habits have always been a bit of a wonder - I remember you being WIDE awake in the middle of the night when you were just a wee thing, and thinking I would have to give up on sleep for the rest of the night.  However you would drift back to sleep with no problem after I put you down again with a full tummy.  Somehow you have managed to retain this wide-awake thing, but the drifting back to sleep again thing is sometimes a problem for you after 4:00 a.m. although things have been a little better lately.  I guess you just don't need as much sleep as your older brother!  (or your Mom and Dad for that matter...).  Your curiosity has us on our toes, as you are quick to make a beeline for things that grab your attention - open cupboards, open doors, open toilet lids.  That water is just too fun to splash in!  Yuck!  Your first word - "uh oh" - is an indication to us of what just might be laying in store for us in the future...  Just like your older brother, at one year of age your place in our family as the "youngest" is already on a countdown, as we will meet your little brother or sister in a few months from now.  I promise it will be a busy year, but you will have a special place as the "middle" child!  Just think - you'll be able to try out all the tricks that you're learning from your older brother these days, and you'll have someone of your own to chase after you!.    
We look forward to watching you grow in the coming year, as this will also be a year of much exciting development and growth!  May God continue to bless you with health and happiness, and we look forward to many more years with you!
Lots of love,
Mom and Dad

At Long Last

After a loooooong break from posting pictures, I finally decided to sit down this morning and go through a few of the pictures from the last little while.  Our camera broke, and we just recently purchased a new one after borrowing my parents' for a few weeks.  Unfortunately, their camera was returned without first copying the pictures to our computer from their memory card, so there are a few weeks missing from the album but I'm sure you won't notice :)
How about an update first... where to begin... I think I need to start with some exciting news first - our house is SOLD!! 

We signed the final paperwork last night, and the sign was switched over to proclaim our happy news.  The closing date is at the end of June, so we have a little bit of time to find a new place before we're out on the street.  Not that we'll be on the street due to some very generous family members, but it would sure be nice to not have to move twice.  Especially since....
We're expecting again!  You probably have either noticed the ticker at the top of the blog, or heard the news one way or another, but yes, we are expecting number three at the end of September.  Vander Deen #3 will be about 17 months apart from Aaron, which is the same time between Peter and Aaron.  It will make for a very busy household, but we look forward to meeting our new addition in due time.  Another reason why moving is somewhat more necessary...it's a little hard to fit three little ones in a 9x9 room without using bunk beds, since Peter is far from ready for that step.  He is quite proud to show us how he can jump off a book laying on the floor, never mind climb up to a top bunk.  All in good time, I suppose.
And how are the boys doing, you might ask.  Peter is 2 years, 4.5 months, and is quite the character.  He loves to sing, and often wants us to sing along with him.  He continues to love reading and having books read to him, which is quite enjoyable!  He is also VERY interested in various machines - garbage trucks, diggers, loaders, bulldozers, fire engines, truck-and-trailers, and so on.  This makes car trips very interesting - it is amazing how many construction vehicles you can pass on your travels, and never mind all the truck-and-trailers (all of which require an enthusiastic response from Mom and/or Dad, of course).  And woe be Aaron if he isn't paying enough attention to the vehicles that Peter sees!  "Look Aaron!  See the digger?!  LOOK Aaron!!  Wow!!"

Peter and one of his favourite toys, a garbage truck

 During one of our house showings, we went to a reptile place where Peter 

(and Mike!) were thrilled to see this "BIG SNAKE!", a reticulated 

python  We've been hearing about that snake ever since...

Looking so grown up!

He can be such a serious little fellow

But he actually smiled for the camera!

Thumbs up for vacuuming!

Proper colouring technique

Aaron is growing up fast - it's hard to believe that it will be his first birthday in just over a week.  How did a year go by already?  He is a sweet little boy, with a smile to melt your heart.  He knows how to flirt, and definitely loves having lots of attention.  He is finally figuring out how to eat chunkier foods, and things just seem to have taken off running in that department - it's so nice not to have to feed him pureed-everything now.  He also enjoys feeding himself, which makes for messy dinner times but a generally happy kid.  He continues to be a challenge with his sleeping habits.  He doesn't sleep long for his naps, and has had a few nights in the last little while that we've resorted to pulling the swing back out of the basement to try to get him to settle down and fall asleep, even in the middle of the night.  Maybe when he starts walking, he'll need more sleep... well that is my far-fetched hope for his sleeping routines anyways.  He is pulling himself up on everything and walking along furniture.  I've seen him let go a few times, but he doesn't last more than half a second balancing on his own, so he definitely won't be walking before his birthday.  No rush on that, because I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough.  Peter was walking at around 14 months, and I imagine it will be around the same for Aaron.  Interesting how that goes, especially since Aaron was rolling at 6 weeks and it took Peter till 10 or 11 months to figure that out.

Gotta love his smiles!

A typical Aaron face

Mike snapped this great shot of Aaron eating spaghetti for the first time

Making a delightful mess in the kitchen

  The boys usually get along spectacularly ( is that a word?).  They both love to be chased, and Peter will chase Aaron around, then turn around and tell Aaron to chase him back.  Aaron's not so good at following those instructions, but the two of them have a lot of fun together, when they aren't stealing each other's toys or keeping each other awake.  They are usually very happy to see each other in the mornings or after a nap, and Peter loves to give his little brother hugs.  Peter is also a fan of giving "the baby" hugs and kisses as well, and he insists that it is a sister and not a brother.  We'll see how his predictions turn out!
Aaron is awake from his nap, and giving me hints that he'd like to be rescued, so I should wrap this up and post the remaining few pictures.  Enjoy!!

Enjoying BIG GARBAGE TRUCK DAY!!! 
from Mom and Dad's bedroom window

Rub a dub dub, four boys in the tub!

Amazing what a piece of Plexiglass will do to a family

Since the next fruit/vegetable in line is apparently a sweet potato, and after a not-too-strenuous search for an appropriate picture of such a item that didn't involve two, implying twins, this will be the last size post... from now on, it's on its way from a cantaloupe to a watermelon!