Rachel is down and out

I am not sure if it is the flu, probably just a bad cold, but Rachel is down and out. She threw up a few times on Saturday and has a nasty cough which is not getting much better. Rachel stayed home from school yesterday and was still asleep this morning at 8:30 so I guess she will need another day at home to get get better. Fortunatley daddy is off till Friday so no babysitter issues!

Here is Erica reading to Rachel last evening. No, Jacob is not ready for bed, it was pajama day at his school.

Jacob Taylor is now a Teen!!!!

It is so hard to believe, but Jacob is now a teenager. Wow, I can remember when Nicole called me at work and told me to get home as it was "time". Well, I zoomed down the Don Valley Parkway, onto the Gardiner Expressway, past the SkyDome and CN Tower and out onto the QEW. An hour later I was bringing Nicole into the Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington. Twenty-six hours later and in the middle of a snowstorm Jacob Michael Taylor was born.

That was one of the longest days and nights in my entire life. The maternity ward was under construction, a baby had been stolen a week earlier so the nurses were all skittish, and trying to comfort Nicole was not an easy task. Plus, it seemed that Jacob was enjoying the comfort of his mothers womb and was in no hurry to come out. With the help of the doctors forceps, out he came at 12:40 pm, 8 pounds and 7 1/2 ounces.

Traditionally, the kids have a sleep over with their friends on their birthday. Since we are in a new community, we did things a little different. The kids had a sleep over with nanny and aunt Lisa. I heard them in the basement at midnight still carrying on so I guess they had fun!

First Visitors

Mom and Ken were our first visitors from away. They made a quick visit; stayed for a couple of hours and then left. We spent the rest of the day looking for furniture for the girls rooms.

Rachel wins karoake contest

The schools close to our new home do not offer early french immersion, so the kids have to travel to another neighborhood to attend school. The community centre in that neighborhood was having activities for its winter carnival so we decided to attend. Well, we were the only parents there and it we stuck out like sore thumbs. Although,I must hand it to the guy who ran the place; keeping 40-50 eight to seventeen years olds in line is not an easy task!

Anyway, there was a karaoke contest and Rachel sang her favourite song: James Taylor "You've got a Friend". After listening to an hour and a half of bad karaoke the place sure got quiet was Rachel started to sing. Rachel won first place and $25.00. She is getting very comfortable up on the stage. Now she just needs to expand her repertoire.