Routine checkup today at the doctor’s for the two kiddies, with mom and dad in tow. Truly, a family doctor!

Xavier’s height is 35″, and his weight 30 lbs, which places him twice at percentile 90. Tall, he is.

As for Orléane, she weighs 9 lbs 14oz and is already 22.5″ – this means she grew 2.5″ in 5 weeks! Her head is 15″ around, so she is three times at percentile 50. A examplary child, then!

And, as expected, they are both in perfect health. As a matter of fact, they both behaved really well during the checkup.

PS. Congratulations to Geneviève and Éric who had their second child – a beautiful first son! – yesterday.

Just dropping a good luck wish to our friend Geneviève (and her boyfriend Éric), who’s heading for the hospital tomorrow at 6am for a C-section. We’re eager to see this new little face!

It’s unbelievable that less than two years ago, it was just the 4 of us. With the births of Xavier, Romane, Orléane and the second St-Louis baby tomorrow, we’ll have effectively doubled that number. Oy!

Happy Easter!

Oups: this was supposed to be posted on my birthday two days ago. Turned 28, for inquiring minds.

Signs you’re getting older

• You were there when the original of a “remade” song came out.
• You like some of the songs from the soft-rock station.
• You remember your spouse’s preferred meal, with condiments and beverage, from all the major take-out places.
• In a hurry, you have broken into a half-run – possibly with kids in tow – at the mall.
• You buy clothes as a necessity.
• You buy shampoo according to price.
• You know what “RRP” stands for.
• There are snacks, small toys, a diaper and baby wipes in your purse.
• Objects entering your home are immediately judged by size/choking potential.
• You can navigate the non-creaking floorboards in your child’s bedroom through the dark.
• Someone names you “mommy”.

[Photos were up at least a week ago, but this post has been hanging around in the Drafts for a while now, while we play tag-influenza at home. I'm just getting out of a bad case of it, and Xavier is up for his second round now. I'm literally sick of winter, and not just because of Mount Everest building up on my front yard.]

At long last, we finished it.

In fact, the playroom has been nearly done for weeks now, but the final touch was only added this afternoon, so I can finally post pictures of Xavier’s belated Xmas gift.

Salle de jeux

You can check the album above for the full set (11 pics), but here is a global view:

Budget
It was fun to do, and costs were reasonable. The priciest item was of course the playhouse, but not by much. We used two 4′x8′ sheets of MDF, which were cut to 4′x4′ by the store. Add a can of green paint and another of chalkboard paint (I had leftover red for the inside), plus some trim for the chalkboard, and it’s just over a hundred bucks. Then we spent another 20$ on acrylic to paint the tree and elf. What brought the cost up was my trip to Ikea: the big leave (a bed canopy) used for the roof was 25$, the door hanging was 16$ and the lamp inside – which Xavier can light up himself with the handy switch, and which doesn’t get hot enough to burn – around 7$ or so. The hanging vines on the ceiling and on top of the playhouse were found at the dollar store.

Diego play table and chairs were a Xmas gift from uncle Christian; coincidentally well timed, I might add. The priciest, in my mind, were the foam pads on the floor and inside the house: 20$ for 4… It added up quickly.

There was supposed to be a fake tree in the middle of the play area, but we haven’t gotten one yet. Some day.

Consequences
Now Xavier is constantly requesting a trip to the basement. We’re willing enough to oblige him most of the time, but sometimes (when we need to prepare dinner, for example) it’s just not convenient – and Xavier has to deal with that. Oh well.

It’s true that the chalkboard is a big hit: