Year of Dates 2014–August

 

Happy Friday! Finally, the end of the week is here! Even being on Maternity leave, Fridays are still my favourite. This Friday is particularly exciting because Ryan is starting his week long holiday. Most people take there summer holidays in July or August. For years, we have preferred the ending of summer and this year is the same. We find that things are less busy in places and the weather isn’t as hot!  

We were able to get our date done in August. It wasn’t easy however because the rainy forecasts made this difficult.

It reads, “Hey lover, well it’s August what a lovely time of the year to sit back relax by the pool, have a ice cold beverage and a BBQ after we put the rug rat to bed! No not Tucker, our child. We will have a nice dinner behind closed doors and sit by the roaring fireplace.

Love you always

Your hubby”

Awesome! We had been wanting to do this for a while. Sam goes to bed so early (around 6:30) that we have been meaning to have time together afterward. But, life gets in the way and then we usually put our tired bodies to bed early as well.

I came out to the pool place where my chef had my wine ready for me!

We had Caesar salad, BBQ steak, baked potato and veggies! It was all delicious! Thankfully Sam cooperated as well and slept the whole time! I love our video monitor where we can see what he is doing! Our monitor has a great range as well! We can be sitting out at the pool and still watch him snoozing away!

It was a hot night so before the fire, we jumped in the pool! It was very refreshing and slightly cold because as the sun went down, so did the temperature!

Thankfully, we have our awesome fireplace outside! We (and by we, I mean Ryan) built a big fire and we snuggled up on our outdoor couch.

We also had dessert, one of my favourites…S’Mores!!!! Yum!

When we had the baby, we were doubtful that we would be using our beautiful outdoor space very much this year! It was difficult but we made the effort to try and get outside as much as possible!

Sometimes doing our dates is hard! And to be honest, before one starts sometimes I try to talk myself out of doing it. It’s not that I don’t want to do our date, it’s that I don’t put it high on my priority list! I have SO much stuff that I feel has to get done that it’s hard to just put it down to have a date. The thing is, after the date is done, I am glad that I took that time. I feel closer to Ryan and I feel rejuvenated with some time dedicated to NOT being a parent and being a wife instead.

Well I am out to join my husband for the weeks vacation. That’s right, no blogging for one whole week! I am logging off from the technology world a little bit and focusing on family time! I hope that everyone has a great weekend and week!

xo 

How Life Has Changed For Tucker

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! It’s only Wednesday but the week has been busy, making it feel much later in the week!

It’s no secret that I’m a new mom and that Sam is the biggest thing in my life right now. You may have been able to guess that by the abundance of “Sam” posts and pictures on this little blog. I’m sure that would be the same for any new Mom. There are just so many exciting things that are going on in our world. It’s a whole new experience for us and we are learning something new everyday.

The thing is, Sam and Ryan weren’t always the main dudes in my life. This little guy use to be pretty high on my pedestal as well!

My first “fur” baby, Tucker. Or Tucker Beans, as I affectionately call him. I bought Tucker when I was lonely and living out west in 2008. When I decided to travel home he joined me in my red Jeep for the drive across Canada.

For years he has been my closest companion (yes, not even Ryan) and we were never apart. To say that Tucker was a little bit of a spoiled pooch, would be an understatement.

It’s not surprising that my Chihuahua isn’t the most friendly animal to strangers. This fact made me nervous about his transition into big brotherhood.

When we got home from the hospital, Tucker had gotten Sam some beautiful flowers! A sure sign of a friendly acquaintance? Not so much!

Tucker has been cautious of Sam since day 1. He hardly even gets close enough to take a sniff of him, let alone let Sam tough him. He actually seems a little scared of Sam. Any time we are sitting with Sam in our laps, he stays far, far away!

Sam on the other hand, LOVES Tuckers. If he is in the room, Tucker has Sam’s full attention. I can tell, whether our puppy likes it or not, someone will be trying to get close to him.

Trying to balance everything in life with a new baby is hard. That includes poor Tucker. We try to get out playing with him but truth is, it doesn’t happen every day. I can’t even remember the last time we gave Tucker a bath. We have been discussing our family Halloween costume and unfortunately, that doesn’t include Tuck.

I always thought that my relationship with my fur baby would never change, despite a child. The lack of time and the work it takes to balance our new family dynamic, has put a strain on the attention our pup gets. He is still our responsibility and we are working on making sure he gets what he needs. Our hope is that one day Sam and Tucker will have a friendlier relationship. I always grew up with a dog in my life and I hope to give that experience to Sam as well.

Happy Wednesday!

xo  

2 Movie Nights = A Sure Sign Of A Good Weekend

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that everyone had a great weekend! It was a cold and sometimes dreary weekend around here but we made the most of it!

We had an early start to celebrating the weekend together because Ryan and I both had dentist appointments. Ryan got off work at lunch time and we all headed to the city! As not fun the dentist is, the outing together was nice! We grabbed some pizza on the way home for later that night. After Sam went to bed, we re-heated our pizza in the oven and started out movie night! We were going to watch a movie on Netflix but the internet wasn’t working…#countrylifeproblems

So, instead we rented a movie on the dish. I talked Ryan into watching The Other Woman. It was actually a pretty good movie that we both enjoyed!

 

I was up pretty early feeding Sam on Saturday morning. As we were sitting there I could hear the rain hitting the window! There is something so comforting and cozy about being snuggled inside, holding your sleeping baby, and listening to the cold rain hitting the window.

We had plans to do some outdoor work on Saturday but were forced to make alternate plans because of the weather. We packed up and headed to the city again!

We grabbed groceries and then met my parents for lunch. After we were all done eating, we took the short drive over to the hospital where my Grandma has recently been admitted.

It had been a few months since she had last seen Sam and it was fun to sit back and watch them interact!

 

Tomorrow is my Grandma’s 93 birthday and so we did a little celebrating while we were there! It sure did make a commotion and her neighbours kept peeking into her room to see what was going on.

Unfortunately, visiting hours ended all too quickly and we had to head home. Sam missed his big afternoon nap because of our visiting so he went to bed very early! Finally, our internet was working again so we were able to settle down for another movie night!

 

We decided on The Heat, a new release to Netflix! We loved this movie and spent most of it laughing away!

Sunday morning Ryan was up early to head for the golf course! Probably one of his last rounds of the year! Sam and I got ready and headed to church where we enjoyed a nice service with our church family! We are so lucky to belong to the church that we do! Sam is at the point where he is rarely quiet during the service. He is at this weird stage where he is too young for Sunday school, yet too old to be content sitting for the whole hour. Thankfully the whole congregation and wonderful minister are very understanding and just smile when he makes a fuss.

After church, Sam and I headed to my parents where he took a nap and we had breakfast! A couple hours later, Sam woke up and we headed home to relax, take a walk and then get ready for the up coming weekend!

I did learn this weekend that when getting ready to head somewhere, I need to start getting ready to head out the door 10 minutes earlier then normal to make up for the bundling up process! Having a spring baby I’m not use to this coat/hat/stay warm thing!

How was your weekend?

xo

I’m Just That Kind Of Mom

 

Happy Friday everyone! The weather here has dropped and according to the forecast, it doesn’t look to be rising anytime soon! I am busting out my boots, big sweaters and scarves today!

I’m over 5 months into this “motherhood” thing. I am FAR from figuring it all out but I can say that I am feeling comfortable with what I do. There’s something that happens even before you have a baby. Everyone feels the need to tell you what you are doing wrong and how to fix it. 5 months in and I’ve learnt that what I feel is right, is in fact the way to go. There is no body who knows your baby or you, better then yourself.

1. I’m still a clean freak!

When I was pregnant a couple of people joked that I should start getting rid of my OCD ways. That I should accept that my house is going to be a mess for the next 10 years. I even saw messages on social media that gave the message of letting the mess lay around for a while because babies are only little for so long. The truth is? I can’t! I believe in snuggling my baby AND keeping my house under control. Laundry is still folded right out of the dryer, countertops are wiped off and I still NEVER go to bed with a dirty dish in the sink. Am I neglecting my baby because he is playing by himself in his excersaucer while I fold a load of laundry? I like to think that I’m not.

2. Desperate times call for co-sleeping!

Doctors, nurses, books and regular people all said not to let a baby sleep in bed with you. It will spoil them and you will never get them to sleep on their own. I tried to follow this rule for a while but after a night of of zero sleep you need to do what you can to get a little shut eye. After hours of trying to get a baby to sleep/stop crying, discovering that I could get 2 solid hours of shut eye if I snuggled with Sam in bed was golden. I threw that co-sleeping rule out the window and in the future had no hesitation to have  him sleep next to me if it meant I could get a little sleep.

3. Introducing food to your baby is so confusing!

The doctors and books say not to start food until 6 months, yet most think you are starving them if you don’t feed them food starting at 4 months. There’s purees, baby-led-weaning, feed them cereal, don’t need cereal….the list goes on and on! Since I haven’t given Sam anything but breast milk, I have had to reassure many people that I am not starving my baby. We’ll be starting with cereal at 6 months and I’ll be doing purees and a little baby-led wearing. Basically, I’ll be doing whatever I feel comfortable with. I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine. 

4. I don’t put my husband first.

When I was pregnant I had read all about making sure to still put your husband first. That it was important for him to know that even though you had a baby, he is still your number one. Maybe this will change with time but right now, Sam is first. Really, it’s not a race but Sam needs me more then Ryan does right now. I try to take time out to make sure Ryan and I still have time together after Sam goes to bed. However, Sam is dependant on me for one of his basic needs. I’m so tired sometimes that I hardly have time to remember to brush my teeth, let alone make sure  Ryan knows he is number one.

5. We don’t cry-it-out.

For the most part, Sam goes to sleep (and back to sleep after a mid-night feeding) pretty easily. There are times though that after placing him in his crib, he starts to cry. The “experts” say to put your baby to bed awake. To not rock or nurse them to sleep first. Putting them to bed like this allows them to self sooth and learn how to fall asleep. If a baby begins to fuss that you should let them “cry-it-out”. There is even a whole schedule to follow in order to teach them to self sooth. We tried it and Ryan and I both agreed, we can’t do it. Every night Sam gets nursed and then rocked to sleep before we place him in his crib. If he does wake up, we let him cry for only a couple of minutes to see if he will fall back to sleep. If he doesn’t, we go in and re-apply the soother and rub his head. We repeat until he falls asleep. We have both agreed that letting him cry for 10 (or more) minutes is not for us.

Parenting is an adventure. No matter how much you try to teach yourself before you have the baby, you just need to figure out what works for you. Babies are not all the same and therefore a manual will not work for every family. Expect fingers to be pointed and opinions to be expressed but listen and take those thing lightly. The first little while after baby is all about trying to figure out the kind of parent you’ll be.

Happy Friday!

xo

What I’m Loving As Of Lately!

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! We are having a great week so far here! Filled with getting things done but still having time to have fun! With the change of seasons fast approaching, my mind has been wandering to the things that I am particularly loving right now .

- I am loving that Fall is right around the corner. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE FALL! Particularly, I love Fall fashion! I am always cold and needing to bundle up. Fall allows me to look less silly in my layers being it’s acceptable that time of year! I love scarves, boots, jeans, sweaters and jackets! I was newly pregnant last Fall but in the awkward stage where some stuff didn’t fit my tiny bump. I am happy to wear those items this year!

 

- I am loving naps. I don’t know what is happening with my kid but he is up all the time now at night! Last night there was a slight improvement but he was still up twice. It’s sad that twice is an improvement…

I’m not sure if it’s from teething, new motor skills or he is on a sleep strike….either way, this Momma is tired!

I take the night shift and let Ryan sleep since he has to drive heavy equipment for his job. I am so thankful for Canada and the year of Maternity leave they give people! I don’t know how I could be expected to function at work right now and crunch important numbers. I can’t keep my eyes focused enough to put one foot in front of the other. Maternity leave allows me to be at home with my baby for now and have a nap when baby is napping!

 

- I am loving the Sears Wishbook Catalogue. It may make me sound like a kid, but I still get giddy and excited about the Wishbook Catalogue. Every year when it arrives, I sit down and go through it page but page. Not one page is missed! Men’s underwear? Curtains? You bet I saw that page! I do my initial markings with ideas of what to get people for Christmas. Oddly enough, it gets me excited not only for Christmas but for Fall too! I love all the holidays that are at the tail end of the year…Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas!

- It may be a given, but I love my son. I could go on and on about the things that I love about him but here are a couple of specifics:

I love his wild hair! Since his hair started growing it has grown into a nice spiky yet soft Mohawk.

I love his excited squeal. When Sam is playing or is extra excited about something, he lets out a high pitched squeal. You know he is super happy when that squeal is let out!

I love that he is fairly independent at playing. When on the floor or in his excersaucer, he is very focused on the task at hand and playing with what is in front of him. I could go about what I need to do and he is entertained for quite sometime! This allows me to do some small tasks like do my makeup, finish up supper or fold a load of laundry.

 

- I am loving that tonight I start piano lessons. I come from a very musical family. For years I took music lessons in different forms. I can read music but I have a hard time applying it to a keyboard. For a long time I had wanted to take piano lessons but I didn’t know anywhere that would offer non-theory lessons to adults. A music place has recently opened up in the next down that offers private adult lessons. I went and checked it out and decided to give it a try! It’s every Wednesday from 5:30-6 PM which allows me to be home in time to feed and put Sam to bed and have Ryan home from work to stay with Sam while I go. I’m excited to dust off my keyboard and get playing again. My ultimate goal is to be able to sit down and play the piano (and hopefully own a piano one day!) with more ease.

What are you loving this week?

xo

Weekends Together Are My Favourite

 

Disclaimer: Sam had a dandy night last night. He was up all night again so if at the end of this post, it doesn’t make any sense. That is why. I feel like a zombie.

This weekend was awesome. Why do the weekends that don’t have extravagant plans feel like the most special?  Even though the calendar doesn’t say it yet, it’s fall to me. It kind of felt that way too. The colder nights and rainy days made me bundle up in a jean jacket, sweaters and scarves. Fall has always been a favourite season!

The storms on Friday knocked down a few trees and power lines along the roads which made Ryan get home 2 hours later then normal. I put Sam to bed and then when Ry finally got home we had our Friday pizza. Ryan went to bed right after but I decided to stay up for a bit and have a “Movie Night in Beechgrove” by myself.

Saturday morning it as hard to roll out of bed because the rainclouds were making the house very dark and cozy! Once we all got rolling, we decided to go have breakfast out somewhere and grab a few groceries! It was the first time Sam was in his new car seat which was exciting but the start of a whole new phase. We had to bring him into the restaurant on Saturday and ask for a highchair….and they didn’t have a spare one available. So…we improvised and he sat at the table! 

Thankfully, before out meals came out, a high chair became available! He loved sitting at the table and looking at the people in the booth beside us. 

After getting our groceries we headed home. Sam went down for a 2 hour nap and Ryan went to the garage. What is a girl to do on a rainy Saturday? Well put on some comfy pants and get knitting! Ha ha! I turned on a movie and picked up my knitting needles for the first time in forever! I had a head wrap idea taken from Pinterest that I wanted to attempt.

Finally, I got ready to head out to the city with girlfriends for friend/cousin Stacy’s birthday! We ate at one of my favourite restaurants, Montana’s!

All was quiet when I got home and Sam continued to sleep all night until 8 AM! While Sam is an great sleeper, he is an early bird like his Momma and usually never sleeps past 7. I was sitting in bed wide awake so I decided to take a nice long shower while all was quiet. I guess someone had woken up because when I went back into our bedroom this is what I found…

My silly boys! ha ha!

We all got ready for church, headed to my parents for coffee and then went to a great service. It was a special one because it was my adorable new cousins first service! It was so nice to have Shannon and Rylie there! After church we went out for a fundraiser breakfast!

We put Sam down for another nap and got some stuff done around the house. We had to wake our sleepy head to hit the road to his Nana and Grandpa’s house for a visit and supper!

We had a relaxing afternoon sitting in the sun on the patio visiting with everyone and enjoying a yummy (and maybe last BBQ meal of the year) steak supper!

Me and my niece Sophie

Grandpa with his grandbabies!

It was such a great weekend spent together and with friends and family! It’s a weekend like that, that makes me feel rejuvenated and ready to have a great week ahead!

How was your weekend?

xo

Samuel–5 Months

 

Stats:

On August 6, 2014 (Just a few days over 4 months), you weighed 16 lbs 3 oz and 25.5” long.

Wearing:

Sam’s last piece of 0-3 month clothes are packed away. He quickly grew in and out of his 3-6 month sleepers this month! He is SO tall and lanky. We had to start him in his 6 month sleepers and while they started out looking baggy, he is starting to fill them in. He has big feet too because the foot part of the PJS are always too tight on! Most of his cloths are 3-6 month and some 6-9 month onsies (with cloth diaper). Most hats don’t fit your large melon! ha ha!

I love all the fall clothes that are coming out! I love the plaid, sweaters and winter hats that are coming into the stores! I rarely go into a store and not come out with something!! We have his Halloween costume all planned.

Sleep:

Eek! I have to admit, my fabulous sleeper lacked this past month! The whole month I never got one full night of sleep! He was at least up once every night. It was pretty tough because I was so spoiled by him for the first 3 months. I discovered I am not a “cry it out” Mom. Honestly, I think he was just hungry. He has a lot of trouble actually falling to sleep every night before bed that he doesn’t eat very well. So his sleep in interrupted by the need to eat. Thankfully, after a quick snack he is usually right back to sleep with no problems! But, this little guy fights sleep now like crazy!

Eating:

5 months in and still nothing but 100% breastmilk! Woo hoo! 1 month to go before our ultimate goal of 6 months! I am beginning to think about him eating and looking forward to that next step. It’s a lot of pressure on someone to be the whole nutrient source for the first 6 months of his life. I constantly worry about eating the wrong thing or messing up my supply. I am looking forward to feeding him in another way but I know I’ll begin to miss the closeness I get with my boy when it’s all said and done.

Appearance:

Besides me and Jilly, I have not heard one person say Sam looks like his Daddy. The rest of the people that encounter our son, say how much re resembles me or someone in my family (mostly my dad!). I have to admit, at first glace, he does resemble me because he has my eyes and nose. But I guess from staring him at for extended periods of time I can still see Ryan! It does make me happy that he has some of my features!

Sam has Mommy’s brown eyes boy and his hair is wild! Everyone remarks about the spikey Mohawk!

His cheeks are massive and so kissable!

Likes:

This list is longer then the dislikes list! Yay! He is getting into a really fun age where we are starting to play games and he gets silly!

Sam likes me! Ha ha! It’s kind of vain when I say it that way but, he is always looking around for his Mommy! I love that.

Sam likes to chew on anything and everything!

Some of his favourite toys are the orange ball, books, sophie, keys, monkey/banana’s and stack cups.

I can finally move bath time over this this list! He is finally a fan of taking a bath. He kicks his feet to make it splash and tries to catch the water I pour on him.

I can also move being naked over to this list as well! When I take his diaper off he gets excited and starts squealing! I like I am going to have a nudist on my hands! ha ha!

Sam loves music and does this weird thing where he “sings” himself to sleep in the car. If he is fuzzy at church (like during the sermon) he will instantly be quiet during the songs.

Sam loves to roll over but only likes being on his belly for short periods of time.

Tucker is now the object of Sam’s attention! Anytime he is in the room he is 100% focused on that dog!

Dislikes:

Still hating tummy time despite how good he is at it! He gets himself onto his belly and then starts getting mad because he can’t roll back over yet.

Our cold kitchen floor is another one to add to this list. While in his excersaucer, if he doesn’t have socks on, Sam will lift up his feet so not to touch the cold floor.

Sleeping/going to sleep! He fights it through and through!

Milestones:

August 4 was the first time you started to become a regular roller!

August 10 was your baptism.

August 11 was your first time sitting in a grocery cart.

First sleep over at Nana and Grandpa’s (Mommy was there too) on August 16.

Another trip to Cheo and first ultrasound on August 19. You hated life that day! ha ha!

Drove in the work truck with Dad for the first time on August 22.

First movie in the theatres on August 27. It was a chick flick but you didn’t seem to mind! ha ha!

First Shawville Fair on August 28th!

Mommy:

My little man recognizes me as his Mommy and I love that! We are having lots of fun together and I am so thankful for the time that I get to have with him for this year. I love that I can make him laugh and settle him when he is upset.

While I have been really enjoyed breastfeeding, I am looking forward to less pressure and allowing someone else to feed him. I have had a few outings this month and Ryan has stayed home with Sam. I have a nice little freezer stock of milk that is starting to get built up for these occasions. I still hate pumping but I know I have to do it in order to have a little freedom.

I am getting better at letting go and getting out without as much worry! Ryan and I are also getting better at comparing schedules so that we don’t double book something on the same day.

I was thinking back to when I first had Sam and how I would get nervous about going out to run errands by myself. Now, it’s just second nature. I don’t even think about it anymore or worry. The only challenge now is that Sam is getting too big for his bucket car seat and now I carry him into a store with me.

I am still 5-10 pounds above my “sick” pre-pregnancy weight (the weight I got to when I was first pregnant and couldn’t eat anything, ha ha!) and I have accepted that those pounds aren’t going anywhere yet! ha ha! My mom always talked about how she had trouble losing the last bit of weight while nursing. I guess our bodies just like to hold onto the little bit of extra weight as a reserve for energy for breastfeeding. I’m not giving up though at trying! ha ha!

Daddy:

Your Daddy is wonderful but we had to give  him little talking to. Ha ha! He now is doing a little bit of getting up with you in the middle of the night (or early mornings) on the weekends, if needed. But your Dad is seriously great. He never blinks an eye at taking care of you solo! He never calls it “babysitting” and is always there when we need him. You are his pride and joy! When he talks about you, his whole face lights up.

It is getting very fun for your Dad now that you are more interactive and enjoy playing. He always tries to make you smile and hates to see you cry. Like me, he honestly likes spending time with you. He calls you Buck-a-roo.

Other:

As the end of summer is coming at a million miles an hour, we are trying to spend LOTS of time outside! I know life will be much different this winter! Sam seems to love it outside, especially going for walks!

We have a tradition that every time we go down the stairs, we stop at the mirror so Sam can look at himself! Sometimes he just wants to play with the mirror but he always notices himself and sheepishly smiles! I love it.

You are officially a belly sleeper now! We put you in your crib on your back and you instantly roll over! It’s funny that you sleep the night on the belly but during the day HATE tummy time!

Letter:

My Dearest Sam,

There isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t make me smile. I think that’s how we spend most of our days, smiling at each other. Although there were a few challenges this month, we have gotten through them and we had far more good moments than bed.

It amazes me sometimes how you have grown and changed right before my eyes. From the squishy little new born to this giggly, fun boy! And what a boy you are! All boy! The instant a truck drives by it captures your attention!

I am so glad we have made it this far and I have been able to be your nutrient source for the last 5 months. It’s a bond that is inexplicable. I don’t want to wish the days away but I am looking forward to your 6 month birthday when we start food! You already sit at the table with Mommy and Daddy and mimic how we chew.

It was been the most amazing summer of my life. I am so thankful that I have gotten to spend my summer days with you and I am looking forward to the next season together.

I love you!

Love,

Mommy!

xo