2015 Year of Dates–January

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! For some reason, I had thought that I had shared our most recent date. Looking back it feels like we did our first date for 2015 months ago! We decided to open and do our date in Nova Scotia while Ryan was off during our stay at the cottage.

Through packing the date card and unpacking it, some how it got lost in the travel and I was unable to take a picture! Basically, it was a date to a Stars and Strollers movie for the 3 of us. I wanted Ryan to experience this great movie service. We agreed that once Sam hits 1 year, we will do a couple of dates without Sam and have someone watch him. So for now, our boy was included.

It was FREEZING on the day that we decided to go see our movie and we were glad to be inside the warm theatre for the day! We got there a little early because on the date card I had mentioned that we were going to play some arcade games as well!

We always have SO much fun playing some arcade games because we are very competitive. Ryan even beat the high score of the basketball game while we were playing! Sam was loving all the lights and sounds inside the arcade!

We grabbed some popcorn and found our theatre. The thing about Stars and Strollers is that you only get a choice of 2 movies. One was a children’s movie and the other was The Theory of Everything. Easy choice.

Ryan was amazed at the stuff they set up for the event. Change table (diapers and wipes included), microwave, bottle warmer and even a couple of excersaucers. The lights are only dimmed and the sound is way down! Sam was just about too old to go to a Stars and Strollers event because he is getting a shorter attention span and wants to play! Thankfully with Ryan there we were easily able to pass him back and forth to keep him entertained. The last 30 minutes of the movie Sam fell asleep on Ryan’s shoulder.

We had a great first date for 2015! I am really glad that we decided to do our dates again this year. I am really excited to do a few without Sam this year and even more excited that we don’t have any repeat dates!

xo

Weekend Date

 

Happy Monday everyone and welcome to February! We had a wonderful weekend that went by so fast! January was so slow but this weekend flew by!

It all started on Friday night when Sam was in a fun and silly mood! Little man sat by my feet in the bathroom as I got ready for a baby shower that I was attending. He had lots of “stories” to tell me!

Right before I left to go to the shower I was able to nurse Sam and get him ready for his bath! I can’t resist a naked baby!

The shower was wonderful! Yummy food, a nice visit and a glowing momma-to-be! I had to snap a quick picture at the funny sign! Woops!

Unfortunately, I had to go home to be with Sam as Ryan needed to head into work to do some more clean up from the snow we received the day before.

Saturday we had some running around to do but then got ready for a special night out! For Christmas we got friends, Amanda and Josh, tickets to a comedy show in Ottawa! We were excited for the double date and evening out! It has been a long time since Ryan and I were out together without Sam!

We started with supper at The Keg before heading over to the NAC. 

We sat right in the front but thankfully didn’t get picked on by the comedians! It was a great night out with Ryan and friends!

When we pulled out of the parking lot on Saturday night our spirits dropped when we saw the snow! There was way more than they were calling for so when Ryan and I got home, he had to change and drive all the way back to the city.

Sunday morning I slept in till 7:30! ha ha! Although I can’t sleep in, the part that I enjoyed was my slow morning. Sipping coffee and leisurely getting ready for church! It’s amazing how quick and easy it is to get out the door without Sam!

But, I really missed my boy and was looking forward to seeing him when I got to my parents! We all got ready and headed out the door for church! There were 8 kids at church this week including the littlest one, Rylie!

After church, Sam and I headed back to my parents place for lunch and then headed home for his afternoon nap. While he slept I got food for the week ready and started doing some preliminary preparations for a little organization project I want to accomplish! 

When Ryan and Sam were back up, we all hung out and played! It’s always my favorite part of the weekend, when the three of us can just chill out together! After a big Sunday supper it was time for bath and bed for Sam and a little Superbowl for us!

It was a weird weekend because of some of it, we were without out boy! But the break was nice and we had a blast going for a night out!

How was your weekend?

xo

Random 5 Pregnancy Things On This Friday!

 

SAY WHAT? No, I’m not pregnant. But I had to laugh this Friday as I was going through old drafts. Two of which were pregnancy related posts that I had started that I never got finished because Sam arrived! So on this Friday, I figured I would share a few of those pregnancy things!

1. I had started writing little notes about third trimester! It vividly brought back how it felt to have that big ol’ bellly! Here are some third trimester thoughts I had wanted to share:

- You calculate your every move! If I drop a pen…you better believe I need another reason to pick it up before I bend down to get it!

- Sign up for a Day care spot in the second trimester..

- Farts are unexpected. Really, they aren’t so embarrassing after a while.

- Nothing is sexier then a woman waddling around, sweating and trying not to pee your pants.

Ryan: Ya I am so sore from sledding all day. I’m waddling like you do now! – death stare

2. It was no secret that I didn’t LOVE being pregnant. I loved the outcome but I was never a huge fan of actually being pregnant. Somehow this morning I looked back on these photos and it made me smile and SORT OF KIND OF JUST A LITTLE BIT..made me miss the belly. It brought back the pre-Sam memories and it made me think how excited I was to learn if it was going to be a boy or girl!

3. As you may all remember from my birth story, the day before Sam’s birthday I had gone to get a pedicure! I jokingly insisted that they try to hit all those labor inducing pressure points! It obviously worked but what I didn’t mention was that was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life (yes, labor included). Sam was so low it was SO hard to sit in that position for long and lifting my feet at that angle was so sore. I was a sweaty mess by the end of it.

4. The weekend before I had Sam I had to find something respectable to wear and go out in public as it was my nephew and godsons dedication day. I felt LARGE and in charge. My trusty black maternity shirt was stretching to the limit! As you can see by the white tank poking through! Again, another super uncomfortable day. I remember vividly getting up to use the bathroom every 15 minutes and actually fighting with my niece to let me pee first! Proud moment right there! ha ha! Right after the service we had a get together at my brothers but you better believe that as soon as it was acceptable, I was back into my husbands joggers and tee!

5. A couple people have mentioned how great I looked when Sam was born. Truth be told, I shared only the best one. In reality I was EXHAUSTED after 2 hours of pushing. In the picture you can’t see below my waist where the doctor spent another 2 hours stitching. The photo below also doesn’t show the makeup that I applied about 12 hours before (HA HA HA!). But it does show my dark bags under my eyes, pale face, sweaty hair, blood on my sports bra. The other thing it shows? The happiest moment of my life and the most beautiful baby boy I had ever got to finally meet.

Happy Friday!

xo

Christmas Photo’s

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope that you are having a great week! I am forcing the days to slow down and as I was talking with Ryan last night, it sure feels like January has lasted FOREVER! I am not complaining though! Even though I HATE winter, I am enjoying this one with Sam.

Ryan and I started mailing Christmas cards to friends and family after we got married. We may not send a lot out but I love to send a little Christmas cheer in the mail! Last year was the first year that our card was customized with a picture! It was of our sonogram and I loved it! I knew that Christmas 2014 would mean that we would have our baby and I knew that I wanted to do another customized card.

My friend and sister-in-law Melissa had the genius suggestion that we meet and get family pictures done! We would get some beautiful pictures done and split the cost! DEAL! I couldn’t wait to get some updated pictures of us and was hoping there would be a nice picture to use for our card! She suggested her friend and photographer that I had never gotten pictures done with but she did wonderful! So patient with us and the sometimes cranky kiddos! Ha ha!

Here are some of my favourites!

Sam with his cousin Sophie that we got blown up on a canvas for Ryan’s parents.

One of the pictures for our card.

The other for our Christmas card

And some real life pictures! Sometimes a 6 month old just doesn’t want to smile for the camera! HA ha! That’s real life!

I loved the way they turned out, Thank you to Michelle Hamel Photography. I love having some updated pictures of our boy and us as a family.

xo

Someone Is On The Move!

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you had a great weekend! My weekend had one main theme: Sam is on the move!

For the longest time I was surprised that Sam wasn’t crawling yet! He hated being on his belly and would be much happier to sit with toys around him. All the sudden Sam surprised us on Friday but starting this little crab crawling. It is his own unique crawl and it gets him going forward!

For the majority of the weekend Sam went exploring and I followed him around in my un-baby proofed house!

Friday night Sam was exhausted by all his new crawling fun! Ryan left that night for hockey and a weekend away so I started my weekend by controlling the TV remote. Exciting stuff!

Saturday morning Sam and I were up early and off to breakfast with friends where we visited and talked 10 year high school reunion! I can’t believe its been 10 years already!

I dropped Sam off with my parents on my way back home for a few hours as I was attending a cooking class. Sharon was hosting it in her home and by the end of the afternoon I had 10 new recipes prepped and ready for my freezer! I am SO excited to have some meals all ready to go for when days get busier when I go back to work! I am hoping we love the recipes and I can make the meals again!

When I got to my parents house Sam was just waking up so I fed him his supper there! Grandpa gave Sam some dessert and his first taste of chocolate pudding!

We got home and Sam headed to bed and I got into some comfy clothes as Jill came over for a little movie night! Jill always has the best movie selection and she brought two movies over to choose from. Frozen or Steel Magnolia…my choice…

Frozen!

I had never seen Frozen and wanted to know what all the hype was about! It was SOO good! I loved it and for the rest of the weekend the songs were stuck in my head! Ha ha!

By Sunday morning my little man was getting around SO quickly. It’s amazing how fast he caught on! We went to church, had breakfast/lunch with my parents and just had fun!

Again, I really have to work on baby proofing! haha!

It was a great weekend with my boy! I love hanging out with this little guy and I love watching him grow and change!

How was your weekend?

xo

Samuel–9 Months

 

Stats:

Operation fatten up Sammy, worked! At his last appointment (at 8.5 months) he was 19.5 pounds and 71 cm long. This last month he is getting SO much better at eating himself and the pot belly has grown! He still doesn’t have any rolls but I don’t think he ever will. He’ll be long and lanky!

Wearing:

I can’t believe how fast my little dude can grow out of clothes. We started packing away some of his 9 month clothing and now 50% of the stuff Sam wears is 12 month. The 12 month PJ’s are getting smaller but I think we can get the rest of the month out of them. Still in size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes.

Sleep:

It was a rough month (as usual) with sleep. Just as I had come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t have a full nights sleep again, a Christmas miracle happened! The week before and after Christmas, Sam slept through the night! It was a glorious time but then we left for the cottage and he started waking up again.

Sam is still amazing at naps. 1 hour in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon! He is very good at putting himself to sleep too. I’m very glad that I don’t have to rock or nurse him to sleep. He just wants to roll around in his crib for a while and then will drift off to sleep on his own.

Eating:

This month was far easier then last for breastfeeding. Still going strong. At this point, I feel like we are going to make it a year! Sam has dropped a nursing session and is down to 4 feeds. 1 in the morning, after morning nap, after afternoon nap and at bedtime. I have started pumping more as well to continue with increasing my freezer stock.

Sam is getting a little pickier as far as solid foods. He isn’t a fan of anything cold! All purees have to be warm and all other food has to be warm too. Right now he gets some purees for breakfast, lunch and supper. After each meal of purees, he gets other food on his tray to nibble on. His favourite is toast with peanut butter (Nova Scotia brown bread!), pasta and banana’s. He also has a sippy cup of water that he gets after each meal to have a bit of.

Appearance:

My long and lanky boy with his big brown eyes that melt my heart all the time. He hardly looks like a baby anymore but I find recently he is looking more like his Daddy.

His hair has grown a lot this month and it is getting a little long around the ears. I’m trying SO hard to not go for a hair cut but I know a trim is just around the corner!

Likes:

Peek-a-boo, anything with wheels, snuggling (YAY!), bath time and when your Daddy gets home (me too!). There is SO much that Sam likes now that the list is endless.

Dislikes:

Since day one, he has hated getting dressed and getting his diaper change! This is still the case! He also still HATES getting in and out of the car seat and getting his winter clothes on.

After each meal, I give Sam’s face a wipe and he HATES it!

Sam knows that he is somewhat mobile now and when he wants to play, he wants to play NOW! But he gets stuck all the time and just somehow can’t go forward!

Milestones:

First Santa Claus parade on December 13. Dressed for the occasion!

FIRST CHRISTMAS on December 25.

First time in a Jolly Jumper on January 2.

Mommy:

It was a busy month getting everything ready for Christmas. It was the start of many fun Christmas’ and I couldn’t help but sit back to imagine what fun we are to have in future years. It is also filled with pressure too. With the baking, cooking, gift buying, gift wrapping and decorating! At times, it could be overwhelming and there were multiple times that I would ask for some appreciation. In reality, Christmas isn’t about all of those things but it’s the pressure that I put on myself to make it wonderful for my boy.

As the New Year started, it hit me….the time at home with Sam is coming to an end. It makes me sad to think about it and makes me stop and appreciate the time I am given. I’m trying really hard not to watch the clock till nap time and instead spend that time trying to make my little one giggle.

Daddy:

There has been a huge shift this month in Ryan and Sam’s relationship. Sometimes, I worry that he likes him better! ha ha! He literally bounces with excitement when Ryan appears after work. It was SO nice to have Ryan with us during the holidays and for our vacation.

Ryan has taken over the bed routine (when he is home). I’ll nurse Sam but then Ryan does the bath, Pjs and story. It’s a nice break for me and good for them to continue their bonding.

Other:

I still can’t believe Sam has no teeth. I feel like he has been teething FOREVER! They have been SO close for so long but nothing yet. I hope the old wives tale is correct about the better the teeth the longer they take to come!

 

I am really enjoying watching his little personality shine through. For the most part, he is a pretty serious and calm little dude. But sometimes he can get into a really silly mood that is full of shenanigans and giggles! Those are becoming my favourite moments lately.

While I am SO thankful he wasn’t able to get into Christmas stuff, I was starting to worry that about Sam not being able to crawl forward yet. He can pull himself up to standing sometimes and can crawl (push himself) backwards but has NO interest in crawling. The nurse visits don’t help as they expect all babies to be doing the same thing around the same time. Thankfully, our doctor is AMAZING and can reassure a worried Mom. Sam may never crawl. He may become a butt scooter or early walker. As long as he is somewhat mobile, that’s all that matters.

Letter:

My Dearest Sam,

Thank you for making this holiday so special for me. Christmas is always wonderful but you make it magical! I hope that you have some fond memories to look back on one day and I promise to try my best to teach you the real meaning of Christmas.

Little boy, you are one awesome dude! You amaze me every day with a new trick or a fun game we will play. You can make me laugh and you enjoy doing so!

It is now 2015 and that also means sometime in the next few months, our routine is going to change. We are not going to talk about that yet and instead are going to enjoy each others company while we can! We are going to make every day count.

I love you!

Love, Mommy

xo

Weekend In Numbers

 

Happy Monday everyone! The weekend kind of felt like a bit of a blur! It was our first full weekend home since our trip out east. It went by very fast for some reason because we kept busy! Here’s a quick recap!

9.5 – Age of the little guy who wakes up with wicked bed head every morning but had particularly wild hair this weekend.

 

60 – The number of minutes it took me to take the rest of the Christmas decorations down (finally!). I tried to get as many of the decorations down before we left for vacation but just couldn’t get them all! For once, I was glad to have them down because it felt crowded with decorations AND children’s toys lying around. I now feel like I have all this extra room!

7 – The number of people that went to Santa Fe’s to celebrate a friends birthday! It was a great night out that I didn’t want to end!

3 – The number of kids that were in the nursery school class yesterday. I am loving the fact that Sam will get to be part of a “younger minds” Sunday school.

9 – The total number of kids that were in Sunday school yesterday. We are so blessed to be part of a small but booming church! (Tanner was missing from the picture)

74- Number of days before Sam’s birthday and the planning has begun! I am very excited for his theme. We are having a fairly small party but can’t wait to celebrate surviving the first year of our little man’s life!

4- The number of daycares I visited last Thursday. We had narrowed it down to 2 by Friday and pretty excited to say we have made a decision as of Sunday night!

1049 – The number of tears shed at the thought of dropping Sam off for his first day of Daycare. I know he is going to be in great care but I can’t believe that our year will be over.

How was your weekend?

xo