The year of the baby!

A couple of weeks ago, one of my childhood friends gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! So very excited and happy for them. Our daughters are three months apart; it is just too bad we live so far apart. Hoping to visit them sometime next month when we go down south.

Speaking of babies, is it just me or does it seem as though everyone is either pregnant or just had a baby recently? Everywhere I look there is a stroller being pushed or a mama with a baby belly. Its the year or the baby!

Just finished a post on baby-wearing, also holding a giveaway for breastfeeding mamas!

One of those days

Well today was fun. My head is in shock from all the silence after the endless chatter of my little girl. Wow can she ever talk. It was literally non stop, LITERALLY.

Poor A didn't get any sleep until I wore her in my sling because her sister was so loud. Where oh where does she find the energy? Doesn't she give herself a headache? Its amazing how toddlers never get headaches. I find that truly remarkable.

"C do it. C do dishes. C cook. C potty now. C bring doll and books and toys upstairs. C potty now. C bring doll and books and toys downstairs. C potty now. C dance music. Daddy? Wheres daddy? Why working? Why making mess? Whats this for mama? Why? Whats this? Why? Whats this for? Why? Whats baby doing? Why? C potty now. Mama dance too? Baby dance too? Daddy? Wheres daddy?"

And on and on and on it went. From 8 am until blessed 7:30 pm. To make it worse we were housebound today as the temperature was in the -30's with the windchill. Next year we are DEFINITELY going somewhere warm and sunny. Canadian winters are much too long!

There must be a law of nature somewhere that states, "If your floor needs to be washed, your child will mind her P's and Q's, holding her cup with both hands, being careful not to spill a drop. If however you have just swept and mopped all of your floors your child MUST drop her cup of juice which will then spread across the entire floor (please note if this cup is full of water it won't spread as far or spill as much only juice has the ability to do so)."

After supper her daddy and I looked at each other, the clock and then C. Bedtime couldn't come fast enough. And now she is sleeping in her bed with her curls framing her face looking like a cherub. Her baby doll all wrapped up in a blanket tucked under her arm with a look of pure peace.

Family Love Day

When it was just R and I, we would usually have a romantic meal, bottle of champagne and maybe a movie on Vday. Things have changed now that we have children. Valentines Day has now become the official "Family Love Day" in our home. Not to say that the romance has been eliminated :-).

C made the two sweetest Valentines cards for her daddy yesterday. We cut an apple in half and dipped it in some paint. She stamped the apple across the paper heart and then decorated it with glue and different do-dads. She was horrified when her hands got dirty with paint so we had to clean them off after every "stamp". When it came to gluing the decorations on the paper, she insisted that, "Mommy do it!" because she didn't want to get the horrid stuff all over her fingers. "C don't like it, C don't like it glue!'

Besides the bit of drama we had a splendid time! She had a smile from ear to ear when we were finished, so proud of her work she was.

I however, received my Valentine's gift from her today while shopping at the supermarket. As we were strolling down the busy isles, looking at different pastas, C said to me, quite loudly and completely out of the blue, "Mama I LOVE YOU!!" to which I replied, "I love you too C". Now she has a habit of extending her I love you's. They usually last 2-3 minutes and consist of who loves who more. Of course today was no exception. In a very loud fashion with people in front, beside and behind us she exclaimed, "I LOVE YOU MORE AND MORE AND MORE!" So there you have it! Her love for me was broadcasted through the entire grocery store and I would have to say it was the best Valentine's gift she could have ever given me. Priceless!

And for now for another precious, priceless gift....

Out and about

It feels so good to get out again. To stretch my legs and walk briskly outside, filling my lungs with fresh air. 2 weeks is way too long. After the baby the weather turned oh so cold and is now finally warming up. C is happier as well. She toddled alongside me today as we walked into town to run some errands. I carried A in a Cuddly wrap with my  maternity coat wrapped around us. She was toasty warm and slept the entire time. 

There is a man made out of tin which stands outside our local museum and C never fails to point out the fact that #1 "Man is Nekkid"  (which I assure you he is NOT as he is wearing tin clothes but apparently that doesn't count as they are a part of the statue) and #2 he has no coat on and is therefore cold. This is the 3rd time she has pointed this out to me and every time she tells me this she has a look on her face as if to say "Mama what's wrong with you why can't you put a coat on this poor man?"

Sweet child of mine :).

First bath

My gosh its freezing! We are having -40 degree weather here in Northern Ontario which has made us housebound for the last week, although having a new baby can also do that to you. Our food supply is slowly dwindling down so a trip into town will be sorely needed by this weekend. 

The baby had her first bath today! I was expecting lots of screaming as that is what her big sister did during her first bath however this one stayed as calm as a cucumber. Looking around with her big eyes just relaxing. Having another child has been quite amusing actually. I don't know why but somehow I had this idea that our second daughter would be like the first however she is completely different in every way! Her personality, her looks, everything is just different.  I adore my two beautiful girls!

We have been trying to keep C included as much as possible so she doesn't feel left out. She was acting up yesterday and cried alot which broke my heart. I think she is trying to get used to the whole new sister thing . She adores the baby and kisses her every chance she gets but I guess things are different now that she isn't the center of attention. Today has been pretty good so far (touch wood). She slept from 8 pm to 9 am this morning so that might have something to do with it. 

Waiting....

Tomorrow I turn 39 weeks! I was 39 weeks when I went into labour with C. It was a pleasant surprise to have her 1 week early after everyone told me I would be late with my first child. Now I EXPECTED to have this one early and of course no such luck.

I guess you can call this a pity post. My feet are swollen, my legs are swollen, I'm tired (oh so very tired) and I have heartburn every evening before going to bed. I pee on average 6 times every night and my clothes (yes my MATERNITY clothes) don't fit properly anymore. The timer on my oven went off last week but the oven door doesn't seem to be opening!

Something which had me thinking recently was the debate on how labour starts. Some people say your body puts itself into labour once it knows you are ready to give birth where as others say your child picks his/hers own birthday and is born when he/she decides. I wonder which is true?

Beautiful Christmas

I will have to say this has been the most memorable Christmas in the history of Christmases! We made chocolate chip cookies on Christmas Eve and put them on a plate with some rice milk for Santa Claus. (Daddy informed us that Santa doesn't like Soy milk but he LOVES rice milk). After C's bath which was filled with singing "Jingle bells, Jingle bells" we read Twas the night before Christmas, three times.

I don't think I have ever been more excited. I couldn't wait until the morning came to see her face when she saw the presents. This means so much to me as I never had the Christmas experience growing up. I must say, having my own children and watching them experience the magic of Christmas makes up for it all.

In the morning we had cocoa and buttered toast while opening gifts. Seeing our little girl opening her presents was undescribable. She couldn't understand that all of the packages under the tree were for her to not only OPEN but to keep! She opened the first one which was a little book and looked through the entire thing twice and then talked about it for ages. We had to keep reminding her to open the next gift as she was so enthralled with the one in her hands. It took her 1 1/2 hours to open everything. It was completely magical. I can't even put into words how I felt. Truly, truly magical. The look on her face was priceless!

And next year there will be two. Two little angels opening their gifts on Christmas morning. I want to cry just thinking about it.

Taking the plunge..

I've been thinking and rethinking this decision for quite a long time and have finally decided to give it a full out try. When I had my daughter the idea of cloth diapering was great however not suitable given our situation with a home business. Now after researching for quite some time I have come to a different understanding. Cloth diapering is definately not what it used to be. When I saw all the different styles and options out there I was so excited. There are all in ones, one size fits all, easy to use cloth diapers as well as the traditional inserts and plastic covers. The all in ones really appeal to me as they are easy to use and wash. No presoaking required yeah!

So needless to say I placed an order last week and am eagerly (yes I know it sounds ridiculous to "eagerly" await the arrival of DIAPERS) waiting for them to arrive.

Speaking of waiting of things to arrive, where have I been over the last 8 months? On another planet? Why is it that I have JUST recently (last 2 weeks) realized that I need things for the baby which I haven't even thought of until now. I had 8 months to prepare and purchase these items. 8 MONTHS! But no, instead I decide that shopping for baby items in the smack dab middle of the holiday season is a dandy time to do so.

SMART!

Appointment

Everything looks peachy. Blood pressure is low which is good however I've been prone to some dizzy spells lately. A cookie, piece of fruit or something sugary usually fixes that problem.

They are estimating the babies weight to be between 6-6 1/2 pounds right now! I thought that was pretty big considering I'm 35 weeks although I feel as if there is no room left. When I lie down this little munchkin moves her bum from side to side or stretches her legs out. You can almost feel the toes when she kicks!
We had a ton of errands to run after the appointment and didn't even have time to finish everything. 2 more weeks until we go again.

Everyone is talking about how people aren't spending as much this year however after yesterday I would have to disagree. The shops were jam packed from 10 am - 3pm! We were in Canadian Tire and they had 5 cashiers open with lines reaching down the isles. While waiting in line I saw a tall, rough, older man wearing work clothes and suspenders. He was one of those guys who just don't shop. The type that avoid shopping at all costs, who you don't usually see in a store unless they are being dragged by their wives. This man however was by himself, waiting patiently in a never ending line up to purchase one item. A Tonka truck. Christmas turns even tough guys into softies.

We had a single man rent a room last night from a town not too far away. He was driving a volkswagen with a broken heater and and was on his way to BC. After 2 hours of driving in a snowstorm with CANDLES lit inside the car to keep his windshield clear he decided to head home the next day. Apparently the blanket he used to cover his legs wasn't enough to keep him warm. Umm.... yes I can understand that.

Appointment

Driving conditions were pretty poor today traveling to the city. Snowy, slippery and wet. Bleck! It was a pretty drive though. Everything from the rocks to the trees were covered in a thick dusting of snow. It looks like powdered sugar has been sifted on everything. It was breathtaking actually. Looked like something out of an illustration.

The baby is head down! YEAH super relief. Last midwife appointment she was still breech but the little darling turned. Boy am I glad about THAT. C loves these appointments. She sits next to me while I get my blood pressure checked. She lies next to me on the examining bed with this sweet little smile on her face while the midwife checks the babies position and heart beat. Then she talks about how she is going to be a "big tista". My baby is going to be a big sister. Wow....