Carrie Underwood and Christmas

The last couple of weeks has been a bit of a blur. We have tried very hard to do it all. We had three family birthdays (including Mike and I) as well as Christmas with both of our families. Mike took me to Carrie Underwood for my birthday! She was awesome.

The view from the car on the way to the concert

We spent the 23rd and 24th with Mike's family and then came home to host Christmas for my family. They all arrived Christmas Eve. Including us, we had four sisters, three brothers-in-law, three babies, my parents, my grandma, and an uncle here. Thankfully a pastor from our church who was away let us use his house. Even with the extra house it was a delicate balance trying to ensure that all three babies got their naps. I think we (and they) did pretty good. I must also add that if you wrap the turkey in bacon it creates magic.
 

We finally got a photo of Laney doing her "tripod". She does it all the time.

Me and the three cousins

My next youngest sis and her hubs in their jammies

Laney with her Nana and Grandad

On Boxing Day we had our little Laney dedicated at our church. After that we had all of the above people, sans uncle, as well as one of Mike's brothers, sister-in-law, and parents here for lunch.

Mike thouroughly spoiled me. I actually don't want to share it with you because I'm kind of embarassed. I will show you this though.

Hopefully, it will mean better pictures showing up soon. They will probably be worse to start with though. 

Now, the house is a little quieter with two of my sisters gone. We are also in quarantine mode right now as my parents are both fighting a stomach bug. We got a call from my next younger sister and she, her husband, and baby all have been throwing up. I'm just hoping that 1. Laney doesn't get it and 2. that it is the same bug I had a few weeks ago so I don't get it again (oh and 3. that they all feel better tomorrow).

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!

Anyone...Anyone?

Do any of you have any experience with "elimination communication?"

I have been on and off trying this with Laney since she was about four months old. Basically, if you don't know what EC is, it is a method of teaching babies to be aware of their bodily functions and placing them on the potty when they need to go. I thought it sounded kind of crazy at first, but did a lot of research on it after hearing from a friend from Africa where this is the norm. We had a lot of success in the beginning, but Laney just doesn't want to sit on the potty anymore. I did get her to go pee in there this morning, but not poop. I just finished cleaning up the mess that was me trying to catch her mid-poop.

This is from the summer.

Basically, I'm just trying to decide if it is worth the time and effort getting her used to going on the potty at this age. I know she's not going to be "potty trained" right now but I would like her to know what the potty is for and to understand that she can go on it.

And with that, I will leave you with a kiss from Laney. Because you deserve one after reading about her poop.

She's really a toddler

The amount of new things Laney has been doing lately is incredible. I have no idea how she managed to turn into a toddler right under my nose. She has been walking for awhile but it's the communication that really makes her seem grown. I know at this point she can understand a lot more than she can communicate. That's why I decided about a month ago to get serious with signing and it has cut down a lot of frustration on Laney's part (OK and sometimes me too). If I ask her if she needs a diaper change she will usually run to her room (same if I tell her it's time for "night-night" and she actually feels like sleeping). She knows what her doll, baby, ball, balloon, and several other toys are if I say them out loud. She is also starting to listen to me when I say no.

She is such a personality. I love seeing this come out. I love her. Mike and I look at each other just about everyday and say that to each other. Don't worry we say "I love you" to each other as well.

Stats:

Weight: 21 lbs
Length: 30 inches
Animal sounds: cow, pig, horse, monkey, fish, bear, lion
Signing: more, all done, please (along with a verbal "pea"), eat, and milk
Teeth: six with two more about to poke through the gums
Words: mama, dada, please (pea), ball (ba), bye-bye (bub-bub)
Guestures: Claps, waves bye-bye, blows kisses, plays peek-a-boo

Her Christmas dress!

My first foray into the world of baby bows/clips

OK Mum, no more pictures

P.S. The pillow-making went well and I now have two more wonderful goose down pillows. I plan on posting a tutorial soon.

Deck the halls

I've had my decorations up for about three weeks now. What I hadn't done until now is photograph them.

First of all, we have to cover the tree. Sadly, we are fakers. I love real trees, but I like to have them up for longer than a real tree will allow. I am also terrible about remembering to water them. I am thinking about going real next year. Our tree looks much prettier out-of-focus (thanks fun SLR). This is partly due to the fact that there are no ornaments on the bottom third of the tree (thanks baby) and partly due to my lack of decorating skills (thanks genetics?). I know it's kind of themey with the blue and all. I had planned on decorating it in blue and green when I found a large tub of blue ornaments for cheap. What do you think? Should I add some green?

Every year I look forward to pulling ornaments out of dusty boxes and looking at each one. Because they all have memories attached to them.

...Memories of loved ones who are no longer with us.

...our first Christmas married.

...and our first Christmas with Laney.

...And decorations that remind us what this season is really about. While I am thankful for our first Christmas with Laney, it doesn't even come close to how thankful I am for the first Christmas of all.

Let it snow

Don't you just wish you could do a million things? I am the type of person who likes to dabble in everything. I'm into science, but I also like the creative side of things. I love taking photos, painting, crafting, sewing, sports, music, and a ton of other stuff. I am not great at any one of those things however. Right now I'm all about making stuff. Christmas really has me tapping into my crafty side. Well, that and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law has so many different talents (one being cooking, which I will doubtless, never live up to). This Christmas she has introduced me to the art of chocolate painting. Fun. And delicious. I am planning to do some more and will hopefully be able to get a post up soon. Tomorrow we are making feather pillows. We have a lot of company coming and we don't have enough. I will have to let you know how that goes.

We have quite a bit of snow right now and this past week Laney and I were delighted to watch the snow removal process. The road gets a very thick layer of snow build-up which can be rather tricky to drive in when you get deep ruts. Our city removed the snow and it was a lot of fun to watch.

I was treated with tons of "oohs" from Laney. Also, a lot of cute facial expressions like her goofy smile.

Check it. Laney's first snow angel. I may have moved her arms and legs to get it. I just wish I put something in the photo to show the scale. It is such a cute baby snow angel and here it just looks like an adult one.

We have fun indoors too. Laney's newest thing is climbing inside the 9x13 pan and just chillin' for awhile.

But, back to the million things I enjoy doing. My sister is letting me play with her new toy for awhile. So this week I'm going to be a photographer.

This is my first time using an SLR so please excuse some of the craptastic photos. By the way, the swing was a gift from Mike's mom and Laney loves it. If you are looking for a gift idea for a little one I think it would be hard to beat this.

We can't even take her into the basement if we're not planning on letting her swing or there will be tears. And a pouty lip.

Anyways, one thing I love is that this camera does a much better job at capturing the colour of Laney's eyes (which I'm not quite sure what to call). I've been trying forever and my photos from the point and shoot just don't seem to portray the colour even close.

Those eyes just knock me out.

I hope I don't drown in feathers tomorrow.

Monday Randoms

-Mike and I got into a fight yesterday over something stupid. I was totally ashamed of myself afterwards. I have always tried to fight fair and I've always been proud of the fact that I don't ever use low blows. Yesterday I failed. I insulted Mike as a father to Laney when it was totally unrelated to the argument at hand. I knew it was the easiest way to hurt him. Mike and I forgave each other last night, but both of us still feel bad about the way we treated each other. Why was it so easy for us to argue like that? It was so untypical of us. It was all selfishness. We were both angry with each other from the start of the day and Mike is usually the first one to apologize. He didn't. I didn't either. I felt God really convicting me in the afternoon and telling me to apologize. My response was to ask Mike if he was going to apologize. That is what started the fight. I'm thankful for clean slates and forgiveness. I don't think a marriage would get very far without it. It's all good now.

I love my husband. And for the record, he is an amazing father.

-Laney is dropping weight percentiles. The doctor told me to try and get her eating more food and drinking less milk. It is not easy now as Laney has picked up on a bit of signing and constantly is asking me for milk. It is so cute I can't say no. She also still has a bad cough and we are monitoring it in the next little while. Apparently her lungs were clear. The cough really gets bad at nighttime. She is still her happy little self though.

-I've really been thinking lately about giving. I can't fathom the thought that 30,000 children die every day from starvation or preventable diseases. I am not doing enough. I have way too much. I am sickened at the thought that I need to lose weight because I eat too much and there are children out there who do not have enough food to survive. Mike and I have been having a lot of conversations lately about increasing our giving. As we make more money we want to increase our standard of giving, not our standard of living.

 -Wow. I didn't intend for this to be such a heavy "random Monday" but I guess I need to unload a little bit.

-How's this for random. One day last week our city was the second coldest place on Earth. Here I was feeling all guilty for thinking it was too cold to bundle Laney up and take her outside. Then I saw the news. The only place colder on that day was Antarctica. We were colder than Siberia. Colder than the northern territories in Canada. I will stand by my decision to not take Laney outside in -33 C/-27 F weather. Just so you know, it is much warmer this week.

I snapped this from my window. I did go outside to shovel the walks while Laney was napping, but that was about the only time I stepped out all week.

Thanks for letting me get that out.

(in)frequently (un)asked questions

OK, so I don't actually have questions asked of me very frequently. Regardless, I thought it would be fun to do a little interview with myself here. It might help you understand my blog a little better and it might not. Here we go anyways.


How many kids do you want? When will you have your next one?

Mike wants three and I want four. The thought of being done having kids makes me a little sad. Having my first made me realize how quickly time really goes. Laney was by no means easy in the first six months, and I haven't even wanted to think about the next one until recently. I am not ready yet though. I want to be in a lot better shape before I get pregnant again. I always wanted my kids to be around two years apart, so I am trying to get fit.


What does your husband do for a living?


He is a power lineman apprentice. He climbs utility poles and works on high voltage lines. It doesn't really mix well with a worrying wife. I work hard at trusting God with my husband. For the record, I didn't know what I was getting myself into when we got married. He was a social worker/youth counsellor back then.

True story, when he started pursuing the lineman field I asked him if he would consider a desk job. He responded by asking me if I knew him at all. 


What is your biggest fault?

I really have a lot of them. I don't know if this is my biggest fault, but it is the one that comes to mind right now. I am a terrible procrastinator. I put things off, especially if they are unpleasant. Unfortunately, this often means that I have constant/reoccurring thoughts in the back of my mind about what I should be doing. I am working on just doing what needs to be done because it probably requires a lot less stress and energy to just get it done with in the first place.

What sport do you think you are the best at?

I love sports (playing, not watching). I am not an amazing athlete, but would probably say I am best at soccer. In my childhood I participated in figure skating, gymnastics, ballet, jazz, diving, karate, skiing, swimming, and curling as well as many other unorganized sports.

Do you play an instrument?

I play the piano and the oboe (note: I didn't say well). I haven't played either in a long time.

What is something your readers don't know about you?


I don't think that I am capable of having a boy. A doctor once told my Mum that some women have a hard time carrying boys. My Nana had three girls and two miscarriages, my Mum had four girls and three miscarriages, and so far I have had one girl and one miscarriage. Two of my three sisters have one girl each and no miscarriages. My Mum has always thought that her three miscarriages were boys. I haven't really looked into this to see if there might be some truth to it, but I am convinced that I will only have girls. Weird, huh? It also makes me terrified that I will have more miscarriages.

Are you a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person?

I desperately want to see the glass as half-full, but I think my natural tendency is to be more pessimistic (let's make that sound better and say realistic). I have mentioned before that I struggle with worry. This often causes me to see the worst case scenario or to be afraid of what could go wrong. This is something I am working on. Maybe worry is my biggest character flaw.

What are your favourite blogs to read?

I like reading a variety of blogs. Here are a couple of my must-reads.


Enjoying the Small Things: I'm guessing that there is a good chance you already know about Kelle's blog. I find her inspiring in that she makes me appreciate the everyday more. Some of my favourite posts from her blog include her Isles of Capri posts, but they make me wish for a warmer climate!

The Mommyhood Memos: Adriel writes such great posts. They are well-thought out and I look forward to reading them. She has tons of great informational posts for mums. Check out her post on choosing a childcare centre or this one about how all mums are hardworking mums.


Thanks for humouring me with this post. To be honest, I thought of the title first and couldn't resist the rest.

I would love to know more about you guys though. Could you do me a favour and either answer one of the above questions or tell me something else about you? What blogs are you reading these days?

A few randoms

-Laney has croup. Poor little one. I've tried taking her outside to breathe cold air and we have been doing a lot of snuggling. She is now on breathing medications. She doesn't exactly enjoy having the mask held over her face. Have any of you guys dealt with croup before? What helped?

-Winter arrived. Last night we had a winter storm warning. It's days like this when I'm glad I don't have to leave the house if I don't want to. The temperature dropped significantly and we now have a lovely white blanket covering everything outside. During times like these I always wish I had a fireplace to snuggle up in front of. Hence, the Wooden Wick candles I bought. They crackle a bit and smell great.

-I got my Christmas decorations up. The tree looks a little funny as I've had to move all the ornaments out of Laney's reach. That's alright though. I'd rather have my Laney and a funny looking tree, than a department store tree and no Laney.

-I got the job! I start in January which is exactly what I was hoping for. Now I get to enjoy a couple more months with my little one before starting work. It is five shifts every fourteen days. I wouldn't mind a little less, but I am so thankful that I do not have to work full-time. Now I'm just nervous because it seems like I have forgotten everything and it has been awhile since I have had patients depending on me. I am so thankful that my old job wouldn't extend my maternity leave giving me the impetus to quit. I probably wouldn't have quit even though I wanted to.

-With a sick baby, my house is a disaster zone. Seriously. I need to do a good clean, but I am lacking energy after spending most of my time tending to Laney.

-I've also now missed two days of the 30 day shred. I am making myself do it tonight after Laney is sleeping for the night.