The longest day of the year

I will not let the mosquitoes win. This summer, well all one day of it, I have decided that I am not going to hide from the mosquitoes. I will suck it up and use bug spray.

After all, we only have a short window of time to enjoy the beautiful weather. If you're wondering why this is, I've created a lovely (and completely accurate) depiction of our Alberta seasons.

If I ever come across billions of dollars, I will immediately offer the majority of my fortune to the person who discovers a way to make those pesky mosquitoes extinct.

I really don't think they're necessary.

I get huge welts from the bites.

I can't stop scratching them.

On the bright side, we don't have malaria (among other diseases) here so I really shouldn't be complaining. For me it's just a nuisance and for others, it's a matter of life and death.

Anyways, that was fun. No really, I have been having fun with Laney. She is a little water baby just like I am. "Sfimming" is one of her favourite activities. And, I'm constantly bombarded with "side, side, side" which of course means "take me outside now, mummy."

Daddy gave it to her

My child loves the park. And since I need the exercise, I decided today was an excellent one for a bike ride to our favourite spot.

She looks so big playing here.

The swing gets a "thumbs up"

I can't believe that at this time last year she was crawling around in the grass. A lot can happen in one year.

Happy Summer. Enjoy it. It goes by way too fast.

Ten Months

Our world is changing. Laney is growing. While I am so excited to see her take the world in, to explore, and to learn, it is sad when she leaves things behind. She is slowly morphing into a toddler and I am not ready to let my baby go. This past month she learned to stand up on her own and has now taken her first steps. She wants to eat the food from our plates rather than her food and she wants to do whatever mummy and daddy are doing.

What better way to celebrate ten months than a trip to our favourite park with daddy along too?

And to do so in a dress that mummy wore when she was in a baby.

To laugh as the birds fly by.

 To swing in the afternoon sun.

And to see the world from daddy's shoulders.

To enjoy it even though I know that I can not slow time down. In fact, I will enjoy it all the more knowing that our time here is fleeting.

On My Mind

Today is rather random. I apologize. My brain is cluttered with too many different thoughts. I think it might be due to the four hours of sleep I got last night. Someone please tell me that all babies sleep eventually.

I looked at the date today and realized that today is August 23. This day will always be remembered. My first baby was due on this day last year. We lost that one. If things had been different, we would be celebrating our first baby's birthday around now. However, God managed to turn things around for good.

You see, Laney wouldn't be here if circumstances had been different. She was born at the end of October last year. So while we don't know why God allows bad things to happen to us, and we may never know in this life, I do know that He can turn terrible things into good ones.

I finally weighed myself today. It wasn't pretty. I actually weigh 3 more pounds than I did a week after Laney was born. I lost a lot of weight that first week (thanks to postpartum sweating and a little diet plan called H1N1). However, I am now about 15 pounds more than I weighed before I got pregnant with Laney. I promptly logged onto sparkpeople.com and am going to start tracking my meals.

I am sick of editing myself out of photos with Laney because I don't like the way I look. It is time to either suck it up or deal with it. I am going to choose the latter. Laney deserves to have a mummy in her photo albums. She also deserves to have a mummy that will set an example for her by displaying a positive body image. I am going to give it to her. She is going to face many attacks on her self-image as she grows and I do not one to be one of them.

In light of all of this, I kicked Laney and I out of the house today. Too many depressing thoughts to muddy up the day at home with. The weather has been lousy for the past couple of weeks, but I decided not to let that leave us house-bound for another minute. We needed to get out and breathe some fresh air.

It was worth it.
I even let her crawl in the dirt. She loved it.


Look what I caught on camera!


I cured my "monday blues." I hope you have a wonderful Monday.

Times Like These

What a wonderful weekend I've just had. We had one of those rare summer weekends with no plans and nowhere to hurry off to.

We spent some time in a local park, walking around.


We pushed Laney in a swing. She absolutely loved it.


We took her to the splash park, which she was a little more unsure of.


Then we set off for home with a happy baby.


Finally, I had some time of pure bliss on Sunday evening. I don't know about you, but I cherish time by myself every now and then, even more so after becoming a mother. Mike left to play basketball with some friends and Laney was down for the night (OK, a little more realistically, until the first feeding). I went out and sat on my deck and just sat in silence. I love evenings like that. The TV off. No music playing. No talking. I just took in the beautiful evening. I was alone with my thoughts. And it was wonderful.

Of course I couldn't resist a few dorky shots of myself taking it all in.