Sneak Peek

Ellie turned 5 months old yesterday.  We are headed away for the weekend, and getting ready to go has been a bit hectic…so the post will have to wait until Monday.  But here’s a few of the “outtakes” of her 5 month shots just to tide you over

   I just LOVE how she’s holding the bear’s hand.  

She seriously just can’t smile big enough sometimes.

It’s Probably My Fault That The Peas Were Soggy

Tonight was a night that was looking a little bleak.  Ben was on a work shift that had him working from 3-11 pm, and my night… well, my night was going to look a lot like the rest of my day.  Just me and Ellie, doing our thing: feedings, diapers, naps. Wash, rinse, repeat.   Which, I actually really don’t mind.  I relish a night in by myself once she’s sleeping, watching a chick flick that Ben wouldn’t want to see anyway, with a nice glass of wine and my feet up. 

But it’s a Friday night.  Of a long weekend.  And I was kind of thinking that my girls night in would probably turn into greasy chips and whatever was on tv, which sounds a lot less glamourous.  

So I called up my friend Karen to see what she was up to.  I’m not sure why her and her husband haven’t made their way onto this blog yet before.  You know when you’ve got a good thing going with couple friends? Where the four of you have great times when you’re all together and it’s not just one of you that gets along with the spouse?  Yeah, these are those people.  We have known each other for 6 years, having gone to church together, being in the same home church, serving as youth leaders together, doing music together and just in general having a lot in common.  

There isn’t really enough space to articulate all of the fun we have with them when we’re all together.  Most of that fun is watching our husbands bring out the “best” in each other.  (and by best, I mean that they are instantly transported to 15 year olds with their antics).  Karen and I spent a few years being accountability partners, and we, too can have talks about pretty much anything under the sun.  

So, I called her up on a whim just to see if she was up for a hang out.  She was home, and told me to come on over, even though she had to get ready for guests the next day at her house.  She spent the evening doing dishes, preparing food and cleaning her house, while I sat and talked to her while she did it. (honestly, I TRIED to help…she wouldn’t let me!)  There were times when she would get distracted from the salads she was preparing as we talked, and I was certain that not only was I NOT helping…I was being a detriment to her food prep. (anyone ELSE want me to come over??)

And you know what? It was great.  I am very thankful to have friends in my life who just say sure, come on over and be apart of our ordinary, everyday tasks.  Those are the best kinds of friends, I think.  The ones where you just integrate into their lives, and them into yours.    

A great start to a great long weekend.  Happy May 2-4 everyone!

 

Whirlwind

It’s been a busy month around these parts and we’re coming out the other end just now.  So there are some things I’ve been intending to blog about, and hopefully will get around to them soon:

1) Ellie’s dedication.  What an incredibly special day this was!  There are definitely words I want to put down here, to capture it.  (and goshdarnit, as IF she is this cute)

2) The family that was around for the past 2 weeks.  Hence the Whirlwind  title.  But the good kind of a whirlwind.

3) the new dishwasher that is currently running and actually cleaning our dishes. (Hey, I never said the blog topics would be interesting)

4) The fact that I was actually a mother on this past Mother’s Day.

5) Ultimate Frisbee.  I actually don’t have much to say other than, we just started our 5th year of playing ultimate together.  (By “we” I mean Ben and I, but really…the we includes a wonderful group of people much larger than the 2 of us).

But currently, it’s 11:11 pm, my daughter is asleep and I am about to settle onto the couch with my husband and a glass of red wine.  See you soon!

Family Pics

We had a family photo shoot over the weekend, which was a generous baby gift from our very talented friend, Carolyn.  If you’re my friend on facebook, you may have already seen this link, but feel free to head on over to Carolyn’s blog and check a few of them out! We love them all!

The One Where I Talk About Gift Wrap

A few weekends ago Ben and I had an entirely free Saturday.  This is rare. Very rare.  And when these come, we are prone to take that free day and fill it to the brim with outings, social gatherings, people, food and games. These are great things to fill a free day with. 

But every so often you have to take a Saturday like that and fill it with….well, chores.  Kind of lame, I know.  But if I’m being completely honest, I actually LOVE a good day of deep cleaning.  So, that’s what we did.  We cleaned our house from (almost) top to bottom, got in a (much overdue) weekly budget meeting, ran some errands, and then we won an award for the most productive couple. (well, we SHOULD have). 

I’m sure many of you are like this, but when I get in work mode, I don’t just want to skim the surface, I want to clean every single nook and cranny, organize the crap out of each space and then just sit and stare at my handiwork.  (I realize that with every paragraph I write, I sound lamer, and lamer) And so, after putting the finishing touches on our kitchen – which meant scrubbing the cupboards…something I haven’t done in a very lon….ahh, who’s kidding who, I’ve never done it yet – I made my way down to the basement to clean the laundry room.  

We have put our apartment back on the market for rent, as our tenant is leaving, so my plan was to clean the stairway leading down there, and then re-organize the laundry room so it looked a little nicer. (we share with our tenant).  I got a wee bit sidetracked however when I started to organize the cubby space under the stairs.  We keep all kinds of treasures in there: our christmas decorations, nice dishes we don’t have space for upstairs, a microwave, and the list goes on.  Included in the mix are all the gift bags and gift wrap that I have saved over the years – ready to be used again.  Having just had a baby and 2 rather large showers, I had a bunch of tissue paper and bags just kind of haphazardly thrown in there, and I knew it was time to re-organize.

So, I set aside my Most Productive Couple award and proudly accepted my next one: the “Are You Seriously This Lame That You Spent An Hour Organizing Gift Wrap?” award.

Yes, yes I am.  

I categorized by holiday/occasion, I colour coded the tissue paper and I counted as I went.  And when it was all said and done, the tally was at 98.  Nintey-eight gift bags.  If I wasn’t so dang organized, I’d call Hoarders myself and make them put me on their show.  

So, if any of you EVER need to send anyone a present ever again – come by my place first. I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll have what you’re looking for to wrap whatever it is you’re giving them.  

The best part about days like this, is that when you finally sit down at the end of the day, you know you have fully earned a spot on your couch for a few hours.  Ben and I finished the day off with a movie and homemade potato skins.  The best finish to a day well spent.  

4 months

Good golly Ellie, is it possible for you to get any cuter?  You’re four months old as of Tuesday, and my goodness do we ever love you.  I was thinking about what highlights to mention about you this month, and everything I could think about had me gushing over how great you are.  And I figured that it’s kind of boring for other people to read that kind of gush, so I’ll try to keep it to a minimum.

Probably the biggest thing about you being four months old is that you’re officially a baby.  Which, I know, sounds kind of funny – because really…what were you before then?  But I was saying to your dad the other day that there is not an ounce of newborn left in you.  You’ve become your own little person who makes great company.  You smile, you laugh, you sleep well (all night kiddo! You make me proud), you eat well and you entertain like it’s your job.  You know what you do and don’t like in your world so far – and let me tell you little one, being put down for a nap is DEFINITELY on your do not like list.  

Which brings me to my next point – we’ve officially reached the stage where we’re letting you cry it out.  Now, you may recall (although my mama heart desperately hopes you’ve forgotten) how I tried this with you about a month ago, and after twenty minutes it ended in you barfing from being so upset.  And people told me it was too soon.  Too young for you to “get” that you should probably go to sleep. And I eagerly agreed.  1) Because I never ever wanted to put you through that again. and 2) Because I actually really cherish letting you fall asleep in my arms and liked that I was given permission to do that just a little bit longer.  But over this month kid, we have seen more than ever that you are definitely onto us.  You will cry and yell, and then when we go into your room to put your soother back in your mouth you’ll do one of two things.  Upon seeing us you’ll either a) kick your legs really fast in anger and ramp up the volume of your yell, or b) laugh.  Both clear indications that you’re only crying because we’ve subjected you to this thing called sleep.  So, here we are, letting you cry.  And you know what? It’s totally working. And it’s only been 3 days really. Of course there are times (like say after AN HOUR) that I have begged your dad to just let me go up and get you, but he is of a stronger will than I, which is a good thing kid.  

But enough about the sleep.  Let’s talk about how STINKING happy you are.  Some days I wonder if it’s possible to develop laugh lines as a baby, because mercy, do you ever smile a lot.  My favourite thing about you these days is this little shriek you do. (well…to be honest, it can be a bit much and I did try and reason with you the other day asking you to use your “normal voice”…), but sometimes, when you’re hanging out on your play mat you’ll just shriek and then laugh to yourself and it’s so awesome to watch.  Having a Party For One is something you are great at doing and there are times when I come to join you and you instantly quiet down, as if to say “nothing to see here mom…move along now…”    What a stinker you are.  

As much as you are totally cool hanging out by yourself, you absolutely LOVE when people pay you attention.  It doesn’t matter who – as long as someone is engaging with you, you will reward them with a massive smile.  And I love that about you.  Your parents are people-persons, and I think you’re going to follow suit on that one.  I think babies naturally bring joy to those around them, and kid, you are no exception.  We hear on a daily basis that you are a beautiful baby, and when you flash that winning smile at whoever it is that is talking about you, it makes their day.   Ellie – just by your essence you are shining joy, and I pray that never changes.

Finally, Ellie, I have to admit something that makes your dad and I look kind of lame. (Welcome to the rest of your life kid!)  We can’t get enough of you.  The other week, we actually had a race up the stairs just to see who got the privilege of waking you up from your nap.  We try and play it off like we’re actually being helpful “Oh I’ll get her…you stay here” “no,no, I don’t mind…I’ll go get her, just have a seat”…and before you know it, we’re elbowing each other just to get to you first.   I want you to know that. Because I’m certain there will be times ahead where you and I may not feel like being in each other’s space all the time.  (like, say, in 15 years)  But know, know, know, that I will always fight to be with you.  Always fight to spend time with you, and always fight for you.  You have filled parts of my heart that I never knew were empty.

Happy 4 months kiddo.

What I Liked About Today

• watching my daughter wake up and the huge smile that comes across her face when she sees me

• the 23 degree weather

• the playdate we had with friends

• the fact that I had a PB and J sandwich for lunch.  

• the cavity-free dentist appointment I had

• the steak, potatoes, and wine we had for dinner

• the fact that we ate it outside

• the walk I took after dinner with Ellie in the wrap so she would fall asleep

• the fact that she fell asleep

• the 3 games in a row that I beat Ben at Dutch Blitz

• hearing Ellie talking and laughing in her bed when she should have been sleeping

• standing outside her door with Ben watching and listening to her

• the fact that when we tried to sneak in to get a closer look, she busted us and just kind of stared us down, while we tried to stay sneaky and all crouched-over like.  

a good day all around.