My little Kitchen Helper ♥

Eating the icing from the cupcakes we made for brandy's get together :) Can't wait for the next one, when i can have a beer

Helping roll the salt dough to make ornaments.

Salt Dough Ornaments

I once read a post on a blog i was following, about salt dough Christmas ornaments. They had made snow flakes, which turned out to be very pretty, so I decided to try making my own....

We used a recipe that didn't need to be baked. It took a REALLY long time for them to dry, so i wouldn't suggest it if you're in a hurry. We made ten small snowflakes, and 12 large one.

After they were dry, I painted two coats on each with white acrylic paint. Afterwards, I put a glaze on the top and added sparkles before the glaze dried.

Not the nicest pictures, but they turned out great! i love how they look with the lights on.

We were tempted to leave them as the only ornaments, because it looked pretty sharp with just the lights and the snowflakes. BUT, with the lights off...it was a very bare tree.

What a great start to the holiday season this weekend was. All of our Christmas shopping is done, the tree is up and decorated. The lights are up on the house. We got to see Santa today (and hopefully got a good picture). And this baby is due at anytime now!!! hopefully sooner rather than later, since I'd like to have some time to bond with the baby before family comes and I have to share :)

Bow making part 7

After having his first bow crack, (which was expected, but it happened a little earlier than we expected) Elijah has almost completed his second bow. It's 5'6" and the draw weight is 42 pounds at 27". He was aiming for 45-50 pounds, so it's not far off considering it's his first working bow. although it will shoot now, he still has to sand it down a bit to smooth out any rough edges, as well as treat it.

The handle

There was a computer desk here, now there's a piano :)

EC Update among other things

Well, I suppose it's been almost a month since I've written on here, so it's about time I did so. This month has been very busy and has just flown by. This Friday marks 36 weeks into my pregnancy, so in 8 days, baby is getting it's official eviction notice! Lots of sex, long walks and scrubbing the floors until they sparkle. HAHA. baby is being born " Avant Noel"

Katie has been a bit of a handful lately, since she's started to cut her top eye teeth. one is through, and the other is almost there. i was really hoping all four would be in before number 2 is born, but it doesn't look promising, seeing how long these are taking to come through. Luckily she does fairly well while teething, except at night. But that's okay, since I haven't been sleeping well for weeks anyways.It seems that EC has paid off!!!! I'm not sure when to officially call her a graduate, but we must be getting close. Unless she's cranky about something ( like teeth poking through gums) or if her poop is super super soft, we manage to catch most pees and poops. Her new things is a funny little grunt and desperate look your way, usually accompanied by her potty sign, but not always.

Three times in the past little while, while shopping at walmart, Katie has expressed the need top go potty, and held it until we were able to get to the bathroom. So not only do we have about at 90-95%  success rate at home, but she knows that she can ask to use the bathroom while we're away from home as well.

The only real downside to it, is that she sometimes thinks she has to poop, when in reality it's just a fart...so it's a little frustrating when you take her for a pee at a restaurant, and then 5 minutes later she asks to go again, just to fart on the toilet. Ugh.

Well, i'm going to take advantage of the rest of Katie's naptime to try and get material cut out for a couple more pairs of trainers for her. Tonight I'm going to try to zip through a pile of diapers for the baby and make 2-3 more undies for katie.

8 days...and then the clock is ticking haha :) I can't wait. Everything is (hopefully) going to be ready by next Friday.

How to bake cookies with a Toddler

How to bake cookies with a toddler:

Step one: While your toddler is napping, and you're busy making a toddler sized bag for your child who's in need of her own things to carry while out of the house. Have your husband measure out all the ingredients for the cookies and place them in bowls on a child sized table in the kitchen

Katie's little bag

ingredients laid out

 Step two: After waking form her nap, going for a pee, having a snack and cleaning up, help your toddler pour all the ingredients into a bowl.

Pouring the ingredients into the bowl, look at the concentration on her face

 Step three: Before dumping in the next ingredient, help your toddler bring each empty dish over to the sink once it's empty

Step four: Mix all ingredients by hand, allowing your toddler to feel the dough with her own hands ( and eat it since there's no eggs)

Step five: Have your toddler help roll the cookie dough into balls,  place it on a cookie sheet, and squish it flat

Squishing dough

Step six: Clean up work space while baking, let cookies cool once done, and eat some cooked cookie dough .

Halloween 2011

Katie's second Halloween, first that she was able to be an active participant in. Despite knowing that people would assume she was a boy, we decided to go ahead and make her a Peter Pan costume for Halloween. I had enough felt left over from a Christmas gift i had made a few weeks ago to make her costume and still have more left over.

Eating chocolate

Checking out the goodies she got from our Neighbors

In the morning we met up at the Parent Link Center with Vic, her two little ones, Laura and her son. It was very busy, and crowded. Not my kind of setting, (or Elijah's, or Katie's ) but it was nice to do something on Halloween and spend time with friends.

After that we went to McDonalds and treated Katie to her first Happy meal. She loved her apple slices, and the box the meal came in.

Since she's only 15 months old we decided to take her to our neighbors to trick or treat and then let her help hand out candy. The neighbor loved her so much that she gave her three treats! And her little costume put smiles on every ones faces.

Once we turned off the lights for the night, Katie had fun dancing to the Monster Mash and making funnel cakes with mom and dad.

Overall, a FANTASTIC Halloween.

October 29th

Days like these remind me of how we spent our Halloween nights while we lived in Azilda.In costumes with snow suits underneath :)

Thanksgiving weekend

I love thanksgiving weekends. My favorite so far was when we flew home and surprised everyone, but this one was pretty great as well. Last Thursday Elijah was told that we were second in line for the cabin, and the first person decided not to take it, so off we went to spend the long weekend in peace by the lake ♥

We came home for a few hours on Saturday to make an apple pie, a cake, finish up the macaroni salad and shower, then off to Vic and Jay's for our turkey dinner and to celebrate Justin and Brandy's birthdays. mmmmmm i love turkey. And i love good company. We left a little early so that we could get back to the cabin and put Katie to bed before it was really far past her bed time. Exhausted, we ended up passing out on the couch for an hour, before calling it a night. The nights at the cabin are enough to make you really relax. You can see so many stars out there, and across the lake you see the lights of the city you left behind. The mornings on the lake are enough to make you want to stay there and not go back to the city. The sky and the water melt together into a beautiful cotton candy pink.

Morning walks down the beach with the dogs off leash, not a soul in sight except for a few birds out on the water. Afternoons spent exploring the area, jumping in leaves and listening to the sounds of nature. Evenings spent reading, playing cards or just chatting, inside the cabin, warm from the fire.

I will never buy a house in the city again. If I can't live on a lake, I'll at least be in the country far enough away from the city to see the stars and seldom hear a car.

Tonight, we'll be having our own little turkey dinner. Just the three of us. Katie and I walked to the grocery store this morning to get a loaf of white bread for the dressing, since Elijah prefers his dressing made with store bought bread. Katie fell asleep when we were within sight of the house, meaning an early and short nap. Which left me to make a turkey this afternoon with a small child running around the kitchen complaining. I don't think she's stopped since...I wish we were still at the cabin, things are much simpler there. Katie doesn't seem to get as cranky either. Someday, when we live somewhere where lakefront lots don't cost 300 000$, before building on them. Oh how i love Cold Lake Real Estate.

A couple side notes, Elijah made his first blog entry yesterday :) his bow has come a long way and will probably be done by the time Katie and i get back form Ontario. We're leaving on Friday after lunch for Saskatoon, the our flight leaves at 6 am on Saturday, meaning a 4-430 am wake up depending how far away the airport is. Here's hoping Katie and i can get along for 3 hours with her sitting on my lap...or well, here's hoping that since it's such an early flight, that they have spare seats and i can bucket her in beside me. I can't wait to go home this weekend, spend time with my family and see all of my McPherson cousins at Kris' wedding.

Bow making part 6

My Good String

My hair is dirty

The Art is Almost Complete

Bow making part 5

The tillering tree is completed, now time to tiller lol.

Bow making part 4

Elijah made the nocks for the string and put on the tillering string so we could take a picture. It's starting to come together!

EC FIRST

Even if it was a complete fluke, which i doubt it was given her behavior the past few days, ECing has been totally worth it. Katie walked over to her potty, sat down and peed. ALL BY HERSELF! She's 13 months old. Just thought I'd share.

Also today, when i was going to the bathroom ( I have an open door policy when it's just me and Katie home) I told her i was going to go potty, sat down on the toilet and signaled to her. She then sat down on her potty and signaled back to me. It was kind of cute. She's making the connection between what I do on the "Big potty" and what she does on her potty. Kids are so smart. I'm very hopeful that she'll be in trainers full time by Christmas, maybe even sooner?

pull up trainers

Front

Back

I talked to the lady who we bought the pattern from ( she was wonderful) and she showed me the best way to adjust the rise on the trainers. This time I made pull ups, since I don't have snaps. The end result? they fit GREAT! I'm quite pleased. Now I just need to buy some cute fabrics to make a few more. These are a size small, which is supposed to fit 18-24 months. The pattern makes four different kinds of undies from 12 months to 7 years.

short little EC update

Last night we put Katie in her undies for a test run, and wouldn't you know it, she was a little bum and had me up at all hours, so around 2-3 ish, i brought her into our bed, where she tossed and turned for the next two or three hours keeping myself and Elijah from sleeping properly. she was put back in her own bed around 530 and i admit, i ignored her for a good five minutes when she awoke from the dogs/Elijah's alarm. SO her undies were wet, but her jammies stayed dry. it was pretty cool. Mind you it wasn't a big pee, but since she was lying on her tummy when she peed, I was impressed at how they held in all the pee.

Elijah took care of her and fed her this morning while I slowly woke up. thank god for awesome husbands ♥. She played her little potty game a bit today, but not as much as yesterday. She started getting really fussy when nap time was approaching, and kindly peed on the floor in front of me, while signaling that she was going potty. i was quite pleased!

While surfing the internet today, I stumbled across a blog entry from a mom who cloth diapered and EC'ed her little one. i thought it was amusing so i thought I'd share: http://stainedglassconfessional.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-potty-train-your-toddler.html

EC update

Nighttime: Nights have been going great ever since we weaned her from her night time feedings and from her bottle. Most nights she'll wake up at 4 am to go for a pee and have a quick drink of water, then back to sleep until daddy's alarm goes off in the morning.( I love weekends, no alarm means i get to sleep until 7 ish) The other night, we skipped her nap and she was fussing and wouldn't go to sleep, so i went up and offered her a pee and gave her a drink, and put her back to bed. She went straight to sleep after emptying her little bladder. If she keeps on being consistently dry at night, like she has been recently, then I'll be switching her to undies at night.

Daytime: For the past 24 hours or so, Katie has been obsessed with using the sign for potty and going and sitting on her little red potty. She thinks it's a game and consistently stands up, sits down and signals. This morning, she started grunting so i asked her if she needed to go potty and she made the sign and walked over, sat down, grunted a bit... stood up, sat down, signed, stood up, sat down, signed... you get the pattern...stood up, took two steps and pooped on the floor.  Today at Jay and Vic's house, she did her little pee shiver and I asked her if she went potty and she signaled back, so I changed her bum. baby steps are a good sign :)

Playing on her potty this morning

Tinkle time trainers: I've been looking for a good pattern for training underwear, and came across one that i REALLY liked :  http://www.ladderhilldesign.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=vmj_estore.tpl&product_id=10&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=59

So Elijah bought it for me. We don't have snap applicators, so i used velcro on my trial pair. I like how the leg holes fit her chubby little legs, and how they fit on the bum. I don't like the rise, so i'll probably adjust them when i actually get around to making some. Also I think I'll just make pull up ones, instead of the snap option. I'm sure with a lower rise and no snaps ( or velrco) at the front, They'll fit her well :)

Bow making part 3

Poor man's fiberglass ( aka drywall tape and wood glue)

Poor man's finished fiberglass. Ready for tillering

6 feet tall

Just a story

This is a story i stumbled across more than a year ago:

There was a well to do rich man who lived in the suburbs with his wife and only child. The dad was worried that his son didn't understand how good they had it. He made a phone call to his relatives who had a rundown little hill farm a few hours away and arranged a visit. He figured the best way to get through to his son was to show him just how poor some folks were. They pulled in the gravel driveway and were greeted by half a dozen hound dogs and a goose. Next, the children and grown folks came out of barns and fields and lined up to say hello. The city boy spent the whole weekend doing chores and playing with farmers 6 kids. The farmers kids were bare foot and had holes in their pants. The barns were in poor repair, the tractor an old rust bucket and the old farm truck had bald tires and a dent in the drivers side door. The more the father looked around, the more sorry he felt for the poor hillbillies. He knew had done the right thing, his son would know what poverty looked like, it now had a face. The weekend was over and the goodbyes were said. They got a few miles down the road and the father looked over at the boy. "Do you know why I brought you out here?", he asked. Kid shakes his head "no". "I wanted you to see just how poor some people are.", he said. The boy said, "You know dad, I never knew just how poor we were." The father, with a shocked look on his face, replies "What do mean?". "Well dad, that pond was really cool, its so much nicer than our pool...I mean its got fish and frogs and crawdads you can catch. We have those street lights so we can see at night, and those folks have a million stars and the moon to light up their yard. And ya, the yard, wow. Ours is so small and they have a hundred acres with rocks and trees. I like our poodle, but those hound dogs were so fun to play with. They swim and hunt and everything. Did you notice, the mother, she doesn't even make the kids wear shoes! They don't have to go to the playground either, they have hay forts and trees to climb, did you see that creek...I think it goes on forever. We have to buy our food at the store, those people Grow Their Own! Rows and rows of food in the garden, did you see how they could just go out and pick it themselves! They all get to work together Every Day, the father doesn't have a job. Those kids have lots of brother and sisters too, its like having friends over to play Every Day. I think that lady even made her own bread, dad. Thanks for taking me out there dad, I'll never forget how good those farmers have it." The father didn't say another word. He looked straight ahead and drove back toward home. He was starting to see "just how poor they were".

The joys of pregnancy

I went to bed with pain and woke up with pain. Wonderful...if this keeps up much longer, the doctor will be seeing me sooner than expected.

Crafts: So far I have one of Ariel's gifts made, Elijah's scarf and hat are knit ( just need to weave the loose ends in), 27/30 of the outsides of my newborn diapers are ready to be sewn, the chalkboard is ready for the chalkboard paint and Elijah's bow is ready to be tillered. Lots to do by December :) and only 14 weeks until Christmas!

Bow Making part 2

String jig with the string on

Flemish twist bow string for tillering (not made with proper string)

Walnut riser glued on to oak bow

riser half roughed out side view

top view

Bow making

Elijah has decided to make a bow. It's started out as a 6 foot piece of oak. So far he has both of the limbs shaped and it's starting to bend a bit. He's really enjoying it so far and i can't wait to see how it turns out! Take a look:

Marked and ready to start

first side of the first limb being shaped

done 1/4

Limbs shaped!

Childhood doesn't wait

Childhood Doesn’t Wait
(Author Unknown)

I was sitting on a bench
while in a nearby mall,
When I noticed a young mother
with two children who were small.
The youngest one was whining,
“Pick me up,” I heard him beg
but the mother’s face grew angry
as the child clung to her leg.
“Don’t hang on to me,” she shouted
as she pushed his hands away,
I wish I’d had the courage
to go up to her and say…
“The time will come too quickly
when those little arms that tug,
Won’t ask for you to hold them
or won’t freely give a hug.
“The day will sneak up subtly
just as it did with me,
When you can’t recall the last time
that your child sat on your knee.
“Like those sacred, pre-dawn feedings
when we cherished time alone
Our babies grow and leave behind
those special times we’ve known.
“So when your child comes to you
with a book that you can share,
Or asks that you would tuck him in
and help him say his prayer…
“When he comes to sit and chat
or would like to take a walk,
Before you answer that you can’t
`cause there’s no time to talk”
Remember what all parents learn
so many times too late,
That years go by too quickly
and that childhood doesn’t wait.

“Take every opportunity,
if one should slip away
Reach hard to get it back again,
don’t wait another day.”
I watched that mother walk away
her children followed near,
I hope she’ll pick them up
before her chances disappear.

"Sleep Learning" Night 4

Last night was supposed to be Katie's last night with a feed, but since she was up at 4 again, and had a hard time going back to sleep, I didn't wake her for her little 1 oz feed. I ended up getting her shortly after 6, because she wasn't settling well. We snuggled for a bit then went downstairs for an early breakfast. She did sleep from around 8 until 4, so an eight hour stretch, but it took her a very long time to go to sleep last night. She ended up needing an early nap, so i put her down around 830, and she was out in minutes, allowing me to get a much needed nap as well. Katie woke up just in time for Izzy to get here to play. I put her down for another nap around 1230, which lasted about an hour and a half. By the time bed time came around, she was ready for sleep, and quite happily followed her bed time routine, and was asleep within 15 minutes again. Here's hoping for a good sleep tonight, since we're going to the park for a picnic with a bunch of people tomorrow and she may not get a morning nap. that's the end of "sleep Learning", we'll give it a few more days her to adjust to the routine, but it seems to be going well, she's getting at least an 8 hour stretch now after only a few nights, so I'm hopeful that i might soon get more sleep ♥

"Sleep Learning" Night 3

For the second night in a row, I was able to sit on my ass, relax and watch an un-interrupted movie with my wonderful man ♥ This was a non-existent activity prior to sleep learning. We watched Thor, which I enjoyed. I think we might be watching fast5. since we haven't watched any movies in quite awhile, we need to play catch up. Anyways. Last night went well, I believe it only took her 15 minutes to fall asleep. She did wake once during our movie, but it was very briefly. I woke her again at 1030 for her last 1030 feed, of only 1 oz. She had a dry diaper still and went back to bed in the same dry diaper. Between 1030 and 5, she fell out of her bed twice???? strange... she hasn't done that in a very very long time. So Elijah went and put her back in bed both times. Close to 430, she woke up, and of course i had to let her put herself back to sleep, but by 5, I was able to go in a feed her. The 5 am wake up is going to be hard on her I think. It's going to take a few more days after tonight before she'll sleep until 7. Tonight is the very last night of night time feeds. She gets one bottle at 5 am with only 1 oz in it. and then tomorrow all the bottles are going in the cupboard for good.

Naps still aren't going too well.This mornings nap was okay, but this afternoon it took her 45 minutes to fall asleep, even though she was tired. Times like those, you just want to go upstairs and snuggle with her, but you know it won't make any difference.

Here's hoping the next few nights go well, and that she doesn't fall out of bed anymore haha. Izzy's coming over for a play date tomorrow morning, so Katie will probably end up only having one nap in the middle of the day, which should be longer and go a little smoother. Keeping my fingers crossed.

"Sleep Learning" Night 2

Last night went quite well. Justin, Brandy and the kids came over for a fire, and I was able to put Katie to bed without her seeing them. I think it only took her 15 minutes total to fall asleep last night. She woke briefly just as I was going for a shower, but fell back asleep quickly. I woke her at 1030 and fed her 2 0z. Again at 2 am I woke her and gave her 1 oz. She was dry both times. 4 minutes before I was going to wake her for her next feed, she woke and so I had to wait for her to fall back asleep for me to feed her. This time her diaper wasn't dry. I bet that if she hadn't woken up until 5 when i went to get her, that she would have still been dry. The 5 am feed was the only one she fussed after, but it didn't last more than a minute before she was back asleep.

Come 730ish, she woke up and Elijah went and got her, she had a wet diaper by the time her got to her, but it was fresh as well. He then brought her into our room, where she snuggled with mum and dad for a good fifteen minutes :) Naps weren't as successful, but the book did say that sleep learning at nap time took longer than night time.

Tonight, Katie will only have 1 oz at 1030, and 2 oz at 5. Here's hoping for another good night!

On another subject, I would make a poor hunter gatherer. We went for a walk today on the trails with the pups to pick raspberries. I LOVE wild raspberries, they may be tiny, but they're delicious. Anyways, we came back with maybe 1/4 of my container full.

To make up for it, we had a little fire tonight and cooked up some fish and potatoes. The fish was great, the potatoes weren't done...so we ate our pie first...

Brandy make a lemon meringue pie the other day, and inspired me to make a pie :)

Mmmmm I LOVE apple pie.

 We ate half the pie...and didn't have room for our potatoes, so we're going to be having them for breakfast in the morning with toast and eggs :)

"Sleep Learning" Night 1

While visiting the health clinic for Katie's 1 year immunizations, the nurse lent me a book to read on helping your child sleep better. We've decided to give it a try, since our little one's sleep habits aren't really existent. Last night was night one. I think it went well for the first night. After falling asleep, her only rough spot was between 4 and five in the morning. On the schedule I had made based on previous nights, I was to wake her to feed her at 5 am, but she woke earlier than anticipated. Usually she'll come into bed with me when she first wakes in the morning, but from now she'll be sleeping in her own bed all night, in her own room. I know I'm going to miss my early morning snuggles with my little girl, but I really wouldn't be able to let her cry at all by herself if she was in the same room as me. Overall though, the night went great!

My only issue with trying this method, was that we've had such great success with keeping her dry all night, that I didn't want to take a huge step backwards. Last night however, she went to bed without even taking her water, so when I woke her up for a feed at 1030 before i went to bed, she was dry. Again at 2 am, she was dry. Since we let her put herself back to sleep until 5 am, she wasn't dry at that point, but at least it wasn't a soaking wet diaper.

I think that tomorrow night, once the 2am feed is completely gone ( it was only 2 oz last night, 1 oz tonight, and then nothing form then on) I'll find she has a dry diaper come the 5 am feed. Even once the 1030 feed is gone ( which should be Sunday night since she only had 3 oz last night) She should be dry come 5 am. On Monday night, however, it will be interesting to see if she's dry in the morning, if not, then how wet her diaper is. Next week she shouldn't be waking at all throughout the night to feed or anything. If I do find that she is wet, and it's not fresh from just waking up, then I might get Elijah to take her for a pee when he gets up for work in the mornings.

Overall, it was a good night I think, and I don't believe that it will set us back much with nighttime EC.

On a side note, Once we get a bed frame for her mattress, and she stops pulling all the books off the shelves instead of going to sleep, I'll take pictures of what her room looks like now, as opposed to when there was a crib and change table in there. I really like it ♥ What I don't like, is that now the dogs can sleep in our room again, and Jojo licked his paws for half the friggen night, keeping me awake. Lets see just how long they stay in our room for...my bet is, not very long if her keeps it up.

Baby number 2

I didn't think he was able to get a good picture, but apparently he was ♥

Just another sunny day

I just came back inside from sharing a few minutes by the garden with my daughter. As first time gardeners,  We're starting small with easy plants to grown, and are learning with each step. Last year we planted peas on one side of the yard, they were very successful on their own. On the other side of the yard we planted a few different plants, which were all left to fight for their lives among the weeds that weren't picked. I was pregnant and it seems everyone else I asked ( Elijah ♥ ) were to busy to weed the garden. Needless to say, it didn't thrive on it's own like the peas did. This year, we let the peas garden grow over with weeds and we focused on our small garden on the other side. In it I intended on planting peas, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce and carrots. Of these, i managed to plant all but the lettuce. Apparently I lack the talent needed to grow lettuce. They didn't even live to be planted. My yard is on a slope, and my crops seem to be thriving on a decline as well. The ones at the top are larger and the ones at the bottom...not so much. I think next year we'll be making  flat, even garden bed for them, and see if that makes a difference. My peas are delicious, with new ones ready to pick daily. My tomato plants have numerous little yellow flowers just waiting to turn into tomatoes. ( I must have planted late, I don't think they will be ready before the frost hits) my broccoli.. oh my poor broccoli. It's being eaten alive by little green caterpillars, which turn into beautiful little white butterflies. I'm really not looking forward to removing them, because I'm not one for bugs, but it seems that my little broccoli plants have more holes in the leaves that actual leaf left. There is no sign of the flower yet, so I'm beginning to wonder how long those will take as well. the plants are quite larger, and next year I'll be planting one row only, so that they aren't so crowded. My carrots didn't get planted until we left for vacation, but they seem to be doing well now that the front part has been weeded and they're not being starved of sunlight or fighting for nutrients in the soil. (I really need to re learn my English, I'm sure this should have been about eight different paragraphs by now)

After showing Katie the garden, and inspecting the beating my broccoli plants have taken, we picked a few peas and sat on the hammock to share them. To my delight, Katie loved them. Homegrown, freshly picked ... REAL FOOD.

It got me thinking about one of the reasons why I want a piece of land. I want my children to know where their food comes from and what it takes to produce what they consume. I want them to know the difference between  what store bought and homegrown food tastes like. Most of all, I want them to truly appreciate everything we take for granted in our modern world.

Peaceful moments

You know the feeling when the world just feels right? I've had a few of those lately.

One was while we were camping in Rockwood and i was putting Katie to bed. I pulled out her books and lay down beside her to hopefully read her one. She scooted next to me, snuggled up to me and let me actually read her a book for the first time. Then another, and another. She then sat up and flipped through each of them ( instead of trying to eat the books) by herself for close to 15 minutes.

Another was the other night, when i was trying to give her her milk in a sippy cup instead of her bottle, but she was refusing. She decided that snuggling with mom for near an hour was better than milk form a sippy cup. I know i should have just caved and given her her milk so she would sleep, but that nice, long, peaceful snuggle period with my daughter was very just so relaxing and needed.

I have been blessed with an amazing man as a husband, who has given me the greatest gifts i could ever ask for;
our child(ren) and the chance to stay home with them and watch them learn and grow.

Tomorrow is our "twenty week" ultrasound with baby number two. This one kicks and rolls around like crazy! I can't wait to see who's hiding in there ♥ no we won't be finding out the sex, but I'm very excited to get a glimpse of the little one and make sure he or she is healthy and growing well.

EC update

I had told Elijah that once Katie goes two weeks without a wet diaper at night, we would put her to bed diaper free. While on vacation, she was dry every night but one. That was the night after she had been up five time the night before. Her and Sophie went to bed early and woke up a little while later thinking it was a nap. It was a fight to get them back to sleep, and I think we may have put her to bed in a wet diaper :(. Anyways, she woke up for her first feed wet, and also in the morning didn't wake us up, just sat up in bed and played. So by the time we got up, she was wet. Aside form that night, she was dry every night for 19 days. That is, until we got home and I put her to bed diaper free. Our first night at home was a disaster. It was Katie's first day back on Alberta time as well as her first night sleeping alone since we left. She woke up for her first feed with wet shorts, thankfully the shorts took most of it, because I don't have a second set of sheets yet. Then I put her in bed with us, because she just wasn't sleeping. And the next time she woke, I told Elijah to make sure she didn't pee in our bed while I went to get the bottle. Simple enough instructions, basically, go hold her over the pee bucket until I get back. Apparently he didn't hear me and he was pretty grumpy when i returned saying how she peed in our bed. Oh well, not her fault. I ended up sleeping on a towel. Exciting. Anyways. Yesterday we bought another fitted sheet, of what I thought was a fitted sheet. turns out it's a flat sheet so I'll need to exchange it. We tried diaper free all night again. She had a pretty good sleep, back to her old routine of waking around 11, 130ish and 5. As well as once before we go to bed, just for a pee. She stayed dry all night and came to sleep with me after her 5 am feed ( a whole 2 oz) and slept until just after 7. Seems we're back on our old Alberta sleep schedule.

So things are going well at night, but during the day is about the same. When she poops, she normally stops what she's doing and looks at you as if you say " Aren't you going to help me? " And we still manage to catch a few pees each day, although not nearly as many as i'd like. She sits on her potty to play sometimes, so at least I know she has no problems getting on and off of it by herself. As for signals, she's started to sign for more, and before we left, she was signing potty either after or while she peed. Unfortunately she stopped doing that and has gone back to fussing, which could mean anything coming from her :) I'm still hopeful that she'll be 100% diaper free come December. If not, hopefully practicing EC right from the start with baby number 2 will help as well.

On a side note, I currently weigh 153.5 lbs. I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow. My pre-pregnancy weight with Katie was 155. Wow I must have lost ALOT of muscle.

Vacation, over!

After a busy, yet fantastic two and a half week vacation, we're home. Although we didn't take a single picture while we were gone, I did manage to steal all of my mom's photo's, and my in-laws will be sending us all of the ones they took. Here's part of our vacation in pictures:

Playing with cousin Sophie. I think the saddest part of leaving was knowing they won't see each other for another year.

Playing at camp. Too many people to see, not enough time to relax as a family, but good all the same.

Meeting a new friend. Courtney and Nathan came to camp for a day with Avery. the girls got to play together for a bit.

Seeing old friends. Megan and Kyle came to visit too! Along with Meg's boy friend Chris. It was a good time.

THE PICTURE ROCK. The whole family at camp

Katie turned one while we were there. Tons of friends and family came to say hi and meet her :)

Lady bug cupcakes ♥ Next time I won't be rushed when making these.

We also had Nanny's 75th party the day we got there, we had dinner in London with my uncle Rory, Went camping for a couple nights with Elijah's family, went to the butterfly conservatory, and went on a date just the two of us. Overall it was jam packed but worth every penny spent of getting there. Next time we come home will be with two kids instead of just one.