Berry Time!

Strawberry season in Portage la Prairie reminds me of babyhood; fleeting.  It seems like just yesterday, our little boy was a baby.  Now I find I'm correcting myself every time I call Ethan "baby".  This little guy isn't so little anymore, and definitely not a baby.

This past weekend, I was able to take Ethan out to the berry patch.  We went picking last year too, but that involved Uncle Chad and I picking while "baby" Ethan slept in his removable car seat.  I loved picking berries when I was a kid.  I remember going to the Hyde's patch, thinking I was so lucky to have strawberries so close to our house. 

Then I remember working with Chad at Mayfairs in the mornings, and picking for our own business at Connery's in the afternoon for the few weeks that berries are available during our early teen years.  There is apparently a lot of money to make on the berry patch for kids that can handle the sun and are a little ambitious. 

I hope that Ryan and I can make strawberry picking one of our loved traditions with Ethan.

But on Saturday.  I can tell you my sneaky little man LOVED the berry patch!  I showed Ethan were the berries were hidden under the greenery.  It didn't take him long to figure it out.  But Chad and I learnt early that succeeding on the berry patch requires a little bit of craftiness.  Ethan would pretend to pick a strawberry, then walk over to my bucket to "put it in" and ended up swiping three or four berries at a time.  I picked 2 buckets in the 40 minutes I was there.  Not a great amount for that time frame, but in my defence, I had to refill a quarter of the first bucket picked after Ethan had found it down the row.

Mr and Mrs Connery saw Ethan in his car seat when I went up to the shack to pay, and noted that baby would have some issues with the pampers later that night. 

But it wasn't so bad.  It was worth it to share one of my favorite summer activities with my Little Man.

My Art-tist!

The other day Auntie Kristin decided to let Will paint while we were out at their house.  Will is such a great painter already!  He painted trees, with trunks and they looked very much like real trees (and he's only 3!)

However, Ethan was there, as I've already said.  And Auntie Kristin (God bless her) decided to let my young man have a paint brush and access to the paint.   This was cute for the first 2 minutes.  Ethan is apparently a bit of an artist himself.   Check out his work!

Mad Mad Love

Went to see Sex In The City 2 with the girls last night.  So happy to have a couple hours away to just relax, and Daddy had a good night with Ethan too.

Okay.  Spoiler Alert.  Stop reading now if you haven't seen the movie, and want to.

I think women love the Sex In The City series and Movies because they can see themselves in the characters; and they can dream about who they would be if they could.  I've always seen one of my girl friends in Miranda.  I love Miranda - she's really one of the best "real" characters in the series.  And sitting in the theatre last night, it was like watching bits and pieces of my life - and Miranda was still reminding me of my girlfriend, even though my girlfriend doesn't have quite the same place in my life as she used to.  Made me miss that relationship more than I have in a long time.

And Me!  (Ryan says it's all about me - and he's right in my humble opinion)  I've stood in another room and cried because I want to be a good mom, but my baby won't stop crying.  I felt so bad for Charlotte!  I just wanted to tell her she's not the only one.  However I'm a little more ready than Charlotte to let people know that Ethan sometimes drives me crazy; but I will always love him in spite of making me pull out my hair.

I spent a lot of time today dreaming of beautiful clothes and Martini glasses and closets of shoes.I wish I could have time to write.  I would love to write a book, without a toddler pulling on my keyboard.  (I think that's the first time I've ever referred to Ethan as a toddler, but he's really 14 mths going on 2)

Ryan is definitely my Big....   So much of that character made me shake my head in amazement.  So many nights, I wish we could go out, but are stuck on the "couch".  But Big is fabulous and comfortable and right.

Some parts of the movie bugged me.  Why have I never notice Sarah Jessica Parker has a chest?  Why did she look perma-tanned all movie, but still had horrible tan lines in a backless dress?  I'm sure other parts bugged me, but I can't remember anything else that stands out.

All in all...  I guess Marriage, Kids or No Kids, Getting Older, Shoes and Sex are topics that most women can relate to.  But I really feel like I should get some sort of royalties for the similarities that exist between my life and the various characters in the movie....  I always wanted to be Carrie, cause she's crazy and extravagant.... 

But even she thinks she's somewhere between Wild Sex and a Baby.

No longer a Baby

I hope I never sound ungrateful.  I love my son so much!  Ethan has become our world.  He has replaced our favorite TV shows and video games (Ryan's) and has become an entertainer all of his own.  I love my son.

Ethan is a very busy boy since the invention of walking (11 mths) and the addition of running (12 months).  Some nights, for fun, he has taken to running in circles- literally- or chasing the dogs around the house with his light-up sword.

He has also turned "2" at 13 months.  Full-force temper tantrums, on the floor, kicking and screaming.  But no one gets to see that but Daddy and Me.  That way I sound ungrateful - or crazy, as "Ethan is a perfect angel" for everybody else. 

I love my boy.  He is amazing.  Just learnt how to walk backwards yesterday.  I love watching him figure something out, learn something.   Little brains must work non-stop.  Our big brains just sit in front of computers all day it seems, taking everything we do for granted.   Imagine for a second that you didn't know how to walk backwards.   It might not be life-changing, but boy is it convenient!

Suppertime has been fun for a long time, however Mommy is no longer allowed to hold the fork/spoon.  Unless it's her own fork, in which case Ethan will only let me hold it until it reaches his lips; then he grabs it with both hands and won't let go.   You would be amazed the the grip our little guy's got.

But we are so lucky.  To have our own little angel that tests patience and boundaries.   But he still knows we're Mommy and Daddy and that kisses fix everything and hugs feel good and that we love him.  And we know the love of a child. 

And it's bliss.

I've been a horrible blogger!

It has been brought to my attention that I have failed to Blog since my return to work....   5 1/2 months ago.  My apologies.  Life has become so busy, as has the boy! (see proof above)

I will try to do better...

Mel

Ethan is so tired after playing at Daycare all day, that he still needs an evening nap.   Sometimes he doesn't want to have a nap, but Mommy knows best.

Working Mom

Wow!  What a week!

Last week I became a working mom for the first time.  I was a little nervous about going back to work, cause I knew I would miss spending every waking moment with my boy.  (Since birth, Ethan and I have only been apart for very short spurts)  I was ok with the job - as far as 9 to 5 jobs go, I've got a great one - but my job description was getting a face lift, and I happened to go back on month end and year end.

Thankfully Ethan LOVES daycare!  He hugs and kisses the little boy that is there and they get along great.  Ethan hasn't moved into break down mode when we leave him for the day, but I'm aware it might still be coming.

Evenings are definitely not long enough!  I do miss my boy a lot, but still need to get things done in the evening that I normally did during the day for the last 9 months.  Mornings are very early for all three of us - My boy used to sleep until 9 or 10, and I'm forcing out of crib at 7am at the latest!  Poor Ethan!

And to top off my first week of work, with deadlines everywhere, I came down with a horrible case of the stomach flu on Wednesday morning.  I spent 3 of the 5 first days back at work in bed or the bathroom, with an evening on IV in the hospital to boot.  Not how I wanted to come back.  But luckily I kept my flu to myself - sparing Ethan and Ryan.  And I am back to work this week again.

Unfortunately my computer becomes the last thing that I look at - only getting here if a lot of non-Ethan time presents itself.  But that's ok.  Time at home has become very precious.

All I Wanted For Christmas....

was my two front teeth. 

I used to hate that song.  What a silly song.  I guess if you were 6 years old, with two big gaping holes in the front of your mouth, it would make sense.  But for the rest of us...  kinda silly.  Mind you, there are Christmas songs about Donkeys and Hippos, so I guess it's not the silliest song out there.

Well...  I have my two front teeth, and have never known a child to get their two front teeth for Christmas.  Until now.

Besides a tonne of presents and clothes, Ethan got his two front teeth for Christmas.   One cut through on Christmas Day, and was in by the 27th.  And yesterday, he cut the second one, which is in today.  These teeth moved very quickly, and provided a few rough nights of sleep.

But something changed this teething time around (they are teeth 5 and 6 if anyone is keeping track).  Ethan slept!  During the day, he slept a lot - not at one time, but the days have been filled with naps.  He wakes up, has something to eat and goes back to sleep.   Wakes up, cuddles for a bit and falls back to sleep.  Wakes up, plays with some toys and starts yawning, cause it's time to go back to sleep.

Night time doesn't allow for a long- through the night sleep.  But he's waking up between 5 and 6:30.  Next week he'll be getting up at 6:30 anyway to get ready for daycare. 

So forget the Hippos and Donkeys.  (Ethan didn't get any of those - but cute puppies that say his name, and Elmos galore)  Ethan got something every kid sings about at some point in time.  He got his two front teeth for Christmas. 

Six down, Fourteen to go!

SAHM No More

What a weekend!  Christmas was busy, throwing Ethan way off schedule.  We had 4 Christmas' in a five day span.  And I'm kinda glad to be home today, cleaning up the house, packing away the Christmas tree and trying to find a place to put all the new toys.

Yes, I've been so excited for Christmas, but took down my tree today.  You see, in the past 3 weeks, Ethan has become extremely mobile, making it difficult to do anything without putting him in his exersaucer - which he is very tired of.  If I'm not sitting beside him on the floor - I find him in the tree or pulling stuff out of the TV stand or headed down the hall in search of a garbage can or return air-vent.  So removing the tree was almost necessary.  One less thing to get into. 

Today is back to work day for everyone.  And I'm at home with Ethan, alone for the first time in 4 days.  I have so much that I want to get done this week.  Before going back to work next week, giving up my SAHM status for a little while at least.  I want to make cookies and give the house an incredibly good cleaning, and make a menu for next month (one of my New Years goals, hoping it will relieve some stress of 'whats for dinner-lunch' making Daycare packing a little easier too).  I also want to spend some good time just hanging out with the boy, cause I'm pretty sure I'll miss that the most.  I love reading him stories, and singing and dancing with him. 

Going back to work is the hardest thing most Mom's I talk to ever experience.  Maybe harder than child birth - cause I think you remember how you feel going back to work forever - and the pain of child birth doesn't stay with you too long.  I'm looking forward to going back, but I'm also sad that I can't just stay home till we're done having kids and they've all gone to school.  But I can't.

Time has just flown by.  It's so cliche, but it really has.  There was a baby sitting in front of us yesterday in church.  She was so tiny, and sleeping quietly.  Seems so long since Ethan was that small....  but it really wasn't.  I'm happy that he's developing, but I'm going to miss cuddling on the couch and rocking him to sleep. 

Merry Christmas To You!

Being Ethan's first Christmas, I'm sure that there will be some spoiling.  I know there will be.  I'm sure that he will get more gifts than he needs.  I'm okay with that.  However there is one thing that I'm so happy Ethan will get this Christmas.

Okay, here's me getting Corny; Family. 

He's such a lucky boy.  He has a huge family, right here close enough that he can spend Christmas with them. 

This is his Great Grandma Janzen, sharing such a nice kiss with him during our Christmas on Sunday night.  What a great picture (captured by my Aunt Mary).  I'm sure that I'll cherish this picture for years to come. 

Out of all of the things wrapped under the tree, nothing can replace the rituals and the traditions that we create with our families over the holidays.  It's true.  When your Christmas changes for the first time in years, it doesn't feel quite the same. 

I'm so excited to start some new traditions with our family this year.  And I'm so happy that we have so many wonderful people in our lives that will be part of those traditions.

Merry Christmas From Our Family To Yours!!!!

Soother? Yes I Am

Ethan's been having problems sleeping at night again.  I'm not sure exactly what the issue is this time.

He is teething again, but not horribly *I really wish teething was a 2 day process*.  Sometimes some teething gel is required - or Baby Crack as I call it....  Ethan smacks his lips in anticipation when he sees it coming.

I also cheaped out on diapers and bought the none-brand named brand, as I'm cheap and I didn't have a coupon for my favorite brand name.  Around 3am, Ethan yells to let me know that his diaper has reached full capacity.  Then it takes a while to get him back to sleep.  I will be picking up a package of my favorite brand named diapers today.

Ethan is also giving crawling a huge try, mostly at night.  He sits up in his crib, lies back down, crawls to the edge, sits back up, lies back down, rolls around, pushes his face up against the edge, and SCREAMS!  In the past, I usually have given him a few minutes of screaming in hopes that he will calm down and fall back to sleep.  I've found that if the issue is a face against the bars of his crib, promptness is necessity, or a lot of Mommy soothing will follow.  I'm considering purchasing some crib bumpers today as well.

Another issue that we've run into is Ethan throws his pacifier out of the crib, then has trouble soothing himself back to sleep.  He will be a great ball player, he's got quite an arm on him.  If the soos (as we call it) has left the crib, the chance that he will fall back to sleep is about a zero.  Going into his room, getting another soos and getting him back to sleep is also necessary.  The bumpers will probably help his issue too.

Last night at 3 am, the diaper, Ethan's face against the crib and the missing soos were all issues.  It took about 4 trips to the nursery, a diaper change, a bottle and a big long cuddle with Mom to settle him down.  While I was crawling back into bed, Ryan asked "soother?"  I took it as a statement.  Maybe it's my title now.

I am the Soother....  Just call me Soos.

Manitoba Mutts

How can you tell that we live in Manitoba???  Read on!

Our dogs, Pitunia and Reese wanted out this morning - not really.  They actually wanted to wrestle on our king-sized bed, but as I just put Ethan down for a nap, I didn't think this was their best idea.

So....  I opened the door to the backyard, leaving it open so they could take shelter in our un-heated garage if need be.  Then I walked back to the bedroom to watch the show.  And what a show.

Reese proceeded to do about 100 laps around our backyard (not a small backyard as city lots go).  Pitunia would run out every 5 laps or so to see if she could catch Reese's backend as it passed by.  Then she would run to the garage door to heat up (I think) and try again in a few laps.  Reese paused every so often to eat some snow - none of which was yellow I don't think.  Then continued her laps.

The strange thing is that Pitunia has very little fur (as dogs go) and Reese loves the snow, but is definitely a house dog.  However, it is ONLY -10 degrees celsius out today.  And that seems to feel like Spring to our pups.  How sad.  But it got so cold so fast here that I don't think they had much time to adjust.  They seem to be happy about the milder weather.

And that's how you know we have Manitoba Mutts...   when -10 degrees celsius feels warm.

Don't touch the tree.... Even if I place you in front of it

I must say, What a cute kid we've got!

Ryan and I did this picture in our livingroom the other night for Christmas cards (pretend you haven't seen it yet when you open your card) 

Things that I thought were important for the picture -

Socks...  I wanted to have Ethan in his cute little shoes, but he only has one pair right now that fit (besides slippers and boots) and they didn't go with the outfit.  But socks go with everything.

Turtle...   Ethan loves his turtle.  Turtle goes everywhere with us.  I bought it when Ethan was 3 months old so he could have something new to entertain him when we took our first plane ride to Montreal.  That's right, Turtle has even been to Montreal.

Corny Christmas Sweater-vest...   We can only dress them like this for so long before they start to protest - except my brother.  He wore 3 piece suits for school pictures well into elementary school.  Long even that I knew they weren't cool anymore Mom - and I'm 2 years younger than him.

Decorated Christmas Tree (with presents)...  It really sets the Christmas tone.  Otherwise it would just be another picture of Ethan, only with him in a corny sweater-vest.

Things I wish weren't in the picture-

The poor excuse for window treatments...  Scroll back up and look again.  You'll understand.

Finally I would like to say that to acheive a fabulous picture like this, it requires teetering your 8 month old on a box covered in blankets, surrounded by pillows, with a Daddy hovering just in case.  They did a good job, didn't they?

All Wrapped Up

Started wrapping Christmas gifts this afternoon....  Got bored of that pretty quick and moved on to more challenging things.  I'm convinced that dog on that commercial that's all wrapped up with a wrapped up tennis ball in his mouth...  not real.  Impossible!

Claustrophobia - Check!

Ryan and I went Christmas shopping yesterday!  And it wasn't even that bad.

I actually started shopping over a month ago.  I think it's really easy to buy gifts for kids.  In fact, I could buy presents for Ethan and our friends kids anyday.  I had a hard time stopping.  Ryan told me to stop buying and when we were done getting everyone else's gifts I could continue to buy for Ethan (money allowing).

Ryan had yesterday afternoon off, and we hadn't bought any of our adult gifts yet, so I suggested a quick trip to the city.  With only one more Friday left before Christmas, a trip into Winnipeg would hardly be a treat.  Ryan tends to get claustrophobic (note to self; CLAUStrophobic - must of stemmed from the Greek word for fear of Christmas Shopping Crowds).  It can be so bad that on boxing days, I can tell when he reaches the point that he is extremely angry and would love to start punching people in the head....   He's not an angry person, and it wouldn't be funny...   But picture it!  This huge guy punching people in the head because they're standing too close and there are too many of them!   The image is hilarious in my brain.

So we trodded off to Polo Park in search of the perfect Christmas Gifts for all the people on our list.  (I am all about buying stuff in our home town, but I had a few gifts that just aren't available in our small town - I looked!)  There was a tonne of people in that mall.  The food court was full, the stores were full.  There was even a wait to use the elevator in the middle of the mall.  And the bathrooms!  UGH!  The bathrooms were gross!  Holiday shoppers are animals!

We spent 7 hours walking around various stores and got about half of our shopping done.  Shopping with a 8 month old in -30 degree weather is not fun.  Whoever told me that a Winter baby wouldn't be good didn't calculate that a Spring baby is too big for a carrier car seat, and to small to walk, and hates being dressed in snowsuits, mitts and touques.  I think a winter baby would have been easier this time of year.

With just a few more thing to get, I think I can get it done.  I might run to our 24 hour Walmart one night this week after Ethan goes down for the night.  Christmas shopping has definately been more difficult than normal.  But it's almost done.  Infact, in 2 weeks it will all be over for another year.  And if you get a gift from us that you hate this year....   It's the thought that counts.

Making Memories

We've lost two great uncles on my father's side this week.  Rough week for the family.  And it's kinda got me thinking about family. 
My Grandma and Grandpa have been gone for a number of years on my father's side.  But some of my best memories of them is Christmas Morning at the farm.  I remember the year that I got my grocery set.  A whole bunch of plastic canned goods and "fresh" plastic produce.  I remember pushing my little shopping cart around their tiny livingroom.  That same year Grandma gave me a whole bunch of knitted ball gowns for my Barbie dolls.  One of them was burgandy with white trim...  and a matching cape for her cause it's cold here at Christmas time.  Come to think of it, dressing my Barbies in high fashion probably is to blame for the abundance of very fancy dresses in my closet - including an unworn wedding dress with a cape.

I think that was the same year that Grandpa was fairly sick.  But I don't remember him being sick.  I don't remember much of Grandpa at all.  I was 5 when he passed away.  But I remember the farm, and I remember that Christmas. 

I was lucky to have my Grandma Blair for quite a few more years, till I was 17.  We made some great memories together. 

I am especially lucky to still have both of my Grandparents on my Mother's side and one of Ryan's Grandmothers.  Great Grandparents for Ethan. 

We'll be surrounded by people this Christmas.  People we love, and we'll be making some very special memories I'm sure.  But I think I'll still be thinking about the people left behind; the ones who have lost someone they loved this year, dealing with the heartbreak of the holidays without them. 

This can certainly be a rough time of year.

HOHOHO!!!!

Everyday is like Christmas when Grandpa comes to visit! 

Sunday Sleepers

I stole this picture yesterday while I was busy getting ready for Church.  Everyone says Ethan looks just like his Daddy, Ryan says he can't see it.  I think the similarities are endless!

Baby Phat

So it's official....  It's Winter in Southern Manitoba.  and I'm cold.

I miss being pregnant.  Pregnant women really do have a glow about them.  They look awesome most of the time - they're excited and living in two worlds - yours and one they share just with their baby.  As a new mom I look pretty mom-ish most of the time...   Undone.

This time last year I was fairly pregnant.  Five months along if I remember, but big enough that I felt awkward wearing my bikini in the pool in Fargo.  (there was quite a baby bump....  in fact I had a Baby bump fairly early on - carried all my new weight out front).  Sometimes that was good, because no one mistook me for just putting on some extra pounds, it was fairly obvious (at least to me) that I was pregnant.

Around this time last year I think I could feel Ethan kicking me.  He kicked alot, and I told Ryan I would miss being able to feel him that way.  I was scared of Winter, because we get a lot of ice around here, and I'm not great at staying on my feet most of the time anyway.  I had to wear Ryan's jacket because I kept breaking the zipper on mine.  But I could eat almost anything I wanted (a good thing around Christmas) and any extra holiday weight became baby weight.  No one expected me to shovel the driveway or clean the snow off the van.  Carrying heavy packages was strictly off limits.  Being Pregnant this time of year was great.

But the best part about being pregnant in the Winter was that Ethan was a warm baby.  (he still is very warm most of the time - Daddy's thermostat too I guess)  I was always hot!  I could wear just a short sleeve shirt at work, and be fine.  Even with all the windows!  A sweater was hardly ever necessary.

It really isn't cold here at all.  Our house is 21.5 Degrees, outside is only -5 Degrees and I've been wearing sweaters for a week straight.  It's going to get much colder - and I'm already missing the warmth of my baby fat.

My Favorite Winter Sport

How exciting! Snow!  (the picture was actually last year, from the picture folder titled "fun in the snow")

I say that I'm not a snow person, because I don't like the cold, I don't "play" in the snow on skates or sleds or snowmobiles. However I am a snow person when I'm sitting in the front seat of a 4x4 truck, watching all of the idiots who have forgotten how to drive.

I'm sure that some people forgot how to drive this morning in our town. Just a light dusting of snow really.... a couple of inches. Nothing to get too excited about yet.

I'm always happy the first day after a good dump of a foot or two, Ryan and I get in the truck to head to work and pull out multiple people in little cars and minivans on the way. It doesn't matter that we're late, cause we're saving people from the snow drifts they've plowed into. The very best is when you get to pull out a 4x4 of a different brand. (Ford and Dodge men hardly enjoy it, but sometimes our GMC just wins)

But this year I'm not getting up first thing in the morning, going to work with Ryan. I'm home with Ethan. So Ryan gets to pull people out without me. And I will likely be one of the minivans stuck in a 4 foot drift that I didn't see until I was on top of it. I'll just make sure I have my cellphone with me everywhere I go.

It won't take long until the Portage people stop driving 30 kms/hr through town, scared of the slippery streets, and begin to drive 60 again. But I'm sure the drive to work was fun today, kinda sad I missed it.