Friday, 19 April 2013

DUE!

Today is Peanut's Due Date!!  I am so glad I did no have to wait this long to meet her!  Now that she's here and has been for the last three weeks, it's hard to remember life without her!

So far, things honestly havn't been that challenging with two little ones....for one, Ryder is still going to the Day Home three days a week, just for the month of April. For another, Payton seriously sleeps almost 22 hours a day and has since she first arrived. So far, she hasn't been too demanding and Ryder has not had to compete for my attention, so, so far, so good!!




Sometimes, only sometimes is she awake and when she is, I can't stop staring into her innocent eyes!



Over the last three weeks, Peanut has:
gotten lots of love, hugs and kisses....


 ...some sloppy brother kisses and...




 ..some sloppy puppy kisses!!

She has started taking a soother. Ryder thinks this one is funny because he can see her lips through it..I think it's actually kinda creepy, but Peanut loves it!

 She has started having one bottle a day. I've been pumping breast milk and I  call it "pumping freedom" because as long as she will takes a bottle I can leave the house without her for at least an hour without Marty or her panicking about when I'll be back..not that I have actually left yet, but the point is, I could if I wanted to.....I can also tuck Ryder in and read his stories without rushing because if Peanut needs to eat during story time, Marty can feed her. 
One night, we were in the middle of a story but we could her Payton fussing downstairs. Ryder was concerned. He couldn't focus on the story, he kept saying, "Mommy, Peanut crying. Peanut crying. Don't cry Peanut." I explained that Daddy was downstairs and that he would feed Peanut. To my surprise, Ryder responded with: "Daddy don't have boobs Mommy!!" Ha ha ha!! I laughed and laughed. I had no idea, he knew that, or thought about boobs meaning food for babies!!  I shouldn't have been surprised, he's seen my boobs feeding Peanut plenty of times. 
Ah, from the mouths of babes!! Love it!


 We've taken a few walks after supper with Marty, Ryder and Scout. We are sure to bundle up ofcorse!


Thanks to our decision to keep Ryder in the Day Home three days a week this month, Peanut and I have had time to hang out, just the two of us! :)

She's even come with me to my eyelash appointment. She spent the entire hour sleeping on my chest. :)

 
She's met Uncle Dirt!!!

 She had her first bath at home! Daddy is a the Tubby Time pro!

She's met a few friends...a few of the other Moms from our original Baby group are having their second babies too! We are all looking forward to several play dates on our mat leaves!!

Ryder's had plenty of fun too. Though I appreciate the days when he is at the Day Home, I actually miss him and his energy while he is gone.  He's growing sooo fast and he's talking and talking and making me laugh all the time!! 
He's taken some time to adjust to life as a big brother, this has mostly involved him feeling the need to climb into our bed in the middle of the night. I guess he figures he wants to be where the party is and since the rest of us are in there he should be too. It's hard not to see this as regression, as he was sleeping in his big boy bed all night before Peanut's arrival, but we know this won't last forever....will it?
He's really learned to embrace all the baby paraphanalia, especially the little whale tubby that used to be his. 

 I get a real kick out of his need to carry trucks or busses with him wherever he goes.  It drives Marty nuts that he insists on taking his vehicles on our walks. Ryder just doesn't understand how much easier it would be to walk and run without all those cars in his hands. Marty is sure that one of these days he's gonna face plant and end up eating that bus!!! LOL  Walks also take forever as our walks involve a lot of stopping to "park" his bus or "park" his truck.  He's also sure to point out, every single vehicle that is parked along our route. "Car parked right there, Mommy. Truck parked right there, Mommy. Van parked right there, Mommy."  Apparently, he is obsessed with parking.  I find his incessant repetition hilarious and exhausting.  We try to distract him with excited talk about the swings and slides and other fun things at the park, but all he can think about is, where he's gonna "park" his bus while he plays.  Love it!



Last weekend was Aggie Days at the BMO center.  It was a cold, blizzardy day, so we figured we'd head into downtown for some indoor fun!  

There were planes and tractors and big trucks and of corse plenty of animals to look at!
 
 There was even a ginormous sandbox, with lots of tractors to "park!!!"



When the weather is crummy, Ryder and I do lots of baking. He loves baking and is actually a pretty good help...until the "thing" has to go in the oven. He doesn't understand why we can't just eat it when it's all mixed up before it gets baked.  This often leads to a meltdown, that is only temporarily put off by the consolation of licking off the beaters or spatula, but once those are licked clean, the tantrum often starts up again.....thankfully, it's nothing a little time with his blankie and suckie won't fix.

And though there's a new "kid in town," Ryder still adores his first best friend, Scout, whom he's taken to calling, Scouty!


Today, Peanut was supposed to be born, but she's already here and she's beautiful and perfect and we feel truly blessed!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and embrace the big and little surprises!

Monday, 15 April 2013

EASTER

I know, I know, its been three weeks, but today i am finally going to find time to write about Easter!  My Easter plans were hijacked by a 6 pound bundle of joy, so I was not entirely sure the Easter Bunny was going to make an appearance, but not only did he come and bring chocolate eggs, but Mom and Nic made sure that all kinds of Easter festivities preceded his arrival!

I believe my text to Mom from my hospital bed included a picture of my newly born baby girl and a caption that read: Easter at our house this year?
Our original plan had been to spend the Easter long weekend at Mom's acreage. Ryder and Scout were looking forward to wide open spaces, chasing kitties and horsies and being spoiled by Grammy!  I was looking forward to "helping" the Easter Bunny hide chocolate eggs in the same house, I'd hunted for eggs in myself..but it turned out that this year, we were gonna go with Plan B! 

Mom and Nic arrived Good Friday, 2 days after Peanut's birth armed with Easter goodies (I hadn't had a chance to shop for the Easter Bunny yet) and plenty of pink for our new arrival!  They thought of everything!! The top order of business?  Making Easter special for Ryder while having plenty of time to snuggle his new little sister!

The Easter events started with cookie nest making! Yummmy!!!
After a fantastic, yummy Easter Dinner of steak, Grammy busted out the Egg coloring kit!
She started by explaining, then showing Ryder the art of decorating Easter eggs...

 Grammy started out helping Ryder, but....
 ....eventually, Ryder showed Grammy how HE does Easter eggs....


 How does Ryder do Easter eggs?
 Like this: both hands, all in!!
 Lots of spirit,
 Lots of "ooo" and "ahhhh"
Eggs, weren't the only things that got decorated. LOL!
Seriously, we all sat around the table watching Ryder, laughing at his youthful enthusiasm, his unbridled excitement and the exuberance with which he literally "dove" right into the egg decorating experience!

After a good night's sleep, Ryder woke up early, Sunday morning, eager to see if the Easter Bunny had come.  For a kid whose never seen the Easter Bunny, he sure had no problem believing there was one...ofcorse finding easter eggs, sure helped fuel his imagination!!


 Once the weather warmed up, we went outside to see if the Easter Bunny had left anything in the yard...
 ...he had! :)

 Auntie helped reach the high ones...

Thanks to Auntie and Grammy, Easter was super special for Ryder this year...
 ...and for the rest of us!! :)
Happy Easter!!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and don't be afraid to have chocolate for breakfast every once in a while!