It pains me to share this information with you and NOT have a picture to prove it, but I must. It is required of me as a mommy AND a blogger. Here it is:
Judah rode a horse yesterday.
It's true. We took a little walk to the camp's stables before lunch and before I knew what was going on, our head wrangler had scooped him out of my hands and set him on THE tallest horse at camp. She then proceeded to lead him around while he held on tightly to the horn of the saddle. I faintly mentioned that I was not sure how good his balance was (while my heart thumped inside my chest), and she assured me that she had him - or at least held a hand loosely around one of his ankles. In true Andrea fashion, I thought of the worst case scenario and realized that I would have to trust the wrangler, seeing as slithering between the rails would be difficult, nay, impossible in my bulbous form. Then again, adrenaline can make a person (even a nine-months-pregnant one) do some very "impossible" things.
All was well. Judah refused to show the slightest emotion, as is his custom with new and exciting things. When he was pulled off the horse and returned safely to my arms, he seemed a lot more comfortable with the massive horse head (far bigger than himself) that dominated his view. He even pet it voluntarily!
Am I beyond excited to raise a family in this wonderful place? You bet! We still haven't made it to the camp's pool yet, but I plan to make that happen on some quiet weekend when there's not, you know, three dozen campers in the water. I has big fears about drowning - or at least my offspring drowning.
And now I leave you to partake in the adventures of your own life. I, in the meantime, will be praying every minute that Manitoba Hydro shows up today and plugs us in. That, or drinking barrels of red raspberry leaf tea.
Showing posts with label the cuteness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the cuteness. Show all posts
I'm on a horse
Sunday, July 10, 2011
I have lots of nothing to update everyone on.
- Yes, I am still pregnant. The good old "you're still pregnant?" questions have started to come my way. I do not despise them at all. I love evry kind-hearted person who asks such an innocent (and obvious) question, especially in person. It makes my day!
- We no longer have a cat. This saddens me (slightly). Our house just has no good place to keep her litter box and the idea of being pet free at this very changeable place in our lives was a thought too sweet to ignore. Don't worry, everyone, we found an excellent home for her with a cat-loving friend of ours. He was actually one of the reasons we rescued this cat from the streets in the first place!
- We are still without hydro electricity. There was a fleeting hope that they would come on Friday (we heard it straight from the horse's mouth) (or someone's mouth who had just spoken with the horse), and seeing as that day has come and gone, Monday is our next hope.
- This week is supposed to hover around a wonderfully bearable 24 degrees.
- Judah had his first quad ride yesterday. And became bored with it.
Because I don't feel like putting the work into incorporating them into this post, I leave you with three random pictures.
 |
| I finally finished the baby blanket I was making for Nutmeg! Go me! |
 |
| This picture makes me LAUGH. |
 |
| What a little muffin. |
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
As I was making the bed the other day, Judah saw what I was doing and brought me the decorative pillows needed to complete the task - even though they are super-duper fun to flop on when all over the floor.
---
I caught Judah peeking into the garbage can. This is normally a big no-no (garbage ewwww!), so I was about to reprimand him when I realized he was actually throwing out a piece of garbage. I've seen him do this on several other occasions since, although I always check to make sure what he's throwing out is actually throw-out-able. ;)
---
He accidentally dumped cheerios out of his little snack cup this afternoon. Instead of leaving them on the floor or eating them up, he said "uh oh!" and began picking them up by little fist fulls and dropping them through the hole of the cup's lid. We both were down on hands and knees, cleaning up the messies.
---
After ridding the diaper bag of it's contents one day, I noticed that Judah had an article that I knew to be all germ-y and gross. I took it from him, grabbed a wipe, and cleaned it off. When I gave the item back to him, he immediately grabbed another wipe and mimicked the act of cleaning it.
---
If this kid keeps it up, I'm going to do just fine at housekeeping when this new baby comes along!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
I'm tired.
Nutmeg's kicks are feeling a lot less cute these days. I don't remember Judah kicking this much... or this hard. They are literally brace-yourself-and-hold-your-breath bad. It scares me to think that there are still five and a half more weeks left until his/her due date. Ima gonna be bruised from the inside by then - and baby's going to be so squished!
I'm also tired from the onset of a sudden sinus cold. I'll spare you the details. It's just tiresome and I feel like my head is in a complete fog at all times. It actually feels like I'm on some heavy painkillers (except without the pain-killing part) - I just feel kind of... numb... and out of it.
I had a little taste of back labour today. My body's been doing a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions to practice for labour ever since week 20 or so, but this one was different. I felt my abdomen tightening, as usual, but then was struck with writhing-inducing pain in my back. I curled up on the bed and practiced breathing techniques (which are fab, by the way) and contemplated whether or not I should note the time of the contraction. I've definitely felt contractions in my back before, but this was kind of intense. I started wondering if I had slipped a disk or something. Anywho, it passed quickly. I am grateful - and kind of determined to do everything I can to flip this posterior baby.
Everything is ready for our house to be delivered to its permanent site. I expect to be moving in a week's time! That being said, I'm going to have to try very hard not to overwork myself. There are a few friends that we're definitely planning on enlisting to help us out. But, yes! Things! They are happening have happened!
I leave you with my little monkey who INSISTED on climbing up onto our bed to eat his cheese. Such a toddler.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
We decided that the Cuteness simply needed to experience the zoo for the first time yesterday. Joey took the day off and we headed into the city for the big excursion. After meeting up with Judah's cousin Lucy and her mama, we set off on our adventure. We saw:
majestic eagles
big, lazy cats
what looked like dead camels (but totally weren't)
zebras and zebra babies
funny feather-headed birds
bouncy kangaroos
bright flamingos
the things that always seem to be eaten by anacondas on TV
silly pelicans
...and much, much more (including crazy monkeys, of course)! It was such a beautiful day to enjoy the outdoors. Judah didn't say much throughout the whole excursion, but you could tell he was soaking it all in. I think next year's zoo visit will be a whole different class of exciting!
Saturday, June 04, 2011
We tried a new thing today. For what seems like forever, the Cuteness has been having two naps a day. When he was really itty bitty and brand new (like in the above picture - I think he was about 5 days old there), nap times were kind of a hit and miss, do-whatever-works type of thing. Then, somewhere along the road, Annemarie (who I seem to mention often on this blog) lent me a book on sleep patterns and training for babies. It suggested using a 2-3-4 nap schedule. This is how it goes:
- Two hours after your baby gets up for the day (let's assume that's generally around 7:00 AM), put him down for his first nap - which would be 9:00. Do it even if he doesn't seem tired. More often than not, babies need sleep before they seem like they need it.
- Three hours after this nap ends, put him down for his second nap. Let's say he naps until 10:30. That would make the next nap time 1:30.
- Four hours after this nap, put him down for the night. When Judah was on this schedule, he would often sleep from 1:30 to 3:00, which made for a perfect 7:00 bed time.
Once I had established Judah's average wake-up time and nap length, I made 9:30 & 1:30 his routine nap times and consistently put him to bed at 7:00, even if it did not perfectly match the 2-3-4 schedule. He's been following this schedule for at least 10 months.
Until a few days ago, that is. It had gotten to the point that I smugly thought, My baby will always nap two times a day. He just needs his sleep that much. And then began the excessively long periods of "falling asleep". We're talking (at most) two hours. He'd never get angry. He would just happily roll around in his crib while amusing himself by: kicking the wall, escaping his clothes (and occasionally his diapers), befriending Bannister the Bunny, and talking nonsense. Adorable nonsense, that is. Then he would fall asleep. It was the same for bedtime, which has never been an issue to establish prior to this.
He was still having two naps a day and we were still putting him to bed at 7:00, but the amount of time he was spending in his crib (albeit happily) was a bit outrageous. The kid's gotta have time to be a kid, right?!
Enter the death of a nap. With a bit of a mournful heart, we kept Judah up until 1:00 today (which was surprisingly easy to do). For the first time in a week, he went to sleep immediately after I had closed the door. It wasn't a very long nap, but I'm fairly certain it was of as much use as the dawdling, drawn-out ones he's been having this week. Then, when bedtime came, he again went to sleep without so much as a peep. At 7:00!
Victory!
Now I'm the one that will need time to adjust to this whole one-nap-a-day thing. For me that means I have less time to do stuff. I'm going to have to decide whether napping or housework is more necessary.
*blinks*
I will most definitely be napping.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Judah kind of made me break into tears last night. He is no longer my little baby and I'm struggling to come to terms with that fact.
Up until now, bedtime has been this extremely parent-initiated thing: we take him from whatever he's doing, we set the bedtime tone, we put him down to sleep. A couple of nights ago I asked Judah if he wanted to go "na-night", and he obviously stopped to think about it, cocking his head slightly to the side as he did so. Then, without any further hesitation, he ran into the bedroom and grabbed the crib rails, trying to hoist himself in. After I had placed him in there, prayed, and tucked him in with his bunny (who is named Bannister), he chose to go directly to sleep. I didn't hear a single peep out of him.
I decided to try asking him the question again last night - Joey wasn't around to witness the first one. "Judah, do you want to go na-night?" He immediately ran to Daddy, puckered his lips, and said "Mmmmmmm", waiting for his obligatory good-night kiss. After doing this to both Joey and myself, he ran into his room. This time he waited under the window and pointed at it as if to say "That needs to be closed before we can proceed". Joey scooped him up, closed the blind, and put him to bed.
Oh my goodness, friends, my boy is growing up. My heart is ever so full. I'm beginning to realize that he's ready to have a little sibling - and I'm ready to dote on a little baby once more. He's moved on from solely depending on me to learning about the world on his own, making his own conclusions.
I love being a mother so very, very much.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
We're into the 30's with no turning back now! As if that were possible... I was thinking that I would like post some updated baby belly photos, but I am sick to death of taking self portraits. Hopefully, after Judah's sound asleep in his crib tonight, the husby and I will get out with our camera and tripod and catch some gorgeous sunset rays.
I'm constantly getting people saying to me, "you look fantastic for being in the third trimester!" I'm feeling pretty fantastic these days, too. I mean, I'm definitely a lot more tired, heartburn is vile, and my poor belly is all stretchy and itchy to match... but I just love being pregnant. A couple women from my church were talking about how they always envied those ladies that loved pregnancy and would say "I could be pregnant for the rest of my life". I kind of snickered a little bit and told them that I had definitely thought that, but I knew there were a few flaws to that philosophy. ;)
Oh, and I've been nesting! Glorious housework! How have I denied you all this time?!
My little boy has become quite the little man as of late. Wait, I say that all the time. Well, it definitely feels like his little character has grown so much in the last month. All of a sudden he's got ideas about things. The cat gets many earfuls that I can only guess are about these new ideas. And, now that he's bigger and more capable of getting into things he shouldn't, he does it all the time. Joey and I are working at being consistent in our warnings and punishments. Judah gets one warning, one gentle correction, and then a 2 minute time-out, if needed. I think the general rule is that a child should get one minute of time-out per year of age, but one minute is just kind of a waste of time with this kid. So, he's been upped to two, and it will probably stay that way until he's three. But don't quote me on that one.
My role of "mother" is in constant flux, I find. It changes as I change and mature in my faith and "mommy know-how". I truly do love it, though. I never dreamed I could love a little person as much as I do. It's such a privilege to have children!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Yesterday's little picture post simply does not do justice to the absolutely beautiful day we were blessed with yesterday, so I have consequently removed it and replaced it with this one. Joey was proactive in the morning and thought to pack us up a lunch we could eat in the park. I'm not sure if it was Judah's first ever picnic, but it was his first ever successful picnic. He sat, happily munching away on his bowl of fruit while Joey and I enjoyed some tasty bagel sandwiches.
After our lunch was finished, we scooted over to the farm to visit family, including Judah's cousin Lucy.
Judah was a bit too preoccupied with, um, rocks to fully appreciate the rest of the world. See?
I must apologize for the lack of self-portraits on this blog. I've gotten into a bad habit of always being the one holding the camera in order to avoid being in pictures. I realize that this is not a good example to set for my children - even if I do feel kind of blah about my body image. How am I ever going to teach them that they are beautiful and unique if I don't put forward some effort to show that I feel the same way about myself?
End mini-rant.
And have an excellent day!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
This flooding in MB is crazy. We're not affected where we live, but a short drive either east or west takes us to areas in which people have been evacuated, some being assured of losing their homes. The biggest story in the news right now is whether or not the province will conduct a controlled breach of a dike in order to save 800 homes downstream - at the cost of at least 150 in the surrounding area. What a terrible decision to make! As one resident of the 150 homes put it, "We're not suffering from an act of God - we're suffering from an act of Government". Other residents of that community have recognized their role of "sacrificial lamb" for the greater good. It's even more frustrating for them because this community has never been in danger before. Some people are even a mile away, and will still be flooded - all because their dike was chosen. We can only pray for safety and God's sovereign hand to move whatever He will.
In other news, today's a big pregnancy milestone for me. I'm officially in week 30 - very much on the home stretch. This baby will be here in somewhere between seven and 12 weeks! I feel like I couldn't get much more pregnant (because, yes, there are varying levels of "pregnant", don't you know (not really)). I hurt all over. I can't bend forward. I can't get up from the couch without help. If I'm not careful how I move, my poor over-stretched tummy muscles protest in merciless agony. My feet are even swelling on occasion - totally new to me. But, the fact remains that this baby won't be full-term for another seven weeks. I'm really hoping for the overwhelming urge to clean my house (also known as "nesting"), because it's not going to get done if things keep going as they are.
Judah has discovered how to get into my unmentionables drawer. As a result, he was sporting a pair of my underwear around his neck this morning. Oy. How embarrassing! And, yet, I let him do it. He was happy, not hurting himself, and acting out of sheer innocence. I did not, however, pull out my camera for the occasion.
Well, it's just about time to put my son down for his morning nap. Thank goodness he still takes two naps a day! It means I have time to take glorious naps! I'm determined to be well energized by the time I go into labour. Baby still has to cast his/her vote, though.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Joey catered a wedding this weekend. As you can see from the above pictures, the couple had a light-hearted approach to their wedding (I don't know how you can't when your theme colours are RAINBOW!). It totally suited them. Arguably the best part about the whole event was the carnival-style mini donuts/slush puppy/cappuccino truck they had parked outside. Unlimited goodies for all!
I've officially been blessed with my second ever Mother's Day. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I entered the church yesterday morning hoping to get nothing more than a wilting carnation to commemorate my "accomplishment". Instead, the pastor preached a message that challenged mothers (and, really, everyone else) to cultivate in their lives a heart after God. There were no "glory stories" and feel-good, warm fuzzies to walk out with. Instead, we were all reminded that God gets all glory for the work he's done in our lives - at least that's how it should be.
Yesterday was doubly special: it also marked three years to the day since Joey proposed to me. Really? It was only three years ago? It feels like I've been married to this wonderful man all my life - I mean that in a good way, of course. Time has flown by. I am simultaneously wishing it would slow down and yet keep on trucking as every day brings more blessings than the day before - more or less.
I leave you with pictures from the weekend of the two most important men in my life.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)