You’re bilingual!

Sweet Rina,

Last night, you said your 1st official French word! You’ve been saying “Mama” for a few months now, but that doesn’t count because it sounds pretty much the same whether you say it in French or English. However, yesterday and this morning, I got you to say “Papa”. Your Dad didn’t believe me this morning, but I got you to repeat it after me!

Because it was a nice sunny (cold) day, I bundled you up in your new snowsuit and we walked along the golf course. When we arrived at the “Duck Pond”, we stopped so you could have a good look at all the duck and pretty soon, we were surrounded by A TON of ducks! I think they thought we were going to feed them, but I didn’t have any bread for them.

That's how close they were to your stroller!

After stopping to say hello to your Dad (he’s working today), I re-bundled you and we came back home. If anything, it was a bit colder because the wind was picking up at times, but I’m glad to say that when we got home, you were nice and warm from head to toe, just how I like you!

We then played your new favorite game: I get on all fours in the living room and we race around the coffee table where you chase me until you catch me! I really need to get your Dad to shoot a video of this as you giggle so much when we play that game!

As for me, I’m facing a big dilemma. I’ve started to send you all the entries to the blog by email and I know I want to eventually print out the blog and bind it into a book, but as far as keeping it up after your 1st birthday, I’m not completely sure that I will. I probably will continue to send you emails, but I probably won’t publish them. I find I’ve been censuring myself throughout the blog (I obviously can’t talk about my work or more personal issues that I deliberately chose to leave out of the blog because I knew it was “out there” for everyone to read. The joy of the emails is that I will be able to write to you about anything I want, without feeling the need to censure. We’ll see. Like I said, I haven’t made up my mind yet.

Love,
Mom & Dad Xxo

Last days of summer…

Sweet Rina,

Since it was a really nice day today, we hooked up with our new friend from the park (with her daughter, of course) and decided to go for a walk around Swan Lake. They’ve been living here for 5 years and had never been there before! We had a nice time and it was really nice to speak French for well over an hour! Don’t get me wrong, I speak French to you all the time, but I don’t really get much feedback from you! 😉 Although, I’m not quite sure, but I think you said “Fini” after you were done drinking your bottle tonight!

After our walk, you (finally) took a nap! It’s been a struggle to get you to nap lately as you are teething and I think you’re trying to get rid of a nap during the day. However, today, you had a good nap this afternoon and I sat outside with a magazine and enjoyed the sunny day”

I may have dozed off shortly after this picture was taken! 🙂

 

It had been a while since I took some time to myself, no cleaning, cooking or folding laundry during the day and it felt good to do so. When you woke up, you had dinner and then we did a quick run to Walmart (I know, I know) to get your Dad some coffee and I also found a few pieces of clothing that were too cute to resist! After all, you’ll have to be cute when we go on our trip to see your grandparents! 14 days until we leave! It’ll be nice to see everyone, but I will miss your Dad A LOT! I’m sure it’ll fly by though and we have Skype, so we should be ok.

Sweet dreams my gorgeous girl,

Love,
Mom & Dad Xxo

Remembering…

Sweet Rina,

Today, after we were done with our morning running around, I decided to take you for a walk around the golf course. Every time I walk by “our tree”, I think of that day, a little over a year ago when your Dad and I officially united our lives.

Saying "I do" under "our tree"!

I hope they never cut down that tree so you can also be reminded of where we became a family. After a quick stop to say hello to your Dad, we were back on the trail and heading for THE hill. I took my time pushing you in the stroller and managed to make it up THE hill without stopping! 😉 Once at the top, I caught up with a man who was walking his dog and he turned around and said: “Now, you must be in really good shape!” It made me laugh as I haven’t thought of myself as “in shape” for a long time now! I guess I am fitter than I thought. I replied: “I don’t know if I’m in good shape, but I’m trying to be!”

I’m in my 3rd week of eating a Nutritarian diet and so far, I’m down 6lbs. I’m losing the weight a lot slower than some other people, but I don’t care, at least, I’m losing some. And I haven’t had heartburn or reflux during those 3 weeks. Big bonus, if you ask me!

I hope that teeth you’ve been working on for the past 4-5 days will come out soon as you are so sad to look at: you won’t nap during the day, therefore, you look exhausted all the time and constantly have a finger (or two, or five) in your mouth. Because you’re so tired, you are weepy and cry a lot more than you normally do. I just feel so bad for you because other than Anbesol and Ibuprofen, there isn’t much I can do to help you 😦

At least, you manage to get some rest at night. Sleep well, my lovely girl.

Love,
Mom & Dad Xxo

Thank goodness you’re sleeping…

Sweet Rina,

Today was not a good day for you. I think you are teething pretty bad, but I can’t tell which tooth is coming in or hurting you. You didn’t nap at all this afternoon and I could tell you were exhausted. At one point, we just sat in the dark in your room and you actually cuddled with me. That is a sign that you’re really hurting as you are NOT a cuddling girl. You are very independent and wanting to move all the time. The fact that you actually snuggled up to me, laid your head on my chest and just let me rock you was all indicators that you were not feeling like your usual self. Poor Monkey!

We still went for our walk around the golf course and you managed to flash quite a few smiles to the friend we were with. What a trooper you are! I, on the other hand, am pooped and if I’m being completely honest, I’m glad you are finally sleeping and getting the rest you deserve. You ended up going to bed 1/2 hour earlier than usual and I’m hoping I won’t pay for it tomorrow morning!

Ah well, tomorrow is another day and you’re turning 9 months old! We have your check-up with the doctor so I’ll be back with your stats. I can’t wait to see how much you’ve grown!

Love,

Mom & Dad Xxo

Such a good day!

Sweet Rina,

Today was such a better day than yesterday and I’m really thankful for it! Yesterday started with me waking up and wanting to crawl right back under the covers. It was just one of those days: I was exhausted from the get-go, I had a nagging headache (I still do today, for the 4th day in a row!), renovations were being done to the deck outside, right above your bedroom (therefore, you didn’t nap at all yesterday and was miserable for it) and when I finally put you down for the night, the landlord started chopping wood. I swore if they woke you up, I was going to force them to put you back to sleep, but you stayed sound asleep!

Today, however, was a completely different story. I woke up feeling refreshed, managed to clean everything on my “cleaning list” this morning and we went out for a lovely walk to Blenkinsop Trestle and back. I have to say, I only gave you my undivided attention for the 2nd half of the walk as I was enjoying catching up on the phone with a friend (Jo) from Montreal. We talked for about an hour and you seemed pretty content in your stroller so I didn’t see any harm to it! However, on the second half of our walk, we were having a grand time, chit-chatting to one another and just enjoying the beautiful day. I was surprised to see these by the side of the trail:

Sorry about the crappy phone picture, but those are DEAD LEAVES!!!

Dead leaves?!? Already? We barely had any summer and now the leaves are already falling down? It also smelt like autumn! I guess we better enjoy our walks outside from now on as I’m guessing the beautiful sunny days are now counted! I also found another “cocotte”, one that was pretty enough to pick and bring back home so it can rest on your window sill in your room. I didn’t bring back the one I’d found in Campbell River as I figured it would get crushed in my bag, but this is definitely a keeper, just like you!

A beautiful cocotte just for you my darling Cocotte!

You see? Overall, we had a lovely and amazingly good day. Days like this, I could take forever. They make me love and appreciate every second of my life!

Love,
Mom & Dad Xxo

 

1st day as a Nutritarian and a 10km walk!

Sweet Angel,

Today was my 1st day as a nutritarian. I don’t know if you remember in one of my last post, I mentioned setting new goals for my nutrition and exercise regimen. I’m still vegan and have been (about 90% of the time) since the beginning of April. However, I noticed that lately, I was resorting to a lot of vegan cop outs or helpers (fake meat, tofu, tempeh, etc) and wanted to get myself back on track and eating more fulfilling food whether calorie-wise or nutrition-wise. I’ve read the book Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman and it rang some bells for me. So today, I’m starting to eat a diet richer in nutrients and lower in calories. So far, I’m adjusting well except for a nagging headache (either caused from soreness in my neck or caffeine withdrawal), but I’m sure it’ll pass!

In order to also get a jump-start on my fitness, I also wanted to go for a walk around Beaver/Elk Lakes. For some silly reason, I kept thinking: “We’ve done plenty of 10km hikes, I should be fine carrying Rina in the backpack.” Although it is true that we’ve done many 10km hikes, I forgot that your Dad usually carry you for half the hike! When I reached 3km, I was already getting tired and kept on wondering why. I couldn’t understand how come I was so tired so early in the 10km! Oh well, I managed to get us back to the car once we completed the loop and all I can say is “My legs are tired!”

I think you were also tired as your eyes were heavy while you were taking your nighttime bottle. I’m glad all the cleaning and dishes are done and your Dad is home early from work. I can now relax on the couch next to my hubby and watch TV!

Love,

Mom & Dad Xxo

Walk along the golf course

Little darling,

As it was sunny this morning and there was a 30% chance of showers in the afternoon, I decided to pack you up early in your stroller and go for a good workout around the golf course. We went around most of the course before stopping at the Rec Center to put some food in your belly as well as mine. We also met up with your dad as he was coming in to work. It was a beautiful sunny day, the birds were chirping and I happened to walk by your Dad and I’s tree:

Our tree

This is the tree under which we got married last year, just before leaving for our wedding ceremony in Mexico… It made me remember how happy I was on that special day. I was also pregnant with you then, but we had kept it a secret as we hadn’t yet announced it to our family! 🙂

Here’s how I found you once I came home:

Sleeping angel, cute as a button

You were fast asleep in your stroller. Jenn also stopped by for a visit and then, it was time for your bedtime routine. I had planned on doing some yoga tonight so I will get to it before I change my mind and it gets too late.

Sleep well little angel,

Love,

Mom & Dad Xxo

11km, chickens and bald eagles

My sweet Rina,

We went for a very long walk today (just a few meters short of 11km!) and we saw tons of animals on our walk. We saw chickens:

Chickens along the trail!

We also saw 2 bald eagles in a tree:

Not a very clear pic, but take my word for it!

We also saw a rabbit, but I don’t have a picture of that 😦

I was dead tired when we got home, and I just wanted to rest for a bit so I put you on your mat for some tummy-time and you took me by surprise when you almost rolled over on your back! You amaze me on a daily basis and I love my new life as a mom! Thanks Monkey for putting me in the love bubble all over again!

Love,

Mom & Dad Xxo

We are in sync!

Sweet Rina,

Last night, as I was giving you your nighttime bath, something happened with the landlord’s daughter (they live upstairs) and it got me really upset. When I was done bathing you, I went upstairs to talk to the landlord and her daughter. It ended up being a misunderstanding on my part, but I got all emotional because it had something to do with you and I was all teary when I talked to them. I then noticed that you were giving them your pouty-I’m-about-to-cry face and was whimpering at the same time. I thought you looked so sad and tried to calm you down by saying: “It’s ok, Shhhh!”, but it made me realize how in tune you are to how I feel. I never noticed before because you are usually a happy-go-lucky kind of girl (I guess that means I am too??) unless you need to be changed, fed or are tired! Oh well, what matters is that we have talked things through and things are good again.

In other news, I got you a used Bumbo yesterday with the little tray that goes with it. When I sit you in it, you look so tiny, it makes me laugh! Here’s a visual for you!

Hello from your new (to you) Bumbo!

Look at how tiny you look in there!

Eating your toy...

Yesterday was Weight Day in this household and I’m glad to say I’ve lost another pound! Only 28 to go! I was a bit afraid of stepping on the scale as I can’t run anymore, but I’ve kept up with the yoga and Pilates and I’ve figured that if I walk for 2hrs, I’d lose about the same as if I would jog for 30 mins. So yesterday, we set out on foot for some errands and a walk in the rain that was 1hr-long before you demanded to be fed and went back out for another hour with Jessica and Alexis a bit later on.

You are now napping and later on, we’ll meet with your fairy Godmother (Yennie, who has spoiled you rotten with tons of clothes, gear, books and toys hand-me-downs from her children since you were born) for a birthday lunch for this Babymama!

—————

UPDATE:

Our landlord has just brought us a bouquet of daffodils and just wanted to make sure there wasn’t any tension left from last night. I explained to her that I got very emotional because it had to do with you and I understand that having a baby in the house changes a lot of things, for us as well as for them. She reassured me that she loved having a baby in the house, that it put a different kind of vibe in the house and that she likes having you here. I re-stated that we loved living here and that we understand that we are all sharing a house and sometimes, things happen and you have no control over it. She said she felt the same way and wanted us to feel at home and not feel like we have to walk on eggshells. All’s well that ends well!

Love,

Mom & Dad Xxo

Jan. 18, 2011: 6 weeks old and a routine?!?

Rina!

Today, you are 6 weeks old! How time flies! It seems like yesterday, we were coming home from the hospital. I am a bit scared of writing the following for fear of jinxing myself, but I think I’m slowly (very slowly) getting the hang of things. I’m still struggling to make food and get more than one thing done everyday, but I get things done every week! We might even have somewhat of a routine established!

 

On your last feed of the night (or your early feed of the day), you don’t settle back asleep unless we bring you back into our bed. Everyone can lash out at us for taking you to bed with us, I don’t care, I need those extra hours of sleep in order to face the very long day ahead of me. Once we are awake, I usually shower before your dad leaves for work and then have breakfast. Actually, it is more like a brunch as it usually nears 11am by that time. On the days that it is needed, I would then get started on laundry or a tiny bit of tidying around the house. Then, if we don’t have any plans to meet with anyone or a doctor’s appointment, I either put you in your stroller if we need to run errands or strap you to your carrier if we’re going for a walk. Upon our return home, you’re usually asleep and I grab this opportunity to make some important phone calls (because you’re not howling in the background 🙂 ), fold laundry &/or grab a quick bite to eat. If you’re still asleep by the time I’m done, I usually nap on the couch, if not, I play with you until it’s time to feed you again.

 

Like clockwork, you wake up screaming at 4pm. I can literally tell time because you become a bit fussier for about 1-2hrs. I feed you sometime in that window and try to calm you down/put you back to sleep. Once you wake up again, I bathe you (every other night) and feed you and then try to put you down. This process usually takes 1h – 1h30 as we play “plug the soother back into the baby”. Once I’m certain you’re asleep, I eat dinner and then hop into the tub for a quick relaxing bath. I have to say that for the past 3 evenings, I’ve managed to catch up on movies, my blog and TV shows I’ve missed over the past few weeks. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but I’ll take it! You usually wake up at around 10-11pm right when your dad returns home from work and he’s usually very eager to give you your bottle as he hasn’t seen you all day. He also gives you the next feed after that while I am crashed into bed! And that brings us to another day where we try and repeat pretty much the same pattern! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a routine stuck in cement and last night, you didn’t sleep well at all (we had to go soothe you pretty much every 30mins for the entire night!), but it’s all part of the game and there will be days (or nights) when the routine will be completely out the window and I can accept that. I’m just appreciating being able to feel like a person again and have some “me time” in the evenings instead of feeling like a run-down mom running around like a chicken with my head cut off1

 

We had a really nice visit with a friend of mine (we also work together) who gave birth to a gorgeous boy 2hrs after you came into this world. I won’t put their names on here as I haven’t cleared it with my mommy-friend, but she said something really sweet that stuck with me. As you and her son were asleep and we were chatting, we noticed you both share some similar physical features (you and her son) and the mommy-friend said: “Of course you’re gonna look somewhat alike, you were made in heaven at the same time!” Sweet isn’t it?!?

 

Good night sweet girl,

Love,

Mom & Dad Xxo