Sleeping Baby

When you have a baby it seems like everything goes back to sleep! Gone are the days of sleeping in until 9:30a.m, or even 8:30a.m!

Last night we got together with Andy's cousin and his wife... Andys other cousin from Comox was also there. They have a 2 year old who is such a little boy! It amazes me that in one year we'll have a little boy running around like Micah already is!

We kept Eli up quite a bit later because we wanted to visit, and they live in Leduc so its a 30 minute drive home. By the time he got into bed it was close to 8:30P.M. We were both tired and went to bed shortly after that. Here Iam thinking that Eli is going to sleep in until 8:00a.m. But just my luck I heard little noises coming from his room at 5:45a.m! He hasnt gotten up at 5:45a.m in quite awhile so I was not very happy. I didnt go in to get him until 6:20ish, and he was back to down to bed by 830a.m. Well, since we got up so early I decided to go back to bed about an hour after he went down. Which could either be a good or bad thing, because depending on the day he may or may not sleep longer than an hour. Well it was a good thing, and a lucky day for me because he slept in total 3 hours! So I got to nap for 2 hours! He slept from 8:30a.m-11:30a.m! And now he is back down for another nap! I love having a sleeping baby!

A rant or two.

Okay, so somethings been bothering me that I have to get off my chest and I'd love to have your opinions on this!

Recently Andy was out with a friend. It was getting late and Andy mentioned that Eli has been getting up at 5:45a.m and thats why he needed to get home. His friend replied something along the lines of, "Why is that your problem? Thats Karla's job, she doesn't have a job that she has to et up early for. That is her job!"

Okay, I do agree to some extent. Eli is my job, thats why I'm a stay at home mom to take care of my son. However, on the weekends thats when I feel like I should get some sort of a break which Andy is really awesome about giving me! During the week I will get up at 5:45a.m when Eli wakes up and in no way do I expect that Andy help me with anything before he walks out the door for work, because he has other things to think about. But I wonder what life is like for Andy's friends wife, does he help out at home or let his wife sleep in ever, or does he expect that her jow is a 24 hour/7 days a week job? No offence to any men or husbands out there, but I dont know any men that work 24/7! Do you? Often times, a moms job is 24/7, and thats why Im thankful for such an involved husband. He is always willing to step in and give me a break!

I feel really bothered that someone would say that to Andy and just expect that "Its my job!" As far as I'm concerend raising a child is a 2 person job, I believe its meant to be done by a mom and a dad. Now thats not saying that women who are doing it on their own arent doing something right! All the more power to them, it takes a strong woman to do it! But once and awhile its nice to get a break and not wake up at 5:45a.m, and thats why I really appreciated that Andy got up with Eli on Sunday morning and let me sleep in for an extra hour until 8:00a.m! Any thoughts on this? Maybe I've got it all wrong, if I do, please tell me!

Okay and one more thing! One more rant! I went into Wal Mart today to return something. One of the ladies behind the counter commented on my little cutie in the stroller. First thing she said is, "Where are your shoes little boy?? Where are they!?" I said very politely, "Well tell her that since you dont walk, we dont need to wear shoes yet." By the way, does anyone else have trouble findind good shoes for their little person!? Anyways, so replied (talking to Eli!) "You tell your mom that you need to wear shoes. You cant go out without shoes, your never going to get used to wearing shoes if your mom doesn't put them on you now, and then your going to hate wearing shoes. You tell her you need some shoes!" At that point I just ignored her. Eli has shoes, I just figure if Im running to wal mart and the library, he's going to be in the stroller the whole time, whats the point of putting shoes on? He has no problem wearing shoes, but its more work for me. Especially since most of the shoes he has are expensive and I dont want to loose one and then that pair is gone! I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a good pair of shoes, or some little sandals... I'm too cheap to boy Robeez but Im thinking I'll have to give in soon. He has a cute little pair of soccer Robeez that he got from my cousin, and I love them. But those are the best pair of shoes he has right now. At any rate, is it really her place to go on and on about "Why your mom needs to put shoes on your feet!" Maybe its my hormones right now, I dont know! At any rate thats my rant!

And now a few pictures of my cutie (with no shoes on!!) :-)

     Playing in the garden.                                                        

Brushing his teeth!

 

                                                          Am I cute mom? Notice his shoes?

Grade 12 Grad & My Little Sister

Yesterday was Katherine's grad! It was a busy day, and I feel like I didnt stop all day! I got up at 7a.m, with Eli and let andy sleep in a bit more since he was going to be hanging out with the little guy most of the day. Kath got here by 8:20, and we headed out to ger her hair done. Then once her hair was done, we raced back to Kristin's place for make up... I then drove home quickly to shower and get ready, turn around and go back to Kristins to meet everyone to head out to the ceremony.

I sent Andy and Eli off to go pick Katherine's corsage up, but on my way to Kristin's place we realized that Kath would probably want it for pictures, so I turned around raced back into sherwood park, got to the mall just as Andy and Eli were pulling out (this is also 5 minutes before I'm supposed to be meeting everyone!!) so I ran into the store to see if it was infact them and not someone with the same car. Yup it was! I raced out and finally caught up to them, got the corsage and sped back to Kristin & Jasons place, with a few minutes to spare.

The ceremony (like all ceremonies!!) was long. 3 hours. But it wasnt too bad, it was broken up quite well. The grads walked across the stage in 4 sections because it is such a large group! Then once that was done we shot a few pictures, I came home so Andy could shower and get ready, his mom came over and out the door we went for the reception. Dinner was good, and it was nice to just sit since the morning had been so crazy!

It was a beautiful day, and Katherine looked amazing! She had her dress made by a family friend who is a seamstress... Ruby Ellen Designs is her business. She's located out of Calgary, but we were lucky enough to have her make a dress for Kath. So she definitly didnt have the same dress as anyone else there, not even close! Ruby made my grad dress, as well as Kristins grad dress and her work is amazing! http://rubyellendesigns.com/ Here is her website!

So this morning we were going to go to church, but I asked Andy if I could stay in bed an extra hour while he got up with Eli at 6:45a.m. Then I got up made some french toast, Eli went down for a nap, and we've decided to just spend the morning nice and quiet at home. Andy really needs that down and quiet time. So he's gone back to bed. The house is quiet, and I have my cup of tea and I'm enjoying just being at home.

Congrats Katherine on your 12 years of school! You looked amazing yesterday, and what a beautiful young woman you have blossomed into! Its absolutely incredible!

Doula work & Braces

I've been having a really difficult time getting motivated for my studies! Excuses, excuses right? Here they are.

Eli hasnt been napping as long as usual so by the time I tidy the house up, shower, and get ready for the day he is awake. At the end of the day after we put Eli down, I'm pooped. I just want to zone out and spend time with Andy! Yeah I know, lame excuses right?

I have one birth booked for August, which really isnt that far away and while it motivated me at first I'm feeling like I'm stuck at this point! I owe it to my back up doula to know what Im talking about and be prepared in case she needs me! Which takes me to my next thing. A doula bag. As a doula there are certain things I should have prepared and with me. Not just for my client, but for me. A birthing ball, ice packs, a snack and a water bottle for myself, maybe some unscented massage oil, etc... there is a website online that will send you your doula bag all ready to go but it cost some $200. I suppose at this point I've jumped in and now I need to just do it. I feel like I also owe it to Andy, since we paid for it... I need to get on it! Laziness maybe.

Yesterday, I went in for a consultation at the orthodontist. For those of you who know me, you might be thinking that my teeth arent that bad. No their not. Both of my sisters had braces, and their teeth were bad! They had almost the same mouths, and same teeth and so on the braces went. For me though, I sucked my finger (yup I did!!) so I have an overbite. All I can remember is sitting on the small bus in kindergarten and a girl by the name of Chelsie telling me "Your going to have buck teeth if you keep sucking your finger!!!" Yeah, well I dont have buck teeth but I do have an overbite. And I didnt know this either but my teeth really dont line up. Basically my top teeth are one whole tooth ahead of where they should line up with the bottom teeth. Which means . . . I'd have to get 2 teeth pulled on the top, and then braces put on. Wear those for 2 years, and then a retainer after that. And for a hefty price of . . . lets just say you dont want to know. Alot!! Like ballpark range of over $7500! And even better that Andys benefits dont cover orthodontic work unless you 19 and under, only 3 years off. So frustrating. But lucky for me,  I have a very supportive husband who is behind me 100%. He said if I want to get them I can, but he's not going to try and talk to me into it. So this is where I decide if I want to get them or not. It'd be alot of work, but if I'd be more confident in myself, maybe its worth it. At the same time my teeth are not all that bad, but if I'm self concious of them now, is that going to change 5 years down the road?

Being an adult is expensive.

Walking

So I follow 4 or 5 blogs, and I love knowing whats going on in peoples lives and what they're up to! I check my fellow bloggers blogs daily in hope that they've posted something new! Maybe thats why I blog so often, just in case there is someone else out there like me that checks certain blogs daily (or sometimes more!!)

One of the blogs I follow is someone I've never met. Kind of wierd right, but at the same time I love hearing about her adventures with her daughter and her husband. Their daughter is just 10 months old, and she's walking! I'm jealous! Here I am sitting back listening to my mom friends say that they're little people are taking their first steps, and then there's Eli!

This little boy loves his walking toy! He cant get enough of it! From the kitchen to the living room he goes. He also get a toy CAT truck for Christmas from my aunt and uncle and he loves pushing that around too while he's walking. But he wont hang onto your hands or fingers (like most other baby's who are eager to go!!) and if he does hang onto them he lifts his legs up, so he's in a sitting position hanging in the air, or he makes his legs go limp! I know all babys are different and he'll walk when he's ready. I think he's actually too nervous, every once in awhile he'll push his toy with only one hand intead of two, but thats about it! He's getting better, but I tell him when we're out and about (and he's hating being confined to his stroller!) that if he could walk I could let him out. He's so miserable in his stroller because he was to be on the move that I've considered bringing his walking toy out with us because he might be happy. I had barely enough time to buy a pair of shoes at Payless yesterday because he was so miserable in the stroller! poor guy!! We'll get there one day, and for now I should just tell myself theres no rush!

Flowers make everything feel better

I forgot to mention aswell. Yesterday, we had flowers delivered to us! Our friends Zack & Michelle sent them to us. Andy went to highschool with them, and we dont get to see them as often as we'd like to. Seems like our busy lives always get in the way, and theres always something going on. But regardless, they sent us these beautiful flowers just letting us know their thinking of us, and hoping that everything starts getting better soon! Flowers always make everything feel better, and let me tell you walking into my kitchen and seeing this beautiful bouqet just makes my day feel so much better!

Thanks Zack & Michelle, it really means alot to us!

12 hours & Update on the Hope Family

We're up eary this morning after Eli didnt want to go to bed until 8:00p.m last night. But to be honest I'm not complaining too much because its been 12 hours since he's had any bowel issues! Once he was down last night, we didnt hear him until 5:45a.m this morning, and it was his little coo's that woke me. I love that sound. He's happy to play this morning, as well as eat breakfast. Currently, he's dragged a pot out of the cupboard and has dragged it into the living room.

Also, I'm not sure if those you have been following the news at all, but my brother in law Jonathan is back in the media lime light. Yesterday he was sentenced. He has received 2 1/2 years in prison. I really dont have much to say about the whole thing, only that I'm relieved that the whole thing has been dealt with and things should hopefully quiet down for the Hope family. Anyways, thats that!

Blood Tests & Stool Samples

So Dr.Radisics nurse called this morning and said that if we want to do a blood test we can. She also said that the stollery did a test on the stool that didnt give us all the answers we need, so we need to get 2 more stool samples. The frustrating part is that I have to line Eli's diaper with plastic wrap or news paper, and then put it into a cup. The stool cant touch the diaper or else theres diaper pieces in the stool. This is not an easy task, especially when he goes and the plastic wrap is just stuck to his butt, and so is the stool!! Urgh. Getting blood drawn was easier than getting a stool sample! Ohwell! At least we're getting to the bottom of it now, and if it takes a day or 2 to get the stool samples what can you do? We're getting somewhere!!

Eli is feeling better today but not 100%. We were up every 1.5 hours last night with the exception of a 3 hour stretch near the end of the night because he kept pooping. Poor little guys bum is so raw yet again and he just shakes whenever we wipe his bum. We're using a wash cloth instead of wipes but it still hurts so bad, and at this point Im sure the plastic wrap isnt helping at all!! So needless to say we're tired today. He's down for his nap, and I was going to make some cookies but I think I'll go lay down as well! Hopefully he'll sleep for a couple of hours, and wake up feeling good!

If anyone has been through trying to get a stool sample from an almost 1 year old please any tips would be appreciated!!