I’m not sugarcoating. Last night sucked. I’m not going to get into it too much. Laela was incredible, and slept from midnight-ish until 4:45am. For lots of reasons, she and I were up until after 6:00am trying to get back to sleep. It finally worked out, but I was super frustrated and was pretty convinced my night was over. Lucky for me, I did end up falling back to sleep and woke at 10:00am!!! Dekker was chatting quietly and Laela was starting to stir. And then I remembered my mom was coming for the day. As previously discussed, around 9:30am. Now I know my mom is comfortable in our house and would likely have found something to busy herself with, but I bolted out of bed and to the living room. As I suspected, she had done a couple things and then just found a magazine to read while she waited for us. I felt ridiculous but not too choked. Probably more choked that I was in my underwear. I got over both and headed back to put on some sweats and change Laela. My mom made her a bottle and fed her while I sat for a minute or two and had a bowl of cereal before getting Dekker out of bed. Quite a night.

To follow the night, Miss Laela was awake ALL DAY! Sure, she dozed out once in a while, but she hardly had any good solid sleepy time. Its really not a problem though. She is so relaxed, and sooo bright eyed when she’s awake!

Meanwhile, Dekker was on fire today, in the best possible way. When my parents babysat the other night, they tidied up his toys and dispersed them throughout the basement in their appropriate places, so Dekker had a riot pulling them all back out today. At one point, he brought me a container filled with green toys. Yay for not being color blind! He’s got enough going on with his eyes already. (* Side note on that: Dekker has his preliminary testing with his second opinion eye doctor this Friday! I’ll mention it again closer to the date but for those who want to start praying now, please do so!) But he played hard and didn’t fight naptime one bit. Just gave me a big kiss and leaned for his bed. I’m so proud that he’s growing up the way he is.

My mom left around dinnertime and Brady was home pretty quickly afterwards. We ate and played toys with Dekker downstairs. Deks really didn’t want to go to bed when it was time, and he hit Brady in the face. This is a stage we’ve been working on for months now, and I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I break down and just bawl, feeling like I’ll never be abel to break the habit of hitting. I know lots of kids hit, but I think its a big deal and something that needs to put to a stop. Yet he’s been hitting for a long time. As he gets stronger, he’s also gotten more intentional about hitting. However, I have recently been able to hesitantly say that its slowing down, as Dekker can comprehend things better. He’s learning consequences and I think that helps. However, today, he hit. I said to him “Dekker, it is never ok to hit Daddy.” and he reached up and hit him again. Grrrrr. So I took him from Brady and he knew right away that he was in trouble. But I kept it together, sat him on the change table so we could be eye to eye, and I just spoke to him. He was wailing away and frankly, if I can’t hear myself, neither can he. So I asked him to quiet down and he did. I asked him to look at me and he did. I said “Can you hear me?” and he looked me right in the eye and waited. So we had a good solid talk about why we don’t hit and that its never ok to hit anyone! Daddy, Mommy, Laela, anybody! I asked if he was sorry and he reached for a hug. So we had a big hug before Brady came into the room. Dekker gave Brady a big hug, and everything went back to normal.

I left the room to let the boys do their thing and was sort of knocked off my feet when I realized how smoothly and (hopefully?) normally that had all gone! Brady and I are officially adults. We have two children. One of them is old enough that he needs to be reprimanded sometimes. He’s been in that age bracket for a while now, but it excites me that Dekkers capacity to understand is growing and growing! I can’t wait until his language is stronger and he can tell me with words why he’s upset. I’m rambling. I was very proud of Dekker this evening, taking correction with humility, accepting that he had done something wrong, and making it better the best way he can. Go Dekker!!!

I love my kids. As the title of this post suggests, its been a wakeful day. Dekker has been in bed talking for over a half hour, and Laela is laying next to me, wide awake, as she has been basically all day. I’m hoping this bodes well for a long night. Tomorrow is a day for me to be alone with the kids. Weirdly enough, I’m not as nervous about that aspect of the day. I could do without all the break ins that keep happening in town though. People are sure getting gutsier around here… Prayer would be welcomed.

So would sleep. And snacks.

Our church celebrated Thanksgiving late this year. I’m not 100% sure why, since we missed church last weekend, but there was a big Thanksgiving feed after the service today. Brady and I each had a kid. It was a buffet. We were out of our league.

It actually worked out. Dekker is still so shy, Brady had to carry him, but he could put his plate on the buffet table and serve himself. I held Laela in one hand and served up with the other. For some reason I had her in my right arm and scooped with my left, and I am FAR from left handed. But it worked well enough and we made it to a table without spilling anything. Yay us!

I finally switched Laela to my left arm so I could eat, and Dekker just sat on Brady and shared with him. Or at least that was the plan. Being out of his element of his own dining room in his own house, he just shook his head when we offered him bites. However, he was intrigued by the pitcher of juice on the table. We are not especially strict when it comes to what he eats, but he’s only had juice once in his life. At his birthday party, when he was completely jacked on ice cream and m&ms anyway. But today, he wanted some. Brady offered him a taste but Dekker doesn’t drink from a cup, so he shook his head. (* Yes, I’m aware that he’s two and doesn’t drink from a glass. He is a bit particular and won’t do things until he knows he can ace them. I’m confident it’ll come.) Brady took a sip to show Dekker how, and he was finally curious enough to try it himself. He succeeded, and he LOVED it! So we bribed him the entire lunchtime, one bite for one sip. I know, some people may look down on me for “rewarding with food.” I know he’s not a dog, but juice sure isn’t something I want to fight about.

Anyway, we were surviving lunch, but not getting much food down. Lucky for me, a friend sought me out and offered to hold Laela. Soon after, Dekker toddled off in search of his grandpa and some dessert. We both got to finish our meals and visit with friends without feeding someone else or wiping drool. Not that we’re not THRILLED to have kids, but having both hands available during a meal doesn’t happen often.

By the time we left lunch, Dekker had warmed up a bit and was running around, while Laela had been passed around to a few different people. I loved that people sought her out and wanted to hold her and make that connection. I always felt like most people were nervous to hold Dekker because of how much he vomited, but those who did really doted on him. I feel very blessed that people are so interested in our family and want to socialize with our kids. I have a great group of friends and family at church.

Well this is wrapping up here. Brady is watching some Russell Peters next to me and its almost impossible to concentrate on this. Sleep tight, friends.

Saturday! I love Saturdays. Especially Saturdays after such great Fridays. I am blessed.

We accomplished almost nothing today. It was awesome. We ate, played toys, kissed our kids, changed their diapers, and watched Rent. At one point, Laela barfed all over herself and therefore, earned herself some naked time. She loves naked time. And I LOVE her side wrinkles!

My wonderful kids chose to overlap their naps for a short time again, so Brady and I took showers and got ready for our evening. I know, we just celebrated Brady’s birthday on Monday by going on a date. However, quite some time ago, we “booked” this evening away to see my friend play at Village Guitar. We feel so very blessed to have had two dates this week, with Miss Laela being under three weeks old! It is so great to be out with Brady 🙂 Its easy to fall into just simple existence with him, since we tag team the whole time we’re with the kids and then fall into bed exhausted at the end of the day. We can’t forget to have time together just the two of us as well. I’m pretty sure that if we’re not each others top priorities, our family won’t work. And we are wildly fortunate to have my parents close by, eager to play with our babies.

So we got ready just in time to get Dekker up for dinner. He was freshly fed and Laela had just downed a bottle before my parents arrived. We chatted with them for a few minutes before racing out the door. We made it to the show about fifteen minutes before it started and snagged a couch in the back.

The music was great and the rum and Coke hit the spot. It was nice to feel like daters again, as opposed to old married people. Yet I can very honestly say I’m happy to be in the position I’m in. I joke a lot about “being old” when I get tired early, or how we haven’t seen a movie in theatres since the new Footloose came out. But I am thrilled to be a wife, and a mother of two. Dates like these are secondary but amazing and appreciated. I’m sort of rambling I suppose, but it hit me this evening just how blessed I am to be in the situation I always dreamed of.

We made it home around 10:45pm to my dad fast asleep on our basement couch and my mom holding Laela and quietly watching Netflix. It was very peaceful, and we had a nice visit before they headed home. Of course, the entire house was tidied and dishes were done. What could the parents of a two year old and a newborn want more than a clean kitchen, a night out, and sleeping children?!

Just feeding Laela before we feed ourselves. Late night snack time HAS TO STOP!!! Starting tomorrow…

 

 

God is so good! I posted last night about feeling nervous about being alone with both of my kids. I am THRILLED to tell you guys that today was a really great day! it started with a really crummy night, unfortunately, which just had me in a worse mood going into the day. The rough night wasn’t based on my kids waking or anything. Laela woke once at 2:30 and once at 6:00, and then she slept again until after 9:00. When I finally woke to her, I just heard Dekker stirring a bit. It was so nice! I could get her a bottle and feed her in bed all comfy cozy before getting Dekker up for breakfast. It was comfortable and relaxed.

During my morning, I got a very encouraging Facebook message from a friend, telling me my nerves are completely normal. She told me about a few basic things that had helped her, like making a point to eat and drink, get some fresh air, keep the goals for the day small and simple, and PRAY constantly. She was right, and while logic tells us these things, sometimes its nice to get that kick of encouragement from a concerned friend. So I took her advice.

I wore real clothes today. No sweats and sports bra. I felt ten times better with just that! I unpacked the dishwasher and washed bottles while Dekker had his cereal, and then I sat and had some cereal myself while he had a peach, and we read books. Laela slept in the MamaRoo. It was quiet. It seemed like God gave me a break, and nine times out of ten, Laela would sleep while Dekker needed me. 

After breakfast, we all went to play downstairs. Laela played in (*stared at the wall from) her vibraty chair, Dekker played cars, and I pulled apart the diaper cake we received the other day. I didn’t count, but I am confident the gift was made up of over a hundred diapers, all rolled up and individually wrapped with tiny elastic bands. I figured unrolling and flattening diapers was an easy and mindless job, but one that needed doing. So I put on Glee reruns and accomplished something. Yay! Dishes and diaper cake accomplished! Dekker came over once in a while to check out what I was doing. I would tell him I was “fixing” Laela’s diapers. Dekker would then go over to Laela and hesitantly point to where her diaper would be. Good job, bud! He is getting nice and comfortable with her, and did a lot of sharing with her today. He’d bring a cup and spoon to her chair, stir, and offer her a taste. It was adorable. So proud of him!

When it was time for a nap, my boy did not cry. He wasn’t particularly impressed with the idea but he took it like a big boy and just accepted it. I had left Laela in her MamaRoo while I put him down, and when I returned to her, she was asleep. Win! I quickly took this opportunity to make myself some lunch. I warmed up some soup and poured a tall glass of milk. I then snuck over to my room to eat in my ideal comfy spot – my bed. Almost the second I finished my lunch, I heard Laela wake. Thank you God, for those ten minutes of silence. And thank you also for my meltdown-free morning. I really don’t know how it could have gone smoother. 

However, the reality is that Laela did wake up so soon after I ate. But lucky for me, she had just eaten recently and all she was needing was cuddles, which I will happily provide. I lay her on my chest and pulled my blankets over her and I. And she was out. 

Brady texted early afternoon to say that he had finished up his house early and was on his way home! He found us laying in that exact position when he arrived. But lucky us, he arrived with surprises! He had grocery shopped our list that had been building for a few weeks now! With that, he had bought Dekker more patches, a pumpkin spice latte for me, and he picked up the mail. In the mail was Laela’s health card, which I am completely thrilled about. I know it seems silly, but it makes it all feel so exciting and real to me. Laela is officially alive and she lives here with us! I LOVE THAT! Also in the mail came a nice cheque from Daytona. I’m sure some people will think its bad taste to talk about money on here, and that may be so, but the point is that we received a lovely payout that will last us a couple of months, so the time that Brady took off around Laela’s birth won’t set us back at all. No big ugly time of being broke in our near future like we were expecting.

It really, truly has been a lovely day. Its interesting how I go into some days expecting everything to go smoothly, and have everything crash and burn around me. I also know that going into a day with a cruddy attitude (like this morning) can ruin a day before it even begins. But once in a while, I feel crummy leading up to my day, and it turns out amazing. Like today. God is completely amazing, and clearly, He is also very compassionate.

Dekker is in bed, Laela just ate a HUGE feed, and my bath is run and ready. I’m looking forward to catching up on this season of Big Bang Theory with Brady and (hopefully) sleeping better than last night. I hope you all sleep well too!

Do you know that, these days, I often blog with a baby on my lap? A very squirmy baby, usually. Tonight, she is a tiny little nudist, as her bottle was leaky, resulting in milk-soaked jammies. Poor dear. But its nice to see her so comfy and free, and to be able to touch her skin. Her belly button is perfect and little. Her hair is a little fuzzy and standy-uppy on top. Her eyes are HUGE and dark. And her hands are sooo soft and tiny, with long slender piano fingers. I love her.

My mom came out for the day. She brought lunch and supper, and did my dishes. She changed diapers and fed bottles and read books and took pictures and chased Dekker until he wore out. She is amazing company. Tomorrow, I am on my own with the kids. I am still nervous for days on my own, and thinking of that makes me feel inadequate. I’m a mom. I very intentionally had my kids, and plan to have more. Yet why am I so uncomfortable with the thought of being on my own with them? I actually felt mildly embarrassed when I told my doctor I had received help almost every single day since Laela was born. Lucky for me, I have the best doctor in the world, and she was thrilled that I had so much help! She said that is a HUGE bonus when fending off postpartum depression, and that many women who struggle with PPD are those who are left to fend for themselves right off the hop. She supported our plan to slowly have more and more days alone with both kids until I feel strong and ready, but said I should not feel bad if I need to change my mind and have daily help again. I think its very important for me to get on with things and be brave, but it was nice to know she wasn’t thinking “Geez, get it together, woman!” Makes me feel human.

So. Tomorrow. I’m having a day with my kids, just the three of us. I’m a bit nervous, as last time didn’t go especially smoothly. But we all lived! And I know I can do it, whether it’ll be rocky or not. Lucky for me, Brady is hoping to finish up at work a little bit earlier than usual. That does my heart good, just knowing its a possibility that my second day alone with the kids could possibly even be a short day. Just in case it another rocky one, you know? I don’t know.

Do I just sound like a lightweight? Or just super duper blessed??

Laela and I had our two week postpartum doctors visits today. I’ve been looking forward to today for quite a while now actually. I’m not 100% sure why. Part of it is probably that I was so used to seeing my doctor every week, haha! I missed her maybe? But also, I wanted to hear from my doctors mouth that Laela is in great health.

She is 🙂

The little Miss is back up to just over her birth weight. 9lbs 12oz. Everything looks and sounds perfect, as far as she can see. Dr. Guselle had only good to say, really. She commented that Laela is a mover and it seems like she already is trying to roll. She was impressed with her sleep schedule, and the fact that we can put her down for night awake, and she’ll put herself to sleep, tear free. Something I really enjoyed which may seem small to everyone else was just hearing Laela called by name. She wasn’t just “the baby.” She is a person, our daughter, and her name suits her famously. It just sounded so natural, and I loved hearing it.

I was really hoping to get myself weighed in today but its not mandatory at all and I forgot to ask. Oh well. I’ll try to remember to ask at our 6 week appointment. But for myself, I asked Dr. Guselle a few questions and she asked me some, but I seem to be recovering nicely. We talked a bit about postpartum depression, and she gave me some insight about it. As far as I can tell, I don’t have it. I genuinely don’t think I do, and she doesn’t either, but having the amount of anxiety I had all through the pregnancy, plus the delivery, has made me want to know more about depression in a way to be able to keep an eye on it, if that makes sense. Dr. Guselle gave me a few things to watch for and then she sort of let me spout a bit. I told her that I’m not losing sleep (not any more than the mother of a newborn will anyway) or having fears of people hurting my baby, but I start losing grip if I let Laela’s birth story play over in my head too many times. She was very understanding and didn’t make me feel silly at all. She gave me some tools and ideas of how to react in those instances. She was very clear that I was likely experiencing post traumatic stress, and that actually made me feel very sane and normal. Labor and delivery are unpredictable things. They’re great, and they can be peaceful and beautiful and memories you want to relive over and over. Or they can be scary. And she gets that. I appreciated her concern so much!

All things considered, the appointment was a success. My mom had come over to help me get everyone on the road, and then I brought her to the city with me. On the way back home, she even bought lunch 🙂 It was a completely successful outing. Except that we forgot to pick up more patches for Dekker. That was kind of a lame brain moment on my part, but one day I’m hoping my brain will come back. When my youngest child is twelve maybe? Who knows. That milestone is a looong ways off! Sorry, readers. If that is the case, and if I actually keep daily blogging for years to come, they may get worse and worse for repetition and grammatical errors. (Geez, leave it to me to spell “grammatical” with one ‘m’ and stare at if for three minutes trying to figure out why it didn’t look right…)

Insanity is my life. But I love it!

Time for snacks and a bath for me! And the little Miss who just puked all over herself. Poor dear. Poor dear with crusty hair. At least this one likes water so far!

Sleep in peace, friends.

The title to todays post isn’t quite right. My kids aren’t “against” me, I know that. But they didn’t exactly send the message that they were “for” me today either…

Brady and I had another incredible night with Laela. She got up to eat at 3:00am and 7:30am. If that can become a pattern (knock on wood) we could actually be the well-rested parents of two. Eventually. Today was not a restful day.

Before I continue with this post, I just want to say that I know having two kids is busy and sometimes chaotic. I know that sometimes one kid will have to wait while the other is dealt with, or one will cry for a few minutes. Or both will cry for a few minutes! All of these things, I am aware of, and I know they are realities that don’t make me a bad mom or a failure of any kind. Just let me have my rant, if you will.

As I said, Laela woke at 7:30am, ate, and promptly fell back to sleep. I lay her back in her cradle once I heard Dekker wake up, and got him up and eating breakfast while I threw a few things in the dishwasher. He wasn’t as patient this morning with being at the table, but I let it slide and decided we’d go downstairs rather than force him to eat more. No doubt, that would likely have resulted in some kind of disagreement. Plus, Laela had woken up at this point and was pretty ticked about something. I lowered my expectations for the day and decided that it would be a success if we all came out alive. So I chucked a bit of laundry down the stairs before grabbing Laela, my phone, a burp cloth, a bottle, a soother, and Dekker’s hand, and headed downstairs.

I’ll admit it. I turned the tv on as soon as we got downstairs. I needed a buffer. I fed Laela some milk but she took quite a bit of time to settle. Luckily her cries are still such little honking sounds, they don’t upset Dekker much, and he kept playing. Until he biffed. He wasn’t hurt at all, but he was a bit tangled and seemed pretty determined to only get out of his predicament only one way – the impossible one. So he remained stuck and got louder and louder. I like it when he gets himself out of those messes, just to prove to himself that he can, but this time, I put Laela in the little vibrating chair and went to save Dekker. I fear I waited to long, because he did not overcome it as fast as I had hoped. He cried and fussed seemingly endlessly. I struggle to find the balance between comforting him and leaving him alone because he’s overreacting. Tantrums are hard. I moseyed over to my chair after a couple of minutes to give him some space. And unlike his usual behavior, he followed me and lifted up his arms to me. So I dragged him up on my lap and we had some solid mommy-Dekker cuddles like we haven’t had in a very long time. He was sooo soft and lovely and calm.

Once cuddle time was over, Deks went back to his toys and played hard for a while. Until he started to look like this…

Going down for his nap was a complete DISASTER! As soon as he realized that he was going for a nap, he slapped my face. Hard. VERY intentionally. I reprimanded him and he burst out crying. I’m glad he sees that he’s in trouble and everything, but I want him to know how much I love him still, and for that reason, I would never just chuck him down for his nap screaming like a maniac. So I held him and shushed and rocked and waited. And he freaked and freaked and freaked. I finally got him a bit calmer, but not really much better. He was still bawling. However, so was Laela, and she had been for several minutes now, waiting for me to finish with Dekker. I started to lose my cool and started crying while still in Dekker’s room. When I finally got out of there and went to Laela, she was crying tears. Tears, you guys. Babies so little don’t usually make tears! Dekker didn’t produce tears for a couple of months! But little Laela, at two weeks old, is crying so long that she’s crying actual tears. I cried harder. I was a picture of failure an exhaustion.

I brought Laela to my bed and fed her a bottle. I let her nap on me, which is something she loves, and makes me feel amazing no matter what the day has been like. For all these reasons, the laundry sat neglected in the machines for longer spans of time than usual, but who cared? Not us.

Brady brought Subway home, which actually hit the spot perfectly. I realized upon his arrival that I hadn’t eaten or peed all day. I remember having that same realization with Dekker on our first day alone together. I pee on a daily basis now, so I suppose it will get better like it did then 🙂

Laela and I have two week appointments tomorrow so I’m looking forward to seeing our doctor and getting both of us checked out, getting clean bills of health all around. 

More so looking forward to a drink in the tub. Make it a double.

Brady is FINALLY 25 with me! It feels good to have him in his mid-twenties instead of just his normal twenties. I’ve felt old for the last 2.5 months.

It was actually a great day, though, and I’m pretty sure I can safely speak for myself and my entire family. Laela only woke at 3:00am and 7:30am. However, we played it off right and she fell back to sleep until 11:00am!!! Dekker also slept in a ridiculous amount, so we had croissants and coffee in bed like we love to do. Just add a baby on me, and it was perfect.

When we finally got Dekker up, we fed him quickly and brought him downstairs for toys and a bit of tv. It was already the afternoon by this point so we flicked on Netflix and Dekker played while Laela napped.

 

Dekker went down for a nap around 3:00pm and Laela lounged in her MamaRoo while Brady and I got ready for our evening out. My parents arrived right on time for 4:00pm. We promptly gave them a whirlwind explanation of how much Laela eats and when, reminded them of Dekker’s general routine, and where to find food for themselves before we raced out the door.

We hit the road with blasting music and growling bellies. We arrived at Rock Creek Grill a few minutes early and were seated right away. Being who we are, Brady and I immediately installed a “hangman” app on my phone and played while we waited.

The last time I ordered a steak in a restaurant was the weekend before Brady and I got married. We went on a date the Saturday before the big day and ordered amazing steaks. That was just about five years ago. Bradys ordered steak since then but I have not. And today was the day. It was amazing.

Sigh. Blue cheese crumbles and bacon. Ridiculously delicious.

And Strongbow, because its also magically delicious. I know, its cider, therefore its “girl beer.” I’m a girl. Its allowed.

We ate really well, and as we were paying, our server asked what our evening plans were. I mentioned that it was Brady’s birthday so we were gifted a kid-free evening. She was surprised we hadn’t mentioned it sooner, and said she had a complimentary dessert for him. A very nice surprise! While we shared Bradys ice cream and weird-yet-delicious bananas in deep fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar, I gave him his gift. My fun secret about Bradys 25th birthday is that I knew it would be glossed over. Not only is Laela fresh and exciting, but its also Thanksgiving, which takes the main focus of the holiday. So a month or two ago, I put together a plan and with a bit of help here and there, I bought Brady an iPad Mini. I kept everything super well hidden and had complete SUCCESS in keep the secret! Brady had no idea he was getting a gift even, as I kept apologizing for not planning anything. Which was the truth, since we had only made date plans with my parents a few days prior, so I truly hadn’t planned anything date-wise. But gift-wise I was more than covered! I was very happy with how it turned out, and so was Brady. Yay technology!

From supper, we opted to go back to our teens when we were boyfriend and girlfriend. We grabbed coffee and treats from Starbucks and headed to the train bridge. Brady forgot his jacket, and it was pretty chilly, so we didn’t actually go walk up on the bridge, but as we had done as daters, we pulled out a book. We read aloud the first few chapters of the first book in the Hunger Games series while drinking our lattes and eating those amazing chocolate caramel covered pretzels. It was delicious and relaxing and nostalgic. I loved it.

We drove along the river leaving the city and arrived home before 9:00pm, which was actually perfect. My parents had tidied the living room of all the toys Dekker had spread out, and even did our dishes. Its always nice to arrive home to a tidy house and happy kids. Dekker was already in bed after an apparently tear-free bedtime! And Laela was awake, well fed, and happy. No chaos for anyone, it seemed! A good evening for everyone involved.

Even though its a birthday, its still a day day. Time for a soak and a snack, as if I can (or need to) fit any more food inside of me! Tomorrow is another day 🙂 Gotta rest up!

All in all, it was a really great day, with my kids and my husband. Brady, I’m so thrilled you were born and have hung around for 25 years. You are officially classic. I had a big crush on you when we were 18 and I can’t seem to shake it. Loving you more and more, my dear.

 

 

After a considerably crummier night than the last, we spent a second day with some of my siblings and my parents today. Dekker was in a better frame of mind than yesterday, and Laela sort of couldn’t be bothered, but Brady and I were fairly whooped. The story of parents lives, right? Short nights are new to us 🙂 Give us a break!

However, we still got ourselves up and ready and made it to Dalmeny, in better spirits, in time to be early for lunch. Brunch, actually. We had pancakes and bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, fruit, etc. It was completely delicious, as per usual. Dekker got a bit restless before we were all finished so we let him down from the table and his first order of business was to set George up to eat.

He’s so sweet! Pretty quick after we ate, Dekker went down for a nap. It wasn’t an ideal set up because his cousins were just getting up from their nap. But Dekker is not one to miss out on things, and he did not sleep. He didn’t fuss, or complain, but he didn’t sleep. Laela slept like crazy, of course. She’s way too relaxed.

So when we all decided to go for a walk and play at a nearby park, we woke Dekker and got him all bundled up. So began the FUNNEST part of the day. (Eat my shorts, “funnest” is a word if I say it is.)

SLIDES!!! Where we live, there was no park until late this year. We still haven’t taken Dekker to it, to be honest. So this was really his first time on a playground. I know, he’s two, and how could he have not played in a park yet?! Well, until very recently my son was scared of most things and didn’t like being outside. We could have pushed him I suppose, but I was in crazy pain this summer with my pregnancy, and it just wasn’t a fight I chose to pick with him. And while some may disagree with this concept, it worked out. He was SO ready today 🙂 He went down one slide on Bradys lap once and that was all he needed.

He really just took off and had fun with it! Rarely did he actually end up at the bottom of the slide on his bum but who cares?! He was thrilled! Until he took a slide to the face. That bloody lip deterred him for a solid twenty seconds before he was squirming to run back to the structure and show that slide who’s boss.

 

We all had sooo much fun! It was a bit of a chilly, windy day, but we were so sheltered in this tiny little park, surrounded by trees. Laela didn’t complain from her car seat, and the boys sure weren’t complaining AT ALL! It was super fun, and will need to happen again very soon.

The rest of the day was a bit rocky for my little family anyway. Dekker was devastated to leave the park, and then had so much fun in the stroller on the walk back that he was crushed again to have that come to an end as well. Our boy was exhausted. So he went down for a second attempt at the nap, and this time it was successful. He slept through supper, which we expected. Its not unheard of for us to wake Dekker at 7pm, have a low key supper and a bit of playtime before bedtime. Not ideal, but not uncommon. But poor Dekker was convinced he was down for nighttime and cried solidly for about a half hour after Brady woke him. He would only eat raisin bread and drink water for supper. Apparently he missed the memo that its Thanksgiving and opted out of the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots, cranberries, etc. that we all enjoyed. I can’t brag up my moms turkey dinners enough. Never once has that blessed woman served a dry turkey. Not once. It is incredible every single time!

Deks was pretty “on and off” all evening but eventually picked up and played. He just opted to play alone and stick close to Brady and I. We are so thankful that my parents and siblings are so understanding. Dekker is two, and has solid two-year-old moments to begin with, but they also see that he only can use 50% of his vision and how frustrated that makes him. It is refreshing to not have to excuse his breakdowns to everyone, or try to explain why he gets overwhelmed. Wouldn’t you?

We stayed until maybe 8:45pm before heading home. Dekker and Laela were both nice and quiet on the drive home while we listened to Tyler Ward covers. Baby boy is now in bed, resting his little body, and while we were getting him to that point, I completely forgot that we had a second child. Sitting in a bucket. On the table.

Not complaining one bit. She makes my heart just melt.

So baby girl is laying on our bed in her U-pillow, wide awake. I hope she stays that way for a bit longer this evening. That way, maybe we’ll get a better night out of her. Laela bean, I sooo prefer your four hour stretches to your two hour stretches!

It really has been such a wonderful weekend. I am so very thankful for so many things. Right now, I am thankful for my quiet house filled with my favorite people in the whole world. I’m thankful for a hot bath, apricot brandy and Sprite, and Netflix. I am thankful for the amount of healing my body has received in just two short weeks. And I am thankful that God is in control of my life. What a huge responsibility. God is so good.

 

 

It was such a great day to see some family! My brother and sister in law, and their two boys came out for a visit this weekend, specifically to meet Laela. While everyone was more than willing to come to our house for the days they’re out, we opted instead to meet at my parents, since they have places set up for the boys to take naps and everything. We’re pretty comfortable there anyway. A second home, I suppose. So we all decided to meet there for brunch at noon.

Laela bean had a solid night, waking up to eat at 10:30pm, 1:30am, and 5:30am. We all slept until 9:30am!!! It was actually a beautifully long night, so we felt nice and refreshed in the norming. We fed Deks a little something before heading out. We arrived at my parents place around 11:00.

The day was wonderful. We ate a monstrous brunch and the kids played pretty well. As per usual, Dekker was insanely shy and it took a while for him to settle in, but all the boys needed naps at the same time so they all went down for a good hour or three and were quite refreshed afterwards. We all got a kick out of comparing the stages and ages though. There are gaps of one year between each kid, almost exactly. My nephews are three and one, Dekker is two, and Laela is new. It was kind of perfect because we could all relate to each other in the way our kids were acting.

We celebrated Brady’s birthday over supper. He didn’t know it was coming, which was always fun, but my mom and I had previously discussed what meal he might really enjoy for his birthday, since his actual birthday is October 14th, which falls on Thanksgiving Monday this year and we figured it might kind of get missed, with that and with Laela’s birth. So my mom prepared a huge perogy feed, with farmer sausage and gravy. It was sooo delicious! She made him a chocolate cake for dessert, which was actually quite decadent without being too rich. I love that supper tonight was as yummy as it was, and that we’re going to have Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow too! I’m thinking this weekend isn’t going to help me lose my pregnancy weight, haha!

(*Braggy side note that I need to include: I weighed myself at my parents today at am officially down 19 lbs! Laela was half of that and I still have a ways to go, but it counts! Heyo!!!)

We left to head home at around 7:50 this evening. It seems so early, but we want to try and keep Dekker on track with his schedule. We have never been too concerned about “scheduling” things at all but right now, if we delay Dekker’s bedtime by 15-30 minutes, he struggles waaay harder! So we want to keep him at his best for when we’re all together tomorrow again. He still went to bed later than he would have had we left even sooner, but this worked. He didn’t put up a huge fuss at bedtime at all, which is a great relief for Brady and I. Bedtime is hard for lots of kids, but its always sad to put him down for night when he so clearly would rather be playing with us.

But luckily, that isn’t the case tonight. Laela is dozing, the bath has run, the house is quiet, and I’m so ready for some guilty pleasure tv. A little bit nervous for the night, since Laela seemed to skip her “wakeful time” today but who knows. There’s still time for her to be awake and get good and tired.

More family stuff tomorrow! Looking forward to it!