Spring Ahead- Fall back on the Zzzz's!

I love spring because it brings us closer to summer, which is my ultimate favorite season, but this whole time change thing is a real pain! Not that I wasn't losing enough sleep when Emma decides not to sleep through the night, but we just have to throw out an extra hour of it because the sun is moving to different locations in the sky. If we actually lived by the suns movement, we'd gradually change the timing of the events day to day, not all at once. I can handle losing a quarter of a minute every couple of days. But something about that one whole hour just sucks the life right out of me. I'm convinced it is instituted by coffee shops.... just when we get the hang of waking up without  needing a cup of coffee in the morning, they decide the time needs to change, and it just so happens, everyone wakes up extra tired and in desperate NEED of coffee to come remotely close to an 'awake' state of mind. That's just my theory ;)

Well, Emma went and did it again! She's gotten another month older. I can't believe 4 short months ago she was still thriving in my belly. Now here she is laughing, talking in her own baby talk, rolling over, playing with her toys, yelling at her toys, and always looking at me like I am the best thing in the world. I just love her so much! I'm so blessed to have her! Happy 4 month Birthday my sweet sweet girl! Does the time ever fly! 

I signed up for a parenting course, and the first day was yesterday. I mean, you can never know too much right? Plus I always feel like I am doing something wrong, so I thought this would be perfect to be reassured, as well as to meet some other mum's and babes. They have a nursery there where they take your baby for you so you can be focused on the lesson plan, and each baby has their own 'experienced mother' to look after them. It's not like their are 2 women watching 10 kids. I love that! It makes me feel like my daughter is being looked after properly. Emma just slept cuddled up to one of the lady's, and woke up just as it was time to leave. I really think I am going to enjoy this program! They teach you how to cook healthy meals, stick to a budget, organize your home, and learn to find time to have your own life outside of being a 'mommy'! PERFECT! Exactly what I need! 

I mentioned that Nick was offered a new job, well he might have a chance to get an even better job than that one. I don't want to get too excited because that one might not work out, but if it does, it would be super great! I'll go more into detail once things are finalized. 

Does anyone know where to buy a swimsuit for a 4 month old?! I've looked everywhere and can't find one. I've decided to put Emma in swimming lessons. But I can't find one... and when I say swim suit, I'm talking age appropriate, I'm not into little girls in bikini's, not at all! 

Hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of winter! Blessings! 

Twila

Change

Emma is growing and changing so fast I don't even want to blink because I may miss something! I just can't get enough of her.

However, that said, I did get away from her. Sunday she spent the afternoon with her Grandparents (Crozier) while Nick & I went to a birthday party. I was constantly thinking about her, but only got Nick to call to check on her once. That's pretty good for me! Then Sunday night I went to the movies while Nick stayed home with her. I only called once before the movie started to see if things were ok, and then I was fine for the movie! I enjoyed being out and about, when I came home I enjoyed being with Emma even more & I was much more patient with her. Happy Mommy = Happy Baby!! :) 

Great news : Nick has got a new job!!! The one he wanted, with a major pay increase, and benefits! Whereas his present job is kind of a dead end. Yay, Congrats babe! 

Tomorrow Emma & I are going to a Baby and Momma Parenting class. It goes for 12 weeks and teaches you how to finance better, plan better, find time for you, etc. Should be interesting! I'll update afterwards about it. 

She is sleeping in my arm so I better go put her into bed for her nap. 

Twila

Ahhhh love.... I mean music!

First off, I'd like to punch that ice storm we got the other day in the nose! Our car was covered in at thick layer of ice and I was trying to get the door open to put Emma in and instead of the ice breaking and falling off it just pushed into my skin. Now I have a hole in my thumb that hurts like... well.. it just hurts! 

My friend Morgan couldn't find out what she is having because the little one was not co-operating and the tech couldn't tell. She is a much better person than me, because I wouldn't take that for an answer when I was there and made the woman keep trying until I could see some evidence of a gender. However, through all that she and her husband have decided to keep it a surprise.. again better person than me, I'm a basket case and need to plan everything out a head of time, I'm not the surprise type of girl. lol But I am excited not only to hear 'MORGAN HAD HER BABY...' but also '....AND IT'S A _____!!!' 

So I am in love... no not with my husband, well, yes with him.. but I mean besides him. And it's not even with a person. It's with his talent. Oh, I just melt! I don't usually watch American Idol because I find whoever they pick to be in the top how ever many... they change them into what they want them to look/be like. I hate that! IT's not about a 'look' it's about the talent. However.... Nick was watching it while I was making dinner and he called me in to hear this guy... pretty good lookin' fella! Ju'Not Joyner! Odd name... didn't think anything of it... UNTIL HE OPEN HIS MOUTH!! Oh my goodness! My kitchen could have caught aflame and I would have still been in heaven! Albeit a very hot heaven... but heaven none the less! I was instantly in love. What a voice, what soul!!! So of course.. I had to you tube him. And I found videos of his own stuff. AMAZING!!! Like AMAZING!! Seriously, go to youtube and look up 'I'm so Down' by him!! I love music anyways... I could live in music, I wish my life had music playing as I walked down the street, slept, everywhere I was. I play music, I write music, I sing music. And it's my biggest weakness! So I am careful to what I listen to, it is very influential to me. But Ju'Not is like my ear's dream come true! Ahhh! His lyrics are well written, and his arrangements are amazing! 

I'm suppose to talk about garbage for someone.... lol.... and I'm not sure how exactly. However, today is my section of the city's garbage removal day. The bags have been tied and tossed to the curb! Ouch! But glad it has come and gone. :) 

Time to re-organize my living room! 

Twila

I'm So Excited!

Today Morgan finds out what she is having and I am so excited for her to find out!!! Either way I'm excited! Her and Dan are great people so the baby is going to be such a sweetie anyways! 

I still can't believe how many friends are pregnant right now!! When I was expecting, it was just Lisa and I, and it just so happened that we had the same due date, although she was lucky enough to be induced a couple of weeks early. And Serena is a doll!! Definite future play dates! ;) 

We all got better sleep last night! My sister Destiny stayed over and we had the worst pizza ever! lol I do not recommend Pizza Delight at all. Gross! Emma is starting to breath better and cough less, that makes me happy! However, Nick is getting sick.... will this flu season ever end? Argh!

AND, I saw my bestest Tasja yesterday!! I've been so busy I haven't seen much of anyone so that was just GREAT!! I LOVE her!! 

Oh, Nick graduates next month!!! Very exciting, the man has been working his butt off! And so a great graduation party is in order!! I'm so proud! 

Twila

So sad for my baby :(

My princess is sick. Really sick. She has been coughing so bad and so much that we had to take her to the clinic and the Dr. checked her out and found out that she has a throat infection. This was after a night of her screaming all night and Nick and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then at 5:00am she cried herself out. I felt so helpless! She is doing a bit better now that she is on some antibiotics. I just want her to feel better!!! 

We finally found a sectional couch that we wanted. I hate the new ones out now, everything is so modern looking, it doesn't even bring 'comfort' to a home. So we found one on kijiji and it turned out to be from a girl I grew up with and Nick went to high school with. Anyways... it was perfect! So of course we got it! It's a bit bigger than I thought it would be..... but I love love love it anyways! Then we decided to buy ourselves a LCD TV. We don't usually spend any amount of money on anything. We are bargain shoppers, and I think that has made us cheap. But going through all we have been through, we thought it would be a nice gift for ourselves. And it is... we will have many movie nights cuddling on our huge couch and watching our huge tv! It would have been nice to have it a month ago for the super bowl... but my team lost, so I just would have watched that happen a lot more up close and personal. What a heartbreak! 

We decided not to buy an SUV. We will wait a while, at least until Nick graduates and comes back from Japan! I'm alright with that! 

I'm so tired and half of this is probably spelled wrong, or might not make sense. But that's what I have to offer with only 2 hours of sleep! 

Well, I can't believe it is March! Spring comes this month! I am looking forward to it. 

Happy March Everyone!! Hope Everyone is having a great March break from school!

Twila

The Breast Kind of Bond!

Sorry if this is offensive to some - if you think 'breast feeding' is gross or abnormal.. do not read on! 

I LOVE nursing Emma! I chose to do it because after much research I found there is no formula that comes close to being as beneficial to a baby and it's development than a mothers breast milk.

I'm not going to say that it was the easier choice.... my goodness, we struggled at the beginning! There were many tears shed and many hours just trying to 'latch' properly. And many vents to my online friends coaching me through my frustration! It would have been 100x easier to put some formula in a bottle and give her that. But it's easier to eat at McDonalds than it is to cook a wholesome meal, and then clean up afterwards, yet, the one with more work has more benefits obviously. So it was worth the fight. 

~I love holding her close.

~I love the look on her face as she nurses.

~I love how she is soothed by it.

~I love when she is finished and looks up at me and smiles as though saying 'Thanks Mommy!'

~I love knowing that when nothing else will calm her down, nursing her brings her comfort.

~I love being the only one in the world that can ever have that connection with her. 

~Oh, and I love how it burned all my pregnancy weight right off and continues to do so! ;)

~I love how she gains the perfect amount of weight and has less of a chance to be obese. 

I remember when she had lost a lot of weight and Nick was feeding her a bottle I just sat there and cried. I was so sad to lose that connection with her. I vowed that day, my daughter would not have another lick of formula as long as I could help it. If she needs a bottle while I am away, my milk will be in that bottle! 

I don't understand why people think it is inconvenient. Why? Because you have to be there for your baby? Isn't that what being a mom is all about? When she was born the limelight I lived in was shifted to her. She comes before me, not I before her. I'm passionate about this. Don't have kids if you want your life to be just about you. 

I am even MORE excited today because I found the coolest thing for Emma for the summer! Momsicles- (don't you just love that name?) Instead of freezing juice as a homemade popsicle, you freeze breast milk just the same. You may think that I am robbing my baby of the joys of a delicious sweet tasting popsicle in the heat of the summer sun..... but, have you ever tasted breast milk? I have, while I was fixing a bottle of it for Emma and she was not sitting right, I held the nipple part in my mouth and it almost fell (breast milk to me is liquid gold) so I quickly sucked hard to stop it from falling and got a gulp of my own milk! Honestly my first thought was 'PUKE'... but then I realized... breast milk is SWEET! The only thing I have tasted similar is sweetened coconut milk. Not only does it satisfy the sweet craving that fruit popsicles do, I can give her added benefits between her feedings! Finding this was like finding the perfect pair of shoes and then trying them on and them fitting wonderfully!! 

When Emma weans from nursing it will be a sad day for me, because I will feel a great sense of loss, but it will be something special I will always hold dear to me. Some people hate it, and they say it's not for them. I just don't understand that at all. At first it wasn't for me either.... it was for Emma, I just reaped the benefits I never knew were even there! 

Ahhhh, the breast kind of bond! 

Twila

And the flu lingers...

Emma has gotten worse, but I am handling it a lot better than what I did last time she was sick. No less terrorized though. However, she made up for not sleeping during the night the other day. Last night she slept from 10:30pm until 5:30am this morning! YAY!! GO EMMA GO! Notice how I didn't say 'WE slept', because 'WE' did not! I was up all night listening to her breath making sure she didn't stop! Before I said goodnight to Nick I asked if he was worried about her too and he said 'Yes, very worried'.  Next thing I know he is out like a light! Why is it that dad's can worry while they sleep, while moms are awake the whole entire time? 

In other news... lol... I love when reporters say that! We might be getting either a Jeep liberty (My FAV vehicle) or [drum roll please] a Mercedes Benz ML 320{!!!!!!!!}. The thing is insurance on the Benz is way cheaper, but if something breaks it will be WAY more expensive. BUT, I will feel 100% confident with Emma on the road in such a safe car. This is all IF we sell our Focus, because I don't want to be making two payments!  Whatever we get of the two, I will be happy to have an SUV!! 

Twila