Bailey

On Nate's birthday, after his party, we drove to Aldergrove to pick up our new little addition... Our shepherd-malamute-cross 8 week old puppy we named Bailey. That Saturday was busy and overwhelming, but we were just so excited to bring her home! She has been a great dog so far, learning well and becoming quickly adjusted to her new family and surroundings. Monte spent quite some time researching the best ways to train a dog (you could even call him the new Dog Whisperer, thanks to Cesar Millan's teachings!) and Bailey has picked up on Monte's leading very well. She's still got some house-training to do; we have about an accident a day to clean up. And I will admit, there have been a few moments when I've been on my own with both the boys and Bailey and felt completely overwhelmed. But overall she's a very well-behaved little pup and we're excited to have her grow up with our boys!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Today is Nate's third birthday, and we partied it up! Monte set up the plastic Thomas track we bought him last night (while watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics) so that when Nate woke up this morning he was surprised and excited to play with his new toy. Nate opened the other presents we got him, then we had breakfast together and had a relaxing morning drinking coffee and watching Nate play with his new track. His friends came at 10:30am for his party, and Nate was ecstatic! Elijah & Micah, Tydin & Jarris, Isaac & Owen, Annah & Julia, and Kate & Lincoln came to celebrate with Nathan, and we had a great time playing together, eating pizza, corn dogs and cake, and opening presents.

This was the first real birthday party we've ever thrown for Nate, and while I was so excited about it, it was also bittersweet. Monte & I reflected this morning on the day of his birth, and just how fast these past three years have gone. We feel so incredibly blessed to have Nathan in our lives, and I'm grateful for the special relationship he and I have. He is a true sweetheart, with a gentle spirit and a sensitive heart, and I love him with all my being. Nathan, happy third birthday my sweet boy!! We love you and are so proud to call you our son!

A Battle of Wills

It's been five nights of my cry-thru-the-night plan, and it's not going very well! Most of the experts out there reassure parents that it'll be a rough couple of nights, but it shouldn't take more than three and then you'll have relatively peaceful sleeps. What a joke! I'm learning as I get to know Cody that he is nothing like Nathan, and that is constantly keeping me on my toes. He cried twice for about a half hour the first few nights, for which I was pleasantly surprised. I figured that was it - I had done it! I had sleep-trained my kid with ease. Then night #4 came, and that's when I felt the wrath of Cody. Man that kid can scream when he's mad. I finally gave in around 4:30am, when just getting a few hours of sleep became top priority. But I felt so defeated and like I had lost the control. As a mother I don't like losing control; it makes me mad! So these last few days have not been pretty. But I know from experience that within a few weeks I'll be sleeping just fine again and will have forgotten all about this ugly phase.

I suppose Cody has a right to be miserable right now... He's cutting two more teeth, making four teeth total on the bottom (and none on the top). For a brief moment I panicked and thought, what if my kid has some kind of dental problem that makes it only possible to grow teeth on the bottom? I just can't remember what order Nate's teeth came in. Anyways, Cody's growing like a weed, now in 12-month clothes and eating solids three times a day. I'm gradually introducing him to vegetables, as I have time to cook and puree them. He's rolled over both ways and is starting to sit really well on his own, although he still needs support since he topples over whenever he tries to reach for something. He's a very 'grabby' baby... wants to hold everything in sight and has a fetish for remote controls. He likes the buttons. Nate can now sing the entire alphabet (with the exception of a few misplaced letters) and enjoys singing to a wide variety of songs, his favourite being the VeggieTales album. He is also growing like crazy, becoming very long and lanky. It's now so hard to imagine that he used to be even chubbier than Cody when he was 6 months. We're now two sleeps away from his third birthday, and sometimes I'm overwhelmed at how fast he's growing up. He's extremely curious, with endless questions including tricky ones like "what's in a banana?" or "what do you mean, you're driving?" It's very difficult to explain how to drive to a preschooler, especially with a crying baby in the midst.

Cody's Dedication

We had Cody dedicated at our church, South Abbotsford Church, last Sunday (January 31). We were fortunate to have our life group leader (who is also a pastor at our church) agree to dedicate Cody. So just as Nate's dedication by Rita Lihaven, this one was done by someone who has a great connection to our family. Doug even held Cody the day he was born, and he and his wife were praying for us during the delivery. The dedication went well; Cody was quiet and content throughout the whole thing. Our family and other life group members stood up with us to pray with us as well. And then we had our family over for lunch. It was a great day.

It's been a rough few weeks at our house. We are finally getting out of the 'sick slump' that took us hostage since before Christmas, and that has taken a lot out of all of us. Thankfully, January was unusually warm, and even as I write the sun is beaming through our living room windows. So the weather helped keep us sane! We are still quite sleep deprived, which for me translates to short on patience, easily frustrated, and generally down on life. I think there's only been one or two times since before Christmas when I've gotten four or more consecutive hours of sleep. And I just don't do well with that! Monte is extremely tired as well, getting up at 4am for work. So tonight I'm planning on beginning a cry-thru-the-night plan, which I hope will only take three nights! I'm going to set myself up with snacks and DVD's so that when Cody wakes up at 1am (and 3am, and 5am...) to eat, I can distract myself enough to allow him to cry himself to sleep. We'll see how I do with that!