The Baerg Fam

Babies & Business

2011-10-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, my much-neglected blog! You know it's been too long when you can't remember your password to log in to blogger.com. As I mentioned in my last post, life has been busy lately and these last couple months are no exception. We have, I suppose, two newsworthy changes in our lives.

The first being that for the past four months or so I've been working on opening my own little shop called PuddleJump Designs on etsy.com selling baby blankets and quilts I make from home. I've been sewing for the past couple years, thanks to my mom buying me a sewing machine (thanks, mom!) and have enjoyed sewing curtains for our home and a patchwork blanket for each of the boys. I accumulated a lot of leftover fabric from these little projects and considered making extra blankets out of them to try to sell somehow, but could never really figure out how to sell them other than on craigslist or facebook and neither of those options appealed to me. Then a friend launched her own baby blanket shop on etsy and inspired me to do the same. I've really enjoyed selecting fabric and piecing together creative projects, just me and my sewing machine. And for awhile I even found it hard to sleep at night dreaming up my etsy shop; I've been so excited. It's a passion I'm so glad I realized and hope for great success!

We also are expecting a baby early April! This is our third and final "hurrah." I always imagined myself in a large family scenario, kind of like 7th Heaven. This was my idea of our family before we had any kids! Now we're hoping we can just manage with three. I know the first few months will be pure survival mode, and simply getting out of the house by myself with three kids five and under - and not in our pj's - will be my only daily goal for quite awhile. And I'm okay with that, with life becoming a little more chaotic and out-of-control than I prefer, for the purpose of the long-term big picture for our family. I can't wait for large family gatherings on holidays complete with daughters-in-law (and maybe a son-in-law??) and grandchildren at our cottage in the country - you know, when we strike it rich during our empty-nest phase! And it'll take several years of our lives turned upside down during the baby phase to reach that big picture. So... here we go! Let the chaos begin. Again.

Dreaming Big

2011-08-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Whew!! These past few weeks have been ridiculously busy! Too busy even for blogging much this summer. We always celebrate a plethora of birthdays within our immediate families in June, July and August (eight birthdays, to be exact), as well as our wedding anniversary, then add in extra holiday-type plans to commemorate summer, a good friend's wedding (Monte was a groomsman), I've been working temporarily from home for Focus for the past five weeks, and other things happening that I won't yet divulge... these past couple months have kept us beyond busy.

Amongst all this busyness Monte has begun training with a company that we're really truly excited about. Back in November a friend of ours asked to meet with us as she had begun training with this company. We were a bit hesitant once we realized finances was the topic of our meeting - who really wants to be brutally honest about their finances to anyone, let alone a friend?! But sitting down with her and her trainer was the most educational hour we've ever spent on our finances. And it's amazing just how much power a little knowledge can give you! We put together a long-term financial plan, and several months later Monte's learning how to teach others about making, spending and saving money wisely - for free. He even got to attend their annual conference in Vegas earlier this month, along with 15,000 other people from Canada and the U.S. What we've come away with the most from these last few months of learning is actually feeling the freedom to dream. Dream BIG for our future. We've experienced many years of frustration, discouragement, and downright despair because of our financial situation that we'd given up dreaming long ago. You don't really realize it when you're in the midst of just trying to make it work month to month, but admitting what you want to see happen in your lifetime, who those dreams come from (God designed us to dream, and dreams big for us, too), and how to actually make them happen is what makes life exciting. And that excitement had been gone from our lives for far too long. Who wants to acknowledge their dreams when you feel like there's no way they'd ever happen? But we've got long lists now of what we want to accomplish in life, and plan to commit those dreams to prayer and put together very purposeful plans to pursue every one of those dreams. It's a freeing feeling to accept that there's so much more to life than trying to make it just day by day, denying any desire to do more than just get those darn bills paid each month.

Have you allowed yourself to dream big lately?

Speech Therapy

2011-07-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

You know those children you can hear halfway across the grocery store screaming like a spoiled little brat, making you wonder what on earth their mother was thinking letting their child get away with despicable behavior like that? Yeah, that's me. And Cody's that unbelievingly shrill child. Almost every time we're out. And then all the time at home. We've been going through a frustrating year or so of trying to get him to pick up some words, just a few at the very least. But, despite our daily efforts, he's still pretty much wordless. In between his grunts and screams is mixed in some word-like sounds to attempt to say "mama," "no" and "dada." And he can roar like one crazy dinosaur. But that's it. And he'll be two next week. So this past week we paid a long-awaited visit (four months, to be exact) to the speech therapist. It was therapy for me to have someone listen to my frustrations, release me of my deep motherly guilt and observe my child for over an hour. There's not a whole lot we can do for him at this point, but she did give me some suggestions as to how to encourage his speech and, in the meantime, to teach him a little more sign language to encourage proper communication versus simply screaming to get what he wants. I love my little Codes, and it breaks my heart to see him so frustrated when he can't communicate. As a mom, I just want to see him happy and doing as well as he possibly can. So I hope these exercises work - and quickly - so we can start to hear about everything going on in that brain of his!

All Stitched Up

2011-05-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not a morning person; I don't function normally until close to 10am every day. So after I get everybody out of bed, dressed and fed, I like to take in my morning coffee in quiet to adjust to the idea of being awake. And so the boys watch a TV show or two along with some apple slices. It's our morning routine and I love it! TV time equals calm, quiet down-time... right? Wrong.

Nate likes to swing by his arms between the two couches in our living room while he watches TV (I guess sitting on the couch is just too darn relaxing). I always caution him to be careful when he does this, but it doesn't ever look too dangerous. His feet are just a couple inches off the ground and his swinging motion is small, and I'm pretty sure I did the same kind of thing when I was younger for fun and never got hurt. But this time his arms must've slipped off the couch arms mid-swing, because his forehead hit the corner of the coffee table, and he was down on the floor crying out in pain. The gash was so deep, I could see where his flesh met his skull. I knew right away he'd need stitches and ran around the house grabbing a cloth to put pressure on the gash, snacks for all of us should we get sent to the ER, and the diaper bag since it was a weekday and I was on my own with both boys. We went to the closest walk-in clinic where the nurse paid great attention to us and bumped us up to the front of the list in a full waiting room. Thankfully the bleeding stopped by the time we got there, and while Nate was definitely in pain and seemed anxious about what would happen next in that dreaded doctor's office, he was playing a little with Cody and being his silly little self. The doctor had to give an injection into the wound to freeze it, and then proceeded to put in three stitches. I had been fine up until the needle was placed into Nate's face... But then the room started to spin and I felt very shaky and about to faint. I felt awful about abandoning Nate right in the middle of getting his very first stitches ever but I knew if I didn't sit down and eat the energy bar I had brought along, I'd be passed out on the floor completely useless. So three times during Nate's stitches I had to sit down and take a few moments to gather myself. Nate screamed through every stitch - and the nurse popped her head in every time to make sure we were okay - but not once did he squirm away or try to avoid getting the stitches. He was incredibly brave, braver than his mama. So I made sure to make up for this horrible experience for the rest of the day, with a slurpee stop, lunch in front of the TV, and building a tent in his room to play in. I hope he learned his lesson - never ever let your feet leave the ground ever again.

Officially a Preschooler

2011-05-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

I registered Nate for preschool this past Sunday. After several months of mulling it over (and missing out on many registration opportunities at various preschools) I decided on putting him in the 2-day-a-week preschool at our local rec centre. I had actually heard great things about the program and after putting him in a Saturday morning sports program at the same place, I felt comfortable with the idea of sending him there twice a week come the fall.

Of course, registration happened to fall on the one weekend Monte was away, and I didn't feel I could ask anyone to watch the boys since most people would be planning to go to church (who registers for preschool on a Sunday, by the way?). So I was plotting away at how to keep both boys content during registration which I expected to be long and boring. Thankfully Monte's parents offered to stay home from church to watch the boys and I was able to go by myself. However, on my way to dropping off the boys across town I recognized a mom of a boy close to Nate's age from the park the previous day, driving in the opposite direction. I panicked, thinking the only place she'd be going so early on a Sunday by herself is to register at the rec centre... And if she's going early to register, so would many other moms. I had heard several stories of mothers lining up for hours - sometimes overnight - to get their kids into a certain preschool. Suddenly I wondered if this registration experience would turn out the same way and I nervously booked it to my in-laws, booted the boys out of the van and raced over to the rec centre, short of breath at the reception desk asking where the long line-up of mothers were for registration only to find out that no one had shown up yet. I sat and waited by myself for over a half hour, and even then when it officially started there were only a handful of other parents there. But in my haste I forgot my cheques, and of course my debit card expired that very day... So I held Nate's spot with my credit card and raced home to get my cheques to pre-pay for the year. It was a stressful morning! And the worst part was that it was stressful only because I made it that way. Sadly, that's the epitomy of me: always turning molehills into mountains and stressing unecessarily about it!

With These Hands

2011-04-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

I meet with a couple of friends once a month to pray for our kids. We share about our triumphs and trials as mothers, support each other in prayer and work through the prayers offered in Stormie Omartian's book "The Power of a Praying Parent." We met last Monday, and since I was feeling quite discouraged in my role as a mom, I spent a good portion of the night unloading onto my unsuspecting friends! It was good to talk to other mothers who I quickly realized have gone through the same things I've been experiencing. And it was great to be able to pray about it with others. I'm a verbal processor, so it's amazing how much smaller my problems seem as soon as I talk about them and feel validated.

On my way home, however, I was listening to praise 106.5. A Family Life program was on, discussing preparing your teen for post-graduation life. I'm really good at tuning out talk radio, especially when it has nothing to do with my own life. But they began to read a poem that caught my attention. It made me realize just how fleeting my moments are with my kids here at home. I know in the blink of an eye I'll be at Nate's graduation, or sending Cody off to college and my heart will ache, wanting to hold them on my lap for bedtime snuggles just one last time. While my days seem long and mundane as a stay at home mom right now, it's only for a brief time and I know I'll never be able to get this time back. So here's that poem that brought tears to my eyes. I'd give credit to whoever wrote it, but they didn't say... It was the youth pastor at their church, at a service centered around sending off their high school grads.

WITH THESE HANDS

With these hands, I gently cradled this child;
Held him close to my heart,
Nursed his wounds and calmed her fears,
Held the books that I would read
And rock this child fast asleep.

With these hands, I made his lunches
And drove the car that carried her to school;
Snapped endless pictures, wrapped countless gifts,
Then did my best to assemble those gifts.

Combed his hair and wiped her tear,
Let her know that I was near
To nurse his wounds and heal her heart
When it would break.

With these hands, I made mistakes,
And with these hands I prayed and prayed and prayed.

These hands are feeble, these hands are worn,
These hands can no longer calm the storms;
These hands have done all they can do;
These hands now release this child, my child
To You.

For Your hands are able,
Your hands are strong,
Your hands alone can calm the storms.
Your hands will continue to do
What they are so gifted to do,

To shape his life and make her new,
Into Your hand receive this child,
For my child I now give back to You.

In the strong name of Jesus,
And with all my heart I pray,
Amen.

Paska

2011-04-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

Nope, it's not a typo. I'm not blogging about pasta. It's paska - one of our family's favourite Easter treats! I waited ever so patiently until April to whip out my recipe, and now I've got a batch whirring in my bread machine. It's an Easter tradition that you don't often hear about until you become familiar with the mennonite community. I'm mennonite only by marriage, so this tradition is fairly new to me. But sweet bread with icing and sprinkles? Sign me up! Here's the recipe I use every spring to celebrate one of the best holidays of the year. Beware: it's for a bread machine and the first time I tried it as a loaf baked right in the machine, it overflowed - big time. It didn't wreck my bread-maker, but the loaf was not pretty! So now I just make it on the dough setting and bake it up however I want in the oven, as directed by my bread machine manual. I've done one giant french-bread-looking loaf, several mini-loaves, and today I'm going to try making paska buns (more icing per square inch of bread!).

Bread Machine Paska
1 c warm water
2 large eggs
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tbsp grated lemon rind
4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp bread machine yeast
Put ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed above; follow your bread machine's directions for making bread, or set the machine on the dough setting and bake the bread the oven. Makes a 2 pound loaf.

ICING: Cream 3 tbsp butter/margarine, then add 2 cups icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 2-3 tbsp milk and mix well. Spread over loaf and top with holiday sprinkles!

Vintage Love

2011-04-04T15:26:00.001-07:00

It all started with a rocking chair - one my parents had from before I can remember. It had seen better days and was being stored in their garage. With Nate brewing in my belly, I figured it would be a great addition to his room. Monte sanded down the chair and painted it white, while I put my finishing touches on it with a little sandpaper around the edges to give it a distressed look. And I was hooked. I loved the look of something that appeared "gently loved" and one of a kind. It adds to our home that country/shabby-chic look that I seem to be drawn to. So whenever the need came up for a piece of furniture, I'd spend weeks scouring local thrift stores in search of the perfect piece. I've refinished a dresser, a desk and a stand for our TV, and I've got a beautiful 1920's hutch waiting for a facelift in my garage, as well as our "new" kitchen table with four mismatched wooden chairs I'm in the middle of painting. I love shopping for vintage furniture, looking for a great deal and visualizing the potential in various pieces. I have to exercise some restraint to only pick up the pieces I actually need! Now if only I remembered to take before and after pictures... Maybe for my next project.

Cody's First Hospital Stay

2011-03-20T16:05:00.000-07:00

The boys and I were playing outside on Friday, taking advantage of the rare lack of rain. I was killing two birds with one stone by throwing the ball around for the dog as well - getting everyone some fresh air and exercise. Bailey got a little too excited and rammed into Cody, knocking him to the ground, the back of his head hitting the pavement first. It was by far the worst accident he'd been in, and I felt horrible for him. We took him to the walk-in clinic just to check things out, and was sent back home with little to worry about. Later that day we were at my parent's place for dinner with my older sister and her family. The kids wanted to play outside and so we all went out to play in the driveway. Cody was keeping busy, chasing balls that were flying around and trying to be a part of the excitement. He tripped over a baseball glove and fell to the ground, hitting his forehead on the pavement. It didn't seem to be that bad of an inury, so we put him to bed and didn't think anything of it. Later on the drive home, he started throwing up and we suddenly felt alarmed, with two injuries to the head in one day. It was 11pm and we had Nate in the car with us, but decided to head straight for the hospital and arranged for Monte's parents to meet us there and take Nate to their place for the night.

After hours of waiting with an overtired, puke-covered toddler, telling the same story over and over and over again to various hospital staff, we were admitted into the pediatric ward around 3am. There was only a single cot in the room shared with another patient, so Monte went home to catch a few hours of sleep while I attempted to get Cody acclimated to his new bed which did not go over well. I got no sleep that night, and Cody slept maybe 6 of the 12-13 hrs he normally gets. We were a miserable pair! Monte relieved me of hospital duty in the morning. After meeting with the pediatrician, who was certain Cody only had a couple minor concussions instead of a skull fracture as diagnosed by the first doctor who saw him, I went home for a much-needed nap and shower. Cody continued to throw up anything he took in, and had a tough time getting any sleep with all the noises around him (whoever thought that room-sharing in peds was a good idea was terribly wrong). We were told that if he continued to get sick to his stomach or if any other symptoms got worse, we would have to proceed with a CT scan which apparently is the radiation equivalent of 250 x-rays - not something we wanted to subject our child to! So we got in touch with many of our friends and family and got praying... and our little guy began to keep down food and water, was able to sleep better and just began to act more like himself. And by the next morning he was downing corn flakes like crazy, feeding me, making faces, and waving to all the cars outside our window. The pediatrician saw him again and gave us the green light to go home, but Cody would have to wear a helmet whenever he's on the go just to be safe, for a month. He's going to hate it!

We felt so supported by our friends and family, especially to those who gave their time to help take care of Nate (who was spoiled the entire time... we were certain the mini-golfing, milkshakes, playground trips and fast food meals would make him wish we stayed at the hospital longer!). We fully felt the affects of those praying for us; I believe Cody got better as fast as he did because of so many people keeping him in their prayers. It was one of the longest weekends of my life, but there were some special moments throughout that made it seem more bearable. My favourite moment was when I was laying on a couch in one of the family rooms, just exhausted, and Cody walked over to me (soother in mouth, blankie in hand) and started rubbing my back. So sweet!

Change... Again

2011-03-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's Monday morning... ugh. And even more so this week as yet another transition looms around the corner. It's Monte's last week at the Wired Monk. We did not foresee this when we first anticipated this new (and seemingly ideal) job opportunity way back last spring. However, life happens, circumstances dictate certain choices, and what we plan so diligently isn't always what ends up. We're not sure what lies ahead for Monte and his career path, but we're looking forward to him having a little time off to spend time as a family and will wait & listen for what God wants for us. Having gone through this several times in the last few years, I'm far less stressed this time. As a control-freak, it's a strange feeling to not feel overwhelmed with anxiety when things like this happen. Instead it's exciting to know that God will take care of us, as He always has, and that we will embark on a new adventure - hopefully soon! We've got bills to pay, kids to take care of, a home to maintain, and so on, but we trust that He will direct us in looking for the best place for Monte to work and in the meantime will give us peace about our current situation.

If you live in Abbotsford, or visit often, please still stop by the coffee shop. Monte is leaving by his own choice, and we hope for great success for the Wired Monk. Neither Monte's cousins, nor Monte & I feel negatively about this decision; it's just one that had to be made.

He Walks!!!

2011-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

I was thinking this day would never come! 19 months old, and my baby is finally walking! He's been walking here and there for some time, but would only take steps if he didn't realize he was doing it. As soon as we'd notice and cheer, he'd drop to the floor. Or if we suggested to him that he walk, he'd get mad and insist on crawling (a slight insight into the stubborn nature we'll face in the years to come?). But today after lunch I got him down from his high chair and he proceeded to walk lap after lap through the kitchen and hallway. He'd fall down, and get right back up again to walk. We were excited when Nate started walking at 13 months, but this seems like a totally different milestone now with Cody... 6 extra months of carrying around a 30 lb "baby" took a lot out of me. My tired lower back and I are thrilled with this change!

Birthday Photos

2011-02-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

Nate turned four on February 13th, and we spent the entire weekend celebrating with a birthday playdate at home with his Langley playgroup kids, a bowling party with several friends from church, and a family get-together with Monte's family and another with mine. It was a busy weekend, but we had a lot of fun!

We love you, Nathan and we're so proud of the little man you're becoming! We are in awe of your gentle spirit, sensitive nature, your thirst for learning anything and everything, and your love for those around you. You brighten our home with your sweet, genuine smile that hides your eyes and your contagious giggle brings us so much joy. God has great things in store for you and we are excited to see your unique and very special qualities put into action as you grow up!

Whispers of God

2011-02-11T14:40:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had a friend who knew what you needed before you even had to say it? Maybe someone who carried your burdens along with you, far more than you ever expected? I have several people like that in my life... People who listen closely to God's promptings to be there for those they love in ways that truly reveal His love for us. One of my friends will wake up in the middle of the night often, burdened to pray for someone specific. And later on she'll learn that something was troubling that person or they were going through something difficult.

I've been so blessed by these people in my life. But it makes me wonder... Am I that person to others? To anyone? I wish I was, but I just don't think I am. And as I think more and more about this, I really long to be that for many people in my life. Especially for my husband and kids. So lately God's been reminding me daily the need to stop and listen to His voice. And that the best way to do that is to spend more time in prayer, and to read my bible more. Both things I really struggle with. So, it's so funny when our church small group leaders take off for a month to Thailand for missions, and Monte & I are asked to take over as leaders, what do you suppose the 4-week study topic might be? "The Power of a Whisper" by Bill Hybels - the importance of listening to the whispers of God and having the courage to obey. Sheesh, do you think I'm supposed to learn something here?? I love it when things like this become so obvious... Like being hit over the head with one of those giant cartoon clubs. We've just gotten started with the first session, but I already know that hearing and obeying God's voice usually requires some sort of personal sacrifice. However, I know that the results far outweigh the sacrifices, and what greater way to love the people around you than to tune in to what God wants for them.

Too Many Tillys

2011-02-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

When I was about 12 years old I saw a drama presentation of Frank Peretti's book, Tilly. I sat in the front row in my home church in Kelowna, soaking in every minute of the story, and by the end of the play the tears that I had been holding back burst through and I sobbed with a heavy heart. That story revealed a passion within me for unborn babies and their frightened, unprepared mothers that feel cornered into abortion. Even now I can't get through the story of Tilly without it affecting me. Years later, working at Focus on the Family, I encountered the same topic covered by Dr. Dobson in his monthly newsletter. The letter featured a photo, a very famous picture, of a surgery being done on an unborn baby. The surgeon's finger, outside of the mother, is being grasped by the hand of the baby still in the uterus. The image is burned into my brain; it's just unbelievable. After reading the letter, I spent the evening curled up on my bed, mourning the loss of so many babies who never even had a chance at life. That passion, since my pre-teen years, has never left me and I always knew I wanted to do something to help mothers who feel there is no other option than abortion. I just never knew how to go about getting involved.

This past Christmas, an opportunity came up for me to help organize our church's involvement with our city's Community Services annual Christmas party. It put me in touch with a staff member at their Family Centre and through meetings with her came another opportunity... One involving high-risk pregnancy groups. I'll be organizing a group of women within my church, probably young moms who have time to give during the week, to cook up a meal for these expectant mothers once a month. I'm not sure exactly how this will work or what it will eventually look like, but I'm beyond excited about digging into this whole-heartedly. I believe God has put this passion inside of me, and for a purpose. I just can't wait to put it into action and see where it leads.

Smartphone Heartbreak

2011-01-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

To the cellular phone (and all it's inconsiderate users):

You have broken my heart. You've stirred up an anger in me so strong, I've never felt anything like it. And it feels strange to be so incredibly mad at an inanimate object. You've snuck into millions of peoples' lives under the guise of being efficient and convenient, yet that's trumped by your ability to make people rude, inconsiderate and self-involved. They can't keep from being curious every time you ring with a phone call, ding with a text, or alert that there's a new email, and so they stop and drop everything immediately to give you their full attention, making them ignore the people they're with, or the places they're at. Damn you, cell phone, for turning wonderful family moments into "Shhhh - So&So is on the phone!" or for interrupting important conversations, to finish with a half-focused participant with one eye glued to the messages coming through on the phone, or for forcing mealtimes into a great internet surfing opportunity instead of enjoying the company of those around the table.

I have never had a cell phone, nor will I ever in my lifetime. To my grave I will go having never been held hostage to this ridiculous addiction to be constantly within contact of the rest of the world. I have experienced first-hand the hold cell phones can take on people, and how it affects the ones closest to them. I have felt second-rate, unimportant, disrespected and just plain ignored and I refuse to ever involve myself in what the world views as such a resourceful tool. There's something to be said about being unreachable for awhile, to give the person you're with the undivided attention they should receive, giving them the impression that they're the only one you want to be spending your time with at that moment. That's what our world has been missing since the birth of the cell phone: the value of time spent with others uninterrupted. And I'm certain, we'll see how it changes all of us and our relationships over the decades to come.

Spent

2011-01-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

I got the flu on Monday. Like, really bad. I NEVER get the flu. Once a decade is my average, so when I get it, it hits me hard! It's Thursday afternoon and for the first time since Sunday I have an appetite, and can actually eat something. I tell ya, it really affects your energy level when you can't eat. Especially when your 24/7 job of taking care of your kids doesn't stop. I've said it before... someone could make a killing offering sick days to moms: coming into their homes, taking care of their kids, cooking, cleaning house, etc. I'd pay for that.

Monte seems to be fighting this flu too, because yesterday we were both just toast by 4pm. He was on the couch and I was curled up on our bed while our kids watched one TV show after another. It was one of those evenings where you kept looking at the clock, counting down how many minutes til bedtime. And there were always just too many minutes. So after the dinner I made but couldn't eat because of nausea, we tossed the boys into the bath for so long they were all pruny and shrively. And this is when family moments happen - when you're both sick and exhausted, and wondering how you're going to make it through another day all by yourselves...

Our half naked boys danced up a storm in Nate's room to some cranked Imagination Movers tunes while Monte & I laid on the floor, killing ourselves laughing. It was just the best medicine ever, and made those last few minutes before bedtime pass so quickly. There's something so wonderful about little kids just losing themselves in music; Nate with his crazy moves and intense facial expressions, and Cody furiously stomping his chubby little legs, trying to copy what Nate does. It was one of those moments where you just wanted it to keep going so you wouldn't ever forget it, cause you know you'll never get it back.

The Screamer and The Liar

2011-01-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what we forget, as parents - all the various phases of infant/toddlerhood. I'm pretty sure we were designed intentionally to not recall these frustrating memories; most parents would probably stop having children after the first one if we could vividly remember the not so fun times.

However, I'm trying my hardest to think back to Nate at a year and a half, and I just don't remember him having the kind of temper that Cody seems to flare at us all day long... every day. The kid HAS to have everyone around him know just how angry he is at whatever is bothering him by letting out raging screams at the top of his lungs. It's embarrassing to go out in public with him, because he gets mad about everything! There is no pleasing this child. And I'm on the fence as to how to discipline him... He's very much aware of when he's in trouble and knows the word 'no' but he doesn't seem to be ready for time-outs yet. For now I've resorted to flicking his hand to reprimand, after several failed attempts to have him obey by just using words. But, man, this kid has a temper like no other. I'm frightened for the future.

And Nathan - my sweet firstborn - has learned to lie. And I don't mean those really obvious toddler fibs, I mean full-on stories that he repeatedly sticks to. I never knew how difficult it could be to explain as simply as possible the difference between lying and telling the truth. And I hate having to constantly suspect that he might be lying to me. It's just so sad to watch such a pure and innocent child dig himself deeper and deeper into our terrible human nature!

Yep - we're a real treat, our household. I guess I've got my work cut out for me.

To Preschool or Not to Preschool?

2011-01-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

That is the question. And apparently I should've been making this decision way back in the fall, when enrollment began for 2011. Who knew preschool was such a big deal?

I was wrestling with this question last night as I laid awake in bed. I pictured myself dropping Nate off at school, leaving him to his own activities completely independent of me - and my eyes welled up with tears. "This is it," I thought. If we go ahead with preschool, this begins the start of his gradual independence through school. Am I ready for this? Even as I think about it now, my stomach starts turning and I don't feel so well. Oh boy. Am I going to be a treat on the first day of kindergarten!

Neither Monte nor I went to preschool, so it wasn't even a discussion when we first talked about having kids. But now that kindergarten is a full day, five days a week, I could see the argument for preschool as a stepping stone to ease kids into the routine of school. So now begins my search for a potential 'right fit' for Nate... Should we opt for preschool. Montessori? Wind & Tide? Church-based program? 3 day vs. 5 day, morning or afternoon? Sheesh! Wish me luck.

Christmas Pics

2010-12-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

100th Post!

2010-12-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve, and my 100th post! I suppose it's a good time to reflect on these past few years that I've been blogging. I started up this blog right after Nate was born as a way to post pictures and updates on our new little one, because our internet was too slow to send pictures to far away friends and family via email. I'm thankful for this way of keeping record of major events and general happenings in our lives; I'm not a journaler (is that a word?), nor did I manage to keep any sort of baby book for Nate or Cody, so this is it!

Nathan was a wonderful surprise, as was Cody. But as a person who tries desperately to live a life completely planned, safe and predictable (sounds boring, I know!) both surprises threw at me major curve balls. We can predict and schedule our lives all we want, but in the end all we end up doing is making adjustments to our tidy little plans and going with the flow. We really have no control at all. And as I'm sitting here now, doing a little reflecting, it's hitting me that I needed to learn to let go. And being thrown into parenthood, with very little financial security or long-term plan for the future in terms of working, housing, etc. has taught me first-hand how to trust in God. This blog is way of keeping record of those invaluable life lessons so I can look back and remember how He has loved and cared for my family and I.

We've dealt with stress over money matters, real estate decisions, and job outlooks. I've faced serious anxiety over loving my family so much that the thought of possibly losing them paralyzed me emotionally. We've grieved over several who lost their lives before it seemed like their time here was done, and tried to find justification in that - those losses brought me many questions that still remain unanswered. And even now as we felt we were coming out of a tough time, we're facing different struggles... It just never ends as long as we're here on earth, and I'm thankful for the promise of a perfect life when we're through with this one! It's what I want my boys to learn as they grow; life can be tough and unfair, but we're promised that God will never leave us. Tomorrow as we celebrate Christmas day, we'll remember that day in history. He sent His son so long ago, and it has changed us now, forever.

The Art of Leaving the House

2010-12-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

I used to pride myself on being a multi-tasker. One of my first jobs was working in the photocopy department at Staples, where I could have seven machines running, answer the phone, take copy orders and ring people through all at once without a second thought. It was so satisfying to be that productive. I'm learning as a stay-at-home mom that productivity is irrelevant, and attempting to be efficient at any task will only cause frustration!

Take leaving the house, for example. I dread it. I remember when Nate was first born, learning to add 15 minutes to my travel time if I had to be punctual, as so many variables could cause delays, even just in the attempt to walk out the front door. Now with two boys, sometimes I wonder how bad would it be to become a hermit? Here's how the average attempt to leave the house goes...

I get Cody's socks on, which he immediately pulls off, so I straddle him to quickly get his shoes on as well, which will hopefully secure his socks long enough to get into the car. Wrestle him down to put on his hoodie and vest - one down, another to go! Nate's much more compliant, and able to put on his slip-on shoes by himself while I get his hoodie and vest on. But by this time, the dog staring at us through the sliding door has figured out we're about to go outside and starts barking and jumping at the door, panicked to be apart of our outing, and Cody is crying at the front door because he's dressed and ready to go, so why aren't we going? And then the phone rings, and I can't find my keys or I've lost the list I made to keep my outing on track. While I'm putting on my own shoes and jacket, I sense a smell coming from the littlest one demanding a visit to the change table that would entail stripping him not only of the outerwear I struggled to get him in, but all his clothes as well. Dirty diaper changed (and I'm now hot & sweaty as I'm dressed for winter weather inside); attempt #2 to wrestle my wiggly worm back into his layers of clothing. Grab my purse, keys and list, run out the door with both boys, get them strapped into their car seats and sit down to take a deep breath. Finally able to stop for a moment I realize I have to visit the little girl's room, but there's no way I'm doing all that over again so I run my errands with a different kind of urgency, and with two boys soon complaining of hunger since it took us a half hour to leave the house! Ahhh! Can you tell I get easily overwhelmed? It's safe to say the idea of adding another child to this household is very happily placed in the "maybe one day - but not now" category.

The Most Wonderful Time of Year!

2010-12-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

It's here!! December is underway, and the countdown to Christmas has begun! This is by far our family's most favourite time of year. And while we're unusually busy this year, I'm still determined to slow down enough to savour every special moment of the season.

Last weekend kicked off the first of five Christmasy weekends, with a visit to the Christmas Show at the Tradex (not worth paying for, by the way unless you're in the market for a Dr. Ho or a steam-cleaner -- thankfully we wasted no money, as we were given tickets through doing business for the Wired Monk) and our annual Christmas shopping date. Today Nate & I went along with my parents and sister to pick out their Christmas tree, and then decorated the outside of their home with lights. I have never missed the tradition of inspecting every single tree in a Christmas tree lot (or sometimes, three or four lots!) to choose the perfect tree, even since getting married and having kids, and I don't intend to skip out on that tradition any time soon. Then tomorrow, Monte & I will attend Broadway Church's annual Singing Christmas Tree. We look forward to next weekend as well, when we will help out with the Abbotsford Community Services Christmas Party and we will also take the boys to Bright Nights at Stanley Park.

Christmas is such a special time of year, with various traditions holding a special place in my heart. I'm so thankful to have my family close by, so we can continue many of the same activities we began when we were young. And I can't wait for my boys to remember and anticipate the traditions we've incorporated into our own family's Christmas. Most of all, I am grateful for the reason for celebrating Christmas: Christ's birth. Christmas carols, advent and scripture around Jesus' birth often overwhelm me. To think that God sent his son for me... for you. How could it not be the most special time of year? What an incredible gift.

Busy, busy, busy!

2010-11-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

Haven't had much time to blog lately... Been SUPER DUPER BUSY!! But we're excited because all the time and hard work we've put into the coffee shop is finally paying off -- The Wired Monk opens tonight! Monte's been putting in 12+ hour days, plus working at his second job, and I've felt very much on my own with the boys while putting in a few hours most days towards getting the Wired Monk up & running. Poor Tim & Sharon have basically been living and breathing everything Wired Monk for the last few months. It will be good to get the bistro going, and get back into a weekly routine. And thankfully Monte only has two weeks left of his second job, and I finish taking care of another kid next week.

The Great Outdoors

2010-10-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

Most people prefer summer over the other seasons, and get outside to enjoy the weather more than any other time of year. But we love fall, and tend to spend more time outside in the crisp, cool air than we do in the summer. Here are a few photos of our family enjoying the great outdoors during our favourite time of year...

Transition Time

2010-10-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Monte set his alarm for 5am, rolled out of bed (after his usual dozen slaps to the snooze button) and left for Gourmet Chef this morning for the last time. He begins working for the Wired Monk on tuesday, after the Thanksgiving holiday monday, and we're excited to be in the midst of transition! We're not sure what these next few weeks will look like, since there's no workplace to actually go to. I think there will be a good mix of self-motivation for Monte and an endless list of urgent tasks to be done in order to help get the coffee shop up and running in as little time as possible. It will definitely be an adjustment, Monte having never worked from home before, and then adding in the fact that the boys and I are around the house (as well as the little girl I'm looking after). It's really only setting in now, these changes.

I've been doing a few hours of work here and there for the coffee shop, setting up wholesale accounts, researching local companies, and looking into possible merchandise. I've really enjoyed digging into something other than diapers, bottles and toys. Our dining room table, however, has turned into a library of catalogues, post-its and samples. And portions of our basement are soon to be turned into a mini-warehouse, housing gift baskets/containers and their contents (including to-die-for biscotti and amazing, organic dark chocolate... Oh the temptations!).

We drive by the location often, and get updates from Tim & Sharon on the progress of the shop. It's fun to go inside when no one's there and imagine the finished product. We even took the boys there a few weekends ago, and Nate was enthusiastic about it all.

Motherhood: The Venting Sessions

2010-09-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

I often resist the urge to use this blog as a sounding board for my motherly woes. I'm not sure why, since I'm pretty sure my few readers are primarily female and every girl knows what a good venting session will do to cure a problem. But it's the reason for no posts in September... All I could come up with over the last few weeks are my frustrations as a mother, and therefore I've stayed away from blogging. With the exception of today.

I've been in a slump. Every little interaction with my kids annoys me, and I just want my own space, my own time. I so identified with Tina Fey in "Date Night" where her fantasy is to be alone in a hotel room with a diet Sprite. I was sitting in that dark theatre, months ago, smiling in agreement - I felt so validated. From the moment I wake up in the morning I'm scheming as to how I can get some alone time. So I put on a somewhat fake smile, muster up all the patience and tolerance I have, and plug away at the day, with their 7:30pm bedtime as the grand prize. I love my boys with all my heart, which is probably why this confusing range of emotions has got me stumped. And as soon as the house is quiet, with the boys in their beds, I sit in my long-awaited peaceful moment and cry with guilt. I'm not sure if it's because I'm female or a mother... or maybe a bit crazy?? But I cannot figure myself out to resolve this so I can go back to loving my role as a mother and do it to the best of my ability. And I so badly want to do that!

Thankfully Monte has been a good listener (and probably resisted the urge to "fix" my problems, as men typically feel compelled to do) to help me sort through my confusion and frustration. But I suppose the worst part about this is that my boys are so great. They aren't acting up or pushing my buttons - no more than usual. They're fairly well-behaved, and any annoyances I find with them are just part of kids being kids. So, I'll chalk it up to a challenging phase in my motherhood, knowing well that this is probably a familiar experience for most moms, and make a point of planning extra nights out with friends, or hiding away in my own little space in our home more often.

Part II

2010-08-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

So fast forward to a few months ago. We still had no ideas for a new job for Monte, and he was just sending out his resume to random places hoping for a lead. He was even considering going into a trade just because it seemed to be the only possible option left (and for those of you who don't know, Monte has many talents and natural abilities but working with tools is not one of them!).

Then, out of the blue, we got an email from Monte's cousins Tim & Sharon wondering if we were free to get together for coffee. Turned out they were in the process of securing a Wired Monk franchise, set to open in Abbotsford (about a 5 minute drive from our house) and wanted Monte to come on board to handle the food/menu. We met and talked coffee for hours, excited to hear about their business plans and how Monte could potentially be involved. They left us with a business plan, lots to think about, and the question of "how much would Monte need to earn?" Monte had been really wrestling with the idea of leaving a career in the food industry as it seemed as though God had gifted him with this talent and ability, and provided him with a year of training completely paid for (a $20,000 tuition covered by the government... when does that ever happen?). So to have this opportunity come along, with the ability to state your pay, was unbelievable. And for the first couple months, while all these plans were in limbo waiting for final approval and such, we were sure this was too good to be true. But Tim called at the end of July confirming that the lease had been signed and everything was a go, including Monte's position. And ever since we've been immersed in coffee bistro plans with them; they've been so great to get our opinions and ask our thoughts on so many aspects in the planning process even though this is entirely their business venture.

We're really excited about the future and can't wait to witness the coffee shop's success. It's going to be a lot of hard work and also a lot of fun! We don't know where this opportunity is going to lead us, but we're reminded that God can work outside the box. We often forget that He is bound to no limits. We never would have seen this opportunity coming, and yet it's probably one of the best-suited jobs out there for Monte and his set of skills.

Grab a cup of coffee...

2010-08-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

...and get comfy. We've got something to share.

Over two years ago we decided it was time for a job change for Monte. He was miserable at work, not treated very properly, and was paid terribly - a low enough wage that he had to pick up a second job just to cover the bills. We didn't know at first if this change meant simply a new environment, or a complete switch of professions. We didn't even really know where to start. But we knew it was time for a change. So, we started dreaming, trying to tap into the "pre-marriage/pre-kids Monte" to figure out what his true passions were, outside of the pressure of providing for his family. And we landed at the opportunity for him to get into some form of law enforcement. Before applying to culinary school in 2003, he had a real interest in becoming a police officer, but at the time they were only hiring applicants with a degree related to law. And the RCMP were only looking for those who were of ethnic minority.

Looking into law enforcement over five years later, the requirements were totally different and it looked as though should he be accepted into almost any law inforcement program, not only would his training be paid for, but he would be paid a reasonable hourly wage as well while being trained. Seemed like an answer dropped right onto our laps from the heavens! But four months into the intensely in-depth (and quite costly!) application process, the door closed. Monte's application had ended. And our dreams were shattered. We were so sure this was where God wanted us... Now what? Back to square one, but quite shaken and unsure of the future.

Months and months of truly seeking what God's purpose was in that discouraging process (so that we wouldn't experience that kind of disappointment again) and praying for His direction in whatever new pursuit came our way, and we felt stuck. No realistic options; no opportunity that Monte could get excited about. Little did we know that we were being taught priceless lessons and experiencing God in ways we never could have had we not felt so weak and vulnerable. One experience, for instance, was being a part of our church life group. The support, prayer and encouragement was unlike anything we had experienced in our lives and we learned a lot about our own faith, and the importance of letting others carry us through tough times. It was a safe place to ask questions we were too scared to even acknowledge... Not knowing what kind of void the answers could create. Another experience of God's provision and faithfulness was not being able to afford groceries and having grocery store gift cards snuck into my purse or being given a huge bag of food essentials out of the blue, by people who didn't know there was a real need and at just the right time.

But having gone through it all, I would do it again in an instant because of the more intimate relationship it has brought our family with our Saviour. After all, when life is all said and done, what is leftover? What happens when the life we cling to, so desperately at times, is over? These situations and experiences, while instrumental to our faith, are only for a moment. It's the end that we're truly living for. And at that, I'll think I'll leave the rest for another day. To be continued...

Summer Update

2010-08-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

The last of July, and into August, was a busy time for us. Too busy to blog much, I guess. We hosted our very first exchange student - a 15 yr old boy from Japan - for just under three weeks. It didn't go as planned, and I think both Monte and I were a bit deflated after that experience. But we had already signed up with a different organization to host another student, starting yesterday, and so we hoped and prayed that this one would work out better. So far, so good!

Much of our family was flying in and out of the country and since Monte loves airports more than anything (that's not sarcasm, he really does) he and Nate chauffeured members of our family to and from the airport several times. Monte's grandma passed away this month, as well. She lived 102 years! She lived out in Winnipeg, so Monte and his family flew out there for five days to attend the funeral and spend time with their relatives. It was really great that he could go back to visit his grandma's home and honour the fond memories he has of her from his childhood. I only met her once - she came to our wedding - but from the stories Monte had for me, she sounded like a wonderful, well-respected woman who loved God and her family with all her heart. The kind of woman I'd love to be someday.

And lastly, but not least, there's been a job change in the works for Monte over the last few months. It's still a bit early to get into all the details, but we're really excited about the future and can't wait to get this new challenge underway. We are truly, truly blessed... The stories God has made out our lives is a genuine testimony of how we have no idea what we're doing or what we want but He makes it right anyways, in His own time and in a way we'd never expect. And sometimes we get angry, bitter and resentful as it seems to take forever to get to that place, and we forget the purpose in it all, but He never seems to hold that against us. Thank goodness.

Birthdays

2010-07-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

Cody celebrated his first birthday on the 13th, and I recognized my 30th birthday on the 23rd. The celebrations have been spread out, starting in June and another to come in August... It's always been tricky having a birthday smack dab in the middle of summer! Here are a few pics. And an apology for the recent lack of pictures (I personally enjoy blogs with lots of photos). Our camera's memory card was full and suddenly felt photographically paralyzed. A little trip south of the border to pick up another cheap card solved that problem.

Drama, Drama, Drama

2010-07-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

Sundays used to be a great day for Monte & I, pre-kids. We lived out in Surrey and chose to attend church in White Rock, at Peace Portal Alliance. They would offer the same morning service in the evening on Sundays, and so we enjoyed sleeping in and took the day at whatever pace we wanted until 6pm when the service started. We should have enjoyed more the "leisurely-ness" of those weekends... Of those laid-back Sundays that went according to our plan, to our schedule and we did what we felt like whenever we felt like it.

Sundays these days around our house are nothing but drama. Nate's copping an attitude that's difficult to deal with, especially when we're trying so hard to get out the door on time. He suddenly decides he doesn't want to go to church, and completely shuts down. He won't go to church, and therefore he won't go to the bathroom before we go. He fights the kids' church sign-in when we get there, and outright refuses to enter the room where a dozen other preschoolers are playing with toys (how dare us, evil parents, subject our son to such fun and play!). And then occasionally Cody concludes that the nursery is not the ideal place to spend an hour and a half, and so whenever I'm not trying to coerce Nate into kids' church I'm consoling Cody, attempting to calm him down enough to leave him under someone else's care so I can get in just a few minutes of grown-up time in the service. It makes me wonder if Sundays are even worth the effort right now. You know, when you're yelling at your little one to hurry up and get ready to go worship the Lord? Or sitting outside on the church curb with him during an extra long time-out? Sometimes I feel like I'm just relocating my work from home to church; it's frustrating to not get that break that I tend to expect out of Sunday church. However, being a parent has taught me that expectations are cause for disappointment, and my experiences as a mother are much more gratifying when I look for the joy in the circumstances. Now I just need to figure out how to do that... with grace.

My Angry List

2010-07-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm the queen of to-do lists. I usually have two or three going at a time. Monte often makes fun of me and my lists. The thing about a to-do list is that during times in my life when I just don't have time to get it all done, the to-do list helps me prioritize. I get overwhelmed by the endless tasks that need to be done and jotting them down on a notepad makes me feel like I've got it under control. Today, however, my to-do list turned into my angry list. I no longer felt satisfied by gathering my weekly tasks with a pen and paper; this time I needed to write down the unfinished tasks that made me feel mad! And it was just as satisfying. From tripping over things in our cluttered garage to the forgotten leftovers rotting at the back of the fridge to the mail/papers that always seem to accumulate on the dining room table. I can't handle it anymore! Let's hope my anger will fuel a desire to see these tasks completed.

Trashed Toe

2010-07-02T22:49:00.000-07:00

Canada Day was supposed to be a quiet day at home, just me and Cody, while Monte and Nate took his parents to the airport and spent a good part of the day out together. I was really looking forward to it; there's something so relaxing to me about enjoying my own space in peace and quiet. So I put Cody down for his morning nap, and take Bailey outside before sitting down to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee all by myself. But as Bailey and I come back into the house I can hear Cody playing with his mobile in his crib and I remembered that should he pull the entire mobile apart, a small piece holding it all together could easily find it's way into Cody's mouth and he would choke on it. So I spring into action, running up the two stairs from the living room to Cody's room down the hall. Bailey must've had the same concern, as she also ran up the stairs just under my feet and I bail, landing funny on my left foot. It hurt pretty bad, so I look down at the toe that's pulsing with pain and it's definitely curved out of it's usual shape. But sometimes the little toes get squished up on each other, so I try bending it back and immediately regret touching it at all. I've never broken a bone in my life, but I had a suspicion that that's what had just happened. Since I was home on my own with Cody, I tried to ignore it and went on with my day (after all, there's not a whole lot you can do for a broken toe, right?). Well, by the time Monte got home, the top of my foot had turned purple and the pain was hard to ignore. So I agreed to Monte's persistent advice and sought out medical attention. Mental note: Canada Day is THE day to go to a walk-in clinic or to the hospital. I was the only one at both the walk-in and in the x-ray department at the hospital. They figured it's a fracture, but my doctor won't get the results until next week. So for the next few weeks I'm hobbling around on one and a half feet with a white bandage up to my ankle. Who knew one little toe could be so high-maintenance? The real disappointment in this mishap is that we had to cancel (or at least postpone) our 7th wedding anniversary plans, since we were going to hang out in Seattle for the day and that would include a lot of walking.

Three is Tricky

2010-06-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

I'm a few weeks into this whole taking care of another kid every day thing. It's been quite the transition! But it's really made me think about whether or not we'd consider having another baby (jury's still out on that one...). I've always considered Nate to be a very social kid and thought this would be like a really really long playdate for him - what kid wouldn't love having another one over to play every day? However, it's revealed his competitive nature and how possessive he is over his stuff. Cody on the other hand loves having around another person closer to his size. He enjoys getting in there with the kids and playing with 'big kid stuff.'

Since all our family on the Horban side is heading out of the country for summer vacation, we got together to celebrate birthdays: Megan's 28th and Cody's first! I wasn't sure what to expect with Cody tasting his first cupcake (since Nate wanted nothing to do with sugar of any kind until he was 2 years old) but one tiny taste of chocolate icing, and that cupcake was demolished within minutes!

My Best Friend... Husband, Father, Leader

2010-06-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Monte bought me an under-the-cabinet radio/CD player for the kitchen for Christmas, and so we have Praise 106.5 on pretty much all day. It's nice to have on in the background while I cook and it sometimes reminds me to be a little more patient and show a little more grace to my boys when we're in the middle of baby/preschooler drama! But the other day I heard a song that really resonated with me. Sanctus Real sings a song called "Lead Me" and it's a prayer of a husband/father's heart. After hearing it a few more times (Praise is not exactly known for their vast selection of songs!) and being totally affected by it, I went online to Sanctus Real's myspace page and read through the lyrics. In it I recognized pieces of Monte; I knew intimately the heartache and hope expressed through this song. It brought me to tears as I listened. What an essential and beautiful message not only for men, but for the women they're leading. I really needed a reminder to pray for Monte every day. It's an incredible responsibility and privilege to be a man, created to love and follow God throughout his entire life AND to lead his family in the same way, no matter what. As a wife who wants to follow her husband's leadership, I know the best way I can support Monte is by continually asking God to show him how to lead, and to give him the strength and courage to do what it takes as our leader.

Lead Me by Sanctus Real

Recipe Blog

2010-06-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday I sit down with my notepad, recipe box and grocery store flyers to plan my meals for the week and make my grocery list, usually with a cup of coffee and a muffin in the morning before heading off to church. I love preparing my meal plans and digging out "lost" recipes from the back of my recipe box; I find it so satisfying when I can get something organized in our noisy, busy, cluttered home. But every so often I feel totally stumped and can't come up with anything worth making (or eating) for the week. From conversations with friends and reading status updates on facebook, it seems like most of us cooks feel tapped out from time to time. So I decided to start a blog where I can collect and share some of my favourite recipes, and hopefully new recipes will be shared in the comments section. Beware, I am no gourmet cook; I didn't go through in-depth training at a culinary institute like my husband. Some recipes are loved by our family because they're so simple and fun. Some recipes are healthy and low-fat, while others throw all that out the window. And everything I enjoy making can be found at a regular grocery store. If you have a favourite recipe or two, please share it! I could use some fresh ideas.

Bye Bye Baby... Hello Toddler

2010-06-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

I was so on top of recording Nate's milestones during his first year; I'm not doing so well with Cody's. Well, he's on the move now and is a very determined little guy. He keeps me busy! He's crawling, pulling himself up, climbing stairs, even cruising around furniture a little. While I'm saddened by the thought of no longer having my little baby to snuggle with, I'm really excited to see Cody walk and interact more with Nate. Cody gets so energized by the people around him and I can tell he just wants to be included. Once he becomes a little more sturdy and mobile, he'll hopefully be less frustrated with having to just be the spectator.

Today's our first complete day on the bottle... Cody's been weaning himself over the last few months and while I tried to fight it at first, I eventually embraced the idea of bottle-feeding and slowly moved to formula. We're both happier now. I never loved nursing but knew it was best for him and my own preferences weren't a good enough reason to bottle-feed. Ten months was a pretty good run.

He's cutting his one-year molars on the bottom, making 10 teeth in total in six months. No wonder we're so sleep-deprived and cranky! He weighs 24 lbs, and is wearing 18 month clothes. He babbles a lot (and VERY loudly) but hasn't said his first word yet. Cody prefers finger foods over pureed baby food; I have to get creative with his meals, since I have a freezer full of homemade baby food. And he loves watching Mickey Mouse on TV - it's fun to watch how excited he gets when Mickey makes his appearance.

Living the Dream

2010-05-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've always known I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I struggled through career and personal planning classes in high school because "mom" didn't make the career list and nothing else appealed to me like being a mother did. Of course, when you dream up your life long purpose it's always in the most ideal form... Being a mother definitely has it's ups and downs and it's not always the way I pictured it, but I still feel as though I'm living my dream. I love my boys with all my heart (maybe more!) and I am privileged to be at home with them each day. It's not for every mom, and for those of you mothers who juggle a job outside the home in addition to all of life's other demands I applaud you... It takes a very strong and selfless person to be able to do all that you do in a single day. I worked 20 hrs a week from home after my mat leave with Nate and that was exhausting!

In our day and age, though, it's tricky financially to make it work living off of one income. No matter what your spouse does for a living, it always seems to be tight. I suppose we have our previous "lives" to compare it to, when we were both working full-time and had dispensable income. As of July I'll be done my mat leave with Cody and it was really stressing me out. I shouldn't have been stressed because all my life (especially my adult life, when there seems to be more at stake) God has never failed me and ALWAYS provides what we need. So I did up our budget and figured out exactly what we needed, and started to pray about it. Usually something like "God, we need this and I can't even imagine how we'll get it, but I know you can take care of it." And God, as always, blew me away. A few weeks into this constantly weighing on me, I got a call from Monte's mom. A doctor in her office was looking for part-time childcare for her 2 1/2 year old daughter, starting in June. And it would pay the EXACT amount we needed. So I've started looking after this little girl a few mornings a week to ease into this new schedule, and to get her comfortable with being in our home. I hope that she and Nate will become good friends, and that she will one day drive by our house to show someone she loves where she spent a good portion of her childhood, with fond memories. Sure, it's a lot of work, but I'm at home with our boys where I want to be. And I get to be a part of another kid's childhood. I am truly thankful for the way God answers prayers.

Healthy Choices

2010-05-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

Ever since I went from having a job that kept me on my feet 8 hours a day to sitting at a desk 8 hours a day, weight loss has constantly been a goal of mine. But it's not easy, especially as you get older and your metabolism slows down. I've never been a fan of diets, and don't feel they work for long-term success, so over the past couple of years I've been trying to make some permanent healthy changes in my lifestyle. In the last few weeks, I've especially made an effort to eat better: using whole wheat flour instead of white as much as possible, adding in ground flax to baking, and making whole wheat pasta and brown rice at dinner. Last week I made cookies from a recipe I found on a website called Whole Grain Gourmet, which exchanged olive oil for butter and honey for sugar. They turned out pretty good, for a healthy cookie! And earlier this week I made quinoa for the first time, which is high in protein, fibre and calcium (among other things). It was also tasty which is great because I'm always looking for ways to get more protein, and in a grain no less! The down side to making healthier meals and snacks is that the three year old at the table prefers the old stuff, and mealtimes - which were already frustrating - are even more drawn out and dramatic.

I'm also trying to be more intentional about excerising daily. I've always been on my feet since having kids, but it's totally different than getting your heartrate up for a good 20 minutes. Now that we have a dog I really enjoy going for walks, usually by myself once Monte gets home from work. It's amazing how getting some fresh air and exercise puts a new perspective on your day. I love my walks with Bailey; I spend the time thinking and praying and it's just the perfect change of pace for me.

The Boys

2010-04-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, coffee time. After the usual chaos of the morning - ignoring the fact that both boys are awake (I'm so not a morning person), getting them up, changing & dressing Cody, helping Nate with the potty and teaching him how to get dressed, letting the dog out, feeding everyone, and somehow finding a minute to get some breakfast for myself and squeezing in a shower while keeping Cody content and breaking up potentially dangerous situations between Nate and Bailey (Bailey seems to think Nate's just another puppy, and Nate thinks of Bailey as something he can control) - I relish the quiet time when Cody's napping and Nate settles down for a little TV time and some apple slices. It's the best part of my morning!

Cody's on the verge of crawling; he sort of scooches forward by pushing with his toes. He has finally cut his two front teeth, making it four on the top and four on the bottom. And he's been feeding himself rice puffs and cheerios for a few months now. He is very vocal, especially in expressing his frustration and anger when he's sitting in his highchair with no food. He's seriously a little porker. I checked back on my old posts to see what milestones Nate reached at Cody's age... Wow, what a difference! Nate was waving, clapping, crawling, pulling himself up. Even saying his first word! Crazy. I suppose it's a combination of differences in personality and having a lot more time to just play and interact with a firstborn than with your second. I know Cody will get there at his own pace, and I certainly don't want to compare my boys. It just surprised me to read the differences between Nate & Cody at 9 months.

And Nate... what can I say? What a whirlwind of activity this boy has become! We were all sick last week and even then he was tearing around the house and chatting endlessly. He's still asking a billion questions a day which sometimes drives me crazy! He's learning to count from 10 to 20, and we found an Elmo placemat at Wal-Mart recently which has been helping him learn to recognize numbers. Best dollar we ever spent! We play Memory (the matching game) and he surprises me with how much he remembers. He's doing very well with potty-training, with charts, stickers and rewards to motivate him. We're concentrating now on getting through an entire day in underwear without any accidents. He especially loves running around in just his undies! He's figuring out how to do a lot of things on his own which is exciting for him, but at three years old he's not quite aware of all the dangers that opens up for him. In just one day I discovered that he could unlock and open the front door, turn on the faucet for the bath tub and turn on the hose in the garage. There's nothing like finding your front door wide open with your preschooler wandering outside, or discovering your deep-freeze is sitting in a pool of water in your garage. So I'm facing a new challenge of how to encourage him in exploring his independence while teaching him the dangers that lie within that independence. It's exhausting!

Knee Surgery

2010-04-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

I seem to have failed miserably at blogging more often... Two months was a pretty good start, though. I've never been much for change, and March held some big adjustments. I suppose that could be why I didn't feel much like blogging.

Monte's been seeing a doctor and several specialists attempting to fix a knee problem he's had for years. He finally got in to see the best specialist around, and was told his name would be put on the waiting list for surgery; possibly to happen in April or May. At the beginning of March he got a call saying there had been a cancellation and his surgery was bumped up to March 17th. Yikes! Two weeks to prepare for this. So we made a list of all the tasks that needed to be done before he'd be off his knee for who knows how long and plugged away at it until the day of his surgery. He was told he'd be off work for 4 weeks, and that's about all that we knew. Surgery went well, Monte felt great... Dropped him off at the Chilliwack Hospital at 9am and he was home by 4pm (with a stop at Starbucks of course). And then he went back to see the specialist two weeks into his month at home and found out that they did at lot more on his knee than they expected. He was told he'd have to wear his leg-extending brace until the end of April, be off work for 4-5 months, and have no physical activity for 9 months. Not exactly what we signed up for. I mean, we're so grateful to have had this surgery so that Monte can eventually be physically active without feeling knee pain... But come on! As much as I don't like change, I really don't like surprises. This news took a few days for me to process. And now Monte's started back at work as of today, after arranging to do light duty tasks.

With Monte being at home for over four weeks, every day felt like Saturday. We slept in (as much as kids will allow), played outside, went to the States a few times and just spent lots of time together. Sometimes it felt like too much time together, but overall it was a great month as a family.

Bailey

2010-02-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-13T22:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

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!

Puppy!

2010-01-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming... Yesterday we picked out a puppy! She's only four weeks old, so we have to wait another month before bringing her home. She'll be a pretty big dog once she's full grown: her mom is a german shepherd - malamute cross, and the dad looks like a cross between retriever and rottweiler. We went to see the puppies and their parents out at a farm in Aldergrove. There were three males, and then twin females; they were all so adorable and fluffy! But when I picked up our little one, she immediately starting giving me kisses all over my face (poo breath and all!) and then got warm and cozy for a good long snuggle in my arms. I was sold! Nate had so much fun playing with all the puppies, and did pretty good with the gargantuan parent dogs too. Monte & I have wanted a dog since the day we got married, and considered getting a small dog when we lived in our townhouse, but we're glad we waited until now. Although, with having two small kids, I'm not sure what we're getting ourselves into!

A Mish-Mash Post

2010-01-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

We've been cooped up at home for the past couple weeks... Between the four of us, we've been sick since Christmas, and so we haven't been able to get back into the swing of our weekly routine until just yesterday. I was so glad to get out of the house with the boys! So I don't really have much to report... Not much excitement happens when you're sick at home.

I did take Cody to the doctor today for his six-month checkup, and I'm happy to report that he's doing well. He weighs in at about 18 and a half pounds (starting to taper off on the massive weight gain that's been going on for the first months of his life!) and measures about 27 inches long. Although he's now 6 months old, he hasn't quite hit the classic milestones of this age: rolling over (either way), sitting on his own, etc. He's on the verge of these things, and since he's been sick for the past couple weeks, I suppose we can cut him a little slack!

Now that Christmas is over and we're into the new year, we are starting to plan Nate's third birthday. I still can't believe my little baby is going to be three! Seriously, time is FLYING by. Every so often my eyes well up with tears; I want so badly to be able to push the "pause" button so I can enjoy my guys a little bit more while they're so young. Anyways, Nate is so very excited about his birthday, he talks about it to everyone, and asks every day if we can have his party. I actually discovered last night that he snuck a leftover party invitation into his bed and slept with it the entire night. Crazy kid!

Resolutions

2010-01-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

It's 2010, and I'm not big on making a bunch of resolutions. However I can't help but think of a few things I'd like to do differently this year. Like a lot of people, I'd like to lose a few pounds - mostly just baby weight I've put on with my two pregnancies. I'm also really excited about getting outside a lot more when the weather gets a little warmer. Now that we have two boys, I'm going to have to find more ways to exert the endless energy out of my little guys. Lots of walks, playground playtime, and just spending time in our backyard now that we have a fence. This is something I'm not used to; having grown up with two sisters I remember my childhood as playing barbies, playing house and doing a lot of quiet indoor activities. I'll have to dig deep to find my "inner boy." I also want to get into my Bible more, and use it as an avenue for a deeper prayer life. I recently started going to the women's bible study on Wednesday mornings at my church, doing a Beth Moore study and as hard as it was to get somewhere so early in the morning with two kids, I've really loved how the effects of the study have spilled over into many aspects of my life. I'm looking forward to more of that this coming year. And lastly, I'd like to blog more. I often wish I had jotted down my thoughts or the happenings in our lives more frequently, since I don't journal or do baby books for the boys. So hopefully I'll stay on top of blogging and enjoy it, even if it's just for our family's sake.

Last Hurrah of 2009

2009-12-31T23:22:00.000-08:00

So it's a half hour til midnight on New Year's Eve, and for the last hour it's been a fight just to keep my eyes open. But then I realized I hadn't blogged for the entire month of December, and this was my last chance to do so! (Yes, my friends, that's just how dedicated I am to blogging!) The Christmas season was a fantastic whirlwind of activities for our family. Since Nate was born, every Christmas has been so different that this year I continually reminded myself just to "roll with it" and not set my expectations too high or plan for too much. I'm not sure I was so successful, but it was an awesome month anyways, filled with lots of Christmas traditions, both new and old. We took Nate to the Singing Christmas Tree at Broadway Church, which is a long-time seasonal staple growing up in my family. Nate tolerated about the first third of the program and then requested to go play in the nursery. Maybe next year he'll fully get on board! We also made a point of driving around several evenings to look at Christmas lights with the boys. We decided to take both Nate & Cody to Stanley Park to experience "Bright Nights" including a train ride (Nate has a slight fascination with trains) which turned out to be a huge hit. So much so that Nathan cried when it was over and didn't want to leave. We'll be making that one a tradition for our family's Christmas from now on.

We hosted Christmas Eve with Monte's family; they've always opened presents that night, and my family has always opened them Christmas morning, so every year Christmas with our two families is always the same. We decided, though, that we should have our own Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, just us four as a family. So on the night of the 23rd we pretended it was Christmas Eve and had the boys open one present each: matching Christmas jammies. We ordered pizza and had cake (to celebrate Jesus' birthday - candle, song and everything), drove around to look at lights, and had popcorn and hot chocolate while watching The Grinch before sending the boys off to bed. And then the next morning (the 24th) we gave Nate his stocking and opened the gifts we had for each other just between our little family. Monte and I agreed after giving this a try it actually worked out really well... Nate wasn't overwhelmed by too many presents, and it spread the Christmas festivities out over three days. Since it's our favourite time of year, that was a big plus. So we'll see if we can make it happen again next year.

And now I'm going to ring in the new year by putting my head down on my pillow. I've never been one for partying it up on New Year's Eve (it's seems overrated, in my opinion), and I've been getting very little sleep since Cody's come down with a nasty cold & cough this past week. Sleep sounds like the perfect way to begin 2010!

Countdown to Christmas!

2009-11-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is December already; I can hardly believe how fast November went! But we are so excited for the Christmas season! Since Nate is so much more capable of understanding what's going on, and able to anticipate events, we are so thrilled to start some family traditions and introduce him to some existing ones that he couldn't take part in before. We've put up our tree, and Nate was so eager to help decorate it. And, just like last year, he is so taken with all the Christmas lights up whenever we go driving at night. We can't wait for Christmas to come, just to see the excitement on his face!

The boys are ever changing... too quickly. In the past couple weeks, Cody's become a lot sturdier and so he's very comfortable in the exersaucer, bumbo chair and even the jolly jumper (although he doesn't know how to jump in it yet; it's all about the station rotations to keep him from getting bored!). We also started him on rice cereal last week and he took to it so well! And his first tooth made an appearance today. He's growing up way too fast. Nate has become very inquisitive; very curious about everything. I can appreciate a two-year-old wanting to know about anything and everything, but by the end of the day I'm exhausted from answering questions ALL day and soak in the peace and quiet of the boys' bedtimes! He's also decided to have selective hearing, blocking out any form of instruction and guidance. We try to keep away from negative terms such as "terrible twos" but if we were to label the stage Nate is in, that would be it! He's still such a sweetheart, though, under all the pushing back that he does and I believe that he will always be a very gentle, sensitive guy.

October Holidays

2009-11-16T11:10:00.001-08:00

It's a little late, but here are a few photos from our October celebrations. First, thanksgiving both with the Horban family and the Baerg family. Two turkey dinners... so good! And then Nate's first trick-or-treating experience (and Cody's first Halloween). Nate LOVED going trick-or-treating. He was so excited to see all the other kids in their costumes and was overly friendly, wanting to step inside every person's home. We took him around our neighborhood for over an hour - which he walked the entire time - and he wanted to keep going! It was so great to see him enjoy a night both Monte and I remember getting excited about when we were young. I'm really starting to understand the joy of reliving your childhood through your own kids!

Cody

2009-10-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

I just realized I blogged about Nate's birth story, but I haven't yet about Cody's. So here's the whole scoop...

On the Saturday night before Cody was born (Jul 11) I suspected my water broke. When I woke up in the middle of the night at 3am, I was sure my water broke and called the hospital. Having gone through this when Nate was born, I knew I was in no hurry to get to the maternity ward if I wasn't having any contractions. So, leaving Nate at home with Monte's parents, we made our way to the Abbotsford hospital at 6am Sunday morning. I laid in the assessment area for hours while the nurses struggled with their phone lines being down and with several emergency deliveries that morning... in addition to being short-staffed. They finally admitted me sometime after 9am, after monitoring Cody's heart rate and watching it drop dangerously low several times. I waited for news of being induced all day Sunday, but since they were swamped they kept pushing it back. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of labour; Sunday consisted of very little eating, no rest, and lots of anxiety, stress and fear. It didn't help that I got to hear every other woman in the ward giving birth while I waited... Not exactly the sounds that will help calm an expectant mother!

Sunday night they promised me that the following morning I would be induced. I begged for some drugs to help me sleep, which they gave me... And I slept for a whopping two hours that night! I woke up at midnight with contractions occurring every 10 minutes, and that lasted until 6am when they abruptly stopped. I was so discouraged that morning. I was so badly missing Nate, and I was extremely tired from almost no sleep or food over the last two days. The nurse assigned to me that morning was sympathetic enough to listen to me cry and complain.

Then I was induced around 10am, and the nurse I had for my labour was awesome! For those who aren't familiar with labour that's induced, you are assigned a one-on-one nurse who just sits by your side your entire labour and delivery. And I was so thankful to have such a great nurse by my side. Cody's heart rate dropped several times throughout my labour, and near the end I was very worried I'd have to have an emergency c-section, but everything turned out to be okay. The delivery was extremely exhausting for me this time (I remembered Nate's delivery as going VERY differently... I would say way better, even though I pushed for two hours). I only had to push for about 15 minutes, but I had absolutely no energy and so I really struggled through it and remember feeling at one point like I just couldn't do it. It's amazing how your body just kicks into high gear and does what it has to do! I'm thankful for that. And then he was born at 2:58pm on Monday, July 13th. He weighed 7lbs, just like Nate. But he measured 58cm long (almost 2 feet!) so he was extremely long and skinny. The irony of this is that I went in for two extra ultrasounds during my pregnancy because they were very concerned that his thighs were measuring far too short. It was something I worried about for quite awhile. It just goes to show that unborn babies are "under construction" up until the minute they are born and that God's got it all under control, especially when we feel completely helpless.

And for those who just can't help but ask that pesky little question: will you have any more kids? The answer is I hope so. Both Monte & I picture our family with at least three kids, but at this point I can't say I'm planning one way or the other. It's just too soon! I did say to Monte, however, that if we have a third, I want in writing that I'm guaranteed an epidural! Twice now I've wanted an epidural and never got one. It's my one stipulation that Monte will have to work out with an anesthesiologist before I'm game for a third kid!

Top Toddler List

2009-10-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

I have to preface this post by saying this: Nathan, in case you end up reading this when you are older, please know that I love you more than you'll ever know... But when you have kids, you'll understand my perspective! So, here goes my "Top Five Ways Your Toddler Will Try Your Patience While Your Baby Screams Incessantly in the Background!"

5. He will follow you around closer than your own shadow, bringing you everything that he can find and carry in the house under the guise of being helpful.
4. He will wander in front of where you are trying to walk, at a slightly slower pace, so that you'll constantly trip over him and cause him injury as well.
3. He will think of every question his inquisitive mind can come up with, and ask it over and over again despite having already heard the answer multiple times.
2. He will inquire as to what you're doing and why you're doing it, every five minutes... even when the activity in question hasn't changed since the last time he asked.
1. He will inform you that there's a baby crying (in case you hadn't noticed...).

Ahhhh, I feel better! Just when I think I've got a handle on things, another bad day comes around to keep me on my toes... And to continually cry out to God for strength and patience. Today was one of those days. To those mothers out there who have days where you feel like you just can't do what's expected and required of you: you are not alone! Just do what I did today... Pack up your kid(s), get out of the house and do a little shopping or treat yourself to lunch out! McDonald's Playplace has been my sanctuary several times since Cody's arrival. And I'm starting to realize that that's okay.

An Overdue Update

2009-10-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it's October already! We've been keeping busy over the last few weeks. Monte & I finally got our new driver's licenses, allowing us to drive across the border again, and so we were eager to hit the outlets in Burlington and grab a little of our beloved Taco Bell down south! (For those of you who aren't in the know, Canadian Taco Bell does not compare to the American stuff!). So we did some shopping, mostly at Carter's to outfit our little Cody and just spent the day out of the house together. It went surprisingly okay, even though we skipped Nate's nap. I am particularly grateful for American malls, who take into consideration nursing mothers when they design their family restrooms. It makes being out for 10+ hours much easier, as I don't have to sit uncomfortably in the back of our van every three hours to feed Cody. Hopefully one day our malls will offer similar rooms to accomodate mothers of young babies.

We also managed to hit the MCC sale, that same day. This was my first time experiencing what turned out to be the biggest event the Tradex hosts all year! And Monte was so excited to finally sample all of his favourite mennonite dishes. Nate had a great time playing in the large children's area, but we had to leave earlier than we wanted since he was starting to reach unreal hyper levels, having missed his nap.

We've taken several trips to Ikea recently as well. We're in the process of making our new home more to our taste, and Ikea is the most reasonable place we can do this. We purchased a storage shelf for the playroom, and new curtains and curtain rods for the living and dining rooms, as well as a few other little items for around the house. Nate loves Ikea; he enjoys playing in the kid's section, and LOVES their "cheesy noodles!" We love Ikea the most for their cheap meals: two hot dogs and a pop for two bucks! You can't beat that.

While I'm still finding adjusting to two kids very overwhelming at times, we are loving having our two boys and they're both changing, almost daily it seems! Nate's getting into doing puzzles and is very good at them. And on a recent garage sale hunt I found a brand new Lite Brite, and so we've started working on a picture together. He's generally a really sweet kid (not at all a strong-willed child), but his one downfall is mealtimes. We feel as though we're taken captive by this kid, at every meal. He takes a good hour to eat his food, and that's with constant reminders to take bites between all his chatting. It's not that he doesn't like the food or refuses to eat; he'd just rather talk and play and do everything else under the sun while eating. Mealtimes have become the most frustrating times of the day. Cody's smiling a lot now, and sleeping much better (about seven hours between his feedings at night) and I can tell his first laugh is just around the corner. He's a very gassy baby, and so he's often grunting and in discomfort, and - to be brutally honest - just stinking the place up!! I've never known a baby to emit such a stench! It's gross. I should expect it, living with three males. I suppose this is just the beginning of all the wonderfully disgusting things I'll be introduced to as we raise two boys. I couldn't be happier.

A Moment to Remember (or maybe to forget?!)

2009-09-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

There have been many memorable moments since bringing home Cody, and figuring out how to be a family of four. Today held one of these moments. Cody has been extremely fussy this past week; we've been experiencing some struggles with him, and haven't had much success in fixing the problems. I started the day off with a horrible night's sleep and was therefore very very tired (more so than the last 8 weeks of sleep deprivation). Cody was fussy all morning and nothing I did stopped him from crying. Nate, as a typical 2 yr old, followed me around asking question after question, and constantly seeked my attention. By the time we finished lunch, the tears I had been holding in all morning couldn't be held in any longer, and Cody and I both just sobbed on the couch. Nate, being the sweetheart that he is, decided to bring me a glass of water I had just poured in the kitchen, to lift my spirits. The glass was totally full, and so water splashed all over the sides of the glass onto the carpet. Nate stopped after realizing he had spilled all my water, looked at me and burst into tears. He put down the glass and I coaxed him over to the couch to console him, since he was clearly upset that his attempt to cheer me up instead created a big mess. So all three of us sat on the couch and had a good cry. And then we were able to get up and move on with our day! Crying with my kids for no specific reason was certainly a low point, and one that made me feel like a failure as a mother. But I also know how much I love my boys and that sometimes life overwhelms you and the only thing you can do is react. I don't want to make a habit of breaking down in front of my kids, but maybe an occasional cry won't do any permanent emotional damage?! This memory will stick with me, I'm sure, as one day I'll look back on the disaster days we had and somehow still survived!

Mommy's Helper

2009-09-09T16:05:00.001-07:00

Big Smiles!

2009-08-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

We were so excited this past week to see Cody's true smile for the first time! Nothing makes those sleepless nights and fussy times more worth it than seeing your little one smile back at you. My heart has melted over and over again this week, and I'm addicted to getting him to smile as much as possible. Over the last couple weeks I've been exasperated (to tears) with nursing Cody, and so I'm very grateful for the reward of his smile.

Last night we hosted the Horban clan for our annual peach pie indulgence. My mom brought over two large pies, and we polished one off entirely, and ate half of the second. Monte being the peach pie lover accounted for at least one third of the eaten pie! It was so great to finally be able to host our entire family in our home and Nate was ecstatic (an understatement) to have Avri, Danae and Marea over to play in his playroom.

The Big 3-0!

2009-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

Monte had his 30th birthday this past Sunday, and we had several occasions to celebrate this major event! We first got together with the Baerg family while Sylvia, Andy and the girls were out visiting. We enjoyed a waffle feast and then sat around in a sugar coma while the kids bounced off the walls! Then we had a dinner of nachos and other appetizers at the Horban house, with make-your-own sundaes for dessert (this is the perk of your birthday - my mom makes whatever the birthday person requests for the meal). And then on Saturday we had a few friends over for a bbq. Of course I either forgot to bring my camera to these dinners, or I had it with me but forgot to take pictures, so here are the very few I did manage to take... Nate sampling the chocolate whip cream off the beaters for the cake, and Jarris holding Cody - somehow Monte was not included in his own birthday pictures!

Thoroughly Exhausted!

2009-08-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

The first couple weeks home with Cody were fairly easy. Monte stayed home from work for over a week, and Cody mainly slept and ate... And did well with both of those activities. But I was warned by a friend that usually by the third week the euphoria of having a newborn baby wears off. I’m amazed at how much I’ve forgotten from when Nate was this little; I wish I had documented more of the details of what I went through with Nate, through each phase since they change so much so fast. What my friend had said was true... by middle of week three, we were all exhausted and were very aware of just how little sleep we were getting, how little time we all had for each other, and how much we wanted a little time and space to ourselves. Cody went from sleeping 4 or 5 hours straight at night, to regularly feeding every 2 to 3 hours no matter what the hour. He’s also established a fussy time, around 8pm – just when Nate’s gone to sleep and I’m looking forward to having a little down time for myself!

What I struggle with most in learning how to be a mom of two kids is how to balance my time for both boys. I don’t have much one-on-one time with Nate anymore, and what time I do have for him is often spent disciplining him. So today I made a point of putting Cody to sleep in his room instead of in the bouncy chair that is moved to whatever room we’re in at the time, and take 15 minutes to read books with Nathan, giving my undivided attention. I was amazed at how just a little “mommy time” brought out the affectionate, sweet little boy I had known before Cody was born. We had been very diligent to ensure Nate got one-on-one attention with having a baby around, but it was usually with Monte. While that’s still so important, I realize Nate misses having alone time with me as well and I missed it too. It didn’t take much, but I could tell it meant the world to Nate and so I’m going to be more deliberate in taking time out to spend just with Nathan.

A Note from Mom

2009-07-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

I've decided to change the title of our blog to include Cody, and we'll use this as a way to update friends and family on our entire family instead of just Nate as we've been doing so far.

We've been a family of four for almost two weeks now, and we're feeling fairly settled into regular life again. Nate's been a super big brother, giving Cody lots of hugs and kisses and being extremely gentle and caring towards his little brother. Nate calls him "little dude" and tells Cody not to worry and strokes his head when he starts to cry. Nathan's listening abilities have taken a hit since we brought home Cody - thus, a few more time-outs each day - but we have little to complain about. He's doing great with all the changes.

Cody was a marathon eater for the first few nights home, wanting to feed for 3 or 4 hours straight in the middle of the night. He seems to have caught up with his hunger and has now been sleeping great at night! We go to sleep around 11pm/midnight, and I have to wake him at 5 or 6am to eat again. A far cry from my experience with Nate as a newborn; I'm thankful for the sleep each night! We heard that often the second is completely opposite from the firstborn, and we've discovered this to be true with regards to Cody's digestive system. He's spit up only once so far and I'm enjoying not having to change my clothes after each feeding! Nate was a puker... We never left the house without several extra items of clothing to change into.

We've been spoiled with meals brought over by friends and family, as well as gifts and just time spent with us, and getting to know Cody. We feel so privileged to have such special people in our lives! This has especially allowed us to enjoy time together as a family, and not feel so overwhelmed with the day-to-day tasks that need to get done. Our home is a disaster, but it's not a priority and we know that our boys will only be this little for a short time. We have had a few moments of "what have we gotten ourselves into?!" when both boys are melting down and we're too worn out to effectively deal with it, but for the most part being a family of four is better than we could ever have expected.

Big Changes

2009-07-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

Life at the Baerg house has changed in many ways since I last blogged. We moved from our townhouse to a house at the end of June. I LOOOOVE having so much more space to run around! I even have my own playroom in the basement where I can make as big a mess as I want! It's so great. And I've been enjoying having a backyard and even a playground just beyond that.

The other huge change in our lives is my little baby brother who arrived a few days ago, on July 13th! Cody Michael (Michael named after my great grandpa who I only met once; he passed away last July). He was born after a very long wait at the hospital, weighing in at 7 lbs just like me, and almost 2 feet tall! I love my baby brother. When my parents brought him home from the hospital, I couldn't wait to show him his room, and just sit and look at him, stroking his cheek and singing my favourite songs to him. I even got to hold him a few times already. I'm going to teach him so many fun things! While Cody was on his way and my parents were at the hospital, I got to spend lots of special time with my grandpa and grandma Baerg, and my grandma Horban came over for a sleepover two nights in a row! What a great time I had, just me and my grandparents! I'm glad my mom and dad are home, though, and we're getting used to being a family of four now... Sleep deprivation and all! I've especially loved having my dad around all the time, since he took over a week off of work. He and I have done a lot of special things together since Cody arrived, and I've loved every minute of it!

Nate Do It!

2009-06-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'm on a mission to declare my independence, now that I consider myself to be a big boy. This means daily struggles to convince everyone that I can do everything by myself. Or, in my own words: "Nate do it!" I get a furrowed brow and there's severe determination in my expression as I attempt to take over every task on my own. And then I get very frustrated when it doesn't go over so well, and I need help. One day I won't have to ask for help anymore... I can't wait for that!

I also reject any idea that's not my own. And then I change my mind, because then it's officially my own idea. So, for example, should my mom offer me some milk, I say no thanks. But when she closes the fridge door, I get upset. Because I want milk. But only because I thought of it, not because she suggested it. It's very important to recognize the difference! It drives my parents crazy! That's half the fun.

But in all my frustration for independence comes major accomplishments, which I am very proud of. I can (for the most part) put on my own clothes, drink (with very little spillage) from a big boy cup, climb into my car seat, and I can build the most amazing block towers, houses and cranes. Here are a few pictures taken at my request during one of those proud moments:

A Day in the Life of Nate

2009-05-21T15:48:00.001-07:00

Our lives are about to be turned upside down in just a couple months, with the expected arrival of my sibling! So I thought I'd take a moment to make note of my usual daily routine, before the new little person arrives and disrupts everything! It's probably not the most riveting blog you'll ever read, but it's worth documenting, just the same.

On an average day, I'm up around 7:30 or 8am. My mom and I enjoy morning hugs and a bit of play time before munching on some toast and cereal for breakfast. After breaky, we play a little more and then once my room is all set up with my road rug and other toys I enjoy quiet play time while my mom has a shower. Then we cozy up on the couch for a little snack (half an apple for me, and a muffin & coffee for my mom) and watch a TV show... usually Wilbur and Berenstein Bears. Mondays we go grocery shopping, and Fridays we have regular playdates, but on Tue/Wed/Thu we try to get out to the park or go for a walk or visit the library. Then it's lunch time - my favourite meal of the day, between grilled cheese, spiderman noodles, pita pizzas and kraft dinner - and after that my mom and I play a little more before cleaning up all the toys in my room and cuddle together with a few books. Naptime is at 2pm, and I usually rest for 1.5 - 2 hrs. I have a hard time waking up from my nap (some might even call me grumpy!) so I get another little snack of a few crackers and watch a little more TV. This is when my dad gets home, and we get to run around together, wrestle and play some b-ball while my mom makes dinner. If I'm a good eater at dinner (this meal is a struggle for me - I don't like all the veggies we have to eat!) then we sometimes go out as a family after, either for a walk or to the park if it's nice out, or just to Superstore or Wal-Mart... I get to walk down the toy aisles without holding anyone's hand! Then I have quiet reading time on my bed for 10-15 minutes at 7pm, once I'm in my jammies and have brushed my teeth. I love quiet reading time - it winds me down from the day's activities. And then my mom or dad tuck me in and I'm asleep no later than 8pm! I love my daily activities; I'm a kid who thrives on predictability, so I sure hope the next little Baerg will let me keep my routine.

BBQ's & B-Ball

2009-05-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

Warm & sunny spring weather has finally arrived (well, most days at least) and so we've been breaking out the BBQ any chance we get. I assist my dad by keeping him company on the patio - he lets me wear his hat and we munch on snacks together. I love it! I jump at the chance to be mommy's or daddy's little helper, so being the BBQ assistant has become my specialty.

My parents thought it was time to purchase a basketball hoop for my room, since I'm quite the fanatic. I love it so much, I used to ask people to make a hoop with their arms just so I could dunk. That became very tiring for anyone playing with me, so this hoop was a great investment for our family. My dad also introduced me to Michael Jordan. He's the greatest! We watch a special DVD my dad has on Jordan, and I can't get enough!

The Wonderful World of Make Believe

2009-04-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

In the past couple weeks my imagination has taken over my world, and it's so much fun! I love pretend play, especially with my best bud monkeys, Petie and Cuddle Monkey! They are a part of all my activities each day, including some meal times (they share a chair at the table, and I give them some of my food), pretend bed times, when I read books, and play basketball and soccer. If someone else is playing with us like my mom or dad, I tell them what the monkeys should say and what they should do. Along with my imagination comes a great opportunity for me to play by myself for at least a good half hour each day. Between my Thomas trains, 'road rug' with toy cars and all my Little People characters, I keep myself quite entertained.

I'm also very into the alphabet lately. Although when I sing the ABC song, all the letters tend to sound like 'C'! And I love to count... but I prefer to only name the numbers 2, 3, 4, and 6. I'm developing quite the singing voice. My current favourites are the ABC song, the Thomas song, the Doodlebops theme song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I'm working on a few others I plan to debut in the next few weeks. I also LOVE to dance! The music has to be very loud and upbeat. And then watch out - I've got some crazy moves.

Here are a few pics of what I've been up to recently.

Big Boy Bed!

2009-03-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

I am officially in my big boy bed, and loving it! When I first saw that it was just my size covered in a big bright blanket, I was super excited about it, and pretended to sleep in it even though it wasn't time to go to bed. I was stoked to be able to sleep without bars! But when it was actually time to go to bed that night, I was quite upset. It took me a few nights to get used to the idea that this was my new bed, but now I love it and I'm so proud to show it off to all our visitors. I've slowly realized the freedom I have with my new bed, and I will often play and read books for up to an hour when I'm put down for a nap. And when I get up in the morning I just hop out of bed and play quietly for awhile. So I'm liking this change and all the freedom that it brings!

The Secret to Sleep

2009-03-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

Ever since Christmas when I had that awful ear fluid build-up from teething, I just haven't been able to sleep properly. It's been a headache for both me and my parents! Two months is a long time to be overtired, and we were all about to pull our hair out. We think my sleep troubles began once I was taken off the medicine I was originally put on to get rid of the fluid, and because the medicine relaxed me so much I began to rely on it to put me to sleep. I couldn't rest properly without a shot of that wonderful Benadryl! Well, my parents had a revelation last week and they put me down for two naps in one day. The secret to curing an overtired toddler is extra sleep, and while the early bedtime they had previously attempted just wasn't quite enough for me, the double nap did the trick! Within a couple days of catching up on my sleep, I went back to my regular routine! We're all a happier bunch now. Next up on the slumber horizon: toddler bed!

Birthday Bashes!

2009-02-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me! It was my second birthday on Friday, and we had a busy time celebrating this weekend. The first celebration was a little surprise party at my friend Tydin's house Friday morning. We have a regular playdate, so I wasn't suspecting anything out of the ordinary... But there was an Elmo cake for me and a Pin the Nose on Elmo game for all of us kids! It was so much fun. But, just like my first birthday, I was not interested in sampling the cake.

The next party was at my Grandpa and Grandma Horban's that night. We got together with the whole family, as well as Sean & Wix, and enjoyed dinner together. Then we opened gifts - some clothes including a few Canucks shirts, a few items for my future 'big kid' room, a Harvey train for my Thomas train set, lots of books, mega bloks and play food. My mom made me a birthday trifle for dessert, knowing that I'd be hesitant to eat cake and hoped that a little fruit (my favourite!) in the dessert would entice me. It didn't work. I did however enjoy being sung to, and loved blowing out the candles.

And then we celebrated again the next morning at my Grandpa and Grandma Baerg's with a brunch. My Uncle Pat, Auntie Les and cousins Cooper and Mackenzie also came... I have a BLAST with my cousins! Having just turned two, I felt I was big enough to participate in the usual tackling and wrestling the boys enjoy. Lots of fun! I also opened presents there, too - an electronic reader, a hoodie, a Cars book and lunchbox, and some Hot Wheels! We then enjoyed Thomas cupcakes, which I actually tried! My parents were thrilled.

Big Changes Ahead

2009-01-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

My second birthday is right around the corner, and while I'm very excited to turn two I've been told that there are several major changes that also lurk around that same corner. Now, for most toddlers the prospect of becoming a 'big boy' is an exciting time... most my age can't wait to be given that status. Well, I'm not one of them. Like my mom, I am not a fan of change. And becoming a big boy means too many big changes. I suppose I'll have to find the positives in these changes and try to have a good attitude. My least favourite change is that I'm gradually beginning to potty-train. That toilet scares me! Even with a special seat, familiar reading material and a stool brought in just for me, I do not want to sit on that thing for a second! But, I've discovered potty-training underpants, which is the silver lining. They are so fun to wear as hats! I also will be moving into a toddler bed, as soon as my sleep problems are over. I'm not sure how I feel about this change, but I do know that I get a bright new comforter for my bed. I'm stoked about that!

Insomnia

2009-01-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

If you were to spend a night - or even just an afternoon - at my house lately you'd probably guess my New Year's resolution is to sleep less. A LOT less! We're not sure if it was my ear fluid catastrophe that messed me up, or if it was the out-of-schedule Christmas celebrations, or if it could even be that I've had nightmares lately, but I am not a fan of going to bed these days. It started Boxing Day night when I spent my first night in my own crib after being away from home for a few days. I screamed like crazy and took over an hour to fall asleep which is not normal for me. And then I'd be up every few hours to do it all over again. The same went for naptime.

It's getting better, but I'm still only averaging about 8 hours of sleep at night (instead of my usual 11-12 hrs) and maybe an hour for naptime if I decide to go to sleep at all. My mom and dad were ready to pull their hair out at times. We were all pretty miserable. The one thing I do like about my sleeping problems is that I get to crawl into bed with my mom and dad when I wake up too early in the morning. It's the only way I'll go back to sleep. I NEVER get to sleep in their bed! My mom loves it too, cause I throw my arm across her neck, smush my face up against hers and breathe my stinky morning breath into her face. It's premium snuggle time.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Today is boxing day, and I'm at my Grandpa & Grandma Horban's house to celebrate Christmas with my cousins Avri, Danae and Marea and their mom and dad. We've been celebrating Christmas for days, and I can't think of anything better! Christmas Eve morning I woke up and opened my presents from my mom and dad. I got a Thomas train set which I thought was the absolute greatest! Then our friends Sean & Wix came over for brunch and they also gave me a Thomas train set which added onto the other set to make a giant train track! I was in heaven!! It also snowed for about 12 hours straight that day, so I was also super excited about the snow. So we decided to forego the Christmas Eve service we were hoping to attend and drove out to my grandma and grandpa's house early, that evening. Christmas morning we woke up and guess what... We opened MORE presents! Crazy. More books, clothes, a Thomas train and a Little People garage. I was so excited and a little overwhelmed.

Celebrating the Christmas Season!

2008-12-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

We officially kicked off the Christmas season with the Baerg family Christmas celebration yesterday. I spent the whole day playing with all my Baerg cousins; we had a blast! Opening presents, playing with new toys, eating great food! There's nothing like Christmas. However, just like last year, my Christmas experience is slightly hampered by teething. My two-year molars are cutting through, and this past week has been the worst! We finally visited the doctor this morning and found out that my emerging molars have caused fluid build up in my ear, making it really uncomfortable to chew and sometimes even making me sick to my stomach. So for the past week I've basically felt like I've had the flu. The doctor put me on Benadryl and Tylenol and while I still don't feel like eating much, I'm definitely more myself. On the plus side, getting sick often means watching lots of TV in my house. We even watched the Polar Express together tonight! For those of you who don't know, I have a slight obsession with trains.

It's been snowing a lot here the past few days. My mom and I got all bundled up for the first snowfall and went for a walk. I could've been out in the snow for hours! I love snow, and when I see it I yell "NOOO!" (my 'S's are still a work in progress). I also get very enthusiastic about Christmas lights. I let out lots of ooooh's and aaaaah's and wow's as we drive around neighborhoods at night. Christmas is so bright and sparkly!

A Very Ordinary November

2008-11-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in awhile, just cause nothing interesting has been going on! I've been keeping busy with my family and friends, but nothing out of the ordinary. I got to watch Cooper's soccer game with my dad yesterday, which was pretty awesome. Especially since I got to eat lunch with Coop and Mack after, and we played for a bit. I've been going out with my dad a lot this month, cause my mom has lots of work to do. Us guys have hit Ikea, Metrotown, and even downtown Vancouver. I got to ride the skytrain for the first time, with my buddy Tydin. At first I was very unsure about the whole thing, but by the end I was diggin it! I love spending time with my dad. We get pretty silly and sometimes a little rough; I like to treat my dad like a human jungle gym! It's super fun.

Boo!

2008-10-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from this cheeky little monkey! I went trick-or-treating for the first time tonight. And what I really loved was answering the door with my grandma and checking out all the crazy characters that showed up tonight. Elmo even made an appearance! I've never been more ecstatic.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-10-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This was my second thanksgiving, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the family get-togethers, I was certainly not into the turkey dinners like I was last year. I've been a bit finicky lately with eating non-baby food; I prefer pureed food, personally. My preference has a lot to do with getting my 2-year molars, as well as unfamiliar textures and the need for chewing which tires my jaw out pretty quickly! So I was a bit uninterested in eating what the rest of the family was devouring with pleasure. My parents hope I outgrow this picky eating soon, cause it's wearing down their patience! I have a tendency to do that these days...

Almost overnight I've entered into the wonderful world of the "terrible two's." I'm asserting myself in any situation that challenges my independence and freedom. And I've learned how therapeutic it can be to throw a little temper tantrum when someone tells me "no!" My parents don't seem as excited about this phase as I am... My time-out chair has been re-established and we've been making many trips to it in the last week. It's okay, though, because my newfound independence is for a purpose, and my assertive nature is going to be a positive character trait when I get older, once I grow into it. (This is what my parents are telling themselves when I push them to their limits!).

A Trip to the Apple Farm

2008-09-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

On Thursday my mom and I visited Willow View Farms with my buddies Tydin and Jarris, and their mom. We had a blast! We visited the barn animals - saw baby chicks, pigs, goats, sheep and a cow. I felt I communicated well with the animals, imitating their sounds... We had quite the conversations! We also explored the tractors and other farm machinery, and we picked our very own apples to take home. I LOVE apples!

Mmmm... Pizza!

2008-09-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

I LOVE pizza! Pizza and chicken strips with fries are tied for my absolute favourite food. We don't eat either of them very often, but when we do, oh man is it ever good! My mom makes mini pizzas on whole wheat pitas for lunch sometimes. You can hear a pin drop in our house when we have mini pizzas for lunch. I'm so lovin my lunch that I could care less about anything else. I prefer to eat the crust first, picking off all the toppings to eat after, and eating it upside down so that pizza sauce gets everywhere.

I went to the aquarium with my dad and cousins recently - we had a blast! I love fish, so I was totally excited to see huge aquariums with amazing fish inside. Plus, anytime I get to hang with Mack and Cooper (or as I call them "Kkkkk" and "Pooper") I have so much fun. I also played with my other cousins, Avri, Danae and Marea at a couple Horban family dinners in August. They have so much energy, it's awesome! We get silly together. I just miss my other cousins, though. Paige, Josie and Taylor live across the country so I only get to see them at Christmas and sometimes through a webcam. Only a few months to go, and then I can give them all big bear hugs!

Kelowna

2008-08-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

My mom, dad and I went to Kelowna recently for a few days, and we had so much fun! It was just the vacation we needed. We hung out with our friends Sean and Wix most of the time, going to the mall and the beach and playing at the water park (my favourite Kelowna activity). We also got to experience a crazy thunderstorm - lightning and thunder for hours! My parents love thunderstorms. One of the highlights of the trip was my very first Starbucks indulgence! My mom and dad treated me twice to a 'kid's steamer' (warm milk sweetened with vanilla) and I also savoured a petite vanilla scone. So good! I now understand my mom and dad's addiction to Starbucks.

Airshow Pics

2008-08-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Sick as a Dog

2008-08-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

This past week has been another tough one... I came down with some sort of bug that affected my digestive system and it hasn't been fun. The doctor took me off milk and cheese completely - two foods that have become my absolute favourites! I can't wait for a dairy fix once this bug is totally gone. I walk around the house making a 'k' sound; my way of letting everyone know all I really want is some milk. And I run for the fridge any time it's open at the slightest chance I could sneek my sippy cup. It never works. My parents and I are so ready for an easier week... we've had quite a run of sick and sleepless times lately, and we're ready for some more fun!

On the brighter side my mom and dad bought me a Hot Wheels car ramp to commemorate my very first major pukage. Not a fun way to get any kind of toy, but boy do I love my Hot Wheels! It's six feet long and my cars go super fast when I race them. It's awesome!

I've picked up two phrases recently that I love to use as much as possible: "Oh no!" and "What's that?" I say them both with such enthusiasm; my parents love it! I also have my very own potty seat now. I'm not ready to use it yet, but I love to pick it up, put it on my head and wander around the house.

Night Owl

2008-07-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

There's not a lot of sleep happening at my house these days. I've been keeping my parents up at night for the last couple weeks. I recently cut my eye-teeth, and then I came down with a cold, and I think I'm going through another growth spurt cause I just can't get enough to eat, but then I get heartburn and indigestion when I go to bed. So the Baerg household is a little irritable and overtired lately. (Speaking of my growth, at 17 months old I'm currently creeping up on 30 lbs and I'm 33 inches tall).

Despite our sleepy woes, I've been enjoying all the summer fruit I can get my hands on! Nectarines, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, mangoes, and best of all... watermelon. I LOVE watermelon! I am addicted to it, and I have the pink-stained bib to prove it. Another joy of summer is the kiddie pool! My friend Annah has invited me over to enjoy her pool a couple of times and although I'm very hesitant to get in at first, I love it once I get used to the water.

Just Photos

2008-06-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Zoo

2008-06-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well, more like a couple hours at the zoo, but I still got to see lots of wild animals. My favourite were the monkeys - my dad got them all riled up, so they made some funny noises at us! They're so cool, swinging and jumping around. I also saw giraffes, ostriches, flamingos, a cheetah, a lion, a rhino and a few others. I went with my mom and dad, for the Focus on the Family annual picnic. I think the best part about the picnic was all the space I had to run around in. I love to run free, but I don't get to do it too often.

Hello Sunshine!

2008-05-31T16:02:00.001-07:00

I love Spring time! The sunshine means I get to go to the park almost every day -- I love the park! The swings in particular are fantastic. We go as a family on Saturday mornings, as long as it's not raining, and then my mom and I walk around Mill Lake and play on the playground every morning during the week! Except for Fridays, when I have regular play dates with my buddies.

This one time, though, my mom and I were walking to the playground and I got distracted by a really cool but loud motorcycle driving by and I fell down on the pavement and scratched up my cheek and a little bit of my nose and mouth. It hurt so bad! We had to turn right around and go back home to clean up my face. And I also needed to get in some good cuddle time with my mom -- there's something about a good, long hug that just makes everything better.

With this great sunny weather I also had a picnic at the beach with my buddies Annah and Julia. We played catch, chased after bubbles, and ate outside! So much fun! And I got to see the ocean. I can't wait to swim in the ocean one day.

There's Nothing Like a Good Book

2008-04-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've been real busy lately, keeping up with my much beloved reading. Books are my thing and I like to read the same book over and over and over -- it never gets old! My current favourite is a sturdy little board book titled "Monkey Steam Train," a classic from the Peters boys (my cousins). Yesterday my favourite book was a lift-the-flap book by the Baby Einstein people. I'm an expert flap-lifter-upper now. Other favourites include a search-and-find Elmo and Grover book, "There's a Wocket in My Pocket" (Dr. Seuss rules!) and another Baby Einstein book that plays music and lights up. I love books so much sometimes I just sit in my room by myself quietly flipping through books, pointing at things I recognize and making the appropriate noises if I see animals I know.

I'm also getting into dancing and even singing. I can sing along with the Elmo's World theme song and I bop to anything catchy. I especially love to stomp one foot to the farm songs on the Leap Frog fridge toy my Grandma & Grandpa Horban got me for my birthday. I'm so enthusiastic when I dance that I get everyone around me to join in! It's quite a scene.

I've learned to nod and shake my head, I can help clean up my toys when asked, I love to help out around the house by closing any doors that are open (such as the fridge or dishwasher) and I've added "mama", "poop", "again" and "papa" (grandpa) to my vocabulary. And I'm so very relieved to report that all four of my one-year molars have finally cut through!

Nathan Baerg: Professional Walker

2008-03-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's official - I'm walking! I've taken a few tumbles these past few weeks, but nothing that's deterred me from pursuing a life of walking. And now there's no turning back. I love it, and I'm so proud of every step I take.

Speaking of walking, I've been going on a walk outside every day lately since we've had such nice weather. I love walks! My mom and I have been going on one after lunch each day, and then we usually go for another after dinner, with my dad. I love being out and about, seeing the sights. I would have to say it's my favourite of all things. And the best part about going on walks is that I get to greet everyone I see. I wave to every person we walk past, and if a fellow kid doesn't see my wave, I yell in their direction to get their attention. I even wave at those very still people on big signs and billboards... They don't wave back, though.

Snazzy New 'Do

2008-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

Watch out ladies! Nate's got a new hairdo - and he's a clean-cut handsome little fella!

I had my first haircut on Sunday. My daddy took the clippers to my head, and I quite enjoyed it. A haircut was long overdue; my mullet was starting to get out of hand. And we all know a mullet of any kind isn't pretty! So I've shed my 'little baby Nate' look and entered into the world of 'big boy-hood'. In addition to my updated hairstyle, I now face forward in my car seat, just like a big kid. I've added "dada" to my vocabulary and thoroughly enjoy blabbering on and on as loud as possible, especially in public. And - probably the biggest news of all - I am a proud owner of a fish! I originally had two fish, but one of them moved on to bigger and better things within a week of joining our family, so I now just have Dexter. We're good buds. I take care of him.

My First Steps!

2008-02-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems as though February is a month of firsts for me... and today I took my first unassisted steps! I love to look out the window, and in our living room are two windows just at my height that look out onto a parking lot. I make sure to wave at everyone coming and going. Anyway, I was truckin' along with my walker when I realized someone was about to leave the parking lot without a friendly goodbye wave. I knew I couldn't whip my walker around to the window fast enough, so I decided to give walking a try. And man I nailed those few steps from my walker to the window! My mom got all excited and yelled to my dad, but he missed it. So a few minutes later when everyone was situated, we recreated the event and both my mom and dad watched me repeat the steps I took the first time. We had quite a celebration! I'm very proud to be an official walker. But I don't feel ready to take it on full-time yet. I'll keep you posted.

My First Birthday!

2008-02-18T13:26:00.000-08:00

I celebrated my first birthday this past week! My mom and dad and I celebrated as a family on my actual birthday - February 13th - with a cupcake and gift. I did not like the cupcake, nor the pressure to eat it! I did enjoy smearing it all over my belly, though. And I loved my present from my parents: a musical activity table, just my size! I love noisy toys.

We celebrated my birthday with the Horbans on Saturday afternoon, with cake and gifts. Again, no way was I eating cake or ice cream. But bring on the gifts! I received clothes and books and toys. And then we celebrated with the Baergs on Sunday evening, with more cupcakes and gifts. What's with all the sugar on your birthday? I don't like it. I received more clothes and books and toys. So much fun! I'm so thankful for all the presents - my family loves me so much!

Just Photos

2008-02-09T13:17:00.001-08:00

Snow Day!

2008-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

I experienced my first meeting with snow last week... I'm not sure what to think. It's so exciting to watch, when it's falling and I'm inside. But my parents took me for a little walk in the snow and I have to admit it's very cold! We walked around in it, stopped and watched it fall, and picked it up and threw it back down. I even tried to crawl in it, but that was no fun. We've had quite a bit of snow this past week. Maybe next year I'll enjoy it more.

I'm getting much bigger... I'm wearing 18-month clothes and size 4 shoes. I eat 4 times a day, have about 2 hours in naps and sleep about 10 hours at night. I love to bop to music and I can clap like nobody's business, especially during game shows or when the Canucks score. My new word is "down" and I'm learning to say "hi" while waving. I've also said "all done" a couple times, but it's not in my regular vocabulary repertoire yet. I've learned how to blow kisses, give five, and I pretend to brush my teeth when someone talks about brushing theirs. I can slam dunk a basketball in my baby-sized hoop - it cheers for me every time. My favourite activity right now is walking (and sometimes running) with a toy walker my Auntie Marni lent me. It's so much fun, except I forget to bend my knees and I often stay on my tip-toes. And I crash into things a lot, but I just get redirected and keep on going. I've discovered Elmo - he's the greatest! I think that's all that's new. I'm pretty excited about my first birthday coming up... February 13th! I'll be sure to post again when I turn one!

Fantabulous First Christmas!

2007-12-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

I have to tell the whole wide world... I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!! I only have one Christmas as my reference, but I gotta say that it's been the best! Playing with my cousins, staying up late, shorter naps, snacking, opening gifts, eating a ton of turkey, etc... it's like my top ten list of things to do.

I spent Christmas Eve day at Grandpa & Grandma Baerg's where I chilled with my cousins Paige, Josie and Taylor (visiting from Quebec... I met them for the first time earlier this week) as well as Mackenzie and Cooper. I had a terrible sleep the night before, cause I'm cutting one of my eye-teeth, so I was a little fussy at times throughout the day. But for the most part I was a pretty good kid. I got a toy tractor, a big blue elephant, a Little People airplane, a play barn complete with farm animals and hay, and jammies, to name a few of the awesome gifts I opened at the Baerg Family Christmas! I also went to the Christmas Eve service at South Abbotsford Church - I wore that snazzy shirt and tie I told you about in my dedication post, with a new Christmas red sweater to cozy up the outfit. And now it's Christmas Day and I'm hanging out at Grandpa & Grandma Horban's house. Again, so much fun! But I had another sleepless night, so I was again a little on the fussy side. Those stinkin' teeth! Always ruining my fun. Clothes, board books, a fire truck, and a Little People circus are some of the gifts I opened today. Man, I love opening gifts! I'm really good at it, too. Hardly any eating of the paper, and lots of rippage. Oh, and I almost forgot... my mommy and daddy gave me my very own rocking chair for Christmas! I got to sit in it first thing Christmas morning, and boy did I rock that chair! I'm quite the spoiled little boy, my parents say. I'll take it!

'Tis the Season!

2007-12-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's December already. My first Christmas is right around the corner, and I'm told it's going to be awesome! Apparently I really cleaned up last year, and I wasn't even around. I actually already received my first Christmas gift, from my friend Annah. We got to play together the other night. I just love playing with my friends! I've helped out with Christmas preparations so far, such as going on the annual Horban tree hunt. It sure was cold out there, but we worked together to find the perfect tree.

Today I'm spending the day with my dad, while my mom is shopping and doing other Christmas stuff with my Auntie Megan and Grandma Horban. I love hanging out with my dad. He's the coolest! We play basketball together, and other games; he's just so silly with me. Plus, he lets me watch TV when my mommy's not around! He has to keep a close eye on me though, because I'm pulling myself up on everything and starting to walk around while holding onto furniture. I'm a little unsteady on my feet, so I tend to fall every now and again. Most of the time I'm pretty brave and don't even cry, but this one time I hit the side of my head hard on a toy and I had a crazy big bump! I'm starting to say more words, such as "up" and "all done" as well as "bye bye". I've discovered I can play peek-a-boo myself, and I can bop to music... it's so much fun!

My Dedication

2007-11-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I was dedicated. Lots of people close to my mom and dad and I came to see me get dedicated... it was really cool. I had no idea how many friends I have! Well, I wasn't feeling well from an awful cold, so I was a little fussy, and not my usual charming self. I did dress up for the occasion - a snazzy new shirt and tie! I was quite handsome. Rita Lihaven did the dedication. She's such a nice lady but I just wanted to be snuggled up with mommy, so I only spent a short time in Mrs. Lihaven's arms. She's a good friend of my grandparents, and my mommy and daddy have known her for years. I'm so excited that I'm dedicated now! My parents tell me that it means they promise to teach me about God, and how much He loves me and how much I can love Him back in everything I say and do (I hope He likes snuggles as much as I do).

A Rough Week

2007-11-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't been feeling myself lately. I've had a cold this past week (only the second one in my entire life) and I've been teething like crazy. Those first top teeth are painful! I'm extra cuddly when I'm feeling sick, but I'm also not much into sleeping. During the worst of my cold, I was averaging about 15 minutes per nap. And sleeping less at night, too. The best part about being sick, though, is the time I get to snuggle up with my daddy to fall asleep while watching some TV. I almost never get to watch TV, so this was a real treat. Too bad I was so tired, I could only take advantage of the opportunity for a short time before falling asleep. Maybe I'll get sick again soon! Anything for some cartoons...

Waving and Crawling and Talking... Oh My!

2007-11-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

This past week has just been a whirlwind of firsts for me! I'm proud to announce that I'm crawling! It may not look like the typical crawl, but man I can get around. My parents had no idea how busy I could be. Just wait 'til I can walk, mom and dad! I also love to wave hello and goodbye, and, drumroll please... I said my first word! Twice, actually. And I haven't said anything since. I said "bye-bye" and the first time I said it my mom chalked it up to baby babble (please... as if what I say is just babble!). But then I said it again later that same day and waved while saying it. And now all I ever hear from my mom and dad is "bye-bye" in hopes that I'll say it again. Also, my top tooth has poked through! I'm so glad... I've been working so hard for several months on that one.

I can now pick up puffed wheat and put it in my mouth with absolutely no assistance. It's my favourite part of every meal, just because I feel so independent. And when I'm eating (or just see food) I move my hands around like crazy in anticipation. I eat four times a day, with lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as oatmeal or rice cereal. I am quite the curious little fella, getting into anything I can crawl to - I especially love sorting through a laundry basket full of clean clothes. Here are a few photos, including one of me sleeping in a strange position... my parents thought it was quite funny.

Happy Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T20:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween! My first halloween was a blast. I was a skunk, and I stunk it up right! I'm a pretty smelly boy at times, so getting into character was a breeze. My parents took me to a pumpkin patch called Aldor Acres with Auntie Megan to pick out my very own pumpkin. I got to pet sheep and goats and see turkeys up close... they're real ugly. They scared my mom. We went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, and then we visited extremely large cows, pigs and even a donkey. I quite enjoyed all the animals, especially the little piglets. Then we went the night before halloween to trick-or-treat at my cousins' house (the Peters) in Chilliwack and at my Grandpa & Grandma Baerg's house. I trick-or-treated the next night at my cousins' house (the Wrights) in Walnut Grove and finally at my Grandpa & Grandma Horban's house. Everybody loved my costume, and I was so excited to show everyone!

Thanksgiving

2007-10-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

A very late Happy Thanksgiving! It's never too late to be thankful. I had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend, celebrating with my family. Big turkey dinners at both the Horban household and the Baerg's. It all smelled so great... too bad I couldn't partake in any of it. I've started eating certain types of protein, however; black and beans and chicken to start. I'll soon be into dairy products which is exciting! I'm still not crawling for those of you keeping track. Very close, but no real crawl yet. I am getting very good at dragging myself around with my arms. My hair is growing like crazy, and it's getting a little darker (some would say it looks a little red, but don't tell that to my dad!). I'm having trouble napping these days, mostly because my top teeth are bugging me so much. I absolutely love a good game of peek-a-boo, and I tend to giggle at almost anything when I'm overtired. I'm extremely ticklish, but I only enjoy it when I'm in a good mood. I loooove playing with my toys, especially in the bath, and I enjoy a good board book; I'm an expert page-turner. I also had the priviledge of meeting a new friend. Her name is Julia, and I stopped by the hospital the day after she was born to introduce myself. Here are a few of the latest pictures of me...

So It's Been A Little While...

2007-09-25T19:24:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I've been able to get to a computer to blog. To all my die-hard fans, I apologize. Lots has happened in the last couple of weeks... for instance, I'm now able to pull myself up to a standing position in my crib (and I feel pretty proud of myself when I do it, too). And I can pretty much sit by myself now, with the exception of a tumble here and there. I've expanded my food intake to both veggies and fruit, and I loooove it all! I quench my thirst with some refreshing water, from my big-boy rubbermaid drink box (complete with a straw and everything, I might add!). I'm going through a shrieking phase, which my parents are growing tired of. I'm getting some not-so-good reactions lately from my outbursts, especially when I'm tired cause that's when I get really loud and shrill. I'm napping really well in the morning and afternoon, but I'm trying to make my evening nap obsolete (it's not working out too well - I think my parents suspect I still need one).

I've tried to keep up my social life in the midst of all this developing. I watched my cousin Coop at his very first soccer game. I went to Kelowna for the weekend to visit my friends Sean & Wix. And I spent an entire church service in the nursery for the first time ever, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I've also caught up with my buddies Parker and Annah at Annah's new house (I like going there because she has so many toys, and a bright red chair she lets me sit in that's just my size), and I've spent some time with my grandparents, both Baerg and Horban. I love my grandparents! I got to cuddle with both my auntie Les and my auntie Megan - cuddling is one of my favourite things to do, especially when it's with my aunties. And probably the most major recent event in my life was my trip to the pool with my daddy... twice! I took my very first swim at the YMCA with my dad and Sean in Kelowna. I really didn't like it at first, but by the end, I was in my element! I can't wait to go again and again and again!

(My mom wanted you to know those are my dad's legs... not hers!)

Just Another Update

2007-09-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

I've cut another tooth! I'm just exhausted. And I've been introduced to real food. I can't believe what I've been missing! I just love it. Sweet potatoes, squash and green beans. It's the best! I can't wait to spend time in my highchair, and I absolutely love to try to feed myself by helping my mom handle the spoon. Another big change in my life is my ability to roll over from my back to my front. Who knew being on your tummy could be so exhilirating? While on my front I can rotate myself in a complete circle (when motivated by toys) and I can slowly move myself backwards. I am so close to crawling, I can almost taste the freedom! I also went to my very first hockey game last weekend - the Chilliwack Bruins were playing themselves, so my dad and I went with my cousin Mackenzie and my uncle Pat. I enjoyed myself immensely until the crazy-loud air horn startled me to tears.