Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Two Girls in the Tub

Sophie and Elise had their first bath together a couple weeks ago.  They had a blast, playing and splashing.  Ever since, Sophie asks daily if her sister can join her in the tub.  So much fun!

 

 

To see more pics from the month of November, click here.

 

 

 

Dr. Meow's Big Emergency

Ever since I got Sophie her doctor's kit, she often asks me or Dad to play doctor or sometimes she is content to just play by herself and examine her stuffed animals.  So it was no surprise when we went to the library a couple weeks ago and found a book about Dr. Meow, who works at Kiss-It-Better Hospital, that that became her new favourite book.  We read it numerous times the first few days we had it, then it became a favourite before bed book.  We have read it so many times, Sophie now "reads" the story to us.  It will be a sad day when we have to take Dr. Meow back to the library.

October 2013

We have had a busy month with some important events; Thanksgiving, Madeleine's birthday and Halloween. 

Nana, Papa, Uncle Warren, Aunt Ave, Ally and Grace joined us for Thanksgiving this year.  We served the usual turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, gravy and homemade buns, and for dessert, pumpkin or apple pie.  As usual, Sophie had a wonderful time playing with her cousins.  She was also very eager to show everyone what a big girl she was, putting her potty into the living room and having Aunt Ave and Ally watch her go.  Way to go, Sophie!

We celebrated Madeleine's 3rd birthday with her at Mom and Dad's in Red Deer.  Our trip out to Red Deer didn't start out too well.  Of course we had the usual headache of just trying to get this family out of the house and into the car, a seemingly simple task that takes 30 minutes on a good day.  Then about 20 minutes from Red Deer, Sophie started complaining that she didn't feel well.  This is pretty typical, she has never travelled well in the car.  I gave her some fish crackers to settle her stomach, but before we knew it, the seat in front of her was wearing her snack.  Poor girl insisted that we keep going and none of us really wanted to drive the hour back to Calgary with the car smelling the way it did.  She said she felt fine after that, no more upset stomach.  So we went to Mamie and Pepere's house, threw Sophie's clothes and car seat cover in the wash, while Ryan spent some time with a bucket, some soap and a sponge in the car.  Then we continued on with our day.  
Sophie and Madeleine were excited to see each and had a great time playing with Pepere's doll house, as well as Madeleine's birthday presents.  We also took the girls to a park nearby.  We stayed until after dinner then headed home.

For Halloween this year, Sophie was dressed as ladybug and Elise was an elephant.  We went trick or treating with our friends Denny, Chelsea, Emily and Logan.  We visited 7 or 8 houses on the street, just the neighbour's that we know and then headed home so Sophie could enjoy one treat before getting ready for bed.  She had a great time and was sad when we had to take down the decorations.  I told her not to worry because the Christmas decorations would be coming out soon.  Now she won't stop talking about how it is almost Christmas, definitely her mother's daughter.

I can't ever seem to get both girls to smile for the same picture.  To see more pics from the month of October, click here.

Deja Vu

Now where have I seen this before?  Check out my entry "Finally Mobile...Sort Of" from October 2011.

Too Busy to Blog

Well, Elise is now 7 months old and I just haven't had the time to write about all she has been doing.  With two little ones to watch, time seems to be flying by twice as fast.  Here is a quick recap of the last few months and the major milestones we have hit.  At three months, Elise started rolling over. At four months, she sat up. At five months, she was clapping her hands.  At six months, she started walking with the help of mom or dad. By the time she was seven months old, she was pulling herself up and cruising on the furniture.  She is also bum scooting to wherever she needs to go.  Needless to say, she has been busy growing and learning and now I have even less time; I need to be much more careful now that she is mobile.  She also got her first tooth a couple weeks ago. 

Elise has been eating solids for a couple months now and is a great eater.  She is not picky and will eat just about anything we put in her mouth.  She isn't sleeping through the night but is a better sleeper than Sophie was.  Either that or I am so used to not sleeping, it has been less noticeable the second time around.  She is a cheerful, happy baby.  Very easygoing, always smiling.  She especially loves the Wiggles and her sister's toys.

To see pics from the last couple months, click here.

My Poor Back!

Shortly after Elise turned 6 months old, she started walking with the help of Mom or Dad.  We are all very excited to watch Elise run around, Sophie especially.  However, I forgot just how hard it is on our backs.  My chiropractor is going to love me.

More Summer Fun

Our third camping trip this year was at Mount Kidd again.  This time, we went with Mamie and Pepere.  The weather was great and good news, the pool was open!  Our first day there went well.  We spent some time at the pool, went for a bike ride (my first of the summer, finally!), played some frisbee and visited. 

 

However, having the world's worst teething child, we headed home a day early.  Sophie has been working on her two-year-old-molars (yes, they are still not out...I look in her mouth every night with a flashlight to see little to no progress) for months now and it can cause her to have trouble sleeping (no surprise there, she has never been a good sleeper).  She spent the second night tossing, turning, calling out and crying, and because we were in such close quarters, we were all up to hear it.  Unfortunately, this meant Mom, Dad and Sophie were tired and cranky the next day so we decided to just pack up and go. 

The following weekend we had some very special visitors.  My brother, Dan, his wife, Tina, and my niece, Madeleine, came to Calgary for a night.  It had been a very long time since we had all seen each other.  I was really excited to see Sophie and Madeleine together.  They got along famously.  Being so close in age, they seemed to understand each other and play on the same level.  Madeleine will be a big sister as well in November, which is wonderful news.  We hope that once all our kids are older and a bit easier to travel with, we will get to see them more often.

To see more pics of the month of July, click here.

Family Time

After Elise's baptism, Aunt Janae stayed with us for a couple days.  Sophie and Elise enjoyed some quality time with their very special aunt, putting puzzles together, playing games and balloons, going to the park and just hanging out.  We also spent an afternoon at the splash park in Airdrie with Aunt Ave, Ally and Grace.  Thanks for the visit Aunt Janae!

 

 

 

 

 Our second camping trip of the year was the Van Orman Reunion at Mount Kidd.  It was the first time in a few years that the whole family could come.  I think we had the nicest weather we have ever had but unfortunately, the pool was closed due to the recent floods.  We had a great time anyways.  It was wonderful seeing everyone and Sophie had lots of fun playing with all her cousins.

One of Sophie`s favorite camping activities - Painting rocks

A walk by the river

Sophie and Gus hunting for ground squirrels

 

Sophie and Dad

 

 

To see more pics, click here.

Elise's Baptism

On Saturday, July 6th, Elise was baptised at St. Peter's Church in Calgary by Father Jerome.  We hosted a BBQ afterwards to celebrate.  Thank you to everyone who came and shared this very important day with us.  And an extra big thank you to Uncle Julien and Aunt Janae who have agreed to play a special role in Elise's life by being her godparents.

 

 

To see more pictures of Elise's baptism, click here.

Celebrating Canada Day

The day before Canada Day, we hosted a Canada Day/Pool Party BBQ.  We invited some friends over, put out the kiddie pools and enjoyed the sun and some burgers.

 

The next day, we went to Olds to participate in their Canada Day festivities with Uncle Warren, Aunt Ave, Ally and Grace.  We got to do all sorts of fun activities that made me appreciate the perks of living in a small town.  We dug for treasure in a sandbox and then traded our gold for candy.  Sophie went fishing and caught some bubbles.  At another fishing station, she got stickers in exchange for her fish.  There were also many bouncy houses to jump in and free popcorn and cupcakes to snack on!  What a great day!

 

 

 

 

To see all our pictures for June, click here. 

 

First Camping Trip of the Year

Seven years ago, when I met Ryan, he had a tent trailer and I teased him about it, telling him he wasn't really "camping" with such luxuries as matresses, a table, and storage.  This year we have purchased our forth trailer, upgrading just a bit each time.  The trailer we are sporting this year is 31 feet, has two slides and two tvs.  There are three queen beds (one in a seperate bedroom) and a bunk, as well as a table and a couch.  Now that I have been spoiled with such comfort, I'm not sure why I thought tenting was so great in the first place. 

 

We took our fancy new trailer out a couple weeks ago.  Sophie did not remember camping from last year.  She had a blast and declared that she loved camping as soon as we arrived.  We went to Westward Ho for the weekend with Uncle Warren, Aunt Ave and cousins Ally and Grace.  Sophie loved spending the day outside in the fresh air and having her aunt, uncle and cousins right outside her door, ready to give her lots of attention.  I also really enjoyed our trip.  Sophie was so busy and Elise slept up a storm, so I actually got to relax a fair bit.  And when Elise wasn't sleeping, there was always someone willing to hold her.  Ally was usually the first in line.

To see more pictures of our camping trip, click here. To see some pictures of last month, click here.

We were supposed to go camping again this weekend but due to the non-stop rain and flooding in Calgary, our trip was cancelled.  We were all quite disappointed, Sophie most of all.  However, we are thankful to not have had any damage or flooding in our house, and not to have been one of the 25 communities to be evacuated yesterday.  Bridges are underwater and downtown is expected to be closed until mid-week.  Here are a few pictures of Calgary taken yesterday.

 

 

Our thoughts are with the many families that have lost their homes and/or have been displaced due to this tragedy.

Butterfield Acres

We got season passes to Butterfield Acres again this year so last week, Sophie, Elise and I met Aunt Ave, Ally and Grace there.  Sophie had a great time and is still talking about how the goats were eating the straps on my backpack.  Having her older and very helpful cousin, Ally, there made it easy for me.  She held Sophie's hand and helped her to see, pet and feed the animals.  It was windy and a bit chilly but the girls were troopers.  Thanks for the great morning Aunt Ave, Ally and Grace!

 

To see our pictures of Butterfield Acres and more, click here.

Elise's Story

 

It has been six weeks since Elise was born and I only now have a minute to tell her story.  Our neighbour, Danika, who is 11 years old, has come over to play with Sophie.  Before Christmas, she would come over for an hour once a week to play; this gave me some time to myself.  Having an hour to catch up on laundry, fix dinner or just enjoy a cup of tea is well worth the five dollars it costs me.  Anyways, even though it has been a while, I will do my best to remember all the details of the day Elise was born. 

The start of her arrival was much like Sophie's; labour started days before my actual delivery.  Saturday morning, the contractions began but they were few and far between.  Later that day, we went to Dennis and Chelsea's for an afternoon of playtime and then dinner.  I sent Ryan and Sophie ahead of me so I could walk around the block several times before heading to their place, hoping to move things along.  When I was tired and out of breath, I joined the rest of the party.  I continued to have contractions during dinner and they were getting closer together and more intense.  Hanging with friends was a good distraction. 

We went home later that evening and called my sister-in-law, Ave, to come over.  We thought it would be better for her to come early in case we had to head to the hospital in the middle of the night.  We also called my doula, Cendrine, and asked her to come over as well.  I continued to have contractions all night long.  My doula and I used different techniques to deal with the pain and try to advance labour.  At about 5 am, Cendrine suggested I lay down.  If we had to go to the hospital, I needed to save my energy.  Once I layed down, the contractions slowed and then just stopped all together.  Cendrine and I slept for a couple hours and when we woke, we decided to go to the hospital to see what was going on.

So we headed for the hospital.  The contractions had started up again but they were less intense and sporadic.  This was not encouraging.  The nurse checked me and found that I was only 3 cm dialated.  She suggested I go home, rest and wait for everything to pick up again.  I went home and slept most of the afternoon since I had been up all night.  By the time I woke up, contractions were even less frequent.  We had dinner and I went to bed as usual that night.  I had sporadic contractions throughout the night but nothing to run to the hospital for. 

Monday morning came and still no baby.  I didn't feel like anything important was happening so I sent Ryan to work.  My doula had no explanation to offer us as to why things had stopped all together.  Cendrine and I headed back to the hospital that morning to see if I was any further along.  I wasn't so they sent me home again.  I was getting frustrated, waiting for things to start again but the nurse thought I would be back before the end of the day.  I went home and went on with my day. 

That afternoon, Cendrine suggested that I go for a long walk and afterwards, take a bath.  I followed her instructions and sure enough, labour started up again.  The contractions were coming fast and frequent.  I did not want to go to the hospital again to be turned away for a third time so I held on for as long as I could but within a couple hours, things were getting quite intense.  So Ryan and I headed to the hospital.  

I was 5 cms dialated and finally admitted.  I went from 5 cms to 10 cms in 3 hours and after twenty minutes of pushing, we had our new baby girl.  I was able to deliver Elise with no drug interventions, something I am very proud of.  Elise was born March 11th at 10:32 pm, weighing 8 lbs 2 ounces, and came out hungry.  She had no problem latching and ate like she had never eaten before.   I got to hold my daughter only long enough for her to feed before they took her away and gave her to Ryan.  

Now comes the drama.  After giving birth, which couldn't have gone any better in my eyes, the placenta wouldn't come out.  There was a team of doctors that was called in and I could feel a sense of panic in the room.  Not a good feeling.  We waited close to an hour but nothing was happening.  Finally, the doctor who delivered Elise decided she needed to intervene.  This was almost more painful than giving birth.  After several tries, the doctor finally located the placenta and removed it.  However, at this point, the bleeding wouldn't stop.  She also thought there might be some of the placenta left in my uterus so they sent me to the OR to get a D and C and to try and stop the bleeding.  

 

 

 

 

After having made it through the delivery with no drug intervention, I now needed to get a spinal block for this procedure.  They performed the d and c, then inserted a balloon in my uterus and inflated it to stop the bleeding.  It would be left there until the next day, when they would partially deflate it to make sure the bleeding had stopped before removing it altogether.  The procedure lasted a couple hours so I didn't get back to Elise and Ryan until close to 2 am.  I spent the night in recovery and the doctor felt I needed my rest so they wouldn't leave Elise with me.  I found that really tough.

The next day, when they saw that the bleeding had stopped, they transfered me to the post natal unit where I would spend another night but could now have my family come visit.  Ryan, Hunter and Sophie came to see Elise and me that evening.

The next day, in the late afternoon, Ryan and Sophie came to pick us up and take us home.  In the end, it was a good thing I stayed two days in the hospital because once I got home, I didn't get to rest anymore.  My toddler had missed me too much and was excited to bring home her new little sister; there would be no napping or relaxing.  I no longer got to pick my meals from a menu and have them delivered to my bed.  I guess there are some perks to being in the hospital.  Things got busy when I got home and they haven't stopped since!

Happy Easter!

Sophie woke up to a trail of Easter eggs that started outside her bedroom door this morning.  She followed it down the stairs, to the front closet, where she found two Easter baskets, one for her and one for Elise.  Sophie's basket was full with a chocolate bunny, a book, some stickers and a stuffed rabbit.  Elise's basket had a nunu, in the form of a bunny,  and a book.  It has been two hours since Sophie found the basket and she has only eaten one chocolate egg so far.  I'm impressed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see more pictures of my beautiful girls, click here.