Mother's Day

My first official Mother's Day started with Cole getting up with K in the morning- already a good day.  Then they came back to the bedroom with gifts: two books (Pooh's Honey Trouble and Why I Love My Mommy) I can read with K and a card signed by K.  She even had pen on her face.  Later Cole came back with his gift for me, chocolates from our favourite chocolate shop, Roger's, in Victoria (he was there a few days earlier for a conference).  For Valentine's he always picks out a few chocolates I like so I get what I want and don't eat a whole box of chocolate.  Since we've moved away from Victora he has had to go to other places, so for Mother's Day this year I got Roger's chocolates.  They were delicious.  Cole also made breakfast, a picnic lunch and dinner.  It was a pretty good day.

3 Years

April 24, 2012

April 2009- Seattle Temple, WA

April 2009- Fairmont Olympic Hotel

Three years ago Cole and I were married in the Seattle Temple.  This was our first anniversary where we have had K, so a babysitter was in order.  We were visiting Cole's family in Alberta so we decided to take a mini trip to Edmonton since we were there on our "honeymoon" three years ago.  Cole's sister, Ami, watched K for a night and K got to play with her four cousins, one of whom is only 2 months older than her.  Cole and I spent most of our time at West Ed Mall: shopping, saw a movie, swam the whole second day at the WaterPark, saw the Seal show, etc.  We had our dinner at the Japanese Village downtown. 

On our way back to the hotel, Cole decided to drive by Commonwealth Stadium.  Before me, Cole's greatest love was the Edmonton Eskimos (and between July and November, it often still is). He got so excited at the stadium it wasn't until he pulled up in front of a person smoking beside the building that he realized he had been driving on the sidewalk all the way around the stadium.  (I wondered when they installed drive-by ticket booths). The funniest part was when he was backing up trying to get back to the parking lot, he couldn't figure out when he had actually started driving on the sidewalk.  It was QUITE a ways away.  The next morning we returned to the Stadium so Cole could check out the inside and also the Edmonton Eskimo store.  Cole's got a "bit" of a man-crush on the Eskimo's current Coach, Kavis Reed, and was hoping to spot him.  I felt like I was with a groupie.  At one point he asked if he could look down a certain hall (it had locked doors but was all glass, so you could see down it) and the cashier asked if he had an appointment.  He did not.  She said no.  I am kind of glad Cole didn't get to see him- if he had, it would have ended up being the highlight of OUR anniversary trip. He gets silly about very few things in life.  The Esks are at the top of that list. 

Oh, and we got a whole night of uninterrupted sleep and didn't have to make any bottles or change any diapers when we woke up.  That was glorious.

Road Trip

April 18-May 5

Our tax refund finally came on Tuesday the 17th and we left for Alberta on Wednesday.  Not wanting to jinx it, I didn't pack or do laundry ahead of time, so when the cheque finally came, we had to scramble to get ready.  K was waaaay better than I had anticipated.  She loved crawling around the kids area on the ferry and slept most of the first day in the car up to Revelstoke.  We stayed there for the night and ate at this really great place, Nomad.  If you ever pass through Revelstoke, go to Nomad, everytime.  As soon as we checked into the hotel, Cole had to go ask for new sheets.  Our lovely daughter had a diaper explosion on the bed and you can imagine the mess.  

exploring the room in Revelstoke and getting into trouble

trying to get at the dried fruit

peeking over at dad on the computer

From Revelstoke we headed to Calgary, stopping in Banff for lunch.  K had a nice poop explosion waiting for us in Banff that we had to deal with on the trunk of the car before we could go to the restaurant.  In fact, after a nice long break, K decided the time to start exploding out of her diaper again was during our road trip. 

K and Cole at Calgary Zoo

In Calgary, we stayed with Cole's sister Courtney and had a family dinner with her, her boyfriend and Cole's other sister who lives in Calgary, Christina, and her family (including K's brand new cousin).  The next day we went to the zoo to pass time while we waited for Courtney to be done work so we could all leave for Lacombe, where Cole's mom lives.  K didn't care much for the animals...didn't notice really, but passed out by the end of the trip, so that seemed worthwhile right there.  When we got back to the car, we saw Cole's keys hanging out of the trunk. 

passed out

In Lacombe that night, we had another family dinner, with Cole's mom, the two kids that still live at home with her and Cole's brother and sister and their families that all live in Edmonton.  We spent the next two weeks in Lacombe, driving up to Red Deer most days (Cole lived in Red Deer during high school and still has good friends that live there).  I brought my camera, but for some reason didn't really take any pictures even though we probably won't be back for at least a year, probably more like two or three.  Cole and I have never been very good at making sure we take pictures.  We have gotten better since K, but now that she's on the move all time, it's fading again.  We should have recorded K with all the relatives she won't see again for awhile.  Oh well, I didn't really think about it till I got to Vancouver. 

having a snack/nap in Lacombe

bought a new tent in Alberta and set it up to see how we liked it

K thought the tent was pretty cool

On the way home, we stopped in Okotoks to visit Cole's aunt and uncle and cousins, and realized that we left Cole's suit back in Lacombe.  So instead of continuing on to Revelstoke the next day, we went back to Lacombe and then turned around and headed to Revelstoke.  So not fun.  We stayed with my parents in Vancouver after Revelstoke and the Cole went to a Parks and Rec conference in Victoria while K and I stayed with my parents for a week.  Cole, again, forgot his suit in Vancouver so had to walk on the ferry the next day to come pick it up and turn around and go back so he could get to his conference.  Long, long trip, but glad to be back home now.  Unfortunately, that means packing to move.  Blah.

rib dinner in Vancouver

8 months old in Vancouver

Crawling

After resisting crawling for a long time and then pulling herself around on her tummy, K is up and crawling as of April 10 at 7 months old.  She finally decided she wasn't going to be walking as soon as she liked and gave in.  I think it's funny, though, that the post "Standing" came before "Crawling"....such is my little girl. 

up on her hands and knees finally

She's gotten the hang of things quickly and has reinstated her goal to walk now.  She's got great balance while she stands unassisted and she can almost do that from a sitting position with nothing to grab onto.  She's even taken a step or two without falling.  Unfortunately, she's got too much confidence and often stops paying attention when she's standing (especially near tables) and ends up hitting her head A LOT. She's always got marks on her head and face from these falls.  I think we should just get her a helmet to wear so we don't have to worry.  I can only imagine what she would say about baby pictures of her in a helmet.

shiner from hitting the corner of a coffee table

Standing

K is 6 months old- she should be starting to crawl, but instead she's decided she'd rather stand.  She's always loved standing since she was a few weeks old.  Lately, she's gotten so confident that she no longer wants help.  She holds onto furniture or me and then when she feels balanced, she lets go.  She does this ALL day long.  I'm sure most people don't believe me that my 6 month old stands, so here's the proof.  As soon as she gets strong enough to pull herself up into the standing position, she'll be off. 

Look, no hands!

still standing....

still standing...

6 month old standing=lots of falling down

K seems to have really sweaty hands and feet and often she ends up in positions like this- with her feet slipping backwards or sometimes apart into the splits

All Grown Up

Sometimes when you tell people you don't like being pregnant or breastfeeding they tell you you will once it's gone.  I don't miss being pregnant, I don't miss breastfeeding, I do, however, miss sleeping with K (sometimes).  For a few weeks now she's been sleeping in her own bed for 12 hours straight- no more getting up in the middle of the night.  It's been really nice.  But occasionally, I still miss snuggling with her through the night. 

Last night, she woke up around midnight screaming.  She sounded so scared- maybe a nightmare.  I told Cole to bring her into bed with us.  She kept letting out scared noises for a while but then calmed down but wouldn't go to sleep.  She snuggled with me but stayed awake.  After an hour, I couldn't take it anymore, I put her back in her own room and went back to bed.  I didn't hear her again for the rest of the night.

I miss sleeping with K sometimes; however, it appears she does not miss sleeping with me.  She's much happier in her crib and even though she gets scared sometimes, she doesn't need to leave her room anymore.  It's a good thing she's got the sleeping thing figured out.  But it's sad my baby is growing up. 

0 months and likes to sleep with me

6 months and she thinks she's all grown up

A Taste of Things to Come...

K is 6 months old- she chatters, but doesn't actually talk (obviously).  Her new favourite thing is to say da dad over and over to everyone and everything.  I know she doesn't know what it means.  But here's the thing.  When she's happy...it's dad dad dad dad.  When she's upset and crying, she cries ma ma ma ma. Still, means nothing.  But when I'm the one making her cry (i.e, cleaning her up after dinner..she hates it when I wash her hand and face) she cries da da da da. 

I know it doesn't mean anything.  BUT, at the same time- what will change even when she knows what those words mean? ...