New Beginnings

Nearly a month has passed since Miriam has joined our family... pregnancy and gestational diabetes and braxton hicks and 43-week giant bellies and major overdue-ness already seem like a distant memory.  If it wasn't for the last remnants of water retention that make my hands tingle and my shoes still a little snug, I would almost believe that we've had this new little one for many months already.

Now we are 4 weeks in, settling in as a family of 6 and I'm enjoying the feeling that our "quiver" is finally complete.

(10 days old)

After Miriam was born, the rest of August passed by in a blur.  A good blur - but a blur nonetheless.  We were blessed to have my mom here for 2 weeks after she was born and it allowed me to focus on feeding and sleeping and enjoying a cute and cuddly newborn.

The kids enjoyed having Granny around too - baking, puzzling, shopping, laughing at episodes of "I Love Lucy", and you-tubing funny animal videos on her ipad :)

We've also been so thankful for many different friends who have blessed us with meals and treats over these last weeks.  We've been well-fed and our freezer is stocked with some extras that we can pull out on the crazier days in the weeks to come.  And with gestational diabetes in my past and my insane nursing-mama hunger I have been appreciating the end of my diet restrictions.  I may or may not have enjoyed several of my friend's famous Skor cookies in one sitting...  (*sheepish grin*)  

The kids have adjusted quite well to having a baby in the house, but it still is an adjustment.  The evenings are generally Miriam's fussier time and in a small house the kids can hear her crying as they're trying to fall asleep.  The other night at about 9:30 Micah came out, all bleary-eyed, and suggested to me, "Why don't you try rocking her?"  (As if I hadn't already been pacing the living room, shushing and patting my brains out??  Thanks for the parenting advice, buddy... But please, go back to bed.)

Keziah loves her baby sister but has had the hardest time adjusting to how much time Mommy needs to spend with the baby.  It seems I'm always nursing her or rocking her or changing her when Keziah needs me.  But maybe it's because Keziah seems to need me a lot these days.  She's been a bit more over-dramatic and whiny in general and I'm trying to be patient as I remind myself of what she's probably experiencing through this huge change in our family.  

(Bath time - about 2 weeks old)

We've had several visits with our 2 midwives in the last 4 weeks and Miriam weighed 9 lbs 15 oz at her last visit (3.5 weeks old).  I loved my experience with the midwives at West Coast Health Collective.  It almost makes me wish we could do it all over again.

Almost.

Miriam even gave her a little smirk for the picture :)

Speaking of smirks, Miriam has been offering us rare smiles for the last week or so.  I have yet to capture a good one on camera, but you know that once I do I'll be instagramming that baby :)  This morning after I fed her and she dozed back into dreamland, she actually smirked and chuckled.  I kid you not.  She has not laughed in real life yet, but apparently she laughs in her sleep.  Let's hope this is a hint of a happy kid in our future??

And just as we've gotten settled into a sort of loose routine, we've been thrown into the back-to-school craziness...

Since school ended in June I've been slightly anxious about how a new school year was going to go.  Micah had a really, really tough time at the beginning of Grade 2 last year.  Crying, running from his classroom, clinging to my body and fearing that I wouldn't come back for him at the end of the day.  It took almost all year to work through his fears and anxieties only to know that we would have to start all over again with a new teacher and a new classroom for Grade 3.  The first morning those familiar fears started to surface for him but we were able to talk through it and he went willingly into his classroom despite some tears.  The next few days were completely fine and on Friday afternoon he announced that he wished it wasn't the weekend because he wanted to go back to school. Let's just say we are feeling very thankful!

Silas gets a new beginning this year too as he goes to preschool 3 mornings a week.  Yesterday was an open-house for parents and kids to meet the teacher and see the classroom.  He was pumped!  When he got there he wanted to know where his desk was and was disappointed to realize that preschoolers don't  actually have their own desks...  He had actually brought his own "homework" from home and proceeded to work on it at the art table.

This kid is definitely a character.

 As always, Keziah was quietly excited about a new school year and seeing all her friends in Grade 2. All 3 kids have fantastic teachers and I'm feeling good about how this year is going to go.

The school mornings will be an adjustment with a new baby in the mix.  Miriam has added a whole new element to the morning routine.  Thankfully she sleeps quite well at night.  Last night was her best night yet - a 5 and a half hour stretch followed by another 3 and a half hours.  And most nights she eats quickly and goes straight back to sleep.  So I can forgive her brief naps and fussy evenings if our nights continue to go this way...

Now, if only I could figure out a way to bottle her newborn-ness and save it up for the years to come, I totally would...

Mother's Day Tea

Yesterday Keziah's preschool held their Mother's Day Tea and it was so, SO adorable. This was my first opportunity to "sit in" on a preschool morning with Keziah. I'm always very curious to know if she plays with the other kids, whether she's too shy to ask to go to the bathroom, and whether she even talks at all for that matter.

We had a few different stations to rotate through, like bracelet-making, and mother-child interviews (according to Keziah, I am 13 years old and my "job" is washing dishes), but her favourite was definitely the nail polish station.

Keziah was very shy and quiet and I didn't see her chatting with any other little friends, but when it came time to perform their Mother's Day songs, she came alive! She knew all the words and actions, and I could tell she was totally in her element.

And did I mention I got my nails painted too?

I know...

Soooo pretty.

First Day of School

Yes, it's pretty unusual to talk about the first day of school in February. But, that's exactly what it was... Keziah started preschool today!

Last week - and kind of on a whim - I inquired about a preschool spot for Keziah for this "semester" at Central Heights. To my surprise, they not only had a spot available, but it was for the Mon/Wed/Fri morning class! (*grin*) I'm feeling thankful for the unexpected.

Just as a bit of explanation (for anyone who cares) - Erik and I have had a hard time deciding what to do with Keziah about school. She's old enough to start Kindergarten in the fall, but we were actually planning to hold her back (like we did with Micah) for several reasons, including her late birthday. So, when preschool registration came around this time last year I didn't register her for the 2010-11 year. But now, halfway through this year, I found myself wishing that we had registered her, even if it meant her taking 2 years of preschool instead of 1.

So, when they told me there might be an opening last week, it seemed like it would be the perfect solution. Not only is Keziah ready for something like this, it will also be extremely helpful in either preparing her for Kindergarten or indicating that she's not ready. When I got the phone call that she could have the spot, it was an answer to prayer.

I could tell that emotions were running a bit high this morning as things were making Keziah cry much more than normal. I gave her lots of extra hugs but tried to focus on how exciting and great this day was going to be! I went in with her for a few minutes while she got settled with the other kids during circle time. When I came back later to pick her up, they said she did great!

This feels like a really big change to our regular routine. Imagine how weird it was for me to drop TWO kids off at school and head to Superstore with just Silas in tow??

Piece of cake, folks. Piece of cake ;)

And the aftermath of a first day of school?

Other Goings Ons

After the wedding we had a few days in Georgia to hang out before we came back home. One of our stops was at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. It was amazing - though if it wasn't for the football-stadium-sized tank with whale sharks and other enormous fish, I would say that it's comparable to the Vancouver aquarium.



Having a little too much fun with our 3D glasses on...

Meanwhile at home, "Granny" (my mom) was keeping busy looking after the kids. Thankfully everyone stayed healthy and safe, and the weather turned beautiful and sunny!

Silas did great and was so used to Granny taking care of him. When we got back he was more than willing to let Granny feed him and put him to sleep. So much nicer than the days when Micah & Keziah were little and wouldn't get warmed up to Granny (or Grandpa) until it was time for them to leave.

I missed Mother's Day with the kids while we were away - including the Mother's Day tea at Micah's preschool. But Granny was able to go in my place and Micah got to bring home a plant for his mom and his grand-mom :)

A few days after we returned, Micah had his very first baseball game. I signed him up for the Kids Interchurch Baseball League - a very low pressure way for kids to have fun and learn a bit about the game. Micah was really nervous about it and needed some convincing, but he did great.

Micah and his friend Max chatting in the outfield.

A clip of his first time up at bat.

Keziah and I spent last Saturday afternoon at a Tinkerbell birthday party. She got to dress up like a fairy for the event and I couldn't help taking lots of pictures :)

Erik & my mom did some work on our little "yard" this past week - putting in new bark mulch and a few plants.

And a little trip to Birchwood Dairy...

Today we dropped my mom off at the airport. It was so great having her here. And the weather was perfect right up until she left - now it's rain, rain, rain for the rest of the week... :(

A Day On The Farm

Micah had his first preschool field trip on Friday to Willow View Farm. One parent was required to go and siblings were welcome to join, so I left Silas napping at home (in Grandma's care) and took Micah and Keziah to meet his class at the farm.

We rounded up as many of them as we could for this photo. Can you find Micah?






We spent some time in the barn with the animals - goats, pigs, bunnies, turkeys... you name it!


Then it was time for the hayride. Here they are smiling for the camera but their eyes were too busy looking everywhere else :)


That's better!


Driving through the pumpkin patch:




We got to get out and let the kids each pick a pumpkin to take home.


The "corn" horse:


Enjoying a freshly picked apple:


Little Miss Muffet and a sneaky spider...


All in all, a fun morning with the kids!