cousins

I'm a little bit late with this post.  Truth is, I don't actually remember what day they were her.... I know today is Tuesday and they were here last week..... 

Ryan's sister Trisha and her kids were here from Ottawa for a very special visit.  Unfortunately, we don't see these cousins very often but it was obvious that there was a lot of love in the air as these kids hugged, read stories together and played for what could never have been a long enough visit.  

Auntie Trisha and Leo.
Their very first meeting and he fell asleep. 

Erin, Ethan, Ruby, Auntie Trisha and Leo.

Reading the Three Little Pigs.

Cousin Erin and Leo.

Erin and Ruby.
They hugged for a long time!  

Leo and Ethan.  

Some day we'll win the lottery and flying all over the country to see our family won't be a problem, but for now, we'll just treasure each and every moment we do get..... and take lots of pictures!  CHEESE!

day by day... by day

The days are blending into one another.  By the time we get everybody fed and dressed, teeth brushed, showered, fed and cleaned again.... diapers...... changed again..... it's time for lunch!  Makes it pretty difficult to keep appointments or have any kind of a plan really.  I look forward to getting onto a schedule someday but for now it's willy nilly.  So, I'll just go with that until one of the babies decides to throw us off, which is bound to happen at some point.  Soon?  Hm... no idea.  

Here's a random picture of Ruby that I love.  

She claimed both toys as they came in for Leo, which is fine by me.  He can't exactly appreciate them at the moment, can he?  

We're all still doing great.  Not sure who has darker circles under their eyes, me or Ryan.  Ruby's back onto a regular sleep schedule which is making everyone's life happier.  

Gotta go!

three weeks and counting

Little Leo is three weeks old today.  It's amazing how much he's changed in such a little time.... from teeny tiny to regular baby size (whatever that is?).  He's now 9 lbs 3 oz and growing every minute.  It honestly seems as though every time he wakes up from a nap he's bigger.  The same is true for Ruby.  Picking her up is like lugging around a sack of potatoes.... she must be 30 lbs by now.  I actually throw her over my shoulder and lug her around.... like a sack of potatoes.    

We're definitely getting into our groove around the house.  Getting through these hot and muggy days while maintaining a sense of humour is important so we had ourselves a little dance party after breakfast this morning.  The soundtrack to "Boogy Nights" is one of my all time favourites and I hope that the kids will grow up to know every song word for word.  Good times.  

One of the biggest challenges I'm finding is the fact that about 80% of Leo's wakeful moments are spent nursing, which obviously means he's with yours truly and yours truly can't be focused on Ruby.  That's when I see a subtle hint of jealousy in her eyes.  Ryan's doing an amazing job keeping her busy and for those two, this month is going down in the record books as 'monumental'.  They're bonding in a way that hasn't been possible before with Ryan going to work every day.  He's got two weeks left and I really hope that the four of us can get out for some kind of "vacation" type adventure..... before this amazing summer weather decides to get lost.  (oh my god, it's been the most amazing summer.  I can't remember a better summer in all of my life. Oh well...... some day one of my kids will buy me a summer home on the beach to make up for  it... right? )

We're definitely not taking as many photos of Leo as we did of Ruby.  I guess we're just not taking as many photos period because both of us quite literally have our hands full most of the time.  From here on in I'm going to try harder to snap some of these shots before they pass us by.  

Here are some examples: 

Our little Super Man.  

Coming in for a kiss.  

Bath time.  

Little bother, Big sister.  

june 24, 2012

Introducing the newest member of our family - 

Leo Ryan Grant.

He arrived ten days early, at 2:46 a.m. 

on June 24th, weighing 7 lbs 6 oz.

We're now a family of four.  

A million dollar family, as they say.  

(Does anyone know when they send the money??)

Since coming home with Leo last Tuesday I've made several attempts at writing this blog but I just couldn't figure out where to start or what to say.  The whole experience is somewhat surreal.  There are so many emotions and feelings (and hormones!) to deal with.  Leo has been an amazing baby right from the start.  He's calm, cute and tiny..... red hair, blue eyes.  I don't believe for a second that the smiles on his face are a result of gas.  I want to believe that he's saying, "this smile is for you mommy.... I hope it makes you feel better since I caused you so much pain."  

Our little man, Leo.

To make a long story short, labour started at 8 p.m.  I went to the hospital at midnight.  I was literally begging for an epidural but the Dr. was held up with another patient so I was out of luck.  I delivered Leo with no drugs other than the placebo "laughing gas" they gave me near the end.  Right up until the very last minute I was in denial that I was going to have to do it without the epidural.  It was an insane experience that in retrospect, I'm glad to have had.  

It's nice to have Ryan home for this special (and hectic) time and hopefully, once the healing process is complete and I'm feeling a little more like myself, we'll be able to make some lasting first family memories before he has to go back to work at the end of July.  

Ruby wasn't sure what to think of her little brother at first but she's definitely coming around, greeting him in the morning with a sweet "hello baby" and frequently reaching out to touch and kiss his little head.  She's going to be a great big sister.  

Arriving home from the hospital.

Their first kiss.  

Little foot, bigger little foot.

We're all doing well.  Looking forward to everything this amazing journey has in store for us and feeling blessed to have made it out of the delivery room alive.  (no, just kidding..... feeling blessed to have a healthy, happy family to call my own).  

Life is good.  Indeed it is.  

holy fluff

The fluff is now invading us.
Here's what we're dealing with:

This was at 9 o'clock in the morning.  

The warm, dry weather is ideal for the fluff.  

It gets stuck in all the nooks and crannies.

After supper.
This is how much fluff accumulated throughout the day.

If we left it, it would not blow away.
It gets smashed down into the surface creating a yucky mess.

Part of me wonders if I should send these pictures to the City of Moncton and ask for help with the clean up although I'm sure they wouldn't care.  If you know me, you know that I'm a lover of trees but I have very mixed emotions about these particular three.  I think I dislike these trees and would not be sad to see them go.  It's bad enough we have to rake 50+ bags of leaves every fall.  (yes, that's right - more than 50 large orange bags every year!)  Oh boy.  

the times they are a changin'

In the words of a beloved songwriter, the times... they are a changin'.  

First and foremost, in three short weeks we'll have a new baby boy living with us.  He'll be sleeping lots, eating lots, being cute.... and likely crying a fair share as well.  I think I blocked the nitty gritty details from memory, but I do know that Ruby had a spell where she cried a lot.  It's kind of a blur.... perhaps for the best.  Everyone says all babies are different, so we'll just go with the flow on this one and hope the swing we're getting does the trick.  I can remember putting Ruby in her car seat and swinging that thing back and forth with one arm trying to soothe her.  It worked, but boy, a car seat is not designed for swinging.  Too heavy.  A swing, with all the bells and whistles, is an essential piece of equipment this time around!  (and I hope it works).

In two weeks Ruby will be 21 months.  She's on the verge of the "terrible two's" and while we've been really lucky with her so far, she's had a couple 'freak-outs' recently.  I know it's perfectly normal and part of growing up, so my plan is to take it all in stride and try not to freak out myself.  

Her appetite has also changed.  She used to eat everything in site, no questions asked.  Now, we're lucky if we get half of the meal into her.  It's a little worrisome, but I'm pretty sure she's getting enough.

And, the last and most frustrating things that's changing is bedtime.  It's getting later and later every night, coming close to 9:30 on some occasions!  That's just too late.  I'm exhausted.

Here are some pictures of the good old days when she slept like a baby.

Asleep.  9 hours old.  

About a week old.... still sleeping.

Two weeks old.... still sleeping so nicely.

Asleep during her first walk in the stroller.  (3 weeks old).

A few weeks old. 

Good times.  :)

she thinks she's reading

Ruby's latest trick is "reading".  Wherever we go.... when she sees words (mostly store signs or logos), she'll start saying random letters of the alphabet.  I catch her doing it with books too.  It's really cute (and makes story time slightly complicated, yet entertaining).  I tried getting a sample on video.... it's not the best, but you get the idea.  (She's camera shy and Ryan entered the scene unexpectedly which was a major distraction!  Thanks Daddy.)