Can't Take My Eyes Off of You- Frank Sinatra

People say that you never realize how much you will love your children until you have your own. That is so so true. I have never loved anyone or anything the way I love Lucas. I had a realization of that last night. I rarely bottle feed Lucas, usually if there is someone else here they do it. We orginally started that becuase it is recommend as to not confuse the baby so they won't expect bottle when breast is offered and vica versa. But Darryl was a volleyball and there was no one else here so I did it. The was no TV or music just me, Lucas and the bottle. The whole time we are just staring at each other. He has those big beautiful blue eyes. Tears start rolling down my face, not sad tears but the happiest tears ever. I love this person more then I ever thought I would. I would do anything for those big beautiful eyes staring at me.

Of couse because I was staring at him he didn't fall asleep. But it didn't take him long once I put him in bed. He then ate once in the night and we had no crying. We've also had a great time with naps today. Not too much fussing to go down. I think I have him figured out for the moment, but it will change again soon.

Yesterday ended up being way more fun then I expected. Auntie Karen showed up at around 2:30ish. So I got to spend the afternoon with her. She just got back from an all inclusive in Cuba. If you have never been on an all inclusive I highly recommend it. It is the most relaxing vacation ever. Darryl and I have been fortunate to go on two, once to Mexico and once to Jamaica. I hope to do many many more. Like I said so relaxing, you come back ready to face the world. The first time I ever went on one I thought I'd be bored. But there was enough to do at the resort and then part of it is doing nothing. I had never really been on a vacation like that before. But it's the best.

Then we went to Mom and Dad's new place and Mom made us a great pasta fagoli soup. Lucas enjoyed seeing his grandparents and Auntie Karen. He loved Auntie Karen's laugh. Her laugh is so animated and he would look for her everytime she did it.

Lucas is becoming a mommy's boy. While we are out he seems to be happiest when with me. Which I'm sure is normal to an extent, but it may be part of his personality coming through. Not the mommy's boy aspect as much as the shyness. Maybe he will grow to be like Darryl, quiet till he warms up to people.

Lucas's new thing this week, along with the da-da-da is sucking on his toes. I will post a picture later this week. It is amazing how flexible he is.

Till Tommorrow ( and the fun new game we are going to play)

Jenn

Come Fly With Me- Frank Sinatra

Well the dogs (Tails and Emma) and the baby are sleeping. Yeah! It's amazing how as an adult you love sleep, but as a child or dog, you'd much rather be playing. Lucas has gone down well for both naps today so I'm really happy about that. Hopefully this one will be a longer one and he won't need a third nap. Although he was up at 3am crying and talking on and off for about 40 minutes. I ended up sleeping in the spare room so that Darryl could get enough sleep, as he has to go to work an hour earlier these days, so that I can go to work as well.

The soft spot on the top of Lucas's head is gone. Another sign he is growing up. I also gave him some green beans today. He had the same reaction as he did the banana, likes the first few mouthfuls and then starts to spit it out. Maybe it's a delayed reaction once he realizes things have flavor. Guess we'll try it again tommorrow. He also loves flying through the air. We had a video conference yesterday with Grammie and Grandad in Ontario and he was very good, but very busy.

Well the rest of our weekend was quite good. It's always so nice to have Darryl home and he did some good cleaning yesterday which is always nice. We are a good team in the cleaning department. He is very through but it takes him a longer time to do things and I can do alot in a short period, but it's all just surface cleaning.

Today is my bestfriend birthday from when I was a kid. Melinda, Happy Birthday. I hope whereever you are you are happy and healthy.

I think that's all for today. Although in two days something fun is going to happen...... stay tuned.....

Till tommorrow

Jenn

Fight for Your Right to Party- Beastie Boys

We just got back from a meeting with the families from our prenatal group. It's interesting becuase when we first met we all had big bellies and no babies, now we all have babies and small bellies =). IT's always intersting to see how much babies are simialar and yet very different as well. They are starting to develop little personalities. The only problem was it wasn't at the best time for us, so we didn't stay long as Lucas was getting fussy from hunger and sleepiness.

Last night we went to Tammy and Pat's and had a blast! Lucas slept in the playpen at their house so we were able to stay out past 7pm. We played poker which is always lots of fun. I laughed till I cried. Plus Pat made us dinner, which was great. It's funny with poker because we don't play with real money, but in the beginning we are very conservative. One dollar here, two dollars there, by the end were betting 20's and 30's. Anyway it was very fun.

We did have a bad night with Lucas though. He woke at 3amish and didn't want to go back to sleep, after 45 m inutes of crying I finally fed him. Which sounds cruel, but as a parent it's so hard to know what to do, and too much crying feels like torture, even if you are trying to teach them something.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Baby Before You- Chantal Krevaizuk

In my life before Lucas I was quite ambitious. I was a "career" woman. One of the goals I had for myself before children was to move from a general technologist position into some sort of teaching position. While working towards that I went on lots of interviews. Plus I have interviewed lots of students to get into the MRT program. In the comments Mo asked about some interview stories, I don't have lots of stories but I certainly some advice if you are ever going for an interview.

1. Dress the part. Atleast dress up. I was once told to dress IBM. Which is a navy suit with a white shirt underneath. I also always wear my glasses to interviews. I'm hoping it makes me look smarter.

2. Before you go into your interview re-read your resume and the job description of the job you've applied for. Use words from the job description in your answers. For example if they are look for someone who is accurate, be sure to use the word "accurate " in your interview. Many compaines use a marking scheme to grade each applicant. They get there marking scheme from the job description.

3. Never not give an answer. The classic is describe a conflict you've been in. Many people say I don't get into conflicts. That question might be worth 5-10 points, and you've just lost them all. Plus everyone gets into conflicts.

Anyway that's all for now. Just a couple of things to keep in mind. I'm am certianly no expert, but at 26 I feel like I've done lots, probably more then some do in a lifetime.

Onto the daily update. Lucas just fed once last night. Darryl went in at 3am and put his sucky back in and he fell asleep. We went to Costco this morning and he loved looking around. Still working on perfecting his speech, da da da all the time. We called Grammie and let listen this morning. Oh yeah and in the bath this morning he learn how to splash. He was quite amused with himself and loved hitting the water. It's cool that his surroundings are becoming more fun.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Candy Man, Salty Dog- Sharon Lois and Bram

So far today I'm ready for Darryl to come home. Just in the fact that it will be nice to not talk in a high sing song voice. Today we are watching (and when I say we, I mean myself and Emma, becuase she provides most of the entertainment)the Geniers new puppy, Tails. We have exhausted him. Emma and he played all morning in the yard. Then we went to the offleash to play. Now he is konked out at my feet while I type (although Tigger just came in the room, so things might change)

So last night we had to let Lucas cry again. It's too bad becuase he hasn't been crying that much. But he was getting up really frequently. I guess it's like the Paula Abdul song, two steps forward, two steps back. He slept through till morning again, so hopefully we may have to go through one more night of it and then things will be back to normal.

He is learning to make a racket. (By racket I mean alot of noise, not tennis). He is starting to enjoy banging things together and see how much noise he can make. This is still cute and interesting to me, but I'm sure that will change in a couple of weeks.



Last night I went to a marketing focus group. It was quite interesting, South Centre is thinking of putting in a "children's play area". One where you could pay for babysitting of your child. I thought it was an interesting idea and there was much debate about the "fee". Anyway it was interesting to see others point of view and in the end I got a gift card to spend at Southcentre.

Well I should go check on the dogs.....

Till tommorrow

Jenn

Brand New Beau- Amanda Marshall

One other new thing that happened this afternoon, that I might not remember tommorrow, but Lucas is learning anticipation. When something happens over and over again, he is starting to realize it will come again and laugh in anticipation. It's great!

Till Tommorrow (for real this time)

Jenn

Who Need Sleep- Barenaked Ladies.

Well just got back from baby and you Yoga. It was.... interesting. I found it hard to focus on exercising with Lucas there. But I'm sure that any exercise is good. One of my neighboors was taking it as well, so it was good to see her there and her little daughter is so cute. It's so fortunate that Lucas will be able to grow up with kids the same age around. Basically you are doing yoga with your kid there. I was hoping to incorporate him more. Oh well I guess next time I'll just bring more toys.

Well he was up again at 5am. I don't know what's going on. Then we had to wake him at 7:30. He can put himself to sleep, he does so everytime. It just takes him time to go to sleep at that hour. And usually I am feeding him then too. It's hard to know if it is a growth spurt or if he's getting back into bad habits. I guess we'll see what tonight brings and maybe if it continues I'll try the "dream feed". Hopefully becuase I woke him this morning he won't continue.

Heard from my old teacher yesterday. He is thinking of moving out west and working at SAIT. It would be great to have him there. He would be so knowledgeable.

Lucas is still being a chatterbox. He can say da da da da, over and over again. I'm in the process of try to teach him ma ma ma =)

Also, Darryl took a funny video of Lucas laughing. If you'd like to see it you can e-mail us or leave in comments.


Till Tommorrow

Jenn

What's New Pussycat? Tom Jones

Last night went to my AAMRT meeting, there was a very interesting talk about STARS air amubulance. I am amazed at the dedication of the people who work for STARS. Alberta is an amazing province we live in and seeing that presentation last night was great. Here is the website if anyone is interested in learning more

www.stars.ca

It was good to put a professional hat on. Although everyone asked about Lucas, I got to be Jenn the x-ray technologist for an hour, rather then Jenn the mom. Not that Jenn the mom isn't great, but it was a nice change. Plus it was nice to talk to adults and smooze a little.

So Lucas awoke at 5am this morning. I do not get up at 5am (unless I'm going to catch a flight somewhere). Anyway I tried feeding him and then putting him back to bed. It took him a long time to get back to sleep. Which was a pain, cause he either kept talking or crying. The good news is that he ended up sleeping until 9am!! Wow incredible! Execpt that has seem to totally screw up our day. I have some trouble reading him when it not by "the clock". Or he already has lots of sleep..... Anyway. All is good now. He's been sleeping for an hour and a bit, so we'll see what he's like when he wakes up. It funny how something that would seem so great, can be a pain.

Today on "The View" the ladies discussed American Idol and the phenomenon it's becoming. The question they were asking is what kind of values are we teaching our children, when we all sit down as a family and watch people be mean to each other. I thought it was kind of interesting..... I am not a loyal watcher of the show, but it gave me something to ponder.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

My Darling Child- Sinead O'Connor

Babies are the most amazing things. One of the things lots of people told me about and Lucas is just starting to do is learning about new things. Yesterday it was so beautiful that we sat out in the grass for a while and played fetch with Emma. Lucas was touching the grass, and you could tell he had never felt it before. He was so amazed by it's texture and temperature. He is starting to do that with all kinds of things. He'll look at an object and study it and then put it in his mouth. It's amazing because you can almost see his learning. See the little connections being made in his brain.


Everyday he is becoming more and more fun. He's starting to realize that people can be funny, it doesn't always have to be tickling. I can make funny noises and he'll laugh. Plus he's start to learn more sylables. No words yet, but any minute he'll be saying da da da da over and over again. He can say da, just hasn't done it over and over again. There are times in the day when he is taking so much in, like on the grass or at the off leash park with Emma. There are other times when he is learning by doing, like talking. It's just so amazing, and I'm lucky I don't have to miss any of it.

Well the Conservatives won the election. Stephen Harper is going on about change in Canada, but honestly I like it the way it is. I hope things don't change too much. I mean I wouldn't mind a tax break, but don't do it in expense of other things we do have. We'll have to wait and see......

Mom and Dad were over last night. They are moving into there new house today. Yeah, it'll be nice to have them so much closer. I made a cake for Dad's birthday, but it was no name and no good. It's amazing how much Mom and Dad love Lucas, it must be fun to be grandparents.

Tonight I'm headed to an AAMRT meeting. It will be fun to put on my career hat and take off my mommy hat.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Welcome to the Jungle- Guns and Roses

Well today is election day here is Canada. I'm hoping that everyone goes out to vote. I don't care who you vote for, but everyone should exercise there right. We are fortunate to live in a country where we get to elect our leaders. We should have a say in that. I think a lot of people are apathetic to voting, but I think it's important that we do it and that we appriciate the fact that we live in the greatest country in the world. A country that believes in democracy. It wasn't that long ago that women were not able to vote, so I will vote this afternoon, and I hope everyone does as well.

Well it's been an exciting 24 hours. Yesterday we had a great time going upto the mountains. It's so nice to get out of the city for a bit and breathe some fresh mountian air. Besides hotdogs taste so much better when they are cooked on a fire. =). Tammy, Pat, Matthew and Shaun joined us up at Elbow Falls and we enjoyed the fresh air. I think Lucas enjoyed the fresh air as well. I know Emma did.

A couple hours after we got home Tammy called and they decided on a dog. She was going to pick it up that evening, so I offered to come with her. It's interesting to go into a home that fosters aniimals. I myself am an animal lover and wonder if that's something I'd like to do, but I'd just have such a hard time saying goodbye. The interesting thing about this foster home was they had children, and I could only imagine how hard that would be.

Anyway, so welcome Tails to the Genier family. I'm sure we will all be spending lots of time together. Matthew is in heaven. The dog is a shepard mix. He seems to be quite settled and not too high strung, which I'm hoping will make him easy to train. They were over this morning and Emma and Tails had fun wrestling in the backyard. At first when the dog came in Emma was a little protective of her territory and her family. She showed her teeth a couple times. Then once she knew we were all okay with the dog and went outside everything was good with Emma too.

Lucas slept well last night, only waking once. Had a short nap this morning, but put himself to sleep while I typed this in the afternoon. Yeah!!! Good for you little man. He's been talking alot today. Of course I take out the camera to try and tape it, but then he's quiet and just staring at the camera. =)

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Eight Days a Week- The Beatles

Wll he's sleeping again. Yipee! He had a super short nap this morning and was up by 9am. So he's gone back down again, although it took lots of fussing. During his fussing, he did find his thumb, which I am happy about, atleast he is learning that he can soothe himself. Although it didn't work completly, it helped, which is a good sign. Here is a picture of him in the bumbo, I was talking about the other day.

The dog shopping yesterday was quite successful. Puppies are so adorable! Emma is such a good dog, but it was fun to look at other dogs. When we got home I took Emma out in the backyard and she was playing around with a ball like she was a puppy. There is still some snow in the backyard, which makes the ball slide around, and she likes to pounce on it.

Lucas was very good while we were out, which he usually is. It is one great thing about him, that he is quite transportable. He loves to look at new things, even if it's just dog toys.

Watched the hockey game last night, both games were not so great. One of the teams totally dominated.

Oh I hear him stirring, better go

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Alcohol-Barenaked Ladies

Well an early post today as Tammy and I (and the kids) are going dog shopping this afternoon. It will be fun to go look at puppies and see if there is a dog that will suit the Geniers. We of course have a great dog, Emma. So it will be good for her to have another friend. =)

Yesterday on Oprah there was a very interesting debate. These parents got a stripper for there sons 16th birthday party. There reasoning was if he was going to do it anyway they would rather there son do it in the there house and under their control. I thought it was a very interesting show. It certainly made me think about parenting teenagers. If they are going to do it anyway, should you allow them to do it under your control, or if you allow them to do it under your roof are you condoning illegal behavior? What about when it comes to drinking or drugs? As most of you know Darryl and I enjoy wine and I plan on letting Lucas try it when he gets old enough to be curious. But then where do you draw the line. We let you do illegal things.. does that mean it's okay to run a red light? steal? I know many of these things are in different "categories" but if you condone one illegal thing where does it stop. At the same time I believe it is a cultural thing, in our cultural we have hang ups about sexuality and drinking. Something to think about......

Lucas did not sleep through the night last night. Although only up once for a quick feed. Then a short nap again this morning. But I think that is partly because Darryl is home and there is extra noise in the house. Anyway, hopefully the rest of the day will go well. Took some pictures of him in the bumbo, I'll put them up tommorrow.

Also one other question, got take out yesterday and when I was entering my pin number the machine asked if I wanted to tip. Are you now suppose to tip for takeout???

Till Tommorrow.

Jenn

32 Flavors- Ani DiFranco

Groceries are my favorite chore. Although they are work, and technically a chore, since you couldn't go for more then a month without getting them, they are defintly my favorite. I guess because it's like shopping, which I also love. I enjoy planning the meals for the week and picking out treats for the week. I try to be health concious as well. Treats for this week were raspberries and cookies. Some healthy, some not so healthy. I mention this becuase today was grocery day. Usually on Fridays we do groceries. It's great becuase the superstore is not as busy as it is on the weekends. That is one of my favorite things about being home. Even Christmas shopping didn't seem so bad this year.

Lucas slept through the night again, which was great! I'm wondering if this will start to become a habit, atleast until he starts teething. As I am learning, and as everyone has told me, just when you think you get things figured out with your children, they change. Yesterday we went out and bought the "bumbo" which I think is the craziest name for something. http://www.bumbobabyseat.com/ I'm not sure if Lucas enjoys it though. It may be like most new things for him, takes him a while to get use to it. I'm hoping we'll be able to take it with us on vacations and use it as a highchair.

I bought him his first "real" food today. Although I guess rice ceral is a real food. But it's pureed green beans. We'll probably try it sometime next week. It's funny when you are there trying to decide what to give them, becuase there are so many options. So I just picked one of my favorite things.

Tammy came over last night and we got some more scrapbooking done. Yipee! I'm almost done all my Lucas pictures, so soon I'm going to have to go back and do, pre Lucas pictures. Plus she brought the best recipie for martinis. Lexie you should try this one, it's better then the martini recipie I made at Christmas

1 ounce of grapefruit juice
1 ounce of chambord (raspberry liquor)
1 ounce of vodka

It tasted like cotton candy but not so sweet.

Just wanted to thank Lori for the nice comment. It's so great to hear from people who read the blog. I am glad you enjoy reading it Lori, you are one of the reasons I started. I certainly enjoy writing it, but I think it's important for you and the rest of Darryl's family to know what's going on with Lucas.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

100 Years- Five for Fighting

Party Party! Well it's been a very social couple of days. It's been great to have so many adults to talk to. And Lucas is entralled with watching other children. So it has been a fun couple of days. Although now that I've tried to put Lucas down for his nap it seems it may have been over stimulating. (He's crying, it's amazing how a minute and 43 seconds can feel like 10).

Lucas did have a great two hour nap this morning and was very refreshed when he awoke. It was great to see Mamie again and her little daughter is so cute. It's amazing to see someone pregnant. Not that long ago that was me. This is a picture of me as pregnant as Mamie is. We were hiking in Italy at the time. =)

So Darryl and I had a long conversation yesterday about our "5 year Plan". It's interesting becuase 5 years ago, I had many changes I wanted. New job, children, house etc. This time I want life to stay pretty much the same. Maybe another one or two children, but the house is great, my job is great. There's not much I want to change. I don't really plan on taking any "major" trips while the kids are little. Just chillin'

Till Tommorrow

Lukey's Boat

Just playing around this evening and figured out how to post a picture of my beautiful boy. Hopefully he'll have a great night sleeping. It's amazing how much you love these little people. Everyday I fall more and more in love with him. It's different then the love you feel for you spouse, it's not like the butterflys you get in your stomach when you see your significant other. It's a love that makes you feel like you are going to explode, a smile that cannot get any bigger becuase your face just isn't big enough. Spending time with him is such a blessing. I love him so much. Enjoy the pic and now that I know how I'll do it more often.


Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Fast as I Can Great Big Sea

Well Lucas has been a great boy today! We had a party with a bunch of other moms and their babies, which was lots of fun, but has made the day go by in a hurry!

Lucas slept the whole night through. I'm sure it was just a fluke, but it was great to have a full nights sleep. Not even Emma woke me up.

I missed the clue today for Regis and Kelly, if anyone knows what it is please post it in comments.

Lots of raspberries and happiness to everyone.

Till Tommorrow (which will also be a short blog cause we are having more people over)

Jenn

Upside Down: Barenaked Ladies

Well a new trick of Lucas's is hanging upside down. He'll be in my arms and lean back till he's haning upside down. He is smiling away, so I'm sure he enjoys it. But the first couple of times it totally freaked me out. You spend the first two months making sure their necks are supported then a couple months later, they are turning it like they are the exorcist and hanging upside down.

Well I got a call today "recruiting" me for a job. I am so so lucky to be in the field I am. There is such a need for people that I am able to be more flexible with going back to work. I am able to work part time. But I don't want to say too much or I'll jinx myself, besides there's 7 more months to go.....

Lucas's sleeping has been great! Last night he woke at 11:30 to feed and then woke again at 4amish. All I had to do was put his soother in and he went back to sleep, no crying. Then this morning he took a two hour nap! Yeah. I love good days. I hope tommorrow is good as well as we are having a bunch of moms and babies over.

Right now I"m listening to Jann Arden with the Vancouver Symphony and it's so beautiful. So so beautiful. Thanks Tammy!

Lucas is 5 months old today, I took him into weighed. He is 16 pounds 14 ounces and 26 1/2 inches long. Wow he's growing!

I hope everyone is having as wonderful day as I am!

Till Tommorrow.

Jenn

Volvo Driving Soccer Mom- Everclear

Well again feeling like I don't have too much to blog. So this may be a short entry. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Lucas will have a long nap, as he has become the chronically short napper in the last couple days. I'm going to try to leave him in there till he's upset.

The weekend was good. We ended up taking Emma to the offleash park, which she loves and we pulled Luke in a sleigh, as there was some snow on Sunday morning. It was great to do something as a family. It's interesting to be a "family" too. Not that Darryl and I weren't a family, but it seems more important now that Lucas is here.

In the evening we had a videoconferencing with Darryl mom aka Grammie and Grandad. It's great that even though we live so far away she can still see her grandson on a weekly basis. Although I"m sure she misses the hugs and kisses. It is interesting now that families live so far apart, most of the people I know do not have their kids grandparents in the city. I guess Lucas is lucky to have one set of them here.

After that I went to Chapters and had a hot chocolate and read magazines. It was good to get out and do something by myself, although I'm totally turning into a mom. Along with people magazine I also looked over Today's Parent magazine and the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. The once I realized how long I had been at Chapters and I wasn't going to see Lucas before he went to bed I raced home. I did miss his going to bed, but saw him for his 12:30 wake up. =)

K, well for having nothing to say I've babbled on alot.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

The Joker- Steve Miller Band

I don't really have a whole lot to blog about today. Lucas slept for 8 hours last night, which was wonderful. He has been okay with going down for naps, although still dependant on me rolling him and putting his sucky in.

He was giving Darryl some belly laughs yesterday. Which again is the best noise in the world.

How about some jokes:

A lady and her baby...
A lady and her baby get on a bus. The bus driver looks at the lady, and then her baby, and then screams, "AHHHH! That's the ugliest child I've ever seen in my life!"
The lady then, totally disgusted, marches up to the back of the bus to sit down.
As she was sitting there absolutely furious, a man asks, "Are you ok, dear?"
The lady replies, "I'm so angry, that bus driver just insulted me."
The man says, "You go back up there and give that bus driver a piece of your mind, and I'll watch your monkey.

Joke # 2

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington recently was faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom.

That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers, and then there are educators...

And Last But Not Least:

One Sunday morning a little girl in her Sunday best was running so she wouldn''t be late for church.

As she ran she kept praying, “Dear God, please son''t let me be late to church. Please don''t let me be late to church....” And, as she was running she tripped and fell.

When she got back up she began praying again, “Please, God don''t let me be late to church -- but don''t shove me either!

Who Are You- The Who

Sometimes it feels weird to be 26 and not sure who you are. On the outside it often looks like I have everything together, but I certainly have days when I question who I am and what I am doing. I wonder if this happens all throught out life or if when you're in your 30's you become more sure of it.

Last night I went out to the mall to try on some boots I had seen earlier in the week. I quite liked them and they were fairly comfortable. Now they weren't winter boots, but dressy boots. I thought where am I going to where these. I am a mom now. I go to the park everyday. I need to buy runners not dressy boots. Then that led to why don't I where perfume. I like the way perfume smells, why don't I where it. (I think I have been watching too much Oprah.) Then that led to, do I want to go back to work. I can't imagine leaving Lucas with someone else. Do I want to work evenings instead? And on and on, it's funny how one crazy thought can lead to another.

Today I am feeling much more clear and know why I don't buy 100$ dressy boots, wear perfume and why I will need a balance of work and child. I am a mom which is the best, I could go buy the boots, becuase I do other things then go to the park, but I don't really need them. I could buy perfume but don't really need it either.

Onto Lucas, sleep has not been easy the last 24ish hours. He woke at 5:45 this morning and has cried to go down both times today. He has been having great sleep for the last 5ish days so I guess one bad day isn't so bad.

Still flailing things around, still laughing and smiling lots. I'm finding he has also become less upset when putting his coat on and going in the car seat. I think he's learning it's inevitable. Yesterday we went shopping with Auntie Karen and the temperature went upto about 10 degrees or so. I took off his big winter coat and left him with just a blanket on, he quite enjoyed that. He was quite good, all through lunch and shopping. One thing I am noticing now is that he doesn't stay asleep when we go places. He may sleep in the car on the way there, but once were there he wakes right up and wants to see what going on. Another sign he is growing up. =)

K, well this message is getting to be long.

Till tommorrow.

Jenn

Laughing-The Guess Who

Another early post. Lucas and I are meeting Auntie Karen for lunch so I dont' know when we'll be able to post this afternoon. Sleeping went well lasat night. Woke at 1:30 and that was it. This morning took a nap for na hour and 20 minutes. Now he is bouncing and bouning.

Free Cheese??

So yesterday I was shopping at an undisclosed grocery store and I saw this block of Havarti cheese sitting with the chocolate bars. I gave it to the cashier and told her it wasn't mine but I found it in the chocolate bars and since it's cheese it'll go bad. She gave it to the lady who was bagging the groceries to put away. Anyway I get home and am putting the groceries away and there's the havarti! Checked the bill and she didn't charge me for it. Yeah Free Cheese. Although I had never had havarti so I didn't even know if it was good. I gave some to Emma she liked so I figured it had to be okay. It's actually quite good.

Lucas is getting to the point where he is getting really attached to me. Mom and Dad were over for dinner last night and I can see how is becoming attached. I am his security blanket. =) Which to me is one of the greatest things about being the mom.

Laughs are coming more freely now. "Pop" got lots last night.

He is also enjoying cereal lots. He mmmmm's while eating it.

Kristine: sounds like you are going to be a great mom!!
If you saw Mo's picture from the comments I'm defintly jealous!

Till tommorrow

Jenn

Wild Thing

Well this is a very early post as Lucas is down again for a nap and I'm thinking I'll go out once he wakes up.

He only napped for half and hour this morning so he was up by 9:30, so back down again by 11:30. Hopefully he'll nap for a little longer this lunch time. We did have a very sucessful night. He woke at 11:30ish to feed and then slept till 7am, not waking at 3:30. Yeah the crying it out seems to work.

His new thing of the week is to grab onto a toy and flail it around like a wild thing. Sometimes he hits himself in the face, sometimes he hits me in the face (ouch) But he seems to like it. I figure he's probably teaching himself Newtons third law of physics. For every action there is a equal and opposite reaction. How do I know that you ask? Well I am a physics teacher. =)

SAIT called today and I've been put in the schedule to go back and do labs for 4 hours a week. Yeah! It will be fun to go back and teach again. Plus it is only for 12 weeks. Just enough to get my feet wet. Plus it will be good for Darryl and Lucas to spend some time together. Although he is going to have to have another bottle on that morning.

Thanks for the nice complement sweetie (Darryl) about my blogging. I do enjoy it and am glad that other people enjoy reading it. And Kristine, staying home is a blast. There are times when it is not easy and it's very different then being at work but it is great. I look forward to not working full time for many years to come. But while you are at work, be sure to enjoy your lunch breaks and peeing by yourself. While at home be sure to enjoy sleeping in, watching TV without interuption and weekends. It is amazing now but I have no idea what I did before Lucas. He is the greatest entertainment ever!

Anyway till tommorrow

Jenn

Let It Snow

Well we got some snow overnight, but not so much that it caused a "snow" day. It is fairly nice outside now, it's funny how snow can make everything fresh.

Well Lucas is upstairs learning how to talk. It's funny how they love to make nosies! I took him to Walmart today, but because I wanted McDonalds for lunch. The french fries were great and it was McChicken day. He is always so good when we got out, and people tend to be crazy about him. The most common word I hear used for him is bright. "what a bright boy he is" "Look it how bright those eyes are". I put him in one of the McDonalds high chairs (which I'm sure are filled with germs, but I'm not anal about germs) It had some characters on the tray and he was quite amused by that. There were a couple little girls there that asked what Lucas was having for lunch. I said nothing he doesn't eat food. I think they were shocked, becuase a couple minutes later they came up to double check. "Your baby doesn't eat food". I said no he only drinks, he doesn't have any teeth yet to eat food. I think that made them feel better, to know I wasn't starving my child.

Sleeping has been going quite well. Knock on wood. I really shouldn't say that cause for the next 24 hours it will be the pits. There are defintly still some kinks, but all in all I think it's going well. Last night there was only 5 minutes of crying at 3am, then he slept till almost 8am. So we are on the up and up. He's also getting good at eating cereal, most days he'll eat the whole bowl. Yesterday we even made him more.

Well I'm off to have some tea and warm up from this snow.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Traveling Solider

Well I must be doing something wrong. This crying it out seems to work well for everything execept the afternoon nap. It works so well in the morning, he doesn't cry at all. It also works well at night, no crying. But in the afternoon he seems to fight it. Maybe I am putting him to bed at the wrong time, either too early or too late. Just went up after the 5 minutes turned him on his tummy and he went to sleep. If only he could do the tummy thing himself.

Yesterday was my parents 24 wedding anniversary. They were over for dinner and apple pie. It was good to see them again. They gave me lots of ideas for blog titles, as they are big country music fans. Country songs do have funny titles. I'll be sure to use some of them in the weeks to come. We were discussing "did they think 24 years after they were married did they think they'd be sitting at their daughters house helping to take care of their first grandchild". They said no, they didn't really think ahead like that. I certainly do, maybe in 24 years I'll be sitting in Lucas's house. That would be fun.....

Well I am a bahumbug, but I'm so glad Christmas is over. Things just get a little crazy over the holidays... plus now I can look forward to our trip to Las Vegas.

Regis and Kelly are having a contest for the month of Febuary that they will send you anywhere in the world. I don't know where I would go... maybe Africa. The next big place on my list is China. So probably one of those two. Something for everyone to think about today. If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be??

Lucas has been a really good baby this week. Even though I'm crazy about his sleep, I am so happy with the way he behaves. Generally he a pretty happy go lucky baby.

In some ways I have totally changed since having Lucas, and in other ways I haven't changed at all. SAIT has asked me to help out in the winter semester. I am still a pleaser when it comes to work. I like to help to make things go smoothly there, although I wonder what it will be like when I'm actually there......

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Thankful

Well I am so grateful for the wonderful life I have. (although LIttle L is upstairs crying now trying to put himslef to sleep) But other then that we have had a great day. It is so beautiful outside here. The sun is shining, it's 10 degrees. We took this great long walk together. Emma was just thrilled and she loved playing frisbee in the park. A bunch of little kids were there which always makes me a little nervous that someone is going to ask us to leave. But no one did, all they wanted to do is throw the frisbee. So Emma enjoyed it and Lucas got to go on the swing.

Once we got home he jumped in his Jolly Jumper for half and hour. He was all smiles. It was great. I was crazy about being a mom. Grateful for being able to stay home with my boy. Grateful that I live in Canada, a country that values that, not the States where mothers can only stay home for 6 weeks.

Plus I am thankful I live in Calgary, there are so many new moms here. I am currently planning get togethers with the people from my pre natal class and the people from my baby class I took after the baby is born. It's good that there is lots of oppurtunity to network.

So the crying to sleep went well last night. Only really 5 mintues of crying then he slept for 5 hours and then 7 hours. This morning I also went well with almost no crying. Right now it's not going so great. Give into the sleep..... please just give into it. 3 more minutes then I can go up and see him...

2 more minutes.... I have to think of more to say cause the crying is starting to drive me nuts. Maybe I didn't read him right. Maybe he wasn't tried. But it has been two hours. Oh we are getting some pauses..... still 1 more minute. I'm sure part of it is that he is on his back he has trouble sleeping on his back, much prefers his tummy.

K, now what he's kind of stopped but my 10 minutes are up... do I go in and make sure he settled or just leave him. Thinking I'll give it till he cries again.

Also last night he ate a whole bowl of cereal. I think Darryl was surprised. He is getting better at it..

Well sorry for the excessivly long post, but thanks blog for helping me get through the crying.

Jenn

I Did It My Way

Well it's been a very interesting last 24 hours with Lucas. The last couple nights he has been getting up every 2 hours, he is not necessairly hungry, cause when he sees my face he just gives me a big smile. Generally he would have a little snack but once tha was done he'd fall back asleep and be up in two hours again. Well I was feeling quite sleep deprived, so last night Darryl and I decided to use the Ferber method to let him cry it out. We would go in and be sure he was okay, dry and wasn't hurt. Say some reassuring things to him and then leave and let him cry for 5 minutes. Once 5 minutes was up we would go back in make sure he was okay and leave and let him cry for 10. Well it was so heart wrenching. Just to let him cry. At the same time sometimes he cries when in my arms as well. Anyway in the 10 minute block he stopped crying. Then he slept for 6 hours. It was so nice to get a good chunk of sleep. After that he woke I feed him and he went back down for another 3 hours. But after I feed him I just put him in his crib. No rocking or swaying. And for his naps today I have not been swaying with him either. Reading books, putting on his music and then putting him down.

I said I wasn't ready to let him cry it out, but I think things change quickly when you don't have enough sleep. Some people may think this way mean, and I certainly may have thought so a month ago, but until you are up all the time and are me, then I don't think you can judge.

So hopefully we are teaching him how to put himself back to sleep, without needing to eat or be rocked.

Anyway today I had a dream that I was back at work with Donna and Jenn. I love those ladies. I dreamt that we were all walking down to the store. I do miss their companionship.

Till Tommorrow.

Jenn

Everybody's Working For the Weekend

I am going to try to challenge myself to name all my posts after a song. We'll see how long I can do it for.....

Well last night it felt like Lucas was a newborn. He was up 3 times and awake for the day at 6:30ish. He's gone down well for both of his naps today, but I am tired. Plus I'm not sure what to do about this waking up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll have a couple of nights where he's just up once. During the day I feel as though I can deal with it, but at night I wish I could do something to get him to stay asleep, like he use to. It's like he doesn't want to miss out on anything. Last night he wasn't hungry everytime, just didn't know how or want to go back to sleep. Again I'm not ready to let him cry it out, I just think he's too young and still establishing trust in us. Although I may be crazy.

We had a great breakfast. Invited Tammy and Pat over and had a typical Parisian breakfast. It was delicious! Although I spilt the fruit salad all over the floor!! So I had to make more. If only Emma liked fruit. Instead Darryl had to mop it up. But the crossiants and cheese were good, I didn't spill those on the floor.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Today lesson for the day is when someone is overtired they are hard to deal with. Lucas was very stubborn in falling asleep last night, woke up twice in the night and was up at 7am (well 6:30, but I didn't get him till 7) He had a short nap this morning, although napped on the way home from groceries, and is now upstairs laying on his back looking at the ceiling. I'm hoping he will fall asleep, but I'm going with doubtful. I'm sure half way through this post I will be going upstairs to try to put him on his tummy.

Yesterday on the other hand was great. He woke at 7:30,took good naps and was an all around happy baby. I guess you win some and you lose some.

I went to this new store in Copperfield today Huckleberry Kids. It's a used kids store. I got some great books there. Especially after my bad experince at the used book store downtown. It's great becuase some of them are "touchy, feely". I also got a pair of Robeez for his next shoe size with little dogs on it.

Also got some treats at the grocery store. La vache qui rit cheese along with warm crosisants for breakfast tommorrow, a real french breaky. Also they had strawberries, which smelt and taste delicious.

Anyway an update on L, he is sleeping but only after a major crying fit and then a feeding to get him calmed down. Parenting is such a hard job. A salute to all parents.

Till tommorrow.

Jenn

Morning Sleep

Well just when you think you have things figured out with your children they change. Will this keep happening? Or do things iron out after the first year or so? Lucas is getting so good at his morning nap. He goes down good and has been sleeping for about an hour and a half. On the other hand his nightime sleep had gone up the creek. He's been up twice a night for the last couple of nights, eating every 4 hours like he does in the daytime. I know he can go longer, I'm just not ready to let him cry it out yet. Maybe I'll try using the soother more, maybe I'll start on the weekend.

Went to a used bookstore today, it was a waste of my time. I did not get a thing, nor even see anything that tempted me. Guess I will have to buy Lucas more books at Chapters. He seems to like the ones we own better then the library ones because he hears them mmore often and likes the repition.

Today I am wearing size 8 jeans! It's been years since I've fit into size 8! I do love you Lucas, you can keep sucking that fat out of me. Lexie convinced me to buy them at the Gap last night since they were only 20 dollars. Lexie is gone again, it's weird that the next time I see her we'll be headed off to Vegas.

Anyhoo, I think someone is getting bored with their jolly jumper.

Till Tommorrow

Jenn

Blog Mania!

So my fun sister is here and we went shopping this after noon (but don't worry I only spent 10.61) which means that my normal posting time was spent shopping instead. Lucas is now laying on the floor looking at his Christmas present from Lori.

A couple of things I've noticed about him in the last couple days. First he is getting so much better at sitting up. He still needs support but can do it quite well. Also h e has been chatting lots lately. Right now he yeaking away to his toys.

Sleeping has not gone well in the last 24 hours. So he is a bit cranky.

Watchewd the 40 year old virgin yesterday. It was pretty funny. Darryl was laughing at it so hard he was crying in parts. For those of you who don't know me I can be a bit of a prude, so the sexual type of humor is not my number one favorite, but I'd rather laugh then cry anyday!

Sorry about all the spelling errors, i'm typing with one hand and holding a baby with the other.

A friend of mine has started a blog as well, it's spreading through Darryls work. She is 23 weeks pregnant, so if you are interested in readung it the url is http://krisbabyadventures.blogspot.com/

till tommorrow

Jenn

Music

I love music. itunes has become quite addictive for me. It's like everytime I go there they put out so new thing I want to buy. It's like the creators are talking to me, creating music they will know I love. The latest is itunes orginals by Rob Thomas. I really like them and alot of there (his and Matchbox 20's) stuff. So thanks itunes for putting out music I love, you are making me poor.

Lucas is down early for his nap, and he slept for almost 2 hours this morning. Today is feeling like a sleep day. Maybe he's got a bit of my cold. I tried to keep him up for 2 hours, but he was cranky for the last half and hour and he went down easy. Maybe by some magical twist of fate he is starting to work out his daytime and nightime sleep. Yesterday he woke at 10, and Darryl went in and calmed him down. Then he didn't wake again till 1:30. Then slept till 7:30 this morning.

Lexie is coming to stay with me for a day or so. She is a really fun sister. I would say she is my most fun sister (although she's my only sibling). But I'm sure we will have a good time. Even though most of it is spent watching TV or shopping, it's still fun with her around.

Two of my good friends from highschool are getting married. I'm so happy for them. It's amazing how my life has taken a different path then most of the people I went to school with. It's interesting to be abnormal. I hope both of them have excellent weddings. My wedding day was the best! I loved it and love being married. I am lucky to have a great marriage.

Till tommorrow

Jenn

Shopping and Soap Operas

Well Lucas is down for his afternoon nap again. I'm trying to get him to fall asleep on his own. I think last night he woke up and then put himself back to sleep again, so I'm hoping we can get back to falling asleep with less intervention by Darryl and I. After his "Fix You" by Coldplay I put him in his crib, even though he was still very awake. I patted his back for a bit and once his eyes started to close I stopped to turn down the music. Then I didn't pat again, but stayed in the room incase he started to "make the bridge" with his body. =). Well he seems to be sleeping well now.

Went shopping again today. I do love shopping. Plus after Christmas there seems to be so many good deals. today I was at Pier One. It is a very nice store for your home and lots of the Christmas stuff was 75% off. I bought some more Christmas oranament, because we don't have very many. I also bought a bird feeder and a mug. Lucas was totally flirting with the sales ladies. It's good that he is such a good looking kid.

Gave him more cereal yesterday, made it a little thicker this time. It doesn't seem to be helping with the night waking, although now he's back to waking at about midnight, and then sleeping till 6:30 in the morning. In some ways I wish he would sleep till 7am, but I'm glad atleast it's back to once a night. We spent New Years with a bunch of our friends and one of the couple's has a 10 month old. She is up 3 times in the night. So I really have nothing to complain about.

Anyway I hope everyone is enjoying the new year. I'm off to watch Young and the Restless, that's one good thing about soap opera's there are always new ones. No repeats over the Christmas season.

Till Tommorrow
Jenn

A New Year & Lots of Raspberries

Well I don't really have any New Years Resolutions. It's not that I don't believe in them, becuase I often make them. But I don't have anything specific that I want to start to try or stop doing now. But I do have a list of things Darryl and I would like to get completed this year.

1. Get the basement organized. Darryl got a bunch of shelves from work, so I'd like to get some rubbermaid containers and get everything organzied.

2. Get the bed finshed. (that ones' Darryl's) Although I will have to go out and get some nice fabric for the headboard.

It will be nice to go on a couple of vacations this year. Las Vegas, Florida, Kelowna. Plus maybe plan an all inclusive vacation for a year from now.

It will also be amazing to see all the things Lucas will accomplish this year. Crawling, walking, talking, teeth! But that also means I will have to go back to work. Wow time is going by quickly. It will be nice to have something for me again. I love my boy, but it will be nice to have another thing to focus on.

New Years Eve was alot of fun last night. Went to our friends house, we danced had martini's, watched the hockey game and chatted. We did laugh alot. It was fun to be a goof again. My child was safe at home in his bed with his Gramma and Pop here, so I could have all my focus on having a good time rather then half of the focus on Lucas.

Lucas is blowing lots of raspberries. It's his new skill this week. Although I've been spit on alot. It's great. Also Darryl had him laughing like a little kid, over and over again in his jolly jumper. Baby laughing is the best thing EVER!

Hope everyone is enjoy their New Years Day!

Till tommorrow.

Jenn