The Follow Up Show

Thanks for all of the inquires about Opa. He is doing better. Out of the hospital and on some medication back home. Turns out it was an inflammation of the cartilage between his sternum and ribs. Supposedly this is a common thing after bypass surgery or any time you have your chest cracked open. Although not so common that it didn't take 3 days to diagnose.

After being superwoman and feeding Nathan in the car while Darryl drove and we both had our seatbelts on left a nasty bruise on my ribs, so it's not something I would recommend.

Lucas spent the afternoon with his Grandma and Pop so that I could buy his present for his birthday, but I also got some one on one time with Nathan, which is always fun. Here is a little video of him, we are getting good laughs now.




Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Picture HIghlights from Our Kelowna Vacation

Our trip to Kelowna was awesome. I do love it there. Everyday we would head to the beach. Usually Nathan would have his morning nap while Lucas played and then we would head off. Emma was loving the water and by the end of the trip so was Lucas. We found a great spot by the end of the week, where everyone was happy and there was lots of shade for Nathan. Opa had to go into the hospital while we were there, and although it was unfortunate, I was glad we were there to help them out.

Lucas enjoying the water with his dad.

The door at Misson Hill Winery
Stepping over the cracks at the winery

Grandma and Pop joined us at the end of the week. Here's Pop with his grandsons.
Enjoying breakfast with G&P

The boys were great on the ride down and the ride back. Lucas loved the tunnels through the mountains.

Lucas loved playing underneath Oma and Opa's apricot tree.

Lucas colored himself with cherry juice. It was his war paint.

Helping Oma pick beans for dinner

Hanging with Dad in the water
Playing at the waterpark downtown
This picture was taken while sitting in the hot tub.

It was a great vacation

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Online Shopping

The poster came today that I had ordered from Etsy and it is beautiful. Here's the link to her store I love Etsy and it's ability to buy things to go on your wall that don't come from Pier One. Not that I don't like Pier One, but it's nice to have more options and find things that feel more like my style, rather then the trend of the season.



I also have been dying for some new sandals. One of my favorite Walmart pairs is getting so thin I was worried my toes were going to go through the soles. So I did some online shopping, which I don't normally do for shoes and found Zappos. I went to the sale section (which I would usually do in a store) and found some fantastic deals.

Teva's (super comfortable) been wearing them since they came. 19.95


Kangaroos, super cute, makes my feet look small, $28.17

And these, which I'm a little more "meh" on. But they are made out of recycled material. Gotta love that. And they are comfortable Teva's as well. 19.95 as well.

I love good deals and getting packages in the mail. Although the waiting kills me....

Till Tomorrow....... Jenn

Superwoman

Yesterday we were driving home from Kelowna and I was in the back seat between Nathan and Lucas. Nathan was screaming, but we were along a highway and there wasn't alot of safe places to stop. So I decided to try leaning forward and I fed him in the car. While we both had our seat belts on! Plus we didn't cause any accidents.

I am superwoman.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Nathan's Monthly Newsletter: Month Four

Dear Nathan,

Yesterday you turned 4 months old. We celebrated here on vacation by doing some of mommy's favorite things. Swimming and going out to dinner. I am not quite sure what your favorite things are yet. Although you are fond of your new jumperoo. You don't have the jumping action down yet, but you enjoy sitting in it and looking at all the new toys. Your dad had you giggling in it yesterday too. You did dip your feet in the water, but was a little shocked that water could be so cold and let me know with a wail.





Speaking of laughing that has started this month. You don't do it often and last night with daddy was the first time you've done it without the physical intervention of tickling. But when they do happen your laughs are the sweetest thing.


As you are slowly getting more control of our arms and hands one of my favorite breastfeeding rituals has started with you. That is swimming arm. I remember Lucas doing it when he would eat as well. And I love swimming arm. It's like you are petting me while you eat. Saying thanks mommy, I love you.



I'm sure part of it is me and part of it is you, but it has been a much easier go this time around. I am not so concerned with your schedule like I was with Lucas. I think with Lucas I learned a lot as well. Now I expect you to get sleepy about 2 hours after you have been up. I know that babies can't really stay up much longer. While being on vacation we've worked out a pretty good system where I feed you in bed. Early in the morning and then we always get to sleep in and no 5 am wakings.



In some ways it has been a challenging month for me. Lucas is going into his terrible 3's and testing his boundaries more and your daddy is working a lot. There are times when it all seems quite overwhelming for me, questioning if I am doing the right thing with Lucas and missing your fathers help. In the evenings as I feed you and am putting you to bed. I feel confident in what I am doing with you. When I'm having a bad day, taking care of you makes me feel like a good mommy.



love mommy

Update

Not that you would be worrying about me, but I thought I'd give a quick update to let you know we are still enjoying our holiday. Although my grandfather has gone into the hospital, so our days have been taken up a little more with drives to the hospital. Hopefully it's not serious but we'll know soon. Although that is a whole other post about being assertive and running into to people who "railroad" you.

That being said we are enjoying the water and swimming and playing in the extreme heat.

More later.

Till Tomorrow...... Jenn

You can Almost See The Smile on Her Snout

We were debating on bringing Emma on this vacation with us. Emma does not like Opa. She is always on alert whenever he is around. Also with the two car seats, there is not alot of room for her on the 8 hour drive. But when trying to decide if we would take her or not I asked my dad's opinion. He said this dog was put here to please you, so whatever makes you happy is what you should do. So we took her.

And I'm so glad we did. When she is swimming in that lake she couldn't be happier. I don't think Lucas and Nathan really appreciate being on vacation and the change of scenery. But Emma loves swimming in the lake. Something she can't really do at home. I have spent lots this vacation longing for it to be 5 years from now, when the boys really appreciate the beach ( I know the grass is not always greener). Except with Emma, she is so happy with her parents.




Till Tomorrow............ Jenn

Darryl, Very thorough

Today while we were in Kelowna Oma and Opa headed off to church and left Darryl and I to lock up with the boys. Oma instructed me how to lock the deadbolt and to not lock the door handle as they don't have a key for it. So as we were headed out Darryl and I went around and checked the doors and then headed out for the day. Darryl had grabbed the keys, so I was sure to tell him to just lock the deadbolt and not the door.

Later at dinner Opa explained to us, he had trouble getting out onto the deck after church. Why I asked. He said he almost had to get out his screwdriver, Whys that, I asked again. He explained that someone locked it with a foot bolt and he's never done that before, so he couldn't figure out how to get it unlocked. Yes said Oma. I knew we had a problem when Opa dropped me off after church and opened the garage and I couldn't get in because someone had locked the laundry door coming in from the garage. Oma had to use the neighboors key to get in. I was laughing at this time because this is typical Darryl. He is so thorough in everything that he does. When he built the bed, an elephant could probably sleep on it, it is so well built. I'm sure that when he builds programs for work, they are meticulous. When he vacuums all the furniture gets moved so he can vacuum underneath it. So when you ask Darryl to lock up a house, expect every door to be locked, even with locks you've never used.

Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Sunshine is Good For the Soul

We are out enjoying the sunshine and grandparents. The last couple of days we have headed out to the beach and soaked up the sun. Well not really as we have to be careful of Nathan not getting any sun, so our umbrella has come in handy. Lucas is not a big fan of the water. I hope as the years go by he learns to love it. I love it and could spend lots of time in the water. Here our some pictures from the last couple of days. Emma is in her element. We get to the dog beach and she could play all day, catching that frisbee. She is up all day watching where Opa is and then playing hard. She is going to sleep for weeks and weeks






Till Tomorrow

Jenn

Funny Things from the Road

The trip is a long drive through the mountains. Once we were about 3/4 of the way done. Lucas yawns. He turns to us with a bit of surprise in his voice. " I yawned and the music got louder"

Darryl and I have started asking Lucas and each other about the best and worst thing that happened in a day. Yesterday when we asked Lucas what was your favorite thing today? He says, going through the tunnels, that made me happy.

We were at McDonalds and standing in line behind us were these 15 year olds. Nathan is smiling at them. They say: that kid has bad ass blue eyes. Darryl and I smiled to each other. I get cute is not part of a 15 year old's vocabulary.