It's been one week!

It's been one week since baby started to eat solid foods. So far so good. He eats his cereals daily, and is loving it. Fruit wise, we know that he dislikes pears, and REALLY likes bananas. He hasn't done any allergic reactions to any of the foods he has been eating yet.

He still drinks his formula, of course, and will keep doing it.

Grandpa brought the special chair he made for baby today, so that we can put his feeding seat on it. I can't wait  to weigh him. It's been a month since we last weighed him. He's probably over 14 pounds now. He was 12Lbs and 3oz a month ago.

Sunday tradition.

When Marc was a little boy, his family used to go for walks at the park on Sundays. Now that we have a son, we decided that we would continue the tradition, Marc had with his parents. Today, after church, we went home then Marc prepared us sandwiches and a few goodies to take to the park for a nice picnic.

After enjoying our light lunch, we walked around the park and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. We met Kari, Barrett, Indie and Daniel there with Luke.

We enjoyed our little family outing. So, from now on, we'll go to the park every Sunday (weather permitted), and just make memories for our family. I love traditions. Ever since Marc and I moved back here in Canada, we started doing things that have become traditions, and I just can't wait to share them with our boy.

Really didn't need the jacket it was so beautiful out.

Baby Food.

Well, baby had his first taste (well, not really first because he had bread before) of REAL food. Today, he ate Gerber Rice cereal (starter one). He STILL drinks his formula and WILL continue to do it. I will only feed him food during the day, but not every time he is hungry.
We only prepared half of the recipe for the cereal, and baby ate almost all of it, but the last spoonful. He really didn't seem to mind it. We could actually hear him swallow it. Not a lot of mess, all in the tummy.

I know that it seems like it is too early to feed him food, but I am raising my baby the way we do back home, because that's the way I know. It is not uncommon in Tahiti to feed babies before they turn 4 months.

I will, eventually TRY to make most of his food myself. But like every mother out there, I will give him Gerber foods (or other brands) too. I mean , let's be honest, which mother doesn't buy Gerber food (or else) for their babies.

Home renos.

After almost five years of living in our house, we just have 2 major renovations plus 1 minor one left to do in our home. If we find the flooring we want for our master bedroom upstairs this week, Marc will work on finishing our room on Saturday. It won't be all done by then, but at least the biggest part would be. The 2 major renos left after the bedroom will be, the bathroom (upstairs), and the kitchen (which I can't wait for us to start doing). We are probably going to do the bathroom this year too, but we are not sure yet. We have to price things out first. We have saved a lot of money with Marc doing everything himself, thank goodness. Home renovation is not cheap. We've been really blessed to be able to work on our house without taking loans, and always having the money to pay for everything we needed.

Beside using the bedroom downstairs as a temporary Master bedroom, we haven't really done anything with our basement since our tenant left. Hopefully, we will soon be able to start furnishing the living room downstairs. We could use it as a relaxing, family room. I am going to turn the kitchen area as a playroom for baby with a drawing/painting station. And also a craft station, and a cozy reading area with pillows, and a nice rug. Of course, there will be toys. (Haha, I know, I am silly! But I have everything planned out in my head. I just have to make it happen.) I started using the cupboards to store my Christmas ornaments and all. And I am also using them to store all of my crafts supplies (papers, ribbons, glue gun, and more...), It has been really handy having the extra storage space. Baby and I can use the kitchen sink downstairs to clean any "messy" craft or activity we do together, without having to ruin the nice sink in the bathroom, lol. Can't wait to do more work in our house.

YAY!

Last night baby slept for 7 hours straight. It is a first for us. For the past week, he has been sleeping longer but never that long. He doesn't wake up every 2 hours any more. He, most of the time, sleeps for 3 to 5 hours straight, and there are days where I only wake up twice at night. I am loving this. Hope he continues on that path :)...

Top Apprentice.

Well, it's done! We left Lloydminster this (well yesterday) afternoon, and went to Edmonton after leaving baby at grandma and grandpa's house in Vermilion. It's our second time leaving him with other people. Was still a little bit hard for me. We were gone for almost 9 and a half hour. I couldn't help thinking about my boy, and wondering how he was doing. And NO, I didn't call grandma once. Grandma said that he was a good boy :).

We got there a little early, so Marc and I waited in the parking lot until people started to show up. At 5:30pm we went in, and were greeted by someone that Marc has known since he was 8 years old or so. They had a nice visit, then we went to our table. Marc's bosses came with their wives, and we all sat at the same table. We visited and waited for the food to be served. At 6pm, the reception started, and we all went to get something to eat. The food was REALLY good. We all pretty much had seconds, lol. It's free food, why not eh! :). Around 7pm, they started their speeches which were really really boring. Some of them gave really long speeches, some just kept it short (our favorites). After many hands clapping, and fighting to stay awake, and a short break. They had all 49 (out of 61) top apprentices go up to the stage and down. One by one they were called and received their awards, and had their picture taken. Of course, at our table we waited for Marc's turn so that we can fervently applaud him, and see him receive the award. Once Marc got off the stage, a guy stopped him, and gave him his business card, and told Marc to give him a call. I think it is about a job in Calgary. Marc isn't interested in it, so he wouldn't be calling that guy. Maybe if it was in Lethbridge, he will consider it, hihi.

We were ALL extremely PROUD of him and his accomplishment. Out of all the students in his trade that passed their journeyman tickets, and red seal (in 2011), Marc is the one that had the highest grade both in the exams taken at the college and the provincial exams. It is such a GREAT accomplishment especially for someone like Marc who has ADD, and has a hard time focusing. He worked hard, and studied really really hard. I am proud of him, and know how dedicated he was for 3 years studying all night. It paid off!

Next, Marc is seriously thinking (and I am pretty sure he will) about getting the blue seal. The blue seal is mostly about learning and studying the management aspect of the trade which can open new doors for him. I think it is the highest seal you can get in the trades (don't quote me on that, although I am pretty sure it is). Not many trade people get it. That will be a new challenge for Marc :)... We also heard a rumor (from a guy who is a member of some board related to the apprenticeship program ) about the opportunity for trade people like Marc to have their journeyman ticket and red seal count towards obtaining a Bachelor degree in Art (or something like that, again don't quote me on it). But that won't be effective until the next 2 years or so. Again, like I said it is just a rumor, and if that really happens, well Marc will probably do it too :))).

All in all, it was an awesome day!

Denis (Marc's parts manager) and his wife.

Murray (Marc's big boss) and his wife.

Lakeland College has 3 top apprentices this year.

Marc is standing by his favorite instructor

which told Marc's bosses and I quote "Marc was an excellent student :)".

Marc with Denis and Murray.

Sorry, if I seem to brag a lot about my husband. I am proud of him, and he deserves to be bragged about with such accomplishment.

Oh ya, I won something. I got to take home the center piece that was on our table. It's a nice floral arrangement with purple orchids, haha. It made me happy. I love orchids :).

First of many :) !

Tonight, Marc and I went to my good friend Jasmin's surprise birthday party at the ROOT. I called Faith and asked her if she could look after Yann. We wanted to take him but weren't exactly sure what to expect. Letting him was a little overwhelming for me at first. Marc and I never went out without him. I could feel the tears in my eyes but didn't let them out. Faith is AWESOME and I knew Jeff and her were going to take GOOD care of him. I did miss him, and thought a lot about him.

We listened to the music, ate some refreshments, and then they started to serve the first course which was salad, then soup.  While they were preparing to bring the main course, Marc and I decided that we wanted baby to be with us, since there was a lot of baby at the party anyway. So he went out, picked baby up and came back to eat his meal. I guess babies were allowed after all, and few friends have asked about him, so I didn't feel guilty when we went to get him, lol. We wouldn't have done it if they weren't any babies there. I know we are big SUCKERS, hahaha!!! We watched the belly dancers dance then stayed a little bit and visited with a couple friends. Not long after our friends left, we said goodbye to Jasmin and came back home.

I enjoyed the little "us" time we had tonight but our son has been in our minds, and thoughts all night. I guess that's how it's going to be from now on... next Friday should be our second outing without him but this time, we are going to Edmonton and leaving him with grandma and grandpa B in Vermilion. We'll see how that one goes, eek!!!

Father and Son!

A post about Marc and Yann!

It's amazing to see how these two interact with each other. Marc has become an even more wonderful man since our baby was born. He is a dedicated father who gets so excited to see his family after a long day at work. He is such a sweet father to our son. He never gets tired to hold him, hug him, snuggle with him, and giving him kisses. He never complains about changing diaper. I have never seen someone being so willing to change a soiled diaper, lol.
Marc and Yann have a little "game" that they play that makes baby smile like crazy, and gets him really excited. There are days, where Yann misses his dad when he is at work. He gets fussy, and will only calm down when I wear a T-shirt Marc has worn the night prior. I am sure that's a sign of him missing his dad, isn't it?
After work, Marc makes sure he spends a lot of time with baby. I just love to see the impact a child has on his (or her) father. Fathers become another kind of man. It's like they discover that sweetest part of them they didn't even know they had before.

Yann is 12 weeks old now. He has grown so much. I catch myself watching videos of him when he was born or was just a few days old, and can not help but wonder where the time went. He is looking more and more like me, and is getting so big. He's still not the best sleeper ever but we have had some days where he slept five hours at the time. He makes the cutest sounds ever sometimes. He sleeps in his bed every night now, and gets a rather HUGE snuggle from either his mum or dad at night. The daunting task of putting him in the car seat is not as daunting as it was any more. He does no longer cry when we do it. He is a very quiet baby unless he is really hungry then he will make full use of his lungs, haha!  He loves it when momma sings to him, and reads him books. I think it's because I do it being 100% goofy so that it makes it interesting for him :). I do it the serious way to, and he doesn't seem to mind that either. I like the goofy way though!


I love how our baby has changed the way we do things, and how our lives have changed so tremendously. I don't know how we have ever lived without him before. We enjoy being a family, making memories with him,  and are looking forward to take him on big trips like going to Tahiti next year (hopefuly), and go places we've never been.


LIFE IS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!

9 weeks!

Baby had his first set of shots yesterday (Monday). He is supposed to get it next week but had his this week instead. Marc held him while he got the needles. He cried a little bit. His dad gave him snuggles and kisses, and then it was mom's turn :). He is really healthy and is averaging 52% and 82% for his weight and height. He is getting close to double his birth weight. He was 7lbs at birth and is now 12Lbs 31/2oz. He measures 22inches and 3/8 (20inches and 3/4 at birth). Our little boy is growing. He was so little when he was born and now he is just getting fuller and heavier. LOVE MY BABY!!!

Taken after church. He was waiting patiently for his bottle.

He's NOT always patient when it comes to getting fed, lol!

Tradition!

On Saturday, we celebrated baby's second month of being part of our life for eternity. We took him to the "Border City Collectors show and sale". It's basically a toy and antiques collectible show". Marc and I have been going there for 6 years now, so it's like a tradition for us. This year, we shared it with baby even though he really doesn't know the meaning of it yet. For those who know Marc, he is a toy collector and has been ever since he was 8 years old. He has totes and totes filled with toys in our basement's storage room. Some of his toys (lots of them) are now collectors item and are still in their original packaging. He collects cars, trucks, tractors and other cool farm equipments. He collects mostly ERTL, Johnny Ligthning, Hotwheels, and Matchbox. Anyway, going to a toy show is inevitable in our family, lol.

It was such a beautiful day out that we got to use baby's stroller for the first time. We enjoyed our little family outing. I am glad I have a boy. There's lot of trucks for him to play with in our basement :).

Grateful!!!

In June, Marc and I will be renewing our mortgage at the bank. I can't believe it's been five years already. One of our dream is to have the mortgage paid off as fast as we can. I am grateful that the mortgage is the only debt we ever had (well, still have). We don't have to worry about car payments or credit card bills or other monthly payments.

I am grateful to have grown up the way I did. I am grateful for my dad who has shown us how to live on a budget. Grateful for my mom who has been a great example to me of how to spend money reasonably.

I may not be the best money saving person in this world, however, I know I am not the worse money spending person in it ether.

That said though, It doesn't mean that I never spent money unwisely or unreasonably. I am still human after all, lol!

First shot!

Tiffany came by today to teach Marc how to give me my shot, so I don't have to go to the clinic once a week. She gave me my shot and also explained the whole procedure to Marc. She is really good at what she does. I didn't even feel the needle go in and out.

After it was done, we invited her to stay for supper, and she got to snuggle with baby for almost an hour on the couch while watching a movie. Marc then made us both a banana split for dessert. Mine didn't have bananas because I HATE them.

I am glad to be back on my shot. I had to have it done because things were getting out of control. The RA has spread to my spine, so I couldn't afford to wait any longer. It was getting really hard to do even the simplest thing like holding my baby or opening a water bottle. Hopefully the "drug" kicks in fast, so I can enjoy life with less pain.

THANK YOU TIFFANY LOW !!!

Pinteresting again!

It's been months since I've been on Pinterest. It's time to go back and get some inspiration, lol! Tomorrow, I'll make a dish that I've pinned a while back and hope to do a lot of cooking from Pinterest. I need to get crafty again, and get some ideas for Marc and Yann's birthday next year. I know it is early but I want Yann and daddy's first, well second birthday together to be AWESOME!!! Let's pin some ideas again!!!!

Clingy!

Saturday was quite an interesting day for both Marc and I. For some reason, baby decided that he didn't want mommy, lol. The only person he wanted was his daddy. Marc had to often stop doing what he was. Baby was so clingy. It was all about his dad. It was quite cute to see, lol. He usually is AWESOME with both of us but saturday was daddy's day. Marc LOVED it!!!

ps: the date on the camera is wrong, lol!

Smiley face!

Yann has been smiling a lot lately. I find it really hard to capture a smile on the camera sometimes. By the time I grab my camera, baby doesn't want to smile any more, lol. Here are some of the smiles I was able to take with my camera. A couple of them are from grandma B!

 My favorite one so far :). Smiling back at daddy!

 Playing with daddy

 This one makes me smile.

We both couldn't go back to bed,

so we had a little play time. I love those moments.

6 weeks and 3 days!

Baby is 6 weeks and 3 days old. He had his 6 weeks visit on Wednesday. He now weighs 11.68Lbs (4Lbs more than when he was born). We are not sure how tall he is because both the measuring devices that they had at the doctor's office were broken. Well, one was broken and the other (the electronic one) kept giving false reading. First It read that baby's height was 7 inches which of course is impossible. Then it read that he was 12 inches. Anyway, so we are not sure how tall baby really is, lol.

During the day, baby stays awake a lot. He can go hours without sleeping. I talked to him a lot, sing or try to make him laugh, lol, or just put him in his swing while I clean house or make supper. He doesn't wear newborn clothes any more. He wears a lot of 3 months clothes BUT that doesn't mean anything. Depending on the name brand, some clothes are either bigger or smaller than others.

We LOVE him like crazy!!! He just fills our lives with joy and happiness(, and craziness:)). Our life has changed so much since he was born. Someone told us once that his birth would put a strain on our marriage. We totally disagree with. If anything, our marriage is stronger than ever. We have what we have always wanted, and we couldn't be happier. Marc and I are addicted to snuggles. We try not to over snuggle but is there really such thing than over snuggling a baby, lol? I love my son.

He always does something cute

with his hands when he sleeps :)

 Snuggling with daddy!

 Taken after tonight's bath!

My Baby Shower Book!

Kari came by today and gave me a beautiful gift. A baby shower book! It has a beautiful cover, with a nice introductory message about our miracle baby, and all of the GREAT photos that Jen took during my baby shower. Marc and I are REALLY happy about the book. The photos are awesome, and the colors in the book are just amazing. Kari is such a wonderful friend. She not only planned an AWESOME, and fun baby shower but took the time to make me a book, so I can remember my baby shower. I am so grateful for all she has done for me, and for the wonderful friend she is to me.

Front cover.

 Inside the book.

 Back cover.

Baby Shower (2)

Yesterday, baby and I went to our second baby shower. Ever since the girls at work found out that I was pregnant, they decided to hold a "kind of" private baby shower for me with just the Winners team. The baby shower took place in the lounge room at work, and it started at 5pm. The reason they decided to do it at 5 is so that the "original" girls that started working there with me before the store opened to the public will be all done their shifts. Not many of us, "originals" are left, so it was nice to be together once again. There are so many young girls that work there now since I took my leave.

At 5pm, we were all finally reunited. I had so much fun with all my friends. I have missed working there with the girls, but just didn't realise that I have missed them that much. We laughed a lot, cracking jokes, and teasing each other like we usually do (YES, I teased, and cracked jokes too. Something I don't do a lot with my friends from church, don't ask me why because I really don't know why). I felt so at home. I was happy to be back there.

Of course, baby was the star of the show. As soon as we arrived, Roni (our assistant manager) got him out of his car seat. At first, he was sleeping, then woke up and stayed wide awake for them. We ate, laughed, teased, joked. It was a lot of FUN. The girls took turn holding baby. The food was delicious. Anita did such a good job decorating, and she had a game planned for us. It was quite a fun game. There was a bowl filled with rice, and really tiny safety pins. The person who gets out the most safety pins wins a prize. We all thought it was going to be easy BUT it wasn't. We weren't allowed to look in the bowl (of course). It was hard to differentiate between the rice and the pins. I won the game by pulling out 6 pins. The prize was a gift card for Tim Horton's ($15).

I then opened the gifts they had for us. Baby got more clothes, stuffed animals, diaper and wipes, and a Fisher Price cradle and swing, and so on. Once I was done with the gifts, we ate again, and continued to have fun. When Marc was done work at 6:30pm, he joined us and we stayed there until 8pm. We laughed some more because Marc was teasing Bridget (our merchandising manager). Then we all left. Carla and Anita helped us take the gifts to the car. I had a lot of FUN, and cannot wait to go back to work. If it wasn't for such a great team to work with, I don't think I would go back to work. The girls make it so much fun, including the managers. What a great team to work with.

BOTH MY BABY SHOWERS WERE WONDERFUL.

I am so glad to be surrounded by great people.

Photos are from Anita and Shelby: 

Baby and the 420 team:

Yann <3

The 420 team!

Brittany and Yann.

 Michelle holding baby.

 Shelby, Roni, Michelle and Taya, Carla and Arduth.

 Bridget (with the glasses). Love her.

 Before picture of the deco.

 Carla and I.

Bridget and Yann.

 Carla and Arduth.

My sweet little boy!

Gift Opening:

The girls got together and bought the swing.

I set it up today, and baby got to use it.

He likes it so far.