I heart this kid.
April 10, 2010
our newest family member
After much consideration and thoughtful input from one short and cute male member of our family we decided to name him Ray. Lucky thing too... If Noah really had his way, we would be calling this fish "Daddy's Car" or my personal favorite "Ouch" All wonderful names no?
I heart this kid.
I heart this kid.
April 9, 2010
i consider this to be
a small miracle.
This little monkey,
will finally take one of these:
I know I know. It's just one more thing I will have to wean her off of, but I don't plan to bottle feed so I feel like I'm already ahead of the game. Oh snap.
It has only been a few days, but she is taking it like a pro. This brings be such a sense of relief. And freedom. Before, I was her preferred 'soother'. Ya, let me tell you that was a lot of fun.
p.s. Yes those are stickers on her face. Courtesy of her loving brother Noah.
Goodnight all.
This little monkey,
will finally take one of these:
I know I know. It's just one more thing I will have to wean her off of, but I don't plan to bottle feed so I feel like I'm already ahead of the game. Oh snap.
It has only been a few days, but she is taking it like a pro. This brings be such a sense of relief. And freedom. Before, I was her preferred 'soother'. Ya, let me tell you that was a lot of fun.
p.s. Yes those are stickers on her face. Courtesy of her loving brother Noah.
Goodnight all.
April 2, 2010
March 25, 2010
midnight posting
I wanted to put this picture at the end of the post but I'm occasionally computer challenged and tonight it got the best of me. So here it stays. But really, there are few things in life more precious than this...
My finger may be small, but I can still wrap my Daddy around it
Motherhood and Multitasking go hand in hand no? Thank goodness we got that characteristic. Men, or at least my husband, seem to be lost when it comes to that concept.
Multitasking? What is this strange thing you speak of? You mean you can actually do two things at once? Why would anyone want to do that? That's not really what he said, but I can tell that's what he's thinking.
After Masey was born I was really nervous of how I was expected to get not just one but two children taken care of, sometimes at the exact same moment in time. Who do you think I am? A woman, a mother. That's who. I'm sure many of you can relate. Finishing 5 projects simultaneously in one hour whilst thinking of 10 more that need to be done doesn't even make us break a sweat. I remember in Masyn's first week of life, I was home in the evening by myself for the first time. Noah needed a bath. No problem, got the tub ready, chucked him in, then Uh oh, the baby starts crying. She's hungry. Bad timing. I was confused for a second. Who do I go to? Which one takes priority here? The crying baby or the toddler in the bathtub? Meh! Why not hit two birds with one stone? I brought the baby into the bathroom, plunked myself down on top of the toilet seat and nursed her while keeping an eye on Noah playing in the tub. I shook my head at first at the weirdness of being needed in two different places at once. But then I felt empowered by the things I was able to accomplish to fulfill the needs of my family. Two separate people depended on me and I was able to carry out a concept that one week previous was so foreign to me. I love being a mother. Especially when I learn things about myself that I didn't think I had inside of me. Life is change. Change is progression. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to test myself and stretch past what I originally thought was a limit. I know I'm here to help these babies grow and learn things about themselves that will inspire them to do better, to be better, but I feel like I am getting those same lessons from them. I feel like a better me, a stronger me. What an incredible feeling. I have a much greater appreciation for my own Mother Thanks for being the best you Mom! You're an inspiration. Truly.
Alright, enough of my serious self reflections for the day. Let's move on to a more candid subject...
Why is it that boys must always reach for their manhood whenever they possibly can? To check if it's still there? Not sure. This is a mystery to me. I tried to find one good picture of the two of them in the bath together and he was doing that in every.single.one. Don't kids generally lead by example? I'm not naming any names here. Just sayin'.
This is one of my favorite times of the day. The end. I love my babies, but it's nice to relax and have a little me time where I can mindlessly do something ultimately unproductive. And oh how I love me some babies fresh out of the tub. They smell sooo yummy and their skin is so deliciously soft.
They took a break from the movie to show a little sibling love here. Cute.
I tried to tell him that girls don't really like games like that. They just mostly like shopping, and clothes and pretty princess things, but he didn't listen.
She ended up telling him in her own way rather quickly that c'mon guys really isn't her thing. He hasn't asked her to play since. This is an arrangement I think they're both comfortable with.
This week really hasn't been all that nice, weather wise. Now that Masyn is getting older, I am feeling more confident I can take her outside without making her little lungs freeze, but sadly we have to wait a bit more. We're all feeling the cabin fever that has set in though. Noah most especially. So we decided to make use of the finger paints that Auntie Janay bought for his birthday in November. I was hoping to wait so we could do it outside which would make for a really easy clean up but I was rapidly running out of fun things to do inside everyday. So we laid down and old sheet (ya, we're ghetto like that) in the kitchen and got good and creative
If not totally messy. The bathwater turned an icky green color seconds after he landed in it. I think he's found his calling in life though. An artist. I couldn't keep the paper coming fast enough. Our little Picasso. I kept my most favorite ones and plan to frame them for his room one day soon.
I'm having such a wonderful time figuring life out as it comes. Masey fits so perfectly and brings such joy into our little family that we hardly remember life without her. It's as if we always had two. Never thought I would say that. But it's true. Noah makes us laugh all the time. He's got this funny little sense of humor and this desire to be just like his Dad. His hero. It's amazing to think that we created these two little miracles. It's the closest we get to being like our Father in Heaven here on earth. Creators of life. Such a responsibility, such a breathtaking experience.
My finger may be small, but I can still wrap my Daddy around itMotherhood and Multitasking go hand in hand no? Thank goodness we got that characteristic. Men, or at least my husband, seem to be lost when it comes to that concept.
Multitasking? What is this strange thing you speak of? You mean you can actually do two things at once? Why would anyone want to do that? That's not really what he said, but I can tell that's what he's thinking.
After Masey was born I was really nervous of how I was expected to get not just one but two children taken care of, sometimes at the exact same moment in time. Who do you think I am? A woman, a mother. That's who. I'm sure many of you can relate. Finishing 5 projects simultaneously in one hour whilst thinking of 10 more that need to be done doesn't even make us break a sweat. I remember in Masyn's first week of life, I was home in the evening by myself for the first time. Noah needed a bath. No problem, got the tub ready, chucked him in, then Uh oh, the baby starts crying. She's hungry. Bad timing. I was confused for a second. Who do I go to? Which one takes priority here? The crying baby or the toddler in the bathtub? Meh! Why not hit two birds with one stone? I brought the baby into the bathroom, plunked myself down on top of the toilet seat and nursed her while keeping an eye on Noah playing in the tub. I shook my head at first at the weirdness of being needed in two different places at once. But then I felt empowered by the things I was able to accomplish to fulfill the needs of my family. Two separate people depended on me and I was able to carry out a concept that one week previous was so foreign to me. I love being a mother. Especially when I learn things about myself that I didn't think I had inside of me. Life is change. Change is progression. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I have to test myself and stretch past what I originally thought was a limit. I know I'm here to help these babies grow and learn things about themselves that will inspire them to do better, to be better, but I feel like I am getting those same lessons from them. I feel like a better me, a stronger me. What an incredible feeling. I have a much greater appreciation for my own Mother Thanks for being the best you Mom! You're an inspiration. Truly.
Alright, enough of my serious self reflections for the day. Let's move on to a more candid subject...
Why is it that boys must always reach for their manhood whenever they possibly can? To check if it's still there? Not sure. This is a mystery to me. I tried to find one good picture of the two of them in the bath together and he was doing that in every.single.one. Don't kids generally lead by example? I'm not naming any names here. Just sayin'.
This is one of my favorite times of the day. The end. I love my babies, but it's nice to relax and have a little me time where I can mindlessly do something ultimately unproductive. And oh how I love me some babies fresh out of the tub. They smell sooo yummy and their skin is so deliciously soft.
They took a break from the movie to show a little sibling love here. Cute.Ed plays video games. He loves them. One might even say he is addicted. That one wouldn't be me, but you know... someone might. Noah calls the video games 'C'mon guys' He has heard his Dad too many times say in frustration "Come on guys! Play better than that!" and so Noah requests "C'mon guys" on occasion. The other day he informed me that Masyn wanted to play C'mon guys. I was told to put her on his lap so he could help her play.
I tried to tell him that girls don't really like games like that. They just mostly like shopping, and clothes and pretty princess things, but he didn't listen.
She ended up telling him in her own way rather quickly that c'mon guys really isn't her thing. He hasn't asked her to play since. This is an arrangement I think they're both comfortable with.This week really hasn't been all that nice, weather wise. Now that Masyn is getting older, I am feeling more confident I can take her outside without making her little lungs freeze, but sadly we have to wait a bit more. We're all feeling the cabin fever that has set in though. Noah most especially. So we decided to make use of the finger paints that Auntie Janay bought for his birthday in November. I was hoping to wait so we could do it outside which would make for a really easy clean up but I was rapidly running out of fun things to do inside everyday. So we laid down and old sheet (ya, we're ghetto like that) in the kitchen and got good and creative
If not totally messy. The bathwater turned an icky green color seconds after he landed in it. I think he's found his calling in life though. An artist. I couldn't keep the paper coming fast enough. Our little Picasso. I kept my most favorite ones and plan to frame them for his room one day soon.
I'm having such a wonderful time figuring life out as it comes. Masey fits so perfectly and brings such joy into our little family that we hardly remember life without her. It's as if we always had two. Never thought I would say that. But it's true. Noah makes us laugh all the time. He's got this funny little sense of humor and this desire to be just like his Dad. His hero. It's amazing to think that we created these two little miracles. It's the closest we get to being like our Father in Heaven here on earth. Creators of life. Such a responsibility, such a breathtaking experience.
Thank you to everyone who commented and left me their email for the private blog. I'm having some difficulty actually changing it over, but I'm sure we'll get there eventually. And I have to say I'm a little surprised at how many people actually read my crazy ramblings! I mean, I'm pretty much the coolest person I know, but still, I'm flattered all :)
Oh and here's a video of my kids, just because I think they're so-o cute
March 14, 2010
it's nap time and I'm bored
Oh this kid...
He is a punk. He may look kinda cute. So cute in fact that you might even want to take him home with you. Well be warned, he's starting the 'self phasing out nap time' routine. And let me tell you... Mama don't likey. As a matter of fact, he's yelling from his crib right now. 'Mom! It's time to get out! Time to get out now Mom!' Ummm, I don't think so buddy... But nice try. Oh and is it just me, or do I look fifteen years old in this picture? And not in a good way. Maybe the chubbier my face is, the younger I look. That's not very fair is it? Anyways, that is why you have not had the pleasure of seeing my glowing face for some time on this blog. But that is all about to change... Yay for weight loss! I can tell you are all just as excited about it as I am. I have already lost 5 pounds. In a week. Is that healthy? Maybe not... but hey, my pants sure feel better when they're not so tight, so ya, I'll take it.
This little ham asked for Eggs the other morning. So I scooted a chair over and asked for his help. He was in heaven. Usually I am in too much of a hurry to let him help, but Mase decided to sleep in that morning. I am working on putting more effort into spending quality time with Noah. Right now he loves to play hide and seek. Never mind that he hides in the exact same spot every time. He still laughs so hard his face turns red when I 'find' him. Then he yells 'Again!' :) It may be slightly repetitive, but oh how I'll miss these days when they're gone.
Here is my boy, and here are his ears. Don't get me wrong, I love him more than my luggage (name that movie) BUT .. his ears are a tad out of control don't you think? I have had mixed feedback from everyone. Some people say get them 'tied' back, some say don't, he is adorable the way he is. And while I am not debating the fact of his utter cuteness, I think we're going to go the surgery route and get those babies put back before he gets made fun of. I remember my childhood. Kids can be mean. And much like his mother, this boy has a sensy side that just may never get over it.
Chubby thighs anyone? Umm yes please.
The other day Noah ran over to Masyn and says "Mom, she's a princess" Why yes Son, yes she is. They're going to be great friends :)
This is the only time it is super cute to have a double chin and fat rolls. So jealous.
He is a punk. He may look kinda cute. So cute in fact that you might even want to take him home with you. Well be warned, he's starting the 'self phasing out nap time' routine. And let me tell you... Mama don't likey. As a matter of fact, he's yelling from his crib right now. 'Mom! It's time to get out! Time to get out now Mom!' Ummm, I don't think so buddy... But nice try. Oh and is it just me, or do I look fifteen years old in this picture? And not in a good way. Maybe the chubbier my face is, the younger I look. That's not very fair is it? Anyways, that is why you have not had the pleasure of seeing my glowing face for some time on this blog. But that is all about to change... Yay for weight loss! I can tell you are all just as excited about it as I am. I have already lost 5 pounds. In a week. Is that healthy? Maybe not... but hey, my pants sure feel better when they're not so tight, so ya, I'll take it.
This little ham asked for Eggs the other morning. So I scooted a chair over and asked for his help. He was in heaven. Usually I am in too much of a hurry to let him help, but Mase decided to sleep in that morning. I am working on putting more effort into spending quality time with Noah. Right now he loves to play hide and seek. Never mind that he hides in the exact same spot every time. He still laughs so hard his face turns red when I 'find' him. Then he yells 'Again!' :) It may be slightly repetitive, but oh how I'll miss these days when they're gone.
Here is my boy, and here are his ears. Don't get me wrong, I love him more than my luggage (name that movie) BUT .. his ears are a tad out of control don't you think? I have had mixed feedback from everyone. Some people say get them 'tied' back, some say don't, he is adorable the way he is. And while I am not debating the fact of his utter cuteness, I think we're going to go the surgery route and get those babies put back before he gets made fun of. I remember my childhood. Kids can be mean. And much like his mother, this boy has a sensy side that just may never get over it.
Chubby thighs anyone? Umm yes please.
The other day Noah ran over to Masyn and says "Mom, she's a princess" Why yes Son, yes she is. They're going to be great friends :)
This is the only time it is super cute to have a double chin and fat rolls. So jealous.March 12, 2010
Going Private
recent activity has made me jump all over this band wagon. Please leave me your email address in the comment section or send me it on facebook/email. whatever. Even if you just happen to stop by from time to time or I don't know you. I know our life is just soooo exciting you won't want to miss any of it.
thanks
thanks
March 11, 2010
I've been noticing a rapidly increasing blog drought as of late. What's up with that? As a mother of a toddler and a new born... Gasp! I can't say new born anymore. No no no, she is two whole months now! Time flies. Anyways, as I was saying, some days, the Internet is my only connection to the outside world and I need some updates people! Sad? Yes. But before you go feeling all sorry for me, let me tell you that I love my life. Not every day, no. There are some days where I feel as though I could run away. Screaming. If we're being honest here. But I embrace the fact that this is normal, and that the good days far outweigh the bad ones.
We've settled into a nice routine here in the Caballero household. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. Our little Masey is so sweet and smiley. She does have a good healthy set of lungs on her, so if you've ticked her off, be prepared to hear about it. She goes to bed between 9-9:30 and only gets up once to eat. Sometimes she wakes up for the day at 8:30 but there are some beautiful mornings when she sleeps until almost 10:00. Ahhh those are nice. I usually spend this extra hour dozing on the couch while Noah has breakfast and watches a show. It's bliss. She seems to be growing much fast than I remember Noah growing. I just bought her some pajamas last week and she has already stretched them to the maximum length. Hmmm, oh well, more shopping for me! Why is it that I enjoy shopping for my kids so much more than I do for myself? Weird. At 8 weeks she is a rotund 15 pounds. Poor girl gains all her weight in her stomach and thighs. Oh how I can relate. When I change her I talk to her in my high pitched baby voice which Noah LOVES to mimic. I say to her, Hi Chubby Chubbers. And he leans in real close to her face, copies the pitch perfectly and says Oh Hi Chubby Chubbers! He loves to call her Masey girl which comes out sounding like Masey Goowha. Ed has been calling her Momma or Mommas from day one and Noah has picked up that one real quick too. When he hears her crying from her crib, he drops all his toys and yells at me, Mom! Let's go get Mommas! And hauls off down the hall to rescue his baby sister. So-o cute. I really can't say enough about how much he has changed since she has been born. Does he still tantrum? Of course. Is he still sassy? Absolutely. But he communicates so much more and in turn, listens to us communicate to him so much more. A few weeks ago I noticed him yelling while he was playing with his cars. Go sit on a time out RIGHT now! He yelled. Uh oh.... I wonder where he heard that from. My bad. I talked about it with Ed when he got home and we have really cut back on raising our voices to him when we are disciplining. what.a. difference. Who knew that calm talking would get you so much better results?? hahaha Everyone, I know. Bad habits are hard to break I suppose and when I am angry, or frustrated, I communicate that through the decibels in my voice. Or at least I used too. I'm doing so much better now and I think it's even helped me to communicate my feelings to Ed without offending by yelling. It feels good. I hope I can keep it up.
Speaking of Ed. He's my best friend. Have I mentioned that before??? :) Well it's true. How cool is it being married to your best friend? hanging out with them all of the time and sharing all the joys and pains of life? I don't know what I would do without him. He is so good for bouncing my idea's and thoughts off of and I love to hear his feedback. He has been really supportive of my weight loss and even pushes me to keep going. The other night for example, when I did NOT want to go out and run stairs. Yuck. He pushed me and pushed me until I finally grabbed the keys and stormed out of the house in anger. Working out really does give you endorphins, because I was no longer seething mad when I came back :) I even thanked him for his help. (Or at least I thought of thanking him... Hmmm. I should make sure I did when he gets home from school.) Shortly after Masyn was born we decided it was finally time for Ed to quit his job and move on to something else. We were extremely nervous of this because we had no idea what else he could do for money while still going to school. And when I say 'we' I really mean 'ME' I am such a stress case. More on that later. But in the end it all worked out perfectly much to the thanks of Ed's parents and brother for coming through for us. It's been a blessing for sure. We've taken a bit of a hit financially, but he is home way more and he is getting so much more rest than before. I will take that over more money any day. In other news, we did not get accepted into any Dental Schools this year. Which means we will be here for another year at least and Ed is going to take another shot at the DAT since they recommend you take it a few times anyways. Practice makes perfect I suppose. Anyways, he graduates in April and we are hoping he gets a good job so that we can rent a bit of a bigger place for this next year. So if anyone knows of anything he could do for work, please let us know. I would love to get into a place with a backyard of some sort so we can make the most of the warmer days ahead.
So earlier I was informing you of my stress case self. Well I have been noticing just how badly I stress over, well nothing sometimes. My life is not that bad, really. I just don't handle any kind of stress well, and I want to change that. I'm not sure how to go about channeling my inner stress demons. Yoga? Meditation? Is there a class I can take? I'm not sure. But I think that stress ages you, and well.... I'm feeling super old these days. So if anyone can help me out with info or anything that you do personally to manage your stress I would be forever grateful. And perhaps I would send you some baked goods.... perhaps. On another front, I am starting to lose my baby weight. I gave myself 6 weeks before I started in on anything. Well that was two weeks ago. A couple of days ago I received a phone call from my Bestie Juli telling me she was getting married in July. Well that put my butt in gear. Currently I have 3 1/2 months to lose just under 30 pounds. Bring it.
And lastly, I finally have the pictures back from our newborn shoot my sister did. Yay! And since both babies are napping, I shall include her birth story as you feast your eyes on the beauty that Masyn is....
So her due date was January 10th. No problem, I thought. Noah was a week early, she will be too. Naive. So naive. By the time the 10th came around I was already frustrated because I was expecting her 7 days previous. I was desperate. The window of opportunity for Wes and Amanda to see her before they left was quickly closing.
I had gone on several long walks, squatted whenever I could, did some jumping jacks (not the easiest at 9 months pregnant let me tell you) ate spicy food, vacuumed my parents entire house on my hands and knees and even got acupuncture (which for the record I will never do again. No matter how much I wanted that baby out of me, I could not get past the fact that there were needles sticking out of my body! Icky.)
By the 11th I had convinced myself that she was just never coming out and I would have to walk around being pregnant forever. Can you imagine?? It kind of freaked me out. On the morning of the 13th I had an appointment with my midwives. My Mom took the day off, we left Noah in Strathmore because that's where I was staying while Wes and Amanda were in town, and headed for a day in the city. At the appointment, they told me they could sweep my membranes and that could put me into labor. I'm sorry, just saying sweeping membranes sounds painful to me. Not to mention totally gross. So I kindly declined. I told them that if I was still pregnant by my next appointment, I would let them do whatever they had to do.
When I went back out into the waiting area, my Mom had booked me a massage so in I went for that. It was heaven on earth I tell you. If you ever get a chance to have a prenatal massage, do it. And then find excuses to have one every week for the duration of your pregnancy. It was grand, and over too quickly. That hour just flies by. Anywho, while we were in there I asked her to push on every labor inducing pressure point she could think of. And she did.
After that, it was off to the malls so we could find some last minute clothing for a family photo shoot that was happening in the next few days. So we walked, and walked and walked some more. Found all of the appropriate items and on our way home decided we should stop for a bite to eat at the Olive Garden. Yum. It was around 3:00 pm I think by this time. It was on the way to eat that I felt my first contraction. I started timing them and by the time we were seated and had ordered they were about 4-6 minutes apart. And umm PAINFUL. Ouch. I didn't remember it being this painful with Noah right off the bat. I remember thinking, well! You can stay in there as long as you like little lady. I'm not ready for this anymore.
An hour after they had started, we were ready to leave and they were getting longer in between each one. I was a bit disappointed but I was dealing. We decided I would still go back out to Strathmore since they seemed to be going away. We got home, played with Noah, bathed and put him to bed and all the while I was having maybe one or two mild contractions every half hour or so. False alarm I thought. Around 10:00 I was so-o tired so I headed for bed.
At 10:50 I remember being woken up from a contraction but like I said before, I was super tired for some reason and so I was still kind of out of it. I dozed in between the pain and kept thinking that I was watching someone else go through labor from an outside perspective. It was all very weird. Finally around 11:30 I was fully awake and realized that this might be it, but with Noah's labor being 26 hours long, I didn't want to get all excited. I knew I had awhile to go yet. So I thought I would try and sleep some more. Ya right. They were coming every 8-10 minutes and after each one I had to go to the bathroom. Like, bad. So I would have to trudge all the way upstairs do my thing, then come all the way back down, crawl into bed and have a couple of minutes of rest before I would have some more pain and then have to go and do the whole trip again.
I guess I was being kind of loud because when I came out of the bathroom once, I noticed my Dad sitting in the chair in the living room. "What is going on?" He asks me. "Oh, I uh, think I'm in labor actually" So I sat on the couch and he timed a couple of them for me. They were about 6-8 minutes apart and getting more intense with each one. He went and woke up my Mom because I told him I didn't want to have another one without her there. She came and sat with us and I went through a couple more before I called Ed at about 12:30 to tell him we were having our baby.
He started making preparations to get someone to cover for him at work, so I called Janay to let her know that it had started. I had asked her previously to be there and take pictures for me. We decided it would take too long for Ed to have to come out to Strathmore to pick me up and then take us back into Calgary, so I called Josh and asked him to drive me in. After that we started getting my things together and the contractions started coming faster. I remember standing at the top of the stairs after Josh had come in the front door and having to bed over from a particularly painful contraction. I was breathing through it while my Mom rubbed my back. After I stood up I looked at Josh who said "Yup, pretty much sounds exactly how I did when I had my kidney stone" I think that should be labeled under, what NOT to say to a woman in labor. If eyes could kill, my brother would not be here today. I told my Mom that I wasn't going to drive 45 minutes in a car alone with him, so she got ready and by 1:30 we were on our way.
It was during this time that I remember thinking, what in the heck am I doing?? Why oh why did I WANT to do this again? The pain was so bad I felt like I was dying. Every 5 minutes I would die for about 50 seconds and then I would come back to life. I felt as though I was walking to my death. Willingly walking to my death. How messed up is that?? I called my midwives to tell them we were on our way and that they were already 5 minutes apart. Kudos to Mary who practically flew from Airdrie to make it to the Foothills in time. They met us at the entrance at 2:30 and after stopping twice for contractions before we reached the doors they grabbed a wheelchair and had me up in the room before I had another one. They should make those chairs with a seat belt. I might have come flying out we were rushing through the halls so fast :)
After we got in the room they took my blood pressure and started filling up the tub right away. I went through a few more contractions just standing beside the bed until Ed finally walked in and we made our way to the tub. As soon as I got in the contractions stopped. I was like... ummm Uh oh! I don't know what I did, by they're gone! Mary just laughed at me and told me to enjoy the break because they would be back with a vengeance. She wasn't lying. I could not get over how painful they were. Based on my previous labor I thought I was going to be there for awhile, and I just didn't think I would make it out alive if they were that bad.
I don't remember what time Janay got there. Sorry, I was a little busy. But I do remember her walking through the door looking all fresh and cute and happy, and and..dressed. Here I was, bearing everything for all to see, red faced with sweat beads forming on my forehead, my hair wet and flat against my head and not a trace of make up on my face. yes that's right. You heard me, zero make up. I'm a daredevil like that. No, not really. It all happened so fast I didn't have the time. But oh was I mad. I was mad at everyone outside of that tub. Everyone walking in and out of that little bathroom who had a smile on their face. They would say things like, you can do this! It won't be long now! And all the while they were feeling zero pain themselves. How.dare.they.
Anyways, I eventually got over that because I was back to feeling like I was dying and couldn't be bothered to think of anything else. I started pushing not long after that and after several attempts to tell Mary that I couldn't do 'this' anymore, she was born at 4:13 am. They placed her on my chest right away and I remember saying 'What do I do? what do I do?' Im pretty sure I remember hearing laughing and then someone said, 'just hold her!' So I did just that. I held my skinny, slippery little baby girl. She didn't make a peep. Just laid there staring up, probably feeling totally confused and maybe a bit unsure of what was happening around her. I was so glad it was all over and she was finally here.
They got us out of the tub and into the room for the the stats and paperwork and we just talked while the midwives did their thing. She came in at 6lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. Just a little bean. Mary cleaned out the bathtub then filled it back up again and went and sat back in it. She handed Masyn to me with a bar of soap and that was her first little bath. Janay and my Mom came in at some point and I held her in the warm water while Janay cleaned her up with the soap. The midwives walked out of the room and told us to tell them when we were done. Such a difference from our first experience. 100% better by far.
When she was squeaky clean, we both got dressed, Josh and Ed's parents came in to meet and hold her, we loaded her into the car seat and were walking out of the hospital at 6:30am. It was a whirlwind but what a great experience. We were home by 7:00 and by 7:01 the three of us were sound asleep. I do remember on the drive home, telling Ed that I honestly didn't know if I could ever do that again. He told me that was fine and I started thinking 2 kids instead of the original 4 would be totally okay with me too. But then just the other day I called my Mom late one night...
We've settled into a nice routine here in the Caballero household. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. Our little Masey is so sweet and smiley. She does have a good healthy set of lungs on her, so if you've ticked her off, be prepared to hear about it. She goes to bed between 9-9:30 and only gets up once to eat. Sometimes she wakes up for the day at 8:30 but there are some beautiful mornings when she sleeps until almost 10:00. Ahhh those are nice. I usually spend this extra hour dozing on the couch while Noah has breakfast and watches a show. It's bliss. She seems to be growing much fast than I remember Noah growing. I just bought her some pajamas last week and she has already stretched them to the maximum length. Hmmm, oh well, more shopping for me! Why is it that I enjoy shopping for my kids so much more than I do for myself? Weird. At 8 weeks she is a rotund 15 pounds. Poor girl gains all her weight in her stomach and thighs. Oh how I can relate. When I change her I talk to her in my high pitched baby voice which Noah LOVES to mimic. I say to her, Hi Chubby Chubbers. And he leans in real close to her face, copies the pitch perfectly and says Oh Hi Chubby Chubbers! He loves to call her Masey girl which comes out sounding like Masey Goowha. Ed has been calling her Momma or Mommas from day one and Noah has picked up that one real quick too. When he hears her crying from her crib, he drops all his toys and yells at me, Mom! Let's go get Mommas! And hauls off down the hall to rescue his baby sister. So-o cute. I really can't say enough about how much he has changed since she has been born. Does he still tantrum? Of course. Is he still sassy? Absolutely. But he communicates so much more and in turn, listens to us communicate to him so much more. A few weeks ago I noticed him yelling while he was playing with his cars. Go sit on a time out RIGHT now! He yelled. Uh oh.... I wonder where he heard that from. My bad. I talked about it with Ed when he got home and we have really cut back on raising our voices to him when we are disciplining. what.a. difference. Who knew that calm talking would get you so much better results?? hahaha Everyone, I know. Bad habits are hard to break I suppose and when I am angry, or frustrated, I communicate that through the decibels in my voice. Or at least I used too. I'm doing so much better now and I think it's even helped me to communicate my feelings to Ed without offending by yelling. It feels good. I hope I can keep it up.
Speaking of Ed. He's my best friend. Have I mentioned that before??? :) Well it's true. How cool is it being married to your best friend? hanging out with them all of the time and sharing all the joys and pains of life? I don't know what I would do without him. He is so good for bouncing my idea's and thoughts off of and I love to hear his feedback. He has been really supportive of my weight loss and even pushes me to keep going. The other night for example, when I did NOT want to go out and run stairs. Yuck. He pushed me and pushed me until I finally grabbed the keys and stormed out of the house in anger. Working out really does give you endorphins, because I was no longer seething mad when I came back :) I even thanked him for his help. (Or at least I thought of thanking him... Hmmm. I should make sure I did when he gets home from school.) Shortly after Masyn was born we decided it was finally time for Ed to quit his job and move on to something else. We were extremely nervous of this because we had no idea what else he could do for money while still going to school. And when I say 'we' I really mean 'ME' I am such a stress case. More on that later. But in the end it all worked out perfectly much to the thanks of Ed's parents and brother for coming through for us. It's been a blessing for sure. We've taken a bit of a hit financially, but he is home way more and he is getting so much more rest than before. I will take that over more money any day. In other news, we did not get accepted into any Dental Schools this year. Which means we will be here for another year at least and Ed is going to take another shot at the DAT since they recommend you take it a few times anyways. Practice makes perfect I suppose. Anyways, he graduates in April and we are hoping he gets a good job so that we can rent a bit of a bigger place for this next year. So if anyone knows of anything he could do for work, please let us know. I would love to get into a place with a backyard of some sort so we can make the most of the warmer days ahead.
So earlier I was informing you of my stress case self. Well I have been noticing just how badly I stress over, well nothing sometimes. My life is not that bad, really. I just don't handle any kind of stress well, and I want to change that. I'm not sure how to go about channeling my inner stress demons. Yoga? Meditation? Is there a class I can take? I'm not sure. But I think that stress ages you, and well.... I'm feeling super old these days. So if anyone can help me out with info or anything that you do personally to manage your stress I would be forever grateful. And perhaps I would send you some baked goods.... perhaps. On another front, I am starting to lose my baby weight. I gave myself 6 weeks before I started in on anything. Well that was two weeks ago. A couple of days ago I received a phone call from my Bestie Juli telling me she was getting married in July. Well that put my butt in gear. Currently I have 3 1/2 months to lose just under 30 pounds. Bring it.
And lastly, I finally have the pictures back from our newborn shoot my sister did. Yay! And since both babies are napping, I shall include her birth story as you feast your eyes on the beauty that Masyn is....
So her due date was January 10th. No problem, I thought. Noah was a week early, she will be too. Naive. So naive. By the time the 10th came around I was already frustrated because I was expecting her 7 days previous. I was desperate. The window of opportunity for Wes and Amanda to see her before they left was quickly closing.
I had gone on several long walks, squatted whenever I could, did some jumping jacks (not the easiest at 9 months pregnant let me tell you) ate spicy food, vacuumed my parents entire house on my hands and knees and even got acupuncture (which for the record I will never do again. No matter how much I wanted that baby out of me, I could not get past the fact that there were needles sticking out of my body! Icky.)
By the 11th I had convinced myself that she was just never coming out and I would have to walk around being pregnant forever. Can you imagine?? It kind of freaked me out. On the morning of the 13th I had an appointment with my midwives. My Mom took the day off, we left Noah in Strathmore because that's where I was staying while Wes and Amanda were in town, and headed for a day in the city. At the appointment, they told me they could sweep my membranes and that could put me into labor. I'm sorry, just saying sweeping membranes sounds painful to me. Not to mention totally gross. So I kindly declined. I told them that if I was still pregnant by my next appointment, I would let them do whatever they had to do.
When I went back out into the waiting area, my Mom had booked me a massage so in I went for that. It was heaven on earth I tell you. If you ever get a chance to have a prenatal massage, do it. And then find excuses to have one every week for the duration of your pregnancy. It was grand, and over too quickly. That hour just flies by. Anywho, while we were in there I asked her to push on every labor inducing pressure point she could think of. And she did.
After that, it was off to the malls so we could find some last minute clothing for a family photo shoot that was happening in the next few days. So we walked, and walked and walked some more. Found all of the appropriate items and on our way home decided we should stop for a bite to eat at the Olive Garden. Yum. It was around 3:00 pm I think by this time. It was on the way to eat that I felt my first contraction. I started timing them and by the time we were seated and had ordered they were about 4-6 minutes apart. And umm PAINFUL. Ouch. I didn't remember it being this painful with Noah right off the bat. I remember thinking, well! You can stay in there as long as you like little lady. I'm not ready for this anymore.
An hour after they had started, we were ready to leave and they were getting longer in between each one. I was a bit disappointed but I was dealing. We decided I would still go back out to Strathmore since they seemed to be going away. We got home, played with Noah, bathed and put him to bed and all the while I was having maybe one or two mild contractions every half hour or so. False alarm I thought. Around 10:00 I was so-o tired so I headed for bed.
At 10:50 I remember being woken up from a contraction but like I said before, I was super tired for some reason and so I was still kind of out of it. I dozed in between the pain and kept thinking that I was watching someone else go through labor from an outside perspective. It was all very weird. Finally around 11:30 I was fully awake and realized that this might be it, but with Noah's labor being 26 hours long, I didn't want to get all excited. I knew I had awhile to go yet. So I thought I would try and sleep some more. Ya right. They were coming every 8-10 minutes and after each one I had to go to the bathroom. Like, bad. So I would have to trudge all the way upstairs do my thing, then come all the way back down, crawl into bed and have a couple of minutes of rest before I would have some more pain and then have to go and do the whole trip again.
I guess I was being kind of loud because when I came out of the bathroom once, I noticed my Dad sitting in the chair in the living room. "What is going on?" He asks me. "Oh, I uh, think I'm in labor actually" So I sat on the couch and he timed a couple of them for me. They were about 6-8 minutes apart and getting more intense with each one. He went and woke up my Mom because I told him I didn't want to have another one without her there. She came and sat with us and I went through a couple more before I called Ed at about 12:30 to tell him we were having our baby.
He started making preparations to get someone to cover for him at work, so I called Janay to let her know that it had started. I had asked her previously to be there and take pictures for me. We decided it would take too long for Ed to have to come out to Strathmore to pick me up and then take us back into Calgary, so I called Josh and asked him to drive me in. After that we started getting my things together and the contractions started coming faster. I remember standing at the top of the stairs after Josh had come in the front door and having to bed over from a particularly painful contraction. I was breathing through it while my Mom rubbed my back. After I stood up I looked at Josh who said "Yup, pretty much sounds exactly how I did when I had my kidney stone" I think that should be labeled under, what NOT to say to a woman in labor. If eyes could kill, my brother would not be here today. I told my Mom that I wasn't going to drive 45 minutes in a car alone with him, so she got ready and by 1:30 we were on our way.
It was during this time that I remember thinking, what in the heck am I doing?? Why oh why did I WANT to do this again? The pain was so bad I felt like I was dying. Every 5 minutes I would die for about 50 seconds and then I would come back to life. I felt as though I was walking to my death. Willingly walking to my death. How messed up is that?? I called my midwives to tell them we were on our way and that they were already 5 minutes apart. Kudos to Mary who practically flew from Airdrie to make it to the Foothills in time. They met us at the entrance at 2:30 and after stopping twice for contractions before we reached the doors they grabbed a wheelchair and had me up in the room before I had another one. They should make those chairs with a seat belt. I might have come flying out we were rushing through the halls so fast :)
After we got in the room they took my blood pressure and started filling up the tub right away. I went through a few more contractions just standing beside the bed until Ed finally walked in and we made our way to the tub. As soon as I got in the contractions stopped. I was like... ummm Uh oh! I don't know what I did, by they're gone! Mary just laughed at me and told me to enjoy the break because they would be back with a vengeance. She wasn't lying. I could not get over how painful they were. Based on my previous labor I thought I was going to be there for awhile, and I just didn't think I would make it out alive if they were that bad.
I don't remember what time Janay got there. Sorry, I was a little busy. But I do remember her walking through the door looking all fresh and cute and happy, and and..dressed. Here I was, bearing everything for all to see, red faced with sweat beads forming on my forehead, my hair wet and flat against my head and not a trace of make up on my face. yes that's right. You heard me, zero make up. I'm a daredevil like that. No, not really. It all happened so fast I didn't have the time. But oh was I mad. I was mad at everyone outside of that tub. Everyone walking in and out of that little bathroom who had a smile on their face. They would say things like, you can do this! It won't be long now! And all the while they were feeling zero pain themselves. How.dare.they.
Anyways, I eventually got over that because I was back to feeling like I was dying and couldn't be bothered to think of anything else. I started pushing not long after that and after several attempts to tell Mary that I couldn't do 'this' anymore, she was born at 4:13 am. They placed her on my chest right away and I remember saying 'What do I do? what do I do?' Im pretty sure I remember hearing laughing and then someone said, 'just hold her!' So I did just that. I held my skinny, slippery little baby girl. She didn't make a peep. Just laid there staring up, probably feeling totally confused and maybe a bit unsure of what was happening around her. I was so glad it was all over and she was finally here.
They got us out of the tub and into the room for the the stats and paperwork and we just talked while the midwives did their thing. She came in at 6lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. Just a little bean. Mary cleaned out the bathtub then filled it back up again and went and sat back in it. She handed Masyn to me with a bar of soap and that was her first little bath. Janay and my Mom came in at some point and I held her in the warm water while Janay cleaned her up with the soap. The midwives walked out of the room and told us to tell them when we were done. Such a difference from our first experience. 100% better by far.
When she was squeaky clean, we both got dressed, Josh and Ed's parents came in to meet and hold her, we loaded her into the car seat and were walking out of the hospital at 6:30am. It was a whirlwind but what a great experience. We were home by 7:00 and by 7:01 the three of us were sound asleep. I do remember on the drive home, telling Ed that I honestly didn't know if I could ever do that again. He told me that was fine and I started thinking 2 kids instead of the original 4 would be totally okay with me too. But then just the other day I called my Mom late one night...Me: So we have a bit of a crisis
Mom: Oh? What is it?
Me: Well now that Masyn is going to bed at a set time and is practically sleeping through the night, I'm starting to think I could have another one....
I guess you just never know :) Four kids is looking doable to me right now. Remind me of that as I am going into labor with our third.
February 13, 2010
having a baby girl...
... is like so much better than having dolls to dress up.
She is barely four weeks old and already she has a rather impressive collection of 11 pairs of shoes. That's about 10 more than I currently own. So fun.
So I know I'm really behind in posting. Having two kids takes up a lot more time than I had imagined. The minute I am done feeding/changing Masyn, I try to focus all my attention on Noah. I think that's the thing I am finding the most difficult. The division of my time as a Mommy. It's tough, but we're adjusting.
Noah has been the best big brother. That sounds cliche, but really, he is. We thought he was going to have a hard time with a baby around. I was picturing fits of jealous rage. It's the exact opposite. He has, I dare say, improved since Masyn has been home. He love love loves her. He no longer fights me to change his diaper, as long as his little sister is getting her diaper changed at the same time. He loves to help me and when I ask him to run and get some wipes or a diaper he is more than willing and runs off to do just as I ask. He asks to hold her a lot, but it's short lived. He tells me it's my turn barely 30 seconds in :) The other day he asked to hold her and she started crying. Noah says "Uh oh, She's hungry, I feed her" as he starts to lift up his shirt to expose his chest. Oooops! I had to quickly explain that only mommies get to feed babies. But my heart melted that he wanted to help her. Like I said, he's a good big brother. I think if I was getting a full night's sleep, life would be bliss.
Anyways, I think we took more pictures of Noah in his first week of life than we have in Masyn's four, but here are the latest. Enjoy.
Janay and I did a photo shoot with the little Miss last week and when I get the pictures back I plan on doing a good long picture-filled post. Including her birth story which I want to remember. Although there's not much to remember. The whole thing lasted just over three hours. A huge leap from Noah's 26 hours. Ouch.
These are a bit out of order. They start with the most recent.
Let's just try and look past the creepy red satan eyes in this one. I have no idea how to get rid of that in my pictures.
My attempt at our first brother/sister picture. I had a way cuter one where she is actually smiling, but I just accidentally deleted it and I can already hear her fussing in her swing so I don't have time to go back and get it. Too bad, it was my fave.
Her first trip to Wal-Mart! That was an exciting day for me. I got out of the house. Never mind that it took like triple the time to get everyone ready and into the car.
After bath time relaxation.
Her first Sunday. I still hadn't clipped her nails. Awww that was soooo long ago :)
She is barely four weeks old and already she has a rather impressive collection of 11 pairs of shoes. That's about 10 more than I currently own. So fun.
So I know I'm really behind in posting. Having two kids takes up a lot more time than I had imagined. The minute I am done feeding/changing Masyn, I try to focus all my attention on Noah. I think that's the thing I am finding the most difficult. The division of my time as a Mommy. It's tough, but we're adjusting.
Noah has been the best big brother. That sounds cliche, but really, he is. We thought he was going to have a hard time with a baby around. I was picturing fits of jealous rage. It's the exact opposite. He has, I dare say, improved since Masyn has been home. He love love loves her. He no longer fights me to change his diaper, as long as his little sister is getting her diaper changed at the same time. He loves to help me and when I ask him to run and get some wipes or a diaper he is more than willing and runs off to do just as I ask. He asks to hold her a lot, but it's short lived. He tells me it's my turn barely 30 seconds in :) The other day he asked to hold her and she started crying. Noah says "Uh oh, She's hungry, I feed her" as he starts to lift up his shirt to expose his chest. Oooops! I had to quickly explain that only mommies get to feed babies. But my heart melted that he wanted to help her. Like I said, he's a good big brother. I think if I was getting a full night's sleep, life would be bliss.
Anyways, I think we took more pictures of Noah in his first week of life than we have in Masyn's four, but here are the latest. Enjoy.
Janay and I did a photo shoot with the little Miss last week and when I get the pictures back I plan on doing a good long picture-filled post. Including her birth story which I want to remember. Although there's not much to remember. The whole thing lasted just over three hours. A huge leap from Noah's 26 hours. Ouch.
These are a bit out of order. They start with the most recent.
Let's just try and look past the creepy red satan eyes in this one. I have no idea how to get rid of that in my pictures.
My attempt at our first brother/sister picture. I had a way cuter one where she is actually smiling, but I just accidentally deleted it and I can already hear her fussing in her swing so I don't have time to go back and get it. Too bad, it was my fave.
Her first trip to Wal-Mart! That was an exciting day for me. I got out of the house. Never mind that it took like triple the time to get everyone ready and into the car.
After bath time relaxation.
Her first Sunday. I still hadn't clipped her nails. Awww that was soooo long ago :)December 18, 2009
call him Greaser
Sigh....
and I had high hopes for a relatively quiet and uneventful night.
Our story begins with a little boy named Noah. He really is the cutest. Although there were two days in a row this week that I wanted to literally run out the door screaming and never return on account of his behavior, he has made up for those in the last 48 hours. I'm back to utterly adoring my sweet son. Even after the stunt he pulled tonight, I can't help but shake my head and just laugh.
What else is one to do when your two year old comes running into the room with an entire container of Mentholatum emptied on top of his cute little head? ( for those of you unaware, Mentholatum is comparable to vicks vapor rub and has that vaseline consistency.) Lovely right?
Here's what I did.
#1 - Grabbed my camera to document and later torment the little guy about just how much trouble he was when he was younger.
#2 - Grabbed the phone and in desperation called and begged my sister to search the Internet on how best to remove the yucky mess from his sweet locks.
I've broken it down into steps in case any of my charming friends ever has the great privilege of needing to do this to their own offspring one day...
Step #1:
Throw the little tyrant into a nice tub of warm water. Try not to get his hair wet first.
Step #2 :
Remove as much of the Vaseline/Mentholatum as you can with paper towel. I couldn't multi task with this step so just imagine the big globs to be gone.
When his head is good and coated and he looks like a mini old man let it sit for a few minutes to allow the cornstarch to do it's job. I'm not exactly sure what it's job is, so don't ask.
Step #4:
Step #5:
Step #6:
Now I'm not sure where exactly I went wrong in the whole process. I am still trying to figure out as to why when all was said and done he still looked like this...
The little grease monkey. This is what it looked like after I had blow dryed it. And because I'm a good Mom like that, this is exactly how he went to bed. Greasy hair and all. Perhaps I'll tackle it again tomorrow when I have more energy.
and I had high hopes for a relatively quiet and uneventful night.
Our story begins with a little boy named Noah. He really is the cutest. Although there were two days in a row this week that I wanted to literally run out the door screaming and never return on account of his behavior, he has made up for those in the last 48 hours. I'm back to utterly adoring my sweet son. Even after the stunt he pulled tonight, I can't help but shake my head and just laugh.
What else is one to do when your two year old comes running into the room with an entire container of Mentholatum emptied on top of his cute little head? ( for those of you unaware, Mentholatum is comparable to vicks vapor rub and has that vaseline consistency.) Lovely right?
Here's what I did.
#1 - Grabbed my camera to document and later torment the little guy about just how much trouble he was when he was younger.
#2 - Grabbed the phone and in desperation called and begged my sister to search the Internet on how best to remove the yucky mess from his sweet locks.
I've broken it down into steps in case any of my charming friends ever has the great privilege of needing to do this to their own offspring one day...
Step #1:
Throw the little tyrant into a nice tub of warm water. Try not to get his hair wet first.
Step #2 :
Remove as much of the Vaseline/Mentholatum as you can with paper towel. I couldn't multi task with this step so just imagine the big globs to be gone.
Step #3:
When you've removed most of it, pat cornstarch into the hair, don't rub. Not sure why, just don't do it okay? (Don't be alarmed, it's not really getting into his eyes, that's just how he says 'Cheese' for the camera.)
When his head is good and coated and he looks like a mini old man let it sit for a few minutes to allow the cornstarch to do it's job. I'm not exactly sure what it's job is, so don't ask.
Step #4:Wash out all that cornstarch with your regular shampoo
Step #5:Then grab some good grease fight'n dish soap and give him another good scrub, or three. After you have sufficiently scarred your child from too many hair washes, give'em one more good scrub with the regular shampoo for good measure. By this time they will looove you and tell you what a nice Mommy you are for helping them. Or if they're like mine, hit you in the face repeatedly and yell "No thank you Mommy! All done!"
Step #6:Rinse thoroughly with warm water again (or lukewarm like mine was after sitting there for 5 or 6 washes) until the subject is squeaky clean.
Now I'm not sure where exactly I went wrong in the whole process. I am still trying to figure out as to why when all was said and done he still looked like this...
The little grease monkey. This is what it looked like after I had blow dryed it. And because I'm a good Mom like that, this is exactly how he went to bed. Greasy hair and all. Perhaps I'll tackle it again tomorrow when I have more energy. Stay tuned...
And for your viewing pleasure, I included a small video of Noah in all of his Mentholatum glory.
And for your viewing pleasure, I included a small video of Noah in all of his Mentholatum glory.
Enjoy!
December 4, 2009
I think we'll keep him
Last night we went visiting some friends who had their third baby a few weeks ago. Noah was pretty busy playing with all the new toys around to notice the sleeping bundle being held by his Mommy. When Ed's turn to hold the little man came around, he was right up there on the lap kissing and softly touching the babies face.
So cute. It made me cry.
His little concerned face was so precious when the baby started to cry. He kept repeating "Oh no! Baby crying, he's sad." We attempted to reassure him saying that even though the baby was crying, he wasn't sad, it just meant he was hungry and needed to eat. Understanding washed over Noah's face and with that he disappeared into the kitchen pantry, emerging several seconds later proudly bringing a can of beans into the living room and placing it on the floor next to the baby's head.
"There! Supper." He says.
Problem solved. Thanks for the laugh little man. No one loves you like I do!
So cute. It made me cry.
His little concerned face was so precious when the baby started to cry. He kept repeating "Oh no! Baby crying, he's sad." We attempted to reassure him saying that even though the baby was crying, he wasn't sad, it just meant he was hungry and needed to eat. Understanding washed over Noah's face and with that he disappeared into the kitchen pantry, emerging several seconds later proudly bringing a can of beans into the living room and placing it on the floor next to the baby's head.
"There! Supper." He says.
Problem solved. Thanks for the laugh little man. No one loves you like I do!
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