Caeleb is kind!

Have you ever read the book or watched the movie "The Help." I couldn't put the book down it was that good. There is a part in there where the maid teaches the little girl the importance of being kind. She says (in her southern accent), "You is kind, you is smart, you is important." I love that book and I love that saying! My Mother says that to her grandson Caeleb sometimes. I think Caeleb hears and understands her. Tonight, I got a compliment about Caeleb that showed me just how kind Caeleb is. I was driving a lady in my ward home from doing a service project. She has a calling in the nursery and so interacts with Caeleb. She is from a different nationality and she told me that the little children in the nursery have tended to shy away from her, maybe a little unsure of her. But not Caeleb. He went up to her from day one and played with her and talked to her. There were no differences in his eyes. Caeleb, I hope you always treat people kindly. Do not discriminate. Do not make fun. I love who you are and feel so happy to raise such a special son of our  Heavenly Father.

Zumba night at Home.

A funny-cute moment tonight. So the home teachers came over at 8:00 pm and I was not able to make it to my 8:30 Zumba class because of it. I decided that Chris and I would have our own Zumba class after we put the kids to bed. I put on the soccer song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," and we started to do the dance for it. (Youtube the song if you like - we sometimes dance to it in Tuesday night Zumba class). We soon hear mumbling coming from Caeleb's room down the hall and so Chris goes to check it out.

"Waka Waka, eh eh?" Caeleb questioned in his very sleepy toddler voice, "Waka Waka, eh eh?" He loves to dance to that song with me and we had been dancing to it earlier on in the day. He was about to get out of bed to come join us but Chris laid him back down and he was soon back to sleep being so tired. Chris came out of the room laughing and I just had to share the moment. Te he he. What a funny little boy. (He also likes to dance to Gangnam style. Oh, and Caeleb and I have our song that we waltz too - I See the Light...from the movie Tangled).

Life

Well, I have not written for a while because a lot of little special moments happen that are worth remembering but quickly pass by and by the time I get time to write them down, I forget about them. Sad, I know. But I am going to try harder to get more memories recorded.

This morning I was listening to a conference talk by Elder Bednar and he stated it was never too early to teach our children about the Gospel. Knowing I need to do better in that, I spoke to Caeleb right away,  "Did you know Caeleb, that Heavenly Father loves you!"

He thought for a few seconds and stated, "Santa Clause too... Ho Ho Ho." Te He He. That is our Caeleb. Always keeping us laughing. He continues to love going to nursery on Sundays and he never wants to leave church. (I hope that this attitude continues as he gets older). After church, he goes to the Bishops office to get his Sunday candy (it is tradition in this ward), and then he proceeds to the chapel to go explore the pulpit and choir stand. I have to chase him around to get his coat on.

Elva is a sweetheart. She has smiles and little giggles that would melt anyone's heart. She loves to cuddle at times but also loves to look outwards at everyone and thing around her. She will spend about an hour on her back on the floor just wiggling herself around in circles and talking to herself. She still doesn't seem to want to roll but that will come soon enough. She continues at about 11-12 lbs and looks just like a little person (not baby proportioned - looks like Caeleb looked at her age except she has blue eyes).

We had a busy few days this last weekend. Chris brother Jared came to visit and we love to have him around. He makes us all laugh so much and Caeleb loved playing tag and train with his uncle. Camellia and Sterling came for a visit too and we all went to Kyndal Gainor's baptism on Saturday. She looked beautiful with braids in her hair and her baptismal dress bordered with material from India. I also did a 7:00 am Temple session on Saturday morning with our Relief Society. Then Chris and I went to clean the church and then the family went to a BBQ put on by one of Chris' co-workers. A busy busy day but every once in a while I like a day like that where you come home so tired at night because you accomplished so much during the day.

Life is Good. I woke up this morning to the sunshine and started singing outloud, "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today." I hope that spring is finally here to stay.

 

 

The Watters Family Breakfast

Remember when I wrote about getting back into the grove of exercise. Well, I am slowly getting there. Caeleb, however, does like to interrupt my exercise video at times (well, today it was a lot of times). But, I am getting there. Oh, and remember when I was talking about eating healthy too. Like the breakfast smoothies that I make the boys in the morning. Well, today I felt so happy. I perfected my breakfast smoothie! Yesterday the kids and I walked to the nearby grocery store. I noticed that the bottled healthy smoothies that you can buy at the store have very basic ingredients. Chris used to bring me them when I was in the hospital because I loved them so much. Today, I didn't add yogurt to my smoothie like I have usually done in the past and it turned out really good. This is what I did:

1 banana

Approximately 3/4 cup of frozen berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries all mixed together from a bag).

1/2 an apple cut up into small pieces (My blender is not the greatest and it handles small things a lot better). The apple is the new trick for me. It really sweetens the smoothie.

Approximately 1 cup of cold water (maybe a bit less).

a handful of spinach (it is tasteless in the smoothies and so healthy for you).

Anyways, this smoothie made my day today. (small and simple things). It was really yummy! Try it. (Actually, I think some of you do this already - I learned about homemade smoothies from some of my family). On another note, my cornbread that I made too didn't turn out so good. Blah! Oh, well.

 

 

 

Our 2013 Easter Bunny (named Camellia)

This Easter Weekend we went down to Mountain View to visit my sister Camellia and her family. They live in a beautiful little 100 year old house close to the mountains and far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We love to go down there every chance we get. We go for walks outside and cozy up by the fireplace at night time in their cute little place. Camellia and Doug always feed us so well with their large supply of Deer and Elk meat in soups, stews and other delicious meals. They always have a nice warm bed for us to sleep in and are always more than willing to help with the kids. Their little Sterling loves to play with our Caeleb. This year, Chris and I went to the Mountain View cemetery (which is a short walk from Camellia and Doug's place) to watch the sun rise. The morning air was crisp and the sun rise was beautiful! I prefer watching sunrises to sunsets. I love to greet the sun in the morning (even though it is hard to get up with it lately).

Camellia was our Easter Bunny this year. She is such a creative, kind, diligent, caring Aunt and Sister and she made our weekend such fun! I remember when we were in High School, Camellia volunteered to dress up as the Easter Bunny for Children in the Vulcan community and did an Easter egg hunt with them. I didn't get to see her that day, but she told me about how she had so much fun, even if some of the kids were scared of her costume.

This year, Camellia set up a Easter egg hunt for her Nieces and Nephews. She is the best aunt to her 18 Nieces and Nephews! She spent a lot of time filling the eggs with candy and counting them to make sure there were enough for each person. She even boiled eggs and painted them with the little boys. Caeleb liked that! He also loved to look for the candy filled eggs outside and found his share fast. I so look up to my sister - always have and always will.

Most of my Nieces and Nephews live out on Vancouver Island, but even still, I need to do better to get to know and cherish each one like my sister does. I can feel the love she has for all of her family.

50 simple things (I love about my Chris).

For this last Valentines Day, I made a list of 100 simple things that I love about Chris. Here are 50 to share with you.

1. I love your loud laugh when I am in the bedroom rocking one of the kids and I hear it fill up the house from the living room.


2. I love the way you come home. I always know it is you. The way you open the door, put your bag down and come tromping down the hall. I get excited to see you.


3. I love how you get emotional at times when you read a story out loud or sing a song. Like the Christmas when you read the story of the Jewish Santa. And the song “Sweet Caroline (Katherine).”


4. I love how you look when you are sleeping. You have several completely different handsome looks. The smart handsome with you in your dress clothes and with your glasses. The church handsome dressed up in your suit. You look like a very young general authority (te he). The relaxed handsome with you in your shorts and casual shirt bombing around the house. The sleepy handsome, the one that only I am privileged to see when I sleep next to you when you don’t have your glasses on and I see those beautiful brown eyes. And when you have your eyes closed and I look at you when you are sleeping.


5. I love your crazy bedhead. I love that hair with the little bits of silver.


6. I love when you are happy - which is all the time. That expression when you are happy. It is hard to explain but it makes me feel closer to heaven.


7. I love how you are so quick to forgive. I can be mad and say things I should not say. Then I force out a sorry because I think that no one could forgive me for what I have said. And you forgive right then and there and never bring it up again.


8. I love how you make notes of things you like. You have done a report on Camera items that you want, carefully noting the qualities of each item, price comparison and why you like it.


9. I love how you rattle off financial information or information on mortgages or knowledge about the stars and universe and scriptures and life. I often give you a blank stare in that I don’t understand but you are so patient with me. You explain over and over until I say, “oh yah, I get it.” You never get frustrated with my simple-mindedness.


10. I love how you talk in your sleep and when I tell you, “Chris, you don’t make sense, are you awake,” you say “yes, I am awake.” Then you go right back to sleep and to snoring (at times).


11. I love feeling so warm and safe in your arms when you hug me.


12. I love how you call Caeleb “Snuggy Goo!!” and you give him horsey rides. He gets so giggly.


13. I love how you need a night table so you can leave your glasses on it.


14. I love how you enthusiastically say “Good!” every time I ask how work is going.


15. I love your cooking and watching you cook. You are so precise in your measurements and timing.


16. I love how you insist on shaving before a shower so you can wash off the whiskers.


17. I love the feel of your whiskers on my cheek.


18. I love how when I mention something from the scriptures, you take it so much further and pull out other verses and broaden my understanding ever further.


19. I love how you always keep track of who has prayed last and who’s turn it is. I never do.


20. I love that you hit the snooze button and can go right back to sleep. I marvel at that. I can’t do that!


21. I love how you slap your knees to 80s music and sing along – It makes no difference to you where you are when you do it although my face may go a little red.


22. I love how you play the drums on the steering wheel.


23. I love how you eat slowly and you have everything just right and in front of you before you eat. I always lost the “slowest eater” contests when we were dating.


24. I love listening from a distance as you talk in your daily meetings with your co-workers on the phone. You have so much confidence and power in your words. I look up to that so much! If only I could capture it and have it in my own life.


25. I love how you make yourself peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwiches.


26. I love how you have to have honey on peanut butter and banana sandwhiches. It just can’t be done without the honey. I never thought about that before. Also, some types of soup are not soup to you without crackers.


27.  I love how you shiver so much even when the day isn’t that cold. Yep, that is my man from the mild, “warm” Vancouver Island.


28. I love how you whistle a tune after your phone meetings in the morning. That is how I know you are done.


29. When you go shopping, it makes me giggle and smile. Yah, a bit upset too sometimes because of what you buy at times. But I love how you justify what you buy with, “but it was on sale.”


30. I love how you go up and down the ilse when shopping. Every ilse has to be seen just in case! I remember our shopping date to Costco when we just started dating.


31. Chris’ Chilicold + Katherine’s Spanish word isimo = Chilicoldisimo. To be used on really cold days.


32. I love how you baby powder up, not only yourself, but the whole bathroom as well.


33. You love miracle whip on cheese sandwhiches and a light in the room when watching a movie.


34. I love that you were never “popular” growing up. You don’t feel like you have a “cool” reputation to uphold.


35. Open face Jam sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and snacks!


36. I love that you are not obsessed with sports. Sports really aren’t your thing and that is okay. Your idea of a good sport is a nice relaxing hike in the mountains where you can take pictures or everything!


37. I love your knowledge of the stars. I mentioned this before but I really do marvel at the knowledge you have of astronomy. You know the answers to pretty much all of my questions about life and the universe.


38. I love how you go cross eyed without your glasses on. Just a little but it is so cute and handsome all rolled into one. Elva has that too. And Caeleb – just a little.


39. You can stay up until 4:00 am watching Star Trek and Dr. Who. In fact, when you watch TV, you cannot fall asleep. That amazes me! I can fall asleep in seconds to a movie.


40. I love how you brighten up when you talk to your Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters. I can see that twinkle in your eye and hear the excitement in your voice.


41. I love how you listen to 80s music while working and I can hear it anywhere in the house.


42. I love how you can stretch out your famous egg miracle whip sandwhiches into so many. It is like Jesus feeding the multitudes with fish and bread. It is like Mary Poppins pulling out a lamp from her handbag. When I make them, I can’t make nearly as many with so few ingredients. Amazing!


43. Mrs. Dash and Garlic for every meal!


44. I love a Chris song called “Name.” (the country song). It brings memories of short car trips around Calgary. It has new meaning in our life now since loosing Lily through miscarriage.


45. I love how you call me sweetheart.


46. “Why don’t we just dance.” That song on Youtube, dancing around our old apartment. You introduced me to that song.


47. I love how you would sing “making memories of us,”when we were dating and you would focus on “I want to honor your mother.”


48. I love watching you comb your hair in the morning. You have your own style.


49. You have never complained about changing a poopy diaper.


50. I have never met anyone with as positive an attitude and as even keel a temperament as you have. 3.5 years of marriage and I still feel that way.

 

Chris

My husband Chris is a very busy guy. He works long hours and has a busy schedule. I think Heavenly Father intends for husbands and fathers to work very hard and have a lot of responsibility. He is preparing them for eternity, to be as he is (and he is preparing his daughters as well for different responsibilities). He provides his sons with the capability of taking on so much. Most of Chris' spare time is spent with his family, playing with his kids, going on walks and having talks with me. He doesn't make a lot of time for just himself.

I know Heavenly Father gives his sons the ability and capacity to take on so much in this life! They have so much to do! We all do, really. As the wife of a very special son of Heavenly Father, I know that I have the responsibility to be by his side, supporting him, his work, his wisdom, advice and decisions and his church callings, as he supports his family. I hope I can be the support that he needs. I know I am far from perfect and struggle in many different areas (and I won't go into that), but right now in my life, I feel like this is so important! To support my husband in his many responsibilities so that his load can be lightened. My goal is to do better in this area and I have several ideas in how I can accomplish this goal.

One idea: By creating this blog journal as well as continuing on with our family journal, I hope to take the responsibility of being our family team's "recorder" in recording some of our family's memories and thoughts (not just mine) for future learning, future enjoyment of memories and for future generations.

Diapers

A part of our morning routine is changing the two little ones out of their wet diapers. When Caeleb wakes up, he drags me into the living room (it takes me a while to wake up these days and I feel I could sleep all the time). We usually watch a Barney video (Caeleb loves the music and sings along) or Bo on the Go (to do exercises), or something else. And during that time, it is diaper changing time. Elva is easy to do. She won't begin putting up a fight until several months from now. Usually I have to chase Caeleb around the house to get the job done. He thinks its a game and laughs and runs and I chase after him.

Caeleb shows no interest in potty training at two and a half. I have not pressured him by any means. I read my cousin Laura's blog about this and she knows kids and said that one should not pressure kids into potty training. We have a little potty with the cars movie theme. Caeleb loves to put his toys and food in it (but don't worry, he has never actually used it for its intended purpose).  He knows what it is for. We talk about going to the potty. He always says, "No, No potty," (in his cute, high pitched, determined but soft voice) after I make the suggestion to use it. The farthest I have got with the training is having him sit on the potty with his pants on. But, I am not stressing. It will come someday and probably too soon and then, as funny as it sounds, I will miss chasing him around the house in the morning trying to get his soaking wet diaper off and a new one on.

This morning I told Chris that I felt privileged and happy to be the diaper changer of two little ones. It may be a challenge, it may be icky at times, it may be expensive, but I love my important responsibility!

Back to Exercising.

Just to warn you all, I am using my blog more or less as a journal so not everything I write may be interesting to you. You can stop reading if it is not interesting. I won't be offended (well, I won't even know will I). I don't write about everything in this blog Journal (it would be hard to include everything) but I like sharing some of my thoughts and experiences with you all, just as I like to hear how others are doing and what is going on in their lives. Everyone's life makes an interesting story and we can all learn from each others life experiences.

I was reading a friend's blog the other day and she was mentioning how she was exercising more and eating well and how good it made her feel. My doctor wanted me to "take it easy" for the 1st two months after Elva was born but I have been putting off "getting into shape" for longer than that. Elva is 3.5 months old already! We have been pretty much homebound except for church as it has been too cold to take Elva outside for walks (except for a couple of times) and I have not been motivated to exercise in the house.

So a few weeks ago, I started to go to a Tuesday night Zumba class that is FREE. I know that I look horrible doing Zumba (I am not very coordinated) but I love it so much and afterwards I feel so alive inside. I look forward to it.

Today, I started exercising to a walking/jogging video my mom gave me a couple of years ago when Caeleb was a few months old. I would put Caeleb in his Jolly jumper and he would jump along to the music. Today, I put Elva in her Jolly Jumper, (we put her in it for the 1st time yesterday and she loved it - she looks so small in it but it gives her such freedom which gives us a lot of smiles from her), and Caeleb did his exercises right beside me and we all had a lot of fun! Elva is really getting the hang of the jolly jumper. She turns around in it well and is bouncing a little.

Anyways, the plan is to get into shape and back to feeling great (and to pre-pregnancy weight)! I am also trying to get us eating healthy meals in this house. We are eating a lot of baked veggies and veggie stews and soups. I am trying to send the boys to work with spinach and fruit/berry smoothies in the morning. I find it a lot of fun to create new and healthy meals.

Well, I try to keep you up to date on how my exercise program is going. Until next time...

Through the Eyes of a Two year old.

Caeleb  is such a funny little guy! And the things he says keep us laughing all the time. Here is a taste of his cuteness:

If he is a little sad or if I am sad, he will put on the most adorable pouty look with squinty eyes and say, "Ah, Mommy sad-cry."

If he wants to watch something or have a treat, he will put on a similar squinty eye look and ask in a high voice, " Mommy...cookies peas", or "Mommy...Elephants have Winkles," etc. (He loves the song "Elephants have wrinkles").

Caeleb singing his alphabet song: "A is for apple, Ah Ah Apple, B is for ball, Ca Ca Ball...

If it is cold out, he will say (like his dad says), "Chili-cold out."

Him talking to his sister in the sweetest voice: "Awwww, Jean Bean Elva."

When he wants to listen to the song "I want a Hippopatamus for Christmas" he says, "Hippopatamus Christmas" over and over. Hippopatamas was one of his first animal words and one of the only ones her really tries to pronounce correctly.

He loves Eggo waffles for breakfast and calls them, "Eggo soup."

I gave him some Tylenol in a bottle of water a few months ago because he had some teeth coming in and after he frequently asked for his Tylenol Juice (which I did not freely give him).

The other day I noticed Caeleb was chewing on something. I asked him what he was eating and he opened up his mouth and said in a muffled voice with tiny tiny balls of broken up white packing Styrofoam spewing out of his mouth, "popcorn!" It took a while to clear it all out of his mouth. There was a lot in there and it kept coming out! I guess I got to watch him more carefully.

Caeleb gets his yours and mines mixed up which is really funny to listen too. If you have something he wants, he will say, "No, it's yours, it's yours!" as he pulls it from you.

Caeleb's name for himself is "Cabub."

Caeleb loves Nursey or "Renurse" as he calls it. Every Sunday morning, he asks to go to "renurse" over and over again. He gets his boots and is all ready to go out the door whether we are or not (well, he may only be wearing pants but one can go to church in just pants, right).

This morning I was in the bedroom changing Elva's diaper and I hear some crying coming from the kitchen. Caeleb had pulled a chair to the kitchen sink, turned on the water and filled a dirty cup up with water. He seemed to want a clean cup to put the water in and I gave him one. He then got off the chair with his full cup of water and went to a plant in the living room that he had seen me water the other day and dumped the water in. I had been neglecting the plant and it was dying and it was so cute to see Caeleb have that desire to take care of the plant. It melted my heart.

I will add more to this post as I think of more Caelebisms.

 

Elva's Baby Blessing.

Well, March is almost halfway done. Crazy how time flys! It has been a busy month so far too. Today, Elva had a routine checkup. She weighs over 11 lbs now and that is what Caeleb weighed at his 6 week checkup. She is in the 50 percentile so is growing well as was in the 5th percentile at the last checkup I believe. But, what would you expect from a little girl who loves to eat and eat and eat! She also had a ultrasound at the Children's today to see how her hips are developing. She was born with a hip click so they are just seeing how things are coming together. Yesterday was a beautiful chinooky day and Caeleb and I went outside and made some snowmen. The four of us went for a walk as well. Today, it dropped from +14 to - 10 and it is snowing. Yep, that is Alberta weather for you.

We had Mom and Dad Watters here for a couple of weeks. They left last Monday (March 11). It was so much fun having them around. They are such happy people and they filled our home with a happy, peaceful feeling. We didn't do much as the weather was a little crummy - especially for the lst week. But, we did have alot of fun indoors talking and enjoying each others company. Caeleb loves his Grandma and Grandpa (and the yummy treats that come along with them). I was able to take Caeleb out on walks in the snow since someone was around to stay with Elva. Elva got plenty of snuggles and Caeleb as well.

March 3 was Elva's baby blessing. It was a blizzard out and I almost thought church would be cancelled. But, it wasn't, and the blessing was beautiful and Elva looked precious in a little white dress. We had a family supper of chicken and rice after. Camellia, Doug and Sterling came as well as Todd Gainor.

March 9 was the wedding of one of Chis' cousins on the Brown side. It was such a good experience watching this sealing done in the Calgary temple. It has been the 4th live sealing I have ever attended including my own and it was such a spiritual experience. It was a gorgeous day out too. Nice and warm and you could see the snow covered mountains off to the west so clearly. There was a family dinner at Nick's resteraunt after and I got to meet alot of Chris' relatives. Aunt Jan was there and she stayed with us for the weekend. She is so much fun to have around! She is so happy and bubbly and has such a zest for life and you can't help but feel like smiling in her presence.

Well, life has settled back to routine again. But I love this too. Caeleb is as fun as ever. He says the funniest things. He likes to talk non stop. The other day I told him we needed to clean up the living room and he started picking up his toys and singing, "clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere, clean up clean up, everybody do their share." I guess he learned it in nursery. It was so cute to see.

Elva is starting to throw a few giggles in with the smiles that started about a month ago. A few weeks ago she must have been having a funny dream because she was laughing in her sleep. It woke me up and made me laugh too. She is a beautiful little spirit and a joy to have in our home.

Vaccinations and a Hair cut.

Elva is almost 3 months old! It is crazy how fast time flys. She had her 2 month old vaccinations yesterday and is doing well. She weighed 10 lbs 2 ounzes yesterday evening (with her diaper on) so has about double her birth weight. She still sleeps and eats most of the day but has a few more awake moments now, looking at close objects and people, and has even smiled a few legitimate smiles (not gassy ones). About 2 weeks ago, she was doing tummy time and rolled on to her back. Then she did it again right after but has not done it since. I guess maybe she just was off balance but it was fun to see. Krystin Turner put on a baby shower for her on January 19. Camellia, Sister Macyntire (my visiting teacher), Jenny Allred, Lisa Hove, Kim Tyers, Tammy Michelson, Kamille Gainor and her girls and the Alvarez sisters (Jen, Rebecca and Judy) came and Elva got many new outfits, blankets and odds and ends. We feel so blessed to have such amazing friends!

On February 3rd we had a family supper at our place because Aunt Sharan was in town. It was fun to enjoy yummy tacos and each others company. Aunt Sharan brought the Gainor kids as Paul and Kamille were in India. Brian came and Aunt Brenda, Uncle Gord and Pheobe. Oh and of coarse Camellia, Doug and Sterling were there too.

Caeleb is so much fun these days. His personality is just exploding. He loves being around other people and goes up to random strangers and says, "Hi, how you doing," in his high pitched toddler voice. He is always asking me what I am doing or where I am going. He is starting to play more on his own and I see that he is getting my imagination installed in him.  A pile of laundry can become an elephant in his eyes. I think that is pretty awesome. He loves to sing Old Macdonald and Frosty the Snowman. When we skype Nana and Papa Smith, he goes and gets his toy animals and brings them to the computer screen and has a lengthy two year old conversation with Nana and Papa about his animals. It is really cute to watch. He loves talking with them on skype.

Caeleb got his hair cut a week ago Monday. He needed it! The curls are adorable and I am pretty sure they will grow back but there comes a point when they are so hard to manage and become a tangled mess. Caeleb didn't like the hair cut one bit until Uncle Nathan (who did the hair cutting), cut his own hair as well. Thanks Nathan! So they both have the same hair cut and now when people come to visit, Caeleb will point to his hair excitedly and say, "hair cut."

We have been down to visit Camellia and Doug a couple of times during the last month. Chris and I went to see the play "Annie" in Cardston which is something I can cross off my bucket list now. I love going to see plays and this was one I have been wanting to see since I was a little girl.

Well, life continues to be good. I love watching my children grow and develop more and more each day.

 

Caeleb and the Temple

Caeleb loves the Temple. He went to the Calgary Temple open house with the Gainor family and ever since then, when we drive in the area, he points in the direction of the temple and excitedly shouts, "Tempo!" Tonight our little family went to the temple. The lights were on around it and it looked beautiful lite up on top of the hill. It reminded me of my mission days in Ecuador when my companion and I would see the Guayaquil temple lite up on the hill every day when we were coming home in the dark on the bus. It was a centerpoint for that big city. And now we have this beautiful temple in our city. 2 weeks ago Chris and I were finally able to fulfill our anniversary wish of doing sealings in the Calgary temple. I felt the spirit very strong during our time there. Well, tonight we got Caeleb out and walked around in the snow by the temple gate. We looked at the Angle Moroni. Caeleb loves looking at the temple! Elva stayed in the car as it is a cool night out. Not too cold, but cool. I stayed close by her while the boys ventured further down the sidewalk. I thought about how blessed I am for eternal families and for the covenants that we make at the temple. When we left, Caeleb said, "bye bye tempo. See soon." It touched my heart. I hope that when he is older, age 12, 18, 25, 40, 60, 80 - whatever age - he will say (when he leaves the temple), "Bye Temple, See you soon." I love my family! And I love to see the Temple!

A Quick Update on our Life

Not much to update on my post today. I am loving being a mom to my little boy and girl. Caeleb is getting bigger and older each day - leaving toddlerhood more and more and entering childhood. He pretty much knows all his ABCs and numbers 1-10. I can't say I had the biggest hand in teaching him those. He is starting to put small sentences together. My favourite is "Mommy, What are you Doing!" He loves his sister Elva and is starting to be a big help putting toys away, putting things in the garbage, and wanting to hug and hold (with help) his sister. He still needs his 1.5 to 2 hour daily nap which is a big help for me as Elva keeps me up a bit at night and I can use a little time to have a nap or get some extra things done each day (like updating my blog). Caeleb has the cutest expressions ever and we adore his curly hair/fro. Elva will be 8 weeks old on Monday (January 28th). Time is flying by. She weighed 7 lbs 3 oz last Thursday so is growing well. She is getting good at holding up her head and Chris does a great job helping her work on her tummy time. She loves to eat, sleep and be held. I could hold her, snuggle her and rock her all day. She is my little angle. I love life at home doing the laundry, making supper, making cookies with Caeleb, playing (we built a snowman the other day) and reading with Caeleb and snuggling Elva, cleaning and organizing. I did my nursing pharmacology module exam (that I studied for during my hospital stay) yesterday so it is good to have that done. I don't have any big projects on the go at the moment but I am enjoying the simple life. I really do think a simplified life is a happy life. And life is good!

Our Merry Little Christmas and the start of a Happy New Year.

I have always liked the song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It is one of my Christmas favourites. We had ourselves a little but still Merry Christmas this year. Elva ended up getting sick 4 days after being discharged from the NICU and ended up getting admitted to the Children's Hospital Christmas Eve (Monday) because of a bad case of RSV. There was a scary moment in Emergency when her heartrate dropped to less than 1/2 of normal and her oxygen saturations dropped to 1/4 of normal and she went completely limp. The Nurse and Doctor were right there to see what was going on. Chris was out doing some last minute shopping with Caeleb and I called him right away to have him come. He dropped Caeleb of at the Radfords (our lifesavers) and came right over. They dropped Caeleb off at home once Nathan arrived and Chris and I spent the evening with Elva in an Emergency room watching Home Alone 2 . It was shockingly busy in Emerg for a Christmas Eve. Elva was put on some oxygen and sent upstairs to unit 2. I spent the night with her and came home for a few hours on Christmas morning to open gifts with the boys. Caeleb was spoiled this year. He got trains and tracks and clothes and other toys. Santa dropped by the hospital too and Elva had some gifts to open there on her 1st Christmas morning.

Boxing day was a stable day but the next day, Thursday, Elva was sounding worse. She was coughing more and I could just feel the crackles in her lungs. They did a chest x-ray and in showed that her upper right lung was collapsed. They also did some blood work which showed that because she was having to work hard to breath, she was not compensating as much as she should and was getting tired. The ICU team came up and saw her and decided that she should go to the ICU. I had a good cry and followed Elva in her bed and the ICU doctors and nurses down to the Pediatric ICU. They started her on a high flow oxygen but she never needed anything more than that and that is so wonderful. In fact, she did really well with the high flow oxygen. She ended up being in the ICU for 5 days but I was only really worried about her the lst day. The Nurses and Doctors were so wonderful and we were treated really well. Chris stayed with her 2 of the nights and said that he hardly got any sleep because she was awake and hungry all night (they were tube feeding her but that wasn't up to Elva's eating standards). I spent a few hours at home on New Years Eve and Chris and I sat by the "TV fire," drank hot chocolate and chatted after Caeleb went to bed. It was a really nice New Years party - just the two of us. Then it was back to the hospital for me to be with Elva and I watched the countdown until 2013 on TV.

We are so grateful for everyone's prayers. Elva was out of ICU on New Years day so it was a happy New Years for us. She came home two days later on Friday. It has been wonderful having her home. I am so enjoying being a mother again. Elva is a beautiful little girl and so good. Does not cry much at all. Caeleb is such a good older brother. I can tell he will always be protective of his little sister. He has a bit of jelousy I think, but really he is doing great and loves to have her around. We are keeping Elva at home for now so Chris stayed home with her on Sunday and Caeleb and I had a mother- son outing going to church. I now teach the 4-5 year olds in Primary and after one class with them I know that I am going to love my new calling.

Life is good and hopefully all is back to normal for good (fingers crossed). Maybe normal does not exist but I could use a relatively "normal" mother, wife and homemaker life right now.

Elva is home!

Elva came home last Monday (December 17th). It was so wonderful bringing her home and it will be nice not having to drive to the Peter Laugheed hospital every day. Of couse I had to check on her alot on the way home to make she was okay. She is still pretty tiny and I am a little paranoid. It is so good to have our Elva home. It has been a long pregnancy and it is hard to believe that it is all over now and Elva is here with us. I had Tuesday and Wednesday with her at home while Caeleb still went to family and friend's houses those days. I thought it would be better to have Elva alone for a couple of days as I am still healing and it has been several months since I have been a full time mom (speaking of healing, I honestly feel that even though the first couple of days were pretty painful after this c-section, I have healed faster than after Caeleb's "almost perfect" delivery). Thursday, we were all together at home. Caeleb has been so excited to have a baby sister and is doing so well with her. He always says "Elva" "Sister." He wants to hold her and kiss her. It is really cute.

Elva is a squirmer and grunter. When I put her in her crib she is constantly squirming around and making little noises but has not cried alot. She loves to be held and would be held all day if she had her way. I don't have a problem with that but Caeleb needs to have mommy time too and some work still needs to get done. I have been busy doing the piled up laundry this week and doing a little Christmas baking and decorating.

Camellia, Doug and Sterling are staying with us tonight (Friday Dec 21). We skyped Mom and Dad Smith in Korea and talked to them for almost 3 hours. It was fun to have the evening as a family even though mom and dad are half a world away. Elva has got alot of snuggles today with her Aunt and Uncle around.

Well,  Merry Christmas everyone! It is such a Merry one for us here at the Watters home. It is wonderful to be with family, especially a new little baby, at this special time of year when we remember the birth of a very special baby born so long ago.

Life in the NICU

Well, baby Elva should be coming home tommorrow - Monday Dec 17. She has spent the last two weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Her first two days were at the Foothills hospital but she was doing so well so they sent her to the Peter Laugheed NICU which is a step down ICU for babies. I was discharged the day she was sent over there. It has been so wonderful to sleep in my own bed and be around for Caeleb more in the evenings. Elva has done so well eating from the beginning and has been growing steadily. She is already past her birth weight and gaining weight daily. I have been at the hospital from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm most days to feed her and cuddle her. She is such a good little girl. Does not cry much at all. The Nurses do say that she has quite the lungs and lets out a loud howl when she is hungry but I haven't experienced much of that yet so it must happen mostly at night. I guess I will hear for myself soon enough. I love it when she has her quiet awake moments and just looks around. I love the feeling of purity and innocence that Elva and all newborn babies radiate.

We thought Elva would come home last Monday but she has had to stay longer because she was having bradycardic episodes where her heartrate and oxygen saturation would drop periodically. This happens alot with premature babies and just needs to be monitored but it does not mean she has anything serious. We feel so lucky that she is good health. She needs to be 5 days free of those episodes and that will be tommorrow so we are crossing our fingers. She has been given such great care by the nurses and doctors at the hospital. I love the environment there. There is such a special spirit in the nursery with all the babies. I have gotten my hospital routine of every 3 hour diaper changes, temperature checks, feeds and cuddles. I have seen a few of my roomates from the Foothills Antepartum unit here with there little babies and it has been nice reconnecting with them. I was really worried about one of my roomates who ended up having an urgent c-section at 31 weeks because her baby was not growing. Her baby is here now and doing well so that is a relief.

I worked in a special care nurery (like a NICU only on a smaller scale) for about 16 months when I was doing my Bachelors degree at BYUI. I loved it and have decided that I would love to work in that setting again someday. Probably not in the near future but someday. I now feel like I am not meant to be a Labour and Delivery or Emergency or Adult ICU or Pediactric Nurse but I do so enjoy my time working on my Medical unit and at the Extendicare and I loved my time with the babies and feel like that is something I can do again.

Well, I will upadate my blog when Elva comes home. Tommorrow really should be the day and we are excited! We feel so blessed to have Caeleb and Elva and love having Nathan living with us to share life's experiences. We are also saddened at this time for those families who have lost loved ones in Conneticut and our prayers and thoughts are with them. We pray they can find comfort and peace at this time.

WELCOME BABY ELVA JEAN WATTERS

So, I woke up Monday morning (December 3rd 2012) at 3:00 am (I have been in the hospital for the last 2 week)  because I started bleeding again. I was 35 weeks along that day and had spent 6 weeks in the hospital in total. This time, however, the bleeding was really watery blood and there was quite a bit of it leaking out at a constant rate. The resident checked to see if my water had broke, which they have done many times before. I was sure in had not and the test was negative. The watery blood continued and when Dr. Fahey (who is amazing by the way) came in at 7:30 am or so, she said they were going to check again. This time it was positive for amniotic fluid and I was supprised. Dr. Fahey said that if my water broke after 34 weeks they would induce me as the risk of infection with baby staying inside out weighed the risks and set backs of baby being out at that time. It was also mentioned that my water probably broke early because the uterus was so agitated by bleeding throughout the pregnancy and this type of thing happens with chronic bleeds. They had been telling me this all along during my hospital stays but I still thought I would make it to 38 weeks and they would have to break my water like they did with Caeleb. I must admit, I was shocked that this was happening and called Chris right away who then took the day off of work to come and be with me. I got all my stuff packed up and they took me upstairs to the Labour and Delivery unit at around 9:00 am. Chris had arrived at almost precisely this time and brought my stuff with us. They started me on the Oxytocin drip around 10:30 and the contractions started. They were not bad at all at first and there were a few times that they seemed to stall out. My nurse was very nice. Her name was Kristen. She turned up the rate periodically and the contractions started to get stronger and stronger. I got up and walked around the unit with Chris and saw many nurses that I knew from the Antepartum unit (they work in both places). I wasn't in too much pain yet and wanted gravity to work so I tried walking alot. Dr. Birch (head of obstetrics) was on call today and he came and talked to us briefly. By early afternoon the contractions were starting to get stronger and stronger and more regular. I tried different positions to labour. At around 2:00 pm I was 3 cm dialated. Chris helped me to a chair for a while. At around 4:45 pm, I was getting back to the bed from the chair when I started bleeding fairly heavy with big clots.  The charge nurse checked me and I was still at 3-4 cm dialated which was a bit dissapointing because the contractions were painful by then.

Then things started happening fast! Baby's heartrate dropped to 60-90 beats/min and stayed that way. The charge nurse called for Dr. Birch who came in quickly. He put in a probe in baby's scalp that more acurately measured the heartrate (I think). Things were not getting better. I think the heart rate came up for a few seconds and then dropped again. I looked at Dr. Birch and asked, "Emergency c-section?" Then Dr. Birch said, " lets go and get this baby out." The nurse and Dr. Birch hurried me and my bed down the hall to the OR passing people I recognized at the nurses station. Quite the scene really. He said, "where is everyone," and the charge nurse yelled, "clear the break room," and then a whole bunch of people flooded the operating room. I hopped from my bed to the C-section table. I saw Dr. Birch come out of a room having scrubbed up for surgery and I remember wondering how he got there and back so quick. I also remember seeing my Labour nurse and a resident that has seen me alot. I saw a familiar face of a nurse named Myra who I just love so that was a tender mercy. She had predicted that I would deliver 35 or 36 weeks and she has been right before so I should have expected this. She has alot of experience. She started scrubbing my tummy down with antiseptic solution for surgery prep and I started whimpering a bit because this was all happening so fast and I was scared and baby's heartrate was not coming up. I remember praying and telling Chris to call Camellia. He wasn't aloud in the room and had to leave. The anethisiologist showed up fast and I knew that they would have to put me under completely as I have seen this type of surgery before (if you have an epidural in they can freeze the lower half of your body so that you can stay awake for the delivery - I didn't have one in). I asked and he said they were putting me to sleep. I remember him being older and really nice. They put a mask on my face and I asked "are you putting me to sleep now," and he said yes and then I felt something go in my IV and then I don't remember anything else.

I woke up as I was being wheeled into the recovery room and I remember feeling really good and relaxed. The first thing I remember someone saying is "baby is okay." I love that person for saying that first thing before I really knew where I was and who I was for that matter! That was the thing I needed to know right then! Chris was right there dressed up in scrubs with a scrub hat on looking handsome as usual and he said that little Elva had come out screaming and scored really well on her apgar scores - a 9 I think. She weighed 5 lbs even. They took her to the NICU really fast and Chris had followed her there. He tried to show me pictures but everything was so blurry and I could not focus my eyes. I was really calm though and felt good otherwise. My throat did feel funny and I couldn't talk well but I was trying and I remember thinking that I was doing so well becuase I was so calm and asking questions that made sense. They had to stick a tube down my throat in surgery so I couldn't talk well the rest of the night after they took it out. Elva was born at 5:05 pm. Everything happened from problem beginning to baby born in less than 20 minutes. They gave me a morphine drip I could control myself and showed me the placeta. The anethisiologist came in and shook my hand and Dr. Birch came in as well. He said that my placenta had abrupted more during labour and there was a clot forming on top of a clot by-under the placenta. They said I lost about a litre of blood. The nurse in recovery showed me the placeta and told me where the clots were. The placeta could have looked healthier and the umbilical cord was smaller than normal which I find interesting and am not sure as to why.

When I was more awake, they wheeled my bed to the NICU so I could see little girl. She was in an incubator and looked so peaceful. They said she was doing great and really, compared to most of the babies there, she is big and doing very well. Camellia came to see me while Doug and Nathan watched the little boys and Chris took her up to see Elva. I was so drowsy and slept on and off in a deep sleep that night in postpartum. I didn't worry about baby girl as I knew she was in good hands. That was two days ago and yesterday I went to the nursery about 4 times for feeds and cuddles. I was pretty exhausted and sore yesterday as well but feel pretty good today. Elva is doing quite well with bottle feeds and is slowly getting the hang of breastfeeding. Chris took off work the last two days and today is working part of the day. I am going to go up and see little Elva after breakfast and am excited. I will get discharged later this afternoon and Elva is getting moved this morning to the Peter Laugheed hospital as she doesn't need to be in this 3rd level NICU right now. She is doing well - a feeder grower is what we call them. Well, that is our story. What an adventure the last several months have been. I am so grateful that we have had such wonderful care here at the Foothills and that I made it to 35 weeks. I am going to miss my nurses, doctors and support staff. We feel so blessed that things turned out well and that little Elva is here safely. Monday was an interesting day but we were given the strength to get through it and we count our blessings.

[nggallery id=2]

Let the Christmas Season begin!

I have been getting into a steady routine here at the hospital. Wake up call is 7:00 am each day for breakfast (no, they don't let us sleep in). Sometimes the lab will come to draw blood at 6:00 am (those vampires like to work when it is dark out I guess). And don't forget the wake up calls at night for vital signs. Then my nurse will put me on a monitor to listen to the baby's heartrate for sometimes up to 1-2 hours. Then I am free to shower and get ready for the day. I usually go for a walk and do some nursing module studying in the morning out by the window at the end of the hall. From there I can see the STARS helicoptor land and take off which is always exciting. Lunch is at 11:00 am and then I read for a while and take a nap. Supper is at 5:00 pm and then I continue to read or watch a movie or have my Chris and Caeleb visit or go out on a small pass. I am usually really tired by 8:00 pm. You know, this sitting in bed all day can make a person really tired!

I am a slow reader but have read several books since I have been living this slower pace of life. I just finished President Monson's biography and I loved it! What an amazing man! He has seen so much and has done so much and has helped so many people. I loved reading about how he has helped the less fortunate. He visits those in nursing homes and hospitals. He remembers faces and names of people he had not seen in years. Quite remarkable really. In his book, he complimented, individually, each President of the church that he has worked with as well as many of the Apostles and other General Authorities. You can sure tell that this man has a love for the "one," not just the general population.

Right now I have started a fun Christmas book called Christmas tree lane and it will keep me busy for a while. I think this experience has helped me learn how to enjoy books more. I do love to read but sometimes find it hard to get into a book especially when it is hard to find time to read. Throughout the last weeks and months, I have looked forward to picking up a book to read and have got lost in several books for hours at a time.

I went out on pass yesterday. Camellia came up to Calgary for an Occupational Therapy seminar and stayed a couple of extra days to watch Caeleb. She picked me up for a pass yesterday and took me home for a good portion of the day. She is so wonderful! Nathan is on holidays this week so he was home too and Chris was at home doing work remotely for part of the day as well. It was such a fun day watching Caeleb and Sterling chase each other around and laugh and play in their cardboard fort. They are such happy and busy little boys. Camellia and I (well mostly Camellia) made Turtles (tradition in our family) for people that we know. Yumm, I love homemade Turtle chocolates. We watched old fashioned Christmas cartoons and listened to music. We set up our little tree and decorated it in the evening and turned off the lights in the living room so we could enjoy the Christmas tree lights. I always love doing that. We also set up some of my nativities and had a pizza party. It snowed today. Big, beautiful snowflakes too. It was so wonderful to be home with family today at the start of this Christmas season. I brought a little fake Christmas tree to the hospital tonight to put on my window seal and had fun decorating it before bedtime.

Bugs! That time of year I guess.

Well, I was 34 weeks on Monday (2 days ago) and I feel like I am practically full term. Baby girl is growing well. On the ultrasound yesterday, she was 5 lbs 2 ounces and I have some really cute 3D pictures of her on my bedside table. Once again I am getting the "want to go home bug" but I will try to wait patiently until they tell me when it is okay to go home. That is not the only bug I have. I ended up getting the stomach flu yesterday (so I feel like I actually belong in the hospital now). I had it two weeks ago. I am sure my roomate had it and then she gave it to me and then I gave it to Chris. Caeleb seems okay so far. I couldn't keep anything down yesterday after breakfast but I am doing so much better today. And so is Chris. I got really dehydrated and started having regular contractions that were uncomfortable and I thought, hey, maybe this is the real thing. But, no. And that is fine too because little girl is better off in right now than out. She still has a bit more baking to do. I hear that the flu is going around and I hope that all my family and friends who have it get better really soon. It is not fun feeling sick!

I have my calendar up and I am counting down the days!!

Date Night!

I went out on a date with Chris last evening. We left at 7:00 pm and we were back by 9:00 so it was short but wonderful. I get to go on passes when I want. Maybe I can have a continuous pass for the next few weeks - do you think? Just kidding. I guess they would notice if I didn't come back to the unit. It is starting to feel like home here. Well, kind of. I am getting to know all the nurses on a first name basis and Dr. Fahey will come in, sit down, and shoot the breeze (what a funny saying) for a while when she is around. For our date, Chris and I went to the High Ball chinese food resturaunt that Grandma and Grandpa Selman used to take my family too. It is just across the street from the hospital. Same people work there too if I remember correctly. It has been about 12 years or so since Grandma and Grandpa took me there. We ate and got some chinese food to take home for Nathan and Caeleb and there is plenty for a few meals for them. Then I showed Chris where Grandma and Grandpa Selman used to live and we drove around St. Andrew Heights for a while. The home has been moved and a new big one built in its place. I miss that home and neighborhood! I remember climbing the tree in the front yard, working with Grandpa is in his backyard green house and sleeping on the hide-a-bed (is that how you spell it?) in the basement. It is only a 3 minute drive from the hospital too. Just across the street as well. I remember walking to the Foothills hospital from that home to visit Grandma when she broke her hip. She was in here for several months and it was this time of year. We then drove to the famous sledding hill in the area and spent some time sledding down the long, semi steep hill. Just kidding, probably not the best idea for me to do that right now. Might be frowned upon by my Doctor and Nurses and baby girl. But we did sit on a bench at the top of the hill and watch other people sled down the hill in the dark. It was a beautiful clear evening with snow on the ground, some Christmas lights already up on some houses and it wasn't that cold outside either. There is a beautiful view of downtown Calgary from that hill as well. We had so much fun. I love our date nights!

A Random Thought of the Day.

I was just thinking of something very random. Actually, I have thought about it quite a bit lately. I have time to think about alot of random stuff lately (and even write it down). Isn't it true in life that the more one has the more one seems to want. I know that this is not always the case, and I do know people that do not think this way at all. In fact, I look up to those people. However, I know that I have been guilty of wanting more and more. Now wanting things can be a good thing. We all have our 'righteous desires'. It can be a great thing to want to progress in life. However, our thinking in life may go something like this...

Childhood days - Life would be better if I was grown up and doing my own thing.

After High School - Life would be better if I move away from home.

Move away from home and work or go to school - Life would be better if I was dating someone.

Dating someone - Life would be better if I was married.

Married - Life would be better if a little one came along.

Baby comes along - Oh, life would be better if we bought a house.

Buy a house - Yah, life would be better if another baby came along.

Family increases in size/life continues - Life would be better if I had another car or was friends with this person, or had a bigger house or new furtniture or if another little one came along, or if this happened or that happened or if I had this or that or went here or there...

Now, like I said before, I think life is about progressing and I guess it is good to want some things. However, I think it is more about how we progress in developing our characters, talents and Christlike qualities. I am not saying that the wants I mentioned before are not good ones but do you think we would be happier if we thought about life a little differently, in this way perhaps...

Childhood days - Life would be better if I could share the fun and experiences I am having at this time with someone else and make a friend. Maybe even make a friend with someone who really needs one right now.

After High School - Life would be better if I could do something with my life, even develop my own talents, that could positively influence the lives of others. I want to make a difference in the lives of others and the world.

Work or go to school - Life would be better if I become friends with and maybe date those I can strengthen and encourage and who will strengthen and encourage me. I can be friends with, be an example too and serve my parents, siblings, co-workers, fellow students, clients and friends.

Get married - Life would be better if my spouse and I sincerely served each other and those around us with a humble and charitable attitute. How can I be a better wife or husband, daughter in law or son in law, sister in law or brother in law, aunt or uncle and most of all, friend?

Baby comes along  - Life would be better if I showed my daughter or son as well as others how important it is to be a devoted and caring wife or husband, aunt or uncle, sister or brother, Mother or Father, in-law, and most of all, friend!

Continue on with life - life would be better if I continued on achieving my goals, most importantly of which are not of obtaining worldy possessions but of serving those around me and obtaining Christlike qualities when doing so.

I have friends, family and aquaintances in all stages of life. Some are younger, others are a little older, some are going to school, others are working, some are married, some are dating, others are not, some have children, some do not, others have grandchildren, some own houses, others are renting, some have travelled the world, others have stayed close to home base, some have money to spend on lots of things, others do not have much at all. I could go on and on.

I love to learn from all these people. We all have something to offer others in life and I know that it is all through service and example. I know it is hard not to want more and more (and I get caught in the more and more cycle - I think I am writing this for me), but haven't we been taught to "find joy in the journey." It is important to find happiness through every phase and experience in life without wanting to move on and have more. If we are to want more and more, let it be more charity, diligence, humility, meekness, patience, sincerity, kindness, perspective, forgiveness, long-suffering, and opportunities to serve others.  Heavenly Father knows exactly what each of us needs, individually, in this life to develop each of these Christlike qualities. He also knows how to connect the different phases and experiences of life together so that we can all fulfill our unique potentials in life.

Well, that was my random thought of the day. I feel like I just wrote a talk for church. But, it is something I can think about and put into action. By doing so, I know I will have more of the eternal type of joy and happiness in this life and beyond. There is nothing better than that!

 

 

And on with the Roller Coaster Ride.

I was discharged from the hospital on Thursday. Ultrasound had looked great and no more symptoms. I thought they were keeping me for good but I was perfectly fine with going home. I was so excited to get home and to sleep in my own bed and relax on my own couch. And now I am back again. I lasted until Sunday evening. But I was 33 weeks yesterday on Monday and I am counting my blessings that baby is safe and I am getting such good care here. I feel very lucky!

I did have fun at home though. It was so nice to cuddle with Caeleb in my Rocker and read him stories. He woke up one night, came to our room and climbed up into our bed. "Cars" he said but it was 5:00 in the morning - too early to watch the movie cars. So I rocked him in my comfy chair and sang to him and soon we both fell asleep and didn't wake up until 8:00. It was fun to play with him during the evenings, with his barn and animals and blocks. Camellia and Sterling came up to visit and she cleaned the house while Sterling and Caeleb played. I have an awesome sister! Sterling is starting to walk and it was fun to see him toddle around, fall down and get right up again. He is actually doing very good at walking. I love it when little kids are learning to walk. He is so cute. We made cookies and ate a yummy casserole that Camellia made and had a movie night after putting the little boys to bed. It was so good to be home. If I am not out of here by next week, hopefully I can have a day pass and Camellia will come up to help decorate for Christmas. I am looking forward to that!

I guess for now it is back to the hospital routine. I am counting down the weeks till little one comes.

Cute Little Caeleb!

Now for some Caeleb time. On Monday afternoon, I was out on pass for a few hours and Caeleb and I spent some of that time playing with his blocks. We would make towers and then watch as they came crashing down. At 7:30 pm it was time for me to get back to the hospital. I told Caeleb that "Mommy needs to leave now," and he said, "No"! He then started to build another block tower so I helped him build it.  After playing for a few more minutes, the tower came crashing to the ground and Caeleb said to me, "Bye Bye." He was telling me that it was okay that I go. No fusses or saddness. I know that sometimes he asks for me but he is such a brave little boy and is so easy going. He just goes with the flow and keeps his positive little attitute.

Chris told me something funny this morning. He has been putting Caeleb to bed on the futon in Caeleb's room because Caeleb does not seem to like his crib these days. Well, Caeleb has never been the greatest sleeper and he usually wakes up at least once during the night time. Last night, Caeleb slept the whole night, with no interruptions, on the futon. Chris woke up this morning and, seeing Caeleb still asleep, decided to hop in the shower. At the end of his shower, he heard a little voice outside the bathroom door. "Knock Knock," Caeleb said, "All done." He was telling Daddy that he was all done his sleep. So cute!!

This reminds me of another night Chris told me about. About a week ago, Chris put Caeleb to sleep on the futon. In the middle of the night, Caeleb woke up like he usually does. This time, however, instead of crying out for one of us to come and get him, he simply got up, walked to our room and climbed into bed with Daddy. He snuggled up with his Daddy and fell back to sleep. I remember when I was little, if I had a nightmare, I would go downstairs and climb into bed with Mommy and Daddy. That always made everything all better.

 

 

I Will Remember!

Today is Remembrance Day. I look forward to this day every year. I was not able to go out to a citywide Remembrance Day service this year like we usually do but I was able to go to the one here in the hospital chapel. There were only about 15 people there but it was just as sincere a service as all others would be. The poem "In Flanders Fields" was read and we listenend to the last post on CD. I also watched some of Ottawa's Remembrance Day service on TV this morning. Chris and Caeleb went to church and I am sure they talked about Remembrance Day in Sacrement meeting.

I love how important this day is in the Selman family. I remember how important it was for Grandpa Selman. When we were younger, we would go to the Jubilee Auditorium some years with Grandpa and Grandma. It was very important to Grandpa that we wear a poppy and sing O Canada. I remember one year seeing Grandpa, all dressed up in his uniform, march with the other Veterans. I remember his huge smile and wave that he gave us when he saw us on the sidelines. I will always remember that! I am so proud of my Grandpa. He sure went through alot in the war and I am not sure I will ever understand exactly how much he experienced. But I have heard the stories and I know that my Grandpa, as well as so many others, are true heros and they need to be remembered. By remembering and learning from the sacrifices of the past, we can provide for a better future for the generations yet to come.

It is a chilly day outside but the sun has been shining a little and Calgary looks very peaceful right now. I am grateful that I can live in a beautiful city, in a beautiful Country that enjoys Freedom. Feedom to be what I want to be, go where I want to go, worship who I want to worship (God) and do what I want to do. I have been so blessed and I am grateful to all who have made sacrifices so that I can have what I have today.

Winter Time Memories on the Farm.

I went out on pass for part of the day yesterday. It was a much needed break from hospital life. A chilly day out but I took deep breaths of that cold air and enjoyed every minute of being outside in the snowy weather. Chris, Caeleb and I went to Once Upon a Child and bought Caeleb some snowpants and we also got some cute little outfits for baby girl. Then we went home, enjoyed a fire in the fire place made by Nathan and watched a claymation show about Timmy the sheep with Caeleb . It is his new favourite. He had a bit of fever this morning so he was my little snuggler and we snuggled the morning away. But we also did some playing in the fort Uncle Nathan made with a huge box we had. He cut out windows and a door and now it is Caeleb's fort.

Now I am back on unit 41. Home sweet home (for now). It was so nice having that fire in the fire place when I was at "real" home today. The smell and crackling sound reminded me alot of cold winter nights on the farm. Alot of winter farm memories have come back to me tonight and I want to share just a few.

I remember roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over the fire in the fireplace. I loved it when we would turn off all the lights and just watch the glow from the fire.

I remember us 3 kids playing fox and geese out in the snow and building snow forts in the drifts.

I remember dad coming in from doing chores with his rosy cheeks and nose, dressed up in his winter overalls. I liked to press my cheek against his. It was so cold.

I remember figure skating lessons and coming home with frozen feet. Mom and Dad were so good to us. They would put heated wheat bags in our beds to heat up our feet.

I remember our skating rink on the old dugout. We used it alot the winter of 1999-2000. In fact our family spent New Years Eve - Y2K -2000 - on the skating rink (wondering if the world was going to come to an end - just kidding).

I remember bundling up and going outside in the cold to do chores such as feeding the cows and horses hay with pitchforks. Oh, I love pitching hay to the cows with a pitch fork. We would also have to crack the ice in the water trough so that the animals could drink.

I remember us 3 kids playing in the dark after school with our snowmobile. We would take turns holding on to the back dragging our feet or holding on to a rope attached to the back trying to ski with mom's old cross country skis. We would go over jumps and around in circles and have so much fun.

I remember dad tying a rope to the back of the truck and then to some tubes and we would go tubing behind the truck on the snow.

I remember going to the foothillls behind Claresholm to "hunt" for a Christmas tree. We would have fun sledding down the ditches and riding in the back of the truck with the tree covering us. Those hotdogs, chips and hot chocolate sure tasted good by the fire Dad made after getting the tree.

I remember sleeping at Grandma Smith's house and curling up under the covers of that old fashioned bed and looking out the window at the snow covered pasture and at the beautiful moon and stars.

Just a few Summer memories thrown in...

I remember the 3 of us kids playing on the trampoline for hours at a time. It wasn't justcrack the egg either (though dad would play that with us and we would have so much fun). We would play karate, amusement park , volcano, sprinkler games.

I remember us 3 kids would love to play cars in the mud. We would make roads and towns and we would get as dirty as dad did when he was out on the tractor all day.

I remember us 3 kids sleeping on the trampoline or making our own tents or hammocks. Nathan would provide the music on his portable radio shaped as a small TV and we would fall asleep to country music like Garth Brooks and John Micheal Montgomery.

So many more memories to share but that will have to wait for another day. I loved my childhood with my family!!

 

 

Baby Girl has Personality Plus!

I want to apologize for not having put any pictures up on my blog. I don't have any pictures downloaded on my labtop and even if I did, I still can not figure out how to get them on the blog. Hopefully soon! Until then, more writing it is.

I want to share something with you about baby girl. She has quite the personality and I see it every morning when they put me on a monitor to check her heartbeat. She kicks at it all the time when it is on. She squirms and kicks and punches and I have a feeling that she doesn't like anything on her that pushes against "her space". Maybe she feels claustrophobic - you would think all babys would. I wonder if she will be outgoing and have a dominent extrovert personality like Caeleb or if she will be a quiet and maybe shy little girl who finds it hard to try new things and wants to stay with mommy and daddy. Or maybe she will be a mixture. Right now, she seems to be pretty "outgoing" moving all around. I guess we will see what she is like when she is out and about. Everyone is different and it is fun discovering the different personalities that little children develop.

I had fun being at home on pass last evening. I snuggled up with Caeleb on the couch and we read books in my new blue rocker that Chris gave me as an early Christmas gift.  We also carved our pumpkin that Chris bought before Halloween and put lit candles in it and then turned off the lights. Caeleb liked that.  "Pu-kin" he says in an excited little voice.

It is a winter wonderland outside with the snow coming down and swirling around. I hope everyone stays safe on these roads!! I love this weather but I love it when I can be home with my family, safe indoors, with a fire in the fireplace, watching a good movie or reading a good book.

Out of here! (well, for the day).

Baby girl looks great!! She weighed 4.1 lbs on Monday and everything looks great. So, the question is, are they going to let me leave the hospital for good (until I deliver). The answer - No! Yah, it has been an interesting few days but I have come to accept the fact that I may be trapped in the hospital for the next 6 weeks or so. I won't go into detail but the basic reason is, I am at a higher risk for a Full Placental Abruption and that could be extremely dangerous if it happened at home! So, they want to keep me really close so that if anything happens, they can deal with it right away. Do I think this is going to happen? No! I am not giving up hope that I may still be able to go home soon and stay there until I deliver but we are taking it week by week here (not day by day anymore).

However, I do get to go out on pass today so Chris will pick me up in the afternoon and I will spend the evening with Caeleb and then back to the hospital to sleep. I actually have been sleeping really well here. I have awesome nurses and support staff, 2 great doctors and the food, well, it isn't that bad. I like the Macaroni and Cheese and the fish.

Now, to count a few of my Blessings! I have so many of them.

1). I am grateful for my husband. He never complains about having to be pretty much a single parent who works full time. He is so amazing! I don't know of anyone who could do what he is doing. He juggles getting himself and Caeleb ready and dropping Caeleb off at the babysitters by about 7:45 in the morning, doing his daily phone conference meeting while driving (no worries, he has a headset), working from home or driving around the city to different companies for work, and picking up Caeleb around 5:30 or 6:00 pm. Then he and Caeleb come and visit me before heading home to get supper ready, give Caeleb a bath, put him to bed around 8:00 pm and then Chris has to finish up documentation for work which sometimes keeps him busy until 10:00 or 11:00 pm. And the next day, he does it all over again. Weekends are spent doing laundry and other chores. He has been doing this for more than a month now even when I was at home. I would help out here and there doing what I could do with restricted activities but he took the brunt of the workload. What a guy!! I don't know if I could do it and keep his positive attitude. On top of it all, he still has the strength to be an emotional strength to me.

2). I am grateful for my brother Nathan who lives with us and is a huge help. He is always willing to help out. He will come home from a long days work and be willing to take Caeleb on the spur of the moment if Chris needs to do something. He works full time and spends alot of his extra time playing with his nephew and helping out around the house. He even found winter tires for the car and put them on the car and I feel so much better now that Chris can drive around with winter tires on. Nathan is very good at things like that. He makes yummy pork and beef roasts and provides a delicious meal for the family every once in a while which reminds us that good meals still exist when life is hectic. He is the expert at getting Caeleb to go to sleep. Caeleb and him have a special bond and they have so much fun playing and watching movies together.

3). I am grateful for my Caeleb who is such a good little boy. He goes to 3 different houses a week while his daddy is working and he seems to adapt so well. He looks forward to his playdates with the other little kids. He doesn't forget me and talks to me on the phone and gives me much needed kisses over the phone. He visits me and smiles his irresistable smile and laughs his contagious laugh and he melts my heart every time.

4). I am grateful for my sister Camellia. She has her own little family, works and still finds time to drive up to Calgary every once in a while to take care of Caeleb and provide for some cousin bonding time for Caeleb and Sterling. She cleans our house when she comes and cheers me up with her visits and phone calls.

5). I am grateful for my parents. Even though they are far away in Korea, they send encouraging words and other gifts that help our family get from one day to the next. They are where they need to be and that is a blessing to us in itself!

6). I am grateful for Chris' parents and for their kindness in their words and actions. I am grateful for the phone calls, emails and notes that have come our way throughout the years. They may be able to come out right after baby girl is born and we are so excited for that!

7). I am grateful for extended family and their encouraging emails that keep us going forward.

8). I am grateful for my cousins Paul and Kamille and their children. They watch Caeleb once a week and he so looks forward to going over there to play with them.

9). I am grateful for the Radfords and the Allreds who watch Caeleb as well during the week and add more fun and adventure to his life. I am grateful for my Relief Society sisters and all they have done for us from arranging child care to meals to visits in the hospital.

10). I am grateful that I am not actually sick while being here in the hospital. I feel perfectly fine. And I think baby girl feels fine too. She doesn't seem to be affected by what has been going on around her. The people on the medical unit that I work on are often in pain or just feel so sick. I feel like I am in perfect health. How lucky am I.

11). I am grateful to be Canadian. I can't imagine what it would be like to be down in the States and have to worry about health insurance and covering what the insurance doesn't cover. I might even be at home just praying that everything goes alright. Nothing bad with that but I do feel well taken care of here. In this situation, I believe that I am so lucky to be in Canada.

12). Most of all, I am grateful for the gosple and for the perspective it puts on life. It is such a blessing to know of our purpose being here on the earth and to know that as children of God, we all have an amazing, unique and divine potential. Our individual experiences in this life can mold each of us into exactly who our Heavenly Father knows we can become.

 

 

 

A Song in my Heart.

It has been a bit of a lonely day here. Chris and Caeleb are still recovering from the stomach flu but they are almost completely better. Still, they need to rest at home as much as they can before another busy week begins. I am sitting here listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on my Labtop. Music has such a power. It can inspire and bring the spirit into your life. It can provide such peace and comfort. It can bring more meaning to each day.

I remember my mission in Ecuador. My mission companions and I would sing hymns and other songs while walking down the streets knocking on doors or going from one appointment to the next. A favourite "other" song was the one from Hercules "I can go the Distance." We would sing that one as loud as we could in English. Singing gave us courage and strength in reaching out to others on the street.

When I got back from my mission, I sang alot. I remember singing at work all the time. My coworkers and patients probably thought I was crazy but I loved to sing and I feel like it helped me when I worked. It gave me confidence. I remember one time, one of my co-worker's patients had just past away. I knew that the patient and family spoke Spanish. I felt promted to sing for them and I was able to go into that peaceful room with the family at the bedside and sing "I am a Child of God" in Spanish. It was a special experience for me and I think it was for the family as well. I need to start singing again!

Today I have listened to several songs that provide for a peaceful Sabbath day spirit. A few of my favourite songs are Homeward Bound (Mormon Tabernacle Choir), Come Thou Fount (this one is Chris' favourite), My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee,  Peace Like A River, If You Could Hie To Kolob, Shenandoah, Consider The Lilies, Wayfaring Stranger, My Shepard Will Supply My Need, and there are more.

I am not going to sing outloud today while I am here in the hospital but I have a song in my heart. I hope that little girl is enjoying the music too.

Beautiful Calgary!

I am looking outside the window right now from my room on the 4th floor of the Foothills hospital. I get the bed by the window - lucky me. It is a beautiful Fall day and the Fall is my favourite time of the year (right now in my life that is). Alot of the trees still have orange, red, yellow leaves on them. Yesterday they were all covered in frost and that was beautiful in its own way. I believe a chinook has hit because the snow looks like it is starting to melt. The fog that has been hanging over the city for several days now has finally lifted and I can see downtown Calgary very well. It looks like a calm and peaceful Saturday for Calgary. I am proud to call Calgary my home!

There are so many different kinds of people who live here in Calgary. I even get a glimpse of that being a patient in the hospital. I have had many different types of roomates. A teenager -  soon to be mom -  to a mom from Quebec to a 41 year old lawyer mom soon to have twins (she kept me entertained). A Latin American mom, a Asian mom, and a Phillipino mom. Stay at home moms, unmarried moms with boyfriends, married working moms. All different kinds! I have enjoyed getting to know my roomates. That is one thing I like about nursing too. You get to know and learn from alot of different types of people and that is a good thing! We can all learn from each other.

I love to hear Caeleb on the phone. Chris and Caeleb are a little sick today (the stomach flu seems to be going around) so they can not come and visit. But I heard Caeleb's little voice on the phone this morning and that cheered me up. "Mommy, I got cheeros (cheerios)" he said in his little toddler voice and those toddler voices can sure melt anyone's heart. He doesn't say I love you yet but I asked him for a kiss and he gave me a big wet one that I could hear loud and clear over the phone. And if I can measure his love for me by how loud his phone kisses are, than he does love me! That is reassuring because I feel sorry for the little guy as he is probably thinking I have abandoned him. That is the hardest thing about being here. But he has a wonderful Daddy and Uncle Nathan to take care of him and play with him this weekend (even if Chris is sick), so he will be just fine. I don't worry about him but I miss him. I miss my 3 boys (Chris, Caeleb and Nathan).

Nurse to Patient

So I am one who has never been admitted to the hospital - until recently that is. Okay, so I was in hospital for a while when I was born and then again for 1.5 days when Caeleb was born (but that is different). I remember starting Nursing school and not really having a clue what was done in a hospital. I wanted to be a nurse because I loved to help others and I loved biology, chemistry, anotomy and physiology. I did not have any experience in hospital nursing but I did work as a care aid for 2 summers right after High School.

I must admit, I have felt a little at a disadvantage when I have worked in the hospital. I thought I could relate a bit to the babies in the special care nursery because I was a small, sick little baby myself and I really enjoyed the year that I worked there. However, on the medical unit that I have worked on for the last 4 years, I have had a hard time relating to my patients. I didn't know what it felt like to be stuck in the hospital day after day wanting to go home, unsure of what lay ahead. I didn't know what it felt like to have so many people in and out of my room each day scurrying around trying to get things done while time passed so slowely for me from the sidelines. I didn't know what it was like to have serveral roomates from different backgrounds and with different attitudes. I didn't know alot of things. Of couse the antepartum unit that I am on right now is alot different than a medical unit but I do I feel like I am learning, in a way, what it is like to be on the other side of the scenerio.

This experience has been good for me. I really feel that Heavenly Father has given it to me to help me with my nursing career and with life in general. Of course I do not want to be here. No one wants to be in the hospital! But I have been given a taste of what a patient feels like and this taste will help me as I try to be a better nurse to my patients. I recognize  attributes in some of the nurses here that I already have or that I want to develop. I recognize that I have my own talents that really do help my patients in different situations. I have come to learn that I am not the only nurse who does not have all the answers or struggles with feeling confident at times. I have come to realize that, as a patient, I prefer a caring nurse who does not have all the answers and experience to a knowledgeable nurse who lacks in people and caring skills.

I feel very blessed that I have so many people around me that truly care about what happens in this pregnancy. They want the best for little girl and me!

I am excited to put into my nursing practice, what I have learned during my 2 week stay in the hospital.

Halloween for Caeleb

I am still stuck in the hospital but there is an end in sight. I just need to go for another ultrasound. I wanted to be home last night for Halloween. Originally, Chris, Caeleb and I were going to go trick or treating together. Chris was going to be a Scarecrow, Caeleb a Lion and me, Dorothy, all from the Wizard of Oz. Nathan wanted to hold down the fort and hand out candy.

But Alas, here I am and was unable to go. Caeleb and Chris ended up joining Paul and Kamille's family and they ventured out into the cold with them for some Trick or Treating. Chris forgot Caeleb's lion costume so he went as the Cat in the Hat. Caeleb could only tolerate about 6 houses because of the cold but Chris said that he had fun saying "treat" with the other kids (he was there for a "treat" not "trick" right) and "thank you" when he was given some candy. Oh, I so want to see pictures myself because I was looking forward to seeing Caeleb dressed up. The more I think about it, the more dissapointed I am that I couldn't be there but I can imagine that Caeleb looked and acted adorable when he was trick or treating for the first time.  Nathan held down the fort and I guess there were not as many children that came to our place as we originally thought there would be.

For the record, this is Caeleb's 3rd Halloween. Last year Caeleb had a tiger costume that he wore but he did not go trick or treating. I had to work that evening and he was a little too little to know what was going on. Also, Caeleb was a bear for his first Halloween in 2010. He was only 1.5 months old and looked so precious in his little bear outfit that Wendy let us barrow.

Still Here, Still Great!

Well, I am still here at the Foothills Hospital on the Antepartum unit. But Baby and I are doing great (just a few minor bumps in the road) and I am set on going home today. Okay, so I say that everyday, but really, we are doing great! I have lucked out to get 2 wonderful doctors and they are so awesome that they are going, not just the extra mile, but the extra 5 miles or so to make sure baby gets here safely.

I was able to watch the Calgary Youth Celebration event on Saturday from my labtop. I recognized some youth from 3rd ward and some friends in the Institute Choir. It was very well done and I was impressed. I think my favourite parts were the RCMP "musical ride" with the cardboard horses (How funny!) and the Calgary Olympics (I have always loved that theme song from it). I also liked how they all wore cowboy hats.

I wasn't able to go to the Calgary Temple Dedication on Sunday and I was dissapointed. Such is life I guess. But Camellia said that President Monson and Temple President Bennet had very good talks. I guess President Monson was kind of funny too - some of the comments he made. It was a snowy day but I saw a picture of the Temple from Sunday and it looked beautiful surrounded by snow!

 

 

A little more about me.

This questionaire was on a friend's blog and I thought I would fill it out too (for kicks and giggles).

5 places I have lived

Chamption Alberta (On the Farm), Rexburg Idaho, Guayaquil Ecuador, Calgary Alberta. Gosh, I thought I have lived in more cities than that but maybe not. Lived in alot of places in those cities though.

5 snacks I love

Guacamole on toast (yum - Chris ate that on his mission and introduced me to it), sour candys like sour patch kids, popcorn, frozen grapes (I could use some right now), salt and vinegar chips (my favourite chip right now but it changes).

5 jobs I've had

Being a Mom, Full time Missionary, Being a Nurse (Special Care Nursery, Postpartum, Pediactrics, Elderly care and Medical unit), Laundry and Health Care Aid at Extendicare during and after High school and Farm helper - working on the parents farm and picking weeds in a mint field by Carmangay.

If I had 1 million dollars I would...

Travel the world - I want to go to Korea (to see Mom and Dad of course), Africa, China, the Phillpines, back to Ecuador and take a motorhome trip around Canada and the States -especially taveling the pioneer trail.

I would pay for a modest home upfront. I don't care for a big, fancy home.

I would fix up Grandma Smith's brick home on the farm.

I would spend money on horses and working with them.

I would give to charities and to someone I know who needs money.

5 things I love

My Family, a cold winter's night with a fire in the fireplace, reading a good book, early morning or late evening walks watching the sun rise or set, serving others and spending time with my Chris -walks and talks. I could go on and on.

A little more about our Caeleb.

I am stuck in the hospital again with a little pregnancy complication. Don't worry, everything is fine. Baby is doing well and I am getting used to the roller coaster ride these months have been but I will be 30 weeks on Monday and we have been very blessed. I am sure they will let me go tommorrow. My doctors are the best and take very good care of me and the little one.

Anyways, I was wondering what I could do with my time here and I was thinking that working on my blog would be a great way to be productive. I used to be a daily journal writer but I have slacked on that since getting married and especially since having a little one around who takes up most every waking moment of my day (which I don't mind at all). I have started a family journal on the computer but I could do alot better to record our memories and thoughts.

What to write about. Hmmmm. Well, how about I tell you a little more about Caeleb.

As I mentioned in a previous post, he just turned 2 years old on September 14. He is such an outgoing little boy and so darn cute. He has a laugh and smile that are very contagious! He loves to laugh too. Alot of times, he will take Chris' or Nathan's (my brother) or my finger and drag one of us off the couch because he wants to play tag or horsey ride or cars/trains or have a bath (he used to be pertrified of water but now he likes his bath time). He says, "outside" alot because he is always wanting to go outside. This summer we took many walks around the block and to the park beside our place and he always needed a rock in both hands. He is a huge rock fan.  He likes to pick them up, hold them, throw them. He loves to run and I have to admit, it can be hard to keep up to him even if he is just a little guy.

About a month ago, his Aunty Camellia had Sterling (Caeleb's cousin) and Caeleb listen to a phonics ABC song on Youtube and he has been stuck on the Alphabet ever since. He loves the different Alphabet songs. He loves to sing to them and to say "A is for apple, B is for ball, C is for cat, D is for Gog (he can't quite get the D sound for that word)...etc with his cute little toddler accent.

Animals are a favourite now. It used to be cars but I must say, animals have been bumped up to first place in Caeleb's mind. He loves to watch or read anything that has animals in it. Farm animals, zoo animals, any animal. He is practicing saying the names. And he knows the animal sounds as well. Horses, cats, gogs (dogs), ele (elephant), zeba (zebra), monkey are amoung his favourites. He has been to the zoo 4 times already and he can't get enough of animals.

About a month ago, he took to singing. I think nursery has taught him well. He loves to go to nursery and has never had much of a problem being left there. He loves to sing along to I Am A Child of God and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I think he may be quite the singer when he gets older. If anything, I think he may stay quite a bold and outgoing person. Though Caeleb, when you read this, know that I do hope you don't become a flirt with the girls. Don't be a ladies man! Stay focused in life. Look to your Dad for an example! He is a good man.

Caeleb is getting to know his colours. His babysitter has been teaching him and we have been doing a little reviewing as well. When we dropped him off the other day at his babysitter's house, he pointed out that the plastic pumpkins they had up for decoration were purple, blue, pink, orange. And they were! Wow, I am not pressuring Caeleb into learning anything but he is a smart little guy and he wants to learn. You can see that in him. I love how children love to learn.

Caeleb has been such a good trouper during the last month. Every day of the week, excluding weekends, he has to go to someone else's house because I am not aloud to take care of him right now during this pregnancy. I am on restricted activites. He has been going to his babysitter's house (she took care of him while I was working), to his 2nd cousins' house and to some friends in our ward. They have all commented on how good he is! He adapts so well and has such a positive little attitude. He loves being around other children too.

Anyways,  I could go on forever about my little boy. He is such a joy in our home and we love him so much!

 

 

3rd Anniversary

We have been married 3 years today. Wow! It has been 3 years of alot of joy, a little sadness, as we go through some of lifes trials, and so many blessings! I am so happy that I get to go through the ups and downs of life with my Chris. I feel so honoured that I get to continue my life with him even after this life.

Thank you Chris for being the type of man that I look up to for an example of living a Christlike life.

It was an awesome day! Chris bought me flowers and wrote me a sweet note and I sent him off to work with our favorite Guacamole toast and a chocolate treat for later. I also booked us in for sealings in the Calgary Temple for the 7th of November as it opens up the beginning of November I believe. I am excited to go to that new temple frequently. We love to do sealings on our anniversary. It reminds us of our Honeymoon. Good times! Our Honeymoon was a suprise for me. I did not know what Chris had planned. We were married in the Cardston Temple and then did a road trip to the states and did sealings or an endowment session in the Spokane, Tri-cities, Portland and Seattle Temples. It was the best Honeymoon ever and it really started off our marriage with an eternal perspective in mind.

We went out for supper at Tony Romas as well for our Anniversary. We even got dressed up to do so as we wanted it to be a special memory.

It was a great evening! And I love my Chris!

Excitement on the Horizon!

We are expecting a little baby girl January 7 2013. We are so excited! Even Caeleb seems to sense a "baby" is on its way. I have been having complications so I have to take it easy these days and no hard work aloud. I am reading alot, studying a nursing module on pharmacology and working on my blog of course. Chris is a trouper as he works full time and does so much other stuff like cleaning and cooking that I am not supposed to do. My brother Nathan is living here as well and is a huge help. He is the best uncle to Caeleb!

We feel sooo blessed to have friends and family to help us out. Little girl is doing well and we feel so blessed for that as well. Every baby is a miracle and we have seen miracles as we await our new little miracle.

A Beautiful Day

We woke up this morning, Oct 20th 2012, to a foggy morning. Then the snow started falling and now it is a little winter wonderland outside. I love being in a cozy house on a day like today. Even more so, I like going outside for a walk on a day like today and then coming inside to a cozy warm house. I like the tingling sensation that comes with the warming of cold hands and feet.

I need to learn how to post pictures. Chris is big into photography, his hobby since Caeleb came along, and I want to post some of his talent. Then you all can share in the beauty of this day.