Saturday, December 23, 2006

a wet day

I can't believe it's the 23rd of December already! We've already had our Christmas celebration with my parents, and we received presents from Ry's family and we OPENED them already! haha, we just couldn't wait. Tomorrow night we go the Rouleau's for a Christmas Eve supper with them. On Christmas Day we're going to the Best's. Their daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter will the there as well. Eden, the baby girl, is only a couple days older than Owen! It will be fun to have him around and interacting with another little one.

Our day today has been enjoyable! After relaxing contently for while this morning, Owen had a bath. Afterward, I massaged him with this nice 'calming' baby oil and he loved it! I did it after his last bath, too, and it really puts him in a great, dare it be true, calm mood. All day, he's been excellently chilled out. Ry was singing to him for about 10 minutes, and the entire time, Owen was just smiling at him.

The past week we've put Owen into his crib for his naps. But I think that has confused his daytime / nighttime distinction. While my parents were here, Owen put in some of his best nights ever. But since they've left, he's been up 3-4 times a night, being quite awake! He hasn't done that since his first few weeks. So anyway, we're going to go back to Owen napping in the rooms we're in during the daytime, and when we want him to sleep through the night, he'll be in the bedroom. Hopefully that will make our nights easier.

In other positive, step-forward developments, Owen has been interacting with things lately, such as the hanging toys on his floor mat. He's also become a great self-soother and he can be layed down and he'll put himself to sleep. He can amuse himself when he's sitting alone in one of his little chairs/recliners. It's very helpful, and fun to see.

Ry has gone to the grocery store to get the items necessary for making Christmas treats. The festivities will start again! I'm excited.

I took these photos yesterday; i tried capturing his great smile, but he kept throwing his head back or to the side when he'd smile.




Thursday, December 07, 2006

talking babe

Owen has really been enjoying talking while we talk, now. When he's happy he coos and sings along to our voices. It's really fun! He's already becoming such a fun little boy. He's growing so much! I've been having these realizations lately that seem so ordinary but to me they're epiphanies! For instance, Ry and I were talking about Owen is never going to stop growing and changing. In his 20s he'll basically be done 'growing' but he is going to be constantly changing, always. We'll never experience this stage again! I know, it's elementary knowledge, but it feels huge and revelatory to me. I've decided I need to become a sponge and soak everything in. Little Owen is becoming minutely bigger by the day. It's really exciting all the changes he is making and I'm so glad to be playing such a big role in this little guys life. I don't want to go back to when he was a newborn; I want to love every moment of his life and be ultra aware of every part of it.

Here's another video. Yes, we're loving that we can take short videos and show them to family and friends far away. We hope you enjoy them! While taking the video, I'm moving his legs around, which is why he's shifting like that.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Christmas is coming!

We put up our Christmas tree this past weekend! It's a lovely tree, and it looks great in our living room. I'd like to keep it forever. This is our tree, in all its glory.


It was especially fun fr me to be creating our own little family's Christmas traditions and memories. Currently, when I think about Christmas, what comes to mind are: the scent of that Christmas tree tin candle; the book that opens into a three-scene, 3-D nativity story; and the Boney M Christmas record, playing while we decorate the tree. These things are dear to me, and they come to my mind every time I think about Christmas. I like the idea that Ry and I are doing something totally new, that we'll be starting memories.

There's snow outside (only like 3 inches) and it's gotten bitter! It's a little warmer this afternoon, though, so we'll see if the snow remains much longer. Winter has arrived!

Owen and I have been fighting this weird cold. It comes and goes, it's more of a linger itch than anything else. But needless to say, it's thrown Owen off quite a bit. He isn't content for too long now, and he doesn't always want to eat even though he's hungry. But other than this, he's been growing and doing well.

Owen's tongue trick

Here's Owen's tongue trick - what I tried posting before that never worked.


He actually hasn't done this trick lately. I guess it was only fun a week ago. At least we caught it on camera!

Thursday, November 30, 2006

sound, smiling sleeper

Here's Owen, asleep, as happy as can be!

Thursday, November 23, 2006

leaps and bounds

so much has happened since i last posted!

ben and jen arrived a number of days ago. right after they arrived we hopped into the car and drove to the eastern shore. it was an excellent weekend! it was the first time we had owen away for a weekend. we stayed with john and judith; they and their house was warm and welcoming, as usual. our time was so relaxing and great. And owen ate like never before and he grew a lot physically and mentally! he's smiling a lot now and loves keeping his own head up as long as he can, and he loves stretching his legs and 'standing'. He and his dad have a tongue trick that they play; owen doesn't play it with anyone else, and he's so excited when ry starts sticking his tongue out. owen then sticks his tongue out to mimick his dad! so very cute.

ben and jen are here until sunday; i'll post more when they're gone.

Here are some pictures of the growing boy, and of our time in nova scotia.




Thursday, November 09, 2006

rain falling again

It's been rainy the past couple of days, but the air is so fresh and warm as result! It's been lovely walking under the umbrella, with owen snuggled on my front in the front-pack.

Ry and i are finally picking ourselves up after the whirlwind of new Owen has settled, and we've grown accustomed to life as it is now. Ry's been having a hard time working at home because he didn't really have a space to do his work. We had a desk, but no where for his 'work-essentials' to be. Rather, his books, and Greek and Hebrew flashcards had taken over our living room. BUT. On Monday we got up early, went to the store, and built shelves around the desk so everything Ry needs can be easily accessed when he's working at the desk. It feels really good to have that space defined now, and for Ry to have a study corner. It makes the rest of the room feel better, too.


Owen's night schedule has been the same for over a week now, so i think it's safe to call it consistent. After his 11 or 12 o'clock feeding, he sleeps for two 4hr stetches (feedings inbetween) before he's up and awake. So, we've been up between 8 and 9 lately, and this has been feeling really good. He's been awake nearly all morning, and thus I can't get much done besides hang out with him (and getting laundry done), but that's alright with me. When he naps, I busy myself with dishes, cleaning, baking, or whatever. He sometimes is been content enough and I can set him down and he's fine for a while, but I feel bad for just leaving him alone when he's so awake, and trying so hard to interact with the world. He loves holding his head up on his own, for as long as he is able, and he stretches out his legs to "stand" for a little while, too. This morning I didn't plan on doing anything but laundry, so Owen and hung out while Ry worked on one of the many book reviews he has to do. This afternoon we'll go grocery shopping, and we'll return the dishes of those who so kindly brought us meal in the first two weeks of Owen's life (yes, I know - way overdue on returning these!!).

Speaking of those things, I shall be off.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

clean again

We were spoiled this past week; marnie arrived last wednesday and we brought her back to the airport last night. It was a wonderful time of bonding for Owen and Nonny; our freezer has more goodies in it; conversations shared, our lives re-united; rooms were given attention and home created. It was an excellent time together and saying goodbye was hard.

This evening Owen has his first full emersion bath. I'd been sponge-bathing this whole time as I was afraid of the potential situation: a crying, very upset and squirming WET and SLIPPERY baby. Anyway, the idea was not at all appealing to me. But I guess I was feeling brave tonight. It went well! Owen is such a sweet, quiet boy, he only got mildly upset once, and then he was fine. I don't think he enjoyed it, but he was a patient boy through it. He and I snuggled for a while after and he got all dry and warm again and now he's a squeaky clean sleepy beauty on my lap. He's such a wonderful little boy; i am so blessed. This truth finds me multiple times a day and as a result, I'm all smiles and giggles.


This is now how I spend my days.


Owen: wide-eyed and alive after his first emersion bath at home.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

halloween babe

i was not at all prepared for october 31 to roll into town . . . we had no candy, we had no jack-o-lantern. luckily our apartment neighbour took care of the candy 'problem' by setting himself and a big bowl of candy, outside our house, so none of the trick or treaters came to our door. and luckily, heidi sent a little costum for owen so at least he could participate in the season.

here's our little horse-y! he was content in the costum for a little while, but then he began making uncomfortable faces and noises and getting impatient, so we put the pacifier in his mouth for the sake of getting some more picture. dear boy - what a good sport he is. and, of course, how cute is he?!





here's owen without a costume. he's getting big and looking older every day!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

absorbing time

i've tried numerous times to post a new entry on this blog, but i've been distracted after only beginning! i'll try to see this one through. ry and owen are sleeping at the moment; actually, i'm not sure owen is asleep because he's making quite a few grunts and squeaks for a boy who's sleeping. but he's content, no less.

owen has been super quiet and growing more attentive. it's fun to watch his eyes explore the room he's in, and the faces nearby. he's having more wakeful periods in the day now, yesterday he was awake for 2 hours! incredible. he wasn't fussy at all, only near the end of the time when he was getting hungry. we took care of that problem and then he slept for a good nap.

i'm beginning to feel like i'm a little more on track with keeping up with life again. i'm growing accustomed to short stints of sleep, though i need to take more naps. but since I haven't been napping in the day, our house is getting slightly more organized again. we had everything in place pre-baby, but owen brought in lots of gifts and accessories - all of which have needed a place within our home rather than cluttering up rooms.

ry has been so great with making the transition of no baby to baby. i couldn't imagine having any other responsibility, at this point, other than owen, while ry is a full-time student and new father. he's been great at studying whenever he can, and helping with owen all at the same time. he's quite tired and worn out; i'm praying we both stay healthy and don't catch something while our bodies are vulnerable.

owen is such a sweet boy; i'm looking forward to spending my days with him, watching him grow, and forming a family together.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

we're going in!

a little after this morning, i awoke to intense contractions. it's now 6:40 and we're about to leave to go to the hospital.

more on this later!

Friday, October 06, 2006

breathe deeply

it's another great day. steph and i took a walk to the nature trail today - this was the first time i had been out there since arriving back to st stephen in june! i'm such a procrastinator! it was an excellent and relaxing time of walking and sharing what's been on our minds. a great walk, and a great time in nature. the was shining the entire time, in through the crack between all the trees. the ground was sprinkled with falled pine needles and changing leaves. we rested on a mossy needly bit and breathed deeply the air that was thick with woods, cool air, and steeped with the smell of sunny leaves. it was great. i arrived back and took a long nap. a good finisher to a nice afternoon.

this little chipmunk was very interested in us, but we were afraid we were giving him a heart attack!

the trail.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

sweet autumn leaves

it is a beautiful day today! the breezy air is crisp and the sun is so warm. i just arrived back from an afternoon drive to our farmers at Bantry Bay farm, along the bay's shore. it's a perfect day to get vegetables and to spend time outside. kath, luke, mike, brad and i sat out on their porch for a while and visited, while the sun roasted us and began to wilt the freshly picked greens. such a rejuvinating time of fresh air, fresh veggies, and 'fresh' friends, as in i don't see them often so when i do it is a treat.

i'm so glad we finally have our fridge stocked with veggies. now i can cook some meals for the freezer, and we can have some variety in our suppers again; we'd been low on veggies for a couple days now. even though we were at the store just a day ago, we couldn't bring ourselves to buy produce there; we didn't know where it came from and it all looked sad in comparison to the fresh picked wonderfulness we get from Bantry Bay.

ry and i decided the baby is never going to come; we're going to be the rare occasion of the baby never arriving. we've begun telling people this when they say what they say everytime they see us, 'still no baby yet!'. this is my cover while i secretly hope that perhaps this shift of thinking will make the baby come today. i'll let you know if it works.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

another day down.

this has been a good day. the dining room finally has drapes that will hopefully keep the room cozier. even this autumn breeze and the cool evenings have chilled that room so much (i fear what winter will do!). also, i baked bread and cookies today so our freezer is a little more stocked. it's true: cookies probably weren't a necessary thing to have in the freezer, but they are 'nutritional' cookies. peanut butter, calcium filled, wheaty (no refined anything) morsels of goodness. they'll do well when I'm tired out and need a little joy-food pick-me-up.

i've been feeling okay, although the babe is definitely getting bigger and I am, finally, feeling awkward. I absolutely have been spoiled with feeling great this entire pregnancy. Now that i'm not feeling excellent, i'm finding it difficult and I really want this baby to make it's way out! I think I need to chill out a bit more and then my back won't 'cry' so much at the end of the day.

well I'm off to soak in the tub. even though there's a pile of dishes to do and i want to do them - just in case! - i think i'm going to leave them go. but then again, after my tub-soak, i just might feel up to it. we'll see. no matter what, i'll not stress about it nor will i try to get everything accomplished. slow down and relax, that is what i'm being told to do: i'm trying.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

accomplishments.

That's what these days need to contain for me to feel okay. I want to get things done. This has been good for my sanity, as well as for the nearing arrival of the new babe. Things we've been putting off are getting done due to me being at home all the time, and me needing to keep my hands busy. This past weekend was great, though, as Ry was sick we both chilled out together and I got a lot of rest. It's back to being busy again, though. I've begun the needed drapes for the dining room window. There is much cold air coming in already and I think it will just warm the place to have coverings up. Not to mention our neighbour who has to walk by the window, and whose door is directly beside the window: I think she feels uncomfortable going into her place when we're in the dining room as she has full view. We organized our only storage place in our apartment, too. We had to buy more shelves and now we are able to fit and organize everything better. Previously it was organized with piles ontop of the organized items. Not so helpful. Today I had planned on cooking meals for the freezer and completing the drapes, but an unexpected power outage (due to an elderly woman running her car into our power and phone lines pole - she's fine) made none of my projects complete-able. Oh well. There's always tomorrow. I guess this gives me reason to hope the baby doesn't come tonight; it gives me reason to calm myself down and to stop wishing wishing wishing the baby would just come already.

We had a delicious supper with our friend Milal. She's here at SSU from Korea, auditing the first year, as a method of learning English. She's super sweet and fiesty. We have great conversation and tonight, thanks to her, we had great food! Mm, delicious. She was kind enough to respect the 'no onion' thing too, even though she thought the food certainly needed it (as all onion people do, I guess).

As a distraction or a way of settling ourselves, we decided to give the television show "Lost" a chance. There's people here who love it and the parts of it we've seen, we've thought it cheesy. But anyway, we have the first season from someone at school and we're giving it a chance. We aren't sold on it yet; we only have the final episode to watch. It certainly is cheesy and the music terrible, but there are some good plot-lines in it. Definitely not all people have said it is. But now we're going to watch the last episode. Will this one change our minds? We'll see.

Monday, October 02, 2006

just sitting here, waiting.

Well, still no sign of the baby. This actually seems to be a good thing at this point, as Ry caught the bronchial cold virus that's been circulating amongst our friends. He's been resting and drinking lots of tea, and he's on the mend though still feeling icky. I've been trying to think of things to do so I keep busy. There's always cleaning and organizing but those duties aren't exactly appealing. I have been doing a lot of relaxing lately, especially since Ry has been sick. But that's about it. Nothing exciting yet. That's still to come.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

the common ground fair, in unity, maine.

We left early early on Saturday morning and drove 2.5 hours to the Common Ground Fair. Ry and I had never been, but we heard wonderful things from friends who had been. The rain decided it wanted to visit the fair along with us, so our initial experience of the fair was unfortunately hindered. There were so many great booths from organic farmers, booths about renewable energy, various associations for peace and justice, people selling woolen goods, there were farm animals, natural and holistic herbal booths, etc. Informatin sessions happened on the hour, about all different issues and interests. Oh soo wonderful!! We tried to absorb much of the goodness of the fair and ignore how much rain was falling, making us cold and wet. The rain stopped around 3pm, and by that point our camping plans for the evening had been cancelled and we had decided it would be best to make the trek home and not attend the fair again the next day. It was a sad and hard decision because we had others in our car and the fair was so much fun! But the thought of going to bed wet and waking up wet . . . ick. Anyway, when the rain stopped, we enjoyed the fair immensely. We quickly tried to visit as many booths as possible. I bought some herbal remedies that are recommended post-birth, and we bought an organic gardening book. We're excited about our purchases. We drove home, I went to bed super early as I was tired and my body achey from so much walking. We slept like rocks!! It felt so good to be dry, and in our own bed. We've had a lazy sunday, and it's been really nice.

I've decided I need to stop thinking about how I want to baby to come soon. I've been told by a couple people I really ought to enjoy the time I have now to be alone, and to rest. I've realized the value in their recommendation, so I've been excited to slowly accomplish what I need to do, and to rest and relax and read in between times. I'm not so anxious about wanting the baby to come as soon as possible anymore. Eventually, he / she will be here. But at the moment, I have time for myself. I'll take it.

Thursday, September 14, 2006




just when i thought i was as big as i was going to get, i got bigger. here's my current size. pretty great, eh?

Friday, September 08, 2006

And school's back in full swing. The campus has filled, and friends have returned. It's great having new people around, though I'm feeling disrupted by what was the calm of summer. I liked the way things flowed so smoothly - perhaps because it's the first week things are feeling quite rushed and busy and, well, crazy.

It is so excellent having Bon, Jess and Mel in town. Mel came over last night and showed me how to make yoghurt! Truly exciting. Ry ate some this morning and said, it is good. Now that we've been getting our milk from a local farmer (delicious, raw, whole milk!) we can make all the yoghurt we want! ...just as long as I don't keep spilling half a jug of milk on the ride home every time . . . that's right. I spilled it in the back of the car. Ish. Ry was a trooper though, and cleaned it up nicely. I'm really really hoping we won't having a stinky car, now.

So far no sign of the baby coming. Ry and I are both 'on guard' for the event, though. The other night I got up to go to the bathroom and I stubbed my toe on the way. I made some noise of pain because Ry woke up and was quick to make sure I was okay, as he thought I might be in labour. So we feel ready, but we'll see when it actually happens!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Our trip to Saint John to see the doctor was difficult for both of us. Personally, I felt mad about the way the doctor treated Marcia. It was like every stereotype of a male o.b. coming to fruition. Anyway, we are trying to leave this experience behind us and enjoy the last few weeks of pregnancy. We haven't decided when and if we are going to visit the doctor again before the birth. They recommend once a week from now until the baby's born, but I don't see that happening. Marcia is feeling well and everything indicates a healthy and smooth pregnancy and baby. Our plan is to head to Saint John when Marcia is in the early stages of labour. We will most likely go to New River Beach for the first while.

It is fascinating to see Marcia's "nurturing instincts" surface. All of a sudden she started feeling deeply connected to the growing baby inside her. For most of the pregnancy she hasn't always felt totally in tune with the baby and hasn't felt strong feelings toward him/her, so this is quite new and fascinating to see. Her nurturing instincts are starting to become contagious, as I try to support her during this time.

Marcia has done such an amazing job of taking care of her body for the baby throughout this whole pregnancy. She has been energetic, active, joyful, optimistic, and graceful - just like herself. This experience has been so fun for the both us. We have felt scared at times about the affect of the final product on our lives, but we are beginning to feel excited about the change that is about to occur in our lives.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

We decided that writing in a blog would be a convenient consistent way of staying in contact with loved ones who are far (and near!), as so many dear people are scattered all over. We'll be updating this blog mostly with information about the baby, or news leading up to the baby's arrival.

Speaking of pre-baby news, we had a doctor's appointment this past Friday. We rode up to Saint John with the Sider's, which was really fun. We stopped at Value Village first, wandered around there and picked up some house items and a teeny newborn knit sweater (very sweet!). Then Ry and I drove to the hospital, checked in, and went to our ultrasound. It was fun to see parts of the baby. The head measures 9cm, and they think it's about 6.5lbs. The head is down, which gives me much relief. Everything looks excellent, so far as they can tell. The babe's heart rate is about 135 beats/min. There's been a change in the baby's due date: no longer Oct 9, but more around Sept 30 - the ultrasound said I was 36weeks, and I thought I was almost 35. A week and a half difference. I'm not too concerned or suprised, as the baby will come when it wants anyway. So, we're glad to know everything is as it should be. After our ultrasound, we went to see the doctor - this experience was terrible. I don't want to have another appointment with that doctor, and I hope he isn't on duty when I am in labour (please pray he's not!). The whole experience was rotten, from him being about 2 hours before coming in to see us, to him not listening to my concerns, to him making us feel guilty and irresponsible for our lack of medical care up to this point - something completely beyond our control. He just straight up was not nice. We left feeling gross, but we also left with good news about my health and the baby's.

We have some more good books to read, loaned to us by a doula here in town. She's about to leave town for the winter so she won't be able to attend our birth, but she was a helpful resource over the phone, and by lending us some of her prized books.

I'm feeling more and more ready and prepared for the babe to come. The truth about becoming a parent is finally setting in, and I'm ready to embrace it and whatever change it brings. This baby is nearly ready to join us in life outside my belly.