Sunday, December 30, 2007

i'm dreaming . . . of a white christmas . . .

christmas has been an excellent time with friends and family thus far, and the fun isn't nearly done yet! we fly to see my family in a couple of days. we're pumped!

owen got a guitar for christmas, and he's pretty much inseparable from it. as you can tell, he has a natural talent for this kind of thing :)


we've attended some fabulous parties and owen has done really well at all of them. last night was the funniest he's been, though. he was wandering around Faye's house, laughing and squinting his eyes at sandy and betsy. it was hilarious and the first time he'd ever done anything like that. maybe it's his new thang.

Monday, December 10, 2007

new addition

Esme Theresa Lindwall (pronounced EZ-may) has graced our household with her tiny, innocent, beautiful being. Jen totally rocked the birth - she did it in 5 hours, and has been full of energy and spunk since. Ben is a constant support and caretaker to both. They are both so obviously in love with their little Esme. Ry and I feel so honoured to witness first hand, these new fabulous parents.



Ben and Jen had asked me to accompany them and support them through the labour and birth. I of course was honoured and ecstatic to be a part of the phenomenon of childbirth. As I said before, it was all over in 5 hours, much to all of our surprise! Jen was so focused and calm the whole time, and Ben was at her side, loving her up through it all. It was a beautiful time! We arrived at the hospital at 12:30am, Esme greeted the world at 3:23am, and the whole family arrived back at home at 8:30pm that night. Ha!

So this all went down late Thrusday evening, and early Friday morning. I would have had Lillian over to play on Friday, but Erin kept her so I could rest when Owen rested. Ry had classes and tutoring on Friday, which he hesitantly did as he had hardly slept the night before. He was home with Owen, but his mind was racing with curiosity and interest in what might be happening at the hospital.

Ry has been super busy with school these days. He's working on finishing up his courses and prepping for exams. He's working so hard! It'll all be over soon and we can rest, relax and enjoy the holidays together. We are all looking forward to that.

Owen has been acting a little differently since Esme's been around. He's no longer the only cute member of our household. He, of course, still receives much attention but there is now another who gets our "oos" and "aahs". However he is adjusting, and he's getting a little more brave about seeing who this little bundle of sweetness is.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

then we played in the snow!


snow and singalongs

we've been hit with tons of snow! it's so beautiful outside now and the cold has suddenly obtained value - the keep the snow on the ground. Owen is intrigued by the new look of the outdoors, and while we were walking in the falling snow, he kept looking up and seemed amused that the snow would rest on him, or else chill his face.

we had a busy, accomplished and enjoyable day yesterday (i love when it can happen like that!). ben and i trekked to social security and i applied for owen's social security number so ry and i can file a tax amendment for owen for last year. then erin, lily, owen and i made our way downtown and had lunch with nain and poppa sam. we then wandered around some of the fun shops down there and brainstormed christmas gift ideas. owen and i arrived back at the house, tired and ready for his nap. he slept beautifully as always and i made tasty pesto-spinach lasagna for supper. Dave Warne and Ry had a show last night, so erin and i got a babysitter together then went out to hear some great music! It was a really fun day.

dave and ry were practicing for their show at our house, and owen woke up from his nap mid-practice. after his diaper change, he walked out of his room, into the living room with his eyes wide and mouth open; i think he was thrilled to have live music coming from his living room. he slowly made his way closer and closer, until he was right beside them. he was holding onto the couch when he started to rock out! he was moving his body back and forth so quickly, his bobbing along to the tunes. when he felt inclined, he belted out some notes too. it was quite hilarious.

Monday, November 26, 2007

i have a nostril!!

it seems i've been having a slight problem with obsessing over things. lately it has been over stories, in whatever form they come to me. it's all i can think about, and my time revolves around finishing the story. i read a near 400 page novel in 2 days. i finished 7 seasons of gilmore girls in . . . hm, i'm not sure = 2 months maybe? okay, that one is shameful. but in all this, so far this hasn't interfered too much with my life. i just could be more productive. perhaps i'll phase out of it. but, so long as there's a good story to be told - i'm all ears!!

owen was eating lunch as normal today, when he put his hand up to his face and his pointer finger caught his nostrel. the look on his face was interest: what is this hole above my mouth that my finger can fit into? it was also curiosity: the hole stays there and i can keep putting my finger in it! and a little confusion: putting my little finger in too far doesn't feel that great and it makes my eyes water. a very amusing new discovery.

owen and i went for a walk and played outside this afternoon. we got out one of his warmer jackets and bundled him for the cold.




Tuesday, November 20, 2007

peek through the barnyard window

Owen and I played with his farmset today. This isn't an unusual occurrance, but we played with it a bit differently. I was laying on the floor and he noticed me though the haymow window. He was playing infront of it, while I was tapping my fingers on the inside of the window. He thought this was very funny, but his excitement grew when he found he could see my face in his little farmset! He just though this was fantastic. He moved on to opening the doors on the barn so far open that a couple popped off. He didn't intend for this to happen, and he kept trying to put them back on without success. He just kept opening and closing the one that was still intact. He would open it, reach in and touch the floor (he had the barn on its side so it was like opening a box then looking in). Since he enjoyed seeing my face so much in the barn I thought I'd try to relive the experience. He enjoyed this so much, too, especially since he could touch my face this time! We had a fun time doing this over and over again.

He is a very good walker now. He doesn't fall very often, and he really doesn't crawl anymore. He is still so very intentional about the whole thing, it's quite funny. His whole upper body tenses up, and he waddles around with his fists clenched, up by his face, and his shoulders shrugged! It's so cute.

Owen had a dr. appointment yesterday, a little overdue for his 1 yr check-up. He's a healthy little boy, our Doctor said. I didn't have any doubts, but it was good to hear. He apparently has fallen into the 25% for weight and height (used to be 75%) and his head circumference is now in the 75% while it used to be 25%! Interesting. Though his weight and height haven't changed much, I have brought out all his 12-18 month clothes now, as his arms and legs have certainly grown, most particularly his arms. That, and I'm more conscious of keeping him in clothes that cover him up now that is is getting winter-like outside. We took a nice brisk walk this afternoon and he wore his nice little mits and a warm hat. Though it was chilly, he seemed to enjoy it very much.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

dear sweet walker.

I can officially say that Owen is walking. It happened yesterday. He still falls every once and a while, but that's to be expected. He's getting really good at re-balancing himself. Such a sweet boy. He is really into talking these days, too. Not to mention singing and fake laughing. He just really loves joining in these days.


Tuesday, October 16, 2007

of bops and giggles

Today Owen was full of smiles and giggles. He and I were the only ones at home today, and we did loads of playing with his toys and dancing to music. He loves listening to music! He stood infront of the stereo for a bit this morning, so I turned on the Flyers, and he immediately grew excited and started hitting his hands on the stereo table, while bopping up and down. He's been really attached to me holding him lately, which I don't mind of course, but it is hard to do things that way, so having him content to play on his own is helpful.

He has been doing a lot of phonetic imitating. He doesn't mimic sounds yet, but if I say, "yay yay yay" he'll do the same. And he loves fake laughing. It's really humorous, especially when it is accompanied with his little knee-slap.

I've gotten into the habit (mainly because Owen now looks for it) of saying Yay!! When he claps. He looks at me every time he starts clapping, in expectation of my encouragement and he gives a huge satisfied grin when I say it. Earlier today, when he did something I thought noteworthy, I said Yay! and he lifted one hand, passed the toy he had in one hand to the other, he realized that didn't work so he passed it back only then to put it down - all so he could clap! Haha! I didn't realize the association between clapping and Yay! was so strong until then. He heard the word, and all he could do was make it work to clap. man, he's so cute.

Friday, October 12, 2007

push to walk

Owen has discovered pushing this cart thing, which allows him to 'walk.' He loves doing it, and it takes great concentration and his tongue helps a lot with this.

Silly me, I took the video sideways. Sorry!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

soon 1 year


i was going through old emails, and i found this photo. this photo is nearly 1 year old. the sweet sweet boy in the photo has been in our arms for almost a year. i'm in awe.

Friday, September 14, 2007

eating spinach

11 months


our dear sweet boy is only one month shy of the day of his birth. It is incredible that time has passed so quickly, that he has undergone so many remarkable changes and that he has developed into such a sweet boy. He has made the transition to my being away 2 days of the week well. Convenient Ry has always been around a lot that I don't think Owen notices much, though I do believe he has noticed my absense. As you can tell in the photo above, our front screen door is the perfect looking-out door for Owen. He loves to stand there and watch the activtiy across the street (tons of kids playing), and Ry and I usually stand there with him when one of us comes home from our day away.

Owen has been enjoying his walks once we get moving. As soon as we put him in his stroller, though, he puts up a big protest. And, he gets rather upset when he sees me pushing because he wants me to take him out. But, while we're walking he's fine. There is a lovely park, and path along the Mississippi River that we like to walk along. I really should do it more. Here are some photos from our walk.





Tuesday, August 28, 2007

for some reason

For some reason it is easier to relax now. I just finished a novel, and though it was a short one, it's the first one i've read since . . . um, i think March? Yikes. It was good to read. i really like having our own room, a space that can be fit for adults, not a babe. Owen's room is lovely and completely suited for his playing needs. He really loves being able to play with everything and go in every corner. He's been such a fabulously fun boy; he is in love with Ben and Jen, he imitates and copies when he wants to (from making noises to opening cupboards), and he is closer and closer to walking all the time. No first step yet, but he likes to test his balance by letting go of whatever was his support, and feeling what it is like to be completely surrounded by air.

I start work next Wednesday, Ry has his first class Thursday night. This vacation is soon coming to a close. So sad, but following routine will be good, at least for the first while.

Monday, July 09, 2007

the way life has been

This was taken two days ago. He's not being held back by anything; he's crawling everywhere, climbing, and getting into everything.





Little sleep at night and cat naps in the day; we're all operating on low energy at this point. Owen is having a hard time being in his crib alone right now. When he is, he gets up and walks around the edges. But things are looking up, and in the near future, too, i believe. Details of moving, packing, who we're leaving and who we're to be re-united with, are constantly on my brain. It's all pretty overwhelming.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Owen Crawls!

Owen has been working hard learning to crawl over the past few weeks. We frequently find him grunting and sweating as he tries to move from one place to another. Sometimes he ends up flat on his face and gives up, but this time he successfully (and quickly) found his target: the phone cord! Luckily, we got his first crawl steps on video! I have a sneaking suspicion that parenting is about to change forever...mobility!

giggles

lately Owen has been really enjoying sitting infront of his 2 level toy cart. He pulls out whatever he want to play with. He eventually ends up on his belly, crawling around. Often, I pump while he sits and plays. This usually means I sit at the computer, which is beside him, only there is a faceplace matel distance between us. If, for whatever reason, I slightly laugh or giggle, I'll notice Owen has turned to me, a huge smile, and he'll 'guffaw' or giggle or breathe out in the way one does when something is funny. I usually laugh at him about this, and he again giggles too. It is so incredibly cute.

He's mobile- he's a crawler. He isn't very fast yet, but he gets places, often which much grunting and yelps and noises that make me know he's working very hard.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Newfoundland!

We arrived back to our little apartment this past Thursday after travelling around the western coast of Newfoundland with my parents for the past week. It was a fantastic time filled with beautiful mountians, rocky coastline, buggy woods, hikes, car rides, ferry boat rides and little sleep. My parents are exhuberant travellers, wanting to see all there is to see, so we did. As you can tell by the photos, this province they call "the rock" gets it name quite appropriately. And it is true what people say - they really do have their own dialect there!



Owen did quite well on this vacation. He was a fantastic car traveller, and great hiker, but he really struggled when it came to night time sleeping. He was hard to get down at night, and he had some wakeful sleeps. His naps weren't ever long enough, either, as he'd usually be woken from a nap rather than waking on his own.





We have so many photos, it is hard to know which ones to post! And the scenery was so beautiful and drastically different in areas that I want to show it all, but I will refrain.

It was really great to spend time with my parents. They stayed an extra after we arrived back in St Stephen, and we had a delicious lobster supper (ate 2 4lb lobsters!!), topped it with ice cream and played Sequence to finish it all off. A lovely visit, filled with more goodness than I thought possible.

This entry certainly doesn't do the trip justice, as there are so many parts unmentioned. But it will have to suffice. Ask about it sometime.

Now that we're back home, we've settled in again and things are nearly cleaned up and in order. Vacationing is fun, but part of its goodness is returning home again.




Here's Owen - happy to be back in his Jolly Jumper.

Friday, June 15, 2007

NFLD!

and we're off to newfoundland tomorrow, with my parents. we're excited! i'll write about when we return!

oh, and in other excitedness, we planted herbs, beets and carrots today! and the corn and black beans have sprouted. so so great.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

my cutie has an appetite!

Last week we spent a lovely day at the beach. It was fabulously sunny and warm, with a touch of a cool breeze every so often. It was heavenly. Owen napped in his stroller while we soaked in the sun's rays and ran along the sand and chatted the afternoon away.




Joel, Kate, Owen, Ry and I drove up together, we stopped in St George for some beach snacks, and we arrived and lazed around. Holli and Zoe showed up a bit later. It was a really nice time. Owen, once he woke up, enjoyed sitting in the sand, feeling it between his fingers, and, as he does with everything he can, put it in his mouth. He was a dirty little guy by the end of it! Since he loves "walking" while holding our hands for balance and securty, we walked him into the water. He didn't like this very much, but we just HAD to touch his skin to the ocean's salty goodness.

Since that warm day it has since cooled down, which is completely fine by me! I'm not one for heat anyway. We've just been doing day to day things, getting out for walks and garden time when we can. Ry is working and enjoying it, though he took an unplanned break for a couple days when he came home from his overnight shift with foodpoisoning. He's feeling nearly all better now, but it certainly was hard on his body.

Owen - dear little Owen. He seems to notice when Ry isn't home for the night. The 2 times Ry has been gone all night at work Owen has slept terribly; he woke up 3-4 times throughout the night and I end up just bringing him to bed with me because he won't settle down in his bed. He now moves around a lot and he'll twist and turn and roll around and he'll end up in a position that makes sleep impossible. Such a funny little guy. This past time he was sleeping with me, I woke up to a little boy looking at me, poking my eyes so I'd open them, and his little fingers trying to open my mouth. He loves tugging my bangs, too. He is very inquisitive, and growing more able all the time. And I'm rejoicing that he finally has taken to solid food! He now opens his mouth, moves it around in there, feet kicking, singing "mmm, mmm". Such a cutie. I think what got him into the solid food was the baby buscuits I gave him (ali calls them doggie biscuits). He loves using his hands, everything to Owen is a chew toy, so these buscuuts were perfect. After a couple of days of chewing and sucking these things, and inevitably ingesting some of it, he starting wanting solid food. Now I'm a happier mama :)




Wednesday, May 30, 2007

an entry about compost.

Owen and I brought the compost out today. This task often gets pushed off again and again, which only worsens how I feel about doing it. But, Owen and went on a rainy adventure in the wagon to take out the compost. He wore his great rain jacket from Joel and we both stayed quite dry on this warm-rain spring day. The air was wet with the smell of dirt and earthworms, it was invigorating. I think Owen enjoyed the rain. It was the perfect rainfall to be out in; soft, warm droplets, slowly dropping and perfectly interspersed. We had a good time and making the stinky job of taking out the compost into a rainy day adventure improved this chore, not to mention vetoing the part of rinsing the pail! I put it under our roof drip and tomorrow we'll be all set with a freshened compost pail.

Here is Owen loving the rain!



This is the garden to date - that's horse manure, soon to be spread out. I was going to work on that this afternoon but the rain came instead. Soon . . . then we'll seed. All before this weekend, I hope. It really needs to be done!



This is a video from the roadtrip in Maine.

Friday, May 25, 2007

eastern shore of maine

Well we're back from our trip to Portland, Maine. It was, given the circumstances, a lovely time. We had to leave early Saturday to get our car into the shop . . in Bangor, because that was the only place we could find, closest to us, that was open and able to service our car. So instead of driving back home we headed down the coast for a relaxing couple of days on the ocean.



It truly was relaxing and beautiful. Neither of us had been along the Maine coast, so it was a treat. The reason for our trip, to get my fingerprints re-scanned for immigration, went well as far as we know. We'll get a notice in the mail if, yet again, my prints aren't 'good enough'. Whatever that means. Hopefully everything is fine because it's too big of a trip to do again!




Ry has started his training for his job in Calais at the Children's Project. Unfortunately, his first day was the day Owen had his consultation with his Urologist regarding his upcoming surgery. So Ry went off to his first day of training, and Owen and I went to Saint John. The appointment went well, nearly all our questions were answered. We can have Owen in for surgery as early as the end of June, which will allow us to have this taken care of before we head out on our vacation. The surgery itself is a one step deal, then there is a follow up check up at one week, and again at six weeks. We'd want Owen to be healed up before going away. So this was great news.

Ry's training has been going well. He's on his third day of it now, and he comes home tired, as it's a lot of information to take in. Next he'll be shadowing someone, which means he'll get to see what shift will be best suited for him and our family (he has to try each shift).

Owen has three teeth on top now! He did so well on our roadtrip. He would play quietly in his carseat for definitely an hour, possibly two but then he'd either want out or he'd go to sleep. He did great sleeping in motels, too. We just put a blanket over the crib and then we could have the lights on and talk, or watch tv. We were impressed and grateful!

I think that's about it for now.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

refreshed

I have been meaning to post for a while . . . here it is.

It has been fun having Ry around all day, without course work to do, or a lot of books to read and write on. Ry and Mat Rouleau have worked on the garden quite a bit. They've turn the sod and tilled the ground up. Now we need to work in compost and plant! We're excited. Ry and I haven't decided what we will plant yet, but we'll figure that out soonish.

Owen's top teeth have broken through. He is still quite upset by then, though. He isn't eating so well right now; he's fussy about when he has the bottle and he tends not to eat for long periods of time. This happened last time his teeth came through. He hasn't been very content playing solo unless he is sitting up, on his own, playing. This works quite well for us, we just put a semi-circle of pillows behind him and then he's fine when he topples over.

I thought it would be fun to put up some videos of Owen playing.




I got my hair cut! I'm pleased with it. I haven't had anything this different in a while, so the change is welcomed. I also think it will be more manageable. I might actually comb it everyday now, and my hair won't be shedding everywhere. I hope.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

reflection

This morning I had a wee cup of coffee. I don't drink it anymore as it makes me quite jittery and I'd hate to become dependent upon it again. But it just seemed like such a nice treat to give myself this morning, so I gave in. I drank the delicious Caribou Blend flavour and it was so sweet in my mouth! I was sitting in our nice big front windows, reading poetry while Owen napped. It was really relaxing and a fulfillment of my 'ideal' morning. Here's the poem that most resounded with me today:

Leisure
by W.H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows. (or Owen :)

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.






We finally bought our long-awaited stroller. It isn't what we thought we would end up purchasing, but it still suits our needs and preferences perfectly. I took Owen out in it this afternoon. We walked through Dover Hill's park, down the big, nearly green hill and through the woods. I think he enjoyed our adventure, and he certainly seemed content in his new ride. I know I really am satisfied with it, it pushes very easy and the wheels are great for whatever terrain we want to take it. I think it will be easier to go for regular walk now. Hooray!

he sits!

Well this post has been 3 weeks in the making! We've had a whirl-wind couple of weeks and things are now just beginning to die down. Sadly, part of this dying down is the parting of SSU students. This summer will be wonderful and I'm excited about it, but there are some faces that will be sorely missed.


My amaryllis bloomed! It appropriately bloomed on the day my parents arrived, which was . . . three saturdays ago, I guess? We had a lovely visit together. Most of our time was spent inside as the weather decided to be quite wet and cold the entire time they were here, but we made the most of it which meant that they had much play time with Owen.

Ry's highschool buddy, Markus, came to visit as well. It was fun having him around, and for him to meet Owen. Daryl and Sandy also visited, which also was a really enjoyable time of fellowship. By this point, everything had warmed up significantly and we were able to take a couple beach days and lots of walks outside, etc. It was so refreshing. In the midst of this, SSU had graduation. It is so hard to believe the school year is already over. I loved being in the same place as Jess, Mel, and Bonnie, and for Heather to be just a city away. It is really sad that they are gone for the summer, or that they are done school! Now to be cliche: Oh goodness, how time flies.




Owen has finally settled down from all our excitement. He's been such a trooper! He still hasn't adjusted to the lack of playmates :) We've gone on many walks in his new grandpa-built wagon, we've sat outside on a blanket in the front yard playing and practicing sitting up, and we've gone for evening walks as a way to settle Owen down before bedtime - it seems to tire him out nicely.



Finally, I decided to try on an outfit my mom found for Owen. It fits! It isn't exactly warm enough for it yet, but just for photo purposes, here he is (notice his excellent sitting position!):

Monday, April 09, 2007

easter monday!

I had meant to update on the day all the snow fell, but that obviously did not happen. The snow began to fall and hasn't ceased to cover the earth yet. It all began about 5 days ago now, with the sky basically dropping large white chunks of itself all over the St. Stephen landscape. Melanie came over, we made pretzels (mmm), then she stayed here with Owen while Ry and I went out for a quick ski to be sure we got one last (and only) ski in for the season. Little did we know the snow would linger, well, nearly completely melt, be very wet and slushy, but then refreeze (what a mess) and now I'm watching another snow-falling event.



Now that I've covered the weather, lets move on to other things, shall we?

Easter weekend. It has been fabulous thus far. At various celebration services we've attended, Ry has shared some of what he has been reading in his studies pertaining to Christ's resurrection, which has been interesting. Though I will certainly not do them justice, the readings have touched on victim theory - Christ as victim and our need to love the victim; he also read of the Eucharist and how it is a sign of life as it carries the presence of the risen Christ.

The events we attended were a sunrise gathering at Todd's Point and our Peace and Justice Communion Group. The sunrise service was really nice.


The sunrise gathering began very early on Sunday; we drove out to Todd's point then we hiked through the woods up to the flat rock that overlooks the St Croix River. The sun didn't show us its grand splendor, but the view was, none the less, spectacular. I had made Tsoureki, a Greek Easter bread, and it was yummy and warm out in the cold. Owen did well for a while out in the cold, but he became quite upset after a bit, so we trekked back and sat in the car to warm up. He settled down and played with is toy and thus allowed us to grab breakfast with everyone. He did so well! Ry was asked to play a song at church, so he went but Owen and went to bed, as he hadn't had a nap since 6am! He was tuckered out and I certainly didn't mind the snooze either since I had baked the bread that morning.

Our PJCG had an Indian Potluck last night. It was so so so delicious, with everyone bringing something very tasty, and the fellowship we had together was sweet. I do think that food makes fellowship among friends all the more richer! Especially when it's food as warm and rich as Indian food!

In other events, there was a half marathon in St. Stephen on Saturday. We went to the finish to see some friends come through. It certainly is an admirable thing to run that far! Something I applaud other for and know that I'll never do it!

We don't have any plans for today, but I think we'll just take it easy. There is a lot of clean-up to do from the busy baking / cooking weekend.

Last but not least, a blog wouldn't be complete without a picture of the star himself.