Little Lip Smacker

Maizey started copying some things we do a little while ago. This being the most accomplished. She does it on demand now! She is changing every single day, its hard to keep up with the picture taking and videos. I don't want to always be sticking the camera in her face, but its really hard not to! Shes just too damn cute!

Staring Contest

The other day when Maizey and I were downtown having coffee, she was completely enthralled with the person sitting behind/beside us. She stared at him for quite a few minutes. I got a kick out of it, but I think it was making the man a little un-comfortable. I captured the moment perfectly, she couldn't even pay attention to her cracker, she just kept aimlessly bringing it to her mouth.



She is good entertainment!

The Pursuit Of Happiness

Yesterday was a blahhhh day for me. Nothing was making me happy, not my favourite food, not a phone call from an old friend, not playing with Maizey... NOTHING. So I set out in search of something, ANYTHING that would cheer me up. This is what we came across...


a delicious lunch from the modern. perfect every time


i have never noticed how happy these little feet that can't keep two shoes on make me


the pretty spring flowers that are coming up in our yard. perfection


running into our friend stacey. we like seeing her twice in one day. (shes my work out friend)


a movie that makes me laugh every.single.time

I follow this really great blog about enjoying the small things in life, so I went to her blog and cried happy tears and remembered everything that I have to be happy about. Its always an inspiration to read her blog and see her beautiful photos.

I came across this poem that also made me happy.

You are more perfect than I could have hoped,
More beautiful than I could have dreamed,
More precious than I could have imagined...
... I love you more than I could have known

~Author unknown

This poem is just so true, I think it really captures the overwhelming feeling of becoming a mother perfectly. No one told me I would be so over taken with love and gratitude for this little person, but its there, every day and very very real. I sometimes still cant believe shes mine and that I love her THIS much. It still blows me away.
I also found what I am going to buy myself for sticking to the no-sugar test of willpower. You can check it out here Its perfect and made me smile the second I saw it! Therefore I will ignore the price (but for the record that's farrrrr more than I planned on spending!) and just do it!

By the end of the day I had found so many things to make me happy that I actually forgot how unhappy I had been. So my search for happy things paid off. And every time I am having a blahhhh day I will go find beautiful, happy things to inspire me and make me smile! Until then, I will enjoy these wonderful things I found, and wait impatiently for my necklace to arrive!

Mommy And Maizey Do.... Longview??

This past weekend Maizey and I went on a road trip. We packed our road-pops (water bottle and Maizeys portable bottles with never ending supply), our munchies (apple slices and baby mum-mums), our best road trippin music (it would've been Raffi if we had any, instead it was me singing the itsy bitsy spider. For the record I now I hate that song.), and a lucky bag of tricks ( a bag handy to me full of toys to pass her when she dropped one and wanted another). My how times have changed! Road trips use to involve REAL road-pops, no food to speak of, a few Nickelback c.d's and more people than the car had seat belts for. We cruised along at unthinkable speeds (unless I was driving, at which time we cruised along at exactly 3 kms over the speed limit.), sang at the top of our lungs and made random stops at beer stores for more said road-pops. Sometimes we didn't even have a destination, it was more just to kill time and have fun. Those days are gone, and have now been replaced with strategically timed stops for feedings, quiet music so as not to wake the sleeping baby, and of course more appropriate drinks. I have to admit, it does make the trip much quicker with fewer drink stops and pee breaks, which is nice. I guess. So we headed home for the weekend.
One of my high school best friends, Cartwright! is getting married in Mexico this fall and I am in the wedding. This weekend was wedding dress shopping. Unfortunately Maizey came down with a bit of the flu on Friday night and was not herself on Saturday, so it was a tough day for her. But dress shopping was fun, there was 9 of us there and we saw some beauties of dresses. In the end there was no decision made, with 9 different opinions being thrown at you, its bound to get a little confusing and over-whelming. I totally understand her feelings of overwhelm and a little disappointment at not picking one. Its an emotional day as is, but to come away empty handed is a little sad. Needless to say she was emotionally drained and in need of a small pick me up - we fixed that with a nice glass of wine and some twitter talk (on my part, I am trying to convince her to get twitter ! And she knows I am relentless) (p.s get twitter). I wish I could be more help in this decision making, but it is something she will figure out on her own! I cant wait to see which one she decides on!
Anyhow, to make a loooong story short, we had a great weekend. My dad got in tons of Maizey time, which was great for both of them, it seems she is quite comfortable with him, which is more than I can say for her with the rest of her grandparents. For some reason she is a little leary of the rest of them, she does warm up after awhile, but its a little rocky in the beginning. I didn't have a camera for the start of the weekend, I bought a new one on Monday, so I didn't get many pictures and what I did get were with my Blackberry. We visited my Grannie, Trudy, Cartwright, Hummel, Rimini, Travis, Jaya, Elynn (who is so cute and getting so big), Tyler and Jen. We always wish there was more time to see everyone, but we do the best we can! My dad even baby sat one night and I got to go out for dinner with the girls. There was tons of laughs, it was great to see them twice!! Maizey was pretty good for Grampa, she only screamed for about a half an hour and he managed to calm her down - win for him!
Maizey is a great traveller so far, so it was fairly smooth sailing, one stop on the way there and 2 on the way back. Pretty good! We were happy to get home to see daddy though, we do miss him when we are away! We came home to a clean house and dinner ready... ahhhh life is good!


Maizey and Great Grannie


Maizey and Grampa


Hummel Cartwright and I

Go Big Or Go Home

Maizeys weight issues have been on my mind constantly. If you remember, she only gained 2oz's in 2 months, so we started the feeding more and she gained 4oz's in 2 weeks. We then waited 3 weeks to see her doctor again and on March 5th she weighed in at a whopping 11lbs 13oz's. Her doctor was not thrilled at that gain, it was 8oz's in 21 days. But by this point we were just starting her on solids, so she told us to talk to the Health Nurse about what kind of "diet" she should be on. We talked to Public Health and they referred us to a dietitian. This, my friends, was a complete waste of time. Maybe she didn't understand the situation fully and that's why she recommended such nonsense as 'don't feed her to fill her up, just feed her so she experiences all sorts of tastes and textures' and 'stay away from sippy cups, they delay development of fine motor skills' and 'just mash, don't bother pureeing, you don't want her to get too used to eating food that way'. I hung up the phone confused and annoyed. That's when my instincts kicked in and I called my mom to have her tell me what to do instead. Shes way smarted than any dietitian. And what do you know? In the last 2 weeks (on March 18th) my teeny tiny little baby girl packed on almost 2 lbs!!! We could not be happier about this kind of gain. As you could see in the video, she loves to eat, in fact since Feb 25, she has eaten 3 and a half bags of cereal, about 15 carrots, 3 potatoes (which she totally hates and gags on every time she eats them), probably 1 whole JAR of peaches, bananas, apple sauce (which we think she is allergic to as a rash appeared on her wrists immediately following the apple eating. we will wait a few weeks then try again to see), avocados, and the list goes on. I have become that crazy mother that takes countless videos of the same thing over and over, but its just so funny to watch her eat, I cant stop. Also, she has learned how to feed herself pieces of rice cracker, its really funny to watch. I will post a video of it when I have more time. Thanks for all the chubby thoughts, she is now kicking ass and taking names at this weight gain business!

Sugar Delight!

I DID IT! My month is up... I can finally eat a cookie, a muffin or a bowl of sugar if I should so feel inclined (I of course wont, because its a little too gritty for me, I may however dissolve it in a coffee first). In all honesty, it wasn't actually THAT bad. The first few days were tough, you know how it goes... the age old story of the forbidden fruit, but once I got over that, I will even venture as far to say as it was... *gasp* easy?! I replaced the sugar in my coffee with a small spoon of honey, and I will continue to do this as it is actually a delicious way to enjoy a coffee or a latte. I replaced my supposedly healthy but actually sugar-laden bread with actually healthy and not-sugary bread, I have replaced the heavily sugared (but fat free) yogurt and some sort of fruit substitute with plain, non-fat yogurt with frozen or fresh berries, the sugar-filled salad dressings with oil and fancy vinegars and the sugar-packed salsas/canned tomatoes/soups and everything else tomato related with Brians parents home canned goodness, all sugar free. The list could go on and on about all I had to switch but I wont bore you with all the details. The bottom line is, I saw how many tablespoons of unnecessary refined sugar I was consuming and I eliminated it. I didn't go without, nor did I have to deprive myself of anything I reallllly wanted, I always found an alternative, which was always healthier and usually more delicious anyways. Lesson has been learned, I don't need it, I just want it. But my friend and I have vowed to not go back to the old *sweet* ways, instead stick to this because as I said, its really not bad.
Now I just need to find the perfect gift for myself. We said we were going to reward ourselves at the end of it. She picked out what she wanted the day we started, I on the other hand have been holding off just in case I couldn't do it, I didn't want to be disappointed not getting something I wanted. I am open to suggestions if anyone has any great *yay for me* ideas!!
p.s Just for the record, on the 2ND or 3rd day, I actually slipped up and absentmindedly dipped a french fry in ketchup. I immediately felt guilty and quickly texted Stacey about it. She forgave me and didn't make me start again at day 1. Thank god.
Happy sugaring. Or not sugaring. whatever.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Since I wrote that little letter to Missy at 6months, SO MUCH has changed. In just a few short days, she cut first tooth (on March2), then cut her second tooth (March12) starting pulling herself around on the floor in an attempt to reach things, started saying dadadadadad, obviously not in corelation with her dad (but of course if it was momomomomom the she would know exactly who she was saying it to), she now rubs her eyes when she is tired and she squeels in delight at things she likes (such as mom, dad and Sophie). Someone once told me to never wish a moment away, but as new parents we are always put in that postition. We see slightly older babies doing things and we wish that our baby could do them. We say things like "I can't wait until she can do that" and "I wish she was eating everything too", but for me, I really don't mean that. I try my best not to say those things and even to feel those things. I know she will get there and it will be in her own time, when she's ready. When I do let those thoughts creep into my head, it feels like the next day she does what I wished she was doing. She won't be a baby forever and when the time comes that she isnt anymore, I will try not to wish back to these days either. Everyday I want to be happy where we are, what we are doing and how we are doing it. We try to write down what she does most days, just so we dont forget where she was and when. Sort of an attempt at a diary, without all the details. So yet again, we hang out, we drink coffee and we laugh. Oh, do we laugh. Some say small things amuse small minds, I say taking pleasure in all the small things makes me happy. And thats what matters.
Now for your viewing pleasure...

Maizeys Movie Debut

Maizey was totally ready for solids, she knew exactly what to do and hardly spit any out, but she has the funniest habit of after every bite of cereal (or whatever she's eating) she puts her thumb in her mouth and sucks it. Its hilarious. Maybe its going to be her thing, like its Roberts thing to touch the fork to his chin before every bite. We finally captured it on video. Enjoy!

Lost

Yesterday was a sad day.
Yesterday we were left friendless.
Yesterday we had to come up with our own ways to get through the day.
Yesterday I picked up the phone 10 times to call but then remembered there was no point.
Yesterday I passed a grey truck just like theirs but realized it couldn't possibly be her.
Yesterday I went for coffee with out my right hip.
Yesterday....
My Ang went back to work!!!!
We are lost!!

Half A Year

Dear Maizey,
Today is your half birthday. Well, actually, February only has 28 days this year, so it's ACTUALLY March 1, sorry. I would like to say all those cliche things like "wow the time has flown by" and "it feels like yesterday that you were born" but to be honest, I don't feel like that at all. Maybe the first few weeks flew by in craze that I can only imagine resembled Florida during hurricane season, but since then the time has gone perfectly by. Not crazy, I can't remember where I am, what I am doing, what my name is, why did I forget to put my pants on this morning kind of days, but more like lets sit and enjoy our coffee in our p.j's and take it all in and enjoy every single minute of it kind of days. We are similar in that way. You like to take it all in, you don't want to miss anything and you are perfectly content just being. Just living. So that my friend, is what we do. We don't care if the dishes don't get done, or the bathroom doesn't get cleaned, or we don't get to go to Mother Goose today, or that we don't get invited to go to the pool. Because we are fine just doing what we do, which lots of days, involves little more than drinking coffee and going for walks.

You are such a good baby, so great in fact, that it kind of makes us think that we maybeeeee won't be having another one. Why mess with perfection is what we say. But we have agreed to discuss it after your 1st birthday, so you never know, a little brother or sister just may be in the cards for you after all. But don't think that this means you are going to be spoiled because to be honest, that's not really your dad and I's "thing". I actually hate toys laying around, so sorry to tell you, but that's why your childhood is sheltered from all things fun that take up space in our house. You can play with the pots and pans, that's how lucky you are Missy!!

Some things you've accomplished in the last 6 months are: you started breastfeeding, which for you was a HUGE feat... poor little thing you were tongue tied (just one more way we are similar) and you couldn't quite do it. We had to take you to a clinic, have your tongue snipped and then taught out to do it. You learned like a champ though and never looked back. You didn't forget your old bottle sucking days though, even still you will take a bottle no problem. Which is great because this way we can leave you with Nana and Papa or Grannie and Grandpa and you're fine.
You have mastered the tummy time thing. In fact, I think its safe to say you even enjoy it now.
You have learned to roll from your tummy to your back and even do it when you are tired of being on your tummy, although sometimes you still hit your head when you do it - I'm sure you will figure that out!
You started laughing, like actually little belly laughs. Especially when we talk to you via toys with funny voices (as in "Maizeeeeyyyy, I am your father" ) (p.s that's a Starwars reference, if you don't get it, then we have not done our job as professional movie quoters. Fail.)
You sat up by yourself. At 5 months. Which I say is early and shows that clearly you are a freaking genius.
I swear to Lucifer (that's a SOLID friends quote FYI) that you say hi. It may not be clear, but its definitely in your little Maizey language the word HI. Again, freaking genius.
You ate cereal. Rice cereal. You loved it and actually couldn't get enough. We, of course, wanted to feed you until you wouldn't eat anymore, but our instincts told us that you would probably throw up, so we didn't! The next night though, we fed you substantially more (OK, maybe it wasn't WE so much as ME) and you were happy and said I love you mommy for giving me so much of this delicious cereal, now please un-do the button on my jeans because I am about to pop. So I did. Then I fed you your regular food, you know, your milk. Then I put you to bed. And guess what... you slept all bloody night!!!! That hasn't happened in months. Then you woke up at 6am to be fed, so I of course, fed you again but because it had been so long, there was um, a little more that normal, but you were a rockstar and you ate it all anyways. Then you went back to sleep for 2 and a half more hours. Then I went to get you up and guess what happened next... you did throw up. All over the place. See, the thing is, you don't throw up. Ever. You are not one of the spitting up babies (thank god, because that sh*t just grosses Mommy out) (no offense to peoples who's babies do throw up). I didn't know what to do. So I picked you up and stripped you down, and did like any respectable mother would do... I took you to Daddy. That's just the way it goes. Anyways, the point is, you started eating cereal (like 4 days ago) and you loved it. We can't wait to introduce you to everything else.
You are reaching all your milestones right on time even though you are so little. That is impressive, just so you know!

You love sitting in your bumbo in front of the mirror, playing with your Sophie Giraffe, listening to music and to me sing to you. You have started liking your little friends more, before you would cry when they got too loud and close to you, but you are doing better now! You love when Daddy is home and when one of us walks in the room and says "Well Hello Missy" you just beam at us when we do!

Anyways, I just wanted to tell you some of the goings on of our first 6 months together. We are going to continue to enjoy our days with you. You are so precious to us!

We love you Baby Girl,

Love Mommy
(and Daddy too, but he didn't help write this even a little bit, so he only gets a little bit of credit)

p.s We think that one day someone will say to a labouring mama, 'Your baby is lucky enough to be born on The Maizeys half birthday'. Much like some one said that about The Fonz. (Oh and that's another Friends quote)