Dreams

I am not one of those pregnant women who has all sorts of crazy, vivid dreams during pregnancy but when I do, they throw me for a loop. The few I have had are the most real dreams I have ever experienced. It's a pretty neat experience once you wrap your head around the fact that it was not real, but just a dream.

So I had my second real pregnancy dream last night and I decided to put it up on the blog before I forget. It is just so strange how real it was!

First thing to note is that we had a baby GIRL. This is my second dream where the baby has been a girl and both times, I wake up and am convinced I'm having a girl. I have to remind myself that two ultrasounds said it was a boy. :) So, we had our baby girl and we were out at my mom's place with all of my family and Matt's family just enjoying the new baby. She was so happy and beautiful and I actually could smell the new baby smell. SO REAL! So, we started playing this in depth game and after the instructions were given, I realized I had not nursed my baby yet. Yikes! She was at least a day old but she was so happy and content that I guess I just didn't think about. I run off from the game to go nurse her in the living room and my brother Greg and sister Emily are just watching me nurse which was weird. Finally I told them to back off so I could figure out this nursing things again in peace. The whole time I was nursing I was so concerned about not having enough colostrum because I waited so long to nurse. Ha! Silly mom brain. Then, it hits me. We have a baby girl and we didn't name her our girl name! So I yell out to Matt, "Matt! We named her the wrong name!" He then informs me that he named her Adler and all the paper work is done, so that's her name. I was so livid! And I told him so. I told him Adler was a terrible name and that he should have talked with me before naming our child and that we needed to fix it. So much emotion. Ha. Then, my mother-in-law came up to me and said, "I'm looking for diapers and all I can find are these big ones. She'll leak through them for sure." That's when I realized that we forgot to get diapers.

Can you tell that I subconsciously feel the need to get organized. The nesting phase, maybe. Anyways, I thought that dream was so random and funny that I wanted to share. Enjoy a laugh at my subconscious' sake. :)

Managing and mothering takes up time...

Well, I haven't been on the blog in a LONG time. Holy smokes! I've been planning posts to do but the actual act has been difficult as I'd rather nap while Oakley naps than write on the blog. Pregnancy problems. True story.

Life has been a whirlwind for us. I am down to four weeks remaining until my due date which is pretty exciting! Matt has been busy with work, climbing, lately shovelling, and working on a really awesome website that will hopefully be up and running in April. I'll post something about it when it's complete. Oakley has been busy busy busy. He is saying more words although still not that much of a talker. He'd rather be playing. His turkey noise is the absolute cutest. I love it! He graduated to a toddler bed after almost falling out of his crib in an escape attempt. Nursery started and he loves it there. He wants to run to the nursery as soon as Sacrament meeting is over. So fun. I've been managing townhouses for the last 4.5 months and it is a lot of work! I am so impressed with moms that do it for longer periods of time. Some days, I just want to throw in the towel. It's been good though. I'm learning lots and getting to interact with other adults. I have made 36 freezer meals for after this baby arrives and I have done all of the Christmas shopping except a few things for Oakley and Matt. Pretty good, I think. We are excited for this little one to join our family. It melts my heart when I ask Oakley where Mama's baby is and he points to my belly and then gives it cuddles. So sweet. Hopefully he's just as sweet to the real baby. :)

So, this really is just a quick update for those that are interested in our lives. I will try to get some posts up of our October adventures with pictures. I know you all love pictures. :) I hope all of you are having a splendid winter and that you stay warm, especially on a day like today.

P.S. Any suggestions for names for baby boy can be left in the comments. We're cutting it close this time. :)

Family Reunion 2013

Well, the time has come again to write about a fun family reunion. This last weekend, we were able to get together with all of my family except my State-side brother and his family (who were greatly missed). This was a pretty low key reunion as no one really took initiative to plan it so we just went and camped out at my mom's house. We had a whole ton of fun activities to do over the weekend and enjoyed being together. I sure do love these guys!

Wheelbarrow races!

All of the grandsons except one - look at that cute smile on Oakley's face. Love it.

We played an awesome game of Human Battleship

Oakley loved dunking the sponges

And throwing them over with Daddy's help

All the grandsons

Emily did an awesome obstacle course complete with twine maze thing

This kid is so good at slackline!

We had a pinata for Christie's birthday party and Oakley loved hitting the dinosaur

Mama and her boy

Action shot of the birthday girl breaking open the pinata. How often have YOU seen the birthday person break the pinata?? Pretty rare.

Sam the Dinosaur

Minute to win it games

It was so hot the chocolate chips melted onto Gabby's forehead! Ha

Westin even got in on the action

And here's the only belly shot from the whole weekend

We played Presidents, Spot it and lots of other games, we sang around the campfire, we had a spectacular firework display courtesy of Chris, ate lots of yummy treats and regular food, and just enjoyed each other's company.

Because I don't have enough pictures and maybe because I'm trying to make up for my lack of blogging, here are some videos too.

I hope you all had wonderful adventures this summer with those you love!

Blessings

Our family has been very very blessed in the last few weeks. We've had many changes and big milestones.

The first, is Matt's milestone. He graduated this spring and passed all of his courses - yes, even you, Computing Science! Ha! Along with that, he was able to quickly transition from finals to workplace in his field of study with only one week of down time. What a HUGE blessing this has been! One week ago today, our little family headed to the Jubilee to support Matt in his convocation. While there, one of the workers told me that Oakley and I could go to the main floor and use the glass room where we could hear and see everything but no one could hear us. Her timing was impeccable as the nap time fussing shortly followed our arrival in that brilliant room. Another blessing. :) I am so proud of Matt and the accomplishments he has made and will continue to make.

This is what Oakley and I did during grad

Lovin' the lights!

Our future

SO proud of you!

Our little family

The next big news in our life is a management position. Matt got a call on the 10th asking if we'd be interested in managing and to submit our resumés if we were. I emailed them off on Tuesday morning and by that afternoon, we had an appointment. We had to wait until the next Tuesday to find out if we got it but we did. This will be a crazy adventure with so many blessings involved. Windows, a basement for storage, control of our own heat, three bed rooms, lower rent...just to name a few. 

And the last blessing. This ^ photo was put up on Facebook last Saturday. Yes, this is an announcement that Oakley will have a little brother or sister to be best friends with in just a few months. This pregnancy has been quite similar to Oakley's thus far. I'm feeling great and I was thrilled to hear the baby's heartbeat on Monday morning. All is well and that is indeed relieving. 

I am grateful for blessings and for the opportunity I have to see God's hand in my life every day. He loves me. I know it, and that is tremendous blessing. 

Birthday Boy

This boy is One year old! Where did the time go? One year ago at this moment, I was holding my precious baby boy who had just entered the world a mere 20 minutes before. He is not that 6 lb 5 oz baby anymore. He is a little boy that toddles. He brings such joy and happiness into our home. I can't imagine life without my happy little Oakley.

Our day was pretty chill. The birthday shindig will be happening next month so today was just for us. Oakley got sung to a few times today. First was Rachel Wolff's kids, then a random stranger we saw at the Muttart, and then Mom and Dad. And he didn't cry during any of them! He cried the last time someone was sung to on their birthday so I expected it to happen again.

We headed out to the Muttart after a three hour nap (!!!!!) and it was so beautiful! I let Oakley get out of his stroller and walk around for awhile. He loved it! Oakley enjoyed looking (and touching) the plants. All that green does anybody good after too many months of winter! I was such a crazy mom! I told about 5 random people that it was his birthday while we were there! Ha. There was reason each time though. I'm not that crazy. By the end of it, Oakley was tired out and just wanted to be held so we headed off.

We weren't planning on doing any treats or anything on his actually birthday but I thought he
needed to blow out a candle and eat something sweet so I picked up a cream puff from the bakery. It was awesome! He made a great mess that would have been bigger had I not taken over to control the situation. :) There was a little bit of a sugar coma half way through and Oakley decided that was enough. He loved it though and then there was a bath which made his birthday that much better!

SO messy!

Oakley had a great day and now he's peacefully sleeping.

A few things I love about Oakley are:

• He loves to give kisses and cuddles to his mama!
• He adores his dad and gets so excited when he comes home
• He thinks baths are the sweetest thing ever!
• He can eat and eat and eat - almost anything too! The only things he doesn't like are strawberries and avocados
• He gets so excited whenever he sees other kids
• He's very social, like his mama
• The little tinge of red in his hair - it's evidence that my genes do exist in him a little bit
• His rocking on the vibrating chair he has (video to follow shortly)
• He cuddles anything soft - i.e. his teddy bears, his touch and feel books, blankets...
• He is very active and wants to explore (not always my favourite thing...)
• The tupperware drawer emptying is pretty dang cute even if I have something else to clean up :)
• He goes to bed really well! And I've been sleeping through the night for a few months now! Yea!
• He loves to go outside with us and makes the sweetest noises when we are out
• He talks lots and loves when we echo back
• He plays peekaboo with his blankets, the laundry or the shower curtain

I bet you can tell that this sweet little boy has me wrapped around his finger. I look forward to the many years we have to spend together as a family!

Gratitude

I find that I am a little more grateful on the Sabbath. Maybe it's because I spend the day being taught the things of God or maybe simply because my Heavenly Father gave us this day as a day of rest. From the lessons we had today at church, I feel the need to express my gratitude that I know that I am a daughter of God. I know He know me and loves me. I was grateful for the reminder today in Relief Society that,
"As man now is, God once was; as God is now, man may be."
I have divine potential! Heavenly Father is there waiting to instruct and mold me into the woman He knows I can become. I am grateful for the divinity of motherhood and the opportunity I have to be a mother. What a sweet little boy He has blessed me with. I am grateful for my husband who stands strong and heads our family. Today, I reflected on family; both the one I came from and the one I am now building. How grateful I am for eternal families. I know without a doubt that if I choose the right in this mortality, I will be able to be with all of my loved ones again. I look forward with eager anticipation to the day I will again get to see my dad. I missed him today. I am grateful for a mother who has endlessly supported me and counselled with me, especially now with my role as a mother. I am grateful for tender baby cuddles and sweet, slobbery kisses given freely.

Sometimes I feel that sentimentality makes my thoughts jumbled but there you have some of the few things for which I am grateful for today. What are you grateful for?

Words

We've been busy at our house. How about you? Oakley is going to be ONE in a month. Crazy! He's been learning all sorts of things but this is the most exciting right now. Take a peek into our home and our lives.

We are mastering animal sounds already! So many more words will be coming our way soon, I imagine.

Man, I love my Oakley!

Four

Some of you may remember that January 3rd four years ago was a bitterly cold day. There was snow on the ground, but none falling from the sky. It was the coldest day of the winter up to that point - a freezing -30, closer to -40 with the wind chill. That is the day I got married. Luckily for me and my handsome groom, we had our love to keep us warm, at least a little warmer than our bridal party. That day was one of the happiest days of my life. 

Four years later, Matt and I found ourselves out on the town with a real babysitter at home with Oakley (real means she was paid with money. Thanks again Janessa for watching Oakley!) so I introduced Matt to the succulent taste of Famoso. If you haven't been, for the love of all that is good, go! It is so scrumptious! Afterward, we explored the catwalks in the Strathcona Science Provincial Park. I'm looking forward to going in the spring when it's lush and green and maybe a tad warmer. :) After that, we had no plans. But we had a babysitter and were going to make the most of it! So, we invited ourselves over to my sister's house to play some games. It was a delightful evening celebrating our married life. 

Four years is quite a long time. I've been married for 48 months, 208 weeks, 1461 days or 35,063 hours. We have had our share of ups and downs but we are still together and continually growing in love. I am grateful that Matt held out those long four months I made him wait. I can't imagine my life without him in it. 

Happy Anniversary Matt!

Ringing in the New Year

We have been blessed with a wonderful ward. Since September, we have met many new people, attended fun activities and been spiritually fed at our church meetings. There was an activity planned to ring in the New Year as a ward. Tal and Kelly Pizzey graciously offered their house for our ward party and there were many activities available throughout the evening. There was a theatre that was dominated by guys playing video games, a pool table, treats, games, basketball court, trampoline, camp fire, puzzle and movie watching and lots of visiting. I was so delighted to spend the last of 2012 and the first of 2013 with the amazing people that attended. There were 3 babies there. Oakley was the oldest of them and all three of them stayed up until midnight and later. I was so impressed with them all but I would really like to know from Erin and Caitlin how long their babies struggled with schedules after that night. Ha ha! Oakley should not stay up until one o'clock ever again. That might be the last New Year's Eve party I ever go to with kids in a long time. Thank you to the Elders Quorum for planning the party! It was a wonderful time.

Oakley liked our noise maker

This was right after midnight and Oakley was scared by all the noise.

Facial hair is so comforting