Well as I have left myself with four days to update at once, I think I'll work backwards (and drink a beer while I'm at it). I have just sat down after a lovely beach day at camp Manzanita which is the wonderful cabin we are staying in with John and Rosemary.
We familiarized ourselves with the town of Manzanita this morning with a beach stroll down to the main street and discovered there is a lot more going on here than any of us thought there would be. Great restaurants, a pub, quite a few shops and great grocery shopping. We have all become taken with this beautiful place without much effort. It is quiet, but not too quiet, stunningly beautiful and we are staying just a short walk from the beach in a homey and comfortable cottage.
Violet spent most of the day on the beach and can't wait to get back there tomorrow. She loves everything about this leg of our trip, her grandparents are here (she had been counting the days since we left Victoria), she is 'bunking' with them in the bunkhouse (6 luxury bunks stacked 3 high with private facilities, sitting area and flat screen) and we are at the beach - what more could a girl want?!
Greta has also discovered the joys of the beach and only took a few seconds to start throwing sand around and working it into every orifice of her body while also trying very hard to ensure that her mother is completely covered in sand from head to toe.
While I think of it (and since there is no dedicated and detailed blog to the life of Greta as there was for Violet - again little darling, it's not because we don't love and adore you, its just because there aren't enough hours in the day) I was reminded by Greta today that she really has great communication skills. She started saying uh-oh today - adorable with a high pitched 'uh'. She is quite a mimic and loves to try out sounds whereas Violet liked to absorb the information and wouldn't try it out until she had it pretty much mastered. She also says mama, daddy, doggy and lots of other 'sort of' words that we think mean things, like Violet and Greta. GG has been good at communicating from a young age, she stares intently at the object she wants while she is screaming for it etc. She is also keen on signing. So far she signs 'all done', 'more', 'dog' and waves hello and good bye. Her cute sound of the moment is barking like a dog which is sort of a muffled 'hm, hm, hm' in a deep voice - well done little lassie... oh and Greta now has 6 teeth. Three of them came in the last week - ouch for both babe and mom. She was pretty unhappy and uncomfortable last week so I am hoping she is done with the worst of it for a while.
Back to the trip. Yesterday turned out to be a great day even though we had to pack up our mountain of stuff, (Jon) trek it down three flights of stairs and find a way to fit it all into the car and hang out in Portland with our carload of stuff until Greta was ready for a a nap so we could travel the two hours to the coast in relative peace. We were ready to go early so we took a walk, hit up the pearl bakery for some indulgent pastries and coffees as well as some yummy sammies for a picnic lunch and took Violet and Greta to a playground for an hour. Check out and a picnic at a wonderful playgournd in washington park completed, we headed out into the beautiful scenery or Oregon toward the coast. When our wee girl woke up we decided to stop for a small meal just before Manzanita (as we had been led to believe there wasn't much here) and ended up having a really enjoyable lunch at a cute little cafe in wheeler even though they were officially closed. We were treated so warmly and loved everything we ate there.
We were thrilled to see John and Rosemary at camp Manzanita and had a wonderful evening hanging out at the beach and settling into our new home for a week.
Our last two days in Portland were a lot of fun. We took a short road trip to Multanomah Falls which is the second highest falls in the US and a wonder also because the area around the falls is so totally developed into a tourist friendly spot and has been for many decades. We were all amazed at the power and beauty of the falls and decided that we should climb to the top. We almost made it but the trail started getting a little too treacherous for the Gleed parents to feel comfortable with so we turned around. Violet, who was very keen to get to the top, was disappointed and confused about the change of plans. Eventually she chalked it up to a dead path (dead end) and then questioned - "but who killed the path?".
We also had one last day in downtown Portland. A disappointing shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack (Seattle is much better), a long walk while the kids slept through the trendy pearl district and a picnic at Jamison Square water park where Violet delighted in the beach like puddle that recirculated with waterfalls from a stone wall every few minutes and Greta refused to dip her feet but was calmed by being carried by a wading parent watching the Portland kids not play with her big sister... :)
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Travel Log June 1, 2011
My mom's bday today. Hoping she gets to celebrate it properly this weekend! Happy birthday mom.
What a very full day today.We are still in portland for a few more days and as the weather was in the miss category this morning, we opted for an indoor activity and took Violet and Greta to the Portland Children's museum. Wow, wow, wow. Violet could have spent 5 hours there easily. I would LOVE to have something like this in Victoria. It is basically a preschooler's dream.
There were role play areas including a veterinary clinic. a grocery store, diner, theater, construction zone and many more. There was a great curious george exhibit, a water room, a clay sculpting room - you get the idea. It was exhausting but awesome. Even Greta had fun in the 3 and under room which was laid back but full of interesting textures, colours and motion and in the many other baby friendly exhibits. To top it all off, the lunch we had was tasty, nutritious and affordable.
After a much needed but brief break at our condo, we headed out on foot once again exploring downtown. The rain finally broke so we stopped for some ice cream and decided to take the girls on one of the side by side tandem bikes with seats for the little ones. Violet (and Jon) have been dying to try one for several days now but the weather has not cooperated with us. We thought we were in with a chance today but about 5 minutes into the ride, the kids (who were not under a canvas awning like us) were getting soaked by a passing rain storm. Luckily there are about a dozen bridges along the Willimet River and we high-tailed it to the nearest one for cover. In the end, we managed only about 40 minutes of riding, including our 5 or so minutes under the bridge. We couldn't get very far due to river flooding obstructing our waterfront route and Greta decided it was a bit too weird to be riding in front of her parents. She ended up strapped (very clumsily) into the seat beside us so we just had to pack it in. Ah well, we tried it and got a little work out at the same time.
It would probably have been wise then to take the girls back to the condo for a nap but we didn't. Sometimes those decisions work for you and sometime against. Today, happily, we had a great time staying out instead. We packed Violet into the stroller for a 'snooze' as she calls it, Greta into the carrier for a snooze of her own and we walked north to a part of town we hadn't seen before. It didn't rain, we had a conversation and we ended up at a recommended italian restaurant, Serrato, which is fine dining but accommodates kids nicely. The food (and wine) was fabulous and we had a quiet and happy meal.
Today was special because there were no major meltdowns. That always makes for a good day. But we also got to see Violet enjoying herself to an extent I don't think I have seen for some time. She loved being at that museum so much and she had a wonderful time but what struck us was how seriously she took everything she did there. Her concentration was incredible and she was exhausted and happy at the end of our visit. It was also wonderful (if not a little sad) to see our little baby getting in there too. She played with the best of them at the museum, even getting her first smack on the head from another baby. We (that would be the vacationing adults) also find ourselves content, if exhausted at the end of this day. Time for another glass of wine.
What a very full day today.We are still in portland for a few more days and as the weather was in the miss category this morning, we opted for an indoor activity and took Violet and Greta to the Portland Children's museum. Wow, wow, wow. Violet could have spent 5 hours there easily. I would LOVE to have something like this in Victoria. It is basically a preschooler's dream.
There were role play areas including a veterinary clinic. a grocery store, diner, theater, construction zone and many more. There was a great curious george exhibit, a water room, a clay sculpting room - you get the idea. It was exhausting but awesome. Even Greta had fun in the 3 and under room which was laid back but full of interesting textures, colours and motion and in the many other baby friendly exhibits. To top it all off, the lunch we had was tasty, nutritious and affordable.
After a much needed but brief break at our condo, we headed out on foot once again exploring downtown. The rain finally broke so we stopped for some ice cream and decided to take the girls on one of the side by side tandem bikes with seats for the little ones. Violet (and Jon) have been dying to try one for several days now but the weather has not cooperated with us. We thought we were in with a chance today but about 5 minutes into the ride, the kids (who were not under a canvas awning like us) were getting soaked by a passing rain storm. Luckily there are about a dozen bridges along the Willimet River and we high-tailed it to the nearest one for cover. In the end, we managed only about 40 minutes of riding, including our 5 or so minutes under the bridge. We couldn't get very far due to river flooding obstructing our waterfront route and Greta decided it was a bit too weird to be riding in front of her parents. She ended up strapped (very clumsily) into the seat beside us so we just had to pack it in. Ah well, we tried it and got a little work out at the same time.
It would probably have been wise then to take the girls back to the condo for a nap but we didn't. Sometimes those decisions work for you and sometime against. Today, happily, we had a great time staying out instead. We packed Violet into the stroller for a 'snooze' as she calls it, Greta into the carrier for a snooze of her own and we walked north to a part of town we hadn't seen before. It didn't rain, we had a conversation and we ended up at a recommended italian restaurant, Serrato, which is fine dining but accommodates kids nicely. The food (and wine) was fabulous and we had a quiet and happy meal.
Today was special because there were no major meltdowns. That always makes for a good day. But we also got to see Violet enjoying herself to an extent I don't think I have seen for some time. She loved being at that museum so much and she had a wonderful time but what struck us was how seriously she took everything she did there. Her concentration was incredible and she was exhausted and happy at the end of our visit. It was also wonderful (if not a little sad) to see our little baby getting in there too. She played with the best of them at the museum, even getting her first smack on the head from another baby. We (that would be the vacationing adults) also find ourselves content, if exhausted at the end of this day. Time for another glass of wine.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Travel Log May 31, 2011
Has it already been three days in Portland? It's going by much too quickly and we feel like we still have so much to see.
We are staying in a lovely condo on the River. It has two bedrooms so we are very comfortable and we would be getting decent rest here, but our baby girl has been out of sorts due to some major teething and from bring out of her comfort zone (we think anyway). We are pretty worn out from her broken nights of sleep and the enormous amount of energy it takes to keep her happy during the day. She and I will have to forgo an afternoon of sightseeing tomorrow and have a snuggly nap together instead.
Portland is very cool. We are finally getting our bearings and confirmed what we MUST see. There are still a lot of things on our list.
We spent sunday wandering around the centre of the city. We took in the portland saturday market - ate some very indulgent crepes and breakfast burritos and bought some very portlandia skirts for Violet and I. We decided to take in the oregon zoo in the afternoon. It was just ok. There were a lot of cool exotic animals and it was well organized but it just didn't have a wow factor somehow. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation. Greta slept through most of it though she was pretty impressed with the giraffes when she woke up - so was her big sister. Violet said that was the highlight though she was also very excited about the sickeningly pink elephant with the velcro hands that hug her neck and the grape flavoured cotton candy.
Speaking of cotton candy, Violet has enjoyed many many treats on this trip so far. I think she particularly liked the lunch of smarties on our first day (yes, almost an entire king size box eaten while Greta was recovering from car sickness, sigh, we should pay better attention) and the cherry flavoured jolley rancher slushie at the rose fair. This is a multi week fair that happens in portland each year including several parades and a rose princess. Unfortunately that part comes about a week after we leave. We did take in the memorial day festivities complete with all the expected and unexpected Americana including a parade, cannons, tanks and a flyover. We spent most of our energy (and money) in the fair grounds on rides and games. Violet and Jon rode the ferris wheel and I think they were both pretty excited. Crappy stuffed animals were won so Violet was a very happy girl.
As planned, we are walking a lot in portland. Yesterday we enjoyed about an hour and a half of quiet (ahh) while Violet snuggled into Greta's stroller for a nap and Greta napped happily in the carrier. We certainly weren't rejuvenated from walking our sleeping kids around for 90 minutes but we were relaxed and happy to have time to take in the sights and talk without interruption.
The weather has been hit and miss. As it was raining this morning we decided to do some shopping early in the day. Off to Target we went as we needed a few things we knew we would find there and by all reports, this is a MUST visit store in the US. We weren't really impressed. There were some deals to be had but you had to wade through a lot of crap to find them. We didn't stop there, we big boxed it over to Olive Garden and to Safeway as well.
This afternoon we were back on our feet and checking out the public transport of portland. Violet LOVED the street cars, the MAX light rail and the cable car to Oregon Health and Science University. On our way home we hung out in pioneer courthouse square to let the girls blow off some steam. Greta tried her luck at chasing pigeons and climbing the red brick stairs. Then on to FINALLY try some portland street food. A Taste of India was incredible as was the mexican shrimp platter we got for the girls. We had much more food than we could eat for $18. Oh yes, we will be back. Especially since Greta has lost her mind in the last 2 restaurants we visited - oh yes, we are THAT family.
We are staying in a lovely condo on the River. It has two bedrooms so we are very comfortable and we would be getting decent rest here, but our baby girl has been out of sorts due to some major teething and from bring out of her comfort zone (we think anyway). We are pretty worn out from her broken nights of sleep and the enormous amount of energy it takes to keep her happy during the day. She and I will have to forgo an afternoon of sightseeing tomorrow and have a snuggly nap together instead.
Portland is very cool. We are finally getting our bearings and confirmed what we MUST see. There are still a lot of things on our list.
We spent sunday wandering around the centre of the city. We took in the portland saturday market - ate some very indulgent crepes and breakfast burritos and bought some very portlandia skirts for Violet and I. We decided to take in the oregon zoo in the afternoon. It was just ok. There were a lot of cool exotic animals and it was well organized but it just didn't have a wow factor somehow. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation. Greta slept through most of it though she was pretty impressed with the giraffes when she woke up - so was her big sister. Violet said that was the highlight though she was also very excited about the sickeningly pink elephant with the velcro hands that hug her neck and the grape flavoured cotton candy.
Speaking of cotton candy, Violet has enjoyed many many treats on this trip so far. I think she particularly liked the lunch of smarties on our first day (yes, almost an entire king size box eaten while Greta was recovering from car sickness, sigh, we should pay better attention) and the cherry flavoured jolley rancher slushie at the rose fair. This is a multi week fair that happens in portland each year including several parades and a rose princess. Unfortunately that part comes about a week after we leave. We did take in the memorial day festivities complete with all the expected and unexpected Americana including a parade, cannons, tanks and a flyover. We spent most of our energy (and money) in the fair grounds on rides and games. Violet and Jon rode the ferris wheel and I think they were both pretty excited. Crappy stuffed animals were won so Violet was a very happy girl.
As planned, we are walking a lot in portland. Yesterday we enjoyed about an hour and a half of quiet (ahh) while Violet snuggled into Greta's stroller for a nap and Greta napped happily in the carrier. We certainly weren't rejuvenated from walking our sleeping kids around for 90 minutes but we were relaxed and happy to have time to take in the sights and talk without interruption.
The weather has been hit and miss. As it was raining this morning we decided to do some shopping early in the day. Off to Target we went as we needed a few things we knew we would find there and by all reports, this is a MUST visit store in the US. We weren't really impressed. There were some deals to be had but you had to wade through a lot of crap to find them. We didn't stop there, we big boxed it over to Olive Garden and to Safeway as well.
This afternoon we were back on our feet and checking out the public transport of portland. Violet LOVED the street cars, the MAX light rail and the cable car to Oregon Health and Science University. On our way home we hung out in pioneer courthouse square to let the girls blow off some steam. Greta tried her luck at chasing pigeons and climbing the red brick stairs. Then on to FINALLY try some portland street food. A Taste of India was incredible as was the mexican shrimp platter we got for the girls. We had much more food than we could eat for $18. Oh yes, we will be back. Especially since Greta has lost her mind in the last 2 restaurants we visited - oh yes, we are THAT family.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Travel Log May 28, 2011
Today was relatively uneventful. We had about 5 hours of driving to do which really sucked for the girls. Luckily Violet has her video player and Greta slept quite a bit. Greta is calmed by my reaching back and holding her hand and singing the wheels on the bus. Jon isn't sure if the crying baby or my singing that particular song is worse.
We did see some beautiful scenery is southern washington and northern oregon. It was quite remarkable how quickly things changed when you crossed the state border. Very rural and blue collar in washington and then its suddenly very developed in oregon - that part of it anyway. We stopped in Aberdeen after a long stretch of driving and were struck by just how quiet the town was. We found a much needed bathroom at the mall and it was almost completely deserted, very strange thing.
We are really liking the recommendations from our lonely planet book. We stopped in Seaside to experience tacky tourist fare in a beautiful beach setting. We had a wonderful lunch at a cafe away from 'the prom' then dove into the stretch of candy shops, arcades and gift shops head first. We all enjoyed the break from the car and spent some time on the beach (which had swings!).
One final 1.5 hr drive from there and we were in portland. We arrived pretty late so we have yet to start discovering this city but from everything we have read it is going to be a lot of fun. Tomorrow the saturday (and sunday) market and a big walk around the city, hunting for good food and playgrounds.
We did see some beautiful scenery is southern washington and northern oregon. It was quite remarkable how quickly things changed when you crossed the state border. Very rural and blue collar in washington and then its suddenly very developed in oregon - that part of it anyway. We stopped in Aberdeen after a long stretch of driving and were struck by just how quiet the town was. We found a much needed bathroom at the mall and it was almost completely deserted, very strange thing.
We are really liking the recommendations from our lonely planet book. We stopped in Seaside to experience tacky tourist fare in a beautiful beach setting. We had a wonderful lunch at a cafe away from 'the prom' then dove into the stretch of candy shops, arcades and gift shops head first. We all enjoyed the break from the car and spent some time on the beach (which had swings!).
One final 1.5 hr drive from there and we were in portland. We arrived pretty late so we have yet to start discovering this city but from everything we have read it is going to be a lot of fun. Tomorrow the saturday (and sunday) market and a big walk around the city, hunting for good food and playgrounds.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Travel Log May 27, 2011
Well seeing as we can't seem to keep up with this blog, I thought I might as well use the tool to jot down some memories from our first vacation as a family of 4. I wasn't planning to to keep a travel log but so much happened today that I didn't want to forget so here we are. Let's see how committed I am by the end of the trip...
Today is my Dad's birthday. It's the third one since he passed away and its always a sad day. It was nice to have the distraction of our trip to Washington and Oregon to distract me. Since I'm on the topic of my dad, I also don't want to forget (in a way) how upset Violet was a couple of days ago. We were talking about how Missy used to beg at the table. Violet got so upset when she remembered that Nanny's dog had died and then she got really upset about missing her grampy. It's a strange thing, she was 2 when he died so she doesn't actually remember him but I think she knows so much about him that she understands that she is missing out by not having him in her life. She sobbed in a way I have never seen before, it was tragic and beautiful all at the same time.
But I digress, on to a lighter subject - travelling with two children.
Firstly, how is it possible to take SO DAMN LONG to pack for 4 people?! In the end it feels like we just have a bunch of random crap in some bags, what the hell were we trying to be so organized about. This thought occurred to me as I was shedding my puke covered clothes (after only 3 hours, a car ride, trip to the grocery store and lunch at The In Place in Forks Washington) and remembered that I only packed one pair of jeans because I am so super mommy efficient at packing now... Let's hope I realize just how much all the effort is worth later in the trip 'cause you and I both know that there is no likely scenario where Jon and I would NOT trying to be organized and strategic about our packing :) Sad, I know...
Secondly, now I have two crazy lunatics to travel with. That would be Jon and Violet. Jon has always been like a little kid when he travels. He is so excited, he can hardly sleep the night before (not such a problem these days with the sleep deprivation at the Gleed household) and he gets anxious and excited about every little detail to the point where you want to smack him over the head to make it stop. (he is going to effing kill me for writing that down :) but eventually he calms down and just focuses on squeezing every single morsel of enjoyment out of our vacations which is part of what always makes them so special. Now Violet has joined the madness and has shown us that she has a 'travel version' of herself. It never seems to stop moving, talking, asking questions or solidifying in her mind the events before her including what is she going to get and will there be treats. I have to say travelling with two people who love to experience new things so much is truly joyful. I sometimes share their enthusiasm and I sometimes such watch in wonder.
Greta is her own force to be reckoned with. At nine months, I'm not sure travel is her thing. She is trying very hard though. The highs of her day today included, unlimited people watching/flirting, lots of time with her big sister, slurping up an entire package of fruit puree and crawling all over a new floor in our cabinny kind of thing we are staying in. Her lows would be driving in the car (tomorrow being our longest driving day should be so so excellent), her sister being very annoyed at her dislike of being in the car, throwing up the pureed fruit as well as a nice big feed of breastmilk and falling face first off the couch in our cabinny kind of place.
As we took a ferry, crossed a border and settled into a place to stay today, a lot of the day was waiting and filling time, picking up stuff and eating but there were two moments that truly stand out. The first was after we quickly pulled off the road on the incredible national park drive in northern washington to clean and nurture our puking baby. Standing there with her naked and snuggled into my sweater, not knowing if she was truly sick or just had an upset tummy and really not knowing if there was a chance of ever getting her back in her carseat, I thought "so this is why people said we were brave for taking the kids on a road trip. perhaps we were not thinking clearly and we should just pack this shit up and go home"
The second was late in the day. The glorious sun had broken through an incredible rainstorm in one of the rainiest parts of North America. We were at the beach, soaking up the sun (no hats or sunscreen - how 1970s of us - but seriously, we weren't to know there would be sun with the weather we had when we left the car) with our shoes and socks off just enjoying a new place together. Violet was creating castles in the sand, Greta was eating it and Jon and I were just marveling at the ups and downs in the day we had just spent as a family.
Time for wine and some research on our next adventure...
Today is my Dad's birthday. It's the third one since he passed away and its always a sad day. It was nice to have the distraction of our trip to Washington and Oregon to distract me. Since I'm on the topic of my dad, I also don't want to forget (in a way) how upset Violet was a couple of days ago. We were talking about how Missy used to beg at the table. Violet got so upset when she remembered that Nanny's dog had died and then she got really upset about missing her grampy. It's a strange thing, she was 2 when he died so she doesn't actually remember him but I think she knows so much about him that she understands that she is missing out by not having him in her life. She sobbed in a way I have never seen before, it was tragic and beautiful all at the same time.
But I digress, on to a lighter subject - travelling with two children.
Firstly, how is it possible to take SO DAMN LONG to pack for 4 people?! In the end it feels like we just have a bunch of random crap in some bags, what the hell were we trying to be so organized about. This thought occurred to me as I was shedding my puke covered clothes (after only 3 hours, a car ride, trip to the grocery store and lunch at The In Place in Forks Washington) and remembered that I only packed one pair of jeans because I am so super mommy efficient at packing now... Let's hope I realize just how much all the effort is worth later in the trip 'cause you and I both know that there is no likely scenario where Jon and I would NOT trying to be organized and strategic about our packing :) Sad, I know...
Secondly, now I have two crazy lunatics to travel with. That would be Jon and Violet. Jon has always been like a little kid when he travels. He is so excited, he can hardly sleep the night before (not such a problem these days with the sleep deprivation at the Gleed household) and he gets anxious and excited about every little detail to the point where you want to smack him over the head to make it stop. (he is going to effing kill me for writing that down :) but eventually he calms down and just focuses on squeezing every single morsel of enjoyment out of our vacations which is part of what always makes them so special. Now Violet has joined the madness and has shown us that she has a 'travel version' of herself. It never seems to stop moving, talking, asking questions or solidifying in her mind the events before her including what is she going to get and will there be treats. I have to say travelling with two people who love to experience new things so much is truly joyful. I sometimes share their enthusiasm and I sometimes such watch in wonder.
Greta is her own force to be reckoned with. At nine months, I'm not sure travel is her thing. She is trying very hard though. The highs of her day today included, unlimited people watching/flirting, lots of time with her big sister, slurping up an entire package of fruit puree and crawling all over a new floor in our cabinny kind of thing we are staying in. Her lows would be driving in the car (tomorrow being our longest driving day should be so so excellent), her sister being very annoyed at her dislike of being in the car, throwing up the pureed fruit as well as a nice big feed of breastmilk and falling face first off the couch in our cabinny kind of place.
As we took a ferry, crossed a border and settled into a place to stay today, a lot of the day was waiting and filling time, picking up stuff and eating but there were two moments that truly stand out. The first was after we quickly pulled off the road on the incredible national park drive in northern washington to clean and nurture our puking baby. Standing there with her naked and snuggled into my sweater, not knowing if she was truly sick or just had an upset tummy and really not knowing if there was a chance of ever getting her back in her carseat, I thought "so this is why people said we were brave for taking the kids on a road trip. perhaps we were not thinking clearly and we should just pack this shit up and go home"
The second was late in the day. The glorious sun had broken through an incredible rainstorm in one of the rainiest parts of North America. We were at the beach, soaking up the sun (no hats or sunscreen - how 1970s of us - but seriously, we weren't to know there would be sun with the weather we had when we left the car) with our shoes and socks off just enjoying a new place together. Violet was creating castles in the sand, Greta was eating it and Jon and I were just marveling at the ups and downs in the day we had just spent as a family.
Time for wine and some research on our next adventure...
January Update (in May looks like it never got posted, I blame sleep deprivation...)
How is it possible that time is going this fast? Next week it will be 6 months since I started maternity leave. Our baby girl is now 5 months old and our big girl has turned 4 years old.
Life has been a lot more sleepless since November when I last posted an update. Greta suffered her third and worst cold which made her really congested, meaning she nursed all night to clear her nose. This unfortunately became a bad habit after a week or so of congestion and we have still not really recovered the 'good' nights of her first 3 months. These bad sleep habits ran into her turning 4 months, and gaining many new skills which always seems to disrupt sleep as well. Happily, things are looking up and most nights these days aren't quiet the non-stop feeding frenzy of the past 2 months. I no longer get to sleep in as GG has become an early riser but we are getting close to having her on a schedule so at least I know what to expect most days. I'm sure she will change everything as soon as we have that sorted out! :)
January pics...
Dec pics...
November pics...
Greta can laugh but she is very stingy with laughter. She only laughs at things one time, then she needs whatever it was she laughed at the be kicked up a notch in order to find it funny. Violet, of course, has the most success in getting a laugh from our baby. We usually have to be satisfied with her huge smile which will soon sport some teeth as her first one broke through yesterday, Jan 29th.
We have had a couple of great visits. Grandma and Grandpa were here in late November and Aunt Rachel visited in January for Violet's birthday. The girls loved having their family here and of course they were totally spoiled on both visits.
The holidays, which now seem incredibly long past, were wonderful. We made no major plans, other than to feast, open presents and relax (as much as possible). Christmas morning involved a marathon of present opening which Violet loved so much. This was the first christmas that she was actually vibrating with excitement.
Violet's birthday also seemed to be a massive undertaking but anything other than every day life is these days. We celebrated with a few friends and neighbours as well as Aunt Rachel with cupcakes on the actual day which was a tuesday. It is a wonderful thing to have a life to celebrate on the same date that you lost someone special. Two years has passed so quickly. On the weekend, we hosted a humdinger of a soiree at a local rec centre - enormous pirate ship bouncy castle, amazing face painting, balloon animals and kindergym toys for about 20 of Violet's pals. What wonderful chaos! Not sure we will have quite as large a party next year. It was great to have Rachel's help and to have her here to take on the decorating of the annual homemade birthday cake. I think she and Jon had fun making it a rainbow of colours. Every year we ask why are we doing this but homemade cake is so appreciated (by the parents anyway...) that it makes it seem worth it in the end.
Instead of a regular party we did our first twoonie party, asking people to bring 2 $2 coins instead of a present. Half the coins are for Violet to buy herself and gift and the other half goes to charity. As Violet still dosn't really get charity, we are trying to make it as real as possible so she understands the importance. We haven't got the details sorted out yet but we are hoping she can make a donation in person, perhaps to the spca or the children's hospital. We loved opening all the mostly homemade cards and she never got tired of the twoonies as the gift - we will definitely do that again :)
Part of the reason for the large party is that Violet invited all of her preschool class. She loves preschool and is really excited about learning to read and write. Over the next 2 weeks, we have to make valentines for each of 14 kids in her class so it will be a challenge to write all those names an her own. I hope she doesn't get frustrated with the whole thing. She is also really enjoying her ballet classes, each week between the sessions seems to pass too slowly for her.
Life has been a lot more sleepless since November when I last posted an update. Greta suffered her third and worst cold which made her really congested, meaning she nursed all night to clear her nose. This unfortunately became a bad habit after a week or so of congestion and we have still not really recovered the 'good' nights of her first 3 months. These bad sleep habits ran into her turning 4 months, and gaining many new skills which always seems to disrupt sleep as well. Happily, things are looking up and most nights these days aren't quiet the non-stop feeding frenzy of the past 2 months. I no longer get to sleep in as GG has become an early riser but we are getting close to having her on a schedule so at least I know what to expect most days. I'm sure she will change everything as soon as we have that sorted out! :)
Some of GG's (Gretsy and Greta bobo are also often used nicknames for our little gal) new skills include rolling from her back to front (just after Christmas), rolling repeatedly to get to a toy/object or just because she can (when she turned 5 months), sitting up - we aren't there yet but she has been pretty steady for about a month and is getting those core muscles organized more each day-, eating solids (we started cereal at 4 months and recently added squash, carrots and bananas) and of course just getting better at reaching, putting things in her mouth and becoming more interactive and aware of her surroundings.
Greta's favourite things are food (seriously, we feel terrible eating in front of her because she looks so interested in EVERYTHING we eat. we started giving her baby mum mums so she would have something to chew on while we eat :), the jolly jumper, playing with her family and of course VIOLET. Yesterday Greta made us all laugh when she started shrieking when Violet left the room and smiled happily as soon as she returned, we repeated this about 5 times until Greta started to figure out we were messing with her.
January pics...
Dec pics...
November pics...
Greta can laugh but she is very stingy with laughter. She only laughs at things one time, then she needs whatever it was she laughed at the be kicked up a notch in order to find it funny. Violet, of course, has the most success in getting a laugh from our baby. We usually have to be satisfied with her huge smile which will soon sport some teeth as her first one broke through yesterday, Jan 29th.
We have had a couple of great visits. Grandma and Grandpa were here in late November and Aunt Rachel visited in January for Violet's birthday. The girls loved having their family here and of course they were totally spoiled on both visits.
The holidays, which now seem incredibly long past, were wonderful. We made no major plans, other than to feast, open presents and relax (as much as possible). Christmas morning involved a marathon of present opening which Violet loved so much. This was the first christmas that she was actually vibrating with excitement.
Violet's birthday also seemed to be a massive undertaking but anything other than every day life is these days. We celebrated with a few friends and neighbours as well as Aunt Rachel with cupcakes on the actual day which was a tuesday. It is a wonderful thing to have a life to celebrate on the same date that you lost someone special. Two years has passed so quickly. On the weekend, we hosted a humdinger of a soiree at a local rec centre - enormous pirate ship bouncy castle, amazing face painting, balloon animals and kindergym toys for about 20 of Violet's pals. What wonderful chaos! Not sure we will have quite as large a party next year. It was great to have Rachel's help and to have her here to take on the decorating of the annual homemade birthday cake. I think she and Jon had fun making it a rainbow of colours. Every year we ask why are we doing this but homemade cake is so appreciated (by the parents anyway...) that it makes it seem worth it in the end.
Instead of a regular party we did our first twoonie party, asking people to bring 2 $2 coins instead of a present. Half the coins are for Violet to buy herself and gift and the other half goes to charity. As Violet still dosn't really get charity, we are trying to make it as real as possible so she understands the importance. We haven't got the details sorted out yet but we are hoping she can make a donation in person, perhaps to the spca or the children's hospital. We loved opening all the mostly homemade cards and she never got tired of the twoonies as the gift - we will definitely do that again :)
Part of the reason for the large party is that Violet invited all of her preschool class. She loves preschool and is really excited about learning to read and write. Over the next 2 weeks, we have to make valentines for each of 14 kids in her class so it will be a challenge to write all those names an her own. I hope she doesn't get frustrated with the whole thing. She is also really enjoying her ballet classes, each week between the sessions seems to pass too slowly for her.
And now its almost february. Spring is almost here in Victoria, the buds are on the trees and the first flowers are popping up through the soil. Time to spend a little more time outside again and we can't wait!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, November 22, 2010
Some Violetisms we can't forget
When trying to get involved in an adult conversation... "Hey guys, do you want to go for some hot make-up soup?"
I show her a picture of an ambulance and ask her what it is. She says: "Um, a Band-Aid Truck."
I show her a picture of an ambulance and ask her what it is. She says: "Um, a Band-Aid Truck."
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Happy Days
I wonder each morning what is going through little Greta's mind as she wakes up to the 3 faces of her immediate family smiling and cooing at her, waiting for (and expecting) her first smile of the day. Greta is usually the last of us to wake up (keep it up lovely girl) so when she rouses in her quiet and happy way, we want the good stuff, a big open mouthed smile from Greta and some cooing soon after if you please. Even on fast paced mornings, this seems to be a small moment in time that our household takes to marvel at our new arrival and compete for her attention for it feels so incredibly good to be on its receiving end.
Violet is still unfailingly happy to be a big sister and couldn't be happier to share her parents with baby Greta. She does feel a bit jipped of mom's attention from time to time but she is just so grown up and understanding for her age (in many ways but in others she is still very three - we have had some whopper tantrums lately). Preschool is great for her, she loves the routine and the social interaction. Violet LOVES the art table which has a different activity each day and baking once a month. The art table only has 6 seats though and there are 14 kids so if she doesn't get there quickly (which means taking off her shoes and coat and getting into her indoor shoes) she is out of luck and has to play something else for a while until its her turn. There have been many tearful mornings when she thought she was going to miss out but she is now the fastest shoe taker offer and putter onner in the class - she just has to yell across to me to ask "is this the right foot or the wrong foot mommy?"
Greta is growing and changing so quickly it is just astounding. The human body is an incredible thing. At 10 weeks, Greta was just under 13 pounds and 24.5 inches, four inches longer than she was a birth. She is just the cutest little chubster, she is managing to store fat on her little body in ever nook and cranny and we love it! She is so strong and eager to get moving. She started rolling from her belly to her back at 7 weeks and is very close to rolling from her back to front.
We had a great visit with Nanny who was here for about 10 days in October. She (thank you mom!) took the morning shift with Violet who woke her up instead of us which was so very helpful. V is now trained not to get out of bed no earlier than 7:00 (thanks again mom) which makes the morning after a bad night so much more bearable. Violet's little battery operated clock is always in her bed with her now. We had awesome warm weather for mom's visit which made it possible to include some beaching and playground time which Violet really enjoyed.
We have also taken the girls on a couple of little trips to Vancouver and Saturna Island. Both were fun getaways which means they were a change of scenery and a 'little adventure' which we are happy to accomplish at this stage in the game.
Getting things done around here is pretty hard these days with the 2 girls but life is blissful. Greta is currently asleep in her car seat and Violet is in quiet time so I had just enough time to catch up on capturing some memories here :) Best get on to the Christmas list, at the rate I accomplish things these days time is already running short!
Check our fall and winter photo album for updates.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Month 1
We are having so much fun with these girls. Greta started smiling just before she turned one month. We weren't sure it was really smiling at first but she quickly convinced us by smiling more often and when she was being smiled at. She is also trying to mimic other facial expressions. It makes our hearts sing when she smiles, it is so perfect and innocent. She currently only smiles at the faces in our household, other faces are for studying at this point.
Violet has only become more enamored with Greta as time has gone on. She hugs and kisses her constantly and talks to her all the time. Mom and Dad are no longer the focus of her attention when she first wakes up, its all about baby sister.
Greta and Violet are also good at sharing. They are currently sharing their first cold. Violet brought it home from preschool last week and quickly gave her sister a dose. So far, neither are suffering too badly, they have runny noses and coughs that I hope will be gone soon. Greta is not sleeping so well with the congestion. I was a little panicked at first when I realized (in the middle of the night) that our 4 week old was getting a cold but so far she is showing that she is tough and game for getting her immune system kick started early.
Violet is really becoming a creative gal which she is really showing in her independent playtime/quiet time that she has instead of a nap. She usually chooses to do a craft or colour or to have tea parties and conversations with her animals during that time. The other day she appeared from quiet time with 2 small paper bags that she has turned into puppets. Her drawings were adorable, one was a nice monster and one was mean. She also created a leaf collection in an old journal by collecting a big pile of leaves and gluing them into the book - oh boy what a mess! She was so pleased with herself and so proud of her creation, it was worth the clean up. She also loves to make up oh so silly songs which she sings constantly. Its mostly hilarious but it is a challenge to get her to stop singing long enough to eat meals with us and have a conversation.
Her most recent creation that kind of blew us away was a book. She took a notebook and drew about 30 pictures, mostly people who I would say resemble the little miss and mister characters from the books that Violet adores. On some pages she drew letters or symbols to represent letters. When she finished quiet time she presented the book to me and proceeded to walk me through the story page by page. This piece of artwork is a keeper!
Greta has had her on month check up and it turns out that she is quite accomplished in gaining weight. She is now 10.5 pounds - 2 pounds heavier than her birth weight - and is gaining an average of 2 ounces per day. The human body is an amazing thing. She is obviously a good eater. She is not just getting round but long and has outgrown the length of her first set of clothes already.
More pics and videos have been added to our fall/winter 2010 album.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Hi I'm Greta
Well, its been 3 weeks since I made my escape from the cramped conditions of mom's womb (even though I did make a fair amount of space for myself in there!).
Things on the outside are pretty cool but there is so much to take in! Apparently I have a mom, dad, big sister, dog and a whole lot of other people in my life. The mom seems to be the one I see the most. She feeds me the milk and gets up with me all night. She seems pretty relaxed about the sleep thing though, she keeps telling dad that she is tired but 'functioning tired' because apparently I am a pretty good sleeper. I was having sleep stretches of 7 hours or so but now 4 is the max. Mom still isn't complaining because I just eat and go back to sleep, generally, and I seemed to come out of mom knowing my days and nights which apparently is extrememly helpful. I like to be helpful.
I am over 9 pounds already and going through my first growth spurt. I love to eat but these days I love to eat more than usual, thankfully I am starting to figure out this whole nursing thing so I don't have to work so hard at it (and scream my little head off) and mom doesn't cringe every time I latch on for some food. I am also getting very long and have long feet and hands with toes and fingers to match!
They say I'm easy going, so far anyway. I like to be held a lot but I'm also cool with hanging out in my crib to watch the lights on my turtle and play with a black and white toy. Mom is actually getting showers and eating (though quickly) without too much trouble.
Everyone keeps saying they don't know who I look like. Not as easy to figure out as my big sister apparently. Speaking of her, she is great. I do get a little smothered in kisses and hugs which I enjoy and only sometimes find a little too much. She makes sure my music and lights are turned on to entertain me in my crib and she stands on her step stool next to me when I'm in there to read me books or sing to me. I bought her a princess dress and some sparkle shoes when I arrived - she loves them apparently. Rarely takes them off and plans to wear them for halloween. She talks about halloween a lot, and christmas and easter - the girl seems to like special occassions. She started school this week and loves it, can't get rid of mom and I fast enough when we drop her off. She also took Dad camping last week - she loves smores.
I gotta say, I'm having a pretty good time on the outside. I love an opportunity to pee or poo when I have no diaper on - so liberating! - and I'm very bright eyed and nosy for several hours a day. I've also been spoiled my my family, friends and neighbours with so many well wishes, gifts and food for the family - which is nice seeing as my parents don't really feel the need to buy me much since I'm the second daughter around here. Call me the hand-me-down kid. Oh wait, I did get some of my own sleepers in size newborn which didn't exist in my sister's wardrobe but I've pretty much grown out of them already.
Here are some pics and videos.
Later, Greta
I am over 9 pounds already and going through my first growth spurt. I love to eat but these days I love to eat more than usual, thankfully I am starting to figure out this whole nursing thing so I don't have to work so hard at it (and scream my little head off) and mom doesn't cringe every time I latch on for some food. I am also getting very long and have long feet and hands with toes and fingers to match!
They say I'm easy going, so far anyway. I like to be held a lot but I'm also cool with hanging out in my crib to watch the lights on my turtle and play with a black and white toy. Mom is actually getting showers and eating (though quickly) without too much trouble.
Everyone keeps saying they don't know who I look like. Not as easy to figure out as my big sister apparently. Speaking of her, she is great. I do get a little smothered in kisses and hugs which I enjoy and only sometimes find a little too much. She makes sure my music and lights are turned on to entertain me in my crib and she stands on her step stool next to me when I'm in there to read me books or sing to me. I bought her a princess dress and some sparkle shoes when I arrived - she loves them apparently. Rarely takes them off and plans to wear them for halloween. She talks about halloween a lot, and christmas and easter - the girl seems to like special occassions. She started school this week and loves it, can't get rid of mom and I fast enough when we drop her off. She also took Dad camping last week - she loves smores.
I gotta say, I'm having a pretty good time on the outside. I love an opportunity to pee or poo when I have no diaper on - so liberating! - and I'm very bright eyed and nosy for several hours a day. I've also been spoiled my my family, friends and neighbours with so many well wishes, gifts and food for the family - which is nice seeing as my parents don't really feel the need to buy me much since I'm the second daughter around here. Call me the hand-me-down kid. Oh wait, I did get some of my own sleepers in size newborn which didn't exist in my sister's wardrobe but I've pretty much grown out of them already.
Here are some pics and videos.
Later, Greta
Friday, September 3, 2010
Greta Robyn - her welcome to the world
I've been trying to publish this for about 5 days now so here we are. I am going to post regardless of wether or not I've finished because I just want to move on to new posts about our family :) Obviously, despite the fact that Greta is a dream baby, so far, life with even a dream baby and a big sister is very busy and very fulfilling...
----
Well we are 5 days in to life as a family of 4. We are so happy to have a happy healthy girl to love and cherish along with her wonderful big sister.
Greta was born on Monday the 23rd at 4:30 pm. It was a trying day despite the scheduled c-section which we expected would make it all very stress-free but it ended in the best possible way and everything went smoothly with the surgery.
We were told to be at the hospital for a 6:00 admission and that the surgery would be at 9:30. We arranged for our friend Kym to keep to keep Violet for the night so that we wouldn't have to disrupt her morning on the day she was to become a big sister. When we arrived at the hospital, we were sent to the wrong desk 3 times and finally arrived at the mother-babe unit to the surprise of the nurses who weren't expecting us until 9:30 as it turned out the surgery was actually scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon. After a quick discussion with the nurse, we found out there was only one private room left and if we decided to leave we would probably not get a private room which was a major priority for us. As we couldn't really go home without completely confusing Violet, who would soon be at home with our babysitter Laura, Jon negotiated with the nurse to hold the room for us while he took me for breakfast as I had been fasting all night. After some oatmeal at whitespot and picking up some magazines and a little something for Violet from the new 24 hr shoppers drug mart, we were back at the hospital for 7:30 and the wait for baby Greta began.
Jon and I spent the day in the hospital room, waiting, planning and anticipating. The nurses were wonderful and they came and went as they got me ready for the surgery. The IV part of the preparations was a bit difficult as I am squeamish about big needles and it took 3 tries for the iv to work - the first 2 times the iv drip went into my arm and made the arm very hard and swollen which was really painful.
After all the preparations, we tried to relax by watching some bad movies and eventually the clock hit 1 pm which is when they told us they would come to get us for the surgery. 1pm came and went and we eventually realized that we were not going to surgery on schedule and that no one knew when we would get there. I had mentally prepared myself to be a mom again by about 10 am and the wait was starting to make me more and more anxious to meet our daughter. Finally at about 3:00 the nurse came to the room and said they were ready for us in the O.R. We had almost resigned oursleves to the idea of not meeting baby until Aug 24th and it came as a big surprise to have no warning, but away we went and I immediately got a little stressed and excited.
As I sat outside the O.R. waiting to be wheeled in, Jon took a video of me because he thought "your daughter would love to see your raw emotions about her birth". I was not so sure but I didn't really have a choice about it. Instead of being wheeled into the O.R. we were sent back to our room due to a half an hour delay. There are more videos of that too. Half an hour turned into an hour and a half but finally we were wheeled back to O.R. and the fun began. Videos are online here.
There must have been 9 people in the room, I don't remember there being so many last time but I don't remember a lot about the last time. There was the OBGYN, Dr. Cooper who we have met with on a couple of occasions and who did the surgery. There were at least 2 nurses, of course I forget their names already but one of them was focussed on my care during and after the surgery and she was awesome. When they put in the spinal, she held me in place and talked me through it like a friend would - she knew I was scared. There was an anesthesiologist, a pediatrician, another random doctor and I forget the rest. It certainly makes a person feel well cared for and that they are not just having a minor procedure when there are that many medical professionals in the room.
It all got underway pretty quickly, as soon as Jon was in his scrubs by my side, they started and it was so weird. I could 'feel' nothing and everything at the same time. I really couldn't wait for it to be over for so many reasons.
Dr. Cooper talked me through the surgery without too much detail. Jon stood up to look over the barrier when the head was delivered and took a picture. "I've got a picture of the head, do you want to see it?" he asked. "Uh, no" was my response, not sure I could have stomached that one as anxious as I was to see our baby girl.
Soon she was out and crying - loudly. What a beautiful sound to hear! The nurse who was taking care of me said she sounded like a teradactyl and I think she was spot on! Greta had a lot of mucus to get rid of so she did a LOT of crying right off the bat which at first was reassuring and then had us thinking we were in trouble with this loud and unhappy baby.
The Drs and nurses remarked on baby's huge umbilical cord and set about checking her out. It is so frustrating to not be able to see your newborn for her first 5 minutes of life but luckily Jon was able to be with her right away to check her out (reassure me) and cut her cord.
I finally got to have a look at our little beauty and couldn't wait to be stitched up so I could get her in my arms. We were both shocked that she didn't look like Violet did when she was born (we both assumed those Gleed genes would be prevalent - still not sure who she looks like!) and that she was smaller than Violet was - we could tell even before she was weighed. With the count'em 45 pounds that I gained during this pregnancy and the ENORMOUS belly I grew, we were sure that Greta would be a very big baby - no question she is still bigger than average and a very strong and healthy girl. She was bright eyed, nosy and lifting her head from the moment she was born.
Getting that girl in my arms was a dream and we couldn't wait to introduce her to Violet. In the next couple of hours, we got settled back in our room, got me eating chicken broth and jello - the only food allowed after surgery and brought big sister in for a visit. It was so sweet to see Violet immediately hug and kiss Greta - no hesitation at all, she has immediately taken on her role as guardian angel of our little baby and has only had the most slight hints of jealousy when she wants the undivided attention of one of her parents - even that is just a small request to maybe put the baby down while playing with her. We are so proud.
After spending a whole day in a hospital room waiting to give birth, I was ready to leave the hospital asap! I had my healthy baby and as soon as I shed the catheter and iv I was ready to go. We stayed monday night and tuesday night and managed to convince the Dr we were ok to go home wednesday morning (I even got dressed and put on makeup to make the Dr impressed by how well we were doing :). Our stay was as good as any hospital stay could have been, private room, great nurses and excellent care but there is only so much stale air, nurse pop-ins at 3am and horrific food one can take.
Greta so far is a sleeper, I'm amazed at how much work it still is to take care of her, I am having trouble remembering what it is like having a baby that struggles with sleep. Dear Greta - please keep it up little darling :)
----
Well we are 5 days in to life as a family of 4. We are so happy to have a happy healthy girl to love and cherish along with her wonderful big sister.
Greta was born on Monday the 23rd at 4:30 pm. It was a trying day despite the scheduled c-section which we expected would make it all very stress-free but it ended in the best possible way and everything went smoothly with the surgery.
We were told to be at the hospital for a 6:00 admission and that the surgery would be at 9:30. We arranged for our friend Kym to keep to keep Violet for the night so that we wouldn't have to disrupt her morning on the day she was to become a big sister. When we arrived at the hospital, we were sent to the wrong desk 3 times and finally arrived at the mother-babe unit to the surprise of the nurses who weren't expecting us until 9:30 as it turned out the surgery was actually scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon. After a quick discussion with the nurse, we found out there was only one private room left and if we decided to leave we would probably not get a private room which was a major priority for us. As we couldn't really go home without completely confusing Violet, who would soon be at home with our babysitter Laura, Jon negotiated with the nurse to hold the room for us while he took me for breakfast as I had been fasting all night. After some oatmeal at whitespot and picking up some magazines and a little something for Violet from the new 24 hr shoppers drug mart, we were back at the hospital for 7:30 and the wait for baby Greta began.
Jon and I spent the day in the hospital room, waiting, planning and anticipating. The nurses were wonderful and they came and went as they got me ready for the surgery. The IV part of the preparations was a bit difficult as I am squeamish about big needles and it took 3 tries for the iv to work - the first 2 times the iv drip went into my arm and made the arm very hard and swollen which was really painful.
After all the preparations, we tried to relax by watching some bad movies and eventually the clock hit 1 pm which is when they told us they would come to get us for the surgery. 1pm came and went and we eventually realized that we were not going to surgery on schedule and that no one knew when we would get there. I had mentally prepared myself to be a mom again by about 10 am and the wait was starting to make me more and more anxious to meet our daughter. Finally at about 3:00 the nurse came to the room and said they were ready for us in the O.R. We had almost resigned oursleves to the idea of not meeting baby until Aug 24th and it came as a big surprise to have no warning, but away we went and I immediately got a little stressed and excited.
As I sat outside the O.R. waiting to be wheeled in, Jon took a video of me because he thought "your daughter would love to see your raw emotions about her birth". I was not so sure but I didn't really have a choice about it. Instead of being wheeled into the O.R. we were sent back to our room due to a half an hour delay. There are more videos of that too. Half an hour turned into an hour and a half but finally we were wheeled back to O.R. and the fun began. Videos are online here.
There must have been 9 people in the room, I don't remember there being so many last time but I don't remember a lot about the last time. There was the OBGYN, Dr. Cooper who we have met with on a couple of occasions and who did the surgery. There were at least 2 nurses, of course I forget their names already but one of them was focussed on my care during and after the surgery and she was awesome. When they put in the spinal, she held me in place and talked me through it like a friend would - she knew I was scared. There was an anesthesiologist, a pediatrician, another random doctor and I forget the rest. It certainly makes a person feel well cared for and that they are not just having a minor procedure when there are that many medical professionals in the room.
It all got underway pretty quickly, as soon as Jon was in his scrubs by my side, they started and it was so weird. I could 'feel' nothing and everything at the same time. I really couldn't wait for it to be over for so many reasons.
Dr. Cooper talked me through the surgery without too much detail. Jon stood up to look over the barrier when the head was delivered and took a picture. "I've got a picture of the head, do you want to see it?" he asked. "Uh, no" was my response, not sure I could have stomached that one as anxious as I was to see our baby girl.
Soon she was out and crying - loudly. What a beautiful sound to hear! The nurse who was taking care of me said she sounded like a teradactyl and I think she was spot on! Greta had a lot of mucus to get rid of so she did a LOT of crying right off the bat which at first was reassuring and then had us thinking we were in trouble with this loud and unhappy baby.
The Drs and nurses remarked on baby's huge umbilical cord and set about checking her out. It is so frustrating to not be able to see your newborn for her first 5 minutes of life but luckily Jon was able to be with her right away to check her out (reassure me) and cut her cord.
I finally got to have a look at our little beauty and couldn't wait to be stitched up so I could get her in my arms. We were both shocked that she didn't look like Violet did when she was born (we both assumed those Gleed genes would be prevalent - still not sure who she looks like!) and that she was smaller than Violet was - we could tell even before she was weighed. With the count'em 45 pounds that I gained during this pregnancy and the ENORMOUS belly I grew, we were sure that Greta would be a very big baby - no question she is still bigger than average and a very strong and healthy girl. She was bright eyed, nosy and lifting her head from the moment she was born.
Getting that girl in my arms was a dream and we couldn't wait to introduce her to Violet. In the next couple of hours, we got settled back in our room, got me eating chicken broth and jello - the only food allowed after surgery and brought big sister in for a visit. It was so sweet to see Violet immediately hug and kiss Greta - no hesitation at all, she has immediately taken on her role as guardian angel of our little baby and has only had the most slight hints of jealousy when she wants the undivided attention of one of her parents - even that is just a small request to maybe put the baby down while playing with her. We are so proud.
After spending a whole day in a hospital room waiting to give birth, I was ready to leave the hospital asap! I had my healthy baby and as soon as I shed the catheter and iv I was ready to go. We stayed monday night and tuesday night and managed to convince the Dr we were ok to go home wednesday morning (I even got dressed and put on makeup to make the Dr impressed by how well we were doing :). Our stay was as good as any hospital stay could have been, private room, great nurses and excellent care but there is only so much stale air, nurse pop-ins at 3am and horrific food one can take.
Greta so far is a sleeper, I'm amazed at how much work it still is to take care of her, I am having trouble remembering what it is like having a baby that struggles with sleep. Dear Greta - please keep it up little darling :)
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Almost there
Well its been 3 weeks now since we started thinking we could have a baby at any minute and still no baby! :) I am 3cm dilated, fully effaced and having lots of pre-labour signs including non-stop braxton hicks contractions which I don't remember having at all with Violet. Unless baby decides she wants to be born this weekend, we are scheduled to meet her at 9:30 on monday morning.
I think its a very good thing for all of us that we have had this time for me to nest, for Jon to get all the major projects off his list and for Violet to have some bonding time with mommy and daddy before her life turns upside down. I think we now have everything in order for the baby and many, many other projects have been ticked off the household list so we are ready to receive.
I am so ready to meet this baby. I have started aching a little to have her in my arms, not to mention the aches that makes me feel 'finished' with being this large and heavy and ok with the thought of not be pregnant anymore. I will be sad not to have baby all to myself anymore but I am guessing she and I will have quite a lot of togetherness after her arrival too.
We have generally been managing to get some sleep around here but it is certainly not a sound night of sleep for all of us every night. Between multiple trips to the bathroom, middle of the night worries and a sometimes busy baby, I have been losing a bit of sleep, but I think I'm doing better than average. I even managed to sleep well during the recent heat wave with the exception of one night - thanks to Jon. Jon, of course is disrupted by all my activity and likes to get some middle of the night worry/anticipation in there too. Violet is doing well but has had a few disrupted nights for no reason other than the likely one that she knows she is about to deal with a lot of change. She thankfully is a heavy sleeper.
Other than kicking the soother habit, Violet has also had her guard rail removed from her bed - there is no question that the 'baby' in that girl is rapidly disappearing. Something has changed in her little head in the past couple of weeks and she is just more grown up in her language, her humour, her ability to pick up complex ideas and her ability to give us attitude like she is a teenager. V is also becoming a bit of an organizer, she likes to make statements like "ok let's get to work" when we ask her to help tidy etc. and she revels in doing a good job. She has started tidying her room and making her bed - and doing a fine job of it I have to say!
V is anticipating baby with excitement but we are starting to wonder if we have over prepared her for the role of big sister. Sometimes we get the sense that she thinks she has to become an adult overnight, like when she says (repeatedly) "Daddy/Mommy, make sure you don't give me beer or wine or soda water or coffee after the baby comes!" She has also started focusing a large amount of energy on her babies, playing a mommy that just had a baby and taking her role very seriously. It is truly adorable. It's also very funny, hearing my own voice/words coming at me as she soothes her little one.
One of our biggest gripes lately has been the dog. Oh that George! He has been using the house as a bathroom on and off for a couple of months now. We aren't even sure what makes him do it, it is not need, he's pissed about something. It may be connected to this pregnancy because it seems to be getting to him. He has been trailing me more closely than ever since I became pregnant but the closer I get to the end, the more trailing time I get from George. He follows me everywhere and whines at me to stop moving around because, I guess he finds it tiring, go figure. When I finally settle to bed he is right beside me on the floor, snorting, scratching, snuffing and eventually snoring which has reached a point of disruption that I can no longer take (for some reason I am not my usual patient self...). He eventually leaves to sleep elsewhere in the house but likes to take a lengthy tour first to check things out as he clicks his nails all around. This tour can and usually is repeated several times in the early morning hours to see who he can manage to rouse to hang out with him. If he was a younger dog, we would be exercising him to the point of complete exhaustion, but alas, even though the old boy is holding up pretty well, he can't take on too much physical activity any more.
My darling husband is now confined George to the basement at night which would normally mean that George would whine at the gate but he has been tricked into thinking that Jon is also sleeping downstairs so it has worked so far. We have now dropped him off at the doggie place for a couple of weeks so we can focus on baby and Violet for a while. Hopefully he will adjust well to baby.
It's been a wonderful summer so far, hard to believe it is coming to an end but what a way for summer to end with the birth of our new family member! Check out our summer 2010 album for some new pictures from the last few weeks. We have had some wonderful times, especially swimming at the lake and chilling out in the cooled down hot tub or the kiddie pool during the heat wave of last week. Now we are planning a quiet weekend to get rested up as much as we can and enjoy this time before baby arrives.
Next post - baby!
Friday, August 6, 2010
And now August
We also had a visit from Jon's sister Rachel and our nephews Ben (10 in a few days) and Sam (7). It was great for Violet to have some time with her cousins and her Aunt. She loved every minute, I think because she got totally spoiled and because the boys were so good to her.
So our guest accommodations have been well tested now and seem to do the job.
Here are some recent pics.
Jon worked like a mad man during the Spring to get the house in order before our guests arrived and to prepare for the arrival of our newest family member. Things are looking great and the house is really functioning well with all our new space and storage room! He still has an awful lot of projects on 'the list' but I think we are down to the kinds of things that are on any homeowners list now - phewf!
I feel huge :) Our latest doctor's appointment gave us some indication that baby might decide to arrive earlier than the scheduled date of Aug 23rd, but then again maybe not. This coincided with a terribly painful night when I had thought several times that I might be going into labour. As a result I left work a couple of days early and have been on mat leave now for about a week. The painful night was caused by a combination of baby 'dropping' (which was pretty painful in itself as it felt like she was making room for that larger than average head for about a week!) and my hips beginning to separate which somehow involved a nerve that ended up feeling like cyatic nerve pain. OMG! What a night. I ended up doing a lot of things that I would have done if I was in labour like yoga poses and a soak in the not-so-hot- hot tub. I eventually felt good enough to go back to sleep, after about 3 hours, but woke up convinced that I was done with working. I think all this hip pain was probably exacerbated by the fact that I've gained 40lbs already. I am 'big all over" this time around :) I'm really hoping that there is a LOT of water retention going on in this body.
I have been looking back at our blog from my pregnancy with Violet and her early days and realize that this baby might start feeling like the typical second child because we have written so little about this pregnancy. There is no doubt, I truly get it now, that pregnancy and I'm sure parenting when you already have another child is just a completely different experience. We just don't find much time to write down what's happening with the pregnancy, Violet or life in general. I love being able to look back and remember in detail all the little things that make our family life so special and valuable to us so I am hopeful that I will manage to find the time to write things down here more often - our new second computer should help I hope.
One of the major differences with this pregnancy is that I have slept a lot more (and I'm bigger - have I mentioned that already!?), oh how I hope this is a sign of things to come! I'm not sure if its me or baby but I manage to sleep most nights these days. I only have trouble if I can't get right back to sleep after going to the bathroom (currently only 1 time per night!) or if Violet wakes up for some reason. Then its my head that keeps me awake and baby usually joins in for an early morning visit that can last for quite a while. I have been really enjoying having this little being inside me and as much as I am starting to feel like I'm losing my mobility and want to meet her soon, I kind of like having her all to myself for the most part.
We have finally put the name search to bed...but we aren't telling yet!
Our baby room is ready now as well, just missing a piece of artwork from big sister Violet. We will take some pics and post them.
Violet update:
Violet accomplished a major milestone in the past couple of weeks. She finally gave up her soother "soosie". We tried at Christmas and lost her voluntary participation at the last moment and for some reason we just haven't had to gumption to push the issue again until recently. We did start to push it though a couple of weeks ago and she decided to have a few practice nights without the soosie before officially letting the soosie fairy come to take the soosies away for little babies. She got along great and only had a few nights where her settling down to sleep process was longer than ususal but we also had guests at the time so we weren't surprised. Finally she thought she had enough practice to let the magical fairy some to our house. The trade, of course, was well thought out by Violet. She wanted the soosie fairy to leave her a scooter, in a box, with a gold ribbon. Her wish was granted and now she is the proud owner of a 5yr+ Razor scooter complete with girly kneepads, elbow pads and gloves. She woke up on the big day and immediately put on the safety gear and took her new scooter for a ride around the house. Of course, as she likes to sleep naked these days (no its not our way of saving on pj costs!) it was quite a sight!
Violet is very keen to be the centre of attention and really is experimenting with being funny. When we were in the car with Rachel, Ben and Sam during their trip, Violet piped up with several stories that all ended with "a man getting covered in goo"! We all did think it was pretty funny and induldged her for about 5 minutes. Then Sam said "Violet do you want to hear something really hilarious?" To which she responded with perfect 3 year old comic timing "no thank you!" Many more laughs ensued.
Some favourite words and phrases are "actually", "but mommy or but daddy" and anything with 4 or more syllables. She really likes Fancy Nancy books which include a lot of 'fancy' words so I think this is where she is picking up a lot of her words. She loves to learn and is really keen on learning her letters and how to write them - patience is not always with her to make it happen but she is still keen to keep trying.
V is so excited about the baby - hope it lasts when baby is actually here. A few weeks after baby's arrival she will be starting preschool so we are hoping it will be good timing for her to have her own special thing starting.
Well there is my epic update. Let's see what news the next one includes... :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
June already
Here are some pics from May - the belly has developed A LOT since these but the photos haven't been downloaded yet.
Our not so little baby is having lots of fun in the womb. She is pretty busy but (knock on wood) she is letting her mother sleep through the night most nights but if mommy can't sleep for any reason other than a busy baby, she will happily wake up and join the party. Her kicks are plenty strong for her big sis to feel these days. Violet is being so loving and caring its really sweet. I can't leave the house (or the room) without baby getting a kiss and hug first and she has taken to caring for me, following daddy's lead. Tonight after work I was sat down at the table to put my feet up while Jon made dinner and Violet brought me a blanket to cover my legs (though I wasn't cold, she wanted me to be cozy...) Then she told me the only thing I was allowed to do was read her some books. ok, I can take an evening like that when its possible. The doctor has me 'taking it easier' at the moment so my lovely family are making sure I do just that.
Jon is still ticking pretty major projects off the list around the house, tonight it is tearing down the shed in the back yard. I THINK when this is done, that will be most of the big stuff finished but I could be wrong it never seems to end. Let's just say a lot has been accomplished around here. Baby's room is almost ready, she and Violet have some lovely flower murals that Jon painted and there is a new closet organizer installed as well as curtains and a whole bunch of other stuff. In an effort to darken Violet's room, we bought her some pretty ugly blackout curtains, still working on making them prettier, but she also chose some incredibly girly decorative sheers to go with them - she loves them, daddy doesn't.
We were tourists in our own city on friday, we had dinner downtown and then walked along the waterfront taking in the buskers, the market and all the activities. Violet, who was wearing a particularly outrageous outfit she had chosen, was grooving to a steel drummer/guitarist who was playing a lot of reggae until her parents tore her away finally. When we told her he was playing steel drums she looked at us thoughtfully and said "yeah, the man steals them and then he brings them here to play music".
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
2 Girls!
It's probably not news to anyone now that we are expecting another baby girl (its been ALL over facebook :). We are so excited and Violet is over the moon at the thought of a baby sister. We had an ultrasound last week and everything is coming along as it should. Baby is healthy and BIG. She is in the 90th percentile for the measurement of her head, length of her legs and size of her tummy (actually a little more than 90th on this measurement). This has pretty much solidified for us that I will have a scheduled c-section for this delivery. I was seriously considering a VBAC to try and have a natural delivery but these babies of ours with the big heads aren't really great for that option. We have already met the obstetrician that will do the surgery and he seems great so we will see him again soon to have the delivery scheduled.
Jon has had to repaint the baby's room as two of the walls were messed up during our reno. Its a fresh start with a sunny yellow colour and plans for a flower mural.
Here are some recent pics which include visits from from Nanny in March and Grandpa in April.
Violet's been really focussed on her friends lately. She has playdates with Jeremy (2) and Samantha (3.5) every week, they are kids who live on our street and we try to get her to see other buddies, especiallly her friend Quinn as often as we can as these two girls LOVE playing together. It's really fun watching her young relationships bud, Violet is so content when there is another kid around to entertain her.
She is also really using her imagination a lot which is quite fascinating to watch. She uses her stuffed animals to hold tea parties, play games and dance around the house. She has lots of conversations with them and likes to treat them like they are friends or babies - some interesting conversations are occuring.
Jon and V finished swimming lessons this week. Jon is going to teach her himself for the summer and then look at lessons again in the fall. We gave up on gymnastics in after 3-4 classes. It was a bit of a gong show. She was spending half the class either confused or waiting in line - which no one in the class really knew how to do. She did learn some things so its too bad but now its warm outside so we would rather spend time at the playground on a saturday morning anyway.
I am feeling a big large but otherwise pretty good. Baby is very busy but not making me uncomfortable - just busy hands that tickle all day and a few kicks at night. Jon has felt her kick a few times but she is generally elusive when there are hands on my belly. I like having her to myself while I can...
Jon has had to repaint the baby's room as two of the walls were messed up during our reno. Its a fresh start with a sunny yellow colour and plans for a flower mural.
Here are some recent pics which include visits from from Nanny in March and Grandpa in April.
Violet's been really focussed on her friends lately. She has playdates with Jeremy (2) and Samantha (3.5) every week, they are kids who live on our street and we try to get her to see other buddies, especiallly her friend Quinn as often as we can as these two girls LOVE playing together. It's really fun watching her young relationships bud, Violet is so content when there is another kid around to entertain her.
She is also really using her imagination a lot which is quite fascinating to watch. She uses her stuffed animals to hold tea parties, play games and dance around the house. She has lots of conversations with them and likes to treat them like they are friends or babies - some interesting conversations are occuring.
Jon and V finished swimming lessons this week. Jon is going to teach her himself for the summer and then look at lessons again in the fall. We gave up on gymnastics in after 3-4 classes. It was a bit of a gong show. She was spending half the class either confused or waiting in line - which no one in the class really knew how to do. She did learn some things so its too bad but now its warm outside so we would rather spend time at the playground on a saturday morning anyway.
I am feeling a big large but otherwise pretty good. Baby is very busy but not making me uncomfortable - just busy hands that tickle all day and a few kicks at night. Jon has felt her kick a few times but she is generally elusive when there are hands on my belly. I like having her to myself while I can...
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Big Girl, more than ever
V is going through some shyness these days but it isn't preventing her from doing anything yet. We are hoping to give her the confidence to go for it instead of being shy. Yesterday at the playground she asked Jon how she could play with another girl (about a 7 year old) and once given the instruction to just say hello she was on her way and ran around the playground with a whole group of older kids for an hour.
She's also riding her bicycle with a lot of confidence these days - so much so that its scary to watch her go down a hill :) She has a peddle-free bike that she pushes with her feet. The idea is that she will gain balance faster than on a tricycle because she can lift up her feet and glide when she gets going - she is just starting to pick up her feet and is having so much fun. This has come after quite a lot of time spent with Violet and Jon slowly walking around the block as Violet got up her nerve.
We are very excited about our next baby Gleed - baby has started kicking, so far only hard enough for mommy to feel. The attached ultrasound photo is pretty unsatisfying but its all they could capture at 12 weeks because the little monkey was so busy jumping around in there. On the theme of babies, I came across this article on baby names this morning and thought there were some pretty funny ones coming out of Alberta.
We are nowhere near the atge of picking names though if our last experience is any indication we should get started because it is SUCH a hard thing to do!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentines Day
Here are recent pics from our ski trip to Mount Washington and around some others. Jon had Violet in a lesson then took her on lots more runs after that, he skied backwards all afternoon so they were both completely exhausted at the end of the day. The girl has absolutely no fear and loved the slopes. She is a bit of a speed demon.
I'm trying to type this with Violet on my lap, she has a new love of computer games ( she has mastered using the mouse and is pretty independent playing games on treehouse and Nick Jr) and is currently demanding either to type or play a game - this post will not be much longer...
To keep the whining at bay a little, here are some words from Violet. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbcccccccccccffffffffffffffffffffffhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhdddddddddddddddddddllllllllll
I've just asked her what she is excited about these days and she said her potty. She has been fully trained for a while now and has only ever had a few accidents. She also kicked the diapers at night time.
She says she is also excited (still) about her birthday - she is already planning for next year I think.
She is most excited though about being a big sister! We are expecting a baby on Aug 31. I am feeling pretty good (and large), looking forward to the second trimester when I hope to have a little more energy and don't have to send my husband out on shopping missions for my cravings.
In looking back at the blog, we realized that we thought there were more photos and videos from Christmas and V's birthday here are some more.
Happy Valentines Day!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sorry this took so long. Christmas and V's birthday is a very busy time for us.
Here are few pics during and around V's birthday. Click here.
Here are few pics during and around V's birthday. Click here.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Much to our surprise, Violet decided, at the last minute (not to mention when she was wearing a mismatched outfit and hadn't had a bath) that she LOVED Santa and wanted nothing more than to hug him, sit on his lap and get a photo. Until this fateful evening at the mall, she screamed in terror at the sight of any Santa, real or fake. Go figure. When she said, "I want to see Santa" we took off her plaid dress (which she insisted on wearing over another complete outfit which thankfully matched) , ran fingers through her hair which was slightly tangled due to all the food that had collected in it and gave her a spit wash on her face - and look at the result! Our gorgeous kid :) She waled right up to Santa and gave him a hug and they had a big chat. I think it helped that she had spoken to Santa (Jon really) on the phone recently.
We had a wonderful Christmas. We had a Christmas Eve dinner with our friends Mike and Diana and their daughter Annika as well as Kym, our friend who lives across the street and her son Jeremy. It was very laid back and a lot of fun - the kids were really having a great time and we even captured Violet on video playing a christmas song for everyone.
Christmas Day and the following three were quiet and restful (as much as they can be with an almost 3 year old). We watched movies and read books and went for walks. We also cooked and ate a LOT. We splurged on a free-range turkey this year and it was the best we have ever had - wow it was good!
Violet had a wonderful christmas day - she was so spoiled by everyone and with the exception of about 20 minutes of demon child time when she realized just how many presents she might get to open, she was an angel and had a really fun time. The highlight of Violet's Christmas, other than eating chocolate for breakfast, was getting her own scissors! She actually got two pairs, one from Santa (Grandma and Grandpa) in her stocking and another from Santa (Mom and Dad) in her new craft box which was filled with all kinds of new things to make a mess with! She is having a great time creating.
She has also had great joy out of trying on all the new clothes, shoes and dress up clothes she received and playing with all her new toys.
We have lots of photos and video which I will upload soon. Promise... :)
A couple of notes about our big girl. She has officially given up napping, though she still has a quiet time and does sometimes fall asleep during it or in the car/stroller but we avoid this like the plague as she is so hard to get to bed if she snoozes. V is also fully potty trained now, we felt that she would have been trained sooner had the house not been full of construction activity but once all of that quieted down, she was home more and within a couple of days was fully trained. She is even making it through the night or getting up to pee in the night if she has to. Finally, we had high hopes of getting rid of her soosie (pacifer) by giving it to Santa so he could then give it to the babies who really need soosies, however at the last minute, Violet decided that Santa could have them all but one... We are still working on that one :)
Happy New Year with love from the Gleeds
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