Another Anniversary

Five years ago, he and I became "us."
And now we're three!
We are so blessed.
And in love.

Sureties

It's been said that the only things you can count on life are death and taxes.
How pessimisitic and boring.
One thing I can count on these days is dirty diapers.
But that's not a bad thing.
I like laundry,
and I like it when the sun shines
bleaches my diapers brightly white,
and starches them crisp and straight.

Some More Before

Onwards Past "Heavy Rainfall Warning In Effect"

Items of news:

Positive: We have amazing friends and family who encourage us and through in helping hands when ever they're free.
Negative: The project became a whole lot bigger last week with all the rain, requiring tools like jack hammers, excavators, and products like PVC pipe and sump pumps. 'Nuf said.

Positive: I found an amazing new blog that details projects just like ours! We've already gotten lots of ideas.
Negative: we're a long way yet from the painting stage.
Positive: That doesn't mean I can't plan and dream and visit the paint store down the street.

Negative: It rained huge amounts last week, which limited the kind of work we could do.
Positive: we got two windows in on Saturday, thanks to lots of assistance, and B now is very comfortable with installing windows so the others shouldn't be too hard.
Negative: There's a lot more rain in the forecast for this week too.

Negative: It's easy to succumb to cabin fever when it's pouring out and E and I are car-less and very limited in space. Especially when I found this awesome blog post about quilting. My quilting space is cut off for some time to come...
Positive: There's sunshine coming later in the week; there's several projects that I can tackle in the house; and our garage is organized enough that I can access fun things like slow cookers, yoga dvds and E's toys.
Positive: My sister-in-law just arrived for a visit! That's enough positives and negatives for now...

Interior before

Antidote

When the renovating situation becomes exponentially more complicated,
adding cost, time and stress,
I'm glad for peaceful baby moments.

Demolition

 The destruction of the basement is underway,
and not a moment too soon,
because with the Government of Canada's dire weather prediction of
"Heavy Rainfall Warning In Effect"
came flooding on three sections of the foundation.

Bliss

Bliss is.

Bliss is little toothless grins with smile lines around the eyes.
Bliss is soft fuzzy hair fresh from the bath.
Bliss is clear blue eyes looking out seriously at the world.
Bliss is long relaxed nursing sessions resulting in full tummies.
Bliss is a cheerful expectant face first thing in the morning.
Bliss is snuggling in bed as a family.
Bliss is clean crisp white diapers fresh from the clothesline for little bums.
Bliss is wiggling arms and legs.
Bliss is little coos and sounds in response to friendly faces and familiar toys.

Life is good.

Trailers for Sale or Rent

Let's just say life is pretty full right now. No complaints here--we're incredibly blessed--but we're glad it's just for a season. In the past two weeks we have
1) Celebrated B's birthday.
2) Watched E grow and grow and grow and pass her two month birthday.
3) Driven the stretch of highway between Calgary and here about umm a lot of times. I lost count.
4) Moved out of a house.
5) Moved into a trailer.
6) Gotten a library card and a Co-op membership.
7) Had a hard drive crash.
8) Smashed a lot of drywall.
9) Installed soffit, fascia, smartwood and Hardi-Plank.
10) Got a new cell phone, and two new phone numbers.
11) Had the summer's first campfire and smores.
12) Oh and whole lot of other crazy things.

This summer is going to be busy with many things and we've jumped in full swing. I can't wait to move into the house when things are all done, remodeled, painted and settled. Sigh. That seems ages away...

Going Home

Yesterday we drove from Calgary with our last load of stuff to move. We've enjoyed our time in the city and it was an emotional farewell.

We chased thunderstorms all the way and saw multiple rainbows. God, does this mean we've made the right decision and you're smiling on us? 

And little E slept the whole way, good as gold, unaware of all the thoughts and prayers, hopes and concerns with which her parents were grappling.

Could life be fuller?

Life is crazy busy right now with packing, cleaning, moving and parenting. We're emotional about leaving Calgary and moving to a new place, though it is our hometown and not altogether unfamiliar. We're probably also a little overtired. 

But little E continues to truck right along, eating well and sleeping well, and giving us great joy with her increasingly visible personality and antics. We can't help but fall more in love with her each day.

Lasts in Calgary

As we prepare to leave the city, B and I have made a mental lists of places we want to visit one last time before we leave. This included the Calgary Farmers' Market and Heritage Park, among others.

Friday night, at my request, we loaded up the stroller and went for a stroll in Prince's Island Park. We've been there quite a number of times before, for Canada Day, Folk Festival, Shakespeare in the Park and random bike rides and walks.

  It's a beautiful place to walk in the evening. 

Music from buskers can be heard throughout. 

People from all nationalities and all walks of life are there: 

out walking or biking or picnicking or playing games, 

or hitching rides in strollers, as Mom and Dad walk.

There are plenty of places along the river to stop to admire the scenery,

or to have a snack.

  The ducks and geese waddle along, 

showing off their fluffy offspring and begging for food.

The evening sunshine reflects off the river 

and the office towers and condominiums of downtown, 

giving the park a lovely gentle glow.

Prince's Island Park is a pedestrian's treasure, 

comparable to St. James Park or Hyde Park in London England.

And we're going to miss it.

Jus' Hanging Out

When the Mom is sick, 

Mom and Baby spend a lot of time hanging out on the couch trying not to distract Dad.

It's definitely medicinal that baby E is so cute!

Baby in the Closet

Before E was born, a number of people told us how helpful it was to have a baby swing. Thankfully, among the generous handmedowns received from B's cousin was a swing--with five speeds, parent and baby activated modes and plays music to boot! We hauled it out yesterday in the hopes of finding a new way to sooth and entertain E, particularly in the cranky evening hours.

While the swing does work well in the evening, we found it works even better in the morning.

Since progressively more of our stuff is packed away in boxes, we have space in our office--the perfect space for a baby in a swing--in the closet.

So Baby swings and watches Dad work and has a little snooze when needed. Life is good.

Nightlife

Lately, E has decided that the best time of day to be awake is from around six at night until one in the morning. And, of course, she doesn't want to be alone, she wants to have the company of her parents.

So this morning we decided that she has a new theme song.

Presenting The Cars with their nineteen eighty-something hit "Let's Go (I Like the Nightlife Baby)."

A month already

Little E is already a month old! Time really flies. We've already noticed lots of changes in her, and she's already experienced a whole lot of things.

- She is learning to like baths, and to endure diaper changes.

- She doesn't like being put in the car seat, but once in, she enjoys stroller rides and puts up with car rides.

- She does not like cabbage (second hand, that is) but doesn't seem to mind coffee.

- She's gotten breastfeeding totally figured out, but maintains that meals should be no further apart than three hours and that a frequency of every hour and a half is preferable.

- She enjoys being outside, so long as the mosquitoes can't bite her and the sun isn't directly in her eyes.

- She likes to think she's got great muscle control in her head and neck, but the truth is she needs to do a lot more head-ups (like sit-ups, but only involving one's head) before having this one figured out.


She's attended
a wedding,
a garage raising,
two church services,
been part of her first Mother's Day celebration,
and taken road trips north and south.

She's hung out with
two sets of grandparents,
three great grandparents,
several aunts and uncles,
a great Aunt,
two friends almost exactly the same age as her,
and lots of other important people.

Canadian Milk

Colds, Folk Music and Moby Wraps

Little E has her first cold. No fun at all to be all stuffed up with no understanding of nose-blowing or proper coughing. But tucked up in the Moby Wrap, listening to James Taylor and his real-time back-up singer of one (me :D), puts her right to sleep, leaving me free to do some chores with both hands free.

The sun is slowly sinking down, and the moon is rising.
So this old world must still be spinning round,
And I still love you.
--James Taylor (see music video)

Morning

One advantage to being up at 5:30AM to take the baby for a stroll so her mom can sleep is that the light is just perfect so early.  This dandelion was being lit up just right by the low sun, so I took advantage of the timing to get a back lit shot of it.  Might have to make early strolls a habit...

She's Ours

Last night we visited some friends who have a daughter, A, five days younger than E.
Five days younger and a good pound and a half lighter. It was neat being able to look at the two babies side by side and compare family traits.
Little A is a more feminine version of her older brother, and has the fair skin and hair of her parents.

E has put on over a pound since her birth, according to her two week check-up, and is definitely a sturdy little girl.
Our friends say she looks like her dad and mostly I would agree.
Except her nose. She's got that from me, and the chin too, I think.
Whatever the case, we think she's beautiful and we look forward to seeing how she changes and develops over the coming months and years.

Diapering and whatnot

The problem with cloth diapering is that you have to change diapers way more often than with disposable, because the cotton doesn't pull the moisture away from Baby's bum like the products in disposable do.

Or perhaps the problem is when the child eats every hour and a half, day and night, and fills diapers equally as often.

Perhaps that's why God made babies so beautiful, so that you can't stay exasperated and frustrated in your overtiredness...because your heart just melts when you look at them, even after the fourth feeding in as many hours, in the middle of the night.

And it helps that the diapers are cute too. We're using Bummis Prefolds, and are quite pleased with how they're working, though we do go through almost thirty diapers in two days.

Favourites

K and E's favourite place to be for the last thirteen days is as follows:

But my new favourite place for us is anywhere outside with the Moby Wrap. E is still uncertain about it, but I'm looking forward to spending lots of time getting fresh air and sunshine and exercise together.

Good, Better, Best

Our prenatal classes emphasized the importance of pregnant women getting enough protein in their diet, and they especially argued that pregnant women should be getting at least one egg a day to get proper nutrition.

I do not like cooked eggs very much. Never have, ever since I was little. The make or break factor of food for me is texture. And eggs, like mushrooms, are just...wriggly. Not my favourite. [Caveat: I do like a good omelette or eggs Benedict or some other exceptions].

That said, I can fully appreciate the nutritional benefits of good eggs.

So, I offer you a comparison. On the outside of the bowl, generic store-bought egg yolks. In the middle, one free-range heritage-breed egg yolk specially delivered from the farm by my mother. Guess which is better for you?

Parenthood

It's still surreal.
I look down at this tiny squeaking bundle and am in awe.
Can we live up the responsibility we have as parents?
With God's help, I pray that we can.

Elspeth Maren, born on a blustery April day, at home.
Into the hands of our capable midwives and sister-in-law; coming too quick to make it to the birth center.
We are so blessed.

Random Acts of Tulips

We've never planted tulips here.

For that matter, I've never planted tulips at all.

But in the past couple of springs, as we've loaded up the flower beds with compost,

and watered faithfully during the dry summer months,

the tulips have taken hold. 

Last spring we had a few small blooms, in red I think,

which appeared with no encouragement.

And this spring we have yellow and red blooms,

which appeared in the dry and warm early spring,

and which have continued to cheerfully proliferate through the late April blizzards.

A gentle sign of God's sense of humour, I think, 

and of the potential for life.

Butter Chicken and Self Image

While trying to find a butter chicken recipe for M I ran across this funny video on one of the recipe pages.  I think it is kinda fun.  It is worth watching right to the end.

Announcing

There are many ways that we mark the arrival of spring:

The first robin singing high in the tree tops

The prairie crocuses peaking their furry heads up

The first buds on the trees

The City of Calgary signs announcing when street cleaning will commence in our area. 

But one major sign, of which we were reminded by our friend over at Calgary Gardening Adventures, is the first signs of rhubarb growth. I had totally forgotten to look for our rhubarb's appearance--I guess I was caught up watching the tulips grow and bud in the front yard. But when I read Dan's blog about rhubarb, we rushed out to check the status of our own.

So, good news! Spring has officially arrived. Our rhubarb looks to be in fine form for the coming season. Too bad we'll be missing most of the harvesting. I hope the new residents enjoy rhubarb as much as we do!

Eggs and Dye and Such

At the instigation of a creative and organized friend of mine, our small group from church got together and decorated eggs to make "Easter trees." B and I felt a bit dorky about how much we enjoyed the project...we spent more time at it than did most of the kids in the group! We didn't get around to actually hanging our eggs on the tree until after Easter, but we thought we'd post a picture of the final product. It looks so neat and cheerfully spring-like.

Book Review

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book totally changed my perception of heaven and hell--for the better! C.S. Lewis is a classic writer who explains things very well through the use of metaphor, for adults and children.

View all my reviews >>

Birth Control

Interesting article on the birth control pill: check it out.

Classical Music

We've been anticipating tonight for weeks because we're going to see the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic Chorus put on Bach's St. John's Passion. We know one of the tenors and one of the baritones and are somewhat familiar with the music and it's going to be GREAT.

...Just as great as the following performance by Beaker:

Spring has Sprung

While listening to one of my favorite Baroque radio stations I heard the following song, and thought it was quite fitting, as things are awakening for spring around here.  Have a listen to this classical piece by Bach, and the photos are of things dead from last fall, and things awakening.