Hi!

01.17.2012

I just wanted to stop in today and say hello!
You may have noticed a decreased presence here on my blog...
I feel like I should explain a bit.
As I have written previously, I chose EMBRACE as a word to represent and guide my 2012. Life is so fleeting...moments are gone in a blink of an eye and I want to remember and savour every single one. The big moments for sure, but the small things more.
While I found my blog a great place for recording little moments, it was time consuming, and I never seemed to get all the stories told I wanted...and some of that computer time was eating up time I could be spending more of those moments with my family. I always (and still do) write stories on the blog primarily for my own need, whether it be to remember, vent, reflect...but at the back of my mind was all of you, my blog-followers. I didn't (and still don't) want to let you down...it got me thinking.
This year I am embarking on a somewhat "old-fashioned" way to record the little stories - a daily pen & paper journal. So far, so good. I find just a few minutes every day to jot down what I want to remember. As for the photos, I have found my iPhone to be a simple yet amazing way for me to capture the little things of daily life (and to let go of the quest to capture our life "perfectly"). It is serving its purpose exactly as I had imagined...and for that reason is worth every single penny I spent on it! Its not that I have given up on my "big" camera...I am just re-purposing how it will be used in daily life. I am not giving up on you, either! I will continue to post here, but less frequently!
If you are interested in where daily life takes our family, you can find me on instagram (my user name there is jmdcreate). If you don't have an iphone, but still wish to see what's going on in my instagram feed, try this link (then click on my user name).
I'm off to embrace my new process for daily recording and give my kiddos some hugs and kisses :) (a big day around here, B insisted he wear gotchies today!).

- me out for a run on the night the cold snap hit...brrr!

O-man begging for a walk.

- S enjoying his bath (and me enjoying him enjoying his bath)

- B saying "no pictures, Mom"

-out for a night-time walk

- freaky January weather (water running down the street?!)

- embracing my commitment to exercise

- tea becoming part of my daily rituals

- B coloring and making "B's" (really into that right now)

Until next time!

December Daily

12.21.2011

So by now you know me. You know I love the idea of projects, but seem to neglect actually completing them...
I've been doing a pretty terrible job of my December Daily...mostly due to the fact that I didn't set up anything before December began...and all of a sudden it is almost over! But I have been trying to pick up my camera a bit more this month, so I'm actually ok with it. (Yay! Go me & my new lower expectations!)
This was one of my captures today.

Today, I want to remember:

- having S "help" me wrap the remaining presents (read - tear paper and chew on bows)

- having S "talk" away to me as I snapped this pic, hence his funny facial expression

- how stinking cute I think these jammies are

- the time just the two of us spent on the floor in front of the xmas tree, playing, giggling, cuddling & listening to xmas carols...the most relaxed I've felt since being home from BC!

- to adjust my camera settings (keep bumping up the ISO for the evening/nighttime pics and forgetting to put it back down again in better light...grrr!)

- some is better than none! (in regards to recording/capturing memories)

December is just going WAY too fast around here!

Hope you are all enjoying the season :)



Chunk-a-burnin' Love

10.26.2011

Oh my little soybean...


You are just a chunk!
I love our Wednesdays when we get to hang out one on one...
I love your pudgey little rolls and your big toothless grins and your bright eyes that sparkle so...
I think you are getting cuter by the day.
I love to hug you and cuddle you and kiss you and bury my face in your neck.
I love to make you smile and giggle.
You bring me so much joy and I'm so glad I'm your Momma.
Thanks for rocking your little mini-shoot today to celebrate the fact that you are sitting all by yourself (sorry it has taken me so long to actually take the time to snap some pics).
Love you, buddy.
xoxo Mom

(and one final pic in colour to show your baby blues, orange-tinted hair & your constant squirminess)

Same but Different

08.15.2011

People always ask me if I think baby S looks like his big bro...
They looked alot alike as newborns, and there are definitely some traits that are similar...
but I've never really been able to answer that question with any sort of authority (a mother's eyes are a little biased after all).

Today baby S had his 4 month needles, which allowed me to compare the weights of both boys at this age (they are only 1 ounce different) and made me think about the similarity question again. So I dug into the photo archives and did a side by side comparison...

How cute is it that they are both sort of sitting up, with a sideways lean?
What do you think? Are they similar or very different? B is on the left, S on the right (the seasonal differences account for the attire, lol).

To me, they are the same yet very different...if that makes any sense!

Too fast!

08.06.2011

If I know one thing, sweet baby...I know you are growing up way too fast.
WAY, way, way too fast.
You are four months old - that is a 1/3 of a year - already.
You have started teething (evidenced by massive amounts of drool, gnawing on absolutely anything you can get into your mouth, and a bit of cranky).
You are getting really good at holding toys and can bring them to your mouth to chew on (although you're not all that great at holding them there long term).
You roll both ways and are super proud of yourself when you do so.
You always have the biggest smile for your big bro, which he thinks is pretty darn cool (and I think it is amazing considering how much he mauls you).
You are getting pretty strong and sometimes will sit up by yourself for a short time.
You love to be tickled.
You screech.
You scream.
You yell.
You gurgle.
You giggle.
You coo.
You are quick to "tell" us when something is not to your liking.
You smile, and smile, and smile.
Love you, little guy!
Happy four months :)

(sidenote: I chose this pic because it shows his chubby & his "almost sitting" skills the best...if only he had been looking at the camera & flashing one of his big grins!)



Shhhh!

07.31.2011

Little man has had a rough week...giving mom a run for her money.
His normal rather easygoing personality disappeared & he turned into Mr. Fussybuckets!
That is why we are rejoicing by the nap he decided to take spontaneously in the middle of the floor this afternoon...ah sweet reprieve! What a difference it makes to the tone of a day when the baby sleeps and is not fussing/crying all day :) I honestly have no idea how moms of colicy/cranky babies survive! My hat goes off to them all...

Favourites

07.26.2011

You are at my favourite stage right now (although every stage is my favourite).
You are happy, constantly smiling, and totally finding your voice.
You tell stories like nobody's business, sometimes so loud it sounds like you are yelling.
It doesn't take much to convince a smile from you...and you charm many strangers with your big sparkley eyes and toothless grin.
You are always kicking, flinging your arms, and squirming around.
You sure love your big bro, and he sure loves you.

All Smiles

06.28.2011

Little man, you are all smiles.
You love to coo and are making all kinds of different sounds.
You smile with your lips, but you also smile with your eyes. They just twinkle.
You are such a happy guy.

But please, little man...stop growing up so fast!

Deux!

06.06.2011

You are two months old today.
Two months.
Seriously? Where does the time go.

I've noticed you've been neglected a bit here on the blog, my boy. I'm not entirely sure why, but I will speculate it has something to do with your hotdogging big bro and your procrastinating momma.

You are such a smiley, happy and mostly content little man. I say "mostly" because when you're not content, you are REALLY not content. As in - red face, can't breathe, tears streaming down your face not content. You seem to be a bit all-or-nothing already. Oh dear. You may get this trait from your momma (at least rumour has it).

Most people think you look like your brother.
Lots of people think you look like your daddy.
Some people think you look like your Grandpa Doug.
I think you look like you.

You like to lay on your blanket, kicking your legs & squirming your arms. You like to tell stories while you do this.
You like to lay on your tummy, and will sometimes sleep for hours like this.
You don't really seem to like the middle of the night/early morning. You are almost always really tricky to get back to sleep at this time (when momma is the most tired, so sometimes we both end up falling asleep in the rocking chair).
You love to be held. You love to cuddle.
You sometimes roll over...but not with any consistency.
You love to eat (well...drink milk).
You think momma is funny (it is about time someone around here did).
You are Mr. Smileypants until momma tries to take your picture doing so...then the smiles disappear.
You like your soother, but you do not love your soother.
You are still sleeping in your bassinet (but this may or may not be because your momma is in denial that you are growing up so fast).
You like to go for walks, and will usually take a little catnap while we do.
You have spent a couple of nights in the hospital already.
You like your vibrating chair.
You've hit the floor twice. We'll blame momma once, big bro once. You are tough.
You have traveled a little bit. You are an awesome traveler.
You have gone from tiny little newborn to chubby little guy in the blink of an eye.
You are precious, sweet, and the perfect addition to our family.

You are loved.
You are loved SO much.

Newborn!

We (B, baby S, Grandma Jane & I) made the trek to Paper Moon Photography (in Grenfell, SK) yesterday for baby S's newborn photo shoot...

Tatum is incredibly talented and because she took pictures of both pregnancies and B when he was newborn, it only followed that we continue the tradition.

Here is the LINK to the post that showcases a few of the pictures she managed to capture.  I LOVE, love, love them.  The first brought tears to my eyes as this is often how I "see" this little man...

After being a little fussy to start, he settled in and totally rocked his shoot.  I have to say I'm pretty lucky at this point - he seems to be a great baby (knock on wood). B was hilarious, following directions to kiss his baby brother on demand (sort of) and saying "hi" to the softbox (light) continuously (I think he thought there was someone behind it).

Thanks, Tatum, for capturing the little man at this very precious and fleeting stage of his life.  We will treasure these images always :)