Last day of swimming lessons

Today was Addie's last day of her first set of swimming lessons. It's incredible how much she's learned so far; I didn't realize she would learn so much at three months old, but my little water baby has learned a lot.

Addie even earned her own report card. The instructor's comments were "Excellent movement in the water Addison! Good job on kicking while doing your front and back tow and dunking under water".

Addie accomplished most of the goals for the class, but there were some things that she was just too young to learn, so we're going to sign up for the same class again in September. In the meantime, the YMCA has open swim sessions in the evenings until the next swim lessons start, so we're going to keep taking Addie to those so she gets to keep practicing what she's learned.

Here are a few more pictures of swimming:

Y3W

Finally Going Cottaging!

This summer has been crazy. Right from the very start, May 24 weekend, the unofficial official start of summer when our little girl was born. Since then our weekends have consisted of weddings, showers, work, BBQ's, and other fun but time consuming events. So far this summer our new little family hasn't had one weekend where we can just sit back, relax, and enjoy a whole weekend of family fun.

This weekend the weather is supposed to be fabulous, and we are headed to the cottage! We are so excited to enjoy the sunshine sitting on the dock, boating, fishing, eating well, and the very best thing, playing with our little girl on the beach (for the first time ever!).

This weekend is so overdue. One weekend before the unofficial official last weekend of summer. Oh well, better late than never. I'll update Monday with pictures from our family weekend.

Baby Gear We Can't Live Without!

There are soo many things you need for a new baby, and so many things you think you need but don't. We were so blessed to have been given so many wonderful baby gifts. Some things we use all the time, and some things we've never used. I thought I would do a post about our favorite baby items for Addison.

These are the things we've used so far:

Swaddle Blankets- specifically JJ Cole muslin giraffe print, and Aiden and Anais muslin swaddle blankets. Addie cannot sleep unless she is swaddled, so we swaddle both for naps and at night.

Playtex Drop-Ins Bottles/Liners- These bottles are our favorite! They are similar to breastfeeding, so Addie took to them right away, and the liners collapse as they drink so she doesn't suck air. We rarely have a gas issue since we've been using these bottles. Bonus: They are soo cheap to buy!

Medela Pump in Style Advance- This is an obvious necessity, but this particular pump is worth every penny. It pumps in the same way the hospital grade pumps do, is quiet, and has great attachments like a battery pack so it's portable, and works if the power goes out (which happens a lot at the cottage).

Skip Hop Studio Diaper Bag- Every mom needs a diaper bag, but this particular diaper bag is amazing. It has tons of accessible pockets (including an anti-microbial one for cloth diapers), straps onto my stroller, and since I also use it as my purse, looks pretty.

Britax Chaperone Car Seat - another obvious necessity, but we love our car seat. It is a little heavier than other car seats, but it has the highest safety rating out there, with no history of company re-calls, is more comfortable than other car seats we looked at and it looks stylish. It is also neutral so we can use it again. This particular car seat was rated for the lowest birth weight we could find too, so when we thought Addie was going to be early, this was important.

Bum Genius Organic All In One's Diapers - you can see from my previous post on cloth diapers that we love our cloth diapers. These are so soft, have never leaked or blown out, look cute, are economical and have absolutely no chemicals in them. Love, Love, Love these diapers. Bonus: also not made in China!

Our Monkey Gym - Addie is a very active baby. She tolerates her swing, but doesn't like it. Addie needs things to look at and things to do when she plays, so she spends a lot of time playing on her monkey gym, both on her back and her tummy. Not only does it have bright colours, and interesting toys, it also has a little cabanna hut that lights up, plays music and has a mirror on it. Addie loves this thing.

i'coo Targo Stroller - My mom bought us this stroller and we couldn't live without it. I cannot list all the features of it there are so many, but one of my favorite things is that it is so versatile. When Addie was very small we used the pram, and the car seat attachment, and now that she is bigger we use the stroller seat. It is lightweight, and even Ryan comments on its maneuverability being so smooth. My only complaints about this stroller are that the shade is a little short, I would prefer rubber tires (I don't know why, I've never needed them) and it could really use a cup holder.

Baby K'Tan Organic Carrier - Before I had this, I couldn't get anything done because I was constantly having to hold Addie all day long. Even the Baby Bjorn carrier wasn't close enough to being held. This carrier is so easy to take anywhere (it fits in the diaper bag), is super comfortable, and looks adorable with Addie in it. It wraps into 8 different positions, and is easy to wash. I am in love with this carrier. It is perfect when we are out and I don't have room for the stroller, or Addie wants to be held and I need my hands free.

Pack 'n' Play- This is quite possibly the best gift we received at our baby shower. We have used this since day one at home and Addie still uses it. When she was born, we put her in the napper part and she slept all nice and cozy like she was in a little baby nest. She slept there until just this week (even though she outgrew it a month ago - if she turns out to be bowlegged we'll know why). Now Addie sleeps in the bassinet, and when she outgrows that, we'll move the mat down and put it in the livingroom to use as a playpen. This pack 'n' play has a change table, plays music, nature sounds, has a night light, a timer, and best of all the napper and bassinet vibrate which puts Addie to sleep every time after those midnight feedings. We didn't even bother buying her a bed for the cottage since it only takes 2 minutes to tear this down and set it up. Couldn't be easier.

Three Months Old!

Last Friday, Addison turned 3 months old. She is officially a quarter of a year old already. Thinking about that makes me think of this time last year. Our lives were so very different. Ryan and I were totally free to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, and we were free to be as selfish with our time as we wanted. Not to mention money. This time last year, I was working two jobs, we had enough money for savings, new clothes, new toys, and good food. And the most important thing about this time last year... we were ready to start a family. Ryan and I wanted a baby, and we wanted one bad. This time last year, I was pregnant and I didn't even know it yet.

A lot has changed in the past year, from getting pregnant, going through an entire first pregnancy together, I quit my job at Danier, we were told I had a high risk pregnancy, then told I didn't have a high risk pregnancy, my grandmother passed away, we were told our baby was breech and was going to have to be delivered via a c-section, we went from having a plain spare room with a couple of my little brother's old beds to creating a beautiful nursery in our home, and our baby girl was born via c-section on May 20th, 2010 at exactly 3:26pm, weighing 6lbs 3oz and measuring 21 inches long. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen, and it is amazing how she actually gets more beauitful every single day.

So what's happening at 3 months?

Addie's stats: 12lbs, 12oz, 23 inches long, and has slate grey eyes. She has a tiny bit more hair than she did when she was born, but not much. Diaper size is a 2, or two sets of snaps let out on her cloth diapers.

Sleeping: Addie goes to bed between 8:30-9:00pm, wakes up at 4am to eat (doesn't even open her eyes while she's eating) and then sleeps again until about 7-8am. She eats another bottle then daddy puts her into bed with momma until about 9, when we both get up for the day. Addie is usually awake for an hour and a half and has her only nap for the day anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. The rest of the day Addie naps for up to 20 minutes if she's really tired. Addie still loves to be swaddled and will only sleep if she's swaddled up tight (but always with her arms out).

Eating: 3oz of momma milk every 2-3 hours

Personality: Addie has a definite personality. She is so much like Ryan: she is so social, she loves being around anyone that wants to be around her. She loves to smile, and babble at people, especially people she knows well like my dad and Ryan's sister Nikki. She's funny like her daddy too. Addie always seems to know what's funny and cracks the biggest smiles when she thinks something is funny, or when she knows she's done something funny.

Addie's likes: She still loves to be held, though we can put her down a little more these days, even up to 45 minutes if she's in a good mood and likes playing in her monkey gym. She absolutely LOVES the water, anything to do with water, including baths, showers, and swimming. Her favorite toy is her scuba frog that Grammie bought her, and she will play with that frog for up to an hour. Her favorite blanket is a JJ Cole swaddle blanket that has colourful giraffes on it. Addie loves to stare at the pattern, pull at the fabric and wrap it around her face (good thing it's breathable). Addie loves to play! She is ticklish on her tummy and loves to be tickled and kissed. Her favorite food is momma milk, but she also loves caramel sauce, and popsicles. Addie loves music, and prefers classical music, or sounds like babbling brooks and white noise.

Addie's dislikes: She absolutely HATES the car seat! I make a point of taking her somewhere in her car seat at least once a day hoping that she will get used to the car seat, I have toys on it to play with, a sucky attached to it, and always wrap blankets on her when it's cold, but she considers it some sort of torture chamber. She doesn't like to be cold, in fact the only times Addie cries now is when she is cold, hungry or tired. Addie hates formula, and gagged, spit it out, and refused her bottle when we tried to feed it to her on more than one occasion. Addie also hates being tired when there is something going on and will refuse to nap if it seems like she's going to miss something. She hates to be lying down if she's not sleeping and has really been trying to sit up on her own lately, even though she still has a long way to go there.

Milestones: Addie laughed for the first time over the weekend, to Daddy as he was kissing/blowing on her tummy and we were both there to hear that beautiful sound. She has no problem sitting up with some aid, but can almost sit up on her own if put in the sitting position. She is soo close to rolling over back to front, is babbling up a storm and can pretty much burp herself now. When we go swimming, she can hold herself up on a baby flutter board and knows to kick her legs. She can grab toys/blankets now, and turns her head to sounds. When Ryan calls on speaker phone, she'll stop crying and stare at the phone looking for him. She only does this for Daddy's voice.

After the wedding

Last night went really well. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, the bride was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. And how did mommy and daddy do without their little girl for the whole night? Suprisingly well I thought... until the father-daughter dance, when Ryan leaned over and said "Just think, one day that will be me dancing with Addison" and we BOTH started crying. lol good thing it was a wedding and other people were crying too! After that though, we were okay. We missed our little girl a lot, but we called around 9pm and she was doing great, just being put down for the night, and happy as a little clam. Ryan and I enjoyed the rest of the evening, but we were there to pick her up by 8:30 this morning.

Addie's reaction when she saw us??? None... the little monkey didn't even notice we were gone, and smiled more for Grammie and Grampie than mommy and daddy. Go figure...

Y3W

Your 3 Words:

Overnight With Grandma!

From now on, I'm going to be participating in a blog segment called Your Three Words (Y3W) every Friday, based on my favorite blogger's blog Jenni from the blog. The segment is meant to sum up the current week, (including the coming weekend) in just three words.

So, here's the very first segment:

Today Ryan and I are going to a wedding, and my parents are taking Addison. This alone is great. Great for Ryan and I to have a night out, great for Addison to spend time with her grandparents, and great for my parents to spend time with their granddaughter.

But.... it will be her first overnight without us since she was born, exactly 3 months ago today, and I'm not sure I am ready to be away from her that long. When my mom took her today at 11am, Addie was laughing and smiling, and babbling, and just generally doing all the things that make my heart melt, and make me fall deeper in love with her every day. It was so hard to let her go, and knowing that it would be about 24 whole hours before I saw her little face again had me changing my mind altogether. If my mom hadn't wanted to take her so bad, I would have just kept her and taken her to the wedding (she was invited too).

I know she'll have fun today at grammie and grampie's boat, swimming at the marina, going for a boat ride, and being shown off to everyone that happens to be at the marina today. And I know my parents will take such good care of her.... but I already miss her.

Is it tomorrow yet?

Going Back to Work

March 2009 there was an ad in the newspaper for an Instructor Therapist position at a non-profit organization here in Barrie that works with pre-schoolers who have autism. When I saw the ad, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do and applied for the job. Unfortunately, I never got a call back.

Last March, when I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with Addison, I got an email from a woman from the same company saying that they still had my resume on file and wanted to do an interview with me. I was really surprised since I had applied literally a YEAR earlier without even a confirmation that they received my resume. But, I was still interested so I decided to go to the inteview and see what happened. As it turned out, I really hit it off with the woman I interviewed with and she was more than happy to delay hiring me until after the baby was born and I was ready to go back to work.

I was planning on taking the whole year off for maternity leave, but I really didn't want to miss out on such a great opportunity so I worked out a deal that I will start with one child, which is only 8 hours a week, and will add more when I feel comfortable working more hours. I am so blessed that my dad is taking care of Addie and I don't need to worry about her at all.

Yesterday was my first day with my first little girl. I was a little nervous not knowing what to expect, but when I met her, I knew I was going to love her. She is four years old, and I meet her at a daycare to do our therapy. She is very smart for her age and learns really well, but most of all, when she learns something new, she is so proud, that the smile on her face just melts my heart and I am so happy for her. I LOVE my new job!

I definitely missed my little girl, and practically raced home to see her again, but it was nice to get out of the house for a few hours and talk to some adults. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be ready to go back to work, but I think this deal is going to work out really well. I am actually excited to go back tomorrow.

Swimming Lessons!!

Monday, Addie started her first set of swimming lessons! I was a little hesitant about signing her up for lessons that started at 9:00am every day for two weeks, with a 20 minute drive, but her first day we were ready and out the door on time to get to swimming 15 minutes early. I was very proud of us! Ryan decided to go into work a little late on Monday so he could come and watch, and Addie did great. It turned out that the only other people that signed up for the early class were our friends Monique and Xavier from our mommy and me 4th Trimester class. Every day, Addie has gotten a bit better in the water. The pool and area is VERY warm, and the bottom of the kiddie pool has a foam floor which makes it easy to kneel in to be at Addie's level in the water.

So far, we have practiced splashing, front floats, back floats, falling into the pool, life jacket wearing, standing in the water, and using a flutter board. Addie is very good at everything but doesn't like standing in the water. I can't blame her for that, she doesn't really like standing at all yet, so in water is asking a lot of her at 3 months old.

All the instructors have noticed that Addie is the best dressed baby at the pool and they comment every day on all her swim suits, (thank you Grammie for all 9 of them). So far, wearing a disposable diaper in the water has gone okay, but I will be ordering a new swim diaper for her today.

<---We're going with the apple cheeks swim diaper in bonfire. I just love cloth diapers and think this will be a lot more comfortable than a bloated up chemical filled disposable.