Tales from the Crib

Big Day

2008-05-06T09:22:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for me, finally after 2 years of waiting I was able to get pigtails in Bethany's hair!!!! She usually doesn't like anything in her hair, but I got new elastics and she loved them so I was "allowed" to put them in. She was really proud and thought she looked cute. We think she looks super cute!!! Hooray for hair getting longer!!

A double chinned smile from Madelyn...she was a little squished in her seat!

The other day Matt left the living room and when he came back this is what he found. Just like her Daddy!!!

It's been a while....

2008-04-15T09:29:00.004-04:00

So I may not have updated this blog for a week or two...or 9 months. Facebook has really taken over & it seems like I just rely on it for people to be in the know!

In the last post I announced that we were expecting baby #2. Well Madelyn Ann arrived on March 24th, weighing in at 7lb 7oz and was 20 inches long. She is a sweet baby, and we are loving having two girls! Bethany has been a great big sister & loves Madelyn.

Bethany just celebrated her 2nd birthday on Saturday, Matt & I still can't believe that she's two already. She is a great girl and keeps us well entertained with the things she says & does!!
I will try and keep this blog more updated (for the 2 people that read it), but can't make any promises!!!

Madelyn Ann

Bethany & Madelyn

Lots of Love!

Bethany on her new birthday bike from Uncle Adam. She loves her bike!!!

And baby makes....

2007-09-18T18:21:00.000-04:00

Four!!! For those who don't know, Matt & I are expecting Baby #2. We're very exciting & looking forward to adding a little brother or sister for Bethany. I am due around April 1st, 2008, so the kids will be 2 years apart! So should be plenty busy...especially when Matt's away!!!

That's the news for now!

Camping fun!!

2007-09-10T21:48:00.001-04:00

Labour Day weekend we headed to the Valley for some camping fun at Yogi Bear Campground. We went with four other families & even though we felt like we were jammed in like a can of sardines, we all had a great time. Bethany loved her first camping adventure, especially being able to play with all the kids for so many days in a row! Matt & I were both really impressed with how well she slept considering it was really loud (notice the trailer right behind our tent...they were not great neighbours). But she had great nights & naps in the tent, we were very proud of her...she's a trooper!!!

Bethany was seriously excited about the tent, she loved it!

Bethany "helping" Daddy

Waiting in line for the "fishing pond." Come to think of it, where did that treat bag go that she got??? Someone owes me some candy!!!

Nothing like a good scrub in the dish tub!!! She loved it, I think she was just happy to be finally clean...she had a nice sheen of dirt on her most of the weekend!

Meeting Yogi, she kept saying "hug Yogi, okay" the whole time in line, then when she got to him she was in awe.

The Men taking care of the fire.

Our family by the campfire (the soother "sookie" is just for bedtime, but it was late, and we were camping, so I broke a lot of rules!!)

Bethany, me & Jayme

I think my face pretty much sums up "This is my 3rd night of camping"

The end of camping....Bethany is worn out! But there's more Bethany, now we're going to the zoo!!

Daddy & Bethany at the zoo

The baby goat

Bethany loved feeding the deer, she was not scared at all and stuck her hands right in. At this point my camera died & I took a couple more pics with Gary & Rachel's camera, so I'll post them later.

It was a great weekend with lots of laughs & yummy junkfood!!! We enjoyed the time to just hang out with our friends & relax!!! A perfect way to end the summer & Matt's 6 weeks away at sea!!!

Not a very good blogger!

2007-08-16T19:50:00.000-04:00

I've really slacked off in the blog dept the last month. In my defense, Bethany & I were away in the Miramichi (land of not much internet) for 2 weeks. Also, I feel like I must have pictures to post to make this blog somewhat interesting to read, and Matt has the camera up North with him! So when he gets home in 2 weeks it'll get more interesting!

We did have a fun night tonight though and went out to supper with Amy & Campbell (another fatherless pair!). We went to Lone Star, it was yummy & the kids did great!

That's about all the news for today!!!

Back from vacation

2007-07-19T12:46:00.000-04:00

We had a great time on vacation this year. Canada Day weekend we headed up to Cape Breton & spent some time with Matt's parents at their property & also spent some time with our friends in Sydney! It was great to visit up there again!

Bethany doing some reading during the drive

Steven & Alana, Canada Day at the Fortress of Louisbourg

Matt & Bethany, she loved the cannonballs!

After our trip to CB we came home for one day and then headed up to my parents cottage in the Miramichi for a week and a half. Gary, Rachel & Ryan came up and spent the first weekend there to! We had a great time together & played lots of games, it was nice to relax with them!

Rachel, Ryan & Gary

Ryan & Bethany were great entertainment for each other!

Rachel & Me

Dad bought Bethany a butterfly net & a little bug container, so they had a great time catching bugs!

There is a moth in her net

Up close and personal

Cutie in the hammock

Big Poppa, Poppa & Bethany, in Big Poppa's workshop

Family picture

Roasting marshmallows, and the hoods were to escape the bugs, not because it was cold!

We had a great time away, Bethany was a great traveller & had a lot of fun at the cottage! Vacations are the best!

Fun Summer Days!

2007-06-26T20:43:00.000-04:00

Since it was so nice and hot out yesterday, I took Bethany swimming over at Rachel's parents pool. Bethany hasn't been swimming since last year & she was 3 months old then, so I wasn't sure if she would be nervous or not. She wasn't nervous at all though, and loved being in the pool, she had a great time splashing and kicking in her floaty frog thing. She even put her head under water a couple of times, it was a big hit! We had a great time with Rachel, Ryan, Jennifer, Bradley & Luke (Abigail was sleeping & missed out on the pool fun!).

Best day of my 14 1/2 month life!

Best Day of Ryan's almost 8 month life!! He had a great time to!

"Auntie" Rachel pulling Bethany & Ryan around the pool

Bethany & Luke in their boat. I think they really do have a crush on each other!

So sweet, warming up after a great swim!

Happy Anniversary!

2007-06-23T19:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our 5th wedding anniversary! To celebrate Matt & I went away Thursday night for 2 nights, a time to relax and recharge. Mom & Dad came to stay with Bethany, so we could really enjoy ourselves knowing that she was having fun with them.

We went to Wolfville and stayed at the Gingerbread House Inn Bed & Breakfast. We stayed in the Gaspereau Suite & it was beautiful!!! We highly recommend this place to anyone looking to get away! We had a great time, after 2 1/2 days away from Bethany we missed her and were ready to come home and see her...although right now I am missing the hot tub that was in our room!!!

The Gingerbread House Inn (right in the middle where you see the French doors, that was the entrance to our suite)

The room

It was really nice

Sweet, sweet Hot Tub...oh how I miss you!

Our breakfast from this morning, so good!

Self portrait

Matt waiting for the train in Wolfville, since the tracks are grown over and the train station is now a library, I think he'll be there a while.

Thursday night we took a drive to New Minas & decided to spontaneously go bowling (yes these are the things that are exciting to us when we're away without the baby), we first had to run into Walmart and buys socks...then we were off to the lanes. It was a good time!

Matt's fine form...bowling that is

Anyways it was a great getaway, something we pretty much never do, so we enjoyed it! Thanks to Mom & Dad for hanging with Bethany, she had a great time!!!

Bye bye Ba-ba!

2007-06-12T20:14:00.001-04:00

Well tonight I finally made the break and gave Bethany her bedtime milk out of a sippy cup and not her bottle. Her nighttime bottle was the only one she had left, and she was ready to give it up, I was the one that was holding on to it. Giving her that bottle at night made her seem like she was still a little baby to me not the toddler that she's quickly turning into, and it was so cute to hear her go "Oooh, ba-ba" whenever she saw it! But alas, it was time to move on, so she had her cup of milk, brushed her teeth and then went off to bed. Mind you she did cry hysterically when I put her to bed, but I'm pretty sure that was more the fact that her Uncle Karl was here and she wanted to stay & play with him!

Did any of you other mom's feel a little sad when the time came to do away with the bottle?

Little Friends

2007-06-08T20:43:00.000-04:00

I've been slacking in the blog department lately, so here is an update!

Last Saturday morning I watched Naomi for a few hours while Sarah was away & Jamin was at the church. The girls had a great time together as usual, there were lots of hugs & kisses! It was a great morning & I had fun watching them play.

Friends

Having fun playing

There are 2 girls under those hats somewhere. This is Bethany's new pool that I blew up while the girls were playing, and then I almost passed out.

Snack time in the pool...no drink for Naomi, Bethany has taken all the cups.

A few days ago I was emptying the dishwasher and I called out to Bethany to come help me, she interpreted this as "Bring mommy's shoe & hang it on the dishwasher!" She was very proud of herself.

Accessorize

Now if this look doesn't say "Don't even think of removing the shoe!" I don't know what does!

She pretty much thinks she's the funniest baby ever!

Not much else is happening with us, Matt just finished up work yesterday and is now off for 6 weeks! I am very excited about this and we are looking forward to spending lots of time with friends & family! And I also have a few things for him to do around the house to!!!

Handyman Matt

2007-05-29T08:55:00.000-04:00

Last week Matt completed our deck. When we bought the house only the the floor of the deck was complete, it had no rails or anything. Bethany loves to play outside & I was getting frustrated by chasing her around the deck making sure she didn't jump off, there are a couple sections that are low enough for her to walk off, but of course that's not usually where she goes!

So Matt came to my rescue and put the posts and railings up, it has been awesome to go out and play and not worry about Bethany, we have been loving our new deck! Thanks Matt!!! It's great to have such a handy husband.

Watching Daddy work from the comfort of her chair

Please let me out, I can help.

The beginning of the project

All finished, it's time to play!

Mmm...diet pepsi

Weddings & Birthdays

2007-05-21T10:44:00.000-04:00

On Saturday Matt, Adam & I went to a wedding for our friend Aaron's brother Ernest & bride Robin. Adam & Ernest went to school together, so we all went together. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time at the reception with our friends!!

Matt, me & Adam

Leanne, Amanda & Me

Table 17 representing!!! We had so much fun with this crew, lots of laughs & lots of dancing!! Leanne (with Lucy the butter dish she decorated), Amanda, Me, Aaron (best man), Adam, Matt, Chris & Justin

Saturday was also Adam's 24th birthday, because of the wedding we celebrated it yesterday!

The birthday boy

Two fake smiles

The family (minus dad taking the pic)

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T19:34:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there, I hope you all had a great day! I had a great day with my little girl, and also with my Mom. I really am so blessed by all that God has allowed me to have. I hope you all enjoyed your day as well and were treated a little extra special today!

Gary the Graduate

2007-05-12T21:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday our friend Gary graduated from the B.Ed program at the Mount. Last night we went to a BBQ at Gary & Rachel's to celebrate the new Teacher!!!

The graduate...cheesy smile, literally

Luke & Bethany were of course happy to see each other!

Happy Ryan in his jumper

Rachel serving up some cake

Graeme the master BBQ'er

The boys, Bradley, Campbell & Luke

Ronnie (Gary's brother) & Matt

Congrats Gary!

Adventures with Bethany

2007-05-03T18:58:00.000-04:00

This week Bethany has seemed a little extra busy, so a couple of days ago I tried Matt's trick of keeping her trapped in the living room by blocking the entrances. It obviously works better for Matt, cause she got through my blockade....

And then I heard her saying "teys, teys" (keys), and this is where she was:

She had used Matt's guitar case to climb up on the bench to get the keys. Like a good mother, I made sure she was fine and then grabbed the camera!!
She had only been out of my sight for a few seconds...she's so fast.

Now that Bethany's only having one nap a day, she's usually very sleepy by the time she has lunch. Today she fell asleep during her lunch, but for the first little bit she kept on eating...then finally laid her head down. It was so cute. At one point she lifted her head up with her eyes closed and just said "Mama". She was delirious!

Must keep eating

Down for the count

Women's Retreat

2007-04-28T20:35:00.000-04:00

Today I got back from our church's women's retreat. It was an overnight event held at the Oak Island Inn. It was the first night I left Bethany overnight, so I was a little sad about that, but I had lots of fun. My roommates Sarah, Jennifer and I had a great time, ate a lot of junk food, and laughed our heads off till about 2am...mostly at Jennifer who became quite delirious and found everything funny from about 5pm on!

It was great to have a little break, and when I got home I was so happy to see my family...they are so great and I am very thankful for them. I was also thankful for the fact that Matt did some housework, so I came home to an even cleaner house! Very impressive!

Here's a couple pics from my weekend.

Roommates! Me, Sarah, Jennifer & our pizza...that I guess we thought needed to be in the picture

Sarah & I

Jenn & Jen

Sarah, Me, MaryAnne and our painted nails

Me & my Bunco beads. The game of bunco is so much fun, and loud and crazy, it was a lot of fun. I don't have the energy to explain the point of the beads...but for those girls that were there, you know how important they were!!

Not a retreat picture, but this is Bethany's b-day gift from her uncle Adam she just got tonight, a new Sony CD player for her room! Not spoiled or anything!!

Pictures

2007-04-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

Not much is going on around here, so here are some random pictures from this week!

At the park with Daddy

Yummy pasta...Bethany's favorite

Licking the bowl clean

All Done!!!

Today I got Bethany a new slide, it will be going outside for the summer, but for now she's testing it out in the living room. She has no fear though, so I have to hover right over her, to make sure she doesn't jump off.

So excited!

I think she enjoyed climbing up the slide more than sliding down it

New Dress

2007-04-18T20:01:00.000-04:00

My parents just got back from their vacation in Mexico last night. They had a great time and picked up this cute little dress for Bethany!

It has beautiful embroidered flowers on it. So pretty!

Bethany and her very tanned Poppa & Grammie (her eyes are closed of course, but I thought she looked cute)

We're glad you had a great vacation & thanks for the gifts you brought back for us!

Turn Around

2007-04-16T10:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we turned Bethany's carseat around to be forward-facing. Now that she's a year old she doesn't need to be rear facing anymore, also we thought it would give her a new view! I was a little sad because she looks like a big girl now in her seat, these milestones are always a little hard for me!!!

She loved being able to look out the front window of the car, she kept looking from Matt to me in amazement! When I asked her if this was fun she said "Whee!". She kept saying that during the drive, whee, whee! So apparently it was quite the ride for her!

One Year Old

2007-04-12T08:11:00.000-04:00

Today Bethany turns One. It's amazing how fast this last year has gone. It has been a year of a lot of firsts, a lot of nighttime feedings, a lot of diapers and especially a lot of smiles. Bethany has brought us so much joy and happiness, she's always been a very happy baby and is quick to give a smile and hug. God has blessed us so much! We love you Bethany!

One year ago
8lbs 1oz, 20 inches
A tiny little bundle

Today
22lbs 11oz, 30 1/2 inches
A busy girl learning to walk!

Bethany's Birthday Party

2007-04-10T08:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Bethany's 1st Birthday (her actual b-day is this Thursday). Bethany had a great time at her party, she loved playing with her friends and definitely enjoyed her Birthday cake, although the sugar rush she got from it kept her awake until 10:20pm! Thanks to everyone for the beautiful gifts, Bethany is a very loved little girl!

It's hard to believe our little baby is turning 1 this week. The last year has been such a blessing having her in our lives. She is such a happy, loving and fun girl. We are so proud of her and we thank God for giving her to us! We love you Bethany! You have brought us so much more joy & happiness than we could have ever imagined. Happy Birthday!

The Birthday Girl

Playing in the tent with the boys, Trenton & Bradley

Poor Chloe wasn't allowed any pizza, so she had to chew on her dad's thumb

Luke & Bethany...young love

Butterfly Birthday Cake

Opening gifts

After helping Naomi at her party last month, Naomi returned the favour to Bethany!

Graeme & Gary...nice pic

Bethany & Bradley

Check Bethany's new bracelet from Grammie & Poppa

Happy Birthday

First taste of cake...very dainty

But then she got serious...and the cake was soon gone

Moms & Babies (Tara was upstairs changing Chloe). I took this picture from Sarah's website.

Hugs for her giant dog

All of her gifts...she pretty much got a whole new wardrobe, which is great because we were getting short on clothes!!

Thanks again to everyone for coming, it was a great 1st Birthday for Bethany!

Big Day!!!

2007-04-07T20:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Bethany took her first steps! It was very exciting, we were over at Matt's parents house when she did it, it was just two little steps towards me, but it was still steps! Today she's been even braver and has taken 4 or 5 in a row.

It's amazing the pride you feel over those little feet moving forward! Matt & I are both very proud of our little girl! It will be a Good Friday that we always remember!

Supper with Friends

2007-04-03T21:13:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night our friends John & Dena invited us & Josh & Marian over for supper. It was great to get together and the food was really, really good. I also had my first Nintendo Wii experience. I played a little tennis and bowling and I am quite sure if we had one I would become a little bit addicted to it, so it's probably best we don't get one (sorry Matt). You know I wouldn't want my mothering or wife duties to suffer! Anyways, it is a lot of fun...although I kept thinking I was really playing tennis, so I was putting a little more effort into swinging the remote than I needed to!

Marian, Josh, John, Matt & Bethany

Bethany with her Easter Bunny from John & Dena. Very thoughtful of them...and she loves it!

Josh after dinner...can't you tell.

Our musical entertainment for the evening

Bethany loved the bongo drums

Bethany & John
Who needs toys when you have a vent to play with?

No, this is not some bad dance move...this how you look when you're playing Wii!

Matt & Josh
Wii Tennis match

Playing tennis...seriously fun

Me & Marian playing, she beat me both times...I did almost win the last round, but I banged my hand of the pool table, I kinda forgot where I was.

We had a great time, thanks guys for having us over to your home!!!!

Matt's Birthday

2007-03-31T08:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Matt's birthday, to celebrate we had some family & friends over for cake last night. We had fun, and it was nice to have everyone over.

This is the cake I made for Matt, I actually used a template of the guitar he's planning to build. He was impressed!

Matt, his sister Jen & Bethany

Matt's parents, Stu & Bev

James & my parents, Ardith & Les

John, Dan, Jessica (Matt's sister) & Karl (Matt's brother)

Daddy & his girl

Family

Rachel, Gary & Ryan

Friends!

Bethany, Chloe & Ryan with their "Babysitters" (aka their dads)

Later in the evening Sarah & Jill stopped by for some cake, but I didn't think to get a picture...they only stayed for a few minutes, long enough to wake up Bethany (nice Sarah!).

Matt, I hope you had a good day, you're a great husband and father & we love you so much!!!!

Milk, Good to the last drop

2007-03-27T19:56:00.000-04:00

Bethany is now officially on whole milk. She had her last bottle with formula in it this morning. The rest of the day was straight milk and she loved it! Matt & I are excited about this transition as it will save us some money in formula costs!! The next big step will be the transition from bottle to sippy cup...this has not gone well in the past so we'll see what happens, for now Bethany only likes water and juice in her sippy cup. As long as it goes better than her friend Naomi's sippy cup transition (sorry Sarah!).

The rain gutter came partly off our house yesterday...good times, so our friend Aaron came over tonight and climbed up on the roof and fixed it. There always seems to be something when you own a home!!! Matt finishes up work on Thursday and then will hopefully be off for 8 weeks if his 2 week vacation gets approved. It will be lots of fun to have him home for that long...I have lots of little projects for him to do! I'm most excited about the new dishwasher we bought today! We are relocating a section of cupboards, so we can put the dishwasher in. I can't wait....I am so looking forward to the day when I don't have to wash my dishes!!!!

Visit from our friends

2007-03-19T21:09:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday we had a visit from our friends Steven & Alana and 2 of their 3 kids, Christine & Calum from Cape Breton (2 year old Ainsley stayed home with her grandparents). They were spending part of March Break here in Halifax, so on Tuesday they came to our place and then we went to Montana's for supper.

We haven't seen them since we moved from CB last June, so it was great to see them. I used to work with Steven, so that's how we all met. We always had a lot of fun with them when we lived up there, and their kids are very special to us to!

Anyways it was so great to spend some time with them, Matt & I said on the way home that hanging out with them again made us realize how much we miss them, so it was sad to say goodbye again. Bethany loved them all right away, even though she was only 7 1/2 weeks old the last time they saw her. So here are some pics from our evening together...Bethany of course has her eyes closed in most of them!!

Bethany took right to Christine, she kept laying her head on her shoulder hugging her, it was so cute

Calum entertaining Bethany!

Steven, Alana, Christine, Bethany & Calum

Hugs at Montana's!

Smiling with her eyes closed of course

Tickle Time!!

Calum's shirt said "I make dirt look good" He's grown up so much in the last few months, I couldn't believe how tall he is now.

Me, Matt & Christine. Christine just turned 10, she's getting so old. She's such a nice little girl, we love her!!!

The whole gang (minus Ainsley, we missed her!)

We had so much fun, we're planning to go to CB for a visit in May, so hopefully that'll work out. Nine months between visits is just way to long!

Tour of the Louis

2007-03-15T20:18:00.000-04:00

Tonight Gary, Rachel, Me & the kids met Matt at the ship and had supper on board and then Matt took Gary & Rach on a tour. They hadn't been on the ship before so it was all new to them. Anyways we had a fun time, and it was nice to see Matt, since he won't be home tonight. Supper was really good to, it's always good when you don't have to cook it or pay for it!!!

Our fearless tour guide
Rachel felt a little safer standing off to the side instead of on the catwalk like thing!

Matt & Bethany on the bridge

The family

I'm so tired, please take me home

Party, Party, Party

2007-03-14T20:22:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting for Matt to bring home the cord for the computer to upload pictures of our weekend, so finally here is the recap!!

Saturday Bethany & I went to Naomi's 1st birthday party! It was a lot of fun and Bethany was very interested in Naomi's gifts, fortunately Naomi doesn't mind sharing! It was a great day, with only the minor glitch of me getting a flat tire! Thankfully it happened in front of Jamin & Sarah's house, Jamin & his brother changed it for me which was a huge help! There's always something!

The Moms and Babes at the party
Checking out the presents

Yummy cake!

The other day I took Bethany to the park for her first time on the swings. She loved swinging, she loved watching her feet dangling in the air. It's going to be so much fun with her once the weather warms up. We have a park at the end of our street, which is really nice.

The back swing

I love the swings!!!

Later that afternoon 2 of Matt's sisters stopped by for a visit. Bethany always loves to see her aunts, and so do I!

Aunt Jessica relaxing on her day off

Aunt Erica & Bethany

It's always great to have visitors to break up the day...Bethany gets excited to see someone other than just me!!

Standing on my own

2007-03-07T21:17:00.000-04:00

In the last couple of days Bethany has really started to stand on her own for longer periods of time. She had done it occasionally, but would get nervous right away, but she's getting much braver. And of course every time she stands up we make a huge deal of it, so that encourages her. Tonight when Matt got home, she even moved one of her feet forward, I wouldn't call it a step, maybe a quasi-step. It is so exciting to watch her learning new things, and she's so proud of herself to!

Getting ready to stand up

Taking Mommy's picture

Such a big girl!

Bethany's a little like me (Tamara) and loves to talk on the phone. She puts the phone to her ear and says "Hi" it's very cute. She's really starting to say lots of little words, I love listening to her try to talk.

This weekend Bethany has her first birthday party to go to for her friend Naomi, she is very excited. It's so hard to believe these little girls are coming up on their 1st birthdays. The last year has flown by!

Friends, Movies & Music

2007-03-01T14:30:00.000-04:00

This morning Bethany's friend Campbell came over to play for a couple of hours while his mom & dad (our friends Amy & Shaun) went to a meeting. Bethany was so excited when she woke up from her nap and saw him! She loves playing with other kids so much!

Snack time! Bethany kept trying to feed Cam her banana, but he was happy to just help himself.

Last night Mom & I went to see Music & Lyrics, the Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore movie. We really liked it. It was pretty funny, but had enough romance to be a good chick flick! It was also pretty clean, not much bad language at all, which was nice! I definitely recommend this movie. Hugh Grant even does all his own singing!!

I'll leave you with a picture of Bethany cuddling with her Daddy. She does this all the time, he'll put on music (loud, not soothing, there's no soothing music in our house), and she lays her head on his shoulder and they dance around and he sings to her. She'll stay like this for a good 20 minutes, she just totally mellows out. And it's definitely a time that it's all about Daddy, when they're having their music time, she won't come to me, she wants to stay with him. She's a music lover for sure. Anyways, it's really sweet, and I know Matt loves these times with her!

Weekend Updates

2007-02-26T20:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had lunch with my cousin Victor, Jodi (his wife) and their son Trenton. They're house-sitting till April, so when went to check out the digs! We had a great turkey lunch and ended up being to lazy to move off the couches, so we stayed all afternoon. It was great to hang out, we love spending time with them. When they first moved here last summer we were all living a my parents place (my parents where away, most of the time, so we took over), we had a lot of fun together, and it was so great to have Jodi around to help with the baby!! Anyways, here are some pics from the afternoon.

Trenton went and found every stuffed animal in the house, and put them around Bethany...she was excited!
Trenton smiling for the camera, Bethany was looking at it, but then crawled away!

Cousin Victor putting on a puppet show

Matt & Victor were more interested in the puppets than the kids

Piano time with Daddy

Exhasted after a long day!

Not much else is happening here. Matt was at my parents all day laying floor in their basement. And I'm just spending some time on my new discovery, this Facebook thing...is anyone else a part of that? I know Sarah is. It's crazy, it's like all this people that I've lost touch with and wonder what they're doing, if their alive, have just magically appeared through Facebook, I was just introduced to it this week! Anyways, between keeping up on the blogs and talking to people from Facebook, poor Bethany doesn't stand a chance!!!! Just kidding, I'll still give her a good 5 minutes a day of my undivided attention! I am going for mom of the year!

Starring Bethany & Naomi...again!

2007-02-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Sarah & Naomi came over for a playdate and lunch. The girls as usual had a great time playing together, especially in Bethany's play tent! It's hard to get good pics of them, because as soon as Sarah or I take out the camera they both start crawling over to get it!

This is the new tray I got for Bethany's bumbo seat. It's such a great idea! She ate her lunch in it, so Naomi could use her highchair. I love the bumbo and now it's even better with the tray for toys or food!

A few days ago, Bethany's uncle Karl (Matt's 14 yr old brother) stopped by for a visit. Bethany loves Karl so much & gets so excited when she sees him...it's so cute! And he's great to sit and play with her and entertain her. Once he's not scared of changing diapers, he'll be a great babysitter!!!

Playing with Uncle Karl

Karl also enjoys playing with Bethany's toys!

This has been such a fun week with Bethany, she's really trying to be more vocal and says Uh-Oh, everytime something falls. It's so cute. She also does the actions to the song "This little light of Mine", well as much as a 10 month old can do! I'm going to try and get some video up of her on this site.

Tonight I'm off to a evening of scrapbooking at the church, so I'm looking forward to that...after almost 5 years of marriage, I'm almost done my wedding scrapbook!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T15:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Bethany & I went for lunch and a visit with Sarah & Naomi. We had a great time. The girls are so cute together, they both have pretty outgoing personalities so it's funny to watch them together, especially when they both decide they want the same toy! We attempted to stay for the afternoon and naptime, but Bethany was not interested in sleeping when there were so many new things to look at. She of course fell asleep in the car as soon as I left, so I drove around for awhile so she could have a little snooze.

A "friendly" discussion over who deserves the comb

Yay, Naomi's in the blocks bin!

My new little shadow. I was very flattered that Naomi wanted to follow me around yesterday. She's such a cutie.

We had such a great time yesterday! Thanks girls for having us over!!! No big plans for us for Valentine's today. We exchanged cards, and got Bethany a little pink stuffed hippo. We're looking forward to spending a quiet evening together as a family!

Bethany hates the sun in her eyes, so she borrowed her Daddy's shades yesterday!

Have some chocolate and enjoy the rest of the day!!

Welcome Baby Chloe!!!

2007-02-08T14:37:00.000-04:00

Congrats to Tara & Colin on the arrival last night of 8lb 2oz Chloe Grace. Matt & I just got back from visiting them at the hospital. Chloe is very sweet and Tara looks great! It's so exciting to have another baby in our crew! With all these girls being born, Ryan's going to have lots of choices in about 17 years!

Chloe Grace

I may head back to the hospital later on for another visit. Ryan is also at the IWK for the night because of his cold, so I'll stop in and see Rachel and him to.

Congrats again Tara & Colin!!

The Death Cold

2007-02-07T20:48:00.000-04:00

Well Bethany is in the middle of her first cold. Runny nose, coughing and just feeling yucky. Pretty much everybody/baby we know has it, so there was no escaping it! She's still been happy though, she's a tough kid, I've definitely noticed a change in her appetite though, she's just not as interested in food these last couple of days. So that's been our excitement here, we all have this evil cold although Bethany & Matt have it worse than me.

In really exciting news, my friend Tara is finally in the process of having her baby!! She was due last Thursday, so we were all getting very impatient. So hopefully sometime tonight there'll be a new little one! It's such an exciting time. When I think back to having Bethany, it's so amazing, such a miracle. It just makes you stop and think of how awesome God is, that this little life comes into the world, forever changing you!!!

More updates soon, hopefully from a healthy family & with news of a new baby & friend for Bethany!!!

More celebrations!

2007-01-31T20:03:00.000-04:00

On Monday Sarah & Naomi came over for lunch. The girls had fun playing together and it was nice to be able to chat with Sarah without worrying about a long distance bill!!!

Naomi & Bethany playing. Lately Bethany has been making this face where she scrunches up her nose. I think it's cute...but then again I am her mother!

Yesterday was my birthday, we actually had my first birthday celebration Sunday night and had cake with mom and dad. Last night Gary, Rachel & Ryan came over and we ordered pizza and finished up the cake!!! I had a great birthday, it was so special this year having Bethany to share it with!!

My Family

My daughter, my favourite gift!

A birthday miracle...flowers from my husband!! First flowers from him in almost 4 years!!!! Thanks Matt, I love them!!!

Rachel also gave me this beautiful purple Iris. So I had a flowered filled birthday which was a nice change!!! Although this flower I have to keep alive, so we'll see how that goes!

Bethany in her new sweater/hat set, handmade by a lady in the Miramichi.

She looks so cute!!

Matt finishes up his month long shift tomorrow, so we are really looking forward to spending some quality time together as a family in the next month. His months on are long, but it's so nice to be able to spend 28 days off together!!!

Lunches, Fat lips & Birthdays

2007-01-26T13:04:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday Tara, Rachel & Ryan came over for lunch. Rachel and I took the opportunity to take pictures of Ryan & Bethany in their matching Baby jogging suit things. They looked pretty cute. Although we couldn't quite get a picture of both of them smiling at the same time. Tara has just one week left till her due date, so it's getting very exciting! Could be any day now!! I can't wait!

Earlier in the day, Bethany decided to fling herself over the gate of her play tent, banging her mouth on the floor...of course her teeth hit her lip and cut it resulting in a fat lip. She only cried for a minute, I think it hurt me more. She's just a wild child that has no fear, she plays really rough, so I'm sure we're in for a lot more bumps and bruises.

Smiling Bethany, Serious Ryan

Smiling Ryan, Bethany making sure Ryan is really there

Two models getting tired of their photo shoot

Too cute!!!

"It's only 7am and I already have a fat lip...I'll smile for you, but don't even think I'll open my eyes for this picture."

At supper Bethany & I went to Wendy's with Mom & Dad to celebrate Mom's birthday (which was the next day, but they were going away). So we had a quick birthday celebration for Mom!

Bethany, of course just wants to touch the flames

Yesterday Rachel & I went out in the afternoon, I had mom's car to use, so we figured we better take advantage of having transportation!! All we did was go to the grocery store & Walmart, and we both were in some weird trance, so we pretty much walked around in a daze, while the babies fussed. Oh well, at least we got out of the house!!!!

Tales of a Rocking Chair

2007-01-19T16:16:00.000-04:00

Today I got an old rocking chair out of my parents basement and cleaned it up. It used to be mine! It was given to me by an aunt & uncle when I was just 2 weeks old. It's still in great shape for being almost 27 years old (better shape than me, I think). Mom said there used to be a music box sort of thing on the rocker part that played music everytime you rocked. Anyways, I'm excited to have something that was mine to pass on to my daughter, she thought it was great fun!

These pics look so calm and serene, really she was rocking like crazy trying to catapult herself out of the chair. She's a little young to sit in it alone!

I also got out and cleaned up mine & my brothers old highchair. I'm going to paint it, and then Bethany will have a highchair to use at Grammie & Poppa's. The strap is missing on it though, any ideas on how to keep Bethany from sliding out??

Bethany & I are spending this rainy day at my parents, waiting for Matt to finish up work for the day!!

Updates from the last week

2007-01-15T09:17:00.000-04:00

Well it seems like we've had a busy past few days. Thursday Bethany had her 9 month check up (no needles this trip!). She's weighing in at 18lbs 11oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. The doctor said she looks great and is in the 95 % for height.

Thursday night we got together with some friends that Matt graduated with, John & Dena, Josh & Marian, and the three of us and went to the Fireside for supper to celebrate Josh's birthday! We had a great time and Bethany enjoyed her first time there, although she did get kicked out at 8:30 (no one under 19 years allowed after that), but being the good parents we are, we decided to leave then to!

Friday night Bethany & I had a sleepover at Grammie & Poppa's since Matt was staying on the ship, and Saturday Rachel & I and the babies went shopping. Both Bethany & Ryan were really good!

The last couple of days Bethany has been trying to become mobile, she's finally figured out a way to "crawl" on our slippery hardwood floors. She uses one knee and one foot to go forward. She's getting the hang of it now and was scooting all around this morning.

Bethany "crawling"

Another thing she's becoming obsessed with is pushing herself up into a sitting position. It was really cute at first, but now she's doing it in her sleep, and at 1am, it's not so cute. Seriously, the last few nights I've heard her moving around a lot and go check on her and she's sitting up in her crib with her eyes closed. These new tricks they have to keep doing over and over again!!

This is what she discovered she could crawl to this morning

Another trick that she must do 800 times a day, stand up and jump up and down in her crib

In other exciting news, there's an article about the Coast Guard in the Canadian Geographic Magazine. The writer was on board the ship Matt's on when they were up north in the summer. It's a very interesting article, but we're most excited about the picture of Matt in the magazine! Check it out!

The Cover

That's Matt in the left picture, he's also in the other pic of the engine room crew (bottom left hand corner). The caption with his photo reads: Recently graduated Marine Engineer Matt (last name) had supernumerary status, leaving him free to roam the Louis day and night learning all he could about her inner workings.

That's about all from here, Matt's working, so Bethany and I are home most of the time. We are looking forward to a playdate with Sarah & Naomi this week though! Bethany's very excited to play with Naomi, and Sarah and I can chat for hours...with no long distance bill!!!

Baby Shower

2007-01-09T12:50:00.000-04:00

Last night Rachel and I (Rachel did most of the hard work!) had a baby shower for our friend Tara. Tara and her husband Colin are due to have their baby in just 3 weeks!!! We are very excited to meet their new baby! The shower was a lot of fun and I think it went pretty well. Tara got lots of nice gifts, so that was great. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, since Matt has the camera on the ship.

Matt went back to work last Thursday, but the ship is in port here, so he's home in the evenings which is nice. So Bethany and I are without car and housebound for the next 28 days...oh well. Rachel is housebound too, so one of these days I'm going to walk to her house, maybe, I think. We think it's probably about a 45-50 min walk, not too bad if the weather stays decent.

Bethany doesn't seem to be quite herself this past week, she has thrush, so she's on medication for that, but I've also noticed that her voice is a little horse sounding the last couple days, so I'm not sure if she has a sore throat. She has a doctor's appt on Thursday for her 9 month check up, so she'll get all checked over then! It's hard to believe she's almost 9 months old! This 9 months has gone much faster than 9 months of pregnancy did!

Bethany's down for her nap, so I'm off to have some lunch. I'll leave you with a picture of Bethany and Ryan on New Years Eve in their Christmas pj's. This is pretty much the only picture I have that it doesn't look like Bethany's trying to attack Ryan (probably the reason Ryan looks a little scared in the pic).

Christmas Week Update

2007-01-01T12:26:00.000-04:00

We had a great Christmas this year. It was so fun watching Bethany check out her gifts. She was very spoiled by everyone and we now need a room just for her toys! Christmas morning we opened our gifts at our home and then went to Mom & Dad's (grammie & poppa) to open gifts there. We had our first Christmas dinner at Matt's parents (Nanny & Opa's)...and then 5 hours later had another one at my parents...so we were turkey'd out, well until leftovers the next day!!!

We were very fortunate that Matt wasn't working this Christmas, so we were able to spend the holiday relaxing and enjoying time with family and friends! So here are 800 pics to recap the last few days...just kidding there's only 400.

Bethany & Daddy playing a little guitar

Uncle Adam & Bethany in their Santa hats!

Bethany was very happy to see her Uncle Adam!
It was great to have him home for Christmas.

Poppa, Grammie & Bethany
Bethany's shirt says "Look out Santa here comes Grandma" Very true!

Our family after the Christmas Eve service

Bethany in her Christmas Eve dress

Bethany & her "cousin" Lizzie, Adam's lizard playing together

Mommy & Bethany Christmas morning

New toy!

Gifts at Poppa & Grammie's house

One of the many gifts from Uncle Adam

New play tent from Grammie & Poppa

And a new car!

Teddy bear from Nanny & Opa

So there are a few pictures from our Christmas. We are so blessed this year to have Bethany to spend it with. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas season!!

Also, check out the Bethany elf our friend John sent us:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=ea4adfd78b14ea5d7fe6016G06123016

Very cute John!!

In under the wire

2006-12-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

Well my brothers gift arrived yesterday! I was very excited, now I can relax and not worry about him returning my gift!!

We've had a good couple of days. Sarah, Jamin & Naomi came over for supper last night, so that was fun to have them here. The girls had fun playing together, they are so funny to watch. After they left we went over to Gary, Rachel and baby Ryan's house for a bit. We played a game and Rachel made a tollhouse pie, yummm. Nothing like chocolate and sugar at 10:00 at night.

I do have some pictures to put up, but I haven't uploaded them yet...but they will be on soon.

Well, I think we may be crazy people and head out to the stores today...I'm sure I'll regret this decision later, but oh well!!!

All I want for Christmas is....

2006-12-21T13:51:00.000-04:00

For my brother's gift to get here! I bought something off ebay about 3 weeks ago and it's still not here. So tomorrow is the last mail day before Christmas, so therefore my last chance to get it. So Adam, I had really good intentions, and it's a really cool gift, but you may not get it till January! I may just have to find a picture of it and give that to him...cause I'm sure that's just as good!

Not much else happening in our house, baby's napping, Matt's gone to his parents to work on a guitar he's building and I'm enjoying the quiet!

Well I'm off to bake some cupcakes, the 2 times it's snowed here the kids next door shovelled our driveway for us since Matt was at work, so I thought I'd thank them with some treats.

One Week Until Christmas

2006-12-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that another Christmas is almost here. It's even harder to believe that we have a baby to share it with this year!! I'm really looking forward to seeing Bethany's reaction on Christmas morning! She's still to young to really grasp what's going on, but she loves to pull the bows off the gifts that are already under the tree!

We're pretty much ready for Christmas here, it was pretty easy for Matt because I pretty much bought all my gifts and then brought them home to show him what he was giving me...but I draw the line at wrapping them myself, he has to do some of the work!!!! Is everyone else ready for Christmas (and by everyone I mean the 3 people that read this blog)? I love Christmas, especially the Christmas Eve service, it always seems like such a peaceful night.

I will now leave you with some festive pics from our home!!!

Our first "Real" Christmas Tree. We've had a 3 ft artificial one every other year, since we were in a small apt. I was very excited to decorate a nice big real tree. It smells so nice!!!

My gingerbread house. Since Sarah showed hers, I thought I'd show mine!! My favourite part is the wreath I did above the front door. I should mention that Matt decorated the Tree and the gingerbread man. He actually decorated 2 men, but the other one was so ugly it sucked all the Christmas cheer out of the house and pretty much made the baby cry, so I made him eat that one!

And definitely the best gift we received this year! She is so cute! These pics are for her Uncle Adam, he loves Christmas and will truly appreciate this outfit!

Trying to become mobile, Bethany is very close to learning to crawl.

Starting unwrapping early, I think she'll be able to figure it out no problem!

Checking those shiny things out.

Pics of our Family

2006-12-17T16:07:00.000-04:00

Daddy and Bethany the day she was born.

Mommy and Bethany a few days ago (8 months old)

Joining the Blog World

2006-12-17T14:40:00.000-04:00

Well I've decided to enter the wonderful world of blogging (Sarah you should be proud).

I figure this is a great way to keep friends and family updated with what's happening in our lives, mainly what's happening with Bethany.

For those that may read this and don't know much about us, I'm Tamara and my husband is Matt. In April of this year we welcomed Bethany Grace to our family. She is an amazing little girl and we are overwhelmed with love for her. We spent the last 4 years in Cape Breton, while Matt attended the Coast Guard College and we just recently moved back to the Halifax area. Matt is a Engineer with the Coast Guard and I am a stay at home mom (best job ever).

So welcome to our little place...