Post of thanksgiving

Four days ago the one year old daughter of a high school classmate of mine had her second bone marrow transplant trying to rid her poor body of leukemia. Today the four month old son of a friend of mine underwent open heart surgery. I spent all morning barely able to breath waiting for to hear that baby James was out of surgery. I honestly don't know how I would have managed if this had been my child.

So this is a post of thanksgiving. I am so very very grateful that Brianna is healthy. That she's so full of energy and play that it's exhausting to keep up with her. That I don't have time to post on this blog because she demands that I play with her and not spend time on the computer. That it takes an hour to put her to sleep each night, because it means she's home every night in her bed. That she wakes up multiple times and cries out for comfort not because she's in pain or sick, but because she wants a cuddle. That getting her to eat is impossible because she has no desire to sit still long enough to eat.

I am so thankful that she is growing, thriving and full of life.

First words

Just a quick update to document that Brianna has finally started talking! She started saying "No" on the 18th of May, "Hi" on the 21st and today (the 25th) said "day. care." when Chris asked if she was ready for daycare! The words are coming!

And yes, I realize that my stubborn little girl saying "no" first isn't really a surprise. Look at her mother! :)

Catching up - part 3

The big event for October was of course Halloween. And yes it was more fun than thanksgiving :p We had several Halloween events and lots of fun looking for a costume. First up was a party with all of Brianna's little boyfriends. Then there was pumpkin carving with her cousins and grandma. And finally the night of itself. She didn't go trick-or-treating, but she did have fun answering the door until bed time.

For the baby get together Bri dressed up as a butterfly.

She had to take some time out of her costume to eat a ball.

Second french kiss with Carter. He looks a little scared, doesn't he? :)

I kissed him mommy!!

Monkeys (Gavin and Carter) and butterfly. Lion Luke and giraffe Asher.

Emptying the pumpkins.

Brianna's first pumpkin with mommy's in the back.

Brianna's

Daddy's

Mommy's

All light up. Of course it was so windy they blew out almost instantly!

Catching up - part 2

Random picture time!


Bri came with me to aunt Jenn's baby shower and had a blast riding aunty Karine!

We read one of Jenn's new books together.

I can't remember the name of Jenn's friend, but Bri liked her :)

Crawling in my party dress for thanksgiving!

Hanging with cousin Hannah

Sitting pretty in my chair

I can get up all by myself!

Catching up - part 1

Yup, you read right! I'm aiming to catch up on my blogging before I start back at work on Thursday. There will obviously be a lot of posts as I haven't updated regularly since August (doh!). Hopefully I can remember all of the key points of the last 6 months, which basically means I hope I took lots of pictures as I'll be updating via photos :)

When I last updated, Brianna had just had her first solids in August. Shortly thereafter we went up to my mom's cottage for two weeks over the Labour day long weekend. Bri had a blast at the cottage. Although it was too cold to swim in the lake, there were a couple of days when she got to "swim" in a kiddie pool on the porch. She also got to play in the grass, play with grandma and grandpa, sing with mommy and aunty Karine and basically have lots of people playing with her all day!

The only problem was her sleeping. After the first few nights she absolutely refused to sleep in her pack and play. Every time you would put her down she would just SCREAM. This led to a few really terrible nights. Once Chris left (he only stayed for the first week) I ended up having her in my bed. This meant I lost my evenings, but it made the nights much much better.

Now for some pics!

Bathtime in the tub :)

More solids.
Look! Cereal!!


I'm looking at you!

Cutie pie.

Singing! I love it!!



What? These are a toy for me, aren't they?

Climbing the stairs for the first time.

Walking!!

Yep, that's right, we have a walker!! She took two steps and kept standing. Of course grandma saw it Friday and I just saw it now, but I'll take it!! Next week: running ;)

Goodbye grandma

I know I haven't updated this blog in ages. I keep meaning to and it hasn't happened. But today I want to take the time for a very sad post. Brianna's grandma Putt passed away last night. It was not unexpected as we knew she had little time left. She had cancer which had spread from her colon to her liver, lungs and bones. She went very quickly, only living for a month from the time of her official diagnosis.

But I don't want to talk about her death. I want to talk about her life, in particular about her relationship with Brianna. She loved our little girl so very very much.

Over the summer I was struggling. Chris was working out of town all the time and I was home alone with the baby. I needed some help. Our solution was to have Diane stop by for two hours of babysitting Monday to Thursday on her way to work. For three months or so I got a break from 3pm to 5pm and Brianna got to play with her grandma. The two of them quickly bonded.

Diane was wonderful with Bri. She would take her for walks in good weather. She was able to get her to nap (not an easy task!). And they just loved to play together. When Bri was grouchy Diane would take her to look out the door. Or to play with the baby in the mirror. Or they would stack cups or play with Brianna's dolly (a gift from grandma). There was the odd time I would need to come downstairs to help out, but after the first few weeks Diane was usually able to manage. And Brianna loved her grandma so much. At the time we were just introducing Brianna to solid foods and we were giving her two "meals" a day, at about 10am and 3pm. Four days a week that second meal was served by grandma. Diane quickly became a very efficient feeder, much better even than Chris!!

Even when Diane first got ill and was no longer able to pick Brianna up they would still play with Bri at Diane's knee. Of course Brianna was not at all a fan of this, as she wanted her grandma to pick her up, thank you very much!! Right until the end Brianna would try to go to Diane, long past the point when Diane had the strength to hold her. But she would try so hard I was often hard pressed to keep her off her grandma. Brianna knew who she wanted and would not be denied. And Diane wanted her too. One of our last visits, the only time Diane managed to open her eyes the whole way was after I held Bri down so she could rest her head on grandmas shoulder. Afterwards Diane opened her eyes wide and looked right at Brianna. The rest of the visit she hadn't managed to open her eyes more than a crack.

I am so very grateful the two of them had those months to bond. And I am so very devastated that Brianna won't remember the grandma she loves so much and who loved her just as much. We will miss you forever Diane and I will never forget how much you were able to help Bri and I when we needed help so badly. Rest in peace, we love you.