Summertime...and the livin' is easy

I haven't posted in forever! A and I have been filling our days with tons of activities. We do movies (they have a special day/time where you can bring the babes), playdates (he has a much busier social life than moi), swimming lessons, baby groups, coffee with friends (my friends this time) and stroller workouts. I am in a summer dance class so get out for ballet once a week, which is nice.
The green beans I posted about earlier ended up being an allergy. He was subsequently tested for major allergens and the tests were negative (yay!)
Ashton is 9 months old now. Where did the time go? Some summer pics (more to come)

Picnic!

It's picnic season! I have never been a big picnic person but the weather is gorgeous for it. Ashton is sitting completely by himself and is capable of doing this for an unlimited amount of time so I can slap on the sunscreen, give him some toys and picnic! I came along to the ball field when Jesse had practice, parked a blanket in the shade and laid out a variety of toys. All Ashton wanted was my cell phone (I have New York Times crosswords on it and am somewhat addicted). You give a kid a huge supply of toys and they want the phone!

We also have a backpack for him so we are able to do some hiking. Mom and I went to the falls for a bit of a walk. I also decided that the backpack would be easier to haul up the big hill by my house the other day (as opposed to pushing the stroller). I was totally wrong but it was a good workout!

Ashton is eating more and more solid food. He loves his cereals (oatmeal and rice) but is now eating squash and banana. The banana is new and he's not quite there yet. He's become a pro at holding banana in his mouth and then spitting it out 5 mins later when he's cleaned out. The first time I gave him oatmeal, he blew it in my face. Thankfully he loves his oatmeal now...and hopefully he'll love his banana too! The green beans were temporarily discontinued because of his excema but I have been told to reintroduce them in a few weeks. The excema is gone now so I will reintroduce the beans in a few days. The boy is somewhat of an allergy risk, I've been told but thankfully public health seems to make recommendations based on the assumption that all babies can be at risk of developing food allergies.

I have been busy too! Solids, picnics and workouts! And dance! We had our dance recital this past weekend so lots of practice! I'm stoked on doing dance through the summer too but not until July. Being active has given me such a high. I do a stroller class once a week and afterwards, I go home and clean! It's amazing...the energy I get from that kind of thing.

Last week, I had Ashton down at my parent's because we had a doctor's checkup for him. It was really hot that day and he was cranky so we set up a pool. Ashton's mommy got to go in and cool off too!

Food for thought

Ashton is six months now so we're introducing solids.  We started the week before he turned six months, which was my birthday so we figured that was a day to remember.  We started him on rice cereal.  At first he was kind of indifferent to it and then after a few days he got really excited about it and would start kicking his feet in his high chair and the little hands would get going and he would open his mouth wide.  This is him on day one:

When he got the hang of it, we started giving it to him twice a day.  I am using commercial rice cereal because it's iron fortified but I am making my own other food.  We're leaving several days between new foods and keeping a food journal.  I bought some green beans the other day.  Today I brought them with me to my parents and made them there as I went there to help with some stuff and I wanted to use the beans when they were fresh.  So I steamed the beans and after they were steamed I tried some.  They were delicious.  Then I food-processed them and strained them.  Mom has an applesauce strainer thing that is the best thing ever.  I tasted them after they were strained and it was nasty, which was weird because they were tasty before they were processed...I think it was just the consistency.  So mom took a video when I was feeding him and there are some pics of it below.  He seemed to really love the beans and wanted more.  It was pretty cool!

Skating picture

We went skating again yesterday. This photo is from last weekend. He's funny because he cries when he is in the stroller and then stops as soon as we get on the ice. I think I am lucky to have a child that I can pretty much take anywhere.

Ashton's first hockey practice?

I have so much more energy now that I've been more active.  I try to walk every single day whether Ashton likes it or not.  I have dance class once a week and now skating once a week.  I feel awesome.  Running up and down the stairs to do laundry 8000 times a week is getting easier too ;)

Jesse and I went skating on Sunday with a friend of ours and Ashton.  Ashton has to wear a helmet when he's in his stroller, which makes sense but the helmet perches on his shoulders because it is so huge and then it falls over his face and he gets really mad.  Jesse and I took turns with the stroller.  I wore hockey skates for the first time ever and I am used to using figure skates so it was tough for me.  I still did okay though, despite using rental skates which had short laces.  I couldn't do them up all the way so my ankle was smarting when I was done.  We are going to go every Sunday to public skating.  I love to skate and Jesse is planning on going back to play ice hockey.  We're trying to buy him skates and it's crazy because nowhere has them right now despite the fact that there is ice year round here.  There are pictures of him but they were taken with someone else's phone so I will try to post them when I can.

After skating on Sunday, we went to my parents.  It was my Oma's birthday (and Easter too) so my parents made an awesome feast with turkey and the works.  Ashton got all dressed up in his little man clothes.  At one point, he was helping me play the piano.  

Where the Wild Things Are

When I was pregnant, I was off work 4 months early.  I was not specifically on bedrest but I wasn't supposed to do much.  I have always loved the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.  I have some of the stuffed animals.  I decided to incorporate my favourite book in to a nursery theme.  Jesse and I went on ebay and bought a clock and a light switch cover for the nursery.  I got fabric in forest colours to match for a quilt.  I haven't finished said quilt yet but it's probably a little big anyway (I did make another quilt outside of the theme for when we go out).  When you don't have a crib mattress yet (which I got when I was pregnant but after the quilt was started), you don't really think about the fact that the mattress fits in so tightly that you cannot just hand the quilt over the edge.  Of course, it makes sense that the mattress fits in like that...but I didn't think of it.  The other day, Angela got us a WTWTA floor puzzle, which is AWESOME.  I have it displayed in the box in his room.  Jesse and I went to the market and got these cool tent hangings that make me think of the book.  Not pictured is a wooden wind chime from the same market that hangs in front of his window and kind of makes me think of a sea monster.  I took pictures of the WTWTA theme nursery:

The quilt so far (over halfway done)

Ashton's reading corner with all his "Wild Things"

Roly poly

As I was logging in to update my blog, Ashton rolled over from back to front!  He's been rolling the other way since he was a month old but this was the first time going the other way!  He's not quite sitting yet, but can sit really well for 20 seconds max before he topples.  We have a Bumbo chair for him now, which he adores.  The friend that we got it from said it was great because her daughter couldn't get out of it.  Getting out of it was basically the first thing Ashton managed to do.  He was trying to look at something behind him and arched his back and then scooted his bum out and got out of it backwards.  He does seem to love the chair though.

I have been trying to get back in to shape since all I've done is walk since Ashton was born (and probably while I was pregnant too).  Not like pushing a stroller up a hill is anything to sneeze at though.  I joined a modern dance class.  I danced for 15 years or close to that anyway but it's been a few years now.  I mostly preferred modern and hip hop but I took some ballet (wasn't serious enough about it to do pointe or anything).  So I went to class and love it.  Three days later, my abs and calf muscles still are killing me, but it's a good pain.  Jesse's back to playing hockey too and after playing two days in a row, he is also in pain.  So it goes something like, "Jesse, can you lift this for me?  I hurt!" and he'll reply "I hurt too".  I'm glad that we're both getting back into shape.

Sitting!

I cannot believe it is already March.  February only had 28 days and I felt cheated.  I had to remember to mail the rent cheque out early and almost forgot about the Baby Fair which was yesterday (the 28th) because I thought "No.  The baby fair is the last day in February" which of course couldn't be the 28th.  Because months have more days than twenty-eight.  Except February.

I have thought about the routines with my little boy and realized that although babies apparently need routines, so do I.  I do the same things every day.  Wake up, get ready, Ashton wakes up, change him, feed him.  Ashton gets to go in one of his thingles (swing, etc) while I eat and make coffee.  I hang out with Ashton, Ashton gets tired within 3 or 4 minutes, Ashton takes a nap, I drink coffee.  Every day is different after this.  We go on walks, we go to baby groups, we go do something social.  Sometimes we go see Grandma (aka Mom).  Sometimes we do nothing at all and just play, sing and read at home until Jesse comes home and then we go out.  For every couple really busy days, I need to veg at home for one.  Today is one of those days.

Yesterday morning, I was looking forward to my coffee.  I put on the coffee and shortly after, noticed a puddle growing on the counter.  I forgot to put in the filter thingle...you know...the one that has coffee in it?  Guesstimated how much more water to put in the pot to replace the water on the counter.  And when it came out in delicious dark brown coffee form, it was the best coffee ever.  Sometimes the things you really work at are the best (I really worked at cleaning the mess I made...haha).  Then we went to the Baby Fair with my friend and her baby.  I entered Ashton in a photo contest where he gets his photo taken by a photographer and they send us a picture and everything (5x7) in the mail.  It's only a 10 dollar donation, which is awesome AND you can order prints.  It's cool because I've wanted to do portraits of Ashton but I wanted to wait for him to sit on his own first.  Which brings me to my next point...

HE SITS!  For the last couple weeks Ashton has been practicing sitting.  I hold his hands or sometimes just prop him so he's resting between my legs and then leave him sitting there and read to him.  Yesterday I let go of him and he stayed sitting for about 10 seconds before he started to topple.  He did this a few times for short periods.  One time he seemed like he might last a little longer but then Darcy walked by and he followed Darcy with his head and over he toppled (he loves to watch the cats, it's his new thing).  This is a picture of him sitting with me holding him and one of him holding my finger:

Snow day

I cannot believe it snowed a foot here.  I had been so happy that the big piles of snow that the plows had made along our walking route were gone at last because the stroller is not the best thing for snow (I love my stroller otherwise).  I absolutely love the look of the snow here and how bright it looks with the ocean backdrop out of my living room window.  I hate the driveway in it though.  This snowfall wasn't bad because it's melted some and I didn't go out to my baby group yesterday so I only left the house to get some groceries with Jesse and Ashton.  We didn't even get stuck at the base of my driveway coming home!

Yesterday I made tea with fennel, fresh ginger, cloves and lemon.  I let it steep for a really long time because I like the flavours to be strong in my teas.  It reminded me a little of chai.  Normally I just use ginger and lemon but a friend of mine suggested fennel and when I went to make it, I thought some cloves might be nice.

On Monday night, Ashton was up 3 times in the night and all he wanted was food.  This is odd for him as he normally sleeps through the night but he's been a little more demanding lately for food.  Same thing on Tuesday night.  Wednesday he was up twice.  Last night was funny because he woke up an hour after going to bed (something to do with a laser pointer and a cat outside his bedroom...ooops) and then again as Jesse and I were going to sleep.  But then after that he slept for 8 hours so it wasn't too bad.  The first wake-up was entirely my fault.

As I write this, the snow falls again.  Lets hope this doesn't last.  Although if it does last, at least my kid looks cute in his snowsuit.

Growth

We left Ashton on Friday night with our friend.  It was the first time we had left him with anyone other than my parents and the third time we had ever left him to go anywhere.  We went to a dinner function with work.  I totally trust him in caring for Ashton, especially since he has a daughter not much older than him.  Of course I keep my cell phone on vibrate and then when I see a missed call, I panic.  Funny thing is that he was just calling to let me know that Ashton was in bed (about an hour after we left) and I was shocked.  Ashton is stuck in a bedtime routine, or so I thought...it's possible that I am the one who needs to stick to this routine and this is why I always like to be home by 7pm every night. 

On Saturday, we celebrated the life of the mother of a close friend who was also a dear friend and a beautiful person that I had known since I was in kindergarten.  It was a beautiful service.  We left Ashton with my parents for the service and then Jesse retrieved him for the reception.  In an hour and a half, he consumed 10 oz of pumped breastmilk.  He drank 5 and then when Jesse came, demanded the other 5.  The following day, he fed 7 times in 7 hours.  Last night, he actually woke up three times to feed.  For the last 3 weeks he has slept 12+ hours a night and I had been talking about it.  My little guy is growing so fast!

Funny that last night, we went to bed around 11.  Ashton went down around 7ish, woke up at 10 to feed (before we had gone to bed), and then at 1:30 and 6.  I was sitting in his room, feeding him and thinking "oooh, I'm so sleepy" and then thought of what those people with the babies who never sleep are going through.  It makes me grateful for little Ashton and afraid to add baby #2 a couple years down the road.  One can be lucky enough to have a well-behaved baby, but can anyone ever be lucky enough to have 2?

Pregnancy

Everyone seems to be pregnant right now and it makes me a little nostalgic.  Not that I want to be pregnant right now.  I have a three month old who is teething and growth-spurting and I don't want to add a new baby to the mix.  Sooo I was thinking back to my pregnancy and realized that I would have been newly pregnant this time last year and didn't even know it yet. 

So I am celebrating this by posting pictures.  One is my belly at about 10 weeks and the other is Darcy in his favourite sleeping place at much further on than 10 weeks.  I'd say closer to 25ish.

 

They say that once a woman goes through pregnancy and labour, she forgets everything and that is why she does it all over again.  I think to how little I could move, hauling myself up the stairs, having to wear sandals in November in the rain because my feet were huge, bathroom excursions every 5 mins, countless nights playing Nintendo DS while my husband slept peacefully beside me, getting up between 1:30 and 3:30 am every morning because I couldn't sleep anymore, being so hot all the time, countless visits to ER, the pelvic pain, the stupid blood sugar testing, strangers asking if I was having twins or if I was "ready to pop" in August! and then the labour...ohh the labour.  It's all so fresh in my mind yet at one point, I will probably do it all over again.  The good parts? There were lots.  The ultrasounds...7 weeks, 21 weeks, the 3d one at 29 weeks.  Seeing the developing baby.  The excitement, the growing belly, shopping for stuff, people offering to help me, just being pregnant.  

I remember that I went to buy the crib, change table and dresser (it came as a set) and it was this huge box.  I had my Sentra and there was no way this box was going to fit in the car.  It must have been May or June and I was totally visibly pregnant (I got really big really fast).  I got the store guy to wheel the box out for me and when we got to my car, he gave me a look.  I said "I know it's not going to fit but just leave it and I will unpack the box and squeeze it in".  At that point, Jesse's Pathfinder was dead in the driveway (still is...funny that).  So I looked at the massive box and dug in.  It was windy and I was chasing the instruction manual around the parking lot, as well as pieces of styrofoam.  A really nice older couple came over and asked if I needed help.  I told them I was okay and explained what I was doing.  The lady went into the store and told her husband to stay and help me.  He couldn't really do much but he held the box for me and stopped things from blowing away while I removed the stuff inside.  He told me about when he had kids and talked about his grandkids too.  It was nice to have the company because it took forever to get stuff in my car.  His wife came out and talked for a little while, then I finished with packing and they left.

One other thing that was funny was that I was so freaking huge.  I worked till I was 6 or so months along and then had some issues and went on medical leave.  Anyway, I work behind a desk all day and people come and talk to me about work related business all the time.  Nobody really mentioned the fact that I was pregnant or huge and I was really grateful for that because when I would get up for breaks, everyone would talk to me about that.  I once heard a couple people talking about how huge I was and I walked into them talking and got really upset.  So when I was leaving, I mentioned to a couple people that I was going on mat leave soon and they were like "Oh, you're pregnant?".  I guess me being behind a desk hid my big preggo belly.  Funny!

Three months

Ashton is three months old today!

Yesterday, we went to Eves Park and had a picnic with Jesse and my Mom.  I had Ashton front-facing in a Snugli and as I was eating my beef chili wrap, Ashton was keenly following the wrap with his eyes.  By the time lunch was over, Ashton was squeaking in protest.  We walked for a little bit while Ashton scared away wildlife from his Snugli.

The Ukee poopie

Yesterday, Jesse and I took Ashton to Ukee for the first time since Jesse's mom passed away six days before the birth of the little guy.  We meant to get out sooner but the weather sucked.  And when the weather sucks here, it sucks even more to get there.  Jesse and I ate our usual lunch at Breakers in Tofino.  Their wraps are amazing.  I had the turkey & bacon wrap, which uses real turkey (not the deli meat turkey, but the kind of turkey that my Grandmother might cook up for the holidays).  Ashton polished off a full bottle before I even had a chance to finish lunch and then got antsy.  We executed a diaper change in the car and drove to Ukee.  We made a quick stop at the Ukee baby store as we were en route to the Wild Pacific trail where we were planning to walk with Ashton.  While I was purchasing some awesome shoes that were on sale for 9 dollars, a bomb dropped and the noise reverberated through the store.  The origin of the noise?  The child in the carseat.  Ashton looked completely shocked and Jesse said, "I think he pooped".  We put him in the car and were surrounded by the most unholy stench.  We drove to the house to change Ashton.  He was extremely pleased with himself and smiled the entire time.  When we got him out of the carseat, we saw a small stain on his pants.  No big deal, just a small diaper leak.  When we removed his pants, we saw it.  It was all the way down to the ankles.  As Jesse and I debated on how to remove the brown onesie (it was blue when I first put him in it) without messing up the babe, Ashton smiled more and more.  Eventually we removed the onesie to find that it was all the way to his chest.  When we removed the diaper, we found there was very little that was actually contained.  Ashton made finger-paint like drawings on the change mat with his feet while Jesse rinsed the diaper in the toilet and put it in the wet-bag (wet-bags are awesome) and I attempted to clean him.  Jesse says "What are we going to do with him?" and I said "I don't know.  All I know is that he's going to pee soon".  We decided to just put him in the sink, though Jesse would have preferred to take him outside and hose him off.  Ashton was very happy with his bath in the sink and the subsequent rinses.  He very joyously peed in the water as soon as we put him in.  Am I ever glad I pack an abundance of baby washcloths, not to mention baby clothes.  Anyway, he ate more when he was all changed and then threw up on himself and the floor.  I said "Ashton...we cannot take you anywhere!" and he stuck his tongue out at me in response.  We had a good night, had dinner with Neil and the cranky, tired (but will not nap) Ashton.  I can't really complain...he slept a continuous 12 hours the night before.  I took pictures:

Ashton and I have been getting out way more.  We have been going to this baby thing at the Health Unit where he hangs out and plays, we do songs and stuff and then ask questions and talk about baby things.  Last week a friend of mine came with me.  Her daughter is 6 months and weighs less than Ashton (he was double her birthweight when he was born though).  It's fun having Ashton around other babies.  He doesn't really respond much to them, but sometimes will smile.

Soon I hope to get back in to my music.  I was thinking about going back to the band with my trombone and just doing violin on my own until I figure out where I can go to resume my lessons here.  It would be cool if Ashton expressed an interest in music.  I like to teach.  Once I tried to teach Jesse how to play the piano.  

Jesse: How is that key C when you just said this one was C?

Me: *Explains*

Jesse: I don't understand...THEY CAN'T BOTH BE C.

We haven't had any lessons since.

Getting out more

Now that I have recovered from the birth of my child, I have been getting out more when Jesse is at work.  Ashton and I have been going to a group at public health that have 20 or so babies in it.  We went for the first time last week and while the other babies played and interacted on the mat, Ashton lay snoring on my lap, oblivious to the noise around him.  He was the youngest there and probably not the smallest.  When we arrived, he was screaming away.  It was rather cold outside so he was clothed in a MEC fleece onesie, jeans, his fleece-lined corduroy coat, a toque and his carseat bunting.  He stopped crying immediately when the layers were removed.  Funny that.  They always say to dress your baby the way that you would dress yourself.  I always have to remember that when the normal person is wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I am in jeans, a hoodie and thick socks.

We go for walks with the stroller every day.  That thing is a good workout, especially up hills.  Yesterday, we walked to the mall and back for about an hour and a half.  Sometimes we walk to work to meet Jesse when he's off.  Sometimes if I am really ambitious and drive Jesse to work at quarter to six, I walk towards work and he walks towards home and we meet somewhere in the middle.

Saturday was immunization day for Ashton.  I was really upset and very much not looking forward to going.  Of course, I realize that these vaccinations are very important but my main fears involved looking into my boy's eyes and seeing him in pain.  I ended up breastfeeding him the whole time, which is said to help.  After every shot, he pulled off and yelped.  The last one was awful...his face turned red and he just screamed.  It wasn't as bad as I had expected though.  Afterwards, we went for a walk.  When we got home, he got really really cranky and screamed inconsolably.  Eventually he fell asleep and crashed for the afternoon and evening.  That night, he slept for 10 hours straight (though he probably sucked his fist for the first 2 or so).

So the cloth diapers are working really well.  Turned out he probably would have fit them earlier but I was putting them on too loosely, which is why he was leaking.  I love them and the cleaning of them and scraping them off in the toilet isn't even that gross (I get really squeamish around poo normally).  It's become routine.  Jesse reminds me that he'll be on solids in a couple months.  It's true what people say about how things gross you out less when you have a kid.  We have been using disposables at night because he sleeps for 8 hours in a stretch and have been finding that the cloth doesn't really hold up as well at night because he is a pretty heavy wetter.  When he's a bit bigger, I might double stuff the diaper but right now, he's so little and the diaper is on the absolute smallest size.  But it's fine, what we're doing totally works for me right now.  Each to their own and whatever one can handle.  I have never done so much laundry in my life.  I don't know what I would do without a washing machine.  If I don't write about something else, I will need to change the name of this blog to something involving diapers and baby poo.  I am just totally excited about these diapers is all...they are so high tech.

My mom and I went to the baby fair in September and I entered every draw possible.  I just won my 2nd prize from that last night, which is a sp

a package.  I'm pretty excited about this because now that I have Ashton, I wander around the house in yoga pants and hoodie.  I pretty much don't wear makeup and my hair is typically in a ponytail since he loves to get this big fistful of hair and pull on it.  The first prize that I won from the baby fair is a pair of Baby Legs, which I love.  It is hard to find time for yourself when you have a baby but over the last few weeks, I have really adapted to his schedule.  We've been doing bedtime at the same time, which gives Jesse and I time to wind down and maybe even watch a movie.  Then Jesse gets up at 5 and Ashton gets me up at 7.  His morning nap is huge so everything I need to do, I can do when he's sleeping

.  Usually afternoon is his awake time and we read stories and play in his gym or bouncer or whatever.  Then it's cranky time and this is usually the best time to go grocery shopping or for a stroller ride.  I'm excited for the snow to be melting off the sidewalks so we can go for more walks.

I cannot believe all the 2008 babies!  3 of my friends had babies in 08 and I even had a new cousin born about 3 months before Ashton.  A couple days ago, Mom and I went for lunch with 2 of my aunts and my cousin.  It was so cute to see the boys together.  They were smiling at each other and it was very cute.

A picture of my boy from Christmas morning.  Totally slept through the entire thing (mostly).

I am enjoying motherhood so much!  Baby Ashton is smiling now and just seems so happy all the time (except for when we are trying to put him to bed).  His new thing is to roll over from tummy to back, which is really exciting.  He loves being in his little gym, except when he tries to eat the crinkle leaves and the leaves don't produce milk.  Then he gets ornery.  Yesterday I took this picture of him in his carseat because he had been smiling in his carseat (which he almost never does).  And I was singing to him and looking at him and suddenly it dawned on me that my 7-week-old baby boy had grown.  When you spend every minute with someone, you don't notice their growth as much as you would if you were away from them for awhile. 

I was assessing my plan for being an environmentally friendly mother.  I have spent upwards of $300 on cloth diapers.  He doesn't fit them yet (skinny little legs) but we're getting close.  Going to try them again tomorrow.  The ones I've got are genius because they are one size and you can adjust them as your baby grows.  Not proud to say he's in disposables at the moment.  I could have/should have gotten newborn cloth ones but was a little overwhelmed as a new mom with the whole diaper thing.  Of course, now I'm an old pro.  Other parents have said things to me about cloth diapers like "They are so bad for the environment because you have to wash them" but I think they are trying to justify the fact that they don't use them.  Not everyone needs to use cloth, though they are definitely the greener choice in my opinion.  Yes, you have to wash cloth diapers after disposing of the waste in the toilet, which does use a lot of water.  But you can save energy by line drying them.  The cloth is the better of two evils as disposables contain chemicals and the production alone is polluting.  Not to mention the fact that they go into the landfills.  This says it all.  I got on this rant when thinking about all the waste that baby stuff produces.  Today I was thinking even about bottles with liners.  They say that the liners make the baby less gassy but it just seems like such a waste to me.  I am breastfeeding anyway so the bottles I use are the medela ones that fit on my pump.  I'm not saying that I am Ms. Environment.  I just think that making a difference is a good thing.  Yes, I use disposable wipes at times (sometimes I use cloths, depending).  Right now, I am using disposable diapers (not for long, I'm thinking he's almost into the cloth now).  But I think that even if someone uses cloth diapers sometimes, it's something!  There are people who only do it at home during the day and that is definitely a start!  You can get liners these days for cloth diapers for when you go out and don't want to deal with a huge mess.  You just throw the liners down the toilet.  End rant.

On a completely different subject, we have our lovely weather.  It has been rather snowy and nasty, which involves more rocks and debris on the highways.  Anyway, the other day I heard a ping sound indicative of a rock hitting the windshield.  I didn't see anything though so I figured it was nothing.  Two days ago, we noticed a 4 inch crack coming up from the bottom of the windshield.  I researched it with ICBC and found out that I was covered and would have to pay my deductible to replace the windshield.  Yesterday, Jesse turned on the defrost and the little crack became massive, all the way across the window.  The car is currently having a new windshield installed, which is costing $200.  Did you know that the black part at the bottom of the windshield is the weakest part?  I found that out when I took the car in.  Auto glass shops make a killing at this time of year.

2008 in review

Around New Years, I always hear people say things like "I hope next year is better" or "This year was awful, next year will be a new start".  We all hope the each year is better than the last but honestly 2008 was pretty good.  It had ups and downs but mostly was pretty good.  Here is how I spent my 2008:

January: Celebrated the New Year with friends.

March: I found out I was pregnant.  Jesse was in the shower when I took the test.  I screamed very loud, I think it freaked him out.  It was difficult to keep it a secret and though I told close friends and family, I agonized a lot.  I found out I was due on November 18th.

May: I was showing.  I celebrated my birthday with friends and had dinner in Victoria.  I met Jesse's Dad's siblings for the first time ever at his Grandpa's birthday party.  They all live far away, which is why I didn't meet them before.  I thought that was pretty cool.

June: We had the 20 week ultrasound.  The baby was not cooperating enough to let us know what it was.

We bought a 2008 Nissan Versa Sedan.  I adore it.  It's shiny.

July: Enter the second annual baseball extravaganza.  On July 1st, Jesse and I drove down to Seattle.  We parked at Qwest field and walked downtown.  It hurt a lot for me to walk so much, which was funny because I used to walk home from work all the time (up large hills...took an hour) and then go for walks in the evening, used to go to the gym sometimes too.  We went to the Seattle aquarium, where I thought Jesse would explode.  They had amazing saltwater exhibits and Jesse, who is a saltwater tank enthusiast (we have one) was very impressed.  I was also amazed.  The photo on the left is from the Seattle aquarium.  

For the second year in a row, we went to see the Blue Jays play the Mariners.  Last year, we went back and went to the FIFA World Juniors for soccer in Victoria.  This year, there were no such shenanigans.  Anyway, the game was awesome even though they lost.  We were seated 14 rows up too!!

We went camping on Hornby and at Englishman river falls.  The ocean at Hornby is the best place to swim.  Me and my large belly liked to keep cool in the ocean.  

At the end of July, I stopped working and went on medical leave.  My job consists of sitting in a chair all day, paperwork stacked high on my desk, entering things in the computer, scribbling on paper in red pen, talking on the phone.  My back was in so much pain.  I was MASSIVE.  I tried everything to stay at work.  I tried different chairs, stools, footrests but every day when I got home, I lay down and couldn't move.  At the same time, I found out I had gestational diabetes.  It was not a huge issue.  I pricked my finger a few times a day and put the blood on a test strip.  I ended up with a large red ominous biohazard box in my bathroom.  The major change in my lifestyle was my largely fruit based diet.  I drank one liter of fruit juice a day, made fruit smoothies, ate a lot of fruit.  I once ate a half a pineapple one day.  With gestational diabetes, my fruit habits drove my blood sugar to enormous heights.  I had to severely limit the fruit intake.  Other than that, I had no issues.  

August: Jesse and I went to Victoria for our 3d ultrasound.  This time he wanted to make it known that he was a boy.  Over lunch, we discussed names and did not have much success.  Jesse didn't like mine and I didn't like his choices.  When we got back, we went on a baby name site and each made lists.  A few names matched and we decided the baby would be Ashton or Blake.

September: It was our 2nd anniversary.  We went to the Keg and then to the hospital where I spent a few hours in the maternity ward.  I will forever remember that anniversary.  But no, apparently not in early labour.

October: Where is the baby? 

November: We regrettably lost Jesse's mom six days before the birth of our son.  I know she would have been a really great grandma.  She was so excited for us.

Gave birth to Ashton.

December: I say it again, my kid is amazing.  Watching him grow every day is the best thing in the world.