Our Little Thinker

She's definately thinking hard about something....

Our day....

You might wonder what Lola and I do all day. Generally, we work at a fairly relaxed pace as Lola's needs and requests(when I can figure them out) seem to change daily. Having the ablility to be home with her is so wonderful, I can't imagine having to rush off to work when she is still so wee.

Lola usually gets up around 7:30 after what was(hopefully) a full nights rest. By this time, I'm usually up, showered and ready to snuggle in for some breakfest with Lola. After some quality play time, she is usually ready for a nap by 9:00. If I'm lucky, she'll sleep until 11:00, at which time I am running around the house like a mad woman, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry or emailing. If I'm not lucky, she will usually sit in her chair with her toys while I finish off which ever task needs to be completed that day. Then, lunch, some more play and off for our afternoon walk. With Christmas coming we have been making almost daily trips to the PTC to do our shopping. This is a great walk for me, Lola naps and by the time she wakes up( if she does) we are inside the mall where there is lots of interesting stuff to look at. Plus all the people stopping us to tell me how sweet she is. That's always nice too.

By the time Wil gets home, she has usually had dinner( and maybe another short nap) and sits in her chair and "talks" to us while we eat. She really likes to watch what we are doing and smiles and giggles while she looks first at me then at Wil and back again. We can't wait until she is big enough to sit in a high chair so she can be at our level while we have dinner. Nights are tricky, they are either really good or really bad. Wil steps in and does countless loops around the house, plays and shakes with her toys for endless hours and reads her stories or takes her to watch her mobile spin. By 9:00 she is usually ready for bed( after a nice warm bath). Getting her to fall asleep involves more laps in the baby sling, and rocking and nursing. But if we doing a really good job.... I get to sleep until 7:00 am so it is definatley worth it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lolas' first trip to see Santa was today. I couldn't resist putting on our blog right away. She's not too sure what's going on but that is ok. At least she didn't scream in terror as I saw a few other kids doing.
And isn't he a great Santa?

When all else fails...

Lola loves to watch the mobile spin and spin and spin. She loves those little animals and laughs, giggles and kicks like crazy as they float by. I love it too as it provides great distractions when I need to get a few things done( like get dressed!).The only thing is, I have to keep running back to crank the music box again and again. But sooo worth it for both of us!

Loads of smiles

Lolas days are filled with smiles and giggles these days. She loves her catapiller rattle best of all, closely followed by her turtle, penguin and bugs. Each time she sees them it it like it is a brand new toy. AMAZING and hysterically funny when she looks so shocked that these toys have appeared in front of her.

The past week has been filled with activity. We took a "quick" trip to Ottawa that was suppose to be only 2 days and turned into 3. As is typical with Wil and I, we learn through experience and so we have to live all these bizarre situations out rather than just hear about it from someone else. Our car broke on the way to Mike and Nat's party. Lucky( there really is some greater being looking down on us) for us, it was about 50 feet before we got on the Queensway, and Wil pulled into the only restaurant on that stretch of road's parking lot. Lola was well bundled in her lovely pink Ewok snowsuit and we just signed up for Roadside assistance a week ago. Thanks to a speedy pick of from Daphne we were back at Jane and Jays in no time. Wil continued on the the party and dealt with the tow truck and car. After some thought, Jay had the brilliant idea to rent a virtue car and head to the party for a quick drop in. I was sooo glad we did as it was great to see everyone. Plus Lola really needed to meet the Ottawa crew. After a day of dealing with Crappy, I mean Canadian Tire, we found out are car was actually still under warrenty. My every diligent and brilliant husband decided to call GM for a second opinion. BOY are we glad he did as the quote at CT was for $900.00. Can you imagine?

Just when we thought it was all going to be easy, we hit a terrible snowstorm near Coburg. I mean BAD, and growing up in the valley I have seen my fair share of snowstorms. I'm talking white out conditions for about 1 our of driving. I was scared as all we could do was follow the headlights in front of us and hope THEY didn't drive off the road. I was sooooo happy to be home in our own house.

And Lola you ask? Well, SHE slept through every incident that happened. Lucky for us, as it could have been much worse with a screaming baby in the mix.

Almost nap time!

We've eaten, we've played, we've had our photo shoot and now it is time for a nap.

A new chapeau!

This is the new hat that Grandma Sue made for Lola. We all love it, it matches her snowsuit and keeps her head toasty warm.

M-P + Wil = Lola

It has been brought to my attention that Lola looks a tad like me when I was small. However, she does (for the moment) still have Wils' sparkling eyes and curious way of looking at her surroundings. We'll just have to wait and see what happens as she continues to grow....

We took our first road trip to Windsor on the weekend for Grandma Sue's surprise birthday party. Alot of "firsts" for Lola were involved. First long car ride( which included an 1.5 hour detour off the 401), first time meeting the Schwab family, first large party, first time sleeping away from home. All in all she did fantastic. She was mesmerized by Sarah's blue and white curtains for most of the party. She slept her first entire night at Seb and Sarahs house! Hopefully there will be more of these to come....I can't believe how good I feel after 8 hours of sleep. I thought something was wrong at first then I realized I just felt rested for the first time in many months.

My little angel

Lola has become very observant these days. As you can seem she seems to be trying to figure out what the maniac shaking a rattle is doing...

She has started to reach out for some of her toys as they dangle in front of her in her chair. She could watch her mobile spin by for hours while she kicks her little legs and jiggles her arms around and laughs and laughs.

Week 7

Because every little girl needs a good pair of jeans for dancing......

Week 7

Some days are like this....now I have to tools to try and avoid this from happening!

I don't know if anyone watched Oprah yesterday. (Probably not as you all have to go to work) Anyway, you need to see this "Secret Language of Babies". An Austrailian Mom named Priscilla Dunstan, who has a photographic memory, has uncovered this "language" Apparently, there are 5 sounds that a baby makes that mean different things.
They are:
Neh="I'm hungry"
Owh="I'm sleepy"
Heh="I'm experiencing discomfort"
Eair="I have lower gas"
Eh="I need to burp"

Now, before you say this is all bunk, you need to check it out. Lola makes all the sounds. Listen to them at Oprahs web page so you can see for yourself. I was so amazed I taped it and made Wil watch it when he got home. http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200611/20061113/slide_20061113_350_101.jhtml

Here is the link to Priscillas personal page which has more info....
www.dunstanbaby.com

I KNEW Lola was trying to say something.....

Week 6

This is currently Lola's favorite position. That being said, it is also what Wil and I end up doing alot of. Sitting is not an option, nor is rocking. It HAS to be a walk with a mild bounce( we have various names for these dances) . It goes something like this- Lola eats, has a quick food coma nap in my lap, wakes up and looks at me with her mouth changing to a smile-nope-it's a scream- and then we walk. Starting in the living room, though the dining room down the hallway and back into the living room. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until Lola falls asleep. I'm developing some good biceps I think. Any attempt to sit down or change her postion WILL result in screams so.... we walk, we bounce and we sway until she closes her baby blues and falls into a deep slumber.

It was another busy week of visiting. Grandmaman and Grandpa Cotie were down to see all the changes in our growing girl. With all of her giggles and smiles she was truly a delight. There was a little "hunger incident" at the mall but we won't mention that..... and she feel right asleep once she had a snack and got back in her storller to return home. Nothing like seeing all the middleaged Moms looking at you in a pitying way with an understanding smile, clearly saying they remember these incidents too well. Note to self- NEVER let you child get hungry and start screaming in public again.....

Father and Daughter

I wanted to remember just how wee Lola's hands were. Wil keep telling me he does like "that" finger and didn't want me to take pictures of it. I didn't care. I did it anyway and I am happy that I did.

Happy girl

Our happy, healthy little girl at 5 1/2 weeks.

SUCCESS!

This is Lolas' hungry face. Needless to say, now that she has finally( after 5 LONG weeks) latched on, I get to see it alot. If I don't move fast the eyebrows are likely to furrow more and the wailing starts......

Sweet dreams

The many faces of Lola. Wonder what she is dreaming about....... 

Week 5

Smiles... I never thought I would do so much to make someone else do it! But the minute I see Lolas lips start to curl up, I'm dancing on my head to make it continue. I have yet to capture one on film but rest assured when I do I'll be sure to post it!!

It was a busy weekend. Mike S came to visit and we all headed downtown to visit with Jovan, who was/is on the mend from having his appendix out. Noelle, Mike and Nilla made a drive by visit on Saturday evening. Nilla is just as cute as Lola is but a whole lot furrier. It appears that Noelle and Nilla are on the same 1:30, 4:30 feeding/ pee schedule that Lola and I are on. Funny how that works.

Penny and Jackie made a brief visit on Monday for a pizza dinner and a Lola viewing. We feel very lucky to have so many people drop by for a visit. After a week spent at home with only Lola, Autumn and fish for conversation during the daylight hours, I especially relish these visits.

All my babies.....

Wil busted Autumn one morning before I was awake and told me about it over dinner .
I wondered why Lola was covered in White hair when I picked up later that day......

Watching Autumn get in and out of the swing is pretty amusing. She looks a bit like a drunken sailor trying to get her bearings.....

Sometimes, she just decides it's easier to sit back down than actually get out......

Well, we knew it would happen eventually...

Week 4

Lola is now awake. Alot. Gone are the first few weeks when she would fall asleep right after her snack. Now, she likes to stay up, potentially until she is hungry again. Also, I seem to have missed this memo, but word is that sleeping in my arms is better than her bed. Otherwise it's yell-fest until she gets cuddled again. Luckily, the weather has been nice so we have been putting our new stroller to use and going out for walks. Makes is hard to get anything else done but I am sure that by next week, everything will have changed. Thankfully, she is sleeping for 3 hour chunks at night so I can get some rest. But she was an absolute doll at the midwifes on Tuesday. She is almost 10 pounds!! I think she is beginning to grow out of some of her clothes....

We had a lovely weekend with Jane visiting. Raquel came over and we had a all girls evening while Wil was at the movies. It's important that Lola bonds with these lovely ladies as she will be seeing alot of them in her future. Plus, they're a whole lot of fun!!

A CONTEST!

I took this photo the first week Lola was home. I think it's pretty funny. I also think it deserves a caption. Let's hear it folks! What do you think my darling child is trying to tell me?

Thinking Pink

Week 3

When Sarah asked me last week if I was going to "do the pink thing" for Lola I realized that things have changed. I distinctly remember not being a "girly girl" when I was little. I loved having long hair- but hated having anyone play with it, braid it or even brush it. I think it drove my Mother crazy. I was always dismayed when my Grandma returned from Florida with (yet another) frilly dress that I knew I would have to wear on special occasions.

But now that I have my own daughter to dress- I seem to have changed my tune. I have fallen victim to the deluge of pink clothes that have been arriving. Before I knew that Lola was a girl(well other than my sixth sense) her wardrobe was mainly green, yellow and white. I thought this was perfectly fine. In fact, I was looking for some of the colours I tend to favor- black, brown and red and wondering why I couldn't find them. Now I know. Little girls simply look adorable in pink. In fact last week I bought her pink socks with lady bugs on them and didn't think twice about it. With each new outfit that arrives( it seems other people are finding this irresitable too) I giggle and can't wait to try it on her -or for her to grow into it. Hopefully, she'll forgive me when she gets older.....

Homeward bound!

This is Lola all prepped in her car seat to come home for the first time.

Wil and I have realised that not only do we need to learn about Lola but we have an endless amount of manuals to read to figure out all the "gear" that we have acquired to make our life with Lola easier. Good thing I married an engineer......

Week 2

We are settling into a great routine. Lola eats, we sleep- and repeat. Breastfeeding remains a struggle. While this is suppose to be a natural thing- I am learning that it is HARD. Hence the fact that there are all kinds of lactation consultants out there. According to my midwife- Lola desires immediate gratification and if she does not receive this, she starts to wail and pound me with her little fist-even if it means not eating. Hmmmm, where in the world did this child acquire such a streak of independence?

We had a flurry of visitors to meet Lola. My parents( Grandmaman Lola and Grandpa Gary) were down for the first week. I don't think I would have made it without them. Wil only had 3 days off and I was not mobile enough to carry Lola around. My parents made sure that we all had something to eat, got some sleep and generally maintained our sanity. I love my family for taking such good care of us and being there when we really needed some extra help. Opa Bill and Faye made a trip down midway though week 2 and we had a lovely Greek takeout dinner. Grandma Sue and Aunt Sarah came down for a Swiss Chalet Thanksgiving dinner. I asked Raquel to pick up a few extra sleepers as alot of Lola's clothes were too big. Raquel and Melissa returned with and ENTIRE new girly wardrobe for our little princess. The above photos were taken on Thanksgiving Sunday in her party dress awaiting the arrival of Grandma Sue and Aunt Sarah.

We are already noticing Lola growing and changing. The midwife came yesterday and she has already gained a pound. Plus, she is starting to get all those lovely little baby rolls around her wrists and her neck. She can now focus on our faces with a look of intense curiosity. Her facial expressions are hysterical, switching from a smile-usually signaling a upcoming toot, to a wail to a look of utter confusion in the time it takes us to give each expression a name.

At long last- an update!

Week 1

The actual birth was long and hard. They don't call it "Labour" for nothing. I won't bore you with all the details but the Coleman notes version starts with my water breaking at 1:00 am, me waking Wil up at 3:00 am, the midwife arriving at 7:00 and all of us hospital bound at 8:30 am-just in time for rush hour. Thankfully, my midwives where there to guide us through the labour process and a variety of bizarre birthing postings but after 3( or so- I don't even remember anymore thanks to the nitrous oxide) hours of pushing, it was obvious that our baby was not coming our of her cocoon without some medical help. I was then handed off to a very nice doctor and received an epidural. I have never been so gratefully for pain relief IN MY LIFE. The rest happened pretty fast. Off to the operating room and by 3:55 we had Lola Rose in our arms. She was perfect, I however, did need some work.

I can't explain what it is like to meet someone you have grown inside you for 9 months for the first time. For the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I had become obsessed with what our baby might look like. Would she have Wil's blue eye or my brown eyes? Would she have dark hair or blond? Would she inherit my one stick out ear? Any then- there she is, in our arms, trying to figure out what just happened. Time seems to come to a crashing halt-the noise of the 8 other people in the room a mild background buzz as Wil and I beheld this little being that we had created. After a careful inspection- which included counting fingers and toes and Wil making sure there was no "tail"- we pronounced her absolutely perfect. And I can honestly say- it doesn't get any better than that.

New Release " Baby Melis" Model # 25/09/2006

We are happy to announce the arrival of our long anticipated "Baby Melis" The "Lola Rose" Model is guaranteed to please all that hold her. Weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces at birth, she is perfectly healthy and fully loaded with all sorts of delightful baby tricks.

She has a good set of lungs, blue eyes and a head of dark hair- there is no denying we are TOTALLY smitten( and think you will be too!). We highly advise that you visit us a 1909 Malden crescent in Pickering, Ontario and view this miracle of life for your self. Our doors are always open to new and "repeat" customers.

Sept 19th.

One day until predicited D-Day!!

Of course my lovely midwife told me that I only have a 5% chance of actually delivering on this day. But a girl with a huge belly can hope can't she?!

As I wait, I have been trying to find fullfilling tasks to keep my day fun and interesting, which is hard when you can only sit comfortably for 30 minutes at a time and can only stand comfortably for 20 minutes at a time. That means, it's 20 minute receipes in the kitchen while I jointly watch the new season of Oprah. The rest of the day... I surf the net, clean the house, unpack the last of the boxes, read, check my email,check freebee pages, call Rogers to complain about the bills(hey-yesterday I saved $65.00 due to a glitch), check my email( again) and craft things I won't have time to do once baby Melis arrives. Oh, and of course, I alway dedicate a few minutes a day to standing the babies room and imagining it containing a baby and feeling both overwhelmed and very, very excited.