Will and sleeping lately

Will is over 4 months old now, and he has basically been the dream baby when it comes to sleep. But last week, he officially became too big for the bassinet he had been sleeping in beside me, so we figured we would try him in his crib in his own room which is right beside our room. Well, it's been a mixed bag, but mostly, I am getting no sleep. I think I'm averaging maybe 3-4 hours altogether per night. I've started recording the wake ups, for some reason I can't remember, which just makes it worst. 

Getting no sleep is so hard!! I feel tired at first, but then I feel like my body adjusts to it somewhat. So basically where we are right now is Will does not want me to put him down ever while he is sleeping at night. I did a bit of googling and discovered he is exactly 19 weeks, which puts him in a wonder week/sleep regression which has apparently been documented extensively.

Jon and I also recently listened to a This American Life about how sleep deprivation is so common in the Navy. So crazy what lack of sleep can do to you.

My mom friends and I often talk about how isolating and lonely being a mom of a baby can be, and I think that whole thing is compounded when you are tired. I really am loving spending lots of time with this sweet little face, and also I find it super challenging. I am really lucky because Will is in a good mood most of the day and Cohen is super helpful. I feel for all the tired parents out there.

On the weekend: Cohen's first concert

Cohen and I were on our own for the whole weekend while J took a bachelor trip to Boston (PS: It seems like these days, a bachelor/bachelorette party is not enough. It has to be a trip. I kind of love it in that you get to see friends you haven't seen for a while. And for Jon and I, who live on a rock away from everyone, a trip makes sense for us. Still, it's kinda crazy, right?). Although I have taken a few trips away from my boys, this is the first time for Jon. 

(He's got something to say) 

(Do I ever love that guy) 

(At the playground. Looking mean in his hoodie/jean jacket combo) 

(He just doesn't get bathroom selfies. Yellow and blue for a Splash n Boots concert) 

(waiting for the show to start) 

(he wanted to pose with these Treehouse media things) 

(Apres concert)

Since I knew Jon would be gone, I decided to go ahead and book tickets for Cohen's first concert. I got lots of advice from other moms, who told me to definitely, absolutely get VIP tix so you can sit closer. I heard stories of how being too far from the stage= bored toddler= total waste of money because you have to leave early after a tantrum. So I sprung for the VIP section, and Cohen and I found ourselves in the third row, with barely a kid around us. It was pretty much empty. So when the show started, they told everyone they could move up to the empty seats. Whatev. You live and learn. 

We sat by a 5-year-old girl who slipped me a note that said "I love you'r tshirt." She wrote it in yellow, cuz that's the only color she had, though she had brought about 100 sheets of white paper in her little purse. She also had an American Girl doll dressed exactly like her, right down to the high heels. But anyways. I pulled out my pack of 4 crayons, and her and Cohen coloured for a while. When the show started, Cohen was smiling so hard, I had to fight back tears. So sweet and earnest. He loved clapping, but his little introverted heart couldn't handle too much dancing in the aisles. He would just come and lean on me and smile up at me. Maybe to a stranger it wouldn't look like he was having a good time, but for this momma, it was absolutely the best. 

At right around the one hour mark, Cohen started pointing to the door and pulling my hand. I was like, dude, do you wanna leave? He was like, yes. So I let him pull me all the way out and all the way to our car. Money well spent, seriously. 

30

I am 30 today! These pictures have nothing to do with turning thirty. They are just the most recent pictures I have on my computer (from a week and a half ago). And I probably wouldn't use a picture of me in a bikini if I wasn't happy with my body. But I am happy with my body, even though it is very different from the body I had at 27. 

I mainly want to record what is going on with me as I turn thirty:

- I am a new mom. Everything in my life pretty much revolves around that. I have been a mom for 9.5 months, and I love it, obviously. I love how lately he tries to feed me. Whatever he is eating, he tries to put it in my mouth. It's just the cutest, and even though I know he's just copying our actions, it still feels like he is trying to care for his momma. 

- I am still pretty much a newlywed. We haven't been married two years yet. We both have a lot of our attention turned to our little guy these days, which is the way we want it. We still spend a lot of time focused on each other, though. Most nights we sit and play cards and have tea. Most mornings we have coffee together. We go on family dates every weekend. And we are learning French together, which I find surprisingly rewarding. Plus we work together, so we get more time together than any other couple I know, and we love it.  

- I installed a new pendant light in our kitchen this weekend. I watched a youtube video, bought the light I liked, and got the tool kit from the basement. It took two tries, and some encouragement from Jon, but I did it! 

- I am unofficially the family travel planner. We are pretty much always booking a trip. Jon usually suggests a trip, then I start researching. Right now in the books: a road trip to Gander, a work trip to Ontario, a couples camping trip in NB, and a family vacation in Cavendish. I spend part of every day looking at flights, hotels, etc, just for fun. One of my favorite things to do. 

- For the coming year of my life, I want more of the same. I want to keep spending lots of time with my little family, and I want to make sure we never get too busy. I want to keep working and traveling. I want to work on relaxing a bit more, and living in the moment. 

PS: It is raining here today! 

it's friday

it's friday, and i'll be spending the weekend with my two main men. cohen is three months old now, and i have really never been happier. in other news, i finally legally changed my name after being married for well over a year. now all three of us share a last name, which was important to me. i love my little family.

on turning 29

(5 month bump)

something that i am learning about life is that opportunities aren't handed to you in a perfect order at the perfect time. sometimes life is a bit messy. my life is a bit messy. up until a year or two ago, my life was steadily heading down a certain path. i was in high school, then went straight to university, then right to grad school, then right to the best job opportunity i got at graduation.

now, life is getting a little crazy. i am 29 years old today. i am 6 months pregnant, 10 months married. we are moving in 2 months. we got new jobs. we are in the process of buying a house. i am really happy, and really overwhelmed. these past few weeks have been really tough, i think partly because i am more emotional due to hormones, and also because we are changing our life so drastically so quickly, i can barely keep up.

i will definitely write more about all these changes as they happen. all i know for sure right now is that this next year is going to be amazing. i am so excited to meet our baby, to move into our very first house, to go through all these things with jon.

a good sunday

(a huge awesome hot tub on our honeymoon)

thing is, i have been feeling extra, super tired lately. like, sleeping 11+ hours per night. and a little sick. and so yesterday j went to the store and bought me some bubble bath, jolly ranchers, and a magazine so i could have a sweet sweet bubble bath situation at home. it was so good. i haven't done that since i was maybe in middle school, and so i forgot how awesome a regular old bubble bath can be for your body and soul. j also took me for a breakfast of thick slices of toasted homemade white bread with fried eggs. we only eat seedy, spelty bread at home, so puffy white bread is such a huge treat.

made it!

today was my last day of work of 2012. this is the first year that i haven't been in school for at least part of the year. it feels really good to be doing a job that i love. and it feels amazing to have a few weeks off. i'll still be blogging a bit from j's mom's place in PEI, and my parents place in NB during the holidays. looking forward to some of my mom's gingerbread men, and j's mom's roti and curry.

we have been asking all the kids we see at work what they want for christmas. most of them say video games or ipods or laptops or easy bake ovens. but j asked a six-year-old the other day, and he said he didn't want much, just maybe a sled, and for everyone else to have a good christmas. and that's what i want. maybe some snowshoes or something, but mostly for everyone to have a good holiday.

on the weekend

(christmas supper and kraft paper) 

(sunday morning winter walk) 

(my secret santa gift. love him) 

(sparkly bauble for the tree) 

(my christmas present to me)

the days are getting soo short. it might just be the extended darkness, but i feel like i need way more rest during this time of year. this is what i've been doing to try to combat the fatigue: napping after work and in the afternoon on weekends, reducing my gym time to only half an hour every few days, going to bed ridiculously early. avoiding shopping. and watching christmas movies instead of doing actual housework. let's just say j and i will be eating out quite a bit for the next week. i think other people get this pre-holiday mid-December exhaustion? i am trying to embrace it. i'm sure it's healthy to go into hibernation mode a little once in a while. 

winter's here

it's getting cold. there is a bit of snow still on the ground from a snowfall a few nights ago. i kind of have to amp myself up for winter as it's not really by fav season. but. there are some good things. 

these are all pics from last year. j and i took pretty good advantage of the snow and ice last year. i want more of the same this year. these are my winter plans:

- take a few more snowboarding lessons
- skate. we have to clear the pond by hand to skate outside, and we are competing with the many, many skidoos flying all over the pond. but still. there's also indoor skating where they play pop music and charge a few dollars
- walk dogs. we are pretty committed SPCA volunteers
- cross country ski. tough to find skis in this town, but the trails are so pretty and lit up at night. i have never done this, so very excited
- pay it forward. we have gotten so many little gifts over the past year or so (i have mentioned this before, but seriously: snow crabs, bottled fruit, jam, cod, moose, cooked dinner, etc, etc). i want to start giving gifts for no reason. maybe baked goods? maybe cactus?
- relax. this has to be on every list of plans/goals i ever make, because it's something i actually have to remind myself to do sometimes. i think hot yoga will be part of this.

also, unrelated: last night i went to a few grocery stores, did laundry, went to the bank. people seemed to be looking at me a little funny. i did not know why. when i got home and looked in the mirror i found a large smear of nutella on my chin from the toast and nutella snack i had after work. awesome. i think maybe we should install a mirror near the front door.

things to do in gander: hot yoga

the first yoga studio in gander opened up last week. i was so excited to check it out. for me, hot yoga is like a beach vacation. i can relax, and i come out seriously rejuvenated. many of their classes fall during regular work hours (maybe catering to shift workers or stay-at-home-moms?), but there is a karma hot yoga class on saturdays. i went yesterday. i must say, my expectations were low. but i was happily surprised!

(relaxed and happy)

i arrived early, since i figured it would be busy. it totally was busy. there were probably 35 people there, which is pretty good for a small town like this. the first thing i noticed when i walked in was how loud it was. everybody was chatting, standing up, walking in and out of the hot room. every hot yoga class i have ever been to is very calm and quiet before class.

the class itself was good. her instructions were good, and she did her best to make corrections. i'd say 80% of the people in the class had never been to a hot yoga class. people were all over the place, and very few people were holding the poses. some people ended up just chilling through the class. at the end of the class, the instructor released us, and the whole class starting applauding, which is something i have never seen in a hot yoga class either. then everyone started chatting again. no chance to relax after the class. the room never got as hot as i remember from past classes, but it was warm enough that it felt good.

i think it is really cool that so many people who had never done hot yoga before gave it a try. i like the idea of the class sort of growing and getting better together. i bet a year from now, the hot yoga will be awesome. i'll definitely be back whenever i can.

happy

we watched the documentary, happy, on the weekend. i thought it was really cute. some things the film talked about were common sense, like material things don't really bring happiness. a few things that improve happiness, from the movie:

1. physical activity. running for 30 minutes a day makes me feel so much more calm.
2. social interaction. it doesn't have to be going to parties. sometimes even being with coworkers is enough.
3. flow. this is the thing that happens when you are doing something, and you are so focused that you lose track of time. i am super lucky that i get this feeling when i am working sometimes. j gets this when he is biking.

something one of the happiness experts in the movie said is that our brains only register differences in contentment. so constant happiness wouldn't even feel that good. you have to have happiness mixed with less happy times to actually feel it. so when you are on vacation, you shouldn't lay on the beach drinking mojitos the entire time. you need to maybe go for a run or do some shopping too. i'm into it.


also, just for the record, it snowed here on the weekend