A Little Bit of Everything

Decided to do an everything update today. Just a bunch of random ramblings.

We are great! Have been keeping super busy this summer. Seems like there is never a dull moment and barely any free time. But hey, that's what summer is all about here in good old Saskatchewan. No use staying bored indoors. The winter brings enough of that. And while we've got to travel around a lot, do lots of things, see lots of sights and visit lots of family & friends, we always seem to miss out on something and visiting with someone. So if you're on that list, we are so sorry. If only summer brought more months.

Brielle is doing awesome! She's 14 months old and way too smart (and cute) for her own good. I guess I never really understood just how smart she'd be at this age and how capable of understanding and doing the things she would be. We've kind of slowed down with teaching her new sign language. As she's getting older and communicating more with actual words, the sign language just seems to be dwindling. But we do still use the signs she knows. And she is wanting to talk a lot. She knows and uses a lot of words, especially with encouragement from us. For instance, if there is something she wants but doesn't know the sign for it, we encourage her to use the word. She used to put her hands up and make a grunting sound to be picked up so we quickly put a stop to that and taught her to say "up." It's a simple word to understand and she has no problems saying it. That also means she has to say "down" when she wants to be put down. She can't just struggle and try to slip out of our arms. We prefer that she communicate with us and so far, she's doing a great job.

With all of this quick learning, we've started to teach her things like her age. We can ask her how old she is and she puts up one finger for 1. We're also working on colors and it amazes me that she's learning them! Of course her favorite is purple because of her purple hippo that she sleeps with every night. We've always just called it purple hippo so she already enjoys saying purple. Numbers & shapes will be next on the list of fun things to learn and we have some puzzles she'll enjoy doing for this learning game. And she really loves books! She signs book, says book and will play with books for a long time. We are so thankful!

She is still using the potty like a big girl and more and more, she has been signing "potty" when she has to go, usually accompanied by her standing at the bathroom door looking at us. I know she is not ready to be 100% potty trained, but we are definitely in the right direction. Makes me a proud mommy and also makes me happy that we started putting the time and effort in when she was really young.

 

Brielle finally has 7 teeth! Up until a week and a half ago, she still only had 4 but they seem to be coming in now. I don't know if it's true, but a lot of people have told us that the longer it takes for the teeth to come in, the healthier their teeth will be. Let's hope so.

Her walking has now turned to borderline running, which in turn means that we've had quite a number of falling incidents that have lead to cuts, bruises and blood. She had a huge gash on the side of her lip that is finally healing. There was a lot of blood with that one. And then the other day she fell and bit her tongue which resulted in a huge amount of blood. I can't wait for this clumsy stage to be over so people can stop thinking we beat our kid every day. Maybe gymnastics will help? Brielle starts gymnastics classes next week. We think she's going to love it, especially since she loves to do summersaults. It's pretty cute!

Unfortunately this week we've had a round of tummy bug go through the house. Brielle started on Saturday evening after she was already in bed. By 11 pm she had vomited 3 times, had her bedding changed once, Mommy Rhonda's clothes changed twice (once Brielle threw up right on her chest) and our bedding changed once. Her appetite was pretty much gone but by Tuesday morning she seemed okay. She & I were heading to Okotoks with Wilma and we no sooner got out of the city when the vomiting happened again. So, home we came, her carseat got a complete strip down and wash and we stayed home while Wilma went back to Okotoks on her own. For 2 days we kept her hydrated with Pedialyte, she didn't have an appetite so we got things in her like crackers & toast (and for those of you who know her well, you know she's sick when she refuses to eat) and kept her indoors and out of the sun just in case that was part of the problem. She lost 2 lbs. By yesterday she had her appetite back and seems like she's back to our normal girl. I've had a queasy tummy all week and on Wednesday Rhonda came home sick from work. It's been quite an interesting household.

 

Yesterday we got two big packages in the mail with all of the supplies we need to host a Story Time Play Date party sponsored by Natrel Baboo. A while back I had filled out an application but never heard back from anyone, so I was surprised when we got the package that said we were selected. In it were gift cards to purchase party supplies, Baboo samples (for those who don't know, Baboo is an older infant/toddler milk product and Brielle drinks it all the time), Robert Munsch books, Little People gifts for kids attending the party and a Little People barnyard play set from Fisher-Price. So now we're writing up our guest list and will host a party. I will take pics, blog & post about it, send a write-up about the party to Natrel Baboo and then be entered to win a $250 gift card just for participating. I think it'll be fun and Brielle already loves the barnyard play set.

 

A couple of weeks ago Rhonda finished the last exam and is now a Realtor. I couldn't be more excited and proud of her! It's been a long, hard road until this point but she finally made it. Endless hours studying in the evenings and on weekends since the beginning of the year. This is something we've chosen as a family, for our family. And while she is the one who has taken on this new career, it affects our entire family in every way possible. Together we have chosen to make the sacrifices of her having to work a full time job (yes, she's still working for Cameco), plus devote evenings and weekends towards building her career as a Realtor. This means the possibility of lots of hours away from home and it also means that I will have to spend more time taking care of our daughter on my own. This may be hard at times, but we look towards the future and see so many good things that can come from this. If we make the sacrifices now, we will have the benefits later. In reality, it's a win-win situation. Everything about this feels good to us, so we are going to run with it!

 

As for myself, I'm coming up on my 1 year sleeve anniversary on the 19th of this month. It's hard to believe that it's only been a year but at the same time, I can't believe how much I've achieved in only a year! 86 lbs is a lot of weight to lose in a short period of time and I really can't imagine being back at 250 lbs. It feels amazing and I really am proud of myself. I never would have thought in a million years that I could do this, even with a sleeve. And yet here I am doing it. I've still got a ways to go but I know that I'll get to where I need to be. It'll just take a little more time, is all. Not a day goes by where I'm not grateful for the weight loss. My life is much easier and I'm much happier, not to mention healthier.

In my spare time I have started making (and selling or gifting) Altered Art & Mixed Media Collage prints on canvas. I actually have 3 orders I'll be working on this coming up week, for some very special people. Very excited to take some time from everyday life and do something I love that inspires me and where I get to use my creativity. Here is a sample of one of my faves that I made for a very special friend who opened her own business in Lloydminster recently.

About a month ago we brought our new (to us) hottub home and it has been awesome! We've used it at least 1-2 times per day and now that we have a tv in the hottub area in the garage, it's even easier to spend time out there. It's a great way for Mommies to unwind in the evening when Brielle is in bed. We're hoping it will help make our winter more bearable since we find it extremely hard to be stuck indoors a lot. Last winter was especially long, which made it especially hard for us. But we also have our upcoming trip to Maui in February to help break up the winter. I can just feel the warm sand in my toes and the beautiful blue water at my feet. We are so super excited!!!

This fall we have a few things planned thus far. As I mentioned earlier, Brielle starts gymnastics next week and will go every Tuesday until December. This will be a great outing for all of us and a great way for her to interact with other kids while doing something fun. Next weekend we will be participating in the Color Me Rad 5K here in Saskatoon and the weekend after we are going to The Zac Brown Band concert. We also have family photos planned in October with Brielle's Daddy and his partner. In our opinion, it's very important for Brielle to have pictures done with Daddy as well as with Mommies. It'll be nice for all of us to have at least one family photo done together since let's face it, we are all family! Brielle's family! She deserves these memories.

Well, that was long winded. I guess I had a lot to say and catch up on. Now I need to finish packing for our trip to Okotoks later today. We sold all of our livingroom furniture to my cousin & his wife and now we're going to pick up all of our new (to us) furniture from my aunt who is selling her house. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and enjoy the last of this great weather we've been having!