Random Thoughts From a Mommy

As 2013 comes to a close, I sit here reflecting on this year. Things that have happened, lessons I have learned, people I have loved. It has been an eventful year to say the least. Coming up with the top 10 this year required some combing through. Here we are :) 10.) New Job - Being stay at home parents has always been our dream. So when Bryan lost his stay at home job, we were left scrambling trying to figure out what to do next. And while business was steady, we really needed something more concrete earlier this year. I am not sure how it happened (isn't that always the way?), but somehow, the Universe brought me this job. I applied, interviewed, and was hired and working within 2 weeks. It has been an incredible experience being on this side of the table (working I mean). I love being at home and still seeing the girls on my breaks and lunch. It truly has been a blessing! (And my coworkers are awesome peeps too) 9.) Going to Montreal - that ties in with the new job.

Dear Mackenzie, A year has come and gone. How could that be? I could've sworn it was just yesterday I was fussing about what to write for your one year birthday . Here I am again. Some things haven't changed. You still light up when you see Po Po with as much enthusiasm as you did a year ago. You did things earlier than I expected you to, just like when you were a baby. You are still our teacher every day. I read a blog post once that you'll remember the firsts, but most of the time, you won't remember the last. Like I don't remember the last time you signed please, the last time you needed me to spoon feed you because you weren't coordinated enough yet, the last time you ate your crayons, the last time you used a sippy cup...there were so many last times I didn't realize were lasts. Every new word or new thing you did came as a surprise each time. When I started singing "I'm A Child of God", I was so surprised that you remembered the w

I don't know what possessed us to potty train a 22-month old when we have a newborn at home, but you know, we did it. One of my mommy friends has an older kid and suggested the 3-day method a long long time ago. I never forgot it, but never really looked up on it either. All I knew was 3 days of nothing from the waist down. As you can imagine, the thought of doing that with a newborn terrified us. But a couple of months ago, Mackenzie decided to get into the Penaten for the THIRD time, resulting in this: We sucked it up and we picked a weekend with no plans (which if you know us, you know how impossible this is for us!), and off to training we go! Let me tell you - the first day and a half was a nightmare! There was a lot of, "Mack, do you need to go?" and Mack replying, "NO!" And when we did put her on the potty, there was a lot of whining and a lot of "I AM NOT READY!" Even though she only had one accident on day 1 and day 2, we still

I've always said that children are amazing teachers, so it comes as no surprise that Mackenzie taught me a great lesson today. It was a cloudy day this morning. So at the first sign of sun, we took both Mack and Bree to the park just down the street. Mack went on the swings first as usual. An older girl with her mom wanted her mom to push her higher because Bryan was pushing Mack so high. You can tell the girl was jealous. I'm sure the mom was cursing us on the inside thinking, "thanks a lot for teaching my kid to swing high. Now she's going to bug me forever!" Then Mack went on to the slides. She first went up the stairs to warm up, then she climbed this 3-foot rock climbing wall, and then she went on the other side to climb this metal bars that were about 3.5 ft high. She's been attempting this for a couple of weeks now. I've always been too nervous to let her go on her own. This time, Bryan was behind her. He gently guided her to go up. With every s

So a few things I forgot to mention about Bree - probably because we have 2 kids now and I'm so focused on all the new things Mack is going through that it's easy to breeze through Bree's development. I'm re-reading some of the blog posts about Mack and it's hard not to compare Bree to her. So here are few things I've missed: 1.) Breastfeeding still hurt the second time. You'd think that your nipples would toughen up after breastfeeding for a whole year, but no. They revert back after 7 months. The only thing is that I knew it'd end. I went through half a tube of lanolin and then I was good. 2.) Bree's PKU also came back with abnormalities for her cystic fibrosis gene. We went back for the PKU the second time and the lab tech said she's never drawn blood (from her foot) so fast from a baby ever. It literally took like a minute. And of course, it came back the same as Mack's - she's a carrier, but she doesn't have it. Phew! 3.)

It's funny how when I was pregnant, I thought time went by so slowly. As soon as Bryanna was born, I blinked and it's already been 6 weeks. It's the weirdest thing. Well, it's been 6 weeks and we're still alive and awake! Let's recap, shall we? Bryanna is a completely different baby than Mackenzie. They told me each baby was different, but I don't think I really anticipated how different they would be. First of all, Bryanna feeds amazingly. She eats for about 10 minutes at a time every 3 hours (4 to 4.5 hours at night). Mackenzie was a slow feeder and I would have to wake her up to feed every 3 hours (if I didn't, she could go 5 hours without a feed!). Bryanna is gaining weight like a normal baby. She is already past 9 lbs at 6 weeks! I swear she will be wearing the same size clothes as Mack soon! (Ok, I'm exaggerating, but you know what I mean) Mack has been amazing with Bree. Every morning, she asks for Bree and gives her at least 5 kisses

It all started innocently enough. I started having contractions around Boxing Day. They were so inconsistent though I knew they weren't real. This continued for a few days so I had huge hope that Baby Dime would greet us earlier than its due date of Jan. 13. Then last Sunday morning, I woke up at 4 in the morning from a bit of a nightmare (a skytrain veered off its tracks). I felt my first contraction and started timing them. For the next 2 hours, they were consistently at about 7-10 minutes apart. I woke Bryan up and told him that "today is the day!" It was hard to believe and exciting at the same time. I even told my sister to take the day off work because the baby was coming. I was convinced that within 12 hours, the baby would be here. Then the contractions started getting further and further apart. They started ranging from 10-30 mins apart. We went to IHOP for breakfast, I even had a nap! My hope for Baby Dime to greet us diminished. I told Kelly to go to work b

I realize this post is a bit late as we're already 5 days into the New Year. Better late than never I say! Here are the top 10 moments of 2012 :) 10.) Mackenzie walking - one of the most memorable moments of 2012. Mostly because she took her first steps AND we were able to capture it on video! Of course, our lives were never the same after this girl became mobile, but overall, it's been worth it! 9.) Mackenzie's first birthday - I can't even believe we survived our first year! Her party was a success and I also found out ON her actual birthday that she's going to be a big sister. Turning one was a huge moment, but more importantly, she just became a super sponge afterwards. The fun times really began after that :) Mackenzie - you continue to teach me so many lessons and I love you so much. Thank you for making the 2012 fairly easy (you're in the testing phase right now, so you're averaging about 3 time outs a day!). And thank you for transitioning into e