I can’t believe that a year and a half has passed since we welcomed Catherine in to our lives, it seems so short and also so long ago. How fitting for her 18 Months Birthday to be on Friday the 13th since she was born on Friday the 13th!
She amazes me more and more everyday with the things she can do and say.
Happy Year and a Half Baby Girl!
Today I am thankful for my wonderful family (my wonderful husband and almost 18 month old daughter!), the roof I have over my head and my health and wellness.
What are you thankful for today?
So I'm going to break down and work on a 101 things to do in 1001 days. I've had a few friends start this and I had also sort of started one about a year ago, but I haven't followed through. It is so easy to think about the things we want to accomplish in 1-year or 5-years, but its a totally different thing to actually write it all down and do it all. So here is my list. I'll try to remember to check in monthly on how I'm doing. Hope this inspires some of you to do the same thing.
This list is good from Aug 12, 2010 to May 9, 2013
Self-Help Section
1. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
2. Don't complain about anything for a week
3. Learn to be more patient
4. Complete Wedding Scrapbook
5. Complete Catherine's 1st Year Scrapbook
6. Read 101 books
7. Not log into facebook for a whole week!
8. Learn Italian
9. Stop swearing for a month
10. Re-finish a piece of furniture
11. List 101 things that make me happy
12. Sew a blanket
13. Have Christmas Cards out by December 1
14. Get a digital SLR camera
15. Take a class to learn how to use the Digital SLR camera
16. Have a spa day
17. Host a wine and cheese party
18. Update this blog at least twice a week for 6 months
19. Do a Wordless Wednesday post every Wednesday for a month
20. Do a Thankful Thursday post every Thursday for a month
21. Sell our house and buy our dream home (or as close to it as we can afford)
22. Learn how to grow a vegetable garden and grow one
23. Make a new friend
24. Use reusable shopping bags every shopping trip for a month
25. Make a list of 10 things I like about myself
26. Finish parent (and grandparent) photo books of our wedding
27. Make photo books of Catherine 6 months to 1 year
28. Not use the internet for a whole week
29. Not play on the computer when Catherine is awake for 3 months
30. Read Catherine 1 book a day for 3 months
31. Build a snow man with Catherine
32. Complete a 500 piece puzzle
My Career
33. Apply to all offers for further education (ECG course, KCI study etc...) at work
34. Complete annual review paperwork and have Annual Review - Aug 23, 2010
35. Get serious about taking the breastfeeding and newborn assessment courses
Health & Wellness
36. Do yoga 3 times a week for a least a month
37. Reach my goal weight
38. Continue to exercise on a regular basis
39. With next pregnancy, continue to exercise and eat healthy food
Financial
40. Create an emergency fund
41. Pay off all debt (loan, CC) in 5 years
42. Stick with a budget for 5 months
43. Not use a CC for everyday purchases for 3 months
Helping Others
44. Give more to our church
45. Pay for someone behind me at a fast food or coffee shop
46. Put change in someone's expired parking meter
47. Do something nice for someone without being asked to help
48. Leave a 50% tip for dinner
Spiritual
49. Do bible study every day for a month
50. Go to church every week for a 2 months
51. Consistently journal my Bible reading daily for at least one month
52. Pray for others every day
Food
53. Buy an expensive bottle of wine (more than $100)
54. Only one small sweet or less a day for a month
55. No fast food for a month
56. Cook dinner for a week straight
57. Make ice cream from scratch
58. Make my own bread (not in the bread maker)
59. Make an entire meal with organic food
60. Learn how to bake amazing cakes/cupcakes
61. Make Jeff breakfast in bed for Fathers day with Catherine
62. Organize my favourite recipes
63. Bake something once a month for a year
64. Make soup from scratch
Trips/Outings
65. Go on a family trip
66. Build a sand castle
67. Attend a taping of a live TV show
68. Visit somewhere in Europe
69. Go whale-watching
70. Go skinny dipping
71. Sleep under the stars
72. Ride in a hot air balloon
73. Go on a picnic
74. Spend a day at the beach
75. Visit the Grand Canyon
76. Visit 3 provinces (I haven’t been to) in the Canada
77. Go somewhere Tropical with Jeff (no kids allowed)
78. Take Catherine to Disney World
79. Go camping as a family
80. Go scuba diving or snorkelling
81. Visit the Green Gables Heritage Place (Anne of Green Gables)
82. Go to Las Vegas
83. See a play, ballet or opera
84. Take a train somewhere with Catherine
85. Take a sister’s trip (when Sam graduates!)
86. Go to New York and see Time Square and Ground Zero
87. See the Toronto Maples Leafs play
88. Visit the Canadian Rockies
89. Hike part of the Bruce Trail
90. Visit Niagara Falls
91. Go visit a volcano
92. Take a random road trip
93. Take a mother/daughter trip
Jeff & I
94. Kiss in the rain
95. Have another baby
96. Have dinner by candlelight
97. Continue to communicate effectively
98. Have a designated date night once a month for 4 months
99. Go out for an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant
100.Take a dancing lesson together
101. Take a cooking class together
I am so happy that the scale is moving again. A few weeks at the same weight was really getting to me, but the last two weeks I have lost 1 lb or more. I was getting really frustrated, especially because I was trying to win the weight loss challenge at work, but it as since been cancelled. So now I guess the pressure is off and so the weight is coming off again. Only 10.8 lbs to go to my goal weight!
If nothing else, consider this fact: children under age two are 75% less likely to be killed or suffer severe injuries in a crash if they are riding rear facing rather than forward facing. In fact, for children 1-2 years of age, facing the rear is five times safer. (Pediatrics Journal, 2008)
I am often asked why I want to keep Catherine rear-facing until she outgrows the weight limit for rear-facing on her car seat. Most parents believe that once a child reaches 1-year old and 20lbs, they should be switched from rear-facing to forward-facing. According to our road laws you can switch at 1-year old and 20 lbs, but what they don’t say is that’s the minimum requirements for forward-facing not what you have to do. Despite that, many parents following these guidelines. I have found, through researching, that forward-facing is not necessarily the safest position for a small child. Most of the sources I found say it is safest to leave a child rear-facing until they reach the weight limit of their car seat or when their head is within 1” from the top of the seat. Many car seats only rear-face to 30 lbs, so some bigger children can potentially outgrow rear-facing before it is really safe to forward-facing, so I urge parents to do their research when buying a convertible car seat and pick one that will work for their child to do extended rear-facing. This great website lists all the available car seats in Canada and their weight limits (be aware: many of the same models are available in the USA, but the weight limits differ in Canada due to our stricter safety standards). I am very fortunate because Catherine is on the lower end of the growth curve and the weight limit on her Graco My Ride 65 is 40 lbs, so she will likely end up rear-facing until 3-years old or older. This is one of the reasons I purchased this car seat because I wanted to make sure that I am doing whatever I can to protect her if we are ever in a car accident (God forbid!). This webpage lists all the reason why extended rear-facing is safer and I urge you to read this before you make any decisions on rear-facing or forward-facing. Also, please read this post from a blog that I enjoy reading. I'm so thankful that she has also spoken out about this controversial topic because I find that many people don’t understand extended rear-facing and say that is uncomfortable and not necessary.
I’m going to leave you with a video on the importance of rear-facing. After watching this video you tell me which one looks safer?
I was itching for a change, so here it is. Not a lot has changed, but its just enough for me.
Enjoy!
Luckily Catherine loved her bath from the very beginning, but I know many babies do not. Well I ran across this product that looks like it would help with bath time.
![baby-animation-new[1]](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rxxT_vbrRuY/TEu23_jE_jI/AAAAAAAAAJk/Ubhx5ajv2hU/s1600-h/baby-animation-new%5B1%5D.png "baby-animation-new[1]")
Wanna win one? So do I. Go to Mama’s Getting Kinda Crunchy and enter for you chance to win you have until August 3rd!
Another new breastfeeding extra that is nice. It’s a nursing sash, so instead of having to use a blanket or a nursing cover, you use this instead!
Baby Bond comes in a few varieties, but they all work the same way. The only things that change are burp cloth and fabric options. I love that the Baby Bond works like a nursing top, one piece of fabric goes up and one goes down. This action creates an opening for your baby to eat through. Your shirt you have on keeps your sides covered and the Baby Bond keeps the rest of you covered. Baby can eat and not have a blanket over his/her head!
Personally I like the look and use of the Couture Baby Bond. Check them out. If you like them, but don’t want to spend the money. Got to Mama's Getting Kinda Crunchy and enter their giveaway for a chance to win one!
New mommies and mommie to be, if you plan on breastfeeding this is the nursing tank for you!
Look stunning while secretly concealing your baby weight with our Yummie Tummie Nursing T. Designed to slim and smooth that stubborn, new Mommy middle. Ultra soft and comfortable, our simple snap down bust panel and adjustable straps allow for easy and convenient nursing while still supporting your feminine curves.
Wanna win one for free? All you have to do is go to Mama's Getting Kinda Crunchy and enter to win. You have until August 18, 2010 at midnight.
I have one of these pods to track all the stuff that has happened in Catherine’s life and I love love love it. Eveything is in one place, all together and its easy to take with me to doctors appointments etc..
I follow a blog – Mama’s Getting Kinda Crunchy (love love love it too by the way) @ Mama's Getting Kinda Crunchy and they are giving away one of these HealthPod’s. I have entered to win one and so can you. Click the link above, go to the blog and follow the instructions on how to enter. You only have until midnight tonight to do it!
Catherine loves to swim now! She would go in the water before, but generally had a death grip on who ever was holding her. Well now she loves the water and will float around on her own. Check it out!
Sorry for the delay. I got sick and really haven’t done a lot of anything in over a week!
Without further ado, here are the pictures of the cottage.
Well I guess working nights and not sleeping really caught up with me. We headed up to the cottage yesterday morning and I started to get a really stuffed up nose. I blew my nose all day and by bedtime I was beyond congested. I slept like crap because I couldn’t breath. First thing when we were up fed and dressed Catherine, Jeff and I headed to the drug store for meds. Although I still feel like I have a cold I can breath through my nose again and the sinus pressure is much better. I was also able to have two good naps, which were very much appreciated. While I was napping Jeff took Catherine in to the water and she actually seemed to enjoy herself. Hopefully we can get in the water again before we leave tomorrow, so I can enjoy it with her.
Will post some pictures later!
I am officially down 40 lbs! I'm so excited. I have two more pounds to lose to get to my pre-pregnancy weight and 14 lbs to get to my wedding weight. Also, my percentage of weight lost is 20.5% since I started. Here's to hoping the last 10 or so pounds come off as well as the last 20 lbs have!!
Today we had to say goodbye to a member of our family. Tiger was a wonderful cat and we were able to love him for 7 years. He will be truly missed by us all, especially Tobey.
Cuddling with Catherine before she was born:
Hanging with his best friend Tobey:
So since Jeff decided that he wanted to buy tools and a ladder for Father’s Day, I decided that Catherine and I would do a craft for him.
This is what we did:
Here is what it looks like in the frame we got:
And with the card we made:
I’ve been busy sewing up a storm!
I decided that paying $30 plus for a sleep sack was ridiculous and that I was going to make my own. Little did I know it wasn’t quite as easy as it looks.
I bought the material well over a month ago and started working on it that night.
I ran in to a few road blocks and gave up. Well Jeff has been nagging me lately that the sleep sack’s we have for Catherine that aren’t fleece are way too small. So again today I pulled the material out to give it another go.
I know have two of them finished and the last is all marked out it just needs to be put and sewn.
Here is one of them finished!
I was a busy girl last night at work. I had two little babies, both about 1 month old. At the beginning of the night I was excited, I would get to snuggle some newborns and feed them and then they would sleep, repeat. That’s not at all what happened.
If one wasn’t crying, the other one was and they were often both crying at the same time. Since they were in the same room if I didn’t get the crying one out ASAP, the other would be up and crying. It made for a very long, tiring and frustrating night.
I always though it would be nice to have twins (mostly being able to get two kids with one pregnancy, since we all know I suck at being pregnant!). Now I have a totally different opinion. All you twin moms are my hero’s!
God help us if we ever do have twins or more!
Ok, I’m back. It’s been far too long and I should really keep this updated. So I’m going to try to do better.
Catherine turned a year old on February 13 and I went back to work the very next day, so life have been a little bit busy.
I have also been exercising and eating more healthy in hopes to lose some of the baby weight. I am about 4 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight and 16 lbs from my ultimate goal (wedding weight). I feel much better about myself and life in general.
I will leave you with a family picture that a photog friend of mine took.
