Alajaboobecaca?

Can't....Post....Back...Spasming...Typing this is agonizing

Anyone know how i or my baby can crack my back? 

That's about all that is possible right now. Owch. Bye.

Awesome Wet Bag: Bummis

I got this wet bag recently. It's cute, waterproof, has a handle, zipper, and it was a great price (i have the blue one)

It was purchased from Green Ninja. Check out their website, it is a great Canadian store.
A good wet bag is an important part of cloth diapering. At the very least have a good one for travel. You don't want to have a cheap wet bag leak while you are out of the house. I highly recommend one with a zipper, as i had one with a drawstring, and it's not as reliable.
I may be addicted to cloth diapering and it's accessories...help!

Marcus' (Daddy's) Birthday

Adventures in Crawling

My little man is army crawling up a storm now (he's been doing it for about a week, since 5.5 months old). It is quite the adventure. Nothing is safe. He leaves no sharp edge unexplored. He's a fan of the stairs, the edge of the tv console, the wires behind the tv console, and the magazine shelf under the desk. It's a lot of fun actually. Mothers with older kids always say "It's better before they're mobile, and you have to chase them around all day". I quite enjoy it. A child is a blessing, and everything they do is a fun experience. Even if it is a lot of work. I wouldn't trade chasing him around the house for anything. He's a fan of crawling on the grass too. When i bring him outside i always put a blanket down for him, and give him some toys to play with, but he goes right or the grass. Ripping out handfulls of grass with a look of sheer awe on his face. Jackson is also a fan of a particular couch pillow...

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

After watching this video, Jackson and i had a talk. 

We decided that he'll never grow up, because i can't bear the thought of not seeing him every day. 

Then i hugged him until he could stand me no longer.

Blog I Love

Please check out this blog. 

It's beautiful, it touches my heart every day, i know you'll feel the same way.

Enjoying the Small Things

Have a wonderful weekend. 

We'll be celebrating Marcus' (Mr.Henderson's) birthday. 

More on that Monday!

I can't post without a picture of my little man. Love him.

Watermelon Baby

More Toys Jackson Loves Now...

Fisher Price Telephone

Maybe its the string he can eat, the fact that it rolls away for him to chase, or the delightful sound the dial makes when you turn it. This thing is a hit with all kids i think. Sadly, i believe the string is the most enticing part right now.

Trucks

(here he is eating the truck, and the string from Elmo at the same time, he is a genius)

I don't know if it's a boy thing, but he just loves em'. Now that he is army crawling around the floor, he loves chasing things around (after he accidentally bats them across the room) Trains, cars, trucks, anything with wheels. There are some fancy schmancy Playskool pull back trucks that Jackson's bff has, i need to get him some of those.

Elmo

Another pull toy. As you pull it, Elmo's head opens up, and Cookie Monster is inside laughing. Kinda creepy, kinda cute. Again, i believe he likes the string the best. He seems rather intrigued by the opening and closing factor. This was a hand me down toy, that i think has lots of life left in it.

Toys have become a whole new adventure around these parts. As Jackson gets better at moving and army crawling/scooting across the floor, he enjoys throwing and pushing things, and then going to get them. At which point they go straight in the mouth, maybe they taste different than they did 5 minutes ago?

Toys Jackson Loves

It's amazing how quickly babies lose interest in certain toys. Many things he played with even a month ago he has no interest in now. He is slowly moving from the "put everything in my mouth" stage, to actually being interested in what things do. These are a few toys he really seems to enjoy at almost 6 months old.

The Exersaucer

With the variety of toys, and the ability to attach toys, it's easy to change it up. He's been using it since he was 3.5 months old. I think in another month or two he'll start to lose interest. The more mobile he gets, the more he hates being restricted. He uses it for maybe 30 minutes a day, but it's really handy non the less.


Leap Frog Learning Table

This is a new toy. He loves standing up, this allows him to do something while standing up. It plays music, abc's, has buttons to push and slide, pages to flip, things to spin, open and close, and of course flashing lights. It also has 2 volume options. I think he'll play with this one for a long time. I think it will be great when he starts to pull up also.


Stacking Cups

We've had these for a while, he just started playing with them. While he was learning to sit, without falling over, i was leery of giving him any hard toys, but now that he can sit well, he loves to throw them all over the place, and of course put them in his mouth. I think very basic toys like this will stand the test of time, and be used for a while. I can see him playing with them in water or sand also.


To be continued...

Killman Zoo

On Saturday i ventured out to the Killman zoo with my little man. It was awesome, he was a little young to really appreciate it, but i have pictures. We plan to go to the Toronto Zoo in the fall, hopefully he notices the animals.
It was really cool, and really scary because there was only A FENCE between you and the animals. Including jaguars, lions, tigers, lynx', cougars, bears etc. There we're also a butt load of mosquitoes.

Casually playing with a tire

I was a little scared when this lion looked me in the eye!

I think this baby monkey was 2-3 months old?

Amazing Peacock

We were so close to them!

Beautiful!

I think the zoo is probably better for babies/kids over a year old, but it was still a lot of fun for me. I can't wait to keep exploring new places with my little man. For now, i doubt he know the difference between our cat, and a lion.

Sometimes at Night...

Jackson Graeme,

Sometimes at night, when i know you are fast asleep, i'll  tip toe into your room and peer over the side of your crib. I'll stand and watch your chest rise and fall as you sleep, because i miss you. What a silly mommy i am. So tired by the end of the day from entertaining an ever growing, climbing, changing, energetic little man, but still missing you as you sleep. Sometimes you sense that i am in the room, your little head pops up, and you look at me with sleepy eyes. Then you lay your head down and drift back to sleep. It's as if you missed me too. At least i like to think so.


Love,

Your mommy

I'll always remember you sleeping like this, so tiny and peaceful.

Will it REALLY Matter?

New parents, we stress about everything. I've posted about this before. New moms, have to learn to take the opinions of others with a grain of salt. I'll bet in ten years we'll see no difference between the child that was breastfed for 10 months vs. 16, or the baby that learned to crawl at 7 months vs. 8. We just gotta do our best, do what feels right for our family. Try not to stress if we don't have time to make baby food one day, because most likely the baby won't grow a third arm because he ate store bought food here and there.  If I'm feeling stressed about not having time to do something i force myself to ask the question, "will it really matter in ten years?"

- I didn't play classical music to my baby while he was in my belly, i doubt it will affect his intellect in ten years.

- I make my own baby food 99% of the time, it won't matter in ten years that it wasn't 100% of the time.

-I use cloth diapers, but i keep a pack of disposables on hand just in case. (Days like today when i waited until all his diapers were dirty to wash them) Will it really matter in ten years that i used sposies occasionally?

-I don't sanitize his toys that often. Some germs are good right? Will it really matter in ten?

-The dog kisses him once in a while, i don't freak out, because, it doesn't realllly matter.

In hindsight the best advice i could give someone who is expecting, don't stress, don't stress, don't stress. If the nursery isn't done, if you don't have everything you think you'll need, don't stress. If you want to have a natural childbirth but can't, don't stress. If you want to give your baby a 100% natural, organic sunshine and rainbows upbringing but can't, don't stress. It goes by so quickly, just enjoy being pregnant, and enjoy your baby when he/she comes. What really matters is that they are loved, fed, loved, diaper changed, fed, loved, fed, and maybe a nap here and there (for mommy and baby)

Kisses

Around here, we like to kiss. 
Maybe it has something to do with the ridiculously cute baby? 
I think i may kiss him 1,000-10,000 times daily. 

I gotta get those kisses in while he still lets me. 

Oh my dear Jackson, don't you dare grow up! 

Mommy's being serious this time. 

You are to scrumptious right now!

Yet some more pictures from the weekend. I may have broken a record. I took 200 pictures Saturday. 200. That's crazy right? I'm always worried I'll miss something. I'm sure everyone takes thousands of pictures during the first year of their babies life. We just go above and beyond, taking a thousand a week. 

Thank the lord for digital photography, and external hard drives.

A Lavender Festival In Pictures

Purple Daze Lavender Farm

Daddy, Mommy and Jackson

Jackson and his bff, Fen.

Mommies and babies

If you live in the Haldimand, Norfolk, or Hamilton area, check out the 

Purple Daze Lavender Farm.

It smells fabulous, and it's worth the drive. We checked out the Lavender festival this year. It was filled with vendors selling natural products, there was a celtic band, and some local produce. Fun for the whole family.

Our Dream Home

When you picture your dream home what do you see? At some point in our life we all think about this. Right now I live in my dream home. It's my dream because this is where my family is. I spent my first years of marriage here, and for a while at least, i will raise my babies here. It's not fancy, it's not big, but it's filled with love.

All i see lately are McMansion's going up every where. I've had some people impress upon me the last few years, the importance of buying a bigger house before we have kids. Apparently having an eat in kitchen, and no dining room is frowned upon. Where will i host my dinner parties? Only having one living room for the kids and adults to share is ridiculous. Don't i know we are supposed to have one area for "entertaining" and another area for the kids to play and watch t.v.? If we don't, we might have to watch television WITH our kids. Can you imagine? Monitoring their t.v., video game, and computer usage? That's just too much work. (dripping with sarcasm)

The point of this post isn't houses, but my problem with our culture, obsessed with everything being bigger, better, and more expensive. Especially when the reasoning behind it is to keep up with the Jones' , to show off to the neighbours, or, worst of all, to try and make your loved ones happy by buying them things. Don't get me wrong, i'm all for working hard to be able to treat yourself to things. What i'm against is being judged by others for family being more important than buying a brand new 4 bedroom 3,000 square foot house. If you want to get a four wheeler, a big screen t.v. (we have one), or a hot tub, awesome. As long as spending time with your children is your top priority.

Think back to your childhood. Do you remember if you had granite counter tops? Were you very upset if you didn't? Probably not. Most kids could care less about extravagances. It's our time they want. They've actually done studies to prove it . Kids would much rather their parents spend time with them, than working an extra 15 hours a week so they can afford a house that will look impressive.

Children grow so fast. Soak them up. Smother them with kisses. Spend time with them. They want you.

(Here, Jackson is teaching his bear to read. Have i mentioned that my son is a genius?)

I Know...Enough with the You Tube Vids

I had to share this one. What do ya think? 

Is he just a really happy guy-lovin' life, or is he on somethin'?

I'm all for a sweet rainbow, but they don't make me cry.

Weirdest Doll Commercial Ever?

I don't think I need to say anything about that. 
I guess it's good that it's realistic...
What do you think?

Going to the Beach

We expose Jackson to everything we can. We want him to like going out and doing things. I don't ever want him to be the kid that's afraid of everything. I want him to love going swimming in a lake, rolling around in the sand, and just being a boy!

This last weekend was a hot one, so we headed to the beach. Lathered the little man up in his sunscreen, and into the water he went. He's still not a huge fan of the water, but he tolerates it. I think by the end of the summer he'll love it, and we won't be able to get him out.

We didn't get any pictures of him fully in the water, here he is just dipping his toes. The look on his face when a wave comes is precious. You can tell he is just trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

Seeing everything through a babies eyes, really makes you see that the world is a wondrous magical place.

I know we have years of beach fun ahead of us, and we can't wait. 

Necessities for going to the beach with a small baby (Jackson has been going since he was 4 months old):

-A beach umbrella, you never know if there will be shade.

-Tear free spray sunscreen, so much easier for slathering all over them.

-An area that you can keep somewhat sand free for them for eat, play with toys that go in their mouth,nap.

-A comfort from home that they can nap with. Jackson has one of those bears attached to a little blankie that he likes to snuggle.The beach can be a hard place for a baby to fall asleep as per the noise and brightness.Also an extra towel to try and make a softer spot for them to nap, the beach can bumpy. (i don't want to lug a playpen to the beach)

-Wet facecloths for sticky hands, and the sand they WILL get in their face.

-A uv shirt or wet suit (we keep him under the umbrella as much as possible)

Happy summer!

Homemade Iced Tea

This isn't much of a recipe, i didn't reaaaallly measure, but here goes.

4-5 tea bags 

1 lemon (cut into slices)

6-8 mint leaves

Sugar or honey

Boil a kettle of water, pour that over 4-5 tea bags in a nice pitcher. Let steep. Remove the tea bags, add lemon,mint leaves and sugar to taster. Add ice, then cold water to fill the pitcher. 

Everyone likes different strengths, so let the tea bags steep as long as you like. It might take a couple tries to get it to suit you. This is my new summer go to beverage, and best of all it's chemical free! If a package has something on it i can't pronounce, it's not for me!

I also made it with decaf tea, as i'm a nursing mama i can only have so much caffeine.

Canada Day in Pictures

I think that covers it. Jackson had a day of play with his cousins and his best bud. 

It was so much fun that he didn't nap, had a meltdown after dinner, then slept for 10.5 hours straight! 

5 Months

This little stinker is 5 months old. 

What has month 5 brought?

For us;

More love, hugs, kisses and amazement than we could ever imagine. 

Having a child really is like having your heart outside of your body. 

I so look forward to scooping him up out of his crib and drawing out the morning, snuggling in bed.

Marcus looks forward to coming home everyday, because the excitement in Jacksons eyes when his daddy finally comes home makes it all worth it.

For the Jaxman;

Rolling like a maniac

Perfecting sitting (he can sit for 15-20 mins without tumbling over)

Putting his sookie in his mouth

Sleeping and napping like a champ in his crib

Standing holding onto our fingers

Attempting to pull himself across the floor (i see crawling in a month)

Jumping up and down in his exersaucer 

Foods he's tried;

Sweet potato

Squash

Carrots

Peas (didn't like)

Green Beans

Bananas 

Apples

Peaches

Pears

Prunes 

Lentils (only mixed with veg)

Tofu (only mixed with veg)

Avacado

My dear sweet boy, the past 5 months have flown by. 

Each day with you is more fun than the last, and we look forward to the months to come.

Happy Canada Day

Today we'll be celebrating with friends and family. In honour of Canada day, please enjoy this video "Grandpa Dances to Lady Gaga". It'll make you smile.

Tomorrow i'll have some pics and such from our day.

Peace.

Singing O Canada in Toronto During G20 Summit Not Allowed?

Clearly there was reason for this? Right? 

The police wouldn't attack without provocation....right?

How do i tell my son that police are the good guys?