E's 3rd Birthday

I won't even apologize for a lack of posting.  Our lives have changed enough that posting isn't a priority anymore.  But, every so often, I get inspired to post; mainly to document something from our lives.

It's strange how one day you're announcing the birth of your firstborn...and then the next it's his/her 3rd (10th...20th..25th..) birthday.

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

A few days ago, we celebrated E's 3rd birthday.

I finally got to use the cupcake cake form that Giz decided should live at my house.  I used Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Chocolate Cake recipe.  I was worried that the batter was too liquidy and would fall apart once removed from the pan, but everything came out perfectly.

Actually, this was her second birthday cake, since we had an early birthday celebration in Toronto, with a Minion-themed family birthday party.

Our friends came over for dinner on her birthday and I tried out a new recipe, 20 Minute Skillet Chicken and Spinach Parmesan.  It was a yummy recipe that I would definitely use again.

Welcoming K

This post is really overdue.  Ironic, since K wasn't   I expected to be post date with the birth, since E was 10 days overdue.  But, K (the new little man in my life) came on his due date.  That's why I got to experience, first hand, labour denial: I am not in labour...these contractions are going to stop...don't get the look on your face (I said this to R when he looked excited about our baby's impending arrival)...

After irregular, mild contractions that started around 10pm, I figured I should get back to the computer and try to finish some work.  Eventually, I went to sleep and slept through mild contractions throughout the night.  The next morning, I debated calling in sick (I was already working from home) -- so I just sent an email saying that I wasn't feeling great and would work as possible.  I also debated whether to cancel the cleaning lady that I had arranged (we don't have a regular cleaning lady, but I decided to splurge twice to get the house fully clean before baby arrived).  Even with contractions getting stronger, I was still skeptical and didn't want to change my plans.  Babies know not to come before you're ready, right?   I was semi-convinced that if I wasn't ready, my body wouldn't let me go into labour.  Plus, I wasn't feeling the urge to nest.  No water breaking (as it had to start my labour with E).  None of the other signs that you learn about.  Just contractions.  OK....maybe that's a big sign.  But, maybe it's just Braxton-Hicks.

Still not committing, I asked R to go into work late so that he could take E to daycare.  Then, I figured I would just set up the birth pool.  If anything, it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

As I was doing that and R was dropping E off at daycare, contractions got stronger.  So I figured that maybe it was the real thing.  Crap!  My house is a mess and I have two projects to finish still.  To add a little bit of a stress to the mix, the adapter that I have bought to hook up the hose for the birth pool to the sink wasn't connecting properly.  WTF?!?  I had tested it earlier in the week and it went on easily.  Images of filling buckets up with water were running through my mind.  This is not the home birth I had envisioned!!!

The urge to clean everything was in full force since I knew I was too far along to have the house cleaner come in a couple of hours.  I debated it, but decided it wouldn't be fair to her to have to listen to me in labour.  Gotta say, it's still easier to clean a house in labour than it is to clean a house with a toddler.  We got the place in acceptable condition pretty quickly and R finally got the hose hooked up.   I was able to relax a bit.  Thankfully this coincided with contractions getting increasingly stronger.  Among the contractions that still sticks out is one I had on my yoga/labour ball.  First and only contraction on there -- man that hurt.  

At R's suggestion, we asked the doula to come over.  I didn't want to waste her time in early labour.  But, R's arms were getting tired from the hip squeezes (I think I told him to "suck it up" a few times).  Shortly after my doula arrived, I got into the birth pool.  It felt good to be in there.  I had a small fan on me, along with a cold cloth on my forehead.  I spent pretty much the entire time leaning forward over the edge of the pool.  

Unlike last birth, I felt pretty aware of what was going on.  I could tell that I wasn't in transition yet.  I  knew immediately when my water broke.  We called the midwife at that point.  My doula asked about how I felt about the pain level and I said it was manageable, but not fun.  She and R squeezed my hips from alternate sides, which brought the pain level down by a lot.

Shortly after telling my doula that I wasn't in transition, I'm pretty sure transition started.  That phase was quick too.  I told when her I felt the baby drop lower.  My midwife arrived somewhere around that time.  About ten minutes later, I felt the urge to push.  With E, I was too freaked out to feel the baby's head coming out.  But, this time I needed to guide my pushing.  The second midwife hadn't arrived yet and my midwife started to get a bit concerned about that.  I didn't care.  After about 5 minutes of pushing, K was out.  It was all kind of surreal.  I wasn't even in labour -- why is there a baby in my arms?!

OK -- so I guess I was in labour.  It all went really quickly.  I'd estimate about 2 hours of active labour.  Born at 7 lbs, 6 oz, K was quite a bit smaller than E.  

A couple hours after K was born, R picked E up from daycare.  Originally, we weren't sure if we would keep her home for the birth.  But, it became clear to me that having her there was going to be too difficult.  She was being whiny and was starting to get upset with my condition.  She came home and was very excited to meet her new little brother.  Some of her thoughts were that he was hungry (for chocolate...according to E), that he was going to roll over (because his arms were flailing around) 

All in all, a really good experience.  Having a baby at home was so much easier than going to the hospital mid-labour.  After delivery, I was able to just walk down the hall and sit in my bed while my doula and midwives emptied the pool and cleaned up.  Of course, there's always a risk of a hospital transfer.  But, research shows that outcomes for home births are comparable to hospital births.  I was also really happy with the level of intervention -- no medications, no checking for dilation, no one counting while I pushed, immediate skin-to-skin and continued skin-to-skin for a lengthy period afterwards.  I also decided to have my placenta encapsulated (making it into a pill) this time, which I think contributed to avoiding baby blues all together.  It seemed a bit "out there" for me first time around, but I figured I'd give it a try.  The pills have no taste, no smell, etc.

Fast forward two (and a bit) months later, we're settling into being a family of four.  It's all encompassing, but very rewarding to see them grow and thrive.  Now, I'm looking forward to watching them interact as K becomes more aware of his surroundings.  So far, E has not shown any jealousy and, without any prompting, she is very protective of her baby brother around other kids.  

E's Changing World

Time is flying by and, thankfully, that involves the start of warm weather and green grass!  E is learning at warp speed.  Today, she sang the alphabet in its entirety for the first time.  Well...to be clear, she sings it the way I might sing a song in a foreign language (making the sounds I hear, rather than the correct sounds/words).  But, it's close!  

Despite my efforts to avoid the whole princess culture that is marketed to little girls, E is into princesses.  She has two tutus (one pictured, below) that she loves wearing.  I'll admit, I may have enticed her to get dressed once or twice by asking if she wanted to wear her tutu (works every time).  Anyone wearing a dress is considered a princess.  She is also very interested in necklaces.  Not for the baby fascination of something to chew on; it's to look like a princess.

Yesterday, I saw her play hide and seek for the first time.  She must have learned this at daycare.  She counts to 10 (her version of counting to ten is: one, two, three, six, nine, twelve, fourteen) and then she looks around in random places (the door frame, in the bathroom, the tv) to seek.  Giz, who is currently visiting, managed to go unnoticed by standing in the corner with an apron in front of her face.  E's hiding spot is the corner cupboard (every time) and if you are nearby, she'll yell, "I'm in here!"  So, still working on the whole concept.  But, really cute and exciting to see the beginnings of organized play.

Giz asked me the other day if I was writing all of these details down.  I haven't been; hence, this blog post.

Despite all of the current changes for E, the biggest one is yet to come.  Come early fall, she is going to a big sister!  So far, she knows that the baby is in Mama's tummy (though I usually have to ask her several times "where is the baby?" for her to point to my stomach).  Aside from that, the whole pregnancy thing has little meaning for her.  Hopefully, the interest she is currently showing in babies lasts for a while.

Westfest & Baby Knit

Weekends can be a tough balance of trying to take in as many local events and gatherings with friends as possible and fitting in E's naps.  When E was younger, she would regularly fall asleep in a carrier or in someone's arms while we were out.  But, now that she is becoming more aware of her surroundings (and dogs going for walks with their owners), naps on the go are pretty rare.

It was looking like we might have to miss out on Westfest this year, but we managed to squeeze in a walk up and down the festival area.  Westfest is a free festival in Westboro that has grown every year and just had its 10th anniversary. During the day, most of the focus seemed to be on activities for kids and local stores advertising/selling their products.  At night, the focus shifts toward musical performances.  

Here are just a few shots we took while walking up and down the 14 block strip:

These guys were out advertising the Star Wars Identities exhibit at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, which will be in town until September 2nd.

I am always attracted to fruit-filled juices.  I need to find a see-through carafe and an occasion to make something like this.

I'm guessing this seat was a product of the recent Knit in Public day.  Hopefully the city isn't too eager to remove it.  

I definitely want to check out the Ottawa Turkish Festival on July 20-21.

After opening in the Byward Market a few years ago, The Cupcake Lounge has just opened its second location in Westboro.  I guess they're doing something right!

After Wesfest, we attended a friend's shower.  Here is E modelling the baby leg warmers I made for a friend's baby.

Baby leg warmers might be up there as one of my favourite things to knit for a baby.  It's a relatively fast knitting project, but is one of the longest-lasting wearable knits you can make for a baby.  They'll fit most babies from 3 months to 2 years.

Knitting Update

Okay...baby-filled post ahead.  

All of a sudden, E's "radius" is expanding.  For a couple of months, she has been pushing herself backwards, which often resulted in her being further from her goal (usually a toy or person) than when she started.  But, last week, she started pulling herself forward.  It's more of a wounded soldier crawl at the moment.  Let the baby-proofing begin!

I realized that I haven't shared one of my favourite baby knits yet!  This pattern was actually one that Giz found.  Usually when Giz sends me a link to something she finds cute (happens multiple times a week), I take a quick look but assume that I'm not going to be as interested as she is.  But, this one was different.  I couldn't stop thinking about it.  It has a old-fashioned, delicate look to it.  It works as both a casual sweater and something a bit fancier.  

I've learned that the half-buttoned sweaters work really well in terms of longevity.  I also like the 3/4 length sleeve.  You don't have to deal with massive cuffs when the baby is small.  These pictures are several months old.  I'll have to see whether the sweater still fits!

In these next pictures, E is modelling one of the hats I made for her.  I made the mistake of making too many hats for the first winter.  Between gifts and what I've made, she has about 7 hats that probably won't work for more than this past winter.

Since E was born, I've had a hard time finding the time for knitting.  Part of the problem was that I was working on a project that required that I pay attention to the pattern.  It's best for me to just work on something with a consistent pattern so that I don't have to take 10 minutes to figure out where I am every time I pick up the project. I finally got the pattern (a butterfly) done and realized that I didn't do the shaping correctly.  Not a small mistake.  I had to take the entire panel apart.  Now I've abandoned the project because it's a 12 month size and by the time I finish it, it won't fit.

I have picked up a more basic project.  But...it will stay in hiding for now.

Baby Food

Written several days ago:

Can I just take a moment to have a brief pity party?

After months of questions about when I would come to Winnipeg (the coldest city with a population over 500,000...also the city I grew up in), I finally caved.  R was planning to be out of town for work, so I decided to take E to go meet the rest of my side of the family.

Six days seemed like more than enough time to spend here in the winter.  Until...I got an ear infection that wouldn't go away.

Fast forward two and a half weeks and, we're still here.

Why do people subject themselves to this weather?!?  It was -27 Celsius for most of this week.  Not pleasant.  I spent last night with a large warmed up grain bag on me.

I finally got the okay to fly home.  But, since we're just a couple of days before Passover, I'm sticking around until after the first seder.

Written last week:

I'm back in Ottawa!  I still can't hear well out of one ear.  But, I'm happy to be home and happy that family got to spend a lot of time with E.

We spent the first seder in Winnipeg.  Thankfully, my dad (who usually likes to draw out the seder with "teachable moments") did the expedited version.   We all got a kick out of E finding the Afikoman.

One thing that really helped for our trip was having some homemade preserved apple sauce that I could use in a pinch.  I haven't been married to any one approach to feeding E solid food.  Sometimes I give her purees and sometimes I go with a more baby-led approach.  She loves putting inedible things in her mouth...but isn't much for actually putting the food in her mouth.  She'll usually have a couple of small bites of food and then lose interest.  

But, apple sauce seems to be one of her preferred foods.  

A couple of days before leaving, I made apple sauce out of a three pound bag of Granny Smith apples.

My goal was to freeze a ice cube tray's worth and can the rest.

I kept the ingredients simple -- the peeled and cored apples were boiled with about half a cup of water and a cinnamon stick.

After about 15 minutes on a light boil, it was pretty sauce-like already.  But I blended it with an immersion blender.

I got an ice cube tray

and six 125 ml. jars.

Next I'm going to make some pear sauce.

Below are some of the other purees I've made (carrots, leak and potato soup and squash soup):

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had this idea that being on parental leave would give me a lot of time to clean up at home and make nice meals that were well on their way to being ready when R got home.  In reality, getting the previous night's dishes done is about the extent of my household chore productivity (yeah - we're not the type that can't go to bed with dirty dishes - sorry Giz). 

Since I often nap at the same time as Ms. E (to catch up on the previous night's insomnia), getting chores done means that I have to use the bouncer/playmat/swing/etc. to "babysit" longer than what I'd like.   

In the case of these cookies, I almost made it through completing them during naptime.  But, the last couple of trays were the most memorable.  Imagine me yelling to Ms. E from the kitchen -- "hang on sweetie -- I just have to finish putting these cookies on the tray and then I'll be right there!"  Of course, my four month old was very understanding of this, which she demonstrated by crying louder.   

If it's any consolation -- they are really tasty!  Kudos goes to R's mom for sending the recipe.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup melted margarine

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin filling (I was generous and added closer to 2 cups)

1 tsp. vanilla

3 tsps. baking powder

1 1/2 baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 bag of choc. chips

3 cups flour

Mix ingredients in order given (mixed the wet and dry ingredients separately, first and then added the dry to the wet). Drop by tsp. on greased cookie sheet. Bake 350 for 10 minutes.

I made these cookies for a playgroup I held at my house.  They were so delicious and soft.   Sometimes I find that pumpkin affects the smell and colour of a dessert more than flavour.  But, this is not the case for these cookies!

Along with the cookies, I served a small cheese platter and some fruit. 

Stanley's & Sunnyside Cardigan

A couple of weekends ago, we joined some friends at Stanley's Old Maple Lane Farm. They have a sugarbush there (buffet style, with a smallish selection).  The standout for me were the farm animals.

These are just a selection of them:

Did you know that it takes 40 buckets of sap to make one bucket of syrup?  Kind of makes me feel a bit better about the high price we pay for maple syrup.  Well...sorta.

Aside from that, we spent time running after our friends' kids.  Stanley's is a great place to take kids on a nice day.  Get them sugared up with maple syrup and then let them run around.

I'm still wrapping my mind around this idea of having a little one around all of the time.  We've pretty much been limited to 3-4 hour chunks to this point.  I'm not sure that there is a way to truly prepare yourself for that.

So far, our preparations (in general) have been fairly minimal.  Basically, it has consisted of knitting and reading information online (which can be really informative or scary depending on what your search turns up).

This is probably one of my favourite knits.  I actually started it before getting pregnant, with the intention to give it to a friend.  But, now I can't part with it:



This is the Sunnyside pattern.  It's quite popular and versatile.

I promise I won't share every article of clothing that we buy...but this one is really cute.  R bought in while on a recent trip to Boston.  My favourite part is quote on the back.