the Woodpecker
So, now that Bronwyn is 6 weeks old, I have finally started going to the gym a bit more regularly. Usually I do a yoga class with swimming or machines or whatever. Well, today Joan and I went to yoga and it was going well until the instructor showed us the “woodpecker”. This move involves standing up straight and lifting your arms over your head. Then while you swing your arms down between your legs in a chopping motion you huff all your breath out. Well, I made it through about 6 repetitions before I had to stop because I was laughing so hard and trying not to show it (hard when you are out of breathing from the woodpecker). Anyway, I lift my head to catch my breath and I see Joan out of the corner of my eye bent over form laughing so hard. It is a good thing everyone else was too busy chopping and huffing to notice!
September 08
Bronwyn the boy
Well, I am starting to get a complex. Today yet another person commented on how cute my baby boy was! Now I don’t mind if people call her a boy when she is dressed in blue. And, even if I have her in yellow or green I can understand it, but below is a conversation I had with a man in the grocery store today:
“how old is your baby?”
“7 weeks”
“he sure is cute”
“thanks”
“it is a boy, right?”
“no, she’s a girl, but that’s alright”
“well how do you tell when they are babies?”
“well, you might think she is a girl by the pink shirt she is wearing”
Men.
September 10
My Baby is a Genius!
Well, maybe not genius exactly, but she did sleep for 6 hours straight last night (12:30 to 6:30 for those who are interested) and that earned her lots of brownie points. Not that she needs them lately, she’s been smiling and cooing all over the place. Bruce has found a new way to entertain her too. He holds her bum in his hand so she is “sitting” and then proceeds to wave her around trying to keep her perched up there while I have heart attack after silent heart attack. Seriously, he looks so insulted if I flinch like I would ever think he would drop his baby!
Coincidentally, her first accident came at the hands of mom. This morning while trying to burp her (ever burped a baby that doesn’t want to be burped- she was squirming and flailing everywhere), she flung her head forward onto my chest and ran her forhead right into my rather pointy necklace. So we went to a new church this morning with a baby with a bright red mark and indentation that looks identical to my necklace charm (CSI would have no trouble laying the blame on me!).
Yeah, so we checked out the Christian Reform Church down the street today (they don’t call it Dutch Reform for nothing!! Wow, I’ve never seen so much blond hair!). Anyway, the main attraction is of course that it is walkign distance, but we were pleasantly surprised! It was much larger than we expected and although I missed the sermon, Bruce said he was good. Everyone was really friendly and we were immediately invited over to another couple’s home for coffee. Not that any of us drank coffee, but that is what everyone calls going to someone’s house after church: “coffee”. So, now we have to decide if CRC is theologically sound enough for us. It is based in Calvinism (which I don’t agree with entirely), and they are pretty conservative (no shopping on sundays). So you know they aren’t going to be up for cards on saturday night!! Anyway, we will give them another try at the least.
September 11
Happy Baby
So after a whole afternoon and evening of incessant crying and fussing, I woke up this morning to Bronwyn’s “fussy” cry. So, I forced myself out of my nice warm bed thinking I would have to play search and rescue for her sucky, or worse disentangle her legs from her sleeper where she has a penchant for getting them stuck. But, to my surprise when I peer over the side of the cradle, she is grinning up at me with the biggest, gummiest smile ever. She just wanted to let me know it was morning and therefore playtime! OK.
September 13
First Words and Other Stuff
Well, Bronwyn said her first words yesterday!!
Well, not really, but she made noises that sounded an awful lot like “hi” and “uh-oh”. Not 8 weeks yet and my girl can talk! Also, her hair is growing in nicely. It is sort of mullettish because it is way longer in the back than the front, but it will even out soon enough and then I can put it in pigtails (and if anyone calls her a boy with pigtails I’ll cry).
Her neck is so strong too, she can easily support her head by herself for 2 or 3 minutes. Her favourite game lately (she is so much more fun now that she has favourite games!!) is sitting on my knee while I hold her hands and bounce her gently. She smiles and “talks” and is completely fascinated by the lamp, or the plant or her mobile- well anything within eyesight really.
Last night she was much less fussy than she’s been. But her cold is clearing up and she doesn’t seem to be as gassy, so I guess she is a happier baby come the end of the day. In fact, she was so calm last night that at about 10 pm I nursed her then laid her in her cradle with the mobile playing and got into bed myself to read. The next time I heard a peep was 3:45 am! Speaking of the cradle, when we first brought Bronwyn home, we were able to lay her width-wise in the cradle, and now she barely fits length-wise! I’m not ready to put her in her own room yet though…we’ll see how it goes!
September 14
First Laugh
So Joan and Derek invited us over to watch Rock Star:Supernova last night for the finale. Lukas won FYI- he was definitely the best choice (sorry Dilana), and not just because he’s Canadian!
Anyway, I figured that since we were actually going out and likely to come into contact with people I should really have a shower. So, I waited until Bruce got home then took the baby in the bath with me (no point letting good water go to waste- not to mention the competition between Bronwyn and myself where I try to hold on to her and she tries to not be held on to). When she was finished, Bruce took her from me, dried her off and started to put on her clothes while I had my shower. Now you have to understand, I have not been away from this child for 8 weeks, but the minute I step into the shower Bruce gets her to laugh!! First laugh and I missed it!! So, you know what this means…no more showers.
On another related (in my mind) note, Joan and Derek have kindly lent us their camera while we figure out what to do about ours, so there will be pictures posted soon.
September 18
A lot has happened…
Well, a lot HAS happened. I will try to go in order. So, first, Bruce, Bronwyn and I packed into the car at 6:15 saturday morning (well that was the plan- by the time we were IN the car and had gone back to get the directions and stopped at Tim’s it was more like 6:45) and headed to Guelph for Stall Fall 2006. We have participated in this Ultimate Frisbee Tournament before and it was nice to see people we only see at these games and show off our prodigy to anyone willing to look! My favourite person to see was, of course, Serena (yeah Seanie!!) who I also tend to not see except at Ultimate tourneys, and usually by accident. This time was no exception and we spied each other across the fields. Kristie was there too and we did a lot of catching up. The tournament was a success with Booyaka coming in 5th overall out of 20 in our division with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss. The loss was only by 2 points so everyone felt really good about the weekend. The team was a mix of players from the DUC Hunters (The Durham team Bruce plays on) and other members. Michelle, who plays for the DUC, and Angela, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend, are featured in most of the pics.
We stayed the saturday night in Kitchener with Kristie and Jonathon (friends from Suds) who had just purchased their first house there. Good idea, we decided, after hearing the stories about saturday night from Booyaka in the morning. Let’s just say not a place for a baby!
Kris and Jon have a beautiful home and we came home with a couple ideas for our own house. It was a great night if you can just block out the 6 or so hours of a wailing baby. She started after supper and continued through the evening. I tried everything. Bruce tried everything. She just couldn’t let herself sleep. We finally went upstairs with our desperate infant where Bruce promptly and soundly fell asleep while I cuddled, nursed and rocked her until 4 am. The next morning she woke up chipper and happy (likely with NO recollection of the torment she had induced the night before!!) and ended up sleeping through 2 games and the ride home with just a few minutes af wakefulness in between (see pics). She is now back on track and napping as I write this.
One upside to seeing Kris and Jon aside from the obvious getting to SEE them and their new house (and Kris’s home-made chocolate chip cookies!) was the new game they introduced us to. It is in the Cranium family and is called Telepathy (I think). SO much fun! I highly recommend it. Especially to the Jakolas (think Psychologizer!!). Maybe I’ll buy it and we can play when I come up while Bruce is hunting!!
Speaking of going places, I have excititing news. My parents bought an RV last night off of Ebay. The catch? It is in Sacramento California. SO, my mom, dad, Stef, Bronwyn and I are all going to fly to Sacramento to pick it up and drive it back to Canada. B’s first road trip. I can’t wait! My mom found a great deal on airfare but we can’t leave until next wednesday, so now I have a week to figure out how to get a baby with no birth certificate into the States! Anybody have any ideas? Any advice on flying with a newborn would be welcome as well.
September 19
Immunizations
Today was Bronwyn’s 2 month check-up. And for anyone with kids, you know that this check-up is the dreaded first needles appointment. I have watched, and even given, scores of children needles. I’ve drawn blood and inserted IVs. And, each time, I tell the parents it’s harder when it’s your own. That’s my tagline…”it’s harder when it’s your own”. I believe that now. I admit, there were some tears, and lots of pain; and, Bronwyn looked like she had a tough time too. She just started wailing her little head off as soon as she stuck the needle in. Not before. She trusted the nurse. Only minutes before she was curled up in her arms smiling and cooing. Traitor. She cried like she’d not only been stabbed (twice) but betrayed. My daughter’s first lesson in this cold, hard world was a difficult one. Hopefully, she won’t remember the pain of the needle, but only that her mommy was there to scoop her up and kiss her face when she cried.
September 20
California Girls
Well, for those of you who don’t know yet, my parents have been looking to purchase an RV. Not just any RV though (even though Bruce helpfully points out every RV we pass as a potential buy)- a BIG RV. You know, the kind that sleeps at least 6 and has one of those sides that gets bigger, and of course, you have to be able to drive it- no towing allowed. So, when we return sunday afternoon from a weekend of fun in the sun Ultimate there is a message (correction 3 messages) to call home asap. Well, it turns out the emergency is that my dad won the bidding on an RV off Ebay, and he wants to know if I would like to travel to California with him and my mom to go pick it up. To which my answer was “of course,” followed quickly by “I should check with Bruce though”.
So, that is why I have spent the last two days running around the Durham Region trying desperately to get a passport for a baby with no birth certificate. Not only do we have to cross the border twice (we fly out of Buffalo), but we have to board an American aircraft. So, unfortunately, my word won’t be enough that Bronwyn is indeed my baby and that I am not trying to smuggle her away from her birth father! At least I won’t be forced to drink any formula or (ewww) strained peas since she is still breastfeeding.
Well, it is now day three of the quest-for-an-infant-passport-in-under-a-week. Our plan today is to travel to Pickering to get Bronwyn’s pictures notarized. Yes, babies need passport photos. They need to be in colour. They can’t be smiling, but their eyes must be opened. Her face has to be clearly visible with no clothing covering any part of it (that one was hard) and their head has to be up and clear of the chest! On top of that, you have to sit them on a stool, with your hand up the back of their clothes without actually getting in the photo yourself. Only, mind you, to have to REDO these photos every time you travel to keep them updated and in a good likeness of the BABY!!!!!
We went to three different places before even finding a studio who will DO infant passport photos (Black’s not only did them, but gave a guarantee that if there was a problem we would not only get a refund but they would redo the pictures for free). Unfortunately, by the time we were done the passport office had closed so I couldn’t go to ask my questions. Did you know there is no phone number for the Whitby Passport Office. I couldn’t get it anywhere. I even called the town. The only place to get information is the website and the toll-free line. And, of course, neither of those options allows you to actually speak to a person and neither place answered my questions. So, we will just have to risk it.
I am going to get dressed now. Andrew Felker has kindly agreed to notarize the pictures seeing as we have a severe lack of guarantors in this area. I thought my doctor could do it seeing as he actually delivered the baby and knows us well, but we have only lived in Bowmanville for 18 months, so he can’t do it legally. My problem of course and the reason I wanted to talk to someone is that a guarantor is supposed to have known the applicant for minimum 2 years. Well, Bronwyn isn’t even 2 months yet!
Wish us luck and I will keep you posted!!
September 21
Boxfit. Sleep. Passport. What do they have in common?
Last night I messaged Joan and she agreed to meet me at the YMCA for what I thought was going to be a nice cardio workout. Now, I did boxfit earlier in the year but had to stop in my 7th month when I noticed that the about-to-pop instructor was still, not only teaching, but running circles around me! This was so depressing that I hung up my runners for my yoga mat (which in retrospect was probably a safer pregnancy workout anyway). But I digress. The point is, this was no ordinary boxfit class, with no ordinary instructor. This was easily the hardest, sweatiest, ab-crunching-est class with the perkiest, happiest, most motivating twig ever. Seriously, and we were in front of mirrors too. She started the class by asking Joan if she was 16 yet (because otherwise she wouldn’t be allowed to take this class without an adult…well who am I anyway?!?). Then went on to explain that this was ADVANCED boxfit. Uh oh. Well, we figured that since we had already roped our respective husbands into looking after the kids for the night, we should stay and tough it out. In retrospect we also could have just as easily gone out for coffee, but hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Well, the class went surprisingly well (read neither of us died), and you might just see me back another wednesday. Plus, I guess it isn’t so bad being called a teenager. Hopefully the youthful look will carry us into our adult years.
When I got home I immediately fed Bronwyn and put her in her cradle. I only had to go up once to comfort her and find her sucky before she was out like a light. To Bruce’s amazement this whole process took less than half an hour, and we were on the couch waiting for CSI-NY by 10pm. The next time I heard from my little Rip Van Winkle was 5 am. For those of you that are mathematically challenged that means she slept for 7 hours. STRAIGHT! And I got to sleep for 6 of those. Needless to say, I feel rested enough to tackle some housework today, and maybe even a visit into the hospital to say hello.
For those of you who are waiting with bated breath for the finale of the passport saga, the lady at the passport office said that it would be no problem to have Bronwyn’s ID ready for tuesday as long as I was willing to go to Scarborough to pick it up. It only cost an extra $20. Of course, after all that, I received an email from Delta saying that persons under 18 are not required to present any identification to board their aircraft. It wasn’t for nothing though, we still have to cross the border, and she’ll need it when we go to England next year for sure.
September 22
Useless Trivia
Well today is Bronwyn’s 2 month birthday. It really isn’t a birthday though because it is not the day she was birthed. But anniversary sounds wrong too. What do you say? She is two months old folks. Today. It is also the Autumnal Equinox. For those of you who don’t know what that is (or didn’t watch the news this morning where they spelled it out for me), today is the day where the day and the night are the same length. From now on the days will be shorter and the nights longer. Learned something new today didn’t you? Who said my blog wasn’t educational. So, Bronwyn gave me the best birthday present today (I know I know I am supposed to give HER presents- I gave her LIFE people!). She let me sleep until 10:15 this morning. I ended up missing yoga because of it, but I feel great! Not baking cookies great, that was yesterday, but washing the floors great which is still a good kind of great. Also, for anyone who didn’t know, or suspected but weren’t sure, CTV aired the wrong episode of Grey’s Anatomy last night. I was a little confused too during the show (when exactly did Denny die?), but I chalked it up to not seeing last season in order. So, there you have it kids, two separate yet extremely important pieces of trivia. If anyone goes on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, don’t forget to put me as your phone-a-friend!
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