Cutest baby ....

Here is Ainsley smiling for Grandpa before church on Sunday : )

Roadtrip 2008

Well, we're now in Nova Scotia ... and what a trip we've been having! Ottawa was busy and filled with lots of visiting, it was really great to see our friends and family there. Ainsley got to meet many people for the first time and experienced some other firsts as well: first fireworks & first swim on Canada Day, first karaoke party (she slept through most of it) & first l-o-n-g nighttime sleep. Last night she slept for 10 hours straight!!! We couldn't believe it ... but we didn't complain either, let's hope it continues : )

We'll be in Nova Scotia for a few weeks and have trips planned to Fortress Louisbourg, to Halifax to see friends & family and also to Peter's camp at Debert. Should be a fun few weeks and we'll try our best to keep you posted!

Team PM & Ainsley

Ottawa ...

We've been in Ottawa for almost 2 weeks ... the trip so far has been awesome and we've been having a great time hanging out with all of our friends/family. Ainsley is 2 months old today and has been a perfect angel (most) of the time. I forgot to bring the USB cord for our camera so I can't upload any of the pictures we've taken ... but, Peter's cousin posted one of us on facebook so I was able to post that one. I'll write more soon : )

Summer is coming ...

We have defined summer this year as the time that we'll be away from Cold Lake .... for 8 weeks we'll be travelling across the country (and through the States) to Ottawa and Halifax. We've been talking about this trip since we were in England! And now, it is upon us: we leave Monday morning - early. We're still not sure how this trip is going to go seeing that we now have a baby ... we know that she sleeps well in the car, let's just hope she'll also sleep when we reach our destination each night! Speaking of Ainsley ... she is 6 weeks old tomorrow and is now 8 lbs. She is still tiny, but the changes are becoming very noticeable. She's filling out alot and starting to get a little 'buddha' belly : ) We're really looking forward to showing her off to all of our friends and family on the trip - should be a good time! All that being said, I do have to mention that spring here has been beautiful - it has been very warm but no humidity during the day and nice and cool at night. Plus, the sun doesn't set until almost 11:00 pm - very nice for evening walks; the sunset is always really pretty pinks and purples over the lake.



She is starting to fit into more of her clothes and is now getting into 0-3 month stuff ... which she has TONS of so Mommy is having a lot of fun dressing her : )



Here we are heading out to Peter's baseball game. Ainsley is wearing a little sweater, hat and bootie set that my good friend Kristy made for her.


Fun things she is doing now include staring at her fist and moving it around; smiling in the morning when I go in to get her out of bed; focusing on our faces and looking into our eyes; cooing a little; watching toys put in front of her, especially her little wrist rattles. She has also started spitting up a bit here and there, which makes feeding (or 20 minutes after feeding) a little more interesting! We're having a blast and its so much fun watching her grow, learn and discover her world.

And a shout out for Fletch - today is his 8th birthday! He celebrated by eating a Dentabone : )

Team PM & Ainsley

Time really does fly!

Hard to believe that today is the first of June! Ainsley will be one month old tomorrow. The first month of parenthood has gone pretty well, and we are not as sleep deprived as we thought we'd be! Ainsley is a very good eater, and sleeper - she is now sleeping for 5.5 - 6 hour stretches at night which is very good for Mommy & Daddy. Last Wednesday she weighed in at 7 lbs. so she has now surpassed her birthweight and I honestly think I can notice her size changing almost daily! Things that fit her last week are now getting too small ... I guess I can now start to believe all those people who told me she'd 'grow like a weed'. And because she's getting bigger she was able to wear her first dress to church today.


She also had her first bottle of expressed milk this week ... this makes going out much more convenient - plus then Daddy can feed her too ; )


My parents visit went very well and it was so nice to have them here to show them around Cold Lake, to meet our friends, visit our church - and of course, to spend time with their new granddaughter. I think they enjoyed themselves ; ) My mom also got to come along to a shower that my friend Julia threw for Ainsley & I.




While my parents were here Ainsley received a special gift in the mail from my Uncle Roland and his family ... they made her a chair for her dolls and teddy bears - but of course, since she's so tiny we had to sit her in it for just a second : )


We're off to Ottawa this month and starting to really look forward to the trip ... despite the potential difficulties of travelling with an infant. We'll keep you posted!

Team PM & Ainsley

Grandma & Grandpa's first visit

My parents arrived on Saturday for a visit until Thursday ... we've been showing them the sites around town (not a whole lot to see .. ) and watching them interact with Ainsley. Here are a few pics:

Our 'kids'

Here are some pictures of Ainsley and her brother Fletch ... so far they are pretty indifferent to each other but Fletch has occasionally gotten excited to see Ainsley when she comes back from a nap.


And, as you can see, we have the same difficulties as other parents when trying to get the kids to look at the camera at the same time - is it so much to ask??



Team PM & Ainsley

Obsessed with baby

I'm sure all new moms (and parents for that matter) enjoy watching their babies sleep as much as I enjoy watching Ainsley sleep. Everytime she's napping I have a hard time resisting the urge to take photos of her - she is just so darn cute : )



I think there is another tendency with new parents: make your baby look silly to get a laugh ...

The first two weeks...

Today Ainsley is two weeks old ... the time is already going by too fast! She is doing very well and adjusting to her new home life like a champ. Funny enough she isn't even phased when Fletch barks, I guess she's used to hearing that sound as well as our voices : ) She loves to eat and is gaining weight steadily, though she hasn't quite gotten back to her birthweight - she weighed in yesterday at 5 lbs., 15 ozs.; still very tiny but growing! She gains about an ounce a day which is what is recommended, so we're happy with that. And, the best part is, she loves to sleep! We actually wake her once at night to feed her! Many people have told us that this isn't necessary, including our doctor, but due to her small size we've decided that its something we want to do. We just have to keep reminding ourselves that we're her parents so we can decide .. that is still kind of weird to us though!


Ainsley loves to be cuddled and talked to, she is starting to really notice our faces and likes when we make exaggerated expressions while talking to her - her eyes open really wide in reaction, and a few times she's tried to reach up for my face. She's been on quite a few outings in her short life including a bonfire last Friday night, the grocery store/Wal Mart etc. a few times, and the Watoto Childrens Choir this past Tuesday. She also went to her first baby shower on Wednesday night for her friend Natalie Erling who is about 1 month older. We also had a very lovely first Mothers Day; we had dinner at Clarks (best restaurant in Cold Lake), and Ainsley gave me a card with a Willow Tree collectible sculpture of a couple holding their new baby - and Daddy made me breakfast : P



Yesterday we visited Cold Lake Provincial Park for the first time and went for a little walk ... Fletch got to swim in the still somewhat icy water - I guess there's a reason they call it 'Cold Lake' ... but it was 25 degrees out so soon enough the ice should be gone!



As for me, my recovery is going really well .. I am feeling pretty good and have little to no pain most days. I am completely off my medication so any pain I do have I feel! I am still a little slow and I can't walk for too long, but its getting easier every day. I have to say that if it wasn't for Peter I don't think things would be going as well as they are! He is the best partner anyone could ask for and his attitude towards everything reminds me again why we call ourselves 'Team PM'.

Team PM & Ainsley

She's here!

Ainsley Lily-Isabel was born Friday May 2nd, 2008 and was 6 lbs., 1 oz., 19.5" long.

Some of you have already heard/read this story, but for those who haven't you may be wondering what happened and why I needed an emergency c-section ...

I started having contractions at home around midnight on May 2nd ... I timed them and they were about 6 minutes apart. After an hour, I woke up Peter and he started timing them and we quickly realized that they were now under 5 minutes apart. I called the hospital and we were told to come in; once there they hooked me up to the fetal monitor and determined that I was in labour - my water had partially broken by this point so we were staying! After several hours I decided to have an epidural .... we had one doctor come in and he tried twice to get the epidural in with no luck. At that point we figured it was a done deal and that an epi wouldn't be possible ... then the magic doctor came in!! He was wonderful and had the epi in in no time and I didn't feel any of the insertion pain that I had felt with the first two attempts. It was a relief ... and a miracle, but we didn't know that yet. Within about 20 minutes of having the epi the baby's heartrate dropped dramatically during a contraction ... the nurse had to quickly start massaging her head to try and stimulate her. This worked and it seemed we were on the right track again ... then, about 2 hours later it happened again, except this time it was harder to get it back to a normal rate and it was consistently dropping. At this point the nurse called in my doctor, who then called in the on-call obstetrician, and the chief of the medical staff! We had everyone in there trying to stimulate baby by massaging her head, and they were all checking the fetal monitoring and trying to decide what to do. It didn't take long before they said I would need a c-section. Before I knew it I was being wheeled into the Operating Room and being taken away from Peter ... that was a hard moment for us both but we knew I was in good hands. Poor Peter had to wait out in the hall for about 15 minutes while they prepped me for surgery. I was nervous, but because I'd had the epi already the surgery was started really fast as they didn't have take more time to give me anything. I was awake for the entire surgery, which was weird but not at all painful. Soon, Peter was by my side and the baby was out - they discovered that the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times! We were so thankful that the doctors had made the decision they made and that Ainsley was delivered before things got worse. The other amazing thing was that our friends from church (husband and wife who are both doctors) were called in to assist in the surgery. They didn't intially know that it was me who was having the c-section so they were really happy to be a part of it. One of them helped deliver her, and the other 'caught' her and helped to get her cleaned up etc. afterward. After Ainsley was delivered I only remember hearing the word 'blue' .. I kept asking Peter if she was okay and soon enough she was crying and Peter was able to go over and help trim the umbilical cord. He said he could see her changing from blue to pink! After waiting for what seemed like forever, Peter brought her over to see me and I was able to touch her and see that she was doing well.



So, that was the drama of last Friday! My recovery since then has been going really well and my pain is subsiding a little bit each day. I've been up and about quite a bit and thanks to the help of my amazing husband I haven't really had to worry about anything. He's done it all: cooking, tidying, diapers and more! Incidentally, he is taking 4 months of paternity leave so he has plenty of time to wait on me hand and foot ... and he hasn't complained once : )
As for Ainsley, she is doing really well and is quite the little eater! She loves to be snuggled and Peter sometimes has to gently remind me to put her down ... its hard : ) Yesterday the public health nurse visited and we were happy to learn that Ainsley has gained about an ounce a day since being discharged from the hospital, so we know she is eating and growing despite her tiny size. She now weighs in at about 5lbs., 9.5 ozs so she is steadily climbling back to her birthweight.

Oh, and her 'brother' Fletch has been doing very well with the adjustment too ... though, he usually gets up and leaves the room when she's crying in the middle of the night : )

We'll keep the pictures coming!
Team PM & Ainsley

Update

Not much to actually update, but its been awhile since I've posted anything. We've had a busy few weeks ... always something going on it seems. Last weekend we bought new living room furniture - that was very exciting! We are picking up the sofa and loveseat today, the chair and ottoman are being delivered at a later date because they weren't in stock. So, finally we will be able to entertain a little more ... though with a new baby coming soon entertaining may have to take a back seat.

Our other shopping adventure last weekend was to the very famous (around here anyway) Baby Sale at the Military Family Resource Center on base. Everyone told us that it was a great place to get good deals on baby stuff, so we were definitely going to check it out. The doors opened at 10 am so we figured that if we arrived at a few minutes to ten we should get in when the selection was at its prime. Well, that plan would have worked if there wasn't already a lineup of about 250-300 people when we got there! We were literally in shock. However, giant lineup aside we still managed to get in and get some really great deals. Peter got in line almost immediately to pay for a Jolly Jumper on a stand because you had to pay for big stuff first before moving on to the clothing and toy section. Meanwhile, I made my way into a room that was about the size of a small gymnasium. It was lined with tables upon tables piled with clothes! I ended up buying a TON of baby clothes, mostly for next fall/winter - everything was really good quality and in great shape. Peter went ahead of me to the toy section and picked out a bunch of books, puzzles and some other toys as well. We ended up spending about $100 for all of it ... so it was a good shopping day. Did I mention that the new furniture we bought was 50% off?! Yeah, good weekend for deals ...

I am now 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant ... could happen anytime! The doctor was pleased with my progress and told me that I was moving around really well for someone this advanced in my pregnancy, so that was a nice compliment. He also said that I was all belly, which will hopefully make postpartum recovery easier on me. So now its just a waiting game before our little girl makes her entrance - I am hoping for sooner rather than later, but trying not to get too impatient just yet : )

Team PM & tadpole

Cowboys & Indians

Last Saturday night Peter & I were invited to join our friends, the Colbournes, for a rodeo! How could we pass up that opportunity?? I have to say that we were both a lot more impressed than we thought we'd be ... there were over 1000 people there and the bullriding was so cool to see in real life. I never imagined that I would react with screams and shrieks as I watched these men get bucked off and stomped on, kicked or even 'horned'! It was our first real dose of small town western culture ... complete with Cowboys & Indians (or to be politically correct, Cowboys & Natives ... )

Peter & Caleb ... Caleb wasn't too sure what to think of all the commotion.




Cowboy who got hurt ... someone had to explain to him what happened because he couldn't remember - we think he ended up with a concussion. Oh, and previous to this injury he had been slammed into the side of the boards as the bull horned him in the torso ... why do people do this again ???


As for me .. I will be 38 weeks on Sunday. The doctor is happy with how everything is going and thinks I will have a small baby - yay! I'm still feeling pretty good, but I'm starting to find it hard to sleep and get comfortable. I've also been having Braxton Hicks contractions (also called practice contractions) that are painless, but extremely uncomfortable. It is exciting to know that my body is getting ready and anticipating the birth. The baby's movements are very strong now since she is getting so big. It is often uncomfortable as she shifts around and I normally have to shift around myself to get comfortable while she does whatever it is she is doing! Her favorite time of day to get going is about 9 or 10pm now - its like clockwork! Its great too since that is the time I am usually getting settled into bed ; ) As always, we're super excited to meet her and to get on with the next phase of this whole process. Our other pregnant friends just had their baby boy on Tuesday ... so I am next in line now!




Team PM & tadpole

Pregnancy Update

So ... 36 weeks and counting - we have less than 4 weeks left until our due date! I can't believe we are getting so close, but we are both feeling very ready and excited to meet the baby. I had a doctors appt. yesterday and found again, that everything is normal. The doctor said that the baby is in position and her head is halfway down into my pelvis - very exciting and a tad scary! Recently I've been having some weird shocks of pain down there, and now we know why! To date, I've gained 21 lbs., which is good as I probably won't gain too much more - this should make my postpartum recovery a little easier. And, my waist has increased by almost 13"!

Our new friends (the ones we had over for Easter) had their little girl last Sunday -she was a week and a half early. I was able to visit the new addition the day before she went home from the hospital - she was so tiny and sweet and holding her made me so anxious to meet my little girl! I can't wait : )

Last night, Peter was talking to my belly and saying her name (only we know what it is!) .. as soon as she hears his voice she stops moving and listens. It was pretty cool - when he stopped talking she would start up her antics again!

No new pictures to add, but I suspect we will have some after the weekend since its supposed to reach 17 degrees on Sunday!

Team PM & tadpole

Our 24 hours in Calgary

Ok, so it was a little more than 24 hours, but not much! We found out last Wednesday that Andrew (Peter's brother) would be in Calgary for a few days ... so we decided to drive down on the weekend to see him. We left Saturday morning, stopped in Edmonton to do some shopping and pick up some baby gifts that were waiting for us at Toys R Us and then continued to Calgary. Saturday night was dinner and a movie - and then on Sunday we went to the Calgary Zoo! It was fun, even though many of the animals were doing absolutely nothing but sleeping. I think the highlight for me was the baby elephant - very cute! Peter really liked watching one of the monkeys taunt and play with a young gorilla. As for Andrew ... well, I think his favorite part was all the slow walking thanks to me ; )




Trying to touch some stingrays ...


They tried to get me to do the exact same pose, but I refused .. there were already enough people watching!


It took us about 5 hours to get through the zoo and by the time we were done I was DONE! My feet were killing me, my back was aching, my right knee was sore .. the pregnancy sure caught up with me. I was impressed though that these ailments only started to bother me in the last hour or so - by the end I felt a little like this bear ...


It was also neat to see Calgary - its very weird to see cities out here that literally appear out of nowhere. There is farmland, farmland, farmland - houses! The suburbs seem to start in the middle of nowhere, we've noticed the same thing in Edmonton. And, we could see downtown Calgary from miles and miles away because its so flat. It was also my first time seeing the Rockies, which kind of nestle around the edge of the city. It was a very long 5.5 hour drive back to Cold Lake, but well worth it to spend some time with Andrew, who we hardly ever see. Calgary, of course has been having beautiful warm sunny weather ... but naturally the time we chose to go it was snowy and a tad chilly (but not too bad, only about -2).

Team PM & tadpole

Easter 2008

Happy Easter everyone - we hope you all had a nice long weekend :) Friday we went to the Good Friday service at church, then had dinner at our friends, Corey & Julia's place ... we had already invited other friends, Kris & Sarah for Easter dinner but found out on Friday night that Corey had to go back out of town (after having been gone for 3 weeks!) So, we added Julia and her 3 kiddies to our list of guests for Easter dinner on Sunday. Sunday morning we went to church and found out that Corey had finished up what he had to do and was already back in town! Long story short ... they had to drive down to Edmonton to pick up Corey's truck at the airport and couldn't make it to dinner. So, at 4:00 Kris & Sarah came over and we feasted ... baked ham, roasted chicken, asparagus, carrots, cheddar biscuits, scalloped potatoes - and strawberry trifle for dessert. It was a lot of food, but so good :P After dinner we relaxed to let our food digest! We didn't take alot of pics ... but here are a few.

Fletch hanging around the kitchen while we cooked ... waiting for yummy handouts.


And, of course the token shot of me and my belly! 34 weeks as of yesterday ... getting there!


Kris & Sarah brought us an Easter basket of goodies ...



Today we are relaxing at home and doing a little more work on the nursery ... gotta get that done!

Team PM & tadpole