Orange Marmalade.

Boy, do I remember exactly what I was doing at this time last year. I woke up at about 3 am this morning to give Sabine her bottle (I know - I shouldn't be doing this anymore!) and that's when I remembered it was her birthday and the memories came flooding back to me. At 3 am last year, I was standing in the bathroom, doing my hair all the while trying to deal with contractions (they were strong enough to keep me from sleeping from about 1:30 am). It's not that I care that much about what my hair looks like but it was a way to keep somewhat distracted when all I wanted to do was sleep , but couldn't, and I thought it would make me feel a bit better going into the hospital later that morning. Of course, at the end of the day, I realized how pointless it all was. I should have baked a cheesecake like my friend Siobhan! By about 4:30, I had woken Daniel up to let him know that 'today is the day'. I sat in bed with him for another 2 hours before considering going to the hospital. Since I had had Kaia by a scheduled ceasarian, all that labour business was new to me. I was always told that when contractions were 1 minute long and 5 minutes apart, it's time to go to the hospital. The thing was, mine were about every 2-3 minutes but only lasted about 30 seconds each so I called the hospital Telecare line and they told me to definately come in. Knowing what I do now, I would have stayed home much longer. At the hospital, I walked. And walked. And walked. I remember root beer popsicles and heavy breathing. I remember birthing balls and intense pain. I remember water baths and Daniel's presence to the left of me. Contractions and contractions, yet little progression. By 3 pm, the doctor decided to break my water and said I would feel a gush and that would be the end of it but at every contraction afterwards - and they were overtaking me by this point - there would be a big gush of fluid, and another and another, and I remember the nurse standing by me with a mop in her hand. A little embarassing I have to admit, even in that state, but the doctor just laughed and said that was a sure sign of a healthy baby. I started the real work of pushing at about a quarter to 6. Every time the doctor came in to check my progression, she seemed amazed and said she couldn't believe just how strong I was. Maybe she says this to everyone, but I felt like she meant it and it made me proud. By 5 minutes to 7, I said to her, "it's all going to happen fast now, isn't it?". She said she couldn't be sure but I knew. And in one final surge of energy I screamed and was lifted into the air and I felt the head, then shoulders, and then every little bumpy bit along the way come through me and then I floated back down onto the bed and there she was, my little bean, all pink and slippery on my now deflated belly. (Obviously the floating bit didn't actually happen but that is my memory of that moment and so it is very real to me). Daniel cut the umbilical cord and when I looked at him I saw the tears in his eyes and I loved him for it. By 7:01 pm it was all over - or should I say just beginning?

And then I ate, and ate, and ate. It took almost three days to feel like I had caught up with the energy lost over that marathon they call labour. I remember toast and orange marmalade - I had asked for peanut butter but there was none left. I had never really liked orange marmalade, and am still not sure if I really do now either, but the memory of it is delicious.

A Year in Review.

Mud Pies and Runny Noses.

The weather is slowly warming up. There have been a few days now when we've been able to go outside sans coats. The ground is getting drier but it's still quite muddy in our yard and of course, Kaia just loves this. And so I've learned to make sure she's got old pants on every time we go out because she will, without a doubt, get wet up to her knees (at the very least). On this day, she decided to make mud pies in her wet sandbox. Kaia makes 'pies' out of everything these days - supper pies, juice pies, cheese and berry pies, ice cream cone pies... She does this by laying something like a towel over whatever she is eating. Such a silly girl.Sabine wanted so badly to get into the mud too but I think she's been a bit sick so I tried to keep her occupied in her stroller. And look! She's got enough hair for pony-tails now!

Paper and plastic.

And so it starts. Yes, I am talking about birthday party season. It seems from now until about September Kaia has birthday party after birthday party after birthday party to go to. Not that it is a bad thing - Kaia certainly gets alot of enjoyment out of them. And today was no exception. We went to Kingswood, the gym and entertainment centre just down the road from where we live, for a gymnastics birthday party. Kaia had a great time, and it's tempted me to enroll her in a class. She was not shy at all (so proud!) and was trying hard to be first in line every time for each activity. She was really quite amazing. Sometimes I need to take a step back and remind myself that she' s not even 3 years old yet. Unfortunately though, I also realized that she is lacking the discipline to sit and listen to rules...will have to try and get that in check. I wish I had taken my camera. Kaia was doing somersaults down a mat, hanging and swinging herself from rings, walking and even kicking her feet high on the balance beam, crawling through tunnels, and lots more. Then they ate pizza and birthday cake and opened presents. I made a little fabric journal cover that held a sketchbook and some art pencils and thought it was pretty cute but I think the little one (she turned 4) was more fascinated with the LOADS of paper and plastic that came with the other gifts. Oh well, I'm sure my gift will have more staying power at the end of the day.

Mommy?

Kaia has never really gone through the 'why?' stage. Instead she's always asking, "Mommy? Mommy? Mum?" etc, etc. for hours on end. It's like that bit of the Family Guy that they show on tv where Stewie keeps asking "Mommy? Mommy? Mom? Moooommm? Mommy?..........." and his mom is laying on the bed with her arm over her forehead obviously stressed and frustrated and trying to ignore him when at last she just looks at him and yells "What?!" and then he just giggles and runs away. Yeah, that's so Kaia right now.

Poor baby.

Sabine is such an active baby. She will not remain still for any length of time. Most everyday, we go for a walk with Sabine and Maeve (the little baby girl I look after) in the wagon and Kaia exploring alongside. Lately though, every time I glance around to check on the little ones, Sabine is getting up and wanting to try and stand in the wagon, or at the very least she's leaning precariously over the edge. Earlier today, Sabine was sitting in the wagon watching as I helped Kaia with her tricycle - she's trying hard to get the pedalling thing figured out - and I looked back just in time to see Sabine tumble out of the wagon! The poor thing fell head first right onto the road! She's a tough cookie though. I think the whole episode was harder on me than her but she's got one wicked bump and scrape to show for it. Just in time for her first birthday too.

A sure sign of Spring.

Today Kaia and I tried out her sidewalk chalk on the road outside. She seemed to enjoy it but was preoccupied most of the time by watching for cars. Our road is super quiet, especially during the work day but I guess she is finally learning to be concious of the traffic, which is a good thing. So in the end, it was mostly me drawing what Kaia told me to draw and her yelling "Mommy, car coming!" every now and then. She loved seeing her name on the street but got upset when a car drove over it.

A crafty afternoon.

Kaia was being especially rambunctious this afternoon so I needed to find something to keep her hands busy for even just a little while. I had seen this tutorial online earlier in the day on one of the blogs I follow so I decided to give it a go. It was really great as it was an 'eco-friendly' project that required materials I had lying around as well as giving me an opportunity to talk to Kaia about recycling, though I don't think she quite grasped the concept of it all just yet. These bracelets were made using twisted up plastic grocery bags and leftover yarn. Kind of cute, right?

A Green Thumb?

All of the seeds Kaia planted have begun to sprout. None of mine have so far.

Bring on the sun!

Today Kaia and I planted a little 'garden'. I've never tried growing vegetables before, and with the exception of a few rather unsuccessful attempts at small, indoor, kitchen herb gardens, I don't have any experience with this so it will be a learning process for both of us. We planted tomatoes (which I think are supposed to be pretty easy to grow), some green onions (which I have recently grown to love and have started adding them to almost everything I cook), some peas (Kaia and Sabine love them), and some zucchini (the seed packet said they were easy to grow and someone once gave me a zucchini bread that was delicious). I'll probably pick up a few more types of veggies to try - suggestions are welcome! - but that's all we've started with for now. Hopefully we'll get some nice seedlings in the next few weeks then we'll ask Daddy to help us sort something out outside when the ground is drier.