Another E-town Trip

Tim went to Toronto for work training. The trip looked really taxing... He got to go to a Blue Jays game and up the CN tower. From the sounds of it he did actually work hard and learned a lot!

I hate being alone and entire week with just me and Jack sounded painful so we packed up and went to visit our favourites in Edmonton. We started the trip by celebrating with dollar drinks from McDonald's. Dollar drink days are bitter sweet as Diet coke makes me sooooo sick but they have the best frozen lemonade. 

I didn't plan very well so Erin and Tannis were working on different nights. We made the best of it. On Tannis's night off we went out to the Melting Pot. So delicious and so fun to spend time together!

The next morning I got to watch these 3 crazy hooligans while Erin slept off the night. 

These two fight like cats and dogs but when in the moments they actually get along it is pretty cute. I am so excited for their friendship as they get older. 

We spent the afternoon at the splash park and kid park. Jack was fairly timid with the water. We definitely need to work on that over the summer. 

Scarlett, or as we have started calling her- Carl because she is definitely cute enough to pull off the nickname, started soccer. We went and watched her first game. It was seriously the cutest. 

Easter

Easter started out as quite a party. Mark and Tina hosted a really nice Easter supper. It was so fun to see their newly renovated house and all my family. My Mom and Paul came the day before. We did some shopping and made buns for the supper. Jack was in heaven playing swords and cooking.

 I love getting together with my family. They are so good to me and Jack always play so hard with cousins. 

The big cousins put Jack in a shopping cart and turned on the treadmill. I had some nervous feelings but Jack thought they were the coolest. 

 Of course Easter, April 16, was marked with snow! Alberta weather shouldn't surprise me anymore but it always does!

 Everything had started out great but nothing ever seems to go as planned. We had an Easter dinner and egg hunt planned with the Heyland's and Wright's. I had woken up feeling so great on Easter morning. Church was lovely and I was able to sneak in a nap before it was time to start cooking. I was enjoying a few more minutes of quiet when I thought I had peed my pants. I went to the bathroom to find bright red blood. Panic immediately set in. I called Health Link and they said that if it didn't stop I would have to go in. I wasn't sure if I should to to ER or L&D as I was 19 weeks pregnant. Fortunately the bleeding stopped and I wasn't feeling any cramping or feeling unwell. We cancelled supper with the Heyland's but the Wright's had already come. I decided that I really didn't want to do any physical activity until I had an ultra sound and the go ahead from my doctor. Luckily I had scheduled my anatomy ultra sound for the next day. Working together, the Wright's cooked all the food for the dinner and I only had to yell a few instructions from the couch. Turkey in the instant pot and all the fixings. It was delicious. 

The best part of the story is that it has a happy ending. Thankfully my Mom had stayed an extra night as she had a hernia surgery on Easter. Paul was able to stay with Jack while Tim went with me to the ultra sound. Everything looks normal and nothing to worry about. Still a little nervous about everything but so relieved. That afternoon my Mom and Paul were able to stay so I could go for a quick check up with the OB. She reassured me that all was fine based off of the ultra sound. She said that sometimes a clot can for or a benign cyst can rupture. As long as it stops and no pain there is nothing to worry about. 

20 weeks! Over half way done! At the ultra sound, we found out we are having a GIRL!!!!!! I really thought it was a boy. Excited for a girl and all the girly things that come with that but still a little nervous. Girls are just so different than boys! Mothering Jack has been a challenge so hopefully this girl goes easy on me!

  

I had all kinds of chocolate and felt like Easter should still happen. The following Sunday, after naps, the Easter bunny came!!

 I was so excited for Jack to come down and find it but unfortunately he woke up grumpy and confused from his nap. 

 That changed once he realized all the chocolate was for him!

 Pants off, party on!

This Easter I am grateful for modern medicine. I am grateful that I have an excellent medical team, ultra sound technology and medicine! I continue to be nauseous and wouldn't survive with out Maxoran and Diclectin. I am grateful for family who step in with out hesitation and take away so much stress. I am grateful for my Saviour and the peace he brings into my life. He truly lives and although life is hard, he truly understands me. This is the greatest blessing! 

Sleep training... again!

Jack has been a very difficult sleeper. I honestly feel like it is karma. Before kids I judged people who didn't have their kids perfectly sleep trained. Now I feel like sleep training is all I do. After a crazy busy start to the year Jack had become more un-sleep trained than ever (if that is even possible). I was rocking him for hours and he was up multiple times a night crying and not going back to sleep. Tim and I were both exhausted and ready to throw in the towel. Because baby was coming we decided to make the switch to a big boy bed and see what happened. 

Jack enjoyed putting the bed together buuuuut that is about it!

The first night I tried to just sit outside his room and with out talking to him would put him back in his bed. It was a disaster and turned into a game for him. 

The next night we decided to change things up. The routine is basically the same. We read stories downstairs and then head upstairs, cuddle for a minute in the rocking chair, sing the night night song which is I am a Child of God and then lay him down. He gets one chance and then the door is closed. 

 I am not opposed to crying it out but Jack has stamina. When he was about 9 months old he cried for 3 hours straight. I was having flash backs and had no clue what was going to happen. I was stressed so Tim let me leave after I lay Jack down. I went for a caramel apple at the mall and got a report that it only took 20 minutes for him to stop.  

On the third night I was able to stay home. My sisters and mom were asking how it was going. I sent this pic of his hand under the door. Not good but only took about 10 minutes for the crying to stop. 

 Each night gets better and now we can leave the room with out tears. I am hesitant to claim success because honestly something will happen and we will have to start all over. As for the night wakings, I lay in his room while he cried it out for 20 minutes. That only happened twice and he is back to sleeping through the night. We use the GroClock, it just shows a sun when the child is allowed to wake up. Jack has one serious internal alarm clock. We have now conceded to anything after 5:30 he can come snuggle in our bed and gets to check for the sun at 6:00. When the 'sum' is up it is very exciting as this is the time he can finally watch tv. 

He has never woken up happy from naps. On this particular day he came down crying, lay down on the floor and fell back asleep. Maybe one day I won't be consumed by Jack's sleep habits but that day seems very far away! 

April

For the most part April brought sunshine and outside play. The nicest weather seems to be during nap time but such is life.

This kid seriously gives me all the feels! I sure do love him!

Still obsessed with cooking. 

My sisters are the best. They keep me sane on the hard days of parenting via FaceTime. While I look forward to talking to them, I also love when their kids answer and I get uncensored stories. On this particular day Erin had worked a night and was taking a nap during quiet time. Scar provided some good entertainment and Jack is obsessed with his cousins. 

 Pregnancy continues to kick my trash. This time around I have decided to take all the meds. I am finally enough weeks pregnant that I can start taking Maxoran. It is seriously God's gift to pregnant people. It doesn't make me quite as exhausted as Diclectin so it is a nice change to not always want to nap. Maxoran takes away more of the nausea as well. Chicken strips and Diet Coke was my first meal on it. Needless to say that food was amazing. As the baby continues to grow I have found that I still need to watch what I eat but at least I can eat. I am really looking forward to the day when I can eat meat and drink anything with out worry!

 Best Costco date ever. He enjoyed his hot dog and but continues to love ketchup more than anything else. 

 Jack has mad love for Wrigley. Wrigley tolerates Jack's affection and usually runs away if Jack gets too wild but continues to be super protective of him.

Public Service Announcement: Did you know that McDonald's gives out free kiddie cones? We do most of our shopping at War-mart which has a McDonalds so if Jack is good he gets rewarded with an ice cream cone after. Sometimes we even will go on an outing just for a free cone. 

Our bestie, Scarlett Richards, moved away. We loved them and are so sad to see them go. Good news is that they are only in Lethbridge so we can get together for a visit. 

General Conference was a moderate success. I will definitely have to do some re-reading as I got a little distracted. We watched Sunday morning session with the Heyland's. It was so fun catching up and the kids kept each other busy so we could pay attention for a couple minutes. 

We celebrated the end of Conference with GF doughnuts. They worked really well. Jack enjoyed the frosting the most. 

 Jack loves his Daddy! He is always copying and following him around. Jack waits by the window and is always super jazzed when Tim pulls up after work. Tim always reads Jack a story before bed. Currently he is introducing him to Dr. Seuss. Tim is also the softer parent. With a few tears Jack can get all the treats and tv he wants. 

 Helping put together the new table we found at a super sketchy thrift furniture place. 

 With the nicer weather Jack is perfecting his strider bike skills. Our favourite is to ride to the train under pass and throw rocks in the creek. It keeps Jack entertained for a solid hour and I can just sit on my phone.