We Made It!

1.  Hip hip hooray!!! I made it through another basketball season!  Gary had his last game this week. Phew.  The season could've been a month longer but they weren't very, uh, good.   This was the first time I did it with three kids.  Not terrible but not my favourite.  I'm so glad he's home in the evenings now.  It's not that I missed him (sorry Gary!), I just missed my partner in parenting!  It's so nice to be able to get out if I want to and so nice to have someone help with dinnertime/bedtime.  I'm proud of him for all of his hard work and I wish that teachers sometimes got more recognition for all of their extracurricular activity, whatever it may be. Not that Gary does it for recognition but it is nice to be appreciated.

{I love the after dinner time with Gary around.  All the kids together.  Full of cuteness and wildness and togetherness.  They LOVE Nya so much.  Kai especially.}

2.  My health has been sucky since October.  It's no fun having your chemistry off.  I'm not myself and I don't like it.  I'm in the hypothyroid/adrenal fatigue stage of `Oh I'm so tired and sad and fat and tired and sad'.  4lb weight gain in one week.  Lame.  You can't make yourself be normal and I know it will just take time.  Probably 6 months I'm thinking?  I won't dwell on how really sucky this is.  I know it could be worse, for sure.  It has gotten better this week so that is good!  I think last week was my low point mentally and physically.

3.  I received two unexpected gifts yesterday.  One being these beautiful purple tulips and the other was a lovely card with a pizza gift card! I love pizza and I love kind words!!!  I have wonderful friends in all different places and I am so thankful.  Yay for friends.

4.  Nya is full of tricks now! Clapping, waving hi/bye, being cute:)  Her personality is really coming out.  She's sweet, but man, she is going to be a bit of a handful I think.  Another Koen?  She is moving more and more each day.  She is still terrible at breastfeeding (really only in her bedroom in the dark) but I still love it.  I love looking down at her while I feed her.  I wish I could take a picture of it and have it painted.  Maybe I'll try to get Gary to do it (to get a photo, not the painting!).    I love watching as she goes from scratching my chin/face/chest to gently holding my shirt to falling asleep each night.  

{Eyes closed but you can see her clapping and her little tooth poking through}

{This is her new smile.  She sort of flares her nostrils and tilts her head back.  Not the cutest look but I'll take it!}

{Today Nya and Lauren, Lynette's girl, had a playdate.  Well, we kept them apart as Nya has a runny nose. But, very nice to visit with Lynette and our little girls!}

{You can see Koen biking `the loop' at the park behind Nya.  He loves it. }

{Below was Nya at 3am when she was busy teething.  Miserable.  Thankfully she is getting better and has started eating properly-ish again.  She loves feeding herself bits of food like bread and cheese so that's nice!  By the way, my favourite baby item?  The Sleep Sack. I never had it for the boys and just turned the heat up in their room.  So, so, soooooooooooooooooo awesome. Love it.}

{Have I mentioned how much the boys love biking?  Nya's hat might be a bit too tight hence the strained face.  She is now out of her bucket car seat and in a big girl one.  This means she is sitting up in a big girl stroller too:)  Our last single stroller was stolen and our neighbours were going to throw this one out so it's perfect for now.}

{Nya loves going on Kai or Koen's shoulders and running around the house.}

5.  Kai started skating lessons in school today.  They go for 4 weeks.  I went today at the start to make sure he got his skates on okay, and well, to make sure he was okay.  I really try not to worry about him and just let him do his thing but I always think `What if he's scared?' `What if nobody helps him with his skates?' `What if he forgets how to get up?' etc.  I really need to relax.  He's a big boy and he'll be fine.  I don't like worrying.  Probably not healthy for him either.  It's good for him to problem solve and be a bit nervous and overcome fears etc.  He was flailing all over the ice as it's been about a year since he's skated but he was totally fine with it.

I've always thought I was a good parent until I had a six year old.  Younger than six didn't seem like a big deal.  They were happy and disciplined and healthy and eating and loving life.  Now?  I'm still a good mom but everything I say or do will affect who he becomes!!!!  How do I help him feel confident but keep him humble?  How do I help him learn how to deal with failure?  How do I prevent him from becoming a perfectionist?  How much praise is appropriate? What kind of praise is best?  How much do I tell him when he asks questions about alcohol or how babies are made or about what struggles people may have?  What kind of interactions/disagreements with Gary are appropriate with our children around?  What words are okay/not okay to use?  Overall I feel okay in my parenting but I really feel like he is developing so much emotionally right now and everything we do/say is crucial.

6.  Koen.  He's great. And hilarious.  He says things out of nowhere that make me smile.  The other day I said I was going to cut his hair and he said, `Well, I'm racing cars so make it snappy!'.  Who says that? Or looking at cereal, `We should get Cheerios.  They contain oat fiber and oat fiber helps lower cholesterol!' (just quoting the commercial).  He  LOVES preschool.  He loves learning about letters and words.  Right now they are learning about Canada and manners and I don't know what else, but he loves learning.  He is very easy going but when he's tired he gets grumpy.  No meltdowns, just grumpiness.  I wish he could go to kindergarten in September because I think he is so ready.  So tough for January babies!

7.  Totally looking forward to our trip in July!!!  Can't wait!!!  We are doing the Philippines for 2 weeks (visiting our friends there) and Thailand for 1.  Yay:)  In the meantime, we'll just look forward to our Spring break of Vancouver Island and Green Lake.  I love travelling with my family.  They are exhausting but they make me smile.

8.  We have a wedding on Saturday and for the first time, I will be away from Nya for about 8 hours.  I am kind of nervous about it.  And sad.  My baby.  I know she will be okay but still, not something I want to do too often!

Hope you are well!!!
Love,
Louise