A Whole New World...

It's a new chapter.

I have not updated my blog as of late for many reasons. I have been adjusting to many changes in my life, the biggest one being my husband and I separating. This has been a huge adjustmnet period, but I believe has been a very healthy change for both of us. He has moved on to a new career and seems positive, and I have bought a little condo for Hunter and I near my work and her daycare. I love it. It is small, but big enough for the two of us. It is funky and has a lot of character. I am looking forward to making it a happy home for Hunter and I.

I love my neighbourhood. Everything is within walking distance, and the Quay and lots of great parks are really close. I have 3 days left of school, and then I have 2 months off to enjoy time with my daughter. I am so excited to get some free time:)

Hunter's 1st trip to the Beach!

Recently, I went with some friends to Sandy Cove, which was great timing, as Hunter was just given some new beach toys for her birthday. She had a great time dipping her toes in the water, and digging around in the sand. She loved filling up her pail with small rocks, and dumping them out again. Of course mommy could not resist some photos!



Snack Time!!!!!!!!!!

1 Year...Can you believe it?

I am officially the mother of a 1 year old. This past year has been full of so many ups and downs, changes and craziness. As I write this, I am at peace, knowing that my beautiful happy daughter loves to smile, laugh and play, and is very much loved. I love you Hunter...with all my heart.

Peace on Earth...

My water baby....

I can't believe I will be back at work in 6 weeks. My mat leave has gone by so fast. I will miss being with my little girl every day! I am fortunate that I will have great daycare. One of the parents of former students at the school I work at takes care of some of the staff members children. She only does it for a couple of them, and she is amazing. She brings them by the school for special events, to play on the playground, and for lunch time visits. It will make me feel less nervous having Hunter so close. And, I know all the children that she will be with, as they are the children of my co-workers. As soon as I got pregnant, I pretty much ran to this woman to make sure she would have room....lucky me! And her rates are very reasonable too.

We have been taking Hunter swimming at the pool quite a bit lately...she loves it. She is definitely a water baby:) But then we knew that at 6 weeks when we started having baths with her.....we have never used her baby tub as she enjoyed the bath too much!

Dusten is going to start swimming lessons with her in January.

Happiness is........

Finally being big enough to use a swing on a crisp Autumn day.....

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Hunter's 1st Pumpkin Patch Visit....

We finally got some good weather and so we were very excited to take Hunter to her visit to the pumpkin patch! There was a petting zoo, corn maze as well lots of pumpkins. We had a great time out in the sun......it was a beautiful day!

That night we headed out to the Halloween Carnival that my school hosts every year. We dressed Hunter in the penguin costume that my mother-in-law had bought for her, and she looked really cute:) Especially with the vampire soother daddy bought for her!

6 months old.....

My baby girl is 6 months old. I have a hard time believing it. It really does not seem so long ago that I found out I was pregnant. She brings so much joy to our lives each and every day. She is so smart...learning and attempting things usually a month or two before the baby books say she should.....she is crawling already:) That's my girl!

I have been making all of Hunter's baby food from scratch. I am very surprised more people don't do this. It is a very easy thing to do, and I like knowing exactly what she is eating. My freezer is currently stocked with pureed green beans, carrots, peas, potatoes, cauliflower and bananas and strawberries. She has loved everything she has tried so far.....she definitely prefers real food over her bottles lately. I am raising her vegetarian, so we I will be making an appointment with a nutritionist soon to make sure she is getting everything she needs.

Hunter had some professional pictures done last week...and they turned out amazing. Here is my favourite.....

I am very excited about an upcoming event in October, but I can't spill the beans yet until some other people are told. It will be a very fun time...and I will fill you in very soon:)

Almost 6 months:)

Our baby girl is doing so well! She is now eating some solid foods (unsweetened blueberry applesauce is her favourite) and is just starting to try to crawl. I can't believe she will be six months soon...

I have tried to expose her to as many experiences as possible so that she can learn from her environment and see the world! So far we have gone to the zoo, the PNE, bowling, to the beach, and to Dairy Queen. Here are some fun pictures...

Summer...

It has been a very long summer. Those who know me very well know that it has probably been the hardest summer of my life. I have been fortunate to have some very close amazing friends and family to help me through it all. I can honestly say things are calm and there is some happiness in my life once again. I don't know what the future holds and what it will bring, but for one day at a time, I am content.

Hunter is 5 months old already! She is now eating blueberry applesauce and rice cereal and absolutely loves it! She just came back from a 5 day visit with granny and papa while I was at some Pro-D workshops. I can't believe how much smarter and even more advanced she was just after 5 days. She loves to touch people's faces and study them, and loves textures and music. She is on the verge of crawling and still loves to smile:) Here she is at granny and papa's:

We All Have Secrets...

I'm going through a really rough time in my life right now......if you are too, have a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6rTkp1dek4

Singing the Praises of Craigslist:)

Most people who know me know how much I love Craigslist. I have found so many good deals on there it's ridiculous. We bought Hunter's crib and changetable, our computer armoire, our kitchen island, our dresser and our couch from there. We have sold and traded many things too.

This week I made the best trade ever! Last year we originally bought a really nice couch from Craigslist for $400. It was from Upolstery Arts and was worth well over $3000 new. Recently, Dusten and I had been discussing how we needed more seating for when people came over, and also a pullout bed now that our previous spare room is Hunter's:)

On a whim, I posted our couch looking to trade for a sectional. I got a response that someone had a new sectional they needed to trade, as they had just downsized from a house to a condo. We went to see it, and it was beautiful...just what we wanted! Bonus....it has a sofa bed in it for when people come to stay....(HINT HINT DANEA!!!!)

So, with the loan of my MIL's truck, and our friend Lee's muscle and brawn, Dusten went to pick it up last night. Here are some pictures...and yes...the chaise is MINE:)

Our old couch......

Our new couch:)

Hunter is 3 months!

My beautiful baby girl is 3 months old. She has been away at my parents for the past couple of nights and I can't believe how much I miss her. I never knew I could love someone so much. I even slept with her blanket just so I could smell her......

School's Out For Summer!!!

Have a fun summer everyone! Relax, enjoy, and don't forget to laugh!

Flooding...

It is all about the flooding right now. Flooding of rivers. Flooding of thoughts. Most of BC is on flood watch right now as the rivers continue to rise. People are receiving evacuation notices and are on high alert. While my house is not threatened, overwhelmingly it is my mind that I worry about.

Words, desires, ambitions and necessities wash in and out of my head. Daughter, household, errands, losing my sense of self, dog, possible summer work, money, journalling, photographs, inspirations, aspirations, future work, finances, values, love, ambition, basic needs, daycare, dreams, ventures, health, balance, path, focus, intentions...This is my brain's flow.

The flood banks are breaking. The once small side streams surge. Thoughts and memories and dreams swirl. It is time for decisions to be made. Do I sink or swim, so to speak. Take the plunge or play it safe. I must choose a path. I only wonder if one path intersects with another. Does one lead to higher ground?I do not know the answers right now. I only know that after the flooding will come calm. Then renewal and revitalization. No matter the path I choose.

Hunter at 2 months....

I was playing around with the camera last week and took some pictures of Hunter at 2 months old. She gets more beautiful everyday! I love it when she "talks" to me. She is so animated!

She has the most incredible smile. You could be having the worst day, and one smile from her just makes your day completely turn around....

Dusten took this picture of me with a Shrek mask I got from the movies. Wait until you see what he did with the punch out eyes!

Yep........he really did.

My baby is the cutest!

Hunter has a Shower!!!

The guest of Honour...

My work had a baby shower for Hunter on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun, and it is always great to see everyone. Hunter was completely spoiled, and she received some really nice gifts. Our lunch lady, who is a trained pastry chef, made a beautiful cake for the occasion. I was really touched, as it was very detailed and she did all the decorations herself.

The funniest thing had to be the fact that all my co-workers decided to wear pink for the occasion. Even the men. For those that know me, I have a small issue with the colour pink. Especially on little girls. Especially when they are dressed head to toe in it. To me, it makes them seem so docile and helpless...all the stereotypes I do not want Hunter to be (hence her name...LOL). It was quite comical that they all showed up in pink:) Do they love me or what?

Some of the students even made cards for Hunter. They were sweet, heartfelt, and honest beautiful wishes from children. Some were pretty funny...one of them even had a picture drawn of me giving birth!

Looks like someone needs a diaper change!


All in all, it was a very fun afternoon with yummy food, fabulous co-workers and great gifts for Hunter!

Isn't she.....

THE CUTEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love her more every day...............

Lost in Space......

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Hunter is doing amazingly well. She is starting to smile and coo and try to "talk". I am going to do a Mother's Day post this week and catch everyone up and post some pictures. We have to get a new memory card reader for the camera, adn I grabbed the wrong one on the weekend at the store. Those of you who have been asking for pictures, I promise I will post them this week.

In the meantime, I wanted to post pictures of my office at work that my co-worker created for me with the help of some of our students. It is amazing and mesmorizing. There are 2 effects, one with balck light, and one with the lights completely off. When you stand in the middle of the room, you completely feel like you are in space. I know the students will love it as much as I do. I can't wait to get back in January to enjoy it!

***Pics to be posted tomorrow.......***

3 Weeks and it is Out of This World!

Our little girl is doing so well! She amazes me everyday with the things she can do already. She can roll from her back to her side, hold her head up, and even hold her own bottle for a short time! (Although Auntie Danea does not believe this one, I am now determined to get a picture of her doing it!

She visited my workplace on Friday, and everyone was very happy and excited to meet her. I feel very fortunate to work with people who are supportive and excited for us. And also very fortunate for those who keep a calming influence on me when I need it:)

I had a nice surprise when I went to visit my office. A co-worker and friend of mine created an amazingly beautiful solar system on my ceiling with some of the students. It has two very cool effects, one with a black light, and one without lights. My whole room looks like deep space. It is incredible, and I know not only will I appreciate it, but the students will too. Julia (my other half at work) Lee and I talked about how great it will be to use it to calm students down......they can just get "lost in space"! I will see if some pictures can be taken so that I can post them here....

To date I have lost 17 of the 22 pounds I have gained with the pregnancy. I have decided I would like to lose about 26 morel, so tomorrow I am going to start my weight loss efforts. I would like to be at my goal by the end of the summer, which I think I can accomplish in 4 months.