Monday, December 29, 2014

Tis the season

Christmas eve with Grampie Jeffries
Christmas for a 4 year old is an incredibly magical time. It's so fun seeing our family traditions being passed on to the next generation and to watch as the excitement builds in anticipation of the big day. It was especially nice this year to be in Fredericton and not feel rushed. We had plenty of time to spend with family and friends and still managed to find time for naps and puzzles.

Someone was excited to help decorate the tree!
Caleb received the one gift that he had asked for this year - a microscope so that he can see what a germ looks like!  I love that he is such a mix of Alan and I - part scientist, part musician and part his own quirky little self! He also was given some other wonderful gifts like walkie talkies, Star Wars lego, books, craft supplies and a magic kit. Needless to say we've been having a lot of fun around here lately.

As cousin Aly says, Caleb might grow up to be a 'sweater vest' kind of guy! 
Santa's little helper

Caleb and Aly's original Christmas Song (This was sung several times, to several different people, over the holidays)

Aly: What's your favourite thing about Christmas?
Caleb: Spending time with my family
A: What's your second favourite thing about Christmas?
C: Decorating the Christmas tree
A: What's your third favourite thing about Christmas?
C: Giving presents
A: What's your fourth favourite thing about Christmas?
C: Getting presents but I don't really care!

Caleb's 2014 Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,
 I'm Caleb. I would like a microscope for Christmas. I am 4 years old. I like inventing. I like sports. I like concerts, especially when I am in them. I like playing the piano the most and I like singing and guitar.
 I have a new little brother, just so you know. His name is Odin and he is a very good boy.
 We live in Fredericton. I would like a tool set please. We'll leave some cookies for you.
Thank you,
Caleb Jeffries

Even superman needs a nap over the holidays! Thanks to Mary, Jenn and Amelia for the adorable suit! 

Monday, December 22, 2014

Spreading the joy

The happiest and chubbiest little Santa around!! This suit just kills me!


Caleb's first Christmas concert. He played Jingle Bells on the piano and sang Silent Night with his dad
It's Christmas week and the holiday fun has really taken off around here. Christmas parties, concerts, baking, gift making, dinners and more! My favourite moment so far has been taking the kids to St. Ann's Court, a senior care home in Fredericton where my great Aunt Ellie lived for several years. We loaded up on candy canes, dressed Odie up in his Santa suit and set off to spread some holiday joy. We arrived just when everyone was finishing up their lunch and after being introduced by the facility manager, we made our rounds through the tables handing out treats, singing songs and making many people very, very happy. Caleb was amazing - offering up hugs and accepting kisses from strangers. Even little Odin was absolutely perfect - happy to let anyone hold him, sharing some smiles and melting hearts all over the place. Many of the residents said we had made their Christmas, and I couldn't agree more.
After waving us over to her table, this lovely lady told me she would me to take her photo with the baby! I was more than happy to snap this pic and delivered a print to her the next day - free of charge (of course!!)
We were happy to see an old family friend who recognized my voice, which she said sounded just like my mom's!
Making new friends

Friday, December 12, 2014

Advent adventures

Happiness is wearing matching Christmas onesies!
We are doing our 'activity advent' calendar again this year, and day 1 brought about an adorable surprise. Matching Christmas pyjamas. I've been dreaming of a photo like this for years and the reality of it is even better than I could have imagined! I love the activity advent idea, although I admit I am not putting in anywhere near the effort I did last year. It probably has something to do with having a 3 month old baby and a husband who has been away most of the month. But each day, I have been able to pull something off. Thankfully Caleb can't read yet, because I rarely do what the piece of paper says, I just make it up as I go in the morning - making Christmas cards, watching holiday movies, baking, donating gifts to the local toy drive, building a gingerbread house...and who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Day 9 - Family Christmas sing-a-long!
I feel like my life is moving in fast forward these days. My tiny little baby is growing up so quickly!
He is increasingly engaged and interested in everything around him. He just sits back and soaks it all in. Odin's mood overall is really positive, although he can be a bit 'hot and cold' these days.  It is quite amusing to watch him instantly turn from laughter (yes, he can laugh now!!) to tears then back to his signature serious stare. His laughter is the most beautiful sound in the world and it has brought me to tears more than once. We're just all over the place with emotions around here!

We've got a thumb sucker on our hands! 
Time for the exersaucer already?? 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Family Photo Shoot!

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Aunt Sarah took some family photos for us in O'Dell Park. I absolutely love how they turned out! Hope you enjoy them!!


This one warms my heart! 
 
Proud papa!
Hi dad! 
True love!
And then, not to be outdone, this week my parents decided they should have some photos taken with their grandchildren. Note, no children were invited to take part. We know who their favourites are these days!


Thursday, November 20, 2014

What's in a name?


Greg has made name plates for all of the special children in his life. Caleb chose this design for Odin! 

Naming a baby is tough. I've had some girl names in mind for years, but coming up with boy names seems to be particularly difficult for Alan and I both. Girl names I love include family names like Ellie and Pearl and my personal favourite Magnolia (Nola) which Alan wasn't sold on, but I was willing to fight for! But coming up with another boy name was a difficult task for us. In the end we had two names that we both liked - Evan August and Odin August. Since Odin was born on Sept 1, we had to scratch the August middle name! After an intense delivery experience where our baby was born very quickly in the midst of what seemed to me like a mad flurry of activity around us, we took a look at our new son and settled on our name - Odin Alistair.

I discovered the name Odin a few months before he was born. I loved the sound of it - a lot like Aiden, Owen or Otis - but more unique. The meaning of the name is 'frenzy, inspiration', which is how I felt after the madness of childbirth! However, there is a long and well documented history to the name. Odin is the name of the supreme Norse god of art, culture, wisdom and law. The name supposedly projects strength and power. My father likes to say that Odin is the Norse god of fly-fishing and flat-picking! Apparently, J.R.R. Tolkien's Gandalf was loosely based on Odin, and they both are depicted as old, wise men with long flowing white beards. I wasn't sure if we could pull off such a strong name (Odin is the father of Thor, after all!), but now that we've chosen it, I really love it and couldn't imagine little Odie being called anything else. I hope he grows up to really like it as well.

Others are embracing the name as well - this hat was made for him by a family friend! Too funny!
In other news, Caleb continues to win awards for being the best big brother of all time! He is so in love with Odie, it is truly amazing. He finds him fascinating and fun, which is pretty great considering he is not able to interact with him too much yet! I told Cale that some day Odin will be so much fun for him to play with and Caleb responded immediately, 'But mom, he is 100% fun right now!!'. Cale also loves getting his photo taken with the baby, especially if he has managed to get a smile from his little brother. I often hear - 'Mom, come quick and bring the camera!'. My favourite quote from Caleb so far was after taking Odin to a concert, where much to my surprise, he was a perfect little baby. No tears, no feeding, completely happy to be swept away by strangers and dance in their arms...I was waiting for the crisis moment to hit when he would burst into tears, but the moment just didn't come. When we got home Cale walked right up to his brother and said 'Odin, I'm more prouder of you than I've ever been in my life. You were just soooo good tonight'. My heart nearly exploded!
I've recently realized that my babies have extremely square heads!! haha! Thankfully I happen to find square heads quite adorable!  
Bedtime brother snuggles are now part of our nightly routine!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Baby bliss

It's hard to believe that Odin's precious days of being a newborn are coming to an end. His '4th trimester' is almost over and he has become a full fledged smiling, responsive and happy little baby.
Having a newborn is an incredible time - yes, it is also exhausting, challenging and filled with tears, but spending every minute of your day with someone who has just entered this world is absolutely fascinating. It is a magical stage that goes by so quickly, and as this is very likely our last baby, I am feeling quite sad to see the newborn days come to a close.



Here are some of the things I love most about newborn babies:

  • Kissing the top of a bald head
  • Tiny fists wrapped around my finger
  • Coos, gurgles, oohhs and aahhhs
  • Gums and toothless grins
  • Wearing onesies 24/7
  • World's softest skin
  • Wrinkles, rolls and the little treasures that can be discovered hiding in there
  • Holding a sleeping baby in your arms. Total dead weight. 
  • And my favourite moments these days are when you catch your baby staring lovingly at you and they burst into a giant smile as soon as you make eye contact. It's amazing how bonding moments like these can actually elicit a physical response, it's like I can actually feel myself falling deeper in love with him.
And now for a little 'Welcome to the World' video featuring some clips of Odin as a newborn.


Sunday, November 2, 2014

Two months old

I've been waiting to write this blog post for a long time. Our little Odin is now 2 months old, the exact age that Caleb was when I started writing the blog 4 and a half long years ago. I can now go back over old posts, compare old pictures and re-read old thoughts, challenges and milestones. Here is my first photo comparison, one that I've been dreaming of for weeks - the two month party shirt photo! I love that Odin looks so much like his big brother. When he was first born it amazed me to be staring at such a familiar face, and he keeps looking more and more like Cale each day.

Little bro
Big bro

At 2 months, Odin (or Odie as we've been calling him) has finally had his 'hello moment'. It's like he's woken up and begun to realize he is part of a world filled colours, sights, sounds, smells, and people who love him. For the first several weeks I felt like he had only 2 emotions - negative (unhappy, cold, wet, tired) which would be very clearly expressed by tears, quivering bottom lip, frowns and whimpers, and neutral, which would be expressed with a straight-faced stare. Now he has developed the highly anticipated third emotion - positive! I wouldn't go as far to say that he is actually expressing happiness - but he can now stare directly at your face and SMILE, grin and coo in a delightful way. It's the best, especially when it is directed at his big brother who absolutely adores Odin and basks in the reward of a smile. 

Brother bonding time

Serious side angle pose, which nicely accentuates his 'bum chin'
And now for a Halloween picture. Odin was wrapped up in dad's arms fast asleep while we were trick or treating but Caleb was really into it. Dressed as Darth Vader, he hit the streets knowing he could scare anyone (except, in Cale's words 'people who are fearless'). He was happy to pose for some actions shots for me and asked, very sincerely, if I could tell that he was smiling under his mask. Too cute. 

Halloween morning action shots with his glow stick lightsaber (Darth is still in his pjs)

Monday, October 20, 2014

Babies be crazy

Pre-bath (you may notice I've gain 3 lbs in my cheeks and chins alone)
Post-bath (not quite the relaxing experience I was hoping for)
We are 7 weeks in and at times it feels like Odin and I are really figuring each other out, but at other times it still feels like I still have no idea what my little guy needs. His overall mood is definitely improving and I receive more smiles everyday, but I'm still on edge a bit when I take him out, knowing that a meltdown could suddenly appear without warning. I had a chance to talk to my best pal Lydia about this and she told me about a blog she had recently read where a mom had developed a mantra for whenever she just couldn't figure her new baby out - 'Babies be crazy'. I loved it and I'm now saying it often to myself when Odie won't sleep/stop crying/settle down. Well, babies be crazy, so I shouldn't get myself too worked up about things.  It turns out the actual blog post said 'babies be babies' which I like, but not nearly as much as 'babies be crazy', so I'm sticking with that one!

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving weekend and I was especially impressed with my superstar husband who cooked an entire turkey dinner for 11 people on his own! What  a guy. Everyone loved it, especially my mom who does not like cooking. She thinks she has hit the jackpot for every future holiday dinner...finally a family member who can cook and actually enjoys it!

The best part of the dinner was having everyone say what they were thankful for. My 11 year old niece decided she should emcee the event, and after she read her thanksgiving speech, she introduced us all and invited us to share what we were were giving thanks for this year. I had many reasons to be particularly thankful this year - Alan's great cooking, my parents for being so generous in letting us stay at their house for 2 whole months, being in Fredericton and getting to spend so much time with family and most of all my two healthy, wonderful little boys. When Caleb's turn came around he jumped up and said 'My name is Caleb Austin Jeffries and I'm thankful for my good guy/bad guy detector (see below) and for my baby brother'.  The order of his priorities were clear.

Caleb has been 'inventing' up a storm these days. He heads into my dad's workshop and the two of them work away on making Caleb's 'designs' come to life. He has also reached a major milestone this week - riding a bike without training wheels. He is so proud as he whizzes my us. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up.

Good guy/Bad guy detector complete with fingerprinting, DNA testing (hair sample), camera and lie detector
Learning some tricks from cousin Malcolm over Thanksgiving weekend
Why hello there aunt Mary!
Catch me if you can!
Learning rhythm with the best piano teacher ever
Sleeping in...a glimpse of about 13 years in my future!

Monday, October 6, 2014

The greatest reward


First smiles at 5 weeks old
10 lbs of joy!
For being so little, newborns sure are a lot of work! It is a 24 hour job where you devote all of your self, time and energy to making this tiny person adjust to being in the world. I don't have much memory of Cale's first few weeks, but Odin seems to be a bit fussier than I remember Cale ever being. For the first 4 weeks of his life Odin whined and cried if he was not sleeping, sucking (still only on someone's finger - no soothers for this guy), bouncing or walking.  He hates getting his diaper changed and screams at the top of his lungs during bath time. I wouldn't say he is colicky, but we were constantly pulling out all of our tricks in an attempt to keep him happy and calm. As my dear friend Amy said, 'He is cute, but he still seems a bit shell-shocked'. It was so true! Odin seemed very unsure of the world, and after months of being in the womb, I can completely empathize with that. 

This week, however, it feels like we've turned a bit of a corner. One week can make a big difference, and Odin is now much more alert and has longer stretches of being relaxed and content. Today we received the greatest reward for all of our hard work - he greeted us with his first real smiles. It is truly the best moment as a new parent. A small but beautiful and powerful sign of recognition for all that we've given him. I know that he is going to be just fine and I'll happily continue to give him everything I've got, as long as he keeps being so darn adorable!

Drunken sailor smile
Another treat this week - Odin wore his Tom Brady jersey and the Patriots had their best game of the season. Coincidence? I think not!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Brotherly love and motherly musings

Sleeping beauty (thanks to Aunt Sarah for these great shots)
Three weeks in and Odin's life has been filled with family love. Being back in New Brunswick means being surrounded by family, and it is wonderful.  We spent last weekend at Aunt Teresa's farm with 3 cousins, 5 aunts, an uncle and Grammie Jeffries. We get to see more cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents nearly every day. Watching Odin grow is a special time for all of us.

Caleb received his very own guitar as a big brother gift from his Aunts Nancy and Joan. He was incredibly impressed and has been playing his first original tunes for us - "I lost my pick" and "Cat in the dingle"
Gearing up for his first concert with cousin Monica. Caleb couldn't believe it when we all threw coins in his guitar case after the show!!
Cousins stopping to chat while on a solo stroll
Several things about having a newborn are coming back to me:

-  always remember check to make sure the shoulders of your shirts are free of spit-up before leaving the house
- babies tend to wake up the moment you sit down to eat a meal
- hands-free time is a hot commodity and it is amazing what a new mom can get done in only 5 minutes without a baby in their arms
- I, and maybe all breastfeeding moms, tend to feel like a human soother most of the time. It's tough when a baby wants to feed all the time. I remember having a lot of doubts with Caleb (am I feeding him too much? Is he getting enough to eat? Do I use feeding too quickly as a way to soothe him?). This time around I'm trying not to worry about it so much and am instead just doing what feels most natural to me and to Odin. Which seems to be feed. A lot.

And now for some big brother love: