Back across the Bay

Crossing on the Fundy ferry 

This past weekend, my parents, the boys and I, headed back to Nova Scotia for Caleb to attend his primary school orientation at Champlain Elementary in Granville Ferry. The last time I crossed the Bay of Fundy on the ferry Odin was only 2 days old! The trip was great in many ways, however, it definitely made me realize how quickly my maternity leave is coming to an end. We'll be living back in NS before I know it, so it was a great reminder that I must try to really embrace my last few months as a full time mom.

Cale and his new buddy Samuel Champlain 

Caleb had a great time during his orientation. He saw some familiar faces from his old daycare, impressed his future teacher and aced the hearing, eyesight and speech tests. There is no doubt that he is 100% ready to begin 'real' school.  His Jr. Kindergarten program at the Fredericton YMCA wraps up this week, so I'm really looking forward to having the entire summer off with all three of my boys. We are hoping to go on tour with dad as much as we can.

We then headed to Halifax where we were able to meet up with a few friends whom we hadn't seen in way too long. I spent the night with Lydia and Nick and was finally able to meet their new baby girl! She is 6 months younger than Odin, so of course a photo shoot took place. It has been so nice to have my bff on maternity leave at the same time as me. Even though we aren't in the same city, we are able to have frequent daytime mat leave chats that I truly cherish.

 We also met up with my not-so-little-anymore brother, Tyvonn who is now 16 years old. It was so wonderful to see him again and hear about all the great things happening in his life. My entire family has such a special relationship with Ty and spending time with him is always a great time. He is going to be getting his driver's license soon so I'm hoping that a road trip to Fredericton will be in his plans for this summer!

Odin and Mia - Future best buds

Tyvonn receiving his late Christmas gifts from my dad - some signed Matt Stairs baseball souvenirs. 

Odin is cutting two new bottom teeth, so I had to include a couple more shots of his adorable smile before it changes! He is such a happy little fella and his toothy grin melts my heart.

Alan and mini Alan

Spring has sprung

New favourite activity for both little and big brother! 

Spring is in the air. The sun is shining, the snow has melted, the trees are beginning to bud and Caleb's face has healed. All is well in our world. Odie has somehow turned 8 months old and is learning all the new tricks that come with this exciting stage. He is now semi-mobile. He 'belly shuffles' along the floor, not quite able to crawl yet. He loves attention and definitely moves quicker and further if a crowd is watching and cheering him on. He is making a range of sounds 'dada, baba, mama', and Caleb's personal favourite 'oooga', which has earned him the new nickname of 'Ooga Booga Monster'. He looooves to eat and is thriving with whole foods. I'd have to say his favourite food experience to date was very likely chicken wings - I ate most of the meat and then passed him the bone which he proceeded to gnaw on until he polished it clean. It was like watching a baby caveman in action! 

We are also making progress on the sleep front with Odin. I haven't written anything about this to date, partly because I'm just not as concerned about his sleep patterns as I was with Caleb and partly because I think I was a bit hesitant to admit that we've been co-sleeping with Odin since the day he was born. For some reason, it feels like this practice is highly frowned upon in Western society and I rarely have talked about it with anyone other than close friends and family. We weren't planning on co-sleeping with Odin, in fact I was really hoping we would have him sleeping on his own from the very beginning, but he really seemed to need to be by my side even more than Caleb did from literally his first night in the hospital. Since then he has slept in my arm every single night of his life. In many ways it has been a beautiful thing. He is warm and cute and cuddly and I rarely wake up even while feeding him during the night. I have been feeling rested and bonded and happy with this arrangement for the most part. However, after 8 months of this arrangement, I am starting to feel trapped. Particularly in the early evenings. I used to be able to lay with him until he fell asleep and then sneak away for an hour or two until I was ready for bed. This no longer works with a mobile baby when the high risk of him falling out of bed is just too high. He is also no longer an infant, when research shows that co-sleeping has the greatest benefits for the child and mother. The time has come to make a change. Thankfully, Alan has taken the lead in the transition of getting Odie to sleep in his own bed and his magical combination of rocking/singing/bouncing has been working really well. We are getting our cherished kid-free evenings back as both boys sleep safely in their own rooms....for a few hours anyway, but that is another post for another day!

Discovering grass!

Caleb with a genuine smile!

Wipeout

On Sunday evening I had the biggest scare of my parenting life. Caleb, the world's most cautious and sweetest little boy, had a brutal bike crash. He wiped out going downhill and landed directly on his face. Thankfully he didn't break anything, but his forehead, cheek, chin and mostly his nose were seriously scraped up. It hurt. Badly. It bled. A lot. It was a terrifying thing to witness, but we were able to make it home, get him cleaned up and now we are in the process of healing. I felt so bad for him. He was really just getting the hang of biking and starting to build his confidence. And the tough part is that he listens so, so well. I was walking with Odie in the stroller and he was going downhill - only 2 driveways and then he would stop and wait for me (his idea). A neighbour stopped to help us out post-crash, which was truly a lifesaver, and Caleb wouldn't let him drive him home until he was wearing his seat belt. That's how safety conscious he is and that's what broke my heart the most about the whole situation. One thing I didn't know about Cale is just how strong he is. I wouldn't have described him as tough before, but since this has happened he has put on a very brave face (helped out by ice, tylenol and a new lego set that Alan raced out to buy) and this afternoon he was determined to set out on a bike ride. I was so proud. 

It made me realize that my life as a parent is really just beginning. There will be more injuries, accidents, heartbreaks, misfortunes, disappointments....many, many things that my boys will have to face and I will be no the sideline wishing I could take their pain away. Kids are so fragile and life can be so unfair at times and there is no real way for parents to shield them from getting hurt. All you can do is  teach them to be wise and strong, trust them, believe in them, encourage them and be there to love them wholeheartedly the second they need it. I now understand that parents are fragile, too.

And now for some happy pictures. I can't bring myself to post a photo of Caleb's face right now, but the scars will be there for sometime so you'll see when things aren't quite so raw. And if you happen to see him in the next week or two, let him know that you've wiped out before too, and that you've heard from his mom what a great bike rider he is.

Before the accident Cale had been spending hours a day outside. He even invented a new sport - inline scootering!

Cousin time in the back of Greggy's truck!

Happy little brother

Post first spaghetti meal (always makes for a good photo op!)

This is how I'm getting some hands-free time these days! Whatever works!

The road home

We are back in Fredericton after our truly excellent adventure. After DC, we continued North and made a stop that I'd been dreaming of for years...the PEZ Factory in Orange, Connecticut! The giant Visitor Centre was filled with vintage pez, walls covered in pez decor, a scavenger hunt, trivia and many excellent souvenirs.This was the only time on the trip where I was really tempted to shop!! We ended up with 13 new pez for my collection (which needs a new total count, but is somewhere near 575!!), some stickers and just a few items of 'pez wear'!

I'd drive that Pez VW any day!!

Our next stop was a visit with Alan's sister Kim and her family in New Hampshire for a few days of  fun. It was so great for Caleb to spend time with his cousins who taught him all kinds of new songs, dances, games and introduced him to some true New England slang. It was wicked! Our last night on the road was spent with great friends in Portland, Maine whom we hadn't seen in way too many years.  They now have 3 year old twins (which Caleb was very excited about) and it was so nice for our families to finally meet.

American cousins!

Now we are home, happy to be out of the car and settling into yet another new house (this time in Mactaquac). One of my favourite things about our trip was a 'Road Trip Journal' that Caleb and I worked on together throughout the journey. It is my favourite of all of our joint projects. - definitely a keeper. We filled it with stickers, ticket stubs, maps and memories. I see many of these travel journals in our future. Perhaps a European one should be next....

Cover Page! 

We were welcomed home to even more family fun with Aunt Mary and Sarah's families in town for Easter. We've been filling up on cousin time, family dinners and enjoying the spring weather that has finally made its way to NB. 

More Cousins!

Happy Easter from the best  dressed little guy  I know!

Mountains, museums and the very first Metro ride

Hey dad, let me take the wheel! I'm so happy to say that we've broken Odie in! He has been wonderful in the car for the past several days. Very, very few tears, lots of sleep and an overall feeling that peace has been restored during our car time!

Hotel buddies for life

After spending a few consecutive nights in hotels, we were incredibly happy to pull into Brevard, North Carolina where we were greeted by my dear friend Carolyn, on the doorsteps of her beautiful home. Perched on the mountainside and surrounded by nature, the home has been built over the past several years by her husband and it is truly a work of art. Carolyn is a friend of mine from when I attended Susquehanna University in '98-99. Another great friend from those years, Emily, lives only an hour away in Asheville. It was wonderful to catch up with them both and spend a few days in this remarkable part of the world.

Pisgah National Forest is the 'Land of Waterfalls'. Hiking with Carolyn (and Cale's trusty pirate flag)

Rooftop Patio at Carolyn's. Caleb's favourite place in the State. We had a Equinox party and bonfire up here one night. 

Father and son bonding time at the Asheville Pinball Museum. $7 for all you can play!

From North Carolina, we continued on through Tennessee and into Virginia on route to Washington, D.C. We knew Caleb would love seeing the national monuments and especially the wonderful Smithsonian museums. Most people may not be willing to take a 6 month old and a 5 year old into a big city for a day of viewing museum exhibits, but it was well worth the journey. Cale was ecstatic to ride on his first subway, and then he whole-heartedly absorbed as much as he could at both the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. He is such a sponge and now officially knows more than I do about outer space, rockets and satellites! 

Natural History Museum

Riding the Metro!

The thing I am enjoying most about our trip is the time we are spending together as a family of 4. This is our first chance to just be together for an extended period. Each day we have so much time to talk about things, laugh, play, cuddle and make memories that I will always treasure. I'll miss this feeling when we get back to our regular life next week.

Georgia on my mind

Making new friends (and new faces) on the St. Augustine Pier. Cale with Brown Pelicans and a Brown Booby waiting by the fish cleaning station

Hello from Hilton Head, South Carolina! We've crossed a few state lines and now have some real miles under our belts. We left Kissimmee heading north and made it as far as St. Augustine where we spent two days in the sun. We found a beautiful State Park (Anastasia) where we played on the beach,  ate some frozen bananas and did some hiking. On Cale's insistence, we stopped to read all the local vegetation signs along the trail which makes the scientist in me smile.

We then headed to Savannah, Georgia, where we unknowingly found ourselves in the midst of the 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in North America (second only to NYC). We stayed a few miles outside of the historic downtown core, and there was no way we could have gotten any closer. We waited until the parade was over after dinner before we ventured into town and saw the remnants of what looked like a really great party. Literally every person we saw, adults and children alike, were decked out head to toe in green and most had half drunken, sun-burned smiles on their faces. We took a wrong turn heading into town and ended up at an amazing park in the centre of town where even the water in the fountain was green! One of favourite things about road trips are the little mistakes like these that turn into beautiful memories. Savannah was one of the spots that many people had recommended we visit, so we spent the morning touring the waterfront before continuing on into South Carolina.

Savannah waterfront

We are quickly coming to terms with the fact that Odin is basically the one in charge on this trip. As much as we might like to wander around parks and towns for hours, or push on and drive to a distant town, we are traveling on Odie time. We need to work around his schedule, making sure he gets adequate naps and doesn't spend too long in the sun or cooped up in his car seat. Speaking of car seats, Odin is not a fan of his. There have been tears, many, many tears while we drive. Basically we cringe and try to bare the screams until he falls asleep and hope that he won't wake up until we get to where we are going. It definitely is a challenge, and I'd like to say that each day gets better, but we only drove for 50 minutes today, so it is hard to say. The second we take him out of said car seat, he is a delightful little boy, grinning and charming everyone around him.

Thankfully, Cale is perfect. We couldn't ask for a better traveling partner for a road trip like this. He can easily spend hours in the back seat listening to music, asking great questions and drawing in his travel journal or making 'tickets' for each of us to get into an upcoming party that will begin when we arrive at the next hotel. Today was a 'Family on the Road' party which came with a very detailed $5 ticket that allowed each of us to bring 5 people with us. Very generous! Cale is also an amazing backseat big brother. He gives us updates on how Odie is doing, passes him toys to play with and doesn't let the tears get him down at all. He may ask for us to turn up the tunes to drowned out the cries, but other than that, he is just taking it all in. We reward him with as many play ground stops as we can find. We are basically on a play ground tour of the USA, and we're ok with that!

Hilton Head play ground. Grammie and Grampie Jeffries - the pirate flag was purchased, after very careful deliberations, using the $5 US you gave to him. He is doing a 1 man parade in this photo!

Even Odin is enjoying our play ground adventures.

One thing Odie is loving on this trip is eating whole solid foods. We seem to be doing the 'baby led weaning' method out of sheer need. We have no means to blend up food, so we let him share whole pieces of fruits and veggies which he delights in chowing down on. Cucumbers, celery, carrots, apples and frozen banana are current favourites. 

Road Trippin'

We are officially on the road! After spending a wonderful 5 days in Cocoa Beach, Florida with Greggy and Linda, we have set off to explore the East Coast. Our Honda Accord is jam-packed full with winter clothes, summer clothes, diapers, lego, craft supplies, books, swim wear, picnic essentials, a cooler and ourselves!

What is this thing they call 'sunshine'?

I flew with the boys from Bangor to Sanford on Monday. Alan dropped us off at the airport and drove (almost straight) for 24 hours until he reached us. He stopped in Virginia the first night and made it to our condo on Tuesday just after the sun had set. I thought he would be slightly delirious from the solo trip, but he was in great spirits and ready to join in on the family fun for the rest of the week. What a trooper. Made me feel like we were young and head over heels in love all over again! I think Alan and I are especially excited about this trip because we did a similar road trip in 2003, almost 12 years ago to the day. We crossed all through the States and Canada in a Dodge Caravan that we had decked out into a camper. That trip brought us some of our happiest memories and convinced us both that we wanted to spend our lives together. We've always dreamed of retracing our route with our family one day, and although we aren't crossing the entire continent this time, we are finally on the road, making memories with two little boys in tow. This trip, we'll be trading in the camp sites for hotels and play grounds and laundromats, but the magical feelings of the unknown adventures that lie ahead have already started to take hold.

Dad's here!

There was so much to see around Cocoa Beach - the Brevard Zoo was a huge hit and Cale fed both a sting ray and a giraffe out of his hand! The highlight of the trip so far was visiting the Kennedy Space Centre which is truly an amazing facility. That same night we were lucky enough to witness a NASA rocket launch, which we woke Cale up for at 10:45 pm to watch from our beach. He was over the moon (no pun intended!).

After leaving Cocoa Beach, we spent a wonderful day and night with Alan's uncle Neil, aunt Sue and cousin Jason in Kissimmee. Odie is recovering from yet another ear infection, so it was great to have a home base for him to rest up before we start really putting the miles on. Cale is a little unsure about leaving Florida. He wasn't sure if it would still be warm if we drove to Georgia, and he's proclaimed that he'd much rather be swimming in a pool than playing in a snowbank.

I thought Odie was going to crawl across the table to get some more banana from Linda!

Cale has abandoned his dreams of becoming a magician when he grows up and instead, has decided that he'd like to work for NASA and design rockets. He's scared of heights so being an astronaut is off the table for now!

Caleb's new favourite chef, Uncle Neil! He was particularly impressed with his homemade jello and even asked for the recipe!!

6 months!

Ahhh! Half of a year has already come and gone! Wow. I feel like I need to take a deep breath and just soak it all in for a minute. Odin Alistair Jeffries, my scrawny little baby, is turning into a handsome, strong and adorably chubby boy right in front of my eyes. His 6 month doctor's appointment revealed that he is just shy of 18 lbs, and is continuing to perfectly follow the 50th percentile growth curve. We are beginning to uncover his personality as each day he reveals new glimpses of who he is going to be. He is his own little fella, that's for sure.

I can't help but compare him to Caleb, but as Alan said the other night, we are dealing with a whole different beast here. It's so true. At this early point in his life, Odie seems quite rough and tumble, and very, very independent. He is at the stage where he loves to be surrounded by toys so that he can taste each one individually, then throw it on the floor. I remember Cale dropping toys, but Odie actually puts some muscle into it and throws them down to the floor. I've said out loud, on more than one occasion, that he has a really good arm! He loves to eat solid foods, but only if he is holding the spoon by himself....at 6 months! It's like he let me feed him for one day then decided, "It's ok mom, I can take this from here.' (See video below). He also has learned a new sound that he's been practicing on repeat for the past few days. It is a blowing sound that is basically a 'pfffft'. So for the past few days most of our conversations have been followed by a baby saying 'pffffttt...'. It's as if he is completely dismissing what we just said, and it makes it pretty hard to take anything seriously.

We invited Monica over for her first ever SLEEPOVER last weekend and I'm very happy to report that the cousins all had a great time. We even had a chance to Skype with Amelia and Jack. CousinFest 2015!

Sick baby blues

All bundled up: So sick, yet still so cute. He didn't move from this position during our hour long walk over the weekend. 

Odin has developed an ear infection that has him feeling sore, feverish, fussy and very lethargic. I love that he will finally rest his head on my shoulder and cuddle instead of squirming and attempting to stand on his own all day, but there is nothing worse than the completely helpless feeling of a sick baby crying in your arms. Cutting new teeth (he now has 5), drooling and a runny nose hasn't helped the situation. He's basically a snotty mess but hopefully he will be on the mend soon and back to his smiling self. I miss my happy little man, and my arms are tired from not being able to put him down!

Oh, hello there bottom teeth!!

Before he was struck down with his illness, we had a very exciting week. Odie tried his first bites of food. We started with rice cereal, and have added bananas (successfully) and carrots (not so successfully). Cale was super excited to be part of feeding him. Once we had decided to give it a try, he began chanting at me to 'Pump some milk! Pump some milk!' so we could mix it with the dry cereal and get the feeding started!! I can't believe how quickly my little man is growing up.

Odie wasn't nearly as excited as Caleb was about trying his first bites.

But he soon discovered how much fun and messy food can be!

I'm so out of practice that I didn't even think to put a bib on Odie!! I won't be making that mistake again anytime soon!

As the end of February approaches, we are getting ready to pack our bags and move once again. We've been staying at a great house in Douglas, overlooking the St. John River. It is the home of friend's parents who spend the winter in Florida and we've been here since November 1. Staying here has worked out wonderfully well for all of us. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that this is the 9th home that Caleb has lived in. How crazy is that??? We are destined to be vagabonds for life it seems. The Unintentional Nomads will be the name of our first family band.

Next up for us, however, is something I'm super excited about - a giant road trip!! I'm flying with the boys to meet up with my parents in Florida and Alan, being the wonderful man that he is, is driving solo down to meet us. The 4 of us will spend a week with my parents and then take 2-3 weeks to drive back up the coast together, stopping to visit friends, family and hopefully some amazing roadside attractions along the way! A family adventure was something we really wanted to make happen during my maternity leave and I'm so excited that my dream is coming true in only 2 short weeks!! 

We're hitting the road, and *hopefully* they won't be snow-covered!

True love

Happy Valentine's Day

We are at home, preparing for *another* snow storm and enjoying our day together. Nothing too special, but special all the same because we are together, healthy, happy and surrounded by love. I must say that the love a mother receives from her children is a truly miraculous thing, but the love a mother receives from a young baby is on a whole other level.

Anyone who has spent anytime with Odie and I knows that his love for his mama runs deep. Really, really deep. I don't remember it being quite so obvious with Caleb, but with Odin it is hard to ignore. He literally lights up when I enter the room. He fixates his eyes on me and stares with sheer adoration. I'll often catch him staring at me, and when I catch his eye, he bursts into a giant, heart-melting smile. If he is fussing or crying in someone else's arms, he will stop as soon as he is back with his mama. He can go from a scream to a smug smile in 1 second flat. This is quite a superpower to hold over someone, and I take his unwavering trust and love very seriously, even if it makes me laugh at times (and likely frustrates others). Knowing that just my presence or my touch can have such an impact on him is amazing, and it may lead to attachment issues or something down the road, but for now I am revelling in it, knowing that it won't last forever. And to be fair, he does love others as well...his dad for sure, as well as his brother, grandparents and other family have all won a special place in his heart. He often treats people to his smiles and laughter, so he does spread his love around, but he definitely saves his best love for me!

Odin's eyes are a really interesting colour right now. They are very bright, but they aren't blue. More of a grey/green/light brown shade. 

 I left the room the other day and Odie was broken hearted, as if he knew for sure that I'd never be coming back. And the thought crossed my mind that I will never leave him and in fact, he will be the one who will one day leave me- off to college, off to travel, off wherever life takes him - and I'll be the one left behind, watching him go, brokenhearted (but hopefully not expressing it through a screaming fit). Caleb was also attached, and still is to a large extent, but he now needs his mother less and less all the time. He even asked me while we were playing last week if I could pretend to be Ava! Ouch, my first time playing second fiddle!

Caleb is also learning about love, and how to be a loving big brother. There are many lessons he has learned including:

1. Never touch a sleeping baby, no matter how cute he looks
2. Never put your finger in the mouth of a teething baby
3. Try your best not to kiss a baby when your face is covered in jam, or other sticky substances
4. It feels great to hug a baby, but it feels not so great for the baby if the hug is too tight
5. It is most effective to be more than 5 cm away from a baby's face when trying to make him smile or laugh
6. Roaring suddenly within close proximity to a baby's unsuspecting ear may result in crying
7. Most of all, don't stop trying because the rewards, when they come, are so incredibly worth it.

I'll add to this list as I continue to notice these little things that make me smile!