Separation Anxiety..........

***Kaylee Joye Flowers...8 months old....***

Alright everyone... I am sort of having a melt down... Tomorrow Jordon and I have plans to attend our good friends Scott and Lindsey's wedding. It is a couple hours away and it would be the first time I would ever be leaving Kaylee..........

I have spoken about going out before- you know, an hour here, a few hours there. Generally it is after she has gone to bed, or Jordon is home with her. I have never left her from 2pm to noon the following day. I have never left her over night and I have never been away from her that long, let alone that far away.

Needless to say I am having a lot of trouble with it. Jenn and Jonny who I have spoken about on here before have so kindly offered to take Kaylee for the night. I have been A OK with this until this morning. Suddenly I have the overwhelming desire to not let her out of my site. I sound like a crazy person don't I? I know I do and I can't even help it. I thought maybe blogging about it and venting to the people I love that read my blog would help. I am hoping that all you Mom's are going to tell me this is completely normal and not to worry. I am not irrational, just a typical Mom... Right?!?!?!

After all it is healthy for Jordon and I to enjoy an evening out together, carefree of baby and focus on us. It is healthy for Kaylee to not "need" me there at every moment of her life...Right?

So, last night I had a nightmare that something happened to Kaylee while we were gone, and as I was at the wedding, 2 hours away, drinking and having a good time, I could not get to her. I believe this is what started my anxiety this morning. I woke up almost in tears. I could feel it taking over all my rational thoughts. I spoke to Jenn and she did a great job telling me everything would be fine. She even offered to stay at the house here, instead of us bringing Kaylee into their place if it would make me feel better. I think this would help me tremendously. Knowing Kaylee is in her own comforts- her own bed, her own toys, her dogs, her highchair- etc... The only thing different is no Mommy and Daddy. This however leaves me feeling guilty. I had already arranged for another friend to stay at the house to watch the dogs. So Adele has already cancelled her Saturday night plans to dog sit. What a mess. Not to mention the added pressure on Jenn to now not be in her own home, and spend a night away from her little girl!

WHY IS BEING A MOM SO HARD!!!!!!!!!!

***Kaylee and Daddy's first picture together... 1 Day old***

Ok, that is my rant.... In other news... Kaylee is now 8 months old. Tuesday she had her 8 month birthday. 8 entire months. Where has the time gone. Now I am sitting here thinking, oh my goodness, I have to go back to work soon! Wow! I better get over this separation anxiety pretty quick huh!

Kaylee has grown so much over the last 8 months. From and infant to baby to a little girl! She is baa, baa, baa'ing, daa, daa, daa'ing but not quiet Maa, maa, maa'ing. She is standing, she is crawling (quickly). She has learned the word no, she has learned the word up, she claps, she throws tantrums, she laughs! She is amazing.... And she is my little girl!!!

Anyways, that's enough of my emotional spill for one day! Enjoy a few pics, and pleasssssse! A little comment and feedback would be great!

***Kaylee and Mommy's first picture together***

Have a wonderful day!

Jaymie

A TOOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right people! You read it correct! Kaylee finally has a tooth! I know I have been talking about since she was.... ohhhh about 4 months but she officially has gotten her first little toofer. Last week she had a runny nose, wouldn't let me out of arms reach and was soooo cranky. Needless to say, Thursday afternoon, she was sitting on my knee and gnawing on my knuckle when suddenly I said "ouch that hurt. OH MY GOODNESS ITS A TOOTH!" So that is the exciting news in this house hold!

Other then that we have been spending a lot of time walking and outdoors as Mommy is trying to loose the baby bulge (also known as the I love food bulge!). Not only is it great for us to be walking but it seems to stimulate Kaylee a lot which helps her sleep better. I say this because my goodness, this child will not sleep. She is pretty much routinely walking up at 10:oopm, 12:30pm, around 3:00am and then sleeping until almost 7:00am. So while it is great that she is sleeping until 7am, the long nights are not easy. The napping strike she is on as well is killing me. Makes getting things done a lot harder.

All the moaning and groaning being said, I absolutely love this stage of her life. She smiles, she giggles, she stops and looks to see if I am there for support, she plays, she is moving so quickly, she knows how to manipulate (ok this isn't a good thing but its kinda cute to watch), she makes funny faces, and most of all, when I hold her above my head and making silly noises into her tummy, she laughs with her whole heart. She gives me the laugh that is pure and beautiful and almost gives me tears it makes me so happy. She is truly an incredible little girl!

She is also a verrrrry stubborn little girl!!! She has a mind of her own that's for sure. So here is a picture of a rainbow from the other day. If it weren't for the horrific power lines in the way it might actually be a nice picture.

Last week we also had a visit from Max and Jenn. It is crazy to see Kaylee playing beside Max (who is exactly double her age) and how they interact, learn and develop. Knowing that Max is running around, saying words and understanding just about everything we say is something to both fear and look forward to. They played fairly well with each other until Kaylee was so exhausted that even company couldn't keep her awake.

***Max***

***The kiddies watching the dogs***

Aside from that, I am working on cleaning out my garden. With the colder weather approaching, things are starting to look pitiful and dreary. I did get an incredible harvest of tomato's. I gave a lot away and used some in sandwiches. I am going to make a spaghetti sauce this week.

Thats all in the news around here. Tonight as I sit here, I think, damn I really need to get onto that elliptical.... I have a sick hubby tonight, a baby that was so exhausted, her eyes were rimming red and 2 dogs that did not get a walk today... I did however spend a nice lazy day with my best girl Amanda. We did a little shopping and then lounged around on he couch with a movie!

Anywho, I believe I am babbling now. I will write soon with hopefully something exciting to tell you!

Have a great day!!!

Jaymie

About time~!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Everyone!!!! I know it has been a while but here I am again and full of stories! First of all, wow, when did my baby become an independent little girl? The other day we had plans to head out and get some errands done. While I was in the bathroom getting ready, Kaylee was in her room with a bucket of toys to play with.... Or so I thought... I came around the corner to find this....

That's right people, she's happily in my underwear drawer. My delicates.... And generally I would never give anyone a sneak peak at this area of my wardrobe, however how cute is this? Proud as a peacock to have been mischevious enough to pull it off!
Everyday I look at Kaylee and I think, I grew you in my belly... I thought the day would never come that I would get to see you, hold you and kiss you. Now here you are, standing, laughing, learning, eating and enjoying some of the very simple and incredible things in life.
It also amazes me how she has learned so quickly to manipulate us. The other night for example... She went down to bed, refusing to sleep, kicking her crib, yelling (not to be confused with crying) and slapping her hands off the crib. I have stopped answering to this behaviour and left her. Daddy however walked down the hall, picked her up and brought her out to the kitchen. At this time, she not only smiled at me, but she laughed- oh yes I am talking a full on belly laugh. I swear she was saying "ha ha, I win Mommy". Little bugger. I am in deep deep trouble when it comes to Kaylee and her Daddy. I should have known this from the simple fact that he has trouble telling the dogs no. I can already hear her "But Daddy" with big pouty eyes. Deep, deep trouble I am in...

***Watching out the door at the dogs***
***Sweet Lily***

So Kaylee is also learning the word no. I didn't know when you should start working on things like this, however I figure if she is old enough to understand, she is old enough for these words to be taught and implemented. She has caught on very quickly. "No" please don't eat the dog food, please don't eat the plant and it's soil, please don't pull the Kitty's tail, please don't smack the dogs. These are all things we have been working on and she has picked up on. I must say, the dogs are absolutely incredible with Kaylee. I know you always run the risk of having a dog reacting poorly to a new member of the family, but we have been very lucky. Kaylee climbs all over them, pulls on Toby's lips, tries eating their ears etc. They simply lay there and let her do whatever she pleases. It took Lily a little while to come around. When Kaylee was an infant it seemed Lily was almost scared of her. Something so small making so much noise. Toby on the other hand always thought that she was "his" baby"... Now however they are both just wonderful family dogs that she adores.

***Lily and Kaylee***

Also on today's post agenda....Last week we had a little problem which we had to see the doctor about. For over a week, Kaylee had a diaper rash, her very first diaper rash, and one that I could not get rid of. I chalked it up to the blueberries that she absolutely loved and figured once I stopped giving them to her, the rash would go away. When that didn't work, I went down to the Shopper's Drug mart and cleared the shelf with all the diaper creams I picked up. 1 week later, rash is still in high gear and her little "cookie" as we have termed it, was fire red. Off to Dr. Fragoso we went. She took a look at her little cookie and said "oh my goodness. Lets get this little one some cream". She sent us off with a prescription for a cream to get rid of it. Within 24 hours it was soooo much better. I almost felt guilty for not taking her sooner.

Last week we also had a wonderful afternoon with our good friends Sheena and baby Maddox. It seems so crazy to think at this time last year we were pregnant and waiting for our little ones to arrive. Now here we are having play dates and tea. Maddox is getting so big as well. His feet are huge! Little guy is growing up and oh so adorable!

***Sheena and Maddox***

***Playing***

So this past weekend was great. Friday night we had all our fantastic neighbours over for supper and drinks. It was this night I realized we desperately need a bigger table. Our little round 4 person table is not sufficient for seating 7 adults for supper. LOL. Needless to say we managed. I put "the bad boys" at the coffee table together and the rest of us sat at the dining room, tiny table. I cooked a roast beef, mashed potato's, candy carrots, gravy and garlic bread. Food was great, company was great and Kaylee loved the attention. Being passed from one persons arms to the next was a big hit!

The following morning I had agreed to get up as Sunday morning had been reserved as my sleep in morning weeks ago. While Kaylee and I were reading stories on the play mat, I heard a huge bang on the window! I looked up and a bird had flown square into the center on the window. It fell into the window box where it recovered for the next little while. Here is a snap shot of the poor little guy.

As mentioned above, Sunday had been my sleep in morning for quite some time. The reason for this.... Saturday night I was to attend a bachlorette party. Ohhh my! It has been quite some time since I have been out and therefore it was a definitely needed night out. Our neighbour and friend Lindsey is getting married in 2 weeks, so we hit the town. I spent the afternoon getting ready, kissed my little girl goodbye and hit the town with Kerry! Off we went to enjoy a night out!

We had a fantastic time and met a great new gal, Nicole, who I am sure will attend more events that we have! While I had a great night out, Sunday morning came far too soon and I wanted nothing more then to stay in bed and do nothing all day. I suddenly realized this is why it has been so long since I have hit the town! I lounged around, doing not a heck of a lot all day! We all need those days I suppose. Jordon was great in letting me relax and taking care of Kaylee.

***Kerry and I***

Other then that, not much is new, other then the small fact that- WE ARE FINALLY BOOKING OUR WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been a very long time coming. We have discussed it hundreds of times and never bitten the bullet. Yesterday however we met with a travel agent and told her exactly what we want. She is going to do some research and find us a great deal somewhere down south for us to get married. I am beyond excited as I feel like this is long over due. So, I am sure details are to follow- stay tuned :)

Have a great day everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Down and Out...

Hey Everyone! I know I have been a horrible blogger and I know I have also said this at the beginning of many blogs. I had a crappy week and opted to not write so as not to sound so negative. That being said, I am back in business with a lot of photos to share with everyone.

***Kaylee in a new favorite spot... The sink... When I am cooking or puttering around in the kitchen she likes to sit up here and watch!***
So over the last week and a half or more since my last post a lot has been going on... We have been working very hard on Kaylee's temper tantrums. I asked other Mom's and did some reading and the answer I received from most sources was very similar. I need to ignore the tantrum and wait for her to calm down before I should comfort and pay attention to her. Any parent out there knows that listening to a child scream for more then a minute, feels like eternity. That being said, I gave it my best and let her cry it out. It took 2 days for her to realize that I was not going to give in to her.

Last night we headed out to my Uncle Mark and Lexie's house for dinner, to visit with the family. Being my only family here in Nova Scotia, you would think I would see a lot of them. The problem is, they are soooo busy! All the kids play rep soccer and hockey, not to mention Mark and Lexie also play in their own leagues. Very busy. With the Hurricane we had, their games had been cancelled and so we received our dinner invite. We spent a few hours there which was fantastic! The girls are growing up so quickly! It was really nice to see them playing with Kaylee and interacting together.


***Hanna, Kaylee and Aunt Lexie***

***Rachel, Hanna, Paige and Kaylee playing***

***Cousin Bonding!***

Speaking of the hurricane, how did everyone else fair with it? I know that a lot of the province lost power and many trees were down. We however were very lucky. Friday evening after Kaylee had gone to bed, Jordon and I buckled down, putting all the lawn furniture away, strapping the BBQ to the deck and making sure everything was ready. Jordon was able to borrow a generator from work and therefore if we had lost power we knew we would be just fine. We woke up Saturday morning to find that it was quite windy but it wasn't as bad as expected. We later learned that the storm had slowed down and had not hit. We did get some high winds and lots of rain but our power never did anything more then flicker. We spent the morning watching the storm in the dining room, looking out the windows. It was kind of nice not to have a lot to do and just take the day as it came.

***Kaylee standing up on the chair***

***Kaylee watching the hurricane from the patio door***

***Looking out the front window in the mist of hurricane Earl***

***Kaylee lounging with Mummy, drinking some water***

***Crawling to Mummy!***

Also in the last couple weeks... As I believe I mentioned in my last post, we had a big party with many of our friends for my 25th birthday and our good friend Scott's 33rd birthday! A lot of people came out for great food, drinks, a lot of fun! I made 3 beer can chickens, baby bbq roasted taters, a macaroni salad, and brushetta! Not to mention the amazing cake Amanda made for Scott and I, the veggie trays Lindsey made and the cheese and cracker trays I had put out. Oh and the rum punch that didn't have a drop left! haha! Lindsey also had a birthday present for each Scott and I to enjoy on Saturday. She had a pinata for each of us!!! What a blast! We had so much fun with those! Thanks Lindsey!!! So while the party was a great success, I did find that by the end of it I was exhausted. Hosting a party is a lot of work... With the cleaning before anyone shows up, food prep, food cooking, cleaning up, making sure everyone is content- by the time midnight rolled around I was barely holding my head up! The party died off around 2 and I crawled in bed soon after. Kaylee woke in great spirits at 6am.... That's right.... 6am... Tired Mummy here we come.

***Birthday cakes for Scott and I***

***Sitting around the fire, enjoying good company!***

***Scott beating his pinata***

***Jenn and Max out for a visit***

***Me getting ready to beat the pinata***

***Jordon pulling out the bat before the fun begins!***

***Jonny with Max and Kaylee***

***Adele and Kaylee hanging out***

***Adorable Max***

***Lindsey and Amanda, enjoying the day!***
Other then that everyone.... I have been kind of quiet. With the heat the heat that we had last week, Kaylee and I spent a lot of time hibernating in the cool basement. We love to read books now that her attention span is growing and we love to use Mommy as a jungle jim. She crawled all over me, laughing in full amusement. So while she was often cranky from the heat (and dare I say a tooth finally, maybe coming through) she did have some great moments. Kaylee and I fought over taking the diaper off/leaving the diaper on. She thinks a fun game is taking it off and playing with it. Ha ha!

Maybe my crankiness also had to do with the heat. While I normally love the heat, being stuck in the house, did happen to make me a little stir crazy.

So, that all being said, I am going to be in better spirits. I am going to starting to get out more and enjoying the wonderful season of fall before winter creeps up on us!

Thanks for reading, leave me a comment and have a wonderful day!!!

Jaymie

Temper, temper..........

Ok everyone..... Heres what I am talking about.....

Champagne Birthday!

Hey Everyone!!!!!!!! Well, what a busy week! First of all, I feel like I have been painting forever! That being said, it looks so good and it is rewarding to see it looking the way I like. I am going to post some pictures of the finished product.

Other then the painting, I also celebrated my champagne birthday. On Wednesday the 25th, I had my 25th birthday. The big celebration is this Saturday when we are throwing a big "collaboration party" for our neighbour Scott and I however I did have a great day on my actual birthday. I spent it with the people I love! Painted all day and enjoyed Amanda's company and then got ready for my evening out with hubby. After we put Kaylee to bed, Amanda stayed at the house with her so we could go out. We had a lovely dinner and enjoyed the time out of the house.

***Out with the playpen and in with the new play space***

***I decided against the big chest here at the end of the day...***

Also in the news! Kaylee's temper is getting increasingly worse. I set up a little play area in the living room for her and she loves to play there.... as long as I am sitting right beside her.... She been be happy as a clam and as soon as I get up to try and tackle a chore or even to go pee, she starts to scream.... I mean hollar as loud as you can imagine. Real tears and everything. She screams while crawling until she locates me and then she sits on my feet until she calms down or I pick her up. Unreal. I have read that I have to ignore her when she throws these tantrums, however she will continue screaming for 30 minutes. I am going to have to try and find a resolution to this, as it is enough to make anyone crazy listening to the howl.

Kaylee has also stopped going to bed at her regular hour of 7pm. While she will stay in her crib and I do not give in, she is not going to sleep til 9:30. And despite what people think... This does not mean she sleeps in later. She is up at the same 6-6:30am.... Last night Jordon and I sat down to play a game of poker and have a glass of wine and I must have thought her antics were amusing. I captured this video.

Part 1...

Part 2...

So while I am laughing at the time, it really isn't smart of me to laugh at her... Note to self, do not consume 2 glasses of wine and then giggle at Kaylee while she acts adorable.... when she should be sleeping. Haha!

Other then that, I am just working on getting my house back in order after the painting. It seems everything was everywhere and I didn't get around to a lot of the things I normally do when I was trying to paint. So, off to it I go. I want to get things organized for tomorrows big bash! I will post soon! Let me know what you think about my paint choices andKaylee's little tantrum issues...

Have a great day!

***Dining Room before the paint...***

***After***

Jaymie

Change of scenery!

Well another week has passed and as the season is beginning to change, I too felt that I needed some change. Sitting on my couch last week, I looked up at my curtains which I have dreaded since the day I have moved in... I had this sudden, overwhelming desire to rip them down! I am going to show you the "before" photo of the living room. When looking for one, I could only find one of when we first moved in. I must have subconsciously not taken pictures with these curtains in them because I did despise them so much. Here is what I mean people....


So while, the room at this point is quite bare.... You can clearly see why I did not like these curtains. The colour I also found was just... Too old, too cold and not very inviting.


So I ripped the curtains down and enjoyed it more then you can imagine and then felt motivated to paint! Time to revamp and stop having a living room that looks like an 80 year old lives in in. At this point it was the evening so I decided the following day- Friday, would be the day to get started! Friday morning I woke up with a migraine.... For anyone who has had a migraine they know how hard it is to function, let alone take care of a baby. I get a migraine about twice a year for whatever reason and as much as I tried getting through the day, it was just not working. At 11, I had to call Jordon and tell him I just couldn't do it anymore and he had to come home and take care of Kaylee because I needed to bury my head in a pillow. My migraine was so bad, it was making my physically ill to my stomach. Lovely day- me wrenching my guts out in the toilet as Kaylee sits playing with my feet and chatting away. Well he saved the day, coming home early from work, with Aleve migraine relief and gravol. I stayed on the couch for the next couple hours trying to mend myself.
When I did wake up I felt like a new woman. At this point it was the middle of the afternoon and after a shower and a bite to eat, I was feeling motivated. I went down to the Canadian Tire, bought all the paint and supplies before coming home to get started. While it was a late start to the day, I really wanted to get going. For the next 2 days I painted and stared at the walls thinking, "what on earth have I done... It looks like a clown house". However after finishing, placing everything back in order and putting some new framed photos on the wall, I think it looks great! Bright, however great! I did however need to stop painting as I think doing the entry way and dining room the same colour will just be too much. I am going to tone it down for those spaces. So what do you think of the finished product?

I still need to find some sort of window treatment but I really do not want to cover up half the window like the last curtains did. I love the amount of light that now pours through the window.

Other then that, it was a fairly quiet weekend. A few drinks with friends and lots of time outdoors with Kaylee. Yesterday I had a wedding shower to go to across the street at the neighbours and when Kaylee made her brief appearance at the end, she was quite the hit! I am so impressed with how well she is doing with people just passing her around. She doesn't play shy at all.

In other news, Kaylee is now 7 months! She had her 7 month milestone on Saturday! Where does time go? Kaylee is on the move everywhere, pulling herself up on everything she can manage and eating everything in site. It is so great to see her inquisitive about everything she sees, curious to learn more and hungry for anything you put in front of her. Watching the development is incredible.

This week is a busy one. This evening I am going to get my hair done. A few highlights and a trim. Of course I have to look good for my birthday this week! Wednesday is the big day- my champagne birthday! 25 this year and I intend on having a great time. It was very quite last year as I was in the process of growing a little girl, so this year should be fun with the party we have planned. Saturday we are having everyone over for drinks, food and a fire pit. I think there will be some guitars playing and some great laughs.

Anyway, I will be sure to write more about my busy week! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Thanks for reading my blog and- LEAVE ME COMMENTS :)