Laura Thoughts

What the Girls Wore #94

2013-05-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

Lets take a moment to enjoy some super cute ladies...

We went down to visit my parents and Eden crawled up on this box and hung out there, pleasantly stuck for quite some time.

A friend brought over some puppies... they were a huge hit! Catie couldn't stop talking about the black puppies.

Licking her, she loved every minute of them.

Love when these ladies play together, they both love when Daddy helps them play horsey.

We ate chocolate fondue for Family Home Evening one night and it was a really big hit! Just after I took this photo Catie asked how her lipstick looked :)

She's growing up so quick. Gotta love that fluffy hair hey?

This girl loves to stand, will pull herself up on anything she can find.

Catie went to a princess birthday party, she was all dressed up and ready to go and I couldn't believe how grown up she was.

My two girls

Eden has this silly habit. She crawls around on the floor and finds something to put in her mouth, in this case a piece of ribbon. She puts it in her mouth and then continues crawling while it hangs out, I think it's adorable so I tend to leave things around for her to find, like this piece of ribbon.

We went to the grocery store and were having such a pleasant time, I was struck by how things have really turned around and we've entered this really good phase.

I put Eden in the cart like usual, using the seatbelt, you can see the evidence of that in the above photo, so I have no idea how she managed to end up in this position.

She was very proud of herself.

And this lady looked so perfect that a picture was mandatory.

I've been pretty vocal about the fact that I don't love this baby phase. People say all the time that their babies are growing up too quickly but for me it's the opposite, I wish she'd grow up a little quicker. I've had a few people ask me when it changes for me, when I do enjoy things and I've decided it's now. Eden is almost 9 months and I think she's delightful. She can look at me from across the room and instead of whine she crawls so determinedly over. She's sleeping well, she eats real food and she occupies herself some of her time.

8 Month Eden Update

2013-04-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

This last month marked an especially cranky period for Eden. She spent all of her wake time trying to climb on me which doesn't satisfy her at all once she's there. I figured she was just a cranky lady until Sunday when I discovered that she has three new teeth on the top. I would be cranky too if I was working on three teeth. That gives her four on the bottom and three on the top.

In her 8 months of life she's mastered crawling, pulls herself up to standing on anything she can and can almost always get herself down once she's up there. She loves food, especially freeze dried yogurt drops. She can't stand apple sauce and really loves macaroni and cheese.

It's an amazing thing to me to see her sitting, which is a position she can get into on her own. Catie didn't ever have an interest in sitting, why sit when you can move around, I love watching Eden sit and play.

Lastly let's marvel again at just how different my two girls look. On the left is Eden, Catie at 8 months on the right. Both cute but in such different ways.

What the Girls Wore #93

2013-04-16T09:02:00.005-07:00

I had no idea it's been so long since I posted photos of the girls. Since I Instagram photos it felt like it was just the other day that I did one of these posts, to Grandma and Grandpops I apologize. Hopefully this massive amount of photos will make up for it.

I love when both girls end up in the same picture. These first photos are pretty old, we don't use a sleep sack for Eden anymore.

We went to Ikea and at this point Eden was just barely starting to sit up. I strapped her in tight and she rode in the cart all by herself for the first time.

But then Catie was tired and wanted to sit in the cart, only there wasn't any room. I hadn't been planning on Eden sitting so her huge bucket car seat was in the bottom of the cart... I improvised and Catie climbed into the car seat :) She thought it was funny.

As Eden gets older Catie loves her more and more.

We played What Time is it Mr. Wolf one night and Eden was not a fan! Everytime dinner time came around the wolf growled and ran for Catie who screamed and screamed which set Edon off sobbing. I would get her calmed down just in time for dinner time and the whole cycle started over again. We eventually went to the other room but it wasn't far enough. It's now a game we play after Eden goes to bed :)

Again, older picture, we no longer need the bumbo anymore. I went to buy her a new t-shirt and they had options of strawberries or cherries but the lemon seemed to be a much better representation of her character :)

Eating french fries for the first time. She loved them.

We've been working on potty training with Catie (we don't need to go into details about that) and she gets sticker rewards for using the potty. Once she fills up the chart she gets a bigger prize and this My Little Pony train was her first prize.

She was trying her best to crawl here but just wasn't quite ready. It's a skill she's since mastered.

Sitting up, see the pillow behind for protection from falling? This protection is no longer necessary. She sits like a champ and can even get herself into a sitting position all by herself.

If you're every having a bad day all you need to do is look at the next two photos for a pick me up. She had just started to be able to pick up cheerios all by herself and still needed some work on her aim.

My favourite photo every.

We finished a round of gymnastics and started a new one. She LOVES gymnastics, it's her favourite activity of the week.

This is the long trampoline. They jump down in different position and walk back on the red mats.

Such an adorable girls.

We had a nice day so we expectantly headed to the park. I put Eden in the swing for the very first time and she could have cared less. She was very unimpressed and didn't last very long.

We dyed Easter Eggs, had an Easter Egg hunt and ate lots of Chocolate to celebrate Easter.

Chocolate fondue for family home evening, it was a big hit.

We had an especially poopy day and just before this photo a clothing change was necessary. Shortly after this photo I added a shirt, but removed the now soiled pants... it was a mostly naked day.

She spends her entire day pulling herself up on anything she possibly can. She can mostly get down but there are a few exceptions where she gets stuck and cries for help.

Catie went to her cousins princess birthday party and looked so grown up that I needed to take some photos.

This day also marked her very first ponytail.

These girls just love each other. They are so happy to see each other and they laugh better for each other than they ever do for me.

My Little Pony Q-Tip Painting

2013-03-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

You've probably all seen this pin, templates for Q-Tip painting. I had pinned it ages ago but hadn't ever looked at it. Today was the perfect day for an activity for Catie so I headed over to Therapy Fun Zone.

I loved her templates but was sadly disappointed when there were only two.

It didn't take long to realize that there really isn't anything tricky to these. While slightly monotonous it was also addicting and I just couldn't seem to stop pasting circles. I kept saying I'll just finish this one and yet somehow I was starting another one. I thought I'd share these in case someone else is as addicted to My Little Pony as we are.

So if you have someone little that likes My Little Pony and painting, download away.

A Saddle for Freckles

2013-03-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

For Gwen's birthday we picked up this adorable white, stuffed horse for her (she's addicted to horses) and it turned out to be a huge hit. She loves this horse that was lovingly named Sparkles. We thought it was so cute we picked up a brown version for Catie and named it Freckles. The horses came with these removable saddles and bridles and I figured Freckles and Sparkles would like a change of clothes.

Here's what the ponies came with

This is Freckles new and improved saddle.

And here's Sparkles

Definitely an improvement that was completely unnecessary but fun for me.

Change is Good

2013-03-14T07:47:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we get stuck in these ruts and we do things because its what we know, not because it's the best. I may have over reacted a bit yesterday about Google Reader going away. I figured that as soon as I heard the news it was time to find a new reader so I read a couple reviews and pretty quickly downloaded Feedly. It took about three minutes for me to proclaim, "So long Google Reader". I'm totally hooked on Feedly.

To start, it uses your existing Google account so I didn't have to re-add my feeds (When Reader goes away Feedly is prepared to smoothly transition my account). It has an app for your mobile devices, both Apple and Android, (there is also a desktop version) which is the only place I ever read my feeds these days. My favourite part though is how great it looks. It makes every post look so extra professional, check out these screen shots I took.

To mark items as read you just give a little swipe.

Any your categories show up on the left when you want them.

For more details watch their video, it will make the Google Reader blow far more bearable.

So download the app, get rid of Google, this seems to be better and the change is inevitable, better sooner rather than later.

Chocolate Pants, Vinyl Detail

2013-03-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

Catie's Pants out of Pants turned out so well that I decided I wanted to make another pair.

Once upon a time I decided to make a maxi skirt for myself. I headed to to fabric store with my Mom and grabbed some brown jersey, my Mom asked if I was sure I wanted to use that fabric, I assured her it was perfect. Surprise surprise, she was right and it wasn't awesome fabric, plus the skirt was a total fail. Meaning I have had brown jersey hanging around so I cut up my awesome skirt to make these pants.

These pants are so close to perfect I'm incredible pleased with myself (pardon my self flattery). Everything went so well and they fit great and she loves them, win, win win.

Catie had some old brown pants that no longer fit and they had this little pink hard on the hip and she loved that silly heart so I figured she'd like some white, heat flocked added. I picked the scripty heart and I think it was a good choice.

The heart had a little heart cutout so I added that to the back, I'm pretty sure that's her favourite part.

So the pants fit well, they're super comfy and I'm resisting the urge to make her three more pairs of brown stretchy pants... a girl only needs so many brown pants.

Google Reader

2013-03-13T21:49:00.001-07:00

Have you heard the news yet? Are you as devastated as I am? Has your world been rocked? Google is getting rid of Google Reader, what are we going to do now?

"We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months."

Perhaps the uproar it's created will change their minds... we can only hope.

My Little Pony T-Shirt

2013-03-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea today and instantly loved it. I like that it's a character t-shirt but subtle and not knock you over the head. I knew I'd make one as soon as I saw it only at this house we have no interest in Star Wars. We do happen to have a thing for My Little Pony.

I went online and found some photos of Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy and then using the Silhouette software I traced around the images. This gave me the nice silhouettes. I was going to cut out their cutie marks too but they were so tiny that I decided to pass. I cut the image onto the pink, heat flocked vinyl and ironed it onto a plain white $4 shirt I recently bought at Walmart.

I just ordered this vinyl and when it came I didn't think I liked the colour, I was a little disappointed but once I ironed it and peeled off the plastic it turned out I love it. Especially since the shirt already had that hot pink trim on the neck.

I think my favourite part are the delicate, adorable eyelashes that turned out so well.

Now Catie just needs to wake from her nap so I can show it to her, she's going to be thrilled.

Eyelash Extentions

2013-02-11T12:14:00.001-08:00

My Mom recently took an eyelash extension course and she needed a model. The class was here in Calgary so a model I became. It may have given me a complex when the other participants examined my lashes and told me mine were short... I'd always thought I had sort of long lashes.

Anyway, I thought if give you a before and after of my lashes.
Keep in mind she didn't do a full set and the lashes she used were the same length as my own so these results aren't very dramatic, they really only thickened my lashes. They still look nice though so I thought the photo was worth posting.

Bathing Babies

2013-02-01T10:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm going to tell you something here that most of you mothers probably won't understand... I hate bathing babies.

They're slippery and their baths are so short it's hardly worth it. Even when they likes baths, like Eden does, the payoff just isn't worth the effort. Plus both of my tubs are really deep (which is awesome for everything but babies) which means I'm really hunched over and uncomfortable. Lastly, I usually don't think about a bath until Eden's already dressed, I'm not going to undress her, bathe her and then dress her again, she's wiggly. All of this means that Eden is seriously under bathed. Come on though, how dirty do they really get? I clean her lady parts well, that's the most important part anyway.

So today comes and I really can't remember the last time I gave her a bath, like really can't remember and I hadn't dressed her yet so it was time. Her hair has grown significantly since the last bath and her post bath hair was definitely chuckle worthy.

Eden Update - 5 Months

2013-01-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since I talked about Eden at all so this post is long overdue.

Often when I'd talk to people about how difficult Eden was they would share their own stories of difficult children and all of them assured me that things would get better. Each baby seemed to have it's own time frame with no magic age that cured them all.

Well for Eden apparently the age was 5 months. It's nothing short of a miracle but this lady, all of a sudden turned into a very normal baby.

Let me remind you how things were before. She woke up at 7 ish and I would spend about an hour trying to find some way to keep her content. A couple minutes in the bumbo, a couple minutes in the exersaucer, a few on the floor, some time on my lap and then repeat the cycle. Once she started to be cranky (her nap cue) it would be the dreaded nap time. I would rock her, swing her, sing to her and usually lay down with her in my bed until she finally fell asleep. She'd then sleep for about an hour and we'd start again.

The worst part of the day came around 7:00 pm. I think by then she was exhausted but refused to sleep so the rest of the evening would consist of Brad and I taking turns (mostly Brad) standing and rocking her until she finally drifted off to sleep around 11:00. We'd put her down in her crib (in our room) and she'd sleep for maybe three or four hours until she woke up again, sort of hungry but mostly just annoyed and I'd be exhausted so I'd bring her to sleep in our bed where she'd roll up squashed to me and we'd sleep until 7 ish the next morning (if I was lucky). Those were our days. I was tired, cranky and extremely miserable.

Just after Christmas I think I'd complained to my Mom enough times that she took pity on me and offered to take Eden for a visit. She had her for 5 days and it was heaven for us. Brad had time off work so we did all sorts of fun things with Catie. We got a babysitter a couple times and went out in the evening. We really took advantage of our time and tried to recharge for when our baby came home.

Every day I'd talk to my Mom who kept telling me Eden was doing great and she was fine which only bugged me, clearly I was the problem then right?

Well Eden comes home and we're ready for this different baby Mom kept telling us about only she wasn't really all that different. Her evenings were a little better but not much. We had a couple bad days in a row and felt even worse about our situation than before.

Finally we decided we were going to cry it out. We set up a pack n play in the office so she was out of our bedroom and we were determined to not go through this anymore. Well it turns out we didn't really need to let her cry it out... Mom was right, she is a different baby.

Let me tell you now about our day...
She wakes up around 8 or sometimes 8:30. She's happy and smiley and giggles and is generally a pleasure to be around for about an hour and a half and then it's nap time. I put her in her sleep sack, sing her a short song, give her Geoffrey (her bunny) and walk away. 9 times out of 10 I don't hear a peep out of her, she goes to sleep for usually 2 hours, sometimes less and sometimes a little more but usually about 2 hours. She wakes up and we repeat the now pleasant cycle until about 7 or 7:30 when it's bed time. I put her in pajamas, repeat the rest of the bedtime routine and she goes to sleep until about 8 the next morning. If she ever has a hard time going to sleep during the day it's usually this time but an extra bottle or a little cuddle will often do the trick. Occasionally she wakes up at 10:00 pm or the other night she woke up at midnight but she only woke because she was hungry, ate and went right back to sleep.

It's a miracle.

I swear I had the worst baby and now I think she's better than average. We did nothing to change things, she changed on her own and we couldn't be more grateful. The fog of our previous life is lifting and we have started doing all sorts of things again like folding laundry, cooking real dinners and I even sewed the other day. Brad pulled out his guitar on Monday, just because he had some time. We're enjoying every smile and restful night and give thanks every day for our different daughter.

It's been a while since I compared Eden and Catie to remind you all of how different they look so here they both are at 5 months old. Eden on top (see those adorable two teeth?), Catie underneath. I didn't have the same clothes so the same pose will have to do.

I thought I'd mention some of Eden's milestones too. She rolls from back to front all the time and occasionally front to back, she's reached that phase where she doesn't really stay where I put her. She really reaches out for toys and is interested in the them. She can sit on her own for a few seconds at a time and like I mentioned in the picture above has two teeth already. She giggles easily, mostly at Catie. Her hands are constantly in her mouth, especially when she's happy.

I remember at this point Catie was really moving around. She scootched herself backwards easily and was very mobile, Eden not so much. She likes to be held and would rather sit with me then try to get anywhere else. She's also started to be a little nervous around people she doesn't know well and would really rather be held by me or her daddy.

So there's an update on our different life. Hopefully that means more frequent blog posts.

What the Girls Wore #92

2013-01-23T15:02:00.003-08:00

Cute? Why yes I am very cute, thank you.

Catie went to her first alone, friend birthday party this week. One where I dropped her off and then came back later. It was a pirate party and she got all this awesome pirate stuff in her treat bag. I should have had her hold the cool sword. Just look at that expression and it's not to hard to hear the Arrrg that she's saying. Did you notice the earring? It's my favourite part.

Gwen came to visit and the ladies had a bath. I only had to moderate two fights, one where Gwen was touching Catie (the horror) and the second when Catie spat water in Gwen's eye. Silly girls.

Sorry for the lack of photos, the fabulous iPad I got for Christmas has all sorts of perks but the one disadvantage is that I no longer carry my phone around as often so it's not as available for random photo ops. I'll try harder.

Christmas Treats for Gifting

2013-01-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was busy with Eden so I had only planned on the basics, meaning I had no intention of giving away and treats. But then we had a good night and I felt inspired, I came up with these.

Ever since I got my Silhouette I've been wanting to make a box, I think they're adorable and this was the perfect reason. I used this box from the silhouette store and it was just what I wanted. It cuts the shape for you and scored the lines were you need to fold so assembly was super quick.

Once they were made I filled them with store bought truffles (at least I had something to fill them with). I tied them with a ribbon, using different paper and different ribbon for each box.

Then I used my sketch pens and my Silhouette to make some little tags, they say Merry Christmas from the Wiebe's. Here's the sad part of the story though... I think I made 6 boxes and we ended up giving away 2. Oops. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.

My favourite part of the box was the detail on the flap.

They turned out so great that I think I'll try to do something similar next year.

Pants out of Pants

2013-01-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

It's kind of a miracle, things in our life are getting so much better that I actually sewed.

I had these brown lounge-y pants that I loved but they'd gotten to be pretty holey. They were the perfect comfy pants for around the house. Brad gave me some new pants for Christmas so it really was time to retire them. I couldn't bear the thought of just throwing them away though because I loved them so much, so I cut them up and made some pants for Catie.

I used the original hem for the bottom and I used the original waistband only I cut off a couple inches. They turned out even better than I had hoped. I used some of her pants to draft a pattern, adding a couple inches to the bottom.

She was so pleased that I was making her pants and told Daddy as soon as he got home from work.

Sunbeams

2013-01-17T08:04:00.002-08:00

January was a big step for Catie, she became a Sunbeam. I've been doing my best to prepare her so she was excited on Sunday. She was a little weepy in the beginning but quickly got over her nerves and settled. I hear she had a great time.

The girls wore their Christmas dresses that their Aunt Renee made and they looked so cute.

She's now been a second time, I dropped her off and she was just fine. I think she's settled right in.

What the Girls Wore #91

2013-01-16T12:35:00.001-08:00

She's finally figured out that the bouncy chair is an okay place to sit.

She told me about the bag she put on her head but I didn't know what she was talking about until she came upstairs like this. She was very proud of herself.

I painted her toenails for the first time, I forgot that at this age it's really a two person job and could certainly look better.

Loving these two together. Catie loves to make Eden laugh.

We went to Burger King the other day so Catie could play on the slide, Eden and I sat and watched.

Skating

2013-01-09T14:33:00.001-08:00

Brad and I have always loved to skate so we figured it was something we wanted to pass on to Catie. We signed her up for skating lessons (which we sadly have to cancel) and we bought her some skates. We took Gwen with us and headed to an outdoor rink.

We knew she wouldn't be great but we didn't expect her to not even be able to stand. Brad and I quickly Tom off our own skates to help the girls. They I proved while they were there and they both had a good time. More importantly they both wanted to go again.

So here are some photos to prove we were there and had fun.

We had one real pair of skates and one pair with double blades that strap to your boots. The boot ones were definitely a big hit.

Gwen wearing the double blades. You could definitely tell she was a year older and could physically manage a bit better.

Wearing her real skates.

Someone else on the ice was kind enough to let us borrow her ... Orange thingy...

We're excited to go again, hopefully we can install a love of skating in her.

Christmas

2013-01-09T14:32:00.001-08:00

Obviously this is late but I love Christmas morning photos.

She wore her Christmas Eve Panamas and was so excited about every present.

Christmas morning mess.

We really thought she would enjoy this hat a lot more than she did. She likes to pretend to be a cowboy so when my Mom bought it she was sure it would be a winner. We had to talk her into wearing it for this photo and I don't think she's looked at it twice.

This was o e of two gifts that Eden got, thanks Grandma!

One of her favourite gifts was this shovel that's just her size. Hr and Daddy tested it out that afternoon and she loves it.

Later in the day Catie's cousins came over, here they are playing Uno Moo.

And everyone reading and watching a movie.

It really was a lovely day.

Christmas Eve

2012-12-24T21:54:00.002-08:00

I've decided that Christmas Eve-night is my favourite. I like putting out cookies and milk for Santa and then sending Catie to bed all excited for the morning but the rest of the night is really the best. I love putting together presents for her, setting them out just right so she'll see them in the morning (that darn Santa gets the credit for the best presents). I try really hard to buy fun stocking stuffers so I love the moment when I get to remember what I bought and get them all in that sock. There's last minute straightening and trying to cram in as much Christmas music and movies as you can because you know tomorrow it's all over. The anticipation builds for so long that tonight, after every one else is asleep, this peace before the excitement is my favourite time and this year I'm savouring the moment..

Eden's Stocking

2012-12-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

I crafted! It's amazing!

Last year I made our family new stockings, you can read about them here, and see the awful old ones. It was kind of a shame, I knew I was pregnant when I made them but no one else did (not even Brad) so I couldn't make an extra one without giving anything away, which meant this year I needed to make a stocking for Eden. I had been smart though and I at least cut the stocking shape out last year so I had somewhere to start from.

I decided to make her a reindeer and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

I think Catie's and Eden's stocking's look particularly cute together.

And the families.. still kicking myself for writing Brad and Laura instead of Mom and Dad but it will survive another year, perhaps I'll change it next year.

(My nativity looks amazing on the mantel hey?)

What the Girls Wore #90

2012-12-19T09:35:00.001-08:00

Are you ready for the most photos I've ever posted at once? This is to make up for the last couple of weeks with no posts at all. It's long.

She's growing up so fast and is turning into such a lovely little girl. If only we could get a handle on potty training.

She loves to sit in the bumbo.

That lip hey? It kills me.

Finally... I've been waiting for years for her to be interested in colouring and this month we finally got there. She loves her markers though her love of colouring got distracted when she figured out she could stack the markers.

Such an awesome milestone... She weighs enough to move to a booster seat and I love it. She has tons more freedom in the car and it's way easier to get her in and out.

Yet another hospital photo.. I'm sure you all love them by now. She's fine though, no infection, just a rough hospital visit.

We went out for breakfast as a family and had such a lovely time. Both girls were very well behaved.

We started using the exersaucer and she loves it, spends quite a bit of time there. She's even started jumping and playing with the toys.

She's getting so good at grabbing and bringing to her mouth. I love all this growing up, it frankly can't happen fast enough for me.

Dressed for the day.

My two girls.

We went to Magrath for their Hometown Christmas and one of the activities was fishing for toys. Catie pulled up her snowman hand puppet, took one disdainful look and declared, "I don't like it." There was no convincing her otherwise and the organizers graciously gave her something else.

We ate hotdogs, scones, apple cider, visited the chocolate fountain, went for a horse drawn sleigh ride and saw Santa. A fun night.

Grandma bought the girls Christmas dresses. Their both sparkly and leave glitter everywhere. This photo doesn't show the dresses very well so I'll try harder this Sunday when they wear them again.

Sleeping Eden in church, love that.

Happy in the exersaucer

Arms like an airplane... gymnastics has taught her all sorts of great things.

I usually take these photos after a really difficult day when a sleeping Eden is the best sight I've ever seen.

Despite her crankiness she really does smile a lot.

Still at the hospital.

This month we introduced Geoffrey and it's been amazing. She loves to hold onto something when she falls asleep, in the past it's been my fingers or the ribbon to her soother with ends in her pulling it out. Geoffrey's ears and arms and perfect for her to grab and she usually falls asleep with them clutched in her hands. We love Geoffrey.

Hanging out.

I bought bubble bath for Catie's stocking and then couldn't wait to give it to her so I broke it out early. She loves it. Baths have become a whole new activity.

For three days in a row (until she peed on her dress, potty training is awesome) she was a princess in her sparkly dress and purple cape.

This is her new favourite place to play. She climbs in and closes the door.

Playing with Eden. She learned how to roll recently. If you put her on her back she almost instantly rolls to her tummy and then gets upset that she's there. So you flip her over and she repeats the cycle.

Finding her toes. I love when babies play with their toes.

My nap buddy

We recently discovered that our nearest Boston Pizza has kids night on Tuesday's and they hire a magician who also makes balloon animals (and hats). This Tuesday was a Christmas party with Santa and reindeer noses, colouring sheets, gingerbread houses and a Santa parade. We'll probably become frequent Tuesday visitors.

So there's our month at a glance... hopefully I"ll become a little more consistent.

Our Latest Hospital Visit

2012-12-11T12:51:00.000-08:00

All right, it's time for an Eden update.

Since the last time I wrote here she's been hospitalized again and been on antibiotics twice more. I've been getting pretty smart about this thing so when she started to seem off I collected a new urine sample and took it to the lab. But the urine culture takes 48 hours and of course for this test the culture was ready on a Saturday at 6:00 so there was no way to find out the results. At 10:00 that night she started to get really fussy, I knew they'd be able to look up the sample at the hospital so off I headed.

While we waited for the doctor the nurse took a new sample. The doctor came, looked up her sample and it was clear but they'd tested the new sample and it wasn't clear. So we started the admitting process all over again. The'd give IV antibiotics until the culture is back and they can send us home with oral medicine. They took us up to pediatrics where they took a urine sample by catheter because it's a lot more reliable and inserted an IV.

Now here's where I kick myself. You think that nurses know exactly what they're doing so you shouldn't question but I"m getting really comfortable with collecting a urine sample and I was really uneasy with the way the nurse went about it. She didn't put on gloves, she didn't clean Eden before she put the bag on and to top it off she didn't know which way the bag went on. I had to tell her.

With the sample collected from the catheter they were running a urine culture but they hadn't planned on doing another analysis so I requested one. It was now 3 am and finally time to let Eden get some sleep, so I calmed her and got her down and then I raced home to shower and pack a bag for the next two days.

I got back at 5 am where they now had the analysis back and it's clear, no sign of an infection. So because the nurse took a poor sample Eden now has an unnecessary IV and we can't go home until the doctor comes in to see us later in the day. Poor Eden had such a rough night, between 10:00 pm and 3:00 am she slept for about 20 minute. A nurse would just touch her and she'd start to sob. So my poor lady cried all night for no reason. We waited at the darn hospital until 5:00 pm until we were finally released. 12 hours later.

Definitely not my favourite hospital visit. All so very preventable. But on the bright side, at least she doesn't have another infection and they got the sample back before they gave her any unnecessary antibiotics which are so hard on her system. So we're back home, she's fussy like usual but infection free.

What the Girls Wore #89

2012-11-21T10:29:00.001-08:00

So I know I already shared Halloween pictures but I didn't show a full shot of Eden and she looked adorable so here's our Eden kitty.

Taking a nap, I loved her little tail sticking out of her blanket.

Catie loves the Christmas tree and she spends most of the day playing around it. She's pretty good at only touching the decorations with one finger.

My two ladies.

Catie is such a great big sister, she gives her sister big hugs and reads her stories and loves to see her. I couldn't ask for better behavior.

All dressed and ready for church

She was eating the candy off of Eden's pajamas... "Uhhm, Uhhm"

Cousin Gwen came over and the girls decorated and ate cookies

Hanging out in hyr favourite place, the bumbo.

Cousin Emma, she's a month older.

Sisters

Love that face

Catie came upstairs one morning and this is what she was wearing.. her pajamas, a sweater dress on top of that, a twister t-shirt and a sweater around her waist. I loved it and other than the sweater she wore this all day.

Daddy and Eden. These two have a special bond. She looks just like him and she settles for him much better than she does for me.

Instagram

2012-11-13T15:38:00.001-08:00

Hey here's something I've been meaning to mention for, oh a year and a half.

I'm on Instagram and I've been using it sort of obsessively. You can find me under laurawiebe.