The Big Room Switcheroo

Eep!

Today when Jamie and I were discussing our plans and the fact that my parents were coming over in the afternoon/evening to hang out and help with the boys, Jamie said we should make the room switch today. (The room switch being putting both boys in the same room together. And not just any room - OUR room. And us moving into Noah's old room. The Big Room Switcheroo.)

I hate when he does that.

Planting an idea in my brain and then I can't get it out until I do something with it.

Anyway, so we did it!

It involved:

- disassembling Jude's sketchorama crib and putting it in Noah's room.

- disassembling our bed and putting it in the office (where Jude's crib was)

- putting all the junk in our room in the office

- taking apart Noah's crib

- removing all drawers, books and shelves from all the dressers, bookshelves and walls (okay, so we didn't take down the shelves - yet)

- reassembling both cribs in our bedroom (the new BOYS room)

- reassembling our bed and dressers in Noah's old bedroom (our NEW bedroom)

- Jude skipping a nap because there was no place for him to sleep except the bathroom in the pack n' play and he rejected it (because yes, we definitely tried) and then being redonculously cranky

We still have to clear out all the junk (purge, purge, PURGE!) from the office and switch all the clothes in the closests which I am DREADING. We'll likely have to rearrange the closet system in our new room as it's more suited for smaller baby clothes (so probably taking out the middle rack).

We also still have to take down and hang up pictures as well as patch up all the nail holes and marks in both rooms and paint those areas (debating painting our room a different colour, but we'll see) and fix the window treatments in both rooms.

As far as how it's going...

Well, Jude went down just before 7pm. Without a peep. As usual (I love that kid!).

For Noah we did the bedtime routine in our room (he was WIRED from his trip to the park with Grandma and Daddy) and then quietly sang a song and prayed in the room with Jude and he went down without a peep around 7:50pm.

Just as my parents were leaving around 9:30ish I heard Jude start to stir and cry a bit. But I left him. He continued to softly cry and fuss but it's now 9:55 and it's quiet again. From both boys!

So we'll see. I anticipate that there will be rough nights - be it tonight or next week or in 2 months or whenever one is sick or tantrum-y or whatnot, but for now...I'm excited about it all. We'll see how I feel in the morning if one of them wakes the other at an ungodly hour.

language is funny

Noah's either Irish or Jamaican.

Lately, when he's talking about something that belongs to him, it's

"Where's me pillow?"
Or

"I want me Thomas cup."

It's hilarious and Jamie and I can't help but smile and laugh whenever we hear him say it.

Also, the other day, I was baking a cake and when I pulled it out of the oven Noah exclaimed loudly, "It's a WHERE, Mama! It's a WHERE!"

The pan was a square.

I laughed and said to him, "WHy I am saying WHat WHat WHay?"

He just stared at me with a blank look.

As many of you may be if you haven't seen this movie (or at least the trailer). Enjoy (just the first 40 seconds).

The Good, The Bad & The Redeemed

Stories about customer service...

The Bad

Back in January, my friend and her fiance came to Canada for a visit. I threw her an engagement party. There was some last minute drama and change of location, but it all worked out and was a really lovely evening. I had planned to get a custom made calendar with pictures of her and her fiance that will start in 2011 (because that's when she's getting married). I had put in an order and it would be ready on the day of the engagement party. I would be bringing it to the party and getting the guests to sign it and add important dates or messages on the calendar for the bride and groom to discover as they went throughout their year.

A cute idea, non?

So when I hadn't heard from the photo lab that my calendar was in, I decided to call them.

There was much running around when the calendar couldn't be found. I spoke to a lovely girl and she figured out that somehow there was a mix up and it never got printed. I was disappointed and frustrated. I told her that my friend was going back to England on Monday (it was a Friday) and now I would have to mail it to her without all the special notes from people. I told her I still wanted the calendar but that I would like it for free due to the fact that they did not fulfill their guarantee that the calendar would be ready within 5 days.

I was told to call the manager on Monday.

So I did.

She was NOT the most helpful person.

In fact, she went on to blame other departments and was very rude and short with me, telling me that if they (the photo lab) were getting charged, then I would be too!

When I asked when she'd hear back from whoever it was that she was waiting to hear back from, she snarkily told me that she had emailed him and email may take a day or two and it's not immediate. Um, I know what email is. Pick up a phone and call the guy! So she said I'd hear back by the end of the week.

I never heard back from her.

So when I got a call last week (approximately 1.5 months LATER) from their printing department in Toronto asking me about the year I had dated the calendar for, I told her I did not want the calendar anymore due to bad customer service and was not interested in it being printed anymore.

The Redeemed

On Friday, I got a call from Zehrs (the photo lab) and a girl told me my calendar was in.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?

I laughed a little and said I wasn't interested in it anymore and went on to explain what had happened. She asked the person's name and I told her and she paused and said, "Oooh." (I'm guessing the old manager was fired.) And then she proceeded to offer me the calendar for free because of my trouble.

THANK YOU!

She's the new manager at the photo lab. Of course she is.

The Good

A couple weeks ago I checked out an online store called Storks and Berries. They were having a sale on AppleCheeks diapers and I wanted to try them out.
So I ordered a couple and thought about how cute my boys would look in the Cherry Tomato Red and Eucalyptus Green diapers! :)

Oh and I chose the cheapest (but longest) postal option - because I'm cheap and I figured I'd just wait a bit longer for my diapers.

That same day I got an email from Dawn who owns the company saying that her husband would be in my area later that week and that he could bring my diapers and mail them from Toronto or even drop them off at my place instead of mailing them from Alberta and taking an additional week or two!

I was SO IMPRESSED with her thoughtfulness and told her I'd blog about her. :)

Sure enough, later that week I got my diapers in the mail and they were perfect! My boys love them and so do I!

She emailed to follow up to make sure I was happy with my diapers and that I had received them okay.

Great job, Dawn! THIS is what customer service should be all about.

I definitely recommend Storks and Berries for any diaper or baby/kid stuff you need!

While I am pleased with the eventual outcome of my calendar experience with Zerhs Photolab, I am not likely to order a calendar from them anytime soon.

sleep

After just saying (to my Mom I think?) that Noah is a stomach/side sleeper, but Jude will only sleep on his back and sometimes his side, I've found Jude on his stomach several times (in the mornings and just recently for his dream feed just now).

It's actually REALLY cute and of course he's a stomach sleeper now that I've said he isn't.
Because kids like to make liars out of their parents, right?

Anyway, this may or may not be contributing to Jude going back to sleeping through the night again. He was doing it for awhile and then with all the change and weird nights lately he was up again - usually just once a night (not including the dream feed) but still - it's good to have uninterrupted sleep.

So I'm loving the full nights - that is, when I actually get to bed at a decent hour. Yikes.

Noah, on the other hand, has been waking up an hour or more earlier than usual! Now I don't think I can really complain, seeing as lots of parents deal with 6am (or earlier) wake ups on a consistent basis, but 6:45 is brutal compared to 8am. (And, er, I don't even get up with Noah - Jamie usually does - but I'm up. And then I lay in bed 'til Jude wakes up - usually 8ish, but sometimes 7:30ish...)

I think it's the light in the mornings - even though there's a really dark curtain in Noah's room, it's not completely blocking out all the light. Ah, who knows? I'm just happy it's daylight savings this weekend!

Soon we'll make the Big Room Switch. That is, moving both boys into the same room. Namely, our room. They'll have enough room for a play area in the room as well, seeing as we only use our room for sleeping it shouldn't be an issue for us to have the smaller room.

I don't know when I'll do that...I'm just not ready for both boys to wake up at the same time. Jude generally (almost always) sleeps an hour longer than Noah - if not more. Sigh. What to do, what to do...it'll probably happen by the summer but right now I'm just loving the set up we have now.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

I have a lot to be happy for. ESPECIALLY now that Spring has seemingly sprung. *crossing my fingers*

So I was tagged by the Lovely Elaine from the Miss Elaine-ous Life and I'm finally getting around to doing it!

Here are the instructions:

1. Copy the image and display it on your blog.
2. List 10 Things that make you HAPPY! :D
3. Try to do at least one of them today.
4. Pass on the award to 10 bloggers who brighten your day.


1. The glorious sunshine that we've had all week so far - allowing me to take the boys on lots of long walks.

2. The little flower clip I bought for myself this morning.

3. Starbucks coffee brewed from the comfort of my own home.

4. The adorable colours of my boys' cloth diapers.

5. My Mom coming to hang out and help with the boys yesterday.

6. Watching Jude giggle and squeal while playing with his Daddy.

7. Talking on the phone with my newly married sister last night.

8. Jude sleeping through the night last night. (It was glorious.)

9. Noah wearing his new, red sunglasses.

10. Sweet text messages from Jamie.


And, I'm passing the Happiness on to these sweet blog friends...

Beth (Not With Ink)
Nadine (Nadinebells.com)
Shereen (Student 4 Life, Princess 4 Ever)
Alana (Be My Everything)
Shelly (Sassy Spontaneity)
Suz (SWP)
Kirsten (The Idea Girl)
Emily (The Baby Bump Blog)
Terra (His Earth Girl)
Deirdre (Sponge Flower Creations)

Enjoy all THE HAPPY ladies! :D

Birds!

Laughing at the geese from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

Loving this spring weather!

becoming more adventurous

I'm way more adventurous and confident in feeding Jude (solids) than I was with Noah. I didn't know anything about introducing solids with Noah. This time I'm letting Jude get in his food more and um, I'm making my own baby food too. The other day I let Jude go nuts with a Farley's Biscuit and he did really well!Today I peeled a banana and Jude's grabby hands went straight for it and he broke about the top half off of it. So I let him have at it. He was so cute as he totally recognized the taste and was loving it!

Nom nom nom

Going...

Going...

Gone!

A weird nap

The other day both boys were down for naps (although one was not settling very well *cough* *jude!*) so I decided to lay down in bed and read The Book Thief (which I am enjoying - thanks to Kirsten for the recommendation!) instead of doing the dishes or laundry.

I read it for a bit and then felt a bit sleepy, so I put it down and closed my eyes.

Next thing I knew Jamie walked into the room and I could hear Noah wailing away in the background. I was completely disoriented and I had no idea what day or time it was other than the fact that it was daytime (the room was light from the sun outside).

He was looking at me as I was looking at him.

I think he said that I was still sleeping. I knew I wasn't, but I couldn't figure out why Noah was crying and who was supposed to be getting him.

I was messed.

S l o w l y it all came back to me and I realized that I actually had fallen asleep!

It's been awhile since I took an afternoon nap and I truly do love naps. But I guess I was tired enough to fall asleep before the boys woke up.

Oh sleep. I do miss sleep. I miss falling asleep whenever I wanted to and knowing that I could sleep in the next day so it didn't matter if I went to be a little later. Weekends were special because I could sleep in. So were long weekends. So were days off.

I miss napping when I wanted to adjust to a time change or a busy weekend or week or because I'm not feeling well. I just miss it all.

I can't complain too much, though because my boys are really great - generally waking up no earlier than 7:30 and Jude is usually asleep 'til 8 or 8:30 - despite going to bed at 7pm! I thank God that I don't have a 6:30am wake-up call!

Daily Dose of Cuteness

Exersaucer Fun from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

Because he's so stinkin' cute!

What I love: Commercials

I know I've posted about this in the past, but I really love good commercials.

Here are a couple I've come across lately and have REALLY loved.

This one is not a new one, but having 2 boys myself and already seeing the sway that they have with each other, this commercial gets me. Or is it that I get it? Either way, super cute.

And I just saw this while watching American Idol and I LOVED it. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

It is beautiful. It is magical. It is spontaneous and it's good. And the music is good too.

Okay, enough with me. Just watch it!

So good, eh?

The Big Wedding Recap

The big post-wedding post.

My sister is married! No longer Shereen Taylor, she's now Mrs. Shereen Kim. Amazing. And I have a new brother-in-law. Wow.

But let me back up so I can do a recap of the day.

I woke up early enough so I could pump so Jamie could feed Jude after I had left. I didn't get much. Boo.

I drove into Toronto to the hair salon and met Shereen, my Mom and the rest of the bridesmaids there. Incidentally, it was the same salon my bridesmaids, Mom and I got OUR hair and makeup done for my wedding. Fun!

So it took a really long time for everyone to get their hair and makeup done (only one makeup artist!) and the morning felt crazyrushed once we got home. Unfortunately we weren't able to get a lot of pictures like Shereen wanted, but I think the ones we did get will turn out amazing. Shereen looked absolutely STUNNING.

I was SO proud of her and she held it together so well!

Noah and Jude showed up at the house when we came back from the salon and I got Noah all ready in his little suit. He looked adorable and he was not himself at all. Not that he was super shy, but he was just really quiet and his eyes were all wide as he took it all in. Especially once we got to the church.

As we drove to the church, Shereen looked stunning and was so calm and composed (and excited!). It was a perfect moment.

When we got to the church we waited for about 10 minutes in the side room for all the guests to file into their seats.

To be honest, I was nervous about how Noah would do walking down the aisle with me.
I wish I knew...I had nothing to worry about! Although as we walked towards the sanctuary I smelled something.

Yup.
Noah had pooped.

We didn't have time to do anything about it, though and we just had to walk down the aisle, poopy diaper and all.

Good times.

The music played perfectly and it was beautiful.

The ceremony was really special and the message was right on target.

At the end of it, we saw Shereen and Sam become Mr. and Mrs. Sam & Shereen Kim.
It was a sweet moment.

After the ceremony I felt like chaos broke out. Jude was tired and needed to eat. Pictures were apparently supposed to be happening directly after but not everyone was there. There was food, but I didn't get any. The boys were here, there and everywhere and even though I had arranged for them to be taken care of I'm still their Mom and did find it difficult to fully focus on my bridal duties.

But eventually we got to the Woodbine Center for wedding party pictures and got to go on a few rides - Noah loved the merry-go-round (his first ride!) as well as the teacups and the spinning balloons. Still with the wide-eyed stoic look but I could tell her loved it.

From there I said good bye to my boys for the rest of the night and the bridesmaids made our way to the reception.

When we got there we had time to quickly practice our wedding party dance and then they were announcing the wedding party! I couldn't believe how quickly time flew by!

The reception flew by, my speech was given and I made it through without bawling my eyes out. :)

The food was great, the boys went down for Emily (who was our amazing helper/babysitter with the boys all day! Thanks, Em!) and I could finally enjoy myself and eat and dance!

All in all, a wonderful day and I'm so glad I could be there for my sweet sister and her new husband!It was great to see people (friends and family) although I even missed out on catching up with everyone (sad) that I wanted to.

I'm proud of my boys (Noah for being so sweet and brave as he experienced so many new things! and Jude for being so sweet as he was being passed around from person to person) and thankful for my amazing husband who I got to have fun with and enjoy as we danced together and laughed and enjoyed each other without the kiddies.

Jude's 7 month letter

Dear Sweet Jude,

I can't believe you are 7 months old. 7 months! I feel like 7 months means you're really not a baby anymore. I mean, you still ARE a baby...but you're 7 months old - plus you're bigger than most 7 month olds...so I feel like you're so grown up.

Too fast! Too fast, I say!

I watched you in the bathtub tonight and was just amazed at how time has flown by. I told time to slow down for a sec. You're growing up far too quickly.

You are now a pro sitter. You can sit for so long and all by yourself. It's amazing how fast that happened! And you actually PREFER to sit instead of lying down - although I don't blame you for that.

You have two bottom teeth just bulging right under the surface, anxiously trying to poke through. Your drool is all you have to show for all the teething you've been doing right now, but I'm thinking by the end of this month, you'll have at least 2 teeth.

You are pretty consistently sleeping through the night! You're down around 7pm and I do a dream feed before 11pm sometime and then you're out until 8 (sometimes later and sometimes - though very rarely - earlier). I would say you do this 4 nights out of 7. With all the change and events we've had over the past couple weeks your sleep has been a bit shaken up, but still really good. If you do wake up, you're up between 2 & 4 sometime for a quick feed and then back to sleep. It's a good place to be. I'm feeling the difference in getting more sleep. It's wonderful.

You are adorable. You haven't made strange yet and are generally happy with anyone who wants to hold you (a stark contrast to your brother!) but you are DEFINITELY becoming more and more attached to me and if you see me, you usually want ME to be the one holding you. You got cuddled and held by many strangers (to you, not me) at your Auntie's wedding this past weekend and you were such a trooper! They all remarked at how cute you are, how happy and sweet you are and how you don't make strange. I was super proud of you.

You still hate being on your belly and "tummy time" rarely lasts longer than 7 or 8 minutes.

You were rolling from your back to your belly during the night for a couple weeks and I'd often find you on your belly crying and wedged up against (or very close to) one of the sides of the crib. Poor fella. You know how you roll from belly to back, but I guess you would rather ME come and flip you over. Silly.

Solids! You have mastered the spoon and are really loving solid food. You have tried sweet potato, squash, banana, prunes, pears, rice cereal (white and brown), avacado and apples. You didn't like the avacado, but we'll keep at it. This week we're introducing peas and possibly carrots. All this solid food business has hindered your pooping so that's why the prunes have been introduced. I feel bad for you with all your grunting and pushing! You'll get the hang of it soon enough, buddy.

Naps are still 1 hr at the most. It's hard though, because you've started to reject your third nap and that makes for one VERY cranky baby come dinner hour.

You'll figure it out eventually I suppose.

You truly a very sweet baby. I see your stubborn side and that you do have a temper, but you are so good natured, it rarely comes out.

You love when I blow raspberries on your belly, cheek, or neck and often giggle when I go in for a toe munch or belly munch. You have an easy smile and blue eyes that are just like your Daddy's. I love you to bits.

I often look at you and wonder...will you be into sports and athletic like your Daddy? Will you be into music? Academics? Will you come to know and love Jesus? Will you have a good relationship with your brother? With me? With your Dad? I long for you to have all these things and while I can't wait to see the kind of man you grow into, I am loving every second along the way and wishing you'd stay this way forever.

I love you Jude....

Mama

Happy 7 months, Jude!

Happy 7 Months, Jude! from Vanessa Strickland on Vimeo.

7 month letter to come...

Photo update

Just a little photo update to show ya what we have been up to these past few weeks...

Daddy & Jude - we thought he looked like a speed skater at the time.

My boys....

Noah is wearing socks that he found on the ground that belong to Daddy.

My spikey-haired boy.

BUBBLES!

Blanket Time Update

So much to blog about - I'll get to my sister's wedding later I think.

Right now I just want to say that I'm loving blanket time and so is Noah! He does so well and I've upped the time to about 20 minutes - I could do it even longer - actually today will be around 23 minutes. He knows that after we come home from the Y, he gets a snack and then it's blanket time. He picks the toys he wants and then says,

Stay on blankey until timer goes off, Mama?

Yes, Noah. You have to stay on the blanket until the timer goes off.

I play, Mama.

Good job, Noah.

I usually have a quick snack myself and tidy the kitchen. Today I am so zonked from the spin class I attempted this morning so I am just checking blogs and Facebook.

As I do this, I will often hear

I need help, Mama.

As Noah tries to put something together with his blocks, but for the most part I am just letting him figure it out on his own.

Blanket time was a VERY good thing to implement.

For both of us.