Fluff Mail!

Boy, do I ever love receiving mail that's not the usual flyers and bills!  Today Parker received a goodmama fitted diaper.  It is so cute and I can't wait to try it out.  We also got a WHAM made Cheshire Cat pocket diaper earlier this week.  I love Alice in Wonderland and this is just perfect!

Lately I've been sorting through my old belongings (mostly my pre baby clothes *sad face*) and selling the stuff that I don't use/wear anymore.  Today I traded an old jacket for a leap frog play table for Parker.  Best trade eveerrr.  He's in love with it and I love the idea of re using, trading or buying used instead of new.

 In other Parker news, he has become a pro at using his sippy cup and waving.  It melts my heart and makes me want to cry a little because my baby is growing up so fast!

Baby Shower!

Last Saturday, Parker, Matt and I went to the first Annual Dawson Creek Baby Shower.  It was a big celebration for all babies born in 2011.  We had a lot of fun and it was nice that Matt was able to come with us.  I've only been to a few play groups but this one definitely got me motivated to go to more.  Parker loved socializing and I need more mommy friends (because really, I don't have many irl)  We filled up on cake and snacks, had Parkers photo taken and they even gave out little gift bags when we were ready to leave.

Adventures in Babywearing

Yesterday was so much fun!  Matt, Parker and I went to this baby shower for all Dawson Creek babies born in 2011.  We got Parker's photo professionally taken and ate lots of cake.  Parker met another Parker and flirted with a few girls, haha.  I'll post photos of this event later when Parker doesn't have me pinned to the couch while he naps in my lap.  For now heres a few photos of Parker and I trying out a double hammock carry;

Apparently he thought it was pretty comfortable ;)

See it swimming

I could not ask for any more from life after today.  It was one of those smooth, effortless, enjoyable evenings.  Parker slept horribly last night so Matt took him this morning so I could sleep in.  We played and played until Parker was pooped (literally) and needed a nap.  Boy did he ever nap, he slept like a rock for 3 hours!  After he woke up we had some lunch.  Parker nibbled on some avocado and the grown ups ate some cheese tortellini.  He has developed such an appetite.  Some days I just look at that tiny body in disbelief and think to myself, "Where does he put it?!!".  Later in the afternoon we got a call from Matt's brother Tony asking if we wanted to go swimming.  We packed up Parker and off we went.

This was Parker's second time swimming and he loves it!  We love it!  For the first 30 minutes I got to snuggle him in the kiddy pool.  He is usually so active I never get cuddle time unless he's eating or sleeping.  I took full advantage of this.  For the last half an hour we splashed and played with plastic motor boats.  It was paradise.

And now I'm holding the most perfect gift I've ever been given as he dreams.  I don't know how I ever became so lucky.

Wordless Wednesday

Oops

First of all, my poor neglected blog, its been awhile hasn't it?  Matt recently got laid laid off so we've been doing things around the house and spending more family time together.  We're finally TOTALLY unpacked.

It's warming up in Dawson, but hasn't been very sunny which makes for lazy days and watching Horton Hears a Who.  My Nana bought us a carpet and I desperately need a vacuum, my Mom is supposed to bring one over soon though (thanks guys!).

 

Last week we ventured out to Bonanza to visit Matt's Dad and Grandmother.  Parker just adores them both.  As soon as he sees them his arms reach out and suddenly I become chop liver, haha.  It was refreshing to get out of the house and into some clean(er) country air.  We were all having a major case of cabin fever and this visit was much needed!

Did I mention Parker is exceeding in self feeding.  He refuses to be fed anymore and demands to feed himself.  Goodbye purees, helllloooo table foods!

❤❤❤

Cloth Diapers

Parker has been in cloth diapers since he was 3 months old.  Before I got pregnant I never seen myself using them.  I had this image of diaper pins, pieces of cloth and rubber pants ingrained in my mind when I thought of cloth diapers.  Little did I know there are soooo many options out there.  We personally use mostly pockets and all in one diapers with a few fitteds thrown into the mix.

Not only are they cute, I'm also saving thousands of dollars (for real) and reducing un needed waste thats polluting our earth.  Disposable diapers contain harmful chemicals and are directly linked to low sperm count in males and asthma.  I'm so glad we made the switch, I wouldn't ever go back to paper diapers.  I thought it would be harder, but really it's been an easy switch to make.

If you're interested in helping our earth and making a healthier choice for your baby, this is a great place to get informed on cloth diapers.

Wordless Wednesday, Almost.

Excuse the absence, Matthew has caught a head cold these past few days.  So Parker and I are having extra mommy and baby time while Dad recovers, which means less blogging time, haha.  And we all know men are big babies when they're sick (sorry to say so, Matt).  Anyways here are a few shots from last week;

8 Months

Parker is 8 months old, as of yesterday (now that its midnight) and what an eight months its been!  Since you've been born I bought my first vehicle, we celebrated your first holidays, moved two times, adventured in baby wearing, taken a bajillion photos, adopted Juno and so much more.  At eight months old you can crawl with intense speed (watch out Juno!), you just about stand all by yourself and you feed yourself like a champ.  You say Dada, Yeah, sometimes Mama and you're getting really close to saying Cat.  You adore Juno and playing with the Piano your Great Nana bought you.  Everyday you look less like my baby and more like a little person, it's so bittersweet.

newborn

1 month

 2 months

3 months

 4 months

 5 months

6 months

 7 months

8 months

 I never thought I'd love someone so much. When you smile, my heart beams, your laugh is like music to my ears and when you cry, I just want to hold you and tell you everything is going to be okay.

Perfect Mornings

Yesterday we had a well deserved family day, it was way overdue.  I let Matt sleep in while I made these bad boys.  This is for real one of my fave breakfasts (besides eggs benny, nothing tops that) and its so easy!  Parker had a nap and then off to the pool we went!  This was Parker's first time swimming and we were so stoked to see his reaction.  Once we got into the pool he was so cuddly and docile.  Totally not the reaction I expected from my high energy, play all day, bouncing baby boy. But it was nice to snuggle up to him as we waded through the pool together.  I never did take any photos, but I don't regret it.  I wanted to live in that moment rather than agonize over perfect photos for the baby book.

After swimming as soon as we started driving Parker conked out hard.  We decided to take the opportunity to get some running around done.  The golden arches was our first stop so Matt could get a coffee.  I got one of their new fruit smoothies.  It was soo good, like booster juice kind of good.  I went into Shoppers looking for an agenda (WHY can't I seem to find a half decent one anywhere?!?) and came out with a glass nail file and a chocolate orange.

As we were heading home I suddenly remembered that someone told me that they had found my beloved blue notebook that I had lost a few weeks ago at the CO-OP, so I had Matt make a detour there to grab it.  I am so happy to have it back.  There was nothing personal written in it, but its nice to have a place to jot my scattered thinking down.

All in all we had a fantastic day and I wish more days could be like this.

Did I mention Juno and I have matching manis? (Well sort of)

wordless wednesday

I'm definitely a hypochondriac.  I took Parker to the Doctor's today because he's been shaking his head and pulling on his ear a lot and I thought he possibly had a food allergy.  But nope, I have a perfectly happy, healthy baby.  It doesn't hurt to be pro active either though, right?

Rice and Carrots

Matt came home early from camp this week.  Perfect timing too because I had an elk roast simmering in the slow cooker (I'm for real in love with this thing) for the past 6 hours.  I even made gravy!  This was my first time making a roast dinner, and it totally rocked!

Parker had some carrots and rice.  He loved it.  He's finally getting the hang of feeding himself and the boy has an appetite!

After hearing rave reviews I have finally got around to buying "The Hunger Games".  I've read about 100 pages of it so far and I'm very impressed.

Tomorrow we're going to try and go swimming at the CDC.  We also have a Doctors appointment at 1pm, so we'll see how busy we are.

Our Week Captured

It's been such a whirl wind lately that I've seriously been slacking on the picture taking and blogging.  Buuuut I have accomplished quite a bit this week.

1. Parker and I have some serious fun in the kitchen and there is soooo much natural sunlight that it's beautiful for photo taking.  I love his little smirk in this shot!


2. It was my 19th birthday on Saturday.  My Dad bought me this beautiful cake with my favorite frosting.  So yummy, thanks Pa!


3. Parker met my Dad's, Girlfriend's Son, Ryder.  He is the cutest 3 year old I've ever met and plays so well with Parker.


4. Parker entertaining himself while I sort through the mountain of clothes he's accumulated.  90% of the time he hates his exersaucer and the other 10% of the time he tolerates it.

I was Nineteen.

Yesterday I celebrated my 19th birthday.  I started my day off by sleeping in while Matt woke up with Parker.  My Mother Inlaw came over and babysat Parker so Matt and I could go out for birthday sushi (so delish!).  We collected Parker and went to my Dad's for a steak dinner and cake.  My Grandparents came down from Fort St. John to come see us.  It was a great time.  Later in the evening I met up with my good friend Jen and we went to a few bars for drinks.  This was my first real outing in over a year, the most time I've ever been away from Parker before was 2 hours and oh boy, did I ever miss him! Yesterday made me realize how truly blessed I am to be surrounded  by such awesome people. I had a blast, so much so I barely took any photos!  So here are some of Parker and Juno instead;

I am so impressed with Juno.  We adopted her on boxing day and she came out of her shell right away.  She's so good with Parker.  He's man handled her a few times and not a scratch to be seen on him.  They are for real best buds.  Juno sits and watches as he plays and sometimes joins in the fun.

Progress

We made more progress unpacking and I wanted to share with you guys!  Please ignore the mess, you can't de-clutter without clutter, right?

             

I'll upload more once everything is done around the house.

 I made Cilantro Lime Chicken (thank you pinterest!), cheesy rice and asparagus fried with bacon for dinner.  Yummy!

Parker even enjoyed some :)

home, sweet home.

 This was my chaos last week.

It has been one crazy busy week in the Broadway/Hora household.  We FINALLY have everything moved in.  I've unpacked most of the house while chasing a nearly 8 month old around (yay me).  We've ran into a few snags with our rental.  One being the horrible leak underneath the sink that we over looked.  It has rotted the wood underneath it and has rendered that cabinet useless until it is fixed.  Thankfully our landlord is having someone fix it on Monday.  Minus the few minor repairs, so far I am in love. 

We live right across from the elementary school I attended when I was a little girl and just up the road is the child development center, where my little brother went to day care back in the day.  We have a HUGE backyard and a deck.  I absolutely can not wait to play in it this summer with Parker.

When I get everything unpacked and organized, I will post photos of our humble abode.

Moving on up.

Sorry for my lack of posting.  I have been lost in a sea of boxes, packing tape and newspaper.  We have the majority of our things moved into our new house.  I only know where 50% of our belongings are in which boxes, this does not include my camera.  Parker and I spent our NYE snuggled up on the couch.  I had a mimosa (yuuumm) and Matt went to his brother's place for celebrations.

I'm usually not much for new years resolutions, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to make a few anyways.

1. Continue a healthier lifestyle
Pre-Parker I was 160lbs (a bit on the curvy side), at my last check up before I had Parker I was a whopping 230lbs (I know, right?!).  I had gained 70lbs with him.  I have lost 44lbs of that and I want to continue to lose the fat and gain muscle.  But most of all I want to be healthy for Parker and set a good example for him.
2. Try new things
I must admit, I am a very shy, hesitant person.  Matthew has helped me come out of my shell, but I would like to try more things perhaps without coaxing.  Ideally I would like to meet more people, especially mommy friends.
3. Read more
I LOVE reading a good book, now just to find the time in my day.
4. Get creative
I'm currently teaching myself how to crochet.  I also want to continue learning through painting and photography.  Maybe an art class is in my future?
5. Get my N
This is a big one for me.  I have huge anxiety when it comes to driving.  I'm totally a Sunday driver and I refuse to pass other vehicles.  Everyone seems in such a hurry and it makes me nervous.
6. Continue to learn and grow as a person and mother
I think this one is pretty self explanatory.