Happy Anniversary

Today marks 11 years of being with Brian. 

We orginally met at a party 14 years ago.  I had just starting dating a guy who I ended up dating for 3 years.  Brian was single.  He expressed some interest in me to a mutual friend but she told him that I was not the kind of girl who cheated so he should just move on.  The guy I was with was a very new boyfriend and I wasn't sure at that time if it was going anywhere.  I was 19 years old and wanted to keep my options open.  I was interested in Brian but he ignored me so I didn't pursue him.

Then 3 years later I broke up with that guy and ran into that mutual friend from the party.  I think the last time I saw her was at the party.  She asked how things were going and I told her fine.  She asked about my boyfriend and I told her we had just broken up.  She invited me to come out to the bar the following evening with her and a bunch of her friends.  I thought, what the heck and agreed to go.  The next night I got ready to go and waited to be picked up.  When we arrived at the bar I was introduced to her friends.  I felt very uncomfortable and wanted to go home.  Nobody was really talking to me and the only person who was had a girlfriend and she was looking less than pleased about her boyfriend talking to me.  I got up to go call my parents for a ride when the group announced they were going next door to the other bar.  This bar was a little more like a dance club so I decided to give it another hour.  I was likely to run into some other people I knew so if the people in this group didn't want to talk to me then I could find people how did.  Once we were at the other bar one of the guys in the group came up to me and started talking.  That guy was Brian.  He asked me a bunch of questions about myself.  He was so awkward.  I didn't mind that he didn't seem to have much game.  A good friend of mine had once told me that you will never find a nice guy at the bar.  She said the only way to find a nice guy at the bar is to look past the guy hitting on you at his buddy who's holding the flirts beer and go talk to him instead.  Brian made me think of the "buddy" in that situation.  I remember we danced to some Britney Spears and NSync songs.  He seemed like a really sweet guy.  At the end of the night he asked me if I was free to go for a ride on his motorcycle.  I told him I had plans with my mother.  I could tell from the look on his face that he didn't believe me.  I reassured him that I really did have plans with my mom.  She had asked me to go to some place called Sarnia and look at some Tall Ships.  He instantly looked relieved.  He said he was from Sarnia and he's just bailed on his mom that weekend so he could come out tonight.  I told him to get my number from our mutual friend and give me a call sometime.

The next day I went out with my mom and saw the ships.  When we got back I was watching some tv and the doorbell ran.  I answered the door and it was the mutual friend with Brian and another guy from the previous night.  They wanted me to go rollerblading.  Uhhhhhh, I don't rollerblade but, for this guy I'd make an exception.   I am so clumsy and uncoordinated and that day was no different.  I stumbled and fumbled my way around the block.  Brian was so sweet, he held my hand and asked all kinds of get to know me questions.  I could tell this guy was different.  He was someone very special.

That was early August.  We continued to see each other almost every day for a few weeks and at the end of August Brian asked me if I wanted to be exclusive.  I, of course, agreed.

That was the start of a beautiful relationship and friendship.

Happy Anniversary Brian!  I love you.  You have been an amazing partner.  You are truly my best friend.  Life is a rollercoaster and I can't think of anyone else I rather take the ride with.

Confession Friday

I confess that moving with a baby is not easy.  You can't pack, you can't unpack, you just can't get things done.  Poor Addis spent almost 6 days in his playpen while we painted and cleaned and moved boxes and packed up more boxes.  However, now he's refusing to set foot anywhere near the playpen so getting the boxes unpacked and the house settled is proving to be difficult.  Can't say I blame him.  He was such a trooper and didn't complain for those 6 days.  I guess I just need to deal with living out of boxes and let the wee boy crawl around and stretch his legs.

I confess that I went out tonight with a good friend.  It was a much needed few hours of "me" time.  Thanks Brenda for such a great visit!  As always, it's a pleasure hanging out.

I confess that our new house doesn't feel like home yet.  This could have something to do with still living out of boxes or the fact that we don't have enough furniture to furnish our house. 

I confess that we are currently using camping chairs as furniture in our family room.  My parents gave us an early Christmas present and bought us a sofa.  We bought two chairs that look like the kind you get from IKEA so next week after we pick up the sofa we can set up our new furniture and we can stop sitting on stuff that says Coleman.

I confess that we still had things to pack up the day we moved.  Our old house was small so we didn't have space to put any more boxes.  We had to move some out before we could pack up anymore.  One of the major things that needed packing still was our bedroom.  While I was packing up our bedroom my husband sent his father in to take down our window coverings.  Uh, not cool!  I'm not very comfortable having my father in law in my bedroom.  I'm even more uncomfortable having him there while I'm packing up my underwear.  I just about lost my mind.  My husband didn't get what the problem was but I know all you ladies reading are picking up what I'm putting down.

I confess that it's late and I'm going to bed.

Confession Friday

I confess that I hate wallpaper.  I have just spent the last few days removing wallpaper from our new house and I'm so sore I can't even lift up Addis.  That stuff just would not come off and now it feels like my elbow is on fire.  Hating wallpaper and the person who invented it.

I confess that this has been a long, tough week full of physical labour and I'm not really enjoying it.  I'm more of a laying on the couch with a good book girl then a roll up my sleeves and dig into work girl.  If anyone is looking for a nice housewarming gift I leave you with this suggestion: massage gift certificate.

I confess that this week Addis has slept through the night four times.  FOUR TIMES!!!!  It's sheer heaven.

I confess that I got a ticket for talking on my cell phone this week.  Shame on me.  STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.  I know better. 

I confess my dad got home from England yesterday and it was really nice to see him.  He's been gone a month and I missed him while he was away.

I confess I need a day to myself and soon.  I feel burnt out.  I dream of going away to a hotel with a jacuzzi tub and staying there all weekend.  I would bring a few good books and just laze in the tub or in bed and revel in the sweet silence.

I confess that right now I'm listening to Addis pounding on the front door.  Obviously I won't be enjoying much quiet time today.

I confess that lately Addis has taking up screaming to get attention and I'm at a loss of how to handle it.  I'm open to any and all suggestions, so please give some if you have any. 

I confess that people just showed up to help us start moving so I need to sign off and get cracking.

Good Things Come In Threes

Two whole nights!  Sleep, no interruptions.  No waking up.  In. A. Row.  In case you still don't know what I'm so excited about, Addis slept through the night two nights in a row.  It's amazing what a little sleep can do.  We've only had three nights in the three months we've been together so two nights back to back is something to celebrate and get excited about.

Today marks three months together.  Being together is a blessing I'm thankful for each day.

We get the keys to our new house today.  Today marks the beginning of a fresh start and a new journey.

We are a lucky family of three.

Confession Friday

I confess that today was an amazing day.  First we had a great family day at the African Lion Safari where we connected with some other Imagine families.  We got a chance to meet a family who had the same DTE as us and who I have been in contact with for over a year and their son was in the transition house with Addis.  We followed up by an evening walk with the dogs and Addis taking his maiden voyage in his wagon.

I confess that with the exception of Monday, this has been a pretty good week.

I confess that while I haven't been feeling like myself lately, I know that what I feel is actually quite common.

I confess that on Monday when I had a bad day I received some very kind words from 3 really great women and their words meant a lot to me.  Thanks Brenda, Ruth & Rana!

I confess that we only have 3 more sleeps until we get the keys to the new house.  I'm starting to get excited.  It still doesn't feel real.

I confess stepped on the scale this week and it wasn't pretty.  I've put on 6 pounds.  Ugh!  I'm hoping that once we are in the new house I can carve out some time a few times a week to use the treadmill & bowflex and try to lose this weight.  Oh, and if I'm really serious about it, it's probably not a bad idea to lay off the chips, because those aren't helping.

I confess that I'm going to keep this post short and instead go play with my son and enjoy the rest of what is left of this really great day.

Sunshine Through The Rain

Today it's been raining non-stop but even with all this rain I still see some sun.  Today is a much better day then yesterday.  Addis is happier.  So in turn, I am happier.  I took some time today to post some pictures on facebook to remind myself of the good days we have had since Addis has been home and also to remind myself there are far more good days then bad.  I'd post pictures here on this blog but I'm technically and electronically deficient so, for now, if you want to see some pictures, you'll have to check out facebook.  If you aren't on facebook but want to see a few pictures, leave a comment and I'll email you some.

If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them

I got up this morning at 7am and from about 8am on, Addis has been crying off and on all day.  Nothing seems to make him happy today. 

He cries if the dog kisses him, he cries if his Lightning McQueen car gets stuck in a corner and he can't turn it around, he cries because he's standing on his Laugh and Learn chair and doesn't know how to get down.  You get the picture.  He's obviously over tired and when he's tired he gets very clumsy so of course we have more tumbles and head bumps from him walking around with his car today. 

Addis also wouldn't go down for a nap.  I had to fight for hours to get him down and once he was down he didn't sleep soundly. Normally once he's asleep he's a pretty sound sleeper but not today.  Every little sound would disturb him, so of course today is the day the dogs decide to bark at every little sound themselves.

I went to my gym today to cancel my memebership.  I haven't been in almost 4 months.  There just doesn't seem to be the time to go, but more importantly there just doesn't seem to be the money while I'm on parental leave.  However, giving up my membership felt a little like defeat in the constant weight lose battle.

We have been eating pretty crummy food lately.  I haven't felt like cooking and with moving we've been busy.  Today I decided that I was going to take the time to cook a nice homemade nutritious meal for Brian and I.  After spending an hour and a half at the stove, I ended up with an overly seasoned burnt meal.  For some reason the carrots wouldn't cook and the last time I made this meal Brian complained that it was too bland.  In an effort to make sure if had plenty of flavour, I obviously used too much seasoning and trying to get the carrots to cook, I left it on the stove too long so it started to burn.

Neither my breakfast or lunch was very enjoyable today so I had high hopes for dinner.  At breakfast Addis kept trying to grab my protein shake because it looked like his formula and he liked my cup better then his bottle.  At lunch it took me over an hour to finish my soup because he kept getting into things and needed some comforting when he cried.  Needless to say the soup was cold by the time I finished.   When I sat down to eat my burnt, overly seasoned meal and Addis started screaming and crying, again for no apparent reason, I decided that in some cases it's best to just accept that if you can't beat them, you might as well join them.  So I put my fork down and sat at the table and had a really good cry.

Addy Facts

When we had our baby shower in April both Brian and I thought Addis would be there.  Due to the visa taking longer than expected, unfortunately, Addis wasn't there.  It was a difficult time for me and I told my parents I didn't want people asking me well meaning questions about where he was, and when he would come home, etc.  My dad took it upon himself to take a photo of Addis and blow it up bigger than life and put a blurb at the bottom about how hard we all tried to get Addis home and that he would be home as soon as possible.  He also posted star shaped construction paper around the front entrance with "Addy Facts".  Each star was titled Addy Facts and contained info about Addis.  His height, his weight, where he was from, his birthdate, our court date, etc.  It was great to see that info that day.  Although Addis couldn't be with us, he was still the centre of attention.

Anyway, the reason I told that story is that I figured it was time to share some Addy Facts so that other people could get to know the amazing boy that I do.

Likes:

Monkey blanket - this makes him smile EVERY single time he sees it.  He cuddles it in his crib and drags it around the house.  Monkey is an endless source of comfort for Addis.  Addis loves to give the monkey kisses and likes when you give monkey kisses too.  Monkey is definitely his security blanket.

Bananas - this is his favourite food so far.

Scout - this is his favourite toy.  It was given to him by his Auntie Dina and Uncle Brian.  It is a Leapfrog toy and you can plug it into you computer and put in the child's name and their favourite things and it sings and teaches them stuff.  Addis loves Scout.  He plays with him all the time.  He's figured out each paw does something when you press it.  When Addis is in his playpen for his nap he presses the paw that plays lullabies.  He sings along and dances to the music.

The Dogs - Addis loves Jax and Oz.  The more they bark or chase their toys, the funnier Addis thinks they are.  He is particularly fond of what we like to call "psycho Jax".  This is when Jax gets that crazy look in his eye and starts tearing around the house like a puppy doing laps at high speed.  Addis laughs so hard and claps his hands which only encourages Jax.  He also really likes when Oz "sings".  Oz's favourite tune is the theme song from CSI and he belts it out each time he hears it.  Again, Addis claps his hands and encourages Oz.  He loves their sloppy kisses and he cudldes them.  He hasn't quite mastered the art of being gentle but thankfully the dogs are very patient and don't seem to mind too much when Addis is crawling all over them. 

Water - Addis really likes the water.  It doesn't matter if it's the tub, a lake, a pool, his kiddie pool, the splash pad at the park or even the dogs water dish.  He likes to play in water.  He is most definitely a water baby.

Music - Addis really has music in his soul.  The stronger the beat, the more he likes it.  He dances (read: he bounces and moves his bum) and waves his hands in the air the way he sees on music videos.  He likes it when someone dances with him.

Toys - he prefers toys that have music

Dislikes:

No - this is the thing Addis dislikes the most.  He hates not being allowed to do what he wants and throws a king sized tantrum when he hears the word "No".  He throws his arms into the air and starts screaming.  He makes his angry noises and starts to hit whatever is in striking distance.

Grass - Addis does not like grass at all.  He screws his face up like he might cry and lifts his leg like a flamingo.  He then puts it down and lifts the other leg.  He tries to climb up you to get off the grass.

Sand - Oh boy, he hates this more then grass.  Sand does make him cry.  This made our trip to the beach very interesting.  He loves the water so that part was great but he freaked out if any sand touched his skin.  He was fine as long as he could sit in his stroller on play on the blanket but what a scene if he got sand on his hands!

Shoes - Addis doesn't care much for shoes.  He kicks them off.  Can't say that I blame him.  I prefer to be barefoot too.

Oiling - Addis doesn't much care to be oiled up at night.  We need to put oil on his skin and in his hair to keep them from drying out.  He always fusses when Daddy tries to oil him up, but ususally he's ok when Mommy does it.

Accomplishments:

Stairs - Addis just learned to climb stairs.  He climbed up 1 step a few weeks ago but then gave up.  He just tried it again and made it halfway up the stairs before I realized what he was doing.  Time for baby proofing!

Talking - Addis has a few words.  Mama, Dada, Hi, Baba (bottle), Bye.  He babbles non-stop.  He really has a lot he wants to say but unfortunately so far, we don't understand what he's trying to say.  I think he's close to saying dog as well.

Teething - Addis has his 2 bottom teeth, front and centre.  It looks like another one is starting to come in on the top.  He doesn't much fuss with teething.  At least he didn't for the first two.  I guess we'll see how the rest go.

Walking - Soooo close.  He walks really well when he is holding your hands.  You should see him motor around the coffee table.  He's like lighting!  He does walk fairly well if he's only holding one hand.  So far he's only taken 1 step on his own.

Standing - He is starting to stand on his own a little more.  It's only a few seconds but the time is getting longer and he's definitely getting steadier on his feet.

Kissing - Addis now gives big sloppy open mouth kisses.  These are the best kisses in the world.  He ususally saves his kisses for first thing in the morning or just before bedtime.  During the day he's too busy for cuddles and kisses.  The other day I was looking the other way and didn't realize he wanted to give mommy a kiss so he grabbed my ears and turned my head and planted one right on me.  It sure does make my heart melt to get one of these kisses.

Personality Quirks:

Sense of Humour - He has a very swarped sense of humour.  He laughs this deep belly laugh when people fall down, slip, drop something, etc.  He also laughs when he sees other kids crying.  Addis can also be very funny.  He does things that make Brian and I laugh all the time.

Sounds - Addis makes some really great sounds.  Sometimes when he gets really excited he sounds like a veloceraptor.  He also makes wookie sounds when he is excited.  If he's curious about something he makes a "hoo hoo" sound like an owl.  When he sees his bottle he laughs like Beavis and Butthead.

Facial Expressions - Addis makes a face to go along with the owl sound.  It's like he's surprised.  One of our update photos while we were waiting for the visa had him making this face and at that time I wondered what he was thinking.  Now I have a good idea about what was happening.  He was probably curious about the camera.  When he is trying to make you laugh he makes fish faces.  When Addis is so happy he makes this one face and although it's hard to describe it's probably one of my favourites.  It's like the joy is just bursting out of him.  He scrunches up his face and all you can see are his gums.  Picture a little old man with no teeth laughing hysterically.  Addis is a big flirt so when he sees a lady that's to his liking, he gives her a sideways look and gives her a knowing wink and nod.  It's like he's saying "hey baby, you know I'm cute, how you doing?".  He just cracks me up with all his facial expressions.

I have really enjoyed getting to know this wonderful little boy over the past few months.  I can't wait to learn more about him and watch him develop.

Ewedehalo Addis.

Confession Friday

I confess that I am STILL working on the post about Addis.  Everytime I think I've finished it, I think of something else I want to add.  I think I'm just going to go ahead and post it soon and maybe in a few weeks post another one.

I confess that I ate out twice today.

I confess that at lunch I was sitting out on the patio with Addis waiting for my friend Em to show up and all of a sudden I see Ratatouille scurrying around the chairs and tables.  Yuck!!!  That's one thing you never want to see, is a big fat mouse running around where food is being served.  Let's just say, I'm glad we were outside and I spent the rest of the lunch trying to convince myself Ratatouille and his buddies couldn't make it in to the kitchen.

I confess that at dinner tonight some incredibly rude man let the door slam in my face even though he could see my husband was holding the door open for him and his wife.  Needless to say Brian was not impressed to see this especially since I was carrying Addis and let the man know that his rudeness was not appreciated.

I confess that we have decided to let Addis cry it out most of the times he wakes up at night.  It's really hard to listen to him crying and not go sooth him, but we really needed a change in the sleep department in this house.  Although I'm finding it hard, I do like the results we are seeing so far.  I feel more rested and therefore have more patience and Addis doesn't seem affected by us not coming in.  In fact, if anything, he seems to be in a better mood.  I think that by us not coming in, he settles back down quicker and has less disruption to his sleep.

I confess that we got some packing done this week and we will get some more done tomorrow.

I confess that I am finally going to see Harry Potter on Sunday.  My friend Em is watching Addis for us and I'm not sure which I'm more excited about.  The adult time, the movie or the popcorn.  I'll let you know which next week.

I confess that I bought a few books this week that aren't my usual literary preference.  I confessed in a previous Friday that I wanted to start reading more "intelligent" books besides just trashy romance novels and good beach reads.  So in a effort to branch out out a little more I got The Help and Cutting for Stone.  I also have Secret Daughter that I want to read.  I think once I am done these I am going to get The Book of Negroes. 

I confess that we found flea on Oz this week.  I don't mean fleas as in plural, I mean flea as in singular.  One flea.  I keep checking for more but I can't find any.  Not that I am complaining but I find this very strange.  This is exactly what happened two years ago with Oz.  We found flea.  Just the one.  It's like he sees this little guy and says "hey, hop on little buddy and we'll be friends".  Once we get rid of flea no more show up.  WEIRD!

I confess that if I hear that stupid song on the Lightning McQueen car that Addis has again, I will take out the batteries and super glue the compartment shut so no new batteries can ever be put in there again. 

I confess that today I received a gift from one of the ladies who works with the catering staff at work.  I was so very touched my her kindness.  It amazes me how many people care about Addis and have taken an interest in out story and journey.

I confess that I saw a book today called Go The F**K To Sleep and it cracked me up.  It was written by a man who had trouble getting his child to sleep when she was little.  It's written in rhymes and illustrated like a children's book but it's definitely for adults.  Especially those who understand the challenges of getting your kids to sleep and keeping them that way.