Begin Again

In just a few short hours one of the best years of my life will come to a close. Tonight I plan on celebrating with friends the wonderful year I had and welcome - with gusto - the new year ahead.

When it comes to recalling some of my favourite times from 2010, I don't really know where to start. The year went so fast and mostly the days blur together as just time well spent with Brandon. But certainly there were people and events that stand out in my mind and I hope I will never forget them.

Early in 2010, my father-in-law Vincent came out for a visit. He spent two weeks with me and Brandon and I think it's fair to say that I connected with him on a new level of friendship. Lucky for me that I was able to reconnect with my friend later in the year when we took our first family vacation to New Brunswick. A busy yet memorable holiday where Brandon was able to visit the beach for the first time and celebrate his first Acadian Day with family.

As for my side of the family, I saw them more in 2010 than I ever had since living in Calgary. Given the distance and great expense, I was lucky to spend so much time with them.

In mid-February I had the fortune of meeting a wonderful group of women and their sweet babies. Little did I know then that this group of women would become my life line for motherhood. They were (and still are) willing to lend an ear to my problems, offer helpful mothering tips, provide encouragement and support, celebrate my successes and were always up for a laugh and some fun. Without them I know my year wouldn't have been as great as it was. I feel thankful for them and as we all head back into the workplace, it is my sincerest hope that we find a way to stay close. After all, our journey has only just started.

And as wonderful as my new friends are, nothing can compare to the time spent with old friends. People that "know all about you but like you anyways". The New Year will see some of our best friends begin new lives in far away places. 2010 will be a reminder of the good times we had and help us look forward to the day when we will see them again.

Without a doubt, 2010 was about being a family. It was about Jamie and me learning how to be parents; it about getting to know our new little addition and it was about learning how to operate as a family unit. I believe parenthood has changed us for the better. I think we always were a strong couple but now we've hit a whole new level in our relationship. We offer each other more support, patience and love then ever before. Jamie continues to be an amazing father, a loving husband and my very best friend.

But 2010 was nothing if it wasn't for Brandon. At any given time he is the source of all my joy, worry, hope, frustrations, dreams and anxieties. He can melt me with his smile and make my morning with his laugh. My days with him could have been trivial strolls in the park, monumental breakdowns at the mall or exciting adventures at the zoo. I never knew what kind of day it would be but as long as it was with my baby, that was all I needed. 2011 will bring big changes for me and Brandon (as he starts day care full time and I go back to work) but that's OK, life is all about change and we'll be fine.

So as we head into 2011 I feel grateful for my friends and family. I wish them all good fortune and good health. Here's to making new memories. Happy New Year!

Christmas 2010

Wow here we are with another Christmas come and gone. Now that it's a few days behind us, I can appreciate just how wonderful it was. Certainly the weeks leading up to Christmas were fun. Brandon's social schedule kept us busy all through December. And then there was all the baking, shopping, Christmas decorating and gift wrapping to do. Before we knew it the big day had arrived.

Brandon was up at his usual time ~ 7:00AM. We made coffee and Brandon enjoyed his last bottle (he's now strictly on sippy cups) while cuddling in bed with us. After finishing our respective beverages, we headed downstairs to see what Santa had left us in our stockings. Brandon had received some fun things like lego and toy cars but what he liked the most was a key chain I had received in my stocking. Oh well, I guess you never know what they're going to like!

After stockings we had a lovely breakfast and then Brandon was off for a nap. When he woke up we opened the rest of the gifts. Much like last year, Brandon was spoiled with clothes, toys and books. He was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing and mostly continued to enjoy playing with my new key chain and some wrapping paper.

The late afternoon saw us heading over to the Finnigan's for Christmas dinner. Once again France out-did herself with a wonderful turkey feast. Brandon enjoyed his meal and, as always, he loved playing with Joseph and Julie. By 7:30PM he was ready for bed and so we made our way home.

It was so nice to spend the holiday with our little toddler. His love of food and pretty lights served to remind me that Christmas is not about the shopping or the gifts but rather about the time spent with family and friends. It's about recognizing how truly blessed we are and cherishing the ones we love the most. I know now that Christmas will never be the same for me again and that's a good thing :)

Musical Prodigy?

On Sunday Dec 12th, Brandon made his first public musical debut. And he didn't do it just anywhere - he did it at the Mount Royal Conservatory! Along with our "Baby and Me" class of six, we lined up on stage and preformed three songs: Bell Reindeer, Are you Sleeping? (once in English and then once in French) and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Mommy provided the vocals while Brandon accompanied me on the bells. He did a wonderful job and as parents, we couldn't be any prouder. In fact he did such a good job that I can't help but wonder if he's got a future on the stage. I guess only time will tell :)

13 Months Old Today!

My little baby is turning into a toddler - except that he can't walk yet. I'm actually surprised that he's not walking. He can furniture surf really well, he can practically run with his walker and he can stand on his own. The reality is that he doesn't seem that interested. I'm not too worried about it and his day home provider Linda seems to think he'll be walking by Christmas. I guess only time will tell!

Brandon continues to eat and sleep like a champ. He probably weighs about 21 lbs and he's very keen on feeding himself with his fork. He's down to one 2 hour nap per day and he continues to sleep about 11 hours at night.

Brandon is talking - well sort of. He's very good at repeating words but you never when he's going to say them and he never seems to repeat you when you're prompting him. I've already mentioned the he can say "Santa" but some others include "toast", "PJs", "red", "Linda" and even some french words like "oui" and "rouge". He has a word that means something to him though Jamie and I haven't been able to figure it out. Almost every morning when I pick him up out of his crib he says "dirsh". He can say "mama" so I know he's not talking about me. Sometimes I wonder if he's trying to say "Finch" but they're not really that close and so "dirsh" remains a bit of a mystery.

Something really cute that Brandon is trying to do on his own is wash himself in the bath tub. If you give him the soap, he'll scrub himself down. He's not very good at it but it sure is cute to watch him try. He can also clap, wave bye-bye and just recently, blow kisses.

One not-so-cute behaviour he's picked up is having melt downs when he doesn't get his way. I've heard this is just a part of growing up but sometimes I wonder what has possessed my normally happy boy as he lies screaming on the ground. Luckily these episodes seem short-lived and it's never long before he's back to being his happy little self again!

It's Starting to Look A Lot Like Christmas

'Tis the season for gingerbread, carols, trees and lights. With only 20 more sleeps until Christmas, Brandon has been very busy with holiday season social engagements. He's already been to see Santa - twice! I think it's fair to say that he didn't much care for the man in red. Though Santa was sufficiently jolly both times Brandon visited with him I think Brandon found him a little overwhelming. What Brandon did enjoy though was the lights at Calgary's Zoolights. All the twinkling lights and merry Christmas music caught his attention and made him smile. And today he helped Mommy and Daddy pick out the Christmas tree. Though the trees themselves weren't very exciting, the shop at the front of the nursery had plenty of trees decorated with lights, snow-globes and angels that moved their wings.

Next weekend Brandon has two Christmas parties (one which includes yet another rendez-vous with Santa) as well as his first Christmas concert! Brandon will be preforming on-stage at the Mount Royal Conservatory along with the other babies from his music class. I believe the piece is "Jingle Bells" accompanied by babies shaking bells. It should be fun!

P.S. - Brandon has learned how to say "Santa" :)