Growing up, lowering down

We lowered Noahs bed today. This is why.

Yesterday Matt walked into Noahs room during his nap and found him sitting up in bed playing. He has never gotten up himself so it was a bit of a shock to see. We figured he was just learning how and werent too concerned about lowering the crib just yet.

But today I witnessed him do is three times, so down it went. He decided that just sitting wasnt good enough and immediatly starting practicing standing.

I

This kid is on the move!!!

Oh, and have I ever mentioned how much Noah loves when his daddy is home? Pretty sure he gets sick of seeing me all day long. Nothing more fun then play time with daddy before bed time!

Kisses for daddy

Home decorating

We have been wanting to do 'something' with the walls in our dining room/living room pretty much since we moved in. But since we have an open concept townhouse it was hard to figure out what was going to work without messing up 'the flow.' We had gone to Ikea several times but could never make a decision on what exactly we wanted to do.

Yesterday we decided to just go with our guts and purchase the items we were thinking of. We are very happy with how it turned out!

Sorry I dont have any before and afters. Just the afters.
Here is our dining room now.

Now this is our living room. We basically just moved around our picture frames and added those two shelves. Planning to buy some light blue candles and a few other items to go on there like starfish, etc.. Thinking of maybe getting some lettering that says 'FAITH' or 'FAMILY.' I would welcome any other suggestions :)

We also got some darker shelving for our master bedroom and for Noah's room for his favourite books.

Relfections... one year ago today.

This time last year some friends and I were celebrating the royal wedding of Will & Kate. I held a viewing party, we ate british treats and sipped cups of tea.

A few of us also decided to try on our wedding dresses again for fun. We wanted to feel fancy.

 

Oh yeah - and I was approximately 6 months pregnant. So if my dress looks a little funny - its because I couldnt due it up!





It was a good time :)

Dance party

Noah loves a good dance party. It tends to happen around 8am after daddy leaves for work or while mommy is making dinner in the kitchen.

I think he is a pretty good dancer for an 8 month old.

PS - his favourite dance song right now is 'Golden Age' by the Asteroid Galaxy. No joke. Gets him going every time.

Proof.

"Whats that I hear?"

"My favorite song!?"

"Woo hoo!!!!!"

"I looove to dance!"

"La la la la...!!!"

"Thanks mommy... that was AWESOME!"



All is well

I have had a really wonderful past couple of days. I had coffee with some girlfriends, went on a date with my husband, saw a great Nicholas Sparks movie at the theatres and spent lots of time with family. Speaking of Nicholas Sparks... I forgot how much I love his books. I think I may go back and read my favorites again.

Noah seems to be in a really good zone right now which always puts me in a cheerful mood. Pretty sure he went through a growth spurt a few weeks back as he was pretty cranky and all of a sudden barely fits his 9 month attire. He is eating food like crazy, sleeping 10-12 hours straight at night and independently playing great. He is also becoming very mobile and doesn't like to sit still. He can roll from one side of the room to the other and is very good at going from sitting up to crawling position or spinning himself around in any direction. I don't think actually crawling is far away now...

And yes... he knows how to shift this thing to make it move.





Next week I am going in to get 2 of my wisdom teeth removed and I am starting to get pretty nervous about it. I will be under conscience sedation, but I just find dentist visits so nerve wrecking. Please pray that I will manage to stay calm and all will go well.

P.S - Noah has found a new fun facial expression for pictures. I call it his 'goober face.' Here are a few examples.

P.P.S - Sorry they are all phone pictures today. I havent been great at pulling out my nice camera lately. Will try harder :)

Impact

WARNING... This blog post contains spoilers from last nights episode of American Idol.
.
.
.
.
.
.

First of all, let me just say "WHAT!?"
Colton Dixon was voted off American Idol last night after never being in the bottom three until now. Obviously people felt he was in a pretty safe position and didn't bother picking up the phone, figuring he would be okay for one week. *sigh* Canadians really should be allowed to vote.

Despite him being my favourite, it is probably a good thing he didn't win the whole competition (as many expected he would.) See, Colton Dixon is a very strong out spoken Christian. By not winning the show, he will have a little more freedom in what kind of record he makes and who he signs with and he has made it no secret that he wants to do a Christian album. He has already gotten a ton of support from artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day and Lifehouse. Hopefully one of them will come along side him and get something started.

But what I really want to talk about has nothing to do with his singing talent, which is wonderful in itself. But as a fellow Christian I have really appreciated and respected the way he has handled himself on the show every week. He has been an excellent testimony and representation of what a Christian is. Colton was told by the producers that he needed to tone down his tweets on twitter (where he has given out daily Bible verses) and that being so outspoken about his faith live on the show was going to greatly hurt him. Coltons response? "I am not going to hide it, and I am not going to stray away from it just because I am on a TV show." That takes guts.

Last night during his shocking elimination when asked if there was anything he wanted to say, all he did was apologise for not being 100% himself the night before. Then he went on to perform Lifehouses 'Everything' song, in which he got on his knees, looked up to Heaven and changed the words of the song to "Your all I want, Your all I need, Your everything GOD Your everything." Fellow contestants were crying, one of the judges was crying... my goodness, even I was crying It was so moving!
He never got to finish his song - whether the producers thought enough was enough and cut him off or whether he genuinely ran out of time I don't know. But what an impact to make in your final moments on live TV.

We look forward to seeing big things from you Colton. Big things for the glory of God.

Family dinners & baby eczema

We had my family over for dinner last night. I don't have them over a lot because there are 8 of us all together and I'm just not use to cooking a big meal for that many people. It tends to stress me out. But almost every Sunday we have lunch at my parents place so I feel like I need to step it up every now and then and treat them for a change. This time I decided I wasn't going to worry about how everything turned out and it helped. I really enjoy family dinners and it has certainly been made much easier since my discovery of the slow cooker pot roast! Mmm mmm good.

Earlier in the day I took Noah to our doctor since he's had these weird rashes on and off for several weeks. His skin has been super dry and it's gotten to the point where one of his ears have been bleeding (poor guy.) Turns out Noah has eczema! He's got a small infection at the back of one ear and very bad patches of eczema inside his ear lobes. So we've been given antibiotic ointment for those areas along with a prescription cream for the other patchy areas of his body. Expensive stuff! I've been instructed to slather Noah with Aveeno baby lotion 3+ times a day, bath him twice a week only and avoid everything scented on him (hello Norwex laundry detergent!) Hopefully he will be one of those kids that grows out of it by age 2. I was told that I'm lucky Noah is so laid back because eczema can make babies miserable and he has been fine for the most part.
The more people that tell me my son is laid back and easy the more I feel like our next child will be a doozy...

You can see on his cheek and chin his eczema. The cream is working well though and it was almost gone today!

Instead of napping...

So my son decided that he wasn't really interested in napping today. He wasn't  being cranky, he just wanted to play.
I snuck into his room and taped a bit of it. He never even noticed me.

May I just add that he has finally fallen asleep now...

Brain overload

Does anyone else ever have times where you feel like your brain could explode because you have so many thoughts running around in your head at once?
That's me this weekend. I think it's because I've been sick with strep and Matt has taken on all Noah duties while I rest and try not to pass it along to the two of them. I've had a lot of time to think.
So, what are these random thoughts you may ask? I will attempt to divulge them, but I apologise in advance if they seem scattered.

I find myself thinking about my daily schedule at home with Noah. Is there a better routine I could be in? Am I giving him enough stimulation? Am I accomplishing what I want to each day? Am I being the best wife and mother I can be? Am I having  enough moments where I am just Carolyn?
I have recently started doing Yoga during Noah's morning nap and have been enjoying it immensely. It gives me energy and I find it a great way to kick off my day. Ive also been sleeping alot better since starting it.
I try to get together for girls nights to chat with my friends and watch movies, but I am usually still around Noah while I am doing this. Granted, he may be sleeping. But I am still in 'mommy mode' at the time.
I still feel at times like I'm lacking a real 'hobby' away from Noah. I really don't have any time when I am away from him except for when Matt and I go on date nights. But then were still out as a couple, its not just me. I think the last time I felt I was involved in something that I was really passionate about was when I did the school play last year. Hmm...
Maybe I am being unrealistic and its something I need to just get over.

I've also been thinking about our family. I've thought about when to start expanding our family. How much to expand our family. And how to go about expanding our family. I've always liked the idea of adoption - and Matt and I have talked about it casually a few times. But it intimidates me. The long process, the ups and downs, the dynamics of it all. Something to pray long and hard about for sure.

Ive also thought about how we plan to educate our children. Matt and I decided that our kids will be going one of two routes: private education or homeschooling. I really like the idea of homeschooling our children for the first few years, but not forever. Of course where we are at financially will play a big role in our decision. I grew up going to a Christian school and I have nothing but positive things to say about it. It was a wonderful experience. But I've always dreamt of my kids not only learning about history but seeing it first hand though travel. I want them to see the world. But again, I may be being unrealistic.

The last thought on my brain is how to live out our faith more in our lives as an example to Noah. Yes, we go to church every Sunday, we pray at meals and speak of Jesus as our Savior. But what are we going to do to intentionally teach Noah every day. Devotions at dinner? Bible time before bed? We need some kind of routine. We currently don't have a toddler Sunday School class at church since their are only two children under the age of two and then it jumps up to age 6 or so. Should I maybe discuss with the leadership the idea of starting one? But then what do us young moms do when a second baby comes along?

*sigh*... as you can see, oh so many thoughts rolling around. Ive said it before - my blog is my way of attempting to process things and try to make sense of them. We'll see if this post has succeeded in that.

8 month Noah

Noah will be 8 months old in two days. When I look at pictures and videos of only a week or two back, he already looks totally different. How is that possible? I wanted to document him at this age so this morning I took a bunch of photos of him.

Have I mentioned Noah is a major thumb sucker? He use to love his soother. But when we sleep trained him he replaced it with his thumb. Makes things easier for us, but I hope it'll be a habit we can easily drop when need be.

On another note... we had our first 'pregnancy scare' (if you can call it that.) I was a good week late and actually sent Matt out to get a test because my brain was starting to go crazy. It was negative, and no we arent going for number 2 right now! I found it funny though that I was actually a little bit dissapointed with the result. The timing certainly wouldnt have been ideal, but I think the idea of a new baby is still incredibly exciting and we would have been thrilled if God had blessed us with another child so soon. We've always said that if we get pregnant when we arent trying its not an 'oopsie,' its simply Gods way of saying that His timing is better then ours :)

A little perspective

I have started doing 'year in review' digital scrapbooks online. I was finding that by doing a themed scrapbook I would miss all these little everyday moments that had no where to be shared. So this solves it. This year I started working on my Bechard 2012 Family album a month at a time so that I wouldnt have to do it all at the end of the year.

The other day I spent over an hour putting together my 6 or so pages of highlights from our Disneyland trip. I had the best photos selected and the layout was just perfect. I came back on to move onto the April section only to discover that my Disney pages hadnt saved. I was so beyond frustrated! I closed the album and proceeded to vent to my husband. As a mommy to a young child, I dont exactly get alot of hour or two blocks of free time!!!

I was then reminded of a video clip that was shown in the highschool I worked at and I had to laugh. After watching it again I reminded myself that this really was not a big deal. My husband Matt and brother Michael and I have this joke lately whenever one of us complain about something stupid. 'First world problems' we always say. Its So true. Was this really that big of a deal? No!

I have now told myself to get over it and just enjoy going through all the pictures again.

Here is the youtube clip if you are interested. Its a good laugh.

Noahs first Easter

Today we celebrated Easter!

We started out by going to church and remembering what this holiday is all about - Grace. Christ suffering on the cross, taking away the punishment for our sins which WE so deserved, not Him.

From there, it was off to my parents house for the traditional Easter Lunch. Here are a few photos :)

Noah was showered with Easter gifts. This duck talked, sang and said PUT ME DOWN when you picked him up. Too funny!

"look what I got grandpa!"



"Sorry Nikki...these Purdys are mine now..."

A beautiful spring day in Fleetwood

Matt ended up needing to put in a few hours of work today, but once he got home we headed out into the beautiful sunshine for a walk at our favourite place, Tynehead Park.

Noah enjoyed playing outside on the patio and Matt and I enjoyed our first BBQ steak dinner since last fall. I love sunshiny weather!



Springing into April

Not much to talk about today - so I thought Id share a few photos of our little man lately.

Noah loves to play around on the piano. He hits those keys nice and hard and it gives me hope that he has some musical abilities.

He likes to practise standing. He can stand on his own for a few moments now if hes supporting himself with something.

We had some gorgeous weather a week back. We were able to sit outside in tshirts and enjoy the sunshine. Noah loved being out on the patio.

This is just a picture of Noah in his new church outfit. He looks so grown up!







Our tropical paradise

Yep, were going back! Today I booked flights for us to go to Hawaii this fall.

My family has loved Hawaii since our first visit over 10 years ago. But it became even more special 3 years ago when Matt and I got married there amongst a few close family and friends.
We are very excited to share this special place with our son, who will be a year old then and most likely able to toddle around on the beach. Oh the cuteness!

This time we are heading to the island of Oahu and staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. My parents and brothers will be there as well as a few of our friends. I can't wait!

After this trip we plan to take a year off and stick close to home. But of course I will probably be dreaming of and planning our next adventure. I can't help it! It's in my genes!

Grown up Fairy Tales

I don't often talk about tv shows on my blog, but in this case I just have to share. You share good things with friends right?

There is one TV show this season that has me totally hooked, and that hasn't happened for a long time. The acting is great. The scenery is beautiful (its shot at various locations around Greater Vancouver - but I am kind of bias) and the writing is totally addicting.

Its called Once Upon a Time and it is based on all the classic fairy tales that we loved growing up on, but with a twist. Here's the basic storyline for those who haven't had a chance to enjoy this wonderfully entertaining show.

Meet Mary Margaret.

She's a school teacher in a small town called Storybrooke. At least that's who she thinks she is.

She's actually Snow White.

But she doesn't remember that.

You see, all of Storybrooke is under a curse. A curse that is meant to ruin everyones  'Happily Ever Afters.' It causes them to forget who they really are and makes time stand still. The characters of Fairy Tale Land were sent to the real world by Snow Whites evil Stepmother Queen, also known as Regina, the Mayor of Storybrooke.

Are you still with me?

Regina hates Snow White (for a reason that we only just recently found out.) In Storybrooke, Regina has enjoyed having complete control over everything that happens; including keeping others from being truly happy.

But then someone by the name of Emma Swan arrives in town, and suddenly Regina starts to lose her control over everyone. Hmm... Why could that be?

Another important thing to add is that all of the people in the real world were once fairy tale characters and you are constantly trying to figure out who is who (this may be an appropriate time to add that this show is done by the writers of LOST so you can imagine how good they are at leaving you guessing.)

So far we have met and learnt the true story of Grumpy (from the 7 Dwarfs), Red Riding Hood, The Magic Mirror, The Huntsmen, Prince Charming, The Mad Hatter, and the 'whose side are you really on' Rumpelstiltskin.

I could go on forever but instead will just encourage you to check it out for yourselves. Its got something for everyone, and its good clean family fun. We all know how rare those gems are these days...

Its on Sunday nights. Let me know your thoughts.