2015 :: Year in Review :: January to April

January
I spent most of January nursing and getting to know Eliza Jane. She got a bad cold when she was only a few days old and we spent much of the month steaming, suctioning, and making sure she could breathe.

The transition to parenthood was easier than we anticipated. Being parents and having a dependent human being felt normal and wonderful. Eliza was an easy going newborn who only fussed when she needed to sleep or when she wanted to be put down. I learned early on that she wasn't particularly fond of being held, which would have been even more mind-boggling if I didn't have a niece who was the same.

February
We took our first trip to the coast in February and we were able to introduce Eliza to some of our extended families. Erik had a week-long residency in Vancouver for his Master's program so Eliza and I tagged along and stayed with various family members for the week. It was lovely to actually have time to visit with people as we are usually only down for a weekend and have way too much to cram into that time.

My friend, Heidi, came to visit from Manitoba. It may sound awful, but my favourite thing about her visit (aside from the yummy cupcakes she made) was that Heidi would rock Eliza to sleep in the evening when she was fussy and Erik and I would go to bed. Then she would sneak into our room and put Eliza to bed while we slept. It was wonderful to go to sleep without having to think about the baby waking up or not settling. And it was great to see Heidi.

Eliza was also baptized in February. My mom made her baptism gown and my brother did the baptism, which made the day even more special. Eliza was in fine form and screamed the entire service.

March
I don't recall much of March. Erik was busy with work and school and I enjoyed staying home with the babe. I do remember spending plenty of time rocking Eliza to sleep. She hated going to sleep and would put up a mighty fight. I was thankful she fell asleep easy at night because she would struggle with it during the day.

We made another trip to the coast to visit Erik's family in Washington as Erik's sister was visiting from Minnesota. A nasty bug was unfortunately being passed around when we arrived so the visit wasn't what we were expecting and we had to quarantine Eliza so she wouldn't catch the virus.

We had thankfully planned to sleep in a tent, but poor Eliza was forced to nap out on the deck sheltered from the elements by jackets, bags, and umbrellas depending on the weather.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it felt different sharing Eliza with Erik's family. It seems ridiculous but I felt almost surprised that they loved her as my family does. Of course they did! Why wouldn't they? Eliza's cousins were finally healthy enough to play with her the day before we left. We were down for a week and only got to spend one day snuggled up together! Ugh!

April
After our time in Stanwood we headed north to the Lower Mainland to spend Easter with my family. We also celebrated Erik and my brother Jonathan's 30th birthdays with a hockey party and lunch with our extended family. We rented what I believe was a practice rink and my siblings, cousins, and an aunt, and my uncles played 3-on-3 hockey. 

Our family also welcomed a new nephew in April! Cruz Kingston Black was born on April 28 to my brother, Joel, and his wife.

And our friends from Fort St. John came down for a visit to the coast. It was fun to finally have a baby of my own to add to the mess of children playing in the backyard and it was great to spend time together. I was there when all the wee ones in the photo below were born.
Next installment (hopefully) coming shortly.