PS

One of my favorite things about babies is the Post-Swaddle-Stretch. So precious.

Sleepover at Auntie's House!

Little Bean slept over on Friday night so her parents could celebrate their 3rd anniversary baby-free. It was delightful! I loved every single moment I had with Sawyer.

I loved waking up for the late night feeds (it definitely helps when you know you are giving her back the next afternoon). I enjoyed them because everything was quiet. So quiet and so peaceful and so lovely. It was just me and my little buddy.

I loved snuggling at 3am on the couch and rocking her back to sleep. It is amazing how trusting little babies are. I love how they melt into you and can often be calmed just by being snuggled.

I gave Sawyer to Erik in the morning when I was getting her bottle ready. He's not very comfortable with little ones, but he did well. I came back into the room to this... Erik trying to sleep with his teddy bear over his face (yes we sleep with a teddy bear). 

 Sawyer and  I went to see her parents in the morning because we needed to pick up more milk (her mama hadn't pumped enough so they stayed in Kelowna so I could pick it up from them). I think Sawyer's parents were happy to see her; her mama had never been apart from her for more than a couple hours.

Look at her chubby cheeks!!! They are YUMMY! I munched on them constantly... They are wonderful!

We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. It was so refreshing outside! It was drizzling a bit and I had Sawyer in the sling as we walked around. I may be wrong, but I think she loves being outside. It seems to calm her almost instantly. It could be the whole combination of being swaddled, snuggled in a sling, and in the fresh (as fresh as a city can be) air.  I enjoyed it though.

When we came home from our errands, I gave Sawyer a bath. She wasn't a big fan, but she smelled delicious at the end of it all. Her little wrists now look like they have rubber bands around them. That is one of my favorite things about babies! Super cute. 

Erik even fed her in the afternoon before her parent's came to pick her up. He was so funny because she was falling asleep and he was afraid that she would choke. He kept on calling me over to wake Sawyer up because he couldn't do it because his hands were full. Then when he was burping her he was terrified that she was going to spit up on him. He made a full-out shield to protect himself. He eventually handed her off to me because it was too much for him to handle.

I was sad to see Sawyer go home. It was so much fun to play Auntie for the night. I cannot wait to do it again!

Lyrics

I never liked this song, but my girlfriend sang it on Mother's Day and I listened to the words for the first time. Maybe I was feeling slightly nostalgic and mopey, but I really enjoyed it. Erik was singing it this afternoon when I woke up and I liked it still.

I Hope You Dance - Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder You get your fill to eat But always keep that hunger May you never take one single breath for granted God forbid love ever leave you empty handed I hope you still feel small When you stand by the ocean Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance I hope you dance I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance Never settle for the path of least resistance Living might mean taking chances But they're worth taking Lovin' might be a mistake But it's worth making Don't let some hell bent heart Leave you bitter When you come close to selling out Reconsider Give the heavens above More than just a passing glance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance I hope you dance I hope you still feel small When you stand by the ocean Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance Dance I hope you dance I hope you dance

Busy

I went home Monday morning after working a night shift to attend my grandfather's funeral. It was so good to see my family! I saw cousins I haven't seen in a decade. A decade! That's ridiculous.

I now have eight night shifts to work in the next 12 days. I'm not looking forward to it. My last two night shifts (prior to going home) were in Labor and Delivery and we had ZERO women come in. ZERO! I was so disappointed. The nurses loved it as they had eight births a shift for the four days preceding my shifts. I didn't even bring a book or knitting because I was expecting the caseroom to be a hopping place. No such luck. I was supposed to work there again last night, but my preceptor was moved to post-partum so I missed out on another seven births. I think we are post-partum again tonight. Hopefully we will be back in the caseroom tomorrow night.

I got to visit with Sawyer on Friday. I hadn't seen her in over a week! She is now over 9 lbs and cute as a button.

Opa Siebring

My Opa passed away this morning. He died peacefully in his home with my Oma and aunt by his side. He was 90 years old and ready to go home.

I was blessed to have the opportunity to go home and see him a couple weeks ago when he was hospitalized. I got to tell him that I loved him and prayed with him. I am so thankful for that visit. He will be missed.

MMEG Pregnancy Photos

Here are some photos of Milena. We have been friends for about a year and a half, but she went to church with Erik back in Stanwood when they were younger... small world. I met her when we started going to our church, "The Well", here in Kelowna. It was so gorgeous out yesterday that we decided to take some pregnancy photos of her. I wish I had the means and knew how to edit them because some of them could use a little spunk, but alas, I do not.

Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak of the photos I took of my girlfriend Milena today at 31 weeks. 

Sawybean, Beanie Baby, Nutty Butt, Poopsie

I know I am a bit ridiculous when it comes to this little girl, but I cannot get enough of her! I am starting my practicums on Monday so I will be kept pretty busy for... well... forever. I have practicum until July and then I start work as an Employed Student Nurse. More on that later.

For now I want to to show you some more pictures of Sawyer. Mandi and I went to the lake today. This is where we were hoping to take maternity shots of her, but Sawyer came too soon so we didn't get the chance. We were hoping to get some nice pictures of Sawyer. We had the best of intentions, but realized we didn't really know what we were doing when we got there. We tried though and this is what came of it... we both think they are pretty cute.

It looks colder than it was. We thought we were going to be rained on, but then the sun came out and it was beautiful!!

We ended up staying at the lake for two hours because the weather was so nice! I cannot wait for summer!!

what is wrong with this picture?

Erik is missing his wedding band. It slipped off while he was working in the community garden on Sunday.

I am often overly sentimental, but this recent loss doesn't bother me. I should maybe clarify that it hasn't bothered me yet. Who knows how I will feel in the future. For now I will enjoy holding Erik's hand without him squishing my fingers into his ring.

Living Room Pre-make-over.

My SIL wanted to see what our living room looked like before it's so called "make-over". It didn't look pretty.

Slouchy Hat

Friends of ours were over for the weekend, visiting from Vancouver. It is SO nice to have our place to share with people. We spent the weekend talking, walking, eating, and playing games. It was great to catch up and relax together.

While she was here, Erin showed me this hat that she made. We went out to get yarn yesterday so I could start my own "slouchy hat". The beige one Erik is wearing was my first go at it. I thought I remembered the instructions Erin gave me, but I was wrong. It didn't turn out quite right... but Erik's head is bigger than mine so it looks fine on him. 

This is how Erik and I often spend our time - he plays Mario RPG?? and I knit or we both read. I went out again and got some more yarn late this morning and started another hat. I finished it less than three hours from the time I bought the yarn. 

Progress

And the final product. I'm pretty happy with it. I love that it takes about three hours. Short projects are always a good thing. It is a simple pattern too which means I don't have to focus too much. It is perfect for a stitch-n-bitch or for when friends are over and I feel like knitting. The other great thing is that the pattern only requires one skein! Fabulous!

KM

Yesterday when we were downtown we saw Kevin Martin, Olympic gold-medalist. Yup. We did. Erik didn't want to ask him for a picture so I just oogeled from across the street.

Samson

I am loving this song.

Sawyer's Due Date

Today is Sawyer's original due date - it is hard to believe we could still have been waiting for her. She is already 12 days old and as of this afternoon, she is umbilical-cord-free!! Yup, her little umbilical cord fell off today.

I cannot believe how much she has grown already. I don't think her weight has changed dramatically, but I do think she looks different. I had another sleep over last night (yes!!) and she was awake a lot more than the last two times. It was wonderful. She is so precious.

Interesting fact: Sawyer was born on April 17... the same day Erik proposed to me two years earlier. 

Look at her little belly! Cute. She may be pooping in this picture. 

Scowling. 

I love babies' sporadic movements.  They are adorable!

Living/Dining Room

My parents were visiting this weekend and my mother agreed to help me organize my home. I had been so busy with school that I had no time or energy to make our place comfortable. Mom and I only focused on the living room... and we didn't do too much, but it looks and feels much better than before she came. It used to be a wide open space, but we have now sectioned it off into "living room" and "dining room" which has been great! I don't know where my "before" pictures are... just imagine nothing but the yellow couch. All of the pictures are blurry as my camera was dying and I was trying to take some quick snap shots for this.

This is the living room. Please note that one wall is brick and the other is stone. Very interesting indeed. We got the chairs and the table from the Kelowna Gospel Mission Thrift store. We were quite excited about that. I did not put up the purple curtains, in case anyone was wondering.

This picture is taken from the yellow couch above. Our TV (which is used for ancient nintendo) is tucked in the corner because I think it is an eye-sore. 

Next we have the "dining room" half of the room. We do not have our table in our kitchen because, as I mentioned earlier, our kitchen has no windows and a door which does not accommodate company or a pleasant meal together. Note the yellow couch in the corner to give you a frame of reference. Those thingys on the wall were a DIY project. I'll take a better picture of them in a bit.

Here we have the door to the room and two Norman Rockwell prints I picked up at the thrift store. I am hoping to eventually find a long table or a low dresser thing to stick under these prints so our phone will have something pretty to sit on. And I can put table linens etc in there. We'll see how that goes.

We used to have this rug in our bedroom. It is so misshapen, but I like that it gives definition to this little nook. We are still deciding what we want to do with this. 

It is amazing what these little changes can do to the place. I feel more relaxed and more at home since making these changes. It is wonderful!!! It may have something to do with being finished my classes, but I enjoyed making the space our own. It is beginning to feel like home.

My Favorite Moment

Mandi's labor/Sawyer's birth was the most beautiful experience I have ever been a part of. It was a dream come true for me. I have been thinking about the experience and appreciating it more and more.

I thought the best part would be seeing Sawyer, but it wasn't. It was incredible, but not my favorite part. Remembering Sawyer's first breath brings tears to my eyes, but there was another moment that sends shivers down my spine and takes my breath away.

Before this experience I thought laboring women were amazing. I still do, but I have come to believe that husbands/support persons are pretty incredible as well (not quite like mothers though).  I feel as though we (Kevin and I) went through labor as well - we just had a less painful role to play.

My favorite moment in the entire labor, delivery, and post-partum period was about 30 minutes into Mandi's contractions when it was just Kevin, Mandi and me. The room was dark, but for the bit of light, coming through the little window in the door, that faded before it reached the bed. We were huddled around Mandi - I was lying in bed with her and Kevin was sitting facing her. Contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart with increasing intensity and we worked through each one together.

Mandi's contractions consumed each of us and we focused on getting through them together. We were a team, working as one; we each knew our part and played it well. We trusted each other and adapted as needed to manage each contraction. We intuitively worked our way through something that we had never experienced.

The three of us were locked in an intimate moment. We were calm and focused and, in that moment, nothing existed but the three of us.

It was beautiful.

It was the most raw experience I have ever been a part of. Each of us were vulnerable and uncertain, but we were all confident in each other, trusting in Mandi's body, and relying on God.

And it was beautiful.

It is that moment, the three of us nestled in the dark room laboring together, that moment touches my heart and moves me to tears.

Sawybean

Last night I took advantage of my special time with Sawybean. Here we are at 4am, snuggling. Simply the best!

I look angry-ish... but I was just tired.