What a Good Hubby

Making me dinner. What a good man.

Made it.

We arrived at our hostel at 0400... four hours behind schedule. It is now noon and we have forced ourselves to get out of bed, chatted with the hostel worker, and are ready to explore Miraflores a bit. I am sure Erik will want to recount the events of last night, but I am far too lazy and it is not interesting enough; just your typical traveling woes. We are here, we are almost healthy (my cold is lingering), and we are happy. Delayed flights, late luggage and a lost cab driver haven't dampened our spirits.

Love from Peru.

It's Official

It is official, we are on our way to Lima, Peru. We are sitting in Los Angeles waiting for,our next flight. Erik just spent $30 at an airport convenience store because he didn't see prices until he was at the till and it was "too late". Is that a boy thing? I think I will have to be in charge of the money on this trip.

How am I feeling? I have asked myself that many times and I don't really have an answer. It feels surreal. Leaving Vancouver this morning and thinking that I wouldn't be back until July was bizarre. I think the whole trip will feel surreal -- it is so out of the ordinary and I have never done anything like it. But it will be awesome and I am (or at last I will be) excited for it.

We have a hostel booked for three nights in Lima and we have no plans beyond that. I can't tell if I am thrilled or terrified by the thought, but I am just going to embrace it and enjoy myself. We are actually doing this! Crazy!

We will be in Lima next time you hear from us. I hope it is a tad bit warmer there than it is in this airport... I am freezing!

Fun fact: I found out Lindsey was pregnant a year ago today. That was the best Christmas present ever! And I found out she was having twins around me birthday. Fun, eh?

Have a lovely day.

Master of Counselling

I am thrilled to share that my dear husband has been accepted into the Master of Counselling program at City University of Seattle in Vancouver. He will be doing a Mixed-Mode format and will take three years to complete the program so he can live in Kelowna with me while he's attending school. School starts in September and we are excited and nervous.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

*** *** *** 

Nori Joy's Birth Story: Part One

I know there was no labour involved, but Little Nori Joy was born and the story of birth always deserves to be told.

Milena was hoping to have a VBAC and this was the goal throughout her entire pregnancy. A few weeks ago the ultrasound showed that her placenta may have been growing over the scar from her previous c-section so they booked a section just to be safe. It ended up that the placenta was not over the scar so the obstetrician said it was ok if Milena still attempted a VBAC. They kept the cesarean tentatively booked though in case anything happened. Baby was posterior so Milena did everything she could to try to spin it, but nothing was working and baby was measuring around 10lbs so, based on her history and the fact that Maelle (Nori's older sister) was posterior, over 10lbs, and unable to descend they opted for a c-section. If Milena went into labour before the section date the doctor was ok with her attempting a vaginal delivery, but he said they would quickly move to a c-section if labour was not progressing and the baby was showing signs of stress. A week before the section Milena asked her obstetrician if I could come into the operating room and take some photos during the c-section and he willingly gave his permission.

Milena did not go into labour and so the c-section went as planned. I picked up Sam and Milena in the morning so Milena's mom and Maelle could stay home. We headed to the hospital at around 8:15 and waited. Milena had some bloodwork done and then we waited some more. We had the nurse double-check with the doctor to see if it was still ok for me to come take photos during the c-section and she said that only three of us could go in. So it was Sam, Milena, and one other person -- either the midwife or I. After discussing it with the midwife, Milena decided that she wanted me there to take pictures for her. The midwife was going to wait in the recovery room so she could be with Milena post-op.

So Sam and I donned our scrubs, Milena went pee one last time, and we were off! We sat in the hall outside the OR for a few minutes and the anesthesiologist came and introduced himself (I triple ok's photos with him as I would be standing by him), the pediatrician's resident introduced herself, and the obstetrician came to say hello. We then kissed Milena as she was wheeled through the OR doors and then waited to be summoned.

It felt like we were waiting forever. At one point we were discussing my sister (who used the same midwives Milena did) and her milk-makers. I may have been demonstrating the size of said milk-makers as a doctor walked by. Sam instantly went beat red and the surgeon said, "don't worry I'm a plastic surgeon" to which the midwife called out "yeah, but these are because of milk!" It was nice to have a little comic relief while we waited.

We were eventually allowed into the operating room. Theater 6. Sam joined Milena over her right shoulder on a stool and I was over Milena's left shoulder.... standing by the anesthesiologist. I told him to let me know if I was in his way and he nodded and said that was fine.

And so I made myself comfy. I snapped a few photos. Kept my anticipatory tears at bay. Peaked over the curtain. Wiped a few stray tears away. Watched Milena's monitor. And tried to find an angle to photograph the actual birth.

I watched Sam holding his wife's hand. He rubbed her hand with his thumb and swept the hair from her face.

I peaked over the curtain again and saw the obstetrician pushing and tugging on Milena's tummy and knew the birth was imminent. I readied my camera and battled elbows and tummy's in an attempt to snap the first moments of that sweet baby girl's life.

I saw meconium in the amniotic fluid that erupted from Milena's abdomen and my heart sunk a wee little bit, but then I saw a tuft of hair as the babe's head emerged and heard a small wail even before her head was fully extra-uterine and my heart burst. A babe's first cry is one of the sweetest sounds in all the world. At 12:34pm Milena's perfectly beautiful daughter made her way into the world. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I basked in the newness of the heartily screaming baby girl.

The obstetrician held the little girl up beside the curtain for Sam and Milena to see and then the pediatrician checked her out. Milena asked Sam to wipe her tears away as her arms were secured to the operating table. She wanted to see her baby girl when the time came and her tears were blurring her vision. Sam lovingly did so and he rubbed the top of Milen'a head as they gazed off in the direction of the robust screams of their baby girl.

The anesthesiologist un-velcroed Milena's arms in preparation for her first snuggle with her baby and one of the nurses brought over the lady of the hour.

Watching Milena fall in love with her daughter before my very eyes was indescribable. She got to snuggle for fifteen minutes and she spoke sweet nothings to her baby the entire time. The babe sucked her mama's face and even worked her hand out to hold her ma's finger. The little one kept sticking her tongue out kept licking her Ma. Milena told the babe that her daddy would take care of her while Mommy was resting, but that Milena would join her soon. She told her she loved her and that she had a big sister who was excited to meet her.  The babe kept sticking out her little tongue.

The doctor asked Sam and Milena what the baby's name was. Sam looked at Milena and she nodded her confirmation before he announced the name:

Elinor Alida Joy.

Fresh tears found my eyes as I heard her name as Joy also happens to be my middle name.

Sam followed the little Nori up to the nursery and I stayed with my dear friend while the doctor finished closing her up. Milena was radiating joy and relief and excitement. She looked absolutely lovely and so very beautiful.

When Milena went to PAR to recover I headed upstairs to join Sam nd my Little Joy. I promised Milena that I wouldn't hold the baby until Little Miss and Milena's mother got to meet her so I tried to avoid Sam's attention while I furiously snapped photos of the papa snuggling his newest baby.

I felt like I was imposing as I watched Sam get to know Nori Joy. He was enamored by every part of her little being. Her wails made him smile and I saw his heart soften as her little hand gripped his finger and her eyes focused on his face. Sam cradled Nori in his arms and held her skin-to-skin. He inspected her and commented on how much she looked like her sister, Maelle. He also noted the differences between the two. He told Nori her mommy was going to come soon and that she was going to be okay.

Nori was rooting and alert and was obviously hungry so the midwife warmed some frozen breast milk for Sam to feed Nori with a syringe. She gulped it down, settled, and contentedly stared at her daddy.

It was beautiful to be a part of those first moment's of Nori's life. I felt privileged to witness such a pure and holy experience. Birth remains the single most amazing thing I have ever been a part of. I am so thankful that Sam and Milena invited me into this moment of their lives.

T-209hrs.

Erik and I will be leaving the country in 209 hours. I can't decide if 8.5 days or 209 hours sounds like more time, but I am wishing for just that, more time.

I love my life. I love my job (most days). I love my family. I love my friends. I love our little house. I love my friends' babies. I just love the way things are and I am so content... it feels like the wrong time to up-and-leave. But that's good, right? I have all these things to look forward to when we return.

I am excited about our trip. So very excited as it will be awesome! I'm interested to see how Erik and I work together on our travels and curious to see how we handle the stresses we encounter. I'm looking forward to the uncertainty of endless possibilities.

We don't have too much to do... Well, we have plenty to do, but things are coming along. The house is slowly being packed up. We are figuring out what we still need to purchase for our travels. We're organizing our things for easy accessibility in our packs. Some days I feel I can breathe. I'm a little less certain on other days. But we're surviving and enjoying our time left here as much as possible.

I'm squeezing in as many newborn baby snuggles as I can manage, reveling in the joy and hilarity of my 4-month-old nieces, enjoying a very serious Gus Gus, and eating up the love and attention of my favourite two-year-olds.

I'm sick too. Missed both my day shifts... I won't have to work another of those for six months. Being sick has greatly cut into my small-children time -- we went to Lindsey's for pizza last night and I didn't even get to hold or smooch the girls.

Hoping I get better because I realllllyyy don't want to miss work tomorrow. I love my girls there and need to (need to) say goodbye! Also, the income doesn't hurt.

209 hours folks. That's all!

birth order

I know this photo is awful, but it's hilarious. On one of our last days at the resort we asked one of our regular servers to put us in our birth order. This is what she came up with. Picture Lindsey between Jonathan and Joel. Her order went Sharlene, Anthony, Zachary, Benjamin, Joel, Lindsey, Jonathan, Me, and Justin. Or for those of you who don't know the birth order yourselves... 1, 2, 5, 9, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8.

Poor Little Ben. 

Elinor Alida Joy

Elinor Alida Joy

Born December 6, 2012 @ 1234.

Weight: 9lb 15oz.

Height: 20 inches.

Jansen's Go To Mexico

My parent's had their 40th anniversary this year. What better way to celebrate than to spend a week at an all-inclusive in Mexico?? We were going to go with just the kids and our spouses, but then Lindsey went and had twins this summer and Jonathan's wife is pregnant and so so sick so we went added two babies, went without a SIL, and added a family friend. Oh ya! I haven't even shared that Jon and Courtney are pregnant!!!

Jonathan and Courtney are pregnant!! They're due on May 26, 2013! Courtney has been in and out of the hospital as she has hyperemesis gravidarum (severe debilitating nausea and vomiting), but baby is healthy and mama is hopefully starting to feel better. Due to her condition (the hyperemesis gravidarum, not the pregnancy) Courtney couldn't travel with us.

Oh! I don't think I've mentioned that Erik's sister is also pregnant! She's due May 25, 2013. So Erik and I will have two new babies waiting to meet their favourite Auntie and Uncle when we get home!

Back to Mexico. There was a grand total of 20 of us and we had a fabulous time! We went to Puerto Vallarta and stayed at Velas Vallarta. I'm told it was a small resort, but I'd never been to an all-inclusive so I had nothing to compare it to. It may have been small, but it was perfect for us because you want to be able to find people easily when you go with such a large group. The last week of November was the perfect time to go too because the resort was all-but-deserted. We had a suite on the ground floor right by the pool so Lindsey could put the girls down and take the baby monitor pool-side. It was awesome!

The week was spent lounging by the pool, eating way to much food, playing tennis, jumping waves in the ocean (read: being beaten by the ocean, drinking so much salt water that two of my brothers puked), reading, playing tennis/ping pong/beach volleyball/water volleyball, playing cribbage, chatting, laughing, snuggling sweet little babes, and enjoying everyone's company.

I love my nieces and nephews dearly, but it was nice to just have adults there. It's sometimes nice to just be us. No one had to entertain children, worry about kids running off, deal with tantrums or boredom. We just got to enjoy each other's company.

Lindsey's vacation wasn't as relaxing as the rest of ours, but she enjoyed herself too. Her girls did so well! They are now 4 months and are easy going little ladies so they slept poolside or in their playpen. They had many aunties and uncles who doted on them.

I enjoyed hanging out with my family, having no responsibility, eating when I wanted, drinking as many strawberry smoothies as I wanted, and snuggling with those babes to my heart's content (are there ever enough snuggles though?).

It was just a wonderful time.

Does anyone know why I can't upload pictures anymore? And how do I fix it? Or do I need to change to another blog?? And where would I go?

Nori Joy

I am pleased to announce the arrival of Maelle's baby sister, Elinor Alida Joy. She was born via cesarean section this afternoon at 12:34pm. Little Nori Joy weighed in at 9lb 15oz and both mama and babe are doing well.