MeRiCA!!

A few weeks ago G and I traveled back to Orlando for 2.5 weeks. She had just turned 5 months old and she's on her 2nd international flight. She did pretty well on the plane, almost had a melt down when the plane got to the gate and stopped....just like the car stopping for a bit, she gets fussy, she'd rather the movement. We got through immigration great and met Laura outside and started our road trip from Miami to Orlando. Thank goodness G is so chill, she impressed me with how well she did all day. I was nervous about her not sleeping at night and her schedule she's on might get all screwed up because of traveling and she's not at home, but she adjusted pretty well. The last few days she was ready to go home but she stuck it out and did pretty well on the flight home too....I had an open seat next to me so she slept there most of the flight.

At G's 5 months appointment (in Orlando) she was 16lbs!!! I knew she had to be up there in weight, my arm hurts if I hold her to long lol.  She's teething for sure but no teeth yet, just lots of drool when she's chewing on things, and she is so so close to sitting up. In Orlando she went in her first pool and loved it which made me smile, we hope she continues to love the water and be our water baby. Our families were so excited to see Gem, especially the grandparents!! Gem's cousins even drove down from Georgia for a week to visit. This trip was so neat, watching G interact with people and smile at them and grab their faces, she's a little person with a personality. Jordis was so excited to have Gem there and even though Joss was a jealous 1 1/2 yr old she still decided sharing things with her was ok and would carefully give her a toy or try and share a cookie :)  G also had her first trip to the mall lol! I got a new jogger and went for a test ride the next day at the mall. She loves her jogger because she faces out and sees everything. After a few days of on the go everywhere, she would have a day where she was a hot mess and stayed home those days, simply out of pure exhaustion and her schedule getting all messed up....sadly my mom was watching her some of those days and had to deal with the crazy 5 month old...thanks mom!! For the most part she's really good going out and running around with me, she's on a nice schedule so I attribute her awesomeness to that. She's great at napping too, I know she's tired and just lay her in bed and she'll fall asleep on her own, as long as there's a/c and a fan she's good lol. Night time is the same way, bath, eat, bed and then I could go out to dinner and things with friends :) 

Since the last paragraphs: Things happen so fast, 3 days ago Gem started sitting on her own after her morning nap...weird lol. It's like she just decided she was gonna sit today and she'll sit for forever before she goes over. People always say "they grow up so quick", "enjoy all the moment", "before you know it...", "when are you having another" (that's my least fav). I believe all of those "grow up so fast" comments because I blinked and high school was 13 years ago.......i'm trying my best to soak it all in and enjoy all those moments but seriously, if another person says it to me I may roll my eyes in annoyance at them....i've got to think of something else to say to parents when Gem is all grown up and I come across little babies, I have a little while to think of something clever. A great follow up comment to my least favorite question "when are you having another" is....enjoy this one because you're next one won't be such a dream.....well thank you for that, something that already terrifies me, people seem to remind me of, well done.

Anyways, we're back in Barbados, Darin was so happy we came home finally and G is adjusting well back to her schedule and sleeping through the night. We have her 6 month appointment next week so i'll have some stats up soon :)

CanADiaN TiME eH?

It all started almost 2 1/2 years ago in the Bahamas....I met this girl :) She was tall, blonde and from Canada, she was dating a friend of ours we'd just met and I was the girl they set up for her to meet and hang out with. I met her at dinner and then told her we'd go to the beach or something the next day and surprising to me, for the next 2 weeks she was in town we were joined at the hip. Whenever her boyfriend was working, day or night at the restaurant, she was all mine and we did everything together!! We became instant best friends and I was so upset when she had to go. Thanks to iphone for imessage and facetime, we continued to chat and talk like we'd been friends forever. We got to know each other pretty well over those next couple years and then the day came when she bought her ticket to come to Barbados!! It was only a month away but I was so stinking excited and we talked about all the stuff we were gonna do and where we'd eat or have glass after glass of wine.

Foxy is her name, we call her Jen sometimes but for the most part it's Foxy, and the day arrived when Foxy was landing in Barbados!! Her trip was amazing, we did so much stuff and ate some amazing food, trying new places and spending the days at the beach. It was so nice to have someone help me with Gemma too. If I needed to drop Darin off at work so we could have the car, she'd ask me to leave Gem with her so they could play. She fed her numerous times, changed diapers, watched her while I had to do some errands for Darin.....Gem loves her aunt Foxy and so do I. The week went by at a steady pace, not to fast, but the day did come when she had to go and I was not excited about it. Living here makes me love visitors but also hate it at the same time because I always have to drop them off at the airport and say good-bye. We had a good long big hug and I of course cried (lol, such a dork). I just don't want it to be another 2 years before we see each other again, and I couldn't help from thinking that when I had to say good-bye....wish we lived closer, Vancouver and Barbados are just to far apart. I'm very lucky to have a friend like her and even though our friendship has been and will always be long distance we'll always be close :)

Love you Foxy!! Come back!!

iNVenTor MoM

Having a baby and them being your first, you've always got your thinking cap on. They grow and change on a daily basis so i'm constantly figuring stuff out and how or what to do next.

Sometimes I think her naps are getting shorter, then she fools me and is out for 3 hrs. She's on a pretty good sleep, eat, wake, sleep schedule...eating every 4 hours or so but she'll throw me off sometimes and then we've got to re adjust...no day is the same. 
We've outgrown the swing and now use the jumparoo thing, which she loves!! She wants to sit by herself so bad, she grabs at toys and instantly puts them in her mouth and she's standing like a champ!! Recently though, i've had to invent a few things. At her 4 month check up the dr noticed a tad of "flat head" starting so she recommended a sleep wedge which I don't have and who knows how expensive that is here. So (since wearing a thinking cap) i've created a masterpiece!! After many random ideas that didn't work out....to keep her on her left side when she sleeps, I cut a swim noodle and use her swaddle to keep it in place lol, see pic below :) Pretty genius of me I think. I also made her nursing pillow smaller and taped it so she can lay her head on that and it won't be on the bed flat anymore (saw something on a baby website that was similar, but made my own). I like both things but i'll soon have an actual side sleeper when my friend arrives in a week. Another thing, her legs are so chunky when she sits in the bumbo seat that when you take her out it sticks to her, so unless she's in her pj's or pants she's good. The trick is to put a receiving blanket covering the seat....and now we can pull her out way more easy with no seat stuck to her bare legs!

I've also started to lose hair, not just the normal hair loss but I mean like CLUMPS.....I was so freaked out in the shower I started to cry, it was so much hair I swear i'm gonna be bald before long. From talking to other moms and reading online it's "normal".....guess i'll just have to ride out the hair loss for now, hope it ends soon because it's no fun. Gemma is losing hair too but in a baby way so that doesn't count.

We started doing cereal, randomly but we started it, her face explains it all hahahaha. At first she was so confused but a few spoonfuls later she liked it. Hasn't quite gotten how to swallow it all at once so most comes out to the spoon but then I put it right back in, eventually it's all gone :) I can't wait to start fruits and veggies but that has to wait for Dr's orders first :(

She is also sleeping through the night (not sure if it's this amber necklace but since she's had it on she sleeps even better, and she was always a good sleeper), she's down around 7 or 8 and isn't up till around 5am, Darin does that feeding (thank goodness) because i'm usually up at 6:30 with her and I let him sleep till 7am when his alarm goes off for work. She's also been teething...she's been doing really really well, she's had some down days or fussy days but from what people explain how horrific teething babies are I think I should count my blessings because she's not really that bad...knock on wood lol. 

Gemma Loves:
-her jumparoo
-chewing on anything that fits in her mouth
-to stand
-my little ponies

Gemma Hates:
-tummy time....what's new

Gemma Stats
-4 months, 14lbs 5 oz, 25 inches long, our solid little girl :)

ViSiTOrS

Last week we had my brother and his very very sweet girlfriend come for a visit. Craig has been here before but Kaitlyn hasn't, she's been to Haiti a few times but this was her first vacation to the caribbean and what an awesome first caribbean vacation it was. We did so much with them, of course the usual amazing beaches all around the island with a different one to visit every day but the main reason for coming those dates is because Craig's favorite show Top Gear was here!!! We got VIP tickets and went out to the Bushy Park track here in Barbados for an all day even on Sunday, it was so much fun, an awesome day for sure!! We also did some paddle boarding on the west coast and saw a few turtles who weren't shy to see us at all, Kaitlyn even touched one!! The water was so clear so the visibility was perfect for snorkeling and swimming with the turtles. Craig has his GoPro so i'm sure there will be a video soon of all that :) Gemma got to spend some quality time with Alicia and her boys who LOVE their Gemma, it was nice to have some time and do things with them without the little one. We went out on a double date one night, watched the sunset at the Cliff on the west coast and then headed to Lime Grove for some dinner, which Kaitlyn and I shared a pizza and big salad and we couldn't stop moaning over how good the food was lol! Another great night was an annual party some friends throw called Mix Nutz and it's a paint party so we wear all white and show up at midnight and dance around in paint and powder like crazy people.....so crazy I lost our keys to the car AND my iphone :( good thing everything worked out and everything was returned...PHEW!!! Mix Nutz is on my top 5 nights in Barbados ever, seriously SO MUCH FUN (except I lost all the pics on my phone). It was nice when Craig and Darin enjoyed "bro" time because Kaitlyn and I got to enjoy girl time...we chatted about a lot of things that I won't share but that make my heart smile so just know that :) We miss them and hope one day they can come back and visit. Until next time....here's some pics :)

1st MotHeR's DaY

Very late post but after mother's day that week went pretty quick, then my brother and his sweet girlfriend came the following weekend and we've been super busy up until they left yesterday.

Here's my little Gem, who's made me enjoy life even more than I have been all along, I thought it was good then and it was, because it's great now. She's tested my patience, pooped on me, spit up on me, woke me in the middle of the night, screamed in my ear but it's all worth it when she flashes that gorgeous smile my way. Thank you Gem for being such a great baby for my first time around this crazy block! Last year I was pregnant with you but didn't know so this day is so special knowing what I know now, I was a mom last mother's day and didn't know it.....love how life changes!

The bottom left pic is actually Mother's Day, we went to breakfast and then headed to the beach :)