As k. would say...good times...good times

Have you ever had a warm, plump, sweet-smelling baby drift off to sleep in your arms while you're rocking in a chair and listening to soothing music? If you haven't, I would suggest that you put it on your list of things to do in this lifetime.

I'm not ashamed to admit that there are some things about motherhood that I have a hard time dealing with (beware of anyone who tells you that they love everything about having a new baby...they are a lying sack of sh*t). Putting Amy to bed used to be one of the worst parts of the day. Now that she's older and we have a very solid routine in place, she's just a doll to put to bed at night. Add to that the fact that we've put a CD player in her room and we have the soundtrack to Amélie playing and it has become a wonderful experience. She gets all cuddled up in my arms and she is so soft you almost can't feel her cheeks when you kiss them. My favourite thing to do is to wait until she's asleep and then I kiss her lips...she almost always gives a little smile. *sigh* It's during times like that when I feel that babyhood goes by so fast and you really need to grab on to the little things that warm your heart.

Beaudoin's World does not revolve around Amy...

Despite appearances, we do have other things going on in our lives. Something very wonderful and exciting that we are enjoying right now is the upcoming arrival of Jon's new little sister! Élora is due to enter the world in June and we couldn't be happier about her arrival.

Ultrasound at 18 Weeks - Jan.17/07
(Click on the picture to see a bigger version)

Aren't those profile shots on the left just amazing? Jon's step-Mom is about 19 weeks along now and she's having a great pregnancy and she's in wonderful hands in Kingston. Jon's Dad is like a giddy little kid and is just bursting with excitement. There's nothing like knowing that two people are finally getting everything they've wished and hoped for. Congratulations, Dan and Nancy! We all know that you two are going to give Élora a wonderful life and she's already a very lucky little girl.

There is a God, Miracles do happen, etc...

Like I said before, Amy has never been a good napper and I've always DREADED nap time. Now that I've found this new way of putting her to sleep to blaring music, nap time has become a fun activity for the two of us and it involves lots of hugs and cuddles and is easily becoming the best part of the day.

Getting two naps a day out of Amy has always been nearly impossible...until now! She has actually been having two naps and this is just amazing to me. This new development actually makes me believe that all is right with the world. So in the spirit of sharing all the fun things that I get to do with Amy in the run of a day, I have added a list to the side of our blog of the songs that Amy finally passes out to. It's only from yesterday on because I can't remember past yesterday (a side effect of sleep deprivation!) It'll be fun in years to come to see if she actually likes any of these songs. My favourite song when I was a toddler was Funky Town!

Ahhhh...glorious sleep!

I have a bad cold right now and last night Jon gave me the best medicine...Nyquil and uninterrupted sleep. He took care of Amy's night wakings and I slept solid from 9:30 until 5:00 and then from 5:30 until 7:30. Ohhhhh, it feels like a vacation!

Amy has been an angel this morning despite that fact that she also has this cold and is producing mountains of snot. She never ceases to amaze me with the things she can do. Mom was over on Wednesday and asked Amy if she wanted to dance and Amy immediately starts bopping up and down and snapping her fingers. I had no idea she knew what "dance" meant! Then today she surprised me by getting down off of our bed all by herself. We were playing on the bed and she was throwing herself all around and then she started waving, saying "bye", and proceeded to shimmy backwards off the bed on her stomach, grabbing the duvet as she went, until her feet touched the floor! Mom's been teaching her this for a long time now and her hard work has paid off! Amy was so pleased with herself and of course I made a huge deal over this accomplishment.

We danced today for nearly 2 hours and Amy just loves that. We play, we dance, we kiss and she is just the happiest little girl. Here's some proof of her happy morning (Paula, notice she's in pink?):

Picture taken on Jan.26/07

Another thing that we spend a lot of time doing is going around the apartment so that Amy can point to things and say "dat?" and then I tell her what it is. We spend a lot of time doing this and I never get tired of answering her question. Jon's Mom has always been adamant that her patience with Jon's questions as a baby is why he is so smart today and I think that's some pretty sound advice. It's fun knowing you're introducing a little mind to the wonders of everyday life!

Toys in the night

Some of Amy's toys creep me out. She has a little bear that recites a prayer with a little boy's voice and I hate that thing. She also has a couple of Tickle Me Elmo's and they're fun but the newest one is a little scary because it rolls around, sits up, and stands up. I often wonder what would happen if Tickle Me Elmo took over the world. Would he be an evil dictator? Would he rule the world with Star Trek in mind...all happy and peaceful? Of course not, he's a man. His mission would be to screw everything he could find. Like this:

Pictures taken on Jan.26/07
Now just what the hell is Elmo getting up to in the night? I mean, what's going on over there at Sesame Street headquarters? What's next? Oscar the Grouch in S&M gear?

Hi Gramma Brown!

As requested, here is a picture of Amy...clean and not drenched in spaghetti. This was actually taken the day before the attack of spaghetti. She was quietly playing in her room and when I peeked in on her I was struck by how much she no longer looked like a baby. She's my little girl now!

Picture taken on Jan.5/07

Except for the picture of her playing with the kleenex (which you can see in my post about her teething), I don't have anything after the spaghetti because it's all videos. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow.

Amy went to bed tonight at 6:30! Let's see what happens with this crazy new schedule!

An earful of Big Sugar helps the baby go down...

Amy has always been a difficult sleeper. I take a lot of responsibility for that because I never wanted to put her down when she was really little. She's an excellent baby at bedtime but nap time around here is often a lot like WWIII. Well, I think I may have found the most unusual solution...music...loud music.

I tried to put her down yesterday afternoon in our usual manner and I had no luck. So I brought her back out into the living room, turned on the wireless music, cranked it LOUD, and I danced around with her in my arms. The first song was Queen's "You're My Best Friend" and she liked that. The second song was Stompin' Tom's "Bud The Spud" and she rocked out to that, too. Then the third song came on...Big Sugar's "Still Waitin'". Not one of their insanely loud songs but hey, it's still Big Sugar. You would think that would be a song she would bop along to but what does our little enigma do? She starts falling asleep! The song that finally puts her into a deep sleep? A Perfect Circle's "Magdalena"! What the hell is up with this? The music was so loud that I wouldn't have been able to carry on a conversation with someone and yet our difficult napper falls asleep?!

Nap time today...same deal. I tried our normal method, no luck. I come out and blast the stereo and she's asleep during the second song! I shake my head and wonder if I'll ever figure her out. One thing I have figured out is that there is nothing more beautiful than a peaceful, sleeping babe.

Picture taken on Oct.11/06

We've had a very Moooving morning!

After 2 weeks of prodding, Amy has finally mooed! Ever since she has learned that kitties meow she hasn't been interested in any other noises until this morning. Her little "moo" is so sweet and she was shrieking with excitement when I praised her. What a little doll!

When spaghetti attacks!!

Amy loves spaghetti. Well, she loves everything we put in front of her but spaghetti is like a party to her and you can see why. Wouldn't it be fun to just let ourselves go and dive into some messy food? Ahhh...the life of a baby.

Pictures taken on Jan.6/07

We have HOW many teeth??!!

So Amy is still teething and sometimes it feels like there's no end in sight. Occasionally I have a dream that all of her teeth come in at once in one big, bloody mess and I honestly think I would like that dream to come true! We had another crazy night last night but it wasn't too bad, Amy slept from 7:45 until 10:30 and then we spent 2 hours trying to get her back to sleep. Finally we all sat on the couch and I read stories while Jon cuddled her and gave her a bottle. Jon went back to bed and Amy and I stayed up until 1:45. She has a bit of a rash so I took her diaper off and she played and played and had a great time. She loves having a bare bottom! She went to sleep just before 2:00 and she slept sound until 7:30!! That's the longest stretch of sleep in a very long time. Jon and I couldn't believe it!

She's been great all morning and she just woke up from an hour nap. She's currently peeking at me around the door and shredding a kleenex...one of her favourite activities. We have the wireless music on random and right now we're listening to "Africa" by Toto.

Picture taken on Jan.16/07

First Post

It's the first post in our new family blog and I have nothing to say.

Picture taken on Jul.17/06