Picture Post

Daddy and daughter

Some good old sibling lovin'

More sibling loving

We had this hat made before Kayden was born for her to wear at the hospital and it finally fits her!  Yay!

Love the pudgy handed eye rub :)

My girl still has the bluest of eyes!

Things Levi says...

I've been collecting a list of things Levi says at this stage in his life.  He is so entertaining!  This list goes back as far as January (he doesn't say all of these things anymore) but is added to daily! Ones that are starred (*) are things he is still currently saying...

*"Deeeeelicious!" - when eating something he thinks is yummy
*"No thank you." - said when many other two-year olds would yell "NO!"
"Moooooommy!  Where arrrrrrre you??" - yelled as he's looking for me in the house
"Mommy, stay happy."
*"Lettuce" - Lennox (our dog)
*"Lettuce and Cucumber" - Lennox and our second dog (that we are NOT getting)
*"Kinny" - kitty
"Oh well." - what a passive aggressive little phrase...
"No boy like.  Too yucky." - when he doesn't like a food (or thinks he doesn't like it)
*"Not bedtime, night-night time!" - he refuses to call bedtime by any other name than night-night time
"Oh yes it is _______." - when he thinks he knows better, for example: "oh yes it is Friday!" (when it's really Monday
"Look at this called?" - instead of "what is this called?" - he's figured this one out now
"A, B, vie O, U!" - vowels
*"Gamma Bapa Tick Tock" - Buhler grandparents (now gamma gampa/bapa) - have a clock that he's noticed and associates them with
*"Gamma Bapa Lello Puppy" - McC grandparents (also now gamma gampa/bapa) - have a golden retriever
*"What you doing here?"
"Where did that puppy (Lennox) go?"
"Where did that Baby Kayden go?"
*"Boy type please?" - use word on my computer to type letters
*"wheels on the bus go round and round all day long puzzle" - school bus puzzle (also calls school busses that whole thing minus "puzzle")
*"Open the door peas?" - when he wants the door open or for us to open our arms and let him free
*"Put it riiiiight overrrr there."
*"Moogit" - music
*"I turn the moogit on for you, Daddy/Mommy!" - everything he does is for someone
*"Grey-bear" - threadbare except his socks are grey, therefore grey-bear
*"Long-berry" - library
*"Jumpoline" - trampoline
*"Mow-mows" - marshmallows
*"doodoes and dot-dows" - noodles and hot dogs (favourite lunch food)
*"Kayden eats out of mommy's tummy" - I'll take it
*"Room-a-room" - living room
*"Vroom nigh-nigh" - his bed (because daddy brought it to our house in a truck when we bought it, which he called a vroom at the time)
*"wee!" - slide
*"Tempurpur" - temperature as in "take my tempurpur please?" when he feels sick
*"Daddy...me" - switching daddy to mommy or vice versa when he realizes he said the wrong name
*"Sweetie" - calls Kayden this
*"Miss Kayden"
*"Daddy stuff" - daddy's pomade that he lies to have is hair done spiky with (but only on Sundays or when we're leaving the house for something special but NOT on days when we're just hanging out at home)
*"Loop-a-loop" - Froot Loops
*"Doodle-doo cereal" - Corn flakes
*"A B Cereal" - Alphabits
*"No, nigh-night time!" - he corrects us if we call "nigh-nigh time" by any other name (bedtime)
*"I'm two me-olds." - I'm two years old, said whenever he wants two treats or two stories or more than one of anything
*"Quiet-bye" - lullaby

Three Months Old

Happy 3 months, Kayden!  

 We are getting more smiles, though she's still pretty serious and loves to just take in what is going on around her.  She is so laid back and easy going, though she is letting us hear her voice more and more, both through crying and through some "talking."  The best is when she'll just make eye contact and talk softly to you.  Even if she's not happy, if she's looking us in the eye, it's almost like she tries to tell us what's wrong instead of just crying.  What a sweetie.

 Kayden's good sleeping habits are holding up!  She goes to bed between 8:30-10pm most nights, sleeps for 5 hours, eats, sleeps for 3-4 hours, eats, then wakes up between 8-9am.  I can handle two feeds a night, especially since it's never more than 15 minutes, diaper change included!  She has one major nap each afternoon that lasts about 4 hours (with a feed in the middle).  In the morning she usually has a little nap on our morning walk and she often dozes a bit in the evening after supper too.

 Kayden eats really well (obviously).  She eats every 2 hours for the most part, except at night and during the second half of her afternoon nap.  I weighed her here at home the other day and she was exactly 12lbs...but that is with clothes and diaper so she's probably just under 12lbs. 

Kayden went to her first wedding, first funeral, and first birthday party this month.  She went to the zoo for the first time and was on a trampoline for the first time.  She tasted her first apple (didn't eat it, just sucked on mine for a while...the look on her face was priceless but she didn't refuse more).

 Kayden's eyes are still quite blue.  No hint of brown or any other colour there yet!  Levi's eyes were very brown by this age so maybe we'll actually have a blue-eyed girl.  Time will tell!

Kayden is holding her head up quite well already, but I wouldn't say that she's ready for the jolly jumper just yet.  She is still a bit floppier than Levi was at this age.  I guess that's the difference between her being early and him being late.  She is usually quite content to sit in her little baby rocking chair, in her beanbag chair, or on our laps. 

 Kayden loves to stick out her tongue these days.  You can tell that she just discovered it one day and is having fun with it.  Baby tongues get me every time.  SO cute!  We don't even encourage it (much) and she still just sticks it out and wiggles it around.  Learning about her body, I guess :)  She has also found that her hand is great for sucking on.  It is usually just the side of her fist that she sucks on, but she also sucks on her fingers.  She doesn't have a favourite finger for sucking yet and we'll try not to let her become a thumb-sucker.  I just don't know how I would ever wean my babies from thumb-sucking!  And while it's cute when babies suck their thumbs, there comes an age...

Kayden hasn't really lost much hair on the back of her head.  Just a teeny-tiny bald spot about the size of a loonie (one dollar coin about 1" in diameter for you Americans reading).  She doesn't have much at the front, though.  I can't wait til it starts growing so I can do something with it.  I will NOT be one of those moms who refuses to cut her girl's hair even when it's a terrible mullet though. There will be haircuts happening in this house. So if you see the mullet starting to happen, PLEASE tell me!  I thank you in advance. :)

  Levi and Kayden's relationship continues to grow.  Levi seems to be testing the waters (still!) with what's ok and what's not when it comes to loving his sister.  We see this ALOT (Kayden: tears, Levi: smiling or hiding). But I am glad that he loves her and wants to play with her, even if he is a bit rough.  And he is really good about saying "sorry" when he goes a bit far.  I have a suspicion, though, that he actually doesn't think he can make her happy unless he makes her cry first.  Why would you make her happy if she's already happy? *sigh*  I'm sure they will be wonderful friends one day and he will protect his little sister when she needs protecting.

I can't believe she's been with us for a quarter of a year already!  Whoo-hoo!  Bring on the rest of the year!  We're loving her :)

Likeness...

Well, these two are definitely siblings, though they each have their own looks! Levi is about 5 weeks old in the picture and Kayden is 3 months old. Any guesses on who's who??  Yeah, I know.  Pretty obvious.  But hey, it's still fun to compare, no?

Today in sentences.

It is way chillier than the last day of April should ever be.

Levi and I (with Nathan's help at noon) put up our new trampoline!

I am hoping the trampoline will be a fun energy-buster (and hopefully not bone-buster!) this summer.

Levi said he didn't want his trains upstairs but I brought them up anyway and he played with them for a good long time :)

Mommy knows best.

I am loving to read again these days...haven't read much of anything since Levi was born, or at least not more than one book every couple months!


I'm taking a bit of an unofficial break from my Uniquely Me Design business; still taking orders but not advertising.  I only have so much energy each day and right now there are two little people who deserve my energy much more than the business world does.

I've never anticipated spring so much as this year; having a 2 year old boy in the same 4 walls for 6 unending months produces cabin fever to the highest degree!

If I had a day completely to myself, I would either go through our house and purge the extras/spring clean OR sleep the entire day.  (It would be a toss-up.)

I've been finding myself quite home-sick for California these past few months, and for more reasons than just the weather!  It really became home while we were there...

Levi is has finally graduated into the "good sleeper" category!  I'd say he sleeps through the night about 50-75% of the time now (though you'd have to ask Nathan as he's been getting up with him to take him pee and I've been sleeping through Levi's wakings - yet am up as soon as Kayden so much as breathes differently when she wakes up!)

A couple months ago I put a lock on my phone and moved my games so that Levi couldn't find them, thus convincing him that my games were gone.  It broke his habit of always wanting to play phone, which was nice!  In a moment of weakness, I moved the games back and removed the lock.  Levi found them and is back to "please play your phone please mommy?"  I put the lock back on so that I decide when he plays :)

These sentences are getting longer and longer.

I love having a girl and a boy.

I would have loved having two boys just as much. :D

I am amazed every day at the breadth of Levi's vocabulary...yesterday he opened the windows and told me "I make the house fresh for you, Mommy!"

Thinking about switching to cloth wipes in addition to my cloth diapers...thoughts?

Lennox needs a serious grooming.  I sweep regularly and it is still like walking on sandpaper in here with the amount of dirt/sand he tracks in every day.

I'm obviously running out of things to say.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Here's a couple pictures taken just this morning to finish off the post in style:

Who am I?

I love being 27.  It truly feels like a great age.  I am still young.  No grey hairs.  No fine lines on my face.  It's still easy to keep off those extra pounds.  I think I'm finally starting to look my age rather than like a 14 year old (most of the time...I still get people butting in front of me in line because they think I'm just a kid waiting for their parent).  Yup, overall 27 is pretty good.

I also like 27 because I am finally starting to know and understand who I am.  From the time I hit adolescence until about a year or two ago, I've struggled with knowing exactly who I am.  And if I did have a sense of who I was, I was constantly asking "is who I am good enough? Is it ok to be that person?"  At 27, I'm finally finding words to describe who I am and the confidence to own that person fully and joyfully.  I love me!

I am a person who is constantly thinking but who does not always have words to express what I'm thinking.  If I am asked a question out of the blue, I'll likely have nothing to share (much of the reason I dislike and dread most casual phone conversations!).  But if I'm given time to think about the question or have had time to think about something, I'll be much more likely to have something to talk about! 

What do I constantly think about?  Well, alot of what I think about is people.  Relationships.  What makes people who they are.  Why people do what they do and act the way they act.  What makes me who I am?  What has contributed to making me who I am?  There are always reasons...

Family plays a huge roll in who people are.  As I was growing up, I always just assumed that families were all the same...and obviously they were all like mine!  (Well, it wasn't quite that simple.  Not all families were the same.  But all the families who were happy and functional were certainly just like mine!)  Obviously I've known that this isn't quite the case for a while now.  But as I explore relationships more and more, I'm realizing just how different families can be and how certain subtleties between even two functional families can produce vastly different values and actions in the family members. 

Because I grew up in a family that tells stories, I am someone who loves to listen to and tell stories.  When my family sat at the dinner table, we told stories.  Stories in the form of jokes (thanks Reader's Digest!).  Stories about our days.  Stories about whatever.   I am someone who looks for the story in every situation.  I don't so much focus on the theoretical side of things, nor the theological side.  I am always on the lookout for the practical, real-life lesson. (This probably contributes to my relational, who-people-are thoughts to some degree.  It all comes back to people's stories.)

Because I grew up in a family that valued time together, I now value my family time very highly.  It's not the same if everyone isn't there.  It's special to spend one-on-one time with members of the family, of course, but there is a certain depth to the joy that comes when everyone in the family is together that's just not the same when someone is missing.

I've also started to value my introverted personality in the past couple years like I hadn't before.  I used to think that it was something to be overcome instead of seeing it as the gift it is.  While I still need to push myself sometimes because getting out is healthy for me, whether or not I always feel like it (like eating my veggies), I also give myself permission to care for myself by giving myself space and letting myself say no to some social opportunities.  But I've written about this before so I'll carry on...

It's a never-ending project, the study of one's self.  How well do you know yourself?  In what ways did the family you grew up in influence who you are today?  How does who you are affect your relationships?  Are you comfortable in your own skin? When all the noise and distractions are gone and you're alone with yourself, do you embrace that time or reach for a distraction? It's fascinating to spend some time thinking about these things, or at least I think so!  And I'd say 27 is a pretty good age to do this as I've got a fairly decent history in which my personality has been developed and still I have the rest of my life to live with myself and put my knowledge to good use :)

Two and a half

Levi is just 4 days away from being 2.5 years old! 

He is such a character.  He loves to make us laugh. 

He loves to serve.

"I make cookies for you, Daddy!" 

"I help set the table!"

"I get a diaper and wipe for you, Mommy!" 

He is also very two and we've had our battles of the will (and more to come, I'm sure).  From who fills up the water jug to what cd he listens to at night...anything and everything is grounds for a meltdown.  But we're dealing with it in the best way we can and the tantrums seem to go in stages which says to me that he's testing the waters, seeing what it means to be more independent and trying to make decisions for himself (though not quite knowing how to communicate when something doesn't go the way he thinks it should). 

Children aren't born knowing how to communicate.  It is our job as parents to help them understand how to do that.  And it is our job to be patient as they begin to exert their independence.  (Yup, still working on this).

Levi loves puppies.  Levi loves cooking.  Levi loves trucks and machines.  Levi loves to count.  Levi loves letters.  Levi loves puzzles.  Levi loves slides.  Levi loves tents.  Levi loves animals.  Levi loves taking people to his room, closing the door and enjoying some quality time playing together.  Levi loves stories.  Levi loves playing piano.  Levi loves music.  Levi loves helping me transplant my houseplants.

Levi "no like" broccoli (too yucky).  Levi "no like" touching sticky things.  Levi "no like" having his hair washed.  Levi "no like" carbonation.  Levi "no like" socks with holes.  Levi "no like" daddy shows (sports). 

Levi, like every two year old, says the most interesting and hilarious things. 

"Garburate" as in "Here, Kayden, I garburate you!" (vibrating chair)
"I love you, Buddy." - said to Kayden just this morning
"Puppy LOVE me!" - while he holds Lennox in a headlock hug.
"Lettuce" as in "Lettuce, go get your ball!"
"Oh well" when he is not allowed to do something or when we are out of his favourite cereal.
"Buy more" when we are out of his favourite cereal.
"Oh well, buy a new one" when Mommy gets the van stuck in the snow bank.

I love our boy so much.   He is a perfect fit in our family (interesting how we always get the perfect ones for us, right?).  He is obviously still adjusting to having a sibling, but he is doing so so well.  We are incredibly proud of him for all the ways he is growing and learning every day.  There are many days when Nathan comes home from work and asks how Levi has been and I can honestly say that "he is an absolute delight!" 

Two Months Old

Kayden is two months old today. 

 She is our little sweetheart.  Seriously, sweetest baby ever.  She is so quiet and content 90% of the time.  And when something is bothering her, it is easily fixed (give her food, remove brotherly smothering affection, burp her, hold her). 

While I joke about Levi's brotherly love being a bit much at times, I am starting to notice a little bond happening between these two.  It is amazing to see.  Kayden is starting to watch Levi as he plays or eats...I can't wait for the day that these two can truly play together and make each other laugh! (we'll not think about the fights that will indefinitely happen as well)

Kayden is growing quickly.  She was weighed yesterday and is 10lbs2oz now.  Up almost 4lbs from birth!  Apparently she has only grown 3/4", measuring at 20.5".  I don't know if I trust that measurement since she has grown out of both newborn and 0-3 month sleepers, fitting well into the 3 month size.  If she is, indeed, only 20.5" now, she has yet to reach her brother's length at birth.  I think this girl may be destined to be the small one in the family.  Her weight to height ratio is at the top of the charts, though, at 97%!  So...looks like she'll be short and chubby just like I was at that age!

 From the time we found out that we were expecting again last June, we started praying for a good sleeper this time around.  At that point, Levi still wasn't sleeping through the night more than once or twice every 2-3 weeks.  I was tired and not sure how I would make it through another two solid years of interrupted sleep every night.  It seems our prayers have been answered.  Kayden not only sleeps alot (15-18 hours a day still), she sleeps deeply and at the right times.  She goes down for the night around 10pm, sleeps a 5 hour stretch, eats, sleeps another 3 hours before another feed, then is up for the day about 2-3 hours later.  She dozes on and off all morning then has a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon followed by an evening of dozing on and off again.  Now we'll just keep working on Levi sleeping through the night on a regular basis...

Our girl is such a wonderful addition to our family.  She is absolutely beautiful...we are often without words at how beautiful she is.  She has blue eyes right now and, while they are darker around the edge, they are still very blue without a hint of brown as of yet.  Perhaps she will be our blue eyed girl?

Kayden is starting to give smiles more and more.  They are few and far between still, but every once in a while she will look you right in the eyes and give you a grin. More often, though, it is a wall, light or the dog that get her cheeky grins.  She seems to be a bit more serious than her ever-goofy brother, but that is just fine.  The world (and this family) needs all types.  It is amazing to see her personality coming out more and more!

Kayden Grace, we love you so very much!  Happy two months, girlie!

Reflections on Motherhood

Tonight as I sat on the edge of Levi's bed, one hand being held by a sleepy Levi and the other wrapped around a sleeping Kayden, both children silent and still with me in the same moment, I felt such an unexpected rush of gratitude.  I've known for my entire life that I wanted to be a mom.  That this is what I was created to be.  And yet, in those 25 years of being preparing, nothing could have fully prepared me for the amount of love that is bursting forth for these two children today. 

Levi is a handful these days.  He is feeling the loss of having mommy and daddy all to himself and it is often coming out in testing ways.  And yet, tonight after supper, he and I spent 15 minutes just laughing together.  Sitting at the table and looking at each other and laughing uncontrollably with each other for no reason other than being happy to be together.

Kayden is so sweet.  She does cry, occasionally, and sometimes it's for no apparent reason at all, but my heart is so full when I look into her eyes and she looks into mine!  My love for her just grows every day as I get to know her more and as our connection deepens.

I am incredibly blessed to be able to call these two children mine.  They are indeed gifts from God and I will never take them for granted.  Having three years to ponder what life might look like without children has landed me in a place now of being humbled and grateful, a place unlike any I would have been in without that period of waiting. 

When we named our children, we took into consideration the meanings of their names, middle names especially. We gave Levi the name "Jonathan" because it means "God has given."  We gave Kayden the name "Grace" because it is by God's grace that we are fully healed and that Nathan and I have not one but two beautiful children.

So tonight I am feeling extra thankful for these two wonders who share life with us.  And thankful that I am called their mother.  All praise to HIM...forever and ever.

Hair

I have been growing my hair out for the past 8 months. The theory was that longer hair would be easier with a new baby because I could tie it back. Well enough was enough. Not easier. Today it was time for a change. Oh how I love change...

Before

After

And the 20's say "Welcome back, Niki.  We missed you while you were hanging out back in junior high with that awkward long hair thrown into a pony-tail every day..."

Picture Post - thankful

 We have been so blessed.  Worth the wait :)

One Month Old

Kayden is one month old today.  It feels like she's been here so much longer!

- weighs about 8.5lbs
- eyes are still dark blue...wondering if they'll stay blue or turn brown as we initially expected?  Levi's were brown by the time he was a month old, but technically he was three weeks older than Kayden is now...
- nights are hit or miss.  Some nights Kayden is up every 3 hours like clock-work, eats and is right back to sleep in 20 minutes.  Other nights she thinks it's time to be awake and will grunt and fuss and make noises in her crib for 2 hours.  I prefer the first of the two...
- The comments we get most often are:
     - she's so tiny!
     - chubby cheeks!
     - perfect skin
     - so feminine
- she sleeps much better than Levi ever did (except being awake during the night, which Levi never was)...she sleeps DEEPLY and isn't easily disturbed...she goes to bed at a reasonable time each night - between 10-11pm
- Kayden hates having her diaper changed, though doesn't shriek nearly as loudly when that cold wipe touches her tush as she used to!
- Kayden is in cloth diapers as of week 3...after we spent $25 each week for the first 3 weeks in disposables, we rushed her into cloth as quickly as we could!  The smell is much less toxic as well :)
- Kayden is wearing 0-3 month clothes (we've already had to put away the newborn sizes!)
- Levi loves his baby sister and will often snuggle up to her or ask to hold her...then right away asks me to go get the camera and take a picture of him and his sister
- At the beginning, we couldn't imagine having a more content little girl.  Now she seems to be bothered a bit more by gas, but is still, generally, quite content
- she is a pro at holding her head up.  She wants to take in everything around her and will often bring her head up off our chests when we hold her to see what she's missing.  And she doesn't even do too many face-plants when her neck gets tired, either.  So proud :)

Life - a picture post

 Here's a little of what we've been up to these past 3 weeks (in no particular order)...

My Mom was out for almost a week to help out.  Thanks Mom!

Sleeping Kayden...we prayed for a good sleeper for 9 months and low and behold, our prayers have been answered!  That said, sleeping at NIGHT is hit or miss...

Levi took his first photos of Kayden...not bad!

More sleeping Kayden...she's chubbing up!  This was taken yesterday.

This was during our first week at home.  Levi LOVES his sister!

Sweet little baby hands...

Me and my girl :)

Family time...

Me and my almost two and a half year old!  Love this boy!

My sister (Auntie Ia) came for a week to help out after my mom was here.  Thanks Ia! (Kayden is all bundled in a beautiful bunting bag that my sister designed and made for her)

First week at home.

First week at home.

First week at home...love these two SO much!

Blanket that I made for Kayden before she was born

haha!

Life is going good.  Kayden is 3 weeks old today and it was my first day at home alone with both kids.  It went really really well.  Levi was amazing and I had such a good day with the kids.  That said, now it's 8:51pm and I'm tired.  I'll admit, the thought of being up multiple times tonight and then looking alive in the morning to have fun with my two year old all day (over and over and over again until little miss starts sleeping through the night) is feeling a little daunting.  Feel free to pray for energy for me so that I can enjoy these days to their fullest!  Levi and Kayden are such blessings...I want to give them my very best and when I'm tired, that's not usually what comes to the surface!