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I am loving being a mother of two. Leah and Joel are at such fun stages right now and I am savouring this time alone with them at home, though we are rarely at home or alone which makes life a lot of fun these days. Not that we aren’t without challenges but the joys far surpass them in every way.

Leah is so inquisitive and I love seeing and exploring the world afresh through the eyes of a three year old. Joel is so smiley and even gives us a chuckle every now and then. I love hearing him ‘talk’ to us and am in total denial that he is almost three months old.

Leah loves to hang out with Joel. She is usually really good with him or just plays on her own most of the time. When she gets bored then I need to step in as she gets right in his face or is a little too rough. I think she uses Joel to get attention as she knows I won’t ignore her when she is crossing boundaries with him. I try to have some activities for her to do in the back of my mind that she hasn’t done in awhile and then she is back to playing by herself contentedly. She loves to colour on the windows with special window markers, cut up newspaper flyers, play with her babies, push her shopping cart around filling it with random items and playing dress up with her magnetic dolls.

I love to watch Leah try to get Joel to smile. She knows exactly what to do and mimics us which is entertaining. Leah loves him a lot and will protect him and stand up for him if she thinks someone might hurt him or is being too loud. Leah likes to pretend to be baby Leah. Here she is hanging out with Joel while pretending to be a baby. I shake a toy in front of them and she smiles her great, big, cheesy smile.

Joel is a big drooler. I’m not a big fan of bibs but it beats changing his shirt four times a day.

I had some extra time getting ready for church this morning and decided to actually put some time into how I looked this morning. A successful clothes shopping trip and running so I can fit back into my regular clothes was a big motivator. Joel and Leah already had had their morning baths and had breakfast and were entertaining themselves which helped as well. Leah saw me curl my hair and wanted some curls too. She sat and held her head very patiently as I handled the curling iron.

She looked so much more mature with curls and I loved how it turned out. Usually she doesn’t want me to put clips or anything else in her hair so most days her hair looks a little out of sorts and she has to keep putting it out of her face. Last week she got asked by one the asian guys at our local veggie store if that was her hairstyle. I wasn’t sure how to respond as his hair looked very similar to hers.

Leah likes to pick out her own clothes and definitely has a unique sense of style (if you can call her style a style). On Sundays I like to pick out her clothes for her or limit her choices to a couple of dresses. Though I don’t dress up much for Sunday, I like Leah in a dress when we go to church and if she lets me do her hair nicely, it is a bonus.

I love dressing my little boy as well. We have been blessed through gifts and hand me downs so I have only bought a few things for him. I have all his and Leah’s clothes organized by size in her bedroom and with summer coming, they both have almost completely new wardrobes. I had fun looking through their new (and new to us) clothes and putting some of the sweaters and warmer stuff away.

Here Joel is, sleeping away through most of our shenanigans this morning on his changing area in the bathroom. What a cutie.

We have been busy lately, enjoying the nice weather and visiting with friends while trying to keep up with yard work, laundry, errands and cleaning. We are usually out and about everyday hanging out with somebody doing something fun. It’s a lot harder taking pictures with two as oppose to one. I want to be intentional about still taking lots of pictures to mark this special period in our lives.

A few things I want to remember:
-Joel learned how to sleep for large chunks of time in the first week of June. He is regularly sleeping anywhere from 5-8 hours straight. Leah gradually increased the time she slept at night where Joel went from every 3 hours to every 5+ seemingly overnight. He is eating every 3 hours during the day.
-Leah has started asking tons of questions trying to figure out how everything works. She hasn’t got to the continually “whys” yet but I’m sure it is coming.
-Leah is excited about watching the hockey games but it rarely holds her attention for more than a minute. She saw a couple hockey players fall down and thought they were playing ring around the rosie and they all fall down.

For the long weekend, we headed out to Oroville to spend sone time at the lake with my parents and brother. We had a great time relaxing and having fun. Morgan and I even snuck out for a date leaving both kids at the cabin. We had a two hour window to try and find some fun in a very small town. We had to pick up a few things from the grocery store before we headed down the main drag to find a restaurant to have some dessert. After enjoying some cake, we checked out the new development before heading back. It was so nice to have some time together alone.

Leah loved to watch the boats and ski-doos on the water. When Leah saw my uncle backing up his van into the water, getting his back tires wet while launching the boat, she said, “no, no, the van can’t go in the water”. There was lots to see and explain. She was also worried about people on the boat going into the water as well as the girls who were going tubing. When she saw a skier bail, she worried if theirs eyes were closed. Leah didn’t want to leave her viewpoint until the couldn’t see any boats anymore.

Last year, Leah was not a fan of the boat. This year we started slow and she even wanted to stay on to watch my cousin and brother ski. She started asking to go back to Grandma so we headed back to the cabin and then I went out on the boat for a bit with my cousin and brother. I even went for a ski. I adore my kids and love spending time with them but it was also so refreshing to have some time not being concerned about dirty diapers, tantrums or crying.

While in the boat, Leah wanted to be very close to Morgan or I. Here is her uncle Trevor skiing.

After work relaxing on the couch takes on a different feel after having children.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Leah loves to hang out on the deck. Joel was sleeping inside so I asked her to tell me if Joel was crying while I cut the back lawn. I reviewed the instructions, asking her what to do if Joel cried. She responded by saying, “put the soother in his mouth”. I reviewed the instructions again saying Joel would be hungry and she passed the test the second time. Then she was concerned she might not hear Joel through the screen door. I reassured her that the screen door wouldn’t be a problem. Joel was only about four feet away.

I knew I would be able to hear Joel cry within half a minute of him crying as we have a rotary mower and a small back yard but it was awesome seeing Leah taking her job so seriously. Every once in awhile she would call loudly to me saying Joel’s not crying yet mommy. I would stop cutting the grass, ready to run upstairs when she would repeat herself while I silently hoped Joel would sleep through her yelling.

I told Leah she needed to wear a hat now that the sun is out and summer is coming and she insisted on wearing a toque. I eventually convinced her of the merits of a ‘new’ pink hat. She also told me today while I turned the water on full blast for her to wash her hands at the bathroom sink that it was too much water and I was making the fish sick. She has got the conservation part down now, just need to work on the education.

Joel loves hanging out with his sheep. He is so smiley now and coos when he is happy. He also loves staring at his fist when it happens to be in his line of sight. Good times!

Leah is now three years old and proud of it. She reminds us almost everyday that she is a big girl. We are blessed immensely to have her in our lives and love her so much.

Getting ready for her party…eating breakfast while Joel gets cuddles after a morning bath.

I made Leah a sunflower cake with cupcakes as the petals.

At Grandma and Grandpa’s house enjoying dinner and opening her presents.

Last year at the lake Leah declared my dad’s low-rider lawn chair to be hers so my dad searched high and low to find another chair like it for Leah so he could have his chair back. My dad has never visited so many stores in his life searching for this chair which is a testament to how much he loves his granddaughter (and to how much he likes his beach chair). Leah also got a pretty spiffy bike but hasn’t quite figured out how to pedal. She is a pro at her tricycle though.

I never knew how hard the job of being a mother is until Leah joined our family. I also had no idea of the depth of joy that being a mother entails. I like how this poem describes a day in the life of a mother and I adore the artwork that Leah made to go along the poem, especially her drawings of people.

If you aren’t familiar with the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, grab a snuggle with the nearest child and watch this before reading the rest of this post.

If you give a mom a muffin,
She’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
So she’ll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She’ll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of
Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She’ll smell something funny.
She’ll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring.
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on
Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

I’m so grateful for an awesome park so close to our house. Leah knows where all the good puddle jumping spots are in the park. She brought her baby scrunched up in her carrier to the playground and pushed her baby on the swing. Good practice for pushing Joel.

Hanging out before breakfast. One of my favourite mommy moments is watching Leah making Joel smile.

Leah and Joel.

Last Tuesday we went to Crescent beach to meet our friends. Leah had a great time throwing rocks into the water and playing with her shovel while my friend and I compared notes on ages and stages. Leah has a bunch of friends who were born within a month of her and it is crazy how they act so much the same even though they rarely see each other. Certain milestones I expect to happen around the same time but different quirks and mannerisms I thought would be more individual. For example, Leah likes to have all the doors closed in our house and will go around to shut them if I’ve opened them, just like some of her other friends.

It has been such a great support and encouragement to have friends raising children similar in age. When Leah is going through tantrums or other tough disciplinary stages, it is reassuring to know you aren’t the only one and that there isn’t something dreadfully wrong with your parenting or child that is causing it.

No, she hasn’t been hanging out with older kids in the neighbourhood or negative influences at the park. Leah has spent some quality time with Uncle David at our last family get-together.

Joel laughed for the first time yesterday with his daddy. And for the record, I weighed him yesterday with clothes on at the doctors and he is now 12lbs 5oz.

Here are some recent stories and quotes by Leah.

I was trying to get Joel to smile again one day and Leah kept on saying that he had already smiled, interrupting my efforts with her determination to get me to stop. I asked her if Joel could only smile once a day and she emphatically said yes.

She always like to check if Joel is eating and still reminds me often that Joel didn’t want to eat at the hospital. Their first meeting must have left quite the impression as she keeps bringing it up.

When some people were leaving our house after a visit they said, “Thanks for having us” which Leah replied to saying, “Thanks for having you” a couple of times.

“Joel can’t walk because he is not wearing shoes.”

me: “What do big sisters do?”
Leah: “Big sisters wear big sister t-shirts.”
me: “What else do big sisters do?”
Leah: “Big sisters play with beans.” (She has some dry kidney beans she likes to ‘cook’ with)

Leah quite often refers to Joel as the baby and to me as his mommy when talking about me in relation to Joel. She will say “Joel is smiling at his mommy”.

We were out and about and Leah was thirsty so I told her I don’t have any water for her. She responded by asking, “you only have Joel’s milk?”

I was reading Leah some bedtime stories when I said, “Leah, turn the page hun” and she replied saying, “I’m not a hun”. I asked what she was then and she said, “I’m a Leah”. (I think she has heard me call Morgan a hun so she thinks that hun refers to daddy, not to her.)

When Leah combs my hair, she points out the knots, combs my hair and then exclaims, “all your knots are on the floor mommy!”

Leah thinks dinner is the only meal that makes her teeth dirty because we brush her teeth at night.

On Friday we had a lovely dinner with Grandma Fran and Granddad Sid.

Leah got to enjoy her very own Easter egg hunt.

It was such a nice day that we had walked over. Leah wanted to carry her basket and twirly whirly (not sure of the official name) all the way home.

On Saturday we headed over to the mall for Easter fun. Leah painted an egg with lots of very focused attention.

She met the Easter bunny. At first she was really scared of him/her (?). I explained that the Easter bunny is just for fun and that it was someone dressed up as a bunny. She was still scared but after seeing a few kids give the bunny a high five, she summoned up enough courage to do so as well. She even gave the bunny a hug later that morning. Leah also got some face painting and made some floppy bunny ears on a headband.

She loved playing with the bubbles in the mall and would leave the children’s area to wander after any bubbles that drifted away. Once the lady stopped blowing the bubbles, Leah just wandered off into the crowd. I had my eye on her the whole time but it amazed me how confident she was on her own, not even looking for me. Other times, she won’t leave my side and latches on to me.

On Sunday we went to church and Morgan and I got to hear what Leah learned about in Sunday school from her own lips for the very first time. I was so proud as Leah was in the bathroom doing her business as she said over and over in a sing-song voice, “Jesus is alive, Jesus is alive!” Eggs and bunnies are fun but this is the true message we want her to rejoice in at Easter as well as the whole year through.

Leah will be heading off to preschool come September and I am so excited. I’m excited not for a few hours each week without my not so little girl as much as I’m excited because I know what kind of experience this will be for her. I’ve helped teach the program she will be going through, I know the teachers will be phenomenal and I’m sure Leah will make new friends, enjoy playing and soak up all the learning which all adds up to an amazing first school experience for Leah. Here she is at the open house.

Most of the time, I am with Leah morning, noon and night. I get to see her experience life as she grows in front of my eyes. I do not take our time together for granted though a break once in awhile is great and makes me realize all the more how special my daughter is. At the moment, Leah is with Grandma and Grandpa and the house is so quiet.

With Leah joining more activities as she gets older, I am in a role reversal from being the teacher and caregiver to now the parent. I am asking how she is doing in her class and if she interacts with the other kids. At church during the mom’s morning I go to weekly, Leah goes to her own special class for a couple of hours. I was asked by a caregiver if she talks much at home. I was shocked as Leah will ramble on and on about anything and everything. I left her colouring a picture at the table one morning and when I went to pick her up she had only recently left her post colouring even though she was invited to join other activities.

I like to hear how she is with others and it gives me so much more perspective. At home Leah is an outgoing, confident girl but when she feels insecure, she is shy and withdrawn, especially when Morgan and I are not present. Morgan and I discuss with her how much fun she has had in a new situation with hopes that she will remember that experience when she is feeling shy.

Ever since I first left Leah in the nursery at church, I understand the parents of the children I have taught over the years so much more. I now know the depth of a parent’s heart that their child can hold. I now know why they want so many details and how important those details are to them.

Very recently Leah has discovered her voice in front of others and will talk to strangers or anyone who comes to the door and proclaim some bit of news that is important to her at the moment. She loves to tell people she is a big sister and her brother’s name is Joel Thomas. Sometimes she will go on for a bit telling them about her day and recent events. I love seeing Leah blossom and grow.