We have arrived! Brady and I landed safe and sound in Las Vegas after a bit of a delay, but a smooth flight. We played hangman on his iPad the entire flight, because we’re parents, and cool like that. We got through customs and security and didn’t even have a wand run over either of us. Its nice to know we’re not suspicious seeming or anything like that.

Oh! I just realized I didn’t give any back story!! Almost none of you knew! I’ve been planning a surprise trip to Vegas for the past six-ish months, haha! Bradys bday is coming up, plus we didn’t get to celebrate our anniversary too much this year, plus we’re pregnant with our third and figured we could use a break before Jim arrives. So ya, this morning Brady was gung ho to paint our house, but instead, we’re in Las Vegas. Fun twist, right?? The best Jerilee in the world is home with our kids for the week, which has made this whole thing possible. I love you for it Jerilee!!! And the kids adore you, so I’m confident you’ll have no trouble

So once again, we’re here! We caught a shuttle at the airport and our hotel was the second stop. We’re at he Flamingo, which is the pinkest hotel I’ve ever seen, and everything about it is adorable. We did end up with a room with a tub (YAY!) but that gave us two queen beds instead of a king. Merp merp. However, we always sleep in a queen, so its not like we’re downsizing or uncomfortable. Fine by us! We’re nice and high up in the hotel, with a view of lots of lights and hotels, but remote controlled black out curtains can make us solidly antisocial. The bathroom actually has a tv screen built into the mirror, which made me literally laugh out loud. Why?!?! Because Vegas, thats why.

All this said and done, its 1:50 in my mind, but an hour earlier here. Still way later than we’re ever up, and we need to eat! We had an early supper today (another thing we can thank Jerilee for ) and its time for a snack and cuddling in for the night. Tomorrow we’ll branch out and be a bit more touristy. But tonight, I want to rest my feet. As soon as I lay down on the bed upon arrival, I had a few pretty gnarly braxton hicks contractions. So, soon, we rest. After a snack.

And then, lets be honest. A soak in the tub and some Netflix. Old habits die hard.

I feel like I’ve been saying a lot of “I really like today” recently, and while maybe its getting boring for some of you, its really fun for me I’m the least controversial person in the world, and I’m learning that negativity is physically exhausting and sometimes damaging for me. So the reality is that negativity will come and go no matter what, but I’m choosing not to seek it out. And its pretty awesome!

We went to church this morning, and Dekker was a total peach the entire time. Laela is getting fidgety and less and less tolerant to sit still through the service. So we wandered around in the back a little but eventually went to the toy room upstairs for the last ten or fifteen minutes of the service. That was nice too, as we visited a bit and made friends with another little baby.

After church was a meeting with our small group, which we always really really enjoy. This was one where everyone brought their kids, but ours went home for lunch with my parents instead. They partied and went down for a nap while we caught up with some friends, made new ones, and ate good food. We made a plan for our next series to go through, and set up a bit of a schedule. We finally left the church around 3:00 and headed to my parents, where my mom was awake all on her own. Everyone else was napping.

The kids woke up a bit earlier than usual, so we ate supper early and decided to take them to the playground by the school. Dekker was totally in his element, and we ran from structure to structure, testing out the slides. I was dumb enough to forget gloves so the chains on the swings were too cold, but the slides were pretty great on their own. There were two little kids playing as well, and as kids tend to do, they sort of followed us from place to place. Not sure how old they were but the younger of the two was five at the very most. We thought it strange that they had no one with them, but they were really loud kids, haha, so someone could probably hear them. Dekker found them a bit intimidating, but my mom was awesome and climbed into the structures with him so he always had a buffer between him and the screaming. They would have done him no harm, but they were faster, louder, and as most kids, considerably less careful than him. So he would go down the slide, and we’d basically block the other kids until Dekker was off and bottom and out of the way, and then they could go. It was a decent system, and eventually someone called to them and they were gone. I will admit, my protective nature of my cautious little boy was totally annoyed with those kids. Give my son some space already!!! But kids will play, and I certainly won’t always be there to be that buffer. BUT he didn’t freak, or whine, or scream once. At the most, he sort of hung back when they’d get close. But since he’s loving slides so much, we could always coax him to keep coming, and he was thrilled.

After a very sad departure from the playground, we drove home to the quiet sounds of the Frozen soundtrack and Dekker saying he had a fun day. We all did. Now both littles are tucked in and Brady and I are completely exhausted, hahaha! It would appear the fresh air did all of us some good!!

I mentioned the other day that Brady and I were anticipating a YouTube video coming out. We keep tabs on this sweet, Christian couple who struggled with infertility for three years before conceiving their son. They announced a couple of days ago that, despite her PCOS, they were blessed with a surprise pregnancy!! It was a beautiful video. It wasn’t a staged pregnancy announcement video that they had poured over. It was raw and exciting and wonderful! Today, they posted a video of their first doctors appointment and their doctor telling them to do bloodwork, but that he was fully expecting a miscarriage. It was dreadful. I cried. So this evening, we decided to go run some errands and get some solid time in with the kids. No, not just because of the video, but that couple was making a big point to stay strong, enjoy the pregnancy as long as they have it, and to hug their little son a little bit tighter.

When the kids woke up from their naps, we got them all dressed and ready for the city. We stopped first to pick up Bradys new glasses, and a few groceries at Costco. Brady just did that chunk on his own and I waited with the kids. We were going to run a few more errands before supper, but Dekker was hungry and it showed, so we hit the Wendys/Tims. Behold, the worlds most beautiful family:

The kids ate well and were completely adorable. After we ate, we headed back to the van for some errands. We broke my parents spading fork digging up carrots today (Thats one way to tell you, hey? Sorry mom and dad. We’re working on it!) so we were going to hit Rona first and see what we could see. But we had a few little things at Walmart too. I suggested we break up to save time. And for the first time in ages, I took Dekker. Into Walmart. Just me and him. If I’m being totally honest, I was scared. His meltdowns are really big, as is he, and I don’t have quite enough physical strength to carry him while he thrashes. BUT he’s come a super long way since he’s had his break from crowds, so I happily took him with me. Hand in hand, we walked through the doors and past the large mob of people right inside them. And then, he was pulling on me. “Run! Please! Hop!” He began speed-skipping down the aisle, just reefing on me to keep up. I laughed uncontrollably as he dragged me through Walmart. We probably looked ridiculous but that was my last concern. We had a blast. We wandered through the kids clothes and found him a fall/spring jacket. The one he is wearing currently is size 2T, and he is wearing 3-4T. Since he hates change, I got him virtually the same jacket, just a size up. Then, we went to the makeup to get me a new clear coat nail polish. As soon as we got to the right section, Dekker grabbed a big eye shadow palette off of the shelf. Those things break so easily, I kind of quickly took it, put it back, and just said “Just look with your eyes, ok?” He didn’t whine or make a sounds, but proceeded to tell me about each and every single product that he liked, which was each and every single product that was there. He looked at and touched almost everything, but didn’t lift another thing. He waited patiently while I picked one out, and then we lined up. Like our last Walmart visit, we lined up in the express check out, and as soon as he was surrounded by people, he got nervous. “Go please” he kept saying, and I just explained each time and we needed to wait our turn to pay for our stuff, and then we would go. It was finally our turn, and as the cashier put our stuff in bags, and I paid, she asked him “And how are you?” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t cower at all. He just looked at her as if she hadn’t spoken, but he wasn’t afraid. When she put the receipt in the bag, he reached over for the bag handles and said to her “I’ll take care that” and started off towards the door with the bag. Unbelievable. He just blew me away!!

We were ready to go, but Brady and Laela hadn’t had any luck at Rona and had crossed the street to Canadian Tire. So Dekker waited sooo patiently, and we watched out the window until they arrived. He did sooo well, I couldn’t believe it! I told Brady about it, and apparently Laela had been quite the adorable little peach on their date as well, so it was all around a really nice evening.

We’re home now, and the kids are tucked in and not sleeping. Brady and I, however, have tons to do! Dishes, wash all the carrots we pulled out of the garden today, fold a load of laundry, and bake a dessert. Sooo a decent amount. But there is always the promise of a soak and a snack later, which helps.

Well for the life of me, I can’t find the comparison picture I’m looking for, but trust me when I tell you that Dekker is the spitting image of Bradys mom, Elvira, as a baby. Like, its uncanny how similar they look! The last time she was over, we looked at some other pictures of her as a kid and laughed and wondered how similar they’ll look as he grows up. At our 28 week 3D ultrasound with Dekker, we knew he would look like her side of the family.

Then Laela looked totally different in her scan, and as a baby! Lots of people tell me that they look the same, and I can see some similarities, but being that I see them in and out of every single day, I see many more differences. To me, their features are all different. Her forehead is way smaller but her nose is bigger, and more down while Dekker’s is up a little. His eyes go up a bit in the corners and hers go gown. Dekkers eyes and mouth are bigger than Laela’s. Dekker has Bradys face shape and jawline, while underneath Laela’s chub, she has my tiny chin. I see differences all over the place.

I’ve made jokes (and not always jokes) lots in my life about not looking like my family. None of us kids really look like each other. Most of the time, when new people see our family pictures, they put the in-laws together as family. Anyway, I’ve joked a bit that Laela doesn’t look like our family, just like I didn’t. However, I finally figured it out!!

 Laela…..

 and my mom Can you see it? Its sooo obvious to me! Their mouths, their hairlines, their cheeks and chins! Granted, my moms hair is way cooler than Laela’s in these pictures. Who knew my grandma knew about fauxhawks?!?! Anyway, while this is such a small detail, and really quite unimportant in the grand scheme of things, I LOVE seeing where she fits!! And I’m sooo pleased that she looks like my mom! Turns our grandma Jeanne was an adorable kid, and continues to be adorable to this day!

It seems like its taking me a few days to come down from Laela’s birthday party! I know it sounds silly, as the kids are usually considerably more riled up than the parents, but I just felt so blessed and overwhelmed by love that day. I visited with Bradys mom on the phone today, and reminisced about the whole thing with her. Its so much fun to talk about How great of a day that was!

In other news, the kids and I spent today downstairs playing toys and being comfy. We snacked, watched some tv, and talked a lot. It was fun and relaxed. They went down to nap early, yet I still had to wake them in time for us to head to the city. I made it to my leg waxing appointment right on time and had a really good chat with my waxing girl, Jenn. For those who have never waxed their legs, I can honestly say that its not suuuper comfortable, but I’ve done it for years and I LOVE it! I have always been really bad ay shaving. While some people can be in the shower and come out perfectly shaven, I can sit in a tub for an hour and still come out bleeding from multiple mistakes. In that way, waxing is far less painful for me. So I soaked up my “spa treatment” while Brady and the kids went to pick up some food for themselves and the noodle bowl I’ve been craving for me. Boy, did that hit the spot!!

Once the kids went to bed this evening, I retreated to the basement and had a really good phone date with my sister. We don’t chat on the phone too terribly often, but its always nice when we get to. There’s lots to talk about each time. Just think of how much we scrapped as kids!! This is sooo much better

Now, I’m off the phone for the night, and soon into the tub. But FIRST!!, Brady and I have a few YouTube videos to watch that we’ve been anticipating all day! So, onto that! Sleep deep, all! I hope your tomorrow is looking as good as mine is. Mom date!!!

Behold, pictures of supper, cake eating, and gift opening. Trust me, I could have gone crazy with pictures again, so when you’re looking at them saying “These all look the same…” I poured over it and picked the very best ones, even if only a mother can see the difference. Our little birthday princess was having a riot!

The little Miss didn’t take her tiara off once!

The rest of us rocked Cars party hats, in honour of the other amazing baby we have at home!

 Love me that wrinkly nose!

Since Laela isn’t coordinated enough to blow out candles, we gave the prime job to Dekker.

 He LOVED the cake!  Party guests!  “But Mom!! I WANT sticky fingers!!!”

 These are our new sippy cups, and we LOVE them! They don’t have a leak lock like the Playtex ones, but when they’re closed, they don’t leak. We will definitely be buying more. I like that they look like water bottles too rather than sippy cups.  Learning.  Happy with her new baby.

BIG munchy kisses from the birthday girl!!

I love her. It was a wonderful day of celebration. I can’t imagine my life without Laela. While I’m finally starting to feel the little kicks of the next baby, I still can’t get enough of the two I have at home. I’m so thankful we’re built in a way that our love multiplies rather than divides with each little one. One is not overshadowed by the other. I adore these goobers.

No big group birthday party this year, but definitely the best birthday year yet!

No word of a lie, my current job is to make a photo post out of the 560 pictures taken today. Ya, I’m really not kidding. Five hundred and sixty pictures. So I’m sorry in advance if there are two hundred pictures on this post, but we really had the very best day. We hit up the zoo with my mom, Willa, and Jerilee, then grabbed drive-thru lunch, got the kids home for a nap, and then my parents came over for supper, cake, and presents. And everything was just awesome. The kids weren’t upset with the chilly weather, but revelled in having most of the zoo to themselves. They were wired and stayed awake the whole drive home, and then napped hard upon arrival. They both loved the food, and the cake, and Laela really took to her gifts. They are now down to sleep after much talking and playing in their room. I can safely say that Brady and I are wiped out, but it was an incredible day!!! I have not a single complaint. So. Let me see what I can do for pictures on here. There are just too many to make it all into one post. I’m only going to post zoo pictures today. I promise, it will still be way too many. But it was truly awesome!

Thank you, WordPress, for mixing up all of my pictures in an unfixable fashion. Eat my shorts.

Baby kisses <3

 Yes, she is an album cover.  This was about when we discovered she was eating mysterious berries squished on the sidewalk.

So unfortunately there is no rhyme or reason to the pictures, so much so that I didn’t even caption many at all. But it was a wonderfully loaded day and this about sums it up. Laela (and Dekker) were surrounded by people who love them sooo much, and they knew it. Best. Zoo day. Ever.

Anyone wanna go again tomorrow?

One year ago today, I was coming home from the hospital, incredibly disappointed that our induction hadn’t taken. I had been sooo excited, forgetting the norm and concentrating on “what happened last time” where I was induced and laboring hard twenty minutes later. I was so sad to have left the hospital still without my baby girl. Not because I was frustrated with being overdue, but more so because I had expectations. Rose-colored expectations that today was the day. At this exact time, I was coming home, and I was really disappointed.

I sat in bed, blogging, trying to remind myself that it was normal for a woman to go back to be re-induced the next day. Sometimes it was even a couple of days! I was trying to be positive, knowing that my doctor was on call that very next day, and how wonderful would that be for her to be able to deliver the bundle we had all anticipated together. I tried so hard to be optimistic. But I was bummed.

How would I know that just a few short hours later, labor would hit without warning, sending us into what proved to be the scariest hour of my entire life? God knew. I didn’t. I’ve reread Laela’s birth story many times, and reading it recently, I’ve wanted to clarify a thing or two.

When I said that I was screaming for pain medicine, and accusing people of not trying to help me, this is the truth: Through my whole drive to the hospital, I had never once considered that I was about to deliver. I was not in denial. I did not know. I knew I was in pain, and that labor is painful. I knew that I had been induced, and that commonly makes contractions harder and closer together. My assumption was that I was a solid six or seven centimetres, and that they would be able to take out my induction and that everything would slow down. I did not know I was ready to deliver.

See what I said there? I didn’t know I was ready to deliver. But I was. Who knew?! God knew. I didn’t.

If you don’t already know, Brady and I have plans for quite a large family. Literally moments after I delivered Dekker, I was completely invigorated and couldn’t wait to have another. After Laela’s delivery, I cried and told Brady I didn’t know if I could ever have more. Brady supported me and said we didn’t have to even think about it for a long, long time. Obviously, pregnant with my third very much on purpose, I overcame my fears and was thrilled to get pregnant again. But it took time.

Tonight, I snuck away to change Laela’s diaper before bed, just me and her. I was talking with her and telling her how much I loved her, and couldn’t believe she had been here for a whole year. The boys entered, and Dekker started his nightly whine-fest that is bedtime. So unlike normal, I took Laela out and we walked the house a bit. I talked to her about her birth a bit, and told her I was sooo scared, and that I thought maybe she was the last baby I was ever meant to have. But that she just amazed me beyond words and was completely worth the fear and pain and confusion of that ridiculous hour of my life. I was tucked into her neck (I know, backwards, right?) and I heard myself say “I wouldn’t change your birth for the world.” And then I cried, because its true. While this doesn’t mean I hope to deliver that way again (Please Lord) she certainly came into the world exactly like the little girl she is – a go getter. She was ready and came with a vengeance. That is exactly who she is. And strangely, I think I am better because of it.

I was scared today would be a weird day of mourning, but instead, I found myself thinking about what we’ve done the last year rather than how it started. We have had a loaded year, and she has just been incredible through it all. I adore my Miss Laela Hazel and all that she brings to the table. I can’t wait to celebrate her again tomorrow

Worth it. Worth every second.

I hope I’m not opening a can of worms here, but I’m looking for some tips! No, I won’t ask for peoples opinions on breastfeeding, spanking, or politics. I promise. I just want to talk about potty training.

You know how its hard to celebrate with people when you yourself wish you were in same boat? Like, you still love and support your friends, and you celebrate with them, but sometimes you cry on the drive home. You know what I’m talking about. This isn’t a crying issue yet, but in case you don’t know, Dekker turned three in August and has less than no interest in the potty. Now, no fighting!, but I am a believer in him just figuring it out as he so desires. No potty training boot camp for us. When hes sixteen, no one will care when he potty trained. However, with baby Jim coming closer and closer, I’m thinking the sooner the better. I’m honestly not too choked about the idea of having three in diapers, but I don’t love the idea of potty training right when Jim is new.

So I thought I’d just open up some conversation anyway, and see what people think. I looked on yahoo answers specifically for help on how to potty train a three year old who isn’t interested, and sooooo many people say “if they’re not trained yet, you’re slipping in your parenting” or “clearly your kid has you trained.” I really, really didn’t like that! Not only because it made me feel like complete garbage, but because I don’t think its true! I don’t think so, anyway. I hope not!

We’ve done what I consider to be a decent job on getting him acquainted with the potty. We have had a potty in the bathroom for quite a while. We also have a Cars potty seat hanging off the toilet, so he has his pick. We have potty books, and we have a few pairs of super cool underwear. And Dekker really couldn’t care less about the whole thing. Its pretty much not worth the oxygen to even talk about it with him.

So. The question. Do we do something rash and just get rid of diapers, and deal with pee and poop for an undetermined amount of time, whether he wants to or not? Or do we sit on it for another few months and leave him alone to grow up a bit more? Dekker has always been our gusto boy, who does everything BIG. He’s also a perfectionist. I feel like, if we left him to his own devices, he would wait quite a bit longer still, and then train overnight. Because thats how he rocks things. Is that what we do? Or do we nudge him along a little. Sooo many parents online said to involve punishments, and while I agree that discipline in parenting is important, it is NOT allowed in potty training! In my opinion, anyway.

Sigh. Just on my mind today. Thoughts? Tips? Just plain support and hugs? I’ll take whatever you’re offering.

Brady took the kids this morning so I could sleep in, which was such a gift! I slept until around 10am, and when I realized the time, I got my butt in gear. I got dressed and headed downstairs to visit the fam. Brady and I had talked the day before and decided I would go to the city today to clear up some of the errands I couldn’t complete last time. After a few minutes downstairs, I was on my way back upstairs to finish getting ready, and Dekker insisted he come along. Being that he’s with Laela and I day in and day out, he has become accustom to our “lady” ways. He stood on his stool in the bathroom and combed his hair, put on makeup (aka mashed up my makeup brushes) and brushed his teeth. He was sooo sad when I left and didn’t take him with me. On one hand, I’m glad to go on my own, as it frees me up a bit to doddle or go fast, and it just makes things go faster. Honestly, I don’t think I have to justify my appreciation for a few hours out of the house. However, I LOVE that Dekker wanted to come, and that he’s getting more comfortable with being out and about, even in crowds of new people. You guys have no idea how refreshing that is!

I started on the edge of the city closest to me and began the process of going to every Walmart and Superstore, looking for specific things.  For instance, Laela’s feet are size 3 usually, and size 4 winter boots are huge on her. We can only find size 3 winter boots at Walmart. BUT one of the specific birthday presents I’m looking for is also at Walmart, and I couldn’t find it last time I was in the city. So I hit the first Walmart and came out with six boxes of cereal (oops) and boots for Laela! Success! But no birthday gift. Next to the Superstore I never go to, where I finally found Laela the next size up in jeggings! The Superstore ones just fit her the best, and they’re a bit beefier than the Carters ones, and I haven’t been able to find the right size the last two or three times I’ve been grocery shopping. So, success! I also bought an owl mug, new sippy cups for the kids (that I LOVE and may buy many, many more of), and a Halloween costume for Dekker. I was thinking of somehow finding costumes for both kids that could go together, but I abandoned that idea when I found totally different costumes that are way too cool.

After Superstore, I headed to the next closest Walmart and found Laela’s birthday present!!! Its just a basic little plain dolly, but it has these monstrous eyes! The thing was, I’ve found so few, and the few I’ve seen either have brown eyes or green eyes, which is fine, but I was hoping for blue to match her eyes! Plus, the other ones looked so sad, and as I’ve seen online, the blue eyed dolly looks happy. There was only one, and I snapped it up! I’m sooo glad I found it!

I ended up meeting Jerilee for lunch at Chianti, which was delicious. That used to be my favorite restaurant, and I’ve probably been there three times in the last three years. So it was really nice! We had a nice long visit before parting ways. I had a couple of other places I could have gone to, but decided not to burn myself out like last time, and I decided to go home instead.

Upon arriving home, I was informed that the kids were bathed and down for a nap. And my house smelled like pumpkin spice. Fresh muffins were cooling on the table. How great is that?! Brady and I visited a bit before cuddling up and watching a bit of tv quietly before the kids woke up. When they did, we had eggs and toast for supper, and the muffins/cupcakes for dessert. While Brady spread cream cheese icing on the tops, Dekker announced “Daddy being domestic.” It was pretty much hysterical.

After a relaxed evening of toys in the basement, the kids are tucked into bed, my new Blackberry Bramble Tea candle is burning in our room, and a tub is run. Today has literally been one of the best days ever. I feel refreshed, at peace, and totally in love with my family.

Un. Freaking. Believable.

Love you guys.