Xander's Dedication

It was a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends and faith. It all got started on Saturday with a full day of activities for us all. Ken and I attended a brunch meeting at Brenda's house for talking about the children's ministry at church. Ken is a part of Faithweaver Friends and I am the Nursery coordinator, so lots to say and thankfully Xander slept through the whole thing and Ariel played with the kids. Breakfast was yummy, and thankfully lots of fruit for me.

Then we came home at noon where we met up with Leah. Ken was going to watch her son Asher and Ariel while us gals and the babies went shopping! Leah had gymbucks to spend, as did I, so it was so much fun to go with someone. We had a blast and we shopped till we dropped. I got a few things for next year for Xander and Ariel at Gymboree and then spent my Baby Gap gift card on some long sleeve onesies for Xander and a cute fall/winter church dress for Ariel (who didn't have one long sleeve dress that fit in her closet!). Finally, I got a great deal (plus I had a gift card) on a parka and matching snow pants for Ariel at Please Mum, and Leah got a set for Asher as well. The babies held up well, Xander slept in the snuggly and woke up to eat and coo for a bit.
At home, Ken had fun with the kids. It was so nice of him to do that so I could go out and have some fun, thank babe!

Then we had dinner and headed over to Dad and Rita's to see Uncle Bill, Aunt Penny and Papa! We were excited to let Xander meet his Great-Grandpa finally. Papa seemed pretty taken with the little guy. It was very special indeed.


Ariel took a bit to warm up to Papa, of course it has been awhile since she has seen him.


While everyone visited, Ken and Xander disappeared and this is how I found them. Like father like son.


The next morning was CRAZY! First we dropped Ariel off at Sunday school, then picked up the food trays at Safeway and took them to Dad's, then I dropped Ken back at the church so he could set up the video camera and greet. I stopped in at Aunty Fran's because Aunty Marg was visiting with Papa and couldn't make the dedication and I knew she wanted to see Xander badly. Of course she was THRILLED and so excited by the surprise visit we made, so it was worth the effort. Then it was back to church to change Xander into his fancy outfit and nurse him so he would be a happy boy.

While I was at the back of the church rocking Xander, a big announcement was made by Brad, sharing that Andrea was engaged! Yay! So it was really becoming an exciting Sunday indeed. Once Xander was mellow and happy, we joined everyone and got ready for our cue. Ken went up first and shared why the song 'The Lorica' was so important and special to us.

When we first sang it in church, it was the first time I had felt Xander kick inside me. I was really taken by the song and knew it really was something special for me personally, and Ken as well. Then we found out our Worship Pastor's wife had written it, and that was a cool surprise. When we suddenly lost Nana, I found it to be a song of comfort to me. The only place I could safely cry (so not to upset or scare Ariel who was very fragile at the time) was in the shower. After the tears, I would find myself singing the lyrics ...

Be above me, as high as the noonday sun
Be below me, the rock I set my feet upon
Be beside me, the wind on my left and right
Be behind me, oh circle me with your truth and light

Truly they were words of comfort when I was hurting and calling on the strength I needed to get through this pain of losing her. Then when Xander was born and we were face again with the then unknown health concerns I was facing with my heart. I was crying in the ER rocking Xander crying out 'why' to God. When Ken left me briefly to call the family, I found myself again sobbing and quietly singing...

God's ear to hear me
God's hand to guide me
God's might to uphold me
God's shield to hide me
Against all powers deceiving
Against my own unbelieving
whether near or far

It kept bringing strength and comfort in such challenging times, like a way of praying when I didn't know the words to say. The song is based on the words on St Patrick's breastplate, and it felt like it became a song that was written for Xander as well. He was in the battle with us, and then with his birth, we discovered the hole in my heart that we wouldn't have found otherwise. Like I mentioned before, his name means 'Protector of Mankind' and his birth has protected me from possibly things to come that could have happened had this not been found. God knew that was his purpose and the timing of his birth. We are so thankful for his faithfulness, and his hand over us all.

So Ken shared much of this in his own words and then it lead into Gayle and Roy singing the song while Kara danced to it. At the beginning she even had Xander in her arms, truly a moment that really brought it all together. So here it is to share with you all, and following it is the actual dedication, although its hard to actually see us.



Here is a picture of us at the front that my Dad took. Ariel was doing her, I'm afraid of Pastor Dave routine and hid some of the time, and then would turn and wave at the family sitting in the front rows. Haha.


Our little family!


Ariel was very pretty that day, I loved this dress and was thankful it was such a warm day allowing her to wear it.


The party following the dedication was great. Lots of yummy food...


... yummy cake! (I was icing and decorating it early that morning, gack!)


Xander helping us cut the cake Ariel was dying to eat. She kept asking when she would get some jelly bean cake all morning. Haha.


Xander was pretty mellow and happy, especially since he kept getting passed around and cuddled (his favorite thing!) He cried only when he was hungry and wet, what a boy!


Ariel enjoyed spending time with Lala, I got a cute picture of them.


Uncle Mike and Aunty Jo with Xander.


It was a fabulous day and it slowly came to an end as Bill and Penny took Papa back to the island, and everyone else went home. We hung out a tad longer to visit and then packed up the kids and came home.

This morning was a harsh wake up call when the morning came sooner than I was ready for. Xander has been up a few more times in the night to eat, growth spurt I guess. It was a school morning, so I had no choice but to roll out and get the house moving. Even Ariel was laying on the top stair saying she was wanting more sleep. Thankfully she got moving fast and soon was perked up. They are talking about Thanksgiving in class this week and made this adorable turkey! I told her we are having Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Rita's house this weekend and she now wants to bring him along to give to them. Aw.


In the afternoon I took the kids outside to the little grassy area by our place to take some pictures to make up our Thanksgiving cards with. These are some of the pictures I got...

My pumpkin princess. Can I say how happy I was that her cute sweater from last year still fit!


My little pumpkin sleeping in the leaves. His sweater one piece matched hers perfectly!


I love this one, sometimes you just get lucky! Hee.


Well, its ballet tomorrow and weigh in day, which I don't think will be that great, especially after the 'cheating' I did yesterday at the party, doh! Oh well, there is always next week. Lots of other things this week, including my visit with the cardiologist again and some fabric shopping with Stella. I shall keep you posted with all the updates on things.

We are Family!

Today was our first photo shoot as our completed family. Yes, we are to be a family of 4 for the long term, especially after my doctors have said that it is not in my best interest to have more children after what happened following Xander's birth. Ken and I always talked about maybe a 3rd baby one day, but I guess this is what the Lord has chosen for us, and we are happy with the blessings we have. Of course we mourned a little, but when we see our beautiful family, I can't feel like something is missing, because we have been given so much. Maybe one day a dog... hehe.

So we had our pictures taken this morning with Maria from Frozen Reflections. As usual she didn't disappoint and our kids did very well. Did you know that running a hair drier calms a fussy baby? Seriously, when Xander got grouchy at times we turned it on and 'poof' alert and focused baby, totally weird! Haha. Ariel had her brief moment of tears too, mainly because she wanted to play with the toys, but when she was in the studio she glowed. Mommy is very proud of her beautiful family. I can't wait to gift pictures at Christmas, hee.

Of course I have been aching to update the banner on my blog to reflect our little boy, so I am happy I could do that today. I changed the blog colors for now, not sure if I am totally happy with it yet, but I am too busy and tired really to think about it right now. As long as our new picture is up, I am pleased, whee. Here are some of the other pictures from the session:

The picture to go with our Christmas cards this year...


Our little man, totally absorbed by the camera and lights.


Our big girl! Wow, when I saw this one I was like, when did she grow up?! She is only 3, and yet seems so much older than that! She truly is a beautiful girl, my sweetie.


Now some of Xander's baby shots like we did with Ariel. Gotta love that hair!


Love this one...


My boys!


A little dash of Mommy, and a heaping scoop of Daddy, hee.


My little angel, I love him so much.


Big sister and her little brother... also known as the 'please don't drop the baby' shot. Haha.


We all love the newest member of the family.


Not much else to report on the week, its been just our regular routine. School was good this week for Ariel. They are celebrating Thanksgiving next week and are making a fruit salad in class. She is responsible for bringing the apple. Ariel seems to now be asking 'why' questions since going to school. Yesterday she stated in the car, 'Mommy, the sky is blue!' I said yes it is. She then replied, 'why?' Ah, should I go into the complex scientific structure of it all... naw, I said 'Maybe ask your teacher.' Oh that was terrible I know, bad Mommy! But the last time she asked something like that earlier in the week, I explained things only to keep getting 'why... why.... why!' Argh, gotta love it, haha.

Little outfit I found at the consignment shop, not sure if Xander is impressed? I think he is adorable!!!


Also this week was Ariel's school pictures... can we say GONG SHOW! Seriously, I wasn't that impressed, the fellow taking the pictures was nice, but had a thick accent that was hard to understand and he wasn't really a 'kid' person. I must say he was very patient with me dealing with Ariel, who for some bizarre reason freaked out and was crying and being a real pill. I know it was half 'acting out' because her cry was totally fake, but the other half was probably having to wait so long. Oh well, we did get a shot, but trust me its pretty funny the look on her face. I will share it when we get our proofs. The class picture was better, but again the photographer was trying to direct the kids and failed terribly and so they all look pretty silly with the 'deer in headlights' look on their faces. I did manage to advert Ariel's underwear being exposed when she was nervously tugging up her skirt. The photographer did nothing, or maybe didn't notice, so I quickly ran in the shot to fix it. I am thankful they asked us to be there for the picture, otherwise who knows what might have happened. At least its a good story to laugh about now. Haha.

We had a visit from Aunty Fran this week with some gifts from Maureen, Darrel and the kids. Some play dough for Ariel and a super cuddly blanket for Xander. Oh its soooooooo nice. I must say we were all having a snuggle in it last night, hee. Xander is quite happy to nap all wrapped up in it, so cute!


Ariel also had another fantastic ballet class. I got to talk to her teacher after wards and she said that Ariel follows along so well and is really taking to things. They will be learning a little routine to 'Can't wait to be King' from Lion King to preform for the parents in December. So we came home and got that song playing on Ariel's itunes play-list as per request from her teacher to help familiarize the song. She spent a good hour dancing and twirling to it. I got some video and some of Xander cooing along.



The other big news was the other night after Xander's bath, he flashed his first smile. He is really a serious little guy compared to Ariel, so he is much harder to get smiles out of at this point. Ken managed to get one today but they are more like little grins since his mouth isn't as wide as Ariel. I melted of course, since I had been dying for a smile, and I look forward to more of them but of course in Xander's own time... I'll be waiting little guy.

One Month Old

Boy, that went by fast didn't it? I can't believe my little prince is a month old. He is a joy and we just love him more and more everyday. He is getting bigger and filling out more in the face. His eyes are still blue, in fact a bit more so now than when he was born. Xander is continuing to nurse and sleep well. He is up like clockwork every morning at 3am for a feeding, and we watch 'Restaurant Makeover' while he snacks. Then back to sleep till 7am, its wonderful and I am very thankful. Ariel was like that too, they like to sleep because they are crazy busy during the day!!!


Xander is my cuddle monkey. He is all about molding himself to who ever is holding him. He is also not into the 'binkie' at all, especially compared to Ariel the 'binkie queen'. You give it to him and he just spits it back at you after a few chews. All he wants is boobs... maybe that is a guy thing? Haha. His big sister is still trying to get him to like it... she is determined. She just loves him so much!


His hair is continuing to grow... and we have achieved the mini mohawk look.


For church today we sported X-man in his first pair of jeans. Mommy's little west coast boy, can you say grunge? Haha.


This week we had coffee party and the ladies had a 'food shower' for me. We got lots of meals for the freezer and its awesome! So thankful for wonderful friends. Xander made his first coffee group appearance and charmed the ladies.


Aunt Deborah even made it for the special occasion, so nice.


The kids and Aunty Kara, love this one.


Also this week Xander got to go to his first movie! On Thursday it was 'Stars and Strollers' at the local theater (special screenings for parents with babies) and they were showing 'Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs'. I packed up both kids and went off for the show. Ariel enjoyed it, especially the falling burgers. Yum. Xander slept through the whole thing, much like Ariel did when I took her to one when she was the same age.

That night Ken was working late so it was just the 3 of us for bedtime routine, so Ariel wanted Xander to come cuddle for story time.


Earlier in the week, after dropping Ariel at school, Xander and I made a quick run into town for the special duds the kids would be wearing for our family picture session this week with Maria. Gotta love that Gymboree has their Christmas stuff out early for people like me, hee. So I got Ariel a pretty dress and then got to pick dress clothes for Xander. I will say, its just as much fun, haha.

After picking Ariel up, we did a quick fitting session to make sure everything worked, so here is the Christmas angel Ariel...


... and the sugar cookie cutie Xander. Aw!!!!!!!!!!!


In the mail this week Xander got his first puppet from our good friend Galen and his family! His own fuzzy monster Grover. I think they will be good friends.


On the Jay front, this week has been better for me emotional wise. I didn't cry... much. I have been careful because we didn't want things to turn into postpartum depression. My doctor felt it could happen because of the extra stress I basically had to block out when Nana passed away, and it could just be coming out now. I totally agree, and add in the extra stuff with my health added in there it just has been a rough ride. I must say hitting the month mark was just about as momentous as it was for Xander. We both survived, now on to month 2.

One minor freak out happened when I was getting ready for bed and noticed that my incision site on one end was looking red and angry. I started crying fearing that now I was getting an infection. (Hello emotional psycho Jay!) Ken came home and looked at it and tried to calm me down. Thankfully the following day at coffee group I had Aunty Fran look at it, she is a retired home care nurse. She said it probably was angry from moisture, and of course thinking back I had a shower that morning and probably didn't dry the area as carefully as I usual do. So she gave me some pointers and within a day it was like nothing was wrong with it. Hoping we can keep it that way. My 6 week follow up is approaching and I would like to get back to doing some normal activity, especially since I joined a 'biggest loser' group to drop some more weight. There are lots of weddings next summer and dang it I want to look good! Haha.

Soooo, that is pretty much our past week, and this week is looking busy too. Its a major photo week with Ariel's class pictures tomorrow and our family pictures this Thursday. Meeting with Pastor Dave tomorrow about Xander's dedication next week and we also jump into October! I want to get my fall decor up soon and start getting ready for the multi-Thanksgivings and sewing Halloween costumes... but I still plan on getting my cuddles in. Happy one month Xander, Mommy loves you.

Back into the Groove

Its been sorta crazy around here, Ken has been busy with the SPARK animation festival last week. That meant several late nights where he wasn't home till midnight, so I was a tad tired without my second set of hands in the evening. Thank goodness Ariel is such a great girl when it comes to bedtime that its no fight and I can put the extra strength into Xander.

On Saturday, Ken was home during the morning, so we had an online chat with Ken's family. I snapped this picture during that because it was so cute. My man with my angels. Hee.


That evening Deb and Blair came over to meet Xander. They took the 3 of us to dinner as Ken was out partying with animation people. As we finished dinner, who drives by but Dad and Rita, so they came into join us and visit. Ariel then saw the moon in the dark sky out the window and informed us all it was time for her to go to bed, haha. So we took the visiting back to our place to please Ariel.

Sunday morning we had church and Ariel went to her first sunday school class. She had a great time and learned about Noah. I took the morning to get ready with Xander and then walk to church to get my exercise in since Ken was going out later that day. Ariel was excited to wear one of her new headbands that she got from Ken's Aunt Mary and Uncle Rick... can you tell?


In the afternoon, Ken had to do an interview on the phone for his new book and needed quiet, so I took the kids to Dad and Rita's for a visit. We ended up staying for dinner and then came home to a quiet house. Ariel went to bed and Xander and I hung out while I did some stitching on his Christmas stocking and watched '17 Again'.

Monday was school again for Ariel and I dropped her off in her cute kitty outfit which she is totally loving. This is her serious model look, haha.


Xander also stylin' in his new duds I got at the baby sale. Note the 'bad hair day' shirt, I think that is appropriate eh? Speaking of Xander, he is going to be a month old soon!!! When did that happen?


Then this morning was FINALLY Ariel's ballet class. After my big oops last week, Ariel has been patiently waiting for it to start. So starting at 8am this morning, she started asking if it was time to go yet, about every 5 to 10 minutes. Class didn't start till 10am, so it was a looooong morning. When it was finally time, she was practically bursting with excitement,eek.

We walked there and met Stella, who was going to have a little walk and juice break with me while Ariel danced. However, before we left I had to snap a shot of my big girl in her first dance studio. Hee.


So now we are sitting here and its actually pretty calm. Ariel is playing potato heads, Xander is sleeping and I am blogging... I am sure it won't last, but its nice for the moment. So I shall go tidy up the kitchen before someone is yelling for me.

Yay for Hormones....

...please note the heavy sarcasm. Blah! If you asked how many times I cried in the past 24 hours, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I had a bad case of the postpartum blues, that is normal of course but so not fun. Yesterday was a long day, Ken was out late at the SPARK animation festival, and I had a busy list of things to do.

It didn't start off well since I slept in to 8am, since Xander had gotten up at 5am to eat, and usually he gets up at 6am, which then when I am done just progresses into the start of my day. I went back to sleep and thankfully woke up on my own and ran to wake up Ariel who was still sawing logs too. Got her dressed, fed and out the door for school. It was raining so we drove, and I got her in on time, woot! Then I dragged Xander off to the clinic so I could do this week's blood and urine tests the cardiologist ordered. Thankfully he was sleeping happily and was no fuss.

After wards we went to the post office to mail off Ken's contacts. I can now announce his big news since the contracts are signed and on, Ken is writing another book! He was contacted by his publishers to write a second volume of Stop Motion Animation, so we are very excited! It works out perfectly because he can dedicate this one to Xander too, since the first one was to me and Ariel. Haha. Its such a blessing, but of course we know it means hard work ahead. I am just happy that I am not sick and pregnant for once during one of his huge writing assignments. Haha. I am always amazed at the opportunities that come along for Ken, its just awesome. Whee.


Then we did some banking, ran into some friends and had to show off my little guy. Came home and got to sit for an hour and watch some of Ellen and then dash off to pick up Ariel again. At that point I was so tired, and just needed to rest. Got the kids fed and happy and was able to sit and cross stitch on Xander's stocking ( I figured I wanted to make sure that was done before his birth announcement, cuz I never know how my time will go). Can I say how glad I am to cross stitch again! My belly is no longer in the way, speaking of which, only a few more pounds and I am at my pre-pregnancy weight! Woot!!!

(Ariel all ready for ballet... and Mommy messing up the dates, it starts next week - BLAH! Lots of tears, way to go Mommy!)


Then came the cry fest.... I took ink prints of Xander's feet for his baby book and decided to wash him up in the bath tub rather than set up the baby bath tub, but I really wish I had. I had him lay in the bottom of the tub with barely any water in there. He wasn't happy and was crying and then without warning, Ariel tried to wet his hair with a cup of soapy water and instead got most of it on his face and open mouth. I freaked and grabbed him out of the tub since I wasn't sure if he got a blast down his throat. He was making funny noises and was preparing for the angry cry, so no sound was coming out which freaked me out all that much more. I wrapped him in a towel drying him and patting his back. He let out a huge cry which slightly made me feel better, but then he was snorting and there was lots of bubbles in his mouth and then he got quiet and just stared at me.

My little owl! I think he might hate me for this outfit one day, haha.


I called the nurse hotline not sure if I should take him in or not. She had me listen to his chest and his breathing was fine and since I know what a chest with fluid sounds like now thanks to myself, I knew it was ok. Of course I wasn't... it shook me up more than it probably would have because of all the hormones. The nurse was very kind and talked to me for awhile till she knew I was ok too. Part of me wished Xander would cry more, but he just snuggled and slept for awhile.

I got Ariel into bed early and just sat and sewed the evening away till Ken got home and I cried all over again. Xander of course is fine, and was being extremely cute. I just love him so much. He will be a MONTH old next week and part of me feels like I lost so much time enjoying him because of everything that happened... especially if this is now our last baby. Just sucks, but then I know its important this all happened to find out about my heart... but its still lame. My sweet boy, don't grow up too fast ok? Now in regards of how today went, I am happy to say that it was much better and no crying, yay.

You might have noticed the kids in these cute matching outfits, well my online friend Brenda made these for them! They are so awesome, and Ariel was thrilled when we opened them. Thank you so much Brenda!!!!!!!!


Ok, in closing, the birth announcement has been sent and received to those we sent it to, so here it is online to share (click on it to see it better). I am off to feed my baby boy, good night.