Brooklynn

She seriously kills Jay and I sometimes with her funny ways.  Brooklynn is VERY motherly at times and she mimics me to the "T".

But to quickly backtrack for a second... On Tuesday morning I took Brooklynn to get her immunizations.  We had been talking about it off and on during the week leading up to it and I clearly stated that the needle she was going to get (she calls it a noodle) was medicine to keep her healthy and strong, and that she was my big brave girl who was going to get McDonald's after she got her noodle because I was going to be so proud of her for being so brave.
Okay now fast forward to this afternoon as Jason and I were sitting watching a show and in the corner of my eye I saw her playing with one of her dolls.  As she was playing I heard her talking to her dolly and this is what she said, " There you go my BIG brave girl, you did SO good when you got your noodle.  I am SO proud of you!  Now we get to go to Old McDonalds!!"
She was giving her doll big hugs and kisses and then she placed her on a little toy car and "drove" to Old McDonalds for a happy meal.

She has been calling McD's, Old McDonald's for months now and we haven't felt the need to correct her because it's so darn cute. 

Life Lately Post

Sometimes I have to dish it out to keep myself up-to-date and "journal" my/ our family's life for a sec.  I am NOT good at writing in a journal, this is more or less what I use to record life.  I do write some more "personal" things in a journal but again, not often enough.  I enjoy blogging, and I love my blog.  I REALLY need to start publishing it though...

I love that I can punch out a blog post cuddled up on the couch next Brooklynn (she is right beside me at this moment) and Alivia is stomping around eating a snack, while both are very attentively watching Sesame Street :)

It's Saturday morning, and it's one of the laziest we've had in a while. It's 11:30am, Liv just woke up from a nap and we are all still in our jammies :)  I DID clean the kitchen when I woke up, and have good intentions to wash our bedding today but I'm not stressing about right now.

Last Saturday we went to the zoo.  It was really nice to just go out as a family for the morning and lunch.  Jason and I are both pretty busy it seems and we don't get to do fun things as a family on a whim very often.  However, on Sunday we did get to go to his parent's house and watch the Superbowl with Austin and Lisa - very fun!  Lisa and I got creative with the food/ snacks for the evening and I think the guys really appreciated out efforts.

 As for the rest of the week: Monday I had Liliya, Tuesday we had Music Makers, I had a ton of stuff to do around the house and enjoyed my girl's night out at Earls with Jen, Lisa and Amy - something that was a lot of fun and NEEDS to be done more often!  Wednesday I had to get groceries, go to the gym AND had Hot Yoga, Thursday I had my appointment with Dr. Barr and Lindsay watched the girls for me that morning (thanks again Lindsay :)) and Friday we had Brooklynn's gymnastics, and immunizations for Alivia. Brooklynn was a very helpful big sister (normally I dread having to drag both girls to any appointments but this went fine!)  Alivia is doing great, the only things I have to change is to cut back some of her milk.

Our weeks have a lot going on and I love the activities we looks forward to each week.  It's really broken up the winter and we have simply enjoyed the cold months more so than I am used too.

To back track a little with doctor appointments...  I was diagnosed to have a very large ovarian cyst during my pregnancy with Brooklynn.  I even wrote a post not to long after I had her that it had cleared up, to which I believed that a miracle had taken place in my body... not quite.  Anyways, I STILL have a cyst. It was there through my whole pregnancy with Alivia too, and it is huge.  I'm seeing Dr. Barr at the Centre for Urology @ Rockyview.  He is great but I'm about to be referred back to my Ob gyn because what they thought was a urachal cyst, is now what they believe to be a cystic disease of my uterus.  I'm a mystery case, one that continues to mystify the doctors that see me.  I was able to have a look at the images from my CT scan (which deserves a post- such a traumatic experience!!) which were actually a bit graphic for me to look at at first but on the other hand it was amazing to see such a clear view with so much depth of my insides!  This little "hitchhiker" I carry around is taking up approx 70% of my pelvic interior. My Other organs are squished under or around it.  It is HUGE, I want it out and my doctor cannot believe I had two pregnancies without it rupturing.  Oh, and the only reason they thought it had disappeared a couple years ago was because I accidentally emptied my bladder before an ultrasound :S  I tried to drink a ton to fill it back up but there wasn't enough time for it to fill so we thought my cyst was my full bladder... crazy!

So there's some updating for everyone.  I'll be eager to have some news or info regarding surgery.  Until then it's just more of a waiting game :)

Other than that Jason is plugging away at school still and is approaching midterms.  I can't believe we almost have 1 year under our belts.  We just need to find him get a good internship!  If anyone has some connections in the finance or oil & gas world we would love to know :D

Emelli Pics!

I'm so excited to have these! Emily did a great job, so thank you very much!  If you have little ones I suggest you snag her to snap some adorable pictures for you.  She was really great about helping me come up with ideas and prop settings because I wanted the girls to have some pictures to hang in their room's.  I couldn't be happier with how they turned out!

2011

Wow, 2011 you were a tough and rewarding year for us.  I am grateful for some of the things and MAJOR blessings that came to us in this year but I won't miss it...

It was a year for growth and change.  My brand new baby grew to be a walking ray of sunshine full of zest and spice.  My little Brooklynn has grown to be a bright, inquisitive, hilarious little girl.  My husband graduated and started the road to an MBA. Our family dynamic really grew and changed in leaps and bounds through the duration of 2011. 

In hindsight I wonder how I managed sometimes... the moves, the limboness, the stress, the lack of sleep, the lack of schedules, the mess, the clutter, being SO busy, the renos... Well somehow WE DID manage and for that I am grateful because those were the things we grew from and found our lives to be SO blessed from.  We grew from many trials :)

2012 has started off in a much better place.  I am incredibly grateful each day for what life has offered us in the now.  I am so much happier than I have been in my life in a VERY long time.  Lately I've found myself realizing more and more just how miserable I was for so long :(  That is sad to think about but when I say miserable I mean I was dealing with some depression, boredom, frustration, and postpartum.  I was feeling stuck, over whelmed and unhealthy.  I don't think a lot of people who know me even REALLY well would have caught on to that and that's because I didn't quite catch on to it.  A year ago, spending winter in the Hamlet with a newborn and a toddler, squished in our tiny apartment was VERY hard for me.  I think my living circumstances played a huge part in the way I felt then.  I can seriously say that I have taken a new lease on life.  I am so much more out going, I love housework like I have never loved/ liked it before, I enjoy cooking more, I relax more, I sleep better and less, I am less bitter and less quick to anger, I simply enjoy life in a whole new way!

So 2012, I DO have high hopes for you, that this year will be full, healthy and rewarding.  I have anticipations for you that I am hopeful and excited for.  I even started the first week off in January with a lot of healthy eating and a very strict diet.  I want to be much more active this year, healthier and just have a lot more FUN.

What are your resolutions?
Oh, and Happy 2012 Everyone :)