First Time To The Waterpark & The Dreaded Return To Work

I took Makayla to the waterpark today for the first time! She is such a water baby and we honestly haven't been swimming for a while, so I was unsure of how long she would want to spend in the pool...well she lasted two hours, the only reason we left is because she was actually shivering and her lips were blue. I figured it was time to go!! We are already planning to go again in a few weeks!! I only got one picture of us, but I thought it was a good one!




So...the return to work is soon approaching! November 15th is the day. I like my job and everything, but honestly I just do not want to leave my baby! We have found a wonderful dayhome, but it doesn't matter the thought of it still doesn't sit well with me! If only we could afford for me to stay home, or even if we had a big enough place I think that I would start a dayhome. Well I guess I need to look on the bright side of things...having a full paycheck will be nice; oh right...I have to pay for the dayhome...there goes my paycheck :(

Wow...Where Does Time Go?

It has been over a month since I last posted...unbelievable! So what have we been up to? Lots!! My return to work is quickly approaching, November 15th is the day! We have found a dayhome and given a deposit so that is great, one less thing to worry about! I have been trying to enjoy my last little while at home with my monkey, but it is also nice to have a few mins away. On August 30th I went out for "Girls Night" to Milestones, with some ladies from the mom's group, that was really fun!

I am still trying to get Graffiti "out there" and I have come across Vistaprint and have fallen in love! I ordered a banner, 250 business cards, 25 magnetic business cards, 100 postcards, 3 car magnets, a shirt, a calendar, a mug, a mouse pad, a pen, a stamp and 140 return address labels for $46.16 (including shipping)! The best part...it only took 5 days to get here! I've done a few parties over the last few weeks and I have done one trade show. We have launched a new website for Graffiti; check it out here.

On September 1st I took Makayla for her 10 month check up with the pediatrician, he has finally said that Makayla's size is a bit worrisome. She was weighing in at 15lbs 2oz and 26.75in. So after the appointment we proceeded to the lab to get some blood work done. When we got there the nurse said that she hates taking blood from babies, oh great! She also told me that she didn't feel comfortable taking the amount of blood that the doctor had requested since she was so small. He had requested 4 of the large viles, she said that she was only going to take 3 and hope that would be enough! My poor little monkey! Before we started I felt like the worst mother ever, having to hold her down, but you know what - she was amazing! Makayla sat on my lap and I held her one arm and her body while a nurse held her other arm and a second nurse actually took the blood. She didn't even make a peep...I was so proud and actually shocked. There I sat almost in tears and Makayla sat there just watching everything that they were doing! The good news - everything has come back NORMAL!! Woo Hoo! My little girl is just going to be small.

I made my way down to the police station a couple of weeks ago to pick up some new screws that I had seen on a news broadcast that you can screw on with a normal screwdriver but you need a special tool to get them back off. Apparently there have been 3-4 thousand licence plates stolen this year already...and mine was one of them! Lets just hope that doesn't happen again because it was a pain in my butt, and not to mention expensive!

Even with Clint working away he is still able to "talk" to Makayla and see her. I always put the phone on speaker when we talk, on the screen is a picture of him so Makayla can see him and hear him. I am always taking pictures and emailing them to him as well! Makayla is sure developing quick now. She helps with eating, she always wants to hold the spoon so I usually give her one and then I feed her with another, she loves to "play" with her food! She is crawling all over the place now and instead of having a carpenter over I was able to find a custom fit gate that works with our stairwell so I had my dad come over and install it. Just a few days ago Makayla figured out that she can pull herself up on the couch or the ottoman and she is trying to "furniture walk", but she is still too wobbly to actually move around. It is so hard to believe that it has almost been a year already!

What else has been going on? Well Clint and I just celebrated four years together! Maybe next year on our 5th anniversary it will be extra special.....!!!! Just yesterday I booked a photo session for some family pictures and some 1st birthday ones of Makayla! We have booked a family vacation and I'm pretty pumped! We will be spending a week in Orlando then driving down to Fort Lauderdale and going on a 7 night cruise - I can't wait!

We Found A Dayhome

The search for a dayhome has really sucked! I have looked at 7 or 8 different homes and 1 daycare. It is actually REALLY scary to see some of these places where people bring their children. I'm not going to get into detail, but there is NO WAY that Makayla would EVER go to most of these! I am happy to announce that we have found one that we feel very good about! Actually we found two!

On Monday we went to one, it was ok but not great. Tuesday we went to three and we really liked two of them. The first one has been open for four years and we went during the day so we were able to see the lady interacting with the children and she was really good. She had an older house, but it had been well kept and renovated, a huge yard with a trampoline, swing set and many toys; they also had two dogs, a lab and a dachshund. The next one we saw was run like a military boot camp, it was awful! That's all I have to say about that! The third one, the one we chose, actually isn't even open yet. She will be opening in September (we don't need it until November), but she showed us around her house (brand new - they just got possession on June 28th) and it is beautiful. Of course because it is new there is no landscaping, but they have great plans of doing the yard and finishing the basement. For the time being she plans on having the kids upstairs in the bonus room (huge house) for most of the day. She is a 47 year old grandma of three who is actually an accountant right now. She is quitting that job to start up the dayhome. Her Hubby works for the city in the transportation department and has for 30 years. We met him as well and he seems great too! You can really tell that they love kids and will be a great fit for Makayla.

I actually called the references for both the first and third; of course the first one was parents of kids who go there now, and the third was personal references since it isn't even open yet. But either way I got a good feeling! When I called the first one to let her know that we had chose another dayhome, she was wonderful and even told me that if we need a backup plan or even need to drop Makayla off for a day here and there that she is more than willing to help us out! Now that is awesome!

What Have We Been Doing?

Wow, it has been a few weeks since I've updated! We have been staying busy; out and about in the city and Clint was home for a week too, so that was nice! It is hard to believe that the summer is already half over....that means the time for me to go back to work is soon approaching. I have been spending some more time looking for a dayhome; it doesn't seem to be proving easy so far. So what's new and what have we been doing......

Makayla has been working on her "funny faces"!



We spent some time with Nicky and Brooklyn in between their vacations (BC & Australia)!




We have spent some time at the beach!





Then Clint was home for his one week off a month, so we decided to take our first family holiday! We went to Canmore for 4 nights! It was a great trip!













The day after we got home from Canmore we went to Capital Ex, the annual exhibition here (same as what we just went to in Calgary with Auntie Cindy - Stampede). That was fun!

So, basically Makayla and I have been keeping busy, trying to pass time while Clint is away, but also trying not to let her grow too quickly! Makayla has been working on crawling, which for her really means getting up on her knees, then face planting, trying again and sliding backwards. Just within the last few days she has figured out that if she sits up and pushes with her hands she can turn around, so she has been doing lots of "circles". Also, just two days ago she figured out that if she gets up on her knees then pushes backwards she can actually sit up; she is so proud, as is Mommy!

Graffiti is still a go, I just need to get somemore parties booked; I have one for later in August and a trade show in September, also a few people who want to book for September!

Happy 8 Months Birthday Today!

Where is time going? Wow...I am feeling rather sad today! The realization has now set in that my baby is growing so quickly and in 4 months I have to go back to work.....

I still haven't really looked into daycare; I have only visited the one in our neighborhood which I really like, but I should probably get some comparables, I guess I need to get on that. I just don't want to!

Looking For Childcare.....

So the hunt is on. Makayla is almost six months and that means that I've only got six months left on maternity leave. This makes me very sad, not only is she growing too quickly for my liking, but this means that soon I have to leave her with a stranger all day, every day. It is killing me inside....I don't even know where to start. I can't decide if I should be looking for a dayhome or a daycare. There is positive and negative for each. Your thoughts? I've emailed a few dayhomes, and now just waiting to hear back from them with rates and more information. I really wish that we could afford for me to stay at home, maybe I need to start buying lottery tickets! Seriously...