a week in ontario

Bliss is watching your husband and daughter cuddle, fast asleep on the couch. I finally have time to blog now that daddy is home! After the longest time apart thus far, our little family is reunited with the exception of our puppy, who is still at Grandma and Grandpa's house for one more night.  

Ryan returned this morning from Oklahoma, where he had been away working for nearly 2 weeks. 2 weeks is a long, long time when your baby is only 10 weeks old.  Fortunately, time went by faster than it usually does, as Aaralee, my mom, and myself jetted off to Ontario for a week to visit some of our family out east.  

We spent most of our time visiting and everyone had ample time to cuddle the newest family member.  Aaralee even met her great-great grandma, and we enjoyed some quality time with 5 generations. Not many people are fortunate enough to have such an opportunity. 

We took a day trip, starting with a stop in Niagara Falls.  Between the wind and the mist, it was a cool day, but it was essential that we stopped for photos seeing as how it was Aaralee's first time at the falls!

We stopped briefly and then carried on with our day. With passports in hand, we headed for the US border!  

We spent the day shopping before indulging in dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  Aaralee was completely oblivious, but it was her very first time leaving the country! 

The rest of the week was spent touring the glamourous city of Hamilton with my mommy and my sweet happy girl. 

It was a great week with weather far better than the massive snowstorm back home, but we are happy to be back in our own home, and especially to have Ryan with us!  

single-ish parenting

Lately I feel the need to start every blog post with an apology for the length of time between posts. As it turns out, I'm quite busy these days.  Taking care of a baby tends to be rather time consuming, particularly when you are the only person to do it 24 hours a day.  Ryan has been working out of town for the past month, coming home for only a couple of days at a time.  While I'm thankful that he has a steady job, it's not always easy being alone for days on end. I've got a gorgeous baby girl and a sweet puppy, but I miss my husband when he is gone.  I'm sad for our baby not being able to cuddle her daddy. I'm sad for him missing out at a time when she changes so much each week.  I'm sad for me, because I've changed all but maybe 5 diapers in the past month.  On those rare occasions in which he is home, I'm a very happy wife. Aaralee... well... she's 8 weeks old and I'm not certain she knows any difference, but I can tell that she loves her daddy and is happy to see him when he is around.  

Aaralee is only days away from being 2 months old, which is crazy. If only the last 2 months of pregnancy had went by this fast!  She is a happy baby... unless she is hungry, which is often.  She lets me sleep a decent amount at night in exchange for constant binge eating during the day. We are homebodies, as she has made it very clear that she does not enjoy trips to the mall, grocery store, or Walmart. We've yet to take a trip that does not involve her screaming and me scrambling for a place to feed her. I may be one of the rare people who can honestly say that having a baby is saving me money.  My daily Walmart trips are a thing of the past.  I miss shopping, but I'd rather spend every day with my baby anyways. 

What have we been up to lately besides sitting at home? Well, last week was her first Halloween.  Do you know how impossible it is to find a costume for a 7 week old?  She's still very petite, and was swimming in the zebra costume that we received as a gift when she was born.  

We put it on for some photos before changing her into her cozy and much better fitting Sully onesie.  She was the cutest monster that I ever did see.  

Halloween was otherwise rather uneventful. A quick visit and photo op with her cousins, and we were back home to eagerly await the arrival of trick or treaters as it was the first Halloween that Ryan and I were both home.  We had a grand total of zero children, leaving me with a large bowl full of chocolate to consume.  At this rate, soon people will be asking me if I'm pregnant again. 

Last weekend we attended a shower for Aaralee, which (despite the weather forcing several people to cancel) was great fun.  Unlike our shower prior to her birth, this one was a wonderful explosion of pink thanks to Ryan's aunt Helen and her creative decor.  Our baby was very spoiled once again! 

After the shower Ryan headed back home to head away for work yet again. This time I opted to stay in Red Deer, where I've been all week. My initial plan was to visit with friends and family here, but a combination of bad roads and getting sick has resulted in me spending my days lounging around with my mom's house. My mom is around in the evenings to keep my company so it still beats sitting at home!  Tomorrow it's back to Edmonton to eagerly await Ryan's brief return.  I used to be the one to work out of town... things have certainly changed!