MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!


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WE ARE HORRIBLE!!

We have been talking for the last month how much we need to blog, but neither of us got around to doing it. So... Ben is sleeping for a few moments so I thought I would jump on the computer quickly and tell you what an AMAZING little boy we have.

I cannot believe he will be nine months at the end of this month... where has the time gone. I never thought I would love someone as much as I love my little man. He keeps me entertained all day long and we have some great parties when dad gets home from work!

The biggest thing since we posted last is that he is CRAWLING. I thought it would be great for him to start crawling but now that he has I am regretting every wishing that :) He gets into EVERYTHING!!! He started shuffling around and doing the inch worm about a month ago, but he is full on crawling now and it is so funny to watch, and watch is what I have to do. The other day he was just sitting in the front room playing with some toys... I ran into the kitchen for probably two minutes, come back out... I CAN'T find Benjamin. After having a bit of a panic attack (I don't know why I am so crazy) I hear this little grunt. I look UNDER the Christmas tree and there he is just hanging out eating the pine needles!! I laughed and pulled him out. Another time, I was in the room and he was just crawling around... he got around the couch where I couldn't see him but I could hear so thought he was fine... after a minute or so... he becomes very quiet! Well I go and peek over the couch only to see him eating an orange. Jeff had left an orange and it had fallen down so I didn't see it. Ben had biten right through it and had orange gunk all over him!!! Even though he was a mess he was still SO cute.

Lots has happened with us these last couple of months, Jeff had a birthday!!! I had a birthday and it was our anniversary!!! We are so blessed with our little family and we are grateful every day! We are excited for Christmas and to watch Ben enjoy his first Christmas although I am sure he doesn't really get it!!! It will still be fun for us!

Here are some pics of the last couple of months!!!

ENJOY!!!

Hopefully we will post before Christmas again... but if not... MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! We love you all.

SIX MONTHS

 TODAY IS BENJAMIN'S HALF BIRTHDAY!

We celebrated it buy getting into a brand new outfit. That is right you are looking at a six month old in a track suit that cost more then Jeff makes in a month.  But he is just too cute to resist.

Good thing this expensive running suit is made to be sweat in so it is composed of washable materials.  I don't think that there will be much in the way of sweat on it though. However there will be plenty of a different fluid, namely drool.

And with it being a jogging suit we really hope that Ben starts to move so he can use the suit for what it was designed for. But seeing as he doesn't like to move we may not see much of that.

 That is right, this little guy just likes to sit or lay there.  No rolling for Benjamin.

That is okay we love him so much we buy brand name track suits for him to sit around the house in.

 Happy Birthday Ben!  We love you so much.

AN AMAZING WOMEN

One of the most AMAZING women I know passed away this week, and although it was a good thing, as I have thought about her these last few days I realize how much I am going to miss her. My Grandma Toomer really was a remarkable women, she taught me alot and I only hope one day to be half of what she was!

She lived a great long life, she had just celebrated her 95th birthday a couple of weeks ago. The biggest lesson I learned from her was how to endure to the end! My grandpa died 23 years ago and I remember her saying that she kissed him goodbye and would see him in two years!! Well those two years were prolonged and although she missed him so much, she still made the most of the next 23 years. She wrote in her journal everyday and even after her third stroke paralyzed her right side, she taught herself at the age of 85 to write with her left hand because "the prophet told us we need to write in our journals." 

I always was so excited when she would come and live with us for the summers, not just because she would mend all of my clothes and make bread, but because I just loved being with her and talking to her. We always had good times with her and she was always so positive and happy. 

A few of my favorite memories... 


I was probably 12 and it was a Sunday afternoon and we had just gotten home from church. As much as my mother always tried to make us stay in our Sunday clothes I never did. Well, I remember walking out of my bedroom and grandma was in the family room reading, so I stopped to talk to her. As I turned around I caught a glimpse of something black behind my back, well being the wimp that I am, it scared me so I screamed and starting running. I was running around and around in circles and this black thing was chasing me. Grandma was laughing so hard I thought she was going to die (although at the time I was angry she was laughing and not rescuing me from this black thing) I'm not lying here, but probably after three minutes of my running around in circles and screaming, grandma finally got control of herself and stood up and made me stop running. With a giggle in her voice she told me to look around. I trusted her and did, only to find that my black tights that I had just taken off were stuck in my pants and that is what had been chasing me. Oh my heck... we laughed for hours about that, and every time I saw her we always laughed about it. Even now as I am writing this, I am laughing hysterically remembering it!!  

I also remember one summer she was visiting and we had this dog Gunner... and we had this big heavy piece of plywood across the top of our stairs to stop Gunner from going to unwanted places. I don't know whose idea it was to use a huge heavy piece of lumber but all I know is it was HEAVY. Well, I slide it over one day to get by and I lost my grip and it went flying to the bottom of the stairs where my grandma happened to just be starting up the stairs. I have never been so scared in my life... I saw it in slow motion. This huge piece of wood flying down right for her head. Well, it hit her square on and she fell. Of course I thought I had killed her, well of course I go running down to make sure she wasn't dead and although she was laying there a little dazed she just smiled at me and said... "Well... that would have been an interesting way to go!" She was always so kind and never angry, cause I don't know about you but if someone had dropped a huge piece of lumber on my head I don't think I would of been so kind and understanding!! Even in those moments, she taught me what it is to be truly christ like!

I could go on FOREVER talking about my wonderful grandma but I won't. I just hope that one day I will be brave enough and adventurous enough to skydive on my 80th birthday like her, that I will follow the prophet no matter what like her, that I will take the time to be kind to people like her, that I will love my kids and grandkids and great-grandkids with everything I have, like her. I just hope to be a little bit like her because that would mean I would be a pretty great women too!!

I know she is so happy to finally see the love of her life, my grandpa after 23 long years and the rest of her family. And although I miss her so much already, I am happy for her and know that I will see her again. And until I do, I will try my best to become like her!

LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!!!

Maybe take a Break from the 'Sleeping Machine'

If you are a first time reader or don't remember the last post about the 'Sleeping Machine' scroll down before you take a look at this video.  Don't get me wrong we love the bouncer and Benjamin loves it as well.  It is just that when an accident happens while he is in the bouncer the clean up is a little more involved.

It was a particularly bad one, as you can tell as it busts the confines of the diaper. Worst then that, when I took him up stairs for a bath the sight and smell of this one was too much.  I nearly added to the mess through another orifice.  Yuk!

Sleep Machine

Grandma Baker was visiting and after holding Benjamin her triceps must have started to ache from all the recoil because she had to go get a bouncer.

Not this type.  Although I am sure his triceps would be able to handle a bouncing baby, he may not be able to care for some of Ben's other needs.

But a bouncer we got and at first the little one was very unsure of this new contraption. That soon went away and was replaced by an insatiable need to bounce. This is good for us because he goes from this...

to this...

or this...

and this is how he gets there.

In summary, to avoid any confusion between large burly men and  colourful child play things, bouncers should respectfully step down and take the name of 'Sleep Machines'.  This will allow bouncers to have the word bouncer homonymlessly.  Besides have you seen those guys.

Anyway, thanks to Grandma Baker for the wonderful 'Sleep Machine'.

I'M A BAD MOM!!!!

So.... Jeff told me not to post this because it makes me look like a horrible mother... but I still just laugh when I watch it (probably means I am a bad mom). Anyways... I was working on the computer paying bills and such and Benjamin was just swinging away, I looked over to see how he was doing and this is what I found.....

He was just there sitting like that staring at me... he had not made a sound. I should of taken a picture without his blanket there because he was just kneeling there. It was so cute... I was just so surprised that he had gotten out of the swing without making a sound. Later on that day I went to put him down for a nap so wrapped him up and put him back in the swing... the next thing I know he is starting to move... so instead of taking him out of the swing... I decided to get the camera out and video what he would do so here you go.... NO JUDGING!!!

Oh.. the TV was on so just turn down your sound...

So.... I have learned that I now need to put the strap on him!!!

We just can't get enough of this little man... we love him so much. It is so fun to watch him grow and discover new things. 

CANADA DAY!!!!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!! OK... so this post is a little late coming but we have been recovering from a wild weekend that we are still dealing with the effects of until now. We clumped in the 4th of July celebrations because we understand how important a nations sovereignty is and we wanted to take part. Us Canadians like to show respect by not being ignorant of others. For instance in church we sang both O Canada! and America the Beautiful! Very nice.

However, I feel that our neighbours to the south feel a little different.

You may have seen or read this story before. I feel it is a tad Apocryphal. And seeing as I don`t have a fact checker in my employ I can`t be for certain. But regardless of the stories truthfulness it still demonstrates my point.

We love being Canadian! It is a great country that we are thankful to call home.

The following is a funny article that Megan found. Read if you have a moment or two, not sure exactly how long a moment is or how many it will take for you to read it.

`On behalf of Canadians everywhere I'd like to offer an apology to the United States of America. We haven't been getting along very well recently and for that, I am truly sorry. I'm sorry we called George Bush a moron. He is a moron, but it wasn't nice of us to point it out. If it's any consolation, the fact that he's a moron shouldn't reflect poorly on the people of America. After all, it's not like you actually elected him.

`I'm sorry about our softwood lumber. Just because we have more trees than you, doesn't give us the right to sell you lumber that's cheaper and better than your own. It would be like if, well, say you had ten times the television audience we did and you flood our market with great shows, cheaper than we could produce. I know you'd never do that.

`I'm sorry we beat you in Olympic hockey. In our defence I guess our excuse would be that our team was much, much, much, much better than yours. As word of apology, please accept all of our NHL teams which, one by one, are going out of business and moving to your fine country.

`I'm sorry about our waffling on Iraq. I mean, when you're going up against a crazed dictator, you want to have your friends by your side. I realize it took more than two years before you guys pitched in against Hitler, but that was different. Everyone knew he had weapons.

`I'm sorry we burnt down your White House during the War of 1812. I see you've rebuilt it! It's very nice.

`I'm sorry for Alan Thicke, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Loverboy, that song from Seriff that ends with a really high-pitched long note. Your beer. I know we had nothing to do with your beer, but we feel your pain.

`And finally on behalf of all Canadians, I'm sorry that we're constantly apologizing for things in a passive-aggressive way which is really a thinly veiled criticism. I sincerely hope that you're not upset over this. Because we've seen what you do to countries you get upset with.`

BATH TIME

Benjamin loves his bath time (most of the time). This morning I gave him a bath and he was so funny. He has started to laugh and the whole time I had him in the tub he was giggling. It really made my day. Here are a few pictures from today, and also some from when I was out at my parents in BC and he got to bath in the kitchen sink :)

Here he is in grandma and grandpas kitchen sink... he wasn't quite sure about it at first!

But he soon came to the conclusion that he LOVED it. We couldn't stop smiling when we saw this face... I know I am biased but he is so dang CUTE!!!

He even loves being wrapped up is his warm towel to dry off!!

We just love this little guy so much!! He is such a blessing in our lives :) OH.... also wondering if anyone has any tricks to stop him from sucking his fist, thumb, fingers. No matter what I do, he is constantly eating his hand!!! Any advice would be great!! Thanks.

A Video of Ben

We have tried to load videos before, and had no luck with it. So I have now tried a new route. Does it work? Drum Roll.

The Best Wife?

The answer to that question is yes. Megan really is the best! I know that I frustrate her and I am turning her hair grey but I love her so much.

The quality of the pictures should not be considered a metaphor for my feelings for her. She took the camera with her on her trip. Lets face it Ben is way more photogenic then I am. And everyone that reads this blog would much rather see a picture of him then I.

I guess that is what we need to improve on. Pictures of Ben loaded up her for all our friends and family to see.

That is not the purpose of this blog. I wanted to talk about Megan. As I said earlier she is away on a little trip. But of course being the amazing person that she is she has gone and left a present for each day that she is away.

Once I came inside from helping to get them on there way I was greeted this delightful sight on the stairs. A present nicely wrapped for each day of the week. Notice the excellent display of tissue paper. It is evenly crumpled and billows out of each bag. Megan in fact holds weekend seminars at SAIT for present wrapping. Mom has been wanted to attend because we all know that she lack the skill of tissue paper stuffing. I am not sure if that is the offical title you would need to ask Megan.

Here is a closer look.

As wonderful as it is to get jumping frogs, hard plastic parachute men, cadbury chocolates, mens accessories, or even a comic themed puzzle. The best part about the presents was a card written from her or Benjamin each day.

Thank you babe. I love you so much!

Red Beard

When I mention Red Beard I am not talking about the 1965 Japanese doctor movie. Nor am I talking about the Belgian Comics, directly. And defiantly not the tactical nuclear weapon from the British 1960's Royal Air Force.

I speak of Hayreddin Barbarossa or Red Beard the Pirate. Or better put the Privateer. He ruled the Mediterranean for decades and became an Ottoman Admiral.

The reason I speak of such a man is because I think that he has been reborn as my son.

Benjamin rules our house. Admiral sounds like admire and we do that a lot. Ben has red hair like the Privateer. And he likes to have one eye closed and say "arr" which we all know are dead give aways for piratehood.

But you be the judge.

EIGHT WEEKS

Our little man is 8 weeks today. WOW!!!! He is growing so fast. Last week, we went to our doctors appointment and Benjamin is 11 lbs 14 oz!! He is in the 75 percentile for his weight and height, so doing great!!! We love being parents and though we are lacking in sleep we love it. Ben is the best and we are so lucky to have him!

We also gave him his first haircut!! Just a trim around the edges. We decided after that maybe we should have cut it while he was sleeping. It was a little tricky, but no blood was drawn so we figured it was successful!!!

WE LOVE HIM!!!

Mothers Day Gift... a Little Late

I blame it on the Canadian postal service.  When you post something in Canada the post doesn't get to the desired location for quite some time.  Canada Post is a little silly.  Just ask my Father-In-Law about Canada Post.  He has a number of stories about the postal service.  Posting is a good way to get your post to people that want post but posting with Canada Post is a bad way to post if you want your post to arrive at a decent time for post to arrive.

I am sure you are confused by the excessive use of the word "post" in the above paragraph. I refer to mail as post because of my time that I spent in England and Megan hates it.  I love her and I just like to bug her.  How very junoir highish of me.

At any rate the package I ordered did not make it to us until Friday, thats five days late of Mothering Sunday.  Not smooth.  But the awesomeness of the gift, I hope, made up for the oversight of ordering late a bad mailing system.

Don't take my word for it take a look for yourself.

What is it you might ask?  Well it is a Uterus. This was Megan's first Mother's Day and you need to put your uterus to work to be a mommy.  And aslo this womb is soft and Megan's was soft for a while after the birth.  All is good now, but with this Adult Toy we will forever remember Benjamin's birth. Because we might forget it otherwise. ;)

When Ben is a little older and he is going through a difficult time we might visit 'I Heart Guts' again for some teaching aids.

On a more serious note and in the spirit of Mother's Day.  Megan is the most amazing mother.  I love you.

CAN'T GET ENOUGH

So here it is.. we said we were going to do better blogging but we obviously have not since it has been over a month since our little man was born and there have been no posts. We will try to do better... we have just been so busy! I say that and then I think... what have I been busy doing. There are days when I go to bed just exhausted and wonder.. what did I do today? My house is still a mess, the laundry didn't get done and I was lucky to get some sort of food on the table! All I know is that being a mom in all time consuming. It makes me appreciate my own mom and those other women in my life who work non stop to care for their families! I love being a mom and still think it is so weird that I am the mom and not the aunt!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!

So... our little man Benjamin Mark came into the world on March 30 at 10:32 am. My water broke the evening of the 28... so it was a long process for him to get here but I will spare everyone the details and just say that I was sure glad when he finally arrived!!  It was a really amazing experience (for the most part) and I was so lucky to have Jeff there with me through it all. He was so kind and loving and concerned. He was so patient because I would want something, for example a cool cloth on my forehead so he would get it and help me and then all of a sudden I wouldn't want it and would get angry that it was there. He just didn't know what I was going to do from one minute to the next!! He was just wonderful through it all. I think one of my favorite memories was after Benjamin was born they took him over to the side to check him all out, Jeff just didn't know where to be... he kept running back and forth between us both. He was worried about me but worried about Benjamin too. It was so cute and sort of funny to watch him. I asked him after and he just said... "I didn't know what to do or who to be with because there are now two people I need to be with!" He is such a great man, a wonderful husband, and the best dad EVER!!

Like I said before I love being a mom... and can't believe that he is a month old already. He has changed so much and is growing like a weed. He was 8.5 lbs when he was born, he dropped to 8lbs 2 oz, then got up to 9lbs and a week later he was 9lbs 12oz... I couldn't believe it. The doctor was impressed!! That was a couple of weeks ago that he was weighed so I am sure he is well passed 10... maybe 11 by now!! He is just wonderful and Jeff and I just love being with him and staring at him. I just look at him in awe sometime and wonder what he is thinking or dreaming about! I have found that some of the most special moments for me are when he is fussy I wrap him up nice and tight and sing hymns to him. It is amazing for me to see him calm done right away and just stare at me. It is great and although he may just calm down because he knows that my horrible singing will stop soon if he does, I still love those small moments!

So here are a few ( okay a lot) of pictures of him. We take so many it is crazy!! He is AMAZING.. and we think pretty darn cute too!!

I just had to put this picture up here... sorry if it grosses anyone out. This is Benjamin just freshly out... but look at the head on top of his head!! I still can't look at this without being a little freaked out!! Don't worry it has gone back down to normal but WOW... that is what happens when you are crowning for an hour and a half!!!! 

Just a precious little guy... just hanging out taking in all his new surroundings!

He just looks so peaceful when he sleeps. He has a ton of hair so we decided to do it like daddy's... now it just goes that way all the time!! I can't decide who he looks like... mommy or daddy? Depending on who you talk to it changes all the time... and if you are talking to Grandma Salmon.. I think it depends on who she has in her mind at the time... cause it has changed quite a bit :) LOVE YA MOM!!

I don't know why but I think babies are so cute when they yawn!! I also love this picture cause it shows he MASSIVE hands. He has huge hands and feet... I am pretty sure he is going to be taller then his mom when he is eight!!! :)

He is just so freaking cute!!!

My two favorite people... man I just can't get enough of these two. I love them both SOOO much!!!!

I love that is looks like he is laughing... I like to think that he is.. although I know that it is probably just gas!! LOVE HIM!!!!

These were all of the babies born in our "Birth and Babies" class. I think it is so funny.. because Benjamin is the second to youngest but he is defiantly the biggest! I know I have said it before but he is the cutest as well!!!!

Another yawning picture... but I just think he is adorable!! He was just chillin with Grandpa Baker.. I guess he is a boring guy to hang with!! 

Here is me and my son just a few days after coming home. He is so tiny when I look back to this picture cause he is alot bigger now. It is amazing how fast they change!!

WE JUST LOVE HIM!!!