And the holidays are over...

Belated Merry Christmas to everyone!

So much craziness and it's over so soon... We didn't have alot of gift shopping to do this year as we were just buying for the children in the family, but with all the trips to Sudbury the week before (3 times), trying to shop in the mall with hundreds of other crazy christmas shoppers it was a little exhausting.

Christmas eve Sean's parents renewed their wedding vows after 40 years of marriage. We had a rehersal and rehersal dinner the night before at the church and helped to set up the resturant for the next day. The ceremony and lunch was so nice, the children in the family had little flower baskets and we all walked down the aisle as part of the wedding party. We all had little flower corsages to wear including the boys and even little baby Caleb! So cute!! At the lunch I got to meet alot of Sean's family that I haven't had a chance to meet yet. So we ate too much food (a good start to the holiday season) then passed out at Sean's parents house for the rest of the day!!

Our first Christmas together was so much fun, I was really looking forward to it, especially as it was our first Christmas together as a family. We woke up and opened stockings and presents from each other and had a huge breakfast. Sean's parents came over for mimosas and Todd and Perry visited before we headed to Sean's parents again for more food!!! I think I put on 300 pounds and there is still let over turkey!! We had Christmas dinner with Pam (Sean's sister), Ken and the kids then did it all over again on Boxing day with Cole (Sean's brother), Cher and the kids. As well as more presents!! Caleb did pretty well, he loved this moving Winnie the Pooh. You shake the rattle and it starts to sing and walk across the floor. He was so fascinated with it!! He couldn't take his eyes off it! It was so cute. I think that and the baby leapfrog book are his new favorite toys!!

I think one of the highlights of the holidays was cutting down our Christmas tree. We went out to the hunt camp property to cut down our tree. We had had so much snow and everything was white and so beautiful. We drove there and got the car and the trailer stuck in a ditch to start with!! We then went out on the property using the atv (a 4 wheeler dirt bike) into the bush, down all these trails in search of the perfect tree!! Yeah that's pretty hard apparently! But we found a pretty good one and cut it down, hauled it back. It was the first time I enjoyed being outside in the snow so I am actually looking forward to doing more winter things. I really want to go on a snow machine. When the road are covered with snow they are everywhere, they drive down the roads and pull into the gas station like a car!

That's all for now... Oh one last thing check out the link new link on the side of my blog - Sean and Maria's online photo album. Some cute pictures and I've been meaning to set it up for a while!

Have a Happy and safe New Year!!

Start em' young!!

Caleb playing x-box!! Everything around him catches his little eyes now; the world is such a fascinating place!!

Time flies when you're having fun...

Both so cute!!
My baby bear!


My smiley boy is 2 month old now... time flies!!

Life is busy...and it's snowing!!

A cold hello from Manitoulin Island! Last week we had a foot of snow and it hit -17 in a day! When it snows here, it snows! The snow flakes are huge, and it doesn't stop! Apparently I need to invest in a few things to help me through the winter here (as I am told last week was nothing wait until winter really hits) :-
1. Snowboots
2. Long underwear
3. A face mask (I'll explain..)
4. A sleigh (Again...I'll explain..)

But winter does have it's good points, yesterday we went out to the hunt camp last night and had a ride on the four wheeler/ATV out in the bush. It was so fun riding down all the trails in the snow, it is so pretty. But once you get going fast, pretty cold, so I decided next time I will get a face mask so when we get back my face isn't numb for an hour! I can't wait to go on the snowmobile. They have trails for them all over the island, so it should be fun!

Driving here in the winter... well I won't be doing that! If you don't have an SUV or a vehicle that has 4X4 here, forget it. They have 2 snow ploughs on the entire island so roads here don't get ploughed like in Windsor. The snow packs down and they put sand in the corners so you have traction as you go round them. Sean told me nothing was put down in the straight part of the road as you don't need the traction; you are going straight. Sean tells me this stuff so seriously that I can't tell if he is joking and just winding me up! I guess we will wait and see!!

So the sleigh is for baby Caleb. His car seat/carrier will fit right in it and it is so I can walk down the main high street with it if I want to go and grab a few groceries or something I can pull him behind me as my stroller won't get through the snow. Again I don't know if this is a joke, we'll have to wait and see.

Caleb is doing awesome and is so much fun! He started smiling and baby talking, mainly at Sean. Sean sits there for ages talking to him and really gets him going! When I try the same tactics he just looks at me like I am crazy, but I do get the odd smile out of him from time to time and it just melts your heart and makes you giddy! He also make eye contact with you now, it is so amazing when he looks directly at you and recognizes who you are. He is getting big fast, he weighs 12 lbs now and keeps changing the size of diaper he is wearing, so I have tons left over that don't fit him. He has also grown out of the first sleepers we had for him. I was folding them the other day and I cab't believe he was that small!! He had his first shots on Thursday, talk about break my heart!

Thats all for now, I have to feed the munchkin (baby and Sean are curled up sleeping together right now - so cute!!) then get in the kitchen as we are having friends over for a small dinner party tonight!

This morning's photos

About that time already??

It snowed here yesterday....
Not ready for winter yet, you know my thoughts on that!

Two weeks old...what I have learnt...

What I have learnt.....
1.) Babies nails grow so fast! (I wish mine did!) You could seriously cut them a couple of times a week, it's crazy.
2.) They love car rides, a trip to Windsor or Sudbury is so easy, they sleep all the way!
3.) They are always hungry; and apart from being a Mum, at times I am sure that I am just a boob to my child.
4.) To appreciate time you have to do things like shower or make dinner or put gel in your hair, because those times are far and few between!
5.) That I am so grateful for Sean's love and support, I can't imagine doing this without him by my side making sure I eat right, drink enough, get enough sleep etc..
6.) A different type of love. I never knew you could love someone so much like this, when I am away from him for a second, I picture his little face in my head and I want to be with him again, no matter how much he crys, poops, keeps me awake or wants to eat!

One week old!

Caleb was one week old yesterday, and he is still a sleeping, eating machine! We went for his one week check up yesterday and he has put on almost a pound since birth! They took his diaper off to weigh him and he peed all over the doctor. Aparently that is his new thing, he does it every time you change him.

We also made our first big trip yesterday to Sudbury where Auntie Natalie spoilt Caleb rotten at Old Navy with some cute outfits!

We are off to Windsor tomorrow, to do some visiting and drop Natalie off at the airport :( It's going to suck not having her here especially as she has been so much help!

Baby Caleb has arrived!!

Right on time! September 28th @ 5.04am, Caleb Braden Roles was born. These pictures are from today, he is 5 days old! I have pictures from when he was first born, but they are on my sister's digital camera and she left the cable for her camera in England, so I have to wait until she gets back to have them!

Our labour and delivery was great. I was only in labour for 5 hours and Caleb was born 15 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. Sean, my sister and Yahaira were there with me the whole time. Sean and Yahaira were great with helping me with my breathing and staying calm, and my sister who initially didn't even want to be in the room, was the official photographer and didn't even pass out!! I could not have gone through this without Sean, he was so calm the entire time, which kept me calm and focused on my breathing so that I could achieve the natural birth I wanted. He even cut the cord, which he didn't think he would be able to handle doing!!

By lunch time I was ready to go home but we ended up getting transferred to Sudbury as Caleb developed Jaundice and needed to be under phototherapy lights for a few days. That was a stressful couple of days and Sean and I spent 3 nights with no sleep as Caleb would not settle under the lights. We took it in turns to settle him catching an hour of sleep where we could. But we finally got home midnight on Saturday! It felt great to sleep in my own bed again!!

So far so good, all Caleb does is eat and sleep! We have to strip him down at feed time to wake him up. He sleep all day and all night! He is so cute, and has huge eyes!! Well off for a walk, will get some more photos soon!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my online journal. I hope to be able to add pictures and notes to keep you all posted on how things are going up here on Manitoulin Island with Sean, myself and our new addition when he finally gets here! So keep checking and I will do my best to keep you all posted!