Baby's One Today!!

HAPPY BIRTDAY BABY BOY!!

I can't believe a whole year has gone by!!

Rainy day on Manitoulin..... oh and 10 days until baby's birthday!! YAY!

So miserable....

What a great way to finish off the weekend.. we've all been sick, Sean and baby still sick... and now it's dark and rainy...

We had a big splurge on Friday, we bought a washer and dryer and two televisions... One for the living room and one for the bedroom, now we have flat screens everywhere. Although it was rather nice this morning to sit in bed with my coffee and toast and watch the news!! I am so excited to get my new washer and dryer they are pretty fancy, the have computers in them and all sorts of sensors, and the best part was that it came with a free ipod nano so now sean has one to match mine!!

Friday was also an expensive day as we got baby's leg brace.. $600!! He has to wear it until he is two so he had netter not grow out of this one. He looks like he has a bionic leg :)

Only 10 days until baby's birthday... I ordered this Winnie The Pooh cake pan, and all the icing colours, piping bags, matching cup cake holders so far we're up to, well I can't say as Sean will kill me! But alot... and to make matters worse I have no idea how this will turn out, as I can't bake, pipe icing etc... so we'll be having a few trial runs!!!

Anyways just another rainy day on the Island.. another boring day at the office.. more invoices to do.... :(

Yes we are still alive....

Sorry....

It's been a while....

Well it's summer, and in the summer time it's busy here!! Sailing, road trips, visitors, horse shows etc... So what's new?? Well a few things but generally a whole lotta nothin'!!

My Mum and Grandma mada the trip from England. They were so excited to see their grandson/great-grandson. Caleb of course loved the attention! My sis will be back in December for Christmas on the Island, before we head out to England, Dubai and Oman for a vacation in the sun for New Years and a few weeks in January. Yahaira will be coming back to see her godson from B.C hopefully soon x fingers crossed x. I can't believe he is almost a year old.. time flies!!

Went & visited the Laings at a horse show in Owen Sound. Was great to see them, they got to see Caleb again, the last time he was only a few weeks old!

Been golfing lots, I suck but I guess I can only get better!! Oh I also went fishing for the first time ever. It was good I caught 3 fish but Mike wouldn't let me keep them as they were too small :( So much for dinner!!

Hopefully away sailing next weekend for 3 days out to Darch Island and The Benjamins. Pretty excited about that as we haven't done a "big" trip yet! Would love to sail down to Windsor one time, that would be kind of cool.

Anyways I will post some pictures soon, got lots of new ones!!

OK I've been slacking..

So I haven't posted anything in a long time... but I have a good reason for it!! My computer died and now I have to get a new one, so it means I have to run over to the office to get on the web. Ok it's not far to go but with a screaming baby that needs constant entertainment it's quite the chore!!

Not much new to report...

I am hoping to get Anna (my horse) up here soon. The weather is so great, the sun is out and I need to be riding!! I guess there is a Manitoulin Horse Club that I am hoping to get involved with. They do trail rides, small shows and pot luck dinners etc.. It'll be a good place to meet a few people. I could maybe even get into doing some teaching again, although most people here ride western... I'll look a little out of place with my little english saddle on a trail ride. We are hoping to go and see a few friends horse show at the end of May so it'll be fun to get together with everyone again.

Caleb is doing good a little cranky as he has a cold.. I went to get his passport photos taken.. wow is that ever a chore. They can't smile, his mouth can't be open, he has to look directly at the camera... So needless to say, we didn't get any done and we are heading back to Sudbury to try again on Saturday!! Sean takes so many pictures of him that when you put him infront of a camera, he just breaks out into a huge smile!!

Summer is shaping up nicely with lots of plans. Can't wait until the boat is in the water and we can go on some sailing trips. We are also planning on England in September, my sister is coming here for Christmas, then England and possibly Dubai/Oman for New Years!! It's so exciting to be making plans to see people and family that I haven't caught up with in such a long time!

Anyways need to head out in the rain to get to the bank before it closes!!

Amazing photo

I had to post this picture on my blog as it is amazing. Just after Christmas we took out the snow machine for a spin and Sean spotted this owl. I quickly jumped off, whipped my gloves off and snapped this picture. I have never seen a real owl before and it was beautiful. I wish the camera could have caught how wide it's wing span was as it flew away. This is why I love living here. By the way, we just took pictures off the digital camera and there were ones from New Years, so over the next couple of days I will post them in our album so be sure to check out the link. Goodnight!!

Weigh in...

Just came back from the doctors....

Caleb weighs 19lbs 7oz!!

Good job we just ordered that new car seat! (For 20lbs and up!!)

About time for an update!!

Wow, I suck. I didn't realise how long it has been since I updated my blog!! I have to look at the calander to figure out everything that has happened!! Firstly, everything here is going well. Caleb has grown so much, he is huge and doesn't stop eating. We are experimenting with different veggies and fruit, which is always fun and messy! He is sitting up by himself and love to be put on a blanket in the middle of the room with his toy phone to play. The weather here is beautiful, the sun is starting to shine again all day, most of the snow has melted and I even have my windows open during the day. The sun heats up the living room so much, it's nice to lay on the couch and sun bathe! So, spring is here.. roll on summer so we can do some sailing!!

So now for the updates....

Yahaira came up in February for 10 days, so we decided we would get Caleb baptised that way she wouldn't have to fly back again from B.C. We had to have 2 meetings with Rev. Beth to discuss the baptism, one of which the godparents, Yahaira, Todd and Perry had to come to aswell. We even had a rehersal, just so that we didn't mess up our lines!! We had a lovely Sunday morning at church, followed by tea and cake downstairs with the congregation. It was a nice end to the week as we found out earlier in the week that Caleb would have to have surgery on his foot.

We headed off to Sudbury again, this time for a long couple of days.. pre-op consults etc.. For those of you that don't know Caleb had a club foot when he was born and has been weekly casted (weekly trips to Sudbury!) since he was 2 days old. The casting didn't fix his heel as the tendon was too short. So they snipped the tendon, stitched it back up one more cast for 3 weeks and his heel looks normal now.. Just like the other one. He is such a trooper, I was terrified of the surgery and putting him to sleep, but it didn't even seem to bother him. I think Sean and I were more worked up!! Now he has special shoes on a dennis brown bar. It just keeps his feet flat and in a certain position. But it is much nicer as unlike the cast we can take it off and he can bathe or roll around with free feet!!

When Yahaira was here we went to a Thai cooking night at a resturant called 'The old School House' which is just what it's name implies. It was fun, we cooked then sat and ate a huge Thai meal. It was fantastic, so I had Sean's parents over for dinner and recreated it, still yummy!!!

We have a new addition to the family, Sean's brother and fiancee had a baby boy Hugh Albert on March 14th. We haven't seen him yet as he is in Toronto with his Mum. Hopefully they'll get home soon I am sure they are sick of the sight of a hospital.

Well, easter is coming up fast. Another excuse to eat chocolate and get fatter! I got my wedding dress so I can't put on any weight!! We have decided that we will set a date for September next year, and plan a trip to England this year. It's a bit much to do both in one year and my family are dying to see Caleb! That is all for now, I'll try and be better at updating!

Big News

So I forgot to post it on here, but Sean and I got engaged on the 18th of February!!

He proposed to me in the hospital while we were waiting for Caleb to see the specialist! I have a beautiful 3 stone diamond ring in white gold. We are hoping to set a date sometime in the fall so that we can go to England afterwards and spend Caleb's first birthday in England at a big get together with all of my family. They'll get to meet Caleb and Sean for the first time!!

We are off to Sudbury again tomorrow to see the specialist... weather permitting, and we will also get to pick up our wedding bands and the ring I bought for Sean.. Who says guys can't have engagement rings too??

A growing boy!!

Just got Caleb weighed!!

He was 4 months old 3 days ago and he weighs:-

16lbs!!!

Just a quick update!

We are house sitting right now for Sean's parents... While Hugh and Mollyanne are enjoying the sun in Florida it is freezing rain here and we are about to get a huge down fall of snow! Hmm... Florida is sounding really good right now!!

Caleb is still super cute and growing fast. He seems to be teething already, which is apparently early. But he is a drooling monster and everything is going in his nouth and getting chomped on!! He has his 4 month appointment next week.. more shots! I can't believe he is 4 months soon, it is crazy how time flies....

So I am without my computer right now and there is no internet at the house we are staying at, so I miss my morning chats with Natalie!! (usually I get up and chat with my sister throughout the morning) So if I am slack with replying to e-mails (which I usually am anyways!) I'll get to it as soon as we are back home!!

Anyways got to make my way back up the hill, which is scary as it is all ice !!
See ya!!

Well we are doing one thing right!

So we had baby weighed today!!

14lbs 5oz

That's my news for today!

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!