An amazing wedding

Thursday was an awesome day. I saw one of my best buds who came out from the island. Then it was direction Langley, to decorate and go to the rehearsal dinner. After getting home late, it was time to clean the house and prepare for family staying over. Friday early morning started with washing the car, and picking up the flowers. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now what was coming later that day. A wedding, my little brother’s in fact! After getting all dolled up, my mum and I headed to my brother’s condo where he and the groomsmen were getting ready. It was sure good that we went, because those boys needed a woman’s touch! After adjusting suspenders, ties, boutonnieres and jackets we headed to the bride’s house for pictures. Charlotte will be noticeably absent in all of them, because she decided to have a major temper tantrum during the 2 hours it took for the photos. Then it was off to the church for a very simple, elegant, and funny ceremony.
The reception was at a beautiful golf center overlooking the green, and could not have been any more fun. A hoppin’ dance floor, excellent meal, and hilarious speeches were on the menu. Julien was in heaven with the cheese platter, and Charlotte slept through practically the whole thing, allowing me eat, dance, and hang out with various people throughout the night. All in all it was a great day, with awesome memories and a beautiful couple.

A day at the Lake

Today has been an awesome day, albeit a bit nostalgic. We went to Hayward Lake, which is just 15 minutes from my mum's house. It was a first for Julien and Charlotte, but for me it must have been the hundred thousanth time (well, maybe not that many). It was cool to take my daughter to where my father had brought us 3 kids so many times over the years. I could just see myself and brothers in the backseat, my dad driving and wearing his ball cap, shorts, socks and sandals, singing silly songs and keeping us occupied until we got there. Then we would all run into the cold cold water and come up sputtering. My dad would play with us in that water, throwing us in off his shoulders and pretending to be a shark to scare us. After we were all swum out we'd pile back in the car, still in our wet bathing suits (but sitting on a towel of course) and he would take us for ice cream at the "dam store", (that's really it's name). So today we decided to do the same! Julien swam in that cold cold water while I dipped Charlotte's toes in it and then we went for ice cream at the very same "dam store". We'll definately keep this tradition for Charlotte, and tell her all about how her grandpa did the same with her mummy and uncles. We sure miss you, Dad. Mum had the vanilla just for you.

A Week of Firsts

It's been a week since we've been home and we've already done soooo many things! My amazing future sister in law (5 more days til it's legal!!!!) threw me a baby shower and Charlotte got so spoiled. It was awesome to see friends old and new, and to eat the most delicious cupcakes ever and share gory birth stories (who doesn't love a good delivery tale?) The big question now is to see how I'll manage to get everything in the suitcases lol.
Charlotte has been really good, and is sleeping so much better now. After carerful analysis of the situation, Julien and I think it's because of a few factors. 1. The miracle blanket really is a miracle blanket. 2. I have stopped all dairy intake. It seems to have really helped with her acid reflux and she sleeps much longer now. 3. I am so much more relaxed here. I guess just having my mum here to help and having all the extra arms to hold my precious little girl have really helped me just to chill out and take what comes.
I've been to chiropractor because of my ongoing back problems, and it's not really helping too much yet, though I can actually turn my head now and pick up Charlotte when she's on the floor. Hopefully with a few more sessions I'll be able to carry her for longer than 2 minutes without the pain.
We've been really praying about coming back here to stay for good, and so we're starting the final visa procedure where I have to act as a sponsor for him. It's a big responsibility going the family sponsorship route because if ever Julien loses his job he isn't entitled to any EI or government assistance for at least 3 years. It's kind of scary not to have any financial security for so long and having a baby has made that prospect all the more scary. But we figure that God is in control, and if we're meant to come back then everything will fall into place.
Anyways that's about it for today. Funny stories to come! plus I'm going to write Charlotte's birth story soon so stay tuned!

Safely Arrived

We arrived safely to Vancouver on Saturday night after a long and turbulent flight. Charlotte was a little trooper, and actually handled the 17 hour trip pretty well. It has been so wonderful to see my family and friends. We had the baby dedication at church on Sunday, and despite the jet lag we were up pretty much all day. We were even able to bring Charlotte to a restaurant, although it's not the easiest thing in the world to nurse while eating chicken hunan kung pow. It was really special to have Bethany come down for a day, and we're really looking forward to having the weather clear up a bit so we can hang out at the lakes around here. We're pretty excited for the wedding, which is approaching fast! Anyways, just a quick update. See you soon,
Becky

Nous sommes arrivés a Vancouver sans incident samedi soir et tout va bien. On a rencontré pas mal de turbulence de Montreal a Vancouver, mais Charlotte a plus ou moins bien supporté le voyage de 17 heures de Cergy a Mission. Dimanche nous avons fait la presentation de Charlotte a l'eglise ou nous nous sommes mariés, et apres on a profiter pour aller manger au restaurant avec tout le monde. Nous avons visité les grandparents hier, et pris des photos, 4 generations! C'est fou. Le temps n'est pas super beau, mais ca doit s'améliorer d'ici vendredi. Ce soir nous allons passer du temps avec Josh et Lindsay, et jeudi il aura un babyshower pour Charlotte. A tres bientot, Becky

A little Miracle

My little girl is the world's worst sleeper. She was born with her eyes wide open and hasn't closed them since (ok, she's closed them a little). It has made for a very grumpy baby, and the last 2 months haven't been easy with the lack of sleep. I know that all new parents are deprived of sleep, it's to be expected. But I was not prepared to have a newborn that only sleeps for 15 minutes before waking up screaming, and then is up for 12 straight hours and needing comfort. We've tried a million different things: white noise, shushing, rocking, dancing, a sling, the car, a walk,baby chiropractor, swaddling, dark rooms,the list goes on. We noticed that when she was swaddled she slept a little better (about 1 hour naps,followed by 6 of awake time woot woot)However, we have a little escape artist on our hands, and those little arms always seemed to pop out of the swaddle and bat around like crazy, keeping her from precious sleep. So anyway I found this so called "miracle blanket" from red castle, guaranteed to help the baby sleep. Because I am desperate, and because those infomercials at 3am are just so convincing, I bought one. 30 bucks for an itty bitty piece of cloth that looks more like a straight jacket then a swaddle. Anyways, I washed it and tried it on her last night. I put her down at about 9:30, fully expecting her to be awake by 11:30 as always. At 12:30 I thought I heard her, so I went to check. Nope, baby sound asleep. Hmm, strange, but ok, I went back to bed. At 2am, same thing. I was almost worried because she NEVER misses a feeding. At 3am, same thing, baby sound asleep. Now I'm starting to get a little frustrated because my chest was starting to look like the girls on a baywatch episode, and I couldn't sleep because I was so used to being awakened at least 5 times a night! At 4:30am I woke up again and went to check on her. And there I found my darling little Charlotte, eyes wide open and calm as a cucumber. She gave me the world's biggest smile. A SMILE. At 4:30 in the morning. After having not eaten for 8.5 hours. After having slept for 7. I took her and fed her while she cooed all the way. I swaddled her again after she was done eating, and she immediately fell asleep. Until 9:30 this morning. She practically slept 12 hours without any awake time! And at the end of it was all smiles and giggles! This is absolutely monumental!! Now not being the most optimistic person in the world, I think that she is either getting sick and needs to sleep, or that little blanket really is a miracle. I must add that it is now 11am and she is sleeping again... ;-)

My very first blog

Well, today is the first day since Charlotte was born that I had a little time for myself. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a really long time now, and figured no time like the present!
So what can I write about that would be interesting? Julien and I have packed all our bags and are more or less ready to go. Vancouver, here we come! I think that this is the first time in my entire life that my bags have been ready to go a week before leaving. For those who didn't know, Bethany can confirm that I am the world's worst packer. My bag was always full of surprises because I had no idea what I'd put in there! It was so nice never having to pack after I got married, knowing that my husband, who is THE master packer, always took such pleasure in getting everything organized. Now that the baby's here it's become every girl for herself, which means that I have to actually organize. Which is why things are ready so early.
Anyways, so we're all ready to go. I'm a bit nervous about how Charlotte will behave on the plane ride, it being a 15 hour flight and all, but I'm sure things will be fine. I think I've packed enough diapers and extra clothes for the next year, and my mom has got pretty much everything I could need on the other side!Thank God for her, she is just so awesome!
So that's about it for my first post. I'll try and post often (often for me would be like once a week,I'm thinking)
Love Becky