Canyon!?

I was trying to get some cleaning done and I was on the last leg; I was singing, dancing, and offering food to Canyon to keep him happy while I finished. My poor little helper just couldn't keep up. Trying to find the most comfortable position.

Finally a comfortable spot. Mom, wake me when you are done.

Perfect Saturday

Unable to move, but making the best of it.
Lint rolling Dad after the park with the dogs.
I wonder if it tasted good? Ewwww!
Last Saturday was the first day off that Gary and I have had off together since Christmas! It was wonderful. We started the day early. We had hoped to sleep in but Canyon had different things in mind. It’s not so bad to start your day with a baby telling you HI and giving you hugs. Gary made me breakfast: waffles, summer sausage and tea. Yummy! Then we headed up to Connor’s Birthday party. We had a great time and were hoping Canyon would fall asleep on the way home so we could have some time to ourselves. He feel asleep on the way home, but didn’t sleep for vary long. We decided to take the dogs to the park. They were in heaven. We have to take them out more often. We attempted to teach them COME, and STAY. Gary, Canyon, and the dogs endured my attempt at a family picture, Canyon enjoyed picking at the grass (he could move, because I bundled him too much), and Canyon sampled the dog treats. We had so much fun. To top the day off Gary took money from his beloved Whistler savings to buy take out and a movie. Thanks handsome, for the great day!

Berries & Bath: Two of My Favorite Things

Making Dad Proud!

Canyon can say HI, give kisses, walk and will occasionally wave bye-bye, but I haven’t seen Gary’s eyes twinkle with such happiness as they did when Canyon stood on his snowboard.

What COLOR?

I just assumed Canyon would have brown eyes. Gary and I both have brown eyes. So our kid should have brown eyes, right? Wrong. I am not sure what color to call his eyes. Gray, Hazel? Let me know what you think.

Nitro and HIS swing set

We got Nitro about 3 years ago. We just love him. He has totally made us dog people. Something neither Gary nor I were until him. When we first got him he was like our kid. He was spoiled rotten. A lot has changed for him since we move up here from Tucson, and since we had Canyon. Some things I know Nitro misses is all the time he used to spend inside and the puppy massages I used to give him. We got Nitro a playmate, a girl Basset name LOLA, and although it wasn’t really for him a swing set. Skye gave the boys’ old swing set and since Canyon is only 10 months old Nitro has gotten more use out of it. I have wanted to catch him playing on it and I finally did! What a silly dog.

Bampa = Music

My Dad (Bampa) came for a visit and brought his backpacking guitar. My Dad makes it over for a visit about every month. I am grateful for his frequent visits. Canyon just loves him, especially when he plays music. Canyon wanted in on the action and tried to play. You can imagine how happy this made Bampa and how willing he was to share his music with Canyon. Keep the visits coming and keep the music coming. Love you lots Dad.

CHEERIOS

So around Thanksgiving Canyon’s Auntie Skye introduced him to Cheerios. And that’s when it began… Canyon’s love affair with the “O” shaped cereal. Cheerios have become a staple in the diaper bag, almost as important as diapers themselves. When Canyon gets picky about eating food I just top his spoonful with a Cheerio and he’ll gulp the bite down. Yeah, that’s right I put Cheerios on carrots, peas, green beans, prunes, applesauce, bananas, or whatever else is on the menu. And I am not ashamed to do this. I used to think that I would just train my kid to eat everything and that he would have the perfect taste buds. And while Canyon actually does pretty good and usually enjoys his food, he needs a Cheerio topper every now and then.

The other fun fact about Cheerios is that they buy me a couple of minutes and in Canyonland that is priceless. The other day I spilled some Cheerios on the floor and you would have thought I threw out raw meat for a lion. He lunged under the chair and vacuumed up the whole mess. That’s another thing I am not ashamed of. I let my kid eat off the floor. I don’t make a habit of this but, I couldn’t stop my little Cheerio machine. Thanks, Big Sis:}

California

My mom and I took a trip to California to visit family. My Grandpa Hodgson hadn’t meet Canyon and we were anxious to introduce the two of them. I was a little nervous about Canyon’s first plan ride and all the extra luggage that comes with a baby, but so excited to see family. Canyon did almost perfect on the plane. My mom was such a saving grace. She was more than willing to take Canyon or carry on of the four pieces of luggage I had in addition to her two. Once we arrived in LA my uncle Elwin kindly picked us up from the airport and drove us to my Grandpa’s house (the same avocado colored house I have visited many times). We exchanged lots of hugs and kisses. My Grandpa attempted to keep his voice soft as to not scare Canyon. We visited, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. My Mom, Canyon and I shared a bed. It felt like there was so much room in the bed. I think it must be because Gary is bigger than my Mom. Canyon was a bit confused to see Grandma on the other side of the bed and not Dad, but he managed to adapt. The next day we took a walk through my Mom’s old neighborhood which is only about a fifteen minute walk from my Grandpa’s house. She and my Grandpa filled me in on many fond memories of Hollydale. We even stopped and talked with some old neighbors. After our walk we picked Fran up from a hair appointment and headed over to Nana’s for a visit. She was feeling a bit under the weather, but looks absolutely amazing for an almost 94 year old. She gives little ones no option to be shy. She immediately picked Canyon up and started squeezing and kissing. He didn’t put up a fight. There is something about Nana’s spirit that you just can’t resist. Later on that evening my Grandpa let out his voice and Canyon loved it. I don’t know any little boy that could resist such a kind Grandpa like mine. We spent our last day of visiting with my Aunt Linda and Aunt Debbie. My two cousins Jonny and Mikey came over and it was so good to see them. Watching my Mom with her sisters is so fun to me. They have been my example of sisterhood and friendship. Our trip was great. No hustle and bustle, just relaxed family time. I love family!! Especially mine. Thanks for such a fun trip Mom.

SLEEP

Canyon is a sleep. That is why I am updating my blog (still feel silly saying that). The other morning he actually out slept me. I swear he looks just like an angle when he is asleep. He was on my bed so I didn’t want to go far. I grabbed a magazine (those who know me well know I have an addiction maybe even a fetish with magazines) and sat on the floor right next to the bed. I read an article on bonding with your infant. I thought to myself, I don’t know if it is possible to bond any more with a person that I am with Canyon. Then it happened; his little body started to move. He heavy head arose from the pillow and he looked at me with hazy eyes and smiled. Our bond increased at that very moment. It was all I could do not to leap onto the bed and squeeze him. Actually that’s exactly what I did. I leaped and squeezed. We then enjoyed some snuggling, tickling, slobbering and laughing. Thank you GOD for my baby boy!!

On another note regarding sleeping I have been trying to get Canyon to sleep longer lengths and in his own room. While I love snuggling with him and regardless of what Gary says, he loves snuggling too; I think I would benefit from more sleep. I used to be the type of person who had to have eight hours of sleep at night, would fall asleep before anyone else at a slumber party; heck I have fallen asleep multiple times in movie theaters. Obviously that changed when Canyon was born. So here’s the deal. Canyon still nurses at night and wakes up about 4-5 times. He starts out in his room and then ends up in our bed. The last couple of nights I have been trying to let him cry himself back to sleep. He ends up crying for what seems like for ever. Actually not crying but howling like a barracuda. The entire time I am feeling like the worst mother ever, like I am breaking that sweet bond I just talked about. I am so overwhelmed by guilt that I end up going and getting him, bringing him to bed and snuggling him to sleep. So what I need from all you seasoned mothers out there is advice. Don’t hold back. Thanks.

CHRISTMAS

I was supposed to work this Christmas. I had mentally prepared myself. I figured Canyon is so small he won’t know that it’s Christmas and that I am not there. I was pretending to not care. But on the inside I was desperately trying to figure out a way to get out of work. Then the miracle happened… a co-worker wanted the extra cash for working a holiday and offered to pick up my shift. I jumped all over it. I was/am so thankful that she thought to ask me.

So here’s how our celebration turned out…

Christmas Eve: Being the procrastinators that Gary and I both are (it’s helpful if one partner is not a procrastinator, but oh well) we still had many presents to wrap and make before the big Kirkman Family Christmas Eve shin dig. Yes that’s right… MAKE! Last year we all decided to only give gifts you can make. For someone like me this is quite challenge, but has led to the most enjoyable gift giving experience I have ever had. So… in our frantic building, we were graced with the sweetest gift from my Mom to Canyon: A little red rocking chair that is over 100 years old. She refurbished it and it is precious. Canyon actually sits in it and seems to feel like such a big boy. After we finished our gifts we headed over to the Kirkman house where we were bundled up for a wagon ride (powered by a tractor that Gary’s dad drove). We (all the Kirkman kids, spouses, and offspring) traveled around the Harvest Valley neighborhood singing Christmas Carols and enjoying each other’s company. We then started preparing for the Christmas program that Lyndee puts on every year. THANK YOU LYNDEE!!! I can not say that enough. It is something that I truly enjoy every year. The manger included Bugs Bunny (KYLE) and a penguin (CANYON). Sweet. Adorable. Priceless. After feeling like Christmas Eve couldn’t get better we finally started to exchange gifts. Each gift seemed to be more thoughtful and more creative than the next. As I was looking around I noticed that people were actually more excited to give than receive (the real spirit of gift giving). We tied things up at the Kirkman’s and headed out to the Kothrade’s for the annual Christmas party. Although I have missed some Christmas Eve gatherings on the land it is something that I have always enjoyed and looked forward to. It was so fulfilling to see so many familiar faces and warm hearts. My Christmas Eve felt complete. As you can imagine Canyon was tired and didn’t last long. We headed home. Slipped into bed and slept like babies (and when I say babies, I mean Canyon’s usual routine of waking up about five times a night, haha).

Christmas Day: Gary and I were woken up by our little man popping his head out from between us grabbing at Gary’s hair and kicking my tummy. We didn’t really mind. We don’t usually ever mind. We quickly changed Canyon’s diaper, plopped him in the little red rocking chair that he had gotten the day before and started the gift giving again. Surprisingly Canyon seemed to understand the present thing. Scary. He enjoyed the presents, the paper, and a chewy spree candy carton that was in Gary’s stocking. I think he mostly enjoyed having his mama and dad in the same room giving so much attention to him. Gary’s gifts to me were so thoughtful and so appreciated. He made me a book shelf!! I absolutely love it. Thank you, Handsome!! Later that afternoon everyone came to our house for Christmas dinner. The food was good, the company was great, and the memories priceless. I can’t believe that I was actually going miss this day.

Pagosa Springs

Our trip to Pagosa Springs/Wolf Creek for Gary’s 30th Birthday was wonderful. Gary enjoyed good snow at Wolf Creek and the company of lots of good friends. Debbie, Brandon and Gavin came from Utah so Deb and I enjoyed visiting and playing at the condo with the boys. We took the boys out into the snow to play. Gavin, being the busy bundle of joy that he is, loved the snow. Canyon was a little unsure. To be quite honest I am a little unsure of snow too. I love what it looks like from inside, I love that it gives Gary such happiness, I love what it brings in the spring, but I really don’t like the cold, wet reality of it. Despite my dislike for the cold Pagosa was fun and as always it is so fun to spend time with such good friends.

I'M BACK

A couple of months ago, after much encouragement from Cara, Summer, and Sarah, I created this blog. I haven’t been back since; at least not to update my own. When I first started my blog (I feel silly saying that) I was excited. Then I felt too overwhelmed and turned off at the thought of conforming and having a blog like everyone else. I felt like I would be able to individualize or I wouldn’t have much to talk about. I also felt like I wouldn’t be able to accurately and chronologically display the events in my life (all these feelings, I can surly attribute to being a Virgo). Then I realized this is a free blog. I can be as spontaneous or methodical as I want. I can post some things and forget to post others. No one is judging my blog. It is just a fun way to share my life with my friends and family. So here I am again, after much encouragement from Cara, Summer, and Sarah, updating MY blog. Thanks for the support Ladies!!