Time for a vacation

The last few weeks have been busy but good. Last Saturday, we had Ian and Ezra for the day while Mary and Dave went to a wedding. It was a pretty good day, actually - not as stressful as I thought it might be. This weekend past was really busy - we had a wedding on Friday, and Ryan and Ruthy came into town and stayed with us. It was a really good time! Lynsey and Elijah played pretty well together for the most part, although there were definitely some tense moments when it came to toy sharing.

Lynsey has been increasing her vocabulary at an incredible pace! She is jabbering away now, although a lot of words she says we still don't understand. Communication is getting easier all the time, and she is definitely learning to manage her emotions. Our days are pretty routine - have breakfast, shower, play a bit, get dressed, and go outside until lunchtime. We spend a lot of time at various parks, and Lynsey is getting really good at climbing on everything - she even slides down most slides now with no help from me:). I sometimes feel like I need a change, but I think Lynsey is perfectly happy with the way things are going. There are days when I feel desparate to join some kind of play group or gymboree or something, and then there are days when I'm so thankful that we have such a free and clear schedule to just do what we want every day. I think once the summer is over, I will join something - the thought of being inside all day every day with her is a bit daunting! Just the last few days have been a bit rainy and the temptation to just let her watch "Cars" all day suddenly overwhelms me! Not good! Luckily for me, she isn't a couch potato by nature and even though she asks for movies, she usually only pays attention to them for about 5 minutes and then ends up playing with her toys instead of watching anyway.

The pregnancy is going well - I had my first midwife appointment last Thursday and it went really well! I'm feeling really good about my decision to go with a midwife. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the office was the comfy bed instead of those wonderful cot-type thingies in the doctors offices, and I decided at that point already I had made a good decision:). We heard the heartbeat, which just as it did last time, made it seem real for me that there was a baby in there! I like the way the midwife presents me with options and doesn't pressure - she hasn't even tried to talk me into a home birth and I'm already thinking it sounds really good! I never would have thought I would be the kind of person to consider something that seems so hippy-dippy and naturalist, but it just sounds so good to me! Imagine being in the comfort of your own home . . . there are pros and cons, which is why I am not totally sold on it. The good thing is that I don't have to make a decision about this for a long time yet, so I can do my research and see how the pregnancy is going. People in our culture have misconceptions about giving birth at home (including me!) so I want to look into it more.

We are leaving for San Francisco on Thursday night! I can't wait, although I'm definitely nervous about leaving Lynsey. We will be going to Edmonton on Wednesday night already to give Lynsey the day on Thursday to get used to being at her Grandma and Grandpa's with us for a bit before we just leave her there for three whole days. I know it's time to do this, but I know I'll miss her like crazy! I am looking forward to some sleeping in, eating out, and just general r & r.