The Reason I Do All That I Do

Ready for Uncle Dave's graduation

This is her soother. Rock on.

Six Months

It has arrived. My little baby is half a year old. I can't believe it. This is hat that I made her wear until she decided to eat it. Grace wore hers all day but apparently Laura isn't getting enough fiber in her diet. Laura can now:

• Sit up by herself.


• Smile and laugh all the time at her big sister.


• Eat rice cereal and fuits and vegetables by the ton.


• Shove anything that she can reach into her mouth


• Play in her exersaucers for hours on end.


• Respond to you when she hears her name being called.
  

  
  Is she wonderful?
  
  

My Helper

Apparently Laura has graduated from a tiny baby that lies on the floor to a baby that Grace can play with and talk to. Grace now talks to Laura, tickles Laura, tries to hold Laura, give her too much love (which is nothing new) and helps with everything that Laura needs.

Today I had started feeding Laura when the phone rang. Once I got back downstairs from the phone call I found this:

Grace-isms

Grace talks now quite a lot. I think I can understand her more than most people because I am with all the time. However, the more she talks the funnier it is.

Here's a sampling of the great thoughts from Grace:

We thought she was asleep in hger room when we heard her calling, "Daddy. Daddy."
Stu went up to talk to her. Grace excitedly pulled back her curtains, pointed at a star and yelled, "Look Daddy a star. A star."

While driving home from a day in Toronto.
me: "Grace why don't you try to sleep on the way home?"
Grace: "Can't mom, no bed."

Stu concludes sing the alphabet to Grace.
"Wow Daddy great job!"

"Grace you need to get your dress on for Dave's graduation."
Grace runs over to Laura sitting in her high chair.
"Laura we see Gramma and Granpa and Dave and Yesf (Jeff)." She grabs Laura's dress and throws it at Laura.

Big Girl Now

When Grace was six months old I thought she was so big. I celebrated each of her milestones and every time she meet a new one I thought I had the smartest child in the world. Every accomplishment made me feel more empowered and I thought she was so big. Fast forward to two years later and I look at my baby Laura who can do all of things her big sister did at this age and think, "But you're just a tiny little baby."

We took Grace camping on her five-month birthday, to a childrens museum at three months (Museum of Civilization, check it out) and I thought she was big enough to do these things but I look at Laura and I think she still needs her mommy to hold her and kiss her and treat her like a little baby. It doesn't help that Laura cries when I don't do these things.

But today I had to face the reality that Laura is no longer my squishy little newborn and is becoming a big girl. Today we went to the park and she sat happily on the grass for several, several minutes before she toppled over. She repeated this several times. Yesterday, I broke out the old exersaucer and Laura is in baby heaven.

I guess its time for me to realize that Laura is a big baby now who can sit and eat baby food and wants so badly to crawl.

Best Friends

If you don't know who Dora the Explorer is, you're missing out on something. Grace absolutely loves Dora. We first learned about Dora shortly before Grace's first birthday. A friend of mine was getting ride of all of her old baby stuff and I was able to nab a Dora VHS. From there Dora transformed from an ordinary cartoon character to one of Grace's friends.

Grace's language skills aren't good enough for me to know exactly what she's thinking but I know that Dora is considered a very close personal friend. When Grace is playing quietly by herself, she is often talking and playing with Dora. Dora has been known to join us at our dinner table, be the first one in the bath tub and she has her own spot beside Grace in the stroller. Grace has a Dora swim suit, many Dora crafts and two Dora figureens (taken home from Nursery after too many fights were instigated by Grace when others tried to play with them.)

About two weeks ago I say a sign out in front of the new CIBC in our nieghbour. "Meet Dora the Explorer at our Family Fun Day." Stu quickly agreed that we just had to take our littlest fan to she her friend.

Well today was the day.

As you can see Grace loved it. She got to hug Dora, check out map and backpack and get her picture taken with Dora. She had a hard time when it was time to leave and let other children see Dora but she got to watch Mommy get her face painted, get a Dora sticker and colour a picture. Considering that Grace has no concept of time, waiting and ines she took it like a champ.

As I write this Grace is on the couch beside me watching Dora and her friend Boots the monkey climb the mountain to get to the playground while holding her picture of Dora and Grace.

Thank you Dora the Explorer for making my little explorer so happy. And thank you to the nice people at CIBC who had to put up hundreds of over excited toddlers today.

Getting Somewhere

My parents are teachers. My aunts and one uncle are teachers. Stu's Dad is a teacher. I am surrounded by teachers. Because of this I a) feel academics are very important and b) know how important the parents' roles are in helping a child succeed in school.

So I've been trying to teach Grace. Once everyday we take a little time and learn about a letter or work on our numbers. We've done a little bit of work on shapes and colours but I've felt like I was sometimes working with a wall. But things have sunk in!

Grace can now count to six all on her own and ten with some help. She can repeat all of the letters in the alphabet and the sounds that they make. She can say her alphabet on her own up to 'E' and she can identify a circle.

I know this isn't a whole lot and she has no idea what the colours are but its exciting to know that her little brain is working! Now if we could identify one colour Mommy would feel better.

When I Asked You to Spend Some Time with Your Kids, I Didn't Mean This

Yesterday while we sitting outside trying to cool off Grace noticed some mosquitoes flying around us. She's never seen them before (or remembers seeing them) and asked what they were.

Stuart replied: "There mosquitoes. Mosquitoes fly around, land on you and then they bit you. They suck out your blood and eat you. It hurts."

Grace then started to cry and jumped into Stu's arms to protect her.

Thanks dear. That's exactly what I needed, a pathological fear of mosquitoes.

Bubbles

Grace has always been a lover of bubbles. The first time she giggled was when she was three months old and Stuart blew bubbles into her face. On Saturday it was pouring rain and I was running out of things to do with the girls. After comandeering the car and taking a trip to the Dollar Store I discovered "Magic Bubbles". These are bubbles that do not pop when they land on surfaces and only break when poked.

Grace loved the bubbles. Laura on the other hand didn't enjoy having them on her face, head or body.

He's Done!

Stuart is offically done shcool! As of May 1st he passed all of his classes, wrote all of his tests and handed in all of his projects. We are no longer students. We've hit the real world now. It's kinda frightening.

Thanks Stu for working so hard!

Strange Sleepers

We've been having some troubles as of late with children sleeping. It all started after the move Grace decided that she didn't want to have a nap anymore. That's fine many children once they hit toddlerhood don't need to sleep anymore. I thought that Grace fell into this category until she started skipping her naps and staying up until 10 or 11 at night. We removed the toys from her room. It didn't help. Grace started getting out of bed and wandering the house.

We installed a gate at the top of the stairs because there is nothing more creepy then waking up and realizing your toddler is roaming the floor beneath you. However that didn't help as much as we had hoped.

Even though Laura is pushing the six month mark she still sleeps with us. We have a king size bed and Laura is a very still sleeper so its not really an issue, however people's eyes seem to widen in shock that they quickly try to hide when I mention this fact.

I realize that there are people who are very firm believers that co-habitation of a bed is not only a bad habit but very dangerous for the baby. I understand these concerns but have always had my newborns sleep with me. Grace was long gone by five months because she rolled around and kicked us too much. But I just find it too convenient to roll over when I'm half asleep and feed Laura without really waking up instead of walking all the way over to her room, feeding her and then going back to bed.

Night time is a strange time in the Watt house.

About a week ago the night terrors started. I'll be the first to admit that when I saw Homer
Simpson suffering from night terrors I thought it was hilarious. When my parents told me I used to sleep walk and try to go to school I laughed at myself. I'm hoping that someday I will be able to look back on this and laugh.

We woke up to see Grace fast asleep in the hall.

I have no idea how she managed to do this.

Five Months

It's here! It's here! My little baby is so big. I already miss my squishy little newborn that wanted to be held every moment of every day.

Laura can now:

• rolls over and over and over and over.
• smiles all of the time. I once got her to giggle but that was a one time thing.
• eats rice cereal like a big girl. She absolutely loves it and sleeps through the night when she has it for supper.
• sits with support from the couch and tripods on her own.
• shuffles around on her tummy so she's never where I left her.
• wants to be held all of the time again.
• is trying so hard to crawl that she often spends a few minutes with her bum in the air.

The bigger Laura gets the more I enjoy her and the more joy she brings to our family but I do wish, just a little bit, that she would stay my tiny baby forever.

It's been a Hot One

My goodness I don't remember there ever being a Victoria Day when I was in an outdoor pool. This Victoria Day was spent in the pool. Everyday Grace went running in at least twice a day, we spent all of our spare time out on the deck. Two days ago we even turned the air conditioning on. It's been a scorcher.

I have the biggest water baby on my hands. Everyday Grace wants to start the day with a swim and every night we have our baths in the pool. (No soap requried.) She loves the water and so do I. Laura puts up with it for our sake. Sometimes she just chills on the deck and waits for us to be done our silliness.

Lunch on the deck.

I forgot her hat in the car.

Just Because

I love my family. These past two weeks we've had fabulous weather and we've been spending as much time as we possibly can outside. I mean this is Canada. One spends most of the year bundled up inside trying to avoid the elements.

We've been having so much fun. And aren't they just the cutest family that you ever did see?

Picnic at Victoria Park.

Looking at the duckies.

This is Grace.

Doesn't this just make you smile?

Four Months

My baby is four months old. The day came and the day went. I may or may not have cried as I packed her newborn clothes away. I remember when Grace was that old I thought that Grace was so big. But I look at my little Laura Bear and I don't ever want her to get bigger. (Stuart suggested we could stop feeding her and that would also solve the explosive poo problem.) But get bigger she must and Mommy just has to get over it.

Laura can now:

• Roll from her back to her tummy and from her tummy to her back. She is always very pleased with herself whenever seh accomplishes this. It probably doesn't help that I stop whatever I am doing and fuss over her.


• She loves to look at her mobile. Technically its my brother Jeff's mobile that has been passed on from him to Dave to Grace and now to Laura. But no one has loved it as much as this kid does. She stares and cooes and falls asleep to the animals and gets very excited whenever I mention "the animals and music".


• Laura likes to swing in the baby swings and doesn't mind sitting in her swing in front of the window and watching the world go by.


• Laura can now sleep in her crib by herself for a few hours. (She still needs mommy though whenever she fusses.)


• This kid can kick. In the bath tub, when she's on the ground, when she being held, you name it. She loves to kick and splash and move herself around.


• She can sit up with assistance from the couch.

Friends

If you ask my parents how well my brothers and I got along as children I'm not sure what the answer would be. There were fights, name calling and stoney silences. However, I have great memories of playing with my brothers, talking with them and there were times in my life when they were probably my closest friends. Yes Jeffery you can laugh at how lame I am.

I've really been hoping that Grace and Laura would be friends. It didn't start off that way but it seems after four months Grace and her "sister baby Laura" are shaping up to be great playmates.

It makes me feel warm and fuzzy

The Kitchen

I thought it was over. I thought that I was beginning to get my house in order. Most of the boxes were done. Most of the painting in done. I'm getting better at staying on top of the basic cleaning. I even started yard work this week. And then it happened.

The Kitchen.

When we moved in my dear husband mentioned that he wanted to re-do the kitchen because its ugly and dirty and goodness knows what is growing at the bottom of some of those cupboards. (All I know is it wouldn't come off with bleach.) I was all for it but after three weeks of no real action being taken I was getting used to the fact that my kitchen was going to stay this way for a little while. I even started unpacking boxes.

And then it happened.

Stu enlisted the help of some neighbours and got new kitchen cabinets that he bought off Kijiji. They technically aren't new they were in someone else's kitchen before ours but they are clean and much more attractive. Foolishly I consented to Stu putting them up this weekend, not realizing that this would begin at 8:40 pm on Friday night. Nor did I realize that it would mean going without a sink, dish washer, any form of running water (other than the ice machine) and no counter tops until he eventually gets around to getting counter tops and a new sink.

Luckily I have simply avoided the house as much as possible since Saturday morning and the Easter bunny came today (much to Grace's confusion) so I've been able to avoid the kitchen.

Dinnertime today though, Stuart asked "What's for dinner?" I looked around the kitchen with its boxes in the basement, dishes (both dirty and clean) stacked precariously on random surfaces and said "I'm sure there's something edible in the fridge."

I think that's how it may go until I have things more under control. There is food in the fridge and the microwave is hooked up. If I ever calm down enough to stop compulsively cleaning then I'll brave the disaster zone and make dinner.

I'll be at Home Depot tomorrow when it opens at 5.

Sisters

I always wanted a sister when I was growing up. However, it was not to be. Instead I was blessed with two wonderful little brothers. Growing up I thought that was ok but I wanted someone with whom I could play Barbies and play dress up with. Not that my brothers didn't get forced to do those things but I thought it was highly unfair that they both had a brother and a sister and I only had brothers. Anytime I brought this fact up with my parents I was informed that life wasn't fair, get over it.

Now that I'm older though I'm glad that I had brothers. I'm married to a man who has four brothers and no sisters. Since Stu had no sisters he has struggled with how women work but I know how men work. I don't mean to make it sound like he doesn't understand women but he really doesn't. It took me all of two days to realize that I couldn't day "I'm fine." in my marriage. Hours later Stu would say "But you said you were fine. Why would you say you were fine if you obviously weren't?" So after 20 years of dealing only with men Stu now gets to live in the pink house filled with girls.

He loves it. He thinks its great and I think its great.

Now after three months its wonderful to watch my little girls start to show love for one another. To play with each other. To laugh at each other. (Ok only Grace laughs, Laura's still working on it.) I get to live vicarously through my girls and see them have the sister relationship that I always wanted. Stu agreed with me on that. Personally, I think its good there was never a Watt girl. She would either have been really butch or really girlie, if you knew these guys growing up you know what I mean.

I know they won't always like each other. I know that they'll spend lots of time being annoyed with each other but I love watching them grow into their rolls as sisters. I love watching them discover each other and learn to interact with each other. I wouldn't trade this time I have with them now for anything. I'm so very grateful that I get to spend my days with them.

Too Much Love

In the last post I lamented about how my poor child was feeling left out when it came to her little sister. Poor Grace just wanted to be like Laura. Well, she got over it.

Laura is no longer "baby" she is now "sister", "Laura" or "baby Laura". Grace now introduces her as "sister" to the cashiers at the grocery store and to moms on the playground. The other day as I was cleaning the bathroom I overheard:

"Good baby. Good sister."
Laura starts to cry.
"Oh no baby. I know Laura. I know. Shhh. Oh dear. It ok. I know. I know. Shhh. Ok."
Laura continues to cry.
"Mom Laura crying. (softer) I know, I know."
I walked in to see Grace sitting on top of Laura (hence the crying). Rubbing her head trying to calm her down and trying to put a soother in Laura's mouth.

I tried to explain to Grace that Laura loves her and she loves Laura but Laura doesn't want to be sat on. Laura is little and Grace is big. You can easily hurt her by trying to love her that way. Grace didn't like this very much and everyday since then I have dealt with excess kissing, hugging, cuddling and climbing on the baby.

I don't want to turn Grace off of showing physical affection to her sister, especially after the last few weeks in which Laura was seen as an intruder into the house. I guess this is why they say that the younger child is the stronger child. They have to be tough just so they can survive the loving.

Complex Toddler Emotions

It's been a tough month for my kids. Grace was sick, Laura was in the hospital for a week while Grace got shipped off to my parents, we went to Mexico and as soon as we returned began packing to move to our new place. On Saturday the truck arrives to take us to our new house.

Through it all my children have been incredibly well-tempered and patient with me but last week things started to get difficult.

Laura has compensated for all of the upheaval in her world by being quieter and more cuddly. I have always thought of Grace as a very strong personality but I'm beginning to see a need for approval and validation underneath.

It all started on Wednesday when Grace announced that she wanted to wear Laura's clothes. I found one bigger shirt that she was able to squeeze into and then went on a shopping expedition to get matching shirts and dresses. More recently Grace has wanted soothers, blankets, cuddles, and to be carried where ever we go.

It's really not that big of a deal but my heart hurts. I love my children and I want them to feel secure in themselves and their lives. I've been trying to give Grace more one-on-one time with me and let her regress to a baby without making judgement. But I don't know what else to do.

Laura went for a ride in the excersaucer much to Grace's disapproval. Grace then tried to cram herself into it. I think it's pretty cute.

They wouldn't pose together, but this is one of the matching outfits.

Everything that I have read says that this is a common thing to happen in times of stress for children. But I don't want my child to be stressed or confused. I never knew that toddlers could feel such complex emotions.

Stuart and Frieda's Mexican Adventure Part 3

Ah the trip home. Not as exciting as the trip to Mexico but still it was fun. Stu booked his tickets to go home the way we came. Mazatlan to Mexico City to Montreal to Toronto. I on the other hand am still able to fly through the United States so I planned to use the tickets that were originally booked for us and fly to Pheonix then Toronto and get home in one day. How can you tell that Stuart and Frieda are first time international flyers? Neither of us thought to tell the airline that even though we hadn't used the tickets to go down to Mexico we still wanted to use one set of them to get home.

When you think about it, its pretty obvious that that's what has to happen but we didn't think of it. Stupid us. So we arrive at the United Airlines desk and are informed of this and are told that we have to pay $500 if I still want to use those tickets. Well forget that I can go home with Stu for the same amount of money.

However, we also found out that the little pieces of paper that we were given when we first entered Mexico were supposed to come with us to the airport. (They are tourist visas) I didn't know that we were supposed to keep them but I held onto them just to be safe. However, when Stu was cleaning out the safe the night before he decided to throw mine out. Not his, he kept his and through out mine. I needed it to leave the country.

So we ran over to Mexicana and booked me on the same flight as Stu to Mexico City and we were able to sit together and then we had to run over to customs to get a new toursit visa for me. The agent there informed me that I needed my ticket stub that showed I had flown into Mexico City. If I couldn't find it then I had to go to the downtown office and who knows how long that would take. Luckily I found it after emptying out both backpacks and yelling at Stu for a while.

It seemed like everything was under control finally all we had to do was get me on a flight to Montreal and then home to Toronto. Air Canada told me they would charge me $700 to fly me home on the same flights as Stu. After begging an airport employee to let us use their laptop I was able to get on the same flight as Stu to Montreal but have to take a later flight to Toronto. It was half as expensive and we were both beyond caring.

We made it to Mexico City with nothing exciting happening. Stu insisted that we stay somewhere in the city and not in the Hilton. We paid for a round-trip taxi ride and drove 45 minutes into Mexico City to stay at a Best Western with rediculously thin walls, employees who spoke almost no English (the only Spanish I know comes from Dora the Explorer) and cop cars that drove past about every 30 seconds.

I flat out refused to leave the hotel. There was no way I was going to walk around Mexico City when I spoke no spanish and no cash. Stu braved the outside though and bought us food from across the street. It took quit the cherades game to explain to them what he wanted.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful. Other than the taxi we paid for not showing up and having to take a hotel taxi to the airport. However, we did get a refund back at the airport.

I was so happy to see my girls after a week away. Laura was huge and had learned to smile. Grace was not happy to see me. She was resentful of us being gone so long but she did eventually get over it. It was a wonderful holiday and we definately learned a lot about air travel.

Stuart and Frieda's Mexican Adventure Part 2

So this part of the trip was so much more fun to do but isn't as good of a story as the rest of the trip. Needless to say it was phenominal. I have never seen the Pacific ocean or stayed anywhere that had five stars to its name. The water was so warm and there were big waves crashing onto the shore everyday. Stu tried to surf with very little success but he did get to go body boarding and he loved that. I tried to go out swimming with him but found that I was too light to not get pushed around by the waves.

The resort was amazing, the non-alcoholic drinks were great and thats all we drank. The food was so-so but we weren't there for the food. It was so nice to just relax, walk on the beach, swim, sleep and eat whenever we wanted to. By Tuesday we were missing the kids though. The resort phones wouldn't except the phone card that we had bought to call Stu's parents so we had to wait for the off chance when we were in our room when they called and then we could talk to the girls. OK only Grace but we would have talked to Laura had she been able to.

Stu at the Montreal airport waiting for our flight home. He got to fly first class.

On the Wednesday that we were there it rained and was chilly. Not bad for only having one crumby day out of seven so we decided to leave the resort (something I swore I wouldn't do) and go into the city. There were a bunch of other Liberty Security sales people there from Alberta that we were able to go with. We jumped into the back of a taxi pick up truck (Mexican traffic laws are surprisingly lax) and toured around Mazatlan for the day.

Everything I had ever seen or read about Mexico is true. To be honest I assumed that most of the stuff I saw in movies were just generalizations and unfair stereotypes but I learned that that isn't the case. Mexico is poor, the cities smell different, it's definately not somewhere that you want to walk around in with flip flops on when its raining and you can't drink the water anywhere. Even the resorts.

There were definately places that only tourists were supposed to go and we went to those markets and they were lovely but being with a few return missionaries who had served in Centeral America we saw the regular market (with rediculously cheep fabric), the cliff divers and the real city. It was amazing.

Water volleyball in one of the many pools at the resort. Stu's there somewhere.

Looking for seashells on the Pacific Ocean.


Me.

Be cuddly in the hotel room.

The resort.

The shore is considered public property. Vendors such as this hat guy would stand on the shore and try to sell you stuff whenever you went to the beach.

One of the main pools at the resort as well as the swim up bar; lots of fun.

The view of the mountain from the Mexico City airport.

On our last full day in Mexico a bunch of the Liberty people went zip lining. It was sooo much fun. Basically you drive out into the middle of the country which is heavily involved with the drug wars, go to one little town where they drive you up a mountain and you get to zip line back and forth across these mountains until you get to the bottom.

It was breath taking and so beautiful. The Mexican countryside was amazing too. Did you know that traffic often gets stopped for cows just meandering along the middle of the road? The town that runs the zip linging also feed us lunch. It looked really good and was as authentic as you can get but I really have a thing with cleanliness. After seeing the bathrooms that were in the town I decided to A: hold it and B: eat lunch when I got back.

The sunset on the Pacific Ocean. This view is from our hotel room.

It was an amazing trip. Stu and I had so much fun but then we still had to get home.

Two Girls

I don't think there is anything more fun in this life than having two little girls at your house. I absolutely love having Grace and Laura around and interacting with each other. Sometimes it is difficult especially when its just me, out in public with them and Grace also wants to be held while we walk to the car. (That happened a lot today) But mostly I can't imagine what I did for entertainment before they came along.

Watching the Olympics on the computer. Grace would throw her arms up in the air whenever the athletes did and Laura kicked and smiled at the colours. Laura started fussing when she got hungry and Grace called "Mom, baby!" Over and over until I came to help.

Trying to get both Grace, Laura and a basket of laundry upstairs requires some creative thinking. Despite how she looks here, Laura enjoyed the ride until I decided to take a picture and not remove her.

Two Months

Once again I feel like my kids are growing up to fast. Can my little baby already be two months old? She was just born. It was a busy month in the life of Laura Watt. Shortly after I wrote my last blog about us buying a house I took Laura's temperature and she had a fever. Not sure what to do I called TeleHealth and they directed me to the Emergency Room.

Once there Laura was diagnosed with RSV, a form of viral bronchitis. She had to stay in the hospital for six days attached to monitors, an IV and she needed help breathing with oxygen and Ventolin masking. It was so hard to see my little baby lying there so sick. I wanted to wave my magic wand and make it better but I couldn't. However, all of those hours I spent with her in the hospital helped me grow closer to her. I was amazed the her breathing and oxygen intake would improve when I held her and that she would calm down when she heard my voice. She is mostly recovered now. She has to go to the doctor's on Friday for a check up but we're now starting to take her out of the house.

On a happier note, here are some of the things she can now do:

• Laura has the most beautiful smile that lights up her face whenever she sees something she likes.
• She now kicks her legs and arms around when she's happy. Very adorable.
• She is starting to hold her head up by herself.
• She makes cooing noises.
• She usually only wakes up twice during the night now. Hallelujah!
• Laura no longer sleeps in her car seat. She likes to sleep in our bed on the flat surface.

I feel so blessed to be her mom and even more blessed that she is on the road to recovery.

Stuart and Frieda's Mexican Adventure Part 1

Please note that the lack of pictures is due to the fact that our camera broke after getting hit with a wave on the second day.

Last summer the company that Stuart was working for had an incentive that if he sold X amount of systems during the months of July and August he would get an all inclusive trip to Mexico. He sold enough that I was able to go as well. It was a blast and we just got back but it was a bit of an adventure to say the least.

On Feb. 11 we dropped the girls off with Stuart's parents and stayed in a hotel in Toronto overnight. It was a very nice hotel right across the street from the airport. So close in fact that we walked over the next morning. So far things were going as planned. We were early, getting our bags checked, boarding passes and had lots of time to get through customs before our flight left for Phoenix. And then we hit the US customs.

I was approved to get into the United States but Stu had to go to the "Secondary Inspection" area. (Not nearly as scary as it sounds.) After waiting for over an hour and missing a flight we were informed that Stuart was missing the appropriate documents that he needed to go through the US. Even just for a one hour layover. Unfortunately we were now stuck in Toronto. Usually if there's a problem with customs you can reschedule your flight and just by pass the States. However, we were flying US Airways who basically told us to get lost, sorry but we can't help you if you can't come into our country, have fun trying to get to Mexico. (Only more politely.) Unfortunately we were now faced with a dilemma. Would Stuart be able to get into Mexico? Or would they turn him away just like the States did. The United States is the only country that requires that specific documentation but we couldn't be sure until we got to customs.

Being the Type A personality that I am, I didn't handle this information so well. Stuart however did. He took control while I followed behind, stressing (freaking out) about what we should do. After two hours of running between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at the Pearson Airport, talking to every travel agency in the airport, talking to every airline in the airport (it would have really helped if aeromexicano and mexicana were in the same terminal), realizing that the travel agency that booked the trip didn't have a customer service number, Stuart's brother Andrew found us a series of flights on line.

So instead of flying to Phoenix and then to Mazatlan and arriving that afternoon we were now taking a flight to Montreal then a flight to Mexico City. After spending the night in Mexico City we would take a propeller plane to San Jose and then another plane to Mazatlan and get there the following night. However, it was the best option the didn't involve us taking a weekend vacation somewhere in Canada and freezing our buns off.

Have I mentioned that flying scares me? Mercifully the flight to Montreal was only 42 minutes so I barely had time to start freaking out. However, the flight to Mexico City was six hours. And one does not go through Mexican customs until one actually arrives in Mexico. After much thought and some prayer we decided to fly to Mexico and take our chances with customs. I won't lie I was terrified not only of flying but taking this huge flight and then turning around and flying back home because they wouldn't let us in. I took far more than the legal amount of Gravol right before boarding the plane and spent most of the flight sleeping. However, I did wake up as we were coming over Mexico City. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

Mexico City has over 30 million people living in it. That's roughly the same size as Canada. Flying into the city, there was nothing but lights for as far as the eye could see. And there are no building codes in Mexico so the blanket of lights was twice as compact as anything you would see in Canada. Closely packed lights of millions of homes all the way to the horizon except for these huge black spots that were the tops of mountains. They had just built this gigantic city around the mountains!

It was even more amazing once we got into the airport. I have never been anywhere outside of Canada and the United States. For the record I am very much aware that I won the lottery by being born in Canada but had never realized how truly lucky I was until I stepped into Mexico.
It was a very stressful half hour as we waited to get through customs but get through we did. We tried not to look to excited that we got through just in case the authorities got suspicious and we got interrogated. As soon as got into the main airport the smell hit me. Now the entire country of Mexico has a certain smell: sweat, dirt, mud, spices, heat. And the Mexico City airport smells just like the rest of country but with the lovely smell of open sewers. That's not to say that the building isn't clean. It's very clean. They have cleaning staff who's entire job it is is to sweep the floor. (More on that later.)

We were then faced with the problem of finding a hotel at 9:00 at night with absolutely no Spanish skills. There was a Hilton in the airport. I told Stuart that we were staying there that evening. Smart man decided not to argue with me. The Hilton was nice. Smelled funny and the water was undrinkable but it was nice. I tried to brave going to a MacDonald's in the airport but as luck would have it two high school football (soccer) teams arrived right before I did. I gave up waiting after 15 minutes.

The next day we checked out at noon and headed down to the airport for our 2:00 flight. Just as we got to the main level we heard an announcement letting us know that this was the final boarding call for our flight! We started running as fast as we could. I was in flip flops and I kept falling out of my shoes. People were staring and calling in Spanish but we kept going. When we got to the mexicana check-in we explained that we just heard the final boarding call, we had tickets for the flight but we didn't think it left for almost two hours. The agent behind the counter explained to us that the flight was not full but was too heavy. He could not let anymore people onto the plane or else the extra weight could cause the plane to crash. (Who knew) Stuart quickly explained that we were Mazatlan and the agent told us that he had a direct flight going there that would not leave until 6. I was excited. We could check our stuff, put the carry-on in the lockers and then tour Mexico City for a while. The agent quickly excused himself and came back moments later with good news! He had a direct flight leaving for Mazatlan in 15 minutes could we run? Of course. Quickly he got us our boarding passes, informed the flight that there were two more passengers who were going to make a run for it and excitedly gave us directions to the gate. However, I had no idea what he was saying other than I had to run upstairs. We had five minutes.

There was no way I was going to make it in my sandals so I pulled them and took off behind Stu. Running barefoot through the Mexico City International airport isn't something I ever thought I would do. Neither is yelling at airport security to hurry up, stop talking about your weekend and x-ray my bags. I was in the lead not 100% sure where I was going but running down the hallway with my luggage. Even though I was barefoot I kept slipping across the floors. Finally I saw a man in an orange vest yelling "Mazatlan?" Everyone was staring as I yelled, "Yes, yes we're coming." Skidding to a stop, out of breath we gave them our boarding passes, luggage and passports. Then we stumbled into our seats. Only then did we realize that our tickets were for first class! It was a very comfortable ride to Mazatlan. The Mexican country side is gorgeous especially with extra leg room, sandwiches and fancy drinks served in actual glasses.

Once in Mazatlan we took a cab to the resort. It was a very humbling experience driving through the city. The poverty was astounding. Every building no matter how small had bars over its windows and doors. Everything was made of concrete with peeling paint. Garbage was everywhere. Children and adults walked through the traffic selling goods and services trying to make a living. I felt kind of bad when we finally got to the resort. The poverty I had just witnessed was so much sadder when I realized that I was going to be staying in a five start resort.

Exciting News

Ok so I just found out about this like 40 minutes ago and I have a crying baby right now with a head cold so I will be brief.

WE JUST BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Last night we went looking at houses and saw the mopst amazing house for our price range! We sent in an offer last night and it was just accepted.

No idea when we're moving yet but Laura just puked so there will be more details to follow.

Grace is Two

It really seems impossible that my baby is two but February 1st came and went and now I have a big two-year princess at my house. Where did the time go? How am I this old? How come I'm not nearly as mature as I should be for this stage in my life?

Grace welcomed in the new year of her life with a killer ear infection. Yes, it is that time of year again. That wonderful time when we personally keep the anti-biotic manufacturers in business. Being the sharing and caring big sister that she is she passed it on to her sister. (Not the ear infection but the killer cold) So our house is full of sick cuties singing happy birthday and eating cake.

Everyone related to her, called her on her birthday. Both her grandparents were able to come and visit her. When her uncles first started calling she had no idea what happy birthday was but by the end of the day as soon as the song started she would sit up and beam at everyone.

Grace had her friends over for a Dora the Explorer themed birthday. There was lots of fun to be had as they ran around the apartment building following their maps, collecting stuff in their backpacks. Five toddlers running around was quite the experience but it was so much fun for all of them.

So Happy Birthday Grace!! It's been a wonderful two years!

One Month

So I'm two weeks late but Laura is now one month old. I can't believe my little baby is already so big. My other baby will be two in a week but I'm not thinking about that yet. I've seen other people count down each month of the first year of their children's lives by writing about all of the things their child learned to do that month. Now that I have a blog I've decided to do that.

• Laura hates doing tummy time. So much in fact that when she is placed on her tummy she rolls over onto her back.
  
• She's starting to smile.


• She's starting to sleep more during the night. She now only gets up to eat and then sleep again. No more parties at 3 am, it's great.


• Laura will go anywhere and do anything as long as I'm with her.


• Laura loves to cuddle. I mean LOVES to cuddle. Every waking moment is spent being held by me (perferably) or Stuart. I never get anything done anymore because I'm holding her so much.


• She is very patient with her sister. She lets Grace hug, kiss, hold, cuddle, push her in the swing and lecture her whenever she cries. She's a very patient baby.

We love having Laura in her lives. I mean it's so much better now that she actually sleeps at night and I do love that she's a cuddler even though my house is slowly falling into disrepair. She's such a wonderful little person.

Happy Birthday Dave!!

Ok so his birthday's tomorrow and I'm the worst sister ever because I don't have a picture on this computer or my camera of him but my baby brother is going to be 14!! (I'm writing this a day early because everyone in my house is co-operating so I can and I don't know if they will be this understanding tomorrow)

Dave is Grace's favourite person in the entire world. Her face lights up and she yells his name if you even mention it. Dave is not too cool to play with his nieces, hang out with me or Stuart. He's one of my favourite people to talk to and he always makes me laugh.

I will admit that when we were growing up I picked on him a lot simply because he was nine years younger than me. And I'm sorry for tickling you, giving you wedgies and teasing you until you cried. I'd take it back if I could but you know I can't so...

But I can wish you a happy birthday!! I can't believe you're 14 and going to dances and high school and be driving in 2 years. (Giving up my license when that happens) I'm glad you're my brother and you'll still hang out with me.

Happy Birthday!

The Newest Singing and Dancing Sensation

When Grace started nursery, she started learning songs. Now I have always sung to her but lately she hasn't been enjoying my singing (she gets mad and starts yelling at me to stop) and has started singing on her own.

Now she doesn't sing any of the songs she has been learning or that she hears around and about. She sings her own songs. It's really cute and Stu and I really wish we knew what she was saying. Every now and then I can recognize a word like "momo" (her fish) but most of the time I have no idea what's going on.

Well tonight during Family Home Evening she ran off on her own and started singing. Except this time she had a whole dance routine to go with it. I got some of it on video but this is after most of the dancing was finished.

Little Picasso

For Christmas Grace received the single coolest books ever from my cousin Laura. (Whom baby Laura is named after) They are a series of childrens books where the illustrations are great pieces of art; Mona Lisa, The Starry Night, Water Lilies and many more. However, the pictures have pieces of them replaced with pop-out stuff that children can touch and play with. For example: you can brush Mona Lisa's hair or feel the tutu on the dancer in a Degas. It's SOO cool.

After Laura was born my parents gave Grace a paint set. Grace thinks its amazing and paints all the time. Usually the paper doesn't survive, she's so over-zealous. The two gifts combined have made for a great time in learning art appreciation but also helping Grace discover her inner artist.

Yes the entire day was like this.

So Grace has discovered another medium she likes to paint: anything that stands still long enough. Laura tries to avoid her whenever a paint brush appears and Grace must now stay in her high chair. The high chair is starting to resemble a Jackson Polluck.

So thank you Auntie Laura, Grandma and Grandpa. You have brought Grace an endless amount of joy, Laura a fear of paint brushes and a new appreciation for stain remover for me.

She has Arrived!!

Last blog entry I made I was six, seven months pregnant but no longer.

Laura June Watt was born on Decemeber 14, 2009 at 8:18 am, weighing in at 7 lbs 14 1/2 ozs and 19 1/2 inches long.

She was born after 12 hours of labour. I absolutely hate being pregnant but I love giving birth. My water broke and it took me a few hours to be sure that it had/track my parents down at my grandparents so they could come get Grace. Once Grace was picked up we went to the hospital where they induced me right away. That was a pleasent surprise. When Grace was born I was sent home after my water broke to wait until I was in more labour. I was told I would have my baby in 48 hours but to go home and come back in 12 so they could reassess me. I'm so glad those days are over. I wouldn't have waited to go to the hospital for so long if I knew the policy had changed. After I got an epidural Stuart feel asleep. It took a lot of work to get him to wake up for show time. A lot of work. I almost lost it on him as he sat on his camp bed instead of coming up to me to help me through everything.

Unfortunately--or not--depending on who you ask, Stu had an exam three hours after Laura was born. He got to miss it, children being born is a good excuse, and wrote it two days later. He got perfect on it. He's so smart.

Laura looks just like her Uncle Jeff did when he was a baby. Well, Jeff without the dark hair, dark eyes and tannable skin. Sorry kids but you inherited my skin.

Grace is the greatest big sister ever. She loves her sister so much and shows her "baby" to everyone we meet when we leave the house. Grace kisses her, hugs her, always wants to give her a soother (even though Laura is anti-soother most of the time) and pushes Laura in her swing.

Grace is hardly ever jealous which I am very greatful for.

However, Laura doesn't like to sleep at night. Well, she's getting better at sleeping at night but still enjoys to get up and party. She loves to cuddle so I spend most of my time rocking her, holding her and telling her how wonderful she is. I am so very grateful that Grace is so independent. She is happy to just be in the same room as me as I try to make Laura happy. Grace doesn't get upset when her sister cries but she does run to me saying "oh dear" and then tries to "sush" her.

Life is pretty hectic. I haven't slept more than four solid hours in almost a month but we wouldn't change this for the world.