someone is two today...

photo by ka davidson

Happy 2nd Birthday Zoë!

life with three babes

photo by ka davidson

I can't believe that I have three children!  Although we are tired, I mean really, really tired - we're having the greatest time.  Poppy is now 5 weeks old, Zoë is turning two (tomorrow) and Beckett just turned three. Where does the time go?

photo by ka davidson

Poppy is a great baby, she's very sweet and peaceful.  How she sleeps with the noise of two toddlers in the house is beyond me!  Having a newborn in my arms again is pure joy, I love babies.  Experience has taught me to enjoy every moment that she is in my arms, even if it's 3am because it doesn't last long.  Before you know it they are running around and it's impossible to get more than a two second cuddle.  These newborn moments pass by in a flash and they are so special, I'm trying my best to savour every second of it.

photo by ka davidson

Although I'm trying to enjoy every second of it (and I am) I am also SO FREAKIN' TIRED.  I forgot how exhausting a newborn is...or is it the toddlers that are exhausting?  I'm doing crazy things, I look in the fridge for a broom, I leave things on the roof of my car and drive off, I find toast in the toaster that I made the day before..."mommy brain" is hard core after three kids.

photo by ka davidson

I hope you like the photos of the kids, my good friend Katyann took them,  trying to get a photo of all three together was a very big challenge! xx

my plan

You are looking at my lunch, looks good don't you think?  I have a plan and so far it seems to be working. You see, I like food - especially soft cheeses, bread, popcorn and pasta.  Sigh.  Those foods are not going to get me back into my pencil skirt.  Don't get me wrong, I don't feel some weird pressure to be a certain size - it's purely economics.  I have a closet full of work clothes, it makes way more sense for me to fit into them rather than buy all new clothes.

After having Beckett and Zoë I enjoyed all the soft cheese I wanted, until I realized that I had to go back to work and nothing except my leggings fit me.  So I would panic, starve and go to the gym.  Not a wise plan as it made me miserable, tired and it didn't work.  Now that I'm experienced in  the pregnancy department I decided to take a different approach this time around.  I thought I would watch what I eat right out of the gate. What a concept.  Problem is that with a new baby and two toddlers I'm incapable of feeding myself, so I called Deanna at Licious Living and asked for her help.  

For the past two weeks Licious has been delivering me The Zone, seven days a week - three meals and two snacks.  It's good, it's working and I'm HAPPY.  The best part is that I don't have to think, I open the front door each night and there's my cooler with my meals. I won't bore you with numbers but I am losing weight and I'm not miserable, I mean how could I be when I get to dig into a salad like this one!  I had to have a c-section so the gym isn't an option for three more weeks.  It's weird, I'm actually looking forward to the gym - I can't believe I just wrote that but it's true.  I'm feeling good and I'm very happy.  

I'll be posting some new photos of my babes very soon...Katyann came by and took some great photos that I can't wait to share.  xx

sweet poppy.....

Poppy Estelle Caton Genn was born Monday August 16, 2010 at 8:17am.  She weighed a nice 8 pounds 15 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  Check out her full head of gorgeous hair - I'm jealous! We are over the moon, Poppy is a sweet, peaceful baby.  Beckett and Zoë are in awe of her and Dave and I couldn't feel more joy. It's so wonderful to feel this new love again. I'm the happiest I have ever been. xx

our boy is three

photo by ka davidson

Sweet Beckett just turned three, how fast time flies.  These past three years have been the best of my life....I can't imagine life without our little man, he's pure joy.  We celebrated Beckett's birthday with a party with friends & family the day before his actual birthday & then on the big day our friend (& amazing photographer) Katyann came over to take some photos of Beckett. 

photo by ka davidson

Dave bought a drum kit for Beckett when he was born, we put it out in the backyard for some photos and when he sat down, it was like he was born to play!  Hilarious.

My friend Denise came over in the morning and made Beckett's cake - seriously - what a talent!  I dreamed of making the cake and Denise just swooped in and whipped it up.  She also made the cupcakes, the fruit platter, the veggie platter, the 7-layer dip and chicken skewers with peanut sauce.  Denise is a force (and a good friend).

It was a Thomas the Tank Engine theme, as you can see Beckett loves Thomas! Zoë on the other hand was only concerned with the cake/cupcakes and the bubble machine.  

Baby number three is set to arrive in less than a week. We're getting very excited around here....I can't believe I'm going to be a mama to three kids!  Next up in the birthday department is Zoë on September 24th, I'm looking forward to planning a fun party to celebrate our girl turning two.  Next year I'll be planning a birthday party for Beckett the beginning of August, number three's will  be the middle of August and then Zoë will be in September.  Fun times.

xx

a sigh of relief

This photo breaks my heart.  Poor little bug, he's getting his blood test and didn't cry but wow was he sad.  It's routine that each year as we near Beckett's birthday he goes through a series of tests and appointments.  In the last two weeks we have been to the lab at Children's Hospital for his complete blood work, Audiology for a hearing test, the Ophthalmologist for an eye check-up (he has cataracts) and then to the Paediatrician for his yearly check-up.

photo by ka davidson

                                                             

I'm happy and relieved to report that all is good with Master Beckett. It's quite stressful waiting for results, I can't help but go through the worst case scenario as I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep.  So when the eye doctor says his eyes look good and the cataracts haven't grown, I smile and sigh.  When the audiologist checks B's ears and says that his hearing is "normal", I feel relief.  The big one is the blood results, we head to the doctor's and when we learn that his blood is good, I'm so grateful I could cry.

photo by ka davidson

When you have a child with special needs there are a lot of tests, you're always watching and noticing and like any parent you are always worrying.  We have a lifetime of tests ahead of us, unfortunately I was born a worrier, my worrying is far more intense since I have had children.  I try to keep it under wraps, control it....I don't want it to rule my life.  Right now, as we approach Beckett's 3rd birthday, I'm happy and so thankful that my babes are well.....may all our babes be well. xx

the garden

It's always been a secret dream of mine to have a beautiful garden and have it featured in a magazine.  My garden is a work in progress, with two toddlers, a baby on the way and a full-time job there's not a lot of extra time for gardening.  I was shocked when GardenWise Magazine called and said they wanted to feature my garden in their magazine.  I was so excited!  I only started to freak out about a week before they arrived - my garden is not my dream garden...yet.  We did the shoot in May, plants in Vancouver weren't exactly thriving - the weather has been horrible here for a while.  Knowing that Heather Cameron would be on site to style the shoot made me feel much better!  She's an incredible talent...check out her blog A Day in the Country.  They delivered the magazine to me today, it's on stands now.  

This is a photo  from my camera on shoot day...Master B was at daycare, so Miss Z was my little helper.  When we moved into our house two years ago we tore out the entire garden, it wasn't really a garden it was a bunch of filler.  We started from scratch, it's been a fun and creative process that never seems to end.  I'm happy that both of our kids love being in the garden, I can't wait til I can teach them how to pull weeds!

My favourite plant in our garden is the Himalayan Blue Poppy, isn't she a beauty?