Snuggle Bug.

This kid loves a cozy, warm chest. And his family is soaking it in.

Day One.

Today is March 1st, and this marks the first day of the rest of my mat leave. Yesterday was Rhys' last day of daycare, and today is the first day of being full time with both boys.

His last day was a bit surreal, and anti-climatic. We took Kyle with us in the morning to drop Rhys off, so he could show everyone his new little brother. We gave the staff a small gift to say thank-you. We left our contact info for Jasper and Maya's moms, so that maybe Rhys can still see his little friends again. Warren said at the end of the day, when he picked Rhys up, he had to empty out his cubby and they had another child's things waiting to fill it. Rhys cried out, saying 'that's my cubby!'. Sheesh. They could have waited until he was gone...

Since Gramma Patsy is leaving for sunny Phoenix tomorrow for a week, we spent the day with her. Coffee and Scream in the morning... Where we ran into Rhys' cousins Elizabeth and Kaitlyn by total fluke!

Today also marks day one of something else. I am going to blog every day in March, even if it's just posting a photo :)

So, three cheers for March. Here goes nothing!

Mr. Bigfoot

When we brought Kyle home, Rhys wanted to hold him right away. This is the photo we took (with Rhys cropped out for optimal effect):

I laughed my ass off. I think I might send it in to the Ellen Show, for the "What's Wrong With These Photos?' Photo segment.

Or did you have to be there?

Hospital Pics

Some pics from the always lovely (not!) stay at the hospital... At least the pics are lovely :)

....and a Paddington is Born.

Chronology Of A Birth

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012.

10:20am - Doctor appointment reveals Amanda is 3-4cm dilated. Still no contractions or pain. She opts to have her cervix 'rimmed' in the hopes of getting things started on their own. Induction scheduled for Friday.

1o:50am - Amanda is very soar walking home from the doctor's office. Can't wait to get home and rest. A full body ache is beginning to spread through abdomen. She wonders if she should still meet her girlfriends for coffee today.

12:00pm - Amanda is still achy and feeling a bit ill. Decides not to meet girlfriends.

2:30pm - Water breaks at home while resting is bed. Amanda is thankful she had decided not to meet her girl friends for coffee at Indigo at 1:30pm- 'Clean-up' in isle ten' would have taken on a whole new meaning. Warren rushes to pick-up Rhys from Daycare. Nana and Grandan are called. No contractions or pain yet.

3:30pm - Arrive at Rockyview Hospital, Labour & Delivery Triage. No contractions or pain yet.

4:30pm - While being assessed, some very mild contractions begin. Paddington's heart rate goes down for the first one, but stays strong and steady after that. Amanda is admitted to the hospital and taken to the birthing room to be assessed again.

5:30pm - Start walking the halls to bring on labour. Told if things don't progress on their own, Amanda will be induced with Oxitocin at 8:30 pm. Contractions are still relatively mild. Pain scale of 1-10, we're at a 3 (aka: heavy breathing, cramping, tightness, fear of what is to come).

6:30pm - Contractions are coming regularly and have dramatically increased in intensity. Amanda is no longerwalking the halls, and instead just pacing the room until contractions hit. On the pain scale we are at a 5 (aka: heavy breathing, groans, bent over/leaning on husband, squeezing his hand, wiggling toes, scrunching face). Nurse comments on how great Amanda's hair looks.

7:30pm - Contractions are now full blown. We're at an 8 on the pain scale (aka: hunched over on the bed on all fours, howling in agony as husband pushes his fist into Amanda's tail bone with all his strength). Nurse wants to check Amanda's progress. Amanda is terrified. Amanda is 6cms dilated. Nurse 'reassures' her that she has now transitioned to full labour, that she's 'over the hump' and things will progress very rapidly from here. Amanda silently calls 'bullshit' under her breath.

8:30pm - Pain scale 9 (aka: Laying on side in bed, howling and screaming like a tribal woman being mauled by wild animals in the jungle). She asks for 'laughing gas'. You know, 'cause that will help.

9:00pm - The time has come, and only Amanda knows it. We're at pain scale 10 - the pushing stage. AKA : Demons have entered the body and take over all muscle control to exorcise and expel all internal organs. The Demons also take over the vocal cords, and Amanda's screams no longer sound human.

9:10pm - Amanda feels the head crowning. The nurse wants to check Amanda's dilation (???!!!). Amanda uses all her strength to muster the words 'Doctor. Get...the..doctor.' Warren repeats these words to the nurse, who replies "Soon enough. These babies don't just fall out you know". Another Demon induced push ensues. Amanda silently thinks to herself, "Fall out. What the F**K have I been doing for the last three hours?".

Soon after - Doctor arrives, Demons expel the child from Amanda's womb in 2 - 3 pushes.

9:21pm - Kyle Joseph Jones Cronin is born. 8lbs, 8oz.

And Amanda feels like a Rockstar. Because she is one.

P.S. - You can't see it in the picture, but I had my 'beads of strength' on.

A Conversation With Warren

This afternoon (5 days overdue)...

Amanda: This has been the longest pregnancy EVER.

Warren: I know what you mean. It feels like you've been pregnant for two years.

Amanda: I guess that makes me like an elephant...gestating for two years.

Warren: Elephants gestate for three years. So, you're more like a Rhino.

Amanda: I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.

Warren: Well, I could have said Hippo, but I didn't. Because I'm sensitive.

Paddington Watch, 39 weeks and 6 days

39 weeks + 6 days (night before the due date)

Baby is the size of a watermelon (no kidding!).

Weight gain so far: 30.5 lbs

The theme of this post is my sweet little Rhysie Pie. I have been very nostalgic the last couple of days. Looking at his baby pictures and watching the videos of his first year have reminded me how truly amazing kids are, and how blessed I am to be a mom. Especially to be Rhys' mom.

One of the big 'house projects' we had to undergo to make room for Paddington, was transform our crappy office/spare room into a big boy bedroom for Rhys. This was a a process I LOVED. First of all - I never liked the room before. It was always cluttered and messy and disorganized and was just never set up properly as either an office or a spare room. It was very mediocre at both jobs. But we saw the potential. It's certainly not a designer kids room. It's not matchy-matchy, it's not perfectly colour coordinated. But I love it. It's cozy, warm, soothing and we put a lot of love and effort into getting it ready just for him.

First - here is the AMAZING shelf my dad scored (for free!) from a kid's toy store that went out of business. It is an actual Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise display case. SERIOUSLY:

Cute colourful curtains from Ikea for his closet:

His 'Rhys You Are A Rockstar' poster, along with his Boxer dog picture from his Nana:

Left airplane painting - Warren bought it in an antique store in England when he was 9 years old and had it framed. Right airplane painting - Warren bought for Rhys at the Comic Convention in Calgary, signed by the artist with a 'Best Wishes for Rhys' note and gave it to Rhys on his 2nd birthday:

The wall decals I painstakingly applied in my pregnant state... could do about 3 a night before my back would be DONE (and as you can see, we chose to keep him in his crib until he's ready to move to his big boy bed - luckily there is room for both):

(Cute side note about the stars on the ceiling... Rhys said to Warren one night "I want to fly through the sky and sit on a star!):

These next photos are what I call the 'Waiting For Baby' pics. First, I helped Rhys make a 'gift' to take to the hospital and give to Paddington when he meets him for the first time:

Here is Rhys testing out our new (second hand) sit 'n stand stroller (or as we all call it, the 'Rhys Train'):

Making sure 'the baby' is safe and snug in his carseat:

Rhys with 'the baby' in the baby's new crib:

"Mommy, baby is hungry!":

Putting baby in the swing:

Dressing the baby:

*SIGH*. I love this little boy.

Paddington Watch, 38 Weeks

38 weeks (9.5 months)

Weight Gain: 29.5 lbs

Baby’s Got Bag

Last week I had my 37 week doctor’s appointment, and the doc mentioned that Paddington is now full term and that he could come anytime and they’d be okay with that. She also mentioned that all my paperwork has been sent to the hospital, so everything is ready to go. I left that appointment in a mild panic. I immediately went to Zellers and purchased newborn diapers, size 1 diapers, some fresh sleepers and receiving blankets and some ‘emergency’ formula. Felt much better after that. With a bassinet at home, he now has a place to sleep, and diapers to poop in. Phew.

Big Brother Rhys

This kid is melting my heart these days. First, when we moved the new change table to the nursery (Rhys’ old room), he insisted on laying on it. I could not believe how big my ‘baby’ looked.


He’s also taken a big interest in a teddy bear he has, and has adopted this teddy bear as his ‘baby sister’. He puts ‘her’ to bed, kisses her, closes the door and says ‘shhhh...baby is sleeping’, and feeds her a bottle while rocking her in his little kid sized rocking chair. I’m thinking the key will be to make sure he feels involved in baby duties and that we let him help whenever we can, no matter how much easier it would be to just do things ourselves. Paddington is going to be a very lucky baby, I think. Did anyone else find their older child liked helping with the baby? Or am I delusional and this is really just a fun game for him to play with an inanimate toy bear? It’s okay to be honest. I’m pretty sure I am fully underestimating how incredibly hard the transition to two children is going to be.

Unexpected Sadness

We gave notice at the daycare today, and both Warren and I were surprised at how sad we feel about taking him out. How ridiculous is that? All the heartache we went through putting him in daycare, and now we’re sad to be taking him out. Seems so silly. But he thrives there, and the daycare Director kept going on about how Rhys’ little buddy ‘Jasper’ will miss him. And it’s true. If Rhys was staying, and Jasper’s mom was having another baby and took him out – I’d be devastated! I think I will always remember Jasper as Rhys’ very first ‘friend’. I’ll miss asking him at the end of everyday ‘what did you do today?’, and hearing his sweet voice answer back with ‘I played! With Jasper and Ms. Connie!’ I have a lump in my stomach about it all, really, which I know doesn’t make any sense. I’m looking forward to the time I’ll have with Rhys at home this year. But I’m still sad about it. I want the best of both worlds. I want my cake, and to eat it too. I’m just going to have to try very hard to make sure he continues to ‘thrive’ at home with me and Paddington.

Belly Pics

Extra cool milestone this week: Today was my last day of work. Baby is due in 12 days, so time to tackle the 'nesting' TO-DO LIST!

Best On Record (Christmas 2011)

There was something very special in the air this Christmas. Maybe it was sparked by the fact that I took 11 straight days off work over the holidays - something I had never done in my 7 years at my current job (or any job, really). That alone was beyond fabulous. Warren didn't have to work either. It was as if the whole city decided to chill out, fully and completely.

Rhys got some amazing mommy and daddy time, packed full of visits with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends. There was so much love around him. It melted my heart. The weather was warm so he even got to spend some time outside. He had a better understanding of Christmas, Santa and presents this year. He expanded his love of Classic Christmas Cartoons to include 'Frosty the Snowman' AND 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'.

I think Rhys needed a break from the daily grind as much as we did, because he slept in until 8am or 8:30am nearly every day.

We took WAY LESS photos than past years, which disappoints me. But, I like to think it's because we were simply enjoying the moments too much to think about it.

Here are some of the (very few) photos I did take....

Rhys was being way too quiet - which is never a good thing - so I rushed to find him and see what he was up to... to catch him red-handed being mischievous. And this is what I found:

The adorable wooden kitchen that Santa brought him:

Hanging with 'The Big Kids' at the Prior's house, watching 'A Dolphin's Tale', which is a live-action, totally too-old for him movie. But because he idolizes big kids, he watched the whole thing! Warren and I got to sit and relax and visit with the grown-ups. Definitely a memory worth capturing on camera! (Warren - I know what you're thinking..."He's way too close to the TV!"):

Rhys sporting some Elton John style glasses, and his new Dinosaur jimjams (that he insisted on wearing for about 5 days in a row):

And these adorable pics of Rhys with his little girlfriend Taya, who wore her best booties and headband for the occasion:

Lastly, here is some video of Rhys discovering his Santa gift, along with some other highlights (warning - it is 'grandparent length', but every second is pure cuteness if you ask me!):

Link to full screen version here.