So...

I'm a total slacker...really I am so bad at blogging!

Anyway, not much has happened in our lives since my last post, but I'll share the boring details anyway.

So first of all we had a baby shower for Hailey...we had a good turn out and Hailey was a total doll - at least I think she was...I didn't hold her or really see her the whole night. I got loads and loads of really cute things for Hailey - she's one spoiled little girl! Being the first granddaughter on my side definitely has it's perks...I just hope it doesn't go to her head! Here are some pics from the big event:

Mom's playing some game with everyone - not sure which one!

Me and Emily's little guy Roel...and that's Hailey's soother in my mouth - it spends more time hanging out of my mouth than hers

More of the game - and the McVeity's
Yuka (and tummy baby), Sarah, Roel and Emily

Becc and Amy during Mom's gameOh - and Laura Taylor and her new baby Heidi showed up too...I don't have pics but I just had to let you know how impressed I was. I definitely was going nowhere right after Hailey was born. Gosh even now I have a hard time going anywhere - Laura's a real trooper. So, there's a ton more pics from the shower....but I have other things to write about - so onto the next exciting event:

Then just the next day I wen to Time-Out for Women...an amazing conference just for us gals. It was really neat - even though I spent the majority of the time in the little 'nursing' lounge. I went with Mom, Tan and Sarah on Friday and then Becc took Sarah's place on Saturday. We went for a walk during out lunch break and just proved to the world how weird our family is. I'm just glad we were there on Saturday - cause if it was in the middle of the week I would have seen too many people I know from work and would have been too embarassed to be around these two:
Oh, and here's Hailey all dolled out for the conference...seriously she's such a cutie!

Then, Hailey and me spent a few days just hanging out and getting her back on schedule...those were a few tough days - but she's napping again and sleeping like a pro! And then this weekend Ben's friend James came up and worked on the electrical for the garage and Ben's friend Sheldon came up and installed our garage door. Ok - that's not interesting, but what was fun about it is that Sheldon's wife (and my friend) Chantelle came with her little 8 month old baby Jocelyn. Hailey's first play date! Well...Hailey spent the majority of the day napping and eating, but we did take a few pictures of them at the end of the day:

A little bit of tummy time...I think Hailey sometimes forgets that she's not a frog (especially when she has the hiccups, all she does is 'ribbit')

Jocelyn trying to figure out how she can eat Hailey's hand and get away with it...

Hailey, being the worry wort that she is telling, Jocelyn to sit still for the camera or she might fall...

Jocelyn flashing one of her famous smiles...Hailey giving one of her famous blank stares...
I think we need to work on Hailey's social skills because right after Jocelyn gave her a hug...

Hailey decided to knee her in the diaper...I hope they can still be friends!

And finally here is a picture of Hailey in the cutest little dress ever - she's obviously getting tired of all the pictures I take of her, but seriously she's too cute - I can't resist taking a few shots!!

A weekend of firsts...

So we went on our first little Holiday as a family of three! I know some people are waaaaay more gutsy and would have done something cooler, or even gone earlier...but I think I was pretty gutsy to be taking a 6-7 week old baby anywhere for more than a few hours. Anyway, we decided to head down to Kalispell for the the weekend and hit up the local Target...and the Ross..and the Home Depot - basically we just wanted to do some shopping. So we headed out on Thursday night...and what would normally be a 4 hour trip turned into a 10 hour trip...I guess that's what happens when you're baby's on a tight schedule and likes to eat every three hours. This 'Babywise' stuff means I have a happy baby 99% of the time, but it's soooo restrictive and things can get a bit ugly when we're off schedule. But...it's still the best thing I could have done. I loooooove my scheduled baby! Anyway...back to the Holiday. So we checked into our hotel and had a nice night...Hailey slept like a champ and let her mom and dad recover from the drive down (through a reserve on some pretty scary mountain roads that conveniently had horses...and cows...and foxes and all sorts of animals running around - in the middle of the night!) it was scary! So the next morning...we made our little trip to Target while Ben went to Home Depot to price out a drill for the business (I know we have Home Depot here, but things are just cheaper down there). Anyway, I know I'm a shopper...and I know Hailey is too, but Kalispell doesn't have much more to offer than Target...so we were soooo happy when Chris and Lauren (who were down at her family's cabin for the weekend) called us up. So, we headed out to Echo Lake and spent the evening with Lauren's family - who by the way are lots of fun and super friendly! We sat around and talked and then played a dice game and finally headed back to the hotel for another good night of sleeping by Hailey...and then we started the day all over again. We went to Target...again, and to Home Depot...again, and then to Echo Lake to see Chris and Lauren! They took us on a boat ride...Hailey's first! She was soooo cute in her little life jacket. Then later we went bowling...I had to wear Hailey in the '80's baby bjorn'...and she loved it. The best part of it all was the score at the end:Chris won...of course, Ben came in second...he had a cast on his right hand, so was bowling left handed and still beat me and Lauren, then I was third...and I was wearing a baby the whole time, and then poor Lauren was last and had no excuse. She was a good sport though...and we all know I would have been a total gong show if I could actually throw the ball and faster - Hailey kept me in line! SO don't feel bad Lauren, I'm usually way way worse...well 73's a pretty bad score, but believe me, it gets worse!

Anyway, we decided to head home on Sunday and try to get Hailey back on her schedule. She did soooo good until Saturday and then decided to stop napping and therefore kept us up for a few hours until she finally decided to sleep for the night. So we headed back and this time drove through Logan's pass instead of the reserve...although it was almost as scary as the horses on the road. Here's Ben and Hailey in front of some Lake just before we headed up to the Pass. Sooooo cute!!
And here's a picture looking out the window while driving on the Pass...the mountain literally dropped straight down after that little edge on the road....freaky! I was seriously so scared!
And here a pic of where we came from...you can kind of see a little road carved out of the edge of the Mountain...I'm not kidding, it seriously freaked me out!!
Anyway, we made it safely to the top of the pass...took some pictures of the wildlife and the rest was downhill from there. I finally could breathe again! Oh...here's a picture of me at a pull out on one of the less scary stretches of the pass... I had to get out and face my fears - so there I am smiling through my tears. That is the girl who went Bungee jumping when she was 14...used to take huge - I mean HUGE jumps snowboarding...loved to rock climb and hike...and now it's the girl who cries while safe inside her truck on a narrow little stretch of road. What has happened to me??? I am no longer as gutsy as I used to be!

Anyway, that's it. A weekend of firsts...Hailey's first trip across the boarder, her first boat ride, first time bowling and our first little Holiday. We had lots of fun and are looking forward to more firsts to come!

Oh and here's one of the cute baby...just for fiun!

We've got smiles!!

So Hailey is now smiling tons for us! Seriously, she is one happy baby! She's still not too sure if she's ready to smile for the camer, so we have to catch her when she least expects it!

Besides that, not much is new around here. Hailey is growing like a weed, Ben's working hard, and I'm doing my best to keep things together around here. I actually mopped the floor the other day...what I would do for a cleaning lady (or man...I'm not picky). That would be the life! Anyway, here are some pics of the babe smiling:
And oen of Hailey and her proud daddy:

And one of me and Hailey....all the pictures of me are taken on Sunday cause that's the only day I actually do my hair and put makeup on.So I've decided I probably need to start thinking about getting back in shape...I know I have plenty of time before I really need to worry about it, but it can't hurt to think about it now. It's been 6 weeks and I haven't done a thing...so maybe I'll start working out soon or something. Who knows, I might just hang out in this post baby grace period just a little longer...I'm allowed to be chubby for a while right? I wonder how long that is though? Eventually people are going to start wondering whether I'm pregnant again or not so one of these days I've got to make sure it's clear to everyone...I'm just a little chubby!

Love Baby

So when I was little I had a doll called 'Love Baby'. She had a real name when I got her, but it was Farley! So, being the sensible girl I was I decided to give her a more practical name...hence the name 'Love Baby'. Makes sense right? I think it was pretty creative seeing how all my other dolls were called Meagan...I knew what I liked and I stuck to it. Anyway, Love Baby was my baby...she really was. When we'd go on Holidays she always had to have baby sitters...who usually ended up being Josh's GI Joe's. I had Birthdays for her every year - or sometimes every month depending on what mom would allow. She had a carseat and had to be buckled in if she ever came in the car. I seriously thought this doll was real. She was my favourite thing...so favourite that her body had to be remade a few times...she just got soooo much lovin' from me. Anyway, I was out visiting Becc last week and we were looking at some pictures of Hailey and we decided she actually looks just like Love Baby. I know it's silly, but I never thought anything could top my love for Love Baby...but somehow this real live little Love Baby wins without a douct. But don't worry, the original Love baby is a close second...she still has a special spot in my heart! So here is a picture of Ben and my new Love baby, I'll have to find a picture of the original baby that stole my heart so you can compare.

I just love this little baby girl of mine...seriously I just love her!!

One Month...tomorrow!

So I almost can't believe it, but Hailey is going to be one month old tomorrow. This last month has been a complete blur! I can clearly remember the day before she was born, and then the 14 hours of labour...but the other four weeks after that have completely flown by with out my approval. I've heard that they grow up so quickly, but I never realized it would be this quick. I'm already starting to weed out the clothes that don't fit her anymore! How can my little baby have already outgrown an outfit? Anyway, we've been busy lately. Last week we went shopping a few times, went to Airdrie to visit Becc and show Hailey off to her admiring Cousins, we had visitors to our house and Hailey played "model" for Laura's Bella Babies business...hopefully one day she'll be famous! Yesterday we went to a full three hours of Church...and Hailey was a complete doll - she slept almost the entire time! Speaking of sleep...this little girl is a total champ! Every day so far this week she has slept for over 5 hours at night!! I'm loooooooving this! Last night she went 7 hours between her last feed and when I finally woke her up to eat. Every book I read says I shouldn't let her go more than 5 hours at night...but everyone I talk to says I should just let her sleep if she wants to. I tried to let her sleep, but my discomfort took over and I had to wake her to eat. I'm seriously loving this sleeping at night thing! Anyway, here is a picture of her from last week...her first Sunday:

And then from Yesterday...the two of us! She looks a little surprised...but really she was on the verge of screaming!

Update...

SO I finally got some sleep...turns out it was a let down problem (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html). I started trying to nurse on one side and things seem to be a bit better - she's not as gassy and definitely sleeps better. I just took her into the public health centre here and had her weighed and she seems to be doing great...she's at 9 pounds already. At this rate, I'm going to have a little chunker on my hands. SO thanks Jeni for the book suggestion, it's funny that you recommend Baby Wise, cause I swear it's my baby bible. Every time I have a spare minute I'm reading (and re-reading it) just to make sure I'm on track. I need a baby that will sleep. Jewel, I love your suggestion too of letting Ben take some of the night battles...I try to, but with his stupid wrist, he can hardly do anything with Hailey with out me hovering to make sure he doesn't drop her. His cast hopefully comes off in just a few weeks...so hopefully he can help more then. Anyway, Hailey's a little puker...likely due to the let down problem and I think. Anyway because of this she ends up getting lots of baths (or sponge baths depending on how good I feel). Anyway today after her bath Hailey asked me to do her hair like her dads...all curly and cute. So of course I listened and let her hair go curly - seriously who can resist a curly blonde baby?? I'll admit, I'm a sucker. Anyway, she gladly posed for one pic: ...but after checking herself out in the mirror she let her true emotions be known. Obviously I didn't do it right. Oh well, until she learns to do her own hair she's just going to have to deal with my styling skills. Sadly the curl doesn't stick around once her hair is dry though...it just ends up being a little mohawk/wave thing. Which is also too cute!

I don't know how you guys do it...

I was just reading through some of my friends blogs and decided to take a little trip back in time on Jeni's blog to when her little Natalie was born. How did you do it girl?? You posted something almost every single day!! Where did you get the energy? For me a good day is one where I actually get dressed....a really good day means I put a bra on...and if it's fabulous, I might even shower and brush my teeth. So you can tell when I'm actually blogging, I'm either just totally crazy and sleep deprived...or I might just be having a really really fabulous day (you can make the call based on how much sense I actually make when I type).

Anyway, today I'm just totally sleep deprived. Hailey is trying to teach her mom how to NOT sleep through the night. It's not that she cries or anything, she just grunts and groans the ENTIRE night! She definitely has some gas issues and I'm still trying to figure them out. But until then, it means I hardly sleep anymore. Everyone keeps telling me the first 6 weeks are the hardest...so everyday I find myself counting down until week 6....that was at least until Tan told me I should really be counting down until month 6. Ahhhh!! Anyway, I think what I'll do is try to enjoy these sleepless nights because she really is a total doll...even when she's screaming! And one day she'll be sleeping through the night, and morning and all the way into the afternoon and all I'll want her to do is clean her room or something. So, I guess a few weeks (or months) of no sleep will be OK cause she'll more than make up for it later....she's just lucky she's so cute!


Anyway, here are some pics of the princess when she is sleeping.

I've got to figure out what to with her hair...it's a bit out of control

Doing the wake up stretch She's really funny to watch wake up....she's all stretches and grunts...too cute!

Here she is in her little carrier...she's so sweet and so tiny

And then you zoom out...she's really really tiny!

And here's dad showing off his skills with his cast arm...he's getting pretty good!

Finally...

We have a garage!!! Well almost. I think I posted last year about the prep work we did for the garage and I honestly thought we'd have it done by the fall last year...but as it turns out, the weather didn't cooperate and we didn't get the pad poured until just last month. And now finally we are getting the garage up!! Ben's dad, brother and brother in law come up to help and I'm sooooo gratfeul they did...mostly cause Ben's pretty much useless with his cast on. I'm not sure what he was thinking when he booked his surgery for the week his daughter was born as well as just a few weeks before he planned to build the garage. I think he was trying to get out of some hard work! Well...he's better watch out, cause as soon as that cast is off he's on diaper duty!

Anyway, here are some pics of the progress:

This was this morning before much had started

And here's from just an hour ago (about 8 hours later) - it's really coming along!

And here's what Hailey did the whole time! Lucky girl!

And here are some more Haily pics just for fun!!

Just after her first bath

After her second bath...check out that hair!

So things are going good with Hailey...we're still getting used to each other of course, but it seems like we'll get along just fine. Today she is officially two weeks old!! I feel like she's been here longer than that though (judging by how tired I am). She's a good baby and eats like a pro...seriously she is soooo good at nursing! She's bulking up pretty quickly too which we're all happy about. She's such a doll and totally has her dad wrapped around her little fingers...he's a total sucker too and will do anything for her. She has it figured out that's for sure. Anyway, I'm totally in love and I know her dad is totally in love...I just can't wait until she starts sleeping through the night. She's cute enough though, that I'll patiently wait for that day to come.

Sad week...

This is not a post I ever wanted to make...but at the same time I can't just post about my everyday life without touching on what has happened in our family this last week. It was changed our lives and tough me so much.

So as many of you know, my sister Becc and I were pregnant at the same time and due only a few weeks apart. At Becc's 18 week ultrasound her and Jared learned that there little baby boy had some health problems and further investigation was needed. Just a few weeks later it was confirmed that their little boy had trisomy 13 ... a chromosomal condition that is not compatible with life. They were given the option to terminate the pregnancy or carry on with the knowledge that he may not even live full term and if he did he would pass away within minutes or at most days. Being the courageous mother she is, Becc knew there was no other option than to allow this sweet boy to gain a body, so she continued on with the pregnancy. On July 17th (just 35 weeks) Ryan was born and entered this world. I didn't get to meet him but my other siblings all went to the hospital and fell in love instantly. His older brothers were also completely smitten with his sweet face and his beautiful Red hair. Just 19 hours later on July 18th, Ryan returned to his Father in Heaven. His short life here on Earth has touched the hearts of everyone in our Family and has reminded us of how miraculous our everyday lives are. Yesterday was Ryan's funeral. We gathered together as a family to say goodbye to the newest member of our family and to celebrate the miracle his life was. Becc and Jared have so much Faith and are so strong...I know they will be ok. But my heart still breaks for them. I will never forget the miracle of Ryan's life and will always remember the Faith his mom and dad have shown through all this. They will make it through and they will one day see there baby Ryan again.

Introducing...

Hailey Ann McCance!!!

Our little miracle baby has finally come!! Hailey made her Grand Entrance on July 14th at 6:16 PM after 14 loooooong hours of labour. She was worth evey minute of it though! She weighed in at 7 pounds 12 ounces and measured 21 inches long! She's really a great baby and I love her to pieces already!! Here are some pics:

Just seconds after she was born....what a doll!


3 days old


Hailey and her Dad (who conveniently gad wrist surgery just two days before she arrived)

Some Belly's...and a pinch of cellulite

Ok, I'm busted...I totally have way more than a pinch of cellulite - but that's all you can see, so that's what I'm telling everyone. Anyway we spent Monday (the Day after Canada day...which is actually Canada day according to some rule about Canada day being moved to the Monday if it actually falls on a Sunday, but I'd never heard of that rule until this year) with the family at Auburn Bay (Nate and Tans new community lake). We played in the sand...and in the water for a few hours and then went back to Nate and Tans for a delicious Barbecue....which was topped off with a delicious no bake cheesecake made by...ME!!! It was a fun day and the weather was perfect!!

Anyway, here are some belly pics from the day:The three pregnant girls - Me (38 weeks); Becc (34 weeks?); Yuka (16 weeks). Becc and Yuka look so cute...and I looke sort of like a whale. Oh well.


All the Woodruff girls: Tan - the 'gorgeous after two kids in less than two years' shot; Me - the 'ready to hurt someone if this baby doesn't come soon' shot; Becc - the 'cute preggo belly shot'; Yuka - the 'almost popped shot'; and Sarah - the 'not pregnant and will not be for a loooooong time if her brothers have anything to do with it' shot. Believe it or not, at one point I looked almost as good as Sarah...almost.

Anyway, I'm officially done work now...which means I have a few precious weeks where I get to sleep in everyday - and clean every room in the house! I think Ben's doing more nesting than I am though. He finished the garage pad (with the help of some trusty friends/family) and now he's moved onto the basement. It's almost all framed and the electrical is getting done...it's not wired yet, but everything's set up and ready for it. Then at the end of the month the garage package will be delivered and he'll get to work on that too. So hopefully by the end of this summer we'll have a developed basement, a new garage and most importantly a new baby! We'll see how it all goes though...all I care about right now is the baby and she'd better come soon! I'll keep you posted!