Happy First Birthday Little Man!

It's hard to believe but a three weeks ago our little man turned ONE!

I know I sound like a total cliche, but I actually have no idea where the time went.

It feels like just yesterday we were brand new parents, bringing home this new, scary, adorable little package from the hospital and having absolutely no idea what to do. Now, I have a toddler who loves climbing in and out of his bumbo, eating apples in the cart while grocery shopping, and pushing toy cars all around the house while saying "Vrooommm".

To celebrate his birthday, we decided, what better theme for country lovers than a cowboy theme!

I'll admit, I went all out for his birthday. And let's be honest, we all know a first birthday party is for the parents ... so yes, really I did it for myself. And even though I completely stressed myself out, it was totally worth it!

A big thanks to LeeLaaLoo over at etsy.com for the amazing cowboy themed party decorations. It made decorating for the big day a breeze! Their delivery time was amazing as well. I ordered it Thursday night and had it all in my inbox Friday morning. Impressive!

Our wonderful friends Rob and Stacey Musselman offered to let us use their barn and property to host our cowboy themed party, so it was the perfect spot!

Here are some pictures from our little mans day!

BBQ Extraordinaire!

Our friend Rachel Huber did amazing job designing and creating this delicious cake and cupcakes! Her creativity and cake decorating abilities blew my mind. Thanks Rachel!

Enjoying his first bite of cake!

He acted like it was the most normal thing in the world

He was more interested in his pop can than any of his new toys

Lovin' his MegaBlocks wagon

Four Generations :)

A big, huge, GIGANTIC thank you to my amazing mother-in-law Bunny Ninaber for taking all the pictures this weekend. If it wasn't for her, I would have had no proof this day even existed!

With how crazy I went for this party, I can only imagine what year number TWO will look like!

Happy Nine Months Little Man!

Yesterday marked an exciting day in the Ninaber household.

Our little man turned 9 months old! And as of today, he has officially been on the outside world longer than the inside with me.

These last nine months have been an absolute whirlwind. I remember when I was pregnant thinking, "This is the longest nine months of my life" and thought the pregnancy would never end.

Alas, it did, and we were blessed with this wonderful baby boy. This baby though, has somehow changed in the past few weeks and has turned in to a toddling little man. He pulls himself up on anything and everything, crawls all over the place, and tires himself out by chasing the Roomba throughout the house (our robot vacuum).

He has three teeth, with three more about to pop through. But the funny thing is that the top teeth that have come through are the top sides, not the front. Makes for a pretty cute smile.

He loves to eat his cottage cheese, red peppers and celery, but he doesn't like cucumber ... surprise, surprise (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!).

His favourite words are "Ababa baba" (bottle) and "Mummm mum mum mum" (self explanatory!)

He loves his bath time.

He's quite the mommas boy, but when daddy walks in to the room, the smile that radiates from his chubby little cherub face is unreal. He loves his dad.

He looks just like his grandpa.

His best furry friend is Hank. Every morning when he wakes up, Hank walks in to his room with us. As soon as Ryder hears him, he will continue to look around the room until he finds him and once again, beams with his amazingly contagious smile. The two of them like to keep watch over the neighbourhood in the morning. I can already tell they will be best friends.

Only three more months and this munchkin will be celebrating his FIRST BIRTHDAY! Ahh. I'm hoping these next three months slow down, because I'm not quite sure I'm prepared or ready for that day.

If there's one thing I've learned in my first nine months of being a mom, it is to not wish the time away. I've done my best to enjoy each stage we are in, as already there are little things that I have begun to miss.

Already I miss his tiny little 8lb self, when he'd cuddle up on my chest and just slept.
I miss when I could change his bum without worrying that he'd flip over and get poop everywhere.
I miss putting him in his swing and he'd sleep throughout the day.
I miss him playing on his play mat ... and if I had to leave the room, I knew he'd still be in the exact same spot when I came back
I miss nursing him 8-12 times a day (believe it or not) and just getting to bond with him as he rubbed my arm or he'd stretch up and play with my face and hair. Then he'd give me the perfect little grin.

Now, I love hearing him laugh. It's contagious.
I love watching his spirit of adventure.
I love seeing his determination and how he doesn't give up.
I love the claps and smiles he gives when the people he loves walk in to the room.
I love that he doesn't play strange.
I love the hundreds of expressions he shows me everyday
I love being the first one to experience all of his "firsts"
I love being his mom.

Man, if I'm this sappy at his nine month birthday, heaven knows what I'll be like when he turns one.

Happy Nine Months, Little Man. Mumm mum mum mum loves you!

Moms - God's Greatest Creation

Okay, so that may be a bold statement, and not everyone will agree with me, but let me explain.

Believe it or not (I say this for myself, you probably all believe it - haha), but by Thursday of this week, I will have a six week old on my hands.

After nine long months, 40 extra pounds, and a few too many stretch marks, Ryder Chase Ninaber made his debut to the world at 5:45am on June 14, 2012. Weighing in at a healthy 8lb 8oz and 20 inches long, Ryder arrived after only 2 hours of labour. Can you say amazing?

Now, Ryder is (almost) six weeks old, weighing in at a healthy 10+ pounds and has already outgrown not only his newborn sleepers, but his three month sleepers as well. Is it legal to have a 6 week old in 6 month old pyjamas???

Anyway, the reason I entitled this post Moms - God's Greatest Creation, is not because I wanted to boast about my new life as a mom. Quite the contrary. As much as I enjoy being a mom, and think that it is wonderful to be caring and raising a handsome young man, I wanted to boast about my mom. Mainly because, if it was not for her, there's no way I could have made it through the past few weeks.

When Ryder was born, my wonderful midwife Nasrin suggested that I have someone stay with me that night, to ensure that I was able to get a good nights sleep and wasn't up for all hours. My mom volunteered to stay with me right away, without even hesitating, all the while knowing that she had a full days work ahead of her the next day.

So that night after I woke up to feed him, she stayed up and settled him for the next little bit until he fell asleep, and did so a few times during the night. I'm pretty sure she was lucky to get three hours of sleep that night, while I was lying in bed trying to sleep myself.

Pretty much every day for the first two weeks, my mom made it a priority to stop by my place, whether it was in between clients, or after a long day of work, to make sure I was doing okay.
Some days I was doing great! Other days, I felt like a kid who got hurt on the playground and was fine until mom showed up - that's when the waterworks would come.

But on days like that, my mom was always there to comfort me, give me a shoulder to cry on, and tell me that I was doing a great job and that I was going to make it through. I don't know if a thank you is ever  enough to express how much her dedication meant to me.

After the phone calls slowed down, and I started to figure out my routine and develop into my own role as a mom, she would still stop in occasionally, but I could always look forward to a text in the morning: "How was Ryder last night?" "Did you sleep okay?" "How are you?" "How goes the day?" -- I always look forward to those messages.

Then there was this past weekend where I came down with a crazy bacterial infection, resulting in the worst fever, aches and pains I have ever experienced. With a simple phone call, I said "Mom, can you come over? I'm really sick and can barely hold Ryder." Her reply? "I'm on my way." Her one weekend off to work, and she spent it with me to take care of me, help me get better and to make sure Ryder was taken care of while I slept.

I would also like to mention all of the time she spent at my house before Ryder's arrival, helping me prepare my house and his room and making sure everything would be in order before he made his appearance. She helped organize clothes, sorted his laundry, cleaned out my spare bedroom (I think she knew she'd have to use it once he showed up), rearranged my kitchen with me. She also reupholstered the old rocking chair she used for me and my sisters while we were babies for the nursery. She's Wonder Woman, I tell you.

It's funny how becoming a mom yourself creates a bond you never had before with your own mom.  My mom and I have always been close, but these past few weeks have really brought us together.

Mom - Pregnant with me in 1987

I realize I'm repeating myself here, but I truly don't think a simple thank you will ever be enough to express my gratitude towards my mom.

I wanted the world to know just how wonderful she is. This is only a small snapshot into what an amazing mom Yvonne Cyr is. There are so many things she does on a continual basis that make her the absolute best mom ever, but that's for another blog post at another time.

All of this to say: Thank you mom for being there for me. I couldn't have gotten through these past few weeks without you.

I love you.