Canadian Thanksgiving 2011

This year Thanksgiving was fantastic. I really wanted to learn how to make a whole Thanksgiving dinner because next time I'm not gonna be in Canada to have my mom to make it all for me. I need to be a grown up and make dinner for my own family now. Next month will be American Thanksgiving and I'll be in Colorado for good by then! How convenient that I get to have a practice run before I have to do it alone! It was a really good experience to prepare dinner with my mom though. We had some great quality time together. She really enjoyed the help and I really enjoyed the conversation. My mom is the best.

Preparations started last night. We made apple pie and pumpkin pie (including the crust), stuffing/dressing (whatever you call it), and cranberry sauce. This morning we put the 16ish pound turkey in the oven, and had some down time. Mom made buns (rolls for you Americans). I figured that since I'll be in a city that's 5000 ft higher than here, practice making buns would be pointless. The altitude does stupid things to my cookies, let alone bread...  That's something I'll have to work up to in the future.

Preparing the vegetables is pretty straightforward, and I missed out on helping peel and chop things because I was feeding Warren at that time. Good thing I'm smart and know how to make mashed potatoes and salad already. haha. But when I was done I made corn scallop, which is a delicious corn casserole type thing. It's my favorite. I also learned Dad's secret to making the perfect gravy. Somehow gravy making became my Dad's responsibility in our family. I guess it's because he's really good at it and it's one less thing for Mom to do. haha.

Pretty much it was a huge success. Everything was super delicious and I was proud of myself for what I did, and Mom was just super happy that she didn't have to do it all alone this time. I didn't take any pictures of the food because I'm just not a food picture taker-er.

Next step is for me to write down all the dishes and recipes so that I can remember how to do it all next month! I'm excited. It's so fulfilling to make awesome food, especially for people other than yourself and your husband. Maybe it's a matter of pride. I dunno. haha. All I know is that I like it when I feed lots of people good food.

Watch out American Thanksgiving! I'm armed with new found cooking skills, and I'm gonna whip them out next month. November 24. I'll be there.

What I do take pictures of are babies. So since my niece was there, I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the two little ones.

Nap time for the little burritos!!

Quality Grandpa/Grandson time :)

Great Grandma with Great Grandchild #1

My kid makes the most awesome faces ever.

And he's way relaxed and just looks around at everything.

hehehe... More awesome faces.

Great Grandma with Great Grandchild #2

Lily's cantaloupe sized head

My mom wanted this picture. Last Christmas the Elders that were living with my parents made a piñata version of my little brother. Their thought was that it would keep my parents company while he was out serving his mission. haha. It works. So the two babies got a picture with their uncle this Thanksgiving. haha! 

Victory!!!

I'm a genius... I just figured out that I can avoid the whole going to the Calgary Consulate thing. I dunno why it took me this long to realize it though. haha. I'm smart.

So you schedule appointments online to report births of US citizens "abroad" and apply for their US passports and social security cards. Up until now I was just planning on scheduling it in Calgary a couple days after I got back from Montreal. But duh... I had an epiphany that I could just see if I could schedule the appointment in Montreal for the same day as my interview. Yeesh... I've sure been using my noggin...

I looked into it and there's an opening to schedule what I need for Warren that's two and a half hours after my interview. I have no idea how long my interview will last, and how long it'll take for me to get all my original documents back. I kinda need them in order to apply for Warren's stuff. Hopefully two and a half hours will be enough time for me to finish up my stuff in time to do Warren's stuff.

I'm just glad I shaved even more time off of this whole process. It's all happening so soon!!!

WOOT!!!

My Awesome Childhood

Recently I was watching TV with my mom and we were just flipping through channels. We found Jem on the kids TV station.

I sure hope you know what Jem is. Here's a reminder.

That show was one of the many that carried me through my childhood. My generation really did have the best entertainment ever. So I decided that it was necessary to compile a list of shows and movies that I loved as a kid so that I could share them with Warren as he grows. I'll teach him that even though the styles were whacked, and the graphics weren't the quality they are today, it's still quality TV. He's going to appreciate the 90's.

Funny story. I stayed at my uncle and aunts house for a couple of days last week, and my aunt and I were watching ALF. My 13 year old cousin came to see what we were watching, and after a few minutes he gave us the greatest "what the crap is this" look I've ever seen in my life. Clearly he hasn't been educated about the awesomeness that is the 90's. haha...

I put a post on Facebook asking my friends to suggest amazing shows and movies from the 90's so that I could start compiling this list for Warren's future. Here's a bit of what we came up with.

Yeah... I think that's a good start. There's plenty more on the list, but these are the ones I'm most excited about. haha! My kid is gonna be the most awesome kid ever!!!

He Eats. Then He eats.

And oh yeah. He eats some more!!!

I was pretty proud of myself for getting Warren on a four hour sleeping schedule, but the last day or so he's been hungry way more often and more fussy than usual and I had no idea what that was all about. So thanks to the trusty internet, I found out that he's going through his first growth spurt.

I guess it makes sense. His cheeks are definitely chubbier, and he's no longer curling up into a little ball like he used to do all the time. He's starting to stretch out more, which I find entertaining because his little legs are still scrawny and way cute. He's also filling out his clothes better, even though he still only fits in newborn size clothes. Compared to when he was a week old when his onesies were still pretty loose, now they look like they're actually the right size. The clothes that are the 0-3 month size are still too big though. haha. But who knows. Maybe he'll be fitting into them soon. That kinda freaks me out though... I like him small and I don't want him to start growing THAT fast.. Yeesh... Some things I just can't stop though.

Right now I don't know how much he weighs. When I took him for his two week check up, he was 7 lbs 6 oz, but that was almost two weeks ago, so he's got to be at least 8 lbs by now. I might go find out soonish how much he weighs though. I have to stop by a Public Health Center to pick up my immunization record which they need for the immigration interview. Conveniently that's the place where they weigh babies too. I figure while I'm there I might as well get him weighed to satisfy my curiosity.

Thankfully this growth spurt only lasts a couple days. Feeding him twice as much for twice as long is... painful... Good thing he's so dang cute.

Here's a comparison so you can see his growth.

One Week old 

Three Weeks old

The onesies are the same brand an same size so you can totally see how two weeks ago they were super loose and now, not so much. haha.

Anyways.. Can I just state how satisfying it is when researching things to find the exact answers? Because when I was trying to figure out what was going on with Warren, what I was reading described EXACTLY what was going on. It was pretty awesome. I didn't even have to say that was mostly what was going on. Every single symptom or behavior that was described was exactly fitting for Warren. I was so satisfied. I hope as he continues to grow that I'll be able to keep finding such helpful information. (Hey. I can dream.)

Progress

I've been checking my email like a mad woman this week because my interview for the green card was supposed to be scheduled this week. To my delight, the email finally came on Wednesday!! I have an interview scheduled for October 24th!!!!! WOOT!!!!! So that means that this whole process will come to a long awaited end and I can finally look forward to being with my husband PERMANENTLY.

It's still quite the process though. Not only do I have to go to Montreal (because it's the only Consulate that does Immigrant interviews), but I have to get a medical exam beforehand. I knew that was coming, but what I didn't know is that the medical exam can only be done by "authorized physicians". I thought that all physicians would be authorized to do a medical exam, but apparently they have physicians that are specifically authorized by the Consulate to do medical exams for immigrant purposes. Here's the kicker... THERE'S ONLY FOUR OF THEM IN ALL OF CANADA... There's one in Vancouver, one in Toronto and two in Montreal. So I called one of the ones in Montreal hoping that I could get the medical exam right before the interview and have the results in time so I wouldn't have to make more than one trip. Thankfully they were pretty accommodating, but it extends the trip to Montreal from only a couple days to a whole week.

The soonest they could get me in for the medical exam was Tuesday October 18. The results will be ready for me to pick up three days later on Friday, and then I have to wait through the weekend for my interview on Monday the 24th at 8:00 AM.

Sure it's slightly inconvenient to have to be gone for a whole week, but my mom and possibly my aunt are coming with me so it'll end up being a lot of fun. Especially having Warren around and being able to take him out on walks and stuff. The plane ride with him will be interesting though. haha. good thing he's a good sleeper, and not a loud crier.

After the interview, if they're satisfied, I'll get all the paperwork right there that'll allow me to go to the States right away. The only other thing that I have to do afterward is get Warren's US passport. I have to wait until after the interview to do that though. To get his passport I need to show them the original copy of my marriage certificate which I had to send to the Montreal Consulate a while ago. I'll get it back after the interview. So once I get back from Montreal, I have to take Warren to Calgary to the Consulate there to apply for his US passport. Yeah... They don't make this easy. Every Consulate does everything by appointment so I can't just get everything done for me and him in Montreal. I'll try though. If I end up taking Warren with me to the interview, I wonder if they'll just let me apply for it right there... But I highly doubt it, considering they like to do everything the long and difficult way. So I'm just anticipating having to go to Calgary. That's less of a big deal than Montreal though, so I'm not overly annoyed by having to drive the three hours. Warren will sleep the whole way anyway.

Once his passport comes, then it's home free!! I'll finally be able to go to Colorado and stay there and NEVER have to anticipate being separated from Ray for a long period of time EVER AGAIN. So by November, all of this will finally be over for good! A year and a half of all this craziness is almost over and our family will be whole again. Forever.

What A Year

I don't think I've ever had such an eventful year. I found out that I was pregnant the first week of the year, and that marked the beginning of a whole bunch of changes and new things for me to figure out and get used to.

First I had to get used to throwing up all the time... Then I had to get used to feeling all the hiccups and the kicks. Then figuring out how to sleep with a big belly in the way. Then trying to figure out what I could actually eat. Thankfully the throwing up every day eventually stopped as long as I remembered to take my medication. Being pregnant was definitely an adventure. Now I have an adorable little son to show for it. All the women were right. All the inconveniences of pregnancy and the difficulties I had really were worth it.

I thought it would be kinda cool to show the progression of changes throughout the year. I took periodic pictures to keep track of how big I was getting. It's interesting to look back on, and it totally blows my mind that my body did all that. Heavenly Father really knew what he was doing when He made all of us. Pregnancy and childbirth is nothing short of a miracle.

March 13 - 13 Weeks

March 26 - 15 Weeks

April 12 - 18 Weeks

April 16 - 19 Weeks

May 1 - 22 Weeks 

May 23 - 25 Weeks

July 1 - 31 Weeks

August 2 - 36 Weeks

September 13 - Two weeks old

It still hasn't sunk in that he's a part of me. I almost feel like a babysitter still. haha. But I'm sure once he starts getting bigger and we can see resemblances between him and Ray and I, it'll be easier to believe that he's mine and that I grew him. haha. I love being a mom though. Even if my mind can't wrap itself around being a mom, it's still pretty awesome. I'll think I'll keep the little guy.

My Family (because I have one now!)

Life with a kid is pretty sweet. I'm definitely getting less sleep, but I'm slowing figuring out how I can remedy that. For example, I've learned how to feed him lying down. haha. It's fantastic for the middle of the night feeds. Another thing I've learned is just how many diapers babies go through. I haven't quite figured out the perfect timing for when it's best to change him. I tend to change his diaper and 10 minutes later he's pooped. It's kind of ridiculous. But I guess that's just how it goes. I gave him a soother for the first time two days ago and that's been a lifesaver. Warren no longer cries during diaper changes and it helps him fall asleep faster. He loved the thing right from the start. He didn't have any issues with it. Yay!!!

Yesterday was a pretty crappy day though. Not because of Warren. He's a really good baby. But yesterday I had to say goodbye to Ray... We've said goodbye a lot before, but this time seemed to be the hardest. That's prolly due to the fact that we have Warren, and the thought of taking care of him by myself seems overwhelming, especially at night time. Also, we have no idea how long it'll be until we get to see each other again. All the other times before, we've known when we'd see each other again. So because of those two things, this is kind of a lot rough on me...

The thing that keeps me going though, is how positive Ray is. He's constantly reminding me that Heavenly Father is in control, so because of that, things will work out the best way possible. I definitely need to be reminded of that often, and Ray does a good job. Another good thing is that all the paperwork is submitted, and now we're just waiting to find out when my interview will be. They do all the scheduling for interviews during the second week of the month, which is this week. So hopefully I'll find out when I have to make the trek over to Montreal by the end of the week. After the interview, if they're satisfied, I get all the green card stuff right there and I'll be able to go to Colorado as soon as possible. Woot!! So things really are progressing, and we're actually at the final stretch. And getting Warren's paperwork is simple since he's already entitled to US citizenship. I just have to fill out a form that gets him a US passport and social security card.

Anyways... Here's some pictures of my adorable little man. Ray took most of the pictures, and Monie and her boyfriend came over to take our family pictures. I'm quite pleased with them. It was awesome that we got to take family pictures before Ray left. We have a pretty good looking family. haha.

Hehe... He was sneezing.

Babies make awesome faces.

My favorite!