Ottawa update

We made it to Ottawa yesterday and are having lots of fun. Evy LOVES her cousins.... so MUCH! If it were possible, she really should have an older sibling, because she can't get enough of watching Charley and Sam.

Here are a few pics of the fun so far:

I think we'll stay here until Sunday. Hopefully the weather will be better than today - lots of rain and now freezing rain - yuck!

Have a great weekend!

The tale of tiny bump-head

So, Evy has this little blue bump on her head. When I asked the doctor about it last month, he said it was just a little burst blood vessel and that it would probably go away on its own.

Then last week, seemingly overnight, it went from a little blue bump, to a giant bright red bump. I called the doctor again, and the receptionist said it was most likely a hemangioma - this blood-filled tumour birthmark thingy (I think that's the strict scientific medical definition).

It seemed to be getting bigger every day, and so Rob and I spent countless hours worrying about our poor disfigured daughter who would be mocked endlessly by the cruel Millbrook thugs. (Note: do NOT go to google images and type in hemangioma or other suspected medical conditions - you will be scared senseless).

Finally yesterday we took her to the doctor. Turns out that I was making a mountain out of a molehill (more precisely, an infected pus-filled molehill). Bleh bleh bleh! We had the great priviledge of watching the doctor poke mini-vesuvius and it was NOT a pretty sight.
She has some antibiotic cream, and hopefully our little unicorn will go back to just having a wee blue bump instead of a giant 'baby's first zit'.

We're off to Ottawa tomorrow to spend a few days Lee and Chris and the lads. Evy can't wait to get some quality time in with her cousins (though I hope those tough boys don't make fun of her inflamed forehead!). We haven't seen them since xmas, so this visit is long overdue and has been postponed repeatedly! I'll try to update from the 'twa, with some heee-larious baby pics for ya.

In the meantime, here's madam yesterday

bouncing despite being off-balance because of giant baby-zit

playing with her lil' Ecuadorian drum

Ahh, nothing like a hot compress to the forehead - held on gansta' style

and little big eyes after her bath the other day

Fever pitch

Here's a little lesson in how life with a baby works.

Let's say, for example, that you struggle to get your baby to sleep in her own room. Heck, even sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time. After weeks of trying, you finally get your tiny tyrant to do both of those things. Then, thanks to some parenting murphy's law, your baby will get sick.

She will have a fever. She will cough like a strange lizard, with her tongue sticking straight out. She will have snot - lots of snot - running out of her nose. She will cry, a lot. She will need to sleep in your bed with you, snuggled up so that she's directly in your armpit, clutching your bosom with either mouth or hand. If you try to contravene these rules, she will shriek like 1,000 banshees, her little glassy red-rimmed eyes will fill with tears, and this will continue until your eardrums burst and your heart breaks.

And so, in the midst of your very sad sleep-deprived state, you know that once wee bebe gets better, whenever that might be, you'll have to start ALL OVER again with getting your wee lass to sleep in her crib.

And they lived happily ever after. Sigh.

Here are some pictures from 2 weeks ago, when madam was in good health.

Phew

After a very busy two weeks, I've finished the first draft of my freelance project. It was pretty cool actually - a description of 26 native tree species. So, if you have any questions about the showy mountain-ash vs. the american mountain-ash, I'm the person to ask.

Am also inspired to plant some more trees here on the homestead this spring... I'm thinking tulip tree and sugar maple. We planted 9 trees here last year, and I hope that some of them survive the winter. It will be fun to watch them grow as Evy grows.

And speaking of growing.... here is the wee madam. I don't know that she's actually gaining a huge amount of weight (she's still SO tiny) but here she is acting like a big girl, if not actually looking like a big girl!

"Yes, mummy, I can stand!"

"And, yes, I can sit too!"

"Bring me my dinner, mama!"

Trying out the bottle

Here is miss Evy trying out her bottle. There is a bit of a mishap, though you may need to watch it in high quality to fully appreciate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEHA8gOPeM8


I spent some time yesterday and put up a bunch of videos, including some from our wedding (Thanks, Tammy, for taking those. I can't tell you how many times I've watched them!)

Also of interest to the Higgy clan are some long-lost videos from the great toe-touching contest, circa 2004. Look for sneak appearances by Drew, Jack, and Emily's pink hair!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Happy V Day

Happy Valentines to everyone, from Rob, Sarah & Evy. Hope your day was full of love, chocolates, and laughter.

Little beauty

Here is a selection of absolutely hilarious and adorable pictures taken by Granny Al last week when she was babysitting the little madam. I laugh every time I look at them.

This is Evy's "you will do as I say or

I will crush you like a bug" face

Makin' friends with a cabbage patch doll

Ah, the soother and the california raisin... good playthings

Little imp

Sitting on the couch like a big girl

Playing with a box of toys, including uncle Ben's vintage

'Ram Man' He-Man toy... ha ha ha.

And styling her dolly's hair

Round-up

Here's a few links to help you get through the february blahs:

This is the latest bijillion-views video on YouTube. This poor kid is feeling rough after a trip to the dentist. It is extra-funny to me because I remember my sister Lee coming home from having her wisdom teeth out, and she was delirious and insane and waving at passing cars and Jimmy had to carry her in to the house when we got home. I wish I felt that good after having anaesthetic... I always just barf and pass out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txqiwrbYGrs&feature=related


This one made my cry when I watched it yesterday.... I don't know why! The dog is just SO earnest and totally unfazed by being in front of thousands of people. So cute!
http://www.familytiez.com/video/gin.htm


If you like motherhood blogs, here are two that sum things up WAY better than I possibly can. I've been reading them weekly and am really enjoying them.

http://motherhooduncensored.typepad.com/

http://www.dooce.com/


And, for those like us who don't have a TV (or at least cable) and yet crave an occasional tv hit, I've been watching this show on the CBC website. Yes, CBC actually has a show that I'm enjoying. It seems amazing doesn't it? And it's not about cowboys or green gables, or stupid shite. You can watch it online here: http://www.cbc.ca/beingerica/index.html#main


For those of you who haven't done your Valentine's Day shopping yet, check out etsy to find locally made stuff. It's fun to search by location and find cool handmade things from your own city. http://www.etsy.com/


And, speaking of Valentines and romance, here's the most romantic video ever. It's about an elephant and a dog... in LOVE!!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBtFTF2ii7U


So, that's the procrastination round-up from the procrastinator. Now, gotta get to work while the baba is sleeping! Thanks to Al & Jim and to Lee for the awesome videos.... they made my week.

Flyin' by

The days seem to be going by quickly.... which seems impossible, because, hellooooo, it's February! Maybe it's because we've been keeping busy, and because I'm looking forward to roadtrip to Ottawa and a Higgy sisters reunion this weekend. And, between taking care of Miss E and doing all this freelance work, I have about 36 seconds a day to myself!

The days definitely are getting longer, and yesterday Evy's dog cousins (Oggy, Penny, and Kizzy) came to visit and we took them for a walk through the trails. Evy was in the baby bjorn, and she was kicking and squealing and laughing every time the dogs ran in front of her. It was pretty darn cute. And it was a sunny, sparkly, day too, which was lovely. Of course, I didn't take any pictures, because I had my hands full with 3 dogs (and 3 leashes that kept getting tangled) and a baby.

Instead, here are some pics from last week. Enjoy!

7 months (and 1 day!)

The little piglet is now a big (small) 7 month old girl!

The past seven months have FLOWN by. It's really hard to believe that she's already so old! But I can't help but wonder... at what age will she actually get some hair? At this rate, she might be five before we can do pigtails for the piglet!

Here we are, 7 months ago today (when Evy was one day old):

I'll take some 7-month photos, but she's asleep right now, so it'll have to wait until she wakes up!

In other hilarity, here's a graph my friend Sean sent me. I keep laughing every time I look at it (though I suspect only those currently or recently heavy with child will find it as funny as I do. It's funny because it's truuuuuuue!)

Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day! I'll take grizzler outside for a walk once she wakes up. In the meantime, I'm working on my latest freelance writing project and waiting for 27 tonnes of snow to slide off the roof (which will hopefully happen at any time OTHER than when I'm standing below). Back to the grinderoo!