This afternoon, at a point when Aria has just finished feeding and was just settling into sleep (she has such a cute glassy-eyed look at that moment), I set up my Archos 605 media player with my new battery dock which finally arrived today. That gives me the capacity to hook it up to the TV and the stereo simultaneously. I started an impromptu slideshow of all of Arias pics (I've got most of them stored on there), and started playing Newton Faulkner to accompany it. It was a great moment of reflection.
She turns three months tomorrow (if I don't post this quickly, it'll be today already). It's been an amazing journey already, and there's so much to take in. Thank you all for walking this road with us. And we're grateful to be with you on yours as well.
June 30, 2008
Aria's Great...and it's HOT!!!
Aria's doing a great job with all the heat - we love her TONS - Brad just bought a thing for his media player so that he can play pictures on our TV now and music with our TV's sound system - then he put up the pics of Aria that he's taken with music and made me cry - she's so different from those pictures already - so much older & changed - and yet still her and still so beautiful.
On a side note: Pray for Aria's little cousin Silas - he has been in the hospital with infections & such and was taken there by ambulance when he didn't breath for a while (apnea - common for babies with infections - but scary for moms). So pray he gets better and that he can come home soon.
On a side note: Pray for Aria's little cousin Silas - he has been in the hospital with infections & such and was taken there by ambulance when he didn't breath for a while (apnea - common for babies with infections - but scary for moms). So pray he gets better and that he can come home soon.
June 20, 2008
Only Four Digits...
Just because this site isn't ALL about the baby - Brad & I are down to 4 digits in our student loan debt!! We're FINALLY under $10,000 - not bad for two people who got married with around $25,000! Yay for us (and thanks for the help - you know who you are...)!! And it's also a nice feeling to have jobs that actually require that education we invested in! Kinda makes me feel like it was a worthwhile investment?
Hey - if there are any millionaires out there who want to donate a grand or more to help pay it off - we'll gladly take it - it FEELS like we're that much closer, but $8,700 means we're still going to be paying it off until after the Olympics! But that's ok - ONLY 4 DIGITS we're definitely making progress.
Hey - if there are any millionaires out there who want to donate a grand or more to help pay it off - we'll gladly take it - it FEELS like we're that much closer, but $8,700 means we're still going to be paying it off until after the Olympics! But that's ok - ONLY 4 DIGITS we're definitely making progress.
Weighed and Measured AGAIN...
Well, Aria got weighed last week Thursday - 11 6 - and on Wednesday this week she got weighed again - she's now 11 lbs 14oz!! She is growing so fast!!!
On a side note: immunizations suck - I think they're worse for the mom than for the baby, we both cried - that's for sure! But Aria seems to have gotten over it - although she was quite sad all day that day. Poor girl.
On a side note: immunizations suck - I think they're worse for the mom than for the baby, we both cried - that's for sure! But Aria seems to have gotten over it - although she was quite sad all day that day. Poor girl.
June 18, 2008
Aria's Baptism
Well - we had a great day on the day Aria was baptized - we woke up at our usual time, and had plans to be at church at 10 (church starts at 10:30) in order to say hello to our friends etc who were there...we arrived at 10:32. We had along the baptismal gown us kids wore when we were baptized and we were going to put it on once we got to church (to avoid spit-ups if at all possible). It didn't fit!! Her head was too big for it - I guess two months of age is a little late to get baptized in our family's tradition (a side note: Aria is the first grandchild to get baptized, but that's beside the point). We had her in white for underneath the gown - so she just wore what she was wearing - a little white jumper with a white undershirt underneath. I also had her wrapped in my mom's shawl that she crocheted for her wedding - so that was really special for me and for those who know how much that shawl meant for my mom (she wore it to her 25th and 30th anniversary celebrations and it was on a table at her funeral with pictures & memorabilia on top of it).
So, we got into the service during the second or third song and sat up at the front - Dad & MaryAnna & the girls were in the row behind us, and Bec and Frank weren't there yet. When we got up for the baptism they still weren't there - so I was watching the door while William was talking. FINALLY they made it just before the actual baptism.
When William does baptisms, he really does it up - ever since our friends Pippa & Chris decided if their baby was going to get baptized (they came from a Pentecostal background) she was going to get baptized! Pippa dressed Anwen in a bathing suit - brought a bathtub for her to sit in and William dumped buckets of water on her - it was adorable. Since then, William has enjoyed REALLY baptizing all his babies - so when Aria got baptized, the water wasn't just a few little drops on the top of her head as some are, she got water poured on her from a jug - and it ended up all over her face & pooling in her eye sockets - and she totally took it like it was no big deal - she must like getting baptized! It was very cool.
After Aria was baptized I had a chance to say something - and so I started by explaining that since Brad & I come from two different traditions, him from dedication, me from baptism, that we both felt it was right to do both for Aria - we baptized her with our church family (since that's what we do at the Bridge) and with my dad & sister there, but we will dedicate her in Ontario at a later date with Brad's family (and of course all those in Ont. who want to when that time comes). Each day should be a day when we remind Aria that she is one of God's covenant children, and each day should be a day when we dedicate her to God - remembering that she is a gift from God - but that she is HIS, and not only mine. I then told those at church (and am now telling all of you reading this, as you are part of our lives) Aria means "A Solo Song, Sung with Passion, Accompanied by an Orchestra". Aria's life is her song - and our hope and prayer is that it will be sung with passion - and to our Father in Heaven. We are her orchestra - Brad & I as parents, but also our families and our friends - our church family and those who are close to Aria - we are the ones who are accompanying her through life, and our prayer is that each of you will also be a part of helping her to sing her song in worship for our Father.
We then had people come up and lay hands on us and pray for her and for us - my Father and William both took a time to pray - it was really special. I'm going to work on getting the CD of the service so that we can post it on the site.
Love you all - thank you for being part of the cacophony that our lives have been since our Aria arrived.
Deb
So, we got into the service during the second or third song and sat up at the front - Dad & MaryAnna & the girls were in the row behind us, and Bec and Frank weren't there yet. When we got up for the baptism they still weren't there - so I was watching the door while William was talking. FINALLY they made it just before the actual baptism.
When William does baptisms, he really does it up - ever since our friends Pippa & Chris decided if their baby was going to get baptized (they came from a Pentecostal background) she was going to get baptized! Pippa dressed Anwen in a bathing suit - brought a bathtub for her to sit in and William dumped buckets of water on her - it was adorable. Since then, William has enjoyed REALLY baptizing all his babies - so when Aria got baptized, the water wasn't just a few little drops on the top of her head as some are, she got water poured on her from a jug - and it ended up all over her face & pooling in her eye sockets - and she totally took it like it was no big deal - she must like getting baptized! It was very cool.
After Aria was baptized I had a chance to say something - and so I started by explaining that since Brad & I come from two different traditions, him from dedication, me from baptism, that we both felt it was right to do both for Aria - we baptized her with our church family (since that's what we do at the Bridge) and with my dad & sister there, but we will dedicate her in Ontario at a later date with Brad's family (and of course all those in Ont. who want to when that time comes). Each day should be a day when we remind Aria that she is one of God's covenant children, and each day should be a day when we dedicate her to God - remembering that she is a gift from God - but that she is HIS, and not only mine. I then told those at church (and am now telling all of you reading this, as you are part of our lives) Aria means "A Solo Song, Sung with Passion, Accompanied by an Orchestra". Aria's life is her song - and our hope and prayer is that it will be sung with passion - and to our Father in Heaven. We are her orchestra - Brad & I as parents, but also our families and our friends - our church family and those who are close to Aria - we are the ones who are accompanying her through life, and our prayer is that each of you will also be a part of helping her to sing her song in worship for our Father.
We then had people come up and lay hands on us and pray for her and for us - my Father and William both took a time to pray - it was really special. I'm going to work on getting the CD of the service so that we can post it on the site.
Love you all - thank you for being part of the cacophony that our lives have been since our Aria arrived.
Deb
June 17, 2008
Aria at Sunset
She likes outdoors. She likes fresh air. And she especially likes walking. She makes that quite clear when you stop. :-)
June 13, 2008
A Link to Aria's Baptism Day...
Pics from my sister's site - note that there's more than one page to view...
http://www.practicatechnical.com/gallery/v/MayJune08/
If you were there and have pics - please pass them on - since we were up there & couldn't take any...
More on how it went & what I said later when I'm not holding Aria.
PS...I just realized the other day that Brad, Deb & Aria only have 6 letters total - easy to teach her to write our names in the future - We're so considerate!!
http://www.practicatechnical.com/gallery/v/MayJune08/
If you were there and have pics - please pass them on - since we were up there & couldn't take any...
More on how it went & what I said later when I'm not holding Aria.
PS...I just realized the other day that Brad, Deb & Aria only have 6 letters total - easy to teach her to write our names in the future - We're so considerate!!
June 12, 2008
Aria got Weighed & Measured...
She's now 11 lbs 6 1/4 oz and 22 1/2 inches. She's still growing - good!
She's been having fussy evenings recently and that makes it tough for the two of us - and I'm getting sick - a sore throat and slightly stuffy nose - but she's great and we still love her. LOTS.
She's been having fussy evenings recently and that makes it tough for the two of us - and I'm getting sick - a sore throat and slightly stuffy nose - but she's great and we still love her. LOTS.
June 10, 2008
Aria Surrounded by Love
These pictures might not be the most current, but they're also not the least current... That's gotta count for something, right?
We're grateful for all the people there are to surround Aria with their love.
I'd like to mention that these were all taken with a little point and shoot camera. I have to shoot more frames with it to get good shots, but in the right conditions I can get it to achieve some decent results. Hey, there are times when you don't have to haul the camera bag around... Who knew?
We're grateful for all the people there are to surround Aria with their love.
I'd like to mention that these were all taken with a little point and shoot camera. I have to shoot more frames with it to get good shots, but in the right conditions I can get it to achieve some decent results. Hey, there are times when you don't have to haul the camera bag around... Who knew?
June 08, 2008
Grandparents and Aria
These are the last pics that we got while my Mom and Dad were visiting. We have a great looking family, don't we? And the love we each share is so evident here.
First Responsive Smile
I for sure finally got Aria to smile at me. She's been making more eye contact over the last couple of weeks. But yesterday she definitely smiled back. It wasn't a full grin, however. Which means she's still got lots of mileage left in this little gesture. :-)
May 22, 2008
Grandpa and Grandma are Here...
Aria has been eating up the attention of her Grandpa and Grandma J since Saturday VERY early in the morning. She's gone up a mountain (at Grouse) and seen her first bit of snow, (and Grizzly Bears), she's been for a walk at Campbell Valley Park, she's gone shopping and got a crib (which Grandpa and Dad put up last night - it looks GREAT). She hung out with her Great-Great-Great-Aunt Iris (not many kids have one of those any more) and she's been held, cuddled, consoled and cared for all week long (and mom's enjoyed the break)!
She also went to the doctor yesterday and he said she's growing faster than they hope for (250 grams is the target growth in a week, she's gaining 300) and he doesn't need to see her again until July!
So, little Aria is 91/2lbs and growing steadily. She slept through the night twice this week (about 5 or 6 hours), but last night she kept me up again - I guess I can't expect things to simply be totally liner when it comes to that stuff.
It's been great to see just how much Grandpa and Grandma love little Aria. You begin to understand God's love for us more and more when you've got a child of your own - and seeing how one little girl can wrap four of us around her finger is pretty amazing. Sometimes we'll all just stare at her and agree together that she's gotten even cuter since the last time we all looked at her. What a sweetheart! And so great to have Grandpa and Grandma J visiting...
Next week - Opa and Nana!!
Here's a picture of her at the top of Grouse in the restaurant where we had dinner I love the way Brad's caught the light in her eyes:
She also went to the doctor yesterday and he said she's growing faster than they hope for (250 grams is the target growth in a week, she's gaining 300) and he doesn't need to see her again until July!
So, little Aria is 91/2lbs and growing steadily. She slept through the night twice this week (about 5 or 6 hours), but last night she kept me up again - I guess I can't expect things to simply be totally liner when it comes to that stuff.
It's been great to see just how much Grandpa and Grandma love little Aria. You begin to understand God's love for us more and more when you've got a child of your own - and seeing how one little girl can wrap four of us around her finger is pretty amazing. Sometimes we'll all just stare at her and agree together that she's gotten even cuter since the last time we all looked at her. What a sweetheart! And so great to have Grandpa and Grandma J visiting...
Next week - Opa and Nana!!
Here's a picture of her at the top of Grouse in the restaurant where we had dinner I love the way Brad's caught the light in her eyes:
May 08, 2008
Aria is -1 day old today
It's May 8th today, and Aria's due date was May 9. It's amazing to think about how different things are than were expected - and what a blessing. I'm glad she came out early - and my body is certainly VERY glad!! I like her a while lot more than I liked being pregnant!
We went to the doctor yesterday - Aria's 8lbs 2oz! She's gained 2 lbs since coming home 4 weeks ago!! Crazy!
We went to the doctor yesterday - Aria's 8lbs 2oz! She's gained 2 lbs since coming home 4 weeks ago!! Crazy!
May 07, 2008
Today's Photo Session
Everyone thinks that I must be taking an overwhelming number of pictures of Aria. Well, truthfully I'm not. I tell people that I'd rather her be able to recognise me as a person, rather than a mutant with one long, black eye. :-)
When I'm with her, I'd rather be with her. I only really enjoy photography when it's intentional and I'm in the right headspace. And quite honestly, Aria seems to agree with me:
When I'm with her, I'd rather be with her. I only really enjoy photography when it's intentional and I'm in the right headspace. And quite honestly, Aria seems to agree with me:
April 30, 2008
Aria's Growing...
She's now 7lbs 12oz! I just took her to the Public Health Office to find out how much she's grown. Now it's official - rather than just my muscles telling me she's grown. Her height isn't all that different, BUT she stretches her legs out more often, so she APPEARS to be getting taller!!
Oh yeah - and we still love her to bits!
Oh yeah - and we still love her to bits!
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