The Canfield Family

Helloooo Baby

2012-02-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

It's been 7 months since my last post. Oops!

Well, a bit has happened since then. I'm now 35 weeks pregnant with baby boy #2! One funny thing about being pregnant is that people like to comment on your appearance. I've noticed it more this time around, maybe because I dance around in front of a lot of people three times a week at Zumba in a tight tank top (that's now a reeaaaaally tight tank top). I think I've been told I look cute more in the last few months than in my entire life combined (I must not have been very cute last time I was pregnant). People also like to comment on how big you are. During one Zumba class several months ago, a couple of people told me I looked tiny, and other person asked if I was having twins. Just this weekend someone at church told me I looked small, and then another person asked when I was due, shook her head and said "you must be having a ten pound baby!" Um, thanks??

Note to self: It might not be the best idea to make such comments to hormonal, overly emotional pregnant women who aren't feeling great about their appearance in general.

In some ways this pregnancy has flown by, and in other ways it feels like I've been pregnant FOREVER! I think I'm enjoying pregnancy less in general, not because it's been super hard, but because the newness and excitment from the first pregnancy has worn off. And honestly, though I'm so thankful for the blessing of another child, especially after having a miscarriage, it's taken me a while to get excited about having another baby...and I think I'm still working on that excitement a bit for a couple of reasons.

Most of you know that Ian was a difficult baby. The doctor called it colic, but I think that's just what they say when your baby cries a lot and isn't very happy and they don't know why. As a perfectionist who likes everything in order and relatively scheduled, it was a humbling experience to have a newborn who would barely take a nap, no matter what I did. No amount of baby books helped, and I felt like a failure as a parent. The mention of Babywise practically brought me to tears...tried it. didn't work. Six months down the road Ian finally fell into the routine I'd desperately longed for, and has been a great sleeper ever since. I told Troy I'd take an incredibly fussy baby for six months again if it meant having a great sleeping toddler. But I'm still traumatized from that long half of a year, and I'm hoping to have even an average baby on the sleep scale!

Another reason that it's been hard for me to get really excited about having another baby is the Zumba class I teach. It's been a huge blessing and a much needed outlet in my life, so giving it up for a while will be difficult (though it will be in the extremely capable hands of the lovely Courtney Fair). People will probably have to drag me away from teaching, and then I'll be sneaking back before my doctor really okays it...please don't tell her! Of course, this thinking just points to my selfishness, which parenting in general has a way of doing...hmmm.

Here's one think I'm hoping doesn't happen in the next 5 weeks:

Ouch! That was actually taken a couple of days after Ian was born. I was induced because he was measuring 6 weeks ahead and my BP was going up and my feet were swelling (no kidding!) No one tells you that huge cankles might be as uncomfortable as a third-degree tear :/ We're taking bets on how big this kid will be since at three weeks early Ian was 8'10''. We grown em large in our family. I guess if he's 10 pounds that'll be less weight for me to lose!

One other area of excitment in my life is that I'm taking an exam on Friday through AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) to become a certified group exercise instructor. The knowledge in general will help me be a better Zumba instructor, but I'd love to eventually start teaching another class, maybe kickboxing or soemthing like that. The test will be pretty strenuous, and though I'm fairly confident in my knowledge of the material, being 8-months pregnant will make some of the practical demonstrations interesting (envision me doing crunches on the floor). But I figured it's now or who knows when I'll be able to get this certification once the baby is here. Wish me luck!

Hope the seven months was worth the wait as you've read about the excitment in my life :)

Those darn weeds

2011-07-02T11:05:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure our neighbors cringe when they look at our yard. While theirs are neatly manicured and filled with beautiful flowers and neatly trimmed plants, ours is filled with large plastic toys and the occasional broken piece of furniture we're too lazy to deal with at the moment. If it wasn't for the house across the street that looks like the local carnival set up shop, we'd be the shame of the neighborhood, I'm sure.

My parents weren't really 'yard people' when I was growing up. As long as the grass was mowed and the weeds weren't too out of control, we were all happy. Now that I'm a home owner myself, I take pride in our house, but the yard often seems to get away from us. I was outside pulling some gigantic weeks around our house the other day, and I was amazed at how fast they had grown. It had been a couple of weeks, but some of them were three feet tall! How is that even possible?

I couldn't help but think of the parallel between these nasty weeds in our landscaping and the weeds that easily pop up in my life. I try my hardest to read the Word most days and to pray a bit, but it's a constant struggle. When I let this important part of my life go, even for a couple of weeks, those ugly weeds I try to pull away grow tall and strong. Most of the time my husband and son feel the full prickly effect of these nasty weeds. Other times it's just my own self worth that is affected. I start to get negative and critical, mostly towards myself, but also towards others.

I've been trying to read the Bible in a year. Even though I'm a couple of days behind right now (okay, maybe seven or eights days behind), it's been a really good spiritual discipline for me. Sometimes it feels like I'm just trying to check it off the list (I LOVE checklists!), but I've honestly read parts of the Bible I've never read before. And reading it all in order puts certain things into context that I've never before realized.

I'm glad I serve a God who doesn't check my Bible reading off of a list, and who is merciful enough to love me even when I'm surrounded by weeds, especially those reoccuring ones. I wish I could just pick all of the weeds in my life and they'd be gone forever, but then I guess I wouldn't really have the need for a Savior.

I think from now on when I'm outside pulling those nasty weeds in the landscaping (and the neighbors are shaking their heads in disappointment), I'll be evaluating the weeds in my life and asking the Lord to continually uproot them.

Ode to my mama!

2011-05-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

My mom is an amazing woman! She's my best friend, and my role model for motherhood. Now that I've been a mom myself for awhile, I have a new appreciation for all she's done, and all she continues to do. Here are a few things I've learned from her.

Be a good listener! My mom is a great listener. She engages people, asks them questions, and truly cares about what they're saying. She doesn't feel the need to always talk about herself. This can be a quality that is hard to find in people, so I am thankful that I had such a great role model in this area.

Frugality! I inherited my love of garage sales from my mom. But not only that, she's taught be how to be frugal in most areas of life. Because we were pretty poor growing up, we rarely ate out, went to movies or took fancy vacations (usually we traveled from Michigan to Illinois to visit my dad's dysfunctional family, if you want to call that a vacation). However, I don't feel like I missed out on anything! We have great memories of the times we had as a family. We didn't need McDonald's to make us happy!

Cleanliness does not equal Godliness! No, we didn't grow up in a pig stye. My mom was a great housekeeper, she just didn't get overwhelmed by a bit of clutter and dust. My sister and I had are usual chores and such, but i don't ever remember my mom getting too bent out of shape if our rooms weren't spotless or there were a few dirty socks sitting around the house. It may be from her that I first heard the saying "a clean house is a sign of a wasted life" (at least when you have kids!) I try to keep that in perspective when the house looks like it exploded an hour after I've tried to clean everything!

Don't spoil your kids, save it for the grandkids! We were by no means spoiled. We were provided for and rewarded with special gifts on occasion, but my mom did a great job of teaching us that we aren't entitled to anything. Now that she's a grandma, I see her do things with and for Ian that she never would have with us! I guess she's earned it :)

If you're going to be a nut, be a health nut! My mom has always loved nutrition! Had it not been for a terrible experience in a chemistry class during college, she says she would have become a dietician. Instead, she majored in home economics. I'd say she's utilized that degree to the fullest. We all know that moms really are dieticians anyways! When we were really young, nary a smidge of processed food made it into our house...except maybe King Vitamin cereal. My mom is always coming up with new recipes, ideas, and theories that may sound crazy to me at first, but then I do a little more reading and research, and I end up doing the same thing myself! She's the queen of sprouting beans, roasting her own coffee, mixing up concoctions of salad dressings, and making healthy things from scratch! She's a great role model for healthy living and eating.

Exercise is important! Like most women, my mom has struggled with her weight most of her life. BUT, she never made weight a huge issue for me or my sister. She encouraged us to be healthy and to live active lifestyles and she modeled this herself. I used to throw in her Jane Fonda VHS while my sister sat on the couch and laughed at me (sorry, Heidi, you know it's true!) Plus, she took me to my first Zumba class almost three years ago! Who would have thought I'd get the crazy idea to start my own class?!

Be faithful to the Lord, even when times are tough! My mom didn't grow up in a Christian home. In a way, I think this has forced her to really think through and seek guidance on issues of sprituality and raising a family. When she was 19, she and my dad began their marriage as house parents to deliquent teenage boys. She cooked, cleaned, and attempted to keep them in line, all for $8,000 a year for both of them. Sounds like torture to me! Since then she and my dad have had their share of ups and downs, especially with my dad losing his job twice in the past ten years. She has graciously supported him while being honest about her struggles and questions. I admire her faith, and her honest look at the world around her.

Self sacrifice! We were pretty poor when I was growing up. My dad was a social worker who was also trying to earn his masters degree, but my mom felt called to stay at home with me and my sister. To do so she did daycare in her home for a while, cleaned other people's houses, and worked as a school aid where she had recess duty, to name a few of the jobs that make me cringe a little. I'm so thankful she chose to work these crappy jobs so she could make enough extra money to stay home and raise us. And even though I got a little embarrassed in sixth grade when the most popular girl found out I got my outfit at a garage sale, I wouldn't have traded my mom staying at home with us for all of the Guess jeans or Keds sneakers in the world!

This is a bit lengthy, but it barely scratches the surface in trying to explain what a great God has blessed me with. Love you mom!!

After a long delay...

2011-05-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Geesh. How did four months go by? A friend was asking about our blog, and I realized that I'm a slacker. I don't know if anyone bothers to keep up with us any more, but here's the latest update from us.

Ian turned two at the end of March. I often look at him and wish he'd stay this age forever! We have our fair share of mini tantrums and stressful moments, but overall he's a really happy and fun loving little guy. I tell people he's making up for how hard he was as a baby (I think I'm still slightly traumatized!) At his two year appointment he was off the chart in height and weight and the doctor said he's the size of an average three year old. Big surprise there. I'm glad he's a boy because the first things people say when they see him is, "Wow! He's big!" I hope he doesn't develop a complex.

He's recently developed quite a love for Thomas the Train. All it took was getting one train for Christmas from aunt Traci, and the rest is history. I'd heard about this strange obsession from other moms, but never thought my child would be interested in such a thing. But now our play room is filled with a train table, trains and tracks, and all sorts of paraphenalia that are a big foreign to this mom. I'm learning slowly, and figure there are worse things to be obsessed with! My parents took Ian to Thomas and Friend Live over Easter, and Ian was in heaven!

Of course now that we have a two year old people keep wondering when we're going to have another one. The answer is, we're trying! I was blessed to get pregnant immediately with Ian, but this time around the road has been a bit bumpier. After six months of trying, we found out on Valentine's Day that I was pregnant. To add to the excitement, my sister found out she was pregnant too, and we had the exact same due date! I'm no statistician, but I'm pretty sure the chances of that are like 1 to 3.000,000. After my eight week ultrasound the doctor had some concerns about the way the baby was growing and I went on to have a miscarriage about two weeks later. Needless to say we were very disappointed.

During the two weeks between the ultrasound and miscarriage we were able to pray and have others pray for us and the health of the baby. We were also able to somewhat mentally prepare for the worse. We don't knwo why God chose not to have me carry the baby to full term, but wew trust in his perfect plan, even though it's not easy. Figuring out how to grieve this kind of thing is tricky, especially when not many people knew about the pregnancy in the frist place. And maybe it's weird to share about this on a blog, but I figure if you're readin this you care about us. Or maybe you're a stalker. Either way, it's life, and it's a fairly common occurence, and though I don't feel the need to shout it from a rooftop, it is therapeutic to share with those you love.

All of this to say I'm in a good place right now. I have really felt the Lord telling me to enjoy the time I have with just Ian. I can continue to give him as much love and attention (and play with Thomas Train) as I can until, Lord willing, we have another child. I can rest in knowing that God's timing is perfect, even though I sometimes think otherwise.

New year, new passions.

2010-12-31T11:04:00.000-08:00

Geesh. How has it been three months since I last posted? Though life is filled with noteworthy events, I find it hard to blog about the day-in day-out things that happen. Because the end of a year always tends to make me a bit more contemplative than usual, I figured I should share some sort of meaningful update...here goes!

So, I'm starting a Zumba class at our church next week (along with my lovely friend, Courtney Fair). If you would have told me this last year at this time, I probably would have told you that you had me confused with someone else, someone who was in much better shape, and much more self-confident. I've always been conscious of working out and trying to be healthy, but haven't always done that greatest job. But this blog post isn't about starting a Zumba class per say, but about following my passions.

You see, I absolutely LOVE having the opportunity and blessing of being a stay-at-home mom. I don't necessarily love the monotony that a lot of days bring (especially the long winter ones) or some of the frustrations that come with being at home with your child all of the time, but I do love being a mom, and I guess you could say I'm passionate about motherhood. However, it began to occur to me that though I love my son and I think I'm a pretty good mom and wife most of the time, I had begun to lose myself--lose who I was/am as a person. The thought first surfaced when I was complaining to Troy that he could go out and do fun things much more easily than I could. Being the wonderful husband he is, he told me he didn't mind if I left the house to do something fun. When I couldn't even think of what I would do with a free evening by myself, I knew I had a problem.

Being a mom can be so all-encompassing that you lose a part of yourself. I know it's necessary to sacrifice for my family, but not to the extent that I don't have any hobbies aside from cooking, cleaning, and wiping poopy butts. So enter this crazy idea that came into my head: I should start a Zumba class at our church. I had been to a lot of classes over the past couple of years, and had always loved it. I also grew up taking dance classes and my mom was a dance teacher. At first it was a silly "maybe in another life" sort of idea, but as the weeks and months went by, I couldn't shake it. Honestly, I've had very few true passions in life, but since having Ian I've become pretty passionate about health and nutrition. I really felt like the Lord could use these passions in a way that could build a sense of community at our church and help get people excited about health and fitness.

So, here I am, about ready to launch this dream. At times I'm super excited and confident. At other times I'm a little nervous that no one will actually show up or that people won't like what we've been working so hard to prepare for the past couple of months. Either way, I feel a new sense of empowerment for trying something that I never thought I would. Something inside of me has come alive, and I really think it makes me a better mom and wife. So here's to a new year of figuring out and following your passions!

Summer Synopsis

2010-09-23T10:08:00.001-07:00

In honor of summer's end (even though it's still scorching outside!) I'd like to post a pictorial synopsis of our summer activites.

Splash Park in Middletown!!

Under the Golden Gate Bridge

First time at the beach, and first taste of sand

Walking through Union Square in San Fran with cousin, Shelby

Sweet corn on the cob!

Organizing the condiments

Reading with daddy

Swingin' in the back yard

Road trip to Michigan with our friend, Varner

RR tracks in Michigan

Ready for the farmer's market

At the playground in Illinois with grandpa Petre

World breastfeeding week party

Sharing snacks with his friend, Owen

Reading with daddy and friend, Kai

With uncle Joshhhh!

Getting 'nebulized'

And just to prove I was really around for all of this, a picture with mom.

And a family pic for good measure.

My Hubby is Awesome!

2010-09-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

So, the shower in our master bathroom was quite nasty, to say the least. It was cracked and moldy and yucky and disgusting. We'd been putting up with if for two years until enough was enough!

Yucky!

My wonderful and talented husband spent all of labor day weekend (and then some) tiling our bathroom. This picture doesn't do it justice. Let's just say that compared to before, I feel like I'm showering in luxury!

Ahhhh.....

Blueberries!

2010-08-27T11:47:00.001-07:00

I have wonderful memories of picking blueberries when I was growing up in Michigan, so when our wonderful friends, the Sprocks, invited us to go several weeks ago, of course we said yes! Part of the reason I love blueberries is you can eat as many as you want while you're picking. It's like a buffet, but healthier, and with not much variety. Of course, the fudge and ice cream we bought at the gift shop on the way out probably didn't help, but hey, we got our antioxidants in for the day.

Andrew, Melissa, and Kai Sprock

Don't let this picture fool you. Ian ate way more blueberries than he picked.

The funny thing is, Ian ate probably a quart of blueberries that day, but when we got home, he wouldn't eat them anymore. Oh well, more for us.

Messy Faces

2010-08-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Helping a toddler learn to be an independent eater is a messy process, but it makes for some great pictures!

Rice cake with almond butter

Pesto

Quinoa

Who knows??

What's so funny??

San Francisco

2010-07-03T05:52:00.001-07:00

Troy's parents plan a big family vacation every year, and this year we traveled to San Francisco!!

It was a bit tiring with all day plane flights and a three-hour time change, but we had a great time! We saw Alcatraz, hiked redwood forest, rode the cable cars, visited Chinatown, met up with our great friend from Mission Year, Joyce, picked organic strawberries, rode a boat under the Golden Gate Bridge, saw lots of beaches, walked up the 'crookedist' street in the U.S., ate lots of yummy food, and had a great time with family!!

Gardening

2010-05-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

After lots of work, we got our garden planted a couple of weeks ago! We more than doubled it from last year, which means double the veggies, and double the weeds! But we're super excited and we love to walk out to the garden each day and see how the plants are growing. I can't help but think this is the way we're supposed to get a lot of our food. It's a lot of work, but so rewarding!!

For those of you wondering what the random flags are for, Troy was quite detailed in his placement of the plants. He made a grid and marked the spots to plant with a flag...perfectionist.

Boy I can't wait til he's old enough to pull weeds instead of throw rocks into the garden!

Pool Time

2010-05-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not very good at this blog thing. I feel like I can't post anything unless something monumental has happened. Well, let's face it, those events rarely happen. When you're a stay at home mom, sometimes poopy diapers or a trip to Target are the most monumental events that happen on a day to day basis. And if that's the case, here's something REALLY monumental...the baby pool!

Troy dragged out a pool he had bought on clearance last year. For those of you who know Troy well, you know he has an uncanny ability to get things really cheap or free. So even though I was rolling my eyes last winter when he bought out the summer clearance items a Walgreens, I was really glad this

week when we remembered we had this luxurious pool/castle.

The studly guy in the background is the pool boy, er, Troy

If you're bored, bring your kids on over and we can splish splash.

Hair Conundrum

2010-05-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Ian has some of the longest eyelashes I've ever seen. Maybe we can transplant some to his head!

Foodie? Me??

2010-04-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

My friend Courtney recently referred to me as a foodie. I was surprised at first, but then I thought, yeah, maybe I am!

Recently, Troy and I made the decision to become mostly vegetarians. Actually, it was mainly my decision, but Troy is willingly going along with it (what a great husband!). Since I began feeding Ian solid foods I've read A LOT of books on nutrition. We also watched the movie, Food Inc, which I highly recommend. The wealth of information I've gathered inspired me to make some changes in my life, one of those being drastically cutting down on meat intake of any kind. I was toying with the idea of becoming completely vegetarian, but I realized that 1) my convictions aren't quite that strong and 2) it's not a realistic lifestyle for me at this point.

For me "mostly" vegetarian means that I won't cook with meat at home, but I will partake of meat in limited quantities when invited over to friends houses or when eating out (which we don't do very often). Another thing we've given up is milk, and we're limiting dairy. Again, my reading convinced me that milk isn't as good as I once thought, so we're drinking almond and soy milk. (Almond milk is delicious, by the way).

For those of you wondering how it's possible to cook without meat, it's really not that hard! We eat lots of beans (for which there are hundreds of varieties), whole grains (quinoa, rice, millet, amaranth, steel cut oats, barley), sweet potatoes, lots of veggies, and a limited amount of tofu. It's fun to try new recipes, and it's cheaper not buying meat. We joined the local CSA (community supported agriculture) and we get fresh vegetables weekly from that.

I'm not writing this to tell you all wonderful and "green" I am (or whatever), but just to share this lifestyle change we've made in our house because it's now a big part of who we are. These changes aren't always easy. Of course, I'm not perfect, and eating is one of my favorite things to do in the world. My weakness is ice cream and frapuccinos, so I indulge in those more often than I should. But as a woman who has struggled with my weight and overeating for most of my life, I'm feeling really great. I'm 10 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight, and I just feel better in general.

I don't love cooking all of the time, but I definitely enjoy trying new things with new ingredients. Is that what makes someone a foodie? Here are some of the good one's we've had in the past couple of weeks (let me know if you want any of the recipes):

Barley Casserole
Meatless enchildadas
Tofu manicotti
Sweet potato and lentil stew
Honey baked lentils
Moroccan couscous with squash
Cauliflower soup
Pinto bean stew
Split pea curry

And for anyone interested, here are the books I've been reading:
Disease Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right
In Defense of Food
Food Rules
The Kind Diet

Fun play dates

2010-04-11T18:08:00.001-07:00

Ian had a full social calendar this weekend. Friday he got to hang out with two of his girlfriends, Sayla and Brynna. These little cuties are 9-month-old twins.

Saturday he played with Isaac Fair who's almost 4 months old. First he taught Isaac how to use the walker.

Then he taught Isaac how to suck his finger. Ian's a pro at that one!

Vacation: Part 2

2010-04-08T18:58:00.001-07:00

We spent about 2 days of our vacation in Atlanta visiting old friends and neighbors from Mission Year. How me miss them!

We stayed the night with our dear friend Furuzon and her two kids Orzu and Ormon who are Afghani. They became very dear to us. Here we are eating breakfast.

Ian is enjoying his first nan bread. Yum!

Cute patooties Ormon and Orzu.

This picture makes my heart happy.

We also spent time with our Turkish friends the Mamedovs. Here is Omar, Suriya, and Suriya's daughter who is a couple of weeks older than Ian, but much tinier.

Suriya's daughter has been walking since 8 months, so it was funny to see her pushing hefty little Ian in the stroller. Ormon was 4 months old when we moved to Atlanta, now he's almost 3!

We didn't get a good pic of our Iraqi friends the Ali's, but here is Ian petting their pet bunny. Yes, it just hangs out in the house.

We spent time downtown with our great friends the Odles. Here are Ainsley and "Inan" (that's what Ainsley calls him)

We also visited the Jeff Delp (our Mission Year city director) and his wife Katie. Here is little Maya who's a couple of months older than Ian. She's enjoying a novel while Ian steals her snacks.

Last but not least, we visited my sister and bro-in-law in Nashville where my parents were also visiting for Easter.

Ian and aunt Heidi testing out uncle Josh's scooter

Right before our trip home we went on a hike. Ian was wiped out. I'm pretty sure grandpa enjoyed the hike.

Family Vacacation: Part 1

2010-04-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

After 1520 miles on the road, we made it home from our family vacation! We had a great time, but it was a bit of a whirlwind as we traveled from Gatlinburg to Atlanta to Nasvhille, TN, and then back home. Here are some pics of Gatlinburg:

We met up with Troy's family and stayed in a condo with an indoor water park.

Ian in his fancy surfer swim gear:

He's thrilled to be on the swing

The fun kiddie area

Our favorite part of Gatlinburg was hiking in the Smokies. Ian spent 3 hours in the hiking pack and loved every minute of it.

Ian also enjoyed eating a second round of birthday cupcakes.

To be continued...

Ian's Birthday Party

2010-04-04T18:42:00.001-07:00

These pictures are a little delayed because we've been out of town. Ian had a fantastic first birthday...here's the proof.
Anxiously awaiting his guests:

Of course, he got way more toys than he needed:

We splurged and got him his own "reading chair." (and it wasn't even from a garage sale!)

One of his favorite presents: avocado!

And of course, what one-year-old birthday would be complete without the cake-eating!

We had fun celebrating Ian's first year of life. Now, on to toddlerhood (tear).

Happy Birthday Ian!

2010-03-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to our son! Here's his first year in pictures:

Birthday:

1 month:

2 months:

3 months:

4 months:

5 months:

6 months:

7 months:

8 months:

9 months:

10 months:

11 months:

1 year!!:

Holy cow! How did that happen!

This year has brought a lot of change, a lot of joy, and a lot of tears. We wouldn't trade it for anything! Ian, we love you so much!!!

Bedroom Makeover

2010-03-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

For as long as I've lived in our house, I've HATED our bedroom. Troy painted it a really dark blue back when he was a bachelor, and while it was great for him at the time, I always felt claustrophobic in the man cave that was our bedroom. We finally sucked it up and spent a weekend painting. It's a bit tricky to do this with a baby, but we tag-teamed it and painted like crazy during nap time.
Here is the before (I always forget to take before pictures until we've already torn the room apart, but believe me, it was ugly!!):

And here is the after:

We just used the left over paint from our living room and bought some new curtains. Plain, yes, but I absolutely love it! I actually enjoy being in our room now.

We've literally painted almost every square inch of our house in the last year and a half, including ALL of the dark wood trim that took 3 coats each. The only thing left is our master bedroom...we'll see when that happens!

I am loved!

2010-02-19T12:16:00.001-08:00

So, we have a dog named Petey. I'm not by nature a huge pet lover, but we got Petey from a rescue organization when we lived in Atlanta and he's a great dog. Now that Ian flings food all over the place, it's so great that Petey will eat everything on the floor, especially since I'm not the world's greatest housekeeper. Petey loves me more than anything in the world. It's kind of crazy to think that you're the center of the universe for another creature. When I come home from work after being gone only a couple of hours, Petey hears the garage door opening and runs to the door and whines until I come in. He then jumps all over me when I open the door and acts like he hasn't seen me in weeks. What a great way to be greeted! Well in the past week or so, Ian has caught on. When he sees what Petey is doing, he knows that mommy is coming home. Now when I walk in Petey is yelping and jumping and Ian is sitting right inside the door waiting for me saying "ahhhh!" What more could a mom ask for? (For those of you saying, well Troy could do the same thing, he's one step ahead of you. When I came home from Bible study last night, he was sitting inside the door saying "ahhhhhh!").

Bringing in the New Year

2009-12-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

We made it through the Canfield Christmas extravaganza, which is 3 full days of opening presents, eating, and spending time with everyone that Troy is related to. It was fun, but a bit draining. Ian got way more presents than any 9-month-old could ever need.

Ian and I are currently in Illinois with my parents. Troy left for Guatemala a few days ago. Once I go back to Anderson, I'll definitely be ready for him to be home! I'm going to spend New Year's Eve with my parents' small group, which is also what I did last year when Troy was in Mexico. I'm happy Troy can be a world traveler, but a little disappointed that that aspect of my life is on hold for now. On the other hand, I'm glad not to be sleeping on the floor in one big room with 16 college students and taking showers from a large jug while in my bathing suit. I'm also happy not to share my sleeping quarters with rats, mice and scorpions, and I like not having to pee in the middle of the jungle because the outhouse is full to overflowing (that's what happened last time I was in Guatemala!) Call me high maintenance if you'd like.

At Ian's 9 month appointment on Monday the doc said he's in the 97th percentile of height, but only 25-50th percentile of weight. She told me I need to start buttering him up (literally), which I think is a bit ridiculous. Instead, I'lve been feeding him lots of avocado, the world's most perfect food! Luckily, he seems to have his daddy's incredible metabolism and love for being active ALL OF THE TIME!

Here's our long, lean little guy.

I've lost several pounds since he's started solid foods because I can't eat in front of him. He gets mad and starts crying if he sees me eating and can't have any. He has his mommy's love of food! There have been days I've forgotten to eat meals because I've been so busy taking care of him. I don't think I've ever forgotten to eat before...ever. Who said being a stay at home mom is easy???

Hope this isn't annoying. ...

2009-12-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Troy and I just started a new business distributing Shaklee products. While I don't want to use this blog to regularly promote this (because that would be annoying!), I wanted to at least write a bit about what we're doing. Shaklee is a company that sells natural and organic products. While I never thought I'd want to sell this stuff myself, we were really impressed with the products once we used them.

For the past couple of years I've become more aware and concerned about toxins in the environment, and especially in our homes. We started using the Shaklee cleaning products because they are completely organic and non-toxic, especially important now that Ian is crawling all over the place and putting everything in his mouth. You buy the main cleaning solution (Basic H2) in a concentrated form for like 10 bucks, and it makes something like 48 gallons of cleaning solution . . . it's really amazing stuff. There is a whole line of cleaning products since there are harmful chemicals in everything from dish soap, laundry detergent, fabric softeners, and basically everything else we use to clean. You can buy individual products, or the entire line.

So, I'm not going to make a long sales pitch, but those of you who have kids, or who are getting ready to have kids, or those who don't want to inhale any more toxic chemicals from your cleaning products should take a look at our web site, http://canfield.myshaklee.com/us/en/whynow.html, and watch the short video (the statistic about stay at home moms having a 50% higher rate of death from cancer is quite frightening!!) . If you want more info, just ask. There are some great deals going on right now. We have a trial kit of the Get Clean line if you'd like to try the yourselves.

Just know that we NEVER would do something like this unless we truly believed in the products (like most of you, I hate it when people try to sell me stuff I don't need or want!!) They also offer vitamins and a line of baby items if you're interested.
Thanks for reading my spiel!!

the last month

2009-12-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

OK, so I always wait to blog until something exciting happens. Then, inevitably, a month or so goes by, and nothing exciting has really happened. I could write about all the cool new things Ian does every day, but that would bore everyone except for us as new parents. So here's the quick Ian update: He's army crawling all over the place. Today he made it to our dog Petey's water bowl and dumped it all over himself. Yum! We must get in gear and baby proof the house. It's amazing how kids are magnets to anything they shouldn't be playing with. He also LOVES to eat. His latest favorites are pumpkin with apples and tofu...Aunt Heidi and uncle Josh are trying to turn him vegetarian. We'll see how that goes.

For thanksgiving my family came to stay with us. Since we're all crazy, we decided to make over our family room, which was in desperate repair of a face lift. My sister is amazing and decorating. So here is the before:

And here is the after:

We love our new room, and we never would have finished it without the help of my family. And I must add that my sister made all of the artwork herself. She's amazing!Thanks guys!!!

Ian also recently experienced his first Pacers game. He was mesmerized by the crowd, noise and lights.

I must also add that Ian is doing great sleeping. He sleeps about 11 hours at night, and takes 3 naps a day like clockwork. If you would have told me that 3 months ago, I would have laughed (or maybe cried) and never would have believed you. So anyone out there who has a difficult or colicky baby who you think will never get easier, call me! There is hope!

Coincidence??

2009-11-01T06:54:00.001-08:00

Here's me:

Here's Ian:

Weird!!

ho hum...

2009-10-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

Life has been fairly uneventful, yet surprisingly busy in the last month. We traveled to Nashville, TN (or the REAL Nashville, as you have to call it if you live in Indiana) and spent some time with Troy's parents. We also got to visit my sister and brother-in-law who live down there, which is always a treat. Vacationing with a baby is definitely a different dynamic because you have to schedule everything around nap time. Since Ian still takes 3 naps a day, this gets pretty tricky, but I was more than happy to just relax and spend some quality time in the hot tub! We did have the chance to go hiking. Ian had fun on daddy and grandpa's back:

We also went to the Opryland Hotel just to walk around. If you've never been there, it's absolutely beautiful. You feel like you're in a huge garden, not a touristy hotel. Here is a picture we took right after I found out I was pregnant. We found the same place to take a family pic while we were there last weekend (15 months later). Crazy how fast time goes by!

I absolutely love this time of year. The fall leaves make me so happy. Today I was walking outside with Ian and our dog Petey, and I felt so happy. But with daylight savings time coming this weekend, I feel winter looming in the future, and I'm definitely not looking forward to the cold Indiana weather and lack of outdoor time we're going to face. Plus, Ian has been sleeping great at night and waking up around 7 a.m. or a little before. I'm afraid that's going to change to 6 a.m. with the time change. Ugh!!!

Of course, I can't end this post without a cute Halloween pic. He looks like a pro already!

He's a cutie, and I'm not lion!

time flies

2009-09-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

When you have a baby, everyone tells you how fast it goes, and to enjoy it. Well, when Ian was colicky I often wished away each day, hoping I could just survive. But all of a sudden, he's six months old, and I'm almost beginning to forget the trauma of the first 4 months (almost...) For the past month or so, I've really enjoyed motherhood. Ian is at such a fun age, and it makes me sad to think of him getting any older. For all of you mothers out there, you should check out Plumb's album, Blink . She wrote all of the songs after she had a child, and a lot of them brought tears to my eyes.

But enough of the sappy stuff, and down to the nitty gritty. At Ian's 6 month appt. he was the 95th percentile in height and head size, but only the 75th in weight (18 lbs 13 oz). The rigorous diet and exercise routine we've put him on must be working. Actually, he's started eating some solids and it's been really fun (and funny!) So far, he loves sweet potatoes and bananas, but isn't as fond of peas or avocados.

Rice Cereal

sweet potatoes

peas

Because we met our ridiculously high deductible, I was able to go to the chiropractor for free. I have pretty bad scoliosis, but I've been dealing with it for so long, I kind of forget about it sometimes. Well, the doctor took some x-rays (the first in 15 years), and I was reminded of how bad my back really was. The doc told me that those were the kind of x-rays he remembers, and he proceeds to tell everyone how crooked my back is every time I'm in. My back is shaped like an S, and it's a bit twisted (yah, it's a lot of fun). Much to my dismay, the doctor told me I shouldn't run anymore. Not that I'm an avid runner, but I was looking forward to breaking out the jogging stroller and looking like a super mom at my top speed pace. I ignored the doctor and when for a couple of runs, and my back definitely felt it. I was kind of surprised b/c I've run 5 half marathons, and I never really noticed any pain. Of course, that was 5-6 years ago, and my 30-year-old body can't take as much now, I guess. I'm one of those weird people who loves working out, and though I walk every day at least once, that just doesn't cut it. I try to slip in a quick 20-30 cardio/weight workout in while Ian takes his morning nap.

Okay, I'm not sure how this blog turned into talking about my workout routine. Ian attended his first AU football and volleyball games, both of which we lost. But here's a pic with daddy.

Go Ravens!

You were all right!!

2009-09-04T12:59:00.001-07:00

To everyone who told me having a baby would get easier...you were right! It might have taken a bit longer with Ian than for other babies, but life is definitely getting easier, and we're starting to fall into somewhat of a routine. He's been sleeping 10+ hours a night for the past few weeks, and he's taking naps a bit easier than before. Thank you Lord! He's at a really fun age where he giggles and smiles a lot, he interacts with us, and notices what we're doing. He's also been noticing Petey (our dog), which is funny. We love going on family walks through the neighborhood every day, and I'm getting ready to break out the jogging stroller. We got it from a garage sale (surprise, surprise), so it needs to be tweaked a bit. I'll also need to be tweaked a bit before I can run more than a mile or two without passing out.

I've officially begun a part time job at our church. I'm the new worship assistant, which means I'm helping our worship minister in planning worship each week. I get to be a part of the creative side as well as the technical behind the scenes stuff, so I'll be able to use my music and PR degrees at the same time (who knew that random combo would come in handy??). It'll be about 10-15 hours a week, and I can do a few of these from home. Troy's mom is going to watch Ian two afternoons a week for us, so it'll be a great situation. Though it will be a bit stressful coordinating schedules and feedings, I think it will be good for me emotionally to be away for a few hours each week.

My family is coming this weekend, so I'm super pumped! Happy labor day!

Nashville, etc...

2009-08-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

We spent a long weekend in Nashville, TN with my fam. My sis and brother in law live there, and it's always a fun city to visit. We had fun hanging out at the pool and relaxing. We even tried hiking. Here is how we began, Ian on daddy's back:

But Ian got tired and couldn't fall asleep in the pack, so this is how he ended the hike, in grandpa's arms:

At home, we've had fun eating the tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers from our garden. I think Ian has enjoyed them too:

We got Ian an exersaucer at a garage sale, and he was pretty excited:

He's also enjoyed swinging:

And he met some new friends: Our friends Allan and Melody Carr had twins about a month ago. Brynna is about 4 lbs, and Selah is about 7. Ian was gigantic compared to them:

We've also been practicing holding his head up (well, he practices--I just force him to be on his tummy!)

So, since all of our excitement revolves mostly around our baby, that's all I've got for now!

Big Boy and World Breastfeeding Week

2009-08-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ian had his 4 month appointment last Monday. He weighed 17 lbs (90th percentile) and was 26.5 inches tall (95th percentile). He's a rather large baby, but at least he's proportionate. And he owes it all to...(segue here)...

Breastfeeding! I'd like to wish everyone a happy World Breastfeeding Week. And now is the time to stop reading if you don't want to hear my thoughts on breastfeeding...but maybe you should anyways!

Maybe it's weird to write a blog about breastfeeding, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. When I first began breastfeeding Ian right after he was born, I was a little overwhelmed. He caught on pretty quickly, but the thought of doing it every 2-3 hours around the clock was very tiring, especially since it takes him about 30 minutes every time he eats. It was, and still is, tiring sometimes--especially the middle of the night feedings. Sometimes it would be nice if Troy could just grab a bottle and I could keep sleeping. But the bond I've developed with my son because of it is indescribable. I truly feel like I'm giving him a gift that will benefit him for his whole life.

It's crazy that in a world that is so desensitized to sex because we see it so often that breastfeeding could even be slightly offensive. Our country should celebrate when moms are using their parts in a way that God intended. When we lived in Clarkston last year, a Sudanese Muslim popped out her boob in front of Troy and our other male housemates to nurse her son. We were all shocked that in such a modest culture, breastfeeding would be so nonchalant. While I'm not all for baring naked breasts in public, my view of breastfeeding has certainly changed since I've been doing it. It's truly a miracle that Ian has doubled his birth weight in 4 months, simply by eating mommy's milk. When I'm in public, I try to nurse as discretely as possible. I've nursed in restaurants, bathrooms, malls, at softball games, in the car, at friends' homes, and I'm sure I'll nurse in many more interesting places in the months to come. I haven't received any dirty looks that I've noticed, so I don't think I've flashed anyone too blatantly.

Since I had Ian, I've been attending a weekly breastfeeding support group at St. John's. It's a time where new mom's can sit around and nurse our babies, ooooh and aaah about how big our babies are getting, share stories about lack of sleep and poopy diapers, and just get away from the daily grind for an hour or two. Wednesday night we're having a party in celebration of World Breastfeeding Week. It should be fun :)

So hopefully you don't think I'm a hippie now that I've written a blog about breastfeeding (not that being a hippie is bad--I could just never pull it off!). I almost didn't post this, but I decided to share since I spend a good portion of my time doing it nowadays and because it truly is a miracle. Now, here are a few pics of me breastfeeding Ian...

...just kidding!

Thanks for the milk, mommy!

A couple of summer pics

2009-07-24T11:32:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few pics from our summer thus far:

First time in a pool.

Chillin'

Relaxing in the hammock with daddy

Thumb sucker

Going on a walk with grandpa Petre

Napping with aunt Heidi

So excited to hang with uncle Josh

A pic with mommy!

Future Raven??

Sleepy face

Lovin' kisses from grandpa Canfield

What a stud!

3 months of parenting: the honest truth

2009-06-26T12:15:00.001-07:00

The past 3 months have gone by so quickly. It's hard to believe I've survived so long without getting a good night's sleep. Ian has slept 9 hour stretches a handful of times, but it hasn't been consistent. Plus, even when he sleeps longer stretches, my mind is still trained to wake up every few hours throughout the night. Annoying!

Ian has brought a lot of joy to our lives, but he's also been a pretty difficult baby. I don't want to be a big complainer, and I know all babies are a lot of work, but from what I'm finding from being around other babies his age is that he's extra difficult. I've had friends with several kids ask me "is he always like that?" Not very comforting. The doctor called it colic, books call it being "high needs", or "spirited", but I call it very stressful and draining. He has a hard time going to sleep during the day, and some days he literally cries all day and won't take a nap. And he's recently learned how to scream, so that adds some wonderful color. Of course, then I'm crying all day and at my wits end trying to figure out what to do and not lose my mind. It's easy to feel like a bad parent, though I know it's not my fault. I've heard a million times from a million people that it will get better, and that usually around the 3 month mark is when colic goes away. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Ian has Troy's temperament in that his arms and legs are moving nonstop when he's awake, and he's always looking around and can't sit still. Unfortunately, he inherited the colic from me...it's weird venting to my mom and having her relate to me because I was such a difficult baby...sorry mom! I'd like to think I turned out to be a relatively decent human being, so there's hope!

It's easy to lose my perspective when I'm home alone all day trying to get a screaming baby to take a nap. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a job so I could leave and not deal with him during the day. But I know this is what the Lord has for me right now. I'm thankful for even having the option to not be employed (BTW, stay at home mom has such a negative connotation sometimes...can we think of a better adjective?? Maybe, sacrificing a rewarding career to raise a child mom?) And with many friends we have struggling with infertility, I am thankful we are blessed to have a child at all.

So again, I hate to be a complainer, but I also hate to say things are wonderful and rewarding and I wouldn't change anything when I don't feel like that most days. Maybe I'll be able to say that in a few months! Right now it's one day at a time. At least he's cute!!

Reminiscing...

2009-06-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that last year at this time we were living in Atlanta. Our lives have changed so much from that experience, but sometimes it seems like it all happened a lifetime ago. I've been thinking about Atlanta a lot because I received a letter from Demilo, a man I got to know last year while working at the homeless outreach center (centraloutreachandadvocacy.org). I worked with Demilo in his struggle to get off the streets. He was in and out of several shelters and was hospitalized several times because of some mental health issues he was dealing with. We became good friends, and it was really hard to say goodbye to him when we moved back to Indiana. In the letter he sent, he was proud to announce that he now has his own apartment! If you think about it, please pray that he would continue to make good choices and that he can stay off the streets permanently!

I had a love hate relationship with the outreach center. I loved its mission and the hearts of the people who work there. But sometimes I dreaded going in because it was a hard place to be. On several occasions I was cussed out, yelled at, and berated for being white. One time I was physically threatened, and that scared me a bit more than I wanted to admit at the time. Homeless people come from desperate situations, and it's often easy for them to take out their aggression on the people trying to help them. Luckily, people like Demilo made it emotionally possible for me to go into work day after day. He was a bright light in an often dark atmosphere. Demilo would tell you that I saved his life, which is definitely a humbling thought. But in many ways he saved me as I saw the face of God in him each day.

2 months an counting

2009-05-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, Ian is 2 months old and he's still alive. We definitely love our little guy, but he's been a challenge lately. For the past few weeks he's been crying every time he's awake. The doctor said he has colic, which basically the catch-all diagnosis for babies who cry all the time without a reason. We've tried just about everything, but nothing helps. We'll just have to survive the next month or so, as colic usually subsides around 3 months. Needless to say, we're pretty exhausted, but we're hanging in there. There are some good moments, though I wish they would last longer.

Ian chillin' with second cousin, Keaton, who was born 9 days after him.

Ian usually loves the Baby Bjorn.

On a happier note, we're very thankful for Troy's job. AU has been making some cutbacks lately. Out of the 4 HVAC techs employed, one of them was let go yesterday. We're so thankful that Troy still has his job. He is the newest of the 4 guys, but the hardest worker. It's scary to think about what we would have done had it been Troy!

My fam came for memorial day!!

And on a not so happier note, we ask for your prayers for Mission Year. We spent a year in Atlanta with the organization last year. There is a new team staying in our exact apartment this year, and over the weekend, one of the girls was stabbed. Apparently, someone came in the back door when she was sitting in the living room and stabbed her in the neck. The police think it may have been a gang initiation. Miraculously, the girl will be okay, but it really could have been fatal. It's scary for something like this to hit so close to home. I wonder about how many times I or one of my teammates was sitting in the living room alone, and how we probably took our safety for granted. Many of our former neighbors are scared, so please keep them in your prayers, as well as the Mission Year team.

Free diapers

2009-05-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

A lady in my breastfeeding support group told me that you can get a free package of diapers from this site:
http://www.huggiespureandnatural.com/default.aspx
It only goes up to size 2. If you don't have a baby, it would be a great baby shower gift (since everyone and his brother are having babies now!)
I hope it works. Doesn't hurt to try.

Garden!

2009-05-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Oh, and we also planted our garden. I didn't think it would happen, but it did (thanks to our friends the Sprocks!) Hopefully something actually grows. Our soil has a lot of clay, so it might take a couple of years to really make it fertile. At least it looks cool! We're hoping to make this sort of a neighborhood endeavor, but this is the trial run. We planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, zucchini, spinach, and lettuce.

Mommy brain

2009-05-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Everyone tells you how much your life will change once you have a kid, but you can't really understand it until you actually have one. The most difficult thing hands down has been the lack of sleep. It's amazing that I can spend 10 hours in bed, but only get 4 hours of sleep (which is what happened last night). Someone told me today that's why God made babies so cute. You can wake up in the morning and still love your baby because he's so darn cute, even though he screamed for half of the night. Poor Ian has had a lot of gas lately, so it's hard to blame him for the screaming. There are about a million theories out there about why babies have gas and how to get rid of it, so trying to fix the problem is a bit overwhelming.

The second hardest thing about having a newborn is trying to leave the house. It takes at least three times longer to get ready in the morning, and I feel like I'm always late to everything, no matter how hard I try! Plus you have to bring 10X as much stuff with you.

Since we've decided that I'm going to stay home full time with Ian, I'm trying to view raising him as my job. I can see why people want to go back to work, though, because this is definitely a 24/7 job (I'm breastfeeding as week speak. hopefully that's not TMI).

The first 6 weeks have been sort of a blur, but I'm trying to enjoy this time that he's so little, because I know it will fly by. He's started to smile a bit, which is rewarding. Here are a couple of cute pics. I think he looks more like Troy every day.

Getting some tummy time.

Not sure how he can sleep like this.

some snuggle time with daddy

Grandpa Petre reading to Ian

Blog slacker

2009-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've finally found a bit of time to update the blog! Usually when I'm on the computer, it's one handed because I'm holding or feeding Ian. Maybe I should practice one-handed typing--I could do some amazing multi-tasking!

Ian turned one month on Sunday. The time has absolutely flown by, partly because we've been in a sleep-deprived semi-conscious state of being. Ian is doing really well. He was 10 lbs at his one month appt., only 9 ounces less than Troy's birth weight (thanks again, Dr. Blake, for inducing me 2 1/2 weeks early!

We celebrated Easter with both sides of Troy's family since they live in Frankton and Lapel. Here's Ian with his cute little Easter outfit on.

Ian also got to meet two new friends. Owen Cook was born three weeks before him, and Brody Bell was born the day before. Here all three of them are lined up in a row.

Ian's first bath. He enjoyed the second bath a bit more.

Ian and daddy sleeping on the couch. Too cute!

Our friends from Atlanta, Jeff and Katie, sent Ian this onsie. Atlanta is referred to as the ATL, and Troy always joked about coming back to the AND. Ian is definitely a townie!

finally home from the hospital

2009-04-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster the last couple of days. When we left the hospital, Ian's bilirubin count (measuring for jaundice) was right on the upper level. They had us go back two days later to get it checked again. It had gone up pretty high, so we had to readmit him to the hospital. We ended up staying for three more days. I was pretty emotional at first, even knowing that the condition really isn't too serious if it's treated. It was just really sad to see our little guy hooked up to monitors, wearing little sunglasses, and caged in an isolette for three days. Luckily, I could hold him to nurse every 2-3 hours. Staying at the hospital was a bit draining, but he was released last night. He still has a bili blanket, which is has to lay on all day until the doctor says other wise. We also have to get his blood checked every day, so that's a bit of a bummer. We're just so thankful that he is otherwise healthy. Now we're trying to adjust to life at home. I'm so thankful my mom is here to help out. She cooks, cleans, does laundry, and even buys me Starbucks.

On a happier note, I somehow lost 30 lbs in 1 week. I think a great deal of it was the water weight I had gained in my feet and ankles from swelling, but I was pretty shocked when I got on the scale this morning and found I was within 10 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight (which is all in my tummy, I think).

Here's a cutie pic of Ian. You can check out more on facebook if you'd like.

Baby Eve...

2009-03-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

I won't miss this huge belly!

The nursery finally complete!!

The big day...

2009-03-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Thursday is officially the big day. After a little bit of apprehension in thinking about having this baby 2 weeks early, I feel much better about the decision. My blood pressure has remained a bit high, so the doc really wants to induce me to prevent any potential complications because of that.

We really would appreciate any prayers. I'm hoping to be able to deliver naturally and not need a C-section. I'm also still trying to decide about whether or not to get an epidural. Sometimes I overanalyze things, so I'm sure it won't end up being a big deal either way. Plus, I have no way of knowing what it's going to be like and what I'll really want to do until it happens, right?

So, we begin the process around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, and hopefully good news will follow shortly thereafter. I find it pretty funny that the poll on our blog is dead even right now. I'm not leaning toward boy or girl, so it'll be a true surprise! I finished working today, so tomorrow I'm going to try to get lots of rest. My family will be coming into town as well, so I'm excited to see them.

Wish us luck!!

Early baby???

2009-03-17T13:11:00.000-07:00

My doctor scheduled an induction for March 26. I'm a little shocked, to say the least. My feet have been really swollen all weekend. I called in to make it was just normal pregnancy stuff, and they had me come in yesterday to take my blood pressure and do some blood work. My blood pressure was pretty high, so they had me come back in today. The doctor is worried that I could have preclampsia or toxemia, which can be pretty bad. My blood pressure was down, so that was good, but my feet are still really swollen. I also had some fetal monitoring tests and the baby's heartbeat and activity seemed fine. The good thing is that I can definitely try to have a natural labor because the baby won't be as big at 38 weeks. I have a few follow-up appointments before my induction date, so the doctor may change his mind. I guess we'll just wait and see. Yikes!

On a lighter note, our friend Jose took some great maternity pics of Troy and I. You can see them on our facebook pages or at http://gallery.mac.com/thetorresfam04#gallery
Here are a couple of samples:

2009-03-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

I had another u/s yesterday. The tech said the baby is about 6 lbs 8oz right now, give or take a pound (which seems kind of significant). So we're estimating that the baby will be between 8 and 10 lbs. The tech also said that the due date looked like April 2nd according to the baby's size. It's amazing all of the details they can figure out. I go to the doctor next week, so we'll see what he has to say.

8 months (35 weeks)

Troy just started volunteering at an afterschool program run by the Mercy House. It's very similar to what he did last year in Atlanta, and he's really excited to interact with kids of that demographic again. I'm really excited for him, and may start to help out myself next year.

During the last 7 months since returning from Atlanta, we haven't been living the "Mission Year lifestyle" to the extent we really want to. We literally spent all of our free time the first few months back in Anderson working on our house. Now that we're mostly done with the house, we've been mentally preparing for this baby. I will say, however, it's been an incredible blessing to have some down time. For me, life has been a constant blur of activity for as long as I can remember. Right after college I went to grad school and was a youth minister for two years, and then an RD for three years, and then we did Mission Year. All of these things led to a full and sometimes frantic sort of lifestyle. For the past 7 months working part time has allowed me to just be for a little while. And it's the first time my job hasn't been in ministry. My stress level has been low (except for when we didn't have a kitchen for several weeks), and I've been able to emotionally prepare for this next phase of our life. Thinking of staying home full time with Baby C is exciting and scary. I feel blessed to have the opportunity, but a little nervous. I'm lucky to have a husband who is a total social butterfly, so I will be forced not to be a recluse.

Anyways, after having some time to process our experience last year and recooperate from the intense experience, Troy and I recently joined the community outreach team at our church. We're a little disappointed that there are only 4 other members of the team (anyone want to join??), but it's really cool to get to dream up ideas of how to reach out to the Anderson community. The location of our church isn't really conducive to outreach, so we're hoping to partner with area churches in more vulnerable areas of Anderson. We need to build actual relationships with the poor and downcast, and a yearly city-wide cleanup and things of that sort don't cut it. I don't know how to do this well, especially since we live in a nicer area of town where we aren't faced with poverty, and our church isn't located amongst the poor. Last year we were confronted with the poor on a daily basis because they were our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers. They went to our church and had us over for dinner. They had desperate needs, which made being in relationship with them hard, but they were real. We actually knew and spent time with our neighbors. We long for these relationships, but at the same time are scared to seek them out here in Anderson, where our life is easy and we feel safe.

So we're still processing all of this, and having a baby definitely puts a different spin on life. I'll let you know when I we figure out the answers!

Yet another baby update

2009-03-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

I had my 34 week appointment yesterday. I'm only measuring 4-5 weeks ahead now instead of 6 (gee, that's great), so I'm going to get another ultrasound next week so they can measure the baby again. The further along you are in pregnancy, the less accurate the ultrasound is because baby gets more squished in there. At my last ultrasound the baby's head was measuring further along than the rest of it was, which isn't surprising because both Troy and I have big heads. And both of us were delivered with forceps! The genetic pool definitely isn't working in our favor: two parents who were big babies with extra-big heads.

At my 36 week appointment we'll probably come to a decision about labor based on the ultrasound and some other measurements the doctor will take. I asked him if he thought it was likely I would need a C-section. He didn't really want to say at this point, but I could tell he's kind of leaning in that direction. I'd like to know either way so I can prepare mentally.

I've obviously been thinking about the pros of cons of a C-section vs. a natural child birth. I can be kind of an anal detail-oriented person, but I'm trying to be as open as possible to either possibility and to trust that my doctor will want to do what's best. He said he doesn't like to perform C-sections, so hopefully he'll only encourage me to have one if he's convinced the baby will be too big. I've heard many stories of people who thought they were having a 10 pounder and got induced or had a C-section only to have an average-size baby. That would be a bit frustrating. Plus, when you think about your first birth, you don't think of scheduling it before hand, you think of the drama and excitement of timing your contractions or waking up in the middle of the night when your water breaks and rushing to the hospital. But I can't control how much the baby will grow in the next month, or if the ultrasound will be accurate, so I really just need to put it in the Lord's hands and know that whatever happens, soon we'll have a new baby (with a big head)!

Showers and babies!

2009-02-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

We had 2 baby showers last weekend--one on Saturday with some of my friends, and one on Saturday with Troy's side of the family. Troy didn't go to either of them. It would have been nice for him to be at the family one, since there were a couple of people I haven't seen since our wedding shower, but it was still really fun. It was kind of surreal opening up all of the presents and knowing they were for our baby. I've been to so many other people's baby showers, it doesn't seem real that it's our turn! I guess it's how I felt when we got married too--we've just been behind the marriage/kids schedule compared to most of our friends. I definitely feel blessed to have such generous friends and family members in my life. If we had the baby tomorrow, I think we'd have all the 'stuff' we need!

Friends at my shower

Me with my sister and mom.

Speaking of babies, we got to help out our friend Suzy Thompson tonight. She had quadruplets around Christmas-time. I can't even imagine having four babies at one time! It makes having one feel a lot more manageable. Check out her cute babies at four-by-two.blogspot.com. We basically just fed and held babies for a few hours.

Back from Atlanta

2009-02-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Atlanta was a whirlwind. We visited so many people in such a short period of time, both of us were exhausted by the time we left. Troy spent some time at the Stewart Center with the kids he worked with last year. Here's him with his favorite, Heavenly. When the kids arrived after school they ran to him yelling, "Mr Troy!" It was definitely cute!

I also visited my old service site, Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, a homeless outreach center. They've made a lot of changes from last year due to a stabbing that occurred right after I left. Things seem to be much calmer than they were when I was there. It was sad to see some of the same people there who are chronically homeless and haven't made any progress.

We spent about a day and a half spending time with our old neighbors in Clarkston. One of the highlights was seeing our little neighbor, Omar, who is almost two. Here he is showing off his Turkish dance moves, and the pic is of us and part of the Mamedov family (who used to live right next door to us).

It was definitely bittersweet visiting our neighbors. In the six months since we've left, many of their lives seem even more difficult than before. Because of the economy, many refugees have been let go from their jobs, and it's nearly impossible for them to find one that can help them sustain even a basic standard of livign. One family is behind on their rent, facing eviction. Another close friend lost her job several months ago and can't find another one. She's a single mother of two, and is teetering on the edge of losing her apartment. Another close friend who is a refugee from Bosnia just lost her mother to cancer. She came here over ten years ago, and the stories she has from her past are amazing. During the war her mother literally carried her on her back and hid in the forest as the rebel army was trying to kill them. I can't even imagine having experienced that, and now she's lost probably the closest person to her. It's easy to get caught up in the mundane problems of our life here in Anderson while we forget about the large-scale struggles of our refugee friends.

And here's the latest belly picture at 31 weeks (7 months). The time is drawing near!

More on Big Baby and a trip to the ATL

2009-02-11T07:20:00.001-08:00

We're due 2 months from today (a belly picture is soon to come)! I had another dr's appt. this morning, and all is well. I'm 31 weeks along, and I'm measuring at 37 weeks--still 6 weeks ahead! I mentioned that after my last ultrasound the tech said baby's due date looked like March 29. The doctor said they never alter the due date based on the baby's weight, so we'll still plan on April 11, the day before Easter! Baby Canfield is in the 90th percentile for his/her weight. An overachiever already.

The surprising thing (and good thing for me) is that I'm right on average for my weight gain. The doctor said I'm all baby, which is what every pregnant woman likes to hear. Of course, I'm not sure why my underwear doesn't fit anymore... (sorry if that's TMI). If you're an average weight person to begin with, they say try to gain 25-35 lbs total. At 20 weeks an average weight gain is 10 lbs, and then 1 lb a week for the next 20 weeks. I'm at 31 weeks, and have gained 22 lbs, which is one above average. Please note that I will never talk about my weight in such detail after the baby is born. I'm just glad I'm not in the 90th percentile of weight gain, even though baby is.

Even though my gestational diabetes test came back normal, my sugar levels are still a bit higher than average, enough that I should watch my diet a little more closely. I'm going to try to cut back on sugar and carbs as much as I can. Gestational diabetes can make the baby gain more weight than what is healthy, and we all know we don't want junior to be any bigger than he's already destined to be.

I'll be getting another ultrasound at 37 weeks or so, and if baby is still really big, the doctor may consider a C-section. While this isn't the ideal birthing experience, it may be better than the risks of natural birth. Baby's shoulders could be too big, and might get "stuck" during natural birth causing some damage. Obviously, we don't want to traumatize junior too much before he's born. And big babies are also hard on the mother (i think you can figure out why!) I never imagined myself as one who would need a C-section, but I'm actually okay with the idea. My doctor said he usually prides himself on not doing a lot of C-sections, so if he decides it's the right thing, I think I'll feel comfortable with it. My hairdresser told me that she had a 10 lb baby. After 12 hours of hard labor, she had a C-section. I definitely would rather just go in and get a C-section and skip the hard labor before it part.

So, we're giving up the idea of having a cute tiny newborn and are expecting baby to look more like a 4 or 5 month old when it's born. So please, if you're planning on buying something for baby, no newborn sizes! :)

And on a completely different note, we're heading for Atlanta this evening! We'll be attending the Mission Year reunion with some members of our team from last year. We'll be going to our service sites to visit (the homeless advocacy center for Katrina, centraloutreachandadvocacy.org, and the afterschool program fro Troy, stewartcenter.org), and visiting our refugee neighbors and church from last year. Yay! And we'll be making a trip to IKEA to get some cheap furniture. Hopefully this prego can make it in the car for the long haul!

Birthing Class and Test Results

2009-02-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

The good news--no gestational diabetes for me! I'm relieved. The one good part about taking the 3 hour test is that I had them check my vitamin D levels again. You get vitamin D from the sun, and it helps prevent a ton of different diseases, etc. Well, when you're pregnant in the winter in Indiana, you don't get a whole lot of sunlight, so now I'm taking a supplement that should help with that.

But enough about my vitamin intake and on to birthing class!
We attended an 8 hour class at St. John's today. It was actually really good! Troy only dozed off two times. The funny thing was that out of six couples in the class, we were the only married ones (okay, that really isn't funny). We were also the oldest ones by at least 6 years. The real funny thing is that the nurse who presented was talking about old wives tales for telling the sex of the baby, and she got out the ancient Chinese birth chart. She guessed the sex of all of the babies, and she was right for each person--everyone in the group was having a boy. We were the only ones who didn't know and she said we were having a boy too, based on the birth chart. The chart takes your age and the month you conceived and somehow magically predicts the sex of your baby. The majority of people tell us we're having a boy. Lately, I've been feeling like it's a girl, but it kind of depends on the month! I really don't care either way, and we're so excited to have a surprise at the end of labor. I'm really glad that Troy got to hear first hand all of the information I've been reading about for months. We also got to see the birthing center, which was pretty cool. It's hard to believe we'll be putting all of this information into practice in less than two months!

30 years old and 30 weeks pregnant

2009-02-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

I'm definitely more excited about being 30 weeks pregnant than 30 years old. I actually haven't thought a whole lot about being 30 yet. It's sad to leave behind the 20's, a decade that was full of adventures, learning, fun, and growing. It seems like 30 means that I actually have to be an adult now. Being a mom in a couple of months will probably help with that!
No baby update today. I'll try to post something more exciting in the days to come.

Happy birthday at the doctors office

2009-02-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Happy 32nd birthday, Troy! My late grandpa Petre was so excited when he found out I was marrying a groundhogs baby (my grandpa's b-day was the same!) Our birthday celebrations usually consist of using free coupons that restaurants send us. Tonight we're going to B-Dubs!

Unfortunately, both of us got to spend several hours at the doctor today. Troy's back was really hurting this weekend, so much that he was having trouble walking. We decided it probably had to do with shoveling for 10 hours on Wednesday because of the snow storm. He shoveled our driveway for about 2 hours, and then at AU for the entire work day. His boss told him to go to the med check this morning. There's not much he can do except lay off any hard physical work, which is hard for Troy. A back doctor at our church also told Troy that he should never have to shovel for his job (because of his degenerating discs an sciatic nerve problems). My back is starting to hurt more too because of the pregnancy and my scoliosis. We're quite a pair. We look like old people when we try to get in and out of the car.

I had to spend 3.5 hours this morning getting my blood drawn for round 2 of my gestational diabetes test (my levels were a bit high during the first test, so I had to do this extra long, extra fun test). I had blood taken every hour for a total of four times. My arm is a bit sore, but the worst part was drinking the sickening syrupy sweet drink required for the test. It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been on an empty stomach, but I had to fast for 12 hours beforehand. I would gladly have my blood drawn four more times if I had the choice between that and the drink! My stomach still feels a bit queezy. I really hope I don't have gestational diabetes (obviously). If I do, it's not the end of the world, but it'll mean a strict diet until the baby comes. GD can make the baby bigger, and we all know we don't need our baby to be any bigger than it already is!

Snow Day!

2009-01-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

I was feeling a little guilty about not going into work (even though all the news stations were telling me not to), but I just found out AU is closed for the day! Troy is there shoveling snow, and making the campus as manageable as possible for everyone else. I'm hoping he'll get to come home soon!

Our backyard

Petey is from Atlanta. He's not used to this Indiana snow.

Please let me inside!

Just a big baby...

2009-01-26T14:47:00.000-08:00

We had our ultrasound today. As far as we know there's nothing to be concerned about, the baby is just big! Usually at this stage, babies weigh about 2.5 lbs, but ours is weighing in just under 4 lbs. The ultrasound tech said based on her calculation our due date should be March 27 (April 11 is our actual due date). I'm not sure if my doctor will change the due date, or how that type of thing works. Since I carefully charted all of the "details" when we were trying to get pregnant, I'm sure April 11 is the real due date. My main fear is having to decide whether or not to be induced if the baby keeps growing at this rate. We'll just have to wait and see. My mom said that she was told that her due date was two weeks earlier than it really was, and she ended up having me just one day early. I'm just like my mom :)
Here are the latest ultrasound pics:

The ultrasound tech said it looked like the baby was laughing in the picture.

Troy likes this one because it looks like baby is giving a thumbs up.

Baby isn't missing any brain, it's just the way the picture looks.

Hurry up and wait...

2009-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

My ultrasound was postponed until Monday b/c one of the techs was out sick today. It's not that I'm super worried, but now I have the entire weekend to mull over what might be wrong. Chances are the baby is just big or in a position that makes me measure larger. But it could also be polyhydramnios, which is excess amniotic fluid and could lead to other complications with the baby. Or, there's the outside chance it could be twins, though I can't imagine how they would miss an entire baby on my first ultrasound. I've been looking online, and literally no one has said they've measured 6 weeks ahead unless they were having twins! I'll post more info. as soon as I know anything.

Big Freakin' Baby

2009-01-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

I had my 28 week appointment today where I got to drink a really sweet drink to test my glucose levels for gestational diabetes, and I had some more blood work done. I was really anxious to find out how big I was measuring, since at the last appointment I was 4 weeks ahead. When the doctor came in, he said we wouldn't worry about doing another ultrasound until 32 weeks or so if I was still measuring that far ahead. But when he measured my uterus, he said I'm measuring at 34 weeks. Yikes!(That's six weeks ahead for anyone who I've confused with all the pregnancy jargon). He ordered another ultrasound for tomorrow so we can see what's going on. It could be the way the baby is positioned, the amount of fluid I have, or our baby could just be really big! I called Troy to tell him and he said "we're going to have a big freakin' baby!" I don't mind a big baby, but a humungous baby could be a problem. The doctor said not to be worried and that our genes are in favor of a rather large baby. At least we'll have a few more pictures of junior before the "big" day (ha ha!). I'll post some tomorrow.

an all-nighter survived

2009-01-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

Troy and I helped with an all-nighter for 5th and 6th graders at Kingsway Christian Church this weekend. There were over 300 kids there total, so it was kind of crazy. Of course, this is Troy's idea of a really fun time. It's not necessarily my idea of a good time, but the alternative of staying home by myself for most of the weekend wasn't very appealing. It ended up being not so bad. We bowled and played unlimited arcade games and had all you can eat pizza (any 5th graders dream come true). I crashed at 4 a.m., but Troy stayed up for the long haul and didn't go to sleep until 8! I'm glad one of us has unending energy and is always fun.

3 months until baby

2009-01-12T12:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked 3 months from our due date (April 11). Here are a couple of 5 month and a 6 month belly pic so you can see how much I've grown in a month (disclaimer: under normal circumstances I wouldn't post my naked belly online.)

Troy's home from Mexico!

2009-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

I made it back safely from Saltillo, Mexico. I had a great experience leading the group. One of the vans was in an accident right after we crossed the border into Mexico. Luckily, everyone was safe, and a local guy actually paid the police to escort us back across the border into Laredo, TX so we could get the van fixed. God showed up in many different faces throughout the trip.

We went hiking up a mountain and saw some cool plants.

Me with our translators.

a new blog

2009-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

I decided to move our blog here because a) is seems like the trendy thing to do, b) it'll be nice to have a blog to keep updating after the baby and c) sometimes I like to blog about things other than being pregnant. If you want to see some earlier posts about baby Canfield, go to www.babyhomepages.net/babycanfield.

I went 6 entire days without talking to Troy at all. They just crossed the border back into the states from Mexico, and he touched base with me briefly. He's going to call me tonight to give me a trip update. I don't think I've ever been so excited to talk to my husband! This is the longest we've ever been apart since we met 4 and a half years ago! We'll give you an update and a few pics after he gets back on Friday.