Hey Friday!

Oh Friday am I ever happy to see you!! 

Last night was rough... Noah woke up at 11:30, of course M wasn't even home yet from his "guys night" and I had already been sleeping for an hour! My nose was dripping and I was sniffling non-stop which doesn't make a baby go to sleep easy. I had been battling sleep with Noah all day, so I didn't have high hopes of this going down well! Needless to say it took M an hour to get him back down once he got home after 12! 

Since Noah learned how to pull himself up he has been curious and exploring his crib lately. I know the excitement will wear off eventually but until then I expect this little sleep regression and self soothing to be a challenge. 

He went down better this morning for me at least! 

We found out yesterday that our old neighbour and fellow firefighter with Mike passed away yesterday at the of age 61 of Alzheimer's. Such a sad disease! Our thoughts and prayers are with the family! 

We have one bag packed and ready to go for Monday! This weather here is making me look forward to our vacay more and more! Turns out MORE snow is on he way! 

We also learned that my cousin is going to be our pilot for our trip!! Nothing like knowing we are going to be in good hands!! 

I ordered my first chat book!!! I can't wait for them all to come in! 

This weekend we have a literacy event at the community centre to take Noah to, we need to finish up packing and get the house in order! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! 

{cold} Wednesday

Another damn cold day today!! Soo not a fan and the fact that I am able to escape this weather in less than a week now is leaving me excited!! As in I have actually started packing and I hate packing!! Find Noah clothes was tricky - the clothes I had bought were too big and the ones I already had were too small! Luckily J lent me some and I bought some used as well as on sale at Carters and we have enough now!

Noah had his first real hair cut, not just a trim:

He looks soo much older now and clearly getting a clear photo is a challenge these days! 

A lot of you have asked how the stray cat is doing. I am happy to say Felix is settling right in and making himself at home stealing dog toys into his room: 

We had a little ladies night last night and decided to bust out the jamberry nails: 

Mine are the icey taupe polka, S did lace noir and J did feeling festive!! Yes embarrassingly enough this is the first time I have done them since I had my party in Novemeber! It is actually easier with my gel nails on! 

Today I am wearing pink to help bring awareness to stop bullying: 

One day I will get better at these pictures right?? Haha

Noah is one proud little boy pulling himself up into standing position! He did not have a good night 

last night but is surprisingly not in a horrible mood and is playing contently! 

He also had fun at the library songs and stories this morning, even though getting out of the house with him was a bit of a challenge this morning as we were on the verge of needing a nap! 

Soo happy the voice is back on! Love that show! 

Noah finished up his Valentine's Day art a little late, but man is it ever cute!! 

Wow this post is getting pretty random!! So we will leave it at that! Happy Wednesday friends!! 

Kitchen/Bathroom Renovation Reveal

Ok I finally took the time to photograph the kitchen and bathroom since it was redone in October. I didn't bother photographing the great room yet because I was waiting on my shelving units - which we just got this past week!

So you may recall, we had to get a whole new truss system in the back part of the house. This is what the kitchen looked like before:

And the after photos:

You will notice the bulk head is gone, we added trim to the top of the cupboards for a more finished look, new crown moulding, new lighting, new backsplash, and new paint! There is also new hardware installed since the before photos, but they have been up for a while!

Unfortunately we need to install new floors in there again, as ours are separating slowly ever since the dishwasher leaked! But they will work for now!

Moving on to the bathroom:

Before:

Since these before pics were taken, we have replaced the vanity with a bigger one with granite counters:

The mirror is from the mudroom, I made the new curtains and there is a new light fixture in there, as well as crown moulding. I do miss the dark grey walls, but love the blue! It is the same blue we had in the great room/kitchen before. We also have attic access in there now too!

I plan to paint the vanity a grey, as well as the medicine cabinet. 

There you have it! We are in love with the new space! 

Weekend Rewind

I feel like I am falling soo far behind on my blog posts... Will I ever get caught up? 

This weekend was a nice low key weekend. Unfortunately we got more snow... But the temperature dropped to only -10 instead of -26! Our vacation can't come soon enough, this mama needs some sun and warmth!! 

Friday night we went an picked up Charles Winston, who has now been given the name Felix. It also looks like he is here to stay for now. One of his test results came back positive, so that made him no longer an candidate for adoption. The rescue group I was working with offered to make him a cat house for outside, but it is just too cold out there, I can't do it, so we are going to see how things go. He needed some extra loving and he got just that as I got caught up on the PVR! 

Saturday we worked on laundry, got the suitcases out, I made Noah's smash cake and just enjoyed some family time. We decided last minute to have a little date night, so we headed into town, stopped at Carters to try to find Noah some clothes for our trip and luckily we found some great deals!! 

We went to east sides for dinner where Noah enjoyed his first lemon! Yes, he actually enjoyed it! When we got home we bathed Noah and put him down, worked out and then watched the newer movie Annie. It was great! We really enjoyed it!! 

Sunday we worked on packing and of course playing!! We also did Noah's cake smash! I was happy with how the cupcake turned out: 

And the pictures were fun too!! 

My favorite: 

We also worked on introducing Felix to the rest of the house. So far Lux and him get along, but Jazz and Binx need some work. 

Sunday night was spent watching the Oscars and M playing video games. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend too!! 

Charles Winston

If you follow me on Instagram, then you likely know that we have a new visitor at casa Vance.

I shouldn't say new - he's been around since we moved back home in November, but I haven't been able to get close to him. had put food out for it a couple times and attempted to call it, but it was just too timid! We have had some brutally cold weather and Wednesday was one of those days, when I saw the stray in the back yard crying. I opened the patio door and called for it fully expecting for it to run the other way, but this time it came up on the deck towards me slowly and cautiously crying. He came right to me, allowing me to pet him and then pick him up. 

It was one of those vulnerable moments in life for not just me trusting that he won't attack me, but for him trusting another human. He gripped right on to me clinging for warmth and I'm sure food, but his grip wasn't vicious. I carried him into the bathroom and put him down where he cried some more, but rubbed up on my legs and started to purr. He knew he was safe now. I got him some food and he scarfed it right down. He didn't try to get out of the bathroom as I was going in and out trying to gather stuff up for him. He just layed there content and trustingly. 

My heart was breaking for this little guy. How could someone do this to him? How could someone leave him outside to fend for himself? He has several war wounds all over him and was skinny and boney. I called Mike at work, fully expecting him to get frustrated with me for bringing him in the house, but instead he welcomed the idea knowing it was too cold outside for him. When he came home from work he went right in to see him and came out mad. Not mad at me, but mad at the sick person who left this sweet cat on his own. The cat so far seems to have a great personality and I'm sure that he is just super grateful to be somewhere warm but he is genuinely sweet. 

But... And there is always a but, this guy needed a home. I called around to various rescue groups that I trusted and they were all full, so I contacted Change For Paws. They were great, they suggested their Trap Neuter and Release program, which would vaccinate, neuter and check him over and then we could release him or have him put up for adoption. Obviously we couldn't imagine releasing him into this weather again, so we agreed to the program. 

We moved him into the mudroom where he would have more room and of course when I couldn't find Mike, I checked on the cat and found the above. My heart was happy knowing I was with a man as passionate about animals as I am! We both decided he needed a nickname, but we couldn't decide. Mike liked Winston and I like Charlie. So we call him Charles Winston - he needed a name that sounded just as important as he was! He was soo content to just lay in the mudroom and had a great night and surprised us with using the litter box. 

Thursday morning he greated me with a friendly hello, although he doesn't appear to have a voice, just a little squeak. He loves that fleece bed and bath mat! 

Thursday evening I trimmed his front claws knowing we would be bathing him next and we didn't want the daggers. He let me trim the front feet, but not his back. Bathing him was an adventure. He obviously didn't like it, but it needed to be done! It was a two man operation, but we got through it. We wrapped him up in a towel and he instantly began purring again in my arms. 

We dried him off and snuggled him a bit and set him back up in the bathroom where it was warmer. 

This morning we packed him up to take him to vet for his check up and procedure. He did not enjoy the car ride one bit and actually ended up injuring himself further by cutting his foot and rubbing his nose raw. There was blood and pee everywhere. When I put my hand in the cage and made eye contact with him he would calm down. He trusted me and this was his way of showing it. We got him to the vet and they let him out of the cage right away and he came right to me, sat infront of me and purred. 

I am awaiting his test results and news about his surgery and we will go pick him tonight. 

A lot of people are asking what we will do with him and honestly we just don't know. We have had someone contact us about possibly adopting him, but they haven't decided. In the meantime we will be keeping him safe and warm. In my head I think 4 cats... That's crazy cat lady quality, but the other part of both Mike and I are slowly getting attached to him and falling in love with him. We don't have to rush into a decision and we aren't. We have options and right now his recovery is the most important. He trusts us. 

So that is where we stand with Charles Winston. He is with us for now and we will see how things go, but right now his health is the most important. Hopefully we get good news from the vet today! 

Weekend Rewind

This is me writing my blog post for the second time... Thank you blogger...

Our weekend was jam-packed with fun!! A few glitches came up but we made the best of them!

Friday the dogs had their first spa day!! They were soo good, but it was too much for Lily. She did get finished, but just didn't enjoy it the same as Gracie! Lily had a rough car ride on the way there because she fell off the backseat. Ever since Lily had liver failure, we knew that would take years off her life, it is our goal to make sure she is comfortable and happy, but Mike and I will both be surprised if we get another year out of her. Gracie on the other hand love every minute of being pampered - she was in heaven! 

We had dinner at the farm and once we got home we just worked away on a few small details for the party and did some food prep! 

We woke up Saturday morning and sure enough we got another 6 inches of snow and wind chills of -40 C. The weather took a turn for the worst when the wind picked up causing very poor visibility. Of course we had big plans on Saturday including 2 parties, one in town and the other one being Hannah's birthday! 

We made it to Harper's (Noah's birthday buddy) party in town very slowly and late because of the weather. The party was fun, it was great to see all the kiddos together with them all being a month and a day apart from each other, aside from Noah and Harper. S had them all do some handprint art, which we were able to take home at the end of the party:

After the party we stopped at Winners where I found a steal of a deal and brought home this table for the dining room:

We attempted to head to sisters after that but we had to take the back roads because the highway was closed with a 40 car pile up. The visibility was just soo bad, and the snow drifts from the wind were intense! We ended up turning around and heading home instead! 

We were supposed to go to the firemans wing night, but my mom was unable to make it to babysit because of the weather, so I stayed home with my little Valentine:

Sunday the weather calmed down, although if was still crazy cold! Our morning was busy with food prep for the party and decor! I totally failed at taking pictures of the decor, I got a few after at least! 

We had about 40 people in the house for Noah's party! It was great having everyone here celebrating our little miracle!! He loved his first cupcake: 

I will go into better detail of the party later this week! But as I look back at pictures I was overwhelmed with joy and happiness having everyone here to help us celebrate!! We are soo blessed to have soo many people supporting us! His party was perfect!! We couldn't be happier with how it went! Everyone was gone by 5 and we had a nice quiet evening. 

We let Noah stay up a little later than usual as he was playing soo contently with his new toys! 

I managed to snap one last picture of Noah before he turned one, his last 11 month photo: 

Monday was a holiday here (family day) and we did just that, hung out as a family!! We gave Noah his ball pit for his birthday gift! He loved it and so did Daddy:

Mikes parents came over for the afternoon and then dinner as well, as we had to have our pancake supper (the day before shrove Tuesday so we didn't miss it with them being gone). This little birthday boy had another great day! 

Tuesday we had another little family day, which included a walk with Noah's new sled:

Yesterday was back to normal, with a trip to the library for songs and stories and then an afternoon at home. More to come on yesterday's excitement in a separate post, as this post was supposed to posted yesterday but blogger was kind enough to delete it. 

{Friday Fun}

Soo we are pretty pumped about this weekend!

Saturday is filled with Birthday fun including Noah's birthday buddy Harper's first birthday and little miss Hannah's birthday after that! M and I have a little date night, if you want to call it that, for the Fireman's Annual Wing night! We actually plan on attending this year!! We planned on it last year, but My body had other plans! Of course we will be helping out with the event, but I'm sure we will get some time to enjoy it too!! 

Sunday is party day!! We will have a very full house, but I look forward to the celebration of our little man!! I'm most excited about him having a cupcake for the first time!! 

Monday is Noah's actual birthday and I know it will be filled with joy and most likely a few tears! I will say Noah has been spoiling me with extra snuggles this week and when I put him down for a nap yesterday I just held him as he slept and found my eyes welling up. Babies just don't keep! But man this age is lots of fun!! 

Lily and Gracie are going for their first spa day! And Daddy is going to Costco with my FIL - I would love to see this go down! Haha.

And just before Valentine's Day, I will share how my Pinterest project turned out: 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! I think we will!! 

What I am Loving Wednesday

It's about time I shared some of my current loves with you all!!

I am loving having this new spa in the village!! My nails look gorgeous once again after a long 2 years without gel nails. Feels great to have them back!! 

I am also in works with a website designer for the village website and we have come up with some great ideas that I am really excited about!! I love living in such a small village!! 

My enjo cleaning products have not let me down yet! I cleaned my blinds in 5 minutes and I mean they were thick with dust!! My windows look shiny, my fridge has no fingerprints and our stove looks almost brand new - a few more times and it will look brand new!! Soo happy I invested in these products!! And I love how easy it is to clean with!! 

So as I mentioned previously we kind of got off track with the 21 day fix this round. But M and I were both happy to see weight drop off this morning and we have upped our weights, so that should make a difference as well or so we feel it anyways! 

Our little guy is cutting another tooth and is therefore not the happiest camper! He is trying not to be grumpy, but sometimes his teeth just hurt! Last night he was asleep and crying at the same time! Poor guy! 

I am loving the way my Valentines Day craft is coming together, except I ran out of buttons last night!!! And I have less than a quarter of the heart to do! I also burnt my finger last night on the hot glue! Man that hurt! Here's a sneak peek: 

I am also looking forward to the dogs spa day on Friday! I've never taken them to get them professionally done, but I found someone used to doing Goldens and her price was great! I think they are looking forward to it too!! I know I look forward to not having to do it myself!! 

What are you loving today?? 

Noah - 11 Months

Nothing like posting this 3 weeks late, a week before he turns 1!! 

Weight:

18 lbs 11 oz - 42 weeks

21 lbs 8 oz - 46 weeks 

Height: 
29.75 inches

Sleeping: Noah has a a few rough nights of going down, but once we got him down, he would sleep all night. It was really a team effort to get him down, but we suspect teething to be the cause of this! We are learning that there are no more naps after 4:30 if we want a good bedtime either! We are pretty much down to two naps a day and they range from 40 minutes to an hour, with rare occasion being longer! 

Feeding: Noah is officially weaned! We stopped breastfeeding at 10 months 5 days, just before Christmas! He was really distracted whenever we tried and would only nurse for like 3 minutes on each side, so we decided this was his way of letting us know he was ready and he has done really well with the transition!

This month Noah tried:
- Ham
- Blueberry Apple Oatmeal Muffins

- peanut butter

- clementines - was NOT a fan! 

- chicken noodle soup 

- ribs

Clothing: Suddenly his 9 month pants are too short and heck even his onesies are now either 9 months or 12 months. He is starting to grow out of his 9 month sleepers too! We don't have any plain white onesies hence the sticker misplaced to hide a monster! 

Diapers: We are finally on to size 3's now!!! 

Looks: Blue eyes, and light brown hair. 

What The Doctor Had To Say: We won't be seeing the doctor this month!

Nicknames: No Nap Noah, Little Bird, Sir, Captain, Mr. Magoo, Mr. Man, Bunny, Little Man,  Mama's Monkey. 

Likes: Walking, getting scared by Mommy or Daddy, waving, clapping, his tractor and dump truck, music table, fire truck, his lovies, blankets, remote controls or phones, various toys, his steering wheel, mega blocks, eating, the dogs and cats, singing and dancing. He loves bath time and gets one every night before bed! He also loves his new little house, his digger and his own remote control!

Dislikes: Falling, being told NO, he does not like his stackers stacked and rips them apart as soon as you assemble them back together! Clementines - must be a texture thing

Fur Baby Update: Jazz loves hanging out beside Noah as he plays, Gracie loves the extra attention she gets and Lily is indifferent. Lux loves Noah, but only during quiet times now and Binx could care less! 

Personality/Events: Noah now says "uh oh" and "dada". We swapped Noah into his next car seat. He still had an inch to grow in his bucket seat, but honestly M and I were sick of lugging it around. It is definetely an adjustment getting him in and out of the car now! Noah just wants to walk walk walk non-stop! He is a machine, but he is not able to pull himself up yet to do it himself, so it is only when we "let" him at this point. He loves motoring around pushing his fire truck around and around for as long as we let him! Crawling is still a no go, he can get himself around backwards, but he is flipping himself onto his knees now from sitting position, but then kicks his legs out. He hasn't figured out how to tuck them up yet! Noah's top two teeth are coming down (again).