A post about the Emerald

I know most of these posts are centered around the Livster and that's mainly because she's so active and charismatic. Sometimes little Emerald gets overlooked. She definitely doesn't get forgotten about by us and we equally divide our attention between these two scoundrels. It's just that Emma, let's face it, didn't do a lot.

The first few months it was sleep/eat/sleep/eat/poop/sleep. Then about a month ago she started her babbling and smiling and laughing. I think she's just trying to talk to Livi and join in on the running and playing. In the last week she's started sitting up on her own now and she loves it. She still needs a little help with her balance because she does gradually tip over.

P.S. The bottom left pic is a spitting image of Sam as a baby.

The little Emmers also has a funny habit of falling asleep anywhere. This is something that differs from her older, blonde counterpart. While Livi wouldn't sleep unless we turned off all the lights and put a blanket on her, Emma gets tired, closes her eyes and drops her head. It's kind of like watching a commuter on the skytrain after a long day at work. See the video below for an example:

Another thing she enjoys while sleeping holding on to things or putting them on her head:

So that's the focus of Emma's world right now. She's getting older and growing out of things quickly. You can tell she's a huge fan of Livi because she watched her constantly and reaches out for her. Livi can make her laugh more than anyone else by making faces or tickling her.

We love our little Pudge.

Ballet 101

I'm a Baweena!

Last week our little swan took her first dance class (run around and swing your arms class) and she obviously loved it. She followed along with all of the exercises such as "Hello toes, Goodbye toes", "Put on your tiara and skip" as well as my personal favourite "Pick up flowers, smell them and then throw them in the air".

She had a great time and it was a great way to exercise. A few more weeks of these classes and she'll be as good as (insert famous ballerina here).

 

P.S. Emma the spectator was very proud of her big sister.

Guest Post: Heather Von St. James

Last week I was contacted by Heather who has a blog herself about her story. She had asked if I would be interested in her writing a guest post on my blog in order to share her story. I read through her blog about her dealing with Mesothelioma as a Mom and agreed wholeheartedly to include a post made by her. I encourage anyone viewing to read her story below as well as visit her blog to raise  awareness.

A link to her blog: Heather Von St. James - Courageous Mother, Wife and Survivor of Mesothelioma

Dealing with Mesothelioma as a Mom

When I was just 36 years old, my life took a very different and unexpected toll. My husband and I had recently welcomed our newborn daughter, Lily, into the world. Lily blessed us with her presence on August 4th, 2005. During those first moments of her life, we could feel the love in the room, as both my parents and my husband’s parents came to visit us after the birth of our little girl. It was times like these when I felt nothing could bring us down. However, it seems as though this was just the calm before the storm.

After giving birth to Lily, I ended up heading back to work, but that is when I started noticing a few things that were going on. I constantly felt tired and I never felt like I had any energy. These are things that people often associate with being a new mom anyway, so I actually didn’t think too much of it at first. I also realized I was losing a significant amount of weight, totaling nearly 7 pounds per week. I finally decided to take a trip to my doctor’s office, and found out things were much worse than I ever could have imagined.

It was November 21, 2005 and our daughter, Lily, was 3 ½ months, when I received the diagnosis from the doctor. My doctor informed me that I had malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is cancer. Even worse, he told me that if I were to not get treatment, I would only have about 15 months to live. I ended up with this cancer because when I was a child, I had been exposed to asbestos, which can lead to mesothelioma in the future. Upon receiving the diagnosis, all I could do was think of Lily and how I needed to survive for her, and for my husband. It was then that I made the decision to go along with whatever treatment was going to keep me alive.

The procedure that I needed to receive was quite drastic to say the least. I had to fly down to Boston to meet with a doctor who specializes in treating mesothelioma. During the surgery, my entire left lung had to be removed. It took me slightly over two weeks to recover just from the surgery. I had to continue to recover to prepare for both chemo and radiation. I was trying to do all of this and still be a mom to my daughter. During my time in Boston, my parents took care of the responsibility of Lily. They were doing what they could to raise her, and were also receiving support from people in the neighborhood. It was the support of our family and kind people that kept me going.

As my daughter was living with my parents, she started to reach all of her milestones, many of which I missed. However, my parents were kind enough to snap pictures, and my husband would always show them to me. When I saw the pictures, I was really happy and I kept telling myself that Lily is reason that I am trying my best to beat this cancer. It’s been almost 7 years now and there is no sign of my cancer. I travel to Boston for scans every 6 months. It’s a lot to anxiety and sometimes anger to deal with, but it has changed my outlook on life for the better.

 

My husband and I, along with Lily and my parents, are constantly taking things one step at a time. We have accepted the obstacles thrown in our way and the challenges that life has put in our path, but have also realized that good things can come out of negative things. With that said, I will always be thankful for the supportive people we have had stand by us throughout this entire ordeal.

Emma's First Christmas/Night of the Living Stomach Flu

Well that was a Christmas that we will never forget.

Livi's Birthday was also the first day of my holidays from work. Olivia woke up in the morning to a brand new dollhouse completely assembled and ready for her to play with. (Thanks to her mother and I spending three hours assembly the bloody thing the night before). It stands about 4 feet tall and boasts wooden furniture including bathtub, canopy bed, kitchen table and a grand piano. Oh and it also has an elevator to suit wheelchair access or just the lazy Barbie's.

Like last year, Livi received a shout-out on the news.

After breakfast and a visit from Nana and Auntie Rachel, we drove out to Port Coquitlam to try a new play area called Kinder-Cafe. Lots of stuff to do and play with. Livi had a ball and played with all sorts of kitchens, play-houses, ride-on cars and even a bouncy castle.

For dinner we dined at the lovely Big Ridge Brewery where we met Nana and Grumpy. After dinner, the Livster received a special dessert, singing waiters and a confetti cannon. Then to top it all off someone made her a balloon animal. A great night for our little girl.

Then the trouble started. Friday night at around midnight Sam and I were up talking and we Livi threw up in her bed. We cleaned up and she threw up multiple times after that. After calling my Mom to come over and look over Emma, we took Livi to the hospital. The doctor checked her out and determined it was the stomach flu. She was to take Gravol and get her rest. We made it back home around 4am and put her to bed. 

She woke up the next day feeling great. Sam did not however. To keep Emma separated from Livi, Nana BB came to help. I took Emma for the day out of the house running errands and Livi stayed at home for a day with Nana. Later at night once Sam started feeling better she came downstairs and we all sat around. Shortly before bedtime, Livi threw up again. Emma went to off to Nana and Gaga's for isolation. We cleaned up and put Livi to bed.

The next day, once again, she woke up fine and so did Sam.It was now my turn. I won't go in to the details but it was not pleasant. Nana BB came to help since I was upstairs in quarantine. Livi was great all day until near bedtime and she puked. Same thing. Sam took her to the hospital again and the doctor tested her urine and nothing serious. Just a sensitive stomach. Back home and to bed. However now it was Nana BB's turn.

Morning of Christmas Eve, Livi's good, Sam's good, I'm good, Emma still good. The day was spent cleaning up and disinfecting our house. Everyone eating properly and getting plenty of fluids. Bedtime, we put out Santa's cookies and pint of Guinness (note: The Nutley household in no way encourages drinking and driving. Drink responsibly) Livi goes to bed while visions of sugar plums danced in her head....Then she puked. We took it as a sign of eating too much since it was only a little bit. Change her sheets and back to bed.

Christmas morning I'm the first awake at 7am. Jump in the shower and give Emma a bottle. (who during all of this commotion is just an angel and delight and couldn't be happier). We make our way into Olivia's room and wake her up with takes a lot of convincing. She was still feeling under the weather and had no idea Santa came to our house and left presents downstairs. Finally we get her up and when she sees her new pink car her mood completely changes. Excitedly she jumps in and wants to go for a ride.

We open all of their presents and head over to Nana and Gaga's for Christmas Day.We had a wonderful day with our my parents, Auntie Rachel, Uncle JP, Auntie Sheila, Uncle Patrick, Uncle Pete, Haydn and Alicia. Livi was still not 100% so she spent the day in her pajamas sleeping and cuddling but she came around a bit once her new microphone came out and she sang Twinkle, Twinkle to everyone. Emma was passed around to cuddle with everyone and was very happy and friendly on her first Christmas.

The next day we woke up early and drove down to have a second Christmas with Auntie Daryl, Uncle Alex, Beckett, Nana and Grumpy. Lots more fun and family times playing with toys. Livi was much closer to her usual self. Auntie Kinsey also came over for a visit and brought presents.

After a few days at home everyone was back to normal. We enjoyed our time off together going for walks and watching movies. New Years Eve was low key but lots of fun. Liv and I made a trip to the pub for a drink and visit.

Even Emma was excited. 

So after all of that the holidays were over. One we will definitely never forget.

Fiesta Dos/Scary Santa

The little Livster's birthday party went off without a hitch. Everyone had a great time and it's nice to see the amount of people who love our little girls.

We held the shindig on Sunday afternoon in our town house which was just the right size. Sam decorated the main floor with pink and white streamers and purple and pink balloons. She made a wonderful batch of different cookies, cooked some delicious appetizers and we ordered a cake from a nice Italian bakery.

Livi loved every minute of it and received every imaginable Disney princess accessory known to man including stickers, colouring books, dolls and even a hockey stick! After each gift Livi got up and found the people responsible, gave them a giant hug on the legs and yelled THANK YOU! She also received a basketball hoop and ball from Nana and Grandad Nutley and a wagon from Nana and Grandpa Berry.

After a long day of partying, after everything was cleaned up we all settled down on the couch and watched a movie to wind down before bed. Wonderful day.

The next day we took the two of them to the mall and got their pictures taken with Santa. Like last year we went to Guildford where they have a great display set up and a very genuine Santa. Also much cheaper than the Richmond Santa! This year they had a forest display set up with lots of trees and anima-tronic animals plus trivia about Canada's forests. Uncle Pete would be proud. Finally at the end of the line-up we walked through the giant 30ft Christmas tree and were next in line to see the boss. (Not Springsteen, too bad) Sam held Livi as I held Emma (who we both assumed to be the scared one). As soon as you could see the red suit, Livi clung to Sam like a barnacle to a ship. She would not sit down or let go at all! I strategically turned Emma so she never actually faced Santa and managed to place her on his knee staring at me the whole time. Worked like a charm. We finally got Livi to stay in place long enough for a pic of a confused Emma and a terrified Livi.

Much more interesting than those boring smiling photos...

Aftermath

A week after it started, few remnants remain. Livi finished her antibiotics this morning, Sam and I have a few remaining symptoms and Emma coughs like a barking seal. Other than that the cold is gone!

Due to the illness we've had a bit of a quiet week. Friday night was dedicated to assembling our Christmas tree and decorating the house. Livi had a great time and was amazed by every single ornament that came out of the box. Then she got up on my shoulders and put the star on top, Emma sat in her swing and smiled. Next year there will probably be an argument over who gets to do it.

Saturday was a party at the Keens house for Derek's birthday as well as a housewarming. We brought both of the girls to show them off to friends. Livi made a friend, Gracie who is about the same age. We're trying to set up more chances for them to play. After an hour or so, Nana and Grandad took our two girls back to their house for a sleepover where they both behaved like angels. Mommy and Daddy got some well deserved socializing in at the party and had a great time.

Sunday morning we picked up the girls and later returned to Nana's house for the Nutley tradition of baking Welsh cakes for Christmas. Livi was a great help this year using a cookie cutter to create the shapes herself.

Daddy and Grandad also followed tradition by enjoying a few drinks at the bar with Uncle JP.

Aaaannnnnnndddd, they're all sick

Yep. All three. All three girls in my house are sick.

Livi started it all off with a runny nose on Saturday. Not too big a deal and she definitely didn't act like she was sick.

Sunday morning she woke up pretty much the same. We went out for breakfast and did some shopping. Nose kept running but she was in good spirits. Lots of juice and a nice long nap.

By late afternoon the nose ran more and more to the point of it being plugged and she could only breathe through her mouth. We figured it would be hard to sleep so I wasn't going to force in to bed, instead just let her sit up with me on the couch with a blanket and pillow. I lay Emma down around 8pm upstairs and she went to bed wonderfully.

Livi sat up but then around 9pm she started getting tired and tried to lay down to sleep. Tossing and turning constantly on the couch. She asked to go up to bed so we did that but to the same result. She tugged on her ear and said "Daddy, ear hurt." I knew an ear infection would be bugging her and made it hard to sleep.

Looking up remedies I found a suggestion to use a warm, moist towel on her face near her ear to alleviate the pain. Seemed to work pretty good and she calmed down a little. By this time she could barely stay awake and was falling asleep sitting up but waking because of her breathing being plugged.

After a long few hours of very agitated crying, Sam arrived home from work. Livi had gotten her second wind by now and was playing and pretending to be a moo cow on our kitchen counter. Sam spent the night in her room helping her sleep while I spent the night in our room with Emma.

Starting at midnight, Emma woke up at least once an hour when her nose plugged. Snorts and coughs were my alarm clock all night. Pick Emma up, on my shoulder, nose drain on shoulder, fall back asleep.

Everyone awake at 6am and now I've got 3 sick girls sitting on the couch at home. Hoping they all get better soon.

Let's also hope it's some sort of female cold and won't get passed to me. KOW

Signs of Improvement

The terrible two's have calmed down to the slight agitated two's. KOW. Hoping not to jinx myself.

Since my last post about Livi and her tantrums, her attitude has greatly improved. Sure we still get a blowout once in a while but it's much easier resolved. Not by just giving her what she wants but by distracting her or compromising the situation. (Take note Fehr/Bettman). I'm sure it's something we're going to be dealing with for a long time but like I've said before, we know it's normal and part of life. It's really not even that bad. Not complaining at all.

As for Emma, it's all smiles and blabbering. The happiest little face you'll ever see on a baby. She turned 4 months yesterday and went for her checkup at the doctor. Everything checked out normal and she's nice and healthy. KOW

Other than that, just getting everything ready for Christmas and Livi's 2nd Birthday party next month. Updates and pics to come!

No-throw, No-hit, No-spit

It seems pretty evident now that we've hit the terrible two's with our little Olivia. For the last few weeks, we've been seeing tantrums, screaming, crying and destruction on the same level as a Junior Godzilla (or junior Cloverfield to be current).

We knew this was coming and had discussed our strategy well in advance, read up on what to do when a situation arises or got advice from the "wise" elders of past generations. It's just something something we realized is going to happen and it's completely normal. You try to deal with her behaviour and slowly do what you can to calm her and calm yourself. We try talking to her and explaining that we're not happy with what she did, try to get her to clean up her own mess and most importantly be a good example ourselves of how to act. Any other advice would be appreciated, please comment below.

We know that it's a combination of the terrible-two's, jealousy over a new baby in the house and the NHL Lockout. Livi needs her Canucks back!

The Rainy Adventures of Corny and Pumpkinny

Ahhh, it's over. Halloween is done for 2012. We'll get excited for it again in 11 months.
Last Friday we made a trip to the pumpkin patch with the girls. We decided to go early on a week day to beat the crowds and take advantage of the discount. One thing we didn't realize was weekdays = field trips. 6 school buses of kids joined us as we braved the elements.

After the initial line up to get in, we were greeted by a dancing Corn on the Cob "Corny" and his pumpkin cohort "Pumpkinny"? and a full band playing songs. We watched for a bit and then got on a tractor for the hayride. They sang songs which Olivia loved and clapped along. They pulled up to the field where we were to pick our pumpkins and dropped us off.

At this moment I realized that putting Livi and I in Chuck Taylors was not a great idea. Sam and Emma the barnacle stood near the edge of the field under an umbrella and attempted to stay warm and dry. Livi and I were off through the mud. "Stuck Daddy!" Livi's little feet were no match for the muck and I was constantly pulling her out. We picked up the first 3 pumpkins that we found and put them in our bags, turned around and got back on the tractor. More songs, more rain, more Pumpkinny aaaaaaaand back to the car.

Well worth it and a great place to go.

Sam and the barnacle

Muddy feet

There's Pumpkinny in the background

All carved

A great night was had by the Nutley's. Olivia was dressed up as her favourite Sesame Street character Abby Cadabby (see Figure 1 for reference) and our little Emma was an aerobics instructor or Emma Newton-John (she did not get physical at all. Unless sleeping and smiling count). Sam made the Abby costume herself from scratch and did a wonderful job. Emma's however was thrown together from stuff we had around the house.

Like last year we went to the mall down the street which does a Halloween event where all of the stores inside give out candy and all proceeds go to charity.

The girls had a great time seeing both of their Nana's, getting lots of candy and being kept up at all night by firecrackers.

Figure.1

Adding freckles

Emma Newton-John

Nana and the girls

Nana and Grandad's house

Abby Cadabby

The Nutleys

Pay-Gound!

Fun! Pay-Gound!

Team Zissou - Junior Member

That is currently the most used phrase in our household right now. The first thing Livi says when she wakes up, when we put her on the phone to one of her grandparents, when I get home from work and when we're trying to get her to sleep. Apparently she has fun at the playground. We think anyway.

Our little girls are doing great. Emma is getting close to 3 months old now. Her first set of shots were last week. Everything went well. Emma screamed. Sam cried. Livi said Fun...Pay-Gound! She's smiling constantly at everyone and is overall a very happy little Nutley. She's making noise all the time and starting to laugh. Sam's very good at getting her to giggle.

Livi is doing great too. Getting more independent and grown up everyday. She's sleeping in her bed now for the most part. It took a little adjustment but she's getting used to it.

Passed out

It's starting to get a bit colder in Vancouver. The weather is still nice but we're wearing more jackets and toques. Thankfully we've got thousands of them and we're covered for every possible outfit combination. Nothing cuter than a kid in a toque.

Livi and her gang

We're looking at a busy few months ahead with weddings to attend, Halloween and a certain little girls birthday at the end of the year. Then Christmas 5 days later.

Wrapped up warm

Sisters

Little Emma Nutley is almost 2 months old.

Still a week and a bit off of that now that I actually look at a calendar but close enough.

Things are going great with our little Emerald. She's a very happy and smiles all the time as you can see by the previous post. She's started 'coo-ing' and imitating us talking to her. She has her moments of crankiness don't get me wrong. It's not all sing-alongs and dancing around the Nutley house but she's a delight and very easy going.

Livi is doing great too. Repeating everything we say. EVERYTHING! She also says everything she is doing and everything she sees. We will be walking down the street and in 5 minutes our conversation is:

Liv: Bus!
Me: Yeah bus.
Liv: Dada, bus!
Me: Yeah bus Livi.
Liv: Bus, Daddy, Fun.
Me: Yeah fun on the bus
Liv: Mokol (motorcylce)
Me: Yep
Liv: Green. Blue.Poop. Emma. Cry. Oh gosh. Hat. Mickey.
Me: ??
Liv: One, Two, Three. Bus. hahahahaha
Me: :-)

Yep. She can count. She lines things up and can count to eleven. Sometimes she gets distracted and adds new numbers in. Bus seems to be a popular number that randomly pops in. I don't know what denomination a bus is though.

Happy Girls!

These are just too cute not to share...

Olivia (20 months)

Emma (6 weeks)

Emma Charlotte Nutley

Presenting the newest Nutley, Emma Charlotte Nutley. Born Monday July 23, 2012 at 9:42am and weighing 7lbs 15oz. Everything went smoothly with both Emma and Sam. Livi and I are holding up as well.

We spent two nights in the hospital and were home Wednesday night. After a few rocky sleeps we've settled better into a routine and things are going great. Very busy obviously but great. Lots of pictures and stories to come but for now here she is.

38 Weeks

38 weeks yesterday!! I've been told by a few people that I'm looking VERY pregnant lately, which I suppose is a good thing but I find it funny since I've often wondered if my belly looked smaller lately.  Maybe just wishful thinking on my part. ;-) Nah...I kind of like my belly and I'm sure I'm going to miss it eventually.

Anyway, this just might be the last belly photo of this pregnancy as we're scheduled to have a c-section on Monday (July 23rd)! We'll find out on Friday afternoon what time we're supposed to be at the hospital on Monday morning or if for some reason we've been "bumped"...which we're REALLY hoping doesn't happen. We're ready to meet little munchkin #2 for sure!

In related news...I'm headed into the hospital again today for another Non-Stress Test on the little lady since my blood pressure was a little bit high at my last doctor's appointment. I had this test done last week as well and although the bp was elevated, everything else was good so I was sent home and ordered to "rest and avoid stimulants like coffee and chocolate". Boo on the chocolate...I've been craving it like crazy lately! Anyway, nothing to worry about, we had this same test done a couple of times towards the end of my pregnancy with Olivia too and all turned out well...just a precaution to make sure little lady is still doing better on the inside than she would be on the outside.

As always, we'll keep everyone posted as much as possible and as soon as new baby arrives we will make the big announcement! Don't worry! :-)

Nutley family of three....for now (KOW)

As we enter the last week of being a one child family I keep remembering all of the familiar things I'm going to go through again. With all of the new babies around us, I see the faces and hear the noises that the tiny ones make. Olivia seems like such a departure from that now as she runs around the house and repeats every word we say like a parrot. It's going to be very exciting I know but also very busy. Not so much looking after the new spawn but chasing after the older one.

Speaking of our older monster, over the weekend we brought her to see Elmo Live!. Disregarding the rule "you don't wear the t-shirt of the band that you're going to see", we put the Livster in her Elmo shirt and drove out to Abbotsford. Quite a different concert experience from seeing The Rolling Stone's in BC Place or Social Distortion at The Commodore. Elmo and the gang put on a good show and the crowd of a hockey arena full of dancing toddlers was entertaining too.

This will most likely be the last update before the new arrival so we'll catch up then (when we have time obviously) and have lots of of new info, pictures and stories.

Maybe we shouldn't listen to The Fox anymore...

Well...for some kids its truck, others its frog, but for our hilarious little Livster its...Fox! We discovered this while listening to The Fox radio station in the car a couple of weeks ago. I know its not the classiest thing  for a little girl to say and we won't be encouraging it for much longer...but its just so funny!! Anyway, enjoy while its still cute! ;-)

Oh and here's a belly photo I took at work the other day...

This was taken Sunday which was 35 weeks. That's just one week short of 9 months! Can't believe that we should be meeting our new little girl in less than a month!

8 Months and New Babies Everywhere!!

Well, I actually managed to remember to take the 8 month photo! I'm shocked because we have had SO much going on in the past few weeks with all of the new babies that made their arrivals in the last couple weeks of May. 

First we got to meet Sean's cousin Angela's new baby girl Jayde who was born on May 20th, next were our good friends Derek & Laura who had another little girl, Genevieve, on May 22nd, and last but certainly not least were Auntie Daryl & Uncle Alex's who had their little guy, Beckett, on May 23rd! So many babies!!

So, finally, here he is...Olivia's very first cousin: Beckett Roan Mead! This picture was sent to us today by Auntie Daryl...he is looking more and more like his mommy every day!

And here are a few from Beckett's birthday, May 23rd, 2012:

We're SO excited that he is here and we can't wait to watch him grow up! Love you buddy! <3