Mom and Dad dropped by for a quick visit while on their way to Kapuskasing. Dad and I got to work on the jet pump for the hot tub as it was making a screeching noise. Turns out the bearings needed some replacing so he took them home to fix them up. I have to tell you, that hot tub has something happening to it every year. It’s not the end of the world but it’s a learning curve!
Mom feeding Sierra like a pro!
Check out that smile!!
This was basically three weeks of Sierra’s life in August 2016…watching the summer Olympics!
Not every photo should be all smiles. This is how Sierra generally feels about tummy time.
I had a great birthday which was spent going to work where they showered me with beef jerky at a team meeting. Best gift ever! My friends did grace me with their presence for our daily walk around the Ottawa bridge. Here is some photos of what I get to look at each day at lunch hour.
View of Parliament from the Eddy bridge.
I wasn’t too sure what these were doing on the bridge. It may be a protest of some sort concerning the land around Hull that is being used for new condominiums.
A view of the Eddy bridge from the Portage bridge. I generally do a loop of walking both bridges.
The evening was spent with two ladies who are important in my life. Sierra didn’t really catch onto the concept of unwrapping gifts so I decided to leave her in the dust and unwrap them myself.
Troy has mailed me a very large package a few weeks back and if people know me, they know that I don’t open gifts until my birthday. For weeks I stared a giant flat cardboard box thinking it must have been a rock concert poster of some sort. Lo and behold, I was completely wrong and it turned out to be a life size cardboard cutout of Darth Vader!
Definitely one of the best gifts I have ever received! Thanks Troy and Connie! I tried putting it in different rooms around the house to figure out where to station him. Vero was NOT impressed when she found it in the nursery in the middle of the night. It gave her quite the fright!
Sierra, I am NOT your father.
Best babysitter ever.
A few days after my birthday, I took the Friday off so we could go out to the Library and Archives Canadian comic book exhibit called ‘Alter-Ego’. I have been getting into Canadian comic books for the past few years thanks to the work of people like Hope Nicholson and Rachel Richey who have worked at republishing older Canadian comic books via Kickstarter. It’s an interesting side to comic books that I had never been introduced to and I’m really thankful for anyone involved with bringing these comics back to life!
Sierra getting ready for her first comic book excursion!
The exhibit took a look at all aspects of Canadian comic books…whether it was actual comic books being published in Canada, to the writers and artists from Canada who work in the industry. It was a decent exhibit however I have to say that I had made it out to be larger in my mind. I was expecting to see at least a few real pages of Nelvana or Brock Windsor in behind a glass case or something but that didn’t happen. I still think everyone should go before it closes at the end of the summer and you can enjoy getting dressed up in superhero garb!
Jennie, Trish, Benoit and Vero choosing which superhero they wanted to be.
Here are three typical Canadian superheroes.
It was a hot day out so we decided to head to Les 3 Brasseures after the exhibit for a few pints. It was my first time there and I quite enjoyed it. Especially the pretzel!
Trish and Sierra wondering why Dad is such a ham.
It was also one of the first times Sierra was coming out into the public. I have to say Les 3 Brasseures was a decent place to do so because it’s so loud in there that if Sierra made some noises, you couldn’t really even hear anything over all the noise. Plus, it was my first time changing her in public and the changing station in the washroom was pretty easy to operate. I’m glad the waitress managed to tell me where it was as I was walking upstairs to change her in the mens washroom but she pointed out that the changing station was in the handicapped washroom on the main floor.
Thanks to all who came out for the birthday celebration! I am now on the hunt for a new audio interface to record some music with my new condenser microphone that Vero and Sierra picked up for me. I’m stoked! Merci bibs!
Two months into this gig and already I’m behind on updating this blog! As I post this picture, it’s already mid August so I’ll just wait and update people on what is happening with Sierra at the 3 month mark.
I am falling back into my old ways of not updating the chronicles of my life and I need to get back on that train!
Maureen, John and Abigail visited for a week to help out Vero and Sierra while I hung out in an air conditioned office. Heyo! I’m acclimatized at this point with the hot weather but it’s definitely a struggle for anyone coming in from up North! Heat wave city baby!
I was working all week long while everyone hung out at the house. So I have a bunch of photos that were downloaded off the camera that I have no recollection of because I wasn’t there. So for those pictures, I will just make up events surrounding the picture. I also love that Maureen made a little booklet of these photos and sent it up with Mom and Dad. Thanks Maureen!
Here is the first meeting of the two cousins. They were figuring out how to hotwire the strollers to a battery pack so they could zoom away from their parents.
Here is Abigail teaching Sierra the importance of having an escape route from the house in case of alien invasion. Sierra promptly asked her Dad to install a slide from her bedroom window when he got home from work.
Véro was teaching Abigail about the Olympics and how racing works. Clearly she picked it up quick as you can see that was going to beat Véro!
This year I finally got around to perfecting the ‘cool tub’ for the summer months. I checked a few websites and they said that around 89-90 is a good temperature for babies to go into the water so that’s what it’s set at. It’s a great tub for these sweltering days we have been having! Unfortunately the bearings went on the jet pump so we have the leave it off and on top of that, shortly after this photo was taken, I had to dump the entire hot tub of water because the cut off valves for the jet pump didn’t stop the flow of water! Man, I was pissed. Anyhow, Dad changed the bearing when he went home and I ended up picking up a new impeller as I have a tendency to crack them when I take them off. Mom and Dad also gave me some new tools to help me with that in the future! Hot tub maintenance is kind of a pain in the ass but it is necessary. Anyhow, for the couple of times we tried out the cool tub, I would say it’s a success!
Also, the shirtless photo of me is courtesy of my friend Clive who specifically said “Dude! I love seeing shirtless photos of you! Put up more!”
I love how photos generally show the serene, nice events in your life…aww..hanging out with the niece…
But the reality is more like “What the heck kid, come back with that burp cloth!!”
I have to say it was pretty cool when I was hanging out with Sierra and Abigail sauntered over and climbed up to hang out with the both of us.
Mom and Dad told me that Abigail sometimes didn’t pay attention when photos of her were being taken. I showed her how she can see herself in the iPhone when taking a photo and she was thinking that feature was pretty intriguing!
John and I had really high hopes of jamming a little, recording some tunes and doing all the things we have always wanted to do since we don’t get a lot of time together. It ended up being a week of taking care of the kids, watching Rick and Morty and having a night of old school gaming. So what if our plans get derailed? We still had a great time together.
I can’t really figure out if Abigail was rubbing the Buddha belly for good luck or was trying to see what comes out if she pushes downward!
My girl already has eyes for a nice Italian boy seen in our living room.
Abigail was trying to figure out how to trap moquitoes with bubbles.
It was pretty awesome that Abigail liked playing ball in our backyard. It was a glimpse into our future.
John and Maureen’s friend dropped by and someone snapped the greatest photo of Abigail ever.
Fredo decided to join the Pope Clan.
Aunt Maureen getting one last hug in.
It was great having Maureen, John and Abigail spend a week with us. We are very grateful to all the family and friends who have dropped by and given us a hand for the past two months! Now onto the next chapter…taking care of the baby ourselves!
How awesome is this find at Costco in Gatineau?! Mike and I need to build a spit. I was wondering about the logistics of picking this thing up…would I need to purchase it on a Thursday and let it defrost for a few days and then cook it up on a Saturday? Who knows? So excited to see this next to the yogurt at Costco.
So on Saturday, we witnessed an interesting phenomenon with Sierra in that she had zero sleep all day long which is abnormal as she generally takes a few naps. Of course, because of this, she was quite cranky.
Then Sunday shows up and she proceeds to sleep from 10am when I took her for a walk until around 8PM! She did wake up for feedings, but would go back to sleep right away. While this gave us an excellent Sunday afternoon around the house to do things that weren’t baby related, it also set us up for a night where she didn’t really sleep all that much.
ANYHOW, when she was waking up around 8PM, I figured I would swoop in and change her diaper before another feeding started. I peeled back the diaper and no poop was to be seen…bonus! It’s like I won the diaper lottery!
While I was checking for fecal matter, Sierra let one rip right in my face! Whew, the stench hit me like a gale force wind and knocked me back a few feet.
I thought “Well, at least nothing else came out the rear end while I was down there!”
Like a Professor X-like telepathic signal, I must have triggered something inside of her and the bowels of Hell (literally!) unleashed a fury that no man should have to witness. I luckily had the old diaper still laying there and I grabbed it like a hero would dive in front of a kid to save them from a bullet. Using it as a shield I was afraid that the fabric of this diaper was no match for the sheer force of what I was hearing come out of this 9 lb body. I managed to nab another diaper and add it to the collection. I felt like it was just one more sandbag to stop the flood but it just wasn’t going to be enough.
Meanwhile, Vero is wondering what all my yelling is about and comes into the room and proceeds to laugh her ass off. She’s lying there cramped in the middle of the room while I’m trying to stop this kid’s mess. I’m pretty sure Vero peed her pants a little from all the laughter.
Sierra finally calmed down enough for me to attempt to cleanup the scene of the crime and I realized I will never, ever try and change her before she has fully awakened. Because when she is waking up she generally passes some furious gas and now I really know up close and personal what really happens down there when she awakens.
Sierra enjoying the quilt that Grandma made for her. It even has her name stitched into it!
As my good friend Benoit pointed out, I have become lax in updating this blog! Considering this is a chronicle of my life, perhaps I should get around to putting some words down!
This is currently my favourite photo of Sierra.
Yesterday Sierra turned eight weeks old. Which is somehow different than 2 months old. I always thought it was strange how parents referred to their kids by number of weeks old instead of months but now I somewhat understand it from a developmental point of view
Today we hit another milestone in our lives as we tried out the breast pump this morning. Vero’s comment on the experience: “I feel like a cow.” Cow or not, we are both excited about the prospect of giving Vero a little more freedom. Milk in bottles = less Vero needed for feeding! Yay! We have been very lucky throughout the entire pregnancy and birth of the baby and now parenting and we do not just assume that all will work according to plan. It is nice, however, when things do work out. For reference later on, we started her out at 4 oz of milk. Afterwards, she fell asleep while on a walk with Dad and hasn’t woken up in 2 hours. Update: Actually, she abnormally slept most of the day. Strange!
It was an interesting experience giving Sierra her first bottle. She took it right away without any fuss. I figured she would considering it holds the nectar of the Gods! Vero also was quite happy that this signalled a little more freedom.
Sierra is an interesting creature. When she had visitors for the past few weeks, we felt that she didn’t cry as much. As soon as the visitors leave the building, she becomes quite fussy. I think that maybe she needs a lot of stimulation and after a long day, her parents may not give her enough? We’re not too sure. Saturday was a good example. In the morning she was having a grand old time after feeding. We went for a walk, she hung out in her bassinet where she was smiling and making noises and acting like a happy baby. Then the afternoon hits and she is cranky and the entire evening was made up of screaming fits. It’s not the end of the world but it’s definitely a hard time for us when we look at the kid and think “Alright kid, what’s up?” Every parent/babysitter/relative has gone through this as well so it’s the human experience!
Not all is bad however at eight weeks old. She is putting on the pounds and today will be her last day in newborn diapers. Some people must find it funny that she is still in newborn diapers considering some babies are born and don’t even fit into them! Anyhow, for future reference to Sierra when she is reading this and needs some advice…when a baby poops and it shoots up their back, it might be time for a larger diaper!
Mom and Dad dropped off some interesting books for us to read: some old baby books chronicling the lives of Mom and myself when we were babies. It’s really interesting to read similar things that are happening with our baby. I had a good laugh when it was mentioned that I loved bananas the first time I tried them. I hate bananas now so I’m not sure how that changed!
Sierra enjoying her first Star Wars viewing. She was actually quite enthralled by it. It was the French version which was an interesting experience to watch.
We’re pretty excited that she seems very interactive now. She really enjoys her little play yard and sometimes she smiles when she sees us come near.
The next week will be interesting as we will have two year old Abigail with us so we will see how the cousin’s get along! I finally got the hot tub heat pump back up and running thanks to Dad’s help and it is now ready to have the two of them jump in and cool off during the summer! Unfortunately the jet pump seems to be making quite the noise so I’ll have to check on that.
A video of Sierra at eight weeks old.
I’ll stop this entry here as I have a few weeks of catching up to do! (Aka, post the pictures of the people who have visited so they can say “Hey look, I’m on the web!”)
