Right Now

Thank you Shannon Turner Photography for our beautiful family photos! You not only have an eye behind the camera but you also have a great personal skill with people and children. Being a mom of four yourself, makes you an easy decision for me for family pictures every time!

A few people asked me "Why don't you just wait until the baby is born to get family pictures taken?", my response was "I want to remember this phase right now." Two year old Luke, our little trio family,  it's special dynamic and the bump. Our little triple will soon become a quartet but I want to remember everything that is right now because while I am so excited about growing our family and meeting baby L #2, Ty and I are also so in love with the dynamic we currently have. 

Contentment in the moment, while anticipation for the future. It's a hard balance. Sometimes I like to day dream about the future of our family and others, I like to just sit in what it is right now. 

So that's why we got our photos taken. I would like to try and have them done consistently at least twice a year as children change so much in such short periods of time and just looking back on photos takes you right to those moments you use to be in.

Xoxo

Audrey

A Day At The Pinery

I needed a family day, just me and my boys. We went to the Pinery for a hike, a visit to the beach and a picnic lunch. Then we went for a stroll through Grand Bend. It was a great day and an awesome way to start the summer. 

Hey, all you Lambton County folk, wouldn't you agree that we live in such a pretty place!!! Here are some pictures from our day. Ty and I agreed, we need to do days like this more often. A new family tradition has been formed. 

Weekend wishes my friends!

Learn more about the Pinery here and consider playing local. 

Luke - 7 Months

Luke, it is so fun to watch you grow and learn.

Things are starting to get a little wild around here. You are a wriggler when I try and change your bottom and you are very vocal when you want our attention.

You and I watch Ellen in the afternoons from 3-4 while we wait for dad to get home from work and when I laugh at Ellen, you laugh at me.

I am always trying to figure you out because your always evolving, I am thinking this will never change. I like that you keep me on my toes. Your dad and I peek at you every night when your sleeping and whisper "dream big Lukey Luke".

Family Photos - Luke's First Week

We had a photo session with Shannon Turner Photography when Luke was about a week old.  Looking back at these photos I am so glad I captured this moment in our lives.  I am having so much fun being a mom, and I am more fulfilled than I could have imagined.  Having Luke has awakened the inner child in me, the day dreamer, the creator, a piece of me that I think I had been hiding for awhile.

Time is passing but I am enjoying every moment! 

Thank you Shannon for your great work, my favourite is the third one down, big yawn. 

Hey Babies

One of the awesome things about CCI Studios is that we are always looking for ways to make a positive impact on our world.  Our company is made up of people who don't just love to develop creative marketing, but  they also  love to develop creative marketing that will make a difference.  We all want to go to work each day knowing that our efforts are moving us towards great changes in the world.  We all hit walls every once in awhile and I don't know about you but for me, a healthy bottom line isn't going to get me out of bed on a bad day.  Knowing that I am helping people while making a living, now thats something to jump out of bed for in the morning.

The reason for this explanation is because with the creative capacity within CCI Studios, we are launching a new company called  Hey Babies.  Hey Babies is a for profit corporation with a social conscience, which means, we want to do good towards a specific cause in as many facets of the company as possible. 

Hey Babies will be an online store for previously loved and practically new  baby and child clothing from 0 - 5 years as well as maternity clothing .  The online store will be updated  daily, and the shopping experience will be smooth, seamless and quick!  The clothing will be donated by you and when you give to us we will give you a gift card for either yourself or someone you know to shop again on Hey Babies.  We will do all clothing pick ups which you can schedule online through the website.  We are working towards launching this company in Autumn of 2015. 

The Hey Babies cause will work towards ending violence against women.  A percentage of all profits will be donated to organizations such as One Spark to assist them in their efforts.  We will also look to provide women fleeing violent living situations with careers that allow them independence and freedom from violence.  Hey Babies is also going to work with One Spark to create a fund where women in need of emergency financial assistance to get them out of a violent situation, can go to get the dollars they need to get themselves - and possibly their children - to safety.  Violence against women is an issue that we can all take action to eradicate and CCI Studios' step is starting Hey Babies. 

I am sharing all of these details with you now because we would like to begin building our inventory so when the website launches in Autumn, we are ready for shoppers from across  Canada.  All initial clothing donors in this phase will be recorded and prior to the website launching, donors will receive a notification with a gift for assisting us in getting this company off the ground.

Now, I know some of you may not be ready to part with your baby clothes, I know I am not because I am not quite sure what lies ahead for our little family.  For those of you in the same boat as me, I would ask that you just keep your eyes open for the site launch and take advantage of the great deals when you have clothing needs for your children.  For those of you who are ready to start clearing out your baby clothes, please send me an email Heather Lapier and either Luke and I or a CCI Studios team member, will schedule a time to pick up your items and collect your contact information.

I appreciate your time reading this article, we are all extremely excited about this company!  We believe we can help bring an end to violence against women and are hopeful that the communities that surround us, will support our efforts while benefiting from its offering.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

xoxo

Luke - 4 Months Old

Happy Four Month Birthday Luke!  Here are some awesome moments from the last month.

This month you had your first real giggle. Charlie was running around on the floor being a little crazy because he hadn't been walked for a few days and you thought it was so funny.  Your dad and I were both there to see it.

Your getting better at tummy time.  

You met Santa and you loved him!

You were officially sick this month for the first time with a bad cold and fever.  I was a little scared at first but your happy demeanour through it all, let me know that you would be just fine.

You enjoyed your first Christmas and were officially spoiled with love and gifts.

You love chewing on your hands right now, I am not sure if you are teething quite yet but I think this phase is on its way.

We call you Lukey, I don't think I have mentioned that yet.  It was very natural for this to be your nick name.  Everyone calls you Lukey as soon as they meet you, even the people who don't know that  is what your family and friends call you.

A few mornings ago you woke up chatting and just didn't stop making noise.  I think you get your chattiness from me and your dad, we are not quiet people so why would we expect you to be.

Keep the good times rolling little man.

Love your mom,
xoxo

Luke's First Christmas

On Christmas morning Luke fell asleep after his first bottle and I had time to reflect on the events leading up to his first Christmas.  I have said it before and I will say it again, mornings are my favourite time of day, quiet still mornings when you can collect your thoughts before the day begins.  This Christmas morning was one of those morning and I was so grateful to be able to jot down some thoughts.  Here are some of my memories about this years Christmas.

Karli and Adam got a huge Griswold style tree from Sloans when we all went together to get our trees.  They had to cut the top off their tree to make it fit in their living room.  The tree was really beautiful and I will have secret happy laughs about its grand size forever.

I have never felt as close to the Christmas Story of Baby Jesus as I did this year.  I shared my thoughts about my empathy for this story in My Christmas Story.  I am filled with so much love and joy from this Christmas, I think it will be easier than ever to really keep the Christmas spirit in my heart all year.

Luke represented Baby Jesus in our church's Christmas Eve service and while Rev. Blaire held Luke he said a beautiful blessing. I continue to become more proud of my son, husband and our entire family everyday. 

Our 4 year old niece, and Karli and Adam with their 1 year old Violet, were in church with us as well. It was sweaty and kind of crazy trying to keep everyone happy through church but even the caos makes my heart smile.

It rained on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

I always have dreams and cool ideas for parties and gift giving but often run out of time and don't complete everything I want to. I literally got everything done that I wanted to this year, had a blast doing it and didn't feel stressed for a moment! 

Tyler and I watched a bunch of Christmas movies together. There is something so peaceful about a house with a sleeping baby in it. And, Ty and I sitting on the couch together at the end of the day has a whole new specialness to it. As we watched the Christmas movies we could not help but giggle and chat about how excited we are to share all the magic of Christmas with our son when he gets old enough to understand. 

On Christmas morning I was awake about and hour and a half before Luke, Tyler and Charlie, I am just a big kid.  When Luke did wake up we sat on the couch together, watched CMT Christmas, drank coffee, snuggled and prayed, before we got dad out of bed.

Luke is so sweet at his current stage, he is a happy, snuggly little baby that fills my arms with the best weight when he is in them. His weight on my chest, his little snorky nose in my ear and his soft fuzzy head against my cheek is truly the best gift I could ever receive.

For the past few years Tyler and I have spent Christmas morning at home with Charlie and this year was the same except even better having Luke.  All Christmas I kept thinking to myself "it just feels like Luke has always been here, it just feels right to be a little family".

During the middle of the day on Christmas, Luke had a perfect nap in his little bouncy chair on the kitchen table while I finished prepping the food for our Christmas party.

Last Boxing Day is when Tyler and I found out we would be parents. I remember attending our holiday parties, with the big secret, of a tiny baby, between the two of us. It was kind of awesome looking at eachother, being the only ones knowing what our smiles were really about.  At that time I had absolutely no idea how much love this little person could bring into my life, our lives and the lives of our families.  Family is the best gift ever!

This post may seem a little scattered but it was challenging to make my memories cohesive when I just wanted to get all the moments recorded.

Wishing everyone the love of family and the joy of Christmas all year!

Maternity Leave Adventures - Christmas Cookies

On Monday we baked Christmas cookies and holiday treats all day, just three moms (me, Ashley and Randi) and our three babies.  We balanced mixing with feedings, timers with nap times and icing with meltdowns, it was seriously the funnest day I have had in a long time. 

The best part about the day was all of us being together, working on a project.  I love being with these girls and their babies, and I have no doubt that the kids will be great friends one day too. 

The three of us get together at least once a week. We attend circle time at the library, take the babies to the pool, drink gut wrenching amounts of coffee and make eachother lunch, most of all we are there for eachother during happy and tough mommy moments. 

I am working on a series of posts I will share here about my emtional highs and lows of motherhood so far, but I will admit I have lots, and without these ladies to talk to and spend time with, I would be lost.  We listen to eachother, support eachother and best of all, relate to eachother. It's a comforting feeling to know your not alone in a difficult time and an exciting feeling to be able share your joy with someone who is at the same place in life.  I have always loved sharing honestly with friends because of the connection that can be forged from relating to others, this is the very reason I started blogging. When I became a mother, the need to relate to other moms was even greater. It's a whole new world, this motherhood thing, and I needed to know my baby wasn't broken and that I wasn't crazy and my mom friends give me that piece of mind and comfort. 

I am soaking up where we are at right now and know we will be fine as we move forward because we have each other. 

As I hand out the Christmas treats to my neighbours and enjoy some of them myself, I count the blessing of these women in my life and the time we have right now to ease into motherhood together and enjoy some things we may not otherwise have time to enjoy. 

Here are some of the recipes for the treats we made if you want to give them a go, most were Pinterest wins!  I hope you are enjoying your time leading up to Christmas. 

Sugar Cookies - Craftiness Is Not Optional 

Royal Icing - Tips From A Typical Mom Blog 

Scor Bark - Foodie Isms 

Oreo Truffles - Budget Savvy Diva

Peanut Butter Balls - Mommy Octopus

Luke - 2 Months Old

Luke, your dad and I are enjoying watching you grow, you are a happy baby and a pleasure to be around.  Your second month has been packed with lots of fun activities and milestones.  This month we went on a few road trips and you celebrated two of your first holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween.  Everywhere we go you are getting tons of love from your family members, you love to snuggle and are laid back with everyone.

One very exciting milestone that you hit this week was beginning to sleep through the night.  You have been a pretty good sleeper from the beginning but we are so grateful that you have started to sleep for 8 hours or more, at a time.  As I mentioned, you are a very snuggly baby and your dad and I agree that when you fall asleep on us, it is the best feeling ever!

You have started to have some pretty big smiles this month too, probably because your sleeping so well ;) and maybe even a few little laughs.  The word "moo" is a sure way to make you smile. 

You like music and when I sing to you, and your also reacting more to your toys.  It's been a good month!  As we get into November I am excited to start sharing Christmas traditions with you and create new ones too! 

Please stay as sweet as you are today, forever!

xoxo Mom