And We're Back

We got home on Saturday and I think everyone was relieved to sleep in their own beds. Even the dogs took up their usual spots (although Jackson's bed was missing and he searched for it forgetting that it had been packed away. I felt a little bad but then he found his place in the closet). Rowan's sleep was absolutely horrible the entire 2 weeks that we were away. It didn't seem to matter whether he was in a crib or in a play pen. He was miserable and woke up at least twice a night and had to be fed to be consoled. I am sure most mothers will understand when I say that feeding him at night was bittersweet. On one hand: I love being able to rock him and feed him and make him happy. On the other hand: I know that by mothering him I am potentially teaching him bad habits and that is really not what I want at all. I have a little angel and a little devil sitting on my shoulders all the time and sometimes, I wish they would just shut the hell up and let me be! Anyway, Rowan's sleeping improved immediately upon our return. He might still get up twice a night, but the duration between each waking has increased and he seems better able to soothe himself back to sleep.

I guess he loves his crib. Or maybe it's the drugs?

Who knows really? All I know is that he now has 4 new teeth (2 are fully in and 2 others are almost through), he is crawling, talking (making crazy "o" and "a" sounds and pursing his mouth in amazement incessantly), pulling himself up to stand and walking around everything, and discovering the world at an alarming pace. All of that combined with a long period of being away from his home and off routine couldn't have been easy. I guess a little mothering (or a lot of mothering) was needed and rather than worry too much about what is *right* and what is *wrong*, I should just flick that little devil and angel right off my shoulder and go with my instinct from now on.

HA! Easier said than done.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I am extremely proud of my baby boy for all that he has accomplished and survived these past 2 weeks. He doesn't know it yet, but he is in for even more chaos before the summer is out. We've started packing up the house and it is completely upside down. In less than 3 weeks we'll be out of here and living in our new place which is both exciting and nerve racking. I absolutely abhor moving and packing but I absolutely love the idea of settling in a place that is open, spacious, bright and fresh. On that note--remember the photos of the house I said we bought? Well, it turns out that we bought a different place. I wish I had recorded the trials and tribulations that were our house hunting experience, but to be honest, during the process I was so tired and discouraged I really didn't feel like talking about it. Imagine, it was harder to buy a house with a sizable budget than it was to buy this place! I honestly was not prepared for the craziness that happened. But, 4 offers later and a LOT of psychotic nonsense on the part of the agents representing the people who bought our current home, we are proud owners of a 3300+ square foot home, located within walking distance of a Startbucks (for John), shopping mall (for me), YMCA and swimming pool (for Chubby), and many beautiful parks (for the dogs). The neighbourhood isn't exactly what we wanted but it is only a bike ride to Westboro (and we live steps away from the bike trail that will take us there) and you know what, being 1-2km away saved us a truck load of money. I mean-TRUCK LOAD. So, that makes both John and I really happy because we get everything we wanted but for less. Who wouldn't be happy with that?

I will describe the new house and post pictures later on.