Ten Facts About Me and My Better Half

The wonderful Hallie (aka Betty Beguiles) asked us to do similar posts, and here's mine!

ONE

I have known Dave since Kindergarten; he was in grade 2. We both went to St. Francis of Assisi elementary school in Georgetown, ON. Our childhood homes were 5 minutes apart ON FOOT. Two years is a huge deal at the age, though, so we weren't friends. But our school only had 200 or so students, so we knew each other and have a number of shared teachers and memories.

TWO

We became good friends during high school during which we were in musicals together. We really started hanging out because my friend Jen (hey Jen!) had a crush on him when they worked together at the same pizza place. She would take my bus home as it was also Dave's bus, and we all started hanging out. They never dated, but Dave did date 3 of my friends prior to me. None were terribly serious. I also dated a several guys, including three bests friends in sequence.

During this period of not dating, Dave slowly grew to be one of my closest friends.

THREE

We finally started dating in the summer of 1995, when I was 17 and about to enter my last year of high school. Dave had take some time off between high school and University, so we spent a tonne of time together to my Dad's initial chagrin. I didn't get distracted, though - I still graduated with the highest average and was the lead in the musical on top of other extra curricular activities. Nerd!

FOUR

Dave and I went to schools that were 4 hours apart. We broke up during our 2nd year of University, but we remained close friends. We both dated other people, but nothing lasted. This break up was vital, though. We - me especially - needed to be apart to realize just how much we were meant to be together. It was difficult for me, as we'd started dating when I was still unable to legally vote -- how was I to be SURE this was the right path?

FIVE

We got back together just after Christmas of our final year of undergrad. In retrospect, it's comical how many signals God sent me about Dave. The final straw was when I realized "I compare every man out there to Dave. If he's my benchmark, why am I not dating the benchmark?!?" And he was all for reuniting. That was over 11 years ago.

SIX

When we reunited, one thing he really wanted to do was to travel with me. One day at a pub, we sat down and discussed all the places we wanted to travel. I jotted the list down on a napkin, which I kept in my wallet. In July of 2003, he nabbed the list and added: "I'll make sure that we'll go to all of these places but there's one condition...Will You Marry Me?"

SEVEN

We got married on October 9, 2004 in our childhood parish, Holy Cross. The newly-ordained son of our high school Geography teacher married us. The week before we got married, I moved to Ottawa for work. He followed immediately after our honeymoon. As such, our entire married life has been here in Ottawa.

FYI - Our wedding song was "The Way You Look Tonight" sung by Frank Sinatra. We both agree, though, that we were to pick again, we'd pick "As Time Goes By" as we love Casablanca.

EIGHT

His middle name is Thomas, after his maternal grandfather. His paternal grandmother (the incomparable Nanny Bessie) used to call him "Doubting Thomas" and she was right. If he is skeptical, he requires oodles of convincing.

NINE

He is a loving son, a devoted son-in-law and a phenomenal father. He is also bearded. Teddy has his hands and feet while Veronica has his eyes.


TEN

He is incredibly kind. He is hilarious and witty. He is wonderful with children. There is no one with whom I'd rather spend time or grow old.

Veronica - January to March 2011

As promised, here is Veronica's passport photo. It was taken in mid-December and does she ever look like a bruiser. It was a big hit during our trip.

I have had this post in my draft folder for over 2 months! I need to document all this stuff, though, as I search through my archives looking for Teddy-specific info all the time. I am going to add to it and have a big summary of what Veronica has been up to since the start of the year.

January

• She had her 4 month check-up and shots on January 6th. They were a little late, but we couldn't get in over the holidays. I was a bit nervous as we met another little girl in the waiting room who was 2 weeks younger and looked like she was 9 months old! An elderly couple asked me: "Was she born early? Or was she small? She's so tiny!" But it turns out that the other baby (Victoria) was nearly 12 lbs at birth and it WAAY off the charts. And Veronica is weighing in at 16 lbs, 3 0z and 25.5 inches in length. That's the 90th percentile (for weight) and I'll take it.

• She hit the 19 week developmental spurt, so her sleep was a bit off. She was nowhere near as sad as during the 12 week one, but she wasn't herself. That said, it is uncanny how many of the behaviours outlined in "The Wonder Weeks" that she displayed. My favourite? The blowing of spit bubbles. The endless raspberries are a riot.
• Even during leaps, she is just such a happy, sweet little monkey. She rarely cries, and almost NEVER cries for more than 1 minute of so. She has this gooney little chuckle. She LOVES me and Dave and Teddy -- lots of grins when she spots us. She's chunky and totally edible.
• She verbalizes almost constantly. Teddy was chatty, but she is off the charts. My parents say that I was like that as a baby, so she may just be a chatterbox like me!
  
• The one thing that she hates, though, is to be in her bouncy seat while we're eating. Little Miss wants to be part of the action, thank you. She loves people -- I suspect that we've another extrovert on our hands. Poor Dave - three extroverts in the house. He keeps saying: "Eh - you guys can all talk to each other while I recharge by myself!"

February

• Little Miss V continued to eat and grow. She hit the 27 week spurt, but once again wasn't terribly grumpy during it. Early in the month, the terminal drool started. Less than Teddy and later than Teddy, but she soaks clothes and bibs. And added benefit is the projectile gagging and the projectile puking. It seems to have subsided over time, but I got hit 3 or 4 days in a row mid-month.
• Early in the month, Dave had to spend the week in Toronto for work. My Mom came to stay with us for the week, bless her. Veronica just loves my Mom, so she had a great time cooing and smiling at her. She recognizes my parents now and gets excited when they come to visit.
  
• On the 13th, she FINALLY rolled over. She also sat up unaided for the first time that day. For a few seconds, but still. A big day!
• Around the same time, her ability to articulate consonants really expanded. All of a sudden, she could say 'Dadadada' 'Bamp Bampa', etc. She gabs away all day long.
• She continues to be incredibly happy in the morning. She just screeches with happiness. Dave, who gets up with Teddy, comes to see her when he hears her yells of joy. I suspect that she'll be a morning person like her brother. WOE for Dave and I, who are decidedly NOT morning folk.
• At the end of the month, she flew for the first time and visited her first US state, Florida. She was a pro on the plane; no problems at all. She also hit her first outlet mall and swam for the first time. She was a fan!

March

• On the last day of February, V embarked on her first cruise onboard Celebrity's Equinox. She had a great time. Lots to look at, and she enjoyed the warm weather (though she got a bit of a heat rash on the back of her neck). It was so unusual to see her in shorts and tshirts - so much soft and chunky skin! It was also wonderful to dress her in dresses every day. She visited 6 countries (she's seen 8) and another continent. People cooed over her and her crazy hair - it STILL stands straight up.
• Boy - did I miss cloth diapers. Veronica had 16(!!!) blowouts during our 2 week trip. I spent a lot of time scrubbing clothes in the bathroom. Boo!
• On the 2nd of March, she started sat up without support for nearly half an hour. And now, she sits up for over an hour at a time. She's a pro! She also reaches for an manipulates toys, turning them around, trying to put them in her mouth. She is so INTERESTED in everything - toys, people. Her personality is shining through and it's AWESOME!
• I have to admit - my back was pretty sore after hauling her around all the time. Near the end of the cruise, I was looking at family photos we'd had taken and was FLOORED by how huge she was looking. So long, so chunky. She was barely fitting in to her 6-12 month warm weather clothes, and her 9 month pjs were getting tight.

So we had her (slightly late) 6 month appointment on March 15th. And she? Is tipping the scales at 19 lbs, 5 0z and is 28 inches long!!! She's doing so very well! I have been worried all along about her growth because of what happened with Teddy and latching (it scared and scarred me more than I realized). But I am so happy, amazed and blessed that Veronica is doing so well. Go baby girl!

She is so fun to take places, as she delights in everything, from the wind on her face to faces you make at her. We went to the grocery store the other day - she can sit up in the cart, and she can get away with just a jacket now as it's warming up - and oh! She was such a riot! She just chuckled at everything and charmed all the other shoppers. What a sweetheart.

She is just getting interested in food. She is watching and watching us put food into our mouths, but isn't yet reaching for it. I am reading her cues, and we'll start introducing table food when she's ready for it.

She is a joy and a delight. She has her Daddy's eyes and still looks like her Aunt Flo (for whom she's named). I am so blessed and lucky to be her Mom.

Lent 2011

We're back from our trip and we had an amazing time. I cannot wait to blog about it, but first I want to delineate what I'd like to do this Lenten season.

I'm dividing it up into sections - omissions, addition, personal prayer, and family prayer.

Omission

- I will be giving up snacking/sweets for the season. It was getting out of control anyway, and this is a perfect opportunity to rein it in. I'll be fighting my inner glutton whom I've been indulging with the justification that "I'm breastfeeding". No more treats, no more desserts, no more snacking.

- Though it's not obligatory in Canada, we'll be going meatless on Fridays. Well, Dave packs his own lunch, but I have many meatless options for him those days, too.

Addition

- I will do one additional act of service for my family each day. These will be over and above the usual stuff I do (laundry, meal prep, etc.). They will include things like reducing clutter, deep cleaning, and the like. For example, today I scrubbed several fridge shelves. Things like that.

- I would like to do some greater acts of service over the course of lent. These will likely include almsgiving, but may include other things. No idea what they'll be yet.

Personal Prayer

- I need to get on track with this. I'm frazzled with the little guys, but I cannot keep using it as an excuse. As a result, I need to devote a chunk of time to prayer at least once a day. It can be a rosary, one of the hours of the divine office, scriptural reading, or something along those lines. Today, it was the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Family Prayer

- We've resolved to do this once a day, too. It will vary, depending on who's involved. Today, it was all four of us and it involved singing some kid-friendly songs ("I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart") and praying in general for the people we love. On days it's the adults, we'll aim for a rosary or a bunch of intercessory prayer.

So - that's the scoop. If you guys have any thoughts for additions to ANY of the areas, I'd love to hear them!