A Life Lesson to Remember

I was talking with a co-worker today and she was telling me about how she doesn't really enjoy Christmas or is "into" Christmas. But she realized that her attitude and negativety were rubbing off on her son, who is a teenager. She realized that he was adapting her personal view because that's what children do, he decided he didn't like decorating either, because he loved his mom. It was a great life lesson for me, as we are just learning this whole parenting thing, to try to always keep myself in check, especially my attitude, so that our children can decide for themselves how they feel about something, instead of mimicking or adapting my attitude or view point.

Baby Face Contest

So an update on the Zellers Baby Face Contest. We didn't hear anything. Obviously Zellers doesn't know anything about cute babys. They suck.

Grow up! Don't Grow up!!

The other night I helped Cameron at his youth group. Most of the kids are about 12 and extremely, let's see, trying. I came home, picked up Linc, and told him to stay this age until he was 21, then he could just jump ahead, skipping all that annoying stuff in between. Everyday I watch him grow bigger, learn new things and everyday I wish he would stay right where he is. And everyday I can't wait until he is a little bigger, until he can talk, walk, run and finally hug me back! So i guess I want him to hurry up and stop growing!

A true man

Linc has this weird obsession with anything electronic. The portable phone, remote and black berry & cell phone are his absolute favorite things. I have actually started letting him play with the remote as I try to change him because it is the only thing he will stay still for long enough for me to finish the deed. The other day we were playing on the floor and I was texting someone and set the cell on the floor when I was done. So he goes for it right away, so I move it away and put a toy in front of him. He literally pushes the toy out of the way and goes for the phone again! Everyday we call papa (stephen) at work on speaker phone - he gets this HUGE smile on his face every time! Its priceless! All things technological he loves, just like a true man.

6 months is the BEST!

Wow a lot has happened in the last month! I was writing in Linc's baby book and filling in the small spot that is for all the things that happened when he is 6months, and I ran out of room!

#1 Our little gaffer got his first 2 teeth! He was cute before but he is incredibly cute now. I keep trying to get a picture of them, but its a little hard!

#2. He has started eating solids! So exciting. So far we have tried sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots, green beans, peas, apples, pears, and bananas. The only one he isn't really feeling is the sweet potato, I think he might be a little allergic. Not sure though.

#3. Um, he drinks from a CUP! Its hilarious. He loves to have us help him drink water from a glass. He chews on it while we pour a little water in his mouth - very funny, but he can't get enough!

#4. We set up the jolly jumper (finally) the other day. Ok, if you have a child or are going to have a child, the jolly jumper is a must! He can't get enough of it. He just jumps around laughing and talking and trying to defend himself from all of Roxy's kisses. He even started making some new noises the other day - "d". The first time he used the jolly jumper, when I took him out his little armpits were a little sweaty!

#5. He has started to hang out on his hands and knees, not just his belly. He is so getting ready to move. Roxy has also started playing with Lincoln while Linc is on the floor playing. She will lay don beside Linc and let Linc try and grab her paws. She will also try and get the toys linc is playing with.

#6. We have had to start bathing him in the sink again. For the longest time we would bath him in the big tub with just a little water, but now that the little boy doesn't understand the meaning of staying still or on his back, he automatically flips onto his tummy when we put him in the tub and then proceeds to get so excited he rocks his body back and forth, creating a wave, which ends up in his face. So we are back to where we started until he can sit on his own better. Doesn't seem to matter where we bath him, he also manages to get me all wet.



I think I said this last month, but this last month has been my favorite time with him! 6 months is the BEST!

MMMM Sweet Potato

We did Lincoln's first food while we were at his Grandma & Grandpa Dombowsky's this past weekend, sweet potato. He loved it. We can't wait to try more new foods with him.

Thanksgiving 2008

We went to the farm for Thanksgiving this year. It was some fun and a lot of work. Stephen's family was building an addition onto their house so it was work work work! Braden & Nina came up from Kansas and we got to meet Francesca for the first time. She is so petite and sweet, a real little girl! Ezra is getting so big, and he loved the 'traco' as he calls it! It was great having the 3 cousins together. The family will only keep getting bigger and bigger, I can't wait!

Lincolns First Cold

Lincoln got his first cold when he was exactly 6 months old. After spending 5 days in Moose Jaw for Thanksgiving and flying home on a flight that was way too early (had to be up at 4am) our little man developed his first cold. So far its not that bad, runny nose, congestion, watery eyes and a mild fever. The hardest thing is our normal jovial boy just cries and cries. The best thing is that he sleeps a lot. Is that bad to find a good thing from your child being sick? oh well..

Baby Face Contest

So I am entering Lincoln into this baby face contest. You are to submit 2 pictures: one being a head shot, and one being a full body shot. I plan to submit a nice head shot, and then a full body shot with him in his Robin Outfit. To accompany the pics is a 50 word essay on why your baby would be the perfect Zellers baby face. This is my essay: (oh and its supposed to be creative.)

Lincoln is the perfect Zellers baby face because of his awesome side kick powers. When we are at Zellers he flashes his killer grin at all the people, alerts me of amazing Zeller deals with a simple sparkle of his perfectly blue eyes, and most importantly fights evil lines by providing sidekick entertainment the way only a perfect Zeller’s Baby Face can.

His dad's looks, his mom's sense of humor

So lately Lincoln has been laughing, which is seriously the best thing in the whole entire world. But he definitely has his mom's sense of humor (Thank you Jesus) because you do something once, and he laughs, so you try it again, and he won't laugh. You always need new material with this kid. And then to top it off the general baby things you think would make him laugh don't. The most random things will make him laugh. For example he was lying on our bed tonight and Stephen and Roxy were play fighting and making lots of noise. Linc couldn't see what was going on but he could hear them, and he just starts laughing. It was hilarious. So Stephen figured it out was the jumping on the floor that was making him laugh. He definitely is a unique kid. Kind of like his uncle cam, laughs at his own thing! Which has it downs, because to you want to hear the greatest sound in the world, but it is rare and unpredictable. Maybe that is what makes it so great.

First Time Camping

So we thought it would be a good idea to go camping this year, as we love to camp. Unfortunately camping is quite different with a 4 month old. We went with our small group, everyone else was going for 2 nights, but we decided to just go for one. Best decision ever! Not only was it the hottest weekend of the year, but the bugs were brutal. Neither Linc nor I enjoyed holding him when it was like 32 degrees out. We were going to go to the beach but it was just way to hot. The 3 of us slept on a double air mattress, yea that was fun. (note sarcasm) Let's just say we all woke up pretty crabby the next morning, and decided to just head home. Glad we did it but would never do it again.

A girl?

I love my fat little boy. I love him so much. I think he is the greatest. Actually he is the greatest. He is amazing, and I love his little personality. He brings me unexplainable joy, that i only wish sometimes I knew how to express to him! I can not wait for my next child. Please let it be a girl. And please don't let it come anytime soon!

Learning

I am learning everyday what it means to be a mother. To be so completely exhausted (and honestly, do I even know exhaustion with only one child?), and to have finally put my baby to bed at like 11pm, to only finish some laundry, sweep the floor, quickly check my email and to finally sit down for a breather, to only have it interrupted by the cries of my child. And yet i can go in there pick him up like I haven't seen him in 3 days, even though its only been 30 minutes, love him, cuddle him, and put him back to bed. It is not I as a person who is amazing, it is that fact that i am a women, and now a mother. You find this strength and energy that you didn't know existed till that little bundle of joy comes screaming out of you know where. But it definitely takes some learning, something your kind of grow into.

Cher & Peanuts tips

Here are the few "tips" i came up with while I was pregnant to post as my facebook status. Some are pretty funny

Cher & Peanuts tip:

Pregnant women learn the coolest tricks, like how to go from calm to scarily irrational in under 5 seconds! ARE YOU CALLING ME IRRATIONAL? 5,4,3..

Cher & Peanuts: If you ask "What do you want?" I would say"A boy or a girl. Cas if it was cat or a dog, wow, that would be weird!".


Sometimes pregnant women get tired...very tired. Too tired to think of something witty and life changing.

Babies are like cookies - they take anywhere from 8-10 minutes to bake. I hope my Cookie only takes 8 mins to bake.



You know what would make an excellent baby gift? A Wii. With Guitar Hero. And Dance Dance Revolution. Just a suggestion


If you are 37 weeks prego and getting anxious for you lil peanut trying pushing harder when you pee. But make sure to check before you flush!

There is no rhyme or reason to pregnancy. Explain to me how you can gain 50lbs but still fit wonderfully into the bikini you wore at age 16



A pregnant women's best friend and worst enemy is in fact one and the same: Peanut Butter M&M's. Oh how I love and loathe you.



In a few months I will be thin again, but YOU will still be fat!" (oops did I say that out loud?).


If your wife is 31 weeks pregnant and calls you 3 TIMES from another room, GO SEE HER. She is most likely stuck on the floor and can't get up



If you are pregnant don't wear a bright orange shirt to work. Unless you enjoy being called 'pumpkin'. Farm produce reference + pregnant= angry.



Calm a pregnant lady by tossing food directly into her mouth. For safety stay 5 feet back. (may also work with bears, sharks, and geese)



If you are past 30 weeks pregnant make sure to look before you flush because you never know.



Don't get mad when you are wrong everytime you disagree with a pregnant lady. Its not her fault you only have 1 brain, and she has 2



If your wife is 7.5 months pregnant don't plan a poker night that starts in 5 hours and not tell her. Unless you welcome death, that is

Splish Splash Linc loves his baths!

We have a little fishy, his name is Lincoln. We just figured out about 2 weeks ago that Lincoln loves being in the big bath tub. We were over at my mom and dad's and Grandma just had to give him his bath, but since I hadn't brought Linc' little tub my mom put about 2 inches of water in the big tub and laid him in there. It was unbelievable, he just started kicking. And kicking. And kicking. He was kicking so hard I thought he was going to bruise his little heels. He loved it! Now that its been a couple of weeks, when I get him ready for his bath he gets his huge smile on his face.

He kicks so hard that I get wet and the shower walls get wet. He kicks for so long I have to add more warm water. His little lip will be quivering because the water has gotten cold again and he will still be kicking. I will drain the tub and he will still be kicking. I pull him out of the tub and put him in his towel and he will still be kicking. He just loves it. If someone new comes into the bathroom to see him having his bath, he kicks harder, and waits for their response! He loves putting on little shows, and watching our reactions!

And the very best part of his baths is how hard he sleeps after them! Tires himself right out. That's my little fishy.

Birthing our Peanut

I was fully prepared to go 10days over due and to endure labor for at least 20 hours. I had read and re read about the different stages of labor, I had bought the birthing ball, aromatherapy oils, and snacks for Stephen for the long road of labour that I was sure to endure. I started having contractions in the early morning of April 15th, Lincoln's due date. I was sure they were false labor, as I had had lots of false labour in the weeks before. I got annoyed when i couldn't sleep through these 'false labours' and decided to get up and read my book around 3am. Not a big deal I thought, i could just catch up on my sleep the next day. When I couldn't read through my contractions, and had to start pacing Lincoln's nursery, I was still sure I was in false labor. Annoying, strong false labor. By 4:30, after doing my 'false labor' by myself for 1.5 hours and it only getting stronger I decided to wake Stephen up. He told me later that when I woke him he thought to himself "can't I just sleep little longer, this is going to be such a long process anyways" Lucky for him he did not voice that wish and got out of bed. The 'false labour' was quite strong by this point, as I paced through out kitchen trying to get through each one. By this point I thought I should maybe call my midwife, but felt really bad for calling her so early in the morning. I decided to wait at least until 5:30. Since it was just false labour. By 5:15 I was on the phone with my mid wife, explaining what was happening. She suggested that I sit in the tub or the shower, also thinking we had a long normal road ahead of us. And then she heard me do a contraction over the phone. She said quickly "I think I will come over check you out." So I decide to go into the shower like she suggested. I don't know who thought that going in the shower is supposed to make contractions any easier because it doesn't. Once I emerged and went to the bathroom I had some 'bloody show', at this point I looked at Stephen and said "honey, this baby is coming today!" After this I remember being in the baby's room, leaning over my birthing ball doing my contractions. I remember at points hitting the wall violently during my contractions. I remember telling Stephen "GO AWAY" as another contraction ripped through my body. I remember saying things like "I don't want to have this baby" " Little baby why do you hurt so much coming out?" "I'm going to die" "I dont want to do this" " I can't do this" I also remember saying rather frantically "I need Becky (my midwife) Where is Becky? Stephen CALL BECKY!!!" I think she arrived around 6:15, found me on the floor, slamming my fist into the carpet. She said "I think we should check to see how far along you are" I was fully expecting 4 maybe 5 cm. I couldn't believe how intense this early labor was, and how I was supposed to endure 20 hours of this. So we get up on the bed and she says "You are 8cm. We need to get you to the hospial now" So Stephen call's my mom, we hurry around trying to finish getting packed up, and my mom walks in the door just as we are walking out to rush to the hospital. On the way to the hospital my wonderful husband tries to give me a suggestion on how best to do a contraction in the my midwife's minivan, I responded with a gentle "STEPHEN SHUT UP!" I also remember at one point seeing a light turn yellow and yelling at my midwife "GO! GO! GO!". She was very smart and went through the red light. I always wondered what it would be like to be that women being pushed hurriedly through the hospital in a wheel chair, screaming because she is in full blown labor. Well now I know, and it didn't feel that great. I remember being in the wheel chair and saying quite loudly "I feel like i have to poop!" We got to the hospital around 7am ( I think, i wasn't really watching the clock)and they were ready for us, as my midwife had called ahead, they rush us into a room, and the most amazing nurse was there to help my midwife. I was on the floor going through a contraction and she comes over and says "Cher honey, if you nee to push you can push" And I looked at her and sad desperately "But I don't know how!" Well, I figured it out farely quickly. Pushing was the best part of the labour. I found it very manageable, since I was in control. Once i started the pushing part of my labor, I never had that huge urge that I thought I would have to push. It was just like , ok I think I should push now, and so I would push. The little rests between pushes were amazing. I remember during one of these little rests my mom said, "You know Cher, both you and Chris were born before 8:00am". I looked at the clock and said, "Well then we have 10 minutes to get this baby out!" We all laughed, no one thinking it would actually happen. Low and behold 7:59am Lincoln was born. My water still hadn't broke when i began pushing. Everyone (being my midwife, a nurse, Stephen and my mom) kept saying "I see the water, I see the water!" I kept thinking, that's great that you can see the water, but I am trying to birth the baby, where is the baby? So my midwife broke my water and after that they could see Linc's hair. But no one told me that they could see hair for quite a while. So I am sitting there thinking man I have a lot pushing ahead of me, we haven't even seen the head or anything! Then someone made some comment about seeing hair or a head and I was like what! you can see the head! Well let's get this baby out! I remember only once having an uncontrollable scream, don't get me wrong, I made lots of noise, but only once was even i surprised and a little scared of the noise that came from my body. Probably because our little Linc decided to sit with his head half way out for about 15 minutes of pushing! When Linc was born and place on my stomach, it was unbelievable. All i kept thinking was "i did it! I did it! Its over. And I did it!" It was quite a few minutes and then I hear my mom say "Well let's find out what it is!" And they hold up our little peanut "It's a boy!" It didn't matter. He was here, he was healthy. I had 2 hair line tears, not enough to stitch. I lost more blood than they realized so i had to be on an IV for most of the rest of that day. I had never had an IV before that. I also was so weak from the loss of blood, they had to do a cathader....that was almost worse than the baby! The hospital food sucked. My dad, Siloam and best friend Ashley sent us amazing bouquets of flowers. The one thing I found most surprising, beside giving birth on my due date, and in under 5 hours, was how badly the contractions hurt after he was born. They hurt even the next day. So that's it, that's how it went down. Next time we are going to just sleep in the parking lot of the hospital, or if I get my way, just do it at home!

Lincoln's First Kiss?

Lincoln received his first kiss this past sunday at our friend kari's house. It came from Abby who is 6 months. Abby's dad was holding Lincoln by her carrier, and Abby got so excited when she saw Lincoln she reached out, grabbed his hand, and shoved it in her mouth. His first kiss. It was a little aggressive, and I didn't really ever think Lincoln would go for the 'cougar' type, but oh well. When love happens, it just happens. He was pretty proud he was able to snag a women twice his age! :)

Breastfeeding, kind of.

So I have been debating whether or not I wanted to write about my nightmare that breastfeeding was. I decided that for my next baby I didn't want to remember all the horrible things. But sometimes I need to be reminded of valid reasons why Linc and I can't breastfeed.

The other day I was at the Mission with Linc, and an elderly lady, who I don't know, asked me if I was breastfeeding. I said that I was pumping. She then proceeded to ask my why I wasn't breastfeeding. Needless to say I was a little taken a back, and a little offend at such a personal question. Thankfully my awesome friend Diane was there and she piped up and said "Oh they have had every problem under the sun."

Sometimes I do feel like I have failed as a mother because i can't breastfeed. Sometimes I wonder what we are missing by not breastfeeding. Sometimes i wonder if Linc knows he is missing something. So I guess sometimes I need to remind myself of what we went through. And remind myself that it is ok that we don't breastfeed in the conventional way.

These are the basic points:
1. Extreme infection in my nipples. My midwife, who has been a midwife for 12 years, and never seen anything like it. (it took over 2 months to heal)
2. Lincoln is tongue tied.
3. I don't produce enough milk (I take medication to keep my milk supply up)
4. Having to supplement starting at about 2 weeks with a bottle caused nipple confusion.
5. Because of the infection, we had to use nipple shields, which creates a whole mess of problems, while solving a few.

Combine all of that over about 4 weeks, each problem presenting itself after another. Some solutions creating problems, and some problems needing long solutions. Feedings would take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. 1 hour was a good feeding. Needless to say I wasn't getting a lot of sleep. So eventually, after trying for 7 long weeks, being on several different medications, trying several different routines, and after seeing a couple of different Lactation Consultants, we decided that I would just pump and give Linc a bottle. Instead of putting him on the breast for 10 min. (which usually involved screaming or sleeping, because when you can't produce enough milk your child either gets frustrated and screams or gets bored and sleeps) then giving him a bottle of formula, so he was actually full (which would take 20-40mins.), and then pumping for 20 minutes after that. Yes, I was definitely going out of my mind.

I am thankful, very thankful that I am able to pump. In reality what we have chosen to do isn't that easy. I have to pump, and then feed. Twice the work. But it definitely has some positives. I don't have to work my life around breastfeeding. Stephen has been able to help with feedings, which he really enjoys. My mom and dad love having Lincoln over, and now we don't have to worry about me being back in time to feed him, they can give him his bottle.

Would I like to be able to breastfeed like normal mothers? Yes, definately. But above everything I am just thankful that he is at least getting breastmilk. Because my boy is going to be one smart cookie! And I want to loose all this baby weight quickly! Linc, you owe me some pretty sweet Mother's Day presents in the future!

Today I don't like being pregnant.

My feet and legs are so swollen I look like an 80 year old with a severe case of Toxemia.

My right hand is killing me, because in the last week I have developed Carpal tunnel because of my swelling.

I dread going to bed tonight because my back hurts so much by the end of the day when I wake up in the middle of the night it takes minutes for me to coach myself to flip over and somehow pull my 160lb up so I can go to the bathroom, for the 3rd time. It hurts so bad some nights.

Lately my braxton hicks contractions have been getting stronger. I don't think this is necessary. Unless my body is actually going to have this baby, I don't want any unnecessary practice!

I am supposed to sit forward as much as possible because my dear little peanut is laying with its back against my back, which cause back labour. But I am also supposed to sit with my feet elevated as much as possible. Will someone please tell me how I am supposed to do both?

Peanut, you are worn out your welcome! Mommy wants her body back, please come out!

MySpace

This is an old blog I found on our computer. I think its pretty funny.

If you would have asked me 3 months ago if I would pick myspace or death, I would have picked death. I was always one to quickly dis myspace, its avid users and its impersonal way of communication. I vowed to never become a myspace sheep. But then I made my first fatal mistake. I started checking out my dear friends (Joanne) myspaces. It was like opening a treasure chest! You look at one persons list of friends, only to make the rich discover that you know 3 of their friends. You continue to click on each of them, only to find more people you know! Some are good friends, others I haven't thought of in years. Slowly the thought started to creep into my mind "maybe I should join myspace..." but then my better half, my stronger half would tell my self "NO CHER YOU MUST STAY STRONG...DO NOT LET THE POWERS OF MYSPACE WEAKEN YOU". And so our little dance continued...myspace wooing my heart, making me tingle, but my mind always stopping me before I did something I regret. Then I made fatal mistake number 2, I spoke that little voice out loud, while sitting beside my husband. Well to skip a bunch of boring crap, here I am... a user of myspace. It feels like death.*

*any and all opinions expressed in the previous blog are that of Cher, and not Stephen. Duh - we all know Stephen could not write anything that funny.

Problem

I have a bit of a problem as of late.

Its called Shaken Black Iced Tea with or without Lemonade from Starbucks.

Definately becoming a problem.

Wii would like to play

I really want a Wii.
With guitar hero.
And Dance Dance Revolution.

I thought about putting it on my baby registry but decided that wouldn't be appropriate. Funny, but not appropriate.

My 24th birthday is coming up, maybe I'll get one then.

Yea, a Wii would be great.

I am ready

Today I am ready for my baby to come.

If you would have asked me yesterday, I would have said "No, I am not ready"

Today - I am.

I hope our baby realizes its only polite to come on time. If you say you are going to be at a meeting 3pm, then its only polite to be there by at least 3pm if not 5-10 minutes early. Same goes for you baby, same goes for you.

The day I peed on a stick and passed

The week I finally figured out I was pregnant was an interesting one.

It started out by me having a dream. Someone; I think God, said to me clear as day "Cher, you are pregnant." When I woke up the next morning I didn't remember the dream right away. I noticed I wasn't feeling that great, fairly nauseas, and then *WHAM* the dream hit me like a wave, and I stood in the kitchen processing. I chalked it up to some crazy dream, stopped to get some ginger ale on the way to work and went on with my week. But my nausea didn't go away. It was Saturday, and I was in Winners with my older brother Chris, feeling sick and tired and I thought, "This is ridiculous, I guess I will just take the darn test so I can start ruling out why I am not feeling well" So my brother dropped me off, I went to the store and picked up a magic stick that if I pee on will tell me if I have a human being living inside of me.

I finally decided to take the test later in the afternoon. It wasn't an easy decision. Stephen and I had wanted to get pregnant for about the last 2 years. Several times I was sure I was pregnant, only to pee on the magic stick and it flash NEGATIVE in my face. There would be times I would start 'feeling' nauseas and tired, and would convince myself I was pregnant because I desperately wanted to be. This time, I didn't even tell Stephen I was taking the test. I was sure that I wasn’t, and just wanted to rule that out a possibility. In the event that I was, I need to start treating my body different.

I go down to our bathroom, and do one of the most nerve wracking things a women ever have to do. I take the test. Making sure to follow all the rules exactly (if you have ever taken one, you know how complicated peeing on the stick is). I left the bathroom for the allotted amount of time, came back, picked up the stick, carefully mind you as I had just peed on it, and was a little more than surprised to see 1.5 lines. 1 line means you fail, 2 lines mean you pass. What in the world does 1.5 lines mean, I thought to myself. I frantically open up the little instruction manual and re-read the whole thing, until I come to the part where it says "If you see any part of line 2, the test is positive".

Wow. Ok. I pick up my magic stick, I pick up the instruction book, I slowly walk up the stairs, and outside to where Stephen was working. I didn’t run. I didn't plan anything creative. I was so taken off guard; I just walked, staring at the test in disbelief. I show the magic stick to my husband, he looks at it and says "What does this mean?” So I show him the part in the instructions about the 1.5 lines and say "I think it means we are pregnant." He just stared at me, emotionless. We go inside the house, sit down and I ask him what he thinks. "I don't want to get my hopes up". I understand. We had miscarried our first baby about 3 years earlier. It was a very hard time for us, and didn't want to go through having to tell everyone again that we had lost another baby.

But not getting excited wasn't so simple for me. Whether we lost this baby or not, it was still my baby. We decide to not tell our family until I went to see my Dr. and then no one else until we had hit the 12 week mark. I couldn't get in until Tuesday, which was 4 days of waiting, hoping, not knowing.

Tuesday finally comes, I go see my Dr, and this time I get to pee in a magic cup. Well the cup isn't so magically, so much as the poor lab technicians who have to processes my pee are. I tell my Dr. my suspicions, we talk about my last 'dates', my previous complications and she tells me that I am 9.5 weeks pregnant. I was floored! I was that far along? We had miscarried our last baby at 10 weeks, so to know that we were quite far a long was very encouraging. I tell Stephen and he can't believe it either! We go back to work elated.

I call a 'meeting' with my dad and mom, who are CEO and Director of Administration at Siloam where we both work. We were very serious going into the meeting. I tell them I got another job. Something I had been looking into for a long time, and I had finally got a position. My dad, in classic dad fashion, is very encouraging, thinks this great! My mom, I could tell was not as excited, but supportive. Finally my dad asks me what I will be doing. "Well, it doesn't start until the end of March. And it will involve a lot of long nights, mostly staying at home, changing diapers..." I can see the lights go on in my moms eyes; she breaks out into this huge smile. My dad, not so quick. My mom says "Are you having a baby?" "Yes!!!," we finally get to reply. So we hugged, my mom and I squealed, it was awesome.

We told Stephens family the same way, but over the phone. His mom was awesome. She got real quiet when I started explaining my new 'job', and quietly said "Cher, are you pregnant?" It was great. We called Stephen's brother and his wife next, who live in Kansas. Nina's reaction was the best one I got! When we told them she started screaming, I don't think anyone was happier for us!

I told my best friend Ash by inviting her over one evening. Stephen was going to take a picture of us, but the whole time we were posing he was actually video taping. Unfortunately we didn't know that the sound wasn't on our camera, so we only got the video, no conversation. Ashley and I had booked a trip to Cuba together to happen in Oct., so I casually said "Oh, by the way, when we are in Cuba I will be in my 2nd Trimester." It took her a second, but she jumped up and hugged me then said, "You lied to me!" Her and my mom both suggested I was pregnant when I was nauseas for over a week. I lied to them both and told them I took and test and it was negative, when really it was positive.


I told Cam the same way I told Ash. And I told Chris by sending him a card that said "You suck" on the front, and then on the inside "at being an Uncle, get it together by March 30th" I attached a soother. And the rest is history...

This was the day we took the test, but didn't tell anyone our results.

Peanut from Uncle Luke

The story behind how we came to nickname out little baby “Peanut” is very cute. We didn’t just randomly start calling the baby it it was actually a gift of some sorts.

Stephen is the eldest of 7 children. Every night at the dinner table a different child takes their turn at praying for the meal. Because of our history of having issues with pregnancy, the family was very committed to praying daily for my health and safety and the health and safety of our unborn child.

One night it was Luke's, the youngest sibling, who is 8, turn to pray for supper. In the middle of his prayer he simply said “Jesus please keep Cher and Peanut safe. Amen” Everyone, of course, was a little confused at to who or what “peanut” was, so he explained that was the name of my baby.

Ever since then we all refer to our little baby as “Peanut”. I wouldn't be surprised if the nickname stuck for the rest of Peanut's life! Thanks Lukey!

Soothing My Purse

Yesterday Stephen and I went to a store called eChildren to look for strollers. We didn't find a stroller but we did end up buying a Glider. As we were going around the store sitting in the different gliders, Stephen sits done in one, puts his head back and starts 'gliding'. Next thing I know he is pretending to hold a baby and 'shh' it. This isn't the first time Stephen has pretended to hold our baby, but this is the first time in public. I wanted to see how far he would go with it so I handed him my purse. Low and behold he puts it against his chest and starts rubbing my purses, or I guess, our 'babies' back. He then proceeds to look down endearingly at it and smile. This is about the point I took the purse away.

The very first time he did this 'pretending' was after we set up our crib. He walked over to our new crib, pretending he was holding our baby, put our imaginary baby down, tucked in all the covers nice and tight, gave our 'baby' a kiss on the forehead, whispered it some loving things and then just sat and stared.

Now the point of these stories is not to point out how bizarre Stephen can be. Even though in those moments I am laughing at how ridiculous he is, and maybe even a little concerned, I feel overwhelming secure in who the father of the my children will be. When we were young and foolish and deciding to get married at a very young age, one of the biggest factors in my committing to Stephen was that I knew with out a doubt that he would be an excellent father. Beyond excellent, he would be ‘one of those dad's’. You know, one of those dads who would give their children a childhood full of stories they can pass onto their kids. One of those dads who our kid’s friends will want to come over to just to play with Mr. Dombowsky. One of those dads who will turn off the tv and not just make the kids go play outside, but go with the kids outside and start adventure.

There have been and continue to be points in this pregnancy where I freak out, I doubt, and wonder if I am really ready to become a parent, to become someone’s mother. And the closer we get the more unsure I feel. But not Stephen, the closer we get the more excited he gets. His constant excitement for our baby is what reassures me that we will be ok. He has been my strength and my rock (wow that sounds cheesy) during this all, and I wouldn’t have any other person beside me. I really do feel honoured to be able to give Stephen the children he has always desired for, and I look forward to being married to the coolest dad on the block. Even if the coolest dad started out by soothing a purse in a children’s store.

Hiccups

Peanut had hiccups for the first time this weekend! Well the first time I noticed them. It was very cute, I was with my mom and dad and my grandma and grandpa. Mom and Grandma both got to feel the little rhythmic 'hiccup' 'hiccup' 'hiccup' while sitting in Starbucks. I was disappointed because Stephen wasn't there to feel them. He was so pumped when I told him about them but disappointed as well he didn't get to feel them. But I should have known better than to worry because Peanut came through later that night, showing Daddy his/her/its new trick! Peanut has a soft spot for Stephen. I definitely think the baby can tell whenever Stephen comes around. Peanut won't be moving at all and Stephen will come by and put his hand on my tummy and sure enough little Peanut perks right up and usually acts way more energized than he/she/it ever acts for me!

But back to the hiccups - so later that night I am lying in bed, absolutely exhausted, and Stephen is watching West Wing beside me and I feel the little rhythmic 'hiccup' 'hiccup' 'hiccup'. They were so cute, and Stephen was happy to be able to feel them. But after about 10 - 15 minutes, they weren't that cute anymore. They were down right annoying. So Stephen, being the concerned parent that he is, starts patting my tummy, like he is patting the back of the baby! Very funny but surprisingly it didn't help! Well they eventually stopped and I was finally able to fall asleep. I hope Peanut doesn't make a habit of showing off his/her/its new trick!

How Stephen and Cher became "Stephen & Cher"

Cher's account:

It was the summer of 2001 and I was about to go into Grade 12. My parents resigned from the Church they pastored in Swift Current, SK and didn't really have a plan as to what to do next. So we did what any other pastoral family does - my dad decided to go back to school. So we moved to Moose Jaw, SK the weekend before school started. I started attending Cornerstone Christian School. The first few days were hard, but didn't take long to meet people, as my class was only 20 or so people. Stephen had graduated the year before from CCS and a lot of his good friends were still in my class. He was also working for his dad, who was doing a huge expansion onto the school. So I saw Stephen pretty much every day at the school. It didn't take long for me to develop a crush. He was so dreamy, in his red bunny hug and white construction hat. I still get giggly thinking about it. Some how, Stephen and myself, and our one other friend, Derek, started hanging out all the time together. We nicknamed ourselves the 3 Musketeers. I didn't know at the time, but both Derek and Stephen liked me.

When I had moved to Moose Jaw I had decided that if I found a guy that I liked, I would be open to dating him. I hadn't dated anyone before that but thought with the fresh meat of Moose Jaw I might find a worthy suitor. I crushed on Stephen for quite a while until one day, the unthinkable happened. He actually liked me back! This was quite hard for to come to terms with, because it had never happened before! I was terrified to say the least; I didn’t know what happens when 2 people like each other at the same time. (I believe my best friend Ashley has quite the memory of me throwing myself on my living room floor unable to handle the drama of it all!) I don't remember all the details but a few that stick out in my head are:

1. Before we were dating, taking Stephen out to Caronport to meet one of my best friends, Becki. Only to realize in the middle of my introduction, that they already know each other. Becki and I went to school together in Swift Current from grade 8 - grade 10. In grade 10, she had come up to visit a friend in Caronport, and had met Stephen. Well Becki is a bomb shell, to say the least, so Stephen had given her his school picture, with some chummy "if you ever in town we should hang out" note on the back. Well she brought it back to Swift and we sat and drooled over it for days after that! The funny part is, fast forward 2 years, and she still has the picture! So we ran to her dorm room and looked at it and couldn't stop laughing.

2. Before we were dating, and I was unsure if Stephen liked me or not, a mutual friend came up to me at school and asked me if I liked Stephen. Well in classic high school fashion I stammered then said “No.” I wasn’t about to admit to a crush with out full knowledge the feeling was mutual. Being the girl that I am, my mind starts going, and I can’t stop thinking and analyzing. “What if Stephen got his friend to ask me, because he wants to know” Well I absolutely freaked out, I remember it was a Friday afternoon. I was 100% certain I had just blown any chance that I had had with Stephen. For some reason Ashley was visiting me, and this is where the throwing myself on the floor comes into play. Looking back, it was hilarious, but then it was anything but! I kept waiting for him to call, as we were supposed to do something. And he finally did and life went back to normal. I later asked him if he had asked our friend to ask me if I liked him. He had no idea what I was talking about. Of course not, he’s a boy!

3. Talking to Stephen on the phone one night and telling him that I had never kissed or even dated anyone before. I remember I said it confidently, with pride (because I was proud) but being terrified on the inside of the possible humiliation. Stephen told me later that when I told him that, it was one of the most attractive things about me.

4. Watching 'The Thin Red Line' (which the line may be thing but it is looooonnnnggg!) and Stephen holding my hand for the first time. We weren't dating. It was one of the most unreal nights of my life. When he drove me home - it was awkward, but good.

5. Talking to Stephen on MSN just a few days after the hand holding situation and making it very clear that he would not, under any circumstance, be asking me out over the computer. (He insists he never had the intention of doing that!)

6. When Stephen did ask me out, it was after we watched a movie, and in classic Cher style, I had fallen asleep. (I can guarantee there was drool) and we were sitting there with the TV blue after, and he asked " So do you want to be my girlfriend?" (or something awkward along those lines) I said "Yes" but Stephen didn't hear me! So I am sitting there like, ok now what. And he is sitting there like Holy crap, didn't expect her not to answer! So after a minute he asks quietly "So will you?" and I am like "Yes, I already said yes!" Boy was he relieved!

So that is how we met, started dating, and some funny things that happened during it all.

This photo was 5 days before we were married

Welcome to my life as of Feb. 20th 2008

I am now 25 years old, single... oh no wait.... actually I got hitched 4 years ago on Jan. 3rd. I gotta try to remember that! She's quite the hotty! Love her to death! I live in Winnipeg (the coldest place on earth next to Siberia) and I’m going to be a papa in about 7 weeks! I can hardly wait. That’s about all that matters. Well no, let’s see what else there is... I’m in University studying History at the U of W. Its good. My main goal there is pretty much just to gain a better understanding of the way the world works. I have ONE dog. Its a Boxer, and she's a brat, but awesome too. She farts and barks, jumps and snores, knocks her food and water over daily, and costs me money, but she's still worth it! Cher has a dog too, but I will let her tell you about him. I bought it as an engagement present for her. I wish I could go back in time and change one decision I made that day! (kinda kidding) I work at Siloam Mission at the moment, doing all the maintenance on the building. I’ve learned lots, and look forward to new challenges. I am in the midst of renovating our home too. I enjoy doing that, and the financial benefits are nice too. In my spare time, I play with the dogs, hang out with Cher or friends, play poker, read or draw, or workout. (not enough!) I have a wonderful family and extended family, and I am thankful to God for all these blessings. Life is pretty good.

The Mighty Hercules and Boxy Roxy

We have 2 dogs - Hercules and Roxy. Hercules is mine and pretty much the bomb. Roxy is Stephen's and well let's just say we are working on it.

Herc's story: Shortly after Stephen and I got engaged I came home one day from work and Stephen had a surprise for me. The cutest little puppy I had ever seen was sitting in my living room! A few days before that Stephen and I had gone to the local pet shop to just look at the animals. Apparently I looked too cute with my face up against the glass talking to the cute little puppy, that Stephen decided I needed to have that dog! So there we are, in my Grandparent's living room (where I was living at the time) (Oh, note to the kids, always ask the owner of the home you are living in before you bring a pet home) with this amazing little rolly polly, all hair puppy that I can fit into the palm of my hand and it hits me: I am a dog owner. Let's just say I started freaking out. I can't take care of this dog! This little thing is going to be solely dependent on me for existence! I don't know anything about dogs! Then Stephen proceeds to tell me that he got there just in time, just after he told the pet store lady that he would buy our little puppy, a younger lady came in to pick out the exact same puppy, but not for herself, oh no, get this, for her elderly uncle who is lonely! (and of course, Stephen also includes the tiny detail that the young lady started crying when the store lady told her the puppy was sold. Thanks hun.) I decide that maybe we could take the puppy back, and the pet store could contact the other people and let the poor old man have the puppy. But apparently you can't just return puppies. So I slept on it (not Herc, but the idea of being a dog owner) and well 4.5 years later, I couldn't imagine my life without my little Hercules.

Hercules is a Pomeranian x Chihuahua. Oh yes, the 2 best breeds in the world made into one furious, needy 10lb guard dog. It took us a few days to come up with Herc's name. We wanted something original, something cool. We actually opened up the encyclopedia and looked under 'Hawaii' to try and find a cool name. Then one day Stephen looked at me and said "Hercules!" It was perfect.

Some of my nicknames for my baby are: Hercy, Herc Jerk, Jerky Herc, Little One, and Hercubees.

Despite what Stephen would say surprisingly about 90% of the people that meet Hercules fall in love. It takes a little time sometimes but he does have a way of winning over peoples hearts.

Roxy is Stephen's Boxer that he just HAD to have this summer. It was the first time Stephen actually put his foot down and said "I am doing this whether you like it or not" So I washed my hands of the decision, and have been able to rub it in his face ever since! During the whole buying a 2nd dog, a much bigger dog process I could never figure out why in the world Stephen would want to complicate our lives like that for the next 10+ years. Then it hit me one day. Stephen has only had farm dogs. The longest Stephen ever had a dog last on the farm was 4 years. Stephen honestly thought Hercules would be dead by now (as he is 4.5). He didn't realize that city dog's have a much longer life expectancy that farm dogs, longer as in 10 years longer. Unfortunately I didn’t' figure that out until after we had gotten Roxy. So kids, don't be surprised if mommy says No when you ask for a dog. But you may want to try Daddy. We will see if he has learned from his mistake, I mean, from Roxy.

It again took a while to come up with a name for Roxy. I did all sorts of research. I wanted to name her Phoebe, who was Hercules first wife, in the greek myth of Hercules. I am glad we didn't though, we have enough problems reminding them that Herc and Roxy are not boy friend and girlfriend. A common phrase heard around our house is "Remember puppies you are brother and sister NOT boyfriend and girlfriend". Nicknames I have for Roxy: the Beast, Boxy Roxy, Roxy the Boxer, Sweet Pea, Baby girl, ROXANNE (thats when she is in trouble, which is a lot), and Boxy. Stephen's nicknames: Pooker. (don't ask there is just no reason)

So here we are, the owners of 2 dogs and with a real life baby on the way. We are so weird. I have no idea how it got to this point. But I kind of like it.

Why

After receiving a link to our friends family blog, Stephen and I thought it would be a great idea to create one of our own. (Our friends Alexandra and Ryan are seriously the best parents ever!).

It's not so much for other people to be kept updated with the fabulous life of Stephen and Cher. (But, if you honestly have nothing better to do, feel free to read away). It's more for us - like a joint journal. So we can remember all the good, bad, firsts, and day to day stuff that happens. Oh, also all of Cher's funny jokes.

But most of all, we thought we would create it for our children. Having children does strange, scary things to a person and how you think. We want them to be able to look back and remember the big memories, but also the little ones. Sometimes the little memories are more important. To be able to peak back into the minds of their mom and dad and see, or try and see, what in the world they were thinking. To leave a family history book of sorts. (that’s for you Stephen!) But I think in the end they will mostly roll their eyes. Oh well.