Celebrating clotheslines

Eli likes his fingers

Maetia calls this blowing bubbles

Michael putting up my clothesline

My clothesline is accessible from inside the porch. There is a little window that opens and the line comes up on a pulley system. The only drawback is the little roof to the basement that the clothes have to swing/drag over before getting into the sun.

A tire swing we are borrowing from friends brings enjoyment for all of us.

Mostly I am posting because we check our friends blogs all the time and are so happy when there is a new post so I figured if you are like us, you would appreciate it. I believe I celebrated last year at about this time when we got a clothesline at the cottage. Well, Michael just put up one at our new house,Horray!! I can't get over the good feeling I get when I take my clean, sun bleached diapers off the line. Truly satisfying.
Eli is growing well and now weighs 15lbs. He is so happy and ticklish. I have been to the lactation consultant who gave me some tips for nursing that seem to be improving his reflux and breathing difficulties. Michael and I are able to eat supper together with Maetia which we could never do when she was a baby.(Because of the screaming) It is really nice. When we pray to bless the food Maetia always pipes in with some things she is thankful for; mostly her swing, slide and Oma's house. Eli has figured out how to roll over which is causing startled wakeups during nap and night time; which is not so nice. But mostly we are finding joy in a routine and able to understand each different cry and noise.
I remember when Eli was one month old and we all went to the grocery store for the first time. Up until then, I just took one of the our kids, not both and not alone. So we went shopping and there was no screaming or poopy diapers. On the way out Michael was looking at the receipt and said, "Well that wasn't so bad". I said, "No, it really wasn't", smiling as I pushed the cart, thinking to myself, I could do this alone. Yes I can, horray for me. Then Michael looks at me and says "oh, I meant the price of all our groceries". Hmmm. I guess that is how a stay at home mom's brain is different from her working husband's. Now Eli is 3 months old and getting groceries is just fine and actually quite fun.
I have only 4 more weeks until my CSA deliveries start. Most things are coming along well except on the really heavy, clay land. That crop may not be ready in time. If not, I have an organic farmer friend who I can buy a bit of stuff from. The problem with my CSA customers is that they haven't really got the whole idea of supporting a farmer in good times and bad. They would like exactly (or more) $20 worth of veggies even if the weather hasn't co-operated or if there was an infestation of bugs. It is all about education I guess but it is frustrating when people sign up for something because it is 'trendy'.
Michael is working really hard on finishing our yard and soon we will have before and after shots of our 'leaky basement/septic overflow yard' and the 'hopefully not leaky or stinky yard'.

home and lawn

Well today Michael said he really felt like a home owner. He was finally able to cut the lawn. Finally because it has taken that long for it to get green and grow and also because we have been too busy to mow it. We had a 'discussion' the other night about lawns and the maintenance that should go into them. I personally feel that mowing lawns is a waste of gas, time, space (that could be used to grow food)and a little extra strain on the environment. Michael likes the look of a crisp, freshly cut lawn. He likes it to be even and tidy. I am also half dutch and I like tidy but a part of me fights the tidy side and wants wild/natural growth. I do not want to take the time to use the wipper snipper around each shrub on our property. We have a lot of shrubs, our land is rough and it has a wild edge to it with vines and trees growing all over the place. I personally like this and that is the main reason why I wanted to buy the house. Michael would like to 'tame' the yard a bit I think and we will have to agree that he gets the front yard and I get the back (or something like that). He has been working hard on the septic system, drainage so our basement won't leak again, tilling the land so I can plant things, pruning our raspberries and blackberries and improving the lives of our chickens; giving them lots of windows with fresh air. We haven't figured out a fox/weasel proof outdoor enclosure and until we do, they stay inside.


Here is Michael teaching Maetia how to fix the hitch on the back of the tractor

Here is our backyard. You can see the swingset, balance beam, slide, sandbox, bike with trailer, barn, pine trees, shrubs, wood pile, etc.....

Maetia's first tractor ride

Eli just looks up at the trees blowing in the wind and smiles. He stared at them for about 45 minutes today. Look how beautiful he is!

This is Maetia coming off her slide and jumping into the air right afterwards.
She just mastered the art of jumping with both feet at once and landing solidly on the ground.

Busy Spring

Horray, finally the days are getting longer and warmer. Laura was able to really get her hands dirty for the first time this year, transplanting our first bunch of plants into the garden. More unfortunately, Michael also got his hands dirty digging up the 'dry' well in our septic system that isn't so dry after all. The chickens we got for our CSA are starting to lay and we have been collecting enough eggs to feed our family, my parents and my sister. Our cat ran away while on a walk with us and our dog has been eating up all the tennis balls that he has found formerly covered by snow. We all had bad colds and are recovering. Maetia has a lot of scratches and bruises from running and falling. It seems we are all experiencing the spring season in full swing.
Eli couldn't be more different from Maetia as a baby. He makes cooing noises all the time and also has some very serious times when he furrows his brow and concentrates. He is very content. He likes to sit and snuggle. He loves to be touched and massaged. He has hardly any hair and what he has is light in colour. He has huge hands and large facial features. He eats really really well. He responds to music by calming down instead of moving around. He likes to be tickled and doesn't mind having a two year old in his face, and crawling all over him. The way that they are the same is that they both have acid reflux, long eyelashes, and love their parents. We love them both so much!!
Yesterday, we were showing Maetia worms in the garden and Michael told her they were pretty shy and wanted to be covered up with dirt. She went around all day saying "wooms are pitty sigh, pitty sigh mama". Eli is starting to smile all the time when we speak to him and laughed yesterday for the first time. We are having a lot of fun. Here are some of Eli's faces.

birthdays and grandparents

Well we made it, age TWO! How it went by so fast, we'll never know. It is has been a better year than the first in that Maetia's health has improved and I think we just relaxed a bit more as parents and enjoyed her even more. She started to see a gastrointestinal pediatric specialist and also the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist. She was diagnosed with severe acid reflux and we found out so late that her esophagus had already eroded to some degree. This was the source of her not wanting to eat, choking on her mucus and severe congestion that was labelled 'asthma'. Just knowing what was wrong with her helped alot mentally for us and physically she improved once she was on the right form of medication. We also began supplementing her diet as recommended by a professional. Maetia has always been bright and alert and developmentally she was on par with other children. But with her sleep improving over this year she is even sharper and more cheerful. And her growth is finally on an upward curve!! Horray. She has finally passed the 20 mark. She weighs 21.3lbs! It was alot for her to take in this year. Also, within two months, we moved into a new house, Maetia got a new bed and she became a sister. We decided not to take away the soother, blankie or potty train until she had some time to adjust. We think she is adjusting to Eli like any first born child would. She loves him most of the time and thankfully hasn't shown any jealousy in an angry, violent way towards him. She does do a lot of throwing herself on the floor and crying and waiting to see what we will do. Most of all she just wants to be held a little more which is understandable and it almost breaks my heart when she looks up at me with those eyes and says "Mommy, just hold it please". 'It' means me. She was so cute on her birthday and celebrated herself for about two weeks singing and dancing each morning, noon and evening. She says she is two old!! and holds up all her fingers on both hands. She is very social and talkative. When she is upset she goes on and on trying through her tears to explain what is wrong. It is this long, long story that we can't make out but we listen intently. When she is in the car, she points out every single thing that she sees and explains what they are to us. She also has a remarkable memory and will ask us questions about something we had explained weeks earlier and thought she had forgotten. She is a joy to be around. We are so happy to have her in our life and praise the Lord for each day she is with us.

Eli is doing well. He loves to watch Maetia move all around and makes cooing noises at her. Normally those are reserved for the nursing mother but we think he likes her best! Hopefully it will stay that way for a long time. Coming from a family of (Laura) 4 girls and 1 boy and (Michael) 3 boys, we are not sure how they will get along as siblings in a few years.
We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Contant. Maetia renamed them Bamma and Papa. Whenever she hears or sees a plane she waves at them because she thinks they live at the airport in a plane. We had lots of fun introducing them to Eli and they were very helpful around the house; cleaning, cooking and playing with Maetia. Thank you so much for coming, we love you!!!
I am getting more organized in my thoughts and having two children seems a normal way to live now, when a few weeks ago it was very overwhelming. It still seems like they always end up pooping, being hungry, and needing to be held at the same time. Now I seem to be able to manage or not mind that one has to wait. I think that is the real key; it was hard at first to balance my time and love. We are getting outside more now that it is finally warming up and Maetia got a 'new' swingset so she is very happy to be outside. Our new house has a great backyard with lots of trees and Michael and I both are already talking about this summer and how we will have to move her bedtime back just so we can stay outside longer.

We will have an update on Eli and some pictures soon.


This is Maetia's natural curl in her hair

Bamma and Papa

Even with flour on her face, all I can do is look at those eyes

A little tummy and chubby hands to prove that she is still one of our little babies

Maetia and Eli- She tells us he is noisy

He has his Opa's hands, his Grandpa's chin and his father's personality

Well needless to say we have been very busy with a little toddler and an infant. Getting pictures up on the blog just didn't seem to happen each night when we thought it might. He sure took his time in the womb but when he was ready, he was really ready. Eli's birth was very smooth. Our midwife was amazing. My labour progressed much more quickly this time and when it seemed like I should be getting into active labour, I was actually in transition. I thought it seemed pretty tough!! Once our Doula realized this, she had to call the midwife to come right away. Then she had to call again to tell her to hurry when I suddenly decided I was ready to push!
Eli was born in a birthing pool and our midwife (Louise) almost had to get inside the pool to turn him in the birth canal when he got his shoulders stuck. It was a bit tense for those who knew but they kept calm and I just kept pushing. He would have been born 'in the caul' except that Louise had to break my water and then the sac around him just to get to him out

Either way we were so happy to have him safely arrive. He does have a fractured collar bone due to the strain of the birth. When he was born, because he was so big they were a bit concerned about high sugars (gestational diabetes) and a high respiratory rate. They both went down and our midwife was amazing checking on him every 4 hours for 12 hours so that we didn't have to go into the hospital.
His collar bone seems to be healing really well and he already has good use of his arm. His breathing is a bit stuffy which seems to make it hard for him to sleep. We have been proping him up to sleep which has helped. Maetia is doing amazing with Eli. She loves him already and gives him kisses and hugs all the time. She is definitely having a hard time dealing with sharing our time and being patient while we attending to the baby's immediate needs. We have been trying to make sure she feels very special and I think it is harder on me than her as I struggle to be fair and have two babies with different needs.
We are feeling so blessed by God that Eli was born so safely at home with no intervention. This experience was so positive and it wouldn't have been without the people involved. My mother and my sister were both able to attend, we had a doula and a midwife (the other midwife didn't make it in time!). Thanks to them, and to my wonderful and supportive husband we had a 11 pound, 24 inch long baby with a very nice size head-not too big!!
Thankyou to everyone for your blessings and encouraging emails. We will try to get some more pictures up soon. They will be pictures with Grandma and Grandpa who we can't wait to see in 4 days!!

We think he's gorgeous

We welcome Eli Michael Contant !!

Here are some much awaited pictures of Eli. We have to load them 5 pictures per post so there may be a few posts. Enjoy!!