Its Been a Year

Well, a quiet night and so I thought I would write a quick note:

One year ago tomorrow mine and Ethans world was tossed upside down by one single email.

At the time I had no idea what we were going to do. A week before we were supposed to move into our new house and start the new leg in our lives, and now all of a sudden we were moving to a big house all by ourselves. So much uncertainty and shock and a total colapse of all things that we thought were right.

Found a job in May, and ended my maternity leave early so that I could support my little boy and make sure he was taken care of. Left that job in September and started commuting to Toronto again for more money, and ability to hopefully keep the house.

Fast forward a few months and things were adjusting fairly well. I had moved forward with my life as a completely single mom, and I think I was doing a fantastic job; no time to wonder what could be fixed, just time to move forward for the best future for Ethan. Lonely some days, but over all, easily manageable.

Fast forward some more, and we hit Christmas. 8 months since the separation and we are well adjusted. Dad is finally starting to take an interest in Ethan and we set up a schedule of every other weekend visitation.

New Years, well, what can I say ... BEST EVER!!! The start of a new year, a new beginning and a new amazing relationship.

And then here we are now ... 1 year post separation. The year has absolutely flown by. Absolutely nothing has been resolved regarding the separation other then a partial visitation schedule which is only followed 1/2 the time, but we are working towards resolution on these things.

Ethan is doing amazing. He is learning so much, and is growing way to quickly. Less then 2 months from now he is going to be 2 years old .... wow....

Each day learning new things, and picking up new words. He has become a parrot and enjoys mimicking what others around him do.
He has a great new relationship with Chris, and his 2 kids, Chloe and Chase and he is always so excited to see them when they come home.

Me .... well ... couldn't be happier. Everything in life happens for a reason, and this is the best possible thing that could have ever happened. Looking back, the best thing to come of my marriage was the birth of my amazing young boy. He has kept me positive on negative days, and he pushed me to move forward with my life in the early weeks of the separation. His smile, his laugh and his hugs make everything else in this world disappear.

And then there is the new additions to my life: Chris, Chloe, Chase and Pepper. We have become our own little family and everyone is adjusting in such amazing ways. Chris is the one I have searched for and always desired. He is my soul mate, and we have an absolutely amazing future ahead of us. So many things to do as a couple and as a family; camping, roller coasters, walks, exploring, sports, enjoying each others company, talking, laughing, and just enjoying life as a whole.

So, to wrap it all up, I would have never guessed at this time last year that I would be where I am today, but I am very happy to be where we are.

First Hair Cut

Well I finally did it!! I took Ethan for his first hair cut today. Just a trim to make everything more even and get the hair out of his eyes.

He did an awesome job and look so cute and grown up now.

We went to Little Tots in Pickering. They had themed chairs for the kids to play in and a huge ball pit for them to play in before and after their hair cut.

My little boy is getting so big.

My oh My .... Almost 2?

Well, tomorrow my little man will be 20 months old - Just 4 more months until he is 2. Really? Where has the time gone? It is hard to believe that I will have a 2 year old little boy in such a few short months, but at the same time it is quite exciting.

Again I am loving this stage with all the learning and progress we are making. It is just unbelievable. Each day more and more attempts for words and even starting to try and have full out conversations.

Yesterday morning we were getting dressed, and he was counting with me. He is starting to recognize colours and he can point out Blue, Green, Yellow and Red almost always when we are looking at stories. He knows all his body parts, and is doing so great. I am very lucky to have a generally happy, pleasant and smart little boy.

Yesterday with all the snow that we got, we went out with some friends to play in the snow and go for a ride in a sled. He had a great time except when he couldn't walk because the snow was too deep. He was so cute all bundled up in his snow suit though.

He eventually decided he was done playing in the snow and wanted to try and do the slides and the playground. It was quite fun to watch his determination of climbing the steps and getting onto the slide. Definitley wasn't an easy thing to do in his snow suit but he managed quite well. He had a great time, and now mommy needs to find a good tobaggan for him so that he can maybe try going down a hill :) 

On a side note, it looks like we should be able to keep our house and not have to move anytime soon, which is a good thing as the housing market isn't too nice right now for any profit on our house. Life is coming along very well with great new opportunities and fun for 2013. Life for Ethan and I is definitley coming together and looking very positive. This is continuing to be an amazing year, and although it is flying by already, we are enjoying each and every minute of it :) 

Good Bye 2012 - Hello 2013

Wow, what a year it has been. Lots of changes in our lives and many ups and downs, but overall the year has been the ending of something and the beginning of others.

Ethan has become a very well adjusted and amazing little boy. Our lives as a 2 person family have had their hard times, but over all it has been an amazing adventure that is just going to be even more exciting this coming year!

As the first day of 2013 draws to a close I thought I should write a quick note to say how excited I am for this coming year. 2012 can kiss my a** and 2013 is being accepted with open arms.

April 2012 was the start of a new venture for Ethan and I and so far I think we have done a great job. With the amazing support from my parents who have given me the help when needed, as well as my close friends who have been the shoulders to cry on and to vent to. Thank you to each and every one of you (you know who you are). I can not express to any of you enough how much I love you and how much our relationships mean to us!!

Summer 2012 came the beginning of meeting some amazing new friends who I hope to keep close to my life and my heart for many months and years to come. Amazing people who have gone through similar situations and who have accepted me for who I am and what I have been through. Everyone should be so lucky to meet people like this. Completely open, honest and non-judgemental. Since joining my 'separation 2 success' group I have found my life again, and reinvested in my happiness. I have gotten back who I was before and re-acquired my social life. It has been amazing to meet each of these people and although it is sad to see that divorce is what brought us all together, it is nice in the end as we have made some very close bonds.

Christmas this year was a strange one. Happy yet sad, Lonely yet Loving! Surrounded by my family and my son for Christmas morning was all I could ask for. The day ended with a very quiet night at home, but allowed for some great reflection time.

New Years 2012 - What can I say - WOW! Again a quiet evening with time to reflect on the past year and to start thinking about how 2013 is going to be. A new job, new friends, and new life to live. Special people have entered into my life and I can't wait to see how things develop over the near and far future. Again you know who you are :)

Life has its ups and downs, and its twists and turns, but in the end it knows what it is doing. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger and we will fight forward to find the perfect life to live. We will be the ones to choose what we will do with our lives and when the time is right to move forward. No one can tell us different for it is only us who knows our own heart!

My resolution for 2013 is to find true happiness and keep being me.

Christmas Is Coming

So some new words have been heard this week:

Ow
More
Help
Keys

More and more learning happening and more and more character developing.

We had our 18 month check up on Friday which was great. Ethan has reached all the milestones that he should have by this age, and is doing great. Mommy was worried about his weight but he has remained on target and at the same growth cycle since birth.

There were absolutely no tears with his needle this time around, but there was a lot of irritability and lots of 'ow, ow, ow' for the night as he pointed to his arm :( Poor little guy.

He is now 24.5 pounds, and 33 inches tall.

He is becoming more and more aware of his surroundings and understanding the things that I ask him to do which is awesome. From cleaning up his toys to putting his books back on the book shelf; or taking my hand and taking me to where he wants to go; He has been conscious of my sore knee pointing to it and saying 'ow' every time he accidentaly knocks it ... lol ... He is becoming such a big boy.

Meal time has become interesting here at the house. He will sit in his little seat for about 3 bites of food, but then he wants to come out and he will eat at his leisure while wondering around, just picking when he wants. Drives me crazy as I really would like him to just sit down and eat nicely, but hey, I guess as long as he is eating that is what matters.

Just over a week until Christmas. It should be a fun year this year, although a strange year as he will be visiting his dad half way through the day on Christmas day until Dec 27th. He will be with me and my family for Christmas eve and morning though so that should be nice. It will be fun to see how interested he is in the whole present thing and how much he understands.

We tried to sit on Santa's knee today and it was a definite no go. I got the death grip before we even got close to Santa's lap, so no Santa pic this year .... hopefully next year will be more successful!!

Time is Flying - 18 months old .... wow

Well as I figured I still have a horribly hard time remembering to update this damn thing as much as I wanted .... but here goes another entry.

Tomorrow will be Ethan's 18 month 'birthday'. I can't believe how old he is and how big he is getting.

This age is again become one of my favourites as he is learning and doing so much more. Each day he amazes me more with the new things he is doing!

So many words, so much character and personality, and so much fun. The kisses, the hugs, the laughs, the smiles, the attitude, the tantrums, the words and songs. Love this little man to pieces.

Ethan is almost done cutting all of this 'pre 2 year' teeth. We are working on the final 2 eye teeth on the right hand side, and I can say once again, Thank god for Camillia teething medicine and his amber teething necklace. Without those 2 things life would be miserable.

Ethan has become a parrot and a shadow. Everything you say he is trying to say it back, and everything you do he is copying you. He has become a real monkey with climbing on everything, jumping around and loves to dance.

One night about a month ago he brought tears to my eyes when I told him I loved him at bed time and he said 'love you' back to me. Such an amazing moment as a mother. He has only since repeated this 2 more times, but I say it to him all the time, and most of the time I get a smile and a nod ... lol

We have many more words now including:
Hi
Bye
Ouch
On
Off
Down
Up
book
hot
truck
Plus all the others that he has been saying for months.

Friday is his 18 month check up and I am anticipating good things as usual.

I think in January we are going to start to potty train as he is fully knowledgeable when he has gone #2 and he points it out to me .... He has am thinking it is just about time to start that venture.

Teeth and Words YAY

Well we have 2 more teeth to add into the count. This last week Ethan got his upper left and lower left first molar :) And it looks like the right are on their way soon also.


We are working on talking and trying to get some more words formulated.
I think we have:
Ball
Duck
Door
Bye
Done (sometimes)
Light (sometimes)
Mama
Dada
Baba (bottle)

And we are working hard on many more. He is trying so hard to talk the last couple of days it is just so exciting!!! Love it :) Again we are entering what is proving to be another favourite stage!! So awesome :)