How she rolls

K is continuing to grow well as evidenced by the rolls in her arms and legs. Oh the rolls. Her extremities look like they are made of sausages!

K is also rolling. From front to back and back to front, she's pretty good with both directions now. She is also good at repositioning herself in her crib too. It's always amusing to see where she has ended up when I go to get her, heehee.

She is such a little roly poly and I love her to bits.

book nook: and the mountains echoed

And The Mountains Echoed
Khaled Housseini

Since I really enjoyed reading Housseini's other two books (The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns), I was excited when I found this one sitting on a library shelf all ready for me to borrow and read. Unfortunately, unlike his other two books, this one was a disappointment. A "Whoomp, whoomp" if you will.

The book is about multi-generational family bonds and begins centred around a brother, sister, and father. The first couple of chapters are actually quite charming and Housseini's descriptions create rich scenes while his knack for story-telling draws you into the pages.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, after the first few chapters it all went downhill from there with the introduction of too many plot lines and characters. Sure everything converged towards the end (kind of like Love Actually), but by then the story was so convoluted that I couldn't keep track of what was going on nor did I really care that I didn't know what was going on at that point (kind of like Love Actually, heh). The fact that I literally skipped some pages here and there because I found portions of the book too slow/drawn out probably didn't help but hey, I was bored. Never a good sign. While the ending did make me teary, even the ending couldn't redeem the book as a whole for me.

Would I recommend his other books? Yes. Would I recommend this one? No.

Silver linings exist even in rain clouds

The bright, sunny, and blue sky of yesterday looks like it has been covered up by a heavy, leaky, and grey drop cloth today. It's gloomy and wet out there, but after months of snow, snow, and more snow, it's raining.

Raining?! Raining! Warmer spring weather is on it's way!
(Thank goodness I can't smell the soggy worms, haha.)

No more, no less

No matter what I have done, what I am doing, or what I will do,
He has, does, and will never love me any more or any less.

Mind blown.

It starts with an S and it ends with a T

Good grief. Who knew that such little beings could have SO MUCH POO?!?! 
Oh well, at least we can be sure K is getting enough to eat...

My nose is a poser

My sense of smell is sooooooooo bad that it's basically non-existent. In my 30 years of life i can count the number of things i have smelt on one hand and i basically needed to inhale all these substances for my olfactory system to kick into gear in order for my brain to register i was actually smelling something. (Inhaling Tiger Balm? Been there, done that - finally smelt it once it was basically in my nostrils.) When I was young I used to ask my family how they smelled things because I was really at a loss. This always confused them because they didn't understand how I could not smell nor could they give me an explanation beyond "You bring your nose to it...and just...breathe in?" and this always confused me because I did everything they said they did but I still couldn't smell. I think my dad eventually gave up and he ended up telling me that I would "grow into it." Aww, bless.

My first whiff of anything came during grade 8 science class. Our teacher was teaching us how to waft and passed around a jar of "clear mystery liquid" for us to practice with the instruction to only waft the smell because the scent of the liquid was so strong. Waft?! PFFT. I stuck my nose on top of the jar opening and inhaled that sucker. A nice big deep breath. My blatant disregard for instruction paid off - for the first time ever, my olfactory system started firing and the scent of white vinegar filled my nose. You have no idea how excited this made me. Unfortunately my smelling experiences have been few and (very) far between since. Oh well.

I used to wish I could smell, that it was as easy as simply "growing into it", but now I resigned to the fact that my nose is basically decorative and have even embraced my lack-of smell in some circumstances (such a blessing during my first trimester). Despite this, I'm so intrigued by this whole olfaction thing. When my husband cooks and randomly adds in spices purely based on smell, I think it's one of the best things ever. When my sister graciously agrees to smelling a plethora of soaps or lotions so I don't end up buying something that will make me smell like a granny, I think it's one of the best things ever.  Sure, I don't get how the whole olfaction thing works, but I think it's amazing all the same. And it really is.

p.s. I really hope K doesn't pull something like this otherwise I'm in trouble. Good thing hubby can smell. :P

Future / Past

This chorus of this song has been stuck on repeat in my head for the past couple of days and I still haven't gotten sick of it which shows how much I enjoy this one both musically and lyrically.

It's been good to think and reflect on these words and what they mean.

You are my first,
You are my last,
You are my future and my past.

hello there, i'm still here

It's been a while, but so much has happened since the last time I posted! Here are some of the highlights:

1/ Arrival of Baby
We were blessed with the sweetest little girl in the whole world, K. She has overhauled our lives, but in the best way.  She is just awesome and continues to bring us so much joy, and I am so thankful that she is here.  November 14, 2013 marks the day our little family grew from two to three, and our hearts became even fuller.

2/ Official start of Maternity Leave
I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend everyday with K for one year (thanks hubby)! People often ask me if I'm stir-crazy from being at home all the time and quite honestly no, I'm not. (I think being a introverted home-body really helps me out in that department, haha.) Internet is key though (not sure how mothers used to do it without it) because without the ability to go online, check e-mails, go on facebook, or stream TV shows, I'm pretty sure I might have gone loco by now. However, I have the internet at my fingertips so throw a book or two into the mix and I'm more than good to go. (Or rather, not go anywhere).

That being said, hanging out with other mommies and their little ones during the day is always such a treat. :) Yay for friends being on mat leave too!

3/ First Christmas with K
This Christmas she was only just over a month old so she definitely will not remember a thing, but we will. And it was lovely. :)

4/ K's Developmental...Development
From blob to blob with flailing limbs to little person with pretty decent control of her neck, limbs, and digits (there's nothing like intentional movements to excite this OT mommy), it has been such a pleasure witnessing K develop both motor and cognition-wise. While she has always been fun, she is interacting more and more with the world around her (this includes us!) and it will only continue getting more fun from here. We're also starting to see more glimpses of her personality shine through now and I'm excited to discover more about who she is and have her discover more about us in return. Exciting times ahead!

With all these highlights I've had my share of low-lights as well, but I choose not to dwell on those things as much as possible. Why focus on the not-so-good when there are so many things to be thankful for? Onwards and upwards, I say, onwards and upwards.

Community

"over the last four years i've learned over and over again that attaining a perfect community is impossible. lccf is not perfect; it's made up of a group of imperfect people so it will never be "perfect". there will always be struggles, and growing pains to deal with, but it is in our imperfections where true community is tested and developed, faith is strengthened, God's power is made perfect and as a result, people are transformed.

true community is not about perfect people coming together to form a perfect community. instead, i believe true community is about imperfect people coming together in love to help one another, live life together, and encourage each other to continue striving towards being like Jesus, the ultimate perfect being." - me, 2006

I wrote these words right before I graduated from undergrad during a time when I was experiencing community within my university fellowship in an intense, tangible, and authentic way. It's been 7.5 years (!) since I typed out that post, and as sit here - reminded of my thoughts - I can't help but ask myself what does community mean to me now? What does it look like? What can it look like? What should it look like?

Awaiting baby

As baby's arrival comes closer and closer, I can't help but get a bit sentimental re: these past nine months because being sentimental is what I do, although (I admit) it gets a little bit ridiculous sometimes. Anyway, as much as I am excited to meet her, see her, and hold her (finally!), I will miss having her with me always (at work, at home, at church - we've literally been inseparable for the past nine months), as well as feeling her kicks, squirms, punches, and hiccups from the inside out. I love feeling her hiccup, I think it's one of the greatest and cutest things ever. Oh how I love her. :)

Can't wait to meet you, Little One.