Olivia's Beautiful Smile!

A Valuable Lesson in Parenting

A few days ago, I wrote an article expressing my frustration with my daughter's irratabilty, tantrums and lack of desire to nap. I was so annoyed
and worn out. Later that day, a friend and fellow mother, told me that my daughter was teething; she was getting her second year molars. Once she told me this, my daughter's behaviours made more sense to me. I felt bad that I had I had been so impatient and so insistent that she take her nap. I've been thinking about this for the last couple days and reslised that the real error I made was in being too rigid about our routine. My daughter is normally great about taking her naps. Would the world end if she didn't take her nap? Absolutely not! Was she being defiant? No! Structure and routine are great, but flexibilty is also important. Even though we had a dificult day, I learned a valuable lesson - be flexible!

Second Year Molars - A Dificult Day for Olivia and Mommy - Teething Woes

Today was a difficult day. I had decided, early morning, that I would take the day to get organized for the coming week. As a mother, there are countless preparations to make to help the week run smoothly. There is laundry to do, garbage and recycling to take out, meals to prepare, outfits to choose, a house to clean, appointments to mark on the calendar, activities to plan and phone calls to catch up on. Olivia was having none of this. She was cranky, restless, demanding, throwing toys, chucking her soother and asking for food then not eating eat it. She wouldn't go down for her nap, which was very unusual. I was beyond frustrated. I felt like we weren't connecting or working together at all. We were both feeling frustrated. My plans to get organized were rail roaded. I called a good friend and neighbour and asked if Olivia could spend a bit of time at her house so that I could get refocused and possible get dinner started. I explained that I needed a breather. She was understanding and told me to take the time that I needed. I was very grateful. Olivia went over and watched part of a movie. She was calm and relaxed. I suppose she needed a break from me too. After preparing dinner and fruit smoothies for the morning, I went to pick up Olivia. Olivia seemed tired and I noticed that her cheeks were rosy. My friend, who has a six year old, explained that my daughter was teething. Apparently, children get second year molars. I did not know this. So, like I often do when I'm not sure about something, I looked on line fore information on second year molars. I found a website called :

http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/baby-teething.htm, which provided a complete baby/teething chart:


Age Teeth Position:


6 to 7 months Incisors Two central bottom & Two central top teeth.
7 to 9 months Two more incisors Top & bottom; making four top & four bottom teeth in all.
10 to 14 months First molars Double teeth for chewing
15 to 18 months Canines The pointed teeth or “fangs”
2 to 3 years Second molars The second set of double teeth at the back


Again, as a refresher, the teething symptoms include irritability, drooling, coughing, biting and gnawing, not sleeping well, and cold like symptoms.


I've read on a few parenting message boards that it can take anywhere from days, weeks even as long as six months for the second year molars to come in.


So how can I help my daughter through this process?


Olivia has been asking me for yogurt and cold applesauce a lot lately, which makes sense because they are cold and likely soothe her gums.

I went to http://www.mamapedia.com, a website where other mother’s ask questions and can post comments and their experiences. Other mother’s suggested cold cloths, juice Popsicles, Advil, soothing music, Hyland’s Homeopathic teething tablets, and baby OraGel. I will try my best to be sympathetic. I know how painful a toothache can be. I will try as many strategies as I can to soothe her gums.

I have found different phases of parenting to be more stressful than others. Sometimes I feel like when I think I finally have the hang of things, a new phase arrives and I’m thrown for a curveball. On top of everything, I am a single mother. I’ve become better at asking for help from friends, family and Olivia’s daycare provider. I’m new to parenting and I’m learning as I go. Mother’s we need to be gentle with ourselves. It’s ok if we don’t know everything.

Part of taking care of myself as a Mother includes exercise. The benefits of exercise are countless. For me, the primary function of exercise at this point of my life is to reduce stress and to boost my energy levels. Tomorrow morning, I plan to go for an Oceanside run to clear my head, let go of the tension and get energized for the coming week.

Have a great week fellow Mommy's!

Mommy and Olly on e-Bay!

Our Trip to Saskatchewan December 2011

Olivia and I recently went on a trip to Saskatchewan to visit my mom's side of the family. I have so many aunts, uncles and cousins that I rarely see. I really wanted to spend some time with them and I wanted them to meet Olivia for the first time. We flew there and back from Vancouver. The plane ride there was pretty scary for Olivia. However, going back went much more smoothly. I had figured out how to set the tv to cartoons. She was thrilled!


Most of our trip was spent in a small town called Humboldt. We stayed with my Aunt Doris. She's a very kind woman. Being out in the country was so relaxing. It was so quiet and cozy. There was lots of snow on the ground and the sun shone everyday. We went for some day trips to the neighboring towns, had long afternoon naps and enjoyed lots of good meals. I did a lot of reading. Olivia was so well behaved the entire trip. She enjoyed meeting our relatives and they absolutely adored her.


I came back to Vancouver feeling refreshed and clear headed. Olivia was happy to be home as well.


My sister lives in Switzerland and would like us to come for a visit at some point. Olivia is an excellent travel companion. I think it would be an exciting adventure.

Fall of 2011 - Olivia the Great!

Miss. Olivia Ann is growing and changing daily. She is so tall, strong, agile and FAST!!! She started ballet this Fall. It's a lot of fun to watch. I particpate too! Which probably looks hilarious!

Olivia continues to love daycare. She loves her daycare friends the woman who runs the daycare. They do arts and crafts, play games, sing songs and have snacks, lunch and naps together.

Olivia goes for long stroller rides with grandma along the seawall regularly.
They talk, sing and stop to look at all of the dogs, birds, trains and squirells along the way.

Olivia continues to love books at nap time, bed time. She also loves our weekly trips to the library. Not only do they have books and DVD's but they also have a Thomas and Friends train table! Our local library has an excellent kid's sections with storytime, teddies, big cushy chairs and lots of large, colorful cushions.

Starting in January, I'd like to register Olivia for another dance or music class, and something athletic.

I'm looking forward to Christmas with Olivia, family and friends. I find I enjoy Christmas so much now that I'm a mother:)

Since becoming a mother, I find myself so excited about life. I've also become so much more focussed as a person. I plan ahead, I'm organized, I think things through. I love my life. Sometimes there are challenges, but I work on being positive. I thank God every night for my dear, sweet Olly. I am thankful that she is happy, healthy and safe.

Miss.Olivia - 2 years old!

I can hardly believe that my little girl is 2 years old already.
I remember the moment she was born and placed into my arms.
She was very quiet, but her eyes were very bright and wide open.
I said "hello there, welcome to the wolrd Olivia. You are so pretty!"
The doctors took her briefly to examine her and make sure she was okay...
she wasn't crying or making any sound. She was fine though, thankfully.
Perhaps she was just trying to take everything in. Her first cry came the following morning. Being a new, unexperienced mom, I wasn't sure what to do. The nurse suggested that naybe she needed a diaper change. Sure enough, she was right. I changed her little diaper and she went back to sleep. I barely slept the first few days after she was born. I kept hopping out of bed to gaze at her sleeping. I was so excited to bring her home from the hospital. I couldn't wait to start our new life together. I was glued to my dear Olivia at all times. I had lots of questions and lots of anxieties. Everything was so new. Family and friends were helpful in the baby wisdom department. As for the anxieties..I just had to face them. I was scared to drive with her...I was so afraid of a car accident. I didn't want to take her for walks in the stroller at first. Again, I had worries. But I got past all of that with practice. I'm still a big Mama Bear though.

Over the next two years we have swam together, gone on countless car,train, bus and stroller rodes. We have explored books and toys. We had a moving truck fire where we lost everything. But we built our home up again slowly.
We have gone camping, to playgroups, the beach, the library and recently, ballet lessons. She's grown to be a very strong, solid, expressive little girl who is loved by everyone she meets. I've grown as a person. The focus of my life is creating a good life for Olivia and myself. We are surrounded by terrific family, friends and neighbors.

It has been a good to years. The best two years of my life. As an added note, I finally lost all of my baby weight. It took 2 years, but I did it!
The first year I didn't really lose any weight. However, for the past year, I have been eating smaller portions, making smoothies, walking and chasing after my little boot camp instructor "Miss Olivia."