Almost a year!!!

Yes...."The Hiz" is almost a year old. A YEAR!!!!!! Where does time go? I cannot believe that in 2 weeks, she will be one year old....it will be one year since I delivered a baby into the arms of her mother....it will be one year since I made someones dream come true by becoming a parent....one year since I made my own dream come true of becoming a surrogate.

On her birthday, Ill post again, a year in pictures maybe. But for now I just wanted to post an update since its been so long.

A month ago today, I went over and had yet another amazing visit with Hazel and A. D was working late so I only got a short visit with him when he got home. But I got to spend a good 6 hours playing and cuddling with her. I brought my youngest with me on that day and the two of them played together so nicely. I got lots of pictures and lots of snuggles and shared good conversation with A. It was such a nice visit. She was walking while holding onto furniture and she said Hi and momma and dadda while I was there. She is soooooo damn cute!


We brought with us some toys...she liked chewing on them lol



She loved my phone too





Nice and clean after her bath! More cuddles



Anyhow...its almost Christmas so I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope those of you still following me have a wonderful holiday filled with love, laughter and family. I hope those IPs out there still looking for a surrogate get their wish this Christmas and that all those surros out there who are cycling or pregnant have an amazing holiday and a healthy, easy pregnancy. Ill update on Hazels bday with a year in photos!




Went to Grouse Mountain for their Peak of Christmas events. Couldnt help but get a pic of the girls.



View from the peak!




Madison decorating the tree




Braelyn decorating





Sad and happy post

A few days ago, a young girl killed herself. Yes, thats what I am starting this post off with. This girl Amanada, had posted, just days earlier, a video about her story. How one day she made a dumb mistake and ended up getting bullied over it...moving schools...cutting...very tragic. She then killed herself and her death is all over the news and people are still saying horrible things...and other people are saying they would have helped her if they knew. Honestly, I find the whole thing f-d. I cant even explain it because I am having a hard time articulating myself properly. But I am beyond sad for what this young girl went through.
Madison has had some issues with people, since getting and iPod. We made her buy it with her own money (a used one, so not so expensive) and it it monitored by us. There are strict rules surrounding it. I look at it whenever I want and I know the passwords to accounts. I really do believe that we as parents, NEED to do this. Ive heard some people say "its an invasion of privacy" but you know what, thats crap. Internet and electronic usage, is a privilege, not a right. And there are responsibilities surround having them. While Madison is very responsible, and I have found her to be mostly respectful on chat or kik or Instagram, but sometimes comments are made from other kids, and on occasion her, that make me worry about an escalation into bullying. Sometimes comments are so snarky and rude, it makes me wonder, why these kids are even friends sometimes! Every second day, so and so did this and so and so said that...they hide behind these things and dont talk to their friends in person whey they have a problem. Ive tried many times to explain to Madison what can happen if shes not careful. Then this girls video came out. I decided to show it to Madison. At the end, I said  "Do you know what happened to her? She killed herself. And do you know where? Right here in our home town." Maddie was shocked. She cried. I said to her she needs to remember how something so small, can turn into something so bad. She said she would never think to kill herself. I said to her that Im sure Amanda wasnt born into this world thinking "Someday Im going to kill myself" Harsh? Maybe...but she needed it. She just didnt see how these comments, and remarks and simple photos, could go so bad.
Please parents...please do yourself and your child a favor. Monitor their actions on social media and messaging. Dont just pay attention to what your kids are doing but to the things other kids are saying to them and on their pictures.  WAY to many kids are going unmonitored (I know most of my daughters friends parents dont do this) and this is causing problems. I dont think many parents realize just how rude their children can be on these things....and maybe they are not even intending to be rude, but when you cant see or hear emotion, it can be taken as rude...and unless WE as their parents monitor it, we can not educate them on the RIGHT way to deal with things...such as, you have a problem with someone, talk to them about it...dont hide behind the electronic. It is NOT an invasion of privacy...and having these things are a privilege, NOT a right. Please please please....monitor your childrens on line activities!!! YOU are the parent and have EVERY right to know EVERYTHING they are doing.


Anyhow...now for the happy!
We got a kitten tonight! Totally surprised the kids! They had NO idea!!  He is sooooooo cute!! We haven't fully decided on a name yet, because Juli is at Grandmas house tonight and doesn't even know we got a kitty!! lol But Miles and I think Chewy is cute (yes, as in Chewbacca) and the older two seem to like it! Of course we have our Tasha dog but we have missed having a cat, and Im so looking forward to seeing what this little guy grows up to look and act like. So far hes spunky but also chill. Here are pictures of our little guy!

Lovin Life!!! Part 1

I havent written for a bit and yet I have lots to post! 

So I thought I would steal an idea from my friend Jeni over here on her blog. She had her daughters create a blog post, about what they thought of their family's surrogacy journey. So...I had my eldest daughter Maddie, write about her thoughts on our fams journey. So, here she is folks. My wonderful daughter, who I am very proud of. Shes a really great kid, thoughtful and kind and helpful. Shes a pretty awesome kid.

However....
I also have some pictures to post so after the below post written by Maddie, please, keep reading, because theres more in the next one!!


Hi, my name is Madison. I would like to talk about the journey my mom went through and how I felt. When my mom first asked my sister Braelyn and I, if it would be ok for her to become surrogate I first asked what it was. She had said it was when a women carries a baby for someone who can't have a one. I was amazed at what my mother said she wanted to do. "Yes!" I had said. I was so excited. A little while later we had met A and D and they had brought A's parents. We had a great dinner and they were all very nice. When my mom went to Seattle to get the embryo transfer, I would think to myself 'Wow. It's really happening. The baby that would one day make A and D very happy was being placed into my mother at this very second.' When my mother finally came home she showed us the picture of the embryo. The picture showed it to be be green so my first reaction was 'This baby so far is my favorite colour.' Later on, when the baby was big enough to kick, my mother had taped the kicks and sent them to A and D which I thought was very, very kind of my mom to do. When the baby was finally ready to be born, I had no idea because I was asleep. Later when the baby was born we went to the hospital. I was the first child who got to hold Hazel Grace Prinsen Naples. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen. When they took her away to give to my sister I wasn't pleased. She was that cute to me. I walked out of the hospital very, very happy to see Hazel and to see A and D so happy. Every time my mom shows me the picture of A catching her own baby, I want to cry. In conclusion I think surrogacy is an amazing thing to do. Not just to make the person your doing it for happy but to make you and your family happy. I think what my mom did was amazing and A and D are amazing. I would like to be a surrogate when I grow up.              

Lovin Life!!! Part 2

Ok...prepare for photo overload!!!! Seriously! Sine there are so many photos, I wont spend a lot of time writing lol Not much has happened lately other then the fact that I seem to be working non stop! Its probably for the best that I am, being that it looks like were going to have to get a new car...and soon! Otherwise...its trudging along!

We had our family photos taken! And I love them!!! I love how vibrant they are! Im so thrilled I chose to go blue! I hope you like them as much as I do!!!

So.... the family and I met up at this awesome lake near by, with A, D and Hazel!! We had a picnic and the kids went in the lake (I forgot my bathing suit!). It was an awesome afternoon!! Hazel is such a sweetie! We had lots of cuddles and I stood up as high as I could hike my shorts and she splashed and got me soaked but I didnt care! We had a blast!! She was wearing the cutest baby bathing suit EVER! And there is quite the story about how they managed to get it. Too funny.

Of course there are some photos from our afternoon together on a beautiful afternoon at Buntzen Lake!!! The sun was out, the food was great (I made an AMAZING potato salad...seriously, and Im not a big potato salad person...shocking since I LOVE potatoes...ok....a little off track...) and the company was even better!

My family <3 td="td">

Juli Anne

Braelyn Raine
 

Madison Aileen Ivy

My love and I

I love this one...Juju's face is priceless!

The loves of my life....so proud to be their mom.

Fun and quirky!

And here are pictures from our day together!!!

K...had to.

All of us together....self timer and lighting was terrible by that point!

Sweet Hiz and I

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture. I love how the light comes through the hands!!!

K seriously...how cute is this bathing suit??

Daddy was making faces at her behind me

Oh my goodness....PERFECTION ....the whole picture!

Hello to those who may still be reading my blog lol.. I know Im not very interesting anymore, being that I am not currently on a journey, but, life is still trekking away! Im am itching...yep...been itching for a while. I know A and D still wont be ready for a while, but I sooooo cant wait....most days lol. Well, I should say, most minutes of the day lol. I will admit, there have been a couple times where I thought, oh, can I endure that pain of delivery again. Thats really where my hesitation lies...that and that I wonder if getting pregnant again, is basically me testing fate. I often think about how incredibly lucky I am. Lucky that I have had 4 very successful pregnancies, which resulted in 4 very healthy little baby girls. How many babies can one person have, before the odds are against them and something goes wrong. What bothers me about this thinking, is that I am not normally the type of person that thinks negative thoughts. Maybe the reason for these thoughts, is because my good friend Gail, is pregnant and dealing with gestational diabetes. I am so incredibly proud of her for all she is doing to manage it. She tests several times a day, takes insulin a couple times a day and is on a pretty strict diet. But she is doing everything she can possibly do, to make sure that she and her soon to be baby boy, are healthy. Shes amazing.

Anyhow, enough of the negative talk. I realized that I had not talked about my daughter Braelyn when her birthday came around in June...bad mommy! So here is her shout out! What can I say about Braelyn....well, shes a red read...and she has ALL the stereotypical traits of a red head. Shes especially feisty.


Brae was born on June 15 and came out like a rocket. I knew I was in labor, but the L&D nurse, said it was Braxton Hicks...because they were not showing up on the monitor and she could not feel my cervix cause it was so high up. I kept telling her that I knew what labor felt like (this was my 2nd kid after all) and THIS was labor. Long and short of it, Miles was sent back to my moms place to watch our 2 year old, while she went back to work. Well, Miles got home, and my mom had just left with OUR vehicle (so she could get to work, open and get back when someone else came to relieve her) and it was at that precise time that Braelyn decided it was time for her to come. My doctor wasnt there and I had been sitting in a bath by myself when I knew it was time. I got out, yelled down the hall for the nurse and in barely 2 pushes, Braelyn came out....all 6 lbs 8 oz's of her. I ended up calling Miles a minute later and informed him his baby girl was here. About 8 minutes later, my Dr showed up...and she met in the hall with the nurse and read her the riot act. She had no idea I was even there and was incredibly pissed off at the nurse. She was NOT impressed. About a half hour later, mom, Maddie and Miles showed up and met Braelyn for the first time. Later on, the nurse did come an apologize to me, saying she had never, in 25 years of nursing, seen someone progress that quickly. She couldnt believe it. She was born small, but within 3 months, turned into the fattest baby. She was so round, and now to look at her, you would thin we starved her. Shes so skinny and shes actually just built that way. She will likely never have to worry about her weight. She didnt learn to talk like other kids and therefore needed speech therapy. When she started speech, she couldnt make certain sounds and everything really came out the same....a series of mumbles. She made leaps and bounds and now talks non stop lol. Anyhow....she is a beautiful 8 year old who keeps us on our toes. Shes got attitude and she makes up stories (aka lies) and has been giving us issues with stealing. But, we do what we can do, to make her feel loved...and we do love this monkey very very much....here is her life in pictures!

Just minutes old

Love this picture of her....so precious

chubster

Braelyn and her big sister

I love this pic of her...shes so innocent looking here lol

Vintage Brownie uniform.

                                                     

Selling Girl Guide Cookies

On her 8th birthday!( Dont mind Maddie in the background...it was tacky tourist day at school lol)

Gots me some baby love!

Yep...I got to see little Hazel a few days ago and what a fantastic visit we had!! She sure is getting big! Loving her Jolly Jumper and making big smiles. Right away, as soon as they answered the door, she was giving me smiles...make me feel pretty good.
We had a nice visit, followed by a brunch of pancakes that A made up and more snuggles, a nap, a jump in the jolly jumper...more snuggles. All in all, it was a wonderful visit. We are going to make plans to get together all of us (Miles and the kids and them) in the next couple months. I very much look forward to it!!
Here are some pictures of the little peach!

Time for num nums

She was watching Juli jump up and down

She was totally snuggled against my face here...so cute! Melts my heart

The three of us!