Hugh's First Bath at Home

Let's face it... even water babies hate their first bath or two. 

I always get sooo nervous when we give our babies their first bath. I know that they are going to cry and I know that their crying will make me anxious. It was no different with Hugh. 

We don't have a baby bathtub so we use a little bath sling. The only problem with the bath sling is having to lean over the tub.... so we just get in! I love having baths with our babies. It's easier to clean them and make them comfortable and it is so nice being that close to them. It is a bit of a two man operation though because you need someone outside of the bath to wrap up the baby once their bath is done. 

Aside from being a little bit upset, Hugh did fantastic. He was fairly calm and let Dave clean him. Once he was done I wrapped him up in warm towels and eventually put him in a diaper. The entire bath routine is finished with a massage using baby lotion which is easily his favourite part. So sweet! 

He loves the bath now. But here are a few photos from his first bath at home. 

Mrs. E

Our Youngest Tribe Member

Let me tell you the story of a super proud dad....

When we were in the Hospital having Hugh, all Dave could talk about was how we had to take Hugh to a November Project workout as soon as possible. Those who know Dave personally know that November Project means the world to him. They are a grassroots movement that aims to bring free fitness to the masses. They do this by hosting free workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every week. Wednesdays are stair days and in the summer, the city gives November Project access to the football stadium to do their workout. We made sure that Hugh became a part of the November Project tribe on a stair day to give him the best intro ever. 

We woke up at 5am and I fed Hugh quickly. We packed him up in the car seat and made our way to the workout. David wanted to carry him in the Ergo carrier so we got him all set up and walked our way through the crowd stopping to let people get a look at him. Dave walked the stairs with Hugh that morning and I just enjoyed the view. I wasn't feeling quite up to a full on workout at 8 days postpartum. 

At the end of the workout they always do a group photo and then honor any Birthdays in the group with what they call a Birthday boom. A Birthday boom is where the individual celebrating their birthday has to yell out "My name is ________ and it's my Birthday!" The entire group then responds with a super loud "BOOM!" There were two Birthdays that day... and they also decided that Hugh needed his own boom considering it was is ACTUAL Birthday only eight days earlier. Dave stood at the front of the crown with our newborn strapped to his body and yelled, "This is Hugh and is WAS his Birthday!" Over 200 hundred people responded with "BOOM!" It was definitely a morning I will never forget. 

Mrs. E

Mom's Macaron Night Out

Two weeks after Hugh was born I got to have an amazing night out.

David and the kids registered me for a Macaron making class as my Mother's Day gift. I have always wanted to learn how to make them and after a couple of failed attempts at home I had given up. One of David's November Project friends is a chef who teaches at NAIT and also runs private classes on the side. Her company is called Funky Fork and I strongly suggest trying out one of Erin's classes.

Macarons are one of my favourite treats and they are notoriously difficult to make. With Meringue as the base, they tend to be temperamental and can easily fall flat or end up with cracks. Erin started by taking us through the entire process step by step. She taught us how to make an Italian Meringue and we all wrote notes furiously. We were then paired up and got to work. 

We were able to choose what flavour we wanted our Macarons to be. We decided on dark chocolate raspberry and a vanilla bean coffee. Once we worked out our flavours we got to work! It was so much fun working with a partner and we were able to ask Erin questions as we went along. In the end, we made some beautiful looking Macarons with delicious chocolate ganache centers. I can't wait to make more for our next get together!

Chocolate for the Ganache

Making templates for the Macaron shells.

Working on our Ganache

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache ready to pipe.

Our finished Italian Meringue

Erin doing a demo on piping Ganache

Erin's finished Macarons

My finished Macaron Shells

My partner's Macaron shells

Erin's Finished Macarons

My FInished Macarons

Mrs. E

Sydney Finishes Kindergarten

Where did this year go!?!?!?!?

Sydney has successfully completed her first year of elementary and is on her way to grade one next year! I honestly felt like I aged at least five years when Sydney started school. There is something about having a kid in school that makes you feel older. 

In the past year she has matured so much. She has learned an astonishing amount of new information since September and has made a new set of friends. Syd's french has gotten so much better and she has become pretty confident in speaking french in class. We have been working on reading and writing and she loves practicing her math skills. 

Throughout the year her teacher Mme. Stephania was incredible. She was so supportive of the kids and really connected with Sydney. We will miss her over the summer but will see her in the new year. To say thank you to her teacher, Syd and I made a cute little mason jar apple filled with smarties and paired with with a homemade card and a gift card. 

To celebrate her last day of school David and I picked her up and took her for frozen yogurt. It was the perfectly sweet way to wrap up the year. Congratulations Sydney!

Mrs. E

Hugh Cameron ~ One Month

One Month Stats:

Weight ~ 10lbs 8.5oz

Height ~ 22.5 inches

This little guy is not so little anymore! He has reached one month and is an entirely different kid from the day he was born. He has gained almost three pounds in one month and is happily fitting into his zero to three month clothing. He is still exclusively breast fed (which is not abnormal for our kids) and his love of food is starting to show on his little body. He has some serious rolls forming... and I love it!

Hugh has the calmest temperament. He is so chill and loves to hang out on his playmat watching the lights and smiling at his toys. He is starting to interact so much more with the people around him and he is starting to take in his surroundings. He is such a sweet little peanut and we love him so much!

Mrs. E

Sibling Bonding Time

The Eliuk kids have become thick as thieves since Hugh's birth. 

To say that the older kids are obsessed with their younger brother would be a major understatement. They are his biggest fan and love to talk to him, hold him and love him to pieces. When we brought Hugh home I wondered if the novelty of having a new sibling would wear off... but it really hasn't! 

Here are a few of our favourite photos from his first day home. They couldn't get enough.

Mrs. E