What about the Canadians? Life here, north of our American cousins, with our dog, Scout.: 11 WEEKS

It has almost been 12 weeks since the day Ryder was born! I have been a "stay at home mom" for almost three months! I have been a "stay at home mom" for three months and if you were to ask me, "what do you do all day?" I'm not sure I'd even have an answer for you. I look around and my house is NOT clean, there are no suppers ready at 5pm, I have NO beautiful flower beds or bountiful garden. My yard is NOT dog poop or weed free and the lawn is NOT immaculately cut. I don't have time to do all of those things because I am busy. I am not sure exactly what it is I do all day, I just know that I am busy all day and exhausted at the end of it!

I am lucky that I have a husband who seems to understand why I cannot do all of those tasks. He picks up the slack, no questions asked. He makes dinners when he gets home and mows the lawn on weekends and we both ignore the dog hair and dust that piles up on the floors and shelves inside the house.

I know that I spend a lot of time "watching, Ryder." By "watching" I mean literally watching him. I watch him while he sleeps. I watch him while he eats, I watch him while he plays and I watch him while he cries. He is facsinating to me and I don't want to miss a thing!

I spend hours on the floor with him on his mat, just watching him. He has begun to swing at "lion" and "red bird" who hang from the gymboree mat and he is starting to grab things. He has found his mouth and he spends a lot of time trying to stuff his entire fists into it. I watch as his expressions change the shape of his face from the furrowed brow of frustration, to the contagious curve of his toothless smile, to the puffy pouty lip he sticks out just before he cries, to the peacefulness that overcomes his face when he falls asleep.

I watch the way his eyes change when he recognizes a voice or Scout's kisses. I watch the way his toes curl while he eats and the way his fingers knead my chest. I watch as he splashes with delight in the tub and I watch his eyes as they soak in the world around him every day!