Our First Christmas 2014

Christmas morning will never be the same in the Mallard-Rancourt House…I found myself giddy like a little kid again. Although our kids are only 7 months old and will not remember their first Christmas, this was our chance to start our own family traditions and share these special moments together as a family for the first time. We started the morning with just Brett, Sawyer, Jordyn and I and we opened our stockings together. The kids, Brett and I were made these beautiful Christmas Stockings from our friend’s mom. It was such a touching gesture and she even customized them with the kids names on them and ours with “Dad” knitted into them. “Grandma Bosch” will forever have a special part of our Christmas mornings and we thank her dearly for that. Shortly after we finished opening stockings my Mom and Brother came up and we opened gifts as a family which was special. We hosted dinner at our place which lead to a quick transition to starting dinner and most know this takes hours to put together. All in all we had a great first Christmas and we can’t wait to celebrate more of these special days together as a family.

Brett and I also wanted to do something special for Raylene (Our Surrogate ) and Lisa ( Our Egg Donor ) this Christmas. Something that really shows how much our family appreciates them both for bringing our children into our lives and us into theirs. Sooooo Sawyer and Jordyn bought them beautiful “Heart Key” pendants with a white gold chain. We felt as a family that this symbolizes the key to all our hearts as these amazing woman have filled our hearts with nothing but the purest love we could ever feel. 

 

Which also brings me to our Christmas Eve, we spent that night with the Bussinger Family, with them  now becoming an extension of our own family. We had appys, drinks, laughs and even caught a Christmas movie before the end of the night. Perhaps this will become a little family tradition for our families which is just fine by me!

 

It’s very interesting how we all go through different phases through our lives when it comes to what Christmas means to us.  As a child our Christmas was about family first and presents secondary. There was always lots of gifts but the excitement of being together with all our family was always instilled in us from a very young age. Brett and I work so hard every day to fill our children’s lives in love, laughter and family. When I say family I don’t only mean those who are in our immediate family, this goes so much further than that. Our family is much bigger than most would know with our dearest closet friends deeply rooted into what makes us a family.  I truly believe with this as our ‘platform” our children will grow up with the same connection to these values as I did. 

 

It is very easy to allow Christmas to get away from you and be taken over my consumerism. Some kids have no connection to anything other then what they are getting for gifts which is a tragedy in itself. I recall back 4 years ago, the year after my Grandmother had passed away. It was a real struggle for our family as she was a true pillar to our family structure and dynamic. We decided that we would not exchange presents but rather write a card for each and every one at the table. Touching on why they are so special to each of us and why we love them. As we sit around the table as a family reading our cards, reflecting on so much joy and those who are no longer with us with tears of great memories and moments we have all shared together. We discussed this year about doing this again next year perhaps!

Now some exciting updates on the kidlets…..

 

Our kids have been doing great and have met so many exciting milestones. I had the chance to take a week off work over the Christmas Break and the timing could not have been better. With our kids on the cusp of their 7 month “Birthday” on January 2^ndthey are evolving and growing by the minute literally. Over Christmas break I shared in seeing Jordyn say “Dada” for the first time on Christmas Eve and now being her only word it is all she “Talks” about now lol. I was home to see Sawyer “Crawl” for the first time too, the two of us watched on encouraging every “Step” of the way like his truest biggest fans. On top of all this Jordyn has pushed through two of her lower teeth and Sawyer has pushed through one of his lower teeth. As exciting as this is many of you know what having one teething baby is like, times that by two! It’s been a struggle, but your heart does not allow anger or frustration because you know the wines and cries are not for fun, they are because of a pain they just don’t know how to deal with. So we have had many days of long snuggles and comforting and that’s just what the Dr has ordered.

 

In my last post I had mentioned that I nominated Brett for a trip to Rest, Relax and Recharge with gay parent website and facebook group "Gays with Kids". After being home for a week and a bit with him I noticed even more how much he needs this. He's truly our families star. Being a stay at home Daddy has become second nature for him. He balances our kids day to day needs which includes making all of their food from scratch. I say this in almost every post but I truly mean it, I could not imagine anyone other than him by my side raising our children. LOVE THIS MAN OF MINE, well ours because I now share him with our beautiful kids! Ohhh and the results are IN! We WON! This couple from little old Chilliwack rose above every couple from right across North America and this includes all the mega cities like NYC, LA and Toronto. This was truly humbling experience that touched our hearts. We had people from all over placing votes which totaled over 4000 in about a week. Our local Radio Station StarFM even did a special shout out for this contest highlighting Brett and I’s commitment to our community. They also mentioned the valued volunteer role I have locally with the StarFM Kindness Crew which spreads “Kindness” Daily in our community. All in All I can’t thank you all enough for your special role in allowing this to happen for us. We have selected NYC and we cants wait!

 

In closing I want to touch on the special connections Brett and I have made through our blog. We have been connected with several same sex couple aspiring for the same goal and that is to have a family of their own. We have reached out to several of these couples and have had the chance to be the helping hand through the process and by their side to answer any questions as they arise. Such a gift to share our experience and help others along the way to creating their own family. So thank you for sharing your stories with us, your aspirations, and allowing us to be part of this with you. 

 

Blog again soon my friends, 

 

Justin 

 

 

 

These kids are a Moving and Growing!

 Hello Friends, 

Been a couple weeks since I last posted! 

So since then we have moved Jordyn and Sawyer into their own rooms and dealt with a very cranky Sawyer as he has made it very clear that his place to sleep is in daddies room not his own room. We have been trying to stay strong and not cracking by bringing them back to our room and that has been challenging. 

Jordyn has been such a champ through this transition but Sawyer has woken up every couple hours but will fall back asleep as soon as we come and gently caress his face or put his soother back in. His cries are to make sure we are still there since he can't hear or see us as he did when he was in the bassinet beside us. 

We have also been dealt with our first bad diaper rash with Jordyn.. This has been a hard one for us. We both have felt a guilt around this as if this is our fault. We know it's not, but you never want any sort of discomfort for your kids. Happy to report this is getting much better and have learnt different tricks from friends and family to manage this as they come and go. 

The last couple days have been very eventful for the kids, it's as if over night they became stronger and more mobile! They are been rolling from front to back and back to front non stop now. They are also eating rice cereal now, we started with it in their formula and now being fed with a spoon which is to cute to see this next stage. 

The kids have also started teething.. Eeeek it's just really begun and it's so challenging to deal with.. With them not being able to directly communicate with us we rely heavily on cues and signs as they come and go. As all with kids read this they can all understand how challenging this can be with one baby let alone two. We will make it through this as all do, they just need some extra love when times get "tough". 

I have also nominated my amazing partner for a three day trip away to rest, relax and recharge! This is a contest through a lgbtq family website "gays with kids". I have nominated Brett because he has been our rock since our little ones have come home. 

He left his role at work which was promising for advancements to raise our children and create a safe loving environment for them. In the early days changing upwards of 30 diapers a day, multiple clothing changes, multiple feedings and the dreadful late night and early morning "wake up calls" our little man has been offering lately. 

Being a full time working dad, waking up every morning I leave work feeling so good knowing that our little ones are in such loving care with their Daddy. I love racing home to Brett and the kids and hearing all the updates and exciting moments he shared with the kids throughout the day. I love him and our kids so so much, I am blessed with such a beautiful family. 

I ask that we all come together and share our support to my loving man by voting for this very special gift for him. 

3 days to be all about him. 3 days to be able to shower without screaming babies. 3 days to be able to sleep in and wake up refreshed. 3 days for me to show him just how much we love him and just how special he is. 

You can vote by clicking the link below. Share with your friends and family if you can and perhaps we can share this special trip together. 

Copy and paste below link to vote 😊

https://vacation.gayswithkids.com/Profile/-rcZUaGJ_Eqw5mrnO1vikQ

Lots of love, blog soon my friends! 

5 months (almost) and reflection on life as Sawyer and Jordyns Daddy

Hey everyone, it’s been a while…Seems to be the way I start most of my posts these days.. Being a full time working Dad keeps me extremely busy and I always want to capitalize on every single moment I have with Brett and our two little ones..

 

Where to start….We had our first family vacation a few weeks ago. We ventured off to Vancouver Island and stayed at “The Cabins at Terrace Beach”. It was an incredible experience, we stayed in the “Sabbatical” which was a large two bedroom, two floor upscale condo nestled in the forest and steps away from the Pacific Ocean. The scenery was absolutely breath taking. Most were surprised we would venture the way we did having such young kids. One thing Brett and I promised ourselves was we would still do all the things we did before having kids not only as a couple but as a family. Most thought we were crazy and it would not happen. We have not let having kids “Hold us back” at all. We have made slight modification on how we do things, and by that I mean we have two new little sidekicks to go on adventures with. We hiked, we explored miles off beautiful beaches, trekked through the mountains of lush forests, tried unique local food and went through fun shops along the way. We made sure that we had one outdoor adventure per day to breath in that fresh clean Pacific Ocean air. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful province and to exploring it with our kids and pup Nikayla is such a true gift.

 

 

One of the most beautiful moments through the entire trip was the fun milestones with our kids, everything from hearing Jordyn laugh for the first time to the “amaze and wonder” in their eyes with every adventure we went on. It was so neat to take in these moments with them. It was the first time they had ever seen the ocean, "walked" through a forest, heard waves crash in to the rocks. They loved it just as much as we did and that was something that was so special.

 

 

We also had our first ER trip for little Jordyn a week after we got home from our trip. As a new parent it’s so easy to be scared of everything and “Over React/Over Think” EVERYTHING! Jordyn started developing what appeared to be a bit of a respiratory cold, coughing, etc. It seemed like a mild cold…then came the fever.. Her first fever and her Dad’s first “Fever Freak out”. Brett bundled the kids up and took them down to our family Dr who squeezed us in and our Dr felt it was best for little Jordyn to see a pediatrician at the hospital because she was also not able to keep any of her bottles down. We rushed over and got in right away which was nice, after several tests the Dr. agreed to let us take Jordyn home on strict supervision of her symptoms and a modified feeding plan to help her keep her food down. We followed all the Dr’s orders and within 48 hours our happy little girl was back to normal. We find ourselves a little more sensitive to hospital visits due to them spending so much time there at the start, but I am sure those feelings will pass at some point. 

 

 

On the most part everything else has been absolutely amazing with the kids. They are growing, they are meeting all their “Milestones Markers” and filling our lives with so much love and happiness. They teach us something new every single day and I thank them for that. I have said it before and I will say it again, Jordyn and Sawyer thank you for choosing me to be your Daddy, I love you beyond words and our lives together excite and fill me with so much joy.

 

 

A lot has happened globally in the last while that would cause concern for any parent. Thoughts of what type of world have I brought my children into has crossed my mind and filled my heart and mind with fear. I have two choices as a parent. I can instill these fears in my children, or I can choose to fill their life with not fear, but passion, love, optimism and pride. The latter sounds more appealing to me. I know I cannot shelter them from the grim reality of what is going on, however I do have the choice to share a more optimistic outlook on life. Sometimes in societies darkest moments its very hard to see, but they are always there.

 

One of the things that has pulled on my heartstrings was the recent shooting of Cpl Nathan Cirillo. This was a national tragedy that literally stopped all Canadians in their tracks. Here we have a man who’s a Father, Husband, Son, Friend and National Figure of freedom. I could focus on the fear aspect of terrorism or I can take that more optimistic look. I know the word optimistic and death do not generally go together, however let’s look at how all Canadians came together from coast to coast. I watched three full Hockey Arena sing O Canada in sync via video satellite to celebrate our freedom, our pride and the life of Cpl Cirillo. I could not help but have tears run down my face as I felt in my heart what every proud Canadian felt at that moment and that was “Love for my Country” and “pride and gratitude for those who protect our rights to freedom”.

 

 So today I thank you Cpl Nathan Cirillo and every single man and woman who goes to work every day to protect our rights to live the lives we have accustomed ourselves too. This goes beyond national defence and extends to all our first responders. I will take a moment of gratitude for all of you, for what you contribute to all Canadians including my family. Because of you Jordyn and Sawyer, our pride and joy will be brought up in a world with love, support and dedication not only from us, but from you and I thank you for that.

 

 

I close this post and ask you to look around at all those you cherish and love and thank those responsible for their safety when it is beyond your control. Let’s take a moment of silence together and thank those who dedicate their lives for the love and freedom of ours. 

Till next time my friends…..