This season was definitely an ebb
Some tension started to build between Tom and I
This is a defining moment in our marriage
We're having a moment
I just want her to live the happiest, healthiest longest life ever
Got the samples!
Let's go eat dim sum!
(whispering) He's awake...
I find the 30 minutes or so after he wakes up in the morning
is when he tries the most things
he'll talk to himself, he'll turn around in his bed
so I just leave him be until he calls me
Happy Halloween
I can't believe it's already the end of October
Time to get ready
It's been an interesting couple of months
In the ebbs and flows of life...
I feel like this season was definitely an ebb
As I mentioned before Levi was teething
and going through something developmentally
He was just off
And then through the many sleepless nights
some tension started to build between Tom and I
it's really easy to lose connection with your partner when you have a baby
And after one night, when we had been up all night
Tom had us pause, and have a talk
and just reminded me that we are in this as a team
it's not me versus him
We will get through everything together
And yeah, communication is so, so important
Then what happened?
Oh, we got the C-word
I'm not sure if the algorithm still affects things if you say it
but finally got to us
And it was a challenge because we all got sick at the same time
But luckily, it wasn't too bad
our symptoms were pretty mild
and we got through it pretty quickly
Thanksgiving was kind of unsuccessful this year
after I made a really good turkey last year, I was really confident.
And got an even bigger one this year
Oh, she's perfect!
I thought it was cooked, I let it rest while I prepared other things
And then it wasn't when I went to slice it
Oh my gosh, I think it's not done
Put it back in and then I took it out and let it rest again
And then when I went to slice it up
Oh my god, I don't think it's cooked still!
So I put all the pieces into the oven to cook again
Then I had to reheat the other things I made
And by the end of it, everything was...
Everything is dry and burnt
It's just been a couple of months where I feel like
I'm really pushing against the current and nothing's working
I feel like I was failing as a mother, as a wife...
As a content creator, I was feeling really uninspired
and not posting much
But... with life...
For every ebb, there comes a flow eventually
I know if I give myself time and grace
and just like not force myself into it
because sometimes that just makes it worse
eventually things are gonna get better
and they have been, we're sleeping now
Things are good between Tom and I
and I have been putting a lot of energy
into our family Halloween costume
which is what we're going to be doing today
I'm so excited to show you
When thinking about what costume I wanted to do
I wanted it to be something inclusive of all family members
It had to be something that Levi could be still in
since he can't walk yet
So either he sits in something or we carry him in something
And we've been pretty good at the food theme
Last year we did a bun in the oven
the year before Rosie and I were fruit
so I thought we could keep that going
And so we're gonna be dimsum!
I designed a costume for each family member
All right, I think we have it
The back is another story but from the front...
We have a fish ball
I have no idea how this is going to go
Each of them will have their own complications
Probably my husband's going to be the hardest one
I've made them and hid them around the house
So he didn't notice
I feel like he'll just think this is our new decorative pillows
but it's his costume
We'll do the least complicated person first
which is going to be me because I'm...
I'm the only one that wants to do this
So I'll get dressed first and then I think Tom
and then we'll get Rosie and last Levi
We'll take a photo and then we'll move to the video
[Okay] Okay? [Yeah, uh...]
Okay, we're gonna... it's gonna be really fast and chaotic. [Okay]
So I'm cheung fan...
Shrimp... Shrimp cheung fan
(Levi babbling) - Is mum pretty?
Does mum look pretty?
[Yummy?] Do I look delicious?
Yeah
[How's Rosie?]
- Wow, I think that's your colour, girl!
- Put on black pants first and then... this...
This is your shirt [TOM - Oh my god...]
- Okay, I'll help you, I'll help you
Just, just go to the bedroom
[- (laughing) The way you're walking with the...]
- Yeah, you have black sweatpants
the ones you always wear
Dad's costume is falling apart
Okay, so the glue station is in my room
If anyone falls apart 'cause we're all glued together
so just report to the glue station
no one turn around either
because from the back we're not very pretty
Got it BB?
This is your... your head
[TOM - Babe!!!]
(out of control laughing)
[- Oh my god]
- Okay, this will be here like this
Oh, I'm going to have to glue this back up
And I'll attach this one last... Perfect!
Goes right to the bottom, it's almost as if I measured things
[- But the top one... it's like a Teletubby]
[From the back, oh my god] - Don't look at the back!!!
[TOM - Oh, the smell]
- It's smoking, you bought the world's hottest glue gun
There's actual smoke
Okay, don't stick it on you, like make sure your skin is not there
Got it? [- Mmm] Okay...
It smells, babe
This is a defining moment in our marriage
We're having a moment
[- It's so hot]
Okay, okay. Let go, let go
Okay, who's next?!
Rosie
[TOM - Babe, it's so hot, fai dee (quick!)]
Awwww, it's so big on his head
Happy Halloween!
So we got the photo
I'm kind of shocked that Tom so willingly participated this year
because a couple of years ago, he refused to be a strawberry I'm kind of shocked that Tom so willingly participated this year
because a couple of years ago, he refused to be a strawberry
I got you a strawberry one
[- No way!]
Please, babe!
[- I'm not doing it]
Once he put it on and showed Levi
Levi burst into a giggle fit and he was just so happy
So I'm pretty sure that helped a lot
[- He wants to join so badly] - Yeah, he's so excited
Rosie had a lot of fun too
We had a lot of fun watching her actually
I never knew I needed to see a dog in a bonnet before this
It's the most beautiful sight
Look at Rosie's butt!
I often get asked a lot of questions about
how things are going with her and Levi
how their relationship has changed
how she's doing
And I'd say at first she was very curious and protective of us both
And then after seeing how much time I spent with Levi
I think she moved into a more jealous phase ...
(Rosie barking) I have to put Rosie in this too later
This is her spot
... and then she started to open up to him again
she would come around more often
but she wouldn't let him touch her
Now, after eight months, I'd say the relationship is growing
They play a little bit together
They started sharing food together
Oh no, an alliance is forming
She will let him touch her sometimes
Sometimes she does his rubbing hug thing on him too
But sometimes she's a little bit scared
because she does realise how small she is
Yeah, but just seeing their bond blossom has been such a joy to witness
and I just want her to live the happiest, healthiest, longest life ever
So when Circle Paw reached out to me
about their new comprehensive dog DNA test
which I have right here
I was really excited and jumped on the opportunity to do this
They're actually sponsoring this portion of the video
Because as Rosie gets older, I get more and more worried
especially since she can't tell me how she feels or what she needs
But her DNA can!
Or at least give me a hint of what's going on
so that I can take appropriate measures
go to the vet and change things
And this is super easy to do
All you need to do is order your test
download the app, register your samples
collect your dog's saliva
Got the samples!
And then schedule a free pickup
Thank you
I believe they have free returns and sample collections
in over 30 countries
Within two weeks you're going to receive the results on your app
She is 100% a poodle!
Really?
I wasn't sure because she looks like
she could be mixed with something else
They give a lot of information on Rosie's breed she could be mixed with something else
They give a lot of information on Rosie's breed
and common health problems associated with it
There's a lot of syndromes I've never heard of before
So this is good because I'm now going to research them
and figure out what the side effects are
so that I just know what to look out for
Then they give a health report on Rosie's specific DNA
so her saliva samples
She has two elevated conditions
I'm trying not to freak out because this isn't a for sure thing
It just means she's at an elevated risk and I need to watch out for it
So I'm definitely going to schedule a checkup and look into this more
and then they also analyse her DNA
for specific behavioural traits and physical traits
For longevity, she's expected to live longer than average
So that's a positive!
We're gonna end this on a high note
I definitely know a whole lot more about Rosie
Both inside and out and I just wish this was available earlier
because knowledge is power
But I feel like it's not too late to take action now
I am going to make a few lifestyle changes
I'm also going to schedule a checkup with the vet
and do more regular checkups
especially checking on things that she's at elevated risks for
If you want to learn more about Circle Paw's dog DNA test
then click the link below in my description box
I think it would also make a great holiday gift
for any dog parents that you know in your life
Thank you Circle Paw once again
for sponsoring this portion of the vlog
Now let's continue with the rest of it
(whispering) Tom's dressing Levi!
[TOM - Not yet]
[- I think two years old...]
But you have his socks
[- Yeah! Heheh]
(Levi laughing)
Oh! I don't have any
Let's wear Jordan today
[- Ah! You can wear this one]
[Hohoho, we're all matching!]
- On our way to lunch
We became dimsum and now we're going to eat dimsum
We're cannibals!
I am trying to put together a meal for Levi
He is having something that kind of looks like breakfast I guess
With whatever is left in our fridge
we need to go grocery shopping
so I've got some baby cereal with some almond butter
some mashed raspberry, a slice of avocado
and I'm steaming some broccoli over here
I remember as a kid my mom would often serve breakfast for dinner
and we thought it was the best thing ever
but now I realise she just didn't know what to cook
because I'm doing that too
Not like Levi's gonna notice, it doesn't really matter
but I don't know, just reminded me of home
Wow! New sound!
Good job! Good job!
He liked it!
Daddy's on cleanup duty
and Mommy's on bath duty!
It's Rosie time now!
I just ate my dinner, some leftovers from lunch the other day
I now make myself a nice lunch and I make an extra portion
and then I eat the leftovers for dinner the next day
Because before I was completely exhausted by the end of the night
and I would just reach for junk food or order delivery
So this is working much better for me
And I am having some snuggles with Rosie
Every night after Levi goes to bed, it's Rosie time
We'll just have some time just us two...
to make sure she feels loved
It's always in my mind
I'm always like, is Rosie okay? I always feel bad
But we walk together every morning with Levi
When I'm home, working from home
like editing, she's always on my lap like old times
And then on Sundays like you saw today, in this vlog
We go out as a whole family every single week
Usually it's a car ride, sometimes hiking
sometimes going to a dog friendly mall
or sometimes eating outdoors
It's pretty hectic with a dog and a baby at a restaurant
After about five minutes of trying to eat around them
we usually split up and one takes care of them
and walks around with them
while the other quickly scarfs down food and then we switch
Tom and I always come home after and do a big whew!
We made it through again!
But I love it and I love capturing these days
because I know time is fleeting and...
although it can be challenging and ever changing
I know I will look back on these moments one day
and just think... we were together
and I won't remember any of the other details
Yeah! Let's go eat dimsum!
Thank you so much for watching this vlog
I am going to end it here
Another thing I have been up to this past...
these past few months now is introducing Levi to solids
which has been a really fun time
I'm making a whole video on that
and I have so much footage to go through
So it's taking me a little bit longer to edit
but that should be out very soon, probably next week
So I will see you guys then!
Good night!