'Tis the Season

Well the Christmas season is upon us. We've been very busy decorating, making cards, introducing Olan to classic Christmas music and cutting down our tree. Alyson and Isabelle have arrived so the holiday season has been officially kicked off. We're now eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gilles to make the family complete.

I'll post a few pics from the last couple of days.

Downward Baby

Olan and I started yoga classes this week.

Our first class was really fun, he especially enjoyed the infant massage bit that we did at the end. He was grinning away with his eyes WIDE open the whole time I was massaging him. I think that he also enjoyed having his little legs out. This kid loves to be naked, or at least bare legged, which is hard to do with a fall baby. The yoga classroom was very warm so it was the perfect place to strip him down.

We'll definitely continue to go and Aly and Isabelle too once they arrive on the 9th. As far as how much actual yoga I got to do... probably not much :) But it's nice to be able to take breaks to feed him, change him or play with him and everyone else is doing the same thing.

And then there were three (and two cats)

We had a great visit! The Vermont grandparents have headed home and we've been settling back into life on our own again.

It was a great time for them to visit, Olan has just started recognizing people and giving a big smile if he feels it's warranted. He had lots of smiles for his Grandpa Collins and Nana Barb.

We enjoyed the visit too, it's always nice to have more hands to give the baby to if you'd like to go have a shower or have something to eat. It was nice to hear more about what Adam was like as a baby too, it seems as though they are very similar.

We did lots of wandering and gabbing and all the grandparents took a trip to the valley together. We celebrated American thanksgiving in Bedford with two turkeys, one deep-fried and one done in the oven. As per usual, an incredible meal!!! We also took Olan to his first concert. Tom Jackson played a Christmas concert at the church where we were married. Olan seemed to enjoy it, he was the youngest person there! It was nice to start getting all Christmasy too.

I'll attach one picture from the visit. This is of the grandfather who was unsure at first if he wanted to hold the baby, this was taken towards the end of the trip... he looks pretty comfortable now doesn't he?

Busy times & Santa Claus

Well things have been busy, busy, busy around here. If I had a little microphone to speak into that was linked to the blog then I would be blogging like crazy. It's the getting to the computer and sitting down for a few minutes that's the problem. Plus, when I do get a little computer time all I want to do it check email and look around aimlessly- not type! I imagine that it will be this way until after Christmas, there's just too much to do with my precious free time!

So we went to the Santa Claus parade on the weekend. It's so early here, kind of sickening really. Neither Adam or I had ever been, though we usually hear it from the deck. It's at night time because it's all about the lights. There were SO many people there! And the children- who knew that there were that many kids in the city??? Olan seemed to enjoy himself. He was awake for SOME of it, although you can't tell from this picture :) There were some lame floats and some good ones. My favourite was the one that looked like one of the bridges, Adam's was this big crazy whale thing and Olan was just dazzled by them all.

Tomorrow the other grandparents arrive so I imagine that it will be even more quiet on here than usual since they'll be sleeping in the office (home of the computer). We're all excited and can't wait to have Olan meet more of his family.

He had his five week checkup yesterday and...

he's 22.5 inches
11 pounds, 12 ounces

Which means that he's in the 91% for weight and the 87% for height. My lord this child is going to be a giant at this rate!

I keep thinking that he's not THAT much bigger, but when I looked back at some of his pictures this morning I almost died, he was so tiny!!! And yesterday I actually had to pack away some of his sleepers because they were too small... it was very sad :( He's growing up!

Newspapers and breastfeeding don't mix

That's right, whoever designed newspapers wasn't thinking of ease of use. I think that it was someone who wanted to block their spouse out during breakfast. Perhaps the spouse in question was particularly bedheaded and unattractive in the a.m., who knows? All I know is that since having Olan I have yet to make it through a newspaper. I also have yet to pick up a book- this from the girl who would DIE if she didn't read at least a few pages from whatever book she had on the go before going to sleep. I was even halfway through a book when I went into labour. An interesting book too, but I have yet to pick it back up. You see, the only time I can possible read anything is when Olan is feeding, but we're both sufficiently new at this that I can't completely concentrate on something else. So what has replaced my book and newspaper reading? Magazines.

I wasn't much of a magazine buyer in the past, Adam and I always go to the magazine store and flip through all our favourites, but I rarely buy them. Not now- no sir, I'll take all the magazines I can get. They contain the perfect bite size bits of information that I can handle, plus, they're the perfect size to balance in one hand.

So now, my head is filled with everything from whether Michael Ignatieff would be a good liberal leader, to how to raise a considerate child, to how to make felt mittens, to Reese and Ryan's breakup. All bases are covered :)

Good times with the Gymini

Olan loves his gymini. His Great Aunt/Godmother Aunty Tepp gave it to him. It's his favourite thing next to his Mum and Dad. Who would have thought that this little play mat with crazy dangling toys would bring a boy so much pleasure? He just lies there forever and tries to make his hands grab those toys. Sometimes he gets SO excited that his little tongue sticks out. It's hilarious. Of course, sometimes he gets too excited and it makes him barf... but we can all understand that, can't we?

The Adventures of Fizzy Izzy and Olio

We had quite a time with the babies!

It was a whirlwind of activity... shopping at babyGap, first trip to the market, coffees out on the town, strolling around, and of course lots and lots of gabbing. We had so much fun that Alyson is going to come back early for Christmas, so we don't have TOO much longer to wait until they're back.

Since they left, we've been readjusting to a simpler life, although Olan has decided to become a bit of a fusspot which has been kept us on our toes. Right now he's sleeping like a little angel though :)

Here are a few pictures plucked from the thousands that were taken over the week :)

One year ago today...

This beautiful little girl came into the world.

Happy birthday Emilia!!!

From the East coast to the West coast, Olan wants to send his cousin a great big birthday kiss.

We hope you have a great party and look forward to seeing the pictures. We're eager to see what kind of awesome cake your mom came up with!

Alyson & Isabelle arrive!

Alyson and Isabelle arrived last night. Isabelle's first flight went very well, she didn't cry once and so neither did Aly :)

It's so great to see them!!! Adam and I have been dying to check her out in person and she was well worth the wait. She's such a dainty little beautiful girl! She and Olan are almost the exact same weight right now but it's funny how he looks so boyish and she looks so girlish. We plopped them out on the island together and Olan kept trying to hold her hand but the travel weary Isabelle would have none of it and kept right on sleeping.

Mom and Meredith were happy to each have a baby to hold, no more sharing :) It might get complicated once Grandpa comes home on the weekend :)

I have a feeling that we're going to have a lot of fun this week :)

My boys

I took this picture this morning when we got home from the hospital clinic. Olan was exhausted from being stripped down and weighed and Adam was exhausted from well... being a new parent :) Our appointment this morning was at 10am, much too early for all three of us. We need time to get organized and have coffee, and everything takes SO much longer once you have a baby. Like, SO much longer.

We had a grand old time at the clinic. All three of us are totally taken with the little Scottish woman who runs it. She's a nurse and lactation consultant and has done a lot of studying on infant behaviour. We always learn so much when we visit. She was very happy to see Olan again and "couldn't believe the size of him" which seemed weird to us until we put him on the scale. He's just shy of 10 pounds! That means that he's averaging a weight gain of 2.1 ounces a day, almost a pound a week! No wonder I feel like he does nothing but eat, you've got to consume a lot to grow like that! So we were told what a great job we were doing, which was nice to hear when you feel all ragged and tired and new at this.

After we stopped at home for a rest and more coffee, we set out for a walk. Went to Pete's and got some groceries and strolled around. We stopped to watch a power crew install a new power pole with this crazy truck. I thought it important to stop with Olan and admire the truck since he's a little boy. Boys like trucks. I like that.

Now Adam is singing away in the kitchen while he cooks up some smoked bacon & goat cheese pasta. Now that I'm not pregnant I'm eating all the feta, goat cheese and brie I missed out on for nine months.

Adam sings a lot now. He sings to Olan ALL the time. This morning I was lucky enough to overhear the "we've got shiny balls" song as he changed Olan. If I'd stayed in the shower another couple of minutes I might have missed it, and that would have been a shame :)

Out & About

All is well here despite the silence. We've just been continuing to enjoy our little man. We can't seem to shake this endless fascination with sitting and staring at him all day long. Perhaps it will never fade. He is starting to chatter quite a bit and seems to surprise himself with the noises he makes. We think that he seems a lot bigger so we're going to take him in to be weighed tomorrow to see. I'm guessing he's about 9-9.5lbs.

We've been trying to get out walking as much as possible. The weather here has been sunny and fallish and we're trying to take advantage before it disappears. Below are some pictures from our grocery shop today. The stroller is great for carrying a load of groceries, and since Olan weighs waaaay less than they do, he gets carried for now :) Adam and I split up at the store (he had Olan) so I was whizzing around with the stroller, filling it with groceries and I kept getting these weird looks from people who were clearly wondering if there was a baby under my pile of food :)

We continued to introduce Olan around this week, I took him for lunch with my work crew and we took him in to the school where Heather had been very patiently waiting to check him out. He keeps charming everyone with his good looks and sweet self.

Tonight we're going to eat some beautiful salmon steaks and watch a movie... between bouts of feeding, burping and hanging out with our baby.

Boo!

We had an awesome Halloween :)

Olan went trick-or-treating dressed as chocolate bear (mostly a very sleepy hibernating bear). He wants to send a big thank-you to his Aunty Madeline for the costume. It was a little big but nice and cosy. We also had a skeleton costume but we decided that he can wait until next year to be scary.

We took him up to Martha and John's and they filled his little pail with treats. The rest of the night was spent with the boys in front of the fire at the end of the driveway smoking cigars and getting lots of beer smell kisses. I think that the poor little thing probably got a bit of a buzz :)

Then we had a great meal and Olan had his first sleepover. He was very happy to wake-up at his granparents and be handed right over to Gran for some morning snuggles. His Mom and Dad were happy to be handed a delicious breakfast and coffees :)

Happy Birthday Gilles!!!

This family is filling up with fall celebrations!

Have a great night trick or treating with Isabelle and visiting with your family :)

We're thinking of you!

My mom rocks!

I have just HAVE to have a post of shameless bragging about my wonderful mom.

She's been cooking our meals, doing our laundry, washing our dishes, cuddling her new grandson, cuddling me when I'm an emotional freak, driving us to the doctor, etc., etc., etc. She's amazing. How someone can be so selfless and energetic blows my mind. We are so very, very lucky to have her in our lives. This is such a complicated time, I can't imagine not having the support that we've been so fortunate to have.

We went out grocery shopping today... big step! I wore Olan in this beautiful silk sling that mom made me. He was comfy and snug as a bug. There's a matching diaper bag too. Is there anything this woman can't do???

We're working on SOME way to say thank you, but where do you even begin? She's the best!

The Miracle of Birth :)

So here's the story (or as much as I can get down right now) for those who are interested in it and haven't heard.

My water broke at 2:45 in the morning on Monday. So not like the big Niagara Falls you see in the movies. Anyways, I wasn't having any contractions yet but you're supposed to go to the hospital to get checked in case something is wrong. I must mention how nice it was to live close to the hospital through this whole process. So off we went, all excited but wondering when it was really going to start happening. Adam thought that it was pretty funny to be woken up by me both times, first nine months ago with "I'm pregnant" and now with "my water broke!". So they checked us out and we got to hear Olan's heart thumping away, seemingly undisturbed by the change in gravity. After it was established that all was well, we went back home and tucked ourselves back into bed. We were scheduled in for an induction the next morning if things didn't progress on their own. The idea that we might not be getting much sleep in the near future made us both veeery tired and we passed out.

By the time I woke up a few hours later I was having teensy contractions... teensy. We decided to go off and have a nice breakfast together, take a walk, try to get this baby moving! We ran into a friend after breakfast in the Gardens and he was commenting on how I must be ready to go at any time. It was fun to say "yup, I'm actually in labour RIGHT now" :)

So we went about our day, lots of lazing about getting excited but trying to stay calm. Lots of phone calls updating the fam. Adam made a big pot of chicken noodle soup (from scratch!) to keep me going through the night ahead. Luckily I had time to eat it before eating became something I wasn't interested in at all. Anyone who tells you to bring all these snacks and things to the hospital is CRAZY, I simply cannot imagine snacking once things get serious.

So, I was in the tub, out of the tub, pacing around... Adam started timing contractions and we headed off the hospital when they were about 4 minutes apart. This was at about 11 at night. They checked me out and I was about 2-3 cm dilated. The hospital was really busy so they told us they could find us a room or we could go for a walk to try to speed things up. We decided to leave our suitcase and come back home where I would be most comfortable. We stayed at home until 2am, which may have been pushing it since I could barely walk back when it was time to go :) It was nice to splash around in our own tub and roll around in my own bed though.

When we got back they moved us right into a labour/delivery room. We were in room 5, so fitting for a girl who was born in the 5th month on the 30th day at 10:55. The rooms are great and I made it through the next couple of hours by sitting on the birthing ball, lying in the tub and my favourite spot, scrunched up in a ball on the recliner.

Then it was all a blur... our doctor arrived, and after much pushing (almost five hours!), little Olan came into our world at 7:31. I will never ever forget the moment that I saw him. I knew that there was a baby but when I SAW him, an actual baby coming out of my body... man, nothing prepares you for that... nothing.

I have to say that I had no idea how Adam would deal with all this. He freaks if he has to have his blood taken. Well let me tell you, the boy was a freakin' superstar. A superstar. He took such good care of me. He didn't let me lose me head and freak out, he kept me supplied with the buckets of icy water I so desperately needed to drink, he was right there head to head with our doctor keeping me updated on the progression and coaching me along. The nursing staff totally fell in love with him and told us that we did such a good job that we should be hired out as a husband/wife doula team. I was so proud of us, I wouldn't change anything.

What an experience. I'll never ever forget it. I had no idea that it would be like that.

Olan, Olan, Olan!

There is nothing else in the world right now... nothing :)

As everyone knows, Olan Albert entered our lives last week and changed it forever. We are doing really well, despite the silence. I could literally sit and stare at him all day... just drink him in. What a little pleasure he is.

Adam and I are still in shock that we've produced such a gem. So beautiful, so good, so smart... he's never going to do anything wrong, he couldn't possibly.

We really want to thank everyone so much for their support during this time. We're overwhelmed with all the good wishes, meals, gifts, flowers, cards, phone calls and emails. We are surrounded by nothing but goodness. If we haven't had a chance to talk to you yet we will, we're still trying to get our baby legs under us.

So rest assured readers, there will be much more to come. We're just blissfully happy and adjusting to our life with our sweet little man.

Quack, quack

Our day started off slowly. Nice long coffees on the couch... several rounds of breakfast. All the things that I need to revel in before the baby comes, whenever THAT might be :) We are really enjoying being able to have coffee together almost every morning of the week. It's like endless weekend.

Then we did a bit of tidying and chatting on the phone- with me making sure to say "negative" as instructed as soon as I call someone- I even have to say it before hello. I talked to Alyson, she and Isabelle are sick with a yucky cold so we hope that they feel better soon. I did get a play by play of a whole poop episode though, which was hilarious. Oh the things I have to look forward to!

We headed out with some apples. It was a gorgeous day here. Went to the magazine store, then Pete's, then for coffee and then to the Gardens where we parked ourselves on a bench in the sun, ate our apples, some cheese, drank our coffee and Adam shared some peanuts with a group of rather belligerent ducks.

Then we headed off to Bedford for a delicious autumnal meal of root vegetables and steak. Cigars (for some) and chatting ensued. Another great time was had by all. Where will we all be next Sunday night?

Off to the tub for me. The baby has been suspiciously quiet today. "They" say that there's a quiet before the storm but I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

An apple a day

Today was a bit poopy and rainy so after the market Mom and Dad and I went off to the valley in search of apples and pumpkins. We were rewarded!

Was a fun day... full of weird clouds, crazy waiters, bumpy roads, pretty leaves, frenchy's, detours, wet pumpkins, conflicting weather reports and the crispest apples you've ever tasted.

And the bumpy roads did nothing to dislodge this baby. We can scratch that trick off the list. Is this baby EVER going to be ready to come out???

Now my tummy is full of delicious spaghetti (complements of my soggy golfer) and I'm heading off to read. Hopefully everyone had such a nice day :)

And a big old birthday greeting goes to...

drum roll please...

JAREED!

Happy Birthday to youuu,
happy birthday to youuuuu,
happy birthdayyyy
dear Jareeeeeeeeeed,
happy birthday to youuuuu!

Did you have a wonderful day in San Francisco you lucky birthday guy? Spoiled and adored by all? We hope so!!!

Send out your good vibes!

Our friend Katie is in San Fran today being interviewed by google. It's all very fancy and exciting and we can't wait to hear how it all goes. Please join us in crossing all the fingers, toes, arms and legs that you can manage :)

Mama Mia is right!

On Wednesday I went for my Mama Mia preggo massage. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life... seriously. I am such a tummy sleeper and I've missed it desperately since this big ole belly won't allow me to do it. Well at the spa they had this special massage table with a cutout for your belly (and also for your boobs!). It felt so heavenly to just lie there, on my tummy, without BEING on my tummy. I think that they should just rent the bed out... no need for a massage, just let me lie here and nap for a bit :)

The massage was divine though. Every preggo girl should get a chance to experience what I did. I felt like a new girl when I left. I also got my lashes done at the same time so it was QUITE a morning :) Oh to be one of these ladies swaning around the place like they come in for various "treatments" every week!

The table was kind of like this one, but much nicer.

Baby, or lack of baby, update

So, no baby yet.

A pool was started on Thanksgiving and half the people have already lost out. Still in the running are my mom, Sandy, my dad (until the end of today) and me. If you'd like to participate in all the fun, give Meredith a call.

Here's my 39 week picture. I am so, SO round! Every day I think "I can't possibly stretch any bigger" and then, I DO! Still, other than fighting off a cold and having difficulty sleeping, I feel great. Ready to have this baby, but great :)

I'm a lazy-no-good-blogger :)

That's right. There's no excuse for the week long silence, I'm not even working! I shall try to be a little better about this, at least until I have an infant to use as an excuse :)

Pluto is in!

The long-awaited, and much anticipated mobile pictures!!! It's actually been finished for days and days, I've just been too lazy to take pictures and post them :) How will I ever take care of an infant?

So I'm totally in love with the mobile. It's the greatest mobile ever made. I think that Adam should make another one for over OUR bed. I like to just go lie on the floor in the baby room and watch the little planets blow around in the breeze.

Earth has all the countries in the right places and there's a little moon which actually has the man in the moon on it! Some of the other planets have their little moons which dance around them like Jupiter and Saturn and Neptune. It's so neat. How will this baby not love this?

I tried to capture the true amazingness of it in all phases of the day. When the sun is on at night it's pretty cool. It makes the room so glowy and warm.

In other news, this not working thing ROCKS! I'm so super-duper relaxed and am enjoying myself waaaaay more than I thought I would. The sleep in, the lounging in my jams, the hemming and hawing over what I want to do or if I want to do anything at all. Sweet. It won't last, but for now, it's sweet.

Baby is good. He/she is trying to tunnel out my left side with its feet. Not very comfortable but very funny and alienish to watch!

The stroller arrived last night and we had fun putting it together. This morning over coffee Adam set up little challenges for me to see how quickly I could put it together and break it down. Good times. Io loves it and keeps chirping for someone to take him for a spin :) Crazy cats.

An early trick or treat...

And she's a treat!

Have you ever seen anything so cute in all your life??? If I wasn't pregnant already this would definitely give me the ovary squeeze. Oh Emilia, you're a gem! And Madeline, nice work on the costume finding :)

Locked & loaded

Had our weekly appointment last night. The doctor did all the usual measuring and then starting probing around my tummy feeling the baby. After that she decided that she'd like to have a look at my cervix. Once she was finished, she told me to get dressed and then she'd tell us what my cervix was up to. Adam and I looked at each other like "hmm, obviously it's doing something to warrant a talk about it!".

So it turns out that the head is fully engaged (which means that it's dropped right down into my pelvis) and my cervix is paper thin. All signs point to go. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to go into labour right away, but she did say that she wasn't going to tell me that it would be two more weeks. Craziness. We're going to have a baby!

I was happy to find out that this crazy downward pressure I've been experiencing the past few days isn't because the baby is about to fall out on the floor but rather because his/her head has moved down. Phew.

We called to tell the Ottawa crew when we got home and in all the hubbub (it sounded like a zoo there!) my Dad somehow thought that Alyson was telling him that I'd gotten engaged. Yeah Dad, I've decided that Adam isn't who I want raising our child :)

The new view

Here's a pretty panorama that Adam took from the "living room" of the new cottage. Isn't it beautiful? The leaves are just starting to turn here so you can see a few smatterings of colour. They should be at their peak on Thanksgiving.

Ummm... it was a JOKE!

Warning, there could be jokes ahead, many, many jokes. Highly realistic and believable comments like the rock legend Mick Jagger saying "Bless'ed are the children who rock" as he engages in the equally believable and plausible activity of rubbing my pregnant belly amongst a crowd of adoring Haligonian fans outside the Lord Nelson. Perhaps it's too subtle this humour, but I feel confident that with this added warning intelligent readers should be able to avoid the pitfalls of this intense and hyper-realistic attempt at humour. Beware. And ummm, read carefully scanners.

In a nutshell

Well as my last weekend as a working gal heads to a close I thought that I'd give a little weekend update.

Yesterday we went to Windhorse farm for their open farm day. It's a buddhist run place that has a forestry operation, gardens, carpentry shop, etc. all run in a very eco-friendly way. I went last year and had a sleepover because a friend was working there. This year I took Adam and Dad so that they could see all the neat stuff I saw last year. We went on the tour of the whole woodlot and learned about selective tree cutting and lots of other interesting stuff. Dad and Adam seemed fairly interested until we were learning about "stillness" and whacking a big gong in the woods :) Then we had a delicious lunch and lounged around in the garden. I bought a big ginormous jar of their fresh honey which I LOVE to swirl in my hot cereal in the morning. I showed them around the different buildings which have solar energy systems and rainwater collecting things... lots of food for thought before we start our cottage building. Speaking of which, we stopped at the property on the way home. I brought my bathing suit but totally chickened out and couldn't do more than dip my toe in. It was COLD! So I rubbed a little water on my tummy which MUST be good for the baby. Everything looked good, we sat in the "living room" and admired the view across the lake.

After a brief Sydney pee stop we went and had a delish dinner at Chives. The owner/chef did the food styling for our last cookbook so I'd been eager to check out the place. It was totally yummy. After we raced through dinner as fast as we could we headed to St.Matts for a Jill Barber concert. It was great, that church is SUCH a great place for a concert. So intimate and the sound was beautiful. We had great seats up on the balcony too. Good times.

Today, Adam shot a 72 which makes him a very smiley, happy boy. His dream of a single digit handicap before the baby is born may become a reality. Fingers crossed.

I tooled around... tidied, washed windows, gabbed on the phone, set up this crazy tent thing the neighbours gave us to keep the cats out of the crib... all that kind of exciting stuff. Now we're going to devour this yummy smelling smoked fish/celery root/potato pieish thing I made. I have high hopes.

Isn't she a treasure?

New photos of my scrumdiddlyumptious niece. Oh my GAD, I can't wait to get my hands on her. I hear rumours that Aly & Gilles have started their own blog so when/if these rumours are confirmed I'll post a link.

Of course if they're blogging does that mean that they'll do all the Isabelle bragging and I won't be able to? Hmm.... maybe it will just be a lovefest all around!

Gave work the date that I'll be starting my confinement on. Only four more work days to go! It is a very bizarre thing this mat. leave. You haven't quit or been laid off, you're just happily heading off to change your life forever. I hope that all will go well when I'm gone but I probably won't really think about it very much. Weirdness. So I started planning all these mid-day extravagances that I would never normally be able to do. I'm getting my hair cut at 2:00pm! And I'm going to go have my Mama Mia massage and get my lashes tinted... all in the middle of the day. It was hilarious when I called to make my hair appointment. The receptionist was all "what would be a good time for you" and I was like "whenever!" and all giggly. They'll probably have a straightjacket ready for me in the chair :)

Δεν βρέθηκαν λέξεις

That is supposed to be Happy Birthday in Greek but I have no idea if it is or not :)

We want to send great big birthday wishes to Jessica. I heard about your surprise party last night, it sounds like a good time was had by all. And you were truly surprised? That is so hard to pull off. I hope that the fun and spoiling continues today and even into tomorrow :)

Locum Tenens

Had our weekly appointment last night with a stranger doctor, ours is away on a course so I was under strict instructions not to go into labour this week. No worries, this baby doesn't appear to want to go anywhere.

Everything looked good. She said that she can understand why we needed a position check done since she couldn't figure out which end was up either. Ahhh, tricky babies. What is this little one doing in my tummy to confuse everyone so much? I think that it's the hard little bum, it feels like he/she (yup that's right, no envelope tearing yet) has definitely inherited his/her Dad's bum.

Then we went and petted the strolller that we're getting. Ours is coming through a series of mules (relatives) and should arrive here next week. It's so freakin nice, you have NO idea. We also ordered our Snapperjack cloth diapers. I love the names the cloth diaper companies have come up with; Bummis, Rumpsters, Swaddlebees, Fuzzi Bunz, Happy Heiny's. The land of baby is a funny and strange place.

Felicitations!

We want to pass on our congratulations to Renée and Shawn on the birth of Logan. A first boyfriend for Isabelle? He sounds like a beauty and while Meghan has been traumatized forevermore by all this vacuum/extraction talk she's very happy that he's safe and sound :) We look forward to checking out some pictures!

books and blessings

Today we got up very late, well we actually got up early but thankfully managed to try our hardest to go back to sleep, and it worked. Lazy slugs :)

We headed down to Word on the Street (sort of book fair type thing). It wasn't that great and we only bought ONE book, a record! On our winding way home we made lots of poky little stops. As we approached the Lord Nelson hotel we noticed that there was a crowd forming outside. We remembered that this was where the Stones were supposedly staying and so decided to swing over and see what was happening. Adam found some stray pieces of wood and ingeniously put together a little footstool for us to stand on so that we had a clear view. We waited and waited and watched all the big black SUV's arriving with their rock star tinted windows. Then the smarmy manager types came out and milled around and make it look like something truly serious was about to happen. Then the police started blocking the street and moving people around- quite a crowd had formed by now- and then.... the band started coming out. They came out one by one and everyone cheered their heads off and jumped around. THEN Mick Jagger came out and he walked down the stairs, parted the crowd, walked right over to us, put his hands on my big round tummy and said "Bless'ed are the children who rock". I said thank you, he got in his car and they drove off into the sunset. OR maybe he just waved at everyone and then got in his car. Either way, it was an exciting afternoon.

The rest of the day was anticlimactically spent mobile making, reading about the gruesome contortions my body is going to perform and cooking a truly delicious summery supper. Oh, and I had a good long chat with Alyson who is happy to hear that my hospital bag is now officially packed. I'm ready to go when this baby is!

We got some Satisfaction...

Well tonight the three of us heard, and two saw, the Rolling Stones.

It was a pretty fantastically fun time. A misty rain was falling and Mick Jagger had "squelchy" feet but the crowd was having a fun time nonetheless. The stage was INSANE, eight stories high, shooting flames, soaring lights and a big fireworks ending. Good times :) We didn't pay for tickets but the "seats" were amazing, we could see everything from the little knoll we shared with a bunch of others. There was a guy with a Callaway umbrella on one side of us and a couple with a black bugaboo frog on the other... can you say creeparama? We brought binoculars but definitely didn't need them, little Mick jagger was dancing around plain as day and the guitarist had a souwester on. It was so loud, even from where we watched across the commons from the stage. Not a bad way to start the little one off on live shows :) Whoops, realized that it wasn't technically the first live show, but first major one anyways!

Drum roll please...

Okay, okay. Everyone is DYING to see the baby room. This is the best that I can do for now. I do realize that it's hard to see exactly what you're looking at but tough :) It's such a teensy little room and there are areas still off limits to photographers- I'll explain the mobile madness in a minute. Once it's "complete"- should that day ever arise- I can hopefully get some clearer snaps. Until then, this shall have to suffice.

So Adam is making a mobile. It's the solar system. Adam is of course approaching this mobile as he does with most things, with great amounts of research and pacing and heming and hawing. I've learned more about our solar system than I could ever have imagined. This baby had better like planets. I will let you know before the great unveiling, which "should" take place sometime in the next week, that the planets can't be exactly to scale because that would take up the space of a football field. So it's as close as it can be while still fitting in the little tiny room. Just so that you're forewarned.

I took the day off today and so far its been the greatest day of my life. Over breakfast, which we got to have together (no work or weekend golf in the way) Adam was reflecting on the fact that this is the only time in his life that he's not obsessed with solely one item. We have the baby, its transporter, and then teaching, golf, guitar, the solar system... so many obsessions it could make a head spin! He's quite enjoying it all though, might make him change his obsessive ways forever? ;)

Well I'm off to do some cooking and laundry and lazing about. After talking to Alyson last night I'm going to try hard to enjoy the last of the quiet selfish days.

And no, we haven't cracked the envelope yet. And no, we don't need to give it to anyone else so that they can open it and promise not to tell us unless we want to know :)

The Maestro

Isabelle's new nickname. She loves waving her little arms around like she's conducting an orchestra. So sweet.

Mom called and Isabelle started crying and she sounds just like a little kitten. Gives the heart a good squeeze! Here are some new grandparenty pictures, from her first few days at home. I wonder if she has any idea how wrapped around her finger this whole family is already :) They all sound blissfully tired. I keep wanting to hop on a plane and go hold that baby. It's very frustrating!

Bum in the air!

The day of the positioning ultrasound arrived and... the baby is HEAD DOWN!!!

A tricky baby he/she may be, but also a smart baby :) I will warn people that judging from what I saw today it's going to be a pretty cute little baby too. Just so that you're prepared.

Everything else looked great (there weren't four legs). The baby has "a beautiful heart" according to the ultrasound tech. What a nice lady she was. I was just so relieved that I'd been patting the bum and not the head. Adam couldn't come, the first appointment he'd had to miss :(

The lovely technician printed out a picture (of the head profile) and wrote the sex of the baby on the back. She put it in an envelope and sealed it. She did this because I was hemming and hawing about wanting to know and not sure, and really not sure if Adam wasn't there. We've discussed the matter and decided not to open it but we may have a moment of weakness and rip it right open. I'll keep you posted :) The picture is pretty hard to decipher anyways... everything is so squishy at this stage! The baby was sucking its fingers and waving its little legs around. He/she also has a very pointy little chin and nose (looks like Mom perhaps?).

In other news, work is good. Much more boring now that my duties are being relieved of me, but people keep telling me that boring is good for pregnant girls. Adam is a superstar, bopping all around, happy as can be. He's doing really well with the whole teaching gig and I'm very proud. He made the most delicious meal tonight, bless his soul... crazy good fajitas. Speaking of which, I need to roll myself down the hallway and help tidy up!

Isabelle, welcome to our crazy fam

BIG, BIG WEEKEND!!!

I am absolutely THRILLED to announce the arrival of my beautiful little niece, Isabelle Sophie! She was born on Saturday morning at 9:06. She's a long little bean, 19 inches and 5lb, 12oz.

She is one of the most scrumptious, munchable little kidlets you've ever laid eyes on! And a perfect sweetheart by the sounds of it. And the hair, oh the hair!

The new mom and dad are over the moon and doing really well despite the total lack of sleep they've had in the last three days. They came home yesterday and I finally got to talk to Alyson last night. She still sounds like Alyson but she has a BABY! Totally bizarre and wonderful.

We celebrated with the new Grandpa (who is very anxious to head to Ottawa before everyone in the world gets to hold the baby before he does).

Ahhhh, it's all happening!

35 weeks or thereabouts

Here's the 35 week belly picture. We took it 2 days late, but it still counts.



So Adam had a huge surprise for me when I got home last night. The baby room is finished!

That boy can perform miracles with a jigsaw. Miracles I tell you.

Io has investigated the change pad and Pica used it for a nap. They seem confused about who this room belongs to exactly. Ahhh, the poor little mites are in for a bit of a surprise.

So we'll try to get everything put away, curtains hung, etc. this weekend and then I'll post pictures of it, in all its gloriousness :)

We begin to blog

Okey dokey.

So Adam and I decided that we might as well jump right into this whole blog thing, because really, what better time then when life is about to take such a crazy turn?

So babies, babies, babies :)

I was 35 weeks on Tuesday. According to the doctor, we have a tricky baby. This comes as no surprise.

She thinks that the baby is tricky because she just can't get a hold of him/her, and none of the parts seem to be in the right place when she grabs what she thinks is the head. This baby is trying to keep everyone guessing. Alyson thinks that this might be because the baby has four legs. We're pretty sure that's not the case because surely they would have noticed that in our initial ultrasound? Meredith then thought that maybe the legs split after. It's all just too much to take in :)

Because of the tricky factor, we are scheduled to have an ultrasound this coming tuesday to make sure that the baby isn't breech. Have I been patting away at this poor child's head instead of a little bum? Has the booty shuffle really been some sort of baby headbanging? Stay tuned to find out!

All else is well. The nursery is almost finished and I've started folding all the little wee clothes into their appropriate baskets. I feel that it might be finished by the end of the weekend if we're as productive as I want us to be.

Alyson will be disgusted to learn that I still haven't packed my hospital bag :)