Fun Day!!

Today was just one of those days.

It started off with a bird who seriously let me walk rightup to it. This photo is not zoomed in. Unfortunately, it did not like Bauer trying to climb up the fence as much as it liked me walking up to it to take a photo.

Then came the pout. I have decided that my goal in life is to one day write a book about Bauer called "The Pouty Little Puppy." It will be an instant classic and I will make a billion dollars.

Then Ryan came home and he brought presents. Amazing presents. 7 boxes of presents. All thanks to a girl I've met - seriously - like, twice. Her daughter was born late in the year so she has lots of winter infant clothes and just gave me boxes of these clothes for free. THANK YOU, ANDREA!!!!!!!!!!!

5 of the boxes were infant - 3 months; the other 3 were 6-12 months. My daughter is going to be styling. And I can't WAIT to see her in so many of these clothes!!

Pretty dresses, warm sweaters - she is going to love winter much more than I ever have.

I have started decorating Aryn's bedroom a bit...

Now the day is over and it's about 3000C in the house right now and I'm gonna go cool off downstairs with a very warm puppy and a very allergy-attacked husband.

Kicky Kickerson

WOW. Aryn is one kicky little girl today. She is going NUTS. She moves my arms when they're on my stomach, she makes my shirts move, she even sometimes makes me stop walking and have to hold onto a wall because of how hard she kicks!! It's unreal!!

It is the most amazing feeling in the world. But man alive, I can't believe how much she kicks!!!!!

27 Weeks!

I spent my first day at 27 weeks at the hospital for over an hour. Why, you may ask? Well, it's that time of the pregnancy where I have to do my big sugar/diabetes blood test, pee into a cup and all that good stuff. They make you drink this bottle of sugar that tastes like orange pop, then sit there for an hour before you can do your blood work. Turns out no one else was in the waiting room (a rare occurrence!) so that was awesome! Funny story though, I sat on the far end near the emergency door so that I could have some sunlight while I waited my hour. There was literally NO ONE ELSE in the waiting room with at least 30 other chairs available. This old woman decides that the only place she wants to sit is RIGHT next to me, and proceeds to fart the entire time. It was disgusting. I gave her the nastiest looks! I moved places even and kept giving her nasty looks every time she let one rip (.... ok.... at first my "nasty look" was me laughing... come on - farts are funny!). Thankfully they called her name quickly and after waiting a few minutes for the air to clear, I went back to my super awesome spot.

Anyways, so I was telling Ryan last night that there's no possible way I could get ANY bigger than I already am. But apparently, I will. So, here's a 27 week photo. Yikes!! Moooooooo!!!!

Crib is on its way!!!

So my parents wanted to buy us Aryn's crib. We're suuuuuper excited, and it was officially ordered today!!!


It's going to be the colour "espresso". We are soo excited to put it into her bedroom!!!

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!!! <3

Only 13 more weeks!!!

My "Last" Birthday

I used to be really huge on birthdays. Like, when it's someone's birthday a national holiday should be created for that particular person. I love birthdays. But this year, things just felt very different. I didn't really care that it was my birthday. Ryan and I were talking about having another BBQ and I suggested doing it on my birthday and that's what we did - we invited a bunch of friends over and had a BBQ outside on one of June's most beautiful days. And even though I didn't tell any of the invites that it was my birthday, good ol' Facebook did that for me haha. It was such a great time!

I didn't take any photos though, sorry!

The morning started off with us sleeping in. Ryan's sister Karrie came in the night before and took me out for supper and Bauer woke us up at about 9am on Saturday, suddenly remembering that someone else was in the house and he needed to inspect and let us know the progress. So then we got up, and the preparations started.

I don't know why I was even remotely surprised at how Ryan was yesterday, but for some strange reason, he just... surprised me. He did EVERYTHING. He cleaned the tables, the chairs, set everything up, cut up wood for the fire, started the burgers and hotdogs (all to be put into a sauce he also made in the slow cooker), he swept the floor, got tables set up for the buffet, and just really took charge of the day. I could not have asked for a better gift, and I am so grateful for everything he did yesterday. I can't express how lucky I am!!

All I did yesterday was go grocery shopping and I helped out here and there. Ryan was really the star of the show yesterday. Yet, for some reason, even though I got at least 8 hours of sleep last night, I am EXHAUSTED today!!!

It was such a great time yesterday - great friends, great conversations, great weather. It was absolutely beautiful. And when it cooled down at night, we christened the fire pit by lighting it up for the first time in 2010. Can't believe that had to wait until mid-June!!!

A friend brought Crave cupcakes (which also played a part in my breakfast this morning...) and my parents brought a Vegan birthday cake - mmm. The kids all had fun running around our huge back yard and playing in the little pool we had set up. Some people we wanted there couldn't make it but all in all, it just worked out perfectly. Yay!

So thanks to all who celebrated my birthday yesterday, even though most of you didn't know it was my birthday. I had a blast and I hope you did too!

Now, it's nap time!

100 Days!!

100 days to go!!!!!!!! Wooo!!!!!

Club Pink

Tonight started off with us having to give Mr. Bauer a bath. He's not a big bath fan, and to prove it to everyone, here he is pouting afterward:



Yesterday, my mom gave me a big box of my baby stuff - yes, from when I was a baby. Little sweaters my grandmother knitted me, little booties and hats that were crocheted for me. Beautiful little dresses wrapped in cute little ribbons.



I can't wait to dress my little girl up in these clothes!



Club Pink has exploded at our house. The spare room has sprinkles of pink everywhere.

From pink elephants...



To pink unicorns...



To our darling Miss Aryn's pink letters that I just painted. Just seeing the letters makes me even more excited to meet her!!





And with that, our delicious supper of corn, potatoes and Ryan's steak (poor cow! haha), I am officially STARVING and it's 8:48pm. What to eat... I think I have already met my sugar intake for the day so I need to be creative... I'm off to the kitchen!!


(PS. I am fully aware "tomorrow" is spelled incorrectly ... *sigh*... I bought it at a garage sale haha)

And so it starts...

Goodbye, spare king bed!!! Yes, we had a spare king bed. We treat our guests like royalty. At least, we did. The king bed is officially gone as of this weekend. Ryan drove to his parents farm on Friday after work (sans me), drove back to our house (2 hr drive!) with the stock trailer on Saturday afternoon, loaded up the ultra huge king bed, then drove it yet again back to the farm. Then he took apart the unbelievably uncomfortable bed that was downstairs and set up the king bed.





All for what??

All for Aryn!! She now has a bedroom. The shelves and dresser all need to go into the garage to be sanded down and re-painted. FYI, the dresser is actually mine from when I was a little girl! Awww, I know.

So I'm going to start sanding down the shelves and the night stand and re-paint them (white... the story behind this is that 3 years ago when we first moved into our house I re-painted all this furniture but apparently there is different kinds of paint and whatever paint I used made all the furniture sticky. So while it's been ok for the last 3 years as spare room furniture, now that it's going to be used regularly, it's time for a new paint coat).

When it's all over, this room is going to look immaculate. I'm pumped.

3 more months!!

Where are you, toes??

I looked down in the shower today and realized I could not see my toes anymore. I'm sure it's been a long time since that's happened, but I just haven't noticed. Ryan came home from work today and gave me a big hug and I believe his exact words were "WOW, you're huge!" Thanks. Friends right off.

I never knew what heartburn was, and apparently my ignorance is being paid for right now because I am on day 2 of massive heartburn. No matter how many Tums I eat, or what I do, or how I sit or stand or lay down - heartburn. It's so uncomfortable. But then, a little kick or somersault or punch reminds me of why I have this awful heartburn and it all seems to be ok. But seriously, I could really do without the heartburn.

25 weeks tomorrow. Wow. Only 15 weeks to go. It seems like forever, yet not long enough. Regardless of the awful morning sickness, awful heartburn, awful sleeps, extreme exhaustion, etc etc etc, I am thoroughly loving pregnancy. It's an amazing feeling to know you're actually creating a human being. It's not like I drove myself to the pound and bought a dog (which everyone should do in their lifetime... I'm still working on Ryan letting me get another one) - I am actually creating something. And when it's done, when the ding of the oven goes off - it's going to be MINE. When it cries, I can't hand it off to someone else and tell them to deal with it. When it poops, I can't pretend I don't smell something and slyly walk away. This child is going to be my responsibility. I can dress it how I want, teach it what I want, and try to teach it all the things I feel it should be taught in order to be an amazing human being. A human being full of love, respect, and pure happiness. God, I want her to be happy.

No belly pics this week. Maybe next :)

First OBGYN Appointment!

So today I had my first OB appointment. It's an office with 6 female doctors and 9 on-call female doctors. Basically, every time you go you meet a different female doctor so that you've met all of them so that when you go into labour, you know who's delivering your baby.

First, the nurse who did the initial tests was AWESOME. I loved her. She was so informative, she was so proud of me for wanting to exclusively breastfeed, and she was just all around awesome.

Then the doctor came in. She's really nice, but I felt that with some of the questions she asked regarding epidurals was that she was pro-epidurals and pro-c-sections. I told her that I want to have a drug-free labour and she said that is always their goal but sometimes you just have to have a c-section. Aaaanyways, I ended up telling her I can't have an epidural and explained why and she was pretty alarmed at the story. So she's going to try to get the info from my neurologist to make sure everything will be ok for labour. Hopefully everything is fine. Oh and she told me if they did have to do a c-section I'd be put under... which scares me soooooo much and I started crying in the room. I told her I really don't want to have a c-section and I will do everything possible not get one. The response was more of a "well, whatever" - healthy baby is most important. Which I agree with but... you know how it is....

And then she checked my heart and apparently I have a heart murmur. Apparently it can be pretty common but she may send me for a heart ultrasound. So my fingers are crossed that everything is ok with that.

Anyways, I'm excited about the Maternity Care Centre but I'm a little nervous about my MRI info and my heart murmur. I know it's pointless to worry but .. sometimes you can't help it! But, baby is fine!! Heart beat is strong, she kicked the heart listening thingy which was pretty funny. I'm excited to go back and meet the next doctor and continue going there until we go into labour. Yay!

Comment from a friend...

I received this comment from a friend regarding pregnancy and I wanted to share it with everyone and keep it as a memento because... seriously... it's just beautiful.

I think you look beautiful! I know there will be moments where you don't feel like it, but you are. Even when you doubt yourself, make a mental note that you're growing a precious miracle inside of you and THAT my dear, is a beautiful thing. Smile and enjoy. At the end of your pregnancy, when you're holding Aryn in your arms, there will be an emptiness inside of your womb that is indescribable. It is this moment in which you'll forget all the heartburn, vomiting, bladder incompetence (trust me, it will come), all the late night tossing and turning, the fat faces, swollen ankles, inability to tie your shoes, the random crying, ALL of it...and instead only recall those belly kicks, those hiccups, those *moments* between you and her that can never be recreated. So sit back, kick up your feet, tap your belly and wait for Aryn to respond back with a kick and remember these moments because before you know it, she'll be in your arms where she can find comfort and warmth, never to return again to your womb.
~ Christy

24 Weeks!!

24 weeks is a huge milestone. Through the entire pregnancy, I've had people tell me "just wait for your 24th week!" I never really understood why, but at our pre-natal class the nurse teacher told me that at 24 weeks, your baby will most likely survive outside of the womb, unless there is something seriously wrong with her. Which there isn't. (yay!) I read online that 23 weeks was the survival line, but apparently not - it's 24 weeks. So ignore what I wrote last week haha.

I've been doing a lot of research lately on labour. My friend Nicole has sent me quite a few online birth videos and some of them are really graphic but they are all natural child births - meaning no drugs. To be honest, since we found out we were pregnant I have been terrified of labour. But watching these women deal with it and push on through, I have this new-found excitement for labour. I'm actually EXCITED for labour! I can't wait to prove to myself, to Ryan, to everyone that it CAN be done without drugs. And that I can do it without drugs (I'm the biggest pain baby in the world!).

My pre-natal class is awesome - she's giving us lots of tips on how to push through labour and how to make it quicker, less painful, etc. I've decided I am most likely going to live in the shower and I am totally ok with that. Even if I'm as wrinkly as our sweet baby girl, I don't care.

It's just sooooo far away!!!! I'm 6 months, but according to the week chart, you're actually more or less pregnant for 10 months so that means I have 4 months to go. All of June, July, August, and most of September. *sigh* It's so far away!!

Tomorrow morning mom and I are going garage saleing (yay!) and then Ryan and I are heading into Calgary to baby window shop - look for stuff we want, write everything down, the prices where they are, etc. My goal is to find inexpensive crib bedding (why the hell is crib bedding so damn expensive?!?! $200 for a couple of sheets?? The bedding on our king bed is more than half of that!) and little do-dads for the baby - like wooden block letters to put up on the wall.

Yesterday I re-organized her bedroom. I took all the clothes and cloth diapers off the bed and put them in drawers and in their place. The book shelf is half full of books already - crazy! I also realized I have 3 different versions of Wynken, Blynken and Nod haha. The clothes are so tiny, I can't lie - I got misty eyed folding them up and putting them in the drawer. I am going to need a LOT more clothes. And her little cloth diapers - I have my favourites, and some that are ugly but I'm hoping will still serve a purpose. I really hope I push on through the cloth diaper stuff. Wish me luck!!

Ok... now here's a 24 week photo of me..... don't laugh....

We Bought a Stroller!

Yeah, yeah, yeah... we're ahead of the game. But this stroller is a Lux(ury) stroller for $100 off until Thursday so we jumped at it!!

Thank you Grandma Diana and Grandpa Butch for the stroller! What a great gift for you, Aryn!

I can't explain how exciting it was to see a full stroller and car seat in our living room. It made me want to skip the next 3 or 4 months (I can't figure out how far along I am) and go straight into meeting our little girl. It made everything so REAL. The car seat is so small; it's so weird to think someone will FIT into it!

Here's some photos of Daddy putting together your new stroller!!

I told Daddy to smile here, and this is what he gave me:


Fixing up the car seat:


The finished car seat:


Working on the stroller:


He did NOT like putting on the wheels!


The finished stroller (Bauer was a BIG help):

I just realized I didn't get a photo of the whole stroller done with the car seat in it... oh well. Guess we'll have to wait until Aryn is here before we get a photo of that!