12 days of thankful - day one

Pin It Now! I love Christmas – Christmas music, Christmas lights, Christmas cookies – but this year has been a bit different – I realized that Christmas is almost here and I got worried I’ve just about missed it because life has been such a whirlwind since J’s arrival.

We had a big day yesterday – I took Jonah by myself to Toronto to meet his Auntie’s and have a girls afternoon Christmas get together….we do it every year and this year it was amazing – and we did it, just the two of us our first time out together and we made it there on time with all of the things we needed and he was a great boy in the car. . When we were downtown I saw the CN Tower all lit up for Christmas and got so excited. We listened to the Christmas station on Satellite Radio the entire time – and I started thinking about this Christmas, how it IS so special for us – so different than any other Christmas – and I realized that even though I don’t have time for a tree this year and won’t bake toblerone shortbreads or wrap the gifts in fancy paper with matching ribbon that this is one of the best Chirstmases we’ve had, that our lives are so full. That there is so much to be thankful for…..

Like this little boy who was born 4 days earlier than J - and J ended up being born on Hudson's due date. That they will always have that story that binds them. That his mommy and I can get together and take pictures of them together holding hands acting like besties the same way we used to get together when we were 13 years old and take posed pictures of our friends. That she is a great mom – a total natural. I knew she would be – she’s always loved babies, but it made me so proud to see her in her element, almost took my breath away – such a special person and an inspiration to me.

I'll be back tomorrow with more! 

Our new life

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We are settling in as a family of 3 (plus Ben) - we've had our moments of adjustment but overall things are going great and now that he's here I can't imagine our lives any other way. 

I had expected that it may take me a few days to bond with the baby once he got here and I don't know if it's because we had some compications during his delivery but the moment I saw him I thought he was the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid eyes on and my heart just grew a special place for him. 

Things are SO different now.  We used to just pick up early on weekends and zip out and about all over town - today we made it out of the house by 1pm and that felt like a big win.  Then once we got to the mall all I could think was "this place is so LOUD" "this place is so BUSY" - and then just trolled for other people with babies to see how old thier babies looked. 

I've been out a few times without him and every time I go out I want to go up to people and tell them "I have a baby - he's at home" - particularly if I see someone with a baby - I just want to shout "I have a baby too!" 

I have never been more thankful for
Grocery Delivery
Walmart Photo delivery
Baby Oxi Clean
The Miracle Blanket

I am also very excited for this: 
NKOTBSB
So dorky I know but am totally going to try to get tickets! 

My best moment - 11.15.10 - 3:34pm

Pin It Now! He's here!  After what felt like an eternity of being pregnant and a bit of a rough delivery we welcomed Jonah Gray into the world on Monday November 15th at 3:34.  He's happy and healthy and adjusting well to his new environment.

We chose the name Jonah ages ago and kept from most as a surprise - Jonah means Dove in hebrew which is my mom's maiden name and Gray was K's Grandpa so he has a name that is meaningful - I love that. 

We are tired but adjusting well as a family - we just love him to bits. 

I knew to expect the long nights and tiredness but what I did not expect was that I'd be so in love I just wouldn't care. 

He's the best!
xoxo

D Day

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Today is my due date!  Although doesn't look like Baby boy is quite ready to join us just yet (well it LOOKS like it but it doesn't seem like he will hee hee). 

 In some ways the past 10 months have crawled and in other ways they've flown by. I am now at the point where I am feeling like every minute is an hour - I know in the grand scheme of things waiting another week or two is NOT a big deal and I just keep trying to picture this big beautiful baby that's waiting to come out (and judging by the size of my belly he's a big one) - but to be honest - it's getting tough! My ribs and abdomen feel like they are being torn a part each time I laugh or sneeze - I guess am just physically running out of room for this little guy but at the same time I keep reminding myself that once he is here the time will literally just FLY - that in the same time it took for him to grow inside of me he'll be 10 months old! At Christmas time he'll be almost 6 weeks and by my Birthday he'll be 4 months old.
So in the meantime I have been keeping busy by doing some scrapbooking pages - haven't printed the pics yet so they are only partially done - I figure once he's here I'll have tons to print so will wait and do a big print run all at once.
Have also been doing some last minute shopping - today we got a baby sling - I was overwhelmed with the Babies R Us selection and lack of help so we went to a little boutique near us and I got great service and decided on this one by Blue Celery - I like it becuase you can use it as a baby sling (just using one of the loops) or a full on hands free wrap. I practiced in the store on a doll - I'm sure it's a little more complicated when it's a real baby ;)

I have also developed a really wicked knowledge of all things pop culture and could talk for about 30 minutes straight about Portia on Ellen vs. Portia on Oprah and Ricky Martin finally coming out and Sister Wives on TLC.  As much as it has been such a treat to be off work with literally nothing to do but cook, clean and watch TV the last four weeks I do feel like I'm losing a bit of perspective on reality so am ready for this baby to get here...but at the same time I know that this month of pure indulgence will probably really never happen again for me so I definitley am thankful for it (also the fact that I have mid day bouts of narcolepsy have made being home with zero responsibilities very convenient!).  I can only imagine these last few weeks of pregancy when you have other little ones to care for - I'm sure it must be extra tough! 

This pillow from Etsy took forever to get here but now that it's in the nursery I think it really ties things together!  I also love the Manhattan print on the wall - NYC is a special place for K&I - it's where we got engaged and then also went on our honeymoon so I'm happy I was able to work it into the babies room. 

 Look at all these cute stuffies!  Ben totally thinks the squeekie ones are for him.....eek

K's mom gave me this duck on the left for my baby shower - it was his when he was a baby -- the crazy part is the duck on the right is mine from when I was a baby!  Such a small world !

Well that's all for today - hopefully I'll be back sooner than later with a Baby update!
xoxo

A baby is such a good excuse for a party

Pin It Now! there is this nice feeling of community that comes with having a baby.  i've been fortunate enough to have two showers in the last few weeks - one a few weeks ago with the girls from work hosted by my friend Rima and one hosted by my mom for family and friends this past weekend. At both we were so spoiled  - but the nicest thing about the showers was all of the visiting that took place with all of the ladies in my life.  i have gone on before about how fortunate i am to have the group of friends that i have but it's so true

these pics make me laugh because although I know how big I am I kind of don't really realize until I see pics like this - ha ha!  Bumpalicious!  I can remember back when I was first preggo trying on the foam belly at Gap Maternity and doing a ridiculous dance for Kirk and my Mom in it thinking "there is NO WAY I'll ever get THIS BIG" ...hmmm, I was wrong ;)

For hostess gifts for both i gave the hostesses necklaces from Luxe Designs - they are a great Canadian company that my neighbour told me about.  On my friend Rima's from work I put her parents names plus words that describe her to me and on my Mom and Aunt's I put their grand kids/great niece and nephew's names plus our baby's name on a charm for them to open once the baby is born.  The designers go to the One of A Kind show every year and I'm planning on going this year with my mom and the new babe (might be a bit aggressive since it's literally weeks after he's due to arrive but we go every year so I definitley want to try to make it there).  If I go I'll for sure order one! 

My friend Meag and I are due a few days a part - both expecting boys so obviously we expect them to be best friends too! 

I think it's really kind how people tell me that I look the exact same except for my belly but pics like this are proof that this is not the case - chubby cheekies! 

 The grade school gang - so crazy and nice how long we've all been friends, love these girls:

 Maya was a great helper during the gifts - I was dying laughing b/c with almost every gift she would lift it above her head and spin for everyone to see and also exclaim VERY loudly "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH SOOOOO CUUUUUUUUUUUUTEEEEEEEE" about almost everything including a set of nail clippers with a picture of a bear on them.  ha ha.  she's so funny/cute. 

The world's most delicious cake - we had it upside down for the first little while and were all trying to figure out the design -- then Maya came by and said "oh that's a cute carriage with a baby bottle" and we realized.  ha ha. 

So the showers have been had and I've made a decent amount of freezer meals.  I'd say we are just about ready for this little guy to arrive!

xoxo

Freezer dinners

Pin It Now! I've been off work for one whole week and I have to admit the first day or so was SO STRANGE - to go from the same routine every day for almost 6 years to knowing I won't be back for about a year felt awkward at first. 

Throughout the week I found my groove and got some good cooking done for when baby gets here.

I made this Martha Stewart lentil soup and froze a bunch of it in individual mason jars and then this Giada marinara sauce with turkey meatballs - we had it for dinner on Thurs night and it was delish.

Up Monday is this Italian wedding soup also from Giada - I mix it up a bit and put pastina pasta instead of the egg in the broth and then spinach instead of escarole but this is a yummy freezer dinner. 

I'm still on the hunt for more good freez-able meals that we can heat up easily once the baby gets here so holla back if you know of any ;) -- my offical due date is 3 weeks today so geting close! 

have a great day - xoxo

Tour De Nursery

Pin It Now! i can't believe i only have one week of work left until i start my  mat leave - the past few weeks have been bittersweet....i am so excited about what's to come but the thought of not being at the job that i have been going to every day for the past 6 +years seems so strange and as much as i know i will love my mat leave i will also miss my job and all the people that i work with. 

the things that i won't miss are how sore my back has gotten sitting all day at my desk or the intense pain that has started radiating through my wrists by mid day - physically i think my body is starting to tell me to wind it down.  i think mother nature is also having a say in my repertoire these days....I'm up every 2 hrs to pee which was kind of annoying at first but now I'm just kind of used to it and my schedule has just started to shift to be one where i am just not sleeping through the night....hence the really early morning blogging.

not to say that I'm not enjoying pregnancy - obviously the end goal will be worth it but there are a few other things that i love about it - pull up pants for one....those have come in super handy the last few weeks and although i do look forward to wearing normal clothes again the elastic waist band is a pretty clever invention that i will miss.  People are SO nice too, that's another big plus - I have started to get a lot of people asking if they can touch the belly and honestly I don't mind. 

onto the baby's room:

we started this project AGES ago - back when my belly was smaller than a small country (see visual reference above ;))  - it seemed aggressive at the time but it took a lot of time for a lot of of what we'd chosen to arrive so it was a good move.
once we decided to abandon our original "baby/lamb" theme and just go for things we liked the process went a lot smoother

 this is the view from the door - we did bean board and kept the colour pallet neutral (inspired by Joanna ;)) - it was Kirk's idea to go almost to the ceiling with the bean board....i wasn't sold at first but love the way it turned out.

 this is the view from the opposite corner.  that pompom cluster is one of my fave. things in the room.  we got it from etsy and k. helped me hang -- ideally i would have liked directly above the baby's crib but wasn't sure that was the smartest idea in case one fell down. 

(ben is really starting to wonder what's going on)  

view of the change table

crib view with baby's cozy quilt and matching pillow 

Etsy finds:

Quilt - Modern Myrtle

Prints - Farouche

Owl - BWinks

Pom Poms - Fiesta Pom Pom

Alphabet Print - InkTreePress