Nursery Reveal

 

Happy Friday everyone! I hope your week has passed by super quickly!

I was sitting last night feeding Sam in his nursery and thinking that I had yet to share the room with all of you! I wanted to wait until the baby was born to share with you the nursery as there were some things to add to the room that we needed the baby for. Like pictures and hand prints!

It was tough to design a baby nursery when we didn’t know the gender of our baby. Everything is stores that we liked was gender specific! I have never been a fan of “themed” rooms because we wanted this rooms design to suit this baby as well as the possibility of any other children down the road. Something that may be popular now, may not be in years from now!

A long time ago I had pinned this picture because I loved what it represented! While I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie Dumbo, I clearly remember this scene and song. In fact, now I can’t even listen to it without bursting in tears. If you feel like a little cry this morning, please feel free to watch this video.

So, I saved the picture and got it printed on a large canvas at Wal-Mart and decided to use for the inspiration for the colors in the room.

So without further adieu, the nursery! 

Sign we received as gift after Sam was born.

As you enter the room.

View from the window

View from the crib

After Sam was born we did a hand and foot print to hang on his wall. The frames we received as a shower gift.

The thing about this room is that it is small and it doesn’t have a closet! I knew storage was going to be a problem and I had to get creative about keeping things organized and neat! Here is what I did to help battle the small room problem.

Ikea spice racks that we painted white to use to hold all the books that we received as gifts. 

We didn’t have room in this small space for both a dresser/hutch AND a change table. I inherited this cabinet that was used as my great-great grandmothers kitchen cupboard. It was filthy and needed a few repairs (where the white curtain is, there was a missing door and broken shelves). I thought it could work for both a changing station and to hold clothes!

I found some large baskets from Michaels that fit the top of the cabinet perfectly! It holds all of our diapering supplies. Inside the top cupboards I store the sleepers, receiving blankets, pants and onsies. I have to be very careful to only keep the clothes that fit Sam now! I rotate the clothes as he grows out of them. We don’t have enough space to store all his clothes including the ones he hasn’t grown into yet.

Underneath the curtain (sewn by me), Dad and Ryan had repaired and installed a custom clothing rod that holds outfits, shirts, sweaters and special outfits. The side drawers holds everything else.

It was important to me that the crib be small and not bulky. I knew I did not want a transitional crib as I feared it would look too large for such a small space. We found this nice crib from Target for a great price! It can turn into a toddler bed which is an extra bonus. It was important to me that our crib sit high enough above the floor so that I could have extra storage.

Crib skirt found on Amazon.com and grey/white polka dot fitted crib sheet (it has a matching warm blanket) from Target.

I found these nice LARGE baskets that fit under the crib perfectly (Ryan might of flipped when he realized they were $40 each..woops! ha ha!) that store extra diapers, blankets and some other clothes in the next size up!

I was pretty picky when it came to the glider. I didn’t want something that I couldn’t use later somewhere else. I didn’t want the traditional chair and found this one online at Target.com. The only problem, they don’t have them in Canada. So, on the weekend that Ryan and I spent shopping in the states, we picked it up! It has proved to be one of the best purchases. It is SO comfortable and sturdy! If I had one piece of advice for an expectant mother, get a good chair! You’ll be sitting in it ALOT!

I needed something for a small lamp and to hold supplies beside the chair! Again, it had to have storage but couldn’t be too bulky! I found this cute nightstand at Ikea (the lamp as well). It was inexpensive and it is REALLY sturdy! The basket was a shower gift which perfect holds some of Sam’s toys!

When you don’t have a lot of square footage in a room you have to use all the available space that you have! That’s why I decided to get some shelves that would sit nice and high above the chair/night stand. It’s high enough that a child cannot grab at the breakable stuff! Each shelf was only $20 at Ikea. They are sturdy and are able to hold all the special keepsakes that Sam received as gifts. The picture frame on the wall was a shower gift and holds a couple special pictures from our newborn shoot.

It’s a small room but I spent so much time thinking about how to make it work for our baby. After it was mostly done, I would spend so much time sitting in the glider thinking about the baby that was growing in my belly. It was such a special room to design and now that it is filled with Sam’s items, it feels complete!

Happy Friday!

xo

Newborn Photos

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! I feel as though Sam and I are starting to have some sort of routine. He eats around 5-5:30 every morning and then goes back to sleep till around 8. It is during those couple of hours that I get “me’ time. I usually get in a small work out, shower, get ready for the day and then slowly sip on a coffee while I play around on my lap top. It’s those 2 hours that keep me feeling like me! I know that in those 2 hours I could get SO much house work done but instead I chose to relax and do what I want. It then allows me to be all about everyone else for the rest of the day.

Today as I sip on my coffee I realized that I had yet to shared some of our newborn photos with you. As you know we got some maternity pictures taken and I love them! The wonderful Lena from Lena B photography did a great job! I was very much looking forward to capturing some moments as a new family and some baby pictures while Sam was still very little!

I had a whole slew of Pinterest ideas where this sleepy baby is looking all calm and peaceful. I figured because Sam had been such a sleepy baby up to this point it wouldn’t be a problem! Well, it was the first time that Sam demonstrated to us that it is now all about him and sometimes things don’t go as planned!

Example:

Those peaceful and serene pictures? They are REALLY hard work and you need a very good and quick photographer to capture moments of “peace”. Thankfully, Lena is just that and she was able to capture some pretty great moments! Looking back on these now about 2 months later, I can’t help but tear up as I remember those first few days of “newness”. It was the first moments as a family of three and I am so glad to have pictures of Sam when he was so little. 

Here are just a sample of a few of my favourites…

Telling us what he really thinks about getting his picture taken…

(During this picture Sam pooped ALL over Ryan, ha ha! That’s real life!)

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Weekend Recap–Canada Day Golf Tournament 2014

 

Happy Monday everyone! As Ryan and I sat down to supper last night we both agreed that we SO look forward to spring/summer and then when it gets here you try SO hard to fill it with so many fun things! I feel as though Canada Day Golf Tournament is one of those events and it kind of kicks off the beginning of the busy summer weekends for me.

Friday night Ryan, Sam and I headed our separate ways. Ryan went to the hall to help set up for the upcoming festivities and Sam and I headed to Portage for a Liberal Party fundraising dinner. It was Sam’s first political event outside the womb (we pre-voted before he was born) and I was excited to show him off to some of the people that have watched me grow with my pregnancy!

Sam with our MNA Andre Fortin.

Saturday morning we all got up and got ready to head to the course to begin the busy and fun day! We were all decked out in our golf gear which includes Ryan’s Canada golf pants!

We grabbed a quick breakfast at the club and Sam got to enjoy some snuggles with friends and fellow committee members Wayne and Brenda!

The day was looking beautiful and the sun was shining by the time the first golfers teed off!

This is the first year in a long time that I didn’t golf and instead Sam and I sat at the registration table. To be honest, I actually enjoyed it because when I’m out of the course I don’t get to see everyone! This way I was able to chat with everyone as they came in! Sam was very good and took a bottle that I had pumped that morning which meant I only had to escape once to feed him.

Ryan and I headed home after being at the course all day (8-4) and got ready for the evening festivities! As always, it was a delicious steak dinner and I hung out in the kitchen for a bit to help with anything that was needed.

Some of the locals that read my blog will know about some of the controversy around the building of our new community centre. There are some people that aren’t in favour and there are even some people who don’t think it is needed! I wish those people could see the swarm of people in the hall trying to raise money for our Canada Day Festivities. I also wish those people against the idea of a new hall could see this spot in the kitchen that I captured on my phone. A pan underneath a bulging ceiling tile to collect the water! The little village of Quyon needs and deserves a beautiful new hall to help host all of their wonderful events! I am so looking forward to the day it happens!

Because I missed a feeding for Sam I was able to again pump a FULL bottle for the evening. Ryan and his helper Julia gave it to Sam. I am so excited that Sam is starting to get use to a bottle. While I still much prefer breastfeeding him as it is more comfortable, I am excited at the thought that occasionally he will take a bottle and I can have a few hours to myself.

The party ended early for Sam and I this year as we were home and in bed by 9. Sam slept like a CHAMP that night from the busy day he had!

The next morning Sam and I left Ryan sleep in as he stayed at the hall and we headed to my parents place for pre-church coffee and visit.

After church we were back at my place where Ryan had turned on the BBQ to start our hotdog lunch by the pool! We are trying to get out and enjoy as many meals at the pool as possible! The only down fall is that the bugs (black flies AND mosquito’s) are so bad that it makes it impossible to actually enjoy yourself!

After lunch Ryan and I got our work clothes on! Sam napped away in his stroller while Ryan worked on the yard and I finished planting my flower pots and planted the veggie garden! Getting my pots and gardens planted has to be one of my most favourite spring activities!

To clean off some of the dirt we took our first swim in our pool! It had to be quick though because we were getting eaten ALIVE by the blackflies! Blah!

The weekend went by in a blink, which seems to be the case with every weekend in the summer! It’s so nice to be able to spend so much time outside in the fresh air whether it be for community events, golfing, gardening, swimming or just sitting back and enjoying the warm air! Looking forward to many more summer weekends ahead!

How was your weekend?

xo 

Year of Dates 2014–April

 

Happy Friday everyone! I hope your week has flown by! It kind of has here since it’s a short week. But honestly, since being at home with Sam the days do fly by for us! There is always something to do and I usually have a self made to-do list that keeps me busy!

I wanted to share with you all and proudly announce that we did complete our April date! It was one that I was worried about and not confident that we would complete. When I opened the envelope on April 1st we didn’t know when the baby would be arriving! We vowed to do this date early in case the baby came! In fact, our plans were to do it that weekend! Well turns out those plans got thrown out the window because Sam arrived on THURSDAY April 3. So, the date got postponed a little bit but we got it done!

April’s month was for Ryan to plan! I had no idea what low key date he would plan! We both agreed that ESPECIALLY for April our date had to be at home and low key!

It says, “Hey there my yummy mommy, its just about time that we will be proud parents of something!!! So I’m guessing right now you are pretty uncomfortable to do a whole lot, so why not sit back relax on the downstairs couch, put your feet up and get all cozy? I’ll go grab us some Pizza Pizza, dipping sauce and of course their wings too. We will slap in a dvd and have a movie night in Beachgrove!!!!!! Love you always, Your Hubby”

The man sure does know me!! If we were to have ANY take out pizza, Pizza Pizza is my favourite!

A couple of weeks after Sam arrived we decided it was time for our date! Ryan was true to his word and went to pick up our treat and got it all set up for us in the basement!

The view from our dining area was great! We were ready for our own relaxing night!

We decided to rent a paperview movie off of the T.V. Neither of us had seen American Hustle and decided it was a good choice!

Well, I can’t say either of us really enjoyed the movie all that much. By the end of it we both looked at each other and wondered what the point was! ha ha! But, it really didn’t matter! It was a quiet night in together with ZERO interruptions!

Well there was one distraction but we timed it so that our date was in between his feedings! But as we were new parents we wanted him to stay close so we set up his bassinet right beside us by the couch!

Our first date as parents, wow! We have been counting down the days till this happened! It’s not hard to see how easy it is to forget about each other with a new littler person in our lives. His wants and needs obviously take big priority over our own. In fact, there are many days that pass by where Ryan and I barely interact besides when it has to do with Sam. Our lives literally revolve around him. Now it is more important then ever that we still set out time for eachother and for our marriage. Not only does it make us better partners but better parents too. Looking forward to next month!

Hope you have a good weekend!

xo

Samuel–1 Month

 

Stats:

At 19 days old: 9 lbs 5 oz

At 35 days old: 11 lbs 5 oz and 23 inches long

Wearing:

This Momma happily puts Sam in some newborn clothing still! We had to put a couple of sleepers away that were too small at the end of the first month. The first one caused me to burst out in tears! Other then the select few newborn items, Sam is wearing 0-3 month items!

I have to say, I never considered dressing a boy. Most people thought I was having a girl and so my head was wrapped around dresses and pink. I wasn’t sure how dressing a boy would be. But so far, I love it! Even though there isn’t nearly as much boy items in stores then girls, the stuff is SO cute! I love the ties, the cars, sports stuff, hats, plaid, overalls…etc…it all makes my heart melt.

Sam wore size newborn diapers until 3 weeks. At the end of the month he started wearing size 1. The larger size helps when he has longer stretches of sleep!

Sleep:

The day Sam turned 1 month, he slept through the night! I woke up in panic instead of celebration! I thought there was something wrong! For the most part, so far Sam has been a good sleeper. Up once most nights. During week 3 we had a couple of REALLY bad nights where there was no sleep at all. I was worried this is what life would be like but I think it was just a growth spurt and I soon had my little man back to normal schedule.

During the days, Sam sleeps for 2-3 hours after every feeding. He may have about an hour of awake time after every other feeding!

Eating:

100% supplied by Mommy! We are finally getting to the point where breast feeding is comfortable and just like second nature now! It really is an adjustment to life but I love it so far. I love the break it makes me take to focus 100% on Sam.

Some of the things that I have had to cut out of my diet were carbonated drinks of any kind and chocolate. If I have any of those items Sam will get really gassy and uncomfortable.

Sam took his first bottle of Momma’s milk this month so I could go have a pedicure and manicure in town! Thankfully he took it like a champ and the only problem was that I couldn’t pump enough to keep him full. The plan is to start regular pumping next month so we can store up a supply in the freezer.

Appearance:

Sam has very dark eyes and I think they will be brown like mine. Ryan is in denial and things they will be blue.

Sam was born with dark hair and none of it has fallen out yet! He has continued to grow more peach fuzz this month which appears to be growing in dark. He has always had this thick patch right on the back of his head.

I am convinced Sam has my nose. From day 1 I have said that I found Sam looks like Ryan! Now that he is filling out a little more there are multiple people that thinks he looks like me. I agree, he has my eyes and nose but there is still a look about it that reminds me of his father.

When Sam smiles for some reason I see my brother.

Likes:

Sam likes his Mommy and Daddy! He likes his Nuk soother and no other brand is expectable!

Sam loves his sleep sheep and sometimes I can hear him “talking” to it in the night.

It is important that Sam always stays warm! Any cold feelings at all and he will scream his head off!

Loves sleeping on someone’s chest! If he is fussy this is a guaranteed position to make him settle down. 

Dislikes:

Being cold is number one which includes diaper changes, baths, changing clothes and etc.

Sam dislikes when Mommy eats chocolate which has been really hard with all this Easter chocolate sitting around!

Sam is not a fan of patience. When he needs to eat he needs to eat NOW and there is no waiting even 2 seconds for me to pee before he explodes! Ha ha

Milestones:

Turning one month was the most exciting event! It feels like such an accomplishment to have made it through the first month alive and healthy!

Sam’s first Easter!

 

Easter also marked Sam’s first church service! I can’t wait to watch him grow up in our church family! It is such a special group of people in our lives and to have a church family support and love him is amazing.

On April 24th Sam had his first trip to the hospital except it wasn’t for him! Mommy and Sam had to drive and be with Daddy at the hospital as he developed and was passing a kidney stone. It was the scariest moment to date in the last month. I just kept reminding myself that Ryan would be fine and I had to keep it together for everyone’s sake. I needed to be the strong Mommy in this situation.

First bath which he HATED on April 15th!

On April 25th I finally got to make Sam smile for the firs time! It has been something we have been working on for about a week when he has awake time!

 

Sam and Mommy had their first trip to the city BY THEMSELVES on May 2nd!

Meeting Great Grandma Hamilton on your one month birthday!

Mommy:

As I mentioned before, I love being a Mommy! I take great pride in that title! The biggest thing for me this month is just healing from the labour and delivery! I finally felt 100% like myself on week 4! It’s certainly a process though! It really is the biggest workout of your life and your muscle pain reflects that. It is a learning curve those first weeks that it is ok to sit down and rest when all you really want to do is GO!

Hormones are a bitch…but more on that another time!

Breastfeeding finally feels natural and easy at the very end of this month! I’d be lying if I didn’t consider quitting at least 10 times. It is the most difficult yet rewarding challenge so far (besides labour and delivery).

Speaking of breastfeeding, I have to thank this method of feeding for me dropping all my pregnancy weight gain and then some in 4 weeks. It’s a funny thing because I find myself STARVING some times during the day and would eat everything in sight! Yet, I still see the scale going down! Of course my body is not nearly the same as it was before but I don’t hate it. In due time I’ll think about exercise and my diet again but for now that is not my focus. 

Daddy:

Ryan is seriously a natural at being a Daddy and I know it’s something that he has been looking forward to for a long time. Ryan has big dreams for Sam. And I don’t mean about what he wants to be when he grows up. His big dreams are little like teaching his son how to throw a ball, to make him laugh and to see him walk. I keep begging him to enjoy these newborn moments because it makes me sad to think of him getting big! ha ha!

Ryan’s biggest adjustment has been the lack of free time. Typically Ryan would come home and relax on the couch for 30 minutes to rewind after work. That’s not the case anymore!

It took Ryan a little while to get comfortable with changing Sam’s diaper. After a week and  a half of him never doing a diaper change I got really anger and forced him to do one! Ha ha! I assured him that for the next 3 years diaper duty is for both of us!

Ryan’s checks on Sam periodically everyday and he is the first thing he looks for when he gets home from work! It melts my heart to see them together. I think there is a bond a father feels with his son that is indescribable. It’s not that Ryan wouldn’t have been in love with a daughter but there is this manly bond that I don’t think I will ever understand that Ryan feels towards Sam.

The thing that makes me the proudest about Ryan is how supportive he has been towards me throughout the month. When I was in tears (MANY times) he was very supportive. He was constantly helping me with breastfeeding issues and taking Sam when things got tough in the late nights. He is been very involved in the medical appointments with the nurse and doctors always asking questions. He has also been very good with my recovery process making sure I did what the doctors wanted to help myself heal. 

Other:

Sam has wicked aim! Without warning he has rocket launched poop while I was changing his diaper! Once was it landed all over his nursery floor and another time all over me (hair and face included) right before we were leaving the house!

Boys and their peeing are VERY tricky and most of the laundry that I collect is because Sam has peed all over himself!

I have an easy “burper”. It is no struggle at all to make Sam burp and for that I am thankful!

Sam is already such a boy! When he is feeding he will stop mid-suck, lift his leg and let out a fart before continuing to eat!

Baby snuggles are officially now on my top 5 most favourite things on this planet!

Letter:

Dear Sam,

I know you don’t realize it yet and I doubt you ever will but you are by far the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You may only be a month old but I am so proud of you. I am so proud to introduce you as my son! You are absolutely beautiful and a pure reflection of what is important and good in life.

You may not “do” a lot yet but I have really enjoyed this newborn stage and wish it could last longer! Don’t get me wrong, I want you to thrive and grow but never again will I get to experience this “first time” newborn baby stage in my life again. It has been a learning curve and there were days that were honestly a challenge but I think we have both grown and thrived into our new roles.

There is honestly no way that I can sit here and describe to you the love I feel for you. I marvel at the fact that you were once inside of my belly and I had no idea who you were. But now I am confident that God has picked you for Mommy and Daddy. We were all meant to be together.

Thank you for making me a Mommy. It has been a roller coaster of a month and I am sure just a small stepping stone to the months ahead.

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

 

xo