Random 5 Pregnancy Things On This Friday!

 

SAY WHAT? No, I’m not pregnant. But I had to laugh this Friday as I was going through old drafts. Two of which were pregnancy related posts that I had started that I never got finished because Sam arrived! So on this Friday, I figured I would share a few of those pregnancy things!

1. I had started writing little notes about third trimester! It vividly brought back how it felt to have that big ol’ bellly! Here are some third trimester thoughts I had wanted to share:

- You calculate your every move! If I drop a pen…you better believe I need another reason to pick it up before I bend down to get it!

- Sign up for a Day care spot in the second trimester..

- Farts are unexpected. Really, they aren’t so embarrassing after a while.

- Nothing is sexier then a woman waddling around, sweating and trying not to pee your pants.

Ryan: Ya I am so sore from sledding all day. I’m waddling like you do now! – death stare

2. It was no secret that I didn’t LOVE being pregnant. I loved the outcome but I was never a huge fan of actually being pregnant. Somehow this morning I looked back on these photos and it made me smile and SORT OF KIND OF JUST A LITTLE BIT..made me miss the belly. It brought back the pre-Sam memories and it made me think how excited I was to learn if it was going to be a boy or girl!

3. As you may all remember from my birth story, the day before Sam’s birthday I had gone to get a pedicure! I jokingly insisted that they try to hit all those labor inducing pressure points! It obviously worked but what I didn’t mention was that was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life (yes, labor included). Sam was so low it was SO hard to sit in that position for long and lifting my feet at that angle was so sore. I was a sweaty mess by the end of it.

4. The weekend before I had Sam I had to find something respectable to wear and go out in public as it was my nephew and godsons dedication day. I felt LARGE and in charge. My trusty black maternity shirt was stretching to the limit! As you can see by the white tank poking through! Again, another super uncomfortable day. I remember vividly getting up to use the bathroom every 15 minutes and actually fighting with my niece to let me pee first! Proud moment right there! ha ha! Right after the service we had a get together at my brothers but you better believe that as soon as it was acceptable, I was back into my husbands joggers and tee!

5. A couple people have mentioned how great I looked when Sam was born. Truth be told, I shared only the best one. In reality I was EXHAUSTED after 2 hours of pushing. In the picture you can’t see below my waist where the doctor spent another 2 hours stitching. The photo below also doesn’t show the makeup that I applied about 12 hours before (HA HA HA!). But it does show my dark bags under my eyes, pale face, sweaty hair, blood on my sports bra. The other thing it shows? The happiest moment of my life and the most beautiful baby boy I had ever got to finally meet.

Happy Friday!

xo

Christmas Photo’s

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope that you are having a great week! I am forcing the days to slow down and as I was talking with Ryan last night, it sure feels like January has lasted FOREVER! I am not complaining though! Even though I HATE winter, I am enjoying this one with Sam.

Ryan and I started mailing Christmas cards to friends and family after we got married. We may not send a lot out but I love to send a little Christmas cheer in the mail! Last year was the first year that our card was customized with a picture! It was of our sonogram and I loved it! I knew that Christmas 2014 would mean that we would have our baby and I knew that I wanted to do another customized card.

My friend and sister-in-law Melissa had the genius suggestion that we meet and get family pictures done! We would get some beautiful pictures done and split the cost! DEAL! I couldn’t wait to get some updated pictures of us and was hoping there would be a nice picture to use for our card! She suggested her friend and photographer that I had never gotten pictures done with but she did wonderful! So patient with us and the sometimes cranky kiddos! Ha ha!

Here are some of my favourites!

Sam with his cousin Sophie that we got blown up on a canvas for Ryan’s parents.

One of the pictures for our card.

The other for our Christmas card

And some real life pictures! Sometimes a 6 month old just doesn’t want to smile for the camera! HA ha! That’s real life!

I loved the way they turned out, Thank you to Michelle Hamel Photography. I love having some updated pictures of our boy and us as a family.

xo

Someone Is On The Move!

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you had a great weekend! My weekend had one main theme: Sam is on the move!

For the longest time I was surprised that Sam wasn’t crawling yet! He hated being on his belly and would be much happier to sit with toys around him. All the sudden Sam surprised us on Friday but starting this little crab crawling. It is his own unique crawl and it gets him going forward!

For the majority of the weekend Sam went exploring and I followed him around in my un-baby proofed house!

Friday night Sam was exhausted by all his new crawling fun! Ryan left that night for hockey and a weekend away so I started my weekend by controlling the TV remote. Exciting stuff!

Saturday morning Sam and I were up early and off to breakfast with friends where we visited and talked 10 year high school reunion! I can’t believe its been 10 years already!

I dropped Sam off with my parents on my way back home for a few hours as I was attending a cooking class. Sharon was hosting it in her home and by the end of the afternoon I had 10 new recipes prepped and ready for my freezer! I am SO excited to have some meals all ready to go for when days get busier when I go back to work! I am hoping we love the recipes and I can make the meals again!

When I got to my parents house Sam was just waking up so I fed him his supper there! Grandpa gave Sam some dessert and his first taste of chocolate pudding!

We got home and Sam headed to bed and I got into some comfy clothes as Jill came over for a little movie night! Jill always has the best movie selection and she brought two movies over to choose from. Frozen or Steel Magnolia…my choice…

Frozen!

I had never seen Frozen and wanted to know what all the hype was about! It was SOO good! I loved it and for the rest of the weekend the songs were stuck in my head! Ha ha!

By Sunday morning my little man was getting around SO quickly. It’s amazing how fast he caught on! We went to church, had breakfast/lunch with my parents and just had fun!

Again, I really have to work on baby proofing! haha!

It was a great weekend with my boy! I love hanging out with this little guy and I love watching him grow and change!

How was your weekend?

xo

Samuel–9 Months

 

Stats:

Operation fatten up Sammy, worked! At his last appointment (at 8.5 months) he was 19.5 pounds and 71 cm long. This last month he is getting SO much better at eating himself and the pot belly has grown! He still doesn’t have any rolls but I don’t think he ever will. He’ll be long and lanky!

Wearing:

I can’t believe how fast my little dude can grow out of clothes. We started packing away some of his 9 month clothing and now 50% of the stuff Sam wears is 12 month. The 12 month PJ’s are getting smaller but I think we can get the rest of the month out of them. Still in size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes.

Sleep:

It was a rough month (as usual) with sleep. Just as I had come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t have a full nights sleep again, a Christmas miracle happened! The week before and after Christmas, Sam slept through the night! It was a glorious time but then we left for the cottage and he started waking up again.

Sam is still amazing at naps. 1 hour in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon! He is very good at putting himself to sleep too. I’m very glad that I don’t have to rock or nurse him to sleep. He just wants to roll around in his crib for a while and then will drift off to sleep on his own.

Eating:

This month was far easier then last for breastfeeding. Still going strong. At this point, I feel like we are going to make it a year! Sam has dropped a nursing session and is down to 4 feeds. 1 in the morning, after morning nap, after afternoon nap and at bedtime. I have started pumping more as well to continue with increasing my freezer stock.

Sam is getting a little pickier as far as solid foods. He isn’t a fan of anything cold! All purees have to be warm and all other food has to be warm too. Right now he gets some purees for breakfast, lunch and supper. After each meal of purees, he gets other food on his tray to nibble on. His favourite is toast with peanut butter (Nova Scotia brown bread!), pasta and banana’s. He also has a sippy cup of water that he gets after each meal to have a bit of.

Appearance:

My long and lanky boy with his big brown eyes that melt my heart all the time. He hardly looks like a baby anymore but I find recently he is looking more like his Daddy.

His hair has grown a lot this month and it is getting a little long around the ears. I’m trying SO hard to not go for a hair cut but I know a trim is just around the corner!

Likes:

Peek-a-boo, anything with wheels, snuggling (YAY!), bath time and when your Daddy gets home (me too!). There is SO much that Sam likes now that the list is endless.

Dislikes:

Since day one, he has hated getting dressed and getting his diaper change! This is still the case! He also still HATES getting in and out of the car seat and getting his winter clothes on.

After each meal, I give Sam’s face a wipe and he HATES it!

Sam knows that he is somewhat mobile now and when he wants to play, he wants to play NOW! But he gets stuck all the time and just somehow can’t go forward!

Milestones:

First Santa Claus parade on December 13. Dressed for the occasion!

FIRST CHRISTMAS on December 25.

First time in a Jolly Jumper on January 2.

Mommy:

It was a busy month getting everything ready for Christmas. It was the start of many fun Christmas’ and I couldn’t help but sit back to imagine what fun we are to have in future years. It is also filled with pressure too. With the baking, cooking, gift buying, gift wrapping and decorating! At times, it could be overwhelming and there were multiple times that I would ask for some appreciation. In reality, Christmas isn’t about all of those things but it’s the pressure that I put on myself to make it wonderful for my boy.

As the New Year started, it hit me….the time at home with Sam is coming to an end. It makes me sad to think about it and makes me stop and appreciate the time I am given. I’m trying really hard not to watch the clock till nap time and instead spend that time trying to make my little one giggle.

Daddy:

There has been a huge shift this month in Ryan and Sam’s relationship. Sometimes, I worry that he likes him better! ha ha! He literally bounces with excitement when Ryan appears after work. It was SO nice to have Ryan with us during the holidays and for our vacation.

Ryan has taken over the bed routine (when he is home). I’ll nurse Sam but then Ryan does the bath, Pjs and story. It’s a nice break for me and good for them to continue their bonding.

Other:

I still can’t believe Sam has no teeth. I feel like he has been teething FOREVER! They have been SO close for so long but nothing yet. I hope the old wives tale is correct about the better the teeth the longer they take to come!

 

I am really enjoying watching his little personality shine through. For the most part, he is a pretty serious and calm little dude. But sometimes he can get into a really silly mood that is full of shenanigans and giggles! Those are becoming my favourite moments lately.

While I am SO thankful he wasn’t able to get into Christmas stuff, I was starting to worry that about Sam not being able to crawl forward yet. He can pull himself up to standing sometimes and can crawl (push himself) backwards but has NO interest in crawling. The nurse visits don’t help as they expect all babies to be doing the same thing around the same time. Thankfully, our doctor is AMAZING and can reassure a worried Mom. Sam may never crawl. He may become a butt scooter or early walker. As long as he is somewhat mobile, that’s all that matters.

Letter:

My Dearest Sam,

Thank you for making this holiday so special for me. Christmas is always wonderful but you make it magical! I hope that you have some fond memories to look back on one day and I promise to try my best to teach you the real meaning of Christmas.

Little boy, you are one awesome dude! You amaze me every day with a new trick or a fun game we will play. You can make me laugh and you enjoy doing so!

It is now 2015 and that also means sometime in the next few months, our routine is going to change. We are not going to talk about that yet and instead are going to enjoy each others company while we can! We are going to make every day count.

I love you!

Love, Mommy

xo

Weekend In Numbers

 

Happy Monday everyone! The weekend kind of felt like a bit of a blur! It was our first full weekend home since our trip out east. It went by very fast for some reason because we kept busy! Here’s a quick recap!

9.5 – Age of the little guy who wakes up with wicked bed head every morning but had particularly wild hair this weekend.

 

60 – The number of minutes it took me to take the rest of the Christmas decorations down (finally!). I tried to get as many of the decorations down before we left for vacation but just couldn’t get them all! For once, I was glad to have them down because it felt crowded with decorations AND children’s toys lying around. I now feel like I have all this extra room!

7 – The number of people that went to Santa Fe’s to celebrate a friends birthday! It was a great night out that I didn’t want to end!

3 – The number of kids that were in the nursery school class yesterday. I am loving the fact that Sam will get to be part of a “younger minds” Sunday school.

9 – The total number of kids that were in Sunday school yesterday. We are so blessed to be part of a small but booming church! (Tanner was missing from the picture)

74- Number of days before Sam’s birthday and the planning has begun! I am very excited for his theme. We are having a fairly small party but can’t wait to celebrate surviving the first year of our little man’s life!

4- The number of daycares I visited last Thursday. We had narrowed it down to 2 by Friday and pretty excited to say we have made a decision as of Sunday night!

1049 – The number of tears shed at the thought of dropping Sam off for his first day of Daycare. I know he is going to be in great care but I can’t believe that our year will be over.

How was your weekend?

xo

Resolutions 2015

Happy Wednesday! I know that this is a little delayed being that it is already the middle of January but while on vacation, I really thought about some things that I wanted to accomplish throughout the year.
52 Week Challenge-
Have you heard about the 52 week money saving challenge? It EXPLODED on the internet last year. Basically, you save a certain amount of money every week depending on the week that you are in. It slowly grows as the year continues. At the end of the year you will have saved about $1,400.
Who wouldn’t love to have that money at the end of the year to spend on whatever you want!
I started doing some research before starting the challenge, to figure out if it was the right thing for me to do. I scrolled through some blogs and saw multiple ones suggest doing the challenge backwards. So, you start with the most amount of money first and end up only having to put a tiny amount of money away around Christmas time! There will be also the instant gratification of a large amount of money right at the beginning. I’m excited to complete this challenge and even more excited for figuring out what I will do with the money at the end of the year!
 

Buy Less-
I wouldn’t say that I have a shopping problem but I do have way more clothes then I actually need. But styles change so fast and when I am out, and something isn’t too expensive, I sometimes buy myself something new. The reality is that my closest is busting with clothes already and I don’t need that much!
So, my resolution for this year is to buy as little amount of stuff as possible. It has to be a NEED before I go and purchase something. Or it has to be something that could be used with my current wardrobe or enhance it. It doesn’t matter if the inexpensive price is too good to pass up, if I don’t need it, it won’t be in my closet.
 Eat Healthier-
Who doesn’t add this to their New Years resolution list? But it’s something that I am becoming passionate about. I’ll be honest, my husband eats like crap. There are hardly any (like maybe 2-3 fairly healthy things) that are good for him that he will eat. It makes grocery shopping and making supper difficult. When it was just him and I, it didn’t matter as much. In truth, I know I’m not going to improve what Ryan eats. But I want to improve the way that I eat at least so that it’s a good influence for Sam. There will be treats and special occasions but for the most part I want Sam to see me eating healthy food in hopes that he will follow suit.


My list isn’t too large and I tried to keep it very simple. I’m excited to see what will unfold in 2015. Besides the 3 above goals, I want 2015 to be about being present. Unplugging and enjoying the moment more often and being together as a family.
What are some of the goals that you have for 2015?
xo 

Winter Vacation 2015

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that your weekend was wonderful! I have to be honest, my little family just got home from a 10 day getaway to the cottage in Nova Scotia! We knew we wanted to do something this winter but realized it had to be simple and low key with Sam. A simple solution was a low-key trip to spend some time relaxing at the cottage!

We actually ended up surprising my parents and family by showing up a day early! No one expected it and it was great to pull off such a big surprise! A surprise for me, my parents had picked up some of my favourite wine that I can only find in Nova Scotia. 

The family had plans to get together for supper the day we arrived and they added a couple more plates when they realized we were there. We tried to insist not to worry because we didn’t want to impose! They insisted and were so excited to see Sam again! This is my cousin dancing with my boy.

Another family member has a bunch of baby items that we are able to use every time we go to the cottage! This was Sam’s first time in a Jolly Jumper and loved it! Lived in it all week!

The big attraction to going early was getting to spend some time with my parents! It always melts my heart to see them interact with Sam. It brings me so much joy to see how much they love him (and vice versa!). When Sam went down to bed, we would stay up and play cards for a few hours! The laughs we would share during the competitive games will always be a wonderful memory of our time spent at the cottage.

I can’t say that our stay was overly restful! Our boy was teething badly and he was really feeling the pain at night! Look at his poor checks!

The teething pain didn’t stop him from eating! His favorite was the Nova Scotia “brown” bread that a cousin had made!

I also got to meet up at this awesome “Mommy” Cafe! It offers play space for kids and relaxing spots to sip on some coffee! Sam and I went to meet his newest little cousin, Lily.

I had never been out east in the winter and it was amazing to see the change in the weather! One day it would be snowing and the next it was rain! The water by the cottage was amazing to watch from day to day at the cottage window! We ventured down one day to get a closer look! Somehow, the view was just as beautiful during the winter as it was in summer!

The plan was for Ryan, Sam and I to have a few extra days at the cottage by ourselves but the family was rocked with the sudden death of a relative. My parents obviously cancelled their flight to be there. While the news was so sad, we were glad to have been there to be with the family during the difficult time.

Sam loved his kitchen sink baths he got to have during our stay!

The morning before we left, many cousins came over to say goodbye! It’s amazing to me that this part of the family I barely knew until a couple years ago. Now, they are an important part of my life. I look forward to Sam getting to grow up with this part of the family in his life.

We were sad to leave to cottage to come home on Saturday but ready to get back into routine. Oddly enough, the only seafood during our whole stay was at the airport! Seafood chowder, yum!

We were all exhausted when we got back home and back to reality. We were glad to have the rest of the weekend to catch up and get back on schedule.

It’s amazing to think that this time last year we were down South enjoying the beach and cold drinks. This years vacation is FAR more low key but somehow, just as enjoyable. We love visiting and staying in Nova Scotia and look forward to the next visit!

xo