Weekend Activities

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My mom was here for the weekend and as you can tell from the picture... we had a great time! We did some shopping which included many stops at baby and maternity stores and just some browsing in general. We also went on some nice walks despite the weekend being a little questionable. I am the only daughter in the family so it was exciting for my mom to be able to see and feel my baby belly which is still growing like crazy.

Both Grandma Paulette and Grandma Marla have now been able to feel the baby kick which is great! I keep saying we have a little soccer player in there... (s)he gives off some really good kicks!

Mom also brought some other baby goodies with her. James (my brother), Nicole and Madison gave us some of their hand me downs like a bouncy chair and some bath stuff which is much appreciated. Mom also brought the crib mattress and the bedding I had purchased when I was in PA last month. Notice in the picture the mattress is on the floor in the nursery. Still no indication of when the crib will actually arrive. I really like how it ties into our alphabet theme and that the main color is green to contrast the yellow walls.



We have finally brought all the baby purchases down to the basement or up to the baby room for the time being as the keeping them in the family room was making a big mess as we accumulated more and more.

I officially cross the 6 month mark later this week which means we are 3 months away from being parents... still can't beleive it some days!

Week 26

My countdown to my last day of work is officially on! Although I haven’t narrowed it down to days… I know that I only have one 5 day week left before my departure. There is nothing bad in that! All other weeks are reduced to 4 or even 3 days. I essentially used all my holidays starting with the week in April and then knocking off Fridays until all my days were used. I didn’t expect this to take me into April – but no complaints here! My official last day of work will be June 19th… less than 3 months away. Very hard to believe.

I think it will be nice to have the extended weekends to do some shopping, catch up on housework, and mostly to just be off my feet and enjoying pre-baby days. I also hope to visit with some of my friends that are currently on mat leave that I don’t get a chance to see as often as I would like.

James, Dill and I are looking forward to a visit from Grandma T this weekend. We don’t have much planned… but I’m sure we will hit some baby stores, do some visiting, and most of all just enjoy each others company. She will be surprised to see how much Dill and I have grown since I last saw her 6 weeks ago. Grandma and Grandpa R seem to notice the changes week to week!

Easter Weekend

Over Easter weekend, baby Dill’s future friend Nicholas was born. Congrats John and Stacey. Over the past several months Stacey has provided lots of support and advice over dessert and cranberry juice. I hope this turns into walks in the summer with our matching strollers….

Speaking of which, James and I went back to Bo Bebe on Saturday to order our stroller, bassinet, and car seat. To our luck (and shock) all items were available in the store so we ended up bringing them all home. We went with a Baby Valco, which is a jogging stroller, with a bassinet and car seat attachment. I LOVE it!! The picture below shows the stroller with the bassinet attachment which we will use for up to 6 months. So either the car seat or the bassinet will be attached. Then at 6 months when the baby outgrows the bassinet – we will re-attach the seat and use it. I have no picture of the stroller with the seat as neither James or I could figure out how to attach the sun canopy… I guess it will be back to the store to have them help us! These baby gadgets are trickier than they look!





We also ordered the Peg Perego car seat in black bubbles. It was too irresistible not to buy! Until baby Dill arrives… Minnie Mouse is keeping the car seat warm!



I would like to say that Stacey has great taste as we ended up with the exact same stroller and car seat color combo that Nicholas will now be testing out… sure hope he likes it!

We also painted easter eggs with the R's on Sunday afternoon. James painted a special green egg in honour of Dill. A fun tradition I hope to keep up with our kids!

MOMassage

Good Friday was a good Friday indeed as I treated myself to a MOMassage at Stillwater spa. They put a cushion on the table that has a hole cut out where the stomoach goes. It was so comfortable to be able to lay on my stomach again after a few months. I am a stomach sleeper so this is one of the biggest adjustments I have had to make. I brought a book with me and read for an hour before the massage and an hour after and tried to make a day of it. I am looking forward to the 2 more MOMassages I have booked between now and July 2!

Week 25

Only 15 weeks left... pretty exciting and scary all at the same time. As I have previously mentioned - it is now quite hard to hide the fact that I am in fact pregnant. My tummy is now out there for the whole world to see. Thankfully I am still small enough to enjoy my girls trip to Las Vegas in 13 days. I have even started packing a little - that is how exciting I am! We bought tickets to 'O' by Cirque de Soleil and Mamma Mia. I have a few keys stores I want to visit and really am just looking for comfy clothes for after. My casual wardrobe isn't stellar as I wear work clothes more often the t-shirts and hoodies. So I should be able to find plenty to buy.

Yesterday morning I had an appointment to do the gestational diabetes testing and the other standard blood and urine work. The test includes drinking a very sweet drink right in front of them where they time you and tell you to wait an hour and then do your blood work.

I had some extra blood work done this month as at the last appointment they told me that I had RH negative blood. So.... since only 15% of the population has this blood (including my mom and grandma) I have to get a shot at 28 weeks to prevent my body from producing antibodies against the babies blood if it is RH positive. I thought this was kinda interesting. It scared me at first but as I talk to more and more people realize it is more common than I first thought. So at this appointment they were making sure that no antibodies had started which would be very rare as they usually only start during birth when your blood mixes with the babies. I know.. way to technical.

Today I am finally heading to my massage appointment at the Stillwater spa that I booked in February and they couldn't get me on a weekend until today. James massages are OK - but nothing compared to a professional! I guess I should just be thankful that he gives me massages. I have a great husband!

Practice Makes Perfect

This weekend James and I were excited to get to visit 2 little ones! On Saturday we had Niko, and his parents of course, Ryan and Setsu over for a play date and dinner. He was such a sweetheart and so well behaved. He brought over only 3 toys and amused himself the whole time with them..... and our cordless phone and remote! He had to fight me for the bouncy soccer ball as it was my favorite! We even got to witness a few little pouting fits that I still thought were so sdorable. My heart melted when Niko starting running towards me and gave me a big hug - he made my day :). It was a great night that I hope we can repeat at least one more time before Dill makes an appearance.

I have really noticed a change with James and kids since we found out we were expecting. He really gets down and dirty with them and will sit on the floor and play with them. I think the fear of little people is slowly subsiding...

On Sunday, we went to visit one of James' friends from highschool. Erin and her husband had a baby girl named Charlie just over 2 weeks ago and invited us over to meet her. She was so precious. Again, James surprised me and held little Charlie. Usually he only holds babies that can hold their heads up - but he is starting to make exceptions and is practicing up.

Spending time with Niko and Charlie really makes me excited for July to meet our own little one.

The Nursery Pictures!

So finally some pictures of the completed nursery! i am so happy with the outcome and I'm sure Dill will be to. I am so proud of James for doing it all himself. From painting the walls to putting up the decals, I have to give him full credit. And he did a great job! Now all we need is the furnitue and baby to complete the room! The crib and dresser should be here in early April and the baby should be here is July (haha). Only 3 and a half months to go.... (or 5 months if James is doing the math!)

Frustration

I have been trying for just abut a day now to upload pictures of the completed nursery... however it seems that there is an error with blogger and pictures right now. Initially I thought it was our computer... but I sent them to my laptop and tried from it and still got the same error. So in the meantime - I will have to post on something else. I hope to have pictures up soon.

Last night while James was hosting a baseball draft and poker night at our house - I headed to Walmart for my second pregnancy shopping spree. I only intended to buy a bathing suit in preparation for my Vegas trip that is quickly approaching (April 3). I bought a cute bathing suit with boy bottom and a frilly tankini top in pink and black and a few more fun spring items.... a jean skirt, 2 tanks, a short-sleeve zip up, and cardigan. Talk about deals at Walmart - I should really shop there more often! Each item, bathing suit and skirt aside, was less than $15. I am all about thrifty maternity shopping as I anticipate needing new clothes after Dill arrives. Oddly though - none of the tops are actually maternity. This is definitely the year to be pregnant - all the 'regular' tops are suitable for pregnancy, which is great. They really gauge you on maternity wear as what choice do you really have?? I am so excited to wear all my new spring clothes. Now I just have to wait for the summer weather to arrive!

Week 24

As you may have noticed... my 24 week picture is posted in the side bar. I am very happy with the picture – James did much better with the camera angle this month! It is the first time I looked at a picture of myself and thought 'gee - I really am pregnant'. I have noticed a huge size change during the month. Dill is really starting to grow now.

According to my weekly updates - baby weighs about 1.5 pounds and is 11.8 inches in length from crown to feet. This is more than half of baby's birth length. It really shows how fast this little critter is growing.

I attended my first (and maybe only) Fit Mom 2B class yesterday. I really liked the idea of being surrounded by other pregnant woman and hearing some of the questions they have... but I didn't like the class itself. Way too many weights. As many of you know - I prefer cardio to weights so it got a little boring not to mention hard (my butt and thighs are paying for all the lunges and wall squats with weights). I think if I was doing them with a friend and we incorporated coffee after I could be persuaded to keep up with the classes. The instructor did have a point when she said you need to work those arm muscle and get them ready to carry around baby and car seat! For now - I think I'll take my chances and stick to the treadmill!

Weekend Getaway!

James and I just got back from a wonderful night in the mountains full of RnR... It was my Christmas gift from James this year and it was finally time for me to collect. He rented a room at the Emerald Lake Lodge about 20 minutes from Lake Louise. The place was unbelievable! You park in an overnight guest parking lot and then a shuttle comes and drives you to the main lodge where it is just you and mountains. The picture above was taken from the main lodge over looking the lake.



We arrived at about 230 on Saturday and headed out to explore first thing. We decided to do the 5.3 km hike around the lake which I figured should take about an hour. I didn't take into account all the slight inclines and the amount of snow that covers the path. Me and Dill (and James too) finished the hike in about 2 hours and then all three of us were exhausted! The picture above is James at the begining of the hike. Notice the sign in the background that in the summer you walk up to read - currently the snow is packed that high!

We then geared up for nice dinner in the lodge over looking the lake. Mother Nature even surprised us with 10 minutes of what I like to call "Christmas Snow"... you know the big huge fluffy snow flakes you always hope for on Christmas day.




Each room at the lodge is divided into cabins - I think there are 6 rooms per unit that are detached from the main lodge. Each has a real fireplace and balcony overlooking the lake. The view was phenomenal!! The picture above is me on our balcony. I can't even imagine what it would be like in the summer when the lake isn't frozen over. After dinner James started a fire and we played scrabble for over 2 hours. I am sad to say that I lost but blame it all on James getting 57 points on one word. Without it, I would have won... he must have cheated.

All in all it was a great relaxing night of quality mom and dad to be time which we know will be few and far between come the summer!

Last Vacation Pre-Dill

James and I have booked our last vacation pre-baby! We decided it was safest to stay in Canada as if we are in the states and the baby is born we risk some significant health care costs…. so Canada it is. We threw around a few ideas of locations in Alberta/BC we could drive to but ultimately decided to go to Tofino, BC which is on the island. We fly into Comox and rent a car and 3 hours later we arrive in Tofino! James was there as a kid, however I have never been. I have heard nothing but positive things about it.

Our hotel is ocean view with a balcony which was a must for me. I will be 7 months pregnant at the time and I figure if all else fails and I am too tired/cranky to do anything else… I will sit on the patio and read a good girlie book (James can buy a magazine). Other than that, I plan to go to the spa one day (James informs me he would like to whale watch that day as the waters are too rough for pregnancy), do some nature walks, walk along the ocean and really just enjoy the time off together.

If anyone has been to Tofino and has some tips… we are open for suggestions!

Week 23

Interesting fact of the week - If the baby were born today, it would have an 85% of survival. That is unreal, the little tiny baby that weighs about a pound has a good chance of surviving in the scary outside world. WOW.

Another interesting tidbit. I will be going to an exercise class for moms to be next week. I have a friend who is actually due the very same week as me. I suggested a coffee date and she suggested this class. Although I am a little nervous as I have never been to an exercise class (other than the ones my mom taught while I was growing up and I was forced to attend), I think it will be fun. How strenuous can it me... it is a bunch of pregnant woman! I'll let you know how it goes!

A Quick Story

I forgot to mention that while we were at the wedding on the weekend a stranger was chatting with me and asked me when I was due. She than quickly followed up with a 'you are pregnant, aren't you?'. That was so exciting for me as up to now no one who didn't already know had commented on my belly. Little did this lady know that she had brightenned my day!

Baby Kicks

We just got back from our weekend of wedding festivities as James' brother Dave and now wife Bo just tied the knot! It was great weather... we joke that they got better weather in February than we got in September - go figure! Anyhoo... it was a great day spent with family and friends. Baby Dill was quite excited for Uncle Dave and Auntie Bo as (s)he was dancing up a storm in my belly. This turned out to be a good thing as James was finally able to feel Dill's little kicks! I had been telling him all day that baby was active so when we went to bed last night he put his hand on my belly and just when I was about to say 'did you feel that?' I looked at his face and knew he had. So it was a pretty exciting moment between Dad and Baby.

Here are some shots of us in our wedding attire. The first was taken in the nursery so you can check out the color at the same time. The second is in front of the Wainwright Hotel at Heritage Park where James and I got married. Bo and Dave's reception was at the Gunn's Dairy Barn also in Heritage Park. Both James and I reminisced of our wedding day and decided to take some pics in front of the hotel on our way home. Thanks Marla and Peter for being good sports and stopping to take the picture!