Moving!!

Two blogs is just too many for this now very busy Mama so please join us over at Gingham Skies to see more of this adorable face in the future!!

No Longer Just a Smidge

No Longer Just a Smidge

I've been absent for a good reason...

We went from giving 'Smidge' kisses like this:


To giving our baby boy kisses like this:Our little man was born on June 24th at 1:49 a.m. Our son (I LOVE saying that) weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long on his birthday. We have fallen head over heels hard and fast. I knew being a mom would be incredible but I had no idea just how incredible "incredible" could be.

As you can see our Rockstar was born with a ridiculous amount of black hair! It hangs over his shirt collar and so far it's staying put and not thinning too much. He's our little werewolf: born on a full moon with a full head of hair and a little patch of fuzz above his bum which sort of looks like a tiny tail. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to read that one day.

In a few hours it will be three weeks since our son entered our lives but it seems like he has been part of our family forever. Mike is the most amazing dad and seeing him doting on our boy makes me love him in a whole new way.

Our boy smiled on his birthday and it wasn't because of gas, it's just one of his sweet expressions. Smiles and his "O" face were the most common expressions for the first week but now he has a whole array of faces that amuse us. He loves kisses, being outside and bath time but doesn't particularly like having his face washed. Being cuddled, carried and swinging in his swing are all good times while laying in his stroller's bassinet is pretty much torture (he obviously has no idea what it took to find that stupid bassinet!! Here's hoping it becomes less of a torture device in the next couple weeks).

Our birth story is a positive one so I'll definitely share it with you in the not so distant future - I think more women need to tell their happy, positive labour stories since women tend to scare the hell out of first time pregnant mamas by telling them their horror stories or by focusing on all the negative parts of their not so terrible experiences.

Welcome to the world Baby Boy: Mommy and Daddy love you more than you could ever fathom.

Shoe Monster

Daddy loves shoes and it looks like our little man is going to be competing with with him to see who can own the most pairs. The little bum has yet to arrive and his collection is larger than mine!

I started planning and cutting bits out to make a hanging shoe organizer for the wee man a few months back and let me tell you this was the most frustrating sewing project I've taken on yet. Sewing with this plastic was a royal pain in the butt - my teflon foot worked wonders but the plastic kept sticking to itself and to the plastic casing of my machine: frustrating!!

Frustration aside I'm SUPER happy with the finished project! I love the map print fabric I found at a local fabric store: our little boy is going to stomp all over the world with his sweet little feet.

Now I'm off to make a baby blanket, hopefully I can finish it before the big arrival!

Belly Pics: 37 Weeks!!

We had belly shots taken a couple weeks ago: I was almost 37 weeks on the day of the shoot. Lorie from Emilly Grayce Photography did a FANTASTIC job, she came to our home and made us completely comfortable during the session. It was fun working with Lorie, we can't wait to see the rest of the photos and look forward to having her take our wee man's newborn photos after he arrives.

Here are a few of the shots she has shared with us so far.



I'll share some more pics once we get our paws on them but if you want to check out a few more pop over HERE.

Feelin' the Love!

Isn't this the most beautiful baby shower cake you've ever seen?! It looks like something from Martha Stewart magazine but it's not... it was the gorgeous cake (which matched the invites) at my baby shower yesterday afternoon! Another day of spoilage, this one thanks to my awesome sis-in-law Joanne and my mom-in-law Bridie!

The ladies hosted High Tea with cucumber sandwiches and cheese sandwiches; homemade scones with cream, butter and jam (recipe coming soon); fruit and all sorts of yummy cookies. Of course there was the fabulous cake and adorable cupcakes (with booties on top) as well! Auntie Phil brought the beautiful teacups pictures above.

Thanks to everyone for spoiling our little man! At this rate we really are going to have to move into a bigger house.

Sneak Peek!

The nursery is coming together! Actually it's 98% complete. We took a trip to Ikea last weekend to pick up some shelves and stuff to spice things up in the babe's room and it was a super successful trip. I think the rabbit driving the carrot hook is hilarious - how freaking cute are the little coats hanging from it?! The funky blue shelves match some dressers that we have tucked away for the future "big boy room" so they'll come in handy down the road as well. We were just about out of Ikea when I spotted the two plant pots you see in the first shot; they match the colours in our decal PERFECTLY so I had to buy them. I have no luck keeping plants alive so I bought two that apparently don't need much water; hopefully I manage to keep them alive until the baby sees them... otherwise I'm slamming some fake plants in there.

We've ordered two prints from Etsy (no, not the baby animals) that I'll show you once we have them hanging on the wall. I also made an awesome (I'm so humble, aren't I?) valence for the window which I'll show you once I'm able to get a decent shot of it.

The books on the table next to the turtle lamp are itching to be read; I've picked them up and put them back down at least 20 times now. I know, I know: read to the baby while he's tucked away inside! Yes I could do that but I want to save them for reading while nursing. I was excited to find these at a used book store in town, the owner of the shop said that the red books by Thornton Burgess were his absolute favourite when he was a kid. He has a clear memory of taking a box full of books by Burgess to school for show and tell in grade 3. Who knows, maybe they'll end up being favs of our little guy too. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for more of these gems.

Oh! And I made myself a nursing cover (hooter hider) with boning in it so that I can look down and see the wee man while he eats his million meals a day (here's hoping nursing works out for us) while hiding the ladies from onlookers because well you know people can't get enough of a nursing mother's boobs. hehe. Kidding. The cover is for my comfort, not the comfort of the general public. Like the fabric choice? Me too!

5 weeks and 5 days to go until our due date!!! YIPPEEE!

Spoiled!

Today was AWESOME! My amazingly fantabulous girlfriend Jessy threw me a baby shower. A pile of my favourite ladies and a few sweet little men (under the age of one) + lots of yummy treats including a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (this was just the best surprise EVER) + no cheesy games = a perfect shower!!

Thanks, Jess! And thanks ladies for all of the wonderful presents! We were definitely showered with goodies. Sooooo many sweet little outfits and toys and books and... well, just SO many awesome bits!

Two more showers to go... where in the world are we going to put all of this stuff?!

For Moi!

I bought this grey fabric almost two years ago with the plan to make something fabulous with it. Mission accomplished.

I love love LOVE our new diaper bag! The inside is lined with a thin blue vinyl which can be wiped out easily in case of spills - there are five elasticized pockets in there too. Two large pockets are found on the front (see the bottom left photo) and another two are on the outer sides of the bag; finally there is a zippered pocket on the back of the bag that is large enough for a cell phone and a wallet. The strap is adjustable so that it will work for me and Mike too. I think I'll make a travel change pad in grey and blue to match, and maybe some burp cloths too.

I've admired bits made with the reverse applique technique (cutting a hole in your exterior fabric and stitching a pretty fabric in behind to peek through) for ages now but I owe a special thanks to Smidgebox for inspiring the circle on the exterior of my bag - I love her peek-a-boo circles! Check out her blog and definitely check out her shop!

Notice my toes in the bottom right pic? My mom and I went for pedis last weekend and it was a BLISSFUL experience. I purposely included my toes in this pic so that I could admire them since it's a little difficult to do so these days without feeling like I'm going to topple over.

Nesting is in full effect. I can't wait to show you what we've done with the nursery!

Week 32

image credit: Leo Reynolds

Less than 8 weeks to go until D day!! I swear time is speeding up rather than slowing down. I've handed in the letter from my OB to HR stating that I'm due on June 18th.. I'm not sure how long I'll work, I have sick days available so I'll wait and see how I feel closer to the big day.

I saw Dr. Potts (my OB) today and he's pleased with everything. I'm measuring 'exactly where I should be', I gained another 1.5 lbs since I saw him two weeks ago which was good news considering I've been having some tummy troubles (apparently coffee and dairy products are no longer my friends - thankfully he thinks it's just a temporary thing). The only thing that made him go hmmmm was the baby's position.

There was a resident doctor in to see me before Dr. Potts and I asked him if he could tell me how the wee man is lying. He poked and prodded and looked confused before telling me that it seemed like he was lying sideways but that he wasn't entirely sure because that doesn't usually happen with first pregnancies. After we finished he went out to debrief Dr. Potts and I heard Dr. P tell him that it was unlikely that the baby would be laying sideways considering this is my first pregnancy and it would be VERY UNUSUAL if he was. He then came in to check on me and asked me to lay down again so he could try to determine where the baby is. Sure enough, the little bum is spread out across my belly instead of pointing down (or up for that matter).

No worries though, he has lots of time to flip still and Dr. P is fairly confident he will. If he doesn't by 37 weeks he'll send me for an ultrasound to determine whether a C-section needs to be scheduled. I'm crossing my fingers for summersaults, there are certainly worse things than C-sections but I'd rather avoid the whole surgery thang if at all possible.

What else is new? I'm drinking lots of fluids, trying to get out for regular walks (not trying hard enough though) and haven't started swimming yet. I really DO want to, I just haven't gotten around to it. I think I need to pick a day and time and schedule in my swim, otherwise it's just not going to happen.

I've been sewing baby bits which is fun! Finally made a few giant receiving blankets that I'm sure will come in handy this summer: a double sided one and a single sided one. I had hoped the single sided might work well for swaddling but I think it might be too big.

This past weekend we had a few big events to attend (an 80th birthday party for my Grandma and a baby shower for my cousin's little girl) and the Ninja pulled his shy guy routine at both events. It's funny, he flips, kicks and 'surfaces' (pushes up against my skin) for Mike and I all the time but when I'm in a loud place and lots of people touch my belly he tends to get shy and hide. I don't mind though, I like that he saves his shows for his Mom and Dad.

30 weeks!!

The countdown is on now!! 10 weeks until the estimate date of arrival: YIPPEEEE!!!

It's official: I can't see my feet. Or maybe it has been official for awhile but I've just finally noticed.

I've had this belly ramp effect happening since the beginning and thought it would round out as time went on... apparently I thought wrong. It's kind of like I have an extra bump. I also thought I would gain a booty during pregnancy and that has yet to happen. I'm not complaining, just commenting!


We started our prenatal class this week and watched our first birth video - thankfully it wasn't as horrible as I imagined it would be and Mike said the same thing. Some people seem really surprised when I say I haven't seen a birthing video and I say WHY THE HELL WOULD I WANT TO WATCH A BIRTHING VIDEO JUST FOR KICKS?! Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

There are just two other couples in our class; both are total hippies and seem very sweet. Awkward moment: my lack of ability to hide my true feelings shone through when one of the girls decided to share with us how her friend who lives in the States BBQed part of her placenta "like a steak", made a smoothie out of a chunk of it and then buried the rest under a tree. What the hell?! Needless to say my mouth dropped open, I said something along the lines of "OH MY GOD" (I think it was out loud but it might have been a scream in my head) and then stared at her in utter horror. The second couple kept glancing at each other and smiling and I'm not sure whether they were trying not to laugh at my look of disgust or the story. The girl telling the story then assured us that she was NOT planning on BBQing her placenta. I managed to shut my mouth and stared at the instructor until I regained my composure - I was afraid to look at Mike for fear of bursting into uncontrollable giggles which would have been a) RUDE and b) very immature which of course I am not. hehe. When the baby arrives one of my rules is no dropping in without calling first so if you break the rule and show up without calling I'm liable to insist you stay for lunch... and guess what, I'll be BBQing something special.

I've been spending loads of time researching cloth diapers and I'm excited to have made a decision on how we're going to start this crazy adventure. There are SO many cloth diaper options available and it's all a little overwhelming; we really want to give this a go and I know things are going to be INSANE for the first couple months so we're going to use disposable for the first week or two and then we'll go with Bear Bottoms (a cloth diaper service in our area) for a month (thanks to a gift from my Mom & Dad - THANKS MOM AND DAD). While we're using the diaper service (they use fitted cloth diapers) we'll try out a few other styles/brands and figure out what is going to work best for us.

My hope is that Indian Prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers will work for us but of course we won't know until we try. Indian Prefolds are similar to the old skool cloth diapers but they are quilted to absorb more liquid and come in different sizes so you don't end up with a lot bulk. I've read loads of good reviews about these prefolds so fingers crossed!! I'll place an order for these in a couple weeks.

I spent hours this weekend researching diaper covers and have placed an order for three through Homestead Children's etsy shop; we'll need covers while using the diaper service so even if the prefolds don't work out for us and if we decide to go with All In Ones these covers will be put to good use and then we can sell them. I also found an AWESOME tutorial for cloth diaper covers with gussets that I'm going to try to work with in the not so distant future. If I can make my own covers that would be fabulous!

This post might have some of you yawning: sorry!! I could go on and on and on about cloth diapers because I've been reading about them FOREVER but I'll stop now because I have a baby ramming me in the ribs making it VERY difficult to type and it's time for bed anyways. Good night, everyone!

The nesting instinct is creeping in and when I'm not curled up in a ball on the couch I'm trying to get some things in order for our little guy. This weekend I finally made use of one of the bib patterns I've had bookmarked FOREVER. Chickpea Studio's pattern is perfect for tiny people and it's free so if you're looking for a pattern check it out.

Here are the bibs I whipped up for our guy, they were a SUPER easy and SUPER quick project.
The girlie bib is part of a shower gift.

The other little bit I made for Smidge is this change pad thanks to Homemade by Jill's easy to follow tutorial. I made some changes which I explain in more detail over at Gingham Skies if you're interested.

I'm looking forward to creating a few other things this weekend. Sewing for baby is the best kind of sewing.

A Bump Update!

What's new with me and the Bump? Hmmm...

Well my ridiculous chocolate peanut butter cravings (they were OUT OF CONTROL) have been curbed thanks to an absolutely fabulous package that arrived on our doorstep last Thursday.

Jenny & Mike sent enough chocolate peanut butter to last the average person a couple weeks (a few items were missing by the time I snapped this photo - couldn't resist) but I am not the average person and the stash lasted until tonight which means it lasted SIX days which I think is rather impressive length of time for a pregnant chocolate peanut butter monster. NO I did NOT eat all of it by myself, I shared with Mike and the baby ate more than the two of us put together. Greedy, greedy baby! Thanks again Jenny & Mike!! xox

Of course this package doesn't really help with the 'being healthy while pregnant' goal I'm trying to focus on during these final few months but neither did the french fries I ate today. You may remember me talking about my french fry cravings during the first 4 months, I've been REALLY good for the last couple months and only have them once a week now... I was going to try to skip them this week and then some very inconsiderate office manager brought McDonald's fries into the room next to the space where I was teaching this morning. R.U.D.E. Obviously I couldn't sit there smelling Mickey D's fries and not stop at the golden arches on my way to the next school. Obviously.

So how are my Body During Baby goals going this week? Let's see...
* prenatal yoga - I really didn't like yoga when I tried it a few years ago but I signed up for pre-natal yoga when my doctor suggested that it might help with all the pelvis discomfort I was experiencing. I am SO glad I listened to her. The class I'm taking is through Blue Skies Yoga in Kitchener. The studio is BEAUTIFUL, the teacher is AMAZING and the yoga is FABULOUS. I love being in a class surrounded my beautiful bellies attached to glowing mamas. I have every intention of continuing with this once the baby is here and we have settled into some sort of routine. There are mommy & baby classes offered at this same studio, as well as baby massage and more. I thought I would dread my Thursday night classes but instead I find myself counting down the days until my next class.
* drink more water - I have made a conscious effort to drink more water but I know I can do better
* fruits and veggies - check! More fresh fruit in the house this week.
* swim once a week - coming soon
* walk for 20 minutes - an hour walk last night and another hour tonight
* rest & relax - thoroughly enjoying my bath and have my feet propped up as I type

I'm feeling good this week, last week was a rough one being back at work after a week off. I was moving s-l-o-w. Sleeping isn't as great as it was; I tossed and turned most of last night but I suppose it's my body's way of preparing itself for NEVER SLEEPING AGAIN as so many people like to remind me.

We had our first appointment with our OB yesterday. After a two hour wait we found out that Smidge is right on target size wise, I'm measuring at 28" which is exactly where I should be at 28 weeks. I start to going to my OB every two weeks now which is CRAZY!! I'm in the homestretch with only 11 weeks and 4 days to go until my due date. Eeek!

We also found out at the appointment that I am RH negative, in other words my blood type is O negative. What does this mean and why should I care? Well only about 10% of the population has RH negative blood and Mike isn't one of them, if he was then the baby would also be a negative blood type which would be fabulous but he's not so our baby will most likely be RH positive like his daddy and positive and negative blood don't like each other. Holy run-on-sentence. If something happens that my blood mixes with Smidge's potentially positive blood my body will think the positive blood is an invader and will attack it. The doctor told us this isn't really a concern for Smidge since it's not likely our blood will mix but I need to get a shot that will mask his blood (trick my body into thinking his blood is positive if they do mix) just in case they do - during the third trimester there is a risk of slight risk of placental tearing so it's better to be safe than sorry (HELL YEAH). If left untreated (if I don't get the shot) this RH negative thing is likely to be an issue in the future when I get pregnant again because during Smidge's birth his bits of his blood will definitely mix with mine. In a future pregnancy if something causes the baby's blood to mix with mine (say a minor tear in a blood vessel) my body will remember that the positive blood is foreign and will attack it, in turn attacking the baby. In other words I have a higher risk of miscarriage. The OB said that left untreated each subsequent pregnancy would be at greater risk since the memory becomes stronger each time. THANKFULLY there is a solution to this potential problem: a shot of RhoGAM now and then another after Smidge arrives. These shots will keep Smidge safe and my future babe(s) safe too!

That was terribly long winded and hopefully it makes sense to you. I went to the hospital today for a blood test to confirm my blood type and will find out tomorrow if I definitely need the RhoGAM but it's not likely the first test was wrong so I'm sure I'll be poked again in the next couple days. I should add that I'm not worried about anything, I'm just happy this has been caught and is being dealt with.

And that my friends is my weekly update. Hope I didn't bore you!!

Body DURING Baby Challenge

One of the new-to-me blogs I've found semi-recently is Mama Notes. I was originally drawn to the blog thanks to some fabulous giveaways but there's so much more to it than freebies! Samantha is the creator of this fabulous find and not only does she write great blurbs about her personal experiences, she also shares guest posts and poses questions relating to parenting advice and product reviews to her readers. Mama Notes is a great resource for soon-to-be, new and experienced parents.

Last year Samantha created a challenge for moms who were looking for motivation and support to get in shape following the birth of their babes; it was called the Body After Baby challenge. Samantha recently found out that she is pregnant with her second child and due in October, lucky for us because her pregnancy means a new challenge for pregnant mamas: the Body During Baby Challenge!! If you're pregnant you might want to join the challenge, pop over here to find out more and let Samantha know you're joining.

I'm due June 18th so I only have three months to go but considering I've just started *insert Olivia Newton John in leg warmers here* getting physical after a six month puddle-on-the-couch stage I've decided to join the challenge!

So here is my intro post for all the lovely mamas who are taking part in the challenge. My name is Jaime and my amazing husband's name is Mike. I'm a 32 year old teacher who lives 45 minutes south of Toronto, Ontario. I'm 27 weeks preggers with baby number one. We're having a boy YAY and we're super crazy excited about it! I'm feeling fabulous and have been most of my pregnancy, of course there have been aches and pains but I guess that just comes with the territory.

My goals for the last few months of this pregnancy are:
* continue going to prenatal yoga classes right up until the end (I started my classes two weeks ago but I'll talk more about this on Monday when I post my weekly update)
* like Samantha I need to drink more water - I've been pretty good about staying hydrated but could definitely do better
* eat more fruits and veggies and less chocolate peanut butter (Gawd, I can't believe the amount of chocolate peanut butter I've consumed in the last few months - the baby made me do it)
* swim once a week
* walk for 20 minutes on days I'm not swimming or taking part in yoga
* rest & relax when I need/want to - I'm a person who tends to GO GO GO and I have been VERY good about slowing down but need to keep at it. This week I've been on holidays thanks to March Break and I've treated myself to soaks in the tub with a good book in hand almost daily - I want to keep this up!

I think that's all for now. I have quite a few goals but they are all totally achievable!

Thanks to Samantha for creating this challenge and HELLO to all of the moms-to-be taking part, I'm looking forward to reading your updates!


Mama Notes: For Pregnant Mamas: Body DURING Baby

Daddy's First Baby Buys

Dear Smidge,

Your Daddy discovered the wonderful world of online baby shopping last night. I'm afraid. VERY afraid. Your daddy has a slight sneaker addiction (we really should be part owners of Nike) and he was hunting online for shoes for you last night. I think we might have to buy a bigger house so that you and daddy can have your own room just to house sneakers. Fifteen years from now when you want a ridiculously expensive pair of sneakers and Dad is saying NO you can print off this post and stick it under your dad's nose to remind him that he told Mom his son would have the SICKEST shoes ever. Granted he didn't say ALWAYS but he did say EVER.

Daddy did find some sweet duds for you last night in the shop Lowleepop and we can't wait to see you sportin' your new gear this summer!

The only difference is that the green onesie in the set Daddy ordered will have headphones like the white onesie instead of the stereo.

The second thing on your daddy's shopping list is this freaking awesome baby beanie!

We're waiting to hear whether they ship to Canada but assuming I Heart Baby does then you'll have one of these super sweet skull beanies for when you first join us on the outside and another to wear in the fall. ADORABLE!

Oh little man, you are going to be one stylish little dude and Daddy is going to spend a small fortune to make sure of it.

Love you baby boy,
Mommy & Daddy too xoxo

Welcome to the Third Trimester!

It's a big week! We've hit the third trimester: 26 weeks, Baby!!





I can't believe our little man will be making his way to the outer world in appx 3 months! Time flies!

Skin Volcano

Our little man is kicking up a storm these days. He rarely kicks on demand for me but as soon as Mike asks him to he usually does and last night it just took Mike laying his hand on my tummy for the kicks to start. Mike would remove his hand and I would put mine on my belly and the kicks would stop, I'd move my hand and Mike would take over and then keeeeee-yaw the kicks would start again.

Mike's super cute and while rubbing my belly he gives Smidge soccer tips to help him with his kicks; "Come on kiddo: inside kick, outside kick!" We figure our child is going to be a a superstar in whatever he decides to do so if soccer is one of his hobbies he'll definitely have a head start on all of the other kids whose parents weren't on the ball enough to coach them while they were in the womb!! Now, if he decides to sing then I might hesitate to take credit for his 'in the womb' vocal lessons. We are fairly certain our child will be walking around singing things like "Rub in the belllllllly buuuuuuuutterrrrrrrrrr" to the tune of whatever tickles his fancy on that particular day since Mike and I sing made up lyrics to various tunes on a regular basis. You might say we are vocally challenged.

Anyways back to the kicking. The baby kicks so hard my belly jumps and I've tried to record it but the end result is always the same: 3 minutes of what appears to be a one eyed Jabba the Hutt rising and falling. Trust me when I say it's not a pretty sight, and this is coming from a woman who can't stop gazing at her belly. Eventually I'm sure my belly will look like a pretty version of the ground rising in the movie Tremors and then I will definitely record it but until then I'm holding off on the video attempts since watching it freaks me out.

Speaking of freaking people out, I learned this evening that when I push on my belly in a certain way I can flip my belly button inside out! From the look of horror on Mike's face when it first happened it is quite obvious that he doesn't think my new trick is as cool as I do. Basically I can now turn my belly button into a skin volcano. A SKIN VOLCANO PEOPLE, how cool is that? Another great reason to get pregnant: create a person AND turn your belly button into a skin volcano.

Smidge's Big Buddy

I forgot to post the fabulous news over here at Just a Smidge! Last Wednesday March 3rd Jessy and Colin welcomed their little man into the world!! Isn't he adorable?!

Reid was born at 7:58 am (or was it 7:59?) a day before the planned C section. Mommy and baby are both happy and healthy and of course is Daddy is too. Actually Daddy is being super cute and "happy" doesn't quite describe the feelings that are oozing out of him.

The second time I held Reid I sat on a rocking chair with him passed out on my chest Smidge proceeded to karate kick his new buddy not once but twice. I'm imagining they were meant to be high fives rather than drop kicks, or else, down the road 'referee' might be another title Jess and I.

Mega huge congrats to Jessy & Colin for making such a beautiful baby boy. Mike and I are thrilled to have Reid on the outside to cuddle and kiss and gaze at in wonder. Miracles really do exist and babies are proof!

Groovy Tree

The walls are painted and the FANTABULOUS decal we purchased through Bubba & Doodle is up! The colours are more vibrant than they look in this photo but you get the idea:

Yes, each of those cubes is a single decal and yes it took us a little over 2 hours to lay out the design and then get it up on the wall but believe it or not it didn't seem like 2 hours and we actually had fun doing it! We used the photo on Bubba & Doodle's etsy site as a guide which saved us a lot of time and frustration. Jennifer (owner of the shop) was awesome and super patient with me and my 8.9999 million questions. We were excited about the decal before it was on the wall and agree that it looks even better than we had hoped it would.

There's Mike resting in our new glider/recliner in the shade of our cube tree. Now the decal hunt continues... we want another one for the wall behind Smidge's crib - no danger of it crashing down on him while he sleeps. Stay tuned!

Update: Week 23

UPDATE: Jess is going in for her C-section on March 4th!! Whoops, I was jumping the gun by saying March 2nd, wishful thinking on my part. :)

I haven't been keeping up on my blogging or writing in my baby journal (sorry Smidge!) so here I am with a quick update.

I've been feeling good the last few days, my back isn't quite as sore as it was previously thanks to a fantabulous new bed and the pillow nest I put together before curling up to sleep at night. I'm pretty sleepy by the end of my work day but I suppose that's to be expected considering I have a little man inside my belly cave sucking up as much energy as he possibly can so that he can grow big and strong.

And yes our little ninja is definitely getting stronger, his kicks have more oomph and are happening more frequently. The other night I was laying in bed after a session of serious karate chops and I decided to lay the cold remote control on my tummy, Smidge hoofed the remote almost instantly and caused it to teeter totter wildly. I can't help but smile and/or let out a little "oh" every time I feel Smidge moving, it's like he's nudging me to remind me that he's in there. I love feeling him wiggling and it's even better when he kicks hard enough for Mike to feel him too. It blows me away at how in love I am with the little man in my belly and it scares me a little to think that this love will be expanded by a zillion when I lay eyes on him.

I had mentioned Jessy and her awful back pain a few posts back and there is now an end in sight for her: March 4th at 2pm Baby Mac will be entering the world via a planned C-section. I CANNOT wait to meet him! Thankfully Jess has found a way to sleep somewhat comfortably so she's getting more than 5 minute chunks of sleep now. Granted she still only passes out for a few hours at a time but like she said, it will make getting up a million times with the baby easier for her since she's had lots of practice.

We had Mike snap a pic of us on the weekend after my birthday dinner, figured we better get a shot of the boys in our bellies before Jess deflates!

I'm 23 weeks and Jess is 38 weeks in this shot. It's funny, I remember when Jess and Colin called to tell us they were pregnant and it doesn't seem like it was that long ago... now it's only a week until their son will be cuddled in their arms! Oh yes and he'll be cuddled in mine too.

On Saturday Mike and I bought paint for the nursery!! The decals we ordered (which I am SUPER excited about) arrived last week and silly me hadn't read the part where it says "Apply ASAP after receiving" until after I had ordered them. Oops. I was assured that we would be safe to wait a few weeks if need be but we decided to go ahead and paint sooner than later.

I'm going to save pictures of the finished produce until we have the decals up but here is a sneak peek of Daddy covering up the hideous paint that was on the walls in the nursery. Yep, he painted with the broken foot and all. I suggested that he let me take care of the rolling (edging was my job) and he said "No, I'm painting my baby's room." Such a good daddy!

I will tell you that we chose a beautiful pale blue for the walls and we are crazy happy with the result - I was a bit worried that it was too light when we first started painting but once it dried it ended up being the exact colour I had imagined Smidge's room to be.

I promise to post more soon!

Celebrate the BOY

Mike has been patiently listening (or at least pretending to listen) to me whine about how few tutorials there are for cute boy bits and then TA DA, I pop over to one of my fav blogs MADE and found a little piece of boy heaven. A month devoted to celebrating BOYS!


Thank you MADE for giving me hope and for saving my man from the sad sounds of a disgruntled wife.

Shield Your Girls

I made my first hooter hider/nursing cover and I'm really happy with the results. Two small D rings are attached at the top so that the length of the neck strap can be adjusted.


A piece of boning has been sewn into the neck so that like the original Bebe au Lait hooter hiders I can look down and see Smidge while he fills his belly (assuming breast feeding works out for us). I really hope breastfeeding is in my future but the idea of whipping out the girls in public to feed my little man is not something I'm entirely comfortable with.

This was such an easy project I think I'll make more and sell them in the shop!

Our Boy at 22 Weeks

Our little guy is kicking up a storm. He's definitely part ninja.

Quickly expanding
Nearly too big for my winter coat!

Dying to meet the little wiggler.

Prezzies for Smidgie

I thought I had posted this already but a quick look through the blog showed that clearly I thought wrong!

On the evening of the big reveal we made a stop at Smidge's Granny and Grandad's house to tell them the news and my fabulous mother-in-law pulled out these adorable handcrafted bits just moments after being told she has a new grandson on the way. Of course she was well prepared and had tiny bows ready to attach had Smidge been a girl.


Yes our baby will be wearing cashmere hats and booties come fall... and there's a beautiful tiny sweater to go with the blue set, I'll share once the buttons have been added.

On the weekend my girlfriend Jess gave us a tiny pair of Robeez for Smidge to enjoy. Everyone knows that Robeez are the best baby slippers: the little nuts can't kick them off. I love these little funky monsters!

Can't wait to see them on Smidge's mini feet.

Today a colleague and friend handed me a congratulations gift. I knew we would end up with some of these adorable Pee Pee Teepees eventually. These kill me, so funny and cute!
How well will the teepees actually work? I'm guessing there's a good chance they'll only do the trick if we have lightening fast reflexes but I'm willing to be peed on in order to test my theory.

Smidge is one lucky little man, lots of fabulous gifts and he's not even on the outside yet!