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!

Trust Me, I Would SLEEP If I Could

I'm tired and yes I know that in a few months I'm going to be more tired than I ever thought imaginable so please don't tell me I don't know what tired is yet. p.s. I'm a bit cranky.

I am now at the stage where I can't get comfortable at night, I'm hoping our crappy old bed has something to do with that because the books keep telling me that this is my "feel like you did before you were pregnant" phase. We have a new bed coming this week and if it actually allows me to sleep I have every intention of spending next weekend curled up in it.

During the day I feel pretty good, I'm slowing down a bit and feeling some new aches hello hips, yes I know you're there, there's no need to scream for attention but nothing to complain about. Sleep is my friend from appx 10pm until 330 and then I get up to pee. After that it's flip from side to side time: great fun. I didn't realize how much I slept on my back until now, I wake up at least five times a night with the realization that I'm laying on my back. Onto my side I go and then I wake up shortly after that due to sore hips, flip: wake up on my back, flip: sore shoulder, flip: sore hips, flip: you get the picture. Between 730 and 830am I hit the wide awake but crazy tired and uncomfortable point. The nights that I do get decent sleep (every three nights or so) I have weird vivid dreams and wake up feeling better than the morning before but still exhausted since I spent the entire night watching bizarre movies in my mind. I think this is my body's way of preparing me for the sleepless nights with Smidge... too bad it's decided to start my training so soon.

I'm not bitching or fishing for sympathy and really this doesn't make me like pregnancy any less I truly to love being pregnant, I'm just recording my experiences. Of course the fabulous advice that I continue to hear a few times a week - yes it's the dreaded "SLEEP" advice - is even harder to swallow when I am trying to sleep and CAN'T! I am a good girl though and continue to smile and nod when I hear it, I have yet to stomp on the persons foot or punch them in the gut (that just happens in my head). Okay maybe I am bitching a little.

I'm savoring what sleep I am getting knowing that it could be a whole lot worse. My friend Jess has 4 weeks to go and she can't sleep for longer than 5 minutes at a time (that's not an exaggeration) thanks to a back that is causing her horrible pain; I think she should carry a tazer with her to use on anyone who talks to her about how tired she is going to be when the baby comes. She couldn't be any more tired than she is now, five minutes sleep people: FIVE minutes. I'll be her sleepguard and will happily take care of the tazing if she wants.

Thankfully recent conversations with my many (relatively) new mom friends have decreased the sleep fear that some well-meaning people have put into my head. Some of the recent words of wisdom that have been passed my way include:

Keeping the baby in your room next to you often means breastfeeding while sleeping and whether you should technically do it or not it works really well. I'll add the disclaimer since I know there will be people shaking their heads and/or rolling their eyes: this works well for SOME people. Our new king size bed arrives this week - lots of room for all three of us. No I'm not planning on running the attachment parenting route but if getting some sleep means having the baby in bed with us for part of the night then move over Mike!

A LaZBoy in the baby's room is lifesaver: our new LaZboy style recliner glider arrives this week. Seriously.

Sleep when the baby sleeps actually does work for many people! Woot woot! I was told by three different new moms that as long as you're willing to give up having a clean house this is totally doable and a complete lifesaver. I'm hoping to breastfeed and since my understanding is that new babies spend most of their time sleeping and eating I'll be trying to mimic the babe's schedule. Considering I'm not starting off with an overly clean house I think this is definitely one thing I can sacrifice.

Set ground rules, have a GO AWAY (in nicer words) sign for the front door and don't answer the phone unless you want to. Three things which I have every intention of doing.

Please cross your fingers and toes for me: a new bed this week might mean lots of sleep!
If you have any suggestions for getting sleep when the baby arrives I'm willing to listen: leave me a comment but don't take it personally if I hear your advice but don't follow it. :)

Smidge on the Move

I'm feeling Smidge move more and more, he loves the sound of Daddy's voice and seems to like driving in the car. Mike has felt him twice now, once tonight. I wish I had had a camera the first time he felt belly movement, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. It won't be long now before we'll be feeling him on the outside more often.

After months of research and "test driving/folding/clicking/wrestling" we've decided on a travel system for our wee man. We're going with the oh so fabulous Baby Jogger City Elite. This puppy is super awesome. My favourite part is the fact that to fold it all you have to do is grab a strap and lift: perfecto!

There are a pile of other perks: magnetic closures on the peek-a-boo windows found on the shade so we don't have to worry about waking Smidge up with the awful sound of velcro, a hand operated brake, a shade that's longer than most, a cushy seat that lays back nearly flat for our tiny peanut when snoozing and just three wheels which make it uber easy to maneuver. We're going with the green:



A car seat adapter is an optional accessory that we are adding to the mix so that we can use a snap and go car seat when shopping while Smidge is small enough to fit in one. Another accessory is the bassinet/pram seen below. The car seat is great while running errands but it's not ideal for lengthy walks so we are looking at getting the bassinet so that a) Smidge can face us while we are walking and b) he can lay out flat. Of course the bonus is that we can use the bassinet in the house and when visiting friends and family. Right now the pram only comes in a couple colours but as of February 20th (oddly enough my birthday) it's going to be available in all of the colours the Elite comes in soooo we're going to stick with green to match the stroller. The pram also comes with a car seat adapator so we won't have to buy that separately assuming we do get the bassinet.


The car seat we've decided to go with is the Graco SnugRide 35 in the Lemongrass design. The SnugRide 35 is a rear facing snap&go that Smidge can ride in until he is reaches 35 lbs or 32 inches long. I love the Lemongrass design - it will look super cute with the green stroller.

We have seen each of the components apart but I can't wait to see them altogether... with our baby boy sitting in them!!