Life Changed. Forever

Crazy to think a year ago today, I decided I better take a pregnancy test just in case I might be pregnant before going to a dance here in the village where I would consume a few too many beverages.

Little did I know that that moment in my life would change me forever. 

I tested in the middle of the afternoon with a cheap internet test and sure enough, it was positive. But I didn't believe it, because the month before we had a false positive/very early miscarriage - the doctor wasn't sure, but either way it resulted in negative results. 

I remember calling my sister and non-chalantly asking her, who encouraged me to test again and texting Alison, who also told me test again but with a digital. I told M and he was right alongside me with not beleiving it! I decided I would forgo drinking that night and test again in the morning. 

Saturday morning came EARLY! Like 5 AM early. I lined up my tests on the bathtub, cheapest to most expensive. One by one they were positive, I couldn't believe my eyes. They filled with tears instantly. I was shaking with excitement, could this really be?? I ran into the bedroom and attempted to wake up my hung over husband, still shaking, tears streaming down my face, waving a pee stick in his face (the cap was on). There was no guessing - it actually said pregnant, no determining if there was a line, just blunt and obvious, I had the littlest bit of life growing inside of me after 4+ long years. 

M was happy, but managed to go right back to sleep. I texted my sister and Alison, whom of course were not awake to share in my news!! I couldn't go back to sleep, my adrenaline was on high! Our dreams were finally coming true. I came out to the great room and told the dogs and cats that we are having the baby. I danced in the living room with the dogs. I was on cloud 9!! 

When M finally got up, he was ecstatic too, I cried again, we laughed, we dreamed even bigger than we ever had, still cautiously though. My Dad had popped over and I couldn't help but to spill the beans to him too. My sister called and was over the moon - it was just perfect! My Mom was at a family cottage, and I wasn't going to be able to see her until her birthday, so we decided to surprise her.

We also ended up seeing K & S, so we told them too secretly, although S knows me good enough to pick up on something being "off" with me. 

The weekend was spent secretly celebrating between M and I, me pretending to be drinking, but it was perfect. 

Our lives forever changed for the very best. This weekend will always be soo special to M and I and hopefully Noah too!! We are so incredibly blessed to have him part of our lives and I look forward to spending this weekend with him in my arms this year to join in the festivities!!

Happy Canada Day Weekend friends!! Let the festivities begin!!!

What I Am Loving Wednesday

Happy Hump Day Friends!! This week is flying by, just as I expected it to with it being soo busy!! I figure it's been a while since I shared some of my current loves!!

I love that my baby is sleeping right now!! And it's been longer than 30 minutes!! Yay me!! 

I love that Binx keeps sleeping in this basket - seriously how cute! Now if she would only stop putting her (luckily it's just a toy) mouse in my shoes I would be even happier! Crazy cat!! 

I love that we have been having some super HOT days, despite the storms that have been coming with them, along with the tornado warnings/watches, but better to get that out of the system before the long weekend!! Our yard work is piling up, as it has been storming/raining every night. The dogs would also like bathes! 

I made delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies yesterday!! This little man just played on his mat while I did so!! 

This new gem is finally in my dining room!! I've been looking for something like this for over a year now!! 

I have a pedicure tomorrow night and my feet are sooo looking forward to this!! It's been well over a year since they have been shown some love!! 

These drinks are currently chilling in my fridge awaiting the long weekend!! Can't wait to try them, as I have only heard amazing things about them!!

I love reading this book to my little man! The first page makes me tear up every time with this line: 

"I wanted you more than you will ever know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go." Perfection! Love Nancy Tillman books!!

I love the strawberries that are growing in my planter!! They are soo good! I don't get very many, but when I do, they are delish!!

Can someone please tell time to slow down?? 

18 weeks on the inside and the outside!! 

A little humor:

That's all I got! Noah and I have some errands to run now!! 

Travelling With A Baby For Dummies

So it is no secret that M and I will be travelling with Noah for the first time. I'm not so much nervous about him on the airplane, he is a pretty chill baby. I'm more worried about packing for him.

Let's just say our first trip to the lake with him we felt the same way - what the heck does a baby need? And just when we thought we had packed enough stuff for him (we will get to that part in a bit) we still managed to forget to pack pants for him, as the weather was cooler than at home! We won't be making that mistake again! 

Let's just say our pack up the family in 15 minutes has merely doubled if not tripled. There is no quick trip anywhere anymore, including a trip to the grocery store. Do we have diapers, extra outfit, bibs, burp cloths, wipes, nursing cover, toys and blankets? And to think that all fits in just one bag. 

When it came to packing everyone up for the lake for just the day (not even a weekend) - we had the dog beds for the back of the truck and leashes/collars (we forgot dog towels). We had the pack and play, the stroller, the sunshade, the baby bjorn, extra blankets, toys, car seat, the above packed diaper bag and God forbid, don't forget the gripe water for longer trips or you will be that mom crawling into the back seat from the front and hopefully you aren't like me and then have to stop after you get him back to sleep because you are now car sick... Yup - fun times over here! 

M and I joked that we packed up half the house for a day trip! This traveling with a baby has got to get easier and as far as day trips have gone, they have gotten easier. However, we have graduated from day trip to 2 week vacation... 

I'm struggling with what to pack, as we are going to 2 different places, one being super remote, however laundry is available! It is also somewhat cooler than here for the most part, but according to the future forecast it should be nice weather at least! Luckily they don't get the same humidity we get here! There is also a 2 hour time change that will be interesting to work with, but he should do fine with it, as they are 2 hours behind. 

We are going to be that couple that rents the luggage cart at the airport now with our luggage, Noah's luggage, our carry on's, diaper bag, car seat and stroller!! Needless to say I'm reading up on flying with a baby and hoping for things to go smoothly! M and I have got this... I hope! If not we will learn real quick! 

I plan to nurse him when taking off and landing to help with his ears and I also plan on bringing some baby gravol for him just in case. 

Any tips from those who have travelled with young babes? 

{Weekend Rewind}

Our weekend was jam-packed full this weekend, but it was also a lot of fun!!

Friday Noah was back to his normal happy-go-lucky self! That night M had ball and they WON! The 2nd win of the year!! Hopefully their new jerseys will bring them some better luck, the old ones were tired and maybe cramping their style! Haha. 

Saturday we got the pool all vacuumed and clean, got some housework done and the we headed down towards Niagara Falls (not quite as far) to our friends Engagement BBQ party. We got a chance to catch up with both them and our best man from our wedding and his family. It was a fun afternoon and evening. 

Noah and Daddy: 

We had our first campfire there, including a marshmellow roast off, s'mores and finished the night with a fantastic fire works show before heading back home. 

Sunday morning came early, luckily Noah was down for sleeping in! My Dad was over at 9:30 to pick me up to goto Hannah's dance recital. Hannah's dance was soo cute. Unfortunately the show was super long, so I was only able to stay for the first half, but I at least got to see Hannah's performance before I had to leave so I could feed Noah. I quickly fed Noah and then we popped out to see R & K's gorgeous new house, dog (a St. Bernard - my fav) and a visit of course. My sister texted me when they were done the show, so we went back to her place for a BBQ with the fam jam! It was great! She also sent me home with a lot of strawberries! The ones we are getting are sooo good!! I wanted more, so Amy had waaay to many. 

We came home around 6, just in time to meet up with the friends who are watching our house while we are away. I think the dogs are pretty excited, they love M & A!! 

We got some more housework done after they left and then relaxed for the evening once Noah was in bed! M actually built Noah's exersaucer! This week is going to fly by. We are super busy, plus this weekend we have a wedding, M is in a ball tournament, it's the village's big weekend, filled with lots of fun, including a fireman's breakfast! 

Hope everyone else had a great weekend!! 

Parker and Posie

Wow, I actually survived this week! It's been rough with a fussy baby this week! Shots are not our friend, he was this same way last time and it took him about a week to bounce back to his happy go lucky self!

But enough on that, today I am here to share one of my favorite shops.

The ladies at the well baby clinic have already placed orders because they love these sweet little shoes as well!! 

So of course I placed an order when I saw them on Alison's blog! And I have nothing but good things to say! A pair of shoes that actually stay on baby feet!! That is first and foremost important! It's great to have a bunch of cute baby items, but if they aren't practical then why bother? Well friends, these shoes stay on!

The other thing that I like is her prices - I like the fact her prices are great. It is hard to justify paying a lot for baby items, when you know they won't fit for long. And let's face it, I am not someone who spends full price on much! haha.

Jamie (the shop owner) also threw in a pair for me to review. I ordered the mint and grey ones and much to my pleasant surprise she sent the houndstooth ones! They were perfect!!! They still fit my little guy too. The grey pair are the next size up (6-12)! 

I follow both on Facebook and Instagram and I find myself LOVING all of her posts and I just want to order more! Good thing I had a boy because the girls ones are to die for!

Like these:

But the boys ones are just as precious:

She also offers custom name shoes:

 

And now some pictures of my little man modeling them! 

I love that Parker & Posie is yet another Canadian Etsy Shop and she offers free shipping!! So go and check it out - you won't regret it!!

We are always getting compliments where ever we go, heck Jamie should have sent me a bunch of business cards haha. 

Thanks again Jaimie, we can't wait to order again!! 

Summer Bucket List

We will let the list do the talking:

Noah - 4 Months

Weight:

10 lbs 11 oz - 12 weeks

11 lbs 2 oz - 13 weeks

11 lbs 11 oz -14 weeks

12 lbs - 15 weeks 

11 lbs 15 oz - 16 weeks

12 lbs 2 oz - 4 months

His head is measuring at 43 cm at 4 months! 

Height: 
25 inches

Sleeping: I hate to say this out loud, just in case it jinxes us, but he is still a GREAT sleeper!! Although I hear that changes at 4 months, so fingers crossed!! Lately getting him to sleep has been a struggle, especially this past week, but when he sleeps, he sleeps all night! He may wake up a few times, but we just give him his pacifier and all is well! Right to sleep he goes! We were putting him to bed for 9/9:30 and he sleeps till 5/6. But we are now trying to put him down for 8:30 in hopes of missing the scream-fest before bed, where the only thing to calm him down is to put on some of the songs I used to sing while pregnant, turn the volume up on the iPad and sing loudly until he stops crying, then keep on singing until he's sleeping. We still do bath, then feed before bed, it really relaxes him. 

He is now sleeping in the pack and play and is doing great in it! His bassinet was fine, but he was really starting to squirm around in his sleep. Heck now we find him completely turned around in the pack and play because he has soo much more room! We plan to use the pack and play for the remainder of the month, so when we travel he will be used to sleeping in one and then hopefully transition him to his nursery when we get home assuming he is still sleeping well. 

Naps in the day are very short, most of them being 25-30 minutes and only about 3 of them, with the odd one hour stretch. But he sleeps at night, so that is the important part! Naps are in his pack and play and I am able to just put him down, turn on his turtle and walk away - he puts himself to sleep now! Mr. Independant, he's only done that a few times at bedtime.

Feeding: He is feeding every 2 hours in the day still, but gives me a some 3-4 stretches, but it's usually when we are out and about. He still takes a bottle well. We are back to using gripe water often at bedtime, I'm not sure why he gets soo gassy at bedtime.

Clothing: We are wearing 0-3 month sleepers still, adding in some 3 month ones. Noah has one 3-6 month romper that he wears, otherwise his clothing is all 0-3 and 3 months. I have a few things up in his room that we will try that are 3-6 Children's Place - rumor has it they fit small!

Diaper Changes: Still size 1, but this will be our last box and we will be moving up to size 2!!

Looks: Blue eyes, and brown hair. His eye lashes have grown significantly and his eye shade is lightening up more and more. 

Last month I mentioned Noah having a flat spot - it is much better this month, although still slightly noticeable. But now that he is sitting more and moving around more I'm not as concerned.

What The Doctor Had To Say: Well we didn't end up seeing our family doctor this month, but rather an on-call covering for her, which was actually good and worked in our favor when it came to discussing his weight and getting his shots! This doctor could see both sides to Noah's slow weight gain, but agreed that there is a 3rd percentile for a reason - someone has gotta be in it. Noah is healthy, meeting his milestones and going above and this doctor was not concerned at all, but did want us to stay on top of it with having him weighed weekly. 

When it came time for the shots, this doctor recommended doing both needles at the same time, which worked out well! It wasn't nearly as bad as last time, although M did come with us and could understand why I wanted him there. He didn't cry real tears like I thought he would, but he did scream! Poor guy! 

Nicknames: Stretch, Spike, Captain, Mr. Magoo, Little Man, Toots, Mama's Monkey. 

Likes: Car rides, his hands, his fleece blanket, shopping, sophie, snuggles, baths, his play mat, walks in the stroller, the bouncer, Lux, Grace and Lily. He loves looking at pictures, the ceiling fan and his mama-roo. He has just now started to look at himself and laugh when put in front of a mirror. He loves it when I sing to him, although only certain songs have a calming effect on him, especially the ones we listened to together when he was in my tummy!

Dislikes: diaper changes, gas pains, outfit changes, hats falling on his eyes.

Fur Baby Update: The pets are still getting along with Noah great. Not really much to update here.

Personality: Noah is such a ham. He has the sweetest personality, but he is also always making me laugh with his goofy smiles and giggles. He loves singing, making new noises, loves his hands waaay to much... He is a cheeky little guy, knowing just when to scrunch up his shoulders with a smile, or squint his eyes with the biggest smile. 

Noah rolled over for the first time just last week from his back to his tummy! He has been able to go tummy to back for a while, although he doesn't do it often! 

Mommy & Daddy Update: We are doing great! We are luckily getting lots of sleep (knock on wood), although by the end of the day I'm beat. Heck I don't even hear Noah fussing in the morning - when my head hits the pillow, I'm out! Thank goodness Daddy does! 

We are slowly getting better with time management, but there is still a bit of struggle there. I'm beginning to get more things done in the day with him if he will tolerate it, but some days he just won't. 

{weekend rewind - lake style}

We had a great weekend, not quite as productive as I would have liked, but we did our best!!

Friday we had the structural engineer back out, they cut a hole in the roof and well... It doesn't sound good!! But instead of stressing about it, we will wait and see what insurance says - although if you know me, I'm stressing about it!! 

Friday night - baseball... Noah wasn't a fan of the cold weather or the fact that they lost!! 

Saturday morning M worked, but Noah and I got some house work done. And some playtime: 

When M got home, he attempted to install the new dishwasher to learn half way through that we needed a part to install it. I had lasagna going, sowe had to finish cooking it first and put it I. The oven before we left, so M cut the lawn instead while he waited! 

Once we could put the lasagna in the oven, we ran into town for the part, came home and the lasagna was ready, we enjoyed a nice dinner and then M hooked up the dishwasher! 

Once Noah was in bed, he went outside and got the pool pump hooked on so we could finish filling the pool! I'm hoping to have it up and running this week!! 

Sunday was M's first Fathers Day! We all enjoyed a sleep in, even though I had to force Mike to sleep in. We put the new dishwasher on - love it!! Quiet and cleaned really well!! Then we packed up and headed to the lake!! Noah's first trip to the lake!! 

We got M a hot stone massage for Fathers Day!! 

And now I will let the lake pictures take over: 

We stopped for dinner at KFC on our way home!

Today Noah is 4 months!! 4 months??? Can you believe it?? I can't!! Daddy came with us today to get his shots and this Mama did much better!! Actually Noah did better this time too because they did two shots at the same time - less traumatic!! 

Happy Monday friends!