Life on Lee Avenue

Belly to Baby Photo Book

Last week, this lovely 10 x 10 photo book arrived in the mail. Swoon!  

Last year, we sat for two portrait sessions at our favourite family photographer: one when I was seven months pregnant and the second, ten days after Rowan was born. The result? A stunning little book, styled like the Steve Jobs Biography, that captures the impending excitiment and newness of my wee family. Seriously, it's a good thing we took this pictures because Lord knows that the last six months have been a bit of a blur!

Fun Fact #1: Aaron is holding the first ultrasound picture of Rowan. The book behind him is a leather bound journal we bought on a trip in Tuscany a few years ago. Aaron is writing notes to Rowan-girl, attempting to impart some wisdom as she moves through different ages and stages of life. He has a few entries, including a letter to Rowan he wrote on the night she was born. Double Swoon! 

Fun Fact #2: I didn't know that Rowan was a girl. Trina, the photographer, loved the colour of my tank top and decided to light the background in the same tone. She's genius....I love that the book has this amazing pop of colour! 

Fun Fact #3: Trina, the asked us to bring some special or unique items that would define our pregnancy experience. The biggest thing we took was our dog, Charlie. Aaron and I often joked that when we moved to our east end neighbourhood of Toronto, the trendy thing to do was have a baby AND a dog. Charlie is our first fur child. He is apart of our family and I am delighted we could include him in the photo sessions and this book. 

Aaron and I are so please to have these images as part of our family library. We totally intend to go back on a yearly basis to have our family photo taken. For anyone pregnant and not sure about taking belly shots - do it! Totally worth capturing the experience especially when the next few months move forward at record speeds. 

Thanks for looking!

Happy Wednesday!

40 weeks

 

I can't believe I made it to 40 weeks! My due date has come and past and now we are patiently waiting for Baby H. We had a great weekend walking around our neighbourhood in the sunny fall weather. I love the look on people's faces when they ask when I'm due and I tell them "today" or "yesterday"!

I am not too stressed about giving birth or going into labour. Each day that passes, I get to nap and scrapbook. Given that I worked right up to Friday November 4th, this is a real treat. Yesterday I went for a manicure and pedicure. I also finished my Pregnancy Album and currently I am working on the foundation pages for my December Daily Album. Obviously I look forward to giving birth and "the present" that we end up with; but I've decided just not to stress. Baby H will make his or her appearance when he or she is ready. 

If I make it to Wednesday, I have a doctor's appointment and an ultrasound booked. At that time, if nothing has changed, we will talk about induction. Is it too much to ask to be induced on 11/11/11? 

Anywho, I will continue to post when I am able. 

Happy Sunday!

...Guess what I did this weekend...

...If you said eat a lot of Halloween candy, didn't give birth and made enough food to last the apocalypse, you'd be right!

...My lovely and thoughtful friend Vanessa inspired this weekend of cooking. Last week she brought over some delicious vegan potato kale quesadillas for when Baby H is born. She also brought over some double chocolate pumpkin bread, but that never made it to the freezer!

...Contents of our freezer include: two dozen muffins, asparagus quiche, chicken + mushroom and rice casserole, tuna with mint peas and broad beans, and Aaron's BBQ chicken. It's a little too much meat for my liking, so thanks god we have a couple fruit & vegetable markets at the end of our street. I know we will be busy but hopefully one of us can run out to get some fresh produce. 

Anyways, that is it for now! The count down is on. My official due date is THIS Saturday, November 5th. If I am a little neglectful of posting over the next while, it may be due to the fact that I am tending to Baby H!

Happy Monday! 

Sent from my iPhone

36 weeks

                                                

Hello 36 weeks! Hard to believe that this pregnancy is almost over. I haven't reached "I just want it to be done stage" but there are some non pregnancy things I look forward to doing. Like being able to go for run, drink a glass of wine or touch my toes.

Overall, I feel okay. There are times when I am extremely anxious and can not sleep. In those times, I go into full on nesting mode. Closets, scrapbook supplies or anything without a proper home, beware. Although it is a bit extreme, I feel more in control after I complete something on my to do list. After celebrating Thanksgiving with family this weekend, we organized the nursery and installed the car seat. Both of these jobs felt like a real accomplishment.

This week, I am wrapping up with my clients at work. By day, I am a hospital social worker and I typically work one late night a week to counsel children and teenagers outside of clinic. I am also preparing to hand off my workload to another social worker. I love my job and it kinda blows my mind that I will not be going into work everyday. Thank you government of Canada for giving me one full year of maternity leave to spend with my baby!

Besides the usual aches and pains, I have been having really crazy dreams. The first notable one happened two weeks ago. I dreamt we had the baby and the hospital put the baby in ICU becuase he or she couldn't speak Trinidian at the time of birth.....Hello Random! The second crazy dream happened this weekend, where I gave birth not on November 5th but October 23rd. 

Anyone else had dreams about their due date? I assume it's normal, but wonder if there is any truth to them?

And there you have it. Next time I will be posting pictures at 40 weeks, assuming I make it that long!

Happy Tuesday!

32 weeks

Hello third trimester! Hello 8 weeks and counting!

In the last month, I have made many trips to the hospital. Don't worry, it wasn't because I was in false labour,  I had my Roagan shot as well as a few glucose tolerance tests. Apparently, drinking a grande non fat vanilla latte from Starbucks and eating a granola bar before their inital glucose tolerance tests can make a person fail. Oops! 

Aaron and I also participated in prenatal classes. Held over the weekend, it was a great to meet other couples in the same position as us. My plan, at this point, is to labour with Aaron and my mom in the room. Other than that I am flexible in what I want for my birth experience. 

In other hospital / doctor related news, my OB appointments have increased from once a month to once every two weeks. Baby H is lying transverse, across my stomach. Although his or her heartbeat is strong, I have another ultrasound booked next week to confirm the baby is growing appropriately. 

Speaking of the baby, he or she is moving more forcefully and intensively.  Two weeks ago, I felt as though the baby had dropped. No joking, it was hard to walk and sit. I don't know what happened to make that change but Baby H has moved off of my bladder and I am able to move with the same energy I had in my second trimester. My only complaint that I have is that I continue to misjudge how big I actually am. I keep running into things....or should I say things keep running into me! Haha!

The weeks seem to be slipping by and we have so much to do and so many friends we would like to see. My anxiety has increased a little as I worry about alot of things. I worry that I will deliever early and that I am not being ready to be a new mama. When this happens I just have to step back and laugh.....most first time pregnant women deliever past their due date and is anyone really "ready" to be a parent. Ah the joys of looming parenthood!

All in all, I still love being pregnant. Little did I know that when we found out that we were going to have a baby, that I would love so much. What a journey it's been. 

Happy Tuesday!

On being a scrapbookin' mama

This weekend, Aaron and I attended two full days of prenatal classes. It was chalked full of useful information on pain control in labour, breastfeeding and how to change a diaper. Although we have a million things to do around the house, the two day intensive course was amazing! 

The most useful excercise occurred when our lovely teacher, Cathie, broke up the partners and asked what day 5 would look like with a newborn. Both groups had to come up with the list of activities in our day and the two biggest adjustments that we would have to make. In addition to generally feeling overwhelmed, the soon-to-be fathers top concerns were related to increased financial demands and decreased personal time, while the soon-to-be mamas top concerns were loss of sleep and loss of identity. 

Perhaps the best thing about our prenatal classes is that I realized that everyone is in the same position.  I am not the only one having these thoughts. It's true - I worry about losing my sense of self after delievering Baby H. I think, will I ever be able to scrapbook/run/shower/go for a walk by myself, ever again? 

The coolest thing was when Cathie encouraged the soon-to-be mamas to do something they use to do before coming a mother, like scrapbook. It was at that point, I wanted Cathie to move it with us. All joking aside, I must remember that in those dark and sleepless nights,  even if I am  just taking pictures of my newborn, I am scrapbooking. I must remember that "to scrapbook" means alot of things. 

I am no expert when it comes to parenting. I am sure I will lose the "mother of the year award" many times on January 1st. If you would like to read more my ideas on changing our scrapbooking expectations as new mothers, check out my guest post today at Simple Scrapper.

For all the new scrapbooking mama's out there, how to you balance taking care of a newborn and scrapbooking?

26 weeks

                      

Hard to believe that were are 14 weeks away from being parents! In the last month, we have made a ton of progress on acquiring some essential baby related things include a crib, car seat and stroller. Besides talking about having a baby and what that will look like, these physical objects are beginning to seep into our lives, taking up space in our home.

Last Friday, construction began on our basement. We are attempting to make more room for Baby Hunter. Our spare bedroom will become the nursery, while the office will then become the spare bedroom. The second kitchen that was located in our basement has been removed and this weekend we are planning to relocate the office down in our family room. I am excited for these changes because all of my scrapbooking supplies, including the computer and photo printer will be in one place! 

I continue to walk and do prenatal yoga. I had to laugh last week when a hopeful young yoga teacher told a room full of pregnant ladies to "gracefully get up from the floor". The space, which is lined with mirrors on the walls, left no doubt in my mind that I looked anything but graceful. As a family member pointed out, at least I have an excuse to be clumsy!

Besides all the outward changes happening in our house, Baby Hunter continues to be a mover and shaker. He or she is quite active and I love to feel the movement. This past month, Aaron was able to feel the baby kick for the first time. It has been pretty cool to share that experience with him. In fact, we watch "the baby channel" aka my stomach right before bed. The baby seems to play to an audience and will shift from being close to my belly button to my right side. It kinda looks like he or she will pop out at any moment like in the movie, Alien. 

Overall, I survived a horrible summer cold and right now I feel pretty good. I have registered for some baby items and look forward to the baby sprinkle happening in September. I have always loved fall and now with our upcoming arrival I love it even more. Bring on the cool weather and  long clothes!

Happy Wednesday!

Baby Sprinkle Invites

          

My lovely and also pregnant, sister in law Megan, is throwing me a baby sprinkle. Being a little type A and a little creative, I wanted to make my own baby shower invitations. Above are two samples I created in PSE last night.....can anyone say "Pregzilla?" 

Look familiar? The baby feet images as well as the design was inspired from Becky Higgins. Did you know that you can download the above image as well as others for free from Becky's blog? So helpful when you don't have images of babies.

And a Baby Sprinkle, you ask? Essentially, a baby sprinkle is the same thing as a baby shower, only less emphasis on showering the woman with gifts. Don't get me wrong, I love gifts, we just don't expect people to break the bank for our little one. 

I think I am leaning toward the one with the green background and white writing. 

What do you think? Which one do you like? 

Happy Friday!

22 weeks

                                        

Wow! What a difference one month makes. My belly has popped and I have travelled successfully to Australia and back. Unlike last month, where people were afraid to ask if I was pregnant, complete strangers are coming up to me and asking us when I am due. Some even touch my belly - which I have to say I don't completely mind. It amazes me how the experience of having a baby brings people together. 

Besides dealing with jet lag and the humid heat, I feel pretty good. Yesterday I got a hair cut, which has boosted the old self esteem. To help deal with all the changes that my body is going through I have also taken up swimming and walk Charlie every night. I am even considering prenatal yoga.

Speaking of Charlie, I don't think he has any idea what's going on. As a dog mama, you worry that he will think we are replacing him . Crazy I know, but I think it may what families feel when they decide to have a second baby. We dog people sure do love our fur children.

Aaron has started to read to the baby. A couple nights this week as we lie in bed before sleep he  read a few chapters from a children's book. Baby H loves it as it feels like he or she is doing back flips in my uterus. 

I am in full nesting mode. I've organized my scrapbook supplies and prepared the house for a few renovations we need to do in our basement. Our current office needs a space so we can turn it into the nursery. 

I'm excited to see what next month will bring!

Happy Friday!

 

Nesting

 If you visit Lee Ave and you will see that I am in full nesting mode. 

After returning from Australia late last week, it dawned on me that Baby Hunter is due to arrive in approximately 19 weeks. Yikes. Where did the time go?  

I'm in the second half of my pregnancy and I feel as though I am racing against the clock as I near the third trimester. My type A personality has kicked in. And the result you ask? Little piles of stuff all over the house. 

The current "victim" - my scrapbook supplies. After receiving a copy of The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker for Christmas, I tried living with my supplies out in the open. My husband tried too. I have to say it didn't really work for us. I realized that like things clean and tidy. This realization combined with my incessant need to clean means that i'm back to the drawing board.  

I went to Ikea and purchases 6 of these boxes for our Expedit. My approach? Only keep the supplies I love.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must decided on whether all of my Tim Holtz embellishments get their own box or not. 

Happy Monday!