Sorry for the late post but its been SUCH a good day! Waaay too much going on, and instead of blogging immediately after the kids went down, I decided to play some games on Bradys iPad while he backed up the laptop a bit. But thats another story.

I woke up this morning when Brady dropped the monitor, haha! Not the best way to wake up, but convenient, considering I wanted to make my new recipe today and it needed to be in the crock pot for nine hours. Brady was lovely and got up and helped me put it together while the kids were waking up in their room. Once it was assembled and the slow cooking had begun, I was sent back to bed to play free cell and try to sleep. I didn’t sleep, but I did take time and rest while the kids had some one on one time with their dad. When I did venture down to the family, we talked about what we might want to accomplish in the day, and realized we had a few things to do in the city. It wasn’t much though, and would likely not be stuff we would haul the kids in for. So I got all ready and went by myself. I love my shorty trips into the city on my own. Its nice to be hands free once in a while.

I started at the mall closest to my end of the city and grabbed Starbucks, and booked a hair appointment for next week. I actually need some help with some ideas but I’ll bug you about that in another post. I bought a Christmas tree ornament and some cookie cutters from Frenzy, and picked up my replacement phone. Not a new version, just a 4s, but time for a new battery.

*Sorry if the rest of this post is less happy. I’m trying, but just learned that through restoring my phone since getting home, about 400 pictures are lost, as well as all of my videos of the kids :*( They were not all on my laptop, and I’m really, really bummed. Damn you, something or other…

While I waited for my phone, I had a really nice visit with the girl at Telus. I actually dated her brother years back, so we knew each other in high school. Its always nice to catch up with friends from back in the day.

When I was done at that mall, I hit up Value Village. Its so silly, but thats something of a guilty pleasure for me. I love to peruse all the same sections every time I go – maternity, shoes, and housewares. Sometimes I get into kids clothes too but I can kill hours there. Plus, the vast majority of kids stuff is diaper shirts, and I’ve sort of stopped buying into those.  Today, I added a couple of other sections to my list and had a WONDERFUL haul! Not anything huge, but I’m very happy with my purchases. They include some boots, and a fall dress and denim jacket for Laela, a dressy little vest for Dekker, a work shirt for Brady, a really pretty dress for me that shows off my Jim bump really nicely, and a measuring cup/container thing. I’m not sure how to explain that, but I really like measuring things that are 4 cups or bigger. I seem to always need them and they’re always dirty. This one isn’t just a cup, but a Tupperware ish thing with a lid. I like it.

Post-city trip, I hit up a nearby town for the best buns in the world to bring to church tomorrow, as our small group is having pulled pork on a bun. Plus, buns with the soup I had made for supper made sense. So I bought buns, picked up coffees for Brady and I, and went home.

The kids were just waking up as I got home, but we worked with my phone and laptop and actually, had a really lame time of it. Our laptop is about to die, and therefore wouldn’t restore my phone, much less stay powered up. I think we’ve got the laptop mostly worked out for right now but the phone not yet :/

Brady and I weren’t super hungry for supper, thanks to our massive coffees, so the kids ate honey chicken on rice happily while we did dishes and assisted them as much as needed. Brady offered to bathe them afterwards, and Dekker was itching to get in there. He wasn’t even completely undressed before he started to climb in. I helped him get there, and yes, into swim shorts because thats how he rolls, and then into the tub. They played happily at first, fussed a bit during the rinse, but hardly. Dekker is always so pleased afterwards, and we have a big long talk about how much fun the bath is. As the kids were getting dried off, Dekker said he didn’t want to wear a diaper. Brady asked “Did you want to wear underwear?” Dekker heartily agreed! So I rushed over and pulled out the one and only pack of underwear we have for him. I pulled out each pair and laid them on the floor so he could pick. He picked the ones with the skateboarding turtle. I slipped him into them and he was sooo proud! We took a bunch of pictures, but I know some people think those kinds of pictures are super offensive so I don’t want to piss anyone off by posting. It was pretty awesome though! I got him into a shirt and said she should go play a bit. He insisted he wanted pants too. I was a bit bummed, since I was expecting him to pee and I wanted to save his jammies. But, no luck. So I got him all dressed how he wanted, and we went downstairs. The timing was no good, as it was an hour before bedtime, but I certainly wasn’t going to say he couldn’t wear underwear!! And that whole hour, he didn’t pee! Not going to lie, I was in my underwear and a shirt as I tend to be, and Dekker pointed out that I was wearing underwear. It became the “lets see your underwear” party, and we all showed our gitch off. It was pretty hilarious, but he was so pumped about it.

The sad part was bedtime. He likes underwear, but will not sit on the potty. So I told him that underwear are for big boys who sit on the potty, and if he can pee on the potty, he can even sleep in underwear! But he wouldn’t, and had to be put in a diaper. And he was devastated!!! He bawled, but I don’t think there was a way around it. We don’t have mattress covers, or more than four pairs of underwear. But at the very, very least, we are close! I’m sad thinking that he’ll probably want to wear underwear again tomorrow, and we’ll be away all day with no way to really let him be. But, we know that he’s interested, and likes the feeling of it 🙂 Yay Dekker!!!!! I love you in your cute underwear! “Dekker likes these shorts!”

After the kids went to bed, we ate the soup that had been simmering all day, and guys, it was sooo yummy! It lacked a bit of something that I haven’t totally placed, but it could be as simple as salt. There was no salt on the recipe at all, not even “salt and pepper the chicken,” and while I don’t require a salt flavor at all, it was missing a bit of something. But it was delicious, and we will definitely make it again! We ate a bunch of that, and now have been fighting with the laptop and phone ever since. Not the best evening to wrap up a beautiful day but I’m trying to stay positive. I have SO many great things in my life to be thankful for! Yes, I love it when my electronics work, but I also love my family and the things we can enjoy and look forward to and laugh about. Its been a truly marvelous day.

Still time for a bath?? Hope so!

How lucky am I to have friends over two days in a row? Very. Brady ran around and completed a bunch of small jobs for friends all day while I stayed home and visited with Hailey. She came with coffee and warmth, and we had a great visit all afternoon. Dekker was comfortable with her right off the bat, which was a great surprise! He hasn’t seen her in a while, and while I had high hopes, I didn’t know how he’d respond to having someone else in the house. That doesn’t always go smoothly. But he greeted her with smiles and showed off all of his mad running and falling skills. He did great, and only was sad at nap time. He didn’t fight it though, and cried for less than five seconds after I left his room. Both kids slept like logs for almost three hours.

While the littles slept, Hailey and I caught up. She leads a crazy life, as most of my friends do, so there is always tons to talk about. We cover life, friends, school, work, and we even talked Christmas. I’m getting really excited for Christmas!!!

I guess the question is what do you guys do for Christmas? We have our regular traditions with my parents, and siblings if they’re around. We are just really wanting to build traditions within our household, and its hard to figure out what we can do with such little kids. Can you guys fill me in on some activities that you do with your kids that are three and under? Here are some ideas/thoughts that I had:

Christmas tree cookies: As a kid, I loved making these chocolate cookies in the shape of Christmas trees. We’d stick two cookies together with minty green icing. I wouldn’t even say they were the yummiest cookies in the world, but I loved the tradition when I was little. I know the activity of icing cookies is still over Dekker’s head, but I know he loves when I bake and use the mixer, and he loves to be up on a chair, right in the middle of the action. So he might enjoy it, right? Laela would be the eye candy in the high chair eating icing, so I doubt she’ll complain either.

Maybe dipping treats in chocolate? Marshmallows, pretzels, etc. Really easy, and we have lots of good sprinkles and stuff that little fingers could decorate with.

I was contemplating cutting snowflakes, but even as a bit of an older kid, I remember making that mistake and cutting that one side just a little too much and having it all fall apart. Thinking that might not work.

Do we just color Christmas pictures?! Thats not too riveting hey?

What do you guys think? I love the idea of making Christmas cookies and bringing them to neighbours and learning about giving and all that good stuff, but I just feel like Dekker would find that so scary still, with the way he is with strangers, and I’m not sure that would be a great activity for him just yet. Please, all, thoughts and ideas are welcome!!! What do little little ones like to do for Christmas???!

I hope I can speak for both Jerilee and I when I say we had a hysterical day together! She came around noon and brought coffee. We played with the kids and visited about Vegas, work, plans, etc. Brady had a short day today, which was perfect since he had some paperwork and stuff to do, and he brought lunch! I saw this new pizza on a Little Caesars ad the other day, that bragged up pepperoni pizzas with pretzel crusts, and Brady was a doll and brought some home. Guys, those things are unbelievable, and they’re $6. The sauce is pretzel cheese. Boom. The one bummer was my very first ever experience where my pregnant mouth screwed me up, and for some reason, the crust tasted a bit metallic. It was actually super off putting, which was sad, but I still managed to eat four pieces so obviously it didn’t set me back too much. All in all, it was a super delicious lunch.

The kids went down shortly after, and Brady came and sat with Jerilee and I to do his quarterly report while she and I visited and watched “Say Yes to the Dress.” It was a super relaxed afternoon, where we laughed our way through baby name lists, trying to pick what to name our beautiful Baby Jim. There are some crazy names out there 🙂 We had a good laugh. I’m open to ideas!! What would you name a baby boy if you had one today?

For supper, we just had a yummy big salad with chicken chunks in it. I make a really yummy (but very basic) honey mustard dressing that we smothered it in. It was delicious, honestly. Dekker loves salad, and chicken, so that helped. Oh, and garlic bread. Yum.

The kids went down just shy of an hour later, and the three of us left had coffee and dessert. Well, we tried to anyway. I don’t know if I’ve said on here recently that our awesome water cooler/Keurig is officially done for. Waaay too many glitches and overflows and troubleshoots later, we gave us and returned it. We purchased a totally different water cooler and set it all up today, only to discover that he water pump was broken. Back to the store. All that aside, we pulled our old Keurig out from the basement to make coffees, and it glitched a solid ten times before we gave up. It seems the water pumped wasn’t working. Irony. However, a half hour later, I went and ran it through and it worked, so who knows. But we definitely need a new water cooler and coffee maker soon. Hopefully tomorrow for the cooler anyway. So we had our drinks and some little individual cheesecakes from the freezer while we had what would normally be a nice quiet visit. But it wasn’t. It became a time of eating hilariously inappropriate candy, naming our child Bora Bora Born, the word “Hutterarchy,” and so much more. Probably none of this translates as funny to any of you, but my gosh, we were all just about falling over! We probably looked ridiculous (or hammered) if anyone were to observe us, but I think we were all just tired and old, hahaha! It was pretty much awesome. I’m sad we only see so much of Jerilee, but I’m so thankful we snag her on her occasional day off. And that she even wants to come, after living here for a week with the kids!! But they love her and were on pretty good behavior while she was around, so I’m sure that helps. Plus, she didn’t have to touch a poopy diaper or feed anyone, so maybe that helped too.

What a great day 🙂 I had such a good cozy day with a friend, and I have company tomorrow too! The lovely miss Hailey is coming!! I can’t remember the last time she visited, and I’m SO happy to have her over again! Gosh, I have great friends…

Ok, I’m tired. And funny, obviously. Time for bed.

I have had this unsatisfiable craving for asian food for the last couple of months. I want really, really good chow mein, and while I know Brady would happily drive wherever I asked him to within the city and pick it up from any restaurant I so desired, it seems really frivolous to keep trying out different chow meins for ten bucks a pop, over and over again. Laaame. But yesterday, we took a stab at some good chinese. Not chow mein, but it still counted.

We ordered from Genesis. We’ve eaten there once before, but didn’t really remember what everything was or which items were yummy. So we ordered a ginger beef, lemon chicken, and a vegetarian birds nest, which was like hardened noodles in the shape of a bowl holding sautéed veggies. Brady picked it up on his way home, and texted that it smelled really good anyway.

I lay it all out on the table in front of my hungry family. Dekker asked for macaroni instead. I told him that this was all really new food, and that if he didn’t like it, we could easily warm up some leftover honey chicken. I put nooo pressure on him whatsoever. I told him we had rice, veggies, and some different meats. “Want veggies!” Well, ok. He surprised all of us by not only liking, but devouring multiple servings of everything. He LOVED it! I mean, its all saucy and hot and so yummy, why wouldn’t he? It was all really delicious, and we’ll definitely order from there again. I mean, it was a tad pricey, and we’d definitely have to order another rice along with it, but we learned. And I mean, we could just make our own rice too. Not a big deal. Overall, it was super yummy, and hit the spot, and the leftovers in the fridge smell great! I’m still on the hunt for great chow mein though! I like the thinner noodles, and nothing dry. Juuuicy please! Do any of you make your own asian food? My gosh. This all makes me hungry. I should have a snack.

*goes to fridge for pickles*

I have a recipe I’m hoping to make this week still. Probably friday. I feel like a lot of the food I grew up on is the cats pajamas, and I’ve found myself intimidated when it comes to trying new recipes, since I have more of an attitude that nothing will even come close. But after I’ve found a few delicious ones that are now regular meals in our home, I’m excited to try out some new ones! The latest is a creamy chicken tomato soup, loaded with the obvious, as well some spices, and coconut milk and chicken broth. I’m really curious how it’ll turn out, but excited at the possibility of having found a new delicious soup to warm us up through these next months!

It would appear that my pregnantness has taken this post over, as I had other things to talk about, haha! But, food is calling my name. I’m out! Have a great evening!

I felt as though I was at the end of my rope yesterday. Strangely enough, I don’t think it was just me. I think my whole household was going through the same feelings. Because today felt so much better. For everyone!!!

I woke up to pee around 6:00ish and realized that Brady had forgot to set his alarm. So I woke him up in a bit of a panic. therefore, I was awake. My kids were still asleep for another 2.5 hours but I had no such luck. I was a bit bummed but felt surprisingly rested. I figured that really counted for something considering the last couple of days. So I ran with it. I was fully prepared to be as boisterous as possible and super patient. Today had to be better than yesterday.

And these kids are just sweet as pie. You can tell a switch was flipped, even just for today, and everyone is feeling better.

Dekker is positive and making jokes and playing really well with Laela. When her water bottle ran out, he gave her his. He brought her crackers and helped her eat her lunch. Things like that. He didn’t scream, and hardly whined all morning!

Laela had taken two steps in a row a number of days ago, but not much else since. Today, she has been working tirelessly at walking. She accomplished FIVE whole steps!!! At one, she walked from one chair to another, grabbed hold, and then let go and just headed into the middle of the room on foot. I feel like its a pretty big deal when she’s not even necessarily going towards a destination, but just feels like walking. She fell on her bum after a few steps but I went to attack her and praise her up, and terrified her! She jumped out of her skin and started speed crawling away, until she realized it was a game, when she fell over onto her back and gave me her tummy to tickle and nibble.

Jim has made his very first visible movements for me today! They’re still pretty little, but they’re getting bigger, and can finally be seen on the outside! I’ve never had the experience of feeling movement inside but not being able to feel it on the outside until there was Jim. He’s kept me guessing a lot, but now I can finally see it and know I’m not making it up. I better not be after 21 weeks!

So many cool accomplishments I had to share today 🙂 Dekker was sad to go down for his nap but he did waaay better than I thought he would! He was sad, but went upstairs on his own, took his glasses off and put them on the dresser and crawled into his bed, all without being told! So I’m calling it a success, whining or not. Now that the kids are in bed, so am I. Just because I can, really. I don’t have much soreness or any chest pain today, but I’m still taking it easy. Yay for comfy, successful days where you don’t feel like pulling out your hair!!

Today was worse than yesterday, to the point where I ended up in bed with chest pain. Its just s big stage we’re all trying to survive, and its fine, but I anticipate nap time. All is well now, though. The kids slept until Brady came home, and Dekker came into our room and asked “Be close to mommy?” So we cuddled together for a bit before supper. All is well, and we love each other. No worries 🙂

So instead of talking about today too much, I realized I haven’t kept you guys as much in the loop on all the fun new things that Laela is picking up! We are late on her shots this month (oops!) so I can’t tell you what she weighs at the moment, but she just feels tall! She stands up all on her own in the middle of a room now, and walks around holding onto couches like she’s been doing it her whole life. I don’t even specifically remember when that started, but she’s a pro. She is now my second child who will NOT walk while we hold her hands. Absolutely not. She wants to walk all by herself. That being as it is, she’s been on the verge of walking for a little while now, without too terribly much progress. However, she took her first completely stable unassisted steps a couple of days ago!! Two in a row. Before she just sat down and crawled to her destination. We coax and play and do everything we can to convince her to walk, but so far she opts to plop down and crawl. But its coming.

Laela plays all kinds of fun games! She loves to clap and click her tongue, and sing and dance. She dances all the time!! Its adorable. On laundry day, she likes to root through the piles in the basement and try to wear the clothes. She’ll actually pile socks by her feet and have shirts wrapped around her shoulders. However, since we started laughing at her because of it, she just tries to pull everything over her head. Beware. If she succeeds, she’ll cry until someone saves her.

She and Dekker play this hilarious game where they make eye contact from across the room, and once they decide in their secret language that its time, they speed crawl towards each other. They both squeal and laugh, and Dekker bails out almost immediately. But when Laela speed crawls, her puts her head down and just motors, so Dekker stops and stands up, and Laela stops when she eventually runs into something. Its so fun to watch.

The little miss has an ever-growing appetite, finally!! She loves to eat at the table and is slowing down on her milk intake. This will be the last can of formula that she eats from, we think, and will throw her into homo milk any day now. I remember that transition with Dekker, and how he drank so much less. I worried about it before asking other moms, and hearing lots of them say that they figure it out pretty quick. And they did! Going from the bottle to sippy cup with Dekker was a breeze. Here’s hoping it goes similarly with Laela!

I think thats pretty much it for the moment. I’m feeling pretty achy and sleepy after yesterday, so I’m thinking a nice long sleep and a few more quiet days will do it! Sleep well, all!

Our small group had its first actual bible study this afternoon, and we had to miss it. I was pretty bummed about it, but the kids were just shot and in no shape to play with the other kids or to sit up in session with Brady and I.

Our family was up for food though, so I prepared two enormous batches of honey chicken yesterday and figured I’d just warm it up in the kitchen during church. I realized a bit late that I had made a pretty excessive amount, but its yummy and reheats well so I wasn’t too concerned. It heated up in time, and since our angry kids had to eat regardless of where, we were able to still stay and have lunch with our group. Luckily, Dekker loves honey chicken, and rice, and salad. So he ate well while Laela slid around in his chair and wept bitterly. After we had eaten, I helped with dishes in the kitchen, and Dekker played out in the gym area with the kids sooo well! When it came time, I told him that mommy and daddy were going to go upstairs to a bible study, and I asked if he wanted to come, or to stay and play toys. He responded with one solid high pitched scream about ten seconds long. Deep breath, and he gave it again. So we left. I was pretty miffed, but neither kid would have survived the next hour or two.

Laela was asleep before we were out of town, and Dekker stayed awake the entire drive. He went to bed when we got home, but Laela was sooo upset to be in her crib after already sleeping a half hour. So she came and hung out with Brady and I, but she was unhappy the entire time.

I won’t pretend it was a smooth evening. It was actually a total bust. Both kids were pissed and basically wailed all throughout the evening. Supper was unbelievably delicious, but again, kids screaming in between bites doesn’t make for an especially enjoyable family time. If I’m looking at it honestly, I’m sure we’ve had worse evenings (the first couple of days after Dekkers surgery probably rank pretty high up there…) but this kind just leave me fully exhausted. I’m trying to be positive and dwell on the good, but today felt like it would never end. Lucky for us, it has. The kids are in bed and I am sooo ready for a bubble bath! We finally cracked open the pickles that my mom and I made this summer and I could just eat them all day all night, but we’re going through them way too fast anyway. Merp merp. I guess I’ll be an adult and just be full of supper instead of overfull of treats.

Yesterday was SUCH a fantastic day, and I’m so thankful to you guys who anticipated the results with us!! We can now all be excited together 😀 Baby BOY is on his way, aiming for March 2nd.

I’m definitely anticipating that day. Not in the way that means I’m wishing the time away. I am one to do that kind of thing, but have made a point to STOP thinking that way since having my kids, and not wanting time to rush by anymore than it already does. There is so much going on before he arrives! Halloween is right around the corner, and guys, our kids are going to be unbelievably cute in their costumes! Trust me, you aaaaall want them to stop by. Also, we’ll have Christmas pretty soon after that, which I’m always excited for. We jumped the gun and put in the last few weeks of our weekly savings into our jar, so we can officially start getting the season set up and planned out. The next significant things on our list after that are in February, those being our anniversary, and the one year anniversary of Dekker having his surgery. Not my favorite thing to look forward to, but an occasion nonetheless. He has an appointment a few weeks after the actual date, and I’m very curious to see what the results will be, one year post-op. Thats going to be an interesting day actually. Both kids have simultaneous appointments, and they’re both getting those yucky stinging drops to dilate their eyes. *shivers* I will be 39 weeks pregnant on that day. And yes, my bags will be packed.

And SO soon after that, our baby will be due. And instead of saying I’m desperately looking forward to that time, my mind is full of questions. Of course I’m thrilled at the idea of having him in my arms, and I guess its too early to go into big details, but I’m nervous to make some of the decisions I’ll have to make. His birth will either be a VERY controlled occasion, or completely wild and uncontrolled like Laelas. Decisions, decisions. Anyway, lots to think about and luckily, still some time to come up with some answers and ideas. Might need some help, lol!

Brady woke up with a pretty wicked headache and couldn’t kick it for most of the day, so we relaxed and didn’t do too terribly much. We did laundry, and Brady napped in the afternoon while the kids napped. Tomorrow is a big day of church and our small group meeting, so we’ve got to be rested! Thankfully, tomorrow isn’t a day we lead music, so we don’t need to be there any earlier than the service starting. Please sleep in, kids!

In case anyone possibly missed it, we had our 20 week ultrasound today! This morning. At 9:30. That means we all had to leave the house by 8:30. I don’t normally leave my bed by 8:30, so it was a big of a change, but the kids woke up to us moving around and were ready to go when we were! We got to the scan a bit early and were in let in almost right away.

Our tech was not a very personable lady. We like our clinic. They always take their pictures and then show us around the baby and visit with us. Its a really nice place. But she didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t even confirm a heartbeat until she got their in her order of things. She had the screen turned to her, so I paid attention to Dekker and Laela for the first chunk of the scan, until I realized she wasn’t going to show us anything. Then I watched, and saw all kinds of wonderful things about my baby. It was a really clear picture, and baby was moving sooo much! I was a bit miffed to have missed the beginning and to not have the warm fuzzy experience like every other time, but c’est la vie. What I did get to see was fabulous! We witnessed yawning, thumb sucking, and butt scratching. Yup, not even kidding. It was hysterical! And if you can’t guess by the butt scratching, we were so thrilled to discover that our baby Jim is, in fact, a baby boy 🙂 A sweet, active, uncooperative but oh so exciting little boy. My mama heart is sooo thrilled to be adding another little boy to the mix that is our family. What a fabulous tie breaker!!!

After our ultrasound, we went to Coras for brunch to celebrate. We had a fabulous server, and Dekker was very comfortable with her. She did great, and took down all of the weird specifications that come from having food out with our kids. And then I spilled an entire cup of fresh, piping hot coffee on my lap. Aaaaall over my lap. My goodness, that burned. I rushed to the bathroom to see what I could, which turned out to be not a whole lot. No hand dryer to try to dry out my pants either. So I just stuffed some paper towels between my legs and my jeans, and tried to soak some of the coffee out of my jeans from the outside as well. My shirt got a decent douse as well, but luckily, I opted for black instead of the medium grey I was debating wearing, so that was camouflaged quite a bit better. I brought some paper towels into the restaurant area and honestly, tucked them between my legs to soak up more moisture while I ate. I tried really hard not to be ticked about the whole thing. Nothing could touch me!

And whats great is that nothing did 🙂 I ran errands and had a lot of fun with my family. We saw Dr. Mike aaaaall together for the first time probably since before Dekker’s surgery in February, and Deks was chatty and content with him. Dr. Mike commented to me “Wow, this is new! Thats awesome!” It sure was. We dropped by Superstore next for more sippy cups and Dekker requested to come in with me. Just me and him. I agreed to bring him and and he did awesome! He helped pick colors, and even carried the grocery bag out to the van, all by himself. We hit our bank next and I went in to square up from our trip, convert our American money back to Canadian, stuff like that. From there, Dekker and I once again ventured out together and bought some hand soaps at Bath and Body Works. So much success so close together!

We hit up The Better Good afterwards and I bought these beautiful moccasin boots for Laela for winter. I had purchased her snow boots already, but they were horrendously overpriced and probably wouldn’t have been used too much. Also, besides those, I needed to find her some cute boots for indoors for days like today. I realized that both pairs added up would likely cost around what these beautiful ones I truly wanted would cost, and they would translate to both settings. I had deemed them “too expensive” but upon this realization, I returned the other boots and bought the ones I really loved today. I even ran into Willa there, so big win all around!

Our last stop was going to be Costco for diapers. Brady dropped me at Lawson mall so I could peruse Thyme Maternity while he took the kids to run the last of the errands. I had this fabulous coupon and figured it was a good time to potentially jump on the winter jacket bandwagon. Straight up, I HATE the winter coat part of winter. I feel totally enormous in winter, with all the bulk of the jacket and scarf and everything. Add a belly to that, and it just doesn’t sound like a good time. However, I actually found a coat I really, really liked that doesn’t scream “maternity” at me. So I picked that up, plus three of their beautiful and super comfy long sleeved shirts for about $130. The coat at full price was supposed to be $140 and the shirts are each $28 so I’m thinking I got a pretty wonderful deal. Yay for $100 OFF! I doddled my way through the mall after that, did some research on upgrading our phones (won’t be doing that for a while :/ ) and eventually landed at Starbucks, where I purchased frapps for Brady and I, and seated myself outside in the sun while I waited for them to arrive. I relaxed in the sunshine while a nearby man told me his tale of woes, and how the love of his life cheated on him and left him childless, and how his dreams were crushed. I guess we all need someone to talk to sometimes.

After the van of fam arrived, we drove to my parents to share the wonderful baby news with them and ended up staying for supper and the evening. We ate good food and Dekker completely destroyed the living room with toys. But after not napping all day, both kids were trashed and it was quickly time to go home. They both slept the entire drive home, and were more than ready to be tucked in and continue right on with the snoozing. It was an enormous day for all of us, but truly wonderful!! So much happened, and now there is so much more to think about!!! I love being able to share the news of our baby BOY with you guys, and to be able to say “he” and “him” now instead of “it” or just “baby.”

Now to name the little sucker… Why are boys names so hard?!?!

I brag my doctor up a lot, I know. Some of you probably get bored of it. Thats cool. You just don’t get it. She’s the best.

My 20 week appointment was this afternoon. I was weighed first, where I learned that I’ve only gained 4 lbs so far! Thats pretty great for me, since I’ve usually gained ten by now, but I’m also starting higher than I did the last two times, so I’m happy. My doctor was beautifully on time. Pretty close anyway. Dekker had set up his chair in our exam room, and was playing with his trucks and eating his snacks off of the little table the pull out at the end of the bed. Not the most delicious or sanitary place to play, but its not like he was licking the stirrups or anything so I let it go. We talked about the few changes I’d had since my last appointment. I’ve started taking Zantac every night for my acid reflux, my pelvis and hips are just starting to slip out now, and I can finally feel the baby move! Other than that, there hasn’t been any big news. No recent fainting or bailing down the stairs, thankfully.

I was pleasantly surprised at the kids. Laela hardly made sound, minus showing off her newfound “L” sound, and Dekker was totally comfortable! He talked to Dr. Guselle and answered some questions. She commented that his hair was so long, and when I said that we really should cut it, she replied “No! Its so beautiful!” I agree. When it was time to check my tummy and heartbeat, he wanted in. He and the doctor talked about the measuring tape, and how mommy was at 24! We laughed and talked about my massive children. Then she invited Dekker to come help with the doppler and he climbed right up next to her and helped squeeze the ultrasound gel onto my tummy. She found the heartbeat right away and we talked to Dekker about what the sound was. I told him “Thats baby Jim’s heartbeat!” Dr. Guselle seemed a bit confused and asked how we knew the baby was boy if our scan was tomorrow, so we kind of joked and told her that Dekker was insistent that the baby was a girl, but he named her Jim.

As I was getting up, she asked if I was feeling anxious or content at the idea of labor, being that we’re halfway through now, so we talked a bit about that and what my specific hang ups are. I assured her I wasn’t losing sleep over anything at this point, but there were some details that I feel like, no matter what, they won’t go well. We agreed not to delve too deep into it just yet, but wait a few more appointments and go from there. She mentioned again that if I’m feeling incredibly anxious, that can help us make decisions too. I told her that I didn’t want something like that to make my decisions for me, and I should be able to just curb that, and she kind of tilted her head and said “Well, those feelings are really important, so we’ll just wait and see, ok?” I love her.

I felt so light after my appointment with her. The kids had been great, we had all just sat and visited for a good few minutes after everything was checked and done, and she is just always so encouraging. You know those few doctors in the world that never make you feel rushed? That always listen to every possible thing you have to say, and answer every single question? There aren’t many like her. I’ll see her again in a month, and I always anticipate the visit.

After this appointment today, I am even more eager to get myself to that ultrasound tomorrow!!! Although the gross realization of a 9:30am scan is that I have to have drank a litre of water before 8:30am. I’m not usually out of bed by then!!! Gross. Double gross.

Baby’s worth it.