:: A Baby Girl & A Pink Balloon ::

What mom could resist......

.....an adorable little girl...... .....and a hot pink balloon..... :: We were out a the grand opening to a new community spray park andI certainly couldn't resist getting Denay's face painted ::She sat so very still and talked about "budda-fry, face" all day......

Precious, precious!

:: Newest Girly ::

I am so way behind considering this sweet, tiny little lady is now almost four weeks old.

Just before 7:00 in the evening on Friday May the 14th, we got a very exciting phone call.

Our really good friends, Kurtis and Natalie had just welcomed their second baby girl. Needless to say I was shrieking and almost in tears while Trevor talked to Kurtis and got all the details!

This, is Charlotte Hope, born weighing 8lbs 9oz and 21 inches long. Trevor and I went to meet her the next day and I've got to admit, it really made me want another girl too :) I also want to add that God answered prayers for a VBAC for Natalie and she had a good and complication free delivery!
I've seen Miss Charlotte a couple of times since then and I must say that she just keeps getting cuter and cuter.

Can't wait to watch another girl grow up in the giant tea party that seems to be happening over here7

Home Again

We're settled in and relaxing after a particularly wonderful weekend away visiting Trev's family. It felt so strange leaving know that the next time I go back again, I'll have another baby.

Saturday we had the chance to finally meet a very precious not-so-little-anymore baby named Isabella who is the daughter of Trev's best friend. Her momma is faithful reader around these parts.....it was so nice to chat and catch up even if for a short time Lindsay! After that it was lunch and then off to Trevor's gramma's 90th birthday celebration. Yep, you read that right, 90 years old. This lady is a legacy in her own right and it was such a great afternoon of catching up with family and rejoicing in a true woman of God.

:: Gramma Rosie cutting her cake ::

Saturday evening was spent hanging out and having dinner with Shawna and "her boys". I love, love my two rambunctious nephews and watching all three babes play and laugh together does this momma's heart good. Denay loves her cousins!

Church and lunch and coming home were the only things on the menu today.

I've got a whole gambit of posts I'm working on for your reading pleasure so make sure and come back to visit!

:: May Long Weekend 2010 | Qualicum Beach ::

We had a wonderful weekend away in our home on wheels with my parents in lovely and quaint Qualicum Beach. Last year we were in Tofino and this year we wanted to stick a little closer to home. The weather was slightly less than favourable but we did manage to get outside on Saturday and even saw the sun for a little while.

:: Denay and Opa exploring the beach. This quickly turned into turning over rocks to find crabs ::

:: Not sure if you can tell but Denay has got the leash on Daddy's wrist and is taking him for a walk....with her "buddy" Copper by her side ::
:: Having a very sticky "mahlow" experience ::
:: Ice cream on the beach :: :: Great shot my momma took ::

:: On the beach in the sun. Off came the shoes and socks and away she went ::

:: Baby feet! ::

:: This girl couldn't care less how cold the weather or water was ::

:: Copper always at her side ::

:: Hubby took this one.....she cried when we left ::

:: Building a raft with daddy and Opa on a rainy Sunday ::

:: Cuddling one of Oma's new puppies ::

:: One of my favourite parts of camping.....Quadra pies. These started years ago during a camping trip to Quadra with some family friends. White bread, buttered on one side, spread with pie filling, place in sandwich toaster (see here) and cook over fire until perfectly toasted.....then, eat it!! ::

:: Taking her baby for a stroll while daddy packed the trailer ::

I have to say that my least favourite part of camping is leaving and I can't wait until our trip this summer. I'm also thinking of planning one last one in September before baby comes. A certain little person also seems very keen on another camping trip.

Icky weather aside, a wonderful time was had, and special memories were made.

What did ya'll do for the long weekend?

Weekend Warriors

This week.

This week has been...busy.

I've been trying, with all the energy I don't seem to have, to absolutely attack my to-do list while we are "enjoying" this October-like weather.

-two coats of primer in the nursery.

-scraping off old paint, sanding, two coats of primer and three coats of paint on Denay's dresser (and yes, I had already painted it, long story).

-organizing, purging closets, photo shoots......

And, our front step.

We've been wanting to refinish our icky looking front step forever and I wanted it d.o.n.e. The product we wanted to use was on sale for 20% off (at Canadian Tire) but when I went to pick it up, I saw a big sign outside of Home Depot saying that they will meet and beat any price by 10%. So long story short, I ended up buying everything we needed for 30% off the regular price. Yay.

:: Before :::: After ::

It was much more of an undertaking than we expected and definitely doesn't look like it does in the commercials, but Trevor worked his magic and gave it a great finish. We're going to spruce it up a little more with a new doormat to rotate with our old one and before this baby comes, we also plan to paint the walkway and carport in a matching tone. Also still on the list is prepping and re-staining the deck, painting the nursery and then decorating it, and the never-ending task of trying to make room for this new one in the house.

So maybe there is a small up-side to this lack of sunny weather......the ol' saying goes, make hay while the, umm, rain pours?

:: Pictureless Wednesday ::

We're two days home now from a fabulous weekend camping trip to lovely Qualicum Beach with my parents.

I know it's normally Wordless Wednesday but in this case, I just don't have the energy to get one posted.

I've thrown myself up to my hairline in home projects......my to-do list just seems to keep growing and I'm determined to get as much done as I can before the heat comes because I really don't want to leave things until the fall when I am very pregnant.

So I'm here and feeling great.

My ultrasound came back with a slight abnormality that requires another scan with a specialist OBGYN next week so I would love any prayers for healing.

I'll try to be back.....sometime.

Did I Read That Right??

If I've got a couple minutes to sit, which doesn't happen all that often, sometimes I like to peruse random news and articles on the MSN Sympatico homepage.......today I came across an article about 8 places every Canadian should see. I browsed through, surprised that by the 7th picture there hadn't been one location in BC. I was far more surprised, however, when I clicked the last picture to see none other than my own hometown listed as #8.

http://weekendliving.sympatico.ca/Home/articles/must_see_canada.htm?feedname=photo_gallery_mustseecanada&pos=8&nolookup=true

Huh.....guess that's sort of something.

GrowUp!

Trevor and I had been talking for a while that maybe Denay was ready to move up to a booster chair from her Phil and Ted's MeToo highchair. I had been researching a lot of seats and was having a hard time coming across one that was not, well, gaudy and childish. I remembered seeing one at Cat and Fiddle in Victoria and found it online and re-fell in love with it.

We drove down to Victoria just to pick it up and the little princess is quite fond of it.

This is the Musty (pronounced moot-sy) GrowUp "seat reducer". Musty is a Dutch company that has been selling their products in North America for a couple years and the only retailer in BC is (thankfully) in Victoria.

We are so pleased with our purchase! Denay calls it her "beeg gurl chair". It's perfect just before the summer as her highchair doesn't clamp to a glass table top. It's nice being able to push her chair all the way under the table and we love the low-profile, discrete and stylish look.

Our not-so-baby-anymore girl is doing just the chair's name; growing up way too fast for this momma.

{Summer Sand Smiles}

While in Nanaimo for our ultrasound we thought we'd run by Toys-R-Us and take a peek at some car seats. While on our way in, a display outside caught my eye and my first though was "It's perfect". Then I looked down and saw the price and and thought "We're buying it". We've wanted to get Denay a sandbox since last summer but we're unsure about whether to build one or buy one. We hadn't had any luck finding a good sized, non-junky plastic one. But, alas, the one that caught my eye not only wasn't junky or tacky looking (for being plastic) but it is a perfect size at 3x4ft and was on sale for almost half off!

Annndddd......Denay looooves it.

She won't get in it yet but I have a feeling she, and hopefully her friends, will be spending a lot of time in it this summer!

Yahoo for fabby-ulous deals!

"Look After My Heart - I've Left It With You"

My Princess.

My Angel.

She is the smallest thing I decided to put my whole life into.

:: The Baby Bump Chronicles - Halfway There ::

Yesterday marked week 20 of pregnancy number two!

We had a midwife visit yesterday and Denay was totally ecstatic to hear baby's "harped-eat" again (which stayed consistent in the 140's). I am measuring at 19 weeks and other than a pesky varicose vein, all is well!

:: Official 20 Week Pictures ::

Today we got to go for our ultrasound. Good day. The tech was so wonderful but unfortunately baby decided to hide a little bit and he wasn't able to get all the measurements and pictures so I'll probably have to back again in a few weeks. The heart rate was 137 and by the measurements he took I was right on cue at 20 weeks.

:: Our sweet, perfect baby (click to enlarge) ::

We are hoping between the two ultrasounds to be able to find out what we're having.

And we've also decided that if we do find out, that we're going to keep it a secret.

:: I am just loving having another baby gettin' all knit together in the inmost. It's got me really thinking.....about babies and our family. God has really begun to sow the seeds of desire for a large family. I treasure so deeply the wonder that is the way my Creator made me to carry and birth these gifts of children ::

I am loving feeling baby squirm and kick and can't wait for baby to get bigger and stronger so daddy and can feel too!

So there you go. All is well......

Love you baby!

:: Stars On Ice 2010 ::

I posted this back in March.......last night, I got to see that very performance, live.
One of my mom's dogs was expecting puppies and went into labour (and had five babies) so my good and lovely friend Becca (very enthusiastically) agreed (very last minute) so come along with my dad and Trev. Miss D stayed back with Oma and we had an unbelievable evening. My husband even admitted that, although he went with reservations, he very much enjoyed himself.

I'll confess that went they started to introduce the skaters and (Olympic Gold Medalists) Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir came on the ice, I teared up a little. I'm blaming the pregnancy hormones :)

Just a couple shots from Tessa and Scott's performance to Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

Notice the top right and bottom left shots......yep, that's the infamous "goose". Truly the most graceful, passionate, emotional and beautiful pieces of moving art I've ever seen. I was willing that they would fit the piece in and sure enough, just before the final group number, out she came in a flowy pink dress and as soon as the lights came up, my heart skipped a beat.

Beautiful.

:: A couple collages of the rest of our evening ::

The other superstars of the night were Joannie Rochette and married couple Jamie Salle and David Pelletier who totally blew everyone away with their lifts and jumps.

Oi.

I could go on and on and on.

Awesome night, incredible skating.

Love, loved it.

"Uh-Oh"

At Walmart last week, called the hubby at work to see if he'd like an Ice Cap (which of course he did). Drove down the street to Tim's and walked in to discover they now sell ice cream.

Huh?

Apparently there are now 38 Tim Horton's locations across Canada that are now outfitted as a coffee shop/ice cream parlour.

I payed no attention.

Saturday night rolls around and everyone has been talking about this ice cream. I like ice cream (a lot), I want to try.

I had this......(not my photo)

A Birthday Cake Remix.

Cake batter ice cream, brownie, sprinkles and chocolate syrup.

Yum. Yum.

It is now my mission to try all the "Signature Creations" that appeal to me by the end of the summer.

Some of those include Apple Pie A La Coldstone, Chocolate Devotion, Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Cup Perfection.

Uh-oh.

And PS: get the small, it's big enough.

:: A Day For Momma ::

Today.
Today was a good day.

Denay and I had a morning alone. She slept in because mommy and daddy got her in bed late. We bathed, dressed, did our hair, ate breakfast.

Morning: church. Afternoon: reading, dozing. Evening: dinner, dessert, hockey game.

Lovely.

Highlight of my day?

Denay coming home from the store with daddy after church and after a little coaching (and a big smile) says to me in the sweetest voice in the world, "Happpy Mommy......DAY!".

In truth, that's all I needed. This momma was in tears.

We had a nice lunch outside on the deck. Little Miss was in a goofy mood....

Denay napped and mommy read her Mother's Day present, the new Ted Dekker (favy author) book The Bride Collector.
My mom and dad came over for dinner. Between Trev and my dad we enjoyed a very nice dinner of honey chicken teriyaki, caesar salad and potatoes finished off with a hearty serving of dutch apple pie and ice cream.

I opened my gift from my mom and was uber excited to hold tickets to Stars on Ice for Tuesday night. We went together two years ago and this time it's going to be a party of five and a half. Yep. My dad and Trev and Denay (and baby of course) are all coming. Uhhh....can't wait! We're talking Kurt Browning, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Joannie Rochette.

On Thursday the doorbell rang and I opened it to a FedEx man. I opened the package to a lovely card and an adorable Shabby Strap for my camera from my SIL Shawna. The Esty site is temporarily closed but I did find this picture, I got the cute striped one. Thanks Shawn, it's the perfect one.

I am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful and inspiring mommies who encourage, bless, uplift, challenge and love.

To all those moms: Happy Mother's Day.

The Finishing Touch?

Is this room ever going to be done?

Every time I add something to Denay's room I'm thinking, for sure it's done now. Apparently not.

I was flipping through the Canadian Tire flyer on the weekend and came across this absolutely precious petite chandelier for almost 50% off.

I found the last one in the store and brought it home. I took it out of the box and was iffy on whether I wanted to put it up. But I took it out the next day and knew it definitely need to be in Denay's room. After almost and hour of fighting, up it was and perfect it is!

Here's hoping this is the final touch on this little-lady room. Denay woke up this morning, looked up a the ceiling and said, "Oh! Pitty!".

I can't wait to move onto turning the spare room into the perfect baby room!

~ Cuba 2010 ~

I'm going to do my best to not landblast you with pictures from our trip but I can't make any promises.

We left on April 18th and walked on the ferry with Denay. Trev's parents came and picked her up at the terminal and the six of us took a limo the airport. We arrived in Cuba at 3:45am and got our rooms at just before 7:00am.

We had a week full of fun, sun and lots of relaxing and reading.......

Be sure to click on the collages to get a closer look!

Also, be sure to check out my photography blog here for a some special portraits of two amazing and super fun couples on the beach in Varadero.

:: Days With An Angel ::

The day after we came home, I so badly wanted to promise Denay we would wake her to the park. This girl LOVES the park. But with the minutely changing weather made that a poor idea. So when she went down for naptime I promised her we would make cookies when she got up. Then without fail, shortly after she woke up, "Mommy, cookie?". She was right into it but mostly wanted to stick her finger in the dough and eat the chocolate chips out of the measuring cup before I could pour them into the mixer.

After Trev's birthday dinner, it was still early enough and sunny (for the moment) so it was off to the park.

I'm still completely and totally exhausted so Trev did most of the running around which left me with a chance to take pictures. I so delight watching this little person run and play and explore, there are few things that are more precious to me.