A little about my big boy

I thought it would be nice to spend a little time talking about my big man before he becomes a big brother!
He is growing so quickly, its definitely bittersweet for me. My heart soars with pride at what a bright and sweet BOY he is becoming, but its just happening so quickly.
It makes me wonder WHERE my baby went!
In one week he will be 2 years and 8 months. Crazy.
He is about 35 & 1/2" tall and just broke the 30lbs mark!
He is wearing mostly size 2 clothes and some size 3 shirts. I am buying 3 for the summer.
He wears size 7 or 8 shoe.
He is STILL in diapers, a size 5 and despite my very best effort he is showing NO progress with potty training. He just doesn't want to at this point. He will when he's ready.
We think he is smart, LOL.
He can spell his name and recognize all of the letters in his name.
He can count to 15 in English and to 10 in spanish. He randomly did this last week and amazed us, and they say TV isn't good for kids (thanks Handy Manny/Dora, LOL).
He can sing his ABCs and is getting better at recognizing letters NOT in his name.
He knows all his colours and loves to sing.
He is a bit of a ham and says the funniest things.
He is kind hearted and if I say I'm not feeling well or sad he hugs and kisses me and
asks if that made me better.
He loves other children, and I've been feeling a lot of guilt about keeping him home from daycare the last few months. Financially I just can't justify it when I am home.
I have been making an effort to take him to the early years centre at the end of the street.
He loves it there and they have a lot of great early education activities.


He loves to be a helper, which I think will be useful when baby is here! This is him helping me make dinner this week. His favourite saying is "I do it by myself" for EVERYTHING!

He is a pretty good little swimmer too! HE wears a puddle jumper and is completely independent with it. He can jump in and swim the entire length of my dads pool! (my dad just bought a house with an indoor pool! Such a nice option for frequent swimming, which we all love).

He's getting excited about being a big brother! He has his own baby that he has been testing all the baby toys with! He still insists Ducky is a girl, which I just find hilarious.

He is still a great napper, typically napping 2-3hrs a day. Lately he has been asking to "nuggle" me and nap in our bed. It hasn't affected our new bedtime routine, and I feel like I should snuggle him all I can right now before I have a little nursling again in a few weeks!
Him and Calvin are good friends, and Calvin likes to join us for naps as well!

He is still happy and comfortably rear facing in a Graco MyRide 65. We aren't really sure when we will turn him. We know its safer, and he's just so content it doesn't make sense to make the change. I'm thinking once baby is back there and also rear facing he will be even more content! As you can see there are still several inches above his head for growth before he "outgrows" rear facing. He's enjoying his favourite treat, starbucks hot cocoa!

Back in January we decided to transition L from our bed, cosleeping to a toddler bed. We felt the transition would be easier if we put him into a toddler bed in our room. He has done great! He's still in our room and doesn't seem quite ready to move to his room yet, but he will get there.
I found him UNDER his bed one night a few weeks back! What a funny kid!

This is our little family last week on my 29th birthday.

Last week when I took my belly pic Logan wanted in on the action, here's his baby bump! LOL

And a quick pregnancy update, here I am at 34 weeks.

I'm 35 weeks tomorrow. Still on "watch" for my blood pressure, its pretty consistently 130s/90s, no protein in my urine, and minimal swelling although I have frequent/consistent headaches. I've been very uncomfortable this week and having lots of cramping and even a few episodes of contractions. Nothing to get me overly concerned but I think my body is practicing.
I'm really hopeful I will hang on for another week or two! Three would really be ideal, LOL!
I have 3 more weeks of classes and then my final is two weeks later. An Easter Baby fits best in my schedule but as long as he or she is healthy it doesn't matter when the big day is!

33 weeks & Deja Vu...

My two handsome men! This is the only photo I have back from our family photos last week, and I love it!

I asked the photographer to rush it for me so I could use it to surprise Les
with a birthday announcement for his 29th Birthday this week!

And because I think he's so darn cute dressed like a little man

here's a photo of Logan from last week:

I was 33 weeks on Friday, here I am, getting big! And uncomfortable!

I had a BUSY weekend, it was my sister's birdal shower and I was up on my feet Friday, Saturday & Sunday doing WAY too much!
The shower turned out great and I will be sharing photos as soon as I have some!

Did I mention I am the MOH in my sister's wedding April 28th THIS YEAR, as in 8 days past my due date!? Yup stressful! I'm hoping for an easy delviery and quick recovery!

I saw Dr.J today, I've been monitoring my blood pressure and watching it slowly creep up since Friday. In the office today it was 144/103, thats HIGH. After some rest and switching arms it was 138/89; better but still elevated from my 120s/70s. I've noticed some minimal swelling in my hands and feet, but nothign overly concerning.

I was very open with Dr.J and told him how much this scared me. I reminded him that I was induced at 35 weeks with L for pre-e and how quickly I got very sick. I told him perhaps I was paranoid. He thinks my history and symptoms warrant closer monitoring, so I will be seeign him weekly now and getting an NST this Friday as well.

I have NOTHING ready for this baby, so its going to be hard for me to "stay off my feet and relax" as he instructed. I will do my best but I'm thinking if I get everything including my hospital bag organized this weekend perhaps I will truly be able to relax (minus the basement renos underway, advanced stats course I'm taking and having a 2 year old!).

32 weeks & doing well!

Here's Mr.Logan on Valentine's Day. My sister (Auntie Nee) loves to spoil him and sent an edible arrangment for us! We all loved it, especially L!

This boy is non stop fun these days! The things he says and comes up with blow me away. He is beyond "talking" you can have full conversations and he can articulate very well. His manners are great, he's busy tho! And he has the memory of an elephant! Seriously!

He truly is my world, and as the big day apporaches I'm starting to worry about just how this new little person is going to affect him. I know he will transition OK, and that he will do fine, in the end. However I hate the thought of missing any moments with him, and I know in all of reality, I will.

He talks about the baby a lot, he still says its a girl. He seems excited, I hope thats a good sign!

Time if flying by! And we are BUSY, we are officially working on the basement, I am trying so hard to get this upstairs in a working order. I have been sick for over 2 weeks with a nasty cold/cough I just can't shake. Plus remember grad school!? LOL I have a midterm next week! We have a few other exciting things going on as well, and I really HOPE to start writing my, even if no one is left reading I love looking back on my memories of L and need to do the same for Ducky!

Some pictures to catch us up!

30 weeks

31 weeks

32 weeks

I'm carrying much lower then I was with L. This has been a much different pregnancy altogether! I will do the survery since its been awhile:

How far along? 32 weeks!

Total Weight Gain? 15 lbs, this is a few lbs less then with L, however I started out a bit heavier

Maternity Clothes? Oh yes, everything! I bought myself a few new cute things and thats it!

Stretch Marks? I don't think I have too many new ones yet!

Sleep? Not good, I'm exhausted all.the.time. Luckily L still naps well so I nap most days, nights I'm up every 2 hrs and havign a VERY hard time falling asleep.

Best Moment this week? We did maternity family photos! I didn't do any with L so I'm so excited to see these!

Food Cravings? applesauce, grapes, sweets in general.

Gender? I still think girl, maybe!

Labour Signs? Nope sore and crampy, not sure if thats normal or not. Nothing consistent tho, lots of pressure and BHs!

Belly Button? The right side sticks out a bit!

What I miss the most? sleep, not having heartburn!

What am I looking forward to the most? Seeing L be a big brother, finding our if Ducky is a he or a she!

Milestones? making it this far and juggling school, home, work!

29 weeks

umm wow! I don't think I realized how much bigger I am this time!
I'm carrying much differently!
I'm feeling well, I'm tired and getting uncomfortable but trying to enjoy it, this may
be our last little baby and I may never get to be pregnant again, and that
makes me SO sad!
I failed my one hour gestational diabetes test and had to do the two hour,
what an awful ordeal! I passed out at the lab and was SO sick.
That was a week ago and I haven't heard back so I assume that all is well.
I think I'm measuring big seeing as my doctor measured me 3 times last week! I'm afraid to ask.
He said my weight gain was good, I'm right around 12 or 13 lbs up from pre pregnancy but since I weighed a little more to begin with I'm creeping close to my delivery weight with L.
I'm trying not to stress and to just focus on being healthy. Its hard since I still have restrictions
due to the cramping and such.
We are busy trying to get everything ready for Ducky, Logan keeps me on my toes as well!
I need to start taking more photos of him to share!
I will do the Q&A next week for 30 weeks!

busy days, carseats & 27 weeks!!

Now that I am home with L I am not sendign him to daycare very much, only a few days

a month when I have school and Les is working days.

I'm trying really hard to do fun engaging activities with him, he's a little sponge these days and

learning so much so quickly! He can spell his name, count to 13 (he keeps going but not in the correct order). Knows all his shapes and colours and we are working on letter recognition!

Last week he was a little under the weather with a cold but acted fine, kids are just

so resilient! We did some painting and I cut up the papers to write thank you notes

for all his Christmas gifts! He loved it! My next task his to find a fun Valentines craft!

I'm 27 weeks! I think I hit another growth spurt (or, er, Ducky did!) I FEEL so big. Ducky is

so busy in there, Les and Logan have both felt kicks now! Logan's face was

priceless. He asks me everyday when the baby is coming out, he's so sweet.

He alway's calls the baby a she and insists he's getting a sister, I'm fairly certain

he will adjust just fine with a brother or sister!

13 more weeks (hopefully a TINY bit less!) and we will find out if its pink or blue!

I took this photo of L today in the car, I wanted to share it:

I'm pretty particular about car seat safety. Pictures of kids with loose straps and bulky coats drive me crazy! logan is 30 months this week (OMG!!), he is still rear facing with plenty

of room to grow in a Graco MyRide 65, he weighs 29 lbs and is 35.5". He is using his carseat poncho in this photo, although he usually quickly says he's hot and throws it off.

My friend got a kick out of this photo and posted this for me on facebook, LOL!

25 weeks & my superhero

My sister got Logan this super hero cape for Christmas! He loves it! And I must admit I love it on him too!

I got the best compliment from my little man the other day, he said "mama you are superhero just like me!", who doesn't want to be their little ones hero?

I love this kid more then words can say!

I'm 25 weeks! We've reached viability, my ultrasound this week showed that while my cervix is shorter then previously its still within the acceptable range (just). Bedrest seems to be helping, I still get occasional cramps and discomfort, espcially if I am up too much. But for the most part they are less frequent and less intense. I hope it stays that way for 10-12 more weeks!

How far along? 25 weeks
Total Weight Gain? About 8lbs I think.
Maternity Clothes? YES everything except panties and Pjs!
Stretch Marks? Just lots of leftovers from Logan!
Sleep? Just OK. I have been having some insomnia where I can't fall asleep until about 2-3am, which is TOUGH. I also wake to go to the washroom a lot and have been having a lot of general discomfort.
Best Moment this week? Logan's reaction to seeing Ducky at the ultrasound. He said "there's OUR baby!" and then the baby started moving its hands around he said "she's waving at me! and waved back!" It was so sweet, I'm glad we had to take him!
Movement? Lots everyday, mostly when I'm still late at night. You can even see it from the outside now! I've been feeling him or her having the hiccups

(or pick ups as Logan calls them!) as well!
Food Cravings? Lemonade, cupcakes, salt and vinegar kettle chips
Gender? I don't know!
Labour Signs? cramps and occasional contractions, stay away!
Belly Button? very shallow
I miss the most? shopping, our hoped for family getaway and wine!
What am I looking forward to the most? Having two little ones in my arms!
Milestones? reaching viability!

Basement Renovation!

We officially are running out of room! I will post some actual home pictures very soon! However, Logan is now in a big boy room (kind of, he mostly cosleeps still) and the nursery, that was meant to be for all of our babies is a play room. A well stocked full playroom!

We have no where to put poor ducky. Our plan has been to at least do a basic finish on the basement and to have Ducky in the pack n play in our room for the first few months.

Well the New Year is here and mama's nesting is in full force! I have no where for this baby! I can't prepare clothes, set up a room, I Ccan't do anything and its got me emotional!

We need to get a move on these reno's! We have TONS of plans, and ideas, its time to set them into action, to make them reality~and due to my current activity restrictions my reliance on my husband and FIL (my ILs are helping us A LOT with this project!) is making me crazy!

Our dream basement inlcudes (in my eyes, I'm still trying to convince DH and the ILs this is necessary) a beautiful laundry room

Complete with a craft and gift wrapping area!

Right now all of my gift wrap, stationary and crafting things are between boxes
in the crawl space and Ducky's closet! Neither of which are very practical!

But for now I would like them to at least dry wall and tile the room, and

build a closet around my furnace, to at least have it started, the cabinets can come later!

(I'm being realistic budget and time wise here!)

I also dream of a pantry/storage closet. I've convinced DH, mostly. We will have a 6x6 foot

storage room, for now it will be tiled and drywalled/painted, the shelving and/or

cabinets will be another addition in the future, none the less we have some plain

stacking shelves to put in the and I can CLOSE THE DOOR!

This will be ideal for those small appliances not used often and bulk shopping of house hold supplies and non perishables!

Storage is a real issue and this tiny room is going to help a lot!

We also have grand plans for a wet bar, we would like a sink and at least a mini fridge,

perhaps even a basic full size fridge, this would be great for the holidays & parties!

We plan to have it go against one wall, and have no seating, it will be almost

like a butler's pantry. The cabinets will likely be in white, as this is my current colour scheme, although I would love some input from my readers (if I have any left!)

But again, for now we will rough in the plumbing and just have walls, the wet bar

area will be a future addition.

I would love to have some floor to ceiling cabinets or built ins along one long wall

we have down there. These little gems are all ikea cabinets!

As I said, storage is an issue. I can imagine hiding tons, from books, to toys, to linen in a wall full of these!However that too, is a future addition, for now we are sticking to the basics, which will

still be a great space (I hope!)

We are using some Christmas money we were gifted to have a gas fireplace installed! We know that installing this later will mean a lot more work and back tracking,

so we are splurging for it now!

Its going to make it so warm and cozy down there!

We would like to do a stone surround, either up to the mantle or all the way up to the ceiling, which do you prefer?

We would also like to have "built ins" around it, with cabinets on the bottoms and shelving on the top, we will hide electronics, board games, DVDS, etc in the cabinets!

Les wants to eventually mount a giant TV above the fireplace as well.

I would also like a nice thick white mantel, I'm really liking white for all the cabinets down there as well. I feel like basements tend to be dark and dreary, I'm thinking stone, greyish walls and white cabinets, with medium coloured floors, will give a nice bright fresh look.

Again, my dream and one days vs. the current reality mean we will have a working fireplace with only dry wall around it and spaces to one day add cabinets, a mantle and stone.

For flooring we have made a (toughish) decision to do all tile, we found some great wood grain tile available in two different sizes, either

5.3"x32"

or 8" x 32"

this will give the appearance of wood but the durability of tile. We will eventually have a large throw rug in the family room area; and I will be putting down those foams mats in the playroom.

These are the 3 different tile choices that we like, which do you think would look best? I don't want too dark we have a medium maple upstairs, and dark shows WAY too much of my white kitty's hair and dust! I'm thinking we are going with the smaller size, I know its means more tile, but I think it looks more like wood.

I'm eager to at least get a start. I have a clearish vision, I can't get Les to commit to a goal date as of yet, which is scary and frusturating to this mama! I want to get ready for baby and thats on hold until we have a finished basement.

However in a few months (I'm hoping) we will have newly finsihed walls and floors, a guest room, a storage room, a fireplace and a bathroom. We will still have a lot of work and additions to make before its the basement of our dreams, but I think that alone will be a great start! We will be creating a play area for Logan as well down there, which is very much needed!

I will post photos and updates as we go, I'm really hopeful the basement is complete before Ducky is here!