Holiday bucket list check in ...

      So we are a few days before December 25th so I thought I would check in with our family holiday bucket list.

·         Family outing to pick out a real Christmas Tree (well we decided it would be best to do our fake tree with our curious toddler running around, but the tree is up and decorated)

·         Purchase an ornament to give Emelle for her Christmas tree, and give it to her on Christmas Eve as we a Christmas story before bed. The ornament will be symbolic to represent her year.

·         Build and decorate a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve

·         Find a family movie to watch on Christmas Eve.

·         Build snowmen.

·         Sit on Santa’s Knee – CHECK

·         Decorate the Christmas tree as a family. We have a tradition to purchase a new Christmas ornament whenever we travel somewhere. We started this a few years back and hope to continue it. I think it will be a fun way to remember all the great family memories on Christmas Eve.

·         Attend the Santa-Clause Parade

·         Go shopping on a busy weekend as a family – I love the hustle and bustle, and the Christmas spirit over the holidays

·         Bake Grandma’s Shortbread

·         Bake and decorate Sugar cookies as a family

·         Go on a light tour of the city

·         Take a holiday family picture - CHECK

·         Send out Christmas Cards

·         Do a holiday fondue with family or friends

·         Elf on a Shelf

·         Set out cookies, milk and a orange for Santa (my family always did a orange)

·         Family stocking are opened Christmas morning before breakfast (including the dog), presents after the wife saver breakfast.

·         Family walk on Christmas afternoon.

As you can see we have crossed off many of the things already. Most of the things left are going to be done this weekend as we are making it all about family. We plan to bake sugar cookies, decorate a gingerbread house, watch a Christmas movie, build a snowman and go sledding, go to Zoo lights (Christmas Lights) and we will go on a Christmas light tour on Christmas Eve after church. We are doing a fondue Christmas Eve and a big family dinner on Christmas day.

I'm loving Christmas this year. Everything is wrapped and under the tree. Cards are out. Baking is done. Just need to do the big grocery shop and I'm all set for some fun and family time :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

18 Weeks with baby No. 2

How far along? 18 Weeks

How big is baby? about 7 ozs and 5.5 inches long! About the size of a onion.

Weight Gain? I will find out tomorrow at my doctor appointment. Yikes - not looking forward to that part :)

Gender?  Unknown - any guesses? I think its a boy :)

Symptoms: None! Feel normal.I'm starting to feel my belly get hard and its feeling heavier. Can't wait to start feeling the big kicks.

Sleep? Ok. E has been having a rough week with sleeping so my poor sleep has everything to do with her and nothing to do with the baby. 

Food Cravings: None really. Still juice and salty things. I find myself snacking all the time but not really eating big meals. Especially in the evening, I'm never hungry.

Movement: Slight. Still feeling flutters when I lie down. Nothing drastic has changed expect the tightenings and heaviness feeling. With E I really never felt a ton of movement so I'm not anticipating a lot with this baby either. 

Belly Button: Innie. And will probably always stay that way.

Stretch Marks: No new ones that I've noticed.

What I'm looking forward too:  Oh my I'm just so happy right now. Appointment tomorrow to hear heartbeat - exciting! Christmas time with the family - exciting! Ultrasound in 1.5 to find out the gender - exciting! Its true what they say - its a wonderful time of year :)

Belly Photo: 

Sleep rant.

Ok, so I have an 18.5 month old and I can't figure out her sleeping schedule.

To start off we are a bit horrible with routine but are trying to get better. I want E to start getting a more established bed time before baby 2 comes along. She has been sleeping in her toddler bed (really just a mattress on the floor) for about a month now. No problems once she's asleep, its the getting her to sleep that's a challenge. She sleep for a good 11-13 hours most nights.

She has never been really good at falling asleep by herself and I CANNOT sleep train while I'm hormonally and pregnant - its just not going to happen. I love our night time cuddles and she goes to sleep pretty quickly once the lights are out - IF SHE IS TIRED.

I can't seem to figure out her napping schedule. It seems like if she naps she has trouble going to sleep. She usually naps mid afternoon around 1-2PM for about 1 hour - 2 if she's really tired. If that naps happens then she won't go to bed until 10PM+ (and usually with a struggle). And now that she is pretty active she needs a nap or else she is cranky and I mean all toddlers NEED to nap, right? If she doesn't nap she goes to bed easily usually around 8:30PM-9:00PM. She typically gets up between 8AM-9AM.

Not sure what to do. She sleeps fine anywhere, in her carseat, being carried, in her sled :) And I know she naps fine when she goes to her day home once a week. I do want her to fall asleep on her own but I know I need to get her bedtime established better before we can attempt that hurdle.

I'm not super stressed about it as she is still so little and we have plenty of time for her to become a better sleeper. She does fall asleep with other people (Dad, Grandparents) but we just wanted it to be easier for her to sleep when baby number 2 comes along and she spends a couple night with the Grandparents.

Rant over :)

17 weeks with baby #2!

How far along? 17 Weeks

How big is baby? about 5.9 ozs and 5.1 inches long! About the size of a onion.

Weight Gain? Not sure. My batteries dies on my scale at home and my appointment with the dr. isn't until next week. So officially 4 pounds but I'm sure thats just wishful thinking :)

Gender?  Unknown - any guesses? I think its a boy :)

Symptoms: None! Feel normal. I think I had heartburn but it may have been just my excuse to take tums - they are like candy :)

Sleep? Ok. Still waking up a few times having to pee and having crazy dreams. No problems falling asleep. 

Food Cravings: None really. Carbs if I had to say anything. Salty stuff - nachos, chips are current favs although not really cravings. 

Movement: Slight. Still feeling flutters when I lie down. I really have to pay attention to notice the movement. - Same as last week!

Belly Button: Innie.

Stretch Marks: No new ones that I've noticed.

What I'm looking forward too:  Ultrasound is getting closer every day! And my appointment next week to hear the heartbeat again. 

Belly Photo: 

16 weeks with baby #2!

Well since I was late on my 15 week post, I really don't have much to update. Just loving my bump is growing everyday!


On to the survey ...


How far along? 16 Weeks

How big is baby? about 3.5 ozs and 4.6 inches long! About the size of a avocado.

 

Weight gain? 4 pounds but I'm sure it will be more at my next dr. appointment on the 19th.

 

Gender?  Unknown - any guesses?

Symptoms: None! Feel normal.

Sleep? Ok. Still waking up a few times having to pee and having crazy dreams. Mostly I blame my dog and toddler for my poor sleep though :)

 

Food Cravings: None really. Carbs if I had to say anything.

Movement: Slight. Still feeling flutters when I lie down. I really have to pay attention to notice the movement. - Same as last week!

Belly Button: Innie.

Stretch Marks: No new ones that I've noticed.

What I'm looking forward too:  Our ultrasound on the 28th of this month and hopefully finding out the gender :) And of course Christmas!


Belly Photo: 

My 18 month Old!

Statistics - 24 lbs and 29.5 inches. About the 43rd percentile for weight and the 3rd percentile for height. She is mostly wearing 18-24 months clothes now. She also has some 2T/24month clothes and 12-18month sizes that she wears, it varies so much with the brand and because she is cloth diapered.

Teeth - 7 that I know of. She does not like me poking around her mouth. She has her 4 front top teeth in and 3 bottom front teeth in. She is such a good teething now I don't really notice when the teeth come in.

Loves- Java (our dog), book (Hello, Baby), baby dolls and her stuffed animals, goldfish crackers, costume necklaces, music (country,techno,rap, kid music - you name it, she loves it!), milk, stickers, swimming and baths, her wagon and sleigh,  naming body parts,  and sitting in anything she can squeeze into.

Hates - Getting her diaper changed, naps, getting shirts put over her head (unless she does it herself), getting dressed for outside,and  people touching her mouth. Its tough to think of stuff she hates - she is such a happy girl!

Words/Signs - Hi, Mom , Dad, Java are the clear words she says. For signs she knows all done, more, milk, food, diaper.

Personality - She is a happy baby toddler. Very independent,sweet-natured, and friendly. She loves to blow kisses, give hugs, say hi to strangers, and wave at everything and everyone. She is at such a fun age right now and learns so much everyday. She gets so excited. She is also very bubbly - she loves to dance, sing, clap - and loves being the center of attention. She is also an organizer. Loves to sort things and put things away - fingers crossed it stays that way.

She knows where her belly button, her nose, her toes, her hair, and mommy's baby are.

She will clap her hands, shake her head, dance, and sing (really just a cute shriek) when she hears a song she likes. She has a love of Garth Brooks, LFMAO, and Gangnam Style.

She love, love, loves our dog. I don't know how mutual it is. I love watching her be so affectionate with animals.

Emelle I just love you. Every bit of you. I just can't believe it sometimes how lucky I am to be your mommy. You are so perfect and you have changed my life in all the best ways imaginable. As much as I don't want you to grow up, I am also so excited to watch you grow. Words cannot express just how much I love my baby girl!

A toddler room ...

Well my baby is officially out of her nursery. Last week we finished up her "big girl" room. It kinda seems surreal that our house has went from a three bedroom house with a master bedroom, office, and guestroom to a home with a master bedroom, nursery, and kids room. I get goosebumps every time I walk down my hallway.

I had so much fun decorating her new room. With the nursery we designed it gender neutral and without a specific little person in mind. That is definitely one drawback about not finding out the gender, now my nursery seems so impersonal. I think that's why I'm so excited to find out the gender this time, to bond with my second child and create a personalized space for he/she to come home too. So it was nice to give Emelle a space of her very own.

I knew when we designed the room I wanted it to be a space that would grow with her. No character themes or kiddish colors were going in her room. We originally decided to do a grey and yellow themed room but that changed when I could not find a bright yellow duvet cover that I loved. (and trust me I scoured the Internet, department stores, specialty stores) So we tweaked the theme to include purple.

Here is the wall color. Its called stormy Monday by Benjamin Moore. I have to comment about the Aura paint line from Benjamin Moore - we LOVED it. Its a bit expensive but we only used 1/2 a gallon to do her bedroom, its has NO smell and dries in a hour. My hubby was able to do a first coat and then touch up right after because the paint was already dry. It only took 1 afternoon to paint the room. As for picking out the color its a fluke we love the color. I made so many trips to the paint store and returned because every color was too blue, too light, too dark - who knew boring grey was going to be so hard. Eventually, me and hubby just went to the paint store and picked a color. And its perfect!

Here is her brand new big-girl room! She loves it!

The furniture in her room is a work in progress. The dress is a family heirloom that was her great-grandmothers that we plan to re-finish and paint white. Her bed will be a white platform bed that her daddy is making for her. Her nightstand is a 1930's vintage side table that I found at a local garage sale. We are going to fix it up, change the knobs and put a white distressed finish on it. (So the pretty pink color still comes through)

The book wall was a pinterest find that I knew HAD to go in her room. The shelves are picture ledges from IKEA. I love how it turned out. She loves picking out the books by the cover and it adds an element of color and fun to her room. As she gets older she can use the shelves for books, picture frames, or whatever. I think they will be well used over the years.

The bedding was the only real challenge pulling this room together. When I set out looking I was looking for a bright yellow and white duvet cover. I never really imagined purple in her room. But, could I find a BRIGHT yellow duvet? Nope, and I searched everywhere - online, in department stores and speciality stores in Calgary and nothing. I did find this pretty duvet cover that had bright yellow in it, on sale at home outfitters - the first store we went too. It ended up being the one. Funny enough I found the yellow sheets after in my hometown boutique store. They are perfect and I love how everything came together in the end! 

I found these "You are My Sunshine" prints off of etsy. When I found them I knew they would be perfect in her grey and yellow room. Every night before she goes to sleep I sing the song "you are my sunshine" to her. I think it adds a personal touch to her room and keeps it "kiddish" as my hubby would say.

As for accessories, the curtains are another ikea find. The picture frames of family photos are walmart specials. The doll chest and bassinet were made by a local crafter and were a gift from Grandpa to E last Christmas. I was on the fence about putting the dolls/stuffed animals in her room but with the baby on the way I figured she need to have a place to store the things of her very own. The blue beanbag chair is a BOON animal storage bag that stores her stuffed animals - so clever. The purple chair is another garage sale find.

So there you have it. Emelle's big girl room. Her closet is still a work in progress (this girl has WAY to many clothes) and I'm still coming up with a plan for the blank wall by her bed. Ideas? I'm thinking of putting up a white floating shelf to store some of her collectibles but I'm afraid it will make her room look to cluttered. I think I'm going to wait until her furniture is done and re-access.

15 weeks with baby number 2!

Did I mention I love being pregnant. I love it even more so that people are starting to ask me if I'm pregnant - reassuring that I'm starting to look pregnant instead of just fat!


On to the survey ...


How far along? 15 Weeks

How big is baby? about 2.2 ozs and 4 inches long! About the size of a apple.

Weight gain? 4 pounds - I thought it would be more!

Gender?  Unknown - any guesses?

Symptoms: None! Feel normal.

Sleep? Ok. Still waking up a few times having to pee and having crazy dreams. Mostly I blame my dog and toddler for my poor sleep though :)

Food Cravings: None really. I was craving the Lindtt chocolate out of my advent calendar for a while ...

Movement: Slight. Still feeling flutters when I lie down. I really have to pay attention to notice the movement. 

Belly Button: Innie.

Stretch Marks: No new ones that I've noticed.

What I'm looking forward too:  Our ultrasound on the 28th of this month and hopefully finding out the gender :) And of course Christmas!


Belly Photo: 


(I was late taking this photo so its closer to my 16 week belly)

Family Traditions and Holiday Bucket List

Bring on the holidays!

I am getting so excited about the holidays. I love all holidays but Christmas time is by far my favorite. I love the decorations, family time, traditions, snow, cookies, presents, giving, parties, receiving holiday cards, holiday dinners. Did I say I'm excited?

Now that we have a little toddler at home I am even more excited about the holidays. It is so fun getting to experience the magic of the season through her eyes. Seeing the blow-up Santa’s and Snowmen send here into a fit of giggles, she is in awe of all the outdoor lights and it’s only the beginning. Last Christmas was so special having a baby in the house, but this year I just can't wait for all the fun.

I love traditions and I'm hoping to give my daughter family traditions to be excited about. When I was a kid we always enjoyed Grandma's shortbread, wore our new Christmas P'Js to bed on Christmas Eve, went on a family light tour of the town, had family fondue sometime throughout the holidays, played cards Christmas Eve, ate back bacon for breakfast Christmas day, and went to a family supper in Calgary on Christmas day. That what the holidays were to me. My husband’s family is much different and is idea of Christmas is a quiet day at home, eating, playing games, watching movies and hanging out with his immediate family. I'm excited to see what our family holidays will become.

With both of our families in the same city, we are fortunate to have lots of family around to spend the holidays. That being said, sometimes it’s hard to squeeze everyone and everything in. Our daughter is very blessed to have her Grandparents and Uncles nearby.

Last Christmas we started a few family traditions. We started getting a real Christmas tree, we started a tradition of collecting an ornament to give to Emelle when she's all grown up, and we sent out an official Conrad family portrait for Christmas cards. We’ve also been going to Church for a few years now on Christmas Eve. Last year for the first time I hosted Christmas morning breakfast and made Paul’s family Wife Saver breakfast (which is a non-compromise for him). This year I may tweak that and make it with back-bacon instead of a deli-ham J We also did the Christmas PJ opening on Christmas eve, followed by stocking and presents on Christmas morning. We also got Emelle a lighted lawn ornament affectionally called “holiday pig” that I’m excited about continuing when number two comes along next year. (I’m thinking a blue “holiday penguin” for a boy)

What will this year bring? I’m hoping to build on the traditions we started last year and hopefully start a few more. Here is my holiday 2012 bucket list:

·         Family outing to pick out a real Christmas Tree

·         Purchase an ornament to give Emelle for her Christmas tree, and give it to her on Christmas Eve as we a Christmas story before bed. The ornament will be symbolic to represent her year.

·         Build and decorate a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve

·         Find a family movie to watch on Christmas Eve.

·         Build snowmen.

·         Sit on Santa’s Knee – CHECK

·         Decorate the Christmas tree as a family. We have a tradition to purchase a new Christmas ornament whenever we travel somewhere. We started this a few years back and hope to continue it. I think it will be a fun way to remember all the great family memories on Christmas Eve.

·         Attend the Santa-Clause Parade

·         Go shopping on a busy weekend as a family – I love the hustle and bustle, and the Christmas spirit over the holidays

·         Bake Grandma’s Shortbread

·         Bake and decorate Sugar cookies as a family

·         Go on a light tour of the city

·         Take a holiday family picture - CHECK

·         Send out Christmas Cards

·         Do a holiday fondue with family or friends

·         Elf on a Shelf

·         Set out cookies, milk and a orange for Santa (my family always did a orange)

·         Family stocking are opened Christmas morning before breakfast (including the dog), presents after the wife saver breakfast.

·         Family walk on Christmas afternoon.

I think that’s it. I may add more. I’m just so excited. Also this year I’m hosting my first Christmas meal. I’m so excited to just stay home on Christmas day and not have to go anywhere. I have always had to travel on Christmas day.  I’m hoping that my Christmas dinner will be good enough to start some Christmas meal food traditions, but that will be another post J

Happy Holidays everyone!

13 Weeks with Baby No. 2!

Well here is the start of my (hopefuly) weekly pregnancy updates! I have been feeling good physically. Emotionally starting to feel a bit guitly that I will have to share Emelle's cuddles with another. We are so very blessed to be giving Emelle a little sibling to play with that I know the guilt is silly ... but its still there a bit.

On to the survey ...

How far along? 13 Weeks

How big is baby? about 0.81 ozs and 2.9 inches long! The size of a peach.

Weight gain? Won't know until my doctors about next week.

Gender?  Unknown - any guesses?

Symptoms: None! Feel normal.

Sleep? Ok. I have very vivid dreams and have to pee alot. When those happen I often find it hard to fall back asleep.

Food Cravings: Chocolate Milk and OJ.

Movement: Not yet. But I think I will soon :)

Belly Button: Innie.

Stretch Marks: No new ones that I've noticed.

What I'm looking forward too:  Finishing Emelle's big girl room, Family Photos, Christmas, and feeling the first baby kicks :)

Belly Photo: 

 (Sorry about the crooked photo, taken in my work bathroom!)

 

 

Attempt 2

Well, welcome to my blog. Well my second blog. My first attempt my New Year Resolution blog that lasted a few months like most resolutions do. But I miss it. I love reading blogs and coming up with blog ideas. So here is attempt #2. 

First some info about myself. I'm a small town Alberta girl who lives with a hubby (my high school sweetheart), a 18 month daughter, and a spoiled 6 year old fur baby who is a border collie X beagle. I am blessed to live close to family and in-laws(who I like!)and many close friends. I work part-time as a non-profit agency as a program coordinator and my hubby works in irrigation sales. 

The past few years have been pretty eventful for my little family -  we have moved back to our hometown, changed careers,underwent 2 successful IVF treatments, and my hubby has battled and beat cancer. Now we are in the process of buying a business and growing our family - we are expecting baby number 2 in May of 2013. 

I'm hoping our lives will be much more uneventful in the months and year to come. I'm hoping this blog will be chronicling all the simple days in our lives - bring on family love!