Ben Affleck as Batman? Um yes please!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The Heartbeat that Changed Our Lives...
We had our first prenatal appointment yesterday at the OB clinic. It was long and detailed, and we went through a lot of our history and my current pregnancy symptoms. The nurse was great, and the interning doctor we were dealing with was thorough and reassuring.
The problem with any delivery these days is that you are NEVER guaranteed to have a doctor you've met before, and the same will go for mine. The doctor I'll deal with regularly at the clinic will only be delivering our baby if we give birth on a Monday. Otherwise, it could be any of their 7 doctors. But I'm okay with that.
While on the table getting examined, the doctor guided my hand to feel my uterus that was home to the baby. I was worried that I wasn't really showing yet, at least not in the way that has a pronounced hard belly. Feeling around my belly and having my fingers trace around Peanut's home was pretty amazing. Then he announced that we were going to listen to the heartbeat. Aaron and I both got very excited... we'd seen the heartbeat at 8 weeks, 4 days but never heard it. After roaming around my belly for at least 5 minutes (or what seemed like it) and hearing only my own blood flow, we finally heard it - the wonderful sound of the baby's heart beating around 130 per minute. It was strong and fast and healthy. We looked at each other, Aaron was smiling and I was fighting the urge to break out in tears. It was there... our baby was alive and well and it was all nothing short of miraculous and incredible.
After our appointment, we went to our go-to place White Spot for lunch to celebrate our healthy child with burgers for Aaron and zucchini sticks and a milkshake for me! :)
Everything is now happening! Every four weeks I'll go to the clinic and see the doctor for regular check-ups. Next week I'll get my next genetic screening. In 5 weeks we'll get our 20 week ultrasound and be able to see what our baby looks like now. At 26 weeks I'll get my diabetes test. In November we'll start our prenatal classes.
There's only 25 more weeks until the amazing new adventure truly begins, and I'm loving every minute of it, even the moments of extreme exhaustion, even the moments of severe anxiety, even the moments of heartburn and headaches and swollen feet. I love this because everything I've ever hoped for is happening right now - my husband, my baby, my home. This is it. This is life. This is MY life. This is my good life.
Friday, August 16, 2013
What I'm Looking Forward To...
Many years ago, my girlfriends and I were sitting in the beer gardens at the PNE (our local fair) when a guy approached us and struck up a conversation. I don't know how we got on the topic, but he blatantly said he didn't date red heads because they can't enjoy the summer. We all laughed hysterically because 1. It was an absurd comment and 2. I was presently sitting in the sun on an August day. But when I thought about it, I guess his point was partially true - I don't go in the sun much without a big floppy hat on, slathered in sunscreen, and adorning my best Audrey Hepburn over-sized sunglasses. I'm fair skinned - sue me!
Anyways, funny enough, this has always stuck with me and every summer around the time the PNE opens I think about that comment because it means that fall is just around the corner, and fall is my favorite time of year.
Fall/Winter means the birthdays of most of my favorite people: all 4 of my best friends (October, December, and February), my mom, my nephews (December and January), my aunt, and both my in-laws. It means my own birthday, a day I usually quite enjoy. Here are just a few things I'm looking forward to come September:
1. Hot chocolate and hot apple cider and warm banana bread and shortbread cookies
2. Special coffee drinks at Starbucks
3. Time with friends and family
4. Cozy sweaters and fuzzy scarves
5. Fires in our fireplace and blankets and cuddling
6. The sound of rain on the windows and maybe a thunderstorm
7. Christmas shopping
8. Decorating for Halloween and going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, giving out candy, getting take-out, and watching a Halloween movie
9. Meeting my new Piglet and Daniel and spending time with them and their mommas
10. Celebrating our first wedding anniversary with a trip somewhere fun
11. Becoming a Christmas nutcase: looking for new houses for my village, hunting down the perfect ornament, searching for the best craft fairs and events, decorating (Dec 1st), walking the streets and taking in the store windows full of cheer, organizing my cards
12. A fun project we're doing on December 14th
13. Taking my neice out for a girls day
14. Most of all - witnessing our baby grow inside my tummy, feeling movement, having firsts with the bump, planning for her/his future.
Yes, this fall is going to be magical. Last year from September to Christmas was the best of my life... but this year, we get new experiences and new memories as a soon-to-be family!
Anyways, funny enough, this has always stuck with me and every summer around the time the PNE opens I think about that comment because it means that fall is just around the corner, and fall is my favorite time of year.
Fall/Winter means the birthdays of most of my favorite people: all 4 of my best friends (October, December, and February), my mom, my nephews (December and January), my aunt, and both my in-laws. It means my own birthday, a day I usually quite enjoy. Here are just a few things I'm looking forward to come September:
1. Hot chocolate and hot apple cider and warm banana bread and shortbread cookies
2. Special coffee drinks at Starbucks
3. Time with friends and family
4. Cozy sweaters and fuzzy scarves
5. Fires in our fireplace and blankets and cuddling
6. The sound of rain on the windows and maybe a thunderstorm
7. Christmas shopping
8. Decorating for Halloween and going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, giving out candy, getting take-out, and watching a Halloween movie
9. Meeting my new Piglet and Daniel and spending time with them and their mommas
10. Celebrating our first wedding anniversary with a trip somewhere fun
11. Becoming a Christmas nutcase: looking for new houses for my village, hunting down the perfect ornament, searching for the best craft fairs and events, decorating (Dec 1st), walking the streets and taking in the store windows full of cheer, organizing my cards
12. A fun project we're doing on December 14th
13. Taking my neice out for a girls day
14. Most of all - witnessing our baby grow inside my tummy, feeling movement, having firsts with the bump, planning for her/his future.
Yes, this fall is going to be magical. Last year from September to Christmas was the best of my life... but this year, we get new experiences and new memories as a soon-to-be family!
TGIF!
I was on holidays all last week (I promise to try to get pictures uploaded next week) so this week has been dragging. Between the stresses of work, home, baby, and life, I'm feeling exhausted! But this is going to be a glorious weekend - although probably raining!!!
Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Ms. Jay and Piglet (aka Baby VDB) in Fort Langley. Afterwards I'm going to be heading to my mom's for a family dinner with the Childs. I'm hoping to find something in Fort Langley to keep the monsters busy.
Sunday, after some housework, will be Fun-day again with the Petersons - we're heading into Vancouver for the Food Truck festival!
I'll have photos and updates on Monday, but until then, here's a little funny that pretty much explains our Sundays:
Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Ms. Jay and Piglet (aka Baby VDB) in Fort Langley. Afterwards I'm going to be heading to my mom's for a family dinner with the Childs. I'm hoping to find something in Fort Langley to keep the monsters busy.
Sunday, after some housework, will be Fun-day again with the Petersons - we're heading into Vancouver for the Food Truck festival!
I'll have photos and updates on Monday, but until then, here's a little funny that pretty much explains our Sundays:
Monday, August 12, 2013
Our life...
On August 1st, 2008, I logged on to my Plenty of Fish account to try to delete it. I wasn't having any success meeting someone worth my time, and I figured I should just cancel it. While on there, I was winked at by a cute boy. Aaron and I got to talking online, which turned to texting ALL night, which turned to him asking to take me to breakfast. Alas, I had weekend plans with Ms. Jay to go to Harrison for a girls trip. I turned his invitation to breakfast down, but we spent the weekend texting each other, getting to know each other through written words.
On August 4th, 2008, we met for the first time outside Jay's parents house. I was nervous - he was adorable. We went to dinner at White Spot with Jay and Chad tagging along. We walked by the river in Fort Langley. We kissed on the hood of his car.
From August until December, our relationship bloomed and we started falling in love. Then, in the middle of December 2008, the recession took hold of us and Aaron lost his job. It was the start of a long, difficult year and a half for us. Because he couldn't find a job right away, we agreed he'd move in with me and we'd work through it together. He started school to become an IT technician, got a part time weekend job at a motorcycle shop, and we got by on my salary and his EI payments. However, in August of 2009, EI ran out. In September, he was laid off from the shop because it was only seasonal. He graduated from the school that didn't teach him any practical knowledge, and failed at finding a job in his field. We thought the last 8 months were hard, but the following 9 were even harder. He got a job at Costco over the Christmas season, but we knew it would end. He still couldn't find any work, and we couldn't pay all of his bills. I'm not even going to beat around the bush - it was the hardest time of our lives. We held it together though because we loved each other more than anything, but it was tough.
We'd decided to help my dad renovate his basement suite in 2010, and move in when it was done to save money and avoid the construction happening at our co-op.
We were scheduled to move in there in June 2010. A week before moving day, Aaron was offered a job! It wasn't what he was trained in, but it was a job, and he knew he'd be good at it.
The next few months were just as challenging because the basement suite wasn't finished on time. We lived in a tiny room at my dads with our 2 cats. We both cried at one time or another. It wasn't ideal, to put it mildly. From late June until November, we lived upstairs, sharing their house and space with my dad and his partner. Finally, in mid-November, we could move some of our things into the suite. We were overjoyed! Our cats were probably the most excited!
On November 26th, 2010, Aaron surprised me with a get-away to Whistler for my birthday. It was perfect! He booked our favorite hotel - a full suite with a fireplace, living room, and kitchen! The first night, he made us dinner in the room with wine and cheesecake, and we cuddled by the fire. The next day, after exploring the village, he surprised me again with a full spa day in the mountains. Afterwards, he took me to a high-end restaurant for dinner, then a walk through the snowy village. We stopped at the base of the ski-hill to look at stars, and he asked me to become his wife. It was, to this day, the third best moment of my life to the day we got married and the day we found out we were having a baby.
On November 28th, we told my whole family while gathered at my mom's house to watch my favorite thing, The Grey Cup - it was an exciting time!
2011 was a whirlwind of activity - planning a wedding, helping my friend plan her wedding, buying a new truck, going to Vegas, and making our new basement suite our home.
2012 was our year. It was a year full of firsts and amazing moments. We found a house and signed the papers, had our bachelor and bachelorette parties, my wedding shower, our wedding, our honeymoon, and moved into our first home. We spent the year with family and friends celebrating everything good in our lives. It was a year of wonderful days, stressful days, fantastic days. We went on Aaron's first wine tour, camped in a trailer, I lost 25lbs, we had our first Christmas in our own home that we bought and furnished.
2013 so far has been... strange and wonderful all at once. Aaron went back to school at night to study purchasing. I gained all my weight back and cut off 10" of hair. We renovated our new home. We adapted to the stresses and financial obligations that affect home owners. And best of all, we made a baby.
August 4th, 2013 - Aaron and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I can't tell you how hard, how wonderful, how eye-opening the last 5 years have been. I can honestly tell you that the night I met Aaron I cried in the car on my way home... I knew my life was changed. This one man has not only given me a husband, a child, a partner, a best friend, a home - this man has changed who I am. He has made me a better person. He has made me more patient. He has made me see life through brighter glasses. He has given me reasons to smile, to laugh, to move forward. He makes me strive to be more than I thought I was capable of. He's made me his wife, he's blessed me with motherhood, and he's given me the kind of happiness that I not only thought I'd never have, but always thought I didn't deserve. He's made me feel deserving. I think that, above all else, makes him the most special man on this planet.
Aaron, thank you for being you, for coming into my life, for becoming my life. Cheers to the past 5 years, and to the next 50 to come!
On August 4th, 2008, we met for the first time outside Jay's parents house. I was nervous - he was adorable. We went to dinner at White Spot with Jay and Chad tagging along. We walked by the river in Fort Langley. We kissed on the hood of his car.
From August until December, our relationship bloomed and we started falling in love. Then, in the middle of December 2008, the recession took hold of us and Aaron lost his job. It was the start of a long, difficult year and a half for us. Because he couldn't find a job right away, we agreed he'd move in with me and we'd work through it together. He started school to become an IT technician, got a part time weekend job at a motorcycle shop, and we got by on my salary and his EI payments. However, in August of 2009, EI ran out. In September, he was laid off from the shop because it was only seasonal. He graduated from the school that didn't teach him any practical knowledge, and failed at finding a job in his field. We thought the last 8 months were hard, but the following 9 were even harder. He got a job at Costco over the Christmas season, but we knew it would end. He still couldn't find any work, and we couldn't pay all of his bills. I'm not even going to beat around the bush - it was the hardest time of our lives. We held it together though because we loved each other more than anything, but it was tough.
We'd decided to help my dad renovate his basement suite in 2010, and move in when it was done to save money and avoid the construction happening at our co-op.
We were scheduled to move in there in June 2010. A week before moving day, Aaron was offered a job! It wasn't what he was trained in, but it was a job, and he knew he'd be good at it.
The next few months were just as challenging because the basement suite wasn't finished on time. We lived in a tiny room at my dads with our 2 cats. We both cried at one time or another. It wasn't ideal, to put it mildly. From late June until November, we lived upstairs, sharing their house and space with my dad and his partner. Finally, in mid-November, we could move some of our things into the suite. We were overjoyed! Our cats were probably the most excited!
On November 26th, 2010, Aaron surprised me with a get-away to Whistler for my birthday. It was perfect! He booked our favorite hotel - a full suite with a fireplace, living room, and kitchen! The first night, he made us dinner in the room with wine and cheesecake, and we cuddled by the fire. The next day, after exploring the village, he surprised me again with a full spa day in the mountains. Afterwards, he took me to a high-end restaurant for dinner, then a walk through the snowy village. We stopped at the base of the ski-hill to look at stars, and he asked me to become his wife. It was, to this day, the third best moment of my life to the day we got married and the day we found out we were having a baby.
On November 28th, we told my whole family while gathered at my mom's house to watch my favorite thing, The Grey Cup - it was an exciting time!
2011 was a whirlwind of activity - planning a wedding, helping my friend plan her wedding, buying a new truck, going to Vegas, and making our new basement suite our home.
2012 was our year. It was a year full of firsts and amazing moments. We found a house and signed the papers, had our bachelor and bachelorette parties, my wedding shower, our wedding, our honeymoon, and moved into our first home. We spent the year with family and friends celebrating everything good in our lives. It was a year of wonderful days, stressful days, fantastic days. We went on Aaron's first wine tour, camped in a trailer, I lost 25lbs, we had our first Christmas in our own home that we bought and furnished.
2013 so far has been... strange and wonderful all at once. Aaron went back to school at night to study purchasing. I gained all my weight back and cut off 10" of hair. We renovated our new home. We adapted to the stresses and financial obligations that affect home owners. And best of all, we made a baby.
August 4th, 2013 - Aaron and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I can't tell you how hard, how wonderful, how eye-opening the last 5 years have been. I can honestly tell you that the night I met Aaron I cried in the car on my way home... I knew my life was changed. This one man has not only given me a husband, a child, a partner, a best friend, a home - this man has changed who I am. He has made me a better person. He has made me more patient. He has made me see life through brighter glasses. He has given me reasons to smile, to laugh, to move forward. He makes me strive to be more than I thought I was capable of. He's made me his wife, he's blessed me with motherhood, and he's given me the kind of happiness that I not only thought I'd never have, but always thought I didn't deserve. He's made me feel deserving. I think that, above all else, makes him the most special man on this planet.
Aaron, thank you for being you, for coming into my life, for becoming my life. Cheers to the past 5 years, and to the next 50 to come!
5 Year Dinner at West Restaurant
Our 5 year dating anniversary was August 4th. Aaron didn't want to celebrate it, but we had a gift certificate from our groomsman Cliff that he'd gifted us for our wedding.
I'd been dying to go, but it's downtown and we've been too busy to use it. Our last big dating anniversary seemed like a good time.
I tried on all my dresses, and only found one that worked, so off we went for our 7pm reservation.
West is beautiful inside. It's very modern, but comfortable and sophisticated without being stuffy.
We settled on the 7 course tasting menu - vegetarian for me, and land (meat) for him. After we ordered from our very attentive waiter, he brought out a bottle of wine for Aaron and a fancy drink for each of us - a gin drink for Aaron and a virgin raspberry one for me. It was DELISH!
Our meals started out with an amuse buche of shaved fennel with citrus:
My second course was a delicious beet salad with peaches, walnuts, and greens on top of an arugula pesto.
My next course was a Spring Pea Soup. It was probably my favorite thing, and Aaron thought it tasted like the peas were freshly picked from the garden.
My next course was a panzanella salad. It has smoked tomatoes, eggplant, roasted onions, goats cheese, and toasted bread. It was good, but not my favorite because of some of the spices they used in the sauce on the plate. It was a little strong.
This was Aaron's quail. I took a picture because it was just so darned beautiful even though I don't eat meat.
The next dish for both of us was a tart raspberry sorbet. It was a nice pallet cleanser.
My final course was dessert, and probably in the top 2 for the night. Mine was roasted fruit with a spiced waffle, topped with maple pecan ice cream. it was so good - I just wish they gave me more!
Aaron's tart with a mint sorbet was also delicious!
After we were done and enjoying our coffee, the waiter presented us with this nice congratulatory plate with truffles. We split each one so we could each taste them, and they were wonderful as well.
It was the perfect way to spend our last dating anniversary, even though we're married and it doesn't really count anymore. No gifts, no la-di-da other than dinner! We spent the day thoroughly cleaning the house after all! It was a wonderful treat, and we are so thankful to our friends for giving us this great experience!
I'd been dying to go, but it's downtown and we've been too busy to use it. Our last big dating anniversary seemed like a good time.
I tried on all my dresses, and only found one that worked, so off we went for our 7pm reservation.
West is beautiful inside. It's very modern, but comfortable and sophisticated without being stuffy.
We settled on the 7 course tasting menu - vegetarian for me, and land (meat) for him. After we ordered from our very attentive waiter, he brought out a bottle of wine for Aaron and a fancy drink for each of us - a gin drink for Aaron and a virgin raspberry one for me. It was DELISH!
Our meals started out with an amuse buche of shaved fennel with citrus:
My second course was a delicious beet salad with peaches, walnuts, and greens on top of an arugula pesto.
My next course was a Spring Pea Soup. It was probably my favorite thing, and Aaron thought it tasted like the peas were freshly picked from the garden.
What was cool about Aaron's menu is that the majority of his dishes were absolutely new for him. His second course was beef tartar, and his third course was pate. Although he wasn't a huge fan of the pate dish because of the white chocolate mousse that accompanied it, he still loved that he was trying something different.
My next course was a panzanella salad. It has smoked tomatoes, eggplant, roasted onions, goats cheese, and toasted bread. It was good, but not my favorite because of some of the spices they used in the sauce on the plate. It was a little strong.
This was Aaron's quail. I took a picture because it was just so darned beautiful even though I don't eat meat.
The next dish for both of us was a tart raspberry sorbet. It was a nice pallet cleanser.
My final course was dessert, and probably in the top 2 for the night. Mine was roasted fruit with a spiced waffle, topped with maple pecan ice cream. it was so good - I just wish they gave me more!
Aaron's tart with a mint sorbet was also delicious!
After we were done and enjoying our coffee, the waiter presented us with this nice congratulatory plate with truffles. We split each one so we could each taste them, and they were wonderful as well.
It was the perfect way to spend our last dating anniversary, even though we're married and it doesn't really count anymore. No gifts, no la-di-da other than dinner! We spent the day thoroughly cleaning the house after all! It was a wonderful treat, and we are so thankful to our friends for giving us this great experience!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Gifts for Mom
I recently had lunch with my aunt (my mom's sister) and she presented me with a beautiful charm bracelet specific to babies. Sorry about the crappy picture - the Blackberry isn't known for quality photography.
The bracelet has a little baby shoe, a bottle, a carriage, a blue and purple stone, and a teddy bear. It's very sweet and I love looking at the reminder of what I'm carrying inside me, since it's not entirely visible yet.
I found a beauty through an email notification that I wanted to purchase for myself. I just picked up this pretty at Purolator the other day:
It's the Pitter Patter charm from Stella and Dot. It was inspired by the new Royal Prince George... and they donate the proceeds to children's charities, which I'm all for! I put the charm on a chain I had at home, so now I'm doubling up on the sweet baby motifs, and I'm over-the-moon about it!
When you're having a baby, you (as mom) become wrapped up in purchasing for the baby. Sometimes it's nice to indulge in something for yourself as well.
Enjoy your weeks - I'm logging off for a while to enjoy some quiet time with my hubby!
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