Sunday, April 29, 2012

This is true love.

For the last few months, I've been contemplating about whether or not I wanted an iPad. Then i was contemplating whether I should actually be spending the money on one right now. I felt almost guilty spending the money on myself when we have a baby on the way. Well the pros of having one outweighed the cons and the guilt! Garrick was going to get one for Christmas for me anyway, so we decided to split the cost of one. (and no, this isn't about the iPad being my true love!!) So this was our day yesterday. We renewed my insurance, hubs went to the driving range while I got my nails done, then we drove to kelowna to look at a holiday trailer that Garrick was looking at buying. He wasn't completely satisfied, so we headed back to Vernon. We were sharing a bowl of delicious thai coconut soup while discussing this whole iPad thing. It was decided we'd go to future shop and make the purchase. YAY!!! Happy happy me. Except future shop didn't have the particular one I wanted! They said kelowna had nine. Off to Walmart. Nope. Zellers. Doesn't sell apple stuff. And the mall is closed (it was past 5:30 at this point). Superstore..? Nope. London drugs. Not the one I want. So by this time, I was of course quite sad that I wasn't going to get my new toy today. We'd go to kelowna on Sunday. We walk out of London drugs... And what does Garrick say? "check what time kelowna is open til. We'll go there now." even though I didn't even ask! Even though we had already been to kelowna once that day!!! Oh.em.gee. I couldn't believe he was willing to do that. True love... Just to make his wife happy. So long story short, kelowna didn't even have nine. Their computer said maybe 1. It ended up being an open box, which meant it was also slightly cheaper. The guy actually gave us a deal that we payed regular price for the iPad but got a free ($30.. Which the discount price was only $15 cheaper) screen protector that they'd put on for me. I also wanted one of the screen covers ($45) and then Garrick found an open box one of those for only $25!!! So I spent that extra $20 on the final season of lost. I needed to complete the series and it was soo cheap!!!! So the trip did end up being very successful. AND to top it off, we saw a friend of a friend that we've met a few times in the past, who works at future shop. As we were passing by, he congratulated me on the baby. My face absolutely lit up and I asked "how did you know?!?!" he pointed at my belly and said it was noticeable. He knew I wasn't just a little tubby cuz of how "fit" I was before. I was soo excited and told him he was the first person to notice, and how happy that made me. Then the guy that was actually helping us said that it was definitely noticeable, but still a little awkward to being up. So it was a very happy day for me.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Second Trimester

19 weeks

almost halfway! i really can't believe that.. it's going by too fast! i'm certainly not wanting pregnancy to be over yet. and i'm aaaaalllmost not ready to find out the sex in a way. i'm not at that anxious point where i desperately need to know. on the other hand i'm very excited to find out, be able to call baby he/she instead of it, feel even more of a connection, and start SHOPPING!!! we'll be able to complete the nursery with wonderful bedding and pictures.

yesterday we went to another midwife appointment. it was pushed back by 45 minutes because sylvia had a lot of babies to deliver in the month of april (example: 7 within 10 days.. and 3 of those were within 24 hours! and she caught every baby except for one. impressive) so some appointments were pushed into our week. that is juuuuuust fine with me. everything is going well.. last appointment, she said my uterus was lower (shorter?) than expected - nothing to be worried about - and this time it's caught right up to where it should be. it's about one finger-width's below my belly button. we talked about birth, doulas, prenatal classes.. other good things. and we heard the heartbeat again!!! such a wonderful sound. it's always so relieving to hear. sometimes i have this completely silly worry that something happened to the baby since last appointment and i'm just randomly gaining weight hahaha. so i like to know there's still something in there! this will go away once i feel baby moving more. right now it's still just little barrel rolls and somersaults, but it'll get stronger in the next couple weeks! from what i've read, typically 2-4 weeks after mom feels movement, dad can feel it from the outside too.

every day i want to wear leggings. it's like wearing pajamas to work! and i probably have enough dresses for like, a two-week rotation.. but maybe that would be weird. plus i'd be switching between two pairs of leggings lol.

i'm really excited to see our ultrasound. sometimes it still seems so surreal that we made this little human that's growing inside of me. are you really in there?!?! since we haven't had an ultrasound yet, it'll be really special to see. i want to count all those fingers and toes, see that cute little button nose, and those puckering lips. eee!! soo cute. i read that at this point, baby's feet are about 1 inch long. mini feet!

words from daddy...
"i've been shopping for trailers the last month. daddy's really excited to buy one for family camp trips. i'm looking at a trailer with bunks so you and your brother or sister can have a cozy comfortable place to sleep when we camp EVERY weekend from may til september. mom doesn't want to get a trailer tomorrow (mom adds "because we need to be positive we're financially stable when baby's here before making large purchases") but if it was up to me, i'd already have one parked in the driveway (mom: "but you DO understand where i'm coming from, don't you???"). in a few years when you're just old enough to really enjoy amusement parks, we will be packing up the trailer and heading down to silverwood in idaho where they have a large outdoor amusement park and a water park. that will be one of many great family vacations we take every year. almost every day i think about solely vacationing - creating the summer memories that i was lucky to have growing up. children deserve the opportunity to see not only their country, but enjoy summer with a family going to exciting new places and everyone experiencing these new adventures together. it's a great way to build memories and a great way to bond with everyone. and i'm very excited to find out whether i'll be hanging a steven stamkos poster in your room next week, or not."

another new picture for the guessing game!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

ten-things tuesday

1. i like to make lists.
2. i love my husband. and when he goes away overnight, i love the very next time i get to see him.
3. i like taking moments out of my busy day to just sit still and concentrate on the somersaults going on inside of me.
4. i love that garrick has more skill in the kitchen than i do. if we were equal, we'd starve.
5. i like that my kitties match each other physically,  but are complete opposites personality wise. things are never boring between the two of them.
6. i love the feeling of summer being right around the corner.
7. i secretly like when pirate wakes us up extra early on the weekends and we can all cuddle in bed while still half-asleep.
8. i love having a creek behind our house.
9. i like having a daytime, monday to friday job. for now.. until my job is 24/7 mom. then i will like that.
10. i love being pregnant.





and, check out the guessing game again.. more pictures!!

Monday, April 23, 2012

my pregnancy

today in the beautiful weather
i'm bringing out the sunny, bright colours!! actually, i never put the bright colours away. but still.. this was the first time i wore this particular dress since last summer.

so here's kind of a summary of this pregnancy so far. i looked up a list of typical pregnancy symptoms and thought i'd compare my pregnancy.
- weight gain: (not really a symptom, but something worth noting) at the beginning, i wasn't gaining anything. as of now, 4 and a half months in, i've gained 4 lbs. i think that's a good amount of weight! of course, it's all just a number, and i'm definitely not focussing too much on it, but you are supposed to gain weight while pregnant, so it's good that i am

- sleep: (again, not a symptom) sleep is pretty good! i've definitely noticed that i don't sleep quite as soundly as i used to, but i've found a pretty good position - on either side with one pillow under my head, and the other parallel to the side of the bed, right under my head pillow. i'm sure as the belly grows, i'll get less and less comfortable

- back pain: i think it's still a little early to have anything major, but i do notice after sitting all day in a chair, then sitting on the couch at night, it's a little sore and i prefer to be propped up in bed

- bloating: ugh.. i think i experienced this for the first time thursday night

- dizziness: sometimes, if i stand up too quick

- fatigue: in the beginning i noticed some, but now i feel pretty good. i definitely can't stay up late though! by 10 pm i'm pretty beat... keeping in mind i don't sleep in past 8 ever and am usually up around 7.

- food aversion: do not like raw spinach right now. and sometimes i'd prefer not to eat a big chunk of meat

- food cravings: nothing too major.. i love pickles and anything potato.. sometimes crave cheese.. not very often do i crave sweet things. today i really wanted that thai coconut soup with rice.. but oh well..

- headaches/migraines: prior to being pregnant, i was prone to a migraine once every 2 months or so. they were very visually-oriented and caused major nausea and even vomitting. i am soooooo thankful that i haven't experienced one since being pregnant. and the only time i've had a headache was totally because i was dehydrated. drinking a big glass of water solved it.

- heartburn: i can proudly say that i've still never experienced heartburn! hopefully it stays that way

- itching: ohh yessss... my belly drives me crazy the second i start doing yoga. i must always remember to lube up beforehand

- leg cramps: no cramps, but they do get restless sometimes

- nausea: in the beginning i felt a little under the weather first thing in the morning.. it was totally related to hunger

- stretch marks: nothing yet!!!

- small bladder: it's actually pprrrreeeettttyyy good for the most part. i get up once almost every night, usually between 4 and 5 to pee. and throughout the day.. well, i usually drink 4 cups of (decaf) green tea so all that detoxing makes me pee!

- baby movement: i finally started feeling it on wednesday!!! it's pretty un-noticeable.. mostly throughout the days i'm too busy to pay attention to it. but whenever i want a small break, i zone in on my bump and focus.. and there it is! and i'm convinced that when i poke my belly, it prompts baby to move *shrug*

- belly button: this thing is definitely making it's way out! most days it's almost flush with my skin.. i think by 23 weeks it'll be sticking out. how cute <3

- maternity clothes: as i've mentioned many times, i couldn't get enough of my maternity leggings. also previously mentioned, i wore my black skinny maternity work pants for last week's photo, and loved them. i think they will be making more of a presence (not just cuz they're super cute!) since a couple pairs of regular dress pants are getting so tight in the belly that they're leaving marks. i wore that new green maternity top yesterday, other than that, the rest of the wardrobe is sitting in waiting. most of my other clothes are a stretchy material, so they'll still work for a while. and i've still got the belly bands for shorts that are too tight!

- skin condition: in the beginning - when it's worse for most people - my skin was great! i thought it was due to my coconut oil moisturizing. in the last couple weeks though... ick. i've got mild breakouts all over the place! it doesn't make me very happy. hopefully as i continue to ride this hormone roller coaster, it'll go away

- round ligament pain: ohhhh yesss. i have to be careful to not move too quickly or jump out of the truck too fast cuz they start stinging pretty bad!

- appetite: so there's a good chance that you already know that i'm usually hungry ALL the time. even in a non-pregnancy state. i just love to eat, and i get hungry soon after a meal. yesterday for instance.. we finished dinner by 7.. and by 8, i was starving. good grief. and i wake up in the middle of the night ALL the time with the worst hunger pains. i seriously should keep some snacks in the night stand.

haha that turned into quite the list. anyway, here's a picture from the nursery doorway! yes, there is tape on the edges of the crib.. we want to teach the kitties to stay out of there right from the beginning, and the only way to do that is to put tape, sticky side up, all around. pirate got herself tangled up once so far.. it usually doesn't take too many attempts to teach them.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

this gorgeous april weekend

hello!
this weekend has been a beautiful one. it's currently 22 degress and sunny. saturday we woke up early as usual (6:30 on this particular day) due to pirate once again being a whiney brat. luckily, for some reason, we weren't tired anymore, so we let in the gingers and lounged in bed watching blue planet. garrick had to work a half day and i was going with him to do the may flyer, so we left the house at 7:30, got some timmy's, then headed to the warehouse. at twelve, it was time to go home. we stopped by crystal's shop where i found this really cute maternity shirt that can be worn with leggings OR jeans!

so that's not REALLY the exact colour of it.. it's more of a green-green and less washed out looking. but you get the point! it's that slippery kind of material and really light, so i like it. it's probably cuter on than on the hanger, but i forgot to take a picture wearing it yesterday. next time!
anyway, so after crystal's store, we...... i don't remember now. oh yes, then we came home and garrick washed all three of our vehicles in the front yard and i watched. after that, we drove around looking at used camp trailers cuz that's garrick's newest love and obsession. we won't be getting one this year, but maybe next summer! so we're getting an idea of exactly what we'd like.
to top off the day, we headed to kelly o's to celebrate brock's (a guy garrick works with) 21 birthday. i had a yummy pineapple-y mocktail. it was an early night for us.

today, we were up early once again! 7:30 this time. although pirate was still crying before 6:30. this time i got up with squirt bottle in hand, opened the door, and gave her a good squirt. that kept her quiet for another hour. success. we went into kelowna so i could hunt for a few maternity tank tops. i was once again appalled by the pricing of maternity clothes. why must the world take advantage of the "state" our bodies are in?! it's disgusting. and it makes me really sad because i really don't want to look like a frump! i want to have at least a little bit of style during this exciting time. and i am NOT paying $45 for a pair of shorts i'm going to wear for 2 months.. i wouldn't pay that much for a pair of regular shorts!!!! ugh. not to mention spending $30/piece on tank tops just so my belly button doesn't hang out. i settled for some non-maternity tanks that are slightly longer than usual.. it was quite the hunt though. luckily they were only $5 each. phew. AND a got 5 skinny belts to enhance the illusion of my, i'll-be-it, high-waist. super cute. this partially successful trip to the mall was followed by a walk downtown, japanese lunch (i really had my heart set on coconute thai soup, but that restaraunt was closed), and delicious ice cream. did i mention how much i LOVE having the sunshine beating down? aaahhhhh, paradise....
so now we're back at home! garrick's making us some yummy ribs for dinner. he's off to the kootenays early tomorrow and will be leaving me alone overnight. boooo. at least i can look forward to karen being back at work tomorrow!

speaking of work, i told the boss on friday that i was pregnant. the conversation went like this...
[boss was getting ready to leave]
me: before you go, i have some exciting news to share! [this is me trying to put a positive spin on this right from the beginning]
[boss looks over]
me: i'm pregnant! [big grin... heart pounding.. thinking "please don't fire me.." over and over]
boss: congratulations, that's exciting [blah blah blah] how many kids do you guys want? [uhhh... what a weird question]
and shortly after that, he left. he never asked how far along i was, or when i'd stop working or anything. i'm pretty sure that he thinks i JUST found out. well that's not my problem! we NEVER EVER talk about ANYTHING personal, so it would be very strange to just randomly share all these personal details in regards to my pregnancy. i'm sure he'll find out sooner or later. at least it's all out in the open now, and i can get back to wearing non-baggy clothes while they still fit.

aaaannnnddd some pictures from our day!
the gingers - jealous that they can't be outside

our backyard!

the creek on the other side of our fence


Thursday, April 19, 2012

Second Trimester

18 Weeks

different pants this week! i'm usually wearing leggings.. this week, i'm wearing the skinny-leg dress pants that kath's mom bought for me as a gift! they are suuuuper comfy. i didn't necessarily NEED to wear them, but i want skinny dress pants for my outfit this day (imagine a grey and black striped cute blazer overtop of the purple shirt. it wasn't good for showing off the belly though!) and i conveniently have them, sooo why not! the nice thing is that they're a full panel belly - which i don't need yet - so i'll be able to get a lot of comfortable use out of them, but for now i just roll it down.

next wednesday we have another midwife appointment! YAY. we love the midwife sooo much and are always excited to go see her. and of course we're excited to hear the heartbeat again! (this also means that next week's photo won't be posted until thursday as well). and then the week after that, it's ultrasound day!

in case you missed it, there's a new photo for the guessing game. currently the poll has 12 votes and we're back to 50-50.

now, we're off to lay in bed and anxiously await this week's grey's anatomy episode. my back's been a tad sore by the end of the day and the couches have always given me a bit of a back ache, so laying in bed is very comforting. i'll be back in the next few days to talk about my pregnancy experience thus far!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

today's special

pirate seems to have a problem with sleeping in.

maybe it's because she's used to me being awake at 6 am during the week. today and yesterday, by 7 am, she had been meowing and scratching outside of the bedroom door for at least 45 minutes. and she's really smart! she must know that in order to open a door, you have to do something with the knob. so when she desperately wants in, she starts jumping and hitting the door knob!

the other thing she started doing this weekend? stealing avocados out of the fruit dish. both today and yesterday, she carried an avocado all the way upstairs.. and today, she had enough time to eat into some of it. so when i was later making myself some guacamole (for the 4th time in two weeks.. yum..) i offered her some off my finger. she gobbled it right up! what a strange thing for a cat to want to eat.

did i mention that last weekend, when mom, garrick, and i were sitting in the backyard, a duck wandered up the bank to our fence? so we fed it some bread, then decided to open the gate and see if it wanted to come in. it did!!! it wandered right into the yard, snacked on some delicious grass, and let my mom take a photo from a foot away. what a friendly little girl! and speaking of birds in the backyard.. yesterday morning, there was a goose on the roof of our shed! it was there for a couple hours. too funny.

oh!!! we went to see the hunger games last night.. it was amazing!!! highly recommended. garrick, knowing absolutely nothing about it, thought it was fabulous. today, we went to a newly found zig zag path that goes down the side of the mountain to a dock! it was so peaceful standing on the dock together.. until this hydro plane zipped by haha. the walk back up wasn't so fun for me though. there must be too much blood in my body for my heart to pump! i survived.. i don't think i'll be wanting to do that in another couple months though.

how was your weekend?

and p.s. there's a new picture for the guessing game!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Second Trimester

17 Weeks
here's our 17-week photo! a huge thank you to kathryn for the maternity leggings i'm wearing here (and basically every day after work). they are so comfy, and actually stay up! and there's still a ton of belly room to grow.

as previously mentioned, mom and dad were here for a visit. i surprisingly had not just friday off, but monday as well! that was a pleasant surprise. it was nice to have an entire looooooong weekend off.. if i were still at the old job, i wouldn't have had the opportunity to spend so much time with my family. mom and dad contributed their picture guessing (or "knowing", as mom would say) whether baby K is a boy or girl.

our last dinner together


overlooking kal lake


this week, i also told the lady i work with the big news. she's very excited for us, but says i'll have to tell the boss right away. but i'm worried about losing my job way too soon! how nerve-racking...

tuesday night kari came over for dinner one last time. she's moving from kelowna back to alberta. i had a few tears in my eyes as we said good-bye and garrick was pretty  bummed about it too. she's family to him and it's always hard to say bye to family.

today and last night i've been wondering if i've been feeling flutters. it's actually more like rolling or somesaults in my belly. but could i want to be feeling something so bad that i'm imagining it? so far i've been quite enjoying this whole pregnancy business! i think i've had it pretty easy so far. maybe the fact that i'm so positive helps.. and that i've got such a supportive husband! he's stood behind me with everything i want to do in regards to this pregnancy and birth... he gives me back rubs when i'm sore, gets me pickles and other snacks when i'm hungry, tells me my belly's bigger than the day before (cuz i always ask.. and there's probably no difference), and the usual things he does, like make dinner and take me to movies. <3

words from the daddy...
"hi baby! 17 weeks old. you're getting big and you're going to arrive very soon. summer is starting and then at the end of summer you'll be here. just in time for me to sell buttloads of winter tires and make lots of money cuz you're gonna cost me a fortune. mommy has a contest going to figure out whether you're a boy or a girl. i'm not going to play cuz it doesn't matter to me whether you're a boy or girl. all i want is for you to be healthy, and at the end of the day you're my child and that's most important. i get to spend a lot of  time on the road thinking about you and all the fun we will have. playoff hockey has just started so i think you'll be a hockey player. i was talking to you last night through mom's belly, and when you're between 8 and 10, we will fly to tampa to see my favourite hockey team (which will be YOUR favourite hockey team as well)."

Monday, April 9, 2012

BOY or GIRL Guesses

here i will keep a collection of the pictures for the Guessing Game!

April 26, 2012 - still at 13 votes, boy barely winning.
and another new picture from my cousin, jennifer! even her phone thinks so


April 21, 2012 - 13 votes on the poll, 7- boy, 6 - girl.
here's the latest picture! my very best friend in the world, kathryn, and her boyfriend anthony!


April 14, 2012 - 11 votes on the poll, 5 - boy, 6 -girl.
here's the next picture!

my sister robyn, and her boyfriend russell.


April 9, 2012 - so far there have been 10 votes on the poll and we're back to 50-50 boy-girl. i have the first picture though! it's from my parents when they were here over the weekend.

*note: mom said that she doesn't "think" it's a boy, she KNOWS it is.
mom's idea to show their guess: dad's BLUE shirt is overpowering her PINK shirt. hehe. so the whole time they were here, she refused to refer to baby as anything other than an overly accented "he" or "his" lol.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Second Trimester

16 Weeks

late picture and not much of a post for this week! too busy enjoying our company!!!

happy easter, everyone