Welcome Home Chunky Monkey!

A long overdue virtual welcome to the newest sweet addition to our family!  Our big little man was born on the magical date of 12-12-12 6:58 p.m. He is absolutely perfect and captured our hearts the moment he arrived.

I'll refer to our new little man as our little Punk Rocker and will likely slip and call him Chunk every now and then because he certainly is a chunky little monkey. Our birth story is similar to the Rockstar's.  My OB predicted an early birthday and a 2 hour labour... unfortunately she was wrong on both accounts, but I'm over it now.  

I went for an ultrasound on the 11th and my amniotic fluid levels were low.  Chunk didn't flip over the expected three times so he officially failed the test. The ultrasound technician deemed me the 'calmest mother ever' because I didn't flip out over the FAIL label.  I assured her I did care but that the exact same thing happened with my first so I wasn't worried.  I visited my OB and our Punk Rocker's heart rate dropped during the Doppler monitoring so she scheduled my induction for the next day and sent me to the hospital immediately for further monitoring/testing. All was well and I was told to call the hospital early on the twelfth to find out when to return for the drip.

The morning of the 12th I had a little spotting so called triage and they told me to come on down to be examined by a doctor, the nurse said I was second in line so chances were they would just tell me to stay and would get things rolling.  Sure enough that's exactly what happened. Our nurse Sophie was outstanding and we lucked out like we did the first time: she was with us for the entire labour.  

At 1030 I was set up with an IV for the induction drip and also for the penicillin drip to deal with the fact that I was strep positive.   Sophie nailed the vein on the first attempt which was a lovely way to start our day. I think I jinxed myself in a previous post by suggesting the IV was the worst pain I dealt with when delivering the RockStar.

At 1230 pm my water was broken after many many MANY attempts to break it.  Our poor little Punk arrived with 12 scratches on the crown of his head thanks to the super thick sack he had been living in. My contractions kicked in around 1 pm.  Although I was experiencing some lower back pain I thought I had things under control.  Around 3 pm I was asked whether I had made a decision on the epidural, the anaesthesiologist was going into a surgery so he would not be available for an hour at the very least. I was 7 cm dilated and figured I had an hour to go (not sure why I was so sure this was the case but this was one time I shouldn't have trusted my instincts).  After discussing things with my nurse who assured me that I was dealing well with the 2 minute long contractions at this point I decided to go without the epidural.  S.T.U.P.I.D.  

Hip hip horray for all of you who go without the drugs, I think it's funny how women get all bent out of shape around the "natural labour" talk.  Having a baby is the most natural thing a woman can do: drugs or no drugs.  I chose to go without the epidural initially (initially being the key word) because I was concerned it would slow things down, because I figured my labour was almost over and because I wanted to feel the birthing process more than I did with the Rock Star.  Half an hour later I was seriously regretting my decision.  I had full blown back labour thanks to my sunnyside up Punk and it was pain like I have never ever experienced. I have a relatively high pain threshold but wow.  

The nurses were wonderful and various people came in to try and help me through the excruciating pain.  At 5:30 pm I felt like I had to push and when I was checked I was still only 7 cm dilated.  "1 cm to 2 cm an hour" came back to me and I broke down thinking I might have to deal with this for another three hours.  I asked for the epidural reluctantly because I was terrified that if I was told I couldn't have it yet I would have a total meltdown.  A call was made and lucky me: the anaesthesiologist was available!! 10 minutes later I had the painless epidural and by 6pm I was fully dilated!!  My nurses said it was likely the epidural that helped me to relax enough to open things up.  I was given a pump to up the epi if need be. I pushed it twice and then left it alone.  The OB on call came in and told me to start pushing whenever I was ready.

Once I started pushing it was only 15 minutes before our little man made his grand entrance!  His birth was exactly what I hoped for this time around: I was able to feel enough to know I was really happy to have requested the epidural, I wasn't dealing with nausea so I saw him slide into the world and this round I was able to watch his daddy cut the umbilical cord.  We had immediate skin to skin time together which made me so happy!! Snuggles with my soft warm little man now on the outside was the most amazing experience ever.  

Our Punk Rocker came into the world with a strong cry and a full head of hair! The Rock Star was born with a little triangular "tail" but our Punk is part werewolf also, he was born with furry little ears! So cute.
He is a gorgeous baby and was cute even all puffed up.  He weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long.  He was born at 6:58 pm and nursed shortly after his arrival with no trouble!  

Believe it or not we do not have photos of Mike and I with the Punk right after his birth!!  We were so happy to have him in our arms that we did not think of photos. I'm okay with this now, initially I was upset but I'm happy we lived in the moment and didn't worry about a camera.

Mike was an incredible support during and after the labour as expected.  He is such an outstanding Daddy, the boys and I are really lucky!

Mr Maggo aka the Rock Star was the first person to meet our little Punk. I had really debated whether or not to have him come up to the hosptial, I didn't want him to be upset about us staying and him leaving but he handled things like a superstar which really is not surprising.  My parents were the lucky two who shared the news with Big Bro.  They wished they had recorded it because apparently he was glowing and so very happy that his brother had finally arrived.

Mike brought the Rock Star in and we had a few minutes to ourselves so that the boys could officially meet. My heart nearly exploded when Mike set the Rock Star on my lap: two little boys that we created!  I was worried Big Bro would be jealous and there was not a smidge of jealousy, he was just thrilled to meet his little 'bruddah'.  He admired his "yittle fingahs, yittle toes and yittle cheeks" and gave him gentle hugs. "He is so tiny and so cute! Awwww!"

Grams, Papa, Granny, Grandad and Auntie Joanne were all at the hospital waiting to meet our newest addition.  Lots of hugs and smooches were handed out and of course tears of joy were shed.  Uncle John and Uncle Paul came up the following day to meet their new nephew.

We were happy to be able to go home on the evening of the 13th.  The nurses were phenomenal and arranged to have blood work done at exactly the 24 hour mark so that we would be able to escape if all was well and thankfully it was!  We took our little Punk home and had a night to ourselves.  The Rock Star returned home the following day when we picked him up after the Punk's hospital check-in where we found out he had gained even more weight. Oink oink.

Life with two little men is a whole new ball game but thanks to a sweet Rock Star and an adorable sleepy Punk it is off to a great start!  Welcome to the world Baby Boy!! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you can possibly imagine!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Mr Magoo!!

Our baby boy turned TWO on Sunday!! What the?! Two whole years old? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he has been on the outside for two years.  It's hard to believe it has been that long but at the same time it's hard to imagine a time when he wasn't here.

We are the luckiest parents in the world because our little Rockstar truly is the sweetest, smartest, cutest, kindest, funniest two year old kid in the world.  It's true.  Maybe we are a teeny tiny bit biased but we are two intelligent adults who know an out of this world outstanding kid when we make one.  Happy Birthday, Mr Magoo!! 

Lots of love from your Mama & Dada!  MUAH!! xoxo

Exciting News! Our Second Number One

**I am posting this three months into my pregnancy but dating it on the date it was written!

Wow! A few months ago we were discussing when we should try for baby number two... IF we should!  At the beginning of March we talked about it for the 8 millionth time and agreed it was time to see about adding to our little family of three.  Two weeks later: DING DING DING!  

YES!! We are pregnant and super duper over the moon thrilled about it!  There have been a lot of "Wow.", "Oh my..." and did I mention "Wow!"  proclaimed around these parts for the past few days.  

I didn't even bother with home pregnancy tests this round considering they gave us false negatives over and over again with our Rockstar.  I headed to the doctor on Tuesday after Mike and I had the "Do you think I'm pregnant?" conversation, but I didn't tell Mike I was going.  It was so fun surprising him with the news!!  Picture mouth hanging open followed by an ear to ear grin.   

December 5th is our estimated due date.  Now we will have a summer party to plan and a winter party: FUN!!

I can't wait to be able to share our news with everyone we know but of course we are hogging the excitement and sharing with just our immediate family and a few close friends until we reach the three month mark.  

Hmmm what will we call this little peanut?  Smidge was the Rockstar's in eutero nickname... we'll have to come up with something for our newest addition.  xoxo

A Reason to Celebrate the Number ONE

Alright so it was almost 4 months ago now but our Rockstar turned ONE on June 24th!! What a strange feeling to look at him asleep in his crib that morning and think that a year earlier we were in the hospital staring at this little man for the first time.


We had cupcakes for breakfast. Yum!

He really wasn't a huge fan of the chocolate cupcake but he did try a little (his first taste of chocolate) and made a minor mess. Mike took the day off work and we spent the day playing, the Rockstar's grandparents all popped over to with him a happy day and of course he ate his favourite foods and watched an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.

We went to African Lion's Safari the following day; it was the first time for both the Rockstar and his Daddy and we had a great time!!

Daddy's first time carrying The Rockstar in the carrier
I think they were both pretty comfortable with this arrangement. :)

We threw a first birthday party for the wee man in July. Immediate family and a few close friends made up the guest list; the kids played in the kiddie pool and had a blast on The Rockstar's roller coaster while the adults roasted in the afternoon heat. Despite the crazy heat I think everyone had a good time; I know the Birthday Boy and his parents did! I'll share more details around the party in another post.

The Rockstar's 12th month (June) was really an awesome month. We took our first solo trip to visit my girlfriend Cara and her family - just the Rockstar and I on a 5 hour flight - I was a bit nervous but he was a stellar traveler. We had an amazing time out West, we spent loads of quality time with Cara and Rosie which is rarely possible due to the distance obviously but also the many obligations Cara and Herwig have when they come home to visit. I wish I could afford to travel to Van every year for a few days to catch up...maybe one day!

Mike was happy we were able to get away but obviously disappointed he wasn't able to join us; we missed him!! I purposely did not encourage the Rockstar to work on standing skills while we were away, I didn't let his hand go AT ALL when he was standing in open spaces for fear of him standing on his own and Mike missing it. Clearly my tactic worked!! When we returned home following our trip he showed off immediately by standing independently for about 20 seconds!! A few stumbling steps happened in June as well, and of course that was super exciting!

I still can't believe we have celebrated our son's first birthday. He is now going to experience all of the special holidays a second time which is crazy to me. It blows me away to think of how much he has changed in the last year and I cannot even begin to imagine what changes will take place this year. Of course I'm not going to worry too much about it, I'll just continue to do what has been working well so far: live in the moment and enjoy every second of our time together as a family

Happy Belated First Birthday, Baby Boy!! Mommy & Daddy love you to the moon and back, times infinity. xoxoxo

A late 11 month update!

May was the great sleepover month!! The Rockstar had his first sleep over at Granny and Grandad's and another at Grams and Papa's house; of course he slept through the night. Tooth number five arrived this month! Lots of gross motor development: sitting up for the first time with no help, standing without support for about seven seconds, standing up in his crib using the rails for support!! So awesome!

This month The Rockstar started signing "finished" and "bath" independently!! After dinner he would sign "finished" followed by "bath" and then point upstairs. "Cute" doesn't cut it, this kid is ridiculously adorable and of course brilliant!

I love the baby signing, it gives little peanuts some control over their world. I think so much of infant/toddler frustration comes from the inability to clearly communicate (both receptively and expressively) and signing takes some of this frustration away. Our Rockstar is big on pointing and it is super helpful, he still points a lot at almost 16 months but he started early and it has saved us many moments of stress.

Month 11 meant the introduction of one of the Rockstar's favourite foods: strawberries! He still can't get enough of his berries.

It's funny, my crazy monkey is almost 16 months old now, he's such a big boy now I can barely remember May - it's hard to picture him at a point when he was unable to get himself to a sitting position or stand all by himself. You've read it a trillion times and will read it a trillion more: time flies when you have kids. I thought it moved quickly before but had no idea how fast it could really fly by.

Happy Belated 11 months, Sweet Boy!!

Happy Day!

I am one lucky girl. Not only am I blessed with an amazing husband and a perfect son but I have the best dad a girl could possibly hope for. I'm not just saying that because it's his birthday either, he truly is an awesome man. My dad would give you the shirt off his back without hesitation. He smiles easily and laughs often. Did I mention he's a total softie? He is definitely a man who isn't afraid to show his emotions and that is just one of the million reasons why I love my dad so much.

Today the Rockstar and I helped Dad/Papa celebrate his birthday with lunch and a walk to the park. The Baby Extraordinaire and I had an awesome afternoon and I think the birthday boy did too.

Thanks for spending your special day with us, Dad! We love you!! xox

Happy Birthday Me

I turned thirty-three yesterday. Another year older and another year wiser (so they say but my baby brain spits out things that certainly don't sound very wise). I do know that 32 will be a hard year to beat with it being the year the Rockstar entered our world.

That being said I already have something HUGE to look forward to thanks to an amazing birthday surprise from Mike! He and one of my best girlfriends have been chatting on the sly and they have arranged for the Rockstar and I to fly out to Vancouver in July for 4 or 5 days to visit with Cara and her sweet peanut. I can't wait!!! Cara's husband will be on a golf trip when we visit so it will be some quality time with the girls and babes.

Having most of my closest friends living flying distance from me can be tough (thankfully one returned home from Russia last summer - yay for me!) so this gift means an awful lot to me. It will be weird leaving Mike and home while the Rockstar and I fly off on an adventure and of course we'll miss him like crazy (we will definitely skype daily) but he has assured me he is all good and wants us to go and spend some time with Neen and her little lady.

We had a super yummy lunch with my family yesterday and I received some moolah from my parents: I have promised myself I'll put it towards something I want and not pay a bill with it. Now the question is what to buy: clothes, shoes, a cutting mat?? I'm seriously leaning towards the mat since it's something I curse myself for not having on a regular basis. A quiet afternoon with my boys was topped off with an evening of Scrabble with one of my best ladies (Tanya gave me a super cool gift too but I'll save that for another post).

image source

This past Tuesday I was treated to an evening at the ballet with my fabulous second mom and sister. Moulin Rouge put on by Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet. It has been a very long time since I attended a ballet and the last one I saw I wasn't uber impressed with which made this performance that much sweeter! The dancers were unbelievable, the choreographer was fantastic, the sets were wow, the costumes were beautiful: overall it was superb. Even those of us who couldn't remember the story from the movie knew exactly what was happening without help from a program thanks to the talented dancers and choreographers. I had a wonderful evening, thank you ladies!!

Saturday night my parents came over and babysat the Rockstar so that Mike and I could go out on our first date in eight months! We had a super delicious dinner and then hit the early showing of the movie Unknown (not bad). It felt good to be out on a date and we are definitely going to do this more often. It was the first time someone other than Mike or I ran through the Rockstar's evening routine with him so the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed myself and didn't stress about it all evening was a relief. I knew he would be fine, I was just slightly concerned about whether or not I had left enough food for him (pumping is not my friend). I wasn't worried about leaving him, I was worried about starting to worry though. Hehe. Of course he was his typical Rockstar self and went to bed with little trouble and didn't wake up hungry until after we arrived home. Thanks for watching the wee fiend, Mom and Dad.

Overall a fantabulous birthday week! A super big thanks to everyone for the lovely celebrations and an extra special thanks to Mike and the Rockstar for a perfect weekend full of treats and cuddles. Thirty-three has started off wonderfully.

I Did

Four years ago today I married my best friend.

I thought I married the best of Mike, I honestly didn't think he could be any more wonderful than he was on February 1st, 2007 but I was wrong: the best was yet to come. After being with someone for almost eleven years you have a pretty good idea of who they are but the only way to determine what kind of parent they will be is to see them in action when/if the time comes. I've lucked out and am truly blessed to be married to a man who is not only an amazing husband but also an outstanding father. I love watching Mike with his little mini-me, the adoration that is mirrored in their eyes when they look at one another makes my heart skip a beat.

Four fantastic years under our rings and a new addition to share the rest of our lives with: what will the next four have in store for us?! I can't wait to find out! Happy Anniversary, Baby!!

Just a little late

Late last week I received three emails from friends thanking me for the Christmas card that they had JUST received in the mail. I thought it was fitting to share it with you now since I never got around to it in December. Better late than never: HAPPY HO HO!

7 Months?!

7 months old and visiting the salon already! The Rockstar has been rubbing his eyes non-stop thanks to his pesky bangs poking his little eyeballs so we took him in today to have them trimmed. He sat super still and admired his new do in the mirror when it was all said and done (a whole thirty seconds after the scissors started snipping). A comment was made by the owner of the salon that he has a total Brit Pop style happening and Emily (his stylist) said that she didn't want to ruin his look so she was only taking the bangs up a bit and we can visit in a few weeks for another trim. Yep, The Rockstar used his good looks and sweet demeanor to earn himself a free fringe trim: well done Baby Boy!

Another big month around here for the wee man. Rolling from his back to his front is his new favourite activity, I found him on his belly in his crib yesterday morning and he looked awfully proud of himself. He's back to sticking his tongue out and making lots of sounds. Oh and there are the kisses, can't forget those: he has started opening his mouth to give kisses. We are now attending Music Together classes on Tuesdays with Jess and Reid and The Rockstar loves it!! Mommy does too, it's a fun outing and it tires out a certain someone to the point where I can move him from his car seat to his crib without waking him (a task previously considered impossible). If you are a parent and have never heard of Music Together I highly recommend that you check out the program: it's a stellar music program with songs that sound like "real" music.

Seven months and better than ever! I say it every month but I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. We are loving every moment with the Rockstar, it's hard to believe because I truly believed he was as awesome as he could get the moment he was born but he continues to surprise us and is more amazing each and every day. We love you little man!! Happy 7 months!

Another Milestone!

I can see the headlines now: January 20th, 2011 The Rockstar Rocks and Rolls! Yes folks, the wee man is on the move, he finally went from his back to his belly and as you can see Daddy couldn't be more proud. Of course Mommy was thrilled about it as well but Daddy wasn't present for the first roll from front to back so he was excited to witness the roll. Of course the fact that the main event took place while our baby boy was reaching for Daddy's work tags was the icing on the cake for Mike. And not only did he roll once but after the first roll he went back to his starting position and did it all over again! Congratulations sweet boy, Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you! (and a little afraid - we better get baby proofing)

A Belated Happy Ho Ho and of course HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another month gone with no posts, where do the days go?! I thought I would make time to post on a more regular basis but obviously that hasn't happened. I have a bunch of things to share with you: mostly cute tutorials and new blogs I've stumbled across on the iPod in the middle of the night while Kian sleepy nurses. I promise they'll be coming your way soon - if there's anyone out there still visiting my blog I'm talking to you. :)

I managed to complete a few little projects for Christmas and of course I've added a million more to my "TO DO" list. Christmas was the best ever this year: our Rockstar took all of the excitement in stride. He was his typical delightful little self at all of the family events and thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled by all of his grandparents, aunts (both blood related and pseudo), uncles and cousins. Here are my fav shot of the Rockstar with his biggest fans (his grandparents of course)



Of course Mike and I were also showered with goodies by both of our families and Mike went waaaaaaaaay overboard on gifts for me. I have a new point and shoot camera that is so small it fits in my pocket which means the Rockstar will never escape the Mamarazzi now. Here's a family 'self-portrait' taken with my new clicker:


Santa brought a super kickass highchair for the monkey boy: a SVAN. Absolutely love it, looks super cool and holds our little man perfectly (he tends to be swallowed in the classic plastic chairs because he's still such a slight guy).


On Christmas Eve the Rockstar turned 6 months old!! WHAT THE?!

December was the month of the roll! He's rolling from his tummy to his back happily now and will roll onto his side but has yet to roll onto his belly from his back, I'm sure it will happen eventually. Oh and Mr Man started sitting up by himself for fairly lengthy periods of time! Of course he tips over every now and then but he's really very stable for such a little guy.

A few days of a funny face (he looked like he was talking but no sound came out) led to "Maaamaaaamaaaamaaaa" and "baaaaabaaaaabaaaa" just before Christmas which was very exciting! We haven't heard much of it in the last week but that's probably because he's so busy "coughing" his "terrible cough" and sticking his tongue out (his latest tricks).

Ahhh yes and the big announcement: SOLID FOOD!! Cereal was a hit from the first bite, peas were hilarious (what a face!) but are now gobbled up without complaint, carrots have been introduced and are one of the most loved foods, prunes have solved our solid food belly woes and are enjoyed more each day and squash was introduced today and I think we may have a new contender for most loved food. Solids are our friend. We had a few rough weeks of sleep (another growth spurt along with too much excitement over the holidays I think) but the Rockstar is sleeping for good long stretches now and I thank the solids for that. We upped him to three small meals a day as of today when I fed him solids for breakfast (which doesn't normally happen) and this morning he had an hour and a half nap after just five minutes of rocking and cuddling. I literally dropped to my knees and thanks the sleep gods much to Mike's amusement.

New Years Eve was definitely not our typical shaker but we have started a new tradition which was wonderful: an evening with friends and the kidlets. I was thinking about it the other day and we have spent 9 out of the last 10 NYE with our good friends Colin and Jessy. They were blessed with a perfect little man just three months before us so they are in the exact same place we are which is really awesome. We spent the evening filling our faces, sipping some yummy bevies and (yes we are nerds) playing video games while the boys slept peacefully upstairs. Jess and I were out cold by 1pm and it was perfectly wonderful.

Did you make any new year resolutions?? Mine are simple: devote a little more time to ME and be more active. Two resolutions that are completely doable and go hand in hand. I went for a massage this week and have spent some nap time working on projects I've had on my 'want' list which means I've started working on the first resolution. I'll let you know how the second goes...

I hope all of you had a fantastic holiday season!

4 Months Already? Nope: 5 going on 6.

Yep it's true: my little teeny tiny peanut is turning into a big boy. The Rockstar turned four months old when I started this post at the end of October. October was a big month for the Rockstar , he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first and (until earlier this week) only time, started swimming lessons and became the Jolly Jumper extraordinaire.

Oh and we can't forget Halloween! The he Great White shark terrified everyone who came to the door trick-or-treating.

Scary, huh?

November was a blur but a fabulous blur. The Rockstar turned five months old two days before his Daddy turned thirty four. The boys celebrate their special days in style: in MEXICO!!

We had an awesome trip! The weather was fantastic and the Rockstar was the best behaved baby on the resort: he loved all of the sunshine, swimming and attention from his Mexican peeps but of course his favourite part of the trip was having so much time with his daddy.

Spending my boys' special days drinking pina colodas next to the pool was heavenly.

Our week in the Mayan Riviera was amazing. The Rockstar and I miss having Mike with us all day every day like we did in the summer so it was a treat to have him all to ourselves for an entire week.

Happy belated Birthday to the most amazing husband and daddy on earth!! I love you, Baby!

The kids is a...

Yes ladies and gentlemen the 9 week old Rockstar slept from 9pm until 6:15am, woke up smiling, ate and then went right back to sleep. I am sipping a coffee and enjoying the silence while my two boys sleep. A full night of sleep for the first time in I don't remember how long is the perfect start to what is bound to be a fabulous weekend.

Time Flies...

We love you, Little Man!

3 Weeks!!

Something tells me this is going to turn into a place to post a million pictures of the cutest boy on the face of the earth.

Happy Three Week Birthday to the king of our castle!

p.s. I thought Picnik was fantabulous before but I upgraded to a premium account and it just got a WHOLE lot better. Definitely worth considering for those who like to use this awesome site.

No Longer Just a Smidge

I've been absent for a good reason...

We went from giving 'Smidge' kisses like this:


To giving baby Rockstar kisses like this:Our Rockstar was born on June 24th at 1:49 a.m. Our son (I LOVE saying that) weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long on his birthday. We have fallen head over heels hard and fast. I knew being a mom would be incredible but I had no idea just how incredible "incredible" could be.

As you can see the Rockstar was born with a ridiculous amount of black hair! It hangs over his shirt collar and so far it's staying put and not thinning too much. He's our little werewolf: born on a full moon with a full head of hair and a little patch of fuzz above his bum which sort of looks like a tiny tail. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to read that one day.

In a few hours it will be three weeks since the Rockstar entered our lives but it seems like he has been part of our family forever. Mike is the most amazing dad and seeing him doting on the Rockstar makes me love him in a whole new way.

The Rockstar smiled on his birthday and it wasn't because of gas, it's just one of his sweet expressions. Smiles and his "O" face were the most common expressions for the first week but now he has a whole array of faces that amuse us. He loves kisses, being outside and bath time but doesn't particularly like having his face washed. Being cuddled, carried and swinging in his swing are all good times while laying in his stroller's bassinet is pretty much torture (he obviously has no idea what it took to find that stupid bassinet!! Here's hoping it becomes less of a torture device in the next couple weeks).

Our birth story is a positive one so I'll definitely share it with you in the not so distant future - I think more women need to tell their happy, positive labour stories since women tend to scare the hell out of first time pregnant mamas by telling them their horror stories or by focusing on all the negative parts of their not so terrible experiences.

Welcome to the world Rockstar: Mommy and Daddy love you more than you could ever fathom.

Showered with Love Once Again!

Isn't this the most beautiful baby shower cake you've ever seen?! It looks like something from Martha Stewart magazine but it's not... it was the gorgeous cake (which matched the invites) at my baby shower yesterday afternoon! Another day of spoilage, this one thanks to my awesome sis-in-law Joanne and my mom-in-law Bridie!

The ladies hosted High Tea with cucumber sandwiches and cheese sandwiches; homemade scones with cream, butter and jam (recipe coming soon); fruit and all sorts of yummy cookies. Of course there was the fabulous cake and adorable cupcakes (with booties on top) as well! Auntie Phil brought the beautiful teacups pictures above.

Thanks to everyone for spoiling our little man! At this rate we really are going to have to move into a bigger house.

Spoiled!

Today was AWESOME! My amazingly fantabulous girlfriend Jessy threw me a baby shower. A pile of my favourite ladies and a few sweet little men (under the age of one) + lots of yummy treats including a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (this was just the best surprise EVER) + no cheesy games = a perfect shower!!

Thanks, Jess! And thanks ladies for all of the wonderful presents! We were definitely showered with goodies. Sooooo many sweet little outfits and toys and books and... well, just SO many awesome bits!

Two more showers to go... where in the world are we going to put all of this stuff?!

Smidge's Big Buddy

I forgot to post the fabulous news over here at Just a Smidge! Last Wednesday March 3rd Jessy and Colin welcomed their little man into the world!! Isn't he adorable?!

Reid was born at 7:58 am (or was it 7:59?) a day before the planned C section. Mommy and baby are both happy and healthy and of course is Daddy is too. Actually Daddy is being super cute and "happy" doesn't quite describe the feelings that are oozing out of him.

The second time I held Reid I sat on a rocking chair with him passed out on my chest Smidge proceeded to karate kick his new buddy not once but twice. I'm imagining they were meant to be high fives rather than drop kicks, or else, down the road 'referee' might be another title Jess and I.

Mega huge congrats to Jessy & Colin for making such a beautiful baby boy. Mike and I are thrilled to have Reid on the outside to cuddle and kiss and gaze at in wonder. Miracles really do exist and babies are proof!