Nursery Test Run

We were lucky enough this weekend to have a little guest stay with us!! Brooke had a sleep over (her first one without Mom & Dad!!) at our place which allowed us to test drive the nursery! While we do try and see Brooke as much as we can, we're still a long way from Mom and Dad and I really was expecting some kind of melt down at some point over the weekend . . . but no - in true "Brooke Fashion" she was a perfect angel all weekend and just so much fun for Joel and I to hang out with:) The only trouble is she makes this whole 'parenting' thing seem much easier than I think she should!!

Joel was amazing with her and played until he couldn't play any more (she could have gone forever)!!! Brooke just soaked it up and at one point when Joel left the room she got quite upset - it was the closest thing we saw to a meltdown all weekend!!

Here are a few pic's of all the fun we had with her . . . .

Helping JM with some work at the computer:)

Time for dinner!

A bit of playtime in the nursery

JM teaching Brooke some spinning tricks!

I wonder if Mommy lets her try to eat her toys . . . . ?!

Brooke teaching JM how to play drums on the washer.

Too early in the morning for pictures!!!

JM and Brooke at breakfast - Brooke giving her best Diva look!!

As for our babe she is still growing - and I know this because so is my tummy!! It is really leading the way now and I still feel like I'm being stretched to the max every day! Between the Braxton Hix contractions and her 'disco dancing' I feel like she's much more active than she should be - hopefully she will learn to sleep one day . . . !

I'm still feeling good for the most part - just a bit uncomfortable (depending on the day it's more like massively uncomfortable!!). Sitting through a whole day of work seems to take it's toll - but only 8 more full days of work left until I go to half days which I think will make a big difference.

The nesting around the house has kicked into full gear - last Saturday morning by 8am I had re-organized most of my kitchen cabinets, done laundry, baked muffins, and completely cleaned out any expired food/drink items out of my cupboards. It felt great to get some of that all cleaned out as I needed some additional room for baby stuff:) Still a few more things on the 'to-do' list before baby comes but we're making progress.

We had quite a week in our baby classes last week as we watched "THE VIDEO" - which showed more of babies being born (c-sections included) than I ever want to see - this was NOT the Baby Story version either!!! I just think that they are showing that video to the wrong crowd - we're already in this and there is nothing we can do about it . . . it's those high school kids who need to see those kind of 'real' graphics . . . I think it would work as a whole new form of birth control!!!

It was all a bit overwhelming and a bit scary knowing what is coming - but we just are staying focused on the end result and that gets us through those 'panic' moments and I know that will see us through the whole delivery (or at least that's my hope)!

One last thing - Joel, Baby M and I all are sending our wishes to Auntie Dorelle for a Happy Birthday ;-)

Asia Mahon

I have been waiting on pins and needles for Kayt & Stefan to update their blog - and now that they have done the official introductions of their new little girlie I can finally start bragging about our adorable little neice on our blog!

Joel and I are thrilled to welcome our newest little neice Asia Violet Christina Mahon!!! On Saturday September 20, 2008 at 9:59am Kayt and Stefan watched their beautiful little 8 pound babe come into this world!! We think she is just beautiful and can't get enough pictures of her - even though her Mom and Dad say that no picture yet has done her any justice!!

It's so hard to be so far from home right now - I want nothing more than to meet this beautiful little neice of ours however due to our own little one working her own schedule it will be until Christmas until these little girls get to meet :(

You can click on the link to the right to see more from the Mahon's on this sweet girl! I'm so proud of my sister (and her hubby) as by all accounts Asia wasn't in any hurry to enter this world (18 hours to even get close to delivering - yikes!!!) but when she was ready there was no stopping her and she came out with a flourish!!

I talked with Kayt and Stefan shortly after and they were both so wonderfully happy (and just a bit tired) - it has just made Joel and I even more excited for the day we get to meet our little one! And yes I'm very jealous of Kayt not being pregnant anymore . . . however I hear that bit of tiredness in her voice and it reminds me to treasure my sleep while I can ;-)

For those of you lucky enough to get to see her - be sure to give Asia some extra hugs and kisses from Auntie Kandis and Uncle Joel!

33 Weeks

Yikes - I have been SO bad the last couple of weeks at keeping up on my blog . . . my only (pathetic) excuse is that work has been insane and I've been at the computer so much that when I do get a couple of free minutes I just try to relax!

Anyway - the 32 week picture was really taken at 32 weeks it's just taken me this long to get around to uploading it! It's not my favorite one but it was done in a bit of a rush:)

So other than work - things with Baby M are going great! We've started our childbirth classes last week (we go for 4 more weeks) and on the weekend we went to an "Amazing Baby" class. It was more about the first year and both Joel and I really enjoyed the class . . . they brought in a few babies of different ages and I think what Joel and I took more than anything from this class was not to ever underestimate these tiny babes . . . it really is amazing how intelligent these little guys are from such a young age!

The whole class also had a good laugh at my expense as I won a prize for being the very first person to sign up for the class . . . the nurse teaching the class commented on how she was pretty sure that she knew I was pregnant before my husband did!!! But after that embarrassing moment I really didn't care as we won a year family pass to the Aquarium (Bermuda's version of a Zoo) - which I'm sure will be put to good use! So I can thank my dear friend Marsha for keeping me so organized:)

Let's see what else . . . the doctors appts are becoming a little more frequent now but all is still going really well. She has been head down for a long time now and our doctor doesn't think she'll be able to move much more now anyway - so hopefully she stays that way! There are definitely a few more discomforts as our little girlie really starts to put on the pounds!! My stomach feels like it's back on a stretching machine (daily!), this little girl acts like she's in a boxing ring and everything seems to take a bit more effort. I'm lucky enough that I'm not on my feet all day, however sitting at a computer all day also is beginning to take it's toll . . . but the end of the day my whole body has usually had enough! I start on half days in just over 3 weeks now and I just can't wait - I think that will be a nice balance between still keeping busy at work and having a little more R&R time:) However as these are my worst complaints - I do consider myself pretty lucky as things have gone pretty good. While her moving around can be a bit much at times it is pretty fun to now be able to see all this happening as we watch my tummy contort - the other day she really stuck her little foot right out and we could watch and feel this little lump move around!! The hiccups are her newest thing as well - she often gets a good bout of them just when I lay down to go to sleep!!

That's about it for now - next post to come much sooner this time!!

Oh yeah - and still no Baby Mahon as of yet but we're hopefully with every ring of the phone:)

Baby M's Nursery

The nursery is now complete . . . . well almost!! Most importantly we’re still waiting for the sweet little resident and as a more minor point I still have one wall left to decorate . . . but considering there are still walls in my house that have been left undecorated for a few years – I think I’m doing ok on Baby M’s room:)

I know I’ve said it a hundred times but it’s been so much fun working on her room . . . and while it’s ready a bit ahead of schedule it’s just such a nice room to spend any amount of time in just to relax, read or just contemplate this exciting journey ahead of us! So here are a few pictures of her room . . .

Thanks Kayt for the flower idea - I just love it!! Kayt also has these flowers in her nursery just in different colors and design . . . you could see the pictures of her beautiful nursery . . . if she would ever post them!!

This little girls closet is already brimming and she hasn't even arrived - she's been spoiled rotten with such a pretty little wardrobe!

We managed to keep our guest 'bed' in the nursery (in lieu of a rocker) so that means we still have room for friends and family to come and visit . . . and we promise to take Baby M with us if you come to stay . . . unless you're a Grandma - then we might recant that promise ;-)

Our cozy little corner that I'm sure we'll spend many hours cuddling, feeding, reading, sleeping . . . Nellie couldn't help being a part of the pictures:)

And thanks to Marsha - we have a great little temporary bed for Baby M for when she first comes home and her Daddy insists that she is sleeping right beside us . . . we'll see just how long that lasts . . . !!!

So other than playing in the nursery - we had a great long weekend here – we played some golf, visited with some friends and then took in some time at the spa (while JM decided to go for a rigorous workout I opted for a wonderful maternity massage)!! We were very excited this weekend to meet the newest addition to the Alderdice family!! Good friends of ours (Dave & Yvonne) had their second little baby just last weekend and it was so fun to meet little Ross who is currently weighing in at just under 6 pounds – it really is unbelievable just how small they start out!! They are just so precious – he just took my breath away and scared me to bits all at the same time . . . I can’t imagine being completely responsible for such a tiny baby!! We are so lucky to have all these friends (and family!) who are already such experts at this as I’m sure we’ll be looking to them at times when this little girl arrives :)

Hope everyone enjoys their short week! We’re all starting to get very excited to welcome Baby Mahon who is due to arrive in less than 4 weeks . . . . however by all accounts (including the Dr.’s) we shouldn’t have to wait that long!!