Belly Update Week 26

So in this picture you can see that the belly growth has begun to swing around to the backside.  How the heck did that happen!??

It is definitely growing but it still feels bigger than it looks.  Now sometimes when the baby moves you can actually see it from the outside.  

CLose Ups

Christmas Morning 2008

It all started at about 8am on Thursday morning. We rolled out of bed earlier than usual to get things done and Matt on his way. Of course we started with stockings. Aaron helped Archie while I took care of Moe.

New squeaky toys for the poop.

Each one had to be dragged over to its appropriate place by the dog bed.

"My Daddy Rocks" onesey from Em to Dad.

Matt Donnelly spent the night with us so he could borrow my car to go get his daughter from Bellingham in the morning.

The wading sandals Aaron has been lusting after for about two years. He isn't happy about them at all.

A new book about catching really big fish signed by the author!

My super cool peacock Mary Jane Crocs that Match a new stripey apron and food processor.

Aaron's new practice rod that allows him to simulate fly fishing in the house. It's great fun!!

Even Moley got in on the Christmas fun with a couple new toys.

Although I wasn't able to get to MB to spend Christmas with Mum and Dad we managed to have a very nice day. I took a LONG nap while Aaron fiddled on the computer then we had a great steak dinner at our new table. We missed you all and are hoping next year will find us together again.

White Christmas

As I am sure many of you know, we have had more snow here in the Northwest than we have had for decades.  Despite canceling many of our Christmas plans (including flights back to Manitoba) it has been fun to wake up to the white everyday and especially to have it here for Christmas.  It gives us all an excuse to sit in the house snuggles up under a blanket catching up on our crafts.

This was the 24th at about 10 am.  It started up again about 4am in the morning so we took Archie out to enjoy it with us.

Of course the only way to truly enjoy the snow is to rub it all over yourself.

The neighbourhood had been covered for about a week and it was still coming down.

Frolicking along.

Exhausted but happy.

As it stands at the end of the day today, we have had snow on the ground for ten consecutive days.  It even snowed a little mixed with rain again today.  

Lap Dog

Earlier this week Aaron and Archie set out to prove that Archie's dreams of being a lap dog really can come true.  Look how happy they are.

White Christmas

Over the last few days we have had some snow drop and low temps so it has stayed.   If you have ever doubted that breeding has any effect on your dog, here is your proof.  For a dog that usually hates to be outside, snow and cold temps are the antidote.  Now when we let Archie out he runs around the bak yard at full speed with a goofy smile on his face until he can't breathe and then is just content to hang out on the deck for hours.  

Late this afternoon we headed to the park down the street so Archie could really get his groove on in the snow.

When we got to the big grass field (after running for several minutes non stop) he dropped to the ground and rolled and rolled and rolled in glee.

When you rub your nose through it, you really get to the heart of the snow experience.

Why are you interrupting me to look at the camera?  I'm busy here.

OOOOH It just feels soooo good.

So over the last couple of days I have discovered that the fabric store makes a pregnant woman want to cry when you go there with too many options none of which are really what you had pictured in your head.  I have been there twice and spent more than four hours trying to pick fabric and figure out patterns.  In the end these are the colours I have picked and I told Aaron when I got home today that if he didn't like it he could "suck it".

These are the two main colours.  The pattern I absolutely fell on love with and have struggled to find matching stuff for ever since.   Today I came up with this cool aqua colour.

Here you can see the two main colours with the accent which is white with a turquoise stripe in it.  Which I am thinking can also be used for curtains.

In this picture you see the two main colours and a couple of fabrics from the first trip that may be used as accents somewhere in the room as pillows or something.

Here you can see all the fabrics together.  I think it is going to be cute even though Aaron said the turquoise green was "totally freaking him out" .  BTW if you don't like them you can suck it too!! (can you tell I've had it with shopping for fabric?)  I also picked up some yarn for Mum to make one of her famous baby addicting afghans.

P.S. Jenn, I tried to email you but got no response.  I'm going to Roblin for Christmas if you're going to be around maybe we could get together.  Let me know when is a good time to call this weekend regardless.

The Name Game

Ok for all you "IT" haters out there, I have come up with a nickname.  Drum roll please....

BABY EM

As in the letter "M" for Mathew or the first two letters and hence first syllable of Emily.  Also works as E for Emily and M for Matthew.  Since we have decided to wait for the sex but have chosen names, I think this is a great compromise.

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!

Last Wednesday we had our second and final ultrasound.  As before it was really cool to see the baby in there.  It is definitely much more developed now and looks much less alien like.  We decided not to find out the sex so I will be using the ever so endearing "it" to describe the baby in the pictures.

This is a profile view of the head and upper torso.

This is my favorite of the bunch .  In case it is hard to decipher: the baby is laying its side with its arms crossed and folded under its head.  I think it looks really cute despite the fact that there is almost no fat on its body and you can see the bones and tendons in the arms.  

This one always takes me a second to figure out like those 3-D pictures that used to be all the rage.  If you start at the upper right corner and work toward the middle you should see the head and the left arm sort of in front of and tucked under the face.  The head is tilted at about a 45 degree angle.

This is the one that I think best shows the facial features.  We think it has my nose and Aaron's mouth.  Again, I see cute.  Let me know if you think these 3d pictures are cute or sort of icky like Aaron thinks or if you just want to comment on how cute our baby is!!

Belly Update

It's been two weeks so here's another look.  Not too much difference I don't think although that's not what the scale thinks!  

Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday for the first time in 10 years I actually celebrated Thanksgiving by doing more than just sleeping and watching TV.  Well in reality Aaron was the driving force behind it all and despite two days of scrambling and arguing, we totally pulled it off.

We finally have a dinning/kitchen table that Aaron got for a steal of a deal at the local 2nd hand store.  It has two leaves and can seat 10 skinny people or 8 regular sized people.  It matches our cabinets really nicely and although it may not be in pristine condition, it makes our house seem so much more like a home.

Aaron places the turkey into the deep fryer.  He cooked it on the lawn so that if there were any spills it wouldn't burn down the house and it would fertilize the lawn.  The only downfall was that the drizzle turned into a full on rain and the sun went down well before the cooking was done.  Nothing like standing out in the rain holding a flashlight and a dripping sizzling turkey!

The turkey turned out great.  It was crispy on the outside and juicy and yummy on the inside.

Good job A.  I made mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and the stuffing (becuase Aaron ran out of time and I stepped up) and pies for dessert.  Brian came over for dinner and we were all very impressed with ourselves.  We learned a few things (buy the turkey on sale not the day before so you don't pay through the nose for it, with the turkey bought ahead of time you won't have to stay up all night making sure it is thawing, double check the list for gravy and cranberry sauce and bread) but it was still a great meal.  We are spending our day today eating leftovers and watching TV.  I love the holidays. 

Hope you all had a Wonderful Thanksgiving, if you weren't here you were missed!

Alright people - this is Lord Greenbucket.  I have hijacked Steph's login and password and will attempt a blog post - get this - WITH VIDEO!  Let it be known now that I claim no skill at 'blogging' nor do I profess to entertain you with demonstrations of wit or wisdom.  I am simply the guy who had the phone with the video capture feature at the ready.

Here's some more of our genius dog at his best - sniffing other dogs' butts.

Sorry about the quality, but phones really aren't cameras.

Hugs and kisses,

Lord Greenbucket

Dog at the Park

Last week we took Archie to the park down the road.  he found a VERY large puddle and spent the next hour wading in and out.

He had a lot of fun and totally wore himself out.

He was able to play longer because he could pop in for a quick refreshment after rolling in the dirt on the soccer field.

Unfortunately, now he desperately needs to go back to the groomer for a bath.  And no I am not going to attempt to put a terrified 85lb dog into my tub and bathe him.

Belly Update

Colleen informed the other say that it was time for another belly picture.  Things have definitely changed since the last one.

Covered belly doesn't look so bad, does it??

Naked belly is a little more revealing.  I think it is nice when people say "you can't even tell" even though I know they are lying through their teeth

This was taken right after I ate lunch today and I was totally letting it all hang out.  I like this one best because you can't see my double chin in it !!

Archie's Friends

When Auntie Colleen came to visit at the end of May, she brought some stuffed squeaky toys for Archie.  When you have a dog that likes stuffies but doesn't destroy them they get all dog licked, dirty and kind of smelly.

 

But as you can see he loves them and we don't have the heart to throw them away.

Since he sleeps on the floor all alone (insert "awww" here), he like to snuggle with a stuffie.  Our only hope is all the dog lick will help them to disintegrate faster. 

A Bigger Belly

Ok, so I think we had a bit of a growth spurt this weekend so per Colleen's request I am posting another picture.  I find this week it is easier to wear stuff up around my belly rather than tucking it under.  I don't know if anyone else can tell the difference but as I told Aaron earlier this week.."I feel like I am getting bigger everyday".  AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING (deep breath don't freak out, this is totally normal).

I Can't Believe

I can't believe I'm actually posting this picture but I suppose it isn't going to get any better for quite a while.

So this is my baby belly at 15 weeks.  Believe it or not, I'm sucking it in as far as it will go.  Of course I will admit that some of it is the lovely roll of chub I carry around my middle but you can see how the lower part of my tummy is starting to stick out now.

The sicky ickies left about two weeks ago and I'm really feeling pretty good these days.  No cravings other than my rediscovered love of milk (I haven't had milk for about 12 years but now MMMMMmmmmm) and a need to have strawberries around.  Will keep you updated and we are currently accepting ideas for baby girl names (no boys because we have our boy name already)

P.S. remember what you're Mum taught you, if you can't say anything nice.....

First Pictures of Our Baby

Today we had our first ultrasound. It was scheduled as a genetic testing ultrasound but the doctor was great and he showed us all kinds of cool stuff. It was kind of surprising (not sure why) to actually see something baby like when he put the wand on my belly.

In this picture you can see his/her spine and ribs and a hand with fingers under the chin.

These last two were taken near the end when we finally got him into the right position to measure the skin thickness on the back of his neck. This is an indicator for Downs Syndrome. I had to roll on both sides and shake my hips up and down to try to get the baby to move to the right spot. Here he is on his back with one arm up above the tummy.

Same position here, but the hand has moved. The coolest things about the whole visit were Aaron's excitement, for me seeing the heart beating and we got a DVD of it all! It is so cool to get to watch it again and again. Mom and Colleen have copies if you want to see it yourself. Of course we are SUPER excited to see that the baby is in there for one and so far as healthy as can be. We will have another ultrasound in two months and there will definitely be more pics then.