Sometimes I Forget...

...That there's an adorable little baby growing inside of me!

...That I'm in my third trimester already!

...That very soon from now our hearts will be growing bigger!

...That, try as I might, I can't slow the clock down!

...That Jackson is going to be a big brother and not my little baby anymore!

I'm really grateful that I have some fabulous pushy friends in my life who have been demanding belly photos for weeks now.  With everything on the go, it's so easy to forget to stop and savor these moments.  To truly embrace the small and magical things in life!

We had our prenatal visit this week...our last 'monthly' visit.  Now we are on the two-week schedule.  Scary, right?  That means we are getting closer.  And, as much as I want to meet our little Mr., I want a chance to have things calm down a bit and absorb every second of life the way it is right now.

I love my new doctor.  In fact, I feel so lucky and have zero regrets about making the switch.  She is honest, sweet, funny, and takes the time needed without making you feel like another number in her daily schedule.  We had a good conversation Wednesday.  It wasn't rushed.  It wasn't generic.  It was honest and candid.  We talked about our options for delivery.  We talked about pros and cons.  We talked about her experiences and mine.  It was nice.  It was easy.  It was comforting!  She told me that I am measuring 31 weeks.  She has also said that boys tend to be bigger the more you have and that premature births tend to be repeated as well...so basically, she wants us to be prepared to have him early and for him to be big!  I appreciated that.  She also requested an ultrasound for 38 weeks to determine approximate size to see if we'd try for a vbac or opt for the scheduled c-section.  She said this with a chuckle, as neither of us think we will be reaching the 38 week mark!  But...this is the plan!  And I like plans!  My tests came back really positive...no trace of gestational diabetes and blood work looks 'awesome'.  This is always a relief...because you always worry.  This pregnancy has been SO DIFFERENT than with Jackson's.  I am relaxed, calm, enjoying it, and it has flown by.  With Jackson, I think I was rarely any of those things.  I was always concerned, worried, anxious - - - there was always something going on!  I am so crazy about this little boy already.  When I think of them meeting for the first time I get choked up and fluttery at the same time!  Life is all about magic moments :)  Just in the past couple days, if asked, Jackson will give the baby a cuddle or kiss (my belly) and when asked where the baby is, he either points to my belly or lifts his shirt to show us his!  I didn't think he'd catch on...but the past week or two has been huge in his development in both understanding and verbalizing.  It's pretty fun!

Anyways...I thought I'd throw a baby update up here as I don't think I have spoken about it much.  There seems to have been so many things going on...but it deserves it's time to shine as well!  I hope you are all enjoying the chilly weather!  I know I like looking out and seeing white FINALLY!

Moose's New Room!

Because the basement work, mess, and stress hasn't been enough - we thought we'd tackle Moose's room while Trev was home.  Okay, I'll correct that...I THOUGHT we should tackle Moose's room!  I have been so stressed about not being prepared for baby that it was causing me to have a lot of dreams about baby being born and us having no where to put him!  We decided that Jackson would get a new room and Baby would have the nursery.  A few reasons for this...Jackson's new room is further away from ours making the baby closer to us, we didn't really want to decorate two new rooms and I just feel like it's a good transition and time to give Jackson that's more him or playful or kid friendly!  I also really wanted to get it done so that he could start living in it for weeks before baby arrives so he really feels it's his and not that we just kicked him out of his room.  We bought another crib/transition bed as Jackson is no where near ready to be out of his crib!  We bought a different but matching dresser as well, so all the furniture will match should we ever go to combine rooms or sell the set!  Phew...enough writing...get on with it, right?!

Okay, so I had NO IDEA what I wanted to do, but I wanted it to be cool, playful, different, but still match the rest of the house!  I think it crossed our minds several times that we bit off more than we could chew - being the rookie decorators we are!  In fact, I think Trev may have said at one point..."if I knew this is what you had in mind for this week..." and then he trailed off...I was able to fill in the blank!  I think he's happy we pushed through it now though because we both LOVE it!  LOVE IT!

Picture overload will commence now...

Before (Well...not exactly...a true depiction of before would have been a room FULL of all my photo studio stuff, props, and a queen size bed and two end tables!  There was a lot of swearing involved in cleaning out this room and my mom and dad would be proud that it wasn't from me!)

Our Handy Helper...and I mean that literally - he was awesome at being involved but not too involved!  He loves tools and being 'helpful'!

I can promise you that the drawing and taping of the lines is what did us in.  It was by far the most work!

The bottom stripe has three coats of magnetic primer on it!  It's super fun!  And, it works!  I am on the prowl for cool magnet sets for Moose!

The next morning he was more ready to get started than either of us...

Coming home to finding Moose in this shirt gave me a lump in my throat!  I've been waiting A LONG time for him to fit in this shirt.  Every year my parents donate to the Stollery and have shirts made for all their workers to wear on a special day.  It means a lot to me.  Moose was only in the Stollery for a short time and for something so minor, but they treated us like gold and are an amazing resource.  We are blessed and so fortunate.  I was so proud to see him wearing his bear!  One day he will understand how important it is!  I had to Facetime Nana and Papa in California so they could see it for themselves :)

We really had to pay attention at what we were doing because all the lines and tape could start to look really confusing when you're staring at it for that long!

This was the 'stainless steel' paint!  It actually has stainless steel in it!  Super cool.  It's typically bought for refurnishing appliances, etc...but Trev convinced me to give it a go - so I thought 'why not'!?  And it worked!

Living with the clutter and the craziness and the dust and the dog hair and the lack of organization is proving to take a toll on me...but there IS AN END IN SIGHT!

 And when we saw this finally after four days of work - it was ALL WORTH IT!  It looks awesome.  Yes, we still have touch ups to do - but I'm so happy and proud!

 Then this morning we set up the bed so that it could 'air out' and Moose could potentially start living in here in a couple weeks.  Last time, his crib was really smelly, but not so much this time...oh well, we got it up anyways! He gets the new one so that both cribs aren't chewed! 

Giving me a wink of reassurance...I needed it!

 Now we put this finishing touches in here and wait for his dresser to arrive!

Thank You Trevor for the late nights, sore backs, and hard work :)

Go Oilers Go

Sunday night, Trev and I took a break from all the hard work we've been doing (yes, photos coming soon!) to take Moose to the hockey game!  And...The Oilers actually WON!  It was nice to take him and he did really well...was squirmy for about a minute or two during the second period.

It wasn't until 5 minutes ago when I pulled the picture of last year's game (one month shy of being a year ago) that I realized how much our little Moose really has grown!  I included it to show you as we took a photo in the same place...so you get an idea ;)!  People LOVED his Moose jersey...and of course I had to pair it with his Moose toque (a new word of his by the way...toque...cute!).

THEN...

 

NOW...

 I've been thinking A LOT lately about how I want to hit freeze on life all the time just to preserve him...these pictures are exactly why!

Snow Shoveler

Where or where is the time going!?  Can I just say that we are flying around here.  We are exhausted...productive...but exhausted!  Trevor and I have been working hard on Moose's new room...pics coming soon ;)  It's taking farrrrr longer than expected (much to Trevor's dismay!) but we are learning and we are doing something together...and Moose will love it - I'm sure.  Ok...I hope!

I thought I would quickly throw some photos up of Mr. Moose from yesterday...our first big snowfall of the year!  It was C-O-L-D yesterday...but that didn't stop Jackson from wanting to be outside with his Dada while he shoveled - afterall, he had to test out his new Christmas shovel!  I have never seen his cheeks so red...EVER!  Snotty Nose - Check!  Rosy Cheeks - Check!  Cold Hands - Check!  Yup, winter must be here!

After...

He's really turning into such a little boy :(

The Progress Continues...

Progress is definitely being made in the basement...and I LOVE IT!  It is so nice to see it coming together.  I have to admit this has been one of the longest weeks in a long time.  I think since Moose was born I can count on one hand....maybe two, how many days I've spent the whole day at home.  It's just not our style.  We like getting out...even if it's for one errand!  So, having to be home all day for the past three days is wearing thin on both of us!  And to boot...the whole being in the third trimester of pregnancy has caught up to me and I'M EXHAUSTED!  Going up the stairs ends in huffing and puffing!  I want to sleep...all day long, and when night comes, I can't!  It sucks...but it's worth it, this I know!  I am thankful that I have Moose!  Although he is a busy body and has been into EVERYTHING lately because we've been up in each others space far too much...he adds sunshine to my day - every day!  Today we spent about 15 minutes cuddling and ticking in bed while watching tooners.  That is what life is about.  Period.

For all my patient followers...here are the photos from tonight :)  Enjoy! 

I vacuumed tonight.  I've been procrastinating this because of all the traffic...but it HAD TO HAPPEN.  The stairs look so much better!  As does the rest of the house! 

 I forgot to mention that Jackson is convinced Papa is working in the basement because he was here this weekend doing some of the duct work.  I have to randomly bring him down here to show him that, sadly, Papa is not in our basement!  He even points at the rooms so I take him in there and he peaks around.

Forgotten Moment

I really wanted to post these a couple weeks ago and TOTALLY forgot!  We were lucky enough to go to one of the World Junior hockey games (thanks Ryan & Casandra!).  Moose was pretty darn good and it was nice to be in the middle of all the excitement :)

Expect some special photos in this Canada jersey sometime soon!  I LOVE him in it!