Snow Play

We don't always get snow here on the westcoast. However, when we do, it sure is something special. Hope it sticks around for Christmas!

Wren wasn't really sure what to do with it so I gave her her bucket and let her be.

The rest of the time she spent "stomping" around the yard (in her words).

Hehe, little snow footprints....ahhh how fun.

*Cute strawberry terry lined suit courtesy of Ayla-thank you! 

Protein balls

Experimented a little and came up with these protein balls. I try to keep them in my fridge at all times for snacks and when a craving hits but I don't want to ruin my meal plan with a cookie.

2 cups of pitted dates

1 cup of unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup of chopped or slivered almonds

1 tsp of coconut oil

1 cup of natural peanut butter 

1. Chop and mash the pitted dates- use hands if needed (I use a blender for this but a food processor would work better)

2. Chop almonds 

3. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Use hands to knead everything together thoroughly. 

4. Have a little taste. Add appropriate ingredient that is lacking.

5. Roll into 1" balls and refrigerate 

Enjoy! 

Faces of Ollie

Thought I'd share just a few of the many faces of little baby Ollie.

                                                             The "wide eyed"

                                                                 The "check me out"

                                                        The "soothing fist suck"

The "HEY mom!"

and last but definitely not least, Lane's favourite. The "Waaasssuuuuuup"

Maternity shoot

At 37 weeks pregnant, my sister-in-law took maternity pictures of myself and Sonya (also her sister-in-law and my friend). Sonya and I have only 1 day between our due dates! It's all very exciting. Enjoy.

 Oh little man, how I do wish to meet you already.....

 Best belly buds!

A little Baking and Crafting

I have the weirdest things on my nesting list. I totally understand that and am fully aware of it. One of the things was to have some baking done that I can freeze and have ready for after the birth (there will be many helping hands at our house I'm sure and I'd like to have a snack for them). Banana bread and chocolate chip cookies are done, still would like to do a few more and different things. Ideas would be great (meals, snacks that are freezer friendly).

Wren has really been into colouring lately. Which I love for so many reasons. This little birdhouse I bought at dollar store for $2. My original idea was for her to paint it but then I figured she could just colour it. Way less messy and the felts she has are washable so we can wipe it down and start over if she wants.

She was so serious as she was colouring it (I think that's from me- serious face while working on a project).

"MOOOMMM, allll done!" Wren said. I'm sure she will go back and fill in the blank spots but hey, it's her project so she can do it however she likes. I love how proud she is of herself.

Do you have any suggestions for toddler crafts that are minimal mess and cheap on the supplies? I'd love to hear!

Fun at the Park

A quick little trip to the park to enjoy the sunshine. Our adventure in pictures....

Taking after her grandma Tea and getting into the numbers.

Ah...wwweeeeeee 

Had to lay down to have a snack, so much play I guess.

                                       My "so big" little girl and me just chillin in the shade.

Gestational Diabetes

It's been a few weeks now that I've known of my gestational diabetes. After an overwhelming and long  appointment at Royal Columbian Hospital (met with a nurse and a dietitian) where I learned the ins and outs of my new condition, I have begun to get the hang of things a bit more. 

I definitely didn't realise how much food was affecting me because even a little dash of sugar in my coffee or a drizzle of honey on my peanut butter toast was/is too much for my body to handle. After the first weekend of my new diet, pretty much all my anxiety, irritability, fatigue and mood changes were eliminated. And for that, I am so ever grateful for! To say the least, I feel balanced.   

I can't completely remember why I need to be taking extra vitamin D on top of what's in my prenatals, but that's what the dietitian said, so I obliged. 

I keep strict records of everything including: keytone urine in the morning, type/amount/time of food I eat, and blood glucose levels before and after every meal.

After the first week, I started to feel a bit more confident about the whole process and don't have to look at the meal plan for suggestions of what/how much I can eat.


I am still, however finding it a bit challenging to eat as much protein as my body requires and is suggested on the meal plan as this was not something I was used to. My favourite 'go-to' snack is blueberries (a diabetic friendly fruit due to lots of fiber) in greek yogurt.

As of right now, the baby is doing great, I'm doing great and Wren and Lane have been very supportive in the process. If you have any diabetic tips, I would love to hear them as this is all very new to me.

                                                     32 weeks and 2 days belly

80% Loaded

I'm 32 weeks today. I can hardly believe it. That's 80% of the way! Officially done work and onto maternity leave now. I couldn't be more grateful that I get to spend some time with Wren, my husband and myself before this baby comes along.


Here are some tid bits from the last couple of days.

A sign that I will hang on our mailbox when the baby arrives (everyone seems to drive past out house).

Still a work in progress but here are the thank-you favors from our little man: homemade jam.

Went to Ridge Meadows Hospital to pre-register :since no one wants to be filling out paper work when they are in labor. 

Selfie of me at 32 weeks exactly.

Lists....

Lists....a lot of them. They are sorted into categories of various types. Anything from preparing our house for a new baby (ie nesting), baby gear, mat leave preparations etc.

Here are some of the items on my list so far.

Exhibit A- Baby Gear

1. Birthing pool from With Child as well as the birth kit to go with it.

2. Some new born diapers for the first 2 weeks (we will continue on with cloth diapers after the meconium). 

3. A second hard car seat (preferably the maxi-cosi or peg-perego one as these ones will adapt with our stroller).

Exhibit B-Essentials

 1. Ergo carrier

2. Newborn girl outfit (if it's a girl)

3. A cute little hat like this one

4. Newborn boy outfit (it it's a boy)

5. 2 natural rubber soothers

Exhibit C- Postpartum

1. A cute bikini top like this one from OldNavy to labor in.

2. Flowy postpartum and breastfeeding friendly tops.

3. Postpartum tummy sucker of some sort (some Spanx would also do).

I'm sure this list will continue to grow, however when we had Wren, I quickly found that there are many baby items on the market (ok like seriously 90% of them) that you don't need. Some are definitely nice and may be even essential to different families but we found that we like to keep it simple. 

We have baby items still from Wren (ie. breast pump, bath tub, stroller, bassinet, girly blankets, dresser/change table cloth diapers etc.) that we found very useful and are not disposable so we will be using them for the second baby. This makes the planning process for second baby much less stressful and much more affordable. 

I like to check things off of lists but I am resisting until we at least find out the sex of the baby. Which we will be announcing mid-May. 

We are welcoming guesses however, because that's always a fun part.

***

I've been considering doing a baby registry for this next baby because if people would like to welcome this baby with a gift, it would be nice if they were items that we didn't already have and/or would be helpful to us. What are your thoughts on a baby registry. Is it a do or a don't? If we make one, is it rude to direct people to that registry? Any thoughts would be super helpful!

Circle Farm Tour

When my mother in law was out to visit over Easter, we decided to go on the Abbotsford Circle Farm Tour 
This is something that Lane and I have always known about but have never actually done.

Essentially the Circle Farm Tour is a self-guided tour through different towns in the Fraser Valley. It takes you to local farms, markets, and other neat little shops. It's a great way to meet with local farmers and to discover what is in your own little town!

We had the best day ever discovering new little farms and re-enjoying the places we've already been (Birchwood Dairy's, Clayburn Candy Store etc).

 Discovering some animals. By the end of the day, Wren had lots of new animal sounds down.

Next stop- Birchwood Dairy's where we enjoyed some delicious ice cream and ran in the sunshine.

We went to Brambles for lunch (by the way, if you live in the area, has the best food ever). And yes we had ice cream from Birchwood Dairy's as our starter.

 

Brambles Bistro is located within a nursery so we took a yonder around the place after our bellies were full.

 

This place was a little bee farm (or a shop rather) filled with honey good including Meed, honey sweetened chocolate, 100's of flavours of honey etc.

 

Old Clayburn Store was our last stop for the day. It has the rarest of candies and treats there (including these 'funny' sodas above). Kind of makes you feel like a little kid again when you walk in there. Was the perfect end to our perfect day.

Wren approved of her watermelon lollipop.


***

I realized after uploading these photos that there were zero pictures of me and very few of Lane or Terry. I definitely need to get better at organizing my photo taking so I can re-create the event more thoroughly.