painting & colouring

diedre asked if they could do some painting. i also had some cheap stamps that they used. the stamps didnt work well for stamping a picture, but better when used upside-down to make squares.

diedre finishing up the piece.

i'm pretty proud of myself for letting ezekiel paint too. i just kept telling myself "its washable" and tried to keep him from touching me and the couch (also a strange place to do art...but the paper fits perfectly on that table). i find with my ezekiel, that he gets so adamant about doing the same things as diedre that unless there's a really good reason (ie. safety) that he cannot do the thing, i just let him. thats why he started colouring so young, or getting himself dressed (ha ha).

on another note, diedre coloured the following picture at playgroup on Wednesday. This is the first time she has really stayed mostly in the lines. she has been really into using many colours when colouring. Great job honey!

8 weeks or so to go

diedre seems to want to be in every picture now.

my hips hurt, my tailbone hurts, my butt aches, baby is definitely head down now. baby does barrel rolls alot. which is mostly fun to watch and sometimes painfully poky. we are both very healthy according to yesterday's dr. appointment which is good. i had a bit of a hard time doing aquafit on thursday after having a week and a half off.

i know the time is going to go so fast now until baby comes.

today, some friends were planning to come by to help me get set up for baby's arrival at home, but diedre started throwing up at 4.30am until 9.30am so we cancelled. i was not feeling well either (kind of nauseous) all friday evening and most of saturday so my babysitter came over for the day to watch the kids and help clean. it was awesome! i got to rest and rest and have a clean house and happy kids at the end of it. i didnt really feel better all day, so i had to lie down alot.

busy friday

i had a dr.s appointment in Langley. it went well except that my weight gain was 7.5lbs in 4 weeks (a little higher than the 1lb per week i was supposed to be aiming for). the dr. asked if i was retaining water and i said "no...my rings still fit fine, feet are fine...i think its all the cookies and chips maybe..." so he advised "maybe cut down on the cookies just a little bit." oh dear.

we took the opportunity of being in Langley to visit Cianna & Jasper.

jasper liked to look at her

he started to get fussy, but she calmed him down

she was very excited to go see "Sana" (Cianna) and "Baby Jasper" and she told me she was too shy so i would have to ask for her to hold him.

loving this little baby (almost 4 months old)

ezekiel is trying to tickle jasper

diedre even has the parental swat figured out, to get ezekiel to leave jasper alone.

zeke wants the camera.

after our visit, we headed to a spray park and playground to meet up with Auntie Heather and Joanna and the kids.

zeke was the powerhouse behind this twirling climbing structure. he walked around and around pushing it while the bigger kids climbed on it. what a little man!

9 weeks to go!!!

here i am in my fancy new swim suit (i bought it at Motherhood in California for $24--the canadian suits are not nearly as fun (regular tankinis, only a few striped or solid options) and are $60; and this one has a flesh coloured belly piece so there is no revealing of the belly).

diedre shows off her belly too.

i've been feeling tired for sure, but that probably has to do with helping out with vacation bible school every night last week. i was basically overseeing the preschool section (ages 3/4) as well as being the craft lady and it was a little too much some nights. i took it very easy during the day and took the week off aquafit just to make sure i'd have evening energy. i love helping with vbs, we just needed more committed volunteers...wednesday we were very bare bones :S

it was really special to have an event to go to every night with Diedre. i felt like we were getting back some of the bonding we had lost over the last year. derek and ezekiel hung out all week except friday night when i took miles along to vbs and heather watched zeke for me. it was good for the whole family. one downside was that ezekiel woke up every night as early as 11pm and as late as 3am to come sleep with us probably because he missed me. i'm hoping next week goes better for sleep.

anyway, my baby newsletter says that the baby is just over 3lbs and that a growth spurt is coming soon. i'm loving all the motion and am looking forward to friday's dr.'s appointment to find out what position baby is in. this appointment will be the start of seeing my dr. every 2 weeks. its really coming to the end/beginning!

i cant believe we're down to single digit countdown (although, i'm somewhat prepared for it to be as much as 11 weeks to go). as i said before, i really want to avoid being induced this time as last time i was totally healthy and so was zeke inutero, so induction was not totally necessary.

if my writing is convoluted, i blame the Magic School Bus playing loudly in the background...but its the best way to get my blogging done ;P

hangin' with the mellengers

here are a few special pics from our weekend but you can see the rest HERE
my brother and family were housesitting in our neighbourhood so we got to hang out with them all weekend. it was great!

diedre is excited about her cousins arrival

diedre and miles

zeke and poppy

derek and ezekiel

diedre and i looking tough

diedre has also been snapping alot of pics which you can see HERE.

10 weeks to go!

30 weeks pregnant and feeling large and in charge! diedre wanted to be in the picture so she's covering my belly button. i think this belly is looking slightly less football-ish than previous weeks, so maybe it could be a girl. i've pretty much decided that it will be a boy and that it will be a nice surprise if its a girl. ha ha

the pictures to follow are ones all taken by diedre, an obviously budding artiste!

mommy's big round belly

trying to smile and give instructions on how to aim and shoot the camera

big momma

ezekiel's crib

the rocking chair in ezekiel's room

baby brother getting dressed on the changetable

there he is!

diedre's foot on ezekiels playmat

ezekiel's sandals

Babies' First Haircuts! and backyard tenting

a long nap all together. ezekiel has started having shorter naps (1.5 hours) but if i bring him into my bed after he can sleep up to another 2 hours!

Babies' First Hair Cuts! July 9 2008

i have been harassing derek to let me cut ezekiel's hair for several months. he finally said yes and so i gave him the camera and went to town (well, not really, i just wanted to trim those silly bangs on my boy!)

hoping he can trust me...

feels lighter

i like it!

"I can see!!!"

one more smile for the camera!

not sure what brought this on, but it looks fun.

diedre said she wanted her hair cut too. she said "i want it like yours mommy." and i said "no, not like mine silly, but i will cut off those extra long pieces from the back."

she had three sections of long hair that are from her baby hair.

snip snip

after the haircuts, daddy went for a run. here he is teaching the kids how to stretch with him.

ezekiel loving the shorter locks

diedre's hair instantly looked fuller and healthier

a silly smile

model poses

setting up the tent

ezekiel was helping sherpa the load outside

diedre carried her share too

helping daddy hold up the tent

a photo op by the tree trunk. ezekiel is so cute and always carries around little planks of wood around the yard. he was using some to hack away at this trunk. i hope he wasnt bitten by any ants or spiders. he is also really loving spiders right now and when he sees a bug fly by, he puts his hands up and says, "pider, pider."

11 weeks to go

july 5 2008
29 weeks--11 weeks to go!

i just had to show off my fun new pjs from JOE Fresh :) i know stripes make you look bigger, but they are such a nice stretchy/cotton fabric and feel so nice on. i love pajamas. i'm very tired here after a late night and very early (4am) bed guest (diedre). thankfully ezekiel slept until 8am.

baby3 is apparently into a rapid growth time now. it is 2.5 lbs and over 15 inches long. wow! my belly is definitely feeling alot heavier. i'm trying to make aquafit a regular part of my week now and i've been 3 times. its such a great exercise to do with a heavy belly. i am more tired these days and desperately needing night sleep, a good nap, and even another rest when derek comes home.

ezekiel (at 19 months) is doing really well with communicating these days and has many words and requests. he is a huge snacker and always trying to lead me to the kitchen for food or asking for a "gack" or "cheese" or "fish" or banana. he loves dora and calls the show "backpack" pretty much. he is a very happy kid and loves company (unless he thinks they are there to babysit which has happened a few times...i guess b/c we dont have company very often...).

diedre is growing bigger all the time (nearly 3.5 years old). she loves talking/singing about how big she is. she is pretty helpful around the house but sometimes the diva in her takes over and things are not so good. we are really trying (again) to crack down on some of her rude talking, or unkind behavior towards zeke, or general disobedience, so pray for us! ha!