family blog spot

i decided to move my blog to this location because it is a more suitable name for derek and i to manage together. i plan to encourage derek to post here as well so you can see how he's doing first hand.

as you can see, i've already moved over many posts (they will still exist on the old site) that pertain to our baby announcement and the updates since august. I hope you will find "thesalmon" a fun place to read up on what we're up to.

i will focus on updating this site frequently and will continue to remind my faithful friends, family and other readers as much as i can to look here first.

:) amanda

Michelle, this ones for you!

a funny thing happened today, it snowed nov 29 04
Well Michelle asked me what winter was like in BC earlier TODAY.

I emailed her and said the weather is fairly warm, doesn't really hang around below zero that much, and it might snow, but don't count on it...

I was going to take a picture of what winter looked like around here because I wrote that its that fall brown colour, kind of been wet and ugly...however, I was proven wrong again. Ok, I know, I'm not in control, I don't know everything! how humbling

Babysitting Miles Grey

I offered to babysit tonight while derek went climbing with the boys...however, the boys were not up to it, so derek came to babysit with me.

derek was so good with miles and was able to calm him down. he would give him to me and then miles would get upset again. eventually miles slept and i held him while he slept until andrew and heather came home.


derek helping miles stand..soo cute...i love my nephew and husband! derek's gonna be a great dad.

Kalen's baby shower

kalen & grandma


these girls sure do love babies! here's kristin, rose, miles & joanna at Kalen's baby shower


heather, miles & mom roy

living room jam time

derek & shawn & ben are jamming right now as i type. its fun to listen to them.


ben is the shredder, shawn's on bass, derek on acoustic. they've gone back and forth between Christmas carol medleys to some of their old hits from back when they used to jam weekly.

i'm waiting to go to a baby shower for my friend Christie...i'm so tired and sore from all the moving i did today. i emptied a huge bookshelf and comandeered a room-switcheroo. marks room is now in the front office area and his former room is our new storage room. it is much more spacious than the last storage room...probably b/c andrew and ben moved the deepfreeze out...andrew apparently looked like a robot from Starwars with a big freezer on his head, covering his body with only legs sticking out--said ben (rob, trivia question for you maybe? do you know what creature that would be?).

it will be interesting go to hang out with all girls (except for babies) after being the foreman (woman) to the guys all afternoon today.

anyway, another page in my nesting diary for the arrival of our new little one. I have two count downs on my whiteboard at work: one for baby, one for Christmas, since i'm not at work today: 2 months 27 days til baby's due date & 28 days til Christmas...YAY to both.

ciao

apparently i'm a slave driver

derek and i enlisted some friends and brother andrew to help us out doing some rearranging of our house as we found out that Mark (housemate) most likely wont be back until MARCH...wow. anyway, andrew kept asking for his "15" so here he is taking a break

thanks for the help androoo


here's ben taking his break too from moving stuff to the garage and between rooms in the house. Derek and Shawn went to get the doghouse for Sparky from Leah's parents house and i was the boss lady for andrew and ben...poor guys.

27 weeks Pregnant...13 to go!

things are going well. the baby is moving around alot and i'm really enjoying being pregnant. i think my excitement has increased now that i have entering the final trimester...wow, i can't believe its been six months already :)

i worked from home this afternoon and it went really well. Sparky played outside in the fenced yard (thanks to Derek for finishing the gate) and he seemed to really enjoy himself--chasing squirrels and when Westley came around they chased each other. it was really good to see him having such a fun time in the yard.

Derek and I went Christmas shopping tonight. I'm excited about going to Ontario and visiting family and friends. I sure hope it works out to see Michelle and her family when we're there.

peace

3 months til Baby Salmon's Due Date!

Wow, only three months to go until February 24th, 2005. Thats pretty crazy in my opinion. I am definitely getting more and more excited about it.

Lots of people at work have been asking when i'm going on mat leave, but i don't know yet...i'm told i have to give one months notice, so i guess I'll wait until January to decide for sure.

Yesterday I was trying out a prenatal aerobics video...there were some moves that were supposed to be graceful ballerina moves but it reminded me of the dancing hippos from Fantasia...


anyway, i'm feeling alot better from my head cold today...i'd say i'm 90% better, I have a cough but my mind is fairly clear now.

ciao

Ben's 27 years old

here is andrew getting smiles out of miles soo cute


brent & kristin enjoying a little Hayden at BenG's birthday party (27 years old) at the Hetzlers in Mission


congratulations David you're gonna be a brother!

Week 26 belly

my belly is getting bigger...week 26, 14 weeks to go! crazy...i know this picture doesn't really show my belly, but it is bigger. We had a doctor's appointment this week and i'm measuring 27 cm which is right on target...baby is about 2lbs now and just over 1 foot long. wow!

High Speed Internet & our Livingroom

on monday our good friend craig came by to wait for the shaw guy to come and install high speed internet. so on sunday night we moved the computer desk and set it up in living room. i think it looks so great with our new flooring (thanks again richard, guy, derek and bruce!).


our cute chairs from mom roy in the other end of the living room

whistler rose is getting married!

congratulations to my whistler rose and her josh dykstra! i just got the exciting news that he proposed on thursday and she said yes :) way to go!

sorry this is such a lame picture, my final climbing trip to Smith Rock Oregon was back in May with rose and derek and sparky. apparently i dont have any good pics of you rose!

xoxo much love to you both

Salmon Baby Names

Since many people ask about what names we are thinking of for Baby Salmon, I thought I would devote a post to that specifically...

We are not going to share what name we decide until the little one is born, but we would LOVE to get your input of names that you think would be cool or go well with Salmon, so we can have more ideas.

Please suppress the urge to post such names as: Smoked, Fresh Water, King, etc. and give us some serious ideas, cuz we could use the help! Its HARD work coming up with a name that we both like.

So if you want to, please feel free to post a comment and let us know of some name ideas (I always found I had more name ideas before I actually had the need to have any...so since most of my ideas have not worked out (aka derek doesnt like them or they dont sound good with Salmon)...I would love the help).

Thank you for taking part in the brainstorming. :)
~~
Ok, several people have posted comments and asked a few questions, so i'll update this to address those:
1. Please dont give names that you want for yourself :)
2. Most names that start or end with the letter "S" probably wont work so that disqualifies alot.
3. We're open to any type of name: Biblical, Classic, Trendy, Uncommon, made-up ;0)
4. A fun game might be to take DEREK and AMANDA and try to come up with a made up name hee hee, you never know right?!

SINCE THIS IS A TRANSFER FROM THE ORIGINAL LOCATION, HERE ARE THE BABY NAMES COMMENTS

Baby Essential Items List

I decided to just start a list of essential type items that we have coming our way or currently in our possession for the baby. I will keep this list updated for any interested parties (like grandparents ;) )

-stroller & infant car seat (family shower gift)
-contour change pad (family shower gift)
-diaper bag (family shower gift)
-several knit blankets (family shower gift)
-several traditional knit outfits (family shower gift)
-3 baby quilts (family shower gift & friend of grandma salmon)
-nursery care kit (thermometer, nail clippers, etc.) (salmon grandparents)
-handprint kit (family shower gift)
-bunting bags (like a blanket, made to go in carseat or stroller so baby can't kick off) (michelle & family shower gift)
-Baby Records book (mike & deb)
-8 receiving blankets (heather & andrew, salmon grandparents)
-bassinet (from Grandma Jen & Grandpa Richard)
-bouncing chair (ours)
-doorway jumper with tray (ours)
-lots of stuffed animals (ours)
-new flooring ;0) (from Grandma Jen & Grandpa Richard & us)
-baby bathtub (jackie)
-lots of newborn diapers (jackie)
-dresser (leah)
-change table (keith)
-exer-saucer (keith)
-baby bath ring (keith)
-baby sling (ours)
-rocking chair (muriel)

Belly Button Pops!

Baby Salmon is 24 weeks today.

Derek caught me off guard with this pic tonight but it shows my belly and you can even see that my belly button has officially "popped." Not fully out, but definitely popped. For those of you who think its really early to have done that, a little factoid about me is that i had an outie until i was like 8 or 10 years old, so it has come back to visit!

Derek and I went on a tour of the Maternity ward tonight. It was very weird...i can't believe i'm having a baby! Derek thought it was exciting and I just thought "Wow, this is serious stuff...I have to deliver a baby here!"

The rooms are seriously enormous. There is a bathroom with a full tub and shower, TV and free telephone (local calls). One tiny bed for me to have my labor and delivery. There is a pull out couch for Derek to sleep on. I think our friends will have to bring lawn chairs and hang out AFTER the baby is born, there's seriously THAT much room! So friends, if you're out there somewhere and reading this, figure out a way to smuggle in some lawn chairs and you can come visit the new Salmon baby in comfort.
Its pretty cool, pending that all goes smoothly, they never take your baby out of the room until you leave with him/her.

Derek and I received an invitation to our first baby shower!! It will be held in North Augusta Ontario on December 26th, hosted by Derek's cousin Sharon and Aunt Judy. We went to Walmart and started a baby registry (its a brand new registry they just set up and you can use a scanner to pick all your items just like at Sears or The Bay). We need to go back and check out the strollers a bit more. We are also going to register at Sears because there is a crib there that is really nice that my friend Alex has.

Anyway, looking at all the baby stuff is exciting...wow what a day that will be when we bring the little one home and see how he/she adapts to the bassinet and us as parents! Yay! we're on our way.
peace

Hey, is that bee pollenating those flowers?!

Here is little Miles the ba-bee on his final day in his costume (Sunday, October 31, 2004). I'm holding him up to those flowers and I think, deep down, he's really enjoying himself.

We made a quick stop for lunch and then headed over to see our friend's new adopted baby from Florida! Kalen arrived to Canada on Saturday night and he is really cute, 3 months old and our friends are all looking forward to play dates with him.

Kalen's grandma was also adopted and she wrote him a beautiful peom about "i dont know when you're coming or where you're coming from but i love you already." Congratulations on your new baby boy!

Alicia Mellenger on her way to becoming a Nylund

Uncle Richard walking Alicia Mellenger down the aisle on her wedding day. It was a beautifully decorated wedding which was not too Halloween-y as we thought it might be but the unity candle was inside a pumpkin that looked Tim Burton style with the stiched mouth. it was cute.

Salmon Family Ninjas

Derek and Amanda dressed up as Ninjas with Miles the Bee.

we were the only ones dressed up at the ceremony...the invitation said the wedding was at 3pm with reception to follow. It didn't give any times, so we didn't know there would be a break...there was a big break in fact. Dinner was served at 6pm.

Andrew and Heather were supposed to dress up with us, but decided to wait until the reception (but didn't actually tell us that ahead of time). So we were the ONLY ones at the wedding dressed up.

Apparently, someone asked the wedding party if we were muslim and sitting at the very back because of our religion. Oh dear! Anyway, I am pretty sure we will never be in that situation again, going to a Halloween Wedding, but if we ever are, we'll know not to dress up. grrr....

Fit for a Bee

Miles was pretty upset by the tag team effort by his dad and uncle to get him into this bee costume. But he sure looked cute!

Uncle Derek and Miles "the Bee" Mellenger

Heather calms the Bee. Heather managed to calm Miles down so that he spent a nice evening in his bee suit. Since this is the only Halloween it will ever fit him, he is going to have good wear out of it. Friday night, Saturday for a costume wedding and Sunday for church.

23 weeks Pregnant. Only 17 weeks to go!!!

I'm excited to learn that our baby is over 1lb now and approximately 11 inches long! Soo cool

My week 23 newsletter says "Your baby is continuing to develop their facial features. You are probably feeling a lot of movement as your baby is continuing to learn and assimilate their abilities in the comfort of their own personal,"living womb." Your baby now has eyes that open and close, ears that can hear, a thumb well worth sucking and lots and lots of hiccups."

The baby moves alot and I can see a lump when the kicks or punches are high enough. I don't know what the hiccups feel like yet, but I guess i'll be paying attention for those these days.

We found out that Derek's family in Ontario are going to throw us a Baby Shower on Boxing Day down home, in North Augusta. We're really excited about that. It will be fun :) Going to Ontario for Christmas will be great. I haven't been home to Ontario for Christmas in 8 years probably, and this will be our first Christmas with Derek's parents.

Baby Room Items

We have a few baby room items so far:
-the dresser was from Leah
-the second drawer is FULL of diapers already from my friend Jackie and I have 3 newborn sleepers from her too.
-the nursery rhyme wreath is an adaptation of a wreath that my step mother Diane gave me (it was an peach wicker wreath that was pretty dusty so I decided to sew a little cloth wreath and attach the items onto that. I'm quite please with how it turned out...it will be hung on the wall eventually).
-the bassinet is from Mom and Richard and I just figured out today that it is a very close match to the wreath which is soo cool!
-the toys are from my childhood and adulthood ;) some were made by my Grandma Emma, some were gifts. There is a white bear from Craig from when Derek and I were first dating. It is such a cute bear and Joanna, a former Dental Receptionist, said "you should call it Diastema." and I asked "why?" and she said "You dont know what a diastema is do you?" and I said "no" and she said "Derek has one." So Diastema is his name.
There's also a really cute bunny from Derek that was actually a gift that made me mad because I thought he was going to propose to me on Valentine's Day 2000 but instead he gave me a bunny!!! Anyway, he came through and proposed several hours later after i had already resolved that it was "the worst day ever! take me home, i'm so disappointed" poor guy, i was such a baby!! but he DID ask :D

-another view of the bassinet
-doorway jumper with tray: with Kanga and Roo (handmade by Grandma Emma)
-bouncing chair; bear from Diane

-baby bath from Jackie and the plug in it turns from purple to pink if the water is too hot
-more nursery rhyme stuff