Transition Time...

Summer is starting to wind up here and it is very sad. I always feel like it is a time of transition over the long weekend, with people heading back to where they are suppose to be for the fall and winter months. But James and I stay put, watching friends leave. How sad.

Last night we said good bye to our good friends the Durance's. They are moving to Winnipeg today. They were pretty much our only friends who had children, and one was only 5 months old, so it would have been perfect for the coming year. Now we have no friends at our stage of life, parenthood. How lonely. There are no young couples in our church who are having babies, atleast none that I know of (please correct me if I am wrong). There are actually hardly any young married couples at all, and I wonder why that is.... James and I are starting to feel a little alone and are wishing for some young couples to connect with. There seems to be more young couples moving away than coming into our lives. Friends are something that I have began praying for, so feel free to join with me.

I should get going with my day here. Seems like the house is always a mess when you have company over. I never feel like cleaning up after they have left... so I must do this now. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Until later,

Melissa

SHOW ME THAT BELLY!

SHOW ME THE BELLY! As you can tell I am getting larger EVERY DAY! I had to take a picture because I have never felt so large and stretched in my entire life... the sad thing is I am going to stretch even more. Oh well! I just wanted to document my growth for you.... hope I didn't gross you out too much!

32 weeks!

• By now, mybaby is just shy of 4 pounds and is nearly 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus.



• I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to my baby.



• In fact, it'll gain a third to half of its birth weight during the next 7 weeks as it fattens up for survival outside the womb.



• It now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz).



• Its skin is becoming soft and smooth as it plumps up in preparation for birth.

Home From Calgary!

We are home from Calgary! What a wonderful time we had, we sure packed a lot into 2 days. We got to go shopping, to the zoo and catch up with some friends that we had not seen in years. Such a fun time! The trip there and home were both uneventful. We watched a couple of DVD's on the portable player so that made the time pass quickly. Of course we got to IKEA but I didn't find as much stuff as I hoped to find. It was just so busy and overwhelming. I think I can do just as good here at Home Sense and Superstore, so I will keep shopping in the city. I am glad to be home!

Off to Calgary!

Here is my belly at 31 weeks and 5 days! Can't believe how large I am getting. It is starting to get uncomfortable because I am carrying all of the baby in the front of me. Hardly an stretch marks yet but there are a few in the works!!! BRUTAL! Oh welll. My wedding set doesn't fit my fingers anymore so I wear a plain gold band. Atleast I have something on my finger :)

We are off to Calgary today to enjoy a nice weekend! Tuesday is our 3rd wedding anniversary so we decided to go away and have a little downtime. One last short trip before the baby comes to our house! I am so excited for Ikea on Sunday. I can hardly contain myself. I will be taking the camera so expect some pics!

Have a good weekend everyone!!

Love,

Growing Melissa

31 week update!

• My baby measures about 16 inches long.
• It weighs a little over 3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt.
• My precious baby can turn its head from side to side, and its arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath its skin.
• The baby is moving a lot, too, so I have trouble sleeping because my baby's kicks and somersaults keep me up. (But I take comfort: All this moving is a sign that my baby is active and healthy.)
• I don't feel the baby move the same as before though, it is because it is running out of room in the uterous. It is more squirming I feel.
• The baby will gain on average another 2 pounds before delivery!
• It's organs are continuing to mature and the baby passes water from the bladder now. (Practising for urinating when it is born)

Muffins :)

This morning I woke up and felt like I should do some baking! So I got busy and made some yogurt blueberry muffins, MMMMmmm!! I used this light recipe so they are not as tasty as they could be but they are still good. I was getting sick of fruit-loops for breakfast every day. I use to never eat breakfast but now that I am pregnant I wake up just starving! So muffins it is today!

Last night we came home once again scared to death of labour after prenatal. I honestly am dreading this delivery!!! Why does it have to be so painful and why does the woman have to do it? God was not being very equal when he decided that it will be the woman who brings the children into the world. Also, I am quite mad at Eve for eating that apple!!! If she hadn't had eaten that apple we would have painless labour, stupid woman! I hope her labours were long and painful!! I hope I am one of the 2% of women who have painless childbirths, that would just be amazing :)

Where The Green Grass Grows

Where The Green Grass Grows - Tim McGraw

Six lanes,

tail lights

Red ants marchin into the night

They disappear to the left and right again

Another supper

From a sack

A 99 cent heart attak

I got a poundin head and an achin back

And the camels standin in a big straw stack

Im gonna live where the green grass grows

Watch my corn pop up in rows

Every night be tucked in close to you

Raise our kids where the good lords blessed

Point our rockin chairs towards the west

And plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows

Where the green grass grows

Well Im from

A map dot

A stop sign on a blacktop

I caught the first bus that I could hop from there

But all o this glitter is gettin dark

Theres concreate growin in the city park

I dont know who my neighbors are

And theres bars on the corner and bars on my heart

Im gonna live where the green grass grows

Watch my corn pop up in rows

Every night be tucked in close to you

Raise our kids where the good Lords Blessed

Point our rockin chairs towards the west

And plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows

Where the green grass grows

I will be the first to admitt that I could hardly wait to get leave this city of Regina. I told many of you time and time again that I was leaving as soon as I could. But now I love this city and this province. James and I went out to Deer Valley yesterday and on our way back into the city this Tim McGraw song played on our radio. I just looked out into the fields that the farmers were combining, so golden and beautiful, and thought there is no other place I would rather call home than Saskatchewan. My family has left and often ask us when we will follow them but I don't think we will. Saskactchewan is our home and we are proud to be here. We have great friends, family close by and we are excited to raise our family in the same province that we were raised in.

The first verse in "Where The Green Grass Grows" reminds me of places like Calgary and Edmonton where its just a hustle and bustle of people and cars. Concrete and cement, it's a big city life. Some people thrive on it and could never handle living in a prairie city. But that's not where I want to raise my family. I want to live in a place where I can sit on my porch and watch my kids run around outside in fields. I want to live in a quiet, peaceful place where no one is in a hurry to get somewhere. We take each day as it comes and thank the good Lord for the blessings he has provided us. I want to live where the green grass grows!

That's why I am so excited to move to Emerald Park. That community reminds James of the small town Saskacthewan he grew up in. You can take your kids quading in the fields, maybe hit a couple balls at the golf course, but mainly it's the peacefulness of small town living that draws us out there. I am excited to raise our family here in Saskatchewan. We are not a big province but we are a powerful province. The beauty and the peacefulness that can be found here is like no other, we are blesed. Sure you can see for miles and there are no trees or mountains in the way, but that's amazing! We are like no other place, our city is unique and special. I look forward to many years here in this great province we call home!

One mouse down!

We caught one!!!! James and I picked up some mouse traps from Canadian Tire last night and set them out in the garage. We were lying in bed and James told me to go and check the traps to see if we caught one yet. There was NO WAY I was going to go and peek in the trap, so James said that if there is one dead he was going to bring it in a put it in the bed. I was a little scared but then I realized that if there was one dead James would never pick it up because he hates mice so much. So off James went to check the trap... 40 seconds later James comes running back into the room to tell me that one trap was set off and the other trap has a mouse in it. Did he bring the mouse in to show me like he threatened, of course not! So he went back out into the garage but soon came back in and said he didn't want to deal with that dead mouse. So he just set the one trap back up and then came inside. This morning the trap without a mouse in it was set off but no mouse. So.... we still have atleast one dirty pest to catch still! But one is gone :)

Nesting Bake/Cooking Fest

So Sleepy!

What a week it has been! I am tired today for some reason and I am not sure why. I don't really have a good excuse for being tired, other than being 30 weeks pregnant, haha.

We had prenatal last night and it was on the stages of labour. James and I had a good discussion on the way home about the classes and what we are learning. I told him that I don't really enjoy discussing labour or watching videos of labouring women because it really scares me and get's me a little anxious. I just see how much pain and discomfort these women are in and think to myself, oh gosh, that's me in a couple weeks??!! It's kind of like watching someone take a massive wipe out or hurt themselves really bad and then think, "Okay, my turn!" James and I concluded that we should not really think about the labour until we are in it because there is nothing you can do about it, it's going to happen one way or another. James also said that he knows it's going to suck, but in the end it's only a couple hours of pain and then you have this little bundle of joy to love for the rest of your life! I think that thought alone will get me through it! Especially when you have been waiting to meet this special baby for 9 months, a couple hours of REAL pain is just a small price to pay for this precious gift God has given us.

Today I am having a bake/cooking fest with Lyndsay and Stephanie Gladysz. We are each bringing a recipe that we would like to try and we will all cook it together. I am bringing a recipe that I got from my aunt Christy, "Chicken Packets", that I have not made but have heard really good reviews on. Lyn I think is bringing a muffin recipe and I am not totally sure what Steph has decided on. I still have to run by Safeway and pick up the ingredients that I need for mine. Hopefully they have everything there!

James bought a new truck yesterday!!! It's honestly one of the nicest trucks I have seen and I am so excited to drive in it. It's a 2004 Dodge 1500, crew cab (4 door), Hemi (5.7 L engine) that is black in colour! We drove it around last night but I know that it won't be long until it is filled with dirt and junk like his Ford F250 is. Now Trademark has 2 trucks for on site and James can do other things in the day without feeling like he needs to be there incase someone needs to run and get something. It's good for James too because he really needs to start cracking down on his courses. James is taking the New Home Builders Course from the Saskatchewan Home Building Association. Trademark has already been approached by some people to build some new houses for them, so James is eager to start that project as well. Looks like there is no slowing down in the new home construction business, but that is really great for us!

James told me this morning that we have a mouse in our garage!! I almost jumped out of bed I was so scared. I asked him if he thought it was in the house too and he said no. He noticed this morning that the little pest ate its way through the garage door during the night so we have to be careful when opening the door that leads from the garage to the house. GROSS! The funny thing is James is scared of mice so if it is actually in the house we will be in trouble... oh dear, oh dear, the joys of living across the street from an undeveloped field!

Well, I should head on over to Safeway and get my stuff for the cookfest. Hope everyone has a great day today and a great rest of the week :)

Love,
Melissa

Great Grandma's 94th Birthday!

This evening we went to my great grandma's 94th birthday party! It was a really nice evening out at my auntie's acreage in Lumsden. Grandma is so cute! She brought me a knitting book to choose which knit I would like for my afgan that she is making the baby. In November when my parents come to visit we will be taking a 5 generation picture with the baby, me, my dad, my grandma Sharon, and then my great grandma Gladysz. I am so excited for that picture :) This is the first great-great-grandchild for Gladysz, so it is a pretty big deal, a whole new generation below her!

The little lamb... 2nd generation!

This little lamb was the lamb that I had in my crib. My grandma Sharon bought this for me when I was a newborn. It is now in the crib of my first born baby... It matches the lamb theme perfectly! It winds up and plays lullaby music. I am so glad that my mom kept it!!

The nursery! TA-DA!

The Nursery!

Where the chair is, is where my rocking chair will go!

The dresser!

The best and prettiest crib in the whole world!!

Close up on the crib and bedding...

The organized closet... tubs have clothes in certain age ranges.

Tonight we put together the crib and got everything all set up in the nursery! I can't wait to go to IKEA so I can get the "furnishings" for the nursery. I am so excited that it is all set up. I am starting to invision a small little baby in the crib and putting it down for its naps. I can hardly wait 10 more weeks! I don't think I have ever been so excited for anything in my life!

30 weeks!!

• My baby is almost 16 inches long now, and it weighs almost 3 pounds.
• A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds the baby, but that volume will decrease as it gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus.
• Its eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after its' born, it'll keep its eyes closed for a good part of the day.
• When it does open them, it'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.

Nesting, I love it!

The week is already over! Where did the time go??? I can not believe how fast it went bye, it's just too crazy! I am once again in my nesting stage. I just love organizing and cleaning out the house. Yesterday was my day of organizing many rooms, I really did a number on the house. The nursery is all cleaned out, with stuff from the guest room down stairs in the storage room. I convinced my grandparents to come over and help carry stuff downstairs because I was so tired I couldn't lift anything on my own. After some complaining James decided to help carry stuff downstairs, he isn't into this whole "nesting stage" like I am. Now I just have to convince him to set up the crib with me... it make take some nagging. I went through all the clothes and toys people had dropped off and put them in really cute storage containers in the closet according to which months they should fit (0-3, 3-6, 6-9, etc.) so that made me really happy. I could have organized all day if it wasn't for James telling me to stop at 10:30 PM. I even organized the bathroom drawers, linen closet, office, and laundry closet! Man, I was on a roll. There is still more that I would like to get done today so I will head home and work on it later. I love nesting :) My house has never been so organized!

Getting Bigger!

• My baby is growing rapidly now! This week it weighs about half a pound more than it did last week (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
• It is over 15 inches long from head to heel.
• Its muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and its head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons.
• Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in my baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that my baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester.
• Nearly all baby's react to sounds by 30 weeks. Careful not to yell too much, little ears are listening!
• The baby loves to jump around and move in my tummy. It's not really kicks so much anymore, it's more of a roll or repositioning its self as it adjusts his position. Often I can feel the little bum or back sticking out a certain way.

Happy Tuesday!

The family of socks:

Daddy's sock!

Baby's sock! (LOOK HOW TINY IT IS!)

Mommy's sock!

My new infactuation is with the baby's socks. THEY ARE SO SMALL! I feel as though I am going to loose them because they are just so dang small. It's hard to believe that their feet could be fit in something so tiny.... please don't inspect how clean and white my socks are... they look so dirty!

We had a good weekend camping with James' family. It would be the last time we saw his sister Amanda and her husband Greg as they are moving to Hamilton next week. So we had a good time boating, reading, eating, and hanging out. I was ready to come by Monday because I was tired and hot plus wanted to have a clean shower. Camp sites never have clean showers so showering in my own is always good. We made a family baby pool with the guesses for the delievery date. For some reason James thinks the baby will be three weeks early and guessed October 9, I think it will be October 17, Katie guesses the due date (October 22), Cheryl thinks the 29 of October, Sammy is the 24th, and I think Greg and Amanda were October 20. So we will see which Date Dan and Jenn guess. I sure hate thinking of that baby coming too late... I would be more than happy for a couple days early!

Tonight is our third prenatal class. I think it is on the first stage of labour but I can't quite remember. I also think we learn about relaxation and breathing, so I will fill you in on what I learn later. We know another couple in our prenatal class (Brett & Tyson Liske) so we are meeting them for coffee before class. It's always good to make friends with couples who are expecting around the same time as you. It gives you friends who are at the same stage of life. Brett and Tyson are expecting on November 11, so just a couple of weeks behind us.

I have convinced James to take me to Calgary to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary from August 24-27. I anniversary is August 28 but it falls on a week day and James will need to come back and work. We went to Calgary/Banff for our honeymoon so I told him we should head back again before our baby is born and we can no longer have the freedom to do what we want. I also REALLY want to head to Ikea and look for some nursery stuff and organizing stuff. I can't wait to go!

Hope everyone had a good long weekend! Enjoy this short week!

The nursery... out of control!

Well, I suppose it's time to start organizing the nursery considering it's quickly filling up with gifts and stuff people are dropping off!! It has come to the point where I can hardly see the floor because everything is just being stored there. I am just such a organized person that I am having problems deciding how to organize the stuff!!! I mean, take the clothing situation. I have stuff for 0-3 month, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and then 9 months - 1 year but I am stressing over how to organize that stuff! I don't want to forget what I have and also, I know that sometimes babies fit into 3-6 month stuff sooner than later. I don't want to miss out on one outfit because it was packed away! So do I put stuff in drawers, or do I hang it in the closet, or put them in little rubbermaid containers... see my issue? I am way too much of an organizer. Your opinion?

The dresser!

This is the dresser all set up in the nursery! Notice the crib in the box at the end of the bed? Just wanted to show everyone what it looked like! The part right above the drawers is for a changing station, but right now I have candles and stuff on it. But soon there will be a little baby getting its diaper changed on there! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Thanks for everything!

This is just some of the things friends and family have donated to our baby when they are finished using it. The first picture is of our car seat that my friend Rhonda sent over. She has a 1 year old daughter who is too big for the car seat so we were happy to take it off her hands. My cousin also has a car seat for us that attaches to a stroller, so we actually have 2!

The second and third pictures are of all the baby clothes that my auntie Kristal sent up to us! The first pile is all girl stuff, the second pile is boy stuff and the third and fourth piles are miscellaneous! I can not believe all the stuff that arrived! Kristal had both a girl and a boy so she had plenty of options! Plus you can't go wrong with the micellaneous stuff!! She also sent along a diaper changing cushion that goes on the dresser, toys, books, a baby monitor, plus a leap frog learning table! WOW! We sure got spoiled :)

Thanks to everyone who has dropped stuff off! We appreciate everything that we get and can not wait for our little one to come to try everything out :) We heard from the ultrasound place and our ultrasound is booked for September 18 (when we are 35 weeks). It is right at the beginning of our 9th month so they can make sure the baby is head down and turned the right way. That feels like soooo far away though! But after that the baby couple really come any time, so we will be prepared. Hopefully everything will be right on track and we don't have to have a scheduled c-section. I'm sure it will be just great! One more peek at the little peanut!