Hard to Say Goodbye

Stella and I had a great weekend spending time with my parents!  She is so in love with her Gwamma and Gwampa that it scares me sometimes.  While they are here she does not want to let them out of her sight for more than one second… but that’s okay by them.  I’m not sure who plays harder when their together, my mom and dad, or Stella!

When they had to leave on Sunday, Stella was crying and saying, “no, no, no.”  I guess her sensitive heart just couldn’t take the thought of their departure… how would life go on without them right beside her every second?!  Not to mention, she was in a very whiny state due to this nasty cold she has going on.

During the weekend, my dad let Stella wear his toque while we were outside and she was so proud to sport it.  When they were leaving, my dad told Stella that she could keep her hat if it made her feel better.  With tears running down her face, she told my dad that she wanted to keep her Grandpa’s toque.  Grandpa put it on her head, and that seemed to make her feel a smidgen better.

After Grandma and Grandpa left, the crying failed to cease, so Daddy quickly  intervened.  He scooped her up in his arms, and cuddled her with her toque on, all her favorite friends, and a drink.  Mommy popped in a Veggie Tales movie, and they cuddled on the chair for the whole thing.

In this moment, life was good for Stella.  It warms my heart to see the man I love caring so tenderly for our little girl.  He’s so patient with her and will proudly admit to anyone that one of his favorite things in life is to cuddle his daughter.

… but really, who wouldn’t want to snuggle up with this precious little ball of cuteness!  (I fully realize that I am biased as her mother… but only a little).

And p.s., thank you so much for the toque Grandpa.  Love: Stella!

Excited to Meet My “Big” Girl

Up until now I haven’t really publicized any pictures of my preggo belly for the world to see.  I did do this with Stella because of the “newness” of having a baby for the first time.  This time, it doesn’t seem so glorious.  However, I am a second child myself, and to this day I have never (but always wanted to) see a picture of my mom pregnant when I was inside her.  So, in fairness to this soon to arrive little one, I am doing this post for her future ‘entertainment.’

I am definitely carrying this child differently than I carried Stella.  For starters, this little girl is NOT stuck in the breech position as her older sister was for the ENTIRE pregnancy.  I think this is allowing me to feel more movement this time around because she moves all day long and with such vigor that it’s sometimes painful!  I’m not complaining however, because with Stella if I felt the tiniest little kick I wanted to throw a celebration party… this time I am experiencing the crazy movement that I heard so many preggo’s refer to.  It’s exciting!

Secondly, I think I’m carrying her different than the first because according to my O.B., she is a little on the chunky side.  I am presently measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule (I’m 35 weeks, but measuring 37).  Stella was born at 7lb and 0.5oz.  My O.B. is guessing this little girl to be “much” bigger.  I have asked for a guess, but she refuses to estimate… she just smiles and says, “much bigger.”  I must say, I’m a wee bit nervous about the possible size of this kid, but am relieved it’s a c-section!

As many of you may have saw on facebook, I posted some 3-D pics of our little baby girl when I was at 28 or 29 weeks.  The technician doing the ultrasound also commented that she was very chubby for only being 28 weeks gestation.  We shall see in only 3 weeks from today how big this little girl really is!

So, without further ado, here’s my belly.

View from the front doesn’t really show much of anything.

 

When I look at the above picture I can’t help but laugh.  To me it looks just so huge…like a basketball, or maybe even a watermelon is stuck under my shirt.  But that may also be because I am feeling quite invaded and therefore a little uncomfortable.  Anyway you look at it, I think it’s pretty obvious that this baby is almost done baking.  Unless the Lord has a different plan for the arrival of this sweetheart, the oven timer will go off on March 10th at around noon, and I’ll finally get to see her face and kiss her for the first time!

Please pray for a safe surgery for both me any baby, and a speedy recovery.  Also pray that Stella transitions well.  I know this is going to be difficult at times, but I feel so BLESSED and I’m ridiculously excited for our growing family!

Playing

The arrival of our second daughter is only 3 weeks and 1 day away today.  This quickly approaching reality reminds me that life is going to change drastically for Stella and I for the first little bit… especially because I’m haveing a c-section.  For a few weeks, Mommy will not be able to crawl on the floor with Stella, or even pick her up on my own.  This makes me sad when I think about it too much, but I know it’s only for a short time, so I’ll get over it… and she won’t even remember it.

Nonetheless, I’ve been making a point of setting aside unnecessary activities in order to simply play with Stella.  We read books, play house, play dress-up, do crafts, and just be silly together.  Don’t get me wrong, we’ve always done this stuff… I’m just cherishing these moments more these days and making sure they occur a bit more often than usual.

Here’s a cute video of Stella playing with her toys and Mommy the other day.  I love to see her imagination developing as she pretends to be in real life situations.

This morning I caught her sitting on one of our suitcases pretending it was a car.  She had her Bunny in the back and she was saying,”Bunny, I can’t get cause Mommy’s drivin!”  Often Stella will drop a toy that she’s playing with in the car and ask me to get it.  I’ll always respond, “Stella, I can’t get your toy right now because Mommy’s driving.”  It’s so precious to me when I see her copy something I’ve said… as long as it’s something good (usually it is)!

Love spending time with my little daughter, and I know that she’s going to be a fantastic big sister.  I look forward to the day when I can watch my two little girls playing dress-up together.  What a blessed woman I am!

Stella Painting a Beautiful Mess

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve pulled the paints out of the craft drawer and faced the certain mess of painting with Stella!  Today was a day that I was feeling extra ambitious!  But, I confess that I also had on my mind the quickly approaching birth of our second child, and realized that activities like painting will be put on hold for some time once she’s here… I’ll talk about that in another up-and-coming blog.

We had a great time getting messy, and Stella created 4 beautiful, but messy creations!  As a mom I find myself wanted to cherish every single one of her creations.  I even find it difficult to throw out a piece of paper that she’s scribbled a few colours on.  I know… I’m a tiny bit pathetic, but I seriously can’t help it!

Anyways, here are some pictures of the process and the final products.

She loved to paint her hands more than the paper… I think she felt the ticklishly feeling relaxing.

If you are a grandparent or a Daddy, or an Auntie that lives VERY far away you can expect to receive one of these masterpieces to keep for yourself.  After much consideration, Stella has decided to refrain from charging you for these particular pieces and will give them to each of you as a gift.  However, once she is famous for her art work, any further art will need to be purchased via a “hug and a kiss,” “trip to the movies,” or “the sharing of a yummy treat.”

 

 

The “Big Girl” Room

As many of you know, our family is soon to be getting bigger.  I have 5 more weeks left until the arrival of our 2econd little girl!  With that in mind, there was a lot I wanted to accomplish before her coming so that I could feel a sense of peace and preparedness.  One of those things was completing Stella’s “Big girl” room and moving her in.

When Matt and I got married, we were blessed to receive Matt’s grandfathers old bedroom set (truly appreciated as bedroom sets can be quite $$)!  The bedroom set was quite dated in years and in looks.  I.e.) The style was very 80’s or 70’s (not sure which one) and the handles were old gold/brass looking and very tarnished.  Nonetheless, we were happy to have it because it was a FULL set (tall-boy wardrobe, long dresser, 2 bedside tables, and queen bed + headboard) and it was beautiful quality (real wood… unlike much furniture made today).

About a year after we were married I decided to paint the furniture a light cream colour and change the hardware.  The project began, but was put to a stop as we were pregnant, then moving, and then having our first baby.  I didn’t really have a ton of time to address the project, and just did little tiny bits here and there when I was a) in the mood, and b) had the time.  Before I could even get it close to finished, we bought a new bedroom set (king bed) for ourselves.  As a result, we decided that we would use the set for Stella’s room.  Being a queen bed and super durable, she could use the whole set until she moves out for college.

The project was given a new deadline when we found out we were having our second kid.  I knew we wanted to have her in the big bed before the second baby came… so the pressure was on to get it finished.

The job was overwhelming.  Each piece of furniture needed to be:

1. Sanded down completly (every corner, nook and cranny of the detailed wood work).

2. Given 2 coats of white primer (which didn’t cover very well in some highly varnished areas)!

3. Painted with 3 coats of cream coloured paint (The dark wood was just so difficult to cover up).

4. Given 1 complete coat of sealer (or whatever they call the stuff that makes it not peel or chip)!

Being pregnant for much of the project, I leaned on the help of my mom who SO graciously came hand helped with the steps I couldn’t do myself.  Love you MOM!

As the project was in process we would let Stella see her new room and all the progress being made.  She knew that she was going to get to sleep in the big bed, and that this was HER special room and HER special furniture.  She got VERY excited as the project came near finishing.

Exactly one week ago yesterday, Stella officially moved into her “big girl” room successfully.  To make a long story shorter, she put up a BIG battle the first time she had to sleep in the bed, but has been amazing ever since!

Here are pictures and more info:

We got this quilt from the pottery barn.  Matt and I choose it together cause we thought it was fun and not full of too much pink.

More quilt detail.

It’s hard to see cause of the lighting, but these are the windows in her room.  We got the blinds from kids pottery barn.  They are “black out” so when there closed the room is super dark.

Here is a better view of the details of the blinds, as well as the wall colour (which Matt choose).  I wanted a lighter/softer colour, but he convinced me to go bold, and I’m SO glad.  It’s perfect for a little girls room!

NOTE: This room was originally a dark tan colour, and it took me 3 coats of Benjamin Moore to cover in this colour called “Marmalade.”

The wardrobe (painted outside AND in btw) and dresser.

Picture showing the detail of the wood and the knobs (also bought from kids pottery barn).

This is how Stella’s bed looks most of the time as we don’t make it everyday.  Instead of bed rails, I bought these foam cylinders online that you put on the side of the bed and under the fitted sheet.  They act as a mini wall so that She won’t roll off in the night.  It’s like she’s sleeping in a little bowl of sorts.  It’s worked beautifully so far!

I am so happy that this multi-year project is finally finished!  The daunting task hung over me for quite some time, and I feel relieved and happy that Stella is able to be blessed with such a fun room and good set of furniture that she can use for years to come.  She absolutely loved her new room, and giggles with glee every evening when I crawl into bed with her to read her bedtime stories.  And for anyone who’s wondering, no… she has never tried to crawl out of her bed unless Matt and I are there with her, which is amazing and definitely unexpected.

It was SO much work, but well worth it.  I’m so thankful to my mom for all the hard work she put into helping me get it completed!  I couldn’t have done it without you!