Belly

Thought I should document this because it is my last time having one...here is the belly a couple of weeks before my due date...

Here's what I see! Lopsided...baby's back is to the right side.
And here I am a couple of days before my due date...

Not much room left on my lap... Many say that I am not as big this time as I was last time... I think I am a bit smaller...but not much! Today I had one final ultrasound to see if it was worth it to try to have a VBAC. The "guess"-timate was that the baby is about 9 lbs. So yeah, smaller - but still huge! Thank goodness the head is only average circumference! Wish me luck!

Something Smells Fishy...

Today we went to Sealand/Oak Bay Marina to feed the seals from the dock.
You can buy a small bag of frozen herring at the marina for $2. It makes your hands smell - or maybe I notice it a bit more because I'm pregnant and my nose works overtime!
The seals are always in the same place and they are not shy about getting in on the eats! There is a sign on the dock to warn you not to let the seals eat from your hands...
Ethan really enjoyed watching the seals - but he was reluctant to let go of any of the fish whenever we gave him one to throw in. He even tried a bite! EWWW. It must be love if I am still willing to kiss that face! Thank goodness for hand sanitizer!

Blackberry Love Affair

MMM...Blackberries...

The park between our house and the mall where we walk the dog has a bazillion blackberry bushes. Last year, we used to give Ethan a few berries as we were walking with him in the stroller. This year, once we showed him where the berries came from and gave him some - he went a little crazy. Now when we walk all he looks for and talks about is blackberries!

Today we went down to the park specifically to pick a bowl of berries. Here is Dad reaching the good ones!

Here is Ethan negotiating his way through the prickles to get the "bwoo ones".

I love the stained fingers...

And the stained lips too...
Here is our giant bowl of precious berries - we wondered why people pay for them in the store?

Beacon Hill with Uncle Axl and Auntie Nattie

This morning, Uncle Axl and Auntie Nattie met us at Beacon Hill Park to play! They brought me coffee (YUM! so kind and appreciated) and we sat outside of the petting zoo with our coffees waiting for it to open.
When we went in - it was time for the stampede! I had never been to the petting zoo first thing in the morning, but they have a "running of the goats" through the zoo yard into their pen. It was hilarious. Above is Axl holding Ethan as the goats come charging down the runway...
Action shot of goats above, and some time in the playground afterwards. Auntie Nattie would push and Uncle Axl was waiting out front to give high fives with the swings forward.
We had a great time today - thanks for playing with us!

Big Brother

We are in to your last few weeks of being an only child. I have been off of work this month to have a break before the new baby comes and to spend some last chance quality one on one time with you. I am unsure of why I am feeling nostalgic about this - I know you will have been too young when your brother or sister was born to remember being an only child. As usual - these things are "harder on the parents" I guess.
You have two big brother books that we have been reading at night to try to prepare you for what is to come - if we even can! I have heard a lot about the difficulty of balancing time between children when you have more than one - maybe these board books have been preparing us in a way too.
You know (or at least say) there is a baby in Mama's belly when we ask, but we're not sure if you fully understand what is about to happen. It is just kind of dawning on me that there will be another person in our family and sharing our house and our time! You are so social and outgoing that I know you will be interested in a new baby. You are also fairly independent - so I don't think you will be too out of place when a new baby needs to have my attention and time. Hopefully...
After your naptime, Dad comes home from work and we usually go out to a park - or somewhere fun. In these pictures we are at Dallas Road having ice cream and tromping down to the beach on a sunny summer afternoon. There have so many days like this with you now that they start to blur into one another. Now, instead of three of us there will be four - which is not THAT different, and yet ENTIRELY different at the same time.
I have heard that it is hard to understand how, but when a second child is born you love them just as much as you do the first one. I can't imagine this either right now - but if it is true we are in for some good times ahead. Having only you has been the most amazing and wonderful thing ever. I'll take twice as much of that any time.

Galey's Farm

Today we took a trip to Galey's Farm for a train ride. We are always looking for fun things to do - we heard this advertised on the radio and we thought we would give it a try!

Ethan and Troy buying train tickets in the Galey's Farm market...
They have the corn maze as well, but it takes about an hour to an hour and a half - so we will save it for another day!
They had a petting zoo area by where you waited for the train - always popular with the boys!
Troy REALLY liked the donkey. He was pretty cool - as soon as he saw us approaching he walked right up to the fence and turned around for some petting and scratching. It was like a dog - leaning right into it!

Here we all are by the train. Ethan was mesmerized. They gave us the fun conductor hats and offered to do a family photo - usually I don't get to be in the pictures!When we boarded the train, Troy put Ethan in his own row of seats in front of us. For any of you that spend time with Ethan - you know that he does not sit still very often, and I honestly did not think this was a good idea.

He. did. not. move. The entire train ride. 15 minutes. This was really amazing. So I'm guessing he enjoyed it...

Park a Day!

At our house there is a rule called "park-a-day". We (as in Ethan and one or both of us) goes to a park to play every day.

We used to say "park-a-day" on the way to the park just to get Ethan excited and understanding what we are doing.
Now, if we are sitting around the house and he is feeling impatient he declares: "Park-a-day!". We almost always go - he loves and needs to be outside burning off steam.
We have declared the backyard as a park for those days that we don't feel like going far...just in case.
But we almost always get out and about and we know all of the best parks and playgrounds around town.
This is just a fun picture taken after our trip to the park this afternoon...Troy and Ethan playing hairdresser in front of the mirror after bathtime. Love those crazy boys!

Twenty Two Months Old!

Ethan,

The months fly by...I do my best to note what has changed about you as you age - you are so different from yourself even a few months ago - but it has been tricky to pinpoint exactly what is so different about you.

I guess I could say that now you can climb the rope ladder up to the top of the slide at our favourite park by yourself. This is a pretty big feat for someone so small. And last night when we went to that park you grabbed on to the baby swing and swung yourself like a monkey back and forth hanging on to it from underneath. That was the first time either your daddy or I had seen you do that! You love to jump off of things right now...the bottom of the slide to the ground, from the stairs, from the stack of pavers in the back yard - basically off of anything!

Your speaking is getting better by the day. You string phrases and sentences together copying everything that we say. You are kind of like a little parrot. You also say phrases on your own and we are often impressed with the statements you come up with. You are a chatty little guy.

You have been even more interested in "people" this past month. When we are on our way to the park or into a store and you see ANYONE you say "people?". You always want to go where the people are - especially the little people. You have become really interactive and are trying to figure out what actions will initiate "play" WITH someone instead of near someone. You mimic sounds, expressions or actions to try to get a reaction out of the "people". Your favourite thing right now seems to be running up to someone and looking them in the face and saying "HI!" really loud and waiting for them to do something. Still not that shy...

You are still a humorous little character. Your Dad and I spend a lot of time laughing at, I mean WITH you. The comedy act seems endless - and you only get better as you become more of a little functioning human as opposed to a grunting toddler. We love watching you turn into you!

XOXOX

Love, Mama

My Girl-friend Savannah

Here we are at Beaver Lake enjoying the sun and a swim - and who have I spotted with my "binoculars"?

It's Savannah! The cutest girl I know!

Most of Ethan's little people playmates and friends are boys because most of my friends with babies and toddlers have boys. Except Jen and Benji...
Savannah is a cool, cool girl that likes to play with the boys (and their trucks and toys) - but she is super cute to boot! I'm sure Ethan will notice when he gets older...
Here she is a few days later at her first birthday party dressed in her princess gear having just started walking!
Happy Birthday, Savannah!