Earlier this evening:

Me: "okay Austin. It's time to say our prayers and then we're going to sleep. Now I lay me-"

Austin: "NONONONONONONO! I do it! Now we sit and sofwy say fank you for Amewea, for my mommy and daddy and for my baby sister. Haymen!"

Me (laughing a little at how cute he said his prayer): "That was a good prayer sweetheart, Momm-"

Austin: "I not sweat heart! I Austin Walter Paul BOOTWIER! Mommy you need to go to sweep now so Austin can grow and get his pool back and Toy Story 3 back and go pway wif his buddy Kieren tomorrow."

And the above conversations are the very reason I haven't given him away yet! And yes, I can spell. Read it how it is and you'll pretty much hear what I did this evening.




Gotta love him!!



Seriously?! A month old already?

I'm sorry but where in the heck is the  time going?! I just blinked and my newest baby is a month old already. How is this happening? Life is so full these days and I love it but I need to remember stop and drink it all in before a moment flies by that I miss.

Amelia turned 1 month old on the 3rd of July. She's already getting so big ( and by big I mean that with a fuzzy bum she fits into her 0-3month onesies!). Here is her first Watch me grow picture:

It has been a very busy month for Miss Amelia. She's been on her first playdate, first trip to the beach (sort of), first Birthday party, first Canada Day, first movie, first trip to the airport and first girl's night. These will all get their own posts as soon as I can get them written. Austin didn't have this much accomplished in month one because I was way to scared to take him anywhere and I didn't have any friends who were at home at the same time I was.

If June is any indication, it's going to be a busy year!

From 1 to 2

This month has been crazy! A good crazy, but crazy none the less. A few friends warned me that going from one child to two is insanely hard. I thought they were exaggerating..apparently not. The thing is that while you have this new little in the house, you still have the first born child expecting the same level of attention as before. It's stressful trying to fill the needs of two little people at the same time, thankfully at least one of them can tell me what they need (when they aren't too busy fake crying...oh they joys!)

It has been taking quite awhile to feed Amelia. Poor little peanut had a tongue tie and as a result wasn't able to nurse or take a bottle very well, so she was having trouble gaining weight. Her pediatrician referred her to one of the two doctors in Halifax who will clip a newborn tongue. So about two weeks ago we had the procedure done and the difference to her latch and in her ability to eat more efficiently was almost immediate! We're still supplementing but hopefully not for too much longer.

Today was my second day with both kids while G was at work. We had kept Austin at Kelly's until the end of June and I'm really happy that we did. He always has a blast there and it kept his routine in tact. I think that is a very big positive in this transition for him. It also gave me some one on one focused time with Amelia and I am very grateful for that.

Hopefully I will get back on track here with my blog. I'm getting better at one handed typing and am going to try to make more of an effort to make time to write and post pictures. Like these:


Sleeping Beauty



Coffee with Mom!

Big Brother meets Little Sister

One of the very first calls we made after the excitement died down a bit in the birth unit was to Austin to let him know his baby sister had arrived. The conversation went a little like this:

"Austin, it's Mommy. Guess what? You have a new baby sister!"

"A baby sister? Mommy I'm Spiderman!"
(So you can totally see that my boy got it. lol)

We were finally moved from the birth unit to the maternity room mid afternoon Friday. Melanie kept us a little longer down on the 3rd floor so that we would get a private room and I was very happy about that! I felt like a million bucks and could move around easily. Gordon and I were both so excited and were spending time soaking in our new addition, but something just felt like it was missing. We both kept talking about how Austin was going to react and feel about his new sister.

Not too much later, Garnet brought our boy in to meet his sister. He opened the door to my room and ran straight to me with open arms. I sat him next to me on the bed and introduced him to Amelia. At that moment the experience felt complete. Our whole family was finally together.



Austin meets Pink for the first time.



It's been 22 days since Amelia came home. Every morning Austin greets her by climbing up onto my bed, getting right in her face and saying " Good morning sweet heart! Hi sweetie!" He hugs and kisses her and, when we're not looking, tries to pick her up. So far he is very much in love with her and tells everyone he sees that he's a big brother. I hope this continues!!!

It is so much fun to watch him interact with her. Who knew he would be right that baby was a girl?

And Baby makes four!

After a week and a half of false labour, I woke up at 3:20am on Friday June 3rd with more cramps. At first I thought that they were the same as I had been having, but suddenly they became very sharp. I got G up to help me into the tub hoping that the hot water would make me more comfortable. The contractions started getting a bit stronger and closer together so at 5am and I asked G to get up again (I had sent him back to bed after I got in the tub, thinking that nothing would be happening anytime soon). G got the bags in the car and I called my Mom. At 5:30amI called our friend Kelly and asked if Austin could come to her place early...as in as soon as we could get there and thankfully she said yes. We arrived at her place by 6am and left our still sleeping boy with our friend and headed to the IWK.

I made G stop the car twice on the way into the city. I was so nauseous...apparently that is a sure sign that I was in transition... I have no idea how far apart my contractions were, I just knew they were pretty strong and very close together. G started stopping at red lights when we got off the highway and I was pretty sure that if he kept that up, our baby was going to be born in the backseat of our car. 

Much to my delight we finally arrived at the IWK. As G helped me out of the car, I had another contraction and he had to help me into the hospital. We left the car in 20 minute parking (our camera and bags stayed behind too), and as the Security guard held the door open, G helped me into the admissions area. Suddenly I had another contraction and for the first time in my life, I managed to do a perfect full squat. Oh how my yoga instructor would have been proud! G signed the papers because I couldn't. And it was at that moment that I realized that my contractions weren't 5 minutes apart. They were coming one right after another and my back felt like it was going to split in half.
We were seen in early labour and assessment for all of two minutes. Baby was coming fast and we were ushered to birth room 9...where I immediately asked for the man with the needle. I have never experienced such back pain in my life. I couldn't focus on anything else and the gas was making me sick to my stomach. It was shift change and I am so grateful that Melanie was my nurse that morning. She saw the Anesthesiologist walking by and ran out and grabbed him. He got the medicine in and about 30 seconds later I needed to push. It was just about 8am.

G was a great coach and Melanie was so encouraging. The epi took away my back pain and I was focused on getting my baby out. After a tense few minutes where I pushed the resident and then apologized profusely (She was going at me with a needle at the very moment I needed to push and I didn't want her to get the baby...) our baby came out in one push. The doctors barely caught her!

At 9:09am our sweet Amelia Helen Leah Boutilier was born.

About 20 minutes old...G had to go get the camera from the car

I can hardly believe that I have a daughter. After Austin was born I just figured that I would have all boys. Her delivery was very clear and a blur all at the same time. I was able to hold her after they cut the cord and she was just moments old. I am so grateful for those first moments. It was amazing to breath her in and count her tiny fingers and toes. I fell in love in that incredibly special way that I could never truly find the words to explain. It's that feeling that you would give the world and your life to protect your child would know and understand.

Welcome to the world sweet baby girl!

Nesting in my kitchen

My blood pressure is up and I'm not allowed to go to work anymore. I did bring some stuff home to work on in the meantime. But after months out of the kitchen and little to no interest in exploring new foods I made a triumphant return last night. Mommy verdict is that it was all good!

I was up, it was raining and I was intrigued by making my own lemonade ever since my follow preggo cousin Laura called me to rave about her latest craving. On the way home from dinner last night I stopped at the store and picked up organic raspberries and fresh lemons. Once Austin was in bed, I put on my apron and started looking for my necessary tools. I found my sieve, measuring spoons and cups and my favorite Paula Dean wooden spoon. I made the simple syrup and crushed raspberries into the pitcher. While the syrup cooled, I started squeezing the lemons. I bleached my shirt in the process and decided that one of those wooden citrus reamers will be a must have addition to my collection of tools. Once the syrup was cooled I added that to the pitcher. The colour was really quite something! The raspberries were this very intense pink and then the lemon juice turned it this gorgeous shade that I wanted to paint on my walls! In the end it looks like this:

"Ahh refweshing!"- Austin 

You can find the recipe on the blog My Baking Addiction . (I have to say this blog is pretty darn good and I can't wait to try the cherry mojitos...)

While I was putting together the lemonade I also made these:

I slightly overcooked them so they are lacking that fudgy texture that should be found in the perfect brownie but oh how close I came! Next time I will take a few pictures as I make them. The eggs and sugar are whipped together until they turn into this really gorgeous thick pale yellow combination. I folded in the chocolate and butter mixture (I used 3oz of 70% dark chocolate instead of 2.5oz) and once that was all done I folded in the flour mixture. Up to that point I was convinced I had done something wrong. The mixture was yellow with brown flecks and not the deep chocolate colour that I was expecting. As I folded in the flour, magic happened....seriously! The batter turned deep brown and was super thick. I poured it into a pan and hoped that despite the thunder and lightning the power wouldn't go out and ruin my latest creation. Luckily it didn't and I was able to bake them. I'll bake them 5-7 minutes less next time and they will be perfect.

This recipe is from Simply Sweeter another great blog!

Now what to make tonight??

39 weeks

So here we are at 39 weeks and this is how the bump is looking:

I am convinced this little Peanut is a girl. Peanut is wanting to arrive on her(his) own terms and I am wanting Peanut to arrive now! I can't handle much more of this false labour. Contracting for hours on end and then everything stopping and starting up again a few hours later. It's a vicious cycle and I'm not amused. They say that babies come when Mother Nature is ready...well Mother is ready so Nature better hurry up!

Sunday I had a great lunch with a few of my good friends. It was really nice. We met up for lunch and instead of having a traditional shower for me, they organized a freezer party. Everyone brought food that was freezer ready so that we wouldn't have to worry about food for the first few weeks after baby. Anyone who knows us, knows that G doesn't cook very often. Give the man a recipe and he can follow it so I would say he just chooses not to cook. I even tried getting him to commit to one night a week but I got sick of pasta with sauce so gave up on that dream.  Our freezer is now fully stocked and I can cross off worrying about making more meals for the freezer.

I like to be prepared and I think we're pretty ready. Bassinet is layered (for anyone who doesn't know this trick its sheet, waterproof change pad, repeat. It was probably one of the MOST useful tricks  I learned with Austin. With several layers of sheets and waterproof pads, you don't have to worry about changing a bassinet or crib if baby spits up or a diaper leaks. You just peel off a layer and go on with the night. It's great because you end up only having to haul the crib mattress out of the crib once a month or so to re-layer), clothes are washed, bags are packed and diapers are stuffed. I just wish I knew when this baby was coming. I can't go to work with all these contractions because it is way too distracting and staying home is a bit annoying because I make work to keep myself busy. I seriously need to learn how to just relax.

Off to walk the track and see if I can't get things to progress a little more.

Making Progress

Remember that crazy to do list that I posted in April. I realized today that it now looks like this:

1. Home renovation (I'm planning to have G move a wall but if that doesn't happen there is still a lot of painting to do!)
2. Write the birth plan and talk to my doctor about it
3. Maternity photos
4. Spring clean the house
5. Set up bassinet and change table
6. Wash small and one size diapers
7. Pick up new one size diapers
8. Make and freeze several meals and muffins 
9. Pack bags for the hospital 
10. Pick a name 
11. Get everything wrapped up at work.

Yeah for having things accomplished. I admit that the Spring cleaning isn't totally done but I've got cleaners coming June 6th to finish that up (Thank you Dealfind!). Gordon painted the hall and dining room wall and it looks spectacular. I'll post a picture when it's all finished later tonight.

We're still trying to decide on a girl's name. The boy name is in the bag, which leads me to believe that this baby is a girl. So do the three and a half days of false labour that I've had this week  It's driving me crazy. The way things were going on Wednesday and Thursday truly led me to believe that I would have been holding my newest addition right now. So disappointed when everything cam to a halt on Saturday morning. I'm currently making my way through the list of all the old wives tales about how to get this baby going! I'm open to every and all suggestions so please leave a comment about what worked for you. Help a girl out!!

 

A very special birthday

A few weeks ago, we had the honour of being invited to celebrate the first birthday of a very special little girl. We're so blessed to have shared in her special day. I've always had faith that we would be celebrating her big day and every night since her birth Austin has always added a request for God to take care of his friend Kay.

Working at the IWK, and having been engaged with families who had similar stories, I thought I was prepared when I rushed to the 5th floor to check in on our friends Lisa and Pete and see how everyone was doing. Baby Kay (as Austin always calls her) was born early and weighed just over 2lbs. Pete was so excited and couldn't wait to show off his new daughter so the two of us headed down to the NICU. I thought that I knew what to expect and didn't anticipate that I would have any issues. I walked in, scrubbed up and met Kay.

When my eyes fell on her, I held back tears. I couldn't believe how tiny she ways. I glanced up at Pete and he was just looking at her with absolute adoration. She was so adorable and was being a trooper laying in her incubator wearing her little shades and kicking her little feet to let everyone know that she ready to fight.

It's been a tough road for Lisa and Pete and through it all they have been incredibly strong and positive. I admire their courage. They are incredible people and Gordon and I are honoured that they include us in their circle of friends. I felt guilty so many times that I wasn't able to provide more support in person. Austin had a bad spell with germs and it seemed like someone in our house was always sick. There was no way that we would risk exposing Kay to anything that might potentially harm her, so I dropped by when we were well, cooked when I had the chance to feed them and prayed everyday.

Kay and her mom and dad have spent more time at the IWK in her first year of life then a classroom of kids combined. But despite it all, they are still smiling and are currently enjoying having their precious little one home with them. Kay is doing so well and I just love every chance we get to visit with her. I have to admit that I hogged her for a while at her party, I couldn't help it and neither could you if you had the chance to be there. 



Love those bright eyes!





 Happy Birthday Baby Kay and Happy Anniversary of becoming her parents Lisa and Peter. We love you and can't wait to share so many more memories with you!

One proud Papa!

"I really am your gift. I am not just a little person who needs to be "raised" and taught, and taken to activities....I came to the people in my life to bring a message: slow down. Feel. Be. Over and over again. When you do, you will notice immediately, that I am not an obstacle to your work, or inconvenient to your daily life. Instead, you will come to appreciate my honesty, humor, presence and love." -- Bruce Scott

I just love this quote. Because it is true, becoming a mother has taught he to slow down and soak in life's moments with not only my children, but with my husband, family and friends.  I spend less time worrying about the state of my house and what others will think if my sofa has a spot or there is dust in the bathroom. The laundry piles up until I have to suck it up and get it done and we've eaten more take out then we should BUT my boy is happy, I am happy. Memories are made and hugs and kisses are given out freely. Austin makes G and I laugh and makes us able to really laugh at ourselves. He speaks his mind and shows his emotions. Gordon and I are amazed with him each and every day and look forward to what the next day will bring.

Faces get dirty but adventures are had and those adventures are what make life worth living. Happiness is like bubbles, at least to Austin. There is something about that bubble, how it's made, the smile it brings and the wonder that comes from chasing it up to the sky when all a little boy wants to do is pop it and laugh at the accomplishment (rain or shine).

Yup in the hockey game of life, we've scored big time! Now I'm going to turn off my laptop and finish watching the game.

Baking

I have been baking despite my lack of posting about it. A few of my recent creations:



A special cake for a special girl!



 The cake and cupcakes were for Baby Kay's first birthday party. The cake was made with the cake recipe below and I had some fun with fillings. The top tier is filled with peanut butter icing and tiny peanut butter cups. The bottom layer was filled with a dark chocolate buttercream. Hungry yet? The cupcakes were topped with seven minute frosting(like marshmallow fluff only WAY better) Thanks to Janice for making all those flowers and sugaring the tops of the cupcakes. I would never have gotten this all done without you!

Here is the cake recipe:

Black Magic Chocolate Cake


Heat oven to 350. Grease two 9" round pans which you'll fill 3/4 full, no more than that.
Make ahead the coffee by adding 2 tsp. of instant coffee in 1 measuring c. of boiling water
and let cool. (I used brewed coffee and got a great flavour)

Combine in large bowl getting out the cocoa lumps by whisking together:

2 c. sugar
1 3/4 all purpose flour
3/4 c. cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baling powder
1 tsp. salt

Next add the wet ingredients:

2 eggs
1 c. strong cooled black coffee
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 c. milk & 1 Tbsp of vinegar, this makes the milk sour)
1/2 c. veg. oil
1 tsp vanilla
Beat together for 2 min. until mixed on med. speed.

Bake 40 mins. at 350 or until tooth pick comes out clean



Peanut Butter overload anyone???

 Yeah this recipe is from the Tasty Kitchen blog....An absolute must try!

Maybe some baking will get this baby on the move....off to the kitchen!

Poppy he's getting ready!

To join you on the green...

A great day on the Farm

The sun came out and it turned into a pretty perfect spring day after all, so we did what any self respecting family who wasn't cooking a turkey today did....we took our boy to Hatfield Farm to hunt for Easter eggs. Mayhem and pure joy followed!

searching for eggs!

Adding the slapshot to golf...a la Happy Gilmour!

Austin had a blast and we enjoyed knocking over the other littles to get the most eggs (just kidding but man some of the parents need to get out of the way and let the kids play!) playing hockey/golf with him and just making a few great memories.

The Buzz: Sisters, big brothers and new babies.

Sue Siri is an incredible photographer and once we found out we were expecting another baby, there was no question that we'd be booking our maternity and newborn pictures with here. She's posted a preview and I really don't know how we're going to choose!!

The Buzz: Sisters, big brothers and new babies.: "I have been so busy lately that I have not been updating the blog as much as I would like. Today I will remedy that with not one but two ent..."

Giveaway!

http://www.homeiswheretheysendus.com/2011/05/giveaway-precious-frocks-bag-or-shirt.html?spref=fb

Jen's giving away some pretty nice items and I want to win! :) I've shared her blog before but it's worth sharing again. Not just for the free stuff either. She is an incredible mom of 3 and shares her experiences on her blog on a very regular basis...unlike me.

I swear people I am trying to keep up but at 37 weeks I'm been a little busy...more on that to come.

L

Happy Easter

This morning my monkey toddled across the hall, climbed into our bed and promptly told me that he had to potty right now. It was very cute and I was amazed that his want of smarties won out over the colourful eggs that the bunny had left in the hallway.

Business done, Gordon and I steered Austin towards his empty basket and the trail of eggs that led to the bunny jackpot!

We are not baseball fans in our house. But I am in need of Austin to like another sport. Hockey is great but Mommy needs an off season!! Plus a t-ball set for the backyard will make a good addition to our backyard playland!

Easter inspired breakfast!

Boys like to grow things so the bunny was so kind as to leave some dinosaurs!

It's not a perfect spring day, it's raining and wet so I'm hoping it will clear by noon so that we can take Austin to the farm for an Easter Egg hunt....Enjoy your chocolate bunnies!

I'm in trouble....

So I follow baking and cooking blogs.

Today I stumbled across the Tasty Kitchen and I have a four day weekend....pretzel rolls, peanut butter stuffed hot fudge cupcakes, 4am french toast. It's going to be a tasty Easter!

Royal Wedding watch

Because the Royal Wedding is just a couple of weeks away and because I love me a good Royal You Tube video!!!!




Could you imagine?! :)

Right now...

I should be on a plane headed to Baltimore to attend my first NACCU conference. Although let's be honest, the real appeal was that I was going to hang out outside Charm City Cakes until I was successful in getting pictures with Duff, Mary Alice and the crew. Instead I am sitting on the sofa nursing a head cold while my husband takes care of me and our boy. My Dr gave the no fly order a couple of weeks ago and didn't change her mind this week. Just as well...I'd be in crazy pain on a plane today.

So instead of stalking Duff, I am desperately trying to wrap my head around the fact that we've got a baby coming soon. My to do list is super long and I'm stressing that it won't all get it all done. I had a little spurt of energy after my shower and dug out the newborn clothing that I had packed away after Austin out grew them. I have to admit that as I was sorting through and looked at the size of the sleepers, I just couldn't believe how small they were. Seriously, my little boy is now over 3ft tall and says things his that just make you stop, look and say "Did he just say what I thought he did?!"

Long story short, I've added newborn onsies to my list of things that I need to pick. Austin was a fall baby so there aren't many short sleeve hand me downs to reuse on this little one and I have about 7 weeks to get the following stuff done:

1. Home renovation (I'm planning to have G move a wall but if that doesn't happen there is still a lot of painting to do!)
2. Write the birth plan and talk to my doctor about it
3. Maternity photos
4. Spring clean the house
5. Set up bassinet and change table
6. Wash small and one size diapers
7. Pick up new one size diapers
8. Make and freeze several meals and muffins
9. Pack bags for the hospital
10. Pick a name
11. Get everything wrapped up at work.

Okay I'm exhausted just looking at that list....who wants to help?!

Still behind! Bust a Move (and a bump!)


March 26, 2011 was a very exciting day for me. I got up, got ready and headed to the Canada Games Center in Clayton Park to participate in Bust a Move for Breast Health. The event is put on by the IWK Foundation and the QEII Foundation working towards the common goal of improving Breast Health services in Nova Scotia.

Before I left G wanted to get a 30 week belly shot and then Austin wanted to get in the picture too. It's too bad he wasn't in his Superman or Batman jammies....that would have made this picture so much funnier. As it was he did say "Up and Away!" when he posed.

Austin wanted to be a superhero too!

I got to the venue and met up with my awesome team. Everyone was pumped and the energy in the air was electrifying. People were dressed in crazy outfits, men in tutus and others in Viking helmets with bras hanging from them. People had crazy bras on the outside of their outfits, super hero capes and crazy make up. I really wish I was more brave because it would have been awesome to paint up the bump and left it out for all to see.

Hour 1 started with a dance routine that was a lot of fun. Hour 2 was Zumba. I didn't quite make the whole hour as the bump didn't like all the twisting, but I think post baby I would like to try it again. Hour 3 was yoga. Hour 4 was strength training. Hour 5 was an awesome cardio workout (seriously my favorite of the day). Hour 6 was Paula...but I was fading fast. My calves were twitching and I knew that if I didn't head home soon I wouldn't make it there. So I made it about 1/3 of the way through Paula, hung around on the sidelines for about 30 minutes before realizing that I didn't have the energy to jump back in. I admitted defeat and headed home, very proud that I had given it my all.  Here are a few pictures:

JBN stretching for us all

The IWK Knocker Rockers

Me,  Robbie and the bump

Zumba from the sidelines

Paula and her crew

I was in bed by 8:30 Saturday night. Sunday I just kept moving to ensure that my body didn't seize up but I couldn't shake a headache that had started Saturday night. Monday it had turned into a full blown migraine and I ended up spending the day in bed. I've never had a migraine before. It was horrible! Thankfully after 5 hours in bed and three doses of tylenol it was gone.

Now to decide how to raise my money for next year!