The Baby Shower Photos

A lot of updates these days! I hope everyone is not too bored of checking out pictures of the HUGE bump! Went to the doctor today - Max is still all good and things are on track. No big news there.

We have finally gotten pics from the baby shower and wanted to share them with all of you!

Enjoy!

A Vegetable Face!

Baby Shower Games - Nick and I did not win - but we had a good time losing!

Sienna was not as excited about the games as we were.She was, however, delighted with the fish and cat I drew. Thank goodness someone appreciates my art.

The "Guess What's In the Diaper" Game. Nick LOVED IT!

Nick takes a taste and grosses the whole crowd out!

"HOW DARE YOU SCORE HIGHER THAN ME!"

The YUMMY Baby Shower Cake arranged for by Nick. Mmmmm..cake!
Nick is VERY excited about cake! VERY EXCITED!

Opening some GREAT gifts!

A homemade quilt and pillow set - we love it!

Paul the Photographer

Thu - the superstar event coordinator

The party wind-down

That's it. Just a few shots to share that afternoon with you! Stay tuned for more Max updates :)

The Wedding Photos!

Ok.so here is part 2 of the wedding update! There were a lot of pictures and we had to narrow it down to our favorites! Enjoy!

Dad is pacing! Unclear if it is thestate of the market or his daughter gettig married that is causing this (...or the lack of coffee and cigarettes. There are a lot of factors at play!)

Signing our lives away (signing the marriage license) and promising it is the whole truth and nothin but the truth!

Woohoo! No turning back now - the ink is on the paper!

A family photo!

Dad gives Nick some fatherly advice - "If you mess with my daughtr, I'll punch you in the face!"

"Oy...such a pretty face!"

My pretty momma!

Getting ready to do the deed (talking to th Deputy Marriage Commissioner)

The official ceremony

"You may now kiss the bride" (though this also strangely looks like I'm sucking the life out of Nick...is that what marriage is?)

Officially a married couple!

"Oh my...what have we done??"

Me and Mom!

Dad and Brucie - post-wedding glow! :)

The official stuff is done - let the silliness begin!

On the phone with MAQ!

No idea what is going on with my face here but I like it!No comment on what we think Dad is doing here...but Brucie had better watch out! :)

The ceremony

Hi everyone!

So the deed is done and Nick and I are officially a married couple! Crazy huh? The ceremony was fun. City hall was a mad house and filled with atmosphere and lots of gay marriages. But after getting our license and sitting back and relaxing bit, we found a quiet little corner of City Hall where the Deputy Marriage Commissioner performed a really nice little ceremony and that was it! We then headed out for a delightful lunch! We haven't had a chance to go through all the pictures yet and upload the other video - but in the meantime - here it is..the official ceremony!

In other news, everything with Max is just fine. He is now weighing in at 4.5 pounds (remaining in the 60th percentile for weight) and is still breech. Nothing is confirmed yet but every day he doesn't shift is one day closer to a c-section. I'm torn in how I feel about that - but at leas it will give me a date to look forward to. But he is big and kicking and healthy! The diabetes is going ok too. We have our moments of things being a little higher than they should..but all in all we are managing.

Also, a big congratulations to Mr.Nick who successfully landed himself a new job this week! YAY! He will be working with me here at SEGA which will make all the Max stuff really convenient! I'm very excited about it (as is he)! We are just plodding through the imigration paperwork to ensure he has his visa/work permit and the he will jump right in here!

Those are all the updates for now! Stay tuned for pictures when we get them up!

10 week update!

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update in honor of reaching the 30 week mark. Woohoo! 10 more weeks and counting (9 weeks and 5 days from now..not that i'm counting down the seconds!). 

So an update on Mr.Max - everything is fine with him. We had a check-up at the doctors on Friday and heard a nice healthy heartbeat. THe doctor measured the size of my ever growing tummy and said that it looks to be growing at the right rate for where we should be at. So I measured 30 centimeters at 30 weeks. PERFECT! He has started hiccuping. I didn't even think about that until my mom asked me about it yesterday which made me realize that that is exactly what those really rhythmic movements I was feeling are! Even Nick had a chace to feel it. Now that I've noticed it..it is all I can feel now. I think he gets them at least a few times a day..definitely at night before bed. It is unmistakeable now.  It's cute. He hiccups like his mommy. 

The diabetes is going ok. At the last appointment the doctor told me I had lost a pound and that though I was controlling my blood sugar when I could, it seemed my fasting sugars were constantly high (the test I take as soon as I woke up). So she put me on 10 units of insulin a night - which didn't help. So I've moved up to 15 units and that seems to be helping me even out. Food choices are getting tough. I think Nick and I are getting tired of the food choices...but I'm not entirely surpried about that. Just a few more weeks before we can eat anything anytime without having to worry about sticking to my times and portion control. I can't wait! I'm not a huge fan of the evening needles...but....they make it easy to do. 

We have our next appointment on the 28th and that one is an ultrasound..so stay tuned for more pictures :) 

We had our baby shower yesterday. The people at work threw it for us and it was really nice. They had old pictures of Nick and I from when we were little all over the room...came up with some fun games....and we all indulged in some yummy foods. On top of that..we got some great gifts. Some of the people at work came together and bought us our crib which is now built and ready for the mattress (ordered and on the way) and then ready for Mr.Max. We got some great toys and clothes - including a Darth Vader costume and a homemade quilt . THis kid is DESTINED for nerdiness! :) I'm so proud. All in all it was a great time and we will put up the pictures soon. Of course...we missed having you all there with us, it definitely wasn't the same without our closest family and friends there to celebrate and eat cake! 

Finally - and here is the big news - Nick and I  have decided to tie the knot at city hall. We have an appointment on the 27th...a week from Monday. We aren't making a big deal out of it - doing it more to ensure I don't lose Nick to immigration than anything else. Though we intended to get married, we didn't plan on doing it now - we hoped we would be able to do it when you all could be here with us - but it just didn't work out that way. But don't worry, we fully plan to have a big party next year to celebrate Max and the marriage with the people we love! So next Monday will be very low key. We are only allowed 2 people in the room with us and 6 guests (the other 4 have to sit outside while we are officially married) - so are keeping it small and simple.  No rings..no fancy clothes..just Nick and I and city hall (and a couple of witnesses! :))

It is kinda crazy. Nick and I talk about how..if you would have told either us a year ago tha we would be pregnant and a week away from getting married..we both woul have laughed. So much has changed. Lots of stress...but lots of excitement too. 

So there is our update! We will be sure to put up pics of everything going on - baby showers....wedding ceremonies...and ultrasounds...in the next couple of weeks! 

Missing all of you! 

So it is official - I have gestational diabetes. It will make for an adjustment in what I eat and when I eat it - but it looks all manageable. It has been a bit of a scary ride and I would be lying if I said it hasn't been emotional and bit tough but we will get through it. The one thing that was exciting was that  we got to see the little bugger in an ultrasound and he is doing just find. 

He is currently a whopping 2 lbs, 9oz - therefore in the 60th percentile - so not too big (which is good news). All looks good

 with him and he was kicking up a storm while the ultrasound was going on. He clearly did not like being disturbed during naptime. 

They did the ultrasound a little differently this time - all of the ones they gave us are of the 3D variety - so they are a little hard to see, but once you adjust to how to look at these...it will be absolutely clear! 

So no more waiting...here he is: 

I LOVE this picture! A nice big smile (or so it seems), big eyes, and his cute little nose are relatively easy to spot! 

More looking happy and relaxed in there.

Bit of a profile shot - you can even spot a little ear! 

Another profile shot - and a definite ear. Right in front of his face are his two little feet and you can see his hand propping up his head. That is a big weight to carry. Notice the already chubby cheeks. I think that may come from my side :) 

Look at his LONG neck! 

That is all we have for now. We have another doctor's appointment this week where we get all of our pediatrician information and information about registering at the hospital. Then an appointment with the dietician next week to make sure my blood sugar levels are ok just with diet and exercise. And then soon we will have another ultrasound! I can't get enough of seeing him in there! 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures - less than 3 months now.

26 Weeks- or the Three Month Coundown

Ok..so admitedly it has been a while since we updated. It is a cross between nothing new to tell and the fact that, when not on the road to international locations, I can't keep my eyes open past 9pm anymore. Haven't quite decided yet if that is because I never sleep longer than 2 hours at night without having to wake up for shift positions or dash to the toilet...or just because overall I'm just plain old tired.



So here is the quick update to be followed by some belly pictures. My HUGE belly!



Everything is all good with Mr.Max (aka The little bugger which will inevitably evolve to Bug - I can see it now). He is kicking all the time now - hard enough for Nick to actually feel it and for anyone looking to see my stomach jump whenever he kicks nice and hard. Of course, he spends most of his time shamelessly kicking my bladder - so no one gets to enjoy that but me! It is easily one of the weirdest feelings ever.

On the not-so-fun side, I have to go in for my second gestational diabetes test as I was high on the first one. According to the doctor, about 40% of women fail that first time - but the idea that there may be something wrong never makes me feel good. Nick and I have often talked aobut he fact that almost everytime we have an appointment, I come back worried about some test result. Medical fear mongering. It is definitely stressful. I am never quite sure what I will have to worry about next - not that just having a baby and being a parent doesn't worry me enough. Hopefully the results will come in saying there is nothing wrong and we will move on from there. If not, it is off to the nutritionist for me. Admitedly, the worst part for me at the moment is the fasting. How can I not eat for 12 hours now. IT IS KILLING ME. I'm secretly now looking forward to the DISGUSTING orange soda I will get to drink tomorrow morning.

Other than that, Nick has been working really hard to get the apartment ready for Max. We had a run around town checking out everything on our registry and are getting ready to start putting in the orders. We actually have some space to put everything in now. Max has his very own dresser packed full of adorable clothing thanks to all the family making sure he well dressed (and if we haven't said it already - let me just say a huge thank you for everything everyone has sent/bought us! We can't wait to get him all dressed up. So many blog updates!)!

Pre-natal classes will start at the end of October where I get to hear all the joys of labor and the week after we will learn all about caring for a newborn and infant CPR. Yikes! So much to learn! It is still surreal to think we will have a baby in this apartment - our baby - in just a few months. Sometimes the reality of that sets in and other times it feels like at any point someone is going to jump out holding a camera and tell us we are on some twisted episode of candid camera. Of course, then my back aches and my feet swell and baby brain takes over and I forget everything I should remember and Max dances on my bladder and I quickly realize that he is indeed in there and growing fast!

I'm finally done with the travelling. Last weeks' trip was the last for me. The Virgin staff took exceptional care of me..bringing me bowls of fruit and bottles of water. But I have had enough plane rides to last me a lifetime and I'm ready to take it easy. Doctor's appointments are getting closer together too. 3 weeks until the next one...then I move to the every two week appointments. We have about 3 months to go until Max arrives. That is both an eternity and the shortest amount of time ever.

So that is pretty much the big update. Nothing really exciting other than the nesting beginning...lots of kicking.....and a huge belly. Ok....no more waiting...here they are....the belly photos (no comments on how big I am...as of yet the doctor has NOT told me to stop stuffing my face!)

:)

Here is photo number one - with lovely SF/Marin in the background.

Get ready - here is the belly - in all it's pale Canadian glory! I try to keep it covered so I don't blind people when the sun is out :)

I am a constant source of heat which makes me the most attractive pillow for our roomates. If I am lying down..sititng on the couch...anyhwere within reach..I am an automatic attraction. I am now better than lying in the sun. As long as they are near the oven I call the baby belly - they are happy. Max likes the purring I think. He kicks whenever one of them lies on my tummy and purrs.

And last, but most definitely not least - we received a lovely present from Nick's aunt - the delightful Eira - who drew us a piece of original art celebrating our engagement. We just wanted to post it here and send out a big thanks for that!

That's it for us! I promise I will update soon with news. As soon as he starts kicking hard enough for real movement to show - we may even take a video to share so you can all see the alien living in there!