32 weeks

Weekly e-mail update:You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.
How far along?: 32 weeks
How big is baby?: By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus.
Weight gain?: I finally was weighed this week- up 19 pounds!
Stretch marks?: Not yet. Lathering up the lotion.
Maternity clothes?: Maternity pants it is. The weather has been hot, so happy to pull out my summer dresses.
Food cravings?: Salads and apples.
Sleep?: Lots of tossing and turning happening. It has been so hot, even with the a/c on, it still feels like I am roasting by the fireplace. I believe my pillow count is up to 5 pillows now.
Gender?: Boy, oh boy!
Exercise?: Kegels. My walks have been short this week, the humid weather is making me feel ill.
What's been going on?: This week I had my ob/gyn appointment. I was surprised to see how much weight I have actually gained during this pregnancy. I defintely feel the extra weight in my lower back and it does not take long for me to be out of breath. I was excited to hear the little man's hearbeat (I will never get sick of that sound). I have come to the point in my pregnancy when I will be seeing my doctor every two weeks. My ob/gyn scheduled my last ultrasound for next week - that ultraound is to check the progress of the little one to make sure he is on the correct growth track. I am excited to see the difference from our previous ultrasound. The little man has been kicking up a storm... Little Miss L. is less afriad and even comes to put her hand on my belly to say hi. I really wish it wasn't so humid, I can deal with the heat but when you throw in the humidity, everything becomes unbearable. Still no progress on the name front, we have been searching the web but nothing has popped out.

32 week belly.

32 week belly- the little man is sitting really low.

32 week belly with pregnancy #1.

I couldn't help but share this pic of Little Miss L. from this morning. She loves to make funny faces!

father's day part 2

Hey everyone, this is a follow up post from yesterday. Little Miss L. was so excited to go and pick up her mug for father's day. She was so proud of herself, she kept telling me that she was the one who painted the mug and she made it just for her daddy. The mug turned out better than I could ask for, it totally represents my daughter's style - she loves bright colours and sparkles - that is exactly what the mug encompassed.

The next step was to wrap daddy's gift. I must say that I do enjoy gift bags, but I was looking for something a little different and decided that I would wrap daddy's gift with Little Miss L. I was browsing the net when I came across the idea of wrapping the present like a shirt and tie. I loved the idea because I could involve Little Miss L. in the process.  She had a great time wrapping the gift and loved adding all the special touches. Even though our wrapping job was not perfect - the paper was wrinkled, the tie's measurements were to be desired and the buttons were not in a straight line - I still loved the finished product because it had so much character! If you are looking for a neat way to wrap your father's day gift, look no further! It only requires a few steps and a few craft supplies.

The final product, Little Miss L. worked so hard.

Added the caption on the bottom so daddy would not forget when Little Miss L. made it for him.

Gift Wrapping Father's Day Present

Supplies

• Wrapping paper or any paper you have on hand. It can be newspaper, old magazines, butcher paper etc.
• Hot glue gun or glue
• Scrapbook paper
• Scotch tape
• Buttons

Directions

• Wrap your present with the desired wrapping paper.
• Trace (I found a printable tie the internet) and cut out with scrapbook paper.
• Glue or tape tie into wrapping paper.
• Glue buttons onto wrapping paper.

There you have it folks, a completely handmade gift with special meaning for your fathers. To all the fathers out there, enjoy your weekend and remember how much you are loved.

father's day part 1

Father's day is just around the corner, which means it is time to get crafty! Yes, it would be easy to head to the store and pick out daddy a new shirt or buy him a power tool, but I love love love the gifts that are created with our own bare hands. It just seems more meaningful and hand-made gifts are the ones I cherish the most. I was trying to decide on a gift that would allow Little Miss L. to be hands on and would also capture her attention for more than 5 minutes and came up with what I felt was the perfect idea - hit up our local ceramic studio. I asked a few of my girlfriends if they would like to join us because, let's face it, I enjoy hanging out with people my own age once in a while and Little Miss L. enjoys having the company.

We headed to the studio already to make daddy a masterpiece. We had a short introduction on how the whole process worked and then it was up to us to pick out a piece of pottery to call our own. Little Miss L. decided on a mug- I thought it was the perfect choice!

The morning was filled with giggles and wet paint, the girls loved every minute of it. They were so proud of themselves and were super excited about making something to give to their fathers. After our creations were complete, we had to leave our mugs at the studio so they could be glazed and placed in the oven to finish the job. Check in tomorrow to see the final product plus a cool way to wrap your gifts for father's day.

The girls getting their mugs, let the fun begin!

Baby E and her momma working really hard.

Baby E loved her masterpiece- I think her dadda will too!

My artist hard at work. She was so proud of herself.

A true artist - she had paint all over the place but it was worth it.

Little Miss T. shows us how to dry our mugs.

All finished, now they need to hit the oven. Check in tomorrow to see the finished product.

After a busy morning at the ceramic studio, it was time to go for lunch. The little ones decided the restaurant was the best place to show us their singing and dancing skills.

giving back

Today's post is a guest post by the Hubby...
We have been blessed with a happy, healthy family and it is easy to forget that so many in our world are not as fortunate. As a family, we feel it is important to give back, either financially or with the donations of time. We also want to teach this to our children at the youngest age possible so they can truly appreciate the opportunities they have and how important it is to pay it forward.  We recently had an opportunity to do exactly that when I had scheduled a business trip to Sierra Leone.

One of our favourite charities is SOS Children's Villages who build families for children in need. In addition to running their own family, SOS mothers are responsible for upwards of 10 children each, 24 hours per day, with only 4 days off per month. Orphaned children live with their SOS mother and 7-9 other siblings until they are teenagers.  They are then transitioned to an SOS youth hostel until they are ready for society at 21 years of age. Children share the responsibilities of cleaning, budgeting, and cooking under the guidance and supervision of their mother and with the support of others.

I was already aware that there was an SOS Children's Village in the city where I would be travelling so we decided as a family to organize the donation of valuable items to the village.  With the help of family, friends and colleagues, we collected enough money and goods to fill four large duffel bags for the children of the village.  Although little Miss L. is too young to fully understand what we were doing, we involved her in the process.  She helped choose which articles of her clothing to be sent to little girls who needed it more than her.  Little Miss L. came shopping to our local dollar store and helped pick out toys, books, games and school supplies for all the boys and girls to use.

I arranged with the local village management to deliver the goods in person, which was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.  The village director was very proud to show us around the village and introduce us to some beautiful and motivating families. I was introduced to several lovely mothers who have continued to raise happy, loving children for over 20 years in the village. The staff and children were genuinely appreciative.  I will draw from the experience and use what I learned at the village within our family.

Once Little Miss L. is able to better understand, we will remind her about what she did for those boys and girls and ask her to come up with her own ideas on how to help others who are not as lucky as us.  This makes for a wonderful family experience.  Money is not required - it is amazing how far a small amount of your time and consideration goes. You don't have to fly to Africa to find children in need, there is likely an SOS Children's village in your country, and there are certainly children in need nearby.  We thank SOS Children's Village for providing us this opportunity to give back.

Little Miss L. picking out fun stuff for the boys and girls at the village.

Some of the items to be donated.

One of the children irons the family clothing as he watches over his brothers and sisters cooking outside.

They proudly showed me how neatly they keep their cubicles.

An older sister looks over the pot of fish as the sous-chefs prepare the sides.

A loving mother, her children and the village director show me around.

Football is a popular passtime in Sierra Leone.

31 weeks

Weekly e-mail update: He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.
How far along?: 31 weeks
How big is baby?:This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt.
Weight gain?: We still do not have a scale at our new home, this could be a good thing because I feel huge!
Stretch marks?: Not yet. Lathering up the lotion.
Maternity clothes?: I am officially wearing my maternity pants. As for tops, most are my normal tops but there are a few that I have from my first pregnancy that I went and bought in a size bigger.
Food cravings?: Anything cold.
Sleep?: Lots of tossing and turning happening. It has been so hot, even with the a/c on, it still feels like I am roasting by the fireplace.
Gender?: A son...
Exercise?: Kegels, kegels, and more kegels. The weather has been so hot I have been slacking on my walks this week.
What's been going on?: This week has been the week of killer heartburn... please go away! The weather has been extremely hot, so I have been hibernating inside the house. Even taking Little Miss L. to the park for 30 minutes makes me feel ill from the heat. The little one has been moving about all week, still feels like he is giving me an elbow every now and then. I am looking forward to my next ob/gyn appointment next week, to see how the little one's growth is doing. Still no progress on the name front - seriously, boys are a lot harder than girls to find names we like.

31 week belly.

31 week belly with pregnancy #1.

please tell me this is our last encounter!

As Little Miss L. and I left for playgroup last week, this is what we were faced with. I was rushing out the door as we were late, and if I had made one more step, I would have landed on this big guy. Yes, I let out a scream, and then threw my daughter back into the house. Let's just say that snakes are not my friends and this preggo does not want to see anymore! A few days have passed, and I can't get it out of my mind. Each time I step out the door I do the snake scan - I cross my fingers and hope that was my last encounter!

Since I originally drafted this post a few days back, I have now discovered that there is not only one of these slithery snakes, but two who have decided to take up residence under my front porch. In the next few days, we need to find these two a new home! Any good ideas out there? Please let me know! 

preparing for pregnancy photos

It is true what they say - a picture is worth a thousand words. Pregnancy is a special time in a woman's life, and I believe moments like these deserve to be captured. Our bodies do some pretty amazing things during the journey through pregnancy.

With my first pregnancy, I knew right away I wanted to have pregnancy photos taken and I knew I wanted to go with the simple white or black backdrop. With pregnancy number two, it was no question that I wanted to do it all over again but this time around I am not sure what route I would like to take. Do I want to go back into a studio or do I want to try something outdoors? So many options, I know my time will be running out shortly so a decision will have to be made soon. I will let you in on the final verdict once I know! Until then, here are a list of things I found very helpful when planning my pregnancy photo shoot:

Preparing for your photo shoot:

• It depends on your preference, but I believe the best time to capture your baby bump is between 7 and 9 months.
•  Deciding whether I wanted to do semi-nude or nude photos - this was a tough decision as I am not always comfortable with my own body. Did I really want someone else taking pictures of me like that? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I loved the way my body looked pregnant and I wanted to be able to look back and remember that moment. The photographer made me feel at ease the whole time, and now that I look back, I am so glad I did.
• Deciding on a location. Do you want your pictures to be taken in a studio? At your home? Outdoors? etc. This was a tough decision, and in the end, I was glad I went with the studio. But for the second time around, I might decide to change things up a bit.
• Deciding on clothes can be tough, but choosing a few simple outfits is suggested.  I went with a simple black pant or gym style pant with a low-rise waist (try to avoid patterns).  You can never go wrong with a black or white top that shows off your arms and neckline. Have one or two fancy shirts, something that shows your personality.  A dress or a tunic are always great options.
• Bring along a pair of black underwear (thong) if you are thinking about doing any semi-nude photos.
• Pick out a few necklesses, bracelets, or earrings that you would like to accessorize with.
• Bring along a small pair of baby shoes or a doll. Something the baby may use adds a nice touch to a photo.
• Try to wear loose clothing an hour prior to the shoot, so you do not have any lines from your tight clothes.

I hope the above list was helpful. I strongly encourage anyone who is not sure whether or not they would like pregnancy photos done to just go out there and do it - I know you won't be disappointed. Here are a few photos from my first pregnancy shoot. 

Photos courtesy of Spoil photography.