This Little Belly (30 weeks)

It's hard to believe that 30 weeks have come and gone.  And really, our baby girl's birth date seems so close. I think for both of us the reality of this pregnancy seems more palpable this time, the certainty that at the end of this nine month journey, an incredible little creature will be a part of our lives and the center of our attention.   And while Gabriel knows that the answer to "where's the baby?" is to point to my belly, I kind of have a feeling he won't know until her arrival just how rocked his world will be.  But that's ok.  He'll be smitten too.  I think we all will be.

I am feeling a little tired these days.  But it's a contented tired, an overjoyed tired.  Maybe it's because I go to bed too late due to nighttime nesting in baby girl's room, or just sitting there dreaming.  Or maybe because I keep waking up in the middle of the night from vigorous baby kicks and then am too anxiously excited to go back to sleep.  It's not for lack of pillows that much is certain!  (I am not entirely sure how or when we amassed a total of eight pillows on our bed, but I use at least four to build a pillow fortress so I can sleep in some sort of temporary comfort at night.  And even with a king sized bed, there is barely room for the two of us now.  Or should I say three?)

And our baby girl sure is a busy little thing--strong and active.  I can tell we are going to have another little whirlwind on our hands.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  It seems both of her parents are in perpetual motion of some sort, so she comes by it honestly!  

These days as I look down at this belly, starting to fill out and get all round, and feel the heavy thumps from the inside, I feel pretty wonderful, despite being a bit tired.  Sometimes I want to just pull the string on life and fast forward in time through this the waiting game to meet her, but isn't there just something special about carrying new life?  The hope, the promise, the anticipation...?  Today, I've decided that I am content with this restlessness, the discomfort, the thumps and flutters, the building of excitement for her arrival in ten weeks.  Baby girl, come when you're ready.  We can wait and we can't.

You might also like:

• Taking Care of Baby Girl.
• And it's a.... 
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• The Newest Baby on the Block. 
• Bel. 
• And then... There were four!

The Books on Our Shelves.

Being home all week and weekend with our sick little guy, means that we've done a lot more reading.  Which is, well, a lot.  Everyone in this house has always been avid readers and ever since Gabriel was a little guy books have been toys--always present and always accessible.  Sadly, this means they are getting a little rough looking, but we figure it is all worth it to see him become a little book lover. 

And so, with a quiet weekend on our hands, we thought it was an appropriate time have to share a few of our all-time favorites, just in case you are in the market yourselves for new ones (which we often are!).  Our top ten FAVORITE books right now are:

1.  Lost and Found. Oliver Jeffers.  This child prodigy writes his own books and illustrates them too.  They are beautiful, and I find our little guy has always clicked with his style.  This is an adorable book about a boy who finds a penguin, thinks he is lost and attempts to take him back to the South Pole only to find out that the penguin is lonely and in need of a friend and not lost at all. 

2. Pirate Gran. Geraldine Durrant.  We love this book, because not only is it a bit atypical (not a traditional storyline), you can read it with a pirate voice and the illustrations are hilarious.

3. The Way Back Home. Oliver Jeffers.  Another Oliver Jeffers book about a boy who lands on the moon and gets stuck, but runs into a Martian with the same predicament.  The two brainstorm on how to help each other out.  This one you can make a whole variety of fun noises, which for Gabriel is the whole point.

4.  I'll Love You Forever.  Robert Munsch.  A classic.  It's a book about a little boy who's mother sings to him every night the same song until she grows too old.  As a new father, he carries on the tradition.  I think Gabriel loves the singing part.

5.  Hogwash. Karma Wilson.  This is a fun little book I picked up in Dallas, Texas.  It's about a farmer who wants to wash his pigs but they refuse to let him.  Finally, after a series of tactics, the farmer realizes it's much more fun to take a mud bath with them instead.  The rhythmic lines and rhyme scheme, on top of all the noises you can make while reading this book, make it pretty entertaining.  And if you are really good, like Gabriel's daddy, reading it with a Texan accent is all the more amusing.

6.  Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. Sherri Dusky Rinker.  This adorable twist on the typical "goodnight" book is a huge hit in our house.  The story follows five trucks at the close of day as they finish up and pack it in for the night. The drawings are quite clever and the rhyme is catchy.  Gabriel now knows the difference between a dump truck, bulldozer, crane, cement mixer and excavator.  A MUST for all truck lovers!

7. How to Catch a Star. Oliver Jeffers.  Yes, another Oliver Jeffers.  Again, beautiful drawings and fun, imaginative journey of a boy trying to catch and befriend a star.

8. The Hungry Caterpillar.  Eric Carle.  A classic of course.  But who can resist that adorable little caterpillar.  Fun for counting, talking about colours and identifying foods.

9.  Up, Up, Down.  Robert Munsch.  This is a cheeky little book that NOT all parents might love, particularly because the main character, Anna, loves to climb things and say "No!"  She tells her parents "No, no, no, no, no, no" and when they fall and hurt themselves trying to get her down, she wraps them in a Band-aids and gives them the same advice to not climb.  It's sassy, but catchy.  Gabriel wakes up saying "Up, up, up... Boom!"  and "No, No, No."  So far it's the only book he has started memorizing and reciting to us.  And we may have to put it away soon.....

10.  Little Mouse. Alison Murray.  We have this book in French which we translate for Gabriel.  It's a favorite because of all the animal sounds.  Thanks to this book, Gabriel can now make sounds for the following animals: giraffe, bull, lion, horse, elephant, owl, wolf, bird, bear, whale and mouse.  Yes, he knows how to make the sound for a whale!  It cracks me up.  And the pictures are delightful.  The book originally comes in English, we just happen to have it in French.

I have to say that reading books to our boy, we have learned how to really immerse ourselves in them and have both gotten pretty good at making all sorts of animal sounds, making up sound effects and songs. I have always loved reading to children, you know, being a teacher.  And I think kids learn to love reading when they pick up on that love from their parents. 

Ps.  Despite all our recommendations, we are in desperate need of a refresh.  We are always on the lookout for new ones, so if you mamas or papas have any good suggestions out there, we'd love to hear them!

When Family Comes.

The house is pretty quiet today.  Family has left and finally our little man seems to be on the mend from a pretty goopy cold, after spending most of the week (and now weekend) at home.  We made it outside today and played in the leaves, capturing a few photos of fall before the rains turn those beautiful Jackson Pollack tapestries to brown mush. 

We had a pretty busy, productive week with my family here, but I am lamenting not having taken enough photos.  Our walk today reminded me of a beautiful morning out walking with my parents (golden autumn light streaking through the trees, leaf tossing, frog catching) and a day, I unfortunately forgot my camera!  The iphone just isn't doing it for me these days.... 

Our week was filled with visits with cousins, my grandmother, who was also in town, as well as a several practical around-the-house tasks with a lot of help from my parents--unpacking, sorting, cleaning, errands.  I could never have done it all without them!  But, sadly, not as much exploring or doing "fun" things and I felt a little bit guilty about that, but it was time well spent together, so no regrets.  We did, however, have a lot of fun setting up baby girl, JanBug's room (photos to come soon!) and unpacking and sorting through all of her little adorable pieces of clothing.  Two months to go and I can hardly believe it is coming so quickly, that this little beautiful creature kicking inside of me will soon be a very real every day part of our lives.  Sometimes I just go into her room and sit there, dreaming of what she will be like....  Can't wait to meet you, baby girl!

We did make it out a couple of days, one of which was to see the Distillery District turned boutique/arts community, where we checked out little Canadian-made local art shops like the Distill Gallery and other little boutiques.  A few more years and I can see this becoming a thriving art community much like Vancouver's, Granville Island.  We ate lunch and fed the birds.  Gabriel chased them around trying to feed them and calling them "duck, duck."

And Grammie worked her way into Gabriel's heart this week by teaching him how to make cookies.  He loves to help in the kitchen--adding flour and chocolate chips to the batter and "stirring."  He emerged covered in cookie dough with a mouthful of "chippies."  We had a great week and are looking forward to a few more visits in the coming months.

You might also like: 

• Visitors from the North 
• Old Town Alexandria: Torpedo Factory
• Oh Vancouver, you are so pretty!
• American Thanksgiving Chez Us.
• Happy Fall.
• Wandering around in Apple Orchards.
• Fall Beauty.

Taking care of "Baby Girl"

One day, amidst the bustle of children at the Early Years Pre-pre-school play center we've been attending, I found Gabriel cradling a doll.  The children were slamming doors on the little playhouse, banging play hammers, dripping paint, pouring sand, pushing cars and trucks and trains.  And there he was.  He had spotted a sweet little neglected baby doll under a pile of blankets.  And, like the tenderhearted soul that he is, took her under his wing--wrapping her up in a blanket, rocking her and kissing her little head.  All without prompting I might add.  He carried her around for a good 10 minutes before dropping her (toddler style) in the middle of the floor to play with trucks.

As you know, Gabriel is a truck-boy, a train-boy, a "boy-boy" but there is nothing that speaks to him like the whimper of a baby in distress.  And it cheers my mama heart to know that our little man, despite his gruff/burly boyishness, is a compassionate little guy.
 
So my parents are visiting us in Toronto this week.  And with them came a few presents (mostly in the form of relics from my past).  One such gift was a little doll, one from my sister's collection, on loan temporarily for Gabriel to practice being a big brother with.  His eyes lit up.

Last night, he spotted baby doll (who still remains nameless - we are welcoming suggestions) and wrapped his little arms around her.  We found her a blanket, a bottle and the little infant seat she could sleep in.  Gabriel took her over to his little toddler-sized rocking chair and fumbled to figure out how he could hold her and read to her at the same time--his little foot crossed over one leg, propping up the book, the chair rocking precariously.  He settled instead on the couch, a safer bet, placing her beside him, reading his book aloud, his toddler voice full of expression and intonation.

I am sure we'll have some busy and rocky days ahead, come January/February.  Especially when JanBug stays and is demanding so much of my mama time.  But I am so looking forward to meeting real baby girl and to watching him find his role in all of this.

You might also like:

• The Junction and Family. 
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A Canadian Thanksgiving in the County

After many years of living in the West Coast, it was nice this year to finally be able to spend Canadian Thanksgiving with family again.  We spent the weekend with family in Prince Edward County, a few hours drive from Toronto--an agricultural getaway island surrounded by Lake Ontario, farms, wineries and the host to myriad small towns. 

We stopped through a few of the little towns and local wineries, which allegedly have some terrific local wines.  We enjoyed the firebrick oven pizzas instead and admired the vines, the brilliant change in leaf colour along the way and the many old tractors and agricultural equipment on display.  Of course, we couldn't just drive by without stopping.  Gabriel had to give some of them a "go."  He bounced up and down on that rusty old tractor making engine sounds and pretending to drive over bumpy fields.

Over the years, we have had the good fortune to have a tremendous group of supportive friends wherever we've been and have been happy to have hosted Thanksgiving to those friends over the years at our place.  But this year, it was kind of nice to be spoiled by family again.  Gabriel lapped up the attention from his grandparents, while we enjoyed spending time together, especially seeing Jordan's sister Emma and her boyfriend, Marc who we feel like we so rarely get to see!

As the moon glistened and sparkled on Lake Ontario, Gabriel serenaded us with his increasingly gentle strumming on the guitar. It might be time for his own little guitar and some lessons soon.

We couldn't have ordered up any better weather ourselves and spent almost the entire daylight of three days outside.  In between the many hours spent walking, biking, at the beach (!!) sunning and throwing rocks into the clearest waters I've ever seen, Gabriel stood at the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the water, looking out longingly to the outdoors.  This kid sure loves being outside.  He's forever bringing us our shoes and "helping" us put them on.  I think this is his not-so-subtle way of saying "Come on, you guys, let's go play!"  Although we were on Lake Ontario, because of its size, we felt like we were on the ocean--minus the lack of chill and sea salt air.

I think his grandparents get a lot of pleasure out of seeing a smile on this little guy's face.  Or maybe it's the infectious giggle that gets them going.

 

One happy kid, to be spending all day outdoors dragging sticks around and throwing rocks.  We had quite the rock collection outside of each exterior door of the beach house and now the backseat of the car.  This boy could be found at any one time with several rocks in each hand and a stick, and never more than a few feet from the dog.

We had such a wonderful time in Prince Edward County and hope to go back.  I think I'd be right in supposing these two had a pretty fantastic time too.  They both flaked out in the backseat all the way home through three hours of traffic--all cuddled up.  Heart is feeling pretty full this weekend. :)

You might also like:

• American Thanksgiving Chez Us.
• Happy Fall.
• Wandering around in Apple Orchards.
• Fall Beauty.
• Fall Festival: Juggling Pumpkins.