24 Weeks

The baby weighs more than 1.3 pounds now. Although there is still very little body fat, and the skin is thin and fragile, at least the baby is now well proportioned. The baby's brain is growing rapidly, and my uterus is beginning to fill up quickly! From head to bum, the baby can measure up to 11.8 inches.

At this point in the pregnancy, it's normal to see stretch marks on your body - about 90 percet of women get them. There may also be a dark line forming from the top of your abdomen, down past your belly button. This called the linea negra.

So, we're in Florida for the break between Christmas and new years - heading home in a couple days - had a blast in Disney. It was hard, looking at all the baby things they had in the Disney souvenir shops, and not buying anything! There were so many beautiful baby princess outfits, and cute little onesies - but since we don't know if it's a girl (although, I feel that it is) we held off.

We're off to Universal Studios today, and the sun is shining!

Talk more when we get back!

23 Weeks

The baby now weighs over a pound, and is measuring about 11.5 inches from head to foot. It's hearing is well established, and can make out a distorted verson of or voices, the beating of my heart and the rumbling of my stomach. Loud noises heard in utero, like a barking dog etc, probably won't bother the baby when they're ehard outside the womb.

There are numerous studies that indicate that unborn babies prefer classical music, the baby will often move around based on the pace of the music. If the baby was to be born now, it would have about an 85% chance of survival, with the right care.

The baby is moving around like crazy!! The other night, Rob finally felt some rolling! His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning, and he's even more impatient now than he has been, because he knows what he's feeling for.

I've also got my first OB appointment on January 6th - I'll probably call and change that a bit, because it's in such an awkward time slot, and right after we get back from holidays!

In other news, I've finally gained some weight - 3.75 lbs! Not a lot, but it's a start! I'm still under what I expected I'd be, so I've got some wiggle room.

Merry Christmas!!

22 Weeks

The baby now weighs almost a pound, and is measuring nearly 11 inches from head to heel. It's proportioned like a newborn, just a thinner version since the baby fat hasn't developed yet. The baby is getting heavier every day, but it's skin still appears wrinkly, until it gains more weight. The lips are distinct, and the eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks any pigment. This week, the pancreas (essential in the production of hormones) is developing steadily. Even this early, the first signs of teeth appear in the form of buds beneath the gum line, soon after the baby is born, the first teeth will come through.

The average at this point is to put on about 12-15 pounds, and starting now, weight will begin to pile on more steadily - averaging about a half a pound per week!

I have another appointment next week (Monday), so I'll find out what I've gained so far. With my tally still being at zero, I'm not too worried! Christmas is just around the corner, and I'm sure I'll pack a little on then too!

Speaking of Christmas, I'm having a big dinner at our house this year - it's our first Christmas in our house, and I think it's a great way for us to really enjoy the holiday! I know it will be really busy, and a lot of work... but I'm really looking forward to it - a big turkey with all the fixings!

Last night, while watching TV, Rob rested his hand on my belly - it's become so natural that I don't even notice he's doing it anymore. The baby is far more active in the morning though, so my assumption is that it was sleeping last night. He didn't feel anything... and although he was joking, said he was failing. It broke my heart! So this morning, I've been willing the baby to rest up, so Daddy can feel the poking tonight!

21 Weeks

The baby now weighs about 3/4 of a pound, and is about 10.5 inches from head to heel. It's eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed and the fingernails now cover the fingertips. The baby can now hear our conversations - if we talk, read or sing to the baby, it will hear us. Some studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard more frequently in utero (Rob's new favourite phrase is in utero). We've been reading a couple of them, to let the baby get used to not only my voice, but Rob's as well.

I had another ultrasound yesterday, and it was again, the most wonderful thing! I honestly don't think I could see this baby enough! If I could walk around with an U/S thing strapped on, I totally would. I got to see the baby yawning, rubbing it's eyes and kicking it's little legs! My favourite was the yawn - there was a beautiful, pixelated face that just opened up for a second or two, and then closed again, just as if our little one was waking up. It must be a tiring business, becoming a baby!

It was also cool to SEE the baby kicking! It was flexing it's legs like crazy, bending them up and then kicking them out! I would imagine that it's running out of room in there, but I'm sure I'll grow to accomodate!

Baby Freedom :)

So, I just popped into my email, and found an invitation to view a website from a couple we met on our honeymoon - Dave & Alyssa. Why is this relevant?? Well.....

Rob and I missed dinner the first night, in the restaurant on the ship - we were exhausted, and just ate at the buffet and went to bed. On the cruise, they assign dinner seatings, but if you miss it there's always the buffet. The second night, we decided to try out the restaurant, when we got there, we met a wonderful couple from California. They were also on their honeymoon and remarkably like Rob and I - but to be honest, I think that Dave and I were more personality alike, and Rob and Alyssa - poor Rob and Alyssa had to deal with Dave and I the whole time LOL

Anyways, we hit it off immediately, and they became friends - it was nice to have another couple we related to, in our age bracket, that was so much fun! And wouldn't you know it - they wanted kids too, and we're planning on trying right away. We had more in common than we thought!

So, our running joke - or at least one of them, was: First to get pregnant gets to name their baby "Baby Freedom", in honour of the Carnival Freedom Cruise Ship.

So, fast forward to the email invitation to their website - they're pregnant too! Due only a week or two after us - so, lets raise a glass (or a couple bottles of wine, each) to Dave and Alyssa: Congrats on Baby Freedom!

20 Weeks - Halfway there!

The baby is now measuring about 6.5 inches from head to bum, and is steadily gaining weight. There is a whitish coat of a slick, fatty substance called vernix that is beginning to cover the baby, it protects the baby's skin during it's long immersion in amniotic fluid - it also eases delivery. The baby is also swallowing more this week, providing good practice for the digestive system. After taking in amniotic fluid, it's body will absorb the water in the liquid and move the rest into the large bowel.

We've made it to the halfway point, and the time has just flown by! I remember thinking when I was 6 weeks, that I was hardly pregnant at all, and now - not only am I visibly pregnant... but I'm HALFWAY to the finish line! In around 20 weeks, we'll be holding our little angel in our arms. Its a very calming thought!

We put up our Christmas tree the other day - what an ordeal that was! Neither Rob nor I have ever done it before, I've watched my dad though, so, I was able to TELL Rob how (lol). He finally got the tree straight, and brought into the house - it looks beautiful! I strung the lights up, and then realized that one string had a loose wire, so it only worked occasionally! I had to take the whole thing down, and start again - but I've finally got a perfect tree!

Rob put our first ornament up on the tree - it's shaped like a key and says "Our First Home, 2008", which obviously brought me to tears! I couldn't believe that we've got our own tree, in our own house - it's a very surreal moment when you're hit with that reality. That was followed with the ornament my dad bought for us "Our First Christmas" and then "Great Expectations" - an ornament with a proud dad and expecting wife. We made sure to put the dates on our ornaments, as always!

So I guess the season begins!

Congrats Rob!!!

Ok, so in some un-baby related news.....

Rob passed his Electrical License Exam!!!!!!

Sorry, I can't help myself - I'm so proud of him! For the last little while, he's been really putting his mind to it, and studying, really studying! He had his exam the same day as our ultrasound, and I guess it was a good omen, our ultrasound went well, and all his worrying was for nothing!

I really can't express just how proud I am - I've seen Rob go from a kid who didn't really care to try to an adult, that took the responsibility seriously.

Way to go babe, you deserve every bit of congratulations you get!

19 Weeks

Almost halfway there! The top of my uterus now almost reaches my bellybutton, it will grow approx 1cm a week. The baby is about 6 inches from the head to the bum, and weighs in at about 9oz. In addition to 'breathing' amniotic fluid, the baby is now swallowing it, this then works through the kidneys and produces urine. The hair on our little one's scalp (if any) is starting to sprout.

Sensory development reaches it's peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses - taste, smell, hearing, seeing and touch, are now developing in their specialized area of the brain. Nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections. If our little one is a girl, she'll already have roughly 6 million eggs in her ovaries. By the time she's born, that will decrease to about 1 million.

At this point I should be able to feel the kicking and somersaulting of the growing baby. At times, the baby will be so active that I may not be able to sleep! The next 10 weeks are the baby's busiest, and most active time, until the womb gets too crowded.

I forgot to mention in my previous entry, at my appointment yesterday, I did the routine weigh in, and guess what?? Weight gain remains at ZERO, yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have gained NOTHING, not a pound! This puts me right on target for my target weight gain in the long run (hoping to stay around 15-20 lbs) They say in the end, you'll gain about a pound a week, and I have only 21 weeks left - so with some careful meal planning, I should be exactly where I want to be! This is a completely healthy gain for me, by the way - as I wasn't 'ideal' weight pre-pregnancy.

The results are in.....

So, as the title suggests - the results are in from the ultrasound on Friday :) Baby is developing well! The diameter of our little one's head is in the 84th percentile (which is FINE by me LOL, any bigger and I'd be worried!) The measurements from the ultrasound put me at 19 weeks and 4 days, when I was positive I was 18 weeks, 4 days - not that it's a big difference, but it would move my estimated due date up to April 13 and I would be 20 weeks, instead of 19 today. My doctor said he isn't going to change my due date, we'll stick with the 21st - because the measurements are just for approximations. He did say that a bigger baby will tend to make it's escape a little earlier than expected, but not to count on it!

Other than that, my placenta is lying a little low - nothing to worry about, again, the doctor said that as my uterus expands, it generally takes the placenta with it. So a low lying placenta will move up - they'll check again around 30 weeks. If by chance it doesn't move, we'll need to start looking at a C-section to get our baby out.

The ultrasound tech didn't get a good enough look at the baby's face, so I have to go back in for a targeted ultrasound, where they'll just find the baby's face - it's a short ultrasound, so Rob won't be coming to this one.

At the appointment yesterday, the doctor did all the usual things, felt for my uterus to see how far up my abdomen it is, and he said we're 20cm, right on schedule (about 1cm ahead, which would correspond with the baby's measurements). He also brought out the Doppler, which is getting to be my favourite part of the appointments - but our little one was so active yesterday, he couldn't keep the heartbeat on the monitor for more than a second or two at a time before the baby decided to wiggle away! I knew I was feeling more movement yesterday!

Anyways, stay tuned for the 19 week update, which will come either later today or tomorrow :)

Our sweet, little angel :)

So our ultrasound was on Friday, 18 and a half weeks along. The tech told me our little bean was moving around like crazy, she almost had to have me come back in, because she couldn't see the baby's spine well enough! However, as soon as she said that, the baby flipped and she was able to get the pics she needed.

Oh how our bean has grown! Our first ultrasound was at 13 weeks (i think) and then 5 weeks later, there's a little person in there! She showed us the kidneys, the beating little heart, our baby's face, the umbilical cord (which we thought may have been a little weiner... but didn't ask haha)

Rob made sure to tell the tech to check the baby's kidneys, he really is such a wonderful man - the look on his face when our baby was on the screen was something I'll never forget! He's so proud of himself!

In other news, we babysat Carleigh for the night to let Dave and Nikki get out for a little. She is such an angel! Poor little girl is probably starting to teeth, so she was a little cranky but we were fine :) I'll admit, I was terrified! I was tired yesterday, and I couldn't just take a nap - I had a little person to take care of, feed, entertain! But although I was tired, and anyone who knows me knows I like to get my uninterrupted sleep - we were fine all night! I changed her and fed her in the middle of the night - then rocked her and sang her back to sleep. What an amazing experience!

So, last but not least, here are some pics from the ultrasound!

This one is the whole baby from the back, you can see it's head, with it's arm up by it's face, and the body.

A beautiful little hand, with five clear fingers!

A little leg, or chicken wing LOL

Here's the little legs, and a bum - the baby's body is on the other side, you're looking directly at the bum!

And last, but not least.... our baby's profile! Looks like it's sucking it's thumb!

18 Weeks

The baby is now about 6 inches long from head to bum, and weighs about 7 ounces. If you watched you'd be able to see it's chest moving up and down, mimicking breathing, but all s/he's taking is amniotic fluid. Right around now (friday to be exact), an ultrasound is done to check for certain birth defects, check the placenta and umbilical cord, and determine whether the gestational age, and due date is correct. At this ultrasound, we may see the baby kick, flex, roll or even suck its thumb! We'll be able to get printouts of the pictures at this one :)

If the baby is a girl, the sex organs, uterus and fallopian tubes are in place. If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable. This, however, does not mean we'll be finding out the sex. I'll admit, we're wavering a little - we both WANT to know, but I'm on the fence, because I know it will be such a wonderful surprise when all is said and done, and Rob doesn't want to know, purely out of spite, because he wanted to know in the beginning, and I talked him out of it :) That being said, if we DO find out, you can pretty much guarantee, we won't be telling ANYONE. The only person that may hear is my dad, mostly because he's needed to repaint the baby's room a nice, dark Maple Leafs blue, should our little one be a boy :)

Another happy moment, last night while I was relaxing in the tub before prison break, reading my book, I felt 4 or 5 tiny punches on my lower belly! It was so distinct that I almost dropped my book in the water, reached to hold my belly, and waited. It didn't happen again, but I'm sure that Rob would have felt it this time, it wasn't a flutter, or a roll - it was a punch! I'm so excited now, I hope it means that now I'll be feeling our little one more often - and hopefully Rob will soon too!

17 Weeks

Our baby is now nearly 5.5 inches long from head to bum and weighs about 5 ounces. It's skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage that will harden later. The spinal cord is now being protected by myelin. The baby's heartbeat can be heard clearly with a doppler (like a microphone for my belly!), and it's the most reassuring sound in the world! Because of the growing baby, my uterus has expanded to the point where it may throw me off kilter a little bit - it's now clear that I'm pregnant by the baby bump!

The baby's movements are sporadic - some days I feel it a lot, and some days (like yesterday) I feel nothing. I'm not worried, I know it's common at this stage of the pregnancy. Rob's dying to feel our little one moving around! He's insisting that I'm hogging all the fun, but I know that the weeks will pass by quickly for him, and before he knows it, our baby will be pushing out to touch Rob's hands too.

It's officially Christmas season, despite the fact that most people like to wait until December 1st. I like to celebrate the season a little longer, and will probably be putting out my decorations and using my christmas dishes soon enough! And, with the Christmas season upon us, it's hard not to look down at my growing belly and consider what a blessing and joy it is to have this baby inside me, growing into a perfect little girl or boy.

More soon!

16 Weeks

Our baby is now about 5 inches long from head to bum, and weighs approximately 4 ounces. Comparable to an avocado. In the next couple weeks, our little one will go through an incredible growth spurt, doubling in weight and adding inches to it's length. Because babies love to play, our little wiggle worm may have already found it's umbilicle cord to grasp at and pull on. There will be times our strong little one will hold the cord so tightly, it will let less oxygen through (not to worry though, it won't hold on long enough to hurt himself). Right now, the circulatory system and urinary tract are in full working order - our wiggle worm is now breathing, taking in amniotic fluid through it's lungs!

I've felt some fluttering lately, and the occasional little nudge from our wiggle worm... it's reassuring to know I can feel our baby, stretching and growing and making a home in my belly. I feel terrible for Rob who just pats my stomach and pouts - he's dying to feel it too.

My next plan is to set up the nursery, if it kills me LOL I want to get the room painted, the closet cleaned and some shelving installed. This way, I can at least feel like I'm preparing for the arrival of our little one. Right now, I've got a beautiful green room, filled with painting supplies, that needs another coat on the walls....

I'll check back in soon!

15 Weeks

Although I may not notice it, my little one is frequently getting the hiccups! I've gained no weight up until now, which is perfect, based on my pre-pregnancy weight. The baby weighs only about 2.5oz, it's about 4 inches long now, from head to bum. It's legs are growing longer than it's arms, has fully formed fingernails, and is capable of moving it's limbs. If we wanted to find out the sex of the baby we may be able to now, as the external sex organs are developed at this point.

This is generally when the baby starts moving around, so I should be able to feel him or her soon! They say first time moms are generally later, because they don't know what the feeling is like, so you may mistake it for a rumbling stomach! I've felt a couple rumblings, but Rob insists that if you're not sure, it doesn't count!

At 15 weeks, we've only got another 25 to go. We're remarkably close to the half way point, which is really exciting! I can't wait to meet our little one and see if we've got a beautiful baby girl or boy! I'll be honest, i didn't want to know the sex - I KNOW I'll survive just preparing for baby. But that being said, I've booked my 19 week ultrasound, and I'm thinking maybe, just maybe I DO want to know.... It's very important to myself (and my birth plan) that we don't find out, as I want to have those first few moments after birth to be our surprise time. But man would I love to know if I'm going to have a son or daughter!

More to come later - I've got to shop for a Maternity jacket!

14 Weeks

From head to bum, our baby is about 3 and a half inches and will weigh about one and a half ounces. It's body is now growing faster than it's head (like Rob said, thank God they grow into their heads!) Our baby is now getting his or her first hair, whether it's black, brown, blonde or red.... curly or straight :) Our little one is also sprouting tiny little eyebrows! The baby can effectively grasp, squint, frown and grimace - even suck it's thumb!

And I'm very pleased to say, I'm officially not nauseas anymore (knock on wood!) It's been a couple days, and not a single ounce of it! I can finally enjoy my pregnancy, looking forward to every little milestone to come!

13 week ultrasound

We went, we saw - and the fetus stole our hearts!

I went in, and was INSTANTLY disappointed. The ultrasound place we went to didn't give pictures!!! I wanted to show our families - I wanted to stare at our baby day in and day out! I'll have to wait now until the 20 week U/S to get some pictures. Rob waited in the waiting room while I went in for the measurements etc. He thought he wouldn't be allowed to go in, and admitted after that he was incredibly bitter LOL

When the tech had finished the measurements, she asked if anyone came with me and then went to call Rob in. He came in the room with the BIGGEST smile on his face! I've honestly never seen him glowing the way he was when he came in the room. She then had me lie back again, turned the screen, and showed us our baby! It brought tears to our eyes!

For reference though you can google "13 Week ultrasound" and see what we saw. We saw a baby, just over 3 inches long from the head to the bum. We saw the strongest, most beautiful heartbeat that you couldn't look away from. We saw the hand, up by it's face, like it was waving at us.


We saw our hearts, on the screen of the ultrasound machine.

13 Weeks

The fetus (as Rob calls it) is now just about 3 inches long from crown to rump - it weighs nearly an ounce! You can compare this to about half a banana :) It has unique fingerprints, and when I poke at my belly, the baby will start rooting, as if it's looking for a nipple.

**Please don't be offended by our use of 'it', we love our baby, but aren't finding out the sex - and Fetus sounds a little too creepy for me LOL

Our ultrasound is on Friday, only 2 more sleeps until we get to see the little one swimming around! I can't wait, and I'm totally unsure if I should go full of water or apple juice - I already have to pee ALL the time, I don't want to be about to burst when I'm there... but I dont' want to risk having a hard time seeing our bean, because I didn't drink up. I think I'll suffer with a full bladder!

And the morning sickness is back in full force! I stopped taking the Diclectin (because I was out of pills, NOT because I'm a sucker for punishment!) And sure enough, once it was out of my system, I've been feeling like crap. Two days in a row now, I've had to pull over on the highway, and get sick - totally embarrasing! I'm sure the other motorists think I'm some drugged up psycho, at 6:30am!! Honestly, if I could NOT vomit, I wouldn't!!

Rob figures that the sicker I get, the healthier our baby - so I'm pretty sure he has no sympathy for me lol I keep reassuring myself there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I just really hope it's not a train!

Week 12...

Our baby weighs between 1/3 and 1/2 an ounce, the crown to rump length of the bean is about 2.5 inches. Our baby has almost doubled in the last three weeks!

So, this week (which we're almost through) has brought a lot of things, one of them being the end to the first trimester. We are officially in the second trimester (yay!). Now, I'm told that a lot of the symptoms of early pregnancy, like morning sickness, fatigue etc, fade away and the next three months are the best ones! I'll start to feel the baby move, I've already started showing (especially after I eat!! Rob calls it our food baby), Rob will start to feel the baby move... all kinds of wonderful things are in store for us in the next three months!

We have our first ultrasound on friday, and we're both so excited, we can't wait! I'll make sure to put up pictures, once we get them!

The first trimester

So we're ONE WEEK AWAY from the second trimester, and let me tell you how relieved I am!!

I've had my share of morning sickness, and yes it's terrible... like a month long flu! BUT that being said, I know that pregnancy is a miracle, and I couldn't be more happy that Rob and I have been blessed with it! I'm telling myself that the sicker I get, the healthier the baby is, because OBVIOUSLY my body is over producing hormones :D

We've booked our ultrasound for our IPS (Integrated Prenatal Screening) testing - IPS testing is a 2 part test, they take blood and do an U/S - it's a prenatal screen for neural tube defects like Spina Bifida and Downs Syndrome. We've been told by our doctor that the likelyhood that a young, healthy couple, with no family history of neural tube defects will screen positive is very small. But, the way I see it, it's a completely non-invasive procedure, and we get to see the baby! So, why not?!

Rob's been asking when we get to see pictures of the baby, so I think this will make the whole experience way more real for him. Up until now, all he's experienced is my whining about feeling tired, or sick! To see our baby on the U/S will be quite the experience for both of us!

To try and prepare, before I'm unable to move around as freely as I can now - we've bought the paint for the nursery! It's a beautiful minty green colour that we plan to add pink or blue to once the baby is born - yep, we're not finding out the sex!

Anyways, I'll try to be back to update you all on our progress, when there is some!

The good news!

Well, we're back from the honeymoon. Anyone will tell you that a vacation is never long enough, but in our case, it was just long enough to come home to a positive home pregnancy test!

We're having a baby!

Rob and I couldn't be more thrilled! Having kids early was something that was important to both of us, we want to be able to still play withour kids, and enjoy their childhood!

I will tell you, despite the fact that we wanted this, and despite the fact that we kind of expected it - it was still a shock to both of us! We now need to get used to the idea of baby making a family of 3.

I've got my first prenatal appointment tomorrow, so I'll be able to fill you in more after that, but it's looking like April 21st is the big day. All the future Grandparent's are happy for us, expecially "G-Diddy D" (my dad, affectionately named by Rob) who calls EVERY DAY to see how the baby's doing :)

Anyways, other than some fatigue, and slight all day sickness, baby and I are doing extremely well - we're both hoping you'll join us in this incredible journey we're about to take!

Thanks for all your love and support!

We did it!

So the day has come and gone. It's a sad realization for me, but I can see many more doors opening!

Our wedding was beautiful, the weather held out with SUN until we moved everyone inside! The ceremony was short, and incredibly heartfelt - we did a great job! I'm incredibly proud of the both of us, we were smiles the whole time!

The food was great, the DJ was excellent... the booze was free flowing lol

We danced all night, and ended us having to KICK PEOPLE OUT at the end! Who would have thought?!?!?!

Anyways, We'd love to see your pictures, add to our own album... and we'll post ours when we get them.

Keep your eyes on this blog though, you never know when we'll be turning it from "I married my best friend" to "Our baby arrives!" LOL

Cheers!

Finally!

Well, it's Tuesday July 15th.

We're getting married this weekend! Go ahead, ask me what you're dying to ask - am I nervous?

This question kills me, everytime I hear it! The answer is simply "no". Rob and I have been best friends for 8 years, we've loved eachother, and been there for eachother for 8 years! If I had any doubts about our relationship, I may be nervous - but I absolutely don't!

Shannon said something that made me think the other day, someone asked me the million dollar question, "Are you nervous?", and when I gave my reply, the person looked shocked! Shannon simply replied "Jenn is one of those rare people that still believe in true love".

And I do....



I do.

Pop goes the water....

10 Days to the wedding, tomorrow is single digits!

We have super exciting news, in addition to the impending wedding!

AMANDA IS IN LABOUR!!!!!

I'll hopefully have pics of our new little nephew when he's born, and I'll be sure to post them up!

****Teaser****

Shock and awe?

So, I was browsing through our wedding website, and came across some really awful things. Someone thinks it's appropriate to vent their anger on our wedding website.

I want that someone to know that it's mean, childish and only makes YOU look worse. Yes, I was shocked when I saw those things, but it's not bothering me, because I'm considering the source.


That being said, there's 17 days to the wedding! This is exciting as hell, and I won't let anything bring me down!

Only half??

Ok, so I'm NOT a bridezilla. I think of myself as fairly laid back, and yet I'm starting to lose it. Tomorrow is the reply date for the wedding.

Tomorrow.

I don't get it, how do people forget to reply to a wedding???? I mean, you get the invitation, it has a STAMPED self addressed envelope included to send the reply back in!!!!

So next week, I'll be calling all the invitee's that didn't find it necessary to reply, and find out if they're coming or not.

I really don't want to do this, it's a huge pain... can everyone PLEASE send the reply by tomorrow, if I get them by tuesday, I'd be GREATLY appreciative!

Oh, next month...

Yep, thats what I can say when people ask me when I'm getting married...

NEXT MONTH!

Tomorrow is our PDI for the house, then Friday we get the keys, so I'm going to be plenty busy! I can't wait! My sleep is somewhat restless, as we near W-Day, but I'm sure that once it's come and gone, I'll sleep just fine!

Maggie came home!

Ok, so I've named my dress Maggie.

I went for my final fitting last night, and as I had thought, she fit like a glove! I felt like a complete princess, and I can't wait to put it on again! Well, in all fairness, I packed her in the car, drove home and DID put her on again!

I'm having Madison in charge of my bustle, and she was practicing last night. It was a little more difficult than she thought, because it's a 6 point bustle - which is a lot of work!

Other than that, I'm busy! I had a bit of a meltdown last weekend, I haven't let the stress get to me, I've rolled with the punches, but it was like an avalanche - one thing after another came falling down on me, until I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Rob's been an angel, despite the fact that I don't always tell him that! When I tol dhim how overwhelmed I felt, he helped me calm down. He suggested to take a project off me, so I could do one thing at a time, and he assured me that we'll be fine. I think the saving grace here, is that I'm marrying the man of my dreams, regardless of whether I've finished the programs or not!

Also, we get our house in 1 week from today! In fact, the lawyer told us the keys will probably be available at around 3pm, so I'll be a home owner by this time next week! I have to admit, I've been shopping like a mad woman to get everything I think I'll need, and I can guarantee we won't have everything!

Until next time....

I guess it's the stress...

So I'm finally feeling run down. I knew it would happen eventually, I couldn't possibly be lucky enough to make it through closing the house and finalizing the wedding plans without feeling the pinch.

And with Rob working nights, I'm going it alone for the next 2 weeks. That being said, even though I'd like to have him here to help - it's free reign shopping for me LOL

Hopefully we'll have everything we need for the closing, and hopefully we can get ready without ripping our hair out!

2 Months!

Ok, I had NO creative title, but I'm pretty sure that I made my point! Today is 60 days to the wedding!!!

I can't believe how fast the time is flying by, we get our house in a couple weeks, i have my last dress fitting (hopefully) on thursday, my mom is picking up her dress today...

I'm also trying to get all the little things done - like assembling our programs, which will be a real treat for those of you attending the ceremony!

I have to admit, though, I'm finding it really difficult to focus! I've got so many things on my plate right now, that I can't pick one thing in particular to complete. The excitement of everything is starting to wear me thin and I'm so tired!

I did, however, manage to pop on to eBay to purchase myself something for the honeymoon! I'm really proud of this purchase! It's a handheld 'tripod' for your camera, so that you can take pictures of yourself AND the surroundings, instead of just your face! It has an extendable arm, and a mirror so you can see exactly what you're clicking away at. I figured, this way Rob and I can have some pics of us together on the trip, as opposed to just me, or just him. It IS our honeymoon after all!

DIY Night!

Well, with the majority of our paper stuff being finished, Rob and I (ok, just I) decided it was time to complete a couple things. The more we wait, the less time we have! So yesterday, Rob and I sat at the coffee table and finished up a couple things.

Our placecard holders are now ready to go, our favours are complete (finally!) and we're ready to start on the programs for the ceremony. I'm so excited for these programs! I designed them, with the help of my dad, and I can't stop reading them! Although, I already know whats on them by heart!

Another thing thats sneaking up on us is the house closing! It's hard to believe, but after a year and a half of waiting, we're 25 days away from being homeowners! It's incredibly exciting, and unbelievably surreal at the same time!

I'll check in and let you know how everything goes as we get closer!

Showers of Happiness and Love

My surprise wedding shower was on Sunday, and it was everything I could have hoped for! I got to my grandpa's building and saw far to many cars that I recognized, so I was fairly excited walking through the doors! There were 67 people in attendance, and every one of them was far too generous!

Rob and I needed 3 cars to bring home all our loot, and it's now taking up prime real estate in my basement until we move in 31 days!

Shannon really out did herself, with the help of course of my mom, Rob's mom and the bridal party. You ladies all deseve a huge round of applause, I've never had a happier day :)

Rob's stag was also Saturday night, and he tells me it was a huge bash (or bitchin' time, depending on the mood he's in!). Everyone really pitched in and helped, and it means a lot to the both of us!

If anyone has any pictures from either event, we'd love it if you could send them over! We'd like to post them on our website!

Thanks again, to everyone who came out an supported us! Now we're in the homestretch!

Getting there!

Well, it would seem as though we're in the homestretch!

We have just about 2 and a half months until the wedding, all the big things are out of the way and we're moving on to the details. Rob went in with my dad to get measured for his tux at Moores - they're going to look fantastic!

My dad's been reading "The Everything Father Of The Bride Book", which is highly entertaining since he's not much of a reader at all! I'm pretty sure the last book he read was Animal Farm a couple years ago - and that's only because I forced him!

He started his 'exercises' from the book and hugged me the other day, telling me just how proud of me he is - I could like this book!

Aside from this, we're getting to the nitty gritty details now. We've got the artwork for the place cards, menus and programs. Now we're preparing to put it all together. It's a lot more work than I had originally thought it would be. The invitations alone took me a solid week of working 4 hours a night. Now they're ready, I'll be heading to Rob's place so his mom can go over the list one last time. The invitations are going out tonight!

My mom went for her fittings for her dress yesterday, I called the dress store, and the lady on the phone told me that mom looked JUST GORGEOUS in her dress (as i expected she would) and the alterations will be done with plenty of time.

Which is good news, because I'm going for my first fitting in my dress tomorrow! I can't wait to put that baby back on, and feel like a real bride again! I'll also be buying my veil tomorrow, likely, then making an appointment for my hair trial so I can see if I prefer my tiara or the comb.

BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Milestones...

So, you wanna talk Milestone? Today we hit a BIG one! When Rob and I got engaged, we started our countdown at the high 700's (may have even been 800, probably closer to 800).. and today we have hit double digits!

We are officially 99 days to the wedding! Thats so weird, even though I can't wait for it to come, and I've been planning my buns off for SO long... 99 days still seems so far away! I've waited OVER 650 days to get here, a month shy of 2 years!!!

Everything is so far away, yet it's happening so fast! We get our house in a month and a half - totally unprepared by the way! I dont know what we NEED to do... I've called a couple places for home insurance - hoping BelAir direct is the cheapest. We're going in shortly to see BMO about our mortgage... we're locked in with TD and RBC at a great rate, but BMO is good to us, so we'll have to see how they are with the rates.

We've got most of our furniture, hoping that we'll get our bed, bath and kitchen stuff for the shower (or at least after the shower I can go and buy some things LOL)

Man, I'm so busy, but I feel like I've got nothing to do.....

On to the crunch!

It's like a circle... not a square or a triangle, but a circle...

Last big purchase... Done.

We bought our wedding bands! I've been pestering Rob to get up and go out to look for them, but he was less than enthusiastic! We went to a couple different places: Howards Jewelers, Spence Diamonds and Omni Jewelcrafters. We found a ring Rob loved at Howards, but when we went back to purchase it, it was sold and we didn't know the model number to re-order it. That will teach him to procrastinate! LOL

So off we go to Spence, where they had a gazillion wedding bands and engagement rings! We looked for the better part of an hour before deciding that they didn't have exactly what he was looking for.

The last stop was Omni, they were BUSY! We waited to have someone help us, and then picked our rings - mine is a 3/4 eternity band with round diamonds, his is a nice thick white gold band with 3 diamonds on the top.

We managed to get a great discount and left our deposit on the spot. We're expecting to have them in in a couple weeks!

I'm so excited, there's not a lot left to do, and time is running short - I've got to get Rob to sit down with me so we can finish our favours and favour boxes!

Fooled you....

Happy April Fools Day everyone!

Rob and I didn't prank each other this year, last year we hid his car... which was funny, but this year, I'll let it be. Madison was great last year - Saran wrap on the toilet, the bathtub stuck on shower among other things... Poor Shannon nearly peed on herself, and then got a startling freeze when she stepped in the tup expecting to have a bath, and was blasted by freezing cold water out of the shower head!

But all joking aside - Rob and I actually made a large dent in the wedding checklist this past weekend! Yay for us!

First off, Shannon and I went to dinner at Bon Vivant on Avenue Rd. to test out the rehearsal dinner meal. It was fantastic, and we left thinking all was well. So I proceeded to make our reservation for the Thursday before the wedding, for 20 odd people. One thing down!

Saturday, Rob and I drove to Barrie to the Moores on Bayfield to choose his tux style. The ONLY thing Rob's had to do by himself (and I was there) was make this decision... we sat there for an HOUR! He couldn't decide which jacket style, then was perplexed by the vests... the only thing he was sure of was the shoes... But we (i mean he..) managed to get through it fairly unscathed. The only thing now is that he has changed his mind on the vests, and wants to go in to ammend his decision. Oy.

We've also finished bottling our wine, and began labelling the bottles, decided against the big poofy tulle wrapping for a more subdued ribbon bow on the top. I think it looks great, and showcases our gorgeous labels that I designed myself!

Anyways, we've been putting off ring shopping because, well, rings cost money! But I've re-looked at the budget, and I'm fairly comfortable saying that we're ok ;) So Looks like we may head out ring shopping this weekend, although I'm SURE Rob will try and push it off a little longer!

But, until I've got more... thats all for now!

The good news!

It's getting closer and closer!!! We went on the weekend to bottle up some wine - we had a whole entourage with us! We did about 180 half sized bottles and 30 full sized bottles in the small time frame of 1 hour! Talk about quick! Then Rob and I took Maddy to a movie and relaxed the rest of the afternoon.

Mom's dress is in, she got the phone call the other day! We can't wait to go down and try it on again, yes, WE. LOL She's out searching for shoes now, she's found a pair she loves, so just has to go buy them.

Rob's going this weekend, because he has NO choice, to pick the style of his tux for the wedding. We're 3 and a half months away, and he has NO idea what he wants! On top of that, we've got to get our wedding rings.... man, it's going to be busy for the next little while!

But, on a HUGELY bright note..........

Shannon and Jacob got engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even express how excited this makes me! My little sister is getting married! Thank god too... I don't know what I would have done with myself after all the wedding planning LOL Now I can jump from mine, into hers LOL

Congrats guys!

www.ShannonandJacob.com

It's in... and it fits!

Well, the moment came and went.. my dress is in!!! I went my my mom and sisters and tried it on - felt like a total princess!

The dress is perfect, not a single thing about it I don't absolutely love about it! I put it on and immediatly felt like it was right, it was THE dress!

All I need to do is hem it a bit, put a bustle on, and we're good to go! It's incredibly weird to think that in 4 months and a couple days, I get to wear my dress! Well, I get to wear it before then, I have a fitting on May 1st, but I get to WEAR it wear it in 2 months!

Side note, Rob's stag is May 3rd, anyone interested can contact Dennis, Jake or Shannon for tickets!

dennis@jsrepro.com
shannon@fasteninghouse.com

Heading into Spring...

It's March, and although Spring should be on it's way, we're still plagued with some awful weather! The more it snows, the less I can persuade myself to actually get up and do something wedding related! I stopped in at the wine place on the weekend, found some pretty cool stuff I'd like to incorporate somehow, went up to see the house and noticed that the lights are all functioning now - that's right, they've finally brought electricity up to Barrie!

Other than that, we're mostly counting the days - 138 to be exact. Only 138 days to do everything that needs to be done! And man does it ever take a long time to do some of these things! I couldn't imagine being any closer to the wedding and not at least knowing how long a DIY project takes. I've got a surprise for you snacky types out there, and let me tell you - of the 200 I plan on having done, I've got about 150, and it takes for EVER to complete them. I'd say about a half hour or so to get 10!

On top of that, I'm preparing invitations, I've got to put them all together and get them ready for mailing, you'd think the invitation companies would do that for you, but oh, no... they don't.

Plus the maps, labels, programs, menus... I never thought this day would come, where I felt overwhelmed with things to do... but alas, welcome to the wedding planning funk!

Catching up

I promise I'll write more, I'm just incredibly busy with us getting so close to the wedding and house!

Stay tuned!

V-day is approaching...

Happy February everyone!
My lord how time is flying! My mom and I went out on Saturday to go dress stalking, with no intent on actually buying a dress. And wouldn't you know it, the most perfect dress basically jumped into the change room with her... so she bought it ;)

On the weekend, Rob, Madison and I went up to Barrie to start getting our favours prepared, and all is well! I can't wait to get the call that they're ready for us to come and package! Rob's mom has been looking around for nice organza bags to wrap them up in, I'm sure she'll find something fantastic!

We also had our menu tasting last week - don't think I've told you all about that yet. Everything went fairly well, there were a few changed to the overall menu, but I guarantee you'll all be very pleasantly stuffed by the time the dinner is over. I'll give you a quick tip - don't fill up on the antipasto and pasta, no matter HOW excellent it tastes! There are still 2 courses after that that will tickle your tastebuds!

One more week down, 22 weeks to go!

You like me, you really like me!

So, I've recently discovered that I've got some Blog followers! You know who you are, making requests for new pictures and regular updates...

It's really nice to know that there are people interested in all this nonsense I come here to write. Makes me feel like I'm not alone in this giant world of ours!

So we've made some advances in the world of the wedding.... the Bridesmaid's dresses are in, I'm not sure if I've posted about this yet, but I am now - and that's what counts!

AND our invitations have been ordered, received and we're starting to put them together! I even thought about the details, I went to Michaels with Rob and bought a couple of 'sage' gelly pens, this way, the addresses on the front will match the printing on the inside! I know, I'm neurotic, no-one really notices these things, but it helps me sleep at night!

Also, you are all in for a treat - literally! We've decided on a tasty alternative to the midnight sweet table that we're sure you'll all love!

Coming soon - we have our menu tasting next week, so we'll be able to update the website with the proper menu!

Another one bites the dust....

Well colour me surprised.... our limo company has gone belly up, taking our deposit with them!

So now, Rob and I have to find a new limo company, 6 months to the wedding, on one of the more popular days of the summer...

THANKFULLY we found out from another bride that is using their company, as they didn't call to notify us or anything! Can you imagine the fire I'd be breathing if I was standing around waiting for my limo on the day of my wedding!??!?!

So, now I'm faced with a new task, which I'm sure won't be TOO hard, when I found out, i panicked and emailed every limo company in the GTA, Durham and Simcoe - one of them is bound to be available, and in our price range!

Ever feel like the whole world was going to a party, and your invitation got lost in the mail?

Last night, Rob and I sat down and we flipped and flipped and flipped through the wedding invitation books my mom orders from.

Wouldn't you know it, my taste is SO different from Rob's. I wanted something simple, elegant and classy. Rob wanted all those things too, but just, different.

We finally ended up deciding on an invitation we both loved. We got the wording down and everything! We even have an RSVP date, for those of you who are generally tardy - June 20th.

It's really incredible how real this makes everything! I mean, any number of contracts can be drawn up, but when an invitation is ordered, you mean business!

I really can't wait to get them in so that we can start addressing them :D

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

This year is poised to bring nothing but goodness, I can feel it! We're less than 200 days to the wedding, which is probably already the most exciting thing this year LOL

We have the first wedding of the year, Mel and Larry, on January 19th. This day is especially special because it marks the 6 month countdown for Rob and I - huge deal!

I find that since we got engaged, we went on wedding meltdown for the first year. Finished almost everything we could, planned EVERYTHING we could think of LOL then we took almost a year off of the heavy planning. We did little things here and there, but I was able to clear my mind occasionally and think of things other than wedding. Now, we've entered 2008, the year of our wedding... time's ticking!

All the things we put off because it was too early are now going to come crashing down on us! We've got the guestlist we need to finalize, menu tasting so we can finalize it, invitations we've got to choose, dress fittings, rings, tuxes, favours to prepare, rehearsals to plan.... the list has once again become never ending.

I'm thinking about enlisting my sisters to help with some of it... like the rehearsal, maybe they can do that.

Anyways... Happy New Year to you all!