A visit with Camilla!

Ken, Lilli, Camilla, Ron, Jacen and I all headed over to D & G & M's place today for a small get-together. They had wanted to meet Jacen so we all got together. I hadn't seen Camilla since she was just 3 months old and look at her now! Almost walking and so interactive...it really does go by quickly. She enjoyed playing with Marley and Jacen (well, looking at him at least since he doesn't do much). Thanks for hosting D&G... as always, it was fun!

Merry Christmas!

All I Want for Christmas is...

my 1 front tooth! :)

Melia helped babysit Jacen today while I did more Christmas shopping. When I got back, apparently, Jacen pee'd on her during a diaper change!! hahha "I think it went in my mouth Tita!!" She wasn't very pleased with him and was very upset (but I thought it was hilarious!). I had to console her and explain to her that it was an accident and that he's just a baby and that he didn't do it on purpose. (all the while I was laughing inside... it was hard to keep my laughter in). :P

Using the baby carrier!

So I finally figured out how to use my Ergo Baby carrier with Infant insert over the weekend. I can't believe I didn't figure out how to use that thing earlier! It's GREAT!

My arms always got so tired from carrying him as he's had quite a few nights where he's been so fussy! Now, I can put him in the carrier and my hands are free to do stuff (as I sit here and write this blog he's sleeping in the carrier).

What an amazing invention!! :)

Starting my Christmas shopping!

My parents and brother came by today which gave me the opportunity to start my Christmas shopping while my parents babysat! Whoohoo!

I didn't go too far, as I only left one bottle of milk with them. My brother and I headed over to Winners/Homesense which is right by me. I love that place.... so much stuff to look through, I was actually exhausted by the end of it!

The result - I was able to buy 7 presents! That's a start! :)

First night out without baby!

Tonight was Ron's work Christmas party. At first, he didn't think that we would be able to make it, as our baby is only 3 weeks old afterall... but I've been so cooped up at home for the last little while since it's so freakin' cold outside that I felt I needed a night out. So off we went!

With 3 bottles of breast milk in the fridge, my sister and niece came over to babysit for us while we headed out for a few hours. We arrived at Copper Creek Golf Club a little bit late as we had a bit of car trouble. The minute we got there, we headed to the bar as I hadn't had any alcohol in a looooong time! A glass of white wine for me tasted sooo good!

Ron's been with his company for 4 years, so this is our 4th year attending their holiday party. They take photos for us to take home every year (shown below). It's funny, because the first year - we were just 'dating'... then we were 'engaged', then we were 'married'... and this year, we have a 'baby'. His co-workers have been through it all with us, and it's nice to always be congratulated on something every year! The best comment of the evening was when one of the wives had asked me when I had the baby. "3 weeks ago?" (looks me up and down) "Wow, you look GREAT!" :)

Cravings!

It's funny because during my entire pregnancy, I don't really think I had any huge cravings. Come to think of it... I had more cravings for food before I was pregnant than when I was actually preggo! Now that I'm almost 3 weeks into being back to myself... I'm finding my cravings are back!

I was watching the Food Network today, and EVERYTHING they made I wanted to eat! I couldn't believe it... everything! It looked so good and all I could think of was tasting and trying it all out! mmmmmmmmmm........

Alone Time!

One of the things I have found really hard with having a newborn is getting some 'alone time'! Time for myself was one of the things I guess I took for granted.

Or if I wanted to go somewhere and check something out, I was always able to just 'fly by the seat of my pants'. Just going to the bank to get some $$ seems like a challenge these days.

The last two Saturdays, however, I've been able to leave Ron alone with Jacen while I went out! I've managed to go grocery shopping, run some errands, and just this morning I had time to get my massage. Thanks Ron!

First day alone...

After a week and a half, Ron went back to work today. I was filled with mixed emotions: sadness, nervousness, anxiousness... We worked as a team this whole time, and I was unsure of how I was going to be able to do it all myself.

Just my luck, my sister called and ended up coming over around noon today. She showed me how to give him a bath, and then she watched him while I took my own shower. Whew! Ok, so I wasn't totally alone today. I guess we'll see how tomorrow goes!! Eeek!

Photo of Jacen Jordan below right after giving him a bath. Like the T-shirt?? That's what happens when his dad leaves me alone with him. :)

Looking back...

It's hard to believe we've known each other for so long! Ron and I had to take Jacen to the doctor downtown, so we stopped by D+G's place for a short visit, and so they could meet our new addition. Suze was there as well, which gave us an opportunity for a group photo! Marley at 11 weeks, Sullivan at 7 weeks, and Jacen Jordan at only one week! He's got a lot of catching up to do!

The funniest part of the night was when we were taking our group photos, Diana noticed something on the couch and picked it up. "What IS this??" as she examined it more closely.

It turns out, my baby's umbilical cord stump fell off and Di picked it up!! She was so grossed out, but I thought it was hilarious!! haha

Birth Story...

Since there have been some inquiries regarding the birth story, I decided to post it on this blog rather than the baby blog (it might be too much information for Ron's side of the family). ;)

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It started on Wednesday evening - Nov. 24, 11:30pm. I felt a small pain around my pelvic area, but thought it was just something I ate. Ron and I went to bed and then around 1am, the feeling suddenly became a cramping feeling that came every 10-15 minutes or so. I had downloaded an application for my ipod-Touch to time contractions, so I thought I’d try it out!

Around 3am, I felt wetness on the pad that I had put on that night (just in case!). It was enough to fill the pad, but everyone told me it would be a LOT, so I didn’t think anything of it (plus we had gone to the hospital a few days before because I thought my water broke, but it was a false alarm so I didn’t want to make that same mistake). I did, however, notice the next time I went to the bathroom that my mucus plug had come out.

At 5:30am, the pain was getting more consistent and a lot more intense. The pain was tolerable, but I decided to finally go and get it checked out. They HAD to be contractions! I woke Ron up and told him that we should go to the hospital. I wanted to get there before rush hour hit, so we took our time getting ready to go.

We arrived at Sunnybrook hospital around 7am in the Triage unit. They put monitors on me, and the resident doctor and nurse checked out my cervix. It turns out, I was already 4cm dilated! They said that’s considered ‘active labour’ and that they would need to admit me. This was IT!

We got admitted to our room around 8am and met our nurse and doctor. They hooked me up to the monitors as each time I had a contraction, the baby’s heartbeat would go down. By 11am, however, they found my contractions were getting further apart and almost had come to a complete stop. They wanted to pump Oxytocin in me to get my contractions going again. I agreed to it, and then they asked me if I wanted to get the epidural. They said that if I wanted the epidural, it was best to get it before they put the Oxytocin in me, as it might be harder to do after. I agreed even though my pain was tolerable at the moment, they said it would get much worse!

Here’s where my only complication came – the epidurals! In total, I had to get THREE done on me (all while I was having contractions)! The first one was done, and then they put the Oxytocin in me. I could still feel the contractions!! The anesthesiologist was called again, and she had to redo it. At her second attempt, she decided that she couldn’t do it, and that she would call the ‘specialist’ to do it. So another person came and finally, the epidural was working. Let me tell you how HARD it was to hold still when you’re having a freaking contraction!!!!

Ahhhh drugs! I was able to sleep through my contractions at this point, so I just slept until they checked my cervix again, and I was at 6cm! By 7pm, I was fully dilated. At 8pm, it was time to push!! The nurse had asked me if I wanted to see… I said SURE! I wanted to know what all this pushing was for! So she brought in a mirror, and I could totally see the head coming out each time I pushed. It was a great visual for me to see the progress of it all! Ron held one leg, while the nurse held the other leg. They were very good at helping me with the motivation to push!

At 9:04pm, I did one last push and saw my entire baby come out!! It was the most amazing thing… I started crying (probably because I didn’t need to push anymore!). :P

They put baby on my chest, and the doctor, resident doctor and nurse did the rest of their duties – getting the placenta out, checking the placenta, and then checking me out for any rips so they could do stitches. “I don’t see any rips Sally. That’s amazing! I haven’t seen that in years. You did great!”

After bonding with baby, they finally took him from me to check him out and do measurements. And that folks, is how baby Jacen Jordan came into this world!

New phone, new plan!

I picked up my new phone today - the LG Shine Plus! I picked this one because I added unlimited text messaging to my plan, and I wanted a really good keyboard to be able to text a lot easier than what I currently had. So feel free to text me anytime now!!

I'm glad I was able to get this before baby's appearance! Now I can let you all know when baby arrives via TEXT!! Coming to a phone near you! :)

An attempt to go Christmas shopping...

Diana, Marley and I decided to try and do some Christmas shopping today. We figured, we're both on maternity leave and shopping during the day would be the easiest. So I headed downtown to meet her at the Eaton Centre.

Boy were we wrong! The place was PACKED!! With my huge belly, and Di carrying Marley in her carrier - we were both too hot and uncomfortable to move around the crowded mall. So we headed to Milestones at Dundas Square for a really late lunch instead! So much nicer to just sit down and enjoy some good food - we shared THE Cookie which I was totally craving after our meals.... mmmmm!

After that, I walked over to my massage therapist to get a massage where I then met Quel. We had Japanese for dinner, and then we walked over to Marché for dessert - waffle with ice cream, strawberries, bananas topped with chocolate sauce.... mmmmm!!! With all the walking and eating today, I was pooped when I got home!!

Marley and Me!

Marley bonding with her buddy in my belly. I think she was telling him all about the labour and delivery through her eyes! :)

Maternity Leave - DAY 1

What's a girl to do while on maternity leave?? Today was my first official day, and I had made a list of things to do before baby comes.

I couldn't get everything on my list done, but it was a productive yet relaxing day:

finished packing hospital bag

washed a bunch of baby clothes, blankets, towels

put all crib bedding on the crib

applied for Maternity/EI benefits

took a short nap

ran errands: went to the bank, Babies R Us, Dearborn Baby, No Frills

got a massage!

What should I do tomorrow?? :)

Last day of work!

Today was my last day of work - and am now officially on maternity leave! For lunch, my sisters and Joy took me to Café Maxim where Ron was able to join us! It was yummy!

When I got back to work, my co-workers threw me a small party filled with desserts and gift for baby: a gift card for the Bay, a knitted blanket, small outfit and hat. It was very nice of all of them considering I was only there for a short period of time.

Now that I'm on maternity leave, I have a ton of things to do before baby comes. First stop tonight after work was to go to Costco - we stocked up on stuff since I don't plan on going out shopping once baby arrives!

Avocado milkshake!

I was craving an avocado milkshake today. We normally get it when we go to a Vietnamese restaurant for Pho but we always eat in, so I never see how they actually make it. I was determined to find out so that I could try to make it at home.

I ordered take-out today, and since I had to wait for my order... the woman made the milkshake right in front of me. So easy! All she put in were: avocados, sugar, condensed milk, and ice cubes! Blend together and you're done! Now I'll have to try it!

A baby boy for Mark & Lesley!

Congratulations to Mark & Lesley on the arrival of their baby boy!! I haven't seen the little one yet, but Mark's status on Facebook said: 27hrs of labour, and a csection. Welcome our 7lb 10oz baby boy. Mom and baby are recovering. Name to come.

Mark and Lesley are the ones that helped me find my OB! We actually have the same one, and our due dates are only 3 weeks apart from one another. The photo below is from when we both had our first tour of the new maternity wing at Sunnybrook hospital, and the other is from Mark's Facebook post of their new baby!! Congratulations!! Our boys can play squash together!! (and if history repeats itself, my boy will always beat yours! Challenge!) hahaha :)

Out and about...

My Saturday started off with having breakfast at George Street Diner with Quel. We then headed over for our clinic appointments (a much needed one since my therapist was away for 3 weeks!).

I then had to meet Diana for our haircut appointment, but had time to kill so I decided to walk to the salon (it took me approx. 20 minutes in waddle-walking mode). After our haircuts, we walked back to my car and headed to the grocery store to pick up a few items, and then we had our Infant CPR course at her house. Freddie and his wife joined us, as well as Di's cousin and wife. It was very interesting! We learned how to perform CPR on babies, children and adults.... I officially have a card that certifies me to perform it... let's just hope I never have to use it!!

Happy Birthday to my CRV!

Today's my Honda CRV's 3rd birthday! Why is this 3-year birthday so special? It's also the day we officially own it! Whoohoo! :)

Happy Birthday!!

Raptors First Win!

I had a craving for Bar Italia's chicken sandwich today, so I met Quel there after work for dinner. We shared the mushroom salad, chicken sandwich, roasted chicken pasta, a couple of martini's (ok, mine was virgin), and then to end the meal... we had the chocolate truffle cake with lattés!

After dinner, we met up with Ron and my brother at the ACC for the Raptors 2nd game of the season! Quel had never been to a Raptor game before and whaddaya know it.... they won! We even got free pizza out of it with the score being 101 Raptors - 81 Cavaliers. Thanks for the tickets Ron! :)

Baby's got more clothes than ME!

Ron and I had another baby shower today... this time, it was Ron's side of the family (photos can be seen on our baby blog). With our families being so big, we had to split them up! Otherwise, it would be like our wedding all over again.

The one gift we had to mention was from his cousin Dexter and family. They now have a 4-month old son, who's so big and has completely outgrown all his clothes. He had emailed us prior to the shower and asked us if we wanted his 'not worn & gently used clothes'... and being a 3rd daughter ... I totally grew up on hand-me-downs... of course we'll take it!!

What we didn't expect, was that we would receive a full baby tub of it!! It was packed so nicely in a baby bath tub, and when we took out each item, here's the inventory of stuff that was in there:

• 4 pairs of shoes
• 13 pairs of pants
  
• 2 sweaters
• 30 onesies
• 3 T-shirts
• 3 full outfits
• 1 pair of overalls
• 1 vest
• a package and a half of newborn diapers that Max outgrew!
  

This wasn't even their gift! I couldn't believe it! Thanks so much to Dex and family for supplying our baby's entire wardrobe!

Bonus gift!

Apparently, my sister's student lied to me yesterday. There was ONE more bonus gift today from sista Sarah: a Watch Me Grow Height Chart... which I never even would have thought to get! Thanks sis!

It will go in baby room nicely! :)

Family's back home and all had a great time. I spoke to my dad earlier who loved Vegas and L.A. My parents have only ever travelled to the Philippines, so this was their first trip to the West Coast!

Final and last gift from sista Sarah!

Ok, last gift was today, as the student that delivered it reassured me it was! There were 2 packages this time though.. yay!

The first package was a scrapbook for baby. The second package was a set of three Winnie-the-Pooh onesies for the baby, along with more chocolate covered pretzels!! I was actually with her when she bought the onesies months ago... I thought they were so cute! She had said she was buying them for a shower she was going to - I guess not!

My whole family comes back from their trip tomorrow - I made it through the week without them.

Thanks for making it easier on me this week sis!

Today's gift from sister Sarah!

A onesie from Carter's that reads: Mommy's New Man! How cute... it came with some chocolate covered pretzels! :)

I could totally get used to this. Had I known.. I would have told them to stay longer!! hehe

And then there was ONE!

Susie gave birth to a little baby boy today! His name is Sullivan and he weighed in at 7lbs, 2oz. He's a 10-10-10 baby!! Congrats Sue & Josh!

As long as Sue hadn't given birth yet, I knew I still had time. But now that she has.... you know what THAT means!! I'm up at bat next!! YIKES!!!!

I find myself getting nervous each day. We still have lots to do, and I still need to mentally prepare and read up on labour and delivery (I've been avoiding it).

Prenatal classes start next weekend for us, so I'm hoping it will help ease us into this new life we're about to embark on.... (deep breaths).

Another great day!

My Saturday morning started off with meeting Quel for breakfast at Sunset Grill. We got all caught up, and then we both headed over to our clinic appointments for massages and adjustments. After that, I headed over to visit with Di, G and Marley! Marley's definitely gotten bigger in the last week since I saw her last - and is looking more and more like G's mom!! (but with your Korean eyes Di).

Di and I headed out to Queen street for a bit to enjoy the warm weather and had brunch/lunch at Toast Restaurant. I'd never been here before, and I would definitely go back. It's a cute place (reminded me of a resto in Montreal I used to go to).... Di ordered the French toast filled with cranberry cream cheese, and I had the Club Toast sandwich (turkey with lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, avocado on challah toast)... both were sooooo GOOOOOD!! YUM!
We also stopped off at a bakery nearby where Di raved about their chocolate croissants. I ended up buying 2 and brought it home for me and the hubby. BTW - I ended up eating both of them... yes, they were THAT good! And baby went crazy in my tummy after too... he must have enjoyed the yummy goodness as well! :)

A great Friday!

Besides the beautiful weather we received today (after all that depressing rain all week), I went out for lunch to meet up with Mylene! She's my dental hygienist/squash buddy and I actually hadn't seen her in a while. She wanted to meet up with me to see me preggo, as the last time I saw her I had just announced it and wasn't showing yet.

We went to Ginza Sushi, and got all caught up! She said I looked great by the way and NOT at all THAT big! :P

She also had a gift for the baby that she gave me - baby clothes, cloths, bottle, toy, towel...oh, and of course, a toothbrush for me to use... it was awesome! We finished lunch and then I had to get back to work.

At work, to my surprise... Joy came to my office and gave me another package from my sister Sarah! How sweet... I can get used to this!! Today's surprise gift was for the baby - a onesie outfit that says "100% Guapo" (which means handsome in Tagalog).

What a good day! AND, because it's a Friday before a long weekend, everyone at work gets off work early! Whoohoo!

Feeling guilty...

So today at work, one of my sister's students came to my area and had a package to give me. It was wrapped up with "To: Sally October 7, 2010" on it. It was a gift from my sister Sarah!! I guess she feels bad that I got left behind from the family trip! I thought that was SO NICE of her! What a thoughtful gesture!!

My next thought: do I get a gift EVERY day?? :)
I opened it up and it was a box of my favourite chocolates (which I haven't had since I had my braces!!): Toffifee!!! mmmmmm... thanks sis!

Leaving for Las Vegas... without ME!

My entire family is leaving me today. We had bought my parents a trip to Las Vegas for their 40th anniversary months ago, and since then... it has become a full family trip! My sisters, my brother, their husbands, all the kids and my cousin Lorna are now going with them! They're even going to do a side trip to L.A. to visit my cousins there.

It's the first family trip that we've planned, and unfortunately, the minute I found out I was pregnant, I knew I couldn't join them. :(

Let's just hope I don't give birth this week!!! :P

A daytrip to Buffalo!

With Ron being off for all his Jewish holidays, I decided to take a day off as well. He took a day away from his studies, and we both headed to Buffalo for the day! What a beautiful day to go... it was so hot out! AND, no lines at the border but most importantly, no line at The Cheesecake Factory! :)

We arrived in Buffalo around lunchtime, and headed straight to the restaurant. It was the first time we didn't have to wait for a table (now we know when to go!). I had the Saigon Chicken sandwich with a salad, and made sure to make room to try a cheesecake for dessert (I like to try a new one each time I go there). This time, I tried the White Chocolate Macadamian Caramel Nut cheesecake.... sooooo good! And since Ron's lactose intolerant, guess who had most of it?

This trip to Buffalo was mainly to get some baby items. We headed to Babies R Us first, where I finally got the crib bedding set I had wanted (shown below). It was $20 less than when I first saw it because the design is now discontinued, AND they took an extra 25% off! Whoohoo! Next up was Target, where we ended up buying a Glider and Ottoman (shown below). I was exhausted by the end of the day, but we managed to get a lot of good things, so all in all a good trip!

Visiting Marley...

Since my OB appointments are at every 2 weeks now, I get a chance to visit Marley more often! I brought dinner after my appointment from Sukho Thai, a place my downtown friends recommend... and it was GOOOOOOD! Definitely will go back there. Marley was sleeping during most of my visit, but she managed to wake up for a feeding just before I left. Look, she gave me the 'finger' while she was eating... maybe she doesn't like to be stared at while she eats! hehe

A new potato chip flavour...

For those that know me... I looooove potato chips! It's always been my favourite snack and one of the things I love to do is try out all the different and new flavours that come out. When I go to the U.S., it's a MUST for me to check out their potato chip aisle just to see if they have anything that we don't! Sometimes I get lucky with a new flavour... other times, not so much.

The other day, there was a guy in the elevator with me with grocery bags in his hands. In one of these bags, there was a potato chip bag sticking out that I couldn't help but notice: Miss Vickie's Balsamic Vinegar & Sweet Onion flavoured chips! It got me a bit excited... that sounded good! I was determined to try it. I finally got my hands on it today, and I have to say... it's pretty good! Definitely would buy it again!! :)

This is Murray...

This is Murray the dog. When he was a young puppy, he ate one of my winter boots. Ever since then, he's held a special place in my heart (one that confirms I don't want a dog) haha! He belongs to my old co-worker Renée. I met up with my old TPG crew for dinner tonight at St.Louis Wings! Renée, Pat and Nicole were already there and we started the catching up right away!

Renée wanted to give me this photo of Murray (he's now 11 years old), as I had always admired it at her house. Nicole came bearing Today's Parent magazines for me. The actual magazines I used to work on! It's so weird - all those years working on those pregnancy and newborn magazines, and not ONCE did I read them. I always thought some of those photos in there were gross!

It was good to catch up with the girls. I guess this may be the last time I see them before I pop out... which they all reminded me. Thanks ladies!

Introducing Marley Claire!

Ron and I headed to the hospital after work today to meet little miss Marley Claire! What a sweetie! Born just yesterday at 10:57pm, she came out at 7lbs 3oz. Diana and baby are doing well... and I even managed to get through all her horror stories of labour and delivery. I'm officially scared! :S

I have about 2 months (10 weeks!), and trust me.... I need every bit of it to prepare for THAT! After visiting with the new family, Mel, Norm, Ron and I decided to head out to Wah-Sing for dinner! Mmm Mmmm GOOD! It totally hit the spot. Welcome to the world Marley! :)

Congratulations Sam & Cheryl!

After coming home late from the night before, Ron and I had to wake up early to head out to Sam & Cheryl's special day! It was a beautiful ceremony held at Oakview Terrace (I would recommend this place). I have never seen a groom cry so much more than the bride at a wedding that the minister even announced them as Mr. Cheryl and Mrs. Sam Tsang at the end! It was hilarious!! (I thought it was sweet, but did he get slack for it after - mainly from Ron calling him 'Sobbing Sammy' for the rest of the day! oh boy).

The dinner reception at New Century Restaurant was plentiful with 12 courses in total... we were eating until 11:00 at night:

Roasted suckling pig plate
Deep fried stuffed crab claws
Stir fried sliced prawns and scallops with greens
Braised conpoy abalone with chicken soup
Braised whole conpoy with garlic and greens
Deep fried crispy whole chicken
Stir fried lobsters with ginger and spring onion
Steam live twin fish
Fried rice with shrimp and chicken
Braised E-fu noodles with greens
Sweet red bean cream with lotus seed
Fancy cookies

They had played some games during dinner, and the one I hadn't seen before was blindfolding the bride and having her touch a line of men's butts to see if she could recognize her own groom's butt! Had I known THAT was the game, I wouldn't have volunteered Ron for it! It was funny though because the minute it was Ron's turn, he started whining and grinding down to the music that before she could put her hands on his butt, she said 'NO, that's not him!' haha!

When it came to the groom's turn, he had to feel the line of women's legs to see if he could figure out which one his bride was! Good thing I didn't volunteer for that one (my leg was a bit stubbly and is a bit swollen from the pregnancy... hehe)!!

Again, another fun night, and I managed to stay up past midnight once more!! :) Congratulations Sam & Cheryl!

Congratulations Roxanne & Danny!

We headed out to The Embassy Grand tonight to congratulate Roxanne and Danny on their nuptials! Roxanne looked beautiful and I was so happy to see her on her special day. She comes close to the little sister I never had, and I was so proud of her! We feasted on Indian and Filipino buffet all night, and the one thing I noticed at the end of the night is that the Indian food definitely stays with you! I was burping that butter chicken all night long baby! haha

Roxanne sang at the church ceremony at our wedding, as well as our first dance song... and I was happy to hear her sing tonight to her husband (she almost made me cry). It was a mash-up of 'When I See You Smile' and 'I Believe in You and Me'. Check out the video below (I missed the first half, as I thought I pressed the 'record' button but realized halfway through that I didn't!! oops... I blame baby brain for that):

It was also great to see Jeff, Jen & their little Jasmine there as well... who are expecting their second child in October! Jen gave me a baby body check as she came to say goodbye at the end of the evening, which took me by surprise! The evening was full of fun and dancing! I even managed to stay up past midnight and get out on the dance floor and do some dance moves!

Congratulations Roxanne & Danny!

Meeting Baby Dylan...

Ron and I headed out to Moxie's by the airport tonight to meet his 'Rye Crew' friends for dinner. Nancy, her husband Satchin, and their new baby boy Dylan was in town from Boston so we all got together to meet the little cutie! He was adorable! The first baby I've seen to instinctively suck his thumb on his own to quiet himself.. it was so cute!

Let's go to the EX!

I had to head downtown today, so my sister asked if I'd like to take my nephews to the EX! I actually wanted to check it out (well, more like eat all the food!).. so I decided to take them there for dinner! Of course, all they wanted to do was play all the games! We played some games, and then it was my turn to eat!! Pizza on a stick? Chicken wings and fries? Funnel cake? Tiny Tom donuts... the choices were endless! I have to admit, I was tired after 2 hours of walking... thank goodness the kids were tired too!

Going away and a baptism...

Ron's only nephew Graham is off to university next weekend. Before he leaves, Rose threw him a small going-away BBQ. It's hard to believe he's finally leaving the nest, and I can tell that Rose is emotional about him leaving. We had lunch together at their house, and then we were off to church for Max's baptism.

Ron was the godfather for Dexter and Cathy's son and we were late heading out to Milton after the BBQ. He made it just in time before all the babies, their parents and godparents had to head down the aisle of the church to sit out front by the alter. After the church, we headed to the reception and ate again. We told Dex about our baby boy news, and he's excited to have a cousin for Max to play with! :)

Fan Expo!

Ron, Matthew, Justin and I all headed out to Fan Expo today! We bumped into some of my old GCM friends, but most importantly, we got to see Saadia and celebrity Raju!! :)

While everyone wanted photos and autographs with Raju (that's him signing a Macbook!), I decided to take a photo with his lovely wife instead! It was fun for the kids and Ron, but it was a LOT of walking around for me. My feet hurt by the end of the day, and I was exhausted! After Fan Expo, I dropped Ron off for his bachelor party he had to go to and I took my nephews to Wasabi for dinner! I was completely stuffed and exhausted at the same time that my bed was calling me by the time I got home!

Who's the BIGGEST?

Here's a hint: One is due in September, another is due in October, and the other is due in November. Yet funny enough, we all look to be the SAME size!! How can that be?!?!?

I had dinner tonight with the preggos: Diana and Susie at Chimichangas! It was an interesting conversation of comparisons... and a lot of the topic covered was not meant to be dinner conversation, I have to say. We shared steak fajitas, salsa, guacamole and chips... and fried bananas with ice cream for dessert! After dinner we all went for a walk around the block in the Yonge/Eglinton area just to walk off all that food!

Thanks for the company ladies! This may be the last time I see Di before she pops out! eeeeek!! :)

Ron's birthday weekend!

Ron's birthday weekend started on Friday night.... when we headed over to his parents place for dinner. They had made a feast for the occasion, and invited Ron's sister and family as well. It was also the same night that Ron and I decided to announce the sex of our baby! We found out last week what we were expecting, and we wanted to tell Ron's family in person... IT'S A BOY!! :)

At first, Ron decided to play a joke on his family and had told them we were having a baby girl. You should have seen the look on their faces... totally quiet and disappointed. If we were really having a baby girl, I probably would have cried based on that reaction. After a while, however, Ron finally told them the truth, and they were ECSTATIC!

Saturday morning, Ron and I headed out of town and into Buffalo. We went shopping and looked for some baby items while we were there. I finally got a chance to park in the 'Expectant Moms' parking spot!! whoohooo! We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (of course!), where we left with our stomachs filled to the max! We spent the night in Buffalo and shopped some more on Sunday, and then had a late lunch at the Olive Garden before heading back to the T dot.

Happy 36th Birthday Ron! This is an exciting year for you: the year when you'll finally be done school, the year you'll get your motorcycle (but life insurance first!!!)...but most importantly, it's the year you'll become a father!! :)

Fam Jam!

August is always full of celebrations with 7 birthdays in August for my family. This weekend was no different with celebrating my sister Shirley, my niece Melia, and my nephew Justin's birthday! The entire family headed to Ajax and we all ended up spending the entire day there (some of my family even spent the night!). I felt like I was eating or munching on something every second of the entire day... from when we got there at 1pm all the way until we left at 10pm! I even managed to squeeze in a nap in there!

The most memorable moment of the day was when my cousin Lorna introduced her new beau to her parents for the first time, and my brother shouted in the background: This is the guy that's fondling your daughter! I don't think my aunt and uncle heard, but of course, the rest of us did and laughed hysterically.... oh brother!! (sigh)

The next day, both my sisters and their families + Leonard came over to our place and went swimming! There were races and competitions going on in the pool for all these different ways to swim (competition runs in the family, I know). We then all headed out to Congee Wong for dinner since Ron and I didn't have a lot of food at home. :)

Tito's 60th Birthday!

Today is my uncle Tito Nard's 60th Birthday. To celebrate, we headed out to Mandarin for a surprise dinner celebration. I hadn't seen all my aunts and uncles since I got pregnant, so it was nice for them to see and touch my belly when I was there. My uncle was quite surprised when he got to the restaurant.... although, the surprise was a bit ruined when he saw all of us sitting down through the window.... oops! Those windows weren't tinted?!!? hehe. It was fun nonetheless... he said it was the best birthday he ever had! Happy Birthday Tito!

Tasting the Danforth!

My Saturday started off with breakfast with Quel at Sunset Grill downtown. I hadn't seen her in a while, so it was good to catch up! We then headed to our Clinic appointment together where I got my back adjusted and a massage... it felt so good since my lower back was hurting me for a while. I then headed to Brassaii for lunch to meet an old boss of mine from Montreal - Charlene. She had moved to Vancouver a month before I moved back to Toronto, but had just recently moved here to Toronto! The stories and gossip she had for me about my old Montreal company was a bit shocking, but interesting to hear!

I then headed to D+G's place where they were waiting for me to head down to Taste of the Danforth! We were originally going to make Korean 'Mondoo' dumplings, but it was such a beautiful day out... we decided to spend it outside and eat (because I hadn't done enough of it!). It was pretty crazy there... We bumped into Mel, Norm & Hannah, and Mae, Glenn & kids! Ron came and joined me later in the day - but since he hates crowds, we only ended up grabbing some Roasted Corn together... sooooo gooooood!!

Ron and I headed back to D+G's place, and then we all headed out to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner, which was also very good. My Saturday ended up being a day of walking and eating all day... I was completely pooped out when I got home. The minute my head hit the pillow, I was OUT! ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Melia's got SKILLZ!

My niece Melia turns 7 today. She may be the smallest one in her class, but my niece GOT GAME! Check her out:

Happy Birthday Melia! She may be small, but she's mighty... she's the toughest one out of all my nieces and nephews! She must get that from MOI!! Check out those pythons!

Happy 9th Birthday Aleenah!

It was a "Pinkalicious" theme for Aleenah's birthday today. You had to wear pink to the party, and Ron and I were able to find something to wear, thank goodness! Markus and mommy were able to join us... he's gotten so big since I last saw him... look how SUPERcute he is! Happy Birthday Aleenah... I can't believe you're growing up so fast! Stop it!

Meeting Maximilion!

Ron and I headed to Milton tonight to meet his new godson: Dexter and Cathy's newest addition, and Sydney's little brother - Maximilion (aka Max, Maxi, Maximus). He was the sweetest thing... so quiet and only crying once the entire time we were there and it was only because mommy woke him up and gave him a bath.

Ron learned how to feed a baby, and they showed us how to give baby a bath - quite a learning experience for us! Ron, however, drew the line on changing baby's diaper. It was a fun night, and Sydney was having a great time making silly poses for the camera with her Uncle Ron (as per photos above).... she kept wanting to do them again and again and laughed hysterically after seeing each shot. As a gift, she gave us the following pictures... I thought they were pretty good!