Our Overgrown Backyard and the Agrifair

This week was definitely a busy one. I have finished all my maternity leave paperwork and my last day of work will be October 28! So the countdown begins and then I am off for a year. So thankful to be working in a province and for an employer who is so supportive of working Moms and I will definitely enjoy my time off!

Ryan has been very busy in the backyard this week. When we bought the house, we didn't have much of a yard as it had a lot of growth and trees. Gradually we have been eliminating trees and growth but we have these enormous trees at the back of the property with huge branches that shade the entire backyard, making it a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Hence we use our deck a lot more than venturing into the backyard. With some help from our tenant, Ryan has been tackling those trees and we have sunlight in our backyard for the first time! Now comes the cleanup though - there are just piles of branches in the backyard which will take quite a few trips to the green dump to get rid of but it will be so worth it to have a backyard we can enjoy finally!

Ryan working in the backyard - this was just the beginning. I should take another pic so you can see how much he actually cut down:



Here is Kaitlyn in the backyard - you can really see the shade that I'm talking about in this picture which is what the whole backyard was like until late yesterday:



Today we checked out the Abbotsford Agrifair. My thinking was it would be cheap family entertainment but everything costs money in there. Kaitlyn loved riding the horse and getting up close with the animals but the heat and my swollen feet made it a rather short visit. Still a fun but exhausting day!

Kaitlyn in her sunglasses after a day at the pool with Aunty Andrea and cousins Lucas and Nathan. She's pretty cool :)



Riding the horse at the fair - she had such a blast!

Kaitlyn and her buddy cousin

Ha ha - got a kick out of this post from my sister's blog this morning about Kaitlyn and her cousin Alyssa. Love the picture of them both spending some corner time in time-out :)

Randomness

23 weeks

Okay - so I should probably get Ryan to take these pictures - so I don't have a flash for a face. But here I am at 23 (almost 24) weeks.

Kaitlyn's New Bed

The first night with Kaitlyn in her new bed didn't go too well. After coming out to visit with us about 6 times, we finally put her back in her crib and she fell asleep immediately.

Last night was the second try, and after playing hard at my Mom and Dad's, she was tired and ready for bed. She wanted to sleep in her new bed again, and we told her this time, one strike and you're in the crib. She never climbed out once. She cried out once around 11 but went back to sleep no problem, and around 4 AM she was crying and I came in to find her on the floor, looking confused. Not sure if she fell out or climbed out, but she went back to sleep again with no problems. I don't anticipate every night to be as easy as last night but at least we can say now she's spent 1 full night in her new bed!

20 weeks today!

Well I can't say it's flown by. Between the morning sickness (that somedays lasted all day) and being sick with the cold/flu, I am very happy to report I am 20 weeks pregnant today! Halfway there! I'm sure the second half will fly by a little quicker.

We are busy planning away. Kaitlyn's room is definitely big enough to share and we are hopefully going to get her into a toddler bed within the next couple of weeks. Of course that will have its challenges, but better to get it out of the way. I found one on craigslist that comes with a mattress and bedding, and will be taking a look at it tomorrow. It's all Disney Princess and everything is princess right now, so it seems like the right fit.

I also found a bassinet on craigslist from a different seller and I'll be taking a look at that tomorrow. It's only $35 and is a vibrating bassinet on wheels, which is what I like. That way the baby can sleep in our room during the day and then be wheeled out into the living room at night since I know I won't sleep well with a baby right beside me - every noise will make me jump out of bed.

The suite is officially rented out and the tenant moves in next Wednesday. He loves the place and the area and we have the damage deposit in hand. Definitely a headache relieved now that that's all finalized. Ryan is still busy most evenings downstairs trying to get the place perfect, and we still have to run a 220 outlet into the garage and then move the laundry but things are definitely coming together!

Anyway, that's it for me for tonight!

Ultrasound - June 16, 2009

Today was my routine 18 week ultrasound. Unfortunately I had to go alone as Ryan was working a double shift and is currently up for promotion, so he didn't want to ask for any favours right now. I asked my Mom but she had a meeting in Vancouver. I wasn't too worried about the appointment since I've already had one ultrasound and have been feeling the baby move a lot this week.

I was fortunate to be able to go to the new Abbotsford Hospital. Wow! What a great facility. There is a Starbucks as soon as you walk in, an inquiry desk in the front lobby where they'll not only tell you where the ATM or Ultrasound department is, but they'll escort you there, they are in the process of putting in a Pharmasave and there's a sit-down restaurant. The downstairs waiting area was great and perfect for me since I was pretty early and was able to sit there and sip my water and read a magazine (since I really didn't want to drive there on a full bladder).

The appointment went very well. They took lots of measurements and pictures and she said the baby is measuring right on with my current due date of November 12. Very thankful that things seem to be looking good!

Here are some pictures:

Update - June 2009

Well, we are in the midst of a heat wave here on the beautiful west coast and I'll admit - I finally broke down and allowed Ryan to purchase an air conditioner. I have always expressed the opinion that they're a waste of money and we can suffer for the few short weeks of the year where the temperature is unbearable. But this year the heat wave started in May already, I was sick and being super hot didn't help, plus I know I'm just going to get more and more uncomfortable the bigger I get this summer. But I am the true Dutch-woman - we looked at ads on craigslist and found one for $75 which was barely used. So, we finally have an air conditioner.

I have been pretty sick the past few weeks and my house is showing it. It started as a cold that moved into my chest, and before I knew it, I was at my drs office with an emergency appointment and he diagnosed me as "officially sounding terrible". Huh. Not sure what kind of diagnosis that is. Pneumonia? Swine flu? Probably just a bad flu. The dr didn't want to put me on antibiotics since I am allergic to penicillin and sulpha meds so the next best thing would have been pretty expensive and powerful, and he didn't want to put the baby in danger. So we fought it off with 2 inhalers (one steroid, one non-steroid) and lots of Tylenol, fluids and rest. Ryan has been my rock through all this. He can see that I'm worn out and has just taken over with Kaitlyn and cooking, and allowing me to rest and get better. I don't think I could have gotten through the past 2 weeks without him.

Next week is the 18 week ultrasound (and no, we are not finding out gender - what bigger surprise IS there, right?). I am actually 18 weeks this week, but the dr thought it would be better to have a later ultrasound than one too early or the technicians would complain they couldn't see all of the heart, or the baby wouldn't be moving enough, etc. And in case I failed to mention it in any of my last posts, they did change my due date by 10 days to November 12 instead of November 2.

The other big change occurring in our household right now is my brother and his wife are moving out today. This will be quite the change, and scary at the same time. We discussed how nice it would be to have the whole house to ourselves, but the reality is we can't afford it. So we'll be renting out the bottom, hopefully by July 1st. So if you know of anyone looking for a cute 1-bedroom basement suite in Chilliwack, let us know. :)