Heartbeat and a Kick

We finally got to hear the baby's heartbeat yesterday at our appointment. Words cannot describe what I felt when I heard that. It's just amazing. And it puts it all into perspective. There's a little someone growing inside. So crazy. So very cool. Our doctor picked it up right away. Crazy little techno beat that it was, then we heard a loud thump. The doctor laughed and said that it was a little kick from our crazy baby. It was truly indescribable. I cannot wait to hear it's little heart beat again. Beats were at 156. So we're staying pretty steady there. It was one of the most emotional experiences that I've ever had. I definitely had to choke back tears a couple of times. I cannot expressed how happy and blessed Christien and I both feel to know that we've really got someone to meet in the next few months. A little Malia/Christien mix. There's your Malistien.. Ha ha.

Human Baby Revealed

Had our 19 week ultrasound yesterday! Which means that I am right around the half way mark. What a relief. I'm sure that everyone worries to some extent, but this half way point was my cut off for worry. I'm switching that worry to the excitement that I feel we were cheated out of from the beginning. I'm going to focus on how lucky and blessed we are rather than worry about what could happen. If I can't stop the worry now, then I'll be stressed for the rest of my life. Something can always happen, right?? Life is too short. You hear that all the time, but it's really the truth!

Seeing the baby healthy yesterday just made everything perfect for us. What more can you ask for?? Heart, brain, limbs all in the right place = excellent. Heartbeat was 157. As old wives tales go, should be a girl. Especially since it was first thing in the morning and I think that baby was sleeping the whole time because there wasn't as much movement as there had been before. No cooperation from baby either (stubborn just like it's dad). It just had it's curled up little fists by it's face most of the time. The technician did manage to get baby to open a hand a few times and finally got a shot of it. We opted not to find out what we were having, and although I am curious, I'm glad that we don't know. It'll be that extra little incentive that I need at the end of labor.

Baby and it's "perfect shaped" head

Baby's 4 chambered heart

Baby's little feet and ankles (we were told it had great long legs)

Baby waving

Yesterday was a very exciting day. Today after work we're packing up the car and heading to Edmonton to celebrate my brother and mum's birthday! We're going to hit up West Ed (specifically the water park) with Ty and Stacey tomorrow and then have a nice dinner with the family. Haven't seen Ty and Stacey since Easter (which is lame) and haven't seen mum and dad since August. Looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend everyone. Be safe and enjoy the last of this nice weather. Back to normal temperatures and rain next week, so I hear.

First Bike

I came home from work the other day and saw this sitting on the deck.

Our friend Candice went for a browse at the thrift store the other day and stumbled upon this. She was going to bring it home and fix it up and thought that it would look great in her garden. On her way back to the office she thought that it would look even cuter with a baby Short riding it around and gave it to us. It's the most perfect first bike! Christien is going to fix it up, get some new wheels, new pedals and new grips, with a little bit of fresh paint and it'll look brand new! I can't wait to take a cruiser ride with the little one. We've still got quite a few years to go... Thanks Candice! We love it!

Big Purchase

I finally gave in. Christien and I own a stroller! We searched all over the place, asked our friends tonnes of questions, and settled on a travel system that we liked from the beginning. You can't overly get away from big and bulky when you are buying a stroller, so this is right in line with the rest of them. And the price was great too, which was a super bonus. It's put together and just sort of sitting in the basement right now. The car seat installation gives me anxiety cause I'm so scared that it's not going to get installed correctly and our baby will end up flying through the window. I kid. There are lots of instructions and I'm sure that Christien will do a great job getting it in the car so that baby is safe.

It's cute. Kind of made me want to throw up a little bit once we paid for it and put it in the car. I guess it just kind of makes things seem a bit more real. I'm sure I'll feel that way more and more as we get closer and closer to actually becoming parents.

Office Closed

Not sure if any of you had the chance to watch the news or read the story in the Calgary Herald yesterday, but it was announced that our offices will be closing come the end of October.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Telus+cuts+call+centre+workers/1982558/story.html

I am, fortunately, one of the very few (I think that there are two of us) who was able to be placed somewhere else in the company. A few agents had a end date of yesterday to vacate the office, whereas the majority of the agents will be leaving at the end of September. The most senior agents will be staying on until the end of October to finish up the closure of the call center. I'm very glad that I was able to be placed so that I will still get my maternity leave in February. However, my heart goes out to all these agents who were simply let go. There is no attempt at all by TELUS to try to place any of these agents. That, unfortunately makes sense, due to the fact that they were term employees, and therefore considered contract employees. However, it's been even harder for these agents to have to deal with the loss of their jobs plus the reports that TELUS is trying to place them somewhere else within the company, when that is not happening at all.

Alana's Stagette

My friend Alana will be marrying her best friend, Mike in 25 days! I was at her stagette this past weekend. Alana and I are fairly new friends. I met her through Amber. They work together at Superior Cabinets. We've been in the best book club together since October 2007. We share a love of wine, books (which go hand in hand) and laughs. Alana and Mike will be getting married at the Ranche in Calgary. It's a beautiful venue and this will be my 3rd wedding that I've attended there in as many years.

The Ranche in Calgary

Both of the weddings that I attended at the Ranche were at different times of the year and therefore quite different. The first wedding I went to at the Ranche was Christine and Brian's in late August of 2006. They were married outside on the side steps and had the reception in the restaurant. It was a very beautiful wedding. The second time was for Christien's friends Mike and Christina in October of 2008. They had the ceremony inside in front of the fireplace, followed by the reception in the dining room. What a difference a couple of months makes. Not only in the atmosphere, (Christine's being mostly outside and Christina's, more indoors), the menus were completly different. Alana and Mike's wedding will be at the beginning of October, however the one big difference for me at this wedding will be that they are getting married in a church. I haven't been to a wedding in a church since Barb and Mike's (different Mike) in 2004.

Back to Alana's stagette. She went into this night blind. Had no idea what we were doing, who was coming or where we were going. We were all told to wear something white for her "Like a Virgin" stagette. Which I must say, turned out quite well. All the ladies looked wonderful. We all met at Alana's at the beginning of the night for martinis and snacks. We just hung out and chatted for a bit. We played one little game where we got to take a piece of toilet paper and make some sort of accessory to complement Alana's lovely outfit for the night. The deal was that for every item that she removed, she would have to do a shot for. Amber and I colaborated on her headpiece, which I think turned out quite lovely. There were a few pieces removed before we headed down for dinner, and I don't believe that I saw Alana take any shots that night. Apparently the rules changed and it was either shots or drinks to make up for what was taken off. So I guess I can deal with that but I still think she's a cheater (wink, wink). We then walked down to stop #1, which was dinner at Wildwood. We had a set menu where we could choose our starter and dinner. It was delish! I overdosed on Bison. Surprised I didn't get the meat sweats. It was a really nice time hanging out, Alana getting a bit emotional, and having lots and lots of laughs. After dinner the girls decided to take Alana to Ducky's, which is basically a dive karaoke bar. I headed home just before they went into Ducky's, but heard that they stayed until they got Alana to sing "White Wedding". They went off to BLVD for some dancing and drinks and then to the ... Yardhouse. Sounds like she was doing okay the next day. A bit sluggish, but okay. I can't wait for book club so that I can get more dirt on the festivities of the evening. I am just very much looking forward to her wedding on October 3!

February Festivities

This being almost our "miracle baby" I'm taking stock of all the good things that are happening around the arrival of our little one. I might still be in a bit of denial as I'm already 16 weeks and not really showing at all. Till that happens...

February family birthdays on my side:

• February 12th ~ Grandpa Nestor (little Grandpa)
• February 13th ~ Grandpa Langis (big Grandpa)
• February 19th ~ cousin Nicole's birthday
• February 29th ~ Grandma Langis

Looking like a great month!! And an even better year!!

Neutral Neutral

When you aren't going to learn what type of baby you are having, you are stuck with a very limited number of options when it comes to decorating. Yellow or green. That's basically about it. You are also stuck with only a few options for theme as well. Therefore, seeing as we are not finding out if it's a boy or a girl, we chose yellow and green as our colors, with a jungle theme. Ha. It's going to be super cute, but it's just funny that this is the theme and color of choice of most people having a non-gender specific room. Knowing this, I still don't feel any sort of desire to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. To ruin that surprise for decorating purposes?? Here is our cute yellow room (paint job care of Cleo). We've got a lot of green "accessories" and I'm looking for a nice, big, soft tan or cream rug for the middle of the room.

We haven't done a lot of buying of anything for the room yet. Just a lot of comparison shopping so far, and we've picked up a few smaller things, like blankets, stuffed animals (to compliment the jungle theme), and stuff like that. I, however, have had my eye on an OiOi diaper bag for over a year. iBambini had a ton of them about a year ago, and I started browsing their websites. They are a company based out of Australia and their bags are beautiful. I even like them better then Petunia Pickle Bottom (sorry Amber). It's definitely something a bit more extravagant then I need, cause I know I could drop $30 and have one from Toys R Us, but I got to thinking that this is something I am going to be carrying around for at least a year. Why not be stylish?? So, after the last ultrasound, I decided to treat myself. Here is my beautiful bag...

I love, love, love it so much. It will be doubling as my purse for a long while as well.

Other then that, we're still looking around, seeing what we like. We're planning a trip to Montana for Thanksgiving. Thought that we could look for some cheap baby stuff down there, and bring back what we can fit into the car. Do they have a Gap Maternity??

We've had some wonderful things given to us from friends whose kids have outgrown them. Thank you Jasmine and Curtis (and baby Davis for growing up so quickly). Jasmine has been a great source of information to me over the last few weeks, and for that I am very grateful. It's a bit scary when it's your first time and you are going in blind.