Where did October go??!.....

I actually mean it, where did October go?! I cannot believe it is already November on Friday!! What a busy month this has been. We had an absolutely wonderful visit home to Vancouver for Canadian Thanksgiving, which seems like such a long time ago already! It was so great to be in my homeland :) and to be around friends and family. We totally lucked out with having the most amazing weather while we were back, not one day of rain, every day was sunny and crisp, just like all those perfect BC fall days I know and love. It is always a little bittersweet visiting because it still feels like home to both Sam and I...but not because our day to day lives aren't there anymore, very strange feeling. Thanks so much to all our many friends who made such an effort to see us while we were back, it means so much to both of us!! I don't know if it was all the turkey or the White Spot I consumed or if Baby Coops just decided to grow a ton that week but there was a noticeable change in the bump from the beginning of trip to the end, probably a little bit of both ;)

 

 My mom LOVES that Sam has become our families official turkey man

 Beautiful White Rock Beach

 

 Since we have been back in Cali things seem to have been busy. Sam is getting ready for the launch of the game he works on which happens sometime next week, and we both have been doing a lot with iEmpathize which is the non profit we help out with and love doing, and of course as always baby, baby, baby :)

 

Baby Coops is just over 2 lbs, crazy, and I am growing everyday it seems. Sam and I randomly went to a parenting session at our church because we thought it couldn't hurt...we left a little scared haha, not really but it was quite funny hearing what the speaker had to say and what other parents shared, raising a little person is no small task! Other than that our crib arrived and Sam put it together last weekend, very exciting and we love it. We also got a chest of drawers from a store here in LA called Nadeau-Furniture with Soul, which is perfect because this is just the kind of store I have been searching for since we moved. The furniture has a slightly antique/distressed look to it and tons of character for a reasonable price. The cats were freaking out with the arrival of all this new gear, they got all excited climbing over everything acting like it was the best day of their lives, the other day I actually found Jasmine in our closet tucked under the blanket in baby boys car seat, sigh, those two have a lot of change coming their way.

 

Ok I just realized brunette is only for girls, sorry baby boy...lets re-phrase blond or brown hair?

 

What an allstar, crib is all put together!! We are total keeners!

 

Nadeau dresser/change table

 

Slowly but surely baby stuff seems to be coming together, and I must announce I have officially made my most AMAZING craigslist purchase ever. Now I am not usually a craigslister but every mom and friend of mine with kids I talk to tells me about all these steals they find. It started off shakey for me with a lot of crap and flakey scammers, but I finally scored and got the exact swing, bouncer, playmat and bumbo off my list almost all brand new and perfect condition!!! All of this was well under half of what it cost brand new and I am pretty proud of myself, and had to brag about my craiglist allstar moment. Seriously I mean, I got the baby einstein neptune ocean adventure mat which costs $60 brand new, totally criminal, for $15...boooo yaaaa :)

 

Sam and the cats checking out the goods - I think he loves me more when I save us money ;)

Almost 23 Weeks!!

Well in one more day I will be 23 weeks and officially six months!! This will be the last month of my 2nd trimester, which is a little bit freaky, not quite sure where the past six months went??...I am still feeling good, but definitely more and more pregnant, having moments of discomfort where I feel like everything inside me is being squished together and noticing I have to take it easy more often then before. All in all though I am doing great and getting more and more excited about meeting our little guy soon! I know the next few months are going to fly by with thanksgiving and then Christmas, Mini Coops will be here before we know it. 

* Note my tribute to the Vancouver Canucks the night they smoked the Edmonton Oilers!!!

 Sam and I are going home to Vancouver tomorrow for a week so we can be there for Canadian Thanksgiving :) Sooooooooooooo excited!! Bring on the cozy sweaters, scarfs, boots and crisp fall days, even some rain I don't care I am just looking forward to being home. This is one of my favorite times of year (besides Christmas) in BC and I have missed it terribly. It is definitely an adjustment living in California without the seasons, it just seems wrong. We are currently having a heatwave and it has been the warmest month all year, warmer then our summer. So our apartment is decked out with pumpkins, fall decorations and yummy smelling candles to help with the illusion of fall, but I haven't bought a real pumpkin yet because I think if I put it out on our deck it will rot from the heat :p Baby boy and I are both looking forward to some Thanksgiving treats while I am back, some pumpkin flavored desserts, turkey, stuffing Mmmmm. 

Lately I have been a bit of a psychotic nesting pregnant women. This past weekend Sam and I dedicated our Saturday to going through the closet in the future babies room. Up until now it has served as a bit of a scary storage closet that has been on the 'to do' list to go through and organize since our move. Living in a smaller space can have its challenges and it all comes down to organization to makes things run smoothly. One thing I love is when I can finally get Sam started on a project, he gets so into it and becomes this master organizing worker bee, which is great for me :) 

* Sam being such a a good husband going through all his crap, I mean things ;) Check out Leo the Lion chair which will grace baby boys room soon, too cute!!

So we were able to tackle the closet and make a ton of space and get rid of a lot. Our second bedroom which has served as spare room, slash tv/video game room is going to become baby boys room. The TV will be moving out and the crib and change table will be moving in! 

I have been obsessing slightly and pinning into oblivion on pinterest my ideas and vision for the nursery until my eyes bleed. Sam and I make a good team in that he is the brakes and reality for me, so when my restoration hardware nursery had to be scaled down a tad...... scratch that, A LOT, I was able to come up with a realistic concept for babies room, compromising on not spending a fortune on furniture but then possibly allowing my restoration bedding..?? My theme for the room is 'calm baby' I am not a fan of loud colours and cheesy prints which can be challenging when looking because that is the majority of what is out there. Though I do want to leave some aspects a surprise we have decided on a Jenny Lind crib which is affordable, has great reviews and will look darling in the room with bedding on it. I would love to find some unique piece for the dresser/change table which I am currently on the look out for, but if I can't find anything suitable we may just go with the Ikea hemnes dresser and jazz it up with some personalized hardware. Lastly I am so excited to have some floating book shelves to display favorite books and change it up seasonally. My mom said when I was little she used to open the books up in my room and leave them on the floor so I could crawl up and read them. I so want baby boy to be a reader that will fuel a creative and fun imagination so I love this idea of having his books accessible and on display.

* The Jenny Lind Crib, looks a little stark on its own but with bedding looks fantastic

 *Floating bookshelf example....LOVE

* I am really loving banners lately and like the idea adding some colour and interest to the room.

* This is a bit too plain for me, but I like the clean lines and crib, and another example of the floating bookshelf!!

21 Weeks

With the arrival of Baby Cooper coming closer and closer I have decided to transform my Making Life Lovely Blog into a little bit of everything. I must confess I have once again fallen off the blogging wagon and have found it hard to keep on top of juggling both my design blog and everyday life blog, so why not combine them?!

Sam and I are beyond thrilled and excited about the arrival of our sweet baby boy. Anyone who is close to me is a little bit shocked by the fact that I am having a boy. I have always been a girly girl and I think everyone assumed Baby Coops would be a girl, SURPRISE. We are so excited, I always thought  it would be so cool to have an older brother I couldn't be happier that our first is a boy and look so forward to the many adventures, activities and craziness our lives have in hold with our little man.

At almost 22 weeks I have noticed the biggest changes in my physical appearance in the last 2. It is crazy how much your body changes, and of course you see those changes slowly happening but it is now definitely obvious to the rest of the world that there is a baby in my belly, which is nice because that means I am finally getting out of that awkward stage where you just look like you are gaining weight. Baby boy is about the size of a banana right now and 7 inches long. I am feeling his kicks more and more, and I feel him the most in the mornings and evenings when I am stretched out on the couch. It is the best feeling ever and I love knowing he is there and healthy and moving around, it makes it so much more real!

           

I have been really fortunate to have felt great this whole pregnancy so far!! No morning sickness, no overwhelming fatigue and I have been able to continue working out and staying active which makes me feel energized and good knowing I am doing my best to keep my body in shape while it goes through many many changes. No major cravings other than I could eat handfuls of chocolate chips morning, noon and night....hopefully my working out is counteracting that! Things I miss most -  definitely wine, spicy tuna rolls and of course diet pepsi :)

It has been a whole new world of baby gear! Researching all the different, car seats, slings, carriers, strollers, cribs, and diaper bags is a little overwhelming in the beginning, good thing I love to shop and LOVE planning. So far we have checked the stroller, car seat, diaper bag and baby bath off the list. My mom was able to come and visit me in Santa Monica a few weeks ago and it was so amazing having her here and to share this special time together. She was determined that we get some baby stuff accomplished on her trip down and was amazing, knowing all the right questions to ask the sales people, making me test everything out and not just go off what I 'like the look of', moms are so great aren't they?!

 Here are some of the products we have purchased so far that I am super excited about. 

The Chicco Keyfit 
This wasn't my first choice, but it has the highest safety rating for infant car seats right now and it didn't weigh a ton so I knew I could handle lugging it around once baby boy was in it.

Timi and Leslie Diaper Bag

This is my guilty pleasure and one my husband will never understand but I wanted to have something that I could use as a purse as well, all in one, and I love that it comes with different straps, even ones you can attach to  the handles of your stroller!!

The Puj Baby Tub

This is perfect if like us you are living in a smaller city apartment. The Puj is a foam material that is super soft for that newborn skin and folds right into your bathroom sink. It flattens when you take it out and you can hang to dry and store. 

                                   

The City Mini GT 
The perfect size for me and so very easy to use. You can just pull a strap in the centre of the stroller to fold it in half and you can also lock the front wheel to jog or use on rougher terrain.