the home stretch

By all accounts and due dates I have hit my third trimester of pregnancy ~ the home stretch. It is weird to think in a mere 3 months we will have a little one as part of our family, yet at the same time, it feels like I have been pregnant forever. I spent the first 3 months in bed sleeping and complaining that I was too tired to do anything (only to find out why). The second trimester I felt great, I was active, motivated and more “like myself”. These past few weeks have been hard. I am growing so fast that I am finding even the simplest task hard to complete ~ putting on socks, bending down to get containers, and cleaning the bath tub are among almost impossible things to do. I am tired again as I am not sleeping well, besides the joint pain which wakes me (my hips are killing me), the bathroom breaks make sure I am up every hour. It is almost as accurate as an alarm clock. Joel doesn’t even hear me anymore.



I am looking forward to the holidays as they are just around the corner. Besides enjoying 10 days off work with Joel, we have a few things planned. We will finish setting up the nursery including baseboards (despite Joel’s protest), carpet will be installed in the basement, we will clean the house and put it back in order, and then we will enjoy some family time.


This year is a different one for us as some of our family will be away for Christmas. Sarah, Jay and Martin are heading down to beautiful Arizona for 10 days to enjoy among other things, the warmth! I am very jealous and wish we were joining them this year, but know they will also enjoy their alone time together.


Since we would not be together at Christmas, we knew we had to celebrate early so Martin and Barb hosted us for “Christmas dinner”. We enjoyed a great meal (turkey, stuffing, the works!), our gift exchange and 2 games of Cranium. As many people know I often opt out when games get brought up as I am very competitive. I know this about myself, and realize it doesn’t show off my best qualities therefore I choose not to play, and am fine with watching. The Hayward’s are not known for their graceful wins (Songs of “We are the champions” are often sung full volume), but I decided since last time we were at Sarah and Jay’s and played a game (that I sucked at but had fun playing) I would give it another try. My mom had bought me Cranium a few years ago for Christmas and I had never played before, so Joel and I brought it over and we played after the gift exchange. We split up into 2 teams ~ Sarah, Barb and myself vs. Jay, Martin and Joel. Although our first game was a learning experience, we still had fun winning. 


Martin and Barb bought me a beautiful baby carrier ~ a peanut shell! (what a perfect name since we have nicknamed the baby peanut) The carrier says it will work from newborn to toddler, and includes a video to learn different ways to wear it. We also received a gift for peanut, a very cute little hat and the Robert Munsch book “I Love You Forever”. This is one of my favourite books (even now) and while reading it the following day I spent 30 minutes crying.


My parents have had a good week as their house finally sold. It had been on the market for about 3 weeks and my mom was prepared to pull it off the market for Christmas. Luckily she does not need to worry about it anymore and they are getting ready to move the weekend of January 22nd.


That weekend also happens to be the weekend of my shower, the day after my birthday, and the day before my sister in laws birthday! We have planned a family dinner to celebrate the birthdays on that Saturday night.


I went this past Saturday with my friend Dana to register for gifts for my baby shower. I found it hard, overwhelming, but fun all at the same time. Dana was so patient with me while we spent the entire afternoon in the baby section of various stores.


This week my mom has been over to paint the nursery for us. Joel and I are both impatient when it comes to painting and neither of us are perfectionists like my mom. She did an amazing job and so we will start setting up the furniture later this week and weekend. (Assuming Joel does not have to work ~ if he does I will ask for my dad’s help) Once that furniture is set up, I can wash all the bedding and move it out of the downstairs bedroom which will also mean I can start cleaning my house. This excites me because I know it will be a big job that needs to be done before Christmas Eve, and if I can do a little every night it will not be as overwhelming.


Well, I better get going and feed my little peanut. Enjoy ~