<3

Yesterday I went kayaking with this sexy face. 

It was quite tiring and I was a little grouchy by evening. So I got a pedicure. 

Hard to complain.

A Week of Love

Sunday

Matthew: Crazy!

Me: YOU'RE crazy!

Matthew: Crazy in love with YOU!

Monday

Matthew: Do you know what I love about coming home?

Me: What?

Matthew: You.

Tuesday

This one's a tie.

Matthew: Can I offer you a massage?

Matthew: It's hard work, what you do, and I really appreciate it. 

Wednesday

Today he came home with a pumpkin spice latte. Better than words :) Although when I finished belting out the words to Total Eclipse of the Heart (acapella), he did say, "That was very nice Honeyboo."

Thursday

Matthew: I love snuggling with you. You're so soft. 

Me: I love you

Matthew: I love you too, Honeyboo. I love your eyes and your mouth and your nose and your neck etc. . .

Friday

Matthew: I love you very much. 

Ok I know it's a simple one that gets said every day, but I thought I should include it because it's still my favourite. 

Saturday

Well this one's tough because Matthew took us to the fair and I got so many goodies. . . But we'll stick with words:

Me: If I went to prison for life, I don't think I'd expect you to stick around. 

Matthew: But I don't think I could find another soulmate. 

Matthew: I'll leave my back exposed so that the mosquitos attack me instead. But I understand why they'd prefer you - you're much sweeter.

Making faces

This morning we made faces. Behold:

Good times. 

A day in the life

Benjamin's day through photos (until dad came home from work and mom stopped taking photos).

This morning I woke up all sunshiny and sweet. Until I realized my diaper was full and my tummy was empty.

This was soon remedied and I had a bit of a nap and awoke happy once again. 

We went for a walk, which was very interesting until I passed out. 

Then we played on the deck. I enjoyed the shade. 

Mom enjoyed the sun. But I do not stay amused for long, and we quickly went back inside. 

Where I took a huge poop. 

And defeated my newborn diaper cover. I'm officially being moved to big boy diapers. 

My mother would not touch me when she transported me to the bath. I was unceremoniously wrapped up in my change pad cover. 

I really didn't mean to do it. I was very sorry and gave lots of cuddles. Being clean and fed made me sleepy, and I napped until daddy came home. 

P.S. Sorry for the poop picture. But it is pretty funny. 

Splendid Spring :)

I've been putting off writing for a while, with the excuse of exams to study for and whatnot, but really I think I'm just getting to that point where even getting up to go to the bathroom is exhausting! That being said, we've had a fairly exciting spring thus far (at least, to me).

We took a fun-filled mini-vacation to Tofino, one last hurrah before Baby! We enjoyed snow AND sun, did some whale watching and kayaking, and even got a little sunburnt.

When we got back, I had my finals. SO not thrilling! But having them finished is a huge relief (even though I am checking the website for grades every hour or so - why are they not up yet?!?). Not long (hopefully) before I find out if I am an official graduate. . .

Blew off some studying steam with some more kayaking.

Matthew thought we should "stare off into the distance"

And as a glorious graduation present, the bookcase Matthew bought me for my birthday finally arrived! It is beautiful and not broken and it fits all of my books! And then he bought me my dream couch. I could just live in my living room right now. 

Now for a baby update! We had a non-stress test and ultrasound today, and discovered that our baby is exactly average. The non-stress test recorded 20 minutes of Baby's heart rate, which was pretty constant between 140-150 (normal is 120-160). Then the ultrasound told us that all of Baby's measurements are "bang on" for his age (32 weeks 5 days), all evidence of my subchorionic hemorrhage has disappeared,  he is head down (good baby) and he is, indeed, a boy. I'll be kept pretty busy for the next 7 weeks with weekly non-stress tests and biweekly Dr.'s appointments, but hopefully it will not be any more than 7 weeks! And I don't think it will be - braxton hicks contractions are driving me crazy, so I'm telling myself that all this prepping means all will be ready soon.

I think the hand on his forehead signifies that he will be a dramatic one.

February!

It has been a busy month! First of all, we found out that we are having a boy :)

I am a lot more excited about this than I thought I would be. True, I don't get to buy pretty little dresses, but think of all the money I will save on clothes and accessories! I think over the years a boy will mean more fun, less drama (although maybe more cuts and bruises) and sports games to watch in the sun and the rain! But I think what makes me most excited is seeing how happy Matty is. He was overjoyed to find out we were having a boy :) His words were, "of course it's a boy, sneaking into the egg that way - 'excuse me, may I come in for a moment? I think I may have forgotten my coat. . . Pretty sure it's in there somewhere. . .'". Sounds like we may have a sly one.

For my birthday, I requested a DQ ice cream cake. It came complete with a honeybear. So cute.

A couple of days later, we hit 24 weeks, which happened to coincide with a big kids sale at Pearkes, where we picked up tons of used clothes. Not only was Matthew happily by my side shopping for baby stuff, he was also the first one to pick up a onesie and say, "look how cute this one is. We're buying it." When I saw our massive pile at the end and said, "our baby will never be able to wear all those clothes!" he responded with, "that's ok, look how cheap!" I am so grateful to have someone who is not only incredibly supportive, but also excited to be a part of everything. So much love.

24 weeks

Baby Lebold

Back in October, Matty and I came to the realization that my period was running late. The next morning, we huddled in the bathroom together as we anxiously awaited the pregnancy test results. We did not even peek until the designated waiting period was over, at which point, Matt picked the test up off the counter and said, "we're having a baby!" After a ton of hugging, we spent a beautiful day walking the pier in Sidney, celebrating with ice cream and dinner, in that order.

After that initial discovery, we were both full of emotion, prominently excitement. Over the months, that excitement has grown along with our baby. However, I think in any pregnancy, excitement is coupled with an initial feeling of fear, whether it be a fear of finances, of a life changing experience, of being able to provide the best for your future child, or a fear of the mistakes you know you will make, the decisions that will turn out to be wrong. Then there is the fear of the pregnancy itself. Is your body cooperating properly? Did the baby implant correctly? Even if your baby can survive through those first  precarious months, will you ever get to hear those first cries? Will you get to see from who's side of the family she gets her eyes? After the death of Laura, it is all too real to me that nothing is a guarantee. Everyone's days are numbered. Sometimes, they do not get to begin. 

Our fears were vindicated at just six weeks. After a vast amount of bleeding, I was scheduled for an ultrasound, and was only slightly relieved by the sight of my baby's heart beating.  I was diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma - essentially a blood clot. It reopened at 10 weeks, and again at 11, and I have been losing the blood from this ever since. Now at 20 weeks, the ultrasound technician has informed us that it appears to all be old blood, and no longer a cause for concern, but I can expect to continue losing this blood for a while yet. It is no longer a fear, but an annoyance. The biggest perk of pregnancy is the lack of period. Thank you, life, for taking that away from me. Thankfully, our baby continues to grow perfectly, has a strong heartbeat, and loves to kick. 

At week 15, it was appropriate that we were counting down the days until Christmas, as our baby was the size of a navel orange.

A couple of weeks ago, I said to Matty, "If you call me Honeyboo, and I call you Honeybee, then what do we call our baby?" Without hesitating, he replied, "Honeybear." At week 19, Honeybear had grown to the size of a mango (which we ate with breakfast).

At 20 weeks we celebrated our halfway point with another trip to the beach.

And an ultrasound!! 

Now we just wait until February 4th to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. The waiting is always the hardest point. For us, the doctors appointments and ultrasounds are not so much, "do we buy blue or pink?" as they are, "is our baby healthy?", but we are still incredibly stoked to find out! Dresses or overalls?