Indian Summer

We've been experiencing a real Indian Summer the past few weeks. The weather has been absolutely stunning, and we've been able to go outside every single day with Carice. The colours are past their peak now, and although definitely beautiful, in this area not the best fall for colours (at least, what I have seen of it!).

Carice is growing like a weed! She drinks well (and I have more than enough supply), and she is definitely getting bigger. She is also more awake during the day and very alert. Still pretty easy going, and a better sleeper at night. I wake up 2-3 times to feed her, but she normally goes straight back to sleep, which is nice. But with her more awake during the day, there's not a lot of chances for me to nap :)
Nolan is back to work today as well. It was really nice for all of us to be home the past couple of weeks, but I guess it's back to reality now!

And of course a few more pictures...

Proud grandparents

Enjoying the spectacular weather

Of course, beschuit met muisjes!!

And our other children:

 Zora sleeps in her crate at night, and this is how she prefers to sleep... Weird dog!

Welcome Carice Ann MacAfee!

As most of you know by now, our daughter Carice made her grande entrance into this world on September 29th, 2013!

The weekend started fairly normal, although I was a bit more tired on Saturday. Maybe I should add that I went for a massage the day before, and she told me that she didn't want to massage my feet too much, since there's an old wife's tale that says it can induce your labour. I didn't really believe in it, so she massaged my feet a bit, and it felt very relaxing!
However I felt good enough on Saturday not to cancel Nolan's parents, who came up to celebrate Nolan's birthday the day before. We even went out for lunch, and everything was great.
I did ask Nolan to install the car seat, just in case. We also decided to watch a DVD we had borrowed from the midwife about 'Bringing Baby Home', so at least we had a bit of an idea what to do with a newborn!

At 8 o'clock or so, I decided to go to bed early, and then hopefully a good night sleep would help me feel refreshed again.
Well, that sleep didn't last long. My contractions started around 9:30 pm, and around 11:30 pm the midwife told us we'd better get to the hospital soon!
We were there around midnight, and Carice was born at 1:09 am. So all in all less than 4 hours later. She was in a hurry!

She weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz (2778 grams) and was 18.5" (47 cm).  A very decent weight for being three weeks early.  Both our midwives and Nolan did an amazing job helping me through this, which was awesome.
It just all happened to fast, and so sudden. I was supposed to work for another week, and then enjoy two weeks off before my due date!
However, she is absolutely perfect and is making our lives very easy. She sleeps quite a bit, she eats like a champ, and soils her diapers like a champ as well!
Our midwife appointment yesterday confirmed what we had suspected, she surpassed her birth weight by two ounces already!

So all in all, we are doing really, really well. I've been out on a few short walks (the weather is absolutely stunning this week, no wonder she wanted to come out!), and I feel good. Nolan and I are both wondering when the set-back will happen!
The animals are adapting really well too. The cats don't really care too much and Zora is mainly very curious. She finds it strange I spent so much more time upstairs, and that there is this creature that's making a different noise. But she's adapting very well, and it will be only a matter of a short time before she recognizes Carice as part of the family.

Below are some pictures, since that's of course more interesting than me blabbing on!

'I have a question'

Really, that fish was this big!

Home stretch!

We're a month away from my due date, and it's surely coming up quickly! In general I still feel pretty good, although definitely more tired (especially after a day in the office I'm wiped) and for the first time ever I'm suffering from heart burn! I still walk Zora at least once a day (Nolan is walking her the other times) and in general that goes well too, although I can tell I'm slowing down a little bit and there is also definitely more pressure on my bladder ;)

My parents were here for a visit as well last week, which was nice. But I realized we didn't take any pictures (I think they did, but I don't have any), so there is no real evidence they were here! But they had a good time, were happy to see me pregnant and participate in some of the pre-baby activities.

One of those activities as the baby shower! Ann and JoAnn were so kind to host and organize the shower and I have to admit, I felt pretty overwhelmed! This child of us has some pretty amazing people awaiting its arrival!

Some awesome cupcakes! And tasty too.

My mom, Nancy and Marie Anick

JoAnn, Debby and my mom

Kate measuring my belly as part of one of the games

For some reason people wanted to take pictures of me and my belly :)

Ann and I

Suzanne, Erin, Ann Marie, JoAnn and Debby

Sooo spoiled!

Kate, Suzanne, Erin and Ann Marie

More gifts!

It was a great evening and it's amazing to have such great friends! 

Then last week one evening I all of a sudden felt overwhelmed thinking about everything we still had to do. Both at home and at work. So we made a list of the things we had to do at home, and this past weekend we focussed on getting the last things for the baby and putting the nursery together.

We also went to the hospital to pre-register. Funny story, when we got there we told the lady at the reception we wanted to register. She asked what for, so we said delivery. And her eyes turned large asking if I was in labour right now? So apparently there is a difference between registering and pre-registering! We all got a good laugh out of it!

So I think we now have all the basics (and a whole lot more, especially clothes!), and I feel more relaxed about it now. 

Some pictures of our nursery (and some of the stuff we have):

Before we started cleaning things up.

Some of the beautiful blankets Nancy made us.

Nolan posing with one of the outfits.

And just some shots of the nursery.

And here some shots of Nolan trying out his parenting skills with Zora:

She's so spoiled! However, she's normally not allowed on the couch :)

And then she created this new habit of sleeping underneath her mat when sleeping in her crate (still her favourite place to sleep):

Yep, there's a dog underneath there!

And then finally, a less than flattering picture of my belly, taken this morning:

A stormy summer

This weekend feels like I'm in the eye of a big storm. Not necessarily a bad storm, but one that keep you on your toes. Last couple of weeks have been very busy with work and my free weekend was taken up with a two-day prenatal course. Although interesting and worth while, it was also quite tiring and let's not even start talking about the chairs we were sitting on!
This past weekend was Civic Holiday in Ontario, which means we all had the Monday off. It's become a bit of a tradition that I work that weekend at the PRF. And this year was no difference. Luckily it was pretty quiet without any crazy accidents like washed-out roads or extreme dry spells. The highlight of the weekend was probably the sighting of three river otters in one of the small lakes. Really cool! Unfortunately I did not have a camera so I didn't take any pictures.
I spent the second half of the week at the PRF as well, to host the CIF's Teacher's tour (which included some talks) and the next day a presentation for the sustainable communities with CFB Petawawa.
In the meantime Nolan lived the bachelor life while maintaining a smooth household :)
Luckily I was able to work one day at home in between as well to catch my breath, since I sometimes have a hard time realizing that I can't go the same speed anymore as I used to. I am 30 weeks pregnant now, and for the first time I actually feel pregnant. As in, I can really notice my belly and my decreased stamina. Not that I'm complaining, it's been a pretty smooth ride so far, but I guess it's starting to get real now!

This coming week is going to be just as crazy. I'll be spending a good chunk of the week at the PRF again, while we're hosting the Eastern Research Forest Managers Meeting. Since we're hosting it this year, we are responsible for everything from catering to agenda and speakers. Fun! But also challenging. I only have to present at one site, so it's not too bad. And hopefully I can sneak a nap in during some of the indoor sessions at the hotel so I can keep my energy level up!
But if all goes well, this should be the last busy week that involves travelling, and from then on it will be mostly Ottawa based work. And I'll be off work in less than two months :)

This crazy summer work schedule matches some of the crazy summer weather we've had. Lots of thunderstorms, microbursts, downpours, and even tornados (in other parts of Ontario). The town of Petawawa got hit pretty hard a couple of weeks ago with lots of damage to trees and even houses. The PRF had quite a few trees down as well, but not to the same extent as Petawawa itself. And that was the third storm in just as many weeks. The new normal?

Nolan is doing well. He just finished a Java course (computer course, not the coffee!), and is now back into running. He signed up for a half marathon in September, so the pressure is on!
The animals are also doing really well. Zora is still full of energy but a lot of fun to have around and super playful (especially with Murphy).  The cats are really enjoying the outdoors (the backyard is now completely fenced off so they're safe there), and although we have to put Fertile outside, once she's there she loves it.

So all in all things are going really well. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that things will change a lot in a couple of months, and we're really excited about it, but I also feel that there is more to me than 'just' being pregnant.

Facts and figures

• It's been too long since I last wrote;
• I'm 26 weeks pregnant as of today. I think that means my third trimester is about to start. Let's hope the final three months will be as smooth sailing as the first 6!
• We just got back from a week vacation at a cottage on Mink Lake (near Eganville). Miss the water and the quietness already. Mosquitoes, not so much.
• Krista, Ian Meara and Molly came up for a day to check out the lake and feed some of the ducks. We all had a blast!
• We're at the beginning of a heat wave. Or so they say. Weather predictions have been unreliable this summer. However, it is really hot outside right now!
• We had our house painted and it looks great! Fresh paint does miracles. It did take a bit of effort trying to get our house back to normal and cleaned up afterwards, but it was worth it.
• We ordered our first baby furniture and picked up a stroller (thanks Mom and Dad!). It's starting to become more real now.
• My sister got engaged a few weeks ago, and is secretly planning her wedding now :)
• Murphy and Zora have a weird relationship going on. Zora thinks she's a cat at times.
• Fertile has decided to start sleeping and hiding in the closet. Maybe someday she'll come out?
• Zora still doesn't like water, and her swimming lessons resulted in Nolan getting some decent scratches. She still loves us though.
• I have been eating more meat in the last few months than I have in the last 10 years.
• Last night, it was a toss between a hyperactive baby and itchy mosquito bites that kept me up for hours.
• I've been bugging Nolan for a couple of weeks now that I actually expect a gift for my birthday next week. 
• Since our fence is dog and cat proof, the cats have been enjoying lots of yard time as well.
• Our friend Stefanie who moved to Australia came and spend some time here. It was great to catch up.
• One of the white pine trees I planted a couple of years ago died.  I now got a butternut tree from a friend to see if that will survive.
• We also took out a willow bush besides the house (too close), but planted cuttings of it along our fence. And so far, most of them are surviving!
• Some days I feel like I might as well move to the Ottawa Valley, given the amount of time I spend at the PRF, especially this August coming.
• I need more vacation time and am not ready to go back to work on Monday.
• Our backyard looks great with lots of flowers and colours. A wetter summer does have its advantages.
• Next time I'll try to post some pictures.
• Speaking of pictures, Nolan got a remote controlled helicopter that can take arial pictures. Kinda cool!
• Nolan is also doing some additional obedience training with Zora. They both need it.
• We both wish we were still at the cottage and are now contemplating buying something for ourselves.

Pregnancy and work update

Time seems to be flying by! And really, life just keeps on rolling.
I'm now officially 21 weeks pregnant, which means that we passed the half-way mark. Wow! We had our 20 week Ultra-sound last week, and everything looks good. We don't know whether is going to be a boy or a girl, that will be a surprise. In the meantime we're trying to figure out names and are slowly realizing that it seems easier than it sounds to come up with some decent names! Hopefully we succeed :)

I'm feeling good as well, although I can tell I do get tired more quickly. But I think that's normal? What might have something to do with it, is that work has been crazy busy lately as well, to a point that it's hard to let go of it at times. Which of course doesn't help with the tiredness problem. But hopefully that will ease up soon as well. I am learning to say no more often, and take it easy, finally, so that is good.
It's the busy time of year for us though. Fieldwork is in full swing at the PRF, contracts need to be put in place, and on top of that, most of the people on my team are either on leave or have reduced their hours, so a lot of the work is ending up on my plate. Maybe taking a year of for mat leave is not such a bad idea!  Although it's hard to imagine to be off work for such a long time. We haven't fully decided yet if Nolan will take a part of that as well.

We, well mainly Nolan, spent the day yesterday emptying out our house (main floor). We having it painted this week, so everything had to be taken of the walls, all knick-knacks and plants had to be put away, and we had to empty the bookcase and hutch so it could be moved away from the walls. At least it will give us an opportunity to clean it thoroughly once their done. And of course, it will be so nice once it's done!
It's been a couple of months of house reno's. We also got a new roof last month, and we found out we had weasel (!) using our house for its hunting grounds... So we had to have someone come in to seal off the holes. Not fun, and if they were just mice (like we've had before) I wouldn't be too concerned, but weasels are way too vicious to have a nice relationship with, and I'm not sure the cats would take care of them. Their cool to see, but rather outside than inside!

Nolan is still running, and I just stick to the walking. Suits me fine and Zora likes to walk. That dog never runs out of energy! It will be great when she is old enough to take running or take along the bike. An easy way to burn of some steam. But in the meantime he's spending a lot of time playing with Murphy, and that gets him back in shape as well, so a win-win situation.

We also we finally able to put our garden in, and have been enjoying some strawberries and rhubarb this year. Hopefully the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant will also do well. And of course the flowers and plants to add some colour. Can't wait for summer to really get here!

Algonquin Park

We've had summer-like weather for over a week, and as luck would have it, we'd planned a weekend in Algonquin Park with Walt and Deb right in the middle of it. It was beautiful! The weather was awesome, albeit a little chilly at night, and no flies yet! We did several hikes, socialized, and caught up. Zora was great and I think she really enjoyed herself. All she did when we got home was sleep! We definitely had a great time, and are thinking of going back before the summer is over!

Below a couple of pictures: