Happy New Year!

It has been a long while since I have had the chance to blog.  You'd swear we started this blog to keep everyone updated on the basement since Ryan has been much better at keeping the blog to date.  I will do my best to catch you up to what we have been up to, other than trying to stay sane during our renos.

I finished my last day of school December 17th.  It was much harder for me to leave than I thought.  After spending the last four months getting to know my students, I am not sure there is anyone quite right to take my place.  I have no doubt the new teacher will be great and my students will be fine, but it still feels wrong to be leaving mid-year.  I took Rougie, our class fish, home for the holidays and promised to come back for a visit and to return Rougie.  But now that the holidays are over and it is time to bring him back, I`m even having a hard time parting with the fish.  Is this the pregnancy homones acting up again?  I do think Baron will miss him as well.

That weekend, Jordan and Cyd came for a visit.  We finally got to meet our nephew, Augustus, who is now 7 months old. He is as adorable as he is in all his pictures.  It was really nice spending time with Jordan and Cyd since, for the most part, we only see them during family gatherings, once or twice a year.

That Sunday was my baby shower.  Janae organized and hosted it, with the help of Karen and Nat.  Karen, Cyd, Averley and Janae were there, as well as Nat, Tannis, Lori and Sam.  Also, my two grade three collegues, Jenn and Andree-Anne came.  Janae organized a couple games and we enjoyed some delicious snacks.  It was great to see everyone and I got a ton of wonderful stuff for little Scooter.  Thank you to everyone who came and a special thanks to Janae!

Janae went to visit the Van Ormans in Olds for a few days and then came back to stay with us.  Janae and I started the tree mural in Scooter's room.  It is still not finished but looks terrific already.

The two of us were able to trace out the tree with the help of a projector and finish the first coat of paint.  We decided to go with the academic paints since we didn't quite feel we deserved the title of professionals.  However, if we are ever to do another mural, I think we have graduated to that level.

Then it was Christmas.  Richard and Karen came up to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us.  It was nice for us to not have to travel quite as much this year.  Warren, Ave and the girls also joined us Christmas Eve for breakfast.  We exchanged a few gifts and then they were off to Medicine Hat.  We spent the afternoon at the skating rink.  Richard, Karen and I were spectators while Janae, Ryan and Hunter enjoyed the ice.  Then we came home and enjoyed some frothy, candy cane hot chocolate drinks, thanks to our new frothing drink mixer given to us by Janae for Christmas. 

That evening, Ryan and I pulled off our second family turkey dinner, similar to the one we had at Thanksgiving, minus the 5 pumpkin pies.  Instead, for dessert, Karen made a pumpkin cheese cake that was amazingly delicious.  We enjoyed a few more gifts that evening, one of which was a Canadian version of Monopoly, minus the money.  We spent that evening playing our new game and due to a poor business decision made by Richard, despite all of our warnings and pleas, Hunter won the game.

Christmas morning was a whirlwind of presents, phone calls and waffles.  We spent the afternoon relaxing and watching a movie.  After some late afternoon snacks, the Van Ormans headed back to Medicine Hat, leaving Ryan and I to enjoy a quiet evening together before our trip to Edmonton.

Boxing day, Ryan and I headed to Edmonton, maybe not quite as early as I had initially planned but we made it before dinner, none the less.  We had a family supper that evening at Dan and Tina's house.  Eveyone was there and Madeleine was the centre of attention.  Watch out Madeleine, your competition is almost here!  She is as perfect as she was the last time we saw her in November but is now starting to smile.  While in Edmonton, we met up with Alana and Elliot for dinner.  We had a great time.  It is funny how even though we had not seen them in a year and a half, we were able to pick up right where we left off.  They had some wonderful news to share with us and with any luck, we will be able to visit them this summer.  We spent a few days at Mom and Dad's, spoiled as usual, breakfast ready when we decided to roll out of bed and an endless supply of tasty food and eggnog. 

Then we headed back to Calgary.  The eve of New Year`s Eve, Ryan picked up our friends, Dale and Abi, from the airport.  They spent that evening and most of the following day with us.  Abi shared with me a video that she thought I would appreciate, so soon to becoming a new mom.

http://www.reflectionsofmotherhood.com/

That evening, Ryan and I went on our anniversary date.  Two years ago, on December 20th, we were married.  There was far too much going on right around that date this year that we decided to postpone our celebration until New Year`s Eve.  We went to an Italian restaurant in Kensington for dinner before heading to the Jubilee to see The Wizard of Oz.  Scooter and I really enjoyed it (I could tell by all the kicking) and I think Ryan did too.  It was a great way to start off our New Year; I look forward to another wonderful year with the most amazing man I know. 

Ryan went back to work yesterday and so I am finally officially on my maternity leave although it has been a busy two days already.  I have just let my list of things to do pile up over the holidays so I may not be able to relax and put my feet up quite yet.  It is better than having to get up early and work though.

I am 35 weeks pregnant.  This means approximately five weeks to go.  I am getting anxious, nervous and excited all at once as I wait for this very important, life altering day.  I still feel great and the only complaint I have is the lack of sleep.  Up every two hours can be difficult and frustrating, although I am well aware that this is in preparation for motherhood.  I can`t wait for Scooter to arrive and become an important part of our family.

If you would like to see all the pictures from our Christmas holidays, click here.