Happy First Birthday Little Man!

It's hard to believe but a three weeks ago our little man turned ONE!

I know I sound like a total cliche, but I actually have no idea where the time went.

It feels like just yesterday we were brand new parents, bringing home this new, scary, adorable little package from the hospital and having absolutely no idea what to do. Now, I have a toddler who loves climbing in and out of his bumbo, eating apples in the cart while grocery shopping, and pushing toy cars all around the house while saying "Vrooommm".

To celebrate his birthday, we decided, what better theme for country lovers than a cowboy theme!

I'll admit, I went all out for his birthday. And let's be honest, we all know a first birthday party is for the parents ... so yes, really I did it for myself. And even though I completely stressed myself out, it was totally worth it!

A big thanks to LeeLaaLoo over at etsy.com for the amazing cowboy themed party decorations. It made decorating for the big day a breeze! Their delivery time was amazing as well. I ordered it Thursday night and had it all in my inbox Friday morning. Impressive!

Our wonderful friends Rob and Stacey Musselman offered to let us use their barn and property to host our cowboy themed party, so it was the perfect spot!

Here are some pictures from our little mans day!

BBQ Extraordinaire!

Our friend Rachel Huber did amazing job designing and creating this delicious cake and cupcakes! Her creativity and cake decorating abilities blew my mind. Thanks Rachel!

Enjoying his first bite of cake!

He acted like it was the most normal thing in the world

He was more interested in his pop can than any of his new toys

Lovin' his MegaBlocks wagon

Four Generations :)

A big, huge, GIGANTIC thank you to my amazing mother-in-law Bunny Ninaber for taking all the pictures this weekend. If it wasn't for her, I would have had no proof this day even existed!

With how crazy I went for this party, I can only imagine what year number TWO will look like!

Happy Nine Months Little Man!

Yesterday marked an exciting day in the Ninaber household.

Our little man turned 9 months old! And as of today, he has officially been on the outside world longer than the inside with me.

These last nine months have been an absolute whirlwind. I remember when I was pregnant thinking, "This is the longest nine months of my life" and thought the pregnancy would never end.

Alas, it did, and we were blessed with this wonderful baby boy. This baby though, has somehow changed in the past few weeks and has turned in to a toddling little man. He pulls himself up on anything and everything, crawls all over the place, and tires himself out by chasing the Roomba throughout the house (our robot vacuum).

He has three teeth, with three more about to pop through. But the funny thing is that the top teeth that have come through are the top sides, not the front. Makes for a pretty cute smile.

He loves to eat his cottage cheese, red peppers and celery, but he doesn't like cucumber ... surprise, surprise (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!).

His favourite words are "Ababa baba" (bottle) and "Mummm mum mum mum" (self explanatory!)

He loves his bath time.

He's quite the mommas boy, but when daddy walks in to the room, the smile that radiates from his chubby little cherub face is unreal. He loves his dad.

He looks just like his grandpa.

His best furry friend is Hank. Every morning when he wakes up, Hank walks in to his room with us. As soon as Ryder hears him, he will continue to look around the room until he finds him and once again, beams with his amazingly contagious smile. The two of them like to keep watch over the neighbourhood in the morning. I can already tell they will be best friends.

Only three more months and this munchkin will be celebrating his FIRST BIRTHDAY! Ahh. I'm hoping these next three months slow down, because I'm not quite sure I'm prepared or ready for that day.

If there's one thing I've learned in my first nine months of being a mom, it is to not wish the time away. I've done my best to enjoy each stage we are in, as already there are little things that I have begun to miss.

Already I miss his tiny little 8lb self, when he'd cuddle up on my chest and just slept.
I miss when I could change his bum without worrying that he'd flip over and get poop everywhere.
I miss putting him in his swing and he'd sleep throughout the day.
I miss him playing on his play mat ... and if I had to leave the room, I knew he'd still be in the exact same spot when I came back
I miss nursing him 8-12 times a day (believe it or not) and just getting to bond with him as he rubbed my arm or he'd stretch up and play with my face and hair. Then he'd give me the perfect little grin.

Now, I love hearing him laugh. It's contagious.
I love watching his spirit of adventure.
I love seeing his determination and how he doesn't give up.
I love the claps and smiles he gives when the people he loves walk in to the room.
I love that he doesn't play strange.
I love the hundreds of expressions he shows me everyday
I love being the first one to experience all of his "firsts"
I love being his mom.

Man, if I'm this sappy at his nine month birthday, heaven knows what I'll be like when he turns one.

Happy Nine Months, Little Man. Mumm mum mum mum loves you!

Ninababy in the Park - 35 Weeks

Time flies. Literally.

I feel like it wasn't that long ago that I blogged, but as I sat down to finally upload some pictures and work on a post, I realized it's almost been 10 weeks since I last wrote. Oh, and did I mention that D-Day is only 5 weeks away. Where does the time go?

That being said, the past few weeks have been filled of crazy preparation, as we are getting ready to meet our little man soon. My best friend and sister threw two wonderful showers for me, the nursery is 90% finished, the name is picked out, and my hospital bag is pretty much packed. Now to finish prepping the rest of the house for his arrival.

Matt and I are beyond excited to meet the little guy. As I write this, he is currently giving me left hooks and jabs in my tummy. I can't wait to see his flailing little arms in real life. But in all honesty, I am most looking forward to seeing his cute little face and seeing if he looks more like his momma or daddy. And hold his tiny body. Putting all of his new little clothes away have been so surreal, as I look at how small his newborn onesies are, the size of his diapers, and the little hats and mitts that we have to take him home in. It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks, I'm going to have a tiny little bundle that is going to be mine to love and cherish and care for for the next 20+ years. Crazy!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings ... here are some pictures that I took last week at 34 weeks with my wonderful mother-in-law, Bunny Ninaber. The "bump" has turned more in to a mountain, but thankfully I am still all keeping it in my belly and it isn't surrounding to other parts of my body haha.

Enjoy :)