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 :)

Welcome to the Family!

Well, a few months ago Matt and I welcomed a new member to our family. His name is Hank and at the time he was a 9 week old chocolate lab. Our little baby has grown up and we just celebrated his 8 month birthday last week. Where has the time gone?? Our little baby has grown into a man. If time flies this fast with a puppy, I can only imagine what life will be like as our family begins to expand.

Oh wait. Did I forget to tell you? It looks like time is going to start flying even faster, as Matt and I will be welcoming a new addition to our family this coming June 2012.

Yes. That's right. I'm about to become a mom ... and Matt's going to be a dad ... for real.

Probably one of the craziest feelings ever. Knowing that there's a new, little life growing inside of me right now. It wasn't until yesterday that it became even more real, when Matt and I went for our first ultrasound and had the opportunity to see our baby for the first time.

It doesn't matter how many ultrasounds you see, whether they're your friends, or people in your family. It completely changes when it's your own. Quite emotional, actually. More so than either of us expected.

And hearing the heartbeat for the first time .... unreal.

Anyway, we're so excited to become parents and to finally be able to share it with family and friends. I think if my family had to wait much longer to tell, they may just burst. So here is your permission to tell the world!

Life has been fully of changes lately, with the news of the little one, my placement in Toronto, and a bunch of random other things, but bring it on! I'm ready for a change :)

Oh, and it looks like my 25 before 25 is going to be due for a little change up ... but that's another post all together!

Let the mommy blogs begin!

500 Days of Marriage

It's hard to believe that 500 days ago today, Matt and I officially tied the knot!

That day was one of the best days of my life, but life has definitely gotten better since then.

I can truly say I love Matt more than I even did before we got married. We've definitely had our ups and downs this past year, but each time we come out stronger.

Here are five things I've learned after 500 days of marriage:

1. I am way more particular about things than I thought I was. Okay, maybe anal is a better word. I have learned that sometimes it doesn't matter what way the edges are folded when making the bed, as long as the covers are on. If they don't fall off when we sleep, then it's really okay.

2. Always make sure to make time for date night. No matter how hectic the day, week or month, always make sure you have one night a week (or month) to get together and connect. Whether that's going out for a nice dinner at Golf's Steakhouse, or spending the weekend together cuddling on the couch and watching a season of Lost, always leave room to connect with each other.

3. Never have a deep conversation after 10 pm. I'll admit, we've broken this rule a few times, and after each one, I remember "Don't have a deep conversation after 10". It usually doesn't end up too well.

4. Who needs a duvet in the winter when you sleep with a furnace? Enough said.


5. Getting a dog really does help you understand your parenting styles and prepares you for kids. I realize that this may not be true for everyone, but for us, it has worked wonders. Thankfully to Hank, we're able to work out some of our kinks on him instead of our first born child!

Happy 500 days of Marriage Anniversary, babe. Here's to 500 x 500 x 500 x 500 x infinity more :)

I love you.