Where's the snow shovel?

Winter is definately here. At the beginning of the week it snowed for a few days solid and now everything is well and truly covered with a blanket of white stuff for the forseeable future. It's been down to a chilly -26 degrees and it suddenly feels like winter. With a stroke of luck Neil managed to get the Christmas lights up on the outside of the house the day before the snow came so he won't have to clamber about on the roof in the snow and ice like last year.

Seb at 4 weeks.....

Little Mr Ralston is growing fast, at 4 weeks old he is definatley becoming a bit more aware of his surroundings. He spends a little more time each day with his eyes open and seems fascinated with the strangest things. He's not too bothered about looking at Mummy or Daddy but has spent several minutes most days contemplating the spots on his crib bumper. He's also slowly learning that bath time isn't quite as bad as he originally thought. He still isn't too happy when he's naked and makes a fuss but he's getting used to it. Yesterday evening we all took a stroll to get a DVD, it was Seb's first little taste of a winter evening in Northern Alberta, I think it was about -8 with wind chill. Neil and I were pretty cold despite wearing hats and winter coats but Seb was toasty all tucked up in his fluffy snow suit and snuggled in his stroller.

Here are a few shots of Sebastian having a bath. You can see from the facial expression just how much he likes it.........

"Oooh yeah....I love bath time!"

"OK Daddy I've had enough, get me out of here please, and tell Mummy to stop taking pictures of me naked, they could end up on the internet or something."

"Mmmm....tasty."

17 days old already.....

I wanted to try to write something about Seb and what it's like being his Mummy. I'm sitting at the computer with him strapped into a carrier on my tummy. He's been asleep for the last half an hour and I've managed to make myself a cup of tea, have a bowl of cereal and tidy up the kitchen. I know that doesn't sound like much but I feel like I've really accomplished something this morning! I think he feels like he's back in my tummy with all the jiggling around. I was beginning to think this tactic might allow me to reply to all the emails we've received over the last couple of weeks and give me a chance to write something on the blog. As soon as I started to type he started to stir so I don't think I have long. For anyone reading this that has emailed me and hasn't had a reply...I'm so sorry! I have been wanting to write to you all but just haven't had a chance. Seriously, having made my own breakfast makes me want to pat myself on the back at the moment! Thank you all for your cards and presents and good wishes. Sharlene, I know you'll read this...I hope you had a lovely birthday, I'm pretty impressed that Seb decided to share it with you. I'll never have an excuse to miss yours now will I!

The last 17 days have been a blur of extreme emotions, I've been so happy and am overjoyed to have this amazing little man become a part of our lives. I've also been a crying jibbering wreck and did begin to wonder if I was losing my mind. Being a Mummy is so much more challenging than I ever could have imagined and I now realize that I was totally unprepared for the anxiety and worry that comes hand in hand with the pride and joy. I'm so grateful to my Mummy for being here to help Neil and I through these first couple of weeks, I don't know how we would have managed without her. Mummy, thank you so much for all the cups of tea and the reassurance you have given me whenever I felt like things were getting on top of me. You are the best Mummy and an amazing Grandma. We all miss you very much.

I like this photo because my Mum and Doog have the exact same expression and Seb looks like he's doing some kind of Gangsta "westside" thing with his hands.

Seb and his Nanny

This is Seb as I write this sleeping in his sling hanging from my front.

Seb..............

DUMMY, Did you know that here in Canada these things are not called dummies, they are called pacifiers, or soothers.

Sebastian has settled in really well and is enjoying life. Nights are a blast for him and he likes to boogy when the sun goes down. Kids eh? HAHAH

Seb on his changing mat having a conversation with me. Its about time I told him about the birds and the bees I think.

Sophie bonding with little Seb. So cute.

Below is Calender pose for OCTOBER, Oh yeah work it......

First Walk in the big wide world. Well Beaumont actually, he told me that he likes the way houses are built in the neighbourhood and enjoys the local wildlife of giant bunnies and geese, wasnt too keen on the local talent though. He was looking for some girls his age.......3 days old.

Little Seb is settling in.

Poor old Doogie is wondering what the hell happened. He keeps bringing me his stuffed toys and pairs of socks and dropping them at my lap. He is so worried that little Seb has taken his spot in the family. Doogy is still the top dog!

Poor old doogs. Its OK buddy we still love you.

Sophie and little Seb managed to take a nap together before lunch. Seb kept us awake all night, I swear he is nocturnal. I guess I will have to change as well.

awwww!!!!

All the flowers Sophie received from Mandy and Kelly, Audrey and the team at Homes by Avi, Sarah and Nigel, Malcolm from work and a crappy bunch from me which I got from a convenience store. All I could manage as I was with her most of the time! Thought that counts though, right?

So Sophie was in labor for 13 hours and finally little Sebastian arrived.
He was born on the
20th October 2007 at 1623hrs. Weighed 8.8lbs.

Wleft the hospital the day after on the 21st October at about 12 Noon.

Sophie and liitle Seb just before we left the hospital. Sophie did so well and she looks great considering what she just went through!

THATS NOT A BALD PATCH ON ME BY THE WAY, JUST BED HEAD!!!!!

Little Seb when we arrived home. I think he settled in well!

SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!

SEBASTIAN McLEAN RALSTON

That time of year again......

The leaves have already mostly fallen to the ground and the geese are flying south. It's a little bit chilly now and then and pumpkins are appearing on front porches all over the place.

We had thanksgiving dinner at the Headleys, roast turkey and all the trimmings followed by pumpkin pie. Most of the hard work was down to Nigel's Mum (thanks Linda!) It was absolutely delicious, although it doesn't look like Nigel was too impressed!

In other news, we are still impatiently waiting for Baby Ralston to arrive. Hopefully he'll make an appearance sometime soon. My tummy is starting to seriously interfere with everyday tasks such as getting off the sofa and wearing shoes. It could snow at any moment and I'd still have to walk around in flip flops just because it's impossible to reach my own feet!
It really has become quite frustrating mostly because the doctor has been hinting at inducing me early for the last three weeks! Well I'm nearly at 39 weeks now and at the last visit the Doc said that as I'm starting to dilate my waters could break at any time. I've spent the last few days bouncing up and down on my pilates ball in an attempt to help things along. My Mum arrives on Friday and I'm still hopeful they'll be three of us greeting her at the airport......we'll keep you posted!

Baby Ralston....

I had an ultrasound today to see just how big baby Ralston is getting. Turns out he's pretty big and is weighing in at 7lbs already! So....he may be here sooner than we thought. This was the only decent picture we could get as he had his hands and the umbilical cord in front of his face almost all the time. It's a bit of a strange picture but we think he's pretty cute! Oh and he definately has Neils lips!

Walkies with Dale and Doog...

Today we went for a walk at Terwillegar Park, the same spot where Doog almost disappeared through the ice on the frozen North Saskatchewan River just under a year ago.

After all the sunshine we've had, today seemed a little gloomy and cloudy but the park looked beautiful with all the autumn colours.

Neil and Dale disappear through the undergrowth.

Dale and Neil chatted about cars and food and life in general while Doog and I took in the scenery.

Doog makes some friends along the river bank.

More deep and meaningful discussions.

So much to say....

I've finally found five minutes to sit and write on the blog. I can't begin to describe how hectic everything has been over the last few weeks. Seeing all our family and some of our friends for the first time in over a year has been amazing, it's been a whirlwind of events and visitors and I really don't know how to write about it. Neil managed to squeeze in a few photos from the wedding in the previous post but these are just a few snaps taken mostly on our cameras. The professional photos are available to view online but we haven't received our disc yet so I can't post any on here for now. The slideshow below is definately worth a look, Kirstie, our photographer did an absolutely amazing job of capturing the magic of the day. I can honestly say that it was a perfect wedding! The scenery at Emerald Lake is always dazzling but on that day it seemed more so than ever. The lake was a breathtaking turquoise blue, some of the leaves on the trees around the viewpoint had turned golden yellow and the sun shone on everything and everyone so perfectly. We even had a special rainbow appear over the lake while we were taking pictures which I take as a good omen! All the ladies looked gorgeous and all the gents so handsome and smart. Neil and I were both a bit nervous of the ceremony but in the end it was so beautiful that it made us both cry (and it seems that most of the guests cried too!) I'm so grateful to everyone for coming and hope that you all enjoyed your time as much as we did. Since we've been back home we've still had lots of visitors and I had a lovely baby shower. The shower was fantastic and Erin did an amazing job of organising everything and was very kind to have us all take over her home for a few hours. I was totally overwhelmed by the amount of baby presents we received and it still hasn't sunk in! I've got a lot of thank you cards to write that's for sure! Here are a few photos from the shower.....

Here's the yummy cake.Some big presents for baby, a bouncy chair and tunnel mat.

Diaper sniffing! A game Erin had arranged which had us all tring to identify the squishy brown contents of some nappies. As disgusting as it looks, you'll be pleased to know that they were all different kinds of chocolate bars!

Some of the cute vests and sleepers Kate had printed.

Erin's amazing diaper cake complete with all kinds of baby goodies!

Sarah and I examining the mountain of presents after we got home!