Someones smuggling watermellons.....

Here's the latest tummy update at week 32. I'm feeling pretty darn big and the dreaded gestational diabetes has returned so no more Dairy Queen blizzards for me!

In case you're wondering, Neil told me that my tummy update photos are boring and insisted on taking more interesting pictures, i.e with props, hence the police hat.

Finally, we have a tree.......

Seb investigates the tree that magically grew in the living room during the night. So far so good, he hasn't really touched it. I think he's put off by the prickles.

Starting to feel a lot like Christmas.....

Now that we're into December and the Snow's finally here I'm suddenly starting to feel all festive! I've made a start on some nice Christmassy decorations but haven't got the tree yet. We're a bit concerned that Seb might just pull it straight down which has kind of delayed us. I think that'll be our project on Saturday. In the meantime I thought I'd post a few snaps taken this morning. It was such a beautiful winter's morning with deep blue sky and crisp white snow.

Our freshly shovelled sidewalk.

Snowy front steps.

Even without the tree it's amazing what a few baubles and stockings can do to make a place feel festive.

We've even got a little one this year for Bump. More of a sock than a stocking, aww!

An afternoon in the life of Sebastian.....

Seb's smile after his game of chase with Doog.

They have a love/hate kind of a relationship, on Seb's part he's got nothing but love for his canine buddy but Doog isn't always so sure.

Anyway, after playing with Doog and having lunch Seb set about his afternoon activities of playing with his toys and destroying the house.

But after a while he got rather bored of it all....

and kept asking to go outside and play in the snow....

So we bundled up in our winter gear and took a stroll in the snow. Seb loved it despite the -12 temperatures!

We stopped at Sarah's to warm up midway and then made our way back home where Seb promptly fell into a deep sleep for nearly 2 hours!

The Chase....

A few action shots taken during a high-speed chase today. Doog had an empty coke bottle in his mouth and Seb was speeding around the living room trying to grab it from him, Doog was having none of it and managed to escape him every time. Both of them were having a whale of a time!

Congratulations Olstad family!

Meet baby Cash....

The newest member of the Olstad family was born last Wednesday December 3rd weighing a teeny 6lbs 7oz. He's such a cutie pie and we're very, very happy for Mandy, Kelly and Hunter. Congratulations!

A tummy update...

I'm at 28 weeks now, the third and final trimester! My tummy seems to have had a sudden growth spurt and I'm really feeling the difference! Up until now I've been quite comfortable and didn't really notice the tummy getting in the way. Now things are changing, if I'm in the passenger seat of the van when we pull into the garage Neil has to stop and let me out before we drive in, I just can't fit through the gap once inside! Getting my socks and shoes on and off has become a bit of a challenge over the last few days so I've had to adopt a side ways leg twist method with that. I'm also getting a little uncomfortable at night and find myself tossing and turning all night long. I'm a tummy sleeper normally so not being able to lay on my stomach is difficult and now if I lay on my back the baby squashes into my diaphragm and I can't breathe properly! Anyway, apart from these funny little discomforts it's all good! I feel much better than the first time around, probably because I'm more prepared for all the crazy things that happen during pregnancy. The little baby seems very active and it's so cool to feel all the kicks and rolls as he or she goes about her daily business. Sebastian is blissfully unaware of the impending arrival of his little sibling. He's just learnt how to give kisses on command and he's planted a few smackers on my tummy which is just so cute! Neil's getting more impatient and excited as the time goes by but neither of us can quite get our heads around the fact that we've only really got 12 or 13 weeks before we become a family of 4!

Seb's bath art....

We found a fantastic invention in Toys R Us yesterday......bath tub crayons for toddlers! They're such a good idea, Seb had great fun scribbling all over the bath and himself and it all just washes away with one swipe of a cloth and he's already in the bath ready for a wash too! Perfect! Whenever we've given Seb crayons before he's only ever been interested in eating them but he loved scribbling away with these. Maybe it's because he was in a confined space without other distractions and with a perfect white canvas right there in front of him. Auntie Kate and Uncle Paul will be so proud of their budding little artist nephew!

"Hmmm, this looks kinda tasty...."

"Mmmm, yum!"

When I brushed his teeth after his bath his toothbrush turned purple from all the crayon stuck to his teeth.

For Kate....

My birthday present arrived today! Thank You!! It's the lovliest sewing kit ever! After I'd put Seb to bed I was so excited to open it (once I managed to get through the well-sealed, duck tape covered packaging)! So full of wonderful exciting things that I don't have a clue what to do with. I spent quite a lot of time reading about the different stitches and trying to figure out the diagrams and eventually decided to attempt to make something!!

Several hours later, this is what I had created....

Ha ha! I think I need a little practise. Anyway I just wanted to say thank you. I'm going to bed now, it's late. Oh, one more thing...how are you actually supposed to use a thimble?

Super Seb...

Everyone keeps telling us how much Seb has grown and I realized that it's been a while since I posted any photos of him on the blog so this evening we had a little photo shoot before he went to bed. He goes a bit nuts at this time of night and runs around and around chasing Doog and laughing hysterically so it was difficult to catch him for some good pictures. I finally managed to get him sitting down and after the first shot he seemed slightly blinded by the flash so I tried to get as many off as I could! I actually really like how these pictures turned out, you can see the unusual colour of his eyes. Click on the photo for the larger picture.

Look at those toothy pegs!

Teasing Doog....

then trying to look all innocent.

Playing with the phone, he always wants to call Da da.

Here comes the snow.....

I was just about to go up to bed tonight when I noticed it was snowing outside. We've had a dusting once or twice over the last week but this was coming down a little harder and seemed to be settling so I grabbed my camera and stood outside for a moment in my slippers in the freezing cold to take a couple of photos. The trouble is that I'm just not sure I'm ready for another Albertan winter. Looks like it's well on it's way whether I like it or not!

My birthday....

So we dropped the monster off at Erin and Jakes house and headed off for an evening of baby free fun and excitement (well, dinner and a movie). As you can see in the photo above, Jake looks absolutely thrilled to have Seb stay for the evening.

Me celebrating as I leave Erin and Jake's, "woo hoo!" Koutouki Taverna here we come!

Mmmm I love Meze! Dolmades, Keftedes, Pitas, humus, calamari, kleftiko and so so much more....

Hang on, why is my plate empty?

Neil strarting to look a little full.

We took this photo by resting the camera on our huge pile of boxed up leftovers.

Back at the ranch we had a little evening firepit so we could sit without moving so as to digest our huge dinner.

Oh and we did go back and pick up Seb eventually.

Thanks Erin and Jake!!