10 things

as we laid in bed the other night i asked chris what he was looking forward to most about going up to the lake to spend a few days at the cabin. i said what are your top 10 things?

he rattled this off without a moment's hesitation. u see we really love it up there

the quietness

seeing river's reaction

taking mercy there for the first time

the drive up

logan's

our king bed

ringing in the new year together

watching team canada play in the world juniors

thats only 8 tho so ill add 2 more: bundling up the kids for a walking sleigh ride for riv + a backpack trek for mercy.

reading our "girl with the" books together after the kids go to bed

a few days of r+r here we come. ringing in the newyear together as a family of 4. life is good.

Newly Weds

Mr. and Mrs. McNairn. It's official! These two beautiful people tied the knot in probably the most emotional wedding I've been at since my own. One re-do of a botched bridesmaid 'do, a last minute trip to the post office for some ponchos, and a groom that had to sweat up front for maybe two minutes that felt much longer, this beautiful day went off without a hitch. I've never seen bigger smiles or happier tears. I love my friend like my sister, I love Kelly and the amazing man that I've witnessed him become, and I love this newly married couple. I am excited to be a part of their lives that they've joined together. However...... as everyone who knows knows... it will always be Cooper to me. Although I'm sure she will be smiling a ridiculously cute smile for quite some time as she announces herself as McNairn. Kelly will probably be telling strangers "were married" Its so awesome. That's all.

2 More Weeks!

Only 14 more days until these two get hitched. "Cooper" becomes McNairn. What shall I call my friend then? O my goodness. Sharlene you will be married! A wife! A better half! I can't wait to watch you say I do to the love of your life. You two are wonderful. Here's to a happily ever after and many many little McNairn's running around! I can't wait :) Love you my friend.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ... How I Wonder What You Are

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.......Our little Wonder is over a month old already. She is alert, expressive, and even smiling although I've not had the chance to capture it in many pictures. The other day while making supper I had to grab my camera because she was posing for me. It's busy but I love when I get to cuddle her close and watch her eyes flicker to sleep. She curls in, slows her breathing and sleeps like an angel skin to my skin. If ever I could pause time. Instead I take a deep breath and try to burn that smell into my memory... Try to remember just how small she is... How delicate.... How soft.....How she looks into my eyes and knows its me but knows little else in all the world..... I try to make it stick because I know it will be no time at all before she's running around, jumping off couches and pointing at and announcing every ball and lightbulb in sight; always hoping for a cookie.

She's Here!

It's a girl! Mercy Belle came into the world on October 9th, a week late. River has a sister. She is perfect. Dark hair. Dark blue eyes. Good lungs! This is late. But here she is, courtesy of LisaLandrie.com. Our family of 3 became 4. Life is a juggling act. But I can't stop falling in love with my baby girl.

I HEART

I have a friend who used to blog about something that she "hearts" for the day....... Life and work and a baby got busy and I haven't heard what she hearts for a while..... So this post is for you.

I've been thinking about things a lot lately. Something that happens with the gift of a few unexpected extra days. Time is such a gift. Maybe I haven't used it the best that I could. A few errands I ran that didn't probably HAVE to be done. Maybe I ate ice cream 3 times yesterday. Maybe at the back of my mind I'm wondering if this will be the hour that this time comes to an end.... but mostly I've been just thrilled. A few more things in order. A few more visits. A few more nights sleep. Well peeing every 2 hours still beats the sleepless nights to come. I've got a few awesome quality play dates with my boy after the busyness of moving and unpacking. I've felt his little arms squeeze me so tight feeling that he doesn't want to let go. I've seen so many smiles that come just from seeing my face. What a feeling. I've got to truly look into my little man's eyes and soak up the realization that this little journey of just me and him is coming to an end. Somewhat sad but somewhat excited too because he will have someone to share his fun and loving heart with. He will have someone else to bring shoes to, plant big open mouth kisses on, bring fuzz or strange little things from the corner, read books with, smack across the face :( , dance like a crazy fool with to anything resembling a beat, and laugh hysterically with. Somewhat sad that our little family of 3 will no longer be. This little life we evolved into.... but really anxious to have another little one to watch, delight in, talk about, play with, LOVE SO MUCH. To start a new little phase.... A family of 4. Sounds weird! Anyways... that was a tangent.

What I was saying was that with this extra time I've been thinking. Mostly just about random things that I do or don't like. or love. or "heart" here's a few.

I Heart:

Harv's cooking. mmmmm

Mom's creative games with River. He always falls for her tricks and looks amazed at what she's doing.

My bathroom cabinets being installed unexpectedly on a sunny afternoon

My husbands love and his hard work for us

POO CORNER! I will I went sooner. And will go again for sure.

Seeing River climb up onto grandpa's lap to read a book. And play fishing rod over and over...

My mother in laws baking..... the buns that are just as good as the ones grandma makes... and banana bread. so lucky she loves to bake!

A baby that actually went to bed with out being terrified. A husband at hockey. And a few hours to myself.

I DO NOT heart:

Kleenex Boxes. Whoever does the marketing really needs to step it up. I would buy more kleenex if it didn't look so tacky! hahah

Scratches on brand new floors!

Dry hacking coughing spells that tear my 9 month pregnant stretches abs

The feeling after eating Mcdonald's

People filling our dumpster with their trash

well that's about it for now...... going to enjoy tonight....... and if I have tomorrow I will enjoy that too.

B A B Y ---->

"Where's the baby? Y E S S S ! In there, In mom's belly".... Maybe its starting to click a little.... Just in time. O your world is about to change my little love. Just remember I love you. As much as I always have. I tell you so many times a day. I hope you remember.

A n y D a y N o w

Life is beginning to feel a little bit like life again. Agreeing that we did bite off way more than we could chew this summer, we couldn't go backwards so we had to buck up and slug through it. All the things we've have on our heaping, piling, almost debilitating to do list have one by one been picked away at until one sunny afternoon (today) after a sleepless night with a sleepless baby we realized that life has almost become manageable. The time crunch simply being.... before baby...... Finished work for another whole year. Check. Packed and moved out of old house into mother-in-laws house. Check. Moved from mother-in-laws house into new house. Sort-of Check. Have deck completed at lake to stage that can survive winter. Check. Have trashed rental property fixed up and have new tenants move in. Almost- Check. Prepare house, and freezer, and rooms, and have working bathroom before baby arrives. Check. Move all our crap from brother in laws house. Check in progress. Take River for 18mos check up, needles, and then another doctors appointment and hijack sister-in-law for xray (can't expose baby two to radiation) after a fall at fun factory and subsequent ankle injury. Check. And in the past week we've managed to have a few evenings to visit friends which was sooo good... and even a bbq at the neighbours to meet the block. If you ever want to feel young and either unimportant or uneducated, or maybe even slightly boring, move to our street! bahaha... but what nice people. We feel welcome. So as I was saying. We have our second child due in one week now. And he or she has given us the chance to prepare enough to give him or her a home to live in. After a few false alarms meaning my uterus was shouting at me to quit packing so much, this child held off but has decided my bladder is a perfectly good place to hang out. Well started on the decent, baby two has not far to go.... literally..... and I can say that I am finally beginning to feel content, prepared, excited, and nervous...... now that life feels a little bit like life again. I can't really fathom how our life will change. And to be honest, I'm trying not to. River has brought so much joy to my life I am just preparing for the flood gates, of love, emotion and happiness to be opened and to feel things that are amazing.

Opposites Attract?

How can two people have such a raw and opposing reaction to the same thing? I've been thinking about this for the past few days as we had a chaotic weekend road trip to edmonton.

The situation: Clutter in the vehicle. Disarray and "things" touching your elbow. Chris. Blood pressure through the roof, a partially shaking voice in frustration and a disgusted sigh as if one had seen maggots or something truly repulsive....Basically stating that this situation needed to be remedied before we could carry on in any sort of harmony. I think we were looking for something like a pen or a receipt. Me: Not phased in the least, I just lift layer upon layer of mess rummaging through it knowing I will eventually find it and adjust my body position around the crap cluttering us, stick my coffee in the door holder not really bothered or concerned if a little bit spills into the door. And i then I have to laugh, looking at the genuinely horrified look on his face as he prepares to tell me I have to not put my coffee there. I can actually see him visualizing the the drip and mess of my coffee in his door. Somehow although so truly different and seemingly incompatible...... we have something that still works. Still loves..... and when not in the middle of one of "these" moments... laughs about how ridiculously opposite we are sometimes.

an unplanned adventure

a park loaded with adventures. chasing birds in the water. swimming and splashing. building sand castles with grandma and then destroying them. playing with cousins and great auntie-grandma's. borscht and hot dogs. toys and toys. wagon rides. many balls. hammock rides and swings. bikes and walks. helping collect sticks for the fire. roasting marshmallow's for the first time. mouth and hands full of stickiness and loving it. a dragon show. grandma's homemade corn chowder. smooshing bugs with the fly swatter. cookies and tea the "house" (closet) trying on hats. saying "grandma" for the first time. key lime honey on toast. trying on shoes. lots of hugs and kisses. smiles from ear to ear. not one picture to show for it :(. all this in a day and a half. O the life of a one and a half year old. Could it get any better?

8 t h i n g s a b o u t s u m m e r

o n e : the smell of tomatoes on the vine. even better watching my own little plant grow them turn red, and getting to enjoy the deliciousness of it all.

t w o : every day seeing my boys smiling face learn and discover something new. And feeling the true and full and innocent love that comes from a child's heart. Watching my child, and being a mother is the most gratifying thing I've known.

t h r e e: saying goodbye to a home of so many memories, most good. yet some bad. Feeling like a piece of who we are is gone and left behind. Feeling sad River will never remember his first home, one that was specially made with love and sweat and hard work. but also excited to lay down roots in a new home with lots of memories to be made. Watching it take shape more and more every day and getting excited about it!

f o u r : watching " b a b y t w o " growing in my belly before my eyes. Trying to fathom this new little life. Not knowing anything more than whoever this little baby is that he or she will surpass any of our hopes, and fill our hearts with more love than we thought possible. The miracle of a baby is something we are forever grateful for.

f i v e : a dear friend engaged. Looking forward excitedly with her and for her and to be standing beside her as she marries the man of her dreams. Feeling so at peace and overjoyed to see the growth in two people and the beauty of what love can do for lives. Sharlene and Kelly I am so happy for you guys.

s i x : starting a new and challenging job in the ICU which was most definitely the right move to make. Excited for more of it.

s e v e n: 8 years of marriage to my love and my life. turning 29 in just days and realizing life is so so short. somehow even a short date just us two feels better than it ever has.

e i g h t : friends at the lake. perfect. what else can i say.

s c a r l e t t a n d r i v e r

when they aren't fighting... they're kissing. hahaha.... and it will only continue.... with jen and emery as our new neighbours at the lake, I am sooo excited! Emery took us to fish at Sandy Lake where we caught tons of fish! He taught me how to gut + cut them too...or is it Fillet? Anyways.... very disgusting... but i must say not as bad as touching them while they are still alive and wiggling....freaks me right out!

g r e e n s u m m e r

One HOT summers day and two little bright green boys.

b a b y h u d s o n

lianne and baby hudson came for a visit. It's crazy how fast a newborn turns into a little person. And how beautiful when someone becomes a mother. Thanks for the visit you two. River was learning how to share his toys.... sort of..

"i d o"

these days anything that River is remotely capable of doing on his own he insists on doing. he had a lot of fun visiting his grandma and grandpa at candle lake this weekend. hardly took a picture to capture it :(

a l l t i e d u p

I love how anything that you do is hilarious, interesting, and totally cool to a 15 month old. Mom dressing you up with a belt from her sweater can make your morning. I love it.

p i n k s t r o l l e r s

One beautiful little girl named Cedar Don turned 2 and her mom left no detail unthought of. Little boys fight over pink strollers when there are no hockey stick or cars available. Their dads gulp uncomfortably watching this knowing that trying to keep them away from the pink toys would be a waste of time and energy. Their mom's laugh inside.

h o c k e y

one super cute daddy-daughter combo + mom that we got to spend a lot of time with thanks to a bruin- canuck stanley cup final..... Who won again?

Children's Festival 2011

Although there is no end of things to do, this first adventure to the children's festival consisted of me chasing River constantly as he just wanted to run everywhere only to stop and stare completely in his glory at all the excitement. The giddiness on his face was priceless! A leash would have been handy though. It was so great catching up with my friend Jacinda and her adorable 3 kids.