New Arrival

So, you may have guessed from the dearth of blog posts that something has happened. Well, yes, indeedie!

We have a new baby boy, Hugo, who has rocked our world. In a good way. He was born early in the morning of April 17th (12:47 am). He came into the world with great speed after a 10-day delay.

{ iPhone photo of Hugo a few hours after he was born}

I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. Hugo came quickly {+/- 2 hours of labour}. And there's no way I could have done it without the support of my incredible husband, Craig, and our fabulous midwife, Irene of Midwifery Associates, North Shore.

The kids are loving their little brother. They are so kind & gentle with him, it is pure sweetness to watch them love him so much:

{ big sister Paulina in the hospital }

{ big brother x2 Sebastian at the hospital }

{ dog pile on Mum & Dad's bed }

{ kisses for Hugo from P }

And a few more assorted photos... just in case you needed confirmation that we are IN LOVE with this little morsel of a person:

{ me & H }

{ big yawns from a tiny man }

{ kisses from Dad }

{ handsome boys }

{ a-snooze }

{ now we are FIVE! }

Soon I will be back to blogging about design-related things but for now Hugo is taking centre stage. And that's just fine by me.

Kisses..... Julia

PS - many of these photos { all the black & whites and the colour one of Hugo napping } were taken by Becky of Bee Chalmers Photography. She's great. She's a friend & a fabulous photographer & did our prenatal photos. She can even make a sleep-deprived new mama look half-decent. Which, in my books, goes a LOOOOOooNG way!

In My Nest

As I mentioned in a previous post, we aren't putting together our nursery until baby is born & we confirm if he's a boy or she's a girl. We have a bassinette set up in our room:

{ anticipating baby's arrival }

The moses basket is an inexpensive find from Toys R Us {click HERE for the link} & combined with a rocker base, suits us just fine! I love the sage & off-white colour (which is perfect for a newborn boy OR girl):

{ loving the stripes! }

Some hand-me-down teddy bears from big brother Sebastian & big sister Paulina await our wee one:

{ cozy spot to land }

And a bunch of books to read & blocks to play with:

{ I love Beatrix Potter }

While I was setting up baby's space in our room, I was indulging in some non-alcoholic beer. It's not quite as good as an ice-cold big girl pint but this little baba is well worth the sacrifice in taste:

{ non-alchoholic beer & baby belly }

We've got a chest of drawers full of itty-bitty clothes, receiving blankets, diapers, etc. etc. & I've set up a change table on top:

{ diaper-zone }

If you've had a baby, did you find out the sex? Why or why not? And are you good at predicting... what do you think we're having?

Boy??

or girl??

Baby~Belly & Family Photo Session

Baby is still "in". Which I am quite grateful for, to be honest. I've never experienced the last month of pregnancy. Both of our other kids came early & I am enjoying these last few days & weeks of being pregnant with a belly full of baby. I know that this baby won't be premature, which is a reassurance. And I have had time while the kids are in school to rest & relax & get a few 'to dos' off my list. It has been a reflective, quiet time which I don't always allow for in my day-to-day life. We've been having some fun family times too, as we look forward to all the changes ahead.

As promised here are a few pictures from our photo shoot with Becky of Bee Chalmers Photography:

{ Craig & I holding hands }

{ love this one }

{ and I love this one too }

{ me & my boy }

Becky also got some pictures of the two of us, of us as a family & of the various 'goings on' of a Saturday morning in the Smith household. She even got a shot of the family cat, Sinatra (who is all tough guy with other cats but is pretty nervous around humans).

{ Sinatra observing the goings-on }

{ Craig being a goofball }

{ Paulina being a goofball ~ she came by THAT honestly }

{ whirling dervish }

{ sibling love }

{ Smith Family in our bedroom }

{ Sebastian giving his Mum a cuddle }

{ Father-Daughter Time }

{ Sebastian & some of Becky's kids at one of our fave parks }

Can you tell how much I love black & white photos? And how hard it was to pick just a few to share??!

You can also see from the periphery of the pictures how much we need to do around this place. There is no art on the walls, there is painting to be done in the master bath (note panels around tub), & we have a minimum of furniture. We don't even have a proper master bed & our bedside tables are 'make-dos'.

I feel like our house is a home but needs a few more layers added to give it a bit more personality. Maybe the arrival of this new little one will trigger us to get some of these projects done around the house...and perhaps bring fodder for a new blog post?!!

Gratefulness

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend. We spent a few days up at Whistler pumpkin patching, mountain biking {Craig & Sebastian}, chilling & eating & drinking & making merry.

I have so many things to be thankful for. Here's my list for this year:

* My children, who are good companions. I'm happy that they get along (most of the time!) & get a kick out of each other:

{ Sebastian & Paulina at North Arm Farms near Pemberton }

* A handsome husband who still gives me goosebumps when he walks into a room

{ Craig & Sebastian at Jim's cabin in Whistler }

* Plenty. Plenty of food, plenty of security, plenty of warmth, plenty of family & plenty of friends. I feel particularly blessed when I remember that there are many around the world who would be happy with a fraction of what I have.

{ Kids picking out their perfect pumpkins }

{ our bountiful harvest of purple carrots from our garden }

* Good health. Sometimes I take this for granted & I shouldn't.

{ Leenzie & me ~ & my hair back to it's natural colour!! }

* A belly full of baby. WE ARE EXPECTING #3!!!! Thrilled, excited, nervous & full of anticipation. Can't wait to meet the newest addition in spring 2011.

How about you? What are you thankful for?