teaparty

teaparty
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Tea for two, and two for tea!

Love the teaparty set that Auntie Caca got for Maeve. She likes to entertain her kitties! So far this morning we have been to Douglas park to hang out with Roan and Ronan. We had tentative lunch plans but they were a no go. So poor Maeve gets noodle soup with veggies! Poor me too, I really wanted De Dutch Pannekoeken! Another day perhaps! Tomorrow is midwife appt. NOT today. My bad, sorry Mom! Hope everyone is having a great day!

doracake

doracake
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

We celebrated Maeve's birthday just a bit early this year! If the stars and the planets all line up as my charts predict we will be having baby #2 on Maeve's actual birthday and we don't want to rip her off! I'm so sure she'd notice though!! I had alot of fun this weekend. I'm tired and was very cranky but I'm a-ok now! Maeve seemed to have an absolutely fantastic time playing with her cousins Siobhan and Makenna. As the two older girls ran infront of her, Maeve has heard to yell, "C'mon buddies" as she waved her arms. No one had the heart to tell her that she was the last one and that the big girls were waiting for her! It was too cute anyway you slice it! We also celebrated Maeve's friend Logan's birthday. Very fun, Maeve got to play with a balloon for the first time in her life (mean mother) After Logan's bday we came home and maeve had teaparties with her two kittens and baby doll. Auntie Caca got her a porcelain tea set and boy does Maeve love it! My girl is such a girly girl! And I love that! I'm really happy I have such a wonderful family. Everyone helped make Maeve's victoria bday a smash and I'd just like to say I love you all and thank you very much! Can't wait until you are forced to do it twice a year! ha ha

Labour Day Weekend

Well kids, how rude. No picture today. Hopefully we'll have tonnes after this weekend. The Mussellam Clan is heading over to Vancouver Island to celebrate Maeve's 2nd birthday. Can you believe we've had her for 2 whole years? Time has flown let me tell you! Maeve's Uncle Jaycie has been kind enough to host this family bbq/birthday party. Maeve's Auntie Robyn is making Maeve the cake of all cakes! A Dora birthday cake. I'm pretty excited! Siobhan and Makenna (Maeve's cousins) will be there along with their parents. Its quite a small shindig but it sure will be nice to see my whole family! We are coming back sunday morning to attend a little friend named Logan's 2nd birthday party. After those festivities we have one more party to celebrate. Thats right, it is Michael's birthday on the 5th. Hopefully Aunties Erin and Sara can come over have dinner and some cake! Well, enough blabbing with no photos. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Labour/or day weekend!

treehugger

treehugger
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Tree hugger and gigantic mother! This weekend past we went to granville island to watch the kites, kick around the ole soccer ball and climb some trees! Michael calls this Maeve's "Jesus" pose. I say she is cute as pie. Even though she is a total brat! Ok, not a total brat she does have redeeming qualities! Yesterday she woke up making kissy noises! Ok, ok, she isn't a brat at all but the most perfect little girl Michael and I have made yet! We'll see if baby #2 can keep up!

Fancy Pants

IMGP3762
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well, I should have called this one "I DID IT". Yes, Maeve put her pants on all by herself! She was very proud. They are of course on backwards but with today's fashion, who would notice? Unfortunately she hasn't figured out which item goes on first so she is commando. I must run now to go correct the situation before she pees on my rug! Happy tuesday everyone. Sorry for the lack of blogging!

sweet

sweet
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Could she be any sweeter?
Today we dropped Auntie Caca off and hit lougheed mall. Well, mostly we hit walmart after Maeve woke up! As I was pushing Maeve in her stroller I had a particularily nasty bout with Braxton Hicks and some nice lady stopped to ask me if I needed help. It was really nice of her to ask but boy was I embarassed!
I picked up some tres cute jammies for our hospital stay. The midwife suggested I pack my baby having bag sooner as opposed to later. Little Miss baby #2 is very low and almost engaged. I'm hoping she is comfy because I'm not ready to have her out just yet!
Anyway, tonight is my party with the girls and I'm very excited. I'm extra excited that Danica will be coming with me! My midwife also gave me the all clear for a beer! Woohooo! Hope everyone has a great thursday!

ringaround

ringaround
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

My girl sure likes old skool fisher price toys. Each of the little people you see before her has a name and they enjoy playing ring around the rosie! To some of my family members that may notice Maeve is wearing pants her cousin gave her. They are for ages 6 -12 months! Since Maeve doesn't wear a diaper anymore she can stay in clothes for alot longer!
Today we have a Midwife appt. Its just a short and sweet one so I'm not expecting anything exciting. I will tell them to make sure to clear Sept 17 as this is when my Mom feels certain baby #2 will make her appearance! After midwifing I hope to hit the farmers market for the last of the blueberries! Hope you all have a very lovely day!

Shoes glorious shoes!

IMGP3702
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Hot or Not? I bought these shoes when I went to Bellingham this past weekend. I think they are totally cute. Sadly, Michael, Erin and Sara alll hate them! Let me know where you weigh in on the matter. I'm sure someone out there has to like them!!
Today we had a rough start. After not napping yesterday, Maeve went to bed quite early and as a result was UP quite early! Maeve and I drove Michael to work and then continued on to see our pals Angela and Milo. Angela is doing good despite her rapidly approaching due date. Milo was as adorable as ever. Maeve of course paid neither of them any mind and went straight for the cats. Poor cats were hugged and tea'd to death! Thank goodness they put up with all the Maeve love!

Don't forget to vote hot or not in the comment section! I wont be offended if they are overwhelmingly NOT, I will still wear them even so!

daddynpizza

daddynpizza
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Talk about a fantastic day! Erin, Sara and I drove to Bellingham to shop til we dropped at Target. Wow, how much I miss that store! It was great! We shopped, ate, and shopped some more! Auntie Sara bought Maeve a new orange kitten and some sweet Dora big girl panties! I bought Maeve a fantastic Dora placemat and some other Dora related materials that will be given out at a later date! Yes thats right, Maeve has a big big birthday coming up! Michael and I are still in negotiations on how to celebrate such a fantastic event. My mother seems to thinks that baby #2 will be making her appearance Sept 17 so we just may push back Maeve's party until we have the baby. Who knows, I'm sure one of you will tell her how we fanangled her 2birthday to best suit our needs, I'll send you her therapist bill then!
Maeve and Michael seemed to have had a great day without me. boo! Michael documented their day so I didn't miss out too much though! They hit false creek, the planetarium and some sort of pizza place! Maeve had no accidents, napped well and was just sitting down to a delicious dinner Daddy had cooked when I got back from Bellingham. I think Daddy and Maeve are a pretty good team!
Well thats it for me today. I think my friend Angela may just be having her baby today. I talked to her last night and she sounded great. We had promised to speak today but I called her an no answer. I assume that she was *just* a little busy to come to the phone! Hopefully I'm right! I hope she has a safe and speedy delivery of her baby boy! I have my fingers crossed for her! ** Update** Angela has not had the baby nor is she anytime soon. boo... but she is doing great and we shall visit her tomorrow! I'll try to get you all a picture so you can see how well this woman is functioning with a big giant belly and a active two 1/2 year old!

34weeks#2

34weeks#2
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well kids this is what 34 weeks pregnant looks like. Well, for me anyway!
Sorry I haven't kept up the blog for a couple of days. I've been hot and cranky! Also, sorry no picture of her highness, you'll have to wait until tomorrow! Today is all about me!!!
Today I went to my girlfriend Lisa's baby shower. It was really nice. Adam Wood was our servant for the day as his wife Joanne was a very lovely hostess! I am most excited about tomorrow tho! Erin, Sara and I are all going to drive to Bellingham to hit Target! I'm pretty stoked, I do like the Target baby stuffs! Hope you all have a great weekend!

chillin

chillin
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Hi kids!
I have to recycle a picture from the weekend because I didn't get any yesterday and hopefully Maeve and I will be on our way early today. Not really sure where we are going, but we are going somewhere! I called Maeve's buddy Milo's Mommy to see what she was up to and at 37plus weeks the poor honey can't be up to too much! At least the weather has cooled down a bit! Milo and fam are busy preparing for the home birth of Milo's little brother.
I was thinking today might be a good day to hit the vancouver aquarium. I'm going to wait a bit and give Hilary and Roan a call before heading out. I know its something they like to do. Otherwise I can always fall back on wednesday farmer's market day! I think I'll save that for this afternoon tho!
So Maeve the little bugger didn't have a nap yesterday, went to bed at 8:30 and slept all the way through til 7:30. Maybe we'll try no nap today! I doubt that will work tho since she was up so early! Maybe we might have to move to napping every second day! Nothing more exciting so I'm going to go pack our lunches! Have a good wednesday!

angelbaby

angelbaby
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Don't let her angelic appearance fool you. That is the face of a child who has NOT napped and has peed on the floor I can't count how many times! Little bugger! Currently her hair is so floppy, but so adorable it can only be contained with ribbons, braids or pony tails! She doesn't seem to be doing worse for wear with no nap, its just me who is frazzled! At least the heat has let up a bit here! Today I think we are pretty much home bound. We had a pretty bumpy ride this morning and I've been advised to take it easy. Soo, no park for Maeve just our beautiful backyard!

braids

braids
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Ok, any men that read this will be bored crosseyed today, for them I've included a photo of pregnant Auntie Sara.
Today I french braided a bit of Maeve's hair. It might be hard to see in the picture but what a milestone for me. When my sister Danica and I were little my Mom always french braided our hair. I honestly couldn't wait until Maeve's hair was french braid-able! Technically it isn't complete but it keeps the frothy bits of long curly hair out of her eyes! Maeve of course looks gorgeous even with the frothiest of hair but this made her look just a little bit more grown up to me. Wahhh my baby isn't going to be a baby much longer!!
Ok, enough about hair! On sunday we went to Granville Island water park with Aunties Erin and Sara. Maeve being the "kitten" she is didn't seem to enjoy the waterpark at all. Well, she did like the puddles until she got a full on face splash. She didn't mind the sprinklers if I was holding her. She did draw offense at running through the sprinkler with an Auntie and crashing into an unsuspecting toddler. Great, years of therapy to repair that one! haha just teasing! After the waterpark we had lunch and then took Maeve home to nap. I napped more than Maeve but no biggy! After nap Daddy filled up the pool and we all played in the pool until dinner! What a weekend! I can't believe that soon we'll have 2 girls to have all this fun with!

swim

swim
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

As per usual Maeve has no shortage of potential boyfriends. This is Logan McDougall, he is 2 days older than Maeve. Maeve and Logan first became pals in California. They had lots of fun learning how to walk together and playing at Northgate Mall! Logan will be a big brother soon too. Gen, his Mommy, is due in January. Just like Auntie Sara!
Yesterday the BBQ was great fun. There were 3 boys from the Fast family, 3 boys from the Pelle family, 1 boy of the McDougalls, Maeve and 1 Pelle girl Emily. It was really nice to hang out with everyone this weekend. I hadn't seen the Pelle's in almost a year.While in sunny CA the Pelle brood and I had a standing weekly date, then nothing for a year! Thankfully the Pelle's have moved closer to civilization and we'll be able to rope Leslie in for some wild and crazy ladies nights! Crazy Craig McEwen has invited us to a waterpark this am so we might just do that. It was 34degrees yesterday 93degrees to any american's reading this! It was hot!!

slurp

slurp
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Mmmmm tasty pool water. Delicious! After a massive naptime war Maeve woke up a happy little pink kitten. I am a little worse for wear but happy the weather is so nice! Today we filled up Maeve's pool and splashed around before she decided drinking the pool water was a good idea. Gross. As I watch her drink it I can't get rid of the memory of what garden hose water tastes like! Thankfully we know now what we didn't know then and bought the hose that is safe to drink from. Blech.. think of all that lead that was leached into our hose water back in the good ole days! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Sorry my blogging has been lacking lately. I've been lazy! I'll try to keep up! I will point out that you all are lazy in the posting a comment department so there! Anyway, have fun these last few weekends of summer!

Hi gang,

Hope everyone is well. No picture today though, sorry! Wednesday was a bit of a bust as far as blogging goes too!
Wednesday we had a midwife appt. Baby #2 is doing well. Good heartbeat and very reactive (read this to mean she kicked our midwife). The midwife says that the baby is very low, although not engaged in my pelvis it is a good sign for us because Maeve very stubbornly refused to drop! After midwifing we hit the farmer's market and Riley park with Roan and Hilary.
Thursday we drove Daddy to work and then headed over to play with Milo and Angela. Poor Angela looks about ready to burst! She is 37 and a bit weeks and looks fantastic, but ready to pop! I bet Angela will have her second baby boy sooner rather than later. Maeve played with Milo and made sure that Milo's kitty cats had enough mustard sandwiches and coffee! Go figure, what a little nut she is! Now we are home and Maeve is napping. I'm going to attempt to make blueberry muffins. I know, I'm amazing! I'll try to get pictures tomorrow! This weekend we are hitting a BBQ out in Mission. I'm sure we'll be able to get one or two interesting shots! ta everyone! Happy thursday!!

shoes

shoes
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Thems some big shoes to fill! Bad news, it turns out Maeve will most likely share the same shoe/bag fetish that affects her poor Auntie Erin. Maeve enjoys wearing everyone's shoes. She particularily likes flip flops. She wedges the toe part between her fat little piggies and basically skiis in them.. too funny.

run

run
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Run run run just as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread... er.. man?

Ha ha, we had a lovely weekend. Pretty low key to say the least. Sunday we got lots of cleanup done in the am, napped and then went to Douglas park where Michael and I took turns chasing our pretty pink princess. Auntie Erin came to our house for dinner and I certainly made her work for it! Since I cracked out all Maeve's "baby" stuff saturday night, I needed a place to put it all. Enter poor Auntie and Daddy. Dressers were moved, furniture was shuffled, change tables were rearranged and shelves were put up. We are gearing up for this baby's arrival whenever she chooses to arrive that is! Today we are going to attempt a schedule change. Maeve has been napping from 3 - 6 and its throwing my game way off! Not to mention that she isn't tired for 9pm bedtime if she is up at 6! So, today Daddy woke up with Maeve at7:30 and let Mommy sleep until 8:30. Today we WILL nap earlier than 3! Have a great Monday, wish me luck on the scheduling plans!

splash

splash
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

What nice weather we are having here in sunny Vancouver! This picture is actually from last weekend when we went to visit Great Granny Grace in Richmond. They have a really great park that is split up in two. There is a super cool big kid park and an even cooler toddler park!
Today we hit Trout Lake Farmer's Market for some much needed blueberries, nectarines and some delicious coho salmon! Michael is filling up Maeve's pool and I think they are going to sit in there and splash for the rest of the day. As for me, I'm aiming to nap at some point. I'll let you know if it actually happens or not! I also have to pull out all Maeve's old baby stuff and make a list to see what we need! I can't believe there are only 7 weeks left! Time flies when you are making a baby! I guess we'll have to see if I feel the same way in 5 weeks!

owie

owie
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Owie! Last night Maeve was out burning off some energy and it looks like she burnt out a little too much. Crash bang boom my poor little baby's head hit the sidewalk. Wahhhhhhh said Maeve, Wahhhhh said Mommy! So, we cleaned her up, iced her up, applied polysporin and Daddy whipped up this amazing bandaid! Sorry for no bloggin this week, my Mom and best friend Jacqui were here for the week! It was great!

MaeveKenny

MaeveKenny
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

What a fantastic day! Yesterday we were invited out to good 'ole Kenny's place to hang out for the afternoon! We had a great time! Maeve met up with some cool kids, TJ (9) and Trent (11?). Maeve of course immediately fell in love with TJ who very obligingly played soccer with her. Maeve, Michael, TJ and Trent played hide and seek in the very tall grass. Michael of course nearly scared the crap out of poor TJ!! Maeve loved everything about Kenny and Shannon's place; the dogs (not at first but at the end), the cat, the fish.. the dirt.. the lawnchairs.. she pretty much had a blast! Kenny made a delicious dinner and then took Maeve over to see the horses. I don't think there was anything that Kenny could have done to impress Maeve more! She loved the horses and apparently even got to see a cow too!! Today we were supposed to have Auntie CaCa over but instead she'll come tomorrow with my Mom and Granny Jack. Instead we will be heading out to Richmond to surprise Grandpa and see Great Granny Grace! Happy long weekend!

fireworks05

fireworks05
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well Saturday came and swept us off our feet. We were late to get up and even later getting out and moving. We went to the farmers market at trout lake again. I picked up 5lbs of blueberries! Hopefully that'll keep Maeve happy for a week! She is a regular blueberry monster!
We were supposed to go to Steve Meyer's Lua out in Richmond but due to our sloth like day we didn't. Maeve and I had a rather late nap while Michael pressure washed the house and concrete. What a good Daddy! Around 8ish Auntie Erin came over and treated us all to ice cream! Yay and thanks Auntie!! After ice cream we hauled ourselves up knight street to see if we could see the fireworks from atop a high hill! What luck we could, and we did! The fireworks were great. The picture is a little grainy but we are all there! I autolit the pictures so it looks like day but really it was just a few minutes before the fireworks started! Ta!

Canadian Censorship

Canadian Censorship
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Ok, two blogs in one day. You are all soooo lucky! I guess its up to you who you are going to report us to first. Child labour protection or social services for making our child work in the nude!
Last night I asked Maeve to help me with the dishes. She happy obliged me. Now its all she wants to do! Tonight she helped Daddy and cried when Daddy had to come help me! I would like everyone that knows and loves Maeve to remember this time where she cried when she couldn't help us wash the dishes. I'll be calling on you in the not so distant future to remind her it was one of her favourite things!

misskitty

misskitty
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Meow! What a cute kitten! Today we drove Daddy to work and then stopped off at Douglas park to play. They have a wading pool and I am quite surprised I didn't hear "Iceberg dead ahead". The water was freezing. One of the park workers was doing face painting so that is how little misskitty got her groove on! We got home just after noon, had some lunch and now miss kitty is napping. I think we'll fill up her pool and let her have some backyard splashing fun today. I am too tired to pack up everything and haul her around in the car today! Lazy Mommy!

maeveyay

maeveyay
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Congratulations to Ken and Robin. They are now the proud owners of one beautiful bundle of joy. There is of course no owner's manual as such so they can write this one together! Mhari was born on monday which is a lovely tribute to Michael and myself since it is our wedding anniversary! I'm sure little Mhari planned it that way! So lots of love to the Rhiverson family. We can't wait to see all the pictures and hear the rollercoaster tale of Mhari's birth!

rocky

rocky
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Things that go bump in the night. Looks like our backyard isn't just a place where cats frequent on an hourly basis if you know what I mean! Now we have giant raccoons too! Michael caught a picture of this trouble maker this morning. Looks like me and he is trying to haul his fat carcass up!
Today Maeve and I drove Michael to work and then carried on to Coal Harbour to meet up with Angela and Milo. Well parking downtown isn't something I miss let me tell you! After uncrossing our wires we met up at the splashpark and Maeve and Milo got to play in the water. Poor pregnant Mommies got a break from the heat because there was a nice breeze blowing off the ocean! Now we are back at home, Maeve is napping and I'm going to go join her! love to all! xo v

monkeys

monkeys
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Two little monkeys swinging in a tree.. ok ok, you don't have to remind me. I realize one of these monkey girls isn't little! We had a busy weekend! We went to the Trout lake farmer's market on saturday. Maeve tried playing at a new park. At first she was really scared and wouldn't try it by herself then our brave girl conquered her fear and became a regular pro at it! After the farmer's market we walked around trout lake and Maeve met herself a fairweather friend. Click the picture to meet oliver. Oliver is a lovely orange kitten that Maeve fell in love with. He let Maeve pet him and poke him and worship him, then he snapped. Something scared him and he scratched Maeve and ran up a tree! Don't worry too much about our trooper Maeve tho, she was less concerned with being scratched and more concerned with poor Oliver being way way up a big tree!
Sunday we hit Centennial Beach in Tswassen with Auntie Erin. We walked around in the seaweed/tidal pools and laughed as Michael picked up sand with his monkey toes and threw it at Erin. Ahh, good times. Erin says it was more than enough of a stroll down memory lane for her! After our stroll we had sandwiches and played a rousing game of "Donkey". Just after declaring Michael the "Donkey" we began to see just how sun burnt we all were, save Maeve of course. So, at 5ish we all headed home and that was our weekend in a nutshell! Or is that from a nutshell? Who knows!

maevekiss

maevekiss
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

I'm not really going to blog too much here. I think this picture speaks for itself! My baby #2 is growing and sadly so am I! Maeve knows she is going to be a big sister and sings, "big sister, big sister" just like Dora! I still have 10 weeks or so to go so hopefully we wont get too big! I don't want to think about having a 14lb baby! I think this is the end of the bare belly shots for me though. Maybe some sort of camoflauge clothing will disguise my girth! I have a midwife apppointment on wednesday so we'll see if I'm still measuring a week further along or not. I'll keep you all posted!

lobbygone

lobbygone
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Here are a few photos of the aftermath of Emily. We have tonnes but its such a pain getting them all up here! I'll try to get Michael to figure out some way of hosting all of them so you can see. We've been home for a couple of days now and are really just taking it easy. Michael has received a tetnus shot and his foot seems to be doing ok. Our Dr said there really was no chance of him getting tetnus because we kept the injury clean, medicated and dry. I can only assume she gave him the shot for shits and giggles! Our poor darling Maeve was battling a fever yesterday and although happy as a clam, her poor body was working hard to beat whatever it was that was bothering her. She is 100% back to normal now, no fever and giving us a run for our money. The damn kid just keeps getting smarter every day! I am doing well but have definately slowed down due to baby "Emily". I've been having alot of braxton hicks contractions and think that maybe I should slow down and relax a bit! Other than that we are all well and happy to be back in Canada!

homeagain

homeagain
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Lo hicimos! We did it!


Hurricane Emily has nothing on the Mussellam family! Ok, she did have us for a while there and we will post photos of our devastated hotel. We made it back to Vancouver this morning and had to rouse poor Auntie Erin at the ungodly hour of 6:30am to come get us! We are safe, we are tired but most importantly we are home! So thanks for all your thoughts and prayers because they obviously worked!
Love to you all,
Vashti, Michael, Maeve and baby Emily! Ha ha we are so not naming Maeve's sister Emily!
xo

Packed up ready to go

IMGP3100
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Happy Trails to you!!!

Well Bon Voyagee to us as they say! It is very early and we are off to the airport. True to form Maeve was up with terrible gas/teething at 1am leaving Mommy, Daddy and Auntie Erin with a whopping 1.5 -2 hour sleep stretch! Woohoo! We'll be gone for the next 2 weeks and we'll be thinking about you all!! Ha ha, ok, we'll be thinking about Ken and Robin most but the rest of you do rate somewhere... well.. yes I think you are all there somewhere! Anyway, happy trails and we love you all!!

pinkpiggies

pinkpiggies
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Happy pink piggy thursday!

Since Sara, Erin and I are all going to the spa on saturday to have pedicures, I thought it might be nice for Maeve to have a foot treatment of her very own! I love this picture and she loves the pink polish! What girl would go all the way to Mexico with naked piggies? Not my daughter I'll tell you that much! haha Well today we are heading up to the midwives for a shot. Boo. Thats ok, it will help me and the baby should our blood cross. I am Rh negative so its a pretty big concern. After that we are picking up Daddy and he and Maeve will get to spend the evening together while Auntie Erin and I hit the local Walmart for all of our travelling needs. Man, where is a target when I need one! Happy thursday! Don't forget to click the pic and see other picture I put up today!

triangle

triangle
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

I spy with my little eye. Someone who is cute and adorable! Its you... ok, not you... YOU!

We took this picture on sunday. Yesterday's blog pic was a fresh one but today you get a recycled one. It is a gorgeous day and I am going to try and get some housework done. Maeve is going to go outside and play in the sunshine!
Thank goodness for Michael who came home from work yesterday and did ALL the laundry in the house. He washed it, dried it AND folded it after washing all the dinner dishes. What a good husband and Daddy he is. So today send Michael a little msg helping me show him how much he is appreciated. You can send the little msg via MSN or our home email vashti@telus.net. Now don't let him get a swelled head or anything.. I don't want him walking around all high and mighty on me!!!

snoozing

snoozing
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

So, lets just say that tuesday has been a much better day than monday was. After not napping yesterday, Maeve was fit to be tied by 7pm. Off to bed her mean mother sent her!! Nice Daddy went out and took care of some grocery shopping. The downside of having Maeve go to bed at 7pm is the 6am wakeup time. Booo.. Again, Daddy to the rescue. Michael and Maeve had a shower, had breakfast and then came to wake me up. That extra little bit of sleep really made my day today!
At 10ish we went to Riley park to meet up with 2 of Maeve's boyfriends. Roan and Ronin. We had a lovely lentil soup and bagel lunch at Solly's before walking back to Roan's house where are truck was parked. Around 1 Maeve fell asleep and I have to admit that is also part of the reason my day is going better! Doesn't she look sweet and angelic? Well normally she is but without napping, not nearly as sweet and angelic! Once Maeve is awake we are going downtown to play with Milo. Maeve is very excited about making his kittens some more coffee. Who knew she would be such a gracious hostess! Have a great tuesday everyone!~

TripTrop

TripTrop
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Trip Trop Trip Trop, who is that trip tropping over my bridge??

This was taken yesterday on the BIG kid climber at Brittania Park. After some initial hesitation Maeve decided there was nothing to fear and ran boldly back and forth not seeming to notice she was probably 6 feet above the ground! We did a little grocery shopping, had a little lunch and then headed home for a much needed nap. Sadly of course I didn't nap but did nab some down time! Monday finds me tired, cranky and frazzled. How nice.. poor Maeve. Maybe I'll get better sleep tonight and not be so crabby for tuesday. Cross your fingers for me!

ocanada2

ocanada2
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Happy Birthday Canada!

Maeve has been singing happy birthday all day long! We went down to partake in some festivities at Granville Island. There were lots of big and little kids running around! We saw George, Jules and Sophia. Sophia is adorable. We joked a little bit with love and sympathy for Ken and Robin waiting for Mhari to enter stage right! You know, because I'm such a seasoned Mommy. ha ha ya right! We tried to get Maeve to go in the jumping castle but she was having none of it. The crowds were pretty big so we came home to have a nap. The weather isn't so nice and we are debating if we should go see the fireworks in a little bit of rain or if we should go to blockbuster and rent a movie. Ahhh the family life! We wish you all a very happy Canada day!

carpentry

carpentry
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well today is wednesday and we went to the midwife to have a listen to baby#2. She sounds great. Her heartbeat is 144 bps. Maeve was a great big sister and helped the midwife turn off the doppler! I have to go back next week to get a shot of Rhogam before heading off to sunny mexico! boo yay in that order! The midwife seems happy with my progress so I have nothing to complain about!
I think Maeve and I are just going to hang out in the backyard today. The weather doesn't seem like it can make up its mind what its going to do. How womanly! I can't make up my mind these days either!

maevendaddy

maevendaddy
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well tuesday has been and gone already! What a fun day we had. Maeve and I drove Michael to work and then headed for Riley Park. After playing on everything, meeting some new friends and having a snack we headed off to the butcher shop. How exciting I know!! After a failed attempt at getting Maeve to nap in her own bed, we headed downtown to play with Milo and Angela. They have a very cool loft and Angela is the Queen of storage! I think Maeve had a really nice time, Milo is a great friend. Maeve made coffee for Milos' cats and watched a little bit of Dora before leaving their place and heading to Science world to play at the park. We waited for Michael to finish up at work and he was able to meet us at the park. What fun, a park and Daddy. Maeve ran alot! Hopefully she'll sleep well tonight! Who knows, I know I will sleep well tonight! Tomorrow I think we are going to go to Riley Park again and the farmers market. Its no California farmers market but I'll take what I can get! Hopefully I'll get some new pictures instead of this ole recycled duck pond one! Ta ta!!

Pallada

Pallada
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

This weekend saw the Mussellam Clan venture off to Victoria BC. The Tall Ship Festival was in full swing. Having missed the chaos of a terribly planned event thursday and friday, we floated through the festival on saturday with nothing but good luck and good fortune! A very kind gentleman gave us boarding passes for the Lady Washington, he said that due to a wait for another tall ship he was unable to board the Lady. Well, board we did for free and to boot we also got to skip the hour plus lineup. Very nice. The weather was gorgeous and the ships were just fantastic. The waiting was a little hard on Maeve but she did amazingly well all things considered! Uncle Jaycie and Auntie Barbie too very good care of us and cooked not one but two delicious dinners. Not to mention the banana bread and treats throughout the day! Maeve continued her love affair with Rascal the cat, she hugged him, kissed him and even read to him. Now that is love! He is such a good cat to put up with Maeve's affections! Hope everyone has a good monday. Don't forget to click on the picture to see more of our weekend in Victoria!

princess

princess
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Our poor little princess is cutting some royal pain in the @ss teeth these days. She is back up 2 or 3 times a night and would really prefer to sleep in Mommy and Daddies bed! I figure since I have her little sister kicking me all night I really wouldn't be able to cope with her kicking me too. Maeve does NOT share the bed! We are going to Victoria tonight to go see Uncle Jaycie, Auntie Barbie and rascal. Hopefully they all have earplugs! Gramma, Crappa and Maeve's cousin Siobhan are all going to be at the tall ship festival so it should be lots of fun! Michael is suffering a bit from his new found sports fanatacism! He plays hockey tuesday & thursday mornings and soccer wednesday & friday mornings. Yesterday he took a rather nasty slapshot to his stomach but made up for it in spades when he scored his first apre highschool soccer goal! Yay Michael! I'm doing pretty good myself. Getting bigger for sure! The baby is very active and seems like she is going to be just as cheeky as her big sister! God help us! I'm in good spirits, good health and just about as happy as a fat pregnant lady can be! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

mmmmm raspberries

mmmmm raspberries
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Nothing like a little late night snack of raspberries! Gramma (Vashti's Mom) came over to visit for a few days from Vancouver Island. Maeve is sure to be spoiled rotten! So far the count is, a duck, a light up fish and a beautiful ladybug wind catcher. Those are the thigns she came over with!! We haven't even hit old navy yet! Oh well, thats what Grammas are supposed to do right? Spoil our little ones rotten?

neighbourhoodwatch

neighbourhoodwatch
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Ever since our truck had an attempted break in, the Mussellam family has been on a 24 hour neighbourhood watch program. It seems to be working well as we haven't had any burgling activity on Maeve's watch. We had a very lovely father's day weekend! We went for breakfast on saturday with Auntie Erin. Then Auntie Erin and I ditched Michael and Maeve to enjoy Daddy/Daughter time and went to the mall to shop for bathing suits! The fun, the joy... thank goodness there were no cameras this time around! After what seemed like days worth of shopping, we picked up Maeve and Daddy and had dinner at Boston Pizza! Nothing like capping of your special day with a little grocery shopping so we did that too! Sunday morning Daddy was treated to a pankcake breakfast from Mommy,a beautiful card from his girls and tickets to the tall ship festival in Victoria for next weekend! All in all I think it was a very positive Father's Day!

swing

swing
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Here is today's extreme closeup! Ok, I've been fairly lazy getting pictures up for everyone this week. Sorry!! This picture was taken last weekend at Douglas Park. Maeve loves to ride the swing! She can also do the zip line and there is nothing like seeing your child hanging on for dear life! Today we talked to our friends The Reynolds. We got to see how much Haidyn has grown, how big and adorable Athea is and how happy Eric and Anna are! What would the world be like without web cam? Hope everyone has a great friday!

Fading

Fading
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Ok, ok. I realize the level of cuteness Michael and I have contributed to the world. How much cuter is she going to get?? I mean seriously. I realize every mother feels her child is the cutest but someone should explain to me how it is that we can possibly love our children so much? It is mind boggling. And now to think that in the relatively near future I'm going to have to find more love to give to our second daughter. My mind is boggled!! Today we woke up and the truck was all in one piece, Daddy went to play soccer, Maeve and I had a nice breakfast and went to the gym. Maeve got to wow the daycare staff with her toilet trained-ness and I of course was a very proud Mama! This afternoon we shall grab some lunch and some sunscreen because we are going to the farmer's market at Nat Bailey stadium. How exciting! Rumour has it that Uncle Jaycie and Gramma will be making the trek over to see Maeve sometime in the next two weeks. July 10 we are having our second babymoon and are going to the Mayan Riviera with the McEwen family and also Auntie Erin for 1 week.

I see you!

closer
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Hi gang. How is everyone? After a relatively uneventful Monday we were "delighted" to wake up tuesday with a broken car window. Yes, some jerk tried to break into our car on Maeve's side. How rude. Fortunately our faithful Nissan resisted the attack and the criminal was forced elsewhere. So, today we spent the day getting estimates and plenty of time at metrotown awaiting our fixed window. Maeve had some stellar tantrums, I have a supreme headache and Michael still has his ever present grin and cheerful disposition. How rude again! Hope everyone else's tuesday was better!

Attack of the Concrete MonkEy

Attack of the Concrete MonkEy
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Tack this up for disturbing images that may haunt you your entire life. Michael drew a lovely high heel wearing, banana weilding creepy monkey. It was so disturbing to me, but loved by Maeve that I thought we should honour it with a blog entry. We've had a lovely weekend. We had dinner friday night with the Aunties, saturday we walked around commercial drive then had dinner with Granpa and Great Granny Grace and sunday we stayed pretty close to home, had family nap and went grocery shopping! Phew, what a whirlwind weekend! Take care, I'm off to read Monkeyshines!

bluberry

bluberry
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Ok, you can't see her very well but check out those blueberries!! We spent the day at Ikea with Auntie Sara. Maeve was a little nervous at first but then got right down into it! There is another blueberry pick that is better of Maeve if you click the picture! Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Bananas in pajamas

Bananas in pajamas
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Happy Happy thursday to all! Hi gang! We are doing well here. Today we spent the morning with Auntie Sara. We went into every baby/maternity store on 4th! It was really exciting and I really felt like a big sister. Unfortunately that is literally speaking. Sara bought her first pair of maternity pants and looks absolutely adorable of course! I tried on some bathing suits and tried not to start bawling! Ah pregnancy hormones! Her highness is having a nap and I think I should too! So! Take care. Oh yes, and Happy Happy Happy Birthday to Auntie Barbie!

How would you like a fat lip for dessert?

fatlip
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Poor Maeve. This is what happens when you let your child run without safely placing her in a protective bubble of some sort. Maeve was "helping" me clean up, as she went to jump on the couch she bonked herself with a maraca. A few tears, a bit of blood, a fat lip and some ice later she is good as new! Perhaps this will teach her to help instead of running away laughing as I ask her to help me! Or perhaps someone will read this and phone the you know who's to say that I gave it to her for not helping!!

24wks#2

24wks#2
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

So baby #2 is getting bigger! Now I actually look like I'm pregnant! Maeve seems to understand that I'm having a baby. We've told her our (my) name choices but fortunately (for me) she can't be grilled to give up the precious name secret! I'll have to ask Ken and Robin how to set up a poll on here and maybe everyone can suggest some names and we can have a baby name poll. Anyway, it is tuesday we had a lovely lunch with Auntie Erin, Auntie Sara, Great Auntie Lisa, Gramma Susie and Great Grampa Gordie! Phew... what a crowd!

maeve&gramma

maeve&gramma
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Hi Everyone! Gramma Susie made it to BC! She is on a brief whirlwind tour of all the friends and family she abandoned when she first left us for
crappier provinces months ago!!
We had a great weekend, we visited Grampa Georgie at his house friday night and saturday. Then Sunday we loaded up the dumptruck to drive some furniture over in the rain! Yes, the only day it rained was the day we were transporting furniture. Nice! Oh well, thats BC weather for you! This sunday we went to Maeve's friend Audrey's birthday party. It was really fun, she turned 2! Lots of babies, lots of big kids and just a couple Maeve's age in the middle. Cake was had, songs were sung and we brought home our tired little girl! So, this brings us to Monday. Gramma Susie is staying the night and Michael and I are going to try and catch a flick! Woohoo! Babysitters that are related rarely charge the going rate! Take care everyone!

Friday

maevepoints
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well, its been a while since we posted here! Darn photo limits! Today we had a swim date with Roan,Ronan, Hilary and Lisa. It was great! Maeve is getting so brave she'll jump from the side of the pool, I have to catch her of course but its a big step for my girl! After swimming we had a fantastic lunch at Solly's Bagelry! Yum yum. Now I'm just writing this up before having a lovely nap! Well, hopefully! It didn't seem to work out yesterday! After nap we are going to pick Daddy up from work so we can catch the ferry and head over to Gibsons. We'll be back either Saturday night or sunday morning to go to Maeve's good friend Audrey's second birthday party. Should be lots of fun! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!