QT

OK, so turn your head to the side and get a load of all that is cuteness! Granpa Georgie or "PaPa" as Maeve calls him picked up this sweet soft snuggly jacket for Madigan. I love it! Our good friends Lisa, Ronan and Liam got Madigan the boots! How cute! If I had more time on my hands I'd have rotated the picture for you. Since I am now the busy mother of two, tilt your dang heads! This weekend was busy busy! Gramma Susie, Granpa Georgie, Great Granparents on both sides and the Aunties all hung out to say goodbye to Auntie Sara and her belly bean. Hopefully it wont be too long before we see them again, who knows when Sara will make it back to Canada! All in all it was a very nice weekend. Monday Gramma Susie is coming to spend the day with us and we are celebrating her birthday with dinner at Great Gramma Mimi's.
My mom is coming back from and incredibly long vacation in Montreal. I think she is coming back on wednesday so hopefully she'll want to stop by and give some love to my girls! Crappa hasn't met Madigan yet so maybe we can guilt them into visiting us! Well, thats it for me for now. Must go feed my baby!

Two for one

Here she is in the swing. Not an exciting or particularily flattering pic but you all have to take what you can get! Madigan is sleeping pretty well. She goes to sleep at 9/10 and is up for a feed at 3am, then down again until 6/7am and up every hour after that! Sheesh, the trade off for that first big lump of sleep is a big one! Michael, Maeve and I prefer to sleep in but stay up all night! Weird! Second babies seem to be opposite of firsties! We are all doing well here, oh, except Madigan and I who have thrush! Gross. Anyhoo, we will be seeing all the family this weekend and we are really looking forward to it! I'll try to sneak another picture on here but if I'm not successful I don't want to read anything about it in the comment section! Take care and happy weekend to everyone!

Where is Maeve?

So basically my mother has pointed out that there have been no pictures of Maeve. Well, here is one! It is of course up to you to find her! Ha ha. Here I thought everyone was sick of seeing photos of Maeve and was anxious to see photos of Madigan! I also didn't want all the pictures up here to be Maeve holding Madigan! I thought Madigan should have her debut and then start doubling up on the cute for everyone! Apparently you can all handle it so I will endeavor to put more photos of my precious girls together! It does give my heart a workout to have Maeve hold Madigan. Sometimes the best handhold is an ear. More often and more frightening the handhold is an eye. Since Maeve loves her sister so much I'll try to capture some new pics of the two for everyone to enjoy! Ta!!

Whew, what a weekend and it isn't even over yet! Yesterday Aunties Erin and Sara came over with a giant turkey. Uncle Jaycie and Auntie Barbie came over with an adorable outfit and tonnes of energy! The outfit lasted much longer than Uncle Jaycie's energy! Saturday was pretty much an evening eat fest then a triptophan snooze off! Sunday we spent all day at IKEA! Maeve got to play in the blueberries again. Fortunately for everyone she didn't have a pee accident! Madigan was great and snoozed while Daddy carried her. Now resting is in order! Sorry you have to suffer through my terrible profile shot but I thought she looked terribly cute in this one! Hope you all have a great Turkey weekend. Tomorrow we are off to see Great Granny Grace!

Is it mean to say that your child is a little funny looking? I'm not sure what she is thinking but I think it is, "Why must my Mommy kiss me soooo much?" Madigan is doing really well. She slept from 12ish until 5am. I don't even want to get my hopes up with her because Maeve slept so poorly! I don't want to jinx this sleep pattern! Today we are going out to buy Maeve new jeans. As it turns out Maeve has outgrown every pair of jeans/pants she owns in the last week and a bit! Tomorrow Uncle Jaycie and Auntie Barbie are coming over and we are very excited! Aunties Erin and Sara are coming over too and we are all going to have Thanksgiving dinner! Wish us luck though, Auntie Sara is doing most of the cooking! On Monday we are heading over to Great Granny Grace's for swedish pancakes. I have no idea what they are but I presume there will be some sort of whipped cream action so I'm there with bells on! Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Chunky Monkey

Today Beth and Nicole our midwives dropped by for a check up. Maeve and Michael are still in love with Beth so nothing much changed on that front! Madigan is gaining weight well and actually weighs 9lbs 2oz. So, she lost some weight which is normal, then gained it back so thats great! Don't be fooled by the weight on the scale this time. There are lots of blankets and a fully clothed baby. It was staged for your viewing pleasure! Madigan continues to be adorable, as does Maeve. Great Gramma Mimi came by today and brought both girls a lovely gift. Maeve got a wonderful book and Madigan got a sterling silver music box carousel. Great Gramma Mimi had given one very similar to Maeve when she was born. It was very lovely of Great Gramma Mimi and we love her very much! I am going to go and feed Madigan who I now refer to as "boobie monster". Does she ever love to eat!

Madigan day 5

Please note that Madigan is wearing blue! She is of course wearing pink underneath it though! Today our Midwife Beth came by to check us out. Madigan is fantastic of course. I am recovering nicely too! Maeve and Michael are just in love with Beth so they are more than happy when she comes over!
Madigan managed to sleep for 4 hours in a row last night. I was ecstatic! She did it twice for me. What a good girl! I was feeling much more rested today than yesterday let me tell you. Maeve is a busy little bee keeping Daddy busy all day. She keeps me on my toes too. I swear she is 2 going on 15! She loves to argue! Even when we are saying the same thing she corrects me and tells me how it is. Jeez, wonder where she gets that from! Well thats it for me. This was a late posting so off I go to bed. I know at least one of my two gorgeous daughters will be up before I know it!

Mannies and Pedies!

maeve&daddy
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well, things around the Mussellam home are busy busy. Between feedings, poopings and booking appointments for mannies and pedies I am just grasping how much our lives have changed! Michael is busy taking care of Maeve while Madigan and I work on learning how to nurse! Michael takes Maeve out for walks and I get to steal a shower even too! Last night was a tough night. Madigan was up every hour to nurse. Maeve surprised us both by sleeping in her bed all night! Yahoo! Maeve looks to have grown about 2 inches in the last week. I know I know, you think that because we have Madigan now it makes Maeve look bigger but, I am referring to her capri pants that now resemble bermuda shorts! Hope you all have a great day and hopefully I'll post up some more pictures of our lovely Madigan!

nursing

nursing
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Hi! We are home safe and sound! The Mussellams are now a force to be reckoned with! Its 4 of us against the world!!

We had a happy, healthy delivery of Madigan Mussellam. Born September 29, 2005 at 5:05pm. She had a great apgar and as soon as they put her up on my tummy I knew she was a biggun! Our tiny little bundle of pink love weighed in at 9lbs 4.5 ounces! What is with giant second babies? She is great, we are great and I'm going to catch some zzzzzz's! As you can see in the picture big sister Maeve is thrilled and quite clever! She loves Madigan and Madigan loves her!

ZZzzzzzZZZzz

Well, since all I have to remember Maeve's napping are photos I've decided to share with you! Because we sleep in a little bit, Maeve no longer naps! How rude! I'm sure things will change when the new baby joins us in february! haha I figure thats when she'll be joining us these days! I look at this picture of Maeve and see how much of a baby she still is. Only two and already being forced to be a big sister. Poor honey! My friend Deb says that once the new baby comes Maeve will look giant. I can't quite believe it but I'm not calling her a liar either! The difference in diaper sizes is comical. It is difficult to believe we'll have a baby with such a tiny bum again! Looks like we are the last ones to have a baby. My friend Lisa had her "little" boy last night. 8lbs 14 ounces hardly qualifies as little but I'll throw her a bone! So, lets recap... Joanne had a 9lb'er, Angela had a 8lb 6'er, Deb had a 8lb 4 ouncer and Lisa had an 8lb 14ouncer.. GOOD LORD! The longer this baby stays in the bigger she'll get! Hopefully she a good healthy 7! Ha! Not that you can bank on it but the midwives have already told me this one will be bigger than Maeve was... waaaaaaaaaah!

bath time!

bathcensored copy
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Look who got new bath toys from her Gramma? Its our very own little slippery fish Maeve! Normally we shower with Maeve but looks like she might just turn into a tub time girl!
Things are good here, we spent sunday with Aunties Erin, Sara and zilla. Nothing too exciting going on. We are still patiently awaiting the arrival of baby #2. This time we are waiting without egging her on! I think baby #2 is going to rock our world! Thank goodness Michael will be home with me for the first bit! My girlfriend Deb just added adorable Maggie to her collection of girls and now there are 3. I don't think I could manage it personally! I'm glad we are stopping at 2! Hope you all have a great Monday!

Couple weeks left

Couple weeks left
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

As you all can see s/he is still in there! I now refuse to acknowledge a gender in this child since everyone that accosts me tells me the child is a boy! I chuckle really because thats what they said about Maeve too! I think I just carry right out front so I hit you like a mack truck!
We are all well and good here. Both Mommy and Baby putting on a few last minute pounds! Maeve is recovering from the cold she so graciously gave her father. Michael is home sick from work and I have tonnes to do so really he isn't going to get much of a break! I deposited my Mom at the ferry terminal yesterday so that she could get back to work and get off baby watch. I doubt she'll get off baby watch anyway, she'll call me a thousand times today! Its nice to be coddled! I have a midwife appt. tomorrow and I'll have to eat a nice slice of crow so wish me luck! Ta!

family

family
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Ok, admittedly not the best photo of myself. But these pics where it is all 3 of us are rare! As you can see, baby #2 still being shielded from the outside world by a thick layer of fat! As of tuesday sept 20 @ 9pm no baby and no murmurings of baby! I have just over a week and a bit to go. Then of course I'll be overdue and then everyone can start pestering me with phone calls that start out with, "have you had the baby yet?" I am going to try my best to enjoy these last few days/weeks of pregnancy the best I can. I'm going to go for a pedicure sometime this week. Really just to check and see if I still even really have toes!

Not yet

Just wanted to let everyone know that we haven't had the baby yet. There are no pictures today or yesterday because I'm too fat to get anything done. Not to mention scatterbrained! Today my Mom, Maeve and I went to Metrotown to go shopping. My Mom got new shoes, Maeve got some tub toys and I got nothing. How rude! I guess being this pregnant pretty much rules out buying new clothes and since being pregnant rules out buying shoes because our feet spread I was left with bags and accessories. I'm not into bags like Auntie Erin and Maeve are so I was left with accessories. Now, when one has a giant basketball sticking out in front of her what could compete I ask you? Nothing. So, empty handed I left the mall.
On a side note we met a very nice man who told me I was having a son. I have had several dreams that I am having a boy. Contact a member of the Mussellam fam and lay your bets. I'm taking the money either way but I'll need it more if it turns out to be a boy!

Hi gang!

Well, the full moon has come and NO baby! Damn chart readers. My mother has provided an exit clause and that is, the full moon will "start" baby evacuation! She says it may take 2 days. So, fingers crossed for all of us as we have quite a week or two or three but hopefully not four ahead of us! We are all well and good, celebrating Maeve and Auntie Sara's birthday. No baby but lots of early labor! I'm holding out for the "good" rooms at the hospital anyway! No one can force a baby out no matter how much castor oil one drinks! I'll tell that tale another day! Just wanted to update you all that we are fine and well and anxiously awaiting the birth of baby #2 whenever she is ready!

dorakitchen

dorakitchen
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Well, I apologize for becoming blog lazy. This is a picture from last weekend! Hey, you are lucky you are getting anything at all! You should see what poor Michael has to deal with. No hot meals, he has to wash all the dishes and sweep the floor. Now now, before you call him cinderella I do manage to get some stuff done! Maeve is doing good, seems to understand that there will be a baby sister coming her way soon. Hopefully this weekend but it is understood that the latest stubborn Mussellam will make her way into the world on her own timetable not mine! My mother is going to be coming over this weekend on the hopes that this IS the weekend. If not this weekend then we shall convert the shed into some sort of Granny shack! My friend Lisa who is due 2 days before me said she thought she was going to have her baby last night! It is so much harder the second time around if you ask me! I wish I could be blissfully ignorant the second time around! Hey, Big congratulations to Angela, Milo and Casey. They welcomed little (big) brother Theo Saturday Sept 10. Also I'm throwing out big congratulations to an equally big new addition to the Shorthouse family. Deb gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at 1:30 this morning. They don't have a name just yet but she's going to have lots of fun with her twin big sisters Abby and Emma! So, whenever our little bundle of pink decides to join us will be great, there are plenty of new babies she can scream with once she is out!

cake

cake
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Another birthday weekend down. Hopefully next weekend we'll be celebrating a birth "day" for baby #2. Who knows right, she'll be here when she arrives! So, this is a picture of Maeve's 2nd birthday party celebrating her 2nd birthday! Thank goodness she isn't spoiled or anything! I put the cake right infront of her and encouraged her to dive in face first. Would she? Hardly! My dainty little girl took a tiny bite then tested the icing with her fingers. She doesn't get that from my side of the family, must be Michaels! You'll notet that there is no "evidence" of there even being a cake. That is because in all the excitement I failed to snap a photo of it! We do have video of her blowing out the candles and biting the cake but no stills of it. We'll have to call on Auntie Sara and her awesome new birthday present camera to see if she got a picture of the actual cake! Let me tell you, it was no Dora cake but the fam seemed to like it!

I had an absolutely great weekend. 2 Bdays on saturday and a day of shopping at Metrotown with the Aunties on sunday. Ahhh this is the life!

makeup

makeup
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam.

Hi kids. Last night Maeve discovered make up. Thanks go a little bit to Auntie Caca who showed Maeve blue makeup when we were in Victoria. Sorry, I digress a little bit to point the finger. If you look at this picture closely you'll see that Maeve has selected a lovely shade of silver. Her eyeliner of choice is a silver sharpie marker. Yes, thats right I said silver sharpie marker. You know, the permanent ones. She thought she looked great and who am I to disagree! I had Daddy take the picture while I ran to the computer to google sharpie removal. Fortunately all it took was a little bit of toothpaste on a diaperwipe! My god this girl is going to give us a run for our money! I for one wouldn't have it any other way!

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!