3rd Anniversary

Yesterday we celebrated our third anniversary! I can't believe that time has gone so quickly and that I have lived in Australia (on and off) for 5 years now. Wow!

It was also Jessie's 5th birthday so we took her out to the dog beach for a walk in the morning. Yes, we got married on her birthday so we (mainly Barney) wouldn't forget our anniversary :)

As we do every year, we went up to the look out where we got married for our annual picture. I sure look a lot different this year!

Our wedding day:

1st Anniversary

2nd Anniversary (after renovations to the lookout)

3rd Anniversary (29 weeks pregnant!)

We were going to go out for dinner, but decided lunch would be better as I couldn't be bothered to go out at night as I'm too tired. We went to a new restaurant that opened last week and it was delicious! They are still under renovations but it's going to be beautiful.

Barney had a cured salmon dish with avocado, horseradish cream and sourdough crumb and I had tempura prawns with an Asian style salad. We didn't leave full but were satisfied! We then walked down the beach next door to the shop for an ice cream for dessert. It was a perfect afternoon together.

I'm glad we had such a nice day together yesterday because I feel completely off today. I am exhausted after a good sleep last night, don't feel like eating and don't want to do anything but lie on the lounge. I really hope I am not getting sick!

Thankfully, I am only working 4 days this week because my cousin is coming to visit for the weekend! She currently is a teacher in Jakarta but will be coming to Australia for the first time to visit us and spend Christmas with friends up north.

Looking forward to her visit and a long weekend!

Pregnancy Woes

I don't want to complain because I have gratefully had an easy pregnancy but there is just two things that have been the toughest.

#1: My teeth!!

At 10 weeks I cracked a tooth and had to get a filling done. Last week, the same thing happened again. I was just eating as normal and after my tooth felt funny. I realized that a quarter of my molar was missing! I have had a few cavities growing up but generally no teeth problems until being pregnant. So, for the third time this pregnancy I headed to the dentist. I had a major filling done. Yuck.... The good in all of this, private health insurance! I've hardly had to pay for any treatment. Yay!

#2: My hips/legs

Yes, I know. My hips are slowly widening to prepare for birth and with that comes pain. After being at home all day, then going to work for 8+ hours, my right leg aches. I lie in bed and can hardly move it. The pain goes from my lower back right through to my upper thigh. It's not fun! I can hardly bear weight on my right let at the end of the day. My left leg is still in great shape.

I had a massage last week which helped but a week later, we are back to square one. All I can do is put my feet up and stretch it out. I'm nervous to see what happens when I get bigger. I've gained roughly 7-8kg so far but I'm sure I will add at least another 5kg to that total.


Even though pregnancy is taking a toll on my body, I wouldn't change it for anything. Feeling this boy kick and move is incredible. It is truly amazing that God creates this being inside of us! I am very thankful that I get to have the experience of growing a baby. It is really a miracle.

Vanuatu

I can't believe we have been home for a week already but we had the most amazing time on our holiday.

The first few days were spent doing activities and seeing the sights and the last few days were for pure relaxing.

We spent the first 2 nights on the island of Tanna, home of volcano Mt. Yasur and many ocean blue holes. We had our own blue hole to snorkel in and it was some of the best snorkelling I have ever done. Its just off the beach and is protected by the reef at low tide. Please ignore the water shoes on my hands in the first picture! I was holding them both because I was scared to go in (the water and I are not friends) and finally decided to go in. Glad I did! My body also felt so good in the water and took the pressure off of my back and joints.

The volcano was amazing!! You can drive to about 100 meters from the top then walk up to the rim. It is the most active volcano in the south pacific and even maybe the world, with eruptions happening every few seconds. You could actually see the sound waves rise through the smoke before it would sound like the loudest thunder you have heard. It took our breath away.

The second island we went to was Santo. Its popular due to the Millennium caves. It involves hiking through the jungle, visiting a village, walking through the caves (in nearly a meter of water) then coming back hiking over boulders and drifting in the river. This was not recommended for pregnant women so Barney went alone while I sat by the pool and read my book for about 8 hours. Bliss!

We also drove up the east coast to Lannoc Beach seen below. There is a resort there but it was very quiet so we had the beach to ourselves! Most of the beaches charge an entrance fee except for this one. We had lunch there then headed back to catch our flight to Port Villa.

We spent the last 4 nights in the main town of Port Villa where we spent time kayaking in the lagoon, walking around town and visiting nearby Hideaway Island to snorkel. It boasts the only underwater post office in the world and you can dive down (as seen in the last picture by Barney) and mail a postcard. The snorkelling was great but I didn't last too long as I felt like my lungs were going to collapse.

We also drove up to a fresh water blue hole where Barney swam while I watched from the side. They have a big rope swing and it was very entertaining to watch people attempt to swing from it.

All of our holidays in the past have been very full on and we've always tried to pack in as much as we possibly could. We wanted to make sure we took the time to rest and relax this time and I am so glad we did. We came back Monday night and both went to work the next day. It was the first time we felt we didn't need a holiday from our holiday!

Now, we are beginning to prepare our home (and minds!) for our little bub who will be here before we know it. We've hit the third trimester and are 27 weeks pregnant! Yikes.... its going quick!

Scratchy

Meet Scratchy.

We bought this car about 3 years ago just like it is now, covered in key marks thanks to some really cool teenagers. (They were caught!)

It has slowly gone down hill with age and I got to the point where the thought of having a newborn in the car made me nervous. At one point, the engine dropped and was sitting on my sway bar. Ya... not safe.

So two weeks ago we took it down to a park to take pictures of it so we could put it on ebay. We took some pictures then the camera battery died. We started Scratchy and his battery died too. Fantastic.

These lovely mature people came to our rescue to help us jump start the car. We attached the cables to the battery and low and behold, the hood hydraulics went and the hood collapsed down. The car started smoking because the cables were still active on the battery. We couldn't get the hood opened because they were caught on the cables. Great! These lovely people surrendered (as I would have) and gave Barney a lift home to get another car and some tools. I lay down in the grass and worked on my tan. (PS: we didn't bring our wallets, phones or anything with us!)

We tried for an hour or so to get the hood open and it wouldn't budge. I had had enough and we went home. After having a good cry, calming down and having a snack (the joys of pregnancy), we went back and tried again. A lovely man named Daniel came over to help us and after much struggle, we finally got the hood open! We may have bent the hood and added a few of our own scratches but at least we could fire it up and drive it back home. Daniel was so lovely, kind and patient, my first thought is that he must be a Christian. Although I don't know if he was for sure, I think my suspicions were correct when he called out to his son, whose name was Ezekiel. I'll never know but I'm thankful for Daniel and his generosity.

So we put Scratchy on ebay listing everything wrong with it, hoping someone would buy it for parts at least. We listed it for 99 cents because by this point, we just wanted to get rid of it!

The good news is that Scratchy was driven out of our driveway last night and we got $500 for it. I really don't care about the money, I'm just thankful the car is gone!!

Although it wasn't the greatest of afternoons that day, there were so many things/people to be thankful for. Especially, my very patient husband :)

23 Weeks

As requested.... here is the latest belly shot. Please excuse the sweat pants, no make up and frizzy hair. It's my day off :)

I've been feeling good although I make sure I have a nap before I go to work every evening. The baby has been moving around a lot! Yesterday he was moving all day long and today was nearly the same. I don't mind (not like I have a choice) as its comforting to know he is doing well and it doesn't wake me/keep me awake. This I'm sure will change but I'm enjoying it for the moment.

We have decided that I will only work until 34 weeks. My employer only lets me work until then unless I get a doctors certificate every week after that. It's going to be a hot summer and I can't see myself wanting to go to work in the extreme heat so I will only work until mid-January. I'm okay with this! We also want to enjoy our evenings and weekends together before bub arrives. As of now, we don't see each other during the week due to opposite work schedules.

Yay for 6 weeks "holidays" before baby! And yes, I use that word very loosely because I doubt it will be a holiday and the baby could really come any time.

Whatever the case, we can't wait to meet our baby boy!

And a picture of Jessie, because she's our current baby :)

Nature

Over the last week we have had over 100 bush fire burning in our state. Last Sunday was around 36 degrees and the winds were up to 100km/hr. A recipe for bush fires. The first one close to us was about 5km away but thankfully was contained quickly. There was one also about 20km away that wasn't as nice. It burnt four homes, many sheds, livestock and wildlife.

(The day after the fire - smoky and hazy. The black ridge is where the fire burned)

The fires flared up again on Thursday night and were much worse. We were safe where we live because they were about 30km away. My in-laws were told to prepare to evacuate but thankfully they never had to and the fire never reached them. It is now Saturday and that fire is still burning but is considered contained. It's been devastating across the state but thankfully only one life has been lost when it could have been many more.

The scary part is that it is only the middle of spring and we are predicted to have one of the hottest summers on record. I may need to buy myself a kids pool to find some relief in summer!

Jessie and I both don't like the heat so we have been going to the beach on most days to cool off. I work mostly nights these days so its nice to have the day time to myself.

(A blue tongue lizard visiting the neighbours)

(Jessie loves to fish! Sorry for the backside picture but she has her head all the way under water to grab a fish. She catches them and spits them out)

Another side of nature that isn't very nice. I was heading to work and heard a thumping noise in the front tree. Low and behold a kookaburra had a baby bird (which looks like a kookaburra)in its mouth and was hitting it against the tree to kill it. I never knew they did that! It would be one thing if it ate it but it just dropped it in the yard for Barney to pick up.

Nature is beautiful and its disturbing but I know everything has its purpose although we may never understand it.

It's a....

Boy!

When we started the scan the sonographer told us it was a girl. We got really excited because we both wanted to have a girl.

Further on in the scan she changed her mind once she had a better look and thinks its a boy. He was being very active so it was difficult to be conclusive and to get any good photos. I was sent away for an hour hoping he would change positions but was only slightly better when I returned. She had another look at him and told us it was 80% likely to be a boy. Hopefully we can have a better look at our next ultrasound but we are sticking with boy for now.

I'm thankful that Barney and I get to have a son. We definitely wanted a boy at some point but was hoping to have a girl first. Oh well... that is life and we are incredibly blessed either way! We will love him and care for him either way. He is ours.

It was so amazing to see his little heart beating, see him sucking his thumb and trying to 'flex' his little arms (Above and up side down). God is good.

We have no boys names chosen. We have lots of girls names we both love but we can't seem to find a boy name we agree on! Oh well... we still have some time to think things through. I don't think we will share his name once we decide on one. We would like to keep one thing a surprise :)

It is starting to feel so real now!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our big ultrasound! I am so excited as we haven't had one since I was 9 weeks. I am now 19 weeks along.

Yes, we will find out if we are having a boy or girl and I'll share the news with you tomorrow as well!

We can't wait :)

Oops

At work last night I was delivering room service to a room and managed to trip and fall going up the stairs.

Bad news: I landed on my finger and managed to sprain it. Its still a light shade of black this morning.

(My lovely work place)

Good news: I didn't drop the tray of food, didn't break my finger, the injury is on my left hand and I didn't land on my stomach!

I'm just so thankful I fell up the stairs and not down them. As far as I can tell, baby is all good!

Success!

Two exciting things happened in the last few days.

(My two favorites)

On Friday while at work, I felt the baby for the first time! I was just sitting there on a break with some colleagues and could feel it happen. It felt like big bubbles or fluttering. It was so exciting as I don't really feel pregnant. My tummy is still small and I feel normal. It makes me feel like something is wrong but to feel the baby kick just made me feel so much better. My ultrasound/check up is next week. It feels like its been forever since my last one but thankfully time has gone really quickly.

(18 week belly - mine as well take photos of it while there are still no stretch marks!)

The second thing isn't really exciting to anyone but me. I finally found a bathing suit that fits me! Since certain parts of my body have rapidly expanded I have grown out of my bikinis. Its been hard finding something that fits because they usually fit my chest but are way too big all the way around. I went from a size 10 to 16. Too much info? Sorry! Anyways, I finally found one today that fits and covers everything that it needs to cover and fits all the way around. Yipee!

In other news... we went to Sydney this weekend to watch Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil and it was fantastic!! Not so much the classic Cirque as it had less acrobats and more dancing. They had a live band play all the songs but used recordings of Michaels voice, video clips of him over the years and the dancers were amazing! One break dancer only had one leg and danced with his walking sticks. Wow... if I could do a tenth of what they could do, I would be a happy lady. The show is touring around the world so if you get a chance to see it, I'd encourage you to go. It was a terrific show.

We had a great weekend and hope you did too!

17 Weeks

Yup, already over 17 weeks and it is going so quick!

Thankfully, I am feeling back to my normal self. Well, besides sore hips and the odd headache. Now I can eat whatever I want without getting sick. I like to think I have been pretty self controlled with my eating but Barney might disagree :)

I have only gained 2.1kg which I think is pretty good. They say average is 10-12kg for a whole pregnancy. I think my weight gain will increase soon because I am beginning to expand! My bump has definitely grown in the last week and a half.

And last night I had a dream the baby kicked. It made me excited for this next phase of pregnancy!

We also booked our flights for our November holiday. We are off to Vanuatu for 9 days for a last hurrah before baby. I can't wait.

Yes please!

In Between

I'm officially in that awkward stage between looking like I had a big lunch and being pregnant. Good times!

When we went away last weekend it was hot so I grabbed a pair of jean shorts and put them in my bag. When I went to put them on, I realized they didn't really fit! I enjoyed my weekend with my top button undone, which I nicely hid in the photo from my previous post :)

So Tuesday, I hit the shops and bought maternity clothes. Selection around here is really limited since we are not a major city but I managed to find a few things. I got a pair of jeans, casual pants, shorts, skirt, 3 maternity tops, 2 normal tops that were just longer in length and a new bra all for about $180, which I think was a pretty good deal.

My question to you moms out there, is what essential pregnancy clothing item should I have? Thankfully, I don't have to worry about fall/winter clothes as it should remain quite warm here until the baby arrives!

In exciting news, my stomach is starting to get firm and pregnancy is starting to feel real :) 3.5 weeks until our next scan!!

Weekend Getaway

After many weeks of not feeling good and not taking a sick day, Barney and I decided to have a little night away with Jessie. We just had to get away from home and relax!

We drove 2 hours north to a town called Forster. We got there mid morning and went straight to the dog beach. We didn't stay there long as we wanted to head to the dog agility park. It was quite hot and Jessie wasn't too into it, but she still walked the bridge and jumped over the wooden jumps. She didn't get the hint with the tunnel and jumped on top of it instead of going through it. Oh well, she had fun!

Our next stop was to find somewhere to sleep. We ended up at a caravan park where we stayed in a pet friendly cabin. Places like this are so wonderful as we can take Jessie everywhere with us and if we do go out for dinner, which we did, we can leave her safe in the cabin.

We had a lazy afternoon and it was perfect. Fish and chips down by the river, an afternoon nap and a bit of TV before taking Jessie out for another walk and then going out for a buffet dinner. Jessie was exhausted by the end of the day, as was I!

The next day we took our time driving back home along the coast roads instead of taking the highway. Once again, we had lunch at the beach. We did lots of exploring in areas we hadn't been before and just enjoyed the sunny day.

Overall, it was a lovely night away. We both felt really relaxed and I know Jessie had a lovely time. She was so tired last night she didn't even make it to her bed. She just crashed halfway to bed on the floor.

I took an extra day off today to catch up on laundry and cleaning. I also went into town to do some shopping because my clothes are getting too tight! (Now 15 weeks!) Today, 10 days into spring, it was 30+ degrees so I was thankful to be inside the mall.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend as well :)

Happy Father's Day

Today, in Australia, it is Fathers Day and the first day of spring! So, a very happy fathers day to all the fathers out there, especially my dad, grandpa, father-in-law and husband!

Here is how I told Barney that he was going to be a father. Well, besides a father to Jessie :) It's a personal letter, but I wanted to share it. Barney is an amazing husband and I'm sure will be an amazing daddy too.

~Dear Daddy,

Thankyou for being such a wonderful husband and father. You have a generous and giving heart that adds so much joy to our home.

My love for you knows no boundary. You are gracious, compassionate and faithful.

I promise to you that I will grow big and strong so I can meet you next year. I can't wait for you to hold me in your arms and to play at your feet.

I know that I will be a big change to you and mommy's life. I also know that I will only add more love to the love you already share. I know it must be scary for you and mommy but I'll be worth it, I promise.

Daddy, thank you for choosing me, wanting me and loving me. You are the best daddy I could ever ask for.

I love you now and always.

Love, your little bub. ~


14 weeks down... 26 to go!

Dentist

A few days ago I mentioned that I had my first trip to the dentist in many years. The first appointment was for a cleaning and check up. I only gagged once! I was very proud of myself.

I didn't really know that its recommended to go to the dentist when pregnant until recently. Those lovely hormones make everything, including my gums, more sensitive and prone to infection. I was glad I sucked it up and made my appointment.

Unfortunately, today I had to go back. About a month ago I was munching on some popcorn when I chipped one of my teeth. Today I had to get it filled. She asked me if I wanted to get numbing or try to go without. Haha.. very funny dentist lady. Of course I wanted numbing. I cleared it with my doctor before hand to make sure it was safe for bub and I. So I got two painful needles then felt nothing. Even better, I didn't gag once!

Although unenjoyable and painful at the start, I'm so glad I went! My teeth are healthy and clean. The best part is I don't have to go back for another 6 months at least because in 6 months I should have a newborn in my arms :)

I can't wait!

First comes love, then comes marriage...

Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!

This could very well explain the lack of blogging as well as most of time not at work has been spent on the couch or in bed being tired and nauseous.

We found out on July 1st, a nice way to celebrate Canada day! Barney was at work and I just started crying in shock and excitement. Jessie just looked at me with a confused face as I hugged her. Poor puppy....

(Our 9 week kidney bean)

I raced off to the store to get a card and wrote a letter from the baby to Barney as my way of telling him. I cried the whole time I wrote it. Got to love the change of hormones! I will share the letter in another blog. Needless to say we were very excited to find out!

I am now 13 weeks pregnant as seen as the photo above. Its mostly a cushy layer of fat and my organs being pushed up but its a little bump none the less.

From 6 weeks I was nauseous all the time but didn't have any vomiting until we hit week 12. Good times. I thought things were supposed to get better from 12 weeks! I still can't complain as I've heard horrible stories of morning sickness and I've had it good considering.

We had our dating scan at 9 weeks and won't have another scan until 18 weeks when we will find out the gender of our bub. For now I just trust that everything is okay and bub is growing well.

Thanks for sharing our exciting journey with us and hopefully I will try best to blog more along the way!

Baby Webb is due March 3rd!

Oh, and please don't share anything on social media for the time being.. thanks!

Of Late

I can't believe that is has been 2+ months since I have blogged. Sorry.

In June, Ashley came and visited me here. We had a lovely time together and it was so nice to have a visit from home. We went to Cairns, Sydney, Newcastle and surrounding areas. Unfortunately, it rained a lot of the time, especially in Sydney. We still made the most of our time together. Both of our highlights was probably the Good Food and Wine festival in Sydney. We got front row tickets to see Curtis Stone do a cooking demonstration. He even made ice cream which we got to taste... so good! After we got our photos taken with him and Ashley bought a book and got it signed. It was a lot of fun!

Since Ashley went back home, its been back to life as normal. It feels like every weekend we have been off we have been busy. We went to Sydney for the Aroma festival. It was pretty much a baked goods, coffee and chocolate festival. We didn't actually try anything because the lines were so busy. There were thousands of people there and I didn't have patience to wait in line. Starbucks across the road had short lines :) That night we did a 10 course Japanese degustation which was pretty average. We were disappointed but thankfully we got a good deal on Groupon.

(Australia's famous Bondi beach on a rainy day)

(Big pod of dolphins putting on a show for Ashley)

We also spent a week in Toronto (Australia) to visit Barney's aunt at her new home. We also spent last Sunday in the Hunter valley, about an 1.5 hours from here in wine country. We met some friends at a winery where they were hosting a puppy picnic. They had professional dog trainers, a bbq and wine tasting while picnicking on the grounds. It was a lovely day out, especially since it was about 24 degrees and sunny on a winter day :)

(Sydney from a distance)



We were hoping to have this weekend at home but Barney one footy tickets and a restaurant voucher on the radio, so on Sunday we went for lunch in Newcastle and then to the football. Lunch was average but it was nice to go the footy game. Sadly our team lost. Hopefully next weekend will be peaceful at home!

Today I went to the dentist for the first time in 5+ years. Don't judge :) Since I was between countries, dealing with immigration, no healthcare etc for so long I never went to the dentist. Now that I have health insurance and medicare from the gov't I sucked it up and went. I also chipped a tooth a few weeks ago eating popcorn so I had to. The dentist said that considering my time away from the dentist, my teeth were in really good condition. I just have to go back next week to get a filling for my chipped tooth which is to be expected. I was happy!

(Have I mentioned, I love where I live!)

I'm off to do some organizing and the make dinner before Barney gets home...

Enjoy the week ahead!

Cheers.