Picture Preview

One of our best friends gave us the amazing gift of a newborn photo shoot with photographer Christina Kliewer. Christina came to our house and did an amazing job of capturing 8-day-old Cassie - and Cassie was awake, alert, and happy almost the whole time! We haven't gotten any of the photos back yet, but here are 2 sneak peeks that Christina posted on her facebook page. Can't wait to see more!

Welcome Octoby!

The lack of activity on my blog recently is all thanks to the fact that Octoby has finally arrived!!!

Cassie Elaine was born right on her due date, October 21st, at 3:24pm weighing 7 lbs 5 oz. We are soooo in love with our little girl! Being parents is the most amazing thing (despite the tiredness and busyness that comes along with it).

Cassie has already had countless visitors in the short 2 weeks of her life...friends and family have come by with gifts, meals, and lots of snuggles. We are so grateful and blessed! I won't have to do any cooking for a long time - our freezer is stocked! And so is Cassie's closet.

More photos are coming soon. We had a photographer here last weekend who took some amazing newborn shots. For now, here's a little peek at our sweetheart!

Ready to head home from the hospital!

Dinner at Nana & Papa's (my parents') on Halloween - dressed as a "little monster" with her cousin Abbey, the "one-eyed monster"

Welcome to the world, Cassie!

A Night in the City

Beautiful orchids from my hubby!

To celebrate our last anniversary sans kids we knew we couldn't go very far - just in case Octoby decided to make an appearance. So thanks to a great hook-up we headed downtown to the Fairmont Pacific Rim for a night!

The hotel was gorgeous! We ate dinner in the lounge downstairs next to a cozy fireplace...

...Paul enjoyed the hottub (no hottub for preggo Megan - but my tasty chocolate dessert brought up to our room made up for it)...

...we watched a movie and enjoyed all the other cool features in our room (yes, that is a TV inside the bathroom mirror!)...

...and in the morning we walked around the convention centre and ate breakfast on a nice patio in the warm Thanksgiving Sunday sunshine.

38+ weeks

Now that the anniversary has been celebrated and we've eaten our Thanksgiving turkey dinner (first one in four years!) Octoby is welcome to come on out. Any time. Seriously. Come on Octoby. The sooner you come the sooner you will have a normal name.

3 Years of Wedded Bliss

Yesterday was our 3 year wedding anniversary! A lot has happened since 2008...we lived in Uganda for 2 years, I've been pregnant for 9 months (feels like 2 years), we've lived in 4 different houses, we've seen parts of the world we never expected to...and we've fallen more in love (aww!)

Our wedding day, Oct. 5, 2008

One year anniversary: in Zanzibar

Two year anniversary: at the Speke Resort in Kampala

Three year anniversary: photos to come after we celebrate this weekend! (Assuming I don't go into labour before then...)

Sechelt

We just got back from a fun an relaxing weekend in Sechelt with our good friends Carly & Mark! Carly's family has a waterfront cabin which they allowed us to use - we spent 2 nights there talking, playing games, walking on the beach, cooking, drinking tea, and enjoying unexpected nice weather! It was a great way to end the summer (although we're hoping the summer weather isn't quite over yet).

Long overdue updated shot of Octoby - 35 weeks! Only 5 to go!

The Living Room

We have been having fun painting, organizing, and decorating our new house! It's far from being finished, but so far the most complete room is the living room. Here are some before and afters:

Before...

After!

Before...

After! (Ignore unpainted walls in the staircase...not quite finished that yet!)

Before...

After! (Ignore unpainted patch above the door...not quite finished that either!)

So there is still work to be done (painting, baseboards, curtains, etc.), but we love how it looks so far! And we're thankful our lovely landlords (the Drisners, currently in Uganda) have allowed us to make whatever changes we want.

My next project is the baby's room (important, considering it will be occupied by Octoby in about 5 WEEKS!) More pictures coming later!

Summer Holidays

I'm here! We still exist!

Our entire month of August was spent doing pretty much...nothing. And by that I mean we spent time with friends and family, went on a holiday, and got a few things organized as we settled back into life in Canada - it was so enjoyable! Apparently we brought the Ugandan sun with us because we've only had one rainy day since being back...and this week is only supposed to get hotter! (I love hot sunny weather, but have to say it is a bit uncomfortable at 34 weeks pregnant! I'm thankful for the cool air in the evenings!)

While August was relaxing, September has come with lots of work to be done, including painting/moving, and Paul starting his new job. But more on those things next time.

For now, our getaway!

Whistler

We absolutely love Whistler (who doesn't?) and jumped at the opportunity to go spend a night there with 2 of Paul's sisters and their families in a beautiful cabin. And if that wasn't enough, my parents blessed us with a night away for just the 2 of us at Club Intrawest in Whistler Village! It was SO nice to have a night away alone - especially knowing it could be the last one before Octoby makes his/her appearance!

The kids decided to hike up their shorts and go for a swim despite the cold water!

Sisters-in-law...and 2 babies on the way!

Lunch in Whistler village with our good friends Zach and Natalie

There was one time in Uganda when we wished we could have been in Vancouver, and that was Feb. 2010 when the olympics were here!

OK Falls

After our 2 nights in Whistler we took a gorgeous drive up to the Okanagan where we met up with my family for a few nights in OK Falls. I have so many memories of OK Falls because we've been going there for years since we were little kids! This time we were all there with our spouses (and Abbey...and Octoby!), but still enjoyed all the same fun things we did when we were younger - the pool, the lake, ice-cream, barbecues...and some of us (not me, for obvious reasons) went rock climbing. I'm looking forward to taking our own kids back to our quiet little vacation spot in the summers to come!

Aunty Christy and Abbey building sand castles

An intense game of bocci ball at the beach

Now that the vacation part of our summer is over, we're looking forward to getting into the fall routine of work and preparing for the baby! (Did I just say we were looking forward to work? I guess that's because Paul's the one working, not me. Yay maternity leave!)

Next post: Our New Home!