Wonderland Tea Party...

This past weekend has by far, beaten every other Vancouver visit!!! The whole weekend was one big girl fest with plenty of girl talk...something that was much needed.
Hands down the best part of the weekend was the Alice in Wonderland themed baby shower, hosted by Jamie and Grace at the Hodge house. The decor and food went above and beyond anything I could have ever expected! Every detail was covered from the hand painted tea pots which held bright pink and yellow flowers,  the display of mismatched tea set, the playing card decorated sugar cookies, the decorative rabbits, to the hand made candy filled gift pots. The entertainment consisted of 2 games which had everyone rolling in laughter. We played passed the parcel first and in order to unwrap the gift, you first had to correctly answer a question about me. The next game was created by G and James. They divided the guest up into 3 groups, gave them a list of words plus some props and told them to create a song and dance about me, using all the words and props. This had everyone in hysterics and definitely showed the humor of our group. Above all the best part of the party was having everyone I cared most about in one room..including a visit from Michael, Aidan and Terry McKay.

A HUGE Thank You to everyone for coming and for the AMAZING gifts..Gage is one spoiled kid already, oh boy!

Another special Thank You to Jamie and Grace for all your hard work! I was shocked at how amazing everything turned out, you guys went over and above! I am so lucky to have such amazing friends :)

To see some of the pics from the baby shower check out Jamie's website....
http://www.jamielauren.ca/?p=1144

Baby Bump Photo Shoot

Yesterday I arrived in Vancouver one last time before Gage is born. As usual Grace and Jamie were there to pick me up, along with Alexie! I must say every time I arrive I am more excited than the last to see all the ladies. Immediately after I was swooped up from the airport, Jamie had me naked (even thought I told her I wouldn't haha) and painted in her living room for a "baby bump" photo shoot. I admit that it is very hard to get comfortable in front of the camera by yourself, especially when you are topless, but Jamie has an ability to take away that self conscience feeling. When shooting with Jamie exude so much passion and creativity that the feeling becomes contagious and you are willing to try anything.
Here's to my Best Friend since the 90's. The old soul with insightful wisdom, the advice giver, analyzer and comforter. To a truly talented human being...in all aspects of her life.. Jamie Hodge

Be My Valentine...

Valentines Day is usually a holiday I despise. However this year changed my mind!
Everyone is led to believe that Valentines Day should be filled with presents, chocolate and unexpected surprises from their partner. While those could be an added bonus, Valentines day is really about spending quality time with the one you love. When I asked Lennie what he wanted for valentines day he replied " I don"t want any presents, I just want you"...there'snothing more heartwarming to hear than that! Though my Valentines day wasn't filled with presents, there were a couple surprises.
We started the day off with homemade blueberry pancakes and decaf coffee (shhh Lennie doesn't know it was decaf... hehe). Once we were filled up on "flap-jacks" as Lennie calls them, I got the pups ready and Lennie packed up lunch for our day of hiking. After a 45 min hike along the salt river, we set up picnic on top of a cliff that overlooked the point where the Verde and salt river joined. We started lunch off by popping a bottle of Apple Cider, then we enjoyed a Capri sun and the most delicious sandwhich I've ever ate (toast french roll filled with caramelized onion and red pepper, triple cream brie, salami, prosciutto and fig jam...mmmmm). We finished out hike with minimal cactus wounds (to us and the dogs) and headed to a spot where I could shoot Lennie's "gloc". After lots of nerves I finally shot my first gun!! I must say its alot harder then it looks. We finished the day off with an old fashioned home made meal...chicken fried steak, mashed potato's, corn and broccoli. I have to say this was by far the BEST day I have had in a very very long time and 24 hour hours straight with my husband was the best present.

False Alarm

Recently I had been having really bad pain in my kidneys. So this Friday, after a week of this pain, I decided to go to the doctor (well actually Lennie forced me to go to the doctor). My OBGYN was not available so I went to out new family physician. She believes that I have kidney stones, a common issue in pregnant women. She also informed me that a tense feeling I have been having in my stomach were contractions. Because my contractions were so frequent and because of my possible kidney stones she sent me home with this list of instructions: No lifting over 10 pounds, no working for 5 days, no working at the restaurant and if I have more then 3 contractions an hour, begin to vomit or have intense pain go to the hospital.
 I continued to have contractions as well as lower abdominal pain. My contractions were close to 3 an hour, but I didn't want  to rush to the hospital if nothing was wrong. Come Saturday morning I was feeling horrible and experiencing 3 contractions an hour. After calling both doctors, my mom, sister, Jamie and Grace to ask their advice and no one answering, I started to get panicked and frustrated. Eventually my mom answered the phone and we decided it was better safe then sorry and I was off to the hospital with Lennie (who left work on a Saturday afternoon, one of our busiest times).
After getting hooked up to the monitors and being examined I was told everything was FINE! The doctor told me that premature labor is so rare these days that they will only get really worried if the contractions are 10 min or less apart.
Thankfully this was a false alarm, but this experience taught me that if I'm worried its better to do something about it right away, rather then stressing about it, questioning it and waiting it out. The added stress will only make me feel worse then I already do.

Apart from that, everything is great! Gage (yes it's 100% his name) is kicking away in my tummy :) and seems to be healthy as can be.

IT'S A BOY!...Sorry mom

Looks like the chinese gender calender was wrong!
The ultra sound tech said that he was an active little guy...she was chasing him with the wand the entire time (just like his daddy).

Home for the Holiday's!

Although it wasn't the most traditional, this Christmas surpassed any other Christmas so far (yes even the year I woke up surrounded by my own vomit haha). I was able to spend time with all the people I love most. I flew into Vancouver on the 16th and was greeted by 3 beautiful women (Jess, Jamie and Grace)! After that my holiday was split between 2 groups of people. My sister and I spend a few nights at her house hanging with the boys, relaxing, chatting and eat eat EATING. The girls and I spent wonderful days together shopping, decorating, reminiscing, joking, laughing and of course more eating. I ended my BC vacay in Sydney with my parents and my little bro. This was the laziest part of my trip and I wouldn't want it any other way. My mom and I cooked wonderful dinners, we watched movies, cuddled on the couch and enjoyed the fact that we were together. I returned home on the night of the 23rd to a very excited husband! We celebrated Christmas by combining both our families traditions. I must say the Carkeeks and the Buzinskis sure know how to do Christmas! Even though I'm sad its over, I am excited for next Christmas with our little baby boy! Thanks to everyone for the wonderful holiday...this is not going to be forgotten.

Titan

This is Titan! Lennie originally wanted to name him something clever, but eventually got sick of me putting down his ideas...so I got to choose. I chose the name Titan because of his handsom looks. Lennie didn't love it at first, but now he says the name is fitting because Titan is...Big, Dumb and Handsome!

I have taken multiple pictures of him, but for reason I get this look on his face in every pic.