So we got our new camera. It's amazing! You can't take a bad picture. Here are some pictures we took of Cody while we were dog sitting and Nikki's expression when he was discovered in her house! They got along fine after.






Bob and I went on our little trip to Kananaskis. We decided to do a little hiking. A little hiking turned into a 450 meter elevation gain, walk straight up a mountain. I don't think the trail leveled off once! We had to stop and catch our breaths about every 3 minutes. The mountain was called Mt. Indafatigable. We didn't actually make it to the top but pretty darn close. There was a memorial bench that we decided to call the end of our journey. It had breathtaking views of the Kananaskis valley. We took some pictures of both the mountain from the bottom and view from the top.







Oh yah and alert the press. Bob finally got a new computer. I've lost my husband forever. Boy he sure does look happy though.

Ultrasound Pictures!

Here are the pictures! In one of them you can see both legs crossed and both arms. In another you can see an open hand. The baby was very active! Gave us quite a show! Enjoy

TGIF

Yesterday was Ethan's second soccer game. They tied 3-3. He played very well. The weather was beautiful.

Bob and I have been itching for a little getaway. We plan on doing some hiking in the mountains this weekend. I went on the internet and found a package deal in Kananaskis that is called the Stargazers 101. It comes with one night accomodation, a backpack, 2 lipbalms, 2 water bottles, 2 trailmixes, a map of the area and a map of the night sky for that evening. When I told Bob he got so excited. We love to look at the stars so we'll be sure to bring our binoculars and tripods. Bob also said he was going to get some film for his camera so that he can take some night shots. As we came home last night we checked the mailbox and noticed that our tax rebate cheques came in the mail. Bob and I are getting a good amount and I had decided earlier that for his birthday I would use some of my rebate to buy him a Nikon D50 digital SLR camera. With this pending weekend escape coming and the cheques arriving in the mail Bob is REALLY excited because now he doesn't need to buy film he can use his new camera instead.

Today at 1:00pm we are going for our second ultrasound. I'm a little nervous but we are both very excited. We hope to get some pictures and I will try to scan them and post them here by tonight.

And finally being yesterday was Thursday I recieved my weekly update on the growth tidbits of our little one. Here is what they say.

What's the size of your little guy now? From the crown of his head to the bottom of his buttocks, your baby measures about 13 to 15 cm (5.2 to 6 in) and tips the scale at about 200 g (7 oz). But he's got plenty of growing left to do. From now until the time he's born, his weight will increase by more than 15 times.
What's he up to in his watery world? Intrauterine mischief! He may be sucking his thumb, turning somersaults, or pulling and grabbing the umbilical cord as if it were a toy.
Your baby is also inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid through his lungs - practising breathing for when he's born - and his urinary tract and circulatory system have become fully functional.

And here's the other one,

Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Again here are some pictures but please note these pictures are not our baby. Just of a baby that is 18 weeks old.

Take care and we'll keep you posted about the ultrasound results!

Tuscany Fires cont'd

Bob and I drove by the area yesterday and it was devastating! 3 houses are gone, one is badly damaged and numerous others have heavy damage. The siding on the adjacent houses was melted off. It really makes you think about how fast you could loose everything, and how important it is to take nothing for granted. In an instant all your belongings could be gone. Thankfully no one was harmed in the fires.

The final score in the hocky game was 4-3 Edmonton. Detroit really came back but Edmonton showed them who was boss.

Ethan's Soccer Game

We came back from Ethan's first soccer game. He did excellent! He scored 3 goals! His teammates are equally good and play very well together. We won the game! If tonight is any indication, we will enjoy a very exciting season of soccer.

The OIlers game is still on. The score is 3-1 for Edmonton. I'll let you know the final score in the morning.

Tuscany Fires

Last night I woke up to go to the bathroom...again, when I heard the sound of a helicopter circling above. In Calgary, the police own a helicopter fleet known as the Hawks. Thinking it was a grow-op drug bust (there are so many in Calgary) we tried to go back to sleep. But it was hard because the helicopter was so loud. The next morning we could still hear it. On the way out of the neighborhood we saw firetrucks and police down the street from us. So far this is what the news says.

Arson investigators are combing over the scenes of two separate fires that damaged at least 20 homes in the N.W. community of Tuscany.

The blazes completely destroyed three homes, heavily damaged a fourth, while 16 other homes sustained heat damage.

The first fire broke out at 2:30 Tuesday morning on Tuscany Vista Rd. in a home under construction.

It was completely engulfed by the time fire fighters arrived.

Then three hours later, and just two blocks away, a second fire broke out in a home that was also under construction.

Even before fire fighters arrived, quick thinking neighbors were helping to evacuate some of the homes.

In order to help fire fighters battle the blaze, the gas was turned off to about 80 homes.

Preliminary damage is pegged at over $1 million.

Arson investigators are now trying to determine if the fires are connected, and if they were deliberately set.

They are also looking for any similarities in connection with an arson fire in the nearby community of Rocky Ridge last month.



Here is a picture as well. Pretty scary! I'll keep you posted on any more news. Honestly our neighborhood is really safe.

What a Weekend!

We had Ethan this weekend. We took him wall climbing on Saturday morning at The Calgary Climbing Centre. They have this thing called "Kids Club" where you can drop them off and they get to wall climb for 2 hours. Ethan loved it. By the end he was climbing all the way up the wall like a monkey!

Ethan's cousin Kiera came over for a little visit. It gave Jackie and us some much needed down time. We took them to the park where they played and very twisted version of tag. There was some tears and oh yes we've got pictures. Ethan will really love to show them to his first girlfriend.

On Sunday we went to watch Ethan's friend Isabelle's dance competition. She did very well, getting high marks in both her dances. Ethan surprised us by giving the dancers his undivided attention. We came armed with books and Nutri-Grain bars and he didn't need any of it. I'm waiting for the day his says to Bob "Dad, I wanna be a dancer!" Bob said he would consider Hockey at that point. Tuesday Ethan starts Soccer. We ready to cheer him on!

Oilers got back against Detroit today 4-2! GO OILERS! The series is now tied.

Oh yah, and the Flames won some game, I'm not sure which. Does anybody really care?

Baby Changes

Every Thursday I get an e-mail from a couple baby websites that I'm registered to telling me how far along I am and how my baby is doing. I have now completed my 17th week. Here's what they say.

"Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker."

"If you could peer inside your belly to size up your baby now, you'd see that she's about 12.5 cm to 14 cm (5 to 5.6 in) long - nearly as long as a CD case - from the top of her head to the bottom of her buttocks.
And it might look like she' s packing on the grams! Over the last week, your baby's weight has increased about 50 per cent to about 150 g (5.25 oz). But over the next little while, her rapid growth will slow down a bit as she continues to develop.
Your baby is practising and building up the reflexes that will help her survive when she's born, such as sucking, swallowing and blinking. She's also beginning to swallow some of the amniotic fluid in your uterus. Her body can now absorb water in the amniotic fluid and process it through to her large bowel."


I also found some pictures of what the baby looks like. Of course these are general pictures, not actually our baby. However on the 28th we are going for an ultrasound and will come back with pictures to show everyone.


Until then, I don't feel any kicking....I think.
I'm craving popsicles, which is awesome and much to Bob's displeasure I still love the taste of vinegar.

Change in Plans

So we picked up Ethan and he was very tired. I think he played really hard at daycare today. He's off school this week so I'm sure he's getting some much needed steam blown off.

When we got out of the car he said he was "a little starving". I'm not sure how that statement works but I'm sure it makes sense to 6 year olds everywhere.

Needless to say our park plans changed because he's so tired but now his dad and him are in his bedroom cleaning up his toys! Well, I'll take that over the park any day!

I've added links

Due to Bob's message about shutting down our website you can still view our wedding photos at our Webshots site. I have also added a link to my friend Darin's blog and Flickr site. Darin took our wedding photos and I think he's a pretty great amateur photographer. Darin, I can call you amateur right? Don't want you to get too ahead of yourself!

Bob and I have been stripping the paint off of this cedar chest that I got for my 17th birthday. Frankly it looks a little childish with the white paint. My plans are to stain is a deep red mahogany so it will match our room. It's been a bit of a job but we'll get it all ready to sand this weekend.

We pick up Ethan tonight and it looks like the weather will be nice enough to get out to the park after supper. Perhaps Ethan can ride his bike there. It's hard to do things with him on weekdays because we try to really stick to his bedtime schedule. It does'nt leave too much time to do anything once supper's done. Maybe he can stay up a half hour later tonight. Although I might pay for it in the morning.

Testing... testing

This is Bob entering his first blog message. I think that this will be a better way to keep friends and family up to date on our day to day happenings, versus the traditional website. Speaking of our website -- I'll be shutting it down in the near future so we can direct people straight to our blog.

Have a great day!

A couple great pictures

I'm playing with posting pictures. I'm still figuring it out.

Here is a picture of Bob and I in San Francisco on our honeymoon. It really brings back all the memories of that trip. We were so relaxed.

Another great picture that I'd like to post is one from our wedding. Traditionally my family likes to bombard new couples with confetti and streamers during their first dance. I think the picture really captures the craziness that is Italian weddings. I was glad that my new family (the Taylors) were able to take part in it. The confetti is one of the activities that I was looking forward to that day. After all those years of attacking all my cousins with confetti, it was my turn. To this day I still find confetti in corners of my house.

My First Post

Bob and I went to the doctor today. Everything is going really well. We heard the baby's heartbeat. It has moved up a little higher in my belly now. It made for a very great morning! The doctor suggested I do some aqua-size, and I've decided I'm going to walk more often. Now that the sun doesn't set until around 8:30 I can get out there and not feel like it's time for bed.

I've decided to set up this blog so that all my friends and family can follow the pregnancy and family life of the Taylors. I think I would have an easier time updating this site than our website because with our website I have to rely on Bob to update and he never gets around to doing it. I plan on adding lots of stuff to this one.

So enjoy and let the blogging begin.