Surprise Baby Shower

I honestly have the most amazing friends here!  The gave my friend Linda and I, who were pregnant at the same time and had Max and Valerie a few weeks apart, a surprise baby shower a few weeks ago.  We were lured to Cynthia's house - she had just purchased a new house in the Fall and so we thought we were going for a house warming brunch.  We both even baked items to bring with us!  It was such a nice surprise to be celebrated for the birth's of our babies.  I love these women who are more like sisters to me.  We had such a nice morning just relaxing and spending time together.  The rest was just a bonus.  It was perfect.  Everyone had a fun time passing the new little ones around.  And we were showered with a few nice gifts, including a huge diaper cake made by June.  Thank you ladies for such a special morning!!

 Yes...we drank all that champagne!

 Sheila with Max and Laura with Valerie

Cynthia and Max

 Linda and I and our huge diaper cakes!!

 Most of the gang!

 

School Project

One of the recent themes at school for Arabella was Nunavut.  Nunavut is a province in Northern Canada.  During this theme, they learned about the Inuit (Native people), their habits and what their daily lives are like.  They also learned about the landscape and about how much snow there is.  One of the group projects that she completed was a mini storybook called:

And Arabella likes:

Uncle Jeff's Quick Visit

The last Saturday in January, Uncle Jeff had an stop over in Montreal.  He flew in at 10:30 at night and then flew out on Sunday afternoon at 1:30.  It was a quick trip but we take what we can get.  He really wasn't here to see Jay and I anyway, he was here to see Arabella and meet Max.  Arabella was so surprised to see him Sunday morning and had fun hanging out with him for a little bit.  And she was excited to show off her baby brother!  Max was excited to meet Uncle Jeff for the 1st time.  Thanks for your quick visit Uncle Jeff - you are welcome here anytime you have a flight to Montreal (or where ever we may be living)!

Party Girl

The last weekend in January, Arabella attended two birthday parties.  The first one was Dylan's 5th Birthday!  She was so excited to be invited, she loves Dylan and they have so much fun together.  It was adorable and a total last minute invite because his party was originally just boys.  But he went home from school one day asking if Arabella could please come to his party.  She was the only girl and had a blast.  I love that she is a girly, girl at heart and loves to wear dresses and be pretty but that she can also hang with the guys!

The second party was her best friend at school, Sophie's.  Sophie's party was small, but that didn't stop them from having a blast.  Arabella was so excited to pick out Sophie's present - a Littlest Pet Shop house and some pets.  She had do much fun at the party she didn't want to leave!

6 Weeks Old

On Thursday, Max turned 6 weeks old.  Where is the time going???  It is unreal how fast it is going, yikes!  He is doing great.  Eating a ton...every 2 to 4 hours...not so bad during the day, but at night it gets a little rough.  He is a happy baby and very vocal, just like Arabella was.  He likes to snuggles with you and loves to be held.  He isn't too fussy, unless of course he is trying to get a burp out or if he has gone a few days without pooping.  But then again, who wouldn't be, right??  He is so strong and has be holding his head up since he was 2 weeks old...in the beginning it wasn't for a long time, but now he is keeping his head up and checking things out.  He has started to roll onto his side already.  Wow!

I  remember reading someplace right after I had Arabella that you should have someone take a picture over your shoulder when you are feeding the baby, so you remember that moment.  I had Jay take a picture of me feeding Max...

And this is the one he took of Arabella...

Do they look alike or what????

Big Sister & Her Baby Brother

Arabella just loves Max.  She is always wanting to help with him, hold him, play with him, just be around him.  I am so thankful that she is this way.  I like to think that it is because we involved her in my pregnancy as much as we could.  I hope that the love between them grows.  I'm sure there will be plenty of hair pulling and hitting down the road, but for now, I'm going to enjoy the love.

It's Official

We are moving.  At the end of March, we will head south of the Mason Dixon Line and land in Charlotte, North Carolina!

It has been two weeks since we received the official news that we will be relocating back to the States.  I am still trying to process my feelings.  While we knew that living in Montreal wasn't forever, we, or rather, I have really settled in here.  It truly feels like home.  And as I look forward to the next adventure and journey ahead of us, I am also very sad to be leaving here.