All About Bubby.

This has been sitting in my draft for some days and I have always intended to publish it before the new baby arrives. I now have to do it really quickly and in between some pretty intense Braxton Hicks. At least I'm hoping they're only Braxton Hicks and not real labour, hubby just flew out for one last week interstate.

In the early months of this pregnancy I felt really sad for Bubby that he won't be the centre of our universe anymore, that he'll have to share everything with another baby. As the day draws near however, I've become more excited for him to meet his little brother. I often ask him if he's going to love and take care of the baby and he always says yes. I'm not sure if he understands it all. He often hugs and kisses the bump and he tells the baby "I love you baby" completely unprompted. He refers to it as baby brother.

The other night he sang his favourite song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star softly to the baby.

It was Bubby himself who erased my fears that he will feel left out once the baby is born. I think he'll really want to be a part of taking care of the baby. I'm still worried about how he'd cope while I'm in hospital but he's proven to be very adaptable so far.

He's not always sweet, he knows how to throw a tantrum but luckily they're very quick to pass and he can be reasoned with to an extent. 

He is a bit of a home-wrecker.

Cream suede leather couch and toddlers don't mix.

He's also a bit of a clown, cutie pie and generally adorable.

This is apparently a construction crane.

Always out to steal daddy's chips.

He shares his mummy's love for ballet :).

He can be the sweetest little thing as well.

 He loves to hug and kiss the baby.

This morning he came up to me while I was making breakfast gave me a big hug and said "I love you mummy." He is truly lovable.

Arts and Crafts.

Now I've never been a crafty person, in fact I sucked at art in school. As a preschooler I never liked playing with play-doh because I didn't like the texture and I hate getting the darn things under my fingernails. I never liked colouring in because I'm anal retentive when it came to colouring outside the line and you can never get it perfectly. I don't like gluing things in because glue is sticky and yucky. I hated basket weaving as I always got splinters from the material. I once sliced my finger pretty badly doing one of these crafty projects and sprayed blood all over myself, my classmates, the desks and chairs, the walls. It was like a gruesome crime scene. I probably should have applied pressure on the wound instead of shake my hand and arm like a lunatic. My sewing projects were all perfectly completed by my seamstress grandmother and were all displayed at school. How I wasn't caught out for cheating, I'll never know. The only thing I liked was connect the numbered dots and I always connect them using a pencil and ruler, and counted cross stitching because it's hard to get it wrong.

Anyway, after over two decades since I last did woodwork (oh and I broke a bandsaw and nearly chopped my hand off, lucky I stood back when it started making a funny noise just in time to avoid the blade as it snapped and flung to where my hand would have been) I embarked on a little arts and crafts project with Bubby. I wanted him to be involved in decorating the baby's room so I waddled my way to Daiso and bought a whole heap of materials without really having a clear idea what I wanted to do.

I eventually decided on a transport theme since that's what Bubby is into. I downloaded and printed out some templates, glued them on to a piece of cardboard before cutting it out.

I then traced them onto chiyogami paper. 

 Glued them on coloured paper.

 The whole idea was to get Bubby involved so I cut several extra cars and planes for him to glue on the background coloured paper which he chose.

Not exactly how I would have arranged them but this is how he wanted it.

The finished products. Bubby chose the plane and the truck to go in his room. The cars will go in the baby's room and I will make another plane for the baby. Not bad for someone who is completely artless.

Vivid Sydney.

Vivid Sydney is one of my favourite events along with Crave Sydney and Art and About. Sunday a week ago a friend and I planned to go to Vivid Sydney but the weather didn't cooperate.

The pool almost overflowed and turned into an infinity pool.

Luckily the following day was warm for a winter night and we were able to go. Now, I won't insult Vivid Sydney by posting my terrible photos. I learnt that when taking photos of light shows it's best to turn off the flash. A fancy DSLR does not make a fancy photographer. There are plenty of good photos on the Vivid Sydney website and facebook page. 

Too bad I only made it as far as the Opera House and the MCA. I really wanted to check out Walsh Bay but I really over-estimated my walking ability.

On the way back to the car we passed by this kiosk and I had to take a photo. 

Look how thin I looked. I thought it was pretty amusing especially compared to how big I really am.

I'm really glad we went that night as not only was it not cold it was also not packed and I didn't encounter any traffic on the way to and from the city. Last night was apparently really bad.

http://smh.drive.com.au/roads-and-traffic/end-of-vivid-sparks-traffic-chaos-20130608-2nxdv.html

I missed Vivid Sydney two years ago as I was a bit busy having pre-labour pains and giving birth and then last year we were all so terribly sick with the flu. I'm glad I made it this year even if I only really saw some of it. Bubby really enjoyed it and would you believe that this is the closest he's ever been to the ocean. He was quite fascinated by the water. I really hope that Bubby, Baby and I (and maybe even hubby) get to see more of Vivid Sydney next year. 

Baby Shower. Baby Buys. Other Buys.

On my last day at work I walked in to find my desk like this:

This is as close to a baby shower as I'm going to get and it was really nice. I didn't have a baby shower for Bubby or this baby as I'm just not into that sort of stuff. Yes, my desk was already a complete mess before the decorations were put up. I had a super hectic last few weeks and had no time to file anything or tidy up before rushing out in the afternoon to get Bubby from daycare on the other side of Sydney. I work in the West, Bubby's daycare is in the East and we live up North. Crazy.

We are pretty much set for the baby, there are only a number of things I still need to get. I have bought the new baby some new clothes and bedding just so he's not going to be in hand me downs all the time. I still have to get:

1. A baby carrier. I have decided on the Ergo Baby carrier but can't decide which design to get. I really want this but hubby will probably say no as it's a 'girly' colour. Hello, I'm the one who's wearing it. But then maybe he'd want to wear the Ergo too. I doubt it.

I also thought this zebra one is very fashionable:

but I can already hear his reaction to that idea and it's really not very nice. He really shouldn't use language like that even if it is just imagined in my head.

This is the third option:

It's not as fun, I like the colour but I don't really like the stars. I wished it was plain except for the insert pattern.

I'll probably go with boring khaki at least it's not black and it will match the Bugaboo Bee which Bubby is still using.

Source

Speaking of the Bugaboo Bee and Bubby, I thought I would just get a skateboard attachment for Bubby and but the baby in the pram but Bubby can't be trusted not to run off as he has done a couple of times. Plus Bubby's daycare has no parking so we park on the street and walk, I can picture him running away and I'll have to abandon baby in pram to chase Bubby. I'd rather have free hands to hold Bubby and his bag. The daycare also has lots of stairs so I can't bring the pram anyway.

2. A second video camera for the baby monitor. Some people say a baby video monitor is a waste of money and I couldn't disagree more. It would be at the very top of my list of baby must haves. In fact, I think the video baby monitor is the only baby item that I still use now and will probably continue to use until he moves out. I'm dead serious.

And those are pretty much the only two things I still need for the baby. I've already even stocked up on newborn nappies.

And now on to the Other Buys. I had to buy new shoes as during this pregnancy I went through 3 pairs of shoes. I know I've been literally dragging my feet a lot what with the hip instability and all but 3 pairs of shoes!

They're from Diana Ferrari and ended up being 50% off retail price. Too bad Myer didn't have this style as I had lots of Myer gift cards. I usually shop around before buying things but I didn't have the energy. Anyway, who can go wrong with Chanelesque, quilted two-tone with patent leather toes and a bow? Everything good in the one pair of shoes. I haven't had a chance to tell hubby that I bought new shoes. Now he knows. Just so you know, babe, my last pair of cream shoes has a hole in the sole which explains why my foot got wet when it was rainy.

I also got this navy cardigan from Target. It's nice and soft, and better still, marked down from $35 to $3.71. That's less than what you'd pay for a mocha. 

I also got this dress also from good old Target. Also 50% off. This is obviously for when I return to pre-baby size. 

This is current size (37 weeks). I have a loooong way to go before pre-baby size.

The Real Maternity Leave Starts Now.

Well, yesterday really. I took the car in for servicing and went to the city for a spot of retail therapy. I was hungry so I had to have breakfast:

I've been craving big breakfasts like this lately.

I then took care of some business for the upcoming hotel hospital stay.

You know what it's like when you have official forms to fill in but only have pink or purple pens. No? It's just me?

I didn't end up buying anything but it was still nice to be able to window shop even if it was a quick one. I did try on these shoes in various colours.

There's just something about patent leather and bows. 

Then I had to have lunch.

Don't be fooled. This was my dad's lunch. I couldn't force myself to eat if I wanted to after my big breakfast.  I nibbled on some of his chips.

Finally took Bubby to ride on a carousel. He was going "Wee!" as it went round and round. He didn't want to get off but I managed to convince him that other kids need to have a turn too. Luckily, he's a pretty good kid. Most of the time. 

I tried to catch up on Game of Thrones but didn't know how to work this.

Damn you, stupid smart tv.

Hubby is home and he showed me. So now you know what I'll be up to in the next few days. Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and whatever else is on Netflix and Hulu. In between shows I probably ought to wash the baby's clothes and bedding and cook big batches of food to fill the freezer with.

Maternity Leave, Although You'd Never Guess It.

I am very annoyed. I have been on maternity leave for a week now but it looks like this:

I had reports I needed to write but I couldn't finish because I didn't have all the data and wasn't available until a couple of days ago. Then today I got emailed a revised version which wouldn't even have been passed on if I didn't harass my colleagues for a final version. I really should be spending this time with Bubby instead of having this hanging over my head. Really annoying. 

Anyway, almost finished. I was just having an oreo and tea break and having a whine. Tomorrow i have to take the car in for servicing and I will be treating myself to some EOFYS and a good lunch and hopefully have enough time to take Bubby to those ride on carousel things that malls have. I've been promising him for so long.

Bubby's Birthday and 'Boxing Day'.

We celebrated Bubby's second birthday yesterday. I can't believe that this tiny little thing is now 2!

The days of the 3 AM feeds.

We started the day with blueberry pancakes.

Then Bubby and daddy headed to the city to go shopping for presents and came back with just about every toy that Bubby touched at the stores minus the ride on Lamborghini only because hubby realised he can't carry it back to the car. I wonder if he remembers that Bubby already has a ride on car he got for his birthday last year.

Bubby helping his daddy blow up the balloons.

The "happy birthday car cake". Bubby has been looking forward to blowing his cake for weeks. He'd make a cake out of play-doh at daycare and stick paddle pop sticks in it and pretend they're candles. We had to re-light his candle at least four times. I think he really enjoyed it.

After he licked and chewed on his slice of cake he decided to put it back and 'fix it'. Yeah, we didn't end up eating that cake.

And here are some photos from this morning. The 'Boxing Day'. 

He made this truck all on his own.

And this plane too.

 

I tried to put the balloons in the playpen but apparently they have to be in the kitchen. *Sigh* This house will never be tidy.

Look how happy he is though.

Happy birthday my gorgeous little boy! You are such a joy <3.