I started out the day with Rina and the girls, they were all so relaxed and laid-back and just having fun! Then some sweet tears fell when Rina put her dress on – she looked so beautiful and was so excited to see Brad! My wonderful friend Dorian Senkow started the day with Brad for both some getting ready photos, and some very cool posed photos of Brad in the wheat field and around his parents’ yard, and then they headed over for Brad to see his bride for the first time that day! Rina was so cute and was peeking out the window at Brad, and she kept exclaiming that he looked like James Bond! And then they had their First Look and I absolutely love the expressions on Brad’s face, and emotion in his eyes, when he saw Rina – I love those moments so much! We headed off then for lots of photos of Rina and Brad, and then met up with the wedding party for lots of fun. Then it was off to Brad’s parents’ house for some relaxation before the ceremony began. And the ceremony – there was emotion and laughter, especially when Rina almost put Brad’s ring on the wrong hand! It was so beautiful! And then the fun and beautiful reception, and there were some seriously funny speeches, especially by Rina’s brother who had the whole crowd laughing so many times!

Here are some of the vendors who helped make the day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress Designer :: TBA
Bridesmaid Dresses :: JCrew
Hair :: Casey Cochlan
Makeup :: Claire McKay
Florist :: Academy Florist
Officiant :: Robert Warkentin
Cake Artist :: Tracey Wiebe
DJ or Band :: Christy Kim Band

Thank you so much to Rina and Brad and their families and friends, the day was so much fun and so beautiful and you two are so wonderful and cute together!! And thank you so much to Dorian for second shooting for me and helping to make the day even more fun for me!!! And now here are many of my favorite photos from the day!

Here are the wonderful Kathryn & Steve and their amazing wedding day! I love this couple so much – they’re both so cool and so fun, they’ve been together for 11 or 12 years and yet their love still seems so fun and fresh, they have the best laughs, they had my favorite wedding ceremony to date (complete with bridal party walking down the aisle to “Eye of the Tiger” and a huge dip at the first kiss), and oh I could just go on and on I think – but yes, they stole my heart and I think they’re so fabulous in every way! Oh and they both love cats just as much as I do, that makes them extra fabulous in my book!

Their wedding day started off with an ominous forecast for storms and heavy rain, and there were a few quick showers during the morning and we kept watching the alternating dark clouds and then bright skies. Steve and Kathryn were planning an outdoor ceremony and after some analyzing of the skies, Kathryn decided to go ahead with setting it up outdoors – I’m soooo glad she did, it was such a magical location nestled in the trees right next to the old St. Norbert’s monastery. As I was driving from their house to St. Norbert’s, I could see really dark clouds over Winnipeg and even rain coming down in the distance (and indeed we heard afterward that Winnipeg had a huge storm and very heavy rain), but it stayed completely dry where we were!

The ceremony outside St. Norbert’s Art Centre was personal and perfect, we had so much fun taking photos on the grounds afterward (despite those mosquitoes I hate!), and then the reception was intimate, fun, personal, hilarious and poignant. It really was such a wonderful day!

Here are some of the wonderful vendors who helped make this day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress Designer :: Just for You
Bridesmaid Dresses :: JCrew (I loved the dresses!!)
Tux Rentals :: Moores
Hair :: TBA
Makeup :: 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup
Venue :: St. Norberts Art Center
Officiant :: Rev. Pat from the Center of Conscious Living
Cake Artist :: Top Chop Catering (cupcakes)
DJ :: AJ the DJ

Kathryn and Steve, I’m so happy for you both and loved getting to know you better, and also getting to know your family and friends. I was so touched many times throughout your day, I had so much fun with you both, and I loved witnessing all the love during your reception. You two really are such special people, that was obvious throughout your wedding day and by how much love was shared by your family and friends. Thank you so much for letting Jody and I be a part of your day. And I wish you the absolute best in this sort of new chapter of your life (I say “sort of” just because I know I won’t be a huge change for you)!

Here are some of my favorite photos from your day!!

Meanwhile, Jody met up with Steve and the guys and they obviously were having quite a good time!

Married!!!

Thank you again, Steve and Kathryn, and to all your family and friends who were so wonderful as well! I’ll add a link to this post when all the photos are ready!

Yes, I haven’t posted a weekly update since 23 weeks. I know, I’m so bad! Summer is pretty busy, that’s my excuse! I’ve taken at least an iPhone photo most weeks at least though! And I have SO MANY posts coming up this week, this weekend, next week, I’ve been busy. Okay now onto the fun update – I was just glancing through my update from week 23 and a lot has changed!

WEEK: 29

MONTH: 6

TRIMESTER: 3

GENDER GUESS: Totally 50/50. On the one hand the baby has huge feet, which seem more like a boy (and it kind of looked like a boy in the 3D ultrasound photos). On the other hand, my skin is smooth and my hair is generally pretty and my pregnancy has been pretty good and I feel like that sort of favors a girl.

BABY’S HOMEWORK THIS WEEK: Right now the baby’s head keeps growing bigger and bigger to make more room for its brain growing (and that’s why I keep having to go to the bathroom more and more often, too!)! The baby’s skeleton keeps hardening more each day during this whole trimester, and to help with that, at least 250 mg of calcium are deposited in the baby’s bones each day! The baby is working on developing its eyesight more and more all the time, too. (via babycenter.com) Baby also is getting more and more active (this I can feel!), and is practicing breathing movements by rhythmically moving its diaphram. And the baby’s brain is now able to regulate its temperature, so it starts losing the fine hair that’s been covering its body to keep it warm. (via StrongMoms).

BABY’S SIZE: Baby weighs between 2.5 and 3 pounds, and measures between 15 and 17 inches long! Holy crap, how is that baby fitting inside me, my belly doesn’t look big enough to be holding that!

BABY LOOKS LIKE: A little person

BELLY PHOTO: Here are photos from last week, Week 28, at my parents’ cottage (with my hubby!), and then an iPhone photo from this week, Week 29, which very nicely shows the perfect round shape of the belly!

WEIGHT GAIN: 21 pounds. Wow, it seems like a lot! But my doctor says it’s perfect, and at my appointment last week I’d gained 4.5 pounds in 4.5 weeks, so that’s exactly as it should be. Still, I’m on schedule to gain more than what I wanted – my ideal max was 30 pounds – so I don’t love that. But I guess what’s the difference between 30 and 33 pounds, not so much, I’ll still have to exercise and it will still come off in the long run.

SYMPTOMS: My belly feels big to me now. I know I’m still smaller than most women at 29 weeks, and I know I’ll be growing a lot more, but it feels big and is always there now (a few times I’ve even opened the refrigerator door and forgotten to take that extra half step back and had the door skim my belly, which kinda hurts around my belly button when that happens!). I have a hard time sitting down on the ground, which I’ve been doing a lot with my cats lately. And I have a hard time getting back up. And a hard time leaning over. And a hard time getting out of bed in the morning (our mattresses are still on the floor cause queen box springs won’t fit up the stairs, one of Jody’s imminent tasks is building bed frames for our and the guest room beds). And I realized today as I was getting dressed that putting on underwear and pants is now a little bit of a struggle. And I still have 11 weeks of growing, holy crap! This week my belly also feels really tight. I keep assuming it’s the skin so I’m moisturizing lots, but maybe it’s the muscles too now that my belly seems to be really growing a lot. When I stand up from sitting down I feel almost like I have to hunch over just a tiny bit at first cause the belly feels so tight. And the skin right around my belly button looks stretched and weird – the belly button is still an innie but I’m on BB (belly button) watch every day now cause I’m certain it will be popping to an outie very soon (and it’s pretty sensitive right around there right now, too). The belly looks cute and perfect though, and I love touching it (and LOVE feeling the baby move with my hand as well as with my belly)!!! I also need to go get some normal underwear now, I finally admitted, cause the baby is head-down right now (more on that in a bit) and anytime I’m standing up and I sneeze, yes some pee escapes, not a lot, but just enough that I have to go change my pants – so it’s time for bikini underwear and those annoying little panty shield things. Oh, and I was just taking a shower and shaving my legs and suddenly thought, “my legs look huge!” I don’t know if I’ve suddenly gained more weight (which totally could be the case, I saw a couple photos of me from my parents’ cottage and I think I’ve indeed gained weight now all over, including my face – boohoo!!!), or if my whole legs are swollen – cause my feet and ankles are definitely swollen today, so maybe it’s just spread up my legs a little? I don’t know which I prefer, cause I don’t think my whole legs are supposed to get swollen so that would make me worry, but I also hate the idea of having visibly gained weight on my legs so they look fat. Oh well, 10.5 more weeks!

I had an OB appointment this past Friday and everything looks good!! As I mentioned above, the baby is now head-down, and the doctor said it’s likely to stay that way now – yay! I had suspected that it was head-down now, well really I was pretty certain of it. For the past couple weeks, whenever I walk any distance, even in the grocery store, I will at some point feel A LOT of pressure down there and I have to walk really, really slowly to be comfortable, so I figured that was the baby’s head doing that. And I now finally have to pee A LOT, sometimes numerous times each night, and many times during the day. The worst part of that is this – I have a big bladder, so my whole life I’ve never had to pee a lot and when I do, I get a wonderful relief from going from full to completely empty – but now, I feel like I’m full and have to really go and all that comes out is a little “tinkle tinkle” and I’m done and there’s no sense of relief there! So not fair! Now after the baby is born I can’t wait to 1) sleep on my stomach (oh it will feel like heaven!), 2) eat hot dogs at Costco (they have the best ones!), and 3) have good pees again! Oh and another reason I knew the baby was head down is cause I feel little feet (well pushes, but I assumed and now know it was feet) pressing out at the top of my uterus at various times each day now, and for the past couple weeks! I often lift my shirt up and look to see if I can see any shapes, but usually it’s just a faint bump even though it feels like it should be a very big bump pushing out!! I know one of these days I’ll be able to see the shape of a foot there! So I think how right now, the baby weighs about 3 pounds and I’m feeling the pressures below and feet kicking up high, and I wonder what it will be like at 38, 39 and 40 weeks when the baby weighs a hopefully nice 7 pounds and is bigger and stronger!

I’ve also noticed a big difference already between the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Once I passed into the third trimester it seemed to happen almost immediately that I felt more tired (and need naps again sometimes), more uncomfortable, and it’s harder to move around. I cleaned the bathroom today and it was a hassle going from my knees to standing. And when I’m sitting I need to be reclining more, but then have to switch my weight from one side to the other if I’m sitting too long. Oh and sleeping! Knock on wood, I don’t seem to be having insomnia lately and that makes me so happy, but if I sleep on one side too long then I wake up with a massive muscle cramp in that thigh that I was sleeping on. I also thought today, both when I was struggling to get dressed, and when I was kneeling down and getting back up again, that I’m going to have a pregnant waddle soon – the baby’s head down there seems to make everything more uncomfortable, including sometimes walking right after I get up after sitting for awhile – so yes, I know I’ll have the pregnant lady waddle by the end. And it’s getting harder walking up the stairs every time I need to go to the bathroom now, too; no more running up, it’s more like a very slow clump, clump, clump.

CURRENT MOOD: In love with my perfect round belly!! And loving that I keep feeling the baby move more and more all the time, and it’s so incredible to think that it’s a little person in there, it could be born right now and survive (with lots of help of course). I wonder how aware it is when it’s awake, what it sees, what it feels like in there. I also right now, because of how tight and stretched my belly feels even now, think this baby will be more likely to come early than late. I hope I don’t eat those words! But really, my body is having a hard time making room already – I feel like it’s going to expel this baby before 40 weeks! And it’s okay if it’s maybe up to two weeks early, we’ll be ready for it (by the beginning of October I want us to be 90% ready!) and then the baby wouldn’t be huge coming out (I’m starting to get nervous about labor now that it’s coming up in the very near future and I can’t put off thinking about it any longer!)! But I want the baby to stay in there and keep growing and developing until at least 38 weeks!

CURRENT FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: I would have to say Skittles. Right now I love those things. I even went out to the drug store tonight partly to get cat food, partly to get Skittles. And sometimes I have a small craving/desire for fruit of some kind as well.

When I was at my parents’ cottage in Michigan last week, my family threw us a little baby shower!!! It was SO wonderful and so much fun, and I can’t stop looking at all the cute and soft and cuddly and fun and wonderful little presents we got! We now have lots of cute baby toys and books, sleep sacks, little shirts and onsies, super soft blankets, stuffed animals, some newborn diapers, a thermometer, baby wash and lotion and diaper rash cream, a soft snowsuit, a couple adorable little outfits, burp cloths, washcloths, pajamas, stuffed animals – oh so much and so many wonderful things, I’m so so so thankful for all their help and thoughtful gifts!! And my mom found the baby the cutest and most perfect first teddy bear ever, too! I also went shopping with my mom a couple times, it was so much fun being at Babies R Us with her, whereas whenever I’d go by myself I’d get completely overwhelmed and almost start crying numerous times (well I got overwhelmed once with my mom and started crying, but that’s way better than I’d been on my own!). My parents (and grandma, too!) were so wonderful and got us so many things – the cutest swing ever, a bouncer, a jumperoo, a play gym, bedding (yes, I found some bedding I liked enough and it has many wonderful colors in it that I can do lots with, so while it isn’t my ideal expensive set, or homemade set based off the expensive set, I’ve fallen in love with our new bedding!), bottles (3 brands so baby can choose which it likes best, once I start pumping), changing pad and covers, a tub and little water pourer, adorable little pacifiers, a mirror for the car, oh so many wonderful things! I feel so good now cause I feel like we have a start, and I was able to cross many things off the list of what we need to get, and I just feel so much more in control now and like we’re on our way! Oh and I also found the perfect and cutest little newborn sweater EVER!!! It’s going to be part of the baby’s take-home outfit, along with a onsie underneath, and I need to find soft little pants to go with it and some little socks! I love it!!! I’ll post a quick photo of the little sweater, it’s so tiny but looks so big in the photo!

So I think that’s all with the baby for now! Last week James had really bad diarrhea so I took him to the vet after a couple days, and a few hours after I brought him home he started going crazy, like he was possessed – licking himself, running like crazy, twitching, hiding, even involuntarily hissing, it was so awful to see and I was absolutely terrified. He ended up hiding in a closet for much of 24 hours, but one of these “episodes” would come now and then and he was so scared and so bothered and it was torture for me. It ended up being a severe itch probably in his little butt, and I’m thinking probably the result of the vet taking his temperature rectally (when his little butt was already so irritated from the diarrhea). About 24 hours after it first started, he started acting much more normal and came out of hiding and mostly out and around me, he’d still have some times when he’d start licking his little butt or tail like crazy and then he’d run and hide under a chair for awhile and I’d console him and also try to distract him with a toy. He kept getting better a little at a time, and had fewer compulsions to lick and seemed more like himself, I was soooooooo relieved. I’m still so relieved and so full of joy seeing him be himself, or having him cuddle with me. He still has the diarrhea, hopefully the antibiotics will start working soon. It was a really really really really really hard couple of days. I love my cats so much, I can’t possibly put it into words – they are my babies. It’s been a hard month pet-wise for me (Emma also had bad diarrhea at the beginning of last week, but hers went away by itself after a couple days, and one night last week Ferd ate a third of store-bought brownie that I left by the couch when I went to go the bathroom, so I was terrified that he’d start showing signs of chocolate poisoning and stayed awake most of the night watching him – luckily he was fine). I hope James’ diarrhea goes away soon and we have smooth sailing with our babies after this, it’s so mentally and emotionally all-encompassing for me when something is wrong with them.

p.s. Just as I finished writing this, I sneezed while sitting down and a little pee came out, hopefully not enough that I have to change my pants, but definitely my underwear. I’ll be getting the panty liner things this week. Sorry if TMI, but this is my update about my pregnancy, and that’s a part of it!

This past weekend Jody and I went to Kenora to a friend’s cottage, it was a wonderful weekend away and a fabulous way to celebrate my birthday!! And now this week I’m headed home to see my family in Michigan for a long-planned little reunion, I’m leaving on Tuesday morning, and on Thursday both Jody and my brother and his family arrive. It will be the first time we’ve all been together and the first time my brother and my husband will meet – yes, for real, they haven’t met yet! I’m so looking forward to it!!! And we’ll all also be celebrating my grandparents’ 90th birthdays together! My uncle, aunt and cousins from Chicago are driving over for a day as well, and I hear from a little birdy that there will be a small little family baby shower for us – yay!!

Jody and I this past Saturday in Kenora, on my birthday!

I had planned to bring my laptop along to Michigan with me, and although I knew I wouldn’t have much time, I figured I could do some work in the evenings, at least at the beginning of the week. Then on Monday it appeared that my laptop’s hard drive died. We can’t be certain until we take it to visit the Apple store, but it’s not turning on or doing much of anything. So frustrating!!! I do most of my work on my iMac (and have multiple backups of course!), but of course I can’t take the iMac with me!

So anyway, this will be a bit of a hodge-podge post, and will have the sneak peeks and also a couple personal updates!

First an update on my James! As many of you know, and as I talked about at the beginning of my last post, little James had a blockage in his urethra two weeks ago and spent 24 hours in the emergency vet. It happened three years ago as well so I knew really early on that 1) something was wrong, and 2) it was probably this. So we caught it extremely early but my poor little guy was in pain when he finally did try to go pee and couldn’t, and he jumped out of his litter box and started wailing, I can’t forget it, it was so awful. Anyway, it took him a good 5 days to get back to normal and start seeming like himself again, and I was so worried the whole time both that he would block again and also just that he didn’t feel well – he’s my baby, I want him to be happy and healthy and having him other than that was so so so awful! James and Emma had a vet appointment last week, as both a follow-up for James, and just a general checkup. James needs to lose 2 pounds, and they want him on a special diet. Unfortunately he and Emma both hate the prescription food, even when I mix in their old Fancy Feast (and honestly, after a couple hours the food smells really bad so I can see why they don’t like it). So I’ll give it a little longer and then look for something else. No more dry food either, and I mix water in with their wet food to give them extra hydration. Yesterday, when we came home from Kenora, James seemed like he was mad at me – probably for going away, but also for not giving him tasty food! It was awful, he was avoiding me! Today he’s been more cuddly so I feel a little better. I’m trying to find a good balance though, between health and taste, because I want him to be healthy and don’t want this to happen again, but he also loves his food and I hate taking away any joy he had with eating. So bottom line is I don’t know yet exactly what I’ll do there. I may end up ditching the prescription stuff and just feeding them high protein wet foods only. We’ll see.

Here are photos of James and Emma at their vet appointment last week! James was first really curious and explored the room and counters and then hid under a chair but was still looking all around so cutely and curiously. And little Emma was not happy at all and cocooned her little self into her blanket and was barely peeking out, she was so adorable and pitiful!

And my scared little Emma!

I wanted to share a few photos from this past weekend in Kenora as well! All these (and all above photos as well) were taken with my iPhone, I’m soooo loving that and the fun apps for personal and fun photos!!

Ferd sunning himself and wanting to sleep

It was a wonderful and beautiful visit! I’d really love to explore the whole area much more, too! Anyway, one more personal thing and then I’ll get to sneak peek photos! So I’m sure some people have noticed that I’ve slacked in my weekly pregnancy updates. Yes, I’ve been bad. I’m now in Week 27 so almost to the third trimester, which seems so crazy cause 1) I feel so good, and 2) it seems like there’s still so much time left (which really there’s almost three whole months left, so it’s not like it’s right around the corner!)! So this obviously isn’t a weekly update, but I’ll do a mini update, and I promise next week, during Week 28, I’ll get back on track with my regular weekly posts!

Week 27
My belly has gotten nice and round and perfect over the past 3-4 weeks! I love it, I feel like it’s so pretty and perfect!! I finally look really pregnant but it’s not yet too big that it’s causing any problems. I do now get uncomfortable when I’m leaning over while sitting up or when I’m bending down, and I can’t just bend down and pet our babies for long anymore, I need to actually sit on the floor. My hips have started to get sore while I’m sleeping now, too, cause I can only sleep in two positions – on one side and then on the other side. Sometimes I put a pillow between my legs, it doesn’t really help with the hip soreness but feels good. My feet and ankles are still regularly swelling and looking gross! I feel the baby move many times a day, still not any super strong kicks (probably cause of the anterior placenta) but I can see my belly move a little during some of them, which is so cool and weird at the same time! I read that this week, the amniotic fluid reduces by half so I’ll be able to feel more movements and also see and/or feel individual body parts more – and I think this may have already started cause this morning when I woke up, it felt like there was a foot or elbow sticking out in one place! Oh, one thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes when I’m sitting up straight, like when I’m driving, it feels like the uterus (or really the baby in the uterus) is being pushed up under my ribs on one or the other side and it’s quite uncomfortable, I definitely feel better when I’m reclined a little more. Hmmm, anything else? Other than that I feel good, my weight gain is supposedly perfect, I’m still not having any strong cravings, and (knock on wood) everything is going well! Oh – two weeks ago I had the amazing experience of seeing our baby in 3D! A friend of mine is training to become an ultrasound tech and needed guinea pigs, and I was so happy to volunteer both to help her and to see our baby again! It was so cool, and I loved hearing them tell me that everything looked healthy and normal! The 3D was surreal – it was so amazing and cool and I can’t stop looking at the photos, and yet it’s also a little weird cause the baby looks like a little old man and not so much like a baby, so of course it worries me a tiny bit and I’ll be so happy when it comes out and (hopefully!) looks like a wonderful little baby!

So here are a couple photos from Week 25, and a couple photos from the ultrasound, and then a photo from this past weekend of me during Week 27!

Okay and now for a few sneak peeks! When I get back next Monday, I’ll be working on getting the posts up for all three of these wonderful weddings!!

(I apologize for taking so long, one of my babies (cats), my little James, had a blockage in his little urethra about a week and a half ago. Luckily I knew something was wrong right away, and suspected this because it happened once before three years ago, so we caught it early and he spent 24 hours in the emergency vet with a catheter and then with them making sure he could pee on his own. He came home the next day but it took a week before he started acting normal and like himself again, and I was terrified the whole time that he would re-plug so I was constantly watching him and the litter pan, and giving him love and cuddles the other half of the time cause that fear of something happening to him was so awful. I’m SO happy he’s back to normal, and we’re changing some things to hopefully prevent this from happening again – no more dry food, special wet food, water added into the food, and he’s going on a diet so he can lose at least 2 pounds (this will be harder on me than on him, cause it breaks my heart when he licks his little lips, looks at me, and cries – granted he’s not starving, but he’s sort of hungry or at least thinks he wants food and I hate seeing him unhappy!). But anyway, he’s good, I’m starting to feel better, and I’m getting back on track!)

So now back to the beautiful Jill and Ian!! Part I covered the morning through the ceremony, and now here we have lots of sweet and gorgeous photos of Jill and Ian, and some of their fabulous and hot wedding party as well! Between the photos, everyone hung out at Jill’s aunt and uncle’s house in St. Andrews, and their backyard was SO incredible – tiki bar, pool, gazebos, and such amazing landscaping everywhere you looked, it was such a dream! And then onto the reception at the amazing Fort Garry Hotel, which was so elegant and so beautiful! And there were some very memorable moments – the MC serenaded Jill and Ian, it was so amazing, she was such an incredible singer and the song ended with a reminder that England had already lost the Cup, which I thought was so funny (sorry to Ian and all the British guests!)! The two best men gave one of the best speeches, too, so incredibly funny and filled with cuteness and wonderful British humor, and they delivered it so perfectly! We also all got to see who Ian’s childhood idol had been – I don’t even who the person was, but he looked like some greased up and tanned body builder, so there were lots of laughs had over that! All in all it was a perfect reception filled with wonderful food, a few sweet tears, lots of love, and so so so many laughs!

Here are some of the vendors who helped make the day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress Designer :: Mikaella
Bridesmaid Dresses :: BCBG (two of the dresses, the other two custom-made)
Tux Rentals :: Moore’s Tuxedos
Makeup :: 2 Chicks and a Bag of Makeup
Florist :: Elizabeth’s Florist & Gifts in St. Andrews
Ceremony location :: St. Theresa’s Catholic Church
Officiant :: Father Michael Wollbaum
Reception location :: Fort Garry Hotel
Cake Artist :: Tricia Geurts (Jill’s mom!)
DJ :: Platinum Sound

Thank you so much to Jill and Ian and your families for having me be part of your day, I absolutely loved it and I’m so so happy for you both!! I can’t wait for your Day After session, too!!! Now onto some of my many favorites photos!!! I’ll add a link here when all the photos are online!!

She was smiling and laughing just a few minutes later, and her dress was dry again by the reception! So cute!!!

This was such a fun and gorgeous wedding to be a part of. Jill is absolutely stunning, and looked even more so in her amazing dress and birdcage veil, I loved it! And Ian is quite dapper – they make an amazingly beautiful couple! I also fell in love so quickly with both of their parents, who were so warm and friendly and wonderful (and I loved how Jill’s dad got emotional a few times during the day, so touching and sweet!)! And their wedding party was so fun and beautiful, and there was so much love and joy and anticipation throughout the whole day! Oh – and it was also Jill’s birthday, now Ian only has to remember one date!

I started out with the girls and had so much fun that morning, and we watched as a little mini storm would come through with rain lasting a few minutes, and then blue sky and sunshine would follow, and then repeat that all over! I’m so happy we had some intermissions from the rain, but oh I would have loved to take more photos in Jill’s parents’ amazing yard!! Jody (my husband) started out the day with the guys and I could tell they had some fun! Then off to the church to get married! It was a very hot and humid day, and that continued into the church, but a little sweat never hurt anyone, right? (I say that now when I’m sitting in a cool house, then it was really, really hot!)!

Enjoy the little peek into the first half of their wedding day, and I’ll post Part II with fun wedding party photos, lots of gorgeous Jill & Ian photos, and the fabulous reception in a couple days!

The two best men were SO funny!! And I think the right-most photo is demonstrating the work of the terrible mosquito population in Winnipeg!

Married!!!

It was really hot, Jill needed to air out a bit before going back outside!

I started out the day with Lynn and her girls getting their hair done, and then back at Lynn’s parents’ house for getting dressed and some fun photos. Jody popped in on Jonah and the guys getting ready – I always love seeing his photos of the guys after the wedding and seeing all the silly fun they have! Then it was off to Pineridge Hollow for the gorgeous outdoor ceremony! I absolutely love how Jonah looks at Lynn with so much love and there were so many sweet and gorgeous moments between the two of them during and just after the ceremony – right afterward the two of them went inside for a few minutes and were alone save for Jody and I, and it was SO CUTE how they kept saying “what just happened?!”, “we got married!”, “that was so fast!”, and calling each other husband and wife for the first time – seriously, it was so so so sweet!!! Then it was off for some fabulous photos in Birds Hill Park, and then back to Pineridge Hollow for the fun reception! The whole day was so fun and so beautiful!!

Here’s a list of the wonderful vendors who helped to make the day so beautiful:

Wedding Dress: Cassiopeia Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Cassiopeia Bridal
Tux Rentals: Tip Top Tailor
Makeup: Provici Cosmetics
Hair: Ken Cori’s Studio 103
Florist: Sabyna Sawka
Venue: Pineridge Hollow
Officiant: Rev. Boyd Drake
Cake Artist: Sweet Impressions
DJ: Platinum Productions

Thank you so much to Jonah, Lynn, your families, and your wedding party. Jody and I had such fun and we’re so happy for you both. You and your families and friends were so wonderful the whole day, so fun and nice, and I have such great memories and feelings when I think of your special day because of all of you!! And now here are a few of my favorite photos from the day!! ::

Buddy, the ring bearer, heads down the isle! He was soooo cute and excited!!!

I LOVE how happy Lynn looks here!!!

We had so much fun during the photo session in Bird’s Hill Park – such a fun and wonderful wedding party, and then so many gorgeous images of Lynn and Jonah!

It was REALLY hot that day, these little fans were fabulous!

And finally, a few details and then some moments of the fun at the reception!

I had so many favorites, it was hard narrowing them down. So here are a few of my favorites!

WEEK: 23

MONTH: 6 – yes, we’ve officially passed into the sixth month! Originally I was counting by the calendar, but then I saw that What to Expect does it differently so I won’t be saying “month 10″ during the last month, so I changed to this type of counting and now we’re in month 6!

TRIMESTER: 2

GENDER GUESS: I’m thinking probably boy, but really have no strong feelings either way.

BABY’S HOMEWORK THIS WEEK: The baby is busy putting on weight this week, about 6 oz now every week! It’s slowly putting on more fat, and it’s organs, bones and muscles keep growing. The baby has eyelashes and eyebrows now, too, and probably some hair – although all the hair is white because the pigment hasn’t come in yet, so we wouldn’t be able to know yet what color hair it will have. (via What to Expect). Also, this week the baby is really working to prepare itself for breathing after its born. It’s lungs are producing something called surfactant that keeps the lungs from collapsing or sticking together when breathing, and blood vessels in the lungs are growing and developing more as well. And the baby is even making breathing-like movements and inhaling amniotic fluid in and out of its lungs! (via StrongMoms).

BABY’S SIZE: Baby is around 8 inches long and weights a little over a pound!!

BABY LOOKS LIKE: Baby is getting bigger and looks so much like a little miniature baby now!!

BELLY PHOTO: I hate this photo of me, but it’s the only one I have and was taken on Canada Day, when I was exactly 23 weeks. Jody and I drove to Grand Beach to visit friends at their cottage for a couple hours, and then went to take a quick peek at the actual Grand Beach, it was such a wonderful and fun day! If you look at my bottom hand, you can see a glimpse of the little roundness now!

WEIGHT GAIN: About 16 pounds. It seems to be right on schedule so that’s good!

SYMPTOMS: I’ve been feeling the baby so much more this past week, and at various times during the day now and not just in the evening!! I also have started feeling it a little more in the middle of my belly, although still the majority is low down. I’m thinking the baby is head up right now, and all the feelings down low in my belly are it’s little feet and knees kicking around, and then the slightly less frequent feelings in the middle of my belly are from the hands and elbows – at least that’s what I picture! And I LOVE whenever I feel the baby move, it makes me so happy!!!!!

I also had an unfortunate symptom pop up this past weekend – swollen feet and ankles – they look so gross to me!! It was an incredibly, awfully hot weekend, and I had weddings on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday night as I was about to go to bed I thought to put lotion on my feet cause they hurt so much, and hopefully to help soothe them for Saturday’s wedding (and on the feet all day). When I sat down and started putting lotion on, and then looked at my foot, I did such a huge scary double-take cause that foot and ankle looked like it belonged to someone 150 pounds heavier than me!!! It was so scary and freaky!!! Both feet looked like it, yuck yuck yuck, I had kankles (calves that become feet without taking an ankle break). I remembered reading that swollen feet and ankles were a possible symptom of pregnancy, but of course I had to google it in bed to make sure there was nothing wrong with me. I read that usually, if it happens, it comes in the third trimester – and I’m not quite there yet, I think that starts at 27 weeks? But it also said summertime heat can help it come on, which there was plenty of on Friday. And combined with me being on my feet all day, and of course the ultimate culprit being my uterus putting weight on the return blood vessels and such – well I have fat feet and ankles now. At least it doesn’t seem to be nearly as bad when I’m not on my feet all day, and when I’m at my computer I get up occasionally and walk around or take a little break to put my feet up (which it says to do). But yes, I’m not happy with my ankles and feet looking a little fat. I wanted to get a couple cute summer maternity dresses and now I’m wondering if I can wear cute boots with them?!

My belly button is also starting to get much bigger now and spreading out a little. Normally I have a very tiny little belly button, so seeing it already spreading out is a little scary. I feel like it doesn’t have much further it can go before it pops out to an outie. And that’s a little scary for me, too – I don’t want it to look icky, and although I know this doesn’t make logical sense cause I’ve never heard of it ever happening, I have this tiny little irrational fear that it might burst open if stretched too far. So I’m keeping a close watch on the belly button now this week cause it’s definitely starting to look a little different!

CURRENT MOOD: Pretty happy! I LOVE feeling my belly now that there’s some substantial roundness there! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE feeling little movements from the baby at various times during the day, it’s such an amazing feeling that I can’t get over!! I’m pretty stressed by work this week, and have a lot to get done so I’m trying to be really productive during the days, take occasional breaks to put my feet up and read, and hopefully in a week I’ll have most of it done and feel so much lighter!

CURRENT FAVORITE FOOD OR CRAVING: Nada still, my appetite hasn’t really changed much at all. Hmmm, but I could go for a really good spinach salad with strawberries on it and poppy seed dressing (I had that at a recent wedding and it was sooooooooo fabulous!!!)! But overall I just eat normally and pretty much like I did before.