I LOVE MY LIFE...

There is no place like home for the holidays...

cheezy? yes. but seriously... I LOVE MY LIFE today...

gluten free baked goods, tons of people around to tell lame stories to, laughing so hard that I think this baby will pop out 3 months early, and its only the real first day...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Slacker...

I have quite a few things to write about that have happened in the last few weeks... but we are hours away from checking out (YAYAYAYAYAY!!!) so you will have to stay tuned. I am sure that I will find some time in the next few days to do some posts.

UTAH... HERE WE COME!!!

I saw the future...

and what we will look like in 10 years:

J&J hosted a Christmas party last Saturday and asked us to dress nice and Christmasee... to us, this meant ugly green sweaters and bows on our shirts and ears... we were stylin'

Random picture of the Deakster:

O Christmas Tree

Monday night we ventured into Calgary and got ourselves a Christmas tree! Yay! We got home too late to do anything and Deakon about drove me CRAZY waiting for Kyle to come home from work so we could start last night. Kyle made us a quick dinner and we had the tree up in no time. When we first set it up and had to fan out all of the branches Deakon didn't know what to do with himself and we kept telling him that he needed to wait so he grabbed my camera and did a nice 32 picture photo shoot of us at work... aka, pictures of his fingers. It kept him occupied and happy and let us work faster. He was so excited to bring the "special balls" to me one by one as I put them up and then we let him place all of the candy canes so he had a job all to himself with us lifting him up for the top of the tree. It was a fun night and I even got Kyle to take a few pictures of us because I never get any of me up here. Enjoy your countdown to Christmas! Happy December!

Kyle and Deak getting started:

Deakon's finger and a nice belly shot of mommy:

Showing off his work:

The finished product:

Our stockings hung with care:

Some new pics...

We haven't been doing much of anything lately. Tonight we are headed into Calgary to buy a Christmas Tree (finally! this is our 5th Christmas being married and we have never bought a tree) I am excited to pick out some Christmas decorations. We put up our stockings on the mantel and hung some lights around the 2 big windows in the living room, but having an actual tree will be fun. Enjoy some new pictures of Deaky-B and from American Thanksgiving last night- SO GOOD... and the thing that made it INTENSELY good was that the entire bowl of jello was eaten. :) Thanks for everyone who came to be with us!

Deakon sleeping. I finally remembered to take a picture of his socks. If you put him to bed with socks on, he ALWAYS takes them off before he falls asleep and neatly lays them next to the bed. He has the sweatiest feet so I guess it makes sense:

Just a close up. He never sleeps with his thumb in his mouth, but often has it resting on his lip ready for action:
Thanksgiving, Jenn and Justin:

Deakon and Kyle:

Bret, Eva, Ron, and Doreen:

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We got some great news last night from Danny and Becky... congrats you guys! Baby number 2 due June 17th!

American Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow we are having a Thanksgiving FEAST to celebrate "American" Thanksgiving. We are a few days late, but if we would have had it on Thursday then Deakon and I would have been eating all alone. We are going all out- Utah-DuPaix style! What's on the menu?

TURKEY (of course)

Tons and tons of mashed potatoes (with skin on)

Homemade gravy

Stuffing

Rolls

Celery filled with peanut butter and the infamous Cheez Whiz (I personally hate it, but I must apease the hubby)

JELLO complete with 2 kinds of fruit and cool whip on top (not a dessert you crazy canadians)

Garden salad

Corn

and... Cherry Delight for dessert (I know... no pie? but if you have ever had Doreen's DELICIOUS no bake cherry cheesecake, you would understand my choice... and sorry family- I did make it for you a few years ago and completely ruined it. I have perfected it so I will have to make it again.)

Christmas Vacay!

We are officially heading down to Utah.....

DECEMBER 23rd! And sadly leaving.....

JANUARY 3rd! I am so excited!!!

I know you have all been dying...

Hi! I feel like it has been WAY too long since I last posted. We all survived the swine flu. Yay! Kyle got it Sunday morning, and Deakon quickly followed Monday morning. Sunday Kyle and I had a long night at urgent care in Calgary and Monday night I spend a few hours at the walk-in clinic with Deakon and waiting FOREVER for his prescription(it will only be 20 minutes ma'am... oh, it has been that long, sorry, just a few more minutes ma'am... oh, you are angry because I told you I wouldn't be long and so you kept your sick child and yourself walking around and you could have gone home to wait, but I kept telling you "just a few more FREAKING minutes ma'am) I am not bitter at all. Promise.

Kyle had a major cough, fever, sore throat, body aches, and headache. Deakon was lucky enough to mostly just have the cough and high fever. He might have had a sore throat because he hardly ate anything for a day or two. For being so sick, Deakon was in extremely high spirits after 3 days, but unfortunately had some tummy issues Saturday and Sunday.

SO... somehow, I didn't get sick! Well, not normal flu symptoms. I had some nausea and tummy issues for just about 7 days. But, I will not complain because I could have been moaning and groaning along side the boys. I had my 20 week appointment last week (finally made it back to my beginning prego weight- sweet!) and the doctor was amazed that I wasn't sick after being cooped up with 2 sick people. Kyle went back to work on Monday and Deakon and I have been trying to spend lots of time getting out of the house and running random errands. Today he was so excited because we went to the park. It was sunny, yet windy and only 40 degrees, but those 35 minutes were pure heaven for the poor kid.

I have my immigration appointment in the morning and I am sooooo excited to be so close to getting finished! I think I have wished November away because I have been looking forward to this appt. I can't believe it is the 18th! Kyle and I are hosting a little "American" Thanksgiving dinner a week from Sunday and I am excited for that. Nothing like 2 thanksgivings in 6 weeks. We are hoping to finalize plans soon to come to Utah from Dec. 23rd-Jan 3rd. Kyle hasn't asked for time off yet because he was gone all last week and they are making some changes in Parts so it has been really busy this week.

ENOUGH babbling, Kyle tells me that when people see a bunch of words they don't want to read my blog. :( I hope he is wrong. I have lots of pictures, some from Halloween... sad... I know.

just a random, Deak wanted to show off his dried apples:

Bret and Eva bought Deakon a bowling set, which he was really happy about, but he was even more excited to wear this box and walk and talk like a robot. The first day, I couldn't get him to take it off for anything- even potty time.

Halloween!

Scary mask, Spiderman, and Gamma

(Deakon's words, not mine):

We drove down to Bret and Eva's house to do some trick-or-treating and Deakon found a pack of moustaches that Bret had gotten. Deakon really wanted it off because it was so itchy and we all laughed and laughed and made him keep it on while we took pictures of him:
Once he saw Bret wearing one, he stopped itching and gave me a cute smile:
Dad and Deak lighting the candle:

Halloween Eve we decided that we better get in gear if we were going to carve a pumpkin. Isn't Kyle so lucky to be the one to get covered in pumpkin guts?

More gutting. I think they ended up using like 8 different utensils to get everything out. Deakon was impatient and just kept asking for a different one:

Finally done:

The finished product...

We had some fun the last few weeks buying Deakon some new winter clothes. Here is his awesome new coat. I love the inside of the jacket and hood- dark brown wool and orange accents. We haven't had too many days cold enough for it, but Deakon had started to refuse to wear his old one because it was too small... (not really... he just had it in his head that it was. Kyle probably kept telling him that because Kyle HATED it. I had to listen to how ugly it was all last winter. This is why I don't pick out stuff.) No worries, Kyle picked this out and I threw a fit in the store because I thought it was diarrhea olive green, but it is turns out that it was mostly the lights making it look that way.

Feeding Barclay some treats:

My little Eskimo:

Just a few more randoms. Deakon found this shirt of mine last night and came out wearing it. I asked him why he was wearing my shirt and he told me, "This not your shirt, this my new spiderman costume"

It's going to be a long week...

Kyle woke up yesterday with H1N1 symptoms. We got to so kindly go to a walk-in clinic for several hours last night, but got him some meds. Deakon woke up fever and a cough today... we are headed to the doctor after his nap. I think it is going to be a very long week... Hope I don't get sick... I really still do have Halloween pics to post, but I am trying to stay away from the upstairs which includes the computer so we don't spread more germs! Time to disinfect the keyboard...

Kyle said yes!

Do I sound like a kid on Christmas? I asked Kyle when I could post the name that we really like on here. He looked at me like I was kind of crazy and said, "I don't care... whenever" I was just trying to be nice babe...

So... here is the name that we really like:

Nixon Steven Owen Gerrie

I think it sounds fabulous... and I like the middle names being after our dad's... yay for family names!

2 middle names is a little bit of a tradition in the fam. Kyle, Deakon, and even I (how could I ever fully give up DuPaix? come on now) all have 2 middle names.

Here's our little guy...

So... today is the day that we have been looking forward to for a very long time. We are really excited that we are having a boy! Kyle was WAY more excited than me... at first... only because I secretly have been wishing to play dress up with headbands and tu-tu's for the last 2 months- thanks a lot Molly and Meri. Now my head is filled with thoughts of 2 little crazy boys running around and I can't imagine anything better! Plus, I am really excited that I can use all of Deakon's clothes and they will be for the right seasons and everything. (they will be ~3 years and 12 days apart) I am excited and scared to have a little baby in the house again. I seriously can't wait until the new baby is 6 months old- my ALL-time favorite stage. Deakon couldn't have been any more of the cutest, most perfect, sleeping-through-the-night, giggly, smiley 6-month old. I can't wait! I think we have pretty much narrowed down a name, but I haven't gotten the a-ok from Kyle to go posting it so you will have to wait (unless you ask me... then chances are I will tell you!) So... on to our adventure of the morning. We got up too early and ended up waiting around for the time to leave (9:15). We got to the appointment and they called me back. After getting dressed, the ultrasound tech came to get me (10:00) and I told her that my hubby was waiting (they told me that I could bring family) and she was like, "Sounds good, I just want to get a few measurements and then I will grab him and show you guys the sex and we can make a little video for you to take home"
Well... Mr. Baby Gerrie was soooooooo excited for his video debut that he could not stop moving!!! After getting most of the measurements, she spent over 10 minutes trying to get some head measurements and he was all over the place. That, plus the fact that he wouldn't put his arms down, made for some very long waiting room time for Kyle and Deakon. Finally, she was able to get what she needed and ran to get them. (10:35) I got to go potty (thank goodness, drinking 4 glasses of water at 8:45 and holding it was a killer!) and by the time we all met up, the baby had decided that it didn't want to move hardly at all and wanted to stay curdled up in a little ball. Luckily, she moved him enough to get a few good glances at his little manhood and then when she started doing the video (3D video, didn't even know... a little weird) he just laid there looking sleepy. So, I got some still images from the video. Enjoy our skinny, alien baby boy!

This is my favorite. He is just hanging out with his hands kind of under his chin, his face is profile style (not sure what that weird thing on the left is...):

His face looks kind of weird, but this is of his hands in front of his face, right before he put them under his chin(above):

The last 2 are the same pic, the bottom one is just the video in full screen. He is on his tummy, with his hand behind his neck like he is getting ready to do some crunches. The left side of his head is the base of his skull, and the right shows a little bit of his profile. The bottom middle of the pic is his skinny little spine with some ribs showing through:

No 3D pics of the manhood... sorry... just take our word for it. ;)

Drumroll PLEASE....

IT'S..... A.....

BOY!!!

try and post some baby pics soon!!!

Last one... I promise...

TOMORROW!!! is finally the day for the ultrasound... I will be done with countdowns for awhile. WELL... at least until December when I start getting excited to go home for Christmas!

I have halloween stuff to post, but Monday night I was so sick that I almost died... ok, I felt like I almost died... so I haven't gotten around to it yet. I am basically back to normal so maybe today while Deakon is sleeping I will post.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

Kyle gets next Wednesday off... Yahoo!

Can't freakin wait...

3 more sleeps....

and then its ultrasound time!!!!!

wake up baby

and help your

poor, IMPATIENT,

and excited parents out!

The do's and don'ts...

The do's and don'ts of pregnancy,

VIA the expectant father:

*disclaimer: this is my interpretation of what they think... some of these things may or may not have been said by Kyle*

-DO NOT tell me when you might be ovulating... it kind of ruins the whole thing

-DO tell me when you find out that you are pregnant, but leave out the whole peeing part

-DO rub your belly and other...cough... northern areas with that weird belly butter

-DO talk about how your belly and other... cough... northern areas are getting bigger, but leave out the obsessing of flabby arms, face, and thighs, how many times must I remind you that you are supposed to be getting bigger?

-DO NOT eat a humongous plate of fried chicken and chili cheese fries and then tell me you feel sick, bloated, and fat

-DO invite me to your appointments

-DO NOT be offended if I do not go to said appointments

-DO think it is cool when I frame a large picture of the ultrasound with the word BOY and an arrow and place it on my desk for all to see

-DO NOT get crazy mad when I refuse to go out for the 3rd time to get that OTHER one thing that you must eat immediately

-DO NOT be grumpy when I wake you up multiple times during the night to tell you that you are sleeping in a bad position for the baby

-DO buy attractive... not cheesy, maternity clothes

-DO remember that when you ask for a foot massage that I have also been on my feet all day and would not mind one afterwards

-DO NOT let your "shiny, luscious" hair clog up the shower drain... its gross

-I DO NOT understand morning sickness and the the words "I have to eat NOW" so chill out when I am in the middle of playing XBOX with my friend

-DO NOT pressure me into picking a name as soon as we find out the gender. We have until the day of, right?

-DO remember that the day of scares the crap out of me almost as much as it does you, so do not be worried when I look like I am going to pass out in the delivery room

-DO NOT be upset when I leave 2 hours after the baby is born. They were doing baby tests, you were sleeping, and I was STARVING... plus, I got you a gift while I was out!

Good day... bad day...

Last week I received a letter from the "CASE PROCESSING CENTRE from Citizenship and Immigration Canada" saying that I have been found eligible to apply for permanent resident status and I will receive a letter with my interview date. It sounds like it doesn't mean much, but basically they approved me. So, I have been planning on waiting 3-6 weeks to get another letter for my official interview AND it came today!!! My interview is November 19th and I am super excited!!!!! Many of you are probably wondering why I would be excited. Well, being a permanent resident means that I can work if I wish, go to school as a resident vs. international student (pukingly expensive), have my health coverage extended... it totally expires November 25th so it is great timing, get a super cool black and white Alberta driver's license, become a dual-citizen (because WHY NOT?) if we are still here in a few years, AND... the very best part of all- I can leave the country whenever the heck I want to visit UTAH and not worry about the border!!! That makes planning a Christmas vacay less stressful.

Ok, so on to my not so good news of the day. The people who ran into our jeep, who VERY NICELY (seriously, no sarcasm) left a note saying that they would pay for the fixes/didn't want to go through insurance and have been working with us while we get quotes and such... now informed us today that they don't want to pay the 500 bucks it takes to fix the bumper (they have no problem fixing the fender) and they don't want us to fix it and just take 200 bucks cash... WAIT a sec... pretty sure you hit us!!! I mean, the jeep goes in Friday- they couldn't have told us 2 weeks ago when they got copies of the quotes??? Geez... I talked to the wife today and tried to tell her that it wasn't just some "tiny scratch" that isn't "a big deal" (she has never even seen our jeep- it was her husband that hit us). I just told her that Kyle would call her husband later... apparently I come across as a huge pushover and Kyle has no problem just telling them that if they have a problem paying, they can go through insurance like normal people. Anywho, you tell me if it is some tiny scratch. I think you can click on the pic and make it bigger:

I am not quite done venting yet... today Deakon has figured out that he needs to CLIMB everything!!! It is driving me nuts. While I was on the phone talking to crazy-lady he climbed a big bookshelf to get some stupid beef jerky sticks (gross!) and fell. Before that, he thought it would be a good idea to climb the shelves in the linen closet to get to our "get ready" shelf and get out all of my jewelery and Kyle's face grooming stuff (aka SHARP scissors). Am I lucky that he waited until 2 years and 7 1/2 months to become a full blown monkey... or am I just in trouble??? Oh little boy... the day will come soon for your first stitches...

Baby gender news: ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

18 weeks...

18 weeks tomorrow!!!

yahoo!

do not ask for pictures... MAYBE when i actually look prenant and not like a bowl full of jelly.

:)

Maybe I've gone too far? Nah...

I love old pictures!!!

I spent all afternoon looking for old pics... mainly of Kyle. I found a few and decided to put a few of mine up to see if Deakon really does look exactly like Kyle OR if there is a little bit of me in there?

Angi- 6 weeks:

Angi's First Birthday:

Collage (sp?) up to about 18 months. Don't ask what the heck I was doing. My mom let me have my picture file when I was 12 and this was my GOOD idea of scrapbooking. :) People wonder why I don't scrapbook... Oh, and my mom was so mad that I cut the pictures and chucked the rest, including backgrounds WITH other siblings. My bad...

My sister, Sarah, and I. I was about 6:

Angi, age 7:

Kyle- a few days old:

Kyle, 3 months:

Kyle's First Birthday:

Kyle and his dad. When I first saw this picture I seriously could not believe how much Kyle looks like his dad. I think Steve was about 30 in this picture and it could definitely be Kyle... When I first met Kyle's parents I was convinced that he looked more like his Mom. Not anymore!

Kyle and his Papa Joe:

Kyle at Halloween, he thinks maybe he was 7 or 8:

Kyle, age 16. Check out that "I am freaking awesome" look he has going:

Kyle, age 17. He is really looking like a man here... poor high school girls. Ha ha ha, just kidding:

Kyle, age 19 or 20:

Little Kyle...

Is this Kyle and his dad?

OR...

could it be Deakon and Kyle with a mustache?

Can't beat this rockin' Smurf outfit. Kyle was killing it in 1982.

Halloween... I want to say 1983, with Kyle being 3 1/2.

Bret, Kyle and some cousins... Kyle told me which ones they were, I just forget (don't hate me...)