The Fashion P.A.

UMC KIDS CHRISTMAS PARTY

2014-12-15T12:34:00.000-08:00

This year we were invited to my husband's employers Kids Christmas Party. We had a blast walking around the building, trying to craft with the other kids, and meeting Santa for the first time. Santa pictures to be sent. We are so grateful for the opportunity to make these memories with Spencer. Our next adventure is Christmas and New Years in Vancouver with our West Coast family and friends.

Bye for now! Click.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

2014-12-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

Recently we celebrated our son's first birthday. The year went by fairly quickly despite the days feeling long (in a good way). Spencer has changed our lives indefinitely and we couldn't be happier. Nothing has made us feel more complete than spending time with our boy, and making memories.

1 week old

1 month old

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months :)

INTRODUCING OUR BABY BOY!

2014-01-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Today seemed like the perfect day to ask my hubby for time to post about the birth of our baby boy. Our son, Spencer was born on December 5th at 11:14pm. It was an interesting and exciting experience that was extremely rewarding in the end. Nathan and I couldn't be any more proud of our healthy baby boy. Since he's been born our priorities have shifted to Spencer, and we are enjoying every minute.

1 week photo with Spot his dog.

Pictures above and below taken on the morning of Christmas Day.

New Years Eve pictures below.

In four days (January 5th), Spencer will be 1 month old!

PREGNANCY DIARY: 7 DAYS LATE UPDATE

2013-12-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well it's officially one week past my due date and we still have not gone into labour. It's very common for first time babies to be late, and a lot of our friends were 7/8 days late before they went into labour. We have a few Doctor appointments this week to keep monitoring my body, but if I haven't gone into labour towards end of the week I will be "induced." I will try to keep my digital journal updated..

Above at Toronto Fashion Week early 2013, approx. 4-weeks pregnant.

Ultrasound pictures from 12-week period.

Pictures from 12-weeks to 20-weeks with some of my girlfriends from Toronto, Saskatchewan, and Vancouver. My friend "T" below was due 2-weeks prior and has already had her baby girl! She went into labour 8 days late..

Ultrasound pictures 12-weeks on left, 24 weeks on the right side.

Our cat Nigo is patiently waiting to meet her little brother too ;)

Ultrasound pictures from 34-weeks. I'm currently at week #41 now. Last week they estimated our boy currently weighs approx. 8lbs 6oz from an ultrasound check-in.

Picture below from most recent Toronto Fashion Week, Spring 2014 collections.

Picture below at 38-weeks. Off to AOL's StyleList Holiday party.

Our boy is really smart, the longer we wait until he arrives, the more I buy.. Found these awesome stuffed animals at Indigo Books + Gifts on the weekend. They had a buy 3 get the 4th free promotion so I bought these three stuffed animals, and we received a parenting book N8 wanted for free. Happy Holidays!

NURSERY ARTWORK

2013-11-28T09:41:00.003-08:00

I want another piece of travel artwork for above the changing table. I feel in love with this boy and airplane print from Jolinne months ago. But I ended up buying the wall decal below from Graphic Spaces. I decided it would be best to use a wall decal above the change table instead of a hanging picture and frame. That way we can avoid any body contact with the framed picture above our changing station.

OUR BOY'S GROWING BOOK COLLECTION

2013-11-22T14:45:00.001-08:00

In a card I received from business colleagues I also received an Indigo Books + Gifts gift card. I was surprised to received a gift, but thrilled when I saw it was for Indigo. We have been slowly building up a library for our little man, but the gift card added 7 new books to our boy's collection! Here are all the books in his library we have so far.

I was really excited to find these books; This is London, This is New York, and This is Paris at Kol Kid here in Toronto on Queen Street. London, New York, and Paris are three major cities N8 and I have travelled to together. The books are such a fit with our nursery travel theme and the art we found at IKEA. Hope our boy likes them too.

SHOWERED WITH LOVE

2013-11-22T14:25:00.002-08:00

Everyday I feel blessed to have the friends and family that we do. N8 and I decided not to have a baby shower prior to our boy's birth because it felt strange to us to have one without him there. Regardless we have still been showered with love from all and here are a few gifts we have received for our boy.

Burt's Bees "Baby Bee" gift basket from some of my clients at work.

Slippers my boss brought back from her vacation to China.

Playful volume soother from a business colleague and friend. Appropriate for this musically inclined household :)

Pillow stitched and gifted from our friends J-hi + Erwin.

Stuffed animals I found at Hallmark.

38 WEEKS + MY 1ST HOLIDAY PARTY!

2013-11-16T21:11:00.000-08:00

Thursday night I attended AOL's StyleList Holiday party. We had a great time, and it may be my last party before motherhood. We are only 1 week away from our due date!

What I Wore:

Tunic, Kimono, and Leggings - Forever 21

Boots - Franco Sarto

Handbag - Coach

Watch - Kate Spade

Bracelet from Antigua

OUR BOY'S NURSERY ROOM

2013-11-03T05:11:00.002-08:00

Yesterday we spent time re-organizing parts of our place to make room for items we used to store in our spare/second bedroom. The house cleansing is coming along and now our boy's nursery room is almost complete!

DEADLY OUTFITS FOR OUR BOY!

2013-11-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

Our friends who live on the West Coast sent us a package and inside were the coolest outfits for our boy. I absolutely can not wait to dress our boy in these outfits and take pictures, the shark prints are really cool! Our friends are pregnant as well, two weeks ahead so we are both really excited to have kids the same age and share the experience. We can't wait for our kids to meet..

OUR GRACO CAR SEAT

2013-11-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

When we purchased our UPPAbaby stroller there were four brands of car seats that UPPAbaby sells adapters for and Graco was one of them. With limiting our search to specific brands, and light-weight if possible, the Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35 in the Brompton design ended up being the car seat for us.

OUR FINAL DECISION: UPPABABY VISTA

2013-10-31T18:14:00.001-07:00

After months of research we finally made our decision on which stroller to buy. We ended up purchasing the UPPAbaby Vista. After debating silver fabric or indigo, we went blue fabric, silver frame. The main reasons why this stroller had it all for us were:

1. Better, easier folding frame (can keep seat on!)

2. Large, foam filled tires

3. Baby sits higher-up, closer to parent

4. Bassinet grade for overnight sleeping! Just need to buy a stand

5. Lots of underneath storage

6. Great price

MY DIAPER BAG! SKIP HOP DUO CHEVRON

2013-10-31T18:13:00.004-07:00

After months of keeping my eyes open for a diaper bag I liked, I finally decided on the Skip Hop Duo diaper bag in a neutral Chevron print. I ordered from amazon.ca last weekend and it was delivered Monday! I am very happy with my purchase.

THE NURSERY ROOM UPDATE

2013-10-29T17:54:00.001-07:00

Just this past weekend was Nathan's birthday and his Dad came to town for a visit. In addition to all of visiting they built the crib! The room is almost there..

BABY DIARY: UPDATE FROM 36 WEEKS

2013-10-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

This beautiful graffiti tag is located right around the corner from our place here in Toronto. The wall was even more spectacular up close in person vs. driving past.

N for Nathan

M for Michelle

S for the Suspense of it all!

In other artistic news, last weekend I bought the rocking chair I wanted from IKEA. I love the colours and designs in the fabric, I hope our son does too, I thought he might.. With the "Travel theme" we are going for it just feels right :)

GIFTS FOR OUR BABY BOY

2013-10-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Recently N8 and I had dinner with one of our close couple-friends. We dined at the restaurant, SALT which was an incredible experience, the food and atmosphere was top-notch. Our friends brought us a gift because we haven't planned a baby shower yet. Our friends gift consisted of two items they couldn't have lived without when they were raising their daughter, and one item they wish they had. I can't wait to use them in the near future. Just over 5 weeks until the due date.

Sophie the Giraffe - one of the items our friends couldn't live without

The Snack Trap was another item they found very useful.

The functional bath toys they wish they would have had.

AI WEIWEI "FOREVER BICYCLES" EXHIBIT

2013-10-13T05:43:00.003-07:00

Toronto is truly an amazing city. Not only have we had the pleasure of enjoying Ai Weiwei's "Chinese Zodiac" exhibit in our City Hall's, Nathan Phillips Square, and his exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), but for our Nuit Blanche festival (and still on display weeks after) is Ai Weiwei's "Forever Bicycles" art piece! Just over 3,000 bicycles were used to create this dramatic and interactive sculpture.

ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO: AI WEIWEI

2013-10-05T12:10:00.001-07:00

Back in August I posted about Ai Weiwei's Chinese Zodiac exhibit in Nathan Philips Square. After months of letting the hype die down we finally went to the AGO, to see his full exhibition. Tonight is Nuit Blanche art crawl here in Toronto, and at Nathan Philips Square the city will have Ai Weiwei's Bicycles art piece.

FAMILY OUTING: NINE INCH NAILS CONCERT

2013-10-05T06:20:00.003-07:00

Last night N8 and I went to Nine Inch Nails at the Air Canada Centre. It was one of the best concert and stage design setup, I have ever seen. Glad I could take our unborn boy to hear the beats of last nights performance in Toronto.

MATERNITY WEAR: THYME MATERNITY

2013-10-04T16:42:00.003-07:00

When I was first starting my third trimester of pregnancy I posted about the chiffon, one size fits all blouses I had purchased at American Apparel. The blouses are still making due as my belly and baby boy continue to grow, but last Friday I was itching to check out Thyme Maternity for a few new pieces. I had previously purchased a red long sleeve top and dressy black patterned pants (pictures below) at Thyme Maternity, and wanted to add a few more long sleeve tops to my Fall maternity wardrobe. Well, I was able to find more long sleeve tops in royal blue and forest green which made me very happy. What I didn't expect was to find a dressy black v-neck and black + white striped tops that would also be great additions to my wardrobe. With work functions and Toronto Fashion Week approaching, I feel more than prepared to go out on the town pregnant and all!

BABY BOY GOES TO BASTILLE CONCERT

2013-09-28T06:29:00.001-07:00

This past Wednesday night N8 and I went to the Bastille concert at the Phoenix here in Toronto. If you haven't checked out the band, Bastille yet and you love alternative music, I highly recommend you do. I'm less than 60 days away from our due date and it makes me very happy to be able to expose our baby boy to some of our favourite music live already in his life. I wonder what he will think of Bastille when he's older..

OLD NAVY NEWBORN BOY SHOPPING

2013-09-08T06:12:00.001-07:00

In preparation of our son's arrival not only have we been planning and buying furniture and accessories for his nursery and life, but also his wardrobe. His 0-3 months wardrobe is coming along and I owe most of the credit to Old Navy for having an excellent selection of clothing at great prices. My last couple of purchases include the items featured below. Now that we have a good collection of clothes to work with I will be switching my focus to other areas, to ensure we aren't missing anything for his nursery and everyday care, i.e. bedding, washcloths, diaper bag, diapers, wipes, etc. With the due date of November 25th we are now 12-weeks away! Tomorrow we start our Prenatal classes.

OUR NURSERY PLANS CONTINUE

2013-09-07T06:16:00.002-07:00

Last weekend was Labour Day long weekend here in Canada, and also our 1 year Wedding Anniversary! We spent the weekend relaxing, planning our boy's bedroom, and celebrating our anniversary with dinners out, going for massages, and enjoying the annual Air Show. Now that we have started the last trimester of pregnancy, we have prioritized the completion of our son's bedroom.

Weeks ago we painted the walls, "Big Sea" and hung the art we bought from IKEA. The artwork couldn't be more perfect, it brings to life our desired 'Travel' bedroom theme, and all three cities are the three major cities N8 and I have enjoyed traveling together.

Convertible Crib purchased from Toys R Us/Babies R Us. Still to be built but we are happy that this crib can also become a Toddler bed, and later a Full-size bed.

Rocking Chair and Floor Lamp we are planning to buy from IKEA.

My cousin Tracey is painting a picture for our boy's room to go above the change table. I sent the picture above to her for inspiration. I thought the little boy and airplane was perfect for our boy's room, fitting in with our Travel theme perfectly.

Dresser above we already own and is the perfect height for our Change Table. We will just add the Contour Cushion on the top, and I can't wait to fill the drawers with baby clothes and accessories. The IKEA storage unit below is one we are considering to add in the room for much needed additional storage, it just requires the addition of doors.

Once we purchase the remaining items, build everything, our little man's room will be ready for his arrival. We have come along way and are looking forward to reaching the finish line over the next couple of months.

GIFTS FOR OUR BABY BOY

2013-09-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend N8 bought these Vans slippers for our little boy.

I bought this super soft terry cloth, Snoopy. Babies 1st dog ;)

Just a few accessories from Mom and Dad.

FALL 2013 INSPIRATION: T TO Z

2013-09-03T07:04:00.001-07:00

Temperley London - Fall 2013

Tom Ford - Fall 2013

Valentino - Fall 2013

Vera Wang - Fall 2013

Viktor + Rolf - Fall 2013

Zac Posen - Fall 2013

Picture source: ELLE.com