I'm HERE!

YAY!!! Our son, Costello James Hansen was born March 5th, 5:08pm. As you can see, I've been a tad busy keeping up with a newborn, so much so this blog entry is over 3 weeks late. Costello ended up being 5 days past due, but when he was ready to enter this world, he came quick, (with a little help from modern medicine aka inducement) I only had to face 4 hours of labor. And thank god, as those 4 hours were intense!
Brian and I are in the process of learning all about being new parents. A steady routine of eating, changing diapers, and sleeping in short intervals here and there is keeping us on our toes, (and half asleep)
Costello couldn't be doing better. He's a great baby, very healthy, and beautiful. His personality is already shining through. We can't wait for everyone to meet our lil' guy.
Thanks to all who followed this blog and offered support, advice, and love during my maternity. This life-changing experience is one which can not be summed up in words. We feel deeply blessed.
Now, just because our baby is here doesn't mean the blogs have to stop...Be sure to stay connected with Costello on his very own blog, http://costellosworld.blogspot.com/and watch him as he experiences life and all its unknowns.

Signing off our last entry
with love
Alissa, Brian, and Costello

still waiting

Due date is this Saturday...I know it's getting close. I have a feeling this baby is going to take it's time. If it's like me, our lil' one will hit the snooze button a few times before making it's grand arrival.

in the bag

Wow, picking out and packing the diaper bag has been more satisfying then any of my previous impulse shopping excursions to high end department stores looking for that perfect over the sholder accessory, no joke! I'm sure I will learn what schlep around in this thing, and what to leave at home, but for the sake of this blog, I placed a few of our favorite on the go baby items as essentials here. I doubt our lil' bundle of joy will care if the teething toy it chews on is organic or not, but for some reason it gives mom a bit of instant gratification, knowing we are attempting to provide the best. Plus I tend to like natural colors better, but that's just silly I know. Thanks to my girlfriends for the diaper bag!!!! Oh and whoops, I forgot to add the first aid kit...just know that'll go in there too.

Baby's Sweet Suite

YAY, the nursery is ready! I'm so happy with the way it turned out. At first the thought of doing a gender neutral room gave me panic, but I actually really like the orange walls, (they are Benjamin Moore, Marmalade.) Be sure to ask Brian how many coats of paint it took for this to go on even, ;-) The crib and changing tables were Christmas Gifts. The crib bedding is a line from Dwell Studios made for Target, super cool. Our favorites though would have to be the tiger rug, an online find, and the counting sheep wall decals. More nursery pictures posted here.

Progress!!!

For those of you who don't know what this means, sorry I'm not going to explain in further detail. But for those of you who do understand, wahooo...making progress. Had my weekly Dr. appointment today, and based on the image posted above, this is what we learned. 38 weeks 3 days and it looks like things are coming along. Although, I hear you can be 1cm for a awhile. We'll keep everyone posted!

Baby Sabbatical

Friday was my last day in the office. For those not familiar with the way Canada handles the whole maternity thing, (aka US friends & family), we are entitled to take one year off and still have job security upon return! Let the bad afternoon TV begin. I find without my 9 to 5 distractions, I'm now more obsessed then ever waiting for baby to arrive..."we're ready lil' one, come anytime!"

this just in...

Not really new news here, but always good to have this confirmed. We left last Monday's doctor appointment knowing our baby is heading (no pun intended) in the right direction!

quote of the month

I really like this quote. Although it's not directly tied to the baby, I think its a nice reminder that we are all humble and learn everyday, especially as Brian and I begin our journey as new parents.

Nursery Accents

We are still in the works on finishing up the nursery. Once the room is done, I'll place some more pictures up. But for now, here's a sneak peak of a few items which have found a home in the baby's room. Click here to view!

shower time

How much fun was the baby shower... Christine and Julie really put together a great afternoon. And yes there were games, lots of them, and all were enjoyed. We were even graded, like in school days. Many won, wahoo! Thanks to all my friends and family for spending the afternoon showering baby with lots of goodies. I love the diaper tote, highchair, car seat, vintage baby dishes, adorable outfits, and all the other lil' odds and ends.

As always, more pictures capturing the whole day can be found by clicking here. Enjoy!

what comes out must come home

Over the weekend Brian put in the car seat. This completes a major "must do" before baby is born. We now can bring our lil' one home snuggled safely into the backseat of the Honda. The car seat was a shower gift from Mom Hansen, Lynn, and Lori. Thanks so much, we love it! It works side by side with the Peg Perego Pliko P3 Classico Stroller


Picking the right stroller for us was a bit of a challenge...they were either too big, too small, too something. This one sold us with its one-hand collapse features, and it fit into the truck of my civic. Plus i liked the colors.

Documented the whole "put car seat in" with a few more photos, check um out in our transport gallery by clicking here.

Very much looking forward to Saturday. Christine and Julie are all over it and I can't thank them enough. I hear we have games to look forward to...Should I be nervous?

first threads

The baby clothes, toys, supplies, and must haves are now coming in as we begin to plan for the arrival of our lil' one. How cute is this sprout onesie? The UGGS, which you can't go wrong with in Calgary, are from my Aunt Kyle,cousin Ann, and almost a Jansen (engaged to my cousin John) Jessica.

expecting a Very Merry Christmas for all

Brian and I leave tomorrow for Michigan to visit family and friends. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone, and for those whom we will miss this holiday season... have a wonderful Christmas!

to do's

Pretty busy week underway. Tomorrow is a routine visit to the doc's along with some follow up standard lab work. I always look forward to these because I get to hear the heartbeat. "Routine" weight check, that's another story. Thursday is our first baby lamaze class, which should be interesting. I'll be sure to update all with that lil' adventure.

dear santa please bring us a...

An advantage to both Brian and I working in creative environments, we have great friends with super duper talents. One being Philippe who works with me at Critical Mass and has a fantastic eye for catching lasting moments behind the camera lens. We can't thank you enough! Our belly gallery is now posted, to view click here.

The luxury of having this done at our house led to a natural vibe. We wanted to avoid the whole, place hands here, arch back there, fold shirt here, lean forward, backward, tilt chin up, look here, hold breath, etc. environment. My only direction, make the belly look big and cute, while everything else stays "reasonably" small. Counter intuitive as it may seem to show off an ever growing belly, outtie and all, we couldn't be happier with the way these turned out. Plus one more excuse to upgrade to an eggnog latte, tis the season...why not!

baby's B&B

Designing a "gender neutral" nursery isn't as tough as I was anticipating. It does however require a fair amount of time shopping online for the perfect must have items, which let's face it will probably end up covered in baby puke, but will look fantastic none the less. We first found the rug and built the design around it. The counting sheep wall decals are my personal favorite.

Baby Wordle

I love the randomness of Wordle made from the most used words taken from this blog.

daddy delights

Daddy felt baby move for the first time last night around, oh let's see...11:15pm, Wednesday Nov 12th. We were laying in bed, the baby was up for yet another round of "dance dance revolution." I placed Brian's hands on my belly BAM he felt the movements. Fantastic!

Baby Registering 101

Ok, ok, I admit to following prey of my own romantic expectations, walking hand-in-hand with Brian down endless isles of baby store wonder ooing and ahhing as we select organic bamboo onesies and miniature booties for our newborn.

And now a reality check...from my own life script:

ALISSA: hey look honey reusable, good for the environment, eco nursing pads...
BRIAN: ummm, (blank stare) do they have disposables?

I've learned, as most seasoned parents already know, that the baby industry is...well booming. And as more infant retailers convince newbie parents what and what more to buy, one can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Now, I'm not saying the whole thing was terrible,but I am looking at this experience now with open eyeballs.

Who would have thought there'd be so many options? How is one suppose to know the difference between a Baby Genie, and a Baby Genie Elite, without cashing in that life saving phone-a-friend call in store?...(Thanks Fitzy for setting us straight)

and so the shopping continues...plastic or glass bottles...huh PBA free? What's with this Bugaboo stroller anyways? Does breast milk need to be warmed, seems more refreshing cold...doesn't the dishwasher sterilize enough already? Do Baby Einstein toys make the kid smarter? nontoxic mattress pads...shoot what's in the other ones? $350 for a breast pump...it better come with a new pair of heels.

And as I watched, both in horror and amusement,the young 16 year-old-something store clerk unsuccessfully attempt to demonstrate the one-hand-collapse ease feature of the hot stroller to buy, I realized...although not exactly what I had imagined, our baby dreams are playing out in reality, and that is what makes the whole experience unforgettable and amazing!

now registered at Babies R Us in Canada, and Target is the States...links to the right of page

Baby's Heartbeat

Today Brian and I had a routine checkup with Dr. Novak (who is awesome by the way), and we are happy to report everything is checking in wonderfully! We decided to deliver our baby at Foothills Hospital here in Calgary. No ultrasound pictures today, but we did have a chance to record our lil' one's heartbeat. Make sure to have your volume turned up and click the audio player above to have a listen. Best part is, close to the end you'll hear both mine and the babies...the fast beat is the babies. Beautiful and a bit crazy to have two hearts in one body.

little one inside

The first time Brian and I were able to see the baby was an awesome experience. We went for our first ultrasound pictures at 18.5 weeks into the pregnancy. 4 large cups of water 2 hours before our appointment and I was more than ready to see the little one for the first time. A bit of nervous energy and overwhelming excitement as the technician turned on the machine and pressed the probe against my belly to reveal baby. Without being aware of any of the baby's movements prior to our appointment, we were surprised to see our lil' one kicking and bouncing all over the place. I've decided baby must have daddy's energy, because if he or she takes after mommy, he or she would still be sleeping...our appointment was 8:30am. 10 fingers 10 toes, and a healthy growing baby. Due date is now Feb. 28th which seems right around the corner. We cant wait!

first things first

before we decided to try for one of these...



we decided to have one of these...



Brian and I were married this past April in Kauai, Hawaii with our closest family members and friends there to celebrate. The wedding was awesome. Check out our favorite wedding pictures here.

After the wedding, came the honeymoon in Maui, to view our favorite "moony" pictures click here