Painted Faces and Bouncy Castles

This past weekend, our church, North Pointe Community Church, put on a FREE children's carnival. There was a petting zoo, pony rides, carnival games, bouncy castles, face painting, spray on tattoos, a photo booth and a BBQ lunch! We wanted to take Isla last year, but did feel as though at 8 months old, there might not have been lots for her to enjoy. So, we were pretty excited to take her this year. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and Isla had the time of her life. Most of you already know that Isla LOVES animals... and this is a vast understatement. She can point out ANY animal and make their noise... this includes plugging her nose when she sees a skunk. It's sooooo cute. So, the petting zoo was a definite hit. She was in there like a dirty shirt... petting the donkey's face, chasing the bunnies and grabbing the goats horns. She was "ca-caaaaing" right alongside the parrot and mooing when she pet the cow. We then took her into the bouncy castle where Cam joined her. They laughed and jumped and rolled around... she loved it! And then, my favorite part... her face painting. She told us she wanted to be a puppy (we asked her about several animals and she shook her head so when asked about a puppy, the enthusiastic "YEP" was a dead giveaway). She sat PERFECTLY still, I was amazed! She is certainly the cutest puppy I have ever seen! Right??

Sunny September Days

It has been ages, once again, since my last blog post. I really want to blog, but sometimes finding the time to do so is impossible. Life in the Schellenberg house has been somewhat nutty and chaotic. Cam has been incredibly busy with work, working late evenings and almost every day on the weekends. I work 4 days a week and then of course, we have Isla who requires love and attention... fancy that? So, now I am sitting down and adding some updated photos of our lovely family. 

us at the Prairie Gardens Corn Maze in Bon Accord.

us 3. And Isla's prominent belly.

sunny Schellenberg smiles. (note: Isla + Cam = twins)

one of Isla's favorite animals... BUNNIES.

I scream you scream we all scream for ICE CREAM!

fun on the hay bales.

one of my fave pictures to date. 

on the low level bridge enjoying a family walk.

pure love.

handsome.

me and my baby belly.

hand in hand.

idolizes her daddy.

my love. 

Introducing Baby Schellenberg the Second

Today, Cam and I had the incredible privilege of meeting our second child. Behold it's utter awesome-ness. The entire process of the creation of a child is both equally beautiful and mind blowing. After drinking a liter of water and having to make several laps of the waiting room, TRYING to hold in my copious amounts of urine, I was ushered into the ultrasound room. I remember like it was yesterday my first ultra sound with Isla... and my emotions today were equally as strong as they were the first time around. Instantly, love filled my heart and my eyes filled with tears and immediately I knew how much this baby will change my life (obviously in a positive way... despite the lack of sleep). The technician took several photos of baby and then brought in Cam and she showed us BABY... it's limbs (if you look carefully in this photo, you can see a skinny baby leg *tear*), its stomach, it's little heart beating at 144 bpm (Isla's was always in the 160's... could this mean a boy?), it's big brain, its developing spinal cord and of course, its adorable little face (what a cute shot of baby's nose and mouth, right?). All of this on a tiny human that is 3 inches long... absolutely breath taking, isn't it? I am so incredibly blessed to be able to experience pregnancy again, and then to get a gift like a healthy, beautiful baby at the end... how could I be so lucky. Thank you Jesus for Cam, Isla and my little baby. 

Seattle!

September 30th to October 3rd, I am going to Seattle... and I couldn't be more excited! Not only am I visiting one of my "Top 5 American Cities to See" (I have a list), but I am going with Christy and her mom, Sue! Christy is most certainly one of my oldest and dearest friends! We met in a hot tub in grade 7 (that sounds somewhat inappropriate but I can assure you, it wasn't), were reconnected at SBS Junior High and spent most of our adolescent and early adult years glued at the hip. I lived at her house for a solid month in high school, where Sue quickly became my surrogate mom! Christy is getting married in June of 2012 in Vancouver, and as her maid of honor, I take my duties very seriously! I feel extremely privileged that I am able to be a part of this trip... to be present with Christy and her mom while they shop for one of the most important days in ones life... it's an honor to be included! I know it is going to be a great weekend full of good food, great laughs, lots of delicious bridal shopping and fond memories. And also... SEATTLE! Pike Place Market is something I have been longing to see for AGES and I can hardly believe I will get to spend time there... perusing and shopping and eating and tasting and laughing. It's going to be simply wonderful! 

Sue works for AMA travel, and as a result, she has booked us an incredible hotel in downtown Seattle for an extremely low rate. The hotel is called Hyatt by Olive 8 and it looks so beautiful and modern! I love people who got the hook ups (I love Sue anyway, but definitely an added bonus). Check it out. www.olive8.hyatt.com

If any of you have been to Seattle before, please pass on great restaurants, great shopping, MUST SEE's and DO's and if you know of any great bridal boutiques, that would be extra awesome too!

Monday at the Zoo

This past Monday, both Cam and I had the day off (almost unheard of these days). We really wanted to do something fun with Isla, so we decided to take her to the zoo. As most of you already know, Isla LOVES animals. She can point out almost any animal you ask, complete with their corresponding sounds. She is just the cutest, sweetest little animal lover. We are thinking of buying her a fish for her birthday. Anyway, the sun was shining and we had a blast! We rode the train, we went paddle boating (which was not Isla's favorite but I think it had little to do with the paddle boat and more to do with the life jacket), and went into the petting zoo. Anyway, it was a perfect way to spend our long weekend... as a family!

loves of each other's lives.

watching the tiger.

us.

my deep sea diver... who apparently turned african american. 

making our way through the seaweed.

Isla & a parrot! 

taking a train ride. *choo choo*

giving the goat some love.

petting a rat *barf*.

adventurer of the sea.

my beautiful family.

what she REALLY thought of the life jacket.

Marvelous Michelon

This past weekend, we took Isla camping! Cam and I love to camp and this was our first time attempting this with Isla. We were definitely nervous about how she would do, more specifically, in the 'sleeping in a tent' department. After several conversations with her explaining that she would be having a slumber party with Mom and Dad under the stars for 2 nights, we packed up and headed out. Chris, Nicole and the girls joined us for our camping adventure, and all I can say is that we had a great time! Despite one 5 am wake up call and lots of grumpy and cold tears, we had an incredible weekend! We had campfires, went on lots of walks, went frog catching (Cam & Nicole were successful), played at the park, spent an afternoon at the beach and basically just hung out for 2 days. It was lovely spending time with our friends and seeing Isla enjoy the outdoors. She really is a tree hugger... she loves being outside, loves nature, loves trees and anything to do with the ground (ie: dirt, mud, rocks, eating dirt, mud and rocks). Here are some photos.