Merry Christmas to all...

from our house to yours.

More pictures of all our Christmas frivolity as a family of three to come...

Some amazing things

Meeting the Kantors

Today we celebrated Christmas among all the many Kantor aunts, uncles, and cousins. So Joseph put on his best outfit and got ready to meet the whole Kantor family. He started by saying hello to Great Grandma Kantor, whom he loved cuddling with, and then on to meet all 17 other of Grandma's great-grandchildren. There were lots of hellos and hugs and holds and kisses... but Joseph slept through most of them so will need to be re-introduced to everyone at the next family function.

Merry Christmas Kantor Family!

39 weeks... just for the record

Home Sweet Home

Home really is much sweeter with a baby... we were very happy to get a clean bill of health at the hospital yesterday and to be able to come home with our bundle of Joseph. We've never driven more carefully or come to more complete stops than on our drive from the hospital... Joseph always says, "Safety first." Anyway, he seems to like our house... I gave him a tour and showed him the kitchen, and explained that the Christmas tree isn't always there, and welcomed him into the green room (well, his room). And we've had a good first day of family living. Night time was a bit of challenge - apparently Joseph is nocturnal (just like the hamster I had when I was 12) - but I'm told that all of that will work itself out.

Here are a few pictures of our first day on Carberry Way...

Getting a tour of the joint...

Today Lily came over to poke that baby.

Hanging out in the green room...

Me and Joe. This is bliss.

Getting to know Joe

Thanks to all the friends and family who have sent us such kind words by phone and email. Joseph feels pretty important and can't wait to meet you all. And Joseph was also thrilled (he told me so) by the number of people who came to meet him right away on Monday. These included...

Nanny and Papa Kantor...



The Bodners...


The Dhas family...

The Flahertys...

And Tante Cheese... (Lisel)...

Joseph looks forward to meeting all the rest of his family and friends. He's already heard so much about you and thinks that you are (and these are his own words...) "."

life, love and a miracle

Today, I was going to go to work as on any Monday. Gillian had planned to clean the house, wrap Christmas presents, fold laundry ... like on any other normal day.

Those plans all flew out the window at 3:42 am when Gillian's water broke. With many people praying for us, we were in good hands. Gillian did what women so heroically do and literally pushed through labour until at 12:54 pm, our baby came into this world. Baby K ... or as he will be known henceforth:
Joseph William Gerald.






Here are some of his stats:
Weight: 7 lbs 14 1/2 ounces
Length: 21 inches
Appetite: seemingly endless (like father, like son, I guess)
Origin of name: we wanted to name our son after the great fathers in our life ... Joseph, father of Jesus, William, David's father and Gerald, Gillian's father.
Everyone is doing well, and we are thrilled to be a happy, healthy family. Gillian and Joseph are at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital resting for the night.





On our wedding day, I thought I could never love Gillian more. As we journeyed together these past two years, especially on the Camino and in Australia, my love for her only grew. And now as I watched her give birth to our son and hold him in her arms, I love her more than ever.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the LOVE you have so graciously given us. We are in awe of the MIRACLES that you make happen around us everyday. We praise you for this gift of LIFE ... Joseph William Gerald.

laughs, tears and a good meal

This weekend, it was Gillian's turn to treat her husband.

First treat - A Vinyl Cafe Christmas with Stuart McLean at Massey Hall. What a thrill to see Stuart McLean, host of CBC's Vinyl Cafe and one awesome storyteller, bring his Christmas stories alive and move the audience to hysterics and tears (yes, sometimes at the same time). By our baby's movements, s/he must have a good sense of humour. The stories were interspersed with some great Canadian music, all wrapped in a warm, Christmas atmosphere. I think everyone walking out at the end had a smile on their face ... and a sore face from laughing so much.

Second treat - Swan Restaurant

Our favourite restaurant and the birthplace of the spicy brownie enjoyed by many at our wedding. We enjoyed our usual - crab cakes to start, risotto of the day for Gillian, fish of the day for David and a shared spicy brownie to cap it all off. This was on our list to do before our baby arrived, so check ... now we can have our baby.

What a lucky husband I am.

Whatcha doin'

I've been off work for a while now... starting to get *bored*... always knew I was impatient... this just proves it. Anyway, lots of friends are having babies... so I'm making blankets for them. Thank you, friends, for giving me something to do.

38 weeks

A getaway from the everyday

Before Baby K arrives, Mr. David Kantor decided to surprise Mrs. Gillian Kantor with a weekend away. I'm snoopy, so surprises don't work that well... I knew we were going somewhere but just not where. After three hours of driving on Saturday, we ended up at the Domain of Killien, a bed and breakfast owned by a French Count and Countess outside of Haliburton.

Fun things about the weekend:

1) It was snowy and wintery and beautiful.

2) Food was plentiful and delicious.

3) And we tried snow-shoeing. Baby loved snow-shoeing, so we think it will become a regular winter sport for us. Now we just need snow shoes.

37 weeks

Whose house am I in?

That's what I thought yesterday when I went downstairs and saw all this laundry hanging up. Yes, I am in my house and, yes, I did hang that laundry there. But what the heck? We're having a baby. It will wear clothes. My goodness.

It's good to have these reality checks now and then.

36 weeks

Words of Wisdom

Today was our Week 36 Doctor's Appointment. Normally I just go to the doctor by myself and am in and out of the office in about 15 minutes - all fairly routine with Dr. Liske having a listen to the baby's heartbeat, nodding to herself, writing stuff down, and then sending me on my way. But David was requested to come to this appointment... I guess now that we're at 36 weeks, we're good to have this baby anytime so she wanted to give us the rundown on what to do if labour strikes.

And her words of wisdom:
1) "Don't go looking for labour. Labour will find you." (This was in response to my query, "Um, this may sound stupid, but how will I know if I'm really in labour?" Generally, when I ask any questions about pregnancy, I preface it with, "This may sound stupid.")
2) "Labour will be 100 times worse than you have imagined it." (While this sounds discouraging, I (a) appreciate her honesty and (b) haven't really thought about what labour will feel like... so, if my math is correct, 100 x 0 = 0. Awesome.)

Anyway, we're ready now. So hurry up, Baby!

November = Mom and Dad visit

Mom and Dad are visiting this weekend - hurray! Lily is enjoying the dance parties, made-up songs, and stair-climbing.

And I am enjoying the dance parties, made-up songs, and visiting (I mastered stair-climbing years ago... way less interesting for me now).

35 weeks

Just one more month to go....

34 weeks

Showered with Goodness and Mushiness

Thanks to all the lovely ladies who came to the party for Baby K today. We feel really spoiled and loved by each of you. And Baby K says he or she can't wait to meet all of you to thank you in person.

And muchos, muchos gracias to Andrea for hosting and coming up with such clever party games and baking such delicious cookies.

What a nice way to spend an afternoon.

33 weeks

Basketball Champs

We went to Guelph to watch Emily and Charlotte play basketball... they are superstars. The games are a bit slower than they are in the NBA but, still, very entertaining.


And thanks, Steve Nash, for sponsoring these gigantic jerseys.

Happy dress-up-like-a-bear Day

... which is a kinder, gentler, less-scary way of saying, "Happy Hallowe'en."

32 weeks

31 Weeks

We put on our Fancy Pants

This is my friend Gillian... she's the blonde grown-up in the back. She is:

1) smart

2) funny

3) a super-duper Mom and Wife

4) filled with buckets of energy

5) generous

6) a skilled trumpet player

7) the list could go on

8) but my point is she's an excellent photographer.

Gillian took our engagement photos, some beautiful pictures at our wedding, and, most recently, pictures of the Kantor Baby Belly. And you can see some of them here... http://www.gigiphotography.typepad.com/

(And I'll sneak one of them on here, too...)

Thank you, Gillian, for loving us so much.

30 weeks

29 weeks

Lily came to visit

... and she wore this funny hat. Then she told me she wanted to go to the green room so we could take some pictures.

Happy Wedding!!

Another Salt + Light wedding... this one of my cubicle-mate and Leftropolis citizen (sometimes mayor... we alternate), Matthew Harrison to the beautiful Aldora Sequeira. From a Spirit-filled Mass to David's debut as a Bollywood dancer, October 4th, 2008 was an amazing day.

We are so glad Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are our friends.

28 weeks

Stubborn, Part Deux

Well, here we go again. Another ultrasound. Another sonographer (that's the official Ultrasound Lady title). Same result.

"I have never seen such a stubborn baby."

Yes, well, I'm sure the Baby will have many nice qualities from David to make up for all the stubborn that came from me. At any rate, we had this second visit so the doctor could get proper measurements of our baby's head... after much prodding and pushing and rolling over, the sonographer finally got what she was looking for, and we got to see our baby yawn and suck its toes and (apparently) put its hand in its mouth (either that or our sonographer has a great imagination).

But - trust us - with or without the sonographer's imagination, it was a an amazing show. Thank you Baby... we love you.

(A map of the above picture...
for the hands - look to the right of the words
for the eyelids - look below
for the forehead - also look below
for the nose - look up
and we think the mouth is being hidden by an arm)

27 weeks

26 weeks

I'm so sorry... I don't know what I was thinking

This was our second try at an ultrasound. The picture came out much better, don't you think?

Okay, actually, this is a picture of the greatest cousin ever. Aaron. This picture and declaration of greatness should have been posted a long time ago. My apologies for the oversight.


p.s. Aaron - you may collect your $10 when you come to visit us.

Stubborn?

$10 to the first person who can tell us where the baby is in this picture. This could be any organ in my body.

But, we are told by the Ultrasound Lady (uncertain of official job title), this is our Baby. She said the Baby was facing away from the camera and, despite my getting up to walk around and try to jiggle the Baby into a better position, this is where he/she stayed, looking into my back. The Ultrasound Lady called the Baby "stubborn." Hmm... I can't imagine who he/she gets that from.

In gender news, we are waiting for the surprise in December. But we think it's a boy. That's been our guess for a while, but even more so now. The Ultrasound Lady kept saying things like "He won't move - er - he or she won't move." So either she was trying to throw us off or she's not very good at keeping secrets.

Anyway, as non-descript as this image is, we're eager and excited. We can't wait to hold this fuzzy, black-and-white, non-descript baby in our arms.

The Naglieris

They're married! Congratulations to Michele and David... enjoy wedded bliss.

We liked your wedding because it was:
1) pretty
2) celebrated abundantly with faith
3) in Oakville and we didn't have to drive far
4) a crazy dance party
5) served with love and good cake

... people married for two hours...















... people married for two years...