:: alphabet nursery eye candy ::

I am exhausted today after teaching my last class of summer school (woot!) and shopping afterwards. The life of a teacher on summer vacay....it's tough!

Just wanted to post this gorgeous alphabet wall. I found it a while ago, and forgot to not where I got it from.....probably Ohdeedoh or Project Nursery. If you recognize it, let me know so I can give credit, because credit is certainly due, this wall is beautiful and so unique. Love the stripes on the Z!

:: giveaways, giveaways ::

Check out the Rowdy Diaper Bag I bought the other day at Baby Steals! I am so excited for it to come and even more excited it was only $30! Woot!

The only thing better than a great deal is a freebie. I loooove giveaways, so I had to write about them today.

First, have you entered our latest giveaway yet? If you know of any Calgary Mommies-to-be wanting to capture some images of their pregnancy, please let them know about our photoshoot giveaway!

If you are a Canadian Mommy-to-be it can sometimes be difficult to find giveaways that are open to us up here in the Great White North. Here are some of my favourite websites to keep up with the contests and giveaways going on around the web for Mommies. If you are a giveaway junkie, I hope you will find these helpful. Good luck!

Canadian Giveaways

Emily's Latest

Blush Mom's Contest Blog

Canada Mom Deals

True Cuddles Giveaways

:: baby hawk mei tai baby carrier ::

On a mommy message board I frequent, Mei Tai Carriers are all the rage, and Baby Hawk seems to be the place to buy a fashionable and functional carrier.

I browsed around on there today and I am loving the fabrics. I will have to consult the hubs tonight and see what type of fabric he would feel comfortable wearing! He'll probably want a Camo one. *le sigh*

For Canadian readers, you can buy them on the Canadian site Parenting by Nature here. I am loving the Caramel/Tweet combo....what do you think?

:: fresh and modern wall stencil and free download ::

image via Real Simple


Spotted at Apartment Therapy, Decor8 and Real Simple- a fantastic (and affordable) alternative to wallpaper that can be personalized to your theme and taste.

I can just imagine the same thing in a foresty palette with deer, squirrels, moose, owls.....I might have to search out something similar for Baby C's room! In fact, I have already created an 8 x 10 print with a deer silhouette for my photo collage in the room. Yay for clipart (recoloured to a white silhouette) and Microsoft Publisher!

Download the Elle Decor stencils here.

:: canadian company spotlight and amazing giveaway ::

Tickled Pink Photography is a great Calgary based business - specializing in creative maternity and newborn photography. She does beautiful work and she is wonderful to work with!

Amy has generously donated an amazing prize to Mon Petit Amour readers....a free maternity session!

She also has a special offer going for the month of August. If you book a session in the month of August you will receive 10% off, and a Maternity/Newborn package session will be given at a special rate of $250. Normally sessions are $150 each.

These sessions include a location of your choice (within Calgary and area) a disc with all the photos in high resolution and unlimited personal printing rights to the photos.

To enter the maternity session giveaway, just leave a comment with your email! Good luck! Contest will be open until Tuesday, August 4th, and the winner will be chosen by random.org and announced that morning.

:: 22 weeks and nursery sneak peek ::

Feeling: Hot! And not in the attractive way....in the "kinda wish my hubs would get us some AC" kind of way!

Sick?: Energy is up, but the heat kicks my butt some days!

Cravings: Timmy's Breakfast sandwiches. I love everything with bacon.

Wishing for: hmmmm......a shopping spree at Isabella Oliver?

Movement?: I think the little guy is doing kickboxing workouts in there sometimes!

Reading: The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb. Almost done!

Favourite clothes right now: Silk dress from Banana Republic I bought to wear to weddings this summer. It is so light and airy and perfect for the hot weather!

Current Project: Finding little hangers for Baby C's closet

Weight: up 12 pounds total

Hope you enjoy the sneak peek at Baby C's nursery! We put together the crib last night, and I am loving the funky clock that I bought this weekend!

:: busy busy at my other blog ::

I am busy as a bee working on flowers that will be posted on my other blog later today.....so there won't be a baby related post until Sunday!

I love seeing the new colours that are coming out for weddings, and since fashion and home decor influence each other, perhaps these could inspire your nursery as well! Some of my favourites this year are:

- Fuschia and Tangerine
- Yellow and Steel Grey
- Lavender and Plum
- Ivory and Pale Pink
- Fuschia and Steel Grey

Happy Friday!

:: maternity dresses ::

Confession: I only have one pair of maternity pants so far. I am not a pants kind of girl - I love love love dresses. Here are two of my favourites, one is on my wishlist, and one is hanging in my closet ready to be worn to a wedding this weekend (more about that tomorrow!)

Satin Bow Dress by Isabella Oliver
Silk Floral Dress by Banana Republic - (it's not maternity, but it is perfect and so lightweight and cool for summer weddings)

:: alphabet cards - hardware themed ::

Found these hardware themed alphabet cards by Eeboo at Winners on the weekend and could not resist! They won't go with the theme of the nursery, but I could see them in a playroom one day! I seem to have a slight alphabet obsession....must be the teacher coming out in me.

I also picked up a Piccolo Bambino heated contour change pad. I love Winners.

:: penny people giveaway winners! ::

Here's the announcement you've been waiting for! The winners (as chosen by random.org) of an 8 x 10 personalized alphabet print from Penny People are.......

{ Kat & Vivian }

Congratulations! I'll be in touch via email with the details.

Edited to add: Kat, I don't have an email for you on your entry or blog. Please email me at monpetitamourblog {at} gmail {dot} com to claim your prize before 9pm tonight. If I don't hear from you, I will redraw for the prize. Merci!

:: canadian company spotlight - peekababy ::

First, have you entered our Penny People Giveaway yet? If not, you have until 9pm tonight to enter to win one of two 8x10 personalized alphabet prints from Penny People. Good luck!

And now onto our regular Monday feature....

I love finding fresh and modern baby boutiques online, and I love it even more when they are Canadian! Peekababy is an online destination for all your baby needs with all prices in Canadian dollars - and a price matching guarantee.

We just bought Baby C's crib yesterday so the hunt for crib bedding starts now. I love this set by Babylicious, especially the fact that it does not come with bumpers and quilts that you can't use for safety reasons. Love the grobag in brown dots that this set comes with! If only I could adjust the green to match our walls better.....alas, the search continues. That, or I need to learn to sew!

:: week 21 ::

Feeling: excited to be in the last half of the pregnancy....it gets more and more real that a baby is going to live in our house every day!

Sick?: feeling better, and starting to get some energy bursts. YAY!

Cravings: Spinach salad with hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms and bacon. Dijon dressing. Yum.

Wishing for: the perfect ulpholstery for our rocker. Any Calgary recommendations?

Movement?: stronger kicks every day!

Reading: The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb

Favourite clothes right now: My magenta maxi-dress. Perfect for the HOT weather we are having!

Current Project: Putting together our Gulliver crib from IKEA. Starting to come together!

Weight: still up 10 pounds total, and still trying to control the ice cream cravings!

Hope you enjoy the ultrasound pictures! I just realized I had not yet shared them. We had a great time seeing Baby C.....especially the part when we found out we are expecting a little BOY! We thought we wanted to stay Team Green, but when the Hubs thought he saw "something" we decided we just had to know. We are both so excited!

:: outdoor baby photography ::

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the most beautiful picture of a baby in a vintage-looking rocking cradle nestled in a lush forest and fell in love with it. I was the lucky recipient of a hand-me-down rocking cradle this week and I am looking forward to working on it with my crafty sister-in-law to give it an antique white paint job and scuffed up finish so we can take pictures of our very own Baby C in the forest when he arrives!

When I searched (in vain) for the aforementioned photo, I came up with these inspirational photographs from Baton Rouge's Kerilynn Photography and Philadelphia's Anne Katherine Photography . I love to see babies photographed outside....especially in a fresh green setting!

If anyone knows where I can find that gorgeous picture of the baby in the cradle in the trees, let me know....it is driving me crazy!

:: affordable baby organics ::

Thanks to the ever-informative Emily's Latest blog - I have discovered Affordable Baby Organics. This lovely website features fresh organic cotton onesies, funky organic baby legs and all at very affordable prices. I have picked out a couple of my favourite items above! The Apple Green Onesie would be a great gender neutral gift - what an awesome shade of green!

Visit Emily's blog for a coupon code for 10% off your purchase at Affordable Baby Organics. Visit her often (like I am now that I discovered her fantastic blog!) to get "in the know" about all the giveaways happening in the blogosphere. As a fellow Canadian, she makes sure that the giveaways she posts about are applicable to Canadian citizens. Thanks Emily!

:: penny people giveaway ::

Lindsay at Penny People is not only amazingly talented, she is also very generous! Mon Petit Amour is excited to host our very first giveaway featuring Penny People's gorgeous personalized nursery prints.

Do they look familiar? I blogged about them a couple of weeks ago in our Canadian Company spotlight feature, but these prints have been featured all over the place. Magazines like Today's Parent, Style at Home, LouLou, and Wish, and websites like Ohdeedoh, SavvyMom, Celebrity Baby Blog and CanadianParents.com love these gorgeous prints as well!

To enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post, ensuring that your email is on your blogger profile or within the comment so I can contact you if you are one of the lucky 2 winners of an 8 x 10 personalized alphabet print (frame not included). This contest is open to residents of Canada and the US, and it includes shipping of your print.

For up to 3 extra entries, comment again letting me know that you have:

1. Voted for us at Top Baby Blogs (link in the sidebar)

2. Twittered about the contest

3. Blogged about the contest

This giveaway will be open until 9pm Mountain Standard Time Monday, July 20th. I will announce the winner (chosen by random.org) on Tuesday morning July 21st.

Good luck and thank you again to Lindsay at Penny People!

:: harry potter baby ::

Stuffed Hedwig at Amazon

Hogwarts Alumni onesie on Etsy

Gryffindor newborn cap on Etsy

Wizard themed bedroom via Ohdeedoh - decals from Ivy Surface Decor

Tiniest Harry Potter fan - a peek into my future. Hubs and I are such geeks!

Since the sixth Harry Potter movie comes out today, I just had to blog about the world of Harry Potter stuff for babies. Who knew there were so many cute baby things out there for nerds like me and my Hubs who are expecting a magical little one? We are pretty excited for the movie tonight, I will be getting in line early this afternoon for the 7:00 show.

:: mobile for baby - little birds chandelier ::

I am loving this bird chandelier mobile from Etsy seller TalkofTheTown.

You do need to be slightly crafty to get this lovely look though, the chandelier comes as a kit, which you can personalize with paint, paper and probably a lot of patience. Still, I think I might be up to the challenge and I love that we could customize it to our nursery décor!

:: canadian company spotlight - true cuddles ::

If you are a bargain hunter like moi, you are going to love our Canadian company spotlight this Monday!

True Cuddles is a fabulous website run by Julie and Sarah, two Canadian Moms based out of Calgary, AB. They put their skills in marketing and graphic design together with the desire to share all the uncovered gems in the baby/toddler world and came up with True Cuddles.

The fresh and bold graphic design gives you the feeling of walking into a trendy baby boutique. I love websites that are well-designed and this one is gorgeous!

Every Monday morning, True Cuddles offers a limited quantity of one in-demand baby or toddler product, at a discounted price, until it sells out. They call it thier "Cuddle of the Week". Discounts range from 40% to 70% off. I love that the prices are in Canadian dollars, and, if you live in Calgary like I do, they offer free shipping within the Calgary city limits!

Moms that visit True Cuddles want to know about the latest baby gear, can’t live without toddler products and everything else that keeps their children safe, fed and in-style. True Cuddles offers a fun, unique shopping experience for modern moms to buy high quality products at affordable prices, in a stress free, always-open environment.

Each week or sometimes bi-monthly, True Cuddles features a mom who successfully juggles family and a business. She shares a little about herself and her business...in turn they hope to motivate and inspire other moms to take the next step in starting their own business. Along with their feature, they often host some fab giveaways!

This is a website I visit often, and it is chock-full of great information for the modern mom. I always find something new and interesting in their features, and by clicking on the ads they feature on the sidebar. Just this morning I discovered the MomAgenda! Brilliant!

Happy shopping on True Cuddles! I can't wait to get my email this morning to see what the Cuddle of the Week is!

:: week 20 photoshoot with tickled pink ::

I had my second photoshoot with Amy of Tickled Pink Photography and I am loving how our western/Stampede themed shoot went! I especially loved the chance to wear my red cowgirl boots! Enjoy the teasers, I will post more later this week!

:: week 20 ::

Zut! I have been so busy blogging about other things (and enjoying the first couple of weeks off work on summer holiday!) that I totally forgot to update on weeks 18 and 19. They were relatively uneventful....except for earlier this week, when we saw Baby C at our ultrasound! We did not see a little mango or canteloupe -I'll post pictures later this week.

I can't believe I am now in week 20 - and halfway there to meeting this little one!

Feeling: thankful for the beautiful weather and dramatic thunderstorms at night.
Sick?: feeling better, though still struggling with nighttime nausea.
Cravings: Tim Horton's BLT on a 12-grain bagel. Mmm....
Wishing for: a bit more energy. Where is this 2nd trimester energy burst?
Movement?: YES! And I just love it! Even got a kick this week that moved the belly!
Reading: Just finished Real Food for Mothers and Babies by Nina Planck (loved it!) and just started The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb (for bookclub). Just borrowed The complete book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzsinger from the midwives' library. I have a full bedside table of reading choices each night!
Favourite clothes right now: My maternity skinny jeans and new H&M Mama tank tops. Also excited about the lovely clothes by Ripe Maternity and Olian I picked up at a maternity consignment store this week.
Current Project: picking out decals and artwork for the nursery. It is now painted Benjamin Moore's Clinton Brown on the feature wall!
Weight: up 10 pounds total, and trying to control the ice cream cravings in the hot weather!

:: Stay tuned for my monthly photoshoot with the amazing Amy of Tickled Pink Photography. We did a Stampede themed western shoot and I love the results!

:: personalized baby hangers ::

Personalized Hanger - $10

Heart Hanger - $7

I love these personalized baby hangers from Etsy seller LilaFrances. Wouldn't they be the cutest thing to hang a baby shower gift? Or just use as decor in the nursery? Or use to create a unique mobile? The possibilities are endless!

And....doesn't the name Gus remind you of the mouse from Cinderella? Too cute.

:: woodland themed nursery inspiration ::

Critters by John W. Golden

image via ohdeedoh

Our little one will be sleeping in a forest wonderland and we are having so much fun planning and decorating the nursery. I love these digital prints by John W. Golden - he does lovely work with a vintage feel. Check out his shop on Etsy. I also love his dog prints!

This nursery featured on Ohdeedoh is gorgeous. I am loving the neutral walls with the pine trees and pop of colour with the birds - though I am not so sure about the mobile....it kind of looks like Corn Pops to me!