Jammie Time

Getting ready for bed last night, Abigael ran into the living room and tossed her pajamas onto my lap. I sorted through the pile, pulled out her underwear and handed them to her to put on.
She sat down on the floor and quickly put her legs through the holes. She recited her little mantra. "The tag goes in the back. The bow goes in the front."
"That's right! Good girl."
I then handed her the bottoms to her Strawberry Shortcake pajamas. She repeated the same steps. Left leg, right leg, "the tag goes in the back."
As she pulled the waistband halfway up her chest, she said "I do it all myself. That's how big girls do it!"
"That's right, sweetheart! That is how big girls do it! You are such a big girl now!"

She looked me in the eye with a proud look and said "Your baby is growing up!"

Already?

The Home Stretch

After such a long time of floundering and wondering about life's little turns, it seems like all of sudden there's not just a light at the end of the tunnel but we're close to just knocking the whole thing down! Could it be that things are finally coming together for us?
Brandon is nearing the end (next week) of completing his nursing pre-requisites. While, of course, there is still a lot to work left to actually become a nurse, at least the path has been started.
We are officially now in the third trimester for Baby #2! Now that's literally a "light at the end of the tunnel." I have some sadness that I haven't enjoyed being pregnant this time as much as I was with Abigael, but maybe that's to be expected when you also have a three year-old demanding your full attention. Physically, this time around has also been much harder on me. As a result, I don't think I've been a very pleasant person for Brandon or Abigael to be around and for that I'm also a little regretful. I don't feel like I've done anything to prepare for the new baby. No shopping, no obsessive reading or list-making, nothing. I did manage to sign us up for a refresher childbirth class. WooHoo! Way to go! But as I was saying, we've now hit the last phase. Not much left to do but just get bigger. Is that even possible? I think my belly is already bigger than when Abigael was born. It feels like it's ready to pop some days, and I still have at least 2 1/2 months to go!I have a feeling this is not going to be another peanut-sized baby.
And, of course, there is the BIG news. We are "this close" finally becoming homeowners! For those of you who may not know our situation, we have been renting for a VERY long time. Brandon and I have been married for 10 1/2 years and have been in rentals for the entire time. We've lived in a variety of houses and apartments over the years, each with it's own personality. Right now we're in residence #6 and it's definitely time for our own space. If nothing else, I NEED a yard to throw Abigael out into! But more practically, with baby #2 almost here, we need more space and we've been aching to put down roots for a while now. We've procrastinated on this big step for several reasons...money, waiting on the fire department job, money, fear of commitment, money, home prices, fear of the unknown. But, we finally reached our breaking point, and decided it was now or never. All in all, the process hasn't been nearly as traumatic as I had feared. When you look the articles and tests to measure stress and possible depression in your life, buying a home (and having a baby) is listed as one of the top triggers. I, for one, was a little worried about this, the past couple of years have been pretty tough emotionally for me. (I'm already trying to prepare myself for any postpartum issues after the baby is born.)But, so far, I'm feeling really good. I'm excited about the move and have had hardly any panic attacks over the impending mortgage payments. Everything is moving along just fine, and we should have the keys in our hands in the next few days. Except for the actually "moving" part, this is going to be pretty awesome.
This is going to be a good year after all.

A bird in the hand...or in the house

Last night Matt decided he needed to bring his latest friend in the house.


Last Spring it was mice. What's next?

This and That

We're still plugging away in our little corner of the world. With the exception of the everyday little drama, things are going pretty well.
Thankfully, I'm starting to feel much better with the morning sickness. I was beginning to think only birth would alleviate the daily puking and constant nausea. But, no. It only took a week-long struggle with our health insurance to cover a super-expensive anti-nausea medicine to fix the problem. All they had to do was approve it, and POOF, no more sickness! Go figure...
Our most recent OB appointment went really well. The doctor was very happy to see that I've stopped losing weight and even managed to put a few pounds back on in the past four weeks. In retrospect, I think the severe morning sickness I had was my body's way of putting me in better shape physically to handle the rest of the pregnancy. But it still sucked... All the tests we've had over the past couple of months came back with glowing results. The tests for potential birth defects and genetic abnormalities came back perfect. All of the ratios were at the top of scale showing no problems. Our 20 week ultrasound looked great too. The baby was moving around like crazy (I could have told you that) and even showed a few tricks, like swallowing and playing with the umbilical cord. As far as the ultrasound screening, everything also looked wonderful. No detectable abnormalities and the placenta was attached at the the back of the womb (instead of near the cervix). This is really good news because we will be trying for a VBAC (vaginal delivery after cesarean) and everything in our favor will help. All in all, things are looking very well at this point. We're past the halfway point and I'm actually starting to feel like a pregnant lady now. My belly is starting to pop so that I actually look pregnant instead of bloated. I already feel bigger than I did with Abigael at this point, so it'll be interesting to see how I end up.
Abigael is just as wild as ever and continues to entertain us everyday. As amazing as her sense of humor is, her stubborn independence is just as "challenging." We remind ourselves that we've raised her that way, and she'll be better off for it, but, oh my, the battles we've set ourselves up for. It's hard to believe that in less than a month we'll have a three year old in the house. As difficult as she can be, everyday that comes feels like the best age ever.
Brandon is just a busy as ever. The man just doesn't know how to take it easy. He's plugging away at school and almost finished with his nursing school pre-requisites. When those are done, it'll be almost time for the baby to arrive, so he'll probably take the next year off to stay home with the kids (wow, I just said kidS, as in more than one). His leg continues to slowly but surely heal. Unfortunately, almost two years of recovery has taken a toil on his poor body. While the bone continues to do what only it can do, he's still got a long road to get everything else back into shape. But, of course, it doesn't slow him down any. The itch to ride his bikes is too strong to resist and he's back in the saddle. Sunday morning mountain bike rides and the call of the velodrome keep him motivated and constantly tweaking his bikes.
That's about it for one post. I'll leave you with a rare find indeed. A family picture.

Friends?

Don't let the crusty, old furball tell you any differently...I think he actually likes her.

Telecommuting

How to work from home with a 2 year old....

Lesson 1: a little pre-breakfast snack while watching Curious George so Mommy can call into a meeting.



Lesson 2: Don't forget the to make sure the Mute is on the speakerphone so everyone doesn't hear the 2 year old playing with the dog.

--In case you're wondering what's in the bowl, it's a nice mixture of non-healthy snacks: Cheetos, tortilla chips, Frito's, and Veggie Booty. Mmm-mmm-good!

I Do!

On this day 10 years ago, Brandon and I exchanged vows before family and friends, beginning our new life as husband and wife. Happy Anniversary! Through good times and bad, richer and poorer, sickness and health, we're still going strong. We're even still wearing the same wedding bands that we bought for less than $200 (combined). Over these years, our 20's have faded into memories and, by the standards we had as kids, we're OLD now. Thankfully it doesn't feel like it. We've had many adventures and a lot of mundane, just-getting-by days. We've shared laughs, tears, anger, and joy. We've made good and bad decisions, living with each equally. Everything a marriage is supposed to be. And by a miracle, we've been blessed with another member to our family. Someone to fill in the piece we didn't even know we were missing.


For your viewing pleasure and amusement, courtesy of the scanner, it's off to the Way Back Machine...

Movie Night

We just made it back home after a night out at the movies. Well, not a traditional movie, but the only cultural event that Brandon and I can enjoy together. The Banff Mountain Film Festival is making it's annual world tour with several showings in the Seattle area. If you've never heard of it, the Banff Centre, located in the Canadian Rockies, sponsors a film festival dedicated to Mountain Culture. It's grown into an international competition, attracting submissions from all over the globe. The entries span the spectrum of film-making: from amusing shorts about ducks to feature length documentaries profiling unique native cultures. There is something for everyone. I have never left a showing without learning something new and being touched in some primal place that yearns for adventure. After the big festival at the end of October, a selection of films hits the road, traveling all over the U.S. and the world. We first saw the festival in Boone, sponsored by the Appalachian State Rec. Department. From the first frame, we fell in love with the event and look forward to a new edition every year. I'm very proud to say that this is the seventh year that Brandon and I have attended and, as always, it didn't fail to deliver. I confirmed two things this year: one, our world is full of beautiful, amazing people, places and things; and two, I never win anything! There is always a door prize drawing during intermission, with the festival sponsors supplying the gifts. Brandon won an awesome prize for the second year in a row! Last year it was a Patagonia jacket. This year he won a free pair of Dunham boots. He so sucks....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The cold, rainy weather we've been having has finally paid off. It's snowing! It started with flurries mixed with rain about 3 o'clock this afternoon. By 4:30, it had totally changed over and the flakes just kept getting bigger. Right now there's a good half an inch on the ground and the road in front of the house is lightly covered. I think we lucked out living at a slightly higher elevation than most of Seattle. It'll probably be gone by morning, but it was really fun tonight.
I took Abigael out into our parking lot to show her the falling snow and she loved it! I finally managed to get her back to our patio, but she refused to come inside. We ended up playing outside for at least another hour. The only times she came inside was to either get the dog or stick her hands under some warm water. We caught snow flakes on our tongues and threw snowballs for Zak to catch in his mouth. She had a blast. I think we'll definitely have to take her up to the mountains this winter for some real snow.







(You can see a few more photos here.)