The Hanken Family

Jack + Art Class = tired mama

2011-09-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

There's a new art class in town for 2 & 3 year olds that I thought would be perfect for Jack. He had his first class today and let's just say I'm staying positive. I'll also preface all of this by saying his projects turned out very cute and he had a fun time with all of it.
When Jack started music class, the first two were pretty rough in terms of him paying attention and following directions but then he got it down pretty well. I'm thinking the same thing might happen with art class. We got there a few minutes early and Jack could.not.sit.still in his chair. The teacher had lined up sheets of paper by the wall with each child's name on them. Jack decided to run around on them, wrinkling them and ripping a few. Nice. Then they did their first project, a 'hamburger':

This was Jack's first time using glue....and tasting glue. He ate some, decided he didn't like it and then rubbed his glue covered hand all over his face trying to remove the taste of glue from his mouth.

The second project was with watercolors:

The teacher set bowls of colored water with straws in the middle of the table and told us (the moms) to drip a little bit of paint on the paper and let the kids use a straw to blow it around on the paper. Jack was not satisfied with those instructions. He wanted to use the paint, so we struggled to hold it upright for a few seconds, resulting in paint splashed all over both of us. He relinquished control of the paint and had fun blowing the drops (plus a little drool) around on the paper. :)

The last project was a cupcake made of playdoh:

This was by far Jack's favorite project. He carried his 'cupcake' around all afternoon and called it his birthday cake. It is playdoh decorated with beads and rice. He was so proud of it, he had to carry it in the car on the way home....which was fine until I turned around and saw him licking it.

He is my very spirited child and I've said it a million times but will say it again. As much as he makes me work, I wouldn't change anything about him. Sometimes it may feel a little stressful when I'm in the middle of it, but I always look back and giggle. Now, I might need to look for a class that's a little more of a physical outlet for him. Maybe soccer?

Happy 2nd Birthday to Jack!

2011-08-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our Jack Jack! In some ways it's hard to believe he's two but I also can't remember life without him. He's such a fun little boy. He never stops moving so you always have to keep your eyes on him. He's also very independent and likely to take off and explore whenever we're out with him. So, again...you have to keep your eyes on him. Jack is also very spirited. He can find humor in anything. Last week I said 'uh-huh' to him and he was giggling so hard he wasn't breathing when he tried saying it back. I don't get it but watching his fits of laughter makes me laugh, too. He's just always smiling and giggling. We are so blessed to have this little person in our lives and can't wait to see what his future holds.

Jack loves Elmo. Really, really loves Elmo. If you've ever seen Elmo's World, you know they always have a classic birthday cake and will ask questions like "Does a birthday cake have a nose?" Because of this, Jack is very aware of what a birthday cake is and whenever we'd ask him if he was excited for his birthday, he'd ask if he gets a cake. I was planning on making a 'cool' cake like a 3D Elmo or a train but Chris reminded me of how much Jack identifies with the classic birthday cake so I made a very Elmo-ish birthday cake for him on his actual birthday. He loved it!

Today we had a party for Jack at Spring Canyon park. It's a great park because they have tons of cool playground equipment and a big fountain area for the kids to play in. I am kicking myself because I'm so bad at taking photos that I always forget. I did manage to take a few to commemorate the event. This first one is our friends Kelly (left), Tiffany (middle), and Robb is holding Sydney. I think Sydney is in love. She even cuddled up on Robb and fell asleep during the party.

And here's our little birthday boy! He may never remember this birthday party but we know he certainly enjoyed it!

All about Sydney!

2011-08-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Oh how she's growing so fast! I posted these photos on Facebook but also wanted to include them here. Sydney is such a sweet little girl. She loves to smile!
She is part of a study at Colorado State University where they are measuring whether DHA has any benefits for newborns. I take DHA when pregnant/breastfeeding anyway so thought it would be great to be a part of it. We went in today for her first little test. They did an EEG and played games with her for about an hour. It was so cute because she wasn't interested in the blocks or photos the research assistant was showing her, she just wanted to stare at her and smile and giggle. It's almost as if she's saying "No, really. Forget about those little blocks and let's just smile at each other!" Adorable!

Sydney is already in love with her big brother. She follows him around the room with her eyes and gets so excited when he comes near her. Jack is also very protective of her. He gets upset when other people (outside of our family) hold her and will push the other kids at playgroup away if they get too close to her. (Yes, we're working on that one!) He calls her 'Syddey Woo' which is so cute to hear him say. It used to be Nydney Woo but he's getting the 'S' down now. I feel so blessed to have these two!

So it begins....

2011-08-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

My mom gave Jack a matchbox car last week while we were in Virginia and he's carried it everywhere. Today he threw it across the room and a piece popped off of it. He went to get it and came to tell me "Sydney broke it." and then kept repeating it.
Um...buddy, don't you think you should wait until she can at least throw something before you start blaming her? ;) Too cute!

The big cheese!

2011-08-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is Jack's newest 'smile' that he poses with when you ask him to say 'cheese' and Chris imitating it. Gotta love these two!

First Tooth!

2011-08-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

I once again must apologize for neglecting this blog! I just had to say Sydney is getting her first tooth. I can see it starting to poke up through her little gum. It is hard to believe because Jack was 6 months old with his first and she is only 3-1/2 months old. Life is so much busier with two that it seems time is flying by with Sydney. She's such a sweet little bean. We were calling her mellow but are quickly realizing that isn't the correct word. :) She is very sweet but gets very excited easily and seems to be a little hyper like her brother.
It is amazing how much your heart can grow when you have a second baby. I remember my friend Amy saying you don't love the first any less, you just have more room in your heart to love the second just as much. It's totally true. I was worried about it before Sydney was born but now can say I am so in love with both of our little people!

Sydney Rae Hanken

2011-06-20T22:33:00.000-07:00

I am a terrible mother! Sydney is 2 months old and I haven't even posted about her birth. Yep, that's what life is like with 2 under 2. :)

Where to start? I was SO ready to have this little girl! At 40 weeks and 6 days we went to our Dr. appt for a non-stress test (which seems to be a regular part of pregnancy for me and my overdue babies!) and Dr. Klingner said I was 1 cm dilated. Ug! So frustrating. Not that it means anything, but I just wanted some progress.
Fast-forward to 8pm that night and I started having contractions. Not Braxton Hicks, real contractions! I was so cautiously excited. Cautious because I was worried it wasn't really labor and they were uncomfortable but not too uncomfortable. I was trying to convince myself that I was just THAT good at this labor thing and this was the real deal. So, when the contractions stopped at 11pm, I was waving the white flag. I headed to bed, convinced I'd be pregnant forever.

At 2:30 I woke up with ACTUAL contractions. Like the kind that really hurt. I called our wonderful friend Kacee who was lined up to come stay with Jack while we went to the hospital. She lives in Denver so we waited for her to drive up. She was so excited, it only took an hour for her to get here!

We got to the hospital at 4am and I was convinced I had to be almost ready to give birth. Not a chance. I was dilated to a 3. They kept me for an hour to make sure I was really in labor. I'm a wimp, but I knew the pain I felt was real labor. An hour later I dilated 1 cm so they let me stay. My labor progressed about a centimeter an hour until 7am when I was at a 6. I had a 'Come to Jesus' moment where I honestly knew there wasn't a chance that I wasn't going to get an epidural. I bow down to those who can do it without, but I am not one of them!
I got the epidural within an hour and my labor stalled out. I dilated only 1/2 a centimeter over the next 3 hours. And, I was just laying on the bed watching tv. I just kept telling Chris I wasn't earning this. It was relaxing and comfortable!
Around 10am our doctor came in and said my contractions were regular enough, just not quite strong enough. She said she wanted to give me the smallest dose of pitocin, which would take 30 minutes to kick in but in the meantime I should get completely on my left side to help Sydney reposition. Evidently she was looking to the side, not face down or up like she needed to be to come out.
Wouldn't you know it, 15 minutes after I got on my left side (before the pitocin had a chance to kick in) I had gone from a 6-1/2 to a 10 and was ready to push. It turns out all Sydney needed was a little repositioning!

Our doctor decided then was a good time to tell me she was worried that Sydney would be a pretty big baby. I heard her telling the nurses to watch the shoulders. I've seen enough baby birth shows to know that isn't good! So, I was a little worried about getting her out. God was watching out for us because after two pushes, not-so-little Sydney Rae was welcomed into the world! She was 9lbs 9oz (exactly 1 lb bigger than her brother!) and 21-1/2" long.

The most surprising part was her head FULL of hair! When I was pregnant, Chris told me he had a dream that she had dark hair. I kept telling him there's no way that would happen and I'd pay him a million dollars if she did have dark hair. Looks like I lost the bet!!!

Where'd my little baby go?

2011-03-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

Mr. Independent had to pull the wagon with his chicken in it during our walk this week. I just kept looking at him in amazement and feel so grateful to have such a great little guy. I also think it's funny that the chicken in the wagon was a Foster Imposter from my days at Foster Farms. He sat on a shelf in my office in his OSU t-shirt and never did I imagine that someday he'd be in a wagon being pulled around by our son!
It seems like yesterday that this little guy came into our lives and here he is, 18 months old! He definitely wears me out, especially with #2 on the way, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just keep feeling like I wish I could slow everything down and capture every moment. Since I can't, I thought I'd record a few of Jack's new developments.
1. Smoke detectors: I have no idea why he's obsessed with them, but he is. He finds them in other people's houses and every time he walks down our hallway, he has to point at it and say 'Tekter!' He started pointing at them a few months ago (not sure if the light is what attracted his attention?) but the 'tekter' is a recent addition.
2. Done!: Jack had learned to sign 'all done' when he was through eating. Now, he prefers to flip the tray of his highchair onto the floor (food and all) and then yell 'Done!' to let us know.
3. Mooooo: cows are 'moos' but so are horses. Poor guy can't really tell the difference between them yet. If it's in a field, it's going to get an enthusiastic 'mooooo!'
4. For the love of Da-da: Jack calls Chris da-da, points at pictures of him and says 'da-da', points at Chris' ID badge for work and says 'da-da', will get Chris' wallet off the counter and open it to his driver's license and say 'da-da'....what am I? Nothing! He can say 'ma-ma' if you ask him to say it, but if you point to me and ask who I am, he'll make up a name like "Jibby-jow" or just look at me. How's that for gratitude? :)
5. Balloons and bubbles: If the world were made of these two things, Jack would be in heaven! He has to have bubbles in his bath, every time. When we go to the grocery store, we have to go straight to the floral department and get a free helium balloon for him to carry around the store. I keep telling myself that I'd rather it be the balloon than the free cookie they give away in the bakery. We're not going to go there yet!
6. Elmo!: I've never liked Elmo. He was my least favorite character on Sesame Street....I just didn't get the appeal. Of course, fate would have it that Jack is obsessed with Elmo. We don't really have him watch too much television, but I did start letting him watch the Elmo segment on Sesame Street last week. Now the television is named Elmo and every time he walks into the livingroom, he says 'Melmo?' I really don't get it!

We're just having so much fun with him and it's amazing to see how much he seems to absorb on a daily basis. Now to start thinking about what it will be like with two. Hmmmm.....

The Moon!

2011-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight Jack and I were driving home from the grocery store and he noticed the full moon in the sky. He pointed at it and yelled "Ball!"
I tried to correct him and told him that was the moon. He said "No, BALL!" :) I stand corrected.

I know, it's just the beginning....

2011-01-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

During our weekly grocery store trip, Jack and I were going down the aisle and approached a woman pushing her daughter (probably 3 yrs old) in a cart while her older son (maybe 5) walked beside. Right as we were passing, Jack pointed his finger less than a foot from the little girls face and yelled "Dog!"....what to do? I, of course, kept walking as if he said nothing. I heard the little boy say to his mom, "That baby just called her a dog!" How to explain 'dog' is Jack's favorite word? Anything I had to offer would have just been weird and too much explanation. I had kind of hoped they wouldn't understand what he said, but no such luck.

Christmas comes but once a year

2010-12-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Thankfully! We had a great time with family and friends in Oregon, but I'll admit I was completely wiped out by the time we got home. At the same time, I know I needed to be back and just soak up the rain and family time for a week. :) Colorado has been dry this year! That said, I always leave feeling like we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to. It's hard to only go once a year! We've already decided to stay here next year (especially since we'll have two little ones!) and I know it will be sad to not experience the Christmas traditions that we've always been there for. We're both really excited to wake up at home on Christmas morning and start creating our own traditions for Christmas. That's part of growing up, right?

It's a........

2010-11-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to find out today that our next little bean is a girl!!! She looks perfectly healthy and was very busy bouncing around during the ultrasound. 20 weeks can't go by fast enough....or maybe it can. I'm a little nervous thinking about how I'm going to manage two but I know I'm not the first person in the world to go through it.

8 months later...

2010-10-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, I confess. I've been avoiding this blog like the plague. It isn't that I don't want to post stuff, it's just that I have this overwhelming desire to catch the blog up with the last eight months of our life and THAT I don't have time for. And, of course, the longer I put it off....the more there is that I'm missing! So, I'm giving myself a break and just starting with where we are right now. Maybe later I'll fill in the missing time, but probably not. :)

So where are we today? I did quit my job with Edward Jones in June to stay home full-time with Jack. That has been such a wonderful decision! I'll admit, it's scarier to live on one income and I definitely have to budget way more than I ever did before, but it's worth it. It's worth it because I get to spend all day with my little guy. We go to play groups on Wednesdays and Thursdays, singing time on Fridays, picnics with friends, fieldtrips to the park and the farm, it's great! There are so many things I've gotten to experience with him that I would have never gotten to do if I was still working. There are still some days I get online and just look at jobs because I'm a little nervous about being out of the workforce for an extended period of time. I'm still considering starting my own financial coaching business...but for now it's all about Jack!

Speaking of Jack, he's such a little character. I remember being pregnant and daydreaming about who this little person would be. Never could I have imagined just how much entertainment he'd provide. Jack is so social. He loves being around other children, especially if they're older than him. If I could just find a 5 yr old boy for him to stare at all day, I'd be in business. It's like he thinks he's the same age! We were at play group a few weeks ago and there were two 4 yr old boys playing with blocks. Jack walked up to them, sat down, started playing with their blocks and talking (in Jackanese, of course) then laughing like he told a joke. I just love his confidence and hope it stays!
Jack keeps me very, very busy. He likes to rearrange everything in the house. I constantly find things like puzzle pieces in the kitchen drawers, his socks in my mixing bowls, measuring spoons in his bedroom, remote controls in his laundry basket, etc. He has his own idea of organization, evidently.
Our next big adventure is baby #2 who will make his/her arrival at the beginning of April! We're so excited to add to our family, but I'll admit I'm a little nervous. I'm just not sure how I'll be able to get everything done, but I know we'll figure it out. It will be so much fun to see Jack as a big brother. They'll be around 20 months apart, so I hope no matter what they'll be good friends.
Well, that's all for now. I can sleep well tonight knowing I finally faced the blog. :)

Such a SAP!

2010-02-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Last night Chris came home from work while I was cooking dinner and Jack was exploring the house in his walker. As soon as Jack saw Chris, his face lit up and he started laughing and squealing. He trucked his little walker over to his daddy so he could say hi. I'm such a sap, it got me a little teary-eyed. Such a big boy!

Jack and his walker

2010-02-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

Facebook is an evil thing for a blog. I put everything on there and know most of you see it there so it feels like wasted effort to add it to the blog. BUT, I keep reminding myself that this is chronological and I'll regret it if I don't keep track of everything on here.

A few weeks ago I was visiting a friend who had a Fisher Price jumperoo (we had a Baby Einstein jumperoo....little details I didn't know existed before Jack) and Jack LOVED their jumperoo. He doesn't love the one we got and never wanted to be in it for more than 5 minutes. So, I decided we needed to get the Fisher Price jumperoo and then he'd want to play in it longer. (which of course means that I would have longer to get dinner made in the evenings before Chris gets home!). The problem was I couldn't justify buying a new one (for $99) when I know in a matter of months he won't want to be in a jumperoo. So, I looked on Craigslist, but couldn't find anyone selling the Fisher Price version at a price I could justify. My solution? Get a walker! I think he'll be in a walker longer than he would be in a jumperoo and we have hardwood floors = perfect! I did some research and found this Chicco walker at diapers.com. Armed with a coupon and free 1-2 day delivery, I made my decision and ordered the walker as soon as I sold our jumperoo on Craigslist.

It was delivered on Saturday and on Sunday we put Jack in it for the first time. I was getting nervous because he didn't have a clue what to do in it and I was second guessing my decision to get rid of our jumperoo for this toy he wasn't going to like. He just sat there and played with the toys. Can I blame him? No. So, Chris and I pushed him back and forth between us on Sunday and Monday so he could get the idea. By Tuesday he was scooting himself around the house! It's a lot of fun to watch because he hasn't gotten the turning or backing up down. He'll get himself cornered and yell for us to turn him around. It's just amazing to see him get around in that thing. And even more amazing to think of how fast babies develop. It's so hard to believe he's just over 5 months old. So many changes. Enjoy the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gixeM9GKsP4

He's a SITTER!

2010-01-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

Jack sat for the first time by himself on Jan 11th. Here's a little video I took to commemorate the big event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u22k8Fq_ZxM

So long since I've been on here!

2010-01-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, time has gotten away from me. I think I spend too much time on FB so don't want to post the same photos and stories on the blog. But, I know I'll regret not capturing more memories here later. Here's a quick recap:

We had a great Christmas in Oregon. We weren't sure how Jack would do in the car for 18 hours each way, but he was fantastic! We decided to leave Fort Collins at 7pm and drive all night. I'll rephrase that: Chris drove all night. Truth be told, I only drove for about an hour. Jack was amazing for the first 14 hours, but the last four he got a little fussy. Who can blame him! I was getting fussy.
I always think we'll have more time than we do when we go home. There were so many friends I wanted to see that we never got to meet up with. I think next time we need to plan a longer trip, but it's hard to get away for more than a week.
We did get to go to Corvallis while we were there. We had lunch with Aaron and Erik and checked out the campus which was like a little trip down memory lane. I think after living there for 8 years it really feels like home. It's still hard to believe we haven't lived in Portland for 10 years!!
Jack turned 4 months old on Christmas. He was such a little chatter box while we were at home. He had so much to say! Here's a video that Grandma Diane took of him a few days before Christmas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qj0YHM1jTM

It was really great to see him with his little cousins, Gwen and Jon. It really makes me wish we lived closer so they could grow up together, but I guess for now they'll have to settle for holidays!

December, already?

2009-12-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

First, I apologize for not keeping this updated a little better. Life has been busy, but that's no excuse (ok, it's a small one). I went back to work on November 16th. It was so tough, I cried every day. I never considered how difficult it would be to leave Jack but it makes sense. You carry them for 9 months and then are with them 24/7 for the next three months. It's just so hard to imagine them not being with you. I miss him so much during the day, but tell myself it could be worse. My great friend, Kacee, is watching him. I go to her house every day at lunch to feed him. He's really only there 3 days a week. The other two days I stay home with him until noon and Chris comes home for the afternoon. It really could be worse.

Speaking of Jack, he seems to change daily! And it's so funny how we get excited over the smallest changes. For instance, he's started arching his back when he's laying down. Shouldn't be a big deal, but we are enthralled with it. He's trying to roll over, too. He gets on his side and then scoots around in a circle (almost like he's breakdancing) trying to work himself all the way over. One of these days he'll figure out how to get that arm out of the way and finally do it.

He likes to suck on his fingers and thumb and had to learn the hard way not to stick them too far into his mouth. Maybe that was me who learned, considering I was the one covered with spitup after he started gagging himself with his finger.

Jack talks ALL the time. He's such a vocal little guy. Here's a video from a few weeks ago (click on the words-->): Jack has A LOT to say

Jack is also interacting a lot more. He loves to be raised up over your head (we're not tossing him into the air, yet) and has ticklish sides. He is such a happy little guy all you have to do is smile at him and he'll smile back. And the dimples melt my heart every time!

I'm counting down the time until we get to visit everyone in Oregon. We've decided to drive because it seems like it'll be easier (I say that now) to haul all the baby stuff and I'm a little leery of taking Jack on a plane during flu season. Overprotective? Maybe just a little. We'll probably be in Oregon by the 20th. I can't wait!!

Snow in October

2009-10-12T09:58:00.001-07:00

Jack says it's going to take more than a few inches of snow in October for him to get excited.
We had our first snow of the year this weekend! It's very early but thankfully it's supposed to warm back up to the 50s-60s next weekend so I don't think it's here to stay (yet).

Time flies.....

2009-09-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Jack will be four weeks old on Tuesday. It's amazing how fast the last three and a half weeks have gone by!
Jack is such a beautiful baby. He's pretty easy going and usually only cries when he's hungry (which is all the time)! This little guy was born at 8lbs 9oz, went down to 8lbs 4oz before we left the hospital and at his two week check up (which was at 2 weeks, 3 days) he weighed TEN lbs 1 oz!!! Amazing! He definitely knows how to eat; no hesitation or problems getting him to breastfeed.

Week One
What a crazy adjustment! I'm not sure how it happens, but I think there's a switch that gets flipped after giving birth that allows you to sleep light enough to hear every little grunt and wake up seven times a night without a problem. Seven might be an exaggeration, but you get what I mean. We spent the week getting to know each other and it was really wonderful that Chris was able to take two weeks off so we could all stay home together. It was definitely a team effort! We had a few diaper experiences that left us laughing pretty hard...I'm sure it'll get old and won't evoke the same response but Jack is really good at having you change a poopy diaper only to get the next diaper on so he can promptly fill it again. We had a few of those that were followed by him peeing all over himself as we were changing the second diaper. Comedy of errors!

Week Two
When Jack was two weeks old, my mom came to visit. It was great having her here so she could meet Jack and the help was nice since Chris had to go back to work. It's a little sad thinking she's all the way in Virginia and won't be able to see Jack as often as if we lived closer to each other. I have a few photos of her holding Jack but haven't been able to get them loaded yet.
This week we took Jack to meet everyone at Chris' office and he also had his first play date. As you can see in the photos, Jack really needs to work on his social skills. We have really tried to get out and not keep Jack locked up in the house all the time. While my mom was here we went out for sushi at Suehiro's, Jack's first time going out for dinner. I was just excited to finally be able to eat RAW sushi since I couldn't while I was pregnant.Jack got to meet his buddy, Archer, this week. Archer was born exactly one lb bigger than Jack, 11 days after Jack. Archer belongs to our friends Reid and Kacee.

Jack and Samira, daughter of our friends Aron and Patricia. We haven't had the 'don't hit girls' talk yet.Jack at his first play date with Aida, Sawyer, and Samira. Yes, Jack is trying to nurse on Samira's forehead.

Week Three
Chris' mom came to visit this week. Again, it was great to have Grandma spend time with Jack. Diane took Jack outside a lot and he really seemed to like it. This photo was from when they were walking around the house and he fell asleep with his face smashed into her arm. :)

This is one of my favorite photos of Jack. Uncle Robert and Aunt Rikki sent this adorable monkey towel that has JACK embroidered on the back with a monkey tail. Diane took this photo of Jack after he took a bath. Such a cute little guy!I feel so blessed to have such a healthy baby! I am so excited to see what his personality will be like, to see him learn how to crawl, walk, talk....but at the same time I want time to slow down so I can enjoy every moment. It's been such an amazing experience!

Jack Christopher Hanken is here!

2009-08-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

The day we've been waiting for! I woke up at 2am on Monday, August 24th with contractions. They felt a little stronger than the contractions I had been having so I got my hopes up. :) The contractions continued until our 41 week appointment at 11 am where Dr. Klingner told me it was probably prodromal labor and told me to hang in there. Not knowing what 'prodromal' was, I came home and immediately googled it. Turns out prodromal is the nice medical term for false labor. Dr. Klingner said I was in too good of spirits to be having really strong contractions. I assured her these were 'real' contractions, I was just handling them well. Little did I know! I spent the rest of the afternoon walking on the treadmill, doing lunges, anything I could think of. In hindsight, I should have rested! I was just afraid that resting would make the contractions stop.

My contractions got closer together as the day progressed and by evening I needed Chris to help me get through them by applying counter pressure on my back. At 10pm my water broke and I decided to take a shower. I barely made it through the shower before I was telling Chris we needed to head to the hospital. I was starting to realize what 'real' contractions actually felt like!
I told Chris on the way to the hospital that this baby was going to be born anytime......yeah, sure.

We checked into the hospital around 11pm and the nurse examined me and announced I was all of 2cm dilated and 90% effaced. TWO! I could have sworn it was closer to 10!
I tried the labor ball (hated it), sitting in the tub (hated it), and ultimately found that standing with Chris pushing on my back was the best way to get through it. The funniest part (not at the time) of the tub was turning the jets on and realizing they really hurt more than they helped during the contraction. We turned them off only to have them spontaneously come back on during a strong contraction. It was terrible and enough for me to get out of the tub immediately! :)

Convinced I was REALLY close now, the nurse checked me at 2am and said I was now at 3. So frustrating! I couldn't believe I only dilated 1 cm in 3 hours and I was struggling with how painful it was getting. By 4am I told the nurse I wanted an epidural. Chris was exhausted from pushing on me, I was exhausted from the contractions and didn't have the same strong commitment to a drug-free labor. I got the epidural and the nurse checked me again right after. She said it made sense I was in so much pain because I went from 3 to 8 cm in 2 hours. Regardless, I was happy for the opportunity to catch my breath.
By 6am I was fully dilated and ready to push. Dr. Klingner told us to rest for an hour and then we'd start pushing. She explained a first time mom can push for 2 - 3 hours and I'd need more energy. Sleep? How do you sleep when you know you're that close to meeting your baby? So, I laid there waiting for 7am to come.
At 7, Dr. Klingner came back and set everything up. The epidural was perfect because I could still feel everything and was only numb from my thighs to my belly button. I started pushing by 7:15 and Jack was born at 7:30am! Everyone was surprised at how easily he came out, I was just grateful that it didn't take a c-section or hours of pushing to get him here. We expected a fairly good-sized baby because we were both pretty big (I was 9lbs 1oz, Chris was 8lbs 11 oz) and we weren't disappointed. Jack weighed in at 8lbs, 9oz. and 21-3/4" long.
We stayed at the hospital until Wednesday evening and were able to come home. We're so excited to have him here (and a little sleep deprived). He's such a beautiful baby and we feel very blessed to have him!
Jack on the scale, right after birth.

Jack had a little bruise under his left eye from the birth, but it was gone by the next day.
First time in the carseat, heading home!

Not yet.....

2009-08-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant has definitely given me a lesson in being out of control! My due date was Monday and I've been fielding questions all day, every day since then from everyone wanting to know whether I've had the baby yet. It gives me a new perspective on leaving pregnant women alone. I have no control over when he comes, so can't give anyone an answer as to why he isn't here yet. Not only that, his 'due date' was just on Monday! It hasn't even been a week, people!
We've been so fortunate to have met such great friends since moving to Fort Collins. There are four other women who are due this month that we're friends with. Aron and Patricia had their little girl, Samira, last Tuesday. Our neighbors Ashly and Todd had their little girl on Saturday and Jamie and Jessica just had their little girl, Aida Joy, today. Last ones standing are me and Kacee, the only two expecting little boys. Go figure. Kacee's theory is the boys were being gentlemen and letting the girls come first. :) We just feel blessed to have so many other babies (and first-time parents) to share this experience with. Now we're just waiting to meet Jack!

39-1/2 weeks!

2009-08-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

We had an appointment with the doctor today and she said I have to start taking it easy or she'll take me off work. It's so tough! The problem is my feet/ankles are starting to swell and she's worried that if I don't take it easy I could develop something more serious, like high blood pressure. So, I have until Monday to get my ankles to look better or that's it.
Hopefully we don't get that far because I've already decided Jack will be born this Saturday, the 15th. Haha....we'll see. I even put it on my schedule at work. :) Really, I guess I'm not in a huge hurry because my due date isn't even until Monday. I just don't want to deal with being past my due date and fielding a million questions. And, we are ready to meet this baby!! Plus, (me and my quirky number issues) it would be really neat if he was born on the 15th. Jennifer and I are exactly 15 months apart and if he's born on the 15th, Jack and Jonathon will be exactly 13 months apart. How neat for cousins!
At our appointment, Dr. Klingner did say the baby has dropped a little bit (I was measuring 38-1/2cm last week and am now measuring 37) and I'm more like 40% effaced...still not dilated. We'll see.....

Re-upholster glider....check

2009-08-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

My timing isn't very good on this, considering I'm due any day, but I really wanted to get this glider done before the baby was born. We bought this glider on Craigslist and I thought it looked a little worn and I didn't like the color. I found a fabric that I thought would go well with the monkey/jungle theme we have in the nursery without being blue or light green....the jury is still out on the color (Eddie said it looks like it's from the 1950's) but I like it! The best part is I got it done before the baby is here!

The first photo is what it used to look like....

All moved in!

2009-07-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

Let me just start by saying I hate moving. The fortunate part is we are blessed with wonderful friends and family who came to the rescue! After moving loads to the new house all week in our vehicles, we finally got a U-haul on Saturday and, with the help of those wonderful friends, got all the big stuff moved over. It was such a great feeling to walk around and know we're actually in our own house! No more renting from wackos! The first few days have been crazy with not being able to find anything, but it will get better once we get everything put away.

My least favorite part of moving is having to decide how I want everything organized because I know it has to be just right or I'll keep moving it until it is. The kitchen is the hardest part. When I walked into our new kitchen, I played the game of 'if I was silverware, which drawer would I be in?' to decide where things went. Our master bedroom closet has a wonderful organization system in it, but getting everything organized in that system took a lot of time! The problem is at 37 weeks pregnant, I have the drive to get it done but my body is not willing! I haven't had any problems with my feet swelling....until this weekend. I think it was just too much to be working until midnight or 1am on Friday and Saturday night and I wasn't good about taking enough breaks. I feel like an 80 year old woman this week! But, even with all that, I feel very blessed to be in the house before the baby is born and now just focus on getting ready to welcome him into the world.

Speaking of baby, we had our last classes today! Dr. Klingner (our fantastic doctor) suggested loading whatever we could into our 'toolbox' for labor, since we don't know what we're getting into. Based on that suggestion, I've spent a lot of time on relaxation techniques (like Hypnobabies) and Chris and I took a class on using a TENS unit today. It's interesting because the purpose is to stimulate nerves that override your perception of the contractions. We tried it on our arm and it did make my arm feel numb. Hopefully it'll have the same effect on contractions!

The other class we had today was the carseat and safety class. We feel much more prepared now! It was great because we did it at the fire station and they showed us different techniques for properly installing the carseat and lots of safety tips. For instance, I didn't know a good way to tell if a toy/object will be a choke hazard is to see if it fits through an empty toilet paper roll. If it does, it's small enough to choke a little one. Good tip!

So, now we've got as much hypothetical education as we can get before the real practice begins! At our 36 week appointment, Dr. Klingner said I was 20% effaced and the baby had dropped to a -2. She said it doesn't mean we'll have the baby soon but she doesn't anticipate going past my due date. I hope she's right! We're so excited to meet this little baby!

Anything else we could add?

2009-06-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

What an insane time the last two years have been! Really, we moved to Colorado, started new jobs, got engaged, married, honeymoon, baby, and NOW....we just bought a new house! Crazy, I know. It started a few weeks ago with 'Hmmm....we should talk to a mortgage broker and see about buying a house." So, we met with a broker and told him what we wanted to pay and how much we had to put down so we could back into how much house it would buy. Happy with that step, we met a realtor last Tuesday and looked at houses on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. By Monday we had an offer in on a house and the owners accepted it. So fast, but we're really excited. We close on July 21st, so will be moving a little under 4 weeks before my due date. I'm a little apprehensive, but we agreed that it would be easier to try and move while the baby is inside rather than when we're taking care of a newborn. I just hope we'll be able to get somewhat settled before Jack makes his appearance.

The house is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2300 sq ft house with a 1/4 acre yard. It has a finished basement with a family room and although it was built in 1988, it has a new roof, water heater, furnace, hardwood floors, carpet downstairs and has been remodeled and looks brand new. It has great full-sun garden beds in the backyard for me and the side of the garage is gravel, perfect for Chris to work on his Camaro. See, a win-win. :) There were a lot of houses that were bigger or newer but just didn't feel as nice as this one did. It has more custom features and a mature yard....unlike most of the newer developments in Fort Collins.

I'm calling it our '5 year house' because I'm imagining in the next 5 years we'll outgrow it. Yes, my inability to live in the present has caused me to already think about not only the baby who hasn't been born yet but also the next little one. I just think we'll want more space. Here are a few photos of it, but I think it looks a lot better in person.
The first one is the front of the house, but now that tree in the foreground shades the entire front yard (now that the leaves are fully grown out). The second photo is the kitchen, followed by the living area upstairs and the finished family room in the basement. We're really excited to have our own home in Colorado!

30 Weeks tomorrow!

2009-06-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we only have 10 weeks to go! (give or take a few weeks)

We went on a tour of the maternity ward at PVH (Poudre Valley Hospital) on Saturday morning. It was good to hear where we needed to go and get to see everything. The rooms are very nice and all have jacuzzi tubs and internet with wireless keyboards so you can play on the internet from your hospital bed....not sure how appealing that is during labor, but ok. When we were there, there were 31 babies with their mothers in the maternity ward. Crazy! I couldn't believe there were that many babies born around the same time in Fort Collins. The population is 130,000 or so and that just seems like a lot. One of the nurses said they usually have around 20 on any given day and that number increases before a full moon. We checked to see when the full moon was in August and it's on the 6th, so we'd have to be a few weeks early to be in there then. :)

At one point in the tour we were in the nursery area and there was a room off the main area that said "Circ Room"...I assumed they meant "Circulation" or something. Nope. The nurse pointed out that it was the Circumcision room and I could hear a baby in there crying. Ug, hormones. I got teary-eyed and didn't want to be in there anymore. I just told myself he was crying because he was laying on a table naked, not because he was in pain. I know they numb everything up really well, but still it was terrible to listen to.

Here are a couple of photos that Christopher took this morning. Some people tell me I still look pretty small for 30 weeks, but when we were on the tour there were 9 other couples and some of the women were due in June/beginning of July and looked the same size I do. It seems huge to me, but I guess that's just because this belly is part of my body. But, I am loving being pregnant and so far it has been pretty comfortable. Sleep hasn't been so great lately, but I guess that's God's way of getting me used to not having much of it after the baby is here. It's great to feel Jack moving around in there all the time. I can't wait to meet him.

It really is a boy!

2009-05-27T17:34:00.001-07:00

Today we had our 3rd ultrasound (hopefully final ultrasound)! It was really great to see the baby and the best part was actually getting confirmation on the sex. I was having a hard time imagining a little girl in there but have forced myself to try and stay neutral. I just felt boy, I guess I was right!
We went to the hospital's imaging department this time, instead of Harmony Imaging (where we had the first two). It was interesting to be in the hospital for the first time and see where we'll be coming in another 12 weeks when it's time for baby Jack to make his appearance. The hospital seemed very nice and we really liked the ultrasound tech. They actually had a giant flat panel screen on the wall in front of the bed so we didn't have to try to look at the monitor the technician uses. It's the little things! Everything looked really great on the ultrasound images (heart, kidneys, stomach, bladder, palate) and the only thing I'm keeping my fingers crossed on is that he turns. Today he was breech, so his head was up at the top of my uterus by my ribs. I think he must have recently turned that way because I was feeling a lot of kicking up under my right ribs and today it was all in my bladder. I REALLY prefer the rib kicks.

Here are a few updated ultrasound photos.

Isn't this the cutest little profile? I know, I'm biased. I was amazed because that little think below his chin by the placenta is his foot. Looks a little uncomfortable, right?

This is a front view of the face, instead of the 'skeletor baby' they got a shot of the soft tissue. It's a little hard to make out, but you can kind of see the eyes, nasal bone, and mouth. Poor guy looks like he's being squished between the placenta (top) and side of the uterus.

Here's the proof! Our 'explicit' photo that shows our little guy is a guy.

A little preparation!

2009-05-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

I have no idea who thought up the list of 'must haves' for a baby but it's amazing how many things you 'NEED' before the baby arrives. We've decided to try and save money where we can by buying things used. Really, how used can baby items be??

So, Christopher and I got up early yesterday morning for some craigslist bargains. We drove all the way down to Colorado Springs (two hours) for a slightly used stroller that was the exact one we had registered for. The best part was it is $170 new and we got it for $75. First deal of the day! It looks a little bit masculine, but we really liked the orange and gray/black (Go Beavs!) so we went with this one.

Our next stop was back up to Aurora (suburb of Denver) to look at the carseat that matches the stroller. This one was brand new (still in the box) and instead of $180, we only paid $100!

Our third stop was to Parker where we found a great used crib and matching dresser for $300. Great deal considering the crib alone would have been more than that if we bought it new. Although we initially said we wanted something in dark wood, this set looks very nice and sturdy. I've attached a few pics that the person who sold it on craigslist took, so this isn't our nursery but shows the furniture pretty well.

So, we finally have a few things we'll need for the baby. Hard to believe it's only a little over three months away!!

Ultrasound CRAZINESS!

2009-04-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

So, we met with our doctor after we got back from Robert & Rikki's wedding to review the ultrasound results. She said because of the way the baby was positioned, they were unable to get a good look at the umbilical cord to see if there are two veins and one artery (which there should be). She said there was no reason to believe it wasn't anatomically correct, but we could schedule a follow-up ultrasound to make sure. I agreed, thinking it would just be another chance to see the baby.

We went in on 4/21 and the technician asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. I told her they had told us already at the last appointment and that we're having a boy but it would be great if she'd confirm that.

Long story....at first she said 'Oh, those look like the boy parts right there.' then said "Actually, if I had to guess, I'd say it could be a girl." The problem was the baby was moving around everywhere and wouldn't open it's legs....at all. The technician tried over and over to get a clear shot, which was complicated by the fact that the genitals were right under my belly button, making it even harder to get a clear picture. We walked out without knowing if it's a boy or a girl. The last thing she said was it wasn't clear enough for her to say either way. I'm so surprised! Part of me is glad we went in for the 2nd ultrasound because it would have been more shocking to think it was a boy until birth. I still just want to know if it is a girl or a boy, so I can plan!

Maybe this is God's way of telling me I need to stop trying to control everything. :)

Regardless, we did get some cute updated photos of the baby. Here's a profile and a foot!

Chris felt the baby move!

2009-04-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day in so many ways!

Chris and I started dating on October 13th, so I always called April 13th our 'half anniversary'. Those of you who know me well know I will come up with any excuse to create significance with dates. :)

The other great thing about today is we got engaged a year ago today! Chris and I were laying in bed this morning and laughing about how much has changed in a year....married, pregnant....nuts! Here's a picture from our skiing trip at Copper right after Chris proposed.

While we were laying there talking about all our changes, I felt the baby start kicking and told Chris to put his hand on my stomach. Not the first time I've told him to feel the baby kick, but the difference was this time he actually felt it! How great is that?

Robert & Rikki got married!

2009-04-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Florida! Robert and Rikki got married on April 2nd. It was a beautiful ceremony and I'm really happy to be able to call Rikki my sister now!!

Another neat part was while we were getting ready for the wedding, the baby started kicking very hard. I was with Rikki so took her hand and put it on my stomach and she felt the baby kick. I just love the fact that she was the first person to feel the baby move and it was her wedding day! I'll never forget it now.

I took some pictures, but haven't gotten them off my camera yet. Here's one that Jen took. It's kind of silly. Rikki was posing like that because there were so many people taking pictures of them cutting the cake, it was like paparazzi. It's wonderful to see Robert grow up to be such a great man. Kind of weird to see him married now, but I'm really happy for them both.

The other great part of the trip (not the only one!) was getting to spend time with my nephew, Jonathon (Jen's son). He is the greatest little baby! I'm in L-O-V-E!

Ultrasound!

2009-03-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

We went in for our ultrasound today and after having to drink 40 oz. of water and wait an uncomfortably long period of time, we got to see our baby for the first time and it's a boy!

The images are hard to decipher, but it was still really neat to see the little one on the screen and amazing to realize that little baby is inside me. They estimated the due date within four days of the original date, so there aren't going to be any changes there. Can't wait to actually meet him!

Chris calls this first ultrasound photo 'Skeletor Baby' :)

Here's one with the baby's legs crossed:

A close-up of a little hand....

Like a kid at Christmas!

2009-03-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

I can think of nothing other than the ultrasound appointment we have this Tuesday! I'm really excited to finally have a chance to see the baby that's been bouncing around inside me. Of course I also hope the baby will cooperate and let us see whether we're having a boy or a girl. If not, I'm not sure what I'll do. I guess just wait 20 weeks to see, but that will be so tough. I think I have my heart set on knowing now. The difficult part is going to be not telling my family for a week. Rikki (my soon to be sister-in-law) told me she wanted to hear something in person so I agreed to wait until we get to Florida for their wedding to tell them the sex of the baby. It'll be a lot of fun to have everyone together, but I just think it'll be hard to wait that long without someone finding out.
Chris and I spent this weekend trying to add things to a baby registry. It was a little overwhelming but still fun. We've been looking at infant car seats and strollers for awhile so knew what we were going to get. The rest of it was just walking around BabiesRus and trying to figure it out on the fly. I think it'll take a few more trips!
Today we went to a consignment shop that a friend of Chris' told him about. It's all 'gently used' items for babies and children. We just feel like there are some things we'll only be using for 6 months and if we can get a better deal with something used and in good shape...why not? We didn't find much this time but will definitely be checking back.
Can't wait for Tuesday!

Another appointment

2009-02-25T17:53:00.001-08:00

We had another doctor's appointment this afternoon. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. At first I thought it was just my heartbeat we were listening to and the doctor had to tell us it was the baby's. It just sounded a lot slower (it was 145 bpm) and stronger. Exciting!
The doctor told us about the old wives tale that says after 20 weeks if the heartbeat is over 160 bpm it's a girl and if it's under it's a boy. She also said that the reason the heartbeat is slower now compared to last time is that the heart rate will slow down as the baby gets older. So, Chris put together that if it slows down as the baby gets older and it's already under 160, maybe it's a boy. We'll see!
Other than that, she told us we get to schedule the ultrasound for week 19. I'll be 16 weeks on Monday, so in less than a month we'll get to actually see the baby and maybe find out what we're having!!!

Chunky Monkey....almost 15 weeks

2009-02-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

No, not the ice cream. Me! This is the weirdest feeling to see and feel your body getting bigger and know it's not attributed to something you should change. I'm very excited, but it's a weird thing to get used to. I'm just trying to watch what I eat and walk every day (or most days!).

On another note, I think I'm starting to feel the baby move.....maybe, but I'm not sure (was that a sentence?) It just feels like a little flutter in the same spot that the doctor found the heartbeat. It isn't all the time, just every couple of days and feels like nothing I've ever felt before. I hestitate to say that's what it is because I am still a little early to be feeling it.

Other than me being obsessed with the world of babies, not much is going on. The economy has been a little stressful, but we'll be fine. There are a lot of engineering companies initiating pay cuts (5% at HP, up to 40% at AMD) and mandatory days off. We just feel thankful that none of that is happening at Broadcom and Chris' job seems pretty secure.

Back to baby brain, we have another dr. appt on Wednesday. I can't wait to hear the heartbeat again!

Thumpity-thump-thump

2009-01-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

Today was a big baby day! We had our first OB appointment this afternoon with Dr. Klingner. It was great to get to meet her and see how she felt about what we want to do. I told her I'd like to have as little intervention as possible (unless medically necessary) and she told me she had both her children with a midwife and did it drug-free. That's great news because I know she's open to letting me try it. Of course, I have NO idea what it'll actually feel like to be in labor so I'm not going to say I'm totally against it, I just want to be able to listen to what my body needs. She also told us that she'll be there to deliver the baby. Her practice is the only one in Fort Collins that the doctors stay on call for their own patients. That's great because I know all my appointments will be with her and I don't have to worry about a random doctor I haven't met being there for the birth. As I say that though, I'm reminding myself that she did say she has eight pregnancies she's managing that are due in August and normally only has four. So hopefully there won't be any conflicts. I'm imagining if all her patients are delivered at the same hospital (which they will be) that even if someone else is in labor it should be ok.

So, another thing about their practice is they don't do an ultrasound until 20 weeks unless you want to do genetic testing (more on that later). So at our appointment she just used a doppler to listen for the heartbeat. At first, all she could find was my heartbeat. She said my ovarian arteries were really strong and she didn't know if it would allow her to pick up the baby's heartbeat. After a few minutes of trying (right when I was getting discouraged) she found it! It was so amazing to hear. I looked over at Chris and his eyes were really big. My reaction was to start giggling. Bad reaction when you're trying to listen to a little heartbeat inside you. I'd stop laughing long enough for her to find the heartbeat again and as soon as I heard it....I'd laugh again! I wanted to stop so bad just so I could hear it for a little while but I was so giddy I couldn't control it. The doctor said most people usually cry, not laugh. What can I say? :) The best part is we'll be able to listen to it at every appointment so I'm looking forward to hearing it again at the end of February.

Our other baby event for the day was our First Trimester class. It was interesting to see other pregnant couples in there. Of course, I'm so A-type that as soon as I found out I was pregnant I was reading everything I could find on pregnancy. So, most of what they talked about was old news for me. But, Chris hasn't been such an information dork and thought it was pretty informative.

I'm starting to show a little bit but mostly just feel fat. My pants are getting too tight so it's uncomfortable to button them. My favorite part is knowing why they're getting tight. :)

Wow!!!

2008-12-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning and took a pregnancy test. I have had a lot of uh, shall we say, 'chest tenderness' so decided to get some results! Part of me thought it would be positive but when I actually saw the two little lines come up that confirmed it, I was kind of shocked! Chris had no idea I was even taking the test so I went downstairs to let him know. For a second I had the weirdest reaction. I was a little sheepish to say anything. Of course we were letting nature take it's course and I knew he'd be excited but it seemed like such a foreign thing to be telling him! He was excited but had a kind of 'why are you surprised?' reaction. I guess I just thought it would take months and months to actually have it happen. We're waiting until Christmas to tell anyone, so we'll have some time to let it sink in. :)

New Zealand

2008-12-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

New Zealand in two words: expensive and beautiful. :) We had a great time but were shocked at how much everything cost. My favorite example: we went to a little Mexican/Spanish restaurant in Queenstown one night for dinner. I had a chicken burrito (just chicken and a tortilla, nothing else). Chris had a combination plate with one taco and one enchilada. We split a margarita. The cost, you ask? $85NZ which is about $60US. Isn't that nuts? That would have been less than $20 here!!! There were so many things we wanted to do but it was just too expensive. There was tandem bungee jumping (which we thought would have made a perfect Christmas card!) but it was $600. Couldn't justify jumping off a bridge for $600. Hangliding was $300.

So, needless to say, it was a very frugal honeymoon. We brought our sleeping bags and pillows in case we wanted to go camping. The first four nights we stayed in hotels and then found these awesome campgrounds that had cute little cabins you could rent for $60 a night ($100/night cheaper than the hotels). They had a bed, kitchen utensils, a refrigerator, etc. but you still had to walk to the main building for showers and bathrooms. Still, it was fun and we had a great time. When we got to New Zealand, we only had a rental car and a general idea of where we wanted to go. It was the best way to go because I tend to overthink everything and if I knew we had reservations somewhere I was worried I'd get stressed if something came up and we didn't make it there that night. Make sense? We never had any problems but did have some very long days in the car! I'm pleased to say we only got into one 'disagreement' and it was over who's ipod we were listening to more. We have completely different taste in music and tend to tolerate the other's music. After a few minutes of heated discussion, we started laughing at how dumb it was to actually be fighting over something so insignificant. I think it was just a result of so many hours in the car. I have lots and lots of pictures on snapfish, but posted a few for you to see here.

This first pic is at Red Triangle Winery outside Napier. We rented the tandem bike in the picture from this place called 'On Yer Bike'. They gave us a map with an 18 mile loop that covered 7-8 wineries and a homemade lunch. The bike was really hard to get used to (since I had absolutely no control in the back!) but it was a beautiful trip. The only part we didn't really think of is it was a warm day and we were drinking wine and riding a bike in the wind. By the time we were done, we were both a little buzzed and ready to get off the bike. :)

This is one of the MANY one lane bridges that we went over. Some were a little scary because they would go around a bend and you were never sure if a car was coming in the other direction. The only direction you got was the little round sign on the side that showed you whether you had right-of-way or not.

Isn't the color of the water amazing?? It looks fake, even in person. This was an old washed out bridge near Fox Glacier. Beautiful!

As I said, lots more on snapfish. We had a great time but after coming back and comparing it to Kauai, I have to admit I still think Kauai was my favorite vacation!!!

Our first MARRIED Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

We cheated a little bit. On Thanskgiving Day, my good friend Tiffany invited us over to their house for Turducken and Thanksgiving with friends. We had a great time but on our way home were talking about how much fun it would be to have Thanskgiving at home so we wouldn't miss out on the leftovers. So, Saturday we made Thanksgiving Round #2. It was pretty good but I need to work on my turkey skills. I cooked it for too long. The problem was only compounded by the TERRIBLE loss of our Beavers in the Civil War. That stunk!

2008-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

So, here I am in blog land! I've been lurking around my friends' blogs for awhile now and thought it only fair that I also share what is going on with us.

It seems like so long ago that Chris and I were in Corvallis working on finishing school! Chris sent me this cartoon in an email at work one day and I loved it so much I saved it. Not like I was really his 'sugar-mama' but we were working so hard and it never seemed like it was going to end. Now we're still working hard, but at least we're done with school! It just reminds me that no matter what you're going through, you'll get through it. Granted, it took us longer than most (hush!) to get married and done with school. But, the truth is, I wouldn't change it for anything. The years that we spent in Corvallis were incredible. I think having all that time to make memories together was exactly what we needed. Now we're ready for whatever is next! I hope you all enjoy following it through this blog. I'm not going to promise to post every day or anything like that, but I'll do my best to keep everyone updated!