Grandparents and Good Byes

My grandparents had always been a part of my life.  I had all four of my grandparents when Matt and I met, at the age of 23, which was awesome.  With my Grandma Miller's passing last week, they are now all gone. 

While Good Bye's are hard for most, the good byes of my grandparents have all been "easy".  They were all at the end of their lives (all over 80, and all after failing health) and saying good bye really was a relief to end the suffering.

Cassius never got to "meet" his grandparents but he did get to Skype with his great grandma Miller in early December.  Maybe Skype will be old news when he is old enough to ask about them, but I still think its a cool memory. 

I think I'll try to write about each one so he can know of them through my memories.

2 months

 

Dear Cassius,

You are now 2 months old.  You are growing so much and are more fun each and every day.  You smile at both me and your dad on a regular basis... though your dad thinks you smile at me more (which I have to agree and it pleases me to no end!)

I can't lie- this newborn stuff is tough.  I think most people write all the positive things about their babies lives, but I'm going to be straight with you... and give you the good and bad, so that one day when you have kids, you can tell them about how difficult of a baby you were and will know that it's payback.  (PS.  Your dad was a needy/fussy child too, so we're getting the payback too!)

Things about you that generally drive us batty:

* You cry, really, really loud.  You are by far the highest decibel crier in any room with crying babies.

* You have a very narrow comfort zone and are not afraid to let us know when we've stepped out of it.

* You will only sleep in my arms (not your dads for the most part), in a wrap/carrier, in the car or in the stroller during the day.   You often have to cry through my showers, because, sorry- mama needs a shower sometimes.

* You are a bit difficult to get to bed at night.  You like to fall asleep on the boob, but the second you are moved, you jolt awake with smiles and wide eyes.  That's so not cool.  You have to be put down to sleep multiple times.  In fact, I'm writing this between those times.  It's a bit frustrating.

* You seem to have some acid reflux/gas/inner issues.  You writhe and moan after many feedings and often wake up after a short period of time due to these issues.  

But now... on to the flip side of all those things.

* You smile the biggest, cutest smiles.  You coo.  You even laugh or chuckle sometimes (we think).  The chuckle comes as some pretty funny times too.

* You enjoy music.  Your dad sings to you.  Your grandpa sings to you.  Your mom kinda sings to you while making up verses/words that don't rhyme.  When people sign to you, you are generally content.

* You are starting to "sit" in our laps and watch the world.  You hold your head up and look around for longer and longer each day.  Today, we caught video of you in your Bumbo chair.  You actually seemed to enjoy it.

* You love the outdoors.  If/When you are fussy, once we go outside, you generally stop.

* You pet your dog.  When Sibley comes near you, I take your hand and pet her.  You both seem to like this.

* You love to be out and about.  Most of the time you crash and go to sleep, but you seem to be much more settled when we are out and about.  You have many people around us fooled... they think you are so quiet and chill... but you let us know differently at home.

Since my last letter, we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Peters family.  Uncle Brett and Aunt Jody came from South Bend.  They are a little weary of babies (I think) but you still got a little cuddle time in with them (while you were quiet).  You went out on your first disc golf outing on Thanksgiving Day.  I wore you in a carrier and we worked with Sibley while your dad, Brett and Jody played disc.  You were sleeping throughout much of social hour, but the second (literally, the second) I sat down at the Thanksgiving Dinner table, you started to wail... so your dad and I ate dinner at the kitchen counter while I swayed back and forth to keep you quiet.

Just an FYI... Your stats at your 2 month appointment:

13 lbs. 9 oz- 96th percentile (PS.  I think these percentiles are stupid, but whatever)

24.5 inches long- 98th percentile

Your head circumference was 40 cm- 66th percentile.

I guess you are going to be one big boy with your mama's peanut head.  Good Lord!

Even though you are fickle thing, we love you dearly.  Your soft chubby cheeks are perfect for nuzzling.  Your big hands and feet are perfect lint traps.  Your smile lights my world.

Love,

Your mama

Booty

Does this picture make my butt look big??

Oh, just adorable???  That's what I thought.

Peace out,

Cassius

Thanksgiving

There is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.  It's my favorite holiday because it's all about family and food... two of my favorites.  It turned out to be one of my favorite weekends ever.  Here's a rundown:

The weekend began on Tuesday for me when Cassius and I went over to Moraga to make some desserts for the weekend.  Sue and I made a Caramel Apple Pie and Pumpkin Ice Cream pie.  Cash was in the wrap the entire time- sleeping, of course.

Brett and Jody arrived that night.

Wednesday, Brett, Jody and Sue picked Cash and I up and we all went to Berkeley.  First stop was Cultured- the Pickle Shop.  Brett and Jody (and Sue) love exotic food, so they enjoyed all the fermented stuff.  I tried a dill pickle, but that was it.  Cash slept through the entire thing.  After the pickle shop, we headed to my kind of shop- Ici, the ice cream shop!

I had one of the best ice creams ever- Brown Sugar Oatmeal Raisin.  So delicious!  Cash slept and ate in the sling the entire time!

Matt met us in Moraga for lamb meatballs (can you see a food theme here?) while I enjoyed my Mango sausage since lamb is not on my favorite list.  Still, it was a great time and enjoyed the Caramel Apple Pie a day early- yummy!

Thursday we enjoyed a morning together, and then headed back over to Moraga for a round of disc golf and Thanksgiving with the Bennetts and the Robbins.  Chuck and Marby's son is engaged and Beth and Collin are pregnant with a boy!  Yeah!  The food was delicious but Cash didn't really want to cooperate at the table!  He woke up just as we were sitting down, so Matt and I ate in the kitchen and I swayed and walked to keep Cash quiet.  After some Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream (amazing!), we headed home.


Friday, Matt and Brett went into the city with Bacony to play disc golf at Golden Gate Park while Jody and I went up to the Glenview to get pedicures!  We both got variations of red- which is a rarity for me, but festive none the less.  Sue stayed at home with Cash, where he proceeded to sleep in her arms the entire time!  We went back over to Moraga for leftovers and then came home and crashed.

On Saturday, we went to Pacifica to the beach and the pier. It was Cash's 2nd trip to the beach since his birth and his first to the pier and he, again, slept the entire time.  We finished off the evening with Sushi at Samurai Sushi Boat.  Cash was actually awake for the entire time and content looking at the lights.  At Samurai, they sing dim the lights and play some funky music to celebrate people's birthday.... after the 1st celebration, the waitress came by and was worried about him, but he did just fine. 

Sunday was a lazy day at home filled with sleeping in, a bit of shopping and putzing around the house.... A perfect and busy weekend, in deed.

Cash's Coos

Cash started cooing just the other day and he has quite the repetoire already.  I was able to capture a few of the sounds on video... of course he was on his changing table thingy... his go-to happy place.

It just melts my heart :)

1 month

Dear Cassius,

It is my intention to write you a little letter each month... a love letter of sorts and to document your life.

You are now 1 month old. It's been a great month getting to know you. It seems like a distant memory that you were in my belly. It doesn't seem that you've established any kind of schedule that I can tell but we are getting to know what you like. Here goes:

* Being nudey on the changing table. It seems you like to look around without your pants on. In the last week, you've decided that you don't like a dirty or wet diaper- which is a change from the first few weeks. Maybe you are just trying to get undressed?

* Eating. You are now 11 lbs. You love boobs (or at least mine). If all else fails to calm you, the boobs will usually do the trick. You also tried the bottle for the first time in the last week. Once you realized there was food inside, you seemed more into it. You drank 2 oz for your dad last night and he was more than tickled.

* Being worn in various carriers. This might have something to do with boobs, but I don't think so as you like to be worn by your dad too (and he doesn't have boobs, just FYI). Thus far you've been worn by many people including Brooke, Abby, Grandma Peters, Grandpa Peters and of course, Dad and Mom. You like to face out and look at the world but you also love facing inward and falling asleep. In fact, you are asleep in the wrap as I type.

* Being outside. Maybe it's the fresh air or all the new sites and sounds (and smells) but you seem to like it outside. We've gone on many walks as a family but perhaps the most special is the mornings that you walk with your Dad. He takes you out on a daily basis so that your Mom can get a few more minutes of sleep. You guys walk all around the neighborhood... My guess is that he's talking or singing to you the entire time.

Speaking of sleeping... you are just starting to sleep more during the night. Last night we had our first 5 hour stretch of time followed by a 3 hour stretch. Thanks Cassius! I seem to have a hard time getting you to go to sleep and stay asleep but your Dad is a pro. He has the sleepy touch in that way.

It seems that gas gets in your way a lot. It gets in our way too since we don't really know how to get it out of you. We're trying gripe water and other things. Bicycling your legs seems to help... or it helps push the farts out anyway.

Speaking of farts... although you do that a lot, farting hasn't made you smile, but we have. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom and Dad have each gotten 1 smile from you so far... and we can't wait to see some more from those chubby little cheeks and cute little lips.

And finally... speaking of body parts... You've got your Mom's chin (actually your Great-Grandpa Dohlman's chin) and your Dad's eyes. So far, your eyes are a dark steel grey/blue and we are just waiting to see what color they will be!

Cassius D., you are the love of my life (along with your dad and your dog, Sibley). I can't wait to watch you grow up to be a little boy. Welcome baby!

Love,

Your Mama

Back to "Normal"

It's been just over 3 weeks since Cassius was born and things "down under" are just getting back to normal. Not having sex normal, but not alien feeling anymore.

I went on a few walks in the first week after having him, which left me feeling "heavy" to say the least. It felt like a giant weight was pulling down on my vagina/uterus/?? and it was not a nice feeling.

The bleeding is finally down to "not much" which is an improvement from marble (and sometimes bigger) clots and regular bleeding.

I can finally walk and sit down and stand up and lie down with normal feeling.

I was finally able to do some trimming without being frightened.

These are things that no one told me about. So I'm telling whomever is going to listen. Here's my advice for new moms in the vagina department.

1) 2 weeks or so before your due date: Trim. If you are at all used to being trimmed below, have someone help you now for you certainly won't want anyone (even yourself) touching anything in the general vicinity for quite some time. This becomes a problem because of a fore mentioned bleeding. It's gets cakey and gooey and gross if there is excess.... so recruit someone to help you. Also, holy cow, batman... this area now seems ginormous after not seeing it for so long. Much bigger area then I remembered!

2) Don't get out of bed/off the couch/up from the chair except to go to the bathroom for the first week... no matter how good you feel, the farthest you should travel is 30 feet. If you need to get outside, sit on the front step or on the back porch or whatever... but dont' travel far. The more you rest now, the better you'll feel later and the sooner you'll be able to resume "normal" activity (of walking across the street and through a parking lot).

3) Sitz baths are your friend. You can buy the fancy ones or use epsom salts... but do what you need to do (ask for help) to sit in the tub for 10 minutes a day. This helped tremendously and wasn't that big of a pain. I read a magazine and was able to leave my shirt on half the time (undressing is such a hassle!). I even was able to breastfeed while sitting in the tub all for the sake of healing the va-jay-jay.

4) Not sure if this is recommended, but if you get itchy/red/rawish... use your baby's diaper rash cream. It feels good.

It's Mimi Time aka Cassius' First Week

More labor story to come, but wanted to get something up about Cassius' first week at home. My mom (Mimi Tanner to my niece, Karsyn thus will be known as Mimi until Cassius decides what to call her) arrived on Monday evening, just after our midwife appointment. Cassius was back up to 8 lbs, 7 oz and gaining after his initial weight loss (down to 8 lbs, 4 oz on Sunday morning).

Some milestones/activities:


* He slept in his papasan chair as we enjoyed lasagna on Mimi's first night. He's been joining us for dinner on the dining room table in his papasan every night since.

* He watched his first MLB game at his Mimi Mo's house (that's Mimi Moraga, aka Sue)

* He got his first sponge bath with Sibley supervising- he did not like it.

* He went on his first walk at Lake Merritt and slept in his Beco carrier the entire time.
* He went to the doctor and met Dr. Bean who said he is just perfect! (We agree).
* He went on his first stroller ride to get to the doctor.
* He woke up to his Mimi every morning so that we could get an extra hour (or two) of sleep.

Cassius loves his Mimi (Tanner)!

Thanks Mom!

Labor Day, continued...

So I'm feeling really amazing today, on Cassius' 3 week birthday/anniversary, so I thought I'd write the story from the happy, happy, joy, joy perspective (with a ton of honesty thrown in too!) and from my somewhat sketchy memory.

We left off here.

Contractions were mildly intense but not so bad that I couldn't talk in between. Sue came over and hung out a bit. Matt and Sue went to Triple A to get the car seats adjusted in the car. Up until about 2 minutes before they left, I was going to go with them, but then I had another contraction and decided I didn't really want to go through that in a AAA parking lot, so I stayed home. Sue went to get Brett from BART and they came over for a bit. I think Brett was a little floored that I was having contractions with him at the house. Around 11:00am or so, Matt started timing them again and they were getting closer and closer together- about 4-5 minutes apart so we called Tenaya. She came over around noon and just hung out. Brett and Sue went to China Town to get out for awhile. Matt stayed with me and was an amazing support (figuratively and literally) the entire time. Around 4pm or so, the contractions started to get more intense- so much so that I wasn't able to talk much in between. Brett and Sue left around this time, I think.

Around 7pm or so, I started to go through transition. Of course, I didn't really know it at the time but the contractions shifted. During the prior contractions, I was able to moan deeply (with Matt's coaching) and really turn inward. During transition, I just couldn't get my voice to deepen and was screaming more and more. The pain was more intense and I could feel it/him move down my back/pelvis. That part was "kinda" cool. I had to keep repeating to myself...."My body was meant to do this. My body is strong" just to make it through the next contraction without giving up completely. I wanted to shut down and shut it off! At one point I said "I just want to curl up and die!" and I truly did. I have never had pain so intense and not be able to turn it off. I often thought my migraines would prepare me for birth... and they did- for the first part... but during this time, it was so different. When I have a migraine, it's intense, I want to die- but the pain waxes and wanes. I often can go to sleep and feel a reprieve. Not so much with labor. It's constant with a 10 second reprieve before it starts up again. By 8 or 9 pm, I was really, really tired and just wanted a little break- but no such luck.

Tenaya had suggested that I get in the tub- and I did- 3 different times throughout labor. Around 9:15pm, I got in the tub for the last time. It was immediate relief, but the pain came right back within a minute or so in the tub.

Tenaya had checked me around 9:30 or so and I was 8 cm on one side and 9/10 on the other side, so I still had a bit of cervix in the way that needed to go away before I could push but the pushing contractions were there and they were strong. It took me a good 10-15 minutes to get up the nerve/energy/stamina to try to get out of the tub so that she could check me and/or push that last bit out of the way. Just as I was getting ready to get out of the tub so that could happen, she asked if I wanted her to check me in the tub and I agreed. Hallelujah! I was 10cm all around. Good thing too, because the contractions to push were nearly impossible to stop. To me, they felt like you had to take the biggest poop in the world and oh, shit! you aren't on the toilet, so you try to stop it, it doesn't really work and it hurts like hell to actually let it push out. Nice picture, huh?

After about an hour of pushing, I felt his head crown and let me tell you- it's one weird feeling. Like you are pushing a giant cantelope sized tampon out of your vagina.... and then it goes back in... and comes back out....and goes back in. He crowned and went back in about 4 or 5 times and by this point I was D.O.N.E. I wanted the little fucker out.. and that's what I kept saying to myself. I had told myself... this time he'll come, but in reality it was 3 or 4 more times but on the last push, I pushed with all my might and his head came out. Tenaya wasn't quite ready for that but alas, I wanted the little fucker OUT! Once his head was out, I wanted to be done (see a theme here?) and pushed his shoulders out without a huge contractions but it needed to be OVER!

After all was said and done, Matt joked that he hadn't seen my eyes in over 8 hours because I was so internally focused I didn't even look at him!

Cassius was born at 11:07pm in the birth tub in our dining room. He weighed 8lbs, 14 oz about an hour after he was born (She also weighed him in a 9lbs, 2 oz 30 seconds earlier but declaired his weight the lower one so that weight loss in the first week would not send him to the hospital). He was 21" long and I believe his head was 13" around. His second APGAR score was a 9 and was/is beautiful! He has a Dohlman "butt" chin and lots of dark hair!

And out he came, perfectly healthy and perfectly pink. You might remember the little heartrate scare that had us (and Tenaya) a bit worried... Well, it was all for naught. He was perfect. He got a 9 on his APGAR and they put him in my arms. Right after I delivered him, I was bleeding quite a bit (the photo of us in the tub is not a pretty one) and so Tenaya pushed on my stomach to encourage the placenta to deliver. I didn't really have a contraction (or at least it was about .00001% of the intensity of what I just went through) so when I felt a slight twinge, I pushed to deliver it. Then Michelle (the baby midwife) handed Cassius and the placenta to Matt and off they went to the couch to hang out (and let the cord go limp) while I got on the floor to try to stop the bleeding (pic above it me hanging out on the floor, holding him after the cord was cut). I hung out there for awhile, then went to the bathroom to try to pee (a full bladder does not allow your uterus to contract) to no avail, and then ended up in the bed.

Tenay and Michelle did an exam on Cassius and determined all was well (I remember her specifically saying both his testicles had descended!). At this point I was too weak to hold him much or care about much, so after an attempted catheter and some contracting drugs and more clotting/bleeding, the ambulance was called around 3 am and off to the hospital I went.

Meanwhile, Michelle got Cassius dressed and ready. (I managed to have the energy to tell her that he had a matching hat that went with his outfit!) and he and Matt followed the ambulance. His first car ride into Berkeley at only 3 hours old! Ron and Sue met us (and Cassius) at the hospital.

At the hospital, they gave me a few drugs via IV and monitored me (aka I sat in bed and they came by every few hours) and I was discharged around 8am. The best part of the hospital visit (other than that they didn't have to do an ultrasound) was that I got two amazing cotton blankets out of the ordeal! Cassius was able to be in bed with me the entire time, even though he wasn't interested in nursing.

As I write this 3 weeks to the day after he was born, I'm finally feeling mostly "healed" down below after a rough couple of weeks and since he slept for a 4 hour and then a 3 hour stretch last night, I feel I can conquer the world (or at least our little world).

So glad to get this down in writing.... Welcome to the world little Monkey! We love you!

Our Labor Day

It seems that this little one is finally going to make it's arrival sometime in the next 48 hours or so. Contractions started last night but weren't really regular, then around 4am I woke up with some discomfort. I started timing the contractions and they started to get more regular - 5-7 minutes apart - and had lasted for about 2 hours. The most bizarre feeling is that everything is completely normal between contractions. The best way to describe these contractions vs. "the previous ones" is that these contractions include back pain/intensity along with front cramps. The previous ones were more tightening/twitching in the front.

I watched the newest episodes of Glee and Gray's Anatomy. I woke Matt up around 6:30am and we called the midwife around 7. She is on her way over here now to check on things before we start our own version of Labor Day.

More to come....

Wasting Time

Finding ways to pass the time this past week was ummmmm... fun. I need to figure out what to do in the coming week though since the baby doesn't seem to want to exit the womb.

Here's a run down of my final week(s) of pregnancy:
Monday, 9/28- Met Brooke for a drink
Tuesday, 9/29- Shopped around Berkeley's 4th street
Wednesday, 9/30- Chiropractor
Thursday, 10/1- Hiked almost to Top of The World (approx. 1.75 miles), got a purple pedicure
and walked home from the Glenview (another .75 miles)
Friday, 10/2- Massage from Amy, watched first half of Baby Momma
Saturday, 10/3- Farmer's Market, Walgreens and Trader Joes, watched the rest of Baby Momma, another walk, scrapbooking, dinner with Sue, tub time
Sunday, 10/4- Walk at Pacifica beach with Matt and Sibs, nap with Sibs
Monday, 10/5- Shop at Target and Alameda, hanging curtains in the bedroom
Tuesday, 10/6- Washed the car, washed the dog

Your Room Awaits, Sir (or Ma'am)

Baby,

Today is your due date and unless you and my uterus are are planning a quick exit, you will arrive late. Your room has been ready for weeks if not months. I'm not really a planner, but things just started showing up and before we knew it, the room was pretty much done thanks to garage sales, freecycle and repurposing some existing items.

Your friend Marby made you an amazing quilt with a subtle chicken pattern on it to appease your father (and your feathered friends in the backyard- Ali and Zona). I am not too crafty, but I do like to dabble here and there in easy projects. While watching Martha Stewart one day, I was inspired to create your mobile with extra quilt fabric (hopefully a growth chart will follow one day once we know your name).

In case this helps motivate you to make your arrival.... here are photos of your room:

Your mobile, baby....


Your dresser and your clothes, cloth diapers, blankets and all that jazz live up in here... your dog awaits your arrival too... I think she is most excited about your dirty diapers and you dropping Cheerios on the floor.

Your map of the world, albeit slightly outdated.... We'll take you on adventures and we'll show you how the worlds borders have changed since... deal?


Hope to see you soon!

Mama

Wrapping up at the Shelter... Starting a new life

Yesterday was my last day at the shelter before Maternity Leave. Those two words seem so daunting- like they need an echo or something. While work was mostly productive, I can't believe I'm not going into my office for the next 2 months, I can't believe I won't know who is adopted that weekend, I can't believe I'm not creating training plans for dogs for awhile, I can't believe that when I come back, I'll be a MOM!

All the thoughts and changes coming about caused a bit of a panic last night around bedtime. I was getting ready for bed as usual and whew! I just started to freak out! Life is about to change, seriously!

I've been excited for the day to come for 9 months now but now that it's here (or will be here soon), yowzaa! A little cold feet, a little holy cow, a lot of changes. I'm excited for so many things about being a parent (from breastfeeding, to delivering naturally, to raising our child in Oakland, to shopping at the market with them, to watching them interact with Matt, to sending them off to Kindergarten) but also a little nervous about the changes (like no more sleeping in until 10am just because, managing a dog and baby, more laundry, more time to get ready and get out the door).

In the end (or is should that be.... in the beginning), it's going to be all worth it... just a mild little panic. It's probably the same thing that will happen the first time this child has a cold.

Little Bean, Why Does Your Heart Slow?

Dearest Little Bean,

You gave your mom and dad a bit of a scare on Monday night. Tenaya, the midwife, came over and all was going well. My vitals were great and you are measuring right on track at 37.5 (is it centimeters or millimeters?). But then she listened to your hear rate and it was in the low range.

Because it's a bit out of the normal range, she sent us to Alta Bates for some monitoring. You were quite the slow one on the monitor- between 102-120 but mostly hanging around the 112 range. Perhaps you were sleeping or needing more ice cream??

We went in for an ultrasound and the tech said you were perfect. It was your first perfect score of your life (that we know of anyway). You got an 8/8. We got to see your heart beat, your chest rise and fall and your legs and hands move a bit. It seems that after a few minutes though, you were a lazy one and didn't want to move any more, even with repeated attempts of me poking you.

Your dad says it was just the beginning of perfect scores... so prepare yourself for some high expectations from your father. I, on the other hand, would love some perfect scores, but I'll settle for happiness.

The nurse at the hospital said, although your hear rate is on the lower range of normal, it looks good. She sent us home with happy wishes for your arrival.

Since Monday night, you have been moving and kicking like gangbusters at certain times. Other times, you are just quiet. Your dad was amazed at your movements while we watched tv.

I'll wrap up this letter by saying "We're ready for you! We cant' wait to meet you! Get out of my belly!"

Love,

Your Mama

"I Can't Find Our Baby"

That's what I heard when I woke up to pee around 5:00 this morning. Matt typically wakes up, asks if I'm okay and we all go back to bed. But this morning he said "I can't find our baby" or so I thought... he actually said "Koepp's had her baby" and the baby news has started to flow in.

After we found out we were pregnant, the news hasn't stopped pouring in from all over the country. Here's a short list people that we know that are pregnant with approx. due dates.

Chris (Matt's cousin) and Melissa- due in July- Check! Welcome Chase!
Stephanie (friend from High School) and Josh- due in Sept.- Check! Welcome Hadley!
Karen (Matt's co-worker) and Manoa- due Sept. 11th- Check! Welcome Jax!
Melissa (my friend from High School)- due Sept 25th- A girl- Check! Welcome Evelyn!
Lyndsie and Jeff (neighbors)- due Sept. 30th- A girl! Welcome Haven Patrece!
Lindsey and Matt- due Oct. 1- Welcome Cassius D!
April (Matt's friend from the UP) and Billy- sometime around me- Check! Welcome Brody William!
Wendy and Darren (second cousin)- due Oct. 11th- Check! Welcome Ava!
Julie (Matt's cousin) and Frankie- due Oct. 18th - A boy- Welcome Frankie IV!
Mikki (my sister) and Brett- due Nov. 4th- A girl- Welcome Kinley Grace
Sara and Richard Lew (Matt's co-workers)- due November 15th- A girl, Tessa Jane.
Karaliese (friend from ACS) and Leland- due Nov. 27th- A girl
Jason (Matt's UP friend) and Kerry- due Dec 23rd- A girl
Dr. Heather and hubby (vet at work)- due in January- A boy
Christina and Alexander (neighbors)- due in Feb. (I think)
Jen (my bestest friend from college) and Dave- due March 25th- a girl
Heather and Billy (Jen's sister)- due March 25th- a boy
Lyndsay (my friend from college) and Matt- due in April

Hopefully I'm not missing anyone.

That's a lot of babies making their way into the world in the next few months!

Contractions

Last night I had some kinda cool contractions. The belly was super taut- no poking at the baby possible- with slight twitches/twinges of something, but not painful. It lasted about 45 minutes but was so cool to feel the belly and my body do it's job. Go Uterus Go!

Trying to get back in the swing of things- blogging things that is....

I really want this blog to be a little recollection of my life. I want to blog to document my child's life and my family's life and well, things. I love to scrapbook, but I still seem to be daunted by the task of getting things out and getting started. Not to mention the clean up that is required along with the picture printing. I may just go digital, but why? when there are little photo boxes on picasa and I can just go in there??

So here's a written determination to be better at blogging- about the (boring) things that go on in my life.

Almost there.... 36+ weeks

I can't believe I'm 36.5 weeks pregnant. Any day now (or most likely in about 3-4 weeks). Last night the baby was moving a ton, kicking out my right side- all during Six Feet Under.

Matt made chili today with homegrown, fresh tomatoes- Yummy!

The midwife is on her way here- we'll see what she says.

Music to my ears

I've been hanging out at home, while Matt golfs, cleaning, playing on the computer and just hanging out. I've got my ipod on with a whole 96 songs, but it's quite the variety. A few of the songs/genres/etc coming through the speakers in no particular order:
Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack, including Allison Krauss
Music from Cabaret
Grateful Dead
Ben Harper
Dave Matthews
Elton John and George Michael
Eric Clapton
Meiko

Rounding out the rest of the trip....

Wanted to get the rest of the trip and a few photos up before I forget...

Matt's posted a bit of a slideshow on Picasa

From the California Redwoods, we headed up the coast of Oregon, staying in Newport and having dinner at Sylvia's Beach House. It's listed in 1,000 Places to See (I didn't know that before hand) but it was a great time and excellent, if not amazing, food.

Saw a gorgeous sunset over the beach from our hotel room (thank god for hotel rooms! and real beds and real showers that don't run on quarters).


Headed up to Seattle and stopped in Portland to Nathan and Penelope (and get the good news!). We arrived to see Rebecca and Maya and grab some grub at Matador (a cool bar/restaurant with awesome seating and decor) before Jeff got home.

Next day we spent with Jeff, getting delicious coffee and pastries (double baked almond croissant!) and I picked up a Lavender cupcake along the way. Went into Pike's Place Market but alas, Matt forgot the camera that day, so no photos.


Next day, we went to Alki and got more coffee and walked around the beach like neighborhood and by the time we were done, I was done with walking! We stopped at Lincoln Park and sat on a bench, chatting and relaxing before Jeff had to go to work. Matt and I then headed out on our on downtown to REI (the original store aka the mothership) and the the EMP (where we got in free because Matt's so darned cute!). Then back to West Seattle for some amazing pizza and ice cream (cupcakes were sold out dammit!).

Then headed to Crater Lake or more precisely, our campsite at Joseph Stewart. A stop for gas had me gloating that I got to use my Safeway points to save $.10 a gallon on gas! Yipppeee!!!!! That night we went to a "presentation" on civil war guns, etc as they were having a reinactment the next day.



Crater Lake the next day was amazing! I had a tough time walking at such high elevation but we managed to walk a bit and get some great shots and great views (from a rocking chair! too). The fog/wind/coldness started to come in, so we took a short drive and then headed back towards camp, stopping at a natural bridge and a little cafe for amazing pie!

We thought we might stay for a battle (civil war reinactment) on Sunday morning, but we were ready to head home...

All in all a great trip!

A little Road Trip to Seattle

Day 1:
Left the house by 8:30am, with car re-positioning complete! Only left-behind item thus far is my SIGG bottle full of apple juice/water.

Turned off the 101 to get to the 1 around Cloverdale at which point Matt suggested we keep going until Boonville to get gas. Also around said time, he asked what my maximum mileage was on a tank of gas. I responded 305 last time I filled up and we were on, oh, about 325.

Matt swears he saw a fake horse, to which I debated heavily, resulting in a turn around to verify, by golly, that the horse had moved and was indeed real.

Coasted into Boonville thanks to 8% grade for next 2 miles. First pregnancy comment the minute I stepped out of the car.

Stopped by the Farmer's Market where they were giving away free kittens! Kittens!!!


Continued up the 1, stopped at a beach and saw a guy bring 3 large fish, of which one was a really red snapper, to his car. Also saw a girl put her dog on a boogie board and push him around- so cute!


As we were almost to the 101, we spotted the Drive Thru Tree!! Yeah! I couldn't believe it! It's still open. We drove through, we made it, we loved it!

Stopped in Arcata for dinner and had some yummy, yummy organic ice cream. One scoop of vanilla honey lavendar and one scoop of mint chip. Delish!

Saw a few elk, including a huge bull elk, in a meadow!


Got to our campsite, which rocks and backs up to a little babbling brook/creek. Started to put our tent up and a tent pole broke. We rigged it with 2 pens, a tent stake and duct tape. Thank goodness for duct tape.

Took a walk around camp, then played cribbage (Matt won) and then off to bed!

First Mother's Day (Pre-Baby of course)

Although I received many Happy Mother's Day thoughts/wishes, it's still a bit surreal. I am Sibley's mom, and that feels real, so I was able to feel genuine through my dog. The baby is moving about some (more and more each day) but it's still light stuff.

Just wanted to record my doings on my first "Mother's Day:
* Went on a hike with Karaliese and Amy. Talked for a couple of hours, ate some great breakfast with Lelands new egg mcmuffin maker and then talked with Karaliese some more!
* Hung out at Ron and Sue's, drinking water in the shade, just relaxing- it was so fabulous!
* Watched Matt and Sue plant Sue's tomatoes in her brand new raised bed garden
* Watched American Idol from last week. I'm bummed Allison left.
* Ate London Broil for the first time
* Came home and watched an episode of Weeds
* Crashed!

It's Just Delicate

Matt is a gardener. A crazy gardener. But a lovely gardener at that.

Just two seconds ago, he walked into the house, Sweet Peas in hand and said "This is the greatest flower smell. It's just so delicate."

He has filled 7 vases and put them on our bedroom dresser. He claims he's responsible for the flower arrangements around the house. Just this morning, before 8am, he'd cleared 2 "old" bouquets and refilled them with new, fresh flowers, all from our garden.

So sweet.

Oh the blog world....

Internet, I've got a confession. I'm addicted to blogs... a lot of them. I had a New Year's Resolution to spend max 30 minutes, 4x per week reading blogs, but well, that went down the toilet around January 17th.

I read some creative blogs, some kid/mommy blogs and some ?? blogs.... mostly because they post on a regular basis. It's like a constant story that I get to follow. I occasionally comment and give my 2 cents but mostly I just read and enjoy.

With the pregnancy and awaiting babe, I find myself going from one blog to the next to get some perspective on parenthood and all the stuff out there. Because of the bloggers I follow, I've been on to some really great stuff- like wraps and cloth diapers and making your own baby food and taking photos to documenting life to good recipes.

Also, I've been entering in a lot more contests.... I haven't won anything just yet, but I hope to someday! Simple hosts many giveaways (it's a review site) and it's currently giving away a Kyliewrap. I'd love to win a wrap. With so many options, I'd love to get my hands on a few (made by small businesses, mostly SAHM's too!) to try them out!

An old post from a now defunct blog attempt... what else is new?

I went all out and bought a used version of What to Eat When You're Expecting. You see, it was part of a package- 4 pregnancy/kid books for $4! A great bargain! I love craigslist! But I don't really like reading it, or really have a desire to follow it. When we first found out we were pregnant Matt decided he really wanted us to eat healthy, really healthy, for the baby. Yeah sure, I did too, but I know that I'm not great at changing my eating habits- plus my eating wasn't/isn't that bad to begin with. As I browse through the book they talk about the Best Odds diet... a diet to give you and your baby the best odds at a health pregnancy. Only I think that if I follow the best odds diet, I would be one very unhappy, cranky pregnant lady, and that cant' be good for the baby, the lady or the husband, right? Doughnuts are on the no-no list- not even once a month. Cookies, fruit filled ones, are on the once a month list. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Fig Newtons (or Fig Newmans in my case- see organic!) but I need me some cookies on a regular basis. I have always eaten ice cream on a semi-daily basis. I only skip about 2 days a week, and sometimes that's because I've substituted something else that's equally yummy (like creme brulee). Sometimes I'll have both! I've started juicing so that I can get more leafy green vegetables hidden inside my carrot/apple/orange juice- the greenish tint doesn't even bother me! See I'm trying! Don't even get me started on the foods that are off limits- raw eggs, deli meat, raw fish, alcohol, blue cheese, etc. I can abide by some of these quite easily, just because I don't really care for them (alcohol and raw fish) but damn, that blue cheese is calling my name! But I've resisted so far- willpower!- but not so much with the raw eggs (a little cupcake batter never hurt anyone, right?). Ok, enough of the rant... My diet thus far today as consisted of: peanut butter on english muffin (a fine balance of carbs/protein in my book- Best Odds diet would say no-no to the white flour english muffin, though), some dried berries (yeah!), 4 Cadbury eggs (yummy!), Macaroni and Cheese, a glass of juice and some bubbly water (doctor says watch for bloating- with water, really?). Moderation people, that's what I'm talking about... can't we just live with moderation?