Fresh snow for Christmas

I ended up with more pictures than I thought I had. Here are the ones that weren't blurry:

Ruger had a blast trying to keep up with everyone.

It looks gloomy because it had just stopped snowing.

Look at all that fresh snow!

Steve and Dick had to dig out their airplanes and pack down the snow in front of them so they can get out and fly sometime.

I really like this guy

I had so much fun I felt like a kid

It was such a beautiful day. Too bad we didn't have more daylight.

For the first time I had a ton of fun riding. I'm still learning but it was easy in the fresh snow.

The sunset was gorgeous

Perfect ending

Week 22-Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful relaxing Christmas this year. Christmas Eve Steve and I ate hors d'oeuvres and watched a Christmas movie. Although it was an incredibly strange movie and felt a lot like a waste of an hour and a half of my life. But I guess we will have the memory of spending our Christmas Eve watching a horror film where the elves were evil and looked like Santa and Santa was, well, the devil and he was trying to escape from his ice prison so he could boil naughty children alive. I'm not going to tell you the ending because my hope is that you will be curious enough to go watch it and then we won't be the only ones. It's called Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Do it. It's totally worth it!

Christmas day we spent with our family away from family. They have adopted us poor folk with no real family in town. We got stockings full of goodies and ate an incredible lunch of prime rib and other delicious things. Then we headed out onto the lake with our snowmachines (snowmobiles for you southern folk) and enjoyed the gorgeous blanket of fresh snow. The sunset on the lake was the perfect end to our playtime and then we headed back inside for hot drinks and more delicious treats. All day I kept thinking about how blessed I am that my child (or children) will grow up with these wonderful experiences and surrounded by these wonderful people. I'm still smiling.

I tried to get some pictures of the day but my camera battery died and I had to switch to our little point and shoot. I'll post anything noteworthy tomorrow.

My hope is that Christmas brought as much warmth and joy to you as it did to me. Merry Christmas and goodnight!

-K

Week 21

I feel like we're in a holding pattern right now just waiting for the next step. Our baby boy is growing, evidenced by my growing belly. Seems like it's bigger every day. He kicks happily throughout the day…well, mostly at night. It's still exciting every time I feel him move. So much so that I don't mind the little jabs to by bladder while I'm trying to sleep.

My favorite part of pregnancy right now is getting to see how excited Steve is. He is still oozing with joy over finding out that we are having a boy. Every day he walks in and asks, "how's my baby boy?" And he still enjoys feeling his baby boy move whenever he gets the chance. Talking and singing to him is a new regular occurrence.

The newest symptom…er, side effect…ummm, wonderful change that my body is blessing me with is braxton hicks contractions. Apparently these are common and considered normal, however I feel that it is way too early for any uterine contracting to be going on. Especially for it to be happening multiple times a day. From what I've studied they get more intense the closer you get to giving birth, which makes me nervous that I won't be able to tell the difference between braxton hicks and true contractions. In the last week my midwife might get sick of me calling her in to find out it's false labor. But I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

In other news it is a magical winter wonderland up here right now. The beginning of winter (emphasis on the word beginning) is my favorite time of the year. Especially when it warms up enough to go out and enjoy all the new snow. It is so beautiful! I will take some pictures to share soon.

-K

Mom/daughter trip to the coast

When I was in Idaho my mom and I took a wonderful and relaxing trip to the coast. It was perfect and the weather was great. Such a nice break before heading back home and the blizzard that is currently raging outside.

The drive was beautiful. A mix of clear skies and hazy fog.

The drive into Portland brought back so many memories of Steve and I moving there after we got married. That was the start of our family. Seemed appropriate to visit again as we begin to expand our family.

Multnomah Falls. Steve and I stopped here on our way through over 7 years ago.

 We first stayed in Seaside OR. A cute little town with an expansive beach. The weather was gorgeous.

Seaside has an interesting little aquarium 

I had to convince her to feel the things in the "feeling tank"

We headed up to Astoria for a quick day trip and stumbled on an historical military defense compound at Fort Stevens State Park.  

It was so fascinating we could have stayed there all day. Unfortunately we only had about an hour.

This military base was the only location where hostile fire hit the mainland during WWII. A japanese submarine fired 17 times in the area because they had heard about a possible base near the Columbia River mouth. The base was well hidden and when there was no return fire the submarine returned to Japan thinking they had not found anything. 

We spent two nights in Cannon Beach OR. The weather was not great but we got some hiking in along the coast.

It was incredibly windy which made it fun. It also meant we had the area pretty much to ourselves.

Lighthouse in the distance

Mom spoiled me the whole trip. I got to feel the baby move more and more and mom got to feel it too. Overall it was a perfect. I couldn't have asked for more. 

Week 20-Baby Staton is a….

This week we realized that you truly don't know how you are going to feel or react to a situation until you have gone through it. Both Steve and I were adamant about the fact that we didn't care whether we had a boy or a girl. This is still very true but when we found out that we are having a boy we both had very clear reactions that we didn't expect.

For Steve it was one of excitement and relief. We didn't realize (or at least I didn't realize) how intimidated he felt about raising a girl. Of course he wants a little girl someday but for him this will be a chance to find his fatherly bearings before taking on the complexities of the female makeup.

I had an immediate reaction of excitement and later realized that I was very nervous. This could be partly due to the sense of reality brought on by finding out our baby's gender. But I also know there is a part of me that feels more equipped for raising a girl (must just be because I am one.)

In truth I'm not sure we are really ready for raising either. Granted, we are more prepared now than we would have been 6 or 7 years ago simply because our marriage is stronger. But raising kids? This feels like completely foreign waters whether it's a boy or girl. I guess that is part of the deal right? In order to learn how to swim you just have to jump in. We have jumped and are now midair. Fully committed to this new task.

Aside from the nerves it feels like this new step in the process has gotten the ball really rolling. We can register for all the things we need (and want.) We can start planning and decorating the nursery. And we can get serious about locking in a name for this kiddo.

I have a feeling the next half of this pregnancy is going to fly by.

-K

Week 18 - Feeling like I ate the whole turkey

People keep telling me how I have just a tiny baby bump starting to show. I'm convinced they are either being too nice or they really don't see the HUGE change that I see every time I look down at my belly. I can no longer fully zip or button my pants so I am sporting a fancy expander (hair tie) to make them last a little longer. I have also noticed that eating big meals make me feel like there is no room left for my lungs. Guess I'm going to have to learn to eat smaller more frequent meals.

I'm still experiencing crazy dreams every night which leads me to the dream I mentioned in my last post. For those of you that remember the oh so classic Home Improvements staring Tim Allen you might get a kick out of this. It was a short dream from what I remember but it started with Tim and I heading for the hardware store (the same one from the show) to pick up some supplies for a project he was helping me with. When we arrived he pulled me to the side, smiled big like he had some surprise for me, and then some very dramatic broadway type music starting playing. Three employees in their plaid shirts and green vests came out and began dancing a choreographed routine that included spinning around product displays. And just when Tim was about to step out and begin singing I woke up. If only I had been able to sleep for one more minute I could have seen Tim Allen sing and dance a broadway number. Perhaps next time.

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Before I post some pictures from my trip to Idaho I wanted to answer a couple of questions that I have been asked several times:

What are you craving?
Yogurt yogurt yogurt. And milk. I read that the baby's bones are solidifying so I guess my body is telling me I need the extra calcium.

When do you find out the sex of the baby?
We have an ultrasound scheduled for December 5th. As long as the baby cooperates we will find out then.

Have you found your pregnancy glow?
The pregnancy glow is either a myth or I am failing in my search for it. Instead of a glow I seem to have developed what Darci calls the pregnancy splotch. It is this dry, flaky, splotchy, bumpy skin that makes me look sickly rather than glowing.

Can you feel the baby move?
YES!!!! It's one of the best parts of this experience so far. It was such a subtle feeling at first that it took me a few days to admit I was really feeling the baby moving and not just tummy rumblings. Sometimes it feels like a fluttering. Sometimes it feels like gas bubbles (just being honest.) And sometimes it feels like little muscle twitches. The best part is when I lay down I can put my hand on my belly and feel kicks. Real kicks! This baby is strong, there's no doubt about it. Can't wait to get home so Steve can feel.

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We did some hiking while in Idaho which was wonderful! We sported some orange since it was hunting season. And on one of our hikes we saw a lot of wolf tracks that were as big as my hand.

Oh how I love these little people! Poor kids were sick (notice Kaitlin's snot bubble) but they were wonderful and adorable regardless. I loved getting to hear Kaitlin (9 months) giggle hysterical when Cosi (3 years) played with her. Cosi is growing up so fast and my favorite time with her was spent exploring around mom and dad's property. And August (7 months) is such a cuddler which I LOVE!

There were some adults there too. But when they bring their kids along we tend to not notice them much. Just kidding. It was great to see my oldest brother and his wife and to hear about his success with his short film Prattle. Laine and his wife are taking on the roll of parents like pros. I got to spend extra time with my sister and see how wonderful she is doing living in Idaho and going to school. My dad is enjoying retirement and my mom is working part time and making lots of little projects for her grand babies. Everyone is doing great and we are all so blessed!

I'm so grateful that I was able to see everyone and that we all had safe travels. Now I just have to make it on two more planes to get me home-sweet-home.

-K

P.S. Mom and I had a great trip to the coast the last few days. I'll post about that soon!