belly dancing

Thought this would be fun!
These pictures start when I was 25 weeks along and are taken about every 2 weeks. The last one is me at 38.5 weeks - ready to go!

The countdown has begun

*warning, looooong post*

So we are down to 11 days til the due date! Crazy huh? We are ready to meet this little guy and love him even more than he has been loved already. I am sure that making a blog post will not be the number 1 priority on my list after the baby, but stay tuned because we will be getting pics and announcements up as soon as we remember to.

In the mean time, here are some events from the past month that have slipped right on by the blogesphere:

Ryan took another trip down to New Mexico to visit his parents and help them with the horses some. It is beautiful down there, and unfortunately I was not allowed to fly (and I am saving all my vacation for maternity leave) and could not join him this time.
Isn't he a stud?!?!? Ryan, not the horse!
Off in the distance is the white sands desert.
Here is the barn and track where Ryan's parents get to train their horses.
This is a world champion ass!
The neighbor goat fraternizing with sadie.

I also had two baby showers recently, one thrown by dear friends of the family Leigh and Kim, and the other thrown by two wonderful women at my church, Jayne and Julie. I cannot thank you all enough for opening your homes and celebrating this new life! Such a blessing! I have included pictures of me and the cakes (both of which were wonderful). I am 36 weeks in the first one and 37 in the second can you tell the difference?



It was spring break last week which was a huge blessing to have some time to get the finishing touches at home done, and spend some time together. One day we got out of town and drove to the tulips. I think this is one of hte first years I have made it before they all die.


Me and the baby, 37.5 weeks

ok, deep breath, pause, and here we go.

Lastly, like I said before we had some time to get things done around the house this week. And when I say "we" I mean I did laundry and Ryan did the rest - what a guy, can't wait to see him as a father!
I just snapped a few quick shots of the nursery, which according to me has been done since we put new paint on the walls, but the rest of your will be glad to see some things on the walls, more pictures will go up once we have some out of utero ones (it took Ryan and I 2 years to put a picture up on the walls in our living room - decorating is not so much a strong point for us). It is all ready for the baby.



I will be making a post here in the next couple days hopefully showing the improvements Ryan made on the upstairs bathroom recently so stay tuned . . .
Congrats if you made it this far!!!!!

Oh Hello Again!

Has it really been that long????? Is anyone still checking our blog? Sorry I have been absent for so long, busy busy days - you know, teaching, birthing classes, taking naps, I can't keep track of it all. So here we are, almost 35 pregnant and realizing that this is really going to happen! Pretty exciting huh?


One of the fun things that has contributed to the business of the last 3 weeks was another shower thrown by my family. Again I felt so blessed by the women there and we are so humbled with the generosity of those around us, THANK YOU!!!!! AND, my sister and nephew flew in from Montana for the weekend which was a wonderful treat! I love seeing this little guy and feel very proud that he says my name when he sees me. He does also love his uncle Ryan!

In the 30s

So I am officially in the home stretch - two months from today our lives will hopefully be drastically different. I have been pregnant now for 31.5 weeks and it has felt like 2 years! I am still enjoying pregnancy, feeling him move around, trying to identify body parts as they protrude from my belly, and knowing that he is safer than he ever will be out here.

People ask what the biggest change is that I have gone through during this pregnancy and after the picture I took this morning it is official, I am becoming less and less photogenic! I mean I have really not be satisfied with my last few pictures, but this one in particular was so bad (we took 3 even) that I cut a face off another picture (which is also not very good) and put it on this picture. I mean it was BAD! So needless to say here is a picture of me at 31.5 weeks.

A special Valentine's Day

So we had an appointment earlier this week, just a regular appointment. But my belly was measuring small so our Doctor wanted us to come in for another ultrasound. It kind of freaked us out, but we also were excited that we would get to see our little boy again. So we went in on Valentine's Day and got some more pictures of him. He is obviously bigger now, so the pictures are not as good, but he is still pretty darn cute! Oh, and everything is fine with him and my belly size. He must have just been laying flat when she took the measurement - playing jokes already!!!

Here is his profile - if look closely you can see his lips, nose, forehead, and you can even see three of his fingers right above his lips!


The next two shots are looking directly at his face.


And finally. . . his feet. So cute! The ultrasonographer said he had a big head and big feet, she also said he was a cute baby (like she would tell expectant parents any different!).



And here is my belly at 29.5 weeks - it isn't moving out a lot, but it sure is moving more up into my ribs if you compare it with previous ones.

I got more pictures from the shower from my friend Mandy - Because I have not had any of my friends sign a internet/photo release form (can you tell I am a teacher) the following pictures are mainly of the beautiful decorating and food I was so blessed with! Yay for good friends!
This was the delicious spread for brunch - the egg casserole Mandy has officially made famous filled the open spots here on the end


Another close up of the dragonfly mobile - we are semi doing a bug theme, although I am hesitant to call it a theme cause that makes me think of Extreme makeover home edition where everything in the room is bugs - that is a little over the top.
My mom gave the baby a cow outfit - yes it is a Halloween costume, yes I know it is February, yes she knows that also. It is really cute, I actually can't wait to see it on the little guy! Thanks mom!

And finally . . Here is the latest belly shot - I was 28 weeks here at the shower. I am 29 weeks now which means only 11 weeks to go! It is getting more real every day! Yay for babies!!!

27

27 weeks, which means only 13 weeks (3 months) to go. And for those of you who are doing the math, yes, you really are pregnant for more like 10 months! Where this whole 9 months thing came from I have no idea! So here I am at almost 27 weeks.

We thought it would be a cool idea to have me in the same place and wearing the same thing in each picture. That is why I am still in that brown tank. Kudos to Ryan on getting the angle/position almost identical so you can really see my belly getting bigger. I am definitely moving out of the "honeymoon" stage of the pregnancy into the third trimester, but still having lots of fun. Have a great weekend!

Back from a break

Well hello again! Sorry it has been so long, we hope you have not given up on us. So here we are, back from our little break with new stories and photos. Chrstmas was great spending time in town with Katie's Family, then traveling to New Mexico to be with Ryan's parents. Here are a few pics of our time down south. Ryan's parents own a piece of property on this horse track so they can train their quarter horses througout the winter.





It has also been a while since I have posted a belly picture, over a month actually. So as expected, here I am at 24.5 weeks, a little larger than last time. The first picture is self explanitory, but the second is a little funny - it is me looking straight down, barely able to see my feet. That is taking some getting used to! He is about 12 inches long now, and wieghs 1.5 pounds. I imagine he is getting a little cramped, but still has plenty of room to kick, stretch, poke, dance, etc.

Half way there!

There is so much to celebrate this time of year! Ryan and I are celebrating the fact that we are officially half way through our pregnancy. This photo was taken at our friends wedding last weekend on the day I was 20 weeks. So here is my belly! My 20 week belly! The photo is a little awkward because I was trying to show it off, but you can get the idea. We are both blown away by the miracle that this pregnancy is - that a life is being formed. It is truly an undeniable testament of God's presence and awesome powers. What an amazing experience!


















Another thing to celebrate this time of year of course is the birth of Jesus Christ. I love Christmas time, not because I am good at decorating or making crafts or baking, but because of the love that seems to abound and enjoying other people. Intentional time spent with family and friends. I cannot think of many things I enjoy more than being in the company of those I love. And the holidays seem to bring people together. Speaking of family . . . I love my brother! And boy does he know how to celebrate the Christmas season. Maybe you have seen him driving around Seattle in this: His Christmas Pickup!
That is right, it is a real Noble Fir with colored lights and all in the bed of my brothers truck. He is getting so many honks, thumbs up, and people even taking pictures of him (while driving down I-5, Scary!). Tim, I love that you have done this and put a smile on so many people's faces! It is the kind of cheer Seattle needs. Anyone know how to get this on the news?????

Happy Holidays!!!!