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!

3-3

My basketball and lucky number is 33, my husband was born on 3-3. His lucky number is 7, I was born on 7-17 (7 lbs). This last weekend was tons of fun! Not only did we celebrate Ryan's birthday, but we also got to go to a fun wedding and fellowship with good friends. It is nice going out right now and not having to worry about feeding the baby, napping, changing him etc. Don't get me wrong I am really looking forward to all of that, but we are trying to enjoy and take advantage of these last weeks of being kid-less. The following are some photos of this weekend, I also meant to take a picture of the German Chocolate Cake I made Ryan cause it was probably the coolest looking one I have done yet - but we ate it before I remembered to do that!
Ryan and I at the wedding - I can't wait to see this man as a father! He is already amazing and I know I will be even more blown away by who he is when I see him with our son! I love you Ryan!!!!

Rebekah and I - she was in the wedding and made all bridesmaids jewerly - it was all stunning!

Ryan and John, who shares the same birthday. We had a mini birthday celebration at our table!

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.

Cowboy Up

Ryan recently spent a stint in Montana on his parents ranch to help them out as they came home from the horse racing season. He painted, did repairs, caught a bear, broke some horses, and grew a few inches. Here are some pictures of his trip (yes, those are Wranglers).

The baby cinnamon colored bear



We also spent Thanksgiving on the Ranch which was wonderfully relaxing. We definately ate a lot of good food, and Katie's belly has been a little bigger ever since. I haven't had the nerve to post a belly picture yet despite the requests from family and friends, maybe soon if I have a weak and irrational moment. Hope you are all enjoying the snow!

The Reveal

Alright, the moment we have been waiting for. Our good friends threw us a small party where we as well as all the guests were suprised by the gender of the baby by opening up a present. So, here is the picture story of the night . . .

The Party:






The gift:


And

IT'S A BOY!!!