Bassinet

We moved Thomas to his bassinet last night. Up until now, he has been sleeping with us. It made things much easier when he wakes up in the middle of the night. But, now that we have to get up to make a bottle anyway, we thought we would try to have him sleep in his own bed. He is still in our room (well, in our closet), but now we are not as worried about rolling over on him. Our closet has doors on both sides (it is like a long hallway), so we can close off the doors and make it quiet and cozy for him. Then we use the baby monitor to hear him. Of course, the first night was a little tough because whenever we put him in there, I laid there and listened to the monitor for a while just to make sure he was breathing. I'm sure I will get used to it, but it may take a few days.

(pause)

We took Thomas for a long walk and then came back here for lunch. After lunch today, Thomas and his mommy took a nap. It was lovely. I have been trying to get some down time every day since I wake up and get going in the morning. I can't seem to stay in bed even though he usually goes back to sleep after the 7:30 feeding. Since I can't seem to go back to sleep, I usually try to get some laundry/dishes/breakfast eating done before he wakes up again.

Thomas has been eating up a storm today. We are still trying to figure out the right amount to feed him. Our pediatrician told us to feed him 2oz of formula at every feeding and then increase if he is taking it and not spitting some of it up. So far, he just eats up to that amount and whenever he eats the entire amount he spits up. It makes for more laundry (if that is possible).

Tomorrow we go back for our weigh in. Please pray that he has been gaining weight. We are hoping he is over 8 lbs now. We will update as soon as we get home.

Moby wrap!

I finally got my Moby wrap to work! Up until this point, we have just been holding Thomas, passing him back and forth as needed. But, with Josh trying to get some work done, I wanted to figure out how to get Thomas in the sling so I can hold him and empty the dishwasher or do some laundry. We tried to put Thomas in the sling last week while he was awake and he did not like it, but he seems perfectly content to sleep there. I love it!

On the food front, Thomas has been getting his extra formula at every feeding. Sometimes he will eat it and sometimes he will not. He was not having it in the middle of the night. He actually at some and then spit it all back up on Josh. It is kind of nice to have Josh be able to help out with the feeding in the middle of the night. We are hoping to get Thomas to his birth weight soon so we can let him sleep through the night. We need to get him a little heavier before we can stop waking him up at least every 4 hours during the night to eat. He has been sleeping longer at night - at least 4 hours in between feedings, so I think he is getting ready for more sleep.

It is almost time for him to wake up and eat again so I will sign off for the day.

Parenting is full of surprises and challenges

During pregnancy, I focused a lot on the end goal - the birth. I thought about what would come afterward, but only in the most abstract way. I could not imagine what it would be like to actually have a baby in the house. It is something that no one can describe adequately because it literally changes everything. So, even though I wanted to have a natural birth and not a c-section, when it came down to the health of my child, there was no hesitation in going with the surgery as long as it meant that Thomas would be healthy. I now feel the same way about supplementing Thomas' feedings with formula. We went to the doctor and he has not gained any weight in a week. At this point, he should be back to his birth weight and even with all of the pumping and feedings, he is not getting enough to eat. We will continue to breastfeed and then just give him an extra bottle at every feeding. When we came home today, he had an extra ounce and a half of formula before passing out. We will go back to the doctor on Thursday for another weigh in. In all other respects, he is healthy, so we are grateful for that and will focus on getting him to grow.

After the appointment, we picked up my nephew, Jacob, and he came over here to do the project with Josh. Things did not go as planned - we used bones from a couple of rotisserie chickens and they seem a little too soft. So, we will try again at a future date with an uncooked chicken. Josh and Jacob are playing Boom Blox instead. Thomas is curled up with his Grandpa taking a nap. After all of the excitement of the day, it is the perfect place for him to be.

A lovely Sunday

We went to church this morning and Thomas did very well again. My aunt, Nancy and her husband, Owen and my cousin, Amanda came to church today. Afterward, we went out for lunch with them and my parents and my nephews. Thomas managed another restaurant experience (he slept through it).

We made our way home and have spent the rest of the day as a little family. I was really happy that we did not have a hockey game tonight so we can just hang out.

Tomorrow we have our doctor appointment. Then, my nephew, Jacob, is coming over to build a dinosaur out of chicken bones with Josh. They have been planning on this for some time and I'm very curious to see how it turns out. We will update tomorrow afternoon with Thomas' latest stats.

Tough Night

We don't have too many hard nights with Thomas. He usually wakes up, eats and goes right back to sleep, but last night he was more fussy and it took him longer to settle back down. He finally settled down this morning and then went right to sleep as soon as I walked him around the house. He definitely looks like he is getting longer, but I don't know how much weight he is gaining. We have our doctor's appointment on Monday to check his weight again and I am anxious to know how much he is growing. I'm wondering if all of the extra pumping and the extra water drinking has made it so that he is getting more milk and getting back to his birth weight. If not, I think we will have to go to supplementing with formula. While I don't want to have to do that, I would rather see him growing fast enough. I knew that I would have some worries when I became a mother, but I have been surprised just how much I pay attention to all the little details. I think that the sleep deprivation adds to the worrying. Josh tries to help me be better about this so I don't get myself too worked up, but I do tend to let myself think about things a little too much. Once the pediatrician signs off on his growth, I think I will be able to relax a little about all of this, so I'm really looking forward to Monday.

Okay, that is all the serious stuff . . .

We took Thomas out for his first restaurant experience last night. My parents are taking care of my nephews while Robb and Reba are on vacation, so we met them all at Azteca last night. It went pretty well. I had to feed Thomas when we got there and then he fell asleep and put up with being passed around so everyone could have a turn holding him.

Today, his Canfield grandparents are visiting and Thomas is hanging out on the arm of his Grandpa. All is well in our world.

My appointment

We all packed up this morning so that I could go to my 2 weeks post c-section appointment. It was a very simple appointment - my doctor just had to check my scar to make sure I am healing well. Everything looks good. And, I've lost 17 lbs since the baby was born.

Thomas continues to do well. He is hungry a lot, but that is just from being a growing boy. I am trying to rest when he sleeps to make sure I am getting enough rest. It is difficult to figure out how to do that the right way since I get up in the morning and then sort of get caught up in things going on around the house. Then, all of a sudden, it is time to go to bed again.

Tomorrow, we will go for a walk again since I am now allowed some light exercise. Hope all is well with all of you.

Pictures from Sunday and yesterday

This is a picture of Thomas getting ready to go to church. You can't see it, but he has a Seahawk onesie on under his jacket. The outfit came from my friend Michelle in Colorado. It is fleecy and warm, which worked very well on Sunday when it was a little chilly outside and we went to both church and hockey.
That's my boy yesterday prior to our big doctor's appointment. Hannah bought him some newborn outfits and they fit him very well. At the rate he is growing, they won't fit very long, but it is really cute to see him actually fill out an outfit.

We had a good and tranquil afternoon yesterday. Thomas was sleeping a lot, so I though there was no way he would sleep last night, but he managed quite well. Both of my boys are now sleeping soundly so I am going to take advantage of the calm and get some laundry done (there is no end to laundry with a baby in the house).

Another doctor visit

Thomas had his circumcision appointment today. Prior to the procedure, he had another check on his weight and height. He is in the 90th percentile for length (21 inches). He keeps gaining about 1/2 inch at every appointment. He gained another 3 oz to get to 7 lb 14 oz. However, he is not getting back to his birth weight fast enough, so we are going back to pumping and supplementing to help him gain weight faster. He has been really hungry the past couple of days, eating every hour and still not getting full. The doctor thinks he is going through a little growth spurt, so we are going to try to get him enough food. Plus, it will give us a jump start on freezing some supply for when I go back to work.

We are now home again and Thomas is recovering from all the trauma (and so are his parents). We will post more pictures tomorrow.

Busy Sunday

We had a busy day yesterday so I didn't post anything. We got up in the morning and managed to get to church on time. The morning stuff is the hardest to get to since we normally don't get "ready" until about noon. My parents went and got us Red Robin burgers afterward and brought them back here since I am not quite ready to go to restaurants yet. We also got to watch the (awful) Seahawks game which I had Tivo'd.

In the evening, we went to Josh's hockey game. His whole family came down to the rink and we got a nice visit with them. Josh had a great game, too.

When we got home, Thomas became a little hungry and proceeded to eat at one hour intervals until about midnight. He was having a difficult time in between feedings and did some protesting along the way. Josh stayed up with him after he ate, so he didn't get much sleep last night. I think Thomas finally got to sleep around 1 and then was up by 3 for his next feeding. We are really blessed - this is the first night we had where our baby was really restless and fussy. And, he finally settled down after the 3:00 feeding, so we got some sleep before he woke up this morning at 7:30.

This is a good time for me to write about how great Josh is. He stays up late with Thomas, makes all the meals, cleans the kitchen, changes diapers and loves to hang out with his son. I can't imagine doing this without him - or with him going off to work every day. I am really happy that he is able to stay at home with me and work from here.

We have to go down to Fed Ex today to pick up Josh's replacement phone (his iPhone crashed) and that is all of our big plans. Tomorrow we go to the doctor for Thomas' next appointment. We will update on his progress tomorrow afternoon.

Bits and Pieces

We are sitting here at the end of another day. Thomas has been eating a lot today. We feel like we can see him growing. After his initial slow growth, it is great to see him thriving.

Our big trip of the day was to the grocery store. We made it almost all the way there and back before he woke up. By the time we got home he was ready to eat again.

Tomorrow we ae going to church and to hockey - another big day of outings. In between we have the Seahawks game and Thomas has his little Seahawks onesie to show his team spirit.

I haven't written about my recovery very much, but I am on the mend. I am now able to go up and down the stairs and pick things up off the floor. In addition, I can put on my own socks and shoes and last night I was able to sleep on my side for the first time since Thomas was born. The swelling in my legs has gone down considerably and I have lost enough weight that I was able to put my wedding rings back on after months of not wearing them.

We are celebrating being back at home for a full week today. It is amazing how fast it goes by.

Friday Pictures

Getting ready for our Target outing yesterday. He stayed likr this the entire time we were out.

With Aunt Hannah

Lazy Day (for me)

I keep meaning to post an update and forgetting because I have been cuddling with my son all day. After all of the activity yesterday, I had planned on having a really relaxed day today. We got up late and have stayed relatively calm all day. It has been raining all day and we are now watching Iron Man while curled up under a blanket.

Our trips yesterday were great. We did well on our Target trip. We got everything we needed and now we have lots of wipes and I got a couple of sweaters since it has been so chilly here.

We also made it out to hockey last night and Thomas' Aunt Jen was there and got to hold him while we watched the game. We have another game on Sunday and now that we have been through it once, I feel more confident that we can actually make it to church on Sunday and hockey as well.

I have some pictures to post later and Thomas' Aunt Hannah is coming for a visit so I should have some new ones.

Pictures of the day

Thomas' Uncle Jeremy came over for a visit yesterday and he was able to participate in some of the extra feeding. He then got plenty of time to hold Thomas as the baby dropped off into a food coma right away.

One of our favorite poses is the one below where Thomas throws the peace sign while sleeping. Guess who he is going to vote for...

Growth!

Our hospital offered a program where a nurse comes out a week after the birth for a home visit. Our visit was today. It was really helpful and calming for me. She also brought a scale and weighed him. He now weighs 7 lb 11 oz! He has gained 3 oz in two days! We called it in to the doctor and she is happy with his growth (the goal is 1 oz per day). After all the pumping and the worrying, it is great to know that it is paying off and he is getting bigger. So, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Our big outings for the day are Target (we have already gone through an entire box of wipes) and then Hockey tonight. We'll let you know how it goes.

Thomas doesn't sleep ALL the time

There are people in my family who would swear that Thomas sleeps all the time. They never see him during his wakeful times. I took these pictures about two hours ago and he has been awake this whole time. He had been sleeping quite a bit in the last 24 hours and now he is having some time in the world. Josh and I are really blessed to have a very content baby. He doesn't cry a lot - just when he is hungry or uncomfortable. He is mostly uncomfortable when he has to get undressed - like when we change his diaper or give him a bath or take him to the doctor. Otherwise he is as happy as a little clam.

Today is our resting day. We don't have to go to the doctor or have any appointments, so we are enjoying our family time. Tomorrow morning we have a home visit from a nurse and lactation consultant. We hope she will bring a scale and weigh him. Otherwise we also have to go to the doctor in the afternoon for a weigh in. Those are our exciting plans.

Picture of the day (or two)

These were actually pictures from yesterday, but I just had a chance to download them. I love the one of Josh and Thomas sleeping - they were both so out at that point that they had no idea I took the picture. The picture of Jill (one of our cats) watching over Thomas just made me laugh. When we are all hanging out in the living room, the cats will often watch over the baby.

We don't always get to take pictures of all the firsts. Today, Thomas had his first (impromptu) bath. He had a little incident while getting his diaper changed which required us to bathe him. He did not like it. But, once we got him wrapped up in a towel and cuddled up with me, he calmed down.

We'll try to take more pictures in the next couple of days.

Doctor visit #2

We are back from seeing the doctor one more time. Thomas has not gained any weight, BUT he hasn't lost any either. The doctor was happy with this result. My milk just came in a little later due to the c-section, so we are going to continue with the breast feeding and have him weighed again Thursday. We will continue to make sure he is getting fed every 2-3 hours and that he actually eats during feeding (he tends to fall asleep).

Thomas did great on his visit. He had to have more blood taken. They have to continue checking for jaundice every visit until his numbers come up. He does really well with the blood draws. Dad holds him and keeps him calm. He really is a content baby and we just love him more every day.

We celebrated by going to the mall for Orange Julius. Josh is trying to get his iPhone fixed so we needed to go to the AT&T store. Thomas slept the entire time, but we got to take him for his first ride in the stroller.

I am now exhausted, so I am going to take a nap. I'll post more pictures later.

First Doctor visit

We have now made it successfully from the house to the doctor's office and back. It was pretty much the focus of our entire day and we are back home and recovering.

We had both good and bad news from the visit. Thomas looked a little yellow, so they tested him for jaundice. They just called to let us know that he does NOT have jaundice (I was very relieved by this). The bad news is that he has continued to lose weight and he is down to 7 lbs 8 oz (it is amazing to me that most babies are that small or smaller when they are born). We talked to the doctor and have decided to wait one more day for my milk to come in to see if Thomas will start gaining weight rather than losing it. We have to go back to the doctor tomorrow to have him weighed again. We are also doing a couple of things to help stimulate milk production. I am now under strict orders to relax, drink lots of water and rest.

Speaking of resting - our fun photo of the day is Thomas in his swing. Today was the first day we let him nap in his swing. He loved it. It is moments like these that make me so grateful for a contented baby. He looks so peaceful.


We will update following our appointment tomorrow.

24 hours at home

I'm surprised at how fast the first 24 hours at home went by. Of course, we have discovered a lot! Thomas is still up all night and likes to sleep during the day. We have figured out how to alternate shifts in the middle of the night and to take advantage of periods of sleep during the day. This morning, after breakfast, Thomas and Josh took a nap and I was able to take a shower. It was incredible!

Thomas had some hard times last night. We discovered that he did not like wearing a onesie. We couldn't figure out if it was because it was rubbing on his umbilical cord or just too restrictive. He also had a big long day yesterday, so we thought he might just need some time with mom and dad. We did get him into some clothes today - a sleep and play suit that zips up the front and has little footies. He has been super comfortable in that and now is warm and cozy and wrapped up in his blankets.

My parents came over with lunch from Olive Garden and then we took Thomas for a walk around the neighborhood. He got to meet some of the neighbors and we discovered that one of our neighbors was our anesthesiologist.

When we got back from our walk, Josh took over and I got to sleep for a while.

We go to see Thomas' doctor tomorrow for our first appointment. It should be an adventure to get him into the car and over to the doctor. We will update after we get back.

More pictures!

Jason and Joanne came over to meet their new nephew. Jill (our cat) got in on the action. We've been surprised at how well the cats have adjusted to the baby.












Won't they be the perfect parents? They are currently working on a cousin for Tommy. They are due to welcome their child in March.













Aunt Joanne got some Tommy time. She had him wrapped up in his swaddle blanket and all cozy.













After seeing Tommy for the first time on Thursday, my dad had to fly out to Cleveland. He got back last night and come right over to see his new grandson.










My parents have just arrived with lunch for us from Olive Garden and I am very hungry, so more later.

Pictures!

I finally had a chance to download the pictures off of our camera, so here are a few photos!




Here I am in street clothes getting ready to go home from the hospital. At this point I was starting to feel like a person again instead of a patient.










Both of Tommy's grandmas came to see him home. They are both proud and now super helpful grandmothers.

We don't know what we would do without them.









Tommy - ready for his first car ride. He did not protest the car seat at all. In fact, he fell asleep almost im













I rode in the back seat with Tommy on the way home - partly to keep an eye on him and partly because the back seat is a little easier to get in and out of.

Home!

I can't believe it, but they actually let us take out boy home. We are now adjusting to a completely different life :)

I'll try to post this week as we learn new things. We are doing well and trying to figure out how to get Thomas to sleep at night instead of during the day, but for now, I am sitting up with him while he discovers his little hand.

Many thanks to all of you for your thoughts and prayers as we keep going!

One day later

Now that we are officially in recovery, things are looking great. Thomas ate a lot last night (every hour and a half or so) and then decided he'd had enough and slept for 5 hours. It was great because we got to get a little bit of sleep. During the time he was sleeping, I got to get up and walk around for the first time. Then, I got breakfast! Eggs and toast have never been better.

By 10:30 I was completely untethered - no longer hooked to any IVs and ready for a shower. Ah, lovely shower.

Robb and Reba brought my nephews over for a visit and they each came in separately. They all brought Thomas a stuffed animal and sat in the rocking chair to hold him. It was so cute. Then my mom and Hannah came and visited and then Jeremy (Josh's brother), Jen (his fiance), Jimmy (Josh's cousin) and Beth (Josh's mom). Mike (Josh's dad) came a little later. So, Thomas is well visited. We figured there was no reason for Thomas to lay in his bassinet when he could be attended to by all of his family.

I am slowly recovering, getting up and walking around. Josh is still being a great dad, bringing me the baby and then swaddling him back up after each feeding - he is now an expert swaddler.

We will post more pictures later on tonight :)

C-Section

Our beautiful baby boy was born today at 3:37 pm by c-section. He is 8 lbs, 9 oz and 20.5 inches long.

I wrote earlier that Thomas had two decelerations earlier in the induction process and our doctor told us one more deceleration would mean a c-section. When he told us this, he asked that I get the epidural put in just in case we needed to go that route. So, yesterday, I had the epidural put in, but did not have it turned on with any medication.

After no progress all day, the doctor was set to come over and break my water to see if the process would get moving. In the meantime, we started the epidural (since I had not progressed, breaking the water was going to be painful and he did not want to do it without some medication). As soon as the epidural went in, the baby had another deceleration. So, when the doctor came over to break my water, we knew that he would recommend a c-section. At that time, we had been here for about 30 hours and we knew that it would be better to go ahead and have the c-section since Thomas was not doing well with labor.

It turns out that we made a really good decision. Normal amniotic fluid is clear and mine was black and thick, indicating that Thomas had already had released meconium already and this is bad for the baby in utero. It turns out he also had the cord wrapped around his neck. If the doctor had broken my water, we would have had to have a c-section anyway since the fluid was black.

Everything went pretty fast from there. This is my first major surgery, so I had no idea what to expect, but Josh was really good at keeping me calm. After surgery, the recovery has been pretty good so far. They let me eat a sandwich about an hour ago and it was the best food I've had in a long time.

The worst part is that they have to take the baby to the nursery during the first hour of recovery, but Josh got to go with him, so that made me feel better. After about 2 hours, they brought Thomas to me and I was able to breastfeed. He is now in room with us and doing really well. For being in as much stress as he was in utero, he was amazingly healthy - pink and crying right away. His sugars have been perfect.

I was able to get up a few minutes ago, which is great so soon after surgery. We are all making good recoveries. Josh is the best dad ever (no bias there) and Thomas is the smartest, most beautiful baby in the world (also no bias). Seriously, we are all doing well and appreciate all your thoughts and prayers throughout the process.

Still in the hospital -update

We have been in the hospital now for 24 hours. It turns out that induction is a lot of waiting :)

I have still not made any progress. I have been on a pitocin drip for most of the time I've been here. We had a couple of times where Thomas' heartbeat decelerated so they have been increasing the dose very slowly. If we have any more decelerations, we have to have a c-section, so the doctor is just playing it safe.

Both Josh and I got a decent amount of sleep last night despite the beds, so we are in a really positive frame of mind. We have been blessed with lots of visitors (the lady at the front desk even commented on it). Please keep us in your prayers. We really hope to have a baby sometime today.

Eviction Notice

We just got back from the doctor and I have made no progress, despite waking up several times last night with contractions. We had to get another NST (non stress test) and she pointed out that I was having contractions during the test - I said, "yes, but they aren't DOING anything" :)

We had a long talk with the doctor about due dates and why he thought that 9/14 was the due date instead of 9/21. He told us that they base the due dates on several factors and that our first two ultrasounds showed the baby due on 9/14. That is why he gave us a range. But, I am still considered 41 weeks and 1 day today. He also went through all of the risk factors with us. I am of "advanced maternal age" which means that the placenta generally ages faster and becomes less productive past 41 weeks. I have gestational diabetes which means that the baby has a higher risk of developing complications the longer we go beyond 41 weeks. There is a risk of loss of amniotic fluid or decreased amounts as we continue as well. So, we agreed that the time has come and we scheduled the induction for Wednesday morning.

I am torn about all of this. On the one hand, I am relieved to have a date finally and I am really uncomfortable (did I mention that I didn't get that much sleep last night?). On the other hand, I really wanted to go into labor on my own without intervention. At this point, I feel good about the decision and I am getting excited about the fact that we will get to see our baby in a couple of days. I also think it would be great if Thomas felt compelled to come tonight or tomorrow instead since we now have a date. Regardless, we are excited and would love your prayers over the next couple of days as we get ready to welcome our son!

We will post an update as soon as Thomas joins us!

Original Due Date

Today is the day we calculated as our original due date. Around the time of the second ultrasound, they moved us up a week. But, now that we saw the baby measuring at 39 weeks last Monday, I think they may have been wrong to move us up. Tomorrow, when we go to the doctor, we are going to talk to him about the dates to make sure they have everything correct. I suspect he is going to want to induce this week if I have not gone into labor. We are still going to ask that we wait until at least Friday. All the tests have come back well, so I don't want to induce until we really have to.

I was a little bummed that I was awake again at 6 am, but then, as the sun came up and our backyard was foggy and misty and so beautiful, I felt much better.

I just finished a blanket for Thomas while watching the Seahawks game (yay, a win for the Seahawks!) and now Josh is hoping that even if I go into labor I will hold off until after his hockey game (and since his game is in 3 hours and I am not in labor yet, I think it is a pretty good bet that he will get to play).

Speaking of Josh, I don't often sing his praises here, but I have to say that he has been really supportive and encouraging. He is also a superior foot masseuse - a quality that cannot be praised highly enough.

We will update again after tomorrow's appointment with the doctor. Until then, have a lovely Sunday evening.

Rainy Saturday

I think the Pacific Northwest has finally given up on summer all together. We have had a nice, rainy Saturday. And, I had to give in and turn on the heat.

To get our walking in today, we went to the grocery store. Tomorrow, we will probably give in and go to the mall. No news on the baby front. We continue to get a lot of rest to get ready for the time when we will be losing sleep.

I tend to have good days and bad days. Today is a good day. I woke up and thought, we are one day closer to having a baby :) Other days I wake up and think I am going to be pregnant forever.

We enjoyed Ghost Town last night, so tonight we have downloaded the first season of the British version of the Office. Still in the mood for comedy...

All is well

We went to the doctor and had the NST and another ultrasound. Everything was normal. The ultrasound is only for the purpose of measuring the amniotic fluid. I asked if she would be measuring the baby and she said no. So, no updates on size. There is still plenty of amniotic fluid, so he can stay. Both the ultrasound and NST techs asked me if I was getting induced. Apparently. they don't see many women that are 40 weeks and 5 days.

We see the doctor on Monday for another exam. I anticipate that he will want to schedule the induction for some time next week if I have not had the baby by that time. If possible, we want to wait as long as we can to give him time to come on his own.

That's it for today. We are going to see Ghost Town tonight. I'm definitely in the mood for some comedy.

Another day, another walk

After yesterday's walk where my calves cramped up, we went to the mall so I could get some sneakers. I have been wearing flip flops and sandals all summer because I don't like to wear shoes when it is hot. The new shoes were a life saver. We just went on a walk again and I am in much better shape than I was yesterday. I'm not sure how much the walking is helping. Thomas seems to like it, so we will keep it up.

We also got to go and have dinner with Mom and Dad and Robb and Rebecca and their kids last night. It is really great to be here and to be able to enjoy a little time with the family. Because we work in Seattle, we are usually not home in time to do stuff like this. Tonight we are going to meet up with Jen and Jeremy for pizza.

The other thing I have been doing during the day is knitting. I made a little teddy bear for Thomas. I bought the yarn a while ago and had not had a chance to work on it until now. I also finished my nursing shawl and started a poncho with the leftover yarn. We'll see how far I get while I am waiting.

Tomorrow we go back to the doctor for an NST and ultrasound. We will post the results afterward. :)

Patience

I have never been the most patient person. So, waiting for Thomas is a little difficult. I have to have little conversations with myself about the fact that he will come when the time is right and I have to tell myself not to get too frustrated or anxious. I had a hard night and morning with some very inconsistent contractions. Don't get too excited. They are still not close enough together and they come close together for a while and then slow down. I keep hoping this will go somewhere, but they seem to have died off completely for now.

Josh and I went on a walk around our neighborhood this morning - another one of those things you are supposed to do to encourage labor. It was mostly hilarious because I do not have a great pair of walking shoes and my sandals do not give me the greatest support. I got huge cramps in my calves. Now I have plans to go out and buy some sneakers this afternoon. My old shoes won't fit any longer - they are too short. We did have a good laugh as Josh had to actually massage my calves so I could continue walking. We have a plan to take Thomas on lots of walks once he is born. I want to at least regain my ability to walk a mile without cramping up.

That's my update for today. I am now going to relax with my Kindle for a while and read a spy novel...

One day past due date - Dr. Appointment

I was feeling a little guilty for being off work today since I haven't had the baby yet and then I went to the doctor and we were there for a while. Now I don't feel so bad.

First we met with the doctor and he checked to see if I had made any progress (no, still just a tiny bit dilated and 50% effaced). Then, he gave us the options - he could induce labor or we could wait another week. We opted for the waiting. An average first pregnancy lasts 41 weeks and I would like to make sure that Thomas is good and ready before he makes his debut.

After 40 weeks, you have to be more closely monitored which meant that we then had to get a non-stress test (NST) and an ultrasound. The NST consists of sitting in a chair while they monitor the heartbeat and movement of the baby and any contractions you are having. I didn't have any contractions while they were monitoring, but the heartbeat was good and strong and he moved around a lot.

We had to leave and come back for the ultrasound an hour later. The purpose of the ultrasound is to measure the amount of amniotic fluid (to make sure it doesn't get too low) and to measure the size of the baby. We haven't had an ultrasound since week 28 (before I found out I have gestational diabetes). At that time, the baby was measuring big (like 29-30 weeks). Today, he was measuring 39 weeks. She estimated the size to be under 8 lbs. And, the amniotic fluid is fine. After controlling my diet so closely, I feel good that he is not too big.

So, we have to go back on Friday for another NST and ultrasound (if he doesn't decide to make an appearance before then).

It is a relief to know that he is healthy and everything is on track so far. Now I can relax and enjoy a few days of rest.

Done with work!

Josh and I are now officially done with work. He is "retired" and I am on maternity leave. It feels strange because now we are just waiting for the baby to make his appearance. I finished the cross stitch I was doing for Thomas' room this morning. Tomorrow I will take it to the craft store to be framed.

The nicest part about taking off in September is that we have GREAT weather here in Bremerton. I went outside and picked a lot of our apples and pears. I may do some early baking of treats in the next couple of days. And, we are about to head out to Hood Canal for a little late afternoon boating (or for me, sitting on the beach).

We'll continue to update if anything happens, but for now, we are just taking it easy for a couple of days.

Quick update from the doctor

We went to the doctor this morning and he said he would be surprised if the baby came in the next 4-5 days. That is actually kind of great news because it eases up some of the "is this labor?" feeling I get every time the baby moves. It made me relax a little.

The other nice thing is that Thomas had a sluggish day yesterday so it was great to hear his heartbeat (a strong 145 bpm) and know that he is just running out of room to kick.

One week left . . . or so

Just a quick update that we have only one week left until the 40 week mark. The last time we asked the doctor, he said the baby is due "between 9/14 and 9/22". We love him - he doesn't want his patients to get fixated on a date.

Regardless, Friday will be the last day of work for both of us. Josh has officially quit his job, so he is finishing up this week. When I say quitting his job, what I mean is that he is quitting his corporate job. He has so many other projects going on that it seems like he will still be working full time. We have The Daily Tube, Body Lab Fitness (the gym we are part owners of in Seattle), 2 websites to build and another contracting opportunity. We plan on Josh staying home with Thomas, but if he keeps working this much, we will probably have to hire a nanny.

I am grateful to be done this Friday as well. Every day, it gets harder and harder to make the drive into Seattle and to make it through a full day of work. My body is tired. I really appreciated the ability to sit on the couch and rest this weekend.

That's the update for this week. Josh just came in so we are going to head out for work...

Blogging the Baby

I was thinking the other day that I needed to start posting some pictures prior to the actual birth. I'm also intending to use this as the spot to post pictures once the baby is born. Joanne and Emily want to see pictures of me pregnant, so here are a couple, one blurry one of me from the side and one of the belly...







In the last couple of days, I have been getting bigger and bigger. The evidence is all in the belly button which keeps popping further and further out.

We did get out to a Seahawks game on Friday night, which was fun. We figured it would be the only one we get to all season. I've been trying to take it easy this weekend, finishing up the cross stitch piece I am doing for Thomas' room. I am down to the final outline stitching, so I hope to get it finished before he comes. I'm also looking forward to getting back to my knitting projects. So, I am going back to that now. We will try to take some more belly pictures in the next couple of days.

Up Early

I haven't blogged for a while. I usually get home and have very little energy for anything other than taking a bath and going to bed.

Yesterday we had a doctor's appointment, so we took the day off. I had one of these pregnancy moments where my brain cells are not working properly. I knew all week that our appointment was at 8, but when I got up yesterday, I somehow got it into my head that it was at 9. Then, when I went to check my calendar at 8:25, I realized that we were 25 minutes late. We jumped in the car and got down there in 10 minutes and they still saw us. After looking at our 12 week ultrasound, the doctor was trying to figure out the due date since the baby is measuring so big. He decided not to change the due date, but warned me that the baby might come a little early. We also got to hear the heartbeat, which is my favorite thing. Then, they took more blood to finish the quad screen testing. The first results came back, along with the results of our 12 week ultrasound and everything looks good so far. With this last round of tests, they'll be able to tell us if we have the markers for any birth defects. I opted to go the route of the quad screen rather than getting an amniocentesis because these tests are not invasive. My favorite thing is that they recommend these tests because I am of advanced maternal age. I don't feel that old, but anyone over 35 is considered AMA.

The other crazy thing that happened yesterday is that it snowed all day. It was too warm for a lot of it to stick, but it was coming down. We are supposed to get more snow today and tomorrow. I can't believe it is snowing here in March. I was used to this in Colorado, but having this happen in Washington is really strange.

Robb and Reba did a great job updating their blog about our Easter Sunday, so I won't repeat their efforts. Link to their blog is on the sidebar.

I'm meeting up with my mom today for pedicures. Even though we may never get to wear sandals, I want me feet to be ready in case it happens. I'm also going to continue my quest for maternity clothing. I ordered a bunch online and now I have pants and skirts, but not quite enough tops. Hope you are all going to have a great Saturday as well!

Yes sir, that's my baby

We went to the doctor this morning for our first ultrasound. They have to do tests since I am of "advanced maternal age". I opted not to do the amnio so they do this test instead where they measure the nuchal translucency. Then they do some blood work to see if you have any chance of having a birth defect.

Our little one was super cooperative. He/She waved at us and did a bunch of stretching. It was so strange to see all of that movement and to feel none of it. The baby is measuring big - no surprise to us. We both come from big baby families. It was thrilling and amazing to see our baby growing away.

I told my team that I am pregnant as well so it is no longer secret at work. I really hate secrets, so it is nice to have it out in the open.

That is the big news of the day. Hope you all are doing well.

What a week!

You have probably noticed that I have been blogging about how tired I am a lot. Now that I am mostly telling people, I feel like I can say here that the reason I am so tired is because I am pregnant. Josh and I are going to have a baby in late September. We are really excited and it still doesn't seem quite real. Well, that is it didn't until yesterday when we went for my 11 week appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat. We now are only 29 weeks away. Which seems like a long time, but keeps getting closer and closer.

I am supposed to get my energy back in the next couple of weeks, but for now, I am grateful that the weekend is here and I can take naps. The other exciting things I have planned for today are grocery shopping and watching movies. Oh, and knitting. I know, kind of boring, but I am excited to get some rest after running like crazy all week.

Housing update

Many of you know we have been trying to sell our houses for about 8 months. Josh and I bought the house we are currently living in and thought that the houses we had lived in before we got married would sell right away and we hit the market just wrong. We met with our realtor tonight to drop the prices on both houses. It was a sobering moment, one where we really had to think about how much less we are willing to take on our houses. We are both going to sell them for a loss from what we paid. And, that is okay. We are tired of paying 3 house payments and with everything else, we'd like to see them sold.

So, that is our housing update. I am watching the aftermath of the Obama/Clinton debate on MSNBC. I love watching all of the speculation. Nobody knows what is going to happen, but it is great to hear what people think. I'm going to retire to bed to watch now. As usual, I am tired...

Busy Week

Hannah said that I have been slacking off in my blogging today, so since I am home and relaxing tonight, I thought I'd give a little update. I returned to the office on Monday and found that I have reached the time when I have learned enough to take on more work and launched into a week of a lot of meetings and extra projects. It was really fun.

I am, of course, really tired. So, kind of boring, but I had a really good week at work. We came home every night and went to bed right away. I had a vendor dinner on Wednesday so we didn't get home until late.

Tomorrow, we are taking Hannah out for her birthday. I'll blog about it afterward since it is a surprise and should be fun for all of us. Hope you all had a good week.

Home Again

I had a great week in New York, but I am really glad to be home. For some reason, at this time of year, the flights are really bumpy. There was a lot of wind in New York when we landed and that was tough. Last night's flight was not so bad. Josh came into the airport to get me and I was really happy to see him. I don't like being away for an entire week.

Today is for doing nothing (or very little). We are going to go see the movie Jumper. Then, we have some Home Depot shopping to do. Josh wants to put a rubber bumper around the "ice" rink in our garage so we are going to try to find some materials to do that. Then, we have to go over to Costco to get the lug nuts on our tires tightened. Josh had an adventure while I was gone - he blew a tire on I5. So, he had to get new tires for the car. Sound like fun? Have a great weekend.

New York City - so cold

I got into NYC on Sunday night, late. Of course I was starving once I got in, so I had to go out for food. It was about -2 with the wind chill factor and I had left my gloves in the back seat of the taxi (of course). Here is what I love about New York. At 10:00 on Sunday night, a block away from my hotel, I found a small shop where I was able to buy new gloves for $10. Then I went to McDonalds and got a chicken sandwich.

The Tools of Change conference has been really good and interesting. I'm learning a lot about my new job/world and still trying to process all of it. After the conference yesterday, I went to dinner with my friend Amanda at Becco. The restaurant was really close to the hotel, which was good since it was still sooooo cold. We had pasta - which Becco is famous for and a little bit of salad. I had a great time and was back in my hotel room by 8:00, so I got a good nights sleep.

The conference ends tomorrow and then I am off to meetings with publishers on Thursday and Friday. Hope you all are much warmer than me.

Friday night movie

We saw No Country for Old Men tonight after work. This Friday night movie thing is starting to become a tradition. So, we liked the movie. We could see why it was nominated for an Oscar. But, I came out afterward and said "It's not as good as Juno". And, it wasn't. Maybe I just like more whimsical and light movies.

Tomorrow I am going to caucus for Barack Obama. It seems like a strange thing to do on a Saturday, but I'm going to do it. I have never been particularly involved in the political process, but I feel like I should really take action this year.

So, that and getting ready for my trip will be my exciting Saturday. Hope yours is restful. I must now update the software on my Mac because the little button at the bottom is insisting that it is time. Good night.

So Tired

I have been getting home every night and going straight to bed. We are having meetings and trainings all week at work which is exhausting. We usually work straight through from 8-5 and then we had a couple of after work activities. I was driving in and thinking about how I keep forgetting to blog.

Yesterday, Josh got his new skating surface for the garage. It is really cool. He put it all together and tested out and it works perfectly. The surface is called Super Glide and now he has a little practice area in the garage where he can skate and practice his shooting. It is very cool.

I am leaving on Sunday for New York for a Tools of Change in Publishing conference. It should be a really good conference.

That's all my updates. Sleepy now. Sleep well.

Power Cycle

Every once in a while we have weird power cycles at our house and we had two today. It is weird, and it always makes us a little nervous since our neighborhood tends to lose power. Josh's parents bought us a generator for Christmas because the last time we lost power we were out for 2 days. That might be fine in the fall, but not so much in the winter. We did find out at that time that we are lucky because we have a gas water heater and a gas stove, so we can still cook and take a hot shower. However, since our furnace has an electronic thermostat, we do not get heat.

We are off tonight to play games at Anand and Kim's in Bellevue. Then tomorrow we are having a Superbowl party. Hope everyone else is having a fun weekend.

Work from home Friday

Once a year, we have to write our performance review. I usually can't get it done with all the distractions at work, so I spend a day working on it at home. Josh stays at home to work with me. We had a great and productive day and now I am sitting on my couch after eating homemade burritos. We have been going out a lot this week and we are going to Anand and Kim's for a game night tomorrow so we are going to spend tonight at home.

It was a good week overall and no we are going to have a night of relaxing!

Late Start

We are having a late start today due to snow. I'm just waiting for Josh to finish getting ready so we can head out. We took Josh out for dinner for his birthday last night. All of Josh's family got to come, including his cousin Joey who is in town visiting. My mom and dad and Hannah came as well so we had a big table at the restaurant. It was a great time. So much fun to just get together and hang out.

Tonight I am going to dinner at Canlis in Seattle with a friend from New York. Should be a fun time. We have a bunch of stuff going on this week, so I will be blogging intermittently. My mom took pictures last night, so I will post them as soon as she sends them.

Happy Snow Day!

Holiday Party

Josh and I went to our company's Holiday Party last night in Seattle. We don't have our party until the end of January because December is such a busy time for us. The party was at the Experience Music Project and I was looking forward to it since I have never been there before. There were a lot of great activities, like Rock Band, to participate in and there was a concert from the Presidents of the USA. We took Jason and Joanne with us because we could each bring one guest. It was great to have them with us. At such a big party, it is nice to have another couple to hang with.

Today we have all the normal Sunday stuff, including the last Hockey game of the season. I have also been watching Lost from last season to catch up in anticipation of this week's new season of Lost. I have several knitting projects going on and I like ot have something to watch while I knit. Now I'm getting sucked in... have a great weekend!

Friday night date night

We went to a movie after work tonight. Just a Sarah and Josh night. We saw Untraceable. It was a great Friday night choice - fast paced and a good story. I told Josh on the way home that I was happy that it was Friday so I don't have to make the coffee. He told me that makes me old. It probably does. I'm super tired, so I couldn't be happier to be home, catching up on Chuck episodes from last night and looking forward to not getting up in the morning.

We have our company Christmas party tomorrow night at the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum. It should be a fun time. I haven't been there before and it is nice to be able to go for free.

Have a good weekend!

Oops I did it again

I keep skipping my blogging. We got home really late last night and went straight to bed. We went over to Jason and Joanne's and played rock band for a while before going out to dinner. Tonight we came straight home and grabbed Subway on the way here. Now we are chilling on the couch.

A little job update 3 weeks in...

I really like my new job. It is so fun to keep learning new things all the time. My job mostly consists of clearing road blocks so that my team can do their jobs and I am only just starting to figure out how to do that.

We are trying a new show tonight - Breaking Bad on AMC. We recorded it on the Tivo on Sunday night. Hope all your weeks are going well!

Quick Post

I just realized that I forgot to blog yesterday. We went to church and then out to lunch with my parents, but we spent most of the day cozied up in front of the TV watching the last 2 playoff games. I always get a little sad at this time of the year because football season is almost over and won't be back until the middle of the summer. Now we will have to figure out some other Sunday afternoon relaxing activity.

Jeremy came over for dinner and a couple of games of Carcassonne before we headed off to their hockey game. Hockey is also in playoffs, but the time in between seasons is one week, so not as much sadness there. The tough part about that is that we get home late and then have to get up Monday morning for work.

I bought myself some office supplies this weekend for my new cubicle and brought them in today. I got annoyed last week with the fact that my Rolodex was a mess and I couldn't find anyone's card. I bought another Rolodex this weekend so I could split the alphabet in half, so now I can easily find all the cards which are organized and put away. I know, nerdy.

Hope all your Monday's are going well and I can't believe so many of you have the day off...

Weekend!

We went out to the Cloverleaf last night to see a comedy competition. We met up with my parents, Josh's parents and Jeremy to see the show. First, we ordered a pizza and some salads. We laughed a lot. It was a great way to end the week.

We got home late, so I went straight to bed and didn't blog. Now, I am doing my usual Saturday morning lay on the couch and my kitty just jumped up for a little snuggle. We don't have a whole lot going on this weekend which is kind of nice. I need a little time to knit and hang out. We bought Arrested Development, all 3 seasons, so I am happy to finally experience it. Josh has always talked about how much he liked the show, so I am looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend!

True Love

We are watching the Princess Bride. It just started. I always forget how much I love this movie. In High School we used to act out entire scenes from the movie when the mood struck. I can't believe it is still as good today as it was then. A classic.

It was a good and regular day today. We got to meet up with Hannah for dinner on the way home. It is great to have her right on our evening commute. We used to just call her when we were on our way and thinking about stopping in her neighborhood, but we have found that it is better to plan ahead a little since she has so many evening commitments.

We just got to the first inconceivable, so I will sign off and watch a movie.

We now resume our regularly scheduled programming

Yesterday was pretty, lots of eating and meeting. I probably could have blogged last night, but at that point, all I wanted to do was lay down. I'm starting to feel like I do a lot of coming home and going straight to bed. I have it down to a science. The hardest part for me is making the coffee. It doesn't take any more time than anything else, but it is a mental block for me. Every night, after I make it, I think "that wasn't that hard", but it doesn't make it any easier.

We went to Jason and Joanne's after work so Josh could set up the wireless on Jason's Xbox. Unfortunately, we didn't have the right wireless device. We did get a nice dinner and a game of Carcassonne.

That is all for now. Sleeping...

Happy Monday

I moved into my new office today and I now have a view of Union Station and downtown Seattle. I am happy to have a view to the outside world, even if the view today was dark and stormy. Ah, Seattle winter.

We stopped at Jason and Joanne's for dinner and Jason made a great meat and vegetable pie. He used pizza dough for the crust and it was very tasty.

Tomorrow night I have a work dinner, so I will probably take the night off from blogging. I'm doing a lot of eating and meeting tomorrow, wish me luck.

How does the weekend go by so fast?

We were sitting at our table tonight playing games with Josh's parents and his brother Jeremy and I thought, "How does the weekend go by so fast?" I don't even remember Saturday (I think I am trying to block out the memory of the bad game yesterday).

We had a good day today. Church this morning and then lunch with my family. We went to Costco, which we hadn't done for a while. We really only go for paper products - toilet paper, paper towels and Ziplocs. Very exciting, I know. At least I got a little nap...

Josh's parents came over to play games with us and we ordered pizza for dinner. It was kind of a special treat since we have been eating really healthy lately. It was a nice night.

We got a humidifier today at Target (I have a bit of a cold), so now I have to set it up so I can enjoy the benefits.

All set, now we are set to enjoy the new Terminator show.

The sad end to the Seahawks season

Now it is officially over. The Seahawks lost against the Packers today (42-20). It started out fine and then went downhill. We didn't go to the bar to watch it because I was feeling more like a day on the couch. I wanted to knit and curl up under my quilt (love my quilt - big thanks to Joanne and Emily in Colorado who made it for us for our wedding present).

We are going to go hang out with my parents tonight to teach them Carcassonne.

Oh, and we got our dishwasher! It is great - totally quiet. We had to run it empty once to make sure everything was hooked up correctly. I couldn't hear it at all. We decided that we like our oven/microwave, so I don't think we are going to change anything else in the kitchen. I like that these changes were relatively painless. The bathroom will not be so easy since we want a new tub and a new, higher counter/sinks combination and new flooring. That will be the big project that we do once the other houses sell.

Hope your Saturday is nice and relaxed.

Oh, yeah. We are lazy.

It's Friday night...

We managed to go out to dinner on our way home, but we were too tired to shop, so we headed straight home.

Now it is 8:30, we are laying in bed and watching Supernatural season 2 (we finished the X-files last weekend). This is such a luxury. Hope your evening plans are just as lovely.

Is it Friday yet?

The early morning meeting was at 8:30, so we had to leave at 7. It takes a small miracle to get us out of bed that early and we didn't get to bed early enough last night, so needless to say, we are ready to crash.

The cat is up on the couch trying to help me blog ;)

It has been a good week back at work and I am really excited to be learning so much every day. It certainly makes the dya go by fast.

I'm starting to get excited for the weekend. We are getting our dishwasher on Saturday and there is a big playoff game as well. If we can, we are going to go over to the Clover Leaf to watch the game. Next to going to a playoff game, I really enjoy watching the game with a big group of committed fans.

Hope all your weekend plans are shaping up well.

Looks like snow

We went to Jason and Joanne's after work to play Carcassonne (are you starting to sense a theme here?). We brought Subway and did end up playing one round of Rock Band - I was the singer :)

We brought Jason back with us to pick up his parents van for a trip to the mountains this weekend. On the way back, they called to say it was snowing in Bremerton again. I am once again thankful for all of my Colorado snow driving experience. It was still the wet kind and the roads were not frozen yet which was really nice. I have an early meeting in the morning and we are going to play by ear whether I should drive in to the meeting or do it by phone. I so wish it was the weekend and we could spend the day curled up on the couch tomorrow enjoying the scenery.

Now it is time to crash, the cats are all ready to get settled and my eyes are getting heavy. Goodnight.

More Snow

We woke up to snow this morning, so we waited a little while to leave and had a slow morning. The roads were crazy - especially getting off our hill. But, once we got down to the freeway things were pretty good - wet, but manageable. We got in at about 10:30.

I love the snow here at our house - it is so beautiful and I love waking up in the morning and seeing the backyard covered. This morning I was a little less happy because I did not bring home my laptop last night, so I had to go to work. It turned out fine, but it reminded me that I need to be bringing my laptop home in case it snows.

I got a great note from my Grandma today and gave her the blog url, so now she is keeping up on all the new appliances and football games as well.

Speaking of football games, I put up a picture on the entry from Saturday about the football game. That picture and the one above were taken on Josh's iPhone - amazing.

After work, we met up with Hannah at Red Robin in Federal Way for dinner. We have really enjoyed hanging out with family lately and it was nice to see Hannah. She was gone last weekend on a retreat with her youth group so it was great to catch up with her.

Now, we are ready to crash. Here's hoping you get occasional good snows in your life.

The days are going by so fast

After all of the long, lazy days off in the last couple of weeks, I have found that the days at work go by really fast. Of course, I have a lot going on right now trying to learn about all of the new things in my job. I love it. I am doing a lot more with technology now and I get to hear about some of the cool things that we are working on.

At the end of the day, I am tired. But, in a good way. We went to Jason and Joanne's after work and then went out to dinner. After dinner, we took they boys shopping at the new Nordstrom rack. Jason got a nice pair of shoes and Josh got some new shirts. It was nice to be shopping for someone else.

Tomorrow we are having dinner on the way home with my sister, Hannah. She is one of the reasons I blog every day so I have to give her proper credit. Hope all your Mondays were good. Have a great day tomorrow!

Fancy Refrigerator

We got our fancy refrigerator this morning and we LOVE it. It is a GE Profile with the freezer on the bottom and french doors. We loaded all of our food back into it and then had lots of room left over. We got the stainless steel one and it looks so pretty in our kitchen.

They called last night to tell us that the delivery window was 9-11 which was a bummer because it meant we had to miss church. They actually didn't get here to deliver it until 11:15, but we were still able to go out to lunch with Robb and Rebecca and Mom and Dad. We went to Subway this week. It was much better than Round Table last week.

We came home and I got a great nap this afternoon. I have always loved football season for the sheer joy of laying on the couch on Sunday afternoon and sleeping through halftime and the third quarter. Now I'm finishing up laundry and cooking dinner before we go off to hockey. Tonight is the last regular season game. Off to finish dinner...

Game Day

I almost got home in time to get this post in on Saturday. We headed off to the Seahawks game at 11 this morning and got there around 12:30. We headed to our seats way up in the upper deck and found we had a great view of the field. They say there are no bad seats at Qwest field and we have always agreed. The game was great! There were a lot of nail biting moments and some rare moments of humor. In the end, the Seahawks won the game 35-14. I can't accurately describe the energy and noise of the game so I will just say that I am definitely hoarse and tired.

After the game, we went over to Jason and Joanne's. Josh's parents had also come over on a rare day off to watch the game at home with them and to bring them Rock Band for their Xbox 360. Needless to say, we had to give the game a try, so Mike and Jason and Josh formed a band. After complaining of intense hunger, we were finally able to pry them away from the game long enough to go to dinner. We returned to Jason and Joanne's following a lovely meal at Applebees and played our new, favorite game, Carcassonne.

What a great day. I am off to bed now so I can get up in the morning and wait for the new refrigerator - YAY. They are coming between 9 and 11 so I better get some sleep. Best of happy game days to you.

Friday!

Just a quick note and then I am going to play a game with my husband. (Josh and I got a game called Carcassonne and have been playing it a lot).

Today was another good day. I'm ready for a two day break to let all the things I've learned in the past couple of days settle into my brain. I'm also getting excited for the Seahawks game tomorrow. Most of all, I am happy that I can sleep in tomorrow morning...

So, here's to good, relaxing Friday nights at home and a couple of days to rest. Happy Friday.

Day two

I'm well on my way to knowing how much I don't know. I met with mostly technical people today and learned a ton. I love that I get to learn a new business. Way too much fun.

We stopped for dinner on the way home and then listened to all of NPR's coverage of the Iowa caucus. It was interesting to hear all the results and the speeches from all the candidates. I am curious to see how things end up this year. The last couple of elections have been disappointing so I am looking forward to an interesting year of campaigning.

One campaign I am really interested in is the organization that is raising money to light the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We drive over the Narrows every night and during the construction of the new bridge, there were lights and it was so pretty to see them as you pull around the corner and cross the water. Tonight we were noticing how dark it is as you drive on to the bridge. It would be nice to see the lights again.

I have been doing all kinds of administrative things since we got home. I rescheduled the refrigerator delivery for Sunday and then filled out all of our rebate paperwork and paid a bill. Now I can make lunch for tomorrow and get to bed. I have found that I am TIRED this week from going back to work and trying to learn a lot of new stuff. Happy almost Friday!

Back to Work

It was really hard to get out of bed this morning. I was really used to staying in my pajamas all day. But, I had a good first day on the job. I am really excited about what I am working on and I am in that phase where I have so much to learn that my brain hurt by the end of the day.

The one exciting thing that happened today is that we got tickets to the Seahawks playoff game on Saturday. We have signed up for season tickets for next season because we have enjoyed going to games so much and now we have to wait and see if we get them - we should find out in a couple of months. But, we definitely get to go to the game on Saturday.

We got home by 7 and I am now finished with making lunches and breakfast for tomorrow so I can do a little knitting while we continue watching the X-Files. We are part way through the last season and watching a couple of episodes a night. Hope everybody else had a great Wednesday!

Happy New Year!

We have been making a valiant effort all day to get off the couch and get some things done and while we have managed to empty the dishwasher and do a lot of laundry, we have been doing all of it in our pajamas. We are trying to get the most out of our last day of vacation. It has been great to have the last 10 days (mostly) off. I am feeling ready to start my new job.

We had a great time at the Clover Leaf last night, hanging out, laughing at comedians and with each other. We didn't stay out until midnight which definitely makes us old people. I was very happy to watch the Seattle fireworks on my high definition TV in bed. Very nice.

After months of having the last of our boxes sit in the dining room, we are now going to move them into our storage closet upstairs. We had them out in the garage for a while and then decided that we wanted to be able to park the cars in the garage as it got colder. So, we moved them inside hoping it would motivate us to unpack them and put things in storage. It is the right way to start a new year.

Hope all your first day of the year projects are going well!

Working from home

I was planning to take today off, but I didn't quite finish everything on Friday, so I am working from home today. Josh is also working from home since we thought it would be a bad idea to try to drive over to Seattle and back today. We are now firmly rooted to the couch and typing away on our various computers. Of course, we have yet to get out of our pajamas. I wish we could do this more often. Most of my job involves going to meetings which makes working from home difficult.

We went to the mall after church yesterday and bought a new dishwasher to go with our new refrigerator. We hope to have them both installed next Saturday. We had a list of things we wanted to do to our house when we moved in and then life kept happening so fast that we haven't done any of them. I'm really happy to start getting some of the things done to our kitchen since I spend so much time in there on the weekends.

This will be my last post of 2007 and the posts I've made in the last week have doubled my blogging for the year. I have been meaning to do more blogging and I can't say that I will blog every day in 2008, but I will be doing this more.

We have plans to go out tonight to a local bar that is having a comedian and dancing. Our friends, Kyle and Anna, own the bar and we have invited a bunch of people. I'm looking forward to having a few laughs and hanging out with friends. Happy New Year!

Football and Hockey

I bought a refrigerator yesterday. So exciting :) We have to wait a week to get it delivered, so next Saturday is delivery day.

It also started snowing again, which gave a nice fresh coat to our backyard. Things still look pretty. It might even snow a little bit more today. We have started figuring out how to drive around our neighborhood in snow and ice. I managed to only slide a little on the way home last night.

In the afternoon we went to see National Treasure. It was a nice movie, very similar to the first movie. After the movie we went to try a new Indian restaurant in downtown Bremerton. The food was excellent. Bremerton is the kind of place that has a lot of chain restaurants so it is great to find a local place that serves good food. I am sure we will go back again.

Sundays at our house are reserved for church, family, football and hockey. Today the Seahawks game is at 10, so we won't be able to watch it, but I can usually find another game in the afternoon to watch. On Sunday nights, Josh plays hockey at the Bremerton Ice arena. We are almost done with the season, there are just a few more games until playoffs. I love to go and watch because hockey is a fast, fun game to see.

Happy football and hockey day to everyone!

Another 4 day weekend

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday. I got up early to go to work and didn't get home until 10 pm, at which point I went straight to bed. I had a hard day at work yesterday. It was my last day in the office before I start my new job. I had to pack up my office (I'm moving to a new building). And, I had to wrap up some loose ends. My team took me out to lunch to give me a proper send off.

We still have tons of snow. It was a little tricky getting out of here yesterday, but my 6 years of Colorado driving experience helped out. If I could boil all of my driving in snow advice down to one sentence it would be "Drive slow". I can't believe how many people think that they can drive at the same speed in ice/snow and not crash.

Today we are going to get a new refrigerator. We have been meaning to buy one since we moved into this house, but we aren't particularly motivated. Now that I have been cooking more, I have recognized that we need to get one. I'm hoping for some year end sales so we can get a good deal.

Hope you all are having a good, happy, safe weekend.

Happy Pajama Day #2

It is the third day with snow on the ground here and it has just started snowing again. So beautiful. I stayed in my pajamas until 2:00 yesterday and I think I may do the same today. I have been playing with my new computer, transferring files from my old computer and doing a little bit of knitting. I am working on a scarf for my husband. He picked out the yarn on a recent trip to Leavenworth and I have been working on it ever since. It is strange for me to have more than one project going on at a time, but I also have a sweater that I have been working on and another scarf for me. All different patterns and different size needles. The past month has not left a lot of time for knitting with all of the holiday preparations, but now I am getting back into it.

I made my soup yesterday - a corn chowder with bacon. It was perfect for a snowy day. I did manage to go out and do a little shopping and then we went to see The Golden Compass. It was good, but not as good as the last two movies we saw. We've been trying to catch up on our vacation with all the movies we wanted to see before they left the theater. We saw Juno last Friday which was by far my favorite of all the movies we've seen. We also saw Charlie Wilson's War on Sunday which ran a close second.

I have to go to work tomorrow to finish up for the year. It is my last day in my current job. Next Wednesday, I start a new job within the same company. I like the idea of starting a new job in a new year and I am excited to have a new opportunity. But, for today, I am going to enjoy my life at home. Happy Pajama Day.

Merry Christmas

My mom and sister give me a hard time for not keeping up the blog regularly. This has been an exciting, incredible year filled with all kinds of new things that have used up lots of my spare time. I don't know that things will be slowing down anytime soon, but I will try to take more pictures and post more often. Perhaps that will be my resolution. It will be helped by the brand new MacBook I got for Christmas. :)



Yes, it was a great Christmas. Our first married Christmas and we had so much fun picking out gifts for our families and for each other. We had a really good time with my family on Christmas Eve at Robb and Rebecca's place. We got the kids laptops from the One Laptop per Child program and they were thrilled. We were thrilled as well since I checked the delivery date a week ago and they were supposed to arrive at the end of January. We considered it our Christmas miracle when the FedEx truck showed up on Christmas Eve with the laptops.

Christmas day we spent with Josh's family. We had a really great, relaxed day opening presents and celebrating with family. We also got our white Christmas. The snow started falling around 1:00 and continued all day. It made getting home last night a little tricky, but we made it. This morning the backyard is full of snow and it is lovely to think about spending the day inside playing with all of our new toys and doing a little cooking - it feels like a day for soup.

Autumn On the Sticks

Happy First day of Autumn!

I've been knitting like crazy as the days grow colder and I promised Joanne I'd put some pictures up on the blog. Two years ago at our girls knitting weekend, we knitted shawls from extra yarn we had in our stash and odds and ends we picked up at various knitting stores. I've been wearing mine a lot lately and I thought I'd make a new one - with fall colors. The one above is all oranges and browns and greens. Perfect as the weather changes. The pattern for these shawls is really simple and can be found here.
A couple weekends ago, my mom and sisters and I spent the night in Seattle and we went to 8 yarn stores. It was great to get together and hang out. We watched a movie and worked on our projects. The shawl above was from the book Scarf Style. You can see it on the left - it is one of my new favorites.

Josh and I head to New York next weekend to hang out with our friends from the Daily Tube. I will be staying the following week for business. I get to go to New York once or twice a year and I used to be sad that I had never lived there. Then I moved to Seattle. I love living here so much that it makes me sad when I have to leave. It is so green and fresh here.

We have been full of activity lately and enjoying our new house. Our kittens keep growing and getting into trouble. We love them and they are a little bit like dogs. They follow us around the house and curl up with us while we are watching TV. I'm off to get things ready for tomorrow morning :)