A Little of This...A Little of That

Is September really already half over?! I am in that giddy-excited-it-feels-like-it-is-almost-Christmas-stage awaiting baby to arrive. I love that she is arriving at the end of September. If baby arrives as scheduled, we will kick off fall with two huge events...her arrival and Geoff's (hence Uncle Matt's) birthday. Which then leads in to October and fall and the start of all the fun holidays. We have so much to look forward to!

Last weekend my friend Christina drove down from Bend to host a shower for me. The weather was beautiful so we ate outside and just enjoyed relaxing and visiting with each other. It was really nice. 36-week pic before the shower:

They "showered" me with such great goodies that I know the baby will love.

Thanks so much lovely ladies!

I am 37 weeks today and feeling great...I just can't eat very much because there is just no room. I had an appointment yesterday and the OB was only getting a bad echo-sound while trying to find the heart beat. She was listening low on my belly. Then she started to feel around to see what position the baby was in and said "hey, since we happen to be in the ultrasound room, let's take a peek." And sure enough, baby has been doing somersaults and is now breech like both the boys were. So the big hard bump up high on my belly is her head...sitting right under my ribs.

As for projects, we are making progress on her room but we still have lots to do. Mostly just getting all of our stuff out of the walk-in closet of that room and finding a new home for it. So our hallway is just full of stuff in transition. The crib is together, we have some frames on the wall and the furniture is in place. Now we need to hang the mobile, get window treatments, and find something else for the walls...there is more wall space than I realized in there. Here are some progress pics.

The after-painting but before cleaning out the room before picture:

Getting better:

The boys wanted to help change the light fixture:

And they each really wanted a turn in the crib. They are infatuated with getting in the crib (I think it is because of the super-soft crib sheet). They had the same crib sheet but in blue so maybe it is bringing back memories.

W in the crib:

J in the crib:

The boys resumed preschool right after Labor Day and the transition from summer to school was awesome. I wasn't sure if they would have trouble adjusting back to a "schedule" but thank goodness they didn't. They are returning to the same school with the same teacher but going four days a week instead of three. We lost most of their schoolmates from last year to kindergarten and other reasons so right now they are in a class of four total! Hoping the class will continue to grow because they are getting pampered right now with all the attention. W and the teacher made an awesome shark yesterday that is a whole length of a table. He painted it and everything. It will be fun to hang that in their room when it is done. Here is J and W before the first day:

More to come!

34 weeks

In the home stretch now...here is a 34-week pic...not too much change from 32-week pic. I think we passed those third trimester weeks where there is a large growth spurt...then it slows down.

I feel like we made a little progress in the nursery. I went to Bend this weekend for a flea-market with some friends and picked up a few cute items: an aqua-colored nightstand and table, a small gray dresser and a really cute bird mobile that my friend makes and sells for her company "Ma Chere Finery" (you can find her store on etsy). Now I need to sell the mattress that is in the nursery to make room to set up the crib and start hanging pictures on the wall, finish the dresser in the garage, and decide on some window treatments for her room-argh window treatments! Window treatments have been such a challenge...and this room is just as challenging-two windows and a french door with glass in the middle.

We also need to finalize her name. Still not 100% committed. Hope you all are well and enjoying the last few weeks of summer...although we have been spoiled with the weather here compared to the rest of the U.S., I am excited for the fall! And fall baking...I am thinking "Baked Pumpkin Spiced Donut Holes" adapted from "Tasty Kitchen" will be first on my list.

Oh Baby Baby

I am 34 weeks along today. 5 weeks to go to my c-section date! The day is approaching very fast. I have been enjoying my 3rd trimester though-much more than my first and most of my second. I am still sleeping great (knock on wood) which I attribute to being exhausted and not being able to sleep in at all...but if it is helping me sleep most of the night-I'll take it! Here is a 32-week belly shot:

I just looked up a 32-week picture with the boys and flipped it to compare...and I will blame my crazy hair on the Florida humidity!

I stopped teaching yoga on Tuesday - I will miss my classes and can't wait to resume in the new year. Baby moves around a ton and I think it is so fun to feel her move around...I remember "missing" the boys after they were born although they were right there with me-it just felt different having them outside of my belly and not with me all the time! I was trying to catch a picture of her tremendous pokes but they just happen so fast...here is one where she created a flat bump at the top:

and then is poking out below a little bit.

The doctor told me Tuesday that she is head down. I have another appointment at the beginnning of September and then every week thereafter.
I feel like there is still so much to do but I am fine hanging out at home resting for the most part. The boys start preschool again on the 6th which will give us a few weeks hopefully to get them into a routine before baby arrives. I did manage to pick up a few girl clothes (she needs something to wear after she is born!) at a local consignment store. I looked over and J was inspecting each item, sorting, and matching the items. It was so cute!

They give the baby lots of kisses and still tell people that her name will be "Skarloey Lady Gordon." (all train names) At least they have incorporated a girl train into the name! Speaking of the boys, they were cleared to have milk and milk products again on Monday! They had more allergy testing and they tested negative for milk! I should have taken a picture of our shopping cart yesterday...20 +yogurts, cheese, macaroni and cheese, pizza, string cheese, frozen yogurt, goldfish, and milk. I bet everyone thought I was having a big milk craving or something. Unfortunately, they are both still allergic to egg and peanut and might always be. They tested negative for almonds...but that doesn't mean they can eat all tree nuts. I just talked to my friend Lisa in Vegas this morning and her daughter tested negative for almonds but positive for pecans and hazelnuts. The allergist is fascinated with having a pair of identical twins with very similar allergies and seeing them respond to the allergy at the same time. He said he might have to write a paper on it in a few years.
So we are happy to have a whole new line of foods to incorporate back into their diet! It sure makes packing lunches for them a lot easier! I am very excited to have a baby around the house again...it seems like so long ago!

Summer Fun & Projects

Jan and Mark just returned home after coming out for a visit. We so enjoyed having them here...but maybe attempted too many projects! They like to stay busy and are very handy-our landscaper stopped by at one point and said "I want them to come to my house next!"
Mark and Geoff started with adding a new zone to our sprinklers so we can have a drip line on our back deck...and with the help of Matt and PJ during each of their visits, Geoff finished this small rock wall a couple of weeks ago.

It has made a huge difference keeping the bark from tumbling down into the rock when Katy and Bear are running around on the top of the wall. You can also see part of Geoff's fence...he put in a lot of hours on that project.

Sunset:

Mark and Geoff worked on a bench, repaired one of our dining room chairs that was falling apart, repaired drawers and added a supportive base to a mini dresser I bought for $8 for the nursery. Dresser in progress:

Jan sanded and painted the dresser...here is a picture of the back of it:

Geoff is going to finish painting the front and we need to order new knobs. I am avoiding all painting projects due to the baby which is so hard not to do!

Jan finished painting the nursery, helped Geoff get a good start on putting putty in the cracks in our wood floor (not conducive to kiddos who like to spill), and spray-painted some frames for me. Whew. I am tired just reading that.

They also spent lots of time with the boys and loving on the dogs. Here is Jan helping them paint some dinosaurs they received for their birthday:

Geoff, Mark, Jan and the boys went on a rafting trip nearby and saw otters, deer, osprey, birds catching fish, tiny fish in the water, and turtles. We hiked caves at the Lava Tubes.

The boys really enjoyed hiding and spooking anyone they could in the caves. Here they are hiding in the Mushpot cave awaiting an unsuspecting Grandpa:

Boo!

And did I mention they celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary here too? And my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary just two days before that! Congratulations and Happy Anniversary to all four of you!!

W enjoying the Winnie the Pooh movie Grammy and Grandpa got for their birthday:

We loved having you visit and hope you got some relief from the 100 degree temps in Texas!

Another Year Older.

THE birth day.

And arriving home for the first time together a few days later.

1st Birthday. Panama City, Florida. Their first cake.

I even made it nut and egg-free. The pictures clearly state how they are feeling. J: Why I am wearing this silly hat and WHAT is that on my tray?!

And no words are necessary for W's reaction.

2nd Birthday. Spring, Texas at Grammy and Grandpa's house. Geoff was TDY on their actual birthday so we celebrated it a short time after. I do miss those blond curls.

3rd Birthday. Gallatin, Tennessee at Papap and Grandma's house. Geoff was deployed to Afghanistan. The boys blew out the candles on their vanilla cupcakes...

...and surprised us by bypassing them immediately for the chocolate chips on the chocolate cupcake.

4th Birthday. Our new home in the northwest. Funny these pictures are so similar. One is at a party at our house.

This one is on their actual birthday while on a mini-vacation to the Oregon coast.

5th Birthday. After a couple of years apart on the boys' birthday we are blessed to be all in the same place and all healthy two years in a row.

It was such a joy celebrating these little guys today. We had a dinosaur party at our house.

J and W were asking me endlessly the days before the party: "this day is our birthday?" "when are friends coming over?" "when are we having cake?" We had some fun activities for the kids (I'll post more pictures later). Bear and Katy joined in on the gift-opening: