Preggo Pics

A few weekends ago we were lucky enough to have our friend take our "preggo pics". We looked at the calendar to find a good weekend to do them and realized that every weekend is booked until April! And by then, I'm sure I don't want anyone taking my pics for memorable purposes! It was a little early (not yet 7 months) but we thought we might as well do it before "the belly" is too big and I start banning all pictures of myself!

Carinn and her sister, Angela, did such a great job! I would definitely recommend them to anyone who is looking for family, wedding, child or senior pictures. If interested, check out their website: www.travelingtortoises.com

Here are a few of us at Oxbow Park and a few of us with the dogs at another park. (Sadly, they weren't allowed in Oxbow Park so we had to go to another place with them.)

Seattle weekend getaway - 28 weeks - 7 months!!

We had a lot of people ask us how we were going to spend our last Valentine's Day without needing a babysitter. Luckily for Brian, Valentine's Day also happens to be my mom's birthday. So it ends up being a pass card for him each year! Actually, he wanted to celebrate it on Thursday before we left for my parents' house for the weekend. Especially since we also didn't get to celebrate it last year (it would have been our first as a married couple), since he was away on Sam's bachelor party instead. Hmmmm...that one was planned pretty well!! But, of all days, the night we were going to celebrate I ended up getting a pounding headache and was feeling pretty exhausted after a long week of conferences. So instead, he brought me dinner in bed while I napped on and off all night. Pretty romantic, I know. But that's what happens when you're almost 7 months pregnant!

We did get to go up to Seattle/Isssaquah for Valentine's Day/mom's birthday weekend. It was so great to just relax and hang out with my parents, Trav, Bridg and little Lincoln. You would think that we'd take advantage of everything Seattle has to offer every time we visit, but we all secretly look forward to the couch instead. We hate to admit it, but none of us would rather spend our time anywhere else. All six of us can comfortably sit on it and four of us can even sleep pretty comfortably as well - which we end up doing most of the time we're there. Even though my mom gets our rooms ready for us each time we visit, we rarely venture upstairs to sleep. The couch ends up being the focal point of our weekends -playing with Lincoln, reading, watching movies, sitting in front of the fire, etc. It will be a sad, sad day when the time comes to replace this couch.

Another reason we love coming up is because their house is truly like a forest resort. They are completely surrounded by ten acres of forested land, with big windows that show nothing but trees and nature. They also recently completed the year and a half remodel of the house and I think that makes us even more want to stay in and take advantage of all their hard work. Here are some pics of what they've done:






I had the fun job of helping them pick out sconces. Who knew there are about 500 different kinds of sconces to choose from?? Brian, Trav and Bridg got really tired of hearing nothing but "sconce talk" from me for weeks, but in the end I think they all turned out great!




We did get out a little. We went to a great baby store and then celebrated my mom's birthday by going to a yummy restaurant in Bellevue. This picture doesn't quite capture how much fun we really had together :)


Another reason we all got together was because Doug just got back from his trip to Haiti. He and my mom had been planning the trip for about eight months, long before the earthquake. Coincidentally, they were scheduled to leave a week after it happened. But of course, all airlines cancelled flights into Haiti for weeks afterward. Because of this, they had to cancel and reschedule their trip many times. They finally had a date set and then Mom realized she could no longer go because of work obligations. So Doug and the team of 14 set off to help out as much as they could. They ended up having to fly into the Dominican Republic and then find transportation over the border into Haiti. Doug said the poverty between the DR and Haiti was shocking. While there, they set up clinics for about seven days in villages in the countryside outside the devastated Port-au-Prince. They helped over 1000 people while there! Their team of nurses and physician assistants helped distribute medicine to these people. Doug acted as the clinic coordinator. They were overwhelmed with the sad stories and very sick people they encountered each day. This made them realize even more how much their help was needed. Here are some pics of their experience:

Devastated Port-au-Prince

Medical supplies the group brought with them to Haiti

One of the clinics they set up in the countryside of Haiti

Bathroom facilities

Mom's weekend visit - Jan. 30 & 31

This posting is a little late, but I was going to combine it with the next one and realized it would be way too long. But this weekend’s worth mentioning since we had such a fantastic time with family and friends!

We started off the weekend with my mom coming into town. Since Doug had just left for Haiti (see next post), Mom thought this would be the perfect thing to take her mind off him leaving. She offered to babysit Lincoln so that Trav, Bridg, Brian and I could all go out Saturday night. After careful thought and weighing our options, we decided that jumping on the bandwagon to see Avatar sounded like the perfect Saturday night :). There’s a reason this is the highest grossing movie right now – it’s definitely a visually beautiful movie. The storyline is okay, but the picture and 3-D really add to the whole experience. Although 3-D has been out for awhile (remember Captain E-O??), this was the first time I’d ever seen a 3-D movie in the theaters. And I’m sure most future movies will jump on this fad, so this will most likely not be our last experience either. Brian even said this movie changed his life. Not quite sure what he meant by that…


Getting ready for our 3-D experience

The next morning, all of us girlfriends went to my new favorite restaurant in SE Portland for breakfast. We usually do happy hour twice a month but decided to try breakfast instead. The tables at Slappy Cakes have griddles in the middle of them so that you can make your own pancakes. Out of the eight of us who were there, leave it to the really preggo girls to be the only ones who go with the pancake option. Go figure. There’s been something about french toast, pancakes or waffles that I can’t get enough of lately. Maybe it’s the syrup that I lather them in – it always goes back to the sugar for me :). This was also the first girl outing for the newest member of our group – Aubrey Jackson. It’s so crazy how our group is continuing to grow in numbers – just wait until the three newest members arrive!


Our first get-together since little Aubrey’s arrival.
Ali, Aubrey (3 weeks old), Lyndsey, Erin (29 weeks), Laura (16 weeks), Falkie, Trac (Jenna left before the pic was taken, and I HAD to take myself out of the group – it was for everyone’s good :)

After breakfast, I met my mom, Trav, Bridg and Lincoln at the Children’s Museum for one last fun outing before my mom left that day. It was so much fun to watch how engaged he was with all the museum’s activities. He was a construction worker, a doctor, a train engineer, a bus driver and a boater all in one afternoon. But my favorite by far was Lincoln, the African dancer. If you know Lincoln, you know that when music is playing, he can’t help himself. He just has to dance. I tried to get pictures and videos of him jamming to the African band that was playing, but he kept moving to the front of the pack and I couldn’t get a good angle. His moves are the best toddler ones I’ve seen. Since this day, Bridgit has enrolled him in music/dance classes. I can’t wait to see the new moves he learns from others in that class!





Lincoln trying out all possible career opportunities

Meanwhile, Brian was out doing one of his favorite things – fishing. This is something he does probably once a week or every two weeks. I know he doesn’t get to go or catch anything as often as he’d like, but at least he tries :).

I don't have any recent pics, but this is a good one of him showing off one of his early catches.

25 weeks - 6+ months!

And here are the pics proving he is a little man! The third picture is pretty amazing - it shows the outline of his spine. It's almost dinosaur-like!


So, if I thought my belly had grown before, it really popped as soon as I turned 6 months a week ago! Some friends that I had seen just a week before were really surprised to see me this past weekend and find that my belly has literally grown overnight! I attribute that to the little one's daddy's genes - there needs to be enough room for his long, long legs!!


Okay, so I'm finally showing my bump at 20.5 weeks - Christmas Eve. I thought it was big then, but it's not even close to what it is now!! Bottom pic - 25 weeks (kind of hard to see - my belly blends into the background :)

One of my favorite things right now is how sweet my little Pre-Kers are with the little guy. Now that my tummy is out for all of them to see, they cannot take their hands off of it! They are constantly rubbing my tummy, telling me they are giving him a massage. One boy, who normally holds my hand any time we go somewhere, instead keeps his hand on my tummy, telling me he wants to hold hands with the little guy! They are also constantly talking to him and telling him all the fun activities we are doing. It almost makes me tear up sometimes! I'll never forget the cutest comment that was said the other day. One little boy said, "Wow, the baby is really quiet! I never hear him cry! He's so good!" To which I responded, "This will be the quietest he'll ever be in his life!" And that may be so true, especially since the name we picked out means "The loud one" in Welsh!!

Speaking of names, we're still not completely set on his yet, but I have heard Brian call him it a few times. And I honestly cannot come up with any other names. Although our friends have already come up with quite a few nicknames - Jorge, Junior, J-R-period. My Pre-Kers told me the only name I cannot call him is George. Georgie is fine, George just wouldn't work. I have a feeling that no matter what his name ends up being, he'll still have the ridiculous nicknames from his "aunts" and "uncles"!

We have also been blessed by many friends, family and even parents of my one of my students for giving us some of their baby stuff that they no longer need! It has really helped us to focus on the "fun" stuff, like shopping for the crib, dresser and all nursery needs. Well, at least I think that part is fun! And Brian has actually commented that he enjoys looking at all that, too. We are a long ways off from a completed nursery, but will post pics as soon as it's finished!

Here are some pictures over the past month or so that I forgot to put on the last blog posting:


All of us preggo friends!! Top pic -One of our twice monthly happy hours - Erin-21 weeks, Ali-34, me-18 & Lo-8 weeks! Bottom pic - Yearly ornament exchange at Falks' house - Erin-22.5 weeks, Ali-35.5, Lo-9 & me-19.5 weeks! Ali was such a trooper -she gave birth just three weeks after this pic was taken!


Here are the some of the first pics of Ali & Cameron's sweet little Aubrey Paige, born 1-9-2010!! Congrats to the new Jackson family!!


Meanwhile, on the same day Aubrey was born, some of us were at the UP/Gonzaga basketball game. (Daddy Cameron is a huge college basketball fan - and little Aubrey was born on the same day as UP's biggest game!) It was almost like a college reunion at the T-Room that night after the game. And Baby George got to experience mama's Thursday night college hangout for the first time! (And next time will be 21 years later, I'm sure :)

Happy holidays = growing belly!! 20-22 weeks

So, I thought the two weeks off around the holidays would mean that I could finally catch up on sleep and get EVERYTHING done on my to-do list. (And if you know me and my to-do lists, they are never-ending and constantly updated!) Well, I was sorely mistaken...

We started the break with Brian's parents, sister, niece and nephew in town for a few days. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season, especially since they came bearing early Christmas gifts :) B's mom kinitted us a couple of beautiful blankets and hats - baby's first gifts!!! She also gave us Cody Bear, Brian's fave teddy he had growing up, that she had been saving for many years! There was also a letter from Cody Bear to the new baby - I couldn't stop from tearing up with that gift!

Cody Bear with the blanket Grandma George made for us! And the letter from Cody Bear to our little one!

But the best Christmas gift of all was our doctor appointment on Wednesday, just two days before Christmas!! That is when we found out that we're having a precious little boy! (See earlier post.) That was such a wonderful moment for us, especially because we were able to see our little guy on the screen during the ultrasound for 45 minutes. It was amazing!

We spent Christmas Eve and Day with my family. And that is when the non-stop goody eating began!! I have been trying to be good and only letting myself splurge on the weekends, but as soon as Christmas hit, it turned into a two week "over-the-top-eating-frenzy"!!! I'm not sure if I can blame Little Boy George or his mama for the sweet-tooth that has snuck up on me, but anything sugary and cold (ice cream shakes, smoothies, whipped cream, etc.) has now replaced my old obsession for french fries!! I'm just thankful that the family got a Wii for Christmas because I'm hoping that the hours we spent staying up until 1am playing Wii Fitness helped to counteract that holiday goodness!

Lincoln helping us open the family gift - the Wii!! Trav and Brian demonstrating some good boxing skills!

The day after Christmas we went to Bend to see Brian's family again for a few days. We had a lot of fun playing with little Eli and taking Emma out on the town with Uncle B and Aunt T for a day. Brian's sister, Michelle, very generously gave us a lot of Eli's things that he has outgrown. We were able to pack the car on the way home with many baby items. And also thankfully for us, Eli is a very fashionable 11 month old! We got a lot of great outfits that we're excited to fill the little one's closet with!

Emma's day out in downtown Bend with Uncle B & Aunt T!

After just spending three days back in Portland, we packed up the car again and drove back to Central Oregon. This time we went to Camp Sherman (very close to Black Butte and Sisters) for a New Year's weekend celebration! It was a different kind of experience to be preggo in a house with 15 other people for three nights over New Year's! But since I've had a lot of experience over the last five+ months with all the 30th/31st bday celebrations, weddings and other holiday events, I was pretty prepared for what I was up against. Staying up until 2am every night didn't feel as awful as I thought it would. There was enough entertainment to keep me laughing and energized until the house quieted down enough for me to sleep! And it was also VERY nice to have my fellow preggo friend, Laura, there. She and I had a good time sitting back and laughing at the ADD card games and late night dance parties! But, I'd be lying if I were to say that it didn't take me a whole week to recover from that weekend! And unfortunately for me, it just so happened that school started the morning after we got back...5:30 wake up calls were rough!!

The girls and I on New Year's Eve. You can kind of see my bump that I'm trying to hide here :)

And you're probably wondering why I haven't posted a side "bump pic" for awhile. Ever since hitting 21 weeks, I feel like my belly has decided it would no longer grow slowly, it is now literally jumping out from my body! The pics from 18 to 21 weeks are so drastic, I'm just not ready to post them yet. Maybe I'll be brave in another week or so and show what it looks like, but prepared to be shocked!! Even my dear Pre-Kers couldn't hide their surprise when they saw me on Monday morning and exclaimed, "Woah! Look at that belly!!"

What will it be???

It's a BOY!!!! Nice job to those few of you who voted boy - you were right!!! To those who thought girl, you seemed a little shocked to find out little George is really a Boy George!! (As Bridgit said, "Are you sure??") He beat all the odds - the centuries old Chinese prediction chart, analyzing the heartbeat (it worked for everyone else preggo right now!!) and even our very own reliable and scientific poll!! He's laughing at everyone's naivete right now!!

We couldn't be happier to find out our news! Going into the appointment, Brian and I both didn't have an opinion or a feeling either way. We asked each other right before and neither of us could say for sure what we thought it would be. But as soon as the nurse told us boy, Brian was beaming for the rest of the sonogram!! He is definitely on cloud nine!!!

So, now what to name him? I've actually had a boy name picked out for 15 years. So, I'm pretty set on what I want to call him. But Brian is still warming up to the name. But, come on, who can compete with a preggo mom who has been holding onto a name for 15 years?! It's also kind of funny that I just came up with a girl name right before going to the appointment. I thought I should be prepared either way. We'll probably just hold on to the girl name in hopes we can use it in a few years :). We'll share our name soon - I just need to make sure Brian is 100% sold on it. I told him it was either this name or we'd call him Boy George :). That almost sealed the deal right there!

Thank you to all for your love and support these past 5 months!! We're so excited to continue on this wonderful journey together!!