Meet baby Logan Conaway!

Erin and Dasan welcomed their little guy, Logan Conaway, on 4/14/10 (a whole week early!) He is adorable and looks just like his daddy! I cannot wait for him and our little guy to meet each other soon!!


All of us girls at another Hospital Happy Hour to welcome an amazing little man into the world!


Auntie Lo holding baby Logan. Mama Erin did such a great job!


Falks holding the precious little guy.


Ali and sweet little Aubrey - hard to believe she is already over 3 months old!

One month to go - let the countdown begin!

It's hard to believe that our due date is exactly one month from today! (Or at least it was when I first started this post - now we only have three weeks left - yikes!!)

I am definitely thankful for the lack of problems I've had with this pregnancy. I have really enjoyed this experience and the bonding time my little guy and I have had over the last 9 months or so. It wasn't until recently that I really started having any problems, but at least my body waited until the end! After many doctors, appointments and sleepless, itchy nights, I was finally told that I have PUPPPs and dermatitis - pregnancy-related, super-itchy rashes all over my body!!! The combination of these two things is so awful!!! I've had them for about a month but wasn't diagnosed with them until less than a few weeks ago. I don't think either will really go away until after he is born, so until then, I have to endure many sleepless, scratchy nights. At least I only have a few weeks left until my maternity begins! And, to top it off and probably related to the fact that I'm not sleeping, I also have high blood pressure. I now have to monitor it daily and check in with the doctor if it goes over a certain amount. At least I didn't have to experience all this from the beginning!!! There, now I'm done whining. To end on a good note, I've noticed that my seasonal allergies that usually cause me to constantly sneeze and irritate my eyes for months at this time of year, has pretty much been non-existent!! I've had the worst allergies since I can remember, so this has been a nice break!! It's amazing what pregnancy can do to a body!!


Belly shot at 37 weeks (sorry, it's a little weird with my head cut off, but it's hard to find a full body pic that I like :)

March/April showers to get us ready for our May baby!

We have been very fortunate to have many generous people in our lives who have blessed us with so many great baby items over the last few months! It's been nice to know so many people who have had boys over the last few years (Lincoln, Eli, and even a family from school). We already felt like we had a lot of what we needed before our showers, but were surprised at how many more things we received (and then realized we needed, too)!


Brian a little overwhelmed with all the baby stuff BEFORE the showers!! (This is supposed to be the nursery - notice the weight set still set up amongst the baby items :)

I don't even know where to begin...we have the best friends, family, work friends/families ever!! It all started when my school put on a surprise celebration for Kevin (a fellow first-time-parent teacher) and I. The staff got us both a personalized memory box for our little ones, complete with messages and blessings for our new families. It also doubles as a money bank and was filled with money for the new additions. I love the idea of this memory box and would love to give it as a gift to a future expectant family!




Then that weekend, Brian had his own celebration with a diaper party that his friends threw for him. Clint was generous enough to host a party in his honor at his house. And his significant other, Sarah, was nice enough to allow 15 guys to invade their house with an all day/night diaper party, just weeks after they finished the remodel of their bathroom and kitchen! She has way more patience and trust than I would - thanks Sarah!! In the Evite, Clint told all the guys that we will be using Fuzzibunz, a great brand of cloth diapers that Trav & Bridg recommended to us. Of course, being the guys they are, I think all they read on the Evite was the part that said "What: Party for Brian / Where: Clint's house / When: 3/19/10" The "Why" part wasn't much of a priority. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the 5 out of 15 guys who brought disposable diapers, but I give extra kudos to Sam who was the only one who actually brought Fuzzibunz. But, I think the real kudos goes to his wife, Jenna, who read the fine print!! At least the rest of the party was a success - corn hole tournament, dude sleepover, etc - I guess that's the part that counts the most! It was almost like a Pre-Baby Bachelor party!!

The next weekend, Falkie hosted my friend/family shower. It was great to have so many close friends and family members there to celebrate! My mom was even able to come down from Seattle and Brian's mom was able to come over from Montana. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with all the important people in our lives! I couldn't believe how many more baby goodies we got - it was hard to imagine where I was going to put all of these items (see above pic :) Some of my girlfriends heard what had happened with the diaper party and were able to make up for our lack of Fuzzibunz - I think he's set now! And my mom, aunt and good family friend, Sandy, were generous enough to help us out with getting our crib and dresser. And Brian's sister and mom got my Petunia Picklebottom dream diaper bag. We really lucked out!


Trac, Falks, Jenna & Lawrence -
These girls helped put on a wonderful shower!


Good friends Candice & Shannon!


Mama-to-be with Grama Candy & Grandma George!


Trac, Erin, Falks, Jenna & Lyndsey


Opening some Fuzzibunz diapers!


Ang's sweet Haylee & Ali's precious Aubrey - love how their outfits match!!


Even Lincoln came to celebrate!


Three preggo ladies - Erin (37 weeks), me (34 weeks), Lo (24 weeks)


I wish we could have gotten a group shot of everyone, but here are some of the girls who made this day special!

If I didn't feel loved enough already from the generosity of those closest to us, I felt it even more when my Pre-K class threw me a shower as well. There was no way it (or the presents) were going to be a surprise, but any time they talked about it, I always pretended I wasn't listening. Most of the moms came in a little early and decorated our classroom to look like a baby shower - complete with streamers, balloons, flowers and baby shower games. It was so adorable, I left the decor up for weeks afterward! They all chipped in to get me a gift certificate so that we can buy our BOB stroller - yea!!! I can't wait to use it this summer and think of their kindness! They also wrote a book of advice for "Mr. George" and I about what to do with the new baby. Here are a few excerpts to give an idea of how precious they are - "Make sure not to let him drink from the dog bowl." "Feed the baby applesause and noodles and spaghetti so it's easy to slurp." "Let him sleep really long. Really, really long." I'm so glad I will have this collection as a way to remember them and this experience!!







Our attempt at a class pic - they were much more interested in the balloons!


A page from the Advice Book they made for me :)

And last but not least, my wonderful teacher friends also arranged a baby celebration for me at Jenny Lindsay's house. It was so great to spend non-school time with them and have a chance to spend the quality time together. Especially since they have been such a wonderful support system all year long. They are the ones who listen to the excitement, worries and sometimes even preggo complaints that I may have each day! They have been there for me every step of the way and it was a nice way to celebrate this time with such wonderful friends! We all decided that we shouldn't use a baby as an excuse to get together - we need to do it on a more regular basis!

As shown by our wonderful friends and family, this baby is definitely loved!!! I am so excited for him to grow up with these amazing people and know that he is an important part of all of our lives! Now we only have a few more weeks until we can meet him and continue to show him the same kind of love and support for many more years to come!!

32 weeks/8 months = busy, busy busy!!!

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since the last time I posted something on here! We have been so busy every weekend that it's been hard to keep up with much else. And I also apologize for only one picture this time. I take my camera out every time there is an event, but end up getting sidetracked. The next one will have more, I promise!

This has definitely been a very tiring time, especially after hitting 32 weeks. I'm always telling people I don't mind being pregnant, in fact I really enjoy it. What is making it hard for me is the fact that I have to get up at 5:30 and teach 4-5 year olds all day! By about 11:30, I'm done and ready for a nap! It's hard to keep going for the rest of the day, let alone find the energy for the evenings. But, luckily Spring Break is just around the corner and that will be my time to relax!!

I had the fun opportunity to co-host a good friend, Erin's, shower at my house. It wasn't so hard to host at 31 weeks as it was hard to clean the day before!!! Good thing it was the weekend it was, otherwise one more week and my big belly would have prevented me from getting on all fours to scrub the floors! It was a beautiful shower and we played some really fun, non-traditional shower games. Afterward, my brother, Bridg, Lincoln and my Mom and Doug came over for an Oscar party. Whose great idea was it to do back-to-back get-togethers?? I ended up laying on the couch the entire time while Bridg made us dinner and my mom cleaned. Maybe that's why I had them over :)?

Here's the one pic I remembered to take at the very end of the shower, just before everyone left...

The mama-to-be with my co-hostesses - Lo (21 weeks), Erin (34 weeks) & Lawrence.

Last weekend we went to Bend to hang out with Brian's family. We figured this would be the last weekend before the little guy comes. We went to a few baby stores, got to watch a few movies and also got to sleep - a perfect weekend for a preggo lady! We also found the reusable diapers (Fuzzibunz - love the name!!) that we're going to use at a resale shop for less than half the price! Definitely a productive trip! And again, no pics...

People keep asking if I'm "nesting" yet. I tell them that if you know me, I'm always nesting, whether I'm preggo or not. I feel like I'm always getting ready for something, so to have the little one coming soon doesn't feel like anything different than planning our wedding, a bachelorette party, bridal shower, big trip, New Year's Eve, or other big event we have coming up. We've had every weekend planned since I pulled out the 2010 calendar in January! So maybe I'm just a "nester" by nature!

Alright, I'm going to end this post by including some funny Pre-K comments. These guys crack me up all day and I wish I could remember everything they have said. They definitely make life much more interesting!!
* A few days ago, one of the Pre-Kers passed gas while we were out in the hallway. Not an unusual thing - they're 4/5, it happens more than I would like :). But on this day, one of them detected the scent and decided to proclaim to anyone listening in the hallway, "Hey, Mrs. George's baby just farted!" Of course they all believed what she said, because...why not?? I just smiled and didn't deny it. Sorry, little guy - I will definitely defend you more after you're born. This was just too cute to not say anything :)
* Another daily thing I look forward to are the belly massages I receive throughout the day. They not only love to comment at how BIG he is getting, but they can't keep their hands off of him! And not only massages, but also kisses. A few of them have decided that they need to kiss my belly each day before leaving. They give me a hug and then my belly a kiss. This little guy is definitely loved!
* They also include him in the count of our class. Since they are all eye-level with the expanding belly, I think it's just natural for them to think he's an actual citizen of our class. When counting how many boys/girls we have, it's always, "7 boys and 4 girls". They sometimes include me in the count, but it's usually him who is first aknowledged.

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.