growing...baby and flowers

Last night we went on a much needed date! SO FUN!!! We parked in old town Folsom, went on a nice walk after an 80something degree day, talked about life, and enjoyed some dessert on the deck of a nice restaurant along the river. Simple but just right!

On the walk back to the car, Matt took a picture on the bridge...can you tell that I'm growing??? I know it's dark and not totally clear, but LOOK, my stomach is sticking out! It just changed this last week and it's still crazy to me! I can't suck it in! If I lay on my back and my stomach sinks in, the bump stays!!! I know this is NORMAL when pregnant, but for the first time it's just pretty crazy!!!! :) fun too! :) but crazy!

And here are some flowers that have made me happy lately! I think it was fall when I had an empty pot, so decided to try planting some seeds. I totally forgot about them and didn't even water them. Thanks to a day of rain at one point, they started to grow...and grow. They were just leaves for a long time, and after researching a bit more about them, I cut back the crazy leaves...and within a few weeks of warmer weather the flowers started to come!!!

I just love them!!! SO beautiful and so little work to keep them looking good!
Perhaps I should try more flowers from seed. We'll see!

missing Al and Al

Matt's sister, Alison, and her husband, Alastair, live in England....and we miss them!!!

Alison is 26 weeks pregnant and I LOVE seeing these pictures!!! You are BEAUTIFUL Alison!

It's been fun going through the pregnant process together...although she's ahead of me. I just wish it could be in person instead of texting and skype. :) The crazy thought is that the next time we see each other...hopefully Christmas...we'll both have new babies to meet! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

at long last...pregnant pictures

So it's super early in the morning and I'm up since I can't sleep well...so why not finally post something. :) (sorry it's taken so long Brenda, Rachel and mom. but i still love you) First, here are my pictures from ONE MONTH being pregnant. These were taken in mid January, back when I didn't feel bloated and fat all the time, just nauseous. Since then I haven't really shown any baby bump until about a week ago, so we haven't taken any pictures. Well, that's a lie, we took a couple but it's during my "I'm just bloated and it's NOT the baby" phase. I think I just look tired and sick, and I FELT like I looked 5 months pregnant. Oh well, I'll post one anyway. You can see the places I've grown.

I think I was FEELING like I was a whale more than I looked it...but if you know me, you can see differences. I'll have Matt take some new pictures this weekend to show what is now a true bump, and not just bloat....or at least half and half, but I've decided to just say it's all baby since I can! I'm 17 weeks today and just starting to deal with some new things, like not sleeping well and lower back pain...but a day at a time! I think that overall things have gone very well so far! I can't complain!

And one last bonus picture from an evening with the Parkins....fun with the kids while we waited for a "glow-stick-light-show" from Bob!

Okay, I think I'll go back to bed and see if I can sleep a couple more hours. And now that I've started this posting thing again, maybe I'll stick with it. I might change the format a bit and and just write some thoughts now and then. I've tried to just stick with pictures and events, but so much is happening right now, and and it seems silly not to post just because we haven't taken any pictures. So we'll see. If you just want the pictures, you can skim the rest, and those who care to read it can. :) Alright....have a great April fools day!!! :)

Good Friends and the Drive Home

We've been looking forward to this visit for months!!! Some of our closest friends happen to sometimes spend their Christmas only 20 minutes away from where my parents live...so we got to spend a day with them!

It's the first time we met their son, Anders, in person!

What an amazing little guy FULL of smiles and happiness! I could just watch him for hours and it would be good for my health!

We met up at one of our favorite coffee shops in Sisters!

Matt enjoying some good coffee with wonderful friends

Then we headed to their place for lunch and more time together! We LOVE you guys!

The drive back to Cali the next morning was slow going but pretty...

...until we were closer to the Cali border and we couldn't see much of anything!

But it happened again...we literally crossed into California and not only did the roads clear but the weather changed quite drastically as well! The rest of the trip was smooth and every mile got sunnier, more clear and simply WONDERFUL!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!!!

Christmas

Craig and Paulette invited us over to spend Christmas Eve at their place.

Not only did we enjoy some good food and company, we also got to hear more about their wedding ideas and plans! Matt and I were both thankful for a chance on this trip to get to know both Craig and Paulette better.

(not sure why this picture turned up sideways)

A couple pictures of Christmas day at mom and dad's.

Our growing family! :) We love you all!

Vacation Fun

We had the chance this Christmas to take a trip to central Oregon to visit family and relax a bit!

After years of mom making Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, I finally took the time to learn how to make them with her!

More than making the rolls, I enjoyed spending time with mom!

YUM!!!!

While we were baking, matt and dad spent some "man" time in the garage and outside! Matt first tried out mom's scooter...

...and then took the next step to trying out dad's "real" motorcycle! I think he's hooked!

Some sister time!

I don't like spending money on my hair so i go the cheap way and use the do-it-yourself box method! Cindy helped me out and it turned out pretty good...but i forgot the after picture. :)

A highlight of our time was getting to go to McMenamins for a movie and rest in the soaking pool! In Portland, Kennedy School was one of our favorite dates, which we've missed immensely in California. If you've never been there, you should check it out! $3 movie, relaxing on a love-seat with good food and drink! You can't beat it!

spirit days forever!!!

I always loved spirit days in school...when we got to dress up in crazy ways! A bonus of working with kids is that i still get to participate in the fun!!! This last week was "Dress like a candy cane day!" At first i figured I'd just layer one red and one white shirt...but then i realized how much further i could go!!! It's amazing how an outfit can make an entire day more enjoyable! hmm, maybe i should get more creative every day....of maybe not! :)