Sadie's First Trip!

When we found out Brian would be getting the week between Christmas and New Years off, we decided it would be a great time to take the trip up to Alaska to visit Brian's family. I haven't ever been up there since we started dating, and he hasn't been in several years. We made arrangements with Brian's parents...and our tickets were booked. Gulp. A three and a half hour plane ride with a two month old. I was anxious about it!

 But of course, Sadie was a champion. She didn't make a peep the whole way up. She slept for about half the flight and then looked around, grinned at the flight attendants, and ate a bit. Big relief!

We stayed at Brian's aunt and uncle's house, and had the whole basement to ourselves...which was really nice. I was nervous about staying with other people with a newborn...not knowing how she would handle the new environment....and especially how she would sleep.

I don't remember the order of events of the days...but we met up with Brian's sister and three nieces at the mall- did some wandering and visiting. Then had a fantastic steak, crab, salmon dinner back at the house. We had brunch in a small little bar known for their eggs benedict, then back to the house to watch football. Christie, Aaron, and the girls came over to hang with us, while the 'adults' went out

to a nice restaurant. We went out to a park for some sledding- Sadie was bundled up, but didn't really like the cold much, so we mostly hung out in the chalet, watching everyone else sled. We went over to a cousin's for a big holiday get together...they had fresh caught king crab that was SO BIG. The pieces of meat that were on my plate were like the size of a steak. I have never eaten crab that was so little work! We had another meal out at a pizza and beer place that was pretty fun. Lots of running around- and again, Sadie did awesome. I think the hardest part was for me, and figuring out when/where to nurse her and/or pump.

Sadly, it never snowed while we were there. There was a little snow on the ground, but it was actually colder in Seattle some of the time than it was up there. I guess that just means we will have to go another time!

A little joke we had going the whole trip- I informed them that I don't believe in real moose. I think they are just an animal of cartoons. And everyone tried to convince me that they are real...they had seen them IN THEIR BACKYARD (a likely story...I'm sure people see Bigfoot in their backyard all the time). So everyone was on constant look out for a moose. Unfortunately (or expectantly), we never saw one. But when we were at the airport on our way home, this fellow was hanging out. I love Sadie checking out the moose and then her expression!

 I'm so glad we were able to go this year...it's a trip I have been hoping we would be able to do for quite a while. Also such a relief that Sadie was a stellar traveler (I know, I know...this is the best time to take a baby on a trip because they aren't mobile yet...but still)....

Christmas!

Christmas came too fast this year. I know everyone felt like that a little bit, because Thanksgiving was so late this year...but I felt like I almost totally missed it. I never got a peppermint mocha (apparently peppermint isn't good while nursing). I hardly even listened to Christmas music. We didn't do any decorating until the 23rd when we finally got a Christmas tree- which I do love, and we plan to keep up for another week. We don't have stockings, because I am feeling picky about what kind of stocking to get Sadie (since it will be with her forever!)...every one that I see at other houses that I really like are homemade...and I don't have that kind of crafting skill. BUT, seeing as I have a whole year until we need them, maybe I will figure out how to make one. I did look on Etsy, but the ones I liked were too expensive. We were terrible about Christmas presents/shopping this year. I figure we have an excuse this one year with a brand new baby, so I don't feel so bad (but still a little). 

Brian had to work Christmas Eve, but was able to leave work a bit early. Sadie and I picked him up at work and we headed down to my Grandma Karen's to spend a few hours with my dad's side of the family. There are soooo many people there now- so many kiddos! When I was little, there were a lot of kids...and then we had a few years where numbers went down and there weren't really any kids around. Christmas is a little dull without kids. And then suddenly my cousins and siblings started having kids, and the house is back full of laughs...chaos, but the best kind. We only had time to visit for a bit- we couldn't stay for presents or dinner. Then we packed up and headed to Brian's Grandma's, where Tami had prepared a delicious dinner. Brian's sister Julie was in town for Christmas, so it was fun to visit with her. 

When I was a kid, we always spent Christmas Eve night at my Grandma Cary's house. And then when she moved, I always stayed the night at my mom's house. That is what Brian and I have done the past couple of years. But we decided, now that we have a kid, that we want to wake up in our own house on Christmas morning. So we started that tradition this year. I have to admit, I was a little sad waking up, knowing that Santa hadn't actually come to the house (he always came to my mom's house). We prepped breakfast and had my mom and Ron over. We ate, visited, opened stockings and presents. I hope one day we have the kind of house that we can host a big Christmas. My mom and Ron had a few places they had to be that day, so they headed out, and we drove up to Brian's parents to celebrate with some more grandparents. More visiting, lots more food....and then Gregg and Tami were on their way to the airport to head up to Alaska...where we would join a couple days later. 

I'm sad that Christmas went by so quickly this year...it really is a magical time. I can't wait for the Christmases to come with Sadie...ahhh, so much to look forward to!

We have a BABY!

Oh my goodness, we have a baby and she is already over TWO MONTHS old...what!

Little Sadie was born almost two weeks early and we were NOT ready for an early baby! I had just finished work, and had big plans for getting our house/baby stuff organized. And then very early Sunday morning, contractions started, and 22 hours later, we had a kid.

Sadie was born late Sunday night- at 11:50pm...the midwife asked if we had a birthday preference since we were getting so close to midnight. We liked the sound of 10/12/14. She was a tiny little bean, at 6 lbs, 6 ounces and 18.5 inches long.

We stayed in the hospital for two nights, and then they sent us home with our new little human. That's a weird thing...putting this little girl into a big ol carseat, and then driving home. I went in to the house first and said hello to the cats, gave them some pets. Then Brian brought Sadie in and set her carseat down on the floor so the cats could check her out. Millie's tail puffed out immediately...she knew something was up. They both sniffed around her a bit, and then went on with their lives.

 We spent the first two weeks living on the couch. It was exhausting, and I really don't remember much of it, other than I was sleeping 2-4 hours in a 24 hour period. Eesh. We had a few friends bring meals over for us, my mom brought some frozen food from Costco, and we had pagliacci a few times. The food thing was amazing...it was the last thing on my mind, but so so necessary. Thank you, thank you, thank you for thinking of us!!

At this point, Sadie is an easy baby. She doesn't cry very often, and can always be consoled with some bounces on the exercise ball. She has become a pretty great night time sleeper- she usually gives us a stretch of 4-5 hours, wakes up to eat, goes back to sleep immediately (no rocking or anything needed) for another 2-3 hours. So while it isn't my pre-baby 8-10 hours of sleep a night, it is definitely enough to keep me feeling pretty good. She had one night at about three and a half weeks that she slept 7 hours straight. I woke up feeling better than I had my entire life. Seriously. A good sleeper was something I prayed and prayed about. Happy baby? Eh, how about a good sleeper. :)

 She is pretty smiley after she wakes up from her naps. Everything changed once she started smiling...she was suddenly interacting with us...which is so so awesome. Her first smile came while I was singing Disney songs to her- Bare Necessities to be exact. Brian plays his guitar and sings to her pretty much every night. Some days she could care less, and then sometimes she is totally engaged and adds her own 'singing'- so cute.

The cats have been awesome. They haven't done anything to show they are upset or jealous toward her- no peeing, no scratching...Millie sometimes walks over her in bed, like she doesn't exist, but that's all. Frank is very patient...he will sit next to me and let her touch him. She had bare feet the other day and was using him to keep them warm, kicking and squirming...he just sat there, occasionally giving me a 'really?' look.

We left her with Brian's parents once so we could see a movie. And my mom is coming to babysit one day this week so we can see the Hobbit. It's weird going out without her- I don't feel upset, but I constantly feel like I'm forgetting something. It's really, really nice to have grandparents nearby that love her so much and are willing to take care of her occasionally so Brian and I can go out. It's definitely a bigger ordeal to go out with her, but we have taken her to a few parties (holiday times!), and we have taken her to Young Life club...she does great.

I know it is cliche and everything...but good grief, I didn't know how much you can love something. When I was pregnant, I commented to someone that I was anxious about having her in the winter, because it would be cold and rainy and we would be stuck in the house, and I was afraid of feeling isolated....and this woman told me I would be too busy staring at her to even notice. I kind of rolled my eyes at that. But it is absolutely true. I am so thrilled to sit at home and talk to her all day.

Summer Catch Up

I'm so far behind in blogging...we had a pretty busy end of the summer! A brief run through of the fun August to-dos.

At the beginning of August, we went to the Arcade Fire show at the Gorge. I was NERVOUS about the show. At the time, I was having awful back and rib pain pretty constantly...the only thing that helped was lying on my back. So the idea of sitting in a car for three hours, and then being at the concert for who knows how many hours, without the opportunity to relieve my back. BUT, I was totally fine! It was like baby knew I needed an evening off. We did have seats, which was helpful- I could alternate sitting and standing. The show was great- they asked people to dress up either in formal attire or costume...so there were some fun costumes out there...Brian spent a good chunk of time before the show started walking around and taking pictures of people. I didn't like the opener at all (other than he was funny)...it was so loud. Luckily Brian asked the people that worked there and found some ear plugs for me. Arcade Fire was a blast...they have so much energy...there were lights, confetti, a blow up doll band....They are such a fun live band.

A little later in the month, we drove down to Portland for an overnight. We saw David Gray at Edgefield on the Saturday. I love David Gray. He is one of my very favs. I have seen him a few times and it is always magical. A couple months back, Brian and I went to Easy Street for breakfast one morning, and I decided to listen to the new album at the listening station there...the first song came on and as soon as his voice started, I burst into tears. Like almost hysterical sobbing. Just standing there in the middle of Easy Street, for no reason at all. I was curious how the show would go. Well, sadly, the show just wasn't as magical as I was hoping for. It was still good...but, he was wearing JEANS. What the heck David- you wear suits! 

Then on Sunday we went to the Sounders/Timbers soccer match. Brian had been wanting to go to a match in Portland and the timing worked out great with the David Gray show. our friends Josh and Laura also came down for the game, so we met up for brunch and then headed to the game together. Wowzer, what an experience. We had to get there two hours ahead of time, they had a specific area of the field roped off for us (so there would be no interaction between sounders and timbers fans), and then we had to stay in our seats after the match until the rest of the stadium was cleared out. We won, and it was awesome.

Not in Summer, but along the activities lines, I was able to go to the Ryan Adams show at the Paramount with Catie, Amanda, and Leslie...I had wanted to go to the show (obviously), but didn't buy tickets and had pretty much resigned myself to not going because I knew I would be pretty far along and probably uncomfortable. Then Catie let me know they had an extra ticket, and I was so pumped! I was a little uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn't handle for Ryan.

I was lucky enough to have three baby showers planned for us, so spent all weekends in September enjoying the company of friends and family, and preparing for the arrival of the little one. Good thing we didn't wait any longer for those showers, because she made her appearance a tad bit early!

Summer!

Woo, Summer is definitely here. I don't deal well with extreme heat (despite the fact that I spent several weeks every summer for eight years working at Disney World in long sleeves and long pants as a Thunder Mountain Miner)...I am feeling pretty joyful about the 65 degrees and sprinkles today. I even had a few moments last week where I was really looking forward to Fall...I could smell the pumpkin and apples.

I finished my Statistics class and did as well as I had hoped...woohoo. Statistics was my last pre req before applications are due...SO exciting. I have started studying for the GRE test, although I'm not being very diligent about sticking to my study plans/goals. It's actually what I am supposed to be doing right now...I even left the house in order to be more productive. I need deadlines and due dates. Whatever...I am still rejoicing the completion of pre-reqs.

Our house has been pretty much soccer non-stop for the last while (with some baseball thrown in there obviously)...this is the first time I have followed the World Cup, and REALLY followed it, at that. It was pretty exciting watching the US do so well...I even got to watch the last game's overtime with the little girls I nanny for. They don't watch tv, so it was a PRETTY BIG DEAL. The four year old was so excited and giggly...she couldn't believe how many different colored shoes they were wearing! The next day when I was putting her down for her nap, she whispered 'will you stay and watch another soccer game here with us?' I told her there wasn't a soccer game that day, and she came right back with 'maybe there is a baseball game we could watch?'. Sad the World Cup is over, but okay with having a break from THAT much soccer.

We had a fun 4th of July...we went to my Uncle's house down in DEEP Olympia (it's soooo far)...he always has a big all-weekend party...this is the first time we have been there for the actual 4th- we usually make it at some point during the weekend, but since the holiday fell on a Friday this year, it worked. There are always lots of people, yard games, tons of food- including fresh crab that they just go pull out of the crab pots hanging out in the Sound that is their backyard, and tons of fireworks. This year the new addition was a giant slip and slide...the little kids had a great time, and a few brave adults gave it a try...Brian being one, of
course. I'm always afraid of the fireworks that people just light off themselves in the yard...which is what we had a ton of...luckily nothing caught on fire and nobody lost a limb.

On Friday, when I pulled into the neighborhood where I babysit, I saw a bunch of Lost Cat posters. There were like five in a very small area...some details provided- it was a 17 yr old cat that needed medication and had been missing for several day, never having been outside before. It bummed me out. The kiddo and I

went to the park for awhile, and when we walked back, the signs had all been updated- the cat was home! It made my day! And then I noticed the owner had created a blog and a facebook page for the lost cat (Rowdie). I asked the mom about it when she got home, and my goodness...this owner had put a TON of effort into finding this cat! She had a search team together out looking for the cat each day, including a search dog. She was going around the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking people to search their home because he is really friendly and would have just wandered into a house, she went around the neighborhood with a recording of Rowdie meowing, hoping to attract him, etc...I mean, she LOVES this cat. Thank goodness he was found!

OUR cats are doing well...I was worried about them during the heat...Frank threw up a few times and Millie threw up once. We put lots of extra water around the house, and a couple of wet towels on the ground...Millie avoided the wet towels like a plague, walking as FAR around them as she could. But Frank plopped himself down a couple of times...that poor guy has a lot of fur! Frank has been more snuggly than usual...here he is hanging out with his little sibling-to-be.

And speaking of his little sibling-to-be...I'm doing pretty well. Feeling quite large. Even though I know I have SOOOO much bigger to get...ugh. I have this awful pain in the middle of my back, that used to only happen at the end of the day, but for the last week has been pretty constant from the time I wake up until I go to bed...lying on my back with my feet on the couch is pretty much the only thing that gives me relief. A few yoga poses too. On Friday, I had relief for almost the whole day...I thought maybe something had shifted and I would be a-okay again, but it was back on Saturday. My midwife said it is probably a rib that has shifted a bit, maybe pressing on a nerve, maybe inflamed. I'm hoping it doesn't last for the next 14 weeks. Because while we are now in the third trimester, and 'almost there'...14 weeks is a really freaking long time still!

Alright...time to study. Study, Eryn, study! 

A Day Off

Frank loves snuggles

I have today off of work. My Friday family had their new baby this week! So exciting. It's really amazing having a regular workday off...like, I get overwhelmed by everything I want to do, and usually end up doing a lot of nothing except snuggling with the cats (well, with Frank...Millie only snuggles at night)...and Frank fully takes advantage of having me home. My favorite thing about having a workday off is dropping Brian off at work, getting a Starbucks drink and breakfast sandwich, and then watching Kelly and Michael and The View. It's actually something I have been looking forward to about staying home after I have the baby. Having the actual baby to take care of is still a little abstract to me, but watching Kelly and Michael and The View...that I can picture and look forward to!

I don't want to talk about pregnancy a lot...but it does kind of rule my life. I'm 19 weeks along, and in this amazing second trimester bliss. That sounds dramatic, and I think it is so great because it was so awful at the beginning. I don't feel sick at all, I don't have the crazy exhaustion (I am still going to bed early-ish). I am still sleeping well. I'm just starting to kind of show...like that phase where you would never mention pregnancy to someone because you definitely can't tell. I only have one pair of my regular pants that are comfortable at all....but I still don't fit in maternity clothes...it's a fun little phase...getting dressed in the morning isn't my favorite. I'm not overly emotional, although I did have an awful sobbing fit a couple of weeks ago...I was listening to the radio and they told a seriously AWFUL story about something that happened to a cat. Like, so so horrible. If I wasn't pregnant, I would have cried and been really upset...but because I am, I SOBBED...uncontrollably. I had to pull over. And I continued getting unbelievably upset throughout the day, and throughout the following weekend. I still have moments (this was two weeks ago), and I have to force it out of my head. And really all animal stories, happy or sad...I really try to focus on the happy ones, make me cry. Just animal stories though, not people stories. This video was the latest cryfest for me. Ha.

I've been feeling the baby move since 13 weeks...which is super early. They say you don't feel it, especially your first pregnancy, until 18-22 weeks...but I definitely felt it early. And now it is super regular...all throughout the day. And last night I SAW it, and Brian could feel it. SO.WEIRD. It's really early for that...I've read that doesn't happen until like 26 weeks...so I'm afraid it is a giant Twilight vampire baby. 

nails are brighter in real life

I painted my fingernails last night- I never paint my fingernails because they always chip so quickly and look awful...plus, I have hangnails and don't take care of my nails at all. But I decided to paint them anyway, and I am so distracted by them while I type. They are a bright orange-ish peach-ish and I love it.

We have been letting the cats go outside for about half an hour a day when we get home from work. We sit outside and keep an eye on them...make sure they don't leave the yard. They LOVE it. They seriously sit at the door and meow for an hour after we bring them in. Yesterday Millie would not come back inside...she waits until I get close to her and then bounds across the savannah (she hops like a little antelope, it's adorable) to the other end of the yard, and then when I get close to her, she bounds back the other way. It took me ten minutes to get her in yesterday.

Okay...The View is almost over. I need to get ready for the rest of my day!

a busy update

Ahhh, things are so busy. Which is usually a great thing...though it is a little tough these days as I want to sleep all the time!

Spring quarter started for school...I'm taking my last required pre-req (I may still take another class this summer that some programs require)...it is statistics, and so far it has been a TON of homework. It is an online class, so there are a ton of assignments, and lots of quizzes. Math has always been a pretty easy class for me, but I feel like statistics is a lot less math than a regular math class, so hopefully the online thing won't be a problem and I'll be able to keep up just by reading the book and doing the homework.

Still working long days...8:30-6...and with traffic, I usually don't get home until 6:30 or later. I'm looking forward to going back to my normal schedule in a couple of months!

Baseball season started...so we have been to a few games so far...we have a couple more lined up in the next week...I love going to M's games, but the 10:30pm evenings are tough!

Kickball season started, which I have been pumped for...but our games are so late at night! Our first week started with a double header, and I was embarrassingly sore for the few days after...like had to lift my legs with my hands to get in and out of the car. But it is fun and I am thrilled to be back out on the field. 

And then, of course, that little thing that we are having a baby. Hence the wanting to sleep all the time. I am just out of the first trimester, so have a little more energy than the previous two months, but still needing about ten hours of sleep a night. We are both super excited to be parents, but also don't love all the extra attention that comes along with this kind of big news! I have a tendency to overthink everything and stress out...so we are keeping things pretty low key, and trying to just take everything one week at a time.

Fortunately, my first trimester wasn't totally awful...I was unbelievably exhausted and had nausea from about 3pm on every day (all day on the weekends), but never actually got sick...just felt gross. And when you are feeling gross that much, knowing that it will last for at least six weeks seems like FOREVER. I was thinking 'why in the world does anyone have more than one kid if they feel like this for so long?!'...but things have definitely gotten better. I'm still not feeling awesome, and I can smell everything any where near me (garlic fries at the stadium- ummm, yeah.). Brian has been awesome...keeping the house running while I just eat and sleep... he feeds the cats (I can't handle the smell of the food), and cleans their litterboxes, does dishes, cooks, vacuums, laundry, etc...pretty much everything. 

I had the first ultrasound, which was waaaay cooler than I expected. I have always seen other people's ultrasound pictures and feel like it doesn't really look like a baby...they will point to something and say 'look, that's the foot' and I think 'okay, if you say so'....but it actually looked like a baby to me...I saw all the fingers, and different organs, and it rolled over...very cool.

I started building a baby registry, because we have lots of family pumped about buying things for this little thing...and oh my goodness, it's a little overwhelming. There is so much STUFF out there for babies! And about 100 different options for each bit of stuff. I mean, I had to close my computer and take a break when I started looking through all the different options for bottles. And then you hear from people that their baby went through several different types before they found one that worked for them. How do you build a registry or get your home prepared if you don't even know what your baby will actually use? Plus, we have zero extra space at our house...I definitely think we are going to go the less is more route and see how that goes.

Okay...I have at least two hours of homework to do tonight, and I really just want to take a nap!