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!

Little Miss Millie Turns One!

Little Millie bean has turned one, though she is still as tiny and petite as a six-month kitten. The vet told us she will probably always look like a kitten, which is both adorable, and hilarious next to Frank.

She and Frank couldn't be more different. When we picked her up at the shelter, she was so happy to ride around on my shoulder. When we brought her home, she was crazy loving...like she was overwhelmed with there being TWO people that would pet her and that she could snuggle up with, constantly moving back and forth between the two of us. She is much more cat-like now. She minds her business, has her favorite spots, eats her food when it is served, and only occasionally sits with me. She hates being picked up, and squirms until she is able to jump away. I get glimpses of her kitten self at night time though. She is always right up next to my face, gives me multiple head butts as she curls up into her comfortable spot.

Her purrs are SO loud. She very rarely meows, but will growl if Frank gets too close to something she is

playing with. One morning she was crouched down on the kitchen floor, and Frank was a good ten feet away, and she was glaring at him and growling, protecting a piece of bacon she had found.

She is an amazing hunter (at least she would be if she got to go outside)...she is very patient waiting for the right time to spring on her kitty toy prey, and she rarely misses...often flying impressively through the air. I can only imagine all of the 'gifts' she would bring back to us if she was allowed outside.

She tolerates Frank. They play together, but it often ends with her yowling and hiding from him. But she instigates the playing often, so I don't think she is actually afraid of him...and occasionally he ends up with a scratch when she puts him in his place.

She is the cutest little thing and we love her to bits.

Frank Turns One!

Today is Frank's birthday! 

We told him to live it up today- we promised not to spray him with water when he is naughty. He has decided he wants to play with his best friend Millie, nap, eat some food, and nap some more. I think that sounds like a winner of a day.

We have had him for nine months now, and he is such a different cat than the kitten we brought home! Remember how he hid in the wall immediately upon getting home? Or stayed behind the couch in the extra room for days? This cat loooooves us. He follows me around the house everywhere I go, even if I just run upstairs to grab something- he goes up and down the stairs with me. He sits in the bathroom sink while I get ready in the morning. When I sit on the couch watching tv, he flops down next to me. At night he sleeps on my feet. He isn't overly affectionate- doesn't generally sit ON me, but right next to me.

He talks a TON. Sometimes I imagine he is a human that was turned into a cat by a witch...he always seems to answer when we talk to him- particularly when I ask him about being a human turned into a cat. He greets us at the door when we get home. He doesn't really have 'off-limits' petting spots (like cats are known
for)...he lets us play with his paws (no problem with his nails being clipped), rub his belly, check his teeth. He spends much of his awake time grooming himself, or grooming Millie, or sprawled in front of the heater. I was really nervous about how he would do when we were gone in Italy, because he had such anxiety issues. Christie and Aaron stayed at our house and Frank hadn't had much experience with kids...but he ended up befriending baby Scarlett and played with her. He likes to help with chores around the house. And he is a big Seattle sports fan (his middle name is Marshawn).

He isn't a perfect cat by any means...he is a bit of a bully with Millie. He doesn't like when she gets attention,

and he plays too rough with her (he weighs more than twice as much as her). He scratches on our bedroom door at about 7am every morning- the door isn't closed, and he can come and go as he pleases- he just wants one of us to go downstairs with him. He has discovered that he gets a lot of attention when he scratches the tall speaker next to the tv...he will look right at us, and slowly reeeeach his paw up. He also likes to jump up on the tv stand, and sit right in front of the tv while we watch something. He sheds. He had plenty of medical issues early on (we haven't been to the vet in several months, knock on wood).

I bought him a cat leash so we could take him outside...he hated it. As soon as we got outside, he freaked out, managed to squeeze out of the harness, and tried to jump through the window back inside.Since then, we have let him explore the front porch...he really doesn't try to go further out, but he loves being outside.

 We love him and are so glad he is part of our little family!

2014! Goals!

Yawn...we got back from our two week magical Italy vacation/honeymoon yesterday afternoon. I like to pretend that I'm immune to jet lag, but at the moment, I just don't think that's true. I went to bed last night at 7pm, and woke up feeling great at 6:30am...I figured I had beat the jet lag! But...I'm currently contemplating if the effort to make dinner is worth it, or if a bowl of cereal will be just fine. And wondering if I can possibly make it until 8:30 this evening before climbing into bed.

I have lots of trip blogging to do...and I will! But first thing- the GOALS for 2014. I don't like resolutions, but I LOVE goals! Brian and I had a good 9 hour flight yesterday to think about and talk about some goals for the coming year (we didn't spend 9 hours doing that...maybe 20 minutes)...here goes...

Health goals:
- vegetables, vegetables, vegetables...a large portion on every plate! This hasn't been a big enough priority in our meal plans! I want to make a weekly meal plan and grocery shop in an organized way.
- eat dinner at home 5x/week. We eat at restaurants and fast food way too often.
- get up early enough to have breakfast at home every day. I require breakfast, so if I don't make something at home, I end up getting a croissant or muffin or something else incredibly unhealthy at a coffee shop.
- get a gym membership and exercise at least 4x/week. In an effort to save money, I gave up my gym membership a long while back. This is fine during the spring and summer, but I am not motivated enough to exercise in the cold rain. I need to get back into a regular routine. Brian and I joined a soccer team (which I am truly terrified about- I have never played soccer), which will be fantastic exercise one day a week...but we need to keep it up throughout the week.

School goals:
- study for and take the GRE test. I have never studied for any of the big basic tests we take in our life (I'm sure my SAT score would have been much higher if I had)...I want to be prepared for this test before taking it!
- apply to nursing schools. I need to take my GRE, and finish one (maybe two, depending on the school) pre-reqs and then I can start applying. Nervous and excited!

Financial goals:
- savings, savings, savings! I have added some extra hours in my work week- picked up a couple of hours a day with a new family...I want ALL of this extra money to go to savings.

Volunteer goals:
I gave up my Boys & Girls Club coaching this year- since we moved to West Seattle, that Ballard location is too far...I am sad about that loss. I was hoping to find some other opportunity...
So I'm volunteering once a month in the nursery at our church, AND
Brian and I are leading (with a few other people!) a middle school Young Life group here in West Seattle. I'm SO excited for this! I loved Young Life in high school, and my leaders were a huge part of that, and were a huge part in my relationship with Christ (it was really the start of my understanding the personal relationship aspect in my faith)...I'm nervous and excited to be a part of that for these kids! Plus, Young Life is just super fun...summer camp!

Okay...those are the big ones. I make goals on a pretty regular basis...monthly, weekly, sometimes daily if I need it...so there will be more...but I'm hoping these will last the whole year.

Wishing you an awesome 2014!! According to the Feng Shui guy that gave me some predictions a few years ago (when I was at Tommy Bahama), this year is going to be a great one...I think he said a 95 out of 100. So, looking forward to that. 

Paris and Italy fun to come...