Hi Dana! :)

So fun to see an old dear friend and her newest little one in PDX this weekend. Just wish we had even more time to catch up. I'm pretty sure Jacob smiled at me the whole time we were talking and even smiled for the photo. What a great kid! :)

Clara Turns 6

Clara Mae is my sweet niece born in July. Because of her July birthday, I have not yet been able to make it to one of her birthday parties! Poor neglected Clara. Over the past 6 years I have been on some trip or another when she celebrates her special day! So this year we made up for it by hosting her 6th birthday party at our house. Her family was on their way to the beach to go camping and stayed a night with us on the way. It was fun celebrating with the family and while mostly a low key evening, we did put up a few decorations in honor of the birthday girl. We spent the evening having a yummy BBQ'd by Chris dinner, eating yummy birthday cake, presents were opened, gift bags were passed out to siblings, and s'mores and story time with glow sticks around the camp fire rounded out the evening.

Not enough couch space for Greta so she had the privilege of sleeping on the floor. Wolfie made sure she was not lonely during the night (or perhaps rather, he liked the special treatment of having a blanket for a bed on the floor).

4th of July

July 4, 2013: I love Independence Day. It really is up there as one of my favorite holidays. But knowing that Chris was on his way home and expecting him the next day, I really just wanted the day to fly by so it could be the 5th! But what better way to pass the time than with some sweet friends. Talitha invited me to do a light hike in the morning with her sisters and our friend Becca--I think we went 6 miles round trip on easy terrain. They were sweet to accommodate for the pregnant lady. :) We thought about swimming at the end, but as the day was a little cooler than earlier in the week, we all enjoyed a nice rest and never ended up in the water. On the way home we splurged on soft serve and then headed over to a BBQ. It was a good day and spending it with friends was just what I needed to pass the last 24 hours before being reunited with my love.

28 weeks

Michaela and me!

Got my fence decorated for the fourth and my airman's homecoming.

Tacoma Shower

Another post from the waiting queue:

My mom and sisters were so sweet to throw me a shower for my friends in Tacoma to join in the celebrations of welcoming our little guy. It was at least 95 degrees out on this Saturday afternoon and yet so many sweet and dear women came out to party with us. It was wonderful to see some friends that I do not see often. It meant a lot to me that you came to share in my joy. And most of all, I have to give kudos to my sweet mother-in-law who traveled all the way from New York to be with me at my shower--all a week before her son came home from deployment and she didn't even get to see him! She must be excited for this baby or something. :)

The following photos are from the end of my 27th week (end of June).

32 weeks

32 Weeks: Today we had another ultrasound check up at the specialist to make sure everything is okay with the baby due to my blood pressure concerns from early on in the pregnancy. My bp has really stayed on the low side of high and even recently dropped to a normal range (not exactly sure why but it may have to do with some essential oils I've been taking). So all of this is just an extra precaution because high blood pressure can cause a lack of growth in the baby and complications in delivery at the end of pregnancy. Everything looked good today. Baby is measuring 4.5 lb. which is 60th percentile  and all the fluids and measurements looked just great. It is starting to look squishy in there--sorry kid, you have 8 weeks to go before you can come out and stretch...So as a result of the normalcy of everything, the Dr. talked to my midwife and scaled back all the weekly visits they had recommended when I saw them last time. Besides my regular midwife appointments, we'll just do one more growth check in September to make sure everything is continuing the way it should.We'll just go for one more growth check in September (besides my regular midwife appts.). So this is all good news for now and we are hoping it all stays this way and that all the bp hype was for nothing. It has been fun to see the little guy a few extra times through the pregnancy though.

We spent the weekend at the coast with Chris' parents and are enjoying summer while we have it. I'm still feeling good although starting to notice that I'm slowing down and a little less comfortable when I'm sleeping these days. I hope you are all enjoying your summer as well!

Get Fit August

My friend Talitha has started a blog as part of her nutrition course. She has a challenge up for the month of August for anybody who is interested in focusing on eating well and healthy living. It always helps to do this with a buddy or blog accountability  She will be posting meal plans and exercise ideas throughout the month so you may want to regularly follow the blog. Head on over to Get Fit August and see if this is something you would like to participate in.

Helpers

I have some posts backed up in my queue for you. I have been silent on this front, enjoying my time with my husband while he is on vacation, but I thought its about time to post my old news so I can catch you all up on my new news too! This one is from early June.

These girls came over to help me with some weeding and outdoor projects so they could earn some money for summer camp. I tell you what, they are such hard workers and definitely went above and beyond what I asked them to do--figuring out what needed to be done and doing it without me even asking. Thanks, Michaela and Anna! I'm sure your hard work was worth your week at camp and it definitely blessed me too!

Andra came by to pick up the girls and ended up in my garden helping me out too. Thanks, Andra! You are amazing!

A little after my first helpers came by, my parents stopped by on their way back from a trip to Idaho. I don't think Vancouver is exactly on their route home but they went the few extra miles to spend an evening and a day with me and they were so helpful too. Thanks mom and dad! My dad even helped me evict a mouse who was enjoying treats in my kitchen. It was good timing for him to be here!

This is my hammock from Doug and Leah Leaman. Thanks you guys for the beautiful brazilian hammock!! They gave it to us for our wedding and 2.5 years later we finally have a place to hang it! I have really been enjoying it this summer and I'm so grateful for my dad who hung it for me too.

My dad also helped me with various projects around the house and yard. Its nice to have a Mr. Fix-it around when the one you are married to is deployed!

Meanwhile, my mom spent most of her day on her hands and knees bleaching my kitchen floor. I knew it was dirty after a winter's worth of the dog and farm boots tracking in mud, but I had no idea it could be this white! Here is a before and after shot when she was mid-way.

After she was finished, my dad declared it clean enough to eat off of. :)

I'm so grateful for the various friends and family who came by and helped me out with various projects and even daily chores. THANK YOU!