Labor!?!

Well, I think I'm having labor pains! I woke up at 4:00am this morning with gas like pains. It's now 7:00am and we've started to time the contractions. They are irregular but definitely something more than gas pains. Caitlin has headed off to work in critical care and is working a 12 hour shift today. We've called both parents and everyone is excited about the news. No running off to the hospital yet!

5 days to go!?

I guess it's about time for an update. Several people have assumed that we were at the hospital because we did not answer our telephone! We'll try and keep everyone informed via this blog as the big day approaches.

We had a doctor's appointment on Monday. We've been going in every week to check on things. So far everything looks good. It has become very routine to go to the clinic... they weigh you, take a urine sample, and check your blood pressure. Then Dr. Ortiz comes in and measures the height of the belly, listens to the heart rate of the baby, and answers any questions we may have. That's about it! On our way out we sign up for another Monday appointment and hope that we won't make it until then!

I still feel great. No real changes in how I feel in the last few weeks. I have been attending lap swim about 5 times a week this summer which has felt wonderful. Along with some house work and teaching private lessons, we try and do something fun every day. Yesterday we drove up the Icicle Road in Leavenworth to check on the river which has taken over the road after an avalanche this spring. You can check out this remarkable story here. It's a real shame because there are some beautiful campsites, a ranger station and a great hike that you can't drive to anymore.

This morning we brought our bikes to the Apple Capital Loop Trail in Wenatchee. It's a great five mile ride around the Columbia River. It's fun to people watch, see the artwork and flowers on the Wenatchee side of the river and see the desert landscape of the East Wenatchee side. We took it pretty slow, but really enjoyed the warm sun on our backs and the great views.

By the way, I figured out how to add links!!! Click on the underlined words to learn more! :) You probably already figured that out...

Wild Wenatchee

We've been working too hard lately and needed to do something fun. We drove 15 minutes to Wenatchee and put the canoe in the water at the Wenatchee Confluence State Park. A short distance away is our favorite spot to canoe, the Horan Nature Area (the marshy canals seen in the aerial photo below). We saw more wildlife today than we have ever seen. There are always a lot of Canadian geese, wood ducks and other waterfowl, but today we saw two deer, a garter snake with it's catch, and a raccoon. It is so peaceful and beautiful we would recommend this little canoe trip to anyone.

Below is a fun little beach that we usually go swimming at. This year the water is a little too cold for our liking, although wading in the water is very refreshing. This is close to the point at which the Wenatchee River meets the Columbia River.

We were so surprised to see deer today. A buck and a doe were wandering about the shallow river.

This was another first for us! A garter snake eating a fish... what an amazing sight! It was really neat to watch it eat this fish whole by dislocating it's jaws. The poor fish was still alive! :(

Above you can see where we found the snake. Eventually it decided it liked where I had been sitting... good thing I had moved by then!

Both of these photos are of the cloud formations reflecting in the water. It was a beautiful day!

Crafty Annie (and Kent)

This was the very first and most time consuming project I have worked on during this pregnancy. I started the cross stitch in the spring when riding the bus to work and back. I put it away for a few weeks before starting in on the beading. The beads make up all the flowers in the center and around the border. I finally finished the beading during Bach Festival while waiting during Kent's rehearsals. You may have to click on the photo to see it up close. Kent made me this beautiful frame and I painted it pink. It took a lot of hours to make, but I think it will be something special for our daughter!

Only a few days/weeks to go!

Sometimes I feel like I am in denial that this baby could be here any day now. I'm just waiting to feel miserable like all the books and internet sites tell you that you are supposed to feel. One resource stated, "It would be very unusual for you to not be uncomfortable at this time."
Maybe this means I'll be having this baby at 41 weeks!? I guess the waiting/guessing game starts!

Nesting?!

From Wikipedia: "In human females, the nesting instinct often occurs around the fifth month of pregnancy, but can occur as late as the eighth, or not at all. It may be strongest just before the onset of labor.
It is commonly characterized by a strong urge to clean and organize one's home, and is one reason why couples who are expecting a baby often reorganize, arrange, and clean the house and surroundings. This behavior is colloquially known as "straightening out", "clearing the road", or "clearing the coast"."

My least favorite part about our house still remains... ugly flowered wallpaper! Not to my surprise, there was an additional ugly flowered wallpaper under the first layer. So for the last few days in the afternoon I have been strengthening my arms by scraping the walls in the stairwell.

The family members that know me well will not be surprised by the mess left on the stairs. Yes Mom, I did clean it up!

Preparing for Baby

In my boredom tonight (no Netflix at home and no good television shows) I found these photos... they are a little funny in a disturbing kind of way. Even though we may feel like we know little about caring for newborns, we know more than the following...

Bird Family Update

Five days later from the original post, the bird have opened their eyes and GROWN! Their mud/poop home is getting cramped with their large wings and look like they are ready to fly. We are ready to clean this icky looking nest up as soon as they leave and next year we're going to make sure it doesn't happen again!

Fruit Update

This will be the first year we will have homegrown apples! We brought this apple tree back to life and we were amazed that it bloomed this year. I bet it overheard me talking about cutting it down (we haven't had any blooms for 2 years). This year we have four apples which is a start and enough to let the tree live!

We planted these grapevines during the summer of 2006. We were so excited to see that we will have grapes for the very first time this year. This variety is good for eating and making raisins... they will be golden when ripe. Can't wait!