34 Weeks and Counting!

I am officially at 34 weeks! So, according to my doctor, in 4 more weeks, we better to be ready to rock n' roll at a moment's notice! Yikes!! I had an appointment last Tuesday, and the kiddo is officially head down, and she says he will be staying put...so Andy can cross "nag Liz about her posture" off of his list. Quick explanation on that one...he read somewhere that if the mom makes sure she has really good posture for the last couple months of pregnancy that you have a better chance of avoiding a breach birth, so he has been nagging me like a maniac about my posture!

I would say we are in full "nesting" mode. We got a ton of stuff crossed off our list this last weekend, including picking out a name!! Yahoo!! Sorry, you will have to wait to meet "Tiny" to find out his name...it's a secret! :) The nursery is 99% done, we just need to put up some nifty alphabet cards, and wait for the name block letters to arrive so we can put those up too. (well, I guess the name isn't a total secret...Andy, myself, and the nice lady at Goodnight Room in Bridgeport who ordered the letters know the name...sorry if I have insulted any of you!)

I am still feeling really great (knock on wood), and my complaints so far are that I can only wear my engagement ring and not my wedding band because my fingers are a little sausagy, and that I am tired of going to the bathroom 80 times a day!! I am feeling very fortunate though, because I know things could be much more uncomfortable!!

Andy and I were able to get away for a "One Last Hurrah" trip up to Seattle over New Years! After the long week he was gone working, it was much needed! We spent 4 days up there, catching up with Andy's college roommate Derek, his wife Bonnie, and their adorable baby girl, Madeline! We did some baby shopping (they have the best stores up there!!), went to the Space Needle, walked around Pikes Market Place, did the Underground City Tour, and just hungout, relaxed, ate yummy food, and the boys drank lots of microbrews! It was really nice to just get away for a few days and not worry about all things waiting for us at home!

I have another doctor appointment on the 27th, and from then on they will be weekly, and I am going to assume be much more eventful than the previous! I promise to keep you updated!!

Cheers to a fabulous and blessed 2009!!

All About Andy

I saw this on my friend Mary's blog and thought it was nifty change from regular blogs. The idea is to list 10 things about your significant other, so here goes!

1. Andy is the only guy I know who would take off a day from work to stay home and trap the mouse that I saw running around. Mice, Beware!!

2. He has a new love affair with Peanut Butter M&Ms...the guy could eat a 2 pound bag without even taking a breath...truly amazing!

3. Andy is a nostalgia nut! At ever home OSU football game we attend, we must arrive at least 6 hours prior to the game so that he can go in every building he ever had a college class, walk around the entire campus, point out old places he lived, and go to the bookstore at least twice. Oh, and he refuses to sell his first car, a 1992 full-sized Blazer (which, I only curse during the summer because it comes in handy in the in winter with the 4 wheel drive).

4. He is going to be the best dad ever!! (Even if he does get unbelievably frustrated while registering for baby gear because he doesn't have enough information to make an educated choice between an orthodontic and non-orthodontic pacifier. :) )

5. He is a stock market fanatic! If he had his way, he would research stocks 24 hours a day. Today he spent an hour on the phone with the distributor of a product he owns stock in, and is getting a load of product to trial!

6. If a product isn't up to his expectations, he will let the manufacturer know! When he was in college, he bought a box of Nestle Crunch Ice Cream Bars. Well, those bars didn't crunch quite like he thought they should. So, he called up Nestle to report this grievous error, and guess who got 2 boxes of free crunch bars? You guessed it, Andy! I think this same scenario may have been repeated with Coke and Gillette Razor Blades.

7. With the exception of June, July, and August, or days over 65 degrees, he wears at least 1 pair of long underwear at all times, sometimes pushing the space allotment between his wranglers and skin by adding up to 3 "base layers"...the guy hates being cold!!

8. He is an efficiency nut! In his mind, things can always be done better and faster! Take for instance the time we were putting plant cuttings into 4 inch pots. If there was a way to cut 1/2 second off the potting time for each pot, he was going to find it. Needless to say, he almost accidentally got hit over the with a shovel by his lovely wife, and he doesn't try to make me more efficient much anymore! :)

9. He is a great relaxer! Most guys on vacation have to be going going going all the time. Andy is perfectly content to sit and read the paper or lay by the pool for hours and just zone out. In fact, I think he actually prefers this to constant vacation activity.

10. He was the only guy in our birth class to take notes...and he literally took 10 pages. Do you suppose he will bring those with us in the delivery room? Ten bucks says Yes!

It is true, he is a tough guy not to love!!

Let It Snow...No More!

Just thought I would give you a glimpse into our winter wonderland! Remember to say a quick prayer for all of those people who have to work out in it to keep our power on and roads clear!!Andy's refusal to get rid of his Blazer comes in handy sometimes!!

Andy chaining up the cars...I plan to not leave the driveway until there it is about 50 degrees outside and the snow and ice are back in Alaska where they belong...so the chains were helpful for me to get back into the garage with! :)

A boxwood covered with ice

Merry Christmas to all of you!!
I hope that you enjoy a warm and peaceful day, and that God's Blessings are all around!

Two Months to Go!

Well folks, I would say the countdown has officially begun, atleast around here it has. Eight weeks from tomorrow (Monday, Dec. 22nd), "Tiny" as we refer to him as, should hopefully (knock on wood that he doesn't camp out another 2 weeks) show up! We have emergency phone numbers together, the nursery 98% done, birthing classes completed (how come nobody makes you watch those horrible videos BEFORE you decided to enter the world of parenthood???) and Andy is chomping at the bit to pack our hospital bags...not to mention nagging me almost hourly to have good posture so that the kid isn't breach (he apparently read that somewhere and it stuck...shoot, I better quit slouching while I type this).

Views of the nursery...

I plan to put block letters of his name above the crib...

if we ever decide on a name that is!!

Needless to say, we can't wait to meet our little guy, and officially start our little family of 3!! (Plus, it's getting tough to put on my socks and tie my shoes!!)

Preggo Update

Since this blog is supposed to be about my adventures in pregnancy, I thought I would give you an update! As of Sunday, November 31st, I am 28 weeks along. I can't believe I am already that far, it is amazing how fast it has gone, and insanely terrifying!! Although I am still a little in denial, I think I am definitely officially "showing", but, thanks to the amazing invention of rubberbands, I can still wear one pair of pre-preggo jeans! He (sorry no names yet!) is rather rambunctious, making me think I have a true mini-Andy on my hands...no chuckling Nancy & Joan!

Yesterday (Thursday) I had another prenatal appointment, and it just happened to be the one where I had to drink the glucose stuff (it tasted like a combo between flat Sprite and a really sugary snow cone...gross!) to find out if I had gestational diabetes. And, an hour and one finger prick later, I didn't pass the test!! So, this morning at 7:30am, Andy (my moral support) and I (and one hungry stomach) drove over to the hospital and made ourselves at home for 1 more yummy glucose drink and a series of 4 blood draws over 3 hours to find out if I really had gestational diabetes. Luckily, we didn't have to stay at the hospital in between blood draws, so we drove up to my office to check in, went and saw Andy's sister Kelly for a little while, and poked around Silverton to kill time. And, I am happy to report that my test results were normal, and I am diabetes free! Yahoo!! What a HUGE relief!!

Tonight and tomorrow we have our child birth classes...

don't worry, I promise to fill you in on all the scary details!

Have a great weekend!

Slow & Steady Wins the Race!

ANLI Ornamentals has made it's first sale!! Incase you didn't know, ANLI Ornamentals is the name of our little nursery that consists of 99.9% expenses and now, .01% income! I know it will be a long road ahead making those percentages switch, but for now, we'll take what we can get! In all honesty though, most of the credit goes to Andy, since it is he who does most of the actual physical labor, I just mostly provide the food to keep him working!

Good work Andy!

How to Carve a Giant Pumpkin!

Haven't you always wondered how to carve a pumpkin that weights 200+ pounds?

Well, wonder no more!

My dad got 1, single, solitary seed for a gianormous pumpkin plant, which he lovingly watered and fertilized (and probably fed beer and wine to) all summer long, producing 4 pumpkins, too heavy to even roll. A pallet and tractor later, they wound up in my parent's front yard, just waiting for someone to come and carve them. So, on October 31st, we set out to carve them. And carve we did...with a small chain saw, and thanks to DeWalt's lovely invention, we also employeed a "sawsall".

And there you have it...a pictoral lesson on how to carve pumpkins so mighty that even when carved, hollowed out, and degutted, Andy and my dad could barely lift them ...

(thus the hand cart).

And, my appologies for being so delinquent in posting...I was in Kansas City over the weekend, enjoying the 75 degree weather, but learning to appreciate the beauty of Oregon's multi-leveled landscape...man that place is flat!!Until next time, Happy November!