Aiden's First Hike...A Photo Essay

This last weekend to escape the heat, Aiden and I went to the beach with my mom and dad on Wednesday night...oh, it was so much cooler over there!! At their house in Waldport, to the west is the ocean, and to the east, between their house and highway 101, are a bunch of little lakes, with a trail that runs along side them. I use the word "trail" very loosly, as this path doesn't see much traffic, or much trimming. Instead, the only people it sees are my parents, who vow to take a weed eater and chainsaw to it very, very soon! So, on Thursday, with Aiden in his baby bjorn with my dad, followed by my mom and I, we blazed the trail!

On our way...We saw some wildlife...

A snail on the trail...

In the puckerbrush...

He really wanted to eat the plants!

Yes, Aiden was still strapped to my dad

An old redwood

Let's do it again!

I can't wait for this coming weekend when we head to the beach again and Andy can scale logs with Aiden! Cheers!

Baby Food

Today I made my first attempt at making homemade baby food! After doing a little research, I decided that I am not too keen on all the stuff besides food that is in the jarred stuff from the store, so I am going to try and make my own! Even though Aiden isn't quite to the solid (if you want to call it that) food stage, I wanted to take advantage of the fresh vegetables we have now, and get a head start. So, today with some green beans from my parent's garden, I got started! And, thanks to two handy appliances, the rice cooker and my 3rd love, my Cuisinart food processor (after Andy and Aiden of course), it was pretty slick!

And wallah, I now have 16 servings of green beans in the freezer! And Aiden can work on eating his vegetables instead of his fingers and plants!

Life in Fast Forward

Incase anyone out there still has faith in my blogging promise, I am finally getting back to writing! It has almost been 4 months since Aiden was born, and this evening, as I found some time to look through some pictures from this last winter and just after Aiden's arrival, it really hit home how fast the time has gone and how different everything is...

This picture was taken about 1 week before I was due...these from scratch brownies had peanut butter ganache and chocolate ganache in them (stinking good recipe, email me and I will send it too you), and they probably took me close to 2 hours of prep time (no baking time in there) to make them. I think about that now and laugh...the closest I have come to brownies since then is straight out of a box made like a frantic maniac between Aiden eating and pooping!!

About 1 month ago I went back to work 3 days a week...it was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Thankfully, we are blessed with 2 grandmas and and 2 aunties to watch Aiden, we couldn't be luckier to have people watching him that practically love him more than we do. I remember the first day that I was home with Aiden by myself I thought, how am I going to survive these 3 months, I am going to be so bored...how quickly that though changed, and the time went by so much faster than I could have ever imagined, or appreciated. Being able to watch him grow and change in just 3 months was miraculous, and the love that I have for him is overwhelming.

Now, just 6 days short of his 4 month birthday, Aiden, to me, is no longer a baby, but already a little boy. He has such a curious personality (definitely dad), but also a stubborn streak (definitely mom). He has really started to chat and giggle a lot in the last few weeks, and we are close to being able to roll over from back to front! I can't believe that in just a couple of months he could be crawling and will be eating "real" food.

Amazing what can change in the span of a year...last year at this time we didn't even know that I was pregnant, and now we are parents to a little miracle.

Shameless Plug...

A quick, friendly reminder, that this weekend is the Oregon AgFest!!

This is a fantastic, 2-day event to teach kids (and adults too!) all about

Oregon Agriculture!!

Did you know that the majority of Oregonians are 4 generations removed from the farm? For me, that is hard to imagine, but I am always amazed

(and dumbfounded) how many people don't know that everything that they eat, and almost everything that they wear, comes from a farm!

So, if you are looking for a fun, educational, and FREE (for kids under 12) adventure this weekend, come to AgFest!!

www.oragfest.com

Happy Almost 2 Month Birthday!

I could not have ever ever ever imagined how fast the time with Aiden is going!! Next Thursday, he will be 2 months old already, and I think if I blink too long, he will be in kindergarten! He is growing so stinking fast- on Easter Sunday Grandpa Pat did an "unofficial" weighing...you know, get on the scale with Aiden and then on without him, and we think he weighs about 11 pounds, what a little porker!! Kind of nice though, because at least he fits into some of his clothes now!! In the last couple of weeks he has started to smile a ton more (besides the smiles he was giving us while farting!), and has found his toungue and his voice!! It is very, very cute, and Andy and I are so excited to see him grow and change, even though it is bittersweet as the time is flying by!

A few weeks ago Andy and I did manage to get out all by ourselves for a few hours!! My mom and dad (Grammy and Papa) called on a sunday and said they would come over and babysit so we could go on a date! So, we went to lunch at this nifty little restaurant at the Salem Airport, and then went for a nice, "sunday drive". It was so weird to not have Aiden with us, but relaxing at the same time. This coming weekend I will be busy with AgFest, and will be away from Aiden for 2 full days while setting up...wish me luck!

If anyone has any tips on getting kiddos to sleep longer at night, I would welcome them with open arms...and possibly cash!! We seemed to be maxed out at about 3 hour stretches at night, and although I am used to it, 4 or 5 or 6 hour stretches would be glorious!!

Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weekend!

I'm Five Weeks Old Already!

Guest Blogger Aiden here...mom is taking a quick cat nap, so I thought I would fill in and let you know what I've been up to. The last 5 weeks have been quite eventful for me, I'll give you the David Letterman Top 10 since February 23rd...

10. I've already been to the beach 2 times!!

9. Mom swaddles me super tight at night...since then my 2 hour insomnia has increased to 4 and 5 hours!

8. Dad makes me hang out on my tummy when he gets home...did you know I rolled over twice yesterday??

7. We got to church on Saturday nights...I humor Mom and Dad by sleeping until right after communion, and then I start squaking!

6. I can pee right over the top of my head, and sometimes I can even hose off the window! (hee hee)

5. Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ben are going to be my godparents! I overheard Grammy saying something about them dunking me at church in May...

4. I like it when Dad reads me Curious George books...I want to be Curious George for Halloween!

3. I stretch a lot!!!

2. I sat in my Bumbo for the first time today, and can almost hold my head without any help!

1. I am growing like a weed!!

Well, I think it's time I eat and poop again! So this is Aiden, signing off until next time!

While He's Sleeping...

Well, it's about time I got back at it and updated my blog!! I'm sure that by now, you all know that our once nameless, happy little uterus renter is here! On February 23rd at 11:36 am, Aiden Henry Schaecher was born! Andy and I could never have imagined what an incredible blessing he has already been to us in the first 10 days of his life, he truly is amazing and beautiful. I also could never fathom how true the words "your life will never be the same" could have possibly been. THANK YOU to all of you who came to see us in the hospital, have brought us dinner, and have come to visit since we have been home, Aiden is a very lucky little guy to be surrounded by such great family and friends.

I thought for the official record, I would relive the adventure of his birth, you know, for historical purposes!

On Sunday, the 22nd (my actual due date), Andy and I got up to go to church at the Abbey at 9. Obviously anxious, I was on high alert for any possible sign of labor. While in church, I started having pretty bad cramp pain, but it wasn't making the rest of my stomach tight like a braxton hicks contraction, and they weren't regular at all, so I assumed I had bad gas :), and pretty much ignored them. We went about our day of a costco trip, tidying up the house, and making dinner, and I had those pains on and off, but continued to ignore them. About 7 or so, I flopped down on the couch after making dinner, and unintentionally started paying attention to these "gas" pains I kept having, and noticed that they were getting more painful, and seemingly closer together. I called my mom and asked her what she thought, and she thought they might be contractions, but probably my body was just getting ready, so not to worry. So, I was going to do that, but they kept getting worse! Andy decided to start timing them and they were happening about every 7 minutes or so, and lasting about 40ish seconds, and he said "I think these have to be contractions!" (holy smokes, reality check, this could actually be happening!!) Still slightly in denial, we made sure that everything was packed and ready to go, and taking advise from my friend Leah, I hopped in the shower, because she said "who knows when you'll get a shower again" once you head to the hospital! And once in the shower, I decided that this had to be false labor, because the contractions seemed to be less painful, and I didn't notice them as much. But, once out of the shower, they started coming more often (about 3 minutes apart), but only lasted about 20 seconds. We were SO confused!!! So, Andy decided to call the hospital to get their opinion, and they thought this probably was early labor, and to see if I could sleep through them..if not, come on in! Well, they got WAY worse, so we loaded up and headed to the hospital!!

(Me as we left for the hospital...)

So, we zoomed to the hospital and it was so surreal...you wait and wait and wait for all these months, and you think you won't ever get to this point, and then it actually happens, and it just doesn't seem real...it still doesn't seem real!! We got to the hospital a little after midnight, and it still strikes me as funny that when we walked in, the receptionist looked at us kind of funny, and said "What can I help you with?"...and I distinctly remember thinking "what do you think we are for lady??? Dinner reservations??" I mean, not to be a pill, but why else do pregnant ladies and their husbands show up in the birthing center at midnight?? Anyway...

We checked into the triage room, and the nice nurse detirmined that I was dialated to 3 cm, and that was good, but she needed to make sure that I was progressing, so Andy and I got to walk around the hospital for an hour doing the can-can, lunges, and trying to distract myself through contractions that we getting significantly worse. So, an hour later, I was at a 4, and that was good enough to check us in for good! (Thankfully, because at that point there was no way I was going home without a fight!).

At about 2:30 or 3, we got accquainted with what would be our home away from home for the next 3 days, and gave the parents and sisters a jingle to let them know what was going on. They of course, all showed up rather quickly! When we were in the triage room, the nurse asked me what my pain management plan was, and I promptly told her an epidural, and she recommended that I try and get to 5 cm before getting one. So, at 3 am, and 4 cm dialated, I thought I could definitely make it to a 5 no problemo, and that I would hold out until atleast 5 am. Well...the contractions got insanely worse...I tried the bouncy ball thing, the jacuzzi tub, and nothing worked to ease any pain or stop my from shaking (huge props and kudos to those of you who gave birth with no pain meds...amazing). I really had no idea that progressing 1 cm would be anything like it was. Well, 5 am finally rolled around and the nurse came in, and I told her I was ready for my epidural. And finally, at 6:30, I got it, and all was good in the world again! No more shaking, no more pain, and my rear end felt like it was about 10 feet wide! Somebody told me that if I got an epidural, that I would want visitors and would want to chat, and I never believed them until I actually got it, and sure enough, I wanted our families to come in and chat for a bit, and was sending text updates on our progress to a few people! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that things would have turned from so unbearable to so social!! Andy and I were able to sleep on and off until about 9 or 9:30 in the morning (much needed for sure), and when we woke up, I was 10 cm dialated and ready to go! So, we waited for the doctor to come, and he did about an hour later...and I pushed for a guess about an hour, and at 11:36 am on February 23rd, Aiden Henry was born!!