Digging out the car

Yesterday John dug out the car. It took about an hour.

One-half done!

Lots of snow!

Another smile

Snowed in

Our car isn't going anywhere today.

First day at Christmas holiday

Sleepy boy.
First documented smile. Look closely. Good picture taking, Auntie Ann!

Another cute smile/smirk.

Friday clothes & walk

Onesie #1.
Onesie #2. We'll see how many other ones we'll change him into today. This one was from Maemae; she loves alphabets. If you can't see it, the letters are in a different color and say I heart U. So cute! Unfortunately, he's outgrowing the 0-3 month size very quickly.

We bundled up John and Sam together for a walk in the snow. Sam's in a front pack, and John zipped up his coat around Sam to keep him toasty.

The walk was very nice. It was cold, but above freezing. The snow was quite slushy and wet. We walked to the post office and mailed our Christmas cards and the baby announcements. Look for yours in the mail very soon!

Cute Daddy pictures

Sam's always pretty happy in Daddy's arms.

First wrapped gift

Sam received his first wrapped baby gift in the mail from Great-uncle Bruce and Great-aunt June.


He'll be very styling soon. He's almost ready to wear these 3-6 month clothes!

Snuggly

Guard cat

Macy watched over me as I took a nap.

Nose to nose

Here's a sweet Daddy holding his son.

Before & after

Here's the last picture before going to the hospital.

And here's the product!

Overwhelming support

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent their congratulations. It's such a blessing to have so many people respond. It has been a wonderful few days and I am looking forward to sharing Sam with everyone as time allows and holidays come near. We look forward to all of you meeting him and getting to know his gentle spirit.

The Longest Day

Samuel Robert

born @ 7:41 pm Dec 1, 2008

10 lbs 4 oz
22 inches long

John and me at the hospital: 7 am. Labor started around 5:30 am. Labor had stalled out by 6pm and we decided that it was time to intervene. So the ceserian was advised and approved.

John, me and Sam right after the c-section. They are still working on me, but Sam is mostly cleaned up and John and I are very proud.

Sam, already showing his star quality and super personality.

My first real look at Sam, who when I saw him, knew he would be Samuel. I had liked the name from when John and I had talked about names and John agreed without hesitation. His middle name is in honor of my dad, Robert.

We still haven't really ended that day since feedings, vital signs, visiting with parents, etc has made for little time to rest and recoup, but as we figure this new adventure out and learn to read Sam's cues, we are finding plenty of support and a comfortable place in which to begin our family.

unexpected process, but happy results

This is John, posting an advance that we will have the baby here shortly, via unexpected c-section. We will try to send out pics and update with full story as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for Aimee and the baby's health and well-being, and for my sanity. Thanks for all your support up to this point. It is great to have family and friends who support us.

At the hospital

After getting to the hospital, we got admitted and the nurse got me on monitoring and changed into the little robe. The Dr came by afer that and found that I was 2cm dialated and 90% effaced; major improvement from Friday's apointment where there was no change.

They checked again a little bit ago and found that I was 3cm now and decided to break my water. That should help progress labor now that the baby's head is free to move down.

We are just waiting for more to happen and walking the halls as I am able. The contractions are getting kinda hard now.

On our way to the hospital

The last hour, I've had contractions about 4-5 minutes apart lasting about a minute. Now we're on our way to the hospital. Yeah!

Good news

I'm having light, short, consistent contractions. We're hanging out at home for the time being.

Curtains

I started these curtains with my Mom probably about a year-and-a-half ago. I kept putting off hemming them. Now they're finally done.

It helped to move the sewing machine out into the living area. It's funny how connected I am with John. I basically follow him around like a little puppy, or like Macy does to us.

Long walk

We took a nice long walk this afternoon. We walked to Starbucks and tried some new drinks. The one way walk is about 25 minutes. It feels good to be home and sit.

A little progress

I had a few Braxton-Hicks last evening. The closest together were 3 in 45 minutes, but the others were more along the lines of 30 minutes apart. We were hoping for more action overnight, but no such luck.

I guess I'm going to have to do my homework for this week. I thought I might be able to get out of it. Oh well. The quarter is almost over. Only seven days away from finals.

Latest picture

Here's the latest picture.

Game time

We had leftover pasta from Pizza Hut and brocolli. Now we're going to play our favorite computer game, Diablo II.

Next, dinner

So the movie was creepy and cruel. Kinda hard to watch. But the end was satisfying. Now, I think we'll have dinner.

Movie update

Okay, now we're watching Untraceable with Diane Lane.

Casino Royale was good. I like the new style. Watching the Brosnan Bond movies lately I've realized I'm bored with them. They're very cookie cutter and predictable. I'm looking forward to seeing the new Bond movie. We might go see it in the next few days.

Watching Casino Royale

We are watching Casino Royale on demand. I wanted to see it again before we see the next one.

Lots of sleep

I got up just before 11:00 today. It's nice to be able to sleep through the night. I'm taking advantage of it before the baby comes, and I only get 2-3 hours at a time.

41 weeks

We had another nonstress test today and everything looks fine. We scheduled another one for early next week.

It was very nice here today, so we worked out in the yard doing some fall clean-up. I was hoping the manual labor would help get things started. But not yet.

We're patiently waiting. I think it's harder on everyone else to wait. :)

Turkey Day

No change yet. We had a nice relaxing day playing video games and watching TV. For dinner, we had a special treat of asparagus.

Wow, people actually read this (besides my Mom)

I was told today that someone reads this besides my mother. Amazing! I usually just see comments from Mom so I figured she was the only one that visited. It encourages me to stay up to date.

I created an online baby pool a little over a week ago. (If you want to participate, send me an email or comment, and I'll send you an invitation. I don't want to post the link here.) My Dad made a guess and I enjoyed his comment. He said:

"I keep saying I'm not old enough to be grandpa. (Maybe I should stop saying it so she can be born.)"

Very cute! By the way, his guess was a girl. We still don't know the gender.

Also, the update is: no change. We didn't make any plans for Thanksgiving, and I have a feeling we're going to both feel a little homesick tomorrow. We don't even have a turkey, although I suggested to John we get a deli cooked roast chicken from Fred Meyer. Yum!

Nothing yet

My Mom called me this morning saying she had a gut feeling that I was in labor. But I wasn't. Sorry, Mom.

I've been busy working on homework and continuing the get the house ready. I think it's harder for family to wait than it is for me because I'm still trying to get stuff done.

It was suggested we start a project that can't be interrupted, then the baby will come. The project suggested was decorating a Christmas tree. I like the idea, but I need to clean up the living room first so there's room for the tree. It would be fun to have the tree up and all pretty when we came home from the hospital.

Nonstress test

We had an ultrasound and a nonstress test (NST) done today. Everything looks good, except the baby is a bit on the big side according to the doctor. She thinks it's between 9 and 9 1/2 pounds. She wants us to induce, but we've decided to hold off for now. We have another NST scheduled for Friday.

I feel good. When I stand up the baby feels so heavy in front. It must be getting close to time.

Baby's procrastinating

Like mother and father, our baby is procrastinating his/her arrival. Today is 40 weeks and 2 days. We're just waiting and waiting.

I'm going to post every day until the baby comes to help ease the anxiety of everyone who is waiting.

38 Weeks

We're almost there! I can hardly believe that by Thanksgiving we're going to have a little baby to take care of.

Less than 3 weeks

We're in countdown mode. We refinished the dresser this weekend, so I'll get to pack it with baby clothes this week. How exciting!

Happy Harvest Day

I wish everyone a Happy Harvest Day. Bah humbug on Halloween. I believe costumes and parties should be in the spirit of fun and laughter, not spooky and evil.

Have fun and be safe!

Last warm days

I believe we're having the last warm days before winter. Yesterday we took advantage of the almost 70 degree weather and went for a nice walk. Today is nice and sunny as well.

Class

We went to our first of five birthing naturally classes. It's at the hospital where we will be delivering. The instructor was very nice and good at explaining things, so I think this will be a very worthwhile class. It runs through the 39th week, so we'll see how many we get to attend if the baby comes early. There were nine couples, and I was the first one due, which I kinda liked. We're special! :)

Funny song coincidence

John and I were coming back from some baby shopping last week as the sun was setting. As we turned west onto the highway, the song on the radio was singing "blinded by the light" which was exactly what was happening. It was quite funny.

Now, for some reason, telling the story doesn't sound so funny. I guess you had to be there. I'm hoping John will see this and write his own version on his blog which will hopefully be funnier.

Football

We went to our first school game on Saturday. I told John we had to go to at least one game before I graduated. And it was great that we won!

It was an interesting experience. We found a close parking spot, so we only had to walk across the river which took only about 10 minutes. The other options were riding the shuttle that had limited departure times or a regular bus that was infrequent. This worked out great.

We walked along the path to the stadium and passed lots of interesting people doing interesting things. This is college, remember? The coolest thing was a bike cab that I think was called a pedicab. There were several of them taking couples along the path, but one in particular had strings of lights and was playing music - The Beach Boys, I think.

We planned for it to be cold so we wore hooded sweatshirts and coats and gloves and took a blanket. But the section where we were standing (we stood the whole time because everyone else was standing the whole time) was actually quite warm with all the bodies around and ended up not using the blanket. We didn't get cold until we left during the third quarter and were walking back to the car.

It was very loud in the student section. But of course, right? We were wishing we had earplugs. When we left we bought some really good curly fries and a bottle of water which together cost almost $10. Sticker shock!

Overall we had a good time, but we probably won't go again to the student section. We decided we'd much prefer buying tickets (our student tickets were free) where you can sit down and hold a conversation. The loud and rowdy festivities might be fun for some people, but once is enough for us. We're not 19 anymore!

Oh, by the way, baby had a good time too. (I'm going to refer to her because it was a "she" day. We switch days calling the baby him or her. Don't go getting any big ideas. We still don't know!) She was moving around quite a bit. It was probably the loudest experience she's had so far. I liked the band music, but I wish we were closer to it.

Friday's picture

We've been taking belly progress pictures every Friday. Here's me and baby at 34 weeks and counting.

Career fair

There was an accounting career fair last week. It turned out to be another good experience. I went to a similar one last winter for which I felt so nervous and unprepared. This one I knew I wanted to talk to the three firms I'm applying for.

When I arrived, I wasn't sure how to start. But I figured I would start talking to some other companies to get warmed up. That was great. By the time I got to the three firms on my list, I was comfortable and at ease.

I bought a grey suit a couple weeks ago, and I was so glad it was grey! Almost everyone was wearing black suits. I don't think anyone was wearing navy blue. I'd say about 10% of us were wearing grey.

Good Open House

I went to an Open House last night for a company that I'm applying to for a full time job next fall. It was a really good experience. I talked with quite a few people and felt I had a good connection with them.

The only thing is that I remembered today that I forgot to grab a gift bag on the way out last night. Doh! I hope I didn't miss anything important.

First week back to school

School started up again last week. I'm taking just two classes, so I go to school four days out of the week. John was very supportive and took me or picked me up three times (I believe). One of the times was because I was longing for a nap before an afternoon class but would have had to leave right away to catch the bus. He let me get a nap, then drove me. What a wonderful husband! I really feel blessed to have him as my support person and my best friend!

Classes are fine. I really like the business information systems class. We've learned basic stuff about hardware and software which are things I've been curious about but always thought they were too far over my head to understand anything about them. The textbook takes a simplified look at all that and explains it so it makes sense. The audit class is really slow so far. Hopefully it will get more interesting as the weeks go on.

At BAP, we had a panel of recruiters talk about the recruiting process and accounting jobs in general. It was mostly stuff I'd heard before. But I did find out that I'm not eligible for a summer internship next year because they like interns to have at least one more term to take after the internship. So that means I'll be applying this week to full time jobs for my first year out of college! Ack! This week is also Meet the Firms so that will put me in front of the right people. It's kinda nerve-wracking, especially with not knowing how things will change after the baby is born and if/when we move closer to our families next year. Everything is up in the air. I'm just trying to take it a day at a time. Also, I'm trying to stay organized so my head can stay clear.

Finally, it's raining!

Yeah for the rain! I've missed it this summer. Although, I have to admit it caught me a little off guard. I was enjoying not having to wear jackets and hats and all that.

I couldn't resist

We spent a lovely day at my aunt & uncle's place for their annual Blackberry Pig. This was one of my relative's dog. The picture turned out so cute, although I realize it is a little fuzzy.

Yum

I love onion rings! We cooked some while Scott was here helping us work on the hot tub.

Lazing around

Macy's taking a cozy nap on the couch. So cute!

My cousin's wedding

My cousin Jenn got married last month. It was such a beautiful wedding! Here's a picture of us three cousins. On my Dad's side it's just the three of us.

Garden update

Our garden: the beans are taking off! I go out to pick beans every other day, and the amount lasts us both days. It seems like they're ramping up to produce even more, so I don't know what we'll do then.

The zucchini are still struggling. They keep putting on flowers, but the zucchini starts don't make it. I think some kind of animal is getting to them, or I'm not watering enough.

The tomatoes are starting to turn. I think we'll have cherry tomatoes first which are all from volunteers from last year. We just let them grow. They're even doing fine without cage support.

The corn is on its way too. I need to get out there and spray it for bugs. I noticed some little yellow beetle things on it the other day. We had a problem with grubby worms in the corn last year.

Craigslist

Some recent Craigslist finds. This mirror was from an estate sale, very reasonably priced.



Very cheap lot of blankets, hoodie towels, and washcloths.



The baby item lot also included these things, which I need help identifying. They are about 17" long and 8" wide and made of washcloth fabric as far as I can tell. Are they just big washcloths? Why are they shaped so long?



Found this stroller/carseat awhile ago. I'm getting used to how big it is. But I like its features, like how easy it is to fold down.

Painting

We did some painting in our bedroom and in the hallway. I was wearing a respirator, but for some reason I don't remember I wasn't wearing one in the top picture. The second picture was posed after we finished painting and realized we hadn't taken a picture yet.

New bathroom linoleum

John did a wonderful job putting in this linoleum!

New tile in entry way

We decided to redo the tile in the entry way before we had carpet installed. John's first tile project, and it looks gorgeous!

New addition to our living room

My parents' piano on loan to us. Fun!

Garden progress

We've eaten green beans and broccoli. The tomatoes are plenty but still green. The peas didn't make it, and the zucchini are struggling.

Macy in the middle

John and I (mostly John) have been doing a lot of work around the house. One project included painting the master closet, so we moved all the clothes into the studio. Macy took advantage of the squishy pile of soft clothes. This is a "Where's Macy" picture.

Pretty tulip

John took this nice picture. I really enjoy the colors in this tulip!

Wind!

Ack! I was studying in the office, home alone, when I hear a big noise from the backyard. It sounded like someone was back there. I go look, and the hot tub cover is flipped back. What the heck! I look around for someone trespassing. No signs. I figure it was the wind. It's kind-of stormy today. My heart sure was thumping hard.

Roses

Here are pictures of my roses I clipped last week. I still need to clip the bush in the front yard.

Clipped roses

I finally was able to get outside and ckip my roses back.

So sunny!

It was so nice yesterday! Unfortunately, I spent the whole day inside working on homework, but we had the windows open. The fresh air was great.

Yes!

I did really well on one of my midterms! Yeah! I'm so excited!

Don't get me sick!

Ack! Basically everyone I know is sick or getting sick! I really can't get sick right now. There's too much going on.

Lots of studying this week.

It seems like every day this week I've studied alone for big blocks of time or with a group. The next two weeks are going to be the busiest of the term.

Accepted

Oh, by the way, I got accepted into the school of business. And, I get to register as a senior at my regular time this term. I don't have to wait for them to authorize it like I did last term. Yeah!