Happy Half Way!

I haven't felt well enough to take weekly pregnancy photos.  

But I felt great in Panama and celebrated the half way point while there!

Pregnancy Blues

The past 2 months can pretty much be summed up in this picture:

Me laying down trying not to throw up while still attempting to interact with Avery.  I've been sleeping a ton and watching lots of TV, eating the most awful junk food (happy meals for crying out loud!!!!) and  just waiting for the second trimester.  This time around I've wondered if I will ever willingly get pregnant again or if 2 kids is just our number...

 The most helpful thing for the nausea seems to be exercise!  But man it's hard when I'm so exhausted all the time.

I still long to leave Utah and live in a different country somewhere.  I want to watch the sun rise over the ocean and set over a mountain I've not yet seen.  I want to surf perfect waves and eat dinner on the beach with my family.  I want to fight for this dream and make it a reality, but I also want a few kids and a stable income that comes with a reasonable retirement (which so far means staying put.)  How does one cope with conflicting desires?  Is it human nature to always want something different, something more?

For now I'm just trying to get through these pregnancy blues.  I'm confident they'll pass soon...  As I have been telling myself for 8 weeks now...

News

Barefoot and pregnant. :)

Due mid June 2015

Still Pregnant...

I am four days overdue to have this baby and not surprised at all.  Most of my sisters and my mom have delivered their first baby late so I've been preparing myself for this all along.

I've been working full time up till last Friday, and nearly killing myself doing so with long hours and crazy schedules. So at my doctor's recommendation I've started my maternity leave early.  I didn't go in to work today!  This is so unlike me that I hardly know what to do with myself.  With few exceptions, I have spent the last 15 years employed full time (or worked part time and been in school full time.)  I think I'll really enjoy taking the time off!

Back to baby business, I had a talented photographer (and a good friend of mine) take some maternity pictures of me and Todd, and I love how they turned out.  Check out her other stuff at:

www.catchamomentphotography.blogspot.com

Here are my favorite photos:

Happy Due Date!

I've been hoping to celebrate my new baby's birthday this day for the last nine months...  But it looks like I'll have to wait.
Once I hit 37 weeks my Doc said, "OK you made it!  You are officially full term, so you can have her any time now..."

SO, for the last three weeks I have been waiting impatiently for something to happen.  I have a lot of long lasting mild stomach cramps that I time religiously-- just in case-- to no avail.  I am definitely not in labor.

Regardless, everything seems to be OK as far as health concerns, so I can only be happy and grateful to be in this position.  And I am.  :)

Here is the last half of my pregnancy:



Baby Showers

There is nothing like being thrown baby showers to make someone feel loved. :)

Here are a few shower photos, more to come within the month...

(Can I kick myself online for not getting a photo of me with my best friends who actually threw me the shower??!!  Or a photo of me with my family members who were there??!!

What was I thinking... I was probably thinking about the cupcakes...)

Can you blame me for being distracted?!

My Hammond support crew.  I just love these girls!

And these ones too :)

Old friends!

My cute mom :)

"Ooohing" and "aaahhing" all the darling baby stuff: 

Thank you Adrianne, Brooke, Becca, and Carlee!!  You are the best!

My neighbors threw me a shower too, and made the coolest fruit basket I've ever seen!

I lost the other photos from the shower :(  but it was great. 

I have the best neighbors!!!

I also had a shower thrown by my co-workers at Leatherby's. 
(Best place to be for a pregnant lady.)
Among other things they chipped in and got me what I really need- a massage, ha ha! 

Thank you everyone!!

White Pine

We went hiking (and almost made it :) to White Pine Lake.  Kinda ran out of daylight and energy.  It's nice to have a valid excuse to use for my fatigue!

Anyway, almost every time I hike in this area I see a moose!  I love it- they are so big and fascinating to watch.  They seem gentile but could flatten me in one move if they wanted.

25 Weeks

Biking the Oregon Coast

We biked the Oregon coast two weeks ago and it was incredible!! We didn't have much time, and it's pretty complicated to get back to your car after you leave it behind, so we ended up taking turns driving to keep the car with us. It worked out perfectly- we'd drive the boring stretches and bike the interesting ones. And we didn't have to carry all our camping stuff on our bikes, we just left it in the car. I could only handle 20ish miles each day, and it was really nice to call up the car when I couldn't take any more biking. This is a must-do trip for any outdoor enthusiast.

The first day in Portland we visited the Ten-Cleys and then continued on to Lincoln City to begin the biking.


The first night we caught the most incredible sunset.  We played in the cold water and I could hardly believe how good it felt just to smell the ocean and listen to the waves again.

  Harrison begging for a kiss  
   Todd marveling at my belly and me at his ;)  
Todd Frolicking and practicing karate:




And doing headstand yoga:



My "21 Weeks along" photo:



Harrison's "0 Weeks along" photo:



The second day we began our biking (Todd and I took a small detour trying to figure out some medical/pregnancy issues, but we soon rejoined forces to make our way along.)





The real reason we brought Nat and Har along was that they'd drive ahead and set up lunch :)



One of many stops:

 

We camped that night near Yachats and took ridiculously long hot showers (included in the $20 per site camp fee!  That is $5.00 per person to camp and shower- what a deal!) without realizing we'd created a line of cold campers waiting for their turn. Oops. The next day we stopped at a lot of tide pools. There was a ton of sea life to explore and discover.



Nat and I feeding a crab to an anemone:



There were tons of starfish:

 

And tons of seals. It was fun to watch the seals fumble and scramble around on the rocks. They're definately not graceful creatures out of the water.



Nat and Har exploring:

 

Typical breathtaking Oregon Coast view:

 

 

  

A Hammond vacation isn't complete without a little bouldering.

 

 

Nat and Har:







We stayed that night at an RV park in Winchester Bay amongst thousands of massive RV's. They all had ATVs, bar-b-qs, awnings with Christmas lights, and all the other comforts of home.  Someone even brought along their ping-pong table!
Call me old fashioned, but it's not camping if you can play ping pong in your "yard" after taking a hot shower in your "tent." LOL

The next day we biked Sunset Bay State Park and I took my first road-bike fall. It was pretty pathetic, I wasn't even moving but couldn't get my foot out of the pedal so I just tipped over. Ha ha ha. Todd and I biked the second half of the day partially in the rain. It felt SO GOOD.  There's nothing like a great vacation to remind you how fun life can be. I did hit my exhaustion point 20 or so miles into the rainstorm and I could hardly stand up while waiting for the car to pick us up. Good thing we had a car! We camped at Humbug Mountain State Park which had an awesome beach to play at. Todd and Harrison swam in the icy water with some curious seals. The next day was full of beautiful beaches. I was pretty tired and volunteered to drive this day.

 

The seals were as curious about us as we were about them. We stared at each other a lot this trip:





Can you see the face? It's a Native American Princess staring up at the moon.









Natural Bridges Cove. This place was soooo cool!





See anything weird in this picture?  (The warped head in the corner ha ha.)







We ended our biking a few hours ahead of schedule, so we headed inland to get a head-start on the 16 hour drive home. We camped in middle-of-nowhere Lakeville, NV. Then drove the rest of the way home the following day.