Moving Day

I've been living in the new house that I'm renting since Monday but didn't have the moving truck reserved until yesterday.  I had to be creative with using whatever light and easy things I could reach in our storage unit.  I used camping cookware, found a few forks, borrowed one bowl and plate, used a folding table, and had a camping chair.  Luckily, my mom let me borrow their air mattress so that I didn't have to just use a camping pad to sleep on.  Needless to say,  I was really ready for the full moving day and having a real bed and everything else set up in the house.  The move went really smoothly and much quicker than I anticipated.  I am very blessed to have so many friends and family members willing to help out.  There wasn't a lot that I could carry myself, so I did a lot of directing of where to take boxes. 
Now, a day later, this place is very livable and looks great!  There are boxes of clothes that I still need to unpack and walls to decorate, but I'm feeling much more settled.  It's amazing the space here after moving from a one bedroom apartment.  I could get used to this!

I should have gotten a loading picture but my camera came out after we had been unloading for a while.

 Two of my lovely helpers, Michaela and Jessalyn, both of whom brought their husbands along to help move the really heavy stuff.  That's my brother-in-law Joel behind them moving the couch into the house.

 We found some very surprising things while unpacking our "fragile" boxes :)

 It was a group effort with my brother Jonathan, sister-in-law Brenda, along with Brett.  Yes, we were also surprised to have a streaker in our midst!  Jonathan and Brenda also put together two bookshelves and the bed, for which I am very grateful!

 The first dinner in the new place with the table set up.

 Mikaela and Julie arrived to help me organize more boxes in the basement, organize the kitchen, and hang big things on the walls.

 A welcome sign on the front door.  This hand-painted sign was a gift from our friend Brooke and goes perfectly on this door.

 A day later, the living room looks great, with only a few things left to unpack and organize.

The view from the side porch looking into the dining room and kitchen.

Baby Bump Update

I had great intentions of taking pictures of my baby belly every two weeks starting at 16 weeks.  That hasn't really worked out like I thought it would but I do have a few to share.  I had an appointment today with my midwife and she said that that I'm measuring exactly as expected for 29 weeks.  Here's the progress so far:

 This was my first picture at 16 weeks.

 18 weeks

 20 weeks

 21 weeks

 24 weeks

29 weeks

I am resolving to be more consistent at taking pictures!  In other news "Gjertrud" is very active in the evenings, when I get up in the middle of the night, and first thing in the morning.  She responds to pressure and will often push back or move around.  She is surprising me sometimes with the strength of her kicks.  At my appointment today, she was in a head down position and will probably stay that way.  That also explains why I'm feeling so much movement at the top of my tummy right now.  I haven't noticed that any particular food or drink makes her move more but she does start getting restless when I'm hungry.

Trip to Oregon

Over the last weekend, Kyle and I drove to Oregon to join my mom, step-dad, my brother Jonathan with his wife Brenda and two kids, and my brother Jeffrey and his wife Quinn.  We had an early celebration of my mom's 60th birthday.  We started out with a couple of days in Hood River and then drove out to Cannon Beach for a couple of days.  Unfortunately, Kyle had to leave half-way through the trip to get back to Seattle to then leave for Norway.  He had an orientation for his Fulbright scholarship in Oslo starting today.  I'm happy he was able to join us for the first portion of the trip anyway.  Here are a few of the highlights:

                                          Hangout with my siblings.

 Playing along the shore of the Hood River.

 Making dinner for the group.

 We took a cruise on the river for brunch.

 Mom got a tattoo as a birthday present from Jonathan and Brenda!

 We all took turns making meals and this was Jeffrey and Quinn's morning for cooking.

 There were many books read with Kayla and Brett.

Mom and Steve outside the great house that we rented in Cannon Beach.

The long weekend was a great time to spend with family!

Starting out

It's time to join the world of blogging.  I really enjoy reading the blogs of family and friends and am looking forward to recording the adventures that are ahead.  The coming months include saying good-bye to my husband for the next few months, a move into a new home, planning and preparing for the arrival of our baby girl, travel abroad to Norway, and life as a single parent for a few months.  Of course, those are some of the bigger adventures but there will be many other smaller ones along the way.  I'm excited and nervous, to say the least.