Checking In

One December a couple of years ago, Kyle made a paper link chain in holiday colors that we pinned up around our living room.  I don't remember if we ever meant to tear off a link as a count down to Christmas, but if we had, we would have had to start in August at least, given how long that chain was :)  I've found myself thinking about making a paper chain of links to count down the days until our due date.  Today, I would have torn off #29.  I'm not going to make that chain because I am not that motivated but the countdown is on my mind all the time.  Right next to the countdown to the day that Kyle gets home!  After 36 weeks of pregnancy, 4 weeks seems like nothing!  Especially since babies are born at 38 weeks all the time.  Kyle and I have been talking with our baby about being patient and waiting until her due date.  I'm pretty sure she's on board :)  It's definitely been a relief to move into the point in time where babies can be born and have a very good chance of being healthy.  

I've been feeling a spoiled lately with the baby showers that are being held for me and so appreciative of everyone's excitement.  Here are a few belly pictures from the last few weeks:

 Week 34

 Gorgeous flower arrangements for my shower at Discovery Primary.  All the flowers were brought in from my coworkers' gardens.  I didn't know that flowers were still blooming like this at at the end of Sept.  The staff room was absolutely full of flowers.

 

Week 35

100,000 Miles

Our car, which I fondly call "Nali", reached 100,000 miles on Sunday.  All but 25 of those miles were traveled by myself and/or Kyle in the last 5 years.  I've been thinking about the places that were covered, starting up in Anchorage.  There were many trips made around Alaska to Girdwood, Seward, Homer, and north to Denali, and Fairbanks, not to mention the many drives all over Anchorage for work and fun.  I made the drive down to Seattle with our friend Brooke and I moved to Seattle.  That summer we did a huge loop through Montana and Wyoming.  Kyle and I have driven to Montana several times, including the trip to Hyalite Canyon for our wedding, and further to North Dakota and Minnesota.  We've taken summer trips down the Oregon coast and along the Washington peninsula.  Our car has been used at campsites to help tie up a tarp to block rain from the tent.  Nali has been a good car on ice and snow, with Kyle definitely being the better driver in those conditions.  The time spent in the car has included a whole lot of music, books on cd, laughter, and conversation.  Kyle also has spent time driving to hockey games all over the Seattle area.  Of course, the majority of the miles in the last couple of years have been for my commute to work; first from Lynnwood and then from Seattle.  It was fitting that I reached that 100,000 mark on I-5 heading south and had just entered Milton, where one of my schools is located.  Sometime soon, we'll be making an important drive when we bring our baby home for the first time.  I expect that we have many, many more miles to go in our car and I look forward to seeing where our travels take us. 

33 weeks and counting

I feel like I'm getting into the groove of this 3rd trimester.  I have a sleeping schedule that I can anticipate with a 2am and 5am wake up to use the bathroom.  I'm usually able to fall back asleep after 5am but sometimes "Gjertrud" starts doing morning yoga or gets the hiccups.  It's pretty hard to get to sleep after that.  Of course, heartburn is a daily visitor and I get out of breathe if I try to walk and talk too much at the same time.  There's a lot of competition happening for space in my torso.   I'm really enjoying swimming for exercise at least 3 times a week.  Flipturns make me dizzy, so it's been a bit annoying to have to stop and turn at each wall.  I do appreciate that there aren't many swimmers at the gym, so I usually have my own lane.  That's quite a change from all those years spent chasing the toes in front of me and sharing a lane with at least 5 or more other people.  I had a check-up this evening and my belly is measuring right at 33.5 weeks.  Time is going by so fast!  I unpacked the carseat a few nights ago and am planning to go to a community carseat safety check on Sept. 24th.  I also put together a baby swing that is on loan from my brother and sister-in-law.  The nursery still hasn't been decorated or organized yet.  I'm hoping that some type of energy for nesting kicks in soon. 

31 weeks

33 weeks

This past weekend my mom and I babysat my niece Kayla and nephew Brett while my brother and sister-in-law celebrated their 5th anniversary.  We had a great time going to the Nisqually Refuge and then to a great park close to their house.  It's getting much more difficult to chase the kids around now that I'm eight months pregnant!  Whew, I was tired by the next day.  

This is the view that we had of the kids for most of the boardwalk loop :)

Labor Day Weekend

I began the week before Labor Day without any big plans for the weekend but ended up having a weekend filled with family, friends, and time on the water.  On Saturday, I joined Jonathan, Brenda, and their kids at Brenda's family's marina on Johnson Point by Olympia.  Nearly all of her siblings brought their families and close friends and we headed out on the Zittel's boat.  We boated around Puget Sound to an island with a good beach, dropped anchor, and spent the afternoon enjoying the sun.  It was wonderful to relax and spend time outside on the water.  I was very happy to have been invited along!

On Sunday, I went up to church and then met my brother-in-law Joel and his fiance Jessica on the Seattle waterfront for lunch.  We had a table along the side of one of the piers and had some tasty fish and chips.  Sundays are always a nice day to go to Pike Market because several blocks along the market are blocked off for pedestrians only.  It's something I think they should do daily.  The crowds were definitely out and the market was packed.  After leaving Seattle, I made a quick stop at my house in Tacoma and then headed out to Allyn, WA, which is past Gig Harbor and sits right on a little cove.  A co-worker/friend had invited me to join her and several others for dinner at a family house right by the water.  The house had a perfect deck for soaking up the warm summer evening.  We ate some delicious food and enjoyed the great company. 

These pictures are all from Saturday.

 The Zittel's boats

 The girl cousins had a great time in the water.

 Giving the baby bump a little sunshine at 32 weeks.

A Friend's Wedding

On Saturday, August 27th, I had the pleasure of going to my friend Shruti's wedding.  The ceremony and reception took place in the Arboretum by the University of Washington.  It was a beautiful setting and a lovely evening.  Shruti grew up in Africa and her now husband grew up in Hawaii.  They met in Seattle and their wedding guests traveled great distances to be there for the wedding.  The ceremony was a really neat mix of Hindu, Hawaiian, and American wedding customs.  There was Hawaiian music for the prelund and processional, the bride and groom wrote their own vows, and their parents gave them traditional Hindu blessings.  They definitely personalized everything to make it meaningful to them.  Here are a few pictures from the wedding:

 It was a really lovely day in Seattle.

 The beautiful bride with her parents.

 I believe it's a Hindu custom for the groom to present the bride with a necklace during the ceremony.

 The "flowergirl" got some attention on the dance floor :)

My friend Annie caught the bouquet and was nice enough to let me stay with her the night of the wedding instead of driving back home in Tacoma.

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.