Settling In!

Did you miss us?

We missed our computer... for two days =)

Lisbeth (dear Lisbeth) came to our rescue on Wednesday and Thursday to help us move, and then came back again on Saturday to help us clean. What a hero!

She watched Jett for a few hours on Wednesday. While we were gone, "Mr. Owl" willingly played the role of "new baby" so Jett could practice being a big brother. He didn't like it very much!!

It's always fun when Auntie Lisbeth comes to play!

And it's always sad when she has to say good-bye!

I write now from our new desk set-up at Philip and Jean's house. We have an amazing space here, and are feeling quite blessed. There are two large closets, one of which serves perfectly as a nursery for Jett. I will take pictures as soon as we fix it up a little bit. It has taken a few rounds of "organize that" to figure out where to put what. We're making progress!

15 Weeks!

No picture this time, sorry! Unless I somehow find the camera cords, which I suspect have been packed up and moved into our new room across town.

Today is the last Moving Day. It has been Moving Month, Moving Week, but today is Moving DAY and after 12 PM I am not coming back to this house. YAY!!

Lisbeth has been a God-send these past few visits. She has packed up everything in our house/closets/cupboards/drawers (we have no secrets from her!!) and done an amazingly organized, thorough job. It would have been impossible without her!
 
In an effort to keep the topic on topic with the title, more about Baby #2:I have heard that each pregnancy is a different experience, and now I know it's true! Last time around I hated cooked vegetables (especially carrots!), wanted nothing to do with sweets or desserts, and I was fairlysomewhatforthemostpart emotionally stable.

This dear baby is sending me for a loop. My cravings are mainly sweet and fruity: popsicles, oranges, a grapefruit (or two!) a day, fruit juice whenever I can get it, skittles as a special treat. I ate soup yesterday with cooked carrots and loved it.

The biggest difference, however, isn't the food. It's my "feelings". For the past two months I have had a ready supply of tears for anything. If it's sappy, happy, touching, meaningful, frustrating, or confusing........... I cry. Instantly. Songs make me cry, thoughts make me cry, K-Love makes me cry, Dave Ramsey made me cry, books make me cry, Quiznos being closed for remodel made me want to cry but I held back, for pride's sake =)

If anyone feels moved to send a sympathy card to Travis, it would be in line with what he's had to put up with this round!!

Busy, Blessed December!

What a week! We are 1/3rd of the way through packing up our house. Trav just brought the first truckload of boxes/furniture to our storage place. It has been a blessing in disguise to have so much work to do at home, because Jett has been sick since before Thanksgiving. Finally we got him diagnosed- a double ear infection. Praise God for doctors! Hopefully we will be healed and healthy before our trip to NH!!

Here is our first breakthrough in signing with Jett. Although I use a lot of signs with him, this is the most frequently used. It has been amazing for him to be able to communicate exactly what he wants when he is hungry/tired.

We have a saying around our house: "Jett doesn't play, he WORKS!!". If it's heavy, bulky, twice his size, dangerous, up high, or off limits, Jett wants to play with it. Or at least carry it, push it, or throw it. Here are some of his favorites:

 

(Notice the swiffer in both of these scenes. Yep, it's his new best toy.)

Until next time!

14 Weeks!

I have officially entered the 2nd Trimester. YES!! The 1st trimester was a grueling one. Having been through this before, I now know to APPRECIATE these next 13 weeks of no nausea, a managable belly, and slightly increased energy. It's also special to be joined in this pregnancy by 3 good friends all due around the same time as me. I'm having fun guessing what each person will have. I'm convinced that my baby is a girl. Completely convinced. I was right on about Jett being a boy, which leaves me at 100% accuracy rate so far. We'll find out the truth on Jett's birthday (January 14th, 2011)!

I am determined to keep up the belly pictures, but this week's is no charm!

Trav took the photo as I was watching Jett push the trash can around...

Here are a few " Photo Moments" from this week:

If you look closely, you will see wet wipes. Lots and lots and lots and lots of wet wipes. Some crumpled, some stretched out, some in itty bitty pieces, some thrown over the edge of the crib. This is partly my fault, since I DID leave the package within reach. But this little baby was SUPPOSED to be fast asleep. I even took a bath, thinking I had done my job and put him down for a nap. The nap obviously never transpired. While I was soaking in the tub, he was soaking in wet wipes... and once he got tired of being wet and cold and tired, he called me in to rescue him.

Tandy and Ronnie have a toucan. When we were in Nicaragua, Jett loved to go out and watch it fly around its cage. They also have a rooster. When it crowed within hearing distance of Jett, he panicked. He did NOT like the rooster. Once we came home, our little guy was so excited to discover a toucan in his picture book of animals. He also found the page with the rooster. Every day he will spend many long minutes flipping back and forth from the rooster page, to the page with the toucan, and "voicing" his thoughts about both creatures. Usually he will bring the book over to show us, like he's doing in this picture.

I can hear you asking... "And the Swedish pancake pan in the background?" Weeell... let's just say it seemed like the safest place to let him play with such a heavy object.

This was a sweet way to spend our evening. Trav was playing Christmas songs on his guitar and Jett was.... well, doing his rowdy best. I just sang along :-)

Hope you are all finding ways to spend time with family these December days!!

Hunkering Down

Travis has a whole vocabulary for days like today: a typical winter day on the coast complete with chilly air, strong wind gusts, and icy rain pounding on the windows.
When Trav talks about this weather, he says things like,

"This is a serious sea fog"
                                       and
                                            "Be careful driving Tash, it's blowing"
                                                                                                   and
                                                                                                          "It's a good day to hunker down".

I used to give him strange looks when I would hear those phrases. A sea fog? This rainstorm? What's blowing? How do you hunker? Over the past 2.5 years I've gotten comfortable hearing these phrases. I even use them myself sometimes. But this weather... I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it!

On to brighter thoughts...
Some of Trav's homeowners thanked us with a delicious dinner at their new home this week. They presented Jett with this adorable, silky, stuffed dog. It was (and is) a hit!

Such a sweet, snuggly friend!

First of December!

 

Here's our second baby! Can you see the eyes? The arms? The mouth?  I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and brought Jett along as my sidekick. I learned that he doesn't listen any better to other people than he does to me. During my ultrasound, he tried to unplug the electrical source for the ultrasound machine. When my doctor (nicely) picked him up and brought him next to the bed........... he threw an all-out fit! Then he tried as hard as he could to go right back to the same trouble. It was interesting.

Lazy Sunday

My baby boy and I have been feeling under the weather lately. Both literally and figuratively! Jett and I have miserable colds, but we've also been stuck inside due to frigid temperatures and rain.

Today was a lazy Sunday. Church was out of the question, but we were determined to make the most of the first dry, sunny day (in weeks!). We drove the two miles to our favorite walking spot by the duck pond. The geese, swans, and ducks of all species were out enjoying the weather too... but I only had time for a few pictures of my favorite boys before my camera died!

Oh yes.. and Trav asked if I would be embarrassed that my baby is wearing two different socks in the pictures. Umm.. nope! Not when that's all you've got!



Pointing out the flock of Geese flying over the pond.

Smoochable cheeks!

"I know you love it when I chew on rocks, Mom!"





"It's good Daddy, try it!"







Thanksgiving Day Lists

Psalm 31:19 How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

Wow. It's incredibly easy to create an "I'm Thankful For.." list:

1. Jesus Christ
2.  My husband
3. Jett
4. Our baby-on-the-way
5.  Friends and family!
6. Trav's work
7. Good health
8. A warm, solid home
9. Tasty food in the pantry 
10. A safe neighborhood.......... and I could go on for PAGES.

I'm also very thankful we have a day set aside to focus on Giving Thanks. I like it, and I think God likes it too.

We had a memorable time at Roger and Connie's house.

Here's my list of Favorites from Thanksgiving Day:

1.The teamwork that goes into making a Thanksgiving Dinner. Everyone has a job! There were 6 of us involved in making the gravy. Seven if you count Mama Aho's recipe.

2.TurkeyWithLisbeth'sCranberrySauceAndMarlene'sHerbedCornAndConnie'sCornbreadStuffingAndMolly'sMashedPotatoes.... all mixed together in one YUMMY bite!

3.Roger's notes, thoughts, and prayer... all about giving thanks!

4. Lisbeth and Sontia. They just make a cute Auntie/Niece pair. Lisbeth likes to joke, Sontia likes to laugh. They are both creative, and sweet. I'm glad they were part of our Thanksgiving!

5. After lunch, walking the GORGEOUS snow-covered road with Connie, Molly, and Melanie.

6. The bliss of having good conversation and a hearty back massage... at the same time!

7. When Connie and Molly covered Lisbeth's specially-created-and-optimally-heated-cresent rolls with generic whole wheat rolls, and Marlene asked her where they were.... just to see her reaction.



8. Friendly Family Chatter 

9. Amazing Peanut Butter Cup Mud Pie... which even Jett liked!

10. Little dollies (like these) and dudes running around and playing. What would a party be without kids?!

Hope your Thanksgiving was a Treat!



"It snowed last night, it snowed last night, the __(snow bears?)__ had a pillow fight!!"

Mr. Teddy and Baby observe the first snowy morning of the year (and of their lives).

Sitting in a Winter Wonderland

Bravely exploring the white stuff

It's COOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLDDD!!!!

Always Optimistic!

Today is November 22nd. The weather is atrocious. My baby is asleep. The washing machine is singing. What better way to spend my time than starting a new blog?! And like any good New Year's Year's End Resolution, I REALLY intend to be better about updating........... this time.

Our newsroom is busy these days. We have travel memories, travel plans, moving plans, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a new house and a baby on the way. Yes! A baby on the way! Jett is too little to understand that his (and our!) world is about to change drastically. The two will be 16 months apart. Hopefully close enough to be good friends. Riiiiiiiggght?

I am 11.5 weeks pregnant today. The morning sickness has been easier than it was the last time around, but with much the same symptoms: my "Dislike" list is longer than my "Like" list when it comes to food. Chai, red meats, and all my formerly favorite foods are y-u-c-k. If I could, I'd eat french fries and pizza and grapefruits all day long. But I don't! I stick with boring things like cereal, granola bars, fresh fruits/veggies, and rice crackers. As long as I eat small amounts frequently, I feel semi-fine.

My due date is June 10th (according to the first ultrasound). That's 10 days later than I expected, which was NOT welcome news when I was counting down the days until the 2nd trimester! Maybe they're wrong...

Then there is that other baby. Little Big Jett Samuel. His personality is blossoming and it leaves us scratching our heads at times. He is a particularly interesting blend of cuddly, aggressive, SILLY, serious, and always chock full of determination. It's exciting to see him making connections to words/ideas. This morning I played a tape (thanks Molly!) with the "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" song. The light went on in his eyes as he heard the words "monkey" "jumping" "bumped his head" "Mommy" "NO MORE...". He would giggle through the song and wait eagerly for the last part (NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED) and shake his head vigorously. Funny.

Needless to say, he's very familiar with the word "no". He enjoys showing me what is "off-limits" as he plays. Usually it involves electrical outlets, lamp cords, biting me, or pulling up my shirt to see my belly. I've been relieved to see him get close to the "off limit" spot and just shake his head. Yaaaaaaaaaay!! Maybe there's hope after all!

Helping Mama pack boxes.



Teddy in Flight



 

Help me down now, Mama?



Make the most of every opportunity!



First time at the Bowling Alley

STRIIIIIIIIKE!



"I made it up... now how does the 'getting down' part work?"