Thanksgiving, Tucson Style and more

In stark contrast to a couple (very cold) weeks earlier in Portland, Thanksgiving in Tucson was dream weather. Per the usual, we had a large gathering at our house with fried turkey taking center stage. J and dad have really mastered the turkeys at this point!



I took full advantage this year and got all the help I could in the kitchen (therefore, snuck outside to enjoy the weather!). Actually, we all seemed to make our way out more this year (I think mostly because that's where the baked brie was!). It's hard to stay in the kitchen when all the action is out front.







Three words to describe Thanksgiving weekend: relaxing (and) turkey sandwiches (YUM). J fried up an extra turkey just so I could make sandwiches since deli turkey is a no-go right now. Yum.


In other (more current) news, we're well into the third trimester! 32.5 weeks along. We've successfully completed our five week "baby class" (which was traumatizing). We know all about the birth and labor process. Well, J does. I tuned out when they started talking about pain and needles and tearing and never really snapped back into it. But we're thinking about taking a "baby basics" class that is supposed to teach us the whole diapering/feeding/when to call the doctor thing. It's all new to J and I haven't babysat an infant in, oh, 15+ years. So we're thinking it might be a good idea.

At our last appointment just a couple of days ago, everything was measuring right on track, a nice 150 range heartbeat, and all that other good stuff. Now that my antibiotics have run their course for my third sinus infection in two months (oh, joy), we're all feeling pretty good around here and are looking forward to an exciting 2010! We just finished up the nursery, so as soon as I can get the family photog to take some shots, we'll get those posted.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

In mid November, I (Auna) headed up to Portland for a baby shower. It was wonderful to see family and friends for such an exciting and happy occasion! But someone forgot to tell me how cold Portland can get in the winter. And Addy (yep, we decided on a "y") did her best to keep me warm, but it's COLD up there! Instant reminder of why we like to visit in the summer!

The shower was great-- Whitney and mom helped coordinate at my mom's house. The theme was pink pink and more pink. And Whit definitely took that and ran with it. It was just beautiful!



And all of the classic games were played, including the "guess how big the belly is"! A couple people were spot on! Luckily, Addy went on a major growth surge in the weeks leading up to the shower, so everyone really got to experience a very pregnant looking Auna. She's slowed down considerably (but not alarmingly) in the weeks following--further proof that she's already showing off and going to be the center of attention!



Addy was showered with all kinds of adorable clothing--this will be one in style kid! I also got some other necessities.



Portland was a very quick trip, but wonderful nonetheless! We're looking forward to getting back up there in the summer, when it's warmer! (And when we can cheer on Whit for graduating!)

Lots to Catch Up On!

Let's make a list of everything to catch up on and we'll hack away at it (the list includes pictures for your viewing pleasure):

1) On September 29th, we found out we're having a little girl! (please note this also marks the first time I've made a bet and been wrong with J--but I don't make bets often). We have decided to name her Addison (Addy vs Addie is TBD-cast your vote now!) Belle Emery--which explains the "Addison Watch" ticker at the top of this page. We're blogging gurus.



and here's a nice profile shot:



and, one more personal favorite photo from that trip are her feet:




2. On October 4th, we set sail on our Caribbean cruise. The new header picture is the sunset one night (I believe off the coast of St. Thomas). We started out in San Juan, Puerto Rico and sailed from there to Aruba, Curacao, Dominica and St. Thomas (with a stop to St. John also thrown in). J is our official family photographer and he took so many wonderful pictures that it's hard to even look through them all to pick. So I am picking two at absolute random right now to represent the trip, which was full of sun, snorkling, food and, well, cruising!





3. On November 2, we celebrated our sixth year of an absolutely wonderful marriage. No pictures of the actual occasion, but they have been a blessed six years.

Stay tuned for future photos (with our frequency, look for them in June) of the nursery J is working so hard on.

A Faint Line is Still a Line

So, apparently in the blog world, you can't just make up a date and pretend like you posted something three months ago. Go figure. So we have some catching up to do, and we can't pretend like we posted this months ago when really we're just posting it now. Whatever.

6/12/09 (pretend like that's when we posted this, if you want to experience it in "real time")
After running just a couple days behind, we decide to give a home pregnancy test a spin. Instructions are hard to follow, though, and it's a total bomb.

6/14/09
A few days later, we give it another go...this time after reading the instructions a little more carefully. But still not in any way expecting the results to be positive. After a couple minutes (or however long it takes...I don't remember now) a faint faint faint line appears. One of us doesn't believe it, while the other reminds us that "a faint line is still a line." We'll let you guess which one was which. Excitement ensues, but trepidation...mostly thinking the results certainly couldn't be accurate. Thus, no photo documentation of said event.

6/17/09
A "confirmation" appointment is scheduled at which point, it's official: We're pregnant!!!! And very excited. I will point out that while waiting for the appointment, list of questions in hand (including estimated due date), J offers up that the due date is probably February 18. He even writes it down on the paper with the questions. Full documentation. During the "confirmation appointment", February 18 is the due date they estimate. J's good! We should really consider a road trip to Vegas at this point.

7/15/09
"Morning" sickness has set in, though for me it hits around 11am and doesn't let up for the rest of the day. Ugh. Today is the first ultrasound. Where I get to see the heartbeat, which is really just a tiny dot that flickers really fast. J has to miss this one, since the appointment ran an hour late and he had to get to a meeting. But I get my first glimpse of "emery".




8/19/09
Food and I are friends again. Not best friends; but we’re cordial, so that’s been nice. Today’s the day we get to hear emery’s heartbeat a.k.a. “the whoosh of a UFO”. I’ve been told that if the heart rate is above 140, it’s likely a girl, so I’m especially tuned in to find out what the heart rate is, in my unending desperate desire to “know-if-it’s-a-boy-or-a-girl” (!). J sneaks his video camera into the room with hopes that we can record sound, which we do.

At the tail end of the video, you can somewhat make out our conversation. The heart rate is in the high 150s and J tells the doc he was hoping for a baseball player. We'll see if the heart rate theory rings true, though.


In other exciting news, we've booked a cruise to the Caribbean in early October. It’s our “babymoon”. After this, our world of vacations will never be the same. So we’re excited to have this one last “hurrah”. Though we’re even more excited (and.scared.out.of.our.minds) about February 18 and how our worlds will be changing.

question of the day

If you have a blog, but don't ever update it and no one really knows about it, does it really exist?

Well, we're working on our semi-annual posting. And with that, I'm pleased to announce that several of the goals of the year were actually accomplished.

Cooking at home? check
Working out? if I mention how much J lost since February...well, I don't want to embarrass him... so, check
Creativity? check out www.starcatcherdesigns.com !
I've already forgotten if there was another item, so we'll just call our score 100%.

Well, that's it for checking in and catching up.
Stay tuned for more excitement to come! (for real this time!)

looking back and looking forward

In honor of it being the new year and all, we've decided to try to jumpstart this whole blog thing again. August hit us hard and the rest of the year flew by with all kinds of random things going on. Including, but not limited to: someone leaving who we hated saying goodbye to which led to a mad dash to Portland for an unplanned trip, a majorly sprained ankle (pics are too gross to even post!), someone leaving who couldn't have left fast enough and whose departure was long overdue, a trip to the emergency room, a Scrooge Christmas (no tree, no decor, no nothing!) and a NYE that found us in bed before the ball dropped. 2008 came and left in a blur.

2009 holds many exciting projects and goals. We're putting this in print because then it becomes more of a commitment. We will not call these resolutions-- that word is cursed. In no particular order, here they come:
1. Cook more. Which, subsequently, will lead to eating at home more, right?
2. Hit the gym. J's committed to pulling it all together.
3. Rather than buy new stuff we don't need, we're going to buy old stuff (that we likely still don't need) and give it new life. We've already done so with a gorgeous old wrought iron patio set that we found on craigslist. J "sanded" it and repainted it and it's fantastic. A wonderful addition to our previously furniture-less courtyard.
4. Get creative. The creative juices have started flowing and we're going to see where they lead. Stay tuned on that one...maybe some ideas will stick and we'll have more to post.

There are no commitments to the blog. We'll see what happens. A laptop has joined the family, so it may just happen naturally now that blogging can happen from the couch. I won't hold my breath, as the above items are more interesting (for now) to focus on than anything else.

Cheers!