Thanksgiving Photos

How do I get this cheesy music to go away???????

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

With Thanksgiving...

This Thanksgiving was very special in that we have a new baby to be thankful for. Children are a gift from God. Nothing else on earth teaches you so much about unconditional love, strength, and tolerance. People ask me how things are going with a newborn and I always reply, "It's amazing what you can do when you have to do it." I am thankful for the time in my life to learn to bend without breaking, to love without thinking, to give without expecting. And never until I had Katie Rose did I think I would actually want to learn those things. I'm thankful for the bond I have with Robbie now and forever. I'm thankful for the gift of grandchildren to our parents and for how our family is growing in size and in love. I am thankful for her health and the health of her parents. I'm thankful for the hormonal tears that were shed at the mere thought of her being 27 days old...27 days old...It's the only day in her life that she'll be 27 days old...how glorious!! Silly, I know, but very real to me in the moment.

I am thankful for more than I ever thought I would be and I am thankful we celebrated with so many family members. We had my mom and dad, Robbie's mom and dad, Robbie's grandmother, Grandma Betty, and even Ross who flew in on the 21st. He was hoping to be here for the birth, but oh well. I enjoyed spending time with him. We don't spend much time together and I think there's alot we can learn about one another. He's a proud uncle. Ross was hoping to get some videos of Katie Rose but the camera wasn't working. He has some fun audio clips from KR's birthday from Mom and Sonya and Murphy Elliott. Sonya's is not suitable for the general public to hear.

We all enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving. At one point I told Mom I was glad we had a baby in the family. Dad, Arnold, and Robbie had all fallen asleep downstairs watching football. Vickie and Gma Betty were in the living room quietly knitting, and Mom and I were talking quietly in the kitchen. I told her this crowd was getting a little old (us included) and we needed some new life, energy, and noise among us. Katie Rose was also lounging on her Boppy on the coffee table, but I bet next year when she's 1 it will be a different story. I can't wait to chase her around, or rather ask Robbie to chase her around while I sip on spiked hot chocolate.

Robbie and I were in charge of the turkey. The HUGE turkey. We ordered an 18 lb bird from the Hutterites, but Ross got so excited about the turkey that he suggested we order an even bigger bird. 23 lbs we ended up with and I think eventually it all got eaten, but it was the running joke of the weekend. Dad called wondering if the black smoke cloud he could see over Belgrade was our turkey baking. He ate his words when he proclaimed it to be the most tender he had ever eaten. Muah!

The whole weekend was wonderful. The weather was good and it got us all in good spirits for the holiday season.

I also want to include a note to John Howell. His memorial was on Thanksgiving Day last year. We miss you John.

Are We Living Happily Ever After Yet?

When does happily ever after start? Don't get me wrong. I love my baby more than anything in the world and I have fallen in love with my husband allover again, but whew! this is hard. Everyone has a baby, or a marriage, or a friendship with the grandiose idea that everything is going to be perfect and beautiful without any hitches that can't be surmounted with love and respect. Have you ever tried asking for a 1 month old's respect in the middle of the night? I've tried. I try every night, in fact, and it DOES NOT WORK.

I'm afraid our little girl has colic or reflux or something that strikes each and every night and sometimes during the day. It mostly happens after she eats which is why I wonder if it's reflux. She is also much happier sitting up or over my shoulder than she is lying down which is another indication of reflux. But what about this perfect breast milk I'm making?? I thought it was the perfect infant food. I thought it was easily digestible and a natural antacid. These thoughts validated what I thought would be the perfect mother-baby bond, but no. I might be mistaken about that. I would never shake my baby, but I can understand how someone with little impulse control could. 2 am with a crying baby is one of the most emotionally exhausting things I have experienced.

But here is the silver lining: The miracle of motherhood is that you still love them even though they cry LOUDLY right into your ear and then headbutt you right in the jaw. It's injury to insult, salt on the wound. The other miracle is that as soon as you have a little bit of rest, you wake up feeling relatively refreshed and all the frustration from the night before is gone. I wake up to her cry, scoop her into my arms and squeeze her for the precious bundle she is while kissing her dumpling cheeks. Let's hope this unconditional love continues into adolescence.

Robbie is a big help with her. I try not to bother him in the middle of the night during his work week. He wears earplugs at night now. But when he doesn't have to work, I do ask for his help and he kindly lets me yell at him from time to time. The other morning at 4 am I told him to take her out of the room and only bring her back once she's asleep. He did and she slept for 3 hours. Ahhhhhh. Knowing Katie Rose is finally asleep releases some of the best feel-good chemicals. It's better than any martini.

Katie Rose

KATIE ROSE VERNON

8 LBS 6.8 OZ

20 1/2 INCHES LONG

6:13 PM

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009

My last post was October 23rd. That seems like so long ago and that so much has changed since then I hardly know where to begin. So I left off announcing Erin and Ashley's new babies and the fact that I was starting maternity leave 2 weeks early due to gestational hypertension...

Halloween weekend came and we went to Ben and Meredith's house for the evening. Ben's sister, her husband, and their 2 kids were there as well. Kids are walking petri dishes of germs and Meredith, Kelly, baby Emma and I all ended up with stomach flu Monday and Tuesday after Halloween. Note to parents: If you even SUSPECT your child may be sick, please let people around you know - ESPECIALLY pregnant people. Stomach flu is never fun, but at 38 weeks pregnant it's REALLY horrible.

I had a regular doctor appointment on Tuesday that I thought about cancelling due to the flu, but I figured because I had the flu I should go and I was right to do so. My blood pressure was extremely high and the doctor sent me immediately to labor and delivery. She wanted me to be prepared to be induced that night if they couldn't get my blood pressure to come back down. 3 hours I spent in L/D before my blood pressure resumed it's normal high state. They let me go home but scheduled me to come back Wednesday night to begin the induction process.

Robbie took the day off Wednesday and we spent the day doing little things around the house knowing that when we came back we would have our baby. We also layed in bed together and watched t.v. cherishing these last few hours of it being just us. We thought about what we wanted for our last meal and came up with nothing so we decided we would eat at the hospital cafeteria which is actually pretty good! Plus, I didn't feel much like eating anyway having had flu the day before.

We headed to the hospital around 4:30 because they told us to be in L/D by 6. I had a feeling before we left that I would see my doctor in the cafeteria and she would be mad that I was out doing something...sure enough we did see her, but she said it was ok since I was at the hospital. Dr. Augustyn and Dr. Chisdak tease me because when my blood pressure was so high I got paranoid about it and went to the grocery store to check it. When I called the doctor on call that night to report that even the grocery store monitor said it was high she asked me, "What are you doing at the grocery store?? You need to be lying down!" That incident later came up in the operating room.

The L/D rooms at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital are amazing! They redid the entire unit a year ago and we were all so impressed with the facilities and amenities in each room. My room was huge and had a couch and recliner in it. The bathroom was large with a jacuzzi tub and I cannot say enough positive things for the nursing staff. Wow. They inserted a drug called Cervadil to help soften my completely undilated cervix. Robbie stayed right by my side but I told him to go home and get some sleep because I needed him to be strong for me on Thursday. All night long I was extremely uncomfortable. Those beds are not meant to be used for very long. I slept as much as I could but it's hard with people checking on you every 15 minutes and having a blood pressure cuff squeeze your arm every 20 minutes and having monitors strapped around your belly.

Finally around 5 am I woke up having some pains that felt like real contractions. I timed them for 10 minutes and when they were happening every 3 I called the nurse in. As soon as she went to check me I knew my water had broken. That's a very uncomfortable event because every time I contracted, it "broke" a little more. I was a mess. I told the nurse I wanted the anesthesiologist to get there ASAP because I immediately started having contractions. I'm leaning on the wall, sitting on the toilet, leaning over the bed - anything I could do tolerate what was going on. After an hour and a half the anesth. showed up and I got my epidural. Ahhh, sweet relief. I felt great...for a while. Robbie and my parents arrived and all seemed calm in the world. I could still feel the contractions but it was so minimal compared to what it was that I thought, heck, if childbirth is like this, I could handle it.

I don't know why I'm making this face - probably because I didn't want my picture taken. This must have been before things got intense.

Sometimes though things don't go as planned. I was following a normal curve of dilating 1 cm an hour. When I got to 3 cm, I started feeling the contractions more severely and I could tell that feeling was returning to my lower half. The anesth. came back and gave me more drugs. That was fine for about a half hour. Then it came back, this time even worse. I endured that until the anesth. could get back to me to give me more drugs. This process kept going on and on getting worse each time the drugs wore off. For whatever reason the epidural was not working except when I got a big shot of it in my back. As the pain got worse, so did my blood pressure and as my blood pressure got higher so did Katie Rose's heart rate. The pain I was feeling in my left side was excruciating and I just cried and cried while the nurse and Robbie tried talking me (relaxation words) through each contraction. Robbie told me to think about Lima Peaks, and the Centennial Valley, and Ono Island and the beach.

I was dilated 8 cm when my blood pressure and KR's heart rate skyrocketed to the point that Dr. Augustyn said I was going to have a c-section. She said she wasn't sure why the baby's heart rate was so high, but she didn't like it and a decision had to be made. I responded OK, signed where I needed to which is really hard to do when you're in hard labor. As soon as they said I was having a c-section, darling Robbie got a nosebleed. Poor guy! They started prepping me for surgery and cleaning the room for the next patient. When we arrived Wednesday night there was no one else in L/D. By Thursday afternoon there were women overflowing into other units waiting for one of the 6 rooms. In 15 minutes I was prepped for surgery and got the spinal...ahh, relief! Robbie came in the OR and 15 minutes after that our baby was out and I could hear her scream. It was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. She wailed! They showed her to me and got her cleaned up. The first things the doctors said were, "Ohh, look, she has lots of hair! And 3 chins!" She scored an 8 on her APGAR test which I hear is a really good score. Robbie took her to the nursery while they stitched me up and vacuumed me out...a really odd sensation. They gave me a shot of Demerol and a pleasant calm came over me knowing my baby was out and we were all safe. When they pulled her out of me she was face up when she should have been face down. This could have been causing much more severe pain and back labor such that the epidural could not keep up without over medicating me. Dr. Augustyn said later that a c-section was probably inevitable due to her size and position and that the right decision was made.

I was taken to recovery where they have the best tasting ice chips I've ever had. I love Demerol. Robbie and Mom were able to come back there and tell me all about her. I had never felt so good in my life as I did right then. Robbie was my hero and I knew I had nothing to worry about.

Two New Arrivals

My friend Ashley McFarland and her husband Mike welcomed baby Caroline Grace this past September. Ashley is one of the "beach girls" (Ashley, Erin, and myself) I had mentioned in a post from my trip home to Mobile this past August. The 3 of us hung out at the beach during the summers and all 3 of us have had/are having babies nearly exactly 1 month apart. It has been so much fun trading pregnancy stories with these girls all year and it's hard to believe that we have to be the grown ups now. Welcome home Caroline Grace!

Erin and Troy Schwant welcomed home their newest arrival Charlie Thompson Schwant on October 16th. Welcome home Charlie!

At Home

At my regular check up this past Tuesday the doctor noted that my blood pressure was a little high and they were going to start monitoring it to watch for hypertension and/or preeclampsia. They told me to come back on Friday for a blood pressure check and told me what symptoms to watch for should things escalate.

On Wednesday afternoon my feet and hands puffed up tremendously. Even a coworker noted that my face looked puffy too which is not something a woman ever wants to hear but I had to take it as further validation that I really was not feeling well. I called the doctor's office and they said better to be safe than sorry - come on up and you can see the doctor that's in today. My blood pressure was higher than it had been the day before. They sent me to the lab to have blood drawn for a blood count and to give me a jug to collect ALL of my pee for 24 hours. Oh, and this jug has to be refrigerated. Yes, your vision is accurate: a jug of pee next to the gallon of milk and leftover lasagna. If this was Robbie's pee I would be totally grossed out and would insist that the garage was cool enough for him to keep it well out of my sight. I didn't really put it next to the milk or near any food but rather in the bottom door drawer which can be and has been removed and cleaned just in case. It was not in plain view. Hey, if Robbie can put dead ducks in the fridge, then what's a jug of pee? And may I add that returning the "specimen" to the lab is a bit humiliating. There's just something degrading to everyone involved when you set your giant jug of pee on the counter. You wonder what people are thinking watching you walk into the lab with a brown paper bag. It's not a bottle of beer, folks! But it's not a stool sample either. That might be the only thing worse.

I was also told to stay home from work Thursday until I talked to my doctor Thursday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon my blood pressure was still high and had been high all day, so the doctor told me I would not be returning to work. She also told me we would most likely have this baby around 38 weeks which is LESS THAN 2 WEEKS FROM NOW. We would have the baby next week if I have preeclampsia, but they called this morning to say I did not have enough protein in 24 hour's worth of urine to diagnose preE. That's good news.

The bad news is I am starting my maternity leave now instead of after baby arrives. The bad news - or good news, perhaps - is that I am limited on how much activity I can do. I may not: clean the garage, vacuum, do any housekeeping, cook, or go to the grocery store. I enjoy a leisure lifestyle without a doubt, but even I get anxious looking at all the things I could be doing with all this time I have now and can't. Whoever would have thought I would be dying to clean?? So please, anyone out there, send a message, send a text, send an email, comment on the blog, come over. Entertain me, please! Or come over and clean. You choose.

These pictures are just for fun. The first is Robbie putting together a storage thing for Katie Rose's closet. The second is proof that Robbie also lets Shuge get in the bed. It's not just me!

Visitors from the West

Thank goodness for my wonderful in-laws. I am so lucky to have such great in-laws who love us so dearly. Vickie and Arnold came over last weekend to visit bringing with them all sorts of gifts, goodies, and even dinner.

They arrived Thursday night with a ravioli casserole made just in time for Survivor. On Friday Arnold and Robbie went duck hunting - Arnold's first trip out for the season. Now that he has killed some ducks he says he can shave his face. These Vernon men have some attachment to their facial hair and only remove it when an animal has been slain. They didn't kill many ducks but they had a good time in the field with the dogs and just enjoying man time.

I wasn't feeling well on Friday so I stayed home all day and Vickie helped me sort through and wash all the newborn clothes and blankets I have, put liners in the drawers, and get me a little more organized. Those who know me know I need help with this stuff and cleaning and putting things away is not my forte. She was such a tremendous help. Vickie, along with her beading talent, has also taken up knitting caps. Katie Rose probably has 6 from Mama V already and I just bet she'll get more. She and I actually enjoyed going through Katie Rose's cute things and talking about when Robbie and Tawnya were born and what sort of nesting things she did. She told us that due to space and where they were at the time she didn't get to do much nesting or decorating of a nursery so to do those things with me was fun for her. Vickie also assembled the bouncer seat cousin Danyel sent us. It was a special time spent with Vickie and Arnold and it was bitter sweet when they left knowing that the next time we see them we'll have our baby!

Happy 30th Birthday Robbie!

The Centennial Valley

Happy birthday my dear, sweet, loving, and PATIENT husband. We have been together over 6 years now and I believe I have been with you on your birthday every year until this year. But readers, do not think this is me being neglectful or uncaring, and really and truly it has very little to do with me being pregnant. It has EVERYTHING to do with it being opening weekend of duck season. Robbie loves duck hunting almost more than life itself. He also loves big game hunting too, but the ducks and geese are his real passion.

Robbie's birthday wish was to go back to the Centennial Valley where he and I went opening weekend last year. Last year we took Mom and Dad's suburban and camped out in the vehicle in sleeping bags with the seats folded down. It was actually pretty cozy the two of us and a muddy dog. Suburbans make great campers. We had an awesome weekend last year and nearly limited out the first day. Unfortunately our computer crashed a few months ago and we lost our pictures. So sad.

Below is one picture I salvaged off MySpace, but it's compressed.

This year I was not up for the trip since I need 5 or more pillows and a nearby bathroom. I'm also not interested in ruining our daughter's hearing quite yet with shotgun blasts, and I know that this year would not compare to last year when we hung out by the river, shot ducks, missed geese, and drank beers while watching the sun set. I'm not sure we could recreate that experience, so the best thing I could do was just let him go. I felt bad sending him off by himself on his 30th birthday but it's what he wanted and I wasn't going to stop him.


He started packing his bags on Monday while listening to heavy rock man music on the computer. Once in a while he would make an appearance wearing some funny camo hat or raincoat and slippers (with no pants or at least it was long enough to cover his shorts) bearing his shotgun just so I would know how cool he was. How could I forget?? He also took care to pack some magazines and the pregnancy book just for good measure.

Where they hunted this year

Robbie's cousin David from Dillon joined him for part of the weekend. Robbie ultimately camped in the middle of nowhere near the river and was woken up at 2 am by headlights coming toward him. It was his friend Brian from Stevensville who had joined up with David to join him for the Saturday morning hunt. The guys ended up having a great weekend despite some gun malfunctions, a run-in with the game warden (not for something Robbie did), and only shooting a few ducks.

Elk crossing on the way home

Things That Make You Say Hmmm

I'm never quite sure how much I want to reveal on the blog. Some bloggers reveal everything and speak so candidly that I am embarrassed for them. I am a pretty open book but I realize others might not want to be privy to my openness all the time. That being said...


I had a startling change this week when I was in bed reading my Mayo Clinic pregnancy book. It was talking about breast changes when I noticed that my own showed the unmistakable evidence of being nearly a month ahead of schedule. I was shocked even though I know pregnancy does not necessarily follow a book and cannot be planned out like color-by-numbers. I screamed out, "OH MY GOSH!!!!" Robbie came to my rescue to find out what was wrong. I showed him and he kindly replied, "Wow, that's kind of cool." I started crying insisting that it was NOT cool and that that had never happened to me before and that being a woman you come to expect certain things, but THIS had never EVER happened before, and while I realized it was going to happen and that I wanted it to happen, I was not ready for it at that moment.

I got over the shock after telling a handful of my motherly or pregnant friends who assured me I was ok, but it does start to make you wonder what it could mean. My first thought is maybe she's coming early. My second, less-fortunate thought is it could mean I'll have enough nourishment to provide sustenance to a small country. My third thought is if #2 is the case, maybe there is a way I could make some money selling the stuff as an all natural coffee creamer with real antibodies and immune support! If you're interested, get in touch with me.

I've also been having what I believe to be Braxton Hicks contractions - also normal. I'm actually counting them right now because it seems there is more contraction activity today than other days. I believe I have counted 3 in less than an hour, but it could just be the baby pressing into the upper part of my uterus, or it could be any number of other pressurized disturbances that occur (regularly, I might add) in the abdominal region during pregnancy. I won't elaborate.

Baby also seems to be hanging out low when she's not sitting sideways, or so it feels sometimes. I blame this on me having such limited rental space for her. I can often wear jeans that are long though I am average height 5'6. My torso and waist are what's short. With limited space I believe she's putting additional pressure on my bones below and my bladder. So does this mean she's further down and getting close to being ready? Could she? Would she?

I've heard too many pregnant women say they are sure the baby is coming early for various reasons and I always think to myself that they're just tired of feeling uncomfortable. I can relate with this just like I now understand why I always thought pregnant women were mean, but I still believe a baby arrives neither early nor late but precisely when he means to just like Gandalf the Gray (I'm a total Lord of the Rings nerd). Alas, here I am wondering and saying the same thing countless other women have. The doctor's office has now called me back and said that unless things get significantly worse, I sound totally normal...so I'll just keep waiting.

With Fall and Baby Approaching...

We decided to take a trip to Yellowstone National Park last Saturday. It was just the 2 of us and often there is no better place to talk and visit than inside the car. We love going for drives to places we haven't been. We spent a whole afternoon one time in Clarkston and if you've ever been around Clarkston you know it's not exactly a destination hotspot.

We drove through Gallatin Canyon into West Yellowstone. It had been a long time since either of us had been that way and we forgot how beautiful it is. The national forest accesses were busy with bow hunters and the pull outs along the way were busy with anglers. It was such a perfect day and when we got to the park entrance it was a free pass day! Then we found out why. There was a bicycle trek going on and there were over 300 cyclists on the road which was very frustrating to Robbie who has bouts of road rage now and then. He kept yelling bravely from inside the car, "You people need to get cars!! What's wrong with cars??" We finally got past them at Old Faithful as we journeyed down to Yellowstone Lake and back north to Tower Junction along the Grand Canyon of YNP. We got out and walked some and I waded into the Firehole River.

We came out through the north entrance/exit at Gardiner. It was a low activity day for animals in the park, but we had a good time anyway and enjoyed spending one on one time together. Those days are numbered...

There were 3 different forest fires burning in the park. Here's the smoke plume from one.

More Nursery Photos

This is a clock Mom got for me probably 15 years ago. It was on my wall at Tokeneak and in my bathroom at Rosewood. I packed it out here 2 years ago and now it's on Katie Rose's wall. I lost part of the mount on the back of the clock so it doesn't hang quite right for the tongue to swing back and forth, but Robbie is going to come up with something to make it work. Here are the little dolls and things that are in Katie Rose's crib right now. Notice the wild haired dolls from Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. Dale, the melody bear from Mrs. Maria Gwynn, the cuddle giraffe from Mrs. Adelia, the brown haired doll from Valli and the sweater bug from Amy Haas. Don't they coordinate well??

The Nursery Progression

Here's a reminder of what the crib color and crib bedding looks like

Ok, finally, I have some pictures of the nursery. It's still not done, but it's come a long way. I decided that painting the nursery was going to be one of my own little nesting projects. I kept telling myself things like, "Hey, I've painted before. I can do this. It's just a small room. It won't take that much paint or time. This is going to be great! How hard can it be??" Robbie, having information contrary to my affirmations, was not interested in painting the nursery whatsoever but did agree to help tape the edges, so thank you Robbie for starting the taping process. He also removed the switch plates and air intake vents and moved the furniture to the middle of the room.

I bagged up the crib bumper and went to True Value Hardware here in Belgrade. A nice man named Chris helped me find just the right color blue under the fluorescent lights they have over the paint samples. It was perfect! Then he suggested we go outside in natural sunlight to see if we still liked the color. I was CERTAIN I had done well. Hmm, or not. It was totally wrong! It was too green! Perfection thwarted! So we grabbed an entire book of paint samples, took them all outside and then found the perfect blue. Of course inside, they looked terrible next to eachother, but I was getting tired of being there and I was eager to get home and paint. 114 dollars later I was on my way. We did have to buy a step stool, so it wasn't truly that much just for paint and supplies. Oh, wait, there was primer too. Again my perfect plan of coming home and painting the nursery this beautiful blue was stalled again for the ugly yet necessary primer.

Whoo hoo, I'm now on my way but feeling less energetic than I was a couple of hours ago.

Robbie had not quite finished taping. I blame myself for this. I think what happened is I was so excited and enthusiastic about "my little project" that I accidentally convinced him I really was capable and willing to do it all myself. Lessons in marriage, right? I got home and was totally annoyed that I had 5 other steps to complete before I could put anything on the wall. I rushed through those 5 steps and in the most unorganized, least methodical manner, I got my roller wet and put primer on the wall. After priming 2 half-walls reality set in that I needed help. Meredith, the dear and wonderful, had offered to help, so I called her. She's also really tall. Tall friends are good to have when painting. I sat on the floor and did the bottom stuff while she painted the tops of the walls. We let the primer dry and then put the blue on. We actually finished and together it only took us about 3-4 hours. See how tall Meredith is?? Yes, that is paint in my hair. Tell me again WHY I thought I would do this alone???? I am singing a different tune now. The next morning I painted 2 walls that needed a second coat and then I looked at the room and decided it was good. The paint spills on the carpet are minimal. There's only a little paint on the baseboards and a little paint on the electric sockets, but I don't think it's anything I can't get rid of with a little nail polish remover.

I'll post some more pictures soon!

Few Notes

Ok, this post is way late, but it's been a whirlwind since I got home with work, doctors appointments, childbirth classes, and nursery painting and taking time to prop my feet up. It's been unseasonably warm here the last 2 weeks such that my feet and ankles have been swollen. I no longer have ankles but long calves often referred to as cankles that nearly crease as my ankle becomes my foot. I had never considered how attractive normal ankles were until now. Each morning when the swelling has gone down I take a quick look to admire them before they puff up again like sausages. I swear if you pierced them they would steam.

So I really am wanting to post on the trip to Mobile. It was so fantastic. We took pictures at the 2, yes 2, baby showers my dear friends and family hosted for me. I saved them to a cd and then Mom gave the cd to Shelly, so that's the hold up on pictures. Here's one Mom emailed to me of 3 Mamas. Ashley, Erin, and myself. Ashley has actually already had her baby September18th. Welcome to the world baby Caroline Grace! Erin is having her baby October 16th and I am due the next month. The 3 of us hung out at Ono during the summers together and it's so funny that we would all have babies nearly exact months apart. It's not coming through as a clear photo, but it's good enough. I seem to be making some weird face.

I'll post more later with more pictures as I get them, but while I had the chance I wanted to get started on this post.

Bad Blogger

I have been a bad blogger lately. I haven't even posted on my trip to Mobile because I'm waiting on photos. The nursery is coming along too, so I have pictures to post of that. I've gotten some other ideas as well, so as soon as I have a few hours I'll get this done. I promise!

Fishing on the Yellowstone

Several weekends ago Robbie went fishing with Dad and some of their friends and neighbors from Mobile, Bill and DJ Johnson. Robbie had never been on a guided fishing trip in Montana so he was really excited to be going on the Yellowstone River near Livingston. Robbie caught the first fish and later caught the biggest fish. Thanks Dad!!

Kitty Belle's New Bed

Mom came over a few days ago to look at the baby's room and to help with some organization - Aren't moms great???? We were working around the house not paying attention to what the animals were doing and when we came back in the baby's room this is what we saw.

I'm thinking we might have to get one of those nets that goes over the crib, but to me that seems scary for the baby to feel trapped in a net. Is there really a worry out there about cats smothering babies anymore? I am sure my cats will frequently check out the baby room and will probably get in the baby's crib. Maybe we should be more worried about what diseases and bacteria cats carry than the fact they may steal the baby's breath. Any thoughts?

Some Special Women

Last month Mom had 3 of her friends come visit from Mobile and the Eastern Shore. These are 3 friends she has known since highschool, Adelia, Ima Jean, and Anne and what remarkable women they are. Mom refers to them as "domestic divas." I admit I was a bit embarrassed for them to come to my house knowing it was covered in dust and animal fur - a far cry from their literally spotless homes, but I decided that since Miss Ima Jean and Miss Adelia, at least, had known me since I was born, it was too late to be anyone but myself. Miss Anne, if you read this, well, that's just me.

They were here for the ultrasound when we found out we are having a girl and they dove right into all things girlie and cute. They went shopping with Mom and they even came to the baby store to look at cribs and other baby goods with us and didn't seem to mind a bit! They especially didn't mind taking silly pictures at the mexican restaurant after Mom drank 2 margaritas. Miss Adelia had to drive home. Mom has always proclaimed when it came to alcohol, she was a cheap date.

This is me with my prenatal vitamins and an O'Doules.

And the 3 of them are grandmothers too! Mom loved being in good fun company with other seasoned grandmothers who could share insight and experience and a grandmother's list of must-haves. They even came to my house (while Robbie was gone) and had a mini baby shower for me with lots of beautiful, wonderful, useful things. This little girl is loved, I tell you! Montana doesn't do "foo foo" much so having these southern women around was a rare and CUTESY treat with wrapping and ribbons and pink and flowers and duckies, oh my!. I loved every minute. I can't wait to see them all again when I go back to Mobile next week!!

The other special part was that all of these women have sons with daughters-in-law so they shared some stories and insight into what it's like to be a mother-in-law and it made me think about my relationship with Vickie, Robbie's mother, and of how much I appreciate her and the place she's coming from too. Thank you Miss IJ, Miss Adelia, and Miss Anne for your fun visit and for sharing your thoughts with me. I was touched.

From left to right: Miss Adelia, Miss Ima Jean, Mom, and Miss Anne

Updates on the Nursery

*See note toward the bottom regarding the giant gorilla in the corner

The room has been slightly transformed into the basics of a nursery. We moved a chest of drawers into the room and we got the crib last week. We invited my parents and brother over for dinner last Thursday night with the idea that the men would put the crib together while the women prepared dinner. It mostly went that way with Robbie putting the final touches on the crib over the weekend. Here are some photos.

And the guys warmed up with a little Wii bowling and boxing.

First I had to tell them what to do. No, not really. I leave the mechanical things to the guys. They knew JUST what to do and had the whole thing done in about 45 minutes. Thanks guys!! But it wasn't totally finished until Birdie gave it her inspection. Then every stuffed animal we own was put into the crib for the time being. Come to think of it, it's a good way to keep the cats out of the bed!

*Notice the giant gorilla in the crib. I have not been able to part with this gorilla knowing that Dad carried it on the airplane home from New York. This gorilla is so big it could have used its own seat on the plane. Now the gorilla will be the baby's and she can decide what to do with it. I thought the crib bedding was going to show up on Friday and we could have had the walls painted this weekend, but we will have to continue waiting. I suppose it's better to have to wait because then I would get it all done and have to dust it and wash everything again before the baby comes. I hate cleaning.

More photos to come as things progress!

Other Ultrasound Pictures

These are 2 more pictures from our last ultrasound several weeks ago. I had them at work for a long time and typical me, I forgot to bring them home...for 3 weeks. I'm pretty sure she has the prettiest fingers ever. You can see her left hand in the picture below with her fingers extended and her other hand curled up floating above her face. I hope her nose gets cuter than it looks in the second picture. She appears to have Robbie's forehead. I love every inch of her!

Posts coming soon

I have a few I need to post. I'm just waiting on photos. Soon to come:

Family friends visit from Mobile
Robbie's 10 year highschool reunion
The beginnings of the nursery: Before, During, & After
And finally....
THE NAME ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

Stay tuned!

Nesting Has Started

Last weekend I spent several hours cleaning and reorganizing my room and the baby's room. We moved a dresser into the baby room which meant I had to go through each drawer and sort through the get-rid-of pile and keep pile. I must have vacuumed the room 5 times going back over each spot where I would move something else. I cleaned out the closet and put the crib mattress we got in there. I sorted through the gifts we have already received - ADORABLE THINGS - and put them in some of the drawers. I even dusted the blinds and cleaned the window sill.

Mom and I got the crib mattress on Saturday. I'm learning so much about babies and how they need super firm mattresses at first and then softer ones as they approach the toddler years. We also ordered the crib which should arrive by the middle of next week. Here is a picture of what we ordered. Mom and her friends Miss Ima Jean, Miss Adelia, and Miss Anne and I spent some time in Bibs and Binkies, a local baby boutique, looking at cribs. Robbie and I went back and made the final decision. Robbie actually picked this one out and I think he was proud to be able to make such a prominent nursery decision. See posts below to see our actual bedding.

In addition to preparing the nursery my mind goes over all the other things that need to be cleaned...behind the oven, behind the refridgerator, the carpets, the baseboards, the fan blades, the man room. Yes, Robbie! The man room must be cleaned as well! I'm making the list in my mind and the urgency to complete these things has not quite set in, but the wheels are turning. Robbie, brace yourself.