Our first Nephew

On Friday, December 11, we welcomed the newest member of our family to this world! Lucas was born at 3:53am after 28 hours of labor and 5 hours of pushing. I'm writing this to remember a few of the details about his birth. On Thursday morning, I got a text message from Brenna at around 5:00am. She told me I should probably drive to work that day and that she had been having contractions since midnight. I drove to work and was more excited than I've ever been  before. Every single muscle was tensed in anticipation. I couldn't stop smiling and I was just bouncing off the walls!! Who needs coffee when you've got a nephew on the way!?!

Around noon on Thursday, Brenna and Ethan headed to the hospital (12 hours of contractions so far). As soon as I got word of that, I was GONE from work! I dashed out of the office and headed to the hospital. On the drive over, I tried to take note of a few details of the day. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day although it was super cold! I have a few "mental snapshots" of the beautiful drive over I-90. I got to the hospital around 12:30 and just sat around with them. Poor Bren was in lots of pain. But she was a champ. She was very calm and true to Brenna's nature, she was still as sweet as an angel. Ethan was great. too. He is so good at focusing on Bren and making it all about her. He answered most of the questions for the nurses...he just did everything he could to make things comfortable and easy for her.

Meanwhile, the family started to converge! Mom left home in North Bend around 9am. The twins hurried to finish their finals and sped up from Corvallis. Dad had to finish some last minute stuff at work so he wasn't able to leave until around 3am on Friday morning (he 'enjoys' driving at such strange hours). Chaunc ran to the grocery store to prepare for the onslaught of family members and then she also headed to the hospital. Well, the huge rush wasn't needed. Lucas decided not to come out for quite some time. We all left the hospital around 10:30 pm on Thursday night. Joel ended up sneaking back to the hospital and stayed until 12:30. After 5 hours of pushing, Lucas was finally born at 3:53 am on Friday, December 11! The new mommy and daddy wanted a little bit of sleep, so we left them alone until around lunch time on Friday.

Let me tell you. Brenna is my hero. I think she got all the patience genes of the family. I don't know how she managed to deal with 8+ family members crowding into her hospital room while she operated on almost no sleep for 48+ hours! But, I'm thankful she did! Baby Lucas is perfect. So far, he sleeps most of the time. But I still can't get enough of him! I just look at the little bundle in my arms and think of how much this little bundle holds! He has so much love surrounding him. So pure. So much potential. So much....of something. I don't quite know the word to describe it. There's just so much there in that little, tiny body! As Brenna put it, he's a fresh little soul...straight from Heaven.

Now the hard work starts for them. Ethan started his new job TODAY (good timing?). My mom is there with Brenna to make sure she gets some sleep. I can't wait to see what the future holds for the little guy! I'm already imagining hearing him giggle and seeing him smile! Joel is excited to play soccer and basketball with him! This is just the first cousin. I'm sure there will be many more to come!!

Lovely morning

I just wanted to write quickly about two lovely things this morning. First, our dearest Emma. She has an adorable new habit. You see, I wake up before Joel each morning. I eat my cereal while Emma sits in my lap and eats her breakfast. Well, lately, she's been eating her breakfast and then racing up the stairs. She begs Joel to lift her into bed and then she gets 20 minutes of snuggle time with him. The cute thing about this is that Emma is never calm when she gets a chance to be on the bed...except for these morning snuggles with dad. Normally, she attacks us with kisses and tries to dig (?) in the covers and threatens to leap off the bed (which I fear will break her back!). I'm not a fan of that behavior....who knows why she decides to be calm when dad lets her on the bed!

The other lovely thing about this morning is the beautiful drive into Seattle. I slept in too much this morning, so I missed the first AND the second train...so I had to drive. It turned out to be such a pretty drive! The sky was crisp and clear and as the sun started to rise, the Olympic mountains were a pretty pink color. The Seattle skyline always glows a pretty gold/orange/pink color on mornings like this. It may sound crazy, but sometimes I love my morning commute. Without my commute, I wouldn't have nearly as much "self" time! I love having an hour and a half each morning to just think, listen to music and enjoy the beautiful morning. When I'm on the train, I love having the chance to read, do homework and think. Of course, I would much rather the ability to teleport home each day, but until that's invented (or until I get a job closer to home...whichever comes first), the daily commute really isn't that bad.

December

Things I'm looking forward to in the coming days and weeks:

• Thanksgiving in Yakima with my dear in laws
• the end of fall quarter (although it has gone by suprisingly fast!)
• Welcoming my nephew into this world!
• The Nutcracker
• Snowboarding/skiing
• OUR CRUISE!
• Mom and little sister(s?) will be here for four weeks in Dec/Jan
• Christmas with the family and Alan

Fun times! And most of it involves my lovely family. Aaaahhhh :)

Emma update

Here are a few recent pictures of Emma! She now weights 2.2 pounds. You should be able to click on the pictures and see a bigger view. Enjoy!

Below is a picture of her in her little hooded sweatshirt, getting ready for a jog ;)

Joel suprised me and took her to get her hair cut! I laugh/cried for like 5 minutes when I first saw her because she was SOOOO cute! I just couldn't handle it! The pictures don't show her full cuteness! She has a little halloween bow and they sprayed her with Pumpkin Spice cologne :) mmmmm

She still loves Doby, even with her new haircut!

Proud mama with the cute little tiger.

domestic adventures

So, this summer I decided not to take classes. I desperatly needed a break, we had a few vacations planned and there were lots of other things I wanted to do! So, in my free time this summer, I experimented with a few "domestic" things. See below for some fruits of my labor :)

Home made dough, homemade sauce, homemade basil + non-homemade mozzarella = YUMMY Margherita pizza :) We had this almost weekly for a while. My basil grew like crazy! mmmm! I also made lots of homemade spaghetti sauce using the basil and homegrown peppers (see photo below).

I started working on this quilt a while ago, but class got in the way and I never got around to finishing it. Well, here is the finished top of the quilt! Now I just have to attach the border, batting and backing. I looooove quilting, but for some reason, my cutting isn't perfect and my designs never match up the way they are supposed to. Oh well, I still love quilts. For now, I'm keeping all the quilts to myself. Perhaps when I've amassed enough, I'll start giving them away. The dog bed for Emma is made with the scraps from the quilt.

And heeeere is a picture of my homegrown peppers (in my hand painted bowl! Extra domestic points for me!). I'm proud of these little guys! I checked on them every single day. There are lots more, but this is just what I picked in one day. We have green, yellow and red peppers. Mmmm. I chose to grow peppers because once you cut them up, they are easily freezable.

Henry and Emma

Henry and Emma seem to actually enjoy playing together. At first, Henry was a little freaked out, but now he doesn't seem to be scared of Emma. He'll eat in front of her and groom himself, which makes me think he's pretty relaxed. Henry likes to fly right in front of Emma and then allow her to chase him around the room. Henry's tail is pretty long, so I think one of these days, Emma is going to grab a tail feather. Emma's mouth is too small so fit Henry's body or head, so I'm not too concerned about her causing him much harm. Also, Henry is pretty feisty, so I expect that Henry will prove himself as head of the household pretty soon.


Henry sitting calmly knowing that Emma can't reach him.

Emma after struggling to get on top of the couch pillow (it's quite a hike for her!)

What is it with our pets and our shoes/feet? Henry is obsessed with our shoes and yesterday, I found Emma taking a nap in our huge pile of shoes!

obsession

Please, bear with me for the next few days/weeks/months while I bask in the happiness of our new puppy. Yesterday, Joel and I picked up the newest addition to our family...a one pound, 10 week old yorkie-poo. We don't have a name for her yet, so for now she will be referred to as "little ewok". Here's a run-down of the first few hours with the new baby:

We picked her up last night and had to drive about 30 minutes with her. She snuggled into my arms and just kept trying to get closer and closer to my face. Eventually, she was on my chest with her little head on my shoulder (pictures to come). She was a brave little soul and didn't whimper, whine or shake the whole trip. So, we got her home and I went straight to the pet store while Joel stayed home to bond with her. I spent an hour there wandering around in a daze trying to decide what to get. A few things of note: I got her the smallest pink CAT collar I could find…it’s waaaay too big! It slides right over her head. I also got her a little carrying crate, which is also what she’ll sleep in. I also got her a fence that can be set up in our kitchen. It’s 16 feet in diameter, so she has PLENTY of room since she’s only about 6 inches long…hehe.

Anyways, I got home and she was just romping around the house and playing with Joel. She’s COMPLETELY silent, so the breeder suggested we buy a bell to put on her collar so that we don’t step on her. It’s weird because we’re used to Henry being on the ground, but at least Henry makes a little bit of noise! Anyways, when I got home from the pet store, I let her outside on the grass and she went potty immediately! Good giiiiiiiirl! She didn’t have any accidents in the house last night. So we played with her a little more and I washed her feet off in the sink (she had accidentally stepped in her poo). She was soooo good while I washed her feet off! It’s so amazing to hold something so small and realize it’s a DOG! There should be another name for creatures so small (other than rat or guinea pig).

After the foot bath, it was time for bed. She went right into her crate with NO PROBLEM. I put a pair of Joel’s dirty socks in there and she snuggled right up and went to sleep. Not a single peep out of her ALL night! Me on the other hand…I couldn't sleep a wink. I kept worrying about her and I kept trying to peek in her crate to see if she was asleep or not. Then, my mind was running wild trying to come up with a feeding plan and a potty training plan. I woke up extra early this morning so I would have time to play with her. I took her outside right away and she went potty like a good girl! Then we played fetch and romped around the house. She just loves exploring the house! The couch pillow was on the floor and she had to struggle to climb up on the pillow! That’s how small she is! Also, the grass in the yard is longer than her legs, so it’s a struggle for her to find a good place to squat! She already loves her little toys that I bought her…I bought her a kong, a rope toy and teensy weensy tennis balls (they are an inch in diameter…and she can’t fit it in her mouth, so she just bites the fur on the ball!).

So, I had to leave to go to work. Joel was going to be around the house for another hour or so. Well, while he was brushing his teeth, the little Ewok went poo under the bed. Naughty girl! So, I guess she’s not perfect. But, we’re working on it! Joel and I have talked about firmly saying “NO” when she chews or barks (although she hasn’t barked yet…just a few little whines). I really don't want her to be a spoiled brat...we'll see how well that actually works out!

Sigh. I already love her so much. She’s so precious. When I woke her up this morning, she immediately started wagging her little bobbed tail and started licking my hand. I’ve been smiling ALL morning…even when I was just sitting on the bus. Can’t wait for you to meet her! Check back tonight or tomorrow for a few pictures!

Cape Cod, Cont

So now for a run down of Cape Cod. We stayed at a nice place called the Light House inn. It was right on the beach. Cape Cod wasn't quite what I expected. I expected lots of hoity toity people. That wasn't the case at all! I felt like we fit right in. Everyone was SUPER nice and laid back. We spent lots of time on the beach. The water was amazingly warm! We could have stayed in the water for an hour with out getting chilled. We built a sand castle, went for walks, read, swam and RELAXED! The 10 of us shared a cute little cottage. There was absolutely no stress all weekend. We all got along great and just had the best time. For the wedding, it was right on the beach next to a small jetty. The wedding only had about 30 people, but it was great! For the rehersal dinner, we ate Lobster and clam chowder. A first for me! For the actual wedding, we ate stuffed shrimp. They had an open bar, so we took advantage of the free wine and Long Island Iced Teas :)

Wedding Weekend in Boston/Cape Cod

So, it's been a long time since I've posted, but Brenna doesn't have facebook so a blog post is the next easiest way to post pictures online for her to see. Our trip to Boston and Cape Cod was amazing. We had so much fun and I was able to completely relax. It was a good blend of hanging out with friends, seeing the sites, eating DELICIOUS food and relaxing. I'll give you a quick rundown:

First, we flew into Boston on a red-eye flight. I wasn't able to sleep on the plane, so I was kind of dreading the day. We had plans to walk around Boston and see the sites, so I knew I wouldn't have a chance to nap. Well, as soon as we got out of the airport, we went to catch a train to our hotel. So, we're lugging our suitcases down the stairs to the train station and all of a sudden, people come running up the stairs shouting "someone's been hit by a train", "call 911!" and "Does anyone know CPR?". Well, Mark jumped into action and took control of the situation. Sheesh, what a hero Mark was! I was totally impressed. So, that started my day off with a little adrenalin. We ended up walking the 15 blocks *I might be exaggerating* to the hotel since the train station had to close down for the investigation. Our hotel was beautiful. It was called the Omni Parker House. It's credited with creating Boston Cream Pie. It was also right across the street from an amazing cemetery. Paul Revere, the victims of the Boston Massacre, Ben Franklin's parents, Sam Adams, etc are all buried there. It was amazing to be standing amidst such amazing history.

After taking a quick shower, we headed out on our tour of Boston. Luckily, Mark is a history magnet and was able to tell us a lot about the buildings we saw. We went to Fenway Park and saw a bunch of really old churches, buildings and old libraries. Also, we went to the Cheers Bar for lunch (from the TV show). In the evening, we went to little Italy. It was amazing! It felt like we were really in Italy. There were tons of Italian people (imagine the stereotypical Italian...those people were everywhere!). There were tons of cute little restaurants and shops. We settled on a restaurant and they ushered us down a few flights of stairs and into their back room. It was a private dining room big enough to fit all 10 of us! The food was amazing!

After dinner, we saw a few more sites. We saw Paul Revere's old house. The thing that amazed me about the house is that it was made of wood. Most of the other buildings we saw were brick, which stand up to the weather a little better. I'm not sure how Paul's wood house is still standing! We also saw the famous church that Paul Revere held the lanterns in. we also went to Faniel Hall, which is a bunch of bars and restaurants. It also was near the Holocaust Memorial. Justin is a Holocaust history buff, so we spent some time there reading about the victims' experiences. Finally, after spending some time at a bar and meeting some of the bride's friends, we headed back to the hotel for a short night's sleep. We had to be up early the next morning for our trek to Cape Cod!!! Another post about Cape Cod will follow :)

Bad Idea

FYI, it was a bad idea to take economics and accounting in the same quarter. My brain is overwhelmed with a gazillion different equations. Right now, I'm supposed to be studying for my econ midterm, but my brain is rebelling and saying "I've had enough!". A few minutes ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table sobbing and cursing my econ professor. It doesn't help that he uses 20 different variables to mean the same thing...and there are about 1200 different equations with the same name, but they mean different things (I'm only exaggerating slightly). Sigh. I can do this...right?? It doesn't help that the sun is shining outside and I REALLY want to go for a bike ride or go play soccer with Joel :(

Races?

Well, Joel and I were planning on registering for the Bloomsday run in Spokane in May. But, we decided that after we paid for gas, a hotel and the race registration, we'd end up spending quite a bit of money...all just to run 7.46 miles. sooo, I think what we're going to do instead is save our money and register for the Rock N'Roll Half Marathon instead. The registration fee for the half marathon is more expensive, but we'll save on the hotel and gas...aaaand it will be much more of an accomplishment! I have a hard time motivating myself to run unless I have a specific race I'm training for. Soooo, that's our new plan! Yikes! It's the weekend after our raft trip, so let's just hope I don't pull any muscles while rowing through the wild rapids of the Rogue River!

Soccer and Croque Madame

It's Tuesday...just getting back to work from a lovely three day weekend. It's crazy to think that a year ago this week, Joel and I got engaged (Feb 19)! This weekend was Valentine's day. We went to dinner together on Saturday to celebrate. Then, on Sunday and Monday, Joel wanted to play soccer. I was more than happy to play with him...little did I know thatI would be crippled with sore muscles! We just kicked the ball back and forth and played a little "keep away". Today, my legs are so sore that I literally have to use my hands to move my legs if I want to cross my legs or, say, apply the breaks while I'm driving! Yipes! Playing soccer with Joel was the highlight to the weekend! We had soooo much fun!

The second highlight of my weekend was the lunch I made on Monday...I made Croque Madame...it's a fancy french grilled sandwich. I'd had it before at an amazing french restaurant by my work...but I decided to try to make it myself. Oh my. It's my new favorite food! I'm already drooling about dinner (we're having it again for dinner tonight) :)

The third major news of the weekend is an update on lil Chaunc. Last week she broke her back while rock climbing. Well, she was released from the hospital last week and is now recovering at home. She'll be ok...eventually :) After all she's going through, I feel bad for complaining about my soccer induced sore muscles...sorry sis!

Anyways, that's all for now!