daddy!

Hello daddy ;)
Our sweet baby girl will be 1 month old tomorrow. You are such an incredible father and I have loved watching you love our baby.  It makes me love you more than ever before! You have been sewing her cloth wipes and working on cloth diapers and covers. I think that since she is too little to really play with, you feel more connected with her by doing something physical, like making her stuff.  You took 4 weeks off of work to stay home with us and it was so wonderful having you home to love on me, help out with the baby, and just enjoy some down time before the crazy summer! Thank you for all you did for me the past month and for being so supportive! Thank you for giving me our beautiful daughter and allowing me to be a stay at home mommy- I could not love my life any more! and thank you for loving our daughter- I know you are going to be a great daddy!

ready to go!

As of today at 1:30pm, we are 3cm. dialated and 90% effaced and ready to go whenever! can't wait to do this with you! you are the best support person i could ask for and i feel so lucky to have you by my side ;)

Trying to embrace the wait!

Hello handsome! I just finished writing my first "love note" on our baby's blog! I love that I have these blogs as places to write to you each individually and record parts of our lives. and I love that these notes will live on through the years and our babies can view them and know our love story and our lives before they ever were. Our to-do list is almost done- we are working on a few more things that can very easily wait for a while if baby decides to make her appearance. I am working on scrap booking, you are working on getting our screen door put up (with a doggy door!), and we want to find a lamp and get you a dentist appointment.  but the reality is, we are just waiting now! you are sooo excited- you want our baby girl here right now! i know you are going to be such a good daddy- just because you already love her so much! I can't wait to see you in action- diapering, burping, swaddling, rocking- it is going to absolutely melt my heart.

but for now, I am taking time to remember our relationship! a friend at church is getting married in august and asked about our venue and i took 10 minutes and looked through all our wedding pictures- what beautiful memories! and I am listening to "Hey Ho" by the Lumineers right now! I love our story, Jesus! Thank you for walking through life with me and being my best friend! You are really, truly my favorite person in this world and I am so thankful I get to do life with you. and that i get to have a family with you- think about how much we love our Booga and how much more we will love our Johanna! I can't wait for this new season in our life, but I am trying to embrace the wait and savor each of these few days with just the two of us.

Last night, we made brownies and watched "Scrubs" and just had a great time relaxing. I love our lazy nights! I love watching cheesy movies (foreign films anyone?) and playing games (even though you kicked my butt last time) and just enjoying the slow times with you! i love sitting around in our robes and cuddling on the couch... pretty much anything I do with you is wonderful! I love you!

Babymoon!

I had soo much fun on our babymoon, Jesus! It was so good to get away from everyday life for a night and just enjoy each other.  We got there around 4pm and enjoyed some tea, coffee, and cookies in our room.  We then got ready and went out to El Gaucho! We had escargot, sticky ribs, steak, and mac'n'cheese...and it was all absolutely delicious! When we got back to the hotel, we took a bubble bath with a LOT of lavender bubbles in the double jacuzzi tub! The next morning, the breakfast was amazing...although the conversation around the table left a little something to be desired lol. Right before we headed out there, we were going to stop by Fred Meyer to check my blood pressure as it had been too high at my last appointment. I ended up slamming my finger in the car door and it cracked the nail and bled all over. We spent about an hour waiting until it stopped hurting so much to head out to our night away. Now, a few weeks later, the nail is feeling much better and I have feeling in my fingertip again, but it is still cracked and bruised hahah. i just love going through life with you! I love the boring, day to day stuff- laundry, cleaning, cooking, watching TV before bed. and i love the special occasions! we are so lucky! God has really blessed my life through you. I was praying yesterday while driving and i just had to thank God for the joyful seasons of life. and this season in our lives is wonderful- we are so in love, we get to enjoy each other, we are going to meet our daughter soon, we have a sweet doggy, we have supportive families, and we are only just starting out. Thank you for loving me and for treating me to romantic nights away! <3

Good morning, good morning

Good morning, good morning, life is sweet with Johanna, good morning, good muffins to you! Good morning, good morning, life is sweet with our family, good morning, good muffins to you! Good morning, good morning, life is sweet with Cece, good morning, good muffins to you!

This morning you sang the above to my belly as we sat on the bed with Cece on the heater by our feet. Those little moments are soo precious and I am so glad I get to experience them with you! I know it has been forever since I have written, so lots to say! We found out that we are having a little girl on 10/17/13, just 3 days after feeling her first kicks. We have chosen the name- Johanna- and we love it, but we are not sharing it with anyone until she is born.  We are not sure on the middle name yet- either Maria or Rose- we will just have to wait and see! We have been working so hard to get everything ready for our little princess- we have the crib and changing table all set up, have a fence for Cece finished, have our whole house organized, we are working on stocking up, preparing freezer meals, finding a pediatrician.... so much to do to make sure everything is ready, but we are almost at the point where everything essential is done and the rest of it can wait if baby decides to come early. I am 31 weeks and 6 days along today and Johanna weighs somewhere between 3.5 and 4 pounds.  She has been such an active little girl, but is moving less abruptly and more so rolling around as she has less and less space.  My belly feels huge! I have gained just over 20 pounds so far (yikes!) and my back feels it! I am not super uncomfortable yet, but am getting there. This pregnancy has been quite an experience and I am really glad I have you by my side.  You have been so supportive- you have attended every single prenatal appointment, have taken a few moments each day to talk or read to our baby, and most importantly have continually told me how beautiful I am and helped me work through all my crazy emotions.

This morning, we went to Ihop to redeem a freebie breakfast! It just so happened to be free pancake day or something in preparation for a superbowl event they are doing, so we got double the pancakes when we asked them to split an order for us.  Normally, splitting a meal is not quite enough, but with the extra pancakes it was a lot of food- score! We have been working hard to keep a date on the calendar once per week every week leading up to the baby being born.  We have gone out to eat a few times, have a gift card to the movies to use, and will be going to a bed & breakfast for our babymoon/1.5 year anniversary trip next week!

You have started working full time at the golf course as the new assistant professional and you seem to be loving it! I think it has been a big transition for you as you feel a lot of responsibility, considering that the head professional is not pulling his weight and you know that the owners are training you to take over his position in the long run.  You have so many ideas about how to turn business around at the golf course, how you can improve merchandise sales, camps that you can put on during the summer, etc.  You are very creative and very passionate about your work and it really shines through. I am really happy for you and am glad that we are able to live a life that allows you to pursue your dream job.  It is really fun to watch you light up and spread your wings- I think that you have huge potential, but I have never gotten to really see you at work because you have never had the freedom or security to do so.  I do feel a little bit sad about the timing... the baby will only be a few months old this summer and I feel like you will have to hold off on diving into some of your plans to make sure you are around home enough to help me out and enjoy her newborn months, but I know that God's timing is perfect and everything will work out wonderfully.

Christmas was crazy this year! We started celebrating with my family on 12/23 when Nick got in from Florida and had two full days of celebrating with them, which was pretty fun.  However, you were feeling nauseous and had flu-like symptoms (no vomiting or diarrhea luckily!) the whole time, so that put a bit of a damper on the celebrations.  We took off for Texas on Christmas day for your mother's family reunion.  It was a crazy 4 day trip- so much packed into so little time, sick kids, parties lasting until 2am, packing too many people into a car, shopping with crazy crowds, and lots of new faces for me...so not a very relaxing vacation, that's for sure.  and we both got colds toward the end of that trip (poor you getting sick twice in a row!). i don't think i will agree to making that trip again any time soon, but it sure was nice to get to know a new side of your family and meet so many wonderful people! we spent a fairly quiet New Year's Eve at home- Alex and Jordan came over to play munchkin with us and we just watched the ball drop and then headed to bed (after a little Nintendo for you and the boys).  Just think, next year at Christmas, we will have a 9 month old! that is the best thing in the world :)

We are taking a break from small group for the first time in 3 years.  It is a little bit bittersweet as it has been a huge part of our lives, but I think we really need the extra night every week as we are working on transitioning into your first full time job and with the baby coming so soon.  We have made some great friends from the small group community, though! I go walking once a week with a woman named April and that is a huge blessing to me.  The Kambaks are some of our very best friends! The small group girls are even throwing me a baby shower :) We have so much support- not just family, but also friends around this area.  We are so blessed to be able to raise our family here- surrounded by love.

I can't think of too much more to update on... I feel like all my time and energy has been focused on getting everything ready for baby- from projects around the house, to reading the right books, to training Cece, to exercising properly, to planning how to stock our freezer for the first few weeks... so while that is all very necessary, it is not super fun to write about...

I love you so much, Jesus! And I am so thankful for our marriage and our vows to each other.  I can not imagine my life without you walking by my side.  You are my best friend, my comforter, my partner, my encourager, and the love of my life. You hold the greatest place in my heart- and you always will! You will always be my #1- above our children, above our parents, above our siblings, above any other person. Thank you for all that you do to love me- I am so lucky to have you! Our parents both just celebrated their anniversaries (35 years & 27 years) and it is crazy to think about us at their age and how it will feel to have been married for 35 years... we will have so much to look back and reflect on. So many stories to share. So much love to remember. I am excited to go through the years with you- thank you for giving me the opportunity.  I love you <3

October!

I am the worst blog writer ever. If I am this bad right now, I can't imagine how bad I will be once baby arrives hahahah. Lots has happened lately! It is now already October!!
-We are loving the changing weather and snuggling up under our down comforter at night.
-Our favorite show (Parenthood) is finally back on!
-I get to start making yummy soups and chilis again! I am going to buy pumpkins at Winco today (only 18 cents a lb.) and roast it to make into a pumpkin soup mmmm and of course I have to roast the seeds :)
-We get to go watch our niece, nephew, and sister play soccer and volleyball games!
-We went to a corn maze last night with the Parisens- it was really fun, but we could only find 4 out of 5 punches hahah no prize for us.
-I am now 4 months pregnant and I have a baby bump! We are going to find out the gender in a little less than 2 weeks eeeek!
-We are raising 2 baby chicks for our mothering hen, Pauline.  She is sooo good with them and it is adorable.  They sleep under her butt to stay warm and she protects them from Henrietta.  We are hoping they are both hens so we will get lots and lots of eggs, but they might be roosters...
-We are leading our own small group this season and so far it is going alright... we are going through Experiencing God again, so it is a little boring, but we have great group members. We served at the Oregon Food Bank this week and it was really fun and we are having a harvest party in place of group in a few weeks where we will get to carve pumpkins, etc. so we are really enjoying the people!
-Work is slowing down for the season- you are still working a bit this month, but with the rain you got all of last weekend off! I had the quarterly report this week, but other than this week, it has been a breeze lately!
-We went away to Tillamook for a little rainy weekend getaway. There were 100mph winds and we lost power for a few hours in an unfamiliar house with no candles or flashlights hahah ;)
-Today is Cece's 1st birthday!! She chose to cuddle with me this morning instead of sitting on the heater <3
-We have lots of projects (building Cece a fence, re-doing the floors in the nursery, finishing the sprinklers, oil changes, registering for baby products, etc.) to get done by end of winter, but are also finding time to just enjoy this slow season of life!

I love you soo much and am excited for you to get home from work this morning (you started at 5:45) so we can have a cup of coffee together. You are the most amazing man I know- you are hard working, always making me laugh, so sweet to me, you enjoy life to the fullest, you love me for me, and you love the Lord! I am so blessed to have you as my husband <3

Our perfect little growing family!

As I write this, you are at work. It is really warm outside, but has been cool in the mornings. I just finished cleaning our bedroom and guest room and starting the laundry and dishwasher  It is ~3pm on a Tuesday afternoon and you are closing at the golf course tonight. Last night, Sammy spent the night and we had a lot of fun. We made homemade pizzas, played croquet and "Munchkin" and you guys stayed up to play a bit of Nintendo.  I went to bed around 9:45 pm... why so early you ask? Because I am pregnant and tired! That's right, we are expecting a baby! We are soo excited. I am almost 10 weeks, so just 2.5 months along, but we have already known for 5 weeks! I have a little, noticeable bump on my belly and it is kind of fun to look at.  My jeans are already uncomfortable, so I will have to look at maternity clothing soon. We *think* we have our names picked out, but we will see how that goes. You wanted a daddy book, so you got one for your birthday, but have only read one chapter so far LOL. I know you will be a great daddy and I am sure you will get a little more excited about the reading and stuff as we get closer to meeting our little one. We call our baby, "Little Bean" or "Baby Bean" right now and you kiss my belly just about every morning as you leave for work :) We have told all our immediate family and a few close friends, but have not announced it on Facebook yet. We have our first real appointment this week (Thursday) and are really hoping to get an ultrasound, so we can figure out exactly how far along we are and when our little bean is due. Right now, we are pretty sure we got pregnant on our very first try and think the due date is March 12, 2014. And I really want to hear the heartbeat! We have the most beautiful little family! I am so happy to be enjoying this time with just you and getting in lots of quality time and some adventures and lots of dates in before we become parents! It is going to be a fun journey and I am so happy I get to travel it with you! I love you lots and lots <3