First Month

Well, we have now officially made it through our first month as parents. Ethan is 4 weeks old now and doing well. TJ is back to work 6 to 7 days a week and I'm adjusting to life here at home- trying to find the balance of taking care of Ethan and getting chores done and food made. It's a whole new world and finding what our new normal is will take a while I think. I am off work through the end of January for sure. I hope to be off through the middle of February but we'll see. Here are some highlights of the last month:

Ethan has a had a lot of firsts: first car ride, first doctor's visit, first bath, and really anything else that he does is a first!

He also had his first Christmas!

My mom was able to come visit us when Ethan was born. It was great having her here to help in those first sleepy ouchy weeks home from the hospital.

This is our core family here- Craig & Donna w/Natalie in the middle and Bryan & Lisa w/Issac on the right. Each of the kids is spaced out about 2 - 3 months.

He has had several sets of visitors. I think this is a cute photo of Scott, Wes and Ethan. Wes was 6 months in the womb when I moved to Portland and is now six years old!!

This is my friend Katie with her new son Caleb. Ben & Katie had Caleb exactly two weeks after Ethan was born. We are excited to see our sons grow up together.

Ethan was introduced to our church family the first Sunday in January. At our church the baby is announced and then the father walks down with the child to pick up a rose from one of the pastors. This was our rose. It was great to see TJ go get our rose.

I'm learning different wraps (thanks Adele for this wrap!) to carry Ethan in. It's great to be able to wrap him up and get things done- we're both quite happy with the arrangement and from all the studies done on carrying I'm doing good things for him too!

I celebrated my 31st birthday this month. Lisa & Donna came over and treated me to supper and an ice cream cake!

Ethan is becoming more and more alert as the days pass. It's fun to see him grow and change.

I will continue to update photos of Ethan to our picasa web album here (scroll down to end for most current photos): http://picasaweb.google.com/tjandcheryl/EthanWillard?authkey=Gv1sRgCMCO7Yap87fjEg#

That's about it for the updates. I'll probably be updating this blog monthly for a while, but will update our photo sites weekly.

It's a Boy!

Ethan Willard, born at 12:55 am Wednesday, December 16th. 7 lbs, 4 oz; 19 1/2 in long. Ethan is very healthy and good natured. We are home now but I won't be on the computer much during these first weeks. As I'm able, I'll update photos to this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tjandcheryl/EthanWillard?authkey=Gv1sRgCMCO7Yap87fjEg#

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We're hanging in there as best we can for being new parents!

Odds & Ends Photos

No, no baby yet, but here are some photos from the last few days...

Cat is curled up on a new hand quilted baby blanket from one of my co-workers...it has flannel & between that and the sunshine she was a content kitty.

39 weeks- somewhat dorky photo but that belly does stick out! :)

Baby's room...l - r, guest bed & chest of drawers (w/quilts my grandma H quilted), crib, changing table, and fun floor mats (thank to Katie L)!

Our new three shelf bookshelf that I put together today (at 39 1/2 weeks)- TJ was home but I wanted to put it together myself. :) Thank you to everyone for these books (Katie L- thank you again!).

This is our "second" nursery...it's really our craft/laundry room, but now has the port-a-crib and a portable changing station. Hopefully when baby is crying in night I can come over here and not keep my hubby or mom awake as they sleep on the other side of the house where our bedroom and the guestroom are.

More Christmas decor photos!

The house is one of our favorite additions this year.

And here's what I normally look like...we were heading out of the house but really until the moment we leave my robe stays on. So here's 39 weeks with my robe. :D

December, & No Baby Yet!

December has arrived but no, the baby has not. :) I am due officially on the 18th and am now on weekly visits to the midwife. The baby could come at any time from now till the end of the month, so we're just trying to be patient. My last day at work was on Monday. I am working on odds and ends around the house & I think will have enough projects that if the baby waits till after Christmas I'll still have things to do! Baby is running out of room & I can feel the little knee & foot pushing quite a bit.

It's been cold here- under 20 I think! Fortunately we've not had snow yet...snow is super here when you can just stay home. So we vote for snow the day we arrive home with baby!

TJ is working as much as ever, averaging about 76 hours a week. He got last Sunday off though and we enjoyed going to church & visiting with friends.

Two household Christmas photos!

I changed our sheets and came in later to find the cat curled up under my pillow! I guess it was warm and cozy there. :)

November Wrap Up

Where has November gone? I'm certain that a few days ago it was the start of the month, and yet here we are at the last weekend before December! I've been preoccupied most of the month preparing the house (& my work) for the arrival of baby. TJ's been averaging about 76 hours a week at work...a very tired husband I have! Our friends have been so wonderful in helping me with some projects while he's at work.

We had three furry visitors to our yard at the beginning of the month. TJ said it is a doe and two adolescent fawns.

We've had some rainy days now that fall is here...this was a day I thought it looked like what I imagine Ireland might be...very green!

Lisa & Donna threw me a baby shower earlier this month! It was very lovely.

A good belly shot from 35 weeks.

The cat found the swing seat I'd set aside. She was happily curled up here for hours!

We had friends over for Thanksgiving. Everyone brought a bit of something and we had a feast!

Donna, Lisa & Tamara

TJ had two whole days off for Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending time with friends. On his second day off we got our Christmas tree and decorated the house for Christmas, went to IHOP for brunch and saw A Christmas Carole in 3D! We are pretty much ready now for baby to arrive. I plan to finish the baby's room today and do some pre-baby paperwork, and then relax. I have several boxes of projects waiting for me and plan to work on these until baby arrives. I'm 37 weeks now and baby is considered full term. The head has dropped and I am on weekly visits with the midwife. It's hard to believe we'll soon have another member to our family!

Photos from Last Saturday

Mid October and 30 Weeks Along

Can we already be in mid-October? Really life just goes by so quickly. We've had a busy start to our October. The biggest news is that TJ got a job! He started last Monday and we are very thrilled. He's working a lot now though- last week was all 10 hour days and this week 12 hour days. Next week he'll start second shift on 10 hour days. The guy before him took 5 weeks to train before he could get to 2nd shift and TJ's only been there a week and a half and has already been promoted. I am a proud wife! They've also said they will give him a week off when the baby comes. We are pretty thrilled about that too!

Our friends Joe & Janet had their baby last week. After our childbirth class we went upstairs to visit them with our other friend Katie! This baby has the most adorable face, just so cute!

Katie's baby shower was last week also. It was fun to hang out with the ladies and see what fun gifts she got! Katie is due the week after me, and her sister is due the week before me!

Katie opening a gift.

They had a fun game but it involved popping balloons! I've never liked the sound of balloons popping and still don't! Included this photo b/c I think it's a good belly shot for the week.

We didn't have school last Friday and Monday and I took the days off to rest, clean the house and get started on the baby/guest room. It used to look quite nice but has gotten a bit overrun...now I hope to have it nice, organized and usable by mid-November. This is a before photo.

Baby is doing well. I had a midwife appointment yesterday and she told me that I have the kind of pregnancy they like and we want- the boring kind where nothing happens except what should happen! My belly is now 30cm and baby's head is down- wahoo!

Everyone's been asking if I can still see my feet and I've been saying yes, but now I'm thinking the answer might be "not so much!"At work I was going down the stairs and was rather startled to discover that when I looked down only my toes were showing. And when they had me step on the scale yesterday I looked down to see the number and it wasn't there- it's very strange! So I peered around my belly instead.

Baby is still very active and has just now begun to get the hiccups. I decided today that baby doesn't like them very much b/c there was lots of squirming happening that seemed more in response to the hiccups than to general boredom. :) I have an ultrasound next week and am looking forward to seeing the latest pictures! I imagine this will be the last one before baby arrives...only 9 1/2 weeks left!

This photo is for my mom...I made lemon meringue pie but my poor meringue never got nice and poofy! I think my cream of tarter is expired. Tasted just fine but looks rather funny I think!

I think that's about it on the updates. Somehow since school started life just seems much busier now!

September Ends

Can it be possible that we've made it to the end of September already? I think that feat calls for some Tillamook rocky road ice cream! (really I just want a snack after work right now...mmmmm) School has been in session for three weeks and aside from being tired I think all is plugging along. I've been working on reorganizing/purging the kitchen and I think that project is now done. It is lovely to have everything in order and know exactly where it all is! My next project is the baby/guest room...then the laundry, then the living room.

Last weekend we went to a u-pick orchard and had a blast! We picked 20 lbs of apples and 7 1/2 lbs of grapes. I got to climb up in the apple trees (on low branches of course) and we spent the afternoon outdoors. We've been processing everything since. I've made one grape pie so far and think I'll make one more pie and one batch of pie filling to freeze, then some grape jam. The apples are all going straight to applesauce. We made some last year but ran out in the middle of winter and were sad- this year we want to have enough to have some fresh applesauce every month!

Apples and grapes getting ready to cook.

TJ went to a job fair last week along with many hundreds of other people! The line was quite amazing. He got an interview from a company at that fair and is now waiting to hear if he gets the job. The job is 2nd shift which has pro's and con's and we're just trusting God will walk with us through whatever comes.

For a special treat we got some polish sausage at a local hungarian food store...mmmm!

I am now 7 months along and will be 29 weeks on Friday. We went to our first childbirth education class along with our friends Ben & Katie. It is certainly an interesting class and looks to be helpful in getting some pain management techniques. I'm feeling good, just sore. Thankful for an active healthy baby and a problem free pregnancy!

28 1/2 weeks

Weekly Roundup

Well, I am now in the third trimester and baby is busy! I think every week the baby is getting stronger and the movement is becoming more interesting. Other than soreness I'm doing well though I find at night after a busy day I am beat and go straight to bed!

This was a busy week for me and I'm sitting here on Sunday morning crashing! It was a good fun week though...here's the roundup!

Wednesday: After work I went over to Bryan & Lisa's to watch Issac so they could go out for their anniversary. Issac and I had a nice time together and I got to feed, bathe, change and put him to bed. I'm realizing more and more how thankful I am to have had friends that I've lived with or near these past 10 years who have taught me a lot about how to take care of babies! Issac is around 6 months old now and making the cutest noises!

Issac

Thursday: Came home and made supper then we headed to our new Bible study. This study is with several friends from our first study. We'll be following the pulpit (which means on days like today when I'm still in my jammies at noon we'll need to listen to the service online!) and we're looking forward to spending our Thursday evenings in the Word with friends. We also have discovered Hulu and so we'll be watching Bones later without needing to purchase a DVR! :D

Friday: It was TJ's old roomate Ben's birthday...Ben's wife Katie is due 6 days after me! We spent the evening at their house with friends eating Katie's yummy strawberry rhubarb crisp and visiting. As it often goes the boys hung out in one room and the girls in another. :) Before we left I wanted to take pictures of three of us who are pregnant and two of our silly husbands decided to jump in and show of their bellies too...

Silly boys!

Friends- the three of us in the middle are all expecting; Janet in purple is due in three weeks, Katie in white is due December 24th and I'm due December 18th.

Saturday: We went to the evening service of Craig & Donna's church to watch their baby Natalie get dedicated. It was very sweet and we enjoyed the service too! Afterwards we went out with his parents and Craig & Donna and Bryan & Lisa to Outback Steakhouse to celebrate.

Natalie's dedication

An unexpected visitor in our photo!

Next week seems to be a bit less busy. I'm working on reorganizing the house room by room. We're getting rid of a lot of stuff, hoping to sell a lot on Craigslist or have a garage sale (though it's getting a bit late for those). I'm reorganizing the kitchen right now and am getting close to finishing that; I think the laundry/craft room will be next. We're toddler proofing the house now so we don't have to do it later, and making sure there is room for baby stuff in each room so that as we get it we don't have to find a place for it! I'm enjoying the organization/nesting!

26 weeks and the end of Trimester 2

This week marks the end of my second trimester. There are now about three months left and counting. TJ is quite excited and raring to go; I'm a bit shell shocked that there are only three months left! Baby is still active- now that Baby S is growing I can actually see my belly move...it reminds me of those alien movies where something is moving inside someone and then some horrible creature pops out! Hollywood infiltrates everything. :P I have my glucose test next week and my 7 month check up, both of which I expect to go fine. I'm getting more sore now but try to rest. TJ pampers me a lot too which helps- being home he also does the lions share of the chores, and that helps too! :)


School started up this week to mixed feelings on my part. We're ahead from where we were last year but still behind as to where I'd like to be with everything. One of my bosses compared my job to "herding cats." Sheep, cows and most other animals actually go mostly where you want without much hassle...cats on the other hand do what they want and hiss at you when you try to get them to do something different. Cats in this case would be parents!

TJ is still diligently searching for work and was encouraged this week by the news that our good friend Kris got a job! I'm not sure now how long he'd been out of work- maybe 8 to 12 months? Although we're bummed that Kris & family don't live here anymore we are jumping with joy with them for Kris to have a job!