Fun in the sun

This weekend we had the most gorgeous weather we have had yet this year and we took full advantage with lots of outdoor time for us.

We started off Saturday Morning with a work party at our Church's Community Garden.  Katy and Zach came along which made it all the more enjoyable.  Our project primarily consisted of filling five raised beds full of dirt.

We brought the dogs along with us and as soon as we started digging Seumas jumped right in.  The little guy dug for two hours straight and only stopped when we made him take a break to drink some water.  He had the time of his life!

Don and Zach and Katy and Zach did most of the shoveling.  Caitlyn and I raked the dirt to level it out once it went into the boxes.

 On Saturday we decided to head out to Padden for some fresh air.  We did a little off leash hiking in the shaded hills.  Then set up for a lazy afternoon BBQ in the park.

Seumas got to play soccer with Don, Brandon, Noal and Zach.  This is definitely his most favorite game.  See how happy and tired he is?

Don got a new sun hat which he is very excited about.

Full of good food and zapped by the sun, we were all ready for a good nap afterwards.

Nursery Update

Don and I awoke Saturday morning (after sleeping in) to find ourselves staring down a whole entire day with no agenda.  That, I have to say, is the best way to start a weekend.  So after brainstorming a few ideas for the day, we decided to take on a project in the nursery.  I attended a friend's daughter's first birthday a few weeks ago and she took me into the nursery and gave me an awesome tip.  She had shelves installed up high around the perimeter of the room and she kept all the toys in small 12" x 12" storage bins on the shelves.  Then she would take one box down at a time for her daughter to play with until she got bored of it.  It was a great system because for one thing, you only ever have one small box of toys making a mess around the house at any given moment.  Plus, every time you pulled a different box down, it was like Christmas for her daughter, discovering new toys all over again.  And even beyond that, the practicality of the idea was perfect for us.  Since we have decided to use the office nook in our Master Suite for the nursery instead of the spare bedroom , the lack of an actual closet in the room and the unusual arrangement of space with the extra wide doorways makes for limited storage options.  So this was a great solution all the way around.  We picked out our shelves and then I discovered the most perfect turquoise storage bins ever that totally went with the theme of the room and matched EXACTLY the beautiful handmade blocks that the Buell family made for Caitlyn with her name on them.  The storage bins cost about as much as the shelves themselves, but after Don frowned at the price tag and asked me the question "how badly do you want them?" I knew my answer right away was REAL BAD.  So we set aside financial responsibility and indulged and I'm so,so  happy with how it turned out that I don't regret the decision one bit.

So it's really starting to look like a real nursery now that's almost ready for Caitlyn's arrival.  We have a  nice glider that I picked up second hand off of craigslist that will go in the back corner by the window and the dresser which we've been using as extra seating in the living room for now.  We still need to pick up a crib mattress and I would like to replace the window valances with something brown and teal and get some blackout blinds.  I have two showers coming up in the next month, one in Seattle and one at Church.  I'm sure those storage bins will fill up fast.

Oh, and Caitlyn, in case you are ever building your own nursery (a long, long, long ways down the road) and find yourself wondering what music daddy listened to while he put your crib and shelves together, the answer is 80's Hair Metal.  I hope you will be proud of this some day.

29 Weeks

Third trimester is off with a bang.  Last Saturday morning I was doing some chores when it felt like I strained a muscle in my lower abdominals.  My first thought was ouch, that can't be good.  My second thought was, crap, I have a lot I wanted to get done today.  So I took a few cautious steps and determined I could keep going and of course spent a good portion of the rest of the day doing projects around the house.  The next morning I noticed that Caitlyn had dropped and was riding a lot lower in my belly.  Like most muscle strains it felt a lot worse after two days, so Monday I decided to check in with my doula and my midwives.  After asking a few questions, particularly considering that I didn't have any other signs of early labor, they all expressed that they were not concerned but that if I wanted to come in they could do a quick check to be extra safe.  So I headed over in the afternoon and got some affirmation that cervix was still nice and closed, blood pressure was excellent, and baby's heart rate was great.  I was advised to take it easy for a few days and that a warm bath or heating pad on a low setting might be soothing.  After a few days of minimizing activity I'm feeling much better and can't wait to get back to water aerobics so I can sleep better.  Hips have been stiffening up at nights and leg cramps are becoming more regular.  Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy.  Unfortunately when I arrived at the pool for my first night back tonight someone had thrown up in the pool and the class was canceled.  Bummer! 

In other news, our good friends Katy and Zach arrived on Monday for their relocation to Bellingham!  Not only are they good people and great friends, but they are Caitlyn's godparents also and we are so happy to have them in our lives again.  They have been staying with us while they get on their feet and look for a place.  It has been a lot of fun reconnecting and catching up and we are taking delight in the possibilities and opportunities before them in this newest adventure.  Cordy and Seumas could not be more excited to have house guests.  Seumas actually has someone to play with!  This morning after Don, Katy and I had already gotten up and started into our daily routine, I caught both Cordy and Seumas sitting outside of the door of the guest bedroom just staring at it and waiting for Zach to wake up too.  He is definitely the life of the party as far as the dogs are concerned.  Won't the pups be so sad when they get their own place.  At least they will be frequent visitors!