Halloween

Gabi LOVES her Halloween costume. Everytime I pull it out she starts "quacking" excitedly. Unfortunately, as soon as I put it on her, the "quacking" stops... but she still looks adorable! She was a big hit at our Mom's Club Halloween party, visiting Dad at work, and trick-or-treating around our block!

At first, she didn't understand what we were trying to do with this trick-or-treating deal... she tried walking into the first couple houses we visited. But, she caught on pretty quick and by the end of our short night she was grabbing the candy and high tailing it back to the sidewalk like a pro. Of course, she always said "Thank you" first! She had a lot of fun, but we had to hide her halloween bucket because after we got home, every time we turned our backs she was sneaking another piece! Luckily, she couldn't open the wrappers, so it didn't do her much good - but she sure does have a sweet tooth!

Updates

We have been busy - as usual. Here are some quick updates as to what we've been up to...

First, Happy Birthday to Gabi's Grandma and Auntie Jackie! And Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!! Sorry this is a bit late, but we were definitely thinking about you and wishing you all very happy days!!

A couple weeks ago, we visited the "Plumper Pumpkin Patch" in Portland (say that 3 times fast!) to get our pumpkins and enjoy the fall weather. We launched pumpkins in a slingshot, visited some farm animals, got lost in the corn maze and bought some awesome (but expensive) pumpkins!

This past weekend was our Wedding Anniversary. We had a nice dinner out - but the majority of the weekend was dedicated to military obligations. Nonetheless, we had fun getting all dressed up for the formal banquet and ball on Saturday. Don't look too close - but you can see the beginnings of my "bump" in this dress!

Last, but not least, we had visitors this weekend. Chris's Dad and Linda joined us for 4 days. They had fun taking Gabi to the zoo, the local pool, and Multnomah Falls. They also got to accompany us to the fancy ball. Here's a picture at the falls.

Heartbeat

For those of you who don't already know...


In case you don't know what this is, its a pregnancy test, and yes, its showing a positive result. We are ecstatic to annouce the newest addition to our family is due to arrive in early April!!!

On Tuesday, I got to hear the heartbeat of the baby for the first time. It brought a gigantic smile to my face. Amazing how just hearing those fast little thuds can make your own heart skip a beat and brighten your entire week!

We've already started talking to Gabi about the new baby coming, and we bought a book to help explain it to her. But, obviously, she's still too young to really grasp the concept. Nevertheless, we're sure she's very excited about becoming a big sister. She is always very excited to look at and play with any babies we meet at storytime or the playground - she's very loving and always tries to give them hugs. So, hopefully the "good will" will continue after she has to share "Mommy" with one of those fascinating little babies!

Chris and I are very excited. This pregnancy is especially nice because the job Chris has now is non-deployable and he will be able to be here through the entire pregnancy and delivery (knock-on-wood). So, this time around is definitely going to be a lot different for him. Last time he came home to a big, fat, 6-month pregnant lady - this time he has to watch it all take place gradually, like the rest of us.

I'll post pictures of my pregnant belly eventually. Right now I just look like I've been eating too much - but maybe in another month or two!!

I'm Back!

Finally!

Gabi and I took off to Wisconsin for almost entire month of August, and I've been having a hard time catching up since we got back. So, now I'm sitting down and forcing myself to get caught up on this... among other things.

A quick recap of our trip.

We arrived at the end of July, just in time to surprise my Mom for her birthday. My siblings and I planned a surprise party for her and the best part was she didn't know that Gabi and I were going to be there! The look on her face when she came in the door (and finally realized what was going on) was priceless!!

Here's a picture of Grandma and her girls!

Later that week, we headed to "In-Law Town" to meet Chris (he was TDY in Kentucky the first part of the week), visit with his family, and see his Dad get re-married. It was a really nice ceremony (especially the singing) and a wonderful reception. Gabi had so much fun - she danced all night until she finally crashed in her Daddy's arms. Chris and I had a lot of fun too, and we are so happy to welcome Linda to the family!

Here's a pic of Grandpa and his bride!

And Gabi crashed in Daddy's arms.

Chris had to go back to work a few days after the wedding, but Gabs and I stayed a couple more weeks. We got to spend time with Grandma at the beach and the park. Here's a pic of Grandma and Gabi enjoying one of the slides at the park. We also went boating and spent time on the lake with Grandpa. Then, we headed back to my parents' home to spend more time with my family.

This is a picture of Gabi helping my dad feed his fish. This is when Gabi learned the sign-language for "fish" and whenever we talk about Grandpa, she either signs "dog" (both her Grandpas have dogs) or "fish". Go figure.

Lots of pictures were taken and lots of good memories were created. It was a really nice trip. Right before we came home, I attended the wedding of a close friend of mine and got to visit with many of my friends from college. What a vacation! It was wonderful to get to see and spend time with so many people!

P.S. Sorry this took so long to post. I actually wrote this WEEKS ago, but I couldn't get the stupid pictures to load, and I didn't have time to sit down and figure out what the problem was. Tonight, I finally gave up trying to fix it and gave IE the heave-ho. . . Problem fixed. Gotta love Microsoft!!

The Places We've Been...

Sorry its been awhile. We've been building up our social calendar and exploring our surroundings, which has left me too busy or too tired to blog.

Over the 4th and the last couple weekends, we've been exploring Oregon. We've driven the Mount Hood Scenic Byway and visited Mount Hood. Then we went the other direction and drove the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway from Cannon Beach to Florence. Chris' co-workers told him that we HAD to stop in Tillamook to see the Dairy Farm and cheese plant - "it's so neat!". Hmmm.... do these people know where we're from? Half the people in my home town work in a cheese plant, my grandparents owned a dairy farm, and Chris grew up with Sargento in his backyard. But, we stopped anyway. And yep, it was definitely a Dairy Farm. The cheese plant wasn't operating because of the holiday weekend - but we still got to sample cheese curds and buy ice cream cones! That was probably Gabi's favorite part of the trip - since the rest of the day, she was stuck in her carseat.

We watched the fireworks at Fort Vancouver. They had live music, which Gabi had a blast dancing to, and the fireworks display was set to music and a really great show. Unfortunately, they only held Gabi's attention for a couple minutes and she was ready to run off and explore the crowd. I didn't feel like trying to keep track of a little person, in the dark, in a crowd of thousands of people, so instead, I wrestled with her on our blanket, trying to keep her from wandering off, while Daddy sat and took pictures of the fireworks. ARGH! So, I didn't get to enjoy much of the show, but at least Chris had a good time! He hasn't been to a real fireworks display in 3 years, so this was a good year for him!

Another weekend took us to the Portland Saturday Market. The website calls it "A lively place where unique artists await discovery". Chris described it as "a bunch of nutjobs". Either way - it was another recommendation of his co-workers as "something you have to see". So, we saw it. There was some interesting artwork, but not really our scene. I might go back if I need a unique gift, or maybe to get one of these slings when we have our next baby. But, all the vendors are on-line - so maybe I can just get the goods and spare myself the atmosphere. I doubt if I'll convince Chris to take me back down there, anyway.

We've also been spending a lot of time at the pool at our gym. Gabi loves the water and the hot weather has been perfect for swimming. We are there every weekend - usually both days.

During the week, Gabi and I have been taking swim lessons and going to story hour at the library. I have also continued to take her to the daycare at the gym while I go to workout. She has done great at her swim lessons, LOVES story hour, and is getting better at daycare all the time. We're starting to get into a pattern and it feels good to finally have somewhere to go and a reason to get out of the house.

We've also continued the bike rides. She LOVES going on the bike. If we're sitting at home, and she's bored, she will bring my shoes to me and use sign language to tell me she wants to go for a bike ride. It's so cute - how can I resist. So, we put on our shoes and helmets, and off we go! Its funny, because if I'm feeling lazy, she usually comes over and makes me get off my butt to take her for a ride! I've got a 14-month-old trainer making sure I get in shape!

That's the update for now. Chris is gone for the weekend. He's here for a bachelor party. So its just us girls for the weekend. I think this calls for some shopping!!

New Set of Wheels

Check out what Chris bought for Gabi and me to drive around town during the day...

Generous guy, huh? Actually, Gabi LOVES riding the bike. She points at her helmet excitedly every time we go in the garage, and she is so content while we ride, she never makes a peep (but sometimes she hums). A couple of times she has fallen asleep, while I've been exploring the neighborhood. When we stop at the park, she wakes up, and when she sees where we are she gets the biggest smile on her face - its so cute!

Seriously, though, my husband really is a doll. Here is a pic of our REAL new set of wheels:

The first time I rode in one of these was the last night I had dinner with the girls before Gabi was born. In fact, my water broke that very night, on the way home. Happily, for Kelly, it waited until I was back in my own car, and out of Kelly's brand new Freestyle! But anyway, I LOVED the car so much, when we started looking for cars here, I made Chris take me to check some out. He did a LOT of research and agreed with me that it was a good purchase - so we finally bought a second vehicle, and I couldn't be happier!!

Exercise and Drama

This week, we finally got around to getting a gym membership for all three of us. We are now members of a local club with three swimming pools, awesome workout facilities and best of all, child care! Gabi and I tried it out for the first time on Thursday, and we both LOVED it! I brought her into the kiddie area and she was off and running - playing with the other kids and exploring all the toys. I kind of felt bad, because she didn't even notice when I left. Of course, when I came back she was happy to see me - but it seemed like no big deal. Awesome!! I get to have a distractionless workout and Gabi can have fun playing with the other kids and learning some social skills...

Yeah, right...

Friday we went back again. Same place, same time, same babysitters... NOT the same baby. She was excited about the toys and kids again, but as soon as I sat her down and kissed her goodbye she started bawling. I just kept going - getting sympathetic, but approving nods from the employees and other moms on my way out. I knew she would be okay and stop crying after a couple minutes. But it was still so hard to walk away.

I spent a half hour swimming laps in the outside pool and was headed back to the locker room when a lady from the daycare staff met me. She told me they had been paging me, but she had forgotten that I had told her I was going to be in the pool, and the pages don't go outside. Apparently, Miss Gabi had not stopped crying since I left. Poor thing. The daycare lady said they usually try to give it a chance with new kids, to try and get them used to it, but she wouldn't stop. I wrapped a towel around my waist and marched right into the kiddie area and rescued my baby. Tears and snot were just streaming down her face and she was so upset. She calmed down pretty quickly after I held her for a bit and gave her lots of hugs and kisses, but I sure felt rotten.

They told me to keep bringing her, don't give up, and I know that's what I have to do. I'm just not looking forward to taking her back. However, I NEED to get back into shape and I'm not going to waste this opportunity at this awesome facility - so we'll try again next week. Sigh...

Summer Days

Yay! I love hot weather, and we've had plenty of that lately! On Sunday, I ran to the grocery store, leaving a sleeping baby home with her Daddy. When I got home, I found THIS picture stored on my digital camera.

Chris said he had to throw her in the tub to clean her up, she had popsicle EVERYWHERE! Oh well! Looks like she enjoyed it - plus this picture gives us a great view of her beautiful teeth! Only two so far... they sure are taking their time showing up!

Another sunny day last week, we took a walk to the park, and tested out the wagon that we (meaning Chris) FINALLY took out of the box and assembled. I was strolling behind these two and had to run home for the camera because I thought they were too cute!

Finally, this is a rose that was actually growing on a bush in our backyard. I'm glad I took the picture when I did, because now there isn't a bloom left on that plant! Hope we didn't kill it already! Yikes!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there!

Especially, Happy Father's Day to MY Daddy. I miss you Dad! I hope you had a fabulous day! I admire you so much and I am so lucky and proud to be your daughter. I love you!

And as for my husband... You are a wonderful Daddy! Its so obvious how much our baby loves you - she lights up when you come home from work, and you can make her laugh better than anyone. She is so lucky to have you! (And so am I!)

Here are a couple clips of our little one showing off her fabulous language skills to wish her Daddy a special day! She has a great vocabulary (almost 30 words!) in sign language, but the verbalizing is coming along a bit slower. Happily, "Dada" is one of her favorite words. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

More pictures...

Gabi celebrated her first birthday in our hotel room, while we were waiting for our house to close. Here she is sitting on her stack of presents.

She loves her ice cream cake!

Our new house!!

At the playground.

Finally, Pictures!

Okay, I FINALLY sat down and got organized this weekend! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last couple months of travel and craziness!

The whole family at Chris' graduation.

Enjoying the warm Wisconsin weather

Gabi giving her cousin a big, sloppy kiss!

Hitting the road... what's that in my rearview mirror?!

Pitstop at Mount Rushmore

Home Sweet Home

AHHH!!! Boxes EVERYWHERE!!

Surprisingly, moving doesn't usually stress me out... TOO much! What DOES bother me is the craziness and clutter immediately AFTER the move, but before you figure out where everything is supposed to go. There are piles of boxes and miscellaneous items all over the house and its driving me nuts! Those of you who know me know that I am not even close to a neat freak - but for some reason, I cannot relax after a move until I have everything put away. I spend the entire day walking around the house trying to find places for everything, and after 5 days of this, we are still living in chaos.

Of course, I have the added challenge of being followed around all day by a little shadow that likes to undo all of my tidying. I find myself re-organizing the same things over and over again. The contents of my tupperware cupboard, linen closet and newspaper stack seem to get scattered all over the house, over and over again. Ah well... at least one of us is having fun!

I apologize for not having pictures yet. Give me a few more days - once I get the house in order I'll finally get around to updating the pics and I'll give you my first impressions of our new home.

Moving Day

Finally!

Tomorrow we move into our new home. Our internet will be hooked up on Monday. I can't wait. I have so many pictures to download and thoughts to share!

Gabi had her first birthday last weekend! We're still living in the hotel, so it wasn't much of a party, but there were presents and cake - so what more could you ask for? She is running all over the place and making friends with all the other guests here. She is a handful, but she is a sweetheart and she keeps us all entertained. I took her for pictures last week as well, and they turned out really awesome! I will post some of them once we get into the house and get the computer set up again.

I can't wait to get settled in!!

Establishment

We arrived in Portland on Friday, and this week has been a frenzy of house hunting and paperwork to find and buy our new home. I'm happy to say we signed papers yesterday and should close on our house by the end of the month. Crazy! Buying a home sure is nerve-racking, but we are tired of renting and excited about being able to paint, landscape and make minor changes around OUR property!!

Chris met his new boss this week, but he doesn't need to start work until the 19th. Now he'll have plenty of time to help me hunt down stuff we need for the house, find a gym for keeping (getting back ?) in shape, and a pool for swimming lessons for Gabi. Yeah!

So far the weather has been nice - but apparently colder than normal here, and the people have been great. We can't wait to get settled so we can explore the area a little more. Now that the house is squared away we should have time for some of that before we have to deal with moving in. Currently, we reside at a very nice, extended-stay hotel and are enjoying the maid service and free breakfast immensely!

I will work on posting pictures of the house and some from our trip out here soon!

On the Road Again...

This will probably be my last post for awhile. The movers are coming on Thursday to pack up our computer, along with all the rest of our stuff, so I'll be out of contact for awhile. We start our drive to the other side of the country on the 19th after Chris' graduation. This should be interesting - it's over 40 hours in the car with an 11 month old and everything we'll need for the next couple months while we house hunt and get settled. Yikes! We are not looking forward to the drive, but I can't wait to explore our new home! West Coast, here we come!!

Visitors

Last Wednesday, my father-in-law and his fiancee arrived for a visit with Gabi. We had a nice visit and some fun adventures while they were here. We went to the zoo and then over the weekend we drove to Myrtle Beach. I was there for Spring Break when I was in college... let me tell you, it was quite a different experience with a baby in tow! Anyway... here are some of the pictures from their visit.

Hanging out with Grandpa at the zoo.

Me and Gabi with the elephants.

At the beach with Daddy.

Playing in the ocean

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday, and I tried so hard to get a nice picture to send him - but SOMEBODY wouldn't cooperate!

First, she refused to look at the camera... the paper was way too interesting.

Then she got mad, because I was taking too many pictures...

After her bath, she was in a better mood, but wouldn't sit still...

Finally, blowing Grandpa a kiss and sending him a happy birthday wish!!

We miss you, Dad, and love you so much! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Cutest Thing Ever...

A trail of tiny footprints across my freshly vacuumed carpet.

I just put her to sleep and on my way back down the hallway I saw her tracks coming toward me. Sigh... I love that little cutie!

My Baby

Okay, hardly a baby anymore... Here are her 9-month photos!

My Mom wore this red dress when she was a baby - and there are pictures of me and my sister in it as well. The walker is an antique that my Grandma used when she was a baby - its over 80 years old! Definitely not safe by today's standards - but still pretty cool!

Playing dress up! I love these pics!

This is my big girl with her baby cousin. So far, they are my Mom's only grandchildren. We coordinated their outfits and got this picture taken just for Grandma! Holding hands! So sweet!

Why and How

I've been thinking about starting one of these for a long time. Every time I see something or have an encounter that really makes me angry I think, "I should blog that!". But, silly me, I didn't have a blog... Until now! So although the main purpose of this blog is to keep the Grandparents, relatives and friends up-to-date on the happenings of our little one - this will also be my forum for venting about whatever winds me up for the day.

When I told my husband I wanted to start a blog, he was not very supportive. He's worried about privacy and security and all that. So, to ease his mind, I'm going to be rather vague about our location, his job, and I may change names to protect the innocent. Happy, Honey?? Don't worry! Those of you who know us will know who I'm talking about... And if you don't, there's probably a reason!

So... off we go!

The Title

When I was in college I belonged to a sorority. We had a song that was "our" song. Everytime it was played at a dance or party we would get in a big circle and dance and sing along. Kind of cheesy thinking about it now... but it was very important and meaningful at the time. The song still gives me a warm, fuzzy everytime I hear it and I think the lyrics still ring true in my life.

"These are days you'll remember. . . You are blessed and lucky".

I am blessed in so many ways, but most of all by my wonderful husband and beautiful little girl. This blog is about our family. I'm creating this to remember the craziness and the amazing whirlwind that is our life.