First few days in Oregon

We've been in Oregon a couple days and have been super busy (big surprise, right?) First, we'll start with a couple random pics of Devan over the last couple weeks. Funny how all of these are when he's in a car seat. Guess that's the only time he stops moving enough to take a pic....??

He loves that cheesy grin!

Falling asleep eating snacks on the couch :)

On our way to the airport!

We drove to DC Friday afternoon for our flight that night. We landed in PDX at 12:30am and got to Corvallis at 2:30am. My 10 year highschool reunion was that weekend. So at noon we headed to Wildcat Park (which I have to say is very disappointing in the re-do. Nostalgia set in and it's just not as cool as it used to be!) for a family picnic. Devan was really tired and didn't even want to play! So Dustin took him back to Grammy's house for a nap while I chatted with people. Afterwards, I headed up to my parents for a quick visit before having to get ready for the main dinner that night at Cloud 9. Overall, the evening was good. Food was good, but a little on the "weird/fancy" side and many people weren't too into it. But it was great to catch up with people. We had a slideshow of highschool pics and some silly contests to get a quick catch-up on people's lives (ie- who's lived in the most places, who has the most kids, who's been together the longest, who has the most tatoos, etc).

The next day, we went strawberry picking. Well, my mom, Steph, and I did most of the picking. Devan quickly figured out that he could just grab the strawberries from our buckets and eat them- less work for him :)

The strawberries were perfectly ripe- no green ones anywhere. And they were the sweetest I've ever had! Can't beat fresh-off-the-bush strawberries.... warm and gooey and sweet..... Much better than the VA produce we get :)

Waiting for more "samples"

Help me over Nana!

Then he found a stick and lost interest in the strawberries.... It's more fun to beat the bushes and draw lines in the dirt :)

After we're done... Red-stained face, dirt everywhere... He put his hat on backwards and started rapping "a-a, a-a, a, a-a apple!" It's from Sesame Street....

After a nap, we headed down to Carl & Betty's for a pool party/ backyard chill-out :) Most of Dustin's family and family friends were there to hang out, eat good food, and swim in the pool. Devan wasn't too sure about the pool. He hasn't been in the water since last summer (other than a little plastic kiddy pool) so I think he was overwhelmed. So instead, Carl took him on a tractor ride around their property (Devan got to "drive" and loved it).

Aunt Pat's Navy Retirement Party

A week before we headed out to Oregon, Pat had her Navy retirement party. Dustin and I took the day off to drive to Norfolk/Portsmouth for the event. So glad we could be a part of it!

Walking the waterfront in Portsmouth, looking at the ships

Pat's flowers from my mom and us

Pat doing her thing: re-enlisting a guy, even at her own party :)

One of her many honors

The perfect gift for Pat: a metal cat lawn ornament/pot holder (with some magazines for reading when she's chilling)

It was a great party! Lots of people got up to talk about how much they will miss her, what a great job she's done, etc. And some great funny stories of Pat. Gotta love those! And of course, lots of tears (but Pat, you did a great job holding it together (most of the time) during your speech). Love ya! (And once you get your medal engraved with your name I want to see it!) Thank you for letting us be a part of this special moment in your life..... Hugs & luv :)

Update on Life (and belly pic)

It's been a long time since I've posted... And a long time since I've HAD time to post :) We've been pre-occupied with getting ready for our Oregon trip, and everything that goes along with prepping to be gone for 2 weeks. So I have a good excuse :P

So I guess I'll first start with the easy one, and then do separate posts for each event....

First up, I am closing in on 17 weeks! This week has been tough in that my pants no longer fit :( A HUGE change for you as a mother-to-be. Those of you with kids know what I'm talking about. I brought my slacks and shirt for a fancy dinner I had to go to. But when I tried them on, I couldn't button my pants! And my shirt was too short/tight. I had just worn these last week!!! So now I'm down to 1 pair of jeans, which are getting tight as well. I made the trek to Motherhood Maternity to get some pants. I'm holding out on shirts for now, although I saw a lot of cute ones :)

Weeks: 16 weeks, 5 days

Weight gain: 5-5.5 lbs (but still below my starting weight with Devan!)

Cravings: none (which is nice- I've been enjoying Tillamook cheese)

Positive this week: my pregnancy boobies are starting to kick in! YAY!!!

Countdown to 20 weeks: 4 more weeks!!! My appointment should be the end of July. Can't wait :)

And finally a belly pic! I wish I had one to compare to before... But I can't find one. All the pics I have are of Devan since I'm usually the one taking them :)

When we get back to VA I'll have to post pics of this pregnancy to the last to compare. It seems like this time I'm carrying lower, and I'm definitely showing sooner!

15 weeks

Wow! This pregnancy has gone by a lot faster.... Probably because Devan keeps us busy :) I've been feeling great and have lots of energy and motivation. Motivation is they key :)

-Weight Gain: 3.2 lbs
-Food cravings: turkey and swiss sandwiches

5 more weeks until we find out the sex!!!! Probably the last week of July. I can hardly wait! Luckily, we'll be really busy the next 3 weeks so that'll help the time fly.

Not much else to say... I had an appointment last week and I got to hear the heart beat. I love that part! Next week I have another blood test. And then a couple days after we get back from Oregon, I have another appointment where I get the results of the blood work and get to hear the heart beat again :) THEN we FINALLY get to make the BIG 20 week appointment!!! YAY!!!! As you know, we are such big planners and this is killing us! I just want to start on the nursery and start getting organized.... I think the nesting is coming earlier this time.... Maybe because I know it takes twice as long to get anything done, especially with Devan's "help"... LOL

What's coming up: Today we are off to Aunt Pat's Navy retirement ceremony and party. This should be fun! Yesterday we (or really Dustin) babysat Bella so they're watching Devan on Saturday. We're going to have lunch together and then take the boat out- just the two of us. This'll be great! Dustin has a short travel Tuesday-Thursday so I only get him for help Sunday and Monday since we leave Friday night for.... OREGON!!!! We're going to be celebrating Father's Day on Monday with our neighbor group- heading out to a nice dinner. I'm not really sure how I'm going to prepare for our trip by myself.... But we'll make it work. Maybe Dustin will take Friday off (since we have to leave early afternoon anyway to drive to DC) and then he can get the last minute stuff done. I better start my packing list!!! LOL

Chao for now! Gotta get ready for Pat's P-A-R-T-Y :)

Ready for riding lessons???

Just messing around with daddy's helmet... :)

2nd Trimester!!!

Wahoo!!! Good riddance 1st trimester and WELCOME 2nd trimester!!! We survived! So glad to have you around :)

Now that I'm starting my 14th week, things are looking up. In a couple weeks we'll be heading to our old stomping grounds. Can't wait! It can't come fast enough! The 25th is my 10 year high school reunion (has it really been 10 years already?!?!?) and then the 9th is Derek and Annie's wedding :)

So this weekend, I have the daunting task of dress and shoe shopping. My current dresses are all too big. Yet I have to find a dress that will hold my growing belly, but still be flattering (and that would be NOT empire waist dresses. For some reason, those don't look good on me, although they are very comfortable and would fit the criteria). This weekend is going to be hot and humid with scattered thunderstorms, so it'll be a good time to hide out at the mall and NOT do work around the house :)

Weight gain: 2.5 lbs
Food cravings: junk food and salad
Milestones: finished the 1st trimester (and it was easy breezy... can't complain at all!)
Looking ahead: I can't wait until my 20 week ultrasound. It's killing me not to know the sex! I know I'm a dork, but I am a huge planner! I've been dying to start on the nursery but I can't do that until we know the sex....

Hopefully this weekend I will have time to post ultrasound pics from our first two appointments and a belly pic. I know ya'll are looking forward to those :)

Update Time

Here's an update from the last couple weeks, narrated by cell pictures and videos. We've done a lot....

2 weekends ago we went for a hike. Perfect weather. Around 80 but not humid. And the majority of the hike was shady. We started off with Taylor on the leash. But after we passed the only other person there, we took her off. I was nervous but she did great. She doesn't listen when you call her, but she stuck to the trail! She'd run ahead until we couldn't see her and then come back to us. At least this way she got lots of energy and I didn't have to try and stay on my feet while she pulled the whole way :)
Devan had a great time walking. We did the same hike last year. The difference was that he walked the whole way! Last year he didn't even make it a mile, and our pace was a lot slower.

"Wow! Look at that tree!"

Taylor is free!

Looks like Oregon, huh?

Crazy tree... Growing up and out!

There was a pier along the James so we went to look at the view. Taylor kept wanting to jump into the river, but luckily she didn't :)

Taylor ran ahead and stayed away. We soon found out why... She found a muddy riverbed! This long bridge is supposed to span a creek that feeds into the James. But it's been so dry that is was just mud.

When we found Taylor she was on her belly in the mud, sticking her whole head in it. Just like a pig! I kept trying to get a pic of her muddy face/body but she was too quick.

It was very difficult to get her out of it (isn't mud fun?) If only she knew she'd be getting hosed off outside when we got home.... Probably worth it for her though :)

The bad news.... TICKS!!!! Nasty buggers. Our tally was 28 between the 3 of us and Taylor. Got home, stripped in the garage and went hunting. You don't even want to know where we found some of them ;)

That set the mood for the rest of the weekend.... BAD! We got the boat to get it ready for the season. First off, some of the decals were peeling off (this means $$). Then, we found out that one of the trailer brakes locked up. So the whole way home we were dragging one of the tires. So, the tire's ruined. But the bigger issue is WHY the brake locked up. So Dustin had to take it apart and figure out what was going on. Aside from it needing new brakes, he discovered that one of the pistons was cracked in 7 places!!!!! After figuring out that, we had to go hunting for parts, which had to be ordered. So the following weekend we got the parts. New calipers and brake pads. Luckily, installing the new ones went pretty quickly and bleeding the brakes was a lot easier than the cars!

THEN, it was Memorial Day. We thought we'd get to enjoy the day. We went to a BBQ at one of the neighbor's. It was a lot of fun. Until later that night. Dustin got sick, and then I did. Found out it was the Norovirus. Highly contagious. Vomiting/diarrhea every 30 minutes for 12 solid hours. Then it tapered off and left us without even an ounce of energy. We were down for the count Tuesday and should've stayed home Wednesday too. But too much to do at work. It was a solid week before we got our energy back. Luckily, Devan survived. I don't know what we would've done if he got it!!! But it's been going around the neighborhood and since we're such great friends, we decided to share the virus too :P

The next weekend we took a break from working on projects and went to the Chesterfield Festival. It's a free event put on by VO1CE (a group of churches). Bounce houses, music, food, games, prizes, entertainment, face painting, etc. When you arrive they give you a ticket for a free hot dog and lemonade. Cool! Even though I can't eat hot dogs, Devan ate mine and I ate the bun. But the lemonade was good because it was a hot day. They also had free popcorn everywhere. And Dustin got a funnel cake. It was the best I've ever had.

When we got there they had 2 bounce houses for the younger kids. At first, Devan wasn't too sure about it. He wanted to go in but there were a couple 3 and 4 year olds in it and he was intimidated. We finally got him to go on the obstacle course one.

Weeeeee!!!!!

After that we went inside to get out of the sun for awhile. Munched on popcorn, listened to music, and watched the kids dance and play carnival games. The games were too old for him. We had just missed the skateboard trick event though. Too bad. Once cooled off we went back out to wait in line for our turn to sit in the firetruck!

This is so cool! Look at all the buttons to push!

After that we got our food and went back inside. Devan devoured the hot dog, drink, and wanted more popcorn. Then on our way out we passed the bouncy house again. There was only 1 kid in there at this time, and he was two also. So Devan was very adament about going in. Why not. That boy jumped and jumped and jumped. I don't think we've seen him that coordinated before! He had a great time. And then wanted to do the obstacle course again. So we were there for awhile. The video is at the bottom of the post. It's cute :)

Sunday, we hosted a potluck BBQ with all the neighbors on our new back deck. It worked out really well. The food was great. And it's always fun when we can all get together :) The kids were all good and played together well. Only person missing was Hailey because she was still contagious :(

Random pic of Devan sleeping

Video of Devan helping build the stools for the back deck. That weekend he got to pull the trigger on the drill and the presher washer. What a big boy!



Video of Devan in the bouce house (until he bounced into me)