Sweet Thing

This little bundle of joy arrived on Thanksgiving day.  Our Annie, Sharon Ann Lewis, came at 5:27 am weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and 20.5 inches long.  We stayed a couple days in the hospital and brought her home last weekend.  We are very much in love with her.  She's not on any schedule yet but has been feeding really well and letting me get a decent amount of sleep at night. 

This weekend Aunt Norah and cousin Henry came to visit.  Henry is so big and mobile; he's quite entertaining. 

Doug is still busy working on the nursery.  Things are really coming together!  The bead board is almost all done and it's looking great.

The Waiting

Here we are, a couple of days away from the due date. 

That belly doesn't even look real anymore.  There is a large basketball up my shirt.  However, it is quite real, believe me.  I cannot bend over, roll over like a normal person in bed, sit in any position for very long nor can I do what would be referred to as walking because that action has been replaced by a waddle.  It's cool though, if she wants to hang out a little while longer, she will be allowed.

This gives Doug some time to work on the nursery.  Neither of us were scheduled to work this week because apparently kids don't really need to go to school much anymore and money should be spent on other state needs...so we have some time on our hands.  In our best laid plans, Annie arrived this past weekend and Doug didn't have to take any time off work and we were home from the hospital for Thanksgiving but we should have known we had a procrastinator on our hands.  She's really not in much of a hurry to make her entrance.  Instead of having a baby this weekend, Doug was able to put in most of the insulation and start priming sheet rock!  It's looking more and more like a room everyday. 

The more and more it looks like a room, the less and less Doug can fit up there.  Just think, we still need to add carpet : )  Good thing those skylights add some extra head room; we'll have to strategically place the crib and changing area so we both get our fair share.  We've been brainstorming some fun decorating ideas and I think it will be quite the cool room for a kid when it's finished. 

We are having our first big fall storm with lots of rain and some wind.  It was really dark all day so it made it easy to get stuff done around the house.  We're both keeping ourselves occupied while we wait on the girl.  I suppose there's no need to rush anything and we can be content to have a little more time as just the two of us before life is really never the same again!

The Final Countdown

Last week we reached the milestone of 35 weeks, meaning that we can have a normal delivery without any NICU.  It was quite exciting and Doug came home with some gorgeous dahlias from a roadside stand in honor of reaching the marker.  I also had a great doctor's appointment and it seems like little Annie is very happy to stay put for now.  Phew!  It is a very strange feeling to know that I could go into labor anytime now.  I'm not nervous about it but I am getting very anxious to meet her.  I've had two dreams where we had her and she was super healthy and had really strong teeth even though she was so little.  What does that mean???  Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks - one more week of development closer!

I'm definitely starting to feel the weight of this little girl.  I'm now sleeping with four strategically located pillows and that has been a great help.  Teaching is still going well although my patience for the 7th graders is not very high right now.  I'm not crabby with them but I'm having a hard time coming up with any empathy for some of my immature or disorganized students. I do have most of my ducks in a row as far as my responsibilities while I'm gone so that is a really reassuring feeling.  I don't want to have to think about work once I'm off. 

We've been busy washing super cute tiny little socks, onesies and pjs.  It's pretty fun to imagine that tiny little feet and a tiny little body will fit into those little things.  Friends and family have been very generous with hand me downs and also gifts that we'll be needing.  The nursery is still coming along and Doug is getting a little frustrated with the pace but he's doing an amazing job.  He started to install insulation this weekend and we have a light switch that works at the bottom of the stairs now.  Some big steps for sure : )

Slow Down, You're Moving Too Fast

We have reached the 33rd week, seven more until the actual due date.  I'm definitely getting larger all the time.

We had a little scare this weekend with some preterm contractions.  Luckily, they turned out not to be labor inducing but we still had to spend the night in the hospital to be monitored and make sure everything is going okay.  For now, all appears to be fine and my uterus just wants to contract away.  I have to be on bed rest for a few days but we will do whatever we need to do to keep her in there a little longer.  I have an appointment on Friday and hopefully nothing will have changed and then I can return to work next week and plan some easy days for myself.   We will prevent her escape as long as we can.  Bed rest hasn't been so bad, I actually had quite a bit of grading to do and it's good to get some planning done in case I can't go back to work anytime soon.  I also watched the first season of Downton Abbey and am now totally hooked.  I'm just debating whether or not I want to start buying episodes from Season 2 on Amazon...I also got my baby registry squared away so that's good.

The room is coming along upstairs.  Poor Doug was planning on working hard on it all weekend until our hospital trip.  He stayed very calm the whole time and has been very helpful this week.  A couple of weeks ago, he put in two skylights all by himself.  They really add a lot of light to the room and open it up a bit.  On Sunday, his brother-in-law came over to help with some electricals.  The next step will be insulation and then I think it will be ready for hanging sheet rock and finishing stuff after that.  It may not be done by the time this girl gets here but that's okay.  Keep cooking, Annie!

Back to School

This week Doug and I were both back to work with our students.  Doug's class of 6th graders is smaller than last year but still in the mid 30s.  My biggest class of 7th graders is 39 so I'm doing my best to cram them all in until some schedule changes are made.  Juuuust a little too big.  My students from last year were pretty excited to see me with a pregnant belly - quite a change from the last time they saw me in early June.  Here's the latest belly shot showing the 20 pounds I have gained so far.  Not too bad.

We closed out summer break with an awesome trip to Flagstaff to celebrate a friend's wedding.  We spent five days camping in the rain, exploring the Grand Canyon and having fun with friends from near and far.  We only camped for two nights, which was probably about my limit.  Luckily, I scored three thermarests and two pillows so I was quite cozy.  Flagstaff is a great city, I can see why so many people who love the outdoors live there.  At 7000 feet, the temperatures stayed totally comfortable, even a little chilly at night.

We spent Labor Day at the Cach family cabin doing some hiking, relaxing, game playing and taking turns preparing some delicious food.  It was a great way to spend the last weekend of summer.  It's not so bad knowing that I'll only be at school for a couple of months and then get three months off before returning again for a couple more. 

Last Week of Summer Vacation, Sniffle

Today is the beginning of my 27th week, the last week of the second trimester.  Almost in the home stretch (sort of)!  I had a good check up and have gained 16 pounds total so far.  The baby girl appears to be growing at the right rate and everything looked good.  She's eating very well -

We've been enjoying explosions of tomatoes, some beans and potatoes, lots of zucchini (and zucchini bread), a second round of raspberries and have just started to pick some peppers.  I pulled up my onions to cure and soon we will be able to enjoy some deeeelicious homemade salsa with all the ingredients coming from the garden.  Mmmm mmm. There are some cute little melons growing nicely as well.

The man of the house has been a busy little bee putting the destruction, I mean construction zone back together.  I can't believe how much more space it feels like we have with wider and taller door frames and no chimney in the way anymore.  I helped with some framing by running the chop saw (that's right) and did some painting.  Showing our good sides below.

Not quite finished but it has come along way since just a couple of weeks ago!  My last post shows me standing in front of the former chimney area.  The unfinished area you see below will be the home to some new built in shelves for the kitchen.  What a treat.

And the belly grows.

Making Room

We've been enjoying summer in all it's Portland glory so I haven't spent much time on the computer.  It cooled down a little bit this week after a really steamy weekend.  We cooled off by spending some time at the river doing a little white water tubing.  Since bashing into rocks in white water on a small inflatable object is probably not good for my pregnancy, I rode in a raft instead.  My belly is getting quite large these days and it's hard to imagine how big it will be in three months.

Sleeping has started to be a little more of a challenge.  The sides of my hips really hurt I assume from the extra weight and sleeping on my sides.  Other than that, I'm still feeling really great and it's been crazy to feel and watch the little girl move around in my belly.  She has been very active. 

Last week, I helped Doug a little bit on the baby's room.  We built the framework for a bench that will run along the window and also serve as the headboards for the two twin beds.  Doug also framed in some closet and storage space.  The next step is the electrical work.

In order to run new wiring upstairs, the chimney had to come all the way out through the main floor and basement.  Yikes.  Doug decided that this was the week to take the chimney all the way out.  It happened yesterday while I was conveniently out of the house babysitting all day.  In my pregnant belly picture above, I'm standing in front of the framed in chimney.  Here are some shots of the demolition.

Doug's nephew and his buddy came over to help.  The second to last picture shows what it looks like now.  The framing will come out and be replaced to create two large door frames running perpendicular to each other.  We will also create some built in shelves to add more storage to the kitchen area.  When it's all complete (hopefully in the next week!), it should look really nice.  As you can see from the plastic hanging up, moving around the house has been interesting.  To watch some Olympics last night, we had to go out the back door and around to the front door.  Then if you need to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water while watching the Olympics, you have to go around the house again.  Like I said, hopefully it will be done in the next week.

Hot Time, Summer in the City

We have had a gorgeous summer so far in Portland.  It was off to a slow, cool and rainy start but now everyday is nearly perfect.  Today Doug and his brother Jeff (the wedding crier) are installing some windows in the attic.  This is quite the improvement over the gaping holes in the side of the house that have been there for a month or two.  It's really coming along up there, slowly but surely!

I offered my help but my protective Doug didn't want me on any ladders or the roof or carrying heavy objects.  Shucks.  I'll just have to play outside.  The garden has been a super awesome delicious fest this year.  The baby girl eats well.

Building this raised bed was the best move ever for the tomatoes.  They are in love with the sun.  Each year I've been really excited to have an abundance of tomatoes to can but that has never happened.  I feel the change in the air this year.

And here's the change in my belly.  I did just eat a cheeseburger before this was taken.

We have both been working a bit but still enjoying our sweet summer vacation.  Doug's been working with a contractor and also worked one river trip while I was in Michigan.  I have been doing a little catering and working for Portland Parks and Rec helping disabled kids of all varieties participate in the summer parks programs.  Yesterday I spent my morning chasing an autistic boy who was really interested in neighborhood lawn mower noises and enjoyed slapping me and throwing his shoes at me when it wasn't time to get on the slip and slide yet. 

I just recently started a job with Discovery Education reviewing a new online textbook they are creating.  I have just barely started but it's really interesting, pays well and I'm actually using my masters degree.  Who would have thought that would ever come in handy?  Next weekend we'll be in the wild, camping with the Cach side of Doug's family.  They are a good-timin' crew so it should be a whole lot of fun to watch them drink.

20 weeks down, 20 more to go

Last week we went in for our 20 week ultrasound.  It was crazy to see the baby in such detail although most of the time I had no idea what I was looking at.  We did find out that we're having a girl, which we are both very excited about.  We both had a feeling that she might be a girl before the check up.  She didn't really want to show us much of her face but we did get one peek at her profile.

And here's my profile.

Doug has been very busy working on finishing the attic which will become her room when she's ready for it.  It was finished to begin with but just kind of gross up there.

After completely gutting it, taking out the chimney and adding a roof vent, this is where it is now.

We got some brand new windows to put in so that will come next along with some wiring.  In the end, we hope for it to be a little something like this.

 While working on the attic, Doug also wants to take the chimney out of the main floor which will open up a lot of space but leave our living area a construction zone for awhile.  I can't say I'm thrilled about this prospect.  Let's remember that it is summer vacation so relaxing is a top priority, for me anyway.  So this weekend we headed up to Doug's family's cabin and did a little kayaking and fishing on Trillium Lake to beat the heat in Portland.  I love summer.