Christmas Tree

My aunt and uncle are in town. They got us a beautiful Christmas tree and all the decorations and lights to go on it too! Halen is stoked! He keeps moving the ornaments around. I love the smell.
Dan is done with one final. He finishes two more today. We're up early because he's finishing a paper and I'm making muffins for his class. Weird huh? I guess I love the guy.
oops. never published this. going to bed now.
p.s. i think i'm most definitely in the early stages of labor.

No Snow

It started to snow this morning, big beautiful snowflakes. Halen and I got all bundled up and went outside to find nothing but cold wet rain. It had passed, but it was too late to go back inside. Halen prefers the outdoors, even when it's cold and wet. So, we played Bruce and Halen's favorite game, it's called "Bruce's Car."

Still Not Here

Every night, I think I'm going into labor. Then I go to sleep, waking a few times during the night to contractions. Then I wake up in the morning and they're gone. My midwife says that all those contractions early on mean my body won't have to do quite so many during actual labor. I guess that works for me, but I kinda want my baby now! Enough teasing already!

More Skateboarding

Halen loves to skateboard. He's graduated to one with wheels. Look how proud he is of his trick.

10 Days

My due date is now in the 10 day forecast. I've been waiting for this. It's getting closer! It's 4:42 in the morning and I'm up doing laundry. We don't even have tons of laundry to be done, I just woke up feeling a strong desire to get out of bed and wash some stuff.

Doll Nightmares

Here is Halen, being all cute and doll-like in front of the creepiest wallpaper ever. When I was little, dolls and paintings of dolls like these would give me nightmares. Actually, they still do (the list of things I am scared of and have admitted to on the blog grows: werewolves, mountain lions, porcelain dolls). This wallpaper is in the bathroom at the Pirate's Tavern, the vegan pirate restaurant. We went there with Corrie and we watched The Princess Bride while eating. Halen was mesmerized. Every time I open iphoto, I want to delete the photos with this wall paper because they creep me out so bad. I like them too much though, so I'll keep them and just get the shiver me timbers whenever I see those porcelain doll eyes looking out at me.
I thought for sure I was going into labor last night. Today, no baby. I guess I wasn't. I'll try to put a blog up when I actually do.
Christy

"Corrie, Where Are You?"

My BFF Corrie came to visit for several days. She and I were hoping for the baby to come a little early, so she could be here to help out with Halen and see the baby emerge from the depths of my womb into the bathtub. He was being stubborn and decided to stay in his warm and cozy home a little longer. We had fun and Halen made a new friend (they've met before but he didn't remember). For two days after she left, he would walk around the house saying, "Corrie, come on." and "Corrie, where are you?" My friends Jaime and Paul came into town the same week and we got to see them too. They hiked this beautiful trail with us to the Wahclella Falls. I want to go back to this spot to live forever! It was gorgeous. Well... I guess it was a little chilly for permanent living, but I could definitely do summers there. We saw the salmon swimming upstream. They were bigger than I thought they'd be. It was pretty cool. I've got one week now till my aunt and uncle come. I'm now supposed to hold off until then. My aunt Melanie has $10 on Wednesday the 28th. Anyone else wanna get in on that? Just send the money to me. I won't keep it or anything. Gotta go. I'm too tired to sit here any longer. I vote for having the baby today!

Kick Flip

TERM!!!

The following is from my weekly pregnancy updates...
Hello, Christy!

Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.


Yipee! Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I just haven't felt like it. I'm either out doing stuff, at home cleaning and nesting, or just being lazy.
I had my home midwife appointment the other day. That was fun, having them come here. Halen was real excited, showing off his toys and all.
Corrie, my bff, comes tomorrow! She'll be here through Thanksgiving. If we have an early arrival, she'll get to see it. If not, we'll spend the days eating donuts and hiking. Halen is going to be excited to have someone around to play with that actually has a little bit of energy. Dan's been busy with work and school and I'm busy making this baby. The little guy is getting the shaft. He's not really, we still make plenty of time for Halen. I have had a few feelings of mommy guilt about the new guy being almost here and how it's going to rock Halen's world. I think, in the long run, having a sibling is going to be awesome for him. I just imagine those first few days are kinda weird, having his mommy all tied up with a new little baby and all. He's a well adjusted kid, I think he'll manage.
Gotta go,
Christy

More Of The Beautiful NW

I tried to blog yesterday and the pictures never uploaded, then I lost all that I had written too and gave up. Here are some pics from Bridal Veil Falls and the Columbia River Gorge.
Today is the 7th, I'm due on the 7th of next month! I started taking these herbal antenatal pills that where designed by some famous Washington based midwife. They're supposed to get my body ready for labor and make the birth real quick and easy. We'll see.

Halloween

Halen loved trick or treating. We didn't go to many houses, but we got tons of non-vegan candy! When we got home, we sorted through the candy, threw all the non-vegan stuff in our outgoing candy basket and then each got a treat from what was left. Dan's had a few too many of those treats these last couple of days. I'm going to dump the bowl into the trash if he doesn't take it to work with him. There are candy wrappers everywhere. Then Halen finds them and wants some! Ha ha. Dan wants Halen to be a sugar fiend too, so they'll out number me. I won't allow it! I will however, allow the eating of the ice cream frozen pumpkin pie we made. Halen's buddy, Connor, sent Halen a National Geographic Kids subscription. In it, there was a recipe for a frozen pumpkin pie. It was the easiest thing in the world and is extra yummy! You need a quart of vanilla soy dream (or your favorite brand of vanilla vegan ice cream), 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (I used the pre-spiced version and saved myself the effort of adding spices), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. salt, dash of nutmeg, dash of ground cloves, and a graham cracker pie crust. Let the ice cream soften a bit, then mix everything together, put it in the crust, put it in the freezer for 4 hours, then eat the whole thing! Okay, don't eat the whole thing, but do ravenously enjoy this easy and delicious holiday dessert.
Speaking of holiday, I just found out about this. It's a vegan holiday festival! It's going on all day tomorrow, with food and goodies galore! Come on Atlanta vegans, admit it, you're jealous!!! Dan has to work, but Halen and I will be munching it up, spending his hard earned dollars as he makes them. Ahh, the riggors of stay at home mom-hood, it's so hard! ha ha. I've got it made! Thanks Dan, we love you for all your hard work. It would be nice if we where lottery winners and you didn't have to work, and could play with us all day; but since we're not, thanks.

On another note, it's November! Only one more full month and we'll have a new baby! I am so excited! I just can't wait! I had a midwife appointment Wednesday. Reason number one million to have a home-birth midwife instead of an ob-gyn: she gave me a back massage with natural oils, that she infused herself, when I complained of being sore from a back spasm earlier that morning! She did my back while her apprentice massaged my hands. The next appointment is at our house!!! Halen is going to be so excited to show them his trains and other toys. I'm glad they'll come here a few times before the birth, so Bruce can get used to them. He can get anxious around new people and I wouldn't want to have to keep him crated or outside the whole time. I don't want him to try to eat the placenta though. I know he would, crazy dog that he is!!!

World Vegan Day

I just found out that today is World Vegan Day. I'm not exactly sure what a vegan is supposed to do on this day, but I thought I'd put a link to this silly talking pig who makes some good points about veganism in a fun and silly way.
Happy World Vegan Day, now go eat an apple and have a glass of soy milk.

Mt. Talbert

Mt. Talbert is an extinct volcano of the Cascades. It's about a mile from our house and has really great hiking trails all over it. We just recently discovered it. It's going to be a great place to go to get outdoors, without the drive. Halen likes to collect leaves and rocks. We need to do some sort of art project with them. I've got quite the pile on the counter.

Ball Bellies

Halen likes giving kisses to his baby brother.

Green State #2

Check This
The score card says Oregon tied Vermont for first. For some reason, they gave that number one spot to Vermont though. Oh well. I'm pretty proud.
Halen and I played at the mall today. Dan's REI is located here, so after we dropped him off for work, we went and played at the indoor playground that has an outdoor theme. How funny is that? The whole enclosed area is padded and comfy to roam around on. There's a tent, a tree slide, two log tunnels, a turtle, and some other fun stuff. It's all on top of a padded carpet that has a river, a path, rocks, a lake with fish and grass printed on it. While there, I observed the nearby shops. One of them was a hot dog place. They have veggie corn dogs! Unfortunately, they are not vegan. The hot dog place is a worker-owned franchise operation from California though. Now if I can just get them to switch their veggie dogs to a vegan version, we'll be all set. This same mall has a noodle place that serves up local fresh veggies and grilled tofu in their bowls. The Panera is opening soon! It's the most veg friendly mall I've ever been to. The mall fountain is real pretty too. It's got all these natural rocks and plants surrounding it instead of concrete. There are coi fish swimming in it. For some reason, people still throw there money in there. Isn't this bad for the fish? Why are there not signs asking people not to do this? While we where watching the fish, a custodial woman came over to tell me to make sure and keep a hold on Halen (I was already) because a little girl had fallen in the week before.
Well, Halen is waking up. Gotta go.

Arrrggghhhh, Happy Halloween

Look at this pumpkin Halen carved, all by himself! I just gave him a really sharp knife and let him go at it. Of course, he'd do a pirate. What a talented young artist.

Some People Have Too Much Money

These cute indoor kid's skateboards go for $550 a piece!

Latourell Falls

7.5 months pregnant and I'm still up for the hikes. I like to go a little slower and my breaths are a little shorter, but I find the time spent walking through these Northwestern woods with my family to be some of the best in my life. This hike had two amazing waterfalls. The weather was perfect, sunny and cool. Even the drives to these places we hike are beautiful and interesting. I love Oregon.
this seemed like it could be a secret passage to the ewok village







Whoe Belly!
Nobody told me to make that silly face. Don't Dan and Halen really look alike here?

Growth Spurt

I think the little one is going through a growth spurt, he's starving me! I can't get enough to eat. I get full fast though, due to the lack of room for my stomach! I could really use some chocolate right now, but there is none here and Dan has the car at work. I guess it's for the best, it gives me heartburn anyway.

Farewell House

Our first home, our happy little abode for two years, is officially sold! I am feeling a little nostalgic, but very glad to have it over with. It's too bad that each realtor made 3 times the amount of money we did!

Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

Halen and I cut up our little pumpkin and made a pie tonight. He is quite the helper in the kitchen. Making a pumpkin pie from scratch, instead of the can, is a long process, but fun and yummy in the end. We listened to Smashing Pumpkins throughout the process, dancing in the kitchen during the wait times. I had to really tweak the heck out of the non-vegan recipe, but it worked. I still need to experiment one more time before I call it a perfect recipe and share it with you guys.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to Liepold Farms and had a hootin good time.
We took a hayride around the farm and learned about how pumpkins grow. I'm almost 30 and this was my first hay ride. I was pretty excited. We got lost (not really) in the 5.5 acre Wizard of Oz themed corn maze. We played with a fuzzy caterpillar. We said hi to a cute cow named Betsy, some goats, and a pony. Halen trekked through the mini haystack maze, castle, and corn-filled sand box. Dan catapulted apples at a target, trying to win a free pumpkin. He got so close, but in the end, we had to pay for our pumpkins. Halen loved the pumpkin patch. He stood amongst all those pumpkins, waving, and saying 'hi pumpkins.' I can't wait to carve a jack-o-lantern. I also got a small pumpkin for making a pie. I've always used a can of pumpkin for my pies, but this year I'm going to venture into making my own pumpkin goop.

Digging for bones in the corn. Ooooohhhhh.


I'm not trying to smuggle pumpkins under my shirt, I swear it!

This is Halen's Baby Gap Pumpkins photo.




As if walking through a corn maze, having watched Children of The Corn one too many times wasn't enough, they put an ax in the tin man's hand. I thought for sure it was going to come alive with a scary red-headed kid named Malacky inside, and hack us up.

Week 31

From my weekly pregnancy updates:
Hello, Christy!

This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. He weighs a little over 3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.


I BET MINE IS ABOUT 19 INCHES LONG AND WEIGHS 6 POUNDS! Lucky me. I've been nothing but excited about this next birth until last night. I just started thinking about how incredibly hard and long the process can be. I can't quite get it out of my head. I'm still excited to be preparing for the home birth that I really want, but the realization that it aint gona be easy is creeping in.

We went to a pumpkin farm today. It was super fun. I'll post more about it later, with some great pics.

Getting Closer

I had a midwife appointment yesterday. The little guy is getting big and moving down. He's now positioned himself head down. I feel more pressure in my pelvis and lower back these days (not to mention the joyous rhoids). The midwife helped me to feel my belly and distinguish body parts. It was pretty cool. I weight 171. I weighed 180 when Halen was born. A pound or two less would be nice this time, but I'm not sure it'll happen. I do share most of my food with Halen though, and all of my food with the baby. I certainly don't want him to be any bigger though. I'd rather me lose that weight than push it out of my you know what. I've been watching birth videos, amping myself up. Halen watches them too. He gets real excited when he sees the babies. All of the births I have on dvd are attended by older siblings too. He'll be there for the birth, if it's not the middle of the night or something. I want him to welcome his little brother into the world. My midwife appointments are now only 2 weeks apart. After the next two, the midwife will start coming to my house. I am so ready to have this baby. He just kicked me in the ribs. He's ready too.
Christy

Cut The Rug

Not to be confused with cuttin the cheese, although that happens around here too.

I've tried to upload video before. It hasn't worked. I'm giving it another shot. Our dance parties are some serious good times. I thought I'd try to share Halen's extreme talents. Look at that one-footed super spin!