2 Weeks to go...hopefully!

Somehow it is already May and about time for our little man to arrive...no idea how this happened so fast!  We went to the doctor yesterday and both baby and I are still doing great.  Heart rates, blood pressure and growth are still looking good.  Its pretty amazing to me that somehow the little guy is finding room to keep on growing in there, although I'm not sure how much more my stomach can strectch so I'm hoping he slows down a bit.  :) 

Aaron and I have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks getting ready for our guy - setting up the room, getting all the gear, etc.  We thought we were completely ready for him.  Then last Saturday I started having contractions which were fairly close together.  For a while we weren't sure if it was just false labor or if it was the real thing.  There was a moment in the middle of it all where we just looked at eachother and realized we weren't ready!  We might have the room all set up and his clothes washed, but mentally we weren't ready!  Since we found out we were pregnant we knew our lives were changed forever, but somehow at that moment it hit us on a whole new level.  It really won't just be Aaron and I anymore, but we're going to have another little person as part of our family.  Another little person to care for and plan our lives around and love.  Somehow in my mind I still thought that after pregnancy our lives would go back to normal and we would be the carefree couple we were before, constantly traveling and thinking about the two of us.  But our lives are going to be different in every single way and will never go back.  It was an awesome feeling...and a little scary.  :)

Obviously, it wasn't time for our baby to come and the contractions eventually went away.  My guess is that we still have a few more weeks.  After Saturday, we're a little bit closer to being ready for him, but I'm pretty sure you're never 100% ready until after they come.  Until then, the only pictures I have to share are a few quick pics of his room and one of the two of us at 38 weeks....

I have picked out cute wall hangings for above his crib with his initials...but until he actually has a name, he doesn't have initials so those will come later.  :)

In Memory Of

I'd like to take a moment today to remember Heather Bennett Krogman, who lost her battle with cancer on April 21st.  Heather and I swam together at Iowa State and I will always remember her happy, energetic personality and bright, easy smile.  As Heather battled the disease for over a year, she showed what a strong and courageous woman she was.  I was amazed how upbeat she continued to be with each update she gave us.  She was truly amazing!  Please keep her husband, Chad, and two little girls in your thoughts and prayers as they remember their wife/mother. 

April 21st was a sad day in our house for another reason - Aaron and I sent our newly adopted dog Abby back to Animal Control.  We were so excited when we got her last week because she was nothing but happy, adorable energy.  It only took a day or two for us to get used to eachother and become a happy little family.  Then the weekend came and we introduced Abby to other dogs.  This did not go well...at all.  We found out that Abby can't be around any other dogs without attacking, viciously.  After an incident with Kris and Lorrie's dog, Coalie, a neighbor dog and a very short trip to the dog park we realized Abby is not safe in our house or the community, especially with the lifestyle we want to live with our dog.  By giving her up, we're hoping she can learn to control herself with training through Animal Control and eventually find the right home for her.  We miss her!   

Less than a month to go!

Last Friday we went in for our 36 week check up and found out everything is still going very well with both the baby and I.  They also did a quick ultrasound to check what position he's in, which was fun for us.  We got to see his head and ears and watch his strong little heart beating.  He is positioned head down (whew) and is low enough that we couldn't see his face on the ultrasound.  Even without seeing his face, it was neat to get to see him again and see that he is just a healthy little baby chilling out upside down and growing fast.  We're counting down the days til he gets here and we get to see him in person!

This is Spring??

When we moved up to Anchorage, everyone said April is a hard month because the snow and ice is just starting to break up and its the in between time for winter and summer activities.  Turns out they were right...Aaron and I miss spring in Texas!  Our body and minds know mid April to be the best time of year, full of Astros baseball, drinking beer outside and heading to Hill Country to camp.  This year, we are experiencing "spring snow" (spring and snow should not go together!) and some windy, cold spring days here in Alaska.  With a few feet of snow still on the ground, we miss 75 degree weather!  In the evenings we've been listening to Texas country singers sing songs about the Hill Country of Texas and dreaming of warm weather...I never knew what a smart man Pat Green was!  :)

The good news is that summer is right around the corner and when it starts, it gets here fast.  I'm told once it starts getting green, it takes two weeks and its like a whole new world here.  We can't wait.  We've already started planning our weekends of camping and fishing.  Aaron spent the afternoon today pulling out his fishing gear, making sure its ready. 

Aaron's anxious to get out and fish, ready enough to even fish in the back yard with snow still on the ground!

Notice the group of trees in the background - we can now see the ground and some grass!  It really is melting!

Since I have been dreaming of warm weather lately, I decided to pull together our pictures from our trip to Virgin Islands earlier this year.  I'm glad we were able to spend a few weeks in the sun and the beach before we headed up to the snow! 

The Virgin Islands truly are paradise!  Aaron and I got to spend a week snorkeling and kayaking through the islands with my sister and brother in law.  We had a fantastic trip!

Glenn and Cari over looking the islands we kayaked through.

I was 5 months pregnant on the trip...my belly was so small back then compared to today!

It was so nice to get to take one last long trip before we headed up to Alaska and started a family, and even better to get to do it with Cari and Glenn.  (My mom was very happy to get to keep their little one while we were gone.)

After the Virgin Islands, Aaron and I spent a few days exploring Puerto Rico.  This island has amazing history and a very cool vibe - feels part European, part Latin American...but we definitely didn't get an American vibe from it!

The link below will take you to the full album from our trip, if you're interested!

Virgin Island & Puerto Rico Trip

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone is having/had a great Easter!  Today is also my little niece's 2nd birthday - Happy Birthday Anni! (check out pictures of her on the Hush House O'Chaos to the right, she's a cutie!)

This past week marked the 34th week of pregnancy for us.  The little one is growing fast now, which means I am too!  My belly is tracking average size now, which could mean he's around 5 lbs right now and gaining about 1/2 lb a week.  He's still squirming around a lot, which is very cool when I get to see the outline of his little feet. 

I have finally downloaded my pictures from the last few weeks off my camera.  Below are a few shots of Alaska.  The snow is finally starting to melt and I think in a few weeks we might get to see what our back yard looks like!  I can't wait for summer!

 

The Iditarod was held in Alaska in early March.  As you might imagine, this is a huge event to Alaskans.  Aaron and I joined the festivities in downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start.  It was neat to see the dogs and get a better understanding of the sport.  The best part was seeing how much the dogs were enjoying it - they can't wait to get out on the trails and run.

Anchorage has a winter festival to kick off the Iditarod. Here is one of the reindeer that came to town to participate in the "Run with the Reindeer" race.  People sign up to run the streets of downtown with reindeer chasing them - something like the arctic version of the running of the bulls.  I decided it was probably best for me to sit this one out this year, but maybe next year!

There was also snow sculpting competitions, a carnival and lots of other events.

During the winter months its very common to see moose chomping on trees on the side of the road in the city.  These two moose were taking a break from roaming around in Kris and Lorrie's back yard one afternoon.  They hang out a lot in the woods next to their house.  A few days ago we also saw bear scat in this same spot.  Spring must be here if the bears are out!

So far we've seen a lot of Alaska wildlife...at least the ones that come out in the winter.  We've seen whales swimming in the bay, dall sheep climbing in the mountains, bald eagles, deer, musk ox (pictured above), caribou, elk, and a wolf.  The last four were actually in a wildlife conservatory, so we haven't actually seen them out in the wild...but they were still cool. 

Aaron and I drove down to Portage Glacier one day.  You can't actually see the glacier in this picture because it has shrunk so much, but just 20 years ago it covered this whole area.  This summer we hope to hike the trails to lots of the glaciers in the area.

We also took a little trip down the Kenai Pensinsula to see what we could find.  Being pregnant, I'm pretty limited in the winter sports I can participate in.  We had to settle with hiking around a bit in the areas that have been snow plowed and watching others cross country ski, back country ski and ride snow mobiles.  I can't wait for the snow to melt and the rest of the trails open up so we can really go exploring!

Aaron and I enjoying a sunny day in Alaska!