Life in the Edler House

Happy boy

2012-02-03T19:51:00.001-08:00

I love this kid!

First cereal

2012-02-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have been absolutely itching to start Jack on solids. I'm not sure why - it's messy, it takes longer to eat, and there's a lot more clean-up involved - but I was still super excited! We finally did it and what an experience it was! I'm almost positive that Jack only swallowed a spoonful worth of cereal, but it was so much fun!

He wasn't too sure what we were trying to do...

But then he started to get the hang of it...

And even wanted to help!

29

2012-02-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

Happy 29th birthday to me! I had a whole weekend filled with birthday love and surprises. Starting off with a dinner at my mom's place with some family and friends (which was a surprise to me!)

The next day was nice relaxing day with a shopping trip BY MYSELF and a wonderful sushi dinner with Paul.

Jack even picked out a card for me!

4 Months

2012-01-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

Jack is 4 months old and I know I say this all the time but I really can't believe how much he's growing and changing every day! He brings so much joy to us and his little smile just makes my heart melt.

At 4 months old he is smiling, giggling a little, rolling over, grabbing toys (and my hair), making lots of noises, and interested in everything. He loves to stand and is learning how to use his Johnny Jump Up, he plays in his exersaucer and loves anything that lights up. The songs that always make him smile are The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Noble Duke of York, and Open Shut.

One of my favorite things is listening to him wake up in the morning. He's been "talking" to the animals on his mobile for the last week or so and it's such a heart-warming noise to wake up to. We are so very blessed.

Snow day!

2012-01-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

What did we do on Jack's first snow day? We walked to Starbucks of course! I was so concerned about him being too cold that he was sweating from all the layers of clothes and blankets when we got home. :-)

Jack's BFF

2012-01-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Cameron Christian Gacayan was born on December 31, 2011. 7 pounds, 20 inches of perfectness!

I have known Laura for almost 15 years, she is my best friend, and I am thrilled that we are beginning this crazy new stage of our life - motherhood - together.

Jack slept through meeting Cameron in the hospital but they hung out and bonded a week later...definitely BFFs, definitely.

What we find entertaining

2012-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

I can't help but laugh every time we do this!

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

Four years ago on New Year's Eve we were in Paris and Paul got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. How life has changed in four short years. So what are we doing to celebrate this year? A crazy party? Loud music and dancing? Nope, we're taking pictures of our smiling boy. Couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing than spending it with my family.

Our first family Christmas

2011-12-31T20:18:00.000-08:00

It was very important to me that we establish our family Christmas traditions right away with Jack, which meant that we stayed at home ALL DAY! No running around to different family members houses to see everyone in one day. Don't get me wrong I love seeing family but I don't enjoy trying to see everyone in multiple houses within 12 hours...with a newborn. Our door was open to anyone who wanted to come see us but we were going to stay home and you know what? It was GREAT! We had a relaxing morning, took a walk to the park, and opened stockings and gifts. Then Paul's mom and sister came over and spent the rest of the day at our place. My mom and Norm stopped by and we finished the evening by putting Jack to bed and had a nice glass of wine. Perfect Christmas!

Christmas #3

2011-12-31T20:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve afternoon/evening was the Ratliff family Christmas (my mom's side of the family). All the aunts, uncles, grandkids and great grandkids were in town and actually in the same room - it was great!

Jack got to have some quality YaYa time

Christmas #2

2011-12-31T19:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve morning was Christmas with the Edlers - Brooksie, Dana and Maddie. We made the 4 block trek over to Dana's and had a yummy breakfast of cinnamon rolls and quiche. Merry Edler Christmas !

Giggles!

2011-12-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's not the best video because Jack is quiet and I'm WAY loud and it's after his official first giggle but here it is, we have a giggle! I know, it's a teeny tiny little noise but I swear to you it was a full-on giggle before I got the camera out.

This kid is awesome, he thinks a box and packing peanuts are great toys!

Christmas #1

2011-12-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas #1 with Dave, Beth and Dylan.

Jack opened lots of UK gifts - bottles, shirts, pajamas - I think Beth and Grammie are trying to brainwash him already!

Leavenworth

2011-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

Our annual trip to Leavenworth to see the tree lighting was a success! Jack was a fabulous baby and we were able to hit all the places we love - King Ludwig's for lunch, the cookie shop for dessert, the Kris Kringle store for an ornament and the roasted chestnut stand right before the tree lighting. Maybe we went more for the food than the lights, haha!

We have a roller!

2011-12-06T14:12:00.001-08:00

December 2, 2011 Jack rolled over for the first time and I turned the camera on just in time to catch the momentous occasion! Paul was working from home that day so he got to see him do it too. We are very proud parents :-)

Gobble Gobble

2011-11-27T20:47:00.001-08:00

I wasn't planning on running the Greenlake Gobble, but I did it! Thanks to Paul for pushing the stroller, I concentrated on running (ok, slow jogging) and finished my first post-baby 5K. It was a crisp fall morning and the rain even held off for the whole run. I guess I have to start running more often now if I plan to do a half marathon next fall. Oh goodness!

Thankful

2011-11-23T19:10:00.001-08:00

I have been trying all week to do a little something each day to get ready for Thanksgiving - grocery shopping, cutting veggies, making pie crust, etc. so that we are prepared to bring our share of dinner over to our family's house. Time management has been a little more tricky these days, but today I stopped in the middle of my rush. I stopped to praise God for all I have to be thankful for. My loving husband, our perfect baby boy, a roof over our heads, our health, and this wonderful life we are living. I understand how lucky I am to be able to stay home with Jack and I truly appreciate every moment. His smile makes my heart jump for joy! I feel like I am living the life that I always dreamed of. I am so very thankful.

We did it!

2011-11-23T16:11:00.001-08:00

We did it, we traveled with Jack! It was an absolute success and, might I add, we also had Savage with us. Why, you ask? For the National UFLI flyball tournament in St. Louis of course! Not only did Savage run on our team (Unorthodogs), he also ran on a team with his litter mates. We were so proud of our super fast boy (Savage) and our super "go-with-the-flow" boy (Jack). Except for the first night in the hotel, Jack was absolutely perfect and we were once again reminded of how lucky we are to have been given such a wonderful baby. I was worried about the noise of the tournament but was pleasantly surprised that this facility had a room above the racing lanes with large windows so I could watch all the races without having to subject little ears to all the barking. Perfect!

Here's a little taste of flyball. Savage is the first dog in the right lane.

6 weeks already?

2011-11-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

How is this little angel already 6 weeks old? I've always heard parents say, "it goes by so quickly" but seriously...it really does! We of course believe Jack is the cutest, smartest baby the world has ever seen. He is beginning to smile, can lift his head and look left and right during tummy time, holds onto fingers, toys, etc., loves to look at lights, and is beginning to grow out of his newborn clothes. We are reminded every day how lucky we are to have been blessed with Jack. He is a good eater, a happy baby and will sleep from 11:00pm until 5:00am most nights. He has developed so much in 6 weeks, we can't imagine what is to come!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, Jack is far to young to carve a pumpkin but he did enjoy the festivities (for the few minutes he was awake). We realized that this was our fourth annual pumpkin carving. We've had pyrotechnics (with eyebrow loss), smoke bombs, blood and TONS of fun with friends over the last four years. Here's a quick recap:

2008

Very excited to start this tradition

2009

We apparently decided to go out to the Barnoff (local dive bar)

instead of carving our pumpkins this year

2010

Back on track

2011

Now with babies!

We had Laura and Dar (with their baby due in December), Shavon, Erin, Andy, Ryleigh (18 months), Dana, Maddie (4 years old), Lindsay, Paul, me and Jack (5 weeks).

Oh how much life has changed in 4 years! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends to share these memories with.

Meeting Grandpa George and Grandma Charlene

2011-10-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

We have such a blessed little boy to have many grandparents that love him so much! My dad and Charlene came up from California this week and got to meet Jack. We went for a walk, out to dinner, and they spent quality time just staring at him and rocking him to sleep. Paul and I are so glad that Dad and Charlene got to meet our little man.

Best Husband EVER!!

2011-10-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

12 hours of sleep. 12 glorious hours of sleep because of one amazing man.

Paul offered to do all the nighttime feedings on Friday so that I could catch up on some much needed sleep. I went to bed at 8:30 Friday night and didn't get up till 8:30 Saturday morning. Except for a brief intermission to pump, I slept like a rock knowing that Paul was taking care of Jack all night. I felt like a new woman Saturday morning with bright eyes ready to take on the day.

Not only did Paul give me the gift of rest, but he went grocery shopping (late at night) so he could make a nice breakfast for me in the morning - complete with fresh flowers on the table!

I'm sure raising a baby will challenge our relationship at times but so far it has brought us closer together and strengthened the love we have for each other. I am so thankful for this amazing man - my best friend, the love of my life and now the father of our son.

Pumpkin patch

2011-10-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our first pumpkin patch outing as a family! Jack pretty much slept through the whole experience but we did wake him up for a minute to get a photo.

Big steps

2011-10-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Our 15 day old tiny precious baby slept in his crib for the first time last night. He's only about 20 feet away from our room but it seemed like a mile. He did fabulous and has now fully transitioned, napping in there today as well. I know it's good for him but I miss having him close by...I am told this will get easier.

Two weeks

2011-10-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Neither of us can believe it's already been two weeks since our perfect little boy was born. We still look at each other and say "Hey guess what? We have a baby!" We are head over heals in love with our little man and enjoying every moment with him. Here are just a few of the things we have learned in the last 14 days:
*How to swaddle (I must admit Paul is way better at this than me)
*Sleep when Jack sleeps
*Food prepared by other people is an amazing gift
*Projectile poop can be hysterical at 1:00AM
*Even though newborn clothes look too small for any person to fit into, they are big on Jack
*Socks don't stay on
*Baby fingernails grow fast
But by far the most shocking and wonderful thing we have learned is how much love we have for Jack. It was an instant, no questions asked kind of love that neither of us have ever felt before. We love him so much and are more in love with each other because of him...life is amazing!

Welcome to the world Jack Oliver

2011-09-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, September 21 2011 at 1:42AM Jack Oliver Edler entered the world and immediately stole our hearts.

Here's the story of his birth in a nut shell (ok it's a big nut shell):
Paul and I took Savage to the dog park around 4:00pm on Tuesday the 20th (Jack's actual due date). As we were leaving the house I had a contraction different from any Braxton Hicks that I'd had before - this one hurt! On the way to the park we started timing them and they were about 10 minutes apart. Paul kept asking if I was ok to walk around the park and I said yes, that everyone had told me that labor can take hours so we might as well get the dog some exercise. At the park, my contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart and by the time we got home they were getting closer. Paul called the childbirth center at the hospital and they said to come in as soon as the contractions were closer to 2-3 minutes apart. Well, that didn't take long...this was the first indicator that my body moves quickly when it comes to having a baby. Our plan had always been to labor at home as long as possible because home is a comforting place and we didn't want to sit in a hospital room for hours on end or be sent home because of "false labor" or anything silly like that. That plan however, went out the window as soon I experienced the massively painful contractions. As the contractions neared the 2-3 minute pattern they became so close together that I barely had a break in between each one. At 8:10PM Paul packed up the car and we were off to the hospital.

We arrived at Swedish in Ballard at 8:30PM, were shown to a room and nurse Lisa came in to check me. She said I was only 3cm dilated but since I was obviously in a lot of pain I would be given a morphine shot along with some fluids, monitored for an hour and then sent home. Sent home? No thank you, I came in to have a baby! I was very upset after finding out that we would be sent home. However, instead of staying upset I became bound and determined. Indicator #2, my body moves quickly; after an hour of laboring, the nurse returned to see if I had made any progress. Sure enough I had. I had gone from 3cm to 7 cm in an hour! Go me!! The (very shocked) nurse admitted us into the hospital and asked if I was interested in an epidural to manage the pain. Let me tell you, my "plan" before now was that I wanted to feel the contractions and see how long I could go without medication. Well I had felt the contractions and was not trying to be a hero - bring on the epidural! The nurse warned us that an epidural can often slow down the progress of labor and suggested I take advantage of this pain-free time and allow for "unassisted descending" of the baby thru the birth canal (she said at least a few hours, possibly more and then at least a few hours of pushing) and to get some sleep in the meantime for the long labor ahead.

At this point (about 11:00pm) we called our parents to let them know that we had been admitted, but told them to get a good night's sleep because it would still be hours of laboring and pushing. We assured them we'd call back when we were getting ready to push.

After a quick nap with the epidural medicine flowing the nurse came to reposition me in order to make sure the medicine would distribute evenly throughout my body. Minutes after this, Jack's heart rate dropped which caused the nurse to come right back in. She repositioned me once more and his heart rate went right back up. Since she was already in there, she decided to check me again since a dip in heart rate can be an indicator of Jack dropping further into "pushing position". She checked me I had made it to 10cm and she could already feel the head. The doctor was called in and I was asked if I'd like to start pushing. What? I thought I got to sleep for hours! What about all the DVD's, books, games and such that I can painstakingly packed in our labor bag? I couldn't start pushing yet, we hadn't even had time to connect my iPod and listen to my labor playlist! Indicator #3 of my fast moving, determined body: Jack was ready to come out and we had only been at the hospital for 4 hours.

Paul quickly called our parents and told them to hit the road if they wanted to be right outside the room as soon as he was born. (Luckily they made it in the nick of time). I started pushing at 1:00AM and Jack Oliver Edler was born at 1:42AM. (Indicator #4) The doctor'S comment later was "your body was made to have babies!".

I feel so blessed to have had such a positive labor experience. Our little man is absolutely perfect and the love we feel is so much greater than either of us ever thought possible.

Happy Birthday Paul!

2011-09-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

Even more celebrating? Of course! Since I'm on maternity leave now (waiting for baby to arrive), I convinced Paul to take his birthday day off. We "slept in" (till 8:00), had a yummy breakfast and had an all-around relaxing morning. Then I took him to get a fabulous pedicure, we spent the rest of the afternoon watching football, and had a romantic dinner out. I absolutely love loving my husband!

The breakfast he ordered - homemade sticky buns, bacon, and scrambled eggs

Ahhh...so relaxing!

Dinner at Ponti - so fabulous!

More Birthday Festivities

2011-09-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday was another day of birthday celebrating! Brooksie took us to see Chicago, then Dana and Maddie joined us for dinner out and finally back to Brooksie's for cake and ice cream.

A special present from Maddie

Mmmmm...homemade Jello cake

Go Sounders!

2011-09-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

To begin Paul's birthday weekend, Dana treated us to a Sounders game! Even though they lost, we all had a great time. It was a gorgeous day (thank goodness for seats in the shade!) and the perfect way to commence the celebrating of Paul. :-) Stay tuned for more birthday festivities!

Weekend away

2011-09-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to take the train to Portland. Don't ask me why, there's nothing in particular in Portland that I wanted to see, but the idea of taking the train really intrigued me. Our summer was super busy and the only available weekend we had was Labor Day, so we took full advantage of the three day weekend! Everyone seemed worried that I was almost 38 weeks pregnant, but I was confident that if we went into labor on the trip we'd be ok - they have hospitals in Portland, right? As it turns out we did not go into labor and had a nice, relaxing, food-filled weekend away. It was perfect!

So excited to be on the train!

Hanging out on the waterfront

Here's a look at some of the glorious food we indulged in...

Ken's Artisan Pizza (at the recommendation of our doctor)

Voodoo Doughnuts - AMAZING!

Pine State Biscuits (also doctor recommended)

We also went on a walking tour and learned all about Portland. It was so informative that I think I might try one in Seattle!

True love

2011-08-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

What is true love? It it so many things, all of which Paul has shown me over the years of our relationship. But the other night Paul took true love to the next level. He painted my toenails for me. Why, you ask? Because I cannot reach down to paint them anymore. What a fabulous man! I could not ask for a more caring, supportive, true-love-showing man in my life. I am blessed!

Showered with kindness

2011-08-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to have two fantastic baby showers, one with my family and one with friends in which baby Edler and I were spoiled rotten!

My sister-in-law hosted my family shower at my Grams' house. A huge thank you to both of them for all their hard work!

Lindsay, me, Laura (who hosted - thank you!!), and Erin

With Arielle and Carissa, friends from work

We now have everything we will need for baby Edler's arrival...just waiting for him to show up :-) I am so very grateful for all the generous and thoughtful people in our life.

Seafair

2011-08-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

A tradition that we love so much - Seafair! This year we took the Light Rail which was a great adventure and I highly recommend it. The Blue Angels were fantastic, the hydros were fast, the beer was refreshing (so I was told), and the day was perfect. I love traditions!

An evevning on the water

2011-08-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

With this wishy-washy Seattle "summer" we didn't know what to expect when we scheduled an kayaking night. But we couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening! Paul's cousin was visiting from Texas and joined Brooksie, Dana and us for this adventure.

I was concerned that my belly wouldn't fit in the kayak but there was plenty of room for me and baby! :) Thank you Seattle for an evening of nice weather!!

A beautiful day for a hike

2011-08-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

What do we do when I'm 7 months pregnant? We hike up Hurricane Ridge of course! Paul's mom Brooksie has wanted to drive over to the Olympic mountains since she moved up here (which was more than 3 years ago) and we finally got it on the calendar.

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. It was gorgeous!!

After many little breaks on the way up, we all made it to the top and it was definitely worth it!

After that hike, we moved on to the next one - Marymere Falls at Lake Crescent.

It was a fabulous day of hiking and exploring!

Warrior Dash

2011-07-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday, Paul and a bunch of our friends ran the Warrior Dash. It is described as "3.5 hellish miles" of running and obstacles. I'm pretty sure Paul finished it so fast just to get the giant turkey leg at the end :). But whatever the motivation, they all had a great time running through fire, crawling through mud, and have the scratches and bruises to prove it. I can't wait until I get to do it next year!

The second-to-last obstacle...FIRE!!

The last obstacle included mud, can you tell?

Me, my warrior, and our future warrior :)

Mmmmmm.....turkey leg!

Crab feast

2011-07-19T19:06:00.001-07:00

I sure do miss diving, but I'm super happy that Paul still goes - especially when he comes home with a crab feast!

30 Weeks

2011-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we only have 10 weeks to go, 30 weeks have truly flown by! We feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful pregnancy - no major issues and I'm still feeling great (besides feeling a little extra tired this week). The nursery is almost ready, the baby clothes are washed and organized, and we are deep in reading baby books. We can't wait to meet our little man!

3.7 seconds

2011-07-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

What can you do in 3.7 seconds? Well, Savage can run down a 51 foot flyball lane with 4 jumps, get his tennis ball, then run back down the 51 foot lane with jumps. Check it out! (Savage is the first dog)

We had a flyball tournament in Salem this weekend and on the first heat of the first race, Savage ran his new personal best time - 3.7 seconds!! His brother Danger (the third dog) also ran his personal best of 3.9 seconds!

I love fireworks!

2011-07-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

For the last few years, Paul and I have ventured down to Gasworks Park to watch the 4th of July fireworks. I absolutely LOVE fireworks and this year was the best show by far! We are so lucky to live in a country where we can enjoy our freedom because of the men and women who serve to protect it.

Paul's sister Dana and her best friend Jennifer joined us this year.

Father's Day

2011-06-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Even though our little bundle is not here yet, I couldn't let Father's Day pass by without celebrating the father of our growing baby. We had a relaxing morning at home, then out to a fabulous breakfast, and finally a day at the Washington Brewer's Festival. I am so lucky to have Paul and am overjoyed that we have created a life together. I have no doubt that he will be the most amazing father ever!

Texas A&M board book to read to baby E!

Matching Texas A&M outfits

Happy father-to-be at the beer festival!

One step closer...

2011-06-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Grandpa Dave and Grandma 3G, we have a crib! That one piece of furniture makes the room feel much more like a nursery than just a spare room, I can't believe it!

Summer Grillin'

2011-06-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

We heard there was supposed to be a little bit of sunshine today, so Paul marinated some chicken wings and grilled them up! It actually felt like summer time!!

Where do I start?

2011-06-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

The outfit? The torn dog bed? Where do I start?

We have a wonderful dog, Savage, but he has been known to be destructive at times. One morning we went down to let him out only to find his brand new (not cheap) bed had been torn up. Paul was pretty sure he could fix it with duct tape but I thought that would look "ghetto". Yesterday he found leopard-printed duct tape, thinking that would look much better. I had to giggle because leopard-print looks "white trash" to me and his outfit while fixing it matched accordingly - dark socks with crocks, cammo shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I love my husband, every dog-bed-fixing, dark-sock-and-sandal-wearing bit of him!

All fixed!

Good friends, good times

2011-06-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful friends Laura and Dar were nice enough to help us out last weekend. They came over and helped us pain Baby Edler's room - of course after we ran the dogs around at the dog park - thanks guys, you're the best!

Time to paint!

What's a yurt?

2011-05-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

When Paul told me that we'd be staying in a yurt on our Canadian diving adventure, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive. Of course I would not be diving on this trip so I was wondering what kind of place I'd be hanging out in all day...a yurt?

It turned out to be wonderful! We actually didn't stay in the yurt because the owners of the dive company thought I'd be more comfortable if I didn't have to walk outside in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. However, the yurts were awesome and I'd definitely be up for camping out in one of those!

Paul got to do six dives in three days, had a great time, and saw lots of cool marine life. I got to hike, play with dogs, and was actually forced to relax a bit.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day and I don't even have a baby yet, how lucky am I? I woke up to presents and flowers - yes, I do have the most wonderful husband in the world!

After Paul celebrated me, we got to celebrate his mom and sister with lunch and an afternoon at the tulip fields! What a great day - happy Mother's Day!

We're having a boy!

2011-05-18T19:53:00.001-07:00

Together with our family, we had a "sex party" and found out that we are being blessed with a baby boy!

How did we do that you ask? We had an ultrasound but asked the technician not to tell us the gender. She put the results in an envelope and I drove it straight to my mom who had cupcakes made with the gender-appropriate color inside. A few days later we gathered with our family, bit into the cupcake, and...it's a BOY!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:36:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter! We spent the morning at church with my mom and Norm, then back to their house for a very yummy breakfast. Paul and I decided to compare bellies...I think I win!

Here fishy, fishy

2011-04-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday was date day, so fun! We had dim sum (which I have to admit I thought was a kind of soup) for my very first time, bought yummy goodness at a Chinese bakery, went to the Seattle Aquarium, and then walked around Pike Place Market. It was a great day, very relaxing, and overall perfect!

Longest Run EVER!

2011-04-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my husband, he amazes me on a daily basis. He finished his longest run today, a 12K (which is 7.5 miles) and did it in 61 minutes! He is tired and sore but feeling very accomplished.

Being 4 months pregnant it's getting a little harder for me to run, but I finished the 5K and felt great! Here we are all done running and showing off the baby bump.

Spring break in the mountains

2011-04-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Who needs hot weather and a beach for spring break? We want mountains and snow! We went to visit my Aunt Renee and Uncle Larry at their house in Graeagle, California. Graeagle (pronounced "Gray Eagle") is a tiny mountain town that is too cute for words where everyone knows each other, there are no stop lights, and it feels like a little piece of paradise. We are already planning when we can go back! We went snowshoeing, running, walking around the town, snowboarding (I shopped), and we even had time to relax!

We went snowshoeing up an old ski hill. After that hike I have a much deeper appreciation for chair lifts!

My Aunt Renee and Uncle Larry and their awesome dog Chip :)

Thanks for the perfect spring break Aunt Renee and Uncle Larry!

15 weeks

2011-03-30T19:24:00.001-07:00

15 weeks pregnant and going strong! I feel extremely lucky that I really have no complaints. I've been a little tired lately, but no morning sickness, no bad food aversions, nothing like that. Paul has been the most supportive, wonderful husband that I could ever ask for. He tells me on a daily basis that I look cute, beautiful, darling, etc. even though I can't fit into any of my pants anymore. :) Honestly, this experience has been so perfect thus far that I'm thinking about being pregnant all the time!

Family Time

2011-03-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

We are taking care of Savage's brother and sister this week and he is in heaven! Danger (the grey one) is Sav's littler mate and Sprite (the black one) is from the same mom and dad, just a different litter. They have been wrestling and playing non-stop and Savage loves it! Not to mention they are all exhausted at the end of the day, so we love it too!

Savage, Sprite and Danger

Play time!

Baby projects

2011-03-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is just the first of many projects, I'm sure. We spent the afternoon installing a closet system to gain some more organizational space in the nursery. Projects like this make it feel even more real and even closer to reality!

My growing belly makes it feel real as well...

St. Patrick's Day Dash

2011-03-13T19:09:00.001-07:00

Woo hoo! I didn't think I was going to be able to finish this one without taking a walking break because of the 1.3 mile uphill stretch, but I did it! We had such a great time with our family and friends, even in the rain! Paul ran some of it with me and the rest with his sister and I'm so impressed with how quickly he finished, especially after being away from the gym with a broken rib for a month - what a man! My friend Laura and I ran it together and found out we run the same pace - who knew? What a great day and a nice accomplishment!

Warming up after the run :)

Life is about to change...

2011-03-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

Family has been told, work has been told, now it's time for the news to be out - we are pregnant! We are 12 and a half weeks along, due September 20th. I've been feeling great, only some morning nausea and a very strong craving for frozen fruit (thankfully we have Costco!) We are so very excited and have already started planning paint colors for the nursery, looking at cribs, oh my!

Not "scoops" anymore

2011-02-27T19:22:00.001-08:00

We went to Yakima to see our darling nephew Cohen this weekend. He has been into trucks for pretty much his entire life and has always called them "scoops". When I asked him about his scoops, he quickly corrected me with the actual names of the trucks. "No Aunt Jenny, this is an excavator, that is a backhoe, and that one is a front loader." I was so shocked, and very impressed!

Valentine's Pizza

2011-02-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Since our anniversary is the day before, we don't do anything big for Valentine's Day. We do however, spend the evening together and do something fun. This year we decided to make a pizza (the dough looks weird because we tried to dye it red) and it was so yummy! Paul is always in charge of tossing the dough and placing the toppings (he gets to use his old pizza job expertise) and I am the one who gets to take the first bite! I totally scored in this situation :)

Happy Anniversary!

2011-02-15T19:45:00.001-08:00

Happy 2nd anniversary! After a marvelous breakfast at the Maltby Cafe and a relaxing afternoon (mostly digesting our breakfast) we spent the evening at Teatro ZinZanni. What a fabulous show, and a perfect date :)

I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend, every day feels like a new adventure and knowing that we're in it together is comforting and exhilarating.

Running for Love

2011-02-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Another 5K under my belt! Today was the Valentine's Day Dash and unfortunately Paul couldn't join me in this one (he cracked his rib recently) but he was there to cheer me on. His sister Dana joined me and was my cheerleader the whole way - thanks for the support!

My Turn!

2011-02-07T19:41:00.001-08:00

I've recently had the opportunity to see another side of flyball - the exciting side! Paul is hurting with a cracked rib so he asked if I could run Savage at practice. I'm going to be honest, the idea of our crazy, intense dog running after me to pull on the rope I'm dangling wasn't my idea of fun. (You see, I'm usually at the other end, safely behind a wooden "contraption" and the dogs have no interest in me.) But guess what? I LOVED IT!! I'm totally hooked and have already started bugging Paul about getting me my own dog to train and run. I do hope Paul feels better soon, but in the mean time, I get to enjoy this crazy game of flyball.

Birthday Blessings

2011-02-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

What a perfect birthday! I slept in (8:00 might not seem like "sleeping in" to many of you, but it is to me!), Paul made me an amazing breakfast, took me clothes shopping, and then to a romantic dinner. To top it all off, we went to ICE CREAM! I've been working so hard to lose weight for the last year and a half that can't remember the last time I had ice cream. It was WONDERFUL!! I love being 28!

Then the next evening, my mom hosted a birthday dinner with my favorite meal (her chicken and broccoli dish) and favorite cake (confetti cake!). What a lucky girl I am, happy birthday me!

Not a professional

2011-02-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

I recently learned that I will never be a professional bowler. Any hopes and dreams that I ever had of being on the PBA tour (is that what it's called) were crushed when Paul and I went bowling a few weeks ago. I was actually doing really well in the beginning (I scored over 100!)...and then we took the bumpers away. I think I had a high score of 35 with no bumpers - pretty impressive, I know.

We really did have a great time, even though I'm terrible at it it was still really fun!

Christmas at the cabin

2010-12-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

Paul and I decided to spend a quiet Christmas in Sunriver, Oregon - just the two of us and the dogs. It was snowy, romantic, busy, adventurous, but most of all it was absolutely perfect!

We went ice skating...

took a dogsled ride...

went snowshoeing in the middle of nowhere...

and even relaxed in the hot tub (after Paul cleared a path through the snow).

Christmas date night!

2010-12-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

A wonderful dinner downtown and tickets to A Christmas Story at the 5th Avenue. We are so blessed to be able to spend a romantic evening together!

Leavenworth Tree Lighting 2010

2010-12-20T19:10:00.001-08:00

We were lucky enough to have some of our family join us in Leavenworth this year for the tree lighting! It was a beautiful, sunny day when we arrived and started snowing in the afternoon, creating the perfect ambiance for the tree lighting. I love that darling Bavarian town!

I love traditions

2010-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season can get so busy and it's easy to lose sight of what's truly important. That's why the traditions that Paul and I have developed are so important to us, one of which is going to watch the Christmas ships. During our first Christmas season together, Paul planned a surprise date night to see the ships and it has been a very special tradition ever since.

Two down!

2010-12-12T13:18:00.001-08:00

My goal today was to not only complete the Jingle Bell Run (without walking) but to beat my time from the Greenlake Gobble. I did it!! I beat my time by about a minute and there were A LOT of hills in this run. I am so happy that I have such a wonderful husband that supports me in every step (literally).

Note: We didn't get a picture right after the run because it was pouring rain and all I wanted to do was get home, shower, and dry off!

3 Generations

2010-12-12T13:15:00.001-08:00

I am extremely lucky to have such amazing women in my life! My mom, Grams and I enjoyed dinner together followed by a Christmas program and dessert at Mom's church. It was such a great reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. I am blessed!

Friendsgiving 2010

2010-11-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

We hosted this year's "Friendsgiving" and had a great time catching up and spending time with such good friends! We missed you Bucky and Nolan, you better drive up next year!

We are thankful to be blessed with such wonderful friends!

My own snowboarding instructor

2010-11-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Today was our first day on the mountain and it was so much fun! I'm finally at the point where I can get myself down the mountain (without swearing or crying) thanks to my personal snowboarding instructor - who also happens to be my wonderful husband!

So Thankful

2010-11-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had this year! Paul's mom came over to our place for a lovely dinner complete with a smoked turkey (gotta do things Texas style), stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, and two pies - all for three people! We were full beyond belief with leftovers to last us till next Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for all the blessings in our life.

Paul and his mom displaying the place cards I made.

Mmmmmm....smoked Turkey - I love my Texan!

Finally relaxing with full bellies!

I did it!!

2010-11-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

I am not a runner. I have never been a runner. Today however, that may have changed. I FINALLY completed a 5K without stopping! I've always signed up for "runs" as more of a social event than an athletic experience, but I made it my goal to actually run this one...and I did! It was only a 5K but to a non-runner that feels closer to a marathon. Paul was beside me the whole way (even though he can run much faster than me) and I couldn't have done it without him. My next hurdle is going to be to complete the Jingle Bell Run even faster than this one.

17.92

2010-11-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

Our flyball team set a new club record today with a 17.92 run! For those of you who don't know flyball, let me give you a quick overview. That would be 17.92 seconds for four dogs to run down a 51 foot lane over four 7 inch jumps, hit off a contraption that ejects a tennis ball, and run back the 51 feet over the four jumps. 17.92 seconds, holy cow! Savage also set his best time ever at 3.87 seconds. We're so proud of our furry, four-legged boy and teammates! (And I'm so proud of Paul for training him to do this so well)

This is the view the other team sees as Savage zooms past...hehe!

So Proud

2010-11-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

He is more than a pharmacist. He is an adviser. He is a friend. He is a comedian. He is a shoulder. He is a boss. He is a hard worker. He is my dad.

Pumpkin Carving 2010

2010-10-24T16:49:00.001-07:00

Obviously, one of us is a MUCH more talented pumpkin carver...and it's not me! We had a few friends over to carve pumpkins last night and Shavon trumped us all with her Freddie Cruger pumpkin.

Thanks for coming over guys, we had a great time!

Biker Man

2010-10-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

After hours of measuring, drilling, and using lots of tools, Paul has his brand new motorcycle bags installed! Look at that happy biker man!

Octoberfest

2010-09-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day for beer tasting in Seattle! The Fremont Octoberfest did not disappoint with hundreds of beers, brats and pretzels, and lots of crazy people to watch.

Happy Birthday Paul!

2010-09-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Paul's birthday weekend finished up with a family dinner at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant in Seattle. Yes, that is a towel on our lap - almost everything they serve is eaten with your hands, very authentic!

His present from our entire wonderful family was side bags for his motorcycle - can you see the excitement?!?!

Happy birthday to my amazing husband!

Mmmmm....chocolate.....

2010-09-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Paul absolutely LOVES chocolate. So as a birthday weekend activity, I took him to Boehm's candy/chocolate factory for a tour and a little taste testing.

Decked out in his cool hat, tasting single-bean chocolate from South America.

In front of Boehm's chapel.

M's Game

2010-09-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

I scored some free Mariner's tickets so we decided to take Brooksie to her first game. As a bonus, it was free blanket night!

Matt & Ashleigh's Wedding

2010-08-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my brother Matt and his gorgeous wife Ashleigh!

It was a beautiful wedding, complete with their dog Todd as the ring bearer :)

Me and Paul after the ceremony <3

Big kid toy

2010-08-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

We met Paul's sister and her family down at the beach today for a picnic and a dip in the lake. Since our niece didn't want to use her blow-up whale, Paul decided that it looked like a pretty cool toy and even convinced me to take a ride!

Torture!

2010-08-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Savage absolutely LOVES tennis balls, so you can imagine how torturous it was for him to see this in our backyard. No, we are not trying to anger him, this was the only way to clean and dry the tennis balls without him chasing after them all.

Belize it!

2010-08-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

Paul and I just got back from Belize where we spent 10 days scuba diving in crystal clear water and trecking through Mayan caves.

The diving was stunning! 84 degree water with super amazing coral and fish. We did 11 dives, including a 130 foot dive at the Blue Hole. We saw sharks, dolphins, lobsters, rays, a turtle, and tons of beautiful fish.

Another one of our adventures was a 5 mile hike/swim/crawl through a Mayan cave. The cave was used by the Mayans for sacrifices and contained pottery and skeletons that are over 1300 years old.

We did take some time to relax, luckily this was right outside our room.

A day on the farm

2010-07-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

We took 2 hour drive to Yakima to see my brother, sister-in-law, and darling nephew. They were up from Arizona staying with my sister-in-law's parents who live on a farm - so much fun!

Cohen and I fed the "dinkey" (miniature donkey).

And he had Paul working as his personal raspberry picker.

It was so great to spend time with family - thanks guys!

Lucky girl

2010-07-14T07:28:00.001-07:00

I am such a lucky girl! I was gone for three days for a conference in Denver and what did I come home to? My wonderful husband, a clean house, and fresh flowers everywhere!

On the table...

In the kitchen...

On the bed...

Even in the bathroom!

I have the best husband in the world!!!

Happy 4th!

2010-07-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

Our 4th of July tradition is to take the bus down to Gasworks Park, hang out on the grass and watch the fireworks. The weather was not so great this year, but we braved the rain and headed down there anyway. We had fun, but decided that it was not quite as fun to hang out in the rain than the sunny weather of years past. So we packed up and headed home, spread our picnic blanket out in front of the TV and watched the fireworks show from our cozy living room.

Looks like we've created a new tradition!

Silly puppy

2010-06-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

Nevermind the cone on his head (he's been licking his paws) - what has he done to his bed? Apparently it wasn't thick enough for him, so he folded it in half to lay on...silly puppy!

Matchmaker

2010-06-25T20:44:00.001-07:00

Andrea is by far the best matchmaker EVER! She is the one that set Paul and I up on a blind date and we are feel so blessed to have her in our life. She's moving to Spokane and we will dearly miss her. We love you Andrea and can't thank you enough for bringing us together.

Bottom time and shore time

2010-06-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Paul got "bottom time" while I got "shore time". I was way too sick to dive today and was totally bummed, but I still went along for the ride (secretly hoping for a miraculous healing experience). Paul logged over an hour of bottom time and I napped on the shore. At least I got some good pictures of him!

Waving goodbye to me :)

After the dive, ready to tell me all that they saw!

Sushi 101

2010-06-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

For our first anniversary I bought Paul rice paper (since year one is "paper") and signed us up for a sushi class. This week was finally time to go to class and we had such a fun time learning, cooking, and or course eating!

Paul making a California roll

My spicy tuna hand roll (Paul ate most of it because it was too spicy for me)

Doing a cooking class together was so much fun, we will most definitely sign up for another one!

Vegas Baby!

2010-06-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

We went to Vegas with our great friends Laura and Dar and had a wonderful time! We saw some shows, did a little shopping, and enjoyed lots of night life.

Out on the town

All ready to see Cirque du Soleil

A very intense game of Beer Pong

Doggy Sleep-Over

2010-05-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Zark is staying with us for the weekend, so Savage gets to have a doggy sleep-over! We don't have kids yet, so this is cute to us...just go with it.

Will bike for cheese

2010-05-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

We love going to the Seattle Cheese Festival and this year we decided to bike down to it from the house.

We had some cheese samples and hung out on the grass in the beautiful Seattle sunshine.

I was fully planning on taking the bus home but at the last minute decided to try the ride. There were lots of hills and some tears but I'm happy to say I made it all the way home on the bike - thanks to my very supportive husband. <3

Jude O'Chop

2010-05-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Paul and I went to our first roller derby bout! My cousin is on the team and we went out to support her...man is that a rough sport! One of the best parts was listening to all the names of the girls. My cousin Amy's roller derby name is "Jude O'Chop" - sweet!

(Jude O'Chop is on the very right)

Redondo dive...kinda

2010-05-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

We went out to Redondo this morning for our first advanced dive. We were so excited and Brooksie even showed up to take our picture and watch us go in! After diving down to 60 feet for 7 minutes, our instructor called the dive due to visibility of 2 inches. We actually spent much more time suiting up than time in the water. We were super bummed, but "safety first" as Paul always says.

At least we look good!

Date Night!

2010-05-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

I took Paul on a surprise date Friday night to Frank's Oyster House in Seattle. Good food, romantic setting...wonderful!

It's never too early for Victoria's Secret

2010-05-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

No, no, it's not really a gift from Victoria's Secret. But the bag is pink, so I thought it would be perfect wrapping for a gift for Ryleigh!

Ryleigh is two weeks old and doing fabulous - she eats and sleeps like a champ and is a very easy-going little girl. Erin is such a natural mom and is recovering beautifully!

I am just in total awe of this perfect little blessing...