Neighborhood Shower

Our lovely neighbors, Kevin & Naoko and their daughter Princess Mia, hosted a shower for us last weekend at their place. Everyone from the block was there as well as friends from other neighborhoods! My good friend Berengaria and her son Philip came down from the Seattle area and stayed with us. Mr. Philip (who is 4 and loves match box cars) was a great help in opening all of the gifts!

Pregnant people have all the luck!

Today someone renewed my faith in humanity.

On my way home from work I stopped at an outdoor market to pick up a couple of pumpkins. After perusing a few bins I chose two rather large pumpkins. No idea what they weighed - but they had the best shapes and came with handles. So I promptly picked them up (both at the same time) and began to waddle my way inside.

A random hipster looking guy next to me was also picking out pumpkins, but many more than my two. He managed to make it in line ahead of me and set his collection down on the floor. Panting, I set my left pumpkin on the ledge by the cash register and the other at my feet. It was only at this point that I realized, for a fleeting moment, I probably shouldn't be carrying these around. They're really heavy. The thought flitted in and out of my awareness and I continued to gaze at the beautiful fall squashes and apples, pomegranates and dried hydrangeas.

It was random hipster boys' turn at the cash register when he turned to me and said "you go ahead". I thanked him and tried to decline but he insisted and asked if I wanted some help with the giant pumpkin sitting at my feet. I accepted - most gratefully - and with a silent sigh of relief that I wasn't going to have to lift the damn thing again. At this point my thoughts briefly turned to logistics of getting them to the car. Then back again to the apples and bushels of squashes.

I paid the $8 for my two giant pumpkins with handles and struggled to put my wallet back in my bag and dig out the car keys at the same time. Pregnancy does nothing to enhance gracefulness or coordination. At this point Mr. Hipster offered to carry both of my pumpkins to the car!! Really? Do I look incapable, er super-pregnant? Well, truthfully...yes!

So Mr. Hipster and I walked to my car and he deposted both pumpkins in the back seat. I thanked him and wished him a good halloween and he was on his way.

Not a huge deal I know, but it's been so long since a random stranger did something nice for me that it took me by surprise. Spending two hours on I-205 South everyday and the remainder of the bulk of my workdays in a surburb for the past 1.5 years has eroded any feeling of connection I had with this wonderful place I've called home for the past 12 or 13 years. Today I got a little piece of it back.

More Fall Pics

We've now heard from both families and friends that people want to see photos! Okay, okay. I figured out how to download pics from Seth's camera so maybe I'll get better at keeping up to date on things.
Fall is in full swing and the trees are awesome. We (I should say, Seth - I haven't been much help unfortunately) spent this weekend (October 25th) working on the path on the south side of the house and started cleaning up the yard. Yesterday I had a couple of friends over and next weekend is the big neighborhood shower. I'm 30 weeks pregnant now and can no longer see my feet when I look down. Good times!
Enjoy.

We're not so good at blogging...

The past couple of months have been a blur. Seth started his new job in August and since then we've both been going, going, going. I competed in the Portland to Coast walk relay in August too- lots of fun - but more fun when you're not pregnant!

Here's a shot of me from a few weeks back - 6.5 mos prego.

Ultrasound Photos: 5 mos - It's gonna be a boy!

These are terrible images - the first one is the baby on it's stomach looking down (from the side). You can see it's head and spine.

This one is the baby on it's back - head up - from the side. They labelled the nose and lips. We went to a different clinic (our insurance has changed with Seth's move to a different company). They had an older machine.

And lastly the proof - sort of. Good luck figuring this one out. I still can't. The only reason I believe it is because I was able to see very clearly both of the baby's legs just before the ultrasound was complete. He's definitely a boy. This photo looks like a chicken wing.

Ultrasound Photos - from 6/20/08 about 3 mos

Trip to Gold Beach - Week 18

First week of August: We drove 7 hours south and west to Gold Beach on the Southern Oregon Coast for some much needed r&r. Spent a week in a condo on the beach; daily walks along the beach with the harbor seals and did a couple of amazing hikes. Also went up the Rogue River - on a jet boat - kind of odd to be zooming through huge rapids and not feel anything. Think we both prefer white water rafting. Next time around maybe.

We visited the very cool Prehistoric Gardens along hwy 101. A small park full of life-sized dinosaurs in the rain forest. Has been here since the 70's. I loved it

I'm 18 weeks prego. We'll find out gender (maybe) at week 20.

Beth: 4 mos prego

Here's a shot of me at 4 mos on our front porch.

More July Activity...

We spent a week with Sylvia - Seth's mom - here in Portland. Lots of time spent pulling weeds - Thanks Sylvia! - you'll be happy to know they've all grown back!

We also managed to get out and visit the Chinese Garden downtown - photos below...

Nesting Activities: Mid-July 2008

Trista and I are honing our domestic skills. We spent the morning picking Willamette Blackberries and Raspberries in the HOT sun and then spent the better part of the HOT afternoon (100 plus degree day...) making jam.

Our jam-making empire has begun...

Beth - 2 mos. prego

Seth: ~2 mos pregnant

These photos were taken at home in early June.

Beth: ~2 mos pregnant

Large Gumme Bear

2nd ultra sound: much larger - one inch or according to our nurse, the size of a large gumme bear. little flipper arms and legs and a giant head with no neck. very active. moving it's little flipper arms and legs around like crazy. Oy. Can't tell what flavor it is.

I've been known as kind of a spaz and Seth tends to be rather fast moving too. I fear this child may never sleep. Can't imagine a being combined from the two of us. Seth speaks at the speed of light and I'm always bouncing from point A to B. Take meals for example, we can consume a beautiful 3 course meal complete with bottle of wine (before the gumme bear) in less than 20 minutes. I've caught myself watching us eat while out and about and have been startled by what I've seen. So we consciously try to eat our meals more slowly but it's an uphill battle.

Seth is very excited about the bambino/a. I am trying to understanding how something like this can be growing inside of me. Certainly explains the extreme nausea and exhaustion. There is a separate universe inside of me yet still part of me. Suppose I should start tuning in.

Seahorse

Yeap, we're pregnant. The pictures of the ultrasound show a teeny tiny seahorse - 8 mm. So we thought the name should be the latin for sea. Mare. It's a nice sounding name. Then I looked it up online somewhere and learned (at least from one definition) that Mare means 'sea of bitterness' ...

Mare is officially off the table.