Evening Walk

Seth and I took a walk last night to Fred Meyers for a few things. (So glad I remembered that department store that is located just a short walk away - we were thinking we would have to drive 10-15 minutes all the way out to Home Depot, Target, or something... The thought of driving the car isn't our favorite - we are used to being subway/walking people!) This was our big Sunday fun as Seth worked most of the day (and weekend for that matter!)

DISCLAIMER: The next story is more here for me to remember rather than for you to laugh at. While Seth and I find it uncontrollably hilarious, it's probably NOT funny to anyone else ;) 

We had such an amazing laugh on the way back... It's probably funny to NO ONE ELSE, but one of our neighbors in our new little neighborhood has been seen wearing his bike helmet while doing yard work. (He leaves it on after a bike ride and continues to wear it while doing yard work.) It seems funny to us, because we would both take off the helmet as we continued on with the next thing. So we giggle each time we see him out working in the yard with extra head protection. I guess better safe than sorry ;) ANYWAY. As we were heading home from Freddy's, we came upon another guy watering his yard... IN HIS HELMET! As we passed I tried to nonchalantly get Seth's attention to point out the helmet while stifling my own giggles. He must have noticed because he stopped and said, "You might be wondering why I'm..." I almost lost it! If he would have said, "... wearing my helmet," I wouldn't have been able to hold it in. Instead, "...watering my yard, well my roommate put clover killer on the grass and now it's killing the grass." Of course, the guy had a voice that Seth just had to imitate & all the way home he was making me laugh to the point that I couldn't walk while using this guy's voice talking about helmets and clover killer and water. 

A Baby Dance Party

Most days the baby has a little schedule for when it's awake and moving or snoozing. Some days (seems like every few days) the baby is super, super active and moves around inside like it's having its own little dance party! Today is a dance party day!!

According to the midwives at my last appointment, the baby is facing in a somewhat downward position. Most of the movements I feel are towards the top of my belly area, and most of them are completely visible. (Kind of weird to see my belly protrude out!) It's like the baby is in there trying to push its way out!! A couple more months, little one, and then you can come out to play!!

First Night

We feel like we are truly at home now! We spent our first night in our new bed, in our new bedroom, in our new home!!! Loved waking up to this large, bright room with windows (which will need curtains to keep some of the light out). We haven't had windows in our room in years (well let's take it a step further - we haven't had a legit room in a couple years! The last apartment in NYC was actually a dining room wit a door and a set of French doors.)

Saturday finally, but Seth has to work, so I am going to the Farmer's Market downtown and garage selling around the 'hood! Hope I find some goodies!!!

Our Bed Has Arrived!!!

We have a bed! A LARGE one at that! (Seth decided we had to have a king after a night's stay on a king in a hotel while we travelled.) Tonight will be our first night sleeping in our new home (kind of - we've been staying in the house, just on the 3rd floor in Ethan and Jac's guest bedroom - but tonight we'll be staying on the first floor!!)

I am sitting in the bed right now (would be laying down but my heartburn would probably kill me where I lay so I'll settle on just sitting)... And it's amazingly soft and cushioning. We also went with a softer one than we've had before - it was love at first lay. I just hope it's not too soft!!

Morning Walk

Day 2 of second half of travel

I just realized that I never made this collage documenting our last part of the trip. We left Moab early early, drove to Salt Lake City for lunch with my cousin Cody, and all the way to Portland. The last part of the trip was a little intense. It was dark, I was beyond tired (even feeling a bit delirious) - I can't imagine how tired Seth felt... He drove the entire trip! I didn't get behind the wheel even once between NYC and Portland!! The wind was whipping right through the Columbia Gorge like it was nobody's business! I was so happy and relieved when we started seeing the city lights of Portland. It was after 11 pm Portland time that we pulled in. We'd been on the road 18 hours that day, but all we cared about was being HOME!

Raspberries

There is a raspberry bush right outside our back door in the backyard that has completely changed my thinking about raspberries. I always thought they were okay, but never good enough to deal with that seedy chomp when you really got to eating them. Much to my surprise, the ones in the backyard lack the chomp and have the sweetest taste!!!

While at the market this afternoon, I decided to try out a carton of Oregon raspberries. I figured if anything I can put them in my warm cereal in the morning or have them with my 2nd breakfast of bagel or french toast (yes, I have decided to give 2 breakfasts a day a try and skip lunch for now because I love breakfast soooo much!!! I just eat the first at about 5:30-6 am and the second at about 11 am :) BUT now I am not so sure that carton will last more than a day!

I think I have found my new obsession. (I wonder how bad my heartburn will be from these things?)

Update from Portland

I know it's been a few days since I've posted. So much is going on and the Internet in our place isn't quite working the best (because it's not ours and I think I am too far from the wireless router) - which makes it hard for me to have the patience to blog. Soooo I'll just type this up on my phone as I sit on my stoop/porch (!!!) and enjoy the fresh morning air and sunshine. I am hoping to go back and post all the photos with a quick review of our first week in Portland. At some point!

In a nutshell, we have been busy getting our apartment filled with furniture and all the things we need to have a functioning home. It was all planned and saved for, but my oh my it hurts to spend the money (especially for someone like me that has a hard time spending money - we wear our shoes until they are literally in shambles & then some before we buy new ones around here! I am always looking for a deal, and Ikea seems to be one... Yet I have been avoiding them for furniture because it's wobbly and not solid or long lasting.) We've found a few things on Craigslist and will hopefully find the rest of what we need second hand through yard sales and Craigslist. (Except for a large order I need to put in on Amazon for a few appliances and baby furniture.)

Now I just have to continue getting the house around and all the little things done. We'll have a bed in by Friday afternoon and will finally be able to sleep in our new home (been trekking up to and down from the 3rd floor, Jac and Ethan's guest room, each morning and night).

Seth is in his new office. It's a short 5-10 minute drive, but he rides his (new) bike to and from work and makes it in about 15 minutes (I think). He's working on New York hours, so we are up at 5 am and he's to work by 6. But this means he can sometimes be home as early as 3 or 4 pm!!

Yesterday we met our midwives and saw the place where our baby will be born. I want to post more on that later too, but we are very happy to be going there and feel so much better about the care we'll receive compared to what we were receiving with the Park Slope Midwives in Brooklyn.

We've been enjoying Portland greatly and are having no regrets on our move. The only things I am missing are the Food Coop and the lack of driving New York has to offer (but all the things I am doing right now to fill our home would have been IMPOSSIBLE or Extremely miserable to complete in NYC!) Someday I'll take up biking when I am not pregnant and the baby is big enough to ride along.

More to come soon - I hope :)

(photo is of Mt. Hood last Saturday)

Morning Walk

Morning Walk

Fifty Licks

After almost a year and a hard day's work, Seth and I treated ourselves to an ice cream cone we've been dreaming about for a while (since the first time the sweet ice cream hit our lips last August). We were a little disappointed to not have the freshly made waffle cone, but the Tahitian Vanilla is the Best! We were also told that the upcoming fall opening of their own store will most likely bring back some homemade waffle cones! Can't wait, but for now, the ice cream will be enough!!!

Morning Walk

Home

:)

In Oregon

It's crazy to think we are actually IN the state of Oregon - only hours from our new home!! It's been a long day, and we (Seth) are attempting to make it the last 4 hours (it's 7 pm and we've been on the road since 5 am). I don't know how Seth has done it. He's driven the whole time so far and plans to drive these last hours! (He's going to be an amazing dad - I know he's driving so that I don't have to... For multiple reasons: keep me as comfortable as possible and to keep the baby and me as safe as possible. (Yes I admit I am not the Best driver and with a full jeep I don't even want to try to drive.))

I hope we make it the whole way because I really want to wake up in our new home (even though it'll be the 3rd floor instead of the 1st). I want to be able to walk Seth to his favorite coffee shop to get his favorite coffee - which will taste better than it did in NYC since it's a Portland coffee. I want to take a big breath of fresh air - the same fresh air that has left me yearning since last August's visit to Portland. I want to have the whole day tomorrow with Seth as we start to get into our new home and make it a home!!

PS: Seth really is a rock star!! If you put the two short days of driving together into one long one, he has made the drive from NYC to Portland in 4 days (of course we spread them out in order to visit family along the way...)

Grandma's Yard

Nice lush, green grass cushioning my back.

Morning Walk

Day 1 of the second half

We left yesterday morning from Seth's parents at about 5 am and headed towards Moab, Utah to see my grandmas, aunts, and an uncle. Here are a few photos of our day from start to finish. We pulled into Moab before the sun set.

We are spending today enjoying the beautiful Moab and having a big family birthday dinner tonight to celebrate July birthdays. Then tomorrow we'll wake up really early and start on the last part of the trip (we have 16 hours to go and we think we'll try to do it all tomorrow so we have Wednesday to settle a bit and relax before Seth goes back to work).

Morning Walk

Of course the cat with a tiny tail wanted to come rub up against Seth (who is allergic to kitties). I am sure his cat meowing noises were inviting the kitty over though.

Morning Walk

25 Weeks

24 Weeks

23 Weeks

Morning Walk

changes in blogland

out with the old

and in with the temporarily new

seth and i knew that we had to make some changes around the ol' blog. we just weren't sure what to call our space... no longer a new york city life and no longer a story about a boy and girl living in brooklyn. now we're soon-to-be-parents on our way across the country to take up living on the opposite coast.

for now, this is our new blog header. it's only temporary... once we get settled, we'll come up with something a bit more permanent (which is kind of a difficult thing - i think it was easier to pick names for our baby!)

anyway, enjoy our newest adventures - great and small. and leave us a comment every now and then to let us know you stopped by ;)

Baby & Toddler Photos: Khloe & Tristan

One thing I've learned about photographing kids is: It's Difficult! They do their OWN thing. And when you think you might get them to cooperate, think again.

I am definitely excited to practice mastering the art of photographing kids when our little button is born. That child better teach me a thing or two about photographing children! For now, here are some photos of my attempt to capture my first photos of sweet Khloe (who was born in April) and Tristan (who turned 1 in February).

(i think this might be one of my favorites ;)

  

Maternity Photo Shoot: Melissa, Brett, and Baby [Boy] Belly

I haven't used my DSLR since Thanksgiving... and in packing, I didn't even pack the battery charger or extra battery in a place that was accessible to me. I meant to ask Melissa (my very dearest friend) if she wanted me to take maternity shots for her while I was back in Kansas. Somehow, I kept forgetting... until the night before my last day in Abilene! She, being flexible and eager, was happy to meet me early Sunday morning in a nearby park for a quick session. I felt no pressure (which was good, because like I said, I haven't taken photos in a very long time! I wasn't even sure I'd remember HOW to use my camera!! & unfortunately I couldn't practice, because, as I discovered late Saturday night, my battery was running LOW and I had no charger near!)

Luckily, the camera held out for the whole session! (It actually lasted through a session with my nephew, Tristan, and my newest niece, Khloe on Sunday evening too - those photos to come next!)

Here are a few of my favorite shots from my session with Melissa and Brett!