Blue Lake

Grandpa Dick and cousin Jack always make it up to our neck of the woods Mother's Day weekend for some fishing- this year they hit Blue Lake (and little Blue Lake). Here are some pics that Jack took. Gus horsed around with Grandpa Dick and devoured Jack's lasagna. He was sad to see them go.

A little Vintage Gus to tide you over...

Until we have pictures of the new baby, I have been poring over Gus's newborn pics.

I just love this one of Gus and Matt. His yawn, plump belly, tinyness. Matt was building the deck (4th of July, 2005).

Fencing

Here is what it looks like, now.

note the beer bottle, that was a crucial fence building ingredient

And Gus, soaking in the 74th annual May Day parade in Oroville

Fence Building 101

Step One: Drill the post holes.

Step Two: Setting the posts. (Requires lots of cement mixing pouring, string pulling, and level use.)

Step 3: Hanging the cross beams.

Step 4: Building the gates. Matt was so proud of his handy-work, he had to bring it inside so we could ogle the right angles.

And that is what we are up to. Obviously, we still have to nail the main fencing part, the planking, to finish the project. My dad is bringing his nail gun to help with that phase.

Tomorrow is May 1st

Tomorrow, the calendar changes to May and I am having a holy-cow moment. Baby will be here in 2.5 weeks and its coming so fast.

So many of our friends have just had babies, its officially my turn next. The kick-off of Baby boom 2007-08 was in September, with W-T and his wife having a girl, then in January, Jake and Andi had a baby girl, in March Katie and Joe welcomed a boy, then two of Matt's co-workers had babies in April, one boy and one girl, and just on Sunday, my friend Amy and her husband welcomed a baby girl...

Ben and Holli are due towards the end of May, so they will probably be next in line.

This cute little crew (Lola, Loreine, Sawyer, Sage, Joel, and Chloe)will have a new member in a couple of weeks. Who shall it be?

BBQ Chicken

We had a nice barbecue tonight- the weather was nice and it felt like a grilling evening. Gus loved the chicken and stripped every last bit of meat off the bones. Proud carnivorous parents we are.

35 weeks

Yikes.

4 weeks from today....

Gus will be a big brother, and I'll be holding a newborn in my arms.

We scheduled the C section for May 16th. Cross your fingers for me that the Dr. gets safely back from his trip to Germany the day before. If he doesn't I'll have the back-up OB deliver baby, but I prefer my Dr. He delivered Gus and is quite the character- and very experienced and practiced. A true cowboy OB/GYN. Well, that's what you get in Okanogan County.

This pregnancy has literally blown by for me, I guess working 40 hours a week and being a mom to Gus has probably helped that along. Maybe these last four weeks will pass slowly.

I am filled with so many emotions: anxiety, bittersweet feelings, and curiosity, but overall I am just darn excited.

Its been nearly 3 years since Gus was a newborn, and I am starting to wonder if its like riding a bike, I hope I haven't fallen out of practice with newborn care. This time, I'll have my right-hand man, helping me along. Gus informed me the other day that the dominoes he was playing with were a no-no for baby. "Baby might choke on these" he said. Thanks, buddy.

Have a good weekend. Its Matt's birthday weekend- we'll be having tri-tip barbeque and carrot cake with Grandpa Tim and Grammy Kath.

Twins

I was looking at old photos today, and I came across this one. Its not the best picture, but G and M look so much alike here, at least I think so. Especially in the mouth, cheek, and eye area.

Chocolate Cake

This is pretty good...

uh oh, I got some on my shirt

even better

sans t-shirt

Happy Easter

The Oroville Egg Hunt at Memorial State Park:

Saturday was a beautiful day for egg hunting, (and throwing rocks in the lake).

Mmm, Dad, these are pretty good but I like a little salt and pepper on my hard boiled eggs.
Grandma Connie and Grandpa Dick came for a nice Easter visit this weekend. We ate ham, shopped, dyed eggs, watched some NCAA tournament, and the guys went steelhead fishing. This morning Gus had way too many chocolates, but now he is taking a nice nap.

28.5 week belly photo

Yes, its getting big! The belly is measuring ahead, apparently I just grow large babies. Gus was 9 lbs, delivered at 40 weeks 2 days. This one is on track to be a similar size. I have gained 19 pounds so far, feeling good and savoring our last 10 weeks of "just the 3 of us".

Welcome, Little Baby

Joe, Katie, and Reilly welcomed a baby boy into their family around 10ish last night. Welcome Sawyer James, 7 lbs, 15 ounces.

We can't wait to meet this new little one.

With a good portion of our friends expecting babies, its been really fun to see what everyone has ended up having (boy or girl).

Congratulations, Joe and Katie! Reilly- you'll have to show Gus the ins and outs of being a big brother.

Naptime

Gus and I shared a wonderful nap on the couch today. We are both taking up more space these days, so it was pretty cramped, but neither of us minded one bit.

Mom's-eye view:

I took this photo on the "sunset" setting, but I think more appropriately it should have been called "waxing moon" setting, or perhaps "porpoising" (note the empty chocolate pudding dish on the table).

Just for Grandpa Dick and Grandpa Tim.....

A little something we'd all like to get our hands on:


http://dponwine.blogspot.com/

(scroll down to the post about the Leonetti Vertical)

I wonder how the '78 Leonetti would stand up to the '78 Cuvaison? It would be fun to find out.

Deep in thought

It's Time to Potty. Tonight, after his bath, I found Gus deep in thought on the potty. He is doing pretty darn good, we just started the no- diaper thing on Friday and he has really taken to peeing and pooping on the potty. He only had one accident at daycare today. I have some anxiety about the whole thing- but so far, it hasn't been bad at all. Send us some positive potty vibes our way, it can't hurt.

Old Wives Tales

According to the Old Wives Tales, I am having a.................
Boy. by about 70% odds.

The following point to boy:
Basketball shaped belly, Fetal heart rate under 140bpm, ring on string swayed back and forth, craving sour and salty, feet seem colder than usual...

The following point to girl:
Carrying high, craving fruit (grapefruit)...

Not that I put any real faith in these predictions, but they are fun, no?

Some good reading for Caucus Time

http://www.mom-101.blogspot.com

Interesting....

Take a look at the baby's sex poll to the right. Hmmm. So far, 65% have voted that we are having a girl. Very interesting... I guess I better post a belly picture soon so more analyzing can happen. Only 14-15 more weeks and we will find out!

Free Elephant Rides

Joe makes it look easy. Two 30+ lb two year olds can be a real handful.

Our annual Super bowl get-together with Joe, Katie, and Reilly, was a blast again this year. Reilly and Gus played so well together. They kept themselves busy with tractors, trains, and race cars. These boys have a lot in common; both are going to be big brothers soon. I think they are up for the challenge. I guess we'll see come March and May...

And from the Casa de Ugaldea

Grandpa Tim and Grammy Kath are also buried on the South Hill. Good luck to anyone attempting to ring the doorbell.

Digging Out in Spokane

Looks like Grandpa Dick and Grandma Connie will be shopping for new shrubs come spring...
The little pickup- stranded till March?

Oroville hasn't experienced the dramatic snowfall that Spokane has, but we sure enjoy seeing the pictures. The three of us were there last weekend, and it was absolutely beautiful. The drive was a little sketchy coming home, but we made it safe and sound.

Editor in Chief

2 years ago

A little trip down memory lane. Here is what Gus was up to exactly two years ago. Its enough to make a mom misty. This little guy has grown into such a big boy. I am so excited to have another little one in the house.

Fun with Freddie

I am going to make up for lost time on this blog. We got a new computer for Christmas, and today the high-speed internet got hooked up. I am ready to blog on a whole new level, people! It feels so nice to step up technologically to the current time.

Looking at these recent posts, I just realized that Gus is wearing his snow suit quite a bit. He does love his winter gear, but more importantly, he loves playing in the snow. This winter has been a wonderful snowy white winter in our area.

Gus, quite the Musher

There are a few nice things about living in Okanogan County. Mushing in Havilla is just one of the activites in which children around here participate. These local dogs took the little ones on a free ride around the hills near Havilla two weekends ago.

Here is Gus coming and going.

In loving memory of Aunt Dot

Aunt Dot passed away unexpectedly Saturday morning. We just saw her in September, and she was her usual spunky self. It is so sad, but she lived a long and full life. We will surely miss her.

Sledding

Snow Excursion

Grandpa Dick, Aunt Molly, and Dad took Gus to Cannon Hill today to enjoy premium sledding conditions and swinging, which for Gus is a four seasons activity.

Merry Christmas

Opening Gifts with Uncle Steve

Horsing around with Aunt Molly

Lunch at Clink's. Gus was helping Grandpa Tim organize Christmas Eve Dinner

Bowie Meets Crosby

The first minute is a bit cheesy, but this is such a beautiful duet. Two of my favorites: Bing and Bowie. Gus has been singing Christmas songs like crazy, so I thought I would share one of our favorites.

Pictures for the Post Below

Snow

We had a nice storm come through a couple of weekends ago that left us with a gorgeous blanket of white. Then a warm-up in temps melted it all by the next weekend. It started snowing again last night, thankfully. The forecast is for a chance of snow everyday for the next 10 days.


Gus really likes the snow. Last year he called it 'no (with a silent s) but this year he has taken to pronouncing the s on the front of many of his words. He still says "cary" for scary, though. He played in it for over an hour, and didn't really want to come inside. Finally his hands got cold and we lured him in with a warm lunch.


We are all very excited for Santa's arrival this year. Gus had a chat with the big man last weekend in Spokane. I am not sure exactly what they discussed, but around our house there is talk of cranes, tractors, cars, and other fleeting wants.

This age is so much fun. There are things that I love about each stage of development, but it is so fun to have a little person around the house who uses 4 and 5 word sentences, loves "helping" and is oh so excited about Christmas lights, decorations, ornaments, Santa, and the whole shebang.