My New Favorite Number

23.

That's how old I am.

Yeah, right.  I wish.

Anyway, I know you are just waiting on baited breath to hear about my recent trip to Hawaii, but you're just going to have to wait a little longer my friends because I need to talk about this number first.  

My two favorite numbers have always been 7 and 17.  I liked 7 since I was a kid and 17 because it was the date of my birthday.  But then I got married and I started to really like the number 9 since it was our wedding date.  Now, I think I may need to add a new number to the mix: 23.

This week marks 23 weeks of pregnancy and there have been a lot of firsts.

Noa got to see me pregnant for the first time (okay technically, I was still 22 weeks, but for the majority of the trip with him I was 23 weeks, so I'm counting it as that).  Since I found out about the pregnancy right after he left for a 5-month deployment, he only remembers me with washboard abs (ha ha).  And, yes, I took two pregnancy tests.  Just in case.

We both felt the baby kick for the first time.  Yes, it was amazing and made me feel like this is REAL (as if the ultrasounds, pregnancy symptoms, and growing belly were not enough of a clue).

We found out IT was a SHE.  I'll write more specifics about that in my next post about Hawaii.  At the airport on the way home, I may have picked up a little something to commemorate the big news.  I'm also already starting to panic about ear piercing, dating, and bikinis.

And, I "popped." I hate that term, but it's true and the best way to describe what happens to a once smooth belly.  I actually wore maternity clothing for the first time this week and although still a little loose, they were much more comfortable than my other clothes.  Feel free to share recommendations on the best places to find good maternity clothes because I don't think I can wear the same two shirts and one pair of jeans everyday.

So, 23 has become a big number in my mind and I remembered to take a pregnancy photo to document the week (I had to girlify it up with a flower on my head in light of our girl news):

A note to my girlfriends who are or will be preggo in the future: have someone to help you with pregnancy photos.  These have been extremely frustrating for me.  Each week I set up the camera in my hallway with a tripod and all the windows open for as much natural light as possible.  Then I'd set the timer and run in front of a blank wall.  There have been many times where I would get the shot, only to run back to the camera only to find out my head was chopped off, the picture wasn't in focus, or my eyes were closed.  Then, I'd try again, but the pose would look different.  I'd take a few more, download the photos to my computer....only to find that the coloring was all wrong or my eyes look crossed (what is it with my eyes lately?)....stuff I didn't notice on my little LCD camera screen.  As a result of these little photo sessions being such an ordeal, I haven't been great about keeping up with them week to week (plus, my intermittent travels haven't helped any either).  I'm already slacking on keeping up with my little girl's life.  Cue the mom guilt...

You probably aren't as critical about these photos as I am, but here's a little comparison to show some of the progress of the baby bump.  See how it's sticking out a little more?

Apparently 23 weeks is also the week I turned to face the other direction in my pregnancy photos.  I realized this as I downloaded them and wasn't about the retake a whole batch just so I could get one facing the other way, so I've decided that it's just going to be this way.  Besides, I think it helps to mark this special week...a week of firsts.

Blink of an Eye

I traveled to California's bay area this past weekend.  The trip was very quick, busy and over in the blink of an eye.  The first event was little M's big Beatles bash.  Her favorite music is anything by the Beatles and she is obsessed with John Lennon, so my friend Traci thought a Beatles party would fit the bill for her 3rd birthday party.  

Since I was going to visit the area anyway (more on that in a minute), I figured I could help with the last minute details and decorating.  From the moment I was picked up from the airport me, Traci, and Herman* were busy with preparations.  It was totally worth it because the party came together perfectly.  

A few hours before the party Herman, Traci, and I hung lyrics from the trees.  The letters were cut from construction paper and one of their friends sewed them together.  They were so fun and festive!

This is the main food table before the food arrived.  They served fish and chips, of course.  The words, "Twist and Shout" decorate the front of the table.  We had the guests put gifts under the table and beverages were served out of big tubs to the left.

Traci made the best dessert based on the dessert "eton mess" from England.  This is basically the same dessert, but in cupcake form.  It was so good!

Don't worry, the birthday girl didn't get lost in the excitement.  She had a blast playing with her friends and singing to the Beatles.  Look at her cute little John outfit!

She even rocked it out on one of the cardboard guitars Traci made for all the kiddos.

The original intent of my visit was to continue the tradition of attending the Renegade Fair with Traci.  We had so much fun last year that we decided to make the event a tradition.  Of course, I was so caught up in the booths that I didn't even take pictures, but I found these on the web that give a feel for the artsy event.

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So, what wares did we pick up at the fair?  My shopping bags included jewelry, t-shirts, a reusable lunch bag, a couple of baby items, a print, wooden plaque, and some letterpress cards.  Afterwards, we stopped at Frjtz for some burgers and fries (we worked up an appetite) and took the rest of the evening off.  Between the birthday party and the fair, we were exhausted!

The next day, I was up and headed back to Washington.  Told you, the whole trip was in the blink of an eye!

*You may remember that our friend Herman had a medical emergency a couple of months ago.  I'm happy to report that he has made so much progress since my last visit.  It was so wonderful to see him driving, engaging in conversations, and just being back to his old self.  This was truly a joy to see!

Fresh Updates

I've been trying to take advantage of this lovely weather we've been having lately (seriously, it's been beautiful here in the pacific NW....totally makes up for the long, drab winter for sure!) by spending some time outside.  Besides maintaining the lawn, I've been planting a few new blooms since my old ones kicked the dust.  What do you think of the new ones?

The plant in front is actually a tomato plant.  This is going to be my experiment.  If I can be successful growing even one tomato, I may branch out and have a bigger veggie garden next year.  I know I'm a little late in planting, but I figure that since I only have this one plant, it'll receive extra TLC.

I also added flowers to the long planter on the deck.

I also pulled out the drill and FINALLY got some real chairs for this outdoor space.  With the good weather and the installation of the fence, I'm spending more time outside with the dogs and I needed a place to lounge (especially in the mornings when I'm sipping my coffee and checking my e-mail).  I had put a camping chair out there, but it just wasn't cutting it.  

So, here are the new Adirondack chairs with bright green pillows!

The upside down planter is serving as a table until I figure out a more permanent solution.  Here's the big picture of the whole deck area....oh, and please ignore the peeling paint on the deck itself.  We're going to tackle that project later this year.

Inside, I found a small solution for a problem I was having in our living room.  Here is our sliding doors to the deck when we moved in.

See that shade?  I like the look of it, but I had to raise it each and every night (for privacy) and it's not really made to be going up and down on a daily basis.  Plus it was starting to shred on the sides.  So, last time the Apostles were visiting, I had Mike hang up a curtain rod for some future curtains.  Later, I hung up some canvas panels I had on hand thinking that I would be done with dealing with the shade.  Unfortunately, I did not like the result (please excuse the poor phone photo).

I realized that the rod was too low for the room and the curtains were too blah.  I needed color.

I found some custom curtains online that I really liked, but the price tag was not to my liking.  Plus, I still wasn't sure on the color.  I didn't want to spend over $200 on custom curtains and then find out that the color doesn't work.

  Then I found these at World Market in the blue seafoam color.

These were significantly cheaper than the custom curtains and although not my favorite, they would work to introduce color and make it easier to provide privacy without using the shade.

I raised the curtain rod, hung them up and they were perfect....almost.  My measurements are never great and I found that they didn't fit all the way across the span of the windows.  I was short by one panel.  I didn't want to just add one panel to one side because then it would be lopsided and I'm way too type-A to have lopsided curtains. 

 Instead, I bought one more panel, in green, and cut it in half lengthwise.  Then I sewed each piece to the blue panels in order to make them wider.

Remember this photo?

This is when I pinned the blue and green panels together.  Then, I used my sewing machine to attach them and here's the final result:

I tried to get a picture of the whole window, but the lighting wasn't working in my favor.  You can kind of get the idea though.  I was short a few curtain rings, so I need to pick up more of those, but I'm pretty happy with the result.  Eventually, I'd love to have the customized curtains in here, but for now, they suit my purposes.  

Happy 4th!

Wishing you and yours a very happy Independence Day!

We hung up our new flag, not just to celebrate this holiday, but to honor those who serve our country each and every day. 

To those who are overseas, in war zones and other dangerous places, we fly this flag for you.

To the military families that sacrifice so much, we fly this flag for you.

To those who lost their lives in pursuit of our freedoms, we fly this flag for you.

To my husband, who is promoting and administering health care on behalf of the U.S Navy and working hard each and every day to provide for our family, we fly this flag for you too. 

You are so very missed, Noa!  We (well, me, the little Hammer, and the dogs) are so proud of you! 

Weekend Update

I haven't been very good about blogging this week, so here's a wrap up of the week's events.

First the week began with a Kitsap Blue Jackets (a local collegiate baseball team) game.  

I joined up with some of my favorite families, the Berneys....

...and the Landers.

The team hosted all kinds of games and contests throughout the evening.  Our group made out really well.  Connie's exuberant cheering won her a pizza and she generously shared it with all of us!

Ben got selected for a spin-on-the-bat game.

He won, but still looks a little dizzy even after getting his prize.

Nate got selected for a special question and answer session.

He also scored a baseball and had all the players sign it.

Even though the team lost, it was fun to watch, cheer, and just hang out with friends.  I especially love hanging out with my girls, Trish and Connie.

In other news, the pregnancy continues to move along.  I'm 19 weeks, going on 20.  We still don't know the sex yet, but will find out in a month or so.  I've been trying to keep up with weekly pictures since about 15 weeks when I started to get pudgy.  I still don't have that cute pregnant bump yet, but slowly I'm starting to look the part.  I've even bought a few maternity items!

Oh, and I've become a fruit addict!!  My craving of choice recently is fruit by the handful, especially berries.  I eat so much fruit that I have to shop at Costco to buy enough to satisfy my cravings.

This week, we celebrated another birthday.  Well, if by celebrate you mean, run around in circles and eat liver flavored treats, then, yes, we celebrated Gunnar's 6th birthday (okay, I didn't eat the treats, but you get my point)!

And, just for cuteness sake, here's some puppy pics of my little guy.  He was only a few months old when these pictures were taken.

Isn't he the cutest?!  

Both Sadie and Gunnar met the neighbor's cat today.  Unfortunately, the cat didn't enjoy Gunnar's crazy barking and high-tailed it out of here before the dogs got a close face-to-face.  This was taken right before the cat scaled the fence.

I've also finished a couple of projects around the house, but I'm going to write a separate post about them.  But, just to keep you guessing, here's a teaser from one of them.  :)