January 25, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 2 Comments
I couldn’t help thinking of Shakespeare as I headed to yet another ultrasound to see if this darn baby would turn himself around and check on how he’s looking. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when the tech told me the news. He’s still a boy, he looks good, and he did it. The little guy flipped! Shaun’s comment was “Hooray!” I agree. Finally some good news. I was actually pretty certain he had somersaulted because I’ve barely slept in two nights due to excessively uncomfortable squirming. I knew he was doing more than kicking. Good job little guy! We knew you could do it! Now settle down please. I need some sleep.
January 25, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 1 Comment
One thing Shaun made clear at the beginning of this pregnancy adventure was that there would be no crazy craving retrieval. Lucky for him, I haven’t had a huge appetite and therefore really any cravings. However, I’ve been spending my sleepless nights watching episodes of Cake Boss. One should never underestimate the power of subliminal messages because somewhere between episode 28 and 44, which I’m currently on, cake started sounding really good. Shaun knew I was having a rough week with work frustrations, the baby still breech, and some weird new bloodwork complications so for dinner the other night we had this:
Cake and pie! Shaun figured, if I got cake, he could have his favorite dessert…sugar free peach pie. Only fair I say. Thanks for taking good care of me, babe.
January 22, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 3 Comments
Shaun had a horribly hard first semester working on Carnegie Mellon’s Master’s of Science in Information Technology on top of his full-time work as systems administrator for Amazon. Halfway through, we realized why we are paying the big bucks for the top ranked tech school — the work really is that much more challenging, although one of his professors seemed to be particularly out of touch with reality in terms of workload. Happily, everyone in the class flunked the final so Shaun got an A. Long story short, after sitting at his desk for three months straight and surviving a new circle of hell, he wanted to get away and do something fun.
The Christmas cabins were a good start, but we had something else in mind. Unfortunately, school expenses kept our travel budget small so we settled on a cruise to Victoria, Canada aboard the Victoria Clipper out of Seattle. It worked out well since we were almost to Seattle at the cabins and got an extended day in Canada due to bad weather. Here are some pictures of our shenanigans including lunch in Chinatown, strolling the waterfront, checking out the Royal BC Museum, hiking to Beacon Hill, feeding seals at Fisherman’s Wharf, a night tour of Butchart Gardens, and taking in all the amazing holiday lights around town:
Not bad, eh? I particularly enjoyed the antique bookshops and blend of british/french canadian culture. Shaun couldn’t resist trying some traditional Canadian fare purchased at the ubiquitous 7-11. Wait for it…Cadbury chocolate and crazy flavored potato chips. We sprang for the romance package so we had a lot of fun getting pampered at the hotel. After Shaun’s semester and with me at six months pregnant, we more than earned it. We highly recommend the Hotel Grand Pacific if you’re ever in Victoria.
January 21, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 1 Comment
Christmas 2011 was a different one for us. Kira and Nathan flew in late on the 23rd so that night we had a quick birthday party for Kira/pre-Christmas for Kip. We left Kip with the family in order to join Shaun’s sisters the next day at some cabins at Wallace Falls State Park east of Seattle. Kip enjoyed a new dog bed, food/water bowl, and treats all, which all came in handy while hanging out at grandma’s. She even suspended the no dogs in the house rule for him. It helps that he’s very obedient, mellow, and house trained. Kaylee even managed to steal my camera and take a highly sought after (and disappointing) belly pic. Sorry peeps. I’ve only gained six pregnancy pounds so far.
Trying to pack for both Christmas camping and anniversary cruising, we got off a little later than expected and didn’t get to the cabins until 6pm on Christmas Eve. Luckily, the roads were much better than expected and we were able to cut up through North Bend rather than drive to Seattle and cut back. Two of Shaun’s sisters had reserved cabins and we had one in between them. For a one bedroom deal, it wasn’t bad minus no bathroom or kitchen. The heat worked well and it wasn’t too far a hike to the park restroom. We shared a late potluck dinner and s’mores around the campfire then went to bed so Santa could come.
The next morning, we found Santa had filled our stockings hung by the door. We spent the day relaxing, playing games, and catching up on much-needed sleep. We finally got up and going to make a campfire lunch and take a little hike to the falls. Unfortunately, dark set in before we could get there so we returned in the rain and dark to eat our Christmas dinner of crab, baguettes, spinach dip, and sparkling cider. The only bad part was having to get up at the crack of dawn the next morning to drive into Seattle and catch our cruise boat to Canada for a Christmas/anniversary/babymoon trip. Stay tuned for plenty of pictures….
January 8, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 1 Comment
Gotcha! The bun is still in the oven, but thought I’d share this picture (thanks to Grandma Verena) of our other, slightly furrier son, Kipling:
He’s really a great dog and been a little bummed since Shaun’s parents and dog/playmate Tess moved to Idaho the week before Christmas. He’s looking for a new friend if you know of one, but had a great time hanging out with Nanette’s family over the holidays. Here’s hoping he likes his soon-to-be sibling!
January 8, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 3 Comments
Almost as soon as we found out we were expecting in September, baby Blackburn has been giving us a run for our money with a variety of complications to deal with. Honestly, what else would you expect from our child? It was bound to be a little ornery. Under the circumstances, we’ve been focused on staying positive and taking it one day at a time. While we’ve had several ultrasounds, so far we’ve been unable to determine the gender or anything else definitive. Finally, just before Christmas, we took another shot (no pun intended) and got a good peek. We’ll save you the proof, but it’s a boy! While he’s still breech and possibly more, now we can get to the business of nursery decoration and name selection. A primary colored baseball theme seems to work, but knowing us, it will take until the end of March to come up with a name we can agree on. We welcome your suggestions and will reveal our pick when baby Blackburn reveals himself.
January 8, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 1 Comment
We’ve heard that some have been unable to view the link to our holiday card so I’ll give you the gist. Here’s the pic on the front:
Here’s the caption on the back:
Happy holidays to you and yours!
Photo card $1.67
Envelope $0.05
Postage $0.44
The look on your face when you realize there are three of us in the photo…
Priceless!
Announcing baby Blackburn arriving 3/2012
January 8, 2012 - Posted by Nanette - 2 Comments
As usual, I skipped an event to blog about. At the same time in November when we were preparing to send out holiday cards, we were also helping get ready for Shaun’s youngest sister Malissa’s wedding. Although we unfortunately couldn’t make it to the main event on a weekday out of state, we were able to gather with family for a preception and other events here in Kennewick. I was in charge of hosting a girls night and family luncheon as well as food presentation, general decor, and setup at the reception. Here are some pics of the finished product:
December 5, 2011 - Posted by Nanette - 1 Comment
Here’s a link to our holiday card, which contains a little surprise:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=9c657d83a2eba3bf6cdd16a80fdf8c46&sid=0EbMW7ls4ZsmFi
As you can see (read the back), we have an exciting 2012 ahead. So far, things have been anything but mellow, but we’re finally ready to introduce Yellow, as the doctor has coined it, arriving March 2012. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
December 5, 2011 - Posted by Nanette - 2 Comments
Thanksgiving weekend was a memorable one for us, not because of a big family feast, but a vast amount of leaf raking. We knew it was coming and invested in a leaf blower to help out. We have two large, old sycamores (~50 years) in our front yard, a silver maple on the property line behind us, plus a neighbor’s tree across the street that all just inundate us this time of year. What started out as a smattering of leaves lined up along the fence turned into a complete onslaught covering the entire yard that killed the leaf vac. Mom and Jeff came over on Saturday to help us. The pics didn’t turn out so well in the dusk, but you get the idea. Thankfully, some neighbor kids are coming over this week to help bag the rest of the sideyard for leftover Halloween candy (their request not mine).
