Picture Time

This is almost two month's worth of pictures, people. I hope you enjoy!

Look who wants to brush her teeth! Every time she sees me brushing she pulls on my leg until I let her brush her teeth. This was still in Spokane.

Ah, the beautiful Gray Canyon. This is what I was doing the week I left Jeremy with Kate in Salt Lake.

Here's the Burn Camp staff photo.

These, I believe, are called pectogliphs (sorry, not a historian or speller). We stopped on one of the hikes to check these out and I am always so amazed by them and very curious what they mean.

This is the incredible storm that came rolling in as we were pulling out at the end of the trip. Thunder, hail, it was awesome! Actually, because it rained nearly every day is what I think kept me in such good shape for the trip. Pregnancy for me with heat is a BAD combo. I was 7 1/2 weeks preggo for this trip.

Now we're onto Jeremy and Jeff's (Jeremy's dad) cross-country venture. They figured they'd get a couple of Royal's games in while they were on their merry way.

He's pretty good looking, isn't he?

They also stopped in Palmyra. You're looking at the Sacred Grove and the Palmyra, NY temple in the background.

Fast forward a few weeks to our new house and me not being able to find Pele in our backyard, but I could hear her. I finally figure out she found a way to get under the deck. Now she's got her own little cave to hang out it (plus I think she keeps the skunks and raccoons away).

Our second weekend on the East Coast was the 4th of July and we were in Cape Cod. This was Kate's first time in the ocean and she thought she was in heaven.

All of us enjoying our beach time that wiped me out so bad I was out cold on the floor of the house while everyone saw the fireworks at the beach.

Fast forward another month to Kate's birthday party. Thank heavens for family! This was the weekend my parents and sister Melissa with her husband, Jon, and their son, Van, stayed with us and did miracles for this house! We had a lot of fun, but I could hardly do a thing because it got so hot. So my mom made the cake and Jon and Melissa cut it out and decorated it. I was so impressed. Kate was, but she started to cry because she was so stinking tired. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to?

This is part of the amazing garden we were left. For the entire month of July there were orange, red, and yellow lilies everywhere and now we have what I think are called black-eyed susans. And Pele is sneezing. I think I should mention that that dog has learned out to let herself in and out of the screen door. I'm so impressed.

This is beautiful Kate. You can somewhat see how curly her hair is. Every time it rains she's a total curly Sue. She now has 4 top teeth and the same 2 bottom teeth.

A slightly better view of the hair.

This is daddy and the Bug at Lake Sunapee last weekend. If we could just teach her to quit trying to drink the water. She just throws her face in it then comes up coughing and looking at you like, why am I drowning? Love that little Bug.

And I Thought School and Work Were Tough...

So if I keep waiting until I have time to post about everything I'd like to with all the fun pictures it will never happen. Instead I'm just going to start talking. To review everything since the beginning of May: I got back from New Hampshire with a house under contract for us to move into. Jeremy and I talked about timing for a sibling for Kate and we felt VERY STRONGLY that that time had come. Low and behold we are pregnant with about three weeks left until we move. As I'd mentioned before, I was invited to be a counselor again for Burn Camp the week that we had to hang out in Salt Lake and I had said yes. Burn Camp is a week long river trip down Desolation and Gray Canyon in Utah with absolutely no cell reception from start to finish. I had been super excited for this, but finding out we were pregnant put a lot of questions in the air. We talked about it and decided we'd hook back up with my old OB in Spokane while we were still there and ask him for an ultrasound. You can see the heart beat on these little guys at 6 weeks and if you see a strong one your chances of a miscarriage decrease significantly. We decided if we could see a heart beat then I would go on the river trip. We go in, actually a little early because he at first was having trouble making out the heart beat, but then as he kept working with the machine we found there was not just one sack, but two. We were supposed to come back in a few days later to see if we could find the heart a little better and to make sure what he was seeing wasn't a shadow.
So we go back in 4 days before we're leaving and there were two very distinct sacks which had doubled in size with two very distinct and strong heart beats. Jeremy and I just looked at each other in awe. We'd joked about having twins and naming them Huck and Sawyer just to be funny and I've since decided I'm never joking about triplets.
And we still had to move. The ward was amazing helping up pack up and get loaded. We found the right drug combo for Pele so she didn't throw up the ENTIRE trip (no small miracle, people). Kate handled the drive quite well, and I was only mildly nauseated.
Burn Camp was incredible. I loved being on the river, I couldn't eat much more than pringles, crackers and cheese, and red vines, but I was able to play the guitar for the kids and have some really good conversations with both the staff and the kids. There's no way to describe what an incredible experience it is. And I didn't throw up the entire trip. It did rain on us every day, which I take as a blessing because it kept us from baking which would have done me in.
I got back around 7pm on Thursday and Jeremy had to leave at 4:30 the next morning to start the drive out with his dad and Pele. I hung out with my sister and her kids and we drove down to Cedar to hang out with my parents. There is nothing like family. I love the friends I have dearly and am so glad we get to live as many places as we do, but something about just sitting in your parents' kitchen and talking with your mom, or taking a walk with your dad is one of the greatest things in this life.
However, I still had a 5 hour flight to Boston (getting there at midnight), had to find our hotel, then catch a three hour shuttle ride to Lebanon 2 days before Jeremy was going to get there. I was getting super nauseous all the time and Kate got sick right before the flight. Fortunately, people were super helpful and things did go well.
The other anesthesia residents helped us move all of our stuff in and we had fun having a few extra days with Jeremy's dad. They got to see a lot of the country, a couple of Kansas City Royals games, and some church history on the way out and Kate sure loved playing with her grandpa while he was there.
Jeremy started work the next week, then we were invited to hang out with a family at Cape Cod for the 4th of July. That is an AMAZING vacation spot. Where we stayed had no hotels, just houses that people rented on an annual basis, so they all knew each other. Kate LOVED the water, everything was so mellow, and other than me falling asleep on the floor and completely missing the fireworks over the bay because I was so exhausted, we had a ball.
We've since been settling into the grind of things. Pele and Kate and I have been walking every morning, sometimes we hike, sometimes we just stay in the neighborhood. This ward has been very helpful and inviting. I'm already the Primary Chorister (I love it!). I got to see my friend, Sandy and her baby Kate, visiting her in-laws in a little Vermont town about an hour south of here. Katie Bug and I have been strawberry and raspberry picking (I much prefer picking raspberries when I have a 20+ lbs person in my arms). We just got a membership to the canoe club here and we're going to try it out this weekend when my parents and sister and her family will be here.
So......twins. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this, and so does Jeremy. All I can say, just like we learned when we did a natural birth with Kate, you have to learn to tune out the doubters and the nay-sayers or you will be overwhelmed. I'm so grateful for all of those people who have just been super excited for us and cheered us on instead of telling us how overwhelming it's going to be. I know Kate'll only be 16 or 17 months. I know two are more work to take care of than one. I know I need to rest and to gain weight. Those two tasks are my greatest challenge at the moment. I'm not throwing up as much as I did with Kate, but I still have a hard time even looking at the pantry or fridge. There's no smell that makes me sick, it's just the thought of food half the time. But I am able to eat ice cream and drink raspberry lemonade. Weiner boats (hot dogs with mashed potatoes and cheese on top) are about the only other menu item. I guess I should truly enjoy a time when I am aloud to eat ice cream for every meal of the day and take advantage of the Ben and Jerry's factory 45 miles away from here. I can't be grateful enough for a husband who is OK with not having a dinner made every night.
It has been emotionally quite draining when I run out of energy about half way through the day and Kate is still ready to go. But this is again, another reason to be so grateful for our dog who helps entertain her some of the time and for women in the ward who have so graciously offered to help me with her. I have to get some pictures posted because she is just beautiful. She has tons of curly hair and even took her first couple of steps today. She loves to smash her face into new things (trees, clothes, books, the floor) wherever we are. She does not like to hold still. I think I see a lot of me in her. She's also very like her dad. We sure love her. And we're so excited to see who the two new members of our family are. Boy? Girl? Both or two of which one?
Life is truly amazing. As I read over The Family: A Proclamation to the World this morning I felt such a sense of peace as I realized we're trying our best to raise a family and it's never what we think or plan, but we can do this with faith. I'll post pictures hopefully by Kate's birthday and I'm sure as it cools down and there's not so much to do outside and the house is more settled, it'll be more often. I sure miss all you friends and family.

We Live, I Promise...

So, blogging has fallen pretty low on the priority list for a while and I'll have to post many thoughts, pictures, etc. sometime in the near future. I just wanted to let people know we made it alive to New Hampshire (over 3 weeks ago now), Burn Camp was awesome, and we have some huge news to share with anyone who hasn't already heard. I will be posting later.......

Our Little Lizard-Tongue Baby

Here we are hiking again at Dishman Hills. Just stopping to appreciate the local flora.
Poor Pele. She gets so hot. Good thing we didn't match somewhere in Arizona!

So Katie Bug always has her tongue out now. But it seems to go to the right all the time. We call her our little lizard-tongued baby. She just likes to add a little style to her smile, I think.
This is Kate begging to help with dishes. OK, so she's actually licking the dishwasher while Jeremy and I were eating dinner. I swear we weren't starving her, she actually ate first, but I guess she wanted to try out the flavor of whirlpool.

However, due to the fact that our house is far from child proof as we are packing and she is now so mobile, the Bug gets put in what we lovingly call her "kennel" when we have to do something without her help. Don't worry, we're in the same room and she has plenty of toys in her little cage here, I just love the way she peeks over the edge.

However, despite all of the toys, she still gets bored inside and is much happier on the grass outside. Like mother, like daughter. Don't you love how well I match her clothes?

Ah, our precious little lizard again. This is her crawling on top of me in the grass.

One of our neighbors saw us laying on the grass and decided Kate needed to be introduced to bubbles. She never figured out why the disappeared as soon as she got them.

Other than that, not much has happened in the last two weeks other than Jeremy and I organizing and calling kingdom come to figure out our move. One exciting event that I did forget to mention from the trip to Salt Lake.....

So I said I'd stopped in at the Burn Unit. Well, I talked to the manager over Burn Camp (a summer camp for youth who've been patients on the Burn Unit), and they still had a slot open for a female counselor for the river trip. Jeremy and I talked it out and it worked out for us so I'm going down the river in June! Crazy, because it's smack in the middle of us moving, but it still worked out well and I'm thrilled! I've been practicing different songs on the guitar that I can sing to the kids. I don't know how well they know John Denver, but I'm bringing some other things as well. The last time I went was 2 weeks before Jeremy and I got married. Burn Camp is a magical place and it's a very happy feeling for me to be able to go. Jeremy will have Kate and be hanging out with his family while I'm away, then we'll start our journey out East as soon as I get back. It'll be crazy, but what isn't in this life?

Inside of the House

So here's the den and the stairs. The bright open spot between the chair and the stairs is actually the front door. But I think the back door will be used a lot more.
Here's the upstairs mom and dad bedroom. Hopefully Jeremy won't hit his head too often.

I love this part of the house! This is the dining room looking into the kitchen.

This is the mudroom when you first walk in. Through the door ahead you're looking through the kitchen, dining room, and into the living room. I am so excited for the space to put all the shoes! Especially after such a wet winter here in Spokane. After taking the dog out in the snow three times a day I think our carpet is ruined, so I'm very happy about this huge mudroom.

This is the back yard of the house. There's a small unfenced porch and all of the tall plants are actually part of a garden.

Victory and Pictures

It's a Christmas miracle! OK, so it's not Christmas, but this house was definitely a miracle for us! We found it the last day we were there, put an offer on it and within 3 hours we were under a contract! Jeremy said this home is like me - very unique and full of personality.

I don't think the fence will contain Pele, but it should work for Kate! I can't thank the Koffords or my mom enough for this trip. The Koffords for the bed, the food, the fun, and the advice and help I needed to make a wise decision. And my mom for keeping me sane and taking care of us.

Kate and her cousin James.

I got to watch Adyn and Ella play T-ball.

Grandpa Huntington was able to calm tired Kate down on the horse.

Miss Bug busted into our fruit we bought for lunch while we were driving home to eat it.

My niece, Kaylee, can fly aparently. I always wished I could when I was a kid.

How Baby Kate Saved Me

This post is because it's my first mother's day being a mom. For anyone who didn't know, our girl was a surprise. Not unwanted, but not planned either. Jeremy and I had planned on both graduating, then me working full time for a year where ever we went for Jeremy's residency before we planned on being parents. But - SURPRISE! Five months into marriage and we were pregnant. My, how things have changed. Little Katie Bug is now 9 months old and as I was rolling around on the floor with her last night and just enjoying her laugh and her crooked 2-tooth smile all I could think was how happy I am and how much I love being her mom.

This was not always the case. Her first month I hardly remember because I was so weak from the blood loss, but those next two were really hard for me. I thought I was ready to play with kids all day, but that infant thing is something totally different. Day after night after day after night Kate and I learned how to live with each other, read each other, and love each other. Whoever says that this just comes naturally to women, I beg to differ. I think whoever spends the most time with the kids is the one who learns what works the best because you have to. I was overwhelmed remembering how many people said I'll always miss these days, they just pass too quickly, babies are so sweet, and so on, but I would be calling my mom at noon, bawling because I was finally eating breakfast, hadn't showered yet, and been up since 5:30 and had not sat down. All I wanted was for her to be quiet and go to sleep.

I started working because I had worked so hard for an RN license and didn't want to not use it. The job was great. The hospital was great and so were the people. But Katie Lou started sleeping even less at night and I began running on 4-6 hours of sleep at night in 1.5-2 hour segments. And trying to coordinate babysitters got more complicated. After a lot of prayers and pondering I quit. It felt right, I felt relieved even though I loved the job.

Once Baby Kate hit six months, something changed for me. I don't know if it's because she became more interactive or I finally caught on to some of this mom stuff and also gave myself more of a mental break with the day to day stuff, but I was much more comfortable and started having fun being a mom. Now that we're at nine months I am truly happy with this season of life.

So looking back, I can only say Katie Lou is a gift from God. I think what really made those first six months so hard was coming face to face with how self-focused I can be and not wanting to change that. (Let me preface this by saying there should be a balance in all things!) After living on my own for 8 years - working, school, mission - I thought I had life figured out. I'd lived with so many roommates, of course I'd know how to live with a family! I'd had to work out school and work schedules so of course I could manage time well. And with all my life experience I was sure I knew about patience and long suffering. Ha, ha.

Everything I thought I knew, I'd only tasted and was WAY over confident about being able to handle any of this. Kate has softened me. She's taught me I really can't have control over everything I want, but it doesn't matter. I'm not here to have control or make things work my way, but to learn how to be happy in whatever the circumstance may be. She's helped me see I need to quit feeling like I have to prove something to anyone else, or even myself sometimes, that I really should just be OK with me for who I am, not necessarily what I can do all the time. She's helped me slow down enough to really focus on our family and find joy in making home a home, not just a place to eat and sleep. She's helped me appreciate and love Jeremy even more, and my own family for that matter. She's taught me I need to ask for help more often than I do and gracefully accept it when others offer - I'm not here to accomplish everything alone. This isn't a contest to see how independent I can be, but a test to see if I will love others more than my own comfort. She's helped me draw closer to Jeremy than I ever thought I could be. She took my fear out of having a girl (well, she's not 13 yet, but at least at this stage). Our little surprise has forever changed my life and I am forever grateful that I was given this blessing of being a mother.