I never thought I'd say this, but...

I miss winter! It is so hot down here that I can't seem to do anything but lay around and wish that this summer was over, which is something I never thought I would say... it probably doesn't help that I've had the best car for over 8 years, never any problems, and during the heat wave is when my air conditioning decides to break... on my way home today my temperature thing said that it was 109 degrees outside! Probably not completely accurate, but gives you a good indicator of the heat wave. It was in the triple digits today, and is supposed to continue throughout this week. At least we got a portable air conditioner for our room, first good night of sleep I've had in weeks! Kyle and I are like hermits in our bedroom now, we only leave for food and water! :)

It probably doesn't help that I've not been feeling good lately, unfortunately morning sickness has kicked in full swing! I was hoping I would be one of those lucky people who just seems to breeze through the first trimester... oh well! :) I have nausea and fatigue pretty much all day long, and unfortunately my face is breaking out really bad... I'm hoping one of these days it will turn into the "glow" of pregnancy! Or is that just sweat?! :)

Although I'm almost 8 weeks already (crazy!), I didn't want you to miss all the developments of week 7, as read from What to Expect when You're Expecing:

Here's an amazing fact about the baby right now: he or she is 10,000 times bigger now than at conception--about the size of a blueberry. A lot of that growth is concentrated on the head (new brain cells are being generated at the rate of 100 cells per minute). The baby's mouth and tongue are forming this week and so are his or her arm and leg buds, which are beginning to sprout into paddle-like appendages and to divide into hand, arm, and shoulder segments--and leg, knee, and foot segments. Also in place now are the baby's kidneys, and they're poised to begin their important work of waste management (i.e. urine production and excretion). At least we don't have to worry about dirty diapers yet! :)

Kyle had a good time at the Highland Games this weekend, he said it was a huge event! My dad went all day Saturday and they got to meet up for a while, enjoying the music and all the vendors. I decided to do a girl's day with my mom and sister, and we did lunch and pedicures before my favorite part of the day... naptime! :) I also got to see my best friend Elena and cousin Carissa and hubby Chris, so all in all it was a great weekend!

Sorry if this is weird, I got this off the net and I think it's amazing... this is a baby at 8 weeks! Hard to imagine that something that looks like that is growing inside my little uterus! :)

Kyle has another reenactment this weekend, but I'm going to the Sweet Home Jamboree with my mom-in-law Sue! I've never been, but I'm really excited... it's a weekend of music that takes place in Sweet Home, OR (which is east of Albany) and we're going to camp and relax, I can't wait! It's country music, some of the headliners are Tim McGraw, Leann Rimes and Montgomery Gentry, and a bunch of people I haven't heard of... but I'm sure I'll enjoy! I promise I'll have pictures this time!

P.S. Congratulations Bryan and Lindsey!! :)

The stork has visited us... :)

Kyle and I have some exciting news, and if you haven't heard already... we're expecting a baby! :) It's still really early, but we're so excited that we had to share the news with everyone. It was a planned pregnancy, although it still took us kind of by surprise... I expected it to take at least a couple months to get pregnant, but I went off birth control at the end of May and got pregnant in June! We were surprised it happened so quickly for us, but thrilled to be starting our little family. Because I didn't have a normal period I don't know exactly how far along I am, but I'm guessing between 6 and 7 weeks, with an approximate due date of March 10-12th. I'll let you know the exact date when I know, I have a doctor's appointment in about two and a half weeks!



To be honest with you, I've been hesitating about telling everyone so early... Kyle says I'm being pessimistic, but the fact is I'm being realistic. As an ultrasound tech, I see a lot of happy couples with perfect babies, but I also see a lot of problems, especially in early pregnancy. I know deep down that everything will be fine, but the logical side of my brain is a little anxious. I keep worrying that something bad is going to happen... but I'm just trying to feel at peace about the situation (as there's nothing I can do now!) and just relax and try to enjoy being pregnant. It's in God's hands, so I will take a deep breath and leave it up to Him. :)

Baby Hall's first picture, taken last week! Cutest blob I've ever seen! :)

I thought it would be neat to share with you what I'm reading in my pregnancy book from week to week about the baby's development! Here is week 6:

Crown (head) to rump (bottom) measurements are used for babies in utero because their tiny, newly forming legs are bent, making it difficult to measure the full length of the body. How's baby measuring up this week? That crown to rump measurement has reached somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of an inch (no bigger than a nail head). This week also sees the beginning of the development of the baby's jaws, cheeks, and chin. Little indentations on both sides of the head will form into ear canals. Small black dots on the face will form the eyes, and a small bump on the front of the head will turn into a button nose in a few weeks' time. Also taking shape this week: the baby's kidneys, liver, and lungs. The baby's tiny heart is beating and getting faster every day!

Kyle and I had a great weekend at the lake, it was so nice to just relax and not have to do anything, especially since those days are numbered now!





Hehe this one's my favorite! :)

Chillin on the lake...

Chelsea got to come out on Sunday and join us!

Kyle tried to stand up in the kayak...

... and fell down lol :)

Kyle finally got his letter from Concordia... and he's in! :) We're so excited that he got accepted to grad school, he starts in just a few weeks. So many changes around here it's hard to keep up! He'll be doing school part-time for 18 months and then student teaching for about 4, so he'll graduate around mid-2011. He's going to be registered to teach two subjects, and he's chosen math and social studies. He'll be teaching middle school and high school aged kids, which I think is perfect for him!

This weekend is the Highland Games in Enumclaw, and Kyle's unit is going. I'm hoping to go too... just depends, I don't always feel so great these days, so a road trip might not be a good idea for me, but we'll see. :) I'll keep you posted!

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for making our open house so fun and successful! Family + too much good food = a really great day. :) We hope if you were able to come that you enjoyed yourself, and if you weren't able to make it, we missed you and you were there with us in spirit. Unfortunately I was so busy that I forgot to take any pictures, so if you have any please send them my way, I would love to see them!

Kyle and I are heading out to my parent's cabin this weekend, and we're excited just to relax and enjoy the lake. Things have been pretty crazy at work lately because we have two brand new students and one of our techs shattered her foot four-wheeling, so we're short on resources... so I can't wait! And I promise I'll get lots of pictures for everyone for my next blog! :)

4th of July

I spent the holiday weekend at my parent's cabin at Lake Nahwatzel, and it was a blast! Kyle and Bryan had a reenactment unfortunately, so they wasn't able to come, but his parents and brother Tanner came and picked me up in Portland, and we drove up to spend the weekend with my parents. The weather was great, and we spent the weekend intertubing, kayaking, canoeing, floating in the lake, hanging out around the fire... and of course enjoying all the fireworks! They were amazing, they lasted about an hour and a half and were huge, show-quality fireworks. The girls all snuggled with blankets in the three person intertube on the dock while the boys watched from chairs amd the boat, and we got to enjoy... for free! :) One of the neighbors also had a live band, so it was a really fun evening.

Floating around in the kayak, enjoying the sun.

Intertubing



Hehe Tanner's adorable :)

The girls

Dad practicing the pipes

Rick and Sue in the floating lawn chairs!

I guess every year on the 4th of July the boats all line up and do like a parade around the docks, and if you're on the dock you're fair game for water balloons and squirt guns... of course the boys were up to the challenge! They filled up a bunch of water balloons and were throwing them at the boats as they passed by, and then they got into our boat and followed them with more!

Tanner's ready for the fight!

I tried to take pictures of the fireworks with my camera, but wasn't very successful.. I thought this one turned out kind of cool though!

Snuggled up, watching the fireworks.

I can't wait to go back in a couple weeks, and this time Kyle gets to come too! :) Hopefully Chelsea will be able to come, she was sick last weekend so I didn't get to see her... :(

Kyle had his interview for grad school this morning and said that it went really well, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that we might hear from Concordia in the next week!

OK, so open house is officially this Sunday, July 12th at 12:00! We're going to have a BBQ, and you don't need to bring anything, we just ask that you BYOB. Our address is: 17968 SW Brisk Ave, Beaverton, OR 97007. Unfortunately, our house is too new to be on mapquest or google maps, but just look for the intersection of 179th and Farmington in Beaverton. You're going to take a left on 179th, and then a right on Brisk Ave. We're going to have people park on the road wherever they can; parking might be kind of tight, so call me or Kyle if you have absolutely any problems. My cell phone number is 503-747-9740, and Kyle's is 541-619-8844. We're the house around the corner next to the playground. We hope all of you can make it, and can't wait to see you there! :)

Open house

Correction! Sorry about the confusion, but we decided that the open house BBQ will be on Sunday, July 12th instead of the 11th like I originally said. I'll send out an official invite with the time and what to bring very soon...