Just a little belly update...

I'm 17 weeks already! I'm glad the first half of the pregnancy seems to be going by so fast, because I know the second half will seem like an eternity, just like last time! Things are going well, my pants don't fit anymore and regular shirts ride up my belly already. I started feeling the baby about 2 weeks ago, and lately s/he is doing acrobatics from around 8pm until I go to bed. It's kinda fun, I just wonder what has him/her so hopped up every evening! I've also started feeling lots of "fake" Braxton Hicks contractions every day, but those are really normal for me. We are excited more and more every day about the thought of another baby in the house! I am going to deliver naturally at the only local birth center, called the Birthing Inn. You can check it out at www.thebirthinginn.com. The only thing that would stop a birth there is if something "high risk" came up and I was forced to go to the hospital. Anyway, we should be posting the sex of the baby soon, hopefully s/he'll cooperate on March 20th and the ultrasound tech will be able to tell!

Best Friends

Well...kind of. It's a love/hate relationship between John and Mike. John does the loving, Mike does the hating, and it all comes out even in the end :)

My excuse? We've been busy...

Hi all, we're finally back to posting again. I've been really bad at taking pictures these days and just got the camera back out today after a month break. I didn't even take pictures at my parents house last week! Though here's one from my mom:

So here's the rundown...

• It snowed here...a lot...all in one day, and then it all went away. Here's the pictures to prove it!

1) Looking out our back window, 2) My poor van in the parking lot


• Johnny got a molar or 2...almost. They're being stubborn and are halfway through his gums, making him miserable and really gross, he drools all the time!


• Isaac stopped working for LA Fitness because the job really stunk and still wouldn't pay the bills. He's back with Cutco for now, and it's going much better than before. He passed his Seattle Fire Dept. test with flying colors (96%, on test material he'd never seen before the day of the test!) and has an Oral Board Interview on March 3rd (or maybe 4th, I forget). If that goes well he'll get a second interview...if that goes good he'll take the physical test...if that goes good he's in! (kind of...they'll put him on a list and he'll wait for an opening). It's a long process but we're excited to see where God will lead his career. He's going to continue to test with other departments until he gets hired on somewhere.


• Johnny and I went to my parents' house from the 12th through the 19th for a very relaxing time. My dad and John rode on the motorcycle almost every day, and my mom and I sewed and talked quite a bit. She helped me make some cloth diapers into froofy decorative burp cloths just for fun, and I made a couple dozen cloth wipes out of old flannel receiving blankets. Isaac and I recently made the switch to cloth diapering and LOVE it. It's definitely not like it used to be, and there are so many fun products out there to use now. It's not about white cotton prefolds and rubber covers anymore, that's for sure! Here's some pictures of the different diapers we use...I know, I'm a geek for being excited about diapers but I can't help it!

They're really neat, and you use them just like disposables. There's even fleece up against the baby's skin, and they're one size fits all! Trust me, you have to try them, you'll never go back to disposables once you do!

We've also been through the ringer with John lately. He went on some antibiotics for a bad ear infection and had an allergic reaction to the penicillin. He broke out in hives all over his body and we had to take him to urgent care. They put him on Benadryl but it didn't help and the next day we had to call back because his hands and feet were swelling and turning purple. He went on Prednisone and that helped, but then his doctor put him on a different antibiotic, which he also reacted to! My poor boy broke out in a bumpy rash all over, while we were flying to my parent's house, and we spent half the week with him hopped up on Benadryl and Prednisone, and hoping his ear infection wouldn't return, since it hadn't been treated. Then, after we thought he was fine, on the plane ride home he broke out in another full body rash so we rushed him to the pediatrician that afternoon. He said it was an extreme case of Eczema and to keep him lotioned up and use a lot of steroid cream, which has helped tremendously and he seems to be doing fine these days. He also LOVES his baths every other day, and here's a video to show how much fun he has!

I've been letting John play outside a lot on our deck lately too. Here's some shots of Johnny playing in the sun.