Seattle

Remember when I talked about my head being somewhere else lately?  I'm so excited to be able to write about it now.

We're relocating temporarily to Seattle.  For five months.  Leaving in a matter of weeks.  As in, Daniel's leaving in two weeks, and Hollie and I will follow a week or so after that.

Yeah, we first heard of this great opportunity for Daniel's career only a few weeks ago.  We're feeling spontaneous, adventurous...  definitely more excited than stressed at this point (i.e.- it hasn't hit yet).  I'm expecting panic to arrive any minute now.  :)  If at all, really.  You might remember that we relocated about two months before Hollie was born, too...and that was a permanent move!  It's just how we do it.  When I get pregnant again, you can all start putting in your votes for where we go next!

We're so lucky that Daniel's company provides a nice relocation package for this kind of temporary move...flights (for all of us), furnished housing, a rental car, etc.  It would certainly not be possible without that kind of help.  The only part I'm kind of stressing about is finding a new OB.  They all want to see your medical records before they decide how soon they'll be able to get you in, and if they'll see you at all.  Already got the ball rolling on that though, so there's no reason that won't be squared away well before we arrive.

So...now there's forwarding addresses to provide, medical releases to sign, baby clothes and gear to pack up (nesting on a grand scale here!), utility turn-offs to schedule, yard work to hire out, and so on...

Speaking of yard work...

We have a new tree, and I'm proud to say it's doing beautifully!  A Shumard Oak, if you were wondering.

Also, we finally started our garden a few days ago.  Soon we will have onions, carrots and lettuce...we hope our neighbors thoroughly enjoy them while we're 1,800 miles away.  Yeeeeah, we didn't really think that one through, did we?

Today, I saw my OB here in Wichita for my 30 week check-up, and broke the sad news that I won't be delivering here.  He said I'm the second one this week to tell him that!  Everything looks normal and right on schedule.  I will see him again in two weeks...probably the last time.  :(  It figures...just when I find an OB I really like...!

I'm pretty sure baby's lying diagonally.  I'm feeling the kicks on the right side under my ribs, and around my left hip.  So silly.  Big kicks, too...holy moly, this baby's trying to break free!

Two new belly pictures up!  29 weeks and 30 weeks.

Updates might be few and far between for awhile...but you're used to that by now, huh?  I'll do my best.

I just had to create a new label for "Spontaneity"

...because this is getting out of hand.  We took another road trip this weekend!

We drove up to Omaha to see our alma mater, Arizona State, in the opening round of the college baseball world series.

Five hour drive!  Easy peasy.  The little bear did great.  Here she is during our stop for lunch on the way up.  She is sitting in a booster seat, instead of a high chair!  She got a kick out of it.  And look at those baby blues!

Hellooooo, weather delay!

Long story short, the game, which was scheduled for that evening, was postponed due to the weather until the next morning.  We decided to stay, partly because we had spent a little extra money on nicer seats (in the shade), and partly because this is the last chance we would get to watch a game in historic Rosenblatt Stadium!

So, the game went great (for us, but unfortunately, not for the team).  Hollie and I took walks around the concourse when she got antsy (and got tired of playing with Dada's hat).

  

We made a quite meal of these shoestring french fries.  

I love ballpark food, but in smaller doses, I think, from now on.

We passed this place on the way out- a little sports memorabilia shop/museum that Daniel had heard about.  Apparently the owner likes to give beer to anyone who comes in.  We didn't stop to see if it was true.

And finally, on the way home, we had to stop at our new-old favorite: Steak n Shake.  They're pretty good.  Not the best burgers we've ever had, but for some reason we always stop when we see one on the road.  Tradition, I guess.

We are falling in love with these little weekend family getaways.  I can't wait for the next one...

The "lawn" and short of it [pt. 3]

I briefly tried to come up with an even wittier title for this series of posts, but I've got nuthin'.  We are open to suggestions...

On a whim, last Friday (wow, spontaneity is becoming our thing) we decided to plant some trees in the front yard.  Being the only house on the street without a single tree, we were getting self-conscious.

We went shopping without any particular kind of tree in mind, other than something, well...cheap.  Ended up coming home with two apple trees - a MacIntosh and a Golden Delicious.

We took turns digging and following Hollie up and down the street.

Here she is, a true Kansan (?), testing the wind direction and speed (using the neighbor's grass trimmings).  Look at those pink cheeks!

One down...

...one to go.

Someone had waaay too much fun with the empty buckets!

All done!

In case you can't distinguish our little toothpicks (I mean trees), there's one on either side of the driveway.

As for that drainage problem I mentioned awhile ago, we're scheduling that for sometime in the next few weeks, so I'll post something about that soon. 

Spur of the moment

We're back! We decided, last week, to take a spur of the moment trip to visit Daniel's family in Louisiana. Aren't we spontaneous?

Cousin Annie and Edo were nice enough to let us stay with them overnight on our way down. It was only the second time I'd met them. Super cool!

Also super cool were these Mardi Gras beads that Hollie found at their place...

Hey, you try taking a clear picture of a toddler who has just discovered long strings of shiny beads.

Ah-ha...she took a moment to watch Dad load up the car, and I got some good ones...

Lake Charles - the cousins meet...again! 

Went swimming at a local pool.  Hollie's been in a pool before, but that time it was quiet and empty, and this time there were a lot of kids splashing around, and I don't think her arms unclamped from around my neck even once.

Cousin J was much more confident, with her arm floaties, and even floated solo for a while.

Getting dry again, and re-hydrated.  Hey, Dada!

We love our double baths!

We brought the same baby towel!  It's a good thing Juliet's name is embroidered on hers. 

More swimming, or rather wading...jumping out...running around....and jumping back in.  This one might get framed...

A visit to Mama and Papa, Daniel's Cajun grandparents, on our last day in town.  No trip to Louisiana is complete without seeing them!

Okay, this was on our drive back home.  Hollie woke up from a long nap and wasn't too happy to find herself still in the car, so we stopped at the first possible place...McDonald's.  We don't typically eat McDonald's (ICK), but we were both a little hungry, so we got a Happy Meal, which we split, and gave Hollie the toy.  And one french fry.  Both of which she was very excited about.   

[Gosh, looking at these pictures, you wouldn't think these two were related.  I promise, they are.  She got his feet, no joke.]

We had to stay in a hotel on the way home, which turned out to be a pretty nice room.  It also had perfectly sized baby towels!