Victoria's Newborn Photo Session

A couple days after bringing Victoria home, Matt turned our living room into a photography studio. While the real studio is attached to our garage, we decided our living room was nice and warm and more conducive to an afternoon with an infant. We had a great time and ended up with precious photos of our daughter! The proofs are available on Matt's web site. I feel like I've said this a million times, but looking back at these photos, it amazes me how different she looks now. She is so little in the newborn photos, and now she is bigger and more "filled out." Seeing the changes in just a couple weeks makes me feel proud and sad at the same time. She may have changed a lot, but at least she is just as cute now as she was when she was born!

December Family Pictures

These pics were all taken earlier in December, but in downloading photos off my camera I just came across them.

First, a couple pictures from when we put up our Christmas tree. We made sure to do that early this year since we didn't know when baby would come. This is Piper's first Christmas with us, so Hannah told her all about how to help decorate the tree:


Of course, silly mom decided to decorate Hannah instead!


Not so sure Hannah appreciated being lit up like a Christmas tree.

After Victoria was born I snapped this picture of dad and baby:


Now that she is nearly three weeks old, it amazes me to look back at this photo because she looks so small! She grows so much every day...I never thought babies could change so much in just a short period of time.

One of the people who was really excited about the birth of our daughter is my uncle Roger. He came to visit right after we came home so he could meet the little one. Roger is also very popular with the pups, who often are trying to find the best spots closest to him:


Hannah, Molly, and Piper all love Uncle Roger!

Matt and I are working on downloading Christmas photos ... more to come soon!

New Christmas Tradition?

This year Matt and I decided to spend Christmas morning at home with our little family. We'll be at my parents' later in the day for brunch and gifts, but we will have the first part of the day here at home to open our gifts to each other and see what Santa brought us. This was Matt's suggestion -- to stay home rather than open all our gifts with my family -- and now I'm so excited that we are doing this and that we will have our own special time with Victoria, Hannah, and Piper. There is definitely a sense of new meaning to the holiday now that our daughter is here, and I suspect that having our own Christmas morning celebration will be something we do every year now.

(To be fair, this is also something my mom suggested a couple months ago, but admittedly I was more excited about the idea after Victoria was born and when Matt suggested it. But it's cool that my parents are also encouraging us to start our own traditions!)


We're going to need something nummy to eat while we sit around the tree, and while thinking of something quick to make, Matt and I thought maybe we would get some of the store-bought cinnamon rolls to bake. And then my mind took it one step further ... why settle for something store-bought when you can have something even nummier and gooier? The best cinnamon rolls I know of come from Pioneer Woman, so I pulled out my cookbook, made up a grocery list, and started baking! These rolls should be great, because you can bake them ahead of time, freeze them, and simply heat them up in the oven. Mmmmmm! If these work out well, who knows ... perhaps PW's cinnamon rolls will become a continuing part of the Moses family Christmas traditions.

Growing Baby!

Yesterday was Victoria's two-week doctor appointment. We knew she had grown, especially when looking at her chubby cheeks and growing belly, but we didn't know how much. She surprised us!

Here are the stats ...

• She grew TWO inches in two weeks, and gained a pound and three ounces since leaving the hospital. She is now 6 lbs. 10 oz. and 19.75" long!
• Her weight puts her in the 7th percentile for her age, but her height puts her at 24%. Translation: she is a very little peanut, especially weight-wise, but is tall for her weight!

We had been telling her all along that it's her job to eat lots and grow big ... guess she has been listening to us!

We've noticed other changes as well. Her grip is getting stronger, so now when she is in the middle of a good crying fit she can grab Mom's shirt really hard. She is spending more time during the day being awake and alert. She's had some gas problems since her first days back in the hospital. It doesn't bother her every day, but the bad days she seems to be in a lot of pain, and we've been trying everything from baby yoga and stretches to over the counter gas drops. Gas problems aside, we are thrilled that she is a growing, happy, healthy baby.

The Moses Girls

The morning after we came home from the hospital, I was snuggling with Victoria in the living room when Hannah and Piper joined me.


All the Moses girls in one chair!


I often tease/commiserate with Matt about him being the only male in a house full of girls. He takes it all in stride though.


And he enjoys cuddling with the girls too.

For some reason I keep wanting to call the three girls "Matt's angels." As for Matt, he simply likes to comment that in a house full of girls, "at least there are three bathrooms!"

Playing tug

It took Piper a little while to convince Hannah, but now the pups play tug of war with each other nearly every day.

It usually involves the biggest, floppiest stuffed toy they can find. And if it has a squeaker, even better! The best time to play is right after you come in from outside ... that cold air gets you all full of energy, and then you can come in, grab a toy, and tug until you're worn out!


With a new baby in the house, we're glad the pups can sometimes entertain themselves and help wear each other out. I'm not so sure the toys would agree ... the stuffed rabbit in this photo has since been eviscerated and torn nearly in half ;).

1 week

Ms. Victoria turned 1 week old at 3:37 am yesterday morning. The whole family was awake for a nighttime feeding so we all were able to mark the moment. I think there was even a poopy diaper in there somewhere ;).

It has been the most amazing week, one of the best of my life. As I told Matt yesterday, the only other week I remember feeling this happy (and probably exhausted too!) was the week of our wedding and honeymoon. Victoria has brought so much love into our lives already, and has brought me experiences unlike any other.

Matt snapped this photo of her at one week ... we plan to take one each week with this stuffed dog so we can watch her grow!


It's amazing how much she has changed in just one week. She is back at her birth weight now (actually has probably exceeded it) but the weight seems to have redistributed itself ... largely into a big round baby belly ;). Her facial features have filled out a little. She has more and more times of awakeness, especially during feedings where she needs less help now. She had some digestive issues at first as her little system had to adjust to the world of eating, but she seems to be doing well on that front too. All these little changes really are a reminder of how fast she will grow. I'm glad we have the ability to record these memories now. This realization also helps us to deal with the difficult moments too ... one day we will look back on those too and miss these days!

Little Mother

A couple weeks ago, my friend Nina brought two-month-old baby Juliet for a visit, which was an interesting test to see how our dogs would react with me holding a baby. All went pretty much as I expected: Piper was very curious and wanted to smell and kiss the baby; Hannah too was curious but also a little jealous, and tried to get as close to me as possible. We were prepared for it to be much the same way when we brought Victoria home. And at first it was. Both dogs (once they got over the initial excitement of being home) were ready to smell Victoria up and down, and were very curious with big puppy eyes and wagging tails. It was a little chaotic at our house at the time, with my parents and our cleaning person here as well. Once everyone left, Hannah did show a little anxiety ... I think she thought one of those people was bringing the baby home! But instead this little creature stayed here. Hannah spent a little while wanting to be close to me, and one of the first things I did was follow through on my plan for the baby's room: I put Victoria in her crib to sleep, and I crawled onto the daybed with both dogs for a cozy nap. This is the only bed in the house the dogs are allowed on, and I thought they would find the baby's room a really awesome place if they could be on the bed. They were very curious about her being in the crib, and stuck their noses through the bars to get a better sniff.



Then they jumped up on the bed with me and all four Moses girls had a wonderful nap. By that evening, I started to notice that Hannah remained super curious about Victoria. She would walk up to the crib, smell, and give a little cry. Every time Victoria made a little noise or waved a hand, Hannah would perk up and cock her head to listen to her. The first time she heard Victoria crying loudly, Hannah gave a little "woof!" Ever since then, she has become more and more attentive it seems. She checks on the baby several times a day -- simply walking up to her in the bouncy chair, or while feeding, or in her crib, and smelling her gently. She doesn't try to lick or bother her in any way, but needs to smell her, and when she does she wags her tail. And today really surprised me ... Hannah came in the house after running outside with Matt, and I thought she would run right towards me since we had just gotten home. Instead, Hannah ran right past me into the baby's room to check on Victoria!



She has become my "little mother," helping to watch our little one. Matt and I are impressed with how her mothering instincts are shining. In fact, as I write this I just let Hannah in from outside, and she came up to Victoria and again smelled her head and wagged her tail. It makes me love Hannah even more, as she has transitioned well from being "mom's baby" to also being "mom's helper."

Victoria's Birth Story

Now that Ms. Victoria Lynn Moses is here, I can happily say she was worth every bout of morning sickness, every step with back pain, and every miserable contraction. She is our little miracle.

In the last few days of pregnancy I was trying to play the waiting game as patiently as possible, resting and taking care of myself while still doing fun things. I took the dogs outside nearly every day. I bowled (three games, all well above my average too!). Matt and I had a wonderful shopping trip and dinner outing where we bought baby her own Christmas stocking and a baby’s first Christmas ornament. Heck, I even painted my toenails, quite the feat when 38+ weeks pregnant. And Matt was amazing, making sure I ate healthy, kept up my fluids, rested, and still got some exercise during the day.

I did have some contractions at Sunday night’s bowling league. When I got home and laid down, though, they went away. Monday we went to the doctor for our 39-week check-up, and Dr. Nelson said I was 3-4 cm dilated. Yay, baby was even closer to arriving! I went to bed Monday night, but soon after falling asleep, I started feeling more contractions. I knew they were minor and irregular, and remembered the advice from the childbirth class that even in the early stages of labor you should try to get your sleep if possible. So I stayed in bed for awhile, until they got bad enough where I needed to move around, and then I tried taking a hot shower and pacing in the living room. They ranged from 5-10 minutes apart, so given their infrequency I figured they were still “false” labor contractions, even though they were still pretty painful. I could feel each one crest and wane, and at times I was swaying while leaning on furniture and at times I was even on all fours. Hannah did the task she was given – Matt had told her earlier in the day that she had to “take care of Jenn,” so every time I walked down the hallway, she followed me. If I was on the couch, she curled up next to me. If I went to the bathroom, she sat and cried outside the door. I knew that if there was one of our dogs that could sense something was going on with me, it would be Hannah, and I was right! In the wee hours of the morning, Matt convinced me to come back to bed. I cuddled with him and he held my hand and helped me breathe through the contractions. I was able to then get about 5 minutes of light sleep between each contraction for the rest of the night.

Tuesday morning I was feeling a little frustrated that these “false” contractions were sapping me of my energy. I should be going to work if I wasn’t in labor, and should be conserving energy for real labor! Instead, I was exhausted and because the contractions were still coming anywhere from 3-15 minutes apart, I knew I couldn’t drive to work, let alone try to be productive. So I stayed home. My doula advised me on strategies to get through the day: distract yourself, watch funny movies, bake cookies, do whatever you can to keep your mind busy, and eventually either these contractions will go away or they will turn into real labor. So I did watch tv, all these shows I never normally watch, and cuddled with the dogs on the couch. I took the dogs outside for exercise and even managed to pull Piper off a rabbit she had chased down (hopefully that rabbit wasn’t too injured!) I managed to relax enough in the afternoon to sleep with the dogs … I think they were the ones that helped me relax by snoring and cuddling. We decided to drive to Duluth Tuesday evening so Matt could take some photos of the new dogs at Animal Allies. I thought it would be the perfect outing to distract me from the pain – seeing all those dogs always makes me happy! We packed suitcases in the car just in case something happened while we were gone. However, once we got there I could barely even say hi to all the dogs, and each contraction made me increasingly uncomfortable, until I finally fled to the car to wait for Matt. The rest of that night passed in a blur of pain. I vaguely remember eating half a rueben. I know I called our doula to talk about the pain and given that no one thought they were “real” labor, she suggested that if it was still bad in the morning I could call the doctor and see what options I might have (I immediately started wondering if they’d try to induce? If I’d have to have an epidural? I certainly couldn’t handle the pain getting much worse). I tried to sleep, and was occasionally successful. However, I realized that my legs were starting to shake after each contraction and that muscles in my hips and back were getting sore. The doula wondered if I was shaking because of anxiety. Matt, who was trying to help me through contractions, kept advising me to focus on muscle relaxation. So with every contraction I just focused on breathing (sometimes grabbing Matt’s hand and telling him to breathe with me or talk me through it) and tried ferociously to get muscles to relax. It didn’t work very well but at least it gave me something to focus on!

Around 1:30 in the morning, the contractions went from steady waves to a violent sea that seemed to never stop, and I noticed that the muscles that were contracting were no longer limited to abdomen, but that my back and hip muscles were contracting too. I texted our doula and asked her to come to the house to help me through it. Matt was getting worn out and I could no longer handle the pain. When I didn’t hear back from her immediately, I realized I needed help … fast. I called the Birthing Center at St. Luke’s and explained what had been happening. The nurse suggested I lie down and drink three big glasses of water and see how that affected the contractions. I asked, “ok, at what point after that do I make the decision to come in?” and she said, “well, if at any point the contractions become unbearable.” Even the Birthing Center staff didn’t think this was real labor!. The contractions were simply too inconsistent. But I did manage to respond to the nurse, “well, I think they’re unbearable now!” She was so patient and kind – “well, you can certainly come in now.” I hesitated even then, thinking geez, these contractions aren’t real and they’re just going to send me home anyway. Matt left the decision up to me, and finally I thought – you know, I just need to get this checked out, and need to see if the doctors can give me something, anything, to help the pain. So I texted our doula and told her to meet us at the hospital. Once I knew we were going in, I wanted to get there ASAP. Thank God Matt was taking care of all the details like setting up the fish feeder, dog proofing the house, making sure all our bags got in the car. We left at 2:00 am. In the car, I don’t even remember being able to look at the road. My eyes were closed, weathering contractions (with the most hideous moans) and trying to stay calm in between them. Matt kept asking me questions like, “what’s the intensity like? Feeling any fluid leaking out?” and I could barely even talk to him, although finally did tell him that yes I felt fluid leaking out, but I was in too much pain to be able to tell if it really was my water breaking.

We were met at the ER doors and escorted to the 6th floor, where the nurses seemed to take forever to check me in. Matt left to go park the car, and while he was gone the nurse did an exam. I still wasn’t sure what she would find but was praying it would be at least like 6-7 cm so I could ask for an epidural. I hadn’t originally wanted one, but the pain had become that unbearable. Well … surprise! She checked and then informed me, “you’re complete” – as in, I was completely dilated! I said, “are you sure?” and made her check again. Everyone had advised this wasn’t real labor! But yep, there I was fully dilated, ready to have this baby, and my husband was out taking care of the car and my doula and doctor weren’t even there yet! They told me I just had to fight the urge to push until people arrived. I asked, “so what are my options for pain medication?” and she just shook her head at me. I swore and then just prayed for strength to get through it. Matt came back to the room, and I said, “do you want the good news or the bad news?” I explained the bad news was I didn’t get pain medication but the good news was we were going to have this baby soon! He helped me through a few more contractions, and then our doula rushed in, followed shortly by the doctor. I felt relief that everyone had made it! This team plus three nurses ended up being the most amazing cheerleaders. I had done one set of pushing before the doctor arrived, and realized that although I could feel a LOT of pressure and was scared of pushing too hard too fast and causing tearing, the pushing felt a LOT better than all the previous contractions. I only had to push for 19 minutes … probably 6-7 sets of pushes, though I wasn’t counting. I kept my eyes closed, gripped the bars on the bed, and listened carefully to all the words of encouragement and counsel from the team around me. I pushed hard when they told me to, took breaths when they told me to, and was especially tuned in to Matt’s voice in my left ear. And 97 minutes after leaving home, we had a little daughter! It was the most amazing experience, the biggest rush, to feel her coming out. And I’m so thankful now that I didn’t have any drugs to numb that sensation. I could feel her head, and shoulders, and feel the rest of her little body slide out. And then she was on my chest and everyone was toweling her off and I felt the highest of all highs, sheer amazement at this little one! Again, everything was sort-of a blur, but they had Matt cut the umbilical cord, and ended up taking her over to their little baby station to give her some oxygen (she was a little stunned after that fast birth too, poor little one!). Matt went over to be with baby, and the team around me moved into action to deliver the placenta, to stitch up a tear I had, to give me some pitocin (apparently I had more than the average bleeding), to give me some shot in the leg (can’t remember what that was for) … all the time while other people were taking care of baby. I was surprised that she didn’t cry. In fact, I even had to ask if she was ok. And the coolest thing happened when I asked that – when I spoke, she turned her little head and looked right at me! I had heard that babies can recognize their parents’ voices, but witnessing it made me feel like I was soaring to the heavens. We looked into each others’ eyes, and I was in love!

The next time I looked over, her daddy was bent over her, checking her out and talking to her. And I looked at Sara, our doula, and said, “that makes it all worth it, seeing dad and daughter together!”


Then they brought her back over to me – I feel that Matt brought her to me, but I’m not sure if they really had him carry her over or if that’s just the way I remember it. She was placed on my chest and I looked in Matt’s eyes and felt the tears start to form. She was so alert, peaceful, content, her little eyes taking in everything. Time stood still—the whole world stopped while this little one had her first few moments.


We had survived the wild ride of childbirth. We had made this little human that a few minutes before had been inside of me. We marveled at how we could make such a perfect little baby, at how miraculous the whole process was. Meeting her for the first time changed our lives forever … I know I’m speaking for Matt here too, but I’m assuming he felt the same way. I had been able to do almost the entire labor at home and was able to experience a natural birth … and our daughter came out healthy and happy. Matt had his wish – that mom and baby turn out healthy. And I felt powerful, like I could climb Mt. Everest after going through childbirth. More than anything, I felt giddy and euphoric and completely in love.

Welcome, our precious Victoria!

Baby's Room

Paint, a new crib, furniture collected from the family, and some vinyl stars ... and baby's room is finally ready!


My mom helped with the painting and did an amazing job. The afghan over the crib was handmade by my friend Nina.


There are three stuffed animals in the crib ... two teddy bears from when I was a child and a cute stuffed puppy given by friends Jamie and Becky.


The bright mobile in the corner was made at one of my baby showers ... what a fun idea! Each guest decorated one of the circles. And the dresser was one that I had as a baby.

We put the daybed in the room as a place to hang out with baby. And as a way to make the baby's room a super cool place for the two other "kids" in the family:



It's the only "bed" in the house they are allowed on, and they love it! Piper likes crawling under the bed as well. We hope they will end up looking forward to all the time spent in the baby's room.

And we hope that baby will love it too!

Baby Jett

Before anyone gets excited ... no, this isn't our baby! This is the latest in the string of fall and winter babies of my family, friends, and colleagues. Baby Jett Thomas is the son of my cousin Brooke.


I love how his little hands are crossed! He is a definite cutie and reminds me a lot of his older brother Cruz. Brooke has her hands full with these two, but she is such an excellent mom. It was wonderful to visit with her and the boys and to meet this latest addition to the family.

Thanksgiving

I was going to write this post on Thanksgiving Day.

Really.

But then things got in the way … like stuffing, Texas Pecan Sweet Potatoes … and internet problems.

Needless to say, decent internet service is not on my list of things to be thankful for this year.

But in the grand scheme of things, internet service doesn’t matter as much as the things I do have to be thankful for. Some days I get so overwhelmed by the feeling that I have everything I could possibly want in my life. A loving, awesome husband, a supportive, wonderful, family, a job I enjoy, two adorable Brits, a nice home in the woods, and a little one on the way. I really do have it all. And I am thankful for every precious day.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ house. Such nummy food!! Being a dog-friendly family (and maybe this was helped by the fact that this is probably the last holiday that will be solely centered on the dogs), I couldn’t resist getting the dogs their own turkey legs.


Looks delicious, hmmm? They’re actually rawhides wrapped with dried chicken. But they were a hit!

Each dog was given their turkey leg in turn …




And devoured them while we ate our own dinner…




And after dinner, every human and canine was ready for a nap! A good Thanksgiving all around.

This Omnivore's Dilemma

I grew up in a hunting family, but somewhere along the way, right around high school, I decided I no longer wanted to be involved in eating meat, and became vegetarian. It wasn't really the healthiest choice, as I'm sure my nutrition was out of whack, but I stayed away from meat for several years. Until some point in college, where I a) started to really crave meat (probably because I needed the protein!) and b) started thinking really critically about sustainability and food choices. The more I learned about our food system, the more I began to believe that even vegetarians, if they're eating tofu and organic vegetables flown in from California or Chile and grown on massive farms owned by large corporations, aren't very sustainable. And the more I began to realize that the way I had eaten growing up was very local, healthy, and connected to the earth ... fresh vegetables out of the garden, my mom preserving fruits and vegetables for the winter, my dad hunting grouse and deer.

Wanting to live closer to nature was one of the reasons I wanted to move back north. We've gotten our wish. 20 acres of land for a garden, fruit trees, and hunting. We have soooo many deer out here that Matt started talking about possibly getting a deer license. This deer season, he's spent a lot of time either sitting in a blind or watching deer from the house, with no luck so far.

This morning he got out of bed and the dogs followed him, ready to go out for their morning bathroom break and really excited about breakfast. Matt scanned the yard for deer before letting them out, and saw two deer. He came to tell me "there's one deer laying down and another standing there eating." I told him to leave the dogs in the bedroom with me so they wouldn't bark or make noise, and he went to get his jacket and rifle. Less than five minutes later, we heard a loud crack from just outside the house. I couldn't believe it. Even though I grew up in a deer hunting family, I'd never actually been around when a deer was shot. I came out of the bedroom just as Matt was returning to the house. Adrenaline must have kicked in for him, because he held his hands out and they were shaking! He had shot the deer. Most importantly, it had been a good shot, so she had fallen quickly. I was proud of my husband for being a good shot!

But still, we could see her body twitching where she fell. And I looked over and instantly wanted to cry. It was heart wrenching to see her last minutes. And even more heart wrenching to realize this was the mama deer we had been watching since last spring. Her two fawns of the year were nearby (surprisingly not scared off by the shot) and every once in awhile would look in her direction as if they were waiting for her to lead them off through the woods. Tears sprang to my eyes -- it gets so personal when they're "your" animals that you feel like you know. I imagine this is somewhat how farmers must feel as well. These mixed emotions are the dilemma about eating meat, and really, about nature and life in general. We love animals, but we also choose to eat them. We can look for photo opportunities one day, and a hunting opportunity another day. And we try to find balance in that; while today it was about shooting a deer, we spent all fall deciding not to hunt the grouse outside our window because it was too enjoyable to watch them.

It is nature's way for some animals to die so that others might live. And since I choose to eat meat, I do believe that hunting them is one of the most sustainable, healthy, humane ways to do so. These deer grew up on this land, living naturally, with no hormones, grain, fences, or antibiotics. This is as local, free range, and organic as you can get. It does make me feel closer to nature to be more connected to my food source. Some of my food still does come nicely shrink wrapped from the grocery store; but I also know what it's like to grow my own vegetables, clean birds, and help butcher a deer. In a strange way, it is awe-inspiring to be given a gift of an animal like this. I also know, logically, that there are far too many deer in our area (we live in an "intensive" area where Matt could have shot up to 5 deer if he wanted), and that harvesting deer helps maintain the population and will likely make it easier for those fawns to survive through the winter.

I went outside with Matt to tag his deer, and insisted on bringing a camera, so proud to photograph his first deer!! When I walked down there, I told the mama deer that she had done a really good job raising her fawns this year and said a silent prayer of thanks for the meals she would provide us.

And I helped capture the moment for posterity:

Congrats, Matt, on your first deer!

Matt had called my dad, who was at the hunting shack. My dad said he'd drive back immediately to help gut the deer, since Matt hadn't done it before. He and my uncle Roger arrived about an hour later, eager to act as coaches, and the three of them went directly out to the deer. The dogs and I watched from the house, and based on the dogs' reactions I suspect they knew exactly what happened. I'm not sure how, because they couldn't actually see the deer from here, but maybe they had smelled the deer when they were outside, and knew that all the guys were out in the direction of the deer. They were nearly bouncing off the walls, shaking and crying with hysteria they were so excited.

Before long, the guys were hauling the deer back towards the house, and into my dad's truck so they could haul it to Adam's house.

Good thing we bought that four wheeler!

My Uncle Roger, my dad, and Matt

Tomorrow we will start butchering, and it will be a busy day, as we have Matt's deer as well as my dad's to take care of!

Before bringing the deer to Adam's, the guys had cut out the tenderloins. We created a wonderful celebration dinner tonight ... delicious venison tenderloins (how fresh can meat get??), roasted sweet potatoes, steamed vegetables, biscuits, apple pie, and Matt even opened one of our Colorado bottles of wine. My parents came to help us celebrate, and we had a wonderful evening talking about everything from deer hunting to the pending arrival of baby Moses. Although the day started with a little sadness, at the end of the day I can look back and feel like it was an absolutely remarkable day, a day to remember, a day to make me feel inordinately blessed and fortunate in this world.

Month by Month

I just posted about the maternity photos we took last weekend, and thought I'd add to my month-by-month comparison ...

5 months ...


6 months ...




7 months (plus 1 week) ...

8 months ...

Maternity Photos

Last weekend I hit the 8 month mark, and asked Matt to take some maternity photos. I don't have a model body, but I still wanted to remember and celebrate this time in our lives. Here are a few of the photos:





If you want to check out the series, you can visit the Moses Photography web site. Warning - there are some bare belly photos :).

While we were taking the outside photos, the pups were watching us from their yard -- actually, not just watching, but barking most of the time. It was a really windy day and I loved these two photos that Matt snapped ... one with puppy ears flapping like a flying nun, and the other with Piper sticking her tongue out at us. We know what she thought about being left in the fence!

Getting Ready for Baby

Wow, it's November 15 already? Is there anyone else who simply cannot believe how fast this month is going?

I had a friend ask me today if I was still enjoying being pregnant or ready for it to be over. I answered, "Where's my third option?" On one hand I'd like to slow time way down. The third trimester is going way too fast and I feel so apprehensive about not just having this baby but also about taking care of a newborn. On the other hand, it's not like I love the swollen ankles, constant heartburn, or how difficult it is to bend over. So maybe it's not such a bad thing that November is flying by.

We continue to be busy with the endless list of house and baby projects -- trying to get as much stuff ready as possible. Last weekend we installed the car seat, started packing a hospital suitcase, and went grocery shopping for all kinds of stuff we'll use to make meals to throw in the freezer for after baby comes ... enchiladas, casseroles, chili, soup. Matt has been awesome in this realm, and is cooking up a storm. Thank you, my darling!

The weekend before that was my second baby shower. Friends Erika and Wendi (and Steph, from afar) threw a lovely baby shower at Erika's place in Minneapolis. Here's me with two of the hostesses ...


And the hostesses busily preparing food in the kitchen ...


It was the most amazing shower food ever. Really. Roasted butternut squash wontons with pear apple chutney. Nutella banana wontons. Apples with a creamy heath bar dip. Ginger cookie sandwiches with marscapone cheese. Cornmeal cookie sandwiches with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. Baked brie en croute. Seriously. I would pay to eat food like that! The saddest part of the day was that baby was really pushing on my tummy and I just could not eat everything I wanted!

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to celebrate and reconnect with so many dear friends I haven't been able to see in months.

Here's Linnea, Linda, and Nicole ...


And my mom, Wendi, Becky, and Kelcie ...


And Barb and Courtney ...


Since I was in the Cities for the first time in months, I stayed the whole weekend and made time to see even more friends. I visited with Chad, my former SRF co-worker, and got to meet his awesome mom. I had breakfast with three former cycling teammates (one of whom is pregnant and due the day before me!), and since Tom Seltz was in town from D.C., joined his circle of friends for a delicious dinner at Dulono's Pizza. And before leaving town, I had breakfast with another former co-worker, Sarah, and her hubby and new son, and stopped by my cousin's to see her new apartment. It was a whirlwind trip, and between baby gifts, items we are borrowing, and errands to Costco and other places, I came back with a really full car.

The other big thing we've done in the last couple weeks is take the labor and delivery class at St. Luke's Hospital. I was dreading being gone three evenings in a row (late nights = lonely, needy puppies and a sleepy Jenn!) but the classes ended up being very helpful. Matt and I talked about a lot of stuff over those three nights.

Next up: this week we meet with our doula! And I really need to finish some stuff in the baby's room, as I'm dying to take pictures and share them with everyone!