time to go!

packing, packing, packing today/yesterday/the day before....loading the truck tomorrow...as well as cleaning....and then headin on out!

we'll catch y'all up later :)

Colorado Here We Come!!!!

Birth Story

Hey all! I just wanted to let you know that in case you're interested, Clara's birth story is posted on Alma's website! :) click on the link and then click on Clara's photo.
http://www.almamidwifery.com/stories/index.html

my first birthday as a mama was wonderful. Brandon kept it low-key and relaxing which is my favorite.
we got up and got ready to go to a vaccine class...i know what you're thinking. this was actually not a part of the celebration but just happened to be going on yesterday :) it was actually very informational and not a bad way to start the day. i actually enjoyed learning what all the vaccines are for! hmmm. maybe i missed my calling as a nurse. haha
after that we headed on over to chipotle and sat in the sun. ahhhhh. that by itself would have equaled a great day. oh, how i love a great chicken fajita bowl. then we went to babies r us to find a sun hat for clara (by the way, it's really hard to find a sun hat in july i guess. go figure) which we used after that when we went to a street fair in Portland. all the cute little boutiques had sidewalk sales, restaurants had samples everywhere, and there was even a sidewalk chalk art contest. some of the pictures were aaaaamazing! the weather was a perfect 85 degrees with just enough shade by the buildings for miss clara.
after we were thoroughly worn out from walking we headed home. Brandon went and got some dinner from one of my favorite places here in Portland: screen door. it's an incredible restaurant here that serves local/organic southern home-cookin foods :) so with the evening ending in fried okra, pulled pork and a movie i was one happy little girl. my husband seriously knows how to spoil me!
i was actually upset that we forgot to take pictures the whole day :( so i made brandon step outside with me after we ate dinner in order to document the wonderful day. the color is really weird from being in the shade, but you get the point. isn't the peanut super cute in her polka dot hat?? :)
Thanks Brandon for making this day so special. love you! and thanks to everyone else who called/texted/facebooked me to let me know you were thinking of me. i love you all and wish i could have celebrated with every one of you!!!

too many goodbyes!

this part of moving is nooooooooooooooooooo fun.

you know, the part where you start to miss everyone that you're leaving. i really hate the saying goodbye to everyone. it's way more fun to look forward to what's coming and be excited than it is to look around at what you're leaving. after today i think i'm giving up goodbyes.

i got to hang out with little Mo and his mom at the park today to say ..... that word. remember this little guy?

well, he doesn't look like that anymore. here is little man at the park today.

the first picture was taken the first week that I worked with little Mo. He was about 8 weeks at that point. It's crazy to think that my own baby is now almost 8 weeks old. He is such a sweet boy--giving me hugs when he sees me and telling me that he likes me :) we're so thankful to have known this family and loved on them just a little.

ugh, see this part really sucks. but this also reminds me that i should post 'then' and 'now' pics of all the babies i've loved on since being here in Oregon. you'd be shocked at how fast they all grow.

well, for now i'm going to forget about all the goodbyes and focus on relaxing with my little fam for my b-day tomorrow. sunshine and cake in my future!

new nickname

instead of calling her peanut now, I think we'll have to start calling her chunka munka :)

6 week and final appointment :(

Well, Clara is now 6 weeks old...i just can't believe it! I know everyone always says that time goes by so fast, but it's soooo true :) In some ways it feels like just yesterday that I held her for the first time, but in other ways it feels like I hardly even remember being pregnant--like I need the pictures to really prove it.

So today we went to her 6 week appointment which was also her last appointment with the midwives. I felt like crying knowing that it would be the last time we would see them and visit the birthing center. Such an emotional place for me. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew I'd be back in a few months with another pregnancy, but since we're moving it's a little more final. It's like we built this unique relationship with these women as they took part in such a huge event in our lives, and then we had to say goodbye. Luckily we remembered the camera and took a few pictures with everyone. I will always look back on this place, women, and time with fond memories as I remember how special they made it as we brought our first baby into this world.


Stephanie, Tarra, me, and Kori

Happy 4th!

I hope everyone had a great day celebrating our nation's independence. We had a super weekend hanging out with friends and picnicking. But the most exciting thing that happened this weekend was Clara's dedication at church! We are so blessed to have this church home here and love that they dedicated Clara and sent us out before we left. Here are a few pictures of Sunday :)




and yes, that is a scowl on her face...maybe she was mad that she slept through the whole thing??