birthday eve

I usually do a post on Odin's birthdate, the 1st of each month but tomorrow is his actual Bday.  We have a doctor's appointment but after that we're going out to do something special for our little boy.  I am so grateful to be a mama and the fact that this boy is my first born, makes the whole experience so sweet.  He is such a good, good boy and oh, I love him so!

I am so grateful you are mine.

i'm 30 on the 30th

Its not my birthday, yet...  But I am at 30 weeks(!) I can't believe how time has flown this time.  Life is exciting, crazy and fun with a toddler but mix that with being pregnant and the energy level doesn't always keep up.  Here are some of my thoughts on this 2nd time around.  (I wish I would have written more of these thoughts my first pregnancy.)

On nesting...
Man, do I ever feel this in my bones.  I kind of feel lucky that I got to move in the middle of this pregnancy.  I have the ultimate opportunity to do some nesting, from decorating to rearranging to buying things to fill parts of our new home.  My mom is visiting in a few weeks and I hope to do a lot of the cutsie baby nesting stuff then...  Its pretty obvious that I have the nesting thing covered!

 On health & nutrition...
This time around is so different.  I started out much heavier than I did with Odin so I really wanted to make sure I didn't gain even half of what I gained with him - we'll just keep those numbers in the family for now.  I've been taking walks on those trails I dreamed of and I've been eating much less and much healthier.  Water is always by my side and showers are my energy boosters.  But, I could always do better.

On keeping the romance alive... 
The same month this baby is due is our 4th anniversary.  Nothing has really changed from the dating days meaning we still love spending every second with each other.  But, lets just say that being pregnant right now - large, round, slow and tired all the time is potentially rough on the relationship with the husband.  But, we do our best and are actually really good to spend time in the evenings  together, meeting at the park to fly kites at lunchtime on good days, we're very good about putting our toddler to bed promptly so the rest of the evening is ours, and most effective: our monthly anniversary dates  We're just so happy to be adding to the family we started together.

On pregnancy in general...  
I have been so grateful and happy being pregnant.  I know that not every woman has the opportunity or the health to have children and I am always thinking about this.  I am grateful I have a body that is set to have babies.  I have a very wonderful husband who makes each day possible to endure.  I love that we are adding to our family and that our little Odin will soon be a big brother.

... we feel so happy and blessed to have this baby on its way.  we're looking forward to this change.  here's to the 10 +/- weeks I have left.  I can't wait to meet you, my little girl!

reasons to celebrate in May

I like celebrating the little things in life.  So, here are the daily holidays I'll be referring to.  We have 2 birthdays this month and I'm sure we'll celebrate a few of the above too.  I like reasons to celebrate. Good bye, April...  I can't believe May is almost here!

** update **  Along with scrapbooking and bike month May is also Nat. Strawberry month!

ideas for our bedroom

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Our bedroom I fear will be the last place settled into.  For now my ideas will have to do.  The first picture shows what I want to do with the walls and the tree stump table is for our bathroom.  If you see a bright bedspread/duvet cover like the one pictured please let me know.  I really want bright colors in our room and home.   Ah, the fun of a work in progress...

today I thought we'd be busy

It turns out, we are all sick today.  We're just going to have to rest and relax.  We felt it coming on yesterday but like any other naive human we ignored the idea of it coming on.  Zack is still sleeping/snoring beside me.  I'm sneezing my brains out and sweet Odin is still in bed too.  There was so much to do in our little house today but all those things will just have to wait.  We'll be lucky if anyone feels like making  good meal.  (I'll have to be the one cause I'm craving pop up pancakes topped with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and maple syrup.  Yum!)  

...  so much to do and so little energy with which to get it all done.  good intentions just don't make you better, unfortunately.

* image is of Odin when he climbed up on the table to smell our new flowers.  this boy is a keeper!

iceland

 We've been corresponding with a friend who is planning a trip to Iceland soon.  They are filming a documentary there - check it out.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  


I am loving looking through the pictures of our adventures there.  In researching some places for them I came across one place we missed.  Its Skaftafell National Park.  How did we miss this?  I guess it wouldn't have worked out that well with our baby in tow.  Next time, we'll have to check it out.  

The House that Lars Built blogger Brittany and her husband recently visited Iceland.  She's been posting about her trip over on her blog.  I have SO been loving their pictures and look forward to seeing more.  Its funny, through her pictures I learned that we have a mutual friend there in Iceland... in Iceland of all places!  Its a very small world.


We really love Iceland!  I even have an Iceland Pinboard dedicated to lovely pictures and picturesque scapes of the beautiful country.  If you've ever wanted to go, you should, it is out of this world amazing!  


.... Check out more posts of our travels in Iceland.

* The image above is of Crystal Cave, Svínafellsjökull in Skaftafell National Park. Rad!

we love living by cousins

Odin gets along pretty well with his cousins.  I think he really loves playing with them, probably because they are older and do really fun stuff.  His favorite toy when he goes to their house is their big purple barbie car.  In fact, he tried to get in it just the other day.  We love having cousins so close by to play with.

ps.  we lived by cousins in NYC and that was wonderful too.  But its so much easier to jump in the car and be there in 10 minutes rather than trekking through the city with 2 or 3 transfers and several blocks of walking (carrying the stroller up and down subway stairs) to see them.
We miss you Berta cousins!  Enjoy some sun for us.

shopping therapy

I've had my eye on these things lately.  Some things are to wear and some are for which to stare.  In the perfect world they'd all fit perfectly with the perfect occasion.  For now I'll have to enjoy them in this form.  I filed these on my pinterest boards but the original sources are below:

1 - for sunny outings, 2 - for the upcoming birthdays of my boys, 3 - for those cool windy kite flying afternoons, 4 - for rainy day outings, 5 - just for fun, 6 - to wear in the summery world I am not pregnant, 7 - one for each of my children's birth place

*  Shopping Therapy: shopping online and not buying, making a collage of the things you really want to buy but shouldn't.  Its therapy just like any other kind and it works for me :-)

anniversary date

Every 26th of the month we like to celebrate our wedding anniversary date.  We usually go out to eat or take a walk somewhere together.  Its never a big deal but it is always special.  

Happy Anniversary Date, Love.

*  We actually already celebrated yesterday since Zack has to work late tonight.  We went for lunch at a mexican food truck and I got this humongous burrito that was so yummy but way too spicy/hot and made me a bit sick.  Regardless, this place came highly recommended and it did not disappoint.   It was a happy rainy date together and we loved every second.  

Then we went out again after work and tried to get into a 21+ steak house with our toddler in tow.  They took one look at us and we were on our way elsewhere.  :-)  But we did go to another recommended Mexican food restaurant.  This place I liked much better than the food truck.  I finally found a delicious just-like-grandma's bowl of pozole.  The secret, I decided, is lots of oregano and lime.  I will go back often for that!  I am sure Odin won't complain since he ate chips and salsa the entire time.

I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!  even if I did wake up in the middle of the night from stomach pains so severe I thought I was in labor... I ate too much spicy food, that is for sure!  I feel better now and wouldn't you know, all I can think about is that pozole.  Ha!  It was a very love-ly anniversary date celebration.  

to the beach

I wasn't expecting to end up playing on the beach at all this weekend.  After spending time at the Tulip Festival, we separated from the rest of the family and Grammy, me, Zack and Odin went on to drive home through Whidbey Island.

We took our time and ended up at a beautiful park on the ocean.  We played for awhile and enjoyed the sand and waves.  We were so glad to have grammy's cheery company for this little adventure.  There was just so much to see.  We'll certainly be going back sometime soon.

I forget how close I am to water here.  AND, we have a car so we can enjoy it whenever we want!  I think this summer is going to be too good to be true and I can't wait!

spring blossoms

When my family was here visiting there were so many beautiful blossoms out.  I loved seeing them because I miss the east coast, especially Washington DC at this time of year.  I had hoped to move into a house with fruit trees so I could stare at my own blossoms every day but, since that didn't happen I enjoyed the ones around the neighborhood (and these at the Seattle LDS Temple) instead.

... looks like I wasn't the only one.  

counting boy

He just picked this up and now he counts to 3 all the time.  

yoa. owhy. ee!

tulip festival

We've had more visitors, Zack's parents.  We went with the cousins and them to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  It was so beautiful and colorful and green and we had the perfect weather.

Have you ever been to a festival like this?  It was so beautiful.  I loved the mud, the rows, the colors, the bees, the blue sky against these gorgeous vibrant hues.  We got to bring some home as Zack's mom bought some for us.  I love them sitting on my kitchen table.  I am loving flowers and color lately, they add cheer to any a gloomy day.

sun day

This weekend has been beautiful!  The sun hasn't left us.  

We've been busy settling in and preparing for more guests to arrive this week.  

These pictures are from our Easter Sunday last week. 

It was a really nice day of church, family, flowers and food and I don't want to forget it!  

happy friday

Some of my family was here visiting us this week.  We didn't go out and do much due to the weather but when it was nice we definitely took advantage of it.  They left this morning and I was a little sad as I watched them drive away.  I'm just glad we're closer to them over here on the West Coast.  We're looking forward to many visitors in the coming weeks and months (especially in July when this baby comes).  Come visit us, too!

*  I'll post more pictures when I get/steal some from them.  :-)

no more kids sleeping in the kitchen

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I am most excited about the fact that our kids will have their own room in this new home.  Can you believe that Odin used to sleep in the kitchen?!  Lets just say, you make it work in NYC.

As you can see from the images above, lots of ideas are going through my head.  Its kind of like sensory overload but, there is a cohesive product in my mind, don't you worry about that.  

I have secretly been dreaming of my kids' room ever since I learned I was pregnant with Odin.  You can be sure I'm going to have so much fun setting it all up!

a good morning, a good day

What a nice morning it has been.  I love it when Odin wakes up smiling and so happy and especially when he wants me just to hold him for a while.

We were both looking forward to eating some of these pretty eggs.  You gotta love a good old fashioned hard boiled egg sandwich.  My secret is to mince dill pickles and add them and 2 tablespoons of the dill juice to the mayo and egg mixture.  It is just the right amount of dilly zip that I just love.  I am looking forward to a week of egg sandwiches :-)

// Today is going to be busy!  I am getting a special delivery and I mean, SPECIAL.  Then I am prepping the house for a family of 8 to come stay with us.  I am so excited for it all to take place.

Oh, Monday, I am loving you this week!

today we celebrate

Easter really has nothing to do with a bunny but everything to do with Jesus Christ. As a Christian and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints today I celebrate Easter and remember the life, sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I am so glad I live everyday knowing about Him.

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I wish you a lovely happy day.  

This is a nice reminder of the meaning of this holiday.

coloring eggs

The cousins came over to color eggs with us. It was a lot of fun.  However, the cups full of vinegar didn't sit well with this pregnant mama.  The good news, now we have a bunch of pretty hard boiled eggs ready to eat. Good thing both boys and I all love them.  

Today is Odin's first Easter egg hunt.  Its supposed to be sunny!

Have a lovely Easter Weekend.