Life on Birch Street

Christmas!

2010-01-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

Brushing Barbie's hair

Uncle Brock helping Maya with her gift from Santa

Miss Natalie and Brad

Liz scores her dream gifts...New Moon stuff & the Justin Bieber CD

Auntie Erin & Uncle JJ

There really are no words to express how blessed we really are...and there is nothing like Christmas to remind me. Maya was obviously spoiled silly...well we all were really. The Matthews - Trimble family was in town for the holiday and we were able to see the Rogers on Christmas morning too. The whole gift situation was a little overwhelming for Pea so we took it in stages...she opened presents for days...literally. Her auntie Erin, and avid Barbie collector, gave Pea her first Barbie doll and to my complete surprise she loved it. She immediately wanted the ponytail "OFF!" so that Barbie's hair could look as wild as hers does. Maya also loved all of the eating that takes place over the holidays...constant snacking for little Pea.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-01-29T13:55:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Tree was a HUGE hit at our house this year! As you can see Maya was quite the helper when it was time to put it up, and she really loved unpacking all of the decorations. It was really funny because she wasn't really sure if the tree was her new pet or not. She kissed the tree and petted it, put on ornaments, took them off (800 times), turn on the lights, turned off the lights...it was so entertaining the tree stayed with us until mid-January!

Little Miss Independent

2009-12-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

Maya has really started showing us her personality! She is very independent, curious, and vocal. She loves to be silly, dance, sweep, play peek-a-boo, and read. She reads and reads and reads. As you can see she is quite tall for her age, but still kind of a lightweight....here are her stats at 15 months:

Height: 32.5"

Weight: 24 lbs
Words: Hiyee (Hi), ByeBye, Kitty, MaMa, Da (dad), NO, hotttt, nee (nose), eye, eee (ear), hair, maaa (mouth), pee, poopoo, pease (please), thank you, PaPa (grandpa), bee buu (belly button), Braa (Brad), Tree, apple, brrrrr, whoa, uh oh, Ni (nigel our cat), pig, duckduck, cow, moo, keee (keys), ba (bottle), all done, two (not one or three...just two), My AH (Maya), Up, E.E. (Eric), ball, hat....and many other things that we haven't decoded yet :)

Favorite Foods: Broccoli, baby cheese puffs, berries, toast w/ jam, spinach pasta

Thanksgiving

2009-12-13T11:19:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with family and our great friend Patrick! Maya was really sick on Thanksgiving, so it wasn't that memorable for her. She was able to play with her best friend Brad and the boys watched more football that I thought was possible!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

Our Little Pumpkin

2009-10-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

Football Saturday

2009-10-17T18:04:00.001-07:00

As you know, we are a football loving family! I have been able to go to two Oregon games (of course I did take one photo!) and Ty has been busy traveling with Linfield to most of their games as the team chaplain and radio announcer. Maya is getting pretty good at throwing her hands up when we yell touchdown!! Ty's so proud, he has even taught her about laying on the couch, eating snacks and watching the game (or games!).

Catching Up...

2009-10-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

The start of fall has been one for the record books on Birch Street. We had a little visitor named Ashton for a few days, a slumber party with Liz, a couple of soccer games, a visit from Uncle Brock and (the Matthews) to run the PORTLAND MARATHON and a case of the swine flu.

It was a a challenging start to fall for me, but I am hopeful that we are through the rough stuff and ready for the best parts of fall.

Maya's 1st Birthday

2009-09-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

Maya is ONE!

It is really hard to believe that a year ago it was just the two of us. Maya has truly blessed our life, and we couldn't imagine our world without her. For her birthday at home she was a butterfly and played Rock Band...she loves the music and banging on the drums.

She is now 31.5 inches tall, and weighs 22.5 lbs. She loves to play, read books, talk on her play phone (or her hand) and the girl loves to eat. I couldn't tell you what her favorite foods are, because she loves everything. She really likes raspberries and broccoli.

Viva Vacation!

2009-08-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

8 hours of driving by myself with 3 children was surprisingly pleasant (thank you Jesus for inventing DVD players in SUVs). When we arrived the weather wasn't looking so promising, but when we woke up on Sunday morning the clouds parted and we had nothing but sunshine for 8 days! Josh & Liz were angels and loved life at the cabin, they played in the lake or in the hot tub for at least 10 hours a day. Jazz & Faith, Erin & JJ's labs are spending the summer/fall at the cabin and Josh and Liz couldn't get enough. They swam together and played fetch and even "rested" together. They only stopped to watch the "occasional" movie (I think we watched at least 25, several two or three times) or to eat. Maya was a water dog too! Her OCD mom actually relaxed and Grama Chris made her a "hot tub" out of an old cooler. She was in heaven. Ty flew in on Tuesday night, and Uncle Brock was able to spend a few days too. It was a really low-key week, the only bump in the road was that Liz ended up with an ear infection and the beginnings of tonsillitis on the day before we headed home. We even witnessed a giant thunder and lightening storm one night. Good times!

The big kids slept in a tent about 1/2 the time and Pea thought it was the greatest play room ever...she giggled and rolled around for an hour.

The Lake

2009-08-28T11:37:00.001-07:00

The Beach

2009-08-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

Mini-Me

2009-08-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ty's cousin MacGreggor (Mac) came to town to hit up the NBC camp at Linfield and was able to stay for an extra few days. He is an amazing young man...polite, thoughtful, talkative, great with babies...and 16! He is an aspiring quarterback, so he and Ty spent some time working on his arm mechanics (that makes me sound really football savvy right?!). The craziest part of having Mac here was noticing all of the similarities between he and Ty. It really freaked me out to be honest, I would imagine Ty to have been exactly like Mac at the same age. I'll let you make your own call from the pictures. Here are a few highlights of Mac's trip:

Witnessed a drug deal while picking up pizza
Experienced gang culture at the Lancaster Mall
Perfected his guitar abilities playing hours of Rock Band 2 with Ty
Hung out at the beach and found a pair of cleats at the Nike Outlet store for $9

Overall it was pretty eventful...I was mortified (see #1 &2), but I think that he had a great time.

Concert w/ the Fam!

2009-08-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

My cousins...Ryan, Bryce, & Travis

It was kind of like a date? No baby...Right?

The Girls! Amy, Tezra, & Me

Tezra & Ryan

Uncle Jerry, Ruthie & Dad

We met up with my family in Seattle for the Kenny Chesney Concert! It was awsome to have everyone together even if for only 24 hours! We brought my grandma with us too, so she could meet Ryan's finance Tezra.

Congrats Jen & Lee

2009-07-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday Night we heading to Portland for Jen & Lee's wedding, it was a lot of fun. As always it is wonderful to get together with old friends, and it was really special to be there for Jen. The wedding was a modern Jewish ceremony, a new experience for all of us west coasters! She wore her grandmother's dress from the 1950's and a really cool bird's nest hair piece. We were totally fascinated to say the least, and it was awesome to see Jen connecting with her heritage. I had to include the chair picture, because we were all so excited about all of the traditions. MAZEL TOV!

Welcome Home Lyons Family!!

2009-07-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Our friends Lindsey, Nate, & Bennett moved back to Oregon. They have been moonlighting as Texans in San Antonio for the past 2 years. We are so happy they are back. I am already totally obsessed with Ben! I mean look at that face. You can keep up with them over there @

Doing it Texas Style

hmmmmm I wonder it they will change their blog name?

The Country Fair

2009-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

My parents were sort of hippies in high school and when I was born (well as much as they could be in the late 70's and early 80's). We tease my mom just a little about it, but in truth I am so greatful that I was raised to appreciate diversity and the concept of community. In going back to our roots we all loaded into the Tahoe (I know the real hippies would totally disapprove, but we filled every seat!) and headed south to the Oregon Country Fair. It is one of the coolest festivals and it is in Oregon. It is a place where people can feel comfortable being who they are and kids can play and use their imaginations without boundary. Josh and Lily were definitely experiencing a little culture shock, but they loved every minute of it...tons of live music, face paint, people in costume, people on stilts, art stations, and a few people who use the "less is more" ideology when it comes to clothing. We had a great time.

Gram's Day

2009-07-08T15:19:00.001-07:00

So...for the 4th, we didn't have any plans and decided that we would call Gram and see what she wanted to do. She wanted to take Maya to the parade....in Willamina. My camera died as the parade was about to start, so I didn't get any pictures of the locals. Bummer. Grama loved showing Maya all of the people in the parade.

Happy 1st Birthday Bradley!!

2009-07-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Brad's birthday was the best! The littles played in the water, the adults chatted and snacked. Brad loved being the birthday boy, he wore his birthday boy crown all day! Maya even stole a ride on his new fire truck.

2009-07-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Maya showing me her new texting skills!

Okay so I am doing quite a bit of back posting today! I took the girls to a Yankees game at the new stadium (no I am not a Yankees Fan) and we all had a blast. We sat in the crazy, rowdy section with all of the die hard fans...what an experience. We totally stuck out...because we were the only people in the stadium without Yankees Gear on.

I spent the last four days of the trip in NY without Maya or Ty. Super dad flew home with Pea and spent the week with Ty's parents. The first 24 hours were really, really tough...I had so much anxiety, and lots of "I'm a bad mother" thoughts. It turned out to be a good thing for us all. Ty's confidence in his dad duties grew exponentially (he'll appreciate the dorky math terminology) and my relationship with my students did the same. We stayed up and talked for hours. Mostly about boys and college...hey they are 16!

Coming home was great! Maya learned how to text...look for one coming your way soon.

Photos from NYC

2009-06-15T18:37:00.001-07:00

On the Brooklyn Bridge
Anneliese Inez Picchioni

at the Park

5th Ave

(drooling over all I can't afford)

Grammy & Maya at Central Park

Here they are...a few moments from the big trip to the big apple. I am still here in NYC and Ty, mom, and Maya are home. Our time together in the city was wonderful. Maya is truly a traveler at heart. She went everywhere with us the water taxi, Chinatown, little Italy, 5Th Ave, Central Park, AMNH...she even strolled across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate pizza! My mom and Ty were lifesavers! Maya was great but I couldn't have done it without them. It was so fun to show my mom the city, she loved it...especially the shopping.

One of the highlights was getting together with Shelly, Matt, Anneliese and Erin for brunch (Erin & Shelly are good friends and sorority sisters from UO) They filled my interns in on life in the city, moving from the west coast, and a few plugs for U of O. I was able to love on baby Anneliese for a little while and she and Maya started their life-long friendship. Erin even tried to get them to give the DG sign.

So today is day one of my first time being away from Maya for longer than 24 hrs. Last night was tough, after the worlds craziest trek to the airport to drop off Ty and Pea I experienced a serious bout of anxiety. I think I will be okay, because my interns are great and keeping me busy. You can check out our trip on their blog

http://www.grandrondetonyc.blogspot.com/

NYC or BUST!

2009-06-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me well, you know I am a little crazy...

Tomorrow night Maya, Grammy Karen, and I are taking Pea to NYC. Every year I am a part of an internship program at the American Museum of Natural History that send 3 students from the the CTGR (abbreviation for the Tribe I work for) to NY to work for 3 weeks. This is an absolutely life changing experience for these youth and me too to be totally honest. I love the city...any city really. This year I am able to go for 2 weeks to chaperone, and I am not ready to leave Missy for that long so she is coming too! Mom is heading over with me to "nanny", then she and Ty will switch places on Thursday. Ty and Maya are coming home late Sunday night and I am staying until the following Thursday. Whew.

I am really excited, I am excited for the girls, and my mom who haven't been to one of the greatest cities is the world. I am also really excited for Maya...yes I know that she won't remember it, but I will. She will also get to meet one of her -soon to be- best friends Analiese, who lives in NY.

So I felt that this was the perfect title for this Post...lord knows, getting 3 teenagers and a 9 month old across the country is going to be a challenge in its self.

Wish us luck.

The Big Day!

2009-06-05T11:06:00.001-07:00

This weekend two of my baby cousins graduate from High School. It is a really crazy feeling because I so clearly remember when they both were born, when they started school, etc.

Meredith is in the black Saxon's uniform

Meredith is the baby on my mom's side of the family and a superstar athlete at South Salem H.S., her team lost on tuesday in the State Semifinals for Softball. She will head off to college in the fall. We are so proud of her!!

Tarrah is somewhere in the middle of the pack on my dad's side of the family. Ty and I were so blessed to get to live with Tarrah and her family in Bellingham a few years ago. She is the perfect mix of sweet and sassy. Ty is heading up tonight to watch her walk with her class and attend her BIG party. I am going to Meredith's party in Salem tonight. Sad but we have to divide and conquer this year.

Love you both

Little Fish

2009-06-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Maya loves her pool! I think that she would have stayed in there all day. The weather in the PacNW has been phenomenal and we are trying to enjoy every minute of it.

I am trying to use my blackberry camera to post, but can't get logged into my account? Does anybody out there in blogland have a suggestion?

Deep Breath

2009-05-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I don't post often because I don't have pictures loaded onto my computer and I think that nobody really cares to read my posts, but would rather look at the pictures. *Disclaimer* I already know this is true, so no need to send me comments to prove my theory. Then, as I was frantically reading a months worth of posts from my favorite blogs, I realized that I love the sometimes random paragraphs that keep me up to date on everybody's lives. In that moment I made a commitment to myself...I will write when I feel so called and won't feel bad if there is no photo attached.

We had a great weekend by the way! Enjoyed the sun (80's-eat your heart out Californians!), spent time at the park, had dinner with our great friends Brian & Natalie, and bought a family vehicle. Ty sold his truck about a month ago, so he replaced it with a Tahoe...family friendly! (Yes I know we are killing the environment, but I promise to recycle more and plant a tree)

To Crawl or Not to Crawl?

2009-05-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

So for all of Pea's athletic genes...still no crawling. If it were up to Maya she would sit or be held ONLY...tummy time has never been her favorite time, but she "handles" it a little better now. She can scoot herself backwards all over the house, but no forward motion. I am guessing that I should rejoice in the moments I have left where I can leave Maya sitting on the floor and not worry about her climbing the walls.

May Photos...

2009-05-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

Maya's last few days in her infant seat
Those horrible teething biscuts

So happy!

Backward crawling...

Easter Baskets!

2009-05-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Mini Update

2009-05-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize for the complete lack of posting. Our laptop is on the fritz and works about every other time you turn it on for about 5 minutes or so...really convenient. I promise that I will try to get some pictures loaded at work tomorrow.

Maya is growing everyday. She has 4 teeth and two new tricks...waving bye-by, and clapping. She has been clapping for about a month, but now she will clap at the right moments. She also is going through a little bit of mommy separation anxiety and is learning about strangers (which in my completely OCD I've seen to much in my line of work mind is a good thing). I am totally okay with her being a little leery of strangers, we will see how long it lasts.

I hope all of you mommas out there had a great day yesterday!

Loves! Molly

2009-04-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

My two teeth!

Showing my true colors! (green & yellow, with a dash of pink)

Me and GiGi

Happy Easter!

2009-04-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time!

2009-04-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! She likes to wiggle herself into the pillows, get stuck, and then laugh.

Wow, it has been one for the record books! I don't have time to give a full recap (I'll save that for later) so I will give everyone the 2 minute version.

5 major events at work in 3 weeks that included a 4 day, 3 night camp out with 55 youth...and Maya

2 Middle School girls that stayed with us for 3 weeks...yes, the same three weeks

1 Wonderful little girl who is learning all about eating "real" food, clapping, super chatty, and still has no desire to crawl...and why would she when she has the two of us totally wrapped around her finger and willing to carry her everywhere she wants to go.

Maya is so fun right now, her little personality is starting to shine through...a true blend of Ty and I, content to spend time alone (me), a bit of a thrill seeker (ty), lots of facial expressions (ty), and always studying the world around her (me).

We have also been taking in as many soccer games as we can. Both Josh and Lily started playing soccer this season, and baseball/softball starts this week.

Thank you G & G!

2009-03-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much Grandpa Ed and Grandma Chris! I had a great time and loved Disneyland...but mostly I loved hanging with the fam. Skype with you soon, Maya

P.S. My dad is still humming the Fantasmic music...

2009-03-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

Maya on "It's a Small World", her favorite ride!
Uncle B & Pea on our last day

Auntie Erin and Maya singing and laughing

Waiting for lunch with all the Princesses!

Ty, Grandma Chris, Grandpa Eddie, and Maya getting ready to head into California Adventure

Disneyland or Bust!

2009-03-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

We set out last Saturday morning for our first family vacation...the rough part was the vacation with a drive to the airport at 4:30 am! Maya was a rock star during her first airplane ride (other passengers even commented on how good she did), I knew that she would be a traveler just like her mom :) Our first few days were spent in sunny Pasadena with our good friends Larry & Kelly, it was near 80 degrees...have I said that I love California? Because I really do love it...a lot. They took us to In-n-Out for lunch...true bliss!

On Sunday afternoon we headed toward Anaheim to meet up with Ty's family for the Disney portion of the trip. The Matthews are die-hard Disney fan's, I hadn't been to Disneyland since 1988 and was so excited I could hardly stand it. We arrived at the hotel to find this...

The Matthews are serious about Disneyland, even as adults it is second in vacation destinations only to Hawaii. Each of them truly loves all things Disney and are experts in some area. Ty the music, Erin the characters, and Brock knows the ins and outs of every Disney movie ever made and specialized in Princesses for Princess Pea on this trip. Uncle B picked up this little number for Maya to wear and made reservations for our crew at Ariel's Grotto so that Pea could dine with all of the Princesses!

Here is our best family pic! (Notice the need for sunglasses....sigh....double sigh...back in fabulous OR we went to watch my youngest two siblings play their very first soccer games and it was so stinking cold that we had to keep Maya in the car! And it snowed in Oregon last night....uggggg!)

6 Months

2009-02-25T22:05:00.000-08:00

I took Maya for her 6 month well child check up on Monday and she is a healthy, happy little girl! Here are her stats:

16 lbs 9 ounces
28 inches long

She has ventured into the world of people food...rice cereal, squash (her favorite), sweet peas, oatmeal, applesauce, and a little avocado. Her other new trick is constantly sticking her tongue out...constantly, we call her Gene Simmons (the lead singer of Kiss for those of you who were not raised by children of the 70's). She also has sprouted the start of a little tooth, you can just see a little dot of white. We are both thoroughly obsessed with her, everyday brings something new. She is finally starting to enjoy spending time on her tummy....finally, which means she might crawl. I think she might skip crawling and go straight to walking.

Just a little post to get you through...battery is charging on my camera...pictures coming soon.

Happy V-Day!

2009-02-14T16:15:00.001-08:00

My Valentines!

Our weekend in pictures...

2009-02-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

Ty and I went to the annual Mayor's Ball in MacTown on Saturday night. Maya spent the evening with her favorite High School student Megan! I am really terrible at remembering to take pictures of anything but Pea...so these are the only two pics of the night (sigh).

(Bad lighting Ty really doesn't have a big 'fro, its just a shadow)

Dressed up for church on Sunday...couldn't resist the hat! Thanks aunt Susan.

We were all winding down on Sunday night, watching a little t.v. and Maya got really quiet...this is her new favorite trick. Doesn't she look like a puppy?

True Joy

2009-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

Grandma Rena & Maya (5 months)

I feel so blessed to live near my family. My grandma is able to watch Maya two days a week and it is the best feeling. I love picking her up in the evening, she and gram are usually exploring the house or rocking in her chair. Sometimes my brother is holding Maya and Gram is in the kitchen cooking something that smells wonderful. Monday when I arrived this was the scene. Always wearing pink from head to toe, usually a headband of some kind and always happy. Can you find a more content babe? I doubt it.

Then on Tuesdays my parents pick Pea up from Chris's House (Maya's babysitter) and she hangs out with them for a few hours while I teach a class to pregnant teens. She definitely is one loved baby! Sometimes we come home and skype with her grandparents in AZ, so they can love on her a little too.

Working with so many young girls, several that are pregnant, who have so little support in their lives makes me really grateful for all of the people in mine. I am so thankful that Maya will grow up with a great support system and have people loving her every step of the way.

I feel as though I should end this post with a PSA: GO MENTOR A YOUNG GIRL IN YOUR COMMUNITY! (Stepping off on my soap box now...not that any of you are shocked!)

2009-02-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Here is Pea sporting her new hat. My aunt Sue has started knitting again and sent Maya this super cute cap. I love handmade clothes or things that have been past down...so special.

The sweetest sound

2009-01-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Maya's laugh is hands down my favorite sound on the planet! She thinks it is so funny when Ty shuffles cards. We also figured out that she really likes snorting noises, so our friend Jenna walked around our house holding Maya and making piggy noises! I will try to grab that video tonight.

5 months

2009-01-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

Back in Action

2009-01-20T11:58:00.001-08:00

I have to apologize for being such a terrible blogger lately. I could give a list of excuses, but I will save you all from my whining! Here are a few updates from la casa Matthews!

January marked my return to work...full time. It has been a tough transition to say the least, but I constantly remind myself that I am so lucky to have a job doing what I love. Last weekend Maya and I attended my annual High School Girls Night Out event at the beach with 15 HS girls! Pea was definitely the belle of the ball, and was well educated on all things GIRL. January also marked the addition of another new role....Sex Ed guru! Yes you read it right, I am teaching Sex Ed which I call "Healthy Relationships". It has gone really well so far....keep your fingers crossed! There are about 13 youth under the age of 18 that are going to be parents this year, so it is obviously needed. I am also helping to facilitate a childbirth/newborn care class. Good stuff. Ty is plugging away at work too! He has endured 3 management changes in the last year, but is keeping a positive attitude and pushing forward toward his goals.

Miss Maya is as wonderful as ever! She is developing such a sweet personality, and is quite the social butterfly. She loves to read (or listen), watch people, talk, smile, coo, and cuddle. I am pretty sure she is starting to cut a tooth...which secretly makes my heart sink...big kids have teeth! We are so lucky, Maya loves her sleep. She is a good napper and sleeps for about 11 hours at night. Sometimes waking up once to eat, but then goes right back to bed. Yesterday I found myself wondering what we did before life with Maya. We feel so completed with her as a part of our life.

I am writing this from work so I better wrap it up. Our home computer has been on the fritz, another reason for the lack of posting.

My commute this morning...

2009-01-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

The snow is melting and it rained really hard over the last few days, so this is what I encountered today trying to get to the office. Seriously? I hate all of my friends that live in sunny California right now. Just kidding....kind of.

Christmas Morning

2009-01-02T10:02:00.000-08:00

Maya's Uncle JJ in SLC is a HUGE Jazz fan, and sent her a hat. My cousin Travis was so funny, she wore the hat over to my grandma's house and he now thinks that she needs a Seahawks one too. Christmas was pretty low key this year with the weather being so crazy, but to be honest it was really nice to be home. Ty's parents weren't able to fly down which was really hard on all of us, but we will be seeing them soon!

Cabin Fever

2008-12-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know me well, you know that I don't do well when I'm not on the move. The past 9 days, not that I am counting, have tested my ability to relax. I think that I have done pretty well, Ty would be the true judge. We both have had a few moments were we were feeling the itch to get out and do something. Obviously Maya isn't old enough to "play" in the snow, but we did take her for a walk down to 3rd Street for lunch and a little Christmas shopping over the weekend.

We also took her out to "experience" the snow!

Then back inside for a little thumb sucking! Her new thing is grabbing anything above her head or on it and pulling it over her face. Pretty funny...

4 Months

2008-12-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

Maya is 4 months old and had her well-child check-up today. We were the only people in the doctor's office...it felt a little like the twilight zone. There were two receptionists and the doctor...he came out to the lobby to get us, weighed & measured Maya, and visited with us for about 20 minutes. Ahhhh...it was like the good old days! He also showed us a picture of himself outside playing in the snow as a child the last time the Willamette Valley had this much snow...in 1968!

Here are Pea's stats:

Weight: 14 lbs, 13 oz (75th percentile)
Height: 25 1/2 inches (95th percentile) Yes I am secretly living my tall dreams through my child

Snow Days...

2008-12-20T10:15:00.001-08:00

Thankfully I work for an organization that values our safety and they let me stay home, snuggle with Pea, work a little, and watch the snow fall! Here are a few pictures of our snow day happenings in our little snow covered house on birch street.

Helping my mom workKisses for Squirt the turtle!A little mid-afternoon nap in my cradle board

Getting ready to head out in the snow and checking out my favorite two things...my hands!

The Big Trip Home

2008-12-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

We left Ellensburg at about 2 pm on Sunday, because we knew it would be a slow drive home through the snowy mountain pass. This was our view as we started over the pass at about 3 pm.

Thankfully we decided to drive the truck that has 4 wheel drive! It was crazy! It normally takes 5 hours...it took 8. By 5 pm it was completely dark and snowing like crazy.

Maya was a trooper! She slept for the first leg of the journey from E-burg to the Dalles. We stopped to have dinner and let Pea stretch. Here is Dad and Maya...her first time in the snow.We were back on the road. I drove for about 5 minutes before almost breaking into tears...semi trucks, black ice and Pea in the back seat! Not my finest moment...Ty took over. We finally pulled into Portland and it was snowing and the roads were covered in snow. It so rarely snows down here...it was so beautiful. It was the same at home...a totally white little town! The drive was really scary we slid around a few times and encountered many crazy drivers. I feel like this picture of Maya really sums it up...

"Seriously? Are we ever going to get out of the car!"

The Big Trip North...

2008-12-16T12:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Ellensburg is really Northeast of McMinnville but you get the idea. We knew that we would encounter a little bit a snow, but we had no idea how much! Ty's cousin Erik and his wife Nicole were in Ellensburg for the weekend to celebrate Christmas and had a wedding reception for the local folks who didn't make the trip out to Boston for the ceremony last summer. We also were dying to meet Eden! The one year old little sister to Ezri (4), daughters of our great friends Levi and Steph. It has been killing us both that we had only been able to see her through pictures. These are two of the sweetest little angels!

Plan B...

2008-12-10T12:30:00.001-08:00

Here is the outcome of Plan B...

Does this picture not belong on a calendar somewhere!
The stare-off...b.little has recently starting sitting up on his own, and really enjoyed pushing Pea over just to show her he is older and therefore the boss.

Grandma Rena was the baby wrangler!

Hey...at least they are both looking the same direction!

Natalie, Jonathan, Grandma, & I set up our own "studio"(aka my couch w/ a white sheet) and tried our best to get that one great shot. These are the best...again Maya with the Diva attitude and a lot of slobber! Watch out world....

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-06T10:02:00.001-08:00

My sister and I had this great plan...

Find the babies really cute Christmas clothes
Have their photo taken

Make Christmas cards

Well...we should have known the greatest plans sometimes fail miserably! The day started with Natalie loosing B.little's hat (the center piece of the whole concept), then running to 5 different stores looking for the perfect shoes, and hair bow, then realizing we were going to be late, then realizing the babies needed to eat (thank you Nordstrom women's lounge), rushing to the portrait place 15 minutes late......

Do you know how difficult it is to get a 5 month old and a 3.5 month old to look at a camera let alone smile? Really really tough is the answer. To prove my point here are the best shots of the day...

Maya was having a Diva moment...kicking off shoes, drooling excessively, and completely refusing to smile. On to Plan B.

B.little

2008-12-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Since my sister is the worst blogger ever, I have decided to do a Bradley post. We all have started calling him Bradlittle instead of Bradley, and of course Bradlittle and turned into B.little. I don't know, we have a nicknaming sickness! Brad is a big baby, he and Maya are the same length but he out weighs her by 4+ pounds. He is such a sweet little boy, full of giggles and loves to jump! And of course loves his auntie!

GO DUCKS!

2008-12-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

For all of Sweet Pea's UO Aunties!

Maya wanted to express how happy she was after the big UO win last Saturday! She is fascinated with the camera, so capturing a smiling or talking clip is like hunting the Lochness monster!

Happy Tuesday!

2008-12-03T08:43:00.001-08:00

Is she not the cutest thing you have ever seen? Pea is actually 3 months and 2 weeks tomorrow, but I finally got her 3 month pictures from the studio.

Victory! ... and a House Guest

2008-11-23T16:41:00.000-08:00

Ty passed his series 7 test today! I know that he is excited, but I am elated that it is finally over. The last few weeks have been filled with long hours at work, in coffee shops, and in Ptown prepare and it all paid off.

Side note: Our friend Patrick from the Netherlands flies in tonight to stay with us for a week or so. He is such a great friend. He played on Ty's football team when we were in Germany and was also one of our flat-mates. (me + 6 football players...what an experience!) We were able to visit him in his hometown for a week during the time we were living in Europe and made a pact to visit each other every few years. Well he has done all the traveling thus far. This will be his fourth trip to Mac! He always comes for Thanksgiving...his favorite holiday:) We try each year to show him something authentically PacNW...Seattle, Portland, wine tasting, a UO game! This year we are traveling to the Seattle area for the holiday with Ty's fam, and our PacNW experience is going to be watching the Civil War...on t.v..

A funny Patrick story: The first time he came to visit Ty picked him up from the airport at night and about 2/3 of the way he says to Ty, "It really feels like we are heading to the end of the earth." Being from Europe, filled with cities and well-lighted super highways I am guessing that our rural little community probably did seem like the end of the world.

Come Home Dad

2008-11-20T16:57:00.000-08:00

So clearly the working mom deal is kicking my butt! I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Ty has been studying for his final license exam (series 7) for the past month or so, and has been staying in Portland all week for a class. Being a single mom is TERRIBLE. We miss dad! The only positive thing to come of his working away from home is that little miss and I met up with him for dinner on Tuesday night. We ended up going to Starbucks after dinner to talk and hang out. It almost felt like we were dating again, hanging out, talking about our big dreams for the future and then going home to separate places. One small difference...S. Pea was chillin' out at Starbucks too!

Ty comes home tomorrow, and we both can't wait. It doesn't feel right to be home without all three of us. Don't get me wrong, I love a little home alone time but the whole week is too much.

Here is a COME HOME DAD picture....

Tell me these two don't look alike! I think I was simply the oven.

11 weeks

2008-11-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

Time is flying by! Sadly Maya has definitely grown out of her newborn phase, but is happily a big girl infant. She is so fun and really smiley. She is currently about 12 pounds and 24.5 inches (yes really really long!).

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today Maya and I ventured today to her first Halloween party. It was for all of the youth that I work with and they were dying to see Maya in her costume. Let's just say her completely OCD mother had a really tough time with all of the dirty little hands that were trying to mall her...so we left early (after insisting on hand washing & a lot of hand sanitizer). She was a trooper and the kids were so so so excited to see her. A few of my high school students were there also and were able to hold her...they are so great and really helpful.

More Decor...

2008-10-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

These are covered bulletin boards for snapshots

(fabric covered cork board w/ hot glue and cardboard backing)
Inexpensive picture frames, painted white & antiqued with sandpaper, eventually I will put some photos in a few of them but for now we used fabric.

THANK YOU ERIN!!!
Sometimes you need some to help put your ideas into action and Erin is definitely that friend/sister for me!

Finally!

2008-10-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

Ty's sister Erin has been with us for the past few days and she always brings out my creative side. We finally have spent some time decorating in Maya's room (aka holding cell for all of her stuff). Here is a sneak peak at our work. I will add the other pictures when I get home.

Our first big adventure....of many!

2008-10-28T10:02:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the lack of posting lately, but the last two weeks have been nuts! I started back to work on the 14th, only part-time but it was still a big adjustment. Everyone in my office has been amazing and really supportive. Maya stays with GiGi (my grandma Rena) on Mondays and Tuesdays and with my mom on Thursdays. It is the biggest blessing, she loves being there and they love her.

On Wednesday Maya and I heading off for our first big adventure together...just the two of us. I had a conference/convention for work in Seattle from Thursday-Sunday. My aunt Susan came to spend Wednesday night with us, and allowed me to go spend some time with my staff in downtown. It was great, Maya and my aunt got some quality bonding time and I got a night out with some friends. Maya was excellent the entire time. I had her in her Moby wrap the good majority of the time and she listened into the sessions with me. Educating her young! We spent our nights hanging out in the hotel, taking baths in the giant jacuzzi tub and catching up on some t.v..

On Sunday we heading down to Tacoma to visit Ty's family, who were selling their goods at a gift show. It was really fun to help out for a little bit (really little like an hour). Ed and Mil took turns holding Pea. We actually kidnapped Auntie Erin and brought her home with us.

Just a little update...more stories/picture to come.

Uncle Brock

2008-10-19T13:31:00.001-07:00

We broke Brock (Ty's brother) into his new role as an uncle this past weekend, which he seemed to respond to with flying colors. He spent his first 24 hours being drug around to a football game, grocery shopping, and staying home alone while we went to our birthing class reunion. He was a rock star uncle from the start: super patient, and flexible. Maya loves her Uncle Brock! She even participated in Ty and Brock's epic Halo battles (that's a video game). While Brock was here, we spent a lot of time at home but ventured out for dinner and a movie on 3rd Street. We can't wait for Brock's next visit.

No School Friday

2008-10-17T17:28:00.001-07:00

Last Friday was a in-service day for local schools, so Josh & Lily came over to hang out with Maya and I. Lily (we also call her Austin & Liz) was such a great helper. Josh is waiting until she can "play". We watched movies played Lego's and had the traditional Mac & Cheese. Good times.

Costume Reject #1

2008-10-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

So I know that she will probably only wear her costume for a total of one hour, but it is such a big decision! I am on the great search for a really cute lady bug, but here was one option....a real Sweet Pea!

She was pretty cute, but it really didn't fit.

Maya if you read this someday, I apologize for treating you like a dress up doll! But it is really fun!

I really want to suck my thumb!

2008-10-09T12:49:00.001-07:00

It usually turns into sucking on half of her hand, but she really likes it!

6 weeks!

2008-10-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of Maya at 6 weeks old. I can barely believe how quickly time has passed. I am heading back to work 3 days a week next Tuesday! (More about that later)

Go Wildcats!

2008-09-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Maya attended her first football game last night! She has watch enough on t.v. in the past 5 weeks to be a pro, so with the help of Grandma Chris and Grandpa Eddie we headed to the big Linfield vs Southern Oregon game. It was the perfect night for football, 70-75 degrees all day and it stayed warm well into the night. The game ended at about 9:15 pm and I was cozy in a t-shirt all night. We decided that she is already a football fan because she waited until just before half time to get hungry and we made it back with 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Ty was filling in as the guest radio announcer for the night so he was stuck in the booth and didn't get to hang out with us, but it was still fun. The Wildcats pulled out the win in overtime, which made the night much better. I am the family photog and had miss Maya in my Moby wrap (http://www.mobywrap.com/) for most of the game, so I didn't get many great pics. But here are a few...I couldn't resist the baby bear suit, even though it is too big and really wasn't that cold. She loved wearing it!

Bath Time!

2008-09-28T11:03:00.001-07:00

I have been waiting to post some really fun bath time photos, until she starting enjoying the water a little more. Slowly but surely with each bath she likes the water a little bit more. She really likes to be under the water, but hates getting out and being cold. We decided that she is pretty modest and really doesn't like to be naked...so Ty fakes her out with a washcloth!

Confession...

2008-09-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

She is even cute when she cries!

If I were Catholic I would be spending a lot of time in the good old confession booth these days. I have been kind of avoiding visiting people and/or leaving the house lately because Maya has colic. I know that babies everywhere are fussy, but this is takes fussy to a whole new level.

My confession is that I have been really struggling with guilt and feeling embarrassed. She has cried so often at various times of the day over the last few weeks that I never know when she will be "safe" to take out and when it will turn into complete chaos! I have literally read almost every book I can get my hands on over the last 9 months and none of it seems to work for Maya...that is where the guilt plays in. After trying all of the various "methods" of parenting for weeks without anything seeming to work, it left me feeling like a complete failure. I have waited my entire life to be a mom, and then I (for lack of better descriptive word) SUCK at it. She wakes up every 5-20 minutes if I lay her down on her back, but I feel like I might be hauled in for child abuse if I lay her on her stomach. But after days of pushing from my grandma I laid her down on her stomach for a nap...she was out in 30 seconds and slept for 2 hours. So I either am a bad mom for letting her sleep on her stomach or I feel horrible because she never gets any good sleep on her back. Uggggg

The embarrassed part is that I always like to have it "together". Look good, feel good right? For two weeks any attempt at heading out of the house has turned into screaming and Maya being totally inconsolable. Last week she didn't want anybody to hold her except for me, leaving Ty feeling totally helpless. We have been truly blessed with so many wonderful friends who just want to meet Maya, and I am embarrassed because she cries when they hold her (unless she happens to be sleeping).

I am "outing" myself for a few reasons:

1) I took her back to the pediatrician because I knew she had thrush (even though they said she didn't) and sure enough she did, so now that she is on the mend, she is feeling much better. I also asked them about the laying on her back and her waking up all the time issue and they think she has baby heartburn or acid reflux which wakes her up so we are trying a few things to help with that and it seems to be working :)

2) I constantly am telling others to be open, that talking about it helps...and I am not following my own advice. Today I went to see my midwife, Megan...aka my hero, and it felt so good to talk to her about what has been going on. She is a mom and a wife and a real person too! Her advice was so helpful. She said, "Molly, none of the authors of any of the baby books have ever met Maya, they don't know what her specific needs are, you do. Stop feeling guilty about meeting the needs of your baby...that is why she is yours." I cried a little.

3) My poor little sister Natalie saw Maya and I in full colic mode the other day when we were attempting a visit to Target. It really upset her because she had no idea that we were struggling. I think that she felt a little hurt that I hadn't said anything and really sad for Maya and I. All of this reminding me that I tend to be very kept to myself and private when things aren't going so hot.

Thankfully the last two days and nights have gone much better. Maya is a happier baby, and Ty and I are learning to take things as they come. There are good days and bad days...or as my M.i.L says, "they are all good days, some are just better than others". So to all of our wonderful friends who have been trying to visit...if you don't mind the possibility of a scream here or there we would love to see you. Please don't give up on us.

This has to be the most hormonal blog on the planet! I swear I will update with some really fun posts soon...or my awful attempt at humor through blogging.

One Month

2008-09-19T17:07:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that tomorrow Maya is officially one month old. It honestly makes me want to cry, the time has absolutely flown by. There are so many days that just blend in together and most days I have no idea what day it is and I definitely have no clue what the date is.

Maya is doing really well, eating a lot, going to the bathroom a lot, and sleeping better. Last night she slept for 5 1/2 hours in a row!! I woke up and for a second could remember if I was still pregnant and needed to pee or if I was a mom and needed to feed the baby. Then I realized my chest was throbbing and cleared that up.

Highlights so far...

I love that when Maya is cranky usually my voice and touch calms her down.

I love when she smiles in her sleep.

I love her little noises and the fact that when she eats she sounds like a little piglet!

I love when you hold her she locks eyes with you and studies your face.

Shopping & Babies

2008-09-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my sister and I decided to head toward Portland to do a little shopping. I needed to return a few things and just felt like getting out of town. Natalie and Brad were up for it so they headed over around 11:00 and we were off. Two car seats, two giant diaper bags, one stroller, a baby Bjorn, and a sling...it looked like we were heading off for vacation.

The first stop was a great success! No crying, no diaper changes, just peaceful sleeping babes. We were feeling pretty confident, and even bragging a bit about what great future shoppers we had. Next on the agenda was Washington Square Mall.

Both babies would need to be fed soon so we headed in with the stroller for Maya and Brad in the sling, and did our best to combine our stuff into one bag. I remembered that Nordstrom has a great mother's lounge (fabulous!). About 20 minutes into lunch time for the babies Natalie realizes that brad had a major blowout, upon further investigation it was a 9 on a scale of 1 - 10. Through two layers of clothes and the sling...so naked brad is in the stroller, I am feeding Maya and Natalie is running out to the car for more clothes and a different baby carrier. She had been gone for 2 minutes when Maya projectile vomits all over me, all over herself, and all over the wonderful Nordstrom lounge chair...and Brad starts crying.

So here I am two crying babies covered in vomit and laughing hysterically, because what else can you do in this situation? Natalie returned and we spent the next 20 minutes attempting to make ourselves and our children presentable. I smelled horrible. The options were buy a new outfit and continue shopping or drive 45 minutes back home...I opted for the new outfit. So now with B in the stroller and little M in the baby Bjorn we sped over to Forever 21 (can you imagine seeing two moms with babies shopping at a store that is basically for teen age girls?). $16 later I had a new outfit and headed to the restroom. I rip the tags off and pull on the not so smelly new clothes only to realize that there was a hole in the new dress...that I had pulled the tags off of. Fabulous!

On our way home, Miss Maya decides about 10 minutes into the drive that she is starving (30 minutes earlier than normal) and begins to scream uncontrollably. Starbucks here we come. A 1/2 hour later back on the road....20 minutes later....more screaming from the back seat...pull over Molly to backseat and Natalie to the driver seat. 20 minutes later...home finally!

Lessons learned:

1. Take a lot of stuff with you everywhere

2. Take extra clothes for myself

3. Add Febreze to the diaper bag

4. Inspect clothing before ripping off tags

5. I think I need a bigger car!

The little angels before the big trip!

Pictures from the last week

2008-09-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Ty bought Maya a hat that fits
Brad showing his sporty side
Heading to the farmers market w/ Grandma Chris
Hanging with Dad
The funniest picture ever! Grama Karen found the shades.

(I bought this outfit in case we had a boy)

True Perspective

2008-09-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

Many times over the last year, specifically the last few weeks I have been reminded of the harder times people face and that I need to keep things in perspective. There are so many joyful things about being a new mom and also some trying times too. Last night, precious Maya, tested our wits, patience, and ability to operate without sleep. In the depths, of her screaming I kept thinking of my friend Natalie who lost her mom last Monday to a 5+ year battle with cancer. Monday I was able to attend her memorial service and it was amazing. I know amazing might be an odd word to describe this event, but it was truly beautiful and filled with joy. Although difficult for me to think of my great friend suffering what I can only imagine as the deepest kind of pain, I was really lifted up by all of the amazing things people had to say about her mother. The one line that will stick with me forever was this (the priest telling the crowd about running into Jeanne before he went to meet the Pope, he asked her if he could take a prayer for her health with him) "she told me to put her at the bottom of his list, that we should pray for all of the people in the world living without first, and for peace in the middle eastern countries..." The story continued, but what a statement. She had been truly suffering for over 5 years and over the past 6 months suffering daily, and still had the perspective to put herself last. (Of course I am completely a mess & crying now!) After the memorial service the family hosted a get together under a beautiful big tent with appetizers, beer and wine, and good music. People talked and told stories for hours. I could not imagine a better way to celebrate such a beautiful lady.

My other perspective story hits even closer to home. This weekend my auntie and two cousins from Bellingham came to see us. We lived with them for about a year, and absolutely LOVE any time we get to spend with them. Unfortunately we don't see them very often. My uncle is working in Hawaii for the month so it was just the girls on this visit. My cousins have an extremely rare genetic condition that delays their growth mentally and physically. It was so great getting to share Maya with all of them and my amazing aunt always reminds me to cherish every healthy moment and love all of the smallest of victories in our children. Good stuff.

Sorry for the overly emotional post but I am feeling very teary today and needed to get it out. Love blog therapy. Hope all is well with everyone.

M

A week in review...

2008-09-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

Whoa...I haven't really ever experienced being home all day and having so little time to get anything done. I am sure all of those moms out there are secretly laughing! I have barely had time to shower let along blog, email or return calls but hopefully this week Maya and I will turn the corner. In all honesty things are going really well, we are just in the eating most all of the time phase which really takes up a lot of the day. So I first would like to apologize for not returning calls and emails, but promise that it will improve over the next few weeks. Second, I wanted to give everyone a quick update. Here is one of my favorite picture of Maya and cousin Brad.

Where to start? Last Saturday Tory & Dave were married which was fabulous. Here are a few pictures. I of course took my camera but it didn't make it out of the diaper bag (typical!) But thankfully the bride sent out a few pics that I can share. Tory was easily one of the most elegantly beautiful brides ever. The whole evening was perfect...as expected Tory cried a lot, but she one of those lucky people who still look pretty while crying. My friend Chris & I decided that the best part of the reception was the enormous chocolate fountain! It really doesn't matter how old I am, inside I still love all things Willy Wonka.

Last week Ty's mom came to visit from Wednesday night and left this morning. It was great having her here although I felt a little guilty because she spent most of her time working in the yard, cooking, and doing our laundry. She got some great cuddle time in with Maya.

My Mom, Sister, and Aunt Susan threw a meet the baby shower for Maya & I. It was wonderful, they invited family and a few close family friends so that it wasn't too overwhelming for Maya (okay maybe her extremely paranoid mom!) We sat in my parent's front yard and talked for hours...mainly laughing at Joann, my bf Jenni's mom. It definitely reminded me of the great parts of coming from a small town, and some of the other parts like the mud covered trucks that look like over sized toys driving by yelling stuff out the windows. Classy!

Last night we headed out to take Chris (Ty's mom) to dinner at our favorite hole in the wall BBQ place in Dundee (Huckabee's BBQ). It was a nice way to end a fairly crazy week. Today we are relaxing, big time...I decided at 2 pm that I should change out of my PJ's so I upgraded to workout clothes...it is a step up right?

Oh...My dad's birthday was on the 6th. He turned the big 50 and celebrated by heading to the Ducks game with all of the guys in the family. Ty could go because he had to work, but he was there in spirit.

Random Photos

2008-09-01T17:43:00.000-07:00

Watching her first Oregon game

(thank goodness for TiVo!)

Sophia meeting Maya for the first time

There is nothing better than cuddling/sleeping with Maya!

A rare shot of Maya with her eyes open

Ty's last day at home with the girls!

Here are a few random photos from the last few days. I will be much more diligent in updating the blog this week. I have tons to write about! Weddings, out of town friends, and all things Maya...which is really a lot of sleeping right now.

Our Weekend

2008-08-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day filled with relaxing and hanging out with some family. Maya was able to spend time with my aunt Susan, aunt Natalie, cousin brad, uncle Eric, and my mom was "finally" (in her words) able to get some good bonding time with her. Ty went to Salem last night for Alex & Tracy's rehearsal dinner, so Grammy came over to hang with Maya & I. It was a much needed relaxing night!

Today Ty was in his good friend Alex's wedding, so Maya and I made our first big venture out of the house. We did pretty good with a lot of help from our friend Brodie who was our driver, bag carrier, etc. Maya wore her first dress to the big party!

Our friends Nicole, Ty and Jenna also stopped by to visit this evening they all commented on how petite Maya looks in real life. I think it is because she is so long, her weight is really spread out.

The story, in Dad's eyes...

2008-08-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

I had to throw a couple of my favorite pics in here, thanks to Aunt Natalie. This was me announcing, "Baby girl!" for the first time. The second one is simply beautiful...

I had the privilege of watching this (the birth) all go down from what I have coined "The Bobsled Position": me sitting behind Molly, counting as she pushed, and getting to witness Maya enter the world from basically the same view as Mom. For those of you who didn't hear the story, we got to the hospital Wednesday morning around 7:30 AM. They induced Moll around 9 AM, and for the next 9 hours, not much happened. Then around 6:30 PM that night, Maya decided it was time, and she wasn't kidding. From that first hard contraction, Moll dilated to an 8+ within an hour. She started the actual pushing around 9, and out Maya came at 10:41.

Everything was perfect. I think it still has not hit me, as it happened so fast, but I couldn't have imagined it going any better. Easy for me to say, I know, but Moll and I both talked about Megan and Bev (midwife and nurse during delivery), family at the hospital, and all the calls, notes, flowers, cards, etc. from all of our friends and family all over the world. The love you all have shown us is overwhelming. To quote Mark Wickman from Joe McLaughlin, "This is life at it's best." I can't imagine any better. More to follow soon! We love you all, and Maya says hello...

Home Sweet Home

2008-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

My midwife Megan & Baby Maya

Uncle Eric with Maya at home

Maya loving on Dad

Well we made it home from the hospital! It feels really good to be home, but I am so thankful for the time we had at the hospital. Our midwife and all of the nurses are my new heroes, they made our experience so amazing. Maya is doing really well, she didn't really like the car seat but other than that she is awesome. She loves to cuddle!

I have to give a huge thank you to both of our families! They have been so great...words cannot describe how blessed we are to have them. Ty's parents drove down from Spokane to be here and my parents, brother, sister, & Gram have been superstars. Love you guys!

Maya Karen Christine Matthews.

2008-08-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

Born: August 20, 2008
10:41 pm
7lbs 13oz
21 inches long.

Molly and Tyler are doing amazing, no internet at the hospital but they will update as soon as possible. :) Maya is the most beautiful baby I have ever saw.
- love the proud auntie (natalie)

Plus 1 week

2008-08-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today marks being officially overdue by one week.

We took everybody's advice and had a date night last night. I wasn't exactly feeling ready for the public so we ordered pizza and watched the movie "Fool's Gold". It was definitely what the doctor ordered, we had a lot of fun...downed an entire pizza between the two of us and drank root beer! Pretty wild night I know.

We had our visit with the midwife today and I spent about 40 minutes on the baby monitoring machine, baby is doing great (obviously loving life inside the womb!). I haven't made much progress downstairs, but I have had contractions all day today! They aren't painful but I am having them several times an hour. So I hope that they just keep getting stronger!

PS...Can you believe that in a matter of days I will be a mom! Pretty nuts.

I thought that it would be fun to see what people are thinking about Sweet Pea....girl or boy...make sure to vote.

Blog Therapy

2008-08-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

So it is Monday August 18th, and no baby yet. I know people are curious so I thought that I would lay the curiosity to rest. Our midwife said that if there is no baby by our appointment tomorrow we will start to talk seriously about labor induction. Of course last week I thought that I would want to wait, but at this point I am thinking bring on the pitocin (labor inducing drug)!

I really did pretty well emotionally until last night when I had reached my breaking point. Over the weekend I felt contractions that were about 20 minutes apart both Friday and Saturday night for several hours and I was just sure that last night I would have then again and I would be heading to the hospital. Well...no such luck. I might have had 3 all night. I was really feeling defeated. We stayed up to watch the Olympics until about 12:30 and then Ty headed to bed, which gave me way too much time to "think" about things. Honestly until that point I hadn't shed one tear over the overdue business. I tried to get ready to go to bed and absolutely lost it. It was about 1 am and I probably cried for no good reason for an hour and did laundry because what else do you do at 1:30 am when you are trying not to wake up your husband who has to go to work in the morning. I decided that work wasn't the best choice for me today, so I am at home feeling sorry for myself...not really I am doing a little better.

I hung out with my gram this morning...bi-mart, Safeway, Jake's for breakfast....all of the important things. Now I am watching O.A.R. on the HD Music Channel...they rock! Who would think that they could pack out Madison Square Garden?? My UO girls and I use to watch them play these little tiny venues in Eugene and Portland. Good stuff.

Love you all...thanks so much for all of the well wishes and comments! They genuinely are the highlight of my day at this point. I will let you know as soon as there is any "movement" down south.

Here is my fabulous giant self at 40 weeks...I have to be honest I don't want to take these pictures any more. I know that you have seen this dress several times, but I refuse to buy any more maternity clothes! REFUSE.

Ty's First Wedding

2008-08-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

That is a funny name for a post, but to explain Ty officiated his first wedding on Saturday. It was a scorcher to say the least (100+, can you imagine my 9+ preggers self in that heat, not pretty!). The wedding was for one of his players, Trevor and his fiancee Chrysanne. The ceremony was awesome! Ty spent a lot of time preparing and it really paid off. I know they were really happy with how it went and several people commented on how special it was.

Ty and Jenna came down for the wedding and stayed with us which was fabulous. It was a great distraction to have Jenna here to spend some quality girl time and get my mind off of the obvious waiting game that we are currently playing. Jenni also stopped by on Saturday to hang out for a little bit, as always it was great to see her.

Friday with the Crew

2008-08-17T22:26:00.001-07:00

My family came by to hang out Friday here are some new pictures of baby Brad, my gram, and Josh breaking in sweet pea's room with legos (Austin was at overnight camp this week).

Ode to the Olympics

2008-08-14T10:32:00.001-07:00

Most of you already know this but I LOVE the Olympics! It is just about the one and only time that I am patriotic and all about the USA, because most of the time I am totally disappointed by our country & its politics...but that is for another day. I also love seeing the major athletes spending their free time supporting other athletes. I looked online today and many of the USA men's basketball players have been all over the place watching volleyball, swimming, diving, etc. How cool is that? If there is one saving grace, it is knowing that every day for the next few weeks I can be entertained by the worlds best athletes.

Growing up I would always dream about competing in an event and winning the medal, my parents crying in the stands. The whole deal. It is so cool to watch an athlete like Micheal Phelps celebrate and to watch his mom & sisters in the stands...I love it. So my dreams of being an Olympian were a little short lived, but my best friend since I was 3 (Jenni) has always been a super star track athlete and I just knew that she would make it and then I could still go and live vicariously through her. She was an All-American in the Pole Vault in 2002! Well Jenni hasn't made it to the Olympics yet, but I have to be honest I still think that she will. That might sound crazy because she is a coach now for the greatest University on the Planet, also known as U of O, but I could see her participating in about 1/2 of the events. She is just that kind of a lady...she kicks butt and takes names! So Jen if you read this post just know that I am still your biggest fan (next to big momma, of course).

On a side note, as you might have guessed, still no sign of sweet pea. I feel as though I might be pregnant for the rest of my life, as I have had ZERO signs of baby.

D Day!

2008-08-12T14:00:00.001-07:00

Well today was the day that I have had circled in red on EVERY calendar I own for the the last 7.5 months. I almost couldn't come to work today because of that d... red circle, but I made it and I am going to be just fine. This morning Ty and I headed into the doctor's office, another thing I really wasn't looking forward to doing. Here is a brief overview...

"Wow we didn't think that you would make this appointment" -nurse

"Really, because I am REALLY happy that I am here anyway...I mean who wants to actually HAVE a baby...I would be content to be pregnant for the rest of my life NOT." -little green men in my head

"Well do you want me to check you to see if you are making any progress" -midwife

"Hmmmm...not checking = wondering, but no disappointment, and not checking = not having your hand you know where." -little green men in my head

"I don't think you should check, you will just be pissed when she says NOTHING is happening" -the husband

"What are some "real" natural ways to induce labor" -Molly

"We could try stripping your membranes" -the midwife

"What is that?" -Molly

" LSKJDFOIF EIOEFNSOIEJFSDHFOEH." -the midwife (you can look it up for yourself I refuse to write the details of this particular procedure)

"Are you crazy! You seriously thought that you would entertain the idea of a natural birth and you are sweating over "stripping the membranes"...you are a joke" - little green men

"What the heck, let's do it???" -Molly

"She is crazy and I am going to be sick" -ty's little green men

So all in all today has been very interesting, physically uncomfortable, and filled with lots of well wishes from friends and family. I thought that I would share my version of D day.

Best, M

The Home Stretch...

2008-08-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

No baby action to report on today. I am trying to change my attitude about the whole tomorrow is my due date and I won't have a baby thing. There are so many other things that could go wrong, and the fact that I have zero patience really doesn't matter. In order to pass the time I have been baking...mainly apple dishes because our apple tree is overloaded with apples this year (any locals who want some gravenstein apples come on over).

(self portrait of my babysitting skills)

Yesterday Ty and I went and walked around the Woodburn Outlets, and had some just the two of us time. It was really nice. We shopped for things for the two of us no baby stuff allowed. Then today I worked this morning, came home and watched baby brad for about an hour (I will take what I get), went to the acupuncturist, then to a meet and greet with the pediatrician, and then I came home to this:

(The stroller in it's box & what it looked like when I opened it)

So excited!

So that is my project for today...

39 weeks

2008-08-08T17:40:00.001-07:00

So here I am in all my glory at 39 weeks. We headed out to the Par 3 course a few nights ago to get a little exercise and some fresh air. No golfing for me, the big belly got in the way. I did try to putt a few times, but it didn't really work either.

I headed to the doctor today with an extremely hopeful attitude and left a little discouraged. She said no progress yet. Ugggg! So I called my acupuncturist and she worked her magic this afternoon...we will see. I am also going in to see her on Monday, she said that she has a really high success rate of getting things moving. I SURE HOPE SO! I will keep you all posted.

Baby Room Updates

2008-08-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Steve's Addition to the Nursery!

The Crib (filled with stuff)

Our room with the cradle (made by my great-uncle)

My Favorite Things

2008-08-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

So I am feeling really guilty about my complete lack of picture posting lately. I have been really tired when I get home and night and have forgotten to take pictures. I will work on that tonight.

Instead, I am writing about my favorite things (stolen idea from my friend Stefanie). I thought it would be fun if people have favorite things of their own to add them in the comments section. Some of the greatest products I have ever used come from my friends.

Kiehl's Sunless Tanner (amazing!!)

Burt's Bee's Chapstick
Mustela
(all products, but I really like their maternity line)

Viva Paper Towels

Phil & Ted's Stroller

(okay so it can be a favorite thing because it has arrived yet, but it will and then it will officially be my new favorite thing)

All Things that come from In n Out Burger~! I can't post a picture because I would start drooling on the keyboard.

FYI, No sign of Sweet Pea yet. I have had a few mild, painless contractions and some pressure downstairs, but no "THE BABY IS COMING" action. I will definately keep everyone posted...like it or not.

Updates

2008-08-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the slow postings, but I have gone into full "nesting" mode! I spent Saturday with my friend Nicole shopping for some last minute items for the nursery and price shopping for a few things that we really want. (Mark you should be proud) Saturday night Ty was throwing a bachelor party for his friend Alex at our house so I tried to stay away as long as possible. I think they had a lot of fun...golf, poker, guy movies!

Then came Sunday, poor Ty was super tired from staying up most of the night and I was ready to remodel and deep clean our house. He was a really good sport and didn't complain at all. We totally revamped our bedroom to make room for the cradle, cleaned the house, and organized/arranged the nursery. I promise to take pictures when I get home tonight.

Side note: Two of the couples from our birthing class have already had their babies! I was the first due date...the world is really unfair at times. I am about one week from the "due" date...we will see.

Ferry Boats & Chocolate

2008-07-31T19:07:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I started my long journey home from my last outing with youth. Let me just start by saying I barely want to write this because I am going to get a wrath of "I told you so" messages, but chalk it up to honesty. So yesterday morning I was in Duncan, B.C. and decided that it was time for me to head home. Nothing was really happening in the baby department, but I just felt the urge to be home. So I headed down to Victoria to catch the ferry after calling them 6 times to see what the chances of getting on were. The first sailing at 10:30 was a no go, so I parked my car (1st in line) and walked around Victoria for an hour or so and then got back into the car. You have to stay in your car due to some customs rule. The next sailing was at 3:00...fast forward to 2:30...I have made friends with all of the ferry guys and I am sure that I am going to get on the next ferry. Then I watch semi truck after RV after semi truck get loaded on the ferry. Still optimistic, but a little worried I start eating the chocolate bars I had purchased as gifts (why not right?). 3:00 ferry pulls away from dock, Molly still in car on dock, 2 chocolate bars down the tears start to fall.

Side note: I am not a movie star crier...I am a snotty nose, red face, can barely breathe or talk crier.

The young ferry guy comes over and I don't want to roll the window down (for obvious reasons) and he genuinely looks like he might die when he sees me. I am a mess! He is trying so hard to be nice and all I can get out of my mouth is "I am 91/2 months pregnant and I just want to go home." He calming is trying to figure out where I am from (true: I can't verbalize where I live) via hand signals and guessing. He then suggests that I drive to Sidney B.C. to catch the ferry to Vancouver B.C. that in all honesty it is my best chance of making home. So I heading for Sidney, took the ferry to Vancouver drove to Tacoma last night and stayed with my family, then drove the rest of the way this morning. There is also a bad gas station story and me finally getting to work and realizing I left my car keys at home in McMinnville. A fantastic trip home.

I really wish I had pictures of myself for comic relief.

37 weeks

2008-07-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

This is my view of the bump!

I am feeling great in my 37th week of being preggo. I was kind of expecting to feel totally miserable, but things are going well. My doctor appointments are every Friday now, and last Friday she said that things look good and that she thought things would start happening right around my due date, probably not earlier. Which is really okay because I have a lot to get done between now and then. Last week when I had the ultrasound, the tech said that it looked like baby had hair! Sweet.

5 Years!!

2008-07-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

5 years ago today Ty and I were married! We have had a crazy 5 years filled with football, living in several cities and another country, a few different jobs, buying our first home, and getting ready to have a baby. There are many other things in between those big items, but those are the major events. Last night we headed out to dinner to celebrate and we ended up talking about the "highlights" of our last five years. Here is what we came up with:

1. Traveling in Europe together, specifically just the two of us trekking across Italy for a week.

2. The night that I told Ty we were having a baby.

3. Moving to Bellingham with absolutely no plan of what we were going to do.

4. Our honeymoon!

5. Ty's sister Erin's wedding week (we had an absolute blast!)

6. Walking in Ty & Jenna's wedding together.

7. Any vacation we have taken...we decided that we are both alot more fun on vacation, and we both love to travel.

Celebrating Sweet Pea

2008-07-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

My friends Jenna & Lyn threw me a wonderful shower last Friday night. It was so much fun and filled with my friends and family from near and far. People were so amazingly generous...it was really overwhelming. Above are a few pics. It was also Baby Brad's first big outing with "real" clothes.

Update

2008-07-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting over the last few days. I just returned from a 4 day trip to the San Juan island for work. This week and next week is the annual Canoe Journey for the youth canoe club that I oversee. It is a really amazing journey that the youth take from north of Olympia to north of Victoria, B.C.. They paddle a traditional canoe for about 150 miles over 9 days and then spend a few days at the end sharing with other tribes and youth from around the northwest coast. Everybody thought I was crazy to go camping, but it was a blast. I am actually planning on heading back up for a few days this weekend. Being outside and near the water was so relaxing and the youth and others we are traveling with have been so good to me.

I will try to keep the blog updated and add a few pics tomorrow when I get to the office.

People have been asking what my official due date is....August 12th. We shall see. Absolutely no signs of baby yet, which is fine by me. I think sweet pea needs to grow a little bit before making his/her big entrance.

Fantastic Fridays!

2008-07-18T14:41:00.001-07:00

I know that I have mentioned this a time or two before, but my new life of no work on Fridays is fab! I get to do all of the things I never have time to do during the week like laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, Dr appts, watching random shows that only I would love (mostly food network/travel channel), and even walking around Ross with nothing but time on my hands. I absolutely love that store. One it is the only "real" store in MacTown, two I always find something great, and three it is cheap. Today's finds were a new recycled aluminum water bottle, some work out shorts that fit, and a few pair of newborn pants for baby.

Ty & I also went to the doctor today. We always go first thing in the morning and get in right on time, not today...our appt was at 11:15 because we needed to see the Dr. not the midwife and they were running 25 minutes late. Ugg. At my appointments lately they have noticed that I am not growing enough, so today I measured pretty small and the Dr. decided to do an ultrasound. I was pretty nervous about it, but everything was fine. Baby is 5 lbs and 11 ounces according to the ultrasound! Pretty crazy to think that sweet pea will be fully cooked in just a few weeks. We both were really happy to see that baby was growing fine and looking good. And I know that you are wondering if we got a peek at the goods....no! We have waited this long it would have been like cheating.

4 Weeks Away

2008-07-16T21:55:00.001-07:00

I suppose every expectant dad goes through this, but it clicked today that we are literally 4 weeks away from parenthood. [Insert word here for panic]. It started at work today, as I was sitting talking with a client. Through our conversation it came up that Moll and I are going to be parents, and when I told her that we were 36 weeks along, she nonchalantly said, "Wow. Any day now, huh?" My hands started sweating and my mouth went dry. It was the way she said it, as if it was expected that we were 100% ready, had the gas-tank full, first outfit picked out, hospital/diaper/emergency/extra-food-for-husband bag packed, and car seat installed. We don't even have the hospital bag.

After sticking my head between my knees, I relaxed and realized that when I was born, my parents were living in a trailer in The Dalles, Oregon, where I slept in a drawer. It happened to be that I had coffee with my friend, Clancy, this morning, and I think this was God's way of bringing me clarity. Clancy is the wisest man I know, and the topic of conversation this morning was Paul and the Galatians, and to put it relevantly, freedom from rules. I think when it comes to being ready for Baby, there are no rules. You're going to be as ready as you're going to be. (The hospital bag would help this.)

This is life on Birch Street. I hope life on your street finds you all well.

36 weeks!

2008-07-14T17:31:00.001-07:00

So I am officially one month away from my due date. It is really hard to believe that so much time has passed and the big day is so close. I am trying to train myself to not think of my due date as the end...because we all know that really isn't likely. Things are starting to feel very real in my pregnancy journey. Here are a few new side effects of being invaded:

1. Weather that I use to absolutely love 85+ now makes me feel a bit like a blow fish.
2. Waddling....due to aching hips...enough said.
3. Rolling over in bed...interesting, comical, and almost a two man job
4. My roundness... it is hysterical!
5. Several things too gross to mention on a blog that boys read....

Aside from all of that, things really are going well. I have felt myself slowing down (literally) and I know that I need to embrace that, but me being me is fighting it every step of the way.

Here is an update on Sweet Pea:

Growing like a weed at almost 6 lbs (or so the websites say) and about 18 inches long, and is one week away from being considered full term. Moving like crazy, last night Ty read baby a book and then played a little DMB and it was pretty funny to watch baby move around with the music and talking. I am so curious to see what baby looks like...really hoping for Ty's lips and ears...I don't have much of either and my ears are really crooked. We are also needing to narrow in on a few names. It is such a big decision that the baby will have to live with FOREVER.

That's all for now. Just spent the last 8 straight hours in budget meetings... Budgets + Molly = Death. Numbers are not my thing!

Heaven and Raspberries

2008-07-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few (more) pics from the weekend at Loon Lake, and our first official batch of raspberries, ever, from Birch Street. I (Ty) am rather excited about this, as my father was the one that got me started on planting raspberries. Not quite enough to do anything with, but good little desserts for the summer time...

"The Lake", as it has been called in my family for as long as I can remember, is my heaven on Earth. We have been going there as long as I have been alive, and I can't imagine life without it. I am pretty sure that I will retire there, even if the Wife doesn't know it yet! It literally has everything I could ever want: fishing (Uncle Sticky hauled in a nice rainbow trout right off the dock this weekend that we ate for lunch), boating and wakeboarding, crystal-clear water (it is heated by geysers on the lake bed that push the water close to 80 degrees by summer's end), Mom's food, and Four Corners. Those of you who know Four Corners know exactly what I'm talking about.

I can't wait for our new little Baby to meet this place, and to begin memories of his or her own. Can't wait! I love you, Mom and Dad-- thanks for letting us hang this weekend!