Thanksgiving

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. Life has been busy! Between work, church, doctor appointments, family gatherings and getting the house in order for baby it's been hard to stop and slow down. On Thanksgiving Day, we had the opportunity to do just that - relax! We spent the afternoon with the Mayhew's and enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, then headed over to the Mayo's for some yummy dessert. It was a great day with people we love... Here are some pictures from the Mayhew side. I guess by the time we got to the Mayo's we were too stuffed to remember to take pictures! :)

My last day at work will be Tuesday, December 2nd. I cannot wait to be on maternity leave and start to really focus on our little guy's arrival. The nursery is almost done - the crib and bassinet are ready, clothes are washed and in drawers, and the changing table is set up. Though we still have some finishing touches, it's good to know that if he came tonight we would be set up enough to bring him home.

I guess in some ways you can never completely prepare for the arrival of your first child (or probably any thereafter). I find myself to be an emotional yo-yo lately; some moments I am so anxious for him to arrive I cannot focus on anything else, and other moments are pure panic at the thought of how life will change and whether we will be good parents. The responsibility is amazing! I am comforted to know that many many have gone before us in this endeavor, and having children is spoken of in the Bible as a blessing from God. We have prayed long and hard for this baby and we trust that the Lord will give us our DAILY bread and wisdom as we set out on this new journey of parenthood.

36 Week Ultrasound

We had an unexpected ultrasound at 36 weeks to determine the position of our little guy. At my 35 week ultrasound he was transverse, which means he was lying in the cradle position with his back to the floor. If he stayed in this position it would have meant the doctor would have tried to turn him and if that didn't work - a c-section. So this past Wednesday I went in for another peak and was very pleased to see that he had moved head down - this is great progress towards his big entry into the world!



Here are a couple of pictures from the ultrasound. I'm sorry they are so small but I couldn't get them to scan any larger. One is a profile shot and the other is a picture of his face, though it looks fairly skeletal as most of our ultrasounds have. During the actual ultrasound I was able to see him moving around and catch better glimpses of what he looks like - pretty amazing! He has some good cheeks (on his face!) already and lots of hair. All his little toes look pretty good too! :) Unfortunately Ryan wasn't able to be there because it wasn't planned in advance, he will definitely be there for the big day!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since we were married! So much has happened in those five years... we spent our first three married months on different continents while we waited for the Army to allow me to come live in Germany... we finally began married life together while adjusting to a different country and culture, as well as military life... we spent 11 months apart while Ryan was deployed to Afghanistan, not to mention the months apart for training leading up to the deployment... Ryan lost a good friend in the first five days of his deployment to a land mine and we realized once again how fragile and precious life truly is... we moved to Virginia and established a new life with new friends and new jobs... we grieved through losing a baby early in pregnancy... we were blessed with a wonderful church home in Virginia and amazing supportive friends... and now we've left the military, moved back "home" near our families, are part of an incredible church family, and God has blessed us with a little boy who will be born in a few weeks! It's amazing what five years can bring about - two continents, three different homes, and so much joy amidst the stretching and trying times. God has always given us the grace and the strength for each new phase He has asked us to walk through. It's amazing to look back and see His faithfulness and care for us. Our love has grown stronger with each year and each circumstance. Can't wait for 5...10...50 more years together!!!!

35 weeks and 3 days... 32 days left until my due date - but who's counting? The past few weeks have been filled with work for me, doctor appointments, overtime for Ryan and working on the house. The baby's room is almost done... one more coat of paint on the moulding and one more closet to paint and we will be finished. Maybe tonight??? We shall see! We are really excited to clean up all the dust and tools and painters tape and actually see floors again!

Ryan has been working a ton of overtime for the past three weeks. With the stock market plunge, people are frantic about their retirements (understandably) and so he has spent lots of extra hours at MassMutual. He should be back to a regular work week now and we are both grateful! At the same time, we are grateful for the extra income that overtime provided at a point when it is coming in very handy!

We had another ultrasound this week to determine the size of the baby. He was thoroughly uncooperative in showing us his face. We managed to get one little profile shot but it was blurry... The ultrasound tech told me I was ultrasonically dense - which was why should couldn't get clear pictures. Hah! It definitely sounds like an insult! :) The one thing that our son managed to show us again and again was the fact that he is most definitely our SON. He was very demonstrative in that fact, so we can be assured that all the blue clothing we have is ok. His weight was estimated at 5 lbs 7 oz, right on track for where most babies are at this point. He is not completely head down yet, so we are hoping he gets there quickly before he runs out of room.

It's amazing the emotions that having a baby bring out... one moment I am thrilled beyond measure and cannot wait for him to get here. The next moment, I'm not sure how this little person is going to change our world and our routine. Everyone says becoming a parent changes your life, and it's impossible to know exactly what that means until you walk through it. So we are waiting in anticipation - and most of the time with longing and excitement and sometimes with a little nervous wondering - to see his little face and meet the person who continues to enthrall us with his late night karate chops and his bony bottom pressed against my belly. We have begun calling him by his name at home... which we will share with all of you when he is born!

Are we there yet???

Well, as of today I am 33 weeks and 1 day pregnant... which leaves 48 days left until D-Day - but who's counting??? This belly is getting bigger by the day, and our little guy seems to be getting more and more squirmy as room runs out. It's hard to believe I still have about 7 weeks left to grow bigger! Here are a few funny pregnancy things I've noticed lately:

• No matter what I eat, I gurgle, burp and hiccup uncontrollably.


• Sometimes when I'm sitting at work I can watch the baby kick me - my stomach jumps all over the place.


• Reaching my toes is getting to be almost impossible, and I certainly can't see my feel while standing up.


• I am starting to waddle... and it's definitely not pretty.

• I constantly want food - but after eating a few bites I feel full (no room in there for my stomach anymore).



• I can't put my hands over my head and breathe... (no room for my lungs either!)



• Though he will be quiet for hours, as soon as I want to fall asleep the baby starts kicking.



• Poor Ryan is required to be very patient with the tears, laughs, and crazy hormones... he never knows what he's going to get from me next!

At my baby shower last weekend, a friend asked how it felt to have a little one growing inside of me. She wanted to know if it was a strange sensation that took getting used to. I told her that I definitely went through a stage where it was very odd to know there was someone alive inside of me, moving around. Almost like a fish in a fishbowl! That took adjustment. Then I told my friend that a couple months ago I hit the stage where I realized this someone inside me was getting much bigger and would somehow have to come out! Talk about frightening! A mother of four who was listening to our conversation piped in and said, "Pretty soon you'll get to the point where you'll want him out so badly, you don't care how it happens, as long as he gets out!!!!". I can see God moving me in that direction already! It's amazing how He prepares us for the miracle of childbirth and gives us 9 months to get ready.

Stay tuned for pictures of the nursery... we are steadily making progress!

Home Sweet Home... Is a whole lot of work!

The past five months or so of our lives have been mostly consumed with our house. We bought a brick cape style home that was built in 1953 and basically hadn't been updated since 1953... except for the circa 1970 paneling that covered the upstairs. We closed on the house May 9th with starry eyes full of excitement at making our first house our own. We still are starry eyed, but we think it's more from the masses of money spent at Home Depot and Lowes and the late nights trying to get as much done as possible before the baby comes. I have learned that I am married to a VERY handy man... even if every project takes 5x as long as we think and is at least 3x as expensive. Here are a few pictures of what we've done...We haven't changed anything about the outside yet. Next spring will be landscaping!

These cabinets were knotty pine - Ryan painted and replaced the hardware...we still have counter and floor to replace at some point! (And eventually new appliances. :))
The dining room was one of the easiest rooms to fix - all it needed was paint and a new light fixture to replace the sputnik looking chandelier that was there before.

We've never had a fireplace before so this year we're looking forward to chilly New England nights this year! The living room is pretty cozy and we enjoy this room a lot.

While it looks like not much has been done to our bedroom, looks can be deceiving. Even Kiwi is exhausted from our efforts! The walls were covered in dark paneling... First we stripped the paneling, then the wallpaper underneath. Next we scrubbed the glue off the walls, patched the walls, sanded the walls, patched the walls again, sanded the walls again, washed the walls, used Guardz on the walls to even out the finish, primed and painted... Oh, and replaced all the moulding.

We are in the process of finishing the upstairs bathroom and the the baby's room - same steps due to paneling. Stay posted for more pictures!

The Rope Swing

Ryan decided that the big oak tree in our back yard was decidedly lonely without a rope swing, and I completely agreed. Thus began the adventure of hanging the rope swing! To make a long story much shorter, the rope didn't end up in the right place the first time, and so Ryan had to climb the rope, harness himself to the branch with his climbing gear, pull up a second rope, drop the first rope, rappel down the second rope, and re-hang the first rope. I was standing by with my phone to dial 911 if anything went wrong. Thank goodness I'm married to a monkey, because he did great! Now we have a fantastic rope swing in our backyard, and it'll just take our little boy a few years to be big enough to swing on it!

24 Week Baby Bump

Well... here is my 24 week belly in all it's glory. :) The little Mayhew has been moving around a bit more. He seems to kick more when Ryan sings, but we have yet to determine if he likes it or wants him to stop! He also likes to kick when I'm finally lying down at night, trying to relax... so I suppose this begins the rest of our parenting lives - never on the same schedule as our kids! In all seriousness, we are finding it hard to think about waiting another few months to meet the little guy!

Cousin Tracie's Farm

Ryan's cousin Tracie has an organic vegetable farm in Fitzwilliam, NH (near Mt. Monadnock, for those who know the area). She operates it as a co-op and has about 200 families who pay for weekly baskets of fresh vegetables all summer. Some of the families also exchange vegetables for labor.We took a trip up to see the farm with Ryan's parents, brother Nate and his girlfriend Mary, and Gisele. It was a great day of organic fun!

This barn was built from the trees found on the property.

Cousins - Ryan, Tracie, her sister Korie, and Nate.

You have to appreciate all the stone walls in New Hampshire!

Classic Gisele grin. :)





Ryan and Vanessa, Tracie and boyfriend Keith, Korie and boyfriend Eric,

Gisele, Nate and girlfriend Mary.



Tracie and Keith, Korie and Eric, Therese (Tracie and Korie's mom) with boyfriend Tim.

Victoria - What a good dog!

Weekend Getaway

As a surprise for Ryan's birthday, I planned a weekend getaway to Newport, RI. This was one of our favorite places we'd been while dating... We walked... and walked... and walked... I hadn't experienced the "pregnant woman swollen ankle syndrome" until that day. We toured Rosecliff, one of the big mansions and the place where the Great Gatsby was filmed. We also walked along the cliff walk, which is exactly what is says - a pathway along the cliffs where you can get a great view of the mansions. It was a great weekend to get away from life and be together.

It's a.........

Instead of having the ultrasound tech tell us whether we are having a boy or a girl while were getting our ultrasound, we had her write it on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope. We both took the day off and went to Forest Park where we opened the envelope... and found out....

IT'S A BOY!!!!

We are both elated and can't wait to meet our little boy!

Baby Mayhew

This ultrasound picture was taken at 13 weeks 3 days and shows the beginnings of our precious little one. I turned the picture sideways for easier viewing! We can't wait to see the ultrasound we will have on July 15th where we find out if we're having a boy or a girl... So far I feel pretty good in the trimester, with the occasional queasiness still and increasing heartburn... I think I may have felt some flutters of movement but they are still faint enough to make me second guess them. When I went in for my last heartbeat check, I could hear the heartbeat and about every 5 seconds there was another kick, so I know I'll start feeling more of them soon. Ryan always says, "He's going to be a soccer player..." and I think he might be right!

Josh's 21st

My "little" brother Josh turned 21 on June 18th...

Josh and his girlfriend Bethany

Enjoying the festivities!

For Josh's 21st we went to TGI Fridays for dinner with Josh, Bethany, and my parents to celebrate. We had a great time, and after took in a late showing of Prince Caspian. Happy birthday Josh!

our attempt at a blog...

Hello! Well now that we are expecting our first child, we thought it would only be appropriate to jump on the "blog bandwagon" and try our hand at it. This may be a little slow going but we'll give it our best shot! Here's a picture of Vanessa at four months...