4 more weeks?

A month from now, we could be snuggling with Baby I!? Craziness. It's weird that 36 weeks is really 9 months, and we still technically have a month to go. At the beginning of the adventure I read A Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, and she warned me. Pregnancy is really 10 months long! Either way it's almost over.

Look bigger yet? I tried the zoom and preggo shirt effect. Growing like a champ, even if it isn't super obvious!!

The nursery is slowly coming together, we're just waiting on the crib to put the finishing touches everywhere. This week we were majorly productive and got a breastpump, dresser, doula and birthball (apparently these things are also grrrrreat soothers for post-baby when driving around in your car is your only supposed alternative; just cuddle and bounce!). We're set with diapers and pretty much everything else, minus a few things here and there. Just a couple more classes to go and we'll be prepped parents (so they say...). Some trees and 3D flower experiments on the wall:

In the meantime, I'm trying to keep myself busy with things OTHER than baby books, like public health articles and swimming and meeting with some new/old friends. I'm majorly itching to take a (short) drive to the mountains or anywhere in nature really. Fall is in the air, even though it's still nearly 90 every day here! I think I will go bake some ginger apple cake to celebrate the season, and of course share a little taste with the babe.

A glimpse into Tim's new store

Yesterday I got to hangout at Tim's new store in Writer's Square of "LoDo" (Lower Downtown Denver) with Kate and my friend Kathryn. He's doing great there (already #1 in sales increase over last year in his district, #1 in VIA this week so far) and having lots of fun!

he has a very spacious patio

there's a disgusting mushroom restaurant (jk, it's a good pizza place)

BBQ stand

cool antique fencing around a French creperie

chocolate factory!!

strange flowy-hair statue (we're still getting used to Denver sculptures)

I need to keep going back because there are some fun-looking restaurants and a cool froyo place right there!

34 weeks...

We've got 6 weeks or about 40 days to go! 40 days seems more like immediate reality since it's associated with familiar periods of prayer and fasting...can't say the fasting will be part of this season but definitely the prayer! The tummy is pooching, baby is kicking, head is down and feet are still, still jabbing. I've got plenty of heartburn and braxton hicks, especially at night, and I've been enjoying some swimming (thanks Kelly for the suit!), garage sale-ing, and making progress on "nature nursery" ideas. I just setup the pack n play since the crib won't arrive until after the baby. We're still searching for a dresser, and when it's all put together we'll share it all! Here's a sneak peek:

We also started our first week of childbirth prep classes taught by a doula and have been assured that childbirth isn't really painful (uncomfortable and intense, yes) unless you fear it or something is going wrong...we'll see about that. But we like the class and look forward to the remaining weeks of learning. Before we know it, it will be baby time!

90 years

This Labor Day weekend, for only the second time in the past 10 years, Tim and I were unable to join our comrades at REACH Camp. Instead, we parted ways: I, with 45 others from mom's side of the family headed to Freeport, IL for my grandma Tina's (Elizabeth "Bettina" Anne Steenrod Opel) 90th birthday party; and Tim, through the lonely, plateau-painted CO and NM landscape, drove south to see our long lost friends the Daggett's (New Mexikooks) to help care for Nathanael.

For me, it was a whirlwind 24 hours of catching up after nearly 15 years since the last time all 16 grandchildren (and 11.5 great-grandchildren) have all been together. My recently-contracted head cold caused me to lose a bit of social strength, but the party and picnic were great. We enjoyed a brief verbal history of her life depicted through cardboard cutouts/photos of her head at various stages of her life (hard to imagine, but cool).

here's one of the cutouts on the table from her younger years

"I never intended to live this long!"

Despite Tim's going to serve the Daggetts, he was also wined and dined by Roxie's gourmet cooking (homemade green chili enchiladas!!), good beer, crossword puzzle victories and much needed fellowship. Everyone was blessed and encouraged, and N seems to be getting stronger. We keep praying!

Lastly, we said our good-bye's to Becka and her friends Tristan and Dusty, who departed from Chicago for Taiwan in search of year-long promised English teaching positions. Their own adventure begins!! They are starting their own blog (link to the right) to document it.

Ice cream at Freeport's Union Dairy (since 1914) before seeing Becka off

Modern-day reenactment of the Lincoln-Douglas debates...

For now, no more traveling, and it's back to what new life and reality is left before Baby I's arrival in about 6 weeks! Tim started his new store in Downtown Denver and will (obviously) dominate in his own gentle and charismatic-leader way. I'm washing baby clothes and will soon tackle the nursery.

Thank you Lord for your blessings and faithfulness!

house pics old and new

This weekend we took some last time family pics at our old 515 home. We'll miss our 17 years there. My family's to love!

the newlyweds:)

And here are some shots from "our" area of the upstairs inside the new house...


living area and bedroom


below our lookout


desk area/laundry and guest/nursery (eventually)



On Sunday we spent some time splatter painting, per Becka's inspiration, to raise money for a nonprofit. I did a couple extra for the baby nursery:) Slowly but surely it will come along!

Home Sweet Home

Visiting Tacoma was super fun, and we finally made it back to CO. We actually live somewhere now! Our travel whirlwind has (basically) come to an end. We have a great setup in the upstairs of my parents' new house in Highlands Ranch, about 15 minutes from our friends the Broweleits and also my midwife and hospital. When I've mustered enough energy, I hope to explore the long, winding walking trails through the neighborhoods/suburbs and swim and bike at the rec center. And crash as many garage sales as possible for baby stuff. We still have a gigantic pile of boxes to sort through, but things are coming together. We're not committed to a certain amount of time to live here, but we sure won't complain if it's longer than shorter! We'll post more indoor pics soon.

My brother got married a few weeks ago to the loveliest Jaya, and we couldn't be happier for them. We can't wait to hang out with them more!

On the baby front, only 10 more weeks until the due date. Karate Kid/Watchamacallit/Big Bird (names it has adapted) is jabbing and growing a lot, and I've recently been getting to know Braxton Hicks contractions. Sleeping is less solid, and there still remain a few pregnancy issues to be resolved, but overall very good. Altitude adjustment so far seems slightly improved, and we're hoping it keeps getting better!
Tim starts at a new Starbucks on Monday, and new milestones will just keep coming. Having a home again is feeling good.

O'Isaacsons in Dublin

The last Europe post! On our way out of Paris we had an overnight layover in Dublin, so we were able to enjoy a few central sights around Merrion Square where we stayed. We perused St. Stephen's Green, a famous shopping street, an old castle, Trinity College, and some great side streets lined with tons o'pubs.



We finally settled on the Vat House for dinner, which was a good, quiet choice. We watched the world dart matchplay championships while eating our Bangers and Mash and Irish stew (can't way Irish food is our favorite, especially coming from Paris!), waiting for the live music to start. Traditional Irish music rocks! The musicians even played a timely bye-bye Boston ballad. It was perfect! See a few more Dublin pics here.

In the meantime, we've landed in Tacoma and are about halfway through our 10-day stay, vising Tim's family, being showered with baby gifts, and seeing as many friends as we can fit in! It's a lot easier for me to breathe here than it was in CO. Baby has entered week 29 and is still jabbing up a storm. Hiccups are a new addition the past couple of weeks as well. Third trimester, here we come!

Mont Saint Michel, Normandy

We took one overnight trip outside of Paris to an old Abbey on an island on the northern coast: Mont Saint Michel. We stayed on the island, which used to be isolated by daily tides but now has a permanent road connecting it to land 24/7. It was still cool to watch the tides run way out into the distance and race in (some French say it's like a herd of horses), with sirens sounding on the island to move your cars from the lower parking lots. In the late evening and early morning after all the tourists left, it felt pretty cool.

We had one of our best meals (crepe menu and famous fluff omelet with Normandy cheeses for Tim) overlooking the coast and enjoyed friendly conversation with a French family at the table next to us. We also took a night tour of the abbey, where live music of various sorts awaited us around every corner and echoed off the walls (could have done without some of the weird neon light effects, though).

For more pics, click here.