6 month belly!

Here it is! Holy crap. I'm sad to say the stretch marks are peeking out- pretty pale and tiny so far (and you can't see them in the photo so don't try and find them!) but I'm afraid I'll be a road map soon! Good thing I decided to do these photos in black and white. ;) Matt and I were walking on the beach on Saturday and it was pretty tough with the soft sand and all- we turned around after about 10 minutes and I had to chuckle at our footprints. Matt's were so straight and mine were all heel-in, toe-out. I wondered out-loud why our patterns were so different and he reminded me that my feet are probably compensating for all the weight out front! Yeah folks, I'm waddling. HELLO! I feel like there was another story that I wanted to share but I can't think of it. Baby brain strikes again! :) Oh well, it's late.... maybe i'll remember it later. For now, I'm off to bed!

the progress:
pre-pregnancy: 102# 24"
one month :100# 24"
two months :101# 29"
three months :104# 32"
four months: 108# 32.5"
five months: 114# 35.5"
six months: 118# 37"

"Babymoon"

Matt and I spent the weekend at the coast as our "last hurrah" as a childless couple. I'm glad we did it now at 6 months and not later this summer as I could still get around a little bit and we enjoyed ourselves very much! We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Depot Bay, which is near Lincoln City, called "Pana~Sea~Ah." It was so beautiful and relaxing- aahhhhh.
We left Friday afternoon and were stuck in traffic of course- Praise the Lord for air conditioning in the car! It was soooo hot here.As we got to the coast the temp dropped fro, 90-something to 60-something, and the sky was clear blue and the ocean phenomenal as usual. :) As usual, we really didn't get any pictures of ourselves, but tried to take a few along the way to share.


Our room was fantastic- we left the window open the whole weekend and listened to the ocean crashing - we had a great view from the bedroom and bathroom above the jacuzzi tub. Of course, we could only take a warm soak and not hot so we didn't cook the baby- it was still really relaxing :)
Saturday morning we had breakfast with the other guests and it was sooo yummy :) The really cool thing though was before breakfast, one of the men asked if anyone minded if he prayed for breakfast! We thought that was pretty neat! Turns out the other three couples were Christians and we talked all about raising children for about two hours over breakfast. One couple had young kids and the other two had grown kids and it was just really enjoyable. :) After breakfast we went for a walk on the beach- which turned into a "sit" on the beach as I decided it's pretty challenging to walk on sand with a gigantic belly sticking out! We later went into town for lunch and just to walk around and enjoy each other. On the way back we stopped at Yaquina Head because Matt's always wanted to and never has- there's a big lighthouse (the tallest in Oregon!) that we took a tour of.
We climbed all the way to the top (about 7 stories) and got to look out the glass- the view was incredible!

We didn't get a great shot of it through the glass- but you can get the idea :)
We went out for dinner Saturday night at a great restaurant called "Tidal Raves"- we split a seafood pasta that had clams, shrimp, crab, and halibut in a creamy pesto sauce- it was very delicious. Mmm..... we ordered the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake to go so we could have it later- we were stuffed. (We had a late lunch and our dinner reservation was for 5:30!) We of course brought the camera and took no pictures! And I looked pretty cute too- hahaha. While we were waiting for our table some ladies were sitting down and offered me their seats- very sweet- but I was fine standing for five minutes. Then they wanted to know all about everything as is becoming quite a trend I'm noticing- "when are you due?" "is it a boy or a girl?" "have you got a name picked out?" always the first three questions. ;) It's pretty funny when I tell people I"m due September 30th- their eyes always get big and they kind of stutter "oh...." like I'm a honkin' cow or something and should "pop any minute" (I hear that one a lot too!) So anyway.... dinner was great! When we left Matt said "everyone was staring at you." Yeah- he hasn't been out in public with me that much lately. hahahaha. Apparently I'm quite the sight to see! Well, we had a really nice evening and slept again to the sound & smell of the ocean and woke up Sunday well rested for another fantastic breakfast. The main course was a mango baked french toast- holy cow. mmmmmm.......
After packing up and checking out, we stopped at the Trager outet stores on our way home to see if there was a maternity store. I need to find a cute dress for Evan and Jackie's wedding August 9th! (Matt's brother.) There wasn't one... but I did get a new bible, which I'm really excited about, because it's a slimline NASB so I don't have to carry around my 100lb bible when I've got the baby in one arm and the diaper bag in the other- :) I love my NASB and didn't want to get a different version just to get a thin one- and I hadn't seen any online that looked good so I was excited to find this one. And fairly cheap too! Yay :) Then we stopped at another beach (I don't remember which one...) because they were having a kite festival- it was pretty neat to watch all the big kites for a little bit!
So- there's our romantic weekend in a nut shell :) If we ever can, we'd love to go back and we highly recommend it to any B&B'ers out there!

Financial Peace University

So, we've become big Dave Ramsey fans in the past couple months. We were hoping to attend FPU but all the classes are Wednesday nights, Sunday nights, in Vancouver or Newberg or beginning in SEPTEMBER which is not very timely for us considering the impending birth of our first child. Well, just for the heck of it I was on daveramsey.com just a bit ago and there's a new class available on Tuesday nights at 7:00pm starting July 1st (next week!) and going to September 23rd (one week from our due date!) in Aloha of all places! (it's probably less than 5 miles from us.) Then I noticed that the FPU lifetime membership kit is on sale for $109.00- that's $90 bucks off- so I emailed Matt and he said let's do it so we are all signed up! I'm excited. What a strange thing to be excited about- financial classes- but I'm stoked we'll be able to go through it (or most of it) before the baby gets here. What a surprise blessing for an otherwise blah Thursday! If anyone is interested in taking it with us that would be fun :)

If you have no clue what I'm talking about, here's a little diddy on FPU from dave's website. He's a Christian financial adviser who uses Biblical principals to teach people about how to handle money. He says he gives the same advice our grandmothers would give us except he keeps his teeth in. ;) We've been listening to his radio program- it's national but it plays pre-recorded on 1190KEX from 7-10pm on weeknights. He's pretty entertaining! People call in with the craziest situations... anywho- Dave is highly recommended entertainment and advice from the Happels :)

If you're bored, check out this video on car payments.

A Tagging We Will Go...

I've been tagged by Kristy!!!

The rules...10 photos, take them right away,

NO CLEANING UP FIRST,

tag 5 friends.

1.) Dream vacation-
Perhaps another cruise...? I don't think it would matter- anywhere with my husband, sunshine, good food and wine, and a comfy bed!
We are going to a B&B at the coast this weekend for our "babymoon" - I don't think it qualifies as "dream vacation" but I've really been looking forward to it!!

2.) Self portrait-

I
am
huge

3.) What my kids are doing right now- He's havin' a party in there! Guess he likes frosted mini wheats!

4.) My closet- yeah...... exciting.

5.) My favorite room-
okay, I can't say that I have a "favorite" room yet, but this is too entertaining not to share with you all. This is the "nursery/office/storage/craft room/ironing space/linen closet/instrument/exercise equipment" room
oh boy. Hopefully I can get it situated before September!

6.) My favorite shoes- YOU WOULD SERIOUSLY MAKE ME CHOOSE???? Okay, so I also love my nikes and wear them almost daily, I wouldn't say they make me excited to put them on. haha. I love shoes :) And well, my crocs aren't all the exciting either but I must admit they are surprisingly comfortable for how ugly they are! And the nike flip flops -also not exciting- but are the best flip flops EVER- so squishy- even after two years.

7.) The laundry room- laundry "room" -hahahahaha
Well I must say I am super grateful to have a W/D in unit!! Going to a laundromat with cloth diapers would be a nightmare!

8.) The toilet- um... this one's a bit strange. Is this a game to see how tidy your friends' houses are? lol- no-frills john here!

9.) The kitchen sink-

Good thing I already cleaned up the mess from dinner. haha.

10.) The fridge-It's pretty dinky, but we're getting used to it! It's hard to only go to the grocery store twice a month when you don't have enough room for everything. And we're hoping to buy a freezer for the garage soon...

I tag: Kristi C, Bethany, Jamie, Carol & Tracy!

Now go do it & have fun!!!

=)

news & weather

Have you seen the forecast? I can't believe it! We're actually going to have a little bit of spring before summer hits! I'm completely thrilled :) I'm so excited I had to tell someone, and Rusty doesn't really care- so I thought I'd say it here! (I know, I'm a nerd.) I'm so tired of the 50's and 60's and allllll the clouds and drizzly drizzle- ugh! The sun surprised me yesterday by coming out from wherever it's been hiding- I'm so happy that's its around to stay for a bit!

In other recent news, today is my last day of work. I'm excited & nervous to begin by career as housewife & soon to be StayAtHomeMom- will I enjoy it? Will I be good at it? Will I drive myself crazy talking to the dog? ;)
God's Word proclaims blessings for a woman who puts her husband, her children, and her home above the things of this world world and so I'm choosing to believe Him and going for it! I just pray that my presence at home will be such a blessing to Matt that he'll never think twice about having to be the sole provider. That what I accomplish here will make him so happy and complete that the stresses of this world wont follow him through the doors. That I will be able to make our home a place of refuge and a center of peace & calm- well, at least until baby Ro gets here and kicks up a storm for a little while- and then back to the peace and calm later. ;) We must be realistic, after all!!

Loveseat SOLD

SOLD!! Thank goodness now I can organize my garage without having to work around the couch.

There is totally not enough room in our new apartment for this. We bought it about three years ago from Wickes for a little over $500 with a sofa & ottoman (which thankfully DO fit.) It's in great condition and comfy- soft, microsuede fabric (good for pets!) We just don't want to store it in the garage for a year or two (or who knows?) so we'd rather sell it. I have it on craigs list for $270 but we'll go down to $200. Know anyone who might be interested? We'd LOVE to get it off our hands! Thanks for helpin' :)

Ultrasounds from June 4th

Wednesday we went to St. Vincent to the high-risk/perinatalogy clinic for a more advanced ultrasound. My doctor wanted them to verify some of the measurements that they found in last month's ultrasound. Sure enough, he's a little short for his gestational age, among other things, which tell us he's more than likely inherited my bone disorder. Not too big of a deal- we think I turned out fine so he should be okay too! ;) But it's good to know. We're going to go back in a couple months to keep track of his progress. Everything else is looking superb- all his organs, brain, heart etc are perfect. He's weighing 1 pound 1 oz, which is just right, and he's super cute! Check these photos out!!

basic face profile- don't you love that button nose?



Another profile, upper body



And now for the 3D ones!! He looks like he's putting up his fists- I think he wants to pick a fight with the doc. "Stop poking me up there or else!!!"

So sweet :)

We got to watch him opening his mouth and swallowing several times- mmmm.... nothing like a satisfying lunch of amniotic fluid!

What lips!! That's the umbilical cord around his neck, if you were wondering. The doc said it's like trying to tie a neck-tie with a piece of spaghetti- no tension- so it's nothing to worry about. It is an interesting fashion statement, however.

I'd almost say he's smiling!! At one point he lifted his leg way up and started scratching his nose with his toes. We were all laughing! It was adorable!




Oh man, I'm in love. We got to watch him on the ultrasound monitor for about two hours, and it went by so fast! Like watching a movie, yet there was no plot or story line- just our beautiful little boy wiggling around, kicking and stretching. Can't wait to meet you, sweet baby Ro!

5 month belly!

5 months already! Well, we're about a week late... but better late than never! We had to find the camera and my outfit- ah, unpacking.


35.5" 114 lbs.

Uhm..... yeah. Now THAT's what I call a pregnant belly! Holy crap! I didn't realize how big I was getting until I looked in a full-length mirror last night in this outfit. I was a little shocked, honestly! Matt said "I told you that you've been looking quite pregnant lately!" :) Yup- that sucker's getting round. As of Wednesday, Rowen weighs one pound one ounce. And he is sooo cute- ultrasound pictures to come!

the progress:
pre-pregnancy: 102# 24"
one month :100# 24"
two months :101# 29"
three months :104# 32"
four months: 108# 32.5"
five months: 114# 35.5" - woohoo that boy is growing!!