Microwaves

Sometimes I think about our ancestors- women who didn't have t.v., phones, cars, electric heat, disposable diapers, or a dishwasher.  When I think about these women I wonder if they think I am a little lazy,  or a whiner at least.  I also wonder, "Am I somehow missing out on something because I have luxuries? Do I not get to grow as strong as these women, or am I missing the important things in life all because I don't have to handwash clothes?" Does anyone else ever wonder this?

 Two days ago we bought a microwave.  We've been living in our house without one for the past 6 weeks.  I used the oven to reheat things before that and it worked pretty well.  I thought about not getting a microwave because we were doing without one just fine.  When I told Kellen that idea he disagreed.  So, we got one and I have to say that I am sooo glad we did! Now when Cole says he's hungry and it's lunchtime, instead of waiting 20 minutes before we can eat leftovers, we can eat in 1 minute.  And I don't have to think ahead either (if-Cole-is-going-to-be-hungry-in-a-half-hour-then-I-better-get-something-in-the-oven-sort-of-thing).  It's nice, basically.  I just can't help but feel a little guilty because of what we can do these days.  We can take pills if we feel sick, we can take pills if we feel a little crazy, we can talk on the phone to friends far away, we can go to a movie, we can buy clothes instead of make them.....you get what I mean.  But, I know that we're supposed to enjoy these things and, trust me, I do.  Just some thoughts I guess.........

Remembering the Old Days

The other night for at in-home date we sat down together and looked at old pictures.  We remembered that we used to have a LOT more time on our hands.  Our first year of marriage, Sunday nights typically consisted of taking random pictures and videos of ourselves.  We were weird (were?).  One night I took out my wedding dress and we did a photo shoot. Several times we tried out different settings on our camera.  Anyway, these are so random, but our camera is still broken so these are all I've got!

We are still alive....but I don't have time to do a catch up post yet

Kellen has a blog (his "mog" he calls it - his man blog).  He recently wrote this post and it makes me laugh every time and for some reason it touches me too.  Just wanted to share it.

You Know You're a Dad When....

So, Cole woke up about 4 times last night... we kept helping him go back to sleep and then i found out, at 6:30, that he had pooped in his sleep and that is why he kept waking up. So I got him up, changed his diaper, changed Gracie's diaper, and then took both kids downstairs to watch 101 Dalmations on Youtube with a kid on each knee. We watched the movie on one computer and I tried to study on my laptop while I wiped Gracie's spit up with my hand and wiped it on my pants and both kids farted on me at the same time... and I didn't think anything of it until I got to school and missed them.

New Blog

If you are hanging out not really sure what to do with yourself you could read my food blog!  Just started it.  I will be back on this blog shortly.  Our camera is busted so I don't have pictures and that's what's stopping me from blogging I guess - except for on this food blog http://coldpizzaonasandyday.blogspot.com/  
Check it out!

Alright, we're in the middle of moving

Like I said, we've moved.  Last week we moved to our more permanent Washington home so there may not be posts for a little while...just to warn ya.  We REALLY like our new place! I'm in the process of making the blog private now too...

Going Private

Well it's true.  I've decided, so everyone put down your email so I can add you! If you want you can email me with your email too and I'll email you an email inviting you to read my blog.  My email:  ec_119@hotmail.com

By the way, thanks for all the feedback about breastfeeding.  I love it and we will just see what happens....all the comments were helpful.  Thanks!

Breastfeeding

So the other day I was telling a friend how good Gracie and I are at breastfeeding.  We've gotten the hang of it and I remember thinking when she was about 3 weeks old that we would never get the hang of things! But we did, and I've been planning on going until she's six months old, then deciding whether we want to continue breastfeeding or just go to bottle feeding.  When I told my friend that she said, "Six months!? Don't most women breastfeed until at least a year?" (Lisha do you remember this conversation?).  The biggest pro of bottle feeding would be that I wouldn't have to pump in order to go somewhere.  I would love to not have to worry about that! And I feel like six months is an alright age to make the switch. 

It just made me wonder how long most of you bloggers out there breastfed your children? And maybe some opinions on that? I'm wanting some feedback!

Up- to -Date

Well Cole's off to bed and here I am sitting at our kitchen table with Gracie chillin in her Bumbo-which she loves by the way. We're finally here in Seattle! We got here Tuesday and it's just been crazy since then. It's been crazy because I've been crazy! This week has been hard for me because of how uprooted I've felt (and still feel a little bit). It's the first place we've lived where we don't have family nearby. I think that's why it's been hard for me. We don't know anything about the area and we don't know anybody! We're thirty minutes from some friends that are also in med school and that's it. Anyway, I know, sob story, but it's been an adjustment for me. It's just that now I have two kids to take care of and next week Kellen is back to school, and I need social support! O.k., so that is how I've been feeling. Church really helped me today though and now I am feeling excited about the adventure of Kellen going back to school and me and the kids doing fun things. So basically, I'm still a little nervous but I'm feeling good at the same time. We are in a temporary house here in Seattle. We love it!! I will get pictures up soon. The house was built in 1907 and it is so cute and has lots of character. We're three blocks from Lake Washington and 20 minutes from downtown Seattle. We're renting the house while the regular renters are out doing their rotations in Minnesota so in October we will be moving to a more permanent place. We're glad that we have two months to look for our new place!

On to some pictures. Up until last week we have been in Canada visiting family. We spent three weeks in Taber (where we're both from) and then one week at a family reunion at the Okanagan Lake in British Columbia- beautiful!! We've had a lot of fun! We left our camera in Taber so we only have pictures from Kellen's parents' camera but they are still cute so I thought I'd share them.

Plug

O.k., so I have been wanting to do this for a while and I figured I better get on it. This is especially for all you living in Idaho and Utah. Kellen's brother Chad and his lovely wife Rebecca have a photography business and they are amazing. They live in Rexburg and they are the real deal. I just really like their stuff-it's just raw and real and inspiring. But that's my opinion, so check them out for yourselves: www.rebeccahansenphotography.com/

And as for us.....we are in Taber (Canada) right now visiting family. My brother got married and we just got finished with the receptions and all that, and it was all just beautiful! We'll be here for a couple more weeks, then it's off to Seattle.
Well, we're now going to my family's house with two crying babies! Adios!

Taking a Break From Packing

So we are moving July 11th! About a week left, and I am keeping myself busy packing. It's kind of fun packing.... exciting to be moving on, and kind of fun to take on the challenge of organizing my time and our stuff well enough that I don't go crazy as I do all this! But right now I'm taking a break and putting up some pictures of our growing family.....

This first picture is how we both feel lately!
Kellen's parents came for a visit and they gave Cole fun stuff to do while mommy caught up on some sleep. I really appreciated it! Where are they now?;)














What Cole's been up to lately.... helping me pack, and climbing on everything to get to whatever he wants. In this case it was the markers! He also had fun one day with my maxi pads, and we went to Amazing Jake's last week where he tried to hit the Hippos. Lately Cole's new word is banana-which sounds like "bnmanama". Very cute. (This is Kellen now) So we were packing stuff in Cole's room and he had boxes all over the place. So one morning we woke up and started getting ready for the day and we heard a light knock on the inside of Cole's door... somehow he got out of his crib and knocked on the door so we would let him out! It was so funny and we still have no idea how he did it without hurting himself.






























Some of Gracie's glamor shots
































She's just our sweet little Gracelyn! She's coming out with new cooing sounds now and she's giving us some big smiles. I love it! It makes being a mom....easier. Her cooing and smiles are so rewarding.