Drop-dates?

The day's since Christmas have been so nice, I feel an overwhelming sense of relief...and new urgency, if that makes any bit of sense.  Christmas is a lovely time of year, but I was very happy to move on and start getting my home ready for this baby.  Today I will try and put some decorations away, perhaps a little more prematurely than most years, but this year I have other pending priorities!  

The other day Kris bought a ladder with some of his Christmas money and hauled down the baby gear from our impressive and very high shelving in the garage.  Last night I pulled one of the bins inside to sort through the contents, what nostalgia!  I cleaned the car seat and am washing all of the fabric covers to the swing and bouncy chair and said car seat.  I had a small panic session with myself yesterday (you can laugh) about not having any blankets for baby boy, so I went to the store and jumped on some good sales and bought some blankets...and burp rags and PJ's...they were on SALE, what was I supposed to do, say no?!  So now those are washed and dried and waiting in the closet.  I am feeling a little less panicked as I am able to do little things each day to ready myself and our home for the baby, I guess the intensity of my nesting urges stems largely from having a 2 year old, which, A) makes the pregnancy go by SO FAST!, and B) makes organizing and rearranging and nesting so blasted difficult!  It's taking me three times as long!  Oh, and C) makes mommy so incredibly tired that Marin's naptime usually means mommy's naptime instead of useful nesting time.

In somewhat related news, I am almost positive this baby has dropped already.  I awoke the other day with enormous pressure and swelling in my pelvis (and right arm, I think I slept on it), and am able to breathe a bit easier, and have noticed that his little bum is quite a bit lower than where it usually is.  I didn't think anything of it, thinking it was too soon, until Kris mentioned it the other night.  It does make sense, however early it may be.  I perused the internet looking for similar mama's who had the same 'early' experience and find them I did!  Of course, it still doesn't mean anything about when the little guy will make his grand entrance, but progress is progress! 

A Very 'Marin' Christmas!

Merry Merry Christmas to you all, my dear friends!  I hope you had a beautiful, blessed and relaxing Christmas day and are easing your way into the oncoming New Year gently.  What a delicious time of year to envelop yourself in the sounds and sights and feelings of the season.  I have truly enjoyed being with my family these past few days, nothing makes my day happier than being with my incredible husband and sweet little girl.  I hope you all were able to spend your Christmas's with family, or at least good friends.

The Lyman house had a very, very blessed Christmas this year.  We received so many gifts from our families and are humbled at their generosity!  It truly touches my heart to know so many people love and care about us!  We thank each and every one of you who graciously gave to our growing family, and we love you all so much!

In lieu of a stressful-family card that should have been mailed out weeks ago, I will instead give myself the luxury of a leisurely blog family update, so much easier!

Our Lyman Family, est. August 17th, 2006 .
Kristoffer and I have been married for a little over 4 years, and this has been our fifth Christmas together!  Unbelievable!  We are very much in love and wish we had more time to spend together.  Our little Marin turned two in August also, and just within the last few months has exploded with character.  We are soon to be welcoming our second baby, a boy, into our home in February.  This past July, we made a very rough transition from our lovely rental home in Las Vegas, to a new and very different life in Portland, OR.  It has been quite the adjustment, but we are slowly making progress up here.

Kristoffer-Over the summer, Kristoffer graduated from the University of Phoenix with his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and we are so proud of him!  He spent MANY long and late nights doing homework and we are glad he is finally DONE :)  Kristoffer continues with his job at the University of Phoenix, and now that he has graduated, is on the lookout for a new and challenging job should the opportunity arise.  He also celebrated his 30th birthday in July...haha, I KNOW, I razz him about that from time to time ;)  Kristoffer serves as the assistant ward missionary leader in our ward.  I wish he had more time for himself and his hobbies, but hopefully over time we can find some more opportunities for that here.  One step at a time!


Samantha-I feel as though my body has been so consumed with growing a baby, I hardly know where to start!  I of course had to leave my job at the hospital in Las Vegas when we moved, which was very bittersweet.  In October after my nursing license transferred, I set about to find a good, temporary position that would see me through this pregnancy, and am now working as a pediatric home health nurse two days a week.  Truth be told, it's not my favorite thing, but it's a job nonetheless and that gives me much to be grateful for.  Hopefully after the baby is born, I will find a hospital position which offers me a bit more of a challenge.  I'm serving in the Young Women's Program at church as the Laurel adviser...yes, this will be my 4th consecutive calling in YW for a total of 6 years!  I love it.  When I am not at work, I'm home with my little girl and keeping busy, trying to satisfy my nesting urges with cleaning and projects.

Marin-What a two year old she is!  Marin made the transition into her "two's" in August, and since then has developed quite a personality and vocabulary.  She speaks in full sentences and  counts to ten.  She is a very smart little girl and we are so proud of her and all of the progress she is making.  She is working on potty training and mommy is learning she is not to be forced!  Marin makes progress at her own speed and will not be pushed into anything she isn't ready for.  She is also testing boundaries and limits and is making mommy and daddy figure out how to appropriately discipline.  Often, Kris and I will look at each other say: "I have no clue what I'm doing here!".  She is certainly more of a challenge, but she melts our hearts with her sweet little kisses and snuggles and "I love you mama/daddy.".  We love her so much!

Lyman Baby Boy-Spends most of his day's doing the same thing...growing!  We are 33 weeks along and due February 11th.  He enjoys hiccuping (frequently) and kicking mommy, and occasionally tries to push his knee out of her belly button (ouch!!).  Our midwife tells us he is already head down (good sign!), and I can certainly feel his little bum up on my right side when stretches.  He should be appx. 17" long and about 4ish pounds at this stage.  We are very excited to welcome him into our home.

We wish we could travel a bit more to visit our families, but it's getting increasingly difficult as our family grows and airline tickets become more and more expensive...and the Lyman girls don't travel well by car :(  If you want to check up on our family, stop by this blog...I try and update as often as possible, which is usually at least once a week if not more.  We would also love to hear from you and how you are doing, so feel free to leave a comment!

32 Weeks!

My-oh-my how the time is FLYING by!!  I can't believe I have 8 weeks (or less!) left!  This pregnancy is going by so fast and soon I will have a newborn...and then another toddler, wow!  So, this is 32 weeks along...and 40 pounds *sigh*.  I don't feel like I look fat, but the scale is not in my favor lately, ahhh well, I've determined that I just gain weight when I'm pregnant, as long as my babies keep coming out healthy, I'll gain and lose as much as it takes.

In our preparation for birth, Kris and I have been reading and studying from a book promoting the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth.  In my reading, I read through the section on how important adequate protein intake is during pregnancy.  I thought I was doing just fine on my own, but I counted my protein intake for one day (using the protein guide in the back of the book), and I was getting about half of what I needed!  Pregnant women need between 80 and 100 grams of protein daily to grow what they deem "Blue Ribbon Babies", and I totaled at only 45 grams for that one day.  Yikes!  So, I have been really amping up my protein intake, and let me tell you, it's not as easy as it sounds.  I feel like I am eating a real meal every 3 hours, it's a lot of work!  I try not to over-do the peanut butter or eggs (I don't want a kid with allergies!), so I've been doing a lot of chicken, milk, cheese, yogurt, and just do PB and eggs every other day. 

My nesting urges have been quelled slightly since the other weekend.  We still have things that need to be done, but I realize that after Christmas, we will be ale to get the rest of the major preparation done.  We are very excited to welcome our little boy into our home!

In Love

In about 4 short minutes, I get to head upstairs and open the door to my little Marin's room.  I will greeted with "Good morning Mama!" and stories of her dreams last night, verification that daddy is at work today, that mommy missed her while she was at work yesterday and more stories of playing with her friends while I was at work.  

An hour ago, I sent my husband off to work.  It is so hard to let him out of our warm snuggly bed!  His dedication to our little family just amazes me and I know how much he loves us.  He cherishes those hugs and kisses from his little girl every evening when he gets home from work and still thinks I am the most beautiful woman ever...at 8 months pregnant.  What an incredible man I married.

I am in love with my family.  They mean so much to me, and I count my many blessings I have them each day.  For years, growing up, I prayed for a wonderful worthy man to come and sweep me off my feet and take me away.  What do you know!  The Lord was listening and somehow thought I was worthy of such a blessing.  I also prayed for beautiful, healthy children, and I have an incredibly smart, capable, independent and sweet little girl, and a growing, active baby boy who is ready to greet us in a matter of weeks.  I can't express my gratitude for such a gift.  It is better than all of the Christmas gifts in the world.

Are you ready for some HOCKEY?!

In our quest to do something different each weekend, we trooped off to a hockey game this past Saturday evening.  Marin has been to a baseball game before with daddy and had a great time, so we were confident she would have fun with hockey too.  She had a late nap and we took the Met (train) into town for a 7pm start time.  While we didn't stay for the whole game, we stayed long enough for Marin to get some licorice, cotton candy and some cheering in!  She screams at about the same octave as an adult whistles, so she was able to contribute her fair share of noise.

Marin and Mama

Such a sprightly little pony tail, so cute!

Daddy showing Marin the hockey players and  helping Marin to watch the puck.

Focused on the game!

Trying out some cotton candy, sadly it was pretty gross cotton candy, but an experience nonetheless!

And some Subway for dinner.  We figured it was better than getting an expensive hot dog!

During the day, we went to the Lloyd Center, just a big mall in downtown Portland and window shopped.  I don't why I think window shopping with a 2 year old is ever going to be a good idea, but we at least got out of the house :)

Haricut Frenzy

When I was young and single, I began to indulge in getting fabulous haircuts and highlites.  I loved it.  Being a poor college student, I couldn't really afford much, but my hair...my hair I started to splurge on.  It felt fantastic.  Being a nursing student and working as a nurse (haha, confused?), it would have been silly for me to make my indulgence manicures or pedicures, I would have destroyed my nails within a day or so, and I didn't have the chance to show off my feet enough to justify pedicures.  Going to the salon became a theraputic moment of girly happiness for me, and I felt like the foxiest chic on the block when I walked out with my new 'do'.  

According to tradition, marriage and family changes things...a lot.  I used to make it to the salon every other month or so, and after getting married, it slowly lengthened to every 4ish months.  Then motherhood arrived and my leisurely indulgence at the salon quickly turned into a quick-and-dirty every 6 months or so affair.  *Sigh*, the true sacrifices your mother never told you about.  Since my hair doesn't grow that fast anyway, it's always hard to justify the monetary salon-escape when there are always other things I know I *should* be spending/saving my money on/for.   

My last haircut was in April.  APRIL.  This is 8 months ago, dear readers.  8 months of slowly growing, stressful, split end hair follicles hanging loosely around my tired and puffy face that now sports the extra-baggy-eye-special (you too can have this look!).  Of course, anyone that's been pregnant knows you feel your ugliest and fattest and most undesirable during those last 3 months of pregnancy...and I am certainly not excluding myself!  I was in desperate need of a haircut.  I also would have whole-heartedly welcomed a real salon visit, complete with highlites, shampoo, a leisurely cut and style (oh yeah), but...let's not be ridiculous here.  

I had a rare opportunity last night to get a haircut, and it seemed as though the universe was against me.  The mother of my home care child had the day off from work and was planning to take her child to a concert, leaving by 3:30.  Since my shift is usually done at 6:15ish, and from there is rush to pick up Marin, I was delighted that this would give me a couple of hours to revel in some much needed scalp-time.  The concert had been pushed back an hour and then the mother considered just going by herself as the child had fallen asleep.  I kindly informed her that he could sleep that night.  After an hour nap and getting him ready, this child was in one of the crankiest moods I had EVER seen!  I feared that mom would leave him behind and my haircut would be lost!  I cheerily sang songs with him and got his backpack ready to go and escorted them to their car, holding my breath until they drove away.  I then rushed to finish my paperwork and duties and scampered to my car, hoping to beat the rush hour 5:00 traffic.  I quickly maneuvered my car to the ramp and around the bend to encounter 3 miles of stopped traffic.  It took me 10 minutes alone to cross the bridge!  How could this be?!  I calmed myself saying I still had time and not to worry.  After the traffic broke up, and being a Las Vegas driver for 3 years (you learn to be assertive), I steadily worked my way to the very simple and humble Super Cuts in the Albertson's shopping complex.  I arrived knowing I had enough time for a 30 minute work-up, and when I heard the wait time was 20 minutes, I turned and left...and started to panic.  Why was the universe punishing me?!  It had been 8 long months and my sad hair was daily pulled into a bun to hide it's shameful state of being.  I wasn't even trying to splurge!  I was literally on the verge of tears and I scrambled to find a close-by salon on my GPS.  The first spot was un-find-able, and I again almost started crying.  As I peered out of the window through teary eyes while driving by a small shopping complex, I spied it.  A small, empty, clean salon.  Jackpot.  I quickly turned around and parked, telling the little Asian lady in the salon I only had time for a quick cut and to PLEASE...fix my hair!!  She seemed to understand my haste and gave me a very speedy haircut.  It was the quickest haircut I have EVER had, no wash, no high-lites, no razzle dazzle, just my hair and 20 minutes of thinning shears and scissors and a little product and I was done.  I relished every second, every little moment of being in that chair.  I paid my 23 dollars (impressed?) and walked out with a sigh of relief, and although I was sporting a rather Asian looking 'do', I didn't care.  I didn't have 8 months of neglected, ragged looking hair hanging off of my scalp.  Isn't it funny how your perception of satisfaction changes as a parent?  And while I still miss my day's of lavish salon haircuts,  I am no less satisfied with my 23 dollar Asian haircut.  Better luck next time?

Ready, Set, GO!

Phew!  The week is over?!  How quickly the week has passed, and this weekend was no exception, we tried to make the most of it and be productive, and I think we did just that!  Of course, we can never really sleep in anymore, this kind of happens apparently after you have children, but we started our day off right away and got to work.  Here are some pictures of our projects yesterday:

Kris worked on painting the kitchen, such a great hubby, he is so dedicated :)

I worked on painting our kitchen table.  It's dry now, so I just need to add the black detailing and put a layer of polyurethane on the top to seal it.  Then it needs to dry and will be finished!!  I can't wait to see how the finished project looks!

I also sanded and painted some pieces of scrap wood I had bought at the HD for 50 cents each, these I mounted on the wall in the kitchen for some shelves, which, I don't have pictures of right now.

I measured and marked some pieces of particle board for some other shelves I want to put in the bathroom after I paint them.

And our little helper, of course!  Daddy dressed her in a red turtleneck from grandma and some overalls from Bestemor.  Mommy put her in piggy tails and she was the cutest helper, EVER!  Such a sweet girl.

Look at the sweet face, she is just so pretty!

The only thing that would have made this picture any better was if she didn't have a chewed up cracker in her mouth!

And since our kitchen table is out of commission temporarily, we have been dining on Marin's little white table sitting on the floor.  It's good for me anyway, I am supposed to be sitting on the floor, cross-legged, as much as possible to get me ready for delivery ;)

After we finished our projects for the day, we went out to a tree farm and found ourselves a cute little Christmas tree and started to decorate.  Marin is finally old enough to really help this year and loved making the tree "Soooo prettttty!!".

She has learned to take the ornament, spread the loop and put it on the "brown part" of the tree, she did so well!

And this evening, after some cereal, daddy was making nacho's and gave Marin some olives, which she loves.  Of course, she loves it even more having the olives on her fingers, and daddy is ever so happy to oblige.

What a pretty little girl, she makes me so happy to be a mama.

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get some projects done this weekend, I feel so much better getting things ready for our little boy, who is coming in 68 days (or less!).  After Christmas I will get our baby gear down and cleaned and set up, yikes!  We are so excited to be bringing our little one into a happy home and can I say I am excited for delivery?  I feel so much more prepared this time around and I am so happy Kris has taken on the challenge to be my birth coach.  We are preparing for a Bradley husband coached childbirth and considering how delivery went last time, this time can only be better. 

We have a busy week coming up, so hopefully I can catch some snapshots for you all!

Realizing

I am coming to the realization (slowly), that apparently, I'm pregnant!  Seriously, you think I would have figured it out by now?  I say this only because I have a SuperWoman complex...I daily have to fight the compulsion to be and act just like SuperWoman.  I think yesterday I sat down for a grand total for one hour (during quiet time), and amidst watching my own child and two others and making bagels and tortillas and lunch and snacks and dinner and refereeing and cleaning etc., I forgot I was almost 8 months pregnant.  I paid for it last night.  Kris came home and my body just fell apart.  I had to force myself to go grocery shopping while he put Marin to bed and it was not a pretty sight.  Both my sciatic nerves were twitching, my pelvic bone was ready to crack like an egg (great visual, I know) and my lower back was throbbing.  I was hunched over my shopping cart  like an old lady gingerly walking on my slightly swollen feet.  What a sight I must have been!  Especially with no make-up and a bun in my hair, oh my!!  Kris was such a sweet man and carried the groceries inside for me and made me sit down and direct him while he put the groceries away, then he dutifully put oil in my car, pressed my hips (it feels so good!) and tucked me in bed with a back-rub, making me promise to take it easy today.  Have I mentioned I love my husband?  

Today I am trying to fulfill my promise to take it easy, while making sure everyone is fed, clean and happy, what a delicate balance!  I am hoping to spray paint my kitchen table today and paint two sample swatches on the kitchen wall to decide which color we want.  That's my limit for the day, no excessive cleaning, laundry is already done, all I have is maintenance cleaning (dishes, picking up, etc.).

Can I say that I can't believe this baby is coming in 10 weeks??!  I know it seems far away still, but to me, it's nothing!  Kris and I decided we were ready for another baby, and BAM!  He's just about here!  I do have to give a very hearty congratulations to my friend from Vegas, Linda and her husband Dave.  They welcomed their very first baby, a girl Abigail, into their lives this past Monday.  I am so happy for them and they will be such great parents!

This weekend we are getting our Christmas Tree!!  I am so happy!  Kris refused last week, he wasn't ready just yet, but I've been given the green light to take our Christmas stuff down this weekend.  Having those decorations up makes the season so much more enjoyable, and Marin will be excited to help decorate the tree...last year she really didn't care for anything but the bells.