the beach again

Nate and I took another trip to Twin Rocks recently, so here are a few pictures from that - it was probably the best weather that we've ever had while in Rockaway.

We took a scenic drive along beaches south of Tillamook, and then spent a decent amount of time in Cannon Beach.

Just another self-portrait...


This was an accident, but I don't mind it! We had shared lunch of fish and chips at Pelican Pub and Brewery in Pacific City.


This is Nate hurrying up to the pedestrian bridge to cross Highway 101 from Twin Rocks Friends Camp to the beach - it was so nice outside that we took chairs along to watch the sunset.


And here's the sunset between Twin Rocks. So clear and pretty! The next day we stopped down at the beach again and couldn't actually find the rocks...a fog had rolled in, although it burned off several hours later.


I distracted Nate from his reading...Cannon Beach, with Haystack Rock (lovely as it always is!) standing in the background.




Six-months pregnant!




We set up another couple trips to Twin Rocks, so we'll go at least two more times before the baby is born. More to come soon!

Family in Town

So, don't worry, I don't have a single picture of Ricky from when he was here for a week not that long ago...I got a few pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Banks from dinner the day before they left, and that by the skin of my teeth, I think.


After dinner that night, Nate and I stopped by my parents' house to spend some time with their new puppy (this was before Rameus was put down). They got another little lhasa apso named Brody. He's pretty cute! VERY puppy-ish still, but learning quickly :)

Sydney Martin

The newest addition to Dave and Tiffani Martin's family arrived on March 31st, about a week "late," and just over a week after Charlie's second birthday. We were able to visit her a few days after her birth - and, hey, she's pretty cute.

Rockaway & Newport Beaches

We had planned a trip to Twin Rocks Friend's Camp for the end of March about a year ago. It happened to be quite timely, following Nathaniel's due date. And during this trip we decided to explore the surrounding areas much more than ever before!

We knew that I was pregnant at this point, so we tested the limits of my endurance pretty much the whole time we were on this trip :) We hiked around and drove alot (taxing on the bladder, let me tell you; taxing on the husband, too, when one asks to stop for a bathroom every 40 minutes or so).

It snowed in the pass the day we were heading out - actually, we were nervous that we'd have to cancel the trip because both of our vehicles are 2-wheel drive. But we made it okay! Here's a picture of the pass.


We visited Newport Aquarium, so here are a few photos from that [expensive] bit of adventure.




And this is a heart warming profile of my hubby on the beach...


These next two pictures are from our stop at God's Finger, off of highway 101. Nate always feels a little trepidation when steep drop-offs are near. The first time we ever visited God's Finger together was along with several of my Ecola friends and we (my friends and I; Nate hung well back) actually went out on the point. Nate and I weren't dating then, so I pretty much just didn't listen to him when he expressed concern at the huge risk I was taking in walking out on that skinny point. This trip he held my hand tightly most of the time, and with good reason. A guy and his wife and dog went out on the point while we were admiring the view and the guy almost fell over the side - he balanced on one leg and found his center again by flailing his other extremities. Yeah, scary.



This picture is from Oswald West State Park, one of my favorite beaches. On this day, it was not so crowded with tourists, which was nice - still plenty of surfers, though.


And now Cannon Beach! I like kicking off the rough edges of sand created when Ecola River flows sharply through the beach to the ocean.



More to come soon!

I found some stuff.

I was browsing through Nate's pictures on his computer and I realized that there were a bunch that I didn't have on my computer slash completely forgot about. So over the next few days I'm going to add some random posts going as far back as March 13...Why don't I start now?

These pictures are from our day trip to Cannon Beach on March 13th, Nathaniel's due date. Personally, I think these pictures are fun, so I hope you enjoy them, too!

Actually, this first picture is of the bouquet we placed on his grave that day before heading out of town. Since then we've finally gotten the headstone placed, so I'll put a picture of that up soon.



Okay, so this next stream of photos are from the trip we took into Cannon Beach...

I disrupted Nate's reading to take this picture. This is his "C'mon, leave me alone" look.



I sometimes giggle nervously when he takes pictures of me.



On the beach.




Okay, so that's it for now!

It's sad.

Mom and Dad had Rameus put down on Monday. He was going downhill and was having a hard time just living life. I remember the day he came into our family. School was out and it was my turn to ride up front in the Suburban. When I got in the truck, I nearly stepped on something furry sitting in the wheel well - it was the little brown dog we had seen at the pet store just a few days before!

Rameus had an interesting life, to say the least: He had an amazing number of near-death experiences, too many for such a little beast. My two favorites are when he jumped out of the Suburban window as we drove 60 mph down the highway toward Magone. He saw cows and was so excited that he took a flying leap to be with them.

His next best near-death episode happened during my sophomore year of high school. Dad was supposed to come to the play Rae Ann and I were a part of through our school ("The Hobbit"). He never showed up and we found out why when we got home that night: Dad had gone to shut the garage door before driving to the school, but Rameus couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to be inside or out, so he darted under the door at the last minute. It nailed him in the shoulders and flattened him to the floor, causing him to go spread eagle - and his little legs weren't meant to go that way, poor guy.

Even though he was small in stature, he was such a tough country dog :) I'll miss him!

Titles...who needs em?

This is just a general update. I don't feel like being creative with a title right now :)

The 4th was good; we celebrated with Nate's family who live across the street from Happy Valley Park. It was an awesome show! Getting out of the neighborhood was a bit ridiculous, though - that took quite awhile with all the pedestrians walking down the middle of the road. So fun.

Ricky is flying back to South Korea today - he flew in last Saturday and pretty much surprised everyone. We had about a two day warning that he was coming. It was good to see him! He'll be back in November. His flight comes in on the 29th, so he was excited about (hopefully) being there when the baby was born, but now that the due date has been moved up to the 21st, I sense that he's expecting the baby to already be born when he gets back into town. We'll see!

I went in and saw Midwife Peggy on Thursday after work. We were both surprised that I had made it three weeks without popping into her office (I made a good go of it when i fell down the stairs, but, in the end, resisted the urge). We went over the ultrasound tech's report from Tuesday and Peggy said that the tech wants us to go back in for another ultrasound because she didn't like the quality or the quantity of pictures she got of the baby's mouth and nose. I don't think we'll be going back to the hospital to do that, though - my insurance won't pay for it and neither will I. I think Peggy will try to do that ultrasound in her office when I go in next month. I'm not sure if either the tech or Peggy are worried to any extent, though. I'm not sure I asked all the right questions when I had the chance...

So that's where we're at! Sorry, no spectacular new photos. I need to take one soon, though - an updated belly shot. I'll get that on here soon :)

Taa daa!

Please meet...


Baby Girl Banks!

We're excited, but a bit shocked! Finding out the sex of the baby totally brought the reality of our due date home. Sure, it's in November, but that feels soon! Oh, and the ultrasound tech upped our due date by eight days...We're now due on November 21st. I'm fine with either November 21st or the 29th, but what a surprise! The baby is measuring large which is why the due date was moved up - ack! She's kicking like crazy these days, not at all phased by my fall :)

So that's our major news...Yeah!!!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, she looks good. We could count all her little fingers and toes, and she has no major deformities or obvious illnesses - Nate and I are breathing easier tonight :)

Whoops.

I wish I had some pictures to post of the bruises and rug burns I have right now from falling down the stairs the other night...but on the other hand, no lasting evidence of my clumsiness is probably best.

I don't even know what happened. People keep telling me to slow down when I tell them about falling down the stairs, but I wasn't speeding! I took two steps and then my feet were no longer under me. I slid down six or seven steps before stopping at the landing. If an off-balance pregnant lady has to fall, it's best to do it that way rather than head over heels, I suppose.

Not too long after that I climbed into bed and cried and laid around with my hands on my stomach willing my baby to move around. Nate came into the room and laid down with me and tried to talk sense into my freaked out state. He put his hand on my stomach (Yes, he did. And I didn't throw it off, but that doesn't give license to free stomach grabbing! He's my husband, so he has a bit more to qualify him to touch my stomach.) and he felt the kid moving around...a first for him!

We're beyond butterfly movements with this little one - it's now full on kicks. The kid is gaining strength daily, it seems. And we find out on Tuesday what we're having! ACK!

Ta Daaa!

For those of you not on FaceBook, here's a first look at my 4.5 month pregnancy photos:





Enjoy! I'll post another growth shot around 5 or 5.5 months...

One word: HOT.

(The graduate and her hubby.)

I will forever describe my most overwhelming memory of Leslie's graduation as this: It was hot.

Nate and I drove to Pendleton Thursday evening (6/13) and fell into bed in Adam's mom's guest room. On Friday, Nate had to work on some bids so we spent 4+ hours at the local Starbucks (the only way I could get him to go to Pendleton on Thursday instead of Friday evening was to let him work on bids on our "vacation" for at least a few hours).

Around noon we met up with Leslie and Adam and had lunch and then wandered all over the town doing touristy things: We toured the woolen mills, farmer's market, and Hamley's (stop by there if you can), among other things. By the time we returned to Jean's (Adam's mom) house, it was time to nap, aka start dinner for the group of people coming over for dinner.

Leslie's family showed up and we had dinner and eventually started a movie and eventually went to bed.

Bright and early on Saturday morning we headed to La Grand to save seats for the 15+ people attending Leslie's graduation on her behalf. We were sitting on metal benches at the Easter Oregon University's football stadium. The graduates sat in the field under tents while we got full on sun for four hours. And this is what happens in that situation, this is where HOT comes in:


Lovely, eh?

What it all comes down to, though, is that Leslie graduated! After her graduation, we took a few pictures on the lawn and then headed back to Pendleton to nap/get ready for her graduation party at a nearby park.





We ate a late lunch/early dinner, Leslie opened presents and cards, and then we had a killer game of kickball. Everyone is a winner. Just remember that...Adam and Nate.



We stayed Saturday night, went to church, went to lunch with Adam, Leslie, and her siblings, and then headed home. It was fun to spend the weekend in warmer weather than it seems like Portland will see this summer! I don't know - do we even get a summer this year??

Quick and simple.

Nate took his camera to work with him today, making off with all the pictures from this last weekend, and my 4.5 month pregnancy photo...So here's one to hold you over!

I felt the baby moving around on Saturday at Leslie's graduation (I'll get into that during my next post), but then not again. So on Tuesday I stopped by my midwife's after work to listen on the heartbeat monitor. I think I'm allowed some paranoia for just a little longer :) Peggy's so gracious, though! She got to me quickly amid her busy schedule. We listened to the baby's oh-so-strong heartbeat and then she wanted to see it on the ultrasound.

That was crazy! The kid is big! Nathaniel was born small, which I attribute to his illness, so I'm shocked by how big this baby is almost every time we see it. And...HERE'S A PICTURE!


In this picture, the baby is facing down, butt to the left, head to the right. It's little legs are bent at the knees and folded under its behind; the spine is lit up; the hands are in front of it's chest (it had just been gnawing on one of them). Can you see it, can you see it?

We're scheduled to go to the hospital for an anatomy check on Jule 1st - that's when they'll tell us the sex of the baby. I'm feeling considerably better, morning-sickness wise, but I still have my yucky moments. I actually started work at Starbucks at 6am this morning...and it didn't kill me! How grand!

I'll post more pictures soon.

Grr.

(An old one but a classic.)

I left for California last Thursday and got back on Monday, and then worked two (oh-so-long) days at Starbucks, so it was last night that I finally asked Nate to take a picture of my bulging belly. Yes, well, the man was tired, so no photo...YET. He agreed to take one this Saturday, and if he doesn't I know Leslie will. We're heading to Pendleton tonight for Les' graduation.

We had an ultrasound appointment with Peggy on Tuesday, and it was so funny I just have to tell you about it. Nate and I were put into the ultrasound room and sat there for a few minutes before Peggy passed by the door on her way to another patient's room. Before she came by, though, I had been reading the poster next to the table I was sitting on.

I haven't really gained any weight this pregnancy. I lost 20-ish pounds when we lost Nathaniel, and I kept it off for several months. I wasn't trying or anything - it sure was a nice surprise! The first trimester of this pregnancy, my weight stayed put. It didn't fluctuate at all. But when I got on the scale at Peggy's, I had somehow gained 5 or 6 pounds in the last week. Personally, I think it just looks that way because I went into the appointment after lunch...

So I was sitting on the table in the ultrasound room and reading the poster when I spotted a little bit of information under "Month 4" - it said that I would be gaining a pound a week pretty much from here on out. I hollered. Nate laughed. At me. He thought that was hilarious.

It was about then that Peggy stopped by for 2 seconds (and good timing on her part because my baby and I were about to go after Nate). She handed ultrasound goo and the ultrasound tool to Nate and told him to find the kid, which distracted Nate and I from a-pound-a-week-from-here-on-out. I laid back on the table and we exposed my belly and Nate started squirting the goo all over my clothes. I took it from him at that point and put a good sized glob on my actual stomach. And Nate performed the ultrasound!

We got some good pictures. We saw the heart beating rapidly, the unearthly glow of its growing bones, it's strangely large and weird looking head...And because Peggy wasn't in the room, I got to hear how Nate actually feels about it all (usually he leans against the wall and sticks with, "Oh that's neat. Cool."). This time he was totally involved with the ultrasound: "OH...Did you see that? That's so awesome! It totally just moved, did you see that??" I may have spent more time watching him than the screen at that point...

Peggy finally bustled in and took over. She took one look at my stomach and said, "Wow, oh my, you've grown!" Good? Bad? Ugly? I don't know. We walked away from that ultrasound confident of the amniotic fluid levels and the kid's heartbeat. All good!

This is our "scary week," the same time we lost Nathaniel in our first pregnancy. This baby feels much stronger than Nathaniel did, though. I find myself easing up.

Our baby anatomy appointment is set for July 1st. We'll take a good long look at the kids developing body, and find out the sex of the baby! So exciting...

So you want an update, do ya?

We're at 14.5 weeks in our pregnancy now - I just had an ultrasound about an hour ago with midwife Peggy and she said the baby is about 10" long. TEN! That seems so weird to me. I see changes in my belly, but I don't expect some stranger on the street to look at me and say, "My, you must be pregnant!" That would be weird.

Editing is going well, or at least getting better. I enjoy what I'm working on right now, but it's so hard to stay awake :) I find that that's my greatest struggle - which, if that's it, then no problem, right?

I'm still working through some morning sickness, but I try to remember that every time I throw up it's just a good reminder that I'm still pregnant! That's really the only way to be positive when you have toast coming out of your nose.

Nate's hecka busy. He's surviving on the triple grande vanilla lattes I get him from Sbux/other workplace. I think that this week alone (so far) he has to write up and send out six bids. He's a busy man! If you want any painting done, and you want him to do it, I urge you to call him SOON. I love watching him at work, though - he's so efficient at and proud of what he does. He has a crew working for him right now, so at this very moment, he's working in his office lining up jobs and his guys are finishing painting a house. It's wonderful when everything flows so smoothly!

I take off for California this week. One of my down-south cousins is getting married so I'm going to his wedding. Even though it's now June, there's no sun to speak of in Oregon! It's still very dreary here, so I can't wait to see the sun shining! Oh, and when I get back from California, it will only be about two weeks (end of June) until we find out the sex of the baby...ACK!

By the way, Happy June! Can you believe it??


P.S. This was the first ultrasound we got of this pregnancy - I hope to have a new one for you next week.

10 weeks and counting

So Saturdays are the beginning of each new week in my pregnancy. This last Saturday was quite a surprise - week 9 had gone really well with longer periods of feeling in good spirits and like I had energy. On Saturday alone I threw up three times between 2:30am and 9:30am. Argh! The last couple days have seen an improvement, although my gag reflex is huge. I know that you really want to know all these fantastic details :)

So that's our baby update! I'm not posting any baby bump pictures because, well, it's still in the works! But you'll be the first to know when it happens...

Blessings!

So it's been a month or so.

I took a break from blogger, and without any forethought! I really didn't mean to. Things went a bit crazy when we found out that we're pregnant again...

Yes, it's true! We're due November 29th, two days after Thanksgiving. We're pretty excited! We're just about 9 weeks right now - the morning sickness began just before we hit six weeks and I've been working my hardest to beat it with protein and B6 and ginger...whatever I can think of. My prayer has been not only that this baby is healthy but that my morning sickness would end before we hit the 16 week mark. I had morning sickness up until the day we lost Nathaniel Micheal...I'd rather not repeat that! But it seems like it might be dissipating a little these last few days, which is marvelous!

Anyway, I just wanted to let people know that we're pregnant again. Pray for us!

I'll post other interesting things (with pictures) later...Forgive my laziness but I'm downright tired right now :)