Where's the snow?

We made it to Strawberry Lodge near South Lake Tahoe. Sable was fantastic during the car ride and is quite the little celebrity among the locals. There's no snow so it's a lot like that "White Christmas" movie here.

www.StrawberryLodge.com

Christmas Update

Keri's cousin Garrett and his family Jessica and Leander came over to visit and play Board Games with us. It was great to see them and watch the kids play together.


Stacy broke her ankle but made it home with the help of her son to celebrate Christmas with our family.



Sable likes to snuggle with her Aunt Stacy.



Cousins Caine & Sable with Max and Chase. Christmas Eve at Grandma Dawns house was relaxed with a lot of laughing. I tried to convince Stacy (who is on crutches) to say "God bless us everyone"... hehehe.


Sable went to the Muppets Movie (her first) on Christmas day with mom, dad, Grandma Jackie, Grandpa Keith, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Muffy. I was so proud, Sable is so easy to take everywhere. It really helped that she loves the Muppets.



Our little Princess playing with her new toys! She got lots of clothes, books, accessories, a wide array of toys including a few musical ones.


P.S. Joel got Skyrim.

25 weeks, 4 days pregnant.

Happy Christmas

Butterflies and Christmas trees

We gave Sable her Christmas chair from Grandma Dawn a little early. It was a big hit. (will post video soon.) She loves the "Butterfly!"



Our tree has lights, a couple butterflies and some cherry flavored candy canes on it this year. It's pretty empty looking but Sable loves pointing to the butterflies and moving them around on the tree. She'll pull one off then go play piano with it in her hand, then gently place it back on a branch. Sable loves her butterflies.

Doctor visit

My blood pressure is perfect and my weight is normal. The baby's size and heart rate look great. The baby is now viable, which means: can survive outside of the womb, should anything happen but don't worry, Cliff and I are happy and healthy. At our next appointment in four weeks I'll be doing a diabetes test and be starting the third trimester. He's kicking away as I type all our good news. I'm in that phase of pregnancy where I'm falling in love with him. We're excited to meet him in a few months.

Joel's grades

Maya lighting - 4.0
Game Theory - 4.0
Cartooning - 4.0
Zbrush - 4.0

GPA for this year - 3.90

Pretty good Joey!

More Sable

Trying out the new car seat



...and the new box



Someone likes the Christmas tree!




She'll only walk if you don't watch her...

24 weeks pregnant

Sable's day

She's sleeping in again...



The new Toys R Us magazine



"I want pages 8 thru 12, mama"

Deck the Hall Ball

Thank you Keith & Jackie for the awesome tickets!
Joel and I went to Deck the Hall Ball last night at Key Areana. We saw the last three bands that played from one of the 107.7 The End Radio station Suites. We had a private bathroom, lounge area, TV and kitchen; not to mention an awesome balcony view! Joel was very into Foster the people and Cage the Elephant. Foster the People live = AWESOME. The best part for Joel was the booth handing out free Magic the Gathering cards "I'm feeling reckless with my pockets full of Magic cards." -Oh Joey. It was fun to get out and pretend to be cool.

Photo of Cage the Elephant

Lazy winter day

While munching on a Milky Way bar, my newest craving, we watched as Sable stood up and walked around the house for about 5 minutes. That was really awesome!

Also found a great shirt:

Help with walking

Great news! Sable does not need braces for her feet! She does need inserts though to help with her ankle alignment. $61.87 later and I feel like a good mom... now to find shoes that fit the new "Chipmunk inserts" that don't cost $50+. She's been more willing to stand, walk and climb up stairs lately. She's so tall and cute!

All about Sable

I think this a lot but don't say it enough... I have the best kid in the world!

"oh my god"

We had Thanksgiving at Grandpa Keith's and Grandma Jackie's house this year. Joel and I were thankful for family and Sable was most thankful for butterfly's. When I saw Joel bring out a huge plate of leftovers to bring home I said "Oh my god!" and then Sable spoke her first sentence... "oh my god."

Sable has had a big appetite lately, yesterday she asked in sign language "eat" "nose" "please." Joel laughed and made sure that's what she wanted. Yep, nose.

I've been working at Macy's, Black Friday was an early day for me. It's amazing how many strollers with 2 year old kids were out at 2am. I don't understand that.

Baby Cliff is kicking away. He gets the most excited when I eat.


21 weeks, 5 days Pregnant.

Pretty cute!

Today's thoughts

Sable is over her cold and is almost finished with her ear infection medication. She handled the whole sickness like a trooper. She's at a fun age! Joel and I have really been enjoying our play times with her. She's a funny little kid.

Clifton has been kicking up a storm. That kid needs more room or at least a game to play; He seems bored in there.

Click HERE for a funny baby name article

Sweeties

Sable "Einstein" Hills

Sable's cousin Emma (Age 12) said "I know why Sable isn't talking yet, she's like Einstein. He didn't talk till he was like 9 years old."

- Best niece ever!


20 weeks, 2 days pregnant

Another first...

Sable had a Doctor appointment today to see if her cold turned into anything worse and she has an ear infection in her right ear. This is her first. We've been having insurance issues lately so we had to go to the "clinic", which was creepy. The Doctor was great though; She was from France and loved Sable's name.

20 weeks pregnant! Half way there!

He has a name!

Clifton Michael

GENDER: Masculine
USAGE: English
PRONOUNCED: KLIF-tən [key]
Meaning & History
From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "settlement by a cliff" in Old English.
DIMINUTIVE: Cliff

In 2010, Clifton was #1749 on the SSA list (name popularity)

19 weeks, 5 days pregnant

Sick little girl

Sable has a bad cold and sore throat. She was crying for about 12 hours yesterday and last night; Joel and I are exhausted. Joel made a 3am run to the drug store to see if there was anything else we could give her and after reading every box on the medicine shelf found something that cleared up her throat knocked her out. We will all be taking long naps and snuggling with Sable today.

Cousin sympathy

When Caine (Sable's cousin who has an older step sister) heard the news that that Sable would have a little brother, Caine said, "Poor Clifton, he has to have a big sister."

Then we told Emma (Sables's cousin with a little brother). Emma shook her head and said, "Poor Sable."

It's a.... BOY!

We went to the ultrasound with Grandma Dawn who was trying hard to see the baby clearly through the blurry gray blobs on the screen. The ultrasound Tech started to look for the gender and Grandma Dawn exclaimed, "THAT'S a BOY!" and she was right. It was pretty obvious what we were looking at!

35!

Happy Birthday Keri!

My Geriatric Birthday

Today I'm 35 and officially considered a high risk pregnancy or geriatric pregnancy. I think the name is a bit harsh but I'm not worried about the risk part. I'm not scared of having a special needs baby. Joel woke me up with my favorite decaf. coffee and we're going to a movie for "date night" tonight. I'm going to stuff myself on movie popcorn for dinner! Yum.

19 weeks pregnant.

"Hi Daddy!"

Joel felt the baby kick!

18 weeks, 2 days pregnant.

Preschool

Sable had a fantastic day at preschool today! She said lots of words, used new sign language during class and walked everywhere! There has been a LOT of progress lately and her therapists are so excited for her (the rest of us are excited too!).

Pumpkin patch!

Grandpa Keith met us at Stoker farm to check out their Pumpkin Patch. Sable was not scared of the pumpkins this year and loved the corn maze.






17 weeks, 4 days pregnant

New firsts

It was reported by grandma Jackie and Grandpa Keith this week, that Sable stood up on her own without holding on to anything! Go Sable Go! She has also started saying "Butterfly", it sounds like "Fiiiiiii." She also talked to Grandma Dawn on the phone and said "Hi", so sweet!

Tonight we went out and bought a new toy where she cuts pretend fruit, she loves it. Her Occupational Therapist, Caroline, showed the toy to Sable today. It was a big hit!


It's really exciting being Sables mom. She's a loving and happy kid.


17 weeks, 1 day pregnant.

FLICK! PUNCH! SMACK! POW!

I can feel the baby moving! It moves the most when I switch the side I'm sleeping on or sit up. It doesn't like to be shifted. I think the baby is moody... *groan*

16 weeks 5 days pregnant.

Preschool

Sable continues to learn and loves music time at preschool. They sing a song about eye glasses where the kids get to pick out a pair of glasses to wear. It's Sable's song of choice. Last week, Joel got written up in preschool (yes he's 42 years old) for accidentally pinching Sable's hand while trying to put glasses on her.

Elasta-Mom

I'm suffering from an Itchy-growing-belly starting this week. I have bottles of lotion all over the house and in my car. This kid is growing fast!

Halloween Preview

Maybe next year she'll go as sleeping beauty...

Thank you

Thank you to our supportive family. We've had a tough couple of days and we appreciate all of you.

North Dakota

We made it home safe. I loved spending time with family in ND but it's nice to come home to Joel and my happy little Sable.


on grandma's farm with cousin Robert Veer, Keri Hills (Pregnant),Boswell (dog), Dean Rene, Dawn Hicks, Dale Rene.

Sable had a busy week learning new words at preschool and having family babysitters while Joey was at school.

I am now 15 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty great!

Great little traveler

Tonight I'm in Grand Forks North Dakota. We've been in the car for two days straight and our little baby-to-be is doing great! I'm very happy s/he travels well.

Joel has been going through some teething pains with Sable but has everything under control.

14 weeks 1 day pg

Tomorrow

I'm headed to Walhalla, North Dakota in the morning with my mom and Uncle Dean.

It's also the start of my 2nd Trimester!

Doctors appointment

Today I got my flu shot, talked with my doctor about nausea and heard the baby's heart beat again. It sounds so great! I've gained 4 pounds and everything is perfect. Next appointment is November 11th and that day we will find out if it's a boy or a girl! We'll also get ultrasound pictures.

Note to Grandparents: Hold off on the shopping still. You've been doing great!

Curled up in daddy's chair

Waiting for him to come home from school.

Babycenter.com says...

"Your baby is now about 3 inches long. His or her kidneys and urinary tract are already working"

13 weeks 5 days pg

Growing again

Yesterday Sable slept over 16 hours and today she is a bottomless pit for food. I can see her getting tall right before my eyes!

Genealogy love

I've just finished a one month project of scanning old family photos that my uncle borrowed from our family in North Dakota. I LOVE family pictures! It's wonderful to see pictures of my great-grandparents when they were kids posing with their siblings.

Teeth

Sable said "Teeth" very clearly yesterday for Aunt Wendy, Uncle Glen and Cousin David. She's learning so much!

Glasses!

Daddy bought Sable some new glasses from the toy store today. Lovely!

Fun at Preschool

Sable has been enjoying Preschool so far. She was asked to choose a hat to wear for one of the songs and she passed on the girly hat and jumped at the cowboy hat! She looked very pleased wearing it. She also loves wearing glittery cat eye glasses during play time. She is standing more on her own and really loves the T-ball toy in the schools gym. Sable has started to act goofy and babel more during speech therapy. She still loves doing arts and crafts and this week learned to cut with scissors. We make her walk while at school which makes nap time easy when we get home.

strawberrylodge.com

The Lodge is getting a new website! Click HERE to see!

Baby names

Baby name's have been chosen for our little one!

Boy: Clifton Michael. Clifton is after Joel's paternal Grandfather and Michael is after my Dad. He will likely be called Cliff.

Girl: River Noel. River is Joel's favorite girl name and it's after a Firefly character (Click HERE to look it up). Noel is for my sister's middle name. She has always loved it.

I'm sad that we can't use both names.

Here is a list of our baby naming rules:
1. Joel and I both have to like/love it.
2. Last name is from Joel's family.
3. Middle names from Keri's family.
4. Boys first names after family.
5. No trendy names
6. Easy to spell, say and remember.

11 weeks, 5 days pg

First day back at Preschool

Sable went back to school today! She loved seeing all of her teachers and was excited for music time. The school was recently given a grant for new iPads to use as development tools for the kids and Sable got to test one out. Her favorite App was the Koi pond. Joel and I hovered a little, those things are cool!

Sable vs. the Air Conditioner

Cleft Sacrum

We confirmed this week that Sable does have a birth defect at the bottom of her spine. We had ex-rays done and it's not hurting her in anyway, just a quirk. The thought is that if there is a defect in one place, there may be a defect in another, like her brain, causing her delay and maintaining the need for an MRI; Joel and I are still discussing the MRI. Sable was so well behaved at her Neuro-developmental exam but it took four people to hold our independent, thirty pound girl for the ex-ray, ha ha!

"Like a Train"

Today was our 10 week appointment with our baby doctor. We asked questions, I got an exam and we looked for the babies heart beat! It was a little early to be looking for it and the Dr. said we may not hear it, but there it was! It sounded like a train engine. My chances of a miscarriage are now "significantly reduced." My exam was great, I'm in perfect health and there are no signs of stress on the baby. This is really happening people!

9 weeks 6 days pg

First steps

This was the second round of steps that Sable took on her own. Joel woke me up to grab the camera and see our little girls first steps. She's getting so independent!

100%

Joel and I have been trying to have kids since January 2004. We have gone through one and a half adoptions and we are currently in our 6th pregnancy. As exciting, devastating and scary as it has all been; I'm done. This is my last pregnancy/attempt at having a child. We are still keeping the option to adopt open for the future but my body is done. We've put in 100% and know WAY to much about fertility.

If it's a boy...

I'll be wanting this...


9 weeks pg

Play it again, Sae

8 weeks 6 days pg

Stick people

8 week progress

I'm 8 weeks pregnant today! this is the 3rd farthest I've been. The baby is doing great, I can tell because I'm so sick. So very, very sick.
I passed my class and Joel is finishing his school this week. (Woohoo!)
Sable is moving and cruising around the house like she owns the place. She's constantly at the piano playing and dancing to her own music. Joel loves watching her. We both applaud and cheer her on. Piano lessons are in her future.

8 weeks pg

LOVE!

I love Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Thank you Jessica for the tip! It's keeping my morning sickness under control!

7 weeks 3 days

My tummy is busy!

There are butterflies in my tummy over finals at school today. What a relief from morning sickness!

7 weeks 1 day pg

Allen "Lloyd" Veer 1927-2011

We lost Great Uncle Lloyd yesterday. Lloyd was my grandma Rene's oldest brother. He was a great guy with lots of family history. He is already missed.

click HERE to see Lloyds Obituary

Grocery list

Yes Joel, I bought pickles. Stop smirking about it.

6 weeks 4 days pg

Summer break!

Sable is out of Preschool for her 3 week summer break. My finals are next week and Joel's is the week after that so we will all share one week of summer vacation before fall schedule starts. I have two classes left to get my AA but I'll finish after the baby comes sometime. I'm not in a hurry.

Sable is starting to say her name! she says "ZEE-bowl." It's super cute!

6 weeks, 1 day pregnant

Here's the baby!

We are officially due on April 4th 2012, the same week as Sable's 3rd birthday.

We saw the heart beating! rate: 123 (I think it's a boy)

Everything looks perfect!

That old feeling

Morning sickness has struck and it lasts all day. anything that smells makes me gag, my whole body is sore and food makes my tummy flutter. It's kinda bad... any tips on managing?

Cravings: Apple sauce, Apple juice, soda crackers, sleep & attention from Joel

6 weeks pg

Babycenter says...

"Your baby goes through a growth spurt this week, starting out as small as a lentil and ending up as big as a chickpea."

5 weeks 6 days pg

Grandma Dawn and the Ponytail girl

If you're worried...

I'm still doing great. The Doctor was hoping that my HCG (pregnancy hormone) levels would be over 3000 today and they were WAY over 4000.

VOTE on my Name List

Baby update

I'm doing blood tests this week to track my progress. Everything is still great and the Doctors are happy and right on top of me. First ultrasound will be Thursday, August 11th. We're still super excited!

Preschool first

Today Sable was flipping through a book and stopped on a page with a picture of fish. Without any prompting said fish in sign language. Her Speech Therapist was very impressed.

Gencon Widow

Joel left today for Gencon and Papa John has taken his place as "stay-at-home-Papa" so I can go to work and school all week. Grandma Dawn is taking the weekend shift. Hooray for family!
I'm so tired...

Sable's going to be a big sister!

Joel and I are SO excited!

July 24th
Joel finds a positive pregnancy test in the bathroom and wonders "Why isn't Keri freaking out?" I hadn't seen the + sign yet so Joel got to tell me that I'm pregnant.

July 25th
Called my Doctor, made a plan.

July 26th
Blood test for pregnancy and hcg level check

July 27th
Pregnancy confirmed, feeling VERY hungry

July 28th
HCG levels are perfect (worrying less)! Most likely not another ectopic pregnancy.
Going in on Monday to determine date of first ultrasound.

DUE DATE: March 29th 2012

Summer time!

Todays' funny moments

Funny #1 My sister Stacy was driving through Olympia on her way to camp and stopped at our mom's house to see mom, me and Sable. (Stacy adores her little niece) Stacy came bursting through the door, almost tripping on me and scooped up Sable before I even saw her. Both Aunt and Niece were happy to see each other. From today on I will not sit in the direct path of a woman missing her young family members. I was lucky to survive!

Funny #2 Sable and I are watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. There is a scene where Hermione quickly put her hand in the air to answer a question. Sable saw it and did it just as fast. I laughed so hard...

Line drawing

By Keri Hills

New family tattoos

Stacy's new tattoo (left wrist)



Joel's new tattoo by Suzanna Fisher (right leg)
Suzanna called him "The Joey with the dragon tattoo"

At the park