Hi everyone! I hope you're all experiencing better weather than we are up here. Right now it's windy, cold and blustery....and they're calling for a possibility of SNOW tonight. Yeah, snow. We've had the longest winter ever! I'm getting so sick of it - it's depressing! I guess we have had a few days where it's warmer and sunny. Actually the last couple of days have been pretty nice. But snow? This late?? So aggravating!

Well, the latest news for us is that we are thinking about listing our house! It's a buyer's market these days (as it is everywhere) and so we're thinking that if we can take advantage of that market, we will. The biggest hitch in our plan is our current house. We'd need to get a bit more than what we paid for it to make it worth our while to buy something else. Luckily, we're not in any kind of a bind to sell, so if we list our house a bit higher than the market is right now, we can wait for the right offer to come in. If it doesn't, well then we don't have to take it, and we can stay where we are. But we're hopeful. And mostly, we're looking for a house that has 3 bedrooms on the main floor (this one only has 2 bedrooms on the main level). That way, if we have another kid sometime down the line, we'll be able to have them both upstairs with us.

We had our realtor come over this morning to do a quick walk-through. He's going to get back to us and let us know what he thinks we should list our house at. From there, we'll decide if we actually want to list it. So we'll see how things go in the next little while.

Other than that, there's not much going on up here. My days and weeks are busy (with mundane life and baby stuff) and have been going by so fast. Curtis is still working lots, and we're all looking forward to warmer weather when we can spend more time out at the acreage. We were out there the first weekend in May, and found a porcupine that's been living under one of the sheds. As we were hauling some things out of the shed, Curtis heard it moving through the brush and so we watched this HUGE porcupine waddle over to a big tree and climb about 15 or 20 feet up it! And it just stayed there for the longest time. We had known that there was one living out there, but hadn't seen it until that weekend. I had no idea, but porcupines eat the bark that grows on trees and shrubs, and it ends up killing them. So my father-in-law wanted it gone, so that it wouldn't kill any more trees. He went up the road to a farmer that he knows and they came back with a 22 rifle. It took 4 shots, but they got it, and so now we have a porcupine-free place out there. We hope, anyway. For all we know, there could be another one somewhere, but for now it looks like we're rid of them. Anyway, that's the adventure we've been having out there so far.

We don't have much planned for the summer, other than spending our weekends out at the acreage, and a trip down to Montana for the Fourth of July. That will be the first time that most of my family will be seeing Hannah, so I'm excited for that trip. Hopefully she'll travel well!

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Hope you're all having a good week!

 I'M BACK! I know I've been away for so long, so I'll try and update you all on all that's happened to us since December 28!

The biggest news is that we had our baby! Little Hannah Grace was born just after midnight on January 15th. She weighed in at 8 lbs, 1 oz. She was beautiful right from the beginning (at least I think so, but I might be a little biased). But I'm pretty sure she really WAS a cute newborn, because even Aubrey thought so. And she's not one to like brand new babies!  :)

The birth went really well, actually. I was induced because my blood pressure was higher than my doctor wanted it to be. So that part wasn't fun - I was strapped to an IV the entire time and wasn't able to walk around much. Curtis was really helpful though, as was our friend Sandra who started out in the room with us. They started me on the IV at about 10:30 am. Due to the induction medications, my contractions were happening pretty close together and lasting quite long (active labor started at about 2:30 or so), but I wasn't dilating hardly at all. And let me tell you, that is SO frustrating! I was hoping for a quick delivery but that wasn't happening. So at about 7:30 I decided to have an epidural, and that was such a blessing. I hadn't planned on using any drugs, but I'm glad I did, because it helped me relax so much. I was able to rest and Curtis and I both had a little nap! I also started dilating much more quickly - I guess it helped everything relax, and just let things happen as they needed to. The nurses started weaning me off of the drugs when it came time to push, so that I could feel the contractions. And right as I started the pushing phase, my parents arrived from Montana! Mom got to be in the delivery room when Hannah was born. Anyway, everything went about as well as it could've. If you want more details, I'd be happy to divulge more info, so just email me if you want.

Here are some more recent pictures of our little Hannah (who weighs about 10 1/2 pounds now!)

Her dad likes to bond with her - mostly while sleeping. :)

Her usual position while sleeping - hands up and out from under the blankets. And it doesn't seem to matter how tightly we swaddle her!

Kicking and flailing is one of her favorite activities....aside from sleeping, eating and pooping. :)

Somewhat of a profile pic...showing her cute little nose. And yes, her face has been splotchy...which I'm told is normal for newborns. It looks like it's clearing up today though, finally (but not in this picture).

When she's sleeping she does these crazy eyes, and goofy grins. It's so funny. :)

This is the face she makes when she's farting. I thought you'd like to know.

It's been cold here the last little while, so I put her in the cutest little snowsuit when we go out. I love the little ears! And yes, she's a fan of the pacifier.

Well, I was going to give you other info about our lives (other than Hannah) that's happened since the beginning of the year, but I've run out of time. So that's what I've got for now. Hannah is waking up, and it's time to feed her. It's amazing how many hours in a day go into feeding her! She's been a great baby though - she hasn't ever had any spells where she just cries for no reason, and I'm so thankful for that. And she's been sleeping really well too. Last night she slept for 8 1/2 hours, straight! I hope that is a trend that continues - but I'm not holding my breath. :) Anyway, gotta run!