Almost Ready for Baby!

Hi everyone,

A few weekends ago, a lovely baby shower was thrown in honor of little baby Hill and it was soooo awesome to see everyone!! This kid has many friends and family awaiting his arrival!!

Taylor did an amazing job at planning the whole thing, down to the water bottles and hand-frosted cookies (which I'm still working on making disappear from my freezer)! Everything looked incredible!! A HUGE thank you to her and also my Mom and Grandma for helping prepare for the shower.  It was a great success, and I was thoroughly exhausted after a long day of visiting, present opening, game playing, and of course...eating! :)  A special Thank You to my Aunt Judy for traveling all the way from San Francisco to attend!!!

Enjoy a few pictures!!

Look at that spread!! YUMMY!!!!! I must say, my absolute favorite was the marshmallow cream cheese...Tay knows how to keep the pregnant lady happy!! And I got the leftovers....woo-hoo!!!

Water...good to have to wash that marshmallow cream cheese down....

Games and gifts!! Thanks to everyone who played the "Guess how big around Brittney is" and guessed smaller.. :) 

Yeah....it was a long day...not sure what is better though...this picture with my eyes closed or ALL THE OTHER PICTURES with my right eye only half way open....pregnancy does some crazy things, I tell ya....

There, that's better...Although, I don't know why I was the one with the "man pose" and Adam didn't have his arm around me....

And of course, the always appreciated "Toddlers & Tiara's" pose with the happy grandparents to be.

Covering the major Washington Universities in this picture.  Harrison is gonna have some big decisions to make in about 18 years....Thanks for the great shower, Tay!!  

Thanks to our family and friends, we actually feel like we could be prepared to welcome a baby in the next few weeks (!!!).  Still so hard to believe, but he'll be here before we know it and we can't wait to introduce him to you all!

As for non-baby related news, a big congrats to a fellow accounting couple, Fred and Erin, that finally made it official last weekend and tied the knot!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!  We are happy, happy, happy for you!!!! (I'm still mad at Macy's for not including my super awesome gift note with your gift, though).  Next month, (although we won't be able to attend), the trifecta of married accounts will be complete and our future plan to take over the world will commence, one debit at a time....well, with the corresponding credit, of course... :)

Our summer is still going full steam ahead and although we have had so much fun staying busy and seeing friends and family this summer, we are looking forward to a few quiet weekends before the baby gets here. But first, we have a fun weekend planned with Kerry and Mike and then Labor Day in Hansville with the Hill family, our last big hoorah as a 2 person, 2 puggle, 1 ancient white beagle family...

As always, thanks for reading!!! :)

Soaking Up the Sun

This last weekend, we stayed classy on our visit to Kahlotus...

Our own little oasis.

It was HOT!!! As you can see, I originally was in Taylor's spot, but decided that after Gracie took a little swim and the water turned a considerably browner shade, I'd be better off sitting on the side and enjoying the view from there... :)  The pool kept everyone one cool for a few hours.  It felt just like an all inclusive resort.  Pool, drinks, sunshine...what else do you need??

We (meaning mostly Mom and Taylor) spent some time getting ready for the baby shower next weekend baking up a storm. As unofficial taste tester, you guys won't wanna miss out on this!!!

The dogs enjoyed the warmer weather too...

Gracie is growing bigger and bigger and can pretty much hold her own against Tom. She also knows the command "sit." She's a quick one!!

Tom, who also grows bigger and bigger, doesn't look too cuddly in this photo, but I promise he is still as cute as ever.  He has also mastered the sit/stay command! They grow up so fast.....

Dudley gets whiter and whiter, but continues to keep on truckin' through life.  He has NOT learned any new tricks.

We've been receiving a few baby gifts here and there and we are oh so grateful for all of the generosity and love coming from our family and friends.  Every day we feel a little bit closer to being somewhat prepared for baby....

New baby carrier...Thanks Tony! :) I would have tried it on, but the whole watermelon sized belly thing kinda stopped me...

Hopefully we'll see most of you next weekend at the baby shower/BBQ! I think it might finally set in that in less than 2 months we'll be welcoming our little guy into the world...but as of right now, I just cannot imagine it! :)

Hi everyone!!!! Computer is finally up and running and I can update you with everything that's been going on...settle in, folks, this could be a long one....

Where do I begin?? Today marks Baby Hill's 32 week gestation birthday!!! So on the early end, he could be here in as little as a month or so! Wow, it's gone by fast and yet, I feel like I've been carrying around this pregnant belly for some time now.  The way he moves around, I'd swear he's already big enough to come out...but he can't, has to cook a little big longer. :)  He has quite the sense of humor in that kicking my ribs while I'm trying to fall asleep seems to keep him quite entertained...

This was actually taken  a few weeks ago, but I don't think I've changed much the last week or so....and that's my glass of chocolate milk.  Take THAT heartburn!

Nursery sneak peak...I'll take better photos soon...we are almost done with it!!! :)  Those are little giraffes on the rocking chair.  I chose the fabric and reupholstered it all by myself!!  That sewing machine is getting some heavy use! :)  Thanks, Mom, for helping us paint and shop!

Our newest family member, Gracie, is a tornado of energy and enthusiasm.  She runs, jumps, and plays like she's a full grown puggle! She now has no problem jumping up on the couch, so Tom has resorted to the bed to get away from her.  I think he goes there to collect his thoughts and get a little rest without his Mini-me pouncing on his head or chewing his tail.

"They call me Screws Loose Gracie!!!!!"

Of course, their relationship isn't all chaos and energy....

Puggle Snuggles!

Since it's been nice out lately (70's), we try to let the dogs out to get some fresh air...unfortunately, Tom has taken on the roll of Elmer Fudd and continues to chase rabbits across our yard and into the field next to us.  This usually isn't a problem, until he gets stuck in the heavy overgrowth and can't find his way back out...We attribute this to stubbornness and/or slight stupidity...we are working on it... :)

Believe it or not, we've been feeling a little more a part of the community... We took a birth class the last few weeks (which, believe me, is a full post in itself), and actually met a few other couples having babies in the next few months that we could actually see ourselves hanging out with in the future. The birth class itself included drawing lots of "birth art" (Adams favorite...which color feels most alive to you?!?) visualization, acting out late labor contractions (the birth coach, NOT me, so don't ask for a reenactment), and much more "right brain" activities.  Luckily for both Adam and me, we could always count on a snack halfway through. :)  The other couples all had great senses of humor, so for the most part, it was entertaining.  The priceless looks the of the dads when the instructor pulled out a postpartum pad the size of a sleeping bag made the entire course worth it.. :)  We did learn a few "left brain" important things, such as pattern of contracts to look for, breathing and pushing exercises, some birth lingo...All I can say is when little man is ready to come out, it's gonna be a roller coaster ride and Adam better not hog the soaker tub at the birthing center. :)

In the travel department, we've had our share of adventures.  A few weeks ago, we went to Dallas to visit some friends for a long weekend of pool time and summer sun, since we hadn't been getting much at our place.  Oh, it was so great! I thought for sure I'd be wanting to sit in the air conditioned house for the whole time, but the heat didn't bother me as much as I'd expected.  I witnessed 2 grown men dancing to Britney Spears on the Kinect dance video game, so I'd call it successful...Adam was soooo successful at it, he ripped his pants...It was so nice to rest and relax next to the pool, enjoy the weather, and not get woken up at 5 am by two hungry puggles!  Tay and Kellen were nice enough to watch the dogs while we were gone, although from the texts we got, it may be the last time they do...all thanks to Captain Soft Ears Dudley and his musical beagle bark.  I'm sure they have some entertaining stories from that weekend....If you guys are up for the challenge, we need another dog sitter in November... :) Any takers??

Well, I'd better get back to my Olympic viewing...those male volleyball players can't cheer themselves on!! :)  We'll keep everyone posted on our adventures the next few weeks, we have a lot going on! :)

MIA

I know, I don't even want to think about how long it has been since I last did an update...Don't worry though, once I get a new replacement computer cable, things will be back up and running with lots of new stories and pictures! We've been busy traveling and preparing for baby, so check back next week for updates.. :)

About 9 weeks to go till Due Date, it's going so fast!! I'm definitely ready to not be pregnant anymore though.. :) Hope to see everyone in the coming weeks, we have a few trips planned, including Yakima for the baby shower!!!!

Lots to report

Hi everyone! Long time, no posts!! It's the weirdest thing, the weather here is rainy and drizzly! "Really?" you may ask...yes...really...it's GREEEAT....

It turns out, I actually do have a few things to update on...

Last weekend, my Mom traveled up to Bellingham to help decorate the kid's new digs! We (meaning she) painted the room a beautiful gray and helped me sew curtains! It was soooo great to have some help and motivation to get Little Man's room together and although we have a ways to go still, it's going to be an awesome room and I can't wait to finish and enjoy it! Here are a few sneak peeks taken with my phone.  Once I get it finished, I'll take some more pictures and share with you...

Many of you also may be wondering how we are doing after welcoming little Gracie into our home a few weeks ago.  Well, if this is any indication, her nickname is "Screws Loose Gracie." So..... we are hoping it's just a puppy phase and she'll soon grown out of it, and inherit some of Tom's lazy habits (including sleeping 10+ hours a night, curling up on the couch when not sleeping under the covers in bed, and an all around chilled out demeanor..).  Some of Gracie's favorite pastimes are chewing on Dudley's neck fur (this seems to be the case across all puggles), running full speed to Dudley's bed to pee on it, and trying to snuggle up with Thomas, even when he doesn't feel like it.  They really are a great pair...see for yourself!!

Day on the Beach

Just because the sun isn't shining doesn't mean a little puggle can't have fun on the beach!

When one puggle is just not enough...

Hi everyone!

I'd like to introduce to you all the newest member of our Hill household...

A baby girl puggle named Gracie!!!

How adorable is she?? Thomas isn't 100% convinced that this new addition is a positive one, but they are slowly getting used to each other.  Gracie has no fear when it comes to playing with Tom and Dud, and chases them all over the living room!  We were hoping for a playmate for Thomas to keep him busy and tire him out, and I think we got what we were looking for!  Tay, you might need to recruit back up in July for dog sitting...

But after about 20 minutes of rough housing, they all know how to snuggle up and take a good old fashioned nap, which is something I can definitely relate to...

Family photo... Baby Hill too!

We were able to enjoy a lovely Sunday evening and let the dogs roam free out in the grass for the first time! Hopefully, we'll be able to do that much more this summer because the pups absolutely loved it!  Tom and Gracie ran and played while the Ol' White Beagle was the resident mall walker, and I think completed about 3 laps around the yard...

We are noticing more friends outside in the yard now that spring is here, including a few bunnies and the biggest robin I've ever seen.  We named him Fat Robin (creative, I know), and we imagine he talks like Fat Albert and says things like "Hey, hey, hey! I'm Fat Robin, I sit on this tree all day and cause it to lean, I'm the fattest robin in town, I eat bunnies for breakfast!!"  It's quite entertaining... and he really does sit on the same branch every day and earlier this year, the tree did tip over and needed to be propped up...he really is fat. :) Trust us.

For now, enjoy some pictures from our evening...

Gracie may be 1/4 of Tom's size, but she let's him know she's no pushover!

After about 45 minutes of rolling in the grass, all three are passed out on the couch and will hopefully be for the rest of the night. :)

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! Ours included a wedding and family reunion! Busy, but fun!

I was feeling creative a while ago and made a cute baby mobile for the baby room, complete with little safari animal cut outs! :)  Unfortunately, I think nurseries usually have a little more in them besides a mobile, but I have to start somewhere right? Especially since the little guy is growing like a weed and I swear does somersaults or kickboxing in my uterus, so much so that Adam could see it moving from across the room!! Think we may have an athlete on our hands??

Until next time, I have some puggle snuggle time to catch up on! :)