Time for the Guessing Game!!

As I enter the third trimester, I thought now would be a good time to let the games begin. I have set up a game where you can take a stab at baby's arrival date/time, weight and gender at www.expectnet.com The name of the game is BabyOwens09 (and it is case sensitive). The winner will win a year of free babysitting... by you! Enjoy!

Summer Vacation

It seems like just yesterday that we got home from our trip west - then I looked on the calendar! It's been over a week! I guess it's time for an update.

Our last big trip of the year (we were planning on heading west for Thanksgiving, but that won't be happening this year - great timing on our part!) started off at the Cabbage, my mom & dad's wonderful place on Hood Canal in Washington. We thought Labor Day weekend would be a great time for a visit, weather-wise, but alas, we were greeted in true Pacific Northwest fashion with 3 days of rain. Ugh. Ethan and Jeff were able to get in a couple rounds of golf (with a few rain delays) and took turns beating each other. My mom and Nissa had a wonderful shower with family and friends, which ended up in my dad's wonderful new garage! This baby sure got spoiled! Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come and celebrate with us. The evening ended with the best dinner in the world, Dad's birthday dinner - the same birthday dinner he's been enjoying for the last 60+ years: razor clams (breaded and fried by Gramma, of course) and little wild blackberry pie. It doesn't get any better than that.

Cousins Amy, Jenny & my Auntie Julie

Aunt Bea, cousins Emily & Tammy and my Gramma Betty.

Great Auntie Bonnie, Mom, my Nanny, McKenna, cousins Emily & Tammy, Great Auntie Winnie and cousin Pat.

Friends Molly, Alice and Marilyn.

After our stay at the Cabbage, Ethan and I headed down Highway 101, the Pacific Coast Highway. When I lived in Olympia, Ethan and I spent a day on the Washington coast, but this was Ethan's first trip to the Oregon Coast. At this point, fortunately, the weather was much more cooperative and Ethan experienced the best that Oregon has to offer! Yay! He even admitted that living in Oregon might not be so bad afterall. :) We made a few stops along the way to Lincoln City, where we spent the night.

Self portrait at Long Beach, WA


A trip to the coast wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory!

Ecola State Park - the most beautiful view in Oregon (even with the Baby Bump at 24 1/2 weeks).

After a night in Lincoln City, OR and a trip to Mo's for some clam chowder (which I'd been craving for WEEKS), we headed south to Newport and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. My last trip to the aquarium was for my freshman biology class in 1996, even before Keiko (aka, Free Willy) moved in! It's quite a bit smaller than I remembered, but definitely worth the trip! The new (to me, at least) shark tank was awesome, although I kept thinking about what would happen if the underwater tunnels collapsed - I'll blame that on the hormones.

One of my favorite exhibits, the Jelly Fish tank.

Check out that wingspan!

The highlight of Ethan's trip happened on our last Friday in Oregon. My dad made arrangements with one of his colleagues to take Ethan salmon fishing near Ilwaco, WA, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific. It made for a long day, but the weather and conditions couldn't have been more perfect (just one more reason for Ethan to believe that Oregon ain't so bad!) There were 4 men fishing, and the limit was 3 salmon apiece, which they easily caught! We now have a freezer FULL of wild salmon... YUM!

The day's bounty.

The day's biggest catches - one of which was Ethan's!

The highlight of my trip came the following morning, when Nissa hosted yet another baby shower for me and all of my girlfriends. I got to see some of the girls that I hadn't seen for a while (it had been years for some!) and we all had a wonderful time catching up and celebrating. Once again, baby was absolutely spoiled, but it was so nice to be around so many people who are just as excited as we are. Thanks again to all you sexy bitches! ;)

Jessica (& Henry), Andrea, Katie, Sarah, me, Andrea and Ali (& Luke). Not pictured: Janell, Darcie (& Bennett), Nissa (& McKenna), Bama (my mom), Linda and Regina.

The week ended with a wonderful celebration in the woods outside of Camas, WA - my friend Melissa and Damian got married. It was definitely an interesting mix of people, but it made for a wonderful evening! The best part may have been the Korean taco truck that provided dinner. Yes, a Korean taco truck. We were able to see friends who weren't able to be at the shower earlier in the day, spouses, and Ethan was able to meet more friends from my Linfield days. A fantastic time was had by all (some more than others - you know who you are!) and it was a great way to end the week.

Katie, Andrea, me and Lindsey.

Gina, Andrea, Katie, Ali, me and Carrie.

Jay. Enough said.

Baby Bump - 23 weeks

It's official - unless my "pre-pregnancy" clothes are 95% spandex, I can no longer wear them. That rules out 99.9% of my wardrobe - the 0.1% includes one pair of shorts and one skirt, but does not include all of my shoes, which I look forward to replacing in the near future! :)

21-week Ultrasound Pics

Here are some of the much anticipated ultrasound pictures! You will have to forgive the quality (or lack thereof) as we no longer have a scanner. I am hoping that my new doc here in Des Moines will do a 3D ultrasound - that is the only one my sister-in-law had. If we're not going to find out this kid's gender, it would be nice to at least have some idea what he/she is going to look like!

Hi world!

BIG stretch!

My personal favorite - looks like he/she has Daddy's big feet!

Baby has been very active lately, especially in the evenings (let's hope this isn't a forecast of what's to come!) A couple nights ago, our good friend Sara (and our new neighbor!) brought us some oatmeal & chocolate chip cookies - they must have done the trick! Baby was tossing and turning and kicking all evening! So much so that even Ethan got a feel. He now asks every night whether or not the baby is kicking and puts his hand on my stomach just in case. :)

We're hoping to take in our first Waukee High School football game tonight. The stadium is less than a mile from our house, so even if we're not there, we're sure to hear the sounds of Friday night football. Earlier this week, we woke up to the sounds of the Warrior Marching Band practicing at 7:00 am! Poor kids!

Baby will also be going to his/her first NFL game this weekend. We were lucky enough to be invited to attend the Kansas City Chiefs game tomorrow. They are playing the Seahawks and I am ready with my Seahawks t-shirt! It should be interesting! The entire Owens' family thinks I'm nuts for sporting the blue and green and thinks that I will be heckled all night. Just in case, though, my dad has given me some excellent self-defense pointers. So, if the next belly pics show me with a black eye (or two), you'll know why. :)

UPDATE

Wow, has it been an eventful week (and it's not over yet!) Wednesday, I had the big ultrasound. Since Ethan wasn't able to join me, I was very lucky to have my mom along - she may have enjoyed it more than me! What an experience! As of right now, it looks like we have a healthy, bouncing baby on the way - and I mean bouncing! Baby was squirming, twisting and turning the entire time! We were able to see 2 eyes, 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 kidneys and all 4 chambers of the heart! Everything seems to be measuring just right for where we are (21 weeks) and baby is estimated to be about 14 oz - right on track! We have lots of cute pictures to share, and one of these days (hopefully sooner as opposed to later), I'll get the posted for everyone to see (belly pics too!) We still don't know what we're having and are waiting for the big surprise on baby's birthday. So stay tuned!

Mom and Dad left this morning after their week-long visit. They were able to get up to Waukee with us and see our new place. Our trip to and fro was not without adventure, though. On our trip home, we were cruising along in the Escape, about an hour and a half outside of Des Moines when, all of a sudden, the car stopped. Just quit! I have had my car for about 7 years now and nothing of the sort has EVER happened, let alone in the middle of Iowa! So, mom, dad and I got to spend some quality family time (about 3 hours) sitting alongside the highway waiting for Ethan (who ended up waiting about another hour for a tow truck to arrive) to arrive with his car. Fortunately, the weather couldn't have been more perfect - not too hot, not too cold, a nice breeze and sunshine! I also happened to have a deck of cards in the car (don't ask - I don't even know why!) so mom taught me a new card game as we sat on a blanket next to a soy bean field. :) As it turns out, it was nothing serious - some debris got in to the air filter sensor. We were expecting to shell out the equivalent of our first house payment, but ended up spending less than $100! Talk about a nice surprise. Needless to say, our 5 1/2 hour drive home turned in to about 9 hours. We were all a little cranky when we got in and my bed has never looked so good!

This weekend is the big move. Ethan will arrive in St. Louis some time tomorrow afternoon, and his brother, tomorrow evening. We have 3 other college athletes (as the Owens' boys like to be called) helping out Saturday morning, when we'll load up the truck (the biggest one U-Haul has to offer!) and head north.

A huge thanks to my mom and dad for finishing the packing process for us and a huge thanks to all the guys who will be helping us on both ends - beer and pizza will be provided! :)

By popular demand...

Several of you have asked, therefore, you shall recieve.

The baby bump at 15 1/2 weeks.

This morning, Ethan left for Des Moines - he starts a new job tomorrow, as do I. Sadly, though, his is up in DM, and mine is down here in St. Louis. We'll be doing the long distance thing (AGAIN!) for about 5 weeks, so this may be the only pic of the belly for a while.

I'm feeling a little more self-conscious now than I was just a couple weeks ago. I feel like my belly is just big enough that I look fat, but not quite big enough that I look pregnant. Fortunately, all my clothes still fit, so that makes me feel better!

Speaking of feeling better, it seems as though all of the wonders of the first trimester are behind me. My appetite is finally back and food (and drink) actually tastes good again! I no longer feel like I need a mid-afternoon nap, although I've been known to sneak one in, just because I can! That'll all change tomorrow, though, when it's back to the real world.

Our new digs!!

In case you haven't heard, we bought a house last weekend and here it is! We are now one HUGE step closer to being residents of the beautiful state of Iowa.

Before our trip north, I was feeling awfully optimistic - moreso than usual. Ethan and I had been looking at listings online for several weeks. We compiled a list of about a dozen houses to look at with our agent. From the pictures online, this one was our favorite. When we saw it in person, it was even better. We are both very excited and I can't wait to get out of this apartment and start nesting in our new home!