Turning 3

Mason officially turned three this weekend even though we already celebrated his birthday. Our experience with the three's so far has instilled a deep and penetrating fear into both Dave and I. We had always heard that two's were the hard age. The terrible two's, ya know. But his two's weren't that bad. But toward the end and now the beginning of the three's...oh my! If this is only the beginning, I am afraid. There are temper tantrums, talking back and complete refusal to listen or do anything we ask. Now if I just had to deal with him and these behaviors that would be one thing. But it is much harder with a six month screaming every time I put her down to go deal with him. So some days, I have both kids screaming at the same time for various reasons. After talking to a friend of mine with some kids a little bit older than ours, she said, "Oh yeah, haven't you heard of the tantrum three's?" No, no I hadn't. But I understand now. In Mason's quest for independence, autonomy and control, parenting becomes even more delicate and important. Dave and I certainly don't want to "break his will" or his spirit but also want to set clear limits and boundaries to keep him safe and keep us sane! Hey, being a stay at home parent is not an easy job...and certainly doesn't pay monetarily. DOn't get me wrong, I love staying home with my kids and am so thankful that I am able to do so. But it is challenging and only getting more challenging. I'm already praying for this year and for my patience and Mason's good attitude! We'll see how it all turns out!

3 years and 6 months

We've all been a little busy here in the land of the Boston's. Sorry for no updates. Since we last wrote, Willow has been rolling around all over the apartment, sitting up and staring down all our food. And Mason has been writing some letters in his name, wearing underwear all day long with very few accidents, and become quite assertive with the neighbor kids (and his parents)! So, we've had our hands full. In 6 days we'll celebrate Mason's 3rd birthday (a week early) and this past week Willow turned 6 months! I can't believe how fast it is all going by. It's like we blinked and she was rolling around and "talking". Mason is still all over her, giving her kisses, hugs, tugging on her ears, and generally just being in her face a lot! As you can see from the picture, Willow is not always a big fan of the closeness. This picture is one from our new family photos Gina did for us. I'll send them out to everyone soon. But for now, this is the update. We'll try to do more after the quarter ends!!

Free Counter

The lesser of two evils???

As we draw ever nearer to the elections in November, people of all faiths and no faiths have to make a decision as to who will be the best man to lead our country. Many are pinning this election as the most important election of the decade. I don't know that I would buy into all the hype and elevation of this election the way the media wants me to but I will say that I think it is ALWAYS important to vote. In talking with several Christian friends lately, I know many people are struggling with who to vote for and with what weight to give particular issues. Many do not want to be a single issue voter but find some issues tend to mean more to them than others. Some take a "bigger picture" look at the candidates to assess who will be better in an all around way where as some look at who will defend a certain cause or two that are important to them. I'm certainly not in a position to tell anyone how to vote or how to measure what the most important issues are because those are personal issues that must be worked out between the individual and their God, moral system or whatever guides them. But I take heart in knowing that we Protestants are not the only ones who struggle with this decision. Take a glance at this article if you have time and see if any of it sounds familiar to you. Catholics struggle with vote! I take peace in knowing that when I pray to God and ask for guidance in how to vote next month, I am not alone. The pleas to God for redemption seem to be coming from many directions. It is my prayer that we all as Christians will seek out the best candidate for the job and not judge each other for how we vote. I know that some friends and family disagree with Dave and I about our politics and our theology and we with them. But in the end, we who are Christians are part of one body, one Church and are ultimately working toward the same end. One last note, Sojourners has an excellent voter's guide for Christians. Click on the link on our blog to check it out.

Why do men look so stupid???

I was reading my friend Tony's blog a few weeks ago and he had a post about his frustration with how the media portrays women and women's seeming obsession with celebrity and superficiality. This got me thinking. While I agreed with most of his post, I think he did hit a big stereotype. Obviously not all women are catty and only interested in looking good. But that is not always what you would assume if you only watched tv or looked at other forms of media. But if we go that route, what can we then say about men? This is one frustration Dave and I have shared over the past few years as we watch TV or movies. Men are portrayed as creatures who are only driven by sex and food, who are so stupid they put whole avocados in the blender expecting to get guacamole and are obsessed with getting more hair and a six pack. One of my biggest frustrations is the way that all men are portrayed sexually. I can't even count how many television shows, movies, songs etc in which men talk opening about pornography and three ways. Ok, not EVERY guy in the world likes to watch porn or is turned on by the idea of a three way or two women together. Why then do these shows imply that these sorts of things are normal for men? Why do we make men look so stupid? I know plenty of good men who love and respect women and their place in home, work and church. I know plenty of men who choose not to objectify women. I know plenty of men who can cook for themselves, or at least get decent food. I know plenty of men who are fine with the hair they have and the body they have. If we are going to talk about why women act the way they do in our celebrity, beauty, image obsessed culture, we can not do it without looking at the men too for the two are inextricably connected. I could go on for pages about my frustrations with our celebrity and beauty obsessed culture, but I will refer you to my friend Tony's bog because he has so eloquently written on this in his blog. Look for "this stupid country" on Omnis sub ratione Dei.

Probably overreacting

I watched Law & Order: SVU, one of my favorite shows, the other night. Well, it completely freaked me out like no other show ever has before. It came with a parental advisory, should have been my first clue that I shouldn't watch it. It was all about pedophiles, not completely uncommon for a show like this. But what freaked me out was that the main "perp" was not quite a "perp" yet because he had only fantasized. But he went to this website where he could look at photos of kids. The photos were taken from online resources, people uploading them, people taking them themselves. But the pictures were simple, kids on the swings at a park, playing with other kids, close up shots, etc. But these perverted people twisted the innocent pictures by making them a object of fantasy for their deviant thoughts and behavior. It freaked me out because I thought what if sights like this really do exist. I have pictures of my kids all over my blog, which is easily accessible to anyone on the Internet. I thought about it all night and the next day. And so last night, I began removing all the photos of the kids off the blog. Now, maybe I am overreacting a bit and maybe I'll go back and add some pictures back later. But for now, I still have this sick feeling in my gut that keeps me from doing that. I will continue to keep sharing photo albums through a more secure network with family. If you would like to be added to this, just email me and I can send you the photos. However, for now, I don't think that I will be posting too many pics of the kids.

I do

Ahhh, the famous words spoken by brides and grooms for centuries. We got to hear these lovely words recited as we watched our friends Dave and Lisa get married this past weekend. They had a beautiful ceremony at their church, of which they are members. This was followed by a gorgeous reception at the Altadena country club. The room they rented had beautiful views of the country club and the mountains. It was decorated nicely and the dinner was AMAZING! It was so nice for Dave and I to celebrate with them and get out and have a nice meal and a glass of wine! I have to say though the coolest thing by far was their guest book. They had a regular 5x7 scrapbook and a photo booth! Yes, a photo booth. So you got to go take a couple crazy pictures and stick it in the scrapbook with a few words for the new married couple. Is that not the coolest guest book idea ever??? I loved the idea, as you can tell because I've said so several times already. Well, while we were living it up with Willow at the reception, Mason was shopping it up with Raven at the mall. He had so much fun with her. They rode the carousel and ate dinner together. Man, those two are virtually inseparable. We had to have him dropped off at our house after his long day otherwise we knew we'd never get him home! We all had a fun night and I will leave you with our photo booth shots!

p.s. if you know anyone getting married, I highly suggest this guest book alternative. It is fun for the guests and bride/room alike!

Michigan, Hot Michigan

Living in California for nearly 5 years will almost erase the memory of the hot and humid days of summer in the mid-west. That is until you step of an airplane and get smacked in the face with the muggy heat! And this time, we all got to experience it together. It was our first family trip to Michigan in a couple years and Willow's first trip ever. We were a little leery about flying with her so young but knew it was now or never, so to speak. So we tucked her in the maya wrap, nursed her a lot and prayed for the best. We spent a week in Michigan visiting various family members and only one friend. As much as we tried to limit the amount of driving all over the metro-Detroit area as we could, we still ended up driving around a ton. But that's ok, we were just trying to help G & G Brightwell hit 50,000 on their odometer (after 8 years of ownership)! Even though it was a brief trip, we got to see all our nieces and nephews, several extended family members and one friend. Of course we would have loved to see more people, but there is just only so much you can do in 6 days. What were the highlights and lowlights, you ask? Well, as our Spain team will fondly remember, we'll play the high/low game. The high for me was by far the night Mason broke out some new dance moves for Dan and Krysta for like 25 minutes straight. I laughed so hard I cried! The low was driving to Howell and beyond 3 times in one week. (this is not to say AT ALL that it wasn't worth it because it certainly was!) Willow to this point is not super fond of being in a car seat and cried most of the time we were in the car. I think Mason's high would be either getting to play guitar and Wii with his cousin Alex or watching his cousins Natalie and Robby at Karate class. Oh, and of course the dancing! On a side note, we were in the car the other day and Mason was getting all whiny. I said "Hey buddy, what's wrong?" And he looked at me in the rear view mirror and said, "Mommy, I want to dance!" Oh goodness, I just never stop laughing with him around. Anyway, back to MIchigan. Willow's high was probably seeing her cousins and meeting a couple new ones. She loved Veronica!! Her low, probably the car rides. If I had to guess what Dave's high would be getting beat by a 5 year old at several games on the Wii. Oh sorry, that was my high point:) I guess I should probably check with him to see what he wants to say before I write for the hundreds of thousands of you who read this blog! So, look for that update later. All in all, it was a good trip, hot and humid but we did get one thunderstorm. That was very exciting! Mason and Willow got to see their cousins, we ate more coney Island than we should have and we all survived the plane rides.

Olympic Frenzy

I don't know about you but we have gotten very caught up in the Olympics this year. I don't think that we would call ourselves overly patriotic people but right now we are all about the red, white and blue! We stayed up Friday night to watch ALL the teams march into the stadium after the amazing opening ceremonies. Even Mason got excited by all the fireworks (or fireworkins as he calls them), drums and lights. It was the most amazing show I have ever seen. Even Dave, who admittedly usually skips the opening ceremonies and opts for the events only, immensely enjoyed the opening show. No doubt China is trying to win the world over with their impressive artistic displays and hospitality. What this Olympic showing will do for Beijing and China's future is yet to be seen. But for now, we are enjoying the show and rooting for our teams! GO U.S.A.

Potty Training

I have to say without a doubt this day has been my most dreaded by far...the day we begin potty training. I don't really know why I feel SO anxious about it other than I really don't want to damage Mason by being too tough or too easy. You know, the whole anal-retentive or anal-expulsive thing! But when your 2 year and 7 month old says "I pooping" and then kicks you out of his room and then comes out asking to have his diaper changed, you know it may be time to start the potty training. I must admit that I am also nervous because I have researched way less for this event than I have for anything else we've done as parents. But we have delved head first into this thing. We took Mason yesterday to pick out a potty chair and big boy underwear. He choose the Elmo potty and Sesame Street undies. He was very excited when we got home to sit on the potty chair and press the Elmo face to hear him talk. But he didn't really "use" it as much as he did explore it. But today he sat down with a book on the potty chair and pooped in the potty for the first time! We were all very excited! We had told him that if he used the potty that he would get a piece of candy (a total bribe, I know). So once we cleaned it all up, he picked out a lemon sucker as his candy choice (thanks Uncle Dan and Aunt Krysta). We are hoping to have him using the potty regularly in a few weeks-basically incorporating it into his routine. So you can pray for us that we get this done soon without too much hassle. Not only will he feel better, it will save us a lot of money on washes and diapers!!

Visitors, visitors, visitors

Apparently the birth of a new baby makes people want to jump on a plane and come visit:) And we had a steady stream of family in to meet Willow, play with Mason and catch up with Dave and I. It was so great to visit with everyone and it sure has gotten quite since they all left. My parents were here when Willow was born and stayed for about 10 days after her birth. The last weekend they were here my brother and his family drove in from Vegas to visit for the weekend. It was so much fun having all the family together, even if it was just for a couple days. We hung out and ate together, let the kids play and had some family photos taken. Then they all left and it was quiet for a couple weeks. Then Dave's mom, sister and niece flew out for about 10 days in early July. Dave and I were so excited because we haven't seen Ellie since she was a baby! She is big one year old now and had lots of fun with her cousin Mason. Of course, they fought over toys every so often. Mason tried to open her birthday gifts and then wanted to play with them even though it was for younger kids! But overall they played well together and had fun getting to know one another. We spent most of our time here at the apartment or at the hotel but did make it to the beach one day. It was a good visit, a good time of catching up. So they flew out Tuesday night and Dave's brother and sister-in-law flew in Wednesday morning. They stayed for a week. We had a blast with them and Mason couldn't have been more in his glory than he was with his Uncle Dan. They took him all over the place and spoiled him with attention and love. They went to the zoo, the kids museum, the park and the mall/farmer's market. It was great for us as I had an appointment with my midwife and the dentist while they were here. All in all, our time with the family was fun and helpful. Now, we get to travel to Michigan to see all of them. It should be interesting to see how we're going to see everyone in 6 days. I can't wait to see ALL my nieces and nephews and I know they're excited to see their cousins. That is it for now. Hope to see you Michiganders in a few weeks!

More about our daughter

Thought that we'd throw a few new pictures up of the bigger and badder Boston's. We have a friend who is a great photographer and she did some family and newborn pictures for us. My parents and my brother and his family were all out visiting us and the new baby. It was the perfect time to have some family photos taken so I will include one of my beautiful family as well. Look how big my niece and nephew are getting! The only ones missing are my older niece and nephew, who were in MI. So, without further ado, here they are.

Our Birth Story

As I sit and type this I am looking at my new daughter in amazement that my body did that. No matter how many times I give birth or witness a birth, it never ceases to amaze me how well the female body is designed and works to give life! And as I process through Willow’s birth, I couldn’t be happier with how she was brought into this world. I struggled to get what I wanted in my birth with Mason and ended up having to make a lot of compromises. This time around, we had the complete opposite experience. I credit that to having more experience, hiring a doula and answers to prayer!

After having contractions all night Sunday, I thought for sure that Monday was the day this baby would be born. But as I went about my morning, the contractions stopped and I was back to the beginning. So when contractions started Tuesday morning as I woke up, I didn’t really think much of it. My parents came by to get Mason and take him to music class. While they were gone, I had time to myself as Dave was at work. My contractions got stronger and started coming closer together. It was a good time for me to prepare myself mentally and physically for the fact that today was going to be the day I would meet my new baby! I called Dave and our doula, who advised that Dave come home from work since I seemed to be progressing quickly. After a few hours at home, we decided to head to the hospital. When they checked me in around 12:30pm, I was dilated to about 5 cm and completely effaced. The baby was at about 0 station.

With the exception of our first nurse, the staff were pretty accommodating of our birth requests. I think the first nurse thought we were crazy and quickly handed us off to a new nurse, which was fine with me! Our birth requests were basically to be checked on periodically but mostly left alone to labor without IV’s, medication, constant monitoring and being asked that stupid pain scale question. (Hello, I’m having a baby, of course it hurts!) We were able to do just that. We labored with the help of our doula, who gave me some great tools to manage the pain naturally. I got to transition (8-10 cm) pretty quickly and at that point had my water broken so that the baby’s head could come down to where it needed to be to progress. Once that happened, it was only about an hour before I began pushing. I was empowered to push in whatever position felt good and I had no one telling me to push or counting, just encouraging me. It felt so good to push through the contractions! What a relief! After about 20 minutes, my midwife caught Willow’s head and said “Amanda, reach down and grab your baby”. So at 6:59 pm, I did. I actually got to pull Willow out myself. It was so amazing! She lay on my chest and I just looked at this beautiful baby, still not knowing if it was a boy or girl. Finally I lifted her up and told Dave to look and see what she was. He said, “We have a girl!” We had about an hour of cuddle time together where she nursed and stared at me and me at her before the nurses took her to weigh her and do all the official stuff. It was some great bonding time!

I have to say that the birth of my daughter was an amazing, empowering, joyful and profoundly spiritual event. I have never felt closer to God than I have at the birth of my children. The strength and love that I feel during labor and delivery are a confirmation to me that God has given me and each woman the ability to birth naturally. I know that we made the right choice in choosing to have a medication and intervention free birth. I am so thankful for the experience and hope that other women have the chance (or create the opportunity) to feel this way about their births.

Willow Shae

Willow was born on June 3rd (Tuesday) at 6:59pm. She weighed 8 lbs and was 20 inches long. Here are some pictures and when Amanda is back in control of this blog - she will fill you in on all the labor details.

Doula

As I get closer to the birth of my second child, I am wrapping up my time serving as a doula. I hope to come back to this role after the baby is old enough for me to be away for a few hours at a time. Meanwhile, I will be working on getting my childbirth education certification. But many people have been asking what a doula is and does. So I thought that I would give a brief description and explain why I have chosen to pursue this work.

According to Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association, “The doula serves as an advocate, labor coach, and information source to give the mother and her partner the added comfort of additional support throughout the entire labor.” (www.cappa.net). I have had the privilege of working with 3 couples now. I was able to meet with them before their birth to go over their expectations, preferences and relaxation techniques. I was then with them through their labor, usually meeting them at the hospital after they had labored at home for a while. I try to keep in contact with the couples once the labor actually begins, whether they are at home, hospital or out running errands. All of the couples that I have worked with have chosen to have natural childbirths, using natural alternatives to medication for dealing with pain and tension. My role is to support and assist the couple in their choices as well as being an advocate for them with the medical staff. Eventually, I plan to return to doula work and get my certification. But because it requires hours away from home and being on call, I can’t work in this role once the baby arrives.

When Mason was born, Dave and I did things pretty much by ourselves. Although we had a very in depth childbirth education course, we were not prepared for how long labor would go and how tired we would become. Looking back on the experience, we regret not hiring a doula to be with us. I believe wholeheartedly that my birth experience would have been very different if we had a professional with us. This is not to say that I am unhappy with my experience with Mason’s birth. On the contrary, I am very proud of Dave and myself for doing things naturally for as long as we did. It was a very empowering experience! However, there are things that I know now that I didn’t then that could have helped us have a shorter and more effective labor. All of this is to say that after his birth I began talking with other women about their stories. I was amazed at the number of women who were not satisfied with their births or who felt they didn’t have any choices in their births. Coupled with my own experience, I began to feel more passionate about childbirth education and advocacy for women in labor. After meeting with several professionals from midwives to lactation consultants, I decided education and doula work was the most appropriate fit for my passions. I found natural childbirth such a rewarding, empowering and profoundly spiritual experience and hope to help other women have a similar experience as well. I feel personally that birthing is something that should be experienced, not numbed. In America we have instilled such fear and doubt in women’s ability to birth that women have become mentally incapable of birthing outside a hospital and without medication. But the reality is, the female body is amazing in its’ design and capacity to cope and birth. The design is not flawed. For the majority of women who have uncomplicated (non-high risk) births, there is no need for the snowball of interventions that the hospital performs. I hope that more women start to ask questions about what is being done to them and why. I hope that more women make decisions based on through information from both sides of the issue. I hope that women stop blindly doing what others tell them to do simply because the doctor is the professional. Read, investigate, research, pray and make an informed decision. You have choices and options, exercise them! Have the kind of birth that YOU want, not the kind that you are told to have. This is my hope for every woman!

The Latest Word

I had a check with the midwife on Friday. Everything still looks good with the baby. I have dropped even more. I don't know how much lower I can get before this baby comes! But I have been having waves of contractions for the last couple weeks which we are all confident are working. Baby's heart rate is good and the head is down and locked in now, which means s/he is very low and ready to come. We are really hoping for this Tuesday as our midwife is in the hospital that day. It's also a full moon that day, so you never know!

We have now had our refresher childbirth class, met with our doula, installed the car seat and set up the crib and swing. We are ready for this baby to come. We are all super excited to meet this new little one. And Mason can't wait to play with all his or her stuff! He is already trying to crawl in the baby's crib and swing. Well, that is it for now. We will let you know as there is more to report!

Cloth Diapers

Many of you who know us know that we used cloth diapers almost exclusively with Mason until we moved this past Sept. Once we moved, our living expenses increased and the cost of our diaper service went up as well. The rising cost of energy caused them to have to raise their prices. With these factors in place, we switched over to the Seventh Generation disposables. We chose those diapers because they are bleach free and chlorine free, which are a little better for their skin than typical disposables. However, after 6 months of using the disposables we found that we were spending A LOT of money of diapers and Mason was getting a substantial amount of diaper rashes and his first ever yeast infection. So when a friend of ours decided to sell her cloth diapers, we began looking at the possibility of switching back to cloth. Since our washer and dryer cost about half of what they did at our old building, we were more willing to buy some "wash 'em yourself" cloth diapers. After much research and talking with others, we decided on Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers. We have been using the Fuzzi Bunz with Mason for 2 weeks now and have loved having him back in cloth. He has not had a single rash since we have switched back. Now, I know many people chose not to use the cloth because it is not as convenient or easy as a disposable. However, we have to consider the bigger picture when we make choices even as simple as what kinds of diaper to put our children in. With landfills filling up, energy costs increasing and environmental issues at the forefront of societal debates, we can't ignore the impact of disposable diapers on the environment. Cloth diapers may take a little more effort, but they save in the long run. They save money, energy, skin and the environment. There are several websites that discuss the benefits of cloth diapers so I won't go into all the details here. I will just mention a few of the big reasons why cloth are beneficial and then refer you some websites for more information.

Some of the biggest benefits of cloth diapers are their minimal impact of the environment because they are reusable and have a long shelf life so to speak. Because of their reusable nature, they are much cheaper than buying disposables. You pay more upfront to purchase them, but in the long run the cost of washing and maintaining them is much cheaper than disposables. You can also use them with more than one child. Additionally, cloth diapers are much gentler on babies and toddlers sensitive skin. Because they are usually made of high quality cotton, they breath and wick away moisture naturally as opposed to chemically. So children are less likely to get diaper rash or other skin irritations. Additionally, who knows the long term effects of all those gels and chemicals in disposable diapers on our children's long term health. These are just a few benefits of using cloth. We certainly have found them to be accurate and are hoping that using them will also help with potty training. We urge you to look into it for yourself. Here are a few websites that may help:

www.eartheasy.com
www.dy-dee.com
www.realdiaperassociation.org

Obviously, people have opinions on both sides of the issue. As usual, we simply ask people to look into the debate for themselves and make their own educated decision. We made our choice based on what we felt was best for our family and based on our convictions.

Mason and Mud

Mason is one of the younger kids in our community. Its funny to watch him watch the older kids as they run by him and climb all over the toys in the play area. He is constantly giggling and laughing and trying so hard to imitate them. One day - after it had rained, the kids were out playing with the mud that had formed. And so Mason decided to do this as well - except that he wasn't as careful as the other kids and before you know it - he had mud all over his face and clothes. Enjoy the pictures and see if you can guess what he is doing in the picture with all the kids. (Hint - there was music playing).

brief update

this is just a quick update on baby b. i saw the doctor yesterday and i gained 4 more pounds, which is great. as of today, i am 33 weeks and have gained 14 pounds total. the baby was measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule at my last appointment but measured right on track yesterday. the heartbeat is strong. so, everything looks good so far and we're counting down the days till be get to meet our new son or daughter. just fyi, our neighbors here are throwing a baby shower for us in may, which we are very excited about! that's that for now.

Spring Break-part three

On Friday we said goodbye to our amazing suite in Cambria and headed further north for Big Sur and Monterey. We stopped along to way to check out the famous elephant seals about 10 miles north of Cambria. The female and baby seals come ashore once a year to molt and sleep. They have been an endangered animal before and so they are pretty well protected now that they are coming back to the shores. You can see them from the boardwalk but are not allowed to go onto the beach where they rest. But Mason had fun looking at them and imitating their noises.

From there we hit the road again, driving up the curvy coast line to get to Big Sur. By the time we got there, Mason was sound asleep and we didn't dare wake him. So instead of stopping there for an ocean front lunch, we just got out and stretched our legs before forging ahead to Monterey. Once we finally got into Monterey, we had some lunch and went to the Aquarium. We had heard that this is one of the best in the country. It was amazing and Mason loved the kids section. However, there were a couple things that he did not like, like the simulated waves crashing overhead on the see through roof. He clung tight to daddy and waited for it all to end. But he did like the children's tunnels, touch pools, jump and play area, penguins and the giant orca whale replicas hanging from the ceiling. After that, we were going to visit Pebble Beach golf course, but nixed the idea when we realized you had to pay $10 just to drive through the neighborhood to get to the course. We ended up eating out at CPK and then went to bed early because we had a long day of driving/entertaining Mason ahead of us.

Spring Break-part two

Disclaimer: This is Dave writing for the installment of Spring Break - part two.

Today, we woke up early because Amanda wanted to go whale watching off the coast of Santa Barbara. The humpback whale is in full migration right now, but I forget if they are headed north or south. But the important point (especially to Amanda) was that they were in the channel between Santa Barbara and the channel islands. We set out on the Condor Express and right before we left, a whole bunch of loud and . . . . annoying kids boarded the boat. Yes - it was a middle school field trip. Mason immediately wanted to follow these kids wherever they ran, which was fun to deal with because after the boat started moving, Mason started walking like he had gone wine taste testing all night beforehand. And of course, he wanted to exert his independence at the same time and did not want any help from me - so, he fell a lot. Amanda took a ton of pictures as we saw 8 humpback whales and the pictures really don't do it justice. They are huge creatures. Mason, between his periodic interest in the whales - ate an apple, tried to run away from me countless of times, and said hi to all the middle school students (who in their social awkwardness had no idea how to respond). Before I continue with the recap of the day - let me apologize to my brother and brother-in-law who work with middle school students. And may God give you both an inordinate amount of patience because I was ready to 'feed' some of them to the whales. Seriously, anyone who works with middle school students - you deserve a lot of vacation time.

After whale watching, we jumped back into the car and headed further north along Highway 101 and Highway 1. The Central Coast is beautiful during this time of the year as everything is green and there are lots of rolling hills. We stopped in Cambria, which is a favorite little town of Amanda and I. We were going to stay in the city when a helpful store owner told us that during this time of the year, the ocean side resorts have good deals. So we checked it out - and found this incredible deal. We are staying in an oceanfront suite for half the price. It is originally over $350 - but thanks to it being a weekday in the off season and that we were a walk-in - we got it at a tremendously reduced price. Later that night we ate our favorite Cambria restaurant - Robin's. It has all organic foods and Mason did a great job, as it is not exactly toddler-friendly. The older couple sitting next to us (the tables are close together) commented on how well-behaved Mason was. That was nice to hear and I think our going out to eat way too much in his young life has helped (huge weakness of mine). That's it for now and as I close this blog, sitting in our luxury suite, watching the ocean - I hope that the snow has finally left you all in the Midwest.:)

Stay tuned . . . .

Spring Break-part one

We took off Wednesday afternoon for our "spring break" vacation. One last hooray before baby #2 comes!! We made it to Santa Barbara on Wednesday and stayed there for the night. We found this nice little (and inexpensive) hotel off the beach a little ways called the Mason Beach Inn (nice name!). After getting unloaded, we hit the town. We rented a surrey bike and the three of us took off in the rain for a little coastal ride. Mason was a little apprehensive at first but once we got moving and he heard the bell ring, he loved it. And of course he looked hilarious in his helmet! We rode for about an hour until the rain started coming down heavier. We went for some pizza at a local place where Mason played arcade games and then called it a night. Took Mason a while to go to sleep as he was pretty excited by all the novelty of the day. That's it for now...stay tuned for more installments!

Latest baby news

I saw my midwife this past week. I got to drink the lovely glucose drink for my diabetes test, always a treat. Since I don't drink soda, I feel like I am drinking liquified sugar (which I guess I basically am). My midwife saw me and did a quick check to make sure the baby is doing good. Baby measured right on track with my due date. S/he was quite active during the check and so had a strong and fast heartbeat. But all in all the baby sounded and appeared to be doing good. My midwife is great and does all the checks with minimal technology. She uses her hands to feel the baby's position, who has completely flipped around since a couple weeks prior. And she only uses a doppler to listen for the heartbeat. It is really so much nicer than when I was pregnant with Mason. Until I switched over to my midwife in my 8th month with Mason, I saw a TEAM of doctors who always wanted to use the ultrasound and do more invasive check ups. It is such a relief to not have to deal with that this time around at all! I wish that midwifery care was utilized more in this country. I think we would have healthier and happier moms and babies!

Moving on, the baby is good. But I still didn't gain any weight. I was very disappointed because I was confident that I was going to tip the scales this time around. But, I did not. Not sure what is going on other than I'm just not getting enough calories in. So I am bumping up the snacks, all the while trying to keep it healthy. I am feeling a bit frustrated about the whole thing but trying not to worry. It is a weird problem to have I suppose, needing to gain weight. So, I ask you all to pray that I stay healthy and start putting some pounds on. From this point on, if I am not getting enough calories, the effects may start showing up with the baby and that is the LAST thing that we want. So, we'll keep you posted and we'd appreciate your prayers in the meantime.

Grandma's trip to Cali

After a 2 week stay in California, Mason's Grandma flew back to Wisconsin yesterday. I think that he understood that she went bye bye but he still woke up this morning looking for her. He opened the bathroom door and said, "Gramma?" and went into his room and looked for her there. We reminded him that she went home and he said, "Gramma on airplane". But they had so much fin together while she was here. Originally she planned to come out to help because Dave had finals and Amanda had midterms. But since Amanda dropped classes, she was able to spend some time catching up on errands, cleaning and work while mom played with Mason. While she was here, we all took a trip to the Wild Animal Park just outside of San Diego. Last time we went, Mason was still pretty young and slept a good chunk of the time. He really got into this time, naming the animals and telling us the noises they make. He really liked the monkeys and gorillas and giraffes. Additionally, Mason spent countless hours playing, reading and singing with Gramma. I think they both equally loved spending time together. We all look forward to her return (with papa this time) in May!

Preparing to be a big brother

So Mason (or Mafin as he calls himself) is finally starting to figure out that change is a comin! Now that Amanda is 6 months pregnant and really showing, he is realizing that things are changing. He can't sit on mommy's lap that way he used to, he can only rough house with daddy, he has to be gentle with mommy's tummy. We already see some signs of jealousy, especially when he can't do something with mommy because of the baby. But for the most part, we are anticipating that he will be a good big brother. Several of our neighbors have younger children and babies. Mason is always drawn to them and is very gentle and sweet. As the next few months pass we will be taking some trips to the library to read books about becoming a big brother and preparing him for his special role with the new baby.

Meanwhile, we are trying to spend some special time with him. He is really excited that his long time friend Raven has moved back to Pasadena. We recently went to their new home for an art project. As you may know, we do have quite a little artisan on our hands. He loves music and dancing and painting (triple threat, watch out). But he has only ever painted on paper on an easel. This time, our friend provided a real canvas and some various brushes to provide different textures. He had a lot of fun! He has also been enjoying some quality time with his Gramma Martin, who is visiting for a couple weeks. We'll post some pictures from that trip in another blog.

As for the rest of us, Amanda is getting healthier everyday, praise God. Mason has not been sick once since she dropped classes either! Dave has been warding off a cold with 2-3 Emergen-C a day and a glass of OJ with liquid echineccea every morning! We are all working the vitamins and supplements pretty hard in this house. Dave is almost done with his first year of credential program and has been running some IEP's by himself now. He is still quite busy with work and school and trying to balance family time in with everything else he has to do. But, he does a great job! Amanda just finished her second doula gig and will be starting a certification process in the next couple of months. She will be certified as a birth educator and eventually licenced as a doula. So, that is exciting. Well, I think that is it for now. We'll try to post some more later.

Update on baby Baughman

I went in for the long awaited and twice rescheduled ultrasound appointment this past Thursday. Unfortunately, because of all the rescheduling, Dave was not able to make it so I had to go alone. But it was ok. The technician did all the measurements and technical stuff before turning the screen to give me a look at the baby. I haven't had a peek since my first doctor's appointment when they did a brief ultrasound to date me. So it was nice to see how big the baby has gotten. Everything looks really good and I am right on track for a late May delivery. The baby's heart is strong and beating well, the growth looks good and s/he is moving around quite a bit...now that I can feel it all! So, my midwife is pleased with the results although she continues to be concerned about my string of illnesses and lack of weight gain. As I type this I am on bed rest with a case of acute gastritis. I went into the hospital early Friday morning after waking with labor type pains. After monitoring the baby for a while, they determined that I was not in labor but having uteral disturbances from the gastritis. Because the colon is completely wrapped around the uterus at this point, as it flared and contracted it made the uterus tight thus giving me the feeling of a contraction. So, praise God it was not pre-term labor. But I have been placed on bed rest until Tuesday (4-5 days total).

It has been a difficult few months for Mason and myself. We just can't seem to get and stay healthy and it is taking its' toll on all of us. My midwife is wanting me to gain some significant weight as I have only gained 3 pounds thus far and am just over 21 weeks along. The physical and emotional stresses of the last couple months have not helped my immune system get any stronger. So after much discussion with my midwife and family, I decided to drop my classes this quarter in order to focus on getting healthy and taking care of this baby inside as well as my 2 year old baby! So, please keep us in your prayers as we focus on our health and getting stronger over the next month or so. Pray for Dave too who has been absolutely amazing in taking care of us both while working and going to school! He has managed to stay pretty healthy so far but we would love to see it stay that way. We will keep you posted on any further updates or info. I'll try to scan one of the ultrasound pictures soon to add to the post:)