It’s been an eventful few weeks for the Kaiser household since my last post, and I’ll post some pics and stories from our adventures soon enough. But first I wanted to share about the days and hours leading up to Halleck’s arrival, before we became a family of four.
A few things about my pregnancies and my babies (given the current sample size of two that I have to go off of):
I carry pretty small. With both Eli and Halleck I gained maybe 17 lbs.
I get false contractions toward the end. Clinically, it’s called Braxton Hicks, but I call ‘em annoying as all get out. With Eli, I had false contractions for a good two weeks prior to going into labor. With Halleck, I was plagued with Braxton Hicks for at least six weeks. That means that I would have regular, consistent tightening of all the muscles around my belly every time I did any physical activity. It was exhausting, both physically and, toward the end, mentally. It’s tough when you know labor is approaching, get all the physical signs that things are moving forward, but know that it’s not really labor yet. Gah!
Despite being saddled with these contractions, I stayed pretty active through both my pregnancies. There’s video of me and ‘Outlaw’ at 32 weeks pregnant skiing down a black diamond called Challenger at Big Sky, MT. I was on alpine skis by that point, because there was no way I would have been able to buckle my own telemark boots, but I was still tearin’ it up Incidentally, the weekend after Big Sky, I was bed ridden with Braxton Hicks. Yeeaaahhhh, maybe Outlaw didn’t like the skiing as much as I did…
So here’s a couple of pregnancy pics of my last month with Outlaw:
Pregnant belly: 36 weeks (one month to go!)
39 weeks (just days away from delivery!)
I don’t love having pictures taken of me and my pregnant belly. And Nathan never really thinks about taking pictures, so I had to ask him to take these. Not the best quality, but you get the gist.
The day that I went into labor was a gorgeous, sunny, warm day in Seattle. Since I have Fridays off, I’d spent the day running errands. BORING. So I’d hoped that Nathan would be up for enjoying the evening with our toddler and dog. I loaded up Galt in the truck and headed downtown to pick up Nate and Eli.
What I didn’t realize was that Nathan was immersed in work, and he wouldn’t be able to mentally distance himself from it until he realized that THIS IS REALLY GO TIME!!!, which didn’t happen until hours later.
Instead, we (the entire Kaiser clan, including Galt) hung out at Nathan’s office while he tried to eek out a few more minutes of productivity. The truck sat in the load/unload zone, and the kid was getting antsy. Galt loves the office and couldn’t have cared about going anywhere else, except that he might have had to go to the bathroom.
Finally, around 6 p.m., I asked Nate if we could get going. Reluctantly, he agreed, but he noted that he’d be back that evening because he had SO much work to get done. We headed out and decided to grab dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. We even got to sit in the train! Eli had fun, and so did we.
Coloring the Spaghetti Factory menu
Even if Nathan was absorbed with work, he knows how to enjoy time with his kids. Or at that point in time, kid. Little did we know that this would be our last evening as a family of three But yay for me who was about to not be pregnant anymore!
We welcomed Halleck Michael Kaiser on April 14 at 4:29 in the morning. He arrived healthy, lively, and with a full head of hair! He’s just a smidge over 7 lbs 0.9 oz, and 18.5 inches long.
We’re reveling in this time, getting to know each other, and celebrating his arrival with family and friends.
Eli was especially sweet as he met his younger brother:
Blah, blah, blahhhhhhhhh. My brain is mush. Or at least, that’s how I feel these days.
I’m in the midst of my 34th week of pregnancy. Wha-hoo! I had to look at the calendar to figure that out, and I’m further along than I expected! That’s cause for another Wha-hoo!!! 34 weeks along means a few things:
I’m only 2.5 weeks away from “full-term” (which is at 37 weeks).
I could deliver this kid anytime (YAY!!!), but it’s a safe bet to guess that he’ll come sometime within the next 4-6 weeks.
I’ll start seeing my doctor every week from now until Outlaw’s arrival.
It’s now a struggle to put my socks on and tie my shoes.
I’m TOTALLY counting down, but dammit, my pregnant baby brain can’t hold the numbers in my head, so I end up recounting and recounting, and finally, look at the calendar (as evidenced by the beginning of this post).
What used to be a fun place to jump and kick is now pretty tight quarters for Outlaw. He only has enough room to stretch and do these little round kicks. He’s big enough where this does not feel good to me.
You may be a close friend or family member who recalls that I don’t enjoy being pregnant. If you know us personally, you’ve been clued in to that fact. There are some women that glow and relish in the fact that they’re growing a little munchkin inside of them. I would outsource the duty, if given the choice.
And I don’t have anything to complain about. I’m pretty tiny, as far as pregnant women go. There are folks who see me on a regular basis that are just realizing that I have a protruding belly (and therefore, am pregnant).
You can kind of see my pregnant belly. This is from Chinese New Years at the end of January. (Red-paper envelopes filled with good luck money!)
Nate swears that you can’t tell even from behind, but I think my waddle gives it away. Oh yeah, that’s one more for the bulleted list above:
I’ve started to waddle when I walk. My back is arched, my steps are wider, and I sometimes feel like a duck. Ugh.
Wait, was I telling you that I have nothing to complain about? Oops. While that’s true, I obviously complain. Mostly to Nathan. He’s a trooper for constantly listening to me… or drowning me out… or ignoring me while making it seem like he’s listening to me. Anyway, I know I have nothing to complain about. I played soccer until I was well into my 4th month (I think I quit after 18 weeks, because the season ended). I skied into my 7th month (President’s Day Weekend in Big Sky, MT was an epic way to draw my ski season to a close). I didn’t stop drinking (just curbed my alcohol consumption), and I didn’t stop going to sushi restaurants (just ordered more veggie sushi and California rolls).
So now, I’m just waiting. And chasing around a toddler. And occasionally walking the dog. And trying to get lots of sleep. And sometimes dealing with Braxton Hicks (aka fake contractions)—boo! But overall, it’s been good.
So until Outlaw comes, I’ll just keep waiting. C’mon, Outlaw, c’mon!
Yee haw! We're in Montana! (Can you see the baby bump? Can you?)
I'm drawing your attention away from my belly by all my accessories.
Some of the Seattle area got hit with snow over the MLK weekend. Ballard was given a pass except for a few flurries… until yesterday. To be perfectly honest, I showed up for work on Tuesday feeling a little left out. North of Seattle in Everett, folks were hunkered down. In South Seattle, Beacon Hill was complaining of treacherous sidewalks. Even a few miles east of Ballard, there was plenty of snow on the lawns and sidewalks. Heck, even Downtown Seattle had more snow than Ballard… Sunday we ventured Downtown for our friend’s 27th birthday dinner by REI and saw snowmen on the side of the road!
Ballard didn’t even have a trace of white. But that all changed on Wednesday, early in the wee hours of the morning. Outlaw woke me up around 4:30 in the morning (one thing this pregnancy has plagued me with is insomnia), and after a second of lying in bed wide awake, I realized that there might be something to see outside our window.
Outside the Kaiser home at 5 a.m.
Outside the Kaiser home at 7 a.m.
YAY! SNOW!!!
I sat and watched the snow flurries accumulate while feeling sorry for the all news reporters on the highways and overpasses who were broadcasting with up-to-the-minute, inch-by-inch tallies. And then I went back to bed, strategizing how we might sneak away to go skiing the next day…
I have never in my life played hooky from work to go skiing… until yesterday. And it was SO. WORTH. IT. My legs still ache from all the powder tele-turns. Very rarely does one experience fresh powder at the Summit at Snoqualmie, but we did yesterday. And I’m blissfully dreaming of the terrain at Mission Ridge that we’ll get to experience this weekend. YAYYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! Can you tell I’m stoked?!?!
Even better? Next weekend, we’re going to Whistler with some friends. Thanks, Mom! For a perfectly timed condo reservation, cuz the snow is falling hard, and I can’t wait to take advantage of it! Eli is going to spend the weekend with his Grandpa and Grandma (Nate’s folks), and I’m going to enjoy a kid-free, winter-wonderland weekend to the fullest.
But what of Eli and the snow, you ask?
He LOVES the snow.
"SNOW!"
"Huh. I just slid down, and I liked it."
Wheee!!!
Trying to walk
Wednesday, he walked around all day saying, “SNOW!” which sounds a bit like “no,” except with a very nasally “n.” You can easily tell the difference between “SNOW!” and “no” by his body language: finger pointing outside with joy on his face vs. adamantly shaking his head from side to side. It brings Nate and I never-ending joy to see how much Eli likes playing in the snow.
Today, with the help of my dad (Eli’s Gung Gung), we all walked to the park and did a little sledding. Eli liked sledding on Nate’s lap much more than on my dad’s lap.
Eli does love his dad
"This is gonna be FUN!"
Sledding with Dad: Part 1
Sledding with Dad: Part 2
Sledding with Dad: Part 3
Victory walk
The snow is STILL falling after 2 solid days.
Seattle is getting restless with cabin fever. We never have snow that continues to fall for more than 2 days. Seattle isn’t sure what to do with itself, and the city has literally been reduced to pedestrians, snowmobiles, and cross-country skiers.
We may get a lot of crap for the entire city shutting down, but I’m still enjoying myself.
And who knows, maybe Snopocalypse 2012 will continue a bit longer. It doesn’t matter to us though, we’re off to the cabin tomorrow in our sturdy 4WD truck.
I should say that 2012 has begun! It’s nearly mid-January, and I have so many words in my mind… it’s been a wild ride just to break through to this new year, and I’m looking forward to things to come. In the meantime, I’ll cheat and give you some joyous highlights from the holiday season.
The day after Thanksgiving, the Kaisers ventured to Bellevue Square Mall in order to take pictures with Santa. Thanks to Susie, we’ve done this for as long as I’ve been associated with the Kaisers. This year was especially sweet, because both Hazel and Eli are at an age where they can interact with Santa. As we waited in line, the Kaisers enjoyed each others’ company. (Please forgive the repeat of some pictures, but they’re just too great not to share.)
A glimpse of Santa's workshop
Heralding Hazel and all her candy cane assessories
Eli wonders what all the fuss is all about... he'll find out soon enough
OK, I said “sweet” but maybe I should have said “hilarious.” For the second year in a row, we set the two cousins by Santa, and for the second year in a row they HATED the entire experience. Hazel definitely leads the charge on loathing Santa. See how Hazel’s disdain for Santa has grown from one year to the next? Side-by-side here are 2010 versus 2011.
Her loathing only increases with time.
Fast forward to actual Christmas when we opened presents with Eli on the morning of Christmas Eve. Eli was a little hesitant about ripping off the wrapping paper, but I think he liked the end result.
Mom! Check out my new toy!
Eli and his dad figure out the "microwave" features
And his favorite present by far was his new microwave. He found multiple uses for it… drum set, weights for strength training, and the actual microwave features. (Anything food-related makes this kid happy.)
We reseted up after opening a few more presents, and made our with to Keith and Susie’s house for more Christmas Eve fun. The plan was to celebrate Brian’s birthday, enjoy a light buffet, open more presents and head to church. We made it through all but the last activity.
Now that I look back on it, there’s no wonder Eli put his head down at 6:30 that night completely ready for bed. After starting his day with waffles and presents, and ending with Kaiser family Christmas chaos, I should have seen an early bedtime coming. But I didn’t.
Let the box races BEGIN!
Wheee!!!
We spent Christmas Day with my folks, Eli’s Gung Gung and PoPo as well as his Uncle Josh. It was small, intimate, and lovely. The best part was that we still had some time in the latter evening just for us.
Our New Year’s holiday, errr, pre-New Year’s since it was the day before NYE, was spent in Lake Joy with Mike, Shannon, and Alison Swift, and Shannon’s folks, Neil and Mary Lou. SO relaxing, and we absolutely adore the Swifts. Going to Lake Joy has always been a bit of a time warp, and this visit was no different. We had a great dinner on Friday night, enjoyed a NYE brunch on Saturday morning, and a lovely crisp walk around the lake. We ended our visit by heading to Woodinville for some wine tasting. Eli and Ali especially had fun, getting all the adults in the room to adore them.
And finally, as a parting note, a picture of “Outlaw,” Eli’s little brother. Outlaw grows, as my belly grows, and I hope he’ll be as sweet and wonderful as his brother!
Incidentally, the weekend after Big Sky, I was bed ridden with Braxton Hicks. Yeeaaahhhh, maybe Outlaw didn’t like the skiing as much as I did…
