Week 34

Thanks Santa!

Love all the teensy baby treasures!

Let the waddling begin.

34th week

Does that make me crazy?

"SKIING AT EIGHT MONTH PREGNANT??!!" Yep, maybe I'm crazy, but ah, it was a beautiful, sunshiney day spent on the bunny slope with the Henrie family. We had so much fun giving Alanna a ski experience on Christmas Eve, and some Gnarls Barkley lyrics came to mind:

"I remember when, I remember
I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place
Even your emotions have an echo in so much space

Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly"

The Henrie Clan hits the slopes!

Uncle Jacob and Aunt Kjera rip it up with Alanna!

Pregnancy ski shot (to be filed for future newsreel)

Week 33

Bistro dinner with friends visiting for the holidays!

The blueberry enjoyed a World Languages department meeting/dinner party!

Baby Rio helps with the Advent countdown to Baby Jesus.

God bless the Journeys School moms who told me that I don't even look pregnant from the front!



33rd week



An Idahoan Celebration!

This weekend, Jacob and I traveled over to Pocatello to his sister's home. Deborah and Sharon, Jacob's mother, hosted a wonderful luncheon for the Henrie extended family full of delicious food and a creative project. Each guest, young and not-so-young, was invited to paint a onesie. Short sleeves, long sleeves, NB, 0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-18 . . . we're stocked up with one-of-a-kind creations!

Hawaiian Haystacks for lunch!

Time for everyone to get decorating!

Models of the utterly unique onesies!

Thanks to Sharon and Deborah for making it all happen!

Finished creations hung up to dry . . .
(That outta last us about a day and a half, eh?)

Week 32

Chatting with Grandpa & Grandma Steffler at the ranch in Blackfoot, Idaho

Jacob, "Your belly button is looking really crazy these days."

32nd week (hola Rio)

Little Shoot

I know it's trite to compare a new infant to expectation, reconciliation and dreams of the future, but today . . . I can't help it. Today is a great day to put on hope and joy, come what may. Here's an excerpt from today's Advent devotion:

"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him"

Isaiah 11:1-2

A STUMP, THE SPIRIT, A SHOOT
Isaiah speaks of a stump—there are a lot stumps on battlefields—an eloquent symbol of desolation and despair and ending and defeat and death.
But wait—enter God's spirit. The poet refers to God's life-giving, future-creating, world-forming, despair-ending, power and wind, which can create an utter newness. This "wind of God" is inscrutable, irresistible, beyond human control, management, or predictability. The poem announces that the wind has come to blow over the stump. The wind indicates new possibility.
The poet commands, "Look—out of the symbol of a dried up stump, a green shoot, a shoot of Jesse, what was David's father.” Incredibly, out of the symbol of death comes life, newness, creation continuing. The poet sees a vision, a precious vision, of the coming day of the Lord when creation is healed, brutality gone, everything put right, old enemies reconciled.

Week 31

Jacob saves Jo's birthday party by whipping up dessert with a drill!



Question of the week:
When's the peak of full-belly-cute-ness before it descends to grotesque-fat-lady?
And did I already pass it?



31st week

Remember Me

Today we pause at the beginning of a busy week to remember. We are remembering Grandpa Strom. Richard A. Strom, the patriarch of the Strom family passed away one year ago today, and not only visits us in our dreams, but sends gentle reminders in our daily lives. Here's a little gift of remembrance from the blueberry to Great Grandpa Strom: "I've Got You Under My Skin" (click for Michael Buble's version).

I've Got You Under My Skin
I've got you under my skin
I've got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me
I've got you under my skin

I'd tried so not to give in
I said to myself, "This affair never will go so well"
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well
I've got you way under my skin

I'd sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin' you near
In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear

"Don't you know, little fool, you never can win?
Use your mentality, wake up to reality"
But each time that I do just the thought of you makes me stop
Before I begin 'cause I've got you under my skin

Yes, I've got you under my skin

Week 30

Our neighborhood moose heads toward the bike path.
(Glad I was in the car and not on x-country skis!)

Jacob and Homie cozy up for a winter brunch.

Kjera, "Do I really look like that?" Jacob, "Like what?"

30th week

Belly Wars

This weekend we had the opportunity to reconnect with Kristen and Adam who were in town for the holiday. We keep them both in our prayers as Adam prepares to head to "Stan" (Afghanistan) in the springtime, until then, we wait with great joy to meet their little guy, Micah.

A yummy Trio dinner with friends on a blizzardy Sunday night

On left: January 31 due date. On right: January 29 due date.

Who's winning?

Week 29

Bear and Jacob welcome winter!

Pre-Thanksgiving!

29th week

What are your symptoms?

The blueberry and I just wrapped up a three-day recertification course for Wilderness First Responder in snowy Driggs, Idaho. As the long hours of study, lectures, and scenarios rolled by, I began to develop a theory. I now believe that pregnancy is the ultimate compilation of WFR symptoms:

• shortness of breath during exertion (chest injury)
• point tenderness (chest injury)
• pain on inspiration, shallow breathing (chest injury)
• anxious, restless, disoriented (shock)
• nausea, vomiting, dizziness and/or thirst (shock)
• personality changes (head injury)
• amnesia (head injury)
• headache, dizziness, and/or lethargy (head injury)
• fluid and/or blood leaking from the nose (skull fracture)
• pain or tenderness along back (spinal cord injury)
• altered distal sensations: e.g. numbness, tingling, unusual hot or cold sensations (spine injury)
• loss of bowel and bladder control (spine injury)
• diffuse or specific pain (musculoskeletal injury)
• swelling (musculoskeletal injury)
• changes in range of motion (musculoskeletal injury)
• impaired ability to perform complex tasks, fin motor shivering, apathy, confused and sluggish thinking (hypothermia)
• warm, swollen, painful, and tender skin (frostbite)
• nausea and/or vomiting with fatigue (heat exhaustion) 
• headache with unusual weakness and fatigue (hyponatremia)
• possible mild to moderate anxiety, otherwise normal mental status (hyponatremia)
• possible muscle cramping (hypernatremia)--the treatment for this one is eating salty foods! :)
• nausea and possible vomiting with loss of appetite (altitude illness)
• mild lassitude, fatigue or weakness at rest (altitude illness)
• insomnia (altitude illness)
• swelling and pain (snake bite)
• pain and anxiety (spider bite)
• nausea, vomiting, and incontinence (scorpion sting)
• itching (bee sting)
• fatigue and joint pain (tick-borne illness)
• neurological compromise (lightening strike)
• shortness of breath (angina)
• anxiety and denial (angina)
• lightheadedness or dizziness (angina)
• signs of angina unrelieved by rest (myocardial infarction)
• dizziness with tingling or numbness in hands and feet (hyperventilation)
• history of prolonged bed rest (pulmonary embolism)
• shortness of breath with malaise and fatigue (pneumonia)
• shortness of breath and fatigue (asthma)
• memory loss and headache with possible incontinence (stroke)
• vision changes (stroke)
• unexpected and unexplained collapse (seizure)
• weak, disoriented, irritable, "not quite themselves" (hypoglycemic diabetes)
• increased hunger and thirst, increased urine output, fatigue (hyperglycemic diabetes)
• cramping pain in the lower abdomen and lower back (dysmenorrehea)
• fatigue and increased frequency of urination (urinary tract infection)
• trouble focusing (anxiety response)
• gradually increasing, diffuse abdominal discomfort (gastroenteritis)
• hyperactive bowel sounds (gastroenteritis)
• irritation and tearing (conjunctivitis/pinkeye)
• sensitivity to air, temperature, or sweets (toothache)

See what I mean? Good think both Jacob and I are trained and certified on how to best treat all of these signs and symptoms.

Fotos de la Familia

We had so much fun celebrating Grandpa Strom's milestone (60!) birthday and Grandma Strom's actual birthday with a Strom Family Photo Shoot. Because the Capitol Christmas Tree was arriving later that afternoon, we had downtown Jackson all to ourselves to create some new memories . . .

Week 28

Jacob practicing his swaddling skills on Bucky Badger.
We're ready for our first birth class tonight!

THE LOOT! Wow, we were spoiled at the Very Berry Baby Shower!

Perfect strangers are now asking me when I'm due,
and I'm checking off pregnancy side effects one by one!

28th week (still using American Sign Language)

Meeting the Blueberry

Check out this awesome video made with love by Uncle Tommy.

Make 'Em Laugh

Last night the blueberry performed in Jackson's first Harold show. The Harold is a type of long-form improv that was brought to Jackson by my friend Andy who learned the trade in Chicago while living with Tommy and Tesha this past summer. So far, the blueberry has been in six Laff Staff improv performances and many hours of rehearsal. In addition to the fact that improv has become my cardio, there are a variety of reasons I believe improv is good preparation for parenthood:

1. you MUST live in the moment
2. authentic reactions are the best
3. you don't always know what's going on, but you go with it
4. always act confident
5. trust and support your teammates
6. yes, there are rules
7. break the rules when necessary, you know best
8. the best shows begin by telling your team, "I've got your back!"
9. it's ALL about the relationships
10. laugh often

 

Week 27

A gaggle of Henries

Dad and Tommy led the charge for the nursery make-over!

T&T see the tree!

Stroms and Ministers cheer on the Capitol Christmas Tree!

Jacob flashed some kind of USFS card for this photo op!

How many family members are allowed at the ultrasound?

Thanks for all the good news Dr. George!

Blueberry sneak peek!

It may actually just be all the elk we ate this weekend.

27th week