Pregnancy blog

I have started another blog (in addition to this one) to track my pregnancy and use as a bit of a "journal" for the next several months. As my life pretty much revolves around this pregnancy right now (shocking, I know!), I may post over there more than over here for awhile. There is a link over on my right sidebar, or you can also click here to be taken to that page. Enjoy!

Announcing...

 

Due August, 2012!!

Christmas letter 2011

Merry Christmas, friends and family! I didn't mail out a letter this year, opting instead to give people this blog address. I also didn't write a letter in 2010 so I guess I have a bit of backtracking to do...

2010 was a busy, difficult and blessed year for us. As many of you know, in 2009 I moved in with a woman named Dorothy to care for her while she battled ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Looking back, I'm sure I had no idea what I was getting myself into but the entire journey was such a learning experience for me. I was able to build incredible friendships with the people I worked with, not to mention the wonderful relationships I was able to build with Dorothy and her family.

 Dorothy and I at her 66th birthday celebration

Dorothy battled long and hard and didn't give up the fight until she was good and ready. She passed away on May 12th, 2010 and I was able to be with her. I was left with a beautiful view of what death is as she passed very peacefully in her own home.

Dorothy's family after her memorial service (including her 95 year old mother)

I continued living in Dorothy's home while they got it ready to sell and while Steve and I finished up some remodel work on the home that he owns in Albany (with the help of my sister's fiance, Cody!). I moved into that house in mid-June 2010.

The remainder of 2010 was spent getting settled into the Albany house and doing a bit of re-learning how to do things like sleep through the night. :) (To read a detailed report of what a day in the life of a caregiver is like, visit this link.)

We adopted these three cuties as well.

Shady, Tegan and Petra

Christmas Eve 2010 was probably the most exciting day of the year... when Steve proposed and we became engaged! That is a very fun story, which you can read here.

2011 threw us into the whirlwind that is wedding planning! To be honest, I don't even know what to say about 2011 because it went by so quickly! I turned 24 in April, Steve turned 37 in June and Jordan turned 10 in July. His birthday post is here. He continues to be our pride and joy and we are so thrilled to be his parents. He is extremely into Legos right now and spends hours and hours and hours (literally) on the family room floor. Sound effects can usually be heard coming from that corner of the house. He also spends quite a bit of time singing and whistling, especially while in the shower. This year he learned to ride a bike, which was very exciting for him.

Our summer was mostly uneventful as we mostly stuck around home, still preparing for our wedding! We spent lots of time playing outside and Jordan even got to go on a canoe trip with my brother, Colby, and his fiance, Caryn. The trip was a reward to Jordan for improving his reading skills over the summer during tutoring time with Caryn. He was so thrilled!

Steve started his 14th year driving city transit and continues to mostly love his job. He is a people person and enjoys the social aspect of the job, but struggles daily with back and neck pain.

I am still working at the Corvallis hospital in medical records. This year I hit a wall at my job and have started to struggle more with the feeling of being sucked in by the daily grind. Things are constantly changing in our department and if management isn't able to wisely keep up with the changes... the employees suffer. I do enjoy the fast-paced-ness of the job and the great working relationship I have with many of the physicians.

In October our big day arrived! To view some more of our favorite wedding pictures, click here.

We spent our wedding night in Albany and headed out the next day to spend 4 nights in Hood River. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast and enjoyed being the only guests that week.We were able to make day trips to Multnomah Falls, the Columbia Gorge Hotel and take a trip on the Mount Hood Railroad.

After our getaway we headed home for two nights to do laundry and re-pack and then loaded up the car and Jordan and took off for a week long adventure to Disneyland! We spent one day each at Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios. At the end of the trip we all agreed that we didn't think we could choose a favorite park, just favorite attractions. Jordan and I are both huge fans of the roller coasters! The day we were are Universal it was 95 degrees so our favorite attractions were the ones that kept us wet.

I had thought that after the wedding and honeymoons life might slow down a little bit so we could regroup but that was wishful thinking. It seems that we plowed right into the holiday season with gusto and here were are, enjoying the heck out of it! :)

We have some big plans in the works for our family in the near future. Jordan has been struggling in school for the last several years so we are working towards me quitting my job and staying home to homeschool him next year. We aren't able to give up the income I bring in, so I am in the process of starting a home childcare business. I have started taking the required classes for this process and it's both scary and exciting! I'm thrilled at the idea of staying home with my boy (and future children, which are hopefully not too far off!) and helping him learn in fun and exciting ways. We think it may be just the ticket for him.

As we throw ourselves into new and exciting adventures, we hope you and your family find yourselves healthy and happy as well!

Wishing you a holiday season full of love and peace,

The Hanolds

Living the dream. For serious.

Ok. Maybe I've learned. Time never slows down. There is never enough of it. And I will never blog as much as I would like to. (It's even worse now that our laptop died because I can't blog in bed in the evenings anymore.) (Not that I did that very much anyway.)

Here is a quick list of what the heck we've been up to lately! In no particular order...

I cut my hair! I grew it out for FIVE YEARS for the wedding and it was super long. I did love my long hair (it turns out that Steve prefers it long) but it was in my way all the time and always pulled back in a ponytail or boring braid. After the honeymoons I cut 11 inches off and donated it to Locks of Love. I must say, I like it short. :)

Jordan has a girlfriend. It's his best buddy from his after school program and apparently things are quite serious between them. *wink* Don't ask him about it.

I am planning to quit my job.

Yes, seriously! We are very seriously looking at me quitting my job and staying home to homeschool Jordan next year. Ideally I would quit in the spring and start up a home childcare business to generate income for our family. Then I would begin homeschooling Jordan when school lets out (unofficially at first and then more seriously in the fall). He is unsure about whether he wants to do that (he likes school for the social aspect) but it's the direction we're leaning. I have a post about that brewing in my head, too!

Along with working toward me staying home and doing everything I just mentioned, we are working on growing our family. No news yet!

We are decorated for Christmas! I love this time of year. And I love the excitement that Jordan has the entire month of December.

Tonight I'm going with my sister and two other girls to David's Bridal because now it's KENDRA'S turn to plan her wedding! :) We are looking at bridesmaid dresses together.

Life goes on, busy as ever! I thought things would slow down a bit after the wedding and truthfully, they have. But I'll be honest, I would rather spend an evening in bed with my boys and a movie than writing a blog post. ;) And who can blame me for that??

Oh! One more thing!

For the last several years I've had an allergy (or "sensitivity") to chocolate. More specifically, to caffeine. If I consumed it I would get horrible horrible headaches and vertigo.

Recently Steve brought home this evil kettlecorn drizzled with fudge. You guys, the stuff is amazing. And I tried a piece. And then I tried a whole bowl full. And I didn't die! I didn't even get a little bit sick. So I tried it two more times. (This stuff is SO good.)

Then I tried a piece of chocolate. And then a mug of hot chocolate.

And I still didn't die! (Mind you, I did spread these things out over the course of several days.)

So I am very happy to say that I think my sensitivity may be a thing of the past and I am SO EXCITED about it! I can't even tell you how heavenly that stupid mug of hot chocolate was. I'm sure I looked like a total dork while I was drinking it.

Bliss, I tell you.

The moment you've all been waiting for...

Wedding photos!!

I feel that I need to do a really long post all about that wonderful day (heck, I need to record it SOMEWHERE) but I think that may be a process. Here are a few photos to tide you over, in the hopes that I'll find some follow-through and actually write a big long post. I have several posts brewing in my head, along with some big news to share (we're not pregnant!) so I need to sit down soon and tap all that out!

And now, without further ado...

Up to my ears

Obviously it's been just a bit nuts around here. With the wedding looming in 13 DAYS, blogging hasn't been at the very top of my list.

Instead I've been crunching numbers, searching for certain ribbon, being showered with gifts, assembling things, making things and thinking about more things than my brain actually has room for!

I picked up my dress last week, all altered and beautiful. :) Now my goal is to not gain even half a pound in the next two weeks!

My trial hair appointment was a fail. When I called the lady to talk about it she didn't seem super interested in working with me to find something I liked, so I cancelled my appointment and rescheduled somewhere else.

My mom has been an absolute saint through all of this. If it weren't for her I would have lost my mind ten times over by now. (At least.)

Jordan is getting QUITE excited about our upcoming trip to Disneyland (and California Adventure and Universal Studios). Which reminds me, I have a lot of online stuff to do besides blogging!

Don't hold your breath on hearing from me again within a month or so! But when I come back it will be with wedding photos. :)

Turning ten

Every year I write Jordan a letter on his birthday. Last year I read his letter to him but this year I chose not to because I wanted to write it more for history's sake. Plus I've spent a lot of time lately telling him how great he is and how well he's doing in certain areas so I didn't feel like I was depriving him of that by not reading this one to him. :) So without further ado... his ten year letter.

Jordan,

Today you are TEN YEARS OLD. I have now known you for over five years and you are turning into the most incredible kid. This year you have grown by leaps and bounds in pretty much every way except physically. You are still a little shrimp at 51 pounds. :) Your small size makes you the favorite among your peers and you continue to be one of the popular ones wherever you go. You gravitate towards older, bigger kids and they love you because you’re small enough to cart around and easily wrestle with.

School was a challenge for you in 3^rd grade. You and your teacher didn’t mesh well and we didn’t feel like she was a good advocate for you. You struggled with a few situations regarding other kids that we felt weren’t handled the way they should be. You often came home from school frustrated about how the day had gone and telling me that Mrs. H was your least favorite teacher yet. Of course this was hard for Daddy and I to hear and we started to discuss homeschooling you in 5^th grade. One-on-one instruction is what you thrive on and I think it would be so helpful to be able to tailor lessons to your specific needs and interests. It’s something we are seriously talking about. (Plus, we’re hoping you will have a baby brother or sister around that time and that Mommy will be home anyway!)

Grandma has been having some more serious health problems this year and it led to finding different childcare for you during your before and after school hours. After hunting around and checking out our options we settled on a community after school program, where you go for about 30 minutes in the morning and about an hour in the afternoon. You LOVE it. There is a huge array of activities and you were able to spend lots of time playing outside. You made some new friends there and always had fun things to tell me about your day.

You have become more mature in choosing your friends this year and have a very nice group of them. Colyn was your best friend last year but this year he took to throwing you under the bus a few times. When Daddy asked if you wanted to invite him to your birthday party you told him, “He lied to three teachers to get me in trouble and he slapped me in the face. No.” Your best friend at school is Alex and your best friend at your after school program is Kylie. Dalton and Riley are among your best buds and although you don’t see them much, you also like spending time with Mason, Rhonen and Blu. You also love to play with your cousins and Mommy’s older boy cousins. 

This summer you went back to YMCA camp and it’s been a bit different than last year. You’re learning more about bullies and how to deal with them and have been doing an excellent job with that. There is one boy in particular that has been causing some problems and you even asked if we could set up a meeting with a counselor to talk about him. I’ve been very proud of the way you’ve used your words and not your hands. Andrew is your friend of choice at camp and you also spend a lot of time with Jonah.

Your eating habits still leave something to be desired, despite our efforts to encourage (and sometimes force) you to try new things. You have started to get tired of Happy Meals (HALLELUJAH!) and have moved on to Popcorn Chicken from KFC. I’m sure that’s not great for you either but at least it’s real chicken. :) Daddy and I still hope that your stubbornness about food will wear off and that you’ll branch out in what you like, especially with fruits and vegetables. This year your foods of choice were Top Ramen, Happy Meals, KFC chicken, fruit snacks, chips, cereal, popcorn, chocolate milk, juice, sweets, French toast and ice cream. Occasionally we can get you to eat some peanuts or pistachios. :)

You are learning to ride a unicycle this year and you are mere weeks away from mastering it! Nana got you started on it and at first you were less than excited about it but did it to please her. Now that you’re really getting the hang of it you have started to love it and can see your own progress. It’s exciting to watch you! You also learned to skateboard this year in PE and Daddy brought you home a skateboard from the lost and found at work, which you love.

You are a little fish and LOVE water. Swimming is your favorite activity and even though you complain about taking baths, once you get in the tub, you tend to enjoy them. You still take baths instead of showers but will sometimes use the shower to rinse your soapy hair when you’re done. You have finally started washing your own hair and getting yourself dried off, much to our delight. You have been known to stay in the tub for up to an hour, singing and playing and commentating. The cats usually feel the need to supervise your bath time and they have each fallen in a time or two, which is pretty much the most hilarious thing ever.

You love paper and can make all sorts of creative crafts out of it, your favorite being paper airplanes. If given a pen, the first thing you will draw is always, without fail, a skeleton. Your letterboxing signature stamp is also a skeleton.

You have been inquiring about dreams a lot lately and will ask almost every day, “So, didja have any bad dreams last night?” I don’t often have bad dreams but Daddy and I do have a lot of dreams in general so it’s been funny to talk about them.

We got rid of cable TV this year and were hoping that would naturally cut down on TV time. Many of the things you like to watch can be found on Netflix, however, so you’ve switched to that. Our Wii gets lots of use between Netflix and video games. You and Daddy love to play Super Mario Brothers together.

You are one of the most creative, imaginative kids I know and when I ask you to pack your library bag with activities, the things you choose are hilarious. One week at church you had a little wooden box, a phone cord, a dog leash, a funnel, a bouncy ball, a ring from a ring toss game and a Lego stick thing. You had the best time.

You still hate getting your hair cut and going to bed. Your favorite shoes this year are your hiking boots and 8 out of 10 pair of your pants have giant holes in the left knee. You don’t like to wear long sleeves but sweatshirts are ok. You LOVE to play in the sand and get dirty. We got a new car this year and your favorite seat is in the VERY back, facing backwards. You make up your own jokes and songs and make us laugh all the time.

This year you love Legos, Star Wars, Mario, Pokemon, superheroes, anything to do with science, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Goosebumps (or really anything scary), Transformers and history. You like to quiz Mommy on the presidents (which is good for me because I’m terrible with them). You’ve also taken a liking to board games and we love to play “I’m Thinking of an Animal” together. You’re awesome at that game.

This summer you’ve been spending a couple of hours with Caryn in the mornings and she has been tutoring you in reading and math. You’re really enjoying it and have grown in leaps and bounds in just a few short weeks. Daddy and I are so impressed at how far you’ve come and you can’t wait to wow your teachers when school starts. You missed out on learning your multiplication tables toward the end of 3^rd grade and Caryn has taught you 0 through 10 in just a few short weeks. Once you master them, your reward is a canoe trip with her and Colby! You can now read easy level books all on your own and you have blazed through all of the Dr. Seuss books at Nana and Grandpa’s house. I’ve noticed you reading signs and packages more often and that’s really exciting for me. I hope that reading becomes something you enjoy. When I ask your about your day, your favorite part is often your morning with Caryn.

It’s hard to believe that you’re ten years old already and Daddy and I are so excited for this coming year. You have some wonderful traits and skills and interests and it’s so fun to watch those unfold. I can’t wait to see where 10 takes you. :)

We love you with all our hearts,

Mommy and Daddy