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Oh what a week...


After visiting the lactation consultant or the pediatrician every day for the last 3 weeks I am glad to have a day off today. However, I don't have the energy today to do a long blog. Gavin and I both caught a cold. The poor guy just hasn't been himself and quite frankly neither have I. Both stuffy and sneezy and with his eye goopy we have plodded along through the weekend with the help of Grandma and Grandpa Bruce. It was wonderful to have a little help and Mike and I snuck off to have lunch together.

Gavin is changing so much. It is really scary how quick that happens.

The case of the escaping peepee...

One would think with the amount of diapers I have changed and the seemingly simplistic method to putting a diaper on I would have no problems but that would be wrong. As of yesterday the pee will not stay in the diaper. Gavin has managed to pee out of nearly every outfit I have put him in. Sadly, I have been peed on many times by other little boys and even a few little girls and have learned to keep that diaper on for as long as possible when changing and to quickly replace it with a new one. Even with my quick speed and experience I have been peed on and pooped on this week. I know that I am not alone in all this but how the pee makes it out of a seemingly well applied diaper I have yet to figure out.

Below are some pictures from the week. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed each little moment.

Daddy enjoys every moment he can never holding out on hugs and kisses.

Mommy isn't making enough milk to keep up with the little man so here is Gavin's first bottle.

When Mommy loves something that doesn't quite fit yet.

A Mommy's love is very overwhelming, so are Mommy's hormones making her cry over everything.

Our little man is changing so much everyday.

Gavin's friend Koda who is 3 1/2 weeks older.

Thank you to everyone for all their love and support. It has made a difficult and exciting two weeks that much easier.

Mr. Houdini Hands the magic sleeper

Having worked in an infant daycare I would like to consider myself an experienced swaddler but I have met my swaddling match, Houdini Hands, otherwise known as Gavin. No matter how tight the swaddle no matter the method or secret trick you pull out most always those kissable cute hands will find their way out and up under his chin or draped across his face earning him the new title of Houdini Hands. Now you might be wondering does Houdini Hands have other tricks. Of course, what would a good magician be if he only had one trick. Houdini Hands has the ability to sleep through EVERYTHING! Three screaming little boys running past him with a singing musical toy, slamming doors, telephones, dogs barking next to his head. His specialty though is attempting to sleep through feedings causing his weight to mysteriously disappear. Trying everything we know how and a few tricks from books and the internet our little man takes about a half hour to awake to the point where he will even make an attempt at feeding. Leaving his Mommy and Daddy stumped and his pediatrician to suggest formula supplementing, crushing some of my optimism for breastfeeding success. While it is still possible breastfeeding is hard and I give high regards to anyone who has accomplished this long term, well actually to anyone who makes through a week. I must say it would be easy to quit right now but for the sake of Houdini Hands the magic sleeper I will persevere. I will leave you with Mike and his mini-me Gavin who both not only sleep like rocks and through anything but I often wake to find them sleeping in the same position, talk about cute.

This blog has been brought to you by two feeding intermissions. This is the way we plan our day, plan our day, plan our day, this is the way we plan our day from early in the morning.

Gavin Michael James


He is here! Born Monday, November 26, 2007 at 3:38pm, 8lbs 3oz and 20 inches long. He came on the first snow of the year. He is beautiful and happy. I will give the short story, which we all know I will add to as soon as I don't feel like I have been hit by a truck or at least maybe when it reduces to feeling like I was hit by a car.

My water broke at 10:20 on my way across the parking lot into the doctors office for a visit. They checked me and sent me to the hospital. I was at 4cm dilated. When we arrived at the hospital it was 11:30. We got checked in settled and then they checked me about 21/2 to 3 hours later I hadn't made much progress but within the hour I was fully dilated and ready to push him out. It went so quickly no one even caught the poor guy, because of hospital politics though there were about 6 people qualified to catch him all standing there gloved and ready but unable to do anything. I didn't need any drugs and later was told by the hospital staff and my midwife (who wasn't authorized to deliver at that hospital but happened to be there and was excited to join us and we were glad to have her) they had never seen a more controlled, focused and peaceful delivery. The resident doctor said she wasn't sure what to do with me she was gloved and didn't want to touch me because she said I was so focused. I was very proud of myself for being able to use the skills I had been practicing for the last few months to ensure that I wouldn't need any drugs and glad to know it was a noticeable difference.

Pictures are available at our web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/emaillaurajames/GavinMichaelJames

Pictures will also be available soon at the hospital website: http://www.our365.com/webnursery/WebNursery/BabyFinder/BabyFinderFamilyResults.aspx
Those haven't posted yet but should soon keep checking back.

Baby Gavin

So if you can't hold him in your arms I guess the next best thing is
to see a picture of him. We had a ultrasound today to determine how he
was holding up in there and everything looks good. So we are still
waiting. Attached are the 4D ultrasound pictures the ultrasound tech
was so kind to give us. She kept commenting on his pudgy little cheeks
and nice full lips. One look at Mike and I and it is obvious he got
his lips from his Mama. She estimates him at 8lbs 1oz, which could be
as much as a lb off plus or minus so it is all still a guess but she
said I am all baby and he will be a good sized kid.

Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Oh baby baby!

So for all of your curious folks. We don't have a baby yet. We went into the doctor today and even they were surprised he hadn't made his debut yet. We got hooked up to a fetal monitor today and baby is as happy and healthy as can be in there so no need to worry. My midwife tells me I have progressed more than some women in active labor at the hospital. We are now at a solid 4cm dilated, 80% or more effaced and he is at +1 station(meaning he is about 2 inches or so from crowning, my water bag is bulging below the cervix she was shocked it hadn't broken yet. When I do go into labor she assumes it will go fast. I guess there are worse things and as the midwife reminded me every centimeter I gain now is one I don't have to earn later in labor. So here is hoping that we won't have to wait another week and he comes soon. I am in good spirits overall just can't wait until he is here.

How big will Laura get before this baby comes?

When is a song catchy? When you catch your husband walking through the house singing "HEY HEY YOU YOU I COULD BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND" and then you join in and both have a crazy Avril Lavigne song stuck in your head.

I was giggling loudly and uncontrollably in the car last night to myself as the song came on and I remember hearing my husband sing the song from across the house. It is quite catchy, can you blame the guy? I find myself singing it and detesting the lyrics as I blast in in my car and shout "Hey Hey You You I could be your girlfriend!."

So today marks 9 days to the due date, the one they say we won't make it to, but the little boy just keeps hanging on. I guess that is good. Although I keep making progress so I am horribly uncomfortable. I have a positive attitude for the most part. It is still before his due date or guess date I should say. Every centimeter I gain now is one I won't have to gain later in labor and maybe all these extra squats I am getting in now will help me regain my figure and help in delivery. I hate waiting but I suppose I am for the foreseeable future and beyond on babies schedule not my own. So for now I will just blast Avril Lavigne in my kitchen and try to load the dishwasher.

When the water breaks...

A few days ago I had read that when you think labor is nearing line your bed with water proof padding to prevent ruining your mattress if your water breaks while you are in bed. I being the well prepared person that I am quickly break open a new bag of my babies waterproof liners and quickly insert them under my mattress pad thinking I have just done quite an ingenious thing that I will surely thank myself for later. The first night I fell asleep with my beautiful waterproof plan and awoke in the middle of the night covered in sweat just from the area I had "waterproofed." Apparently, waterproof padding doesn't breath well. I sucked it up and continued to claim that I would be glad I had suffered for the cause if my water broke while in bed.

This afternoon I was passing through my bedroom and began to feel a contraction coming on. These have been very inconsistent and I am beginning to wonder will my baby ever come. I remind myself that he can't stay in there forever and whether it is today, tomorrow or two weeks from now he is coming. I lean back and feel something wet. I think to myself it can't be that my water broke, I would surely have felt that. Soon my had finds something hard and I pick it up and find the water bottle I had half haphazardly thrown on my bed as I scurried out the door this morning to reach my chiropractor appointment on time. However, the water bottle I threw on the bed had the lid securely fastened, at least that is how I remember it. I stand up and find that had that really been my water breaking my waterproof plan would have failed me because my mattress through all my bedding and waterproof padding was soaked. I guess it is back to the drawing board for me. Now I am back to square one where I fervently pray that my water will break in the hospital so that the experts can deal with the impending mess.

Here's to hoping my water will break in a convenient location, of it's own accord.

Tests and Baby breaking news

Mike finished his test yesterday and is feeling really good about it. He won't find out for another 12 weeks if he passed or not but it is good to have the test over and done and not hanging over our heads. He is a whole different person and I am glad to have him back. We went to dinner last night to celebrate it was wonderful to just sit and not have anything to worry about.

At our doctors appointment on Thursday the doctor announced that we probably won't make it to our due date. Baby is on the move and my body is responding to him in turn. The dance has begun. She thought that it could be anywhere from a day to two weeks. She made sure to emphasize that we get our bags packed. So today our home was filled with excitement and the buzz of last minute preparations. We are very excited and ready to welcome our little man into this great big world.

Updates will come when we are able to.

Baby Belly Time Line...

Well with only three more weeks to go I thought now would be a good time to see how Baby Gavin has grown, as well as his mommy.

At my last appointment I was beginning to dilate and was 1/3 effaced so we are starting to make some progress. It could still be weeks but I like to think that it could happen at anytime. Please keep Mike in your prayers his big test for his Professional Engineering license is on Friday. Everyone he knows that has taken the test failed it the first time. We are hoping that he won't be one of those people. He has worked very hard. So at the very least baby has to wait until Friday after 5:00pm to come. My Mom is in Maui visiting family so she would like him to wait until after Tuesday. I am trying to remember that he still has 3 weeks. Which is hard to do when he is considered full term and could safely come any time. I will keep you all posted on how these next weeks play out.

What a weekend!

We got the clear from our doctor last week for me to make a drive over to Issaquah/Snoqualmie area for our dear friends Megan and Troy's wedding. I am so glad that we were able to be there. It was at the falls, in a beautiful resort and the day couldn't have been more perfect for a wedding. The decor was stunning but not to out do the bride who glowed and shined. Their spirits were sweet and the intimate group made for a great evening. Not to mention that dinner was excellent and I only wish I could have made better use of the open bar than a Shirley Temple.

Unfortunately our camera doesn't seem to like weddings. It was acting up again so the few pictures that turned out are here and even one that didn't. Probably user error but we will get it figured out before the little guy comes.


Above is a picture of the falls. By the time we waddled our way out there it was a little dark.

The three amigos trying to capture the last bit of sunlight.

The stunning couple.

This picture doesn't do the cake justice. Beautiful!

I hate this picture of me but Megan looks gorgeous so I will take one for the team and up it goes.

Then there was dancing. I didn't put two and two together until later but a women who was speaking with Megan's Dad kept watching Mike and I attempt the jitter bug to a swing song later approached me and said if I go into labor just to call Rick (the brides father) and she could get me in first thing in the morning. I guess I had her worried like driving across the state and doing the jitter bug would do me in. I am fine for all those concerned.

Congratulations Troy and Megan Hubler!

Only 41 days to go...

I am still plodding through a cold I have had for over 2 weeks and I had the flu for a few days as well. I think this is what led to my last weekend freak out. Friday and Saturday I had nausea and contractions that went from every 4 hours and progressed until I had 3 in an hour. I called my doctors office and the on call doctor suggested I go into the hospital and get checked. Of course when I arrived I stopped having contractions and they could find nothing wrong with me. Since then I haven't had any contractions. I am still nauseous leading me to believe I had contracted the flu. The hospital in the end was very nice and said they would rather see me a hundred times and tell me nothing was wrong then have me not come in and have something be wrong. Well, I agree. Although I don't want to become a frequent flier, as the nurse said they call the ones who are in a lot. She didn't blame them though because as she pointed out being pregnant for the first time is a scary deal. I have to agree.

Thursday night Mike stopped in Colfax on his way home from Pullman to fill up with gas. He called me when he was well over half way home to inform me he just realized that he had gone into the store to pay for his gas and get a little snack but while he was getting his snack he got really dizzy and nauseated and felt like he was going to pass out. He paid for his snacks but not the gas. I immediately called the gas station to let them know what had happened. Then when Mike got home I went crazy trying to make sure he rested. Mike never gets sick but when he does it is land him in the hospital kind of sick and with him studying for his big test we couldn't risk it. So 12 hours of sleep, a bottle of Gatorade, some orange juice and Ziacam he felt a lot better the next day. Thank God!

Now I sit alone at home again while Mike is at Starbucks, his preferred place of study and think about how many days I have left until our due date. I realize that a due date means nothing I could have to wait a whole extra week for the little guy to come. It has been wonderful to not have to work but I must admit it has a tendency to make the days drag on and on. I have cleaned my house, decorated rooms, I sew, I get together with friends and ponder the pains of having to actually give birth to this thing that just gets bigger everyday. I have read a million books. Help something has to make this next several weeks go by faster!

P.S. - For those of you like my mother who think pregnancy was the most wonderful time in your life. I love you but I can't say I agree. Ask me again after Gavin comes and don't remind me I said this when I go to have the next one.

You can just call me Auntie Laura

It is official. As of September 25, 2007 my niece was born 7lbs 50z and 20 inches long. She and mama suffered from a fever due to the fact that they didn't go into the hospital soon enough after her water broke but everything will be fine. She is a beautiful little baby girl with a thick head of dark hair just like her Auntie Laura, although I think I picked mine up a little later in life. Congratulations Nathan and Hope!

The mother of all colds

So about a week and a half ago my neighbor friend comes to my door with her two month old. She is winded and looks frantic. I look like I just got out of bed, because I did. She quickly explains to me that she needs to get her oldest son to Kindergarten, like 5 minutes ago, and that she went to put the youngest of her 3 boys into the car seat only to find that one of the new kittens (as if her life wasn't crazy enough about 2 weeks after her youngest is born her cat has 3 kittens) has taken its first poop in the babies car seat. Well, I grab my little 2 month old friend shoo her back to her minivan and begin telling baby Ian how he and Gavin will someday rule the neighborhood and be best friends. This is met with the newly learned skill of smiles and cooing that only proceed to make my heart melt and long for the day that it is my baby that is smiling and cooing at me. After a monster spit up from Ian his mother comes knocking on the door to retrieve her little one. This is when I learn that she has been sporting a horrible sore throat for about a day. I wave it off saying it is probably sinus problems, which Mike has had a lot of lately, so I feel I should be the expert or something.

Sunday night rolls around and I quickly realize that it wasn't sinus problems but a monster cold that seems to have infected half of the Valley. By Monday morning I am canceling my chiropractor appointment in an effort to not infect the other half of the Valley. I am miserable. Yet, I insist that by the time my birthing class comes around at 6:00pm I will feel as good as new. How I thought I would do this I still have yet to figure because being pregnant there aren't a lot of options for medication. By 5:00pm I am swollen, achy, sneezy and I swear I sound like Darth Vader. But still I insist that I could go to my birthing class until I realize just how miserable I am and that if I made a whole entire room full of pregnant women sick, well I probably wouldn't go back to the class if that happened because I would either be beaten by a room full of pregnant women or feel so guilty that I just simply couldn't show my face. Monday night I sneeze and pull a muscle in my stomach and come to the revelation that there is sick and then there is pregnant sick and the two are on very different playing fields.

After a few nights of not sleeping I call my doctor and near tears explain that there must be something I can do. She lists a few drugs I can take tells me to drink lots of water and get a humidifier. Humidifier turns out to be my best friend I begin sleeping as well as a pregnant woman can and breathing better instantly. However, over a week later as I sit here still hacking, coughing, sneezing, achy, stuffy and I will spare the other gross details I just read that it takes pregnant women much longer to recover from viruses than most. Tonight will be the second out of four of my birthing classes that I might miss if by tonight I don't miraculously recover. Despair has set in and I fear that I will never be whole again. The worst part is I paid $65 for this birthing class.

New Additions

I was awoken the other night by a loud ringing. When I finally realized what time it was and that the incessant ringing was the sound of our new house phone I frantically grabbed it and put on my best "you hardly woke me voice" even though I had just fallen asleep and it was well after midnight. My Aunt Kathie had called to let us know that Bella after many hours and a c-section had joined us in the world a healthy little girl all 7lbs 8oz and 22 inches of her. I was glad to hear since there was an ultrasound early on detecting a small hole in Bella's heart. She seems to have pulled through with no problems. My cousin and his girlfriend I am sure are more relieved than any of us. My Aunt (Bella's Grandma) was of course as proud of the new arrival as could be.

I went quickly to work the next day realizing that I had never sent them a gift. Oops! Silly me I had meant to and I guess now was as good a time as ever. After figuring out the minor glitches in my sewing machine. I sewed a nursing cover and a matching burp cloth out of fabric I happened upon at a local quilting store. I had to share pictures. I am so in love with this fabric and I don't want to let it go.

Hopefully they will get use out of these and love the fabric as much as I do. Congrats Zoller Family you are in our thoughts and prayers. Can't wait 'till it is our turn.

Love, the James'

Success!

Our garage sale was a success. At the beginning of the day I have to say I had my doubts that it would really get off the ground. It was touch and go for a while with a few people here and there. However, when it is a few people here and there from 8-5 you end up with quite a few people. I having only had one garage sale in my life really didn't know what to expect. At the beginning of the day Mike and I said that if we sold our entertainment center and our guitar we would feel like we had done great! When I rolled up at 5:00pm with Courtney fully expecting to see the guys starting to clean up our stuff but instead found them negotiating on our entertainment center with a couple from down the street I was so excited I had to walk away because I would have spoiled the deal. I am never good at negotiating. One lady got most of my stuff at half price with just a look. I would tell her the price of an item that was clearly marked and she would squish her face up in the awful "You have got to be kidding" look and I would buckle under pressure. At one point Mike finally stepped in and when she gave me the look he said "what you don't think we are asking enough?" That is why I love him. We balance each other in ways I think we often fail to see. Like bargaining for a deal, he loves it and I hate it with a passion. If my buyers only knew with just a look I might have given them my stuff we would never have made all the money that we did.

Thanks to Mike's negotiating skills I get to buy some much needed maternity items like some workout pants so I can't make excuses for not going to the gym to walk on the treadmill and maybe a winter coat. I seemed to think I would be fine without one but Mike argued that he wasn't taking me home from the hospital without a coat and in November I would need a coat even if it was only for a few weeks. So even though I want to spend all my money on my little man I guess Mommy needs somethings too. Now that I think about it some pants that didn't squish the all air out of me might be nice too. I had this idea that all maternity pants were comfortable but I have reached a point where nothing but a pair of over sized sweats is comfy. If I get into that habit I might get turned into "What not to wear...Maternity Series."

Below is the picture of babies coming home outfit. Did I mention that baby has a name? In case I haven't it is Gavin Michael James. I can't wait to see him sporting this super soft outfit.

What have the James' been doing?

Take a look! We have been doing a lot of work around the house. Mike took Friday off making it a long weekend and for his study breaks I had a husband to help me with long awaited projects. I am sure that it wasn't his dream weekend working on my honey do list but I was very grateful. Of course it all looks better in person and anyone wanting a reason to visit us now has one.

Mike was so patient and crawled across the ledge to hang my plate collage.

Mike worked for weeks to refinish my Grandpa's dresser. It was in need of much love and tlc and Mike make sure it got the attention it deserved.
The babies room is coming together. My Grandpa's dresser will be used as the changing table . I finished recovering a used glider and Mike hung a much needed new light fixture and wall hangings this weekend. This weekend we are doing a garage sale and celebrating friends birthdays. It should be another exciting weekend at the James house. Hopefully by the time it is finished we can park two cars in the garage again.

Sunburns, bumper cars and bellies

On a lovely afternoon last week I spent the day at a small water park/pool with a good friend and her 2 boys. The boys had a blast and it was so fun watching them show off for us in their Spiderman swim trunks and blue and green goggles. There are times when "Hey... Hey...Heyyyyy, watch this!" Can get old but not this day. They were sweet and fun angels. We ate lunch by the pool and my good friend and I gabbed and caught up on life. When I ran out of sun screen I thought nothing of it. I figured I had been in the sun enough recently to be safe with my very light base tan. I was wrong. Within minutes of being in the car I realized I was burnt. I was also tired as the sun has a way of stripping you of all your energy, at least if you are over a certain age it seemed those kids could have gone for hours. I was driving home singing along with the radio, country if anyone was wondering I stopped at a four way and while waiting for my turn BAM! was hit from behind.

In shock and having never been rear ended before I had no idea what to do. There was lots of traffic and people around so I pulled over and got out to meet who ever had the audacity to hit a pregnant women driving her new treasure of an SUV. I wasn't shocked to see the driver of an old beat up Toyota Camary to be a tall 19 or 20 something guy with a completely dazed and shocked look on his face. After surveying what only looked like a couple of scratches on my bumper and his dangling headlight I figured I had won the battle of the SUV vs. the small 2 door sedan and tried to be nice about it. He swore he didn't want to turn it into his insurance he would rather pay for it out of pocket. Assuming a few scratches would only cost a few hundred bucks. Well, we were both wrong an estimate the next morning tells us $1000-1500. Now I feel awful. Do I have his insurance info? No. Just a name and phone number were all I could get out of him. Once we reached him and explained that it would cost that much to fix he was shocked, angry and decided he wanted to turn it into his alleged insurance company. He didn't have the card with him at the time to give us the information but would call us back, 2 days have passed and he will be getting a phone call here shortly requesting such info. I sure hope this works out.

I have learned a valuable lesson. Call the police no matter how big or small the accident before you even exit your car. For a few reasons. I didn't know who I would be meeting when I stepped out of that car for all I knew he could be a psycho killer. Second, if there is a police man handy then you can sit back in shock and not have to worry if you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing or did you get all the information you needed. And lastly, its plain and simple what you are supposed to do whenever you play bumper cars in the real world, report it to the police.

After arriving home I had the realization that something could have happened to my dear sweet boy. I called my doctors office and while waiting for a call baby James got the hiccups and gave me a real strong kick in the gut to alert his crying mother that he would indeed be fine. I managed to pull a muscle in my back and had a migraine for a day or so but as long as baby James was kicking and hiccuping away I couldn't complain. Well I did manage to get a few choice words out about the guy that hit me once the shock wore off and I realized what had happened.

Below are pictures of my growing belly as I promised to post monthly. This one is a few weeks late but here just the same.

Charm & Character

I often hear an old home referred to as having lots of charm or character. Whether that be that the mail is delivered into a slot that can be checked from the living room, beautiful hard wood floors that allow no one the ability to sneak off the rest room, or unique built in cabinetry. Our home while only 11 years old has a bit of character itself. You see a few of our doors happen to gently swing themselves closed with no assistance whatsoever stranding you either in a dark bedroom or an even darker bathroom.

Our 3 year old Golden Retriever, Jemma, has found this characteristic very challenging for her. She has also found that it is very difficult for God to open a window when there isn't one. Jemma is a very loyal and social dog and in an effort to be sure she is with you at all times she will often go searching to find you. The bathroom door posing a problem for her because while not latched shut she can't tell if anyone is in there. So she pushes the door open saunters in and finds no one there then turns around to leave finding the door closing. Soon from some where in the house I will here the door snap shut and know she is locked in our dark bathroom. Now if she hadn't tried to open the door it wouldn't have snapped shut and Duke is waiting on the other side of the door pushing with all his might to free his poor sister who has yet again locked herself in the bathroom. Shortly after I hear the door shut if no has rescued her in her preferred time frame the whining and shrill barks begin. This was funny the first few times but now this happens a few times a night, often in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, leaving one to question her once proven intelligence.

Jemma found the other day that while God had no window to open he was busy orchestrating another door to open. One that led to a large park with a pond, ducks, kids to walk and pet her and a fountain. Now the unfortunate part about this park was that she and Duke had to stay on the leashes so here you see them wishing with all they are that they could chase the ducks and swim in the pond. Later, Duke made friends with Joshua whose family had invited us to come along with them to the park. Joshua decided that he wanted to take Duke's dog walking into his 5 year old little hads so they were off. Duke listening to Joshua's every command and not tugging him along like he does to me. I was very impressed and slightly envious that a 5 year old was better at walking my dog than I was. Just then Duke spots it, the fountain. Full speed ahead with Josh jogging behind Duke pulls Josh up the stairs and plants his whole head and front two paws into the fountain. Joshua quickly decided he didn't want to be responsible for our wet, crazy, water obsessed dog and handed him over. While the six adults discussed whether or not dogs were allowed in the fountain. Deciding that of course dogs, especially our dogs, should be allowed in the fountain Mike and I ditched our shoes and escorted our two dogs into the very cold fountain. Duke put his nose down and sloshed through the water as if this was the only thing to do when faced with a fountain full of cold water and plunged forward demonstrating for Jemma who was too busy daintily pulling each foot completely out of the water before replacing it a few inches in front of her cold wet body.

It turned out to be a great outing with new friends and one in which my dogs throughly enjoyed!P.S. I added a little baby tracker so you can all see how much time we have left till our little bundle joins us in the world.

The James Family Showered with Love!

Martha Stewart and clan descended on my home Friday evening to throw baby and me the most beautiful baby shower EVER! Now of course I am biased but it really was a beautiful shower. Vases of flowers filled my living and dining room and the tastiest treats covered my dining table. My home quickly filled with some of the people I hold closest to my heart. It was a wonderful time and we received some treasures that our little boy will never fully grasp but his parents greatly appreciate. Thank you Courtney, Nicole & Sharon for throwing me a baby shower that I will never forget and always be grateful for and thank you to my friends & family who came from far and wide to attend the shower, it made Mike and I feel loved and supported. We had people come from as far as the west side & Pullman and as close as just across the street. To those who couldn't make it you were missed. Below are just a few pictures of the event.

Nicole, Courtney and I.

Sharon and I.

Mountains of gifts and a room full of friends.

A view from the top of what!

On Monday I set off with my new Envoy loaded up with my Mom, her husband Bruce, my Auntie Liz and cousin Toni as well as all of our must needed items for our adventure to Lake Chelan. We were on our way to 3 lovely days in a beautiful place. Our tour guide Auntie Liz. Now to go anywhere with Liz means you won't see much of the beaten path, so if you do take it in while your there because who knows when you will see it again. So when I was informed about halfway down Highway 2 that I was to look for a cut off to Highway 17 I wasn't surprised. I just laughed and asked who told her about this route the gas station attendant. She never confirmed but I am sure I was right. We were about a half mile onto this new path and I turn to my co-pilot and said "This can't be the scenic route, someone has taken the scene out of scenic and just left us with the IC!" It was a barren dessert fully of nothing. If your car died it would probably be days before anyone found you. Our view was piles of rock. A hand painted sign telling us to beware of bugs that a farmer had released in the name of organic, the biggest crow I had ever seen and dust devils. Out of sheer boredom and because it was fun we started to make up little stories about our sightings. I wanted to know what kind of killer bugs they had released that we should be warned. My Aunt warned me not to stop the car to find out, which I agreed. We decided the crow was so big because he had no other competition and had taken to eating the killer bugs the farmer had released and possibly the ants that were left homeless after their homes were destroyed by the dust devils. Our charades were only enjoyed by Liz and I since the back seat held complete silence and down turned heads while the convenience of technology lulled my passengers with DVDs. Finally, we came around a corner to make our decent to Lake Chelan, only to see the real reason we had taken such a back road. The view from the top was beautiful you could see the Lake for all it was and it made our adventure worth every second.

Soon we make our way through the town and on to Madison just passed Chelan. With 3 car sick passengers (could it have anything to do with watching a movie while we drove up and down winding roads) we had lunch on a blueberry farm called Blueberry Hills. It was a great way to wind down and start our trip. So far our guide hadn't led us astray. We continued around a loop that was to take us through fruit orchards and past some small lakes. Again as we wondered aimlessly along roads for which I saw no other cars I wondered what lay ahead. Soon we stopped at a Winery where those who were able to drink wine did by doing a wine tasting. I enjoyed the lavender garden planted out front with my cousin. Soon we were headed to our hotel to check in and then we were off again to enjoy the main street shops.

The next day we took a looong boat ride all the way across the lake. Liz kept trying to tell me that over half of the lake had no roads to it. The town we were on our way to see was only accessible by boat. I wasn't buying it. There were homes built out on the lake miles from anything and I couldn't find a road to save my life. Just mountains, trees and water. Finally, we pull into a marina and are greeted by a small town with a small road that only leads us around the town. We climb aboard a bus to journey us to a waterfall and as our tour begins it sinks in that there are no roads leading to this town, whose name I can't say or spell. It was almost like stepping back in time. As our tour ends I decided that if I was going to get on a boat for 2 1/2 hours I was going to need lunch. Our bus driver made it sound like we had time so I headed up with my Mom and Bruce. After what seemed like forever and major confusion on the staffs part we were told the boat was leaving without us. It was actually moving away from the dock. NOOOOO don't leave me here I can't stay here. It was a great town but I couldn't get stuck. Torn between my need for the food we had already paid for and my desire not to stay we hurried the staff into getting our food for us or any food that was ready for that matter and sent Bruce to hold the boat. We come scrambling from the restaurant only to realize they weren't leaving and we weren't the only ones they were waiting for. Phew! We came back to the hotel took naps and played games then headed out for dinner and walk along the water.

Our adventure came to a close on Wednesday and we headed home, the normal way at my request. It was a wonderful weekend with family and I can't wait to take Mike there someday. I might even take him down the IC route.

Where am I?

Last week Thursday Mike and I journeyed over to the west side of the state to join our good friends Ian and Maria as they shared beautiful vows and started their new life together. We spent what time was left with Ian and Nicole and their adorable son Peyton. It was a lot of driving up and down the west side of Washington, which thank God is beautiful. My pregnant body was wondering why I signed up for such a thing as well as the two other road trips I am going on. Thankfully my back held up for the weekend so sitting for long periods of time wasn't so bad. Mike was a groomsman and unfortunately the poor guys were in some pretty hot weather to be wearing penguin suits all day. The church didn't have A/C and there were a few times I looked at Mike and thought he might just pass out. Later I found out he had a few close calls and even had started to think through a strategy of how to catch the two guys in front of him when he saw them start to sway. Wouldn't that have been a seen. Thank you Ian and Maria for letting us share in your special day.

Thank you Ian and Nicole for letting us crash at your place. We had a great time! Now I didn't get great pictures because my battery died. I had started taking pictures with my new camera that my Mom got me for my birthday and realized only after it was dead that I hadn't changed the resolution or brought the charger so it was gone before I had really even started. I created a web album of the pictures I did get at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/emaillaurajames/GreggWeddingWeekend

On Sunday my Mom, Step Dad, Auntie and Cousin come to Spokane and then we will all head off on Monday to Lake Chelan for 3 days. I am very excited to get to spend time with my family. I only wish Mike could come. He will be home working and studying for his big exam in Oct. Please pray for him he is at his limits between work, studying and preparing for a baby, the poor guy is going to explode soon.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It is my birthday today and I haven't posted in forever so here I am to try to catch you up on all our goings ons. I am not even sure that anyone visits my blog anymore since I am so absent on posting new blogs.

We sold our Jeep and bought another Envoy XL. I am so happy to have the Jeep gone and our Envoy back. I know it is a huge gas guzzling SUV but I feel safe, it is safe (for a vehicle) and it is super comfy. I LOVE IT!

Jemma and Duke got a treat for the Fourth of July. After a week with about 3 nights of sleep I took Jemma to the Vet. She started out just scared of fireworks when we first brought her into our family and now she has added lighting, thunder and if she can't see it the lawn mower. She starts by pacing the house searching every window and doorway for the possible "threat" then her whole body begins to shake, the whining shortly follows along with heavy panting. This usually continues all night. Then she tries to get behind our bed. I can't tell you why because she doesn't calm down once she is back there just pants, whines, paces and shakes behind our heads, which is worse if you ask me. The vet prescribed Jemma with doggie tranquilizers. I was thrilled, I know sad but true. We took them home and that night all got a blissful night of sleep. For the Fourth we decided that we would give Jemma a tranquilizer at 8:00 when people would most likely start letting the fireworks off in our neighborhood then we would follow up with another (Vet recommend) second pill around 10:00 when it got dark. Mike went and filled a small cube of cheese with Jemma's special treat. He made her sit and handed her the "special cheese" instead of gulping it down in one swallow like she typically does with cheese she dropped it and Duke swept in to make sure the special cheese didn't go to waste. Boy was he in for a surprise. Jemma took the second peice of special cheese and soon our too typically playful and friendly dogs were lounging around the house barely lifting their heads as friends stopped by to visit with their children and as we came and went from the house. It was quite comical.

I have spent a lot of time this week working on baby's room. It will be very fun when it is done and I can't wait to show you a picture. Courtney came over to help me do some painting and my 13 year old cousin was here to visit for a week and she got to pitch in quite a bit as well. I appreciate both of them so much. While I have been busy painting and taking on way more projects then I need to Mike has been busy with work and studying for his Professional Engineers test in October. He needs something crazy like 300+ study hours. He has been a saint and helped me with my projects on his study breaks but I know between helping me with all these projects at home, dealing with a heavy workload at work and with studying he is going to bust soon.

This weekend we are headed to the west side of the state for a wedding. Mike is one of the groomsmen and we are happy to be a part of our friends special day.

Here are a couple of pics of our dogs (tranquilizer free).