Another Addition to our Family

My sister Kara and her boyfriend Brian got engaged on Sunday.  I'm so happy for them.  My family loves Brian and we are excited that they are getting married.  Who knows when and where, but I'm sure it will be a great time no matter what they decide. 

Hello World

We welcomed Kya Raye into our family on 10/11/10.  I knew she would be late since my pregnancy was very similar to my first so I was hoping for 10/10/10 and when that passed, I thought for sure it was going to be another week.  I was a little sick all night, but didn't think much of it as I was reading my voter pamphlet at 2am because I couldn't sleep.  The next morning, I got up at 5:00 and got ready for work.  I was having contractions but wasn't sure it was the real thing because with Ryker I had contractions for 2 days prior at consistent intervals, but they were just painless.  I figured maybe it was a sign that she was coming in a few days.  By 7am, I new it was the real thing.  Ryker came so fast that I wanted to be close to the hospital, but was unsure how long it would take since with Ryker my water broke and I knew to go immediately.  We decided to venture over toward the hospital and take Ryker to the park.  We got there about 8 and played at Storvik Park for an hour while I timed contractions on Seth's Iphone stopwatch.  I had to laugh because neither of us had a watch and we recalled how we bought Seth a watch last time because all the books and classes said the man should have a watch to time contractions.  I asked him what he did with his contraction watch from last time and that was good for a laugh.  So many of the things we did with the first pregnancy are hilarious to us now.  By 9am, we headed to the hospital to check in.  Ryker hung with us for about a half hour and was mesmerized by the bed and all the machines, then Seth's Dad arrived to pick him up.  I was dialated to 7 so the nurse had me change into a gown because she was sure there was no way that I would be sent home.  She returned after talking to my doctor and said that the doctor actually laughed when she found out it was me and said that she may not admit me.  She would need to see some good contractions.  I completely understood why, but he nurse was a little astonished.  With both pregnancies, I dialated to at least 3, 80% effaced a month before my due date, then progressed slowly.  I was at 5cm, 90% effaced at my last checkup 5 days earlier so who knows, maybe I'd sit at 7cm for a couple days.  Anyway, she said she wanted to monitor me for a while so I put my regular clothes on and went to walk around.  I reported back 20 min later and she did another non stress test and sent us to walk around again.  This time though, I couldn't leave the room.  It was definitely time.  She checked me again and I was at 10.  I had to wait about 10 minutes for the doctor to arrive and after another 17 min of pushing (yes, I know I'm lucky and you will never here me complain about pregnancy, labor, or childbirth), she was here.  We had no idea what gender she was and I honestly could not have called it either way, but I think in the back of my mind I had decided it was a boy because when Seth announce it was a girl, I was completely floored.  I knew there was a 50/50 chance, so I'm not sure why I was so surprised.  Maybe it was just because the last one was a boy so that was more normal to me.  I'm not sure, but I wasn't that surprised with Ryker.  I was pretty sure he was going to be a boy.  That's not based on anything scientific, just a gut feeling.  Anyway, I know everyone wants to find out the gender in advance these days, but if you can stand waiting 9 months, I strongly suggest it.  There are no more surprises in today's high tech, instant gratification world and this is one of the best.  I think science has done us an injustice by allowing us to peek.  Plus, I was so excited to find out what it was, that I was completely focused on getting her out.  My labors have both been fast and I know I'm lucky, but I literally stared at the clock in front of me determined to get her out faster than Ryker came out (less than 30 min).

Many people were surprised that we didn't name Ryker after my Dad.  I think most people really expected it, especially considering the great relationship my Dad and I had.  The answer to that is pretty simple.  I wanted to name a girl after him.  Not only did I love the middle name with the name Kya, but I put a lot more thought into it than that.  My Dad treated all four of us kids the same.  Mine and Kara's basketball and volleyball games were always just as important as Cam and Ty's football and basketball games.  I know a lot of girls who felt like second class citizens compared to their brothers growing up.  My dad embraced and supported everything we did, no matter if it was a predominantly a male or female activity.  Yes, he would have liked me to put on a dress every now and then, but he never pushed me to.  If I wanted to be the only girl playing baseball with the boys, so be it.  If I decided to move into a house with 4 boys in college, he gave me a lecture, but trusted me to make my own decisions.  When I wanted to go to Alaska to commercial fish for the summer, he was excited for me even though he was nervous about me living on a boat with a bunch of guys I didn't know and doing something that was going to be physically challenging and maybe dangerous.  Again, I got a lecture about behaving myself and working hard...actually more about working smart, than hard.  He knew I would work hard but if there was anything physical that I couldn't do, I could make up for it in other ways.  I could write a book here, but I'd better get back to the purpose of this post.....our beautiful new little lady.  I know he would be honored having a grandchild named after him no matter what gender, but for me, it's more special that it is a little girl.  I only wish he was around to meet her and influence her in the positive ways he did me.

Ryker seems pretty pleased with his new sister

Kya - Meaning: Diamond in the Sky

See, I already have her in pink.....I've been getting a ton of comments about Kya turning out to be a girly girl. Maybe she will be, maybe she won't. I don't care either way. She can be who she wants and if that means wearing frilly dresses and having lots of dolls, so be it. She may have to find someone else to fix her hair though because I don't know if I'm qualified:)

Ryker looking exhausted from the big day.

Just kidding....cheese!

Kid you'll move mountains.

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So…get on your way!

-Dr. Suess 

Oyster Run

Ryker will be ready for it next year.  Maybe he can go with Clayton or Herb.  I think those are his only buddies with motorcyles.

It doesn't look like he's moving, but he really is.  He's just such a good rider that he can pose at the same time.

Where will our food come from next month?

We don't have to carry snacks in the car right now.  All we have to do is stop by a corn stand.  Ryker peels his corn the minute we get in the car and eats it uncooked.

He's very careful to get all the "hairs" off.

He's not very polite about eating in front of others. 

I'm guessing there are more "hairs" on that corn now.  It was touching Cosmos during the hug.

Cosmos is still looking for his opportunity to get a bite.

Our CSA is winding down.  This is the last month.  Most of the flowers are beginning to disappear so Ryker needs a lift to cut the tall ones.  I actually went myself for the first time last week to pick up our stuff because these two were up at Lake Sammish jetskiing.  It's been a wonderful experience and we will do it again next year for sure.  I learned a lot of things from the farm and I know Ryker did too....the most recent: purple string beans and purple kale may look cool, but it's a huge disappointment when you cook them.  They just turn green.   The apple cider pressing was last weekend, but it was during Ryker's nap time and we had the Festival of Family farms to go to as well so we'll have to try and make it next year.

Anyone for a dip?

Now that Seth is home, I get to sit by the pool while he and Ryker enjoy a swim.  It's not that I don't like to swim, but I've been doing it all summer and it was nice to watch instead of being kicked in the belly and jumped on by a flying Ryker from the side of the pool.  Also, I can do without putting on my sweet maternity swim suit right now!

I wonder if Aidan could carry him if they weren't in the water?

Splish Splash

House Progress

This is Ryker's new buddy Blue.  He belongs to Dave who is working on our siding and finishing the tongue and groove under our eaves.  I think Ryker is confused by his name because he talks about him being black and calls Chacon the black dog often now.  I'm with you buddy...Who names a black dog Blue?

We're no longer the "Tyvek house".

 

I'm very pleased with the way our siding is turning out.  Dave is doing an awesome job.  He's very detail oriented and seems to be a bit of a perfectionist.  We had a bunch of old growth timber that was much darker than the rest of the siding and he matched it all up and put it on the same sides of the house.  It was the best looking stuff and most of it is on the front of the house where it will be seen the most.  I would have never even thought of that, but I'm glad he did.

Ryker talks about Dave "working" on our house all the time.  No wonder he's so facinated with him though.....look at the cool machine Dave rented.

We pulled up in the car and he couldn't stop talking about this thing.

Seth hauled dirt all weekend a couple weeks ago.  Ryker was fascinated with that as well.  He spent the day running back and forth from window to window whenever he heard him pulling in.

He was always yelling out the window at Seth, but he couldn't hear him over the truck.  His vocabulary this day basically consisted of "Dad back, Dad more dirt, Dad dump it, Dad Steve's truck, Dad's backhoe load it."  I'm pretty sure we didn't talk about anything more than that.  He was pretty focused on the job Seth was doing.

Festival of Family Farms

Hayride and tour with Liz and Colton at Hedlin farms in LaConner.  Fun fact:  We were talking about how our new baby has a good chance of hitting 10-10-10.  I knew that Colton shared a birthday with Dr. Suess, which is plenty cool, but Liz also told me that it happens to be 3-2-1-0, March 2, 2010.  Crazy.  That never dawned on me before. 

 

My camera battery died after this shot so I didn't get any of the pony ride or the zuchini car races, but Ryker loved them both.  Liz took a picture of Ryker on the pony so if I get it, I'll post it later.

After Ryker's nap we headed down to the Golden Glen Creamery.  They had a nice petting zoo with some baby calves and goats, but you had to crawl over some haybales to get in and it was packed with kids.  It was no place for a 40 week pregnant lady so I don't have pictures of that either. 

Ryker was just as excited about the big cows though. 

He was highly entertained by this cow drinking and splashing water out toward him.  It seemed like the cow was really trying to get him wet, because I've never seen a cow drink and splash the water forward as far as it was.

Sunday after he opened his birthday presents, he went to Randy's with Dad for a little football, then I picked him up for one more farm.  We went to Sakuma's, a place Ryker knows quite well as we were there about every weekend this summer getting some sort of fruit, usually strawberries.

Tractor Train ride

He played in the sandbox and tried out about every vehicle they had to ride for about an hour.  I finally lured him away with the promise of some strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  Thank goodness for free samples.  That was enough to get him back to the car without a struggle.

There were 13 farms on the tour, but we only made it to the 3 with what looked like the best kids activities.  Schuh Farms didn't make the cut only because they offer activities until Halloween, so we'll go another weekend.  Next year, maybe we'll try some of the others.   Thanks for the fun weekend Farms!