THIS is what a belly looks like at full-term....

...only I'm not full-term; these pics are from 36 weeks. She'll get here eventually, and hopefully I won't require a crane to get out of bed at that point!

The World Lost a Great Man

My grandfather. I wanted to include this in a separate post. He was very special to me- the sweetest, most gentle man, which isn't common in his generation. He was loving and smart and will be missed. I lived with these grandparents for awhile during my teenage years, and their home feels like home to me and always has, more than anywhere else. I'm very happy he lived such a long, good life full of love and without any real tragedy- what an awesome way to go! I love you grandpa, and I hope where you are is full of good movies and as many Trader Joe's peanut clusters as your heart desires :-)

Are we overachievers or just plain dumb?

...Because we didn't already have enough going on, we decided it might be a good idea to buy another house! (We still have the Ferndale one, but we're obviously not living in it and want one to live in!) So, this week we put in an offer on this house, expecting it to maybe take awhile to go through, but they accepted our offer the next morning and we had our inspection the next day! So, things are moving along nicely and we will hopefully be able to move in before too long (you know, to coincide with my due date ;-))The only issue is that we want them to fix a skylight that leaked a little- not sure if they'll go for that or not. The house is in Stanwood, so closer to Jeff's work, and is off I-5 at the Stanwood-Camano Island exit (10 miles north of Tulalip casino and the outlet mall). We also were pretty particular about school systems- I am a fan of public schools, and I wanted to find a good balance between a good education and being surrounded with nice, average kids- not elitist snobs or thugs. The elementary school near us is highly rated, and the entire district looks to be pretty good (which wasn't the case with some of the houses we looked at a little further south).We're pretty excited, it wasn't too difficult of a process, although the idea of owning two houses at the age of 27 does make me a little nervous- responsibilities, man. It will be nice for our kiddos to have more room to run around, this place has an acre. Now, we just have to hope that our close date isn't the same day I have the baby :-) Speaking of baby-to-be, I am 2-3 centimeters dilated,at 35 weeks, so movin' along. I also had a FABULOUS baby shower- my girlfriends are so sweet! The food was awesome and I got some adorable baby clothes and a nice homemade blankie. Thanks so much to you all, you are great friends.
Here is a picture of the house and a link to look at more pictures:






...and for more pics/info:
http://www.camanorealestate.com/real-estate/by-mls/

Nesting?

Maybe that's whats up? I've been very into making things for baby girl lately- first my mom, Jeff, and I designed a quilt for her using some of my favorite girly fabrics, and now I'm working on other little things to match- think bright pinks/reds/oranges, paisley, and polka dots :-) It's been fun! (...ok, and frustrating at times. I've had to bust out the seam ripper a time or two.) Below, a sampling of some little creations~







And I'm way excited because...I got a new sewing machine! I had one before, but this one is cooler. And, ahem, either the old one is: A. Broken, or B. I just can't figure out how to use it. Manual somehow disappeared. So, it had been a couple of years since I've used it. I've had to rely on tailors and my mama. This new one is very user-friendly though, and does some really cool stitches that will be awesome for quilting. So, does this make me old then, or merely pregnant and nesting? Who knows :-)