Tiptoing through the Tulips

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday so we decided to go up North about 60 miles to Mount Vernon to the Tulip Festival. Unfortunately, so did everyone else in the greater Seattle area. It took us over three hours to get there (1 1/2 of those in the last two miles) but it was worth it. There are fields and fields of all different colors of tulips. It really is pretty spectacular. Here are a few pics from our trip. Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday here in Seattle. My parents were able to come over on Wedesday and stayed until Sunday morning. It was so great to see them but I always hate when they have to leave. Knox is a happy little boy and has been keeping us very busy crawling around. He loves to "talk" and always has a lot to say. We went to church on Easter morning and Knox appeared to be giving his own sermon. Maybe we have a Pastor in the making. :)

Chase and I are both doing well and are both busy with work. I've starting training for my second half marathon that will take place the last weekend in June and then I'm going to do the Missoula half marathon in July. Knox makes a pretty good running partner so it's nice for him to get to go on some nice runs outside too. The only damper on our weekend is that Chase has shingles so is pretty uncomfortable. It seems to be a fairly mild case so hopefully he get's over it quickly. Poor guy...

Happy New Year!

I'm sorry that I've been so negligent in updating this blog. Things have been crazy and 2009 just flew by!!! I hope that everyone had a wonderful 2009 and here's to an even better 2010!

Knox is doing great! He is now rolling all over the place and has two bottom teeth coming in. He continues to be a very happy little guy and sleeps very well. Chase and I are both very thankful for this! We went to the park on Sunday with Desi and Liam and Knox LOVED the swings. We will definitely need to try that again.

Over Christmas we went back to MT. It was so nice to see all of the family but it really flew by much to fast. Knox had a stomach bug right when we got there and is such a good sharer that everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) had it by the time that we left. How nice of him to leave something to remember him by... :(

We are looking forward to visits from family and friends as the passes get better. Our winter in Seattle has been very mild so there isn't much to complain about. The sunsets every night have been gorgeous! I'm hoping that doesn't mean we will have a bad summer...

Well, that's all for now! Chase and I are still doing well and continue to be busy. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little guy!!!

Happy Baby

We are SOOOO lucky to have such a happy kid! Knox has started to giggle (I keep trying to catch it on video but he is pretty sneaky) and it is the best sound in the world! We started daycare a few weeks ago and we are still getting used to that but Knox seems to be adjusting well.

Aunt Ryan came over the weekend for a visit. It was her first time visiting Knox and they got along great! She left this morning and Knox already misses her.

Smiling Boy!

Knox turned 6 weeks last Thursday and has now started to smile. It is the best thing ever!!! We are still really enjoying him and he has been a wonderful baby. He is sleeping about 8 hours a night so hopefully that keeps up! :) At this point we aren't exactly sure how much he weighs but he has been growing like a little weed. He has his eight week appointment on July 24th so we'll see how much he's grown. I start back to work on July 27th and I'm not looking forward to having to leave my little man at all. Fortunately, we have grandparents alternating weeks to come look after Knox for the first four weeks so that should help the transition. I'm sure that Knox will be just fine, it is Mom that will struggle with the change. Other then that, we are all doing great over here!

Knox Timothy Williams is here!!!!

Knox made his grand entrance at 2:12 on May 28th, 2009 at 8 lbs 14 oz and 20 in. long. Now we know why I was so huge! :) We think that he is the cutest baby that we have ever seen! We went to the hospital on Wednesday night around 8:00 pm only to be sent home with my contractions 2-3 minutes apart. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I was up all night with the contractions and at 4:00 am Chase and I went back to the hospital and I was admitted. I got the epidural about 2 hours after we checked in and was able to nap and get some rest. At 1:30 I started pushing and he came much faster than expected. He was crowned and ready to come for about 20 minutes before the Dr. made it to the room to deliver. Fighting the urge to push through those contractions was probably the hardest part of the whole labor. It went smoothly and Knox came out screaming. What a wonderful sound!!! We were instantly head over heals in love with our little man.

We have been fortunate enough to have both Chase's and my parents over to see him. I think that it has been agreed that he is a "keeper." Will update more picures later but wanted to at least add a couple so that you can see our little guy.

Thanks for all of the well wishes! We love you all!

*** Pictures coming soon ***

Just Waiting... - 38 Weeks

Well, we have everything all set. The nursery is ready, bags packed and car seat in the car. Now we just need a baby!! :) I had my 37 week appt on Weds and I am 2-3 cm dilated and 90% effaced (was 1-2 cm dilated and 75% effaced the week before). So, it could be any time or it could be 2 1/2 weeks. We are hoping for any time as we are SOOO anxious to finally meet this little guy. Hopefully the next post will be baby pictures!!!

A COUSIN!!!!!

My sister, Abby, had her baby boy on Sunday 4/26/09. Logan Riley Hughes weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 14 oz and 22 inches long. He is a big boy and one of the cutest little guys that I've ever seen!!!! I can't wait until I get to go home and see him in person! Abby and Logan are doing well. Abby and Beau are both over the moon!
One down, one to go!!

Baby Shower - 34 weeks

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog! It has been a busy few weeks. My parents got to come to Seattle a couple of weeks ago for a few days. We had a great time even though the weather didn't cooperate as well as we would have hoped. We did get to end their trip with a nice dinner at Salty's and watch the sun set over the city while, at the same time, watching a sea gull swallow a starfish whole. I had no idea they could do that!

My baby shower was last Saturday and that went very well. My aunt Shoni and cousin Kari hosted it and my Mom was able to come back over to Seattle and help too. I think that a good time was had by all and I got a lot of great stuff! Chase and Mom and I even got to catch a great Mariners game while she was here. The only bad part was that my Mom had to go home. It was pretty hard for both of us this time as the next time that we see eachother she will be a Grandma and I will be a Mom.

My sister, Abby, called us on Friday before the shower and said that she had gone to the Dr and was 4 1/2 cm dilated! No baby yet but I'm sure that I'll have a little nephew any day now. I can't wait!!!!

Chase has been working the night shift this month so that has been a little tough. Luckily, the hospital hasn't been too crazy so he has been able to sleep quite a bit but we don't see much of eachother as I leave for work before he gets home in the morning and he leaves for work before I get home at night. I try to go to the hospital and meet him for dinner a couple of nights a week so that we can see each other.

The baby and I had a Dr. appt last week and all looks good. The "honeymoon" stage of pregnancy is definitely over and it's starting to get quite uncomfortable - for both of us I think. I can feel him trying to stretch out and I don't think that he likes that he's run out of room. We are anxiously awaiting him!

Stats for this week: Baby should be close to 5 lbs and 19 inches long. At this point he will mostly just gaining fat and not growing to much longer. My weight gain is 15 lbs.

On to the Third Trimester - 29 weeks

Well, it hasn't been too exciting around here lately (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). We are all still healthy and happy.

I have been working on the nursery and finally got all of the walls done last night so now just need to hang pictures and get a few finishing touches and it will be all ready for our little guy. Chase and I are both pretty anxious to meet him...although he does still have a couple of months of cooking in the oven left to do.

Our good friends Scott and Tierra had their THIRD little guy on Feb. 28th. Nash Everet Bierlink is doing great as well as the rest of the family. Trey is 5 now and Pierce is 1 year 9 months. They both love their little brother. I have included a picture of all of them. Pretty handsome little guys. We hope to get over to see them this weekend.

Other than that, not much happening over here. Work is still going well for both of us. I had a Dr. appt yesterday and everything is great.

Hope everyone is doing well. We miss you all!

Stats for this week: Baby should weigh around 2 1/2 lbs and be more than 15 inches from head to heel. My weight gain so far is 12 lbs.

Home Sweet Home - 26 weeks

Yay! I got to go home for what seemed like a very short weekend. We were running around a lot but I got to see a lot of family so I was VERY happy. Chase was home the entire week prior to me getting there on vacation and then had to leave on Saturday to come back to Seattle but he had a great time with his parents and skiing up at Snow Bowl. On Friday night the Mellgren's and the Williams' were able to get together for a great dinner so it was nice to see everyone at one time. Then on Saturday Abby and I went and had professional pictures taken together. It's been a pretty cool thing to be able to be pregnant at the same time as my sister. The photographer had us measure around our bellies and we are EXACTLY the same size around. CRAZY! We are carrying differently so we were both pretty surprised. On Sunday, my Aunt Renon, Uncle Tim and cousin Riley drove all the way over from Helena to see us and we had lunch. It was great to be able to see them. We had a busy schedule all weekend but had a great time.

The baby and I had a Dr. appointment last week and things are still looking great. He and I seem to both be growing at a good rate. He is more and more active all of the time and I can tell that he is starting to get a little more squished in there. Just 14 more weeks...we can't wait!

Stats for this week: Baby should weigh around 1 2/3 lbs and be about 14 inches from head to heel. My weight gain so far is 8 lbs.

Superbowl Baby! - 23 weeks

Well, it wasn't the Bears in the Superbowl but still a great game! We went over to by boss's (Jill's) house for the game. Brittney was able to come with us and I think that a good time was had by all.

Not much new going on with the baby right now and everthing seems to be going pretty well. I still feel great and he is moving around like crazy so I'm sure that he is growing healthy. Chase and I are going to go register for baby stuff this weekend so that should be fun. June will be here before we know it!

Stats: Baby should be a little over 1 lb and about 12 inches long. My tummy has grown like crazy lately!

Obama Mama - 21 weeks

Half way there!!! I'm sure that the next 19 weeks or so are going to fly by. The baby continues to be very active and, so far, everything seems to be progressing as it should be. He moves around so much that we can see my stomach moving sometimes. I'm not really sure when this little guy sleeps but I love being able to feel him and know he's there.I feel like I get bigger daily and am starting to wonder how he's going to fit in there in 4 more months but it is just all very exciting.

My friend Kristen, who had a baby in September, has graciously loaned me a significant amount of maternity clothes. What a lifesaver!! No more squishing into old pants and pulling on my shirts. Thanks Kristen!

Yesterday was the big inauguration day!!! I went to the historic Paramount theater here in Seattle to watch with a couple of people from work and it was packed full of a TON of excited people. What a cool experience!!! Chase has been working nights this week so he got off of work in time to watch. He has been very busy as usual but still finds time to ski and golf on the weekends which has been nice for him.

My parents suprised me with a trip home for the weekend of Feb 21st and I am so excited! For the first time in my life I am REALLY homesick and it will be nice to get to go home and see my family even if it is just for a weekend. Then, that will probably be the last trip back until we bring back the little guy to show him off! Can't wait for that!

Hope everyone is doing well! We miss you all tons!!!

Stats for the week: Baby is about 3/4 lb and 10 1/2 inches long (I can't believe that he's going to eventually weigh 7ish lbs!!). My weight gain is about 5 lbs from the beginning. Both of us are healthy and happy!!

It's a Boy - 19 weeks

On Dec. 30th we went in and had an ultrasound that revealed that we are having a baby boy!!! We would have taken either but are VERY excited. Chase hasn't been able to quit smiling since. I think that we are going to have a very active little guy as I can feel him moving around now. His favorite time to start going crazy is right as I lie down to go to sleep so that tends to keep me up a bit but it's hard to complain when it is such a cool feeling. Last weekend we got the crib and the new dresser set up in his room and it is beautiful. It is still a little strange to see a crib in that room but somthing that I'm sure we'll get used to.

Chase is still working hard and loving his residency at Virginia Mason. He started his Burn rotation at Harborview yesterday so that should be interesting but at least it is only for 4 weeks.

I will try and update this every couple of weeks or so or anytime that something important happens. I think that it is just a good way to keep all of our out of state family and friends up to date on all of the exciting things that are happening. Love you all!

Stats for now: Baby should be about 6 inches from head to rump and weigh around 8 1/2 oz. He is starting to get hair and develop his senses (so I'll have to start watching my mouth). My weight gain so far is about 1.4 lbs but it sure looks/feels like more! Belly picture is a little dark but you get the idea.