Hopefully the last big belly picture!

The final countdown.  The baby is due in the next week or so and we are ready!  Greg took me on a fantastic date night on Saturday to one of our favorite restaurants, Lincoln.  We are really enjoying these last few moments with just the two of us, but are anxious and excited to meet Baby Stiles.

April 27, 2009 

39+ weeks

Greg was feeling left out.  Here is his belly picture.

Big Belly

Here are 2 more belly pics.  We have about 5 weeks left and the midwife says the baby is thriving and weighs about 5 pounds.  The movements are getting much stronger and my ribs are sore.  We have fun watching it move around and try to get comfortable.  Pretty exciting!

February 8 (about 28 weeks)

March 29 (about 35 weeks)

Weekend with John and Cait

We went up to the Hood Canal this weekend to spend time with our friends John and Cait.  On Friday night we went down to The Model T for beers, fried chicken and jo-jos.  The meal was so good and greasy.  I had my first experience with pull-tabs (cheap lotto games) and we didn't win anything. 

On Saturday morning we drove over to check out Nigel and Lynn's new place on Harstine Island about an hour away from John and Cait's.  They are still building, but the view from the house is amazing.  I wish that I would have taken some pictures...

It was raining a bit when we got back, but that didn't stop us from taking a walk around the neighborhood with the dogs.  Cait and John made a delicious steak dinner complete with a spinach salad, potato soup and frites.  I was so full that I had to take breaks between courses and lay on the couch!

It was a fantastic weekend and a great way to finish-up Spring Break.  

Thanks John and Cait!!!!

View from John and Cait's deck

The sun was shining this morning!

Pema and Greg - lazy Sunday morning

Pregnant Ladies

Several months ago my friend, Kendall, invited me to join a pregnant ladies night out group.  Our first meeting included just four of us.  Since then, it has "blossomed" into a group of 8 women (and one baby).  The last time we met (February 18) was a few days before Joanna had her baby.  Here we all are, in order of due date.  It's great to share stories and laughs with all of these ladies!  We will be converting to the sexy mama's night out group by mid-June when all of the babies are here!  All of the women are 2nd time moms - except for me.  Talk about a wealth of knowledge, support, and a ready-made play group!

Joanna, Julie, Caty, Liz, Tracy, me, Kendall, and Alia

Beach Auction

Last Saturday Greg and I went to the Beach School Auction. Parents, teachers, and friends raised nearly $30,000 for art and other necesities at our school. My amazing husband bid on a 5-hour house cleaning during the silent auction and we won. HOORAY! That will come in handy sometime over the next few months.

A special thanks to our friend Chris who took pictures at the event. He donated his time and the photos look fantastic.

Here we are enjoying ourselves before dinner. The kids from school who volunteered to serve appetizers told me I looked really good; they are NOT used to seeing me with make-up and jewelry!

Where Did February Go?

I am in awe of the fact that today is February 27th. Time is going by too fast and I wish that things would slow down - just a little. Baby Stiles will make its debut in about two months; I only have seven weeks left with students. I'm glad about that, but it's also bittersweet. My 8th grade dual-language students are so amazing. Yesterday they had me cracking up about a million different things. They are so clever, mature, and creative. One of my students got really serious yesterday and said, "Mrs. Stiles, you are still going to come to our graduation aren't you?" Of course! How could I miss it? I'm so proud of them all and hope that they find great success in life. They all face so many obstacles everyday. Most come from very low-income families, many are not legal residents, their parents work extremely hard and are often not around. However, these students persevere. They ask questions, they motivate each other, they push me to be prepared and ready to challenge them. It is an extraordinary class and I will miss them terribly; I've been lucky to have been their teacher for the last two years.

In other news, Greg turns 35 in a few days. He's going to celebrate by going to state finals with the high school snowboarding team he coaches. He'll be up at the mountain next week from Thursday to Sunday staying in a condo with a couple of the other coaches. I'll join him on Saturday. No snowboarding for me, but it will be fun to be in the snow and hang out in Government Camp.

March promises to be a great month. More snow for Greg, time with friends at their cabin over Spring Break, taking in the show Wicked with my niece Megan, dinners with friends, and hopefully a bit more sunshine. I've been bad at taking photos this month to share with you all. Hopefully I do better next month!

Belly Pics

Okay.  I have to say that I am not super stoked to share these belly pics, but many of you who are far away have been asking for them.  So here they are.  Baby Stiles is growing - a lot.  My midwife told me at the last appointment that the baby is "measuring large". Oh brother...

December 30, 2008

22 Weeks

January 11, 2009

24 Weeks

It just seemed to pop-out over a two week period and continues to grow at what feels like an alarming rate.  It's getting hard to tie my shoes and I've lost visual contact with the lower half of my body.  I am now in the middle of my 26th week which means we have less than 100 days until B-day.  Hooray!