Five Five oh me oh my!

A while ago, I saw this cute picture on Pinterest and thought it would make a nice present for Evan for our FIFTH anniversary to go along with my other present for him. As our anniversary neared, I got back on the computer and found the image is screenprinted onto really nice paper (paper is made of wood right?) and realized the artist was here in Portland, so it wouldn't take long in the mail to get me.

Here is the picture on Pinterest (click the picture to be directed to the Esty site)

I hung the picture up the week of our anniversary upstairs in our hallway. I wanted to see how long it would take Evan to notice a once blank frame was now full. Well, it only took one full day and that night as he came up the stairs to go to bed he said, "Hey, when did that get up there?"

I said, "Happy Anniversary!"

Here is the picture actually in the frame in our hallway.

I also gave Evan his other present early, as I couldn't wait any longer and wanted his input before it was finalized. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have been working on something for Evan while home on maternity leave. Well, it is our wedding video! I finally had the footage taken off the Hi8 tapes (so old school now) and put onto a DVD. I am still so excited!

Right after Courtney got married, she showed us her wedding video that she had a school teacher at Hudson's Bay High School put together for her. Courtney had Garrett's cousin film it, but Karina edited it and put it on DVD with music. I can't remember how Courtney got connected up with her, but I liked what she did for Court, so got in touch with her.

The initial meeting with Karina was interesting, as I met her at the school with Conrad after picking up my bridesmaid's dress for Ashley's wedding. I pulled into the parking lot, changed and nursed Conrad in my car and then got him to sleep in my Ergo carrier and waited in the office for her to meet me. We visited for a bit and I gave her all my cameras and tapes, but basically ran out on her, barely saying good-bye, as Conrad started crying kind of loudly in the school's office and I didn't want to disrupt anyone!

Anyway, after corresponding through emails, Facebook, viewing snipets on-line, and taking a few drafts home to watch—the entire video is complete! She put the prewedding, ceremony, reception footage all on the DVD, plus, a highlight clip of the entire day. Click this link to view the highlight video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/uecSdJiQViw

So while I am on the topic of presents, and before I share what we did on our actual anniversary, I will share what Judy and Jim gave us and what Kelsey and Chris gave us.

When Judy and Jim came to visit recently, Judy walked in with a chair and said, "Happy Anniversary!"

Judy decided to give us a family heirloom that was originally her grandma's. The chair has a great story where it is the only surviving piece left from a full dining set. During the depression, Judy's grandma had to burn almost the entire set for firewood. She only kept this chair. Eventually, the chair made it to Judy's dad who recovered the seat.

Love the leather imprint, especially the fleur de lis

We feel very lucky to be the new caretakers of this precious family heirloom!

Kelsey also gave us a fun "wood" present. A wall sign (she wrote a special message on the back) for Evan and I. It took me a while to find the right spot for it (and Kelsey said, "I am sorry for another thing to hang on your wall!"), but it really compliments a new arrangement in our bedroom that I will share later.

When she saw it hanging in our bedroom, she said, "You can take the ribbon off." Well, as you can see, I still haven't.

Our anniversary was on a Saturday this year, so it made it a little easier to do something on the day of and make it an all day thing. Originally, we talked about trying to get away to Leavenworth (we both haven't been there) or the beach, but the long car trip and pricey hotels, weren't something we wanted to do right now with Conrad.

All three of us ended up just getting in the car and letting the road lead us (lead us to a point, as I was still on my cell phone looking up places and recommendations).

We stopped at a restaurant in Hillsboro, OR called Reedville Cafe. When we walked in, there were all kinds of old photos and prints of old newspapers on the walls of the restaurant. Turns out the Reedville Cafe originally opened in 1934 as the Shack Tavern. According to their website, as a tavern, it was a place to stop for some good conversation over a favorite brew. In 1950, Al and Polly Van Bevern bought the business and it has been in their family ever since. The restaurant changed its name to Reedville Cafe in 1990.

The food was okay. We had breakfast/brunch and it seemed to taste very common, like other breakfast and food plates in the area. Nothing stood out to us of being unique to this establishment. However, we did learn that Reedville, OR was established (by the man who Reed College is named after) as its own city it the late 1800s with the post office being operated from 1877 to 1954. Since it is between Hillsboro and Aloha, parts of Reedville became annexed into Hillsboro forcing some of the streets to be renamed with a Hillsboro address, leaving Reedville an unincorporated town. The train tracks that run along TV Hwy, still has the Reedville sign as the stop on them.

While sitting at breakfast, I did find an article about the oldest know home in Washington County and it is still in Reedville. We followed directions, based on the article, and found the run down house among newer homes in a neighborhood.

The late owner wished for her house to be turned into a museum, but because the home is in unincorporated Reedville, the city (specifically Parks and Recreation) can't operated it as a museum unless it annexes the property and that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Click on the picture above to read the entire article.

Once we left the home, we drove around all the winding roads in the country, at times losing cell service, while Conrad napped the entire time. We stopped at a few antique stores to pick up an old camera case, wooden bowling pins, and a vintage GE oscillating fan. While out, we made plans with my mom to meet us at our house, so she could watch Conrad the rest of the night and we could go see a movie.

We went and saw the Seven Psychopaths, which is actually a comedy. It was really good and afterwards, we went to McMenamins on the water for dessert and a drink. My mom and Conrad had a good night, she just knows exactly what he needs!

Once we got home, my mom took a couple of photos for us, so we had least had one from our fifth anniversary!

Evan's Classic Car—the N600

At the end of June, Evan hunted down a find that he had been searching for for a while. He really really wanted the original car Honda manufactured starting in 1967—the N600. Basically it was their small motorcycle engine, put into a car.

After talking with folks in California and surrounding areas, he found one right in our backyard—La Center. The seller used it as his daily driver and even would tout his son around. Evan was so excited and being the dreamer he is, came up with all kinds of ideas like taking it down to Cruise the Gut in 2014, driving Conrad around in it, entering it into the Hazel Dell parade, using at a shop car to gain attention, etc.

How cute is Bear in the back?

To help show a better perspective how how small this car is, here it is next to the CRV.

 Look how close together the pedals are!

Evan kept the car at the shop and slowly stared working on it. He put the side mirrors back in the original spots, smoothed out the scratches and dents, reupholstered the inside panels, and painted the body. He was excited about the paint job, not only because it was back to one of the original colors, but this was his first real strong attempt at painting a car.

Evan told me the paint job wasn't perfect, as it look a little like an orange peel, but I thought it looked a lot better. Plus, he did it right taking off all the doors and doing the door jams, doing the inside of the hood, and the other inside pieces that are "hidden" by hoods, doors, or trunks.

Once he finished the paint job, he got the car all put back together.

I really like the color and think the car looks so much better than when Evan bought it. Like most car lovers though, Evan now fulfilled a dream and was looking to sell the car for a new project. He posted the car up on several websites, but didn't get any serious bites for a while.

It worked out for my friend Lisa though; her son loves cars and and so we got him all excited to see a very special Honda. When he came to the shop, he loved looking at Evan's car magazines, opening the doors of the S2000 toy car, pointed and walked around the Honda Civic Evan was working on, but he wasn't too sure about the N600. I don't think he quite grasped the cool/rare factor of the car yet.

Right after their visit, Evan sold the car to someone who knows and appreciates N600s. Oh no, that means something else is next though!

Two Months!

Happy Two Months Conrad!

For your two month birthday, I will promise I will talk to you about respecting your and others' bodies; especially when in a relationship. As we will want you to be careful about giving something away, you can't get back.

My how Conrad's looks have changed! Here are some other thoughts as we reach two months:

*Loves to smile
*Been trying to laugh, comes out as little grunts. **UPDATE: a few days after turning two months he laughed out loud at Evan during lunch!
*Not sleeping through the night, but only gets up once or twice
*Loves being outside whether going for walks or just laying outside
*Likes to be held, doesn't like to be on his back, in a swing, or in his carseat (when not in the car) too long

Weight = 13lb 7.8 oz (85.3%) , length 23.25" (60.2%) and head 15.35" (24.8%)

While Evan and I were getting ready, I set Conrad down on our bed surrounded by the duvet comforter. I turned around and he had fallen asleep.

Had a dentist appointment, while I got ready, he gazed and smiled up at his toys. Great Aunt Linda (and Kristin) watched him for me during my appointment.

Conrad enjoying the fall leaves with Great Aunt Kelly. Kelly offered to watch him for a few hours, so I could run some errands. So thoughtful!

I have shared with a few family members that there are those babies who fall asleep in their carseat and can stay asleep when kept in the seat and brought inside the house, a restaurant, to the stroller, etc. Conrad is NOT one of those babies. He is up as soon as the carseat is removed from the car.

We are so blessed as more than a few times Conrad has displayed be a pretty flexible baby. He is happy most of the day and the only cries when he needs something, which is pretty easy to figure out. The times his cries have lasted a while have been for some pretty nasty gas bubbles that can't work their way out. He is so happy in the mornings and when he wakes up from naps, so Evan tries to be the first one to be there to say hello or good morning to him.

Still love that face when he cries. Looks exactly the same as it did when he was born.

The Explosive and the Bee

**Warning this blog posting involves poo talk. If that makes your nauseous, please skip!**

Once Conrad turned about five weeks old, I woke up in the middle of the night to change his diaper like I always do. To my surprise, the diaper didn't have poo in it, and neither did the next one. This meant we had hit a new milestone of not every diaper will have poo and he can go a couple of days without pooing. This is normal for babies when being fed breastmilk.

Now we were in a gambling game. We started stuffing the diaper bag with extra diapers and clothing, just for those times when there was some leakage. Usually, we knew it was coming when it had been a couple of days and Conrad would make some definite grunting noises.

Today, Conrad and I met Evan for lunch at Don Pedro. I had warned Evan that might poo was a possibility as it had been a couple of days. I brought the diaper bag inside the restaurant and we sat at one of the tables taking turns holding Conrad while the other ate. Then we heard some quiet grunts and Evan said, "You are going to need to go home soon, he is probably going to the bathroom." I replied that I would, but would run by Starbucks first. Well, as the words were coming out of my mouth, poo started running down Conrad onto Evan's lap then onto the booth!

This are pictures similar, but not the exact day. It was worse since Conrad had a disposable on.

Oh man! I had Conrad in a disposable diaper, so that diaper barely kept anything in it. It was everywhere. I quickly handed Evan my nursing cover and he wrapped Conrad in it and I took him outside to clean him up in the back of my car. Evan ran to the bathroom to cleanup his pants and the booth.

I was outside with Conrad trying to wipe him down and throwing anything that had poo on it onto the ground, so I could then put it all in a plastic bag at one time. Evan came outside and his clothes looked horrible, he asked if I was okay and had things under control as he needed to go home to change his clothes. I told him to go and we wouldn't be far behind. Just as he pulled away, I felt this pinch on the back part of my upper thigh.

At first I ignored it as I chalked it up to one of the retail store plastic tags still wedged in my clothing, but then the pain didn't go away or move around as I moved; it remained in one place and really hurt. I lifted up my dress and spotted a yellow jacket just chillin on my thigh! Ouch! I felt a rush of adrenaline as I worried there were more around us or would be more coming, so quickly checked Conrad, threw things in my car, got Conrad strapped in his carseat (all while saying, "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch, let's go home Conrad."), and drove away. As I drove away, I spotted some guys sitting in their truck, which was facing me, so I am sure they got a good show.

Crazy crazy, what a day, I can't remember the last time I got stung, but at least Conrad was safe!

Good-bye Chair, Hello Pergola

Conrad is now eight weeks old and true delight. One morning, as Conrad and I woke up Evan, Conrad was extra happy. We sat him down in my nursing station/anti-gravity chair in our room and he was full of smiles for us. To this date, this is one of my favorite pictures of him.

My little love. 

Now that Conrad is almost two months old, he doesn't wake up as much in the night as he used to. So I felt that when he woke I could get him out of his cosleeper, change his diaper, nurse him in my bed, and place him back down to sleep. This means it is time to say good-bye to my make shift nursing station.

The corner of our bedroom had been empty since Judy painted and Evan installed new carpet. The first night we brought Conrad home from the hospital, Evan and Judy put together this station using Evan's "awesome push present assistant" (the anti-gravity chair) gift, a blanket folded up to sit on, pillows for back and arm support, and a cup holder for my water.

While taking down and putting everything away, I did get a little sentimental and choked up that this moment in our lives has passed and is over.

Evan came home from work one day this week, all excited about building a pergola on our back patio. He only gave me a couple of nights to think about it while he obessively searched the internet for pictures for images of ones he liked, drove around neighborhoods looking how others had done it, and basically gave me a sales pitch on how much it would cost. He really didn't give me room to say no and I secretly had been wanting something like this since I saw how Kaaren's in-laws' pergola was built on their back patio. I just never wanted to ask/nag/bring it up to Evan.

First Evan had to take down the retractable awning and cap off the power. We still need to place the awning on Craigslist to sell.

Don't have a truck right now, but the CRV works great!

Evan ensured me that he could do most of it by himself, which was good, as I knew that there wouldn't be much time for me to help him with needing to tend and watch Conrad. I tried to help by mowing the lawn while Conrad was sleeping. Turns out it took me about nine hours to mow the backyard since Conrad was having a tough time sleeping during all the pounding!

Luckily, Kelsey wanted to come spend the day with us, so she got roped into holding a broom straight and level while Evan connected some of the joists together. Sorry Kels!

The next weekend, Evan finished adding the slats and the side braces, so that it was sturdy and wouldn't go anywhere if a big storm ever hit.

The third weekend Evan and Jim quickly stained most of the exposed wood to protect it this fall and winter and put on a waterproof plastic roof (if Evan did this project again, he would do the roof slightly different). Evan added some temporary lights and we will add some permanent lights and some curtains this spring or summer.

View of the pergola from the neighborhood behind us.

I think pergola really looks great and has transformed our backyard and patio. We have already discussed that we can't wait to have Conrad's 1st birthday back there this summer!

Ashley's Wedding Weekend

On Valentine's Day, Ashley and Erich called Evan and how the conversation was going I mouthed, "they got engaged." Sure enough I was right! After a lot discussing of site locations, Judy and Ashley visiting a few sites, Jim and Judy visiting a church, more discussing, budgeting and stressing; a date, a church, and a reception site were chosen. Ashley and Erich sent out an electronic Save the Date to everyone's email addresses.

 Since it was electronic, I could only save one of the Save the Date's images.

Planning was definitely under way! I saw a lot of "Pins" on Ashely's and Judy's Pinterest accounts with wedding ideas. We could all see what ideas were forming, so this is how I was able to put together a few "bride-to-be" gifts mentioned here.

Ashley was visiting for the weekend when she handed me a paper with a picture of us (and Ella) and a poem. It was decorated with book pages and a burlap ribbon (going to be some of the wedding decor themes).

Of course I accepted and told her I would do my best to be a part of what I could, as some things might fall around the birth of the baby or right after the baby would be born, so I wouldn't be able to participate with those. She and Judy told me that it didn't matter, all that mattered was getting me to the church and being able walk down the aisle.

Next to arrive was the masterly crafted wedding invitations. Judy and Karin worked very very hard on them putting in a lot of woman hours.

Return address label wrapped around to the back of the envelope. Nice touch!

 Conrad (Baby Herling) was included on the invite too!

Burlap wrapped invite with a tag reading, "Home is wherever I'm with you."

Thursday before the wedding I, of course, started a last minute project. Earlier Sara had sent me an email about a cute shirt on Esty as a possibility for me to purchase for Conrad to wear to the wedding. It was a onesie that had a mock tie and vest sewn on. Not wanting to pay $35 for it, I thought, "I can make this." I pulled out one of Conrad's current onesies, some material, and buttons that I already had in my craft stuff. The material I planned to use would make it look a little Northwesty vs. wedding formal.

Observing my project and peering over my shoulder was Evan. Before long, Evan was adding his own opinion here and there. Then, he slowly started doing most of the work...

Cutting and placing the iron-on transfer.

Getting ready to iron the left vest panel.

Conrad in his getup at the reception.

Look at that cute faux pocket! This picture was a couple of weeks after the wedding.

It was a late night, but we finished the shirt and we were just about ready for Seattle. The next morning, I packed up the car while Evan went and wrapped up a few things at work. By noon we were off -- hoping we had timed the car ride being around the time Conrad was ready to snooze.

And it worked for the most part. It got a little tense as we entered Seattle, as Conrad was ready to wake up, get changed and eat, but we hit traffic. Without traffic we should have been only 10 min away, so I didn't want to stop in Seattle for 40 min, just to get back into traffic. We rode it out and Conrad was okay, but I warned Evan that as soon as we got inside, I should change and feed him. Evan was just too excited to be there and be able to see everyone (AKA show Conrad off) to pause for a moment. Sure enough the first person that held Conrad, he started crying...loudly. Once Conrad was ready to be held and passed around, boy, was he ever.

The family BBQ was originally planned to be held at a park, but friends of Uncle Michael and Carol's were out of town and offered to have the family at their house. It really worked out well allowing for people to stay later, having an accessible clean bathroom, a private office to do my thing with Conrad, and a good staging area for pictures.

Evan's cousin Colleen and her three kids visiting from Turlock, CA.

As the night wrapped up, we made sure to capture some family photos.

The Kane side of the family. Cousins, Judy (Kane) Herling, Michael Kane, and Linda (Kane) Terpak with all their kids and spouses.

The Kane families and the Herling families. There was some other family that came up for the wedding, but hadn't arrived yet for the BBQ.

After the BBQ, we drove just a little further north to our friends Zach and Tricia's house. We opened the Pack 'n Play (like a play pin for you old timers) in their family room, so Conrad could snooze while we visited. After a bit, I headed up to bed while Evan slept on the couch waiting for Conrad to wake up. Once he did, Evan brought Conrad to me, I nursed him while Evan brought up the Pack 'n Play to our room. Let me tell you, that was a sight watching Evan (quietly) try to maneuver the assembled Pack 'n Play up the stairs and through the doorway, not wanting to break it down!

The next morning, we ate breakfast, got ready, packed up, and visited, but all Tricia wanted to do was snuggle with Conrad while he slept. He stayed with her for most of the late morning into the early afternoon!

We left the Thompsens and met Jim at the house they rented for the weekend. We unloaded the car and walked down the street to a local coffee shop to grab a small bite. We then headed back to the house, changed, and went to the church for the rehearsal.

Evan mentioned that this was a good age to be introducing Conrad to new people as he was starting to show some interaction, smiles, and some coos and ahhhs. 

 Conrad and Papa talking with one another. Jim is probably singing, "I've been working on the railroad."

After the rehearsal, we made our way up to Ballard for the Rehearsal Dinner which was a nice home cooked dinner by Erich's parents. Erich's dad prepped and cooked a lot of white salmon (he works in the seafood industry, so it was best of the best) in the Traeger. Man, it was so good!

Anita and Justin at the Rehearsal Dinner.

After the yummy dinner, guests found their way to the desserts which were Samoa like cupcakes (amazing) that Anita made. Anita brought some of her baking instruments on the plane with her from California and made the cupcakes at her brother's apartment! Wow! Talk about love!

Karin brought her cupcake stand from Spokane to Seattle for Anita to use!

The sheet music and the heart with A+E gave it a nice touch.

There's that "Home is wherever I'm with you" tag. The groomen's gifts wrapped in kraft paper, burlap, and jute.

Ashley also gave one of a kind gifts to Erich's mom, Jim, and Judy. I thought the hankies were a great idea and something I hadn't seen before.

Morning of weddings are always busy and Ashley's was no exception. Conrad, Judy, and I were up early and before long Judy was out the door to go to the hotel to meet up with Ashley to get hair and makeup done. There were friends and family scattered all across Seattle helping set up the reception and wedding sites, with Jim and Evan running errands (and to locate where Jim had left his dress shoes) and family around. 

Sara, Courtney and Garrett, who brought Bear up with them, all arrived early. Courtney did my hair and then headed off to lunch with our third cousin Nolan. Evan took Sara, Conrad, and I to the hotel (he came in and visited for a bit) to get my makeup done. The hotel was where the rest of the bridesmaids, Judy, Ashley, Aunt Carol, and Erich's mom were already getting ready.

Jared and Ella looking all the way down to the city floor.

They gal had Ashley, Karin, and Amy completed and some gals' hair curled, but she was running really behind. To help keep on schedule, Judy stopped getting herself ready (and ended up being the last one done) to help Ashley get into her dress and get to the church to meet Erich for their first look.

 Jim and Amy brought Ashley to Greenlake (Jim wearing his nephew Davis' spare shoes) to meet Erich waiting on the lake's dock. Then it was time for Ashley and Erich to see one another, little did they know we were starting to panic about getting everyone else ready and to the church on time!

Sara, Evan, Conrad, and I made it back to house to finish getting ready. Kelsey met us there with fake eyelashes and bobby pins. She helped touch up my makeup, put on my eyelashes, and get us out the door before she and Chris got ready for the wedding. Since we were late getting back to the house and needed time to finish getting ready, we missed most of the bridemaids and groomsmen photos, but made it in time for the wedding party and family photos.

I got worried for how the rest of the day would go since Conrad only took one am nap at the house, took a mini nap on the way to the hotel, was up during the entire time at the hotel, and took a mini nap on the way back to the house. I shouldn't have worried as while taking photos and being held by Sara, he fell into a deep sleep.

Yes, Conrad is missing. Since he was finally sleeping with Sara, Evan said, "He is happy and sleeping, let's not disturb him."

Guests were greeted to the beautiful church by Mason jars filled with gorgeous flowers hanging on Shepard's hooks.

Jim's ladder with galvanized pots with green plants.

There were also many other beautiful decorations throughout the church, I wish I could have had the time to capture them all, but being in the wedding party with a newborn made it tough!

Wedding programs, the cover page is sheet music. Great idea!

 

 

My grandma pointing to Conrad's name!

 

 Ashley and our bouquets.

 

Ella's flower girl bucket.

Definitely not a great shot, but lavender in sheet music cones lined the aisle.

   

It wasn't decided upon until the last minute, but Conrad was up and ready to walk down the aisle with me and his bawling daddy. And we were the first down the aisle. Nice tone we set right?!

Conrad came down the aisle with us, pacificer and all! Sara met us at the front of the church to take Conrad up into the crying room.

Here is a close up of Conrad's Ring Bearer pillow that Judy made:

A close up of Conrad in his Ring Bearer shirt/tux that Judy ordered for him.

Evan getting emotional watching Ashley coming down the aisle.

I love watching the groom's face as they watch their bride come down the aisle.

Erich was emotional too, reminded me a lot of Evan on our wedding day.

Now husband and wife, very sweet moment.

We all left Green Lake Church and made our way to South Seattle for the reception. It looked amazing inside and many people mentioned how great it looked and how wonderful the food was.

Some of the lanterns from our wedding were used!

 

For a guest book, guests were asked to sign a wine cork and find a word in the dictionary to write their name next to. Now I can't remember the word we chose!

Fun photobooth! Our first wedding photobooth picture with Conrad to add to our growing collection of photobooth pictures from weddings!

Snack bag for the trail mix bar...so Ashley, she loves her trailmix!

Just as the music started I was able to get one dance in with Conrad to

Then Evan graciously took Conrad out into the Library space, where it was a lot quieter and so I could dance with my sisters, Evan's family, and the bridesmaids.

Evan was out there for a long time, visiting with people and taking care of Conrad. Conrad really was such a trooper the entire day! Evan would come find me when Conrad needed something and to change his clothes. Then he found a leather chair to lounge in, so Conrad could fall asleep. One of the other bridesmaids' hubby and their 10 week old, Jace, joined Evan too.

Kelsey, Chris, Courtney and Garrett stayed for a long time before they all drove back to Vancouver/Portland as almost everyone had to work the next day. My dad did drive up and called me when he arrived, but didn't show up to the church. We tried calling and calling him before and after the ceremony to see if he was meeting us at the reception, but no answer (he finally called the next day indicating he couldn't find parking close enough to the church to walk).

Family photo had to be taken while Conrad slept. 

 

 

Ashley with her cousins (and Conrad)!

Conrad didn't wake up for the end of the night photos, even when be passed from Evan to Ashley! Pooped baby!

Monday morning we drove home and Conrad was tired and was up more than usual during the night on Monday and Tuesday, but we made it through the busy weekend!

Bear and Conrad napping together; this was the last time Conrad slept on the couch for his nap.

Seven weeks old!