Deerfield TV

Sean and I received a FlipVideo device for Christmas. It is a really fun little gadget that lets us take video galore. We were tipped off to open it Christmas Eve, so we got a lot of video Christmas morning and I haven't been able to stop shooting everything since. Of course, now I have to figure out what to do with all that video. The capabilities of the software allow for editing and grabbing snapshots off of the video taken. I am still very much in the early part of the learning curve, but I see a ton of potential. As soon as I figure out how to, I will be posting videos on the blog from time to time. Currently, I have established a channel through FlipShare that allows me to share the videos with anyone I choose. I believe they send out an email when I upload videos to the channel. I am currently uploading some Christmas Day videos, although I haven't done any editing of them and we were just learning how to do it. So, if you would like your inbox inundated with "Deerfield TV," just let me know and I will include your email in the share list!

A Very Merry Christmas, Indeed!

We had a most fabulous Christmas this year. Despite being run down with colds, we embraced the day and had a blast. Finn's enthusiasm was such a magical thing to experience. He didn't understand what would happen on Christmas morning, but the minute we brought him into the living room and showed him that Santa had come, he was ecstatic. His eyes could not have gotten any bigger as he exclaimed over all the presents that had arrived in the night. And, he happily delved into opening them all:



Once presents were done, we enjoyed our tradition of Pulla (a Finnish cardamom bread) and orange butter, yum!

Then, we headed over to Finn's Nana and Papa's house to continue the festivities. Here are all the cousins heaped around the Christmas tree:

And the whole family gathered:

Then, we finished off the day with some chocolate pie!

Christmas Crafts

Finn and I have been pretty laid out with sickness over the past couple of weeks, but we have found some time to get a little crafty. First, there was a mom's group party where the kiddos decorated ornaments:


Then, Finn did some photo frame painting one day when we were house- and pajama-bound due to the crud. He really loved this project and I am sad I haven't gotten into painting with him sooner. It was a lot of fun to watch him pick out the colors and experiment with the brush:

21 Weeks

We have passed the halfway point! Here is the latest belly photo. You will notice, I am wearing the exact outfit I was wearing in the 19 week shot. I would like to say it was for comparative purposes, but I have about 2 favorite outfits that I am constantly in at this point. I was lucky enough to get a ton of hand-me-down clothes, but it is amazing how only a few things seem to fit right. Added to that, I am pregnant in winter instead of summer this time around. Now, everyone will tell you that winter is much better: you don't have to contend with the heat. But, for clothes, summer is most certainly better for cute maternity clothes. Right now I want to wear a bunch of layers, but I only have a few warm things and in the end I just feel like a yeti. I guess you can't win. The belly is becoming more noticeable, but I am still straddling that look of pregnant versus too many christmas cookies (of which I really have had too many! Another downside to pregnancy during the winter...I can't enjoy any spirits so I turn to the darn cookies). Other than that, I am just cruising right along. Peapod is becoming more and more active, trying out acrobatic moves which feel very funny.

Finn is trying to figure out why we do these belly pictures all the time now. He is more than happy to show off his too:

Peapod Pictures!

We got our first glimpse of the little peapod today. Sean and Finn and I all went so it was a little crazy, but fun. The little baby is measuring right on schedule for the May 1st due date. S/he is estimated to weigh around 12 oz., which is right on average for this time. Looks like there is a 3-vessel cord this time around which is nice! The ultrasound tech was really quiet about everything, but I did see a beautiful four-chamber heart beating away. The little one was really active so I got to see limbs moving everywhere and feel it too. Apparently, I have an anterior placenta which means that sometimes movement is more difficult to feel, but this kiddo has some strength and I feel a lot just fine. S/he is in a transverse position with head on my left side and feet on the right. We remained strong in our goal of keeping the sex a secret until delivery. The tech turned the screen away when she was doing the leg measurements and kept everything hidden. At one point, she mentioned that she was right between the legs and I had a sudden urge to just find out, but it passed and I am excited for the big reveal on his or her birthday. Here are two profile pictures. They were a little stingy on pictures as I remember in Ohio, we got a ton of them with Finn with feet and hands, etc., but still we can see one thing is for certain, the kid is already a cute one!

Discovery Stop

There is an indoor playground that we like to go to when the weather gets chilly called the Discovery Stop. It has a variety of stations with different toys and games to play and a large padded climbing area. Finn enjoyed it last year, but this year he is able to explore everything much more.

First off, he found a motorcycle. He is obsessed with motorcycles these days and he had a blast riding on this one:


And, his other new love, trains:

Here he is going all through the padded playground:

19 Weeks

Well this picture was taken at 19 weeks and I am just behind on the post. The belly is definitely evident at this point and if you go back and peruse the pictures from Finn, it is definitely bigger this time around than last time at 19 weeks.

Let's see, pregnancy news:

Movement - just this morning, I was resting my hands on my belly and I swear I felt Peapod kick from the outside. It was definitely just the right quiet moment, but I imagine it will become more common and I am excited that Sean may be able to feel it soon.

Food - I love food when I am not pregnant, so when I am pregnant, I really really love food. I got no nausea or food adversions this time around and everything just tastes wonderful. With Finn, I was all about sweets. I wanted sweets all the time. This time, I have been much more about savory stuff. I have been a big carnivore lately, which isn't really like me. I also cannot get enough hummus. And it can't be homemade either, I want the super creamy store bought stuff (weird, I know). During the first trimester, I also craved submarine sandwiches, usually around 10pm. I never satisfied that one at the time, but I think I was just always so hungry and that was the biggest thing I could think of. One day, I did go get a sub chock full of all sorts of wonderful pickled items. It was great at the time, but luckily I am off that kick. Just this week, I got my first, oh-my-goodness-I-MUST-have-this-RIGHTNOW! craving. Of all things, it was a root beer float?!? Seriously, I probably haven't had one since I was twelve! But I was sitting by the fire and the urge overtook me. Thankfully, Sean came home the next day with root beer and vanilla ice cream and it was heavenly! I am now over that too. Other than that, I have been doing pretty well with eating good healthy foods and I am so thankful we did the winter CSA to keep the veggies coming.

Aches and Pains - This time is very much taking its toll on my body in ways I never experienced with Finn. I am tired much more this time. I keep waiting for that 2nd tri burst of energy, but it is just not happening. I also already have some sore back pains in the evening. And, I have some weird pelvis pain in my right side that makes me feel like my right leg might fall off at any moment. It tugs and pulls with every move. I am not sure if I pulled a muscle or if it is just the effects of that wonderful hormone, relaxin. I still go for 2-3 mile walks almost daily, but any kind of running is out of the question. I keep thinking I need to integrate some yoga and some strength training into my routine, but given my first complaint of tiredness, I have resorted to laziness at night. Isn't lifting an almost 30lb toddler throughout the day strength training?

Hormones - I am so emotional. I got almost weepy the other night when I saw a pacific life commercial where the mama whale lifts the baby whale up to the surface of the water for its first breath! Oh, boy!

We are anxious for the big 20 week appointment next Wednesday. It is picture day for Peapod and then we get to go to the checkup with my favorite midwife. I am really excited to see Peapod. I am much more aware of all that can go wrong this time and I can't wait to see 10 fingers and toes and good healthy organs to put my mind at ease. I have had some panic attacks that we will get there and horrible things will happen (hopefully, I can also chalk that up to hormones). Well, until then, this has been the Peapod update :)

Trim the Tree

Finn's excitement in decorating the tree was absolutely wonderful. The lights were complete magic, each ornament was new and wonderful. He had a blast and his spirit was infectious. Kids at Christmas are the best thing. Now that we have decorated, every so often, he will want to run to the living room to "check the christmas tree" and every morning the first thing he asks about when he wakes up is the tree. We go in an turn on the lights with applause. It is pure and utter joy!

On a Christmas Tree Hunt

This year we decided to go for the full adventure of finding our perfect Christmas tree in the White Mountains. I have such fond memories of chopping our tree in the Rockies growing up and I am so please NH has a program to do the same. Last Saturday, we bundled up and headed north. We stopped at the visitor's center to get our permit. The guy who sold it to us was less than helpful in directing us to a cutting spot, so we had to wing it. We found a wilderness trail and followed that until we came to an old logging road. It was chilly, but there was no snow. It was a nice day to be out walking and Finn and Lily enjoyed it a lot.

We were starting to get nervous when all we saw were hardwoods, until we came to a bit of a clearing and things started to look promising:

And then we found the cutest little black spruce, the perfect size for our home:

Sean cut it down and we were off:

Finn very much wanted to help carry the tree out:
Ah, here is the best way:

Reflections on Breast Feeding

Well, after 2 years and about 2 weeks, Finn has self-weaned. It was such an easy and natural transition that I didn't realize it happened until I was thinking today that I couldn't remember the last time Finn asked to nurse. This has been such an amazing experience we have shared, and I am sad that it has come to an end. I am so very happy we made it through the initial challenges and that we made it to my minimum goal of 2 years. I suspect his weaning does have a lot to do with the changes in my breast milk due to the pregnancy. A couple of weeks ago, he would ask to nurse, but would latch off within seconds. My midwife said it is very common beginning around 16 weeks in a pregnancy, which fits this time frame. I am partially sad to think that it is the diverting of resources to his sibling which has led to his weaning, but I know that I can offer comfort in many other ways and we have a good, strong, attached relationship. Today, I came across this youtube video, Reflections on Breast Feeding, which is what got me thinking about this post. I have watched it twice and bawl each time. It is beautiful and sums up a lot of the feelings I have experienced on this journey.

Homemade pasta

Finn loves to help in the kitchen, and I really hope it is something he will always enjoy. The other day, we tried our hand at homemade pasta. It is really fun because you mound up the flour and crack and egg in the center and stir. Finn thought it was great. It turned into a big mess, but was worth it. It came out pretty good too. Unfortunately, I don't have a roller and tried to do it by hand, which was not the best idea. I have a book that outlines this rolling and stretching technique, but still the pasta was really thick. We tried to make sage/pumpkin raviolis and they turned out looking like big perogies. They were still quite yummy. It may be worth getting a roller in the future.

Back to Flipz

With the weather becoming cooler, we are once again seeking out fun winter activities. Yesterday, we headed to Flipz, our favorite gymnastics place from last year. Finn had a ball. It was really fun for me to see how he has developed in his activities from last year. He was so excited to get on the trampolines and jump as high as he could!

Deerfield Gazebo Lighting

Tonight was Deerfield's annual fireman's parade, followed by the lighting of the town gazebo and Santa's arrival. It was a little cheesy in that small town way, but their were a ton of kiddos running around and it was easy to get swept up in the spirit of it all. Finn was entralled with the fire trucks and enjoyed waving at Santa from afar (no lap sitting this year!). It was hard to get photos in the dark with the Christmas lights, but I thought this was a sweet one of Finn:

You gotta have leftovers!

Well, of course, Thanksgiving is all about celebrating our gratitude for all the blessings in our lives. But, let's be honest, it is also about one fabulous feast. And, while we loved sharing that feast with our family on Thanksgiving, we really wanted some leftovers in our own fridge. Thus on Friday, we went ahead and did the whole thing all over again at home! It was a lot of fun and now we can have leftovers, and turkey sandwiches, and turkey pot pie, and turkey tamales, and turkey carcass soup. Hey, remember, I am eating for two now :)!

Here is a big cheers, from Finn and Sean:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a most wonderful holiday at Nana and Papa's with the whole NH family. I am so thankful for such wonderful family, here and around the globe, and I deeply miss those who are far from us.

Here are Finn and Sean looking quite dashing in their holiday sweater vests:

The meal was superb, but we were so busy enjoying, no pictures were taken. Here is one of Finn enjoying some pie:

88 Cupcakes

Yesterday, we went over to our neighbors for a pre-thanksgiving celebration and decoration party. JoAnne had found a recipe for decorating cupcakes as pilgrims. To keep all the kids entertained, she baked 88 cupcakes, set them all out with decorating goodies and let them go at it. Finn enjoyed it very much, in particular the sampling of all the goodies!

Time to go outside?

One thing I love about Finn is his love for the outdoors. He is always anxious to go play outside and we often have to remind him at 6am that we need to wait for the sun to rise and he needs to change out of his pajamas before it is time to go outside.

We have been lucky until now that Finn didn't really try the door knob. We only have one real door knob in the house, so he hasn't had much practice with it. Well, he finally figure out he could take matters into his own hands and open the front door. Thus we ran out and got those door knob covers and he is none too pleased. Frankly, I have a hard time getting out of the house now too!

17 weeks

How quickly a week goes by and now we are at 17! Holy moly, this is going to go by fast. I have noticed a big change in my belly this past week (and my thighs, butt, hips, boobs, face...ugh!). And I was even told by several people that it is obvious that I am pregnant now.

I *think* I have felt a few of the first movements from peapod too. I always second guess it, but I think I have felt the first little bubbles of quickening when I lie down at night. They always seem to be in the same spot which is also where I can usually locate the heartbeat. I think that is pretty good evidence. I am sure I will get the punches and kicks soon enough.

So, here are the belly shots of the week. Finn was excited to be involved!

A Farm Theme

Finn was invited to a farm-themed birthday party on Saturday. And the benefit of living in the country is a farm-themed party actually includes farm animals!

There was a 3-month-old goat that Finn enjoyed walking around the yard:


And there was a mini-horse named Star that the kiddos got to ride. Finn was very excited about the horse (which for some reason he pronounces "Furto"). He was very excited to pet her, and even agreed to try a ride. Once he was up on the saddle he got a little nervous and didn't stay for long. However, the first thing he told Sean when we got home was that he got to ride a "big furto."