HAAS HOME

Elonah's birth story-9MINUTES

2011-04-07T15:25:00.002-05:00

9 Minutes - Elonah's Birth Story

After Elonah was born, I looked at my husband and told him that her birth was like those stories you hear about and think to yourself that they MUST have exaggerated, except that this is OUR story, so let me tell you:

At my 37 week check up I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. Had some "false" contractions Tuesday night, otherwise just a couple here and there.

Week 38, Friday April 1st, 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was a little disappointed that we weren't further along, as I was REALLY ready to meet our little girl. The doctor still joked that she was on-call that night for the hospital and that it would be really exciting if I went into labor.

That night, early morning April 2nd:

3am Started having contractions about 20-15 minutes apart for an hour, praying that this time it's 'REAL' contractions, sure feel REAL!

4am Contractions are getting closer, 10 minutes apart, wake up hubby, tell him I think we might be going to go to the hospital tonight. Start getting our things together.

4:30am Contractions 5-7minutes apart, call doctor, she tells me to take a shower and come in to the hospital if the contractions keep strengthening.

4:50am After shower, contractions VERY painful 4-5minutes apart, tell hubby to PACK THE CAR.

5AM-Get into car to make the 22-25minute drive to the hospital. Timing contractions by car's time display, starting at 3 minutes apart and then a couple at 1.5 minutes apart and contractions beyond intense, screaming helps a bit - poor hubby is speeding at this point.

5:20am Arrive at hospital parking lot, have contraction outside hospital and then in the lobby, must sit down, can't stand at this point. Hubby wondering if he should drop our stuff and carry me up to the delivery unit.

5:23am Get to delivery floor, start having another contraction lying on my exercise ball, nurse gets my name and date of birth from hubby, asks me to get up and walk so that they can get me on a bed, I tell her I can't move and WANT PAIN MEDICINE NOW! She says that there is no time and I'm about to start pushing. Four other nurses come out of the woodwork (must have heard me screaming) half carry/drag me to a bed where I get checked out: 9cm and wanting to push.

5:25 Get wheeled into a delivery room, transferred to a bed and START pushing. My doctor is saying "You're doing great" and I think to myself that she must say that to EVERYONE. I push through one contraction, they tell me to stop pushing, head's out. I think to myself "you've got to be kidding me?"

5:29am One more big push and doctor hands me Elonah, beautiful!! The nurses and my doctor look at me to baby and back again and all they can say is "WOW." I look at baby to hubby and say "WOW"

Official time of birth for Elonah, 5:29am - WOW, Praise God and WOW!

Try, try again...

2011-01-10T15:05:00.000-06:00

Last year I tried to do a modified version of the Life project 365 where you take a photo for each day of the year,well let's just say I wasn't very consistent...so I'm going to try again :)
The above photo is my new hair-do, Jan 1st-I hope the year will similiarly bring many new and exciting adventures...

the image below is for Jan 2nd-shows baby bump #2! we are so excited to meet our new lil girl this year.

Jan 3rd-Jason's b-day celebrating at Spier, Moyo Buffet, tons of meat types to choose from, J was a happy camper :)

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

2010-12-01T22:16:00.000-06:00

It snowed the night before Thanksgiving, but was melted by the afternoon. Here are some pics :)

Daily 'going-away' Surprise

2010-12-01T15:10:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make my husband a daily ‘going-away’ surprise for when we would be apart in December. I mentioned the idea to my scrapbooking-friend-extraordinaire and she found these adorable gift tag silhouettes, which made for me using her silhouette cutter-(thanks again, N!)

I cut up some white index cards and wrote a message for each day that we would be apart, this is how it turned out. Enjoy!

Halloween Dress-up

2010-11-12T13:27:00.000-06:00

The cutest Pippy Longstocking ever!!! and Mom was Cinderella!

Pumpkin Fun

2010-10-24T15:03:00.002-05:00

This is Alethea at the Pumpkin Farm with some friends of mine and their kids.

We had to find a pumpkin...


				Here is Alethea with her pumpkin

Eating the pumpkin, because EVERYTHING is edible, right Mom?

Trying another one...

the before shot

Mommies in the background jumping around, making faces :)

Group Photo

Balloon Fiesta 2010

2010-10-17T13:52:00.001-05:00

Alethea's room make-over!

2010-10-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, I won't make you wait any longer...here is Alethea's new room.

Here main colors are green, yellow, turquoise and touches of brown and white.

New art above the crib(she can't reach it :) The big A is written on a chalkboard paint.

Made with regular flat housepaint and grout mixed together, painted in layers and dried.

I still need to find some more items to go inside the yellow frames, but I like how it turned out.

Chalkboard paint and yellow frame

A tease!

2010-10-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

We've repainted Alethea's bedroom and have added some wall decorations, here is a sneak peak..will add more photos later...

and just because!

Yellow!

2010-09-23T14:23:00.001-05:00

Jason took some photos of Alethea and myself outside, she was a bit wiggly, but we had fun!

New HOME photos

2010-09-09T14:23:00.008-05:00

Front of the house

Main floor, living area, which is open to the foyer, dining and kitchen area as well

Patio off of the kitchen

Upstairs:
Master Bedroom and BathroomAlethea bedroom

Guest/computer room
Down stairs Den/Guest Space

Does anyone know...?

2010-08-25T13:30:00.002-05:00

I don't know if I'm the ONLY one, but I"m SUPER FRUSTRATED with how long it takes to upload photos on BLOGGER! Does anyone have any suggestions or a different free blog site that makes it easier to upload photos quickly and more easily??? I'm seriously considering switching to a different blog site to avoid this issue...

I didn't? I can't believe it!

2010-08-25T12:59:00.010-05:00

Sandia Foothills - relaxation in ABQ

2010-07-27T18:28:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, we arrived in ABQ. Amazingly, it was raining and rained quite a bit. Today, we made it out to the Sandia foothills and did some hiking. It was absolutely awesome and a welcome break from the monotony and busyness of Illinois. Today was a beautiful day, as you can see from the pictures.

We originally headed up into a valley with the hopes of making it over the first line of foothills, but the trail ended, and we couldn't find another way over them. I (Jason) tried climbing up one gully and made it almost to the top, but it was too over-grown and steep.

We saw quite a few humming birds, lizards, and beetles.

All-in-all it was a great time and very relaxing. It's amazing to think that it's virtually going to be in our backyard.

Afterward, we grilled at the park near our future house where Chantal and Alethea met quite a few other moms and kids. It looks like that's going to be a great place for them to go and have fun.

Introducing Doctor Haas!!!!

2010-07-03T15:16:00.009-05:00

Jason did a fabulous job defending his PhD thesis yesterday and is now Doctor Haas!

We were very grateful to everyone who came out and supported him. Thanks a TON!!!

Jason's office...
Thanks everyone who took the time to support Jason!

You guys are the BEST and we really appreciate it!!!

Getting ready to start...

Latest Alethea faces...

2010-06-28T16:10:00.003-05:00

here are some photos of lil A playing with my Zulu beads from auntie Di in South Africa and some photos of her pulling faces

eating watermelon-yum!

Pulling faces

Happy Father's and Grandpa and Oupa Day!

2010-06-20T09:58:00.004-05:00

Happy Father's day to my Love and fabulous hubby! You are the best!!!
Below J is getting to hold Alethea for the very first time, almost a year ago now :)

Sleeping angel

After J's prelim exam

Hiking with Da-da at Allerton Gardens, IL

Happy Grandpa day to Grandpa Haas too!

Happy Oupa day to Oupa Mulder! and also Groot Oupa Fourie! love you both :)

Oupa teaching Alethea how to fish on the big ocean

Pregnancy Photos-Y and V

2010-06-16T16:29:00.006-05:00

I did some pregnancy photo shoots for some friends of mine and thought I'd share some of them...enjoy

Our (hopefully) future home...

2010-06-08T16:44:00.003-05:00

here are some photos of our soon-to-be future home!!
It's an Pueblo style home, very S-westerny :)
This is the view from the back, there are balconies or patios from every exit!
Love the outdoor living potential!

This is the back yard and back of the house, balcony off of the master suite(upstairs) and the TV room/Den/4th bedroom has the patio below, to the side is the patio off the kitchen and living/dining room.

Alethea exploring her future 'digs'

Kitchen and dining and family area

Views from every angle! love the 'foothills'

Views off the guest bedroom and Alethea's bedroom balcony...

NEW MEXICO, here we come!!

2010-05-28T06:27:00.004-05:00

It's TRUE, we are moving to Albuquerque!!!

Alethea helping me pack for our house hunting trip.

On the airplane, Lil A did FABULOUSLY! she slept through 90% of each of the 4 flights :) such a trooper :)

Jason keeping Alethea amused...Taking a hike in the foothills, the NE side of Albuquerque.
We are currently in the process of trying to buy a house very close to this location. Please keep us in your prayers.

Oupa and Oumie, drove out to NM to help us with the house hunting.

a pretty dessert flower J took

keep lil A amused while we looked at 'oh-so-many-homes'!!!Celebrating at a Italian restaurant after we made a decision on our TOP 3 houses!
In the airport on the way back, celebrating again with Ben and Jerry's
PS. Alethea was really checking out the ice cream...Lil A learned how to say 'Ma-Ma' and 'Ba-Ba' on the trip

loving her Da-Da

Fun at the Park

2010-04-17T09:59:00.005-05:00

Fun at the Park-we went out to the park with Lil A the other Sunday.

She learned how to pull herself up(all by her own).

This is her second time on a swing, she actually really likes it.

Improve your photography and have fun with friends?

2010-03-24T13:00:00.014-05:00

I've heard many friends mention that they'd like to have some nicer photos of themselves and other friends have told me that they'd like to learn how to take better photos...

well...I have a solution to BOTH!!

Why not have a crafting/photo evening?Get dressed up for a ladies night, bring something fun to do(craft of some kinds) and the budding photographers in your group can take turns improving their skills.
Don't forget to bring a bag of fun accessories like hats, scarves or necklaces.
It's as simple as that...As I am just such an individual, I'll share some of the photos that I took of the lovely ladies at our last LADIES CRAFT/PHOTO EVENING!!

I focused on close-ups that would work nicely for facebook or blog profiles..
enjoy!!

Clapping, 7 months

2010-03-21T21:33:00.003-05:00

Lil A has learned to clap and wave this past week, here is some video of her clapping :)

I love how she seems so pleased with herself!

I see YOU!

2010-03-19T10:30:00.004-05:00

SO tired!, lil A fell asleep on Daddy after a hard days playing :) melts my heart...

I had fun taking some close-ups of her one morning...I love the soft gray tone of the background, complimented by the pale pink of her shirt and skin.I got this mirror out one day and she LOVES it! Here she is saying 'hello' to her 'twin' in the mirror.

One of her newest tricks, she likes to bite toys and let it hang from her mouth like a little puppy.

Pulling faces! what a goof-ball!

lil A laughing, 7 months

2010-03-14T20:01:00.002-05:00

old, but new...zebra rug

2010-02-26T13:59:00.002-06:00

I was reminded of this DIY zebra rug project that I had done a couple years ago and thought I'd write some DIY steps, in case any of you would like to try it.

I got this old rug for free, it was a boring cream color and since I had always wanted a zebra rug, I decided THIS was the day to make it!

Tools needed:
old rug
pattern, in this case a generic zebra pattern to reference
masking tape
black spray paint
watered down black acrylic paint
watered down cream acrylic paint
brushes
PS I painted this outside, since I am prone to make messes :)

DIY Steps:
1. Measure 4 inches in from the edge of the rug on all sides, use masking tape and tape a straight line.
2. spray paint a black border, make sure to cover the inside of the rug, so that you don't spray paint where your zebra stripes are suppose to be. Let dry for an hour, till dry.

(see below)

Now comes the fun, but tricky part.
I simply eyeballed this part from my generic zebra pattern that I used as a reference, remember that in the wild all zebras have unique and different patterns, so don't worry about being perfect.

3. Use your watered down black acrylic paint, mark where the middle of the rug is and start painting stripes! I would do a stripe at a time, first the right and then the left. Let dry for an hour or so.

4. After your black stripes are done and dry, I went back and highlighted some areas with a light cream colored acrylic paint.

5. Let dry and remove masking tape!

(see below)

You are done, see image below for how it looks in our dining room!

Making baby food-Carrots!

2010-02-23T12:05:00.007-06:00

Hubby and I, decided that lil A, now over 6 months, is ready to start 'real' food!
We had some carrots in the fridge so I started with those..I checked a couple on-line sites, go here(this great website is called www.wholesomebabyfood.com) to see some of those sites... and making baby food is really very simple to do.
Usually the directions go something like this...wash veggies, steam, puree, freeze and use!

PS here is a great reference from wholesomebabyfood that lists veggies and fruits that freeze and don't freeze well.

The trick with carrots, is to NOT use the water that you steam the carrots in, to thin out the baby food, make sure you use new water for that.

so, let's get started...

step by step...

1.Wash and chop up your carrots, I did about six large carrots.

2.Steam the carrots on the stove or microwave, till tender.3.Pour off the water that the carrots were cooked in, toss the steamed carrots and fresh water in blender, puree till smooth.

4. Pour smooth carrot puree into ice cube trays and freeze.
5.Final result...frozen carrot cubes in baggie...ready to enjoy :)
Our lil one started with half an carrot cube at a time, then use more as needed. I simply thaw or microwave desired amount and then serve cold or slightly warm.

'the proof is in the pudding'...well carrots...

here is our lil one enjoying herself

I'm linking this back to the Thrifty Home blog

Projects

2010-02-23T11:29:00.004-06:00

I've slowly been working on a color pencil pendant project, inspired by a friend of ours, who made some for his wife.
but, being me, I first had to take some photos of my colored pencil groupings...
I will try making the resin pendants a bit later, when the weather is nicer...
so far I've tried one with hot glue with ok results, more pics of that to follow...more on the hot glue pendant coming soon...

belated Life project photos

2010-02-23T11:20:00.003-06:00

Here are some of my life project photos of lil A sleeping and one of the heart shaped cheerio I found just before Valentine's day...

Valentine candy box of heart notes...

2010-02-11T13:57:00.004-06:00

Here's an idea for re-using an old chocolate candy box to make a fun and different Valentine's day card :)

I simply used the old candy/chocolate box and cut out little hearts for each hole, then all you have to do is write little love notes on the back of each heart and VOILA, instant, different Valentine card for someone special...and zero calories too!

close-up, sorry you don't get to see the messages :)

those are just for my J :)

PS you can decorate the front/top of the box too for added drama.

Alethea-isms at 6 months

2010-02-09T09:52:00.016-06:00

Alethea is officially over 20lbs!
to be exact 20lbs 30 oz
and measures in at 27.75 inches...
both her height and weight are in the 97%
She is currently fighting a cold/virus but we hope she is over the worst...
She also has the go-ahead to start cereals and veggies and fruits!

I thought it would be fitting to add some Alethea-isms as a 6 month old

SHE:

likes to: splash in the water at bath time and type on the computer keyboard, while Mommy tries to surf the web
sometimes:pushes up on her knees(getting ready to crawl), while pushing up on her arms and sometimes pulls herself up to standing while holding on to Mommies hands
has: lots of hair and a cowlick on the back of her head and two buttom teeth
can: waive the fist of her right hand, scoot around and give herself hiccups if I ignore her too long
wears: 18 M clothing, some of which are getting tight LOL
smiles: with her eyes, they get all crinkly, so CUTE!
wakes up: very happy with big smiles and immediately wants to touch my face and likes to touch Jason's goatee!

babies and buttons...

2010-02-07T20:20:00.009-06:00

Here are a couple more pics of Alethea, I've decided to no longer 'shun' the baby headband idea, in fact, I have started a couple of headband projects that I will post more about later.

I have also gotten bitten by the crating bug and have started a few projects involving BUTTONS!
take a look below...

First, are my first few BUTTON earrings...

The next lot of buttons are to eventually be made into rings...

These are some of the kiddie buttons that I got and just LOVE the colors and 'fun-ness' of them all...stay tuned for some more button craftiness to come :)

Alethea 6 months

2010-02-03T20:41:00.003-06:00

New Alethea pics-two teeth!!

2010-01-24T20:25:00.004-06:00

weekly snapshots :Jan 10-16-hands and water droplets

2010-01-21T11:49:00.003-06:00

Maria photos

2010-01-21T10:55:00.006-06:00

Weekly Snapshots- Shoe theme

2010-01-10T13:03:00.009-06:00

A friend of mine mentioned a new crafting project she was starting, where one takes a photo each day for a year, kinda like a picture journal...

I felt inspired to do my own version of this project, by doing a theme each week.
I've realized that photography has become my new creative outlet, since it's much quicker and easier to 'pick back up' than painting. I hope to use this project to work on my skills as a photographer and keep myself 'sane' by having a quick daily creative outlet.

This week my theme was my life through SHOES
I love SHOE shots in wedding photography, so it was fun to play and practice some ideas...

This first one is kinda cheating, since it's my feet, but I thought it was fitting for JAN 1.

My new year's resolution to lose my pregnancy weight...I figure if I expose my current weight(GASP!), then I'd be more likely to actually lose the weight, so that I can re-post this shot after I DO lose the weight.(kinda before and after images)

JAN 1-FRIDAY-New Year's Resolution

Jan 2-Sat-lil A's first winter booties, hopefully she won't need any for next winter as we want to be somewhere nice and warm, or at least warmer than IL!JAN 3- Sun-lil A shoes
so cute and girly, only problem is she grows out of things so quickly
different lighting

JAN 4-Monday-back home!

my slippers, such a comfort! We are back at home from visiting WI for the holidays...these are sheepskin from South Africa, SO WARM and there are paint splatter on them. hee-hee
JAN 5-TUESDAY-Nat slippers
We had our friends, Joel and Natalie over for dinner and here is a shot of Nat's slippers
JAN 6- WEDNESDAY-big and small

these are my FAVORITE for this week, I took a photo of lil A's shoes and Jason's, kinda fun comparison

couldn't decide on just one, let me know which one you like best :)

JAN 7-THURSDAY-warm weather dreams

These are the shoes I'd LIKE to be wearing, but it's been snowing and is BITTERLY cold out...

JAN 8-FRIDAY-flats!

I LOVE flats and metallic, so these are the perfect everyday shoes for me...

JAN 9-SATURDAY-Joel and Nat winter urban photo shoot...

I had the privilege of taking photos of our friends today and it was FREEZING COLD OUTSIDE! My camera flash wasn't even working, because it was THAT cold!
They were VERY brave and stuck it out with me and I will post some more photos a bit later for you to see...but here is a shoe shot from the shoot. PS Nat mentioned that her shoes are from middle school!

Hawaii Trip

2010-01-04T20:11:00.006-06:00

Since the semester hasn't started again yet, I have some time to make a post. My trip to Hawaii for Globecom 2009 went really well. My presentations went well and I had some people ask me questions during and after my sessions. I'm not sure we got a lot of exposure there, but it's ok, it was Hawaii after all.

Besides the conference, I got to snorkel, hike, and explore some of the island, besides cheering the Badgers on to victory over the University of Hawaii in football. All of these were fun, but I'd have to say the highlight of the sight-seeing part of my trip was going to Pearl Harbor.

I went twice, first on 12/5 and then again on the anniversary on 12/7. I went on the U.S.S. Arizona memorial tour on the first day, which was fortunate since the tour was full on the 7th. It is a heart-wrenching experience, but I

wholeheartedly endorse it. The first picture shows the memorial from across the harbor, and the second the flag over the memorial from inside.

It was amazing to see the wreckage underwater and the oil still bubbling up. I tried to take pictures of the latter, but a photo just doesn't do them justice. Since it was close to the anniversary on the 5th (I assume that was the reason), they were handing out flowers for us to cast into the water. The third picture shows my flower in the oil slick.

On the 7th, I spent more time at the submarine memorial, the submarine museum, and I toured the U.S.S. Bowfin, a WWII-era submarine. It was cramped. Climbing through the bulkheads was challenging while carrying a camera.

The only thing I missed was the U.S.S. Missouri, which was not there because it was being repaired or was having some maintenance done on it. Too bad.

If I had to choose between the big island and Oahu, I'd go to the big island. There's way less people, things seem cheaper, the snorkeling is better, and there's lava. That said, having Chantal and Alethea with would have made either island seem more like paradise. I very much hope that the next time I'm in Hawaii they will be with me.

Christmas Video for Oupa and Oumie!

2010-01-03T20:58:00.002-06:00

For Oupa and Oumie, because we love and miss you very much!
Happy New Year too!

opening presents video

2010-01-03T19:21:00.002-06:00

Alethea's first Christmas and her opening presents, she got pretty good at it!
and of course, everything went directly into her mouth!!

swimming video...

2010-01-03T19:09:00.002-06:00

Rolling over with Daddy and Mommy

2009-12-18T10:59:00.002-06:00

Kevin and Jen, wedding shots

2009-12-16T10:58:00.006-06:00

This past summer, J and I had the privilege of taking some wedding photos for some friends of ours and realized I never got to blog any photos...thanks Kevin and Jen :)

Bumbo

2009-12-05T19:23:00.004-06:00

I got Alethea a Bumbo to help her with sitting up, since she now seems to like 'standing and sitting' much more than just lying in her play gym.

and a cute picture of her hair spiked by Mommy :)

4 months old!!

2009-12-03T12:26:00.003-06:00

I feel so very blessed to be the Mommy of Alethea.

She is such a joy and a great baby.
Today was her 4 mnth check up and she was very brave!

(she looks like Craig here)
Her newest stats are:
Height 25.25 inches long(75%)
She now wears 9mnth sleepers and some are getting to be a bit snug-yikes!
Weight 15 lbs 10 ounces(75%)

Just yesterday she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time(actually three times in a row!)
She is also able to pull herself into a sitting and standing position when you hold her hands and can clasp her hands together and interlock her fingers.

Here are some new pics

jump-a-roo!

2009-12-01T14:05:00.004-06:00

Chatting with Dad and Mom

2009-11-23T10:53:00.003-06:00

Chatting with Toys

2009-11-22T12:16:00.002-06:00

For the Folks

2009-11-21T13:15:00.003-06:00

Maria is coming to spend some time with us, so J and I got her room ready...here it is

second video of Alethea rolling over

Thanks and ROLLING OVER!!

2009-11-19T15:42:00.003-06:00

New Outfit! Love the little bulldogs!

She loves her new soft bugs, getting really good at grabbing and...

and...eating her toys!

...I will bite your head, my friend!Thanks Oupa and Oumie for her new playgym, she is enjoying it very much, and LOOK a giraffe!

Third time rolling over-what a STAR!

My brown/blue eyed girl!

2009-11-13T12:37:00.005-06:00

You might be wondering what Alethea is up to these days?

She has been sleeping a bit better, which makes mommy happy!
also...she has also started to be very good at sucking her thumb(only occasionally sticking fingers up her nose or in her eyes..oi!), which she now prefers above the pacifier, also is reaching, grabbing, pushing up on her arms during tummy time and laughing(mostly at her toy hippos).

Since she was about a month old, she had one brown fleck in the inner most corner of her left eye..I"ve sorta been waiting for more changes, but so far, that's all...

I thought I'd take a photo and show you a close up of her eye

the rain jacket that I bought her for $7.99, too cute to resist

$3.99 dress for when she gets a bit older

recent photography engagement shoot

2009-11-12T07:50:00.014-06:00

This past weekend I got to take some engagement photos for some friends of ours ,
I got to try some fun angles and shots, thanks E and M,

enjoy!

VIDEOS for Oumie!

2009-11-10T11:36:00.005-06:00

laughing at hippos

Halloween 2009

2009-11-04T14:15:00.008-06:00

Jason as Alton Brown from the Food Network, me as Kathleen Kelly(Meg Ryan) from You've Got Mail, Alethea as a pumpkin ballerina...

Group Shot at the Halloween Party 2009this was Alethea's first Halloween outfit, but she pooped on it, so we changed her into the tu-tu...

Thanks Glenny for the outfit :)My 2009 pumpkin, J, C, A for our new and improved family Alethea fooled Mommy and wet her outfit, hence the diaper and pumpkin shot!

1, 2, 3...a whole 3 months old

2009-11-04T13:16:00.008-06:00

Jason's prelim

2009-11-04T13:13:00.002-06:00

Madison

2009-10-26T12:08:00.003-05:00

Tu Tu!

2009-10-24T18:24:00.003-05:00

Wolf Howl(whistle)

2009-10-20T21:03:00.002-05:00

Alethea likes it when I make the wolf howl/whistle sound...she tries to do it too

talking with daddy-10 wks old

2009-10-09T14:18:00.007-05:00

playing with her buddy....

chillin' on the couch together...

trying to upload the video-again...

2 mnth updates

2009-10-01T11:49:00.007-05:00

now:
23 3/4 inches
11lbs 8 oz

gained 2lbs and 2 inches!!

helping with laundry...

two months of fun!

2009-09-30T15:02:00.004-05:00

my new wrap sling and mommy hair cutsmiling

sitting up

yawn

love the socks

Alethea is now two months old!

What is she up to?

smiling
laughing
making noises like 'ooh' 'ahh's
eating her hands
loves bath time

She has one small brown fleck in her left eye, but otherwise her eyes are still blue.

Alethea at 6 weeks old!

2009-09-14T14:51:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures leading up to being six weeks old!

Meeting Grandpa for the first timehugging Lambchops-PS my Ma named the lamb :)

smiling with LambchopsListening to music with Oupa

visits

2009-09-03T19:09:00.000-05:00

Finally, the birthing and delivery story of Alethea...

2009-08-12T15:29:00.001-05:00

Alethea's birthing story...

I've only been meaning to write this all of this last week!
Yay, finally getting it done :)

For those of you who were curious about exactly what happened and why she came early:

WEEK 37 DOC APPOINTMENT:

Wednesday, July 28th, I had my 37 week doc appointment, Mom and I had the whole day planned out with errands, haircuts and shopping; and lots of last minute things to get sorted out, before baby H's arrival. I had been praying that she would come early, for two reasons, one: July 30th is Grandma Juedes's B-day(J's Grandma) and two: we wanted to fly back to IL in mid-August and she needed to be at least a week or two weeks old for the Doctor and airlines to allow her to fly.

At my previous appointment I was completely closed(not dilated at all) and everything was normal, except for my blood pressure being slightly elevated. It didn't seem
likely that I would go into labor anytime soon. Even though I was praying for her to arrive early, I also knew that, realistically, many first time Mommies are late, so I was trying to prepare myself for whatever happened

At my 37 week appointment I discussed my options for an induction, but my doctor and the hospital's policy was to not induce until after the official due date, unless warranted by different medical reasons. She checked me again and I was still not dilated, we tentatively agreed to set the induction date for August 14th, the day after her official due date. We were just about to leave the room when she popped back in and said that she just wanted to double check the baby's movements just to be sure that she was still doing well, though the ultrasound, not even a week earlier had been near perfect.

We got all hooked up to the fetal monitor and after 20 minutes the doctor checked out the results and said that she wasn't as active as she would like her to be, so we went to get an ultrasound, she said it could just mean that she was sleeping. As the ultrasound tech was doing her scan it was pretty obvious that things weren't quite to her liking and when she left the room to get the doctor, we knew something was amiss. Long story, short, my amniotic fluid levels had plummeted from 9 cm (the previous Friday) to less than 2.2 cm on Wednesday. My doc came in and asked us if we were ready to have a baby?! Mom and I both shrieked and clapped our hands and we were taken down to labor and delivery right after that, where I got hooked up to a fetal monitor and other machines.

LABOR AND DELIVERY:

I was given medicine to help me dilate and efface at 6:30pm on Wednesday evening and I started to have light contractions through the night, which mainly felt like bad

lower back pains. The next morning, July 30th, Thursday, I was started on Pitocin at 6 am and shortly after that I started having more intense contractions. The doctor came in a while later and broke my water. Things started getting intense - I was able to use the bouncy ball to work through the contractions, since I was still having back labor and lying in bed was even worse. After a while my contractions were right on top of one another and I wasn't getting any breaks in between. At that point I decided to have some pain medication to take the edge off, and then I had to get back into the bed too. When the nurse checked me, I was 6 cm dilated which they seemed to consider something of a record for a first time Mom.

Not long after this that I told the nurse that I wanted to start pushing. When they checked me again, I was fully dilated and she said I could start pushing. At this time the nurses were saying things like "record time" and "that was quick". I started pushing until the nurse told me to stop and ran to get the doctor. I guess things progressed quicker than expected as the doc ran in with her robes half fastened and all I wanted to do was to push and get her out.

She was born at 10:15am, with her one arm wrapped around her neck (which they thought was her cord at first) and with her fingernails facing out. As a result, she scratched me quite a bit internally, which caused a lot of bleeding. I was just happy to have her out and to hear her scream. The doctor was busy with me for about 50minutes afterwards, and she explained that the stitches kept coming apart and bleeding. Eventually they gave up on the stitches and put in packing(vag-pack) to stop the bleeding - and I was able to hold Alethea - at last!

That's about it in a nutshell, we had some troubles getting Alethea to latch on, but now she is doing great!!

**A huge praise God for prompting my doctor to do the fetal monitoring and ultrasound and that HE made everything work out so wonderfully! and of course for our beautiful baby girl who is FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE BY HIM!!

***Please be praying for Alethea, that she would stay HEALTHY and tolerate the flight back to WI/IL on Saturday morning.***

Official Announcement

2009-08-02T16:59:00.003-05:00

more photos of Alethea

2009-08-01T20:24:00.003-05:00

Mommy got to play with the camera today...a whole two days old!!!

D-day!...Labor and Delivery :)

2009-08-01T19:00:00.004-05:00

What I was GOING to post for week 37 post...

2009-08-01T12:43:00.004-05:00

Here are some photos of our 'baby ready baggie'.

I was going to post under the heading of "waiting and ready" but I ended not needing to do that at all, since we ended up in the hospital before I even got to do my weekly post :)

car seat...all ready
going home outfits...check
Week 37, almost 38 pregnancy photos:

Week 36 pregnancy update!

2009-07-24T12:00:00.009-05:00

Today was my ultrasound and I have an announcement to make:

"we have a chunker"

and I mean that in the best possible way...

wk 36, almost 37 pregnancy photoAccording to our ultra sound tech she is weighing in at:
7 lbs 4 ounces at the beginning of week 37.
We got to see part of her face, she still likes to keep her hands over her forehead. She is face down in a good birthing position, but I'm not dilated or thinned out yet. We got to see her tummy and the fat layers around her middle, hee-hee. The tech also said that she had big feet (I guess there is no doubt that she is Jason and mine :) and it was fun to see her swallowing and her fuzzy hair again too!I have two minor prayer requests:

1-my diastolic bld pressure is borderline high and I had some extra lab work done to check things out, please pray that it would be nothing serious.

2-our car has been having loads of issues and we had to have a bunch of work done on it, we are trying not to sink too much more money into it, since we plan on getting rid of it shortly after we return to IL, so please pray that it'll last us till we get back with the baby(mid-end August...then it can die or can continue to live on for someone else :)

PS. You can now leave comments on this blog with or without a gmail account, blog or password.

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-07-22T10:35:00.005-05:00

This week I am thankful for:

-For my VERY wonderful and gracious Ma and Pa. For my Mom giving up lots of her time, to come keep me company in Texas and hopefully (soon) await the arrival of baby H. It's such a blessing to have company during the day and someone to help keep me motivated to continue exercising these last couple weeks of pregnancy. I can't forget to mention that my Pa has been equally gracious to let me 'borrow' Ma for this time, as he finishes up his last stretch of work before retirement-Thank you!

-For God's provision. In these hard economic times I'm reminded again and again that God has been SO GOOD to us. I am so thankful that He has provided for graciously and abundantly. We are truly VERY blessed!!

My mom and I went to get groceries, on the way we saw a man standing by the side of the road with a sign that read: "will work for food." It really broke my heart, we got some extra groceries and tried to find him afterward, but to no avail. So I ask that you would join me, as we lift him up in prayer. I decided I'll take that bag of groceries with us on Friday when we go to the doctor and see if he is still there or if we find someone...

-For my AWESOME HUSBAND!-I am so thankful for J, this past semester has really been a crazy, busy and exhausting one with school, research, papers, teaching, contract work and proposals. He has been working insanely hard since then and has not really had much of a break since January. Even now, during the summer, he has been doing his internship and then coming home to work on contract work and now conference paper editing and submissions and soon he has to start work on his prelim preparations.

I just want to say how PROUD I am of him and how much I admire his hardworking attitude and perseverance. Please join me as we lift him up in prayer, that God will continue to guide, bless and give him wisdom for his upcoming PhD prelim exam, as well as his current internship and work on fine tuning his two conference papers.

This weeks pregnancy summary will be posted on Friday, so that I can wait 'till after my ultrasound to give a better update!

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-07-15T11:04:00.002-05:00

This week I am thankful for:

*Family!
-we had a great visit from the Haas's this past weekend and I'm again reminded what a blessing it is to have wonderful, loving and caring family!

-my Mom's safe return from her family reunion in Australia and she will be flying to San Antonio this coming Sunday to spend time with us too!
*Growing baby girl!
-Even though my growing belly can get uncomfortable at times, I am grateful that we continue to move closer and closer to seeing and holding our baby girl!
-tomorrow we enter the 9th month, week 36!!

*God's creation
-we got to visit the San Antonio Zoo this past weekend, hence a couple of great photos that J took(yay hubby!) and we were talking about how amazingly beautiful, interesting and varied God's creation is, kinda blows my mind at times.

week 35 pregnancy update

2009-07-14T15:35:00.005-05:00

We are now at week 35!

It's crazy to think that in a couple of days(2 to be exact) we'll be entering the 9th month of pregnancy!!

Front view of week 35 pregnancy photoWhat is our baby girl up to this week?

This week she is weighing in around 5+ to 6lbs this week and is probably close to her full length of what she will be, when she is born. The brain continues to develop at a rapid pace and the lungs are pretty much fully developed and are now producing surfactant, which will help in the exchange of oxygen once she is born.

How is Mommy doing this week?
I have to admit that there are now some times during the day when I am starting to feel more uncomfortable, but overall I still feel really good! My stomach seems to have ballooned out even further and has started to drop lower.

That's all for now :)

Texas weekend

2009-07-14T11:46:00.006-05:00

This past weekend Dad and Mom Haas came to visit, we had a great time together. On Saturday we went exploring in a little town, Boerne, located half an hour outside of San Antonio.
We toured the market and downtown area and found many interesting things to take pictures of, enjoy!

Haas family...

Some flowers...

Baby turtles...I really wanted one :)

Beads and Crafts...

More Corpus Christi pics

2009-07-14T11:39:00.001-05:00

some new art and art in progress

2009-07-09T17:32:00.002-05:00

Two new ones that I just started....

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-07-08T13:13:00.005-05:00

1 Chronicles 5:20-...He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.

I want to PRAISE God for answered prayers:

1.)A great pregnancy and an active little girl, it's such a miracle to feel her move and we can't wait to see her and hold her.

Here is week 34 pregnancy photo, getting big!!!!

2.)Jason got TWO more papers accepted to another great conference, one paper was his master's thesis work, awesome! Perfect timing to get more papers accepted, as Jason will be doing his prelim exam for his PhD in September!! This conference, around the end of November 2009, will be in Hawaii! yes, this will be the second time that J gets to go to Hawaii in two years, we'll see what happens in regards to baby H and myself mayyyyyybbbbbbeeeeeeeeee joining him :) :) :)

3.)Today J gave a demonstration at his internship work and I'm so grateful that it went well and for the experience he is getting!

4.)For great doctor's reports back regarding my Pa's health!

Prayer Request:

Lastly, I would like to ask everyone to be praying for J's cousin, Grant, who has been sick for a while now. Our hearts ache for God to heal him and it's been a really rough time for him and his family, please keep them all in your prayers.

week 34, pregnancy...

2009-07-06T15:24:00.006-05:00

COUNTDOWN:
Hopefully less than 6 wks to GO!!

J and I at the San Antonio minor league baseball game, it was HOT!

We had a lovely fourth of July weekend, including lots of relaxing, grilling, swimming, fireworks and a baseball game.

J and some of the interns(from R to L):
Jason, Allen, Luke, Brooks, Ken

J celebrating being done with the contract workSTEAKS-was delicious!What is baby H up to this week?

At week 34, her liver is nearly fully developed and has started to process small amounts of waste. She is weighing in around 5lbs-5+lbs and could be as tall as 20 inches this week. Her fingernails have reached the tip of her fingers, good thing I brought a baby nail clipper with to San Antonio.
How is Mom doing?
I am getting more and more READY for her to come, though I definitely want her to hang in there for a couple more weeks. Sometimes it feels like she is settling into a head down position, although every once in a while I think she moves out of that position and definitely favors the right side of the uterus.-see photo :)- we think that bump is her little bottom!I will have another ultrasound in two and a bit weeks to confirm her position and get another estimate on her size and weight and probably get an estimate of when her delivery will be.

We are also getting really excited for Dad and Mom Haas to come and visit this week!!!

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-07-01T14:30:00.004-05:00

This week I am grateful and praising God for:

Jason officially being done with his contract work.
We are super excited to have a whole evening to spend together. We got some steaks on sale at the grocery store and plan to grill out and celebrate! Thanks to God for providing and helping J finish well.

J having Friday off and a long weekend to spend with him.

My biweekly check up going very well, our lil girl's heart beat is strong, around 155 bts/min. In three weeks we will have another ultrasound to determine her approximate weight and position, hopefully she will have settled head-down by then.

It's been interesting to see the differences in hospitals from IL to TX, in TX it is customary to have 3-4 ultrasounds, where I was only going to have 1-2 in IL. I'm not sure if I think it's necessary to have SO many if you are not having complications, but I guess, better safe, than sorry...?

We could use some prayers for getting some more hospital and insurance issues worked out, our IL insurance is 'different', I suppose. We've had some problems with the hospital/lab not billing our insurance correctly and it's been a bit frustrating week after week, so we hope to get that completely sorted out soon.

Happy 4th July to y'all!
I hope it is a fun, warm and festive time for all, as well as a time to celebrate and be grateful for all the wonderful blessings that each of us have in our lives!

Psalm 150:1-2, 6

Praise God in his sanctuary
praise him in his mighty heavens
Praise him for his acts of POWER
praise him for his SURPASSING GREATNESS
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

new art

2009-06-29T12:03:00.004-05:00

week 33 pregnancy update, less than 7 wks to go!

2009-06-29T11:21:00.005-05:00

We are now at week 33!
The countdown is getting more and more fun!

week 33 pregnancy photo:

What is baby H up to these days?
She is coming close to being the full length that she'll be when she arrives, around 19 or so inches and still steadily gaining weight, any where from 4.5-5lbs this week.
This week her brain is also developing at an amazing speed, increasing her head size by as much as 3/8th of an inch!!

Mommy Update:
I'm still doing well, feeling a little more tired and inflexible than before, but trying to keep up with my yoga and stretching. My amniotic fluid is at the utmost max it will get, from now on out she will get more and more cramped, which will hopefully make her want to come out :) jk

I will have my next appointment this Wednesday and will hopefully preregister at the hospital I'll be delivering at too.

Just in case you are wondering.....

Jason and I tried this Passion Fruit ice cream, it was very creamy, rich and sweet with a good passion fruit flavor, I think the only thing I would change is to have it be a bit more tangy(more of the real fruity flavor) but I would still give it an 4.5 out of 5!

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-06-25T14:06:00.005-05:00

Wonders and Patience...

I want to start with praising God for letting one of Jason's papers get accepted to a top tier conference!! This is a HUGE answer to prayer and we are both super excited!
The conference will be in Beijing in September 2009, but Jason will probably not be going since we will just be settling back into life with baby H and school in IL. Jason will also be getting ready to take his prelim exam around that time too.

J and I at Mustang Island State Park, Corpus Christi, TX
This week I am also very grateful for God's patience with me!

I feel like God has been using this time in TX to teach me more about trusting Him.
This week has been a hard one in the trust department...it's amazing to me that I can KNOW with my heart that God is faithful, that He has(will) provide for us, while me mind can be so quick to wonder and doubt.

However, I have been amazed at how God has been encouraging me with examples of His provisions; here are just a few:

This past week I have been reading in 2 Kings:

3:1-20 , because king Joram, Jehoshaphat and Edom humbled themselves and inquired of the Lord, God provided the desert valley to be filled with water and He gave Moab over to them.

I love the imagery of a dry and parched valley filled with water, this reminds me again that God can do SO much more than we can hope or imagine...Eph 3: 20

4:1-7 The story of the widowed woman and her two sons with only a little oil left to live on and God provides, by filling every last container with oil for them, so that they could pay their debts and even have extra to live on.

4: 8-, The Shunammite woman who is given a son, even when she is old and when her son dies, God uses Elisha to bring him back from the dead.

awesome, isn't it!

www and new art

2009-06-23T10:00:00.003-05:00

week 32 pregnancy

2009-06-22T13:00:00.006-05:00

This past weekend J and I went to Corpus Christi and Mustang Island State Park and spent some time at the beach. It was glorious and relaxing, but more photos to follow soon :0

-yes, I have been saying that a lot! been waiting to use the other computer, which is currently occupied by J and simulations, but that will be over in 9 more days-yay!

anyways, here is the latest pregnancy photo, week 32...

For those who are curious what I look like from the front, here is a frontal week 32 pregnancy shot.BABY H UPDATE:
My doctor's appointment last week went wonderfully! praise God :)
We are now in MONTH 8! and hopefully we have less than 8 weeks to go before we meet our precious lil girl!
(I am praying that she makes her debut a week or two early, since it will make moving back to IL a whole lot easier, but God's in control)

This week the excitement is that her skin is slowly turning from see-through, to opaque(like ours) as she accumulates more fat. She should be weighing in at around 4- 4.5 lbs now and about 19 inches long(give or take).

MOM UPDATE:
I am pleased to say that I am still doing great, I have had the occasional heartburn, especially when I eat spicy foods, but very minor. I have been feeling her more under my ribs and diaphragm, but that's all good, since she is getting bigger and bigger!

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-06-17T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today I am very thankful for another good check-up at the doctor.
Everything looked normal and our lil girl is doing great, I got my tummy measured, all right on schedule.

The funny(well kinda) thing was that there was a lady in the room next to me that was screaming and crying in agony, every once in a while I could hear things like: "I know it hurts, but it's going to be ok...hang in there....etc" I hope she is doing better now :)

After my next appointment I will be preregistering at the hospital that I'll be delivering at, getting one more thing ready for the big day!

The second thing that I'm really thankful for and excited about is that J and I will be taking some time this weekend to relax by the beach at Corpus Christi and probably Mustang Island too!
Can't wait!
will post pictures as soon as I can.

Week 31, 9 WEEKS TO GO

2009-06-15T10:59:00.006-05:00

This is a close-up of week 31 pregnancy pic.

Full length week 31 pic

We all enjoyed a very fun and hot weekend! Jason and I went hiking Sat morning, but it ended up being a little hot for me, so we didn't hike for too long.
I will add some photos that we took shortly(I need J to help me). We had a great grill-out with the other inters and have also really been making the most of the pool, located steps away from us :)

Baby H is doing well, she is still active, but certainly smaller movements than before and more definite sleep patterns. Since, I wasn't able to see my doctor after my ultrasound last week, I will be going in for my check-up on Wednesday instead.

This week our lil girl continues to gain fat, which helps her regulate her body temperature. She has been able to suck her thumb for some time now and her lungs continue to develop. Her hiccuping(she does a couple times a day) has also been useful for practicing breathing and lung development. From this next week on, she should be gaining about half a pound per week! Her estimated weight from last week Tuesday was 3 lbs 8 oz at week 30!

Will keep you posted on our appointment on Wednesday, but praise God again for the healthy ultrasound and good weight estimate from last week!

COUNTDOWN: 9 weeks to go!

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

2009-06-11T14:14:00.006-05:00

So, I've been wanting to do this for a while...what you might ask?
have a day where I blog about God's goodness, things I'm thankful for and a general pondering of what's happening that week.

So, that's how I came up with Wednesday's Weekly Wonders! WWW for short :)
(PS I KNOW it's not Wednesday today, I'll be better next week)
the idea came from a couple of friends of mine, who have similar praise days on their blogs!
so THANKS

This post will also have the weekly pregnancy pic and some updated artwork in it, since I'm a little behind on blogging!

This week I am VERY thankful, and praising God for:

1.)God blessing us with having a second GOOD ultrasound of our little girl. She is looking very well and impressively weighing in at 3lbs 8oz according to our ultrasound tech(though I posted about this in more detail below)
The highlight was to see her FACE! how amazing!!

2).Jason had his final presentation in Detroit for his contract work and it went really well! He still has a bunch of loose ends to tie up, but it should be ALL DONE by the end of June!
We are so grateful that God provided the contract work for Jason to do and bless us with.
I take my hat off to Jason for all the hard work and extra hours he has put into it, besides all his other school and internship work he is doing!

3.)A good, healthy pregnancy! As some of you know, for a couple months I was having back pain from baby H lying on my sciatic nerve, but I have felt completely well since we've been in Texas!

What a wonderful, wonderful God we serve

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.

Psalm 32:1,2 KJV

A week 30 pregnancy picture!

Mostly finished art that I've been working on:

ULTRASOUND update!

2009-06-10T09:26:00.004-05:00

Praise God for another good ultrasound!
The above pic is of her face, she is lying sideways and has one hand under her chin and the other over the top of her forehead. According to our ultrasound tech, she already has some hair growing on her head too! I saw white 'fuzz' as she pointed it out to me.

A pic of her heart and ribs and below that a profile pic of her face, her hand is under her chin again and over her forehead.
According to her measurements she is doing really well and is weighing in at around 3lbs 8 oz at week 30!

Week 29, baby H and new art

2009-06-02T15:55:00.002-05:00

I've had some requests for a more accurate belly pic :)

so here is one with a more fitted tank!

This is week 29, and baby H should be measuring around 16 and a bit inches and just under
3 lbs!

I've been noticing more distinct cycles of sleep and awake times, she also seems to love being active at night or when Daddy talks to her :)
We tried to flashlight trick, where you put the light near your belly and see what they do.
She kicked it a couple times and then decided she had enough and moved away to the opposite side of my belly!

I've been trying to experiment and learn how to do abstract acrylic paintings, so here are some that I've been working on in various stages of completion.

baby H, update, week 28 and more...

2009-05-26T09:20:00.005-05:00

Week 28 Pregnancy photo

Sometimes it's hard to believe that we just entered the 7th month of pregnancy!

I had my first appointment in S. Antonio and everything checked out just fine-Praise God

We will have our final ultrasound June 9th to check her face, since she wasn't co-operating fully for the first ultrasound :)

Update on baby H:
We felt our little girl hiccup for the first time, last Wednesday! it was so cute to feel the rhythmic little taps! She is still pretty active, especially when I'm not running around too much.

According to my trusty What to Expect When You are Expecting book(WTEWE for short) by Murkoff, she is measuring in at about 16 inches long and weighs 2.5 pounds! and her new skill of the week is blinking!!

You might be wondering what I've been up to, now that Jason's doing the internship at SWRI?
by the way, he has had a great first week!

Since I'm in my third trimester and my doc appointments are now biweekly and then weekly, we decided I would stay at home and focus on doing my art and taking full advantage of the pool and nice weather!

I've been working on five paintings last week, here are the first two in various stages of completion, I'll post more on the others, once I get further along.

I've been settling in and making a list of art and projects I'd like to complete this summer...will try to blog about them as I go along!

I've also been enjoying reading, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen and The Complete Idiot's guide to Spices and Herbs by Leslie Bilderback. More info on that later.

Hiking, Friedrich Wilderness Park

2009-05-26T09:14:00.006-05:00

This past Sunday we went hiking at the Friedrich Wilderness Park in San Antonio.

It was a nice, warm day, with the trees providing some refreshing shade.

some really interesting rock formations
action shot hiking :)

old stump

San Antonio sky

aloe looking plant?

interesting bark

Jason took this really lovely pics with the intense blue sky! great job!

Jason and I taking a break for a photo on top of some limestone

Just setting out-Michael, me and Jason-don't worry, the guys were very gracious and let me take lots of water breaks, especially when things got a little steep!Spot the lil bunny!

Lizard Setting out
Michael and JasonWe were a little sad that we didn't get to see more wildlife, I guess we were talking too much.
I did get to see a 'roadrunner' but no:
(see list below)

Grilling fun in the Sun and Rain

2009-05-26T08:51:00.004-05:00

Jason and I have really been enjoying the nice weather here.

The weather has mainly been in the high 80's with a nice breeze and of course the pool works wonders for cooling off too!

We had a crazy thunderstorm that knocked out our power for a while, so we decided we would grill out under the gazebo, with our propane 'safari cheff grill' (thanks again Pa and Ma), we made cheesy queso's.

me, starving, ready to eat our jalapeno, onion, tomato and avo filling!
the finished product
We grilled out with some of the interns by the pool on Memorial Day!

Jason cleaning the pool a bit, while I read!Chillin :)

Road trip; San Antonio, here we come!

2009-05-18T09:17:00.007-05:00

Here is a pic of our loaded car as we started out on Friday for San Antonio.

Our goal was to drive from Champaign/Urbana IL to Carbondayle/Marion IL and stop at the famous 17th Street Bar and Grill.

Jason and I had recently watched the Food Networks, Best rated places to eat(the BBQ one in praticular), rated by Bon Apetite magazine.

This restuarant was rated best BBQ ribs in the US! so we had to go try it, since it was only a little bit out of our way!

We were not dissapointed, the meat is tenderly smoked and then put over the fire and the award winning sauce was delicous, we would both highly recommend it!
(Note: the bbq sauce is more of a vinegar based sauce, I personally like the sweet and spicy kind more, but excellent none the less!)

we were hungryyyyyyyyy!Jason with his full rack of ribs!

I had the combination platter with baby back and beef ribs and pulled pork shoulder, shredded pork and chicken!

After yummy ribs, we drove the rest of the way to Forrest City, Arkansas(it was a good stopping point, nothing too interesting there...)

On Saturday we stopped at Ihop for lunch and we found these interesting looking geese chillin next to the building :)

Saturday we drove aobut 9hrs to make it to Austin, Texas where we stayed at a gorgeous hotel with a courtyard in the middle of the building!
and we got free cookies!
here is my week 27 pregnancy pic!

an action shot of Jason jumping on our beautifully made bed!

the courtyard

the next morning we stopped at a qaint little cafe for breakfast-thanks Elizabeth for the recommendation!

I had french toast with 'migas'-an omelette variety with verde sauce and other yummy ingredients!

Jason had apple-buckwheat pancakes!

On Sunday we only had an hour and a half to go...Getting things organized as soon as possible!

Rhubarb pie and getting ready!

2009-05-18T09:07:00.004-05:00

Jason wanted to make Rhubarb pie to take to work before we left for San Antonio, so we scoured and searched the local farmers market, but to no avail!

A couple days later, we went to our local Meijer grocery store and 'voila' we found some!

Here are a couple pics of the process of making rhubarb pie :)

Finished pie with egg glaze

cute up rhubarb piecesrhubarb!

I tried to get the babies stuff all nice and organized and labeled before we left, so that it's all ready for when we return.

this is her bookshelf

'play area' in our converted living room

some of her stuffed animals and toys! co cute!

the mouse was mine from when I was little-from my Granny!

My first Mother's day!

2009-05-11T11:20:00.005-05:00

Jason and I have both been pretty busy so far this week, I've mainly be cleaning, packing and organizing! Getting ready for Texas and also trying to have everything ready in the apartment for when we get back with baby Haas!

Sunday, Jason treated me to a wonderful Mother's-to-be breakfast in bed(french toast with strawberries and cream) with a beautiful card!

Here is a pic for baby H's 'corner' where her stuff and playpen/sleeping area will be when she comes back, the room is now a baby/computer/guest/futon room!
yikes, multi-purpose!

It was so nice to be able to unpack some of her stuff and get it ready and organized(we still have a bunch of clothes in a bin, but that will be for when she's a little older- we are so blessed that we don't need ANY more clothes 'till she is at least a year or older!)

Here is week 26

I got this lovely baby swing from my boss-love the animal theme and matches our new stroller/travel system too!

swing

our SUPER WONDERFUL stroller that Pa and Ma Mulder got us! SOOOO nice!

We had our final B Study meeting/party this last week too and had a wonderful time grilling out!

Guys by the grilla meat picture-of course!

Rio de Janeiro

2009-05-08T20:32:00.005-05:00

I thought it's about time that I update everyone on my trip to Rio.

First, business... My talk went well. I practiced, giving my talk a number of times to Yih-

Chun in Rio. I now think I have a much better handle on what to present at a conference. The actual presentation went smoothly, though there were probably only 2-3 people in the room that weren't other presenters, Yih-Chun, or the session chair. I did get people to nod though, so that made me feel good. Thanks for all your prayers for this. I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

Second, fun... I did get some time to have fun in Rio, and it was a great place for it. We were about a 10 minute walk from the beach in Leblon (a district in Rio). People seemed really active there. There were regular games of volleyball and Brazilian volleyball (volleyball played with soccer rules). We took tons of pictures of people playing this game. In the picture above, the guy actually got the ball over the net, if I recall correctly.

We went to see the statue (Christo Redentor or Corcovado, above) and to a mountain called Sugarloaf Mountain, which is in the middle of the city (below). We got some great pictures. We were on top of Sugarloaf during a lightning storm with really highwinds. We were stuck for an hour before they would let us down. It was interesting being crammed into the cable-car house for an hour with a bunch of people. We met some other people from Infocom there, whom Yih-Chun knew. I got a bit of a cloud-to-cloud lightning strike in the picture below.

It was a good trip, though it would have been better if I hadn't needed to do as much work. We never really felt in danger there, but we didn't venture out after dark, except to get into a taxi immediately from wherever we were to go back to our hotel.

HAAS HOME

Elonah's birth story-9MINUTES

Try, try again...

Thanksgiving in New Mexico

Daily 'going-away' Surprise

Halloween Dress-up

Pumpkin Fun

Balloon Fiesta 2010

Alethea's room make-over!

A tease!

Yellow!

New HOME photos

Does anyone know...?

I didn't? I can't believe it!

Sandia Foothills - relaxation in ABQ

Introducing Doctor Haas!!!!

Latest Alethea faces...

Happy Father's and Grandpa and Oupa Day!

Pregnancy Photos-Y and V

Our (hopefully) future home...

NEW MEXICO, here we come!!

Fun at the Park

Improve your photography and have fun with friends?

Clapping, 7 months

I see YOU!

lil A laughing, 7 months

old, but new...zebra rug

Making baby food-Carrots!

Projects

belated Life project photos

Valentine candy box of heart notes...

Alethea-isms at 6 months

babies and buttons...

Alethea 6 months

New Alethea pics-two teeth!!

weekly snapshots :Jan 10-16-hands and water droplets

Maria photos

Weekly Snapshots- Shoe theme

Hawaii Trip

Christmas Video for Oupa and Oumie!

opening presents video

swimming video...

Rolling over with Daddy and Mommy

Kevin and Jen, wedding shots

Bumbo

4 months old!!

jump-a-roo!

Chatting with Dad and Mom

Chatting with Toys

For the Folks

Thanks and ROLLING OVER!!

My brown/blue eyed girl!

recent photography engagement shoot

more videos for oumie and oupa....

VIDEOS for Oumie!

Halloween 2009

1, 2, 3...a whole 3 months old

Jason's prelim

Madison

Tu Tu!

Wolf Howl(whistle)

talking with daddy-10 wks old

2 mnth updates

two months of fun!

Alethea at 6 weeks old!

visits

Finally, the birthing and delivery story of Alethea...

Official Announcement

more photos of Alethea

D-day!...Labor and Delivery :)

What I was GOING to post for week 37 post...

Week 36 pregnancy update!

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

week 35 pregnancy update

Texas weekend

More Corpus Christi pics

some new art and art in progress

Wednesday's Weekly Wonders

week 34, pregnancy...