The Apple of My Eye

Santa came early to our home this year! Here is our sweet little Andy LaRell Gilbert. We are quite proud of him. He is very huggable and even more kissable. We couldn’t imagine our lives without him since 7:27pm on November 21^st. Every last 8lb 6oz and 21 in of him was the sweetest and he’s been growing fast just giving more for us to love. Our Christmas wish list has been fulfilled. We feel truly blessed and can’t wait for you to meet him!

Love,

Kevin & Kristen

(The Proud Parents)

Baby Showers with Family and Friends!

Between my family and friends up here, I felt pretty loved these last couple weeks. My mother-in-law and sisters-in-law threw me a 'Gilbert Gathering Shower' and I (and Baby G) were so spoiled by all the aunts, cousins, grandma, etc. I didn't have my camera to capture the amazing lunch they put on but if you know my mother-in-law you can just imagine it was FABULOUSLY DELICIOUS! I did manage to get a picture of my mother-in-law (soon to be Grandma in our family's vocabulary :)), Grandma Gilbert, and my amazing sisters-in-law Tyree, Natalie and Karen. I love them all so much! Thanks for being the best!!

Then I was spoiled by my friends who put together a super cute jungle themed party with lots of yummy cookies!

We played a couple fun games, this one was poking fun at the real life troubles a pregnant woman has day to day, specifically, tying shoes. I could make a lengthy list of all the things I hope to never take for granted again when my belly isn't big and pregnant :).

The hostesses made me the cutest diaper elephant. He had two eyes until one of their sweet little girls thought one looked tempting...now it's the missing binki :).

Me...oober excited for Desitin!! Oh, I have NO idea what lies ahead of me. But for now, in my ignorance, let me be excited for bum rash cream :). I guess I'm mostly excited for my very own little baby bum to love!

T minus 4 weeks

The doc ordered no traveling past 36 weeks so Kev ordered a getaway for the weekend of our 35th week. We had a blast!! I want everyone who sees this post to be convinced they need to come visit and go exploring with us! Even though Kevin never imagined himself as an Oregonian, we both admit it's a beautiful place :)

A sturgeon as old as the man looking in at him.

Us driving IN the ocean (according to our GPS)

Kevin braving the 60 MPH winds and freezing water. From the picture you can see that I kept my distance, I had our camera on full zoom!

At the start of our nature hike...

Our trail friend. I thought I made quite the find, but it turned out that they were every where on the trail.

Tillamook Cheese Factory...DELICIOUS! All of our souveniers from this trip seemed to be edible :)

A crazy goat and a crazy lady...not me, of course, the one in the background!

We visited our honeymoon beach. I can't believe it's been 4 years! I love you Kevin!!!

What a SPLURGE!

Call us bargain shoppers.

I tried to convince Kevin to spoil himself and buy a new truck, but even with the OK from his wife he went out and picked this beauty :). Although new would have been nice, no payments is much nicer for sure. We won't have anything depreciating on our driveway! Dave Ramsey would definitely approve! We went and picked her up in Portland and did some baby shopping along the way taking advantage of our new truck bed.

First gas up. She even comes with two tanks! They don't make them like that anymore :). We went for a Sunday drive last night and I sat right in the middle by Kev. Now we fit right into our humble (very much redneck) country town!

With all the money we saved we went to Joe's Crab Shack to celebrate.

Last stop of the day...Multnomah Falls. It was BEAUTIFUL even if we could hardly see it because we didn't leave ourselves with quite enough day light.

The waterfall is behind me in this picture, you're just going to have to take my word for it :). And this is me and baby at 32 weeks. The little hike up to this bridge would've definitely been easier a few weeks ago, but I still conquered it without much complaining and am feeling great! So grateful for an enjoyable pregnancy!!

Benefits of the NW

Having grown up in AZ I never had to think about what to do with a whole box of fruit picked straight from the farm. This year I did though and so I canned it all for our enjoyment throughout the winter. Look at my new skill!

I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed doing this. It came with a little backache from standing all day with my pregnant belly but that was a small price to pay for the huge sense of accomplishment I have!

Where have I let the last few months go? Is this baby really going to be here in just two months?! There is a lot of buying and organizing to do around here. Thank goodness Kev is here to help with all the assembly. He graciously put together the crib for me the other day.

"The tummy" making a little appearance in the background.

Place for baby to sleep-Check.

And the rest of the 'before baby gets here to-do list' awaits us. I hope to show final pictures of the nursery by October 1st. Let's see if I can meet that self-imposed deadline :).

Cowboys and Indians

We had our first experience at the all famous Pendleton 'Roundup' this week. This is our second rodeo of the season. We loved it!

They had all the traditional events as well as two really fun events I've never seen. The best was an event where groups of 3 were assigned a wild horse (VERY wild, like never been ridden before caught off the open range wild) that they would have to catch, saddle, and then ride. It was hilarious! These horses were bucking like crazy.

I of course had to have a traditional Navajo Taco made by true Navajo grandmas. Mmmm! I LOVE good fry bread.

Well, what did we take away from this experience? Kevin someday wants to get in touch with his inner cowboy and I want to someday have some horses. Maybe we will start with a miniature pony for our little nugget and see where that takes us.

Thanks Kev for a fun date!

Part of me feels a little bad spying on our little guy like this. There he is thinking he's wrapped up in quiet privacy and here we are invading his happy place :).

It sure is exciting to catch these amazing little sneak peaks though! He's measuring in the 79th percentile and so that puts him measuring bigger than my estimated 28 weeks and 3 days. Looking at both Kevin and myself that is not a surprise by any means.

Kevin and I are getting more and more prepared for him to be here. The nursery is coming together and we're going to start birthing classes next Tuesday. Do we know your name yet mister? No. Well, your dad thinks he does but I'm not 100% sure yet. I just can't wait to see you and decide. Keep growing and kicking so you'll be ready for all the hugs and kisses we're ready to give you!

Love, your happy mom!

A Farmer OUT-STANDING in his Field

Kevin will be going to Iowa all of next week for training because of some added responsibilites he has been given with just over 3 months on the job!

This is what makes him

out-standing in his field {wink}

He is really doing a great job and I'm grateful he's mine! I couldn't ask for a better provider and buddy. What lucky kids we're going to have!! And since I'd rather not sit here all to my lonesome while he's gone, I'll be going to Boise for a much needed baby planning/shopping trip with my sister Lisa. Hopefully us girls will be better about taking a few of those 'growing belly' shots that everyone requests. Because, believe me, it IS growing!

Shark Bait Oohaha!

What started as this...

Healed (in vain) to this...

And is now, this...

Thank heavens for having time on my hands! If not, I just may not have taken myself in to be cut open, not just once, but TWICE! Not everyone's idea of a good time? Well, it wasn't, but better safe than sorry. Lather up folks. I'm talking about the SPF 50.

I've had a small mole on my knee now for a few years and just recently I noticed a tiny change in it so I had it chopped out. Coincidentally (or not) my mom had one in the same spot that turned out to be melanoma back when I was about 2 years old. I guess it's in the genes/jeans (women most commonly get skin cancer on their lower leg). Pathology reports came back confirming melanoma so I signed myself up for round two and will now have a shark bite of a scar and will be getting to know my dermatologist quite intimately with regular check-ups. Who would've thought, I had skin cancer and absolutely NO tan to show for it! If you have any history of skin cancer, especially in immediate relatives, do yourself a favor and have a once-over by your doctor. Considering most of you reading this are my immediate family, just get an appointment now.

It's not half bad, my wound care instructions advised to avoid physical activity for the first 24 hours (read a book, watch T.V., or talk on the phone). Following Dr.'s orders I've been reading the Hunger Games and LOVE THEM!

I've been having nightmares about them lately. Kevin says that's not a very convincing book review, but you'll just have to read them to understand. I'm now reading the second book, Catching Fire, and can't wait for the third to come out next week. I'm past the 24 hour prescribed rest period, but think I'll drag it out a little longer.