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A couple weeks ago we went back to Iowa to visit the fam and to have a baby shower! It was an amazing time as always (despite the car issues)! My parents, Andy and I began our trip in two cars as we headed to Denver on the first part of our trip. Half way there my Jeep decided it did not want to go any farther and died in the parking lot of a jeep dealership in Salida. The rest of the trip the four of us traveled in my mom's car. Sitting in a back seat for 15 hours while pregnant was not an enjoyable experience! We where so grateful my parents where going with us or we would have been stranded and would have missed all the fun of Iowa! 

Our first day there Bob cooked for us. Unfortunately what was to be a BBQ outside turned into a torrential downpour. Bob was our hero as he continued to grill despite being drenched.  Between him and Sue we had an incredible meal- it was a great start to an Iowa vacation!

The next day we spent the afternoon having a cute overload. We first went to see Lindsey's new babies: 3 baby bunnies! We got to feed them, love them, and hold them- it was amazing. 
We then got to finally meet Padfoot! He was so cute, so much fun, and full of drool!
Later that night we went over to Skip's for a McKinley family get together! Andy found a toad!

After eating and games they surprised us by bringing out Dave's karaoke machine! Grandma and Grandpa started the night with a Sunny and Cher duet! It was phenomenal!
Andy, Matt, and Lindsey serenaded us with a song from Little Mermaid

Then the wigs where brought out- Skip, Andy, Matt, and Ed did a nice rendition of the Beatles.

The family continued singing, dancing and laughing, putting on quite the performance. 

Our final day there was spent at my first ever baby shower and hanging out w/ friends and fam

Grandma, Kathy, Sue and anyone else who contributed did a wonderful job! I was amazing at how many woman came, but sense it was a McKinley party I should have known. They know how to do it right! I had so much fun and they gave us so many great things!
As Andy and I went through the presents after the shower he modeled some of his favorites.

(the bib says I Love My Daddy)

This trip was amazing and WAY to short. It was so interesting visiting Iowa for the second time sense finding out we are pregnant. The first time we went we had just found out the day before and where still in shock the whole time we where there. This time we got to enjoy the fact that we are bringing a baby into the greatest family anyone could ask for! 

Oh and the theme of OB Juan continued the whole trip- the gifts said "For Obediah Juan", Aunt Cathy prayed for "little Obi" and even the notes in books given to us used the name... Thanks to Alli and Andy I think our son is officially nicknamed OB Juan. 

On our way back we spent the night in Denver and we had the chance to see a couple friends!!! First, we stopped off in Jax- it was great seeing everyone, but it made me miss the fun! We then went Leela's and Andy got to see Curt and I got to see... HARVEST! She just so happened to be in Denver so I got to spend the evening catching up with her and Suz. It was like getting an early christmas present. 

We then headed home, picked up my car, and it died again at a shop here in Durango. It was quite the vacation! My car is all better now and I think I am finally recovered from the horrible car ride and the whirlwind trip!

3RD TRIMESTER!!!!!

Well hello there! As of 6/5 I am in my 3rd trimester! We took these pictures at 28 weeks...
Here is Spear checking out the belly- he is still unsure of what to do think of it.

Baby and my belly are constantly getting bigger!!! At our 28 week checkup my belly had grown 8in in a month! It will be very interesting to see just how big I get with 12 more weeks to go!

Life Update

I am just constantly amazed at how God is ever working in our lives. We are continuously having great and wonderful things happening here (no not all of it has been easy with the stress of figuring out $, jobs, life, but we definitely are blessed!) The company Andy was doing landscaping for was just not getting the amount of jobs they where used to and had to let him go, but amazingly that opened up the opportunity for him to get his dream job. He now works at his favorite fly fishing shop getting to talk about fishing and music all day and tie flies for them at night. He is loving life! We also believe we finally found a place to rent down here which we will be able to move into in August! 

I am now at 27 weeks- one week away from being in my 3rd trimester and about 13 weeks away from baby being born!!! This is my belly on May 5th- Andy thought it would be fun to decorate it. I can not believe how big it is there and how much it has grown since! Our little guy is moving around A TON now practicing all his sweet dance/skateboarding/ninja moves. He is definitely going to have skills! As great as his growing is it has been killing my back. It was getting so bad I could not walk, but a visit to my local massage therapist, who is AMAZING, helped and my back is finally much better- I am not is so much pain! Now if I could just get him to not live on the right side of my stomach and move more towards the center :) 

This weekend we where SO excited to have some of our good friends come down to visit!!!! Alli and Dane stayed with us the whole time while Jason and Mark stopped in for an overnight visit. It was the best thing getting to see our friends from Denver and, of course with them, we had non stop fun and laughs! We spent the weekend doing a lot of cooking, bouldering, exploring Durango's fine garage sales and thrift stores, and just catching up and goofing around.  Above they are showing off some really nice poses/ tattoos. Bellow it is a picture of me and the guys. They where trying to look pregnant also- they failed :) 

Andy and I are excited to be learning more and more about sustainable living/gardening/etc.

We spent today planting stuff outside and getting our Peet Pots ready for planting- we are behind timing wise, but non the less excited to see what happens. 

Overall, it has been a great few weeks! 

MOTHERS DAY @ 24 WEEKS!

Today was my very first Mother's Day and I loved getting to celebrate my pregnancy and our little one! We started of the day going to church and out to eat w/my parents... 

(Andy giving baby some love)

afterwards we drove up La Plata Canyon and got to hike around and enjoy how beautiful it is!

Andy and I spent the rest of the day enjoying how beautiful it has been outside and loving the chance to just relax and play with my parents dogs!

We are now at 24 weeks! I can't believe that I only have about 16 weeks till He is born!

Update: for you that don't yet know, Andy and I have finally found a midwife here! That means we are getting to have a home birth!!! To say the least we are relieved and extremely excited!

one week later...

We are loving it here in Durango! Andy got a great job working for a wonderful landscaper. She is actually the woman who created the front yard for my parent's old house in Bayfield. Andy is getting to use all sorts of machinery and is spending all his time outside while having the opportunity to lend his artistic talents. It really is a perfect fit for him.

Today we went exploring in Durango. We had a great time taking the puppies to Haviland Lake, which was beautiful!

baby and I soaking up the sun and taking in the view

Andy and Speer looking for fish

We then came home and baby and I had our first lesson in casting! The little guy and I will be out there catching fish soon enough!

Lastly, it has only been a week sense the last belly pic and let me just say baby has been busy! After a few days of feeling bad, constantly needing more food, and having back and ligament pain galore this little one has gone through a growing spurt. Rumor has it by the end of this week he will have gone from the size of a banana to the size of a football!

20 weeks and so much still going on!

Yesterday we met with the midwives who will be delivering our little one and we got a tour of the birthing suite. It amazing to think there is only about 20 weeks till I give birth to our son! 

As the midwife was listening to his heart rate he decided it would be fun to continuously kick at the doppler (I believe he learned it from his new friend Harper)! 

As you can tell by the transformation my stomach has gone under the baby is growing! He is unbelievably active now. I am feeling him move daily and today Andy even had the chance to feel him move! I have a feeling this little guy is going to take after his dad and be an active little one! Sue I am going to need you to help me baby proof our place for a McKinley boy!

20 weeks and so much going on!

This past week we went to Denver to visit friends, register for baby stuff, and to have our ultrasound. The entire trip was amazing- thanks in large part to our friends Alex and Nicole. They not only provided us with a place to stay (which was incredible), but Nicole helped me with registering (it would have not gone nearly as well with out her!) as we got to spend the weekend relaxing, partying with Harper, and sharing all the baby stuff with them. It was so much fun! We also had the chance to see a few of our other good friends. One memorable evening was spent with Alli (one of my bridesmaids) and her boyfriend Dane coming up with baby names that we will NEVER use, but was so much fun! One of the best examples was "Obie Juan" McKinley. 

On Monday we went for our ultrasound and finally got to see our little one!

We received the news that little one is healthy and growing strong! Fortunately, baby cooperated and we where able to get all the pictures, measurements, and information we needed! One of the most exciting parts was finding out the baby is a...

BOY!!!

We are now back in Durango gearing up for another McKinley boy to enter the world! 

Here is a picture of us as a new family (we are holding a pic of baby) in our new home!