Five Years

This post is one day premature, but Erika's napping and I have time today to do it!

Five years ago on September 27, Matt and I joined our lives together. And it has been a true blessing ever since! We are happier and more in love today than we were five years ago, which is really what marriage is all about, I think!

September 27, 2003, one of the greatest days of my life. Really, the greatest weekend of my life! It started on Friday night with Matt's parents hosting a wonderful barbecue at the camp where our wedding was held for the attendants and family. Everyone was in such a great mood, and it helped that we had presents for people! Saturday, the sun was shining and it was very warm for late September in the northwest. It was perfect! We had our family and friends to help us celebrate. God was looking down on us and blessing our future together. It was amazing.

A few more numbers that signify our five years together:

-We have owned 15 different vehicles

-We have lived in 6 different dwellings

-We have owned 2 homes

-We have 1 beautiful daughter

-We have 1 beautiful baby-to-be

-We have made numerous trips to visit family and friends over the years

-We are blessed with a loving church family from 4 different congregations in 3 states

God has truly blessed our lives. I love Matt more and more each day and know he feels the same way. We are best friends and couldn't imagine spending our lives any other way. We pray for many more happy, healthy, fun years. We are excited that after 5 years, we now live close to both of our families. God is good!

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On a less serious note: Why can't we have anniversary bridal showers? They don't have to be big. I think that milestones, such as lasting five years with the same person, should be celebrated! Plus, after 5 years, my sheets are looking a little worse for wear and I could really use a better blender!

Grainy Black and White Pictures Can Be Beautiful

Yesterday, we got to see Baby Hammar #2 during our ultrasound. We took Erika, which I thought she would enjoy, but it turns out she doesn't like seeing her mommy laying on a table when she can't lay beside her. Matt was able to keep her entertained in the room for about 2/3 of the exam, but then they had to go play in the lobby. The baby looks good, at least to my untrained eye. The ultrasound technician said, tentatively, that things look good, but I don't think she can say with much assurance that everything is perfect without talking to a doctor first. But, we saw the heart, which looked like it was beating just perfectly. We could make out all four of the valves and chambers and things, which was pretty amazing! At one point, the baby's face was in view and it was talking! For a couple minutes while the monitor was picking up the baby's face, it was jabbering the entire time. Matt says that's just what we need, another talker in the family. I'm pretty sure our house will not be quiet for a long time! The exciting part of the visit, for me anyway, was that the technician was estimating the due date to be January 3 instead of January 5. I would much rather receive this news than news that I will be pregnant longer! Hopefully the baby will be born on New Year's Eve or Day. Then, we can keep up our holiday birthdays! So, things look good. I feel great...tired, but fortunately Erika is still taking two naps a day. Erika is doing wonderfully and talking all the time with much clearer words. Matt is busy at work and really enjoying his job. Things are great!

Side Note: Our digital camera is on the fritz or else you would be getting some pictures/videos. We're planning on getting that fixed soon.

A Night Away From Home

This weekend, Erika had her first slumber party away from home. Matt and I celebrated our anniversary a little early and my sister volunteered to watch Erika overnight for us. Isn't she amazing? I am so glad to be living so close by her...it is how I've always imagined we would be living. It's really fun to be able to have your sister pop by whenever or for me to go to her apartment when I need a break from here! I digress.

So, we dropped Erika off at Sarah's apartment on Friday night with her pack and play, two bags of essentials, and a basket full of toys. I was so nervous because Sarah just moved into this beautiful apartment with brand new carpet (white) and painted walls (white) and bought really pretty furniture from IKEA (also white). Erika doesn't quite have the concept of how to keep nice white things looking nice or staying white so I cleaned her very well before we went over and only sent along snacks that were not sticky, cheesy, or had the potential of becoming a lovely stain on a brand new couch. We left Erika there and then went back to our place for a night with no baby. This was only the second time in the last 17 months that we did not have Erika with us for the night, and it was great! Saturday morning, we got up early and drove to Lincoln City for the day. It was so beautiful on the coast! We really lucked out because it was grey and overcast in town, but as soon as we started the windy descent to the coast, it cleared up and the sun was shining. It had been quite a while since we had been to the beach so we enjoyed walking on the sand, listening to the waves, and sticking our feet in the freezing water. We were home Saturday night and listened to stories about Sarah and Erika's day and how Erika woke Sarah up at 4:45am with her recitation of all the words she knows...over and over again. I'm not sure that this will be a weekly habit of slumber parties, but I'm sure it's not the last one!

Here are some pictures from the party.

The polka dot sheet was wisely added to the couch in case of a snack accident.

Again, we find a towel on which Erika colored so as not to ruin the carpet.

Erika loves catalogs! In this one, she's checking out what she wants from IKEA.

Party Pictures

I mentioned in my previous blog that Sarah, Erika and I helped celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary with our family last weekend. My Aunt Jane and her husband, Jack, hosted the party at their house. Being two of the most amazing chefs I know (not their jobs, just their hobby), the food was awesome! I'm so glad that I was hungry when I got there...plus, I had to give Baby #2 some as well. Erika did not eat the delicious food provided to her, mainly because her Great-Grandpa Parnell was giving her frosting from the cake during dinner. Oh well, sometimes sugar for dinner is just the way to go! It was really fun seeing our family together again, especially now that there are great-grandchildren! Here are a few pictures of the great-grandkids. This was literally the only time all the kids were still...in the three hours that we were there.

Please notice how it looks like Erika and her cousin, Ian, look like they are posing for prom. That's his hand on her belly.

Erika is the one who is hamming it up. Silly girl!

Oregon

For those who might have mistakenly thought we fell off the planet, you are wrong. We just moved to Oregon! The move went rather well. The movers came to our house on Tuesday morning at 8:30 and had everything boxed and labeled for us by noon. Wednesday, they showed up at 8:30 again and things were loaded in their truck and we were loaded in our van by 1:00 ready to head to our new home. We drove from Coeur d'Alene to Yakima on Wednesday afternoon and stayed with my grandparents. It was nice to split the trip into two days because Erika doesn't like staying in the car too long (neither does her mommy!) On Thursday, we stayed the night in a hotel room in Forest Grove, OR. Both Erika and Wyatt did wonderfully in their first hotel experience! We finally were in Newberg in our rental house on Friday. Saturday, my sister, Erika and I drove to Seattle to help celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary with our family. While we were gone, Matt had all the unpacking done! What a guy! So, now we are settled. The cable and internet guy just hooked us up so now we are back as functioning members of society! Here are some pictures from staying with my grandparents.

Normally, Wyatt is the only one who gets to lay on Grandpa's blanket. This time, he had to share the spotlight. Doesn't he seem annoyed by Erika?

Erika got to bathe in Grandma's big tub!