Getting Bigger and Stronger

Baby P. at 13 weeks

The little bugger would barely sit still for a picture. It was amazing to watch he/she move around so much! Great appointment today at the high risk doctor. I think I am going to like going there because it will be often. I will get to see my baby more than most. I think it will be very reassuring.

Thoughts on being preggos...(so far)

Being pregnant isn't at all what I thought. I feel tired but that is about it. I don't feel nauseous or the need to throw up. I am more than grateful that this is the case! I think God gave me a break on this one! Because if I were to get sick I would have to go to the hospital and get my medicines through an IV. Not fun. But I need my medicines, so I really wouldn't have any other choice.

I am grateful that I don't feel the normal pains of pregnancy, yet I feel jipped somehow. Is that crazy? I don't want to get fat but I am excited for something, anything to happen or to change in me. We have been to the doctor twice and have heard the heartbeat. I LOVE THIS! It reassures me that everything is indeed alright. But then I leave the doctor and feel like plain old Jackie again.

How did some of you moms feel?

Am I excited? Absolutely. But I feel most days like it isn't real. And that I will wake up and someone will have played a horrible joke on me. I am looking forward to the day when I feel 'connected' to the baby and to actually feel like an expectant mother.

I hope saying these things don't make me seem like a horrible person! I promise I am more than over the moon that we are having a baby! It just isn't at all like I had expected to feel.

One bonus: I got the boobs I always wanted! :)

Late Night Sunsets Are Back!

10:04 PM last night!

A New Addition

God has blessed Aaron and I with our first child. He/she will be arriving this November. The sonogram is from 8weeks 5 days but I am starting my 11th week now. We are over the moon with excitement and nerves. Keep us and the little one in your prayers! Next appointment will be May 5th. I will keep you all posted!

Little People

Aaron and I rarely get home, so it was awesome to be able to go back to PA for Easter. It is always great to see family. But it is really great to see the little people of the family, nieces and nephews. They grow so fast! And it seems like we are missing a lot. But thank goodness we have sisters and sister-in-laws who send photos and videos of what they are up too! Here are a few of my favorite photos of them.

Delaney, Ryan and Briana's little one.

Delaney watching the lake. There is a lab in there swimming around. She thought it was pretty funny!

Nickie's daughter, Sydney and Aaron.

Aaron and the new addition to the family, Anderson. He is Nickie's also!

Aaron and Delaney doing the surprise face!

Aaron and Delaney showing their muscles. :)

Aaron also got some fishing in while we were home. It was funny watching him tote his fly fishing to PA from AK. But the fishing season hasn't started here yet!

I have more pictures of Anderson and Sydney. I took some for my sister to send to family. I didn't want to ruin her pics by posting them here. As soon as picks which ones she likes, I will post the others on the blog!

Random note: I love having Aaron home so I can take pics of him. There were only a few taken of me while we were home and I don't mind that at all! I can't seem to take enough pictures of him!

YIKES!

I don't think I have ever taken this long between posts! But there is good reason, I promise! Aaron and I went back to PA for about 12 days. He hadn't been home in over a year so it was a needed trip. I have lots of pics to share. But right now after the flight yesterday, I just need a nap!

Be back soon....

Our First Glacier

Saturday, Aaron and I went on our first AK adventure together. Through The Tourist Trap in Girdwood, we booked a 5 hour snowmobile ride to Portage Glacier. It rained. It snowed. We got soaked. And I can still say it was an incredible trip!

I didn't take the camera for the reasons listed above. There was no way I was ruining my camera due to dampness. But the guide was great enough to capture us on his iPhone.

On Sunday I felt like I had been hit by a truck! I didn't realize how many muscles it took to control a machine like that! But it was totally worth it!

Scenes from where it all begins...

Alaska just keeps getting cooler! There are so many fun things to do around here. Things I have heard and seen about on TV but have never been able to take part in. Well, this year we decided to travel up to Willow (only a hour plus away) and be a part of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The Last Great Race On Earth!

" A race over 1150 miles of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. She throws jagged mountain ranges, frozen river, dense forest, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast at the mushers and their dog teams. Add to that temperatures far below zero, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, long hours of darkness and treacherous climbs and side hills, and you have the Iditarod. A race extraordinaire, a race only possible in Alaska. "

"The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and beyond to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain and Nome. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled.In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs."

Pictures from the start of the Iditarod:

These dogs are so excited to get racing people have to hold them back at the start line. They were howling and barking up a storm!

One of the racers, Hans Gatt. We met him in the food line. He was really nice! He came in 2nd this year! Amazing!

Lance Mackey. He has won (2010 champ!) the last four years in a row!

People had puppies out in the parking lot for sale. It was so tempting! They were so stinking cute!

Love Yoda!

The Anchorage museum downtown had a Star Wars exhibit! I politely informed Aaron (while still in Afghanistan) he would have to take me when he got home. And let me tell you I couldn't wait to go!

The two coolest; R2D2 & C3PO.

The man inside R2D2.

The exhibit was filled with lots of fun facts! (click all images to enlarge)

Models they used to shoot scenes for the movie.

Pure evil!

Me laying the smackdown on a Stormtrooper.

Aaron was not pleased about this picture. But I needed him for scale! :)

My favorite! I love Yoda!

There were also a lot of models in the exhibit. It is amazing to me that they can make something this small look huge with a camera.

This guy rocked! Check out the half eaten meat on the left. Yuck!

At the end there was a virtual ride on the Millennium Falcon. Beyond cool! I really felt like I was at warp speed!

More posts of our newest adventures to come...

Who needs a bronco?

When you can ride a bucking salmon! ha ha ha! Only in AK. And yes, it was a lot of fun!