This morning we hiked the Catherine Creek Arch Loop and this afternoon we visited Uncle Ben's office where the boys received magnet "goodie bags" and played frisbee with Foster.
05/28/2012
05/01/2012
where am I this week?
In Texas... visiting this little guy.
Ben is on a business trip for a few weeks and I decided it would be the perfect time to visit Abby, James & Asa. Asa's seven and a half months already and I can't believe it! He crawls everywhere and is pulling himself up on whatever is around. This kid is so active I think he might skip walking altogether and go straight to running. Also, he is the happiest baby. He smiles and giggles and loves to be part of the action. I'm getting a little glimpse into what life will be like in a few short months.*
*I'll post more on that later
02/24/2012
what do we already know about our baby?
For those of you who don't know, we had been trying to have a baby for a few years. In 2008/2009 I had three miscarriages. After the first one, I was prepared for the other two. Fortunately, each was so early, there was no heartbreak, just a resolve to find out why they occurred. In the spring of 2009 several tests were conducted and my doctor found I was positive for Factor V Leiden- a predisposition to develop blood clots during pregnancy which can result in a miscarriage. The treatment- daily injections of blood thinner during pregnancy. Because obesity enhances the chances of blood clots, I decided to loose weight and get in shape before trying to get pregnant again.
Last summer, after losing weight and trying to get pregnant for about a year, we decided it was time to visit the OHSU Fertility Clinic. After genetic testing my doctor discovered I have a balanced chromosomal trans-location- which means I have all of the chromosomes, but part of 7 and 11 are switched. So, when my half met Ben's half, the combinations were lethal resulting is miscarriages.
Our solution- IVF with chromosomal testing. I started the process in late October and was pregnant by Thanksgiving. I don't mean to brag, but I was a perfect IVF candidate. I was never in pain, never got sick, and never diverted from the doctor's prescribed plan. The doctor retrieved 12 eggs, fertilized 8, sent one cell from the 8 embryos to Michigan for chromosomal testing and 24 hours later we had the results. One embryo was viable and transferred. We knew the sex of our baby before it was transferred.
Since then I have had more ultrasounds than I can count and have more ultrasound pictures than I know what to do with. I even have an ultrasound picture of the "puff of air" that pushed the embryo through. Every doctor's visit we learn how the baby is progressing- this many weeks and this many days. Our best visit was when the attending said "not knowing your history, I would say this is a typical low-risk pregnancy". So far, so good.
We know that there are no guarantees in life and that anything can happen, but at this moment we feel very lucky. As we hear others stories about going through the same thing, we realize how unique our situation is. We want to thank everyone for their support and we will keep you updated.
*Once we discovered the trans-location, Factor V Leiden was ruled out as a reason for the miscarriages and I do not need daily injections of blood thinner
02/15/2012
01/01/2012
who surprised us over the holidays?
Katelyn & Cody.
They eloped on December 20th in Carmel! Last Wednesday they had a party at The Lunch Box to celebrate their wedding. Chris took the amazing photos above.
Congratulations KK & Cody!
12/17/2011
what is ben's favorite thing to say when he sees trees like the ones below?
The flocking crews have been out.
When you live in the Pacific Northwest and it snows the trees appear as if they have been flocked. However, the trees above weren't covered in snow. They were covered in ice. The tress are along the Maryhill Loops Road where we went hiking last week. It was freezing and foggy. The road was covered in ice, forcing us to walk alongside the road on the dirt. As we were making our way up the road, we heard voices and then we heard skateboards. That's right, even in the ice and fog, the loops still attract skateboarders!
11/25/2011
how was our thanksgiving?
Delicious!
This year Ben and I had a quiet Thanksgving at home. I cooked while Ben and Foster worked in the yard. Luckily the weather cooperated in the morning for the boys. By the time dinner rolled around the rain had started.
Our Thanksgving menu included parsnip, giner soup with homemade crutons, turkey with apple, cornbread, sausage (fake) stuffing, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and homemade cranberry sauce (my first time making this). For dessert we had pumpkin pie and an apple crostata! Tasty.
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
PS The beautiful arrangement is from Bob & Jane... Thank You!
11/14/2011
what's happening on the mountain?
It's snowing!
Yesterday Ben and I took a drive up to Timberline to check out the fresh snow. We intended on hanging out at the lodge and then playing in the snow with Foster. But by the time were finished in the lodge and headed outside the wind was blowing and it was snowing hard. I stayed in the car with the heater on while Ben threw a few snowballs for Foster. We can't wait until there is enough snow to ski!
11/12/2011
why is 11/12/11 also special?
Because it's Ben's birthday, we recieved the news that Katelyn and Cody are engaged, and twelve eggs were retrieved... take that 11/11/11!
11/06/2011
where did our road trip take us?
To Walla Walla Washington.
Waking up an hour early made us feel like we needed to do something special with our day. We'd been wanting to have an adventure that did not involve rain, so we headed east. Three hours later we ended up in sunny Walla Walla. We had lunch, walked around downtown, and took a little hike up to the Twin Sisters. We had a great day!
