Just a few highlights of this Month

Jan and Joe flew in Thursday and Camille and Ryan flew in Saturday. It is fun to have family come visit especially when they don't live close by.

John, Joe, Erik, Hannah, and Annabel took my dad fishing Saturday morning. I don't think anything other than a cat nap was caught and a little sun bathing on such a beautiful day.

The day wouldn't have been complete without someone falling into the fish pond trying to catch some gold fish at my parent's house. As Elise took a dive for the gold Jan and I went running after her. Unfortunately only Jan actually reached the soaking wet, frantic, and scared little girl. I on the other hand, in the process of running to help Elise, biffed it and received a good sized battle wound on my left knee while trying to avoid falling on the unborn babe. It was all a little alarming but we are all doing well.

Last week my sisters threw me a baby shower as well as some ladies from my ward. We ate lots of good food at both showers and received very nice gifts for the baby. Thanks to all that helped and attended them it was very much appreciated.

We went to the Mariners game with Erik's dad and Kirsten. Erik clocked his pitching skills and threw approximately 77 mph. We all got bobble heads at the door which I don't think we have even opened yet. The Mariner's had a few good plays but seeing as how they are one of the worst teams in the league it wasn't too surprising that they lost. Oh well, the company was good and we had plenty of junk food to keep ourselves content.

Erik and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary last Friday. We took a walk down memory lane by going to lunch at Spud's fish and chips and taking a walk down Alki beach. This was were I took him on one of our dates about four years ago. It is hard to believe we have been married for two years and are going to be parents in about 3 weeks. Life goes by so fast.

We had fun at the batting cages for family home evening one night. Erik is getting ready to go to Cincinnati for a softball tournament with his work. He got some practice in batting right and left handed for the big weekend that is coming up in July. They have lots of things planned including going to the Cincinnati Reds baseball game. The baby and I will miss him but we are excited for him to do something he enjoys doing; playing sports and just plain old getting exercise.

Quadrant had a garage sale so I convinced Erik to come along with me to see if we couldn't score a coach for our new house. We were a little under prepared for what we saw that morning. The people there had been scouting this out days in advance. As we waited for the doors to open and the mad rush of people to run and grab anything they could, Erik was regretting coming and I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous people can be. Surprisingly we scored an awesome coach, some drapes, and curtain rods.

Home update

Our home is just about ready for us to move in. Erik drove by the house today and said the front yard is in. He also peaked through the window and noticed the carpet has been laid and the appliances are installed. We have our final walk through this Wednesday and we are scheduled to close on Thursday. Amanda is eager to help paint and set up the baby’s room. I am excited to see the final product.

Dad's Progress

It takes a lot of concentration for dad to complete this task but he has come a long way and it is exciting to see him taking steps. This video was taken last week, since then he has been practicing walking up and down stairs and stepping off of a curb. I was a amazed at the exercises he performed while at the parallel bars yesterday. He was able to hold all of his weight without holding on to the bars on each foot and while bending at the knees. It was hard for him but he did it!!! If things go as planned he should be coming home next week. He continues to work hard and looks forward to coming home.

Our Baby's Ever-Growing, Lovely Mother

What a looker! Our little guy is growing quickly (at least that is what the belly growth would indicate) and is causing a ruckus in his mom's tummy. Our little guy seems to be sitting high, likes to play the drums on his mother's ribs, and he bounces around her stomach like a ping pong ball on occasion. Karen has taken all this action in stride but is looking forward to holding our little boy in her loving arms shortly.

Special Olympics- Aquatics Event

On Saturday April 19th several of my project team members, their family and friends, and my lovely wife and sister gathered together at the Aquatics Center in Federal Way to support the Special Olympics Aquatic Event. We volunteered our time as timers, runners and marshals. We had a great time cheering for the athletes as they gave it their all in their respective races. Their energy and enthusiasm was contagious and their smiles warmed our hearts.

Thanks goes out to all of those who volunteered and made this an event to remember. Kirsten made it even more memorable when she randomly asked "the cutest lifeguard ever" (her words) to snap a photo with her. Way to go sis! Kirsten also grew attached to some of the athletes including the cute kid in the photo below. The little guy asked Kirsten if he had a chance at winning his respective race and she told him he did and then added: "Go get em!" The little guy took her words to heart and impressed us all with his speed and form, taking home the gold! What a fun event!

More House Updates

The house is starting to come together (as you can see from the pictures) and we are excited. We were a bit nervous about the siding and board & batten colors clashing, but we are really happy with the results. They have completed the sheet rock and rough-in work. We look forward to visiting the site next week to see what new treasures have been installed. It is a bit like watching a dream of yours unfold over a couple months. Kirsten loved the orange Quadrant hard hats so much we decided to snap a couple of photos.

First Home Progress

What a quick process! Our house has been under construction since March 6th when the foundation was poured. We are amazed at the progress in just a month's time. We generally stop by on Sunday afternoon right after our church service and take that opportunity to snap some photographs. We are becoming more and more excited with each phase completion and are eagerly anticipating the day we get to move in to our own home (Approx. May 31st).

We are also eagerly anticipating the arrival of our first child! At Karen's last appointment with the OBGYN she was told our little guy is measuring 3 weeks early. She was told this means one of three things: 1. The baby may come early (we have been told first babies aren't usually that generous so we're not holding our breath for this option) 2. The baby may be sitting higher up in the uterus (if this is the case Karen will continue to get kicked in the ribs for a while longer) or 3. The baby is big (we tend to believe this is the most viable of the three options because both of us were not small babies- Heck, I came out with 10in biceps!...or maybe that was my head size) It will be 10 weeks tomorrow until the anticipated arrival of our little boy.

We are truly grateful for the wonderful people who surround us with their love and friendship, and we send you all our warmest greetings.