"Yes!"

Yesterday my boy started saying "Yes!" clear as day instead of his baby word for yes, "Da!" Not that I want him to use his baby words forever, but it made me a little misty-eyed.

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the size of a papaya

week 23

Tent Rocks

This past Saturday Jamie, Elijah and I decided to leave the ABQ area and drive 45 minutes north to the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. I had heard about this hike from a someone native to ABQ as his favorite hike in New Mexico. After hiking it I can see why.

We started out early on Saturday morning in order to beat the heat that comes later in the day here in New Mexico. After loading Elijah on my back and decking him out in gear to protect him from the sun we were ready to go.

The Tent Rocks National Monument is an area of geological formations where giant cones are formed due to erosion and previous volcanic activity with many of them having large rock portions still on top (thus the tent rock name).

After hiking for a short time the path leads into a slot canyon at times only a few feet wide. It reminded Jamie and me of Petra in Jordan.

After a mile or so the path begins to lead up onto the top of the hill where you can then look down into the canyon and the surrounding mountains.

On our way back down we let Elijah hike his way out once we got past the steeper part of the trail. It was a perfect spot to let a toddler hike because there is no way for him to get off the trail as you are at the bottom of a steep canyon, and the path is soft sand. There were even a few areas he could slide down. He loved it! (Doesn’t he look like a little archaeologist.)

Afterwards we drove up onto the top of the mesa for a beautiful view. A repeat trip is definitely in the future.

the size of a cantaloupe…

week 20

The baby is now the size of a cantaloupe, which seems awfully big to me!  This baby is every bit as active as Elijah, which I love, and seems skilled in giving me heartburn, too.  I’ve been having back pain, which I never had when pregnant with Elijah, so I have started attending a yoga class again.  It was a wonderful help before.  I unrolled my mat in the studio to find tiny grains of sand leftover from “Yoga on the Beach” at Singing Beach, the last time I had used it.  Made me very nostalgic!

A sweet story… My friend Wendy (also pregnant and due a month or so before me) asked her children Caleb and Leah as well as Elijah how they would help once the baby was born.  Would they hold the baby?  Give the baby a pacifier?

Leah agreed that she would like to give the baby a pacifier.

Wendy then asked the kids what babies needed when they cried. 

Caleb responded that they needed milk. 

Elijah thought for a moment, then piped up, “A Nana!”  I loved that he was thinking about how the baby needed a lovey, knowing how attached he is to his monkey.  Elijah and I talked later about getting the baby a special animal, just like he has a special monkey.  He liked the idea, and latched onto the thought that the baby needed a giraffe.  He told me a few days later that “Baby need special giraffe.” So sweet!

Ultrasound

On Thursday Jamie and I had the privilege to see baby Voss in motion. Some friends here in ABQ offered to watch Eli for us as we went down to the health center for the ultrasound. Not having the little man made it almost feel like a date… a date to meet his little brother or sister. He or she was pretty active moving around in the womb, which was fun to see. At one point we saw the baby move across the screen while Jamie said she could feel it move. From what the doctor was able to tell everything looked healthy! Below are a few of the shots of the ultrasound. We get to go back for another next month as the technician wasn’t able to image a part of the lower spine due to the baby’s placement. We had the technician write down if the baby was a boy or a girl and place it in a sealed envelope.  And no, we didn’t peek, though it was tempting! We’re planning on having a “Reveal Party” with our two immediate families when we see them in July, which is when we’ll all find out together if Elijah will have a baby brother or sister!

a good profile shot

the baby’s two fists, a foot, and a head

a foot and lower part of the leg

bottom of the foot

Week 22: in this shot the baby is the size of a banana

slurping the blog on Blurb!

Time to make Blog Book #2… We use a website called “Blurb” and “slurp” our blog onto the software, play with the formatting, then get a beautiful hard-backed copy of our blog in the mail!  We don’t keep a baby book or photo album, so this blog becomes our memory book. Easy!

Trip to Hawaiian Paradise: Part 7 We Survived the Road to Hana

The road to Hana is famous on Maui for it’s gorgeous rainforest vegetation, waterfalls, and vistas as much as for it’s hairpin curves, drop-offs, and one-lane driving. On our last day in Maui we packed up from our hotel and took off for the road to Hana.  I can testify to the power of Dramamine, as I felt absolutely fine through the entire drive!

A couple shots of the road…  Look into the shadows on the picture on the right to see the road’s drop-off.

Waterfalls!

Beautiful flowers and ocean vistas…

Our last meal in Hawaii was at the Paia Fish Market on our way home where we had unbelievably fresh Mahi Mahi Caesar salad and grilled Ahi.  David and I kept saying that our trip to Hawaii couldn’t have ended on a better note as we devoured the huge slabs of fresh fish.

Our flight home was uneventful, though poor over-tired Elijah just could not sleep on the red-eye flight from Maui to San Francisco.  He wailed.  We visited the flight attendants in the back of the plane quite a bit on the back of the plane for distraction.  Thank goodness they had milk for him to drink.  He finally had a good solid sleep on our flight from California to New Mexico.

Worn out after all our tropical adventures!

Trip to Hawaiian Paradise: Part 6 Makena Beach & Memories

One of my favorite vacation memories as a child were the times we went to Makena Beach. 

 

The surf is large, and the sand is soft, the color and feel of cornmeal.   

My brother and I were imaginative little tykes and pretended we were on Swiss Family Robinson’s island (not a far cry from the terrain surrounding us!) and throwing coconut bombs at pirates.  We played this for hours. 

As I was telling David this story on our way to Makena Beach (“Big Beach”) we saw a stand for fresh coconuts.  In honour of this memory, David jumped out and got us a coconut to drink, then split it so we could eat the coconut meat. 

He also bought the most amazing mango I have ever eaten. Elijah and I devoured each piece he cut on the beach, juice dripping down our chins, savoring the rich, sweet flavor. 

David tried catching a few waves as Elijah and I watched him in the crashing surf.  We built a sand castle.

We left Makena Beach just in time to drive a ways around the island to a place we had spotted earlier to catch a sunset.

Next up: We Survived the Road to Hana

Trip to Hawaiian Paradise: Part 4 (Haleakala)

As was mentioned in our first blog the trip to Maui was both business and pleasure. The business portion brought me and my co-workers to the top of Haleakala to visit with the Air Force Maui Optical Facility.

Haleakala is a 101,000 foot volcano that was responsible for forming the island. As you drive from the ocean floor to the top of the mountain you pass through four of five different ecosystems. At the top of the mountain it looks like you stepped out on the Martian surface with almost no vegetation and discolored rocks.

The volcano is still considered an active volcano with an eruption in the past 10,000 years (if I remember my facts right). Before our meeting we hiked down in to the valley below me in the following picture.

The mountain is so high that the clouds are below the top of the mountain. It was a beautiful view from the top.

The below picture is a shot of the volcano from the ocean floor.