January 21, 2010
We recently received 3 surprise gifts in the post and are feeling so spoiled (though we are not complaining!). Because we are those excited first-time parents, we enjoy showing off all things related to or for baby. So at the risk of being annoying, here are our new gifts from some wonderful friends:
A great onesie, a sleeper and some fun booties from Fran and Andrew
A hand made knit hat from Elizabeth
Tottenham Hotspur baby gear from Tim and Jen
January 14, 2010
Every year at the Edinburgh Christmas market they set up a huge ferris wheel as part of the festivities in the city centre. While Derek and I were in town for our first two Edinburgh Christmas seasons, we never managed to actually get ourselves onto the wheel. This year, we arrived back from the States on Dec 31st and the Christmas market and wheel was only open a few more days. We decided it was finally time to bundle up and get ourselves on that wheel before it was too late and we wouldn’t have the chance to ever go again. Of course, we decided to go on one of the coldest nights, but it was well worth it. The queue was short and we enjoyed a nice leisurely ride over Edinburgh’s City Centre at night (it was actually a pretty clear night!).
The big wheel
A view of the castle from the wheel
View from the top
Looking down on the Christmas Market
January 9, 2010
I figured it was probably time to give an update on the baby and pregnancy since it’s been quite a while since I have done so. I have officially made it to the 30 week mark! 3/4 of the way through, 10(ish) weeks to go! I have been feeling really well, just tend to get tired a bit more easily than I used to and walking up hills or stairs leaves me quite winded (it’s hilarious actually!). I have been sleeping okay but not great, I have good nights and bad nights, I fear it will get more difficult as the baby (and I) grow. The baby should weigh around 2.8 pounds right about now. It is hard to believe that the baby will nearly triple in size (and hopefully not more than that!) before it’s born. Not entirely sure how it’s going to fit in there but I am sure my body will adjust. I must admit I am not looking forward to getting so much bigger, doesn’t sound too comfortable to me, but it will be well worth it. The baby moves all the time and I love it, though it’s such an odd feeling especially as it’s getting bigger and I can feeling every poke and turn.
30 week pic
Derek and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our wee one and can’t wait to meet him/her! We are feeling more and more prepared in terms of baby stuff, but there are still a couple key items that we still need in order to ease our minds. Today we are got a big set of reusable nappies(diapers), which we are pretty excited about!
Our birthing classes have now begun. It will run once a week for 4 weeks and we have already gone to one. So just 3 to go. I think they will be really useful and beneficial for us first time parents.
I only have 7 weeks of work left, quite surreal. I have never had a time where I wasn’t working and while I knew motherhood will be lots of work in itself, it is work that I am so looking forward to and know it’s going to be amazing. Less than 10 weeks (hopefully) and counting…
January 7, 2010
We had not been back to Oregon since March 2008 and in December 2009 we got to spend a wonderful 2.5 weeks there! Though we were all over the place trying to see everyone and do everything, we had such a great time doing all those things and seeing all those people, that it was well worth it.
We arrived in Portland on the evening of Friday 11th December and spent the next 3 days in Portland seeing Derek’s mom, my sister, Derek’s dad and stepmom (as well as his sister, niece and nephew) and then my best friend (and her family). On Monday 14th December, my parents drove over from Central Oregon to pick us up and take us back to Bend where we would spend the next 1.5 weeks.
Strolling through NW Portland
Derek with his niece and newphew
Katie with best friend Jess and daughter Mackenzie
Our time in Bend is always special. We love the slower pace and ability to spend quality time with family and friends there. We had lots of yummy coffee at Backporch, enjoyed several breakfasts out with my family (a real treat since they don’t really do that in Scotland), caught up with several old friends, had my baby shower, Derek enjoyed some great micro brews and his first snowshoe experience and we celebrated an early Christmas with the Mays clan.
Coffee at Backporch
Deschutes Brewery
Mays Family photo
On Christmas Eve we drove back over the pass to Portland to spend our last Oregon days there. We spent Christmas Eve, Christmas day and Boxing Day with Derek’s family and really got to enjoy the holidays with them. Christmas morning was spent at Derek’s sisters house and it was a great joy to watch the kids open their presents and then spend the day playing with their new toys and figuring out how some of them worked or were to be put together. Then Derek’s sister made a big turkey dinner for us all that evening. Boxing Day was spent at Derek’s dads house with lots of food, lots of people and lots of fun.
Our niece Sophia on Christmas morning
Our nephew Alex on Christmas morning
Boxing day – family photo
The next few days were busy catching up with old friends in Portland and spending more time with family. Derek also enjoyed a Blazer game with his brother. On Wednesday 30th December, our trip came to an end as we flew back home to Edinburgh.
Blazer game with great seats
Our good friends Dan and Amanda in front of their house
Derek’s high school
Go here to view all of our pictures from Oregon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beingthebrowns/collections/72157623135700620/
January 4, 2010
As a native Oregonian, you would probably think that I’ve been snowshoeing before. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, but for whatever reason I had never done it prior to our recent trip back to Oregon. So when I made my desire known to my father-in-law, Ken, he kindly set us up with a small group to go snowshoeing at Mt. Bachelor, the main snow-recreation destination in Central Oregon.
The day we went was a typical wintery day in Central Oregon, with clear blue skies and crisp, cool air. As we climbed up the roads the snow-capped mountains came into view, declaring it a perfect day for our excursion. We strapped on our snowshoes and headed out near a ski lift, but soon turned off the main path to blaze our own trail amidst the several feet of unblemished, powdery snow.
Our hike lasted around three hours with plenty of stops for our guide to instruct us on the food storing behavior of squirrels and which pine needles would provide most nutrition in case one needed to live off the land. He also taught us how to “ski” down small hills in our snowshoes which after a couple tumbles turned out to be a lot of fun.
My favorite aspect of the trip, however, was the scenery. Everywhere I turned there were beautiful mounds of untouched snow and snow-covered trees. And occasionally, we glimpsed the tops of the Cascade mountains along the blue-skied horizon. Here are some pics to give you a glimpse of the day. Thanks Ken for taking me on my first outing, I can’t wait to go snowshoeing again.
Setting out
Taking it in
The South Sister (of the Three Sisters)
For the rest of the pics, follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beingthebrowns/sets/72157623058445818
January 2, 2010
After our cruise boat docked at 7am on Friday December 11th, we quickly made our way to the Miami airport with Annie and Tony who had to be there for their 10am flight. Unfortunately our flight to Oregon did not leave until 3pm so we had around 6 or 7 hours to kill that day. Luckily we had prearranged to see our dear friends, Chad and Ansley. They willingly drove over from Ave Maria (on the west side of Florida) to spend a few hours with us in the airport. Chad and Ansley are friends from Regent that we were quite close to and we had not seen them since we all left Vancouver to go to our respective PhD programs. They also brought along their two and a half year old son, Charles, who we had only seen when he was just days old.
The Raith Family
Charles is a goofy kid
Picking up where they left off
The girls
It was so special to be able to spend some time with our old friends and to get to know little Charles.
January 1, 2010
While in Oregon, on December 19th 2009, I had my first ever baby shower. It was thrown for me by my two older sisters, Annie & Mandy, and my mom. Annie did most of the planning and organising and I must say that she did an incredible job. It was a baby shower tea held at Pronghorn in Bend. Many of my friends and most of my family were there and it meant so much to me to be surrounded by so much love and support (very sadly, my mom got the flu the night before and could not be there).
There was tea, cocktails (not for me, of course), scones and cucumber sandwiches, 2 fun games, gifts to unwrap and many friends to catch up with. It was a perfect, sunny winter day and went by way too quickly.
I didn’t even realise until we got back home to Scotland exactly how many great things we received, and I couldn’t help but share all this fun and cute stuff! (And yes, we did manage to pack all of this in suitcases and not incur any additional airport fees)
These were technically a Christmas gift, but I couldn’t resist!
This doesn’t even include the items that have been given or gifted to us outside of the shower. Also, we had to leave a few bigger items and ‘older’ gifts behind. We feel truly blessed and just about all the way prepared for baby.
All of the baby shower photos can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/beingthebrowns/sets/72157623036955974/
Thank you to all of those who made it so special for myself, Derek and baby Brown, you are all amazing and I love you very much!
December 31, 2009
During the beginning of December, along with my sister and brother-in-law, Derek and I embarked on an 11-day Caribbean cruise! It was an amazing trip full of food, sunshine and pure relaxation! Our pale Scottish skin was in need of some Vitamin D so this was the perfect cure.
We loved the lazy days on the boat but probably our two favourite outings were going to the rain forest in Costa Rica and going to Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman. It was incredible to wake up in a new place each day and have the opportunity to explore and see places that we may not otherwise ever see.
All in all, it was a perfect trip. Between all of us we took over 1300 pictures, so feel free to browse (keep in mind that some may be out of order as it was difficult to organise so many photos!): http://www.flickr.com/photos/beingthebrowns/sets/72157623051163898/
Here are a handful to give you a preview:
Beautiful Aruba beach
Streets of Cartagena, Colombia
Rain Forest of Costa Rica
The four of us on a formal night
One of many great sunsets
Boat ride out to Stingray City
Our ship, the Jewel of the Seas
December 17, 2009
No we have not fallen off the face of the earth, we are here! Our cruise ended less than a week ago and we have been hanging in Oregon ever since. Though our tans are sadly fading we are having a great and busy time with family and friends.
The cruise was amazing and more details and pictures will follow eventually, but for now…a teaser, taken from the boat in Aruba.
November 21, 2009
Last night I was invited along to our church’s mum’s group who were having a ’social night’. I was there partly because I will soon be able to become a part of the group but also because they wanted to have a card making night and I was going to teach them! I gathered up a lot of my supplies and headed over. The women were great and we had such a fun time crafting together. Everyone was so willing to learn and be creative, they were all troopers and all produced such lovely cards! Here is a look at our evening:
Thanks for the invite mum’s! And great work!
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Old Photoalbum | mom on 3 baby gifts |
| mom on The Big Wheel |
 | Shelley on The Big Wheel |
 | Rebecca on 30 week update |
 | Deanna on 30 week update |
