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It's been awhile since I've posted. But, I promise I have a good reason! I've been exhausted and slightly sick for the past few months. Why? We discovered shortly after Thanksgiving that I'm pregnant. Yup. Pregnant. Surprised? So were (are) we.

I'm now 17 weeks, due Aug. 10. I have just entered that awkward stage where my clothes don't fit me anymore, but I'm not big enough for maternity wear yet. After working so hard to lose weight this summer and fall, it's been a hard adjustment to not fit into the clothes I worked so hard to get into. I have terrible heartburn and am tired, but otherwise am feeling pretty good. And, yes, we're going to find out the sex.

The kids know. We told them just before Christmas. They're adjusting to the idea, but it didn't go over all that well at first. Merete cried. I think she's scared of the changes that are coming. Finn's been pretty excited that he's won't be the youngest anymore. But, now they're helping with the baby name process (Finn's choice for a boy is Rocker) and getting more excited about having a sibling.

We're beginning the process of calling contractors to rework the house. Right now we're thinking of redoing the second floor to make it into three bedrooms, but we're open to other ideas/suggestions. And, we've begun the process of shopping for another car that we'll all fit into. It looks like we might have to be a minivan family.

Here's a recent photo of the newest Oakes, taken last week. The head is at the bottom, you can see a leg on the left side:

Post Thanksgiving Fun

After a quiet Thanksgiving (during which Matt and I were just getting over stomach flu), the kids have been keeping each other busy. They have built a robot named Zig Zag, complete with an inside "keyboard."

Building Zig Zag.

Notice the zig zag on the front.

The keyboard is the string of letters on the side.

Finn shows off the backside.

 Then Merete tried to teach Finnegan finger weaving. Shortly after I took these photos Finn decided that he "needed to be 6 to learn how" and gave up, much to Merete's frustration.

Then they both got the camera and starting taking photos. Here's a small sampling. I didn't include all 37 of them, since I don't think you want to see fuzzy photos of random household objects.

I love Finn's face here.

How Finn sees the world.

I think Tasha is trying to figure out what Merete is doing.

Finn is really taking a photo of Matt's bike. Matt's an added bonus.

Merete gets Matt's camera smile.

Merete's recent art project.

Merete captures a close up of me.

This isn't from today, but I found it on Merete's camera. It's so totally Finn.

My sweet boy

This morning Merete and Finn were discussing Christmas. They were talking about what they were going to ask for. I mentioned that they needed to start thinking about what they wanted to get each other. Finn got a glow in his eyes and told me, "I know exactly what I want to get Merete!" He then whispered: "An American Girl doll!" When I told him that was a great idea, but may be a bit expensive, he got very serious and told me: "I can ask Santa to get it for me and I'll give it to Merete."

Green belt, soccer, and singing

Merete with her new belt.

Last week Merete had a karate belt exam. She is now officially a green belt. Merete reports: "I'm 6th grade green belt. It's the 4th level."

I think it means she can now officially beat up Matt.

Finn showing off his soccer medals.

Meanwhile, Finn is busy with soccer. He will finish up his soccer season with a final scrimmage this weekend. Finn reports: "I am very good at soccer. I'm great at looking at the goal" (that means when he gets the ball he is good at facing the goal he's scoring on). And, "I'm great at scoring." Can you tell that Finn is rather impressed with his soccer abilities?











Finn is also discovering the wonders of kindergarten: school lunch (which he thinks are wonderful), recess, gym and free choice center. He's really into numbers and math. His teacher reports that he is a nice kid and "everybody wants to play with him." Every day he gets off the bus glowing because he sat with Max, a 2nd grader. Here's a recent song he's learned:

In case you can't quite make out the words: "Happy birthday to me,I'm a 103, I live in the sea,  I eat little fishies, and a big one ate me." He sang it non-stop for 3 days. Ah, the life of a kindergartner.

I did it!

This semester I am teaching a writing course on extremes. My students had to come up with an extreme project. I figured that I should do it, too. So, today I jumped (okay, more like fell) out of a plane!

After my jump.

 It was an amazing, surreal experience. I went through Skydive Orange in Orange, VA, which is about 2 hours south of DC. I did a tandem jump, which was part of the extreme part for me - the whole giving up control, putting my life in someone else's hands, and, quite frankly, being attached to someone I don't know. My instructor, Mario, was great.

My parents are in town, so my dad went with me. It made it easier to have someone else there. I think he had fun, too.

Dad and me pre-jump.

We jumped from 13,000 feet. The hardest part was the seconds before we exited the plane. My heart was racing. When we left the plane, it felt completely surreal. It was loud, and cold. I remember thinking I wish Mario would pull the parachute because it was so loud. Once the chute came out, though, it was immediately quiet and just beautiful. I got to steer the parachute a bit. The landing was odd - to see the ground come up that fast surprised me. I was bracing for a hard fall, but we landed on our feet.

Mom, Finn, and Merete watch the plane.

My good luck hugs.

The kids and Matt came along and watched. Finn reports: "When you came down, you looked like that you were not scared. And, you were in a plane. And, you jumped out of a plane."

Merete took lots of photos and watched. She was rather quiet. When I asked her if she thought it was weird, she told me she thought I was joking at first when I said I was going to do it, but then was surprised when she found out I wasn't.

Flying in the Sky!

It still feels pretty surreal. I'm so glad I did it. I don't feel the need to become a regular sky diver, but if anyone wants a jumping partner, I'd go again!

Halloween!

This year Merete went as Josephina, the American Girl doll, and Finn was a Storm Trooper. Our Halloween wouldn't be complete without Laura and Tom bringing Noah - who dressed as a monkey:

After returning, they had quite the pile of candy:

They then sorted the candy so they could select their favorites. Really, I just think Matt wanted to see all their candy so he could take his favorites.









The day before they carved their pumpkins. Merete helped clean out the pumpkins while Finn drew what he wanted his to look like.
 
 






 

 

Cruising the Potomac

Last week Matt and I went on a date night with our friends Jeff and Angela (we've gone to the Outer Banks with them for the last two summers - they're part of our DC family). We had gotten Groupon tickets over the summer to take a cheesy tourist dinner cruise of the Potomac.The weather ended up being perfect - we spent a lot of the evening out on the deck chatting as we floated down to Mount Vernon (or at least that's where I think we were going).

 During dinner we were serenaded by "local talent." Poor Matt, who clearly didn't want the attention so he got more of it, was sung to by 3 of the 4 singers. Our favorite was when he was given the microphone to sing along to "Proud Mary." He had the most annoyed rendition of "rolling" I've heard, especially in comparison to Jeff's enthusiastic version. Luckily, Angela and I were spared the embarrassment.



  I was rather focused on the dessert portion of the evening (I've been avoiding sweets) and was super excited when it - finally - arrived. I think we were the last table served. When it came, though, it made me happy.






  After dinner we spent the rest of the time on the deck drinking champagne and enjoying the great evening.