Tummy pics

Jeff made it home safely!! It's nice to have him home for a few days. He will go down to the trailer tomorrow and then we are off to Missoula on Tuesday. I am looking forward to a burrito from Taco Del Sol...yum!

I also posted this picture of Facebook, but I'll put it on here too. My mom and sister have requested to see pictures of my tummy...so here we go. This is me at 32 weeks pregnant. I've been feeling fine with just your typical pregnant woman aches and pains. I have my next appointment the first week of October and then I have to start going every two weeks. Then, soon after that, I go every week.

Other than packing for Missoula, we are going to enjoy the beautiful weather today. It's about 65 degrees, sunny, and breezy! I think we're going to head to the park to play horsehoes with some friends of ours.

Jeff has been enjoying his time in Monterey, Ca so far. He has reported seeing sea lions, otters, and seals on walks he has taken. I'm a little jealous because he says there are so many seafood restaurants and I LOVE seafood! He did get to visit the aquarium there also. I'm assuming the lectures and talks he has been going to have been good as well. We talked briefly last night while he was at a student-professional mixer and he said he was meeting some neat people including the head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's wolf program.

I've been keeping busy here in Malta. I usually go for 1 or 2 walks during the day and sometimes do a prenatal yoga DVD that I have. I also have been getting stuff ready for the baby by putting some stuff together, sanitizing and washing the new bottles, and organizing baby clothes upstairs. Today I had coffee with my friend Jennifer and will go for a walk with my friend Allison tomorrow. I'm really trying to get to know people here as much as possible because the sooner I feel comfortable, the better.

Jeff should get back from his conference on Saturday and then we have to turn right back around and head back to Missoula a few days after that for his committee meeting. It's good that we're going though because Jeff's been trying to get this meeting together for months and it looks like it finally can happen. It's gotta happen soon because the baby will be here before you know it and Jeff is supposed to take his comprehensive exams (his "Comps") in the spring - and he has to have this meeting to know what to study for those exams. I am excited to go to Missoula to see ladies at the Club and friends from church. I have no idea where exactly we are going to stay, but I hope Jeff's planning on figuring that out.

In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy the nice, slightly cooler, but still too hot weather that we are having.

Jeff just left for the National Wildlife Society Conference in Monterrey, CA. He's first driving to Missoula and then driving down with the other graduates students that are going. There is a big symposium on bison that he is looking forward to participating in. I think we're both getting tired of being apart, but the conferences are good for him to go to, and we're almost done with the back and forth for the winter.

After he gets back from the conference on the 26th, he has to turn around and head back to Missoula on the 29th for his committee meeting. I'm hoping to go with him that time to see some friends and get the rest of our stuff out of storage. We just have to find a place to stay.

We went to Billings last weekend and we had a good time shopping for baby stuff. We got the majority of what we needed bought. There are still a few things that we need to get before he comes, but they aren't a big deal. The ladies at the Community Church are also throwing a shower for me on October 18th. I thought that was very nice of them since I don't know most of them very well.

I did join a ladies Bible Study and I'm enjoying that so far. It's an interesting group of women...lots of different ages and places in life. I'm the youngest (as usual). We're studying a book called "The Excellent Wife". It's a little frustrating because not all the ladies actually come every week, but its been good to get to know some other women in the community.

So, we're doing ok up here. I'll be looking for stuff to do this week and missing Jeff and he'll be mingling and going to lectures about animals.

Hunting Season has begun

We are very excited to announce that Jeff got his very first elk last night with his bow! Here are pictures of his bull elk.

Some new baby things

We got internet!! Yay! So, I've been able to start ordering and shopping for good deals for the baby! I thought I'd show you a few things I got today.

I got an awesome deal and free shipping on this glider rocker/ottoman set from Target. It was rated really well on the website, so hopefully it will be a good one.
I also got a really cute moose outfit from Target. com. Jeff loves moose, so he'll like this outfit.
Lastly, I got some long sleeve onsies for 0-3 months age. I think were doing really good on clothes for 0-3 months. Maybe a few more sleep n' plays or a brown/neutral colored jacket or sweater would be good, but we've got quite a bit. I need to get a few more things for 3-6 month age - like pants, long sleeve onsies, and some short sleeve stuff in case it gets warm earlier here.



After that, it's kind of hard to buy stuff because I don't know when exactly he will be in what clothes and what the weather will be at that time. We are going to Missoula (hopefully) next week so I'm going to check out some garage sales and get a few more things that we need.

I've officially hit my third trimester now...three more months left!

I'm finding it very difficult to update this blog when we don't have internet access at home. I'd love to put some photos up, but I don't want to upload all the photos and such here at the coffee shop where I check my e-mail.

Jeff and I spent a few days at the Boone and Crockett Ranch for the annual meeting. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed being away from the mosquitoes for a while. Except there's grasshoppers everywhere! This year we have the largest population of mosquitoes that Montana has had in 20 years. Some farmers are suffering damage to their crops. I just get tired of them landing on me and making Jeff get them out of the truck before we leave the house :)

I had another prenatal appointment last week. Everything is fine on the ultrasound that I had and the baby is doing well. My uterus is bigger than to be expected at my gestational age, but that just means the baby is growing fast. I'm getting excited to go shopping for the baby and to get the rest of our stuff out of storage in Missoula. We were supposed to go this week, but I think we're going to go the first week of September instead. I'm hoping to find a nice used changing table at a garage sale or on Craigslist and then get all the little things like burp cloths and a bottle scrubber, etc while we are in Missoula. I also have some baby stuff in our storage unit that we got at garage sales before we moved. Jeff is just hoping that his mounted duck in storage hasn't been eaten by bugs and is ok :)

So, pray for Jeff's duck :)

Time in STL

I haven't updated recently since most of the people that read this I have been seeing. I am having a good time in St. Louis/Kirksville/Muskogee visiting friends and family. I flew in on the 22nd of July and then took off for a few days in Kirksville. I didn't get to see everyone I wanted too, but I had limited time. Jeff and I will have to catch up with everyone else when we are home over Christmas. The trip up there really made me remember how much I miss Kirksville and all the people in it. It's just a perfect sized town for Jeff and I...not a city, but not too tiny either. The youngin's had a goo representation at the Franklin Street Reunion too...go 2000's!

Then I spent a few days with Jeff's family catching up with them. Toni and I went to get mani-pedi's so that was nice... I won't have to paint my toes for a while now! Good thing too because bending over is becoming more and more difficult.

Andrea and Maddie came in last Wednesday, so I've been hanging out with them and my family since then. We had the baby shower on the 1st of August and it was really fun. It was quite tiring though! We did a brunch baby shower, so we had Panera bagels, fruit, danishes, egg casseroles, and yummy cake. Toni made the cake and it turned out beautifully and tested amazing too. My mom got tons of my favorite fruits, so I've still been snacking on the lefovers.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Muskogee to take Andrea and Maddie home. We're going to stop and see my Grandpa Dahlberg in Rolla on the way and then spend 2 nights in Muskogee to see her church and her new house.

Jeff is excited since Joe and Alban flew in yesterday and they will be heading to Glacier National Park tomorrow. Joe and Lindsey also sent a bunch of baby stuff too!

I will be sad to leave here next Wednesday, but I miss Jeff a lot and I'm excited to start putting the nursery together. I'll post more about the trip when I get home.