The Kello Show

There are so many sweet things in my life lately, that I had to share with you.

1. Our baby shower in San Diego. My wonderful mom and sisters put on a spectacular baby shower for us in San Diego on Easter weekend. Kell and I made a quick trip down and had such a wonderful time. Our friends are so generous. Our little Hannah is well covered for clothes and bath time for the first year of her life. And, who doesn't love clothes and baths? We'll post pictures soon. (Someone - me - forget to pack our camera, so we have to get pics of the shower from my sisters).
2. Hannah herself. She's a sweet thing, I think. Hannah is an acrobat. I think it's only a matter of time before she starts training for the Olympics. She does flips and twists all day, especially after lunch when I'm back at my desk. She likes to tease daddy and stop moving when he puts his hand on my belly. Is this the beginning of wrapping him around her little finger? She responds quite a bit to Bella as well. She likes when Bella cuddles up to my belly. At least, I think she likes it. Maybe she's kicking to say, "get away!"
3. My niece Jillian and nephew Ross. I love those kids. It was so wonderful spending time with them in San Diego. Jilly is very excited about her new cousin, "baby Hanny." Since we got back to Oregon, she has been riding around the house on her Disney Hoppity Hop saying she is coming up to see us. Anytime you want to visit, little miss. We love that little munchkin. Ross-a-Roo has gotten so mature since we last saw him. He is really a good soul and would cuddle up to me and kiss my belly. I love cuddle time with Ross. We've always been close and I just hope he's not too disappointed that we're having a little girl. Maybe we can get you a boy next time, Roo.
4. Glucose test: OK, the test itself isn't sweet, but the "glucola" I had to drink sure was. About 15 minutes after I drank it I started getting shaky and even wackier than usual. After the blood draw, I crashed really hard too. I couldn't wait to get some food in me. When the midwife checked Hannah's heart rate, it was pretty high. She was reacting just like momma. We had yummy Mediterranean food to get us back on track at one of Kell's favorite local delis: Selma's.

I just thought it was important to take time to focus on some of the sweet things in life, especially since there is so much yuck in the world. At least our little microcosm is full of sweetness.

So, here I am at 23 weeks. I don't feel like I'm getting a lot bigger, but when you compare them, it sure looks like I am. Thanks to sister Jenn for sending all the maternity clothes. This is one of my favorite tops from the bunch. I think I wear it weekly.
We tried to get a picture with Bella in it, but she wasn't feeling photogenic that day. She is a really good big sister. She snuggles up to my belly at night. I like to say it's so she can cuddle with Hannah (I know, it's because my belly radiates incredible heat). She also likes to give my belly kisses. I'm pretty sure she can't wait for her little sister to be born.
We took this one right before we went to register at Babies-R-Us. That place is insane. I never realized how much stuff they have. Don't worry, we found plenty of things to put on the registry to get ready for our girl.
We've been working on Hannah's room and will post pictures soon. It's gonna be darn cute, if I do say so myself.

Laura and I just found out that we will indeed be having a girl!  

Everyone Kelly and I work with is getting sick, sick, sick and it's awfully hard to fight off all these colds when all my energy is going to my uterus (OK, mom, I know that's not entirely accurate). We're literally at about half staff at my job, but only after everyone has already come to work sick. At Kelly's, everyone just comes to work sick and stays there breathing disgusting germs all over everything (gross!). So, we've both already had head colds. Now I'm getting a tingle in my throat. Not much I can do about it, I suppose. I'm drinking tons of fluids (mom would be proud) and trying to avoid the sickos (there are literally signs on some people's doors that say: Warning - Plague). My midwife says Tylenol products are safe, so I have taken some of that, but I don't really like to take it. Any tips to help me and our little one make it through this without going insane?
Hugs to all (the non-contagious kind),

With Kelly and I living in Oregon, and our families all residing elsewhere, we figured it would be a good idea to start up a blog and keep our friends and family posted on our goings-on.

A little background...
Kell and I moved to Sandy, Oregon in 2007 after looking at places on Craigslist. We came up for a weekend, bought a house, and moved up a couple of months later. Kell moved up first, as I had a teaching contract to finish out at UCSD. By March, we were both up here and found jobs. I've been working as a technical editor/Jill of all trades for a tech pubs company that publishes airplane and boat manuals. Kell is working for a rubber stamp company in Gresham, doing web design and marketing. We also do freelance web design, editing, and writing through our company Alphabetix.
We got married in September of 2008. It was a wonderful wedding, outdoors in Salem. Our friend Julia got ordained just for the event and it was so personal and great. My sister Anne did the flowers, which were perfection. It was intimate and low key, which is precisely what we wanted.
Now, Kell and I are expecting. We were very fortuante and didn't have any trouble getting pregnant. We're at 20 weeks and the baby is due July 9th.
We will be posting ultrasound and belly pictures soon.
Kell and I both have facebook accounts, so you can find us there too.
Hugs to all,
Laura