definitely a boy

folks have been asking so i wanted to be sure and confirm: yes, we are still expecting a baby boy next month. our initial ultrasound was a bit sketchy (the little guy was squirmy and uncooperative) and the technician told us she really wasn't 100% sure it was a boy and not to go out and buy a bunch of blue clothes just yet.

we thought we'd have to go on that until delivery day but our doctor requested a second ultrasound to double check a few things and this time it was very clear that a little boy will be joining us soon. it was nice to have that confirmed because we didn't want to be scarring a little girl for life with talks about "our son" and all. besides, now we don't have to go quite so neutral on the nursery gear.

felicidades, em & burke

just wanted to be sure and send a shout out to em and burke. they got engaged last week and are getting married may 1st in the idaho twin falls temple.


we had them to dinner sunday and they were beaming from ear to ear. we are so happy for them. felicidades a los dos.

the dress

my mom spoiled me with an olian silk maternity dress i'd been drooling over in a magazine and i've been promising her a picture. so here i am, jan. '09, seven months prego.

every time i find an excuse to put it on i feel like a princess dressed up for a ball. love it.

wendy comes to town

one of my very favorite people came to town this past week, wendy elizabeth webster. here she is looking radiant in front of the capitol. (thanks to wendy's husband and kids for sharing her!)

tiana, wendy and i enjoyed a girls day out, eating at a fun cuban restaurant along the way. we've known each other since first grade, believe it or not.

inauguration day

we went, we waited, we froze, we watched and we left before the crowds could clear. whether you voted for him or not, it was definitely a historic day as president obama took the oath of office on jan. 20. shane and i probably wouldn't have ventured out if we hadn't scored seated tickets for the occasion. it was the coldest week of the year in washington and there was no way i was going to stand up for hours on purpose.

the whole event turned out to be relatively painless -- besides the bitter cold and hours in line -- once we got in. we thought we arrived in plenty of time but barely squeezed through security at 11:30 on the dot.

at this point we were about halfway through our time in the line. the senate office building where i work is on the left. the capitol is way up ahead, as you can see.

the breathtaking view on the way up to our seats. the red archway is where the presidents, both old and new, emerged from.

check out all the empty seats around us. we moved up to the end of the crowd once things got started. we felt horrible for people who didn't get through the line in time. it really was a nightmare for most people who tried to get in.

the crowd of millions behind us, all the way down the national mall past the washington memorial. notice people are piled up on statues to get a better view.

president obama giving his speech

hurrying back to union station to catch the metro out of town before the crowds caught up with us.

highlights

during our time in rexburg over the holidays shane's friend, melanie, was willing to highlight my hair (so much cheaper than it would be in d.c. -- thank you, mel!) and trim up my bangs.

not sure if you can see the streaks but it's been fun to have a change, especially since being pregnant doesn't exactly make you feel oh so glam. and the trim in the front lets me wear my bangs straight across which can be a fun change from time to time.

the power of life

little cowboy dustin

while back west for the holidays shane and i had the chance to go visit his nephew dustin up in wyoming. it was my first time meeting the little guy, who is a cowboy through and through. almost three years old, dustin is extremely bright and very active. it was fun to see him in action and be charmed by his sparkling blue eyes.

white christmas

for the first time ever, i can say that my christmas truly was white. as most everyone knows, winter storms dumped snow all over the western united states during the holiday season and rexburg, idaho was no exception. for shane, it was just a normal winter snowstorm but for me, it was a cold but beautiful christmas treat. i wish i had taken some pictures of the many feet of snow just outside the front door but all we have are a few shane took while skiing with his sisters.

either way, it was a nice way to spend the holidays -- all bundled up near the fireplace, watching movies, reading books, soaking in some family time and sipping hot cocoa. not bad at all.

home sweet apartment

once we realized for sure that we'd be staying in dc for the next few years, we decided it was time to make our apartment an actual home. so over the last few months we've been buying bits of furniture to fill things in and finally started hanging up the picture frames we had laying around.

one of our big projects was a picture wall we'd been envisioning for months but had put off putting together. the big wall above and around our television set was blank forever, but we finally got brave and built from the center on out. i decided to post some pics since most members of our family have yet to visit our humble abode.

step one:


step two (sorry for the blur, the flash was bouncing off the frames so i had to take it without):


as you can see, we still need to finish filling in the frames but at least we got the hard part over with.

we also found a beautiful painting to hang over our square bookcase, and really liked the way the look came together: