Three Weeks

Greetings everyone.
I (Andy) took these photos from Ellis's first boat camping trip to Tutka Lagoon last week. We (ma, pa, elli, toivey, and our good friend kevin) were pampered with endless sunshine and calm seas - What fun! We even got to try out our new toy: 14' tandem rowing wherry that I finished recently. The boat performed flawlessly. Ellis especially enjoyed the boat ride nestled in mama's chest. He was wide eyed and alert the whole time. Cheers, Andy.

Ellis Robert Lorentz

The little (big) man made his big debut June 13th at 7:08 in the morning. He came out strong and beautiful - 9.5 lbs. and 22 1/2 inches long - after a good 16 hours of drug-free labor. We love him!!

waiting for waddell

our ultrasound due date (may 27) came and went, and now our original due date (june 10) has come and gone . . . and as we wait it out in homer, we're relearning the art of patience. jokes abound that "of course this baby is late: it's a damara-baby and she's always late." so, a taste of my own medicine, i guess . . . but it also just makes sense . . . of course this baby is going to come whenever it damn well pleases! :)

and although this is day 11 in homer, things could be far worse. for one, it's sunny and beautiful; AND we just moved out of the cramped hotel room into our friend linda's house . . . big deck, lots of space, almost feels like home; AND we've been going on long hikes every day - to get that babe moving! (two days ago we saw a brown bear sitting in the grass up on crossman's ridge . . . it was the first brown either of us has ever seen on the kenai peninsula, and it was BIG . . . and we were the perfect distance away (ie: far), with binoculars in our pack. so cool!); AND andy has gotten some serious "sports center" catch-up time on the old tube, while i've gotten to finish all the knitting i procrastinated over this winter.

we've also decided on the names we'll tell the child we almost named him/her . . . you know, when he/she complains that their own name is weird. waddell for a boy, and erlene for a girl. :)

so, hopefully - next time - pics of the babe.

sunshine, dirt, fruit, friends

37 weeks. feels pretty crazy to be entering this final stage of my pregnancy. the whole thing has just felt like being on the brink of some big, ordinary mystery i know i can't fully comprehend . . . and the specific feeling of which i know will never come again. it's hard to explain, but it feels pretty magical.

and the weather here has been SWEET! the last two weeks have been pure sunshine, and i almost have both garden spaces in . . . kale and carrots and onions and beets and broccoli. peas and strawberries and potatoes and pumpkins! calendula and strawflowers and lavender and rosemary . . . basil and dill and parsley. yum!

ati is here right now, and she and andy are making me laugh - (extra) big belly laughs.

belly shots

so i've been pretty shy about my expanding belly, but andy finally hassled me into taking some pics. i'm at about 32 weeks in this photo.


this is a combo house / ash-fall from redoubt pic (the first time the ash came down . . . when it was just a scattering on the snow and kinda cool to tromp around in). the truck picture below is when lots came down (the second time) and then blew around in the wind for a few days . . . and it was not so cool . . . although good for the garden, i guess.




and then we have our new dry rack! with freshly washed diapers hanging!

andy's goal this winter was to get us running water - so we could have a washer and a shower before the baby came - and he succeeded in style! it is amazing to take a shower in the house. and super fun to watch a load of laundry wash. (maybe SOUNDS kinda lame, but very entertaining in april when it is snowing.)

and . . . home surgery! . . . just kidding. these are the pitfalls of the carpentry trade. sometimes it's just really fun to take disgusting pictures.