Adventures in Third Trimester

29 weeks, and our little Biscuit is growing more every day! Time is flying by, and we can't wait to meet our little one! I felt absolutely great throughout my second trimester, and continue to feel well overall. Third trimester has brought an increase in muscle cramps, heartburn, and overall discomfort, but certainly nothing I can complain about too much. The energy I got back during 2nd trimester is slowly dwindling again, but that is to be expected. It takes a lot of energy to grow a little person!

29 weeks! (please ignore the rug pad waiting patiently for us to put it under the rug)

I started seeing baby move around 25 weeks, and it has been such fun to experience! He continues to be active, and Brian has really enjoyed being able to feel and see so much movement! We both talk to him often, and await his (usually) not-so-subtle responses. Of course, being a music therapist, I sing to him as often as I can, though one of my strange symptoms of pregnancy has been a hoarseness that keeps me from doing this as much as I would like. It has definitely been one of the more difficult symptoms for me to deal with, especially this time of year with Christmas Carols all around! I look forward to singing with him more when he arrives!

I'm getting far enough along that I'm getting questions of "Are you ready?" and "How is the nursery coming?" We took an Ikea shopping trip a few weeks back and were able to get the bulk of our larger furniture then, including a crib, storage, and bookshelf. Here I am, ready to check out:

We have also been blessed with true generosity from friends and family who have given us hand-me-downs from their own children, from clothing to car seat, stroller, and swing. All of this has started to fill our nursery (and beyond at times!) and is making it feel a little more real that baby will be here soon! We are excited to continue putting the nursery together, and will definitely share some pictures once it's closer to finished!

We have so much to be thankful for during this holiday season, and often find ourselves marveling at the fact that we will have a 9-month-old by Christmas next year! For now, we will enjoy every moment of baby kicks, nursery organization, and anticipation! 

Halfway there!

It's hard to believe that we are already halfway to meeting our little one! With November and December always flying by with the holidays, the end of February will be here before we know it! This week marks 20 weeks, and all is going well. We had our ultrasound last week, and found out our much-awaited news....

It's a boy!

Brian has been sure of this all along (of course), but we had many friends and family guessing girl. Our little stinker wasn't going to give us a clear view at first, but confirmed it at the very end of the ultrasound.

I am feeling our Biscuit move more and more often, and every time I am in for an appointment or ultrasound I am told he is a wiggle worm! Since Brian and I both have trouble sitting still for too long, I suppose this isn't much of a surprise! I noticed the other day that Biscuit seemed to be moving more when I was singing, which has been fun. I will have to see if this continues to be the case! I also had a staff member at one of my music therapy sessions say I was going to have to get out my guitar and sing my "Hello" song for baby in the middle of the night, since he hears it so often! It may just be the song he knows best!

After a spell of not feeling very hungry, I am ravenous these last couple weeks, craving lots of starchy deliciousness from pasta to donuts. I suppose that is to feed Biscuit's growth, which is happening at a crazy rate right now! This was the first week I had many people comment on my "bump" despite the fact that I've seen it for weeks :-) It has grown a lot in the last week - in fact, I had pain from my belly stretching so fast last weekend!

I am feeling well and enjoying baby preparation! I'm getting antsy to start working on the nursery, but we will have to wait a little longer, as we have a trip planned to the cities in November for some furniture shopping. For now, I am reading books, doing online research, and looking at the many, many options for cribs, carriers, play mats, toys, diaper bags, changing pads, bottles, clothing, monitors, and the list goes on! There are way too many options out there, and so much of it seems so unnecessary or over-the-top to me. If you had any "must have" items for your newborn, I'd love to hear about them!

I'll keep the updates coming as we continue on this adventure! All the best to all of you!

Pregnancy Update: 18 weeks!

Happy Monday from Molly and Biscuit - 18 Weeks!

My pregnancy expectations: 

• Weekly belly pictures, taken in the same location and pose each week.
• Monthly blog updates, complete with said pictures
• Weekly journal updates on my trusty pregnancy app, recording current weight and documenting above-mentioned picture
• Flying pigs and unicorns?!? 

Pregnancy actuality:

Life goes on! And life is busy! So here is my very first pregnancy blog, complete with the only 2 bump pictures I've taken, both selfies in front of the bathroom mirror because I had to just take them by myself when I was thinking of it. The only time I open my pregnancy app is to read the weekly update. And really, sometimes I read the week before and current week at the same time! I am having a blast preparing for parenthood, but it has kept me extra busy! This is life, and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

The basics and where we are now:

We are due at the very end of February and hoping baby does not make a Feb 29th appearance. Biscuit (as we lovingly refer to our little one) is currently about 18 and a half weeks, and growing at an amazing rate! I feel like my bump is bigger every day, and it is time for maternity pants now. I just started feeling movement last week and Biscuit is kicking and dancing a lot already! It is an amazing feeling! I am eating a lot of pickles, but not on my ice cream. My next appointment is later this week, and includes our next ultrasound. YES, we will be finding out the sex of the baby, and YES we will share, probably sometime next week! :-) Brian is convinced Biscuit is a boy. I haven't had a real feeling one way or the other, but we will find out soon! The doctors say everything is going well so far - prayers are always appreciated that everything continues to go smoothly! 

Pictures:

Our first ultrasound - Biscuit was moving around like crazy despite only being an inch long!

The first day I noticed a true "bump" - This was at about 14 weeks

Adventures in Utah: Bryce Canyon National Park

We were lucky enough to check 3 National Parks off of our list this year! We took a trip to the Everglades in February, and then took a trip to Utah at the end of June! Our Utah trip started with a long drive, taking us to Bryce Canyon National Park!

Bryce Canyon is a beautiful park! It is a desert, but also has forest. It is at a high elevation, but doesn't feel that way. The rock formations are simply otherworldly. Pictures and descriptions cannot do them justice! If you have a short time at Bryce, here are some must-dos:

• Watch the sun rise over the canyon
• Take a trail down into the amphitheater to explore
• Hike down to/through Wall Street
• Take in a couple look-out views
• Consider checking out a ranger program 

It is a park that can be seen in 2-3 days if you're doing it in combination with other parks, but if we had gone into the backcountry, we also could have easily spent a week. It is a smaller park, nothing like Glacier or the Smokies, but there is still a lot to see, and it is definitely worth the trip!

We chose Bryce Canyon due to its weather, which is generally milder than most of the other Utah parks, staying mostly in the high 70s and low 80s, because of the higher elevation. Other Utah desert parks (Arches, Zion, etc) can be in the 100s this time of year! Unfortunately, we happened to catch this park at a very hot time. We were dealing with temperatures in the 90s every day, which changed some of our plans a bit! We took day hikes, aiming to be done hiking by lunch-time, and decided to scratch our backcountry plans. Our afternoons were spent relaxing, playing games, and trying to stay cool back at the campsite. We really enjoyed being at the North Campground, as it allowed us to hike straight from our campsite to our trail for the day, the general store, or the visitor's center. Here are the hikes we took:

Figure-8 Loop (Queens Garden Trail, Peek-a-Boo Loop, and Navajo Loop through Wall Street)

Let me just start by saying that this is a tough trail, especially in the heat we were dealing with. I think I underestimated it because of its shorter mileage. While backpacking, Brian and I have hiked 10-12 miles in one day, up and down mountains, but this 5-6 miler wore me down! The last path out of Wall Street was a rough way to end things, too! We'll just say we were ready for some ice cream when we were done! If you can only do one thing in the park, this would give you a great overview of the best of the formations! You could also do any part of this figure-8 alone rather than doing it all!

Fairyland Loop Trail

Two of us just took this trail to Tower Bridge and back. Two of us went the whole way around. I am not ashamed to admit I turned around at Tower Bridge. This was another great hike, into a different area of the park. There is a nice area at Tower Bridge for taking a load off and enjoying the shade of some trees. It would be a great lunch hike with a picnic at the bottom!

Mossy Cave Trail

This is a very short trail that is actually right outside of the regular park area. We ended with this hike before leaving the park. There is a waterfall here, as well as a large cave opening. The trail itself is not shaded, but there is a creek running beside the trail, so it would be a great place to allow children (or yourself!) to cool off on a hot day!

Lookouts/Rim Trail

Whether driving or hiking a section of the rim trail, there is a lot to see without ever setting foot down into the amphitheaters. We hiked parts of the rim trail multiple times on our way to other trails, and also drove to each lookout along the road on one day. Here are some of the amazing views you'll see from the rim!

Don't forget that there are some awesome backcountry experiences to be had in Bryce Canyon, as well! While we opted out this time, I have a feeling we might be back to check out this part of the park! Stay tuned for the rest of our Utah trip!

Our Latest House Adventures!

Well, it has been a very long time since I gave an update on our house, and a lot has changed! Rather than write a lot, I'm just going to post some pictures! Here we go!

Last year, we painted the laundry room this awesome shade of turquoise! This pictures doesn't QUITE do it justice, but you get the idea! We also bought the shoe bench and shelving at Ikea on a big shopping trip! Lots of storage for all the stuff that accumulates near a front door!

I got my new jars for my spice rack, and even did some crafting with them! I ended up getting a set of alphabet metal stamps and stamping the herb name into each lid. I found this was much better than trying to find a pre-made set that had "Lawry's" and "Lemon Pepper" in addition to "Parsley" and "Thyme"

We finally removed the half-wall and spindles that broke up and dated our main room! Brian worked hard demolishing, then patching, and it looks great!

We painted the downstairs guest room! It looks so fresh with bright new curtains, too! Next, a new bedspread. This cheery room is just waiting for guests if you're ever in the area!

Lastly, but CERTAINLY not least, we just finished redoing our flooring! Out with the brown shag, and in with beautiful "Luxury Vinyl" floors! With the exception of Izzy slipping and sliding all over the place, everyone loves them! Again, Brian has been hard at work. The new floors cover almost the entire upstairs, including kitchen, dining, living, hall, and both bedrooms. Our rug for the living room is currently on back-order, and we still need to get the baseboards and some of the furniture back in, but it is a large project almost complete!

Next comes actually getting something up on the living room walls! Outside work is coming yet before winter, as well. Then it will be the downstairs family room - a fun project for sure! Always a project to be completing as a home owner, and we are enjoying it (most of the time)! 

Everglades National Park: Backcountry Canoeing

Let me start with this: I am experienced in the backcountry, but in backpacking. I am experienced in canoeing, but on rivers. I am NOT experienced in backcountry canoeing on the ocean! I was a little terrified for this trip, as no matter how much reading and research I tried to do, I just couldn't quite wrap my head around what this trip would be like. Well, we survived! In fact, it turned out to be pretty amazing, and I would definitely do it again!

Some of the basics of preparation:

• You cannot reserve sites in advance like you can at some other parks. You reserve your site when you get there, no more than 24 hours in advance. This drove me crazy as a planner, but turned out to be a blessing, as we really ended up changing our plans.
• You can pack much heavier in a canoe than you can in a backpack! In fact, we couldn't find the right fuel for our little backpacking stove because people use larger camping stoves! So if you're heading to the Everglades, do some detailed research on where to buy your fuel outside the park.
• You can buy nautical charts at the park, but if you know what area you are going to be in, just get it in advance. One less thing to do, and they were almost out of the chart we needed (we bought the display copy)!
• Always talk to the park rangers about your trip and anything you need to know (you will be making your reservations with them anyway). For a beach site, we needed a hard-sided container for food. Since we didn't have anything, they were able to provide us with a bucket and lid to borrow for free! Nice people, those rangers!
• While we didn't NEED to do any complex navigation for our route, we did some figuring a couple of times, and it really came in handy. Know how to use a map and compass before you head out into open water. Just do.
• A canoe ended up being the best option for us, as they have more space for gear. If you rent from a retailer outside the park, you might be able to find a kayak with dry hatch storage, but the ones you can rent in the park don't have much storage space.
• You have to carry all of your water with you in the Everglades. A gallon per person, per day! So plan ahead for that! We bought "floppy" water jugs, but the soft sides can be an issue if you're beach camping.

So we got our boat, packed up our drybags, and headed out into open water! Talk about feeling small!

On day 1, we paddled from the Flamingo Marina to Johnson Key Chickee, a total of just under 10 miles. The views were gorgeous, and we didn't see a single other paddler. Other than the occasional motor boat, you felt completely alone. The sun was shining all day, and our paddling time flew by! Navigation was easy with all of the keys around, but we did hit bottom for awhile when we were just starting. Our entire Everglades trip was sans-watches, but we're estimating we got to the chickee by mid-afternoon. We saw a sting-ray and lots of large snails (the kind that live is sea shells).

Now, what is a chickee, you ask? It's a platform built up out of the water. It isn't attached to any land, so you are camping in the middle of the ocean! There is a roof over the parts for camping, a lower area for unloading your boat, and even a porta-potty. Here's our 360 degree tour of our chickee:

There was another group on the other side of the chickee from us. This opened my eyes to a huge difference between boating backcountry and hiking backcountry: we worked hard to get to our chickee! The guys camping on the other side were on a fishing trip with motor boats. In a backcountry site in other parks, everyone is in the same "boat"(ha!). We all hiked to get there. While not unpleasant, it was a very different experience to stay backcountry with someone who essentially drove there. Here are some more pictures from our day/evening on the chickee:

Day 2 backcountry was SUPPOSED to be from Johnson Key Chickee to East Clubhouse Beach. However, we got to the "site" very early, and there wasn't a site. There is no sign, and the beach didn't look real great for camping, so after paddling up and down the shore a bit, we just decided to paddle back to Flamingo and not stay the second night. We ended up paddling about 16 miles. The ocean was so calm when we started paddling that it was like glass. We saw dolphins AND manatees on this day and even got back to Flamingo in time to enjoy dinner near the visitor's center. Note: While I enjoyed not having a watch, it was hard! We totally thought it was 5 or 6 by the time we got back. It was 3:30. Ha!

It's hard to beat a morning like this! If you ever head to the Everglades, it is totally worth the work to experience this feeling being in a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean. It was a backcountry experience unlike any other!

Adventures in the Everglades

Well, we have officially checked National Park #6 off our list with our visit to Everglades National Park!

It was a great time of year for a trip to warm-weather Florida, and we enjoyed every bit of it! The start of March is the end of the dry season in the Everglades. The weather was perfect, and the bugs were minimal. Here is an overview of what we did at the park. Check out my other post for our experiences back country.

Shark Valley

Put this area on your must-do list for when you go to the Everglades! Shark Valley is a 15-mile loop of paved road that you can experience in two different ways: a guided tram tour, or by bike. Rentals are available at the visitor's center at Shark Valley. We were planning to take the tram tour, but the next available tram wasn't for a few hours, so we decided to go ahead and bike. Despite the strong wind that seemed to move us backward the first half of the loop, I'm very glad we biked. I was able to stop and take pictures as I wanted, and we could set our own pace. We saw dozens of alligators along the trail (there is literally one every 20-30 feet as you start), as well as lots of unique birds. I kept saying that everyone can be a wildlife photographer in the Everglades, and my photos are proof!

Anhinga Trail

This trail is short, and not far from the main visitor's center. In fact, this trail and the Ernest Coe Visitor's Center should be the first two things you do when you get to the park! It's a great introduction to the Everglades, and a great place to see alligators, as well as some crazy birds like Anhingas and Cormorants. Plan to spend an hour or so on this trail despite its short length - there is a lot to see, and you'll want to enjoy it! The Gumbo Limbo trail nearby was a much faster walk, but we had fun looking for lizards! We also came back to the Anhinga trail at night! There is a specific ranger-guided tour at night, or just walk it on your own! Watch for gator eyes, which reflect like a cat's.

 How man gators will you see? Here's just a sampling!

Mahogany Hammock and Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook

Both of these short trails are between the visitor center area and the Flamingo area, and both are worth a look, though they won't take you much time.

Off-Trail Exploring

At the Everglades, you can hike just about anywhere, as long as you're willing to get a little wet! Hiking off-trail is allowed everywhere except areas protected for nesting, etc. We explored off-trail in two ways. First, we explored a Cypress Dome on our own. This was an area recommended in one of our books about the Everglades, and we really enjoyed it. It was muddy and messy, but we had so much fun finding our way across the soft ground without sinking in, and discovering the alligator hole in the middle of the dome! The Cypress Dome we explored was 1 mile past the Pa-Hay-Okee sign. We just parked on the side of the road and walked on in. It was amazing how far you feel from the world despite being so close to the road.

In the middle of the cypress dome is a gator hole. It's different to find alligators off trail than in the main areas - a little scary! But this was such an amazing experience as we just walked silently through the trees finding all sorts of things.

The other way we experienced off-trail hiking was on a ranger-guided hike that is either called:
       1) a slog slough
       2) a wet walk
       3) an adventure walk
       4) gator feeding
This was awesome, and is highly recommended! Depending on the conditions, etc, the rangers basically just choose the best place they can think of to take you! Our walk was truly an adventure, as our ranger, Kirk, was trying out a new area he had never explored. It was fun to meet other adventure-y folks, and to learn about the park from Kirk. Partway through our walk, we found an alligator foot, followed by a few other bones, and then the rest of him! Only .2% of people who visit the park take this guided off-trail hike. Choose to be one of them!

Long Pine Key Campground

We spent all of our front-country camping time in Long Pine Key campground. We really enjoyed this area, close to the main entrance. There is a whole network of nature trails near the campground, and an amphitheater with ranger programs on M, W, and F evenings. There are no showers at this campground, but the bathrooms are nice and the campsites are great! There are more trees and less bugs at Long Pine Key. Flamingo is a nice campground as well, and we went there to take showers once, but it is very open.

We loved our trip to the Everglades - Definitely a great winter trip! Watch for another post coming soon about our backcountry canoeing experience!