one more of the stinkin' cute dogs....

make way for baby :)

week in review:

*zane finished another master's class (all in 4 intensive days!) with an A and is one step closer to graduating and leaving wediko again to pursue other opportunities in school systems across the northeast :) yay zane :)

*we rescheduled my ultrasound for july 11th because of some work conflicts. can't wait to see the pig again!

*we brought the dogs to see one of zane's friends, mike, from grad school who was swimming with his dog in a nearby river. they had a blast swimming around and running through the woods! they seemed to get along great with mike's dog, so hopefully there'll be playdates in the future.

*we tried to figure out what to do with our broken computer in the kitchen. it looks like it may be time for a big purchase...

*we started watching the baby einstein videos to prepare the pig for what it'll get to hear/see after november. love them!

*we made the dogs a little "igloo" cave in the big room downstairs. zane liked the idea that they could snuggle together at night if they wanted to (they love to lie together on the couch during naps), so he rigged their two crates together, giving them their own separate spaces if they want, but also the chance to cuddle. he topped the crates with a big blanket we had to make it dark and cozy and so far they love it!

and finally...

*2 nights ago we got a 15 minute show by piggy that was impressive and surreal. continuous big kicks and punches that zane could both see and feel. one side of my belly was a little lopsided, so i'm thinking the pig was laying like a banana along the left half :) i had just eaten a nectarine and was reading the sequel to "a wrinkle in time" aloud when it started it's fireworks. definitely a highlight of the week :)

so, we're in full swing around here: throwing things out, rearranging rooms, and trying to get our lives in order! we've moved into the bedroom across the hall after our roomate brigit moved down t0 manchester, closer to the sights and sounds of the city :) (we miss you bree!) and made room for baby things in the 3rd room upstairs. things feel uncluttered and wonderful right now in the rooms we cleaned...hopefully it'll last!

while we were taking these pictures, we thought we had lost the cat...even though this is a big house, there aren't that many hiding places. we finally found her in one of our old room's closets that we use as linen storage...mystery solved:

hope you're well and we'll update soon! :) happy 4th and good weather vibes to all!

love, ally and zane and the kids

yay for summer :)

we're heading into our first full week of summer (and vacation) and life is good. things are growing - the grey shirt is week 17 and the pink is week 19. in addition to a bigger belly the pig also has fits of movement that continue to make us smile. aside from the pig growing (research says that by now it is about the size of a zucchini - 7 inches from crown to rump) the garden is beginning to show more signs of the food that is yet to come. 4 more rows of corn, more lettuce and a retry for tomotoes and broccoli - time will tell how full our bellies will be but regardless of how big of a harvest it is there is a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing that at least some of what we eat will be locally grown and very fresh.

aside from the farm talk (pig and crops) zane has a master's class for four days this week--not exactly how he'd like to spend his days but it will still be a welcome break from work. he went on a boys only camping trip this weekend and came back tired and happy-rumor says he broke a 3-foot axe trying to chop down a felled tree. truth be told he did but it was in part because he was a bit off-plumb when he came down on the final blow. he was also reminded about his approaching 30th birthday this year when it took him several miutes to 'loosen up' after sleeping on cold ground the night before. while he was camping and saying goodbye to some of his co-workers (there is usually a big loss of staff this time of the year) ally was down in belmont with her parents and sister. she went out for a good dinner with lots of spaghetti and meatballs (and was amazingly hungry before she went to bed), got some great deals on a few gender neutral baby things from a consignment shop (yay for deals!) and read 2 books in between snacks. now it's back to the old farmhouse with its new crop of tiny ants (argh!), rooms to rearrange in preparation for a house with a baby and trying to pry the 80 year old windows open for the upcoming heat expected this week.

while we're doing that, you have fun doing whatever it is you are doing :) love to all,

the farm gang

what a difference a week makes

one more quick post for the day..i'm beginning to agree with zane when he says "hey...you look bigger than yesterday?!" i'm going to have him take a picture later to see if the difference i feel is noticable in comparison to last week. so, i lied. there'll be another addition to this post later tonight.

hmmm. oh yeah, and last night zane was getting ready to read and looked over at me and was able to see--without the help of shadows and carefully placed lighting--my belly twitch. VERY surreal and amazing and eerie :) and so far today, the buffalo chicken and salsa i've had (at two different times...) have kicked (haha) it into high gear. james...you know where we live. and admission is free :)

-the vacationing mom-to-be

happy tears :)

so...HAPPY summer HAPPY 2nd day in the world andrew nicholas (! baby h arrived!) and HAPPY BIRTHDAY henry!! :) our nephew turns 2 today, and while i was going to post some pictures of the family b-day party we had on saturday, i have to 1st post this picture i just got from my sister from his pre-school's birthday party for him. i can't believe he's already 2!!!!!!! so...my first bout of small tears today when i opened the email. sheesh. hormones. :)

(to make up for the lack of posts-thanks for the reminder james :)-i'll post again today with more pictures. but first, sunshine.)

love, ally

the excitement cannot be contained!

baby Einstein? (thanks momma Walsh) looks like you should have let Zane watch them when he was a kid.

yummy.

so... while i felt a little out of place getting stuff from Ally and Mom for Fathers Day (including the cards from Bruce and Carol and Jen and Nate {CONGRATULATIONS BY THE WAY!}) it was pretty cool knowing that i would be part of the fatherhood club from now on. thanks to everyone and happy fathers day to all of the fathers out there. enough about me - on to the good stuff...

Ally has now finished the school year at Bow Elementary and has enjoyed exactly 1 day of relaxation at home. her agenda includes reading, sun-bathing, maybe taking a nap (which she did more of when she was home from work in the afternoons) and eating. dinner is tough to plan - she has usually had a big lunch, maybe a snack and wont want to eat anything when i get home from work. i make attempts to coordinate when we might eat and how long i have to mow the lawn before we start cooking or driving to the restaurant and then all of a sudden she has to eat immediately - in spite of any plans we may have discussed. she reports that it is unpredictable and that she may feel full and 10 minutes later have to eat something for fear of becoming nauseous. this sort of urge demands flexibiliy from everyone. get ready, here comes the kicker...

if everything goes well in the evening and for dinner (and the couple of snacks that follow) there is a pretty high likelihood that - if i look really closely at just the right angle with the light shining in a way that allows shadows to be created easily and at the slightest movement - i can see the tiniest of nudges from inside Ally, ever so gently and quickly, press on her belly as a result of the little piggy m.o.v.i.n.g. if i have good tickets the show usually lasts about 5 minutes and is good for 3 to 8 little nudges (i suspect that there is more to the show but i usually get bothered by the wait-time in between acts). so... can you believe it?!? there is a tiny (about 6 inches from head to butt) complete (all the organs created - the itsy-bitsy heart pumps 25 quarts a day at this point) moving (and therefore thinking - your brain controls your body even if it is random) and sensing (almost all baby's at this point in development can hear) baby girl (or boy - had you there huh?). at this point in development the liver is also making bile and spleen is helping make red blood cells - it is even able to take a pee (whatever that must be like). so for tonight i suppose thats about all i have to say before i get back to work on some homework for my masters program. i hope this post (a loooong ime coming) finds everyone doing as well as they can and enjoying the finest things that life has to offer; for my part i am doing my best to do that same.

chock full :)

so...17 weeks today. wahoo!!

its been a long week for both of us...very happy it's the weekend and our only plans are meghan's graduation party (yay! congrats again!!!!) zane's recovering from a strained calf muscle and even got out to mow a bit tonight. it's a good thing we got things into the garden a couple of weeks ago, they seem to be taking off now!!

here are our potatoes and a long row shot (assortment of beans, peas, cucumbers, and zuccini)

and finally...we heard a crash the other day from downstairs and knew it had to be the cat getting into something. we came down to find her chowing her little heart out on dog food. how she managed to knock the heavy container off the desk is a mystery, but i guess where there's a will, there's a way. (and...for those of you interested, cleo lost 4 lbs!! she went from a hearty 17lbs to a much healthier 13 lbs and it shows :))

a couple last notes:

*congratulations to denise and matt and they're beautiful son luke william born on monday!!!! he's precious! :) can't wait to see even more pictures

*THANK YOU to chad and sam and caden for the wonderful package filled with baby goods!! you guys are so thoughtful and generous! much love :)
*if anyone has any ideas of good foods that will keep me full for more than 30 minutes, PLEASE let me know. i'm going crazy feeling starving all the time...

i'm sure zane'll want to add something to this, but this is all i've got to say :)

love, ally