Time sure flies/Happy Birthday Jack!

(the loves his new cousin so much)

I can't believe how fast time seems to fly these days. It seems like just yesterday I was driving up to Salem to meet Jack for the very first time and today he is turning 4! Jack has got be one on the bravest little boys I have even met. He has been through so much in his life already, and he is always in such good spirits no matter how crappy he might be feeling.

He is such a great big brother and cousin. He has been know to just stop and say, "Arthur is the cutest baby ever". I can't wait to see what a great little man he is going to become.

Happy Birthday Jack!

January update

So I figure that the beat way to keep on track for 2010 is to post an update on how my goals have been going and what I need to do to stay on track. I figure it I do this it will a) help me stay on track knowing that I have to let the world know every month how I'm doing, and b) it will raise me to at least "mediocre blogger" status, seeing as I will have at least 12 posts for the year, which is way more then last.

1. Loose at least 40 pounds.
Okay so I'm a bit behind on this one, I have not lost any weight in Jan, but I have not gained any either, so I suppose that is something. Starting next week Matt and I are going to do a cleansing diet, to Jump start our weight loss, then I am going to work my ass off, eat right and exercise. My goal is to be down to 175 before my 30th birthday which is in July. That means I have a little over 5 months to loose 35 pounds.

2. Walk or be active every day.
This has also been tough. I blame it mostly on myself, but I also blame the rain and cold, it is much harder to go out and walk when you have a baby. Babies melt in the rain... I'm thinking of joining west coast fitness with a friend, so I will have a work out buddy which is always great!

3. Keep better records.
I have actually been GREAT at this one. I bought a small pocket sized calender, and every day I just jot down a few thoughts, or things that happened, or whatever. It is only a small paragraph each day, but is makes it a reasonable goal, because if I were trying to do more it would just not get done at all.

4. Be a better blogger.
In the process of this one right now! also for the month of Feb. I think I will try and post once a week. Baby steps...

5. Draw more.
I am about half way with this one. I think I have missed one week. I think I will also start posting my illustrations every week on my crafT blog, this will also help out the previous goal.

6. Make Actual Industries ROCK!
I have finished the preliminary designs for actualindustries.com. Since we need to have a website to get clients this is a pretty important step. Now we just have to put the site into motion, this is my Feb. Actual Goal.

7. Learn QuickBooks.
We decided to turn all our end of the year stuff over to a book keeping firm that is going to get everything in order for us and set up our QuickBooks. Once that is done I will be able to learn how to enter in things, and keep everything straight.

8. Drink more water.
Some days I do really good other days not so much. I need to be better at this one. Also cutting out some of my caffeine will also help, which I will be doing on my cleanse.

9. Start using cloth diapers again.
I am ROCKING this one. Aside for the occasional disposable when we go out, or away we are back to cloth. Have found several options that I'm loving and are working well for Arthur. It is amazing on how much less trash we have each week, makes me feel so much better, about doing my part, you know for the world and stuff.

10. Be more active with Arthur.
This one I still need to work on. I was going to start trying to go to Story time at the library but it is at 10, which is right during Arthur's first nap these days, so I need to look into some other options that we can do. I'm thinking of swimming lessons. I think this will help both of us since I'm not much for the water, so I think if I go do it with him, I won't be as nervous myself. Also we may be putting him into daycare for a couple days a week, so that will help as well, plus it will give me some non-kid time to get other things done.

All in all I have done a good job. I still need a bit of work, but I think I'm on track to making 2010 a pretty damn fine year!!!

A better 2010.

So I have decided to put this list out there for the "world" to see because if I do that it makes it real, and if it is real then I will actually accomplish it, or so the theory goes.

10 things I wish to accomplish in '10:

1. Loose at least 40 pounds. (20 or so of these are the pounds that I gained with Arthur, and the other 20 are are the pounds I should have lost before I had him)

2. Walk or be active every day. This will help with the previous goal, plus I just fell better when I am more active.

3. Keep better records. I have always been a horrible "journalist" if you will, and this year I want to be better. I bought a small purse calender and my plan is to jot down at least one thing that I did/thought/felt that day, and or one thing that Arthur did/thought/felt that day. This way I will be sure to remember when he took his first step, or said his first word.

4. Raise from my "worst blogger ever" status to at least "mediocre blogger".

5. Draw more. Right now the goal is to finish one small illustration every week. That is 52 illustrations in '10!

6. Work as hard as I can to make Actual Industries as awesome and profitable as I can.

7. Learn QuickBooks. This will also help with the previous goal.

8. Drink more water. I feel better when I do this. I get less headaches, my skin is clearer, and it just makes sense.

9. Start using cloth diapers again.

10. Be more active with Arthur. I tent to be a bit of a home body, so I want to get out into the world with him more, go places, do things, see people.

So there it is. Feel free to check up on me to make sure I'm working things out, and please tell me to get over myself when you find out they are not. Also be sure to tell me I rock when I actually accomplish something on the list!

Reflections on 2009

Happy New Year to all my reader! It has been quite a life changing year here at the Davies'. Having Arthur has been one of the most wonderful, albeit stressful things I have even done in my life. I cannot complain much though. For those of you that have met Arthur you understand what I'm talking about. He is quite possibly the easiest baby on the planet :).

Here is a rundown of how 2009 shaped up for us:

January: I was about 28 weeks pregnant and counting. Although the first part of my pregnancy was pretty rough with awful all day (not just morning) sickness, bu the first of the year I was feeling fine and everything was a GO! Jan. 31 Matt's sister Cathy gives birth to Wyatt Richard Davies-Kang. We are so Happy ice-ice is going to have a cousin so close to him in age!

February: 32 weeks pregnant. Work for me at Hanlon Brown is starting to slow down quite a bit and I switch to hourly, which gives me some free time to get things ready for little Ice-Ice (at this point we were calling Arthur that, and did not reveal his name till his birthday). I'm pretty sure the nursery was still not set up or anything.


March: 36 weeks pregnant. My coworkers at HB threw me a nice little shower, where they all pitched in and bought Matt and I Arthur's car seat, among other little gifts! Matt and I went to the lovely Eric Cable (who also photographed our wedding) and had our photograph taken. This was so much fun, I'm so glad we did it. My wonderful sisters threw me a beautiful baby shower. I received so may great gifts, and was now more then ready to get the nursery all put together. The one good thing about waiting till you are 37 weeks pregnant to set the nursery up is, that you husband gets to do all of the putting together, and all you have to do id decorate! We also bought a new fridge which is so awesome, and arrives just a couple weeks before Arthur.

April: 40 weeks pregnant (and counting): April 2nd (ice-ice's due date) came and went. On April 7th we went to what should have been my first doctors appt. after giving birth, and chose the date of April 10th to induce labor. My doctor also wanted me to go in for fetal monitoring either that day or the next, just to make sure that everything was going smoothly inside... The next day at 9am Matt and I went up to OHSU expecting to just listen to and see the baby, and go home, and instead I was wheeled over to labor and delivery and a pitocin was started. After a very short 3 hour labor, and thanks to some proactive doctors, and a quick c-section, at 4:12pm on April 8th Arthur Harrison Davies made his debut into this world, weighing 8 pound 7 ounces, 22 inches long.

April was quite possibly one of the most stressful and rewarding months of my life thus far. I had pulled my share of all-nighters in college but was always able to re coop afterwards. As much as I cannot function on no sleep, we soon came up with a system and were on our way to becoming a happy functional family. Matt took the rest of the month off, and with help from my family and Matt's we made it through that first hectic month!

May: Arthur is 1 month old. Things are moving right along in the Davies household. Arthur starts to smile at us, and has not stopped since! We found out that My sister (Desiree) is pregnant with her second child! She actually found out the day after my baby shower, but waited a while to tell everyone so as not to steel my thunder. Thanks Dez!!! We are so happy again to have yet another cousin so close to Arthur's age!

June: Arthur is 2 months old. 12 pounds and 2 feet long! We our first road trip up to Seattle to see the Davies-Kang clan, so that they could meet Arthur. Matt got to celebrate his first Fathers Day, and Arthur rolled over for the first time, at only 10.5 weeks! Matt was lucky enough to survive the Nike lay-off, but lost over half his team and was moved to a different department. Matt and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary. We find out that Dez and Chris are having a baby girl. Jack was not happy about this, as he wanted a brother, that he wanted to name "the other Jack".

July: Arthur is 3-months old. We took another short road trip up to Seattle this time we were able to see Matt's Aunt Maryanne and Uncle Steve and his cousins, which he had not seen since our wedding. On 7.7.09 our good friends Brad and Annie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Maggie. Among the cousins that Arthur will have to grow up with, he will have a built in best friend just down the street. I can't wait! We took a just over a week long road trip with Dez, Chris, and Jack to Wyoming to the Bell-Wagner family reunion. I saw A LOT of family that I had not seen in many many years, and Arthur was able to meet his great Grandma and pa Bell. I'm so happy we took this trip and got to see all the family. First giggles! On Vacation I turn 29. Matt and I started a new business venture with Brad and Annie (mentioned above) and Actual Industries LLC was formed. I decide to become a stay at home mom, and not return to HB.

August: Arthur is 4 months old, and is starting to "talk" up a storm, and roll all over the place! Our good friends Jenny and John get hitched, and Arthur is able to meet all of his extended family that came out for the wedding! Matt Arthur and I take our first trip to the coast, and Arthur got to experience his first typical organ coast day, full of rain, wind and gray skys.

September: Arthur is 5 months old. Matt and I celebrate his 31st birthday and our 5th anniversary with a trip to Tacoma to see ACDC. I have to admit I was not sure about this present when I opened it but it turned out to be a pretty awesome concert. They can still rock for a bunch of old men :)! Arthur has his first taste of "real" food. He is not all that thrilled with the rice cereal and is much happier when we introduce peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes into the mix!

October: Arthur is 6 months old. We go back to Eric Cable and have our family portrait taken. Eric is so impressed with the photo's he has us sigh a model release. Arthur sure is one good looking baby! I have decided to make all of his food which is fun, and actually food I would not mind eating myself , if purred food is what I ate. We started getting weekly produce deliveries from organics to you that have provided many great organic meals to Arthur and ourselves! Arthur got his first stomach flu this month, we were all lucky to have it last only a few days. Arthur is the Pope for Halloween. Best costume EVER!!!

November: Arthur is 7 months old. He started to sit up on his own this month. He is still all smiles and talks up a storm. On 11.5.09 Dez and Chris welcome Ella Marlene Kiesel into the world. Jack and Ella are getting along just fine, although if you ask his who is cuter Ella or Arthur, he says Arthur! We celebrate Thanksgiving in Woodburn with my family.

December: Arthur is 8 months old, and has started to crawl and pull himself up to standing. He has the cutest little crawl, where he goes 3 or 4 steps and then tries to get up onto his toes and stand. He has not skipped crawling but I think he is going to move onto walking before he gets the whole crawling thing down. We celebrate Christmas at our place in Portland with Matt's all the family Matt's and mine. It is really fun to see all the cousins play, and have fun. I can't wait till next year when Arthur, Wyatt, and Ella are all old enough to know what is going on. After Christmas, Arthur also learned how to clap, thanks in part to Wyatt.

All in all 2009 has been quite a great year. We had a beautiful baby boy, and I can't wait to see what the next decade brings us...

Time sure files...

I can't believe it but our Arthur Pants is already three-and-a-half months old. He is already turning into such a little man. I can't wait to see who is is going to become in the months and years to come. He is so Awesome!!! I know I'm just a proud mom but he is really great. Beyond the fact that he is just the cutest baby in the world, he is also so clam and happy, and we could not have asked for a better baby.

Since I have been horrible at keeping you all in the loop I will give you a quick run down on what Mr. Arthur has been up to over the last three months.

• 4.8.2009 Arthur was born
• 4.11.2009 came home from the hospital
• we found out Aunt Dez and Uncle Chris are having a new baby! So excited that Arthur is going to have all these cousins and friends so close to his age. (They are having a little girl due Nov. 1st)
• he started smiling at 3-4 weeks old
• at 8 weeks he was already 24.25 inches long and counting
• third weekend in June went up to Seattle to meet the Davies-Kang clan
• 6.21.2009 (fathers day) on our trip up to Seattle Arthur rolled over (front to back) for the very first time (even before his cousin Wyatt)
• On July 4th on another trip up to Seattle he rolled over back to front.
• 7.6.2009 I officially became a stay at home mom, and told Hanlon Brown that I would not return back to work
• 7.7.09 Annie gives birth to miss Maggie Mosher. Sure to be Arthur's best friend in no time!
• 7.9-7.15.2009 Took our first LONG road trip to Wyoming to meet the fam! Got to meet his great grandma and pa Bell

Month three has just been full of firsts. He has started grabbing at anything he can get his hands on and putting them straight in his mouth. First giggles. Rolling around on the floor like a monkey. Splashing in the bath. And most recently we think he is working on his first teeth which he is not very happy about.

As for Matt and I we are doing our best to adapting to this new roll of being parents. Yesterday my friend Annie (who has an almost 2-week-old at home) asked me when it was that we finally transitioned into a routine with our lives that worked. I had a hard time answering this question because I don't remember an exact time that it all made sense, it just did. Now that I look back on the last three months all that I can say is that you just fall into this pattern of being a mom, and being a family, I do not when this happened exactly, I just know that it happened. Granted I have to give a bit of the credit to Arthur because he is such a calm, loving, happy baby. And the rest of the credit I have to give to Matt because he is go laid back and he made me realize that it was all going to be OK, and it will.

Meet Arthur Harrison Davies

Arthur Harrison Davies
Born April 8th at 4:12 pm
8lbs 7oz
22 inches long

Ice Ice as he was at this point was due to enter the world on April 2nd 2009. This date came and went. We had a doctors appointment on the 7th where we determined that if he did not come on his own by Friday the 10th we were going to induce.

Since he was 5 days late at this point we had to go in to have some monitoring done the next morning. During the motoring his heart rate dropped substantially, and I was wheeled straight over to labor and delivery. They hooked us up to the monitors again and the doctors determined that I was going to have the baby that day. Even though we knew there was a small chance this would happen we did not bother to pack the car, so Matt headed home to fetch our things, and as soon as he got back they started the labor induction, at around 1 PM.

I was only in "labor" for about 3 hours, just as they were starting to administer my epidural the doctors determined that since Ices heart rate was still low they were going to have to perform a c-section, and about a minute latter I was wheeled into the OR, and not long after that we were welcoming Arthur Harrison into the world.

The Davies family was released from the hospital a few days latter. Life has been quite an adjustment with a new little one but we are all doing quite well. We have so many great family and friends that have given us so much help and support.

Arthur had his first official doctors appointment last week, and everything is going great, we have a nice healthy boy on our hands. I plan to keep you all posted on the life and times of the Davies family. I don't have any posted yet but keep an eye on my flicker page for many many photo's of our beautiful baby boy!

Almost over!

Man alive I have not updated my sad little blog in a decade! I figured I'd get you all caught up on my goings on since I'm due to have a baby tomorrow!

Being pregnant for the last 10 months has been quite a life changing experience, and I can't wait for the next stage of the process to begin. Here are 10 things that Ihave learned being pregnant:

1. Any woman who tells you that they had a perfect uneventful pregnancy is a big FAT liar!!!

2. I could never have bulimia I hate throwing up!

3. Don't wait till you are 8 months pregnant to super clean your bedroom it will take twice as long, and you will not be able to bend over and pick anything up.

4. Also don't wait till you are 37 weeks pregnant to assemble all your baby furniture, unless you want your husband to do it all... wait maybe that was a good thing to do :)!

5. Ask for help, there is always someone that is ready and willing to help, like when you can't get your socks on, or pick up something you just dropped.

6. The only thing worse then getting a cold when you are 36 weeks pregnant, is getting a cold 3 days before the baby is due.

7. If you want to eat it, eat it! I'm pregnant is the best excuse and it only lasts for a few months, plus this is the only time in your life that you are supposed to be fat.

8. I am convinced that pregnant woman get constipated so that they can practice pushing.

9. Don't give your poor baby a nickname like ice ice in the womb, because you know he is going to be called it for the rest of his life, even if that was not your intent.

10. Keeping the babies name a secret is fun! Drives people nuts!

Hopefully the next time I post little Ice Ice will have a "real" name, and there will be many new stories to share with you all.We'll keep you posted!