The Coombs Family

Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-12-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to kick off Christmas early and at full speed. It's early December and my house is completely decorated, shopping is finished, and I am counting down the days until Christmas. I am trying to make some fun traditions with my kids this year. If you have any good traditions, pass them my way so we can be as cool as your family is. So far, this is what we have done:

Cut down our own tree right after Thanksgiving

Blast Christmas music as we decorate the whole house

Caleb hung up lights outside this year for the first time. New tradition!

We did adopt a family which was a ton of fun to shop for.
Every day when I pick up the kids from day care, we drive around and look at the Christmas lights. Hoping this weekend we can start to hit the big attractions for lights.
See our church nativity they put on. That has been a tradition the past few years as well.
Make a gingerbread house, or this year- a graham cracker train.

Let's keep the Christmas cheer the whole month and see what happens!

In sickness and in health

2011-12-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Two days after I ran the Portland marathon, I got very sick. Sick enough to spend some time in the hospital and on bed rest for three weeks. I have been getting allergy shots for awhile now to help relieve me of allergy symptoms during the spring and summer. It's been working wonderfully, until now. I went into anaphylactic shock twice. Nothing like hives all over your body, having your throat close, and puking all over the place at work to embarrass a girl. Yes it was very scary, but also really uncomfortable to happen at work. Both times too!!

After one month of serious medication and restricted activities, I was ready to get back into my workouts. I started working with my trainer again and doing my food journal every day. Getting results, feeling good, and then- pneumonia hits, followed promptly by some cracked ribs from coughing too much. It's been three weeks that I have been sick again, which totals two months of lame-ness. I am officially DONE being sick and ready to get my health back.

The good news is that I learned a lot about how caring my family can be. I had all the support and help that I could ever need. Everything from getting my house cleaned, baking meals for me, picking up and dropping off my kids so I can rest, and lots of encouraging comments. Caleb is gone all the time, so I am very lucky to be in Salem and so close to my family. When he is home, he rocks my socks and takes great care of me. For those of you who know Caleb, you know that he hates mornings and loves to sleep in more than anything. He gets up with the kids on the weekends and plays quietly with them so I can sleep. And he's been doing the cooking, cleaning, and house projects when he is home. I am so lucky!

Today is the first day that I didn't cough the entire day. I probably only coughed once an hour, which is huge. I am feeling so much better that it's time to start thinking positively and counting my blessings. Let's hope my ribs heal soon so that I can hit the gym and start running again. I miss working out, I miss picking up my kids, and I miss feeling like myself.

Let's hope that Santa brings me good health for 2012!

Halloween fun

2011-11-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

This year we went to my sisters ward and got pumpkins the weekend before Halloween. This guy in her ward has free pumpkins and an outdoor park at his house. Lots of fun toys, nasty hot dogs and tons of kids.

Within the first 30 minutes Calvin managed to fall into a stream of water and almost drown himself. I was standing right there, but he was sinking and choking down water. Luckily I had packed extra clothes and he didn't choke on too much water. Good thing I'm a trained First Responder in case something like this happens. Every parent should be forced to learn CPR, but that's another story.

So we got pumpkins and Calvin couldn't care less about them. He didn't want to hold still and was very motivated to get stuck and fall into the mud as much as possible.

On the day of Halloween we went as a family to the trunk or treat. We met Rhoda's family and had a wonderful time. It did not rain like it did all day long, so the kids were dry. Shelby loved her costume and wore it all night. Calvin wasn't a huge fan of his, but he kept it on and didn't scream.

We ended up with more candy than we know what to do with! The kids had a blast and Caleb and I had fun showing them off in their adorable costumes. Calvin was a beaver and Shelby was of course Rapunzel.

Shelby is three!

2011-10-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

My darling daughter is growing up so fast. Shelby turned 3-years-old and is a bundle of energy and sass! We had a last minute party for her and threw together some food and decor. I was sick and couldn't do anything to help, but my family pitched in and made it happen. Caleb and my family threw the whole party as I sat around and watched and laughed.

Shelby was very spoiled by her grandma Wendy. She got her this wonderful hair and dress from the movie Tangled. Shelby is pretty sure she is Rapunzel now. She asks for the hair, dress, and shoes all the time for dress up. She slept in it the first night and wore it to day care the next day.

She got a matching doll and sang songs to it and danced

We brought a mirror for her to see herself. She just sang, danced and entertained the whole room. We recorded it and it's hilarious. She is so funny.

Even Kenady got a chance to dress up as Rapunzel. She is so cute and waited for her turn. As soon as Shelby asked for the hair back, she politely returned it. How do I get a kid that kind?

They each got a doll and there was lots and lots of hair brushing to be done

Finally time for chocolate cupcakes!

Grandpa Eric and Calvin hanging out watching the show

Kids really do grow up too fast. But it's so fun to watch them learn new things and show more of their personality. So far we know Shelby likes to have things a certain way. She doesn't like change and once she sees something a certain way, she wants it to always be that way. She rarely walks anywhere and usually runs or bounces. She makes lots of funny faces all the time. She is a great big sister and keeps Calvin entertained and out of trouble. She is bossy like her mom. She is playful like her dad. And best of all, she is all ours!

Portland Marathon

2011-10-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

I decided it was time to do another full marathon this year. It was my fourth and final race this summer and it was definitely the hardest! I trained with my friend Dwight Hemmert. We ran every weekend after Hood to Coast. Every Saturday we ran, 13, 15, 17.5, 21, and then the race. I would have liked more time between the races so I could train differently, but that's what we had to work with. Dwight was suppose to run with me, but he couldn't get time off work and twisted his ankle. So I ran with two of my co-workers Bill and Brian. They are both much faster than I am, but they didn't have to pay to do the race so they said they would stick with me until the end. I am so grateful I had them with me. They cheered me on, kept saying the most encouraging things, and wouldn't let me walk when I was being a big baby!

It was raining on us the whole time and my long sleeve shirt was soaked. My hands were frozen. My left knee was locking up after about 14 miles. Caleb and my brother Ryan met me at mile 18 with a clean pair of socks and shoes. If I was smart, I would have given him a clean long sleeve shirt to trade with me, but I didn't think it would rain so much. With my clean spiffy shoes I started on the last stretch.

After the St John's bridge around mile 17, most of the race is downhill. But that actually made my knee hurt more. I was really looking forward to the downward slope, but it was killing me. Brian's right knee was hurting too, so we looked like a couple of peg-legs running.

I did the first half under 2 hours and it took me almost 2.5 hours to run the last half. My finish time was 4:26. Not my best race time, but I am more than happy with it. I didn't want to be over 4:30 and I wasn't. That's my limit. I want to finish one under 4 hours someday, but this was not my day. Some days I wake up and feel like I could run forever. This particular day was not one of those days. It was a struggle most of the race. Thank goodness for the support of my friends and family.

And I have a bone to pick with the race officials. The past two times I have done this race, they gave me chocolate milk at the end. All I could think about from mile 23-26 was my milk. I was dreaming of it and Bill was describing it and using it to motivate me too. Guess what- no chocolate milk this year! Just some crap juice that made me mad! Luckily, my brother Ryan loves me and walked to Safeway and got me my milk. He also let me wear his coat because I was frozen. And best of all, Fred let us all go back to his fancy loft in the Pearl afterward. We got to shower and put on dry warm clothes and hang out where fancy rich people do. What a treat.

So why the heck did I pay $145 to run this thing? It really does make me feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I love to know that I can train by body to do whatever it is that I want it to. With hard work and dedication, I can tell my body to run 26.2 miles, in the rain, on a hurt knee, and finish when I wanted to finish. I have had two children now and I can still get my training runs in and not take away time from them. Waking up at 5 am to run on a Saturday morning may not seem like a fun time to most people, but running when the sun is coming up and there is no traffic is amazing. You see other runners out there on the same path and many of them are training for the same thing you are. You see old, young, skinny, large, short, tall, male, female, and all ethnicity's. It's like you're part of this secret club that only a runner would understand.

My favorite two training runs were on 9/10, the day before the 9/11 memorial in downtown Salem. Dwight and I ran on a foggy morning around thousands of American Flags at the waterfront. It was chilling and breathtaking at the same time. The other run had to be in Sunriver. We saw more deer that morning than we ran miles. The deer come right up to us and you can almost pet them. We also ran by the river and over some bridges. After you run 20 miles you can pretty much eat what you want to. Dwight and I came back to the house where my sister made the most amazing cinnamon rolls ever. We ate them as we soaked in the hot tub in the rain.

If you have ever trained for something, and then accomplished it, then you can relate to this experience. Maybe it's not a marathon for you. But whatever it is, find it, challenge yourself, and FINISH!

Thanks for sharing my journey with me! Here's a terrible picture of me and a great one of Bill around the last mile. I look as bad as I felt.

Sunriver, my second home

2011-09-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

I want to live in Bend. Every time we go over there, I never want to come home. We try and go a couple times every year and it never disappoints. We went with my sisters family and Heather & Dwight and their boys. The weather was great and we had too much to do and too little time.

Caleb and I headed over late Thursday night and had the day Friday to ourselves. I had to work in our Bend office, but we still got to enjoy that night. We went out to Goodies ice cream, which is always a requirement when we go. We rode our bikes everywhere and sat in the hot tub every day.

Here's the huge bruise Calvin got right before we left. Poor guy always has a mark on his head.

I love this picture below because Calvin is just kicking back and waiting to be fed. He's so funny. He just wants to lay around and have someone shove food in his face all day.

Caleb found a small lizard that the kids were in love with. They all wanted to hold it, but Caleb knew they would accidentally smash it. So he showed it around and let him go.

Look at those moves! He's in it to win it!

Calvin is so cute with his huge belly and head. Just adorable.

Shelby played in the pool until she was a raisin. That girl loves water.

The rest of the weekend was filled with the pool, bike rides, hot tub, lots of food, and hanging out. Dwight and I did our training run and we ran 21 miles in the RAIN! It never rains on us there, but it sure did this morning. No other time, just during our run. We did see about 20 deer during our run, so that was fun. The trails there are just the best to run on. Right by the river, no cars, lots of other people running and riding bikes, and the scenery is gorgeous. Now I am ready for the Portland Marathon in just a few weeks!

Camping with the kids

2011-09-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Brightenbush is an Indian reservation up by Detroit lake. Our friends Heather & Dwight took us up this crazy road and showed it to us. We had a great time and will definitely be heading back sometime. Caleb had to start a fire the manly way as soon as we got there.

Caleb bought us this cute little raft that was fun. Calvin hated it, but the rest of us had fun in it.

Love these two boys

We also hiked about 10 miles up the Pacific Crest Trail so we were looking at Mt Jefferson. We had both kids in backpacks the whole time because it was too hard for them to walk. They both fell asleep eventually, but poor Calvin wasn't very happy then either. He had a huge strawberry where the pack was hitting him, so I don't blame him for being unhappy.

Shelby on our hike

My man at the top

The whole family at the top! We made it.

We ate lots of amazing food, which is one of my favorite parts of camping! The kids slept well, got really dirty, and played hard. I love to camp. Especially with great weather and great friends. It's so much work to go that I am always glad when it works out and we have a great time.

Hood to Coast 2011

2011-09-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite races is HTC, and this year was no different. My team was made up of family and friends and we had the perfect balance. I convinced Caleb to run this year and he wasn't quite sure what to expect. This is a picture of the people in my van. Curtis & Jennie Hemmert from New York. Love them. Curt was my BFF my entire life and it was great to catch up with him and his wife. Dwight (Curt's bro) and Heather Hemmert also ran. And then Caleb and I and our driver Heidi (sister of Dwight & Curt).

We were the van made up of happily married couples. We started the race loving each other and ended the race by relying on each other heavily. Jennie & Curt were adorable and ran their last legs together, so they both finished with a half marathon! Dwight finished the very last leg of the whole race with Curtis. We swapped legs around so that everyone had fun. Heidi drove the whole time without complaint or losing her cool. Traffic was insane and she could not be sweeter even at 4 am. I ran 20.6 miles in total and loved every mile of it. I really liked all the legs even though I was worried they were too hard. I think Cascade Lakes Relay got me ready, because I kept my pace the whole time. I've slowed in my old age and ran a consistent 8:30 pace. Wish I could push myself back down to 7's but the legs were too hard and I didn't want to die. I just wanted to try and run faster than Dwight so I could hassle him. Caleb killed it and ran 8's the whole time. Sandbagger! He swore he couldn't run any faster than a 9. Liar! Caleb kept telling me he had not trained and may not finish. The day of the race he shaves his head, shaves a mustache, and has a whole outfit to run in. He was just trying to scare me. He was hilarious!

The boys, getting to know each other

Caleb and his awesomeness

Cutest couple on the race!

inappropriate brothers

Caleb carried Jennie to the beach since she lost a toe nail

My sis, Heather & me

Best hand off ever. Slappin' his butt baby!

Our driver Heidi eating blackberries along the way

In Van 2 we had my lovely sister Rhoda. Wish she was in my van with me. I'll have to do it again so that we can have a girls van or something. It was her first year, she had very hard legs too, and she rocked them all. She's a much stronger runner than she realizes. Her friends ran in her van with her and one came from Utah. We had a father and daughter run from California too. So awesome we represented 4 states! And how adorable is it that a father and daughter ran together? Come on! I hope my kids do stuff like that when they get older. Very inspiring to see a 16 year old girl out there running in thunder, lightning, hail, and down the side of Timberline Road. Now that's hard core. Go Danielle and James Sloan, thanks for showing us how it's done.

Danielle starting the race!

Van 2, starting at 4:45 am

Cascade Lakes Relay

2011-08-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

I decided to give the Cascade Lakes Relay another shot. The first year I did the race, I didn't know what to expect. I was a little sad there weren't more teams, no cell reception for most of the race, a lot of the race is off-road, and the heat was terrible two years ago. I co-captained a work team with my good friend Jacquie and we got this thing going. We camped at Diamond Lake the night before the race and this year there were only 9 million mosquitos per person instead of two years ago when there were 90 million per person. So I went home with significantly less bites. We also had two work teams, so we got to camp with more people. We got to camp sooner and enjoyed a great sunset. We also had two very large 15 passenger vans, so no squishing! I was breast feeding two years ago and had to pump & dump in our little car, which also made that harder. This year, I was a free woman with no worries. And I knew there were no stores along the way so I brought more food.

My was the first runner again, same legs I did last time. I was no dumb-dumb here. The first runner does a total of 22 miles, but it's relatively flat, at least half of my miles were on a road, and I had less heat than everyone else. I just have to run farther, which doesn't bother me at all. I ran an 8:30 pace for the entire 22 miles and that's what I said I would do. I would have liked to run a little faster, and sometimes I did, but overall I think my pace was about that.

Instead of expecting huge crowds and lots of "road kills", when you pass another runner- I just looked forward to my beautiful scenery and I was happy if I even got to see anybody else. I got to run around Diamond Lake, absolutely beautiful! My second leg I ran on a gravel road next to cows, some mountains, watch a beautiful sunset, and then ran in pitch blackness. I had plenty of lights and the right shoes this time.
My last leg was warm, but not deadly hot, and I killed it. I ran the fastest here and passed everyone in my sights. Overall I hardly got passed at all, but that's not saying much because there are some very fast runners. I just don't think they found me!

I have decided this race is a lot of fun and I would recommend it. It's low-key and if you know what to expect, it's a lot of fun. The race is only 4 years old now and they have done a better job with toilets, exchange volunteers and lights, and cell reception seemed to improve.

Family pictures 2011

2011-07-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

After rescheduling our family pictures 3 different times, we finally got to take them. The first time we showed up, dressed up, and it was POURING down rain in July. The summer this year has been kind of a big joke. The second time we tried Calvin fell so many times that week that his face was a complete battle zone of bruising, scratching and swelling. I text my photographer and said, "Calvin has a huge swollen goose-egg on his forehead, a bruise around it, and some scrapes on his cheek. How do you feel about photoshop"? He agreed, let's pick another date. The day we got was very warm and didn't have any cloud cover, which is not ideal either. My kids did not want to sit by me, or by Caleb, or smile at Randy Kepple, our wonderful photographer. We were wondering if anything would turn out with the sunshine and energy that a 1 year old and 2 year old bring you. Randy was patient, played games with my kids, and was very relaxed. He doesn't stress about it and the whole process is very relaxing. He does not encourage the parent to jump up and down and force a smile, poke your kids, or yell at them to hold still. He just follows us around and tries to capture who we really are. And the final and most important reason we chose Randy, was after he sent us the pictures. We remembered again, why it's always gotta be Randy. There is no other option. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do.

Family beach day

2011-07-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning and decided the weather was nice and it was time to head to the beach. We started off by hitting up the Newport Aquarium. It was pretty full of people, but my Groupon made it so we could skip the hour long line and go straight inside. Thank you Groupon!

The kids loved the fish swimming all around them in the tunnels. They were glued to the glass and did not want to leave.

Here's the reaction we got when we told them it was time to move on......

We got in trouble for my kids splashing, climbing rocks, banging on the glass. Basically every thing the signs said NOT to do, my kids did.

Best dad ever, helping his daughter touch weird slimy stuff

Then it was off to the beach. The sun was out and it was about 68 degrees in town. Too bad it was very windy and we had to wear coats to stay warm. It was beautiful. We just ran around and laid in the sand until we were covered in it. The sounds of the ocean is very relaxing. It was fun to see Calvin exploring the sand and trying to eat it. Shelby runs straight for the ocean and wants to get wet, regardless of the freezing temperatures. Caleb goes in with her. He will do anything that his little girl tells him to.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2011-07-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

I am officially 33 years old now! I actually thought I was 34 this past week, and I was happy to do the math finally and realize I am not. How can I seriously forget how old I am? My sister and I are the same age for a week every year and this is always my favorite week. When we were kids I would torture her this week. I would play with her and all her friends because I was the same age, so I could play with the "older and more mature girls". Oh, how she hated me! Now, I just keep thinking I am always the same age as her.

Caleb travels during the week every week, so my birthday was going to be a lonely one. Caleb went to Las Vegas the week before, and I got to see him for about 8 hours on Sunday, and about 4 minutes on Monday before he left. He did manage to make me cards and still be the thoughtful man that I married. I am not big on presents. I would much rather give them away than to receive them myself. So I always ask for something thoughtful, that doesn't cost a lot of money. Caleb makes me things most years and this year was no different.

On my actual birthday my sister kidnapped me and my kids. She picked up my kids and took them to my mom's house. Then they made me dinner, dessert, gave my kids a bath, and let me lay around and be lazy. I had to work all day, so it was a short but fun night. Caleb and I celebrated the weekend together and extended my birthday to a birthweek. I love my hubby, my kids, my sister, my parents, and all of my friends who took the time to wish me a happy day. The thought means a lot to me and I am glad that I am older.

Here are pictures left from the card that Caleb and the kids made me. You can see that it took Caleb a few tries before he got a good shot. I would have loved to be there to see Caleb jumping around trying to get them to look at the camera, smile, and hold the sign.

Water parks!

2011-07-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

My kids love to play in the water. There are some pretty fun parks around Salem, but I love the parks at Wilsonville the best. I wish we still lived closer to this particular park. It's right next to the softball fields where I played slow pitch for the past few years. I miss playing ball and I miss this park. Here are some shots of my kids loving the water. May we have more sunshine in this blessed state so we can play more!!

The Zoo

2011-07-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

The kids and I decided to venture back to the Zoo without Caleb. My girlfriend Lindsey came with us and it was a busy day for the Oregon Zoo. It was the only Saturday without rain that we have had in awhile, so we were not the only family who decided to go see the animals. We walked until our feet fell off, and then walked more. I think my double stroller in pointless most of the time because both kids want to walk all the time now. It becomes more of a huge storage area than anything else. But we had fun and I am really glad we went.

Here we are watching the polar bears play with their ball. They got right up to the glass and Shelby thought it was hilarious. Calvin is starting to look where I point, but not always very well. Luckily these bears were close so he got to see them.

Every kid needs to each a snow cone when it's hot outside. Shelby loves ice, so this was an instant hit. She got that nasty syrup all down her shirt and skirt.

My boy and his baby blue eyes. I still pinch his cheeks all the time too. Cute kid.

My favorite zoo animal, the giraffe. Not sure why, I just love these guys!

Calvin (not wearing pants) was walking around everywhere. Even on the uneven grass. He's getting pretty good at this walking thing.

Calvin's one year check-up

2011-07-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

Calvin had his one year check-up on July 5th. He is walking now, and he can wave bye-bye, which are both great signs. He still doesn't talk, but we think he's pretty smart anyway. He can go downstairs by himself without supervision now, which is a blessing for us in a two-story home. He loves to play downstairs with Shelby and the toys, and he scoots right down the steps without a problem. He walks pretty well now as long as his arms are straight up in the sky and his mouth is open. He can go straight, but turning and stopping are still pretty hard for him. He and Shelby are playing very well together and they crack each other up in the car. Calvin is still rear-facing in the car and we put him in the middle so he sits right next to Shelby who faces forward. This way they can hold hands, play games, and steal each others snacks and toys. We are very proud of our little man Calvin and all the things he is able to do now.

Our next MRI and neurosurgeon consult is in August, but we are pretty optimistic that he will not need surgery. Here are his stats:

Weight: 26 pounds, around 80th percentile

Length: 30 1/4" tall, just over 50th percentile

Head: 21 inches, see chart below for percentile

The pencil marks on this chart are four our reference to see that he may be making his own curve if you connect all the dots. His head was growing exponentially, which has slowed a little. His head is bigger than Shelby's and is only one inch smaller than mine. It's about two inches smaller than Caleb's. My family has pretty large heads, we measured everyone to get accurate numbers. We hope he just grew early and that things will slow down. Love my little man and all his big headedness!

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-20T21:29:00.001-07:00

I love the chance to spoil my husband. Every year it's fun to think of what I can do at the last minute to make his day special. This year was no different. I like to make him a nice meal, get him some small gifts, and just treat him to a special day. This year he got to take a nap, eat great food, and his kids were especially kind. For mothers day I was sick, so he basically kept the kids away and quiet so that I could rest. It was all I wanted and he was very kind about it. But that's not how these holidays are suppose to go. I'm not into the crazy gifts or even $7 cards that Safeway was trying to get me to buy. We just went to the basics of time, kindness, and special attention.

Shelby sat on Caleb's lap almost all day and wanted him to hold her. She always says, "I hold you", when she wants him to hold her. She gave him extra kisses, laughed extra hard at his games, and kept following him around all day. She even took a nice long nap so we could watch a movie together. I am pretty sure she doesn't know what fathers day is, but she did a good job anyway.

Calvin decided to trump us all for his fathers day gift. He started walking!! Technically he took one step the night before, to Caleb. But I was at the store getting strawberry shortcake for my dad and missed it. Just one step and only one witness. So I like to count fathers day as the official step day. Calvin was hanging on to the ottoman, turned, laughed hysterically at himself as he stumbled three steps out to Caleb's knee. Caleb grabbed him and turned him to me and he took about five more steps. We were so excited and so was Calvin. He's very pleased with himself. However, he basically refuses to do it anymore. He does one or two steps every few hours, and then gets down and crawls.

Calvin's first birthday party

2011-06-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

My little man Calvin is turning one on June 16th. We celebrated his birthday early so that Caleb could be there. Sunday we had a big party with lots of great food, hilarious friends, supportive family, and lots of entertainment.

Calvin did not disappoint with his birthday cake. He dove right into it and thought it was pretty fun. You can see that Shelby also got into his cake. She could not resist the temptation of chocolate.

Thank you to everyone who made the day special. We appreciate each and every one of you!

Helvatia Half

2011-06-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to run Helvatia and this year I got my chance. My co-worker Tracy had paid for the race, got injured, and gave me her bib. I wasn't exactly training for a half, but I thought I could pull it off. She asked me to run on Monday and the race was that Saturday. I had just run 8.77 miles on my lunch break that day, so I figured it was a sign that I can do it. I didn't get any sleep the night before, woke up very early, and went to my friends house to drive to the race. I ended up seeing about 6 people I knew at the race, and it makes me miss living in Portland. So many fun places to run and great groups of running friends.

I got sick on mile 9, had to walk, and didn't know if I could finish the race. I have never walked during a race before. Not even pregnant! But my stomach was in absolute fits and there was no bathroom near. I found a tire company on the side of the road with 3 guys sitting in lawn chairs out front watching the runners go by. I asked if I could use their bathroom and they gladly pointed to the back of the shop. After about 10 minutes, I felt better. That was a pretty sick bathroom too, but I could care less.

I got back out on the road, and felt better than I had felt the whole race. I ran a solid 8 minute pace until the end. I only lost about 15 minutes with being sick. I finished in 2:05. Not my best time, not my worst time, and a good finish considering it was a last minute decision.

The burger in the end was actually pretty good. I couldn't finish it. I don't like food after I run. But the mini Jamba Juices they gave out after the race were my best friend. I went back and got 3 of them until my bottom lip was numb.

Next up: Cascade Lakes Relay! I am runner #1, which means I do 8.5 miles, then 7.5, and then finish with a 6.6 mile leg. I did this race two years ago and it was challenging and a lot of fun. I am ready to do it again.

Sunshine is finally here!

2011-06-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been full of sunshine and playing outside for our family. We managed to go to Logan's baseball game, hit the park, play in the water, and get some chores done in the yard. It was a last minute weekend with nothing planned and it turned out to be exactly what we needed. I can't believe Shelby is big enough to climb all over the playground. Calvin is happy to eat bark chips and pull himself up to stand on all the toys.

We don't have a yard yet, so we have to get pretty creative with playing in the water at our house. Shelby loves a bucket full of water. My mother taught her that a few summers ago. Calvin decided he needed to join her. Looks like we now have a his & hers private pool.

Road trip to Utah

2011-06-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Gordon got married this last weekend in Utah and we decided to drive over to see it happen. We are so happy for Gordon and his new bride Cherise. We love to spend time with our family and help out where we can. We stayed all over the place and went to Logan, Spanish Fork and other places. The drive there started at 5:45 am on Thursday morning. The kids did great the whole time in the car. We stopped at some parks and let them run around and we tried to let them stretch their legs as much as we could. Thank goodness for portable DVD players or it would have been much worse. Caleb and I listened to books on cd, and found some really good ones.

We got to Utah at 10 pm that night. We hit major road construction the last couple of hours. The kids started to have melt downs around 8 pm. I got car sick from trying to entertain them. Calvin pooped through all his clothes around 9 pm and we couldn't pull over to stop. There was a police car going 10 mph on the freeway and nobody could go around him and the shoulder was closed. All the side streets and exits were backed up with people trying to get off the freeway. So I broke my own rule and got him out of the car seat while driving and changed him. It was disgusting and not safe. I make my kids stay buckled at all times. If you've ever seen a presentation by "Trauma Nurses Talk Tough", then you would too.

On the way back home Caleb and I decided to drive all night so our kids wouldn't be so bored. We left at 5 pm on Sunday night and we got home at 4:30 am the next morning. Talk about shaving some major time off our trip! It was amazing. Caleb and I had fun driving at night, listening to our book on cd, and just hanging out. I'm so grateful for a husband that I love to spend time with. Caleb helped decorate my uncles wedding, watched the kids while I shopped with my cousins, got up at night with the kids and helped them sleep in a new strange house, and drove almost the entire way back and forth. I'm feeling pretty lucky!

Here is Shelby in her cousins outfit and with her doll. It was hard to get that off her. She slept in it all night long with that doll right next to her.

Bath time with cousins. It was pretty tight getting them all in there, but they had the best time. Jessica's three boys and my two kids. This is what family is all about!

Mud

2011-05-19T22:27:00.000-07:00

Shelby can find water anywhere. It never ceases to amaze us that she can find a leaking hose, a bucket with some rain water, or a puddle in a parking lot. This is at my grandma's house in Sweet Home. Shelby could not resist. I caught a couple of good moments with her and the hang time she has.

Calvin's first hair cut

2011-05-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Calvin got his first hair cut today. No more fly aways!

Time with cousins

2011-05-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to have family in town this week. I wish we got together more often and for longer periods of time. I grew up with cousins in town and we got together regularly. My closest cousins are in Utah and it makes it hard to hang out regularly. Jocelyn and Jessica were my sister and my closest family members growing up. We are all four the same age and we have kids that are the same age. We hit up the park, ate some amazing Thai food, hung out in Sweet Home, and just caught up with each other. Next we all are going to Utah for my Uncle Gordon's wedding. Hoping we can continue the fun then.

Here's my beautiful cousin Jessica and Calvin

Jessica and Steve. We just love them and their craziness. I'm so happy that after three kids and 13 years of marriage, they still spank each other. That shows true love.

The carousel is a must-see for the cousins when they are here

James (Jessica's second child)

Taran (Jessica's oldest)

My Grandfather, David Keith Walker

2011-05-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Walker passed away on Friday, April 29th at 8 am. He was just a few weeks shy of turning 81. He went out fishing the day before and he slipped and fell loading the boat and broke 3 ribs, one in 3 places. He finished loading the boat and then went to urgent care. They told him to go home and get some rest, to wear his brace and come back in the morning. The next morning when he woke up, he told Grandma that he was in no pain at all. That's pretty rare for a rib injury, so Grandma was a little concerned. She asked him to get up and use the bathroom and when he stood up, he collapsed and was unresponsive. Grandma called 911 and then called Aunt Barb, Grandpa's sister who lives near. My mother also got a call since she is always quick to respond and be there for her dad. When Grandma went back to check on him, she noticed his breathing started to become labored and he was taking a turn for the worse. Before the ambulance arrived, he had died. We are terribly sad to miss such a wonderful man. Grandpa was a big part of all of our lives and he will be greatly missed. He taught Caleb how to fly fish, he taught Shelby how to play patty-cake with her feet. He also taught me how to drive his riding lawn mower at a young age. He was a man who loved to serve and help out people who were in need of assistance. Most people who know my Grandfather would know that he was a simple man and didn't have very much. He worked as a logger and money was always tight. Regardless of his lack of funds, he would always do work for others and give to people that he felt needed more than he did. He's a great example of patience and understanding. My Grandma is a very sweet lady and he took care of her and supported her. He showed her love and understanding throughout their marriage. Even when Grandma wanted something that most people would call ridiculous, Grandpa would do it without hesitation. There are many stories of the silly things that Grandma would request, and Grandpa would drop what he was doing to be by her side. Here are a few of my favorite pictures and his obituary at the end.

June 10, 1930 — April 29, 2011
David K. Walker, 80, of Sweet Home passed away Friday.
He was born in Lebanon to Loyal “Jack” and Esther (Barrette) Walker.
He was the third of seven children. He graduated from Sweet Home High School, class of 1949, lettering four years in baseball. Dave served in the Army during 1951-53.
He met and married Elizabeth McMurdie in 1954. They have five children, 22 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
He worked in the woods logging and was an avid hunter and fly fisherman. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife served a mission for the church in 1995.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth “Tish”; children Pauli, Rhonda, Debbie Gay, Kim and Gordon; sisters Caroline and Barb; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Marie and Betty, brothers Al and Roger, and two grandsons.
Viewing will be at 10 a.m. Monday, May 2, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1155 22nd Ave., Sweet Home. A funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Gilliland Cemetery.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements (www.sweethomefuneral.com).

Easter 2011

2011-04-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

This year we went to my parents house for our Easter celebration. My sister came out with her kids and my brother Roger was there with his fiance Angela. We had homemade rolls, ham, salad, potatoes, and green beans. For dessert we kept it light with some cookies and awesome mint brownies.

My mother got each of the kids a book and some marshmallow candy thing. The kids each loved their book. She personalized each of them for all her grandkids.

We tried to get a family picture, but the kids just wanted to get down and keep playing.

Great Grandma Letha made some hats for my kids. As you can see, their heads are far too wide, and not quite tall enough to fit. It sure was funny stretching that hat to get it over Calvin's big head. Silly boy.

The highlight each Easter is the egg hunt. Between rain showers, Caleb and Logan ran outside and hid the eggs. We thought that Shelby wouldn't remember from last year so we gave her and Kenady a head start. That wasn't really necessary because it took each of them one egg and they were off to the races.
Shelby loaded up on candy before I knew what was going on. Her dad spoils her and let her fill both cheeks before I caught on. She was bouncing off the walls in no time.

Shelby wanted to wear the bag around her neck. Maybe so she could run faster and use both hands, I am not really sure. But as she ran, her knees knocked against all the eggs in her bag and that made her laugh. She had lots of candy and coins from Granny.

Best buds, Kenady and Shelby

Shelby loaded up on candy with her dad. She had both cheeks full and was reaching for more before I found them. She was bouncing off the walls the rest of the night.

Calvin learns some new tricks

2011-04-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Calvin decided last Friday that he can crawl now. He saw my laptop on the ground and made a dash for it. It was so cute. He keeps falling and crashing on his forehead, but he will eventually make it across the room. I was just posting about how he wasn't crawling, and a couple of days later he is doing it. Silly boy. He does the same crawl that Shelby did, up on his knees and hands. He never did the army crawl that I know a lot of babies do.

After he learned how to crawl he decided that now he can also stand up. He loves to pin himself between our ottoman and our chair in the living room. He bounces back and forth until he eventually falls. He can stand for about 30 seconds without touching anything. He's very pleased with himself and laughs a lot when he does it. You can probably see all the bruises on his forehead from the crashing.

I'm not ready for my baby to be standing or crawling. I really have enjoyed my little man and his cute snuggles. I am very excited that he is learning new things. At the same time, I want him to slow down and take it easy. I am afraid that one day he won't want to snuggle into my neck and lay his head on my shoulder.

Comparing my kids

2011-04-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

I know you're not suppose to compare your kids, but come on! I'm not afraid to admit it.

Shelby started walking at 9 months
Calvin at 10 months scoots around sitting up and doesn't crawl

Shelby wouldn't sit on my lap and cuddle from about 3 months old and older
Calvin at 10 months still loves to rock and be held and snuggle

Shelby woke up every 3 hours to nurse at night until she was almost one year
Calvin started sleeping through the night around 7 months (bless his heart)

Shelby has curly hair and huge hazel eyes
Calvin has very straight hair and beautiful blue eyes

How can I possibly have two kids so different from each other? I love their little personalities and I love how different they are. Shelby grew up very fast, which was a lot of fun, and very challenging. Because Calvin has been slower to learn new things, he's this precious little baby to me still and growing at the perfect pace. Here's a picture of Shelby at 7 months and Calvin at 10 months. They look like siblings to me, but not going to be mistaken for twins anytime soon.

Recently, Shelby has been very attached to Calvin. She wants to do whatever he is doing. Calvin loves to have her around and is glad that his big sister finally realizes how cool he is. I stopped washing Calvin in the sink awhile ago, but Shelby thinks it's the coolest thing ever to sit in the sink with her brother. So, baths are back in the sink now at least once a week. The rest of the time I am able to convince Shelby to go into the bathtub. Thank goodness because I end up soaked from head to toe when it's in the sink.

The kids also think it's fun to play in Calvin's crib. Here's a typical morning where Calvin wakes up and Shelby has to go join him in bed before he can get out of bed.

I'm not sure how other parents feel about having a kid that grows up really quickly, or one that takes their time and is content. I like having one of each and I can see the benefit of each child. It reminds me a lot of Caleb and myself. Opposites attract, right?!

Sunriver getaway

2011-04-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love our trips to Sunriver, Oregon. We made the trip over with our family of four and our little children slept the whole way there. It was very sunny and warm the first day, and cold and snowing the second, and then warm again the last day. We went for a few walks around the neighborhood.

Played in the hot tub. Calvin loved it and wanted to just lay on his back and float around the entire time. Shelby was mostly just bossy and wanted Caleb to throw her around.

We fed the ducks. Shelby got a goose to eat some of Calvin's crackers.

There were about 45 elk destroying the golf course. Caleb and Shelby got pretty close to them. Shelby started to cry when we left. She kept asking to see the elk again. It wasn't until we saw a patch of snow that she could play in that she forgot about the elk.

Playing at the park. The kids still love the swings the most out of all the toys. Calvin was really tired and tried falling asleep in the swing.

We took a really long way home. Lots of stops to go off-road. It took us about 5 hours to get home because we kept taking the Caleb-detour.

By the time we got home, we spent about 5 hours in the Jeep driving. We were all exhausted and glad to be home. It's so fun to go on family vacations with our little bunch. The kids slept great and had a great time exploring the new area.
Calvin decided he needed to learn how to crawl while we were there. He's not actually crawling yet, but he's pretty close. He gets up on his hands and feet into a downward dog position. Pretty strong for such a little guy. He's learned how to go from his stomach to sitting back up again too. I'm so glad he's learning so much so quickly. I am not ready to have another mobile kid, but I won't complain. He's also getting his top two teeth at the same time. So he chewed everything and drooled everywhere this weekend. He started to squeal and talk a lot over the past week too. He gets really excited when he sees Shelby, but mostly when he sees food. That boy loves to eat!
Shelby has been talking a lot and mostly bossing us around. She wants to tell everyone what to do and where to go. The kids she plays with at daycare love to play with her and I think she's used to getting her way. We just laugh at her and she keeps insisting we do what she wants. She was so funny that we were dying laughing most of the trip.

7 Year Anniversary

2011-03-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I just got home from celebrating our anniversary at the coast. We stayed at the http://www.salishan.com/ Salishan Spa & Golf Resort just past Lincoln City by Siletz Bay. Our room overlooked the bay and it was beautiful. We got to eat some greasy food for lunch at Mo's. Then we checked into our room and got ready for our spa day. The spa was wonderful. We had a couples massage, soaked in a beautiful whirlpool that overlooked the bay. We saw a beautiful sunset and watched two bald eagles fly around and catch some fish. After that, we had dinner at the Steakhouse in the hotel. The dinner was so good! We had dessert and just sat and talked for hours. Our room had a nice view and a fireplace and we both got to sleep in until 10 am. No kids to wake us up! Caleb probably would have slept much longer, but I wanted play.

We came home to happy kids too! They stayed with my parents and my brother Roger. They were very well behaved and slept better for my brother than they do for us. I'd really like to know how he got both kids to sleep until 10 am. That's unheard of! If he gave them drugs, I'm all for it, just please share with me what they were! :) It's fun to get away once in awhile and remind Caleb and I how lucky we are. It's also a ton of fun to come home to kids who miss you and love you. Shelby got new Jeep pajamas that made her very happy and Calvin got a new hat that he loves to wear and then take off and chew for awhile. We are a lucky bunch!

Miller Family Pictures

2011-03-08T22:36:00.001-08:00

My siblings all got together for the first time in a few years and we got an updated family picture. It's not very often that we get together and spend time as a family like this. My brother Ryan doesn't come around very much, so it's hard to get a family picture. It was very nice to have all of us together again. Ryan was pretty funny, and competitive with cards. He's always liked to win, and that's what makes him a Miller. He likes to win so much, that he cheated with Caleb. Now, Caleb cheats at cards almost all the time. But my brother Ryan- he should know better!

My brother Roger is engaged to Angela, who we really like. Nobody has really told her that our family is crazy yet, and you better not either. We like to hide that until after the vows are exchanged. For now, we just smile and nod.

Rhoda came with her 5 kids and hubby Trevor. Her kids are Logan (12), Cassidy (10), Paige (8), Brynlee (6), and Kenady (3). Rhoda's family was a little sick so they couldn't stay long. They did manage to stay for lunch and pictures.

I'm so glad my parents got us together for the picture. Pretend like we all had cute matching clothes and a nice backdrop. Really, we just showed up in whatever we wanted to, at the last minute, and tried to quickly brush our hair (well, some of us brushed). The pictures were just outside a friends house, nothing fancy, but we did it! Love my family!

Calvin update

2011-03-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

Mr. Calvin has been through quite a bit the last month. We went to see a pediatric neurosurgeon in Portland, Dr. Kongel in early March. The doctor reviewed Calvin's MRI in great detail with Caleb and I. He showed us that Calvin's ventricles are twice the size they should be due to all of the extra fluid that is in his head.The doctor did a lot of tests and spent about 45 minutes with us and taking a very accurate history. He is an amazing doctor and we are very lucky to have someone so attentive.

Here's the short of what's going on:

Fluid normally moves around the head and then exits and is reabsorbed back into the body. In Calvin's case, the fluid is not exiting fast enough. We aren't sure if the extra pressure is causing pain for Calvin, he is very happy and doesn't seem to be bothered by it. We really aren't sure if the pressure is causing damage to his spinal column either, and that makes us a little nervous. We hate to have Calvin undergo an unnecessary procedure if his body will respond and take care of the swelling on it's own. Caleb and I both have very large heads, so there is a family history of big-headedness. Calvin is developing physically, but he is behind the norm. The development is not alarming in and of itself, because we all know some babies just learn things faster than others. But there are some tests that could be a sign of a problem, for example, Calvin will not put his hands out to catch his fall. He lands forehead first- every time. Calvin can sit-up now and he can put food into his mouth now too. All good news!

Here's the growth chart. Since the MRI, his head has continued to grow. This means that the swelling is probably more than it was when the MRI was taken. Luckily Calvin's head still has a soft spot, so the pressure is less than if he were an adult:

Here's what we are doing next:

Calvin is getting his eyes checked this week. They will look to see if his nerves are pink (getting a lot of blood supply) or white (has too much pressure). We are also going to see another specialist at OHSU who is the pediatric surgeon who would perform the surgery for Calvin, if we decide that's the best option. And here's my favorite part- we get to do some additional "testing" for things like Glutaric Aciduria. Mostly just blood work, which is no big deal. But there is one test that will prove to be entertaining. The doctor wants a urine test. Not just any urine either- the first one of the day. So, we get to try and convince Calvin, who is 8 months old, to hold his pee until we can clean him off and strap this little baggie to him. Can you imagine how fun this will be?! It makes me laugh just thinking about it. I told Caleb that this should be a father & son bonding moment. I hope he agrees!

Here's my little man sitting up, all by himself. He still crashes a lot, but he's getting stronger!

Snow in February 2011

2011-02-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

February was an eventful month for my kids heads. We had some beautiful snow fall and Shelby could not wait to go play in the snow. We played here at the house and then she went to Krista's house while I went to work. Shelby loves to play with Krista's kids and when the snow started coming down again she went to RUN outside and play. She missed her step, crash landed on the back deck, and split her lip open. She ended up with a bruised and swollen face for a few days. Poor girl. She just wanted to play in the snow!

Here is a picture of our house and also a picture of the cookies that Caleb spun in our street. He was pretty proud of himself.

Date night!

2011-02-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Caleb and I decided in 2010 we were kind of lame as a couple. We were awesome parents, but not very cool as a married couple. It seems like everything we do is about the kids, school, or work. We get our play time too, but it's not together like it used to be. We used to go snowboarding, wakeboarding, bike riding, play tennis, softball and volleyball...... Now, if we do those things, we have to tag-team. We don't do very many things at the same time. We go to the driving range to hit some golf balls and we just pass the kids to the other one and then go hit. That's not a lot time for us to talk to each other and just take time and enjoy our sports and outdoor time.

So this year, we have made it a priority. We are going out on one date every week. One week we even made it out to two dates. So far we have gone out to dinner, the movies, gone dancing, gone out for desert, gone shopping as adults should, and gone out with new friends. My brother Roger has been a huge support and he can put the kids to bed or even stay the night if we need him to. It's been really nice getting to know my husband again. We have to keep it going all year long and then maybe, just maybe, we will feel like we did before we had kids. Don't get me wrong, LOVE my kids!! I just want to make sure I am taking the time to love my husband too.

We have always been good about making time for ourselves in the evenings once the kids are in bed. We love to stay up and watch movies, but that doesn't count this year. We have to get out of the house and do something we used to do. The weather is getting better and I think we have more stuff coming our way. Wish us luck! This year is our 7th year anniversary and legend says, this is when people get bored with their routines. We are going to turn it around and make it a year that we focus on each other.

We just had a wonderful Valentine's Day and hope to have many more. Caleb made me a card like he does every year. They are always creative and funny. This year he had Shelby make me one too. We had some Konditerei black & white cake...YUM! We also went out to the Ram. It's going to be hard to find things to do in Salem compared to Portland, but I think we can make it happen. Or just drive back up to the city!

Bye bye love, bye bye happiness

2011-02-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

Hello loneliness, I think I'm gonna cry.......

OK, so I actually can't stand Roy Orbison. But that song is stuck in my head this month. My darling husband has taken a job down in Medford. Which means, it's the Renae show during the week. I know I'm not very grateful and I'm trying to be better. No better reminder on how much Caleb does for us than having him gone. He's living with some friends during the week and home on the weekends. He's not working full-time yet, so that's a blessing. The weekends are long and he gets to watch the kids while I work.

He really does take good care of us when he's here. Shelby misses him and asks for him every night. He always puts Shelby to bed and I put Calvin to bed. We have our little routine and now it's just off. We always do family prayer together and then he finishes Shelby's routine. I apparently can't do anything right according to Shelby. I brushed her teeth wrong (gotta brush the tongue!), I put the wrong pj's on her (needs to wear the purple ones), and I don't let her ride on my back like a horse for hours on end (it hurts my knees after 5 minutes!). Seriously, big shoes to fill Caleb. I'm glad you've spoiled our kids!

Calvin even seems to notice when Caleb is not here. He has thrown up on me twice every night this week. Calvin gets very excited when Caleb does come home and he kicks his legs as fast as he can, and then dives for a big snuggle with Caleb. I am sure it makes Caleb's day to come home to such happy kids.

I am still working full time and taking the kids to daycare when Caleb is gone. They are going to a really nice home with a family friend. She's amazing, organized, fun, and knows a lot about kids. She's flexible with our crazy schedules and the kids seem to love her house. She has a 3-year old daughter named Hannah that Shelby adores. Shelby calls her "Banana", which is close enough.

I am going through training to teach classes at the Courthouse still. It's a long process and I'm not doing it very fast. Kind of hard to find time to hit the gym right now. The weekends are about the only time I can make it.. I still get to run on my lunch breaks at work and that makes me very happy. I am finally picking up my speed again and keeping up with the boys at work. There for awhile, they were just letting me run with them because they probably felt sorry for me. But no more! I am determined to get stronger so that I don't get beat by a boy! Boy's are not as strong as girls and they know it. That's why we have the babies and all they do is..... well.... you know.

Caleb and I both gave talks at church a few weeks back and it was one of the best experiences we have had in our new ward. It came very naturally and we were flooded with great comments and made some new friends. Now we are going on a group date night this Friday. We love to meet other couples that are in the same stage of life. We had such good friends in Portland and it's hard to move, but we will start branching out here soon.

Caleb and I have been doing date night every week this year, and we even had two dates one week. That's pretty impressive for us. I am trying to make sure that there's still some time for romance and not just all about the kids. We are running Hood to Coast together this year and hope to do some mountain biking and boating together. Time to start dating my man again.

Hello 2011

2010-12-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today is New Years Eve, and we are ready for 2011 at the Coombs' house tonight. My kids are dressed and ready to party. They are finally over most of their colds, ear infections, and sore throat. Unfortunately, they gave some of it to Caleb and myself. Here are some highlights of our year:

Caleb finished dental school in June, passed all of his test in August, got his dental license in September, had shoulder surgery in December, got to do a lot of duck hunting this year with his good friend Josh, went fishing and learned how to bow fish, did some off-roading in the Jeep, went snowboarding a lot earlier this year when the snow finally showed up, spent some time in Roseburg with his friend Johnny, did a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament and whooped up on everyone, moved us into our new beautiful home, and has played with his kids as much as possible.

Renae spent the first part of the year pregnant, working full-time, teaching classes at the gym, and keeping up with the kids. I got back into running after Calvin was born and I am running about 20 miles a week now. I am really busy at work and don't get to teach classes at the gym now that we are down in Salem. The Courthouse wants to hire me to teach there instead of 24 Hour Fitness, but I'm still debating that offer. I spend a lot of time with my kids, playing at the park, playing with my sisters' kids, and taking them around to see other family.

Shelby Lu turned two, learned that lipstick is a staple of life, refuses to let her mother dress her up in pretty hair bows without having to pay up in juice or chocolate, loves to feed her baby brother, jumps every where all day long, likes to dance and imitate dance moves from movies (she's pretty good too), likes to play with duck calls and hunting stuff with her dad, is obsessed with Jeep's and other cars, dances in her room all night when she is suppose to be in bed, loves to color and draw, and is great at saying prayers with her family.

Calvin Vernon was born in June and is very easy to please. He loves to eat blankets, stuffed animals, pull his sisters hair, laugh at Shelby, loves to jump in his toys, sleeps really well, eats all the time, has an adorable laugh that makes everyone in the room laugh too, sits quietly in your lap for hours, likes to watch anything with lights, and snuggles up for loves when he's tired.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas in our new home and it was a lot of fun decorating and making it feel like Christmas. Caleb always lets me get whatever size tree that I want to and play Christmas music the entire month of December. He's such a good sport. I was pretty sad when we got our tree because I was afraid it wouldn't be big enough. However, it just barely fit in our home and was just the perfect size.

We decided that we would do a very small Christmas and try to keep the presents to a minimum. It's too easy to get caught up in buying and forget what the season is really about. We got each of our kids one present and it was perfect. They are the age where they don't need much, have more than they could ever need, and want to play with the boxes and wrapping paper anyway. We started the morning by trying to eat all the candy we had left over. Good way to start the day! Shelby was sad because Caleb ate one of the chocolates first.

Shelby Lu got a car picked out by her dad.

Calvin got this cute light up toy that will hopefully be entertaining for him in the car when it's dark.

Then we watched some Christmas cartoons and waited for Grandma and Grandpa Coombs to come over with some delicious breakfast. Eric made some kind of casserole dish that his mother used to make. It was a great way to remember Granny Annie! He also brought some rum cake that made my house smell like boos. Good times! And of course, they spoiled all of us. Lots of gifts and good times spent together. Each gift was thoughtful and just perfect for our kids. My favorites are these cute hats that Wendy made each of them.

We are very blessed to have such thoughtful families. My mother made some cute little bowls for my kids too. No pictures yet, we are going to get together on Sunday.

We also did Christmas with my sister and her family a few nights ago. It's nice to spread out the holiday over many days. Less hectic that way and the kids aren't so overwhelmed with gifts and food.

My sister has 5 adorable kids and they love my kids very much. We have fun watching the kids open their presents and playing all night until they almost fall asleep standing up.

One of my favorite part of the holiday this year was going to the live nativity that our church put on. We got to see a real camel, donkey, sheep and some mini horses. I have a lot of great memories this year and hope to build on them in the years to come.

Calvin is 6 months old

2010-12-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

We took mister Calvin in for his 6 month check up. He's growing like crazy. He is such a good baby that he barely even cried when he got his shots. He is still not rolling over completely. He goes from his back up to his side, and then back down again. He absolutely hates being on his stomach. He loves to pull Shelby's hair, laugh at her bouncing around the house, and he smiles all the time. He loves his jumperoo and is getting a pretty quick hand at grabbing whatever is in front of him. He just pulled a glass of water on my dad yesterday.

Calvin's weight is 20 lbs, and 85th percentile
His height is 27 inches, and 75th percentile
And his head is 49 cm, off the charts

Calvin's head has continued to grow very rapidly and the doctor staffed it with a neurosurgeon. He's behind developmentally, but that alone is not a big deal. Coupled with the size of his head the neurosurgeon felt like we shouldn't wait and get it tested. So off to OHSU we went for an MRI. Calvin had to be sedated due to his age, which was the biggest concern of doing the test. He did wonderfully and only had to get 1/4 of the medicine they were suppose to give him. He needed a nap anyway, so the doctor gave him just enough to fall asleep. Calvin woke up right away after the test and the doctor asked if he could keep Calvin. The doctor was walking around showing him off to all the staff members and was very proud of his little patient.

Here he is with numbing agents on his extremities. They weren't sure where they would find a good vein so they put stuff on him everywhere.

This is Calvin after a little bit of the medicine. As you can see, he went to sleep very easily. It's very hard to see your 6 month old on a bed like this. I am so grateful it was for a test and not for a serious procedure.

The test results came back and he does not have hydrocephalus, which is water-on-the-brain. That's what they were the most worried about. He does have some other things going on, which could explain his head size. None of it needs immediate intervention and we will follow up with a neurosurgeon again in two months or so. He has enlarged fluid, sub-arachnoid space prominence, and axial fluid collection. We just need to watch his development and continued growth of his head. For now, we are just grateful there isn't something worse going on. It's still worrisome, but we are feeling a bit of relief.

2010-12-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

December has been a very busy month for us. I have been working on some extra projects at work and just got some new opportunities. I am hoping to get a promotion here soon so I've been putting in some extra time. Lots of fun stuff planned for my job in 2011. I just hope I have enough time to do it all.

Caleb just had shoulder surgery today. He tore his shoulder up over the past year and since he's not working right now it's the perfect time to fix it. His labrum was about 60% unattached and his bicep tendon was torn in two. The doctor said he has dislocated it twice since his surgery in 2006. I'm taking off time from work to take care of him and then my parents, the Coombs and my sister will help out a bunch. He's been a pretty good trooper so far, but we know he will get sick and puke like usual. The surgery has a long recovery and expensive bill, so I sure hope it did the trick this time.

The kids have been sick for awhile now and it seems to be getting worse, not better. I just hope they aren't still sick for Christmas. Today is my moms birthday and we had a party at my house for her. It turned out great and reminds me that Christmas is just days away.

We got our Christmas tree weeks ago and the house is decked out and ready for Santa. Here are some of our pictures of getting our tree. We went with my parents to a tree farm by their house. Shelby found a dead animal out in the woods and I caught her right as she was bending down to pet it. GROSS!

Family Pictures

2010-11-10T16:23:00.000-08:00

We made it after church, between rain showers, before the kids naps, between feedings, and managed to get a real family picture taken. My sister decided she could play photographer and we ran outside by her house and took as many pictures as we could before the meltdowns began. Getting both kids to smile was nearly impossible. We basically just hoped they weren't crying at the same time. I am thankful I have a willing and beautiful family!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Calvin & Shelby loved their costumes. They both had no problem putting them on and they were nice and warm. We went to a trunk or treat at church with my sister's family the night before Halloween.

Shelby didn't want to come inside for pictures. It was raining and she wanted to go stomp around in the rain.
You can sure tell how she felt about it by the picture below:

My beautiful sister and Calvin

Then on Halloween we stayed home and dressed up the kids to open the door for the neighborhood trick-or-treat kids. Shelby had so much fun handing out candy and she gave each kid as much as her little hands could hold. Thankfully we didn't have very many kids come so we didn't run out of candy.

Growing up!

2010-10-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

The kids both had their check-up appointments this week.

Both of my kiddos are happy, healthy, growing well, and developing on time.

What else could a mother ask for?!

Calvin is 4 months old

Weight 17.4 pounds 85%

Height 25.5" and 50%

Head 18" and off the charts

Shelby is 2 years old

Weight 30 pounds 83%

Height 34.5" and 50%

Head 20" and off the charts

Calvin smiles all the time and laughs now. He's starting to roll over. He's happy on his side, but when he falls all the way onto his face, he doesn't like it. He is a good sleeper and doesn't wake up very much to eat anymore. He puts himself to sleep at night and gets cranky if he's not in his crib by about 8 am. Recently, he has been waking up to eat around 3 am, and he just lays in bed and talks and coo's. It's very cute, even though it's 3 in the morning. I usually start talking to him and get him really excited. Then we are both wide awake and try to go back to bed. He has the cutest rolls on his arms and legs. I love this age when they are interacting more, happy all the time, and have lots of baby chub to love!

Shelby Lu is a little talker these days. She tells me when Calvin is sleeping, talking, crying, pooping, or happy. She is always on the look-out for him. She loves to tell Caleb and I what to do. She insists on jumping off everything right now, which is not my favorite habit. She jumps over cracks in the sidewalk, jumps off steps, jumps off our furniture, and jumps on her bed when she's suppose to be sleeping. She also likes to throw things now, and has a wicked side-arm. She loves to be outside in the rain, sun, or wind. The weather doesn't slow her down one bit. Luckily, grandma got her new rain boots. Her old ones have huge cracks in them because she wore them almost every day last year. She's such a fun kid to be around!

It appears that Calvin's head is keeping up with his sisters. They are both setting their own curves on the growth charts. It's hard to explain to people how huge my kids heads are. I thought maybe if I included this graph of Shelby's head growth chart, it would show you. This is the reason that child birth is not very easy for me! Calvin's is following the same as Shelby's. Lot's of brains in there I hope!

Shelby turns two

2010-10-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

Shelby Lu is now officially two-years-old. We had a fun party at our house with lots of friends and family. It started out being a very small and last minute idea, and it actually turned out great. Sometimes it works out better if you just throw it all together quickly.

We borrowed a bounce house from my friend Linnea, and put it downstairs. It was a huge hit, and I am convinced every parent needs to own one. It's going to be hard to give it back to Linnea, because Shelby has jumped in it every day since the party.

We had little flower cupcakes that were 90% frosting. I think the kids appreciated the extra sugar rush!

When it was time to sing and blow out candles, I think little Wyatt was more excited then Shelby was. You can see him in the background blowing for her. So cute! Shelby calls him "It", she can't say the "Y" apparently. Which is funny, because she can say the letter Y very easily.

Camden was born to party! That little guy wore his hat the whole time, and blew his party thing all night long. We ended the night by watching How to train a dragon.

It was a great party and the kids were very tired. Thank you to everyone who came and made the day special! Here is our family picture from the night. As you can see, we still need to work on it. :)

Sunriver!

2010-10-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite places to go as a family is Sunriver Oregon. I had a conference at work the last week of September that was in the resort, so we lucked out. We got to stay at my awesome Aunt Debbie Gay and Uncle Carl's house.

The whole family went running together. We just got a double jogging stroller for the kids. Shelby decided that she needed to get out and run with Caleb and I. It was really cute. She thinks she's a big runner now. Luckily, she didn't want to run until the very end when we wanted a break anyway.

We also got to go on family bike rides. Caleb took the kids while I was in class, but we did get to go on one bike ride with the whole family. Here are the kids in the bike trailer, after Shelby fell asleep on Calvin. I don't think he liked it very much.

The hot tub was a favorite of Shelby and Caleb's. I went in a few times, but little Calvin cannot go, so I usually just hung out with him and watched.

Here is our first attempt at a family picture. Thank you to Josh and Lindsey for taking it as we held down our kids! We watched movies, football, saw lots of deer, did some shopping, and soaked up the sunshine. It was exactly what we needed!

It all works out in the end

2010-09-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

I've been stressing about Mr. Caleb working in Eugene. It's 59 miles from our house, which makes for a long drive back and forth every day. A ton of miles on the car, gas, time away from home, blaaaa! I've been commuting too long and I didn't want Caleb to get home so late.

Well..... now he doesn't have to. He just got offered to work for the same company in Albany. Which, is only 19 miles away from our new house. He just carved 80 miles round trip off his daily commute. Yeah for Caleb!!

He won't start working until October so right now he is a stay-at-home-dad. I went back to work on the 1st of September and he has been home with the kids every day. I love to get messages from him about how he is barely surviving, the kids are going crazy, and he's super tired. I get home and on most days they are all in their pj's. However, last night I came home and everyone was dressed and he cleaned the house! If I could just get him to have dinner on table....ha!

I wish I had some good pictures to show you of his home activities, but he hasn't taken any yet. For now, I am just glad they are all alive.

Caleb passes his boards!!

2010-08-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Since Caleb went down to USC to retake his boards, he has been very stressed out. He has been checking the WREB website every day to see if results were posted. Finally, today, they posted. He passed!! It only cost us a mere $3,000 for him to retake the boards. Just pocket change, right?

He called his boss first thing today. It looks like he will probably still be working in Eugene for now. His boss doesn't really want him to have to commute, so he's keeping his eyes open for something closer to our home. We are just feeling blessed that they are still keeping him on contract even though he has been delayed work.

I have been sick with mastitis the past few days and not up for much. But this news feels like it's healing me. I really want to see if I can get myself out of the house and go celebrate with Caleb.

Calvin updates

2010-08-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

Calvin had his baby blessing on August 1st. We had a bunch of friends and family come to church with us to share the moment. He has the cutest little outfit that his Auntie Michelle bought for him.

Calvin also had his 2 month check up. He has almost doubled his weight (so much for being a small kid). He started out 6 lbs 15 oz and he now weighs 13 lbs 8 oz. He grew another 4.5" in height. And his head takes after his sisters. It's just like hers now, off the charts for size. It's not quite as big as Shelby's was at his age, but he's catching her pretty quick.

We have been enjoying the summer together as a family. The blessing with Caleb not passing his boards is that we have a lot of time together. Caleb has been busy riding mountain bikes, fishing, working on his motorcycle, projects around our house, and remodeling his parents house.

I have been taking the kids to the park, hanging out with friends and family, and trying to get used to having two kids. I still feel like I'm not ready to take both kids out in public for very long. I don't have a double stroller, so that means I carry Calvin and push Shelby. Simple things like running into the store to buy milk feels much harder. I usually go to the expensive stores that have the cute car in front of the grocery cart so that Shelby is more entertained.

Shelby's hair and personality are getting crazier by the day....

More to come soon. Hope everyone is having a fun summer like we are!

Updates

2010-07-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

June was the craziest month I have had in a long time. I am soooo glad it's July!

Caleb almost didn't graduate on time and had to pay for summer term. He had one crown that he had to do twice because the lab kept messing it up. The school finally notified us three weeks after graduation that he was OK to graduate and could come checkout.

We found out Caleb didn't pass his boards completely and now gets to fly down to California in August to re-do part of it. He has to fly two different patients down too with him, once he finds them. Hopefully he can find one patient that needs both procedures to help save costs.

His job in Eugene didn't workout since he didn't pass his boards. They needed someone to start immediately, so they gave it to someone else. The company, Capital Dental, still considers him employed and is keeping his contract. So he still has work, we just have no idea where it will be right now. Hopefully it will be somewhere close to this house we just bought.

Mister Calvin came two weeks early which meant that I missed graduation. We still had a party here at our new house on graduation night. That was the same day I was released from the hospital, so it was a little crazy. We had about 35 people here and it turned out pretty good considering I wasn't able to help do much. My wonderful family set up, decorated, cooked all the food, and cleaned up afterwords. I am blessed!

Now it's July and I feel like I can finally relax. Calvin is sleeping pretty good and eats constantly. Shelby is still not too sure about him, but she does like to tell me what he wants. She always brings me his shoes, his hat, his blanket, and his pillow. She's pretty sure he needs to ride in her doll stroller too, which is not necessarily a good thing. She won't touch him though, so he's pretty safe. She will kiss him, and talks to him, but that's as close as she gets.

I'm sitting in my house right now and it's about 80 degrees in here. We don't get the AC hooked up until this weekend. So it's looks like I'm off to my sisters house. Here are a few pictures Caleb took of Calvin. I'm trying to get birth announcements done this week. Send me your address if you want one!

Pictures of Calvin

2010-06-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Baby Calvin at the hospital, getting ready to go home. Caleb was at his graduation, so my wonderful sister came and helped us check out.

Calvin was too tiny to fit into the car seat and I didn't remember his head support. Luckily the hospital gave us some extra blankets to use. He's so tiny!

Shelby came to see me in the hospital every day. She was always happy to see me, but not so sure about this new baby brother that everyone is talking about.

She refused to touch him, especially kiss him in the hospital.

Once we got home, she started to warm up to him.

Calvin is such a good kid. He sleeps anywhere and all the time. He also eats like a champ.

I love my little family!

Calvin Vernon Coombs

2010-06-18T00:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday after work Caleb came home we started working on house projects to get ready for his graduation party on Friday night. I was taking it pretty easy and just watching Shelby while Caleb hung curtains and towel racks. I kept telling Caleb that I was having contractions and he said that I needed to stop. He told me that his schedule was really busy and I wasn't allowed to have any contractions until Saturday at the earliest. While he finished working on projects I laid in bed and tried not to move. I tried drinking as much water as I could. Still....more contractions. Caleb continued to tell me about his school schedule this week, his graduation on Friday, and that this was just simply not going to work with him. I decided to get into our new fabulous huge tub and see if I could soak it off and Caleb went to bed.

I wanted to have Caleb put air in our yoga ball, so he went and found the pump that had broke. It barely pushed out any air and got steaming hot from him trying to use it. He was being so dramatic that I was laughing until I was crying. That just sped up the labor, which was also making him worry more.

I called my sister and told her I was pretty sure that I was in labor, but I wasn't sure it was real. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart but they were really short in duration. With Shelby, my contractions were very long and she took 22 hours to be born. I thought I had all the time in the world and was actually thinking of all the things I needed to get done at work.

During the phone call with my sister she asked me very silly questions:

Are you registered at the hospital? No.

Do you have the infant carseat in the car? No.

Do you have a hospital bag packed? No.

Do you have the bassinet set up? No.

Do you have anybody to watch Shelby tonight? No.

Do you want me to come over and help you? YES!!!

Rhoda came over and by then it was pretty obvious that I was in labor and she went right to work packing my bags. She also woke up my darling husband and convinced him that it really was going to happen, even though he continued to protest the timing.

I called my sister-in-law Alise and asked her to come sleep over at my house with my kids so we could leave. I also swore her to secrecy because I did not want to get a bunch of texts or calls about how labor was going.

We got to the Salem Hospital around 3 am. I had to go into the ER to register because the birth center reception was closed. Then I had to ride in a wheelchair across the entire hospital to get to the birth center on the opposite side. I HATE being on my back or in the sitting position when I have a contraction. It makes all the pain go straight to my back. But the hospital would not allow me to walk, so I sat and struggled through it.

We got to triage where the nurse could not get the stupid monitors in the right spot. Every contraction I had to lean forward, which made the monitor come off. She was very upset that I couldn't lay on my back during contractions and I was just mad that I had to keep sitting there. She decided to check me and I was at a 5 or 6. She decided I was going to be admitted but needed continued monitoring due to the way I move around. So here I am, having a drug free birth, and I can't get into the tub, use the fun bouncy ball to help with the pain, and they want me to lay on my back. I was not a happy camper. Dr Lewis came in, and he was the doctor I just saw on Monday and told him all about my birth plan. He talked them into putting tape around the monitors and guess what- the baby had a normal heart beat after they figured out that the monitor was moving. Dr Lewis also checked me again and by now I was an 8 and he cleared me to get into the tub!

I got into the tub and stayed there for about two hours. The tub was tiny and stupid and not at all what I had experienced in Portland. Salem was very disappointing up until now and I was just not having a good time. Rhoda and Caleb crammed into the tiny bathroom and started telling me funny jokes. I was laughing again, until I was crying, and we were having a great time. They would stop during contractions, and then keep the jokes coming the rest of the time. Stories about my dad and his loud radios on road trips and all sorts of stuff that had me cracking up!

The contractions continued to get worse, but it was still pretty easy compared to what I experienced with Shelby. I felt like my labor just wasn't progressing in the tub and maybe it slowed things down. The contractions all felt the same and I was ready to get the show on the road. So I got out of the tub and they made me do more monitoring. Guess what- they wouldn't hold still again and the nurse tried to convince me the baby was in distress. So Dr. Lewis came in again and told me that I had to do something and the monitor was showing the baby was not tolerating labor. They made me get an IV, and get on oxygen and keep laying back, which made everything hurt. Also, I was still only only an 8 or 9 and hadn't progressed at all in the last two hours. He told me that I could let him break my water and then do an internal fetal heart rate monitor. I don't really like those because they actually screw into the head of the baby, poor kid. But it was better than a c-section so I agreed.

I am laying there in the worst pain, on my back, with stupid monitors, and I look over at Caleb who has fallen asleep. My sister saw the look of death that I had and she went over and told Caleb it was time to pay attention. I know he probably was tired, but try telling that to a woman in labor!

As soon as they did the new monitor it showed that Calvin was a rock star and he was doing great. Also, from breaking my water my contractions started making some great progress. The pain went from pretty bad to life altering in no time. Here's the pain I remember and that I had anxiety about. This is the pain that made me think that I should never do this again. The kind of pain when you are pretty sure that angels are coming down to take you from this world. I progressed so quickly and there was almost no break in my contractions. Sure enough I had the last three contractions boom, boom, boom, and I said- I'm going to start pushing now. I couldn't hardly catch my breathe. I got no relief at all.

The doctor wasn't in the room, but I sure didn't care. I had to push and the nurses told me again that I had to lay on my back. I told them no, I couldn't, and I didn't want to. After I fought with them, they were basically grabbing me and making me lay on my back. So it went from unbearable pain to the kind of pain that you think death may be the better option. The good news was that Calvin's head was already coming out before they got me over. The doctor didn't even have his gloves on yet so the nurse caught him. Nurse Kathleen delivered Calvin and the doctor stood there with one glove on and watched.

Calvin was born at 8 am
Wednesday morning June 16th
6 pounds and 15.5 ounces
18" long
He has a bit of dark hair
His eyes are the newborn blueish color
He's just a great sleeper
He nurses like a champ

When Calvin was born I wanted to soak in every minute of this tiny little man. He was so much smaller than I remember any newborn being. He was very quiet and just perfect. Caleb and I just kept touching his perfect little hands and looking at his tiny toes. The moment you meet your child is the most precious moment in the world. You're meeting this tiny little being who needs you to sustain life for them. Birth really is an amazing thing. He melted my heart right from the start.

I was not going to leave his side, no matter what. The doctor did the inspection and I had the same problem I did with Shelby. This time, I did not have the same amount of blood loss, so they didn't have to take me to the OR. They decided to stitch me up right there in the room. The doctor was a big jerk and I think after birth was probably more painful than during birth. He just simply could not get me numb and the only anesthesiologist that was working was in surgery and not available for an hour. We couldn't wait that long or I would've been in big trouble. So basically, the doctor stitched me up for about 45 minutes without any drugs at all. I take that back, I got a Tylenol. Like that helps! I was actually using profanity in front of my newborn son. Not my most proud moment, but I don't think he will remember. The best part of the whole thing was my darling son. Calvin laid on my chest the whole time. He never cried or anything. When I couldn't take the pain I would just watch him and he cheered me up.

I am doing well now and very happy that we have a beautiful little boy. I'm going to miss Caleb's graduation on Friday, but I gave him a healthy baby boy instead. I think that's a pretty good gift!

Because this is finals week, Caleb cannot stay with me in the hospital. I have had a ton of visitors, which is really nice. Caleb comes home from school, goes and plays with Shelby and then comes to the hospital at night. He puts Shelby to bed so she can have some sort of normal life while we are gone. Then when he gets to the hospital, he holds Calvin and even gets up with him at night. I am so impressed with the man Caleb has turned into with fatherhood. He puts his family first and makes us a priority. We are very blessed.

Shelby Lu was able to come see Calvin and that was a great experience. She basically wanted nothing to do with him. She just wanted me to get up and go home. The hospital was pretty scary for her and she could see that I was not my normal self. So we all agreed that hospital visits needed to be short for her and we would get home as soon as possible.

Yeah for my new family of four. I can't believe my little man Calvin was born early and that we are all together! It's going to be so much fun having a boy and a girl and watching them grow up together!

New house

2010-05-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's official, I am a home owner. Our new house is amazing! Poor Shelby is not really sure what is going on. We painted inside the entire upstairs during the week and didn't move in any furniture. She was so tired that she went into my closet, used my work clothes and made herself a bed.

After we finished painting, we moved in on Saturday. My family was a huge help and they unpacked and moved almost everything. Caleb and I are left with very little to finish up. We woke up on Sunday to our new house for the first time and it was awesome! Too bad Caleb and Shelby both got sick on Sunday and ended up throwing up most of the day. Blaaaa. Here is Shelby passed out on my bedroom floor.

Caleb has given his self a very busy to-do list with the new house. He is going to build some stuff, clean some stuff, and design more stuff. It's going to be a good project for him as long as he doesn't burn out too soon. Here he is pressure washing the deck outside.

We had tons of help moving. My whole family showed up, even my Grandma & Grandpa Miller came and made dinner for everyone who helped. Thank you to all the support so my pregnant body didn't have to lift the heavy boxes. Even though I did pack 90% of them, I did not have to pick them up!

Those are Caleb's legs, he is hooking up the dryer while Trevor hands him parts.

Change is coming

2010-04-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

There is a lot changing for the Coombs right now! Caleb signed a final agreement with a dental clinic in Eugene. He starts August 1st and has great guaranteed salary and benefits. He is on schedule to graduate on time and isn't too worried about finishing the last of his requirements at school.

I have been busy at work and preparing for maternity leave. The pregnancy is going well. I forgot how enormous I get, and I feel like I might break the ground when I step on it. It will all be over soon and I'll have a sweet little baby boy.Little Calvin doesn't move very much in my belly. He's very different than Shelby was. He gives me little punches and kicks, and rolls around once in awhile. But you can't see my belly move across the room like you could with Shelby. He seems to be pretty content. I haven't been able to sleep since I got pregnant this time, so I am kind of a zombie. I'm getting used to the idea of having a boy now. Starting to get some boy outfits from my friends and it's becoming more of a reality. I haven't gained as much weight as I did with Shelby, but I still feel pretty slow and out of breathe.

We bought a house and get to move the beginning of May. I have a few horrible pictures where I took pictures of pictures. Here is the outside of the house:

Here is the kitchen:

And the living room attached to the kitchen:

The house has beautiful views out of every window. It's a two-story house and has plenty of room for us. I am sure it will fill up quickly, but for now, most of the downstairs will be totally empty. We are going to have to adjust from having no storage space and feeling cramped, to a nice huge house!

Shelby has been growing up too fast lately. She likes to wear all of my clothes. She has been wearing my shoes for a long time now, but my underwear is something new. She thought she was alone, but I caught her.

Sixth year anniversary

2010-03-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I just celebrated our 6 year anniversary. We went out to dinner and a movie and left Shelby with a babysitter. It's so much fun to still go out on dates with each other and enjoy our anniversary. We still have a cute gift exchange and try to make the day special. Caleb is very busy with school right now so we didn't get the time away that we normally try for. But we will take a date night for now.

I can't believe how quickly time passes. It's crazy to think about what life was like before marriage. I wouldn't change a thing. Our lives are very blessed right now and we feel grateful for everything.

Here are some pictures of what we looked like 6 years ago. Caleb looks about 16.

March flowers

2010-03-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

The weather was beautiful this weekend and it's been too long since we've posted pictures.

Here are a few of my favorites:

House Hunt

2010-03-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

I think I may have bought a house today. How crazy is that? A little sooner than expected, but I'm feeling very cramped in our current situation. We have outgrown this townhouse and that's not counting baby #2. Caleb and I decided to at least look around and see what's out there for houses. We keep hearing about all these great deals and the tax credit for $8K. I decided to see what I could buy on just my salary alone and not wait for him to start working. Next thing I know, we fall in love with a house, we make an offer, and they accept it. Not exactly that simple, but it sure was very fast. If all the inspections go through, we could be moved by mid-May. What's wrong with that? Probably a lot of things, but I'm trying to stay positive. I can't sleep anymore, so I decided to blog and hope that it clears my mind and helps me sleep. Wish me luck!

What's new with the Coombs?

2010-02-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

Caleb:

Just did a two week externship with a clinic in Roseburg. I missed him terribly and Shelby was sick every single day he was gone. I am a horrid single parent and I am going to be the most grateful wife from now on. Caleb also took his boards in January, which almost killed us both. I got the scores while he was gone and he did great. He passed, which was all I cared about. For those of you dental score junkies, he got a 83 on the first day and an 81 on the second day. He thought he failed both days, so we are very proud that he passed. Caleb also has a job offer in Eugene that is looking very promising. I will NEVER live in Eugene (sorry Andrea), but I can live in deep South Salem for three years and be happy. I still prefer to live in Portland, but Caleb's first job will not be his last. I shouldn't be that picky, a job is a job is a job.

Renae:

I am halfway done with pregnancy #2. We are having a boy and his name will most likely be Calvin. I am still in shock that it's a boy, and I haven't been able to think in blue yet. Maybe it will come overtime. I just want to reuse all of Shelby's precious little clothes, and to think about buying more baby clothes makes me sick. I can't complain about being pregnant though. I haven't been sick, I just wake up really early and can't sleep like I used to. I can still wear all of my pants, but the shirts are way too small. I hope I don't get as big as I did with Shelby!

Shelby:

She is learning so much right now, it's hard to think of all the things she knows now. She loves to sing songs that have hand motions and repeats a lot of words. She insists on feeding herself at all times and she won't crawl up the stairs anymore. She has to walk upstairs like a big girl, which scares me. She finally got over her bad cold and is back to running, screaming, playing and laughing. I missed her little personality when she was sick and it's good to have her back.

Update on Baby Calvin

2010-02-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

I had an ultrasound done when I was 20 weeks and got to find out baby Calvin is a boy. Crazy to imagine us having a boy, but we are very excited. Caleb was gone in Roseburg doing an externship and could not attend the ultrasound. So my sister Rhoda went with me and provided the much needed support. I love seeing the little hands, feet, and heart. It's amazing to be able to meet your baby. He really did not move very much during the ultrasound. It looks like he has one position he likes and he wants to stay there.

I sent Caleb some pictures by phone to make him guess what we were having. He of course guessed a boy, because he really wanted one.

One week after the ultrasound I got a call, Friday at noon, and my doctor wanted me to go in and get some blood work done. Baby Calvin has a cyst on his brain. It could be Trisomy 18, which means he will die shortly after birth or within the first year of life. They didn't get a great picture of both hands and feet to be able to rule out the disorder. Most baby's who have this disorder have some kind of disfigurement of there extremities. So, emotional as I could possibly be, I called my girlfriend Lindsey. She came right over and helped me pull myself together and go get my blood work done.
One week after I got my test done, and about 800 phone calls to the doctor later, they told me the blood work looks good and it's highly unlikely that Calvin will have the disorder. All of that stress and waiting was killing me, so I was grateful for the good news. They still want to do another ultrasound in ten weeks to just make sure his brain is doing well. Which means I will probably worry until that day comes, but not as much as I have been.
Caleb and I are thankful for modern medicine. I am not one to rush off and diagnose different things, or to worry about all of the possible things that could go wrong. But it's nice to have doctors who care, are willing to help you get the tests you need, and best prepare you for what your future holds.

Christmas in Utah

2010-01-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

We drove to Utah this Christmas and spent time with Caleb's family. Shelby got to play with dogs, pet a goat, ride horses, get pulled on a sleigh that was driven by horses, and see about 400 elk. She got a cute little riding plastic horse that she rides all over our house now.

Caleb took her on a few horse rides while we were there. She fell asleep riding on the horse and was sad if she was taken off. I thought she would be afraid by their size, but I guess not.

Her cousin Keith loved shooting bubbles out of his new bubble gun. Shelby thought it was great fun trying to pop them. By the time Keith ran out of bubbles, we were all soaked.

Family Photos

2009-12-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

For Shelby's first birthday we decided to get family pictures by our wedding photographer Randy Kepple.

I love the pictures he takes and I figured it was time to leave it to the professional to get it done right.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Birthday Girl

2009-10-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

How quickly time goes by. Shelby had her first birthday party. My friend and I made her a little birthday hat and a shirt for eating her cake. Here we are before the party began.

My friend Stephanie made her cakes and they were so cute, and delicious! She has a blog: the cake lady. Check her out, she does amazing work.

We didn't have time to start singing to Shelby before she reached out and grabbed her cake. She was ready for this moment.

The more of a mess she made, the more fun it became

The floor was starting to get covered in cake. I even got some on me.

It soon became a book party. Shelby loves to read, and she was in heaven.

Thank you to everyone who helped make her day so special.

Portland Marathon

2009-10-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to try running another full marathon for the second time in my life. The first time I nearly killed myself by the end. I ran it too fast and I could hardly walk for a week. I swore to myself that I would NEVER run another full marathon again. 26.2 miles is kind of far, right?

Two years later, what do I do? I signed up for it again. It's like child birth, the longer you wait between, the easier it sounds.

I ran the marathon this year with two of my co-workers Bill and Claudia. We had been training for months. Bill was on my Cascade Lakes Relay team and my Hood to Coast relay team this summer. Claudia and I have run together for years now and she is always very fast and pushes me more than I could ever do on my own.

The weather was perfect this year. We allowed ourselves to stop for bathroom breaks (all four because of me), pictures, changed our socks, drank as much water as we could stomach, and we will finished in 4 hours and 38 minutes.

Here are some pictures that capture the fun. It's so much better to run with good friends, at a pace you can handle, and when family stops to see you. My mom, Shelby, and Caleb met us three times along the way with goodies. I have such a great family.

Summer Fun

2009-09-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Our family vacation to Sun River was exactly what we needed. I was able to run almost every day and I ended up with about 40 miles that week. Caleb and Shelby would ride the bike next to me and keep me company. We saw a lot of deer, duck, and other animals everywhere we went. I over ate and over slept, two of my favorite things. We stayed as long as we could and already want to go back again.

Shelby LOVES the water. We never realized she was part fish. Now we know.

The Hanson's came too and Shelby and Cooper became fast friends. Shelby was so glad to have another little person there to share toys with. Cooper was even nice enough to pee on her in the tub one night. That's a first for her.

On one of our bike rides we stopped for some photos. We went to the falls to check them out, but soon realized the bike and trailer would not go on the trail, so we had to come back.

Caleb tied flies on Sunday. It rained, and we didn't mind at all. I did a puzzle and Shelby ran around and helped pull things off the table that were in here reach.

We all took turns taking a daily nap on the hammock

Some of the deer that would come to the back yard and try to eat the Cheetos that Shelby left out for them. I guess they don't consider Cheetos food, because they never actually ate them.

Shelby's walking

2009-08-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last time I wrote Shelby was taking a few steps here and there and taking her time. Now she is pretty sure she's ready to start running with me. She walks everywhere and does not want to be picked up anymore and held because it slows her down and she wants to explore the world. It's so much fun watching her learn to balance, turn around, step on different types of flooring, wear shoes and go up and down hills. She has scratched up knees and hands, but it doesn't seem to slow the desire to walk.

We tried to make her stop picking all the flowers and just smile for a picture. It didn't work very well. She was pretty pumped about picking the flowers and handing them to us.

Now if I could just teach her to load the dishwasher, fold laundry and vacuum.

It's been awhile

2009-08-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

So much is going on in our house right now and I just haven't had the time to blog lately. What's new with us? I'll start with Shelby.

Shelby is starting to walk now. She takes 1-2 steps pretty regularly, but won't venture out beyond that for now. Fine with me! I'm hoping she will stick to crawling a little bit longer before I have to worry about her walking. Caleb on the other hand is working with her in the evenings trying to get her to take more steps. She is eating all sorts of fun foods with summer here. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies from our friends gardens. She eats better than we do.

Caleb has one more week of summer school and then he is off to Utah for a week. We will miss him dearly but he hasn't seen his family for awhile and will enjoy the trip. He's trying to convince me to let him fix his motorcycle, but he's not winning that battle yet. He took it apart and it's more damaged than he thought, which means more time and money to fix the thing.

I have been playing slow pitch softball this summer, teaching at the gym on the weekends, and also doing some running events. Just finished the longest relay race in the United States, Cascade Lakes Relay. My legs were 22 miles and I am glad they are done. Next up, Hood to Coast at the end of August. Then the Portland Marathon. Wish me luck!

Shelby meets the ocean

2009-06-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

We have taken Shelby to the beach a few times but the weather was never nice enough to let her play in the water. She was timid in the beginning and then we could not get her out of the water. She would cry if you picked her up or took her away from it. She also did not want to be held and wanted to crawl around in sand all day.

Does this diaper make my butt look big?

2009-06-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

I am afraid Shelby's doctor has given her a complex about her weight. She is what we like to call "big boned". Now she won't even leave the house with out trying to squeeze into her size 12 month clothes. I keep telling her that it's OK to wear 18 month old clothes, even though she's only 8 months old. But she won't have it. I've caught her trying to spit up her food, pretending to swallow but really she's just filling her cheeks with food, and even doing squats and push ups multiple times a day.

It all started with her 8 month check up. The doctor said, "Wow Shelby, you're weight is steadily increasing but your height is relatively the same". Then he tells me she really DOESN'T need to have middle of the night feedings. And how about her head- it's the average size of a 2 years old head. Here are the stats:

Height: 17 inches, 47th percentile
Weight: 21 pounds, 87th percentile
Head: 18.5 inches, still off the chart

Let me know if you guys have any tips on how to grow in height and not in width. Actually, I could use the tips too, not just Shelby. I think we all know that Caleb and I aren't the tallest people around. Anywho- here are some of our favorite pictures that Caleb took of Shelby eating flowers:

How quickly things change

2009-06-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Shelby has now decided that she must crawl all around the house and nothing is safe, especially her. She can climb up our stairs, and even better, she can quickly fall back down the stairs. She gets into the kitchen and pulls everything out of the cupboards and drawers that she can open. She pulls herself up to stand on everything and loves to chew things like a puppy.

She loves to talk to her best friend in the mirror, kiss her, tell her funny jokes and do patty-cake

She also falls asleep while randomly playing now, which is pretty cute. I was trying to get out the door to book club and put her in her crib with toys while I changed my clothes. Next thing I know, she's put herself under her blanket and used her bumper pads for a pillow.

Caleb Escapes Death

2009-05-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

I was working from home on Friday when I received a phone call from Caleb. "Renae, apparently I wrecked my motorcycle." I asked him where he was and what I needed to do, and his reply was, "Renae, apparently I wrecked my motorcycle." Then I asked him where he was and he had no idea. I heard someone talking in the background and I asked if I could speak to who he was with, and his reply was "Renae, apparently I wrecked my motorcycle." After about 20 of those responses I could hear the lady with Caleb saying she was taking him to St Vincent ER. That's all I needed to hear, I jumped in my car, just in time to sit in traffic. I wanted to get to the ER as fast as I could but Memorial weekend vacationers felt otherwise.
By the time I got to the hospital Caleb was all checked in and had his room. His memory was about 10 seconds for the first hour and I proceeded to answer the same questions over, and over. "Renae, how long have you been here? Where am I? I just had a dream that I crashed my motorcycle. I'm sorry Renae." I had to tell him every time what happened and where he was.
We went in for a CT Scan of his entire upper body from the hips up. After that we just waited in the room and I continued to answer all of his questions over and over. After about three hours he could remember up to 3 minutes. Finally we got the test results and the doctor and radiologist were amazed. Caleb had no internal injuries. They inspected his safety gear over and over and just could not make sense of why he wasn't being taken away to surgery. They said he must have an angel watching over him and he should count his blessings.
We left the hospital a little bit later with some bandages for road rash and Caleb walked out to the car without a wheelchair. By the time we left he could remember almost 20 minutes and we were improving. We went back to the scene later that night and the next morning to pull out the bike and see where he crashed.
Lucky for him, a lady who lived nearby heard him crash. She jumped in her car and went looking for him. She passed him the first time and couldn't see him so she circled back and caught site of him. She parked her car, got out, and Caleb was still knocked out on his bike. After she helped him off his bike that he was pinned to, he tried to convince her that he could ride out of there. She called 911 but they said it would be at least 10 minutes before they could send anyone. She decided to drive Caleb herself to the ER. She is a wonderful person and I hope that we would all do the same thing if we heard a crash. Here are pictures of what went down.
Caleb was heading toward where I was standing with the camera. The corner farthest from the camera was where he went down. He slid about 70 feet:

After he slid the 70 feet he hit the sign first and then the light post:

This is where his bike ended up:

This is Shelby's look of disappointment and what's left of the bike:

Caleb was wearing a spine protector, elbow and shoulder pads, steel gloves, riding boots that are reinforced and go up to his knees and this helmet:

Caleb Vernon Coombs, why did he wreck on this road?

Book Club

2009-05-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

We were all pregnant at the same time and now we all have babies. Nobody is pregnant anymore and we are so glad! We got together for a party and took some pictures but not all of the girls could make it with their babies. Here are some of my favorite shots of the kids and the dads with their babies. Some of the dads ended up getting a lot of puke in their hair by the time the photo shoot was over, but it made it a lot more enjoyable for the moms.

Trying to stand up

2009-05-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

She loves to hold herself up and stand now. She is so proud of herself when she can climb up things and stand up. The view must be better up there.

My Mothers Day

2009-05-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Shelby learned how to clap for me on moms day. We were sitting in church and she just started clapping. We had been working on it all week and it finally paid off. She clapped all day long whenever said YEAH!!! It was the perfect gift.

6 months old and growing

2009-04-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

Little Shelby Lu is not so little anymore. We had her 6 month check up and she is maintaining her large head and weight. She's not growing very tall, but look at the genes she has! She got to start eating food and we started her with sweet peas. She basically hates it, but has fun spitting it all over the place.

She's 18.5 pounds ~ in the 87th percentile
Her height is 26 inches ~ the 50th percentile
Her head is 18 1/4 inches ~ still off the charts

She already goes from sitting, to down on her hands and knees, and back to sitting up. She props up on furniture and stands all the time too. She can't pull herself to standing, but if we help, she is happy to be up there. She loves to go in swings at the park and pull out grass.

Easter Doll

2009-04-24T15:31:00.001-07:00

Shelby had a wonderful first Easter. We went with friends to their grandparents house and had a Mexican style Easter party. It was awesome. Amazing food, tons of eggs stuffed with confetti that we smashed on each others heads, a ton of people and lots of dessert. What more could she ask for? Thanks Josh for letting us crash your family party!

Making her dad proud

2009-03-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Shelby has fallen in love with brushing her teeth. She gets so excited when she sees the tooth brush coming her way. Caleb is pretty sure that I should brush her teeth each time she eats. I think we all know that's never going to happen. I don't even brush my own teeth that much.

Fifth Anniversary

2009-03-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary was spent at the Oregon coast with friends and our sweet little girl Shelby. We decided to rent a condo with our friends Josh and Lindsey. We stayed for three nights. We had a nice hot tub on the back porch, a swim pool indoors, and a full kitchen in our room. The boys went crabbing and Lindsey and I stayed in the room and watched a chick flick. We went out to dinner, walked on the freezing cold beach, went shopping and hung out.

Family picture at the beach

After we got back to Portland, Caleb and I went out to Esan's for a nice adult dinner. Josh and Lindsey watched Shelby so we could spend some time together to officially celebrate the anniversary. We had a great time and it was fun to celebrate year five!

Homemade sweater

2009-03-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Caleb's patient in dental school brought us the cutest gift last week. His wife made us this sweater for Shelby. I love it and thought it was so sweet. We took pictures to send back as a thank you card. I need to learn how to make things!

Trip to Utah

2009-03-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

We made it all the way to Utah and back with 13 hour drives both ways. Shelby did awesome in the car and I refused to take her out of her car seat when we were driving. As long as she could look at pictures on my iPhone she was a happy girl. Good thing I had my car charger with me!
She got to meet her newest cousin Mara, who we just love! Here she is with her cousins Mara and Taren.

Caleb decided his new favorite thing is to put Shelby on his shoulders. It was only a matter of time before she puked on his head, and yes, she did. He was all smiles about it though. Pretty amazing what you think is cute when it's your own kid.

We got to see the whole Coombs family when we were there. Here's Caleb's parents and grandparents.

Happy Girl

2009-02-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

Shelby has been so much fun lately. She laughs all the time and loves to play with toys. She has been helping me teach Sunday school at church and all the kids love her. They pass her around and argue over who gets her next. She doesn't seem to mind all the strangers and it's fun to see her play with them.

Hair Cut!

2009-02-25T19:54:00.001-08:00

Shelby got her first hair cut. She had a mullet and Caleb didn't like it. She has short hair on the top and a tail in the back. I thought it was pretty cute but Caleb said it had to go. She shook her head right and left the entire time we tried to cut it. Needless to say, there are a few bad spots but overall we did pretty good.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

Shelby got her 4 month check up today and I'm pretty sure she recognized the nurse who gave her the shots last time because she wouldn't smile at her at all. The doctor came in and she was all smiles and talking to him and showing off. The nurse came back for the shots and Shelby instantly removed her smile and tried to give the nurse the evil eye. In the end, she cried for about 5 minutes and then took a 2 hour nap. Not too bad.

She weighed in at 16 1/2 pounds, the 95th percentile
She is now 26 inches long, the 95th percentile
And her head is 17 1/4 inches...... still off the charts!

Peek-A-Boo

2009-02-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Shelby has decided that her new favorite game is peek-a-boo. She cracks up every time! It's very entertaining and we play it until she gets sick of laughing. She is starting to be very self-entertained as well. She can pick up toys, puts everything in her mouth and chews on her fist all the time. She loves her jumper and bounces like crazy for the first ten minutes and then she is usually pretty pooped and ready to be held again. Her four month check up is coming up and I can't wait to see how much weight she has gained.

Bows

2009-01-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

Brittany spoiled me and got me some cute bows for my baby shower. Then my girlfriend Angie got me another one. Now I am hooked. The more girlie, the better!! I had to share my little girl all dressed up for church. Too bad she stayed wrapped up in a blanket the whole time and nobody got to see how cute she was.

Sun River

2009-01-19T22:12:00.001-08:00

We took a family vacation to Sun River over the weekend. It was suppose to be 70 degrees on Saturday and I don't think it got over 40 the whole time. We had a great time anyway. The Clark family came with us and we had a very relaxing weekend. Can you believe that Sarah only has 7 weeks to go and she went on a bike ride? She's a trooper! She carries around her 40 pound boys like they are nothing, cooked some excellent breakfasts and still had time to play games!

Caleb turns 28

2009-01-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

We just celebrated Caleb's 28th birthday. He thinks it makes him an old man, but I'm older than he is! I think this proves that he will never grow up since he still enjoys dressing up in his camo gear around the house for no reason. He wears a camo-mask with a camo-hat, uses his duck calls in the house when Shelby is sleeping, wears knee-high camo boots with his shorts, and if I'm lucky he will even pretend to shoot me with an air-soft gun.

Two months old already

2009-01-04T13:40:00.001-08:00

Shelby had her two month check up and got her shots. She didn't like getting the shot but she stopped crying right away and then slept most of the day. She is still growing quite fast. She weighs 14 pounds and is 24 inches long. Her head is almost 17 inches already and the doctor said her head is "off the charts". The doctor was pretty shocked when she rolled over from her stomach to her back and he thought it was a mistake. So he laid her on her stomach again and she rolled the other way. I think it helps that she is so round. Since she figured it out we can't really get her to do tummy time anymore. She prefers being on her back.

Christmas

2009-01-04T13:36:00.000-08:00

We went to Salem for Christmas and spent time with family. We stayed down there for a week because we could not get our own car out of Portland and we drove around my parents car. Shelby got some new clothes and a cute little hat. Caleb got a bunch of duck hunting stuff and I got a nativity set that I love!

2008-12-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

Shelby Lu was blessed on Sunday Nov 30th by her dad. She was very quiet and looked beautiful in her little dress. She had a matching hat, but her head was too big to fit it. Caleb played the cello during church also and it was amazing. He's been practicing for awhile now and he played it flawlessly. It was such a fun holiday weekend!

2008-11-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Cousin Kenady loves to help Shelby get in her carseat. She is such a little helper.

2008-11-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

We went to play with Erika's little boy Camden today and I think he had fun poking and touching her. It was pretty cute. Camden is a flirt and I can't wait until Shelby is old enough to be more entertaining for him. I think she wants to eat those almonds!

2008-11-13T22:24:00.001-08:00

Caleb brushed her hair for the first time. We went to the store just to buy a brush so he could take care of her. I think she liked it.

2008-11-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Shelby went to church for the first time Nov 2nd. Here she is showing off her pretty dress that Grandma Coombs bought for her. She's pretty cute!

2008-10-30T17:42:00.001-07:00

Caleb loves to see how many funny faces he can get Shelby to make. He is busy at school all day and comes home and holds her most of the night until it's time for bed. He is a great dad and Shelby loves to lay on him as he plays video games which makes them both happy.

2008-10-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

Shelby Lu has many wonderful babysitters who come help me out so that I can get some sleep. Here are some pictures of my sister and her kids helping babysit. Rhoda only has five of her own children so she has plenty of time to come help me take care of my one child. Brynlee is 4 years old and Kenady is 10 months.

2008-10-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

Labor started at 1:30 am the morning of October 16th. My scheduled induction was at 6 am. I prayed for weeks that I wouldn't have to be induced, and I guess I just needed to wait. I woke up to use the bathroom and had a contraction that was hard enough that I didn't make it to the bathroom. I don't know if I slept through the easy part or what. The first one I felt was painful. I went to bed and told Caleb that I was starting labor and he said, "Oh that's nice", and rolled over and went back to sleep. I timed the contractions at 7 minutes apart and continued to wake up Caleb with updates. He slept between every contraction and I kept asking him to keep the time, and well, he didn't. All those birth classes I drug him to with me.... and he sleeps.

I called my sister and told her what was going on and she drove up to our house in Tigard with Kenady, her youngest daughter who is 10 months old. She helped me get comfortable and started timing my labor. Rhoda always had short labors, so I thought I was going to be like her. Well, I am not. We walked, bounced on my large exercise ball, ate, drank, and labor just kept on slowly progressing. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible and it was making Caleb a little nervous. We live an hour from the hospital and I waited until my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart before we left. We have a loop in our townhouse that goes to the mailboxes. We walked around that loop over and over again. I started having just one contraction during the loop, then two, and then I was having three contractions before I could finish. We went back inside and Caleb said it was time to hit the road and drive to the hospital. It was a long car drive and we left at 5 pm, which means we hit lots of traffic.

The nice part of laboring at home is that you don't have any doctors, tests, or nurses to deal with. The downside was that my labor was far enough along that I was in a great deal of pain and I had to sit in a car for an hour. I couldn't sit down because I had a lot of back labor and had to lean forward. My sister was driving her huge Yukon XL and I would turn around on my hands and knees for every contraction. Caleb was driving our car in front of us and we tried to get there fast. I knew I wasn't going to have the baby that fast, I just wanted out of the car!

After we got to the hospital they checked me in and got me a room right away. I think they knew I was in pain because they took one look at me as I was having a contraction and they put me into triage immediately. The nurse checked me and I was at 5 cm. She let me in the room very quickly and let me grab a birthing ball on my way. I got to avoid the dreaded monitors most of the time. They had wireless ones so I could still walk around and move even when they did put them on me.

Finally, Rhoda convinced me to sit in the tub; which was amazing. I really didn't want to get in the tub because I felt like it was too much effort. I was just trying to relax and breathe through my contractions. I couldn't get comfortable and really felt like I might not be able to make it. The contractions were really not stopping and all I could do was lean forward and Caleb would press on my low back. Once I got into the tub, it really felt like we turned back the clock. I had to roll over to my stomach for every contraction because something about being on my back made the pain much worse.

I didn't talk or scream during labor like I thought I would. But I did moan a lot. Enough that Rhoda's daughter Kenady moaned with me. When I would make a noise, she would make a noise. It was so sweet that I could focus on that and not the pain I was in. My water broke in the tub and I decided it was time to start pushing. They rushed me out of the tub and into my room again. I didn't even want them to put clothes back on me when they wheeled me in the chair back to my room. I told them just to let me go naked. I heard that you lose your modesty during labor, but that was a little extreme. Rhoda told me that I would regret that decision and they draped a gown over the front of me and we took off.

Once I was back in the room they checked me and I was at a 10. My cervix was not completely thinned out so I couldn't push yet. I felt like I wanted to, but I didn't really need to yet. The urge was there but not super intense. I had been in labor for around 21 hours by now, so I was exhausted. I couldn't get comfortable and they broke the bed apart for me and let me use this squatting bar. I put it under my arms and rested my chin on it, squatted, and that's kind of how I stayed. The nurse had this water press she kept on me. Pretty soon I felt the urge to push like nothing I have ever felt in my life.

I felt the burning ring of fire that my sister told me about and I really did think that death may come before my child. I told Caleb that I couldn't do it anymore. I don't know what option I really had at that point, I just remember thinking that if I had to endure one more minute, I would explode. I pushed for 45 minutes before Shelby was finally born. Because of the position I was in, once her head was out, her body came out too. I guess that's a benefit to standing up when you deliver. Gravity is your friend and helps.

I had Shelby after 22 hours of painful labor, without any drugs at all. I never would have thought that I could endure that much pain for that long. I am stronger than I ever knew that I was. I really do think that our bodies are amazing and that if we can focus on our goals, anything is possible.

After Shelby was born they set me back on the bed right away and put her on my chest. I just kept looking at her amazed at how perfect she was. The unbearable pain was gone and I had the sweetest little child in the entire world. She was crying non-stop when she was born. She was mad at the world and I have a feeling that this may be her personality in life. She has something to say and wants to be seen. Caleb and I just stared at each other and at her and just kept looking at her. These moments are so precious that I can't even describe them. We changed our whole lives and now have our own little family.

Shelby Lu was born on October 16th at 11:08 pm. She was 9 pounds and 20 inches long. I had to have surgery after she was born, so I missed the first 3 hours of her life. That was hard for me and I wasn't very happy about it. They explained to Caleb what had happened and that I had to go in for surgery immediately. I got to stay with Shelby for about 5 minutes before they took me. My blood pressure dropped to 64/34. I started going into shock and that's about all I can remember. I missed her first bath, being weighed, and all of those first moments. Caleb took excellent care of her and just sit and rocked her waiting for me. He definitely bonded with our daughter and she will probably prefer him the rest of her life. That's alright, I think daddy's girls are pretty cute. When I was in the recovery room from surgery they told me when I wiggled my toes, that I could leave. I remember staring at my toes over and over, telling them to move. But they just wouldn't. I had a spinal block so they could repair me in the operating room. No visitors were allowed and I was sitting there by myself thinking about my new child and how badly I wanted to see her.

After I was finally released the nurse practically ran when she was pushing my bed down the hall. I got to the room and as soon as Shelby heard me she started screaming again. She screamed the whole first 24 hours of her life. We were worried that she was going to have colic right away and were beginning to wonder if we were going to make it. After about one day she threw up a bunch of blood that she had swallowed when I was delivering her. I bled so much that she was covered in it, so it makes sense she probably got sick. Once she got rid of that and the doctors looked her over, she was very happy. We didn't hear her little voice at all the entire rest of the time.

She had to sleep with the light for jaundice and I had lost enough blood that they either had to do a blood transfusion or put me on some serious medications and IV. I was not about to have a blood transfusion, so we stayed in the hospital longer.

We stayed in the hospital almost four days and were very happy to return to our own beds and some home cooking. Thankfully we had many friends and family members bring us dinner so that Caleb didn't make me Top Roman for a week straight. She is a very happy baby and hardly ever cries. She enjoys sleeping most of the day and staying up late at night. We are working on getting her to fall asleep earlier and try to keep her awake during the day, but so far she seems to be winning that battle.

Pregnant with our first baby

2008-08-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I decided it was time to start our family. We got pregnant over the Christmas break of 2007 (as best as we can tell). We are due sometime in October. They have changed the due date on us about 4 times and we are going with the latest date. I really want to deliver naturally, without any medication, so I am avoiding being induced at all costs.

Caleb and I have been married since March of 2004. We currently live in Tigard, Oregon. We will have our first child while he is in his second year of dental school at OHSU. I am working full time at SAIF Corporation in Salem as a Safety, Risk & Wellness Coordinator. I have been with the company since 2002, and I commute down to Salem.

Here is a picture of us at a wedding in the summer of 2008. Caleb and I are truly excited to expand our family. We feel very blessed to have a healthy pregnancy. I slept all the time in the first trimester. Caleb thought something was wrong with me. I was teaching classes at the gym at 5:30 am, and then driving down to Salem to work full-time at SAIF. I would drive back home around 6:30 pm and then go to bed around 7 pm. I was exhausted. Now I am feeling much better, I can stay up until at least 9 pm. Party! Will update more when the baby is closer.

Surprise 30th

2008-07-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Caleb had me tricked into thinking I was going to Mindy's for a nice peaceful dinner. We got stuck in horrible traffic on the way down, but I wasn't too worried since it was just us. Then I got to her house and realized she had a bunch of people there and they were throwing me a surprise party. Tons of friends, food, and cute decorations. Thank you to Caleb for planning the fun evening, Mindy for opening her house to us and our friends, and to my family and friends who came to celebrate. You guys are very kind!

beach trip

2008-07-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach because it was so hot, I couldn't get comfortable. It's been in the 90s and we only have AC in our bedroom. I didn't really want to spend the weekend in the bedroom so we headed out to the beach. It was fun hanging out in the nice cold weather, lots of sunshine and good food. We stayed late and watched the sunset curled up on the beach with some blankets. Sometimes the spontaneous trips turn out the best.

New job for Renae

2007-10-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is the announcement that my new boss just sent out to my work. I just got a huge promotion and I'm really excited to start!! ~Renae

HR Team,
I'm pleased to announce that Renae Coombs, Return to Work Consultant in the Portland Service Center, has accepted the Safety, Risk, and Wellness Coordinator position in Human Resources.
Renae joined SAIF Corporation as a Claims Adjustor in the Northern Claims Division in 2002; she was selected as a RTW Consultant in July 2006. Prior to starting her SAIF career, Renae earned her bachelor's degree from Western Oregon University; she also worked as a Department Manager for Nordstrom for five plus years.
Wellness is a major focus of Renae's life: in addition to her career at SAIF she is a fitness instructor and currently teaches a number of morning and evening classes in the Portland area. Although her new job will keep her busy, she still plans to teach fitness classes from 5:30a.m. to 6:30a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday (just in case you wanted to sign up). I should also mention that she ran (and finished) the Portland Marathon two weeks ago.
As part of her new job, Renae will work closely with SAIF leadership to develop and implement safety, risk, and wellness initiatives that ensure safe working conditions, prevent accidents and injuries, and sustain a healthy, productive workforce.
During her first several months on the job Renae will focus on integrating with our HR Team; complete a Safety and Risk training program (developed by Loss Control Program Advisor Deb Fell-Carlson and me); and assume the initial responsibilities for SAIF's Safety and Risk program.
I want to thank the Human Resources Management Team, Deb Fell-Carlson, and the Executive Council for their help in our selection process. Renae starts her new job on Thursday, November 1, 2007. Please join me in welcoming her to our team!

2007-10-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

I finished my first full marathon today! I almost didn't get to run the race because traffic was such a nightmare in downtown. I knew the streets would be blocked off, but i didn't expect to run a mile before the marathon started. I could not find the packet pick-up location and it ended up being about 10 blocks from where I was dropped. I started the marathon late which meant I didn't get to run with people who ran the same pace as myself. I ran with the 6 hour pace group which are mostly walkers. So I passed a lot of people, but it was very congested. I ended up finishing the marathon in 4 hours which was my goal. Caleb was my hero and helped me get to the marathon in the morning. He then met me at two different locations with new socks! It was so exciting seeing him waiting for me cheering me on. It makes huge difference to have the support on the race day. Around mile 16 I started to get really stiff and slowed down quite a bit. By mile 22 my right knee would hardly bend at all. It just got very stiff and felt like it turned to stone, but I did not want to stop!! The last three miles of the race felt like ten miles. I was really lucky with the weather today too. No rain, limited wind and beautiful skies. The view was incredible over the St John's Bridge. There were at least 12 live bands around the course and tons of water, gummy bears and sports drinks. My favorite part of every race is seeing the small kids on the side of the road with their "Go Mom" signs. I have been laying around today eating food, drinking lots of water and I'm ready for bed. That was my seventh race in the past 8 months and I am ready for a break now. Time to get ready to snowboard!! Thanks to everyone who encouraged me into doing the race. It means a lot to me to have the support!

Third Anniversary

2007-03-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

We planned a trip to Palm Springs California. We stayed down with my grandparents. They are in a retirement village and we got to stay at their friends house who were gone. So we had a house to ourselves and lots of sunshine. We played tennis, went shopping, swam in the pool every day, and hung out with family. My sisters family went, my parents, and then us.

We left on the day of our anniversary and went to Six Flags. We rode every single ride there. No lines because it was during the week too. Some rides we just got to stay on and keep riding. Oh baby did I get sick! I had to lay on the ground after the ride and get my barrings again. I get so disoriented and dizzy. Caleb can ride them all day long. We got on this one ride called the "X Factor" and we were riding backwards, spinning, looping, and I almost blacked out. It was so crazy. Caleb just stayed on and kept riding it but I had to pass out on the ground for awhile. That ride did me in, and I was done after that. We had a great time just walking around and hanging out in the park.

It was different being around family for our yearly trip, but it was fun too. There's always a lot to do in California and the weather was amazing. Just laying by a pool and getting a tan in March is something to be proud of. We bought bicycles and went for a few bike rides too. I got a road bike and Caleb got a mountain bike. I decided after a month that I hated my road bike. California was the final decision. I couldn't ride anywhere because of all the rocks. So after we got home, I got a bike just like Caleb.

Congratulations to us for making it three whole years together. Every year we grow closer.

Alaska

2006-07-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

ALASKA! We went to Alaska for a week to do some major fishing. We went to go fish the red salmon and do some site seeing. My parents, Rhoda & Trevor, Grandpa Walker, Uncle Gordon, Uncle Carl and his son Fletcher all went together.

They had a particularly bad year for fishing however. The main reason that Caleb wanted to go, and we weren't having much luck. Caleb caught the biggest fish and he did catch about one a day. Not what we were hoping for though.

We hiked up to a glacier that was just amazing.

It was pretty cold, but the view and the water was incredible.

We hate some huge king size crab legs. My goodness are they huge. It cost us $120 for a huge box of the biggest crab legs you have ever seen. We stayed with a family and didn't have to pay anything for rent. We just each gave them some money at the end to thank them for their hospitality. The mosquito's are a little too intense for me. You can keep your crazy bugs Alaska. No thank you! It was very beautiful to see the land, but I don't see myself going back any time soon. I think it was more of a boys trip. I am very glad we went and very glad Caleb and I have made it four year. Going strong!