Name Change

I think it is officially time to change my name. Nope, not to Riensche, but to Huge -- Kirsten Huge. For those that can't tell, that's Hauge without the "a". It is a perfect description of my current state and much easier to say/spell than Hauge, Riensche, Hauge-Riensche, Hauche, or Rienge. I think Huge sounds pretty good.

I am now considered full term (37 weeks) and the final countdown is on - yay!! I learned at the doctor today that the baby is locked and loaded for delivery (head down). Now ... we wait.

Last week my 9 year old nephew Carter sent me an email with my family's guesses on the sex, weight, and date the baby will be born. (Thanks Carter!) Here they are:

Carter: boy, Nov 17th, 8lbs 4oz
Grandpa (my dad): girl, Nov 16th, 7lbs 8oz
Dad (my brother Kirk): girl, Nov 22nd, 7lbs 12oz
Olivia (my 6 yr old niece): girl, Nov 19th, 7lbs 12oz
Grandma (my mom): boy, Nov 20th, 8lbs 2oz
Mom (my sister-in-law Angela): girl, Nov 14th, 8lbs 3oz

I'll take the earliest and the smallest please! Any other guesses out there? ;)

22 miles

They say that when you run a marathon, you hit the wall at around mile 22. Well, I think I've hit mile 22 of this pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing and feeling really well (as my OB tells me, I'm a boring patient) but things seem to have changed as I reach the 35 week mark (5 weeks to go!).

First, there is that whole breathing thing (no more space for my lungs!) and second, I'm tired, really tired. Could the tiredness be because I am putting in long hours at work, have something going on almost every night of the week, am dealing with the stress of some family health issues, and still trying to exercise 5-days a week, all on top of being super pregnant? Could be...

What?! Me? Overdo things?! Nah ... ;)

N8 and I took a tour of the hospital last week. The tour felt like we were scouting out the facilities before a big football game or something. First stop, warm-ups (OB triage), then off to the big game (labor & delivery), then back to the locker rooms for the game debrief and cool-down (post-birth suites). It was a bit surreal to know that the next time we are there, it will be because I am in labor. I sure can't wait to meet this little blondie. ;)

7 months down -- 2 months to go!

I have officially hit the 8 month mark -- only 2 months to go! Here I am looking stylish at 32 wks.



N8 and I got out for two really nice day hikes over the past few weekends -- N8 put up a post on EvilFungus if you like to read the details and see pictures. The hike to Lake Serene made me realize how pregnant I really am .... things sure do change when you hit that third trimester. ;)

Do I look fierce?

Here I am at 29 weeks doing my best ANTM pose while modeling our first baby purchase, a stroller! We got a jogger so lil Q8y will be able to join me on my runs someday soon.

N8 and I laughed last night because it seems as though every parent in Seattle owns this stroller. Now all we need is a Subaru and a pug and we'll *really* fit the Seattle stereotype.

Baby Q and Baby N8

I have had a strong urge recently to look at our baby pictures. Hmm ... I wonder why? :P Can you guess who is who?


Think our baby will be blonde?

Norwegian Power!

N8 and I (& our bug bites) are home from a week-long Hauge reunion in Northern Minnesota. Norwegian Power! We are very relieved to be away from the mosquitoes but are sad that we had to part with the family. Lil Q8y had a great time and got to meet the entire Hauge clan, shown here in our 2009 Hauge reunion t-shirts. This time even the non-Hauges got shirts -- we don't want them to feel left out. :P


Here I am with my cousin Shelley who is the BEST COUSIN EVER!

We spent the week fishing, boating, drinking, eating, relaxing, bird watching, and laughing. All in all, a perfect vacation (aside from those pesky mosquitoes). It was fun torturing the family by not telling them the names we have picked out for the little guy/gal ... soon enough.


Which brings me to my next picture: me at Week 27. The books say lil Q8y is 2 lbs and is as "hefty as a head of cauliflower" (?!) ... that's a weird one. Next week I will officially start the third trimester. :o Guess we should sign up for some birthing class and do some house prep soon, eh?


Lastly, we received our first gift for lil Q8y, a beautiful blanket from my mom & dad that was knit by my mom. We love it and we know Q8y will too. Thanks Mom!

I'm HOT

I don't want to toot my own horn or anything but I'm hot. Okay, I'm not Christie Brinkley sexy hot (that one was for Andy) but I'm temperature hot. Too hot. Today has been the hottest day on record in Seattle, a whooping 102 degrees. Being from Minnesota you'd think I'd think that was nothing. Well, here in Seattle it's something because 85% of the houses in the county do not have air conditioning, including us. Last night the temperature in our bedroom was 89 degrees when we went to bed at 10:30. It was a rough night and by morning our room had only cooled down by a few degrees. Tonight we plan to haul our guest bedroom mattress into our living room thinking it may be cooler -- we'll see.

So to mark today's milestone of 1) hitting 24 wks and 2) being the hottest day of the year, we took a picture. I'm HOT and so, one would assume, is the corn. This is my new name for lil Q8y who I just read is the size equivalent, in length, to an ear of corn. What a bizarre comparison but very appropriate since we've been loving the corn this summer. :)