It's a girl!!

Maia Rae Halson, born 11/21/08 @ 7:50pm,weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz.

We had a few complications and had to go early, but things seem to be working out well so far. Sarah and Maia are doing great and getting used to the new situation.
life is grand!!

35 weeks

Things are getting close and we might be meeting our baby sooner than we think.
Here is a photo of sarah taken just last night at 35 weeks.
We are feeling ready and anxious to meet baby Halson soon.

Well put Keith!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY

July 18th 2009

Sarah & I were thinking about tying the knot next year in Cali on our 9 year anniversary.

We thought it would be great to share something special with our California friends and family (and in Sarah's hometown!). We could bring the baby to meet eveyone and have a beautiful memory of a very special occassion. Sarah's biggest concern was not having everyone there.

We were truly surprised, like most folks in the country, to learn that prop 8 passed.

This puts a ban on same sex marriages in the state of California. California is a big state with a lot of different people and a fairly large gay community as we all know. This proprosal had a lot of money behind it from both sides. The biggest finicail suporter of the ban was the Mormon church.

Sarah & I

Baby Shower/Blessing Way

We had an amazing day with wonderful friends, family, food and gifts. It was an emotional day for us as we gathered for a

circle of blessing and were presented with beads, love and stories of wisdom. Sarah & I really wish that everyone could have shared this experience with us.

Thank you for all of your support.

We and baby Halson will really need your love in this crazy world.

new photo

Here is the latest and greatest photo taken just last night. Sarah is feeling pretty good for the most part anyway...

We are slowly chugging away on our to do list and getting things in order. Hoping everything goes well, maybe not as planned, but well. We realize that you can have a birth plan but then there is actually the birth that you get. (Whimsically referred to as "babies choice"in our hypnobirthing class....but whatever!) This is why we are at the hospital and can only hope for the best case scenario....baby and mom are safe and healthy.

This Sunday's project....building a changing table for our dresser. Thanks Jon & Amie for the advice on this, you make it look so easy!

A sad day for my feet

So, my very favorite shoes, the sandals I am so excited to pull out of winter storage the second the temperature goes above 50, my beloved REI garage sale $10 Keens... no longer fit. I can wear them, but they give me blisters and I have finally decided that blisters are not worth it anymore.

Of course I was expecting my body to change, that I would need new clothes and that has been kind of fun. I have been fortunate to find some maternity resale shops and a couple friends with tops that will fit any day now. It has been fun to start a whole new wardrobe and develop somewhat of a new style.

However, the idea that I would also need shoes did not cross my mind. I already have wide feet and therefore, have a hard time finding shoes. I rarely go shoe shopping and when I do, I usually come home empty handed. I have very few pairs of shoes and wear my Keens in the summer, my tennies and boots in the winter and dressy when I must.

Obviously, this is just one of many (and one of the smallest) sacrifices that will be part of my life from now on and I welcome it openly. I have been amazed and excited each day to experience my pregnancy and the changes taking place in my body. I believe this is what I was meant to do and embrace it fully and lovingly.

I am also cherishing these last few months of time alone with Kim, our animals, quiet nights and the constant knowledge and feeling of the baby growing inside me. I know that our lives are about to change forever, for the better and the lovelier.

And, REI is having another garage sale over Labor Day weekend. Who knows what I will find...

sarah august 12th, 2008

We 've had many requests for a photo of Ms. Sarah and she has finally approved of this one.
Sarah is 22 weeks and in the honeymoon stage of her pregnancy.

august update

After some serious consideration.
We've decided to give birth @ Providence in the alternative birthing center.
This center has been around for over 30 years and is all natural baby! They have a Queen size bed, a mini fridge, microwave, water tub for relaxation during labor, and full bathrooms.
Sarah will be able to move about the room, eat, drink and give birth in any position that works for her. I'm not only allowed in the room, but have some major duties to be responsible for..
~Keep Sarah focused on practicing the hypnobirthing as the birth partner
~CATCH THE BABY~~Yeah~ She has to ask me if it's a boy or a girl!
~Set baby on Sarah for some good bonding time
~cut the cord (after it's finished pulsing)
~weigh and give baby the first bath (after about 6 hours!)

Our baby will stay with us through the night, and not go to a nursery!!

We have hired Stacia to be our Doula. She will be giving us advice in the next few months
and is the midwife that helped us become pregnant! We love her!
Once labor begins, Stacia will come to our house and help us determine the right time to get to the hospital. We do not want to get sent back home!! Once at the hospital, Stacia will become
Sarah's advocate to help with any major issues regarding the birth.

We were thinking about doing a home birth, but decided we might give that a try next time.

We've been to orientation, selected our health care provider (metro partners- midwives), and have started hypnobirthing classes.
We still need to find a pediatrician that will be flexible with immunizations and comfortable with our situation.

I'd like to leave you with one of our many beautiful affirmations from our hypnobirthing class.
We have been reading this passage nightly to Sarah's baby belly~~~

When you are born, little baby, We will give you love so that you may grow in love and trust in yourself and others
We promise to talk to you in such a way that you will listen, and we promise to listen to you in such a way that you will talk
We will respect your right to be yourself, and We will help you to learn to respect the rights of others
We promise to encourage you to seek answers that will lead you to know and appreciate the wonderful world around you
We will provide opportunities for you to help you grow in love and happiness
We see you, little baby, coming from mama's womb, and we see you cradled in our arms
We love the thought of you coming to us
Dear little baby we love you!!

It's like coming out..again!

It's amazing how comfortable we become in life. Even though we have the love and support of our family & friends daily. We have been facing some new challenges. People naturally assume that when a woman is pregnant that she has a husband or a boyfriend. :)

Sarah really gets a kick out of enlighting these unsuspecting strangers as they realize that she is not the norm. It seems that Sarah enjoys being an advocate for alternative lifestyles!!
Honestly we have been finding that most people are very supportive, especially in the healthcare industry. This is not a new topic for folks, but to hear about it is very different from experiencing it first hand. I'll be sure to post any interesting situations as Sarah begins to show more and more. I'm sure we will run into some poor homophobic stranger in the grocery aisle! I just hope for their sake that they aren't trying to rub Ms. Sarah's belly as this is happening.

My sweet and supportive sister just had to explain the situation to her 15 year old son.
He is a smart guy and already had Sarah & I pegged. I'm not surprised. He just asked when the baby is due.

We have had some positive support at work as well. This is going to be a long journey for us and our child, I'm just glad that there is so much love in this world. Okay, now I'm getting sappy! (The world needs all the love it can get!)

First pictures

Introducing baby Halson! Contrary to what the name of our blog implies, we are waiting to find out the big question until we meet him/her for the first time.