1 Month

Our little Kenley is already five weeks old! We decided that we're going to take monthly photos of her to watch her grow. Each month will feature a different background fabric straight from my mom's (http://www.nancydobson.blogspot.com/) extensive collection. :)

We got the idea from a blog we follow called Young House Love (http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/where-do-baby-photos-come-from/). They take weekly photos of their baby, Clara Kenley (yes, her middle name is Kenley!), but we opted to take monthly photos instead. Theirs are a bit fancier because they use Photoshop, but we're just not that tech savvy!

We hope you'll enjoy watching her grow as much as we do!

Happy Halloween!

Kenley's first Halloween was a big hit! Last Friday, our friend Stephanie Walker invited us and my parents to her house for pumpkin carving and beef stew. It was a good time! For Halloween, we went to my parents' place for a yummy rib dinner. Kenley wore her "costume": an outfit that said, "Daddy's under my spell." Happy Halloween, everyone! 

Our pumpkins: Mark, Kenley, Dad, Stephanie, Jess

Kenley's first pumpkin (carved by Nannie)

Mom and Stephanie sifting out pumpkin seeds for roasting.

Papa Dobson and Kenley

Mark and his little bear. Her shirt says, "Daddy's under my spell." Ain't that the truth!

Our new addition: Kenley Ella

On Oct. 10, 2010, Mark and I welcomed our daughter Kenley Ella Hamlin into the world. She was born at 5:09 a.m. and weighed in at 8 lbs., 1 oz. and measured 21" long. Her original due date was Oct. 14, but we're very happy she decided to make her debut on 10-10-10!

The Hamlin Family

We were at the Walker's house (our good friends) when my water broke. A couple hours later, we were checked into the hospital. I was three centimeters dilated by the time we arrived, and I quickly progressed from there. Our labor adventure started in the triage unit, where I was hooked up to monitors to check vitals and track my contractions. Soon after, we were transfered from triage to labor and delivery. At five cemtimeters, and after some very intense contractions, it was time for an epidural. Before the epidural was in and doing its magic, I had already dilated to eight centimeters! The anesthesiologist didn't think he was going to be able to catch up with me. The epidural slowed the labor slightly, and I didn't start pushing until about 3:30 a.m. Overall, the labor and delivery went very well.

8 lbs. 1 oz., 21"

First bath

Kenley Ella Hamlin

10 fingers and 10 toes, born on 10-10-10!

My parents, Nancy and Warren Dobson, and our friends Steve and Stephanie Walker, came to the hospital at about midnight to be with us during the labor. Kenley made them wait five whole hours before she decided it was time to come out of her mommy's belly!

Proud Poppa Dobson

Nannie and Kenley

Later on her birthday, Kenley got to meet her Grandma and Grandpa Hamlin and Great-Grandma Hamlin. As soon as they got news that we were in labor, they snagged some airline tickets from Washington to Alaska to meet the newest addition to the Hamlin family. Kenley is a very lucky lady to have such amazing grandparents!

Great-Grandma Hamlin

Grandma and Grandpa Hamlin

After getting cleared by my obstetrician and Kenley's pediatrician, we packed our bags and came home on Tuesday, Oct. 12 in the afternoon. Our parenting adventure has begun!

Getting ready to leave the hospital

Kenley all bundled up, ready to go home (Stephanie Walker made this adorable hat)

Meeting our little girl was an unforgettable moment that words can't describe. Mark and I are so excited and proud to be her parents. We're enjoying getting to know Kenley more and more each day, and are very much looking forward to making many happy memories together!

Powerline Pass, Aug. 7, 2010

Despite the crummy weather, Mark and I were able to get out and stroll Powerline Pass last Saturday. It's a nice trail in the Chugach Mountains about 15 minutes from our house. We did get rained on, but it was still nice to get out and get some fresh air. We've had so much rain this summer that I've felt like I've had "cabin fever," which is going to make for a very long, dark winter. Though having a brand new little one around will help the time pass, I'm sure!

Powerline Pass starts at the trailhead of the popular "Flat Top" hiking trail, but veers off to the left and ambles along the bottom of the mountain valley. We didn't hike the whole thing, but probably made it about halfway before the rain started and we decided to turn around. We packed a little picnic and enjoyed watching the fog roll into the valley as we snacked. It was a great hike to do at 30 weeks pregnant -- not very wicked at all. It would make for a great bike ride because it's fairly flat and the trail is wide. Maybe next summer...

Big News

Mark and I got some big news in early February! The pregnancy test came back positive and we're expecting our first baby on Oct. 16, 2010, or thereabouts. We had our first sonogram at 12 weeks, 5 days. Besides the occasional queasiness, it was validation that a little life was really growing inside of me. We heard the heartbeat the day before at our monthly doctor's appointment, but to see baby moving around on the big screen was quite the eye-opener.

Here's a picture of a little leg that I'm sure will be kicking me quite a bit pretty soon... I read that I'll be able to start feeling the baby move around in the next few weeks.

Here I am at 14 weeks. My belly is starting to pooch a little now.

I know we've been REALLY bad about updating our blog (umm, hello, our last post was over a year ago!), but we'll try to be better about it now that we have some exciting news to share with everyone.

Mount Redoubt

Again...we have fallen off of our mission to keep this site updated. So I figured, what better time to get back into the swing of things than to post some of the pictures of the Mt. Redoubt's ash fall from this past weekend. 

I am sure that everyone has heard by now that we are have a "little"  volcano that has been letting off some steam lately. This has really caused a headache, mostly for those who have been trying to travel. This past Saturday, March 25th, was probably the most active ay that the voclano has had this far. Jess and I were out running some errands and when we came out of Petco, we noticed that there where little things falling fro the sky and it didn't look like snow at all. We immediately knew that Redoubt had blown while we were out. So we piled the dogs back in the Jeep and headed back home. We did not receive alot of ash, just enough to cover everything in a fine layer of gray. Above are some pictures from the backyard. You can see where the dogs had made some tracks through the snow. Hopefully this is all that we will have to deal with in Anchorage!

Red Rocks

I really like Colorado. A lot. Craig just finished culinary school, so I decided it was time for me to take some time to go celebrate. I flew into Denver on Saturday, Jan. 24 and spent a few days in the city with my little brother.  Craig took me to some great places downtown... One of the highlights was the Falling Rock Taphouse, where there are about 70 different beers on tap. We also had a great meal (including dessert, of course) at the Cheesecake Factory.  Craig, being the culinarian he is, is generally not a fan of "chain" restaurants, but he was pleasantly surprised with this spot. We also visited the Coors Brewery in Golden, just outside of Denver. 

Here's Craig in the tasting room...

I helped Craig pack up and clean his apartment to get ready for the big move back to Grand Junction. Our parents live in Grand Junction during the winter months, so they drove over on Monday to help Craig move his things. It took us a speedy 3.5 hours to drive over the pass, which was surprising because mom and dad had a rough ride over that same morning. 

Grand Junction is a small city in western Colorado, very close to the Utah border. Mark and I were lucky enough to visit together last year in March. It's situated at the foot of the Colorado National Monument, between two little towns called Palisade and Fruita. There are thousands of miles to explore, and so many hiking and mountain biking opportunities. 

This is Dad and I at Captain Smith's cabin in Escalante Canyon, just outside of Grand Junction. 

Eslcalante Ranch runs through this whole canyon, and we got stuck behind a cattle drive on the road out! The two cowboys had about six herding dogs working the cattle crowd. Being the proud mom of two herding dogs, I had a good time watching these dogs in action. They wouldn't even let the poor cows stop for a drink of water! They mean business. 

Oh, did I mention that Grand Junction is right in the middle of Colorado's up-and-coming wine country? Mom, Dad and I visited a few wineries in the Palisade area: Graystone Vineyards, Garfield Estates Vineyard, Plum Creek Winery, and Canyon Wind Cellars. I bought two bottles to share with Mark, but they never made it home. Sorry, Mark! 

Canyon Wind Cellars' vineyard...

Mom and I at Canyon Wind... 

Grand Junction is very close to the Utah border, so one day we took the "back road" to Moab (mountain biking mecca). On the way, we stopped at Fisher Towers to do some hiking (in January!!!). It was an amazing hike -- one of the best I've ever done. It wasn't too easy or too hard, and the scenery was spectacular.

Craig was busy hunting for jobs this day, so I had a great time hanging out with my parents! Here's Mom and I on the trail...

After we hiked Fisher Towers, we continued onto Moab. This picture was taken just outside of Moab at a place called Gemini Bridges. Gemini Bridges are two bridges that span over a huge canyon. It was incredible, but very, very high up! Here's Dad and his Rubicon near the bridges...

The day before I left, Craig invited me to go hiking with he and his girlfriend LeeAnna and fellow chef and friend Luke. We hiked just outside of the Colorado National Monument on the "Mica Mine" trail. 

Mica... I brought some home!

There were lots of highlights to this trip. One of them was Craig's cooking. He and Luke made a delicious chicken concoction one night, and the morning I left Craig got up early to make me Eggs Benedict (my fav). What a brognar! 

While I was there, Craig landed an interview at a place called Bin 707. The night he had his interview, the family went out to dinner at the place to scope things out. Delicious food, great atmosphere. Best of all, Craig got a job offer the next day!

I had a great week with my family. Mark and the pets survived without me for a week. I even came home to a clean house! :)