Healthy baby girl. 7lbs 8.6oz born 7:32pm 12/22. No name yet! Everyone fine.

So Natalie is definitely in labor, so this may be the last update until we get to the hospital... which also may be imminent!

Here's a link to some of Natalie's pregnancy pictures:
http://blueroomphotography.smugmug.com/gallery/6790521_rVjLS#433900444_DUL3G

We're hoping to use this blog again to communicate to our family and friends on what's going on with the baby.

As of this morning (Monday, 22nd) Natalie's been having contractions all night.  Last time she went through this it was a false alarm despite the fact the contractions were coming under 10 minutes and lasting over a minute; however, they were kind of weak.  This time they're pretty strong, but not lasting as long and they're kind of all over the place time-wise.  We'll try to keep you posted. 

Hope everyone is doing well.. we've been enjoying all the cards and pictures this year!

Since we're attempting to poke our heads out of the sand, I'll try an update post.  "Fall" is in quotes because it's still getting in the 80s. However, we've enjoyed the last couple weeks since the extreme heat has broken and we can actually go outside again.  We've attended three neighborhood pot-lucks.  Two at parks and one block-party.  They are all out: great food, bands, moon-bounce, and this last one had a fire truck and horse.  We even met Mike Connell from The Connells...apparently he's all grown up turned into a lawyer and lives in our neighborhood.  We also have new neighbors as of the start of September and they have been a nice plus in our lives.  They have three girls, twins exactly Malayna's age and a 12-month old.  Malayna loves playing with them and the adults all get along great as well...amazing really.

Last weekend we were back in Blacksburg for homecoming with Mark's core grad school friends.  Everyone has multiplied a few times, so it was a crazy weekend, but we had a great time.  One friend the guys hadn't seen in 8(?) years.  Props to Kevin and Alex for hosting, organizing, and arranging babysitters.  We also visited Sinkland Farms (pumpkin farm) on our way out of town.  We've loved doing this in the past and got all nostalgic going back.  We have taken the same picture of Mark and Malayna on a tractor every year, so maybe I can get him to post the series.

I (Natalie) am working this semester at NC State.  It's been a good experience for all of us.  Mark gets Malayna up and going every morning and as a result they are much closer :).  For these last few months of pregnancy, I've been happy to sit a computer instead of chasing Malayna!  The work is pretty good and I'm happy to be learning some new stuff.  Looks like I might even be able to get a paper out of it all.  We've been thrilled with Malayna's school.  She loves to do art, gymnastics, and ride scooters.  She does an interpretive dance class and I got to witness some "moves" this weekend at the farmer's market band...very cute.   At home, she likes to play pretend life with mostly her cars, sometimes little people, and sometimes other random toys (this weekend it was the single-peg mega blocks that became ducks).  Games, puzzles, and workbook games like mazes and connect the dots, are also high on the activity list right now.  The constant development is a blast for us to both observe and participate in.

Last week we had an ultrasound and the baby is doing well and thankfully still looking like a girl.  We've barely begun the office move, but finally this weekend arranged the living room to accommodate enough office stuff to hopefully squeeze a crib into the current office.  We don't have much planned for the next couple months, so maybe we'll get the move done in time.  However, we're looking forward to having Mark's mom visit, maybe some others who have threatened to visit, and the annual "boo and the beach trip" to the outer banks.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!   Ahhhhh.....town is so quiet, almost too quiet.  However, we're enjoying the time and celebrating with our neighbors. 

For any new visitors to our blog (as a result of the Christmas card) we hope you enjoy your time browsing.  Check back as we update it frequently.  If you would like any pictures, contact us and we'll email you the high resolution versions. 

Lots of new pictures for everyone! Tree trimming, thanksgiving, and mexico city.

We always hear of people bartering around town and we finally got to partake. Mark shot Sam and Heather's wedding and Sam trimmed our trees. We were fascinated and grateful. A few action shots are posted.

VT gets the whole week of Thanksgiving off and Drew and Victoria's school also had the week off. We took advantage of this and headed to Mexico City for the first half of the week. We didn't know what to expect, but the city is very nice. It feels european with interesting variations like super well-kept parks, colorful buildings, and decorative touches everywhere, on doors, buildings, street signs, etc. There is a urban center like any major city with upscale restaurants and stores. D & V's neighborhood is close by but has more architectural flairs to it. We also visited the historic downtown with a a sqare, cathedral, and parliment, and Aztec pyramids just outside the city. Drew drove us around and although different, really not as crazy as I anticipated. Drew and Victoria's place is super hot (not temperature hot though). It has lots of concrete accents, high ceilings, a glass tower, and beautiful light. Mark wants it for a studio because of it's amazing light and clean lines! You can see pictures of the dining and living areas as well as from the outside. D & V took us to lots of amazing restaurants that provided a nice variety of Mexican food. We veared once and ate sushi, but even that had a mexican flare with Mango and Banana. Tuesday my (Natalie) parents came down and we had a yummy thanksgiving dinner, complete with pablano pepper soup. Malayna chowed during our trip, in particual she loved the many different soups. We may need to incorporate some Mexcian cooking into our repetoire.

The second half of the week and Thanksgiving proper we spent with Mark's family. Thursday was another great Thanksgiving dinner, with tons of dishes, including everyone's favorites and the seasonal special pumpkin kibbeh. We experienced the Friday shopping craziness while Teta watched BOTH kids! One evening was spent cleaning out the living and dining room in anticipation of new floors and Mark and Phil learned the proper way to roll and store wool rugs. Little Samuel isn't so little anymore, but lots of fun. He is a happy guy full of grins and giggles and interacting a lot now.