Happy Halloween!

Wren is just over 5 weeks old for her first Halloween!

4 weeks old!

Wren will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! I'm going to take her in and get her weighed. She seems like she has grown quite a bit. Every day her eyes are wider and she's more aware of her world.


She's even smiling already!


My mom got some video of her cooing after I gave her a shower (we don't do baths...I just bring her in the shower with me and she likes it. She stays warmer that way.)

birth announcement

Todd and I would like to announce the birth of our daughter, Wren Kathryn. She was born at 11:27pm on Friday September 24th, 2010. She weighed 8 lbs and 10 oz and was 21 inches long. She is absolutely perfect and is the light of our lives. I can't even describe how it feels to be a mother and hold this tiny person in my arms. Todd and I are overwhelmed with this new experience and can't believe how fullfilled we feel. It really is such a special thing. I could go on and on, but I'll just share some pictures of our precious girl.

Our family


Wren sleeping


Wren asking to be fed


I had a long labor (27 hours of active labor, plus the 13 hours of light painless labor leading up to that), but we made it through and it was all worth it! She really is just perfect. And I feel pretty good already, just 5 days later.

I can already see that I am going to be quite consumed with her, but I don't mind. I will still try to get out there and ride this fall when I feel able too, but if not, I won't feel guilty about it. I still will get a chance to mess with my horses, but right now, I have a new priority. And she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And this is all coming from a woman who used to never want to have children! But then I met a man with whom I knew I wanted to share this special experience with, and the rest is history! It is wonderful. We are cherishing it!

pregnancy update

Well, as of today, I am one week past my due date. But stats say that first time mothers on average give birth 8 days past their due date. So technically, that means I'm not late yet! Last week I was discouraged because after my exam, the doctor said baby was not descended yet and my cervix was still closed. A few days ago, I began to feel some differences...the top of my stomach seemed lower and I was getting some nerve pains on the inside of my left leg throughout the day (instead of just in the evening). And sure enough, today, the doctor said baby is descended and I am 2 cm dilated! Yay! Things are moving along! I was secretly starting to fear that I just wouldn't go into labor at all. I have an appointment to be induced on Sept 24th, but I really just want to go into labor naturally because I am going to do it without pain meds (hopefully). Everyone I've spoken to that has been induced said it is very painful and contractions come unnaturally intense. I feel like I can handle the pain if it is natural, but if it is artificially induced, I fear I won't be able to handle it both physically and psychologically. I made the choice to do no pain meds because of the risks involved for the baby when you use them. Even epidurals carry some risks, and babies are not as aware at birth as their unmedicated counterparts. Plus, I don't want someone sticking a needle into my spine. Ick! Women have been giving birth for thousands of years without pain meds. I can handle it. Birth is a natural process! After all the stuff I've read, I do understand that risks to the baby increase when you get past 42 weeks, but I worry that most doctors are too induction happy...Someone I know just had a baby yesterday - she was induced and was 13 days past her due date. However, when the baby was born, they measured her to be at 38 weeks! So clearly someone was not ready yet! Can you imagine how bad it would be if they tried to induce earlier? I also know someone else who had a baby 3.5 weeks late, back in the days when they didn't induce. Her baby was 10lbs, a girl, and definitely more aware than the average newborn, indicating that she was more than ready to come out...and her labor was the easiest of her 3 kids, she said. Her other babies (one before and one after) were only 7 lbs, but both were much longer labors. So, it is perfectly possible to deliver a healthy baby past the estimated due date without interventions. After all, they say 40 weeks, plus or minus 2 weeks!

Another farrier visit

The farrier came out again today. This is the third time he's worked on my horses this summer. The first time, the wild ones gave him a little trouble on their right hind, but eventually we got them all trimmed. The second time, we skipped their hind feet and just did their fronts, since it was super muddy in the paddock, and I didn't feel like struggling with them in my pregnant state. They were very good for their fronts. This time, I was worried, because it was really windy and chilly (about 60 degrees, but we've been used to 80-90 degrees and high humidity just two weeks ago!). It was so windy it was whipping acorns off the oak trees and they were rattling off the tin roof of the shed. But when I called the horses in from the pasture, they all came, ate some oats, and then stood calmly looking at me, despite the wind. Griffin even approached me and I haltered him right away! Kachina too. Sometimes even the "tame" ones get a little snorty about getting caught (that was how it was last time), but it was almost as though they all wanted to be caught and scratched on today. Perhaps it's the lack of flies...they don't have that frantic fly bitten feeling. I really was surprised, especially since once, when the farrier was working on Kachina, an acorn bounced off the roof and hit her in the head! She hardly reacted!

The tame ones were probably the most difficult to work on today because they were so relaxed that they just didn't want to stand up and support their own weight. They were really leaning on the farrier, and I had to keep poking at them to get them to stand up. Perhaps it's the extra couple hundred pounds they've all gained over the summer. I feel awful about the weight they've gained, but so far, no one has been "sick" from it and they'll likely lose it this winter. It's easier to ration them over the winter. With all the rain we've had this summer, the pastures (and our lawn too) have grown like crazy and there has been no shortage of graze! I'd consider Chico to be the fattest out of them all. He's very very round. I'll have to get some pictures of him. The only ones that are not fat are Cody (only because she just got back from training), Griffin and Kachina. I think Griffin is not fat because he's still growing, and Kachina just is too high strung to put on a lot of weight.

The two wild ones actually did very very well today. Both of them are still a little bit worse about their hind feet, but if the farrier just stands and lets them get used to him being back there (sometimes it's just really hard to have a human back by your butt), then they'll stand still. They each took the "bad" hoof (the right hind) away from him only once, and then let him finish with it no problem. I'd call that extremely good! All the other feet he was able to hold up until he was done without a problem. This would be great for a nice day, but to have this on a day with high winds! Awesome! I was pleased with them! Especially since I really have not done a thing with them at all this summer. A few weeks ago, I did bring them all in again for fly spray (which they accept very well because they do understand it makes icky flies go away).

Spending time with them like I did today really makes me anxious to get out and work with them again. I really can't do it yet though, and I am glad I've taken time off. It gave them a chance to just settle, and it's kept me from overdoing it. Just holding 5 horses (and having to maneuver the two wild ones into position and convince them that they COULD hold still while the farrier approached) has left me very sore. I was fine while working with them, but right now, my hips are so achey! Changing positions from sitting to standing/walking are the worse! I'm currently only 3 days away from my due date and very anxious to get my body back! I just want the aches and pains to go away! I know it will take time after baby comes, but at least I know I should be feeling better every day instead of worse!

Geldings playing

Last night I stood on the deck and watched the boys, Chico and Griffin, play for a while. Kachina joined in with them a couple of times when they involved her in it, but for the most part stayed out of it. I took a few pictures, but they turned out pretty poorly because the sun was setting. The low light and the need to use zoom made the pictures a little blurry. But I'm posting them anyway because they are entertaining. :)

Getting close

I'm 38 weeks along today! Only 2 more weeks until my due date!

Cody came home from the trainer last week

We brought Cody home from the trainer last Friday. I just haven't gotten around to posting about it, but I actually did take my camera along this time and took some pictures of the trainer riding her. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any cantering pictures because the dust created by it prevented my camera from focusing on the horses.

There were many other horses in the arena when Patti rode Cody for me. Patti has a very busy barn. She rides and trains quarter horses for showing for both herself and clients. And she trains trail horses as well. She also offers 2 lessons per month on your horse as part of the training fee to make sure you know how to ride your horse. I didn't ride her, but Patti invited me to come back later in the fall to ride with her, especially if I have any questions. She also has a small number of young women that ride horses for her, since Patti couldn't possibly do it all herself. So, in the arena, there were a couple of people there riding their own horses that Patti had trained. One it seemed was just a trail horse, but a fairly green one. The other rider seemed like she had her horse there for Patti to train for showing. In addition, there were a couple other horses there being ridden by Patti's help. One I know for sure is a show horse. The other, I wasn't sure. So, it was a pretty full arena including Cody. But, Cody did very well. She seemed to have really gotten over being afraid of other horses coming too close to her or coming up behind her.

In this picture, Cody is the horse directly behind the red dun.

Cody stood very patiently everytime Patti stopped to focus on another rider and give instructions.


Then it was time to load her up and take her home! My mom accompanied me on this trip. My husband was busy but didn't want me to drive an hour and a half away from home alone. He said he had visions of a state trooper delivering our baby on the side of a road with a horse standing in the trailer. Didn't happen, but would have made for a good story! (I'm still pregnant...8.5 months now!).


At home, we had an eager line-up of greeters, but Cody was only interested in the grass. She was stalled most of the time with only a couple hours a day on turnout. The turnouts were very green, but on closer inspection, the green was primarily all weeds and very little grass.


My mom took this picture of the wild ones. It kind of makes me smile. Kachina, the untrusting little mare that she is turns away from my mom who is holding that crazy black thing, while Griffin just looks on calmly. If I was holding the camera, Kachina wouldn't have turned away. She trusts me more :)


Cody is in fabulous condition after being in training for 2 months. She lost her pudge and gained a lot of muscle. Plus she is just sleek and fit. She is darker than when I took her there because she has already started to grow in her darker winter hair with the shortening of days. So has Chico.



The only thing I was unhappy about with Cody in training is that they trimmed her face up like a show horse. I probably wouldn't have minded them just trimming her whiskers, but they also trimmed all her whiskers (around muzzle and eyes) PLUS they trimmed her eyelashes! I never knew anyone does that and it seems like it would be so detrimental to the protection of their eyes! Cody is not a show horse. She lives in a very rugged pasture with a lot of brush, trees, and other things. She has to deal with flies and crazy weather. I was not happy about the trimmed eyelashes at all and I think one of Patti's help heard me tell my mom about it. I didn't think it was a big enough deal to address it with Patti. If I ever took her back there, I would for sure ask them not to trim her face up.

Chico was so happy that Cody was back, but she wasn't really interested in meeting her old buddies again. She was much more concerned about grass. Chico, stood at the gate hoping I'd let him out to greet her.


Here are some pictures of Griffin and Kachina, although they don't really show how much they've grown.


See, if I hold the camera, Kachina will still come right up to me!


Again, Chico really wants Cody to greet him, but Cody is too "busy".


Finally, she obliges him with a sniff.


I kept Cody in off the pasture and introduced her to it slowly this past week to make sure she didn't get sick on it. It was a non-event when I first turned her back out with the others. Well, actually, they all filed into her pen to eat her hay, while she went out and explored the pasture on her own, having not been home in a while. She kept coming back to check on them and whinny to them, but they had absolutely no interest in following her around. They just wanted to stand in the barn and eat hay. Finally, she settled and started grazing grass just outside the pen so that she could still see her buddies.

And now that she's been home for almost a week, it is interesting to see how things in the herd have changed since before she left. I think she is still the "boss", but I rarely see her pushing the other horses around at all. I think she's just happy to be back with them. Catlow is definitely lead mare. She leads, and they all follow. Cody is the first one to follow Catlow, practically right on her heels. And I think that Chico is not as attached to Cody as he used to be. I see Cody and Catlow together the most right now.

One month left!

Wow, I noticed that it's been well over a month since I last posted anything. Sorry about that, but I'm not really doing all that much with my horses right now. In fact, the summer has been so hot and uncomfortable that I'm not doing much of anything outside right now.

As of yesterday, I have exactly one month until my due date! So I guess, baby girl could come anytime now! I should post some updated pics, but I haven't taken any lately. I think I need to remedy that. I am definitely getting a big belly, but it's not too out of proportion yet. This picture is from a trip we took to go cherry picking and hiking in Door County, WI last month when I was about 7 months along.

I've seen some pregnant women with hugely protruding bellies. But, this is my first, so my stomach probably holds her in a little tighter. I promise I'll post some pictures of my current belly and of my growing horses soon!

I visited Cody at the trainer after she'd been there for a month. Cody looked great. She was fit and had settled into the training routine nicely. The trainer showed me everything she'd been learning, including how well she was doing with riding in the arena with other horses. She is also neck reining okay. Neck reining good on one side, but having a little difficulty sometimes with turning to the cue on the other side. Even though I didn't really want to keep her there another month, the trainer was very persuasive about wanting to keep her and further her more. Finances were the biggest reason I wouldn't have wanted to keep her there...I really wanted to just get a month on Cody, then possibly send Griffin to her in the fall. But my husband and I discussed it and since Cody is a forever keeper horse, while I am looking to most likely sell Griffin at some point, it is more economical to invest in Cody, since we know we will use her, she's already a great horse. But with Griffin, we are not even likely to get the cost of training back out of him if we do sell him...so, the decision was made to keep Cody there another month. Griffin's training will be delayed another year, since we still have not managed to get the round pen up this year anyway. And when we do, I've decided that I will do all his training, instead of sending him off. That should be do-able, since I won't be pregnant anymore by the time I get back to him! And now, it is almost time to pick Cody back up. She gets to stay an extra 5 days though because the trainer called me last week and said that Cody had caught a cold that was lingering, so she was going to give her 5 days off. This year has been a really bad year for respiratory infections...I've seen several cases of pneumonia in cows when I've gone out with the dairy vet. It's just been so wet and warm this year. Thankfully, Cody doesn't have pneumonia, but she does need her rest.

I feel bad that I haven't spent much time with my horses lately. But I see them everyday. I try to give them all scratches when I fill their water tank, but sometimes they are not all down at the barn. However, lately, I've noticed that they are spending a lot of time in the barn trying to stay away from flies, and the few times I've seen them out the pasture, they've been really irritated by flies. I've been trying to avoid putting fly stuff on them because it always inadvertantly gets on me too, and I don't want to expose my unborn child to pesticides. I have wiped fly stuff on them before the farrier comes though. But they were being driven so crazy that I decided I needed to get out there and get them all wiped/sprayed right away. I decided to try spraying them because it's faster than wiping and easier for me, since I don't have to bend over to get to their legs (hard to do now that I'm so big), However, I always fear that spraying means more exposure to me, especially if the horse dances around a bit while I apply it. I decided to risk it anyway. None of these horses have been sprayed since last summer, and Catlow can sometimes get a little dancy about it anyway, so I was concerned...but they actually all stood perfectly! I know that they knew the spray makes the flies go away. I did Catlow first, and she did jump at the first sound of the sprayer, but then stood perfectly still, and I did every inch of her whole body. By the time I was done, she was standing in complete relaxation with her head low and her eyes half closed and didn't even move an inch after I let her go (I caught them all in the barn and sprayed them in there). One by one, I got every horse. And I swear when I got to Griffin's turn, he was waiting for me to get to him because he approached me, I haltered him no problem and he didn't move a muscle the whole time I sprayed him. Kachina was last, and even she didn't move around at all. Darn smart mustangs. They impressed me today. They didn't forget a single thing about being sprayed with fly spray from last summer. After everyone was thoroughly coated, I was so amused by the look of utter relaxation and bliss on their faces. For the first time in a while, they had no flies biting them! And I don't think I got any spray on me. I made sure to stand upwind, and since they were all standing so still, I didn't have to worry about getting on the wrong side of the wind.

We've been working on quite a few projects around our house this summer.

The garden is giving me tons of tomatoes now.

I've started canning. So far I've canned lots of green beans...

..,some jam (jalapeno-apricot jam is so yummy), and a batch of stewed tomatoes, including cherry tomatoes.

Next I am going to try canning salsa. I've already dug up all my onions because they were finished growing. Most were kinda small because the soil is not the greatest in our garden. Broccoli is giving us lots, carrots are big enough to eat, although I want to let them keep growing till fall. And we have a couple ripe squash already! We ate a delicata and a japanese curry squash just the other night and they were awesome. I need to get some pictures up of my giant hubbard squash. I haven't tried to pic any of them yet, but they sure are huge!

Another project that goes along with the garden is our cold room in the basement. We started that this spring, and with the hot muggy weather, it became fun to work on it in the cool basement again, so we just finished it this week. It will be a great place to store all our squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, and canned goods!


The garden has been a big project, but we also put in a flowerbed with a retaining wall near our deck. It turned out to be a huge project because we got some advice from a professional landscaper friend, but we are finally done with it! The yard was really tore up for a while. All this equipment is part of Todd's irrigation business, but it came in really handy when we were digging out the wall and filling the bed!


Finished product!


Because we put in the flowerbed, we then had to reseed in our yard because it got all tore up, so we are currently in the process of getting some better topsoil in from some of the cow pastures so that the grass will grow a little better than it had. We'll get some good topsoil for the garden too before we plant next year.

Another project that turned out really well was putting a door on the back side of our house to go into the laundry room. We had a local contractor do that and also build a small deck off the back door. This door will be so convenient for entering with dirty/manure-y clothes. Plus, the deck is big enough to put one of those circular clotheslines on so we will try to save energy by line drying a lot of our clothes. And I want to do cloth diapers with the baby, so the line will come in handy with drying those too! And all just out the back door!

The back door will also be convenient for accessing the chicken coop that we are still working on getting finished. The chicks and turkeys are rapidly outgrowing their little pen and are ready for their permanent coop. We just need to get that done now.




And of course, the last big project that we are working on is getting the baby's room ready! My sister's are throwing me a baby shower this weekend, so that should be a big help in getting ready, but we do already have a crib, a changing table, and some dressers.

So, I promise to get some pictures of my 8 months pregnant belly, and some of the horses up soon. Griffin has grown so much, both in size and in his attitude toward me - he's actually become quite trusting of me without me even doing anything with him. I'm really excited to work with him, once I'm no longer pregnant and the weather cools off. I'll also try to remember to get pictures of Cody at the trainer when we go visit her next.

Update on Cody at the trainer

Cody has been with the trainer for 2 weeks now. I called yesterday to see how she is doing and got a return call today. Patti said that the first day they worked with her, Cody acted like she'd just been ridden last week (when in reality it was last fall!). I was pleased to hear that. She's never had a break this long before, so it's good to know she is a horse than I don't have to consistently work with to be able to trust. She said Cody is doing great, but she feels like she lopes like a young horse (uncoordinated and uncollected). I've loped her a lot in the past in arena and on trails, but she was very overweight and pretty out of shape when I took her to the trainer this summer, so that could have something to do with it. She also said that she was dropping her shoulder out on circles, but that's typical when a horse hasn't been ridden in a while. Cody's biggest problem, the trainer said, is that she is afraid of the other horses when ridden in the arena with them! I was surprised, since I've ridden her a ton with other horses, but I guess I've never ridden her in huge groups with horses coming up behind her and passing her. She said she is better when they ride toward her, but horses coming up behind her really scares her. So, she's working her through those issues and now she'll introduce her to a bit with a shank and start teaching her to really respond to neck reining cues. The trainer would really like to keep her for two months, but I really just want to do one month. I know she'd benefit, but we have a lot of expenses coming up soon with a baby, plus I'd maybe like to send Griffin to her this fall (if I ever get the round pen in and start working with him). So, I need to keep that in mind. I think she'll benefit from just one month too. But, overall, I was pleased her hear about how she was doing. I was unsure, since she's been a pasture ornament since last fall. Good to hear there were no attitude issues or laziness.