6 month celebration in the cold

Today we are six months pregnant! Feeling so darn good that we got up, got some amazing warm bread from Great Harvest, then some more food from Cafe Felix and sat by their fire and read. We grabbed our snow pants and headed to Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and hiked/walked the 3 or 4 miles into the downtown for some soup and hot chocolate and to defrost. We then hiked the 3 or 4 miles back to the car, a little faster because the sun was starting to set. What an amazing place we live in. It was a great way to celebrate how blessed we are to be so healthy with this pregnancy. We dragged ourselves back and are trying to defrost. Here are a few belly shots for month six as well as the incredible views here in Anchorage.

Bryce Keene Richards

These are a little old... almost a month overdue. Check out our little acrobat. I think he looks like his dad. I cant believe I have to wait 4 more months to meet him!

Who will he look like?

Amazing People, Christmas and a Baby Shower!

We are in week 20 and cannot hide the fact that Brandy has a bun in the oven! A net gain of 10-12 pounds depending on the day, maternity wear (thanks mom for the stylish new wear!) and absolutely no heels are not helping the spirits, but the halfway mark and a recent visit back east sure helped... oh and not to mention the most incredible husband in the world!

We made our way back to Boston (an easy 10 hour flight) and made our travel straight to a Dunkin Donuts before we called home (sorry Moms and dad!) for a french vanilla iced coffee (decaf for mama) and bagel sandwich... ahhhh. We had been jonesin'. We made our stay at the Richards Inn and breakfast (best meal in town... especially when guest chef Karen comes over to assist master chef papa-in-law, Matt!). Christmas time was spent between the two families and we even got to see a few friends in the mix of it all. We definitly didnt get to see anyone as much as we would have liked to. All the babies are growing so much while we were away the last six months. It is sad to think that we might not see them for another year. Mama-in-law Cheryl and auntie-to-be Traci hosted a babyshower with a lot of help from family. What an amazing spread. It was so nice to see the ladies from both of Matt's family together, along with a few of my missed friends! We appreciate the help that everyone gave us, it will be much needed. Now I just have to wait for the nesting to kick in and we can shop and decorate!

New Years Eve was spent slumbering... first time ever that we were in bed at 10am... I dont regret it. I cant get enough sleep! We are back to work, business as usual. It is a nosehair freezing ten below outside our house (thanks to our nifty LL Bean gift from grandma dutra!). We are lucky that we have so much to look forward to in the next few months, otherwise we can see how this weather can be daunting for some. We are still lovin' life!!!!