29 weeks and still snowing!

We have had a fun few weeks! The Fur Rhondy was February 28-March 8. Brandy was able to run the 5K in the Frostbite Footrace in town (Matt had to drive to Whittier for a boarding that morning :( . We saw the Running of the Reindeer, big crowds and very difficult to see... picture the runningof the bulls but with people dressed in costumes being chased by horny male reindeer running towards a female reindeer in heat. I was not impressed, I thought it was kind of cruel... oh well. This Saturday we saw the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. The dogs were so happy running with their tongues wagging and little booties on their feet. We skipped the crowded downtown and found a spot on the trail at Goose Lake Park to wave and take pictures. Such an awesome experience. We feel really lucky to be able to see something like this. In mama/baby world things are great, still running, napping a little more and still gaining in size! Bryce is more active than ever. Dad is very supportive and must be the most amazing man in the world, we are very lucky to have him. Love love love! 11 weeks to go and we are so excited, very excited that the fam will be out here this summer!!!!

27 weeks

I cant believe we still have 13 weeks left! I am growing bigger by the day, and it isnt just the belly. EVERYTHING seems to be getting bigger. We are still going to the gym, at least four times a week, still running under a ten minute mile, so I cant really worry too much about that scale. Alhough, I have to admit, there are a few dishes that I probably would forego 27 weeks ago! I am going to enjoy it while I can! Matt has been helping getting the baby room together, he installed ceiling fans in our bedroom and Bryce's... we never have the heat on and it is always insanely warm in here, go figure! We only have to pick up the bassinet and the crib needs to be delivered and we are set! The nesting has begun, we cleaned the heck out of this house today! Here is a picture from last week.

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!!!!

Count down to a Moose Free Zone!

We are getting ready to head back east. We have been counting this down for some months now. I am not sure what we miss more friends, family, dunkin donuts or living in a blue state. :) Here are a few pictures from the day to day happenings. A few moose got into our neighbors yard, we got a lot of snow, so much so that Matt had to shovel the deck because it was leaking through the garage... out the electrical socket! Matt got us a night at Alyeska for our one year anniversary and then we went snowshoeing. Oh and Brandy has been a baking mad woman lately while Matt has started brewing some more!

4 months!

Today we are four months pregnant! Brandy finally decided to retire the heals and embrace maternity wear. Matt says his pants are a little tight and he left home with a button undone yesterday :) People who we didnt tell are noticing that i am pregnant and others seem to be a little more kind. So far I am loving being pregnant! We went to the Coast Guard Holiday party on Thursday, brought a jar full of m&ms and left with lotions... sigh. You cant win them all! We have been more social the last few weeks, it is really helping us get through the 5 hours of daylight in AK and single digit weather. We have so much to be thankful for right now that the daylight and weather isnt really phasing us! Loving life!!!! Missing our family! We cant wait to be in New England in a couple of weeks!