Winter Wonderland

Ever since Peter and I moved to the Willamette Valley, we've scoffed at what the locals call a "snowstorm." The anemic skiff of white stuff that usually passes as snow around here and sends motorists into a panic hardly causes us born-and-bred Eastern Oregonians to blink an eye. This week, however, has been different. We have gotten snowfall after snowfall, and this is what I would call a decent accumulation. Schools have been closing all over the place (except the one I work for), people are putting chains and snow tires on their cars, and you can see a snowman in every third or fourth yard as you drive down the street. It's pretty refreshing to see this much snow, and it really reminds me of winters past.

Let's see, what has happened since my last post? Two weekends ago, we took Solomon for his first trip to the zoo. Needless to say, it was a major hit. He liked the bears so much that he asked to go down there with them in their enclosure. I calmly explained why that wouldn't be a good idea, but he still liked them anyway. His favorite exhibits were the black bears, the tigers, the elephants (they have a 3 month-old baby one at the Oregon Zoo), and the hippos. He actually laughed out loud when he saw the hippos lumbering about. It turned out that we were a bit ill-prepared for the trip - it was a cold morning, and although Solomon was well-bundled, Peter and I had to buy hats and gloves for ourselves at the zoo's gift shop. We also forgot to bring our snacks into the zoo with us, so Solomon didn't last quite as long as we were hoping. But all in all, it was a grand success and a lot of fun.

This past week has been so snowy and I've had such a bad cold that I missed every day of work except for today. I know, what a slacker. I spent all day Wednesday and Thursday asleep in bed. I'm not sure what was wrong with me, but I sure felt like poo. I woke up this morning feeling much better, though.

On Tuesday we had an appointment with the OB (actually it was with the NP). We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat for the first time! It was so cool to hear that rapid little "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" sound. The NP said that the baby is measuring a little small and I'm carrying it very low, but everything is just fine and the baby is doing great. We scheduled our ultrasound to find out for sure that it's a girl (note my confidence) for January 6th. I'll definitely keep you all posted as to the results!

We hope everyone has a very warm and merry Christmas!

Love,
The Willises