One Month to Go!

Lillian only has one month left to "cook"!  Our estimated due date is one month from today and we are READY.  We have been preparing for parenthood for a year and a half, so we have no excuse not to be ready!  With all the amazing hand-me-down clothes we receive from Lillian's cousins, Holden and Layla, she is going to be one well dressed little girl!  I've been able to share the wealth with a couple friends who are also expecting little girls. 
Her nursery is complete.  Holden and Everett help break it in, every time they come over, they take out their old toys and say "I have one just like this".  It doesn't seem to occur to them that mom has cleaned out their toy bins and sent their baby toys my way! 



Our friend Sarah gave Lillian the changing pad & cover with the cute monkey!  Coincidentally, our friend Amy gave her the cute basket with a matching monkey that fits nicely on the table next to it, holding all her diaper necessities!



Mike built these shelves for Lillian and I filled them up in no time!  The elephant on the left is a night light from Uncle Robert and Aunt Casey from Thailand!  The finger puppets are from grandma, the books are a conglomerate from several friends.  The L I L Y is from Leslie and fits the wall just right.  The "Lily, You are my Sunshine" is a handmade gift from Aunt Kim.  The elephant is a handmade drawing from Holden.  And the two white circles on the top shelf center stage, are Lillian's guardian angels, her twin brothers foot prints.



The safari animals are pictures from Mike and Aunt Cathy's trip to Africa 5 years ago, when they climbed Kilimanjaro.  We "babied" them up by adding whimsical safari animals to the mats.  The double bed is a reminder of how small our house is!  It won't fit down the stairs for the basement bedroom, so it stays.  Holden & Everett are sleeping over tonight, but I have a feeling Courtney will be using it alot this summer so Mike can get some sleep!



And finally, the glider where I will spend countless hours snuggling this little girl tight.  We draped Nanny Kay's hand stitched quilt on the back so it has a prominent position in the room! 



I'm 36 weeks pregnant and definitely slowing down!  Yard work is extremely difficult.  I try so hard to pull a few weeds here and there but have to take a break, the old lady garden kneeler pad helps a lot, but I still have to get up and move it from time to time.  So needless to say, Mike has ramped up his garden participation this season!  He planted lettuce, spinach, onions and carrots last weekend.  It'll be a few more weeks till we can safely plant other vegetables in Colorado. 

Our baby chicks are growing nicely, Mike will have the chicken coop complete by the end of this weekend.  And not a moment too soon - they're outgrowing their Rubbermaid tub in the shower!  Stay tuned - pictures of this handcrafted chicken coop will be coming soon!

Our New Arrival

No Lillian didn't come early, but we do have 3 new arrivals in the house!

    

Last weekend Mike and I drove to a farm north of Denver and picked up our long awaited baby chicks.  We ordered them back in February from an ad on Craigslist.  Mike's been teasing me about getting chickens and a goat to help keep us more self-sustainable for years now.  While the goat is still a little too much to contemplate, I agreed chickens wouldn't be that much much work (and more important they won't wreak havoc on my garden like a goat would!). 

Of course, the family had to come over and meet the chicks.  I wasn't sure how Holden and Everett would react but both warmed up to them right away!

As I took this picture of Everett, he spoke his first clear sentence any of us can remember.  He quite clearly said "She is so cute!".  The next morning as Kim drove him to school he cried the whole way saying, "Courtney's House!, "Courtney's House!".  I guess my chicks have won him over!

Most of our friends and family are really excited for us and hopeful that we'll share fresh eggs with them!  But there are a few naysayers in our lives who think getting chickens just weeks before our baby arrives is a little crazy.  I think a lot of this doubt is stemmed from people just not understanding what raising chickens is all about.  We've done our research, Mike is in the process of building a chicken coop right now.  The most important requirement is keeping them safe.  Chickens are easy prey to wild animals.  Our neighborhood is home to fox and raccoons, but, I'm more concerned about keeping Droste out! 

The chicks live in a Rubbermaid tote in our downstairs bathroom with a heat lamp on them 24 hours a day.  It won't be long till they're too big for that tote!  They've already doubled in size since last weekend when we brought them home!

March Madness

Yeah, I know it's April now and March Madness is over, but the title is still appropriate!  Before Rob and Andrew got lost in the woods (which seems like months ago not last weekend!).  Casey hosted the most wonderful baby shower for me and little Miss Lillian, with a March Madness theme of course! 

For those of you who don't know, my sister Casey, is the most wonderful chef! 

And my sister-in-law, Kim is the craftiest person I have ever met, she created all these awesome decorations!

 (check out some of her other creations and redecorating ideas on her blog  http://kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com/ )

The two of them create masterpieces, magazine worthy.

Casey further incorporated the March Madness theme into the baby games by creating a bracket game of her own!  All guests signed up as they arrived, she paired us up and we raced to see who could gulp an ounce of water out of a baby bottle first.

I have the best girlfriends, and Lillian is so lucky have so much love and support already.

Mike and I are overwhelmed with STUFF!  Does one little girl really need so much?  We asked our friends to please keep it simple.  I requested hand-me-downs, consignment gifts and of course hand made gifts (which I treasure the most!).  My friend Kay made this hand made blanket...

It was the most talked about gift at the shower for sure!  She cross stitched the whole darn thing, depicting what she hopes Lily looks like (if she has straight brown hair we may have to give her a perm Kay said!).  I cannot even imagine the hours and love that was poured into making this blanket.  Kay embroidered her name in the bottom right corner, this blanket will be Lily's favorite for many years to come. 

Thank you Nanny Kay!

My mom also wowed everyone with her creativity.  She gave me three outfits that I wore as a baby along with a picture of me wearing each outfit.  Several of my friends who are mothers already looked at each other and said, "I would never have thought to keep things like that!".  How organized is she?

I can't wait to introduce Lily to this world!
Stay tuned for pictures of her nursery as I get it organized!

Counting our Blessings

Tonight the Hanou / Burns / Kerschen families are counting our blessings and holding each other a little tighter.  We are recovering from a horrible ordeal with the happiest of endings.  My brother-in-law, Rob and his brother, Andrew went on their Annual Hut trip this weekend to Aspen. Hut trips are common year-round fun for Coloradans.  These 10th Mountain Division huts, built in the 1930's and 40's to help train military troops for combat in high altitude, are rentable through the Forest Service.  There is no road in or out of these huts, access is only available by foot, or snowmobiles.  Rob and Andrew and two of their friends, Dan and Matt, hiked to the Goodwin Green Hut outside of Aspen Saturday and were to return to their car Monday at noon, by 5pm when their wives and girlfriends still hadn't heard from them we began to worry.

These four men are all experienced hikers. They have hiked this exact hut trip the last 5 years in a row. It is a very extreme trip, some huts are easier and more "family friendly", but these guys are in to the challenge of the more extreme climb and adventure. The mountains between Aspen and Crested Butte are very steep. If you get turned around it is very easy to get lost. That being said, their departure day - was a complete white-out. The area received an estimated 40 inches of snow creating very dangerous conditions.

After calling the forest service Monday afternoon we were informed that Search and Rescue won't begin a search until hikers have been missing 24 hours.  It had only been 5 and we were sick with worry.  Mike, wasted no time.  He is very modest about his roll in bringing Rob and Andrew home safely, in fact he is still beating himself up a bit for not being able to find them sooner, however, I think I speak for all families involved when I say, just having Mike up there gave us piece of mind in the 48 hours that followed.  Without him being there, our feelings of helplessness would have been much stronger. 

Mike contacted a few friends who live in the Vail/Aspen area and organized his own search.  Michael (a groomsmen in our wedding and the reason Mike and I met 8 years ago!), John and Sean are experienced mountain men with good equipment and access to snowmobiles.  Mike left in the middle of the night, equipped with excellent Topo maps Ian made for him; picked up Michael and met John and Sean in Aspen at first light.  They hiked and canvased the area for 10 hours before Casey, Meaghan and Sara (the other wives) were finally able to get the Sheriffs office to send a trooper out. 

At 5 pm yesterday, Michael finally spoke directly to the sheriff and convinced them to get the official search started.  Mike was exhausted and utterly disappointed that his full day of hiking and trekking through 40 inches of fresh snow turned up nothing.  When he called to report that he and Michael were on their way to the Search and Rescue office to meet with the sheriff's department and the Mountain Rescue, we were ecstatic.  Finally, some help, but by now it was getting dark, again.  The night before had dropped to 5 degrees, we were praying that Rob, Andrew and crew had made it back to their hut and spent the night safe and warm.  We were confident that they were going to hike out and meet up with Mike Tuesday morning.  Now we knew they were about to spend a second night in the woods, probably sleeping in the snow.  It was very hard to keep our spirits up. 

I picked up Casey and Meaghan after work Tuesday and took them to my house, they had been home alone all day struggling with who to notify and counting the minutes.  Ian and Kim came to our rescue with food, tabloid magazines and the best distraction of all, a two and four year old!  Together we talked about all the possible scenarios Rob and Andrew could be facing, careful not to let ourselves think the worst; avalanches and injuries.  We kept our spirits up by talking about things we would say to Rob and Andrew when we talked to them again, joking that the boys were "grounded". 

Search and Rescue finally made it to the hut on snowmobile at 9:15 Tuesday night. Rob & crew had been at the hut, signed the log book, and did not leave any personal belongings. Good news because that proved they made it to the hut on Saturday and had only been missing since Monday. Bad news, because that meant the search was called off for the night.  We would know nothing more till morning. 

Our families were obviously distraught, no one slept Tuesday night, Ian was cursing himself for not going up to help, Casey and the girls were helpless in Denver, Mike was sleeping alone in a Glenwood Springs Hotel room wishing he could hold me.  Casey and I took our cell phones to bed with us and talked each other to sleep in the dark.  Finally morning came.   Casey and the girls drove to Aspen, Ian and Rob & Andrew's friend, Scott also drove to Aspen.  Casey and Meaghan contacted a private helicopter company and Search and Rescue gassed up two of their planes but it was snowing again and visibility was too poor for flying.

Finally at 11:45 AM Wednesday, literally 48 hours after their expected return, the Aspen Search and Rescue team located all four men safe 8 miles from the hut in the wrong direction.  They were closer to Crested Butte than Aspen.  So unfortunately, Casey and the girls had to drive to Crested Butte, which in good weather would be a 2 hour drive, but both passes that take you there were closed, turning their drive into 6 hours.  What a happy 6 hours that was for them!  I haven't heard from Casey since she met up with Rob again, but I imagine they're holding each other pretty tight tonight just as the rest of our families are too.  We're anxious to hear Rob's side of the story, but confident we will all sleep sound tonight.  This was our first encounter with the Colorado Search and Rescue Department, we have EXTREME respect for what they do and plan to make a Christmas Donation to the organization, but I really hope it was our last personal encounter with them!

Costa Rica...ahhh

It has taken me over a week to post about our wonderful trip to the "Rich Coast".  We came home a little too relaxed I guess!  What a great babymoon we had!

Mike and I l feel as though we had 2 vacations within one trip.  We spent our first half of the week inland, visiting Arenal, swimming in hot springs, taking daily seistas (ok sometimes twice daily!), hiking, eating delicious local food (they call it "typical" food), exploring small villages, and attempting to converse with Spanish speaking locals.  The volcano in Arenal is still active.  Supposedly, you can see sparks coming from the volcano on a clear night, but, you guessed it, the two nights we stayed in La Fortuna were cloudy!  We were fortunate enough to get a clear glimpse of the volcano during the day:

We took a hike around Arenal, our hike was not even close to the caliber of hiking Mike and I are used to doing.  As much as I hate to admit it, hiking while 7 months pregnant (in humidity especially) is not easy!  But, the scenery was so beautiful, we weren't disappointed!

We followed a trail map to a waterfall, a couple of suspension bridges and a few other key points.  Also, listed on the map was a house.  We're still not sure why there was a house in the middle of the national park, or who the lucky occupant was.  But, as we approached the house, a cat walked up to us on the trail. I was very skeptical of this "kitty" but it took a quick liking to Mike brushing up against his leg.  I, on the other hand was hiding behind Mike.  I kept saying, "Are you sure it's just a cat?"  Mike said, "Of course, I'm sure".  Just then the cat meowed - but this was no normal meow - the kitty growled at us!  Needless to say, my hiking speed picked up a little at that point!  Here is the quick snapshot we were able to take as we sped away:

And here is what we discovered after a little research when we got home:

The "kitty" Mike was petting, was actually a Margay, or a miniature Ocelot.  It is about the size of a house cat, only more muscular, larger eyes and it DOESN'T have a collar!  After talking to some locals and reading up on local wildlife in a gift shop, we discovered, that this cat is very rare and near extinction, most locals have never seen one, and it just walked right up to us!

Our very wise friend, Margee was in Costa Rica last fall and highly recommended we visit the Tabercon Hot Springs, saying it's well worth the high cost of admission.  Mike raised his eye brows as he handed over the almost $200 we spent to enter what we both would normally consider a tourist trap but in the end we feel, Margee was right.  It was money well spent!  I thoroughly enjoyed floating in the water, soaking up the sun, seeing the beautifully landscaped surrounding gardens, going down the water slide (yes, Mike dared me to do it - I drew quite the reaction let me tell you!) and Mike relaxed with a few cocktails in the swim-up bar.  We had the best Sea Bass ceviche for lunch!  Margee was right, it was sensational!

 

Like I said, this was two vacations in one.  After spending two a a half days staying in small privately owned motels like this one:

where a local Tico woman made us breakfast every morning and spoke nothing but Spanish (when we explained we didn't speak Spanish, she spoke faster!). 

We drove west to the Pacific shore to meet up with Mike's dad and sister who were in Costa Rica attending the Michigan State Medical Conference.  Cathy, actually was presenting at this conference, not just attending.  The all-inclusive hotel we stayed at for the remainder of our trip was not a small privately owned motel, to say the least! 

We gorged ourselves with delicious food 3 times a day, caught up with Cathy & Dad and best of all got to spend some good 1 on 1 time with our niece Layla who we don't get to see often enough.  Cathy wasn't able to bring Johnny on this trip because he can't get a US passport until he's been with Cathy for two years. 

Mike, Cathy and Dad ziplined through the trees with a bunch of their medical conference friends, but Layla and I had to stay behind.....ziplining is one of many activities Costa Ricans consider me too fragile to partake in. 

Apparently, in Costa Rica I can have a cocktail (practically every bartender offered me a drink), but I can't paddle boat, kayak, horseback ride or, get this, snorkel.  Seriously, I think my pregnant belly would keep me afloat better than most of the overweight people they did rent too!  Fortunately, Bill & Vicky Hughes were at the Medical Conference too and Vicky loaned me her flippers and snorkel gear.  We saw all sorts of cool fish but best of all, when we came out of the water, we saw monkeys swinging from the trees right there on the beach!  Sorry, none close enough to take a picture of.  But I did get a great picture of Layla trying on the flippers too...

There is so much more I could tell you about our trip but this post is already longer than I wanted it to be!  We ended our vacation back in San Jose, ironically, our friend Heather was there for a night too (she's a flight attendant for Frontier!). We met up with her on our last night, closing out an awesome vacation!

 

New Chapter, Old Friends

It's hard to believe 12 years ago this summer, Erica Savino and Courtney Hanou got in a teal green two door Mercury Cougar and drove west!  The car had Erica's name detailed on the driver's side door - I kid you not.  We were fresh out of college, eager to start a new chapter in our life and most of all, we were confident we could always go home to mom and dad if our big move to Colorado was a flop. 

Well, I guess we're here to stay!  Erica & Darren Wright are expecting their first, a little girl anyday now. Even though Erica and I don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, it's so nice to know she's only a phone call away.  I'm so happy we're beginning another new chapter together....

Milestone

Today I am 26 weeks and one day pregnant.  I realize that is not a milestone to most pregnant women, but to Mike and I, it marks a significant anniversary.  I was 26 weeks and one day pregnant with the boys when we found out they were gone.  The last few mornings, while I lie in bed, I roll over on my back and turn this little girls world upside down.  It seems to work - she gets all disoriented and flops around inside me.  She may be uncomfortable but Mike and I just smile at each other knowing she's doing alright in there. 

There are so many differences between these two pregnancies.   We thought today would be a good day to reflect back a little and point out the positives of this pregnancy:

• I eat and drink like a normal person!  I'm not bound to drinking a gallon of water a day and adding protein powder to EVERYTHING.
• I have normal Courtney energy so far - I workout at home or at the gym with Mike everyday, work is great, and I sill have energy to go out occasionally too.
• I can still put my own shoes and socks on! (But I appreciate that spring is on it's way and I can wear sandals soon!)
• My body and face still look like me - I'm not all puffy from the added protein and fluid.
• We aren't visiting the doctor every week (although it would be fun to see her more often!)

Some of you know this already, but Mike and I have decided on a name for this little girl.  We've been calling her Lillian from the get-go and it's stuck.  We both can't think of her as anything other than Lily.  So, rather than waiting until she's born to make this BIG announcement, we're telling you now because I can't refer to her as "little girl" anymore!  We talk to Lillian all the time and it's become very difficult not to type her name in this blog! 

****Father's Note:  We are still accepting bids for the middle naming rights! Whoever pledges the biggest 529 contribution gets the name! (just kidding)  Stay tuned for middle name possibilities coming soon.****