San Diego ZOO

We came across one of those rare weekends in our life where Adam actually had time off, like the WHOLE weekend!!! So Saturday morning we decided to shoot down to San Diego to go to the see and explore the surrounding areas as well. With our hotel reservation set and our plan to get a zoo membership so we could come and go as we pleased we headed south down the coast. Tons of beautiful scenery driving through the Laguna Hills and alongside the Pacific coast we wanted to stop and take pics every mile but we timed our drive with Caroline's nap so that meant no funny business. We arrived for our morning session at the zoo and first order of business was Caroline's favorite animal, the giraffes. The San Diego Zoo has a several neat interactive times with a handful of the animals including feeding the giraffes. So we paid our fare and Caroline got to feed the giraffe, the pictures tell the rest of the story better.


We spent the rest of the day exploring the Mission Beach area and had dinner and an early bedtime at the hotel. The next morning we got up for some breakfast and headed to Sunset Cliffs (We know Sunset Cliffs in the morning?? good job). We headed back to the zoo and saw the other half of the park including the polar bear section and a skyfari tram ride. With Caroline's afternoon nap approaching we grabbed lunch and hopped back in the car to head home.


Moving all over the country has certainly had its drawbacks but getting to explore a new city and what it has to offer has always been something we have enjoyed. Lots more to check out in SoCal and we look forward to sharing it with you.

A New Year, A New Home

Well... most of you already know that we have moved to Los Angeles, and if you didn't know you are reading this thinking to yourself, 'THEY MOVED AGAIN?!?'.

Just before Christmas, we were presented with the opportunity to move to LA and join the LA Galaxy. After several weeks of getting the trade done, we prepared ourselves for the long move from coast to coast. I came out for preseason camp at the end of January while Ashley and Caroline stayed in Richmond until the craziness of preseason ended. That gave me enough time to find an apartment, the winner landed us in Long Beach about 2 miles to two different beaches but the one we frequent most is Seal Beach.

We have been in our apartment 4 weeks now and it is really starting to feel like home. Pictures are on the wall, boxes are stored away, clothes unpacked, and our last order of business is adding a little decoration to the princess' room. Ashley has some good ideas and now its a matter of putting it together and finding the right pieces of furniture. We are also still missing our pups who have stayed home to help make the transition as smooth as possible but they will be flying out in a couple weeks.

Plenty of pictures will be coming along with multiple posts backdated to show some of the sights we have seen so far. Thanks to everyone for their help and encouragement during our westward expansion and please come visit soon.

Adam, Ashley, and Caroline....

Long Beach Aquarium

On the recommendation of a friend of ours out here in LA, we decided to check out the Long Beach Aquarium. The price of a membership was only a bit more than admission for a single trip, so we decided to become members for a year and go to the aquarium whenever we wanted.

Good thing Caroline absolutely loved it. Although is was a rainy, nasty day and we really didn't get to enjoy all the outdoor activities in about an hour we saw half of the aquarium not including any of the shows or demonstrations.

Caroline loved seeing all the fish and laughed for 15 mintues watching the seals and sea lions fly past us as we leaned against the glass. I found these couple pictures that give an idea, we didn't fuss with the camera for our short trip. More trips to the aquarium in the future.

4 Month Visit

Caroline had her 4 month check-up today. She has grown to 15 pounds 10 ounces (90th percentile) and is almost 27 inches long (97th percentile). She used her time with the doctor to show of her talking skills and even attempted to roll over which fooled the doctor into thinking this was her 6 month check up. Caroline also got her shots which she fussed about for a few minutes but got over it pretty quick. We are adding rice cereal to her diet and working on a little different bed time schedule. All in all we have a happy healthy baby.

The New Camera

So for our 3rd wedding anniversary Ashley and I decided to go for a group present and upgrade our camera situation. We went with the Canon 7d with a kit lens and also a 50mm f/1.4 portrait lens. So far through day 2 we have taken over 600 pictures, mostly of Caroline. Some those pictures will be appearing tomorrow. Cant wait to use this bad boy more and get some great shots though we have a lot to learn to step up our photography.

Supervised tummy time

Rollie Pollie

Wednesday marked Caroline's first roll from back to stomach. She has been working on this skill for a while but just couldn't flip all the way over. She was lying on our ottoman while mom was watching her and she swung her right leg over and a little off the edge of the ottoman and used the momentum to flip. She would have continued to roll had mom not been there to catch her. Guess there is no more unsupervised couch time.

This Circus Life

Since being traded in early February life has been relatively calm, apart from selling our house, packing and moving, driving halfway cross country, finding a new apartment, living in hotels out of suitcases, flying all over the place, and oh yeah Ashley is 32 weeks pregnant.

In the past few weeks Ashley has been stationed in our house in KC. Managing work, the dogs, and dealing with realtors kicking her our of the house every couple hours for showings, not to mention the constant packing and cleaning. Fortunately the house sold in 8 days thanks to her hard work. Meanwhile I spent 2 weeks in Florida in preseason playing in 4 games and trying to help with all the tasks at home through comfort and support.

On the move again...

This post is coming a little late, but just in case you haven't heard, Adam was traded to DC almost two weeks ago...right after my last post about being sad that he was on his pre-season trip. He called me on a Wednesday morning, early...this is how our two-minute conversation went:

Adam: "Hey Ash!"
Me: "Hey, good morning! You're calling early..."
Adam: "Well...Ash...we definitely live a life full of adventure..."
(me thinking, "uh oh...")
Adam: "Peter just called me into his office and let me know that I've been traded to DC."
Me: "Oh my gosh. Are you kidding?"
Adam:"Nope, I think they're flying me back this afternoon. (pause) Hey Ash, can I call you back? I think DC is calling through..."
(me: silently screaming/crying/freaking out).
Me: "Uh, oh, okay! Talk to you soon!"
(me: "Aaaaahhhhhh!")

I'm not sure I've ever had quite so many things running through my head at the same time. Thoughts: Thrilled - we're moving "home!" close to family and friends; In the dark - not knowing how soon we'll have to move, what we'll do about the house, what I'll do about my doctor's appointments, where I'll have our baby; will Adam be there for Muffin's birth? When will he join the team? Oh my gosh, we're not going to live in our house anymore...but we just finished muffin's nursery! (insert tears) But, we're going to be near so many people we love! Muffin will have her grandparents nearby; Where are we going to live? When will we have time to find a place? How will we afford it? DC is expensive. Overwhelmed - we'll have to sell the house. How am I going to sell the house by myself? What needs to be done? Oh my gosh, I'm swamped with work, how am I going to do this? What if no one likes our house? What about the pups? How will they transition? I'm exhausted. How am I going to keep the house spotless? When am I going to pack? When's the next time I'll see Adam...and so on...and so on.

After hours of freaking out, my 28-week doctor's appointment, and trying to stay focused on my work, Adam flew back to Kansas City. I picked him up at the airport on Wednesday night, and like he always does, he calmed me down...talked me through all of the possibilities, and we began to make plans.

Our plan: Adam's flying back to DC on Sunday to join the team before their two and a half week trip to Bradenton, FL. We're going to sell the house. In the time Adam's in Kansas (Thursday-Saturday), we'll pack as much as we can, clean the entire house, talk to our realtor, and stage the house. Adam will fly back to Kansas City from Bradenton the last weekend in February. My dad will fly in from Richmond to help us finish packing and from there, we'll drive both cars the 16 1/2 hours back to Virginia. Dad will take the pups to Richmond, and Adam and I will drive to DC to begin looking for a place to live, find a doctor and a hospital to deliver Muffin. Then, I'll drive back to Richmond for the remainder of Adam's pre-season training. Adam will be making a few more trips with DC team and then we'll hopefully reconvene in DC, move into an apartment, and start to get settled. So, for almost three weeks, the plan is that I'll stay in Kansas City to try and sell the house, pack/organize more, and prepare for the move.

How the plan has played out so far: Adam ended up not flying back to DC at all because of all the snow they got. The city was paralyzed for the most part and the team decided it made more sense to fly Adam straight to Bradenton on Tuesday. So, lucky for me, I had his help (and reassurance) for a few more days. In retrospect, I have no idea what I would have done without him there with me because he was unbelievably helpful and calming...reminding me what was important and that we could get through it...one step at a time. So, we scheduled realtor appointments, had the home stager/photographer come take photos of our house, sold a bunch of furniture on Craig's List (because we recognize that space will be tighter in DC), cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned. When Adam left, I still freaked out, but at least felt better about everything and was super excited for Adam's new opportunities and adventure.

What I've been up to: I've had more appointments with the realtor, carpet cleaner, home surveyor, etc. Our house went on the market exactly five days ago (Feb. 10), and it's been a little crazy since then (see house listing here). I was especially uneasy knowing that at a moment's notice I'd have to leave the house (making sure it was spotless) with the pups and my work for house showings. I told Adam about how nervous I was about this whole process and he suggested that I call one of my girlfriend's and ask a huge favor - for me and my pups to come over to her home during the weekdays so that I could work and wouldn't have to worry so much about falling behind, pups dragging dirt in, and all the other things that can happen when you're under deadline and receive a call that someone's coming to look at your home in 20 minutes. My girlfriend graciously is letting us stay in her home and I can't tell you the peace of mind it's given me...especially when we've been super lucky and already had about 20 couples come through our house. Can you imagine if I wasn't so blessed to have her offer her home to me and I had to come and go, cleaning each time, five times a day? I don't even want to think about it!

What I've learned so far through this process: My husband is extraordinarily wonderful and I'm so lucky to have him in my life (I already knew this, but he just keeps showing me love in new ways); It's okay to ask for help; Money is just money (I knew this too, but it was really hard to come to terms with the fact that we're going to lose a lot of it selling our house - turns out, you really need to be in your house for more than 9 months for it to be good for your bottom line); My family and friends are the best - so unbelievably supportive and encouraging; and, that God's plan is so much bigger than mine. I'm super glad for this last one.

So, that's where we are. Thanks for all of your phone calls and notes. Please keep us in your prayers and cross your fingers that our house sells fast! This whole experience has been bittersweet, but overall, we're thrilled to be moving back home and we're excited to see what God has in store for us next!

Stranded

This is my least favorite time of the year. By far. This is the time of year when my favorite person leaves me for quite a few weeks for pre-season with his team. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why it's important and necessary and I do support him - I just don't like it. So, if you notice I'm cranky or pouty, it probably has nothing to do with you or my muffin in the oven and everything to do with missing my crazy husband madly.

Moving on...I'm 28-weeks along this week! It's hard to believe that we'll have a new family member in our midst in 12 weeks or less. Baby Cristman is continuing to grow and develop well. She's a strong kicker and I think she may be taking a gymnastics class or two. Needless to say, this segment in our journey has brought many smiles and much joy. We get a kick (ha!) out of every movement that we see - and yes, we do see her move....all over my belly. It's hilarious and I love it. Anyway, quite a few of you have asked me for recent belly pictures so I had Adam take a couple before he left on his trip (see below).

Home Sweet Home

We arrived back in Kansas on January 4th after being away from our house for about 8 weeks. There was a solid 15 inches of snow on the ground but we found everything in order after our neighbor so kindly watched the house and watered our plants for us. Now that we are back, we have been working to get the house a little more set up, including fully converting our dining room into a music/studio room, painting the guest bedroom and bathroom and, of course, preparing our nursery. Also, we finally got our fireplace cleaned and ready for use and enjoyed our first fire this week. The fireplace used to have gas logs but, before we moved in, it seems that the logs were replaced with a gas burner bar that helps get the fire going. Simply turn on the gas, and fire up the logs, then turn off the gas. More pictures of the progress of the bedrooms to come...

Toasty Feet!
Burner Bar
New Lighting

Super Cozy

A Cristman Christmas in Richmond

Never did we ever think we'd get a white Christmas in Richmond, but we did! And it was beautiful! I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of that cold, flaky, white stuff purely because it's cold and wet, but it was beautiful to watch from inside the Cristman house beside a roaring, warm fire :) Nina and I cuddled inside for the majority of our time home in Richmond, while Adam and Nixon spent much time outside either running around or building a funny snow-woman with Catherine (see photos below). Though the time went by way too fast, it was so wonderful to be back home. We miss you already family! Thanks for making our time home special.

Oh Baby! We are loved!

A few of our incredible family and friends threw us a very fun baby shower mid-December. I was blown away by all the creativity, not to mention the thought and detail that went into shower during a very busy holiday season! The party-throwers even made sure to include Adam in their funny games by stuffing a balloon under his shirt and making him bend down and tie his shoes :). Thanks to everyone who showered our little family! And thanks for the photos Erin!

20-week update

I mentioned in my 16-week post that I didn't really look any different...well, four weeks makes a big difference. Here are a few photos of my growing belly in Costa Rica:

Pura Vida

The day after Thanksgiving, Adam and I along with Adam's best friend Zack and his wife Anna traveled to Costa Rica on vacation. The journey to this amazing place started with a drive to DC, flight to Miami, flight to San Jose, and then a four hour drive through the mountains on the craziest, tiniest roads you've ever seen to Manuel Antonio and our rain forest bungalow.

Our two weeks in Costa Rica were great. We spent most of our time on the beach enjoying the sand, sun and the surf. Zack and Adam rented boards down on the beach and rode some consistently nice waist-high waves a few days. We would relax and rest and pack our lunches of veggie or peanut butter sandwiches and plenty of fresh fruit. Our bungalow was nestled up on a hill amongst a few other bungalows and a nearby pool. Our A-frame unit was screened in and had enough blinds for privacy and security bars to keep the monkeys from stealing the kitchenware. We woke every morning to beautiful blue skies and monkeys crashing through the trees and fell asleep every night to the sounds of frogs and chirping bugs. Our bungalow was three miles away from the beach down the very hilly main street. Driving on the roads there kept us always on edge. That being said, driving there was pretty easy and as long as we followed signs and were aware of everything around us and generally took it slow, it was a breeze.

After the first week in CR, Zack and Anna left and Ashley and I were itching to see more places that we could take day trips to. We spent nearly a whole day in Dominical, a small surfing town, and enjoyed the laid back lifestyle. The road to Dominical was recently paved and is arguably the best road in CR. It is wide, flat and smooth with no lines and relatively no speed limit, although 100 km/h seemed to do okay (about 62). While in Dominical, I had the chance to rent a surf board for 8 bucks and left Ashley nervously waiting on the beach as I charged out into 6-10 foot waves. I spent an hour and a half out in the water and caught two waves the entire time while dodging the dozen or so that seemed intent on pummeling me into the sand. But man, those two waves were worth it, although Ashley might disagree. Our last few days there we focused on relaxing and taking life slow and left sunny weather in the 80's for 30 degree weather and a foot plus of snow. Costa Rica is definitely a great place to visit and after being there for two weeks in one place, I would definitely recommend the traveling tours that we saw available as well. There is plenty to see and do. Enjoy!

Check out Zack's flickr photos

Pups to the Beach

After living much of their lives in the midwest, our pups had never seen the ocean or a beach. We spent a couple days before Thanksgiving down in Nags Head and took Nina and Nixon to the beach a few times. We really hoped they both would love it. Our first 10 seconds on the beach were like pure ecstasy to the dogs and then Nina realized that a huge ocean with angry waves was after her and she bolted to the highest dune she could find and refused to budge. Meanwhile, Nixon resumed his obsession with anything that moves and darted after every bird on the beach until it seemed like he was a mile away. So there we were...one dog stuck on the dunes with posted signs all over prohibiting anyone from walking on them for fear of erosion and the other dog running mad down the beach. After we somehow got them both within arms length, we put them on their leashes -- not that it made that much of a difference as Nixon pulled and pulled to go after everything in sight and Nina put on the emergency brake and refused to make a single step. It was cold and windy but we decided to come back a day or two later to take some beach pics hoping for a Christmas card pic...so much for that, but at least we got a family portrait of sorts. Maybe their next trip to the beach will yield better results.

Melou's Baby Shower & 16-Week Update

I am so incredibly blessed to have such amazing friends. My Highrise girls orchestrated a surprise baby shower for our lovely Melissa Coleman (who's due with the first Highrise baby on Christmas Eve) last weekend. We all met in one of Melou's favorite breakfast spots in Harrisonburg and waited for her awesome hubby to bring her to us. We spent the day traveling around the 'burg and sending Melou on a scavenger hunt to gather her baby shower gifts. Our stops included the JMU bookstore (where Melou was to pick out a baby outfit), the farmer's market, and her new house. It was great to see them (Lo and Liss were missed!) and just spend time loving on Melou.

The girls also took a few "bump" photos of me and Melou (see below). I've been getting grief for not posting any bump pictures, but the truth is, I really haven't looked any different until this week. I've gained a little weight (okay, 8 pounds to be exact), but other than that, I'm still fitting into my clothes. From all that I've read, I'm expecting this to change a lot in the next few weeks and I promise to keep you posted.

Melou, we can not wait to meet your new addition! Holls and Erin, thanks for the pics. Love you girls!