Cribs, Dressers and Peeing...OH MY!!

Oh my gosh ... it's finally happening, I'm waking up in middle of the night to go to the bathroom! I go all day long as it is, and then all night long when I get home, and NOW...I wake up to go to the bathroom. Last night I woke up at 2:10am, the night before at 1:30pm-makes for one very tired me in the morning.

I'd be annoyed but since I'm pretty sure that means this little one is growing...I'm good. : )

In more exciting news we ordered the crib and dresser!! Found a couple of great deals and we're hoping that they will come in and be the color we're hoping for and actually match! We really have to get started on the nursery...the room that currently houses all kinds of "things" that Matt never uses but won't get rid of and all of my precious scrapbooking supplies and work space! If I'm brave enough I may post a "before" picture of this mess of a room!

I went out today and bought some totes to start organizing and packing up the craft/scrapbooking supplies, so now I have to actually get to work in there. We have about 4 months until this little peanut arrives...and as long as that sounds in some circumstances, I have a feeling it's just going to fly by!

~Melissa

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig

We made it back to Colorado a few hours ago...a very windy trip back but no problems with snow or ice which was good.

As excited as I was to be home and go get our girl Maddie, I already miss my family. Guess you can't always have it both ways-especially not when you live 6-9 hours away from them. Oh well...it was a great trip and thanks to the weather our trip was actually 2 days longer than we'd planned.

We did something that Matt and I never do...we went to the movies. Not once...but TWICE while we were in Kansas. Two movies, in the movie theatre in 24 hours-that's about 2x as many movies as we see in two years!!

Christmas night we went and saw "Have you heard about the Morgans"-very cute, light and funny. The day after Christmas we went and saw "The Blind Side"-I highly recommend this movie-it was amazing, absolutely amazing.

So now it's off to do laundry...lots of laundry and unpacking-not exactly my favorite welcome home present.

Home Sweet Home.

22 Weeks Pregnant - Merry Christmas!

Not only are we celebrating Christmas but we're celebrating being 22 weeks pregnant!

This week's update gives us the following:

"At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily."

We reached our 22 week mark while in Salina, Kansas celebrating Christmas with my family. It was a cold, windy, snowy trip here but we've had a great time. Keeton, my 8 year old nephew kept us all laughing and on our toes, of course. My mom made sure this little one would be fully outfitted with Jayhawk gear and my sister made an adorable cup and plate for her future niece or nephew. As always, we were spoiled this Christmas.

We're currently stuck in Kansas with I70 being shut down at Burlington, CO-so we could get to the border and that's about it.

So...for now we're still in Salina ... waiting it out and hoping the roads open soon.

Merry Christmas-We're 21 Weeks Pregnant!!

Um...so here we are 3 days before Christmas and guess who's Christmas cards aren't done? Yep, that's right...me. So for the few of you that follow this, here you go-a Christmas blog post complete with the obligatory family photo...'tis the season! : )

So much going on and so much to tell you all about!!

We're 21 weeks pregnant!! MORE than half way there now!! Our weekly update from www.babycenter.com tells us:
"Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better."

YES-for about 3 weeks now I've been feeling this little one flutter inside me -and YES, it seriously is the coolest thing ever! So far it seems like our baby isn't much of a morning person and is most active in the afternoon and evening. And, YES, I've been known to drink a little orange juice just so I can wake this little one up and feel them-cruel I know. : )

In other news-there is a HUGE storm that is blowing through starting tonight-it stretches from Colorado all the way across Kansas. Guess where we're headed for Christmas? You guessed it-Kansas! SO-Matt and I are leaving town about a day and a half early and trying to beat the storm. Wish us luck-driving across I70 in a wind, snow, ice, blizzard kinda storm-not really my favorite thing to do, or the safest frankly!

I can't tell you how excited I am to go home and be with my family-I absolutely can't wait. The good news is that since we're leaving early we'll have an extra day with them!! I have plans to decorate cookies with Keeton and finish up some last minute stocking stuffer shopping that I won't get done since we're leaving early. So happy!!

Well, it's time to get the packing started-I need to have the car ready and gassed up so that when Matt pulls in when can hop in my car and go...head for the Land of Oz.

Pregnancy & Produce: 20 Wks

With all the excitement about our ultrasound I skipped right by our weekly produce update!

This week we have some fruit to help us picture how big our baby is-our updates are from www.babycenter.com & http://www.whattoexpect.com/ this week:

From http://www.whattoexpect.com/ :

"You've got a heavyweight in your belly at 20 weeks pregnant (well, in baby terms, anyway). Your little champ weighs about ten ounces and has a height, crown to rump, of about six and a half inches. Think small cantaloupe (and probably as sweet too)."

From http://www.babycenter.com/ :

"Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery)."

We actually know from our ultrasound this week that our little banana/cantaloupe actually weighs 12 ounces right now. I'm not sure they told us how long our little banana is though...I'll have to check out the video again and see if the graph at the end show the stats.

Already we have watched the video a time, or two...and I just can't get enough of seeing our little one. There is this one part in the video where our little wiggle worm just wouldn't cooperate and let the Dr. get a good look at the heart-two little hands would go up and cover the chest or just turn over-so funny, stubborn just like one of their parents...I'll let you guess which one.

~Melissa

Introducing ...

Our little wiggle worm!! The Super-Sonic Ultrasound went amazingly today!! Needless to say we were pretty impressed watching out little one for over an hour today!

We went through two thorough head to toe "exams" and both times our little one got rave reviews! The Dr. was great and made lots of positive comments using words like "great, fantastic, wonderful & perfect"-which of course put our minds at ease and made us enjoy the appointment that much more!

There was one issue that the Dr. had-I believe his words were, "You guys are going to have your hands full-your baby isn't cooperating at all!" Getting the second round of heart pictures and scans was a bit difficult-our baby kept playing games and either turning around or putting a hand in the way-it actually got pretty funny at times. Even the Dr. was chuckling-I swear this little one was doing it all on purpose!

At the end of the appointment the Dr. talked to us about potential issues and the risk factors as with my age being considered. I'll be 36 years old when our Wiggle Worm is born and according to the experts that puts my risk for Downs Syndrome at 1/210. Based on the fact that the Dr. fond NO "markers" today with the comprehensive ultrasound, he lowereed our risk factor to 1/420. So yes...that definitely put our minds at ease. There is still no definite or guarantee on anything, but we feel really good about things after today's appointment.

OH...and in case you were among the doubters...We remain TEAM GREEN!!

Today is the Big Day - Super Sonic Ultrasound Day

And I'm nervous...excited...but really nervous. Like any pregnant woman, I just want everything to be alright with our baby.

I didn't sleep very well-woke up at 1:30am and just layed there for awhile, thinking.

Matt brought home the DVD's lastnight that the Dr's office told us to buy-they'll record the ultrasound for us and put it on DVD.

I have a early morning meeting today and hope that the day is busy enough to keep me occupied before I leave at 3pm for our appointment.

Today is also Week 20 - I'll update everything today, and hopefully have some produce to show you along side of ultrasound photos!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers today please-
Melissa

Emotion, Freezing, Hungry

EMOTION:
I'm sure some of this is pregnancy related, but you can ask almost anyone who knows me and they'd tell I don't like being so far away from family and that for a few years now I've really wanted to move home. Yes-back to Kansas.

Now being pregnant it's even harder. I want to be closer to my family...my sister is 6 1/2 hours away and my parents are about 10 hours away. I hate it...a lot.

I'm the one who made the choice to move away and I don't for one minute regret that. It was truly the best decision I've ever made. But now, now more than ever...I wish I was closer to them.

I'll be going home for Christmas in about 2 weeks-we're celebrating at my sister's house. That will be so nice...but I want more. When I hear about Mom and Maegan getting together for a craft fair, Christmas parade, Keeton's school activities...I'm more than jealous. I'm sad...I'm missing out.

So now that I'm pregnant and have something that I want them to be apart of...I'm wishing more than ever we lived in Kansas near my family.

At the risk of sounding dramatic...I'm feeling rather lonely.

I can't quite explain it...and yes Matt is, of course, being amazing. I just wish Mom, Dad and Maegan were near by.

FREEZING:
It's absolutely freezing here...insanely freezing, below 0 degrees, for real freezing!! Enough already!! It's a little wrong that the weekend is supposed to be 32 degrees and I'm looking forward to that!

HUNGRY:
Yes...I just said it's freezing...but I'd still really like some chocolate/peanut butter ice cream from Baskin and Robbins. Yes...I'm serious. And I've never in my life ordered a French Dip sandwich but I did about 2 weeks ago at a restaurant...I've been craving it ever since.

The hunt for the Perfect Christmas Tree

Yesterday we headed West to cut down our Christmas tree. This year we got our permit for Chief Hosa-not far up I70 and beautiful!

We stopped at a few different spots and hiked around-through snow, no gators and no snowshoes. A couple of times the snow got deep, up to my knees!

We found a few trees that would work and then narrowed it down before finally picking the perfect tree.

Perfect tree-really what that means when you go to the mountains and cut a tree down is the perfect, imperfect, tree. For us that means tall-at the very least 11' and as full as possible. But, as with most perfect, imperfect, trees, finding a full one is difficult.

We think we found a pretty good one this year-but then we say that every year. Now on to the decorating-stay tuned!!

19 weeks-Pregnancy & Produce

Oh my gosh...we're already 19 weeks pregnant!! I can't believe it!! I know that there will come a time where I may regret saying this, but here it goes anyway...I can't believe how fast it's going by!! In a good way...each week we're so excited to get our latest update and figure out what the produce of the week is!!

So, without further adieu, here's this week update from http://www.babycenter.com/ :

"Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid."

Um....pickling skin? I could have done without that little piece of info-creepy.

As for our baby being able to hear us-how amazing is that?!?!? Or maybe not...I'm sure that the past two days with the snow we've had and sub-zero temperatures our baby has heard some things that I wish they hadn't. Don't worry, I always put my hand on my stomach and tell the baby I'm sorry...just trying to keep us both safe and warm. Apologies make it all better, right?

The other night I told Matt that sometimes I feel bad that I'm the only one who will ever get to know what it feels like to carry our baby 24/7 - Matt just looked at me and said "That's ok, you don't have to feel bad." I'm not sure he really understood that I wasn't saying "Too bad you don't get to be pregnant", I was trying to say, "You'll never know what it feels like to have your child never leave you, not for a second, and never know what it feels like to be able to put your hand on your stomach, know your baby is right there, and everything instantly feel better."

~Melissa

Pregnancy & Produce and Decisions- 18 Wks

Growing so fast...from http://www.babycenter.com/ this week:

"Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound."

So, speaking of genitals ...

We have talked about having a baby for years now, and tried having a baby for over a year before we finally got pregnant. Matt and I agreed from the beginning, when we first were dating and talking about kids, that we wouldn't want to find out "what" we were having-we'd leave it a surprise until our baby's birthday. BUT...now the decision is actually real, and we are actually pregnant, so the discussion has come up again and again. The reasons to find out and the reasons not to find out, we've discussed, re-discussed and over-discussed the topic.

We've made a decision...

We will NOT be finding out if we're Team Pink or Team Blue. We'll remain Team Green until our little bell pepper is born.

Shocked? Surprised? A lot of people tell me that they can't believe that I am going to wait until the baby is born. After all, if you know me, I'm an over-planner. My job is planning, being prepared and doing everything I can to assure there are no surprises. So when people hear that I actually want this to be a surprise, and that we haven't changed our minds on this...you got it, they're surprised. Frankly, some people, not so secretly, think we'll cave and ask to find out at the ultrasound.

Decision #2:

A few weeks ago I posted about freaking out a bit when our Dr. told us she wanted us to go to a specialist for an ultrasound. (If you don't remember see this: http://ohbladilifegoeson.blogspot.com/2009/11/heartbeat-and-frustration-15-weeks-6.html)

So after a lot of thought and discussion, we decided to go with the specialist and do the "Super-Sonic Ultrasound."

I'm still nervous...but more than that I'm now really excited. I still would rather not know if there is anything "wrong" ... but decided that might be a little selfish. If there is a heart problem or a kidney issue, etc...our baby deserves all the best care we can give them. This may be my first wake up call that I/we can't do what's best for me/us...some decisions we'll be hard for me/us but best for our child.

So there you have it...decisions have been made. : )

~Melissa

Pregnancy and Prodcue - 17 Wks

Our baby is now the size of a turnip!!

Turnips aren't the cutest things but I did love them as a kid-raw with salt on them at Bea's-Ha!

Our info from babycenter.com gives us this info on the development this week:

"Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop."

Apparently I could start feeling the baby move any day now...I'm not sure if I have felt anything yet or not. There have been a few times that I think I'm feeling little flutters or butterflies, but who knows. I like to think it's our baby though, makes me smile.

This past week at work was rough-soooo busy and soooo overwhelmed. I'm really starting to realize that all these years of me never saying no, of always being available, of always being the "go-to girl"...are taking a toll on me. Work is busy, work is demanding, work can be relentless at times, but I have to draw the line and I have to take care of me. Now how I'm going to do that is beyond me...

Needless to say I was glad when the weekend came and I could take a break for a few days.

Matt and I have had a great weekend-did some house work and even make $9 at our neighbor's garage sale! Whee!! Last night we went out to Southlands for their tree lighting and Christmas parade. We met some friends out there and their 2 year old son. Needless to say, watching a Christmas parade with a 2 year old on your shoulders sure does bring a different element of fun! My friend said "Wow, I feel like I'm seeing into the future here" ... Matt and I kind of felt the same way, and that made us smile...big time.

~Melissa

Pregnancy & Produce - 16 wks

(a little late...but better late than never)

This past week was a little chaotic, between an emotional Dr's apt, work being really busy for both of us and trying to get out of town for a much needed weekend in the mountains with friends...well, I fell behind on updating the blog.

This week, our baby is the size of an Avocado!

Our information from http://www.babycenter.com/ this week:

"Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

First of all, I love avocados so I have no problem picturing how big our little avocado is right about now. In fact-we have about 4 on the counter right now. Secondly, can I say how absolutely fascinated I am with these updates?

I also get updates from another website, http://www.whattoexpect.com/ and this week their update really got me smiling:

"Listen up: Tiny bones in your fetus's ears are in place this week, making it likely that the baby can hear your voice when you're speaking (or singing in the shower)at 16 weeks pregnant. In fact, studies have found that babies who are sung to while they're in the womb recognize the same tune when it's sung to them after they are born... "

For those of you who know Matt, he is a HUGE music lover...so this bit of news really made him smile. This little avocado is going to be born recognizing, Phish, Government Mule, Yonder Mountain String Band, Queens of the Stoneage and Allman Brothers if Matt has anything to say about it! Ha!

~Melissa

Heartbeat and Frustration - 15 weeks 6 days

Today we had another Dr's apt-if you're thinking "didn't you just have an apt?"-Yes. We're going more often that the "norm" due to the early issues we had.

We heard our little apple's heartbeat again today-156 BPM. It's still so amazing and so flippin' cool!!

Today the Dr talked to us about going to a Specialist for an Ultrasound for our 20 week apt. I questioned why we would do that vs go to the ultrasound office downstairs from her office like I always do (yes-we've had lots of those too) and the Dr's response was "Based on your age-this will give us a more detailed view of the heart and kidney's." Um..."why do we need a more detailed view than normal?" Again her response was just based on my age, I'm 35, OH AND "the increased possibility of down syndrome."

It was at this point that the apt became way less fun and I forgot all about how great it was hearing the heartbeat.

YES-I am fully aware that my age puts me in a higher risk category for having a baby born with down syndrome. BUT-we decided against doing any first trimester screening because we didn't want to know if there were any "defects" & because it wouldn't change anything for us.

So to hear that now at the 20 week apt, where we thought we were just looking at our baby and falling even deeper in love, that it's really this super serious ultrasound with potential bad news attached...yeah, you guess it, freaked me out.

I spent most of the rest of the day on the verge of tears and being frustrated. At one point I thought about not doing the ultrasound at all. I really can't explain my feelings and admit that they are pretty irrational for the most part. Matt of course was amazing, as always, and was being totally supportive of all of my thoughts, emotions and feelings-no matter how irrational they were. I told him today, as I've told him many times, how grateful I am that I have him-I need someone to keep me grounded on days like this and there isn't anyone better for the job than Matt.

Tonight I'm feeling better...not over it yet but I'm better. I just can't stand that my age alone makes everyone want to label me as high risk. I know plenty of women who have given birth to very healthy babies after the age of 35...I'm sure they all went through this...I just wasn't expecting it.

Pregnancy & Produce: Week 15

Ladies and gentlemen...we now have an Apple!!

Here's what http://www.babycenter.com/ has to say about our baby's growth this week:

"How your baby's growing:Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.") "

As for me and how I'm feeling:
I really can't complain. I haven't been sick at all-moments where I thought I might but haven't actually thrown up-WOO HOO!! :::knocking on wood::: Seems like the key for me is to make sure I eat in the morning...otherwise it could get messy! Blech!!

As for my clothes-they are definitely starting to get tighter. Pants that I wore last week are no longer an option. I think it's time to start looking for some maternity clothes. Not sure I'm looking forward to that...clothes aren't my thing and finding clothes that fit without being pregnant is tough enough.

I'm SOOOO glad that Matt is back home. That was the longest he's ever been away-6 days and it wasn't fun.

I cheered myself up one day with some shopping-went into Baby Gap for fun and walked out with some great deals all for under $12 total! A cute little Halloween onesie for next year, a green onesie that says "How cute am I?" and a brown corduroy hat with those flaps that snap down-SOOOO cute! AND...I got a maternity shirt for me too-all for under $12!!

Pregnancy & Produce - Wk 14

In this week's editiion of Pregnancy and Produce...

We now have a lemon!! Our update this week from www.babycenter.com says:

"This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active."

WOW!! I'm sure our little lemon is frowning right now-Matt left last night for his "last hurrah" before baby and headed to Indio, California for Festival 8-a three day Phish festival. I'm frowning too-we all miss him!!

As for me I'm feeling great, but worry if I say that too many times I'll jinx myself! My clothes are still fitting and it seems like I'm out of the sleepy all the time phase-very thankful for both of those things!

I found myself talking to our baby yesterday...a semi cut me off on the highway and we're in the middle of a HUGE snow storm and needless to say I said some words, some not very nice words. I found myself, after recovering, talking to our little lemon (although yesterday I was calling him/her our peach) and apologizing for raising my voice and using some colorful language. When I caught myself...I just laughed and smiled...I am sooo darn excited about this baby!!

~Melissa

155 BPM

That was our baby's heart rate today-155 beats per minute. According to our Dr, that's right where our little peach ought to be!!

We got to hear the heartbeat today too...can I just say amazing??? Perm-a-grin all day long after that! Matt and I both were loving every little "whomp...whomp...whomp"-seriously, that's what it sounds like!!

Ok...about the peach. Each week we get an email telling us what the baby is doing, what is developing and changing and how big our growing baby is getting.

So this week...we've got a peach on our hands. And here are some growth facts from http://www.babycenter.com/

"Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce."

Now how amazing is that? La La How Our Lives Go On... : )

Looking forward to tomorrow...

tomorrow we go in for another appointment-we'll be 13 weeks 1 day pregnant. : )

Tomorrow, assuming everything goes well-and I am absolutely assuming that it will, we'll be "going public" and telling people.

So far there are very few people that know our little secret-well, big secret, currently the size of a peach (I'll explain later)-just our families and some close friends...including the Cooking Club girls too of course! : )

Tomorrow after our appointment we'll start telling more people...and as much as I have looked forward to this day for what seems like forever, it also makes me kinda nervous.

See, we've had some minor complications along the way-some spotting, some cramping...tons of appointments, lots of ultrasounds and ultimately I was put on progesterone.

So for the first several weeks, we held our breath and frankly didn't talk much about it.

And here we are now...finishing out the first trimester, and no longer holding our breath and talking about "it" alot.

Did I mention how happy we are? Happy...very happy, extremely happy...there are no words to describe how happy we are about this baby.

More tomorrow...after we get to see our little peach-I told you...I'll explain later. : )

Sooo...Guess What?!?!?

We're pregnant!!

Yes...I'm serious!! Today we're 11 weeks 4 days pregnant...PREGNANT...Oh my gosh!

We got our BFP August 16th. Here's how that went:
I'd been thinking about taking a test, but was frankly was scared of potentially seeing that "-" show up...so I put it off. I thought about it Friday night-nope chickened out.
~Saturday morning- nope...still wasn't wanting to risk seeing bad news.
~Sunday-woke up early, woke Matt up and told him I thought I should take a test. His response was "no, it's too early." I said, "I'm a week late, too early for what?" Matt said "too early, I won't be able to NOT tell everyone."

Clearly not a good reason so I went and POAS-but then left it on the corner of the vanity and went back to bed. We laid there and talked about it for a few minutes and I told Matt he had to look at it-I was too scared. He got out of bed, went to get it...walked back in and said "I think it's inconclusive." He handed it to me and I looked at it and said "Honey, I think we're pregnant!!"

There was laughing and there were some tears...I believe "Oh my gosh" was said more than once by each of us.

We celebrated by going on a nice long 8 mile hike-yes seriously. When we got home I went back upstairs and took another test, this time a digital one, just to be sure. Guess what? It was positive too, and this time, there was no doubt-it read loud and clear "Pregnant."

WE ARE PREGNANT!!

Tent vs Bed

Matt left today for a winter camping trip with the boys. They seem to think it's fun to go up in the mountains, when snow has fallen, when snow will probably fall while they are there and sleep on the ground, in tents.

So Maddie and I are here at home having a girls weekend-under a roof, with heat, getting to sleep in a big comfy bed-I say we win.

We'll be more than happy when he comes home on Sunday-we'll have chili in the crockpot and cornbread ready for him. We'll watch the double header-Broncos game at and then the Rockies playoff game.

So...while I hope that he has a great time with the boys on his camping trip...I can't wait until my Homis gets home!

Light the Night

Tonight we walked in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk. This was our second year walking in memory of my good friend Marta.

Walking in memory...I hate saying that. It's so not what I want to be doing. What I want is to walk WITH Marta, in honor of Marta, not in memory of Marta. But Marta lost her battle 18 months ago now when a condition related to her years of treatment for Hodkin Disease ended up being Marta's last battle.

Some of you who will read this knew her personally and I don't have to tell you what an amazing person she was. For those of you who didn't know Marta let me tell you a little bit about my friend.

She never complained, about anything. Not the chemo, not the stem cell transplant, not about losing her hair, not about being in horrible pain from the open sores in her mouth from the massive doses of chemo, not being diagnosed and battling cancer 3 separate times, NOTHING.

It was Marta who was comforting me when she told me the cancer was back, again. We were at work and I came to see how her test results had turned out-she looked at me, smiled and said "it's back." I immediately started crying and she stood up, gave me a hug and told me "Don't cry, it's going to be alright." Here my friend was faced with having to battle cancer again and SHE is comforting me!

So that's a little bit about Marta and who we walked to CELEBRATE tonight. Marta may very well have lost her battle with cancer but this woman lived every single minute of her life. So tonight we spread Marta's wings and let her spirit soar.

I miss my friend. I miss her laugh. I miss her smile. I miss her leaving me notes on my computer when she'd stop by my office to say "hi"-I actually still have one of them and after all this time still have it on my bulletin board above my desk. I miss her keeping me grounded. I miss going to eat at Las Delicious with her. I miss her wearing Chanel open-toed, high heels in the snow. I miss her cooking. I miss her hugs. I miss talking to her about everything and anything. I miss my friend.

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Yes, we're jumping on the bandwagon and starting a blog. Stay tuned...Exciting times ahead!