Trip to Phoenix

So months ago...many, many months ago we planned a trip to Phoenix.  Carrie Underwood released her 2012 Blown Away Tour dates and Colorado wasn't on the list, so I thought...we needed a good reason to go on vacation, PLUS Geoff's grandparents live in Phoenix, so we could spend some time with them.  It worked perfectly.  I now know how to talk Geoff into going on vacation (not that I have to really pull his arm) but I throw Carrie Underwood into the mix and he's totally game.  Haha!  (BTW...she just extended her tour and will visiting Colorado Springs and Broomfield, CO in February!)  

Back then, we thought it was just another vacation and another great CU concert.  (This was our 3rd one).  When we found out we were expecting a little peanut, it changed into a baby moon...we hope to not eliminate all adult activities out of our life, however we know they may be a little more sparse once our sweet baby arrives, which we're totally cool with.  So long story short, we were excited for our vacation.  We were looking forward to the warmer weather, seeing Geoff's grandparents and just getting away for a few days.

So, Saturday (Oct 20th) we flew into Phoenix and arrived at 9am.  Haha!  8am flights always seems like a great idea until you have to get up at 4:00am.  Blah.  Once we arrived we drove to Geoff's grandparents and had lunch and then of course Geoff wanted to go to Cabela's.  We cannot travel to a city that has a Cabela's and not stop in.  This was actually a pretty cool Cabela's.  It's pretty much a wildlife museum with product. 

 

 

That evening we took Harry and Ann out to dinner at Elephant Bar.  It's hilarious because the evening cooled down and by cooled down I mean maybe to the upper 70's, low 80's and people were wearing jeans and long sleeved shirts.  LOL.  While Geoff and I were dressed for the summer!  It's was literally perfect weather.  Not too hot, but a nice little taste of summer time.

On Sunday (Oct 21st) I got up first thing in the morning and met a really good high school friend of mine, Carol Lee at Lo-Lo's Chicken and Waffles for breakfast.  I was a little sceptical and wasn't sure what to order.  So I ordered oatmeal and waffles.  LOL.  They both were delish!!!  The oatmeal was LOADED, came with brown sugar, walnuts, dried fruit and the waffles are pretty much to die for.  It was a great little spot and I'm kind of bummed Geoff didn't go with me.  It was so nice catching up with Carol...we took pictures together but one of them my eyes are closed and the second one her eyes are closed.  Ugh!

I headed back to Geoff's grandparents house and watched movies with his Grandma while we waited for the boys to get back.  They were out shooting skeet.  Haha.  They got back around 1pm and we headed off to In-N-Out for lunch.  This is the second thing Geoff cannot pass up when visiting a city.  And...I'm pretty sure I gained like 3lbs over the weekend because all we did was eat.  Haha!  

We came home and relaxed a bit and then got ready for the concert.  When we were driving to Cabela's the day before I saw an Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant.  I had been introduced to Abuelo's when I was in Dallas and I really enjoyed it.  It's Tex-Mex which is very different from what we're used to, but I wanted Geoff to experience it.  So we went there for dinner and Geoff seemed to like it.  I had carnita tacos and Geoff had an enchilada plate with a guacamole, spinach and chicken enchilada.  After dinner we headed to the Jobing.com Arena for the Carrie concert!

It's in such a cool little area and the best part...you don't have to pay for parking!  WHAT?  It's a smaller venue, which is great.  We had great little seats and were excited for the show to start.  Hunter Hayes actually opened the show and were were only impressed with one song.  Ugh.  But the crazy thing is the music was really, really loud and I kept looking and Geoff and telling him I felt like there were bubbles in my stomach and that the baby was moving.  Poor little thing was probably like, 'turn the music down'!  LOL.  Soon after Carrie came on stage and it was quite the show. 

 

Then on Monday (Oct 22nd), we flew home.  It was a great, quick trip and an awesome little baby moon.  :)  I have to thank my wonderful parents for driving up to Denver to stay with our little Bella girl so we could go on vacation and my poor Mom was so sick the whole time.  Then she was clorox-ing and lysol-ing my entire house before I got back so I wouldn't get sick.  Ahh...so needless to say, we had a great time and it was of course nice to see my parents for a few hours when we got back as well!

Bump Update - 16 Weeks

 

How far along? 16 weeks!
Baby Size: Avocado - 4.6 inches and 3.5 oz.
Total weight gain: 6lb range. 
Maternity clothes? I officially purchased the belly band and it's amazing!
Stretch marks?  I think I might  have been allergic to the belly oil because my stomach was getting really itchy, so I switched over to the Palmer's Cocoa Butter and that seems to be working much better. 
Sleep: Still sleeping through the night, with one potty break.   
Best moment this week: Hearing our little baby's heartbeat yesterday!  It's such an amazing feeling...can't even describe it. 
Miss Anything? Now that it's getting colder, once in a blue moon I'd have a cup of coffee at work, especially flavored coffee like southern pecan.  Missing that this week as it's getting ready to snow!  
Movement: Either I'm going CRAZY, or I'm starting to feel some movement.  This last weekend we went to the Carrie Underwood concert (I'll post about it later this week!) and once the music got really loud it felt like little bubbles in my belly.  Then this morning I felt it pretty consistently.  Yay!! 
Food cravings:  Back on potatoes.  Wedge, seasoned french fries sound delish! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: If I get super hungry then I start feeling pretty nauseous and sick.  So I just have to be aware. 
Gender: I'm still thinking GIRL.  I told Geoff I'd be more surprised if it's a boy than a girl and we completed the baby pool at my work today, so our guesses are officially set in stone!

 
Symptoms:  Still a little crampy, but really nothing more than that.    
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: My poor husband...I'll be totally fine one second and then totally overreact to something that's so ridiculous.  Then a few minutes later, I realize how crazy it is and I have to apologize.    
Looking forward to:  Really putting a finger on the baby's movement and we're officially counting down the days until we're able to see the baby in our 20 week ultrasound and find out if we'll be having a prince or princess. 

Bump Update - 15 Weeks

Sorry for the cell phone picture.

 

How far along? 15 weeks (time is flying by!)

Baby Size: Navel Orange - 4.0 inches and 2.5 oz. 
Total weight gain: Between 5 and 6.  It fluctuates. 
Maternity clothes? I'm going to have to invest in the belly band...my pants fit fine around the legs and hips and zip perfectly fine, but buttoning them is becoming slightly painful.
Stretch marks?  Lotion and oil every night.
Sleep: Sleeping like a champ. 
Best moment this week: We're just getting so excited to meet our sweet baby.  Mission: take down spare bedroom/convert to nursery is well under way! 
Miss Anything? Dr. Pepper.  I've totally given up caffeine, which has been fine, but within the last few days I've really wanted a Dr. Pepper. 
Movement: I've heard that it feels like gas or butterflies.  We'll see!  :)
Food cravings:  Loving fruit snacks and strawberry applesauce.  It's not that I can't live without them, they just sound good! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Lately texture has kind of been grossing me out.  I put polish sausage in our spaghetti and after a while it starting making me sick. 
Gender: Back on the GIRL train.  Geoff had a dream about a baby girl a few nights ago. 
Symptoms: I've been getting on and off cramps which they say are baby growing pains, nothing bad.  I'm also super stuffed up in the morning and they say that can happen when you have a HIGH blood production.  Interesting stuff I'm learning!
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Anxious. I just want to find out what we're having...only 5 more weeks!
Looking forward to:  I get to hear baby's heart beat on Tuesday!!

Bump Update - 14 Weeks

 

 

How far along? 14 weeks

Baby Size: A lemon!  And baby weighs 1.5 oz (give or take)
Total weight gain: 5 or so pounds...uh.
Maternity clothes? A sweet friend of mine from work gave me a TUB full of maternity clothes and she had a cute little pair of skinny jeans, so I've worn those a few times, but that's it. 
Stretch marks? Nope...using Motherlove - Pregnant Belly Oil every night!
Sleep: Still sleeping well...did have an odd pregnancy dream last night.  Weird.
Best moment this week: 2 things.  We gave my parents the bed we had in the spare bedroom so spare bedroom #2 has officially become the nursery.  We're starting to prep it! 
Secondly, Baby McCoy received his/her first gift from my brother and his wife.  Check out these super sweet slippers.  Ahh...

Miss Anything? Sleeping strait through the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom. 
Movement: Not yet...but my pregnancy tracker said the baby has starting making facial expressions and can move his/her joints. 
Food cravings: No real 'cravings'.  Just hearty food.
Anything making you queasy or sick: We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch today and the smell of baked Parmesan made me a little queasy! 
Gender: I told you it changes week to week...I'm back on the BOY bandwagon! 
Symptoms: Feeling like the energy is coming back, get occasional cramping, but I just keep telling myself those are baby growing pains.  :)
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On (unless I eat a hot dog...first and last time I'll do that!)
Mood: I'm doing good...I do find myself getting super emotional over things that totally aren't worth it and I laugh about it later! 
Looking forward to: Hearing baby's heartbeat in 2 weeks!

Bump Update - 13 Weeks

Let me first start off by apologizing for my mess of a blog.  I tried 'updating' my background and think I bit off more then I can chew...so now I'm in the process of trying to fix it.  :(  I should've just left it alone!

 

And now I can apologize for the blurry picture and the fact that I took it with my cell phone...I promise to make Geoff take them from here on out!  :)  Let me note: dresses are a little deceiving of the bump, makes it look bigger than it might actually be.  Hehe...If you knew me when I was a little squirt you'd see me running around in leggings, sweat pants, shorts and jumpers because I hated anything tight on my stomach.  Haha.  So when I wear flowy dresses, my stomach relaxes.  (Or maybe I'm in denial.  I have no idea when I'll start showing...so I'm just going with the flow.  Haha!)     

 

How far along? 13 weeks and officially in the 2nd trimester!  Whoohoo!!

Baby Size: About .81oz, 2.9in or in terms we recognize...about the size of a peach. 
Total weight gain: About 4 pounds
Maternity clothes? Nope, nothing yet.  I did have to retire my skinny jeans the other day as they're a little too snug and if anything gets too tight on the belly...I start cramping a little.  Think that's pumpkins way of telling me it's too tight.  :)
Stretch marks?  No...hope it stays that way.
Sleep:  Sleeping like a rock as I'm still able to sleep on my stomach, I know that'll soon change, so I better enjoy it.  I do have to get up at least once a night to potty.  Ugh. 
Best moment this week: Being that it's only Tuesday, my best moment was from last week when we went to our 12 week appointment and heard the baby's heartbeat and saw him/her. 
Miss Anything? Italian Sub from Subway or Jimmy John's  (I'll probably write that every time...just so you know!)
Movement: No...but I can't wait!! 
Food cravings: I can't say I've actually had cravings...I'm enjoying comfort food and anything potato.  Mashed, fried, hashed, baked...yum!
Anything making you queasy or sick: It comes and goes...the thought of Qdoba made me queasy today and I wasn't even going there.  Haha!
Gender: Don't know yet...but this week I'm guessing girl.  (It changes week to week!) 
Symptoms: Still tired and seem to get bloated frequently...the nausea seems to be subsiding.  (I really got lucky!) 
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Glowing.  Just kidding, I don't know if I'm glowing, however I'm super excited.  It feels so good now that everyone knows were expecting.  I feel like I don't have to walk on eggshells now. 
Looking forward to: Getting some energy back.  *fingers crossed*

Guess What?!?!

 You guessed it!  We're having a BABY...Geoff and I enjoyed our time being a little selfish and now we're ready to start the next chapter in our lives. 

We are BEYOND thrilled and feel so blessed that come April we'll have a sweet little baby.  The official due date is April 9th.  I have days where I feel like April is so far away and I just want to hold our precious little babes, but days where I feel like 6 more months to prepare is not nearly enough time.  Haha.  I'm sure we'll survive though.  I've been feeling pretty good...just tired and on and off nausea, but other than that, GOOD.   

Here's a little bit of the back story...Geoff and I had been trying to no luck, but during this time I wasn't having a period, which was weird.  So in February I went to the Dr. and was quickly diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome which in lamen terms means I couldn't ovulate.  Talk about a disappointment...however I didn't want it to get me down and my awesome Doctor...Dr. Peters informed me that it's better that we know  now so we can take the necessary steps to make sure I can start ovulating.  So we took a few months to think it through and most importantly to pray about it.  We knew that when we were 'ready' the process would be filled with blood tests and appointments and medication.  

So long story short I had to take a medication that pretty much told my brain to 'ovulate'.  The first round wasn't successful, she'd like to see me at a level 3 and I was at a 0.4.  DEFLATED!  I just kept my faith and just asked the Lord for progress...at this point I wasn't even thinking about getting pregnant, I just wanted to know that my body could do what it was made to do.  And guess what...round 2 worked!  She told me I was at a 2.4 and said it was 'likely' I ovulated, but she wouldn't know for sure.  I was just so relieved that my body was making strides in the right direction.  So at the first possible chance of my 'missed period' I took a pregnancy test and it was negative.  Ugh!  However, I knew that in a few days I was suppose to start the regiment all over again and start taking my third round of medication.  I had this feeling that told me to NOT take 3rd round.  So I waited a few days and on Monday, July 30th I took another pregnancy test and sure enough I was pregnant!  Yippie!!

I had imaged for so long how I'd react when I saw that positive line I thought I'd be through the roof, running and screaming through the house.  But I literally stared at it...and then my hands started shaking and sweating!  Instead of waking up Geoff immediately...I decided to wait until he naturally woke up, talk about torture!  I kept asking him if he was awake and if I told him something would he remember it.  With his eyes closed, he said...Yes.  So I said, 'We're having a baby, I'm pregnant!'  He's eyes flashed open and he said, 'I knew it!'  Haha!  Of course he did.  I had been telling him for a few weeks that I could smell mold.  Everything smelled moldy.  I'd walk the dog and someone would be watering their lawn and it would smell moldy.  Trash, peanuts, bread, chap stick...everything smelt moldy.  And when I smelt it, it would make my stomach turn.  DING, DING, DING!
 
Of course I called my Dr. right away and they told me to wait until I was at least 6 weeks, so I went to the first appointment on August 13th and saw that fluttering little heart beat.  Two weeks later I went in again and everything looked good and this time Geoff went and we got to see the little baby and hear the heartbeat.  Amazing!  It's not letting me upload our 6 week ultrasound, but here's the 8 week! 

8 weeks

So last Monday, September 24th we went for our 12 week appointment.  Everything looked good and the baby had grown so much.  We could see little legs and arms and a well formed body and head...it was unreal!  In this ultrasound picture you can see his/her head on the left side, a little hand at his/her mouth and little legs on the right hand side.   

12 weeks

God has truly given us a gift...a gift we'll cherish and love forever and ever.  We feel so blessed that we got picked to be parents and we cannot wait to meet our little pumpkin!  My plan is to track my pregnancy with this blog...so I hope to post at least once a week with progress.  Your prayers for a healthy baby and healthy, full-term pregnancy are GREATLY appreciated.  Be back soon!