2013 recap...welcome 2014!

Looking back on last year's recap, I have to say he was completely and absolutely right...

"Matt looked over at me on New Years and said, "It's going to be a good year".  2012 recap

What a whirlwind year this has been.  We celebrated 3 years of marriage and 9 years together this year, as well as welcoming the biggest miracle in finding out we were expecting our first baby! This was the last year we will spend as "just the two of us" (well three of us if you include the cute fur baby :) ) and we are SO excited to see what 2014 has in store for us as we welcome our sweet baby boy! 

2013 started with lazy cold Winter days.  I used the cold as an excuse to catch up on a couple different TV series so Jax and I spent a lot of my days off cuddling on the couch.  We traveled up to Lafayette a couple weekends to watch my cousin play basketball in his last year of high school, as well as celebrated the baby shower of a great friend.  

In February, we celebrated Super Bowl with our good friends and some awesome chicken wings.  Matt had gotten a deep fryer for Christmas and I think we had chicken wings almost every weekend for quite a while.  He perfected the art and made some awesome sauces too.  The girls in my family and I did a super fun wine tour in February through central Indiana.  We visited three wineries and did the tastings as well as shared a couple bottles.  It was so much fun! We ended the tour with a winery in downtown Indy and then had a delicious dinner at Buca de Beppo.  We stayed at a hotel in downtown Indy together.  I can't wait until we can do it again!  I got home from the wine tour trip to see Matt had gotten a new toy...a beautiful new Harley!  He had been looking for months for a bike to meet all his requirements and he happened to find the perfect one that weekend.  I'm so happy he found one he loves.  It is so comfy to ride! I get my own back rest and it even has a radio for us to jam while we ride :).

March brought even more cold weather and TV shows with the pup on the couch.  We got a big snow storm in March which reminds you that March really isn't "Spring"yet.  I got certified to teach KettleWorX at Kiwi and had fun teaching a couple of those classes. My mom got a super cute Boston Terrier puppy in March who happened to have the same exact Dad as Jax! She got her from the same place we got Jax.  Jax and Lexi were introduced and they are inseparable when they are together, it's like they know they are distant siblings :). 

In April, I started buying some plants for our landscaping project.  We made plans to finish our landscaping out front and so I picked up a couple azalea bushes, forsythias, and some rose bushes at Costco.  The first sign of Spring!  I also took a trip out to San Diego to see my friend Abby in April.  It was a much needed and perfect vacation.  I was also able to see my Uncle Jay and the rest of my family in California that trip which was a huge blessing.  Abby and I ate some great food, took a trip to the beach, spent a day sight-seeing in San Diego, and spent a lazy day at the pool catching some rays.

In May, a group of girls from my gym and I ran the "Dirty Girl Mud Run 5K".  It was a blast!  It was a 5K with a bunch of obstacles all involving mud.  We definitely got dirty.  Matt and my friend's husband came to cheer us on and take some pictures.  It was great to have them there.  We ended up just leaving our shoes there at the race to donate-there was no saving those things.  

June was a great month from beginning to end.  We started the month off by doing a TON of landscaping.  We got rid of all of the stupid red lava rock, replotted a new flower bed, and then mulched everything in.  We added all of our new plants  and everything started to take shape. Matt got a trailer for the Murano and that came in handy with all of the mulch.   We celebrated my cousins graduation party and my friend's daughter's 2nd birthday party. In the middle of June, our friends from Georgia came up to visit us! It was a fantastic long weekend.  We had great dinners (the boys can make some mean steaks!), made a day of motorcycle rides down to Oliver Winery and Brown County, and then ended the weekend with the Zac Brown Band concert!  The next weekend was our annual Dave Matthews Band concert weekend.  The first night was just us girls and then the boys joined us for the second night.  It was an amazing time as always.  It's always our highlight of the summer!  We also went to a truck driving competition for Matt's company the morning before the Saturday night show. The very end of June brought us the biggest surprise of our life...a positive pregnancy test!

In July, we celebrated the 4th with our friends and had a launch at Kiwi.  We had a great dinner and then made our way downtown for fireworks from the top of Rob's office building.  My mom and I had a blast at the Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox Twenty concert the next weekend.  It was so fun to go to a concert with my mom and both bands were fantastic.  We sang all the words and danced the night away. I would see them again in a heartbeat.  We celebrated Jax's 3rd birthday on the 9th-he is getting so old!  In July, we also confirmed the pregnancy with our doctor's appointment and ultrasound.  We were so overcome with emotions.  I'll never forget that feeling of telling Matt I was pregnant and then sitting in that ultrasound room and seeing our baby's little heartbeat flicker away on that screen. We are just so blessed.  The timing ended up being perfect.  I was definitely anxious and nervous during that first trimester.  Working in a NICU doesn't leave a whole lot of room for "naive enjoyment".  I had two weeks of not feeling well and then was good after that!

We had fun in August telling all of our family about the baby.  We were able to catch all of our parent's reactions on video.  I'm so glad we did.  We had a fun weekend of blueberry, banana, and chocolate chip pancakes, finished up the landscaping, and then had a date night to Symphony on the Prairie.  We really loved that! We plan to do it at least once again next Summer.  We welcomed a new niece in June and got to visit with her and Matt's family in August at the house.  We also babysat my mom's puppy for her and that was a wild weekend with both dogs.  Not sure owning two dogs at once will ever be in our plans.  We hit up the annual Layton family field day at the end of August and told a couple friends about the baby.  We had a great time! 

In September, we celebrated 3 years of marriage and 9 years together! Matt and I both took Friday off this year and spent the whole weekend together. We had our new bedroom furniture delivered that morning, had an awesome pancake breakfast, enjoyed the weather by taking Jax on a walk, went for our traditional Fogo de Chao anniversary dinner, and watched our wedding video that night.  That weekend we celebrated a good friend's wedding and were able to get all dressed up and head downtown for our yearly picture.  It was really cool to celebrate a friend's wedding around the time of our anniversary because it reminds you of the awesome promise you've made.  My little baby bump was starting to grow and was becoming obvious if I wore tighter clothes. On our anniversary, I felt the first little flutters from the little one.  I was fighting first trimester exhaustion and waiting for a little energy to resume.  First trimester brought a lot of naps and breakfast sandwiches from the work cafeteria.  I thoroughly scared Matt by passing out in the middle of Lowe's while we were shopping for deck stain.  The pregnancy was causing my blood pressure to be a little lower than normal and I went down randomly.  We had a great weekend at a Purdue football tailgate and game with Abby and Tia, Lauren, and Kylie and Kendal, and my family.  They played ND and the game was actually really really good! We ended the night with Harry's and HotBox which was a whole different experience while pregnant and sober :). 

October brought lots of movement from the baby and us finding out we were having a BOY! We had a gender reveal party with our family and friends.  It was the perfect way to find out the gender of the baby.  We had our ultrasound tech put "boy" or "girl" in a card and then I gave it to my friend so she could fill the big black balloon with pink or blue confetti.  We all gathered at my mom's house for a chili bar and visiting.  It was a gorgeous sunny weekend so we headed outside for the balloon pop!  Out exploded blue confetti and up went Matt's arm and my screaming voice :).  It was so cool to know the baby was a boy! And to be able to share that moment with our friends and family. I'm so glad we found out what the baby was, I can't imagine waiting until his birthday to know!  We were so thankful for an ultrasound to tell us we had a healthy, active little one in there.  He even showed off my sucking his thumb :).  Seeing him on ultrasound made it all the more real for us.  

In November, we took a road-trip to visit some of our friends down south.  It was a much-needed getaway for Matt and I and a perfect time before the baby comes.  We kept thinking how that road-trip would never be the same again once the baby comes :). I was about 24-25 weeks for the vacation which was great because I was fairly comfortable in the car and we only had to make a couple extra stops for bathroom breaks.  It was nice to have a solid week with Matt where we could just spend time together.  He got to the feel the baby moving like crazy on our car rides.  I loved seeing all of our friends, but the time with Matt was definitely my favorite part.  He was so patient with my slower moving, more frequent stops on the road, need for more rest (and naps!), and he made me breakfast every single morning. We made stops in Nashville, Jacksonville, Savannah, and then Cumming.  I am so glad we made this trip to see everyone.  We had an awesome, relaxing, and very entertaining week :).  We also had a great Thanksgiving with year where we were able to visit our families all three days.  We had my Grandma's in Lafayette on Thursday, my mom's family in Michigan City on Friday, and then Matt's family on Saturday.  I love being with our families!  My mom and I went shopping for some fabric for a quilt for baby boy's room and had fun starting to envision his room.

In December,  Matt and I registered for the baby which was so fun! I have still been feeling great throughout this pregnancy and still teaching my BodyPump class.  I've taken in down a couple notches for sure, and most definitely in the cardio classes.  I've started to feel little baby body parts stick out at me and even his little butt pushes out sometimes.  It's so cute :).  Everything has continued to look good at our appointments and we are getting so so excited to meet this little baby!  We started on the nursery and plan to start getting everything put together here soon.  I'm starting to feel the pressure of getting everything done and ready for him, but I know it will all get done.  

Happy New Year and Welcome 2014! We are so excited to see what you have in store for us :)

weeks 26-28

 week 26

Another week to be thankful for!  We still have a lot to do to get ready for him to be here.  We checked registering off the list last weekend which was a huge "to-do" on my list!  Matt was a trooper, way better than I expected! He is the farthest from a patient shopper-I can't get him into a store with me to save my life so his patience with registering shocked me.  We were able to add all the big stuff and most everything else, but I will probably go back to look at all the little stuff more closely and have more time to really pick out patterns and prints without him hurrying me :).  We also got the rocker/recliner for his room!  After a long day of registering, we stopped into a couple stores just to start looking and pricing out chairs.  We came across an awesome deal on a chair that we couldn't pass up so we ended up buying the chair right then!  Matt pulled the recliner into the living room for the Colts game on Sunday to start breaking it in :).

I've been feeling pretty great still! Which I am so so thankful for.  I stayed after teaching BodyPump this week to have the chiropractors look at my lower back/hips.  I'd been having some nerve pain on my left lower back for a couple weeks and I thought it would just go away.  Well, it didn't.  He felt around and sure enough my left hip was rotated out in a funny position and in turn was messing with my nerves which caused the pain.  Blame it on those pregnancy hormones loosening everything up!  He adjusted me and did some traction work and stretching.  It took a couple days, but by Friday I was feeling 100%! Braxton Hicks are still very prevalent-I just take them as a normal part of my day and it would be weird if I went a whole day without one.  They don't hurt, just uncomfortable.  I've been having some spatial issues lately.  Thinking I still fit through somewhere and then realizing I don't actually fit.  I've gotten lodged while trying to put the crockpot away in the pantry (so now it just stays out on the counter), while trying to squeeze in between the counter and chair at work, and pretty much every day I work in some way.

Baby is the size of a head of lettuce this week weighing in at 1 2/3 lb and 14 inches long!

week 27

He is definitely growing away in there! His kicks are getting so strong and there are certain days where he is SO wild! One day I work, I was actually sore on my right upper belly from him kicking me over and over all day long.  Not complaining though, I love it!  I went and finished up everything on the registry this week.  I'll still do some adding/deleting online, but I don't know that I'll go back to the actual store until we have to.  I heard a little baby crying at the store and it made me tear up just thinking that I'll get to hear him cry like that so soon!  Crazy hormones.  You'd think that hearing the NICU babies cry all day would have me dreading that, but hearing his cry will be so surreal!  Funny feeling this week-he had the hiccups! I was wondering what this weird rhythmic thumping was and then I realized he was having hiccups in there! He's done it a couple more times since and it makes me giggle every time.

Still feeling great! My round belly is becoming quite the nice shelf for my cell phone or snacks.  It's even been known to catch my snacks before they fall to the ground.  I've noticed some hip pain this week. Not the horrible nerve pain from last week (which has been SO much better), but just soreness and stiffness in my hips.  I notice it most at the gym when I'm doing a class or after a day at work where I've walked a lot.  On the rare day I don't work or work out, they feel great! But I can't get too used to that :).  Sleeping has been less than adequate lately.  I have a hard time getting comfortable and once I do I can't shut my brain off long enough to fall asleep.  One night I didn't fall asleep until midnight, was up from 2-4 am, and then had to get up for work at 5:30 am.  Let's just say I was dragging at work that day.  I've been eating a ton of peppermint ice cream lately.  It always sounds so good!  Still hooked on apples and oranges...and chips.

We had our appointment this week and everything checked out great!  I had gained 4 lbs since the last appointment (total now at 14.5 lbs), blood pressure was slightly high (but was my norm for a doctor's office BP and no protein in my urine so we are all good!), and we were measuring right at 27-27.5 wks.  Baby's heart rate was 145 bpm and she was able to tell that he is head down! For that moment anyways :).  That was so cool to find out he was head down.  I had no idea she could tell that early and wasn't expecting her to tell us his position.  It's fun to now know which body parts are poking and pushing out at me and where they are!  It was also the day of my glucose tolerance test.  We passed! Glucose was 79.  I was dreading failing and then having to come back for the 3 hour test.  Very relieved to know we passed.  Bring on the peppermint ice cream!  We start going every 2 weeks now which is so crazy!  We are going to visit a couple of the other doctors now just to be able to meet them before just in case my doctor can't deliver me.  I called and made an appointment to meet with a potential pediatrician for him this week too!  I need to call a couple others too and try and pick one.

Baby is the size of a rutabaga (how random?) weighing 2 lbs and 15 inches long!

week 28

Third trimester! Woo hoo! That is just so wild to me that we are already in our third trimester.  It feels like we just found out we were pregnant, but at the same time feel so far away.  It makes me a little sad to know we are nearing the end of this pregnancy because I really have enjoyed everything so far, but I'm way more excited to see him and hold him!  I feel like I have so much to do.  The list is getting longer and longer and I'm getting more and more overwhelmed.  We need to find a doctor for him, get the nursery started, make a list for our hospital bag, call insurance to order our pump, make freezer meals, find childcare for him for once I go back to work, get the house/carpets cleaned, and on and on and on.  I know it was all come together, but I can't help but stress about it until I start checking things off that list.  Dang Type A personality.  I'm also getting anxious about labor and delivery.  We have our childbirth/breastfeeding/newborn class this weekend so maybe I will feel better after that.

I had a major meltdown this week.  I was trying to surprise Matt with dinner at work, but everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong.  By the time I got onto the interstate (1.5 hrs later than I had originally planned) all I saw were brake lights and salt trucks for the bad weather that we were supposed to get.  I lost it.  I called him hysterical and I don't think he could make out anything I was saying.  I got off the interstate and headed home with his Jimmy John's sitting in the passenger seat. It took all of me to not just shovel it down as I waited in traffic :).  There is no listeria possible on an Italian Night Club right? :)

Baby is still crazy! New this week is him sticking body parts out and moving them away when I push at them.  It's a fun game to play.  I can see you move and kick from outside which I love.  It's so weird and awesome at the same time. We went to IKEA this weekend and got his dresser and some other stuff for his room! Now we just have to get started on putting it all together...but first we have to clean out the room and paint.

Baby is the size of an eggplant weighing 2 1/4 lb and 15 inches long!

thanksgiving

We had quite a busy Thanksgiving this year! I was lucky enough to do some trading and took a day of vacation which gave us Thursday-Saturday off and able to be with our families.  It is so crazy to think that next Thanksgiving we will be letting our little 9 month old taste-test some yummy Thanksgiving foods...and then cleaning up the mess :).  

We have the best families.  We are just so lucky and thankful to be apart of them.  Thursday started with Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandma's in Lafayette.  It always starts with a shrimp appetizer-delicious! She makes all of the food and way too many desserts-which we all appreciate taking home as leftovers :).  The day involved the usual fun and food and ended with looking up Black Friday ads, Matt and my grandparents doing a whiskey taste test, and some orange juggling :).  I fit in a nice nap after dinner which I'm very glad about since we stayed until about 10 that night!  Then it was back to Matt's mom's to make our Oreo pies!

The next few are outtakes of trying to get a picture of Matt and I...him trying to pull the side of my sweater back so my belly would show more and me disagreeing that it was plenty visible.

I love his face in this one. Ha!

On Friday, we got up and headed to Michigan City for Thanksgiving Part II.  We did have to make a pit-stop in Merrillville to go to that Costco for a rug that our Costco didn't have in stock for little man's nursery, but then we were off!  We got to my grandparents just in time for appetizers.  I think I ate my weight in spinach artichoke dip.  The poor boys were too busy watching Purdue basketball to even notice we put out the food..so we took it upon ourselves to eat it all for them :).  We ate a delicious meal and then sat around the table talking about what we were most thankful for, favorite concert/movie/event of 2013, and of course the weirdest thing you've ever eaten...I love my family.  We relaxed for awhile and then brought out Apples to Apples.  Always a good time.  That night, we watched a special with Garth Brooks and nibbled on leftovers.  It was so nice to be able to spend time with everyone.

On Saturday, we headed back to Lafayette for Matt's family Thanksgiving.  There are usually 30-40 (sometimes more!) people at his mom's house!  We watched some football and waited on the yummy smelling food to be ready.  The boys stayed outside pretty much all afternoon sipping whiskey and smoking cigars...male bonding ;).   I love Matt's family Thanksgiving because it is always the same day every year and there is always such a great turnout.  I love knowing that so many of his family will be there!  I was able to fit in some good cuddle time with my new niece too :)

We headed home that night since I had to work on Sunday.  It was definitely a packed couple days, but we wouldn't have had it any other way!  We have so much to be thankful for this year :).