4 Day Weekend and Week 28!

Lots of good, and a little bad in the past week; bad news first.  My Grandpa Jim passed away this past weekend.  He had been battling Parkinson's like symptoms, and overall degeneration of his mental and physical faculties for some time.  I am happy that he is no longer suffering, but sad that I wasn't able to get back to MN to say goodbye and be with family.  I'll miss you Grandpa Jim!

Despite the loss of a loved one, we still have an incredible amount of things to be thankful for!  We ran a Turkey Day 5k for the third year in a row, and celebrated Thanksgiving with our good friends.  Zane, Brendan, Alden and I ran, and Lexi and Alyssa "trotted" together.  We had great weather for the run, and also for the hot tubbin' afterwards!

I also took advantage of the warmer than average temps and got out for some good late season mountain biking!  Zane and I got a great ride in on Friday morning, and then got another solid group ride in on Sunday with Dan, Jesse, and Zane.  The trails could be under 5 feet of snow any day now, so it was great to get out a few last times.

Thanksgiving also brought the arrival of week 28!

 



I had my 28 week appointment this week along with the lovely gestational diabetes test.  It wasn't as bad as I expected but still not fun.  I also found out I've only gained 15 pounds so far which I'm very happy about!  Right on track although I may have indulged a little with all that fabulous Thanksgiving food.  I also get to start going in every 2 weeks for appointments...it will be nice to hear his heartbeat more often but work makes it tough.  Gotta do what ya gotta do! 

Other highlights of the awesome long weekend include hiking with Cali, a nice dinner and the new Bond movie and putting up the X-mas tree and lights on the house. 

Decided to get rid of the table this year.  Tree is a little smaller when it's not shoved in the corner :)

Looking forward to our 3D ultrasound on Wednesday and our 2 year anniversary trip to San Francisco this weekend!

Till next week!
Love,
Andy and Lexi

Weeks 26, 27 and much more!

Week 26 brings us to double digits, my SLC baby shower and our first massive snow storm!

Less than 100 days to go!

My wonderful friends here in SLC were so nice and threw me a baby shower!  So fun!  Had some friends, co-workers and neighbors brave the storm for a brunch get together.  Mayhem was once again spoiled beyond belief.  We're so lucky to have such great people in our lives. 





Cassie came from Ft. Collins, CO for the shower!

November snow storm.  I think we ended up with almost 2 feet!



Week 27 was also really busy!  I finally kicked my cold and felt like a normal human again which was awesome.  Andy was down in St. George all week for work so I had plenty of time to organize and craft.  I was off on Monday for Veteran's Day and I spent it in the baby room unpacking boxes, cutting those annoying plastic connector things off clothes, doing inventory and baby laundry so I didn't lost my mind.  I know we still have 3 months left but the room was in disarray and I really needed to get an idea of what we had and what we need.  So I feel much better about life now :)  You get a little glimpse of the organization in the week 27 photo. 

So excited to be starting the 3rd trimester!

I also made some burp cloths while Andy was down in St. George.  They are made with a cloth diaper and cute flannel.  Hope they work!

I hosted the girls for book club on Friday which was really fun as usual.  We all work full time and work in a scientific field so the only requirement is that we read books that have been made into movies, since we are all busy, and drink wine.  Lots of pharmacists, Dr's, PA's, optometrists, etc.  Most everyone is a transplant to Utah, we're all around 30 and everyone is just starting to have kids, so it's a great group and we really enjoy getting together every 6-8 weeks.

 

Saturday we went to our all day baby class...I felt it was something we should do.  It was 9-5.  LONG day.  It was ok, but I think if I could go back in time I would skip it.  It just made me feel anxious, nervous and panicky.  I think if we weren't already pregnant we would seriously be reconsidering having children! :)

 

We got rain this weekend which washed away all our snow from last week which is nice.  Rain in the valley equals snow in the mountains so Andy went out and skied for the first time.  He also plays hockey on Sunday's so along with Sunday football we have a big sports day. 

 

Really looking forward to the short week and Thanksgiving holiday!  I have my 28 week appointment tomorrow thanks to the Thursday holiday so I'm excited to hear Baby May's heartbeat and see where I am for weight!  Mayhem must have shifted a little lower and got some more room b/c I haven't had heartburn all week!  Still feeling and sleeping great.  I feel completely like myself and I'm pretty used to the constant tummy movement that I sometimes forget I'm preggers until I have to put on those dreaded maternity jeans or bend over to put socks on :)  The new feeling of the week is the alien flip flops.  He's still kicking but now I can feel and see him rolling around which is a weird sensation. 

 

Hope everyone is well!

Till next week!

Love,

Lexi and Andy

 





Week 25

I'm a little behind...we're almost to 26 weeks and I'm just now getting around to posting for 25.  Sorry!

It's been a busy couple weeks for both Andy and I.  Andy's been working a lot of late nights and it's been a crazy busy full moon kind of week for both of us.  And we have a lovely cold making it's way through the house so don't mind the pictures this week :)

I found this cute iron on at Hobby Lobby and made myself a shirt.  Turned out really cute but Andy says I need to fill it out a little bit more.  I feel big already so I'll try and take my time filling it out.

Speaking of kicking...the little guy has been busy lately!  So crazy that I can see my stomach moving.
Definitely starting to get big fast!  I'd been wearing my normal pants and extending them with a little hair elastic trick I learned.  That still works and it's so much more comfortable than maternity jeans but it just looks a little funny now that I'm bigger and the zipper is struggling.  So now I own 2 pairs of leggings, skinny jeans that are more like leggings and 2 pairs of boots.  New territory for this girl.  Did I mention that I hate maternity jeans?

Still feeling good pregnancy wise and looking forward to getting over this cold for this weekend!  My amazing friends are throwing me a baby shower here in SLC this weekend. 
Looking forward to the end of the 2nd trimester!

Till next week!
Love,
Andy and Lexi

Halloween! Hockey and week 24

Another weekend has come and gone.  They seem to fly by these days.  Having been out of the town the past three weekends in a row it was fantastic to be home!  We definitely stayed busy though.  The snow squalls of last week motivated me to get ready for winter.  Cut the grass one last time, put the patio furniture in the shed and started the never ending battle of raking leaves. 

Outside of yard work there was lots of hockey played this weekend.  Brendan and I played a drop-in on Saturday that was lots of fun.  Team Sole Tattoo moved to 2-0-1 in our league game tonight.  The drop-in maybe wasn't the best idea, I was worthless tonight.  Worthless or not, its good to be playing competitively again.  I had somehow forgotten how much I loved playing.

The Whites hosted a Halloween party at their place Saturday night, so we got dressed up and headed up.  Neither of us had planned on dressing up so our costumes were pretty last minute.  I found a mullet and put on my puma track suit.  Lexi found costume bits and went as Wonderwoman.  We played some darts, and had a few beverages (Lexi had Shirley Temples).  It was a great time.

We've reached 6 months!  Still completely amazed that there is a human being inside that will be here in 4 short months.  He is moving around a lot and getting stronger every day.  I was sitting on the couch with my hands on my stomach and my hand actually moved when he kicked!

Still feeling really great.  Unfortunately no great stories about cravings or hormonal rages.  Bending over is getting harder, sleeping is starting to be a little more uncomfortable and I've been getting a little bit of a delayed indigestion/heartburn thing but in general I'm still feeling pretty normal. 

After multiple online orders and returns I've finally acquired 2 pairs of maternity jeans that actually fit decent and are long enough.  Not a huge fan of the full spandex belly panel but I'll get used to it.  I had a Motherhood Maternity coupon so I went on a bit of a shopping spree at the outlets in Park City this weekend.  I got some basics that I hope will get me through February.  I've never been a leggings/skinny jeans kind of girl but desperate times call for desperate measures :)  I guess I've been really surprised to find how small of a selection is out there for maternity clothes.  Most stores don't have an in store selection and if they do it's extremely small.  Online is great but things don't fit the same so it gets expensive and annoying to ship things back.  Considering how many babies are born every day and how many women are pregnant at any given time I kind of thought there would be more affordable options.

Anywho...Mayhem's room is coming along nicely.  The curtains arrived and I finally got around to covering a lamp shade with some fabric I'd found and I'm loving how the yellow and grey are looking.  I used spray adhesive and a glue gun which were new adventures for me but the lamp turned out great.  Up next...a staple gun :)

Till next week!
Love,
Andy, Lexi and Mayhem
 

MN weekend and week 23

We had a very busy but very fun weekend!!  Andy was asked to be a groomsman in Jake Girtz's wedding.  Andy has known Jake since high school and we saw Jake and his now wife Christa often when we lived in MN.  Jake was also a groomsman at our wedding in Mexico.  We were so excited to be a part of their wedding!  Of course we had to take advantage of our weekend home so we tried to fit as much in and see as many people as possible. 

At the Girtz wedding reception.  23 weeks

I was also fortunate enough to have my first baby shower the morning of the wedding.  My sisters Greta and Gabrielle threw me a fabulous shower!  Thank you to everyone that could make it.  It was great to chat with everyone.  Mayhem is already very loved and VERY spoiled :)  I am loving the daily packages on the front step!

I'm a shower newbie so we just have candid photos.  This is the best bump picture I have for week 23...

Just a taste of our weekend schedule.  Landed at MSP at 9pm on Thursday.  Grandma and Grandpa were taking care of Owen and Avery so we had an early wakeup call and cuddles from them, drove down to St. Peter to have lunch with my parents.  Drove back up to Blaine for the rehearsal and dinner.  Another early morning on Saturday with my shower from 9-noon in St. Paul and then the wedding at 2pm in Blaine.  We stayed over after the reception and then met Greta, Nate and Gabrielle for lunch in Minneapolis on Sunday, stopped over at Tom and Emmy's in Savage for a visit and then back to Rosemount for an early dinner before a 7pm flight back to SLC.  Whew!  Like I said, very busy but very fun :)

Not too much new in the baby world.  Mayhem is moving a bunch and I'm getting bigger.  Definitely gaining some more weight a little quicker than the first 20 weeks.  I'm still in my regular pants with a little help from a jimmy rigged hair elastic.  I tried the belly band for awhile but wasn't a big fan and haven't found any maternity pants that I like or that fit.  A shopping trip is in the works for this weekend.  Got the yellow curtains for the baby room and they look great! (Pictures next week) Gabrielle got all crafty and made some artwork for Mayhem which will look so perfect.  You can kind of see it in the shower pic.  We've got a Halloween party on Saturday and I'm having some people over to decorate sugar cookies on Sunday so another busy weekend. 

Till next week!
Love,
Lexi and Andy

Weeks 21, 22 and Great American Beer Festival

It's been a busy couple weeks and I've been a slacker with the posts...sorry!  I've been doing some crafting for the little guy, painted his room not once, but twice, Andy went to Moab to mountain bike 2 weekends ago and we drove to Fort Collins this past weekend to visit friends and go to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

I now realize that I've been only making bibs for older babies and toddlers.  I found this cute pattern and went a little crazy while Andy was in Moab :) 



I cut up a bath towel for the back and velcro for the neck



I also got super motivated and painted the baby room while Andy was in Moab.  He's so lucky I like to paint :)  I was going for grey but didn't want it to be too dark since it's a very small room.  It turned out barely off white with a hint of pastel blue.  Not a bad color but definitely not the goal.  So I repainted Monday night since Andy is in St. George for work.  Apparently I can't just relax when he's gone.  The 2nd color looks much better.  It's a bit dark and depending on the light it can look a little blue or green but I love it.  Andy hasn't seen it yet so hopefully he likes it too. 

This past weekend we made the drive to CO to visit our friends Matt and Cassie.  Andy and I worked with Matt at Mayo and they moved to CO about a year before our move to UT.  We usually get together every 6 months and always have a great time!  I think we'd been talking about going to the Great American Beer Festival for about 3 years and we were able to get tickets this year.  I wasn't going to let this whole pregnancy thing stand in the way!  I got a cheaper non-drinking ticket and let everyone else have fun for me.  They had a great designated driver section with snacks and root beer which definitely helped.  Amazing how many breweries and beers there are throughout the country.  Definitely going to have to go back and enjoy next year!

Week 22 with Matt and Cassie at the Beer Fest!

Just a couple more days and we're flying back to MN for a wedding and my first baby shower!  So excited to see all our family and friends!  I feel like I've kind of exploded in the last couple days and don't know how much longer I can wear my normal pants with the belly band so I'm sure everyone will be happy to see that :)  Almost to 23 weeks so I suppose it was bound to happen soon. 

Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Love,
Lexi


It's a...

BOY!!

We're sooo excited!

He was quite uncooperative but the tech spent a long time making sure, and we are 90% confident.  Of course the umbilical cord was in the way but the tech said she could tell the difference.  I've got my study appointment on Wednesday so we'll hopefully get some confirmation!

 

We did a gender reveal party with some friends in SLC which was really fun.  We were split 50/50 so it was really fun to tell everyone.  Cali of course helped us.  We had some snacks, some blue cupcakes and played some lawn games. 

 

Andy ran his 3rd marathon on Saturday morning with Zane.  It was a pretty course that started in the middle of the Salt Lake on Antelope Island.  The downside being that it was a 6:30 am start.  I left  the house at 3:20am to meet Zane and drive up!  The first ten miles were spent running up the island as the sun rose over the mountains.  That part was great, then we ran across the 7 mile causeway that connected the island to land and things went downhill.  The last 9ish miles were through some pretty lonely farm country and residential areas.  It went well and I finished up the 26.2 miles at 3:37 hours, a new personal best, and the top time in the 25-29 age category, 16th overall.  Feeling pretty sore, and missing some skin from the bottoms of my feet, but that's about the worst of it.  Who knows if there's another one in my future?

 

Now that I have some inspiration the sweat shop is back in business!  I bought some cute flannel to make burp cloths and some fabric that will hopefully work in the baby room.  Not quite sure what I'm going to do yet...I also bought some of the super soft cuddle fabric and I'm going to make a critter blanket.  http://www.cuddlesoftkits.com/cuddlesoftkits/critter-blankets-step-by-step.htm

My family of course collected a crap ton of those beanie babies so I've got every animal under the sun to choose from.  I also designed a super cute penguin quilt that I started on but never finished that will be perfect for the little guy.  And then 8 billion bibs...so, if anyone would like some bibs, burp cloths or onesies for gifts for friends let me know!

 

We are super excited!  Still getting used to saying "he".  We've started throwing around names.  So glad we have 5 months to figure that out...

 

Till next week!

Love,

Lexi and Andy