Life Update!

Claire and I both have caught a seasonal cold. Man is it sad to hear a little baby coughing up pheglm like an old man. The first night she had trouble sleeping and the entire next day she barely napped. But last night, I think from just utter exhaustion, she slept 9.5 hours straight!! And when she woke up I went in and turned her light on and she started smiling at me. CUTEST thing ever!! I'm hoping she keeps up the sleeping through the night, especially for when I go back to work.

I'm getting more and more sad about going back to work in just 4 weeks. That's right I only have 4 more weeks. I was thinking about how lucky I am that I have been able to take off as much work as I have though...some people only get 6 weeks or barely that! I can't even imagine. I have had a few days where I felt very unproductive and antsy to get back to working and interacting with adults...probably a good sign that I am slowly getting ready to go back. Also to prepare, I am going to practice having friends watch Claire while I run a few errands during the day. I also need to practice pumping while I'm away from her. I think once I've done that a few times it will make going back not as stressful. One of our friends from church will be watching her during the day. I can't say how grateful I am to have found someone I know and trust to watch her. I really didn't want to put her in a random daycare!

Breastfeeding problems seem like something of the past now. She's a little feeding champ. I'm always confident that she has gotten enough after a feeding and even if she hasn't I know she'll let me know the next time she's hungry! It's funny how much things change so quickly!

Last weekend Colin and I completed the Jingle Bell 5k run. It was fun. I didn't do too bad for just having had a baby! It definitely motivated me to keep going. So Colin and I signed up for the Portland Rock n'Roll Half marathon in May! This will really force me to run. Our original plan was to do it as a family, Colin pushing Claire in the Jogging stroller and all. But she apparently has to be at least 8 months for it to be safe to jog with her and she'll be just about 8 months for the run, but that won't give us anytime to train with her. So she'll most likely be cheering us on on the sidelines with grandma or grandpa or someone!

Last weekend we also got our tree and put up our Christmas decorations! I just LOVE this time of year. Looking forward to holiday parties and time with good friends and family!

so thankful!

Wow, so much to be thankful for this year! A happy healthy baby, who is a wonderful sleeper. A loving supportive family. Great friends. An awesome husband who is growing into an amazing father. And a loving mericful God who has blessed us well beyond what we deserve! I love this time of year. I am so grateful that I get to be home during the holidays with Claire! I'm looking forward to doing some holiday decorating and baking!

I made this wreath to pin up our holiday cards we recieve this year! Found the idea from Martha.

This is probably the worse time of year to try and lose prenancy weight! All the food and parties and the darkness makes it tough to have self control and to get to the gym!! Colin and I have worked out a schedule for each of us to get some gym time though when he gets off work. I have been running a little bit (in prep for the Jingle Bell run) and doing some weights. Even if I don't do a whole lot at the gym it's just nice to get out and have a little time by myself. Exercise is something that is important to both Colin and I, so we're trying to figure out how to make it all work!

Claire is such a content little thing. She is so happy just lying in her crib or on her changing table, it's so funny. Night time is the funniest (is that a word?), I feed her right before I go to bed and when I put her back down she talks to herself for at least a half an hour. It is really cute! She is really trying to communicate, she makes all sorts of little sounds in response to us talking to her. And she is smiling a ton, Colin swears that when I was gone she had her first giggles...I will believe it when I see it! haha. He also thinks she said her first word (genious baby!)...Colin was saying "hi" repeatedly to her and she let out a little sound that sounded just like "hi," we both looked at each other and could not stop laughing, I'm sure it was coincidence but still it was a little creepy!!

Last weekend we enjoyed a visit from Colin's mom. It was a short trip, but I think she still enjoyed being able to see Claire in person and how much she has grown!

Yep, every week is different. New last week... Mastitis...Oh man, is this painful!! For those of you not familiar, it is a breast infection. I had been having pain for maybe a week but it wasn't accompanied with any other symptoms so I didn't think much of it. The pain increased throughout the week, and then I had chills all night last Friday and I was really dizzy. I just thought I was really tired and I swore our heater was broken! I finally took my temperature the next morning and realized that I had a fever. So we went to urgent care and got some antibiotics. I'm feeling better now. Saturday I was so ready to throw in the towel and give up on breastfeeding, but then Sunday and everyday since Claire has really gotten into a rythmn!!! Feedings aren't taking an hour anymore. I was also still a little worried that she wasn't getting enough, so Colin borrowed a meat scale from a co-worker and she weighed 9 pounds 1 ounce last weekend!!! So she has gained even more than they recommend! yay!

Claire and I have such a good routine going now. I can really tell that it makes a HUGE difference. She sleeps amazingly at night when we stick to the routine during the day and when we don't she doesn't sleep quite as well. I read this great book called "On Becoming Babwise" that was recommended to me by several people and it is great. It's all about getting your baby on a schedule and helping them get great sleep. My only advice I will ever give to new moms is for them to realize that they are the mom and they don't have to take any advice from anyone. So this isn't advice I'm just going to share what has worked for us so far! One thing the book suggests is that you do a continuous eat/wake/sleep cycle throughout the day. This makes it so baby doesn't rely on being nursed to sleep. They also suggest that you don't give them any "sleep props" and let them cry it out so that they learn to fall asleep on their own. This way if they have to fall alseep somewhere new they won't have as much trouble with it. I will say this book does have controversy around it because many people don't believe in feeding your baby on a schedule or with letting newborns cry it out, but honestly I have to say it is totally working for us. Claire really only cries about 5 minutes before she is fast asleep and most babies need to cry a little to let off some energy before they can fall asleep anyway. And with the feeding on a schedule thing, the book recommends to get in full feedings, no little snacks here and there and naturally they fall into a 2.5-3 hour schedule anyway. And it's totally flexible. It just gives mom and baby some reassurance knowing what is coming next! For the first few weeks we had Claire sleeping in our room in a bassinette, but she makes little grunts and squeaks ALL night long! I wasn't getting ANY sleep, I also noticed that she slept great in her crib during the day so I finally transferred her there for night time sleep and we are all getting lots more sleep! I think it is really important that mom and baby get good sleep...a tired, worn out mom is no good!

With Claire taking naps in her crib I have more time to do things for me...like take showers :) and bake and do some little craft projects. I figured I should really take advantage of this time as stay at home mom and do some stay-at-home-momish stuff (instead of just watching hours of daytime TV). This week I made a necklace that I saw on pinterest and I started a fall wreath to hang on our door, I still need to buy a glue gun before I can finish it.

My mother in law bought me a cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious " that has all these fun recipes that add vegetable purees to them. It's basically hiding veggies to get your kids to eat more, but I totally need this to eat my veggies too! I made applesauce muffins that have a carrot puree and chocolate chip cookies that have carrot puree and chickpea puree. Um, so good. And it really wasn't that hard to make the purees. You can make a ton and freeze small amounts so you always have some to cook/bake with. I'm totally thinking about making some of my own baby food when that time comes...or start while I'm home and freeze for when that time comes! It's something you could spend one day a month doing (on a weekend) and have a ton of baby food for super cheap!

Yesterday I had my 6 week post-partum visit and I got the go ahead to resume regular exercise. I definitely need to start slow, I don't feel 100% yet and can't imagine just jumping right back into it. I have signed up for my first post-baby run though to give me a little motivation, the Jingle Bell Run 5k on Decemeber 2nd! So I will need to start running again soon so I don't die.

It seems everyday is so different from the last. Claire has been a bit more fussy at night, she's not the brand-new-sleeps-all-the-time-baby anymore! Two nights ago was probably the worst, she woke up several times hungry and then cried (loudly) when I put her down again. I got maybe 3 hours of sleep total that night. Oh man I thought for sure she must have been sick. But then last night was the best night we've had yet! She only woke up once to be fed, giving me a couple good 4 hour streches of sleep! I so needed that rest, thank you Jesus! And she is taking a good nap right now so I can actually sneak in a little blogging :) I love that she is getting more aware of her surroundings, she sits in her swing and stares out the window...I don't even have to turn the swing on. The breastfeeding has also gotten better. On Sunday we had another lactation appointment and I left more frustrated than ever. Every time we go we end up seeing a new person even when I specifically asked this time if I could see someone we had seen before, but when arrived it was someone different. It feels like we have to start over again with the whole story and we weren't getting any progressive help. Claire actually did get enough milk at this last appointment even though it felt like a bad feed. So I decided to be done with lactation consultants for a while and just try things on my own. This week I decided to go cold turkey with her and eliminate all bottles and just breastfeed (it takes about 45-50 minutes a feeding for me to be confident that she got enough though), even if she was fussy after, I just did not give her the bottle. And seriously I think it is working, she is getting better at it everyday and not fussing and acting like she wants a bottle after. What a difference a week makes. I prayed about this whole feeding thing and the Lord really showed me that I, as Claire's mother, can make the decisions on how we do things. I don't have to do exactly what the "experts" tell me too. I gotta go with my mom intuition sometimes and do what works for us! That has brought major relief, when trying to go with all the advice the lacation consultants, pediatrition, books I was reading, etc. were giving us it made me really stressed out and not confident in what I was doing.

I don't think I ever posted any final nursery pictures so here are a few...it actually isn't totally done...the book shelf still needs work. We'll see if it ever gets done!

Claire Grace Kambak

Oh my goodness! We are so in love with our little bundle. Claire Grace was born September 17, 2012 @ 6:15pm. 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Everyone tells you how amazing it is and you just have no idea until it actually happens. Everyone also tells you how sleep deprived you will be and you really have NO idea. It's a roller coaster of emotions, but so much fun. She is changing and growing every day.

I will say that the labor was absolutely nothing like I planned it out. I started to have contractions around 11pm on Sept. 16th and timed them for a few hours before waking Colin up at 1am to let him know this was the real deal. We timed them until about 9am when we called the midewife to let her know the contractions had been coming about 4-5 minutes apart for an hour. So she told us to come in. When we got there they checked me out and I was only 3 centimeters dilated and the contractions had slowed down. So they said we could walk around for a couple hours or go home. The idea of walking around the hospital while I was having contractions did not sound fun, so we went home. This was so disapointing! As soon as we got home they really started to pick up and get bad. We were home for a few hours before heading back. At this point it was really intense. All I could do was scream through each contraction. Colin thought I was going to die. It's a little embarassing to admit that, haha, but everyone handles labor differently I guess. Prior to going into labor I really imagined myself totally calm and taking the pain as it came. I also hoped to do a water birth. I thought the water would help with the pain and make the whole thing more relaxing, but after 17 hours of labor I really just couldn't take it. I couldn't relax and I wasn't progessing (they thought it could be another 7 hours), I even labored in the water for a couple hours before opting for an epidural. I always thought I would have a "natural" birth with no drugs, but honestly I am really glad I decided to take the drugs. Immediately after I was able to relax. It was a totally different experience. The midwife let us know this could potentially slow things down, so they left us alone for a bit. Our room had a beautiful view of the city and the mountain and Colin and I could just sit and chat. About an hour later my water broke, the nurse and midwife came back in and were surprised that I was already fully dilated and ready to push. It took an hour to push little Claire out. I felt like I could fully enjoy the experience, the epidural took away the pain but I still felt the pressure to know when to push. I didn't think I would want to watch with a mirror, but I am really glad I did. It was absolutely amazing!

Claire had some mild jaundice and lost about 12% of her body weight which was more than they like to see (usually up to 10% is ok). And we found out it was because she wasn't taking in much while breastfeeding. We've had to supplement with bottles of pumped milk. This has been extra exhausting, I breastfeed her (so she'll get used to that and continue with it), then pump and then feed her a bottle. Oh man, talk about looonnng feedings. It's getting better though and I have been going to a lactation specialist twice a week to work on it. We are now trying to get her to feed more efficiently and ween her from the bottle. Who knew this could be so hard, and so emotional!! This has been one of the biggest challenges so far. All I have been doing to nursing, nursing, nursing! Getting out of the house is a challenge with feedings, but I have managed to get out at least once a day this last week. It's a tad depressing being inside all day with this amazing October weather!!

We've been surrounded by some wonderful family visits and great friends have blessed us with dinners! Colin's mom was able to make here the night Claire was born, she only got to stay for one night but her and Colin's dad came for a visit last week, along with Colin's grandparents, his Aunt Kim, Uncle Dennis and Aunt Shelley. I am so happy everyone was able to spend time with little Claire. My family (minus my sister Natalie) was able to come visit the night Claire was born as well. My sister came into town last week as well and spent a couple days with me, giving me a chance to get in a couple showers and naps! I'm surprised I even have time to write this blog right now, but Claire is learning to take a few naps in her crib. For the first few weeks nap times were spent on laps of visitors and on mommy and daddy...she's had trouble sleeping at night and I'm convinced it's because it's so quiet at night. Hopefully getting in some quiet naps will help with evening sleep. We'll see. Well that is about all for now! I will continue to post pictures and updates on her progress :)

Almost there!

It feels like I have been pregnant FOREVER, in fact it's been all of 2012!! Tomorrow is d-day! I am going crazy. I've been having contractions for 3 weeks now! The first time it happened it was right after we went to bed and I made Colin time it, but he ended up falling asleep...so I decided I might as well just go to sleep and if was really happening it would wake me up. So I have been convinced she was going to come early, and now that we have approached the day I'm worried that it's going to be another week! Every time the contractions start I can't help that hope it's about to be the real thing!! Yep, going crazy here. I had an appointment yesterday morning and my midwife thinks it will be soon...but who knows what that means! I know she's coming soon but how soon!? :) (a week in the scheme of things, really is soon). She also took a shot at estimating the birth weight at about 8 pounds. She said she likes to estimate the weight and see how close she gets but not to hold her to it. So we'll have to wait and see!

Yesterday was my last day of work and today I feel so relieved. It's not that my job is physically demanding or really stressful it's just been exhausting to get up and go every morning and also the unknown of when this baby is coming just adds to it all! So today I really have nothing planned; catch up on some blog posts, clean, watch some daytime TV, organize the baby clothes, take a walk, maybe sit in the pool...just try to enjoy this time! If I'm still pregnant next week though I'm going to make a plan for every day so I'm not just sitting around staring at my belly!

32 Weeks!

Less than 2 months to go! My nesting instincts have kicked in for sure! I've been spending a lot of time cleaning out junk. I've also organized the clothes we for the baby a million times! Planning the nursery has been fun, so excited for our little girl to arrive! Here are a few pics of what we have so far...nowhere near done.

I realized that I hadn't been thinking much about the actual birth. I guess I keep thinking that I have so much time, when really I don't!! You never know she could decide to come at any time now. So I finally decided to look up classes on labor and delivery and I am too late! Most classes last 6 weeks and they like you to get them done way before your due date and I only have 8 weeks to go....so much for that. Oh man, maybe it's better this way? I have found some really good online classes and some books, and I guess I will just start taking notes and writing down questions that come up to ask my midwife. Colin and I decided to purchase a nice new camera before baby's arrival, we took a little walk around the block and captured a few maternity pics. I decided not to do any professional maternity pictures, but we got a few good ones out of this mini photo shoot! I wasn't going to take any, because I feel so large, but I decided baby girl might like to see me pregnant someday :)

Welcome to the 3rd Trimester!

This is my first week of my 3rd trimester! On the home stretch! It feels like I have been pregnant forever! I'm still feeling pretty good. This last week I ran a few times and really felt like I had somewhat routine exercise. I have, however, had horrible sciatica. Basically this is sciatic nerve pain that occurs due to the baby's position. Oh man it hurts! So Saturday and today instead of running I decided to go swimming. It felt amazing! I definitely need to make that more of my week. Lately I have been feeling like I am just ready to be done with pregnancy and I'm anxious to meet and care for my baby girl! I told my midwife this at our appointment on Friday and she told me it was kind of early for that, so ofcourse that made me start balling. Oh the hormones! I feel like I have been even more emotional lately than during any other stage of pregnancy. Poor Colin. People keep telling me to enjoy the pregnancy, but honestly I just don't think I am someone that Loves to be pregnant. I am grateful though, that I have had a very smooth pregnancy, absolutely no complications up to this point. I thank God for this and remind myself that I have nothing to complain about! Here is a picture of baby girl at 27 weeks! She has definitely grown from when we saw her just 7 weeks ago :)

Yummness!!

These totally deserved their very own post. I found a recipe for homemade snickers bars on pinterest and made them one day and had to share. I actually like these better than store bought (and I LOVE Snickers bars!). These have a little peanut butter in them which I think is what really makes them delish. There are several layers and it is a little time consuming to wait for each layer to cool, but if you are home and doing other things in between each layer it really isn't that bad. And it is SO worth it :) makes one 9×13 pan bottom chocolate layer 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips 1/4 cup peanut butter Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely. nougat layer 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup evaporated milk 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff 1/4 cup peanut butter 1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped 1 tsp vanilla extract Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely. caramel layer 1 14-ounce bag of caramels 1/4 cup whipping cream Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely. Top chocolate layer 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips 1/4 cup peanut butter Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best! Note: for best results, buy one of the half-sheet aluminum cake pans at the grocery store. That way, you can pop the entire square out and cut from there!

East Coast Trip!

Sunday we got home from a 10 day trip to the East Coast! We had so much fun. We got to spend time with family and friends. The first weekend was full of wedding festivites for Colin's cousin Kim, in Pennsylvania. We helped decorate, we got to partake in the fancy rehearsal dinner, had fun at the wedding and a post-wedding brunch! It was all so wonderful. It was great to visit with Colin's family. Most of them I had only ever met at our wedding and it's hard to really get to know people at your own wedding :) Isn't this gorgeous! The wedding ceremony was outside and then the reception was in this old barn (good thing too, because it was about 90 degrees and POURING!) Sunday evening we went home with Colin's cousin Laura to New York!! That night we decided to hit up some of the must-see tourist attractions, like Timesquare, Rockefeller Center and Magnolias cupcakes :) Colin and I have both been to these place (minus the cupcake place, which really is a must!) but it's always fun to go again. It was Memorial Day weekend and Timesquare was packed!! The next morning we all met up with my good friend Lauren and had brunch at a place called the Spotted Pig. It was delish! The we headed up to the Highline which is a park that was made out of old rail road tracks, it's set above the city and is a good place to see everything! Then we walked to Central Park! We came across the Boat House and decided to go for a row. It was fun, but HOT! The weather said 93 degrees/feels like 104. Yes, yes, it felt like 104 degrees and it was humid! For dinner we met up with our friend Ashley and her boyfriend. While eating Alec Baldwin and his girlfriend came to the resturant and looked at the menu! We probably scared them away since we were all staring and looking incredibly look tourists :) They did not have dinner there, but it was still fun to see a celeb! The next day we walked by the Hudson River through Battery Park to Ground Zero. We weren't able to go into the monument since you have to purchase tickets way ahead of time but it was cool to see the new Freedom Tower that is being built. We continued walking and went over the Brooklyn Bridge! We did so much walking during this trip, probably around 10 miles a day. I wasn't sure how my prego body would handle all this but I did just fine. In fact the mornings after the days we walked a ton I did not have any back pain whatsoever! After New York we headed to Philladelphia to spend a few days with Colin's other cousin Michael and his wife Christina. We had a fun day full of American history. We went to Independence Hall, the Consistution Center and the Liberty Bell. After Philly we headed to Colin's cousin Tara's house (he has plenty of cousins!). It was fun spending time with Rich & Tara and their four kids! We played lot's of games and got some time to rest after all the walking we did earlier in the week. Overall we had a great trip! It's crazy to think that this was probably the last trip without a baby!!

I see PINK!

Yep, pink is in our future, we are having a GIRL! I am thrilled :) The ultrasound was amazing! It was the first one we've had and it really makes things real...like there is actually a little child growing in me!! Crazy! People had been asking me if I can feel the baby move and I really wasn't sure. But during the ultrasound she was lying back and kicking her little feet up on my belly and I could feel it, for some reason I just hadn't made the connection. Now I feel her all the time. So fun! On Saturday our church had a clothing swap, so I scooped up some cute little girl outfits. Then yesterday a good friend of mine who has 2 little girls had me come over and raid the girls' closet. So much fun! This little girl is going to be spoiled! I have been feeling pretty good lately, totally done with morning sickness, thank the Lord! But I have been extra tired and it's been hard to continue working out. Well, the hardest part with trying to keep up on running is that I have to use the restroom every 10 minutes, not so fun. I have been taking a prenatal yoga class during the week (I just LOVE being able to do that in the middle of the day, I love my job!). I love this class, the instructor is also a midwife, so we do a lot of poses to prepare for labor and also stretches to relieve the tension from our changing bodies. It has been much needed!

This was my first full week of no morning sickness!!! YAY! I didn't even feel nauseous! But I did have a terrible head cold. Colin was sick last week and I have been deperately trying to not get sick, but my efforts did not work. I had a stuffed up nose, achey ears, dry scratchy throat and a horrible headache, that lasted about 4 days. The worst part is that you can't take much of anything while you are pregnant! I am feeling better now and trying to get back into excercising and eating better. Colin and I are doing a one week free trial at the Nike sports centers....they are SO NICE! And motivating. I'm thinking I will definitely join, it does cost more than our current gym, but it's so convenient and Nike employees are encouraged to work out during the work day!! Tomorrow I am trying out a prenatal yoga class that they offer. Really excited for it. Probably too excited :)

This is my third week at my new job. So far so good, but I am absolutely exhausted by the end of the week! Learning a new job is so tiring!! Maybe that had something to do with getting sick..?

I am getting baby fever!! This last weekend we spent some time with my good friend Molly and her 4 month old Emma, talk about cuteness!! Then on Saturday we went over to visit some good friends from church who just had a little boy named Winston, he's only a week old!! Yes, seeing these babies definitely got me excited! I really haven't been buying anything yet...I am holding off until I find out what the gender is! I have been pinning nursery ideas like crazy on Pinterest though....but I will hold off to buy anything. Our ultrasound to find out the gender is scheduled for April 27th!!

I promise I will post a recent baby bump photo soon. I have been trying to take one every week. Oh boy do I love the unsolicited advice us pregnant ladies get. geez! I'm not too far along and I'm already getting a ton. My favorite has been "Wow, you look really big for only 15 weeks...pretty much as big as so and so who is 7 months along." Um...Ok...thanks. Like what am I suppose to say?? And it always seems to be said as if I should have an explanation... I don't know maybe I'll be the next octomom...we shall see!

BABY!!

So the word is out! We are having a baby :) I've been editing this blog post for the last few months, just because I was so excited, but I always wanted to wait until I got through my first trimester.

So far this pregnancy has been rough...well, the mornings have been rough! I puke my guts out in the morning, feeling nauseous only for it to be relieved by cheese pizza, salty french fries and peanut butter m&m's. My emotions are all over the place, crying at almost any movie, commercial, book...I actually found out way before I had any of these obvious symptoms. In fact my first few weeks were spent in somewhat of a denial phase...not that I wasn't excited about it, (because Colin and I are both SO EXCITED!!) but it just didn't feel real. I didn't have any symptoms, I just didn't feel pregnant. I wasn't feeling sick and I was still able to run a few miles every night. But then at week 7 it hit. I had horrible morning sickness that truly just lasted the morning, which I am grateful it didn't last 24/7. I really couldn't stomach a thing until about 11am when I would start craving strange things, especially for having thrown up several times that morning, things like greasy cheese pizza, salty french fries or potato chips, chinese orange chicken....oh my! No wonder I've already gained 15 pounds! I am just over 14 weeks now and the symptoms have not eased up yet...hoping soon.

I finally told my work last week. I was SO nervous, mostly because I had just gotten a new job!! Yes, that is right. I got a new job and I am so excited about it, it's pretty much doing the same type of work I am doing now (project management) but I will be working within the Running Apparel category, SO excited! So it was kind of awkward timing, but it was starting to get more and more obvious and I just had to spill the beans. It was my first week of my second trimester and that is when I had decided to do it regardless of where things were at with the job. My manager was SO excited for me and she definitely relieved some of the worries I had. I also had to tell my new managers, which was a little awkward but for the most part people get pretty excited about babies!

Besides the morning sickness I have been feeling pretty good in the evenings, not overly tired and I've been able to mostly keep up my normal exercise routine. I even joined a few Nike+ running challenges to keep me going.

A few weeks ago we had our first appointment and got to listen to the baby's heart beat! That was pretty much amazing. It was beating so fast, it was crazy! In a few more weeks we'll be having our ultrasound and find out what we are having! We definitely want to find out so we can prepare, not that we care either way! At this point I don't even have a hunch of what we're having. So far all the online tests have been 50/50 boy/girl! So we'll just have to wait and see.

Well, I think that is about all for now. I will keep you all posted :)

Yesterday we got a little spring teaser! It was 58 degrees and sunny, it might as well have been 80 it felt so nice and warm!! Colin and I enjoyed a nice long walk around the neighborhoods surrounding our apartments. We have some fancy houses close by so it's always fun to walk by those and dream!!!

I also was able to log some miles with my Nike+ on our walk. I've joined 2 Nike+ challenges at work to keep me going. One is just within my department, every couple months they launch a new challenge to get people moving. Basically the team with the most miles at the end of the challenge time frame wins! Speed doesn't matter, which is great for me! The second challenge is company-wide and supports Nike's Girl Effect foundation. This foundation supports young girls in Africa to learn a trade and become a vital part of their community. For every mile I log $.50 will be donated to the cause!! And the miles I run will fo towards both challenges. Pretty neat!

randomness

Colin and I had a lovely Valetine's day. Colin made me some delicious Thai food for dinner and then we went and saw The Vow. It was a really good movie. I enjoyed it. And Channing Tatum far exceeded the acting expectations I had for him, he did good and he looked good :)

The Sunday before Valentines day was our 7 year dating anniversary! I really can't believe it's been that long. I remember the day we met like it was yesterday :)

Work has been insane this week I've had a couple early morning calls with our Europe office and a couple late night calls with our Asia offices. At least I was able to get a laptop to do those from home, but still. I haven't gotten much running in since I am so exhausted and barely have time in my day. I need a vacation!

We booked our tickets a couple weeks ago for our trip to the East Coast! The night we did it I seriously felt like we would be leaving in a couple weeks, then I realized it's only February and I have to wait until May!!! Booo. I am really looking forward to it though. We haven't figured out all the details yet but we are going to be gone for like 10 days so we'll have time to travel around a bit! And I think May is the perfect time to go before it gets too hot and humid over there!

The year is off to a great start! I have been trying to run more using my Nike+. I'm not sure what it is about being able to post my runs on facebook for the world to see but it is SO motivating! I'm hoping to sign up for a few races soon to keep me going.

It has been raining cats and dogs! The last few days we've had threats of a 2012 snow-pocalypse (the weathermen here are SO dramatic :)), but we woke up to maybe a half inch of slush and a downpour. I'm ok with that. I really only like the snow if I don't have to drive in it. Give me 6 feet of snow so I really can't go to work and I'd be fine (as long as its all melted in a few days!)

Colin and I are making a conscious effort to eat better! Pass the fruits and veggies please!! We've made some really fun things. One thing that I think everyone should try are Kale chips! Toss some chopped up Kale with olive oil and garlic salt, bake @450 for about 15 minutes and you've got yourself some really delicious and healthy chips!! Seriously, try it.

We started a new bible study series with our small group last Sunday. I think it's gonna be good! We have a few new people which is always exciting. For the next 12 weeks are doing a series called "Called" from Campus Crusades for Christ. Really looking forward to it.

Anyway, that is all for now.

2012!

Wow, talk about blog neglect! I cannot believe it is 2012 and in some ways I can't believe it is only 2012, my job at Nike has me working in future seasons, we are currently working on the Summer 2013 line! It gets me all confused.

December was a great month. 2 weeks after coming home from our Arizona trip we went to Vegas. We had a blast!! I don't think either of us have done so much walking in our lives (except maybe when I lived in Europe)! We had a lot of fun walking through all the different hotels with their different themes. Seeing the fountain at the Bellagio was my favorite! We went with my best friend Michelle and her husband and their good friends Mark and Alex. They all went to the National Finals Rodeo and Colin and I went to see Ka a Cirque de Soliel show. It was awesome. My sister is living in the Vegas area now so we were able to meet up with her and get chauffeured around town a little! It was way fun.

The group

My sister, Tawnya & I

When we got back home it was all about Christmas. We had a pretty low key Christmas, spent a lot of time with the fam and friends that were in town for the holidays. Nike is closed the week between Christmas and New Years so I enjoyed 10 days off! It was great, I don't think I've ever taken time off work that wasn't for a trip or something. It was really nice and relaxing.

I'm looking forward to the new year! I have the same old goals I do every year; exercise more, eat better, read the bible more, serve at the church more, read more, watch TV less, pay off debt, etc.

We already have some fun things to look forward to in 2012, in May we will be making the trip out east to celebrate Colin's cousins wedding!! We are going to make a vacation out of it and hopefully stay for over a week to visit with family and visit a few of my good friends that live in New York! In June Colin and I are in our good friends, Jesus and Natalie's, wedding! We have been in small groups with them at our church for the last couple years, we are so excited and honored to be a part of their special day! By the end of the year (if all goes according to plan) we should be completly debt free!!

Oh and one last 2012 resolution, write my blog posts!