March

Now that it's the middle of May… I will post about March! Colt had to be in Austin on March 2nd to present and attend a conference. He was presenting one of the cases that he had worked on. This was the poster for his presentation. 

He got off on Sunday, the 1st, at around lunch. Even though he was probably ready to go to bed, we packed up and went ahead and went to Austin as soon as he got home so that we could make a couple of stops before going to the hotel. We stopped at the Apple store so he could glance at desktops, and then we went to Buy Buy Baby to start our baby registry. We ended up at Buy Buy Baby for at least two hours that day! Talk about a little overwhelming… I had some big items picked out in advance but there were a lot of things I wanted to see in person. Then we were definitely clueless when we made it to the bottle and breastfeeding area. We kinda just clicked stuff and decided to look up more information and ask questions later. There's a lot of decisions and choices! Colt was definitely a trooper and luckily, he had opinions on everything and there are definitely things he picked out! He's pretty great and probably way more involved and opinionated than a lot of dad's! After we were finally done (and we weren't really done) at Buy Buy Baby, we met up with Tina, Brandon and the other EM interns that were there for the conference at a mexican restaurant called Trudy's. 

While Colt was at the conference on Monday, I had planned on working from the hotel and also doing our personal taxes, but that didn't happen! I ended up back at Buy Buy Baby. Originally, I had planned on going with pale gray and light pink in the baby's room (a soft, elegant look from all my pins on pinterest). Colt wasn't a fan though and said it was too boring and that we needed something more fun... so then I was thinking hot pink and gray then. I had found a couple that I liked online, but they ended up having a display at Buy Buy Baby on Sunday that we both liked so we went with it. They didn't have it in store so we had planned on going back to the hotel and adding it online. However, the majority of the bedding pieces ended up being special order, of course!  After calling them, they said I could come in and special order everything we wanted. That's the main reason I went back... and also to look at carseats and strollers a little more after looking at reviews. To top it off though, Tina gave me a 20% off our total purchase so I was going to use money my parents had given me to put towards our crib and bedding to go ahead and order the bedding while I was there. Then because I had the coupon, Dede also sent me a list of items she wanted me to buy that day from them...so I ended up with a truck full and a lot of items purchased off our registry already!

This is the bedding we went with that was displayed at the store. 

We didn't do the pink chair though. We were thinking we were going to recover a red Lazboy that we have but after getting estimates from several upholstery places, we decided to just order a new chair. We ordered a dark gray glider and ottoman with white piping at a furniture store here in Temple instead. After waiting 6 or 7 weeks, we went to pick it up and they didn't do the piping right! We didn't take it, got a refund and were back to square one on chairs. I ended up finding one online at Target and chanced it hoping it came in and we liked it. It got here last week and was broke! We haven't had much luck with chairs! However, Colt was able to quickly repair it, and I just called Target and got them to give us a discount because at this point ordering a new chair would be pushing it on timing. 

After I left Buy Buy Baby, I figured I would spare Colt, and I went ahead and went to Babies R Us to register so he wouldn't have to be in on that one. He called while I was there and was about to be done for the day so I went and picked him up and the two of us went back to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us yet again! We picked out the carseat we wanted (which now is irrelevant because I was given an infant carseat by Mallory) and then we pushed around and compared strollers even more! Even though everyone always talks about the Bob stroller, we ended up going with the Baby Jogger jogging stroller instead. Colt liked how much easier it was to fold up and to me it felt better and turned easier.  Colt's sister has already purchased us that too and had it delivered to us!! She got us the stroller, carseat adapter and mom hooks to go with it. Between our families, we've gotten a lot of our big items already. They are just a little excited!

 After our baby store extravaganza, we rushed back to the hotel so I could get ready for dinner that night. There was a group BBQ dinner that we were all going to. Dr. Jeurgens picked us up and we rode with him. Then after the dinner, we stopped for ice cream.

Our crib came in at the beginning of March. Because I have all my old white furniture from when I was in high school, we wanted to be able to use it, and we wanted something that would somewhat go with it so we went with the simple Jenny Lind crib. Luckily it was cheap so we made my parents money go a long way… which is why it covered the bedding we bought too! The pack-n-play, also in the picture, is one of the many things Colt's mom bought us too.

The only thing that I had realy bought at that time, along with a few books, was this little outfit! I saw it on etsy and loved it so I bought it for her newborn pictures. Etsy definitely could be a dangerous place!

And this is something we had registered for at Buy Buy Baby that Colt's mom bought us and sent in the mail! 

And just a couple of randoms of me and the dogs hanging out in her room...

and Lucky laying in our what was clean laundry… I'm not sure why he chose to lay there of all places when he has couches all around. 

Colt was in the ED in March but it was still pretty rough because it seemed like he was flip flopping from days to nights about every day. It definitely wasn't the best schedule that's for sure! Saturday, the 15th , he was off for the first time in a while and the weather was great so we spent the day in the backyard. We made a trip to Lowe's to buy a ton of mulch and flowers and spent the day weeding, planting flowers and all that good stuff. Even though Colt did most of the work, my feet felt like they were swollen by the end of it. 

The day after all the work in the yard, I went somewhere for maybe an hour, and came home to this!  She hadn't destroyed anything but she sure had rolled in the mulch. 

Then I look out my office window later and see this. 

I left again though, and one of the dogs, not sure if it was Lucky, Alex or both of them had gotten into everything again and dug up some of our flowers by the door. They definitely got in trouble!

Here were some of our flowers right after we planted them.  

Colt had a spread of a few days off that next Wednesday through Friday so his mom came down that Thursday, the 19th, at lunch. We went and grabbed Chipotle, and then that's when we went and picked out and ordered our chair and ottoman for the baby's room that I mentioned above. When his mom got there, she arrived with her hands full. She had our highchair, and she also had a lot more baby stuff. 

I had wanted a wooden high chair, and I couldn't find one for a reasonable price. Colt found this one in great condition on Craig's list in Dallas and his parents went and picked it up for us. I'm still shocked at what great shape it's in. I was expecting to find one that needed a ton of work done to it but this one doesn't need a thing! 

Some of the extra stuff that his mom brought...

David came down seperate on Thursday when he got off work. We played Cards Against Humanity in the backyard (there aren't too many parents you would play that with). Then we grabbed chinese and watched a movie (or they did, I immediately fell asleep). Friday morning David got up bright and early and headed back home to go to work. I had to work too so Colt and his mom ran a couple errands Friday before she headed out. 

Here's another pic my mom sent me. I probably won't need to buy clothes for a while. 

We hosted the monthly intern dinner at our house on Sunday, the 22nd. I probably shouldn't have volunteered to host during tax season but all went great! I did a mexican theme and we had chips, queso, baked chicken taquitos, quesadillas, tacos, and sopapilla cheesecake. Colt also made his margaritas. I definitely made too much food. I think I ate taquitos the rest of the week. After dinner, a few stayed and we played Cards Against Humanity. 

Colt bought these squirrel feeders while his mom was here, and the squirrels definitely have figured it out. They kept me entertained during my 10-12 hour shifts of work during tax season since I could watch them through my office window. 

Major exciting news is that my nephew, Heston, was born on March 23rd! Times like those is when I wish it was just a quick trip like it used to be! We ended up not getting to meet him until later because of mine and Colt's work schedules. 

The next weekend Colt got off at 2am on Saturday and was off until Sunday night at 7pm so while he worked on building an outdoor table in the backyard, I sat out there with him and worked on getting our personal tax stuff all together. 

Here are a few pics of his table in process. 

He built holes in the tables that hold planters that can be used as either an ice chest/cooler or as an actual planter. He got on Pinterest and he's a fan! It's good though because he's so handy!

He ended up staining it and finishing it a couple of days later when he was off. I snapped these while I was in my office working and he was outside working on it. 

The stain ended up sorta being an accident and required lots of elbow grease on his part, but it turned out great! It's prettier than our inside table. 

Since then, he's planted some flowers in the two planter boxes. 

We also received this letter from our neice, Davallen, in March. Her great grandma was keeping her one day, and I guess they decided to write us a letter!  

February

After our vacation, it was back to reality. We flew in on Friday, the 6th, dropped off our things at the house and headed to Forney to pick up our dogs. Colt's parents had went out of town, but we made plans to meet the rest of the family, Blake, Victoria, Nicci and Davallen at Christina's in Forney to grab dinner and celebrate Victoria's 21st. Once we finished dinner, it was pretty late so we just stayed the night at his parents house that night and headed back home on Saturday morning. Saturday night, we had a get together to go to at one of the surgery residents house. 

Then on Monday, it was back to work for both of us. It was pretty much the start of spring busy season and overtime for me. Colt was on ortho the month of February, and luckily, he got off around lunch that Monday because that's the afternoon we found out we were having a baby girl!

Later in the week, we had our emergency medicine intern dinner at Brandon and Tina's house. Tina got us this gift for our little girl! 

On Valentine's Day, Colt had to work a lunch to 2am shift so before he went in, we made a trip to Killeen to Hallmark to exchange a gender neutral baby book that my mom had gotten us for Christmas for this one. By the time we made it back to town, Meg's and Cracker Barrell were packed so we grabbed something at Jack in the Box real quick before he had to go in. We're romantic like that!

And we kept getting more gifts from everyone excited about our girl... I think this was Dede's first purchase after we found out.  

Colt's grandparents, Tooter and Linda, sent us this in the mail. 

The following week, we went to dinner at Corona's in Belton to celebrate Whitney's birthday. 

Colt had testing the next week on February 25th. February also consited of a lot of bad weather in Dallas. It got so bad the office actually closed one day and that never happens. The thing about working remotely though is that when the office closes, you still work. Even though Dallas got hit hard, 

this was pretty much the extent of our conditions. We had one day where it snowed pretty hard and one day where their were warnings about icy roads, but everything melted immediately.

My parents had planned on coming to see us that last weekend of February since Colt was going to be off but because of all the weather their direction, they weren't sure if they were going to be able to. However, they did. They came on Friday, February 27th, and got here around lunch. We grabbed lunch and my mom helped clean out the back bedroom to get it ready for baby. After we all ate lunch together on Saturday, they headed back home. It was the first time we had seen them since Christmas.  That Satruday night, we ended up going to Matt's birthday dinner at Chili's with everyone but cut out early since Colt had to be at work at 4am. 

In February, I also got invisalign. We had talked about it last year but waited until I got on Colt's dental insurance since they covered a big portion of it. My teeth weren't too bad, but my top teeth had definitely gotten pretty crooked from not wearing my retainer. Actually, my top teeth were never really straight when I got my braces off, and we shouldn't have let them take them off to begin with. However, they had gotten worse. It should be a 10 tray process that lasts about 5 months, and I should be done about the time the baby is due.

Here are a couple more random pics from February… 

The dogs enjoying my pregnancy pillow

And I stole this from Colt's phone. He ended up installing lighting in the bed of his truck on one of his few days off. 

Breckenridge Trip February 2nd -6th

Backing up to the first week of February when we took a group vacation with Wade, Kacie, Josh and Brianna to Breckenridge...We flew out bright and early on Monday, February 2nd. We flew into Denver where we rented a car and Colt drove us from Denver to Breckenridge. On the way there we stopped for lunch in Silverthorne and half of us grabbed Which Wich and the other half Chipotle. We got to Breckenridge mid-afternoon with enough time for them to get their gear rented. Brianna and I went to the lounge until our rooms were ready while everyone else went and attempted to snowboard before the lifts closed. Colt is a good skiier but he had decided that he would give snowboarding a go for the first time this time. Where we were staying had a lift that they could just walk to and get on so they didn't really have to drive anywhere to snowboard. As soon as I got in our room, I got a call that they were lost and they needed me to come pick them up so I drove a little ways down the mountain to where they were waiting on me! Colt was debating on getting a helmet or not and luckily he did!! He hit his head pretty bad. His eyes were glazy and he was acting funny the rest of the night. I can't imagine what he would've been like if he hadn't had a helmet on! It might have been the end of his snowboarding for the trip! 

This is the Grand Timber Lodge where we stayed.

Wade, Kacie, Colt and I were in one building and Josh and Brianna were in another. 

This was the view out of our window.

Monday night we had dinner at Empire Burger. In my opinion, I think that was the best meal we had while we were there. Their burgers were great. After dinner we walked around for a little while freezing and ended up just sitting at a bar for a little while while they had a quick drink before we headed back to the lodge.

I knew going in that this was going to be a vacation to just relax and hang out for me and I was perfectly fine with it. Although, I would have probably preferred to relax in the sun on a beach, relaxing is relaxing! I had debated on attempting to ski the bunny slopes but quickly decided that I would go the safe route and after Colt was on the slopes the first day, he said there was no way he would've let me try. 

Group vacations are a little different getting everyone together at the same time and everyone on the same page. After we finally got everyone ready and together on Tuesday morning, we headed to Cuppa Joes, a place that I had found online with good recommendations. It was mine and Colt's favorite, and we would've probably ate there every morning if it would've just been the two of us. They had the best coffee and best breakfast burritos. Their coffee put Starbucks to shame, and Colt and I split a burrito and were still both full. 

After breakfast, we went to get their lift tickets and then the 5 of them were off. 

A few pics that I stole from Colt from the day 

Wade and Kacie on the lift

I had scheduled a prenatal massage before our trip and had it scheduled for Thursday, but Colt told me to go ahead and get a facial or something else so I did! I got one Tuesday morning while they were doing their thing. I hadn't ever had a facial. It was nice but I still prefer a massage. 

After my facial, I went to the lounge and blogged, read a book, and snacked on nuggets in the on-site restaurant for lunch. After they got in, we all got ready and went to check out the ice sculpture exhibit that was on display downtown. 

Then we went to dinner at a place called Park and Main. My food was definitely not good. I don't think anyone elses' food or drink was good either. Luckily, it was right next to Empire Burger though so Kacie and I got to go there after and I got my milkshake that I had been eyeing the night before but was too full to eat! We went to the grocery store to grab some snacks for the week before heading back. Then Wade, Kacie, Colt and I went and hung out in the hot tub. Don't worry, I only stuck my legs in! I thought my prego belly was big then… I had no idea and still have no idea what's to come! 

Wednesday morning, we had agreed to do a 90 minute tour to get discounts through the resort. Before the 90 minute tour started, we went and had breakfast at Cuppa Joe's again. The tour was trying to get us to invest and purchase time shares, which obviously none of us were interested in. 

After the tour, they went snowboarding while I blogged and read some more. I read Never Never while I was there by Colleen Hoover. Talk about a terrible ending and cliffhanger for the next book. Basically the whole book was leading up to the next book. If I would 've known that, I probably would've waited to read it! I think that was the day they got brought back to the resort by a random SUV! Evidently Colt did get better at snowboarding though and was doing great when he got the hang of it! Wednesday night we went to Bubba Gump for dinner and then headed out to Broken Compass Brewery. 

Thursday morning we went to breakfast at a different place called Cabin Coffee, then I went back for the my prenatal massage that morning (which was great) while they hit the slopes again. Colt called me at lunch and wanted me to pick him, Josh, Wade and Kacie up at the gondola and go grab something to eat. All os us, minus Brianna, went to Moe's BBQ for lunch. 

Here's a pic I stole from Kacie when they were up on the mountain one day. 

That night Josh and Brianna did their own thing and the rest of us went to a place called Fatties for pizza. We topped off our pizza and pasta with going to a cookie store. Then the four of us ended up on a side street downtown where they were having this little show.

After that, we just went back and hung out while Colt and Wade played pool. 

Friday morning it was time to headout as soon as we got up. As soon as we made it back to Temple, we decided to stay on the road and immediately headed to Forney to pick up our dogs.

I definitely didn't take enough pictures this trip, but it was a good one, and I know Colt had a ton of fun snowboarding! He kept thanking me for being a trooper but I honestly thoroughly enjoyed the downtime and doing nothing! I will say next time I think we are going to somewhere with warmer weather though because I definitely prefer the sun over the snow!  

Week 25

And finally, my current week, week 25! I've told a few people that I'm definitely not the glowing pregnant lady and I'm not…  trust me… or ask Colt, I'm sure he will agree! Since I haven't been sick any though, I've had it pretty easy the last 25 weeks. Besides the horrible acne on my back, I haven't really had any bad "symptoms" to speak of. If that's all I have to complain about then I guess I'm doing pretty good. I am ready for that to go away though. We've tried everything and nothing makes it better. My doctor said there's not anything that can be done and that hopefully my hormones get back to normal, as well as my skin, post-pregnancy. Let's hope so… because as of right now I don't see myself wanting to wear any cute summer tops or dresses out in public any time soon! 

It seems kinda crazy that we're already 25 weeks in.  I'm getting closer and closer to the 3rd trimester and we will be meeting our girl before we know it… only 3 months away!!

Week 24

Week 24 was probably the week I started feeling the baby move around a LOT more. I feel her during the day a lot but she ALWAYS starts kicking when I lay down to go to bed. Colt can definitely feel the big kicks too now :)

Week 23

I had a doctor's appointment on March 9th. Colt was coming off of a shift and trying to get caught up on sleep so I went by myself. I didn't get to see baby girl that day, but we listened and her heartbeat was 145.  At that appointment, I weighed 132.8. At the appointment before I was at 127.8 so I was up 5 lbs. from my 19 week appointment.  My blood pressure was crazy high that day though. I should've asked what it was exactly but I overheard the nurse tell the doctor that it was 160 over something. She didn't say anything though and I didn't ask and I should've. Normally it's about 110/70 or so. Colt wasn't happy about my blood pressure when I came home and told him. My appointment was at 4:30 that day though, and right before my appointment I had been on the phone with a client and had to basically hang up on them to make it in time while staff were instant messaging me needing help on work. I litterally ran out the door and barely made it to the appointment on time. I'm hoping that's the reason it was so high and that it doesn't become an issue. We checked it today and it was in the 130s/80s, which is still pretty high for me. Colt has been lecturing me about needing to take care of myself better and telling me that I need to take more breaks during the work day, take walks and just chill out in general. I haven't been taking care of myself lately that's for sure. I haven't been working out at all hardly or eating that great. I've went to the gym a couple of times and got on the elliptical or rower and lifted light weights. The couple of times I have jogged the last few weeks, I've gotten a little of what I think is round ligament pain. I end up stopping and walking for 10 minutes or so and then I can jog for a little while…but by the time I start jogging again it's time to go to the bathroom! I think the initial pain is just because I sit pretty much all day, and it just takes a while to stretch out my muscles. My goal is to do at least a little activity each day and definitely up my water intake. When I got sick in December and quit working out for those couple of weeks, I went downhill and never got back in my routine really. Now it's a little late to maintain what I was used to doing so I at least need to do something! 

These were before my doctor's appointment that week. 

I'm in desperate need of a tan. Hopefully now that the weather is warming up I can start sitting outside more.

My sweater was so big, I retook some later in the week.

Week 21 & 22

I had good intentions about staying caught up on here. I always do! I was also going to blog in order about our vacation in February, etc., but time has definitely flew by! I am really enjoying and preferring sleep above anyting else these days. Here lately I may set my alarm for 5:30 and end up not getting up until 8:30. With tax season and working 55 hours a week, starting my day that late definitely makes it feel like there are not enough hours in the day. Plus, sometime (very soon) when I'm not doing other peoples taxes, I have to find time to do our personal taxes and my parents' taxes. After doing taxes all week, and weekends lately, the LAST thing that I want to do is sit down at my desk and do our personal taxes. I haven't ever extended our own taxes, but it's looking like it may be a good idea. Good thing I've already done both my brothers and my nephews taxes! 

Since I'm currently 25 weeks along, I figured I better get caught up on my belly pics! I've came a long ways since my week 20 pic. 

This is the end of February when I was 21 weeks... 

and the first of March at 22 weeks