March For Babies!!!

On Saturday morning the boys and I walked in our 4th annual March For Babies!!  This is a cause that has become so important to me ever since I have had children and also since I have been through some very hard times with friends who's babies should have been given a longer life.  Craig, Chase & I walked when I was pregnant with Brady and this year we got to walk with baby girl along for the ride.  I am so appreciative of my 3 healthy kids and more than ever, I know how truly special it is to receive the gift of a healthy baby.  This walk is so emotional because you see families all around you with sad stories and miracle stories and it is a truly touching experience.

This year we had such a great turn out of friends and family which made the day even more fun!  Plus we had 80 degree weather to top  it off!!  Our team raised $695!  Thank you to everyone who supported us!

Group picture before we started.

Craig's parents, my neighbors Michelle & Heather with their kiddos, Ben & Dana and Adam! 

We had 3 preggo girls walking with us - so cool!

Love my sweet boy!  He walked all 3 miles and didn't complain once!

Some fun before we started!  Chase was scared when I first asked him if he wanted to take a picture with them and said No, but then like 10 minutes later little man comes up to me and says, "I want to take a picture with them"  :)

Here we go!

Brady taking a break from the stroller and getting a ride from Daddy

Beautiful walk throughout City Park

Zoey and Brady are little buds and they were running together, it was so cute!  Until Zoey crashed about 10 seconds after this picture and we had to bust out some band-aids - poor thing!

Being cheered through the finish line!

We did it!  The 5 of us will be back next year!

Random dinosaur that was wandering around - lol

Thanks again to everyone who supported us and to all our friends and family that came to walk with us!  The coolest part was knowing walks were going on all around the country at the same time.  Getting texts from Christine, Jim and Ben walking in San Diego at the same time was so cool :)

Sunday Funday!

Sunday was one of the days where we had no plans and it turned into a perfect and fun family day!

We brought our bikes up from the basement, filled the tires and headed out on our first family bike ride of the year!  We called it "Tour de Parks" because we stopped at 3 different parks throughout our neighborhood for the boys to play :)

Chase has become such a good bike rider!

When we got back from our bike ride we headed out back to play soccer and play with the water table.  This is Brady's favorite thing in the world...he just soaks himself and loves every minute of it!

Next it was time for playdough while we got lunch ready.  They played so well together and were sharing everything - what a nice change :)

Chase cut his playdough into a ton of tiny pieces and said it was for my baby because he loves her :)

Once we put Brady down, Craig and Chase and I went out front and played baseball.  We took turns pitching, hitting and fielding out in the street.  After about 30-45 of baseball Carson came over to play with Chase while Brady napped.  They had such a good time together playing in the backyard.  They made a "mud potion" in the sandbox, played soccer and football and Carson taught Chase how to climb the fence to get in the neighbors yard to retrieve balls - lol!  Then they continued to climb every fence just because they can and they are boys :)

What a great day spent outside with the fam!  Still waiting for it to get a bit warmer but it was a nice taste of Spring that we all needed :)

27 Week Update!

I can't believe I am in the last week of my 2nd trimester!! 

This pregnancy has been absolutely flying by!  But then again if I think about the fact that I was pregnant at Thanksgiving, that feels like a loong time ago - lol :)

I had my last appointment on March 29th at 24 weeks.  At this appointment I had to do the lovely glucose test that we all love - yuck!  Luckily I passed and didn't have to go back for the 3 hour test.  I had to do that with Brady and it is seriously horrible.  Baby girl's heart sounded strong and she was kicking away after being flooded with that sugary orange drink.  My doctor was back from maternity leave and it was so great to see her.  The last time I saw her was my very first appt at 5 weeks so she was so happy to see I was doing well.  She has been through some ups and downs with us.

The appointment was quick and besides checking baby girls heart, we really just decided on a due date of July 10th.  It is still so weird that I know the exact date - lol - but I will say I much prefer it this way!  Chase's birth was such a stressful & tramautic event so having a planned c-section has been a better decision for us and a lot more relaxing and comforting for Craig & I both.

Some pregnancy updates thus far:

Weight Gain: 12 lbs - Somehow after only gaining 5 lbs in 20 weeks, I gained another 7 in 4 weeks - lol!  I haven't really been eating differently but I have definitely popped a lot in this last month!  Craig's response, "Good!"  :)

Baby Girl Movement:  I am finally feeling her move on a regular basis!!  She took so long for me to feel her and she is still pretty calm, maybe that means she will be a calm kid?  One can dream right :)  Anyway, one exciting moment is that Craig finally felt her move on the night of Good Friday, March 29th (same night as my appt).  Now she gets especially kick-happy when I climb into bed so we both can feel her on a regular basis laying in bed at night.  Chase has felt her move and he thinks it is so cool.  One night we even had our nieces and nephew spending the night and the girls have been dying to feel her.  I was laying in bed and she started kicking like crazy so I ran into the room where they were all laying down and let the girls feel her kick - I think it was the highlight of their night - too cute :)

Food Cravings/Aversions:  I still don't have any real cravings or aversions.  Seafood is the only thing I am having a hard time being around or smelling but I still like white fish.  It is shrimp, etc that makes me feel nauseaus.  I have been loving pineapple and grapes a lot more than normal.  I drink decaf tea almost every night before bed and drink a ton of water during the day still.  Really, everything else is pretty normal :)

Sleeping:  This has been the hardest part of this pregnancy for sure!  I don't know why but from very early on I have had a hard time being comfrtable and sleeping at night.  I will get cramps in bed, toss around a lot, get up to go to the bathroom like 3-4 times and then I wake up sore and exhausted.  I'm fine during the day for the most part but nights have been a little rough.

Baby Bump:  The past few weeks have been fun because I am finally showing a lot more so I have strangers asking when I am due!  I love the last trimester because I like actually looking pregnant - lol :)  It has been fun to get asked in airports, in stores and even from some parents at daycare that are just noticing!

This has definitely been the hardest pregnanacy thus far.  I have to put a disclaimer on that mentioning that I am very lucky and have very very easy pregnancies because I know a lot of people do not.  I am not sick, well I threw up once but that was it, I am not on bedrest, I am not on a special diet, I don't get swollen (ring always fits), I don't get stretch marks, I don't have to give myself shots, etc etc... but for me and how I usually feel, this has been the hardest.  I think the main source of that is really just having 2 other kids now.  When I was pregnant the first time I could just sit and relax after work, take naps, not worry about dinner, etc.  Then with Brady it was tougher because Chase wanted us to play 24/7, I was carrying him, I was giving baths, and everything that comes with the schedule of a 2 year old. Now I have 2 toddlers wanting attention, playing with them, carrying them, giving baths, making lunches, picking up after them and just living the everyday chaos of 2 toddlers :)  Craig is sooo super helpful but I am not a person that can sit down so usually around 9pm every night I hit a wall and my stomach throbs and is just sooo sore from going all day.  I need to do a better job of taking it easy...ha...easier said than done :)  But in all reality this has been an easy pregnancy and baby girl has been treating me well.  Let's hope that continues...

Pics at 26 1/2 Weeks

Quick Trip to CA!

Last week I had the opportunity to run a training in Temecula and I jumped at the chance!  I knew I would be able to see Mom, Dad, Christine, Jim & Ben while I was there, so I was more than thrilled :)

I flew in Wed afternoon and went and met my parents at the Carlsbad outlets.  We grabbed lunch and shopped a bit and then headed over to Christine and Jim's house.  We got to see the progress on their new floors and also check out the transition of Ben's room into a big boy room!  We hung out at their house for a bit and then headed to a great restaurant in San Marcos.

After dinner my parents drove home and then Christine, Jim & I hung out for awhile and got to just talk and catch up.  It was so great to see them again and definitely makes me realize how much we miss them in CO!  The next morning I headed to Temecula, ran my training all day and then headed to the airport to catch a flight back home that night.  It was quick but so nice to see everyone, even if it was less than 24 hours :)

Pictures with the baby belly :) 

I'm glad Christine & Jim got to at least see me pregnant in person!  Mom and Dad are visiting CO next month so I will get a chance to spend more time with them again soon - yay!

Spring Fever!

Colorado can't make up it's mind whether it is ready to be spring or still winter.  We have had a few days of 70+ degree weather and it feels amazing and then it drops back down to the 30's and it snows - lol!  We have taken advantage or every ounce of warmth we have gotten the last few weeks though and the boys are loving playing outside!  Come on summer - we are ready :)

Brady learning to pedal!

Doing so good and so proud of himself!

Chase being silly and riding one of the little bikes with Brady

Our new water table!! 

Thanks Grandma & Papa T - we finally exchanged Brady's bday gift and got this!!  Brady is obsessed! It has an umbrella and everything - it wasn't totally put together in this pic.  Our old one was cracked and needed to make it's way to the trashcan.  Here is an interesting fact about Brady - he doesn't play with toys...seriously, he doesn't!  It drives Craig and I crazy because he never will play with anything.  So, the water table is a one of a kind item because it is the ONLY toy that keeps his attention for a long period of time.  He has always loved water and ever since last summer he has always been drawn to the water table.  He will run out back and within 2 seconds he dumps water all over himself and then keeps playing in it for hours.  It never fails that he has to completely strip down before coming in because he is soaking wet and loving every minute of it! 

PS - Oh yea I forgot, the only other thing that keeps Brady's attention is books, he LOVES them and could sit there and look at 20 in a row.  That's a good thing for sure :)

The first of many...

Baseball practices that is. 

Chase had his first t-ball practice the Saturday before Easter and I have a feeling this was the first of many years we will spend on a baseball field.  Hopefully he will continue to like it, but for now he loves it as much as his Daddy.  It is seriously so cute and heart warming to watch Craig out there coaching him and all the other kids :)  I have a feeling, many years in the future, I will think back with fond memories of these first few days on the field and think how it "felt like yesterday".

I had to also add a couple pictures I took of Craig and Chase playing in the backyard the day Craig picked up all the equipment for tball.  Chase loves the catchers gear and had so much fun putting it on and playing catch with Daddy.  Not sure why they have catchers for tball (?), but he looks dang cute!

He even puts one hand behind his back - lol - I was dying!

Easter Festivities

I LOVE EASTER!!!

It is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays for many reasons.  It is the start of Spring and we seem to always have our first sight of gorgeous weather here in Colorado.  It is very low stress.  It is so amazingly fun for the boys and they get so excited for the Easter Bunny, eggs and everything else that comes along with Easter!  We took the boys to church and it felt good to go as a family.  We spend the whole day with friends and family and just enjoying being outdoors.  Plus we get to bust out our bright color clothes to wear!

This Easter we had such a fun weekend!  It was absolutely GORGEOUS - I am talking almost 80 degree weather on Sunday and I was in a dress and got sunburn!  Love it :)

We started the festivities on Saturday morning by heading to a big Easter egg hunt at a park by Grandma & Papa's house.  We met Jill & Don and the kids and Grandma & Papa there and they had a fun time running around the fields collectings toys and candy!  They separate the ages so I was with Brady on his own field.  He was soo excited to start and was talking about how he was going to go fast and get everything.  Then they said GO and he didn't move - lol!  He would only get the eggs like 5 feet around him.  It was hilarious but he still got plenty of eggs to fill his basket!

Different fields for different ages

Uncle Don talking strategy to the kids about getting the most eggs :)

Now Kyler is giving his tips!

Ready to go!

Post egg hunt cousin picture

Picture with Grandma & Papa

Dyeing eggs Saturday night

Sunday Morning

The Easter Bunny came! 
So glad that he knew Chase has the sweet tooth and Brady hates candy and is my salt kid.  They received candy and chips in their appropriate baskets - lol!

Mommy & Daddy's baskets :)

We ate a yummy breakfast of cinnamon roll bunnies and fancy orange juice and then got ready for church.  The boys did awesome in church and sat pretty still the whole hour (thanks to books, snacks and Chase's DS)  They even went up to the front during the Children's Message and sat on the steps and listened to the pastor.  After church we came home and had our Easter egg hunt in the backyard.  The weather was gorgeous so we hung out for a couple hours outside and the boys just played with buckets of water and ended up soaking their clothes...boys will be boys :)

Chase helping Brady out

Cracking eachother up :)

Relaxing in the sun with baby girl while the boys played

That afternoon we headed over to Grandma & Papa's house to spend the rest of Easter with lots of family and friends.  We had a beautiful day sitting out in the sun, eating delicious food and just playing into the early night together.  The boys played so hard that Chase's face was literally covered in dirt and they crashed so hard on the way home.  Such a fun Easter!

Adult Easter fun

Grandma manning the door before the egg hunt started

The 3 little guys got to go first for a few minutes!

Here come the rest of the troops!

A dollar - woo hoo!!

Chase holding baby Alistar! 

Family photo op

All the kids love playing in the back of Papa's pickup truck

Ashlyn & Brady

Of course it has been cold and rainy the few days after Easter but I am thankful we had such a beautiful day and we are hoping Spring will come back to stay very soon!