Appointment Update

We had another appointment this afternoon, and it was a really good one! We had another ultrasound which looks like that is going to be the norm, and I'm totally ok with that because I really enjoy seeing our little Popper every two weeks!! Our doctor was very pleased with how the baby was progressing. Unfortunately none of the ultrasound pictures he took produced a good picture but on the screen we could see him moving around and he even waved again. He moves his arms so much I think he's going to be a baseball pitcher! This time when he moved his arm we could clearly see him move his fingers. They showed up on the screen so well even our doctor seemed surprised saying, "there are his digits!" hahahaha

I'm going to laugh if we end up having a girl. Poor thing is going to read this blog one day and ask why we keep referring to her as him! We might actually be able to find out the sex of the baby at the next appointment in two weeks. But, that's a big maybe. So I'm trying not to get my hopes up just in case we aren't able to find out. Hopefully Popper will be cooperating and give us a good show!

So the baby is doing well and my doctor is very pleased with how I'm doing as well. I think I've mentioned on the blog before that my glucose numbers in my second month of pregnancy were all out of whack. I've been on a strict diet with lots of exercise. Thanks to the diet and exercise I've lost 12 lbs so far! My doctor said he knows I'm not lying to him about my diet and exercise because the scale doesn't lie. He said women come in and tell him they are following the diet and exercising but then gain 6 lbs in two weeks. I see no point in lying to him. It doesn't help me or the baby, so I might as well do what I'm supposed to do. Plus, I'm an overachiever so if I'm instructed to do something you best believe I'm going to do it right, and well. I would blame my mom for the overachiever trait, but my dad's guilty of it too. He just pretends to be a rebel. :)

Well, sorry I don't have a picture for you. Hopefully in two weeks we'll have a good picture and know if we are having a boy or a girl!! How exciting!!!

Love,

Suzanne

First good picture of Popper

I had another appointment last Monday as part of the California disabilities screening. The ultrasound I had at that appointment was my best one yet. It was very clear and we had one of the best pictures of our little popper. Popper is our nickname for our cute little baby. I tried to take a picture of the ultrasound printout and this is what it looks like. I hope you can see him.

In this picture he is only 3 inches long. It's crazy to see how big his head is at only 3 inches long! My test results came back with low chances of having a child with a disability like Down's Syndrome and some other disabilities that the doctor told me about but I just can't remember.

I start my 14th week of pregnancy on Sunday and I feel really lucky and grateful with how things have been going. I've been tired, I've had spotting, I've had to change my diet (for the better so no complaining there!), but I haven't been sick! I am so so so grateful for that. I can't even imagine being sick everyday for a few months, ugh, miserable. I am lucky and I know it!

I'm reading a great pregnancy book by the Mayo clinic and it has been so helpful. It explains everything week by week and it has been pretty spot on with the different things that are happening to my body. It's nice to have that to reference since I can't reach my doctor 24/7. Though that would be nice if I could. He'd probably block my number though! :) All funniness aside, I am much less stressed as I start my second trimester. The first trimester brought stresses that I didn't even know were possible. I think Lance and I both are starting to finally enjoy this process and are really excited for July to arrive. Though we do have a TON of stuff to do before July does arrive so we better get to it!

I start school on Monday which I'm excited about but it's definitely going to be a juggling act. A full time job, Dr's appointments every two weeks, class twice a week, homework, a planned trip to Las Vegas, Arizona for Spring Training, and Colorado to visit the grandparents is going to make for a crazy couple of months. But really, if my life wasn't super crazy, I'd be bored, so bring it on!

Have a great weekend!

Love,

Suzanne

Finally!

We are so happy to finally announce we are pregnant! I found out November 18th thanks to a pregnancy test yes, indeed it was true, we were going to have a baby. Lance and I had been trying for a year to get pregnant and it is so funny how quickly the shock and excitement turned into sheer panic! hahahaha The panic has slightly worn off for now and we are just enjoying telling everyone. We truly feel blessed at how supportive everyone has been.

We really enjoyed telling both sets of families at Christmas time. We have some wonderful memories of Papa and Nana and Grandpa and Grandma realizing what their picture frames were telling them. The excitement they showed when realizing a grand baby was coming their way was so awesome.

At this point in my pregnancy I am about 12 1/2 weeks. I am very excited to be starting my second trimester. I am starting to see my stomach change and a baby bump is starting to form. I really am looking forward to being able to feel the baby moving. That is going to be awesome when that happens! I have been so lucky that I did not have one day of morning sickness. Lucky party of 1 indeed! This pregnancy hasn't been all full of rainbows and cupcakes. I have had some issues during my second month of pregnancy with elevated glucose levels. Which has been an added stress I really didn't need, but I will handle it. So far thanks to careful meal planning and lots and lots of walking, my glucose levels have remained exactly where we need them to be which is making this future mama very happy!

Lance has really stepped up and has made the first few months of pregnancy as easy on me as he can make it. The elevated glucose level issue has really changed our day to day lives and how we prepare for our day and I really could not have done it without him. The planning and exercising 3 times a day has just become a part of our daily routine and is not so overwhelming as it was when the madness first started.

Lance is over the moon at the thought of becoming a daddy. People have asked if we want a boy or a girl and we really have no preference. Just a healthy baby is all we really care about. We are going to find out though, I'm not a big fan of surprises. I'm a planner; and I have no desire to start planning the nursery, clothes etc. after the baby arrives! During these blog posts I'm going to refer to the baby as him just because I don't want to type them or he/she every time.

We did get to see the baby last week when I had one of my appointments. The baby was actually starting to look like a baby and not an alien which was so cool. Lance and I were both speechless. As soon as the baby came on the screen he waved at us. He may have just been moving his arm, but I'm counting it as a wave. And I'm sure he was saying "hi mom and dad!!" but we just couldn't hear him.

I'll keep everyone updated on how my appointments are going and how we are holding up. We probably won't stop worrying and stressing until the baby arrives in mid July. Then after that we will have 18+ years of worrying ahead of us. hahahaha What have we signed up for?!?!?!!? :) I always knew I was a worrier, but I didn't realize until just recently I may have married someone who worries more than me. This poor kid. His parents are crazy and he doesn't even know it yet. Poor thing will realize it when we wrap him in bubble wrap before we let him outside to play!

Love,

Suzanne

Memorial Day 2010

As promised in my previous Valentine's post, here are some more blog posts! I pretty much did not do any blog posts on this site last summer because I was moonlighting as Rachel's "head of communications" concerning her cyst. It was a good gig while it lasted, but I am certainly glad it was a short term gig.

This blog post will be about our road trip to Colorado. This trip was an interesting one because it was dad and his three girls and the open highway. Can you say T.R.O.U.B.L.E?!?! Since it was a long weekend due to the Memorial Day holiday, my dad, Cat, Rachel and I decided to take a few extra days off work and drive out to Colorado to visit family. It's about 10-12 hour drive (depending on who is driving!) and I don't think I've been on a road trip with my dad and both my sisters since I was a kid. Well, I wasn't disappointed! The laughs started before the car was even warm. Cat made personalized CD's for each driver and we were dying laughing when she put the CD she had made for dad in. It was supposed to be a CD full of dad's favorite songs and there were plenty of songs that made you scratch your head and say, "dad likes this song?" And more likely than not, dad would pipe up with the emphatic NO! hahahaha It was so funny!

Well, I was going to upload a bunch of pictures of the BBQ we had and pictures of my dad and my uncles. But apparently, I have none. I guess those were all on Cat's camera and I don't have them on my computer. It seems as though the only pictures I took on this road trip were of.......Oliver. I love this kid. Oliver is the son of my cousin Doug and I just can't get enough of those chubby cheeks and big blue eyes. Oliver was only about 6 months old when we were there in May, so now he's a walking fool. A fearless walking fool at that. Clearly you can tell what my picture taking priorities were and that was Oliver, since I do have about 20 pictures of this super cutie!

This trip will always stick with me because one, I love road tripping with my dad and sisters. And two, because this trip was the first time Rachel was starting to realize something was wrong. She didn't know she had a 25 lb cyst, but she knew something wasn't right. Did she mention anything to any of us? Nope, she sure didn't. I won't stay mad at her for too long because of that. Maybe just for the next 50 years! :-P

Love,
Suzanne

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know it's been awhile, and I hope to get more blogs done this weekend. We were without a computer for the last 3 1/2 months, but we have a new one now!! yay!! Now if I can just find the time to blog......I have to get all of last summers updates done before this summer rolls around!

So today is Valentine's day and I thought what better way to make sure my husband knows how much I love him than to blog about it!

I love this man. He never fails to remind me who is in charge! hahaha I can't wait to see what our next chapter in life will be. Whatever that next chapter is, I know all will be well. My husbands constant support is more than I could ever ask for. We have built a life that I truly love. We are blessed with awesome family, wonderful friends and are lucky enough to travel and pretty much do whatever the heck we want! :)

Lance, you are my rock. Today at the gym when I was listening to my iPod, James Taylor's, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You, came on. What a perfect song. I can't think of a better song to be our anthem for 2011. I appreciate your patience, your humor (Bov) your love and your knowledge of Star Wars. One day your knowledge of Star Wars is going to make us rich, I just know it!

Good night, I'll be blogging at you soon!

Love,

Suzanne

Baby Shower

This summer I was lucky enough to attend a baby shower for my dear friend Marlana. Marlana is the first one in our circle of friends to have a baby. It's fun to have a new member in our group. Hopefully in 2011 we can all manage to see each other more!

Marlana and Adrian had decided they wanted to be surprised at the sex of the their baby who was due in mid July. So, for 9 months we all had to shop for neutral colors when deciding on what to buy for them. Adrian made the cutest diaper cake ever for Marlana's baby shower. He did a really great job!

Since they didn't know if they were having a boy or a girl, Adrian put both of the names they picked out on the diaper cake. They had a girl, so Makayla it was.

Marlana and Adrian had decided on a jungle theme for their nursery and they registered for some pretty adorable stuff. Lance and I got them some green and yellow outfits and a really cute monkey rug for their little monkey.

The nice thing about getting together for weddings, baby showers etc. is that it's normally a mini Disney reunion! I don't get to see theses girls nearly enough!

Well, Marlana was the first of our group to get married, now, she's the first to have a baby. I guess that means the rest of us better catch up! :)

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Love,

Suzanne

San Diego

After our trip to Arizona for Spring Training back in March, we had another trip planned to San Diego to attend the wedding of my previous boss. Since it fell on one of our 3 day weekends we decided to spend the whole weekend down there. We drove down there on Friday and decided to hit up the zoo after checking into our hotel. Lance and I both hadn't been to the zoo in at least 10+ years so we were both excited to check it out. We were a little bummed that the polar bear exhibit didn't open for another week, but we still had a great time checking out all the other animals. Here are some of the pictures from our day at the zoo.

Rally monkeys!!

Don't wake a sleeping tiger!The San Diego Zoo has a ride that is just like the old Disneyland ride the sky buckets! My sisters and I went to Disneyland and rode the buckets on the last day before they closed the ride forever. We loved the buckets! Needless to say, when I got to the zoo and discovered they had a ride that was just like Disney's buckets I was super excited! The only thing it was missing was traveling through the Matterhorn!

We both had such a great time at the zoo. We can't wait to go back. We had absolutely perfect weather and since it was a Friday there weren't a bazillion kiddos. We both worked at Disneyland for years and years so we have no desire to go to places that are hot with a bazillion kids!

Love,
Suzanne