26 Weeks & Our Anniversary!

I know that I am a week late, it has just been that busy of a week!  So my loyal readers – I apologize for this late post!  (And for the weird formatting, it's kind of hard to read.  I wrote this is MS Word and then pasted it over and it got all wacky and I can't fix it.  Boo.)

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary last weekend!  (I blogged about our 2nd last year too, here.)  We went to see The Hunger Games on Friday, a day off from school, at this theatre by us where you can order food and drinks while watching the movie (we didn’t, but it’s fun to have the opportunity!).  The theatre we were in only has about 20 seats and it was during the day so we avoided all of the loud kids that talk through movies now-a-days (don’t you hate that, I do!).  It was an ok movie but if you haven’t read the books, you are missing out.  If you get all three I guarantee that you will finish them within a week – you just can’t put them down!  The movie should have been rated R, I understand why it wasn’t (for kids), but it should have been.  It was missing the hunger aspect, the desperation and the violence of the book.  But, it was alright and I LOVE going to the movies but we hardly ever go anymore (it's those dang kids I was talking about!)

On Saturday Ian’s dad, Henry, came over in the morning to help Ian lay the flooring we got for the baby’s room.  It only took them about 3 hours and it is done, just needs baseboards.  I can’t wait until the baseboards, window frame and blinds are in then I can start hanging curtains, and putting it all together.  My dad and Aunt Susie ordered the crib for us (I finally decided on this one!), and I am ordering bedding and curtains for the room from a really cute site called Carousel Designs as well as rocking chair pads for the rocking chair my mom actually rocked me in when I was a baby (my Aunt Donna is re-gluing it and painting it for us).  I loved that rocking chair – I used to play library and bank behind it, through the slats; so I have to put it in our daughter’s room - she can do the same one day! 

(And, a reminder of how the spare room looked before we started all of this.  Agh!)

Saturday night we went out to dinner for our anniversary.  We went to Barro’s Pizza, where I recently found out they have gluten free pizza, and it was delicious.  We sat outside and had the whole patio to ourselves, it was quiet and really nice.  Such a relaxing dinner compared to our fancy ones in the past, I think those days may be over unless it’s a big anniversary like our 10th year or 2th year.  Once you are pregnant and expecting a baby, anniversaries are just second to all of that.  They should still be celebrated, yes, but a big event, it just seems silly now that our lives are moving forward and we are planning for a family.  But, I do love date nights with my hubby and looked forward to going out with him all week! 

Sunday we headed to the zoo because we knew we weren't going to be able to go during the week.  We walked around, in really beautiful weather, went to the petting zoo and saw the squirrel monkeys going crazy.  They were all over the place, and really close to us this time, it was awesome.  It was the lemon's first anniversary with us and we can't wait until next year when we can actually bring her to the zoo to celebrate.  Ian suggested that we get her a snow globe so that every year we go to the zoo for our anniversary, she has something to look forward to, a new snowglobe.  We settled on one with giraffes and I just hope they have them again every year because it was SUCH a great idea!  He is so thoughtful and sweet, what guy thinks of something like this?! 

(Some wedding pictures from our wedding 3 years ago at the Phoenix Zoo.  If you'd like to see more pictures, check out my Flickr.)

(Top right, our first anniversary, bottom right our second and on the left is us this year.  All in the same spot, although it changes every year!)

(Weird hair and face in this pic!  Why did I post this here?!  Ian looks cute, that's why!)

(Our wedding spot has gone from a beautiful, lush grassy hill to a tiny dirt plot next to a new road.  Next year, I don't think it will even be there because they are building so many new exhibits.  Bummer.)

This week I finally sold the futon that was in the spare room, now the nursery, and have $400 to spend on things for the baby’s room.  I have met some really nice Craigslist people doing it, and just sold some sunglasses that I haven’t worn in years on ebay.  I am so excited that we haven’t had to spend much of our own money so far, and hope to make about $200 more to buy some prints and some more decorations.  My mom and Joe have been so amazing in buying us the flooring for the room, and eventually a dresser (once we decide on one), Aunt Donna and Sonja in buying us paint and my Dad and Susie helping us with the crib.  We have only had to buy ceiling paint, some supplies and baseboards – we are so lucky to have all of this help.  And Henry coming over to help Ian when he’s never laid floors before – our families are truly the BEST!

(I decided on the pink chevron for the curtains and crib skirt and the sold pink for the rocking chair pads.  I'm also going to get some of the yellow fabric for pillows and a lampshade.  I wish I had a use for the aqua chevron - but the walls are aqua and it may just be too much.  They were all so cute though!

On Monday I had my glucose test at the OB so I took the day off in case I felt sick.  I haven’t been sick throughout this whole pregnancy (nauseous but not throwing up) and was worried that the sugary drink would make me feel bad since others have said it made them feel yucky.  But, my OB allows us to eat protein before the test, thank goodness, so in the morning we made eggs so I didn’t have to go in there starving, even though it was only 8:30am.  Ian took the day off too, to distract me, in case I felt bad.  I was a champ and drank the drink and sat there for an hour until the blood test.  They also scheduled our monthly appointment during the time we were waiting, such a good idea, so that took some of the time off of waiting, and then I scheduled my remaining appointments (up until the end!) while we waited too.  My uterus is measuring 26 weeks, right on track, baby sounds good and I’m all set with my appointments.  I can’t believe the 3rd trimester is just a week away now, it’s so crazy!  Time has gone by so fast but so slow at the same time, it’s nutty.  Babies sure do take a long time to cook but we want her to stay in there and get bigger so she is a healthy girl when we finally get to meet her!

(Check out the lady in the background, she was drinking it too!)

During the test I just felt a bit dizzy and my stomach kind of hurt but that was it.  I came home and ate, felt better, and then couldn’t keep my eyes open so had to nap for an hour on the couch.  I think it was a sugar crash, although the drink only has 50 grams of sugar in it, and the Hansen’s natural sodas I like have about 40 grams.  The OB called the next day to say everything was normal (thank goodness I didn’t have to do the 3 hour test!) and it is just another thing off my mind.  I was really nervous about this one and now it’s over, it was so easy and really nothing to be nervous about.  Baby is ok and that’s all that matters - I can’t wait until May 2^nd until we get to see her again!

On our anniversary I was off to prenatal yoga and Ian went to physical therapy.  Last week, at yoga, everyone in the class did right angle poses except for me, and I was totally ok with it (this is HUGE if you read my post from Week 25).  I did what was best for me and the baby, and it was fine, I didn't care that I was the only one who didn't do it.  This week, I sat next to my new yoga friends again and had a great time, we worked on arm poses and my arms are still strong, it's like they remember what they used to be.  It makes me feel so powerful being in there, even if I can't do it all like I used to.  At the OB they told me I gained 7 pounds this past month so I have to try to make more of an effort to walk and work out at home.  This week I did 8 minute buns (yep, the old DVD!) because it worked for me in high school so why not now?!  And, I did my own weights and arm workout to prepare for carrying this baby.  We also tried waking up at 5am one day before school to walk the dogs, but Ian hates working out in the morning so I'm not sure if that will stick.  I used to do it last year, wake up and run on the treadmill, so I'm hoping we can do it for the remainder of this year - only 6 weeks left of school!

When I got home from yoga Ian had made my favorite dinner, BLTs with organic bacon and gluten free bread.  Even though I didn’t see him much that day, I couldn’t help but feeling so lucky this week to have him in my life.  Three years is so short, for a wedding anniversary, I know, but we have been together over 8 years.  Things have changed, we have changed, but we are still here, together, and in love.  Sometimes it’s tough, sometimes we fight, things are not always perfect – but we always work it out and work together to be the best we can be in our relationship.  I respect my husband so much, he has had a rough year, but has not given up and has worked really hard to feel better and not get too down about things.  He has stayed positive and been proactive, through all of his pain both mentally and physically.  I have tried to help but feel as though sometimes I have failed, not being able to make him feel better, I guess it was something he had to do for himself, and he’s done a good job of it.  We have gotten through it and haven’t given up.  I learn something new from him every day, he makes me laugh more than ever and laying in bed at night with him is my most favorite time.  He is still my best friend, after all these years.  I am so lucky to have him in my life and to have this gift he has given me in our little lemon.  I can’t wait to meet her and start a new adventure together, as a family.  A new experience, a new journey – I’m so excited!

I will be 27 weeks tomorrow and I know I have to get on that post so it's not a week late like this one.  So, look for it soon!