Happy Halloween

Many of you probably read the last post about my accident but what we failed to include in the post was that was a crazy day. On that same day step-sister, Meredith moved into our spare bedroom and another step-sister, Kaleigh was stuck in Denver on a 36 hour layover. Meredith is fitting right into Colorado and after 4 trips to the airport and back Kaleigh made it home to North Dakota. 

After the craziest Tuesday EVER our week finally slowed down enough for our annual carving of the pumpkins. Here are a few photos from Saturday night:

Happy Halloween

Meredith joins us for our pumpkin craving tradition

Matt wins the prize for getting all the guts out first

The bump was looking huge that night

The final product

Just a Little Fender Bender

Yesterday Melissa got into a car accident.  Fortunately, neither she nor Squirt were injured.  An elderly man ran a red light, but Melissa saw him coming and was able to avoid a much worse accident.  We went to the ER in the evening just to be sure everything was alright and to our happy surprise they busted out an ultrasound!  Our next ultrasound wasn't for another 4 weeks, so we were pretty excited to get to see Squirt despite the circumstances.


We made sure to let the doctor know that we didn't know if Squirt was a boy or girl and he promised to keep the mystery.  He told us that he was looking to see Squirt's heart rate and if he/she was moving around like normal.  As if on queue, we watched as Squirt's little hand floated straight to his/her face and started sucking his/her thumb.  The doctor laughed and told us everything looked great.  We could see just about everything on Squirt... hands, arms, head, legs, spine, etc.  It was really something to see all the changes and growth that have happened in such a short time; especially since Squirt was merely the size of a blueberry at the last ultrasound.

Could have been much worse

We also had our first snow of the season.  It didn't start until later in the evening so it didn't play a part in Mel's accident.  It was raining when we went in to the ER and snowing when we came out a couple hours later.  The weather service is predicting up to 12 inches for Denver in the next 24 hours, but the high country is expected to get nearly 2 feet!

First snow of the season is a doozy

Tree in our front yard usually stands straight up

m@

Fun Fall Weekend

This past weekend was a busy one, but lots of fun.  Friday night, Melissa and I hosted the first night of the Couples Bible Study we are co-leading with friends.  Saturday we visited a huge pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins and I forgot the memory card for my camera... again.  This year was definitely different picking pumpkins with a 14er in the background.

 

Saturday night we headed to the University of Denver for a hockey game and we had front row seats courtesy of one of my co-workers who has season tickets.  They won 10-2.  It felt like we were on the bench with the players!

Sunday, I went on a hike with the church hiking group to Blue Lake in Ward, CO.  It was a gorgeous windy day and the lake was amazing!  It took quite a bit of the day and I wasn't planning on that, but we can always carve our pumpkins the next day.

m@


PS - I have a bump too.  Double Bump!

15 Weeks and Counting

15 Weeks

Yesterday was our 3rd appointment and Melissa is currently 15 weeks along.  Her OB's office is typically really good about honoring appointment times, so I was a bit miffed when we waited nearly an hour to get back for an appointment that took less than 20 minutes.  Melissa actually fell asleep in the waiting room.

This time I was prepared.  I had a new app on my phone so I'd be able to record Squirt's heart, so we were pretty excited.  This is what we got to hear:

Lastly, Melissa likes to write about the signs that her body gives her that she is pregnant and lately two new ones have become pretty apparent.  First, she's got a wonderful little bump and second... she farts a lot.  She tells me it must be a boy because it's just like me.  I blame my father.

Anyway, the next appointment is the week before Thanksgiving and will be our 20-week appointment.  That means we will have another ultrasound and barring any problems, it will be the last time we see Squirt until he/she is born.

m@

Socks Make Her Cry

No, that's not a country song.  It's the truth in our house right now.  


We've already received some great gifts from friends and family, and today we got a package from my Aunt Cella and Uncle Dave.  Aunt Cella knit some tiny socks for Squirt and they were more than enough to get the waterworks going.  Is it bad that I'll make the kid wear both pairs regardless of gender?

Tiny socks = Big tears

m@

First Tracks

For those of you who don't know me or my work schedule very well, I always work 7 nights (80 hours) in a row, then I get the next 7 days off.  Basically, it's a vacation every other week.  The tradeoff is that I don't have time to do anything else but eat and sleep when I'm working.  Also, I love to ski.  That being said, I had the grand idea that since A Basin Ski Resort opened last week I would head up the mountain as soon as I got out of work and lay my first tracks of the 2011-2012 season.


You're probably thinking, "What makes him think that driving over an hour to go skiing immediately after finishing his 7th overnight shift in a row is a good idea?"  The answer is nothing.  By the end of my work week I'm an idiot incapable of making even simple decisions.


When I got there I was pleased with the lack of people (read: short lift line).  You'd be surprised how many people will still show up for far less than optimal snow conditions, only one running chair lift, and only one ski-able run just to say they skied in October.  Mostly it's retirees with nothing better to do since they can't golf in the high country anymore and college/high school students playing hooky.   


The condition of the snow was actually pretty good for being the man-made variety and there were only a couple icy spots along the run.  I was able to hammer out 6 runs in just under 2 hours.  My legs were sufficiently Jello-y and I was definitely huffin' and puffin'.  Also, I felt like I could sleep on the chairlift if they would let me, so I figured it was time to head home.  Mind you that at this point in the day it's barely 11am.


To celebrate my triumphant return to the mountain ski resorts I stopped and got a yoo-hoo from the gas station.  My original plan was to buy some highly caffeinated soda to power up for the drive home, but I had only brought $1.50 into the shop and didn't feel like going back to the car to get the extra 10¢.  I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed.

Obviously the beard isn't quite ready for full-on ski season yet 

The peaks in the background are considered hike-able/ski-able terrain

I'll take a Blue Bird Day anyday

Celebratory yoo-hoo lacks needed caffeine

m@

2nd Trimester!

This week we entered into our second trimester! I've been told that my energy should come back soon, but it hasn't happened quite yet. Also, I've had some new pregnancy symtoms in the last few weeks. Right now I can't stand the smell of my prenatal vitamins! I was convinced something had changed or contaminated them. I even asked the pharmacist at Target if it was okay to get a refill a month early. I think they smell like a dead fish that's been washed up on shore and sat in the sun for a week. Even touching the pill before putting it on my tonge makes my fingers reek, but I passed them around to some friends and discovered it's not the pills, it's just my nose.


These last few weeks I've been using a body pillow in bed and I love it! I can even prop it under one side and sleep on my belly which I really think its helping with my back pain. Last week I gave in and bought a heating pad, and it loosens things up really nicely and temporarily makes the pain go away. 


Another new symptom I've been noticing is that my body temperature changes very quickly. After eating half my dinner I start burning up, I've been trying to dress in layers incase I need to strip. And I just can't stop itching right now, if you know me you know that if I have an itch I'll scratch till things bleed! My belly and the girls are growing pretty quickly in these last few weeks which makes the skin itch when it stretches. I really try not to scratch and use lotion or anti-stretch cream but sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it. 


Another side affect of pregnancy is rapid hair growth, and I can't seem to keep up on the shaving right now. It's like I shave one leg and move to the next one and I could go back to the other one and shave it again. And lately, I feel like I'm in highschool again with the amount of ache I have showing up, luckily it is in spots I can hide it pretty well. 


I'm so thankful for symptoms and the constant reminder from my body telling me that Squirt is growing, and much to my surprise I'm excited my belly has "popped" out a little. Next week we have our 3rd doctor appointment and I can't wait to hear Squirt's heartbeat again. We will take another profile picture and record the beautiful symphony and post them after that appointment.

RRC Night Hike

After riding a nerd-high with the release of Apple's iOS 5 and then the low from a crushing defeat of the Detroit Tigers in Game #4 of the ALCS, I decided to end the day on a high note and went hiking with a group from Red Rocks Church.  The group had already done several hikes over the summer, which unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to.  However, when I arrived I quickly found out that nearly everyone there hadn't been on any of the previous hikes either!  Anyway, it was an easy trail just West of Boulder, CO (the hippie-infested fittest city in the country).  


The kicker to the easy hike was that we started just after dusk and hiked until approx. 9pm, thus in the dark.  I've done hikes early in the morning when the sun is just coming up, but never after it had gone down.  We all had headlamps, but didn't use them too much since the light from the full moon made it pretty easy to see.  


There was a bit of wildlife (not including the dog hiking with us).  We took some fun pics with the headlamps at the top and then made our way back.  Met some new people to share a great hobby with.  Looking forward to more in the future.

The whole crew pre-hike

Full moon over Boulder

Fun with headlamps.  Says RRC Hike

m@

Devil Dash 5K

Since Melissa posted something new, I have to as well.  She's already got more posts than me, but to be fair she didn't know it was a competition... it is.


Anyway, while Mel was off traipsing through the fresh snow in the mountains, I was traipsing through the mud and rain in 40 degree weather.  My buddy Brent and I participated in the first running of the Devil Dash 5K in Lyons, CO.  If you've seen any of the pics on Facebook from when I ran in the Warrior Dash this summer, then you've already got a really good idea of what this race was like.


Obstacles, mud, costumes, fire, and beer.  That's the general theme of these races and this one held true to form, with the exception that the temp was barely above 40 and it had been raining all morning and continued to do so through the rest of the afternoon.  All of this wasn't anywhere near what I had envisioned when I signed up for the race, but c'est la vie.  I will say this though, the race was tough, but the water added something that made it feel like more of an accomplishment.


In addition to my genius idea to run this race I also decided to run the race with our maligned waterproof digital camera.  It worked great for the whole race... right up to the mud pit.  Who would have thought a mud pit could mess with a digital camera?  The mud on the lens did do a fantastic job of censoring Brent's face in our post-race pic.


After finishing the race there was a line to rinse off with the one garden hose provided.  Brent and I being the educated enlightened renaissance men we are, decided it would be quicker if we just jumped in the creek that ran alongside the park.  Like many ideas, this was much better on paper than in reality, but since I was pretty much numb already it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  We downed our free beer and jumped in the car with the heat blasting.  


The rest of the day consisted of a pitstop at Red Robin for lunch where one of the male managers was a little too into bald guys and then watching sports while sitting in front of a space heater.

Waiting for the start

The first real obstacle on the course.

The hill climb.  You can see the stream of people going uphill.  Brutal.

Climbing the cargo net

As if it wasn't cold enough... there was an ice bath

Done and had a great time

m@

Women's Retreat

This past weekend I went on a women's retreat with our church. It was just past Winter Park at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch. When we arrived on Friday it was a beautiful sunny fall day, and then Saturday morning we woke to lots of white snowflakes! It was so beautiful though it made it a little harder to get to dinner and the conference building that were in different areas of the ranch. Friday night was a late night with lots of girl talk which made for a sleepy Saturday. After a speaker, two workshops and a pajama party we hit the hay early. The retreat's theme was Shoes and the Seasons of Life that we wear them in. I discovered I'm in the season of Fall (which is my favorite season), but I'm still trying to wear my comfortable flip flops. 


It seems like everything in my life is changing or going to change: 
~Last month Matt and I left our comfort zone and branched out of our original couples group to co-lead a new one
~Two weeks from today my step-sister Meredith will be moving into our spare bedroom 
~Someday, hopefully soon, Matt will transition from the night shift to a day shift position
~This will be my first Christmas away from home 
~The biggest change of all will be happening in April when Squirt comes 


I feel like I'm kinda in limbo and I'm not quite sure how to prepare for all of this change. Most of the upcoming changes are good things, but even in good changes one still has to "mourn" the loss of the past. This weekend I was reminded that even when everything changes around me, God stays constant and that I need to rely on Him more, and that growth doesn't come without change and I'm looking very forward to it. 

fresh snow on the mountains

snow on the pines

I'm a rebel

PJ party

All my friends

Too much stuff

This week I have started to feel more symptoms of pregnancy. Though it may seem like complaining, I'm very thankful for new reminders that Squirt is growing. I now have Tums in my nightstand that I need to take 3 of to help with heartburn when I lay down. My tailbone area has been hurting when I sit funny or get out of bed in the morning almost to the point of walking hunched backed for a few minutes before I can stand up tall. And the last symptom I've been noticing is that my clothes don't fit like they used to. I knew this would happen but I thought I had more time. My belly is starting to show more but to a stranger it just looks like I ate a lot of donuts. I guess I need the t-shirt that says "I'm pregnant, not fat!" 

I've starting thinking about all the things babies need and have gotten very overwhelmed! Babies R Us has a check list of things on their website that one should register for. I printed off a list last night and crossed off at least half of the things on there that I thought aren't necessary. Many of the things I had to Google just find out what they are. For example, the difference between a mattress pad and a multi-use pad and sheet savors. According to the list I need all of these in multiples of 4-6. Why would I need a diaper stacker? and why would I need a waste basket and a diaper pail? I had no idea what a weather protection boot for a stroller was and why anyone would need a full size swing a travel swing and a bouncy chair. They also had on the list a play yard, I guess it is something like a pac'n play which we are planning to get with a bassinet in it. The list says that I need 5 strollers! and all the accessories to go along with them like a sunshade, netting, a stroller organizer, cup holder, snack tray and toys. I was hoping to get 2, a big one and a small umbrella one, I would hope they come with some of the accessories or maybe I'm wrong.

I could really use some input in this department. If anyone has any ideas of the greatest things we should get or things that we shouldn't please send me an email at: Melissah716@gmail.com. Don't even get me started on the nursery. I guess I'm just different than most new mom's that become obsessed with how it should look. All I have decided is that I would like the furniture to be white. There are so many choices out there, I feel like the decisions could take more then 7 months and I don't have that kind of time. I really can't make up my mind on things to even eat right now let alone what would make the perfect nursery and what to register for. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to turn that room into Squirt's room but there are just to many choices!