27 weeks, 2 days

I figured it was time for a baby update!  We are only days away from the 3rd trimester - crazy!  Here is a quick snapshot of me and Baby Rogers at 27 weeks, 2 days.  You'll have to ignore my red, chapped face - I'm trying to shake a never ending cold that is torturing me.  I'm still feeling good and really, really enjoying all the flips, rolls, kicks, punches, hiccups that baby is treating me to.  We have our 28 week appointment next week where we'll get an ultrasound.  No crazy cravings as of late - except for smoothies, keep those coming!  For the first 4-5 months, I was thinking this baby is a girl, but lately I'm leaning more towards boy.  We'll see - lots of people seem to think boy, but there are still a few folks in the girl corner.

Welcome, Baby G aka Baby Ava!

My cousin, Josh and my friend, Kristen welcomed their first baby into the world on Monday morning - Ava Elizabeth Gardiner.  She is so beautiful and perfect.  I was lucky enough to visit on Tuesday evening...

 Baby Ava seemed to like sitting up - so peaceful and sleepy.

 Pretty girl - sleeping in daddy's arms.

Proud parents Josh and Kristen - on cloud nine with their new baby girl!  Congrats, guys!  Can't wait to see more of your little one and introduce a little cousin in the summer!

Denver Deets

Finally - a moment to breathe AND blog.  I returned back from a super fun trip to Denver on Monday.  Denver was soooooo fun and made me miss it :(  My fabulous friends hosted a joint baby shower for me and my other Denver friend (who now resides in Atlanta), Katie.  It was too fun getting to catch up with the ladies, talk about our pregnancies and babies-to-be, and just hang out.

 The decorations were fabulous at the shower - perfect for a "unisex" shower, too.  The hostesses gave us these really cute round, white floral frames with rubber duckies in the background and our babies' monograms in them (mine is TBD besides the "R").

 Here it is!  Along with the favors which were flower candle votives and rubber duckie water squirters.

 We also received framed copies of the invitation as a keepsake - very cute.

 The ladies set up a fun mimosa bar with lots of different juices and nectars to mix with champagne or sparking water and lemonade for us pregnant ladies.  The food was also really yummy - ciabatta sandwiches, orzo salad, fruit, artichoke dip, tomato pie and more!

 Here we are with our hostesses - Katie, Austin and Lisa!

We each got our own cake - mine was delicious chocolate with raspberry filling and Katie's was cinnamon swirl spice cake.  These cakes were probably the MOST moist cakes I've ever tasted.  Mmmmmmm!

I'm so honored to have such great friends back in Denver - and I miss them every day.  Thanks, again ladies for hosting such a grand event for us!

Out with the old, in with the new....router

Tonight, we had an impromptu technical evening.  After returning from my awesome trip to Denver (more about that in the next post!!!!), I spent the day working from home - as did Brian.  Well, we've been having some internet connectivity challenges since we got back from Florida and today we decided enough was enough!  We identified the issue was with our router (after three oh-so-pleasant troubleshooting sessions with Comcast) so then we had to decide whether or not to deal with trying to get warranty coverage on our less than 1 year old Cisco Linksys router (and figure out what to do in the meantime for internet if we decided to send it in).  On our way to Kinkos to print out loan docs for our (hopefully!) new house, we came upon Best Buy and I said "let's just go in and look at routers and printers/scanners".  We're sick of hoofing it to Kinko's or scrambling at work to sign, scan and/or fax documents.  So, after a coupon and a gift card, we walked away from Best Buy with a new Netgear router and an Epson combo printer/scanner/fax for $140.  Maybe this means old photos to be scanned to the blog (and quickly with the new router!)?  We shall see...

Gym Rant

I had a great day.  Until I went to the gym.  And then, I was just aggravated.  I have two gym rants today.

1) Parking

2) The Pool

We'll start with the Parking situation.  I understand we live in SF and the parking garage is small in relation to the number of folks using the gym.  I get it.  However, you can't just drive into the garage and hold up the line behind you waiting to see if someone happens to come out of the elevator and go to their car and leave.  I mean, if no one is behind you, fine...go ahead and wait around.  But don't block the rest of us in.  That isn't even my real rant today.  My real problem is when someone in front of me in said "line" thinks they are entitled to a spot that opens up BEHIND them and that everyone else should back up so they can take it.  Screw you, buddy.  Your loss.  That's my spot, now.

Alright, onto my second rant.  The pool.  I know it's a small gym with only a two lane pool.  And I know I go to the gym most of the time during "rush hour".  And I also know that everyone pays their fees and is entitled to use the gym in the same capacity.  All that being said, for the love of CHRIST, if you don't know how to swim properly, at least show some courtesy to those of us that do.  There are four types of pool hogs:

1) The bobbers: The bobbers don't swim laps, they just bob around, chat with their friends, take up lap space, bob-bob-bobbing around.  Annoying.  Get out of the way.  Better yet, go bob in the spa.  Or come to the pool during aqua-aerobics.

2) The zig-zaggers: These types of gym-rats are a step up from the bobbers.  At least they are swimming.  However, they are making it nearly impossible for anyone else to share the lane with them as splitting a lane is hard when you don't stay on your side and circle swimming doesn't work when you don't swim in a circle.

3) The half-lap-stoppers: These people also are giving the sport of swimming a really good try.  Unfortunately, they aren't good enough to make it the HUGE (sense my sarcasm?) 25 yd length of the pool without stopping for some rest in the middle of the lane.  It's time to learn to breathe while swimming, guys.

4) The lane hoarders: These are the people who ignore the 2 person to a lane rule and want to "share" with you and the other person in your lane.  Doesn't seem to bother them that they can't swim well or just plan to bob....they just invite themselves into your lane.  Hey, guess what, jerk?  I don't hop on the back of your treadmill in the middle of your run, do I?  No.  So unless you know how to circle swim and are of similar skill to me, get out of my lane and wait your turn.   

Week 25!

Alright, I promised a photo and although I'm feeling less than photogenic these days (can't wait for what I'll feel like in June!), I'll deliver.  Here's the "bump" today, at about 25 and a half weeks along the way.  Feeling pretty good...no stretch marks (yet?), no crazy itchiness (yet?), but I do have a faint linea nigra coming to life.  For those of you who have never been pregnant or don't read all there is to read about pregnancy, linea nigra is hyperpigmentation that forms a dark line (not hair) on your belly that starts at your belly button and goes down.  It's actually kind of cool, but let's hope it's not here to stay.   

   In other fun news, we received written approval today on the short sale we're trying to buy.  So, now we're OFFICIALLY under contract!  Now we start all the fun things like loan paperwork and rate lock down, home and pest inspections, money wiring, etc.  Cross your fingers for us that everything goes smoothly and we'll be in our new house in April!

Baby Movin', Baby Movin'....

Trying to get catchier with the blog titles - is it working?  Get it, Beastie Boys, "Body Movin'"......no?

Anyway, I'm overdue for providing a baby update.  This week marks our 25th week!  Someone asked me the other day if I feel like time is flying by.  I do, I feel like the last 25 weeks have flown by and I can't believe our baby will be here in just over 3 months!  But, I feel like each day is moving vvveerrrryyyy slowly because we're so excited for this little one!  And maybe because we're in a holding pattern on the house we're trying to buy (gotta love those short sales).....I'm not going to lie, I'm ready to nest and don't have a definitive tree to put my nest in, yet! 

Doctor says baby is doing great - strong heartbeat, active baby.  At my 24 week checkup last week, I had my fundal height measurement taken for the first time and Baby Rogers is measuring about a week and a half ahead of schedule, however my doctor says that measurement is not indicative of the size of the baby really, they just use that measurement week over week to make sure the baby is continuing to grow.  I had  my glucose test (gestational diabetes), too and results were supposed to be ready on Friday - my doctor said if I don't hear from her, that means I passed.  So far, I haven't heard anything so I'll keep praying she doesn't call! 

The baby has been a moving machine.  Not sure what it's doing in there - rolls, flips, dancing, kickboxing, who knows, but I sure can feel it!  Brian felt the baby move for the first time Friday night - he smiled and said, "that's weird".  That was nothing, last night Brian had his ear to my belly trying to hear the baby's heart beat when he got a swift kick to the head.  I also saw the baby move through my shirt for the first time yesterday - very cool.

I'll be heading to Denver this coming weekend for some QT with friends and most excitedly, my FIRST baby shower!  Our amazing friends in Denver are throwing a joint shower for me and my friend Katie - our lil bundles are due within 3 weeks of each other!  I can't wait to see Katie's adorable baby bump and celebrate with our Denver crew.  Here's a snapshot of the adorable invitation on my fridge:

Also, I received the invitation in the mail for my first California shower hosted by my bestie, Alia!  It's so cute and I can't wait!  All the shower planning and talk makes me realize how close the arrival of Baby Rogers is!  Although these photos of invitations are not great, it gives you the idea of the super cute invites my friends have created!

If you're lucky and I'm not feeling frumpy or like a walrus, I'll try to post a belly photo tomorrow.  I'm a bit sickly, so not feeling up to it today.  Hopefully, I shake this head cold quickly.

Breakfast in Bed

I woke up early on Saturday morning for some reason.  So, I did some blogging, some internet surfing, some email checking, some dishes, etc.  Then I decided to make blueberry pancakes because we have lots of yummy, fresh blueberries in the fridge.  Who doesn't love blueberry pancakes?  So, I went on my merry way prepping the batter and brewing some coffee for Brian.  I made myself some pancakes and enjoyed the hot breakfast!  Then, I decided to see if Brian was awake yet so that I could make him some, too.  Well, what did I see when I opened the bedroom door?  Brian, wide awake, propped up in bed looking like he was just waiting to be served breakfast in bed, along with Riley right next to him, also looking like he could eat some breakfast.  They heard me and my racket and smelled the yummy aroma of fresh coffee and hot pancakes in the kitchen and "guessed" he was getting breakfast in bed.  So, I made him a fresh stack of 'cakes and couldn't resist putting some puppy treats on a plate and serving both of my boys on a lovely Saturday morning!

Furniture Re-finishin'

In preparation to HOPEFULLY move, we're trying to get our stuff ready to go.  My Nonni has some furniture left in this house that we were told we could take if we'd like.  One of the bedrooms has a whole bedroom set....while we only have a guest bed (mattress, box spring, metal frame) and a book shelf.  So, we decided to try our hand at refinishing some outdated furniture.  First we decided, we're only taking the dresser, bed (headboard/footboard/frame) and a nightstand.  There's also a vanity thing, but it's an odd piece of furniture.

Here are some before photos - we'd already taken everything apart and brought everything down to the garage / basement area so the lighting isn't great.

Then, we decided to paint them all white and buy new hardware. So, off to Lowe's we went. We got low VOC paint so that I could potentially help paint (with proper ventilation) and some modern, brushed nickel hardware for the dresser and nightstand. Who knew low/no VOC paint was so expensive!!!!

So far, the dresser is complete and it looks great!  Brian ended up doing 98% of the work because the paint smell was bugging me and let's face it, the sanding job I'd do would probably be pretty whack.  We still have to do the whole bed and finish the nightstand, but we're really excited with how the dresser turned out!  Again, apologies for the poor lighting - the dresser is still downstairs.

Flo-Rida

I am way behind on the blogging!  It's time to catch up!  But I'll start with the most fun post - FLORIDA!  We took our "babymoon" last weekend to visit Erin and Todd in Tampa and had a FANTASTIC time.  We flew in on Thursday and came back Monday night. 

On Thursday night, we just hung out, spent some QT with our friends, had some snacks and cocktails ('mocktails' for me) and then walked to a nearby beachy restaurant for some dinner.

On Friday morning, we headed down to Sarasota to Siesta Key for some beach time.  Although it was pleasantly warm, it was still a little chilly with the wind and the water was pretty cold.  We got in and waded a bit, but that's about it.  Here are some photos of Brian soaking up some rays and playing in the water:

Erin and Todd have a super cute French Bulldog named Frank and we LOVE Frank.  Frank is sooooo cute and he's really fun to play with, too.  He likes to do this thing where he wraps his paw around your arm and tries to bite you, all the while snorting/grumbling away - Erin and Todd call it "jiu jitsu".  We got a photo of the action:

On Saturday, we headed up to the Crystal River, about an hour or so north of Tampa, to kayak with the manatees.  Again, it was pleasantly warm out, but not warm enough to go swimming with the manatees (although there were plenty of people braving the chilly waters!).  The water was so clear!  We had a really fun time kayaking with Erin and Todd, seeing lots of different kinds of birds and "swamp" type vegetation and, of course, the manatees!

The water was super clear and near the springs, the bottom was sandy and very tropical looking.  Made looking at fish and manatees very easy!

Here are a momma and baby manatee.  Very cool to see these guys swimming around in their natural habitat (although, this was very close to a manatee sanctuary).  We probably saw around 10 or so manatees altogether swimming around in river.

On Sunday, we headed east to Orlando.  The boys went shooting (Erin and I hung back in the cars - too noisy for us).  Brian was pretty excited to shoot Todd's AR something or other.  Gun laws in Florida are very similar to those in Colorado....very very different from strict California.  After the shooting range, we went to Gatorland.  Brian really wanted to see some gators while we were visiting, but unfortunately, the season was not right for gator spotting and I think we were too far south and too far north....maybe next time we'll make the trek to the Everglades.  Either way, Gatorland was really fun.  I was expecting a cheesy theme park with tons of gators (think Marine World before Six Flags ruined it all), but it actually was a neat park with lots of natural swamp habitat for the gators to chill.  They have over 1700 gators!

There were also some exhibits with other types of wildlife - like birds!  I got to test out the different functions of my new camera (a new point and shoot that I got for my birthday from my parents and I love!).  Lots of fun birds - parrots, macaws, parakeets, snowy egrets, great egrets, etc.

We arrived just in time for the feeding session.  Here are some of the biggest, waiting for their steaks to be to thrown to them for dinner.  Some of these guys have been at the park since it opened in 1949.

On Monday, we were bums and slept in then headed to Clearwater Beach for some sunning (where Brian and I both of course got sunburned on our last day) before heading to the airport for our trip home.  We also drove by the crazy headquarters for Scientology.  What a huge, crazy building - looked like it should be a casino/resort in Vegas. 

All in all, a great trip!  We didn't want to leave (although we missed our Riley boy).  We can't wait to go back maybe next spring or summer.  We were already talking with Erin and Todd about family trips to Disneyworld down the road with our kids....