I'm Counting Down

It's been a little while since I've posted any of those 'oh-so-fun' pregnancy photos. I'm really only doing it for documenting purposes because I'm now to the stage where I feel huge and very not cute. Oh well, I'm sure most women go through that. This was me last week at 33 weeks.

As I get closer and closer to having this little guy, I've been thinking about the whole experience. In my head I've basically been making lists of things that I will/will not miss about it. I might have some to add at a later point that I can't think of right now but here are my thoughts.

Things I WILL miss about being pregnant:
-The excitement and anticipation of welcoming Landon into our family
-Feeling him move inside me

Things I will NOT miss about being pregnant:
-Not having the will or feel like doing anything after work (this went away after the first trimester thank goodness because I hated coming home from work and laying down for hours--luckily Jeff was in school all the time so it was ok)
-Not sleeping (I know this will continue after the baby is born but at least then I'll have a cute little thing to look at whereas right now it's just annoying
-Having to go to the bathroom way more than anyone should, especially at night when I'm trying to sleep
-Worrying if anything I am doing/eating will hurt the baby
-Gross taste in my mouth which also means that most of the time nothing sounds good to eat
-Nausea & Thowing up
-Gaining weight / Not fitting into any cute clothes
-Getting worn-out or out of breath fast
-Not being able to do things I would normally not have to worry about (lifting heavy things, etc)
-Heartburn

I went to my doctor appointment last week and everything looks great. My weight gain is perfect, I'm measuring where I should be, Landon's heartbeat is good, and he's positioned right.

Vegas Vacation 2009

We ventured down to brave the HEAT (113 degrees) of Las Vegas last weekend. We had a really good time and, as always, it was so nice to get away from work and life for a few days. We didn't do anything super exciting but we went to a furniture design show that Jeff wanted to go to and I was pretty impressed with some of the stuff there. We also went to a really cool car show at the Imperial Palace--there were a few cars there that Jeff would have gladly taken if we had a couple million dollars to spare.

There was lots of good eating (Sammy's Pizza, In-n-Out, Chicago Brewery, Capriottis, etc.), lots of swimming thanks to the 24-hour access to the pool at Larry's house, and some shopping and sightseeing. We went up to Red Rocks--I would love to hike around sometime when I'm not pregnant and when it's not so darn hot.

It was fun spend time with my two cute nieces that were down there as well. It was great to see my mom and Larry (a big 'thank you' again for letting us stay with you!). We've both determined that we are never going down there again in the summer but all in all it was a really fun trip.

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Jeff and I both had Friday the 3rd off so we went up to see my family. After some cleaning at my mom's house and Jeff golfing with Spence and my brother/brothers-in-law, we had a family cookout. It was, as always, delicious and fun.

Saturday we ventured up to Bear Lake to spend some time with Adam, Cami, Cole and Jeff's parents (we missed Megan and Amanda). It started out cold and I was prepared to read my book under the warmth of my towel but it soon warmed up...a little too much. It was nice to sit and relax on the beach and we topped off the trip with a fresh raspberry shake from LaBeau's (yum!). We didn't realize it at the time but we failed to put sunscreen on Jeff's feet and now they are burned and so swollen. I also applied sunscreen a couple of times but I've been told that you're more susceptible to burn when you are pregnant and burn I did. I've never had a sunburn before, other than slight ones on my shoulders, but my legs are fried and so sore. Jeff and I are definitely funny to watch right now because neither of us can walk too well because of the pain.

Though my dislike of the summer sun was just strengthened, we had a great 4th and I don't think either of us is ready to start a new work-week tomorrow.

What a pain

I've been "lucky" enough to contract something so I spent a good share of the weekend with a cold. I ended up staying home from work sick yesterday (calling in sick to work for only the second time in my entire life). I was bored out of my mind in the afternoon so I kept trying to get ready for work but just couldn't do it. I started feeling a bit better last night and this morning it was back to feeling just like a cold. So I went to work.

Due to some serious swelling and hives on and around my eye, I decided to go to the doctor because I really didn't want to go blind. They tested me for the flu because of my symptoms and my eye showed no sign of damage so they tested me for mono as well due to the sudden swelling and intense watering. Negative on the flu test. Positive on a severe cold...and mono. What?? I have no idea when (had to have been within the last 4-7 weeks) or how (most likely a carrier who coughed on or around me) or from whom, but I've contracted mono. There are some additional concerns because I am pregnant (namely my liver and my spleen rupturing) but my doctor will be watching me and the baby and I need to take it easy for a while. This is a pain. I hate being sick and I hate having limitations on what I can and can't do. But such is life and I'll make the best of a not-so-fun situation.

My Decision

Ok, I've decided to change my blog. I'm going to quit posting most things and will use this simply as a means to keep a type of family history. Most likely I will make it private since I will primarily be writing things that I am wanting to remember. I want to keep the blog in case we do end up moving out of the state but for now I have gone through and deleted over 200 of my posts because they weren't pertinent to our lives or were my personal thoughts/experiences on things and since I already keep a personal journal it was pointless to keep them on here.

24 weeks

I went to my 24-week appointment this past week and everything looks great. My weight gain is right where it should be (though I still feel bigger than I should be. I think we've decided on a name for our little guy which I'm happy about because I didn't want to be trying to decide in the hospital still. The horrid sickness I endured the first few months has, for the most part, subsided and I only feel really sick 1-2 times a week now. I wish it would go away completely but I'll take anything over feeling that way 24/7. He gets really active in the morning when I'm at work and again in the evening. It's getting more difficult to sleep but at least we have the air-conditioners installed in our apartment this week so it's nice to not deal with the heat. Here is a picture of me right now.

New York

I just love this city. There is a lot to do and I love the hustle and bustle of everyone. I wouldn't want to live there while raising children but we had a great time on our trip. I won't bore anyone else with details but here is a quick run-down of what we did each day.

Sunday:

• Long travel day. We had direct flights (thank goodness) but it still seemed so long with the time change.
• Our hotel was super close to Time Square so we just walked around and got dinner

Monday:

• Museum of Modern Art (cool but the part we most wanted to see was closed for a new exhibit installation)
• Empire State Building
• Chrysler Building
• China Town (very fun and cute when Jeff spoke Cantonese with the people there)
• Rockefeller Center

Tuesday:

• Today Show
• World Trade Center Site (all new construction now)
• Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
• Pizza at Lombardis (yum!)
• Shopping in SoHo
• Japanese noodle house for dinner (Ippudo), very good!

Wednesday:

• Guggenheim Museum
• Central Park
• Manhattan LDS Temple
• Grays Papaya (hot dogs)
• FAO Schwartz
• Dylan's Candy Bar
• David Letterman Studios/Hello Deli (we saw Jennifer Garner there and neither of us really knew who she was--we don't care about stuff like that--but it was hilarious watching all her fans/paparazzi)
• Mary Poppins on Broadway

Thursday:

• Wandered around a bit before heading home. Had the WORST experience with our shuttle driver, saying he was the most horrible driver I've ever encountered would be a huge understatement.

We had a great time, walked a lot, ate a lot of great food, and just enjoyed being together as well as a break from work/school.