Showered again - Houston!

On Sunday, May 22, my mother-in-law's (Mary) wonderful friends, Sally, Beth Sue, and Ellen hosted a ladies baby shower.  Mary invited her friends, my mom invited her Houston friends and I invited my friends that live in Houston.  It was at Sally's gorgeous house.  They had a fabulous spread of fruit, chips and dip, finger sandwiches (complete with baby decorations and cut-out in cute shapes), white and blue petifours, and delicious brownies (They were so moist and fudgey - I had 2 of these!). 

I am so grateful that so many were able to come celebrate.  David even made an appearance at the end of the shower to say hi (and help carry gifts to the car).  My Stratford friends (Sara, Jenny, Annie, and Kristin) all came and it was so good to see them even if it was just for a little bit.  Kristin shared some "boy-raising" advice since she has a 1-year old son.  She said to enjoy it because they grow up so fast and to be careful because boys are wild. 

Kristin, Jenny, me, Sara, Annie

 Mary, Ellen, Mrs. Lunn

Beth and Ellen

Lauren and mom

We received some very cute outfits, blankets, books, bibs, and many others.  I think Mary's friends know that David is a golfer because we got (from three different people 1) a seer-sucker golf jump-suit that he can probably wear next summer 2) some golf 3) soft mini golf bag (toy) complete with some slacks and a polo shirt.  Do you think that Mary's friends know that David is a golfer?  And, of course, Mary (one of the most generous people I know) spoiled me (and Austin) by giving us the BOB jogging stroller and infant car-seat attachment.  Thank you Mary!  I can't wait to use it, but I don't think I will be one of those people who push around an empty or weighted stroller for practice (or maybe to build arm muscle).  I have really seen these women at the park. 

It was a wonderful shower-filled weekend and we are very grateful for all of the wonderful gifts and enjoyed seeing all of our friends and family!  I also got to meet our niece, Annabelle, for the first time.  She is Allison (my step-sister) and David's baby who is 8 weeks old in this picture.

We even went to dinner with Mary, Ed, Ellen, Davy, Ben, Summer and my mom at Cyclone Anaya's on Sunday night to celebrate my birthday (a week early) and the Stephens' clan gave me a video camera.  It's HD and so tiny! (I just remember the one that my family had growing up - you had to rest it on your shoulder to film and it had those cassette-like tapes).  This will come in handy for the hospital and of course as Austin grows and changes we will take videos to share with family and friends.  Thanks again!

FAMILY!

On Saturday, May 21, after the San Antonio shower, my mom and I drove to Houston for the Houston baby showers.  On Saturday night, my aunts Carrie, Ellen and Mary Carol hosted a family party at Carrie's house.  Ricki (my sister-in-law) also helped a ton with the food for the party.  They served Ricki's yummy cheese ball with raspberry sauce, beef tenderloin sandwiches, pasta salad, a green salad with avocado, and other yummy things.  Carrie's friend made and decorated a cake and Ricki made chocolate-covered strawberries (so good!). 

I am so thankful for all the family that came to help celebrate with us.  Lauren brought BB (my grandmother) from Austin to celebrate her first great-grandchild!  My aunt Sally drove from Dallas with my cousin Brooke, Jennifer and Claire drove from Lufkin, and my dad and Michelle came in from Dallas too.

Lauren, me, Jennifer, mom, Claire, and Mary

Ben, me, Summer

 Stephens family

 Hamiltons, Stephens, Hendrix, Hunts

Hendrix and Stephens

The shower was a "gift card" shower so that we could transport things easier back to Denver.  (Now we need to go to Babies R Us and Pottery barn kids to buy the necessities like a car seat and swing, among others).  We are very grateful!  Most people brought gift cards but also got some really cute outfits for Austin to wear.  BB even knitted a precious hat for Austin to wear in the winter.  My uncle Scott sent a tie-dyed "keep Austin weird" onesie.  Ricki got the "most creative" award for her gift.  She bought 12 white onesies in different sizes (some long-sleeved and some-short sleeved) and had them embroidered for each month of the year during Austin's 1st year.  For example, the first onesie says "I drool burnt orange" for the start of football season.  There is one for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines, St Patty's, Easter, Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, July 4th, and then "Austin's 1-year bday".  Who knows if the sizes will be right each month but we will definitely take a picture in each of the onesie's when they fit him and make a calendar for the next year with the 12 pictures (read: gift for grandparents).  The party was so fun and we are so blessed to have a such a wonderful family to celebrate baby Austin.

San Antonio Baby Shower

On Saturday, May 21, 5 lovely ladies (thank you Amanda, Meredith, Cecile, Carolyn and Dianne) hosted a shower for me in San Antonio.  I flew to San Antonio on Friday evening and my mom picked me up at the airport.  (meanwhile, David flew directly to Houston that night and his flight was 2 hours delayed due to storms in Denver but my flight that left 30 minutes before his scheduled departure, was pretty much on time - sorry David - thanks for making the trip).  On Friday night, my mom, Cecile, Amanda, Carolyn, Meredith and Sara all went to dinner at Paloma Blanca.  It's a yummy Mexican food place in Alamo Heights.  Thanks to Mere and Amanda for driving in from Austin on Friday night to eat with us!  The next morning, the shower was at 10:30 at Cecile and David's new fancy high-rise apartment building.  They had a wonderful spread of fruit, mini muffins, mini fritattas, and blue and white polka-dot sugar cookies.  They even had an activity planned.  Everyone decorated a burp cloth with permanent markers for me to use (since I am sure we will go through plenty of them).  It was fun getting to chat with all my childhood friends from SA and my mom's long-time friends as well.  We got some really cute gifts like a couple of Kissy-Kissy little blue and white outfits and a really soft blue sleep sack.  The hostesses gave us a gift card to Babies R Us (easy to transport back to Denver!) and we will probably put it towards the swing and car seat (2 necessities that we don't have yet).  Thanks to all the hostesses for a wonderful party and for everyone who came to help celebrate our little guy who will be with us before we know it.

Me, mom & hostesses (R to L: Amanda, Cecile, Dianne, me, mom, Carolyn, Meredith)

 Amanda, me, Sara, Meredith

Some of the creative burp clothes

Cute, soft Kissy-Kissy outfit

28 week appointment

Last Wednesday (May 18) I went my 28-week appointment.  David didn't go to the this one since we knew we weren't having an ultrasound, and I also had to do my test for gestational diabetes.  I wasn't allowed to eat anything that morning that had sugar (couldn't have my usual plain Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries) so I ate scrambled egg whites with cheese that day (not my favorite).  I arrived at 10am and had to drink a lemon-lime flavored "drink" which was basically pure sugar.  It was so sweet!  Then I had 1 hour to wait until they took my blood to see how my body reacted to the sugar.  I met with Dr. Corbett while waiting and she measured me and we listened to Austin's heartbeat.  Everything looked good as far as my growth and his heartbeat was 150.  After they took my blood, I had to get the RhoGAM shot, since I am Rh-negative (meaning I have A-negative blood).  It was a painful one!  It's been a long time since I had a shot like that.  After Austin is born, if he is a positive blood type, then I have to get another of the same shot.  But if he is negative blood, then I don't.  As far as the gestational diabetes goes, my doctor said that no news is good news, and I haven't heard anything, so I must be fine.  At our next appointment on June 3 they will do an ultrasound to take some measurements.  I can't wait to see how much he has grown!  It will most likely be our last ultrasound before the birth.  

Virginia Trip

Last weekend we flew to Virginia for Doug and Tory's wedding weekend.  Doug is one of David's friends since second grade and David was a groomsman in the wedding.  I also knew Doug at Stratford and at UT.  Doug met Tory in Austin a few years ago and she is from a small town about 45 miles southwest of DC called Warrenton.  She grew up attending the Virginia Gold Cup every year.  It is a steeplechase that happens every year the first weekend in May.  I think she always wanted to have her wedding reception at the race so they made that happen.  David and I arrived at Dulles airport around 11:15pm Wednesday night.  We rented a car and drove to Warrenton and stayed at the Hampton Inn for one night.  Since some of the guys were playing golf on Thursday, we had to arrive Wednesday night so David wouldn't miss the tee time.  After a nice brunch at the Warrenton IHOP, we drove to the Poplar Springs Inn, which is where the entire wedding party was staying for the weekend.  It only has about 20 rooms and the Pegler-Jones wedding had every room.  We got to the inn around noon and the guys were not leaving for golf until 1:30 so we looked around the grounds.  We walked to The Manor House, which is the historic building next to the inn that has a restaurant where the rehearsal dinner and wedding after-party were.  We also located the spa, where I would be visiting that afternoon for a pedicure!  If David was going to leave me to play golf twice during the trip, I figured I would indulge in a pedicure.  The spa did not do prenatal massages otherwise I probably would have enjoyed one of those as well.  So while the guys played the longest golf round ever (they were gone from 1pm until almost 9pm), I went for a run, had a pedicure, and relaxed in the room.  That night the Jones' hosted a casual dinner of hamburgers and such by the pool for those that had already arrived.

On Friday, the guys had an 8am tee time so David left around 6:45.  I woke up around 8 and went for a run and then 3 of the wives (Hilary, Ellen, and Adrienne) and I went for a walk.  After our walk we drove to Warrenton (with Kelly too) and had some lunch at a cute wine bar/restaurant.  We sat outside in the rooftop seating since the weather was so nice.  After lunch we walked around the main street and looked in some of the shops.  Many of the shops were selling hats like the one below to wear to the gold cup.  (this was a lady at the gold cup...people go all-out in their fashion choices).



The rehearsal dinner was at the Manor House on Friday night.  We sat at a table with Tim and Melissa and Ryan and Kelly.  Tim and Ryan both went to high school with us and were both in our wedding.  Ryan and Kelly live in Denver so I have gotten to know Kelly well over the past 3 years.  The food was good.  We had a choice of two different salads, filet mignon or grouper, and melon sorbet or lemon mousse.  The grouper was tasty.  But in my opinion, dessert is not dessert unless it has a choice of something chocolate.  That's not to say I didn't order and eat the sorbet, but I had to track down a chocolate chip cookie at the hotel after the dinner was over.  They showed a really cute video of pictures from Doug and Tory's childhood and throughout he years.  David gave a heart-felt toast that consisted of telling stories about the 3 fist-fights that he and Doug have gotten in throughout the years.  It really was a sentimental toast.  He did a great job and even got a little choked up during it.  I lasted until around midnight and walked back to the inn with Kelly.  Midnight is not too bad for a sober pregnant lady.  :)

We left for the wedding at 9:45 am on Saturday.  The ceremony was at the small church that Tory's parents attend, which was close to the site of the gold cup.  After they were pronounced husband and wife, we loaded up on the buses and rode to the Gold cup.  The reception was in a large white tent complete with a band and open bar.  We arrived around noon and soon after Doug and Tory had their first dance.  Then they opened the food buffet.  

The races started around 2 and lasted until about 5, one every 30 minutes.  Each race was about 2.5 miles - 4 miles.  There were about 8 horses in each race.  Here are some pictures with views of the countryside where they raced in the background. 

David and his mom

It was wonderful weather the whole afternoon.  I heard from someone that last year at the Gold cup it was 95 degrees.  I am so thankful it was a comfortable 75 degrees this year!

Me, Kelly, Abby (Tyler's wife), Melissa (Tim's wife)

Me, David, Tim, Melissa, Ryan, Kelly, Tyler, Abby

 Bridal party pictures next to the winner's circle

We left the Gold cup on the buses around 6:30pm.  We had one hour to "rest" and change clothes before the after-party at the Manor House.  They had a buffet of mini sliders, taquitos, guacamole, and more.  It was delicious!  For dessert they served a hodge-podge of chocolate mousse, pound cake, and some kind of french toast bread-pudding like thing, which was actually quite tasty.  They hired a DJ outside on the patio and everyone danced.  Austin liked the loud music because he sure was kicking alot

On Sunday, I went for a run and we packed up, said goodbyes to Doug and Tory, and gave huge thank-yous to Doug's parents.  They did so much to make the whole weekend so special for Doug and Tory and all of their friends.  We ate lunch with a few other couples at Chili's of all places on the way to the airport.  Some of the guys were craving Chili's greasy food due to their hangovers.  I think I was one of few feeling good that morning.  

It was such a fun weekend and also a nice little get-away for David and me before Austin arrives.  Congrats to Doug and Tory!  

He's Growing!

27 weeks 4 days

Now David and I are off to the Rockies game! 

Over-due update

Wow, time flies.  We are eagerly awaiting summer here in Denver.  Yesterday it rained/sleeted all day and didn't get above 40 degrees, but on Sunday (when we were out of town) it was above 80 degrees.  Crazy Colorado weather!  I hope to go to the nursery this weekend and get some flowers to plant in pots, a hanging basket and some tomato plants.  Hopefully we are finished with temperatures below freezing otherwise the tomatoes won't survive.

Now for a baby update.  I am officially in the third trimester and growing by the minute.  Or should I say Austin is growing by the minute?  It's hard to believe he will be here in about 12 weeks.  I feel him moving much more often.  I read in my pregnancy book that he is about 2.5 lbs and about 16 inches long.  Of course, all babies are different, but that is the "average" for this point in the pregnancy.  He is about to hit his growth spurt when he will "beef-up".  I already feel like I have a basketball in my tummy....I can't wait to have a watermelon.  :) This past weekend, I felt him have the hiccups for the first time.  Since Saturday, I have felt his hiccups 2 more times.  I wish I could give him some water and tell him to hold his breath to make them go away.  I love feeling him move at this point, but I have heard from friends that it gets annoying and even painful later on.  We'll see if we have a restless one on our hands.  I have a list of "to-do's" around the house before he arrives.  We are working on crossing these things off the list, but it feels like there is still so much more to do.  Once he arrives, I know that all I will want to do is take care of him and nothing around the house will get accomplished....all the more reason to cross it off now! 

This weekend I will write about our trip to Warrenton, Virginia for Doug and Tory's wedding festivities.  It was a weekend-long party and we are so happy we were able to be with them to celebrate.  It was also a nice get-away before baby arrives.  I will post some pictures from the trip and also a recent baby bump picture this weekend.