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. 

Remembering Clay

Amy asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to write something on the blog about Clay. I said that I would, but as the past few weeks have gone by, I have tried to get started yet haven’t been able to spit out the correct words. Here goes nothing and it doesn’t even begin to do justice to what the world has lost in Clay.

For those that don’t know, Clay is our step-brother who took his own life on March 30. While many equate suicide with a troubled person, Clay was hardly that. The more I think about Clay the more I think about him as a hero, solider, humanitarian, and fighter…the list can go on.

I have learned several things through the passing of Clay, but the one that that I keep coming back to is that I am a selfish person. In a world that is so consumed with big houses, money, cars, toys, etc… Clay just got it. He spent two tours in the war against terror in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He wanted the world to be a better place and he was determined to fight for that, so much so that he was on the front line.  While many of his fellow brothers died in war he was pressing on to make a difference. Clay took a bullet to his wrist, which narrowly missed his head. While many would say enough is enough, Clay moved on and spent another deployment fighting for freedom.  While I want a bigger house, Clay wanted his fellow countrymen to never be threatened.  I did not realize how much the war Clay was fighting haunted him every day. Clay struggled with PTSD that ultimately he couldn’t get past.

Clay the humanitarian was a guy that helped found an organization called Team Rubicon. http://teamrubiconusa.org/  Team Rubicon is an amazing organization that is a first responder to disaster around the globe. Clay would talk to me about this saying that being a part of Team Rubicon was where he wanted to be and how he felt he could make a difference through saving lives. Clay spent time in both Chile and Haiti after the devastation that these countries faced from natural disasters. He loved being there and trying to put a smile on the face of those that had nothing. Once again, Clay got it.

Clay the fighter was heavily involved in an organization called Ride2Recovery. http://www.ride2recovery.com/  Ride2Recovery’s sole goal is to assist our wounded vets in recovery both mentally and physically. Clay was a poster boy for this organization as everyone looked at him as a symbol of someone who was beating the odds. He appeared in public messages for this organization and was active on many of their rides. He found this as an outlet and understood what these wounded vets were facing as they returned from deployment all around the world. Clay lived the battle that he felt so passionately about. Clay got it.

Clay’s death came as a surprise to me and to everyone who knew him, but his legacy will forever live on through his family, friends, and through these amazing organizations. If you google “Clay Hunt”, articles will pop up on CNN, MSNBC, CBS – he was making and continues to make a difference. I challenge all who read this blog to think about contributing to these organizations as a way to show appreciation for the many that choose to live their lives for others. Another challenge is this – when you see someone who has defending our freedom, go up and thank them for their service. This is a personal goal of mine.  It may be too late for me to thank Clay here on this earth, but I promise to be thankful for those that have served or who are serving from this day forward. I am so thankful that we have people like Clay and the other marines and servicemen who are defending our country. Forget Lebron James, these are modern day heroes.

The amazing part about the funeral was that people from all over the country came and everyone had a Clay Hunt story to tell about how he touched his or her life. That’s who Clay was, he changed lives.

Thank you, Clay, and we love you.

David & Amy

Clay Hunt

April 18 1982  – March 30, 2011