It's a GIRL!

OK, I would have been excited if it was a boy or a girl but just knowing is amazing! We are having so much fun thinking about our baby girl and what she will be like. The best news that we got was that she is healthy, all measurements came back normal with no genetic "marker" issues and a healthy, strong heart. Phew!

I am now 18 weeks pregnant and have not purchased a single item for our baby so this weekend is go time! We have already picked out a crib and dresser/changing table so we need to start ordering. I think I may just pick up a few other items as well...maybe a dress or some shoes or something. And, I know it is cliche but I want some pink things for her!

I also felt her move for the first time today which more or less felt like a little flutter. I guess she liked that Hershey's Kiss I had just eaten!

Overall, it's been an exciting week with many more to come, I am sure!

Over the Moon

I haven't written in several months mostly because it is so darn hard to blog and keep a secret at the same time. It is hard to sit and write about other things going on when I really want to tell the BIGGEST thing going on. So - now that I can, I am back to blogging and well, I'm pregnant!

Ryan and I are so excited - we are expecting our first child in mid-May. I am a little over 3 months pregnant now, have already had my first ultrasound and heard the heartbeat for the first time. (There I am below waiting for the ultrasound tech to see the baby for the first time)

Aside from that excitement, I have some early observations on this pregnancy gig (in no apparent order whatsoever):

1. I dislike the "belly band" or maybe I bought the wrong kind. My pants are suddenly too tight but I am attempting to put off buying maternity clothes by using this awful band. Seriously, it moves around a lot and does not make me feel very secure.

2. I dislike baby books. I do, I stopped reading them about the 6th week. Too much information and the opinions and "facts" vary so much from book to book. I have an app on my phone that summarizes each week and that works just fine. For other questions, I ask my doctor or go to trusted internet sites.

3. Despite the nausea I had from weeks 6-10 and the fatigue, I like the way I feel. I have battled with pretty severe eczema for the past 2 years and it is now GONE. Completely gone! No more itching and unsightly dry skin. Let's hope it never comes back after I give birth.

4. Wow, people are nice when you tell them you are "expecting". Hey, I feel great - no need to treat me any different (but, I am not complaining)! I have treats being dropped on my desk at work, flexibility in my schedule and people checking on me every day.

Overall, it is such an exciting time with so many things going on. I am sure to blog a whole heck of a lot more now the cat is out of the bag!

Littleton - Day 7

The last day was a blur. We got to make the 3.5 mile loop to walk the kiddos to school with Cathy, have some coffee on the back deck and then headed into Denver for lunch at the Paramount with a few of Ryan's friends. We also hit the Cherry Creek Mall to get an additional large bag to carry some of our luggage home with since we were so dangerously close to the dreaded 50 lb. mark.

Cathy, Bondi and I. Look at that view of the mountains *sigh*.

That night, we had another delicious BBQ and dinner on the back deck (oh, the weather was beautiful...again). Above, Grant is so happy with his new baseball mitt!

Cathy and Ryan.

Bondi focused on a squirrel.

Another kind of cool shot of Bondi (can you tell I love animals?) - taken with the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone - as are the others with the funky border.

This was a frequent sight while we were there - Uncle Ryan and Owen playing baseball. We also got to see his teeball practice. Mark my words, this kid is going to be quite the athlete!

Family shot minus Owen.

Uncle Ryan and Owen with their mitts.

Cool sky on our last night. We already can't wait to go back! Thanks to Todd, Cathy and family for everything - we had such an amazing time!

Red Rocks - Day 6

On Monday, we headed to Red Rocks for a hike on another beautiful, sunny day.... As we drove to the parking lot, we saw a huge and fancy tour bus. Red Rocks has an ampitheatre that has been host to so many historic concerts (including U2 from June 5, 1983 which produced the album "Under a Blood Red Sky"). Anyway, Cathy let me know that Peter Gabriel was playing that night. I had to kick myself because who wouldn't want to see "Solsbury Hill" or "In Your Eyes" or any of his other hits live at Red Rocks? Oh well. The cool thing was that we got to meet about 10 members of his 40 person orchestra while we were hiking...some nice folks.

Aside from that excitement, we had a great hike with some amazing views to boot. I'll let the photos do the talking because we took a bunch.

Owen and Grant hiding out - see the stick being used as camouflage?

Todd taking a break to check out the view.

Bondi and I - she's a great dog with such a sweet personality. Someday, we'll have a dog to hike with....

Littleton - Day 4/5

Around noon on Saturday, we headed to Todd and Cathy's house where we got to spend the next several days with their family.

Including Grant...

...and Owen (with Uncle Ryan in the background).

That night we headed into downtown Littleton for a block party. We had some dinner and hung out perusing different vendors tents and listening to some local bands on a beautiful night. Above are the brothers with their super cool matching jackets and shades.

The next day we headed to the Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field. We scored some 10th row seats on the first base line and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day. Not that I don't LOVE Fenway, but it was pretty nice to be at a newer, clean ballpark with comfy seats for a change!

Ryan and I with Owen and Grant before the game.

Todd, Cathy and the kiddos (including the new niece or nephew in Cathy's belly!).

Grant chillin' before the game.

Another beautiful day in Colorado.... with more to come!

Denver - Day 3/4

We sadly said goodbye to Boulder and headed to Denver for the night where we met up with Thomas and Pete. We stayed in the Hotel Monaco as we did last year because we just loooooove Kimpton Hotels. Who doesn't love complimentary wine and massage time between 5-7 every day?

Our room at the Hotel Monaco - super comfy bed.

After checking in, we walked around downtown Denver a bit, enjoyed the massage and glass of wine at the hotel and headed out for the night. We ended up at the Blake Street Tavern near Coors Field for several hours ...

...and the Bruins game was on behind me, as you can see.

Thomas and Ryan at the Tavern. For some reason, we did not get a picture with Pete this time. Next time we will as I am sure we will be back soon!

We had a great night in Denver...off to Littleton in the morning!

Boulder - Day Three

Day three was beautiful and began with another hike up the Flatirons. As you can see below, no more fog which led to a much different view. We hiked between the 2nd and 3rd flatirons:

Some more photos from the hike:

After our hike, we went to Ryan's college fave Illegal Pete's for some burritos.

After the burrito, we headed to Denver for more fun!

Boulder - Day Two

We woke bright and early ready to go hike the Flatirons. First, we had to get breakfast at The Unseen Bean around the corner from the hotel. The owner is blind and crafted a new way to brew his coffee (hence, The "Unseen" Bean). It was delicious and we also gobbled up some freshly made egg sandwiches to fuel our hike:

It was a foggy day but only slightly misty. It proved to be a great day for hiking as we only saw 5 people on the trails. The photo below shows the substantial fog. As you will see in the next post, the Flatirons are quite stunning to look at and you cannot even see them here :

Few people on the trail was nice for us having come in less than 24 hours before, we had not yet acclimated to the elevation and had to stop frequently to catch our breath. We completed the hike in a much quicker time the next day.

Spending time at the top was eerie yet peaceful. We were enveloped in fog and in total silence. Kind of a cool hike:

We went and cleaned up after the hike and met up with friends for lunch at The Sink. Thomas drove in from Denver and we spent some time with him after lunch as well:

The three of us headed over the the CU Boulder campus where both Thomas and Ryan graduated from. We decided to see if we could get into their old dorm and we did! The nice lady at the front desk even allowed Ryan to see his old dorm room which had an amazing view of the Flatirons but, again, since it was foggy we couldn't quite see it. Below, is the outside of the dorm - his room was the top left with the balcony. Jeez, they didn't have these types of dorm rooms at UNH or UMaine where I went to school.....

Above is Ryan in his actual room - look at that grin.

And, here is Ryan looking out from the balcony.

That night, we headed back to the Rio where our bartender ended up being from NH! We had some dinner and then went out to see the NBA finals at a local watering hole.