Sixteen Weeks and Civil Service.

Time is absolutely flying.  Will is now just over 16 weeks old...wow!  I swear sometimes it seems like he grows over night.  His little personality is shining through and he is simply the sweetest little boy.  He has a smile that will just melt you and has started laughing.  He is sitting up on his own though he's still rather unsteady and wobbly.  It's crazy how babies just reach these milestones out of nowhere.  One day he was propped against a pillow on the couch and the next thing I know, Matt is calling me over to check out our kid sitting up on his own.  I can't wait for that moment when he starts to crawl and then the day when he takes his first steps.  

He is a very vocal little boy and will chat away at me in the mornings.  He still eats like a champ and spits up like crazy...at least he has gotten better about having his clothes changed.  His thighs have chunked out, though that's about the only part of him that is chubby.  I'm interested to see his weight and height at his four month checkup this Thursday.  Thus far he's been in roughly the 50th percentile for both height and weight but lately strangers who see him comment that he looks older than 16 weeks.

He has definitely learned that he can manipulate his environment and use his hands for things.  He is in that stage of sticking everything in his mouth, especially his hands.  He plays with toys and understands that certain toys make noise/play music and boy does he get frustrated when he can't make them work!  You can just tell that he is yelling at the elephant on his gym when he can't get it to play music.  

We seem to have developed a pretty good schedule: he sleeps from about 8:30 pm to 7 am or so with one overnight feeding and then he takes a nap in the morning and the afternoon.  We hit a rough patch a week or so ago with a bit of sleep regression but thankfully we seem to be on the other side of that.  

Will attended his first baseball game last weekend as well.  He is such a good baby when we are out and about and we are making every effort to take advantage of that while we can.  He even managed to fall asleep at the stadium despite the crowd cheering...he must take after his dad with his ability to fall asleep anywhere.

 

Chewing on Truman the Tiger...a favorite activity.

Growing so quickly! 

Love those cheeks!

How sweet is that little face?!?

Taking in his first baseball game.

Just hanging out in the Bumbo.

On an entirely different note, I had my first encounter with jury duty last week.  I first received a summons back in March for jury duty in April, about a week or so after Will's due date.  I requested a postponement due to the fact that I would most likely have just given birth and was granted one with my jury duty date moved to July.  I have to admit, I was less than thrilled to see that lovely summons in our mailbox; we don't have childcare for Will which meant Matt would need to take off work, and Will is exclusively breastfed which meant I would have to pump throughout the day.  Of course it's pretty hard to get out of jury duty so I sucked it up and went with the hope that I wouldn't be one of the lucky ones selected.  

Unfortunately that wasn't the case and I was chosen to serve on the jury for the trial of a man accused of aggravated motor vehicle theft, forgery, and theft.  At first I was pretty upset as this was a big inconvenience for both Matt and I as we would both be missing work.  However, I got over it and actually found the whole process pretty interesting.  Thankfully the judge and his staff were very accommodating with my need to take longer breaks for pumping and we finished a day earlier than originally anticipated.  We found the defendant not guilty on all three counts if anyone is wondering (the prosecution's case was awful and I have no idea why they though they had a chance of winning).  Of course, I still hope I don't have to perform jury duty again any time soon. :)

Hello Again!

This blog has taken a bit of a back seat to life lately so prepare yourself for a massive update on what we have been up to--complete with a large number of pictures of our super cute babe.  You have been warned. :)

Will is now 14 weeks old which is just crazy.  I cannot believe our little baby is over three months old.  That's 0.25 years!!  The kid is going to be walking and talking before we know it, I'm just sure of it.  He is absolutely the cutest little boy I've ever seen and is a very happy baby.  He has the sweetest smile and will even smile at strangers.  He's going to be a charmer, that's for sure.  We have also managed to create some sort of schedule which is fantastic and he is now sleeping in roughly seven hour stretches at night--even more fantastic!

We moved from our old one bedroom apartment to a two bedroom unit in the same complex.  With Will we just needed more space and it has been great to have the extra space.  He has been sleeping in his own room for the last month, an adjustment that was much harder on me than it was on him.

I have been back to work for about a month now and it gets easier with each shift.  I don't get much sleep before and after a shift but I'm making it work.  Matt is over halfway done with his internship and has been enjoying working for Ball Corp.  I must admit, it's nice that his evenings and weekends are free from school work and we can enjoy the time together as a family.

We have been enjoying the summer and trying to take advantage of the outdoors as much as possible.  Thankfully we have not been affected by the wildfires that have been rampant in the state.  I have started running again using a running stroller (a great way to get Will to nap in the morning) and am starting to train for the Denver Rock n' Roll half marathon this October.  It's been great to be able to get out on the trails and run again, even if I do feel horribly out of shape.

We drove down to Colorado Springs back in May with a group of friends and it was so good to visit our old stomping grounds.  The Springs was the first place other than St. Louis that felt like home and we had an absolutely fantastic year living there.  We stopped by our old house to introduce Will to our old neighbors and it was nice to catch up.

Our two year wedding anniversary was June 11th.  It's hard to believe that it has already been two years since we said "I do" but they've been a busy two years!  We celebrated our anniversary racing high speed go-karts before enjoying a delicious dinner at one of Denver's best restaurants.

We took a quick weekend trip up to Copper Mountain a few weeks ago and it was wonderful.  It was great to escape the heat (the mountains were a good 20 degrees cooler, so we're talking upper 70s as opposed to upper 90s) and enjoy the area in the summer.  We did lots of hiking and Cooper had a blast.  I will never get sick of the beauty that this state has to offer and simply love spending time up in the mountains.

I have been making some new mom friends thanks to a new moms group that the hospital sponsors.  It really is so reassuring and helpful to have other moms to get together with and chat or ask questions.  Plus, it will be great for Will to have other babies to socialize with once he's actually aware of them.

We are planning a trip back to St. Louis in August and plan to be there the 8th through the 20th or so.  We are incredibly excited to see all our family and friends back there and cannot wait to introduce everyone to Will!!

I'm sure that I've forgotten things that I meant to include, but if you are friends with me or Matt on Facebook I'm sure you have an idea of what we've been up to these last few months.  So, here's plenty of pictures to enjoy:

Daddy and Will napping.

Little man loves baths.

The start of a smile...he smiles much bigger now.

Grandpa came to visit!

Showing Will around Garden of the Gods in the Springs.

Happy two years to the love of my life!!

Ready to head up to Copper!

Hiking Mayflower Gulch near Copper.

Happy pup in the snow.

Mayflower Gulch.

Our little family...minus Cooper.

He is currently in the phase of putting his hands and toys in his mouth.

My sweet little man.

Family hike in Boulder.

Still growing into his hat...and still chewing on everything.

Looking Back.

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone.  I realize that we're already 11 days into January and thus this post is a bit late, but better late than never.  The year 2012 was another big one for us, full of changes and more ups than downs.  It marked the end of Matt's service in the Army, the end of my first nursing job, learning to deal with Colorado wildfires, summer in St. Louis, a move north to the Boulder area and adjusting to apartment living, Matt starting his MBA program at CU, a new job for me at Avista, and probably the biggest event of all, being pregnant with Baby J.  It was a year full of change and excitement, and I suspect 2013 will bring us even more of both.

We had a wonderful Christmas back in St. Louis with our family and friends...it was a much needed visit for both of us.  Our New Year was rather uneventful: I rang in 2013 at work and poor Matt was under the weather with an awful head cold.  I usually try to make a few resolutions for the New Year but opted not to this year.  I never seem to follow through on my resolutions and instead have an overarching goal for the year (and many to come): embrace impending motherhood and be the best new mom I can be to my coming child.  I know that our world is going to be turned upside down come April and while I am incredibly excited there is also a bit of trepidation about becoming a first time parent with our major support system two and half states away.  Of course, I believe these feelings are completely normal for any first time parent and I am incredibly grateful that I have a husband as wonderful as Matt to begin this new adventure with.

Speaking of Baby J, today marks 28 weeks which is the beginning of the third trimester!  I truly cannot believe that we are just three months away from meeting this child.  The reality is starting to sink in as we begin to prepare for Baby J's arrival; we purchased the crib and set it up in our room last week!  Baby J is one active little babe and I feel him or her moving around constantly and it seems to be especially fun to kick me in the right side or under my ribs.  I have a feeling this kid may have inherited Matt's athleticism as he or she delivers some powerful kicks--it's pretty to crazy to be able to watch my shirt jump when baby kicks.  I am still feeling great and feeling truly blessed that this has been a relatively easy pregnancy thus far.  Here's to the last three months!!

And Then There Were Three!

I'm sure that many, if not all, of you have already heard our big news, but we have a big announcement:  Matt and I are expecting our first child!!  Baby J's due date is April 6th, 2013 which puts me at roughly 14 weeks pregnant currently--just barely into the second trimester--and Baby J at the size of a lemon.  We don't plan to find out the gender of the baby until he or she is born, so we've got a pretty big surprise awaiting us come April!

Such a cute kid already...and look at that little hand!! :)

We found out in early August that I was pregnant and I have to be honest, it was a bit of a surprise.  We anticipated that it would take a few months of trying before those two little lines would show up on that stick.  However, that certainly didn't turn out to be the case for us!  And, it's funny how things work out as the timing really isn't too bad:  Matt will be finished with classes in May and we'll have had 4 months to settle into a routine before his second year of grad school starts.

It's hard to believe that I'm 3.5 months pregnant as I really don't feel much different from my pre-pregnant self.  I must say that I've been very lucky thus far:  my first trimester was pretty easy.  So much so that I often forget I'm pregnant.  I didn't have any morning sickness, just occasional bouts of queasiness, and I've yet to experience any sort of crazy cravings (though, there's still plenty of time for those I'm sure).  In fact, I didn't even have any of the "typical" symptoms to indicate that I was pregnant, I simply had a persistent headache which was out of the norm for me.

Of course there have been some changes and adjustments already.  I've had to tweak my workout routines as I can't work out as hard as I used to.  My doctor nixed the second half-marathon we had planned on running last month.  I've had to get used to the fact that I'm not working out to lose weight and that it is expected and good that I gain weight.  I really don't feel as though I look pregnant yet and am very much looking forward to the time when I have a noticeable baby bump as opposed to simply looking bloated/having eaten a large meal.  There's a pretty small bump at the moment though it really isn't visible under my clothes yet.  In fact, here's a picture to show my current "baby bump":

13 weeks with Baby J--just a small bump.

As I said, not much to see yet but I know it will be soon!  We'll try to take a picture weekly to show the baby's growth and progress.  We didn't take one for this week, 14 weeks, but there really isn't much of a change yet.  Our next doctor's appointment is October 24th and we'll get to see Baby J on yet another ultrasound--such an amazing experience to see the little guy or girl moving around and hear the heart beat!

We're heading back to St. Louis next weekend for a whirlwind trip for our good friends' wedding but I'll be sure to update once we're home again.  Hopefully at 15 weeks there will be more of a bump to see! :)

All Settled In.

Apologies for the lack of posting lately--it's not so much that I've been too busy to post but rather there just hasn't been much to post about.

We're all settled in out here with our apartment, Matt's school routine, and my job.  In fact, Matt actually had midterms last week if you can believe it!  I'm sure he'll explain how school is going in another post but from what I can tell, he's enjoying it.  It's been a bit of an adjustment with him at class during the week as I had gotten so used to having him around all the time since he went on terminal leave back in February.  However, I must say that I am so proud of him for all the hard work he's been putting in to doing well in the program. :)

We're basically all unpacked in our apartment now.  I have to say, living in an apartment has probably been the biggest adjustment.  Matt has never lived in an apartment complex while I lived in three different apartment complexes during college.  We're on the first floor which is great for Cooper and unloading groceries but it means that we have to deal with all the noise coming from the apartment above us.  I've never seen who lives up there but I'd be willing to bet that they've got an elephant up there or they just really love stomping around.  Of course, it's not the end of the world and I'm sure it could be worse.

I've gotten into the swing of things at work.  I'm working at a small hospital, Avista Adventist Hospital, that is part of the Centura Health system that my previous hospital belonged to.  I'm working nights still which is less than ideal but has some advantages.  At St. Francis, the surgical floor I worked on had 36 beds as did the separate medical floor.  Here at Avista, the two are combined into a Med/Surg floor that has about 22 beds total so it's a much smaller hospital.  That means that it can get quite slow and boring from about 1 am until 5 am but at least I'm not leaving work stressed out and frustrated after every shift.

Other than that, there's not too much to report right now.  Matt has been doing a few outdoorsy adventures with some of his classmates--I'm sure some of you have seen his pictures atop mountains on Facebook.  I'll have him do a post about school and his adventures soon. :)

Hope all is well with everyone! Xoxo!

Getting Back in the Swing of Things.

We've been living here in our new place for about a week and a half now and it's finally starting to come together.  In fact, we actually had a few friends come in town and stay with us this weekend.  Our friend Andrew came down from Ft. Collins and Johnny and Gina are in town from Hawaii for their wedding this week!  It was wonderful to see them all again and it gave Matt a good chance to pick Andrew's brain about grad school since Andrew is about to start his second year of his MBA program.

We all went to see the band Blind Pilot at this really interesting venue Friday night--it was almost like a barn in a park in Boulder.  After the concert we hit up Pearl St Mall which is where a lot of shops, restaurants, and bars are in Boulder.  We haven't really gone out much here so we're still learning the best places to go, but we had a great time!

Waiting for the concert to start.

Blind Pilot.

Me and Gina.

It was nice to have a fun weekend with friends as this week is a big and busy one!  Today is Matt's first day of orientation and my first night at work.  I had my two days of orientation last week but tonight is my first shift on my floor.  I'm excited to get started in my new job and even more excited for Matt!  He has two weeks of orientation and his classes officially start on the 27th.  It seems as though we've been talking about him starting his MBA program for ages now so it's pretty exciting that it's finally here.  In fact, here's a picture of my handsome grad student husband on his way to his first day of school this morning!!

So handsome in his suit!! :)

We'll be heading back down to Colorado Springs later this week for Johnny and Gina's wedding this Friday.  We can't wait to stand beside two of our dear friends on their wedding day.  I'll try to get some pictures of the apartment taken next weekend now that we're all unpacked.

Xoxo!

One Year.

Yesterday marked our one year anniversary, and what a year it has been!  It's hard to believe that our first year of marriage has come and gone as it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating with our family and friends at our reception.  And yet, here we are one year later getting ready to embark on the next chapter of our life together.  I know that this next year will be one full of adventure and growth with some challenges but we'll tackle it all together, and for that I am incredibly grateful to have such a wonderful partner by my side. :)

So, in honor of our first year of marriage, I've included some of our favorite pictures from our wedding day.  All photos are copyrighted by Jodi Schlosser, our amazing photographer.

An emotional moment while getting ready.

Matt waiting for his bride...and shedding a tear.

Mr. and Mrs. at last!

One of my favorites.

Our awesome wedding party, we love you all!!

Taking pictures is hard, the boys needed a break.

Sharing some laughs during the speeches.

We were given a large knife to cut the cake with.

First dance, so much love. :)

We truly enjoyed our wedding and had a blast celebrating!

Us in a nutshell.

Heading back to enjoy the party...what a wonderful, wonderful day!

Long Time, No Talk...

Apologies for the lack of posting in the last month--our normally slow schedule seemed to be jam packed these last few weeks and we've been unusually busy.  So, get comfy because this is going to be a rather long post. :)

First off, I cannot believe we are approaching the end of May!!  In roughly five weeks we'll be packed up and moved out of our home here and heading back to St. Louis for some much needed time with family and friends before moving up to the Boulder area.  It truly seems like just yesterday we were moving Cooper and I into this house and now the time has come to pack up and move on to the next chapter.  That means apartment hunting up north in the Denver/Boulder area and the fun process of applying for a new job for me.  I've currently applied for four different jobs at three different hospitals so cross your fingers and send some good mojo my way!!

Now, on to what we've been up to for the last month.  My mom came out to visit the first weekend of May and we had a blast.  It was great to have her out here for a few days and catch up.  We did a lot of hiking and walking around, drove up Pikes Peak, did some shopping in Old Colorado City, and spent our nights enjoying the great weather on our front porch.  Here's a few pictures from her trip:

A gorgeous reservoir on the drive up Pikes Peak.

People actually ski down those chutes in the mountain!!

At the Summit...where it was rather cold!

We found Big Foot.

Hiking Garden of the Gods...Cooper still thinks
he's too good for the camera.

The following weekend, I had my first concert experience at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison.  Sadly, it was a cold and rainy night which didn't make for the most pleasant evening but we sucked it up, got a bit wet, and enjoyed some good music.  We're attending another concert there next month when some friends come in town and I am certain Mother Nature will be more cooperative then.  I didn't take any pictures because 1) it was raining and I didn't want to get my camera wet and 2) my hands were too cold to remove from my pockets.

Last week, our dear friend Gina came for a whirlwind visit.  Matt met Gina shortly after moving out here years ago and she and I instantly hit it off when we met.  Gina started dating Matt's roommate Johnny about the same time that Matt and I started dating.  She was one of my bridesmaids and Matt and I are both part of the bridal party for her wedding to Johnny this August.  So, Gina was in town for three days with lots of wedding planning to do (they're getting married here in the Springs but both are active duty and stationed in Hawaii).  It was wonderful to be able to help Gina with her wedding plans as it brought back great memories of planning our wedding last year but without any stress. :)  Our days were full of wedding planning but we did manage to squeeze in a round of golf before Gina left...neither Matt nor myself are golfers so we were the chauffeurs. :)

It was an unusually cold day...we had to bundle up on the golf cart.

We were hoping not to get hit by this lovely weather...thankfully
it passed over us.

I attempted to play a hole while Matt purchased beer.

Typical.

Matt getting in on the action.

This past weekend, Matt and our friend Andrew took another crack at Pikes Peak...and this time they were successful!!  Thankfully the weather was much  better and so they were able to hike up to the top and caught the Cog Railway back down.  Pretty awesome that Matt can now say he's climbed a 14'er.

Hot chocolate and delicious donuts that they have in the shop
at the Summit...sounds like a great way to cap off a hike up a mountain. :)

So, if you've made it this far, that's a rough recap of our last month.  Hope all is well with everyone back home and we're looking forward to seeing y'all soon!! Xoxo!