30s last week, 80s today....Coloado weather!

Well, winter shower up last weekend with a vengeance, and was ushered out just as quickly by the return of summer! We had a dusting of snow and really cold temps for October (enough to postpone the Rockies playoff game last Saturday), and now it is 80 degrees outside. Ah, Colorado weather...wait 5 minutes and it will change! Fortunately, we didn't have a CU home game last week - we tailgated yesterday under blue skies and 70 degrees. :) CU pulled off a win over the #16/17 ranked Kansas Jayhawks at home last night. It was a nail-biter at the end (CU gave up a 20 pt lead!), but they pulled it off. The fans were really into it, so it was a fun game (although chilly in the the second half).

Last Sunday we celebrated Darby and my birthdays (a bit late...Darby is a Sept baby and I'm a July baby) with the Nellises - it takes us a long time to get our schedules in line! Tarah treated us to a YUMMY meal at Maggiano's. We ate way too much, and the baby had to kick around all that food!! We had a great time and realized how much little Ana has grown! She is 3 months old already!!

So, 13 weeks to go! Time flies. 13 weeks seems really close, but also really far away! I have been starting organizing things like lists for the hospital for Mom, Dad, and baby. I bought our first pack of diapers in preparation...the first of MANY. Choo Choo continues to kick a bunch. S/he has "kicked" Mimi (my mom), Uncle Michael, Aunt Darby and Kari so far. S/he likes to kick in response to Daddy talking to my belly, which is pretty special. :)

We are both off work tomorrow to investigate day care. We have a Goddard School just 2 blocks away that they built in the neighborhood last year, so that is our first stop. And, a Primrose School is going in across the street from the Goddard School mid-2010. They both have similar philosophies, and the convenience is certainly intriguing! We also are going to see if Maddie and Ana's daycare has any references for us (she is full for now). The idea of giving up the care of 3 month old baby that we haven't even met for 40+ hours a week is daunting to say the least.

Lots of kicking!

25 weeks and counting. Choo Choo is making his/her presence known these days with lots of kicking/punching! Chuck has been able to feel the baby kick several times now, and I frequently giggle when it happens...even at work. Ha! :) We have been working more on the house to prepare - cleaning closets, organizing filing, etc. Not very exciting chores, but something I would much rather have us do before the baby arrives!

The last couple of weeks have been good. I took Chuck with me on a day business trip to Steamboat to visit a completed construction project last Monday. We had to drive in some snow over the passes, but it wasn't bad at all. It was nice to have a day in the office be spent in the mountains!! Tuesday and Wednesday our house was invaded by a very nasty stomach bug. It seems that I got the worst of it, and then gave it to Chuck since he was my nurse all day on Tuesday. The best news is that it was short lived since we left for Vegas on Sunday!

My cousin Laura and her new hubby, Eric, chose a destination wedding in Vegas last week. Eric has been a part of the family for a while now, and we were so happy to be there to make it official! Laura was a beautiful bride, and her two sisters (and two other friends) were gorgeous next to her!! The best part for me was my Uncle John being able to walk Laura down the aisle. His health has made the past few years hard on him, but he and Aunt Toni were just beaming as they walked Laura toward her new husband. Vegas 6 months pregnant was a bit less exciting for me than years past, but we had a great time. We stayed at Caesar's Palace and they had just redone their pool area - it was great! We even played blackjack at the swim up tables - so fun. We also got to see Scott and Vita Bauer (they live in Vegas). :)

This weekend has been filled with chores and organization. We did have Anderson Snyders hang out with us for a few hours yesterday. He is about 9 months old and is just adorable. He was particularly amused with our sliding door blinds. Chuck watched us both have a nap yesterday mid-morning! Ha! The cat was none too impressed with the house guest. And to make it worse for Zack, Indy hung out for a few hours after Mom and Dick came down with the snow-blower so we could go to lunch. A dog and a baby...rough day for the cat.

I'm feeling pretty good. Bending over is becoming increasingly hard! Chuck has been a wonderful help to me! Getting off the couch is a lot harder than I would like to admit...

Choo Choo's room is painted!

Chuck has been very hard at work ALL day today painting the baby's room. We went bright and bold with the colors, and we love it. We hope you do, too!

Hmm, someone is a bit needy already...

Divided household!

Tomorrow is the CU v. CSU game yet again! Being that I am a Buff and Chuck is a Ram, it is a fun game. I made a shirt to wear tomorrow (well, I bought the shirt and ironed stuff on it), to celebrate the mixed college football DNA of ChooChoo. The logos and ? are right over my baby bump. :)
We'll be tailgating with Michael, Carrie, Sofia, Mom, Dick, Devin, Tracy, Hailey, Kari and Brad! Football season is my favorite time of year - not only is it Fall, which is my favorite season, we spend lots of time outdoors with friends and family.

GO BUFFS!
(hey, if Chuck ever wants to post on this site, he can root for the Rams!)

Listen to the heartbeat!

We recorded the heartbeat today at our 20 week appt. You can't see much (the screen we could see is the box up on the wall in the middle), but you can clearly hear the heartbeat (143 bpm) starting about 5 seconds in (turn your sound up pretty high). SO cool.

The baby looked great - is looking a bit on the big side (measuring about a week ahead)...along with a head in the 98%ile. Yeah, really. But, ultrasounds at this point can be off by several weeks, so who really knows. I'm hoping for not such a huge head! :)

Starting to prepare for ChooChoo

We have spent the weekend figuring out how to rearrange furniture to make room for all the things babies need! :) We (and by "we" I mean Chuck and my brother) are moving the guest room into my former office and the guest room will be the nursery. I feel bad that I am giving directions and not helping much...furniture is heavy and I can't lift much! We did get the closets cleaned out in both rooms, and I was at least able to do that part!

There was quite a bit of furniture in the office that is mostly being donated to Goodwill. It's decent stuff, so I hope it will go to a good home. Our house only feels small when dealing with furniture!! We did find a dresser/changing table combo for the nursery yesterday, so we are on our way!

I have hopes of the nursery being done by early November since the craziness of the holidays will be upon us shortly thereafter - yes, I'll post photos once it is done! We're getting the furniture moved much earlier than we had planned - thank you to Michael and his truck (and strong self!!). My Escape treats us well, but doesn't have all that much cargo space when it comes to furniture.

The "results" of the gender poll at 50/50 - of course, just 4 people took the poll! I'll put one up again closer to the due date. :)

We get to "see" ChooChoo again next Monday at my 20 week appointment. I'm feeling the little train moving a bit - not enough for Chuck to feel just yet. I'm much less tired now (although I can still sleep...a lot...if given the option), and also much less hungry, so I'm feeling really good. :)

Choo Choo says hi. :)

Choo Choo at 15.5 weeks (9/24/2009)