Last weeks of pregnancy

It's been a whirlwind pregnancy this time around. I have slacked on the journaling a bit. I figured I'd play catch up now since I don't sleep much these days due to my ginormous belly! I am 38 weeks pregnant and impatiently awaiting the arrival of my SON! That's right, a boy! We're excited AND nervous about having an infant around. P is over the moon and cannot wait. As of now I a 1-2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. According to my Dr. I should be in labor very soon!! I'll try to recap a few things worth remembering from this pregnancy.

The picture above is from my baby shower. My sister, my friend, and my sister-in-law all pitched in to help throw me a beautiful baby shower. I'm blown away at the love and generosity my friends and family have shown us. I am someone who does not have a lot of family in town, so the fact that my friends are AMAZING really helps fill the void. My cousin also threw me a little shower in Oklahoma while I was home visiting. Between the two parties we received everything we needed. I am SO grateful. My favorite gift was a double running stroller from my sister. I am SO looking forward to running again. I had to stop half way through this pregnancy due to round ligament pain, so I'm itching to get out there and will LOVE having my kids along for the ride.

B's parents also surprised us with a fabulous vacation to Hawaii. We spent a week in paradise with his parents and his brothers' family. It was awesome to be on vacation with a group. P and her cousin had a great time at the beach. She said she loved it more than Disneyland! HA. She IS my daughter. B and I also went to Hawaii during my first trimester, so this little baby has already had his fair share of cool vacations. I hope we can get back there next year. It is so magical and so relaxing. I don't think I'll ever vacation anywhere else. It's amazing.

We definitely kept busy traveling this pregnancy. We also visited Oklahoma and California. The not-so-fun thing keeping me busy has been school. I'm still hanging in there. I should be graduating in 2 or 3 semesters. I've also been working a few days a week. I'm grateful for a part-time job. It's super easy and I can stay home with P when I need to. Luckily B doesn't mind picking up the slack financially for us. I also could NEVER have made it through this time in my life without my sister's help. She tutors me in Math and keeps P for me a LOT. God bless her!

Finally the most exciting part about this whole experience has been finding out that 3 of the people I love the most are expecting babies of their own. I am SO happy that my baby will have other kids to play with and love. I've never felt so blessed and.

We'll be spending the last few days/weeks of this pregnancy praying for a healthy baby boy and an EASY delivery for his Momma! :)

July 4th party

We had a really fun 4th of July celebration. We went non-stop from the early morning to the late night! I didn't take enough pictures, but I got a few good ones. Of course the family shot turned out crappy. Grrrrr, I hate that. Anyway, B, P, and I went to Boulder City very early to catch the parade and other festivities. On our way out we stopped at B's parents' house for a hearty breakfast which was great! The Boulder City fun was cut a little short due to the random July rain. We got rained out after a few hours of being there but still enjoyed ourselves. After that we came home and started preparing for an afternoon BBQ with the fam. B cooked up hamburgers and hot dogs and I put out some things to go with! Niki and Lawrence showed up with a massive load of fireworks that we'd light off later that evening. After we ate at our house and it started to get dark we headed out to meet Diana's family for our annual fireworks show up in Calico Ridge. Diana's sis, Stacey, showed up with a huge amount of fireworks too. I think together they had about 500 dollars worth, and most of them were illegal! haha. The show was pretty amazing, and I'm glad it's become an annual celebration! I love that all three of our families have merged into one. This year was extra special because it was Kyle and Diana's first year married, and I'm pregnant. Our family has a LOT to be grateful for!! Here's a few pics...

pregnancy update

We found out some exciting news when I was only 14 weeks along. This baby is a BOY!!! We're both thrilled to be welcoming a little boy into this family. Phoenix is very excited to have a brother. She is as sweet as can be when she talks about him, and she kisses my belly daily and says, "hi, little baby!" I am nervous to raise a boy, but B can't wait. He keeps talking about all the fun/dangerous things he can teach him, think guns, motorcycles, weight lifting, and all sorts of things that make me uneasy. We are having an awful time with names. I can't think of ANY. We have one that we both agree on but are still hoping for some magical, perfect name to pop into our minds.

I can't complain much about this pregnancy. At my 14 week appt. with the Dr. she gave me permission to speed my running up. That was a nice release. I've been running 8:50-9:00 minute milers usually for 3 or 4 miles at a time. I ran a charity 5k at 17 weeks along and WON!! I was the first female finisher. There weren't a ton of women there but still it made me feel good to come in first. I've ran faster 5ks in my time, but my last pregnancy I didn't exercise at all. I feel like I'm doing much better with this pregnancy. I'm still gaining a ton of weight, but I have come to terms with the fact that my body just does that when I'm pregnant. I'm trying to fight it, but I'm not obsessing too much. I'm really grateful for my husband. He has been sweet throughout this entire first half of pregnancy. He takes me shopping for maternity clothes and let's me indulge in things like pedicures and lunch with friends. He tells me often that he appreciates the sacrifices I'm making and he knows it's hard. I wanted to journal that somewhere to remember how sweet he's been. We're both grateful for this baby. We're praying that he comes to us healthy and happy. He's already very loved!


16 weeks


17 weeks

Back in March when I broke my ankle I was devastated!! It meant that I would have to be in pain during Diana's wedding, benched from soccer and running AGAIN, and that I would be hobbling around trying to keep up with my 4 year old. Major bummer for sure, right? Well, it turns out that it was the best thing that could have happened. I truly believe it was God's way of forcing me to slow down a bit. I didn't realize it then, but I was about to enter into my second pregnancy. I'm shocked how things have always worked out for us. I always imagined that we would have two children. It seems like this one "fell" into our lives at the perfect time. I love P SO much and am thrilled that she'll have a sibling. I am due on December 18th. This pregnancy is so much different. I feel way more relaxed this time around. I'm TRYING to continue my running routine only at a slower pace than normal. I've been doing 4 milers at a 10.5 minutes per mile pace. I am praying that I feel good enough to keep my running up until the end. Unfortunately I'm still gaining weight fast, but running makes me feel great mentally. It's definitely something I need. The heat isn't making this an easy task, but I haven't given up yet. In a few weeks we'll find out if this little baby is a boy or girl. I'm SO excited. Here's to hoping that the next 6 months fly by and that I'll be holding a healthy little baby in my arms in no time.

a little venting does a soul good

I have blogged before about how my ONLY talents lie in my athleticism. From a young age I knew that I was an athlete. Being physically active and competing always gave me confidence and joy. I can remember my Mom boasting on the phone to family in Oklahoma about how "jess is my athlete. She's the best one on her team!" I'm sure she often over exaggerated, but I was always proud when I heard her bragging. At my games my Mom was always the one embarrassingly jumping up and down in excitement. These are memories I cherish and think about often. Maybe the happiness sports brought me as a child is why I still love participating in them now, or maybe I'm just a natural athlete who naturally LOVES to participate in sports. I don't know WHY I love it, I just know I'm grateful that I am addicted to something healthy and fun!!!

Now that I've explained WHY I play/love sports and staying active I will get to the point of this post. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think, as an adult, that I would be made fun of for being athletic and playing sports. Like the rest of the world I facebook often. I describe my life in status updates and try to give people a glimpse into what I'm up to, what my child is doing, where we've been and where we're going. Now I am a Mom, wife, friend, sister, and ATHLETE! My updates are often about many of these things. Because I normally play 3-4 soccer games a week and also run you can imagine how many posts I put up about my games or how many miles I ran that day. Well, it has been brought to my attention, through the "grapevine," that a group of mean girls have been making fun of ME and people like me. Apparently it is "braggy" to post about games I play or how many miles I run. I would like to address this "braggy" thing. Women typically have low self esteems. We blame it all on the media. We should actually blame it on other women that we know who are what I like to call "haters!". I have spent the majority of my life hating my hair, wanting a new nose, thinking I'm too short, sobbing because I don't understand math, wondering why I don't enjoy baking and cooking like other women, and wishing I were better all the way around. FINALLY I have come to terms with who I am. I have learned that what makes me different from others is what makes me special. Luckily I married a man who supports me playing sports, he's as proud of me as my Mom always was and he tells me often! He thinks it's GREAT that I am setting this example for our daughter and that I value my health as much as I do. In all honesty, I agree with him. I am PROUD of my accomplishments. If I work my tail off training for YEARS to run a race, lose sleep because I'm so nervous, and FINALLY accomplish something like a 26.2 mile race then you can bet I'm going to toss it in my status update!! I don't tell the world in some lame attempt for validation. I do it because I want people to know how amazing these activities make me feel! I want others to experience the joy that these sports have brought me. I KNOW that sports aren't for everybody. I get it. But I have had numerous people ask me about training, equipment, and weight loss, and I'm glad to share with them. I am saddened and annoyed that there are women out there that 1) make fun of other women because they are unhappy with themselves and 2) front like they're you're friends! Why waste the energy? If you're my friend on facebook and my statuses or lifestyle annoy you....DELETE ME or keep my name out of your mouth, please?

My point here is NOT that everyone should join a soccer team or run, although I'm not saying I would be against that! :) It is that we should support one another. I support my friends and they support me despite our different interests. My sister AND my SIL both hate running but BOTH watch my races or call me to see how I did! They do this because they love me and like to see me happy. I'd like to think I do the same for others. If nothing else I will try everything in my power to be more positive and supportive of others because I now know how bad it sucks to get dissed!

A matron of honor with a broken cankle...that's meeee

I don't really even know where to begin. Many of you probably know that when you agree to be in a wedding there are a ton of commitments you are making. For example, you are expected to show up to the wedding in one piece. Silly me went ahead and broke commitment number one in my brother-in-law's wedding last week. Yep, the bride had warned me to lay off soccer for the weeks leading up to the wedding "just in case," but why would I listen to that wise advise? I mean, my team made it to the FINALS!!! HELLLOOOO, that's a reward of a free championship t-shirt along with at least 500 calories burned (I was seriously trying to shed the poundage the week of the wedding!) So there I was the Thursday before the wedding, lacing up my cleats knowing what I was doing was a bad idea but still not willing to miss out on my fun little hobby/addiction. During the game I noticed there was one guy, ya know, the captain coed type, who was out for blood. Him and I of course exchanged a few words and before I knew it he kicked me in the ankle and I was crying. By the time I made it to the sideline and pulled my socks and shoes off I was staring at a CANKLE....like serious broken ankle. I was devastated. Instantly I realized I SHOULD have listened to the wise bride, but I love me some soccer! I cried for the majority of the night and dreaded telling the bride what had happened. The next day my friend squeezed me in to the Orthopedic doc she assists. They were both cooler than the other side of the pillow about it! My ankle was in fact broken along with 3 sprained ligaments. The doc hooked me up with some serious pain killers and allowed me to wait until AFTER the wedding to wear a cast! LOVE HIM FOR THAT!!!

Fast forward to Friday, the day of the rehearsal, and there I was all pilled up and happy cruisin' down the aisle like a champ in my flip-flops. I could feel the looks of "is that the idiot that broke her foot YESTERDAY?" being shot my way. I was determined not to let my little bride and groom down, because I seriously love them! The day of the wedding I iced and elevated and pill popped until I could stand in my heels. I survived it, I walked like a champ, and I smiled the whole way!!! YAY ME!!

The wedding went smooth in every other way too. My little bride was the most stunning I've ever seen. Her hair, dress, and spray tan were all to die for. Her family is wonderfully supportive and loving which made the ceremony a tear-jerker for me. I can't believe my sweet little bro-in-law, who was just in Jr. high when I started dating B, is so grown up and so wonderful! We're so proud him!! My nephew Ethan carried the rings like a pro and melted my heart when he strutted down the aisle in his mini-suit! And don't even get me started on Phoenix and the other flower girls.....too CUTE!!! The reception was a giant party that kept me laughing and having fun throughout the night. The food was great, cake was beautiful, and DJ Cory knows how to get the guests out of their seats! It was so FUN!!! B and I sang a jokey song as our toasts/speeches. I was super nervous about singing in front of people, even if it was a joke, but B carried me through and we WORKED. IT. OUT!! :)

I could go on and on about how much fun I had, how beautiful the bride and groom were, how amazing the food tasted after starving myself for 10 days....but I won't. I'll just leave ya with a select few pictures and an AMEN to the weeding being a success despite my minor injury!


These pics are out of order. This is Diana and Kyle at the reception


This is how I spent the morning of the wedding...icing my cankle!!


Ice and elevation helped! I was able to hobble down the aisle in 5 inch heels. Look close, my right ankle is bigger than the left.


sis, BF, Bride, and me at the reception at Bahama Breeze


Aunt Kiki with her Peanut


Cutest flower girl and ring bearer EVER!


What a beautiful bride.



B, P, and me at the rehearsal at Bali Hai theday before the wedding. I didn't get any good fam shots at the wedding. :(

3/29/11

Hi, world. I'm back at the blogging thing. I can't believe it's been almost a year. I won't even begin to go over everything we have been doing over the past year. I'm just going to pick up as if I haven't been neglecting this thing for 12 months. Cool? Great!

This week I am gearing up for the wedding of my brother-in-law, Kyle, to Diana. Diana has become one of my best friends over the past 3 years and I am thrilled that they are getting married. The wedding will take place at Bali Hai and a reception will follow at Bahama breeze. The day after the wedding they have planned a party at the Golden Nugget pool. I am the Matron of honor and B is the best man. We have been planning a funny speech. We are not the sentimental types, so I hope the guests at the wedding get our sense of humor. I won't tell you any of our jokes, but I will say I am making my singing debut to the world. That in itself should be pretty friggin' hilarious. The whole tiny-bridesmaid-dress-bathing-suit-in-public thing has me on a diet of nothing, nothing, and nothing. I'm hoping to look my best come this weekend. Either way this will be a weekend we will cherish as a family for years to come. I am super happy to be welcoming this gal into our fam!!!

Last week I visited my family in Oklahoma. P loved it there. She always does. B couldn't make it this time around, which was kind of sad but allowed me some good, quality girl time with my Grandma, Aunts, and cousins. Being home is the happiest it gets for me. I love Oklahoma. I love how different it is from Vegas. I love that my Grandma feeds me good and teaches me how to bake. My Grandma is 79 and I still use her make-up and borrow her clothes. She constantly impresses me with her kindness and beauty. I PRAY that I "grow up" to be just like her. My Grandpa kept P entertained and laughing the whole trip. My cousins are always good to entertain P as well. She can't get enough of the cousins. We took a trip out in to the country to visit my Aunt Sandy. She has horses, goats, dogs, a barn, ya know, the whole 9. P really loved that visit and for the first time in my life being a cowgirl actually looked appealing! It was way peaceful and pretty out there in the sticks.
One funny thing I want to remember is my arrival into town. I flew into Springfield, Missouri. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from my hometown in Oklahoma. The tickets were less expensive and my Uncle offered to come pick us up. He has a company vehicle with free gas, blah, blah, so t'was all good. He picks us up, we grab lunch and head on to Oklahoma. While driving through the great state of Missouri I noticed that there was NOTHING around! Well, nothing except for horses, cows, and the occasional gas station. We were in the COUNTRY!!!! As I'm daydreaming about what these folks could possibly do for fun in the middle of nowhere I notice that the car is smoking from the hood. Yep, car.broke.down! Straight up car probs out in the sticks. Luckily we pulled off the road into a place that helped us out. The toothless(i'm not kidding) woman that worked there was very kind and sent us on our way with free sodas in hand and a rigged up vehicle. The next stop we made was at a mechanic who informed us we'd need to go back to the airport and rent a car to get to where we were going. A guy that worked there offered my uncle a ride back to the airport while I stayed with the girls at the shop. I was scared at how little people were around. I asked my uncle if he had a gun on him (i'm still not kidding) for protection. He said, "for what? You're in the safest place in the world. These are nice people." I was just thinking if I screamed no one would ever hear me. It dawned on me then that I am so used to living in a city. I live in a place where it would be naive to trust your neighbor or to leave my car door unlocked at a convenient store. These people, these counrty-folk, WERE nice people. They were HAPPY people. They were HAPPY to help us. I felt a little humbled and a lot less judgemental when we FINALLY drove off in our Toyota Prius (leaving behind our broken-down ford explorer.) I wanted to write this down somewhere, because I am grateful to the people of Duenweg, Missouri for helping this city girl out and reminding me of what hospitality means.
Once we were on the road we had a few good laughs about the situation and were excited to get back to town to celebrate my cousin's birthday. We made it just in time to party! The week was amazing and I can't wait to visit again and neither can P!