20 weeks!

I hit 20 weeks on June 27th! Halfway point!!!

I've been suffering from an awful cold and sinus infection.....and cough. It's been absolutely miserable to be honest. I stayed home 2 days to rest, got better, hit a set back getting sick again, and then just had to suck it up. We worked and danced at the Rapid Grass bluegrass festival over the weekend in Idaho Springs. I easily could have skipped out and our crew would have understood, but who wants to miss out on being a part of what makes a festival a success? And a success it was. We really enjoyed Saturday and Sunday and drove home each night to care for the dog and get some rest in our own bed. I have been a bit better this week, I can smell things again :) but the cough is just ridiculous. It's working it's way out of my system and I'm taking care of myself. The doctors say I can't really do much and it's not harming the baby as long as I don't have a fever. I think she felt pretty bad for me, haha. Oh, the joys of a summer cold *from Hell!!*

We are awaiting our big anatomy scan and gender reveal on Thursday! I can't believe it, it feels like the biggest event of our lives thus far, it really does! Of course an even bigger event will happen this fall and every day from there on out. To me, it's being able to say we are having a son or a daughter. Those words ring so strong in my head. I am really excited and prepared for the baby to simply not cooperate leaving us questioning the gender. Hoping mainly for a healthy appointment with great news on how Baby K is growing along.  It is going to be so fun to see this 10 inch growing life inside me!!! Grow, Baby, grow!

You may (or may not) have noticed the length from last week to this week went from 6 inches to 10! Interesting "fact" according to my books and Baby Bump phone updates: before 20 weeks the baby is measured from head to rump as the legs are usually curled up against the body. So this measurement (also according to an average by the books) is from head to foot. We should be able to find out Thursday what the baby is actually measuring and the doctor can get a good look at all of baby's developing parts and organs. Pretty cool, huh? What did we do before all this technology??? 

Below are some pictures from our big week! This week will be even bigger! I LOVE the 4th of July :) 

 

Happy 20 weeks! Setting up dinner for Sam Bush and The Travelin' McCourys!

20 weeks on June 27.

Happy parents to be.

Scout and Kindell Thompson decided to match me....

So Cassidy had to join in as well.

Sam Bush! Such a nice, funny, down to earth guy. And one hell of a musician :)

Coral Creek performing with a guest appearance from Sam Bush!!!!

Enjoying Rapid Grass with our dear friends Josh & Dawn Walker.

19 weeks

Almost halfway there!!

We got a crib last Wednesday from a friend along with some other fun baby stuff. We've really been discussing and moving forward with cloth diapering, this may be tough in an apartment so more to come on that journey! On Saturday we took a trip to Steamboat Springs for some camping!

I put up the crib last Thursday by myself while Jeff was at work. I really wanted to surprise him and had this image of getting the "baby room" close to set up! I started with a trip to Goodwill and found awesome deals on closet organization, exactly the items I had in mind, too! Plus a huge bag of clips for hanging clothes and diapers to dry or for hangers. I'm all about the closet and room organization in this tiny two bedroom. I felt a little panic as I realized how much STUFF we have and how little room we have to store it! I'm currently looking for a small storage space to rent by the month but it's pretty pricey. I think our best bet would be some sort of out door storage on our back porch, I just worry about weather with what we need to store. Jeff has an amazing collection of Rolling Stones magazines and CD's that I'm just not willing to ask him to get rid of. People tell me to get rid of all "the fun stuff" because we won't need it anymore, but we like to think that bringing a baby into our worlds is just that: bringing a baby into OUR worlds. We have already exposed this kiddo to so much live music and outdoor fun, why on earth would we stop that after November? So our camping supplies, Christmas decor, and CD's and magazines need some good space. I'm also storing the clothes I stopped fitting into during pregnancy, and will need to store my current maternity wardrobe for baby #2 of course! I've been pretty good about playing a real life game of Tetris in every nook and cranny of this place. Needless to say the crib took a while and ended up frustrating Jeff more than pleasing him when he got home from work. I ended up fixing the problem (that I'll admit was my mistake to begin with) and I was able to get it all set up with the rest of the room still full of STUFF! We'll get there.

On Saturday, June 20 I hit 19 weeks! Measuring about 6 inches and 8.5 oz, one online app. compares Baby K to the size of a zucchini! Ha! I'm feeling lots of flutters still from the inside and every once and a while I think I can feel it with my hand outside my belly. I just wish they were more prominent so I didn't have to wonder, I hear it will happen soon enough. We are almost half way there! Can you believe it?

Saturday we started the day off with another Golden Farmer's Market, one of our very favorite things to do, then packed the dog and our Subaru and headed to Steamboat Springs! We had never been and figured we should check it out now so we know what to expect if we want to venture back next year with our tiny camping buddy in tow. We checked out two new breweries (numbers 85 and 86 on our list) and I enjoyed smelling some of the beers as Jeff tasted. We keep a spreadsheet on these breweries and since I've been pregnant we have added a column for whether or not they brew their own root beer! Storm Peak Brewing (our favorite of the two in Steamboat) had Oscar Blues Root Beer on tap, Butcherknife Brewing (so- so) didn't have any. I had a couple weeks of rootbeer cravings a while back but now it's kin of a turn off. Our camping spot was awesome along Buffalo Pass Rd. We were up pretty high, I'm curious what our elevation was. As you can see by the photos, our view was unbeatable. I did NOT sleep well, however. This was to be expected being pregnant, I don't even sleep well on our pillow top at home! Add our uneven and slanted surface....it was a tough night but totally worth it. Now I've come down with either a cold or some sinus irritations, perhaps from the campfire? It's giving us 2nd thoughts on camping for Rapid Grass Music Festival this coming weekend in Idaho Springs. We are scheduled to volunteer at the festival. It's only a 20 minute drive but camping alongside all our friends sounded like a lot of fun. Tune in next week to find out what we end up doing!

Speaking of next week, we are finally nearing our anatomy scan date! It's scheduled for July 2 at 2:30 pm. We get to see Baby K again and hopefully find out the gender if the baby is cooperating. At this scan they check and measure all details, making it the longest and most detailed look we will have of our baby until it enters the world this fall.

19 weeks, June 20

Baby K's new crib

 

Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Springs. June 21.

Our little slice of Heaven for the night.

18 weeks

I hit 18 weeks on Saturday, June 13.

According to all the apps, this means Baby K is the size of a sweet potato; approximately 5.6" and weighing 6.7 oz.

Physically, I feel great. I went for a walk/run with Piper last week and felt amazing from it. I eat well, crave fruit for the most part, and don't really get "morning sickness". The headaches I was getting subsided after about 2 weeks, they were kind of rough. I do get dizzy from time to time and don't sleep the best, but it's all very manageable. An old wives tale says if you're having a boy you have a happy mood during pregnancy, and if you tend to me more sad and emotional, it's a girl. I don't believe in any of the wives tales per se, but I certainly seem to be more sad and emotional! I know it will pass and I'm just keeping focused and busy. Such as counting down those days to our gender reveal! (16 days!)

During week 17 we went to a U2 concert, felt Baby K's first movement from the outside, and kicked off the 3 day Golden Music Festival with some volunteering. The kicks happened on June 11, Grandpa Klenske's birthday, while we were waiting for dinner. I thought I felt it from the inside so I put my hand there and sure enough, I felt some movement! I thought for sure Jeff would get to feel it that evening at home and that from there on out I would feel all sorts of Baby K kicks, but nope. That was it. Totally normal from what I'm reading, some women don't feel anything until 20-22 weeks which has been the case for most of my friends. I am definitely feeling the little nugget on the inside a lot, so that's exciting!

Below are some pictures from the U2 concert, my 18 week bump, the Golden Music Festival, and my little running adventure with Piper! I just love how happy he is in the picture! I'll be sure to update what week 18 brings...we are hoping it will be Baby K's first camping trip! :)

18 weeks, June 13

Golden Music Festival, June 12-14

Ice cream and beer for the Golden Music Festival! June 12-14

Running with Piper!

U2 at Pepsi Center, June 6

Our Golden Family

We feel so blessed and grateful for our Golden family!

We went to garage sales last weekend and knew a couple of the families we stopped at. They could hardly charge us full price (which was a steal as it was!) let alone charge us anything for some of the items. "You do enough for our kids!" "It all goes full circle" "It's good to know it's going to you!" On top of that we have already received many baby clothes, a bath tub, changing table, nursing supplies, and offers for more! The support we receive here is overwhelming. Despite my previous post of comments made by others, the families I have been so lucky to get acquainted with through nannying and teaching have gone above and beyond and I'm so happy to know they'll be around when Baby K is here! They may never know how informative and supportive they've already been. Not to mention the fact they support my business and our livelihood as first time parents.

It's hard to be away from family in Iowa but again we are lucky for the support and their happiness that we will raise our babies in this Colorado community. Someone in Iowa said to me a while back, when Baby K was still just a glimmer, "Well it won't even matter when you start having kids because you live so far away!" This was before my sister moved to California with her daughter and husband. As joking as it may have been the words haven't left my mind and still hurt a little while we prepare out here for this big event and change in our lives. Please know that your support, kind words, and encouragement can be felt and are greatly appreciated! Many parents can relate to those days when they were preparing to become first time parents themselves. It can be a little scary, even down right terrifying. I find comfort knowing that is totally normal and that my husband has mastered dancing to live music while holding a baby and drinking a beer (a test one of our friends felt he needed to pass last week!) and also from your words of encouragement no matter how close or far away you live.

Speaking of our Golden family, I'm off to teach some lessons this afternoon!

17 weeks

I'm 17 weeks today! Baby is about 5.1 inches long weighing 5.9 oz, according to the books :) It's about the size of a pomegranate. I had my 16 week check up on Thursday, the heart beat was in the 150's and Baby K was moving around quite a bit.

The most recent food craving has been Italian sub sandwiches for some reason. This is a new one for me as I don't really like meat and haven't wanted to eat it almost at all since the beginning of my pregnancy. I still can't seem to eat enough fresh fruit. Cherries, grapes, blueberries, and cantaloupe have been huge on my list!

We enjoyed our first Red Rocks concert this week, Ryan Adams on Thursday night. The show ended a bit early due to a lightning and hail storm. We are excited for U2 tonight! Baby K will be exposed to lots of music through concerts and my teaching! We try to walk as much as possible although Piper is a bit of a struggle for me sometimes if Jeff isn't with.Walking near a tennis match or ball game is high risk with him!

We will find out the gender of Baby K on July 2! We thought we wanted to wait but decided we just can't do it. We know we won't be able to hold it in either so we really hope to tell as many of our family and long distance friends in private before celebrating with our friends in Golden that evening. Post your guesses! We both think girl and would be thrilled with either! I've had 3 gender dreams and it's a girl each time, although I don't have a strong enough feeling to say I'll be shocked if we're having a little Jeff :)

17 weeks, June 6