Rage Tri

A year ago, I was visiting Utah for Nicole's bridal shower when I got a phone call from Matt asking if I thought he should train for and compete in a triathlon 10 days later. And I said, "Why not?" And thus began an entire summer (and hopefully a lifetime!) of tri training and racing fun.

We figured it was only fitting for Matt to kick off this summer's tri season where it all started, at the Rage Triathlon at Lake Mead. This time, he figured he'd give the Olympic distance a go (he did a couple sprints and a half ironman last year but totally skipped the middle distance). Matt took off a week of work and we turned the race trip into one last hurrah of a family vacation before our little girl comes. Thanks to a move, a sick & pregnant wife, and the worst winter of our lives, Matt all but took the winter off, so he only had about six weeks of solid training under his belt heading into the race. No matter -- he still rocked it!

Matt finished the super hilly course (the bike ride alone had a 3500 ft elevation gain) in 2:43 and even took third in his super competitive division! He's awesome like that. Go Matt!

You know you like the look of the band from my still-too-big maternity capris showing through my shirt.

We stayed with some of our BFF's who live in Vegas and made a weekend of it. Carolyn was the sweetest and let Jake stay behind to sleep in and play with her daughter Emery while I cheered Matt on (did I mention she is having baby #2 any day now?). Jake was quite enthralled with Daddy and his medals when we got back. He was even more excited to spend the next week straight with that Daddy that he loves so much. It was such a great trip! Plenty more to come.

Bright & Happy Gender Reveal Party

We had so much fun hosting a gender reveal party for baby #2! It was the weekend before Valentine's Day, so I snuck some hearts into our yellow, pink and blue decor and treats. The result was a bright and happy little party, which was perfect since we are so thrilled to be welcoming this little girl into our family!

Yellow and white vertical chevron fabric served as the backdrop for our pink and blue goodies. We served pink and blue... everything. Cupcakes, mini heart-shaped sugar cookies and cheesecakes (yum!), chocolates, gumballs, gummi worms, suckers -- you get the idea. The drink of the day was pink lemonade with blue and white striped straws served in the little glass bottles I'd bought for Jake's milk & cookies birthday party. A pink and blue banner asking "girl or boy?" in the same font and style as our invitations hung over the dessert table. And, of course, there was the simple white gender reveal cake with a blue and pink heart topper and the mystery-colored icing inside.

A chalkboard tally greeted our guests in the entryway, along with felt hearts and safety pins so they could wear their guess throughout the party. To assist their decision making, mini-chalkboards with old wives tales supporting each gender were places on the table next to baby pictures of me and Matt. At the end of the party, we set pink heart-shaped "It's a girl!" cookie favors on the entry table so our guests could take one more treat on the road.

The party itself consisted of informal house tours (since we'd just finished unpacking and semi-finished decorating), lots of chatting and laughing, and a couple boy vs. girl games. The boys somehow pulled out a win in Battle of the Sexes -- a card game quizzing girls on boy knowledge and vice versa, but the girls came out victorious in our very intense pink vs. blue jenga game. The tie breaker came down to the cutting of the cake, and as we all know, the girls won :) Hooray for pink!

I was 19 weeks along for the party, so it's about time I posted about it since I'm a good 28.5 weeks now!

28 Weeks

Time is flying! In honor of entering the third trimester, here's a little blogland-style pregnancy update.

How far along? 28 weeks

Bump watch: Finally here! The bump started obviously growing, to me anyway, at the 20-week mark. But it really popped out in the last couple weeks. I love it!

Left: 24 weeks + 1 day. Right: 28 weeks +1.

26 weeks on Easter. See what I mean about popping in the last couple weeks?

Weight gain: Just shy of 16 pounds, which puts me on track for a healthy total gain of 25-28 pounds. Unless of course I go crazy with the ice cream over the next couple months... which is a viable possibility.

Sleep: I can never seem to get enough. That whole blissful second trimester business was lost on me this time, and I miss it!

Best moment so far: Jake just felt her kick this morning! And even though I don't think he gets what's going on with the whole "there's a baby in mommy's tummy" thing just yet, he squealed when she kicked his hand and I loved it.

Movement: She is an active little gal! It's so fun to feel and watch her kick and move around throughout the day. She is most active at about 11:30 p.m., though, so we might be in for some midnight playtimes in the not-too-far-off future.

Exercise: Ideally, four or five times a week, Jake hops in the BOB and we go for a little three-or-so-mile run (if you can call that slow pregnant-with-a-jogging-stroller pace a "run"). Of course, that's when the Utah weather cooperates, which hasn't happened as much lately so the base gym's ellipticals and I have had to make friends. I've always been a classic "cardio queen" offender and am trying to work in more weights as well. I have a dream of graduating from girly push-ups to real push-ups post-baby.

Cravings: As per usual, I love fruit and ice cream, but I can't say I've been "craving" them. I tend to have food aversions while pregnant more than anything. Oddly enough, I have a strange aversion to water this time -- it doesn't seem to matter whether it's cold, room temperature, from the fridge, or from a bottle. I really like water and obviously need to stay hydrated during pregnancy, so the whole "water tastes gross" thing has been terribly inconvenient.

What I miss: Feeling human, having energy, not being nauseous... you know.

What I’m looking forward to: Holding this little girl and completing our little family of four! And soaking up the final few weeks as a family of three. Life is good.


Just for fun, here's a post about the 28 week milestone with Jake.

Treehouse

My little brothers had the day off of school, so they came up North to hang out with Jake. We spent the morning at the Treehouse Museum and had a lovely time. Jake loved exploring all the different exhibits, but most of all, he loved running back and forth across bridges and up and down stairs. And can you blame him? Those bridges and stairs are fantastic.

Now Jakey takes the pictures...