Off to Perú & 14 weeks along!

Well, this will be my last post from los estados unidos for a month! I leave for Perú Saturday morning and I am very excited and very anxious! Here's a pic of me at 14 weeks - I am wearing the maternity shirt that my mom bought me (among several others) from Ross. Yes, Ross has a maternity section and they have some pretty cute and very reasonably priced stuff. I love this shirt!

And above is my side profile.  This shirt is "flowy" (that would be "floja" in Spanish), so if I am sitting or from a distance I don't think I look too pregnant, but there is a belly growing under there! 

I had a lovely dinner with Ryan, Dr. Garcia and Alvaro, (who also has a doctorate and is a professor, but I've only ever heard him called Alvaro,) at Contigo Perú, which is a really great Peruvian restaurant in Mesa.  I even ate some steak meat and rice and we had some awesome ice cream - helado de lucoma, I don't think I spelled that fruit right, but it was amazing and Patsy and I will definitely be ordering it in Cusco!!  And for those of you that don't know, that Disney movie, The Emperor's New Groove was in Cusco and that's where we will be studying and living in Perú!! 

Travis is doing well, he has his first olympic triathlon this weekend on Sunday, the 16th.  It's the Tempe International triathlon.  He'll do great, though, he's been training like crazy!  We are definitely going to miss each other and it's hard because I don't even have an address to give him yet, but I will be emailing with contact information shortly after I arrive.  But it's a great opportunity and I am really thankful to be able to go and to have a husband that is encouraging me to go.  Although I only wanted to go for 3 weeks, Trav pushed me to go for 4.  I always bring that up whenever he says he'll miss me, LOL  :) 

The altitude is supposed to be crazy high, which it is.  The altitude is 11,203 ft. (3395 m) above sea level. The annual average temperature is 52ºF/11ºC.  So I have to take it really easy the first 24 - 48 hours b/c there is a lot of altitude sickness and it's higher than the highest city in the U.S., Leadville, Colorado which is around 10,500 ft.  CRAZY!!  And only bottled water for me! 

Otherwise, please keep me and the baby in your prayers and thoughts!!  I am praying for a healthy and safe and educational trip!!  Luckily I am going down with Patsy Hansel, a gal from the ASU program, so I am VERY thankful for her!!  Also, pray that Travis remembers how to unload the dishwasher, just kidding...  but that he does well with training and that he does okay down here by himself! 

I'll keep you all posted from Cusco I hope!   Have a great weekend!!

Baby is ahead of schedule!!

Well, our little baby is 3 days growth ahead of schedule!  But that will probably even out as the pregnancy progessess.  However, we are a fast paced family, so we're glad the baby's keeping up already!  Here are some more ultrasound pics:

And yes, although we're only 12 weeks and 6 weeks along in development, the male organ starts to protrude and elegate at 12 weeks, so we have this picture as well.  The doctor and the u/s tech are fairly positive that it's a boy, but they made me promise not to be "certain" until our next u/s, which is June 16th, right when I get back from Peru.  So we may be expecting a baby boy!  The baby was flipped over perfectly, so we got a good shot of between the legs.  I don't think I'll be referencing the baby's down there parts too much more during his/her life, but who knows.

Other than that, I was pretty sick today.  I think I ate something bad last night b/c I was up at 3:30 am throwing up, then at 7, then 4 times at the doctor's office.  My bladder was empty b/c of that, so the u/s tech pushed, jabbed, shook (and did everything else imaginable to) my stomach since I didn't have any fluids in me.  The first time we saw him/her, he/she was just hanging out, facing the camera and actually waving to us.  Well, he/she was just moving his/her arms, but I think it was definitely waving! 

Well, I have my final presentation tomorrow, so I need to get going and working on that.  After that, only 1 big paper and 1 big exam to get done.  And then, PERU!!!!

12 weeks! (And bilingual baby Bible!)

From babycenter.com: "Your uterus has grown to the point where your healthcare provider can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in your abdomen, just above your pubic bone. You may already be into maternity clothes, especially if this isn't your first pregnancy. If you're still fairly small and not yet ready for maternity clothes, you've no doubt noticed that your waist is thickening and that you're more comfortable in loose, less restrictive clothing."

Here's me at 12 weeks - I swear I am not pushing anything out at all, but I will say that I ate more for dinner tonight than usual, so I don't think that's all baby...  I did do some checking though and depending on your size/weight/build, even in your first pregnancy, you can start showing at just 10 weeks.  Still thinking that's more pregnancy bloat than baby/uterus.

And I am actually modeling my old navy maternity shirt and old navy maternity tank top.  I will be bringing the skirt to Peru for sure!  I also have it in black - thanks, Bethany, for the great shopping stores recommendation!  Here's me at 8 weeks, slightly more "scandolously dressed" (not my best pic, lol).  Don't ask me why... 

I went to the Christian bookstore with my aunt and mom the other day and I bought a baby bilingual Bible!  I am super excited about it - it's a board book, here are some pics:

I also bought a "toddler's Bible" b/c it was super cute and they both have good stories and lots of pictures.  The chair that Jim made us in our other post has a built in bookshelf on the back, so that's where I put these 2 books!  The baby is going to love to read!!

Travis and I went and checked out stroller systems tonight at Babies 'R Us!  I am going back with my mom tomorrow to pick up our stroller set.  Travis and I even practiced several times - we are excited about our choice!  It closes with one hand, right away, and it's the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Travel System Stroller - Deco.  It's even the Graco Snugride 32 car seat, which goes up to 32 lbs - which is great as most infant car seats only go up to 22 lbs.  And it's not as heavy and bulky as some people said it would be.  We folded it up and carried it around and everything (obviously, the baby would make the car seat heavier).  Here's a picture of the pattern - I love the dots.  I don't think Travis really cared about the pattern, but he had fun questioning the lady about a lot of things regarding the stroller!

 

Then Travis proceeded to try out all the rocking chairs and ottoman sliders while I decided to feel all the nice fuzzy and velvety blankets.  Then we got a pizza (1/2 taco and 1/2 pineapple from papa murphy's, which was AWESOME!)  I couldn't handle the salsa in the taco, so the pineapple was mine, in case anyone was wondering and we rented Sherlock Holmes.  Not anything like the books at all, but we both really liked the movie.  It was a good night!  We're meeting my aunt and mom for church tomorrow and then going to lunch!  Then I am going to have some phonology fun with Patsy!  But school is almost out and then Patsy and I are off to Peru! 

Chau!

Guess who's in town?

Yay for my mom coming to town!!  She is staying at my aunt Lisa's house until Saturday.  We are going to go and check out stroller systems - woo hoo!  We are currently going back and forth between Graco and Chicco, which according to friends and online reviews, are two of the best!  Well, maybe not we, I don't think Travis is excited about the strollers as I am, but that's okay :)  We're thinking we're going to get a travel system and then we'll get a lighter more portable stroller.  Since Travis is doing the Ironman this fall, I would LOVE the bob ironman stroller, but as you can see, it's a pretty pricey jogging stroller at $350!  But it does say for serious runners, I probably won't be as serious at first, though.  But in all reality, I think we'll purchase a more affordable jogging stroller - brands aren't everything and I doubt the baby will remember what stroller he/she was in.  So if anyone has any good recommendations, please let me know.  It appears that a lot of joggers are all over the board on reviews.  Babies = lots of gear and equipment, we've learned that much already!  All the stuff is super cute, though, makes me wish I could go back and be a baby all over again! 

Okay, back to homework!  I will be the happiest person in the world when this semester is over!  I was much more on top of things last semester!

A little over 11 weeks!

Well, today was a little bit of a rougher day.  I was definitely really sick this morning and had "saltine time" as Travis likes to call it for a long while.  We had a really yummy dinner over at Patsy (the gal I'll be going to Peru with) and Jim's house last night, but unfortunately, I think it was a little too heavy for me.  The food was really good, though!  However, I literally stayed in bed for a while with tums, water, crackers at my side and a pillow between my legs.  Travis made me bisquick waffles though, so I was able to get one of those down okay. By the way, Patsy and Jim gave us this little kid chair that Jim hand made - super cute and modern.  I dusted it off last night and it's already dusty again today, but that's Arizona for you. 

We also got our first gift off the registry - I set up a babies r us and a target registry just based on what other people had and based on talking to several helpful new moms.  My mom told me to start looking at stroller systems, but of course, I couldn't JUST do that, I just HAD to start a registry and start planning for our new little one that will be here in November!  (Okay, and it's a really good, or maybe bad, distraction from school work and grading).  We'll be updating the clothes once we find out if we will be having a boy or a girl. We got a 4 compartment storage organizer (I LOVE the sage color) and 2 sets of baby hangers!  There are so many reviews and research sites to look at for baby stuff!  Good thing we have lots of friends with babies!

We also went on a tour of the Chandler Regional Hospital Birthing Facility - it's about a 4 - 5 minute drive from here.  The labor, delivery and recovery rooms are really nice and roomy, but after that, you do go to a smaller room.  I forgot to ask how long "recovery" could last, b/c Travis and I were both confused that I would have to go to a different room afterwards.  Oh well, I'll still get to shower and everything in the other room first.  Crazy, crazy!

Oh, and we checked out a few 3 BR apartments yesterday.  We found 2 that we really liked.  1 of which was VERY much out of our price range at $1175/month, but the other one was within our price range, so we'll see.  I think we may end up staying here and I don't think either of us wants to move our stuff anytime soon!  We have to give our notice in June, so right when I get back from Peru, but we'll check into a 6 month lease.  Still think we should buy a house down here b/c they're so cheap, but that wouldn't be the wise thing to do, since we don't know how long we'll be here...

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!  We've been getting a lot of congrats cards and little baby items, which we really appreciate! 

Our future little...

How cute is this little onesie?  Custom designed by Cooper, the baby's uncle!  We love the gift, Cooper and Lindsey!!  And Travis was finally excited about a piece of baby clothing :)  We also received a nice card from Jen & Kory Prendergast - their daughter, Claire, is our baby's 2nd cousin!

Things are moving right along.  I was cramping last night on my side abdominals, which of course made me worry, so I looked it up on several sites and it said that after a harder than normal workout it can happen (check, I worked out a little too hard yesterday probably... sit-ups are getting a little TOO uncomfortable) and it said that the ligaments stretch to support your growing uterus at the end of your first, beginning of your 2nd trimester (doesn't that sound fun?).

I've been wearing the bella band - it's not that I can't button my pants, it's just that it's too uncomfortable having them buttoned and pressing into my abdomen, so I am VERY thankful for that.  Travis laughs at it and compares it to compression gear that you can wear for running/cycling -  the compression tights and socks that improve circulation.  He's definitely jealous of my slimmer look after I put it on... 

We joined a new bible study group that meets on Wednesday nights.  We can fit this one into our schedule with school.  It is a spin off of our Sunday school class and there were 2 other couples there last night and our group leaders.  The other 2 couples were not able to make it.  We actually really enjoyed it - we're going to start a DVD series first, which means no extra reading yet (GREAT - b/c I don't need anything else to complain/whine about with school laying it on thick right now, lol.  Sure Travis is tired of hearing me say I'm stressed, lol).

Well, I hope that everyone is having a good week so far!  SO excited it's almost the weekend - we are going to look at 3 bedroom apartments on Saturday and we have a birthing facility tour - Chandler Regional - it should be a fun day! 

Our first few gifts and cards!

Well, we are facebook official and I am 10 weeks along! Craziness! We got a LOVELY gift from Grandma and Grandpa Riley (Travis' parents) last night and we opened it up. We got an adorable pink and brown outfit in case it's a girl and an adorable blue and brown in case it's a boy. They have cute little hats too - the boy hat has little bear ears! And we got a little lullaby lamb, with a twist key to play the lullabys.

And here is a picture of some of the cards we got as well! 

Thanks to everyone for the congrats and the support - we really appreciate.  AND, I talked to both of my supervisors yesterday and they are super excited for us and are going to work with me to get a good schedule figured out for school as well.  Just awesome! 

We have been having fun hanging out with Ben and Mitchell who came up here from MN to visit us!  It has been super fun having friends around the apartment!  They have nicknamed the baby Gumbi b/c Travis said it looked like a gummy bear on the ultrasound picture.  Hope everyone has a good weekend!!