Dear Hadley…

Today is Tuesday November 18th. Although it seems this day will most likely come and go, it has been a date in my calendar for just about 9 months now. I know very well that you will make your entrance into this world when you are good and ready, so I’m waiting patiently on this day while you stay snug inside my tummy. Your aunt Allison reminded me that God already has the day you are born marked in His books – I need to remember this during the impatient times of wanting you here :o)

Everyone is already so excited to meet you - your aunt Allison and cousin Lane, who are in LA waiting for the call and instant picture of you. Your aunt Missy and uncle Jon who are so excited to meet their very first niece. Your Grandma Debi and Grandpa Hartley are off to do IM Arizona this weekend, they are hoping for good news while they are out on the course finishing their first IM together. They will race on over to Denver after crossing that finish line. Your Grandma and Grandpa Myers who tear up thinking about holding their very first grandbaby – they are counting down the days/hours! The rest of our family and friends ask about you everyday, they understand our excitement and cannot wait to share in our joy.

And lastly of course, your dad and me – the most excited of them all. Your dad talks to you every day asking when you are planning to come out. He tickles my tummy and gets excited at seeing you jab right back at him. He encourages me to stay healthy and walks countless hours with me, always wondering how our first hours and days will be with you. He has read books, watched DVD’s and educated himself online – all in the hopes of being ready for what is to come. I can’t wait to see him hold you for the first time. I feel you move everyday and I am so excited to hold you in my arms too. We already love you so much.

So we will wait on this special day, I know you will come when you are ready - we will see you soon little girl!
Love, Mommy

I won the race...averaging 20 min miles!

I feel like I'm back at the beginning of my pregnancy. I remember counting the days waiting to get to that so important 12 week mark and here I sit waiting for 40 - wow the time has flown! I have a friend who has been prego with me and she was due 2 weeks before me - she had her baby yesterday. He is soooo cute and TINY! unbelievable. It got Dan so excited he's about to burst!

I've been walking...and walking and walking... trying to do 3-5 miles a day. get this baby movin! It's funny when I'm normally active and running, I push myself to run 9 min miles. I have new goals now - if I go on the trails behind my house I try to walk a 20 min mile - woohoo! yesterday I did 3 miles and averaged a 21 minute pace, with one break in the middle to eat a snack. far cry from slamming a gu on a 10 miler - LOL!

no progress at my last appointment, still fingertip dialated. I go back again on Friday. we are meeting with our doula tonight, she's a women who is going to help Dan and I through the whole labor process - she's already helped a ton with preparation - we are really excited to have her work with us.

work...uuughgghggg...only a week and a half left, enough already!

37 weeks... well almost

Just shy of 37 weeks, here are some pictures... my face is looking quite plump, I guess when you are up 40lbs it has to show somewhere - ha! Still feeling pretty good - sleeping well still which is great. Went to the dr on Friday, everything checked out good. I'm 1/2 cm dialated, which doesn't mean much at this point :o) I am going weekly now...so we'll see if there's any progress made next Friday. We have our last 'birthing' class tonight - the classes have been good, but I'm kind of done sitting through 3-4 hour sessions twice a week!

Nursery Update

We've been working on our nursery the last week or so...no pics on the walls yet, but here's some photo's of our progress!





I am 34 weeks tomorrow - woo hoo! My latest complaint is numb fingertips - WTH! it's a minor issue, but it is SOOOOOOOOOO annoying. My hands are swollen, I'm sure there is a nerve issue or something. We are going to a breastfeeding class tonight -it is supposedly for couples, Dan's going to kill me if he's the only guy there!

3D ultrasound

We opted for a 3D ultrasound yesterday and it was soooooooooooo fun! her little face is just adorable, I can't wait to meet her! Here's a few shots, these were taken on cameras during the session.

Sunday Football at the Myers!

Here's Dan in his new basement, new big screen - he got his couch this morning, just in time for Sunday football!

Daddy Boot Camp Update

Daddy boot camp was a great success! It was a bit more 'formal' than Dan was expecting (sorry, no pics!)...but he learned a LOT about planning for labor, delivery, post delivery, taking baby home, basic baby care. The whole premise was 'veteran dads' vs 'new dads' - so the veteran dads were there teaching them the ropes - they even had real babies! It really got Dan more excited about the baby, and he's really looking forward to the rest of our classes.

I put together my stroller - yes all by myself! My friends Shannah and Matt bought it for us, though they insist we call it a pram :-) Below are a few pics of Dan and I with the pram. Rylie is scared of it, which I need to get her over here quickly!

Off to pilates, yah for Saturdays!

What's in 2 months?

2 months until my due date, until my life turns upside down and is forever changed - I can't believe it! I know I most likely won't deliver ON that day, but it's enough of a rough estimate to start getting a little nervous. There's very few times in your life when you can predict something coming that will indeed change every aspect of your life from that day moving forward. I think about my first day at my new high school, the day my parents dropped me off for college, the day I moved from Colorado to California for a new job, the day I got married. The funny part about this momentous occasion is even with all of the reading, planning, preparing, thinking, etc - I really don't know exactly what I'm getting myself into. It's scary and exciting at the same time. Everyone says a lot of it is instinct, I really hope that falls into my lap when it's all said and done.

I'm also now quite obsessed with labor and delivery - I never really gave it much thought until now. I think you hear stories and know a little bit about the process - but I can't get my hands on enough stories of birth. How was yours, statistically how many births end up in unplanned c-section, did it hurt, was it long, the questions are endless! I found this website that helps to create a birth plan - there are so many things on that list I'm clueless about. I'm going to take the list to my prenatal classes and get some help some of these 'decisions' - it's really not just 'give me drugs'!

Dan's off to 'daddy boot camp' tonight - our friend Shaun (due 2 weeks before us) and Dan will go with a bunch of other 'dad's to be' and figure out how to change a diaper and swaddle a baby. I cannot WAIT to hear how it goes!

Haystack My Oregon

We are back from our travels from Oregon, the family reunion was awesome! We arrived in Portland on July 25th - we made the ambitious decision to travel over to Cannon Beach before heading south to Grants Pass. Portland to Grants Pass is 4 hours, traveling to Cannon Beach added about another 3 hours! It was BEAUTIFUL though, Haystack Rock was pretty amazing! We ended up taking the 101 south for a while, which is really pretty but also slow! I decided to try an 'alternate route' using Tomtom, which basically means 'avoid all major highways'. So, it took us in the right direction but avoided the 5 at all costs! We finally figured that out and got on the main drag down to Grants Pass. We arrived about 10pm and quickly got to see everyone over at my aunt Peggy's house. The best thing about my family is that everyone is so inviting and things seem to just pick up as if we saw each other everyday. My aunts seem exactly the same to me everytime I see them - the picture in my mind today is the same one I had 20 years ago. Does that mean I'm getting older?

Saturday was 'rafting day' - which I opted against being 6 months prego - Dan went though and had a blast! I went to the pool with my little neices and two sisters (Allison and Heidi). My niece Lane could entertain me for hours on end. That little brain of hers is amazing! Saturday night was a big family dinner at an Italian place in Grants Pass. I can't say a lot for the food, but the place was perfect for hosting our big family outing and it was great to just sit down and chat with everyone.

Sunday we went to my uncle Mark's church for service - the service itself was a lot more formal than I'm used to, but the message was great and it was really neat to see the work he's doing there. We went to a big park that evening where we barbecued and chatted. Probably the most entertaining portion of the trip was watching my mother play volleyball. My mom, iron'maiden' as they call her - two-time ironman finisher, triathlete extroardinare cannot, I repeat - CAN NOT play volleyball. I'm not sure I've ever seen someone so uncoordinated! The funniest part is she is not shy about it at all - most people who are challenged at sports avoid the spotlight. Nope, not my mom - GOT IT! THAT'S MINE! - just a few phrases she likes to shout during her playtime. She falls, misses completely, hops around like a rabbit - I am laughing just writing this! Very entertaining, my aunt peggy and I almost peed our pants watching the game!

OK now we're off to the lake on Monday - which was BEAUTIFUL - I just loved it there. We rented a boat on Tuesday and spent the day on the water. I stuck to the ever so risky sports of kayaking and paddle boating. I ventured a few times out on the boat to spectate - my sporty husband of course was doing 360's on the knee board!! We ate great food, played games, got to know each other - it was seriously one of the most memorable trips of my life. It was unexpected how special it was to me. Dan participated in an 'initiation video' - I've included the link to that - a MUST see!



Below are a few pics - Lane; Lane and Dan; Mom, Allison, Lane, Me; Linda, Mom, Molly, Peggy (from top to bottom)

Pictures of Baby Myers

We went in yesterday for the 22 week ultrasound and got to see little baby Myers! It's a girl indeed and she looks great! She was in great positions and all of her little organs are looking good. They even gave us a few 3D shots, which I was NOT expecting! Below are some of the pictures, not scanning great, but good enough. She has what LOOKS like my nose! :-)

Yo MTV Cribs

We got our crib this weekend - yah! Below are some pics. After a lot of looking around, we decided to go back to the first store we looked and ordered from there. Below is a picture of the set we got (we got just the crib and the changing table / small dresser combo). The color we got is a darker wood (cinnamon). It's actually convertable so when the baby no longer needs changing table, we can flip it over it will have a flat top (like a dresser top). Very cool! The crib turns into a toddler bed and a full size bed - the pictures below show it.

We are actually doing similar walls (not the green)... but the wainscoting look at the bottom that looks like white paneling.

We are still deciding on the motif of the room - I'm hoping for girly pinks and yellows!

Scrapblog!

I just learned how to use scrapblog and it is sooo cool! So, I've added my belly shots to my first scrapblog page and stuck them on blogger - I'm so high tech! :-)

A buck 50...

OK, don't look at my goofy face - just my halfway there belly. I'm 20 weeks today, just 20 more to go! :-) I think my belly is less than half of the size it's going to get, which means I still have a lot more growing to do! I went to the dr yesterday for my 20 week check-in, I now weigh almost 150lbs. It's kind of funny to move up on the 'big' weight on the scale. Ususally I'm 100lb on the big one then adjust the smaller one to find 120, 130, 140 - well yesterday she was toggling between 150 and 149 - she let me have 149, ha! I can't wait until I weigh more than Dan! I feel tired today, which isn't entirely unusual but I'm sluggish this afternoon. I went to the dentist and I couldn't wait to get into the chair to put my feet up and close my eyes while they scrubbed away at my teeth. Got a clean bill of health - thank goodness. Apparantly all sorts of crazy things can happen to your teeth when you are pregnant - so I have to take extra good care until I'm done breastfeeding.

I love donuts - we got a dozen (the bakery gave me 14) on sunday for our friends who helped us move. Of course about 6 of them were eaten (3 by me) and now we just have donuts laying around our house. TROUBLE!!! I had one today and I can't wait until those darn things are gone. I'm definitely at the 150 mark today!

Basement is cleared out, permit is ready for us to pick up today - yah! Contractor is coming over tomorrow to talk over a supplies list. The space down there will be very cool. We're going to have not only Dan's office but an entertainment and workout area. Dan's always dreamed of that big flat screen tv. Once it's done, we'll kick Dan to the basement and get going on the baby room upstairs.

I'm doing the Firecracker 5K on Friday, walking of course - I hope it's not blazing hot!

Baby Dreams

I've had some pretty crazy baby dreams lately...

In my dream last night I had a baby boy and we came home from the hospital and we didn't have anything for the baby. We had just a portacrib someone had lent us... Dan and I were frantically making lists for what we needed. It was September in my dream and all I could think is that the baby was earlier than we thought - but he was totally healthy and I figured I got the due date wrong.

I am also currently reading a book called 'baby wise' - it's a guide to getting your baby on a schedule so they have a somewhat normal sleeping schedule by the time they are 6-8 weeks old. The number one premise is that in the first 7-10 days that your baby is home you are getting them to eat full meals - your schedule will be whacked but that should be the number one goal. So of course I'm dreaming about breast feeding and trying to figure out that whole process in my dream. Pretty hilarious actually! I was telling Dan all about the book last night and he asked 'can we change our minds now?' ha! It's going to be so much work - and this book really gives you an idea of what you will be going through. Every baby is so different, I'm hoping ours isn't a little monster right off the bat!

We are cleaning out our basement this weekend - we have to get it prepped to start the whole finishing process. Cleaning it out alone is going to be a task! The county called me today, my permit should be processed by next week - yah! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything we have to do this summer...I really hope the basement goes smoothly and we are pretty much done with that by end of Sept / early October. I want to get that baby room together!

Dan got a new mountain bike yesterday off of craig's list. It's AWESOME! it's a 22 lb bike - really light. he bought it from a guy who races and he had this bike for racing alone. It looks brand new and was taken great care of. Dan's excited to join some of his buddies on weekend trail rides.

I'll have an updated belly pic for next week - next Tuesday I'll be exactly halfway there - CRAZY!

18 weeks and counting...

It's been a while, but I'm back to blog! And I bring good news - I'm prego! 18 weeks, 1 day to be exact. The first trimester was roooough, lotsa sickness...but I'm over the hump and feeling great now! I am starting to show a little, I had someone actually notice the other day that I didn't know!

Pictures here are of me at 11 weeks (top one) and then today. I thought I had a belly at 11 weeks, I'm sure I'll look back at today's shot and find it funny in a few months. Growing belly - still white as a ghost too!

We are headed to the Moore's this weekend to hang out at the WYO ranch. We are caravaning with the Efflands, we are really excited for a weekend getaway. Dan is excited to fish with Jaxon and ride the good old Rhino. My mom is doing Ironman CDA this weekend, big accomplishment for her. It will be fun to watch on Ironmanlive.com to see how she does! Go Mom!

Stay tuned, I'll keep up with the belly shots in the coming months!