2014 In Review

Alan and I were talking a week or so ago about how crazy, busy, and amazing our year was in 2014.  There was so many big moments in our life that we will never forget.  So here is a quick recap :)

January 20th - We got engaged.  It was beautiful, unique, a surprise to me, and absolutely perfect.

Feb-May - These months consisted of LOTS of planning and budgeting. We planned like crazy for the wedding.  I made all of our centerpieces by myself.  My and my Aunt Marva made our flower girl baskets and card box. There was dress shopping with all my favorite people, dress fittings with my aunts and sis-in-law CJ.  There were engagement pictures.  Bridal pictures. Planning a baby shower for my brothers (now) fiance, Andrea. There were family birthday parties and dinners. Every single weekend was packed full of 'to-do' items during these months.  Every. Single. Weekend.  But I wouldn't trade ANY of it!

June: We got married!!!  The wedding was prefaced with a paintballing bachelor party for Alan with family and friends and they enjoyed some Buffalo Wild Wings afterwards.  All came home with bruises, luckily all disappeared by wedding day. :)  We had a girls night and a bridal shower for me; what a lucky girl I am!  We watched Pitch Perfect, ate food, and did facials w/the girls in my family for girls night.  My bridal shower was a dream come true with a theme of Happily Ever After, which is very fitting. It was decorated so beautifully, food served so beautifully as well, and I got to spend time with those I love most.   Then the night before our wedding we got to celebrate with our families by having a rehearsal dinner of sorts (not really a rehearsal, but more of a get-to-know-you dinner).  Alan's parents hosted this and provided much of the food.  We held it at a church pavillion and the weather was wonderful.   We ate BBQ meat, salads, desserts, drinks.....yum!  Our families got along well and we all headed home early to get ready for the big day!  Then our big day arrived!  After a sleepless night for me and Alan, we woke up and started to get ready.  My amazing Aunt Marva surprised me (with help from Alan) by showing up to make me breakfast.  Made me cry.  She is wonderful and amazing and thoughtful and kind, and the list goes on. So much more than an aunt and more of a mom to me.  Breakfast was delicious, and she even cooked for Alan's parent's who were staying with us. Then family showed up to help drive decorations over to the library (where we got married).  Such great family we have!  Alan's sister showed up to by my right-hand that morning and get me to the library.  Our day went perfect.  Perfect, I tell you.  We left our reception that night at 9:00, headed home to change and switch cars, then we were off to Midway for 2 nights. We spent our first 2 nights as a married couple in Midway, did some shopping in Park City, and generally just relaxed.  We headed home the Sunday after the wedding (we got married on a Friday) and packed for our honeymoon.  We opened wedding presents too :)  Monday morning, bright and early, we headed for the airport.  We flew to California and later hopped on our cruise ship headed to the Mexican Riviera.  What an amazing honeymoon we had :)  We layed in the sun, fell asleep in the sun, sat in the hot tub, explored the marina on a peddle boat, had a tour of Ensenada before cooking a meal with a restaurant chef, and shopping in the streets for souvenirs. We watched comedy shows on the cruise ship, ate way too much food, took naps, met new friends and enjoyed each and every second!

July: No rest for us!  We got home from our honeymoon and started to look for new places to live; we needed more room and a change.  I also finished getting a baby shower together w/my family and we had one heck of a shower for Andrea!  We did a Cute As A Button theme and it turned out sooo cute!  We decorated onesies, played games, ate food, and got to celebrate a new little guy joining our family.

August:  Alan and I found a place to move very quickly! Our landlords at the time were gracious and let us out of our contract a month early. We paid double rent for 2 weeks to hold the new place (ouch). We started moving on August 15th. Our nephew Dawson was born on the 21st (pics below are the maternity pics I got to take for them!). We finished moving w/all the big stuff on August 23rd.  Alan started school the next Monday on the 25th.  On the 27th I found out I was pregnant. :)  I told Alan on the 27th too.  We began to settle in to our new house.

September: Alan was busy with school and work.  I was busy with work.  We were still in shock that we were going to have a baby! Excited and nervous took their turns with how we felt. We planned out how we would tell our families and friends. I had my first dr appt and Alan came with.  We got to do an ultrasound and see our little frog (Alan thought it looked like a frog) :) We got to hear the heartbeat.  It was confirmed, we were going to be parents.  We tried to hide my morning sickness from the family.  We tried to be very careful about what we said and did to keep it a secret until we were ready.

October: We got to tell our families we were expecting! What a great few days as we reached out to everyone!  I struggled with morning sickness and the changes already coming with my body.  Alan heard me when I said I needed a break away from everything and surprised me with a little vacation to Park City.  We shopped, relaxed, ate an amazing dinner (and expensive), saw a show, slept in.  It was wonderful.  He is an amazing husband.  We celebrated Halloween and my birthday.  We got to see our adorable little nieces all dressed up and they drew me pics for my birthday.  We got to visit with family, laugh, and enjoy.

November: Alan stayed busy with school, and also accepted a new job for a new company.  He was promoted to an Operations Manager when he accepted this position.  We found out our little bundle of joy was a little boy!  I cried, Alan nearly did cartwheels.  After 2 days I was excited as well though :)  We celebrated Thanksgiving with my aunts and uncle and by some miracle they convinced me to do Black Friday shopping.  We ate too much food, celebrated my cousin's birthday, and went home happy. We bought our first big piece of furniture together...an entertainment center.  It is beautiful.

December: Alan started his new job and I struggled for the first 2 weeks with not having him close to me at work. Alan has been working crazy hours already.  He had his finals for his first semester of school and of course aced them.  He is so smart. :)  We got a 3 week break together with no school.  It was wonderful!  We celebrated Alan's birthday (kinda.....he was sick). I surprised him with a basket full of his favorite treats and balloons at his new office. We bought and put together our crib.  We bought our stroller/carseat combo as well as a swing. (Ok, those might have been in November, but I can't recall now).  We also purchased our dresser for the nursery.  I convinced Alan after months and months that it was ok to have 2 car payments, and he finally gave in and we got me a new car on the 20th!  We celebrated Christmas with my siblings and their spouses with a game night and way too much food.  So much fun :)  We took some time off work and drove to Idaho to celebrate Christmas with Alan's family.....we relaxed, napped, Alan played in the snow with his nephew's, we played games, opened presents, ate yummy food, drove to Pocatello for some errands, and came home one happy couple. :)  We spent New Years Eve with Alan's siblings that live here in Utah by playing games, watching a movie, and half of us falling asleep by 11:30.  :) There was an attempt at 11:59 when we woke up to open and pour some sparking cider, but it just didn't work. haha!  We said Happy New Year, cleaned up our food mess, and off to bed we all went.

We had one heck of a year that will never be forgotten!  Engaged, married, honeymoon, moving, getting pregnant, new car, new job.  Wow!!  We survived all of these big events and are happier than ever :)  We are looking forward to what this new year will bring! (And apparently I need to do better at taking pictures for all of our events!)

I Can't Wait To...

To my son...I can't wait to:

*Kiss your forehead for the first time
*Lay your body on my chest right after you are born
*See the look in your daddy's eyes when he sees you for the first time
*See you in your daddy's arms
*Have you in my arms and with daddy close by, and see our new little family
*Watch your aunts and uncles meet you for the first time. What joy they will have!
*See your grandparents hold you
*Dress you up in little sweaters, overalls, and hats!
*Bring you home and figure out how to be your mommy
*Watch you learn and explore as you grow
*Buy you your first puppy
*Learn how to make little boy noises so I can play with you :) Cars, trucks, dinosaurs, oh the things I will learn!
*Watch you play in the dirt, sand, water, everything!
*See you get up after you fall without a tear
*Watch you imitate your daddy
*Have mommy-son dates
*Watch you learn to share and become a kind man
*See what kind of personality you will have
*Listen to you cry when you are having a rough day, and then to comfort you
*Learn new things with you every day
*Watch you roll, crawl, walk, and run as you decide you are ready
*Hear you laugh
*Tell you I love every single day

All About Alan

So, when I originally started this blog, Alan and I said we'd do it together. Um, yeah right. I should have known better.  What guy wants to sit down and right about how he is feeling and what is going on his life?? Duh!  So, since all posts have been from me, and in great part, about me, I figured I'd do a quick catch-up on my handsome hubby.

Most of our family knows (at least I think) but Alan started a new job on December 1st.  It was, and still is, exciting and nervous for both of us.  The entire time we've been together we've worked for the same company, in the same department.  Never more than 1 minute away from each other.  We both love it here are Visa.  However, about 6 months ago we found out that the team Alan was working on was going to be going away.  They were going to outsource that portion of the work.  While sad, Alan was able to secure a position within another team in our same department that he would start once his current job completed. So, we were ok.  Then during the process of Alan's team transitioning items over to a new company Alan was approached for this new opportunity.  This new company wanted to talk to him about maybe making a move with them.  After 1-2 interviews he was offered the job.  It was a hard decision for us to make.  Visa is great to work for and we have both loved our jobs here.  Alan was paid well and fairly and enjoyed his work.  But this new job would provide new growth opportunities and give him a challenge he had been missing.  So, after some salary negotiations, he accepted the new job offer.  He accepted the job as Operations Manager for a company in Draper. 

So, last week was his first week there.  The first day, he was a bit overwhelmed.  As most are on their first day of a new job.  The second day though, he was a rockstar, as I expected. :)  He is so incredibly smart and motivated, there is no possible way he wouldn't do amazingly well at this new job and responsibility.  I am so excited for him in this new job and what it will bring him.  I just hope I can figure out how to be at work without him now. :)  By end of day on Friday, I was missing him soooo much! I think I took for granted being able to see or chat with my hubby any time of the day.  By Friday night I just wanted him to hold me and be close to him.  Let's hope I cope with this week better, lol! :)

So besides my super smart man getting this new job, he is also kicking butt in school. I am so proud of him for making the step to go back to try to help better our family life down the road.  He's just about to finish up his first semester and has loved it so far.  He is definitely an overachiever, and he won't allow himself to not get an A on something.  He studies and works so hard, making sure he understands what he needs to and also spends time studying with his brother too.  He has been so very busy the last few months and deserves so much more than I can give him sometimes.  He goes to work before 7:00 AM, leaves 2 days a week to go to school, then is at school until 8:00. His non-school days he is either working late or doing homework. Plus he adjusted fantastically to the news of our baby on the way on top of all that other stuff. I have decided that if our little man turns into his daddy exactly, it would be one terrific thing. :)  What a great husband he is, my best friend, and I know he will make an amazing daddy.  He's one of those things I can think about at any time and it just makes me smile and happy :)

Pregnancy Catch-Up...Week 18!

To update on my pregnancy....all is going well!  I'm 18 weeks as of this last Sunday and we saw the doctor just a few days before that.  He said baby looks good and everything looks ok so far. The morning sickness is finally fading too! Wahoo!!!! :)  At about 16 weeks it finally felt under control.  I will still throw up occasionally, but it's not an every day occurrence now, which I couldn't be more grateful for.  Still not feeling baby move consistently, but pretty sure I felt it twice, both times while sitting in a movie theater.  It was a repetitive tapping, almost.  Idk how else to describe it.  Fairly confident it wasn't anything to do with stomach digestion, but I guess I don't really know for sure since the movement isn't consistent. The doctor said usually around 18-20 weeks is when I'd be feeling the movement, so hopefully it comes any time now. :)

The main reason for our check-up at 17 1/2 weeks was to check my cervix.  Since I had to have a procedure to have the lining of it scraped off a few years back, the doctor wanted to be sure it was still thick enough to support a pregnancy.  Good news is he said anything over 2 1/2 centimeters was good and normal, and mine was 3 1/2. Huge relief there :)  And as a bonus at this appointment we got to find out gender as well.  Since everyone here reads my FB as well, we all know it's a boy!!  I honestly think Alan was so excited in the doctor's office he almost started doing cartwheels. :)  He wanted a boy sooooo bad and couldn't have been happier!  Me on the other hand.....well....if I'm being honest, I was sad.  I held it together and smiled for the rest of the appointment, but I was sad.  I had wanted a girl as badly as Alan had wanted a boy.  After we left the appointment and got back to work, I sat at my desk and cried.  Pathetic? Maybe.  But it's true.  I cried for probably 30 minutes before I pulled myself back together. I am NOT sad we're having a baby, and I am not sad it is a boy, I was just sad at missing out on the girly things.....like ribbons, bows, tutu's, pink, purple, leggings, boots.  I chatted to my friend Jessica about it, and Alan and I talked over IM quite a bit that day.  By the afternoon I told Alan we would go shopping after work to find some cute boy clothes to put a smile on my face.  Then, I made it through the rest of the day.

After work that day we went to Babies R Us.  We looked through the clothes, and while it made me sad to see all the cute girl clothes, we did find some cute boy clothes too. We each picked out our favorite outfit to get, and then we found one pair of shoes too. We decided on the way home to buy 2 blue balloons and one pink balloon to use to announce to my family.  So we stopped and got those and when we got home I tied each balloon to Alan's, mine, and the baby's shoes.  Then I snapped a pic w/my phone and sent the text off to my family.  It was super fun to get the phone calls and texts back and to hear the excitement from everyone.  I enjoyed the moment, but was definitely still trying to adjust to the news myself. haha. :)

The next day was Thanksgiving, and the following day we were having dinner w/Alan's family.  At his family dinner just before it was time to eat, Alan put the picture of the balloons and shoes up on our tv screen.  It took a minute for all to catch on, but once they did, they were so excited too!  This is the first boy in their family that will carry on the Hubbs name; his other nephews belong to his sisters with different last names.

So, we're having a boy. :)  I am now happy and excited about this, but also crazy nervous.  What do I do with a boy??????  I don't know how to play cars and trucks, or army guys, or guns, or whatever else boys do!  I pray our little man likes sports, cause that I can understand and know what to do :)  We've also purchased our crib, a stroller/carseat combo, as well as our baby swing.  Tonight we go to pick up all but the crib, and hopefully the crib will be available for us by Saturday.  It's so fun finally buying some items for our little one!

My belly is also getting bigger, that's for sure.  Although the belly is bigger, my weight didn't change much at all between the last appointment (13 weeks) and this appt; only 2 lbs! Wahoo!  The first 5 weeks I gained quite a bit though, at 8 lbs.  So in total, by week 18, I've gained 10 lbs.  I know I'm a bigger girl, so I kinda expected I would gain more than others would, so I'm happy with 10 lbs in the first trimester.  We'll have to see how the next few weeks go :)

So to recap, my belly is bigger with our little man! Morning sickness is pretty much gone, but I'm still waiting to feel the little guy move around consistently. We're starting to purchase the bigger/more expensive items, and I'm working on doing our registry too.  All is well with me, baby, and of course Alan.  We can't wait for the next steps in this journey!