Happy 4 years to us!

Wow- what a fun, yet busy weekend we just wrapped up. On this past Thursday, Brian and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary! This was the last one we would celebrate with only the two of us!

Thursday-

Brian went to work for the day, as always, and I chose to have a "trophy wife" day at the pool with some of my favorite girls. (It's a tough job, but someones gotta do it!) The weather was absolutely perfect, the water was just right, and holy smokes I may have even gotten a little tan. Look out. After enjoying several hours laughing and cackling (what we do best), I headed home to greet my man and get ready for our dinner date. We had a fantastic evening and Brian had told me that he had a little getaway planned for us. How cute! The next day we would travel to Cleveland.

Friday-

After working a few hours in the morning, we packed a few things and got on the road to Cleveland. The drive went pretty quickly and we were soon at Legacy Village. Let the shopping begin! We walked around and I kept getting sucked into all the kid's clothing stores. ewww boy! I found my favorite store in the whole wide world... http://www.janieandjack.com/ . I could have easily gone nuts, but Brian was there to keep me and my wallet in check. I can't wait to dress her in all the cute things they have to offer!!! After shopping for a few hours we decided to dine at CPK ( a huge favorite of mine right now) and head to Cheesecake Factory for dessert-to-go afterwards. That was an amazing idea. I had Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake and Brian had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. We took our dessert to our hotel and demolished it in 6.3 seconds flat. Mmmmm.

Saturday(25 wks)-

First, I will say that I probably got the best night of sleep I have had since before I was preggo. The bed was just the right amount of comfort and I claimed the side of the bed closest to the bathroom. Double score! I pretty much slept like a baby until mine decided she was going to have a mini Zumba session at 6am. Wow...I mean, I know she has started moving alot lately, and we've even gotten to see her at times, but daaaang. She was using every organ within reach as her personal trampoline and I just imagined her swinging from my intestines like Jane looking for her own Tarzan. It was pretty much impossible to go back to sleep, so I woke up Brian, insisting that he check out his little girl's crazy behavior. Secretly it was way fun. So we got dressed and started the day off with the complimentary breakfast offered at the hotel. We got down there just as they finished cooking everything, so our food was really good. After an amazing breakfast, we headed back up to the room to relax for a bit until the mall opened. I took a much needed nap and Brian caught up on his ESPN highlights. ZZZzzzzzzz

Now that I was rested, we packed everything up and headed for the mall. We shopped around some more until it was time for our pampering session. Brian had scheduled us for a couples massage, which was also much needed!!! Our girls were both good matches for each of us- the hour went by so quickly :**( Now that we were feeling oh-so-good it was time to feed the pregnant lady, so off to PF Chang's we went! I forgot how much I miss eating there! We had a great lunch and then got on the road for home, which included one final stop along the way at Cold Stone for a tasty treat. For me: Chocolate ice cream with Kit Kat mixed in. For Brian: Cake Batter ice cream with Reece's Cup & Marshmallows mixed in. Wow, I'm salivating while I'm typing this. Too bad it's midnight, or I might have asked Brian to run up there and get me some!

That pretty much sums up our anniversary. We had a great time together as always and we are looking forward to many more exciting anniversaries with our new little addition. Life is perfect when you get to spend it with your best friend. Love you B!!

I am currently at 25wks 1 day and still feeling great. I'm so happy to be back to my normal activity; taking walks, occasionally dropping in on my friends' Zumba classes, etc. Bexleigh is such a wild woman and it is so cool to be able to see her movement now. She is most active in the morning and right after meals, but she truly is a wiggle worm non-stop. She is going to be soooo tired when she comes out! We also discovered that she likes Lady GaGa (LOL) so we've been jamming to her lately on the ipod. I've currently gained 25 lbs and that blows my mind. We were told that she is weighing in around 1lb 14oz, which was what my nephew was when he was born at 25 weeks. I couldn't imagine having her come out right now and thanking God everyday that Reno is healthy and happy. We were also told that she is "Frank" breech right now- which means she is finally head up-butt down, but her legs are up by her head, in front of her face. She's quite the Cirque du Soleil girl. All of her vitals look great and her heartbeat was around 150-155. Our next appointment will be the Sugar test to see if I show signs for Gestational Diabetes. Let's hope that I do not, because those who know me know that I ALREADY struggle in the eating department due to my picky-ness. This would only be a disaster for me.

Our first baby shower will be next month--can't wait!!

Have a good week, Readers!!

Jenn

4th of July fun & 24 weeks!

Hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of July week/weekend! Here's a few shots from this week's events: My nephew Samuel's 5th Birthday party- Cookout at Bobby's- First Town Days Festival.

Reno with is big water balloon!

Joplin waiting for her balloon to be filled!

The birthday boy Samuel ready to dig into his cake! Uncle B added golf balls to it ;)

Opening all his presents.

Seriously the funniest little guy I know. Love you Birthday Boy!

Brian and I at Bobby's cookout! Yes, my husband gets extremely tan and I don't.

Brian working at the festival with Lilyanna. So precious! She and Bexleigh will be BFF's just like her mom and I were growing up and still are. :)

Well I'm at 24 weeks now and still doing great. Bexleigh was still on her head at our last ultrasound appointment, making it difficult for the lady to get her spine measurements. They also noticed that my cervix was a little under where they'd like it to measure. SO, no activity for me until we go back next week for a 3rd ultrasound. Let's hope this lil diva cuts me a break and cooperates next time!! FINGERS CROSSED!

----------------------------------------- 1 week later------------------------------------------

3rd ULTRASOUND APPOINTMENT:

Ok just returned from the ultrasound and WHOO HOO....Bexleigh has FINALLY gotten off of her head AND off of my cervix. This is good news people. Apparently her lil headstands were causing my cervix to shrink, which could have led to some early labor activity. Holy Happiness she moved- as much as we can't wait to meet her, now is just TOO SOON girlfriend! She was cute as a button and she finally let us have a look at her face too!! So fun. Here's a sneak peek of her beautiful lil head shot:

We just love her to pieces and have started getting really excited now that we have registered and picked out things that she will get to use one day soon. I designed her bedding (yes, I had a temporary Martha Stewart moment) and it is so fabulous. The colors are black, white, hot pink, and bright green- pics of the nursery will come once it is done :) I'm really looking forward to our baby showers- I just want to play with all her stuff already!

Next up....our last Anniversary with just the two of us :) Looking forward to celebrating 4 amazing years with my best friend.

----

Bexleigh's First plane ride to Cali for Holly~

Hi readers :) I'm sorry... I've been very MIA lately. You see, I had every intention of composing this blog this past week, but somehow it got away from me.

My mom and I recently returned from our much needed getaway to California. We went out to help Holly, my bff from college, and her mom Suzie with the wedding planning and to attend her first bridal shower.

Our flight out was not too bad, a little long for my liking, but not bad. As soon as we landed and turned our phones back on, my text inbox was flooded with messages letting me know that Michael Jackson had just died. I was in shock. I couldn't believe that the man who inspired myself as well as millions of other dance and music artists was really gone, for good. What a sad day in history that was. On a happier note, I knew Holly & Suzie were on their way to pick us up!!! We were so excited and happy to see their faces! This was the start of our busy (but SOOO worth it) trip. On the way home we stopped at Cosi for lunch and had lots of time to fill each other in on our scoop! The Cosi waiter even delivered us a complimentary Smores dessert in honor of our beautiful bride to be! After lunch, we headed for home sweet home. The rest of the day was pretty low key. We hung around the house and Holly's bff from home came over to hang out for the evening. We played the "catch up" game with her and then started working on some of the bridal shower games for Holly's party. After finishing up those details, it was time for dinner...... taco night style! Suzie and my mom had prepared a delicious dinner of tacos, burritos, chimichangas...ok maybe not those, but you get the picture~ We had a very yummy dinner...so yummy that Bexleigh decided that she was now going to put on a show for us! For the very first time, I felt her kick. Like a real kick! I freaked out and had everyone come see if they could feel what I was feeling and they did!! Yeah! That was so unbelievably cool. I was just bummed because poor Brian was all the way back in Ohio and he missed his baby girl's first kick. I called him the next morning to fill him in and he couldn't believe he missed it :( I told him he would get his own little "Hi Daddy" kick when we get home.

The following day was meeting with the Wedding Planner and FLOWER POWER day. We all went to the wedding/reception site, and must I say it was absolutely perfect. It was such a beautiful site to marry the man of her dreams. Holly tied up some last minute details with her wedding planner and everything seemed to be pulling together quite nicely. Later that day we met with Holly's Auntie Peg, who was doing her floral arrangements for the Bridal shower and for her wedding. They picked out some really beautiful flowers and got everything needed for the shower decorations/centerpieces. The day was very successful and we returned home for pizza and cards.

Saturday was HAIR DAY! Holly found the most perfect person to do her updo for her wedding day. As soon as she introduced herself at the salon, we all knew she was going to be fabulous and be a "must have" on the vendor team. Holly had a very unique style that she was hoping to achieve, and this girl nailed it on the first try. Later that day, the person making her veil came over to see how the finished look would come together, and that, too, was a huge success. Everything was falling into place quite nicely. We ended HAIR DAY with a fun bbq at the house and also with getting things ready for the next day...SHOWER DAY!

SHOWER DAY was finally here!! The morning started off with Holly going to her makeup artists' house to get her "trial" done. She, too, was the most perfect addition to the vendor team. "Team Holly" was just getting better and better! Holly's makeup turned out so glamorous while still looking very clean and not over-done. The whole process was very cool to watch and now she was all done up for her shower! After makeup, we headed to the shower location to start getting things ready. We got all the food set up, presents in place, decorations set, and then....party time! Guests started arriving and we were asked to play a "mingling/getting to know everyone" game, which was super fun! Everyone had a blast celebrating with Holly and showered her with lots of gifts from her registry. It was a great day! The rest of the evening was pretty relaxing. We reminisced about the days events and looked at all the gifts again and ate many leftovers from the shower.

MUSIC DAY has arrived. We had a meeting with the DJ, but before we could get our minds right with that task, it was a MUST that we hit up IN-N-OUT!!! Mmmm it was just as good as I remembered and my Mom's first experience. Ok, belly's full... CHECK! Now off to the DJ we went for another successful meeting with another vendor. After that final appointment, we headed home to finally lay out in the pool, a task we had been attempting all week but seemed to keep forgetting to do! Holly's Matron of Honor/childhood BFF came over to hang with us and we had a very nice, relaxing time chatting and solving life's many problems! LOL Later that evening, for our final night in Cali, we decided to have CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) one last time. It's one of our most favorite places to eat! Y- to the U- to the M! After stuffing our faces and bellies, we headed home to pack up our things. It was time to head back home to reality- boo :(

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the Snooty Fox-a cute little diner. They had amazing breakfast and it was the perfect way to end a perfect trip. After breakfast, it was off to the airport. We got everything checked in and headed for our gate. I went to get some tasty treats for on the plane and on my way back I was thinking in my head, "Wouldn't that be random if I see someone I know?!?" Well... I look up and there's Mary & Megan O'Farrel just getting off a plane! Holy smokes- I haven't seen Megan in YEARS and have to go all the way to Cali to run into these fellow Ohioans ;) Very funny and loved seeing them both. We said our goodbyes to Holly and boarded our plane for the super long trip back to Ohio.

The flight back was below average. I had a family sitting behind me that apparently had no courtesy for other people and I CLEARLY have a low tolerance right now ;) This small child that sat behind me not only whaled and wined the entire flight, but would get disgruntled every 3 minutes or so and decide to use my seat back as his kicking bag. Lovely, how many more hours til landing Cap'n? Wow, I had the luckiest seat in the plane. It was time to serve our "meal" and I was very starving and annoyed by this point. They mentioned they were serving turkey sandwiches, which was a plus for me since that is one of the meats I will actually eat...until I saw the meat. It was brown turkey...like roast beef-looking turkey. Barf. So I ate my box of lettuce that they called a salad and my mini twix bar. Our second flight was not so bad, but the end of it was a little bumpy due to some weather conditions. I was so glad when we finally landed and it would soon be time to see Brian and my kitties- I missed them so much!

I can't believe the trip came and went so fast. We had an absolute blast and was so glad we were able to share this special time in Holly's life- she means the world to us! Holly's mom, Suzie, was by far the best host EVER and my mom and I always love being with her!

Best wishes for lots of love and happiness Boo & Matty Matt Matt! I love you guys!