We're famous!

Okay...not really, but Aspen and I were on TV a couple of weeks ago. The owner of my gym sent out an email looking for moms with babies to join her for a pre/post natal segment on Fox 10. I took the morning off so Aspen and I could go. It was really cool to see the news from behind the scenes. Surprisingly there are a lot fewer people working then you would think. In the room where the morning show was filmed, it was the two hosts and one camera man. That's it. Kinda crazy. Aspen and I helped show an exercise you can do with your baby. She did great and was smiling during it.  The segment was right before she was due to eat so it could have gone bad but she was an angel. I had a lot of fun spending a little extra time with her in the morning. To be honest, I never workout with my kids because I do it while they are still asleep. I think we still set a good example though because Everly knows when we have come back from a run. She has also seen me play soccer and finish races. For me, working out with my kids just doesn't fit our schedule but for other people I know it is the only option so do what you gotta do! We also recorded it so Everly could watch it that night but here are some pictures from the morning:

 

Getting ready and the Simpson's statues in the lobby

 

 

See what I mean??? Not a lot of people behind the scenes. 

A clip Justin took.

Pregnancy Update: 36 Weeks

Trying to get in lots of protein!

How far along? 36 weeks

How big is baby? The size of a large cantaloupe

Total weight gain/loss:  still gaining...

Maternity clothes? Yep. Can't wait to wear normal clothes again.

Sleep: Mostly good. Some weird dreams still and the peeing but not too bad. Thankfully we have a fairly low-profile bed. I can't imagine trying to roll out of a big bed at this stage.

Best moment this week: Everly has been hilarious this week. She is telling all kinds of crazy stories and rambling and just really entertaining us.

Movement: Still a lot of movement but I think it is getting tighter in their for her. The movements are less disruptive than they have been.

Food cravings:  I think they are calming down a little actually.

Food Aversions: None really. I pretty much eat everything, obviously.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs:  Not that I know of.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  I think I might be starting to waddle :(

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss:  Lately I have been really missing running as I stopped at 33 weeks due to it being too uncomfortable for me. My SIL is training for a half and I wish I could train with her!

What I am looking forward to: this week I realized I am looking forward to not driving in traffic in the morning. Schools started back up this week in AZ and so did the traffic!

Upcoming appointments/events:  4 more scheduled weekly appointments. Anything after that will be past my due date.

Milestones: I am definitely nesting. This week we worked on projects for the nursery, I contacted my friend about newborn pictures, called the hospital to make sure our forms were received, started working on a birth plan, finished a documentary about natural childbirth, and picked out a gift for Aspen to give to Everly. Still a lot to do but the fact that we are getting stuff done is good.

Pregnancy Update: 34 Weeks

 

How far along? 34 weeks

How big is baby? The size of a pineapple!

Total weight gain/loss:  A lot. I have come to accept that I am just one of those people that gains a lot of weight during pregnancy. I am not perfect, but I am healthy, and active, and it does no good for anyone to obsess about the scale.

Maternity clothes? Yes, but a lot of non-maternity too in larger sizes that I had from before. Lots of dresses. At this point my favorite are my old navy maternity tanks. I can wear them to work with a cardigan and I can also workout with them and not worry about my belly peaking out.

Sleep: Mostly good. Cat is still a jerk and he actually bit my toe this week.

Best moment this week: I finally nailed down my decisions and ordered the bedding for Aspen's nursery. Also, Everly moved out of the toddler-converted crib and into her own twin size bed...so I feel I must include this song...haha.




Movement: Lots. Nothing painful, but usually pretty uncomfortable unless I am laying down on my side.

Food cravings:  The usual carbs, but I guess I should also include fish tacos. We have added those to our rotation of weeknight meals and I have been enjoying it.

Food Aversions: None really. I pretty much eat everything, obviously.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs:  Not that I know of.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Nothing new at this point...and my skin has still not gotten remotely close to what it was with Everly so that is a bonus!

Belly Button in or out? In. I don't think mine will ever go out.

What I miss:  same stuff still: beer, fitting comfortably into clothes, being able to exercise at the same level/intensity as before I was pregnant, playing soccer and beer...again.

What I am looking forward to: maternity leave. I know it is not going to be a walk in the park but I have not taken time off basically this whole pregnancy to save up for my leave so yea, I am looking forward to 3 months away from the office. I am lucky that I like my job, but still 3 months at home will be nice.

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have an appointment next Tuesday and then every week after that through September 3rd for now (due Sept. 5th).

Milestones: Still wearing my wedding rings and no noticeable swelling. Although, I am not too worried for once I do start swelling a little more because I am reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and it mentioned that a slight amount of water retention is actually beneficial.

Pregnancy Update: 32 Weeks

This Friday I will be 32 weeks pregnant. Sometimes it feels like it is going fast and other times it feels like I still have a long ways to go. I really have absolutely no idea if I will go into labor early or late. I probably would have gone late with Everly but I was induced at 39 weeks and 2 days. I hope that I don't need to be induced this time but ultimately I just hope for a healthy baby! Here is a little update with a picture Everly took of me while we were shopping last weekend!

Less than 2 months left now!

How far along? 32

How big is baby? The size of a head of lettuce last week. Not sure this week yet but they say she is about as long as she will be when born and that does not surprise me. I can feel her pretty low and high at the same time.

Total weight gain/loss:  A lot. We will just leave it at that, however, I have still been exercising 5-6 days a week so it's not like I am not trying at all!

Maternity clothes? Yes, but a lot of non-maternity too in larger sizes that I had from before. Lots of dresses.

Sleep: Mostly good. Still some crazy dreams and my cat has been a jerk. Before my alarm even goes off he climbs all over my head annoying me to feed him.

Best moment this week: My 28th birthday is tomorrow!

Movement: Lots. A lot lower than I remember with Everly, too!

Food cravings:  Carbs. I could make a list, but let's be honest, all of them.

Food Aversions: None really. I pretty much eat everything obviously.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs:  Not that I know of.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Occasional heartburn which I never got with Everly and don't normally get when not pregnant so it is pretty annoying. Itchy skin. My feet have started to grow again. Not even necessarily swelling yet, but literally growing.

Belly Button in or out? I don't think mine will ever go out.

What I miss:  beer, fitting comfortably into clothes, being able to exercise at the same level/intensity as before I was pregnant, playing soccer and beer...again.

What I am looking forward to: seeing Everly meet Aspen especially after she got to meet her cousin's new baby last week!

Upcoming appointments/events:  Every other week through July and then every week starting in August. I also had an eye appointment yesterday and have two more teeth cleanings before I deliver (My dental insurance provides a 3rd free teeth cleaning in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy so you bet I am going to take advantage).

Milestones: Just being in the 30-39 week range makes it sound so close! Also, at 31 weeks pregnant with Everly I was too swollen to wear my wedding rings and I have not hit that point yet with Aspen, so yay!

Saturday at Home

This past Saturday Justin had to work so I was trying to think of things to do with Everly. I didn't want to spend money but I didn't want her sitting at home doing nothing so I planned a fun filled morning at home. First, I got up early and ran a 5k while Ev was still sleeping. I wanted to run more but I was sore and didn't get up early enough to do more than that so a 5k it was. I just saw something about a lady who ran a half marathon at 38 weeks pregnant with her 10th kid (in under 2 hours). That's pretty crazy (and awesome) but considering I didn't do much exercise with my last pregnancy I am going to continue to be proud of the fact that I am still doing something at 29 weeks pregnant. After breakfast I set up Everly's easel outside for some painting time. She was very excited to paint so obviously we need to do it more often. While she was painting I drew some shapes in chalk on the back patio. Once done I asked her to step on/find certain shapes and colors. It didn't last terribly long, but it also was easy to do and if it got her to practice shapes for a few minutes than it was worth it. She just wanted to paint more so I let her. It started to get hot so we went for a morning swim. This summer she has been a little more scared of the water but we are making progress. She constantly thinks I am going to let her go despite the fact that she has a puddle jumper on. She did do a lot of jumping in to me though so that was good. She also said she wanted to go under but I think she regretted that right after it happened. Haha. After the pool we went back inside and made smoothies. I have tried making Everly smoothies for breakfast before and she didn't like it but this time she did. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that she helped me make it. We shared the smoothie, or juicy as Everly calls it and then headed upstairs to shower off the sunscreen. After shower-time we relaxed and watched a little Tinkerbell. Everly had said that it smelled like hot dogs when we were out back so we decided to get hot dogs at Freddy's for lunch. If the kid wants a hot dog, I am not going to turn down a trip to Freddy's. She almost fell asleep on the 3 minute drive to lunch but she woke up when we got there and was very excited. We had to do "cheers" with our drinks and our fries and she ate her entire hot dog. It was a really fun morning and I just love spending time with her. I know that it is going to be hard on maternity leave with a baby and a toddler, but I also think there is going to be a lot of fun in there too.

 

 

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Weird hound dogs in the background.

 

 

 

We take a lot of selfies to send to Papa while he is at work.

Weekend in Review

When Sunday night came along, I actually thought to myself, that felt like a good long weekend. I never feel that. I am lucky to not dread my job. I don't hate going to work on Monday mornings, but I do love spending time with my daughter and husband and usually feel like there is never enough of that. We didn't even do anything spectacular last weekend, but it was just productive and relaxing at the same time. On Saturday morning I went on an early morning hike with my sister and friend. I am slow, but I get it done. It sucks that things that were once not as hard, are more difficult for me now, but I enjoy mixing up my workouts with hiking so I plan to keep doing it. I hike with a Nathan Minimalist backpack that I bought for long training runs and I love it. I can hold way more water than I need and also have my phone and keys. I don't think they make it anymore because I bought it on zulily but this is similar. It is only June and people have been dropping like flies already hiking in AZ. I know sometimes stuff can happen, but I generally don't hike alone and I go early and I try to be prepared. Late Saturday morning my mom brought my nephews over for a swim before lunch. Cameron got to try out his new puddle jumper and he did awesome and seemed to enjoy the freedom. Later that evening we went to church and Everly was wearing a diaper, but told us she had to pee as we were leaving and actually peed on the toilet at church instead of in her diaper. It is really funny how pee can make you so happy when you become a parent. Everly made a lot of progress potty training this past weekend so I am feeling a lot more confident I will only have 1 in diapers come September!!! After church we ate dinner at Desert Ridge and let the babies play in the splashpad. They love it. The next morning we went grocery shopping and hung up a ton of art around the house. We also got a good cleaning done downstairs and it felt really nice to have that done. Apparently that exhausted Everly because at lunch she barely finished her PB&J before passing out in her high chair. We ended the weekend with a nice family dinner at home. Love weekends like that!

Post-hike sillies

Big Boy Cam turns three next Monday!

Being sweet in Church

Splashpad cuties

Always shops with accessories

The wall of keys returns

....zzz

Pregnancy Update: 27 Weeks

Today marks 3 months from my due date and tomorrow I will be 27 weeks pregnant. Next week I will be entering my 3rd trimester and seeing the doctor every other week! This week I had my glucose test and I also got my rhogam shot because my blood type is Rh negative. Everly came with me and I really love being able to take her with me to appointments. She is just so cute and makes the waits less boring. I normally don't take her to the sitter so I really love the little bit of extra time that we get on appointment days. I will probably jinx it but for a 2 1/2 year old she is really well behaved there while I am talking with the doctor. She loves playing her preschool matching games on the ipad. This week she wanted to get a band-aid just like me...haha.

So far everything has been smooth with the pregnancy. I mean I am gaining a lot of weight again, but I don't eat terribly and I exercise 5-6 days a week so I guess my body just likes to gain weight during pregnancy. For a while I was bummed about it, but ultimately I just want to have a healthy baby. My skin has not yet been as bad as it was last pregnancy and I am not swollen (yet) so that is good. I am still able to run, even if it is freakishly slow (I ran a 5k exactly a year ago at an 8:34 pace and now I run easily over an 11 minute mile). That is frustrating as well but I am trying to just be grateful that I am still able to run pain free. Don't get me wrong, it is uncomfortable at times, but not painful. Here are a few other updates:

 

How far along? 27 weeks

How big is baby? Haven't had an ultrasound in a while. My What to Expect App says the baby is just over 2 lbs and the size of an eggplant.

Total weight gain/loss:  A lot. I don't know exactly.

Maternity clothes? Yes, but a lot of non-maternity too in larger sizes that I had from before. Lots of dresses.

Sleep: Mostly good but this week I have been having crazy dreams.

Best moment this week: taking Everly to the library near our new house. She said, "this is so much fun!"

Movement: Lots. She doesn't like it when I sit slightly hunched over at my desk so I lean back in my chair a lot, haha.

Food cravings:  Lately it has been lemonade. Probably because I can't have beer and want something for by the pool that isn't just water. I do get in all my necessary water though!

Food Aversions: None really. I pretty much eat everything obviously.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs:  Not that I know of.

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Occasional heartburn which I never got with Everly and don't normally get when not pregnant so it is pretty annoying. Itchy skin. My feet have started to grow again. Not even necessarily swelling yet, but literally growing.

Belly Button in or out? I don't think mine will ever go out.

What I miss:  beer, fitting comfortably into clothes, being able to exercise at the same level/intensity as before I was pregnant, playing soccer and beer...again.

What I am looking forward to: seeing Everly meet Aspen. I need to record how she pronounces "Aspen." It is so nasal-y for some reason and hilarious.

Upcoming appointments/events:  I start bi-weekly appointments the middle of this month.

Milestones: got my maternity pictures taken last weekend!

Weekend in Review

My weekend was fairly busy and I didn't take a ton of pictures but I do have a few so I figured that would be the best way to recap the weekend. Also, I don't have any pictures of it, but I did take my maternity pictures Saturday night and can't wait to get them back. I already have a free shutterfly code to make a book!



Started Saturday morning off with a 5 AM hike. I am gaining weight like its my job despite the fact that I am exercising 5-6 days a week which is frustrating but if it means that I get a healthy baby then its all worth it, right???

We hit up the mall for some air conditioned play time on Saturday morning with Evie's "boys" (cousins). She fell asleep in the middle of the busy food court.

 

Growth spurt? Fell asleep on the way to a baby shower Sunday.

Had so much fun at my niece's baby shower. It is pretty cool that baby Aspen will have a little boy to play with only 2 months older than her!

We saw this cute ice cream shop across the street from the baby shower so we had to go in.



Ended Sunday with pool time and fajitas for dinner.



Pregnancy Update: 23 Weeks

 

How far along: 23 weeks pregnant (last Friday). Due 9/5/2014.

Total weight gain: Not sure..it was 9lbs at my 20 week appointment I think.

Maternity clothes: Yes and no. I wear dresses and skirts to work almost every day and most are not maternity. I have a pair of maternity denim cropped jeans and shorts that I wear all of the time and some great tanks. Regular tops are not long enough so I have to go maternity there. Workout clothes has been tough...wearing a lot of Justin's shirts.

Stretch marks: I had them before. I don't think there is anything new. They don't bother me.

Sleep: Pretty good except for the peeing in the middle of the night. I was not as well hydrated during my last pregnancy so that started a lot earlier this time around. When I get up to pee my cat thinks I am feeding him which is really annoying.

Best moment of this week: Mother's day on Sunday was pretty great.

Miss anything: Just being comfortable in my own clothes...and clear skin. My skin does not like pregnancy hormones.

Movement: Lots. Justin has felt it but Everly hasn't yet.

Food cravings: Cinnamon rolls, donuts, ya know...stuff that is bad for me.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really queasy, but I am pretty sensitive to smells like people cooking fish at work.

Have you started to show yet: Oh there is no hiding this baby.

Gender: A girl, Aspen Ann Larkins.

Labor signs: None, that would be scary.

Belly button in or out: In. It never went out last time either.

Wedding rings on or off: On..but I can already notice the effects of the heat. Sometimes they feel tight and others they are sliding over.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy...most of the time.

Looking forward to: Everly seeing the baby for the first time.

Pat's Run 2014

Last Saturday I completed my 6th Pat's Run! It is a 4.2 mile run that ends on the 42 yard line of ASU's Sun Devil Stadium in honor of Pat Tillman and it benefits his foundation. It's probably one of my favorite runs. I didn't post about it last year, but last year I ran my fastest time ever. The year before, I had run my worst time ever. It was still fun and you can read about that race here. While I did not run my best this year, I was 21 weeks pregnant and I am pretty happy to say that it was also not my worst time. I ran at a 9:30 pace and I feel like I could have done a little better if I didn't feel like I had to pee the whole time, but that kind of comes with the pregnancy I guess. It's really kind of crazy to me that I ran better at 21 weeks pregnant this year than at 7 months post partum with Everly two years ago. I have obviously made a lot of changes and I hope to continue to maintain those. I was joined at the run by Justin, his sister Stephanie, my littlest sister, and my brother in law Doug. We were also lucky that my mom and sister helped with Everly so that we could both run. My sister is recovering from knee surgery and although she still could have run faster than me, she stayed with me the whole time and we crossed the finish line together which was pretty cool. Everly got popcorn in the kids area after the race so she was happy. When we were walking back to the car she kept saying, "this is so fun!" Haha! I don't have a ton of pictures as I don't run with my phone on shorter runs anymore but I did steal some race photo proofs so enjoy!

The 3 Larkins finishers!

 

He had some good race photos...for once!

 

He didn't run once in April, and still ran well...men!

It was her first Pat's run and she killed it!

Me and the sister. I don't even really look pregnant.

 

Popcorn freak. It wasn't even 9:00 AM yet.

Pregnancy #2- 18 Weeks

 

 

I haven't really shared too much about this second pregnancy yet and I definitely want to document it so might as well start now. I am currently 18 weeks pregnant and later this week we get to find out the gender! We will be having a little gender reveal party for our family and I will share pics after that. I am pretty excited to know the gender because we have two names so I can't wait to know which one it will be. Also, I can't wait to be able to tell Everly what the baby is. Currently, whenever we ask her if it is a brother or a sister she always says sister. We really don't care either way, we just want to know. I am feeling pretty good right now. I have been able to stay active 5-6 days a week which is something I did not do with my first pregnancy (I quit soccer at 9 weeks and would occasionally hike and go on walks, but that was it). I had some nausea in the beginning along with heartburn, but I never actually threw up, so that's good. It also didn't happen in the morning, which is when I workout, so it didn't interrupt that either. I have recently started to feel more pressure and back soreness, but nothing crazy. I probably just need to get a maternity support belt for running. I do feel movement, but nothing on the outside yet. My skin did not respond well to pregnancy last time and it has started back up again this time. Good thing is, it completely cleared up a few months after delivery so if crappy skin means I get a healthy baby, then I guess it is all worth it. I am not sure if that means I am going to have another girl or not but we will find out soon. I have been much better with my hydration this pregnancy and hopefully that prevents the swelling I got in my third trimester last time! I am trying to enjoy being pregnant, but sometimes it hits me and I am like, wait a minute, I am going to get really big and uncomfortable so that stinks. Also, I haven't decided yet whether or not I want to attempt a drug-free childbirth and so that is a little scary. I just feel like I have so much research to do because I didn't even consider it as an option with my first pregnancy. I think that no matter how you deliver, carrying and delivering a baby is a pretty crazy thing that any women should be proud of but for some reason I feel like exploring a more natural route this time. We will see what I decide as I research more! 

Half Marathon #2 and Pregnancy #2

On March 1st, Justin and I completed our second half marathon. Our first one was the Phoenix 10k and Half Marathon last November. I trained for three months and my official time was 1:56:31. I was aiming to be under 2 hours so I was really happy with that. I knew that I would not run as fast this time. My official time for the Phoenix Half Marathon was 2:04:14, which I am still pretty happy with considering this time I was pregnant! I am now almost 16 weeks pregnant, but at the time I was 13 weeks pregnant and running 13 miles so I used that to announce the pregnancy on Facebook/Instagram. I hope to continue running throughout this pregnancy which I definitely did not do last time...just maybe not quite that far! Not quite sure when my next half marathon will be, but I definitely see some in my future.

Justin and I before the race. We had to take a bus to the start and it was in Mesa so we had to leave our house at like 4:00 AM. :(

I was lucky enough to train with girls on my soccer team, Claren and Aislinn. (Ashley missing because she got injured during the run).

 

13 Miles at 13 Weeks Pregnant. I like to think we planned it pretty perfectly!

 

Post-race and finish line photos.

And just because you need to see this, Baby Larkins #2.