Baby Name Reveal !!

Well the other night I let it slip to my buncos group what we are naming the baby. And if you know our buncos group, we are like the biggest group of loudmouths in the county! Haha, so I decided I might as well just tell everybody what we decided....

-Riken- 

It's a little bit different, but we like it a lot. And we don't agree on many names! We liked the name Miken, like the softball bats. But I think it would get shortened to Mike a lot, and we wanted something that was a little more uncommon. So unless we hear something else that jumps out and grabs us, our little man is gonna be a Riken! 

New Hair

I decided that since my hair is growing SO fast and thick right now, now would be a good time to cut off my split ends and let my hair grow back more healthy. So last weekend we went over to Taylon and Ash's and she cut my hair off! I haven't been able to get a very good picture of it, but we did a long A line and she put some really cute dark brown/bronze highlights in it. I love it! And mostly I just love that it is healthy. Thanks Ash! 

23 Weeks

I know I have been slacking the last few weeks on the pregnancy updates. I kinda have a feeling weeks 21 and 22 aren't going to happen, but here is what's going on as of today! 

23 Weeks

This week, Baby is the size of a: Grapefruit

Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 lb!

Sleep: This week I slept horribly because all night I kept dreaming about work! It felt like I never left work all week!  

Best moment this week: Zack got to feel him moving around.

Movement: Lots! He is a very active baby, which makes this momma very happy!   

Symptoms: sick, sick, sick! Still not going away…

Food cravings: Captain Crunch, grapes

Food aversions: None

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: none

Belly Button in or out? In, barely

What I miss: My shirts actually staying over my belly!

What I am looking forward to: Doctors appointment on Tuesday

Feeling toward Pregnancy: I feel like I am on the downward slope. My doctor thinks I will probably have him a bit early, which means that in right around three months I should have my baby! I can do it!  

I feel like I have blown up like a balloon in the last couple weeks. I am in a phase where some days I feel like I look huge and some days aren't so bad. 

Contentment

I have been a terrible blogger the last two weeks. The moment we got back from Park City life got crazy! I am seriously hoping to catch up on my pregnancy posts and what has been going on the last couple weeks soon. Right now, I wanted to just take a minute and do a little post about how I am feeling today. Just over a year ago I did a post about how I was feeling really content and happy with my life at the moment. Maybe it's this time of year or maybe it's just a coincidence, but the last couple days I have been feeling the same way! A lot has changed in the last year, but I have the exact same feeling of contentment and satisfaction with how things are going. 

I am absolutely loving pregnancy lately. I am still terribly sick... everyday. In fact just this morning I ate Captain Crunch for breakfast (I know that's a terrible breakfast for a growing baby.. Don't judge me!) And it took about three minutes after I finished eating before I was throwing up in the bathroom! But for some reason, I just really don't care about the sickness anymore. It sucks, but it is nothing compared to the joy that comes from feeling your baby move around inside you. My favorite hobby lately is to sit on the couch and watch my little guy wiggle around. It's not just pokes and kicks anymore.. I can feel full on arms rubbing against my belly. Weirdest thing ever, but SO fun. I feel like I am getting to know him so well and I know things I can do to make him move around. Kenz and I are both getting so excited. When we go into stores with baby clothes Kenzie goes a little bit crazy grabbing things. I love it. I actually feel like it is going by really fast and I can't believe we have just over three months left! I am super excited about this because this time of the year usually goes by really fast. Come on baby boy! Oh PS, one more thing about my little man... We have FINALLY decided on a name :) I am a little hesitant to announce it yet because sometimes people's reactions to baby names bug me. But I know sooner or later I will have to so watch for a post about that :)

The next thing that is bringing me immense joy lately is my growing career. I don't know if I have mentioned on the blog that I got a really great promotion at work last month. I have spent the last few weeks training two secretaries to work under me. The interviewing, hiring, and training process has been pretty exhausting, but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and my life is going to get so much easier now. I got a really nice pay raise (SCORE), and my hours have become like a million times more flexible. This is a life saver for me because before this I was stressing out about how I was going to say goodbye to my son every morning and not see him all day! Now I will be able to spend a good amount of time with him during the week, but still be able to work and make more money than I am making now. This is such a blessing to me. Along with all the benefits of this promotion, I am also finding incredible happiness in the job I am doing. I feel like I am really making a big difference in this program and in the lives of these people I am working with, and that is really important to me. I have had several experiences lately that have made me very grateful for the people I work with, but also the families we are serving. I don't think you could find a more rewarding career and I feel so blessed that it just fell into my lap two years ago. I have built some great relationships with this company and I am excited to start working toward some new goals at work. 

Another great thing that is happening is school. I have had my heart set on getting back to school for months, but when I got pregnant it became a real decision. Finals are the week before I am due. I have been going back and forth on whether or not I think that mentally and financially I could handle going back to school at this time, but I have finally decided that I need to be in school. So I am! I literally got my tuition all set up yesterday and classes started today. I am taking lots of credits and by the end of the semester I will only be a few credits away from starting my graduate degree! I feel so good about this. I love learning, and while I love my career it feels really good to know that I will have a degree to fall back on if anything were to happen. 

Of course things with Kenzie man are as good as ever. He is just a genuinely sweet guy and he takes such good care of this little family. I am really lucky to have such a supportive husband because I know I couldn't do all the things I am doing right now without him. Overall, I am just really pleased with the success I am having and the progress I am making in several aspects of my life. We have worked really hard the last few years and it feels like it is really starting to pay off. I wonder what I will be saying at this time next year.......

Park City Adventure

Well our third anniversary didn't disappoint! We have made a goal since our first anniversary to always make it a big deal and go somewhere, even if we couldn't afford it! On Tuesday, our actual anniversary, Kenzie sent me three beautiful roses to work to represent three years of marriage. He also made me the sweetest little book of "52 Reasons Why I Love You" and he made me a delicious steak dinner. On Friday we finally got to start our little vacay to Park City. We had SO MUCH FUN. I knew we would. We bought some unbelievably cute baby stuff and the outlets, went to some nice dinners, saw some movies, and basically just went and did whatever sounded fun at the moment. Our hotel room was really nice, and the pool was open until midnight every night so after our adventures every night we would go to the pool and swim for a while. On Saturday, Derek Hough was in Park City so we got to see him and that was really cool. Sunday came way too fast and we didn't want to come home. We tried to make as many stops as we could on the way home to make it last longer! I absolutely loved being able to spend every minute with my love all weekend. Nothing makes me happier. Kenzie is seriously so funny and I'm not even kidding when I say my abs were sore by Sunday from laughing so much. I kept telling him, "Stop making me laugh, my abs hurt!" Life is so good right now, and I am thrilled to be starting year 4 of marriage to the sweetest guy you could ask for. 

Three Years Down!

So I know everyone says this on their anniversary, but I seriously can't believe it's been three years! It seems like last year that we were over at Snow, happily engaged. Time really does fly when you're having fun, I guess. I am so thankful for the sweet husband I have and I am so proud of how far we have come in the last three years. We have grown together so much, and I wouldn't change one thing about us. What I love the most about us is how we communicate and how we are so accepting of each other. We can always be honest with each other without having the fear of judgement. We have had to work hard to get to this point, and it wasn't always this way, but it is so worth all the fights we have had and the lessons we have learned to get to such a good place together. I still look forward to every minute I get to spend with my husband, and I am truly grateful for that time. You think that after a while of marriage you won't be in love anymore, but for me it isn't true. Things like working on our house together, buying baby clothes, and snuggling in bed on Sunday mornings become really special and I honestly don't remember being more in love than I am right now. Pregnancy has changed me a lot, but I have been so lucky to have such a great support right by my side. There are days I will call Kenz in the middle of the day bawling for no reason at all, and he will just listen and say, "Babe, what can I do for you?" And for some reason, even though I still can't turn off the tears, it helps. I can't imagine this part of my life without Kenzie, and I am just so so glad we get to share this together. I can't even wait to see him holding our baby, and even though it's hard to imagine, I know in the next few months I am going to grow to love him even more for becoming the dad in our little family. I don't think it gets much better than this.   

 

Our First Anniversary 

Our Second Anniversary

Now bring on the weekend so we can go to Park City and celebrate!!

20 Weeks.. Halfway There!

20 Weeks

This week, Baby is the size of a: Banana (which is a terrible comparison cuz that would be one skinny baby)

Total weight gain/loss: down 2 lbs

Sleep: Depends on the night...  

Best moment this week: Kenz finally felt him kick!

Movement: Lots! I feel him several times a day :)  

Symptoms: sick, sick, sick! Still not going away…

Food cravings: Pop Tarts, Zucchini Bread

Food aversions: still water

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: none

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss:  Food

What I am looking forward to: Starting to show more so I look pregnant, not just chunky!  

Feeling toward Pregnancy: My feelings toward pregnancy this week are excited! I think about it so much, and I just want the next few months to go by so I can have my little guy here. The anticipation is so hard sometimes.