13.1 miles and 21 weeks

Ever make a commitment to something because at the time the idea sounded awesome!..... but the feeling quickly died as the date got closer? Plus, other people knowing about this commitment makes backing out very difficult. Yeah, that happens to me all the time. But everytime it turns out perfectly and I'm so grateful I stuck to it. Well, before I got pregnant, my biff and I decided to sign up for a half marathon. Once our baby blessing came along, she gave me a way out saying I didn't need to do it which was very tempting to use as an excuse, but nope.... the commitment was made and I was sticking to it.

I ran a half in March and have been running ever since. I've read and talked to many people (especially the doctor) about running while pregnant and I came to my own conclusion that as long as I 1.) wasn't picking up running for the first time----which I wasn't and 2.) didn't push myself--- ha, I didn't even push myself before I was pregnant, that running throughout my pregnancy would be very helpful and I must say, running has been in more than one way.

To this past weekend now, I decided to run the half at 21 weeks pregnant. The run went surprisingly well, even though I had to pee the first 1/2 mile. I thought, even with my slow paced jog, that I would never come in last, but I was pretty dang close. There was even a point where this crazy speed walker passed my slow jaunt. Ouch, shot to my pride. But there's a saying runners refer to which helped ease that pain-- "It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." --Sheehan.

Anyway, it was one of my favorite runs I've done and I had my mom running beside me. This was our boy's first 1/2 marathon and all he had to do was relax while mommy did all the work.

half way milestone

There's a lot of new developments and here I am playing catch-up on my day off of work. Woke up this morning at 5:30, so much for sleeping in, and I'm in my robe watching the news and eating my homemade banana oat muffin--- which needs some work. Once the recipe is perfected I'll share. :)
We had our last ultrasound last week and all is well with baby boy. We saw everything in detail-- and I asked the doctor to count all his toes and just to confirm, he has 10 toes. A small mother's concern relieved. And finally... the moment I've been waiting for since that positive pregnancy test.....
Our boy is kicking like a mad-man! Last night we were laying in bed talking and I happened to have my hands on the right spot to feel him kick! We thought singing would make him kick again and it sure did. Probably him wanting me to shut-up but regardless, it worked. And out of impulse, I grabbed Ryan's hand and we just stared at each other wide-eyed until he says, "I felt him too!" We're all smiles. What a stellar feeling.

 

something about free food

We went to the Sun's game this week with David and Brittany--- on a work night too, we are so hard core. We had tickets in the loge section with a buffet dinner and ice cream. To be honest, and I can only really speak for myself and Ryan, we didn't care if the Suns won or not. We were just happy about eating all the food. And that attitude was a good one to have because, unfortunately, the Suns didn't win. :( The food and company made up for it though. :)

dinner theater

A few years ago Ryan and I went to a dinner theater. They are the best!--- eating dinner while being entertained by a show... is there really anything more you can ask for? Yes actually, having your husband be in the show.

Turns out a dinner theater we went to down in Tucson had tons of audience participation and Ryan's height made blending into the crow a little more difficult. He became the Frankenstein and practically stole the show. :) I've never been more proud of my Frankenstein. He was probably a lot happier with this get-up than last year's costume of Sonny and Cher, Ryan being Cher of course because he's a lot taller than me. :)

quarter century

Ok first off, a quarter century sounds a lot older than mid-20's so I'll be using the latter to refer to this year's birthday milestone. :) And how lucky were Ryan and I to both get Friday off for a weekend get-away. Original plans were to head to Sedona, but last minute change took us to Tucson where I got to see this lovely girl, my best friend for 10+ years, thank you very much. My birthday weekend wouldn't have been complete without seeing this stellar girl and hearing her blunt honesty of how much more pregnant I'm looking. Only she can get away with telling me that. After all, that's what best friends are for. :)

mother's intuition

I've heard it from my mother growing up that mother's...... just...... know-- it's the "mother's intuition". She would lovingly scare us how mother's know everything about their kids and we wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. She always knew what we were up to before we even had the time to get into trouble. Mother's intuition--- this made it very difficult for me to be sneaky growing up...Sigh....

I always wondered... How did she know??? I figured it out. It's a special power a woman receives ONCE she has a child... no wait.... once she is WITH child. I figured this out because I received the mother's intuition when i was about 10 weeks along.

I had a dream, actually two dreams, and both were very distinct. And in both of my dreams I saw our baby. And in both of my dreams, our baby was a precious little boy. Weird? Nope. Mother's intuition? Yes. We went in for our 2nd ultrasound at 13.5 weeks. We weren't expecting to find out this early, but the doctor got the clearest shot and before he could announce, we said, "It's a boy!" I was very humble and didn't say, "I already knew that."

Ultrasound picture looking between his legs.

Our doctor confirmed saying, "He isn't shy..."  --- Just like his father I thought. I'm in for a real treat if he's anything like his daddy. :)

Expectant Mother here!

Saturday morning Ryan and I are still laying in bed when we start to discuss plans for the day. "I'm too lazy. I don't want to do anything" I say, and luckily he agrees. Why feel bad for doing absolutely nothing? I don't. Once baby comes things will change drastically. But for now, we do what we want, when we want to. The thing is, we just don't want to do much which is perfectly fine by me. Our days of sleeping in and afternoon naps are close to an end...we're taking full advantage of this time.

- I do feel bad though, just a tiny bit, for the complete lack of interest I have in my appearance. I'm sticking with my yoga pants and baggy tshirts for now and as long as Ryan believes I look like a supermodel, why mess with the wardrobe? Thank goodness the peak of my pregnancy will be during the winter months. Right when I'm feeling like a giant blob, I will attempt to conceal myself with the oversized clothes. YES! Which is why whenever I take a belly shot, it will be on the one day I put about 75% effort into my appearance......Sunday's for church. :)

Let's just say I'm pretty stoked the bump is finally here. Ryan and I went to the grocery store the other day and I told him to park in the 'Expectant Mothers' parking spot. He refused since I wasn't showing yet. Pfff. We need to take advantage of that spot!!!! Next time, I went by myself and pulled into that parking spot with a huge smile on my face. I'm sure the customers in the grocery store parking lot think I'm a complete phoney. I made sure to rub my not-so-pregnant looking stomach as I walked into the store. Oh well. I only have 9 months to enjoy prime parking at the grocery store and this girl will take advantage of the situation.

baby & I growing

Wednesday was our 2nd doctor's appointment and when I thought nothing could top the first ultrasound of verifying a baby really inside growing, apparently every ultrasound is special in a new way. We went from a tiny blob that we had to look very carefully to see "what-was-what" to clearly seeing our baby's head, nose, hands, and feet. How does a mom-to-be really express the joyful and humbling experience of having her child develop inside of her? All I can say is I'm in love. <3

And here's the first belly shot. I even put my hand on my hip like I'm carrying a large load. I'm practicing the pose for the much larger belly soon to come. :)

lions tigers bears and views

Our anniversary weekend was a weekend of enjoying the beauty and history in Arizona. And I wish my stellar skilled photography captured the real beauty of the Grand Canyon, but I did my best. And that's all that matters right? As an born and raised Arizonan, this was my first time seeing the Grand Canyon (crazy right?) which was probably my favorite of all.

We headed up north for cooler weather and stayed in Flagstaff. We were able to sqeeze quite a bit over the weekend: Wuptaki National Monument, the Grand Canyon, Out of Africa Wildlife Park, and Montezuma Castle. There was quite a bit of driving between all these places, so we had plenty of time to talk and laugh and sing and eat in the car. We probably enjoyed our car time a little too much. :)

happy and awkward times

Happy 4 years and almost 2 weeks to this blissful marriage....which happens to be our last wedding anniversary without kids. This time next year we'll have a little Shideler crawling around the house naked and giving us new reasons to be up late at night and tired in the morning. Haha.

Speaking of the pregnancy, is it just me or is it an awkward time when the belly is just beginning to show a little bump. Not enough to say, "Oh, she must be pregnant" but enough to look like "I think she's putting on some weight." That's the stage I'm at. And now when I'm around people who know I'm pregnant, I can't help but laugh when they ask me, "Do you think you're showing yet?" Almost as if they want to hear my admit it first before they say anything about the stomach bulge. Ok people! I'll come out and say it, "I'm starting to show." No more beating around the bush. :)