random updates.

we've been busy lately, which means july is flying by way too fast and i haven't taken pictures of anything in forever.  i'm a little disappointed that life hasn't slowed down as much as i was hoping after i graduated.  anyway, here is the randomness that has been my life lately.

...  we've had people staying with us for the past 10 days.  first my mom and then charlie's work friend and his girlfriend.  i was sort of sad to see everyone go; it's been nice having people stay.  we've also managed to keep the house relatively clean during all of this which is no small feat.  

...  this past weekend was crazy busy.  we went out in denver on friday, everyone (except me) went white water rafting on saturday and that night we went to a steve miller band concert at red rocks.  the concert was really good.  i wasn't sure what to expect, but they put on a great show and honestly i can't imagine hearing a bad concert at red rocks.  on sunday we went to boulder for brunch, a hike, and some people watching on pearl street.  it was a great weekend, but i'm definitely tired.

...  we have a crib!  my parents' present to us was a crib, which we picked out last weekend when my mom was in town.  after we dropped our friends off at the airport on sunday we came home and put the crib together.  it's sort of weird to see a crib in the 'guest bedroom' instead of a bed but it makes me excited to get the rest of the room in order.  ps. dear guests, you will now have to sleep on the futon.  

...  the weather's been so hot and since we've had people staying with us i finally gave in and turned the air conditioning on.  my original goal of making it through the summer without using it was crushed.  charlie's happy.

...  i checked off another one of my new years goals by throwing out 7 boxes of teaching stuff and convincing charlie that he no longer needed his electrical engineering textbooks from college.  we have a lot of books that need to be recycled but we also have a storage closet in the garage that only contains things we need and use AND we have additional space for things. i'm hoping this doesn't inspire charlie to buy a kayak. 

...  i am still on the hunt for a new doctor.  my criteria are pretty low: 1. i want the same doctor to see me at each visit and deliver my baby, and 2. i want someone who will agree not to induce me if i go 1 week past my due date.  apparently this is difficult to find.  it doesn't help that i'm overdue for an appointment.

...  we are going to ikea on saturday.  yes, this might make us crazy but i want a large amount of the baby's room finished before lifting things and rearranging furniture seem like an impossible task.  i had someone at work comment that she was so sick of people talking about ikea, that it was one big piece of crap that she would never buy.  honestly, we have a decent amount of furniture from ikea that has held up great and didn't cost us a year of savings and so i'll continue to shop there.  and be excited that colorado finally has one. 

it's the little things ...

...  spending time with my mom. 

...  a long walk on a saturday.

...  registering.  we're finally making progress!

...  pasta jay's on a monday night. eating inside next to open windows.

...  people watching in boulder.

...  frozen yogurt. yum!

...  a slow hike.  this baby has made walking up hill much harder.  so does 98 degree weather.

...  watching a movie on a friday night.

...  grilling out hamburgers and hot dogs.

...  when charlie runs out of regular coffee and is forced to make decaf that i can drink.

...  a refrigerator stocked with leftovers.

...  2 more weeks until IKEA opens.

...  crawling into bed early and reading a good book.
...  when the rain waters the flowers for me.
...  eating dinner leftovers for lunch.
...  summer laundry. way less loads than winter laundry.
...  air conditioning that works.
...  leftover pancakes.
...  booking my last plane ride before the baby.

baby related things.

via

i haven't talked about the soon-to-be kid much lately.  not that there's a ton of news but i figure maybe writing this stuff down will make me feel a whole lot better about all we have left to do.  

the baby just turned 19 weeks. which is sort of exciting in my book because i consider 20 a milestone. 

it's been moving like crazy lately, which is awesome and distracting all at once.  

last night i actually saw it move a bunch, the kid must of been doing flips or something.  

charlie has yet to observe any of this because his attention span is all of 5 seconds.  i'm all "oh, the baby just moved" and he's all "ooh, i want to see" and then a few seconds later "i'm bored". 

anyway, it's not only cool to feel but a nice reassurance that everything is fine.  considering that the first few months i had to wait until doctors appointments to hear a heartbeat it's nice to have a daily reminder that it's moving and growing.  

my mom is coming out this weekend.  (yay!) and she's not only bringing lots of baby books with her but she's also going to help us register and figure a few things out.  considering the fact that we haven't done much so far i'm glad we'll be making some progress this weekend and i'm also happy to have her help and advice on some things.  pretty much the only thing i've decided is that i don't want our house to explode in baby gear.  i actually feel like they try to trick first time parents into thinking you need everything under the sun.  we'll definitely be taking a minimalist approach.  i think people think i'm crazy because they one question i've been asking parents is "tell me everything you got that you never used/needed".

we did put down a deposit for a daycare a few weeks ago.  this makes me feel both relieved and terrified at the same time.  i haven't met this baby yet and already i can tell you that i don't want to leave it for 50 hours a week.  however, we toured a few places and the one we decided on is not only the most convenient (it's literally a block from our house), but i liked the people the best.  i'm hoping i'll feel better about our decision as time goes on. 

in less exciting news, i bought my first pair of maternity jeans today.  i had to order online them because i'm short and no one is selling jeans in the summer.  it was depressing how expensive they were. 

"it makes me happy to know none of us get a how-to guide. we're all just kind of winging it."
-post secret.

it's the little things ...

... henry sunbathing on a saturday morning.
... a productive monday.

... a clean house.

... cooking while it's raining outside.

... getting our guest room ready for it's final guests before it becomes the baby's room.

... counting down the days until my mom visits.

... a saturday night bbq.
...  a late night walk with charlie and the pups after the rains.
...  cooking with charlie.
...  ice cream.
...  glass water bottles.
...  gchat.
...  leftovers for lunch.
...  feeling the baby move.
...  sitting in an inner tube on the water.
...  eating dinner at the biggest whole foods ever.  there was a bar. too bad i can't drink.
... alone time.
...  how henry goes up to the bedroom when he thinks it should be bedtime.
...  old navy tank tops.  $8 and they actually fit me.
...  figuring out how to switch my email for blogger.
...  getting our marriage certificate in the mail.  i suppose we really are married.
...  fresh strawberries.
...  decaf coffee.  because i miss coffee a lot.
...  lazy sunday afternoons.
...  going for a walk and getting home right before the thunderstorm comes.
...  how excited the dogs get when you ask if they want to go for a 'walk'.
...  back rubs.

lately.

it has been storming just about every day.

good for the grass but the hail has almost killed my flowers.

we've been grilling almost every meal.

this chicken was amazing. and i don't like chicken.

and eating lots of salads.

this baby better come out liking vegetables.

and we've also been swimming every weekend for the past month.

it's not quite the same as going to the beach but it's pretty darn close.

have i mentioned how much i love summer?

i have a confession: i don't like flying.

i'm not scared, i just find it to be a huge pain.

it takes so much time to park, wait for a shuttle, wait in the security line, wait to board, and then wait for everyone else to board. and i'm sorry but 95% of the products that use every day do not come in a travel size, which means i either do without or check my bag. charlie yells at me when i check my bag and it weighs more than 50 lbs. because of all the shampoo, lotion, etc.. also, i'm a homebody. i love being at home, hanging out on the balcony, eating the food i like, and having the dogs around.

currently my job requires that a travel a small amount. honestly, i can't complain at all about the amount of travel because it's really pretty reasonable and flexible.

this week i was in omaha for work. and not really looking forward to it. however, it was seriously the best work trip i've ever had. see, people in the midwest are really, really nice. i mean, people in colorado are nice but not like out here. every person i walk past says 'hi'. people go out of their way to hold doors open, make conversations, and just go out of their way to he helpful.

the east coaster in me doesn't understand it. where i grow up people won't move over to share a sidewalk with you let alone ask 'how your day's going?'. and if you're driving in dc, watch out. dc has probably the worst drivers in the country. my dad has gotten rear ended five times in the past year. five times! and each time he was at a dead stop. charlie found some survey that quizzed drivers around the country on basic driving rules. dc was dead last. people actually answered that when you see a yellow light you should speed up.

anyway, this trip has made me realize that even though i don't like traveling so much i probably shouldn't dread it as much as i do. i'm ready to come home, eat whatever charlie's grilling tonight, and take the dogs for a walk but a night or two away from home isn't so bad.