For those of you who aren’t on Facebook or our speed dial
or close enough for word of mouth…
…I’m pregnant! I’m due July 11, feeling incredibly
healthy, and more than just a little excited.
So much has happened since my last post. We limped our
way through Thanksgiving and Christmas, and were able to be with the people we
love the most. Moving closer to family was such a perfect decision. The
holidays were a great time to be around friends and family, but we also had so
much more going on, it felt pretty crazy at times. With two full-time jobs, I
was working 70 hours some weeks. Matt started a new job at a company that provides specialty pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products,
related services and targeted therapy management programs. And we were
slowly, slowly telling folks about the bun in my oven. We broke the news to
just our immediate families over Thanksgiving, and told the rest of the world
after New Year’s.
After spending the worst week imaginable at the home
office for job #1, I rushed home to finish up the semester for job #2. I had a
few days off and then started with ASU’s spring semester, but this time with
only two sections instead of four. 40 students versus 80 is a huge difference!
Matt is settled in at the new job, still learning the ropes, but getting better
every day.
I’m working out with a personal trainer twice a week and
doing prenatal yoga. Matt is ready an expectant father book, and I’m following
the growth of our newest family member via the wonderful BabyCenter emails. We
do not plan on finding out the gender, but are already compiling a list of names
for both. We kind of like the idea of meeting the little one before deciding.
We’ll see how that goes!
In other news, I’m part of a 3-pronged pregnancy study,
which provides a little extra money, some extra oversight for the baby, and a free
Graco car seat! We have plans to go see the Suns play the Cavs in March. I’ve
never really explored the Cleve, so I hope to visit with friends, eat good
food, and have a nice local weekend vacation. We’re looking into maybe
attending a Buckeyes basketball game as well. I guess focusing on sporting
events is just a fun and easy way to bring out the road warriors for a weekend.
We hope to take a little “babymoon” sometime in June, and maybe maybe do
something relaxing for my birthday on July 5…if there’s no baby yet!
Otherwise, we will spend my second trimester finishing
the never-ending task of unpacking, which was nearly impossible during our the
hectic chaos that was November and December. As soon as we’re settled in, we
have to get started on pulling together the nursery. Luckily, Matt already did
some work on the room, stripping out the ugly chair rails and patching the
walls, before painting it a comforting shade of campy green. We’d like to
freshen up the ceiling and trim, and breathe new life into the built-in bookshelf.
A friend of ours has a crib, we have a few odd pieces of furniture, and my
parents have a stash of antiques that we might raid. I have confidence we will
create a warm and loving space for baby Cooper.
We send our love to you and our home will soon be in
shape to have open doors for visitors. We hope that you all are enjoying a
happy and healthy start to 2012. Hugs!
