Tri-ing in 2012

This past weekend marked the beginning of race season for us.  The Galena Tri has been Ryan's first race of the year for 4 or 5 years running now.  It's one of my favorite to watch for lots of reasons, but the one that takes the cake is the fact that we get to eat at Vinny's for lunch after the race :O)  It's one of my favorite restaurants, so much so that we went there for my Senior Prom and for my Bachelorette party. 

Aside from Vinny's (can you tell there's a pregnant lady writing this post?), we had a great weekend for a race.  It might have been a little warm for Ryan's taste (in the mid 80's) but if you ask me the weather was perfect.  It was sunny and so nice to be outside cheering for my hubby!

Yep, pretty sure you can see that baby bump now (we hadn't eaten at Vinny's yet for those jokesters out there...).    I'm 25 weeks now with just 15 weeks to go.  Come on August!  It's hard not to wish the time away, but I'm trying hard to remember to enjoy the moment.

Back to the race details...the race is a 660 yard swim, a 16.8 mile bike and a 4.3 mile run.  Ryan was pretty happy with his time, especially since he hasn't been able to put in as much training time as he'd have liked (stupid work!).  Ryan finished the race in 1 hour 44 minutes and placed 156 out of 674. 

After the race we me the Wares in Galena and were suprised when Joey and Andy met us as well.  Joey is due in just about a week from now so she's about ready to pop.  I also got to see Kristina and Connor on Saturday afternoon (he's getting SO big), but of course I didn't think to take any pics, sorry!

It was a great weekend with great weather to get us started for summer.  Next weekend is Memorial Day and we are headed to Koontz lake.  Fingers crossed that we draw same "amazing weather" card for next weekend too.

Knitting...lots and lots of knitting

It's been awhile since I've shared my knitting projects with you so for those of you that don't see me often, you may have thought that I'd given up on that little hobby.  Far from it! With five...count em....five babies coming this year to some of my closest friends I've been knitting like a fool!  Actually, if I'm being honest, that's part of the reason things have been so quite around here in the last few months.  Most days when I get home from work I have three choices (well, after dinner is made that is).  1.  Read (which I still do alot of) 2.  Blog and 3. Knit.  Since babies have a deadline of sorts, I've often opted for the knitting needles and yarn. 

Here goes nothing:

Joey's baby blanket is pink and purple polka-dots.  I actually knit this same blanket twice in a row.  Kristina (well, really Connor) got his own version in two colors of blue.  I absentmindedly forgot to take pictures of his blanket though so you are just going to have to use your imagination.  Joey's is slightly different because I re-wrote the whole pattern after knitting the blanket once for Kristina.  There were some things I wanted to change, so I did!  It's actually the first time that I've been adventurous enough to try deviating from a pattern.  Go me!

This has got to be the cutest thing I've ever knit.  It's another present for my little niece Kayden (can you tell I'm already a smitten aunt)?  Its a teeny tiny baby sweater for Kayden.  Clad with pink buttons, because if I know my sister, this little girl will love the color pink.

Up next, a hat, and mittens I knitted for my mom.  Yes, it's May and a hat and mittens seem a bit silly.  But, I actually had these done in April (which is still silly) but the project has been sitting in my que for nearly a year now so I'm happy to call this one finally finished!

It's one of the most intricate patterns I've ever done and I love the contrast of black and white.  I actually did the same exact set for a friend of mom's as a Christmas present, but that one was done in light pink and cream and the pattern didn't pop nearly as much.

Here's a quick shot of the mittens.  The bottom side is different than the top.  This pair, like the hat, turned out perfect.  I actually added a third type of yarn (with sparkle!) while knitting these that gave them a pretty sheen and the dreamy furry feel that you can practically see in the pictures. 

That's all I've got to show you for today.  Now three, well technically five (if you count two blankets of the same type and the hat/mittens seperaetly) sure doesn't seem like alot, but I've kept a few surpises from you.  In addition to these, I've finished a baby blanket for myself (it's the second project I've done that isn't being gifted out) and a second blanket in the works for Betsy.  I'm keeping them both a surpise for now.  You'll have to keep checking back for those later

Also, I know I've been terrible about posting some new weekly pics of me and this baby bump.  But, I've got good news on that front!  Lo took a few pics last weekend while we were at Betsy's.  As soon as I get my hands on them, I'll toss them up here for you guys as well.

The weekends are officially booked from now until just about my due date, so be ready, I've got more posts coming.  Promise!!

April Showers bring May...Babies??

Yep, you guessed it.  I had another baby shower this past weekend.  But, this wasn't just any baby shower.  It was a shower for my little niece!  Joey and Andy's little baby girl is due May 25th (just a few days shy of Memorial Day weekend). 

Mom and I planned a great shower for her (if I do say so myself) and I wanted to share a few of the pictures with you.  There were 20 lovely ladies there to celebrate with us and we had a great time.  A few drove a LONG way to be there too.  Tom and Carolyn came all the way from Minneapolis,  my cousin Lydia and Charlie all the way from Rheinlander, WI, and Aunt Peggy from Milwaukee.  It was so great to see everyone, especially those we don't see so often. 

Check out our pretty tables!  The theme was "About to Hatch" so there were definitely a few chicks and eggs around.  We had the little pink trees with chicks in them, along with hard boiled eggs died pretty baby colors along with party favors of egg timers for everyone to take home with them.

That's a pretty little baby sweater that I knit for Kayden (more on my most recent knitting projects in another post). It turned out super cute and I"m making one for our little one as well. 

Mom made this pretty quilt for Kayden and Lydia helped!  I sadly don't have a picture of the beautiful blanket that Marsha crocheted for Joey.  She had some washing machine issues but stopped by later to drop it off and it was absolutely beautiful!! 

Check out my pretty sister and all those gifts!!

And I couldn't resist adding a picture of the cutest baby cake ever!!  Mom got a baker in Freeport to make this pretty little cake and it was just as yummy as it looked.

And with all that sugar, I'm going to go ahead and close for now.  Happy Shower Joey and Kayden.  Can't wait to finally meet you!!

Videos from our trip to Mexico

Want another taste of our adventures in Mexico?  I finally figured out how to upload from my new video camera and I've got 3 videos to share.  Ry took them all so I take no responsibility :O)

Enjoy!!

*A video with a full tour of our amazing room for the week.

*One day we decided to head down to the waters edge and explore the rocks.

*Ry gives you a quick panoramic video of our view from under the umbrellas.

Cabo Wabo - Spring Break 2012

Lucky us...last week we spent our days seaside soaking up the sun and having a ton of fun with our family.  We left last Saturday morning for a week in Cabo, Mexico. 

We planned the trip about a year ago (pre-baby...) and invited Chris and Brenna along with us.  Actually, our group was short 2 more.  Joey and Andy had originally planned to join us, but Joey is now 33 weeks pregnant so they opted out just in case.  We had a direct flight from Chicago to Cabo so we arrived in Mexico before noon!!

Check out the view from our balcony.  Not too shabby right?  Our rooms were AMAZING.  Chris and Brenna and Ry and I shared a two bedroom villa with a full kitchen, living room, and guest bathroom (on top of the bathrooms in both our rooms).  Mom and Dad landed a 1 bedroom suite that had it's own kitchen and master bedroom.  Ry made a little video tour of our rooms so I will try uploading that in another post for you to see. 

We wasted no time getting beverages in every ones hand (except mine of course) and getting our barrings straight.  Since this was Mom and Dad's fourth time down there we were lucky to have them show us to all the best secret spots.  We went to the best restaurants, the boys took the best deep sea fishing tour (more on that in a sec) and went to the best beach. 

I celebrated my 29th Bbay watching the sun set over the Sea of Cortez...with that yummy piece of cheesecake. 

The boys went deep sea fishing one day.  The left the house around 5:45am and didn't get back into the Marina until 2:30pm.

They saw a few Marlin but sadly didn't catch a thing.  They said they had a few bites but no real action.  The fishing crew felt so bad for them that they gave them two huge filets of Yellowtail as a consoluation prize.  Which we turned into this:

We took the fish to a nice restuarnt in downtown Cabo (one that Mom and Dad recommended) .  They grilled it up and topped it with four different toppings.  So yummy.  My favorite was the coconut version in the top left hand corner (actually, this was my favorite meal of week).

While fishing, the boys also met this guy.  He just hopped up on the back of the boat as they neared the Marina and started begging for the left over bait.  He must have learned the trick awhile back because this guy was one big seal!!!

Pictures are more fun than words so I'll let them tell you the rest of the story.  I actually debated between taking my computer and blogging our way through the trip, keeping you update every step along the way, and enjoying every single second of our trip and telling you all about it when we got back.  Clearly I opted for option B...more pictures, less words.  So enjoy!!

(Check out that sexy outfit Ry has on! HA!  He really wanted to "take a picture with Sesame").

It took us a LONG time to finally get this family picture.  There were tons of "not quite right" to delete since both Chris and Mom both had their cameras on timers and had to race into the water and on the rocks before the pictures took.  It was quite entertaining to watch!!

A shot from the rocks/beach back at our hotel.  You can see there isn't much beach where we stayed, but it certainly didn't stop us from enjoying the sun and getting tans!



We started and ended our trip at this bar.  The Baja Brewing company.  They had yummy pizza and even yummier beer.  I had just a teeny tiny taste of Ry's.  Here is a picture of thier logo (a donkey with a beer bottle on a pole in front of him...like a carrot, but better.  It's exactly how a feel.  Twenty more weeks and there is a beer at the end.  You know, after the baby of course.  HA!).



It sure wasn't hard to end our evenings to that every night!!

We had a great time and I wish we could have stayed for another week (or two, or three).  I hope you had all had a great Easter and I'll be back soon with a video tour of our hotel room and a few pictures I just couldn't fit in here.

16 week appointment

Remember a few weeks ago when I promised that this blog wouldn't turn into an "all baby, all the time" blog??  Well, although I might look like a TOTAL liar right now, as I post an update on the baby, I'll say it again.  I swear I have non-baby content for you....and I swear I will post it soon.

If I'm being honest, I got a super sweet camera for Christmas and I want to share some videos with you from Ryan's Beer Mile race last year, but I can't figure out how to get the movies from my camera onto my computer.  I've been messing around with it for about an hour now, and I'm sort of over it for tonight.  I mean, come on!  I've got knitting to do people...knitting!  *smile*

Anyways, I promise to post some other stuff here tomorrow night but for tonight, you are going to have to deal with some more baby news.

Yesterday I had my 16 week appointment.  I've sort of been cheating and saying that I'm 17 weeks right now.  Technically I switch to the next week on Thursday's but around Tuesday's I start to bump it up a week.  I have a feeling when I'm running on just a few hours of sleep with a crying baby I'll be wishing I hadn't rushed through my pregnancy weeks but what can I say, we are excited!

So, back to the appointment.  There's not much to tell.  After the last two appointments being ultasounds, this one seemed sort of anticlimatic.  I went it, the weighed me, took my blood pressure and listened to the heart beat.  I swear I will no longer be facing the numbers when I get on the scale.  I made the nurse laugh when I gasped as I went over a weight I swore I'd never see.  She laughed and said "hey, you're only up 3 lbs from the last appointment!  That's great!"  Sure didn't feel so great :O)

Since Ry and I plan to keep the gender a surprise until D-day (or should I say B-day), the heart rate has been a very requested piece of info.  The last two appointments have been high, in the 170's.  Which according to all those old wives tales says BOY, but this week we were att 148.  Who knows!   Guess we will be waiting until August 30th or so to find out for sure.

In the mean time, here are some photos to keep your attention.

Oh!  I recently got photoshop on my computer as well.  I played around with it a little bit tonight.  It's sad how long it took me to figure out how to add that text :O)  I will get better (and faster) as I practice but for now...it's better than nothing!

I can only take credit for the text on this photo.  This one is courtesy of Lo's new photography business.  Ok, so she doesn't officially have a business just yet...but I fully intend on being a guinea pig for her as she learns all the ins and outs of her super cool fancy schmancy camera.

Can you see that baby bump yet?  I sure can!

Oh, and...did you notice my new do??  This past weekend I cut 10 inches off.  I donated it to Locks of Love.  I wasn't really planning on doing it, but when I finally sat down in the chair, I decided that the differance between 8 or 10 inches wasn't that big of a deal so I went for it.  I love the new cut and have kept it straight for the entire week (which was a HUGE process pre-haircut).

Lastly, a gratuitous doggie shot, because Lo got a great picture of my first baby, Lily.

That's all I've got for today...but tomorrow...beer laden vidoes of my hubby running and drinking at the same time.  He's strange!  I know.

From me to baby

Originally written January 9th, 2012

Well little one, you've been keeping me pretty sick these days.  I was so happy that we had a low key weekend planned and I got to spend most of it in my PJ's on the couch.  It's not Ry's favorite way to spend a weekend but it sure is mine.

We have our first doctor's appointment tomorrow so I'm sure I will have some news to share with you then (like your "maybe" Birthday!) but for now I just felt like telling you what's been up with me.  They really shouldn't call it morning sickness, it's more like "all sickness" but who am I to start changing things like that :O)  I'm sick pretty much every day and have given up on fighting it and just let it happen. 

I seem to be craving anything cold right now.  Like fruit, or pickels or ice cream (my favorite!).  It's not really craving, its more that cold things are the only things that sound good to me right now.  Oh, and French Fries....those too.  I think cold things don't smell as strongly, which is part of it.  Other than that, it's pretty much crackers and Peanut Butter for me lately.

Update:

Here are the pictures from our January 10th doctors appointment (8 weeks pregnant).

Can you see it?  The baby sort of looks like a blob (or a Sesame, since that's it's current nickname).  The baby is facing towards the right and you can see the head at the top...maybe a little arm pointing out towards the right as well.

These two are even harder to see...dont worry, they get better, keep reading the other posts :O)