2011: A Year In Review

January

In January I had some serious allergic reactions, to heaven knows what (although we are now fairly confident it was a reaction to a brand of pre-natal vitamin I was taking at the time). I had been dealing with this for some time, but in January a severe reaction sent me to the emergency room after class one night and we ended up seeing a specialist later in the month. The results of that showed that I am allergic to all types of grasses, but didn't tell us why my face was randomly swelling or why I broke out in hives after working out.

February

February was a pretty calm month for us. 

Cardamom and I

Jeff and Cinnamon

 We took a chicken keeping class with my parents and Jeff at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It seemed like a fun and interesting thing to learn about, who knew how much it would change our lives!! 

Finn and Rosemary

My cousin Justin got married to Nichole. We all had a great time at their wedding!

Me, Britt and Charlotte tearing up the dance floor!

March

Was a big month for Finn, as he landed a new job with American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) as a Certification Coordinator! This was a huge relief for him as he had been referring soccer games as a part time job since November of 2010. Woo Hoo! Go Finn!

With the help of Finn's dad, we began building our greenhouse. While my dad began constructing  a chicken coop (in his garage)!

April

The month of the chickens! 

Finn turned 27 this month, and after not wanting a party, I was sure to throw him one! I'm a birthday person, so there was no way we weren't going to celebrate.

This is also the month that we completed construction on our greenhouse with Jeff; my dad finished constructing the chicken coop; my Dad, Mom, Finn and I re-built the chicken coop at our house and we purchased our first chickens!! 

 May

Finn and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! I had a final presentation for my Urban Planning class that night, but Finn met me afterwards and we had dinner at Euclid Hall. I wasn't in the world's greatest mood that night, and although Finn absolutely loved his Brat Burger, I was not overwhelmed with my chicken and waffles. I'll take the chicken and waffles at Gladys Knight and Ron Winans in Atlanta any day! Regardless, we still reflected on our 3 years together and realized we were still meant for each other today (even if I was cranky) and always! ;)

Otherwise, the month was pretty laid back. Ashleigh's work was a bit tumultuous, and in fact her boss and many others were let go (this all started some time ago, but May was when her team was hit hardest). 

 The chickens continued to grow and the dogs enjoyed the beautiful Colorado weather.

June

Not a whole lot happened this month... ;)

Finn had to work downtown for the annual forum his work holds. He stayed downtown that week as well. It was a bit strange having him be so close (literally less than a 10 minute drive) but yet not be at home. I went and visited him occasionally for lunch or dinner throughout the week, and always met up with him to watch the USMNT play in the Gold Cup! 

We had the family over for a Father's Day bbq on the 19th. It was a ton of fun, lots of cornhole, chicken talk and laughter! We always enjoy the time spent with the whole gang! I was supposed to take a pregnancy test that day, but was beyond nervous and did not want to have to share the potentially bad news with Finn that although it was Father's Day that he wasn't going to be a dad (yet). 

The next morning I woke up way too early...I had to pee so badly but didn't want to take the pregnancy test. At about 5am I couldn't hold it ANY longer so rushed to the bathroom and peed on the stick...about 10 seconds later I yelled to Finn that we WERE PREGNANT!! He came rushing in there, and grabbed the test out of my hand...he asked how could I be sure...it just looked like two blurry lines, little did he know in his groggy state that the test was a digital one and it actually looked like this...

We had a good laugh about that and then were way too jacked up to fall back asleep! Quite the beginning to our week...and the next phase of our lives :) 

The next week Ashleigh traveled to Knoxville and Nashville for work, the babies first trip out of Colorado was complete!

July

This was a busy month for us (so pardon all the text)

The first weekend of July we told our families we were pregnant. We headed into Broomfield and our nerves were getting to us. I thought that, for some crazy reason, they were going to be disappointed in us - I was still in grad school, Finn had just got a new job, yada yada yada - I felt oddly like we were still in high school, like we were breaking the news to them 10 years ago or something. Finn also felt like a kid that might be getting in trouble, but knew that they would all be excited as well. Such an odd array of emotions to be having.

We went to Jeff and Jill's first. Jill was downstairs working on the computer and we all went down there to say hello. I wasn't sure exactly how this was all going to happen, we hadn't rehearsed it or made a plan or anything. They asked about the party we were supposed to be going to at Denise's and then Finn came out with it...he said "We wanted to ask if you'd like to be grandparents!" I was looking straight at his dad who looked a bit stunned and his mom said "REALLY!?!" then began shouting and shrieking and jumping up and down. His dad was a little teary eyed, as was his mom. Hugs and congratulations ensued.

We then headed to my parents' house. To protect the identities of those involved, the details of how this telling of the news came to be will not be shared in its entirety. Let's just say my mom instinctively knew. She took one look at me and said "ARE YOU!?" then came over and gave me a big hug. My dad was in utter shock and even told my mom that they were being Punk'd. They were both stunned, to say the least. We then convinced Charlotte to come over to the house and when she got there we talked about her upcoming trip to Ohio and then asked if she had any plans to go back there around March of next year. She said she didn't know, but why...we then said we may need her to babysit! She got so excited, started crying and gave me a huge hug; that's when I noticed that my parents had (finally) both started crying as well! Perhaps they were more excited that Charlotte was going to be an aunt then they were for Finn and I to be parents! ;)

Needless to say, everyone was delighted for us. We really wanted to share the news with our immediate family before we traveled to Chicago the second week of July for Megan's high school graduation where we would see Finn's extended family and could share the news with all of them in person.

Chicago was a wonderful trip, minuses the 80+ trips to the bathroom to throw up and other not-so-fun pregnancy related issues!! Everyone was very excited for us! We had so much fun hanging with the Illinois crew and Finn and I even took some time to dominate the Illinoisan corn hole champions!

August

August was a hot month, luckily we were able to act like pigs and cool off one day during Mudd Volleyball! We didn't win the tournament or anything but team Dirty Girls Like Muddy Balls had a heck of a lot of fun and only a few injuries to speak of. I got clearance from our OB specialist to play - they assured me that the baby was well insulated and protected so I could play to my heart's desire, which I did.

August was also my birthday, which I always love! It was a very sober birthday, wink wink. We had friends and family over and grilled, chilled, cornholed and drank (well most people drank). 

September

 

 In September our good friend Justin and his girlfriend, Britany, came to Denver to visit. We were lucky enough to be able to go see the Rapid's play in the CONCACAF Champion's League vs. Santos Laguna. It was some of the worst linesman work we'd ever seen, but the atmosphere and our seats were great, and of course we were in good company.

October

In October we had lots of fun! Tons of parties and celebrations to be had, including: Charlotte's quarter of a century birthday complete with a Kathy Griffin show, Hanni's 30th birthday complete with a live show, Amy and Jacob's wedding in the Outer Banks, and even some Halloween festivities!

 November

I went to Washington, D.C. to present at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting for work. I presented on findings from our comprehensive literature review on the potential effects of animal-assisted therapy on kids with cancer. My friend Molly and I traveled together and took a little time to check out some of the sites, including Ford's theater and the Holocaust museum.

I also started this blog! 

December

I wrapped up yet another semester of grad school, with a huge accomplishment, all A's, and I'm talking no A-'s!! This felt super great considering I took three classes, was pregnant, and work was nothing short of stressful throughout the entire semester. 

I moved into a home office, that Finn and I painted and set up, since our office in Denver is being closed in the beginning of 2012. 

We had some of the coldest days and nights in recent memory and the chickens even got a little bit of frostbite.

We got an awesome little Christmas tree, and Finn hung up some very nice Christmas lights outside. We had the family over for our annual Christmas Eve party complete with White Elephant gift giving, Apples to Apples, Pictionary, food and lots of laughter. We spent Christmas day be-bopping between the families and got everything our little hearts desired.

We also got a late Christmas gift, an ultrasound to see the little one! 

30 Weeks (a week late)

How Far Along: 30 weeks!?! How the heck did that happen?

What I'm Doing: Blogging, obviously

Cravings: Cereal with almond soy milk and cookies! 

Sleep: Total crap these days

Gender: Definitely not finding out, still :)

Names: We narrowed down the list a lot. But realized we don't have a ton of boy names that we really love. This could be a sign, or it could mean that we really need to figure out some boy names so that if the doc says "It's a Boy!" we don't panic because we have no clue what his name will be. We'll see how this all unfolds. 

Symptoms: Super tired, easily irritable, pelvic pain

Favorite moment this week: I suppose this was actually last week, but since I post so irregularly I'm going with it. It was probably when we got to find out that we'll have another ultrasound next week (Dec. 27th). I know Finn is super excited as well! We haven't had an ultrasound since the end of September so it will be quite the treat to see the little one again! We have to get one because I'm measuring big and they just want to check the baby's growth, etc. to make sure that there isn't anything to be concerned about. Although if they tell us we may have a 10lb baby incubating in there, I'm going to be concerned!!! :)

Molting and Little Eggs!

Dirt is Molting!

Dirt starting molting right about the same time as we got our deep freeze a couple of weeks ago. She starting molting around her head area first and it has slowly moved down her back. Needless to say, she stopped laying eggs during this time, for a couple of reasons. First of all, the weather was so frigid, much of what she was consuming was just going to keep her warm; secondly, due to the cold temps and the lack of daylight, none of the ladies were getting the required amount of sunshine per day to lay everyday; and finally, chickens generally stop laying while they molt simply due to the fact that they need all the energy they consume to keep themselves warm but more importantly grow new feathers.

However, just the other day, she laid her first egg in quite sometime! It was so small, like the first ones they laid when they came of age. I was so excited and found the egg to be one of the cutest things ever. I also think she felt some sense of accomplishment and pride with this egg! It was our first 3-egg-day in quite some time! 

Dirt's egg (right) and Debsie's egg (left).

ALL ABOARD!! (the Childbirth Express)

Last Saturday (December 9th), Finn and I went to Swedish Hospital to partake in a 5.5 hour childbirth class. There were about 10 couples there, all of them were around our age (a couple may have been a little bit older), pregnant with their first child, and everyone but us knew the gender of their baby! People seemed really shocked that we weren't finding out - this seems to be a pretty common response for us these days! :)

Overall, the class was really good. We learned and practiced some labor positions - it totally wasn't as awkward as I thought doing that in a class with nearly 20 other people! We also learned and practiced some breathing techniques - some seem way more realistic than others, but we'll see how the big day goes, right!?! We also learned about dilation, effacement, back labor (sounds delightful), the stages of labor, pushing - and why screaming/shrieking isn't helpful, and postpartum care and things to expect (the least delightful sounding of all!!).

Finn, to no surprise, was a great labor partner. So long as he's eaten the day this little one is due, I have no doubt that he will be the best coach, partner, support system I could ever imagine - even if/while I am being totally unappreciative of all of his efforts (sorry in advance, Finny!). However, neither of us could say the same for one of the other couples in our class who were clearly not having a good day together (quarreling and he even FELL ASLEEP!). Hopefully he'll come around soon!

While we probably could have found and read any/all of the information on the internet, it was definitely good to dedicate some uninterrupted time to this topic as it's fast approaching!! I can't believe we are already in the third trimester. Craziness!!

I promise more pics, etc. in the next post!

-Ash

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...CHRISTMAS!!!

It's really starting to look a lot like Christmas around our humble abode. We got a tree that is a bit more appropriately sized for our living room this year and Finn and I had a lot of fun decorating it.  I wrapped all of the presents we have purchased so far this past weekend and have them under the tree! I love wrapping presents...I really do!

We currently have a Santa hat as our tree topper-it looks cute, but I'm not a huge fan.  Finn hated the one I found last year though, so we are still in the market for a new, fun tree topper (and my toilet paper roll Santa is not an option, Finn).

On Saturday, after our Childbirth class (more to come on that at a later date), Finn hung lights outside! He did a great job, they look really nice!

Maybe we need to put a couple of strands up on the coop so the ladies can get in the holiday spirit!? Dirt might especially enjoy it since her body has decided that she should molt right now, despite the frigid temperatures.

Something like this perhaps?

Source

Anyway, I really can't believe how quickly this past year has gone. A lot has changed, that's for sure!! I will definitely have to do a reflection post soon!

~Ash