Running While Pregnant (And a Name Reveal!)

I think most you know that I am continuing to run and stay active throughout the pregnancy.  It is the one time I still feel like myself.  Sure, I move a bit slower and there are some days that it is just down right hard, but for the most part, I still love it. My friend Heather and I signed up to run a 5K in Kingwood today.  Yes, today, the hottest day of the year in Houston, we thought it would be smart to run a race.  Well, fortunately the morning was warm, but it was beautiful too!  We had a great time!  Of course I had to take a picture of myself and the little one dark and early this morning.

Oh check out that growing baby bump!

Speaking of the baby bump, we no longer call our little one "Pippa" anymore.  She has a name!  Well, she has a first name anyway.  The middle is still to be determined.  I have my favorite, but we'll see.  Anyway, our little growing bump is named Charlotte.  We are truly happy with it and we  feel like it suits our family.  We'll have an Allison and a Charlotte. So little Charlotte and I ran and finished the race together.

I do not have my official time yet, but according to my Garmin Forerunner watch my time was 32 minutes 35 seconds.  Not too bad for a 3.1 mile run almost 22 weeks pregnant.  I will take it.  This was my dear friend Heather's first 5K!  I am so proud of her and she did so well! I am trying to get her "hooked on the running drug!"  We'll see!

After the race we all enjoyed a great and filling breakfast.  After breakfast, Nick, Allison and I went to HEB. It is their annual Hatch Green Chili Festival.  Nick and I  love green chilis!  We were able to buy them on the side of the road in West Texas.  We bought a bushel and a 1/9 today!  Look at all these chilies!

We spent two hours getting them ready to freeze! I should have worn gloves!  My hands are still burning!  We can't wait for green chili stew when it is not 107 degrees outside!  Hopfully this will last us a while!
The rest of the day has been spent trying to get Charlotte's nursery in tact.  Her nursery has been our storage room since January, so I have a lot of work ahead of me!  Oh and we ordered her bedding!  Isn't this cute?!

Happy Weekend everyone!  Stay cool!

Just Be

We love her so much.  It is nice to "just be."  There really aren't any fun stories or interesting words for this post, just a little girl that melts our heart daily.  We are so proud of you, Allison.

The iPad

Nick surprised me with an iPad for my birthday in June. I really do love it and did not expect such an exciting gift.  The only problem, someone else in the family loves it too....

I think she is more proficient with the iPad than Nick or myself.  She is constantly asking, "Please let me play Mommy's computer..."  sometimes she slips and rather than saying "mommy's computer," she says, "my computer!"  Oh, little Allison, what is this world coming to!?

It's A...

Well, after a month of being in limbo because our uncooperative little one was not ready to fully reveal his/her gender to the world, we finally got a little confirmation today! The doctor had his guess last month and he happened to be right! Hold on to your hats everyone...It's a GIRL!  I told Nick, "Don't worry, it's only one more wedding to pay for!"  We are thrilled that the bows, princesses and smocked dresses will live on in the Spencer house.  Nick is a great sport considering how outnumbered he is about to become!  The ultrasound technician told Nick, "Poor dad!  You are toast!  Maybe you should get a boy dog!"  Nick said,  "Well, no, we already have a girl dog!  A house of four women!  We couldn't ask for a better father for two, sweet girls! The little girl looks healthy and is kicking away!
Here's dad in his blue, maybe subliminal wishful thinking?

And a happy mom imagining more pink, purple and turquoise entering our lives!

Here is that precious baby GIRL!

When we ask Allison what is in my tummy, most of the time she replies, "A dog."  Yes, Allison thinks I am going to birth a puppy.  She even describes it, "A dog like Margo!"  After the doctor, we came home and told her she was going to have a baby SISTER!  A little girl to help take care of!  We asked her what we should name the baby.  She said, "Margo."  We told her we would consider that, but I think it is a long shot.  With the power of mimicry,  Allison will tell you about her baby sister in this video...

My favorite part is the, "I love you, Allison!"  Needless to say we  are thrilled and could not be happier!  Prayers continue for a healthy baby GIRL!  We're over half way there!

20 Weeks

Can you believe I have been growing this little bundle of joy in my tummy for just about 20 weeks now!?  Crazy!  Absolutely crazy! Time is flying by!  The baby affectionately known as Pip or Pippa
(and no, those are not the real names) will have a gender reveal next Monday. Well, hopefully there will be a gender reveal.  The doctor took a peek on my last appointment. Pip or Pippa was being rather shy, so he was unable to confirm. However, the doctor had a pretty good idea and told us where he would put his money!  However, just to be safe and not have two reveals, I will let you all know next week.  This little one is a lot like Allison.  He/she is super active and kicks away...A LOT.  Luckily, all of my morning/afternoon/evening sickness seems to have left and I seem to be full force into the "feeling great" and "nesting" stage.  Allison talks about babies a lot, but I am not 100% sure she has a grasp on the concept. I am sure once Pip/Pippa's room is complete (or even started for that matter), she might understand a bit better.  I do know that our four legged baby, Margo, will at least have a great understanding of the new addition.  Allison is her best friend and I am sure this one will be too.  I have a checklist of things (non baby related) that I am trying to take care of and accomplish through out pregnancy.  I know that once I have two around time will be precious. I am starting to panic a bit that we are half way or over half way there.  I always remind myself that Allison arrived at 38 weeks, so this one might do the same thing.  We are still active.  We run, go to aerobics, etc. I've decided that pregnancy and chasing a 2 1/2 year old can be a challenge in itself some days.  However, thankfully I am continuing to feel well and Mother's Day Out for Allison will start soon.  The baby bump is growing daily...here are a couple of shots...

You have to love my self photography with the iPhone in my bathroom!  I just never think to have Nick snap a picture, oh well!  Best to you all and we will have a baby update...soon!

The Dog Days of Summer

Well, like most of the country in August, it is HOT here!  I am a summer girl. I really love the pool, sunshine and sun tans; but it never fails around August, I am always ready for Fall.  We are ready for the Sooners (NUMBER ONE RANKED SOONERS) to start playing and things to cool down.  Today on this hot day of Summer, Allison was kind enough to help me give Margo a bath.  It is tough to bathe Margo. She's an Airedale Terrier and like most Airedale Terriers, she hates water.  So she really hates me squirting her with a water hose.  She's smart enough to know what is about to occur on bath days as well, so we have to catch her!  This is an adventure in itself!

 She dislikes the heat as much as she dislikes water, so luckily it does not take too long to catch her.

In fact, she slowed down enough for the Assistant Groomer to really strike a pose!

Speaking of which, here are more official pictures of my trusty assistant!

Well, we got through it!  Poor Margo is outside still drying.  She is not too happy with her situation, but she has to feel better!  Here she is right after we finished her bath!

As much as she hates the process, she posed rather proudly!  Maybe her next bath will involve a Fall breeze.  Well, here's to hoping anyway!  Stay cool!

Chuck E. Cheese

Cici and Poppy were sweet enough to drive all the way to Houston to take Allison to Chuck E. Cheese. As always, it was so great to see them, we just wish they lived closer!  We took a few pictures before we went to Chuck E. Cheese....

Once we made it to Chuck E. Cheese, there was no stopping Allison, she LOVED it!

Thank you so much, Cici and Poppy!  We love you! Come back soon!

Until Next Year...

We had our "last supper" with our dear friends, the Ristroph's, before they departed for Singapore.  It's hard to believe it will be a year before we are together again.  We miss them terribly, but are so thankful for the time we had this summer with them.  We are also thankful they are so happy in Singapore.  We wish them the best...always!

The Baby...

So I know I am a little late in posting this...I am almost 19 weeks along!  Can you believe that?!  Allison made her debut at 38 weeks, so in all reality, I very well might be at our half way point!  That is absolutely CRAZY to think about!  Here is a picture of the baby bump at around 16 weeks...

I am growing...daily!  I still chase Allison! I am still running 4-5 miles about 3-4 times a week and I am still going to boot camp classes 5 days a week. Needless to say, we are not slowing down! Fortunately, my breakfast is now staying in my tummy and I do not have the overwhelming tired feeling anymore.  In fact, it's the opposite.  I've always been an early riser (5:30am or so), but now it's 4:30am, sometimes even 3:30am, I am up and starting the day!  We are so thankful for our little Allison and so thankful for this growing baby! I will be better about posting more about our little growing one...well, I will at least try!

California!

OK, so two weeks later, I am back!  Between raising a 2 1/2 year old, growing another baby and various other projects and commitments, this poor blog has completely taken a back seat to life.  So, before I forget our vacation, here is some more of it! We had an amazing condo and an amazing view in San Diego.  This was our "coffee view" on the balcony...

We had a little private beach where we spent a lot of mornings before high tide.  Allison and Ryn had a great time!  PS  The water is COLD in California!

 Please ignore the pregnant girl in the bathing suite...

The weather was lovely in San Diego.  I ran almost every morning and it was only 65 degrees...INCREDIBLE!  One day we made it to Balboa Park.  We had a great time there.
We saw the San Diego Botanical Gardens...

 We played in the park...

 We rode the train...

It was a lovely day!
We also made it to the breathtaking Coronado Island.  All I can say is, "wow!"

My adventurous husband decided to go paragliding in Torrey Pines one day.  I was a tad nervous since paragliding involved him running, jumping off a cliff and "flying" over the ocean.  Although, luckily it turned out well and it was an experience of a lifetime for him!

He had quite the view!
We had a great trip and felt very fortunate to spend some time with our dear friends, the Marbach's.  We certainly made memories that will last a lifetime!