Fully Committed!

32 Weeks 5 Days Prego! That Leaves 51 days until the baby is here. Paul and I are fully committed to the name Henry- it just feels right! Plus we crafted his name with wooden blocks, so there's no turning back now!!

Henry's room is pretty much ready. My mom and BFF, Kreesh, will be in town next week and get to check it out. I am super excited to see my peeps!
I feel like there is probably more to do and prepare, but what? Paul and I signed up for a birthing class at the end of June. I don't think about the actual birthing of Henry too much because it freaks me out. I can't wait to meet him and hold him; but the pushing and the ickyness makes me nervous! I have mentally blocked that portion for now and it's keeping my anxieties down till the time comes.

I sit here and ponder what will he look like? Will he have light or dark hair? Will it be coarse like his dad's and we'll have to buy industrial hair gel? Or will it be wavy like mine so we'll keep it short? I think about his first Halloween costume, first Christmas... I don't want to go too overboard with gifts as he'll probably be equally entertained with the bow vs the toy. I wonder if Knuckles will lick his face or want to nibble on him? I wonder how Paul and I will handle little sleep and sharing responsibilities. Oh and one of the big, burning questions: will we ever decide on a middle name?! So many thoughts and 51 more days until some of them can start being answered!!!

26 Weeks

Paul and I went to a wedding a couple weeks ago and I had to document the occasion of wearing full on make up and I even spent a few extra minutes with the hair straightener! I still wear light makeup and comb my hair for work, but it's my five minute routine so I can sleep in as long as possible! Then after work it's into the sweats and baggy shirts I go!
At 26 weeks along or shall I say 14 weeks to go (eek, exciting and scary) I am feeling pretty good and have a decent amount of energy. I wish I was "showing" more as my tops are getting shorter and tighter, but not in a distinctive baby bump way. I think I might start wearing those T shirts that say "baby on board" or something about a "bun in this oven" because I think the overall population is waaaay more friendly toward prego peeps than to overweight gals that are getting out of breath by just breathing!!!! It's not a cute compliment to hear, "Wow, you're 5 months along? I can't even tell you're pregnant." Umm thanks? My parents got me a maternity shirt for Christmas and I try it on every week, but alas, it is still looking like just a whole bunch of extra material in the front... Oh well!! (I'm trying to force a bump pic below!)
Paul and I have been getting Henry's room ready. We set up the crib on Saturday and it was actually a very smooth process. Simba and Teddy approve! We also got some storage bins from ikea and I'm not sure if there will be room for some sort of rocking chair eventually.
We also registered last week and had fun looking around and scanning EVERYTHING!. There is SO MUCH stuff for a baby! We are going with a jungle and monkey theme.


We can't wait to meet Henry ______ Lopez. Middle name suggestions are welcome! We have been reading lots of books to prepare, saving money to cover my maternity leave, sometimes I sit in his room and think about him and Paul has even read him a story or 2... I am definitely at the sentimental/hormonal stage!!!!!! We are so excited to be parents and Knuckles will be a great protective big brother. He always wants to sit near my stomach and lay on me-I think he senses some changes are coming.
We definitely have baby on the brain... can't wait until he's in my arms!!

A little boy and flowers!

At our 16 week ultrasound we found out that we are expecting a little boy!!!!! We are so excited to no longer call the baby "IT"! We are so excited for him and to buy him things!!
As soon as the nurse told us, Paul asked if I was sure about the name Henry? So we will see what name this little guy ends up with! I thought I was sure, but we have time :)
The very next day Kreesh sent this beautiful bouquet to congratulate us. Thank you Krids, this was so thoughtful and you were very fast acting!
The next week was Valentines Day and Paul surprised me with a bouquet at work. So the house was fragrant and very enjoyable! Thanks for my flowers you guys!

The Nursery

We had a busy weekend painting the nursery. It was so nice to have my parents in town to help! Picking the colors wasn't too bad, I knew we wanted 2 shades of green and Paul knew he wanted what I wanted!! We went with a darker color on the bottom and a chair rail to separate the colors...the chair rail was slightly trickier than anticipated. But Paul, Katelyn and Roy Boy put their heads together and got it done while Merv and I supervised!! We had some fun dinners out and a great time just hanging out. I sure miss having my parents close by. Thanks for all of your help and for the washer and dryer!!
Things are going well, still getting nauseous and I didn't realize my emotions were getting the best of me.... until I cried during The Lion King and then during American Idol. In my defense, the Mufasa scene is super sad and I think I've always been emotional over it!
I have an ultrasound on Tuesday and we're very excited to see the progress of our little one!

Announcing:

Drum Roll Please...It is time to announce baby Lopez! Paul and I found out we are expecting just before Thanksgiving.

We headed to Phx to share the news with my parents. We thought it's be cute to take a family picture and Paul said, "Say cheese" then he took another and said, "Say Kim's pregnant!" We were hoping to capture my parent's surprised faces...but they held their smiles for the pic and through their teeth murmured, "Whaaaaaaat?!!"

We decided to wait until Christmas to tell Paul's side of the family on Christmas Eve. We had Paul's parents unwrap a gift that included a little note and a Utes One-sie. The note read, "To my grandma & grandpa, you'll hold my hand for a while and my heart forever! I can't wait to meet you around July 15th!" (I can't get the video of this to upload, but I'm working on it!)

I am currently 13 weeks and with minor night sickness and lots of crackers-- we're doing just fine! The ultrasound on Wednesday was amazing. Paul squeezed my hand as we saw our little baby for the first time! Hearing that little heartbeat was such a relief and an eye opener of our new life to come. We have been trying to start our family for a while now and are so grateful that the journey has begun! I took about a dozen pics of the ultrasound so I could include it in this post... tried different angels and without flash... but any way you slice it, it's shaping up to be our precious lil alien!!!

A great end to 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas morning, just me and my Boo! We exchanged gifts, had some cinnamon rolls, watched our new movies then headed to the big tamale feast. Gramma Ana didn't disappoint!! The fam feasted on hundreds of tamales, home made rice and beans--the whole nueve yards :)

The next morning we headed to Phoenix. After a few icy roads, we were in the clear and Knuckles makes an excellent co pilot. The entire week was bustling with a whole lot of... nothing!! And I loved every minute! We slept in, stayed in our pajamas and barely combed our hair! There was some game playing of course and we finished a ridiculously painful puzzle-then tragedy struck!! It was dismantled before dad could take a picture. I'm not quite sure what one does with a picture of a puzzle??


Another highlight was Alyssa and Kyle and kids coming over for games and of course some New Years fireworks that we set off in the street! Then we watched the ball drop on TV and I promptly fell asleep at 12:05! Party animal, I know!!
When reflecting on 2010, it was a year full of awesome vacations, lots of family and Knuckles became a part of the family. I can't wait for the adventures 2011 will bring :) ... to be continued!!

Thanks G 2010

This year we were going to drive to Seattle to enjoy the holiday with friends and my sis, Krystle. Then the weather wagged it's snowy finger in our face and sent us south instead. Since mountain passes were closing, we decided to head to sunny Phoenix and hang with my awesome parents and cousins Alyssa & Kyle. So we hopped in the truck and made the 11 hour journey!

Here we are enjoying the "snow" every half hour at the mall in Gilbert. It was quite a festive atmosphere and only required a light jacket. Gotta love that AZ weather!
We were privileged to have a visit from Elvis!!
Here's Spencer and Mom as we walked to the park, there are a couple in the neighborhood. We had to walk off that delicious turkey, pie and strawberry fluff!
Here we are racing the boats, but the controls were interfering with each other...so basically we'll say I won!!
Family pic with the palms!
Knuckles was a great traveler; he stayed in his little bed and laid down. He would lift his little booty and shift his weight when we went around corners...cracked us up.
Hope every one had a great holiday, it's so nice to share it with loved ones!
PS we also braved the stores at 3am on black Friday...no major traumas or black eyes from the mobs and we even got a few things on our list!