And the winner is...

In honor of our 2 year anniversary.

When I was planning our wedding, I was allllll about doing things unique, making it fun, and memorable. One of those things being a guestbook. I remember I came up with an idea and searched and searched online (no pinterest back then!) to see if I could find something that mimicked what I was creating in my head... Something personal, memorable, similar to a scrapbook collection, and something that we would want to go back and look at for years to come. Although, I found a company that offered something similar, they wanted way too much money for what I was asking for (a common thread in planning a wedding), I was more than satisfied creating it myself so it would turn out exactly how I wanted. And I have to say this is the best guestbook idea ever!!!

The tables at our reception had a placemat/guestbook page that our guests could fill out while they were waiting for food or needing a break from dancing. It was also good in that the kids could draw all over it if they wanted to.

Here are the list of questions I came up with:
Name
Where did you travel from?
How did you meet the bride and groom?
What is your favorite memory with the bride and groom?
What is a "must do" for the bride and groom before their 10 year anniversary?
Your special wishes for the bride and groom.
Your predictions: Next city they will move to? Date of their first child? Number of children? One year anniversary plans?

I think our guest had a lot of fun coming up with answers to these questions! Some of the answers had alcohol involved and are hilarious to read! I remember the day after our wedding, sitting together, and flipping through this book. It was so fun to read. Remembering the very first time they met either of us, all their predictions, and their wishes for us.

Recently we re-organized our closet space (aka nesting) and came across our wedding box and ended up thumbing through our guestbook. And now for the fun part... WHO WON THE PREDICTION OF THE DATE OF THEIR FIRST CHILD???

The Winners

(drum roll please...)

First Place

Ron & Carrie - 11/15/12

Second Place

Dr. Zank - 11/2012

Tyler J. - 5/2012

Third Place

Mary and Enidio - 12/2013 

Jessica L. - 3/28/2012

Jason and Jamie - 3/15/2012

Hamiltons - 2/10/12

Paige - 2/21/12 

Courtney T. - 2/9/13

Honorable Mention

Ed and Veronique - 2012

Mama and Papa Ray - 2012

Jessica G. 2012

Erwins - 2012

I wish I had a prize for all of you! But instead you get bragging rights! For the record, no one guessed right on "Where we will move to next."
I definitely recommend this guestbook idea to everyone! It's so much better than just a signature :) It's always so fun to find and go back and read who was at our wedding and how they came into our lives.

Goodbye Second Trimester

We are now officially in our 3rd trimester!!! Woohoo! I thought I would take the time to sum up our 2nd trimester...

At the beginning of our second trimester, I was still having a rough time with morning sickness and still not gaining weight on the scale. Even though baby girl was gaining weight and growing just fine and started showing, the number on the scale was staying the same or even losing a pound. This bothered me quite a bit by myself and hearing people (not doctors) everyday tell me that it "was not normal" and I "don't even look pregnant" started to upset me. Nothing a pregnant girl wants to hear from friends/acquaintances/strangers. It truly is amazing how filters go away, input is given based on no experience, and you quickly feel judged for being sick and miserable! I was so grateful for those friends who had dealt with months of morning sickness and their comforting words. So, the second trimester were the months for me when I started showing more and I was a happy lady! The first time a stranger asked me when how far along I am was a great day!

I haven't had any crazy cravings. The only thing I would say is my new love for milk. I used to not be a die hard fan of milk, but now I can't get enough. I have a bowl of cereal for a snack at least once a day, maybe 2 glasses during dinner, and then maybe a small glass with cookies before I go to bed. Bring on the calcium!

Sleeping is getting more and more difficult. I look forward to the day when I can sleep on my stomach. I do not have a body pillow (or the special, expensive, for-pregnant-ladies-only pillow) because we have enough pillows on the bed. I simply have pillows all around me, including one inbetween my knees. For whatever reason, that really does work! My lovely husband the other night called it my 'crotch pillow' he couldn't even keep a straight face when he said it. We laughed so hard and now it's an ongoing joke every night - "babe, can you hand me my crotch pillow?" I know, we are real mature! :)

The second trimester brought on her kicks! And man, does she kick! The first time I felt her was at work and it just.. well felt weird. I kept rearranging my sitting position and couldn't figure out what it was. It was more of a tingling feeling in my stomach (some refer to it as popcorn popping). Only a few days later, came the jabs and hard kicks and she hasn't stopped since! I could lay in bed and feel her kick and punch all day. We had a moment one night where I would poke back and me and her could go back and forth. I wished so badly I could just grab her little hand or foot in there and kiss them and play with her! Now at the end of the 2nd trimester, they are more of rolls (shoulders and hips I guess) and what we like to call "body slams" which feel like large jolts and I have no idea what she's doing in there. If you stared at my belly from across the room you could probably see it spaz out if you're lucky. I look forward to the day where I'll be able to tell how she is laying, what's a foot, head, hand... Having my husband feel her move is definitely my favorite thing ever.

Retail therapy really does work! Getting dressed in the morning has become quite depressing. I should just pack away all the clothes and heels I can't fit into anymore and stop torturing myself. Luckily, I had a sweet friend (one of the students actually) loan me all of her maternity clothes. That was such a huge blessing and saved us a lot of money. But I got to a point where I felt like I needed to go shopping and pick out a few of my own clothes. It was amazing how I felt afterwards. You know how much better you feel after a huge shopping spree and you look forward to getting dressed in the morning because you have so many options. Just evidence that retail therapy really does work!

And here are a few things I couldn't live without during the 2nd trimester:

1.Belly Band - I was able to wear my pants that much longer! Better than having to go out and buy all new clothes.

2. Palmers Stretch Marks Cream - No stretch marks yet! Preventative action.

3. Water bottle - having a designated water bottle helps me keep tabs on how much water I'm drinking and is a constant reminder to keep drinking (which is hard because the more water you drink, the more often you have to use the restroom)

4. Pill box organizer - don't make fun of me. When I was sick, I couldn't remember for the life of me if I took my prenatal vitamins. I would never take them at the same time every day due to how I was feeling. This plus a forgetful mind, was not reliable. A little mini organizer that I could throw in my purse was perfect!

5. Old Navy's Fold Over Jersey Skirt - amazing! So comfy and perfect on the waist. I can wear it with a t-shirt or dress it up for work. I already have two and wish I had more. I'll definitely be wearing these after pregnancy too.

6. EAS Protein - my husband makes me a protein shake every morning (partly because he makes himself one and then leaves mine in the fridge). These have been perfect because I'm not a breakfast person. Ok, scratch that, I am a breakfast person, I'm just not a morning person and therefore do not leave myself time for breakfast. So protein shake on the way to work it is!

7. Consumer Reviews - I am constantly updating researching and changing our gift registry. I hate making updates online because I am a visual person and want to hold it right in front of me when choosing. Relying on other parents reviews have been so helpful.

8. my husband - he's been such a huge help and I love watching him care for me, because I know it's him caring for baby girl, not me.

We are currently getting her room ready. I can't wait to post all the projects I have been working on - Stay tuned for her nursery!

Look Who's Talking

The other day I thought about how I haven't gotten sick (as in a virus or something) during my pregnancy yet. And a few days later, BAM! Woke up with an itchy throat and stuffy nose and the next week was filled with sneezing, coughing, nasal spray, and benedryl. To top it off, I got sick the day before we left for our summer vacation to visit my parents in Santa Fe. Luckily, I felt fine and it didn't slow me down anymore than she already does. But everytime I sneezed, my funny father would scream "poor Sophia!" because he wanted to know what me sneezing must be like for Sophia. And the first thing that came to mind was the intro of "Look Who's Talking" where they film the baby in the uterus commentating alongside Kirstie Alley's every move. Remember this movie? And now I can't stop wondering what she might be saying/thinking in there. Well, I'm sorry Sophia for my outrageous sneezes, but I hope you are nice and cozy in there!

Other than being sick, we had a great time in Santa Fe. Filled with relaxation, good food, and time with the soon-to-be-grandparents! My mom and I are sewing a lot of things for baby girl's nursery, so we began working on those too. Stay tuned for those projects! Can't wait to share! :)

Living in the Moment

We can go hours day-dreaming about the future. When we were 16, we talked about what our lives would be like in the future and we still do. A lot. At least once a day we have one of these conversations. They usually start off with "I can't wait til we..." or "I look forward to the day when we can..." We have looked forward to getting married, starting a family, having a house, vacations, and even the smaller things. However, it's consuming our life. We talk and talk but sometimes forget to live in the now. We can talk about how we look forward to being more involved in the community, weekends away, having big gatherings at our home, and so on. But sometimes I catch myself saying, why can't we do that now? Sometimes we use medical school as an excuse. And then we will eventually use residency as an excuse, then fellowship, and then attending, then what? We're 80 and never accomplished the little things we wanted to. So, here is to living more in the moment. Talking about what we can do now and not years from now. Making our dreams a reality.