Not many left like this!

So I just finished watching the last of the Belgian classics, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.  I know many of you that read this blog do not care about that but I had to mention it.  I was so stoked to watch this race, and the other classics, that my Sunday routine as of late has consisted of running up to Starbucks early to watch the race off of their borrowed WiFi before heading to church.  It's been even more of a struggle when the wake-up comes on the heels of having set up chairs the night before at church for the morning services!  I can't complain because it's been totally my call to get up early on a Sunday and seeing my beautiful wife still laying in bed.  It's almost time to head to church here in a bit and worship with the Stonegate family.  It's always something I look forward to on Sunday's when I haven't been out of town and thankfully I've had many weekends at home lately.  After church we'll be heading to one of my best friend's and teammates house to see his newborn little girl Emma. I must say I've been looking forward to this event for a bit now as well.  With every friend of ours that has a baby my excitement grows for Christen and I to have ours.  I've seen pictures of little Emma and they're awesome, but I want to see the little one in person.  Who knows, I might even volunteer to change a diaper?  On the home front things have been pretty status quo.  I've been on a 3-week block of pretty hard training in preparation for this next weekend's race.  It's been a big goal of mine since the season started and so I hope to make good on what I feel I can achieve in the race.  Christen and I took on a 1-weekFfarkle challenge last week.  We played 1 game of Farkle each night and had a best of 7 series.  I came out hot winning the first 2 games only to lose the next 3.  I then tied the next game to make the series 3-3.  The last game wasn't even close, Christen wiped the floor with me.  I guess I'll be taking her out to dinner soon to the place of her choosing.  It's not such a bad deal after all!  On the spiritual front, I've been camping out quite a bit on the idea of humility versus pride.  The message last week was about this and it really opened my eyes to what pastor Rodney said about pretty much all sins stemming from pride.  Take a minute to think about the sins in your life that you commit on a daily basis and trace them back to their root.  You will see pride there lurking as the catalyst for those sins.  If you don't, it's probably because your pride is not allowing you to see it!  That's what makes pride so dangerous.  In parting, a HUGE shot out to my mom and sister who sent us a package with some awesome clothing items for little Annalise.  Home girl is going to be wearing the freshest threads a little infant can wear, haha.  Man I am really looking forward to dressing Annalise in some little outfits!  Boy, I think daddy is already wrapped around her finger and she isn't even here!  Ok, church time!  Y'all enjoy your Sunday and have a great week!

26-30 Weeks!

I know, I know, it has been Forever since the last time I have blogged! I am now at 30 Weeks! 10 to go. It has been so long, I don't even know where to start...

Easter Weekend
Last week we had 4 days off due to Easter and so I finished painting the room and crib. I love how it turned out so now I just have to figure out what I want to do as far as wall decor goes. I will post pictures when it is complete :) Might be a while! On Sunday we traveled up to Denton after church to see the family and to catch up. We had a good time seeing everyone and of course eating all of the food!

Last Doctors Appointment
My last doctors appointment was at 28 weeks which if you've had kids before you know what that means...the Glucose test! I loved every second of the "Fruit Punch" that I had to drink. You have to drink this special drink in under 5 minutes and then wait 1 hour for them to take your blood. This test determines if you have gestational diabetes. Thankfully I didn't get a call from the doctor, which means I passed! I also got to listen to Annalise's heartbeat which was sitting strong at 161 (must have been the sugar drink). Usually she has a heart rate around 130 so I guess the sugar got to her:) It was Loud and Fast! Dr. Morehead also took some measurements of my stomach which showed Annalise measuring 8 days behind. They are not concerned about it, she's just small! I did mention at that appointment that I feel like my heart rate has been faster than usual which has caused me to feel very "weird" at times. There was one day when I was walking the dogs with my friend and I had to go home bc I just didn't feel right. Dr. told me that during pregnancy your having to get more blood out for the two of you and therefore causes your heart to race some. Well a week later, I got a call back from my bloodwork that I have anemia...sure enough that's why I have been feeling all "crazy"! Anemia is a condition in which the body doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells which provide oxygen to the body tissues. So, now I'm taking Iron pills which have some Fun symptoms (jk)! Other than that everything is great!

Symptoms I'm experiencing right now
The last few weeks, Annalise has decided that she likes to rest (push) her head up into my ribs. Yes, she's still breech. Well it is extremely uncomfortable so I push her right back down. It's a game that we play ALL day! Well, these last few days I feel like my ribs have been bruised (which technically she's not strong enough to do). Throughout the day I will have extremely sharp pains shoot through me around my sternum. I am also not sleeping to well because of this. On Monday I am going to call and just let them know what's going on. Other than my ribs, maybe slight back pain sometimes.

DANIELLE WHITE...YOUR MY SUPER HERO! The leg cramps are Finally gone. I no longer wake up in the middle of the night screaming due to Charlie Horses in my calves. My friend Danielle told me to put a bar of soap under my sheets and that it is known to stop leg cramps. It has been 3 weeks and not a single cramp! It's amazing! Thank you...best advice so far!

Well, this is all I can think of for now! Until next time:)

                                                                   29 Weeks

                                                       Granny and I at Easter

                                                                Sugar Drink:) yummy!

                                                               Annalise at 25 weeks

How far along?   30 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 19 pounds (last doctors appointment)
Maternity clothes? Pants
Stretch marks? No 
Sleep: Good until I squish my ribs and of course the 4x a night broom trip

Best moment this week:  Finishing the walls and seeing family

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? being able to just bend over

Movement: ALL the time!

Symptoms: Ribs hurt

Food cravings: No
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Have you started to show yet:  Yes

Gender prediction: ANNALISE

Labor Signs: No 
Belly Button in or out? 1/2 of the way out  
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both

Looking forward to: SUMMER and my baby showers!

The buildup!

Well the excitement is definitely beginning to build around the Arroyave household. Knowing, and being able so see Annalise's room is beginning to drive home a very important point.  Pretty soon it will not longer be just the two of us!  I'm finding it hard to express in words but I cannot wait!  The other day at home group for church I got to hold one of our friends' newborn girl and it was awesome.  She fell asleep in my arms while holding on to my hand.  Then this past weekend I went down to Austin to work some races our team was putting on.  It was great to catch up with the team and meet some new faces.  The best part of the weekend however was listening to 2 new dads talk about their newborns.  I could just sense their joy and it really fired me up! I was thinking to myself, "why do we have 3 more months, why not next week?!"  I know, be careful what you ask for because I'm kind of enjoying my sleep and last days of freedom, but I am ready.  I am really looking forward to the next few weeks where I will be home for the entire weekend.  here are some races I will be doing but they are local and will not have me away from Christen and Annalise at night.  It was becoming extremely difficult to be away from my family week after week.  It will also be nice to get to attend church on a regular basis again.  I hope you enjoyed reading!

25 Weeks and HER NAME!

I can't believe Spring Break is here! From here, the rest of the school year always flies by. Last weekend we took the dogs to the dog sitter and drove down to Austin for the weekend. Of course the one weekend I choose to come watch Mario race, I get sick. I was miserable to whole time! Monday, we both decided to take off work so I could go to the doctor and so Mario could rest up and take me. He also needed to get the car checked out because we suspected the alternator was going out in our car. Tuesday morning comes along and Mario was running a fever and having all those nasty symptoms of the stomach bug. So once again he was out another day. Nonetheless, an eventful week. 

Best Part: Getting to see how big Annalise is getting...Annalise? you might be asking??

Annalise Arroyave

Folks, we have a name! Well kind of...Mario doesn't want a middle name but I do, so we're still working through those minor details :) But this is a start! People keep asking, "are you going to call here Ann or Anna?" and my answer is No. I don't know why, but I love the full name Annalise but am not a huge fan of Ann or Anna, so if I do end up shortening her name, it will probably be Lise.

Last Monday we went in for another sonogram to see if my placenta moved up and sure enough it Did! She is getting so big. It is crazy to compare the sono pictures from 6 weeks ago and now. She definitely was a little blurrier just because of less room but things I learned: She loves having her left hand by her face! Both times, this is where it was been. Her right hand is always laying so comfortably on her chest. Mario things she is going to be a Lefty like him. We also got a straight on shot of her face. I know it is skeletal, but if you compare it to Mario's baby picture, it's the EXACT same shape. I'll have to post pics so you can see! She might be looking like her Daddy. I can't wait to schedule the 3D/4D sono this week! I know some people want to be surprised when it comes to knowing what they're baby looks like but I don't! I love just seeing her in my womb and just being in amazement of God's little being that He created and how Amazing the whole process is. Plus, I'm the crazy girl who wants to read the ending of the book first just so I know what happens. Can't wait! 

As I'm tying this I realize that my belly is not flat and the computer can no longer just sit there...crazy how you don't even think about small things you can't do anymore! I will also be putting a bar of soap (thank you danielle for the tip) under my sheets tonight in hope of never experiencing charlie horses at night like I've been experiencing! We'll see if it works!

I'll be posting pics soon!

How far along?   25 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 14 pounds
Maternity clothes? Pants
Stretch marks? No 
Sleep: Toss and turn a lot but I'm still sleeping really well!
Best moment this week:  Seeing Annalise

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? being able to just bend over...this is a new challenge!
Movement: We have a night owl on our hands:) 

Symptoms: Round ligament pain, Acid reflex, charlie horses that kill my calve muscles.  
Food cravings: No
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Have you started to show yet:  Yes

Gender prediction: I asked the tech this week if she was still a girl....YUP

Labor Signs: No 
Belly Button in or out? In but about to pop out...it's sensitive!  
Wedding rings on or off? On 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both

Looking forward to: registering with 2 good friends in Waxahachie and working on the nursery with my husband and best friend this week!

23 Weeks

Time is starting to fly by! It seems like every time I look at my calendar another week was gone by. Here are some highlights from this last week:
-Got kicked so hard (I'm guessing on my bladder?) that it made my scream AHH outloud. (not sure if this is a highlight)
-Finalized my grades early! (this might be a first)
-Mario got 2nd place at Mineral Wells:)
-got to see my best friend today!
-walked around at pottery barn kids which got me super excited
-dogs did not dig out of the back yard which means we don't have to spend money on an electrical fence

Funny(kinda) story of the week:
-So I was in a jumpy mood and without even thinking I ran from our bathroom to our bed and jumped on it without using my hands...if you've never seen our bed, it's about 3-4 feet off the ground..yes high. Over the last few weeks I guess I've lost some ab muscles...yeah I about didn't make it. It would have been funny to watch my facial expressions when I realized that that was probably not the smartest idea, it kinda hurt! It's crazy how you forget sometimes that your pregnant and that you can't do things that you used to do like jump on a bed without help.

-I did unfortunately miss my first Daniel study this last week due to grading papers and trying to get grades finished. I am love studying Daniel and can't wait to begin Revelation in the fall. I guess Mario (daddy) will be having Father/Daughter dates every Wednesday night come September:) Crazy to think about. However, I (mom) will be having Mommy/Daughter dates every Monday night with my homegirls watching the Bachelor. So excited about Emily being the next Bachelorette!!!! Mario just said that once the baby is here, that show will go out the back door....who does he think he is:) Kind of like people telling me that my dogs will live outside...WHAT? Now, I'm not an idiot, I know that my dogs will not be getting all of the attention anymore and that if they ever did anything crazy (like growl or seem aggressive) that we'd be finding them another home, but geez people, stop telling me these things! They are my dogs and I love them! Okay I'm off that soap box.

Here is the baby bump this week!

How far along?   23 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 12+ pounds
Maternity clothes? Pants
Stretch marks? No (not on stomach)
Sleep: Good
Best moment this week:  Seeing my BFF

Have you told family and friends: Yes

Miss Anything? nope
Movement: Yes...ALL the time...you can even see my stomach move
Food cravings: Banana Pudding, Milk

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope:)

Have you started to show yet:  yes, people our now commenting

Gender prediction: ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!No longer calling her IT

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In (I have noticed that it's kind of flat now)
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Both
Looking forward to: talking about names and working on the nursery

21/22 Weeks....Rough Week.

I am blogging this morning feeling very down and upset! This week was rough at school and to top it off, my dogs (which everyone knows are my kids) got out yesterday morning. Sure enough they came back like always. There is a huge field behind our house that they love to go and run around in. Abbie honestly hasn't gotten out in over a year bc she knows she'll be in trouble. Wade has recently started bolting the door but he's our fearlful one and is to scared to venture out to far...so he always comes right back with no hesitation. Well, yesterday after we got home from Mario's race we decided to lay down for a nap. During this time, some friends who were staying with us came back from the race. Sure enough as the door opened the dogs bolted. This time they never came back. We have searched the fields and streets surrounding our area for hours. We even went out last night but they were no where to be found. I think that they either a) went to far and couldn't find their way home or b) someone picked them up. Hopefully someone will find them and turn them in today or tomorrow! So for now, I'm trying to keep my head held high. It's hard looking at their food that they never ate yesterday and knowing that it was in the 20's last night but I'm going to trust that God willing they're just fine!

I think I've decided what I want to do with the walls of the baby's room! This is a huge step for me. So now I have something to look forward to this spring break.

 I am thinking instead of the blues, going with two shades of purple...not sure yet what the contrasting color will be, I love the yellow, but not sure how it would look with purple. I definitely need someone with some decorating skills to help me out:)

Week 22
A week later and the dogs are back safe and doing great. I never posted the earlier one for some reason but that was exactly how I felt at the time. Thankfully Monday morning a lawyer here in Waxahachie who has land with a lot of animals found Abbie and Wade.Unfortunately, Wade ate two of his chickens but the guy was really nice about it!

I had such an awful weekend dealing with all of that I decided that I needed a personal day from school. So Wednesday I took off and went with my friend Kara to lunch and out for a spa pedicure (thanks for the invite!) We had a great time catching up and just enjoying some time away from our homes/school.

How is pregnancy going::: I'm sure that everyone goes through this at some point in their pregnancy, but honestly I just feel Fat and Gross! I'm in that awkward phase where people don't know if I'm pregnant or have just gained some serious weight. I have also started getting stretch marks which I didn't think would happen to me (who do I think I am) :). My sweet husband just keeps telling me, it's all worth it bc of the sweet baby girl growing inside me and of course I know it, it's just hard experiencing body changes. I am feeling great though and have an awesome appetite. A couple of weeks ago I started experiencing these horrible charlie horses in my calf muscles and nerve pain doing down my legs behind my knee. I have starting eating bananas all the time to hopefully help with this. Other than these symptoms, we are enjoying watching/feeling this little girl move around in my tummy. I put some Phil Wickham music to my belly the other day and she went crazy. I don't know if she liked in or not? All I know is I got kicked/punched for like 5 minutes in a row. I loved just watching my belly go crazy!

We did finally talk about names the other day and I think we have both decided on a name we like! Once it is final, I'll be sure to post! Here are some catch up pics of my baby belly. Sorry, no head shots, it's always late when I remember that I havn't taken any pics.

                                                  HALF WAY THERE....20 Weeks!

                                             21 Weeks

                                                   Front view...21 Weeks

                                           22 Weeks

                                          22 Weeks

We have 3 weeks until spring break! During that week, I will want to start working on the nursery, registering for baby items, cleaning out closets, a deep house cleaning, catching up with friends, and the list goes on. Can't wait!

Have an awesome week, it's supposed to be in the 70's once again! LOVE IT!

The next time I...

It is definitely Monday!  My race season is officially in full swing.  I haven't had a Monday like this in a long time.  It's the type of Monday where you are coming off of a really tough weekend of racing and you're exhausted and your legs hurt...a lot!  Enough complaining, I chose to ride and race my bike right?  Even still, I've got a little extra "hop" in my step. I've got a bit more "float" if you will. I placed decently in yesterday's race taking 8th place.  Generally thoughts of the race would consume my trip back home.  I'd ask things like, how could I have done better?  What were some things I did well?  Who beat me that I felt shouldn't have?  Who didn't beat me that I can say I'm proud to have beat?  Yesterday's drive home was different.  I stopped and thought to myself, when this race comes around next year, I'll be a daddy!  I went to the dentist last Monday and that's what got this train of thought started.  When I went to schedule my next cleaning, the lady said "you know the next time you visit us you'll have a little girl". It hit me...hard! Man what a feeling!  So that's the way I've been thinking about things here lately.  I'll take an event and think to myself, the next time I do this or that, will I be a daddy?  What a joy  What a blessing!  And from what I've been told I still have no idea.  I'm ready.  We're halfway!  Keep journeying with us!  Keep praying!  Thanks for reading.