The Past Week!

I am definitely lagging behind on this blog! My apologies. Instead of several different updates, I'll put the whole week into just this one. That way maybe I'll actually get it done!

Last weekend Ryan and I bought a new camera for my business. I'm really excited about it, because Ryan is going to be tagging along with me for some of my photo sessions. The difference between the old camera and the new camera is incredible--I really didn't think it was going to be worth the money, but it really is amazing! I was supposed to have my first bridal session that weekend, but the weather was terrible, so we kept rescheduling... We decided to try for Wednesday.

Monday last week, I had three doctor appointments. I woke up that morning and was pissed off that it was snowing. I've never been so mad in my life about snow, and I'm really not sure why I was so mad... But anyway, my first appointment (doctor appointment #19) was with the OB who once again told me I was measuring big but that everything else seemed good and that the baby sounded healthy. It was a short appointment and I went home right after.

Ryan came home to pick me up for doctor appointment #20. It was yet another ultrasound with a new doctor... I don't remember her name but I didn't really like her. The baby weighed in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces and his heartrate was 152 bpm. The doctor told us we were measuring 17 days ahead of schedule, which she interpreted as one week intead of 2-1/2 weeks... But whatever... She also asked us if we'd been offered any tests during our pregnancy to find out if the baby had any problems. We told her no and she didn't say anything about it or offer us anything. She then told us we'd start non-stress tests the following week and that was that...

Here are our pictures from the ultrasound!







Ry and I grabbed some lunch before he went back to work. I had doctor appointment #21 later on with the diabetes doctor. When I got there, they told me he was an hour behind schedule and that I could either wait for him or I could see his nurse practitioner, Sharon. I opted to see Sharon and found out that she was not someone I really wanted to see again... She asked me when my baby was due and I told her, and I mentioned (as I typically do) that I was being induced early. She asked me why I was being induced early and I said, "Well, because I'm a diabetic." She asked again why I would be induced early... I told her that I'd been told that diabetics had a high risk of having still births, so it was dangerous for me to go full term. "Oh," she said... Why is it every other doctor and nurse I've talked to knows about this and she doesn't?! Anyway, I told her I thought I needed some adjustments in my insulin but wasn't sure where to make them. She looked at my numbers and said, "Well, this looks good to me. We'll see you in three weeks." Thanks for nothin', doc...

So that was Monday. Tuesday, Ryan's youngest brother, Josh, graduated from high school. We hung out with their family for most of the day. We are all very proud of him!



Wednesday, we hit 31 weeks in our pregnancy! Here's the weekly update...

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"Though your baby still has 3 to 5 pounds more to gain before delivery, he or she is weighing in at an impressive 3-plus pounds this week. And at 18 inches long (give or take a couple because fetuses this age come in all sizes), your baby is quickly approaching his or her birth length. Also developing at an impressive clip these days: your baby's brain connections (baby has to make trillions of them). And he or she is able to put that complex web of brain connections to good use, too--already processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses. Your brainy baby is also a sleepy one, putting in longer stretches of snooze time, specifically in REM sleep--which is why you're probably notgicing more defined patterns of awake (and kicking) and sleeping (quiet) times from your little one."

-text from What to Expect When You're Expecting

-photo from http://www.babycenter.com

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Wednesday night we finally got to do my friend Andrea's bridal photos! We went to Memory Grove Park, which is where Ryan and I did our own bridals/groomals. It was good practice for both of us and we got a lot of good pictures. I only have two posted so far, but feel free to check them out on my business blog at http://aubreyhopephotography.blogspot.com.

Thursday night, my baby brother graduated! Corbin is the last of the Leonard kids to graduate from high school. All three of us did it! We are all very proud of him, too.



I've been working on editing Andrea's bridals every spare chance I've gotten since we had our session, so that's what I've been doing (between my bouts of moaning about how the baby is huge and just won't stop moving and making me uncomfortable). I've got two people interested in me as their wedding photographer in October right now, and I've got a couple of people interested in senior pictures, in addition to my mom's office considering using me as their company photographer... I'm really excited that I've got so many people interested, so I've been putting a lot of time into my photo stuff for the past week! So I do apologize for my future laggings as well...

Yesterday was my 6-year anniversary with Ryan. We started dating six years ago... That feels like such a long time! It's cool to look back and see everything we've been through together, all we've overcome, the dedication and committment we've given each other. I'm so pleased to see where we were then and where we are today. We were a couple of crazy, lost kids six years ago, and now here we are as adults--married, expecting our first child, living in our own home... I love Ryan with all my heart and would not trade my life with him for anything. We tried out Market Street Grill last night for dinner to celebrate. It was yummy! But lucky me and my non-stop morning sickness, I didn't eat a whole lot... But it was still good.

Anyway, I think that's all I've got for you for now... Tomorrow we start the non-stress tests, so hopefully you'll get to hear about that in the next couple of days!

Hope everyone is well!!

-Aubrey

The Pregnancy - Week 30

I'm dragging yet again... I can't wait until the exhaustion is gone, though I'm also realizing that it may never actually go away!

Anyhow, we are at 30 weeks this week! Only about seven more to go! Enjoy this week's post!

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"What's 17 inches long, just over 3 pounds in weight, and cute all over? It's your baby--and he or she is getting bigger by the day (in case you couldn't tell from the size of your bellly). Also getting bigger daily is baby's brain, which is preparing for life outside the womb--and for a lifetime of learning. Starting this week, your baby's brain is starting to look like one, taking on those characteristic grooves and indentations. These wrinkles allow for future expansion of brain tissue that is crucial as your baby goes from helpless newborn to responsive infant to verbal toddler to curious preschooler and beyond. Your baby's bigger and better brain is also starting to take on tasks previously delegated to other parts of the body, like temperature regulation. Now that the brain is capable of turning up the heat (with the help of that growing supply of baby fat), your baby will start shedding lanugo, the downy, soft body hair that has been keeping him or her warm up to this point. Which means that by the time your baby is born, he or she probably won't be fuzzy wuzzy anymore."

-text from What to Expect When You're Expecting

-photo from http://www.babycenter.com

-Aubrey

P.S. Monday is three doctor appointment day... Yay... So check back next week to hear about all the appointments!

The Pregnancy - Week 29

I know this is four days late and I apologize! I'm lucky enough to have been crashed with exhaustion once again now that the third trimester is here and I've been super busy editing photos for people... I edit until I fall asleep and then I sleep for the rest of the day!

Ryan and I also worked on the baby's room some more yesterday. We finally have the ceiling painted and the trim. Now we just have to paint the door, the closet doors, and the inside of the closet, and then put up the wallpaper. Ryan's planning to start some of that today... Hopefully if we don't finish everything today we will have it all done by next weekend!

Anyway, I'll get on with the post, seeing as I actually SHOULD be getting ready for work...

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"Your baby can be as tall as 17 inches now and can weigh nearly 3 pounds. Though already coming pretty close (within 3 inches or so) of his or her ultimate birth length, baby still has lots to gain. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, your baby more than doubles--and may even come close to tripling--his or her weight. Much of that weight will come from the fat accumulating under his or her skin right now. And as your baby plumps up, the room in your womb will start to feel a little cramped, making it less likely that you'll feel hard kicks from you little one, and more likely that you'll be feeling jabs and pokes from elbows and knees."

-text from What to Expect When You're Expecting

-photo from http://www.babycenter.com

Until this coming Wednesday!

-Aubrey

Doctor Appointment #18

18 doctor appointments... Does that not seem like a ton?! Since December 15, 2009, I have had 18 doctor appointments.

Today I saw Dr. Glenn, my OB. This appointment was pretty quick. I went in and he told me that my labs all came back looking great aside from excess protein in my urine (which he didn't find surprising because of my diabetes). He was very pleased to hear that my last A1c was 6.0%. But he was not very pleased to hear that Dr. Day (my diabetes doctor) had asked me to come back in three weeks rather than every week... So I guess I get to call Dr. Day weekly if I'm not seeing him weekly. Yay for me!

Anyway... Dr. Glenn said that I was still measuring a little bit bigger than I should be (2 cm bigger this time, and I think it was 3 cm last time, so at least there's improvement!). He also checked my ankles for swelling and said that there is swelling, but that it's a normal amount. And he said that the baby's heartbeat is normal and that it sounds like he's kicking good, so he seems pretty healthy.

Anyway, that's all to report for today. No doctor appointments next Monday, but I've got three the Monday after that... :-/ So check back for weekly updates on Wednesdays until then!

-Aubrey

P.S. For those of you who are wondering, Ryan and I did register at Babies "R" Us. I think you can shop either in the store or online.

Registry number: 45381469
Registrant's name: Aubrey Nelson
Maiden name: Leonard
Co-registrant's name: Ryan Nelson
Rewards "R" Us Membership Number: 2100072499769

And I think that's all the info you could possibly need... If not, let us know!

Our Cars and The Pregnancy - Week 28

It seriously feels like we found out that we're pregnant just a few days ago. I can't believe how time has flown! And now here we are on Day #1 of the third trimester with only nine or ten weeks left until our sweet baby boy arrives...

I have begun to feel a bit overwhelmed with everything. I mean, we only have two more months until he's here and we're not done with everything!! The baby's room still isn't done, I still haven't figured out how to take care of my maternity leave, and we have absolutely nothing for the baby. Not to mention I know nothing about babies and never even babysat a baby, let alone lived with one and taken care of one around the clock. I think Ryan's feeling a little bit overwhelmed, too...

Our car problem hasn't helped matters, either... As I mentioned yesterday, I had to stop by the outpatient center for some labs last night. So after Ryan got home from work, he drove me to Provo. We parked and Ryan's car would not shift gears whatsoever--meaning not only would it not go into park, but it would not shift out of drive whatsoever! So, Ryan stayed in the car and tried to get it into park while I ran in to have my bloodwork done.

I came out a while later and Ryan was on the phone with someone from Saturn trying to figure out what to do. Luckily, we do have a warranty on the car, so we got someone to come tow it to Layton for us (that's the closest place we can take our car to be serviced these days, thanks to Saturn and GM and everything going under). We called my brother, Corbin, again to come pick us up. He drove us to my dad's house so we could borrow the truck for a couple days.

Anyway... This brings us to my little adventure of the day... So I didn't have time to fill up my gas tank on my way to work today, so I figured I'd fill up when I left work on my way home. I got to work and realized I'd left my test strips at home. Normally, I'd have just forgotten about it, but because of all the changes Dr. Day made on Monday, I wasn't sure what my blood sugars would be at what times (and I've been low half the day, so despite the outcome of this story, I am glad I went home), I decided I'd better run home and get them.

I forgot to fill up my tank before I got on the freeway, and can you guess what happened?

That's right. I ran out of gas.

I felt my car slowing down, so I pulled over. This has happened to me before and I had an even longer distance to travel then, so I figured I'd do what I did last time. I turned off my car, started it, and started driving again. It was going well enough, so I passed by the first exit (the gas station at that exit was uphill and I didn't think I'd risk an uphill drive on no gas). As soon as the exit was behind me, my car started freaking out again. So I pulled over and started it up again. Again, it seemed fine. So then, right before I hit the lane to take my exit, the car slowed way down again. And of course, road construction is currently being done there, so there is no shoulder to pull off on. So I had a line of cars stuck behind me as my car jumped along the lane. Finally I had to just hit the brakes, turn off the car, and start it up again. That got me to the lane where the exit was. Then I held up traffic in that lane (people getting on AND off the freeway are in that lane) until I finally could pull over. The offramp is on a downward slope, so I started the car again and coasted a little farther along before I realized that Maverick was uphill, not downhill. So I just stopped completely and called my husband to ask him to come rescue me.

Ry came with a gas can and followed me to Maverick. We filled up the car there and then drove home. As soon as we got home, Ryan added something to my gas tank (which I had also forgotten about this morning) while I ran inside to throw up on the first day of my third trimester... After that, I tested my blood sugar and was low, so I had some juice Ryan sat with me at home until I was up enough to drive. So, my "half hour at most" to get my test strips was actually about an hour and fifteen minutes...

I must thank my husband, though. He's so great and he was so nice about the whole situation. He could have been angry and frustrated with me, but he was just such a sweetheart. I am one lucky girl and I love him to death!

Anyway, on to what you've really been waiting for... Week 28! Read and enjoy!

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"This week, your amazing baby has reached 2-1/2 pounds and may be almost 16 inches long. Baby's skill of the week: blinking. Yes, along with the other tricks in a growing repertoire that already includes coughing, sucking, hiccupping, and taking practice breaths, your baby can now blink those sweet little eyes. Dreaming about your baby? Baby may be dreaming about you, too, courtesy of the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep he or she has started getting. But this little dreamer isn't ready for birth day just yet. Though his or her lungs are nearly fully mature by now (making it easier for your baby--and you--to breathe a little easier if he or she were born now), your baby still has a lot of growing to do."

-text from What to Expect When You're Expecting

-photo from http://www.babycenter.com

As always, I hope you enjoyed! Next doctor appointment is Monday!

-Aubrey

Dr. Day

Appointment #17 was yesterday!

We met Dr. Robert Day, my newest diabetes doctor. He seems a little odd, but he's not the worst doctor I've ever met with... He told us that Dr. Moyes accepted a job closer to her home in Salt Lake, so she is no longer working with the clinic in Provo. I was more than relieved to hear that I wouldn't be running into her!

My HbA1c was excellent this time! It was 6.0%! That's the highest number a non-diabetic person can be before they're diagnosed with diabetes! So I'm actually in the non-diabetic category. I thought that was pretty cool. I'm quite proud of myself! I also had a lower heartbeat than I typically do and my blood pressure was actually normal for once in my life. I don't know what it is about doctor's offices--I guess I just don't like doctors. I'm always nervous at appointments.

My numbers have been running a bit higher than they should be lately, though, so the doctor made some new adjustments for me. I'm supposed to go back and see him again in three weeks, the same day as our next ultrasound.

After the appointment, Ryan and I stopped by the outpatient center by the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center to pick up the screening test my OB wants me to take. So I started that last night and get to go turn it in tonight. I'm not 100% sure what it is they're measuring... My kidney function and to see if I have high blood pressure, I think, so they can be sure I don't have preeclampsia... I'll let you know if I find out!

After that, Ry and I decided to swing by Best Buy. As soon as we walked out to the parking lot and got to our car, it wouldn't start. We couldn't figure out what was wrong... So we called my dad, but he was at work. So we called my brother, Corbin, and asked him to bring some jumper cables. Of course, when Corbin got there with his friend, Riley, there wasn't a spot next to us for him to pull into. So Corbin and Riley pushed the car out of the parking stall and got it rolling down the aisle. Then they went and hopped into Corb's truck and pulled up to Ryan's car just as Ryan's car actually started!

Corbin and Riley went on their way and Ryan and I headed to Pep Boys and had them test the battery and the alternator. The guy told us that the alternator was testing at 13.5, but that it should be testing between 13.8 and 14. They wanted to charge us $220 for a new alternator. I called my dad and he said that as long as it was testing above 12 we didn't need a new one. So we decided we'd bring the car over to his house the next day and see if he could figure out what else it could be.

Ryan and I then went to Kneaders for dinner and the car wouldn't go into park. Obviously if the car isn't in park when you try to start it, it won't start. So we decided that must be the problem. We had dinner and then Ryan's "service engine soon" light came on, so we ran to Auto Zone, where they were too busy to help us. So then we went to Checker and figured out the code. It said something about the airway, and Ry has a wire that's broken on the sensor there, so we figured if we can splice the wire, the car will be fine. We'll try it tonight and see if that works!

Anyhow, that's all I've got to say for now!

Today's our last day in the second trimester, so check back tomorrow to learn more about the third!

-Aubrey

Our 2010 Vacation!

So, we've been home from our vacation for two weeks now, and I have not yet told you anything about it! But it's finally time I do! HaHa.

We left after work on Friday, April 16. It is a LONG drive to Moab! Okay, so I guess it's not actually that long, but when you are pregnant, it sure feels like a long drive! There was a little gift shop area that we decided to stop at before we hit Moab's Main Street. We mostly just stopped to get out of the car and walk around for a minute. There were some teepees at the stop, so we both took a picture by them. :-)




Once we hit Main Street in Moab, there were tons of people out! We were trying to figure out where to eat, but it was so busy that we didn't have a chance to stop until the edge of town where there was a place called Yo' Mama's Pizza. So we ate there. It was not great... But oh, well. We were starving and weren't sure how much longer it would take us to get to Cortez, Colorado.

So after dinner, we left, and we passed Hole N" the Rock. Ry told me he alwasys wanted to go to one of those stupid tourist attraction places, so I told him we should stop there on our way home.


We got to Cortez a little after 9:00 p.m. It was strange for a Friday night--there were no cars on the road, no people walking along the streets. We were tired from driving all day anyway, so we just went straight to bed once we got to our hotel. We stayed at a National 9 Inn. Neither of us would recommend that hotel... Our fridge didn't work, the microwave didn't work, and the bed was not comfortable... It reminded us a lot of our first apartment!

The next morning, we got up and headed down to Mesa Verde National Park. It was about a one-hour drive from our hotel. We had planned to spend our entire trip at Mesa Verde because Ryan had found a two-day itinerary for the park. When we got there, though, we discovered that half the park is closed this time of year, and we were also advised to only go on one of the two hour-long tours (the easier one) because I was pregnant.

We decided to eat before we took the tour, so we ate at a restaurant called the Spruce Tree Terrace Cafe. They had really yummy hamburgers! And of course, because we weren't in Utah, there was no fry sauce for the fries, so we had to make our own. The fries were really yummy, too! Then we went to start the tour.

We signed up to hike to Cliff Palace rather than Balcony House. It was the easier of the two tours. Tickets were only $3 a person, though, so it was a nice, fun, inexpensive thing to do.

This is looking over the edge down to Cliff Palace.

This is Ry while we were on the hike!

These are some pictures we got at Cliff Palace...





The Pueblo people lived in these houses for 700 years, up until A.D. 1300. There are 600 cliff dwellings in this area. No one knows for sure why the Pueblo people left. All that their descendants have been able to offer is that it was just time for them to leave, that this area wasn't their "center."














After the drive, we drove around to find some of the lookout points.

The Pueblos built their homes in these hangover areas and then grew their crops on top of the plateaus. They mostly grew corn.


Lizard! Can you see him?!

This is Balcony House, the one we were advised not to tour.


The other pregnant girl who was on our tour followed us on this little hike and snapped this picture for us.

Our son's first vacation! And we didn't pay a dime for him to come!




This is Spruce Tree House. We were supposed to be able to hike to this one without a tour guide, but they had it closed off while we were there, so we only got to see it from afar.

This is Ryan outside the museum... :-)

And that was our day! Ryan's car was running on empty on our way out of the park, but luckily we made it to a gas station before we ran completely out. We headed back to Cortez and again, there were no cars on the road and no people on the streets.

We decided to go to dinner at a place across the street from our hotel. It was called the Dry Dock Restaurant and Pub. It was a seafood place. My food wasn't bad, but Ryan was pretty disappointed with his. He bought a drink that smelled really yummy, though (and no, I didn't even attempt to sample it!)... ;-)

After dinner, we went back to our hotel and tried to figure out what to do for the rest of the night and the next day. We thought about going to the movie theater in Cortez, but they only had two movies going, neither of which I was interested in, and the theater looked about as comfortable as a dollar theater around here... If not less comfortable. So back in the hotel, we got online and tried to find things to do that were close by. The only thing that seemed even remotely interesting was Four Corners. Ryan wasn't very eager to go stand in four states at once, though.

So then we started looking up things to do in Moab. We found some jetboat tours that looked fun, so we decided to see if we could cancel our hotel reservation for the next day in Cortez. The guy said we could if we talked to someone from the travel site we booked through, so we did. The people Ryan talked to said the hotel had to refund us, though, so Ryan decided to wait until the morning and then get it figured out. So then we called and booked the tour and hotel in Moab for the next night. Then we turned on the TV and went to bed.

We got up the next morning and packed up all our things, then Ryan went to turn in our key and get our money back. But, the guy in charge wasn't going to be back for half an our. So we decided to go get breakfast. We decided to try the Let It Grow Nursery and Garden Market. Neither of us was actually hungry when we got there, so Ryan got a coffee and I got a milk steamer. I forgot how good those are!

We headed back to the hotel and got our money back. Then we left Cortez and headed back towards Moab. We stopped in Monticello at a gas station and then hit the road again. As soon as we did, we got pulled over by a cop. Ry has the worst luck with cops and he has never been given a warning or the option of doing traffic school, so we were both a little overwhelmed... The cop walked over to my window and started talking to us. I had thought the speed limit was 40, because that was what the sign said when we saw his lights flash on. Apparently, though, until we hit that sign, the speed limit was only 30. Ry was going 56... While the cop was talking to us, the baby kicked, so I put my hand on my belly. I think the cop noticed and he let us off with a very strong verbal warning! Ryan's baby got him out of a ticket before he was even born, LOL!

So then we left Monticello and headed to Moab. We stopped at Wendy's for lunch before stopping for our 1:00 tour. The tour was a 4 Hour Jetboat Tour provided by Canyonlands by Night and Day. The tour cruises along the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park. We had a lot of fun on the tour. As we got on the boat, the guide asked if we'd paid for two or three... LOL. The tour was nice and relaxing! We were the only people from Utah (aside from the guide). Every group of people was from a different state, everywhere from California to New York. About two hours in, we ran over a big stick that made the boat feel and sound like it was being ripped in half. That woke up the baby and he kicked for two hours non-stop!

Anyway, here are some photos from the tour...


Colorado River!

One of Moab's many rock climbers!

Jug Handle Arch!



A bird's nest!

Fossils!


Splashes from the boat!





This tree is not native to Moab. They believe it was washed from wherever it's from to Moab in an old river, that the mud ran over it, and that it then petrified.







That's Dead Horse Point there to the right! We didn't have time to go drive up there while we were there, though... But that is where Joe Dirt was left at the "Grand Canyon," LOL!


Every year, a grand piano is flown in and lowered down here for chamber music concerts at the Moab Music Festival. Crazy, huh?!

This is the boot, though one little girl once said it looked more like her daddy's chair with the remote control on the arm!


A tumbleweed!



These are some petroglyphs we saw along our tour!




After our tour, we went to check in at our hotel at the Ramada Inn. This hotel was SO NICE compared to the one in Cortez! We loved it!

We decided to walk along Main Street in Moab. It was a nice day--not too hot and not cold! We checked out some gift shops and then decided to go to dinner. We went to the Moab Brewery. Ry ordered a beer and a specialty glass to take home. When he tried to get the plastic wrap off the glass, he knocked over his beer. The bartender sent him a new one with a lid and straw. It was kind of funny. It wasn't until that point, though, that anyone asked to see his ID--after he'd already drank a beer and a half! How ridiculous is that?! I couldn't believe they asked at all. By that time, the restaurant would have been in very big trouble if Ryan had been underage. Anyway, the food wasn't bad, but the service was terrible...

By then it was late so we headed back to the hotel and hopped into bed. The next morning we went to eat at the restaurant connected to our hotel--Pancake Haus. They definitely were not very good, either... I actually wouldn't recommend eating anywhere we ate on our trip EXCEPT for Wendy's... And the Let It Grow place in Cortez, but that was for drinks... But while we were at the Pankcake Haus, I actually saw my belly move! From the outside! It was so crazy. I had thought I'd seen it move the day before, but I was never completely sure because we were on the boat when I thought I saw it...

After breakfast, we then checked out of the hotel and backtracked to Hole N" The Rock.

Hole N" The Rock is an interesting place... Apparently, this old couple named Albert and Gladys Christensen built their home inside of this mountainous rock... You pay $5 for a 10-minute tour. There are supposedly 14 rooms, but we didn't see all of them. The guy not only built the place, but he also liked to paint (there were creepy-looking pictures of Jesus and Franklin D. Roosevelt) and do taxidermy (the first donkey he taxidermied is in there and is falling apart, as well as two horses he did later on--they all have what looks like felt eyes and they look like creepy cartoon characters come to life). His wife made jewelry out of broken glass bottles and she also carved their headstone. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but you can see a few at this website: http://www.theholeintherock.com/photos.html. The pictures we did get are mostly of other artists' works, so here those are!



A public statement of the guy's love for Franklin D. Roosevelt...






This is where the creepy old couple is buried...

















There was a petting zoo there as well that we didn't go to.

After that, we headed home! It was a fun trip but we were definitely glad to be back home!

The day after we got home we could both see the baby kick from the outside, so that was a lot of fun for us, too!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this super-long post!

Check back later on to hear about my doctor's visit today. :-/

-Aubrey