Chicago

 The second weekend of February Kyle and I took a trip to Chicago to visit 2 MBA schools that he was recently accepted to.  There has been talk of him going back to school for his MBA for years now, and we knew it was a possibility that he would need to eventually.   To move up in rank in his current job in Private Equity, it is almost required that you get an MBA after being an associate for a couple of years.  He signed a 2 year contract with his current company, which is nearing it's end this summer.  This means that in order to have the best chance of moving up in a Private Equity company, an MBA is his best bet.  Him going back to school will also heighten the chance of us being able to move back to DFW.  He was accepted to Northwestern's business school, Kellogg, and University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.  Both schools were hosting admitted students for Admit Weekend at the same time, so we planned the trip so we could take a look at both to see what we think.

My doctor said it was fine for me to fly (I was 30 weeks pregnant) and Mums and Gran/Pops agreed to keep Lane for us so we could spend a long weekend there.  On Wednesday the 5th, I planned to meet Mums in Waco to drop off Lane.  I was really nervous to leave Lane for that long overnight since he is such a mama's boy and doesn't like being away from me.  The last time I left him for more than one night was almost 2 years ago!  We went out that morning for breakfast before heading to Waco for the drop-off.

Practicing some writing at our favorite breakfast spot, Kerbey Lane.

Put his pen behind his ear when it was time to eat!

Lane is a huge pancake lover and inhaled a whole pancake that morning!  I know I will treasure these pancake memories, especially after Lane isn't my only little date anymore!

That afternoon we met up with Mums, Kori, and Evin in Waco.  I was all sad to leave Lane and surprisingly he acted just FINE about it all!  No tears from him whatsoever and he was thrilled to be headed to Mansfield for the weekend!

We flew out to Chicago early the next morning and arrived to this:

Oh my goodness, it was the coldest I've ever been in my entire life.  Our walk from the train station to our hotel was brutal.  Kyle and I had to duck inside a building to de-thaw before finishing the trek to the Westin.  

After we got some lunch and relaxed a bit in the hotel room, we ventured out to Booth to see the campus.  

Kyle in front of the Booth School of Business

That night, we attended a Booth dinner event for admitted students.  We called it a night early and got a good night's rest.  The next day we visited Kellogg in Evanston, IL.  The biggest difference between the 2 programs for us is that Kellogg is only a year long program and Booth would be 2 year.  We were already 99% sure we would choose the one year if it came down to it, so we decided to spend the rest of our time in Chicago with Kellogg, since Booth was pretty much out.  Friday and Saturday were spent at Kellogg in informational sessions and panels that helped describe and explain some of the aspects of the program.  I had my own agenda with all of the other "partners" of students.  I met some nice girls and even a few with kids of their own.  It certainly didn't ease my fear/worry of possibly moving, but it was nice to meet other people trying to make the same decisions we are.

Kyle in front of the Kellogg School of Management.

 

It snowed a pretty snow that day and wasn't really that bad compared to the day before because it wasn't quite as windy.

I purchased a new hat at the bookstore to better cover my ears.  We had to seriously bundle up before going anywhere outside!  I would wrap my scarf around my mouth and nose so that all that was showing was my eyes.

Friday night we had dinner at a current student's apartment who is also in the 1 year program and married.  Saturday night was the closing event for the weekend.  It was a fancy dinner at a museum in downtown Chicago, really close to our hotel.  We got all dressed up and had a nice time.  I felt a little large compared to everyone else, but got lots of compliments that I was "glowing," which always makes a pregnant mama feel good!

 

We headed back to the hotel pretty early because my feet and ankles started swelling like crazy.  I also started having contraction like feelings, which I assumed were Braxton Hicks.  I think I just overdid it and was on my feet more than I'm used to.  We headed to bed in hopes I'd be better in the morning.  The next morning my feet were still awfully swollen, so I went and had my blood pressure taken at the Walgreen's near the hotel.  I started swelling right at 30 weeks with Lane and ended up developing pre-eclampsia, so I wanted to be safe and proactive about the situation.  My BP was normal and the pharmacist said to just take it easy and drink plenty of water. 

You can see an indention on top of my foot from where my other foot had pressed it while I was sleeping.  YUCK!

On our last day there we went back to Evanston for a housing tour the school was offering and so Kyle could attend a couple of meetings.  We got back to the hotel that afternoon and took a nice nap before getting ready for dinner.  We extended our stay one extra night so we could have dinner just the two of us at a nice restaurant to celebrate our "Baby Moon."  A lot of couples take a trip or do something special right before their baby is born and the new term for this is "Baby Moon."  (Like a honeymoon!)

We bundled up and headed for an Italian restaurant called Centro.

 

We both thought it was really good and had a nice time chatting without having to tend to Lane.  (Although we both missed him like crazy and couldn't wait to see him the next day!)

 

While we were busy in Chicago, our little guy stayed busy with his grandparents!  My mom kept him the first 3 nights and then he went to Claire and Danny's for the last half of the trip.  We talked to him on the phone everyday and got frequent updates on what he was up to.  We were shocked at how well he did, even at night time.  He never cried for us or acted upset and really enjoyed spending time with Mums, Gran and Pops!  I was so proud of him for being such a big boy and making it easy on his grandparents.  (And his mom and dad!)

Pretty much every text picture we received had Lane wearing one of 3 things....

A costume of some sort...

 

Ninja Turtle Jammies

 

or Batman jammies...

He loves staying in his pajamas all day and that's pretty much what he got to do!  It was really cold back in DFW too, so they stayed in most of the time, just playing at home.  Lane loved it!  He did get to play outside at Gran's a bunch one day that was warm and go out to eat and to the library with Mums.  I have said it before, but I am so thankful to have family that is more than willing to watch a crazy 3 year old for 6 days and so thankful that he loves them and trusts them just as he does his own parents!  Knowing he was in such good hands made the trip so much easier.

We flew home on Monday the 10th and Gran was nice enough to drive Lane and Scout back to our house in Austin to meet us.  We were so excited to be reunited with our little man!  Gran got to stay 2 nights with us since the roads in Arlington got pretty icy on Tuesday.  We enjoyed having her there and Lane liked getting to spend some extra time with her!

Pregnancy Update: 28-30 Weeks

1/20/14-2/3/14

Time for another update!  I am now going to the doctor every 2 weeks, so I am going to try to take a picture every 2 weeks from now on until I start going once a week.  I have a feeling this is when the big changes will be happening!  I am feeling BIG, that's for sure!

Here are the latest deets:

-Since my last update, I found out my glucose test came back normal, so no gestational diabetes!

-I am feeling full faster.  Ellis is taking up a lot of space in my tummy!

-I feel big movements and lots of shaking movements where my whole belly jerks.

-We have almost everything we need for the baby with the exception of a few little things and some "girly" items!

-I am still having to get up at least twice in the middle of the night to use the restroom.  Sometimes 3.  It isn't too bad, except sometimes I have a hard time falling back asleep after I get up.  My mind races and I can't turn my brain back off to get some rest!  It doesn't happen every night, but sometimes I will stay awake for hours at a time before I fall back to sleep, only to have to get right back up to go to the bathroom again!  I guess it's preparing me for those late night feedings I will be doing soon!

-Not necessarily a craving, but a new food I am enjoying that I never did before is berry yogurt.  I have always tried to like yogurt and just never have.  The other day at the store I decided to get a pack of the kids Chobani berry yogurt that my mom likes, and I have been loving it!


30 Week Dr. Checkup:

-Gained a pound in 2 weeks.  Total weight gain 17 lbs.
-Baby's heartbeat was in high 140's
-Blood pressure was 98/60 (normal)
-Baby measuring normal



Things to remember:

-Lane randomly came over to my belly the other day and in a baby talk voice said "Ellis, do you want to see your brother??"  It made me laugh!

-Lane often talks about "When Ellis gets big..." and "When Ellis grows up..."  He usually fills in the blank with something about playing with her or sharing his toys with her.  I honestly think he thinks that she will grow to be his age and he still will be the same age he is now.  They will be a 4 year age difference, so I doubt they will play well together for long since Lane will be so much older, but I sure hope they are good friends!

Fort Worth Stock Show

On Friday, January 31, we took Lane to the Fort Worth Stock Show.  With his recent cowboy obsession I figured he would love it!  He wanted to wear his full cowboy gear, but I talked him out of his toy red cowboy hat with the promise that we would look for him a real cowboy hat when we got there!  He still sported his bandana, vest, badge, and boots and looked pretty cute, alright.  Mom, Mitch and Kori decided to come along and even Evin got to come out for an outing!  She has been staying home a lot lately during cold/flu season since her immune system is a little more sensitive due to her heart surgeries.  The last thing she needs is to get sick!  She seemed to like being out and about and enjoyed the sights.

 Lane and Mitch looking at the horses.

Love Lane's smile here!

 

 Evin checking out the horsies

Taking a ride in a covered wagon

We told him to smile and this is what we got...so angelic.  Haha

Little E taking it all in

 

We headed inside to the vendors and I immediately spotted a booth that had kids hats.  We found a cute straw one for Lane and the man even fitted it to his head!  Lane looked so adorable in his new hat! 

 

Evin found one in her size too!  She decided she prefers bows and headbands to cowboy hats.

After looking at the big horses earlier, Lane decided he wanted to ride a pony.  I was a little surprised he wanted to, since the last time he claimed to be "scared."  When I asked him if he wanted to ride he calmly said "sure!"  The lighting was a little weird in the tent, so I converted most of the pics to black and white.  My tiny cowboy looked like a pro!  Then his boot fell off halfway through and he had one little socked foot hanging off the saddle!

Whoa, boy!

A cowboy and his grandma

 We walked by some more vendors and found these really cool horses on wheels.  They had pedals that you bounce up and down on and the horse rolled pretty fast.  Lane caught on quickly and loved cruising around.  If they weren't almost $300 I might have bought him one!

Evin tested out the zebra

Driving a 4-wheeler at the exhibits

 

We purchased Lane one last souvenir before heading to our last stop of the day.  He got a practice lasso and was thrilled.  (Although, I will say he threw a fit to get a cowboy gun set along with the lasso and wasn't successful.)  He held it with him the rest of the afternoon, swishing it around and whipping a few strangers' legs.  We went to the Kiddie Barn last, which had some baby animals in cages to look at.

Lasso in hand, checking out the goats

We stopped for a few pictures on the way to the car.

 

So proud of his new lasso and hat.  All of these poses were 100% him.  I kept saying "Be still and smile at me!!!"  He didn't really mind, but the pictures turned out even cuter than if they were force posed by me!

It was a fun filled day!!

Ellis Paige in 3D

We got to have a 3D ultrasound on Saturday, January 25th.  I was 28 wks 5 days and we were happy to get a good look at our girl on the big screen!  Lane came along with us, but wasn't too impressed with everything.  At one point he said "She just looks pretty orange to me."

I took this picture of the screen next to me while we were having the ultrasound done.  Isn't that little smile she gave us cute?!

 

We received a DVD of the session and 8 prints of different poses.  I didn't realize until after we got home that the DVD didn't include any digital photo files, so I did some handiwork and figured out how to take some screen shots of the DVD.  Here are Ellis Paige's first glamour shots!  We think she looks a lot like me...especially the nose!

And here is just a sweet profile shot.

 

Proud Mommy and Best Big Bro after the appointment

 

This is a short clip of the DVD we got where you can see her moving around and giving her little grin.

 

We are getting so close to seeing her little face in person, and we can't wait!!