Giving Thanks

For the month of November, I have been participating in 30 Days of Thanks on Facebook, documenting things I'm thankful for throughout the month. Of course, it's important to be thankful throughout the entire year, but with the baby and the holidays, it felt right to focus on my gratitude this month. 

Here is the master list of all the things I've been thankful for in November:

Day 1: I'm thankful for hot cocoa and sweatpants. They make a fall evening after a long week feel much better. Day 2: I'm thankful for stretchy waistbands so I can be stylish and still comfortable. Day 3: I'm thankful for the great pregnancy I've had so far. Today marks 20 weeks (halfway!) and I'm excited for what the rest brings. Day 4: I'm thankful for our new King Size bed arriving today. I can already envision the glorious sleep I'm going to get! Day 5: I'm thankful to live in a country where the right to vote is so protected. I did my part! Day 6: I'm thankful for tinted moisturizer and mascara. They can take a sleepy face a spruce it up pretty quick. Day 7: Today, I'm so immensely thankful that my mother comes for a visit. This weekend is going to be so wonderful! Day 8: I'm thankful that my baby GIRL is healthy and strong. Oh boy, is Alan in trouble. Day 9: Thankful that after 10 stores, mom and I found a cute sheet and blanket set for the crib. Apparently, finding something for a girl that isn't obnoxiously girly is not an easy task. Day 10: I'm thankful for an amazing weekend with Alan and Julieand for sharing these special moments with them! Day 11: I'm thankful for our Veterans, who have served or are still serving. And a special thanks to my favorite Veteran! Day 12: I'm thankful for a great job at a great firm, working with wonderful people. Day 13: I'm thankful for technology. It keeps me in touch with my favorite people in Minnesota AND makes work so much easier! Day 14: I am thankful for the evenings in which I get to work with kids at the gymnastics gym. It keeps me active and helps me get accustomed to the joys of little girls! Day 15: I am so thankful it's Friday. Seriously long week! Day 16: I'm thankful for 90's pop music, making my Saturday work load more bearable. Day 17: I'm thankful to have a super-handy husband who can build things like a beautiful head board for our new bed and a bookshelf tree for our future daughter. Day 18: I'm thankful to have good and talented people in my life. I've known the members of Home Free for a long time. They are good friends and amazing singers and NOW they they are going to be on The Sing Off in December! Day 19: I'm thankful for Kramer, who keeps me on my toes and teaches me patience everyday! Day 20: I am thankful for my amazing husband, who always know when I need a laugh. And boy, did I need one today. Day 21: I'm thankful for silly TV and magazines. Sometimes they're the perfect way to unwind. Day 22: I'm thankful for warm blankets on cold nights. We've got ourselves Minnesota-like cold here in Colorado. Day 23: I'm thankful for pedicures. And massages. And half-caf lattes from Starbucks. Day 24: I'm thankful that this weekend I finally started feeling real movement from the baby. More than just flutters and sloshes. It's an awesome (and weird) experience! Day 25: I'm thankful for internet shopping, allowing me to get most of Christmas shopping done and send it ahead to Minnesota. Day 26: I'm thankful for my amazing family, who has already shown me so much love and support and is now doing the same for my little girl. Day 27: I'm thankful for my amazing husband, who cleaned the house, prepped the food, and let me come home and relax after a particularly long day. Excited for the epic amount of food and laziness I'm taking in tomorrow! Day 28: I'm thankful for sweet potato pie. 3 slices in one day is totally reasonable, right? Day 29: I'm thankful for sleep. Sweet, glorious sleep. Day 30: I'm thankful for weekends, when I get to spend time with my husband, the pup, and our future daughter. These moments make everything so worth it!

More on our Little One

Last weekend, my mother flew in from Minnesota in order to be a part of our gender reveal appointment. On Thursday, we picked her up at DIA and Friday after a half-day of work, we headed to the hospital at Ft. Carson for our ultrasound. 

After the first 25 minutes, the radiologist asked if my mother and I wanted to know the gender. (We did. But Al was out in the waiting area since only one person was allowed in at a time.) We had him tell us anyway because I didn't want to wait - Al came in shortly thereafter and found out himself.

So...our little one is a...

 ...a girl!

{That's a pink cupcake, which I brought to the office later that day.}

Now, Al and I were both pretty set on a boy. We figured it'd be easier for our first child and, well, Al's a total sucker for a pretty girl who cries. And, if I'm being brutally honest, I have no idea how to do pink and ruffles and princess stuff. 

Nevertheless, our little one is a little lady. She'll probably wear tutus and drive tractors and paint her nails and shoot a gun. In other words, she'll be the perfect dichotomy of all things awesome. And, the next day shopping with my mother I found these... 

Leopard print AND pink. Okay, so having a girl probably won't be too bad. Now, if Al can just figure out how to say "no" we'll be just fine!

Is this thing on?

I never expected when the job/baby/life thing happened that I would completely neglect ye old blog. I figured it would drop off for some time as I adjusted to the new schedule and my extremely low level of energy in my first trimester. I assumed that when work slowed down and I got back into a groove that I would return to the land of blog and my wonderful readers. 

So far that hasn't happened. I have barely kept up on reading others' blogs. I look through my Bloglovin' account and clear it out every so often and I do look at my Blogger Dashboard and think of things I should write about, but I don't. 

I don't think I've given up forever. There is still such a special piece of me that is expressed through this blog. I have great readers and wonderful friends I've met through this journey and I'm not at all ready to give that up just yet. In fact, now that I'm journeying into motherhood, I need this little slice of the internet pie more than ever. 

I need y'all to help me balance parenting with my blooming career. I need to figure out to prioritize both and still be a good wife, a loyal friend, and take the time I need for myself once and a while. This blog is the cornerstone to that balance and to reserving a little something just for me. 

So stay tuned. I will be back.