Where did July go?

I can not believe a month has gone by so fast!!!  I guess I will just start from the beginning and try to catch up to today.  I finished work at the end of June and few days later we headed out to New York to spend some time with family and friends.  We had a wonderful time eating pizza with family, BBQing with friends, watching the fireworks, beaching it at the ocean and visiting the city.  Our friends Kevin and Jenn recently had a new baby so we got to meet their beautiful girl Mikayla too.  Just when I thought our trip couldn't have been any better and we had as much as we possible could have packed in to the short time we were in NY, Kevin's mom, sisters and brother planned a surprise baby shower for me.  Everyone knew but me.  We woke up early and Kevin, his brother, our friend Greg and I headed to Long Island to spend the day at the beach.  I couldn't wait to jump in the waves!  We packed breakfast and lunch and spent the whole day relaxing on the beach.  I knew we needed to be home in the evening because our aunts were coming into to town (I thought to just see Kevin and I because we were out there) but I didn't know we actually had a time line.  As we headed out of town a little later than planned I asked the boys if they would stop at a yogurt place if we saw one...and of course I spotted one and going along with it, they stopped and I got my treat.  When we pulled into Mom's driveway (about 2 hours late) I had no idea what was going on when I saw all of our family and friends from out east standing there to greet us.  When I got out of the car I saw the Congratulations sign as Kevin pushed me ahead.  He obviously knew what was going on.  Needless to say I was entirely surprised and overwhelmed with all of the attention and I was the only one who had no clue.  The baby shower was amazing!  So much thought was put into the planning and I could not feel any more blessed and loved.  Everyone was so generous and our little man is so lucky to be loved by so many people already.  It was a full evening of visiting, games, great food and fun.  We even planted a rose bush to symbolize the growth of our little baby just like we did the tree at our wedding.  It was all so special.

Here are some pics of our time out east...

Having fun at the local carnival

Enjoying the evening at the Baby Shower

Jason multitasking

Quite the game going on :)

Kevin in the ocean

A day at the beach

When we left NY, I headed out to Wisconsin and Kevin headed back home to Denver.  While back in Wisconsin we also had another baby shower planned at my Aunt's house down in Rockford, Illinois.  It too, was very special and again I can not say how loved and overwhelmed I feel from everyone's generosity and support for us during this magical time.  It was so wonderful to spend time with all the ladies in my family and our friends who made the journey down as well.  Our friends Christie and Trevor recently had a baby so I got to meet their bundle of joy, Brooklyn at the shower too.

So cute and ready for the party

Baby Brooklyn!

My sister in law, Casey came up from St. Louis with my brother and nephew Kaleb.  The boys went to our good friends Billy and Jody's house in Chicago during the shower and afterwards, my mom, Zoe, Casey, Jody and I all drove up and met them back at the house to hang out for the night.  The boys had a delicious meal on the grill for us and we ended the night with roasted marshmallows and s'mores.   Billy's kids Tate and Taylor were also up for the weekend so it was a pretty full house.  We all got to spend most of the next day hanging out together as well before we all parted ways.  It is always so hard to leave family.  Luckily Kaleb got to come up to Door County with us so I got to spend the rest of my time back home with him too.

Jody just had a beautiful baby girl!!!

9 months on left, 6 months on right

It was so nice to spend some time in Door County during the summer.  It is crazy to think that the next time I am back at my parents, our baby will be about 2 months old.  I spent a lot of the time relaxing but we also took advantage of the nice weather and beautiful scenery by going on a few bike rides, played mini golf and had dinner on the beach.  One of the best parts about being home though was my daddy's cooking.  Nothing beats it!  Me and the baby were very well fed.  My dad has been on a diet and I must say he looks amazing but I never thought there were would be day when he was cooking that I would have to ask for him to put more food on my plate or to give me the biggest piece of meat...but we found out that day has come.  I am on the opposite diet of him...more food please :)  Again, it was very hard to leave family but luckily my parents are coming out to visit in just a couple weeks so I will get to see them again soon!

My mini parents - Looking good!!!

Zoe checking on the baby

Zoe and Kaleb after the round of golf

When I got back home to Denver I had a few days to relax with Kevin and then I headed up to the mountains to work at Adam's Camp.  If you haven't heard about this organization click on the name and read about it.  It is an amazing organization that I can not say enough great things about.  The week was entirely exhausting but sooo rewarding.  We stayed up at Snow Mountain Ranch.  The scenery was gorgeous.  I worked with a group of 3 other therapists (a speech pathologist, physical therapist and music therapist) and 2 volunteers.  We pretty much worked from 7am till 10-12pm everyday.  We had a group of 4 campers ages 5-8 years old, all with varying disabilities and level of abilities.  We provided 5 hours of one on one therapy each day and then we spent a couple hours doing a group activity such as horseback riding, canoeing, swimming and rock climbing.  There were other events put on in the evening such as a big campfire and dance.  I must say I was more tired and sore after my week up at Adam's Camp than I was after running the marathon but I will hopefully do again some day when I can take a week away.

Our Amazing Group including Therapists, Campers and Volunteers

Sing along Campfire

Sun Mountain Ranch - Beautiful




When I got back from mountains I had a few days to recuperate and then I headed back to work.  My sister and I started painting the babies room in the few days I still had off and I am excited that we just finished the last layer of paint last night.  It is just how I wanted it to turn out.  We used the technique my momma showed us when she came a few months ago and helped Kevin and I paint our living/dining room.  Kevin also finished a project that he has been working on for awhile...he put up a banister on our stairwell.  It also looks amazing.  He spent a lot of hours sanding and staining the original banister and I love how it turned out.  The trek up and down the stairs in middle of night to use the restroom is getting more and more difficult so I am so thankful to finally have it up.  Next up on the to do list is to refinish the stairs and organize the rest of the house.  Ikea just opened up here in Denver so when my parents are out here, I have everything marked in the catalog of just what we need to get our house in baby order.  

Here are some pics from our camping trip this weekend...

A hike we took up to a little lake

Of course we all need a little facial while were camping!

Chef D excited to get cooking

Deeogee had so much fun running around with the girls

We headed up to the mountains for a night with our neighbors.  We camped at about 9,000 feet elevation.  It was a beautiful spot but a bit chilly at night.  Our neighbor is a professional chef (he used to be Carmelo Anthony's chef until he went to NY) so he took charge of the food and I must say it was probably the most gourmet food I have ever had cooked over a fire.  We had sausage and crab paella for dinner with sauteed veggies, followed by s'mores of course.  For breakfast the food never stopped.  We started out with coffee (and decaf tea for me) complete with cream and honey, poppy seed bread (my contribution), pancakes that tasted like funnel cake, made to order eggs and Kevin had an omelet with bagel.  I must say there are some real perks to camping while you are 7 months pregnant.  I pretty much just sat and relaxed as the tent went up, the fire was made and the food was prepared.  I felt a little guilty when everyone was off collecting fire wood but I guess not too guilty because I never got up to help.

Here a couple more pictures from a few other days in July...

Kevin, Deeogee and Emily in Nederland

Rockies vs Brewers

Our Baby's first baseball game

I think that wraps up our past month.  I still can't believe it is already August.  Just 12 more weeks and our family will grow from 2 to 3!!!  I hope everyone else has been enjoying the summer.  Thank you so much to everyone who made our July so special.  We feel so loved and supported and can not tell you how grateful we are for all that we have.

XOXO

PS -  Sorry for the lack of pictures from both baby showers.  I guess I was too busy enjoying the company of great family and friends!