Moving to Connecticut!

One of the biggest things to happen to us all summer (year to date??) was move across the country. We couldn't have chosen somewhere much farther to move than we did. But, we made it and now call New Haven, Connecticut our home. We took it slowly instead of busting it out in a few consecutive days which I think worked really well. 

First off was packing up our home in Draper, obviously.

Before we officially left the area, we decided to stop at perhaps the one and only food truck in all of Utah/Salt Lake county (which we also happen to LOVE!) - waffle love. Thank goodness baby decided that waffles were acceptable! It was a good last meal for us in Northern Utah.

Next stop was Parowan to spend a few days with my family before peacing out completely. Mostly for me it was a lot of relaxing and recovering - turns out I exerted myself a little more than I probably should have in our cleaning and packing saga. Our dogs thoroughly enjoyed hanging out at my parent's house running around, digging, barking at chickens, and getting so. dirty.

Brit and Andre came down with us to spend the weekend. We were able to have a few more days with them before having to say by, which was nice. 

Next stop: Denver! Our dogs quickly took control of all the dogs in the Paddock household and made sure that they were aware they were in control. Ameya was thrilled to have her sidekick who she could sick on the other dogs to enforce her will. By the end of day two, both the little dogs were hiding under Hunter's parents beds and wouldn't come out unless they absolutely had too. It was eerily reminiscent of how Ameya corners Oreo at my parent's house.

We ate some great food in Denver as well, hitting up all our favorite places since it will likely be a while before we are back. Two of the most notable places: Tokabi (Native American Indian Food) and Cherry Cricket of course.

Exhibit A of our dogs running the house.

We also made sure to spend as much time as we could with Jes and Rendy. We will certainly miss having them only 8 hours away. 

It was here that I got my pregnancy pillow - at about 20 weeks - and I am forever grateful that I did. Kenobi's look of enjoyment encompasses exactly how happy I am to have it (especially now that my bump is MUCH bigger).

This picture was taken at dinner the night before I headed out to Iowa. Hunter stayed in Denver just a couple days longer to play some Ultimate Frisbee of course. 

I am not sure how I don't have any pictures of Iowa at all, but for some reason I don't. We all had such a good time hanging out at my Grandma's house. I hadn't been there in probably 7 or 8 years so it was nice to be able to finally go back. Kenobi particularly loved it there - he could run and swim to his little hearts desire. A tired dog is definitely a good dog and that has never been more evident to me than it was that week. He played so hard every day and then when he went to sleep, didn't budge for a solid 8 hours. He also somehow managed to get himself two ticks within a couple centimeters of each other. Luckily, we had treated both the dogs with Frontline Plus before we left Denver and those ticks were a true testament to how well it actually works. While they were able to attach themselves enough to stick, it seems that neither of them actually got any blood and died rather quickly. It was worth the high price we paid for it.

The next leg of our journey included lunch in Chicago where we got some Chicago style pizza. They don't mess around there. No joke - the crust on this thing was at least a solid 3 inches thick.

We then proceeded on to Cincinatti where we had dinner with my college friend, Lindsey. It was so much fun to be able to see her cute family and catch up on life. I am so glad we decided to take that little detour. Again, I somehow managed to not get any pictures here. 

From there, the push to get to New Haven continued. This was the only part of our trip where we drove two days in a row. They were a long two days, but we all survived alright. Our dogs travelled surprisingly well. Ameya was a constant fixture on the driver's lap and Kenobi made himself right at home in the back seat, stretching out from door to door most of the time. 

My parents and I pulled in late Friday, July 26th. Hunter joined us a couple days later after a frisbee tournament in New Jersey. Our house was filthy (more on that later) when we moved it. Filthy as in black film coating all the walls and the hardwood floors hadn't even been swept, among other things. As a result, my mom and I spend the bulk of that Saturday scrubbing down the whole house, which isn't really a bad thing because now we have no doubt that we will be bringing home a baby to a home that has been deep cleaned recently. My dad was a trooper that day though and unpacked the ENTIRE POD while we cleaned. While we didn't get everything set up at that point, we got the basics and were able to relax just a little bit more the next day before my parents were off and back to Iowa.

The dogs definitely experienced a little culture shock(?). I'm not sure that's the right terminology, but they seemed to forget all their training and had a hard time adjusting. But, we eventually got there and they both seem to be better adapted to their new home at this point. 

As a side note: if ever you are moving a great distance, I highly recommend the POD. We were able to get one on super short notice and everything about it was soooo convenient. They moved it for us, we came when we wanted, didn't have to worry about a trailer, it was at our destination when we wanted it to be and they picked it up right when they said they would. Definitely worth the little extra it may cost. We will be using a POD for our next move as well, wherever that may take us. 

Second Trimester Pregnancy Update

Wow, talk about falling behind. I'll try and divide everything I want/need to say in a somewhat organized manner. First stop: Pregnancy updates.

On July 3rd, I had my big anatomical ultrasound where they check that everything is growing as it should and that there are no unforeseen problems. It also happens to be when you find out the sex of the baby! And drum roll please.......we are having a BOY! We were both pretty shocked to find that out because for some reason we were convinced our first child would be a girl. Those were Hunter's first words when I told him I was pregnant. However, we are just as excited about having a boy as we would have been about having a girl. The only difficulty: picking a name. Much harder to do for a boy!

Here are some picks of our little guy from that day - I was 18 weeks, 4 days at that point.

The little guy was shy and didn't want us to see his face so these were the best we could get. It was fun to watch him move his little hand to cover his face each and every time the ultrasound tech tried to get a look at it.

A couple things we found out from this ultrasound that were a little scary on the surface, but ultimately fine were that 1) I had a two vessel cord instead of the normal three. This can be a soft marker for down syndrome, but the fetus usually has some other abnormalities if it is. They normally check the kidneys and heart to make sure those are fine and if they are, it is more than likely just a two vessel cord. A little more follow up is required to make sure that fetal growth (more on that later!) isn't compromised, but other than that it just randomly happens in 1% of pregnancies. And 2) That our baby had bilateral choroid plexus cysts. This too can be a soft marker for genetic abnormalities, but is usually a completely normal part of the developmental process - to the extent that our doctor said it may even happen in most babies. The other things they look for when this is found are just general growth issues. If something is wrong, they will see gross malformations and growth restrictions. Luckily for us, everything else looked exactly how it should - he was sized exactly where he should have been and everything was growing as it should. Just to be on the safe side, my doctor recommended a genetic screening test just so we could have a better idea if there was something going on. It too looked just how it should and was completely negative. It took a couple days to digest and a number of google searches before I felt okay with everything, but I did start to feel better about the situation after a week or so. 

Now for a couple belly pics!

Halfway point - 20 weeks!

21 weeks:

23 weeks - It's amazing to me to see how much of a difference there was from 20 to 23 weeks and it is particularly obvious because I am wearing the same shirt.

And 26 weeks....do we think baby had a growth spurt much?? Haha. 

The Neutering Saga

Last week we got Kenobi neutered. This is a pretty routine proceedure and shouldn't be a big deal, right? I mean we have already experienced this with minimal issues.

However, never before had we experienced a cone.

I don't know what was worse for him - being neutered or having to wear the cone for days.

When I went to pick him up post-surgery, we had to hang out at the vet for a while because we needed to get both dogs Lyme vaccines for our impending move back east. Not a big deal. As soon as the vet brought Kenobi out to me, all that was on his little anesthesia-riddled puppy brain was "I have got to lick this incision". At least that is what seems to have been on his mind. Thus, the vet went and got the cone and the saga began. Right there at the vet.

Unfortunately, his mind set is only just starting to change - a solid week later. It has been a loooong week to say the least. Probably the most traumatic of his little puppy life. Everytime he tried to walk anywhere - our bedroom to the living room, outside to go to the bathroom, etc. - he would throw what we equated to tantrums. He would sit on his butt, spin, and try unsuccessfully to lick his incision so he would start scratching it with the cone. Taking a walk with that behavior was particularly fun and a lot longer than normal. One thing is for sure - this little guy is doing his best to prepare us for what is coming in the next year or so.

With his peripheral vision completely non-existent, he also ran into a lot more things than normal. Ameya learned very quickly to fear the cone and makes sure to keep a safe distance, often hiding behind me wherever I am. On Thursday we decided his attention to the incision was waning and it seemed to be healing nicely so we let him spend a little time without the cone. He was fairly successful so we did the same on Friday. However, Thursday was also our last days of drugs for him. This was very apparent in a sudden behavior shift on Friday. With the cone off, we expected him to start acting a little more like his playful self. What we didn't anticipate was that he would still be in a lot of pain and not want to leave the couch or move unless it was absolutely necessary. I'm talking we had to drag him off the couch to get him to go outside. He would get up to eat, but not with anywhere near the same gusto that he normally does.

At first we though "Okay, maybe he's just tired. Afterall, he hasn't really slept with the cone on because it's so loud in the crate and he is constantly freaking out about it".

Nope. Saturday was the same story after having the cone off for a day and a night and a day. So, back to the vet it was. Diagnosis: he was still in pain, could potentially be having a reaction to the Lyme vaccine, and the area around the incision was inflamed due to being shaved and licking/scratching. Prespription: more pain meds, antibiotics, ointment for the area, and reinstate the cone. Awesome. haha.

However, we do seem to have turned a corner and are on the mend - knock on wood. He showed a little more life last night and was actually interested playing a little. He even followed me around the house as I tidied and packed a little. Great news! I think he'll get to officially ditch the cone today and hopefully be back to his normal self in a couple days.

Moral of the story: pray that your dog doesn't need a cone after being spayed/neutered. It. Is. A. Disaster.

Ragnar - Wasatch Back 2013

Wasatch Back. The hardest Ragnar to get into - as well as one of the hardest Ragnar's that you can run. We long dreamed of being able to run this Ragnar, especially after Vegas last year. Things weren't looking promising though as spots sell out before it's even opened to the general public. This, however, seems to have been our year. Because it was the 10 year anniversary of the first Ragnar ever (Wasastch Back, of course) they almost doubled the number of spots they allow by hosting a Thursday/Friday race as well. We were in as soon as I got the email.

That meant that we had to get together a team, though. We were pretty convinced that we knew enough people that would be willing to participate, and sure enough within a couple weeks we had 10 other people wanting to run with us. However, things change, schedules get in the way, and conflicts arise. There were multiple times of having a full team and scrambling to find someone right up until 2 days before the race - and to all those who can up and run a Ragnar, I am impressed and hope one day to be like you. We were able to do it though and had a full team excited and ready to run! Remind me though how much I didn't like this part next time I think it's a good idea to organize a team. haha.

On Wednesday, June 19th, our van (Van 2 - I don't know why we did that to ourselves again. We vowed after Vegas that we would never be van 2 again. Then, even being in charge, we both chose legs in van 2. I suppose we are glutton for punishment.) loaded up and headed to Logan to stay at one of our van member's Mission President's house. Can I just say - WOW! I have never seem a house and property as incredible as this one was. Everything was beautiful, well kept, and extravagant while still being welcoming and homey. 

We dined that evening at Hu Hut. I'm not even sure how to describe it except it was tasty and an experience I had never had before. We had smores for dessert - see the cute little fireplaces?

Breakfast the next morning was provided in the home we were staying at. We all carb loaded nicely on pancakes, eggs, and bacon. 

The boys even did the dishes for us!

Here is a picture of the entrance to the room Hunter and I stayed in. Incredible, right?

After breakfast it was van decorating time! Nothing better to put you in the Ragnar spirit!

...and the finished project! Well, one side anyway. The other side will make multiple appearances later on in this post. 

Then we loaded up and were on our way to exchange 6 where Brit would begin. Random side note: we actually had to drive all the way back through Ogden to get to our starting point. It might have been easier to just stay at our house the night before, but, then we wouldn't have gotten the amazing Bed and Breakfast experience that we did. I like to think of it as our little mini vacation pre-Ragnar. haha. 

We also all applied our Ragnar tattoos - which ended up leaving tan lines after the fact on at least 3 of us.

Brit got the bracelet from Catherine around 3 o'clock and we were off!

Cute little newlyweds :)

Jes handing off to Hunter for his first leg - the hardest leg of the course and the only one manned by EMTs. 

But, he survived it! He came in strong a couple minutes ahead of time. 

One of our lovely volunteers as well as our van captain from team one. Both of these lovely ladies have said they will run the next Ragnar we do - even if it is on the East Coast. 

In the midst of crazy sun and no sleep, pictures stopped for a while. haha. This is me checking off my final leg of the race. Hooray! Notice the little check marks associated with my name for baby? Cute, yes?

And Hunter making his final check mark....

We did it! Our final time was 32 hours 45 minutes. It was such an incredible experience and I'm just not sure how to describe it. It is fun and crazy and will make you more tired than you have ever been in your life, but once you are caught up on sleep and the soreness wears off the itch to do it all over again starts right up. 

All of Van 2. Some of our favorite people. 

More finish line festivities...

One of my favorite purchases of the day...isn't it soooo cute? 

Here are some couple shots from our van...

Brit and Andre, little cuties. They will definitely be doing another Ragnar with us :) Despite not wanting to, they loved every minute and felt the itch to do another one the very next day. 

Jes and Rendy post crazy, straight uphill legs. If you get a named leg you know it's going to suck. Both of them had about 4 mile long legs that were pretty straight uphill with very little to no relief. Of course they both rocked it.

And of course, Hunter and me. 

We decided that since the only purchases we have made for our baby up to this point have been running related that means we are going to have to run again. Oye. haha. It'll probably be a solid 8 months or so before I set out on anything too serious though. 

We are officially Ragnarians - again!