Go Sox!

Last Friday the Chicago White Sox were in town. So of course we had to get tickets and go see them play. Anyone who knows Ryan, knows that the Sox are his all time favorite team. I had looked at the Mariner's schedule back in March to see when/if the Sox would be playing here anytime this season, and I completely lucked out that they were going to be in town before the baby arrived!

I e-mailed Ryan's manager (without Ryan's knowledge) and requested for him to have the day off, but for her not to tell him. I bought tickets, asked Ryan's mom to watch Payton for the night and then tried to keep the plan secret for over a month, and that's a very hard thing for me to do!!

Well.. my plan didn't quite work out.. Ryan of course saw when the Sox were coming and started bugging me about getting tickets. Long story short, I ended up telling him ahead of time so he didn't buy tickets that we didn't need, since I already had some in our cupboard tucked away.. Ryan was pretty happy..

(this was the 5th picture we had taken, that's why Ryan has the goofy look)

Our seats were pretty good. We were sitting near first base, down the foul line. Luckily a ball didn't come close to either of our faces, because I would've thrown Ryan in front of me!

Yay for it being a nice day! The roof was open and it was a clear night! The stadium however was not very full.

Juan Uribe just hit, and I'm pretty sure that it was a base hit and he didn't get out, but I truthfully can't remember.. One thing Ryan didn't quite like about our wonderful night, I wasn't sure who to route for. I was wearing my Sox hat, but I would cheer on the Mariners. Finally he told me I needed to pick a team, so I sided with him.

It was a great night! Ryan and I had some much needed alone time, saw a great game, and the White Sox won! Which was so important!!

Fun times at the park

On Friday morning Ryan and I took Payton to the park near our house. Ryan likes to take Payton there quite often.. It's such a fun park! There are two play areas, one for a little older kids and one for littler ones and it's right near the lake. Payton loves it!
There is so much stuff for her to climb on and through and up and over.. We truly do have a little monkey on our hands!

This is the bigger of the two play structures. AND there weren't any other kids there that morning. Probably also because we were at the park by 9:30..

One of the only times she would sit still enough for me to take her picture.

On the opposite side of where the play area is, there is a little beach with a dock and a very large swimming area. During the summer there is a concession stand that opens and there are a bunch of picnic tables and places to sit in the grass. We walked Payton over to the dock and let her take off. Thankfully the dock is completely enclosed and you can't jump off.

What a beautiful day it was and a great start to our weekend off together as a family..

Here we are at the end of the dock. The picture was a bit hard to take, since Payton wanted down to run around.

Change of address..

This past Thursday I had an ultrasound to check up on our little girl's growth. My girlfriend Natalie was so sweet and offered to watch Payton while I was at my appointment, she knows how hard it is with a two year old at the doctor's for two hours. So I dropped Payton off to play with her friend Jordan while I had my ultrasound. Thankfully Ryan's boss is so sweet with my dr's appointments, that she lets him leave for a couple hours to be with me.

Our little girl is still measuring small, this time in the 18 percentile, down from her 28% last month. Dr. Klein says that she's a skinny girl, but as always looks beautiful (her words, I promise.. but Ryan and I totally agree!!). The placenta is still a little over my cervix. My blood pressure has been crazy high causing me to see spots and feel a bit dizzy and get headaches, but I tested negative for preeclampsia.. phew! But our little girl is still just as active and growing and beautiful! She just needs to hold on for a few weeks more so she can get bigger!! :)

So, here comes the address change. Starting tomorrow, I will be having two Non-stress tests a week (where they hook me up with two straps attached to two monitors. One to monitor our little one and one to monitor me and my contractions. I'll also have a blood pressure cuff firmly attached to my arm as well) and an ultrasound every other week, as well as seeing Dr. Skrypzak every week starting May 28th.

So, if you need to get hold of me, I will be stationed at Evergreen Hospital until our little girl arrives (only partially kidding).
This is my new residence.. Oh, and here's the kicker.. I have to do my NST's alone. I can't have any family in the room with me. Talk about stress! Thankfully, Ryan on occasion will be able to meet me after work to pick up Payton.

After my appointment on Thursday, I went to pick Payton up from Natalie and Jordan's house and Ryan had texted me a couple of times asking me if our car charges had arrived in the mail and to check the porch when I got home. Well.. our charges did not arrive, but my most favorite flowers had! Ryan sent me 20 beautiful tulips for Mother's day with the sweetest card! I stood in our kitchen and cried thinking about how lucky I am and what a wonderful husband I have!!

Here they are, just after taking them out of their box. Today they are all upright and still just as beautiful! Ryan sure is the sweetest! :)

Chopstix

On Sunday evening we went to dinner with Ryan's mom, Joanne, and her boyfriend Chuck. We met up at Chopstix, a dueling piano bar, in downtown Everett. On Sunday nights it's family night and they start playing the pianos at 5:30 and make it more family oriented.

This was our first time going to Chopstix, but Joanne and Chuck have been there a few times before.

It's a very nice atmosphere, but it's definitely not the place to go and chat and catch up. It's a bit loud, due to the pianos, but it's so much fun! The pianists take suggestions on what to play and they get the crowd involved and at one point they had a dance contest for the kids. At that time Joanne took Payton up on the stage so she could dance, while all of us adults (Joanne included) sat back and watched and laughed. I took a video with our camera, but haven't figured out how to post it, as soon as I do, I'll put it up.

Here's Payton up on the stage with the other kids, waiting to dance. She was the littlest, but the best little break-dancer by far!
Me and Ryan having a good time

Chuck and Joanne

Ryan and I would love to take Payton back again. Hopefully we can do it before baby girl arrives. Although she was dancing as well while the pianos were playing!

Here's the website for Chopstix. There's also one in Seattle and in Tacoma. http://www.chopstixpianobar.com/

Our busy Saturday..

This past Saturday was pretty chaotic in the Zdenek house!

My bf Monique (everyone calls her Nika) and I are both pregnant with girls and our due dates are only a week apart. I'm due the 23rd of June and Nika's due on the 30th. This will be Nika's first baby.. On Saturday we had a joint baby shower, which was pretty fun, small, and laid back. We have mutual friends so it was nice to get our girlfriends together to celebrate two new lives coming into this world.

Me (at the end of 32 weeks) and Nika (at the end of 31 weeks)
(left to right)- Chris, Stacey, Loni, Kaylyn (Nika's niece), Donna (Nika's mom), Nika, and Tiffany

Our friend Trish, who unfortunately was unable to attend, sent us matching outfits for our little girls. They are super cute and will make for a great photo opt!

At 4:30, my brother and sister-in-law stopped by so we could hang out with our nephews, Trent and Kaden for the evening, while they went to a house warming party. Which was a lot of fun and we always look forward to opportunities for Trent, Kaden and Payton to play together.

Here's Ryan, Kaden and Trent having a staring contest. Kaden would blink about 20 times before the contest would start so he could warm up his eyes to stare at Ryan. Trent was really good at staring at Ryan's silly faces he kept making.

This is what Payton thought of it all! Ha ha, just kidding. Lately she's grown fond of her nose and wanting to point to her brain.. Hopefully the fondness subsides! :)

Later in the evening, Nika and her husband Jason (one of Ryan's best friends) came back over to bar-b-que and hang out. It was nice for all seven of us (kids included) to relax and veg! By the end of the night after everyone had gone home (just before midnight) Ryan and I were pooped and ready to go to bed. It was a fun Saturday, but very busy!! :)

Under Construction.. but progressing nicely

Our baby girl's room is progressing nicely.. Anyone who has been to our house before, might remember the pretty blue walls that this room had prior to us painting. So far the room has been a bit of a process.

Due to the color of blue that was on the walls, we had to primer the walls twice and then paint it white twice. I really wanted to do the room in stripes and I think Ryan was a bit apprehensive, but very willing to help me out! Actually, Ryan did it all!

Here's a picture of the room after the primer and the white paint was done and Ryan had tried a few test stripes (which were perfect!!) Thankfully Ryan is way smarter than me and came up with a great/easy way to create even stripes.. I thought we were going to have to measure each stripe individually with a tape measure, but Ryan used a vertical poster board to create each stripe. He's so smart! :)
Here's the room all taped and Ryan had just completed painting the pink.

Here's her room with her crib in place and the stripes all done. As soon as we have the room all set up, I'll take another picture and show the final product! We're trying to add in as many brown accents as possible, since the colors are pink and brown.

We're starting to feel more and more ready for this little girl to come home!

It finally arrived!

Today as Payton and I were pulling down our street, we were behind a UPS truck and it stopped in front of our house. I thought to myself, could it actually be here?? Well, the delivery was for us! It was our new car seat for our future addition to our family! Payton and I were both excited to open up the box and check out the contents! Payton was especially excited to try it out..
Now that we have the car seat, maybe I can get somewhat restful sleep knowing that we can bring our little girl home when she arrives.

Now onto my next stress.. Getting our double jogging stroller.

For Mothers Day

I was chatting with my friend Hilary the other day and she was telling me about how she is 31 and still gives her garbage (like a wrapper) to her mom. I thought that was pretty cute! She wants it to where when Hudson is 31, he will still give Hilary his garbage too. I know it seems like such a small thing, but it's so much bigger! Hilary's mom treats her daughter like her daughter, whether she be 13 or 31. I love it! My friend Natalie, Jordan (Natalie's daughter) and her mom just got back from a girls trip to Arizona to visit Natalie's grandma and grandpa. Natalie was telling me how she loved that after Jordan went to bed, her and her mom would stay up and watch movies. And then every morning they would go for an hour or two walk and just chat. I love that too!

Since Payton has entered my life, I often think about what kind of Mom I want to strive to be..

Of course I want to be close to my daughters, that's without a doubt! I want them to know that they can come to me for whatever. I want to make sure that they both know that I will give without expecting anything in return, that they can call me for advice and their issue will NEVER be used against them, that they can call on me for help and know that I will not expect them to always be able to be available to help me. I want them, as they get older, to know that eventually they will have their own lives, friends and family, and that I will not be their number one priority, but they will always be their Daddy's and my number one priority and that we will both be there for them at a moments notice (given Ryan and I are not on vacation somewhere far, but we would definitely get to them as soon as possible). I want my girls to want to tell me things, but I will never be upset that they didn't want to share everything.. somethings are better kept unsaid. I never want my children to go a day, wondering if Mom loves them. I want to make sure that they know that I will always love them and I support them. I want to be affectionate and warm and understanding. I want to be a good mom.

I'm excited for my children to grow up and I look forward to seeing what kind of women they become. I know in my heart that they will be good people and I will do my very best to make sure of that. I want them to be happy, and follow their heart and do what they know is right. I know Payton's young and our baby is not here yet, but I think it's important to start thinking about this now. Everyday that passes, is an impact on what kind of person Payton is becoming.

I want my children to give me their garbage. I want to take girl trips and for my girls to only have to worry about having a great time on our trip! :)

It's raining for our baby girl!

Yesterday I had my first baby shower for our upcoming arrival. Natalie was so generous and invited our friends, from work and Stroller Strides, over to her house. It was so much fun and very relaxing! Just the way it should be..

From left to right, Selena, Allison (Emily's daughter), baby Justin (Karen's son), Jenn and Karen.

Natalie and I

Our girls, Jordan and Payton, are friends and are only 6 months apart.

Natalie, Me and Casee


From left to right: Jenaya (her first, expecting a girl, due May 3), Me (my 2nd, a girl, due June 23), Jenn (her first, not finding out, due July 28) and Jessica (her 2nd, a boy, due August 5)

The four of us work together at Costco Home. Babies seem to come in waves at work. Jessica and I were pregnant with our first babies around the same time and we are both having what we had before.

Jenaya, Amy-holding Allison (Emily's daughter), and Emily holding her newest little girl, Olivia (born January 23).

Emily and I were also both pregnant, with our daughters, at the same time. Payton and Allison are only 9 days apart.

Abbey, Stephanie, and I
A couple of my Stroller Stride friends!

Our baby really got spoiled last night! I can't thank everyone enough for all that they did! I feel so much more ready.. especially since my last post on Saturday! Today I ordered our carseat, so now our baby can come home when she's ready!

Thank you to everyone who came! It really meant a lot to me and I had a great time with you! Thank you Natalie for throwing such a wonderful shower! You are truly the sweetest! :)

Two months from today..

Two months from today, at the latest, Ryan and I will be holding our newest little girl in our arms! Are we ready? Not at all. The room is a third of the way- for being painted, we don't have anything to bring her home in the car in, and I still can't believe that we are going to have a two year old AND an infant! Pretty much, I'm slightly nervous and anxious, but so very excited.

I can't believe it.. two more months from today.. given she hangs on until then. Let's hope she does. We need more time to get ready! :)

A two year old's going to do what she wants to do..

Payton definitely has a mind of her own.. Which we're happy about! She knows what she wants, when she wants it, and she's going to get it! Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so much.

She likes to empty out her stuffed animals onto the floor and then climb in the basket, which is so funny how she's starting to become a bit too long for this basket that was once the right size for her..
On this particular day, Payton didn't want to get dressed, only wanted to wear shoes and a diaper, and didn't want me to do her hair (it was a struggle to put a clip in to get her bangs out of her face).

Here she is in her basket..

She sees something she wants and reaches for it..

And she's down! Take a look at her shoe choice.. At least this time it was for the correct feet. Sometimes she brings me shoes that are for the same foot.

When all is said and done, she gives me a big smile and she does it again. Back into the basket!

Trent, Kaden, and Payton

Ryan's and my nephews, Trent and Kaden have been a huge part of Payton's life. My brother and sister-in-law, Ryan and Rachael, live about 10 minutes away and we all don't get together as much as we would like, but we definitely try to get the kids together one way or another..

Trent was born May 18, 2001 and Kaden was born March 26, 2004. The boys are pretty protective over their little cousin and are so great with watching our for her and making sure she doesn't get into something that she shouldn't. Kaden refers to Payton as his baby Payton and Trent acts just like a big brother with his protective watchful eye.
This picture was taken merely hours after Payton was born. Here's Trent when he was 4 1/2, Kaden was going to be turning 2 in a little over a month and Auntie Rachael holding Payton.

Kaden (2 1/2), Payton (10 mo) and Trent (5 1/2)

Payton (21 mo), Kaden (3 1/2), and Trent (6 1/2)

Payton (2), Trent (will be 7 (!!) in May), and Kaden (4)

Yesterday Trent and Kaden came over to play while my brother and sis went and ran errands. It was such a nice day and the kids had fun chasing each other around the kitchen, dining, and living room. When Ryan and Rachael came to pick up the boys, they hung out for an hour or so, which was great being able to hang out and chat.

It was such a nice relaxing day! Payton and I were both pretty sleepy though towards the end of the day. Payton slept for over 3 hours, which gave me a great opportunity to weed the front beds and clean up around the house.

Our future cook?

Lately Payton has been wanting to copy almost everything that I do, thankfully not everything that I say! But she likes to wear my heels around the house, use a handbag, play with shopping bags and fill them with her favorite toys for the day, try to put on makeup, etc. As well as all of the mentioned, she has been wanting to help me cook. So, I figure, why not let her!

Payton's a pretty finicky eater and some days she'll love something, but other days she wont touch it. Whenever I have her help me in the kitchen, that's all she wants to eat!

Here's Payton helping me make pancakes for breakfast (yes, she would actually turn her nose up at pancakes! Can you believe it?!). We made quite a few and they lasted us for a couple of days. Guess who wanted them everyday until they were gone? My little bug did! Yay for helpers!
I think I'm actually starting to figure her out! Have her see what the meal involves and then she'll eat it! Why didn't I think of this earlier...

Baby girl update..

Today I am 29 weeks and 3 days and I had my 6th or 7th ultrasound.. (I'm starting to loose track on how many I've had.. I could just go look at the bills, but that could be depressing..) Again, it was another long doctor's appointment!

First things first, our little girl is growing and looking beautiful.. if I don't say so myself. She is now in the 28%, which is so good! She's weighing in just under 3 pounds and her heartbeat is strong and so are her kicks and punches. She's been head down since I was 22 weeks along and has stayed put since.

I have to say, this pregnancy compared to when I was pregnant with Payton, is so much different.
-I was a little sick with Payton in my first trimester, but that stopped once I hit 13-14 weeks. With this one, I started getting really sick at the beginning of my second trimester and still occasionally get sick, and I'm in my third trimester now!
-Payton was breech and never once turned and this little girl has been down for awhile now.
-Payton had very low amniotic fluid and this one has plenty
-I gained a pound a week with Payton and so far have gained less than 10 pounds (yay!)

It's just crazy how each pregnancy is different. I thought for sure I was having a boy with how much different they are, but nope.. it's a girl! :)

We found out at our last ultrasound appointment that the baby's placenta was close to my cervix and that they were hoping it would move away, but today they saw that it moved a little closer. Dr. Klein (my high risk doc) said that it means that I would have to have a c-section since during labor the placenta would deliver before the baby. Thankfully we had already planned a c-section so nothing changes. Dr. Klein also said that since the placenta is pretty close, it could cause bleeding to start before I go into labor. Thankfully it doesn't mean that it's going to cause bleeding, I just have to be aware and call Dr. Skrypzak (my o.b.) if it does happen.

Long story short, baby is growing wonderfully, I'm healthy (even though I got into a little trouble with the fact that I haven't been taking my blood pressures at home.. oops!), and I can still work out and go to work like normal!

I noticed today that in 10 weeks I have a scheduled c-section! Time is running out!!

April Fools.. I wish it was a joke

Ryan and I bought a car this past December for him to make his wonderful commute in. It's nothing spectacular. It's an '88 Honda Accord, four doors, automatic, gold (an ugly gold at that), and purrs like a kitten. Well, maybe that last description isn't quite accurate.

When we first purchased it, Ryan drove it to work (Issaquah) the very next morning. We were both so excited to start saving money on gas, especially with the threat of hitting $4! So on December 18th Ryan got up at the crack of dawn (5 a.m.) to make his trek to work. About 2 hours later he finally arrived to his destination, we only live about 40 min tops from Corporate. The car would not go more than 35 miles an hour up hill! Now three long, gruelling, time consuming, not too expensive, but irritating months later we thought we were ready to start saving some gas money! I was so excited to get my Honda back from Ryan, since he's been driving it every day while the commuter was being fixed, and I've been driving the Tahoe ($100 a week in gas later just for the green machine).

This morning he left like he normally does and then the phone rang at 8 to see if I would mind meeting him in Issaquah at 2:30 (when he gets off) because the car is at it again! Yes that's right, AGAIN! 35 mph on I-405, and anyone who travels it knows that the incline between Totem Lake and the 85th St exit in Kirkland is not a steep hill, maybe a slight incline. So, we're back at it again.. fixing Wondergold. At first I asked Ryan if this was a joke, but unfortunately it's not.

Ryan is back to the process of elimination and thankfully my father-in-law Gary is so wonderful with cars and has been so generous with helping us out! We seriously can't thank him enough! He's been a huge help and I'm sure he's just as discouraged as we are, but he and Ryan are taking ANOTHER crack at it again this Friday. Wish them luck!

I'll try and take a picture of this beauty when I get home tonight, or maybe tomorrow since it's going to be parked in front of our house until Friday. Yay for driveway art!

**update: Ryan has successfully fixed Wondergold with a simple replacement of both fuel filters! I'm so happy to have a smart husband!**