Buying a House

Finally, after MONTHS of emails, phone calls, and paperwork we are closing on our home!  Tomorrow morning at 8am we will sign the papers and Daniel and I will officially be homeowners.  I thought it would be 10 or 15 years before we would be able to afford our own home.  But thanks to Daniel's incredibly generous parents, at 23 years old we will own our home.  And the best part of the whole thing is that it is costing us much less than we thought.  We set aside about $5000 when we began the whole process to pay for closing costs.  We found out today that it will cost us $132.  So that's $4968 we can put into savings that we weren't counting on.  Which is extremely helpful considering we just spent $4000 on a down payment for our new car.  Once again, our penny-pinching ways are paying off.  

After we sign the papers tomorrow morning we will drive to DU where Daniel will be given his academic hood.  He finished his Master's degree!  I am so incredibly proud of him.  Eight years ago when he struggled to pass freshman English and Earth Science, I would have never guessed that he would be the first of all our siblings to get his master's degree.  And I would have never guessed that he would complete college with excellent grades- nearly straight A's.  It gives me such confidence that he will be able to support me and our family for the rest of our lives.  

Starting next week, for the first time in our memorable lives, neither of us will be in school.  I wonder how it will feel.  Tomorrow evening is the official commencement ceremony where he will walk across the stage in cap and gown, and this time- his hood too.  Last year at our undergraduate ceremony I remember thinking ahead to this year and picturing Daniel with a hood on his gown.  I definitely did not expect that I would be in the audience 6 months pregnant.  But that's what's so much fun about life- it's unpredictable!

So, in the month of May (plus the first week of June) we did the following: bought a house, bought a car, finished a Master's degree, entered the third trimester of our first pregnancy, and gained a future sister-in-law.  Quite a month!  I'm so excited to see what June, July, and August bring!  And of course, September when our little Elijah will make his way into the world.

Memorial Day Weekend

We bought a car.  There were many reasons we were ready to get a new car, but the biggest reason is that the right one became available at the right time.  We also wanted something with more storage space for traveling to Phoenix, skiing, and baby stuff.  And neither of our cars drive in the snow really well, so it would be great to have something a little safer to drive up to the mountains in the winter.  Daniel's car was also developing a few little problems and we were concerned that its life was somewhat limited.  We didn't want to wait for it to die before we got a replacement car.  So we've been talking about it for months.  We have researched different kinds of cars, consulted consumer reports and USAA to find out accurate pricing information, and reviewed our own finances to determine what we can afford.  All that was left was actually going out and test-driving cars.  Since we both had a long weekend for Memorial Day, we thought Monday might be a good day to go to the dealership.  We weren't planning on purchasing anything- until we came across the perfect car.  A 2006 Hybrid Toyota Highlander.  It was just under budget and had every feature I wanted- cloth interior (not leather), moon roof, and roof rack.  The Highlander was on the top of our list of possibilities.  We really wanted a hybrid, but there aren't many used hybrids out there and a new one was way out of our budget.  On Monday morning we browsed the local dealerships and found a hybrid that looked very promising.  It had become available 2 days ago at a dealer about 15 minutes from our house, so we jumped on it.  We test drove 2 of their standard Highlanders first.  We loved the newer model (08) and hated the older model (05).  So I was concerned that we wouldn't like the hybrid because it was the older model.  But it drove completely different.  It's not like my Mom's Prius either.  There's no lag in the acceleration at all.  You can't even tell it's a hybrid when you're driving it.  The whole experience was very pleasant.  It was an easy decision, and turned out to be very affordable for us.  It was hard for me to justify going from no car payment (we owned both our cars outright since they were both gifts to us) to making payments when both our cars are still running just fine.  But the truth is that an SUV will be much more useful and practical for our growing family.  And why else do we save up money, but to spend it when the time comes?  It felt good to know that all that money we have saved in the last 6 months was worth it.

This weekend we also went camping.  I may have overestimated my abilities at 6 months pregnant, but it was still fun.  We got a bunch of camping supplies for Christmas 2 years ago and haven't even used it once.  I've been waiting for it to get warm enough and this weekend was our chance.  Daniel got off work early on Saturday and we drove down to Colorado Springs.  I reserved us a campsite in Cheyenne Mountain State Park.  It was a beautiful park, but we were somewhat disappointed to find that our campsite was right next to the bathroom and parking lot.  It wasn't exactly out in the wilderness, but it was still camping.  Daniel cooked us a delicious dinner over the campfire.  He is a very experienced camper (all those years of boy scouts) so that helped a lot.  But it was just exhausting for me to do everything.  Setting up the tent, unpacking the car, setting up the sleeping bags, even taking a walk around the campground.  And sleeping just didn't happen.  The air mattress didn't give me enough cushioning so whichever side I laid on became numb immediately and I just couldn't get comfortable.  Combine that with getting up to go to the bathroom about 8 times and I had a sleepless night.  And the wind blew so hard all night that I was afraid our tent would blow away with us in it!  So the next morning, after cooking a delicious breakfast, we packed up and went home.  And immediately took a shower and got into bed for a long afternoon nap.  My bed never felt so comfy :-)  The important thing is that I got to have Daniel's undivided attention for nearly 3 whole days.  I loved it.

This morning I had a doctor's appointment and my nurse seemed a bit concerned that I was measuring so large.  I've gained 15 pounds total so far, and 7 of them were in the last 3 weeks!  He's measuring big for gestational age for now, but that could change.  She's just going to watch and we'll see what happens.  She also said he's head down now, but that can change too.  Overall, the pregnancy is still going perfectly!  Looks like I have a healthy baby boy.

Week 24

I am now in week 24 and, according to some sources, the third trimester.  Though I'm pretty sure it starts closer to week 26 or 27.  Week 23 was a huge turning point though.  I could feel a physical difference in my size from the beginning of the week to the end, and by the end of that week I started to feel uncomfortable due to that increased size.  I can no longer bend over at the waist comfortably, I have horrible heartburn just about every night, I have an insatiable appetite and a paradoxically tiny capacity for food in my stomach, I'm feeling movement all the time and it gets stronger every single day.  Last week many strangers made comments about my pregnancy which tells me that I am very obviously showing now.  I'm a little self-concious about it. When I get into a crowded elevator, or have to squeeze between rows in a theater I am painfully aware of my size and feel like I'm taking up more than my share of space.  


Last Saturday morning (the last day of week 22) Daniel felt Elijah move for the first time.  It was such a special moment.  We were laying in bed in the morning, and Daniel was trying to feel his kicks.  Normally I can feel them the strongest up at the top of my belly right under my ribcage, so I was waiting for that to happen so Daniel could feel.  But that morning Elijah was kicking under my belly.  Daniel put his hands there and he said he felt it!  I asked him "you felt that?" because they were just little kicks.  And he said yes, and I told him that was Elijah and Daniel screamed!  He looked at my belly and yelled right at it "I LOVE YOU BABY!"  It was so cute.  It felt like it was this little moment between Elijah and Daniel that I was just a bystander for a moment.  Ever since he has been able to feel Elijah every day.


Since I've been getting bigger (and more uncomfortable), last week was the perfect week for us to take our "babymoon" and annual Rosen family vacation.  We flew to Miami where we met many of Daniel's extended family.  We stayed at his Aunt Barbara's house for 2 nights, and then boarded a cruise ship for the Bahamas for the next 4 nights.  Barbara was a fantastic hostess.  She gave us her bedroom (very thoughtfully because it has an en suite bathroom) and there were many welcome gifts waiting for us when we arrived.  We spent the first full day on South Beach which was fantastic.  I got to wear my new maternity bathing suit which felt entirely too modest compared to the other people at the beach.  Wading into the water up to my chest felt fantastic after months of lower back pain.  The waves gave me this buoyancy that for a few minutes allowed me to forget about the weight on my front pulling me down.  It was very hot and humid, but a lot of sunscreen was all I needed to enjoy the day.  It was great to spend time together as one big family.  The cruise was very relaxing and exactly what I was hoping for.  Daniel and I got plenty of alone time together while also getting to spend plenty of time with his family (who we haven't seen in 6 months).  I got to eat as much delicious food as I wanted and I took full advantage of that!  I ate 3 huge meals a day and I don't remember being hungry once.  Maybe that's why I noticed such a big difference between the beginning of the week and the end.  Well it doesn't matter because I'm behind on my expected weight gain anyways.  The only really miserable part of the trip was the flight.  I got very claustrophobic and actually lost feeling in my fingers on both flights.  Daniel was amazing on the whole trip.  He was always there to help and anticipated my needs.  Actually, everyone in the family was like that.  I got to sit in the front seat of the car, didn't have to carry heavy bags, and always got the first available seat.  I think my favorite part of the whole trip was our day on Norwegian Cruise Line's private island.  There were tons of beach chairs lined up, which is much more comfortable for me than sitting on the sand.  I got to lounge on the beach in front of the crystal clear turquoise water for the whole afternoon while Daniel laid next to me.  We went in the water to cool off a little bit, but mostly I relaxed in the sun.  It was perfect.

Now I'm back to reality.  The pregnancy is moving along so quickly, I feel like Elijah will be here very soon!  And we have an exciting summer planned.  Next up is a Memorial Day weekend camping trip, then Daniel's graduation, then a trip to Phoenix for a baby shower, then my parents coming out here to Estes Park, and then it'll be 4 more weeks until the due date.  I love summer in Colorado!  Every day feels like vacation.

Week 22

I have decided that I am definitely at the fun part of pregnancy.  About 2 weeks ago I realized (after the millionth person asked me how I was feeling) that I'm feeling fantastic!  I have that extra energy that I kept hearing about as part of the second trimester.  I've been able to stay up until almost 10pm some nights, which is a vast improvement over the first half of my pregnancy.  My only significant complaint is the ever-present back pain.  It can get really bad, especially if I've been very active.  The past few weekends Daniel and I have been working in the yard a lot and that seems to aggravate my back.  I also discovered that sitting on a bar stool without a back cushion is a very bad idea.  I am feeling Elijah kick harder and more often every day now.  Last week I felt him kick with my hand for the first time.  I was resting my hand on top of my baby bump while working at the computer, and he completely surprised me with a strong kick right where my hand was!  It was so exciting and made me smile for the rest of the day.  Today he has been kicking hard around that same spot on the top of my bump repeatedly.  It seems to always happen in the middle of the day.  I'm still waiting for him to do it in the evening so Daniel can feel for the first time.  I know that will be such a special moment.  I almost always feel him kicking either very low or very high.  I'm not sure if that's normal, or maybe the placenta is cushioning all his movements in the middle of my belly.  I can really tell that he is growing and getting stronger every day.

Last week we took a tour of the hospital that we are hoping to give birth at.  It's one of two hospitals in the area that our insurance allows.  This one is only 8 years old and it is beautiful.  It's way south of the city almost in the middle of nowhere.  You can see the entire Rocky Mountain range to the west from the entrance and many of the rooms.  The maternity ward has all private rooms with private bathrooms that all have a tub and shower.  There's even a fireplace in the waiting room.  It really seemed like a hotel more than a hospital.  The tour was fantastic and I'm very happy about giving birth there.  But for some reason, the tour also really freaked me out.  As it went on I felt myself getting more and more panicked.  At the end, I was fighting to stay calm.  I can't explain exactly why I freaked out.  I guess because it started to feel very real.  Like, I'm really doing this.  But when I think about it, I'm actually very excited!  And I'm not even that concerned about the pain of childbirth.  I know I'll get through it like every mother before me and I'll have a beautiful baby boy at the end.  I guess it was just one of those crazy pregnancy mood swings.  Daniel was very excited after the tour.  He loved the hospital as well, and I can tell he is so excited to hold his little boy.  

The nursery is almost complete now.  We have all the big furniture and most of the decorations.  Daniel's co-worker gave him a swing, and yesterday we bought and put together a glider.  His room is so cute!  I think it'll be just perfect for him.  All we need is the essentials to actually take care of Elijah.  But we're in no hurry to get those.  We stopped by goodwill to drop some donations off and decided to take a look at newborn clothes.  They had some pretty cute stuff, some of it even had the tag still on.  So we picked up about 8 things for $1 each.  What a deal :-)  I have a few rules that I'm sticking to with his clothing: no camouflage print, a variety of colors and styles, and limited words (like "Mommy's cutie pie!" or some other vomit-inducing saying).  I'm also trying to stay away from anything too stereotypically "boy" like dump trucks, dinosaurs, or cars.  I just don't think we need to emphasize his masculinity on his clothing.  Maybe I'm being too picky.  But for now, those are my rules and I'm sticking to them.

On Saturday we're leaving for our cruise!  I got a very cute maternity bathing suit that will hopefully counteract the feeling that I'm a sideshow attraction when I put it on.  I'm hoping that everyone will get to feel him kick next week (but Daniel first!).  And we get to see our wedding video for the first time.  I am entirely too excited for that.  So glad summer is here!

20 Week Ultrasound

Yesterday was our big ultrasound!  The one where we get to find out if we're having a son or a daughter.  And we get to see all the baby's organs and make sure they're developing correctly.  I have to admit I was far too focused on the first part, and hardly even considered the second for most of the last 19 1/2 weeks.  For months I was just super excited to finally find out if it's a boy or girl.  And then the day of the ultrasound, I woke up incredibly nervous.  I realized that this could be the day that we find out one of a million possible things is wrong with our baby.  The whole day I could hardly concentrate at work.  I accidentally left my cell phone at home, so that put me on edge too.  I felt completely isolated, and I couldn't text Daniel about my nerves.  As the appointment got closer I felt my heart rate increase and I think the baby did too- he started kicking like crazy.  I felt like I really wanted to take some xanax, or at least a shot of vodka.  Something to help me calm down!  I was supposed to drink 16 oz of water at 3pm (a full bladder helps push the uterus forward for a better view), but I forgot until 3:30 when I left work to drive to the doctor.  On my way there I was so close to crying, I was so nervous.  Then I got to the doctor, gave Daniel a hug, and started crying.  I told him I was so scared and he told me that he wasn't at all!  It was embarrassing to cry in front of a bunch of strangers but I figured it's not unusual to see an emotional pregnant lady at the doctor.  And by now Daniel knew exactly what to do- distract me and make me laugh.  Which he did, and it worked.  I calmed down and relaxed.  

They called us back into a dark room where I laid on a bed on my back.  The ultrasound tech squirted hot goo on my belly and went to work.  Immediately I recognized the baby on the screen.  We hadn't seen it since 12 weeks, and it had grown a lot since then.  Daniel chatted with the ultrasound tech while I stayed mostly quiet.  Once in a while I told Daniel when I could feel the baby move and see it on the screen at the same time.  Mostly I was concentrating on not peeing as she pressed the wand into my bladder because I had to go so bad!  Finally halfway through I told the ultrasound tech that I would be enjoying this much more if I didn't have to go so bad, and she let me run down the hall really quick and relieve myself (literally).  I felt so much better and enjoyed watching the baby move around on the screen.  She spent almost an hour moving around my belly taking pictures of all the baby's organs and bones from different angles.  We got to see pretty much any organ you can think of.  Even things like kidneys and stomach that just show up as a black blob on the screen.  The spine was really obvious, and watching the heart valves open and close was amazing.  She measured the nuchal fold (an indicator for down syndrome) and it was normal.  She also looked closely at the face and lips and said there was no evidence of a cleft lip/palette.  She took a picture of the baby's face (which basically looks like a skull) and told us how cute it was.  We didn't really see it, but we'll trust her opinion.  She took a beautiful profile picture of our baby with his arm curled up on his head.  Daniel said it looks like he's Tebowing :-)  At the very end of the appointment, she moved between the legs, took a picture, and then wrote on the screen I'M A BOY!!!  I was a little bit disappointed, but within a few minutes that disappointment turned to relief and excitement.  We have a healthy little tiny baby boy!  Daniel was excited and said that he knew it immediately.  The ultrasound tech told us how much she loves having two boys.  Since we had already picked a name for a boy and a girl, we knew exactly what his name was going to be- Elijah James Rosen.  The E-name is for Evan, Daniel's twin brother.  And, as we found out later, Elijah is a Rosen family name.  Which makes sense because it is a Jewish name.  The middle name- James- is for my grandfather.

For the next few hours I tried to think of all the things that are great about having a boy.  He'll get to be in boy scouts like Daniel was.  None of that horrible middle school drama that girls go through.  We won't have to pay for his wedding.  He could be a Theta Chi like his daddy.  I told Daniel I hope he grows up to be just like him.  And I can't wait to see how much he looks like Daniel too.  I tried to get Daniel to tell me what he was excited about, but he just kept making jokes.  I guess he didn't see this as quite such an emotional and special moment.  I know he's excited, but he just didn't want to talk about it.  I asked Daniel if he was excited to teach his son how to tie a tie, or shave for the first time, or any of that stuff.  But no, I wasn't going to get anything out of him.  The only thing he was willing to talk about was why he absolutely 100% wanted to have the baby circumcised.  I was sort of on the fence about it, so I told Daniel if he's so sure then I'll let him make the decision.  He was satisfied with that.  

All evening I was repeating the name we picked in my head.  I absolutely love it.  I think it sounds perfect.  Not like a little kid name, but not old either.  It's not so popular that there will be 5 Elijah's in his class, but not so obscure nobody will know how to spell or pronounce it.  It's practically timeless since it comes from the Old Testament.  And I think it sounds great with Rosen.  It'll be hard to get used to calling the baby a "him" instead of an "it."  I'm so happy we finally know.  I feel like I can bond now.  I can call him by his name, and picture him much more clearly in my head. (Thank goodness in the profile shot it looks like he didn't get the Rosen nose!)  I'm so happy and I can't wait to meet our little Elijah!

17 Weeks

I'm pretty sure I've entered the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy.  It seems a little early to me.  I definitely didn't think my belly would get in my way this soon.  But I've never been pregnant before so what do I know.  At this point, I can't sleep on my belly anymore (which used to be my favorite position).  The doctor told me last week that I shouldn't be sleeping on my back anymore either.  She explained that the baby sinks onto my vena cava which can cut off the blood supply to my brain, making me dizzy and light headed and possibly even pass out.  I listened, and politely ignored her advice.  I figured the baby couldn't possibly be heavy enough to cut off my blood supply yet!  Last night I rolled onto my back and almost immediately the room started spinning really fast.  It was scary, and now I will listen to my doctor.  So I can't sleep on my back anymore.  That leaves my left side (according to the doctor, this side is preferable) and my right side.  So I spend my night rolling back and forth in between getting up to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes.  By the way, I thought that particular side effect was supposed to go away during the second trimester.  Apparently not.  I haven't been sleeping well.  It's hard to get used to my new restrictions.  And when I do sleep, I have the most vivid and often terrifying dreams.  Daniel has complained that I take up too much of the bed.  And my response is "get used to it."  Because I'm not getting any smaller!  Daniel also felt it necessary to exclaim loudly and excitedly how huge I looked on Sunday.  He then took a picture and sent it to the entire family and posted it on twitter, again exclaiming how big I look.  Maybe a better description would be how big the baby is getting, or how pregnant I look.  I could go without the word "huge" or "big" being used to describe my appearance.  My back pain also hasn't gotten any better.  Though instead of pain, I can now more accurately describe it as fatigue.  It really feels like my back muscles are just tired from holding up the baby all day long.  So my new plan is to lay down for a few minutes when I get home from work, and try to exercise more.  Now that the weather is getting warmer, I am very happy to take walks outside.  Jackson also likes this new plan.  My allergies, however, do not.  But that will pass in the next few weeks as soon as everything stops blooming.  The new greatest thing about the pregnancy is my appetite.  I feel like I have a reason to eat whatever I want, whenever I want for the first time in my life.  I am constantly hungry.  I eat more food than Daniel in one sitting, and then I'm ready for a snack an hour later.  My biggest craving is sweets.  Specifically, fruity flavored sweets.  Like jolly ranchers and my new favorite snack- fruit snacks.  I haven't had those in forever, but they satisfy my craving perfectly now.  And I'm back to my old habit of a bowl of chocolate ice cream each evening.  Though I skip a day here and there.  Just this week, I'm starting to feel the baby move more consistently.  At least once a day I can identify definite baby movement.  I could be wrong, I guess, but I don't think I am.  Usually it's at a very specific spot.  Like I can stick my finger right where the movement is. I can now feel my uterus from my pubic bone almost all the way to my belly button.  So if it's in that area, it could be the baby.  Once or twice I've even felt a strong kick.  Though once it's over, I question if it really happened at all.  I'm so excited for when Daniel can feel the baby move.  So far I've felt kind of alone in the process.  I want him to be more involved. In other news... there isn't much other news.  Work is going as usual.  Daniel has 10 weeks left of college.  I'm counting down the days until our 20-week ultrasound (22) and our cruise (39)!  The weather is warming up and I am absolutely thrilled.  I love to spend time outside as much as possible.  In the summer, Denver has to be the most beautiful place on the planet.  It cools off just enough in the evening to sit outside.  It's just warm enough during the day that you can wear shorts and a tank top and be comfortable.  Perfect.

Week 15

I am almost 4 months through my pregnancy, though it feels like a lot more!  I can't believe how slow the last few months have gone.  I really hope it speeds up or this is going to be a very long pregnancy.  I am once again stuck in the attitude of wanting to get done with this stage and on to the next as quickly as possible!  It seems like my whole life has felt like one long wait.  I'm still trying to remind myself to appreciate each week as it comes, though I haven't been very successful at that.

I am very glad I am through the first trimester.  I never actually vomited (due to morning sickness at least), though I felt queasy through about week 8.  I know I'm lucky that it went away that early.  I'm still feeling very tired though.  I go to bed at about 8:30 every night and sleep until at least 7am!  Supposedly I should start feeling more energetic and get that "pregnant glow" soon.  My biggest complaint these days is backache.  Some days I can barely walk by the time I leave work to go home.  I don't want to take any medication if I can help it, so I'm suffering through it without any tylenol.  It seems that the more I sit at my desk, the worse the pain is.  So I try to have good posture and get up once in a while, though standing and walking makes my back hurt too.  I still have to get up about a million times a night to go to the bathroom.  I think that particular symptom is permanent- or at least will last a little longer.

There are some good things about the pregnancy- last week I actually felt the baby move for the first time!  I'm absolutely sure that's what it was because it was in the exact right spot.  I felt it right on the hard spot where I can feel my uterus.  It just felt like a little butterfly or maybe a tiny fish swimming around.  I was at work at the time, so I just took a moment to realize that's what it was and then I went on with my work.  I have only felt it once or twice since then.  I know that very soon I will feel the baby moving stronger and more consistently.  I'm excited for that time- and especially excited for when Daniel can finally feel the baby move.  A few nights ago he pulled out our stethoscope (yes, we actually have a stethoscope) and tried to listen to the heartbeat.  He thought he heard it, but I'm not so sure.  We have our 16-week appointment next Wednesday, and I'm sure we'll hear it then.  I'm also hoping that we might get an ultrasound and possibly could find out the sex of the baby!  I'm going to ask anyways.  I know we will find out for sure on April 18 which is our full anatomy scan.  I'm very excited for that appointment, even if we already know the sex.  We will get to see our baby in 3D and make sure all its organs are developing correctly.  It's amazing how badly I just want this baby to be healthy.  So far, so good!

There are other exciting things going on in our lives now.  We are in the process of buying our house from Daniel's parents.  We were able to arrange it so that we don't have to make a down payment.  This is mostly due to Daniel's incredibly generous parents who are selling us the house for slightly less than it's actually worth.  They will still make all the money back they have invested, so they're happy too.  We are so lucky that our house has actually appreciated significantly in the 2 1/2 years since his parents bought it. Just another reason to love Denver!  But since we are buying the house that means money is a little tight this month.  Daniel has been very stingy about letting me buy maternity clothes.  I don't think he quite understands how depressing it is to put on clothes that looked perfectly fine a few months ago and they make you look like a fat cow.  So far he has allowed me to buy 5 shirts and 2 pairs of pants.  I'm thinking that's not really going to last all summer, so eventually he'll have to allow me to buy more.  Or maybe I'll just go buy more without him knowing.  Shopping for maternity clothes is not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be.  There are LOTS of women out there who are mothers, and every single one of them was pregnant at some point.  Unfortunately, retailers still don't believe that there's enough of a market out there to create more than about 2 shirts and 2 pairs of pants to choose from.  So I have found myself running from store to store, trying on everything they have and liking about 1 in 5 things I try on.  And it seems that we live in a "dry spot" for maternity stores.  No Motherhood Maternity near us, or an Old Navy with maternity clothes.  Just a Pea in the Pod which is ridiculously overpriced.  I did, however, get to shop there because my incredible sister sent me a gift card :-)

So now I'm just counting down the days until we find out if we're having a little Rosen boy or a little Rosen girl!  And then I'll be counting down the days until the annual Rosen family cruise on May 7.  So excited for summer!!