When I first found out I was pregnant we were in New Mexico. I had joined a group for mommies expecting in August and a couple of them had mentioned a "just between friends sale". I hadn't heard of it before, or if I had never paid attention cause I wasn't a mommy, so I looked it up an found out it was a huge consignment sale. When we moved to Greeley, I looked online to see if there was a sale coming up. There was one in Greeley but we wouldn't know what we were having yet. Brandon and I went to check it out and we weren't really that impressed, the stuff wasn't that nice and we didn't buy anything. Then I saw there was a Denver one in April and I thought "Oh I hope we are still here in time so I can go". When we got moved to Sterling, I talked to to Kelli about it and we decided we would go. It worked out perfect because the Saturday sale was the same weekend the guys had class! Kelli and I were so excited to make a trip to the big city. We all car pooled together to Denver. We left Sterling at 5:30 in the morning, stopped by Santiagos for breakfast burritos and we were on our way. The guys had to be at class at 8 and we pulled in at 7:15.....I guess Justin drove a little fast :) We hung out with the guys for a bit and then Kelli and I left to start our fun day. We went to breakfast at The Original Pancake house and I got the same french toast I got in Salt Lake....soooo yummy! Then we headed over to the sale and got there about 9:45. We thought there would be a huge line but the parking lot was dead! We were one of 5 vehicles. It was pretty funny but as it got closer to 10 it filled up a bit. The sale was huge!! There were tons of toys, books, strollers, car seats, high chairs and clothes clothes clothes! I was looking through the clothes and thought I would work my way through the 0-3 month section, until I realized the WHOLE rack was 0-3 months on top and bottom. My arms started to get tired from browsing the higher racks so much. It was so fun, everything without a star was 25% off so of course Kelli and I were so excited when we saw "no star". I would throw things in my bag and then go to a table and sort through and make decisions on if I really wanted it or needed it. Its funny that a couple weeks ago we spent $20 on one little hoodie for Bashlyn and here I am at the sale going "do you think $4 without a star is too much for this whole outfit". I ended getting out of there for a little over $100 for hundreds of dollars worth of stuff. It was a blast! After the sale we went to costco and stocked up on some goodies, of course I got two watermelons, two pineapples, a case of apples, 4 lbs of strawberries and tons of other produce. Bashlyn loves her fruits and veggies! in 4 days Brandon I went through a 4lb case of strawberries and a whole watermelon!! After Costco we went and picked up the guys from class and met up with Eric and Shelly for dinner. It was such a fun day and all the timing worked out perfectly! It was honestly probably one of the funnest days I've had on the road. Having a girlfriend to hang out with in Denver and go shopping for my baby girl, sure doesn't get much better than that!
Yesterday there was a Brighton just between friends sale so Kelli, Katie, Easton and I jumped in the car and went to that yesterday morning. We got to meet up with Shelly and do a little shopping. I got a couple things but not too much. Kelli got a sweet carseat that she had been wanting for $30 so that was a major steal!! We all went to lunch at Olive Garden and then hit up Costco cause I was out of strawberries :) It was another great day! I am going to get so spoiled having these wonderful women on the road with me but all I can do is live for today and enjoy it! Its starting to get nice here, finally! 79 on Sunday and 82 on Monday so I hope it sticks!!
I've already been yelled at for shopping and buying clothes for Bashlyn...whoops :) I honestly haven't bought that much and if you know me you can't expect me to wait until AFTER my baby shower in June to shop for my baby girl! Especially when there are SALES!!!! Honestly, a cute little baby girl can never have too big of a wardrobe or too many clothes! Theres no more just between friends sales until September so I am done for now :) I think I'll have a hard time shopping retail now after going to these sales. The stuff is so nice and most are reasonably priced! If you have one around you, you have to check it out and make a girls day of it! It was so fun because all the shoppers were either moms or pregnant ladies, I loved it!! <3
Our Home: Piper
About Me
- Astra Val
- Coeur d Alene, ID, United States
- I'm Astra, I married my best friend on July 28th 2012 and August 4th moved into a 23 ft travel trailer. I am currently traveling around the country with my husband as he works on the power lines. I am learning a lot about life on the road, traveling from RV Park to RV Park in a 5th wheel. I am extremely happy in life right now and am just enjoying every minute of it! I graduated from Lewis & Clark State college with my BS in Managerial Accounting. I have put my career on hold but it is all worth it to be with my husband. LIFE IS GOOD!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
We're Having a GIRL!!
So as you know the anticipation leading up to this appointment was overwhelming. I spent my week cleaning, organizing, reading, doing anything I could to make the time go by as fast as possible! On Friday I planned to sleep in as late as possible, do my nails, clean a bit, shower and get ready...that should get me to noon when Brandon would be home and then we would head to Greeley. Well by 11:30 I was just finishing up my nails and had to jump in the shower, so the morning went fast enough and I was even a little behind schedule! Brandon got home about 12:40, showered up and we hit the road. We were both a little quiet on the drive. Its such a crazy feeling, so much going through your mind. Finding out you are pregnant, seeing those two lines is incredible, life changing!! Finding out what you are having, whether is it early at 16 weeks, around 20 weeks or when you deliver your baby, is life changing all over again. That is when you find out what your first born will be. This will be a "big sister or big brother" to your other children. Once you find out, it is no longer "it" or "baby" you can call them by their name, if you have one, and he or she. The shopping starts, the dreams start, everything changes! So with all that going through our minds and had been for many weeks leading up to this we were a little quiet on the drive. I tried to talk about nonsense to make the time go faster but it didn't work. We got there and after a few minutes they called us back. The ultrasound tech asked if we wanted to know what it was and we both said YES! She put the goo on my belly and put the wand on there and I said "oh Brandon look at her little face" then immediately the tech goes, "Its a girl!"!! It was insane, I thought it would take a few minutes into the ultrasound to find out but nope it was right off the bat. It was so crazy how in that two seconds our life changed forever! We got to see her brain, all ten fingers and toes, arms, legs, kidneys, face, everything! It was by far one of the most incredible things I have ever seen in my life! The tech said she is in the 41 percentile so measuring a little small, "small like momma" they said. I said "well I hope she gets a little of daddys height!" She is measuring more towards 8/20 instead of 8/15 but they don't want to change my due date because "babies come when they want to" and its not a big enough difference to change it so She'll come sometime around middle to end of August :)
After the appointment my loving husband agreed to take a "reveal picture" with me. So we pulled around to difference part of the parking lot, set the laptop up on the trunk of my car and took our picture. It was awesome getting to write "We're having a girl!!" on the chalkboard. My hands were shaking so much, it was hardly readable but we made do. After our photo shoot we went to Babies R Us to go shopping! We looked at carseats and found the carseat we want and confirmed that we still want the pack n play and front carrier we had originally looked at. We got a couple thing for her, I got her some bows and Brandon got her a zip up. He was adorable, he came up to me in the store holding this tiny zip up and goes "its 6 months, the smallest they have but can we PLEASE still get it" how could I say no to that! Baby Bash definitely has daddy wrapped around her finger already! As we were shopping this lady looks at me and goes "well look at you still rockin the heels, you look so adorable!" "I said oh thank you so much, I'm wearing them as long as I can, we just found out we're having a baby girl today!" She said "oh congratulations, I have two little girls and they are incredible you two are glowing!" It was so sweet. After that we pretty much told everyone we saw we were having a girl, including the lady at cold stone that night :)
I've had a few people ask about how we came up with Bashlyns name so here is the story. If you know me, you know I always have the next 10 years planned out, something I am working very hard to not do! I feel like Brandon and I have been talking about having kids and raising a family since the day we met! We have literally had bashs name picked out for YEARS! In 2009 Brandon was working in his tree trimming apprenticeship and he came to me one day after work and he goes "I have a girl name I want to put on the table but I NEED you to have an open mind to it and not shut it down right away because I love it" With that lead up I was really nervous, but agreed to have an open mind. He goes "Bashlin, like the tool company" I think I was silent for a good few minutes and said "I'll have to think about it" and that was that. I wasn't sold on it. I thought "bash has such a negative connotation, I don't know if I like it". I thought about it for a few weeks and kept saying it over and over and fell in love with it. I told Brandon I loved it and he was so excited, that became our little girls name! He wouldn't let me tell anyone though because he knew we would get negative comments about it so I had to keep it in for so long until now! We started talking about middle names when we found out I was pregnant and we knew we would give our boy Brandons middle name Joseph, its passed down through his family on his dads side for many generations. I said, well I love my middle name so I'd love to pass it down to our girl, so thats how Bashlyn Val Underdown came to :)
I talked with my doctor and she said I shouldn't fly after 34 weeks so I booked plane tickets home for June 3rd-June 12th and I'll be about 30 weeks. I cannot wait to fly home and see all my friends, I miss my girls so much!! I am glad I get to have more than a week home so we can do lots of coffee and lunch dates!
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| Baby girl just relaxing! |
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| Cute little hand! |
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| Look at that sweet face <3 |
I've had a few people ask about how we came up with Bashlyns name so here is the story. If you know me, you know I always have the next 10 years planned out, something I am working very hard to not do! I feel like Brandon and I have been talking about having kids and raising a family since the day we met! We have literally had bashs name picked out for YEARS! In 2009 Brandon was working in his tree trimming apprenticeship and he came to me one day after work and he goes "I have a girl name I want to put on the table but I NEED you to have an open mind to it and not shut it down right away because I love it" With that lead up I was really nervous, but agreed to have an open mind. He goes "Bashlin, like the tool company" I think I was silent for a good few minutes and said "I'll have to think about it" and that was that. I wasn't sold on it. I thought "bash has such a negative connotation, I don't know if I like it". I thought about it for a few weeks and kept saying it over and over and fell in love with it. I told Brandon I loved it and he was so excited, that became our little girls name! He wouldn't let me tell anyone though because he knew we would get negative comments about it so I had to keep it in for so long until now! We started talking about middle names when we found out I was pregnant and we knew we would give our boy Brandons middle name Joseph, its passed down through his family on his dads side for many generations. I said, well I love my middle name so I'd love to pass it down to our girl, so thats how Bashlyn Val Underdown came to :)
I talked with my doctor and she said I shouldn't fly after 34 weeks so I booked plane tickets home for June 3rd-June 12th and I'll be about 30 weeks. I cannot wait to fly home and see all my friends, I miss my girls so much!! I am glad I get to have more than a week home so we can do lots of coffee and lunch dates!
Friday, April 12, 2013
22 weeks....Just keep waiting.....
22 weeks out of 40....less then 18 more to go and we will hold our sweet baby in our arms!! I am so excited and get overwhelmed with happiness and being a little scared daily :) I found out I was pregnant at the earliest possible day, about 4 weeks. That night Brandon goes "When can we find out if its a boy or girl" I laughed and said "in about 4 months" he was really bummed. Time has really gone fast though and I knew I would be 20 weeks before I knew it. My doctors office wouldn't do the ultrasound until I was 20 weeks but my midwife said I could come in the DAY I hit 20 weeks so thats what I had been planning on. I had another appointment and they said well we'll just do it when you come in for your every 4 weeks...which put me at 21 weeks. I was a little bummed but thought "its only a week I can do it."
Heres where it got emotionally taxing and draining for my little pregnant, hormonal self. Our appointment was set for April 3rd. Friday March 22nd we knew Brandon would most likely get called to a different job so I changed my appointment to March 27th so I could see my doctor one last time before we moved. "whoohooo a whole week early!!" A few hours after I changed my appointment we found out we were being moved to Sterling which was still close enough for me to drive so I changed it back to April 3rd. "dang, back to the original date, I'll just forget that I COULD HAVE found out a week early" Then we found out Brandon works half days on Fridays so I changed the appointment to April 5th so Brandon could go. "Its only two days, I can make it two days" The doctors office cancelled on me on Thursday because the Ultrasound tech was sick and being how I can only go on in Fridays for Brandon, we had to schedule it for an entire week out and here we are at April 12th and I'm 22 weeks along. "Enter sobbing and heartbeak here, a WHOLE WEEK?!?" When I got that call, I seriously felt like my world was coming down. The receptionist was so casual about it and acted like it was no big deal (she's obviously never been pregnant!!) I explained my situation, asked if I could go anywhere else, see anyone else, go to the hospital ect so I could go earlier and she said no. I had that lump in my throat and was trying so hard not to cry on the phone. She told me I could leave a message for a midwife and explain and they might let me see someone else so I did, somehow I got through the message without bawling but I think my voice cracked a few times. I cried for a good two hours straight. I had been waiting for this appointment for so l long and then it was just gone! The midwife called me back and said they only had those slots available for emergencies and although I felt like this was an emergency...it was not. "gee thanks for being so sensitive!" I called other doctors offices in town to try to get in and no one was open. I looked into an elective ultrasound place but it didn't work out either so my only option was to wait...and it sucked!
Then comes the week of the 12th, I was feeling better and knew I just had to get through a few more days to get to Friday. Monday a huge winter storm hit Colorado (right after we had just gone through all our winter clothes on Sunday and put them in storage) and we had several inches of snow and ice. To make matters worse we were froze up. No water....our heated hose was on so we're thinking it might have been frozen in the ground but who knows. I was out of water for 2 full days. Tuesday Brandon's crew called it early and came home about 10 because the wind was blowing so bad and it was a wind-chill of -9. Then he tells me he thinks he's going to have to work a full day friday to make up for Tuesday and doesn't think he can go to the appointment. So I called the office and they didn't have any openings, Brandon called the office and explained what happened and they didn't care and STILL didn't have any openings. I called a few places in town to see if they had any last minute cancellations with the storm and they didn't. So my options were to wait another week or go alone. I knew I couldn't wait another week so I started brain storming on how I could get through this alone and how I could still make it special. I decided I would just have the lady write down the sex and we would find out together that night. Needless to say I was heartbroken and I just kept thinking "I knew having a baby on the road would be hard but I didn't know it would be THIS hard". Thursday Brandon told me his foreman said he can take off early so I get to pick him up at noon and he gets to go!! I cried tears of happiness this time when I got that text, thank goodness!!! All I need is this appointment with him, then he can miss the others thats ok, but not this one!
To say the least, today has been a very long and emotional time coming. I am glad its finally here and now I just need the next two hours to go by quickly so I can go pick up Brandon and we can be on our way!
Today is the day, we get to finally see your sweet face baby and you will become our little girl or little boy. I am excited to see all your changes you've gone through in the last 13 weeks. The feeling of getting to see you at 9 weeks was indescribable. You were flipping around and so tiny. I am trying to prepare myself for how today will go but I just cant, its going to be amazing and I thank God it worked out that daddy gets to be there too. There are so many people anxiously awaiting to see pictures (maybe video) and find out if you are a girl or boy. You are so loved by so many all over the country!
Heres where it got emotionally taxing and draining for my little pregnant, hormonal self. Our appointment was set for April 3rd. Friday March 22nd we knew Brandon would most likely get called to a different job so I changed my appointment to March 27th so I could see my doctor one last time before we moved. "whoohooo a whole week early!!" A few hours after I changed my appointment we found out we were being moved to Sterling which was still close enough for me to drive so I changed it back to April 3rd. "dang, back to the original date, I'll just forget that I COULD HAVE found out a week early" Then we found out Brandon works half days on Fridays so I changed the appointment to April 5th so Brandon could go. "Its only two days, I can make it two days" The doctors office cancelled on me on Thursday because the Ultrasound tech was sick and being how I can only go on in Fridays for Brandon, we had to schedule it for an entire week out and here we are at April 12th and I'm 22 weeks along. "Enter sobbing and heartbeak here, a WHOLE WEEK?!?" When I got that call, I seriously felt like my world was coming down. The receptionist was so casual about it and acted like it was no big deal (she's obviously never been pregnant!!) I explained my situation, asked if I could go anywhere else, see anyone else, go to the hospital ect so I could go earlier and she said no. I had that lump in my throat and was trying so hard not to cry on the phone. She told me I could leave a message for a midwife and explain and they might let me see someone else so I did, somehow I got through the message without bawling but I think my voice cracked a few times. I cried for a good two hours straight. I had been waiting for this appointment for so l long and then it was just gone! The midwife called me back and said they only had those slots available for emergencies and although I felt like this was an emergency...it was not. "gee thanks for being so sensitive!" I called other doctors offices in town to try to get in and no one was open. I looked into an elective ultrasound place but it didn't work out either so my only option was to wait...and it sucked!
Then comes the week of the 12th, I was feeling better and knew I just had to get through a few more days to get to Friday. Monday a huge winter storm hit Colorado (right after we had just gone through all our winter clothes on Sunday and put them in storage) and we had several inches of snow and ice. To make matters worse we were froze up. No water....our heated hose was on so we're thinking it might have been frozen in the ground but who knows. I was out of water for 2 full days. Tuesday Brandon's crew called it early and came home about 10 because the wind was blowing so bad and it was a wind-chill of -9. Then he tells me he thinks he's going to have to work a full day friday to make up for Tuesday and doesn't think he can go to the appointment. So I called the office and they didn't have any openings, Brandon called the office and explained what happened and they didn't care and STILL didn't have any openings. I called a few places in town to see if they had any last minute cancellations with the storm and they didn't. So my options were to wait another week or go alone. I knew I couldn't wait another week so I started brain storming on how I could get through this alone and how I could still make it special. I decided I would just have the lady write down the sex and we would find out together that night. Needless to say I was heartbroken and I just kept thinking "I knew having a baby on the road would be hard but I didn't know it would be THIS hard". Thursday Brandon told me his foreman said he can take off early so I get to pick him up at noon and he gets to go!! I cried tears of happiness this time when I got that text, thank goodness!!! All I need is this appointment with him, then he can miss the others thats ok, but not this one!
To say the least, today has been a very long and emotional time coming. I am glad its finally here and now I just need the next two hours to go by quickly so I can go pick up Brandon and we can be on our way!
Today is the day, we get to finally see your sweet face baby and you will become our little girl or little boy. I am excited to see all your changes you've gone through in the last 13 weeks. The feeling of getting to see you at 9 weeks was indescribable. You were flipping around and so tiny. I am trying to prepare myself for how today will go but I just cant, its going to be amazing and I thank God it worked out that daddy gets to be there too. There are so many people anxiously awaiting to see pictures (maybe video) and find out if you are a girl or boy. You are so loved by so many all over the country!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Halfway there!!
Dear Baby,
Its hard to believe as I sit here that I am 20 weeks 4 days along! We are over halfway there!! Gosh your daddy and I are so excited to meet you! I've been really lucky and didn't get sick at all in the beginning part of the pregnancy. I was tired a lot and needed to nap at least once a day for an hour or two but other than that I felt great! A few mornings ago I woke up the most nauseas I have ever been in my life!! I didn't know if I could make it to the bathroom but I laid there for about 15 minutes and it went away. I'm hoping it was just a fluke! I've been waiting to feel you moving around in there but hadn't felt much from you yet. Two weeks ago when your daddy and I were coming back from Salt Lake, I was driving over a pass and it was snowing and I felt 3 little bumps right in a row. I said "I think I just felt baby!! Your daddy was laying down and he sat up so fast and put his hand on my stomach but we didn't feel anything again. In fact I didn't really feel anything again for a couple more weeks until last night! It was probably part of the chocolate easter bunny I ate that got you squirming, at about 9:30 I felt all these little bumps right after another. I grabbed your daddys hand and he felt it too! Gosh it was the coolest feeling!
Your daddy started with a new company last week so we had to change your appointment to Friday instead of Wednesday. We cannot wait to find out what you are and get to see you on the big screen! Last time we saw you were 9 weeks and you were such a little jelly bean, you are going to look so grown up now! 4 more days and we will know if you are our little princess or little man!
~Mommy and Daddy
Life is so crazy how everything works out! We've been in Sterling for a week now and love it! The town is so much nicer and cleaner than Greeley, despite the fact I can see the largest prison in the state of Colorado from our 5th wheel! We've never lived somewhere with friends before and it truly makes all the difference in the world! We're about an hour and a half from Greeley so we can't go to church and small group every week but we're going to try to go once a month. We went on Sunday with our friends Justin and Kelli and baby Easton and it was such a fun day! The service was wonderful as always and such a fun treat! Then we all decided to go to Estes Park and drive through the mountains. Its so beautiful up there! We didn't see too much wildlife but saw a huge herd of elk. It was such a fun day!! We had a campfire Friday and Saturday night and those were so fun, just sitting around talking. Its funny I remember when we first got told we were moving to Colorado Kelli said they were so excited to have friends in Colorado. Flash forward 3 1/2 months and now Brandon and Justin are working on the same crew and Kelli and I are neighbors! Its truly just the best feeling in the world to know God always has your back and is looking out for you. He knows what you need when you need and it. Last week Kelli and I took the guys some sonic drinks and caught them at a time they could take a break. It was really nice to meet Brandon's whole crew. His foreman is so nice! Its so nice not having to worry or even think twice when sending Brandon out the door each morning. I know he is on a great crew and they will take care of him and thats all I could ever want. He's really happy with this crew and job. This apprenticeship can take its toll on you but I truly feel like we've caught a break this time. Brandon is on a great, safe crew and I get to live right next door to Kelli and still be within driving distance to my doctor! Life is GREAT!!
Its hard to believe as I sit here that I am 20 weeks 4 days along! We are over halfway there!! Gosh your daddy and I are so excited to meet you! I've been really lucky and didn't get sick at all in the beginning part of the pregnancy. I was tired a lot and needed to nap at least once a day for an hour or two but other than that I felt great! A few mornings ago I woke up the most nauseas I have ever been in my life!! I didn't know if I could make it to the bathroom but I laid there for about 15 minutes and it went away. I'm hoping it was just a fluke! I've been waiting to feel you moving around in there but hadn't felt much from you yet. Two weeks ago when your daddy and I were coming back from Salt Lake, I was driving over a pass and it was snowing and I felt 3 little bumps right in a row. I said "I think I just felt baby!! Your daddy was laying down and he sat up so fast and put his hand on my stomach but we didn't feel anything again. In fact I didn't really feel anything again for a couple more weeks until last night! It was probably part of the chocolate easter bunny I ate that got you squirming, at about 9:30 I felt all these little bumps right after another. I grabbed your daddys hand and he felt it too! Gosh it was the coolest feeling!
Your daddy started with a new company last week so we had to change your appointment to Friday instead of Wednesday. We cannot wait to find out what you are and get to see you on the big screen! Last time we saw you were 9 weeks and you were such a little jelly bean, you are going to look so grown up now! 4 more days and we will know if you are our little princess or little man!
~Mommy and Daddy
Life is so crazy how everything works out! We've been in Sterling for a week now and love it! The town is so much nicer and cleaner than Greeley, despite the fact I can see the largest prison in the state of Colorado from our 5th wheel! We've never lived somewhere with friends before and it truly makes all the difference in the world! We're about an hour and a half from Greeley so we can't go to church and small group every week but we're going to try to go once a month. We went on Sunday with our friends Justin and Kelli and baby Easton and it was such a fun day! The service was wonderful as always and such a fun treat! Then we all decided to go to Estes Park and drive through the mountains. Its so beautiful up there! We didn't see too much wildlife but saw a huge herd of elk. It was such a fun day!! We had a campfire Friday and Saturday night and those were so fun, just sitting around talking. Its funny I remember when we first got told we were moving to Colorado Kelli said they were so excited to have friends in Colorado. Flash forward 3 1/2 months and now Brandon and Justin are working on the same crew and Kelli and I are neighbors! Its truly just the best feeling in the world to know God always has your back and is looking out for you. He knows what you need when you need and it. Last week Kelli and I took the guys some sonic drinks and caught them at a time they could take a break. It was really nice to meet Brandon's whole crew. His foreman is so nice! Its so nice not having to worry or even think twice when sending Brandon out the door each morning. I know he is on a great crew and they will take care of him and thats all I could ever want. He's really happy with this crew and job. This apprenticeship can take its toll on you but I truly feel like we've caught a break this time. Brandon is on a great, safe crew and I get to live right next door to Kelli and still be within driving distance to my doctor! Life is GREAT!!
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