New York

I had a work trip scheduled for White Plains, NY in April. I had no idea where White Plains was until I looked at a map ... and who knew what the weather would be like in NY in April but I was lucky with awesome weather a great hotel! These types of work trips include long days (6am-10pm) and this was no different. However, my stress levels were lower than normal and the gorgeous setting at the PepsiCo campus helped a lot! It was also awesome to be close to running trails and good food. Here are a few highlights:

Gotta love the Ritz. In spite of the amazing service and the huge room I had, I still didn't sleep super well (we'll blame it on the pregnancy!). It seems like a waste to enjoy a fabulous hotel alone... but such is the work life.

Wow- thank goodness for Yelp!! This was one of the best lunches I've had in a LONG time. Sweet pork with a mango salsa and a fresh spinach/mango salad with a grapefruit soda. Amazing!!

Rodan statue at PepsiCo gardens. A-maz-ing.

No filter here -- just gorgeous.

PepsiCo building -- i love the art deco design.

on my walk by a nearby canal. this 5-mile loop was perfect!

 

Gorgeous! I also saw a Geese family on this trail -- i was wondering why Papa Goose was squawking at me until I saw Mama Goose was a Mama -- she had 7 little babies under her. so sweet.

I was totally impressed with White Plains-- there was history and a small town feel with suburban amenities. It was clean and safe and a great lead into my NYC weekend with my mom and sister!

Pregnancy Diary: {27 Weeks!}

Holidays & Travel 

27 Weeks. Taken on my 5-mile speed walk in White Plaines NY. I think the funky chin shadow is my hand? :)

I have officially hit my 3rd trimester and I can't believe it. With everything going on the next 6 weeks I know time is going to FLY by and we will have a baby here before we know it! I try to enjoy and treasure each moment, but some are easier to enjoy than others :) I feel truly blessed to feel healthy and strong 95% of the time, and only have short moments of discomfort. A few highlights from the past few weeks:

• Baby kicks a LOT. I love monitoring his movements and knowing when he will be 'up' each day. It's so fun to savor those sweet moments when it's me & him. I also love love when Ryan comes home and immediately grabs my belly to feel for baby. We spend lots of time holding hands feeling our sweet boy move around. Those tender moments are my *fave* and never get old. 
• Glucose Test- definitely not my favorite thing. I am so glad my Doctor encouraged me to get to the lab as soon as they opened -- 3 hours later I was eating and drinking as much as I could! Luckily I passed!
• Easter Sunday - Preparing a meal is one of my favorite things but I sometimes forget how exhausting it can be!  I also 'forget' about my belly in the kitchen and end up with food and or water all over the front of me! Oops :) I wore an apron all day that day, but maybe I should just always wear an apron. 
• Speaking of Easter, it only encouraged my sweet tooth! I ate a lot of jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs -- I'm glad they are gone so I can stop eating so much sugar!
• I have this new pain/aching in the middle of my back. It's on the right side only and I think it only happens when I sit for too long. When I'm working I have to remind myself to get up and take breaks to walk around and stretch. Its a weird spot that I can't really stretch out :(
• Baby went on his 4th flight of this pregnancy! (1. Utah; 2. Charlottesville, VA; 3. Miami; 4. NY-- with a few more to go). We went to NY for work/play. It was awesome! (a post on its own to follow). Well, my flight back was not awesome. We sat on the tarmac in "traffic" for over an hour. I was incredibly uncomfortable-- to the point where the flight attendant thought I was in labor! Nope, just that back pain and leg swelling from sitting for too long!
• Did you notice "we" in my last bullet point? I feel like I get to 'hang out' with baby all day long. Everything in my head has become "we". I kind of love it. I'm definitely bonding with my sweet baby already. 
• I'm still feeling really good and working out 4-5x a week. I really enjoy it and love that I have been able to make this part of my pregnancy. Sometimes I can wear myself out -- I went on a 5 mile walk/run through a new trail I found up north and was wiped out the rest of the day. Oops. At least it is good exhaustion and it helps me sleep better!
• Exercising is great, but I have to admit it has not helped with managing pregnancy weight gain. I eat pretty healthy and exercise and I am trying to embrace this weight gain thing-- I know it's 'good' for the baby but I worry about excessive weight gain. I'm just feeling bigger and bigger. 
• I got my first 'negative' comment from a stranger. He asked -- wow, how far along are you? What do you have, 2 in there?! Hello, random strangers, please do not comment on how big I look!!
• Baths. I love baths. Lavender Epson Salt is my newest purchase to relax and soothe me. I'm kind of obsessed with our bath tub -- it fits me perfectly and I wonder if that will be a 'must have' for our next home? I am in the tub at least 2x/week.
• I am nesting!! A few women in my ward helped Ryan and I paint a few walls in our condo and I am going shopping soon to get a few things for our place before we start baby nesting. I am still shopping for cribs, strollers, carriers, and everything else I am supposed to be shopping for. No decisions just yet. Keep the suggestions/advice coming my way! I need lots of it :)
• I found an article about cute ways to make a closet a 'nursery'. While our baby won't be in a closet, the little nook we have planned for him is essentially a closet, so I am thinking of ways to make it fun & his little space.
• And speaking of decisions -- no progress for names. We will take suggestions!

A few more photos:

Easter Sunday - Week 25

Date Night. 26 Weeks.

Church 26 Weeks.

Easter and Spring!

I love that spring is upon us and we have had beautiful weather to enjoy it! We've tried to get out and take advantage of this unusually warm weather so here are a few photos:

Seriously, could Chicago be any more beautiful? I LOVE this city!

I think these tulips win the prize for my favorite this spring.

I'm kind of in heaven at this point. General Conference Sunday.

I got Ryan to jump into the Tulip field with me!

April 1st, a gorgeous Saturday morning. Water Tower and Tulips.

On Michigan Ave enjoying the hundreds of thousands of tulips!

Easter Sunday was a beautiful morning. We woke up, opened our 'baskets', enjoyed a yummy Magelby's French Toast breakfast before heading off to church. Church was wonderful-- we had beautiful talks and I taught a lesson on our Savior Jesus Christ to the Young Women, which included the new Easter Video the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints put out that weekend. It was spiritually uplifting and lovely. Sunday afternoon Ryan joined me in the kitchen and we prepared a meal for a few of our friends including Ham, scalloped potatoes, chive biscuits, corn salad (thanks Linds!) and carrott cake for dessert. It was delicious. And exhausting! Baby boy makes me a little more tired than normal when I want to do the things I like to do :)

My Easter flowers - Ranunculus, so gorgeous!

This is making me want french toast right now ...

Easter. These tulips are amazing, too.

Happy Easter! Love, The Merrills. Ps. thanks Eliza for my pretty dress!!

Easter Dinner at our place. Yes, every one got their own 'Easter Basket' - it was awesome!

Our balcony is a little windy :)

I was so excited about this carrot cake I forgot to take a picture until we had already cut into it. It was so amazing I was sad when we ate the last piece! I think I need to make another.

My heart is sad that the tulips are leaving .... we got to enjoy them for a whole month, which is longer than normal. Now I am excited for summer!!

Gotta Love the LBD

A few weeks ago Ryan and I went to the temple on a grey Saturday afternoon. I was so excited to see the beautiful blossoms on the trees and the sweet scent of flowers (I'm sure you know by now I'm obsessed with spring and flowers).

I love going to the Temple and while my temple dress is barely fitting these days - my new LBD will be my best friend through this pregnancy!

23 Weeks Pregnant in this photo. Thanks LBD for making me look good with a baby bump!

Pregnancy Diary: {24 Weeks} 

Week 24

Getting my fitness on. Week 24 + 4 days

It's hard to believe I am 24 weeks/6 months! I can finally say this pregnancy feels like it's flying by! :) And I'm still in 2nd trimester bliss and loving it. With the next few months being busy with work travel and family-time I know the next few months are going to be gone before I know it! Spring/summer gets to be so busy which is fun and stressful all at the same time.  A few highlights the last 4 weeks:

• If I wasn't showing much before- I am showing now! I feel like I am growing by the minute :) When I asked my Dr about weight gain she said "you're on track-- you're doing fine!" I sure hope so because I feel like I am just growing growing growing.
• Which leads me to -- shopping! I've been maternity clothes shopping -- Old Navy, Gap, Target and H&M are my new best friends. Any other stores my fellow mama's shop at?
• On that note, in spite of my belly I get hit on by random men walking the streets of Chicago! Never before have I gotten so many compliments; I guess I have the 'glow'. 
• I still enjoy working out consistently. Loving this warmer weather so I can play tennis, jog on nature trails and of course keep up my pilates/yoga routine. I like to think baby enjoys all the activity. I feel lucky it feels comfortable and normal to be doing everything I'm doing. I feel really great after I work out.
• When do I get really tired or sore I love to take a warm bubble bath with a Eucalyptus-Mint scent. Yum. So relaxing.
• Ryan has been super supportive and sweet to step in and help cook and also help with the dishes! It's not his favorite chore but he just jumps in and gets it done.
• Food: Obsessed with strawberries and pineapple! I keep buying them by the cases and they are gone in a matter of days. Loving Scooters frozen custard and Pinkberry as an evening treat! Making homemade guacamole every day for a week. Other than that, my eating habits are 'normal' -- which is awesome. Bring on the cuban food, korean food, italian, thai, etc etc.
• Baby saw his first movie!! THE HUNGER GAMES-- at midnight! I took a few 13-15 year olds to see it and we had such a blast. Luckily my pregnancy sweet tooth came in big time for us with Red Vines, Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, etc. I also snuck in Orville Redenbacher Popcorn (way better than movie theater stuff) and I had a coke to keep me up -- I could feel baby moving all over like crazy and I"m not sure it was the late night hour or the soda-- so I've sworn off caffeine!! (it was only my 3rd soda of the pregnancy anyway so its not like I was drinking a lot of it to begin with).
• Had my first 'scare' with baby. We were off to go tulip peeping and I fell off my bike! Luckily my shoulder took most of the fall and sweet lil baby is just fine! A trip to the chiropractor helped with my pain/soreness. It definitely scared me though and I don't plan to get back on my bike ... 
• Sleeping can still be tricky. No more dry mouth (thank goodness) but restless legs, etc.  Luckily a friend let me borrow a body pillow which helps me get through the nights!
• I get to feel baby move all the time now. I can tell he is growing bigger and stronger. He likes to kick kick kick, and my favorite moments are when Ryan feels him kick with me! We'll sit with Ryan's hand on my belly in the evenings after dinner and feel him move all night long :)
• No names picked out yet -- we are still struggling with this, so for now we call him 'baby', JR, or sometimes RJ (Ryan Jr.). 
• We have started thinking about what types of things we want for JR-- there are so many options for each necessary item! Strollers, Cribs, Carseats, carriers, etc etc etc. Any advice? It's definitely overwhelming.
• I'm in big time nesting mode getting our condo ready for baby to arrive in a few months! Perhaps I'll share some before and after pictures :) Looking to increase our storage space for everything baby needs and to finish off a few projects I've been dying to do forever. Looking forward to expanding our family in our Chicago 'home'.

xo,
Future Mama

Signs of Spring

We were pleasantly surprised when we returned from Florida to find a heat wave upon Chicago -- very quickly the weather was just as nice as South Florida! We enjoyed 2 weeks of 70-80+ degree weather!! Very un-Chicago like for March and we were loving it.

amazing?!

The result of the amazing weather included Spring coming upon us more quickly than ever. As this is my favorite time of year, I've been trying to soak up the signs of spring that I usually get to enjoy for weeks and weeks on end. I keep hoping the tulips will stay in bloom extra long this year so I can savor it.

Love!

Of course, a few photos of spring in Chicago-- and I can't promise this will be my last post on Spring/Blossoms/Tulips/Etc.

First signs of spring- I love these bright yellow blossoms on this bush.

Tulips coming!

The first daffodils I saw -- so cute!

First tulips- in front of this gorgeous CPS.

pretty blossoms.

Love the white blossoms and tulips about to pop!

Tulips budding.

Tulips in bloom! love the double layers.

2-inch petals- so gorgeous.

Love love love.

I hope you are all enjoying spring as well! It's the BEST.

Spring Break {Naples}

I don't know that Naples would have made our Florida vacation list if it hadn't been for Ryan's awesome cousins who live there. Naples prides itself on being out of the way of the hustle and bustle of Miami, and its a gorgeous beach community on the West coast. They love their sunsets and pristine neighborhoods. We had such a fun time hanging out with Rob, Sheree and sweet baby Aubree, we can't wait to hang out with these guys again!! Our weekend was full of good food, laughs and the beach.

Naples.

Naples beaches are the best! So gorgeous.

Love this cute little babe.

This is the life!

Did I mention the concert in the park we attended? 500+ Retirees -- it was awesome.

We had a blast kayaking through the mangroves. Even when I almost tipped us over because I thought I saw an alligator...

Naples Sunset.

My baby bump! 21 weeks!

The sunset.