Monday, May 18, 2009

Introducing...Stick Figure Patterson

We went to the doctor's last week for my 34 week check up. My doctor said, "Your baby is looking really good and healthy. Strong heartbeat. His head is measuring ahead of schedule at 37 weeks. His legs are measuring really long at 36 weeks. And his belly is measuring 33 weeks. He's got a really big head." After we stopped laughing (and grimacing at the thought of a large head during delivery), I said, "So basically we are having a stick figure?" Ha ha ha. He got a kick out of that. He looked at us and said, "Well what did you two expect?" I guess he's got a point there. The good news is that he is in the right position. Head down. Moving towards the exit. Good boy! The doctor kept commenting on how big his head was. I took that as a compliment because big heads equal intelligence, right? Then for the rest of the appointment, Casey couldn't stop himself from quoting So I Married an Axe Murdered. "It's like an orange on a toothpick." Sure it's funny until you start thinking about a really large melon coming out of a small hole, then it's not so funny. But at least he'll be smart? I'll just keep telling myself that.

I finished my online childbirth class yesterday. At the end of it, they encouraged us to watch a real live natural birth. Man, was that a mistake. I was dry-heaving by the end. What did I sign up for?

35 days! Am I ready?

This is my last week of work. My maternity leave starts next week. I'm stoked. Can't wait to get everything ready for our baby boy. I'll post pics of the nursery as soon as it's all done.

My sister Nikki and some of my close friends in our ward threw me a baby shower this week. It was perfect. So much fun and so good to see everyone. There were so many people there that I hardly got the chance to talk to everyone, but I am so grateful to everyone who came. I love all my friends! A lot of my volleyball girlfriends were able to come and the ladies from the ward kept commenting that it was giant land. Ha ha ha. So funny. There is a height limit in my group of friends. Honestly. No, not really. But I have spent the last 10 years of my life on volleyball teams and that is where I've made my closest friends, so I guess us tall girls stick together. I love my teammates! Anyhow, Nikki threw me a circle-themed party with the best salads, cookies, and cupcakes. She did such a great job. Thank you so much Nikki! You're the best. And thank you so much to everyone who helped with the shower. Especially Linnie for letting us have it at her house! I got the most incredible gifts. Blankets, bibs, burp clothes, clothes, shoes, toys, books, diapers, and more blankets. I LOVED everything so much. I can't wait for this little man to get here already so I can start using all of my baby stuff.


I'm working on my nursery this week. I'll post pics of it soon.

Friday, May 15, 2009

What A Difference A Day Makes

I'm a total slacker. Here's an update on the past few months.
  • My sister Misha came to CA for a quick weekend trip and brought my Dad with her. It was so good to see her, Arden, and my Dad. My Dad kept saying that this was possibly his last road trip to CA so he might as well enjoy it. What a happy little camper! He is doing pretty well. He has been feeling a lot better, but he's aged a lot. We went to Disneyland one day with all of my princess nieces, to the beach the next day, and hung out with family the whole weekend. I love my family! I miss living by everyone in Utah.
  • My friend Carrie had her birthday party. We only live 45 mins away from each other and are both really lazy, so we only see each other on special occasions. It's always so good to see her.
  • My boss rewarded me with two luxury suite tickets to see the Britney Spears concert at the Staples Center. OH MY GOSH!!!! It was sooooooooooo much fun. My friend Jenny was about 9 months pregnant at the time and I was 7 months pregnant, and we just danced the night away to Britney. Amazing night. Everyone kept staring at us. Guess you don't see pregnant ladies hitting the town together and bumping out to Britney every day. It was the best concert I've ever been to. Who cares if she lip syncs? She's amazing and puts on quite the show.

  • Casey turned 29!!!!!!! He's so old now. :) We hit up Disneyland to get the complimentary $70 birthday giftcard. I love you Disney! We made it on two rides before I was too hot and miserable to be out walking any longer. Afterwards, we went shopping for his presents, had dinner, and just hung out. What a great birthday! Happy Birthday Casey. I love you so much.

  • Casey's family came to visit us for Casey's birthday the next weekend and brought us all of our baby gifts. We finally have a crib!!!!! It's beautiful. They bought us so many gifts, we feel really spoiled. We went to dinner at BJ's and I devoured a pizookie. So yummy. Thank you to the Patterson's for all of our gifts, a day of fun, and a delicious dinner.
  • We flew to Utah for Easter weekend. My sisters threw me a lovely shower. It was at my sister Jacque's house and it was a blast. We had AMAZING food, loads of beautiful women, lots of catching up, and spectacular gifts. Thank you so much to all my lovely Utah sisters for throwing me that shower. I love them so much. And thank you to everyone who came. I'm so grateful for all of the beautiful women in my life. I can't wait to be a mom. While we were in Utah, we had a family Easter egg hunt, my nephew's farewell, and lots of parties. I love visiting Utah and seeing my huge family. We spent the weekend taking care of my Dad and it's always so comforting to see him. He's such a trooper. While we were in Utah, I got the stomach flu. It was terrible. Terrible. I spent the rest of the weekend really really sick. I'll spare the details. It was reminiscent of my first two trimesters of pregnancy, but even worse. Man, I hate throwing up so bad. And on top of it, everything else that comes with the flu. Not pretty. But all in all, it was so good to be back in Utah if only briefly.


  • I submitted my life story as a first time mom on the Ellen DeGeneres Show's website hoping to get tickets to the Mother's Day show. Guess what? My story was picked!!!! I was given two tickets to the show. I invited my sister Nikki to go with me. It was a long long long day. But sooooooooo worth it. I love the Ellen show. And I LOVE getting free stuff. It was so much fun. We got over $3,500 in baby swag. Incredible! Thank you Ellen!
  • Casey has already played in six AVP tournaments this summer and placed in the top ten every time! Him and his partner Ty placed 5th in Huntington Beach! It was amazing. He is playing so well this season. I'm so proud of him.
Casey has been nominated as a Paul Mitchell Hot Shot on the AVP website. He needs your votes to win. Click here to vote for him. You can vote once a day, every day, per computer until the end of September. Help us win a Paul Mitchell sponsorship! He really deserves it. And he has hot hair!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

2 Bumps, 1 Baby

So Casey took a picture of me in March to mark my sixth months of pregnancy. Upon taking the picture, Casey said, "Ooooh, are you having twins?" Referring to my butt being the same size as my belly.

If only that could be my excuse for the explosion happening behind me. 

Now that I am 7 months pregnant, I started working out again. (As an ahtlete, I know better. But I'm lazy. It's always been a major flaw of mine. Now that my regular jeans are getting too tight to wear, even with the elastic band trick, I've decided enough is enough. I haven't bought a pair of maternity pants yet, and I'm not going to now!) I'm trying to maintain my current 25 lb weight gain. With 2.5 months still to go. Maybe I should just shoot for 30 lbs and call it good?

Good news- I'm feeling really good. And food has never tasted better. Maybe that is where that other bump comes into play. I can't get enough of everything I eat. Let's hope I don't feel this way for the remaining 12 weeks or my butt bump might outgrow my belly bump. Sad thought.

Our baby boy is doing really well. Healthy heart beat. Health baby who kicks A LOT. Casey and I can't wait for him to make his debut. I hope he weighs at least 15 lbs. 

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

April Showers Bring May Flowers

It's almost time to PARTY! And celebrate our BABY BOY! 

My lovely sisters and friends are throwing me 2 baby showers. Can you believe how lucky I am? I am so excited. One will be in Draper, Utah in April. The other will be in Huntington Beach, CA in May. I would LOVE to have everyone come and share in this special moment with us. 

Please email me your home addresses so we can be sure to send you an invitation. (alexispatterson@gmail.com)

Friday, February 6, 2009

It's a BOY!



So I guess he was ready to show us what he's got. He was in the perfect position and was completely still as if saying, "look Mom and Dad, look what I did!" It was amazing. Considering he hasn't really behaved in all of the other ultrasounds we were amazed. He kept flashing his thingy to us over and over again just so we knew for sure. He was very proud of it, and so was his Daddy! I looked over at Casey as soon as we saw this shot and he was nodding his head all cocky like, "yeah what did you expect Lex? Look what I did. I knew I could do it." Apparently I had no part in either of their triumphs. I'm just the baggage claim. :) 

It looks like he is looking right at us and smiling in this one.

Anyhoo, we just spent the rest of the time looking at how big he was getting. I can't believe I'm already half way there. In another 20 weeks, we'll have a son. We are so blessed. I can't wait to meet him. This ultrasound was really special for two reasons. 

First because we finally know that we are having a boy and I can't wait to start getting everything ready for him. Second, I was able to witness the pure joy my beautiful husband felt while having his first father/son bonding moment with the son we created together. Even if the moment only existed in his imagination, I could see it in his eyes how much this little baby boy is going to mean to him. It made me so happy. Casey is the oldest of three sisters. After we got married, he told me he was so grateful to me and my family for giving him brothers. He told me that he had always wanted a brother so badly and he now had plenty of them. But it wasn't until that moment sitting in the ultrasound room that I really saw what this son would mean to him. Casey is going to be an outstanding father. I can't wait to see their strong bond grow and develop. I'm so lucky to be a part of their lives.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

#9 Is My Favorite Number

Good news...The pregnancy sickness has subsided. There was one terrible moment a few weeks ago while I was on my way to work when I had to pull the car over and throw up in someone's side yard. Yet another low point. I was looking up at their window as vomit was coming out of my mouth, snot pouring out of my nose, tears out of my eyes, and praying that no one was watching. Maybe I should send them a fruit basket. Point is, I haven't thrown up in over a week! Booyah.

More good news...Casey and I have an ultrasound appointment on February 3rd to find out the sex of our baby. Until I have that to post about, I thought I would share my 2009 resolutions. Gotta keep up with the blogging world. And I figure if I make this public, then maybe it'll give me more motivation to keep them.

9 New Years Resolutions for 2009:

  1. Study scriptures every night. (This is just one of the inconsistencies in my life that I'm striving to correct. No matter how tired I am, I want to at least read one verse before going to bed.)
  2. Go to the temple once a month. (Casey and I did this last year and it really brought us closer together.)
  3. Work out at least three times a week. (Now that I'm not feeling so sick anymore, I feel like this goal is attainable. Pre-Natal Yoga here I come. I want to be in shape for labor and have a faster recovery.)
  4. Food Storage. (I have been working really hard on this for a while. I have a good water supply. I have our 72 hour kits packed and ready. And I have a good amount of food and first aid supplies. I just need to get more water, food, savings, and camping supplies.)
  5. Plant a garden. (Casey and I moved into a bigger apartment in January. We now have a little backyard with a perfect area for a little garden. I think I'll just do a few simple things, but it will be fun. I always loved working in the garden with my Mom. She was an excellent gardener. So that's an aspiration of mine.)
  6. Experiment with cooking. (This will come when I'm not working anymore, but I just want to expand my culinary expertise. I watch Top Chef religiously and I feel like I can do what they do. Just need more practice/knowledge.)
  7. Scrapbook. (I still have not created our wedding photo album, so that's one of my goals this year. Organize my pictures, back them up on my hard drive, and put them into albums.)
  8. Decorate our new apartment. (I want to do a lot of things with the new space we have in our apt. I need to get the baby's room in order. Right now it is our storage room, so that is going to need a lot of work. I want to buy some cool unique furniture/art, and make this new place our home.)
  9. Pick up a new hobby/sport. (I feel like part of my life is missing ever since volleyball and school have ended. I have no drive to compete, learn, practice, and achieve like I did when I was playing volleyball and going to school. Working at my job does not inspire the same emotion and drive to win. I need to find something that I can do that inspires me to work harder. I feel like I'm coasting. I'm sick of the work, come home, make dinner, watch tv, sleep, and do it all over again the next day routine that I've been in for a year and a half. I know that most of that will change with the baby. But I've decided that I need to start doing something that I'm passionate about that is just for myself. I'll let you know when I've come up with something. So far I just have a list of ideas: go back to school, take up tennis, photography, play beach volleyball, learn a new skill, etc.)

That is my list of resolutions for 2009. I hope that I can better myself this year. I have a child coming into my life and I want to give it the world. I want to be the kind of mom that my Mom was. And that list will get me closer to that goal.

Monday, December 22, 2008

I've been sick, okay?

I've been terrible about updating my blog recently, but not without excuse. I'm making a baby. Doesn't that count for something? That basically means that I'm busy cooking all day long, every day. So for the next 26 weeks, if you need me, I'll be busy. Baby making is hard work. :)

This picture was taken in September before I knew I was pregnant. I was just trying to be funny. Little did I know that in one month's time, I wouldn't think it was so funny.

I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!
I found out that I was pregnant in October. In the middle of the month, I realized that I was late. I went to the store and bought a few home pregnancy tests. The first one was negative. The second one was subjective, the line was too faint. Casey wanted to be the judge of the next one, so we waited a day and did another one. He examined the stick before I peed, just to be sure there was no faint line there, and then examined it after. Another faint line appeared, but neither of us were convinced. We wanted solid evidence. I had an appointment with my physician that week and decided to do a more advanced pee test there. I've been doing a lot of peeing on demand lately, and so far so good. :)

Anyways, the doctor came in the room where I was waiting and said, "So you're pregnant, that's good." He was all nonchalant. I looked up at him and said, "Wait. Really? I am? They already have the results? Are you positive? I'm pregnant?" So it was his turn to be shocked. "Oh, well, yes you are. Did they not tell you that already? Oh. Yes. You're pregnant!" He tried to muster some excitement in that last statement. I started laughing and said, "Oh good, thanks for letting me know. Wow, okay." And then he followed it all up with, "This is a good thing, right? I mean, are you married? Did you want to be pregnant?" That made me laugh harder, and I said, "Yes, I'm married. And yes, I want a baby. It's all just really surreal right now." He continued on with the physical and then sent me over to get my blood work done.

There I was, sitting in the lobby, and all of a sudden there were all of these moms everywhere with their babies and a bunch of pregnant girls. That's when it hit me. I started crying and laughing all at the same time and making a spectacle of myself. I texted Casey, "Guess what? You're going to be a Daddy!!!!!!!" He called me and we were both just kind of in shock, laughing, crying, and talking about how surreal it all was that we were really going to have a baby. So that's how it all started.

THROWING UP NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD
A week later I went to Utah over Halloween to take care of my Dad. I was kind of feeling a little bit squeamish, but nothing bad. I totally thought I was going to be one of those lucky pregnant woman that doesn't get sick. I was almost 7 weeks by then, and I feel like I cursed myself. That next week I started feeling terrible. I woke up feeling bad, then it progressively got worse while I was at work. The next thing I know, I'm running from my desk to the bathroom down the hall and throwing up at work. Low point. Sitting on the work bathroom floor and hugging the porcelain, very low point. And I still haven't told anyone at work that I'm preggars, so I'm now the bulimic girl. Oh joy. I thought throwing up at work was going to be the worst it could get. Boy, was I wrong. Throwing up at work is now just part of my workday routine. Check my email, check my voicemail, get organized, throw up, attend a meeting, and so on and so forth with the puking intermixed.

A few weeks later, I was at the gyno begging for anti-nausea pills. Zofran. The miracle pill. One little pill could curb my nausea for almost an entire work day. The medication in no way makes you feel better, it just takes the edge off of constantly dry-heaving and throwing up. I still felt extremely nauseated all day long, but I stopped throwing up almost all together. Except for a few really bad days here and there where I would just spend most of the day experimenting with what food would help. Apple sauce? Yes, wait noooooo. Down the toilet. Toast? Yes, wait maybe noooooooot. Flush. Cereal? Ugh, no. Crackers? Nope. Those days Zofran didn't help, but those days only came once a week. The best part is when people would say to me, "Well it's a good sign that you're sick. Means your baby is healthy and active." I would look at them and want to say awful things that I should never repeat again. But I guess since my baby is doing somersaults in my stomach and making me hate life and feel miserable, that I have something to be grateful for. Like I said before, making a baby is hard work.

BABY SIGHTING #1 (7 weeks)
The first ultra sound went well except for the part where they didn't tell me it was an inner-ultra sound. Imagine my surprise when they were like take your pants off and open up. I was picturing how they do it in the movies all cute with the jelly on your tummy. Sorry, no. Not for the first one at least. Let's just say it was a bit painful, with pressure, and awkward. But I guess I need to get used to all of that stuff down there. The doctor said everything looked great. Strong heartbeat, good size, and everything that was supposed to be in there, was there. Doctor said, "Kind of looks like a gummy bear, doesn't it?" To which my helpful husband replied, "I LOVE gummy bears." Good Casey. Maybe you'll have that in common?
BABY SIGHTING #2 (11 weeks)
Second ultra sound was a little rocky, but worked out in the end. Apparently my uterus is really far back, not sure what that means. The doctor tried doing the cute jelly on your tummy routine with me, but to no avail. She couldn't find the baby. What? Seriously? So once again I had a play date with the inner-ultra sound thingy, but since it was old news to me by now, I was a pro. Then it took like 30 mins of her jabbing around inside me to try to get a good shot of the baby. She kept saying, "Wow, you're baby is so long that I'm having a hard time fitting all of him on the screen." Casey was beaming at that point. I just wanted the jabbing to stop. Finally she got a few good shots of the baby and said that everything looked great. Her guess was 70% chance it's a boy. Casey, beaming, all over again.
BABY SIGHTING #3 (12 weeks)
The third ultra sound went fantastically. It was a sequential screen where they measure the back of the baby's neck to check for down syndrome and other various genetic disorders. This one was the best, by far! It was just like the movies. A dark, quiet, warm room with scented candles and Christmas music playing in the background. Casey and I holding hands while we watched our baby on the plasma TV. And a warm jelly on the belly ultra sound. I loved every minute of it. I wanted to stay in there all day long looking at our baby. We got great shots of his profile, his hands (he was totally waving at us, my kid's a genius), his legs, and his little body. And we got to hear his little heartbeat! It was so much fun. Luckily our baby was moving around so much that the nurse couldn't get a clear shot of the neck. So we were in there forever just checking out baby Patterson. I know now why I've been so sick. This baby is a mover and a shaker. He was dancing and jumping all over the place and would do exactly opposite of whatever the nurse needed him to do in order to get a good shot. It was hysterical. Then all of a sudden he went to sleep. Which made me super sleepy. I totally fell asleep on the table with my baby asleep inside me. Awww, so cute. Then another doctor had to come in to help the nurse get a good shot of the neck. They both said that everything looks really great, and they think it's a boy, but still too early to tell.

ENTER SECOND TRIMESTER
I'm 14 weeks right now and finally in the second trimester. I'm actually starting to feel a lot better. I have only had two Zofran in the last four days, which is huge. And the nausea is now tolerable. I don't feel sick all day long, but I throw up at least once a day still. Hopefully the sickness will be over soon, and I can start really enjoying this little baby inside of me. I can't wait to start feeling him moving around and kicking. Despite all of my complaining, I really feel so blessed to be carrying one of God's children inside of me. I cannot wait to be a mom. I wish my Mom was still here with us to enjoy this with me. But I'm so happy that my Dad is still here with us. He is doing really good. Check out his Phil Brown Updates blog in my family section if you want to know more about how he is doing.

We will be finding out the sex in mid-January, so I'll let you know how that goes. Boy or Girl, Casey and I are so happy to be entering the parent/family stage of our lives.