2011: Year In A Nutshell {Part One}

I borrowed this idea from a blogger friend of mine and thought it was a great way to sum up 2011. This year is definitely one I will never forget and it's fun to look back on everything that occurred - prior to pregnancy, once I was preggo and after Cruz joined our family. Enjoy!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?


Had a baby...its by far the most important thing I've ever done in my life!

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm terrible at keeping New Year's resolutions. I'm sure my resolutions last year were to eat better and exercise more...and to the contrary I was bigger than I've ever been in 2011 (however, that was attributed to growing a little bun in my oven, so I guess that's ok!)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Well, I did and others include my friend Heidi, Heather, and quite a few co-workers - it seemed that everyone in the marketing department was preggo this year {which made for some pretty fun convos at work}!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully, but too many little ones that we've met through Angels Among Us passed away this year, which breaks my heart.

5. What countries did you visit?


None - 2011 was a very slow travel year both for work and play. Nick & I have already been talking about getaways in 2012, so I can't wait to see where the new year takes us.

6. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

• March 20th - day we found out I was pregnant
• May 20th - my 30th birthday...oh my a new decade!
• June 27th - we're having a BOY! The day we found out the sex {Nick was SO excited}
• November 13th - the day Cruz came into our lives

7. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

Besides giving birth {which is by far #1} it would have to be getting promoted to Vice President of Marketing. I've worked really hard over the past {almost} 8 years and I'm excited for this new challenge. I oversee all of the marketing functions - VIP marketing, events/promotions, advertising, entertainment and public relations. Since this happened right before maternity leave, I had a lot of catching up to do while I was out and now that I'm getting back to work.

8. What's your biggest failure?
Hmmm...this is a tough one. I have to say that I wish I stayed in touch with friends better. It was a very busy year and that made it difficult, but I know I can do better. Fortunately, my friends are all amazing and when we finally do touch base, we take up right where we left off.\

9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, except I had some terrible morning sickness and for the period of about three months puked up everything I ate.  Fortunately that didn't last for my entire pregnancy, but I can say I've puked in some of the most interesting places...after a while you really just don't care!

10. What was the best thing you bought?
A new car - in October we bought a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I've never had a brand new car and this one only had 31 miles on it so it was definitely new. I really love it.

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
On a personal side, my husband's behavior has been celebrated. I am amazed at how wonderful he is with our son and how he has become a more fuller person since Cruz was born. My favorite thing is watching them interact with each other. Nick has become a truly amazing father and I'm very lucky to have him in my life.

Overall, I would say the soldiers fighting oversees and their families who patiently wait for them to come home.  The kids we work with at Angels Among Us - they are fighters and so inspiring!  People who are constantly doing things for others - as weird as it sounds, when I watch shows like "Extreme Makeover - Home Addition" and see people who are so obsessed with helping others that their lives are left on the back burner, it really makes me feel good and want to do more.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The behavior of the Penn State staff - mostly Sandusky, but also the others who helped cover up his actions. Bullying - there are so many cases of this and it breaks my heart. These cases need to be dealt with quickly and harshly.

13. Where did most of your money go?
New car, payed off some credit cards earlier in the year, nursery and all things baby. Unfortunately more of our money didn't go to travel, but I wish it had.

14. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?

• Anything Kenny Chesney - and our crew hitting up his concerts. Especially "Somewhere With You" from his new CD. This year's concert was a week after I found out I was preggo, so it was fun and somewhat tough to hide the fact that I wasn't drinking from the group since we couldn't tell them anything yet.
• Hot Chelle Rae "Tonight" - reminds me of spending time with Tess & her kiddos while they belt it out
• Jason Aldean "Dirt Road Anthem" - our Okoboji trip theme song

15. Compared to this time last year, are you: 
a) Happier or Sadder? definitely happier
b) Thinner or Fatter? unfortunately fatter {though I'm working on it}
c) Richer or Poorer? happily richer

16. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Travel - Nick & I used to travel so much more than we did this year and I want to get back to where we left off. I'm especially excited to start including Cruz on some of our getaways and showing him the world...or at least in the near future, the U.S.

17. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Worry - it's a crazy thing how growing another life makes you worry about every little thing possible. Unfortunately, it doesn't change once your babies enter the world.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Our normal Christmas tour took place this year...on the 23rd we were in Laurel at Nick's mom's house, my parent's house in Emerson on the 24th and back in Omaha at Nick's dad's house on the 25th. This was a very special Christmas, though, being Cruz's first.

19. Did you fall in love with 2011?
Absolutely - I told myself I wasn't one of those women who just loved being pregnant (and early on I wasn't), but as the time went on I LOVED being pregnant. It's a truly amazing process what your body goes through and carrying a little life inside you. I loved the kicks and movement. It was an awesome experience.

20. What was your favorite TV program?

I can't limit it to just one! I love Sons of Anarchy {why did it take us so long to start watching this show?}, Modern Family, 90210 {yes, really}, HGTV {most programs}, Teen Mom & Jersey Shore {guilty pleasures}, Grey's Anatomy {got started on this one late, but love it}, Bachelor {ugh} and Keeping Up With the Kardashians (love them).  Can you tell I had no life during my preggo days?

21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate is a very strong word - but I truly dislike blatantly mean people. And I am so scared about Cruz encountering mean people as he gets older and I'm not sure how I will handle it.

22. What was the best book you read?


I {finally} read the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and it was amazing! Thank you, Tessa, for forcefully {with your words} pushing me to start and finish this book. I also finished the next two in this series....maternity leave was great in that it gave me time to read.

23. What was your greatest musical discovery?


I rediscovered Bush this year. I fell in love with Gavin Rossdale and his band back in high school and I rekindled our romance this summer when Bush came to the Stir Concert Cove at Harrah's. The best part - Tessa and I got to meet him...and he was ah-maz-ing.

24. What did you want and get?
Cruz!! We decided I would get off birth control in January, conceived in February and welcomed him in November.

25. What was your favorite film of 2011?

Bridesmaids...by far. I thought it was hilarious and I love that it was a chick flick but rivaled man comedies like Wedding Crashers, Hangover, etc. I'm still quoting this flick.

26. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 30 this year {sigh...} but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was preggo so there were no cocktails to close out my 20s, but it was still a great birthday and I was able to celebrate with my favorites.
27. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?
Comfortable...being pregnant for most of the year required that I go for loose, flowy and cozy clothes.

28. What kept you sane?


My family and friends....always my sounding board. The best part is that each of them are great in different ways.

29. What political issue stirred you the most?
Politics...not my thing unfortunately.

30. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
Don't try to rush life...enjoy every moment and soak it up...it goes by too quickly not to.

31. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.


Kenny Chesney - "The Woman With You" {makes me think about our fast paced life}

"Back then, you know, I had this plan.
Before all of this reality set in.
Here come life, boy, ready or not
Hey, I wanted it all and that's what I got.

Been jugglin', strugglin', closin' big deals
Dancin' backwards in high heels.
Just when it feels like I can't make it through
She says, "it sure is nice to just be the woman with you."

First Day Of Day Care

Yesterday was a very difficult day for me.  It was the first day we dropped Cruz off at Primrose - his new weekday haunt while Nick & I are working. I have been pretty emotional for the past week whenever I thought of having to bring Little Mango to daycare...no longer getting to spend all day with him. The night before went well - it was the first time Cruz actually slept 4 1/2 hours straight! Nick woke up with him at 4:30am to feed him and then I jumped into the shower to get myself ready. After all of our prep (both mine & Cruz's), I had him loaded up in his carseat ready to go and we said goodbye to daddy. And that's where I broke down and Nick decided he needed to come with me to daycare help me with our first day.

Up bright and early...ready to go

We were the first to arrive at Primrose at 6:45am and got Cruzer settled in the infant room. Miss Bev was there and made us feel very at ease. At this point, little man was awake and so we put his stuff away and laid him on the floor mat in front of the mirrors. He looked so content...but that is when I broke down again and had to give him a few more kisses and get out of there. Fortunately Nick was able to hold a conversation while I was blubbering away.

Nick picked him up around 2:30pm (where he was wailing at the top of his lungs getting his diaper changed - he said I was lucky I wasn't there) and brought him home, where Cruz slept and slept until I got home from work. It must've been a bit of an adjustment for him to be in a room with bright lights and lots of other babies - so he was exhausted! We cuddled as soon as I walked in the door and Nick showed me his daily chart as well as the cute artwork they did with Cruz. It made me feel better to see and read all about the fun stuff he did all day.

My first painting - "Ocean Painting" - using my feet to paint!

My first steps at Primrose

 Grandma Dianne and Papa Ron happened to be in town, so they stopped by to see little man. He was so happy and smiley the entire time they were here. After they left we cuddled for a bit longer before putting him to bed. Finally getting through the first day was a relief - and I know that it will get easier (at least that's what I hear!) and I'm definitely looking forward to getting to that point!

Grandma Dianne came to visit...

...and Papa Ron too!

My Baby Boy: Eight Weeks Old

Cruzer is 8 weeks old and it brings many emotions - I'm so happy and thankful that we have a healthy baby boy who is so much fun to be around, but it also signals the end of my maternity leave and being able to spend all day with him and watch as he continues to grow and change every day. I'm going to miss our morning snuggle time and lounging in our PJs for hours each day, but that will make it all the more special when we get home from work to spend all the time with him we can.

• Sleep patterns haven't changed. He eats 4 ounces every 3 hours...plus he eats for about 45 minutes (such a grazer!) so our time in between feedings doesn't allow for much sleep.
• His head continues to get stronger - he's even able to sit up better in his chair and keep his head up when he's on your shoulder or during tummy time.

• Daddy continues to struggle when dressing him and I think its the cutest thing. One night this week I woke up for my middle of night feeding and his sleeper was halfway open and buttons were buttoned incorrectly...he always seems to struggle with the baby Gap sleepers! Another day Nick did me a favor by getting him changed when I was at a doctor's appointment. I came home to Nick having put Cruz in the sleeper he wore when we brought him home from the hospital! Way too small....poor Cruz looked like a little sausage stuffed into that outfit.
• Cruz & I read his first book this week - "OOINK!" by Charles Reasoner - and he loved the colors of the pictures and the sounds that mommy made for the animal noises. Each time we read the book it only lasted about two times through and he got bored. I think its time to move onto a new book!

Happy 8 weeks Little Mango!

Gorgeous, Sunny Day

Wow...today was absolutely gorgeous. Who would've thought we would have 66 degree weather in January...definitely not I who has always figured that by choosing to live in Nebraska meant I succumbed to living in cold weather from November through February {even longer during bad winters}!  Since it doesn't happen often, we decided we had to get our lazy, homebody butts out of the house and take a much need walk. This is the first time Cruz has had a true outdoor walk, unless you count the many times he has been pushed from the car to the mall or the grocery store.

We packed up little man and Maya and headed to Lake Zorinsky {which was the home to many of my runs prior to becoming too preggo with Cruz} and walked the five miles around the lake. Cruz took a long nap during the hour & half we spent outside soaking up the warm sun and chatting about a little bit of everything, while Maya barked at every dog that came in her path. It was really great to get outside after being cooped up for so long...and I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend an unusually sunny January afternoon.

Ready for his first walk

Loved the trees...and Maya's pose

Daddy & Cruzer

Lake Zorinsky in the background {the water finally filling back up}

Cruz - still sleeping through the walk

Halfway done but at a great spot for a family photo {minus dad}

The Time Has Come...

I cannot believe that it's almost been 8 weeks and my maternity leave will soon be over...the best way to describe the way I'm feeling is devastated. I do not want to leave my little guy. I have absolutely loved having the past seven weeks off from work, being able to spend every day with Cruz and getting to know this amazing little man. I'm scared that I'm going to miss so many milestones in his life as he continues to grow and especially now as he is just starting to show his personality. I don't want to miss his first real smile, when he discovers how to use his hands, when he starts to "talk."

Don't get me wrong, I know it's a good thing for both Cruz and myself to have some time apart. Cruz will be spending time at an excellent school {Primrose School of Legacy} where he will get to interact with other babies, where they will actually teach him instead of just watch him and quite honestly where he will have some time with other adults instead of just Nick & I. And I will be able to get back into the swing of things at work, have some adult conversation and not have to feel so stressed out because I'm missing meetings, calls and important parts of my new role at work.

The good news is that we were able to get Cruz into school earlier than we anticipated {it was supposed to be February 13th}, but I can tell you that I'm dreading Tuesday morning when we have to drop him off for an entire day and for the first time....wish me luck {and for Nick's sake, pray that I can keep my emotions in check over the next week because today was sure a big fail...}

The Eve of a New Year

Three words that sum up New Year's Eve 2011?  Never. Drinking. Again...

I used to have a fairly high tolerance when it came to drinking and partying...that is until I went and got myself knocked up. To be fair, I haven't drank like a rockstar in over nine months {rockstar = shots, mixing types of alcohol, drinking all night long} and I probably should've eased back into it before going all out on New Year's Eve. But I didn't...

Due to my job, I haven't had a New Year's Eve off in 8 years...and I was ok with that since it always seemed like amateur hour. However, our careful planning in conceiving our little guy in February meant that I got all of the holidays off, which was pretty awesome. Our group decided to plan a fun, somewhat low key night out. I knew I didn't want to get VIP service at some club or have to pay an extremely high cover charge only to then have to wait in a very long line, so we got a private room at Kona Grill for dinner and  then planned to head to Shevy's for the rest of the night.

On Saturday, Grandma Carol came by around 2pm to begin her night with Cruz. This was the first time we truly had a sitter, let alone left him for an entire night and I was dreading it....not the fact of him spending time with Grandma, but not being with him for a full 24 hours. I will admit when Nick & I left, I shed a few tears. It's hard leaving that adorable baby face, but I knew it would be good for us to have a night out together, without baby, before heading back to work. We did a little shopping and then found a sports bar to watch the Creighton basketball game and have some apps and beers {my first Corona Light in forever...it was delish}. Then we checked into our hotel, got ready for the night and met our group at Kona. Dinner was good, but it was slooow and everyone seemed to get restless. Once the tabs came we couldn't wait to get out of there, but not before Nick & I snuck over to Johnny's for an espresso shot to wake us up!

Out at Shevy's, Jer & Sirvan had the back room reserved for our group and we had a blast! They had karaoke, a DJ and lots of drinks. For me, it was nice being back in this atmosphere with all of our friends and having a {relatively} flatter belly. At midnight, we popped the bottle of Cristal that Nick & I had received as a wedding present and welcomed 2012.  {Let's be honest, its not like we were going to sit around our house cheers'ing each other, so we figured it would be great to drink it while ringing in the new year.}

The ladies of the night....

...and our men.

Soon to be SIL, Brittany & I {still looking semi-alert}

Cheers to 2012

Brittany, Morgan, Janice & I

After the bars closed, Nick & I headed back to our hotel room to try and get a good night's rest...and it was almost successful, until we woke up and I had the hangover from hell. Seriously, I have never felt so terrible in my life. My head was spinning, I was dry heaving, I couldn't stand up straight. {What, you're saying I can't just go 9 months without drinking and then jump right back into my old ways?!?}This lasted until 11:30pm {yes, PM!} Sunday night after a long day of napping and watching my baby from afar. Never again. Now I understand why my sister doesn't indulge very often, the after effects are definitely not worth it. Fortunately, Cruzer was very understanding and was in the lounging mood as well.

Happy 2012 everyone....I will forever celebrate the coming years where I belong {at work & minus the cocktails}!

Cruz's First Movie

It's no secret that Nick & I love going to movies and it was one of our favorite things to do during my pregnancy {here}. I mean where else can you fill up your arms with popcorn, nachos, a pretzel and big pops and sit in the dark and stuff your face while enjoying some of your favorite actors/actresses on the big screen? While the amount of food I will be eating at future movies will significantly decrease (I can no longer justify the above amounts...and yes, we really did eat all of that when we were going to movies when I was preggo), I still anticipate that we will hit up the movie theaters with Little Mango in tow.

Imagine my excitement when Tessa told me she was taking the kiddos to see Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked yesterday afternoon and asked if we wanted to come along. I couldn't wait to see how Cruz would behave in the movie theater, but I also {secretly} wanted to see that movie. Seriously, little chipmunk voices singing popular songs of today {namely the little girl chipmunks mimicking the "I Whip My Hair Back & Forth" song}...too cute!

Well we went and I couldn't have been more proud of my little man. During the beginning of the movie, he was asleep in his car seat and then started stirring, but it was nothing a bottle couldn't fix.  He was a perfect angel and I have to admit that I loved having a little cuddle buddy in the movie theater. I can't wait to take Nick along on our next movie adventure.