Excellent test results!

Just got off the phone with the doctor. I got my blood work results back from my appointment last week. My Downs Syndrome screening came back negative, which means that I am outside the result window for concern or even more testing (like a super scary looking amnio). As for Cystic Fibrosis, my chances of having a baby inflicted with that are 1/12,000. And then for Trisomy 18 and/or 13, my chances are 1/23,000. So those numbers are really excellent! Of course, nothing is definite, but my doctor has no reason to be concerned from any of our results! Here's to a happy, healthy Baby Lowe!

Tanner Wishes You a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Lowes! Tanner is having too much fun with all the sweets and treats at the house....he found some antler ears and just couldn't resist. Happy Holidays!

Tanner at 4 and 1/2 years old:

Tanner at 7 months old (his first Christmas, and yes, he got coal in his stocking after this!):

16 week check up

Well, I'm in my fourth month, if you can believe that! I had my 16 week check up on Wednesday, and just had my vitals, weight, etc., checked, met with the doc briefly, and then had some blood drawn. Nothing to report, no concerns, just right on track. The highlight was listening to Baby Lowe's heartbeat! I love that - I could listen to it for hours. Ben and I are going to get one of the home listening devices. I'm so excited to get one of them! We'll get the one where

Ben's parents arrive on Saturday to visit for a week for Christmas. Then John and Tracy arrive for four days on Tuesday. It'll be good to host for once! Ben took a half-day today to get a start on cleaning, etc., as evenings are hard for me to get motivated at all. By the time I get home from work, I'm usually pretty tired. There are a few days a week that I feel pretty good, but generally, the thought of doing more than making dinner, taking the dog out or laying on the couch doesn't appeal much to me. Again, Ben's been great - taking on the majority of the housework. I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate him, but I will start doing that more for sure!

First Kick (?) and Holiday Parties

So last week, I "think" I felt the baby move, kick, punch, stretch or whatever BL is doing in there. It was very faint, but happened about four times right in a row. Little butterfly flutters is the best way I can describe it. However, that being said, it's kinda early to have felt something, or so I've read....still, it's always possible. Everyone I mentioned it to said, "It might have been gas," yet to be honest, I wasn't gassy at all that day. I called Ben at work and told him, and he got just ask excited as me! Then the whole rest of the day and the following day, he asked me if I felt any more, but alas, no...Oh well. Definitely looking forward to BL's first really distinguishable kicks, although I know there will be some later on that will rocket me out of my chair, I just know it.

Ben's work Christmas party was on Friday. They don't do the spouse thing, so Kate and I met up and went out to dinner. Then we headed to Vesta Dipping Grill to meet Shelley and her crew to celebrate her birthday. Kate and I had already eaten, so we sat at their table during dinner and just hung out with them. It was great. Shelley has been dating this super sweet guy, Chris, and he was adorable with her. She seems happy, so I'm happy for her! Kate and I then went to meet up with the rest of the ALPS crew after their party ended. Ben was a tad bit intoxicated, so he was dancing (believe it or not) and rubbing bellies with me. Very cute! He is so excited about this baby, I can't tell you how excited that gets me! His buddy Pat was all about my belly, rubbing it, singing to it, pointing to it. I was laughing. Saturday night it was my work's Christmas party. A five-course dinner at the Brown Palace. It was wonderful! The food was awesome and the room was beautiful. The attire was cocktail, so everyone was all snazzy and dressed up. Both of us were tired by 10 p.m., so we headed out of there, went home and crashed.

Ben left for a one night trip to NY for a client meeting on Sunday and my mom and I went to see Jersey Boys at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. It's a musical about the Four Seasons, and I LOVED IT! The music was great, the guy who played Frankie Valli was amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Here's a couple of photos of Ben and I from my holiday party - Ben looks so great in a suit, and since I don't travel with him, I never get to see him wear them that often. So enjoy!

First Belly Photos

I'm currently about 15 and a half weeks, and people have been asking for some belly photos (Shaleigh, here you go). I will try and take a photo or two each week to post on here. I am not looking so pretty - just back from swimming. I've decided that maybe I'm not too keen on taking these belly photos - my back is all out of whack and these photos don't look natural at all. Oh, and I'd just eaten dinner, so I'm full....Maybe we'll have better luck next time...

Cats

Pat forwarded this video to me and it reminded me of our cats. Milo in particular - he's been known to swipe at strange dogs and even us when we walk by and he wants to play. I could definitely see Andy getting a little persnickity about something like this though. Enjoy....



Another note about the cats - I am wondering if they can sense that I am pregnant? Here's the back story - literally. I was doing the elliptical two nights ago and at the end of my time, I got on the floor and did some stretching. My back has been bothering me since about the time I found out I was pregnant, thanks to the hormone relaxin, so if I lay flat on my back for about 5 minutes, it gets all stretched out and aligned and I feel much, much better. As I was laying on my back, Andy crawled up on top of my belly and rubbed his head back and forth on my tummy. Now I know you don't know our cats as well as Ben and I do, but he's NEVER done that before. I don't know about you, but tells me he can either smell, sense, feel or smell something in there....weird, I know. But it was totally cute! I went downstairs and told Ben, who proceeded to roll his eyes and me and call me crazy. Still, I'm starting to think Andy has figured it out. As for Tanner and Milo, that remains to be seen.... What do you think - can cats, or any pets in general, sense when their mommy is pregnant? Post your comments to let me know what you think.

Cute baby/dog photo

This came from my stepsister. One of her friends had a baby recently, and she sent me this photo (knowing that we have a dog as part of the family). I cannot wait to see how cute Tanner will be with Baby Lowe. Enjoy!

Welcome Second Trimester!

It's official, I am now in my second trimester. Crazy how time flies. I am 14 weeks, 2 days along. No news to report, which I guess is good. No complications, no worrisome pains, no weird stuff. I think my energy level is starting to come back up a bit, my nausea is really all but gone, and I find myself feeling hungry at weird times, like 9 p.m. before bed and in the middle of the night. I kinda don't feel pregnant, except that I'm just barely starting to show. I am able to wear my work clothes right now, but my jeans are a no go - at least not without leaving the button open and using a belly band to cover the button and zipper. It's actually comfy - no restrictions or tightness!

We had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, Kari, Uncle Roger and Aunt Suzy at my mom's house. It was nice and quiet. Too much food! But everything was really yummy and we enjoyed it. I was sad to miss most of the family, but everyone was doing their own thing this year. Friday morning we drove up to Estes Park to see Connie, Stacey and Danny, Pat and Paul. We watched tons of football, movies and did plenty of puzzles. After being so tired and worn down for the last two months, it was so nice to go up there and have no obligations, no alarms, no nothing, except relaxing, catching up and digging into those puzzles. Oh and the leftovers weren't bad either! We ate way too much again! We took some shrimp cocktail for Friday during the CU/Nebraska game (they almost pulled it out....) and I have to admit it was the best shrimp cocktail I've ever had! Their cocktail sauce was the best any of us had ever tasted. I highly recommend it.

Sunday we drove back home, and Ben put up some more Christmas lights on the house. It looks so good! He did such a great job. I just laid on the couch, and did some laundry. He treats me well, to say the least! Tanner got way too much people food off the plates of everyone at Connie's cabin, so he had some serious diarrhea and vomiting when we got home Sunday, but he seems to be better today. Then of course, one of the cats threw up this morning, so maybe Tanner was actually sick and not just spoiled rotten.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! Looking forward to hosting my in-laws for Christmas!

No news, just a weekend update

Nothing new in baby land, just spent the weekend relaxing and not doing much of anything! I am still feeling tired, although at certain times during the day I do feel better and have more energy. The doctor said from this point on out, in general my energy level will be up, but I will have good and bad days along the way. Ben and I walked Saturday and Sunday, up to and around Cheeseman Park by our house. A nice hour long walk. Tanner loves it - he chases squirrels the whole time and is in heaven!

Really, nothing to report, just didn't want to leave the blog un-updated for weeks like I have been. Thanksgiving is Thursday - I'm so excited for turkey! Then we head to Estes Park for the weekend to visit Connie, Stacey and Dannie, Pat and Paul....more relaxation, right up my alley. Ben plans to fish, so hopefully it doesn't snow the entire time.

We did watch Tropic Thunder last night - it was surprisingly funny! Tom Cruise is hysterical in it, I think he is the funniest part of the whole thing. I was a bit shocked at his crudeness and language, but then again it's a movie, right! And he dances to rap, which is totally had me laughing. I just kept thinking to myself....what must those Scientologists think of this?!?! All in all, I would recommend it, we enjoyed it! It's a bit crude, bloody, etc., but it is a true comedy.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

12-week doctor's appt. and ultrasound

Ben and I went to our 12-week appointment and ultrasound yesterday. It was great! First the ultrasound - got in the chair, pulled up my shirt, got squirted with some gel, and it was on! Once she found BL, we could totally tell it was a baby - no longer a gummy bear or peanut looking thing. Complete and total love! A real baby! At first BL looked like it wasn't moving much, and the ultrasound tech was taking various measurements. Then all of a sudden, you can see two little legs just kick out super fast. Kick, kick, kick!! (Future soccer player in the making!) Then back to being still. The tech kept doing her measurements and pointing out all the features (we could make some out on our own, some we couldn't). After a while, BL was being stubborn (knowing it's father, that's not surprising....), so she'd use the wand and push on my belly a little bit and then BL would move some in reaction. I loved it! Here are some photos:

This first one shows BL with its head down and to the right, stretched out, legs to the top left. You can make out both hands too! This is the best shot by far.

This is a shot of baby in the same position, but turned a little bit so you can see the spine. Legs are stretched out again. Very cool! This is a shot of baby waving! Yes, if you look closely you can see a tiny hand, four fingers and a thumb...

We met with the doctor after the ultrasound and just did blood pressure, weight, etc. I gained 4 lbs. my first trimester - right on track. Normal weight gain the first trimester is anywhere between 3-5 lbs., so I'm good to go. She went over the measurements the ultrasound tech took and everything looks great! BL did measure at about 13 weeks, even though I was just at 12 weeks, but the doctor said that this ultrasound is not generally the most accurate, so no change in due date. Last thing was a finger prick and blood spotting test. Five small spots of blood on paper, which constitutes our first genetic screening. The blood results combined with some of the measurements the tech took either indicate a higher risk of certain diseases (namely Downs Syndrome), which may or may not call for additional testing down the road. Next appt. is Dec. 17. It'll be a fast appt., just one blood draw for more genetic screening, my vitals and listening to baby's heartbeat. Next ultrasound will be mid-January at 20 weeks. We're supposed to bring a DVD so they can record the ultrasound - we are super excited for that one!

Ben and I concluded the best part of yesterday was watching the baby kick around so much. I'm shocked that I can't feel a thing - BL is really having a party in there! Must be all the Mexican food I've been eating and craving. Oh yea, we are also both feeling like this is a boy. Up until yesterday, I really thought it was a girl, but those long chicken legs look too much like Daddy's legs to belong to a girl....unless she turns out to be 6'2" or something. And the baby is really stubborn - didn't move on queue - stubborn like Daddy.....and probably just as cute!

It's OFFICIAL - We are pregnant!

Okay, Ali is actually the one who is pregnant, but Ben is just as much at fault! We found out near the end of September and have gradually been telling people. We were planning on telling my extended family at Thanksgiving, but it sounds like we are all doing our own thing with other extended family, so here I am breaking the news....for family, I'll follow up with an email encouraging you to view our blog.

I am a few days short of 12 weeks today. We are due May 31, and we're going to wait to find out the sex. We want the movie moment -- it's one of the last great surprises in life, so we're willing to wait it out. I guess that means we'll be shopping for lots of gender neutral things in greens, yellows, and creams. But we're fine with that!

I've been feeling pretty good in general. The one thing your friends who have been pregnant before don't tell you is how TIRED you are during your first trimester. That really is my biggest complaint. I've gotten good at napping on the weekends, sleeping in when I can, and generally just taking it easy. I have had some nausea and queasiness, but to this date I have not thrown up once! Thanks Mom (it's genetic)! Ben and I have been pretty good about walking, I really want to try and stay as fit as I can during the pregnancy. I'm going to start swimming here soon as the weather gets colder, and then next spring its on to prenatal yoga!

We have our second ultrasound next week (12 week ultrasound). Apparently, at that time, you can make out more of Baby Lowe's ("BL") features, so we are super excited to see it on screen again. I'll post a photo below of our first ultrasound. Ben and I both got teary eyed at the sight AND sound of BL's heartbeat - such a moving moment. One of the highlights of my life so far.

I'll keep you posted on the pregnancy, I promise!

Baby Lowe pictured at 6 weeks, 3 days (Oct. 8, 2008, which was our two year wedding anniversary!). You can see the heartbeat imaging at the bottom of the first photo. Double click on the photo for a larger shot.

No post for too long, I'M SORRY!!

Since my birthday back in August, it's been a bit hectic for the Lowes. We headed to Park City, UT for a week in the middle of August to meet some of my in-laws relatives who I've never had the opportunity to meet. It was a great trip and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Ben and I rode some of the rides at the base of Park City's ski resort, I'll try to dig up the video of our alpine coaster ride, it's pretty funny. Other than that, it was mostly rest and relaxation. We took some scenic drives, ate at some great restaurants, and just enjoyed the company. My mother-in-laws relatives (something like 40+ people) all showed for a BBQ in the park one day that we were there. They were nothing but gracious, friendly and kind. They were interesting, each and every one of them. And for Ben and I...well, we were fresh meat! It was great to connect with them, even though I'm not sure when we'll see them next.

After Park City, we returned to Denver with the "anticipation" of moving again. We decided of all places that we liked, the place that the people who were buying our house would work. So basically, our move was a same day housing swap. In general, nothing went wrong, except that the people who moved out of our new place didn't clean - not one bit. I was so irritated, considering I'd spent that entire morning cleaning their new place top to bottom, all while the new homeowner watched me do it while she organized her closets and bathrooms. Talk about a slap in the face. Ben and I agreed we'd wait to see if they offered to come clean or not, but alas, no. So we waited a week or so, then sent a nasty-gram email telling them we weren't happy with the condition of the house based on our agreement we'd clean as we moved each place, and that she'd watched me do all the cleaning at her place. Believe it or not, they offered to send a cleaning crew over and they paid for it! Let's see...we moved the last weekend of August, and here it is the first week of October, and I can say we are finally settled. A couple of pictures need to be hung, but nothing major. All in all, it's a good fit for us. We like the neighborhood more, and except for the living room, we have plenty of space.

Other than that...let's see...I'm still doing my PT about once ever three weeks. Mostly I'm just doing the stuff at home that I've been doing at PT, increasing my cardio and walking, working on my muscle building and still some flexibility stuff too. Not quite able to bend fully, but that's to be expected. Some people get it back, some don't. I don't really notice it much, except when I bend down to get something that's fallen on the floor or rolled on the couch. I can't quite sit on my knees and lean back all the way, but we'll see if I can't get there.

So really, that's pretty much it for now. More good things to come, I promise. I will be better about blogging (I hope). Take care!

Update from PT yesterday - more things ending with “-itis”, tornadoes in Denver, and my 30th Birthday…

So I’ve been kinda sore these past few days with no real culprit that I could come up with. I’ve been riding the bike for half an hour the past three days, so I thought maybe that might be it, but turns out it wasn’t. I went into PT yesterday and showed Brandi where I was feeling sore and describing that it felt more like tenderness around some of the bones in my knee and right below, and she pushed on the soft spot right below my knee and made me jump. Turns out I have patellar tendonitis (goes well with my pes anserine bursitis). Brandi did more of her “famous” massage yesterday, and yes, I managed to cry again. I feel like such a baby, but man, it hurts! Big old crocodile tears rolling down my cheeks….wimpy girl that I am. (Side note – I’m really not wimpy. Wade, an attorney I work with here, sees Brandi for his shoulder and he tells me every day after he sees her how much it hurts!!) Anyway, she showed me how to massage it so I can do it at home. Then she proceeded to tell me that I need to cease all exercises this weekend, no bike either, and just do stretching and lots of ice. Oh, and I can use the stim machine (the electric shock therapy thing that was delivered to my office this week - we tried it on Ben - he didn't like it too much!). So yesterday at PT was an “easy” day, so to speak. I did tons of stretching and then an ice massage for my patellar tendon. Then I was out the door. First time in weeks I haven’t left there dripping with sweat.

After work, we drove home in the rain (yes, rain!!). We haven’t had rain in months! I went to take Tanner out and Ben was making dinner. As we were playing in the greenbelt by our house the lightning and thunder seemed like it was starting to get closer, so we headed back to the house. Ben was listening to the news while he was cooking and 9News had the running line on the bottom with “Tornado Warning” and listed Denver as part of the area in that warning. Ben goes and gets online to check the radar and there is a huge storm right over us, moving to the northeast (toward my mom’s house). Then we hear the TV say that there were funnel clouds spotted and a possible tornado moving to the east from the Dacono area, which is just north of Denver. So I called my mom and Kari to see if they were moving to a safe area. My mom answered, sounded a bit frazzled, and said they were, but she’d have to call me back. I ran upstairs to grab something, and as I came down Ben said, “The tornado sirens are going off.” I didn’t believe him cause I couldn’t hear anything. He turned the sound off on the TV and then I could hear them. In all my time living in Denver, I’ve NEVER heard tornado sirens! Very eerie sound! Well, of course, being the smart girl that I am, instead of going to an interior closet (no basement at our house), I decide to go outside to see if I can spot anything. Duh – not smart. But I got outside and didn’t see crap! I was kinda disappointed. Ben will tell you, I’ll watch any show in Discovery or National Geographic with tornadoes and weather stuff. I still have never seen a real funnel or tornado. So the sirens are going off for about 5 minutes and then they go off. The tornado warning expired about 10 minutes after that. All safe and sound. I talked to Kari and she told me that as they were trying to wrangle the cats into pillow cases (they have a plan already discussed), my mom proceeded to go in her bedroom and change clothes!!! Kari and I were laughing so hard. Of all things to do, that would be last on my list! I’m sure Mom was just a bit out of sorts. They get warnings up there a lot, but I don’t know if they’ve had actual sirens going off or not. Anyway, just a funny story to go along with the crazy weather. There are some photos below of the weather that I grabbed from Channel 7's website...

We’ll be working a half day tomorrow, and then heading to my friend Bonnie’s wedding up in Granby. I think the weather should be nice, hopefully no sirens up there! Then Saturday, we’ll be having the BBQ for my big 30th! Can’t believe I’m 30…oh well, I still feel young. That’s all that matters, right!?

This is near E-470 (highway east of Denver)

This is near Harvey Park in SW Denver - caption says "Possible Tornado"

So, being that Ben and I live in Central Denver, we were right between these two weather related photos...fun stuff!

Weekend update

Ben and his gang from ALPS (plus some stragglers) played in the Mud Volleyball Tourney this weekend again. This was our 4th or 5th year doing it. I couldn’t play because of my knee, but I did have fun watching and taking photos. It was probably the hottest it’s ever been since we’ve been participating, but I think they all still had fun. I’ll attach some photos below.

Sunday afternoon was my grandfather’s 90th birthday party. We had a nice relaxing BBQ at my aunt and uncle’s house. We had way too much yummy food and cake. We were all commenting on how great G’pa looked and how self sufficient he still is even at 90! Still living alone and taking care of himself!

Other than that, we spent our weekend trying to find more houses for rent to take a look at. We are finding that most of them are either way out of our price range, or way too crappy to even consider. We didn’t have this issue in January when we were looking and found our current house….not sure what the deal is. It’s already Aug. 4 (I can’t believe it…), so we need to move on this pretty quickly. We were able to reach an amicable termination agreement with our landlord on Friday, so it’s a definite now. We’ll have to be out by noon on September 1 – way to spend our Labor Day weekend! But oh well, life is life. Nothing can be done now….here’s to finding a new place soon! And thanks to everyone for the well wishes in doing so. We appreciate it.

Any comments?

Not sure if you all know, but you can leave comments on the blog. After each entry, there is a comment link, and if you click on it, you can comment about what you just read or ask us questions. We read them, I promise!

We are definitely moving….

We are very sad to report that our landlord has found a buyer for her house and we will be moving, likely around the beginning of September. So…that means in less than 30 days Ben and I need to find a new place to live, put down a deposit and sign a new lease, pack and move. I’m really not looking forward to it at all, but nothing we can do. Our landlord is offering a lease buyout to us, so we can’t really pass that up, but the hassle and inconvenience is enough to make my not want to do it. And we finally felt that we had settled in the place (we only moved Feb. 1 this year), and now we have to do it all over again. Plus, with my surgery, we have to hire movers – I cannot lift and move things like I used to at least for another couple of months. Plus, we will be out of town for 7 days in the middle of August, which adds a bit more stress, but I think we’ll be okay. Still….wish it wasn’t happening. I just hope we can find a place as neat as where we are now. We’re a bit spoiled, so nothing will compare, but I just hope we can find something nice.

Other than that news, nothing else going on. We are so tired of the heat (13 or 14 days with 90+ weather sucks!). I know, I know, we don’t have humidity, but still, the heat is almost unbearable at times. We don’t have central AC so neither of us are getting decent sleep. They say the rest of the week is mid- to upper-90s. I can’t fricking wait. When will it end???

OMG – I’ve been bad, shame on me…

So I’ve been really, really, really bad about blogging. But my excuse – my dad was here for 11 days so we were busy spending time with him! We did lots of great stuff, had tons of fun and quite honestly just got wiped out by all the goings on that I just didn’t feel like logging on to the computer at all. My apologies…

First and foremost – rehab. Still doing well, I think. I still have some of that bursitis which Brandi massaged again last week and PT. Not comfortable, but getting better. Riding the bike more and more and continuing with my exercises as diligently as I can. I did take last Wednesday night off since Brandi and Kate had me do tons of hamstring exercises during PT – I was sore before I got home at the end of the day. But for now, that’s our focus, strengthening the hamstrings and quads. I still do my range of motion exercises at home in the morning to get me loose after sleeping, but at night it’s all strengthening exercises. Sometimes I feel like its working, other times I don’t. I still see a difference in the size of my quads, so I know I’m not there yet, but each day is better, I think. Back to PT tomorrow, more strength stuff. I need to get a list from Kate of any exercises I can do at home. Sometimes when I’m doing them I literally draw a blank as to what I can do next…..I’m losing it. I remember like 4-5 of them and just repeating those over and over, and I’m getting bored with them, so I need to see them all and pick and choose and give myself some variety. Note to self – get that list tomorrow!

So, back to my dad’s visit. On the second day he was here we went to the Mile High Nationals for some good old fashioned drag racing. It was so hot, but we had a great time. I forgot my camera, so no photos….sorry. Then on Sunday we went to the US v. Brazil (women’s soccer game). Ben wasn’t really into it, so I took my friend Ann and we headed out with Dad and Kari to the game. HOW FUN! I’d never seen a national game before and we all really got into it. US won 1-0. Photos of that day are below. Sadly, the very next game, Abby Wambach (#12), the US’s leading scorer and top forward broke her leg in two places so she’ll miss the Olympics! I feel so bad for her; I can’t even imagine training for your whole life, with World Cup or Olympics as a goal and then getting hurt three weeks prior. Very sad….The following weekend we headed to Lake Granby to camp with Anthony, Lisa and Hugh and the kids. So even up in the mountains, it was fricking HOT!!! Luckily we had a boat (thanks, Jason) and we were able to get out on the water. Ben tubed with Kari and the kiddos, and he tried wakeboarding. It looks hard. He wasn’t able to get up, but he tried his best until he was just exhausted and couldn’t do anymore. He’ll try again, I’m sure. We all hung out, drank some beer, eat too much food, and roasted in the sun. Overall, a very fun weekend! Dad left yesterday, the house is quiet without him….he’ll be back in September for Kassidy and Brian’s wedding, so it’ll be good to see him again.

So that’s it for now. Here are the photos from the soccer game. I will try to post more often, just no promises……it’s hard when you sit at a computer all day and then go home and think about sitting there again. I guess if I do the mini-updates more often, it won’t be so bad. Adios!

Pes Anserine Bursitis - I have it...

Yea, say that three times really fast! Basically, I have some irritation in the bursa sack on the inside side of my knee, where the three muscles that come from the hamstring connect into my tibia. The bursa sack is full of fluid and keeps everything moving smooth in thru there, but mine is really irritated and we think that's the cause of most of my pain on the inside part of my knee. Well, that and my MCL. Brandi got back from Alaska, so on Monday I was back with her. She did some manipulations with my sacrum (the lower part of your back) and then started to massage on the side of my knee that hurts the most....and the second she started I could tell it was not going to be fun. I hadn't cried in a while at PT, and before I knew it huge tears were rolling down my cheeks. There was this nice lady on the bed next to me and she was trying to talk to me and make me laugh, which kinda worked. So imagine me crying, laughing and squirming all at the same time. Fun stuff....luckily Brandi could see how bad it hurt, so she didn't go for too long, and then it was off to more exercises. I did a lot of work with balance and strengthening Monday and again today (Wednesday). I still cannot believe how tired I get after the exercises that I do there. Mentally I know it's not a lot, but physically, I get so drained. I know it's working though - after each session, I start to get sore in my butt, hammies, groin, and hip flexor, which means I'm working the things that I haven't worked in a long time. Getting all of those stronger will help my knee and leg get stronger overall. Today Brandi couldn't get a muscle near my knee to contract at all, so she hooked me up for some good old fashioned shock therapy! Seriously, it's these electrode pads that as the intensity is increased, whatever the power source/mechanism is is, it shocks your muscles into contracting. Such a weird feeling and even weirder to look at. She is going to see about sending me home with one so I can contract that muscle as much as I need to. We'll see how that goes. So, other than the bursitis, a really good week at PT. Oh, Brandi also gave me the go ahead to ride the bike as often as I want and as long as I like. Very excited about that!!


We were in Estes this weekend at Connie's place. We had such a great time, very relaxing, quiet. It's always too much food, but we enjoy it! We watched the fireworks over the lake on Friday, and then spent Saturday on scooters tooling around Estes Park and Rocky Mtn. National Park. We had so much fun! Here are some photos from our weekend:

This is how Tanner and Ben roll...

Tanner living it up at Lake Estes Dog Park

Handsome fella

My two boysStacey and I on our scooters
Ben in Moraine Park
Just a pose, we really didn't ride together
Lookin' hot!
Danny getting ready to peel out
Ben showing off
I literally ate this dust

Happy 4th of July!

We are heading up to Estes Park tonight to stay with Connie, Stacey and Danny at their cabin. I cannot wait to get there. Today dragged at work, no one is here, just doing clean up stuff now, wasting away time. Half hour to go....

Went to PT as scheduled on Wednesday. Had another really good session doing exercises with Kate (biking, shuffles, more weight machine mixed with balance stuff, good stretches, wall sits - holy cow, I kept realizing there is no quad muscles left when I got to 15 seconds of a 30 second sit). Then Erika did all my measurements (got to 132 degrees flexion; still need 2 more degrees for full extension) and then she stretched and massaged me. Her little trick with the plunger is awesome! It doesn't hurt like the regular massages, but I know that it's completely necessary to do that. It can only help me, so I try to just go to my happy place and relax. One of these days I will be dropping down to once PT session a week, just not sure when...

Have a great 4th of July!

Weekend and more PT (it's my life folks!)

Ben and had a pretty chill Friday night, met up with some friends for happy hour and then went out to dinner with them. It was nice - low key and good company. Saturday we had lunch at our fave restaurant, Cherry Creek Grille, and shared their tuna burger - yummy! Then I went and got a pedicure - it was FANTASTIC! I hadn't been able to do my own toes since before surgery and they were in dire need of some help! Believe it or not, I couldn't get my knee/leg bent enough to paint my toes without throwing a kink in my back, so they polish was totally worn off and my feet were looking pitiful. Mom and Kari got me a gift card to use for after surgery and it came in handy - thank you to them for a wonderful post-surgery gift.

Saturday afternoon Ben went to a BBQ with some work buddies and Kari and I picked up Shelley and we were off to Colleen's to begin the festivities for Kate's bachelorette party. I can't share many details, after all this is a family site, but we had such a great time! We drank champagne, shared some naughty cake, went out for drinks and shared a bunch of food, went dancing, and I took about 160 photos - I went a little nuts at the end of the night. Part of the reason was that Kate said she didn't want to go dancing, so when she started to tear up the dance floor, I felt like I needed some proof. I'll post a few photos at the end of this post, but they will be the tamer ones. We closed the bars down! It was seriously a good time, and we are all so excited for Kate and Matt we just wanted to celebrate some with just the girls. Really, everyone was on their best behavior. I've found as I've gotten older, yes, these are some words of wisdom, that you can have more fun hanging with the girls than dealing with drunk, random guys. Congrats Kate and Matt!

Sunday was recovery day - I was a tad hungover. Kari and I went to get some breakfast, then we came home to veg out. We watched the Euro Cup soccer finals, Spain v. Germany. Spain looked awesome. The entire second half they just pounded at Germany's goal, and Germany looked as if they were just completely beat. Spain won 1-0 (goal scored in the first half), but Germany is lucky they didn't get completely blown out. Ben took off on Sunday morning for Milwaukee to meet with some clients. Really, they are just going for fun - a concert and cruising on someone's boat, but I guess it still does help his client relationship. I'm just jealous!

Monday -- back to work. But I did go to PT today and saw Erika. Brandi is on vacation in Alaska this week, so I was a bit worried today because I'd not seen anyone but her. But Erika was wonderful! I did all my exercises with Kate before I saw Erika. I did the bike, more shuffles, some new stretches for my hip flexor (oh my gosh, those felt awesome), and then I did some balance exercises using a weight machine. The more the better, I feel! Then Erika did some massage for me and stretched me out really good. I measured just TWO (!!) degrees short of full extension today, but I was still around 130 degrees for flexion. Only 11 more degrees to go on that -- I CAN DO IT! Soon, hopefully. The best part of PT today was the way Erika massaged my IT band. She could still see bruising from where Brandi pummelled me on my IT band last week (I'm told by everyone that works at my PT it's completely normal to bruise, so don't anyone freak out), so she decided to take it easy on me. She slathered on some baby oil on the side of my quad, then got out a plunger. Yes, a plunger! She got it all suctioned on my skin, then gently pulled away from the skin without breaking the suction seal, and just kept pulling up a little bit and moving it all around. It felt so good, and I was so relieved not to be squirming. I am still tight there and in my hammies, so I know once Brandi gets back she'll be all over those again. I am telling myself the easier massages this week is a reward for living through brutal ones!

Okay, here are some photos from Kate's party:

The start of the night at dinner (L to R: Kate, Lauren, Shelley, Colleen, me, Kari)

Peace out...notice the shirt? I made that...
Shelley and Kate
Kari and Kate fooling around at Spill
I knew the night was only going to get better when Kate left Spill with her beer in hand and no one stopped her...she's mighty proud of herself as you can see.
I can't tell if she's smiling or grimicing at the sight of more shots?

Nearing the end of the night. We don't look too hideous.
Kate said she didn't want to go dancing. Yea, I didn't believe her either. Do you see that look on her face - she's totally rocking out! (And she managed to keep her "straw" all night!)
Still standing...and smiling...
Friends help friends stand up (actually, I think they are only barely standing up)

I truly love this girl and am so happy for her!