Little Man Style

Okay, I have become obsessed with finding cute boy stuff ever since we found out Baby Ace is a little man. I want my boy to be dapper as can be. And let me tell you, there is plenty of cute boy stuff out there that I never knew existed.

The Gap never disappoints:

And Etsy always has great handmade and vintage options:

[bow ties]

[onesies]

[hats]

And I discovered this neat website dedicated to handsome boys:
Boys Be Cool.

I know having a child means more than just dressing them up in cute outfits, but I can't help getting excited about this stuff. Let me gush a little bit. ;-)

Belly Buddy - Tati

I know so many people who are expecting right now. It seems almost every day I learn that someone else is pregnant too. It's hard to believe that we're all old enough to even be having babies. Really, when did that happen?! But it's so much fun to have all these belly buddies to compare notes with. One very special belly buddy is my friend, Tati. I've known this girl since 10th grade and she's always been an amazing friend to me. She's kind and patient and loyal and trusting. There have been times where I have been a total brat to her and she remains one of my closest and most faithful friends. We graduated high school together, went to the same college, attended the same church, walked in each other's weddings, and now we're both having babies in the summer! Her due date is at the end of July and mine is at the beginning of August. AND we're both having little boys. It would only be more perfect if we were living in the same city still, but I know that even if we're far apart I can always count on her and our boys will be great friends.

It's also her birthday today so be sure to wish her a good one!

Check out some of her hot mama photos:

Our Baby - The Big Reveal

Today we had our big 20 week ultrasound! The tech checked out Baby Ace to make sure everything was developing normally. Praise the Lord Baby Ace is absolutely perfect. No problems that we can see as of now. We were also able to finally see if Baby Ace is a boy or girl. Well...

We're having a Little Man! His name is Liam Alexander and we are so proud. We couldn't think of a better place to celebrate than  Little Man Ice Cream in the Highlands (best ice cream in Denver!). So it looks like most of you were right. I still can't believe it. But the more I think about my Little Man the more I fall in love with him. Thanks to everyone for all your love and excitement for this precious baby. Just 20 weeks to go (give or take) until we meet him!

maternity style

Being pregnant is fun and I want my style to reflect that. I'm not gonna lie. It's been pretty easy for me to lounge around in my sweatpants and t-shirts lately. My regular clothes just don't fit me the same. They may still fit, but it's not the same. And sweatpants are sooo comfy. But I don't want to become a frumpy pregnant lady. I'm one of those people whose mood is greatly affected by what I'm wearing. If I look frumpy, I feel frumpy. If I look great, I feel great. So now that the weather's warming up I'm trying to figure out my pregnancy style so that I can continue to feel great.

I looked to some of my favorite bloggers for inspiration. Jen of jenloveskev, James of bleubirdvintage, and Melissa of dearbaby are beautiful ladies who maintained impeccable style throughout their pregnancies. I mean, just look at their photos:

So here's what I think I've learned:

• Seeing as I'll be at my largest in the hot summer months, skirts and dresses will be my best friends. Might have to break down and get some maternity shorts, which actually look quite comfy to me.
• Belts! Use them to give your midsection that womanly shape. A skinny belt right above the bump is cute. 
• High waisted skirts. I see Melissa in that yellow skirt (last picture) and I love it. It just works.
• Tunics are grand. Most of my old shirts still fit, but even though my belly is small it tends to peek out just a bit sometimes. So I have to wear longer shirts and tunics are the best because I know my belly will grow with the tunics.
• Layers. I always love layers because they add a little something to any boring outfit. 

We'll see how I do with the rest of this pregnancy. I read in my baby book last night that I'm supposed to grow about 1/2 an inch every week from here on out. Whoa. 

Red Rocks

This past weekend our friends, Brian and Melissa, were in town looking for apartments and job hunting (they'll be moving to Denver in the summer, yay!). We decided to take them to Red Rocks so they could experience the nature-y side of Denver. We checked out the amphitheater (I soo want to see a concert there this summer!), the mini-rock museum, and a bit of the trails. Jaxon tagged along as well. What a tough pup. 

I love Red Rocks, it's so beautiful. If you're ever in Colorado it is definitely a destination worth checking out.

Week 19

Week 19! Only one more week and we find out if Baby Ace is a boy or girl. I am beyond excited to finally know so I can call this little baby by his/her real name. We have a great day planned for when we find out but I'll blog about that when it happens.

This week I started feeling little baby flutters. I was sitting on the couch watching TV and I felt little pops in my belly. I thought it might be gas (hah) but I decided it wasn't gas because, well, I wasn't farting. ;-) I've been feeling it at random times of the day every day since then so I figure it's definitely Baby Ace showing off some ninja moves. The other day I even started crying when I was describing it to Alex (pregnancy hormones!).

We couldn't figure out where to take this week's photo so we just parked the car and started walking down 19th Street until we found something interesting. We passed what looks like an old fire station but is now an architecture firm. I liked the colors, firefighters are cool, and my parents are both architects so we took the picture in front of that building. I love that so many old buildings in this city have been repurposed into new businesses but have retained their charm and historical authenticity. By the way, the weather has been gorgeous in Denver lately! I'm in love with these sunny cool temps. Almost as much as I'm in love with this baby.

The Belly Series:
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18

Andy and Angela: Engaged!

Our friend, Andy, proposed to his lovely girlfriend Angela last week. He asked Alex and I to tag along to take some secret photos of the proposal. It was pretty exciting! We went to the Denver Botanic Gardens (I can't wait to visit that place once all the flowers are in bloom, I know it'll be gorgeous!) and hid among the plants hoping Angela wouldn't see it. My heart was pounding so fast the whole time.

Andy took Angela to a bench by a small pond and popped the question. I tried my best to snap photos while hiding. After she said yes (yay!) we did a short impromptu photo session right then and there.

I'm excited for my friends as they prepare for marriage and I'm honored to have been a part of the proposal. Congratulations, Andy and Angela!

Check out more photos on my flickr account.

Week 18

We have made it to week 18 of the pregnancy! How exciting. I had my third midwife appointment this week. It was pretty standard. They weighed me (I've gained seven pounds so far), heard the heartbeat (strong at 140), and took blood for some testing. I was also able to ask a lot of questions about the labor and delivery process at the hospital. I'm happy to report that I think it'll be a great experience.

This week I purchased Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I just started it last night and I already feel so encouraged about giving birth. At this point in my pregnancy I'm not feeling a whole lot of fear and anxiety about going into labor. I'm actually pretty excited. Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive enough to think that it'll be a painless experience, but I don't think it'll be a horrible experience either...Lord willing. I just can't wait to meet this baby boy or girl. (By the way, have you voted on whether you think Baby Ace is a boy or girl??? If not, get on it!) 

Also, Alex and I watched another amazing documentary called Pregnant in America. So good. Again, it confirmed my desire for a natural birth with as few medical interventions as possible and I think it encouraged Alex to get really involved in this pregnancy. You should have seen him at my midwife appointment, asking questions and making sure that Baby Ace and I are getting the best care possible. What a great husband and daddy-to-be.

For this week's photo we went to 18th Avenue which runs right into City Park. I love this place. It's a pretty big park with lots of open grassy fields, tennis courts, a lake, boat house. It's great. This is also where the Denver Zoo is located. If any of you ever come visit we'll definitely take you there for a stroll.

Oh, I also have to mention that today Alex and I were walking around the Gap and a salesperson asked me, "Hey, have you checked out our maternity line yet?" I could have hugged and kissed her on the spot! It's the first time a complete stranger has recognized that I am pregnant. She asked how far along I was and, of course, commented on how tiny I am, but I don't mind because she knew I was pregnant just by looking at me. Awesome feeling. 

The Belly Series

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Jaxon & Penny: A Love Story

Okay, maybe "A Love Story" is overstating it, but it's definitely a whirlwind tale of lost friendship and redemption. You see, Penny is Bryan and Megan's chocolate lab. She's a spunky dog who loves to play. Jaxon is a grumpy old man, but sweet nonetheless. The first time they met, things did not go as planned. Let's just say Jaxon attacked Penny (a dog three times his size!) and Penny cowered in the corner. From then on whenever they got close to each other Jaxon would lunge, bark, and growl. And Penny would try to stay as far away from him as possible. It was sad. It seriously broke my heart. The Barleys are great friends to us and I wanted our pups to get along too. I didn't like the idea of one of the pups having to stay home on outings because they couldn't get along.

Well, I think there must be something in the air in Denver because this week all our wildest dreams came true. We took Jaxon and Penny for a walk at Wash Park and it went wonderfully. I couldn't believe it. They sniffed each other upon meeting and then we walked around the lake with no problems. We found a field and let them off leash to run around and get some energy out.

This may not seem like a big deal to many but my heart is so happy at this change of circumstances. Jaxon and Penny are friends now...hallelujah!

Hiking in Boulder

This week we are hosting some UNC and NCState students that are planning to move to Denver and join Summit Church after they graduate in May. It's been such a fun week and I'm really going to miss everyone after they've gone home this weekend. Can't wait until next summer when they're all back for good!

Yesterday we decided to take the students up to Boulder and do some hiking. Let me just say, I did NOT know hiking was so difficult! I really had to pace myself because I didn't want to stress out my body or Baby Ace. But the hike was worth it because the view was breath-taking. And I'm glad that the walk down was not nearly as difficult as the walk up. I would really love to go hiking again, but I might have to wait until Baby Ace is out with us because I'm not sure I could handle that hike again. Also, I would really need some proper shoes because my Converse sneakers were failing me!

Jaxon did so well! I'm proud of my little pup. We'll have to take him out an many more outdoorsy adventures. It's safe to say that the Acevedos love life in Colorado.

Boy or Girl?

We finally have a date for when we will find out if Baby Ace is a boy or girl!

On Thursday, March 24th at 9:30 AM we have an appointment to find out if we will have a little Izzy or a little Liam. Yup, those are the names. If it's a girl she will be named Isabel Carmen Acevedo. If it's a boy he will be named Liam Alexander Acevedo.

How did we come up with those names? I just fell in love with the name Isabel. It's cute and sweet and can be said easily in English or Spanish. I also kind of like that it carries on the 'bel' in our family (my mom is Kristabel and my sister is Danibel). Carmen is my grandmother's name as well as Alex's great-grandmother's name. I like that we can honor these two amazing women with this name. It was much more difficult to come up with a boy's name. We knew his middle name would be Alexander, after his handsome daddy. We searched and searched for a good first name for weeks and weeks and finally settled on Liam. It's short and simple, not too common, but not too weird either. Now that we have names picked out for either gender I can't wait to find out! I almost wish we were having one of each just so we could use both names, but I'm sure there's only one in there. I guess this means we'll have to try for another one after Baby Ace #1 arrives. ;-)

So what are your predictions??? Boy or girl? Izzy or Liam? Take your pick and in two weeks we'll find out who was right!

Baby Ace says Hello!

Week 17

It's funny how this pregnancy feels like it's going so fast and so slow at the same time. Part of me is astounded that we're already at Week 17 and the other part of me is like, "Can it be August already??"

This week someone told me there is "no way" I'm pregnant. I wasn't offended. I can understand how looking at me you wouldn't be able to tell that I'm expecting. My baby belly looks more like a "food baby." But I know my body and in the past my belly has always been flat, even when I eat crazy amounts of food. I may not have a big ol' belly, but it's definitely not flat anymore. I can also feel the difference in my clothes. Some of my pants still fit, but the pants Im wearing in this picture would NOT close. I had to do the rubber band trick to keep them up. I have Shannon to thank for teaching me that.

Anyway, the baby is about the size of my hand now. That's pretty big if you ask me! I can't believe that's inside of me. I'm still amazed. I have my next midwife appointment on Thursday. I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again and make sure everything is okay with Baby Ace.

For this week's photo I'm standing on 17th Street which leads up to Union Station. I love this building! There's so much history there. It first opened in 1881 and apparently they have some big plans for this train station in the future. Check out some of the renderings of what they want to do with it. Maybe some day we can take a train trip somewhere. Sounds like fun to me.

The Belly Series:

Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16

Jaxon at the Dog Park

I wrote a post last year about Jaxon making progress at the dog park. Since moving to Denver we've taken him to the dog park quite a bit and it makes me so happy to see him interacting with the other dogs so well! Our first visit to the dog park made me nervous. I didn't know if Jaxon would start a fight with one of the dogs. He did get a little snippy with a couple of the dogs but with each visit we make he gets better and better. It's funny to watch him chasing other dogs around and figuring out how to properly interact with them. It makes my heart so happy. He really is a great dog.

Check him out in the picture below...running full speed towards the other dogs... What a cutie.

Denver Zoo Free Day

A couple weeks ago Denver Zoo had a free day. Alex and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to check it out. I love going to the zoo. I missed my chance to visit the one in North Carolina, so I couldn't skip out on this one, especially since it's literally a five minute drive from our house.

I loved it. The weather was gorgeous and the zoo is pretty big. You could spend a good amount of time there if you wanted to see everything. The only down side was the amount of people! We didn't think that everyone in town would be taking advantage of the free day. We quickly grew tired of the crowds of people and we ended up leaving sooner than expected.

But that's okay because tickets aren't really all that expensive and I'll gladly pay the price of a ticket to go back and see all the animals again. Overall it was a fun experience and I can't wait to go back.

Pregnancy Comments

I was reading this article about things you should never to say to a pregnant lady and I almost couldn't contain my laughter. Here's the link in case you're interested.

I've gotten a few of those comments (Was it planned? Can I touch/see your belly? Enjoy ___ now because once the baby comes you can kiss it goodbye. You shouldn't eat/drink that or Are you sure you can eat/drink that? Get an epidural!) While these comments can be mildly annoying nothing compares to the comment I got last week from a perfect stranger.

Alex and I went out to eat wings with some of his co-workers. I was sitting across from this one guy who is a friend of a co-worker. We had never met before, but he seemed nice enough. We chit chatted about various things and I mentioned that I was pregnant. The evening went on normally.  At the end of the night when Alex and I were getting ready to leave this guy stops me and says, "Hey, make sure you're getting enough calcium, because if you don't it can ruin your teeth and bones, so you have to make sure to get enough calcium. Basically you have a parasite growing inside of you, so you have to make sure you get enough calcium. And iron. You need a lot of iron. I know I'm not your doctor, but I'm just concerned. So take a lot of iron, and vitamin D."

What?

This guy was dead serious. He wasn't joking at all. He was seriously concerned for my well-being because of the parasite growing inside me and stealing all my nutrients. Umm, wow. All I could do was kind of laugh and say thanks. Does this guy think that all pregnant women are at risk of serious malnutrition? I know I need extra vitamins and all, and I'm definitely doing all I can to nourish myself and my baby in a healthy way, but I'm not dying. I'm just pregnant. It's perfectly normal. And what makes him think that I don't know how to take care of myself? And no, you're not a doctor, in fact, you're not a doctor at all, which is probably why you're so neurotic.

And my baby is not a parasite.

Have any of you pregnant ladies or mamas received any crazy or rude comments?
And I must say, if I ever said anything to offend you while you were pregnant I thoroughly apologize. I know how it feels now and I'll definitely be more careful with my words in the future.

Week 16

It's hard to believe I'm four months pregnant already! Where does the time go?
I have to say that I am really loving being pregnant. I've been blessed with an easy pregnancy. No morning sickness, not very many annoying symptoms. The biggest thing I've been dealing with lately is lower back pain, especially on my left side. I've been experiencing it for a while, but it's gotten much worse over the past couple of weeks. I'm thinking I'll give my midwife a call if it persists. For now, I have my eye on one of those nifty "birthing balls." I'll probably purchase one soon.

For this week's picture we headed down to 16th Street Mall. It's an outdoor pedestrian mall just over a mile long that runs along 16th street. It's filled with restaurants and shops. If you're from Miami, think Lincoln Road. I love going down there because it's always filled with people and there's always something interesting going on. We took Jaxon with us this time so he gets to make a cameo appearance in this week's photo. I think he's going to make an excellent big "brother" to Baby Ace.

I'm wearing a loose-fitting top so it's hard to see any belly action, but it's there. I kind of love it because it's a tangible reminder of our baby and I know he or she is growing and safe in there. 

Miami Baby Shower - Save The Date!

I am so excited about my upcoming baby shower in Miami! My mom, sister, and mother-in-law have already gotten to work planning it and I've seen a little of what they have in mind. Let me just say, it's going to be one gorgeous baby shower.

We will be mailing out formal invitations to all the invited ladies soon but Alex made these cute Save The Dates so you can keep it in mind as you plan out your summer.

P.S. Just so we're clear, as much as I love my guy friends in Miami, this will be a girls-only shower. I'm sure no guy I know is boo-hoo-ing over this, hah, but I just wanted to put that out there. 

February Update - The Summit Church

Here's a little update video, put together by my talented husband, that talks about how our church plant is doing so far.

And if you have questions about the name change click here to read about it.

What I do all day...

The funniest question I get from people these days is, "What do you do all day?"
The question sounds a bit rude at first, but I'm honestly not offended. I would wonder the same thing if I were someone else looking at my life. My usual response is, "Whatever I want," but I thought I'd go into a bit more detail here.

The husband works all day at Apple, leaving me at home with our beloved pooch, Jaxon. We have a lazy morning, I take my time eating breakfast, showering, etc. I usually watch an episode of "DogTown," while getting dressed...Jaxon loves it. Then I have lunch (I'm hungry all the time...so I eat a lot throughout the day, gotta love pregnancy!). Then I get to work... I do actually have a job that I do from home. I make newsletters and displays for a company in Texas (where my parents both happen to work). So I'll check my e-mail, work on the latest newsletter, tweak whatever needs to be tweaked, and submit my work. I'm thankful for this job because I am able to bring in some income to help out our family.

I also read blogs. I'm definitely addicted. Lately I've been reading lots of "mommy blogs." It's fun to read about other women going through their pregnancies or talking about their young children. That's how I've learned so much about cloth diapering, natural childbirth, how to make baby food, etc etc. Blogs are an invaluable resource. Today I was reading a blogpost by Melissa from Dear Baby (One of the best mommy blogs! I highly recommend it) about natural childbirth that I found to be so encouraging. If you're an expectant mama you should read it. I've also been reading about different baby carriers on the Prayer of Hannah blog. Alex and I definitely want to carry our baby as much as possible (mostly because strollers seem to be a real pain, and there are a lot of benefits to baby-wearing that maybe I'll get into later). So it's been good to learn about the different types of carriers and what real mamas think of them. That's just a bit of what I've been learning from the blog world lately.

Jaxon and I usually take a long walk to the park in the afternoon. It's fun to get a bit of exercise and get outside instead of being cooped up all day. I can't wait until the weather really warms up so I can enjoy our walks even more. Some days I'll squeeze in some prenatal yoga into my exercise routine as well. I've never been very active, but I always liked pilates/yoga because it's slow-paced and it just suits me. I thought I'd give this prenatal yoga DVD a shot and I really like it. Besides helping my flexibility it really helps me to relax and focus on my baby for that one hour.

Some days I'm able to meet up with friends. Mostly everyone I know works fulltime, so it's not always an option, but it's nice when I can get a chance to spend time with someone else for a little while. I mean, I love Jaxon, but he's not much of a conversationalist.

I also do chores...laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc etc. You know, all the glamourous things that everyone loves doing around the house. I haven't mastered cooking yet, but I try...sometimes.

I'm not gonna lie, the rest of my day is filled with netflix movies and listening to music. I love love love that we have a netflix account now and the instant play feature is awesome. Yesterday I watched a powerful documentary called "Dear Zacahry." I cried like a baby. I can't even describe it or tell you much about it because I don't want to give anything away. It's just a powerful and moving story that you have to see for yourself. You should hurry too because they're going to remove it from instant play soon.

The best part of my day is when Alex comes home. Jaxon gets so excited to see him and I'm just relieved to have my best friend back. I love him.

So that's what I do in a nutshell. It may seem boring or useless to other people looking in, but I'm actually really thankful for this slow-paced season in my life. With a baby on the way I'm sure life will never be this easy-going ever again. I'm glad that I have the time to rest up and really prepare for Baby Ace; emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally. I'm blessed and I really have no complaints about this life.

Week 15

I think I'm definitely seeing some growth in my belly this week. Alex says it's definitely a preggo belly...buuut to me it just looks like a weird pooch attached to a skinny body, hah. Oh well. I'm excited to see it get bigger, though I'm sure once I'm really big I'll be ready for it to be gone.

We went to the corner of 15th street and Colfax (which happens to be 15th avenue) and checked out Civic Park. It's located right in front of the Capitol building. It has some beautiful old architecture and if you stand in the middle of the park you can see the Capitol building, the amazing Denver Art Museum (which I can't wait to visit!), and the Denver Public Library. During the spring time the park is filled with colorful flowers. I will definitely be taking a trip there with my camera to capture all the beauty.

Here is Week 15:

The Belly Series:

Week 13

Week 14