Sugar and spice and all things nice

That's right, baby Leikert is A GIRL!!  We had the ultrasound this morning and it was so cool to see our little girl!  The tech. said that she was measuring a few days further along than we originally thought.  She weighs 14 ounces and we got to see her heart, brain, arms, legs, stomach, bladder, kidneys, spine, and face.  Here are some of the pictures...

The little arrow at the top right of the picture shows that she's a she!

Her head is on the right and body on the left.  The bubble is the umbilical cord.

And her sweet little face! 

She was throwing punches throughout the ultrasound so I know she's my kind of girl!  Get ready Colette, your best friend is on her way! 

Baby Leikert

So, as promised, I'm doing a baby update post!  Nothing too exciting to share (like ultrasounds photos or the sex), but after getting a number of posts of FB and a few emails I broke down and took a picture of my baby bump.  This picture was taken last Friday when I was 17 weeks and 5 days.  I'm now 18 week and 2 days and I feel  bigger than I look in the picture.  It feels like I get bigger each day and it also seems like something else aches every day (this scares me a little because I'm still in the 2nd trimester and that's when pregnant ladies are supposed to be the most comfortable...I can't wait to see what all hurts when I'm 8 months along!).  The first 12 weeks or so were pretty rough as far as nausea and morning sickness goes, but after that things got a lot better.  I lost about 7 pounds during the first trimester and I'm now 3 pounds heavier than where I started and the doctor seemed pleased with this progression.  I'm eating fairly normally now.  I have to eat smaller portions more frequently because I seem to get full quickly, then hungry again shortly after.  Aside from my feet/ankles swelling and hurting and my hips/back aching, I'm feeling really good.

We had a pretty huge milestone on Father's Day - I felt our little nugget move!  I'm sure that I had felt it before, but didn't realize what it was.  On Sunday night, though, we were watching a movie and I was still enough and aware enough to know what I was feeling.  It was really awesome for me - I just can't wait until Chris can feel it, too. Since Sunday, I've felt the little guy or gal squirming every day at least once.

Our baby is now about 5-5 1/2 inches from crown to rump (I love the measurement terms :)) and weighs a little over 5 ounces.  Chris and I love reading about the development each week!  On July 7th I'm scheduled to receive my first ultrasound and we are planning to find out the sex of our baby and if there really is only one in there :).  I'm sure there will be a post about that once we know!  I'm still crossing my fingers for twins, if not this time, then sometime down the road.  You all know me and how I love deals...I see twins as not only awesome, but a bargain - two babies and only one pregnancy!

That's all for now.  We'll keep everyone updated after the 7th!  Until then, Chris is running a race on Saturday and studying his booty off.  I'm getting settled into my new job at Gazelle and really enjoying it.  Oh, and we moved.  That was made possible by our fantastic families who did most of the grunt work while I pointed and made the food.  Our new place is so much better than the last...maybe that will be the next post...

Mackinac...or is it Mackinaw?

This past weekend Mom and Dad Blaxton, Tim, Jessica (Tim's wonderful girlfriend), and the two of us went to Mackinac Island for a day trip.  Chris and I were SO excited to go and it couldn't have been a better day!  The weather was perfect, 72 degrees and sunny, there were not too may tourists yet, and of course, great company!

We were a little worried when first pulled into the harbor to board the ferry...Mayflies were EVERYWHRE!  Every single car in the lot looked like this white one so we all made sure to breathe through our noses (at least most of us...Chris usually has some trouble with that).

After lunch on the island, we rented bikes - 4 singles and 1 tandem - and rotated throughout our ride.  Chris and I were the first on the tandem.  It's still up for debate as to the reason I didn't particularly enjoy riding on the back...either Chris really IS that bad a steering a bike, or I just couldn't handle not being in control :)  

We stopped and skipped some stones.  Who do you think has the best form?

Mackinac Island Public School Class of 2011 had six graduates.  Six.

Tim and Jessica were next on the tandem.  I have to say, as much as I didn't like Chris being in control of the steering, at least we didn't crash like Tim and Jessica!  I'm laughing right now just thinking about Tim on the back, "Whoa, whoa!  I'm not doing ANYTHING!"

Eventually they got the hang of it and smoked us all.

Mom and Dad were pros at the tandem.

I couldn't leave a post about Mackinac Island without some chocolate...

It was such a wonderful day!  We are so blessed to be able to spend time like this with our families.  Plus, it was a much more relaxed visit for Jessica compared to last summer during the wedding craziness!

Stay tuned for a baby update :)

My Hometown

In January, Newsweek magazine published an article listing the top ten dying cities of the United States. For some ridiculous reason, Grand Rapids was listed as number ten in this article. As a life-long Grand Rapidian that is very aware of the bountiful opportunity that the city provides, this was a shocking claim.

Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock knows that the recession was especially hard on Michigan, but of all the cities in Michigan, Grand Rapids weathered the storm the best. There are many reasons for this including the constantly expanding "medical mile" (which now includes a top children's hospital, cancer center, and MSU medical school), the city's commitment to sustainability with more LEED certified buildings per capita than any other city in the US, and the wealth (pun intended) of philanthropists and successful business leaders that have given so much of their money and time to make our city beautiful. The city and surrounding areas contain more than a handful of well-respected colleges and universities. There is a nationally recognized medical research institute (The Van Andel Institute) right downtown along with JW Mariott Hotel, one the most luxurious hotel chains in the world. There is a world class art competition each fall that attracted over 250,000 visitors in its second year of existence in 2010.

I could go on and on about what makes my hometown one the most unique and thriving communities anywhere, but this video proves my point better than words can. The video below was created in response to the Newsweek article and shows that Grand Rapids is far from dying. This is one continuous take. Let me say that again, this is one continuous take that set the world record for the world's largest and longest lip dub. The guy who created this video is amazing, his name is Rob Bliss and he has organized multiple events in Grand Rapids that have broken world records including the world's biggest pillow fight and world's biggest zombie walk. He is a story for another day though, so watch the video and tell me that a "dying" city would come together to make something like this. Hopefully you can get a taste of what makes Grand Rapids overflowing with life! I LOVE GR!!

Food for Thought

After recent events in the Middle East and the different opinions that have come forward, it's gotten me thinking.  If everyone who is upset about Bin Laden’s death was equally upset about every death (namely, helpless babies), I would be willing to bet that abortion would not be legal in our nation.  The death of an evil, violent man in the midst of war has caused Facebook status debates like I have never seen, and quotes about peace/harmony/anti-killing are being posted by people who I know to be pro-choice.  It all seems backward to me.  How does one so strongly condemn the loss of such a murderous man, and then turn around and vote or argue in favor of the continued murder of innocent, pure, defenseless souls?

I will never celebrate death and violence, but I do understand that in the context of war there are special ethical and moral implications/exceptions that apply to the soldiers fighting.  As I understand it, the Navy SEALs who completed the mission first tried to capture Bin Laden alive but were met with resistance.  Only time will tell if this is what actually occurred and really, none of us will truly know what happened during that 40-minute raid because, let’s face it, none of us were there.  And maybe I’m naïve for believing in the good of mankind, but I like to think that the soldiers on that mission would not have killed unless it was their last resort.

The bottom line is; I don’t understand the inconsistency of some people’s moral beliefs.  Why do some think that is it a human right to kill unborn babies but it’s unjust to kill the founder of Al Queda?  Every human being has dignity and is made in the image of God.  I just pray that someday people will realize this.

What do you think?  I’m I being naïve for giving these soldiers the benefit of the doubt?  Have you witnessed this kind of inconsistency?  And how do we as Christians lovingly point out these inconsistencies?

Life Is Good

There have been so many fantastic things happening in our lives the last month or so and we have so many happy things to look forward too, as well!  First of all, Chris found out that he passed his second section of the CPA exams!  He has now passed what he thinks will be the two hardest exams for him, so even though he has two down and two to go, he is considering himself 60% done.  It's such a good feeling to know all of his hard work is paying off!  And, there are only 9 days left in the tax season!  It will be such a relief for Chris to be finished with this busy season, but the end of tax means the start of more studying as he'll be taking another section at the end of May.  It will all be worth it though when he's a Certified Public Accountant at the age of 24 - a huge accomplishment!

A couple weeks ago the track season started.  I am coaching the middle school boys and girls this season and it's going to be a big challenge, but a lot of fun.  There are about 85 7th and 8th graders on the team so the biggest challenge will be getting to know all of them and managing the huge number.  Thankfully, I have some awesome assistant coaches who I can totally trust to take groups of kids and I don't have to worry about what they're doing.  It should be an interesting and exciting season!

The past two weeks I've also been going through some interviews, looking for something to do after my class and part-time job at Aquinas end, and I landed a job at Gazelle Sports.  It's a locally owned sporting goods store, mostly running related, and they are very involved in the running community in Grand Rapids.  So, I'll obviously be working in the store doing retail, but I was also asked to coach some of their 8-week training groups that they host all year round.  I'm really excited to work with the training groups!  As I understand it, most of the runners that join them are beginners, training for their first 5ks and things like that.  My training starts this week, so I'll be super busy until the beginning of May with class, work, coaching, and training.

So, on top of all the good things that have happened already, we have Eric and Andrea's wedding to look forward to on May 14th!  We're so excited!  It's going to be such a fun weekend and it's rapidly approaching!

AND! as may of you know already, we're expanding from a family of two to a family of three!  With the recent announcement and making this public knowledge, I think Chris and I have gotten even more excited ourselves and it's really starting to sink in.  Personally, I think it will be really real when I need to start wearing the pants with elastic in the front :)

We are so blessed to be able to bring another life into this world.  It's such a miracle and we are going to be experiencing it first hand.  Hopefully the rest of the miracle will include less nausea and more appetite. Chris mentioned the other night that it isn't fair that the mamma is the only one that has to feel sick, but I said, it isn't fair that the mamma is the only one that will feel the baby kicking and squirming.  So, we'll take the bad with the good and thank God every day for trusting us with one of His children.

Life is just so good!

Little Accomplishments

Chris and I like to run.  Ground breaking news, I know.  But, Chris actually does it.  He has run almost every day since his last exam even though he's been working 55-60 hours a week.  Me?  Well, I haven't really run in almost two years.  Yeah sure, there have been the injuries and the therapy (or lack thereof) for me to blame it on, but in reality, I haven't run because I've been afraid.  Afraid of being miserably out of shape, afraid of my injuries being a constant nag, afraid of the hard work needed to get in good shape again, afraid of getting in really good shape again then getting hurt...again.  The thought of channeling my love of running into coaching has been my crutch, my justification to take the easy way out, the lazy way out.  Don't get me wrong, I love coaching and I wholeheartedly plan to continue coaching, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be enough.  Not enough to satisfy my competitiveness, or to calm my antsy legs, or to drop the *ahhem* pounds that have snuck their way onto my body.

It's strange, this game I've been playing with myself.  There have been times when my longing has been so great to be fast again, to feel the readiness in my muscles and the ease at which my stride would come.  So powerful that I'll make these grand plans to start again.  Sometimes I'll run one day, maybe two or three days, then just stop.  Make up some reason why it's OK or why it's better for me to not be running.  Then another couple months will pass and I won't even think about running.  It's hard to believe how easy it has been for me to not even think about myself running for so long, when before I couldn't go a few hours without thinking about my run that day.  Hard to believe and sad, really.

I don't think I ever lost my love for running, I just lost my...motivation? strength? emotional stamina? pride? I'm not really sure what it was that I lost, but I definitely lost something, or maybe just forgot something, but for a while, fear took it's place.  

So, to scare the fear out of me, two weeks ago I signed myself (and Chris) up for the Irish Jig 5k that will be taking place on March 19th.  Currently, the furthest I've run is 1.5 miles.  I didn't run at all last week because I got really sick, but this week is going well.  I feel good.  Yesterday I was talking with a friend about running and my upcoming race and how the competitive spirit one gains from running doesn't just go away.  Mine might have taken a little vacation, but I think it's back now.  I said to Erin that when we run, even if nothing else has gone right, we accomplish something that day.  As soon as that came out of my mouth I realized that it was true, and I felt this huge wave of achievement and excitement and motivation come crashing over me.  It was the strangest thing.  I felt like crying because I felt that I had just been reconnected with an old friend.  

This video is a speech that I gave in one of my classes last year.  Watching it makes me think of everything that I love about running (also makes me cringe at the mistakes I made while giving it, ugg).

 

Hopefully I won't get scared again - or roll an ankle - because I really want to put in the work now.  Obviously it won't be easy, but I've done it before, so I can do it again.  My only goal for my first race in over two years is to finish in under 8-minute pace and have fun.  Because I love running.  And I love the feeling of accomplishing something, even as little as a 1.5 mile run.  Plus, someone has to start bringing home some prize money since Chris has only contributed a couple boxes of plaques, a butter dish, two bowls, and a beer glass!