The Announcement!

I have been dying to announce our pregnancy for quite some time now. As weird as it may sound, announcing a pregnancy has been one of those things that I have longed to do. We are planning on making the official announcement sometime this week. I really really wanted to do one of those cute picture announcements. So since Zac and I both love to run so much this is what we came up with.

I plan to enjoy every moment of this pregnancy with all the good, bad and the ugly because you never know when this may be your only chance to experience it. I have definitely been one of the lucky ones with very minimal morning sickness and overall have been feeling pretty good.
A few weeks ago, Zac and I had a small scare when I started bleeding. I definitely freaked out. Our IVF doctors and nurses have been so incredible. We called them and they got us an appointment the next day. Everything turned out to be okay and looking good. We even got to listen to our baby's heart beat again and this time we recorded. I don't know if anyone else even really cares about that but I am still going to put the recording on here for save keeping. :)

Garbanzo Bean

This week Zac and I had our viability ultrasound. This ultrasound was to make sure everything was looking good. Basically, it is the finals of IVF school.

I can't even describe how amazing that ultrasound was. We were able to hear our baby's heartbeat and see that he/she is the size of a garbanzo bean. I started crying watching that ultrasound. It still feels like a dream, like one of those dreams where you keep hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock because you don't want to wake up. I have a feeling that the next nine months are going to be filled with moments like these that I will never want to forget.

Our little bean was measuring just where it needed to be and everything looked really good. Our doctor even told us that at this point because everything is looking so good that our risk of miscarriage is less than 10%. And then I started crying all over again hearing those words. We have officially been passed off to a regular OB and I have my first appointment in a few weeks, with our only requirement being to make sure to send a picture to our wonderful and supportive IVF doctors and nurses when our baby is born.

Christmas 2015

Christmas was a strange mix of stress, emotions and happiness. With everything going on between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I did something very un-Katelynish. I didn't plan any Christmas parties. activities, outings, etc. And surprisingly, it was really nice and I still enjoyed Christmas just as much as I usually do! I may have to do that more often.
Because we were flying to Spokane for Christmas, we had a mini Christmas a few days before and opened our gifts to each other and from my family.
Then we headed to Spokane to spend a whole week. It was a much needed escape from stress from work and infertility treatments. I always have such a great time with Zac's family and come home always feeling immensely blessed to have such a wonderful family of in-laws.
While in Spokane, we had the opportunity to go to the Temple with Emma as she went through for the first time. It was such a special experience, all of us being together in temple.

Thanksgiving 2015

I know, I know....it is January! But if I don't post about Thanksgiving now then I never will. So....here you go.
Thanksgiving was so great this year! Elise was nice enough to host and Mom, Dad, Michelle, Marc and Lindsey all came to Utah. We definitely missed Kristin, Alan, Spencer and Mason though.
It was really nice to not have to travel especially since Zac and I were getting ready to start IVF. We just got to enjoy the good food and the good company.

Mom taught me how to make rolls! I have never been really great at making bread but it has always been something I want to learn how to do. So I am now one step closer.

Lindsey and Dad ran a half marathon Thanksgiving morning! It was Lindsey's first half and she totally rocked it! Zac and I did the 5k and had a great time. When we signed up for the race, you could submit suggestions for signs of what you were thankful for. Zac's suggestion was actually used! We may or may not have stolen the sign afterwards.....

One night we rode the trax up to Temple Square together to check out the lights! I absolutely love CHRISTMAS so it was just what I needed to get into the Christmas spirit. 

Top 15 of 2015

I can't believe that 2015 is coming to an end and 2016 is already here. This past year has been a crazy and adventurous one! Here are my top 15 moments from 2015.

15. In January, Zac was offered a job in Utah so we packed everything up and moved from Seattle to Salt Lake.

14. Witnessed a miracle. Before we moved, we were able to witness my nephew, Mason, be sealed to my sister, Kristin and Alan and Spencer for time and all eternity.

13. Grandma LeFevre passed away. It was bittersweet. It also provided an opportunity for my whole immediate family to be together for the first time in years.

12. Celebrated my 25th birthday with lots of family around to make it extra special.

11. I hiked the Grand Canyon with my Dad and Lindsey.

10. Started a new job at 1800Contacts as a personal trainer/wellness coach. I absolutely love it!

9. Visited home for the 24th of July and spent a lot of time with family.

8. Successfully grew my first patio garden!


7. We discovered that besides Endometriosis, we were also dealing with male factor infertility which explains a lot.

6. Celebrated 6 wonderful years of marriage!

5. Went to Yellowstone, knocking something off my lifelong bucket list.

4. Ran two half marathons!

3. Went on many great adventures with Zac. Lots of hiking, backpacking and discovering.

2. We decided to give IVF a try. I thought I would die giving myself shots, but I survived.

1. And for the best news of all of 2015...........IT WORKED! Our little miracle is expected early September of 2016. So it is still pretty early which means that we are not out of the woods yet. Thank you for all of your support and prayers. I am completely overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. I wanted the IVF treatments to work so so bad but was so afraid that I would be disappointed again like I have been so many times over the last four years. I am still a little reserved and having a hard time feeling like it is real. I have spent the last four years guarding myself and my emotions from the painful reality of infertility. Just thinking about the fact that we are really going to have a baby in 2016, is enough to get me misty eyed with pure happiness.

We decided to have the blood test done over Christmas vacation. It took us a while to find an open lab and when we finally had the blood work finished, because of the time difference between Utah and Washington, we had to wait to get the results the next day. Talk about the longest day ever. The next morning Zac and I were just laying in bed half awake when my phone rang. I knew exactly what phone call it was. I jumped out of bed, answered the phone and put it on speaker phone so Zac could hear. Those few moments seemed to go in slow motion. When I heard the IVF nurse say, "Congratulations! You are pregnant!" I completely lost it. There are moments in life that change everything and you will never forget. This was definitely one of those moments. I will never forget how I felt hearing those words for the first time. Such a tender moment. 

Like I said earlier, it is still quite early. So there is still a lot of risk. However, I have decided that because I have let you all in on my IVF journey, I need to let you in on the rest, no matter what happens. 

2015 was a crazy year that brought a lot of change. Here is to an even crazier 2016!