Update

26 Weeks

30 Weeks

 So here we are. This week marks 33 weeks, so it's about time for another picture. I will get right on that....

Anyways, its been a stressful and exciting semester for us this fall. I've been fairly moderate as far as pregnancy symptoms go. Just increased sleepiness (which is surprising since I am a naturally sleepy person anyways) and varied appetite. Sometimes I feel like eating, sometimes not so much. Really I don't have too many complaints about being pregnant. It is just kinda awkward getting increasingly large and lately I get so winded I can hardly have a conversation with someone without getting short of breath. My emotions lately have been a little more sensitive due to lots of things outside of just being pregnant, but that it is to be expected I suppose. I was dying to have our baby here a couple weeks ago and now I am seriously freaked out about going into labor any day...Really not looking forward to that part.

Daniel is due to graduate next week! It's going to be such a relief to have our schedule back to ourselves for a few weeks before baby Sophie comes. He is trying to find work in Idaho Falls so we don't have to move right away or right after she's born, but pickings in that town are pretty slim. We are waiting to hear on a job he just interviewed for, so we shall see.

About a month ago we took a preparing for baby class at the hospital in Idaho Falls where I am planning on delivering. Really my hope from this class was just to get to know the hospital and their procedures and feel comfortable with where things are. It was a really long class though. 9-3 one Saturday. The first half of the class was kind of a waste of time. They talked about nutrition and other "no duh" type of things that I figure any pregnant woman should know. Then they took us up to one of the rooms, walked us through how the general procedures go, how they do an epidural (which I thought was pretty interesting), and after that everything they talked about back in the classroom were things I was interested in--relaxation techniques, recommendations for labor positions, C-sections (just in case), and the ins-and-outs of various stages of labor and delivery. Even though it was a long day, Daniel and I were fairly pleased with some of the info they gave us.

However, our main incentive for going was that they give you a free 4D ultrasound if you take a tour of the hospital after the class. Worth it--I think yes! After some scheduling nightmares we finally got this little profile pic of our baby girl:

This is a picture of the picture they gave us, so the quality is awesome! :)

Her arm looks freaky in this picture, but I assume that's just how the ultrasound picks up her skinny little arms. She was a little difficult to get a picture of since she is already head down and in the proper birthing position and she had her cute little arms crossed right across her face and chin. She looks like she will really like being all swaddled up. We brought my mom to this ultrasound and I think she really enjoyed being able to watch her up on the TV screen. We even had them double check she is a girl. She is pretty perfect if you ask me.

Work is getting a little too tiring for me so I have officially put in my two weeks notice. Working retail during the holidays is exhausting for anyone. Working retail during the holidays while 33+ weeks pregnant is crazy if you ask me. I sleep whenever possible, and Sundays I usually end up taking multiple naps. Not to much I am deathly afraid of working myself in labor while at work...not my ideal birth plan. It will certainly be weird leaving Deseret Book after 4.5 years. I have had a lot of wonderful training opportunities with them and it really was the best job to get me through college. I am really looking forward to moving towards staying at home and being with baby.

The next couple weeks are going to be crazy, stressful, and exhausting, but then we should  be free to relax a little for the holidays. We are really looking forward to having Erin, Jason, and their girls in Idaho Falls for Christmas so that will certainly be fun.

Well it's nine o'clock and I've had two naps today.... I think I'll go to bed now.

Kelsey's Onesie Shower

The Fruits of our Craftiness!

 My dearest friend Kelsey is having a baby next month. We never would have thought we would be having babies three months apart, but yet here we are! She is also having a little girl named Ruby Charlotte. So for her shower I threw her a onesie decorating party. I raided my mom's craft room and my mother-in-law's craft room for all the supplies, but eventually everything really came together.

 My mom came as our craft expert and assistant and made a super darling onesie. Her's looked much more professional than the rest of ours, of course.

My first pregnant picture

 I forced Kelsey to let me take a comparison shot. It's what I have to look forward to in a few months!

This is only a portion of the crew--but hey, we do good work!

Kelsey buried in her Love Sac of presents.

The Inspiration Board

The Supply Table

It all turned out pretty cute. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. I was really impressed with what they all came up with. We have so many leftover supplies I think I might be crafting onesies for everyone I know.

Baby's First Picture

Hello World!

My First Mother's Day

Some things are like clockwork. When the clock stops, it causes some apprehension, a little excitement, and even some nausea. The week before Mother's Day I found myself clutching a coupon for a pregnancy test and standing in line at Walgreens. Heck, I even bought a can of soda to chug down to ensure I could pee the requisite 5 seconds. I wasn't about to be the reason this thing wouldn't work. After we came home, I did the deed. While waiting, I threw my head into my pillow, unsure of which way I wanted this to turn out.

Moments later, our future changed. Thankfully it wasn't one of those tests with line/dash hieroglyphics. I don't think my heart could have handled waiting to decipher pregnancy code. So there we were, future parents. A crazy, but still intangible change in our lives. There were tears, hugs, and a little jumping up and down. We couldn't be happier. However, we wanted to to wait until Mother's Day to tell our families.

Three days. That's a long time to lie to your mother's face. And I imagined her reaction in every possible scenario, but her actual reaction exceeded my every expectation. The night after we found out we bought two tiny onesies that said "I have the best Grandma." We wrapped each of those in matching gift bags paired with extra positive pregnancy tests (I was far more confident in my abilities the second and third go-around.)

Daniel instigated that our mothers open their gifts before dinner on Mother's Day. I was so nervous I could have just let the moment go by without saying a word. The instant my mother recognized what she was opening a onesie she exploded in squeals of delight. I've never seen someone so happy. My dad shed a tear or two and my in-laws were equally thrilled. For the rest of dinner my mom periodically broke into a smile that forced her to laugh. She just couldn't contain it.

16 weeks later, here we are. We just found out that it's a little girl wiggling around in there. I fortunately haven't been very sick and my stomach is just starting to puff up like a balloon. Things are really good. And we can't wait for January 18th. 

Summer 2012 Recap

As lovely and warm as this summer has been, we haven't done much out of the ordinary. That's means there is a shortage of pictures....

• Daniel trekked through yet another semester--one more to go! 
• We celebrated Daniel's birthday eating lots of food, as you should on all holidays. He got a grill for some delicious summer cookin' and we had a great BBQ with friends and played some baseball. I may have ripped my pants wide open while playing... I just can't remember. 
• We found some tennis partners that we play with weekly. 
• I got called as our ward Primary President, which means I am president of the nursery and the three kids that are sometimes there. It is a pretty sweet gig.
• We celebrated the fourth of July in Driggs--Glenn Beck was not there this year, but the fireworks never disappoint. 
•  We partied hard for our third anniversary. We headed up to Heise Hot Springs and had a great day in the pool. Then we went to Idaho Falls and had dinner at the Snakebite, an awesome little local restaurant. 
• I turned 23--whoo! Norma (mom-in-law), my Mom, and I went out for pedicures. Daniel and I had a lovely lunch. Then my mom spoiled me to death with new clothes (of the maternity variety), and then we ate more excessive food at my parent's house.

That's all I think. It's been a good summer, but I'm feeling ready for fall. Hey, I'm ready for January....

Final Days in Utah

After we got home from Vegas we had a jammed packed week.

• Saturday: We had a triple date with our friends Andy & Sariah and Darla & Sam. We went out to dinner and to a Real Salt Lake soccer game. It was a surprisingly fun game. Afterwards we played games and such. 
• Sunday: Easter! We spoke at church and it was the most well-received talk either of us had given. We used a book I picked up at work and walked through the last seven days of the Savior's life, ending with Easter Sunday. I'll admit it was a different and interesting talk. We enjoyed preparing them. We really liked the ward we were in too. I wish we could have got to know them better.
• Monday: Checked out City Creek with Andy (for the third time). We went to a Jazz game (vs. the Spurs) with tickets we scored at Fanzz for buying $50 worth of stuff for the aforementioned Real Salt Lake game. 
• Tuesday: We had won tickets at my work party to the Hale Center Theater. We had a nice dinner out and then saw Zorro: The Musical. We loved it! It was a super small theater with the stage in the center. Quite a few of the cast were very talented! I'm happy to add it to the list of musicals I have seen live. 
• Wednesday: Went on a double date with Darla and Sam to a Thai restaurant in downtown Salt Lake called Sawadees. That was a first for almost all of us. It was delightful! It was even more sad since it was our last night there, but we had a really great time with Darla and Sam. (Don't worry guys, we'll be back). 
• Thursday: We caravan-ed back to Rexburg with Daniel's dad. I'm a little sad. And I miss my job. But here we are.

Vegas, Baby

New York-New York

In our final days of living in Utah, we decided to take our spring break down to Vegas. True, we aren't the usual spring break crowd, but I figured I need to see Vegas once in my life. (That's really all it takes).

I was actually really excited about Vegas at first. I thought it was so cute and cheesy. But after three days of walking up and down the dirty Strip I was certainly done.

Caesar's Palace

M&M Factory

I was hoping for more out of the M&M "Factory"--it's a four story store. But it was cute.

Our hotel

 Our hotel was great. We were literally at the furthest end of the hotel and it was really quiet and pretty high up. Everything there was white so it felt more like Miami than Las Vegas. We spent the warmest of the days chillin at the pool, which was absolutely great. Not to mention, I saw Joey Fatone eating at the fancy restaurant at our the hotel. We totally made eye contact.

Hash House A-Go-Go

 We love to hit up our Travel Channel favorites which included chicken and waffles at Hash House A-Go-Go. We even went back later that week for lunch (yes we ate all that for breakfast). We kinda got used to eat two enormous meals a day. I'm not entirely sure we have adjusted out of that schedule yet.

Chicken and Waffles!

Pawn Stars

Paris or Vegas?

 We went shopping at the Vegas Outlets, the Caesar's Palace, and some other mall. Then we hit up the wax museum. It was surprisingly cool. However, all those stars better not be that short because I felt enormous.

 The Bellagio fountains were pretty awesome. Surprisingly cool.We also ate at the Bellagio buffet. Suprisingly uncool. We waited FOREVER to eat at nine thirty at night and, sure, the food was some of the best buffet food that I've ever had, but after dying of thirst in line and waiting that long. It was not worth the price tag.

 We enjoyed the lights down at the "Glitter Gulch" more than the Strip. They were more classic, old Las Vegas. I did have some drunk girls yell at me and a solicitor compliment me way too much. Vegas people are odd.

Vegas has some highs and lows. I'm glad we went. We planned on visiting the Hoover Dam, but we were too tired and I felt sick so we hit the road home.