Sundance 2013

A couple months ago, here, I mentioned that I was going to start playing tourist more in my own city.  This is probably our last winter living in Park City since we will be in Wyoming all summer for Brian's internship and then probably moving to SLC in the fall.  I want to enjoy it while we are still here.  I want to do all the things that tourists do when they come visit...or at least as much as a pregnant woman can.  (No snowboarding for me this season!)

Brian has always been pretty grumpy when it comes to Sundance.  He doesn't like how busy Park City gets with all the traffic and tourists on the loose in "his" town.  Usually we try to avoid the whole scene as much as possible, but this year I convinced him to brave one movie with me in honor of our most likely last Sundance in Park City.  Ironically, the tickets that I scored through a co-worker were for a movie playing at The Tower in SLC. :) Whatever...I'm still counting it towards my Park City bucket list.

We started our night by eating out at Red Robin (Brian has especially fallen in love with their fries.)  Then we headed to The Tower to see "Mud" with Matthew Mcconaughey and Reese Witherspoon.  We went into the movie assuming it would be more of a chick flick, and it ended up being more of a adolescent boy coming of age movie, but we still enjoyed it.  Hooray for fun date nights!  Especially the ones on school nights!

22 weeks: 4 months to go

Dress from Winsome Jones

No chalkboard picture today. Brian is still at school, stuck in a basement lab somewhere doing homework.  I'm sitting at home bored and have run out of excuses for not blogging.  Time to write! We have had some much going on recently (new years resolutions, holiday weekends, sundance, work, life, etc.) that I don't even know where to begin.  That's a lie...I'm going to begin with baby/pregnancy update.  I'll get to all that other stuff in later posts.

Baby Boy Moote is now about 1 pound! He can swallow and is starting to practice "pretend" breathing.  He has my heartbeat and personal breathing to keep him company 24/7.

P.S. My very talented younger sister started an online clothing store with friend.  It's all about cute, fashionable, modest clothes.  The dress I'm wearing in this weeks picture is actually from their site.  Even though it isn't a maternity dress,  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to wear it all the way through and then some!  

 How far along? 22.5 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 11 pounds and I'm starting to feel it...

 Maternity clothes? I still have one pair of "normal" jeans that I can wear, otherwise it's all about maternity pants.  I have more flexibility wearing both regular and maternity shirts.  I'm also loving the freedom of legging and dresses (like the one in the picture) these days.

Stretch marks? Nope, but I bought some delicious smelling Coconut Lime Shea Butter to start rubbing on my belly just in case.

Best moment this week: Not going to work Monday and spending it with both our families. Sundance.

Miss anything: Being able to touch my toes easily without feeling my muscles stretch.

Movement: Yes! I swear I can feel it on the outside too, but Brian doesn't believe me.

  Food cravings: Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at the moment...

Have you started to show yet: Getting bigger everyday...

  Boy Names: No change here. Favorites still include: Oliver, Nathan, Hudson, Camden, Noah, Jackson, Parker, Emerson, Ethan, and Haden.  

  Belly Button in or out? In but starting to look different.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Looking forward to: This is more of a NOT looking forward to...Going to Travis and Mayra's goodbye party on Saturday.  They are moving to GA this weekend.  At least I still have Whitney!

20 Weeks: We're Half Way There!

So I haven't been the best at the pregnancy updates recently.  At 18 weeks, we were busy with Christmas celebrations. At 19 weeks, we celebrated the New Year.  Now that I am back to the real world, I figured it was time to get back to the updates as well.  So here goes nothing...

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 7lbs: the weights picked up now that I'm starting to show more

 Maternity clothes? Over the break, week 18, my amazing mother-in-law took Brian and me shopping for maternity clothes at Target, Kohls, and Motherhood Maternity.  Now I'm totally set up with the basics and have loved wearing a new outfit everyday.  My new clothes are SO comfy!

Stretch marks? Nope, but maybe it's time to start buying some shea butter.

Best moment this week: Celebrating the New Year with Brian and friends.  It's so crazy to think how much our lives our going to change this year.  I'm so excited but also tad bit nervous.  I think I can...I think I can... :) We also had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday.  Baby Moote is right on target with all his stats, and due date is still solid for May 25th.

Miss anything: Sleep!  It's been really hard going back to work this week.  I just want to sleep in all the time.

Movement: Yes!  I started to think I was feeling movements at the end of week 18.  By week 19, I was sure.  They are still really inconsistent, but I get excited every time I feel him!

  Food cravings: Holy Cow, have I been craving chocolate!  During my first trimester, my sweet tooth went away almost completely.  Brian was actually shocked at how easily I was able to turn down cookies, brownies, and ice cream.  Maybe it's because of all the holiday goodies, but I can't get enough of it.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at the moment...

Have you started to show yet: Yes. Just about the only fun part of going back to work so soon was getting to see everyone's reaction now that I'm definitely showing.  Everybody was excited to see my belly, although I had one student who really wanted to touch it...weird.  I wasn't prepared for that.

  Gender: Boy.  Brian and I are having the hardest time with names.  Our list just keeps getting longer and longer.  New favorites include: Oliver, Nathan, Hudson, Camden, Noah, Jackson, Parker, Emerson, Ethan, and Haden.  It doesn't help that we are both so indecisive about everything.

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On. With the cold weather, my ring always seems looser than usual. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.  Life has been pretty great lately. 

Looking forward to: My next school break, MLK day.  I really do enjoy my job, I swear!

New Years Eve

This year for New Years Eve, we went over to James and Kim's house for a best friends party.  It was so fun to celebrate with James and Kim and Renae and Robert.  Plus, everybody had someone to kiss at midnight! :)

We ate chile and cornbread, caught up on the details of each others lives, played games, listening to music, counted down to the New Year with the Times Square, toasted to the "year of the birth of my son" with Martinellis, and watched the hilarious movie Pitch Perfect.  It was all so much fun that we all stayed up til 3:30 (a HUGE deal for anyone who knows Renae) and ended up all spending the night.

Don't worry...this baby bump is totally ready for 2013!  

Coming Soon - New Years Resolutions Post

Sweets and Blendtec Treats

These are the cookies that Brian decorated for this years Christmas goodie plates.  I did the candy canes, but he did all the rest.  He's pretty proud of how they turned out. :)

And here is what I have been doing with my brand new Blendtec!  I.am.in.LOVE.  We have been using the wildside jar to take the most amazing frozen hot chocolates and smoothies, but this was our first time using twister jar.

Homemade non-dairy strawberry ice cream

After

Before

And Cocoa-nut almond butter.  Not a single liquid in this one!

Christmas with the Jones' and Mootes

This year, we were able to celebrate Christmas with both sides of our family.  None of this every other year stuff for us! (Which in my opinion is the best way to do it.)  My whole family got together in Utah two weeks before Christmas to celebrate and then we were at the Moote's for actual Christmas Eve and Christmas.  

Jones Family Christmas/Reunion

This was the first time since Lyndsey and Charlie's wedding that we were all together.  Mom and Dad rented a condo at the base of Cottonwood Canyon, and we all spent a long weekend together.  Brian was able to join in the fun once he finished his finals on Thursday.

We decorated cookies, made fudge and peanut brittle, and snacked on some family favorites like chips and onion dip.

Thursday, we celebrated girls day out by wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and getting our nails done.  Later that afternoon, Brian and I found out we were having a baby BOY, but that is all in another post.

We added some new traditions to our Christmas Eve events: A White Elephant Gift Exchange and A Dice Rolling, Oven Mitt Wearing, Single Present Opening Mania a la Smartt Family.

But not all traditions were new...this year's Christmas Eve pajamas were a huge hit!  Everybody got a shirt with a different quote from the movie "Elf."  Thanks Mom and Dad!

And we still celebrated Christmas Eve dinner with English Christmas Crackers and Martinellis.  (Another benefit of 2 Christmas' is 2 holiday hams!)

"Christmas Morning" we opened our stockings and santa gifts (Dre Beats Headphones) and then took turns opening our gifts from each other.  Brian and I were extremely blessed!

We got a 20 cup rice cooker, tons of fun stocking stufferes, a stroller/car seat set from Travis and Mayra, and 2 Blendtec blenders!  Mom and Dad/Brian know me so well that they both got me my #1 present.  We returned one and got an ipad. (Thank you to Mayra and Whitney for taking every single one of the pictures above and then letting me steal them.)

Christmas with the Moote's

This year we had everybody together except for Lee, who is in Afghanistan. I didn't take any pictures at all of course (no Whitney and Mayra to steal from this time,) until after we opened our Christmas presents.  Paul and Judy got us an amazing new camera (Nikon P510) that I am so excited about!  Our old camera has had battery issues for almost a year now, so it has been on my wish list to get a new one for months.  Now we can look forward to taking tons of pictures and video of baby Moote when he arrives!  Here are some of the pics I took after we got the new camera up and running...

Brian playing Angry Birds on our ipad.  I told him not to get too into it, but he did anyway. :)

Ellie got a teaset and LOVED it.  It was cute to see her set it all up and play with her dolls.  As you can see from the background, we were able to watch "A Christmas Story" and also "It's a Wonderful Life" this year.  The only movie we are sad we missed out on was "The Muppet's Christmas Carol."

These two kept us busy during our visit.  It's so fun to see how much they have changed since last Christmas.  They loved opening their presents and playing with them, although they weren't as big on sharing. ;)  They can walk, run, and get into all sorts of trouble now!

Our 2nd Christmas feast.  With 17 people in attendance, an extra table is always needed!

What's the best way to end Christmas celebrations?!?!  Having your mother-in-law take you to go see this...

Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy long post!  This Christmas was definitely one to remember, and there will be some fond memories to look back on later.  Last of all, I'm grateful for the true meaning of Christmas and that both of our families hold Christ at the center of their holiday traditions.  Like the musical says, "To love another person is to see the face of God!"  Christmas means love.

17 Weeks: Our 2nd Anniversary

How far along? 17.5 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 3lbs

 Maternity clothes? Mostly still my regular clothes.  One pair of maternity jeans.

Stretch marks? Nope, I don't think I'm big enough to worry about that yet.

Best moment this week: Tuesday, December 18th, was our 2nd anniversary!  They say the best way to a man's heart is with food.  Brian must think the same goes for pregnant wives, because he sure decided to feed me well!  He woke up extra early to make me waffles with strawberries for breakfast, then he brought me Cafe Rio on my lunch break, and for dinner he took me out to Macaroni Grill (the restaurant that catered our wedding dinner.)  As a part early Christmas gift from my parents/part anniversary gift to ourselves, Brian and I invested in the i-pad 4th generation.  We love it!

Miss anything: Warm weather, the beach, Hawaii... :)

Movement: Not yet.  I read it takes longer to notice movement with your first pregnancy, so it may still be about a month before I notice anything.

  Food cravings: Smoothies!  Brian and I got a Blendtec Blender for Christmas and have been using it nonstop.  Brian has been great at making me vitamin C packed smoothies to help me get over my cold.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing pregnancy related.  Just a cold that doesn't seem to want to go away...I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday and got a z-pak.  My cold is almost gone!

Have you started to show yet: Yes! Baby boy is starting to make his appearance!

  Gender:  BOY!

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On. With the cold weather, my ring always seems looser than usual. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Both?  I was pretty miserable at the beginning of the week with my cold, but I was happy that I have such a great husband to take care of me and definitely happy to celebrate 2 years of marriage together.  Plus, who wouldn't be happy to know it is now officially Christmas Break!!?!?!

Looking forward to: Christmas with the Moote's, Les Miserables, and visiting friends.  

Happy Anniversary Brian! I love you and can't wait to start our next adventure together!

It's a....

BOY!

We are so excited!

Weeks 15 & 16: Boy or Girl!?!?!

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Still just 1lb total weight gain at this point.

 Maternity clothes? I just bought my first pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy, but I can still get by using the rubber band trick with most of my jeans.  I will say that the maternity jeans are much more comfortable around the middle. :)

Stretch marks? Nope, I don't think I'm big enough to worry about that yet.

Best moment this week: These past 2 weeks I have been sick with a killer cold, but I am loving putting up Christmas decorations, listening to Christmas music, and sipping apple cider.  Getting to spend a whole Saturday sick on the futon watching "Breaking Bad" with Brian was pretty fun.  I also got released from my calling at church as the Primary Chorister and am now in Nursery until the baby is born!  Wish me luck!

Miss anything: I miss snow sports.  Now that there is snow on the ground and everybody is talking about skiing/boarding the mountain everyday at lunch, I'm a little sad I can't look forward to a little snowboarding to get me through the winter.  I'm probably the only person in all of Park City that wouldn't mind if we had another mild winter!

Movement: Not yet.  I read it takes longer to notice movement with your first pregnancy, so it may still be about a month before I notice anything.

  Food cravings: None this week.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing pregnancy related.  Just a cold that doesn't seem to want to go away...

Have you started to show yet: Yes, although not as much as some of the other women who post pictures at 16 weeks.  I am showing enough that I decided to tell my students by playing a game of hangman that said, "Ms. Moote is Pregnant."  They had some pretty funny reactions.

  Gender: We are going to find out on Thursday!  I still don't have a gut feeling either way, but I'm excited to find out and then start thinking about baby names!  I am letting my students vote in each of my classes, and so far the BOY vote is winning... BOY or GIRL ?!?!?!?!

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On. With the cold weather, my ring always seems looser than usual. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  Christmas is always one of my most favorite times of the year.  It's also Brian's finals week, so I am happy that he has made it through another semester.  Only 3 more to go!

Looking forward to: My family's Jones Family Reunion/Early Christmas is this week!  I'm excited to only have a 3 day work week and then a long weekend with my family!  I'm looking forward to lots of games and Cafe Pig, Ham, Chips and Onion Dip, Fudge, and other Christmas goodies.  And I am 100% excited to find out if Baby Moote is a boy or girl on Thursday!  What do you think??!?!