28 Weeks: 3rd Trimester

We're 2/3 of the way there!  It's becoming more "real" everyday.  We are going to have a baby...for real.  We are going to parents...for real.  We are going to never sleep again...for real.  We are going to have our lives changed forever...for real.  And we can't wait!

How far along? 28 weeks and 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: 19lbs and I still have 10-14 weeks to go...

 Maternity clothes? Almost always now.  I have so many cute new options!

Stretch marks? Nope, and no lines down my belly yet either

Best moment this week: Receiving a glider/rocker chair from a co-worker, celebrating my twin nephew's 2nd birthday, having my brother-in-law, Lee, safely home from Afghanistan and with his family, and planning our trip this weekend to St. George

Miss anything: I miss sleeping on my stomach.

Movement: Tons and I love it!  It's so fun to see how baby Moote reacts to my voice, music, and rubbing my belly.  He is especially active (or at least I'm more aware of it) at night and right when I wake up in the mornings.

  Food cravings: Nothing specific.  I just have to eat/snack a little bit all day, otherwise I'm starving.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Every once and a while, I get heartburn.

Have you started to show yet: I get bigger and bigger all the time!

  Gender: Boy!  I'm going to be outnumbered in my own family!

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.  I feel really lucky to have had such an easy pregnancy so far.  I'm happy; I feel healthy, and I mostly just feel so grateful for the tremendous generosity and support from others that we have received lately.  Seriously, we have been so blessed!

Looking forward to: St. George vacation with the hubbie and celebrating Whitney's 24th birthday

Georgia Baby Shower

While I was in GA last week for our school's "Ski Break,"  some of my amazing friends and family threw me a surprise baby shower.  It really truly was a surprise because my trip to GA was kind of a last minute decision, I almost didn't make it flying standby, and my mom and I had just planned on having a small get together with my GA peeps sometime this summer to "show off" the baby instead of planning an actual shower.  Anyway,  I thought I was going over to my best friend Erin's house to talk about maternity pic ideas, and instead got a room full of some of my favorite people!  It was so much fun to see everyone, eat delicious food, and celebrate this baby boy I'm growing inside of me. :)  Here are some pics taken thanks to my wonderful SIL Mayra.

Surprise!

Cupcakes, Sugar Popcorn, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Delicious Cake

Games and Presents

These cute mamas are my inspiration!

Thank You!

27 Weeks Update

My Best Friend, Erin, took some maternity pics of my last week when I was in GA.

How far along? 27 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain/loss: 17 pounds, yikes! I feel like I need to seriously slow down!  According to my email updates baby Moote is only 2 lbs and 14 inches long.  Where is all this weight going?!?!

 Maternity clothes? Yes, and I feel SO spoiled.  My mother-in-law bought me a starter maternity wardrobe in December and then this last week, my mom spoiled me with even more great items to help me transition to spring.   I'm definitely one lucky girl

Stretch marks? Nope, but I've been body butter-ing it up every night...just in case

Best moment this week: Going home to visit my family and friends in GA.  Getting surprised with a secret baby shower.  Having my best friend take some maternity pictures for me. Watching Jimmer play in the NBA live. Coming home to Brian and knowing he missed me.  Visiting great friends while celebrating the Oscars.  Officially signing up for birthing classes May 10-11.

Miss anything: I'm starting to miss sleeping on my back and tummy.  My bobby body pillow is amazing, but it is hard for me to stay in one position all night long.

Movement: Yes! Brian can finally feel him and visibly see him!  He kicks pretty much all day long, but I can especially feel him right when I wake up and in the evenings.

  Food cravings: Everything...I've never been such a snacker.  I'm always hungry...thus the huge weight jump.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn.  It's not very consistent, but man when it hits, it hits hard.

Have you started to show yet: Getting bigger everyday...see maternity sneak peek above

  Boy Names: We are now 95% set on Oliver.  While I was at home looking at genealogy stuff for family names, I even discovered that my Papa had an uncle named Oliver!  I brought back a whole list of other family names to run past Brian as the middle name search continues.

  Belly Button in or out? In, but funny looking.  

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Looking forward to: Starting my third trimester, getting the labor and delivery books I ordered on Amazon, our St. George trip in a couple of weeks, and organizing all our awesome baby loot!  NOT looking forward to...my March 6th glucose test.

A Baby Shower

Friday after work, my amazing coworkers threw a baby shower for me and one of our PE teachers who is having a baby next month!  It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious!  Luckily, other people took some pictures because I totally spaced bringing my camera.

Opening Presents... Baby Moote is going to be so spoiled!

I have an amazing coworker who is kind of
famous for her baby shower gifts.  She takes
all of the presents and forms them into an
"real" baby.  How cool is that?!?! 

I work with such amazing people.  I am seriously so lucky to have come to Ecker Hill.  I can't imagine a better group of students, teachers, and administrators to work with.





Here are some up close pics of the presents that I took at home after showing Brian.

baby clothes, hat, and shoes

bath towel, rags, and kneeling mat for mama

pacis, baby blankets and sheets, toys, burp cloths, and babies-r-us gift cards

and a boppy!  Everybody swore that this was one of the greatest inventions
of all time.  I can't wait to try all this stuff out!

23 weeks and then some

I'm actually 24 weeks tomorrow, but what the heck...I already took the picture. :)

How far along? 24 weeks tomorrow

Total weight gain/loss: Still 11 pounds

 Maternity clothes? Pants: yes, Shirts: a little bit of everything

Stretch marks? Nope, but I've been body butter-ing it up every night...just in case

Best moment this week: Brian also got me a Bobby Full Body Pillow as an early Valentine's Day present. I love it!

Miss anything: My brain!  This week I've left my keys in the faculty bathroom, my phone at home, and forgot to take my prenatal pills twice.

Movement: Yes! Brian still hasn't felt baby boy though.  He's not patient enough to wait.

  Food cravings: Chocolate

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

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

  Boy Names: We are 90% set on Oliver.  Now onto middle names...ugh

  Belly Button in or out? In, but it's kind of pointing down now

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Looking forward to: Spending a relaxing weekend with Brian

P.S Travis and Mayra have officially moved to GA...and then there were two...

This one was taken at 23 weeks.

New Years Resolutions 2013

This blog post has been a long time coming, and I finally buckled down to write it out. I mean, they wouldn't really be 'New Years' resolutions if I let January end without them, would they?!?  2012 was a pretty great year for Brian and me.  We ran another half marathon; I finally got fulltime teaching status; we saved and took a 2 week trip to Hawaii; I found out I have hypothyroidism (the only big downer;) we got to stay in our apartment all year without moving (minus 2 month break in GA;) and......WE GOT PREGNANT!!!!!! :)

2013 better watch out!  There are going to be a lot of firsts, and we can't wait for all our new and exciting adventures to begin.  We definitely are beyond thrilled to meet our son come May!  So to get the year kicked off on the right foot, here are my resolutions...

Spiritual - 

1. Increase my spirituality at church and at home: keep up with Sunday School/RS lessons even though I'm in nursery.  Make Family Home Evening a priority.

2. Enjoy the blessings of the temple often.

For our January temple trip, we went to the Draper temple for the first time.

Physicial - 

1. Eat healthier and exercise more for me and the baby.  Keep walking and try some prenatal yoga videos I found on youtube.

2. Survive giving birth to a healthy baby! :)

3. Lose baby weight plus 10lbs after the baby comes.

Work - 

1. Finish my Action Research Project 

2. Apply and receive my level II teaching license

3. Find creative ways to increase our income

Financial - 

1. Continue to utilize monthly budget and live within our means

2. Apply for more scholarships and grants to pay for Brian's tuition (our largest expense)

3. Be more generous 

4. Do our part and then trust in the Lord.

Family/Other - 

1. Be flexible with all the changes coming up (baby, moving for a summer internship, moving most likely to SLC, not working?, the unknown, etc.)

2. Make sure Brian and I still focus on our relationship as a couple even after the baby comes.

3. Be a good mom by following the spirit and being as informed as I can be.

4. Don't compare our life and life situation to others/don't covet

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