Brian's Robot

Last Tuesday, Brian finally had his junior year robot competition! His team in the end came in second place overall, but Brian's robot was able to stack more blocks than any other robot.  They did such a great job that their professor actually wants to keep their robot to display for next year! I'm not sure if Brian will give it up though... :)

So here is the robot in action.  It is a little long because the competition was a 10 minute timed "mission to Mars."  Brian's robot is the black awesome one. :)

And here is a picture of the robot vs. Beau.

Beau wasn't a huge fan...haha

34 Weeks and a Baby Shower

Last Saturday, I made it to 34 weeks, and my wonderful friend Michelle threw me a beautiful baby shower!  Tons of pictures were taken.  Unfortunately, I wasn't the one taking them, so I only have a couple to show right now.  Seriously though, it was such a great day. Oliver and I were completely spoiled, and I am just so lucky to have some many amazing people in my life.  Thank you to everyone you made it such a great day/week!

How far along? 24 weeks and 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: I'm at 26 lbs as of my last doctor's appointment on Wednesday. Oliver is approximately 4 1/2 lbs and about the size of a cantaloupe.

 Maternity clothes? Right now I'm lounging around in Brian's b-ball shorts and t-shirt.  Hubbie's clothes totally equal maternity clothes in my book!

Stretch marks? None on my belly yet, but it just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger....

Best moment this week: So, So many!...Spending time with some of my favorite people at my baby shower, my mom coming out for the weekend, Brian coming in 2nd place at his design day robot competition (his robot stacked the highest tower in the competition...more on that later,) my class winning the jumprope competition at school,  getting more and more set up for baby Oliver's arrival, getting to meet up with Jessica and Cherish at Applebees, and taking a school day off just to take a day off.

Miss anything: I miss sleeping through the night this week.

Movement: Tons and I love it!  It's so fun to see how baby Oliver 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. (All still true.)  He is still head down, bum up.  He definitely likes to curl up more on my right side, while kicking/punching the left.  Sometimes he makes my whole stomach look like a jiggling water bed.  He also has been getting the hiccups recently.

  Food cravings: I'm starving basically all the time recently but no specific cravings.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn no matter what/how much I eat.

Have you started to show yet: Yep!  Baby Oliver is getting lower and lower and is positioned perfectly.

  Gender: Boy!  I'm going to be outnumbered in my own family! And again...still no middle name.

  Belly Button in or out? In, but I noticed the other day that when I laugh really hard, it pops out for a second! Weird!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired.  I'm starting to feel legitimately uncomfortable at times, but I'm mostly just excited for May...aka BEST MONTH EVER!  

Looking forward to: Spring Break this week, seeing Lyndsey and Charlie, getting my sub plans all done for maternity leave, getting more prepared for baby Oliver's arrival, sleeping in!

Oliver Kicking

This is how I spend my free time while waiting for dinner to start boiling.  It's a little long in between kicks/rolls and looks way cooler in person, but this will have to do for everybody who lives far away.  

Maternity Pics

My best friend, Erin, took some maternity pictures of me when I went home to Georgia for February break.  I remember feeling pretty huge then at 26 weeks, but now at almost 34 weeks, I just have to laugh at myself.  :)  In fact, when I showed Brian these pics for the first time, his first comment was "Wow, look how small your belly used to be!" haha. Anyway, Erin did a fabulous job, and below are some of my favorites from the shoot (you can check out some of Erin's other work here.)

welcome to my living room...

This is what happens when your husband is an engineering student, and design day is in less than two weeks. Oh how we can't wait for projects and finals to be over!

 

On a happier note, Parent/Teacher Conferences are over!!!!  And...only two weeks left until my Spring Break. :)

32 Weeks Update

How far along? 32 weeks and 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: Still at 21 lbs! Maybe I just gain weight in spurts?...baby Oliver now weighs 3.75ish lbs and is 17ish inches long

 Maternity clothes? Not today.  I wanted to wear something a little more spring-like for Easter, so I squeezed into my bridesmaid dress from Kim's wedding with the bridesmaid cardigan from my own wedding. :)  My ribcage has definitely expanded a bit since the last time I wore this outfit.  

Stretch marks? None on my belly yet, but I'm feeling pretty stretched out at the moment.  I have started to notice a light/faint line starting to run down from my belly button.

Best moment this week: Celebrating Easter!  It is by far one of my most favorite holidays!  I have really enjoyed reading the April Ensign, watching Mormon Messages clips, and really pondering the amazing sacrifice of our Savior and the miracle of his atonement and victory over the grave.  To sum up my thoughts this Easter season with hymn titles..."He is Risen," "I know that my Redeemer lives," and "I stand all Amazed." 

Other best moments of the week...1. Brian and I took a tour of the hospital on Wednesday.  I was very impressed with the whole facility and staff, and it just made everything feel more real and exciting.  2. Getting our tax return back 3. Eating at Chick-fil-a for Friday date night.  I even splurged and got a cookies n'cream milkshake!

Miss anything: I miss having my back popped by laying down.  Brian can still pop my upper back by giving me a bear hug, but it is not the same.

Movement: Tons and I love it!  It's so fun to see how baby Oliver 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. (All still true.)  He is still head down, bum up.  He definitely likes to curl up more on my right side, while kicking/punching the left.  Sometimes he makes my whole stomach look like a jiggling water bed.  He also has been getting the hiccups recently.

  Food cravings: Apples and peanut butter, yogurt, and cereal (this one is especially strange, since I'm not a huge cereal kind of person usually)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Occasional heartburn.  This week I also starting feeling really,really tired again.  Both last Saturday and Sunday, I took 2 hour afternoon naps, and I have been coming home from work all week completely exhausted and ready for bed.  Thursday night I even fell asleep in our tiny bathtub!

Have you started to show yet: Definitely.  Baby Oliver likes to stick straight out.  Good news is that that means that he isn't really in my back or ribs, so I haven't been experiencing really any back pain or shortness of breath.  Bad news is that I look bigger than I think I should! :)

  Gender: Boy!  I'm going to be outnumbered in my own family! Still no middle name.

  Belly Button in or out? In.  It's almost like there is a little indentation all around my belly button protecting it from getting pushed out.  

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and maybe just a little bit anxious.  Judy brought up today that if this baby is anything like his daddy, I could be meeting him in 2 weeks!  AGGHHH...we are definitely not ready for that yet!  I keep telling Oliver that we would love for him to come a little early (mostly so that we can have time to meet him and adjust a little before we move to Wyoming,) but that he can't come until at least after my birthday. :)  

Looking forward to: General Conference next weekend, my baby shower the week after that, Brian finishing his robot competition so that we can have our Saturdays back, and being done with parent/teacher conferences

30 Weeks!

How far along? 30 weeks and 4 days

Total weight gain/loss: 21 lbs...baby Oliver now weighs 3 lbs and is 15 inches long

 Maternity clothes? Almost always now.  I have so many cute new options that I can mix and match with some non-maternity shirts, dresses, and skirts still.

Stretch marks? This is starting to totally stress me out.  Everyday I think I see a stretch mark on my belly and then it turns out to just be indentation from my clothing or whatever I was lying down on!  Anyway, no 'permanent' stretch marks on my belly yet, and no linea negra either.

Best moment this week: Celebrating Whit's birthday with a delicious pie shake from Sammy's and then winning our second round of bowling afterward (Whitney won the first.) and having Monday off from school and getting to relax and organize baby things in the closet.  

Miss anything: I miss being able to paint my toenails.  I did my nails this weekend but gave up on my toes.

Movement: Tons and I love it!  It's so fun to see how baby Oliver 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'm trying to make a conscious effort to eat healthier.

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!  Brian and I wonder how my belly could possibly still have two more months to grow.  It seems to be almost at its max!

  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've been practicing breathing, relaxation, visualization, and physical exercises for labor.  The more I read and practice, the more excited that I get to meet my baby boy.  Brian walked in the other day and said "I wish he could come out for just a minute so that we could play with him, but then he would have to go back inside because we're too busy (Brian was in the middle of doing HW and studying for a test) and not ready yet to actually take care of him." :)

Looking forward to: My 90 minute prenatal massage set for Friday!  I've seriously been looking forward to this for months...as in we bought these groupons back before I even knew I was pregnant!  Thank you Groupon.

St. George 2013

Remember last year, when we went to St. George for Brian's spring break?!?  If you don't here is the post to refresh your memory.  Well anyway, it's that time of year again.  I took two days off work, and we went down with some friends, Devon and Allison, to St. George for an extra long weekend.

We relaxed, watched movies, went hiking and swimming, ate delicious food, and mostly just enjoyed the warmer weather and lazy schedule.  We hiked around St. George and also at Zion National Park.  While I've never had to let so many people pass me on the trails, I think I did a pretty good job for 29 weeks pregnant! Here are some pics from our hiking adventures.

Brian and I have matching "Zion" shirts because we weren't prepared for how chilly it would be when we got to Zion National Park.  It had been relatively warm in St. George, but there was still snow on the ground at Kolab Canyon and parts of Zions.  Good thing with my big belly we wear pretty much the same size!  The 2 for 1 pack of long sleeve t-shirts was by far our cheapest option.

Happy 24th Birthday Whitney!

London

Eddie and John

And Happy Birthday to my nephews Eddie and John (2) and my "goddaughter" London (1)!

Today is a popular day for birthdays!



Anyway, back to Whitney.  Last year I started writing Happy Birthday posts to my family. I was doing pretty well through Brian's b-day in June...and then I failed miserably for the rest of year...sorry Trav and Lynds.  Luckily Whitney reminded me a couple days ago that she expected this post.  So here it is!

This is from Whitney's B-Day celebration last year!

10 Reasons I love Whitney

1.  Whitney hasn't deserted me for Georgia!  This is seriously huge because everyone else has left us.

2. Whitney gives my books to read from her ever expanding personal library.  Example:  Bringing Up Bebe

3. Whitney is a teacher just like me, except she gets major props for working in an environment where she occasionally gets pretty beat up.

4. Whitney is good at sharing.  It's only thanks to her and her itunes account that I get to watch The Walking Dead.

5. Whitney is going to make a great aunt.  Well technically she already is an aunt, but I really mean she is going to be a great aunt to Oliver.  I'm excited to live in SLC soon so that we will be closer.

6. Whitney speaks her mind.  You may sometimes think she is arguing with someone/everyone (Alex, friends, family, etc.) but really she is just telling you the truth.  

7. Whitney makes the best cross-eyed face of anyone I've ever met. ever. period. the. end.  Ask her about Ihop sometime...

8. Whitney watches Downton Abbey with me.  Our other sister (that's you LYNDSEY) hasn't joined the cool club yet.

9. Whitney is great at DIY projects.  She took this old table that I had up in storage for forever and turned it into a really cute shabby chic kitchen table with coordinating chairs.  

10.  Whitney is a great, grown up, little sister.  I'm glad that we can be friends and not just family.

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