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

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!