A Perfect Second Anniversary Weekend

We did it! On December 16 we made it to the TWO YEAR mark in our marriage. These last two years have been extremely eventful, and extremely wonderful. All marriages have ups and downs, which we definitely have experienced, but what matters is coming out of them with more knowledge and experience than we had before. We have a long ways to go in our marriage, and hope that we can enjoy every mile-marker as much as we have this one.

Todd picked me up from work on Friday and we headed down to Salt Lake City. Fortunately, we beat the traffic of all those heading to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert, the John Schmidt Christmas Concert, and other various events being held. We checked in to the Little America Hotel, then decided to walk over to the Grand America Hotel to see their lights and play their window game. Although the game was really meant for little kids (you go window to window trying to find a star in each display), but we loved it! Their lights there are very beautiful as well. They are all white, but use various sized bulbs to give it a "twinkling" look.

We still had time before dinner started, so we walked over to the Trax station and took it to Temple Square. Todd bought us some nummy hot cocoa (not to hot, not to cold!) and we walked around and looked at the lights for a little bit. We were attempting to take a picture of ourselves under the tree where Todd proposed to me, and cute girl asked if she could help us out. We figured it was for the best, as our self-portriat skills were a little lacking :)

Our attempt at a self-portrait :)

Todd proposed to me under that tree on 9-9-09 :)

So beautiful!

After walking around a bit longer we headed back to Trax and took it to our dinner destination... Ruth's Chirs Steakhouse. It was AMAZING. The atmosphere was perfect, the services was wonderful, and the food was beyond perfect. They even put rose petals on our table for our Anniversary. I can't even count how many times we were told Happy Anniversary! We enjoyed our time there very much.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel to rest for about half an hour before taking off again to see Sherlock Holmes at the Gateway. The movie was great! Todd and I both absolutely loved it. By the time the movie finished it was after 12:30 am...WAY past my bedtime :) The only downside to all of this was that my cold slowly got worse as the hours went on, so by the time we went to bed I could hardly breathe out of my nose. Good times! But the rest of our experience made it way worth it.

Fresh country air does the soul good!

We had the chance to visit my Dad at his new ranch house in Hennifer. For those you who don't know where that is, head East on I-84 about 30 minutes and hang a right. It's BEAUTIFUL land up there. The house is on 22 acres with a gorgeous river running along the edge of the property. The best part? There's HORSES. I was in heaven! When we arrived on Saturday we were pleasantly surprised to see my brother, Matt, was there with Krysta and his daughter Paityn.



We decided to take the little munchkin down to see the horses. Really it was just an excuse for me to see the horses...but you all guessed that, didn't you? :) Here's Todd holding Paityn on the way down to the horses.

When we got to the fence Paityn was a little nervous. I crouched down in front of the fence with her leaning up against my knees. Once we got there, all 7 or so of the horses in that pasture gathered around us to take a look.

If there's anything in this world that makes me happy, it's horses! Todd and I have an ultimate goal of owning a horse ranch. We'll make it happen someday! (Kind of an odd picture of me...oh well!)

 When we got back to the house we began decorating my Dad's humongous Christmas tree. 18' tall and beautiful! Jen and Tim and their son Jayden came, along with Liz, Steve and their daughter Noelle. It took a few hours, but we finally got it done.

We ended the night with a fabulous dinner from Taggarts Grill. If you haven't been, GO! The food is amazing, and the service is even better. This weekend definitely put me in the Christmas spirit. I can't wait! We get to spend Christmas Eve with my family, and Christmas Day with the Parris family. Best of both worlds. Hope you all have a relaxing and fun-filled holiday :)

Cooking with the Parris family... :S

Todd and I got quite a shock while cooking dinner for our neighbor tonight...

We made a chicken casserole and put it in the oven. As we were standing in the kitchen talking we heard a huge CRASH. We looked in the oven and the baking pan had cracked and crumbled! It gave us quite the schock. We couldn't help but laugh because we'd never seen anything quite like it.

Just had to share!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, we did it. Our tree is up! We're missing a star and some presents, but it's close enough for the time being :). Here's some updated pictures:

Our very first Christmas tree. This will be our Third Christmas together, can you beleive it? We got married a week before Christmas in 2009, so we decided our honeymoon was our celebration, and we lived with my Dad for Christmas of 2010, so we didn't get a tree there. We weren't planning on taking up so much room in our little apartment, but we figured that when we take down the tree we will just have to get a rocking chair to fill the empty space! Then we'll have a nice one for baby in June.

Things are going really well. I am 11 Weeks now, and can hardly beleive that I'm almost done with my First Trimester already. It's flown by! My next appointment is December 29, and I'm debating whether or not to call my doctor's office to see if they have any appointments for before Christmas. Then we would be able to share the news with our family and friends over Christmas weekend. That might be a little early though, so they might not let me. Atleast we'll know by New Years.

Well, I just wanted to share our tree with everyone. We're in search for the perfect star that's not too big or distracting. Wish us luck!

10 Weeks down, 30 to go!

Only 2 more weeks and I'm out of my first trimester. I can hardly beleive how quickly it has gone by! We had our second appointment today. As many of you know, Davis and Weber County experienced some extremely high winds today causing all sorts of accidents and power-outages. Because they were running on generators, our doctor's office had called most of their patients and asked to re-schedule. Somehow, I got to keep my appointment! We even got to go in early.

This second ultrasound was SO fun. Baby is almost 1.5" long, with a strong heartbeat. I didn't notice until we got home and watched the ultrasound DVD again, but baby was actually moving a little! We could see the little arms and head move. It didn't last long, but was pretty amazing to think that that little one is currently a resident inside of me. I may just be imagining it, but when I'm in bed at night and hold really still, I can feel tiny little flutters. Is that even possible this early? I have to really focus to feel them, but I think it's little baby starting to move around. :)

(Head on left, baby is facing up. 10 Weeks 4 Days, 3.69cm long)

It's been so funny to hear everyones guesses about our baby's gender. For the first 8-9 weeks, nearly everyone thought we were having a boy. Now it seems like most people think it will be a girl! They've got me all sorts of confused :) Some moms just seem to know what their baby's gender is, and I'm not sure if I'll be one of those. But who knows! When I was writing in my pregnancy journal the other night I had a feeling it would be a boy, but now I'm not so sure. Either way, we will be so excited!

We've chosen two names (the boy name hasn't quite clicked for me, so I need to give it more time):

For a girl - Lily Fay Parris

For a boy- Jack Hyrum Parris

I've had the name Lily Fay picked out since I was was about 15, so I was thrilled when it fit well with the last name of Parris! And Todd and I picked out Jack Hyrum back in January before we even got pregnant. We loved the name Jack, and found a middle name that we liked with it.

I will admit... while typing this blog entry, it has taken my compete attention to NOT say "he!" It has felt very natural to call our little one a little boy. I think that's the biggest reason I've thought it would be a boy. But at the same time, I've had the thought in the back of my mind that this baby is pulling a fast one on us, and will in fact be a girl. Silly? Yes, it is! But so what? I've decided to have fun with it :)

I have had some requests for a belly-photo update. Here you go! Me today, 10 Weeks 4 Days.

Not a great photo, but you get the idea :) My mom felt my tummy a few nights ago and commented on how she could feel the difference. Then, the next day, my coworker said I was starting to show. Later as we were decorating the Christmas tree, Todd said he could really notice it now too. It feels like it just happened over night! I went from just feeling like I'd gained some extra pounds to a baby bump over just a day or two. Really exciting though!

Last but not least.... our Christmas tree is up!! Well... it's put together with the lights and a ribbon, but we're getting there :) It's our first Christmas tree together, and we're so excited about it. We're going to go pick out ornaments tomorrow, and get special ones for me, Todd, and Baby. We figured we'd start the annual tradition now!

White tear-drop light with purple ribbon

Close up :)

We are goint to hang silver and purple ornaments tomorrow. Can't wait! I'll post more pictures when it's all done.

9 Weeks and Counting

When people told me how tired I'd be in the first trimester, I don't think I really beleived them. I do now! Luckily things should turn around here in a few weeks. I am looking forward to that second wind :)

Although it is much to early to be showing, I have noticed some changes in my body. If you look at my weekly pictures you might be able to tell that I've gotten, well, a little "thicker" around the middle. I'm trying to embrace this as a beautiful sign that a baby is coming...but I'm finding it a little difficult. I can empathize with all my friends who told me they just felt overweight for the first part of their pregnancies, because that's definitely how I feel! Oh, the sacrifices our bodies make for these little munchkins.

Luckily this semester of school is coming to an end, and I'll be able to enjoy a few weeks of school-free time with my family. I can't wait for the holidays this year! I'm feeling the urge to decorate, or just get those creative juices flowing in some way. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Preferably things that our cat can't destroy... tall order, I know.

During the first few weeks of my pregnancy I had many people notice that certain "glow" around me. I'm not sure what happened to that! Between bloating, acne, feeling emotional, and feeling tired all of the time, I am definitely don't feel that glow anymore. I'm hoping that things will lighten up in my second trimester, making it easier to be happy and connected with this baby-on-the-way. I sure hope that I'm not the only mommy-to-be that has felt this way.

Any tips, encouragement, or advice that you sweet ladies have to offer, I'd love to hear it. Todd and I are still so happy and excited to welcome little Baby Parris into our lives. We're just learning how to adjust to the many changes that come with that little bundle of joy :)

My next appointment is 12/1/11. I'll be sure to post my new ultrasound! We should be seeing fingers and toes by then. Can't wait!

To all of our friends and family, thank you for your love and support. We couldn't do it without you. We love you!

Love,
Todd, Jewely, and Baby Parris

Baby Parris due June 27, 2012!

For any of you who haven't heard the good news, we are expecting our first baby! Baby Parris is due June 27, 2012. I am now 6 Weeks and 4 Days pregnant. Here's a little summary up-to-date:

October 14
Tested positive and shared the amazing news with Todd.

October 15

We told my Mom the next day at her birthday breakfast. We said that we had another present for her, but she'd have to wait until June to get it. She was thrilled!

October 16

We shared the news with Todd's family. We tried to do it creatively, but it didn't quite work. But they were still excited and happy for us.

October 31

We told my family on Halloween! We draw Christmas names every year, and so I decided to sneak "Baby Parris" into the draw. My family was involved in some pretty deep discussions while we were trying to draw names, so I didn't think it was going to work, but Liz saved the day and made it work perfectly! Noelle drew the name, so Liz had everyone listen while she read "Baby Parris" so the rest of the family could hear. It took them a couple of minutes to get it, but when they did it was all smiles.

November 3

First doctor appointment! We had been planning on seeing a Midwife in West Point, but I felt so uncomfortable with her staff that we decided to try somewhere different. My co-worker recommended Circle of Life Women's Center, so we made an appointment with Dr. Beirer. It went wonderfully. He came in, answered all of our questions before we even asked them, and did the first ultrasound.

The baby is only 1/2 a centimeter at this point, marked in the picture above. We could see his/her sweet little heartbeat flickering on the screen. It was still to early to hear it, but seeing is beleiving, right? It's finally official!

November 4

Shared the news with everyone else! We made a couple of calls to family and friends, then decided to post it on FaceBook. We have appreciated how much love and support we have felt already. This is a very exciting and new adventure, sure to bring joy and frazzled nerves, but we know it will be worth it.

Here I am at 6 weeks. Although I feel huge already, I'm really not showing :)

So... here's the big question...are we having a BOY or a GIRL? Let me know what you think by taking the survey on my blog! We'll find out the gender in about 2 months.

Again, to all of our loving friends and family, thank you for all you do, all you have done, and all I know you will do to help our little family grow.

Love,

Jewely & Todd