30 Weeks, already?!

Oh my goodness, how quickly time flies! Baby turns 30 weeks on Wednesday, hitting the 3/4 mark. Only 10 more weeks until our little Lily joins us.

Todd and I were talking the other day, and feel so fortunate for how easy this pregnancy has been. There have been little ups and downs, but for the most part it has been wonderfully uneventful. She's made a full-time job of kicking and moving around in there, which keeps me entertained (and slightly uncomfortable).

My computer isn't letting me add pictures into this post, but if you go to my blog's main page you can see my most recent pictures on the right. I've enjoyed the experience of developing a baby bump, and seeing everyone's reactions to it. I've gained minimal weight (which I'm thankful for every day!) and feel very healthy. I begin my 2-week appointments next week and will visit my doctor every-other-week until May 31st, when I start going every week until baby comes.

My first baby shower is this Saturday. My friend, Kayla, has been absolutely wonderful in planning it for me! My second shower will be in 3 weeks later, thrown by my wonderful sisters. I can hardly wait for both of them! I have felt so much love and support from SO many people, those throwing the showers and those planning to attend. To all of you- thank you, thank you, thank you!

This is our last week of finals, yay! Once this semester is finished we will be able to focus on our childbirth classes, and I'm going to take some yoga classes. It will be a wonderful change of pace.

Well, that's all for now! Thanks for reading and participating in our exciting journey :)

~A BabyMoon to Remember~

Todd and I decided to take our BabyMoon a little bit early and go during Spring Break. It was absolutely PERFECT. Here's the breakdown!

Because we planned it so last-minute, most of the hotels were either booked or had ridiculous rate. So we decided to stay at the downtown SLC...

It was nothing fancy, but still very nice. We stayed there from Thursday to Sunday. It was really close to everything we wanted to do in Salt Lake. After checking in on Thursday we decided to start our vacation off right by eating at THE MELTING POT! Although I didn't take this picture, it is the exact meal we ate :) And let me tell you, it was delicious and very romantic. We spent the time talking about out little baby girl, wondering who she is, what she will be like, and what she will become, all while enjoying a delightful dinner together.

 

Todd got to sleep in on Friday morning while I spent some time at the spa. I treated myself to an hour long facial and a prenatal massage. One word, HEAVEN. I went to the Sego Lily spa in Midvale where I enjoyed their quiet, peaceful atmosphere and attentive staff. I was sad to leave, but after 3 hours I figured I better head back to the hotel and spend some time with my hubby.



We got ready and went to the Pie Pizzeria next to the UofU. Best pizza in town PLUS super fun atmosphere! I ate waaay to much, and enjoyed every bite :) Here's a picture of their downstairs restaurant.



We decided to head back downtown and visit the new Church History Library since neither of us had ever been. We took their tour and browsed their online database for a little while. I found an autobiography and journal written by my Great, Great, GREAT Grandfather, Philemon Christopher Merrill. He served in the Mormon Battalion and even acted as one of the Prophet Joseph Smith's personal body guards for a time. I can't wait to go back and took at the original records.



We went back to rest before heading back to Layton for our ward's Roadshow. We hadn't put two-and-two together when we made our hotel reservations, and were grateful that we only went to SLC as it allowed us to drive back and participate in the final show. It was a BLAST and our ward did fantastic!  Todd and I spoiled ourselves to another nice dinner at Benihana. Mmm Mmm, Good!

We didn't want to pay for dessert there so we decided to check out the new downtown SLC Harmons grocery store and pick up some nummy Chocolate Hagandaas ice cream to share. That place is amazing! We spent the rest of our evening resting, eating ice cream, and watching TV.

Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast and the cafe, and headed to the Salt Lake City Temple. It was so wonderful to spend some quiet time there, especially as we've been facing some big decision and needed some extra clarity.

 After the session we enjoyed a tasty lunch at the Nauvoo Cafe on Temple Square and headed over to the Family History Library and Church History and Art Museum. We waited around the museum for a little while and headed over to take a tour of the Family History Library. I decided to get a little help with some research while we were there, as there has been one early ancestor that has completely eluded and stumped me! I found her marriage record, and plan to return to the Library at a later date to view the original record. Hopefully it contains more information than the indexed record!

We went back to hotel to rest for a while before going to dinner at Tucanos Brazilian Grill at the Gateway. We finished off our night by watching the American version of Godzilla. Luckily I fell asleep half way through and didn't have to watch the whole thing :) We slept in on Sunday, ate a late breakfast at JB's Restaurant, and headed home! I wished it had lasted longer, but was so grateful for the time away to rest, relax, and enjoy some quality time with my Sweetheart.

Earlier this week we worked on cleaning out and de-cluttering our house to make room for baby stuff. Here's what we got done! Doesn't look like much...but we got rid of SO much stuff.

Made room for our new closet divider that my Mother in Law gave us for Christmas. I had a feeling it will really come in handy!

A whole cupboard all to herself :) We figure that should house at least some of her kitchen stuff before we move to a bigger place.

A changing table that we got from our neighbor. We're going to sand it down and re-stain it a dark cherry to match the crib we picked out. Can't wait!



Todd, Lily and I are doing well! We're just plugging along and making the most of what we have. I am 26 weeks this week, and not too far away from being in my Third Trimester. I can't believe how quickly time has flown. Love you all!

Healthy Baby Makes for Happy Parents!

We had our 24 Week appointment and Targeted Ultrasound this week. One word: FUN! Unfortunately the ultrasound didn't record on our DVD. I spent the last couple of hours crying over it until I realized that my pregnancy hormones were absolutely raging, which did nothing to help me control my emotions. Luckily we have 5 pictures that the tech printed out. We're going to call my Doctor's office tomorrow and hopefully get the video issue sorted out. But here are the the beauty shots that we did get of our little girl:

Our most recent 3D shot. You can see her right eye, nose and cute lips. I think she's going to have Todd's lips!

Look at that foot!

All 5 fingers accounted for. Can't wait to hold those little hands!

Her beautiful profile. You can see her little nose and lips again.

Starting to feel a little bit big and uncomfortable, but trying to enjoy it!

The ultrasound tech said that everything is looking good and that Miss Lily is nice and healthy. We got a great look at her heart, spine and brain. She was not extremely cooperative though. She was cuddled into me the whole time, so we barely got a view of her face. She was moving around quite a bit, but always nuzzled up right against me. It seems like we may have a cuddler on our hands.

She's enjoying her new found space in my torso now. One end will be pushing around in my rib cage while the other end is kicking around in my pelvis. She has officially found her "happy place" in the right side of my rib cage, making things slighly uncomfortable at times. But it's so fun to feel her moving! She's not kicking hard enough for Todd to feel yet, but that will happen soon I hope.

Although emotions are high at times, Todd and I are happy and doing well. Getting more and more excited for Lily to come. We're using our upcoming Spring Break to organize and deep clean our apartment and to go on our BabyMoon. We're going to get ready for all of the new baby things we'll be getting over the next few months, and will be taking a much needed vacation to rest up before long nights with baby. We're going to stay in Salt Lake and endulge in a prenatal massage, dinner out, and whatever fun activities we can think of. Can't wait!

5 months... how time flies!

We did it, we made it past the half-way point. Hard to believe! It has gone by so fast, yet so slow at the same time.

Week 20 - Half way!

Week 21

Week 22 Ultrasound - Head on the left facing up

Week 22 - 5 Months!

We saw another 3D view of her this appointment. It's strange how "skin and bones" they are at this stage. Absolutely no body fat, so they almost look like a skeleton. That will have changed by week 26 though. She is already kicking so much, way more than I expected. It's been really fun to get to know her movements, even though they're a little uncomfortable at times :) I started having Braxton-Hicks contractions about 3 weeks ago. My doctor isn't concerned, as long as I don't have more than 6 per hour. They're not too uncomfortable, just a very new sensation.

My sister, Tiff, gave me a book called HypnoBirthing. It is AMAZING. I've only read the first few pages and I already love it. Todd and I are looking into HypnoBirthing classes. I've come to realize that if I want to deliver Miss Lily naturally, I'm going to need education. If I go into it blindly I won't succeed. So we're going to start educating ourselves on different methods and techniques to prepare for the big day! Todd has agreed to be my coach :) We recognize that we will have to prepare together and go into labor with a clear understanding of what his roles are to minimize stress and confusion.

We have our targeted ultrasound in 2 weeks, then our 28 week appointment 4 weeks after that. I can't believe I'm that close to being in my Third Trimester. I'm starting to feel the time crunch a little bit. There is so much to do! We need to select gifts for our registries, get our apartment for baby, sign up and take our child birthing classes, let alone finish up this semester! It's definitely time for me to put a "schedule" together to keep track of all of these things to make sure they get done in time.

I had to leave one of my classes for an hour to go to my last appointment. I e-mailed my professor about it ahead of time, to which he replied that he had absolutely NO idea that I was pregnant. When I got up and walked out of class on Thursday night he told the rest of my class where I was going. Except for the couple of ladies I had told, none of the other 20 people had any idea I was pregnant either! I definitely expected to be showing more by this point, so NOT showing feels almost foreign. I just need to be grateful for it and not complain :) At least my family and close friends can tell I'm pregnant now (I think). I keep forgetting that I'm so tall, and that Lily simply has a lot of room to grow before it really has any effect on my body.

Todd and I are doing wonderfully. We're feeling a little overwhelmed at times, but we've never been happier. We're enjoying this time together, and anxiously awaiting the day we get to meet our little girl. Thank you all for your continued love and support! You've made this journey even more exciting for us :)

~A Night at the Ball~

Our friends Kayla & Trevor Muhlestein invited us to join them at the Jane Austen National Society of America Annual Regency Ball this last Saturday night. In short, it was AWESOME! Todd and I procrastinated a little, so it was fairly difficult to find good costumes, but it all worked out in the end. It was the perfect Valentine's Day outing with my sweet husband and our good friends.

Todd had just as much fun as I did. Here's an outline of our evening:

6:30 Dance Instruction: The society invited a local dance team to come teach us some of the favorites from Jane Austen's era. We learned the Mother Goose, Basket Dance, and a couple others. They were much easier than I thought they would be, and so much fun.

8:00 Roast pork and mashed potatoe dinner. It was delicious! We had a wonderful berry trifle for dessert as well.

9:00 Costume contest. They had different contests for best female, male, time period, and modern costumes. The lady who won the female costume looked absolutely stunning! She wore a very simple but elegant dress that looked straight out of Pride and Prejudice. The man who won the male costume looked awesome! He looked just like English royalty. The couple who won were dressed up from one of the war eras (can't remember which one) and a cute couple won the modern contest because they didn't wear costumes. It was very fun to watch, although we didn't participate ourselves.

9:30-11 Dancing! We were so exhaused by that time that we decided to head home. I was sad to leave early, but we enjoyed every minute that we were there.

We definitely plan on making this an annual tradition. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone! Todd was extremely reluctant to go, but he filled the role as soon as we got there. He loved learning the dances, and had a smile on his face the entire night. It was extremely romantic :)

JANSA puts on various events throughout the year, if anyone is interested. The link is above.

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovebirds!

Disappering Bellies and Baby showers

Is it just me, or has my baby bump been slowly disappearing over the last few weeks? I saw my sister, Liz, on Sunday and the first thing she said is "Where is this belly I keep hearing about on Facebook?!" I've had other people comment on my severe lack of belly, to which I respond "Lily is trying to show...but failing miserably." All in due time, but now all I feel is extra chunky around the middle...

Please excuse my puffy eye... Pink eye got the better of me!

Baby Lily seems to have stopped migrating upward, and has retreated back toward my spine a little. It will be interesting to see where she ends up!

On an exciting note, SHE'S KICKING! Yes, I officially felt a real kick this last Sunday! I had felt her moving around before then, but nothing so defined. Now it happens once or twice a day, and is so fun to feel. She must have hit a dandy growth spurt because my poor uterus is just too small for her now. I've spent the last few days stretching, and not enjoying it one bit. Oh the joys of a growing baby in the tummy! I've been sick almost non-stop for the last two months, bouncing back and forth between colds, sinus infections, bronchitis, and asthma. I can't wait to be out of cold n' flu season! 

Last week I had the pleasure of throwing a little baby shower for my friend and neighbor, Natalie Tams. We had 5 girls show up, and had a blast! She got the cutest little home-made onsies that were super creative, along wtih some fun bath supplied. Their little boy is going to be super spoiled by the time she's done with her other showers. It's fantastic!

Look at that cute tummy. You'd never guess she's in her 3rd Trimester!

Christina Taylor helped me make these cupcake toppers. Lifesaver and jelly bean pacifiers :)

Yay for Zurchers baby shower decorations!

We had our 18 week appointment on Wednesday and got some fun new ultrasounds. She was just sleeping upside down the whole time. The doctor had to poke her around a little bit to get a good view, but she is OFFICIALLY a girl.

Can you see her?? You can just see her face and hand. So exciting!

Chillin' upside down. Good view of her heart!

Still chillin' upside down, and you can really see her spine.

After seeing that 3D Ultrasound, I can hardly wait to see her sweet little face in person. 21 more weeks to go. I'm almost half way there! Thank you all for your continued love and support. It means the world to us.

Guns, Babies, and a New Year!

When I plugged my camera memory card into my computer today I realized that I haven't posted some of these pictures since Christmas Eve. So here we go :)

Christmas Eve
We had the opportunity to eat Christmas Eve dinner with my side of the family this year. My sister Tiff and her family had just moved back to Utah from Florida a few days prior, and offered to make us a traditional Italian Christmas feast! How could we resist? While they were preparing the food a few of us decided to go up the canyon a little ways further and try out my brothers new shotgun.

Me and my sweetheart up in Echo getting ready to go shooting. I love this picture of us!

My brother, Matt, waiting in line to shoot some skeet! Todd is geared up and ready to go :) 

Todd did great this time, he averaged about 4 out of 5.

I got 4 out of 5 my first round, but didn't do so hot my next rounds...but I look pretty awesome, so who cares! ;) Not bad for being preggo, I guess.

My sweetheart again, waiting patiently for his next turn.

We had a fantastic dinner that night, and enjoyed time with each other. It was a perfect Christmas weekend!

New Years Eve Eve :)

Our friends Kayla and Trevor came and visited us on Friday. We had a blast! We made home-made pizza, attempted to make a "dessert pizza" that didn't turn out horrible, but not great either, and then played a rousing game of Farkle and watched Kung Fu Panda 2. It was a great night! And of course, we talked baby stuff all night too :) We always have such a great time with them.

New Years Eve

On New Years Eve we got together with Matt, Krysta, and my Dad and decided to go shooting again. Although the sun was a bit warmer this time, the wind was freezing! Atleast there wasn't any snow on the ground.

Don't we look GREAT? The wind was so cold we had to figure out some way to cover our ears. Fashion was not our goal :)

My Dad's 357 Magnum that he's owned for about 45 years. I LOVED shooting this gun! The kick-back wasn't too bad, and it didn't even hurt my hand. I did pretty well with it, too.

Krysta's new 38 Special, the "Lavender Lady." I loved shooting this one too! Very easy to handle, and very stylish :) If you can't tell in this picture, it is purple!

Me shooting the magnum. My target is a single skeet propped up in a tree. I got it on my first shot. Woohoo!

Todd shooting my Dad's 30 ot 6 (30-06) hunting rifle. We had a few skeet propped up in some trees about, I don't know, 100 yards or so? He got 2 of them on his first round. It was awesome!

These are the skeet they were aiming at.

We took some video that I'll post later.

After shooting we enjoyed a great lunch at Taggart's Grill and shot off some INSANE fireworks at my brother-in-law's house. Although it was absolutely freezing outside, we had a great time! We got to spend a little bit of time at my Mom's house too, sipping hot cocoa and talking about baby.

After talking to my Mom for a little while, she helped me realized that I've already felt Baby Lily moving around!! On December 23, while driving, it felt like someone slid their finder right down the inside center of my belly. I wasn't sure if that could be her or not, but my Mom through it was most likely baby. Since then I've felt little tiny movements or flutters here or there, but only when I'm really paying attention. She's not much of a mover yet! We'll see how long that lasts :)

New Years Day

I am now 14 weeks, almost 15 weeks, and am feeling great!

We enjoyed a fun New Years night with our friends, Chris and Christina Taylor, sipping sparkling cider, playing Farkle, and chatting. Perfect way to greet a new year!

A New Year calls for some new organization, right? My sister in law lined a picture frame with screen mesh to hang earrings and necklaces from. I finally put it up and organized my stuff!

Now just to keep Fanta away from it... :)

Happy New Year!