Our Sweet Baby Girl

So through life and everything else going on that seemed kind of immediate..

Our sweet baby has kind of got put on the back burner.

Now don't get me wrong Blake and I definitely haven't forgotten that we are expecting a baby

 (I can't even tell you how excited we are for this baby)

 we check our pregnancy app and my weight and belly at least weekly..

[& He has been SO cute and gets excited with me when I get a little bit bigger, I have only gained solidly 2 lbs up to this point from my regular weight and seem to be kind of a late bloomer]

But we haven't had a lot of time to plan things for the baby yet.. & I've tried to eat healthy but sure have been on the go go go and I haven't got to plan and cook as many baby balanced meals as I wish.. hunger just hits me at kind of the extreme and I have to grab whatever is available.

& That's definitely a recent development because for the first few months it was hard to eat anything at all.

Then with the wedding excitement celebrations we have wanted everyone else to feel like they have really gotten to enjoy their day and celebrating them.

{July 13th 2014}

We did however really want to find out the gender before we moved to Texas so that we could share the excitement with everyone before we moved!

Blake and I for some reason were pretty darn convinced that we were having a boy.. I had even bought some boy clothes that were on sale because I was excited and couldn't wait.

So you can only imagine our surprise when the ultra sound tech told us...

We are having a sweet BABY GIRL!

I kind of expected Blake to be a little bummed if it wasn't a boy for some reason.. but he was the one smiling from ear to ear. Just the proudest daddy you have ever seen..

& I am over here in shock asking the ultra sound tech if she is sure.. and what is the chance that we would come back again and it might be a boy?

But we double checked and were reassured it is DEFINITELY a girl.

And we couldn't be happier.. now I can't tell you how right it feels that it is a girl. I am so grateful for this baby girl that is going to make me a mom and can't wait to experience the joys {& I'm sure trials}of parenthood with Blake.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already spoiled her and us..

It's such a blessing to be able to be excited and celebrate with others and I am grateful we don't have to go through it all alone. 

I can't wait to have a cute bundle of joy that fits into these tiny clothes!

And then.. dun dun duhh...

{August 6th 2014}

My favorite part! 

The doctors appointments/ultra sounds. I wake up every Dr.'s appointment feeling like it's Christmas just up and ready to go and see our baby girl.

It just keeps getting more fun as she grows and looks like a real baby and we can watch her kick and move around.

This ultra sound was the one at 20 weeks.

{It's hard in these ultrasound pictures because all of the fluid it seems like you can never see all of her body at once.. but the top one you can see her face and sweet belly and actually the umbilical cord, and then the bottom one is her cute cute leg}

She weighs just over a pound, is a little over 11 inches, and she can hear now and is basically all formed, so we are just waiting for her eyes and everything to become a little more developed.

{The week of August 11th 2014}

This picture [of me at 21 weeks] is in celebration of me being just over HALF WAY done with my pregnancy..

& Because I am finally starting to show a little bit.

It seems like I am having a heck of a time convincing everyone that I am even pregnant.. especially if you haven't seen me before.

Even though I feel A LOT bigger than normal.. probably the first thing I hear if we are talking about me being pregnant (& if I am not standing up holding my belly) is no way you can't even tell! Or you aren't even showing it's not fair!

However what everyone does not realize is that I would LOVE to be showing.. 

I have only had 1 person, that didn't know I was pregnant before, be brave enough to come right out and tell me congratulations.. (it was my cashier at Macys) and I was so ecstatic I wanted to jump right over the counter and hug her.

I am currently 23 weeks so only 17 ish more to go.. and am loving that I feel like I have been growing, but I definitely still have to wear tighter clothes or hold my stomach to convince people something is there..

That's alright though, I'm sure I'll want someone to remind me of this by the end of the 9 months when I am bigger.

I started feeling her kick at 18 weeks.. and Blake felt her for the first time at 20 and now it feels like she is doing jumping jacks or karate.. or kick boxing.. or maybe all 3 sometimes inside of me.

Sometimes I whine a little.. because she is definitely a mover.. but secretly I absolutely love it.

I love being able to feel close to her and know that she is doing okay because I still have nightmares that something went or could go wrong.

I feel so so blessed to be pregnant and that our family is growing.. and can't tell you how LOVED this little girl is already.

I just can't believe how fast it's all going by... hopefully time slows down a little bit this next few months so we can get her nursery together and get everything we need.

& If anyone has any tips on baby products/things that are useful and we can't live without I am so grateful for all of the advice we can get! We have no idea what we are doing and are just figuring things out as we go along..

So I will update everyone with baby bump pictures and everything baby soon now that we have some time to focus on her & all of the help/support is SO much appreciated! Thanks for everything already this is one of the happiest times of my life and I love that everyone I love is sharing it with us.

:)

Big Life Changes

{July 2014}

So holy smokes.. these last few months I have barely felt like I had time to breathe..

& I have obviously really struggled to blog and keep everyone up to date with everything going on..

But we have so much fun looking back and remembering life and I don't want all of our memories to get lost in the busyness.. 

Therefore I am going to try and catch up a little bit.. 

So two nights before Danielle and Connor's wedding was my last night at work.. my last night getting to play with diamonds.. and my last night in Rexburg!

I have to say for as much as I have been looking forward to progressing in our life it definitely was bittersweet.

Rexburg is where I first lived on my own, where I have met so many amazing life changing friends, where I first met Blake and fell in love, where I got my college education, where I got banned from eating instant mashed potatoes, & besides for our little East Coast move/adventure where lots of my life has taken place over the past 5 years..

So I did feel a little nostalgic saying goodbye.. and I will always have a special place in my heart for Idaho.

Luckily I got to take a part of it with me.. a very favorite big part of it.

And I am so excited for our next big adventure and to be able to be stretched out of our comfort zone and to learn and grow with something new. 

Bright and early the morning after Danielle and Connors wedding... 

My awesome tired super human selfless in laws and Blake and I loaded up our 4 cars.. 

[one of which was.. yes.. this massive moving truck]

& Started our LONG move down to San Antonio..

My Doctor before we left commanded me that.. being pregnant.. I MUST get out of the car every 2 hours and stretch.

Well.. in a 24/25 ish hour drive I thought that was a little often BUT everyone else took this very seriously so get out every 2 hours we did. 

[Luckily the first night we got to take a little break and stop in Farmington to see my sweet Momma on her birthday and my family, minus of course my awesome brother serving a mission in Argentina, and help break up this crazy long slow drive and keep my sanity. I love you guys... come to San Antonio soon? :)]

Then the rest of the trip was spent praying we would would stay awake.. staying in questionable hotels... and actually really looking forward to those 2 hour stops where we could see another human person and this pregnant girl could go to the bathroom.. I mean stretch.

But after two and a half LONG days... we made it!

Blake and I were blessed enough to be able to live in a house through these next four of school.. 

& Holy smokes do we love it and are so so grateful to live here.. {now}

But that first day... after we had been driving and were exhausted we got there and the A/C was broken in 100 degree heat.

And our water was off so after quite the fiasco of figuring out how to turn it on.. the water started flooding our bedroom. Then we had to move things around in our bedroom and turn off the water=no water to drink, shower, or go to the bathroom..

We decided then that we needed a little break so we took the moving truck and were going to go and pick up our washer and dryer and lo and behold the transmission in our moving truck completely went out while we were driving there and we were stranded (in the 100 degree heat I repeat) at a gas station for hours.. multiple of them.. until a maintenance truck could come.

Then when my mother in law came and saved the day and brought me back to the house so I could get a car and go wait with Blake in air conditioning.. 

I was on my way back to the gas station when my nose just exploded and started bleeding everywhere 

{one of the beautiful perks of being pregnant it would seem}

& I was completely by myself in the city traffic with no Kleenexes so I am holding my hand up to my face as the blood pools and smears all over my face and runs down my arm and neck and all over my white shirt and pink pants and finally I pull over and just lose it and cry and cry and have to call my poor sweet mom and I can't help but wonder what in the world I am supposed to be learning from this day.

Then when I finally go to pick up Blake and he see's my blood smeared face/neck/arm/clothes we can't help but laugh a little bit..

& So we ended our day with a few tears, hot and exhausted in another hotel, definitely learning about the blessing of our trials. 

& The rest of the time my sweet in laws were here we got as much worked out as we could.. and tried to just ignore the rest of it and enjoy and focus on why we DO love San Antonio so much..

I really don't know how we would have gotten through that first week without these guys though..

Thanks for all for all of the help and support and getting through one hot week with us,  I couldn't love you guys more!

We got to go explore our awesome new schools where we will be spending the next four years of our lives..

[& When we got to Blake's school this sweet security guard appeared to be very bored and let us in the school and gave us the unofficial tour of the building.. it was absolutely awe.some. I couldn't be more proud of my sweet hardworking Optometry School student]

& Then everyone even helped me find my lecture hall..

That's about when everything started feeling so official and real and exciting!

Then the end of the week finally came and we had to say goodbye to everyone and be grown up and on our own again. Darnit.

But I will say having a little bit of time to sleep in and unpack and just be together for a little bit was such a dream come true.. I never wanted it to end. 

With work and everything going on lately I can't remember the last time we just got to have a break together.

So we took ourselves school shopping.

& Then I guess Blake decided being grown up meant being clean shaven again.. he just surprised me one Sunday afternoon and walked out of the living room without saying anything.. and a few minutes later I could hardly recognize this man I was married to!

I think he was in utter depression for a few days about his impulse decision.

I have to say that I really love both of these faces though and I have been so impressed with how hard he has worked before,during, & after our move to get our life together.

He really is my dream come true.

[& Sweetheart.. if you want to keep your facial hair somewhere in between these two pictures I wouldn't even be mad.. :)]

There have been so many things to get worked out and figured out lately and put back together but we really do love San Antonio just as much as when we first visited.. and I feel so lucky to have a husband that makes living anywhere feel like home. 

Things are definitely starting to settle down.. & if you're reading this I am so grateful you have stuck with me through the busyness thanks for all the love and support. I am such a blessed girl to have such wonderful family and friends and am hoping that now with a second to breath I will do a lot better at keeping everyone involved in this fun new life adventure!

Thanks for caring about us.. I love you all!

A Beautiful Day for a White Wedding... or Two..

{July 2014}

So originally Blake and I had planned to leave for our big Texas adventure at the beginning of June to just kind of figure out the area and get settled and everything figured out for school [& at the time of course I was thinking...employment].. 

But life always has a funny way of working out and something a lot more exciting than all of our plans convinced us to stay for another couple of months.. 

Blake's brother Colby and my sweet new sister in law Kaitlyn got ENGAGED...

So of course we decided we couldn't miss this awesome experience for the world, & since we had to be out of our apartment at the beginning of June for all of our moving to work out we got to stay with my in laws and have quite the couple months of wedding bonanza..

And what a blessing it was to get to be with everyone through all of this, all of their planning and preparation turned out completely PERFECT.

& Speaking of things that are perfect.. Colby and Kaitlyn i'm so glad that you two found each other and fell in love.

I sure love you guys [& know Blake does too] and am SO grateful that we got to be a part of your beautiful day.

Thanks for letting us share it with you!

By the end of the night everyone was on the dance floor giving it everything they had... oh my gosh it was a Par-Tay. & It was one of those nights you go home exhausted and sore from laughing so hard.

Seeing these wonderful people bustin moves is one of those life experiences you wish you could live over and over again. 

The next morning at breakfast my cute 5 year old niece exclaimed to us, 

"Last night was the BEST night of my life!"

We all laughed and my mother in law asked her why it was so good...

& She paused.. and looked at us dreamily and said, 

"Oh.. the dannnccing.."

:) 

It really was wonderful though, one of those days you just get to enjoy being alive and the loved ones around you.. & I am so happy we got at least a day to just celebrate Colby & Kait. 

And THEN.. a few weeks before Colby and Kaitlyn's wedding we had another wonderful surprise..

These two little love birds (my beautiful sister in law Danielle and her new husband Connor)

got ENGAGED.

& I was SO impressed, they definitely pulled quite an amazing fun wedding together despite finals and only having a little over a month to plan.

I had actually been stressing the last few months about when Danielle and Connor would get married.. because they were obviously so in love that they were definitely going to get married. & I couldn't imagine us not being able to be there..
In fact one night I was so worried about it I couldn't sleep and kept poor Blake up coming up with different scenarios of how in the world we would be able to make it to their wedding since I had thought they would get married around Christmas time during their next school break when I was 9 months pregnant..

[& Obviously all of that worrying was constructive at all.. my mom is convinced I am going to my make our daughter neurotic with all of my stressing..]

BUT they were a dream and made it so everyone could be there..

And obviously it all worked out perfect and I can't tell you how GRATEFUL I am that it did.

& Thanks for letting me be your bridesmaid my sweet Dani girl.. I love you with all of my heart and am so glad you found Connor!

& When we were planning Danielle's wedding she had said she wanted it to be a party.. 

and a party it was!

We couldn't have dreamed a better last day in Idaho..

I hope this video works because it says so much more than I could about this wonderful day and because this family is so much fun.. you have to watch the end reception dance party.

[And because there are just no words to describe Blake's wild and crazy dance moves.. but once you get to be with him and experience the wildness, if you can watch them through how hard you are laughing, your life feels a little more complete]

We love you Connor and Danielle! & Are SO happy you are part of the family Connor!

This night was SO happy and a little sad for Blake and I.. it was hard saying good bye to everyone but it was such a fun way end our Idaho summer.

But how BLESSED are we to have something that makes leaving and saying goodbye so hard.

We love and miss you guys already.

Independance Day

[July 4, 2014]

 

While I am on the subject of reasons there are to love this Eastern Idaho home I have spent the last 5 years in...

I have genuinely never seen anyone do the Fourth of July better..

In the last couple of years it has become one of my favorite days of the summer.

But I think my in laws are probably mostly to thank for this fun American summer celebration..

Blake's cousin Rebecca and her husband Lonnie invite the whole extended family over and make us all an AWESOME breakfast while we all sit around enjoying the Idaho Falls Fourth of July Parade..

& Then we spend the whole rest of the day picnic-ing and talking and playing, so much eating, baseball games, and swimming..

And this year unfortunately my poor pregnant body was TIR-ED.

So I snuck away and took my first belly picture [[& a nap]]

 I was about 16 weeks pregnant in this picture..

I felt like I was showing a TON at this time in my life compared to my normal belly but I had quite a time convincing everyone else of my largeness..

 

And then the BEST part for me of this Fourth of July celebration this year...

Was the free [for us] Beach Boys concert given for Eastern Idaho..

Way awesome.. they had beach balls being bounced around, and by the end of the night all of the old couples were dancing around showing us their 60's moves..

[um so.. cute.. and slightly more wholesome than today's high school Prom]

& Everyone of all ages was up belting out all of the popular Beach Boys songs..

I absolutely loved it. 

& Much to Blake's embarrassment I think that besides for our brief encounter with Ben Stiller in New York.. they may have quite possibly been the most famous people I have ever seen!

{I mean seriously everyone knows who the Beach Boys are.. right.. this is a big deal}

And of course this celebration wouldn't be complete without the fireworks.

This year in Driggs a man put on his own huge private show..

 [I believe he is also the one that paid for the Beach Boys concert.. so a wealthy man..]

& He had it set up so we could lay on the grass and right along side of us fire works were shooting up making it completely bright just every where around.

You may not believe it [because I definitely didn't at first] but Idaho Fireworks are actually very highly ranked and quite the sight to see.. 

If you ever get a chance to see them they are definitely worth your time.

These Idaho Fourth of July celebrations definitely remind me that I am absolutely PROUD to be an American, we are so blessed.

Idaho Lovin

Well since I have practically forgotten how to blog in the last few months with everything going on..

& Feel like I am never going to catch up on everything going on I have decided I am just going to hit the bigger highlights of what's been going this summer...

A couple of things that I make my  heart light are the warming up of the weather after cold Idaho winters.. and this sweet sweet boy.

Oh and petting deer.. that's pretty awesome too. Unbeknown to me before this day however I must admit. 

:)

 

The first time I saw Bear World on my way up to school at BYU-Idaho I have to admit that I laughed and thought that it seemed like kind of a funny tourist attraction.

But two years ago when I heard that they would let you pet/feed their baby bear cubs.. oh I have been dying to go.

I mean really how often do you get to pet baby bear cubs without losing a limb?

[I am just not a brave enough soul to find out the answer to that question..]

So before we moved out of Idaho this sweet man of mine, 

who just wasn't quite as thrilled about making a stop in bear world as I had been,

made absolutely sure that I got my picture petting a baby bear cub..

 

[& Even surprised me by having some fun of his own... I think he was having an extreme internal dilemma about jumping on the back of this deer and riding away..]

This friendly little clothes eating deer was just an awesome bonus/surprise.

& I am already missing all the mountains and fun wildlife... 

There is nothing like getting to take selfies with a doe.

This far away potato state and all of it's outdoorsy adventures have definitely worked their way into my heart.

Playing Hooky

[[April 2014]]

So April was just one of those months that a lot was going on and the busyness of life seemed like it kept us from hardly seeing each other and we kept talking about how we needed a little get away..

& Seeing as it was our 2nd year of marriage anniversary month..
It would make sense wouldn't it that I HAD to play hooky from work for a few days while we just got to enjoy life and took a break from everything.

And of course.. we had to have one final sha-bang before we moved away from one of my very favorite place in Idaho!

Destinations Inn.

This place really is the best..

They completely pamper you.. and you get to spend a night where it feels like nothing in the world matters and you can totally just relax..

 This hotel is where Blake and I actually had our wedding reception and it was our 3rd time actually staying in one of the awesome rooms here.. and my heart is a little broken that it might be the last..

[Yes, the faucet for that awesome jetted tub is the fire hydrant.. they make you feel like you in a completely different world and did I mention that I love it?]

So after feeling totally relaxed and spoiled for 15 hours..

 

We got a quick awakening back in to reality when we went out to the parking lot to leave..

Blake and I literally just stopped and stared at our car for a minute and I looked at him and had to ask, 

"Is that OUR car?!"

My best explanation in my mind was that maybe someone got us mixed up with a couple who had just gotten married.. ? It had rained the night before and so the paint had gotten wet and kind of run down the car so we couldn't really tell what it had started out as..

[& luckily the soggy oreos were in almost as appetizing of a condition..]

And then everything started getting really funny and making sense when my in laws pulled up behind us and started fixing all of the writing on the car..

I was dying laughing.. and only a little in shock that my sweet mother and father were the master minds behind this fiasco!

Blake's parents are seriously the funniest people and can be quite mischievous.. 

[a trait which my sweet husband definitely inherited, and one which I have been kind of concerned about for our future children.. but at least life won't be boring right..]

& Since I was bringing up earlier things I am really going to miss in a couple of months they are definitely at the top of that list.

 

Soo after a few laughs and a little detour for a car wash..

We skipped town and spent the day in Jackson Hole!

This was one place I had really fun memories of from family vacations growing up..

& I was really excited to spend the day here with Blake.

It was SO nice getting to just be together all day, since with work and school the last.. year.. during a regular week we don't always get to see each other for more than a few hours a day..

Oh I can't tell you how much I was in heaven relaxing walking down the streets holding hands and enjoying our time off and just seeing the sights and exploring the town..

 I took Blake to one of the places I remembered most from the trip here with my family..

Ripley's Believe it or Not

[It definitely makes an impression.. whether that's in nightmares or memories though its hard to say]

& Some of the things in there are definitely a little disturbing.. interesting.

& After I saw a few of the things in there I realized maybe that's why it's seared in to my memory as a child..

And why I have nightmares of two headed birds and spiders.. who really can tell.

After I got over the fact that I wouldn't be sleeping very soundly for the next few weeks..
Blake and I indulged our little children selves and played around for half the afternoon with illusional mirrors, spinning upside down rooms that made us walk crookedly for much longer than we would want to admit...

& All sorts of other treasures that kept us laughing all afternoon.

I am not sure if I am going to bring our kids to this museum anytime soon..
[I don't want them to need psychiatric attention before they start grade school..]
 but it definitely was what we needed to feel like we had gotten away from everything else going on..

& Then upon further exploration of this fun town.. we found many a new furry friend..

I am willing to deduct that there couldn't be any other place in Wyoming with such a collection of animals, we couldn't believe our eyes.... but luckily after Ripleys Believe It or Not.. nothing freaks you out quite as much as it would before.

I genuinely don't think I have ever seen so many different species of animals so close up before..

Too bad none of them seemed to have too much life in them. 

Jackson Hole.. you are one interesting town you.

Thanks for all the laughs and short getaway from responsibility. 

:)