My belly is very lopsided as I think she is turned on her side or something. Very strange looking as the right half of my pregnant belly is sticking out further than the left side and it is not squishy at all. I felt like I was really rubbing the side of her belly. Maybe I should have tickled her. . . is she ticklish?! She also seems to be taking up more room which means I eat about three bites and feel full. . . but then I am starving by the time the food is done being put away. Such a little trickster! This little girl is also "plucking" my ribs as if they were making music for her. Maybe they are! I wonder how it sounds :) Maybe she is getting bored in there and is trying to find new things to do. I think she has found a new hobby!
Here we are at 32 weeks!
I am a little worried about this girl. I don't want her to get too big. I was thinking she will probably be the regular 7 pound baby. I was talking to Mom and asking her about all of us and how all 10 of her pregnancies were. I have it recorded in my baby book and some old birth announcements that got placed in my "box of memories" (this box is filled with the most random things, but they are so fun to look through: report cards from nearly every grade-including reports of my chattiness and disruptions in class, art work, awards from everything- 4th grade choir, honor roll, skipper of the day(I jump roped for 9 min 55 seconds in 4th grade!), crossing guard, Fireballs Soccer, Cable Bridge Run ribbon, science fair projects, made up poems, news paper articles I was in, Presidential Fitness award-signed by Bill Clinton :), piano lesson awards- most of them were for being a good sight reader since I never practiced as much as I should have, and more) Anyways, I saw that I was a little over a 9 pound baby! I couldn't believe it, but it was written in more than one place. I asked mom about how big all of us were and she just casually said, "mmm. . . everyone was around 9 pounds, but Chris was over 11." She said this like it was no big deal! And she never had an epidural! I still can't believe it! None of us are huge! Even the 11 pounder. We aren't twigs either. . . well I know of one, but I am sure he has beefed up since I last saw him. . . maybe :) I feel like all 10 of us are relatively average in size, all the boys are 6 feet so they are kinda tall, and all the girls are just above or below 5' 6" ish. We are sort of tall, but pretty average. Why were we such heavy babies?
Ok. . . this picture does make my head look huge, and no this isn't a newborn picture, but maybe all of our heads were huge as we were born making us weigh extra.
I don't know how big David was, I have only seen this baby picture. He is chunky, but just the regular cute baby rolls and chubby cheeks right? I think he is peeking out of one eye. . . maybe :)
I don't know, but I am just hoping that this little girl or ours definitely doesn't pull an 11 pounds on me. That would not be funny.
I also don't know how my mom did it and survived to tell it with such ease, but I am still hoping that measuring normal at my appointments means that I will have an average sized baby.
As for all the hair David had and the peach fuzz that I barely had at a year old, that's a different story that I am not nearly as concerned for my body for. We will just have to wait and see about the eyes too. . . I am seeing too many complete opposites in these baby pictures so we will be suprised. As long as both eyes are wide eyed, or sealed shut I don't think I will mind. . . same with the hair, no half bald and half black, combable hair. So much anticipation!
Summer really is here! It is so nice! The sun stays out forever and helps us wake up in the morning. People kept on saying that summer would be miserable because I would be so hot all the time and wouldn't ever feel comfortable. As far as I am concerned, no big deal! Our apartments include utilities, so I can crank on the AC any time I need, and there is a very nice pool about 20 yards from my front door! I love being at the pool and I check the weather daily to see if it is going to be a pool day or not. I have a cute little pool bag with sunscreen, sunglasses, easy-read book, towel, and a Popsicle in hand (pineapple and coconut are most favorite) and I am off on my way. Maybe I am miserable and I just don't know it but I can't complain. . . I'm feeling way too good!
People also have been telling me that I will need the whole summer to get ready for the baby, but I am not quite sure what all I am to be getting ready for. I think as long as we have clothes, diapers, carseat, stroller, a place for the baby to sleep and a rocking chair for the early morning duties, we will be as prepared as we can be. I know there are some little items (shampoo, bibs, comb, etc) but what else is there to do to be ready? Should I practice sleeping for two hours at a time? Should I practice putting diapers on everything in the apartment as if they were our baby? I have heard breastfeeding is a challenge, but I am definitely not going to be practicing that before the baby comes! I could go on pretend walks with the stroller and practice buckling things into the car seat? I think David would think I was absolutely crazy if he came home and every water bottle, can of soup, milk jug, iron, shoe box, pillow, shampoo bottle, cd case, etc. diapered, swaddled, or strapped in for a ride. I think we will just go off of prior experience with nieces and nephews and see how we do when our little girl arrives. Anything we need help with, I will just ask my mom who will be here to help when we get out of the hospital. She has raised all 10 of us kids, quite the resume there, I think she will be a very nice resource.
We did take a birth and delivery class a couple weekends ago, which was very fun actually. The teacher was a very fun nurse and she made it clear what all the possible options we had for having this baby and the ins and outs of each option. She made sure to ask the husbands the questions that we might not of know so that they were the ones that felt clueless instead of us pregnant women in our emotional/hormonal state. David saw enough slimy babies that he's not too grossed out by that part of it anymore :) As part of the pain management that the class covered, David got to practice his foot, hand, and back massages which was wonderful, I must say! I have convinced him to "practice" some of those since we have been home, and he is always willing! Such a great husband!
David even gave the "Empathy Belly" a try and had a hard time tying his shoes and reaching anything near the floor. It was cute to see what I probably look like. He hasn't mastered the split-the legs-squat technique yet and tried more for the side tilt/bend.
It was weird to see him with a belly like that . . . the chest was a little stranger, but it makes it more real right?! So he got to wear this nice little contraption for a while and it pushed on his bladder and lungs real nice. He didn't know he needed to go potty until he had it put on! It sounded like it did a good job! And I think I am safe to say that his belly is bigger than mine. . . hooray!
We have our crib and bedding, stroller and some cute little girl clothes. We are looking at car seats hoping to get a neutral boy/girl colored one for future use. The doctor could feel her head at the appointment and she is head down. She has been head down at each of our ultrasounds so I wasn't surprised. I was surprised that he could feel the head so well. He was able to put his thumb and pointer on both sides of her head! So tiny! We heard her heartbeat too and it sounded good. Everything is measuring good too. He measured and he said 34! I was shocked as usually the belly measures about the same as the number of weeks along you are and I am not even 32 weeks! I have been right on for all of my previous measurements. He went to record it and thought for a second and decided to remeasure. I measured that time at 32 and I felt a little better. I think it was one of those things where the measurements don't start at the start of the tape and he wasn't paying full attention. We laughed it off and I am glad that I am measuring right on still as I hardly gained any weight in the last month. The belly button hasn't popped out yet but I feel like it is close. Just lots of kicks and punches and poking my ribs which is weird feeling. I think she has had hiccups too which is interesting to feel her whole body bounce around a little. So far so good! We are getting more and more excited thinking about being parents soon!
Insurance is kind of a love-hate thing. Whether it is car, health, or life insurance -or any other kind of insurance- it is something you need, but you would rather not have to pay to be safe. Lately I have had some mixed feelings about this and especially our life insurance. With the new baby on the way in less than two months -hopefully not longer- we have been digging into this whole life insurance thing. David wants to make sure that if anything were to happen to one of us, then we would be covered and not thrown into the whole single-working parent life right away. This all sounds good and reasonable and we both feel it is important to cover our bases just in case.
The tough part comes when I really think about it and yes, I will be covered financially, but what about the rest of the departments. I still need David. Some of the plans are 10, 20, 30 year plans. . . well I want David around a lot longer than that! Neither of us want to go then!
This Father's Day was kind of bitter sweet as I had this on my mind. I am so glad that David and I both have amazing dads that are still around today and they are still active and pursuing their roles as dads and soon to be grandfathers to our little girl. We have no idea what some people go through growing up without a dad (or a mom) for some reason or another.
In one of the talks given on Sunday, it was mentioned that "men should aspire to be the husband that the wife and kids can't live without." David's already got me hooked and I am sure that our kids will feel the same way shortly. I expect to celebrate lots and lots more Father's Days, birthdays, anniversaries, and all sorts of holidays with that cute husband of mine! He is definitely someone worth celebrating, and I lucked out getting to be with him!
I am glad that we have insurance and that we are covered if we were in a car accident, or if we did need to get surgery or any medical care, and that we will be covered financially if one of us dies, but I sure do pray that it is a "waste" of our money.
The last week we have celebrated my birthday and our 2 year anniversary. It has been very fun and it is strange to think that this last week was probably the last time we really celebrate anything on our own. This little girl of ours will be coming in about 2 months and the parties won't be all about us anymore! It will be nice though since she will help spread out our celebrations through the year since between June and December, David and I have no real reasons to celebrate so we have just had to make up our own holidays and make that the reason :)
For our anniversary, we didn't do anything too "romantic". . . we spent the weekend visiting my parents and hanging out with them for the three day weekend. My brother and his wife went up to visit and we hadn't seen them since December so we thought we would join their party! And boy was it a party! They were just so anxious to play "minute to win it" and they had a hat full of silly games. Most of them are shown in the video on the next post. . . which I have to say I have watched each of those videos so many times and it still makes me laugh! I never knew that my mom was such a good ribbon dancer, or that my brothers could shake their booty so well (not surprised by David, and Abby might need to practice those moves or get lessons from the boys), or that Elizabeth had so much going on that the pedometer strapped to her head was only able to catch 43 of whatever it counts! What a fun night. . . and I don't think that we ever made it to bed before the morning came around! We all just had too much fun playing all sorts of games.
One day we even got out to play some tennis! I think Ben ended up winning all his matches. . . Sheesh! He plays with all the wrong technique, but we couldn't stop him. Dad took him to a tiebreaker, but he used his racquetball hitting to win it! Whatever wins the points works right!? Dad's technique didn't work too well but he is really good at hitting it right to me. Ben made me run in a few circles to hit that ball.
Elizabeth enjoyed the sun and brushing Maggie which meant that the wind carried off blonde hairballs. . . so gracefully. She said she hasn't played tennis before, but I think she has some more hidden talents (kind of like the cotton balls on her nose . . . who knew?!)
I know that the one and only Tillamook Ice Cream didn't fail us either. I think Luke managed to put one whole container into/onto a bowl and he couldn't have been happier. It's tacky to eat out of the carton right? Unless you are at a weekend soccer tournament with Dad and in need of a little pre-game breakfast :) Luke made sure to give us all the scoops we liked and then as we are all sitting around enjoying ours, he came walking by and laid down right in the middle with his heaping bowl and spoon.
Ben and Elizabeth aren't privileged to have Marion Berry Pie Tillamook Ice Cream in Utah so they made a stop or two out of town to stock their cooler with dry ice and some ice cream. Dad was so nervous for them. . . or maybe their ice cream on their ride home. I don't think I heard if Ben and Elizabeth made it home, but I did get dad's report that the ice cream made it safe and sound.
Abby thought it would be fun to out do me and did she ever! I am a couple months from my due date, and I think Tricia said Abby is a couple months past her due date. Abby managed to drop that hefty thing and I put it in the fridge. . . and the next day we had watermelon! And that's where watermelon come from!
Dad had a little slip up as he was cut into the watermelon which he claimed was an accident, but I know what kind of accident it was . . . sure ain't roses :)
I got to see Brooke and she was thrilled to see me and my big belly! We went and hung out at the Fisk's house for a while just chatting and laughing too hard. Mom, Abby and I put together a mighty fine fruit pizza too. Mom picked all the strawberries for the garden and had got some at the store earlier that day and was worried they would go bad, but I think I ate about half of them and we had just enough for the pizza. Those home grown strawberries are too sweet and tasty! We have always had strawberry plants in our garden, but I don't think any of the strawberries survived all ten of us wildly sliding out of control as we practiced going our fastest around the play house corner on our hot wheels, roller blades and bikes. The squirrels and birds might like them too!
We stopped and got some ice cream for us on our way out of town. . . yummy blizzards from Dairy Queen. Not quite Tillamook, but with our coupon, we couldn't pass it up. I even fed David as he drove so he could concentrate on the road. . . precious I know, except that I couldn't help but pretend I was feeding our baby which David reminded me would have choked on the Oreo chunks.
So that was our anniversary weekend. . . how romantic, huh?! We loved it! And I love that David loves to be around my family. Too much fun :)
My birthday turned into a birthday weekend which was fun too! We got a snazzy new camera that is a camera/video camera which we really wanted with our baby coming. . . no we are not going to record the babies entrance, I don't think David would stay conscious and I don't think I am going to want to put on a show at that moment :) We are excited to have fun things to record other than tours of our apartment with David demonstrating the amazing zoom feature on our clocks, toothbrushes, spray bottle, blinds, door hinges, door knobs, thermostat, and broom. I am sure it will be tough to find something so interesting as these, but I think it will be worth the challenge.
We went out to eat at a restaurant called Tucanos. It was new to us and I was very excited to try it out. It is a Brazilian grill and I loved that there was no menu. . . except for drinks which I just tried the yummy lemonades. So there is an open buffet with all sorts of different salads. . . fruit, vegetable, and pasta. There were also really good rolls. There were some soups, beans and rice, and anything I could have imagined sprinkling on top of any of these side dishes. So we went and filled up our plates at the buffet and then back at our table we started eating. There is a red and green salt shaker looking thing that when we were ready, we flipped to green and every minute or so some servers would come by with some sort of meat on a skewer. They would tell you what it was and you could pass on it or they would cut off a small piece if you wanted some. Every once in a while they came by with grilled pineapple and I could never pass that up!
It was so juicy and good! I could have had that pineapple all night!
As it was my special birthday dinner, I got my meal for free, but that also meant that I got sung to. This isn't the normal sweet and nice happy birthday with a little bit of clapping at the end.
David got it on video. So they come with the drums and tambourine and the clapping and singing comes with it. I wasn't the only one with a birthday so we would be eating nice and peacefully and then I would hear the drums and tambourine start up and I would watch to see if they were coming for me. I couldn't take a bite or else I would be chewing on a big hunk of meat the whole time. It was very nerve wracking. I just didn't know when they were coming for me, and I am not one to put on a show. I think David put in a special order for my birthday treat as I got a cute little dish of ice cream with lots of Oreos sprinkled on top. Needless to say, David watched me take every bite and didn't hesitate to dig in when I asked him if he might like a bite or two. He also was thrilled that he found an Oreo chunk that I didn't want in the bowl when I was done. He probably would have licked the bowl clean if I would have offered.
Oreos and ice cream are the way to that boys heart, no doubt! So I was glad it was a short song, but not so glad that our waitress has such a loud voice to announce my special day. I would have to say that I am a pretty good tambourine player, except that the rest of the "band" was clapping, playing their drums, and shouting their song to really hear my talent. . . sheesh! Next time I might have to bring my recorder in my nice little carrying case and play that song so no one can drown me out. Then they will know what talent is! Very Brazilian right Matt?
Another night we went to the temple. Very nice and peaceful. My dress is getting a little snug and my belly is filling out the split front that used to just barely let the embroidered design show, but now each and every leaf and flower shows! We will see if it makes it another month, let alone two! There was another pregnant lady in there that made me look really good. First off she is pregnant with her 10th kid! Holy moly!!!! She looked kind of like Abby. . . a couple months overdue. . . but she said she still had 6 weeks left. She looked completely exhausted and she was trying to stay cool by fanning herself the whole session. I will be there in a month I am sure.
Here's an updated picture on my birthday at 29 weeks. . . and yes I have finally soaked up a little sun!
I see myself in the mirror, but I really don't see myself as big as I am in pictures. It is still funny to me that I am surprised that my shirts don't fit around my belly. The maternity clothes still fit around the bump, but the regular shirts, like this one, have a hard time getting all the way around :) I hope that I don't look 2 months over due by the time this baby comes. I have noticed that I am starting to move like a pregnant woman. When I am sitting on the ground or on a comfy couch, I find that I have to situate my self to get up, and then actually get up. There is just a little something in the way and a little extra weight that I am not adjusted to yet :) I still have nothing else to complain about though. I would say that it is a little strange as I have never had a birthday picture like this before! Definitely a first!
For my birthday cake, I requested cheesecake. David decided that he really wanted to make one which honestly made me really nervous and I bought a box of yellow cake just in case. David isn't much of a cook and has about 3 things that I know he can cook successfully. So David went online and found a recipe. He was very excited for this cheese cake, and I later realized why.
We went to the store to get some ingredients and he said the first thing we needed was Oreos. I looked at his recipe and he had a cheesecake recipe that was going to be doused in Oreos, caramel and cool whip. He then tried really hard to convince me that I would love it and that I would get cheesecake just like I asked. Well I only asked for cheesecake, I didn't know I needed to ask for the sweet graham cracker crust and fruit drizzled on top. So we ended up making both. David got his Oreo/caramel cheese cake, and I got my regular/traditional/best ever cheese cake. I "helped" him so that I was able to make sure that the Oreos didn't get out of control and take over. I made the crust and it just so happened that it looked like there was a little more graham cracker crust than Oreo. . . whoops!
David left out the melted chocolate and just made the main part regular and he did an excellent job! We did leave one package of cream cheese in our shopping cart so David went back and actually found it. The second he got home, we realized we didn't get any eggs, so he went right back out the door and got some eggs. Luckily the grocery store is like 2 minutes away, but I felt bad for him having to go back and forth three times. He puts his mind to something and definitely does not give up!
So the cheesecake went in the oven and came out looking a little scary, but it settled down and we put it in the fridge. I wanted it really cold, so we decided to eat some Oreos and go to bed and we would have it the next day. It was well worth the wait! It was perfect! I had my piece with the perfect crust and berries on top, and David loved his Oreo/caramel piece. I am very impressed that he made a real cheesecake, that tasted good too! (no need to tell him about the yellow cake mix in the cupboard) And I got a little birthday song from him too!
So I have had quite the fun past week and I loved it all!
There is a new show on tv called "A minute to win it" and the games make great party fun. We went home for Memorial day weekend and Ben and Elizabeth went home too and were excited to play these silly games with all of us. I put together a little video of most of the events and since none of my events were too embarassing, I am willing to share this with anyone and everyone!
I have the full version of all the videos, so if you want to see more, let me know and I will send those out too!
So here is a little montage of our eventful night, and just so you know, the videos were just cut, and I didn't slow down or speed up any of them! This is all natural talent, put to music (since we were either laughing or so dead quiet and concentrated that you could probably hear one of us drooling!)
I am sure you are quite impressed! This family has some talent, and we married some pretty talented people too! Feel free to throw your own "Minute to Win It" party. . . very entertaining :)
