33 weeks, with Lindsay

It was so fun to have Linds and Kenny and their adorable kiddos here with us on Friday and Saturday! We only wish they lived closer so we could see them more often. We were busy having fun together and neglected to take any pictures, except right before they left. Had to get a belly picture, right?? It's so fun to have sisters that are pregnant too! If only Kim would have been there to add her belly to the mix.

Our dad always used to say "Back to back!" whenever we talked about our heights. We thought we'd look at width this time instead of height... 

We had a fun weekend with them here. We ate some Cafe Rio and had BYU Creamery ice cream- something they don't have out in Cleveland and we just like to eat. Other than that we just enjoyed visiting and being together! Ben and Charlotte came over for a bit on Saturday and it was great to see them. 

p.s. I had another dream last night that Peanut was a boy. Should I take these seriously?? I'm tempted to ask for another ultrasound... dreams are so funny. He was a super-cute little boy though! I also had a dream this week that I was in labor and Peanut started twisting around and around and I could see her twisting from the outside. So strange!

One more reason

I am so glad it's the holiday season, if only because these commercials have begun airing again!

Not sure why I find her so hilarious. I once went to IHOP with some family on the day after Thanksgiving and saw a group of middle-aged women- all in expensive-looking track suits and looking extremely tired. One of them had her hand over her face for a while, and when she finally took it down, I saw a nice long scratch from just below her eye to her jaw! I'm sure the other lady looked worse.

These ladies seemed a little bit extreme, but I have to admit... I love Black Friday shopping!! We'll hopefully head to Park City again this year. Can't wait!

Also, Lindsay and her cute fam are coming this weekend... we are so excited! Plus, I rocked my statistics exam today, taking me down to only one more test before I get to relax for Thanksgiving. Great week? I think so!!

Breakdown, pickup

Today has been a weird day, and it's only partly over.

This morning brought nausea. I've been feeling nauseous in the mornings the last few weeks, but never like this morning. I think I even remember saying something to Tyler about putting our bedroom on a roller coaster? Everything was spinning and I could not move- I felt like I was going to fall off the bed. What's weird is that even in the first trimester, I never had morning sickness! I only felt sick at night, so this is new for me. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan. I'll keep the night sickness, thank you. So of course Tyler was so sweet and brought me water and a mint and a bucket. :) Yep, he's a keeper. By the time he got home from work, I was just sick of it. Of everything. Tyler let me cry on his shoulder and complain about school, being pregnant, feeling crappy, being a complainer/cryer, and whatever else came out of my mouth. It was silly. But he is so encouraging and loving- he reminded me that there are only a few weeks left, and then school is over and Peanut will be here. I'm so thankful for him. And also super embarrassed at what a wimp I am. I've had a really great pregnancy and haven't been sick very much! I should be more grateful.

But the day is looking up. I have eaten finally and went to my class this afternoon. Tonight is Piper's 1st birthday party, and we're excited to see everyone.

Other good stuff: being pleasantly surprised by how much we liked eating at Village Inn on Saturday; I finally got my pumpkin oreo shake Saturday afternoon; crepe night with Jeff and Robin yesterday; catching up in my reading for our bishop's Book of Mormon challenge. Also, the fact that 3/4 of the things I just listed included food. That's awesome.

Oh, and these! I cannot wait to see both of these movies!!

Collection of random thoughts

-The weather may be getting colder, but I am still craving a pumpkin oreo shake from Arctic Circle. My cravings are the type that don't go away until they're satisfied... we'd better get to "where the good stuff is" pretty soon!

-I know it wasn't very long ago that I gushed about Tyler, but I just can't help it. Walking from home to campus as much as I was all semester was starting to get to be a little much for Peanut and I. So you know what Tyler does? 2 days a week, he leaves for work 15 minutes earlier (that's 6:30, mind you) to take me to campus. The other 3 days he gets to work AT 6:30 so that he can get off early enough to take me to my afternoon classes. What would I do without him? I can't wait to tell our little girl all about her superhero dad and all the things he did for me and her before she was even here.

-A girl in my ward had a baby about a week ago- the baby came 7 weeks early! Scary stuff. Luckily their baby girl is doing well- she only had to have breathing support for 24 hours and will only be in the hospital until she learns to eat. As I was making dinner to take to them last night, I couldn't help but think about all the things that could go wrong in a pregnancy and delivery. The fact that this process goes right as often as it does is a miracle! I'm so grateful that so far Peanut and I have both been healthy.

-This post is a lot about Peanut, but I finally realized yesterday that those little spasms I feel once or twice a day are hiccups! Can't believe I didn't figure that out before. I hope for her sake that her hiccups aren't painful like her mom's... how cute is it that she gets hiccups? She's totally a little person already. That blows my mind.

-Tyler and I went to Park City with Cari and Ryan and their kiddos and had a blast! We shopped around a bit (I found 2 outfits for Peanut... couldn't resist) and ate at the Loco Lizard, I think it was called. It was delish and we loved spending time with Cari and Ryan. Grace and Jaac told the best knock-knock jokes- they make us so excited to have kids that age! We're going to miss them all so much when we leave in April.

-Not including holidays, we only have 3.5 weeks of classes left. That means we can probably definitely make it, right? Just kidding... it's all going by so fast!

But who's counting?

-21 days til Thanksgiving

-43 days til the end of the semester

-52 days til Christmas

-59 days til my birthday

-66 days til Peanut's due date

So many exciting things ahead... trying hard to remember to appreciate each day until all this exciting stuff. Because I know all the craziness of the holidays/finals/baby-ness will make a part of me miss these quiet evenings with Tyler, not having much to worry about besides homework. 

But it doesn't hurt to be excited, right??

First things first

I think I could listen to Christmas music all year long... it makes my heart feel so warm and happy! But I only let myself listen to it from Nov. 1st through New Year's. So of course, today is the day I start. Before I get too caught up in Christmas, I thought I'd give a shout-out to Thanksgiving by listening to probably one of my favorite Josh Groban songs ever! [Even if it is on his Christmas CD]

There are so many things I have to be grateful for, but I've been especially grateful for family lately. The family I was born into, the family I married into, and the family Tyler and I began over 2 years ago. I'm grateful for this little Peanut growing inside me and for the joy she already brings to us. I feel so lucky and blessed and happy! What a great time of year!

The big 3-0 and our weekend

30 weeks. For reals?

I can't believe how quickly the last few months have gone by!!

We had a fun weekend. Friday night was spent catching up with my high school friends at Annie and Mike's... everyone brought yummy healthy food and we had a great time. Kim and Nick brought their 3-mo. old Payton and I got to steal her for a while and pretend she was mine! Kim and I have already decided our daughters are going to be best friends. Hope they don't mind.

Saturday we slept in a little bit, ran some errands, took a nap, did some homework, and went to the Wright's for a pumpkin carving party! We're not really sure what happened to our pumpkin (couldn't find it anywhere as we were leaving), but oh well. Uncle John was a master carver and we had a blast eating and talking with everyone. Tyler got some hands-on fatherhood training by playing with Piper- he's going to be such a great dad! I can't wait to see it.

Grace asked Papa John to carve her a pig... it turned out so cute. Kinda reminds me of Angry Birds!

I hope you all have fun and exciting Halloween plans... Tyler and I have a test in our humanities class tomorrow so we've got a review and then a study date. I love taking a class with Tyler! We've got to do something fun though- it is a holiday, even if it's one I don't necessarily like. Maybe if I'm lucky we can sneak in some pumpkin oreo shakes or something? Happy Halloween!

A list

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday... and then scheduled another one for Nov. 4th. Am I seriously already in the third trimester?? I can't believe how quickly time has passed! From here on out we'll have an appointment every two (and then one, of course) weeks... crazy. There's just so much to do before Peanut gets here!

1. Stop baking. When I asked the doc if I was on track as far as weight gain, she smiled and said, "Well, at this rate you'll definitely be on the high end of the recommended range..." oh snap. In my defense, I'm just trying to help Peanut feel nice and comfortable in there! How embarrassing. But it's a little sad- 'tis the season of baking and treats! How am I supposed to resist?

2. Finish crocheting Peanut's blanket. I was making good progress for a while, but things have been so busy lately and I haven't touched it in over 2 weeks! Hopefully I can still finish in time.

3. Get out of school alive. The past few weeks have just been non-stop for both of us! This morning we were both complaining about how tired we were, how we didn't know it was possible to be so tired, etc., and then realized... we don't even have a baby! I'm so grateful that I'll be finished before Peanut gets here, and I have a serious respect for my sister and other people I know who did/do kids and school at the same time. Super women, I tell you.

I saw a Christmas-y commercial yesterday and felt so happy inside. What a fun time of year!! Tuesday I finally get to start listening to Christmas music. This weekend will be full of Halloween parties, and Thanksgiving and Christmas always come so quickly after that. Bring on the holidays!

Strike two

So you know that kid who asked me if it's hard to go to class when I'm that pregnant? Well, he struck again. I hadn't seen the guy in a few weeks (thankfully, it's a large class) and he saw me on Monday and said, "Wow, you got so much bigger! You are so big!" I made sure to tell him this time that even though I wasn't offended, he should be careful what he says to his someday wife when she is pregnant. Not that I think he'll get married anytime soon, making comments like that. Seriously- where do people learn to have conversations??

In other news, our baby girl is going to have two girl cousins her age! Kim and Lindsay are both having girls, and we are so excited for them. They are both due in March, and only a couple days apart! So fun.

Our week is going well, even with all the tests. When I come on a stressful week or day, I get a little bit of tunnel vision and get too wrapped up in the things going on. But every time the stress is over, I remember that there is life afterwards! So this week I have tried to focus on the things that are most important instead of the things that were stressing me out. I think it's working! There will be life after this week, after this semester, after everything hard. And, I've done just as well (if not better!) on my tests. So I guess the key for me is to remember to "forget not to be happy now," as Pres. Uchtdorf told us HERE.

This weekend for us again begins on Thursday, with the arrival of my dad and Kim with her cute family! We'll have a fun few days with half of the siblings together.

p.s. Is it normal that my bruise from getting my blood drawn a week ago still hurts?? It doesn't look as bad anymore, but it kills!

This is what a party looks like

When you have 14+ people spread over a bunch of different states. 

I hope Lindsay won't mind my stealing her picture... I always forget to take a screenshot when we have our google "hangouts"! Family is the best, and I'm so grateful that technology allows us to see each other even when we can't be physically together. Sunday night hangouts are so fun! 

Other than our internet going out, we had an uneventful weekend. I had two baking failures (cupcakes with frosting that refuses to thicken and bread that ripped in half upon removal from the pan) and one very patient husband during all of it. 

Sunday was a great day. I caught up in my reading of the Book of Mormon (our Bishop challenged us to read it cover to cover by the end of the year), worked on Peanut's blanket, and secretly enjoyed being mostly out of internet. We went to campus to skype with everyone- hopefully our internet will be fixed today! 

Just so you know- the new Kevin James movie "Zookeeper" was not nearly as good as I was hoping for. We are big Kevin James fans, but the whole talking animals thing really just kind of bothered me. If you watch it, do so with no expectations!