A Very (Cougar) Merry Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas! We started out on Christmas Eve with Scotty's family. We ate sandwiches, frosted cookies, and just had fun hanging out.

We also did our family gift exchange. Scotty got his DREAM present: a silky!

And of course, it had to be BYU. What else?

And I got an I-Spy book! I love these books!! Thanks so much, Liz (and family)!

Scott and I woke up early Christmas morning and opened all our presents together. I got some nice cardigans and shirts, a candle warmer, more I-Spy books, and a bookshelf! Scotty got lots of clothes, including but not forgetting.....a BYU hoody!

Then we went up to church with our families (who are in the same ward, which makes it nice). They had a very beautiful Christmas program where both my dad and my sister had solos. They did so well! After that, we went to my family's house and had breakfast and opened presents with them.

Greg had drawn our name. He got Scotty a....(drum roll....) BYU blanket! And he got Hailey a precious little pink blanket that of course also happens to be BYU!

Now I'm sure we can add our BYU stuff up to equal:

- 3 BYU blankets (one silky, one snuggy, and one normal)

- 3 BYU hoodies (2 for Scott, one for me)

- 3 BYU hats (one cap, two beanies)

- a million BYU t-shirts

- 1 BYU banana chair

- 1 BYU Christmas stocking

- 1 pair BYU sweats

- 1 BYU license plate frame

- 1 BYU lanyard

I think that's about it. If I remember anything else, I'll let you know.

We spent the majority of Christmas day with my family, but we did stop by Scott's family's again for a couple more presents and an early Christmas dinner (1pm). We got something that I have always wanted - a Fisherprice LittlePeople toy Nativity Set!! Grandma and Grandpa Benson say this is for Hailey for her first Christmas. Yay I am so happy! Thank you Ledge and Kaydean!

They also gave us a really nice cookie sheet from the school district (trust me...these are nice!), two gift cards to Deseret Book(/the old Distribution Center) (that will definitely come in handy as I start to grow even more!), and some food storage. Thank you so much!

I don't think I ever stopped being full all day long. We just ate and ate and ate. Everything was delicious, for sure! But I think being pregnant just doubley shrinks your stomach. I didn't eat nearly as much as I usually do and I was stuffed!

We ate another dinner with my family later that day, and then we watched "Sherlock Holmes" that Greg got for Christmas. It was pretty good. After that, we played Taboo, but by then, I really wasn't feeling well. More and more my belly is growing and adding a full stomach on top of that and a sore back from having to lay on my side and not being able to get comfortable because of big hips...well, anyway, you all know how that goes. I ended up laying on the couch a lot with a pillow between my legs, desperately trying to find a good position to let my curves be curvy and let my body relax. By and by, I was just ready to go home.

- Not that going home did me any good. I had such bad heartburn, I was almost to the point of burping up vomit - you know how that goes. It was awful. I couldn't get to sleep. My back and body ached. No more sweets for me!

Now that Christmas is over, I can't believe it's almost time for Hailey to come! I know we still have a few more months, but I know those months are going to go by fast, and we still have lots to do. It will keep me busy, and I am excited for that.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. We certainly did. I am especially grateful that we were able to celebrate Christmas on Sunday this year and worship our Lord and Savior, and get to partake of the Sacrament on this day that we remember Christ's birth.

Oh, and before I forget, here is a picture of the new and exciting thing in our life....our early Christmas Present!! We added a new member to the family and as far as we know, Sally the Sentra is happy to have a new sister. We named her Kat the Magnum. We got her two weeks ago and has been very good to us. I hope you don't think we are crazy for getting a second car. Well, we kind of are, but unfortunately in this day and age, we really need it. Once Scotty starts flying next semester and I am working full time, there is no way we can juggle everything without having two cars. Plus, the Magnum is big enough for a carseat and more! This will be a good family car. (And sorry - this is the best picture I could get right now. I will have to get a better one later!)

Merry Christmas Everybody and a Happy New Year in one week!

Well

Well, I know it's been a few days since I have posted, so I thought I would just post right now to keep you updated on whatever is going on in our lives. I don't want to write too much about something exciting that may be coming up in our lives, because if I do write about it right now, then I am probably going to jinx us and then it won't happen, and that would be very sad. So this is all that I am going to say about that. And that is that.

But in other news, the semester is over almost, which is nice. We just have our few finals this week and then we will be done for Christmas break. And I will be done-done, like, done with my Associates. It will be very nice. Although I will go back someday to get my bachelor's because I truly want to be a choir teacher, but right now I feel good about just getting my Associates and calling it good right there. Scotty is signed up for his classes next semester. Poor fellow is going to be working full time and going to school full time. Whatever are we going to do. However, I don't think he is going to complain that much because, well, let's face it, he is going to be living his dream about 3 times a week by flying up in the sky. I don't think he can complain much.

Hailey is kicking more than ever!! We are finally seeing my stomach bounce around - it has been SOOO exciting! Scott gets so excited when I tell him she is kicking, and he'll run over to me and put his hand on my stomach and sit and wait patiently for her to kick again. She is usually pretty good for him and will kick again at least once for him. This is such an exciting (I know, I am using that word a lot) part in the pregnancy, because even more it is so amazing to literally see that there is a living being inside of me that is, well, alive, and kicking, and moving and functioning. It is truly...a miracle!

I am desperately trying to get myself into the Christmas mood. It has been especially hard this year with NO SNOW. We have the tree up, we play the Christmas music, I mean, Christmas is in 2 weeks! But it just doesn't feel like it, no matter how hard I try. We haven't even done any Christmas shopping yet, which I know is so horrible. But I really am trying to get into the Christmas spirit. I suppose there are other places around the world and the United States that don't get snow in the winter (but still get bitterly cold? I mean, come on), so it absolutely means that Christmas does not have to include snow in order for it to still be enjoyed. I will just have to content myself right now with reading my Christmas books and drinking hot cider by the lit up Christmas tree to Christmas music playing in the background and the blinds shut tight - that way I can just pretend that there is snow outside to complete the scene.

And in case any of you were wondering, baby gifts are more than welcome as Christmas gifts for me/us this year. Just in case you were wondering ;-)

Oh, also, I suppose some of you may also be wondering about baby showers and such. To be quite honest, I have no idea when that is going to be. My sisters (and/or friends or co-workers? No idea, really) are in charge of that (those??), so I am thinking that as soon as Christmas is over, the shower planning may start. Who knows. I wasn't planning on even thinking about showers until we got into January anyway, so yeah. That's my little two-bits about a baby shower. I'll keep you posted either way.

Well, this is enough for now. I am just trying to kill time while my husband sits and reads Mockingjay. I hope you all had a nice weekend and hope you all will have a good week at work this week! And Happy Christmas Shopping!

6 Months and 1 Week

Well. I Feel Successful!

And....this is basically what my kitchen drawers looked like. That's little mice poop, mixed with some sage leaves they probably got into that I had in a little baggy. The drawer right above it had my towels. It looked about the same, and one of my good towels was all chewed up in one spot!! I forgot to take a picture - I will have to do that later.

So my AMAZING mom sacrificed her time and came over to help me clean out my drawers. Yes. We washed every one of those dishes. In the hottest water we could stand. I guess this was a good opportunity to reorganize everything anyway, right?



And we had success!! Look at that little sucka...too bad he can almost be consider CUTE if it weren't for the fact that he wreaks so much havoc in my life. We got you good, little mouse! And glue traps? You are my new best friend. Zero mess - it all goes with you. Too bad Scotty and I just barely bought the traditional mouse traps...if there are any more out there, hopefully it won't make too much of a mess in my drawer before I have to put everything back in (well, I'll have to sanitize it again anyway). We will definitely be getting glue traps from now on.

Awww....poor wittle mouse...HAHA!!

(And yes, I shouldn't gloat too much in my success. There's probably a whole family out there waiting to take revenge on me now. I really hope not! :( )

Thanksgiving

Katie, I really liked your idea of putting a picture up of each thing I am grateful for. So if you don't mind, copying is the best form of flattery!

Things I am Thankful For This Thanksgiving

1. I am grateful for my Scotty.

He is my husband and my best friend. I love how he makes me laugh. Over the past (almost) 2 years, our relationship has grown stronger and better. I love him even more than I thought I could. I am so grateful for my wonderful, hubby Scotty!

2. I am grateful for our home.

We have been so blessed and are so grateful to have such a wonderful home to start our marriage with. The rent is great, the space is great for our small family, I love the ward and areaand I really must say that it is perfect that we don't have neighbors on the other sides of our walls like an apartment because, well, I don't think they would want to put up with all my loud singing 24/7! Many thanks to Scott's brother Stephen for helping us find it!

3. I am grateful for our wonderful car, Sally.

I am so grateful that we have a car at all and that it is very reliable! I am especially grateful to our bro-in-law Brad for working so hard on it to make it the car it is. This car is very unique and good to us and we have been so blessed to have such a great car!

4. I am grateful for our family and friends.

I know not everyone is in this picture, but you all know who you are. Thank you to our parents for raising us, thank you to our family members for loving us and thank you to all of our many wonderful friends for always being there for us!! We love you all very much and don't know where we would be without every one of your support.

5. I am so especially grateful for the Gospel.

Many thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for his Infinite Atonement (Alma 34:9-16, D&C 19:16-19). I am so grateful for the knowledge we have and for the gospel that has blessed our lives. I know my Savior lives and will come again.

6. I am grateful for the temple.

I am so grateful for temples on this earth where we can be sealed together with our spouses and our families/loved ones for all time and for all eternity. I am also grateful for the work it allows us to do for those who were not able to partake of its blessings while they were on this earth. I love the blessings of the temple.

7. And last, but certainly not least, I am so grateful for my precious, little Hailey.

What a miracle it is to be pregnant. Despite all the discomforts (this pregnancy hasn't even been that bad, really), I have been so humbled and so grateful to be the vessel to build this infant body for our daughter, Hailey. I know she isn't born yet, but I love her more than anything in the world. I am so excited and look forward to sharing parenthood with my husband. I know there will be hard times, but I know that we will be able to get through them and be an eternal family like we were meant to be. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has trusted us to be the parents to this wonderful Daughter of God. I love you, Hailey, and I can't wait to hold you in my arms in March!

(And yes, just so you aren't confused. After some deliberation, we decided to get a second opinion on the gender. Thank goodness my work offered $25 gender ultrasounds, otherwise we probably wouldn't have gone through with it. We are glad we did. It's not that we didn't trust the first ultrasound or the tech who was doing it, but when it is your first one, it is better to be safe than sorry so it is a little easier to plan. And those three lines in that circle? Definitely a girl!)

I also forgot to mention I am very, very grateful that Scotty and I both have jobs, and that they are good jobs. I am also grateful for health insurance!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope you remember all the blessings you have in your life!!!

Gobble gobble

Gobble gobble

Turkey for Thanksgiving....

What a Day

I wish this was the mouse in our house. Sadly, it is not that friendly and certainly not that clean. *shudder*

So yes, we have a mouse in our house. Well, in the wall somewhere. We heard it squeak one night during a movie and weren't quite sure if that was the movie or for real. A few mornings later, I heard some noise in the wall behind the toilet. Oh boy. I hit the wall and it stopped, then started up again a little. I didn't hear it again for quite a while. I tried putting out a glue trap (left over in the cupboard from the previous renters) by the stove, but apparently it has not made its way outside the wall because nothing showed up. Thank goodness. I've got food storage to worry about. I also have a couch and a mattress, I've got a closet of throw blankets, I've got shoes that make perfect mouse toilets! No way am I willing to deal with any of that!

We have talked about getting d-con, but I keep forgetting every time I go near Walmart! I am going to have to write myself a big note. I am ready to get rid of this mouse once and for all, especially after what it has already done to me!!

Hence a nice segue into my main reason for today's post...

The first time we heard the mouse, I tossed and turned all night, dreaming of bugs and mice in the bed. Well, Sunday night, I decided to sleep out on the couch to see if I would sleep better (no offense to my husband or my bed, but you do what you can to get comfortable when you are pregnant), but of course my body had to wake up at 1:00am anyway because it wasn't my bed and I probably had to pee. I can't remember. And what did I hear a-scritch-scratchin' away in the wall? That darned mouse! And it was loud and very distinct, there was no way I was imaging anything about that sound.

So I went to get in bed with Scott and what did I do? I tossed and turned all night with nightmares about bugs, spiders, and mice in my bed. Ugh. I usually am OK with stuff like this but lately, I just can't stand it! I also had other nightmares mixed in, one in particular that really, really shook me up. I knew it was a dream, but it was so graphic, and...bloody. I won't go into detail. I don't want to think about it and I don't want you to have to think about it.

What an awful night I had. I pretty much laid in bed hoping each time I woke up was 6:00am yet. As soon as the alarm went off, I shot out of bed, telling Scott I would shower first this morning! My whole shower...well, I had to sing primary songs to get my nightmares out of my head. It was awful.

But wait. My day gets better, and yes, my post gets longer.

I also locked myself out of the house. I had to drive back to Walmart to get Scott's keys, then drive back again to return them. There went my perfectly planned morning of time for breakfast and packing a lunch. And I was late for work.

So what helped make this day manageable? Well, I heard Christmas music on the PA at Walmart, for one. I know I am going to hold off until after Thanksgiving, but it was really relaxing to hear music that is always associated with good feelings. Second, my workmate-roommate was not at work. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way!!!! I love Kym, truly! But I just mean...it was nice to be alone when I needed time to be by myself. And keep the lights off. That's all I have to say.

There you have it. We are going to get this mouse!

21 Weeks - Half Way There!

(I know, 20 weeks is technically half way, but I never got around to taking any pictures during week 20. I will be 22 weeks this upcoming Wed. Nov. 16. Woo-hoo!!)

I am almost reluctant to put up this picture! I know it is completely normal to feel fat or huge or big or whatever, and I really have been trying to take care of my body by eating well and exercising...as much as I can. And I love seeing my belly grow! We'll just have to bear with me as every...other...part(s) of me grows as well.

Anyway, enjoy this picture! I am halfway there!! Sometimes I think I look bigger than where I should be at (when I compare myself to my friend who is only a couple weeks behind me and barely even has a bump!), but that's OK! Every body is different, and every pregnancy is different.

That being said, here is the lovely picture. Feeling great, nothing super exciting or new since I posted yesterday. I am loving being pregnant!

I Will Work Harder On Posting More Often

Well, it does make me feel good to know that people actually read my blog! :) :) :)

But you know what I wish I should have done yesterday and just totally spaced it? I should have written yesterday! I mean, 11-11-11, hello! So, to honor my messing up, here's a picture I was able to catch on my computer yesterday on 11-11-11 at 11:11am.

Scratch that. I guess I didn't put it on my thumb drive like I thought I did. I will work on that one on Monday. P.S. Just learned how to do screen shots on the computer. Let me just say, I'm really loving it. It makes me feel all computer savvy and smart.

Here is what I did write down yesterday that I was going to post, but never got around to it.

I can't believe I am 21 weeks! (I'll try to get Scotty to take a picture of me today so we can post it for you). I never thought that I would get this far. Not that we had any trouble getting pregnant, but I mean, it just seemed like it was so far away to be in the 20's and now, here I am, week 21! I am more than halfway there!!!

So here's some fun things that I have been noticing lately as the baby has gotten bigger:

- I definitely feel her move a LOT more now. Still not a ton, but I am pretty sure I can now tell whenever I feel her, and it's a bit more often than it was a couple weeks ago. I had quite the experience yesterday in the car, haha. Baby must have been somewhere down in my pelvis and right on a nerve because everytime she moved, it would send an electric shock through my abdomen and it tickled! It made me jump, too. Scotty kept giving me weird looks.

-I wish I could sleep on my back, but I can't. I wish I could sleep on my tummy, but that is out of the question. For now, I am stuck sleeping on my sides, with a pillow between my legs, which isn't bad. Are you going to tell anyone, though, if sometimes when I sleep in in the morning, I lay on my back for a little bit? That's not bad, right? I mean, I'm not too far along to make it be a big problem yet. I hope it's ok. I like it.

- For the last couple of nights, I have been waking up to my bottom leg being numb. Or at least coming back to life, which hurts!! I know it's usually normal for legs to fall asleep, but it's just interesting that I've been getting that the last couple nights.

- Orange juice gives me a tummy ache, but I drink it anyway for the Calcium-fortified plusVitamin C. Sugar. Oh the sugar. Sugar and junk food give me a tummy ache but I still eat it! Why do I eat it? Because it is good!!! Because I crave it! But actually, I will have you know that I have been very good about my cravings, and I have eaten very well so far. I only indulge...sometimes. Ok, I indulge a lot. And I regret it everytime, but oh, it tastes so good!

Here are some other fun things that I have done lately:

- I went to Burlington Coat Factory. I found the stroller/carseat travel combo set thing that I really, really want. And it works great for boy and girl. And it looks so comfy, I just want to put a little baby in there!

- I went to my friend Collin Winget's wedding reception last night and saw so many old friends from high school! I am really glad that I have been able to maintain such good friendships with my friends from high school, and that we were able to pick up right where we left off. If I did the November - what-I-am-grateful-for-everyday thing, today I would be grateful that I still have good friends from high school.

- And Scott and I went out to eat last night as well. I ate like...half...of what I normally eat, and I was stuffed. Beyond full. Bulging. I still need to work on training my mind that I can't eat as much as I used to!

-I have been doing some yoga every day for my health class and I must say, I have really been enjoying it! I don't know if it has changed how my body looks (I shouldn't be losing weight anyway), but it is definitely helping how my body feels. It is so relaxing to take some time every night, turn on some soft music, and sit and stretch on the floor. Even after this assignment is over, I think I am going to keep doing it throughout the pregnancy. It makes me feel really good about myself. I love exercising!!

What a fantastic day. And now I am going to do dishes, shower, and work on some homework. And do yoga. And sit inside in my warm house and watch the fall weather outside. Oh, how I love the fall!!!

Some More Pictures

These first few pictures mean a lot to me, especially after Scott and I actually got to go to the DC Temple back in August.

These pictures were taken in December 1985 when my parents were sealed together for all time and eternity in the Washington DC Temple. This was right after my sister Jenn was born.

And now we have Scott and I together at the same temple, one generation later and the next on its way. As you can see, these pictures are very special to me.

We carved our pumpkin a couple days before Halloween! Isn't he cute? The big one is Scott, the medium is me, and the small is our little baby!

My awesome friend Stacey gave me all her old baby clothes. The the first picture is mostly newborn sizes, and the next picture is the 0-3 months. I am so excited and can't wait to dress up my little girl in these clothes!

It's Bob WeHadABabyItsAGirl

Ok, so we haven't had the baby yet, but it is going to be a girl!

Profile 1:

Profile 2: (oh! Isn't she just precious??)

This is the baby's right arm. If you can see, it has her humerus, elbow bending slightly up, and hand and fingers on the end.

Arm and Leg! These are both on the right side. On the arm, hand bends slightly down and fingers curl in. Leg is bent all the way at the knee, with foot and toes at the end.

It's a girl!

Now, I know some of you are probably wondering how in the world you can tell it's a girl from this picture. I know. The tech had kind of a hard time getting a good angle on the baby, not to mention she was apparently "breech" at the time and was probably not going to let us see anything at all if she wanted to! We were lucky to be able to get anything! But we had an experienced tech (who was training the tech doing the ultrasound) and she was very confident that the empty space between the two legs was definitely a girl!

And you guys, if you're wondering what's up with the title, you PLEASE have to see this commercial. Come on, don't tell me you haven't seen it! (And yes, I know the commercial is about a boy. But it's just funny anyway!)

Bob Wehadababyitsaboy

Gender Is...

And the results are in. It's going to be a....

GIRL!!!

I'll scan in the pictures this week and hopefully get those posted here soon!

Kittens and Dreams

Dear Blogger World,

First of all, let me just say that I am using my precious internet quota time at work to tell you all about this crazy dream of mine that I had last night. And let me begin by saying that, well, babycenter.com did warn me that I might have dreams about taking care of baby animals, but I sure didn't think it was actually going to happen!!

So I had a dream last night. Just like I do every other night. But this night, I dreamt that I had my baby - about 3 months early. And as it probably should be, the baby was very tiny and skinny. However, for some unknown reason, I had to be away from home for a few days and didn't even get to see my baby until day 3, probably.

Being the mother, I apparently knew what I had to do to take care of my baby, so I walk into the bedroom and there is my baby sleeping in the crib. However, she's starting to fuss (that's what it was in my dream - a girl) and of course, I just know that it's because she is hungry. So I take her weak, frail body out of the crib and try to get her to latch on. She doesn't even try to suck, but I don't know that. Apparently I am holding her and have a blanket or a shirt over her (because she is so tiny) and I'm thinking I am nursing her but this whole time, she is just sleeping against my chest!

This continued on for a little while, all the while with me getting frustrated that my baby wasn't latching on and nursing. I really wanted to do this! P.S. Nursing is something that I look forward to but am kind of nervous about because I have done a bit of reading and I just want to make sure I do it, right, you know?

Well anyway, turns out my baby was a kitten. That's why it wasn't latching onto me.

Figures.

Classes and Flying

I just started my block class on Wednesday at UVU. It is just Health 1100, but goodness sakes, for being a 7 week class, they feel like they still have to give us the workload of a normal, full semester class. If they have to do that, why can't they just schedule the class for the whole semester? Beats me entirely. Oh well. Now instead of writing just one paper a week, I have about two, maybe even three papers a week that I get to write. Thank goodness it is just health and very easy for me. She is not requiring anything spectacular, just what do you think about this or tell me about yourself sort of things. It's just that she has one due about every class period. And I have class twice a week. I have decided I am going to get as much a head start as I can in this class so I don't have to deal with this and my philosophy papers. Only thing that's holding me back is her lack of getting anything up on Blackboard yet. Apparently I can't do half of my homework without guided notes or something or other only available on Blackboard. Here's to being busy every night of the week now until December!

One thing that is exciting about that, though, is that it will make time go by fast! And that means baby will grow! And then once the semester is over, I will graduate (with an Associates) and it will be Christmas season. After that, there will only be 2 1/2 more months until baby comes! This is going to go by fast!

Scotty went on his introductory flight on Wednesday as well!! He got to officially log his first hour (well... 0.8 hrs) flying! He got 50 min up in the plane with an instructor that pretty much let him fly the whole time! This was Scotty's first time flying a plane, and he did really good! He even got to do a really nice banking turn. His instructor apparently was very impressed. He also got to bring it in to land, but didn't do the actual landing. Oh, he also got to experience some pretty scary maneuvers, including stalls!! His instructor did these, but Scotty told me about the G-forces and yikes! That would be so scary! But Scotty loves it so much and he just can't wait until he can start his official flight training next semester!

Now I am going to get back to cleaning up the house and getting ready for the day. And doing dishes. And laundry. Oh, that never-ending cycle of dishes and laundry!

Hope you guys are having a good Saturday. And Go Cougs!!

18 Weeks

I figure it's been a few days since I have posted, so I should probably post about something.

Problem is, I don't really know what to post about.

So here's my post. Enjoy!

You Know How Some People Do Wordless Wednesdays?

How about a Wordless Saturday?

(This significance of this picture? This was the day we found out I was pregnant. I look pretty tired, don't I?)

(Domino Fun on Conference Sunday - it's the Provo Tabernacle Temple!)

(And the Salt Lake Temple!)

(Not my best picture, but the Two Nancy's - Me and my Namesake. I love you Grandma!!)

Enjoy!

Baby Bump! (Finally - Some Pictures!)

This is at 10 weeks and just a few days before my first appointment!

Although the ultrasound measured kind of small, basic baby size at 10 weeks is about that of a kumquat.

Here I am now, six weeks later and looking happy as ever! This is 16 weeks and baby is roughly the size of a large avocado.

P.S. PLEASE forgive my amateur editing skills. I really need to take a few lessons from somebody who knows what they're doing with putting pictures side-by-side.

But I am 16 weeks and almost half way there!! Just four more weeks - crazy!