36 weeks

Thanks to my mom who took these pictures while she was here visiting a few weeks ago. Man, it was awesome to have her here. I love her and miss so much. She helped me with so many things and she is just the best.

how far along: 36 weeks

total weight gain: 30 pounds

maternity clothes: Yep, and I'm getting real sick of them.

miss anything: Yes, lately I've really been wanting a steak cooked medium. We went to Texas Roadhouse a week ago and I had to settle for some chicken critters. I know where I'm going in a month.

movement: Yes, I love feeling her move, it never gets old. A new thing is feeling her hiccups, love it!

food cravings: Well, besides a good steak, just chocolate still.

anything make you quesy or sick: Just some smells and if I don't eat regularly.

labor signs: Just Braxton Hicks contractions when I'm walking a lot.

happy or moody: I'm fine, not overly happy, but dealing with it. :)

looking forward to: Not feeling so guilty when I don't eat very healthy. I always feel bad when I don't get enough vegetables and eat too many treats. It'll be nice to not stress about that. It'll be nice to sleep on my stomach again. I can't wait to see Jacoby and Hallie together for the first time.

aches and pains: My sciatic nerve has been making me really uncomfortable.

symptoms: I still have quite a bit of energy, just getting anxious.

3D ultrasound

I was so excited to go in for the 3D ultrasound this week. I thought Jacoby's was fun, but they only did one picture. They were so nice and spent a lot of time with me really trying to get some good shots of her sweet face. In the beginning she was holding onto her foot and had it up by her face so you couldn't see her very well. We finally got her to put it down and they got these really great pictures. It was so fun to actually be able to see what she might look like. She looks like she has some lips, which she probably gets from her dad. They printed off about 20 pictures for me and I said, "Wow, that is a lot of pictures, thank you." She said, "Yeah, why don't you fold them up so that noone feels bad that you got so many." I thought that was really nice of them to try and get some good pictures for me. I also got a DVD of the whole ultrasound. We're so grateful that she's growing the way that she should and is doing well. We can't wait to meet her in 10 weeks!

29 weeks

ultrasound picture at about 5 months
Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks: Now at 29 weeks:

Jacoby took this picture. It took forever for him to get this one, and I don't even like it but oh well. He thought he was pretty important.

I thought it was time I did a little update on how my pregnancy is going. Mainly just for myself and maybe my mom and sisters to see some pictures. We're getting so excited to have our little girl and have been getting a few things ready. We brought back a bunch of baby stuff at Christmas that we had left in Idaho. My grandparents were able to bring some bigger items, which we appreciated so much. I've been working on a few projects for her: blankets, burp cloths, bibs, her quilt for her room, and some headbands. We've already decided on her name, Hallie Sue. Sue is after Tyler's Grandma Sue who passed away and it sounds great with Hallie we think. Tyler and I have loved it since we were expecting Jacoby, so we are pretty set on it and I've already started monogramming things. :) Jacoby talks about her a lot and doesn't know why she can't come out now. He's going to be a great helper to me, he's very sweet and caring with babies.

Here's a list I want to update occasionally throughout my pregnancy:

how far along: 29 weeks on Tuesday

total weight gain: 22 pounds (oh boy)

maternity clothes: That is all I can wear now, and even my long stretchy shirts are starting to show my big belly at the bottom, and that isn't attractive.

told family and friends: Yes, we told at 16 weeks.

miss anything: Yes, I miss hot baths, cookie dough, my regular clothes, painting my toes comfortably, and sleeping on my stomach.

movement: I feel her moving all the time. I can feel her little bum or a knee staying in one place too. Feeling her move all day makes me so happy. Tyler teases me for always having my hand on my stomach.

food cravings: Not really, just a lot of chocolate, but that isn't exclusive to my pregnancy I don't think. :)

anything make you quesy or sick: If I don't eat regularly I get really sick and throw up.

Have you started to show yet: Oh yeah, I think it was very obvious at 4 1/2 months.

labor signs: nope

belly button in or out: Definitely out, but I already had and outie so now it's just really pushed out and weird. :)

happy or moody: Mostly happy, I'm feeling good right now.

looking forward to: seeing Jacoby and Hallie together, taking naps with her, and dressing her up
aches and pains: Yes, I do get those ligament pains pretty often.

symptoms: quite a bit of energy still, hard to get out of bed in the morning, and hungry

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We enjoyed a great trip home for Christmas and were sad to leave. We had so much fun with our families and were so happy we could go home for Christmastime. We did so many fun things that I can hardly remember everything.

Grandma Debie helped Jacoby make some donut snowmen. He loved it and felt so important. Jacoby's elf, Bernard, came to meet him from the North Pole. He did all sorts of funny things. (Bernard is an elf's name on The Santa Claus.) Since Jacoby is such a boy and likes to talk about bums and undies, he thought this was extra funny. Other things Bernard did: drew faces on a photo of Jacoby, held baby Jesus in a nativity, wore the reindeer glasses, drove the pirate ship, had a snowball fight with his cousins' elves, and hung from a light. I think he's really scary looking, but it was fun to do and Jacoby loved it!

We went bowling a couples times and Jacoby even managed to get a few spares.

Had lunch with my mom and the "big girls" for Janet's favorite things. My parents spoil us with gifts of some of my mom's favorite things. It is always a blast.

Our bags full of goodies.

Jacoby was excited about his dinosaur pajamas and so excited for Christmas the next morning. This year was so fun with him!

I just love to look at him when he's sleeping. Too bad he doesn't stay like this for long, he is not a good sleeper. Ha.

Rudolph sucker from his stocking.

Tyler and Jacoby on Christmas afternoon. Jacoby was excited that Santa brought him two Nerf guns so that him and his dad can shoot each other.

Oh he loved opening presents this year.

Jacoby on his Wiggle Car. He loved wearing this bathrobe around. They acted out the nativity and he was a shepherd and wore this robe and never wanted to take it off.

We're so grateful for this Christmas season and the opportunity we have to think of Jesus. I feel so blessed for all the I've been given. Spending time with family at Christmastime is what it's all about and it makes me realize what is most important in life. I'm grateful for all of the wonderful gifts we received. We can't believe that next Christmas we will have a four-year-old and an eight-month-old baby girl. We couldn't be happier!

a little break and Thanksgiving

Tyler just finished his first semester and had a couple wonderful weeks off.  We just loved having him home.  We did some fun things like golfing, eating good food, and a little shopping.  It was so fun to take Jacoby miniature golfing because he loves golf right now.  He didn’t want to follow all the rules and kept picking up the ball and hitting it from wherever and then taking it to the next place before he made it in the hole, but he was thrilled.  We just had to bite our tongues and let him kind of do his own thing.  Tyler also helped me so much around the house and cleaned and got out Christmas decorations for me.   We love him and miss him when he is so busy with school.  He works so hard and does so well and I’m so proud of him!

We were also able to go home for a week.  It was GREAT!  I love home more than anything.  I think whenever we go home we realize how blessed we are to have the wonderful families that we have.  It is hard being away from all of them, but it means so much to us that whenever we come visit, they all take time to spend time with us and care about us.  We did some fun things together, but really just enjoyed Thanksgiving with them and relaxed. 

Here is Jacoby helping Grandma Debie make some turkeys.  I was impressed at how good of a job he did. 

There are a lot of things I didn’t take pictures of while we were home, but one thing my mom, sisters, and I were able to do is go to The Help.  We all read the book, and have been waiting to go to it together.  Thanks for waiting for me guys.  It was SO good, I absolutely loved it.  I really enjoyed the book and the movie followed it so well. 

I’m so excited for Christmastime; it’s the most wonderful time of the year!  I love the holidays and being with family!

Eden and Steph Come Visit

This post is nearly a month overdue, but I still wanted to post about it.  Steph and Eden were able to come visit us last month and we had such a good time.  Some of the things we did so I don’t forget: lots of shopping for our babies, swimming in the hot tub, playing in the sand, made skeleton shirts for Halloween, picnic at Anthem, park, school carnival, Chick-Fil-A, trick-or-treating, The Children’s Museum, Red Lobster, baked pears, and fabric key chains.

Shorts and dresses on Halloween? What?!

Yes, our hearts are on the wrong side.  We knew that before we started, but because of how we got the template, that is what happened.  See my little bow on my baby girl skeleton?

Isn’t Eden’s wig rad?  Steph made it.  It is really awesome, but I kept telling people, “You think that hair is cool, you have to see her real hair.  It’s so adorable and naturally curly.”

We almost didn’t make it to The Children’s Museum because they were closed for half the time they were here.  The kids had such a great time and spent a long time there.

That is a pretty cute cashier.

Red Lobster…oh baby!

These two are such little buddies.  I think you can definitely tell they are related, what do you think?  I’m so excited for these two to have siblings; Eden will be a great big sister and Jacoby will be a great big brother.  Thanks for coming to see us Steph and Eden!  We love you so much and miss you guys like crazy.

It's a...

We just found out that we're having a GIRL! We are so excited. Tyler has always thought it was a girl and I wasn't too sure, but since he seemed so sure of it, I kind of thought it was a girl too. Jacoby is so excited and always talks about our baby girl. We did't have a preference on what it was, either way would be fun. Yes, I have already been shopping and working on projects. I'm not used to shopping for a girl, it is so different, but I love it. We're so grateful that she looks healthy in there. Thanks for all the nice comments from everyone. We have so many great friends and family!

oh, baby

I'm so happy to announce that we're having a baby! It has been killing me to wait this long. I'm glad that things are going well now and hope they will continue to. I'm due April 3rd, so 5 1/2 months away. We have a lot of family with birthdays in April, so it will be a great month to be born. The baby is even due on my brother-in-law's birthday. I'm grateful for the opportunity we have to be parents again. We are so excited for Jacoby to have a little brother or sister. He is excited and talks about the baby in my tummy and how he sees the baby at the doctor's. He will be such a good helper to me when the baby comes.
While my family was here my mom took some pictures of me to post. Thanks, Mom!

I'm excited to be pregnant at the same time as Steph, too! She is just two months ahead of me. Look how cute she is! She is having a little boy.

We will find out pretty soon what we are having and I will post as soon as I find out!

family, isn’t it great to love people this much

I was so excited to have my family come visit last week.  Their flight was delayed six hours because of the snow, but we were finally able to see them Friday.  It was so great to see them and the time just flew by.  Here are some of the things we did:I have been wanting a runner to go under my TV instead of the dish towel that was currently there.  Real classy.  My mom made this for me and I love it.  I had seen a quilt like this on Pinterest. I love the pleated edge.  Thanks, Mom, you are so talented!

She brought all the stuff to make dresden plates.  It went perfectly under my chunky candlestick.  I’m excited to make more. 

Jacoby was so excited to see Grandpa Mike.  He loved all the attention he got that week.  On Friday we met at a really fun park.  Jacoby and Annie had fun riding on the train there.  Then we hit the outlets afterword.

As much as Jacoby loves to play football, he can sure throw it, but catching it is pretty disastrous.  He was so funny to watch. 

Aunt Olivia was being silly looking through our pictures and kept saying wrong names of the people in the pictures to make Jacoby laugh. 

My dad is just the best.  He is always doing so many thoughtful things for everyone.  I love being around him.  He is such a great example to me.

A place that we all love to go, In-N-Out.  Yummy!

We love croquet, so we went to the park to play a game.  The balls went lots further than normal because of the short, crunchy grass.  Have a mentioned I miss the grass at home? Ha ha.  That is kind of a funny thing to miss.

Jacoby loved having someone to sleep on the trundle next to him. 

I’m really glad Thomas was able to come for the weekend.  It was fun to have him see where we live.  I wish him and my dad could’ve stayed longer, and with the delay in their flight, it made the weekend way too short.

Olivia was craving chocolate-dipped bananas so she made a bunch.  We had quite a few for breakfast over the next couple days. 

Since Annie and Olivia had to miss some school, Annie had to make these yummy cookies for her cooking class and take pictures to show her teacher.  They were so yummy with these mini Reeses Pieces.  We spent lots of time swimming, eating good food, and playing games.  My dad grilled some yummy salmon for dinner one night too. 

We went shopping a lot and found some fun things.  By the end of the week, Jacoby was pretty sick of it.  Dangit!

Ice cream from Ikea.  They had a little play area for Jacoby so we were able to really roam around Ikea and take our sweet time while Jacoby had a blast.

We had a yummy lunch at Olive Garden and pigged out. 

I am so grateful my family was able to come visit for a week.  I feel so blessed to have been born into this wonderful family.  I love them all and miss seeing them so often.  I had such a great time shopping, eating good food, baking, working and projects, and watching movies.  You guys are the best.  I love you so much!