BIG Baby

It's official.

This baby in my belly is huge.

The doctor confirmed this at my appointment last Thursday. I was 29 weeks along last week, but after measuring me, the doctor said that she was measuring 31 weeks. He estimated that she already weighed about 4 pounds! That made me feel a little bit better about the 22 pounds I had gained thus far. I had just passed my glucose test a few weeks before that so the doctor knew that I was not diabetic. He said that the only explanation was her daddy's genes... Have I mentioned that Alec was 11 lbs. 3 oz. when he was born? I was no skinny minnie either. I weighed in at 8 lbs. 15 oz.

We asked the doctor if this meant that she could come early and he said that it was very likely. This made me MORE than happy. I would love to be able to have a little bit more recovery time before fall semester starts.

Needless to say, this made Alec slightly nervous and we ended up having a very productive weekend because of it. He wants to make sure everything is done well before she gets here.

The Baby Room

Alec and I have been planning on changing the baby room for what feels like forever and we were FINALLY able to paint last weekend!

That room had been used as a "junk" room. It has taken us a while to get rid of/find other places in our small apartment for the junk.

Here are some before pictures. This was after we had started our organization project so the room looks like a disaster, but you get the idea.

Here is the infamous closet...

Like I said, the "junk" room.

This is the box spring and mattress that came with the apartment. You can see the blue/grey walls in the background. They didn't quite work with the color palette I had in mind.

Here's what we have done to the room so far:

1. Took about 4 large garbage bags of stuff to good will. That felt good.
2. Organized the closet... that was probably the biggest task.
3. Organized our closed so we could fit the clothes in the dresser in our room.
4. Bought bed raisers so that we could store some stuff under our bed. Alec had fun putting those on by himself since I am no help when it comes to heavy lifting.
   
5. Disassembled the bed that came with the apartment. Alec and I moved the mattress into our land-lady's house and got rid of the box spring for her.
   
6. Took down the EXTREMELY wobbly shelf.
7. Made a frame for decoration on one of the walls.
   
8. Patches the walls.
9. Cleaned like crazy!!
   
10. PAINTED!!
11. Put up some corner shelves.

You can see all of the tests we did on the wall before we chose the color. We went through 4 different samples before we could make a decision!

Here's Alec painting. I did most of the trim, but Alec really did most of the work. I was a good cheerleader though. :)

And here are the walls with the fresh coat of paint!

We had to keep the walls pretty neutral, but we were very pleased with the color.

You can see the crib on the right and the changing table on the left (Thanks Cameron and Melissa!). The dresser will be moved out in a couple of weeks. We were pretty proud of the job we did. I love how much warmer the color is in there. I will post more pictures as we finish more of the room!

We are so close to being done I can taste it! I feel like I'll be ready for this baby as soon as the room is done.

A Blunder at the Gas Station

On our way down to California last weekend, we had to stop a little bit more than usual to appease my aching legs and whining bladder. Our last stop before we arrived in Phelan was a gas station in Barstow. I used the ladies room, and then I remembered that I forgot to pack my hair brush. We grabbed one along with some snack I was craving and then stood in line to be rung up.

The man at the register seemed nice enough, but he wasn't very chatty with any of the other customers. He looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's, and he had a buzzed head and some tattoos. When we finally got up to the register, he asked "How long do you have left?" I was slightly puzzled by this question. I looked at Alec who looked equally puzzled. We both looked a little ragged since we had been in the car for close to 9 hours, so I thought that maybe he was asking how long we had left before we arrived at our destination. I answered, "About 45 minutes." The look on his face told me my answer was wrong. Then he asked "Do you know what you're having?" Then I understood and started laughing inside! He didn't seem like the type of person who would be interested in my pregnancy. I told him we were having a girl and he proceeded to talk about the 2 boys he has at home and how he always wanted a little girl.

We paid for my brush and snack and said goodbye as we walked out the door. As soon as we were outside, I burst into laughter! We talked about what the man must have been thinking when I answered his question with "About 45 minutes." Oh, ya know, we were just on our way to the hospital to deliver, but I forgot my hairbrush and needed a little snack!

I'm still not used to everyone being able to tell that I'm pregnant by looking at me. I better get used to it before I have another one of these blunders at some other gas station.

A Little Update

It has been a while since I last posted anything. We have been so busy lately! I thought I would give a little update on our lives.

For Easter, we visited Lauren, Jeff, and Ava at their new home in Idaho Falls! It's such a beautiful town-home. It made Alec and I dream for the day when we can move in to a bigger place. We LOVE our apartment now, but it's getting pretty cramped with all of the baby stuff. Anyway, we had a great time with them in Idaho! My parents and younger brothers came up as well, and Alec and I had our first meal at Famous Dave's. If you have not been there, you NEED to. Just make sure you're not planning on eating anything for at least 5 hours after you partake of their feast. :)

Alec and I drove down to California last weekend. We were able to spend time with family for Mother's Day. On Saturday, we went to our niece's baseball games. It was so fun to watch them! Our skin, however, did not like it so much. Both Alec and I left with nice sunburns. We have been in this Utah winter for far too long! On Sunday, we had a delicious Mother's Day dinner at the Pratt's. Then on Monday, we went to my brother, Cameron's spring choir concert. He did such a great job! Also on Monday, we picked up a TON of baby stuff from Alec's brother and sister-in-law! I mean a TON! We had to borrow Alec's parents' truck just to get it all up here! They were so wonderful to let us use all of their gear! We now have: a crib, changing table, baby swing, car seat, stroller, 2 bases for the car seat, an exer-saucer, a bunch of clothes, and a few other small things here and there. We were so excited to get it all home. Getting it in the house, however, was difficult for Alec since I wasn't really any help with the big stuff...

The baby is doing well! My belly is just getting bigger by the day! Sometimes I feel like there is no way that I can get any bigger than I already am, and then I remember that I still have 3 months to go... I'm pretty sure that by the end, I will look like there is a watermelon sticking straight out of me. This little girls definitely likes to kick quite a bit and she's only getting stronger. The other day, we were listening to the Noteworthy CD in the car and she started violently kicking me in the ribs! We would like to think that it was because she recognized my voice singing on the CD. ;) We can't wait to meet this little one!

Other than our recent travels, Alec and I have been working full-time and organizing and reorganizing our apartment. Sometimes, I feel like that could be a full-time job by itself! We're excited for summer to get here!

Our Little Kicker

Lately I have felt like I have a mini-kicker in my belly. Every time I eat a meal, the little one rewards me with a few love kicks. She is actually quite reliable. She is already showing her attitude as well. She'll start kicking a lot and then as soon as Alec puts his hand on my belly to try to feel her kick, she stops. I think that she will like playing hide-and-seek and peek-a-boo when she's a little older.

The semester is almost over for Alec and I and we couldn't be happier! We cannot wait to have a little break from classes and we most definitely CANNOT wait to save some money again. I'll be working full time and working on my Independent Study class i signed up for and Alec will be working and taking a few classes.

As for our summer plans, they are as follows:

1. Finish the baby room.
2. Go to the Tuacahn to see Little Mermaid.
3. Have as many picnics/BBQ's as we can.
4. Visit the Delatore's in Idaho Falls.
5. Go to the Pratt cabin at Navajo Lake.
6. Go to California to visit family and see my little brother's Spring Concert.
7. Go to California again for our mini-kicker's baby shower.

And my last summer plan is to have this baby! I would love it if she came on the early side. I don't want to have to go through very much of August with this furnace inside of me. :)

Here is our favorite picture of the little one from her 18 week photo shoot a few weeks ago. It's pretty blurry. I will have better pictures to post next week when we get another ultrasound.

2 Due Dates

That's right... I now have 2 due dates. We went to the doctor today, and we talked a little bit about the ultrasound and how it puts my due date at August 17th. Then he said that we are still going to keep an earlier due date of August 8th because ultrasounds can be off by as much as 10 days!

So I now have 2 due dates that are 9 days apart. He still says that I'm measuring big so he doesn't want to rule out that I'm further along than the ultrasound says. All I can do is chuckle. I know our baby girl will come when she wants to and there isn't anything my doctor, the ultrasound tech, or I can do!

On a happier note, I'm half-way done with my pregnancy! I'm slightly confused because I thought I was 19 weeks along, but then the doctor said I'm 20 weeks and the nurse congratulated me for being half-way done. haha! If there is one thing that this pregnancy has taught me, it is to go with the flow. :)

Jeans

I started cleaning out the spare bedroom (the junk room should be the real title) the other day and I found an old pair of jeans. I LOVED those jeans. They were the kind of jeans that just make you feel really good.

I unfolded them and noticed how tiny they looked. They looked especially small compared to the jeggings and stretchy jeans I have been wearing for the past month. I realized it had been a really long time since I last wore them. I believe I bought these jeans while I was here at college and wore them around the time Alec got home from his mission. They were my trusty pair of jeans. I don't know if they became buried under other clothes for a while after that or what, but I don't think I wore them much after that time.

I decided to try them on... Big mistake.

Normally, not fitting into old jeans would motivate me to go work out right then and there, but with the knowledge of where my waistline will be going in the next 4 months, I just decided to make these my goal jeans for after I have the baby. This will definitely take some time, but one day, those jeans will by my trusty pair again.