22 Weeks

This pregnancy has been a lot different than Ella's. With Ella it was easy, not much in the way of morning sickness nor aches and pains. The pregnancy felt easy even though there were complications with it. This pregnancy however has been an up hill battle. The morning sickness was so bad the first 2-3 months I didn't go anywhere, not out, not to church. Nothing. I sat in bed all day trying to eat food, not vomit and stay alive. I finally figured out that dairy products were making the morning sickness worse. I cut them out and things got better. Now in the middle (or end?) of my second trimester I have been dealing with very strong and painful Braxton Hicks and hypo tension. I must admit that sometimes I am not very positive about it all. Don't get me wrong. I am SO excited to be pregnant. The fact that there is a baby growing within my womb is so thrilling and wonderful I get emotional just thinking about it. But I do tend to complain...probably more than I should.

Today however has been a great day! My blood pressure finally got up to 101/51 so I had no dizziness or fainting spells. I haven't had any desire to be sick. I was able to clean up the house and make pizza for dinner (non dairy for me) and now Ella is going to bed early! So I thought I would share for all those who do not live nearby the classic "look how big my belly is getting" photo. I have never been very good at taking these. Even with Ella I think I only have two. This photo was hard to get since I had a 3 year old crawling around the floor trying to use me as a human bridge, but here I am at 22 Weeks.



I took this photo many times because I think that it makes me look smaller than I am. I have decided it's because I took this photo in the morning. I am always bigger at night after I have been eating all day. :)

We really had a great day. The Disney Princess soundtrack was played at least 3-4 times. There was a lot of dancing, swimming, and reading. Ella decided my cookbooks were interesting to look at. This was a sweet picture I took before she twisted up her face and said, "eww yuck!" She didn't think that lobster looked very delectable.

Who wants to do it with me?

This would be so awesome. It is expensive, so I guess I will be saving for awhile. I think it is really great that these types of classes are offered! Looks like a lot of fun. :)

Memorial Day Picnic

Every year Charles family has a picnic at the park. It is one of the few times (or only) per year that we all get to see each other. This was our first one. I loved meeting so many wonderful new people! The food is delicious. I mean, seriously, if you have never had kalua pig (I hadn't)go and try some...now. SO GOOD!

We stopped at Rose Hills Memorial Park before going to the picnic. It was nice to spend time cleaning off the stones and remembering those who have passed on. I was able to tell Charles about my side of the family and showed Ella the marker of my great Grandmother after who I am named.

Hope you had a marvelous Memorial day and were able to remember those who have served our country!

Stake Fair

The church in our area puts on an incredible fair every year. There are pony rides, train rides, inflatable jump houses, slides, a slip and slide, and a fair swing ride. Needless to say it is a popular event. There are hot dogs and chili, chips, cotton candy, snow cones, and popcorn. Did I mention all this is FREE! Yep, pretty awesome. Ella LOVED it. She wanted to stay forever.


This was right before the horse got spooked and jumped around taking off. Yep. Exciting...

Even though Ella had talked about going to the fair and riding the pony for the last 24 hours she was a bit nervous to actually do anything when we arrived. I was really proud of her for overcoming her fear and trying everything.

This is my favorite picture of the day.

Utah May 2012

I am pretty late in posting this seeing as we have been back for a few weeks. What can I say about Utah. It is beautiful, not as crowded as LA, gas was a dollar cheaper than LA, and the air smells nice. (at least by my parents house) It is also a LONG way from my house. The drive wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Ella is an excellent traveler. She loves to look out the window and see what we are passing by. She sleeps and for the most part entertains herself. Ella and I have made this trek at least four times since we moved here. I like to think that I am really getting good at preparing. I put snacks in individual baggies so I can hand them back as she asks for them. At each stop I refill both our water bottles and re organize her stuff. We have a pretty good system. down. I am assuming that will all change as soon as baby brother arrives. :)
Going to Utah is so refreshing for me. This is the view from my parents front door...

Breath taking!

They have all sorts of hikes that start from their neighborhood and go into the hills. I love walking around and hearing birds, kids, and the wind in the trees. When we walk around our "neighborhood" all we hear are cars and sirens. I couldn't get enough of the fresh air smells. Plus it is spring so everything was in bloom!

Ella had a lot of fun helping Grandma and Grandpa in the garden, especially with watering! :)

One of my favorite outings was to Temple Square. It has been a year since Ella last went. I was amazed at how much she could understand about the pioneers and the Temple. We looked at the statue of the pioneers pulling a handcart. I asked her is she would be able to fit everythign in her room in the handcart. She looked at it, thought for a moment and said..."no". I then told her that the pioneers could only take waht fit in the handcart. I told her they didnt have a lot of toys if any and they had to pull the hand cart for a long time. She understood that would be very difficult.

When we got to the Temple she was SO excited. As soon as she saw the temple she started singing "I Love to see the Temple" She wanted to go inside so I explained she had to wait till she was 12 to be able to go in. She kept sasying how beautiful the brides were and how she was also going to get married in the temple. It was a sweet moment for me to see her reverence e and respect for the temple at her young age.

We also went to the church history museum. She remembered that she could "fish" and couldn't wait to do it again!

I love to see my siblings. Elizabeth has an awesome new job so I went to visit her at work. She is so beautiful!

We also were able to see Jacob but for some reason I don't have any pictures (sorry Jacob) It was a fantastic trip. Cant wait to see my Mom and Elizabeth again in a few weeks!

Surprise!

This week has been full of them. Luckily the surprises are good ones which I am springing on others. Here is one for you...

We are having a baby!

I am in my eighteenth week. The baby is due October 17. And yes, we are SO very excited to be welcoming this little tyke into our home!!

but wait... there's more :)

I have been having a lot of fun telling everyone. I was the only one who went to the ultrasound so I got to tell Charles. :) I may do it this way for each baby, its fun. I bought a little star wars shirt and wrapped it up with the ultra sound pictures. I had him first guess form the pictures what the gender was, then I let him see the shirt. He is REALLY happy to be having a son. We then explained to Ella that she was going to have a brother! (She still thinks
she is getting a brother and a sister...)

The next day I made strawberry lemon cupcakes and filled them with a green lemon curd. We brought them over to my in-laws and let them discover the secret inside. It was fun to see the expressions.

I then traveled to Utah and sprung the news (of the gender) on my parents and (the news of both the pregnancy and gender) grandparents. I should probably explain at this point that our parents and family knew I was pregnant. No one knew the gender till last weekend. We are just now announcing to all friends and extended family.

I loved this announcement because it was so candid. I was taking a family photo and said to Ella, "say, I am having a baby brother!" It took a second and then this...

My brother Jacob came home tonight and so I gave him the box pictured above.

As you can see I have had way to much fun with this. So, there you have it... Surprise!

Overheard

As I put on my earrings...

Ella: Hey mom could I listen to your earrings?

I never thought about it like that...