I'm bored

Today I'm 22weeks 2days. I feel the little guy kick and move all the time and sometimes Dustin can feel him too. Usually what happens is he kicks really well for a few minutes, I tell Dustin and he rushes to put his hand on my stomache and then baby boy doesn't move again for 20 minutes. I'm starting to recognize the difference in feet kicks and arm movements and be able to tell the position of the baby.

Alex has definitely perked up at the thought of a baby brother. He talks to my tummy and always asks how big the baby is now. I have to tell him that he doesn't grow much day to day but comparing it to the size he's supposed to be when he's born helps Alex see the difference.

Dustin is at High Adventure camp with his dad and brother this week. The in laws bought an enclosed trailer in St. George so he's driving it up to his dad as part of the trip. He asked if I wanted to go but I had to decline. Camping with a group of 18 males isn't my idea of fun, even if I wasn't still on bedrest.

Yes, I'm still on bedrest. While I'm loving being home, I'm not loving not doing the things I want to do. We've got new shelves in the garage that I want to organize to make room for the other new shelves that aren't put together yet but I can't. I have been able to do some crafts that I've been putting off. I've made a Halloween wreath, a piece quilt top for baby boy's quilt, crocheted a baby blanket for a friend and figured out how to work the sewing machine my mother in law gave me. The quilt looks fantastic and now I just need to make curtains to match. That's the problem with custom stuff. If I bought a crib set, it would have the matching curtains, bumper, crib skirt, etc. Making the quilt means, unless I want to make all the other stuff to match, I'll have to try to find solid color sheets, bumper, etc. Since I'm barely proficient with sewing straight lines, I'm going for the curtains and then solids for everything else.

However the good news is Alex is getting baptized on November 6th! Anyone that wants to come is invited and we're having a family lunch beforehand. If you're planning on coming, let me know so we have enough food for everyone. We've been reading the Book of Mormon and happened to get to Alma chapters 10-14 the last couple of days. Some great chapters to help explain the beliefs of the Church. We quiz Alex on what we're reading as we're going through to help him understand the scriptures (except for the Isaiah stuff-we don't understand that either) and he's had some really great questions and observations about the Resurrection, judgement day, and how we're different from other churches. It's been awesome to watch.

News!

We have some exciting news! We are expecting a Valentine's baby! I'm 15 weeks along and everything is going wonderfully so I thought it would be ok to officially announce it.

I'm currently on bed rest for a small placental tear but its been lightened to "princess" bed rest as my perinatalogist put it. I can't work, cook or clean but Dustin says I can shop :). Really it's not a lot different from the official bed rest I was on last week but I can leave the house now.

Some more good news is the baby gave us a full moon shot at the ultrasound and we learned the baby is a BOY! Alex is getting a little brother and is kind of ambivalent about it right now. We'll see if he perks up as it gets closer.

And the last piece of good news is we found a very nice, very reasonably priced SUV for Dustin to drive. It has all the perks he wanted and it was a price I could live with. Everyone wins!

Very exciting week for us!

And for those who want baby pictures, they're at the end so those that don't want to see them won't.

Its a hot hot summer

Its the last week of July now and its hot. Its Las Vegas and supposed to be hot but you kind of forget it in December when its 40 degrees in the morning. Or even colder some days. But then May comes and it creeps into the 90's and you start realizing just how hot 100 is. Or 102 or 108. We might hit 110 next week.



Thats dang hot. I'm grateful for the ugly tile floors as they help keep the house cool and the ac bill down. I want carpet in December but then I dream of a power bill over $200 in 6 months and I'm suddenly ok with ugly tile floors.



Not that I wouldn't change them if we actually owned the house mind you.

Now for your viewing pleasure...Alex and Dustin made this video about two weeks ago. Alex is going through a Michael Jackson phase and...let's just watch...





So, in the 6 months since the last post, Dustin made captain at work! Alex tried kneeboarding! I learned how to can strawberry jam! (Its a lot easier than I thought and I'm excited for peaches to go on sale so I can try those)



Dustin made it through a 9 credit semester in the spring. I'm still plugging through my classes but I should only have one more semester if I don't lose all my steam. I'm soooo tired of school but with the end in sight, its a little easier to keep moving.



We spent the last weekend of June up at Bear Lake, Idaho for the annual family reunion. Alex put on a magic show for the family skit but I had to tell him he couldn't charge people for watching. Shaking family down for money isn't really the best way to get them to like you.

Is it October yet?

The Holidays

After my last depressing post, this one will hopefully be a little more upbeat.

We spent the weekend after Christmas visiting the family in Brigham City. We drove up on Sunday for the family Christmas party. Alex asked the whole way if there would be snow and there was about 6 or so inches to make him happy. Some of the grandkids went sledding on Monday morning and I offered to be the photographer. I'm not about stuff that can get me injured as I almost invariably get injured. Alex was a pro in no time and luckily we were able to scrap together enough cold weather gear for him to insist he wasn't cold at all. There was a little jump that he aimed for every stinking time and got some good height a few times.

The Christmas party was fun. Pizza buffet were the kids could play games and the adults could chat followed by presents back at the in laws house. I have to say I'm most excited about my new sheet cake pan so I can make a chocolate sheet cake I've seen for years. Pioneer Woman, you have the best recipes!

Tuesday, Dustin and I went to Tia Pan Trading with his sister along with Smith & Edwards. If you've never been to Smith & Edwards, you really should go at least once. Its huge and everything is there. Kind of like a Wal-mart for camping and outdoor activities. I drooled over the kitchen section but with my trip to Tai Pan Trading coming up, I refrained from buying anything.

There's a few things I want to say about TPT. First, there is not one where we live. The closest is 2 hours away and the cost of gas defeats any money-saving you might do there unless you were already going to that town. Second, I could spend all day wandering the aisles. I must have walked through the Christmas clearance section 6 times trying to decide what I wanted and seeing new things every time I did. Third, its a really boring store for a husband and little boy to spend all day in. He had already been patient at Smith & Edwards so Alex was reaching his shopping limit. But, he was pretty patient and only asked every 4 minutes if we were done instead of every 2.

We came home on Wednesday and enjoyed New Year's Eve at home. My parents came over for dinner but were gone by 9pm so we played Monopoly with Alex (and he kicked our butts) and watched the fireworks at midnight. The next morning, Alex slept until 10. The staying up til midnight thing might be nice for those weekends when he wants to be up and playing at 6am on Saturday.

I would have to say it was a pretty nice Christmas season. Santa brought us a Wii so we got a Wii Fit to help with our new goals. I found a china hutch to repaint to display my growing collection of dishes and pitchers. I'll post about that when its done.

All in all, I'm very thankful for all of our blessings. This next year has to be better than the last one, right?