Halloween

Halloween was simple but fun this year. Some of us dressed up at work and that was a good time. I didn't really make too much of a costume, but one of my coworkers let me borrow her vampire makeup which really made the look! I think we look pretty scary.

I can't believe how huge I look in that last picture! That is me at 26 weeks. I feel like I am getting bigger expontentially! Hard to believe I still have three months of growing to do!

Friday night James and I swung by the "Trunk or Treat" at church and got to see all the cute little kiddo costumes. I'm amazed at how creative so many of them were!

On actual Halloween we got candy and waited for trick or treaters to come by while we were working on our projects/homework. We did not even get one trick or treater! Oh well, maybe next year.

Weekend in Aggieland

We had a really great weekend. We arrived in College Station Friday evening and visited with James' brother Nathan and his wife Lesley. The next morning we went to Northgate to go shopping in some of the campus bookstores. I got a new A&M t-shirt that fits over my pregnant belly and we got a few Aggie outfits for the baby. They had soooo many cute things! Of course they were overpriced but I had to get at least something for the little guy. The best part of the outfit-it says "Aggies" on the bottom!

Then we walked around campus and I got to reminisce over all the places I used to go when I went to school there. I absolutely LOVE College Station and the A&M campus. It is beautiful, the weather is great, and overall it is just a pleasant place to live. The campus is pretty big so even though I was wearing tennis shoes I ended up getting tired really fast while we were walking around. I haven't done that much walking since I've been "more" pregnant and I can't believe how quickly I got tired! I had to sit down and rest a few times and my feet were killing me. I am starting to get a tad bit of the "swollen feet" pregnancy stuff. Not too excited about that but I'm hoping that I don't get "Shreck feet," as someone so kindly put it the other day.

Here is me by the century tree...a lot of people propose underneath this tree. We ate at Freebirds for lunch on Northgate and it was AWESOME. I miss the College Station classic restaurants...it was SO good!

Later that night we went to the murder mystery dinner party at Nathan & Lesley's and it was so much fun. It was probably the best one they have thrown yet. This year there were several murders/murderers and it was a Clue theme. I ended up being one of the people that got killed and James ended up being one of the murderers. Unfortunately my camera battery died so I didn't get any pictures! But I'm hoping that Lesley can give me some of hers. I highly recommend doing a party like this for anyone that wants a fun Halloween activity for adults. It was nice to get away this weekend. I am really glad that we went!

Monday we got our crib bedding in the mail. Although I'm trying to keep costs reasonable with baby stuff I did splurge a little bit on this because we had some extra money this month and I have just fallen in love with this design! So we are going to go with the "safari" theme for the baby's room. I love it! Can't wait to start decorating his room!

Pregnancy Progress

I haven't posted in quite a while so I thought I would just post some of the highlights of the pregnancy from every few weeks. We have been able to see the baby several times in ultrasounds which was an amazing experience. It has been neat to see the baby grow and see the baby moving around in there.
This is the first ultrasound at 7 weeks. You can't see too much there but it was awesome to hear the heartbeat for the first time! It made things seem so much more real.
Here is an ultrasound at 13 weeks. It's amazing how much the baby grew in 6 weeks!Here is my belly at 13 weeks. Not a huge change yet, but my old clothes were getting uncomfortable enough that I needed to start buying some maternity clothes. Luckily my mom really helped me out with that!We got to find out the gender at 18 weeks. We were BEYOND excited. The ultrasound showed very clearly that it was a BOY! We were a little shocked because we kind of thought that it would be a girl, but nonetheless we were extremely happy. It was great to know that it was going to be a little boy and we have been trying to think of the right name ever since.My belly at 18 weeks.The 20 week ultrasound was amazing. We got to see a close up of his heart and everything. He was moving a lot and doing really cute stuff-especially when he started sucking his thumb at the end! We got a DVD of the ultrsound and we have watched it several times since then.My belly at 20 weeks.My belly at 23 weeks. My belly at 24 weeks. It's amazing how much my belly has grown in just a week or two! The doctor said the baby must be going through a growth spurt because I am measuring at 30 weeks! I am a little scared to see how much bigger I could possibly get...but we will just have to wait and see I guess! For now, we are just happy that the baby is strong and healthy. We feel so blessed to be bringing this life into the world and we cannot wait for him to get here!

SoCal Vacation

Our trip to visit San Diego in July was absolutely awesome. It was the perfect getaway and we had the best time. I'll post a few pictures here and describe some of the highlights, but if you want to see all the pictures you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2785155&id=8319038&l=50e3d22c2e.

We arrived in San Diego on Saturday. We had a nonstop flight from San Antonio which was AWESOME. James had been in touch with one of his companions from his mission, who also happened to be visiting San Diego at the same time that we were. So we called him up and went to lunch together.

After that, we went to the LDS temple in San Diego. I had seen pictures and thought it was beautiful. In person it was even better! It's huge, and has such beautiful details. On the inside there is a spiral staircase that goes up into the spires and in the middle there is an atrium with a garden with plants and flowers. It was incredibly peaceful there and you could really feel the Spirit.

Then we drove around and looked at some of the apartments James lived in while he was there on his mission, and drove around the area. There was actually the gay pride festival/parade going on while we were there. I'll just say that it was interesting...I hadn't really seen anything like it before! We didn't really watch, we just kind of drove by.

This is the downtown San Diego skyline. This is such a beautiful city!

Later on we met up with this guy Garrett that James knew and we went to Old Town San Diego and walked around. We ate dinner and then looked at the little shops and everything nearby. We wanted to go see the Mormon Battalion Center, but it was being remodeled.

On Sunday we went to church in the Chula Vista ward, an area James served in. We got to say hi to a lot of people he knew and after church James drove me around to see some sites. We went to Point Loma and saw the view of the bay and the city. It was totally awesome, such a great view!! I took a ton of pictures, this is just one of them.

We also toured some of the old ships that were on the bay, including the "star of India" and a Soviet sub. We had a really good time doing that and it was very interesting. The submarine was probably my favorite thing, it was just so crazy to think of all those people living in that tiny space.

On the following Monday we went to La Jolla cove and got to see some cute seals laying on the beach. It was funny to watch them flop around and play in the water, and sun themselves.

After that we went to the beach and layed out. The beach was really great, and the weather was PERFECT as usual. I had heard that the water was colder than what we had in the gulf of mexico, but when I tried to step in the water, I almost screamed it felt so cold. I didn't know if I would go any further than ankle deep, but then I thought, what the heck, I've come all this way, I at least have to get in! So we went further and further, close to waist deep, and then I waited for a wave to come, got completely wet, and then I got the heck out of there! My skin was tingling from the cold. Some of you may think this sounds weird...but if you compare going swimming when it is 95-100 outside, with a water temp of 85 degrees....to an outside temp of 80ish degrees in 70 degree water...it was just so different. But I am GLAD that I have now been swimming in the Pacific ocean!

Later that night we went to the zoo. We got there around 5pm and stayed until about 9. It was really neat to go to the zoo at night. The weather was so nice and all the animals were out. I wasn't sure why everyone always said the San Diego zoo was so great and that it was world famous. But I was extremely impressed, the zoo was awesome! It is definitely a must see. It is different from any other zoo I have ever been to. The habitats were so natural looking at you get to be so much closer to the animals. We were told that the cost of all the plant life is actually more expensive than the cost of the animals. I can see why because there are tons of trees and all kinds of exotic plants not only in the habitats, but all around the zoo. There are lots of trails and you feel like you are walking through a rainforest or jungle or something. Then later that night we saw a bird show and got to see lots of birds actually fly into the audience and go right by us. Not just little birds, but hawks, owls, and a stork looking bird--in full flight. It was so cool.

Tuesday we drove to El Centro, a small town that James served in, which is in the middle of the desert and still close to the border. It was so HOT! At 10:00 a.m. it was already 102 degrees. I'm not sure how much hotter it got, but when we got outside and walked around a little bit later, I thought I would die. The sun just BEATS down on you out there. There wasn't too much too see there but it was still cool to see where James spent some of his time.Then we drove up to Palmdale where my grandparents live. Our GPS took us through the middle of nowhere and for a while we thought we were lost. It kept telling us to turn left on these dirt roads, and we didn't...so it kept yelling at us. We were getting so frustrated that it was funny. We finally got to a little town and bought a physical map that we could look at. We were basically on track, but it was nice to know for sure where we were and where we were going. It was a pretty fun roadtrip overall. We went through some REALLY ghetto small towns though. I took so many pictures.

When we got to my grandparents, we mostly just hung out and talked that night. On Wednesday we went to Universal Studios Hollywood. It was a huge waste of money, but we wanted to get out and do something fun in the area. It was annoying because there were so many restrictions on what pregnant ladies can do. But we still had a good time. The last day of our trip, we just rested. We bought a 1000 piece puzzle and worked on it with my grandparents and my aunt. It was nice to spend time with them and James got to hear all my grandpa's war stories and his post-retirement "career" of look alike contests (he looks--or looked--like Mickey Rooney). But it was cool and I actually learned a lot about both my grandparents that I didn't know before. They are interested in doing family history and using the LDS church resources, so I am kind of excited to help them with that. Overall it was a really great trip. I am so glad that we had the perfect mix of fun and getting reacquainted with family and friends. I am grateful that we had the time and means to do this together and have memories that will last a lifetime.

June

We have had quite a month filled with lots of excitement and new beginnings. On June 2, 2009, I took a home pregnancy test and it came out positive! I could hardly believe it. I told James the news and of course he was also excited. We sat together on our couch in our living room talking and hugging with huge smiles on our faces. Then one moment, we kind of stopped and looked at each other, and said, "What did we just do?! Our entire lives are going to change!"

The moment of shock still lingers a bit in the back of our minds. We want to be good parents, and the preparation and planning that goes into having a baby can be overwhelming. But we know that this is the right time for us to start our family, and so we are filled with anticipation of this whole experience.

We drove to San Antonio that weekend to tell my parents the news. It was close to my mom's birthday so we put the test in a box as a present. She already guessed what it was before she opened it! It was still really cool though and we celebrated together, and decided that dad is going to be called "PeePaw." We were talking about funny grandparent names and picked that one out for him as a joke. We've gotten everyone to call him that and he gets annoyed by it, it is so hilarious!

The next day we went to Kingsville and told James' family during dinner. James wanted me to just blurt out the news randomly during the middle of dinner, so that's what I did. It was so random that it was funny.


We went to get our first ultrasound when I was 7 weeks pregnant. It was pretty amazing to be able to see the little baby and to hear the heart beating. It made everything seem more real--it's actually happening!

This is a picture of me on the same day that we went to the doctor. I wanted to mark the "beginning" of this pregnancy.

We have visited some baby stores here and there since we found out the news. Here is a picture of James pushing a stroller. So cute!


For Father's day, I got James one of the "cookie bouquets" that the youth were passing out to Fathers.My aunt and uncle came to visit a few weekends ago and brought us a little gift to celebrate our good news. Of course we don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet so hopefully either one will be able to wear these cute outfits. So these are our first official baby clothes!


Overall I have been feeling pretty good. A lot of fatigue and some nausea, but it really varies from day to day. I hope to be getting some of my energy back soon! I will try to keep this blog current with future changes and updates. :)

May highlights

The month of May was great. James and I finished up the Spring semester and both got very good grades. We enjoyed a week or two with no classes before the summer term began for the both of us. And we celebrated both of our birthdays. For James' birthday, I took him to see his favorite band play, the Toadies. It was a good show, but I have to say, I felt really old!

I had a really great birthday this year. It started off with an office party for my boss and I (we have the same birthday). We went out to lunch at TGI Friday's and had an AWESOME cake!

I can't believe I'm 25! It is a strange feeling to think that ten years ago, I was 15 years old and thought that I knew everything in the world. I would have never imagined that my life would be where it is now. I consider myself very lucky. I have a GREAT husband, loving family, good job, I've had great opportunities for education, and I have so much joy because I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am truly blessed and I enjoy sharing that with those around me.

When I came from work that day, I noticed something new in our apartment...a beautiful kitchen table! James and I had looked at some furniture for fun a few weeks back, and he secretly bought it and set it up as a birthday surprise for me. I absolutely love it, and I am grateful for a hubby that is sweet enough to think of surprises to make me happy. This is a picture of what it looks like with the leaf in the table-although you can take it out and it becomes a circle shape. Perfect size for us.



Then we went to San Antonio to celebrate my birthday with my family. We went to the San Antonio zoo (which I haven't been to in forever) and had a lot of fun doing that. Then we got to meet my brother's new girlfriend and see a movie with them, which was a lot of fun. They are very cute together and I'm glad that my brother is happy-he deserves it!


Later that evening we got to go eat a delicious birthday dinner with my family in the Tower of the Americas. The restaurant is at the top and it rotates so you get to see an amazing view of the entire city. The sun went down while we were up there and it was awesome!

Here is us in the courtyard area in front of the tower. It looked so beautiful.

My mom and dad.

A great view of the San Antonio skyline.

We also went up to the observation deck and saw the city skyline at night. It was a great end to a great evening. I am grateful for family and friends that make me feel special!

April

April was a busy, yet fun month for us. Here is a bit of an update!

Here is a picture of us outside Joe Cotten's a really good Barbeque place. I think it is a cute one of us!

We went to the botanical gardens one Saturday, and saw some really pretty flowers and some cool landscapes.

There was a lot of catus. I think it is actually quite attractive.

I forgot that we had saved a piece of wedding cake for us to eat on our first anniversary. We got it out and ate it one night--it was nasty! We didn't really do much to preserve the flavor, though, we just had it wrapped up in foil. It was fun, though!

Another weekend we went to the Gardiner's property in Bastrop. We took our tent (which we hadn't used since we went camping on the beach last summer--it was still sandy! haha) and we camped out. It actually got a little chilly during the night--we had to really snuggle up!


The next day we helped cut down some trees on the property. It was pretty crazy, we had to "help" the trees fall down because they wanted to go the wrong way. I got a little scared that someone would get hurt, but luckily everything worked out just fine!

Here's me with the chainsaw! Chopping up stuff was fun.
Me and flash on another tree that we cut down. She just wanted to climb up as far as she could! It was super cute.

Me loving the bluebonnets and wildflowers on the way back from Bastrop. I made James pull over, haha. I absolutely love wildflowers, I think they are beautiful. Too bad we don't see more of them down here.