Before Baby Makes Her Debut...39 weeks!

Well, it is May 6, 2013 & I just had, what I thought would be, my last Dr. Appointment...But baby girl seems perfectly content waiting a little longer...Maybe even past her due date on May 10th! We will see.

Being such a planner, it's not necessarily in my favor, what day she will make her debut! Here is what is on my mind...

Due date is May 10th. 

My sister flies in from Texas on Wednesday the 8th. 

May 8th is our anniversary.

May 10th is Dane's last test for this year, (Not including "Boards" in June).

Saturday May 11th, is the ideal date. 

But...Dr. Macy is out of town from the 10-12. Uh oh. 

Sunday May 12th is Mother's Day AND we get to skype with Jax from London.

When baby decides to come, is not in our hands! I had a little feeling that once I had everything checked off my list, that baby would decide she is quite comfortable for now. I am happy reaching the weekend, I'd rather reach my due date, than go early, because I am actually feeling great! Thank heavens. I am being a little selfish, I know! 

Here is what we've been up to pre-baby!

Sunday May 5th we drove to the Draper Temple & took a walk around it. It was a beautiful day. I love spending time with the love of my life, knowing it will no longer be just the two of us is a little bittersweet, but more sweet because we will always have each other...we're just being blessed with another blessing in our lives any day! We have had a good 4 years, (exactly 4 years in two days!) just US, it will be a big change, a good one, that we can hardly prepare for, but we can't wait to experience parenthood. 

39 weeks exactly! Taken on May 3rd. Still feeling good, sleeping just barely began getting uncomfortable, my boobs are  large...I have purchased some nursing tanks & bras, but maybe I should wait until how much bigger they will get! Ha ha. 

I am 37 weeks & 4 days preggo in this picture...received a calling 2 1/2 weeks before due date...

but learning it was in "activity days," made me feel relieved...only every other Thursday & the ladies are wonderful & have everything planned through the summer! 

I have stocked up on diapers, wipes, & everything is organized...Oh it feels good! 

Cleaning & a big grocery shop is the last on my list so it can be freshly clean & fridge stocked when baby comes!

Dane & his dental school friends have their baseball league every Monday night. 

The weather has been so nice, it's fun to get out & get some fresh air watching summer games. 

He's a hottie, but especially playing some ball! :)

An amazing Family Baby Shower was hosted by my beautiful Mother, Aunt & Cousin

It was PERFECTION. We received many wonderful gifts to seal the deal that we are ready for baby!

Stroller, Carseat, Diaper bag/Canopy, Many clothes & baby essentials are in hand!

Diaper bag is now packed for baby & carseat is ready to go...Now I need to pack our hospital bags! 

Here I am 37 weeks & 1 day pregnant...

At this point, baby clothes are washed, folded & organized

Crib & bedding are put together

Prints are ready to be hung above her crib!

CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU BABY GIRL! 

XOXO MOM & DAD...{That seems crazy!}

Pregnancy Pictures {April 2013}

Today I made it to my 35 week mark with this little one! It is still surreal to me that Dane & I will become first time parents in a few short weeks. As many times as I complain each day about my body changing, boobs getting too big, along with my behind growing right along with my belly, I have felt so great most of my pregnancy. I felt nauseous in the beginning with "morning sickness" all through the day & no appetite, but once I entered into my second trimester, it was heaven! I have never felt better. I got a burst of energy & was going to Zumba regularly & eating normally again. 

Beginning of my 3rd trimester I felt a little nauseous here & there & my amazing energy slowly began to fade, but still feeling good overall. A little sciatic nerve pains, a little itch under my chest because baby likes to sit on a certain nerve that has made it go numb, so itching doesn't relieve it, a little charlie horse in my right calve, no new stretch marks & hoping it stays that way, ha ha. 

As of now, Dane & I have come to two favorite names...which one it will be...I have no idea & I am stressing. I figure when we see her cute face it may be a little easier to decide? I'm hoping. I have started on the nursery, gathering decor here & there & I just need to purchase her crib, table/changer, bedding...all in which I know what I want...and put it all together! I've purposely put it off until now, now that I am only working 2 days a week, I can fully enjoy it & have fun decorating & nesting.

I feel very blessed each & everyday to be able to carry & nurture our little girl & babes to come. 

...35 weeks... 

             
                                                                           ...34 Weeks...

...32 Weeks...

       
                                                                                               

















                ...30 weeks...                                                                                 ...29 weeks...

           
                                                                          ...22 weeks...

News GREAT enough to share...

It's about time that I give this little blog some love & I think my reasoning for it is more than wonderful. We are feeling so blessed this time of year for more than just a few reasons, it's that special time of year where we express our gratitude for all of our blessings. 

One blessing in particular is that we are EXPECTING! Baby Nelson will soon be joining us 

May of 2013. It's been a long time coming & a little rough road for us to be blessed with this little one, but it's perfect timing & we knew it was in the Lord's hands. We can't wait to become parents and love, adore, provide, care, nurture & make memories as we begin expanding our family! 

{Important Dates to Remember}

We found out September 2, 2012

First ultra sound was at 6 weeks on Sept 10, pictured below

We told our families on Sunday, October 28 & friends the day after

It is November 5 & I am now 13 weeks & 3 days pregnant. 

{Below, is a little "storybook" I put together. My sweet Mom wrote us this cute poem & read it to us at our wedding dinner the night before we got married. When we heard the news, I knew this is how we wanted to tell our families. Dane & I sat down & made the continuation of the poem, which is the very last page. This is how we told our families, Dane said something like, "Hey Mom! (to each Mom's) Did you see what Whitney made? Read out loud for everyone to hear!" My mom was so excited to read it again because we hadn't heard it since our wedding dinner night. Everyone was so surprised, moment to remember for sure.}

We can't wait to meet you little one! We love you with all of our hearts already. 

Love, Dad & Mom

Pinterest {my new interest}

A.K.A. My Favorite Things...

Who has heard of "Pinterest?"

Well, it's my new MAJOR interest, and I'm

already hooked.

I've seen this across blogs and

facebook, but my friend

Whitney invited me this morning

and I've probably spent a total of

2 hours on it already...great. Not so great.

But that does go to show how WONDERFUL it is.

As Pinterest describes it...

"it's a place to catalog the things you love."

It's kind of like another social network,

but you "pin" anything and everything you

ever saw and love on the

internet to your "boards." Your boards can

consist of your home ideas, your style and

clothing, any products you love,

cooking & baking ideas and so on.

Here are some things I've found and posted on

on my different boards:

{It wouldn't let me switch my pictures around, so sorry they're out of order}

This is in my "Products I Love" board

These items are in my "For the Home" Board

Oh this bed and headboard is my dream.

This item is my "Products I Love" board and it's

the most amazing leave-in hair product

that you will instantly fall in love with!

And these are also in my "For the Home" Board

This CHAIR!

Tell me you love this couch and pillows! They are made out of old sweaters. Amazing.

So! It might sound confusing right now, but if you'd like to be invited, just ask me or if Whit if you know her...and then explore away on the website! So much fun!

Love, Whit

The Grapefruit Syndrome

A couple weeks ago I was preparing my visiting teaching lesson and came across this article in the Ensign again. I remember reading it when I was single, (it was originally published in April 1993, but is a favorite so they have re-publihed it) so it didn't have much meaning since I didn't have a husband yet! Now that I do, I can apply it to my own marriage and I think it's the cutest story. I love it. So I read it to Dane for our FHE lesson and expressed to him how much I love every little thing about him. Now days, if I make a small complaint he says, "Grapefruit Syndrome, babe." It's a fun little reminder that the "taste of marriage" can always be a little sweeter.

{"As a young wife, I learned that the taste

of marriage could be sweeter if I

didn't focus on my husband's faults...}

My husband and I had been married about two years--just long enough for me to

realize that he was normal rather than a knight on a whit charger--when I read a magazine article recommending that married couples schedule regular talks to discuss, truthfully and candidly, the habits or mannerisms they find annoying in

each other. The theory was that if the partners knew of such annoyances, they

could correct them before resentful feelings developed.

It made sense to me. I talked with my husband about the idea. After some hesitation, he agreed to give it a try.

As I recall, we were to name five things we found annoying, and I started off. After more than 50 years, I remember only my first complaint: grapefruit. I told him that I didn't like the way he ate grapefruit. He peeled it and ate it like an orange! Nobody else I knew ate grapefruit like that. Could a girl be expected to spend a lifetime, and even eternity, watching her husband eat grapefruit like an orange? Although I have forgotten them, I'm sure the rest of my complaints were similar.

After I finished, it was his turn to tell the things he disliked about me. Though it has been more than half a century, I still carry a mental image of my husband's handsome young face as he gathered his brows together in a thoughtful, puzzled frown and then looked at me with his large blue-gray eyes and said, "Well, to tell the truth, I can't think of anything I don't like about you, Honey."

Gasp.

I quickly turned my back, because I didn't know how to explain the tears that had filled my eyes and were running down my face. I had found fault with him over such trivial things as the way he ate grapefruit, while he hadn't even noticed any of my peculiar, and no doubt annoying, ways.

I wish I could say that this experience completely cured my of fault finding. It didn't. But it did make me aware early in my marriage that husbands and wives need to keep in perspective, and usually ignore, the small difference in their habits and personalities. Whenever I hear of married couples being incompatible, I always wonder if they are suffering from what I now call the Grapefruit Syndrome.

By: Lola B. Walters

My Beautiful Mother's Birthday...

If any of you know my Mom...You will agree with the following. First of all, my mom is beautiful. She is so stylish, so stylish that I love to shop in her closet every now & then. Her closet it amazing. My mom is a woman of service. One of the quotes she always had by the calendar says, "As long as you love, you serve. As long as you serve, you love." It's definitely something I have strived to do, thanks to her for implementing it into our family. My mom is so funny and a joy to be around! I love being with my mom. She really has a sense of humor that just makes you want to laugh with her nonstop! She is CREATIVE. My mom has an eye like you've never seen. She can write the cutest poems in the world, scrapbook anything, and even hang pictures on the wall perfectly, ha ha. Oh, and my parent's new home, she decorated it. She should start her own business and be an interior designer. My mom is so caring, loving, and is an example to everyone. My mom and dad love each other so much, and you can just see it. She is an example of love! I strive every day to follow in her footsteps. I would LOVE to have every quality she has...Happy Birthday Mom! I love you with all my heart!

We ate at MACARONI GRILL. Yummmm.

Baby Camille (my niece) & My mom

Cute Mom & Dad...

My dorky brother & husband & me. I just love them! Ha ha.

Case & Marla (my oldest brother)

We missed Cub, Em, Colb, Steph and the other kids!

Mom & some of her grandkids! (Carsen, Camille & Scotty)

The present Scotty picked out for G-ma all by himself! He wouldn't leave until he saw it hung up-so my Mom replaced it with something already hanging, ha ha.

After dinner we went to Jaxon's b-ball game that Dane coaches. John Schmidt's son plays with him, so we invited them over for cake & ice cream. And then...he played "Love Story." Oh, he played! It was unreal & it gave me the chills! I tried posting the video and it didn't work. I'll figure it out. But he is one talented man and he was fun with the kids too. I want him to come back and play for FHE and play more than one song, ha ha. AMAZING. It was a good ending for my Mom's birthday.

Happy, Happy Birthday Mom! You are the best & we love you!

TEXAS...the best present ever.

My sister,Steph had her very first baby on December 13, and I was just heartbroken that I wouldn't be able to be there to meet and greet baby to the world, or to be there for my sister. I knew that flight tickets would be pricey so I never asked once to fly out to TX, well maybe I did, but I just did not think it could happen...being Christmas time and everything. It's a busy time of year. Well, on Christmas Eve, which was my birthday, Dane sent me off to bed around midnight so "he could wrap all of my many, many, many presents!" He didn't want me to get a "sneak peak" of anything that was being put under that tree. So, I tried to fall asleep while things were running through my mind and what kind of things he was wrapping...taking two hours! I finally drifted off to sleep, and he came to bed...it was almost 3 am. The next morning we woke up and he said, "Ok babe, I have something I want you to open before you walk out of the room..." He reaches over to grab an envelope...{I feel like this sounds like a proposal story, ha ha.} He hands it to me, and I get all shakey. I open it and he says, "read this first." It says, "Merry Christmas my Love, It's our second Christmas together. Can you believe it? Well I know you were hoping to get lots and lots and lots of presents, but I hope you can forgive me because I only got you one. I hope you like it. Love you." Then I open the next paper folded up..........

It was a TICKET TO TEXAS!

Oh it was a happy, happy moment! Dane was so excited, and he bought the ticket the day baby Keller was born! He kept it a secret the entire time, and the only people that did know were my mom and dad, and then it got to Steph, which she wasn't supposed to find out about, ha ha. But that's ok because it was a surprise to her that day. It was the best thing to be able to fly to TX and finally meet my nephew. I left December 27 and stayed for 4 days...back in time for New Years. What made it better is that my parents and Jax were leaving the same day! ...different times. What could've made it better is if Dane could've come! We had such a fun time and I can't wait for Steph, Colb and baby Keller to come on the 19th!

Keller Colby Stringham

Born December 13, 2010

Weighed 6 lbs.

First time meeting my newest little nephew

My sister's first baby!

Diaper changing...

Keller & Grandpa (my dad)

Some more diaper changin...

We were there for his first bath!

All clean! Ha ha I LOVE this picture...

Doing some shoppin in TX!

And eating in TX

They ZONKED out so fast, ha ha...the new parents!

It was so much fun to fly to Texas and meet my adorable nephew. I love him so much. A part of me almost didn't like going, only to be sad to say bye! I loved seeing my big sister as a Mom to her first baby. She is a perfect example to learn from! Colby is such a cute and protective Dad too. They make the perfect little family and I am so happy for them, and happy to call them mine.