Baby Update

I just figured I hadn't posted anything in awhile so since I had a minute I would do that.

Lately...and going to be for the rest of my life...the biggest thing on my mind is BABY. Everything is baby. Of course I don't mind that, it is just a huge change in my life and it just gets bigger everyday...literally!

I am now 14 weeks pregnant meaning I am in my second trimester and 1/3 of the way there!! According to the books the baby is about the size of a lemon now. And I'm just wondering how it fits in there! I am starting to show a little bit, but not much. I'm pretty sure the only people that can tell are me and Jake and my close friends. It really just looks like i'm a pig and ate a really big lunch! I love that my belly is actually starting to stick out now. I can't wait until I look really pregnant.

As far as "How are you feeling?" which I get on a regular basis....I'm feeling good. I never get morning sickness (in the morning that is) but I have had a little evening sickness. It really isn't too bad, though. It's mostly just loss of appetite or heartburn. Speaking of heartburn... I really hope this kid has some hair. I really doubt with my genes it will but they say Heartburn=Hair and I've had it from almost day one. I really love that I'm in my second trimester now because I can tell things are starting to get better. I am not as tired and I don't feel like I have to eat every 3 seconds.

In other, non-pregnant news: Jake and I went on a mini vacation last week. We went to Vegas with my friend Courtney and her boy Alec. It was a lot of fun. We all really needed a little get-a-way.

We stayed at Excalibur. (And just for anyone planning a trip to Vegas soon, I'd stay in the Golden Nugget, that's our favorite cuz they are always clean and friendly and it's not crowded. Excalibur was ok but let's just say it's hard to please a girl who does housekeeping for a living.)

Looking out the window of the CocaCola Factory. We took this same picture 3 years ago, right before we got engaged (as in literally, he bought my promise ring just hours after).

At the Cheesecake Factory. And of course this just had to be one of the nights I had no appetite. I got a pizza thinking it would just be something semi-cheap and easy to eat. It was delicious! I ate one slice. I feel really bad about that one but what is a pregnant woman supposed to do?

At the CocaCola Factory we got an "Around the World" which is drinks from all over the world. Let's just say I'm glad I live in America because I only liked about 3 of them. We also got one for floats...but those were actually good because they were things like Coke and ice cream (my favorite!) and orange, cherry, and grape fanta and stuff like that. Nothing too weird.

Courtney's favorite picture from the trip! Haha I know what it looks like but they did not get hooked in Vegas. Courtney was looking for a dice ring (like the one off the movie What Happens in Vegas) and we tried just about everywhere and thought maybe one of the wedding chapels would have one. They didn't :( and we never did find one, sadly.

And of course a sunset picture Jake took on the way home (while driving).

Baby's First Photo!

On the 5th we went to my first doctor's appointment. I got an ultrasound and we got to see the baby and hear the heart beat! It was absolutely amazing! I can't believe this little thing is actually growing inside of me.

In case you're wondering, because it is the all famous pregnancy question: I'm feeling great! I very rarely feel nauseous (thank goodness) and I hope it stays that way. I am starting to feel pregnant in other ways though! I am soo tired all the time and I have to eat at least every 3 hours or I feel sick and like I'm starving to death. It is taking some getting used to. Nothing too horrible though, and for that I am glad. I really want to enjoy being pregnant and when I start feeling like I'm not enjoying it I just keep reminding myself that it only lasts so long and that there is a little miracle growing inside of me that will be one of my greatest treasures in life.

My due date is now officially OCT 17, 2010.

We have names picked out but don't ask! We are not telling until we find out if it is a boy or a girl.

Guess What!!

Yep! It's positive! And despite what you might think it wasn't a surprise. Did we have you fooled? Granted we have only been trying since the beginning of the year but it was planned. It just happened really fast! We just found out on Tuesday so I'm not very far along at all but we were so excited we just couldn't keep it a secret. My due date is Oct 16....or somewhere around there. After I go to the doctor we will decide a for sure date I'm sure. Don't worry, we'll keep you all updated.

Christmas Lists!!!

For anyone racking your brain on what to get us this year....here are a few options:


Alyssa's List-

• Spiral Bound Hymn and Primary Books
• Piano Music- anything semi-easy, or any of my favorite artists; Regina Spektor, The Fray
• I Pod Adaptor for Car
• Church Clothes- dresses and skirts
• Church Shoes
• Nativity
• Curling Iron- I think 2"
• Scrapbook Stuff- I love the big books of paper vs. just sheets of paper, ABC stickers
• Canvas'- As in painting canvas. Pretty much any size is good.
• Shirts

Jake's List-

• Air Compressor
• Nail Gun
• Shop Heater
• Herb Grower
• Jumper Cables
• TV for bedroom
• Tool Set- wrenches, screw drivers, ratchets (Alyssa would prefer some with a tracking device so he can't lose them.)
• A Remote control car....not the battery kind, the real kind, as in uses gas and you have to put it together and stuff.

OUR List-

• Kitchen Timer
• Cooling Racks
• Board Games
• Anything for our food storage
• A China Set -min. of 8 people. We like simple designs and silver is good-no gold.

The Pantry

Yep, just showing off my amazing husbands handy work again. This last week we did a complete over-haul on our pantry. I didn't take any before pictures so for those of you who don't remember or never saw what it looked like let me just describe it a little bit. You open the door and it was about a 16 in. step down onto a cement floor. There were shelves on two of the walls- if you can call them that. They were basically scraps of wood all put together at random to make what looked like shelves. We have recently decided that we really need to be more gung-ho about food storage and that seemed really hard to do when that is what we had for a food storage room. So we tore out all the shelves and painted the walls with some left over paint we found. Then we built a floor so that it is even with the rest of the house and Jake put a trap door so that we can store luggage and other things under the floor to utilize that space as well. Then we bought some new shelves and set them up and now it is just beautiful! I love LOVE love it now! It is so clean and organized and I can't wait to fill up all our shelves with food storage. (If any one has suggestions on how to do a great food storage let me know). I would just like to thank my very talented husband for all his hard work. This was a pretty frustrating project because as we have found in old houses nothing is straight. Not to mention that the shelves we bought were pretty stupidly designed and he had quite a time putting them together. Thank you Thank you Thank you Jake!!!

The now even floor, so you don't kill yourself when you walk into the pantry. (We love stick on tiles-so easy and they look great!!)

You can't even see the trap door, just the String to pull it open.

The trap door.

And my mostly empty (at the moment) shelves!

Halloween Party

The Monday before Halloween we had a Halloween party at our house with Bobby and Emily and Landon and Mike and Meagan. It was a ton of fun. We had a pizza, a pumpkin carving contest, Disney Scene It, and pumpkin cake and hot apple cider. We all dressed up and it was so much fun.

Our pumpkins: From left to right--Jake & Alyssa, a skeleton, Mike & Meagan, a cat on a broom in front of the moon, Bobby & Emily, a witch on a broom stick in front of the moon. Bobby & Emily won first place followed by Jake & Alyssa followed by Mike and Meagan. We had our neighbor judge the pumpkins and although we didn't all agree with his decision that was the out come and I am just glad we all had so much fun doing it!

I dressed up as Dorothy from Wizard of Oz and Nala was Todo (or Toda because Todo is a boy).

She didn't like the basket very much, but I don't really blame her.

Landon and Uncle Jake having fun during the party. I hope we can keep this tradition going, it is soo much fun!

Nala

This is the story I wrote about my puppy. (Inspiration from Allyson-thanks!) It is intended to be a children's book with pictures so just use your imagination!

This is Nala. She is my dog. Sometimes I wonder if she is really more than that.

Sometimes she pounces on things just like a cat does. Maybe she is related to a lion!

Nala can run really fast, just like a cheetah does! And when she starts to slow down she hops like a bunny rabbit.

She always has her tongue flicking in and out like a snake. She just loves to give kisses and lick everything she sees!

Nala must think she is an elephant. When she gets a drink of water she tries to drink it through her nose. Doesn't she know she doesn't have a trunk?

When I'm watching TV Nala sits on the top of the couch with her paws on my shoulder. If I were a pirate she could be my parrot!

If Nala gets scared I pick her up and hold her like my baby. She holds on tight- just like a monkey!

Nala must have the memory of a fish. She gets so excited to play that she forgets where the ball is!

Nala thinks the grass is a tasty treat. She eats it just like a cow does!

I love when Nala gets really excited. She tries to wrinkle her nose and she snorts like a pig!

My silly puppy can't decide what she is!

Dog, Lion, Cheetah, Rabbit, Snake, Elephant, Parrot, Monkey, Fish, Cow, Pig.
Whatever anmial she chooses to be is fine with me because she will always be my Little Princess!