Our Baby!

For those who haven't heard, Don and I are having a baby! We are 12.5 weeks pregnant. We have had a few due-dates, the first was April 6th, then April 4th, then we decided to schedule the birth on March 30th which is the Monday of Don's spring break. So if all goes well, March 30th will be the big day! I am feeling really good; in fact, I was a little scared going to this appointment because I hadn't really been having any pregnancy symptoms (besides the hunger, moodiness and fatigue- but that's the way I usually am). Anyway, I was so excited to see that it was looking more like a human and less like a jelly-bean. The doctor said that the baby is very healthy so I'm so happy. I didn't gain any weight this time, unlike the last check-up where I gained quite a bit. They also said that the heart-beat is back to normal (it was a little high last time) and that my blood sugar was way low. So I treated myself to the McDonalds that I had been craving for the past four weeks but didn't eat because I didn't want to gain any more weight. We are beyond excited! Isn't it cute?

Okay, so these pictures are all pictures of pictures, so they're a little blurry. The lady giving me the ultra-sound took some 4-D pictures and these are them. The baby looks kind-of alien like, but you can tell that it may be sucking on it's hand and the left hand is by it's ear.

In this picture the baby's arm and head were moving so it looks a little interesting.

This was taken at 8.5 weeks. So much has happened in four weeks, it's crazy!

A Big Thank You

I just want to let everyone know how grateful we are for everyone's excitement about our future addition. We have received e-mails, phone calls, text messages, cards, gifts, and many smiling faces and congratulations. Just breaking the news to you all and receiving such a warm, genuine feeling of excitement means the world to us. I'm literally crying right now just thinking about how loved we feel by everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You don't know how much we appreciate you being so happy for us.

After hanging a little baby ultra-sound picture (the baby looked like a jelly bean), on the wall to break the news around here, I came home from work to a couch-full of cards and gifts! I love and appreciate them so much. Thanks again for all you have done to show up how much you care.

This is probably my favorite little gift given to me by my friend Missy. It's a little Willow Tree character called "awaiting a miracle". I love it. It's found a place on a shelf in our front room. Thank you so much Missy- you are so sweet!

Fondue Party

We had a really fun fondue dinner with a few of our friends the other night. I was so excited to use my new fondue pot. Unfortunately, I was in charge of dessert and I did something wrong when I melted the chocolate (I still have no idea what I did wrong) and it turned out to be a big tootsie-roll mess. Luckily, I brought more chocolate and heated it much slower and we were still able to have a chocolate dessert! Everyone else's part of the meal went great. It was soooo yummy!

Graduation!

In August I graduated from cosmetology school! I really miss my friends, but I'm excited to be done. I hope to go back and teach there one day. I start a new job in a salon near-by on Thursday. It will be my first time working over 40 hour weeks. I'm a little nervous, but again, very excited to start something new.

Hangin' out with the Griffiths'

We were so excited to see our friends Kent, Kate and Afton this summer! We missed them so much. While we were there, we had to play our traditional games of Spades and Dutch Blitz! We had a blast.

Hair Experiments

While I was in Utah, I had a few friends and family that were very brave to let me experiment with their hair! I was really excited because you cannot buy Paul Michell hair color in Alabama, but I could get everything I needed there! Doing Kate's hair was really scary because we went from platinum to brown, which meant we had to repigment her hair with an red-orange color. I think it turned out beautifully on her and I think she liked it too. Larissa's and Grandma's hair was a little easier, but I'm so grateful for the practice. Thanks girls!

Picking Apricots with Grandma and Grandpa

Don and I picked the most delicious apricots with grandma and grandpa. They taught us how to sort, juice, can, and dry them. We had a lot of fun.

Mom's Mission Reunion

Mom had her 25 mission reunion while we were in Utah. She served in the England Coventry Mission. It was fun to see her old pictures and meet a lot of new people as well as hang-out with friends I hadn't seen for a while.

Jared's Mission Call

Jared (my brother) got called to the Las Vegas, Nevada Mission. He leaves on October 1st, the day after his birthday. We are so excited for him. We got to hear his call being read over a conference call when we were on the lake huddled around the phone. It was pretty exciting! We love you and will miss you Jared.

Our Summer at Bear Lake

Don and I were able to go up to Bear Lake with our family this summer. We both had such a good time visiting, playing and vacationing with the fam. It was a much needed trip! We already miss everyone and we're looking forward to next year's trip. A big thanks to everyone who helped make the trip so much fun.