Now that is a legitimate baby bump...

Ok, so of course I'll get to baby stuff in a minute but just to prove that I can talk about other things I'm going to tell a little about other things that have been happening in our life.

Last week we headed to St. George for our second annual Parade of Homes/Presidents' Day weekend with Jeremy, Kristi, Nicole and Osiris (and McKenzie this year of course). The weather was less than ideal - cold, raining, wind blowing and even snowing, but we still had a good time. I am proud to say that J & K and Taylor and I went to ALL 26 parade homes, plus one extra open house. J & K always go to all of the houses, but in my first POH experience last year I probably made it to less than half. This year I wouldn't commit to going to all of the houses until we had only three houses left to tour. N & O couldn't be expected to drag Kenz to all of the houses so they were allowed to go home for nap time when it was necessary. A lot of the houses were pretty regular, but there were a few really cool ones and it just made Taylor and me want to build our own house even more than we already did. Will someone PLEASE buy or burn down our townhouse already?!?! Geez! We also shopped (I spent a lot more money than I should have but it was oh so enjoyable) and ate WAY too much food; Dr. Black will definitely not be able to get after me for not gaining any weight at my next appointment. We stayed at Bryce and Cathy's awesome house and, as usual, it was lovely. I took my camera with very good intentions to document the weekend, but I was a slacker and never took the camera out of its case. We love this little St. George tradition and hope that it's able to continue for a long time!

Elmer turned one while we were in SG. I don't think he felt too bad that we missed his first birthday, but we did bring him a couple of toys and some treats. He is HUGE! I hope that he's done growing, but every time I think that he's done he has a little growth spurt and becomes a little more monstrous than before. He is the cutest and sweetest dog in the world...seriously.

Joshy got home from his mission in France earlier this month. He's still good ole Josh, teasing the kids and saying his little Joshisms. It was so much fun at the airport waiting for him to show up. Almost every one of my parents' posterity was there; we were missing just a few. So it was a big crowd with some very cute (and a little impatient) kids. It was all worth it when we saw him coming down the escalator. It's been fun having Joshy Squashy home and even if he puts racing stripes on his new Mustang we'll still love him!

I am absolutely LOVING working from home. It's a whole new world and it's one that I am very happy to be a part of.

Ok, now on to the baby! The last couple of weeks have been very eventful in womb-land. The most exciting news is that we had an ultrasound last Wednesday and found out we're having a beautiful baby girl! Ok, so the ultrasound tech didn't confirm that she'll be beautiful but I could tell in the pictures that she's going to be perfect. It is so much fun to finally know the gender! Time to get serious about names. Also, right after my last post I started feeling her move in my belly. At first I questioned if it could really be her because it started as legitimate kicks, not just weak little flutters like I'd been told it would probably feel like in the beginning. She's a strong one! The kicks and twists and turns continued to get more frequent and more and more strong until I became sure it was her. My stomach is pretty active/upset most of the time ever since I got home from my mission so maybe I missed the little stuff because it just felt normal to me... Sometimes the kicks are so strong that I'm certain that Taylor should be able to feel them. He tried to feel a couple of times with no success but two nights ago she was kicking hard in the same spot over and over so I had him put his hand there. Sure enough he felt a hard little kick! It was sooo cool and we were so pleasantly surprised that he was able to feel her so early on. It's my favorite thing in the world when I feel her move around...even when she decides it would be funny to press on my bladder for a few moments. Taylor thinks she's funny. I am so excited to see him with his baby girl. I am 100% positive she will have him completely wrapped around her tiny finger the second she is born.
We're more than halfway through the pregnancy now and I still feel like it is flying by. Overall I have been feeling a little better, but I still don't usually feel great. I think most, if not all, of my stomach issues stem from my acid reflux. It is constant and it is awful! It is getting progressively worse and I'm hoping to get some stronger meds when I go to my appointment in a couple of days. Acid reflux/heartburn is a miserable curse that I am trying to bear patiently.
I still stay away from chocolate and I've pretty much come to accept that I probably won't be able to stand it for the rest of the pregnancy. I really hope I learn to like, nay love, it again after the baby comes though. I don't sleep well at night. This is due to two lovely pregnancy symptoms - the constant need to pee and my achy sore stiff hips! My upper legs and tailbone area just hurt all the time, but especially at night when I just wanna sleep. People say to get as much sleep as possible now because after the baby comes I won't sleep anymore, but I think my body just wants to make sure I'm ready for what's to come so it's not letting me get a whole lot of sleep right now.


21 Weeks

I don't intend to post bump pictures every two weeks but since I wanted to do a post today and since my belly has grown exponentially in the last two weeks I figured it should be documented. I think I'm getting to the point now where people would probably assume I'm pregnant, even without knowing for sure, instead of it looking like I just ate way too much for lunch. I'm still able to wear my normal clothes, but they're not the most comfortable, so I'll probably be transitioning away from them and into some more comfortable maternity wear in the days to come. Our little girl continues to grow big and strong and we can't wait to meet her in a few months :)