A Pregnancy Update

I know it's been forever and I haven't even posted a belly pic yet. Sorry. Life is a lot crazier with one kid to take care of outside of you as well as one on the inside. Thankfully the one on the inside doesn't need much from me right now.

Things have been going rather smoothly. I am much more tired and sore than I ever was with Ellie. But then, I would nap practically every day when I was pregnant with Ellie. I'm not sure what naps are anymore. I also never had sciatica problems with Ellie and this little dude keeps putting my right leg to sleep. My glucose test turned out ok, but my midwife told me to watch what I eat and how I prepare it because my numbers were a little higher than she expected. I've gained 25 pounds so far and have less than seven weeks to go. I think I gained exactly 30 with Ellie and had started at exactly the same weight. He is a wiggly one. It seems like Ellie stayed put with her head down and kicked and hit me from that position the entire time. Our little boy, on the other hand, likes to move his body in every way possible. He's twisting and turning more than I knew was possible. I can actually see my stomach rolling and Ellie has had a lot of fun "playing" with him.
These aren't the most flattering pictures (please ignore my hair, face, and weird expressions) but here they are:

September 19th, Almost 6 weeks (more for a comparison shot, I guess)

October 17th, Almost 10 weeks (Sure feeling fat, but no one else knew yet)

February 27th, Almost 29 weeks (Quite a gap between belly shots)

Today, 33 weeks 1 day (feeling like I can't possibly get any bigger)

P.s. I don't always wear the kiwi colored undershirt it just so happened that the first three shots were coincidentally taken with that shirt on and when I put it on today I thought "I guess I need to take another belly shot" :)

My Brother, the Hero

We have yet to blog about our entire experience at the Nascar Races in Vegas this year, but I wanted to share that the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me happened there.

Friday, we went to see the cars practicing and they did the qualifying event for Sunday's race. There were few people at the raceway and we spread ourselves further down the bleachers than where our usual seats are located. Ellie had lots of room to goof around and explore. She was doing really well listening and staying close and would come back when you said she was too far. Then she started testing her limits. Several times Grandma, me, or someone else would track her down and bring her back to where we were sitting. She began to think this was hilarious and was not listening as well as before. I decided to tell my mom not to chase her, but to use "threats" like time out or spanking because Ellie thought it was funny to have someone come after her.

About two minutes later, Ellie was testing the boundaries again and my mom and I both got up after her. We maintained a close enough distance but called out to her to stop, etc. She went all the way up the stairs and out the "portal" to the concourse area where the concessions and other shops are. We were seriously only five seconds after her and there were a bunch of people standing around right in the portal. She squeezed through them and when we got out the door, she was no where in sight. I looked in every direction and seriously could see no sign of her. Of course I panicked. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off calling her name and asking anyone if they'd seen her. I talked to one of the ushers and she radio-ed to security. I ran up to the upper seating and called out to her some more. Then I realized maybe she had ran back to our seats somehow. No luck, but I was then able to get the rest of my family looking for her too. My mom and I kept searching further and further from where we lost sight of her. I just kept thinking "I know she's fast, but could she really have gone this far without waiting for us to catch up?" At this point, I was bawling my eyes out. Practically hyperventilating. I had lost my little girl. Some bad person probably took her. She will go to anyone practically and it had always been a benefit until now. A million other thoughts passed through my mind.

I stopped near the end of the concourse area and realized I needed to say a prayer. I was still panicked and wondered if I even shut my eyes for a minute if I would miss her running past. I just stood there with my back against a concrete pillar and silently pleaded with my Father in Heaven that we would find Ellie and that she would be ok. My mom had run all the way down toward the main gates and was still running. I decided I needed to stay closer and look for her. No more than a minute after I had finished my prayer, I turned around to head back toward where she left us and saw my brother holding Ellie in his arms! Of course I bawled even harder as he handed her to me. She looked at me and I think she knew she had done something very wrong. Between sobs I told her never to run away again and from the look on her face, I think she understood.

Jimmy found her near a different portal very near the one we lost her at. She was happily playing and crouching down underneath stairs that went up to the second level. We have no idea what really happened, but my thoughts are that she hid behind a concrete pillar when she knew we would be coming after her. Then, when she realized we didn't find her, she just kept on playing. Later, my mom said one of the guys she talked to said he could hear a little voice saying "Mommy" when we were calling out to her, but he didn't know where it was coming from.

I'm so glad that my prayer was answered that day and that I still have my beautiful little Ellie. There are a hundred horrible things that could've happened, but instead I was blessed. I'm so glad that during the very worst minutes of my life I had the prompting to turn to my Heavenly Father. He truly loves me and wants me to be happy. I'm also grateful for my brother being in the right place at the right time. He must have been in tune with the spirit to know where to look for her. Hooray for Uncle Jimmy, the hero of the day.

Happy Birthday Weston!

*First thing I would like to mention is that I am a horrible wife and didn't take any pictures this year.
This is actually one from last year because what is a post without a picture. ?

We celebrated Weston's birthday on his actual day of birth this year (March 26th). Saturday, we had our families over for lunch prepared by the birthday boy. He made excellent pork roast and beef brisket out on the barbeque. He also treated us to fresh doughnuts for dessert. Both sets of parents, Cam, Leila, Marc, and even Jimmy and Rylee were able to be there.

I am so blessed to be married to such a great "old" man. I tease him only because he's only ever older than me for two weeks of the year. I'm copying others when I share in this post the many reasons I love Weston. I sort of have a cheat book because as cheesy as it sounds, I listed the many reasons I love him when we were engaged and still have the little notebook. Since then, we have grown so very much and many have been added to that list. Here are only 28 of the reasons I love my Weston:

1. We have fun doing almost anything together.
2. He is a very smart man. I can't understand a lot of his "computer stuff" jargon, but he dumbs
it down for me in the most polite way.
3. He thinks and says the same things as me. Many times he finishes my sentences by mouthing
the words I'm going to say while I say them. It drives me nuts, but I love it.
4. He sings well, just don't tell anyone. He doesn't like to sing in front of anyone.
5. He makes me want to be a better person.
6. He thinks I'm beautiful no matter what I look like. i.e. 7 months pregnant even.
7. He is a wonderful father and Ellie loves him very much.
8. He is worthy to go to the temple.
9. He has learned a lot of things about cooking and can cook better meals than me. Food
Network is one of his favorite channels.
10. He respects his parents, my parents, and all other elder family members.
11. I can be myself around him.
12. He supports me and is proud of me.
13. I've known him since day 1 of high school.
14. I can tell him anything.
15. He takes care of me and our little family.
16. We hardly ever fight and when there is a problem, we work things out really well together.
17. He likes to learn new skills and is always anxious to start a new project.
18. We both love roller coasters a lot.
19. He is a hard worker and an excellent problem solver. He doesn't let get in his way of fixing problems.
20. His whiskers.
21. I'm the only girl he has ever dated. It made me giggle to watch him learn the importance of holding hands and opening doors for me.
22. He is very good at picking out gifts for people. I always feel like he gets the shaft at Christmas and birthdays. I'm just not as observant and thoughtful as he is I guess.
23. He is a good dancer. Some day we'll take some classes together.
24. He is a return missionary and knows the scriptures.
25. He is like an M&M most times. He wouldn't let anybody know it on the outside (hard shell), but he's got a soft inside.
26. His snoring. I never thought I would actually enjoy it, but I've tried to sleep without his sleep noises and it's actually quite difficult.
27. He makes me feel secure.
28. He is my very best friend.