Because People Don't Believe Me...

I am pregnant! And I look it! No, I'm not 16. Yes, I have finished high school (I even finished college a few years ago!) Yes, I'm aware that I'll still have braces on when I have my first baby.

I haven't been one for profile pictures documenting my rapid expansion week by week. Part of that is because I haven't really been showing for all that long. This picture was taken at 28 weeks. That's a little less than 2 weeks ago. I look about the same now. We're about 30 weeks along!

In a Balloon

We were supposed to be way up high in the sky in a hot air balloon. We got up bright and early. We were so excited to go! (Wonderful surprise from my husband, right?) These were our excited 5am faces! (This was also before we got any sun this season... we were still dealing with snow storms at the end of May... so hence the pale morning faces).

And then... FAIL! We get a call on our way up to Park City and hear that the weather threat is too great. We're still in the process of rescheduling. I think this is the grossest face I've made in a long long time. But I think Scotty well-portrays our sadness.

Scott's Dirty Dash Pics

I've found them! Scott should have been a lot muddier, right? I'll make sure that he is next year!




Do you like my blue tongue? Free snow cones! I could have eaten my weight in them (which is a lot these days!)

Long lost hikes

This might have been over General Conference in April! I plugged my camera into the computer and realized how old some of those pictures are! This was a hike we did behind our house with Adam and Bekah before the left for the summer. Adam wears a retainer that fills in the gap in his teeth... so that should explain the hillbilly fun he and Scott are having. I love where we live because our back yard is full of gorgeous hikes that we can do spur of the moment. These are wonderful mountains. Scott and I got engaged in these mountains, and we're up in them at least once a week. Makes for the perfect evening walk (especially for those of us who are pregnant and now get winded walking up stairs... let alone a mountain! It's just the perfect length.)

Cheep Cheep Cheep Talk a Lot, Pick a Little More...

Can you believe it? Even with all that catch-up I've still got a list of things to get through! I'm going to take a bit of a break from all the talking.

Brain Bookmark:

Post Dirty Dash Pictures (on my camera)

Lagoon Day

The Cabin (Pictures on my camera)

My 1st Baby Shower!

Scotty's Birthday

Three in a Saturday...

Dirty Dash

We started two Saturdays ago with a morning up in Soldier Hollow where Scotty was running the Dirty Dash with his coworkers. I was SO jealous watching Scott run in the mud, and he came out WAY TOO clean. when I run it with him next year, I will make sure he doesn't get away with a clean shirt.

The Dirty Dash is a race through mud and obstacle courses. There's walls to jump over, tires to crawl through, a slip in slide to "clean off" and a giant mud pit at the end to make sure that you're good and gross. I actually have a few pictures of us before and after the race, but Scott ran too fast for me to find him on the actual course. Crazy kid got first in his heat.

Drue's 16th Birthday

Scott showered off to the best of his abilities, we got some cheese curds and ice cream at a dairy farm for the drive home (doesn't that sound healthy?), and made our way home for a quick (real) shower for Scott. Then we had to dash over to my cousin's birthday party. My cousin Drue turned 16 years old, and the whole neighborhood came together to surprise her. It was so great to be with family and all my old neighbors (we used to live in Drue's house before she did). I was so proud of Drue and it was so fun to watch her see all the people that came just to celebrate her. Her parents got her to come to the party by telling her that there was a baby bird on the ground of her neighbor's garden that had fallen out of its nest, and she went running to the back yard to check out the situation.

Real SL Game

We have so much fun going to Real games. We went to one a few weeks ago, but it was so so rainy that we decided sitting in the rain wasn't the best idea for our recent colds. Grandma, buy a shawl.

But we went to one just two weeks ago with Johnny, Kirsten, Nick, and Andrew. That was a blast. It was fun to have a night with just Andrew so he felt special and grown-up. And it was an awesome game. Thank you Dad for the tickets! Real games are so fun to watch, and it's so nice to be out in the sunshine watching a good game of soccer.

Moving on down the list...

Johnny's Home From Italy!!!

The pictures from the airport might be the most tragic loss from Scott's phone catastrophe. We had a video of Johnny walking out of the terminal and the little boys seeing him for the first time. I'll maybe try to track down pictures his friends took.

We are SO HAPPY to have Johnny home!! He's already jumped right in and hasn't missed a beat. When he came though the security doors, Ben shot off running... right passe Johnny... and plowed right into my dad, "Grandpa Grandpa!!!" He didn't even notice Johnny! But Andrew couldn't stop staring at Johnny. He was SO EXCITED to have Johnny home. He talked about it for months. He carefully decorated all of our welcome home signs, and he just followed Johnny around from the second he stepped through the doors. It was so nice to have so many family members there to see him come home. Espen was able to come, which was so nice since he had a week before he had to leave on his mission to Denmark.

Johnny gave a wonderful homecoming talk. And Espen gave a wonderful farewell talk on the same sunday! It was a big family weekend and we loved it! Doug came into town, so did Grandpa Pete, and we had all the sibling together for longer than ten minutes for the first itme in years and years. It was so great to get everyone together. At one point in May, we had Kirsten and Nick in Utah, Scott and I were in New York, Doug was in Washington DC, Johnny was in Italy, and my parents were in Antwerp. We're usually all so spread out!

We had delicious Italian food at Johnny's homecoming, and we've loved having him back. Let the adventures continue! We're so excited to have one more buddy who'll always be up for anything! Johnny is the most remarkable person. Our whole family is so impressed by him. We're proud of him and grateful for him. He was the most up-beat, solid missionary I've ever heard of. He's a fantastic brother and a wonderful uncle. The boys are all over him, and Sarajane has this strange infatuation with him. She'll be shrieking at the top of her lungs, but when Johnny hold her, she leans her head on his shoulder and just mellows out. We can't figure it out, because she doesn't snuggle with anyone but Johnny! And she's never met him before! It's hilarious to see.

Matt and Loral

Matt and Loral came and stayed with us for a week, which was so fun! We really only hung out with them a couple times because we had such different schedules. They were in town for a wedding. Scott and I were up and out the door before they woke up, and then we were snoozing before they ever got home. But we did get to have dinner and spend some time catching up. We love Matt and Loral and can't wait to visit them in Portland sometime!

"Why meeting the Dutsons was the best thing that ever happened to us."

U2 Night

I am most bummed that of all the pictures we lost on Scott's phone, we lost our pics from the U2 concert!

I picked Scott up from school, and it was the first beautiful day of the summer. We didn't want to go home, so drove up towards the U of U Stadium to check out the U2 concert. We miraculously found a parking spot right at the edge of President's Circle. Free. So we parked and walked over to the stadium with a blanket and a couple Greek yogurts. We could hear the music as we walked, and we loved it! We talked about how great it would be to have background theme music always following you around. Then we took that a little too far trying to come up with a business plan to follow people around and play theme music for their lives.

We got to the stadium and sat on top of a couple trash cans flipped upside down. I was thrilled. Scott and I have always wanted to go to a U2 concert. It's been on my lifelong to-do list for a long time. We almost bought tickets but ended up having the NY trip and a trip to Santa Barbara this summer... so our finances were a little too tight for the investment. As we sat there on the trash cans, I thought, "I'm here at the U2 concert! I can hear the music; I can see Bono on the jumbo screen; I'm pretty much as close as I'm going to get. I'm calling this a win."

As we watched, we saw two little 10 year-olds standing near the gate dancing in place and giggling. I pointed them out to Scott, and we figured out that it was Morgan Dutson and Olivia Cortez, two little girls from our old ward. We love both of their families, having taught their siblings in YM and YW. Scott worked with Morgan's mom at United Way, and we both got to the know the Dutson's and the Cortez's through our callings in our ward. We loved that ward and made so many wonderful friends. Morgan is such a goober, and we love her! She would always come say hi to us at church or come up and give us spontaneous hugs in the middle of Sacrament meeting. She was also ways cute and happy. so we hollered at her to some say hello to us, and she and Olivia came bounding over like the giggly girls that they are. It was so fun to see them. Morgan's mom came over to say hello, and we were slightly embarrassed to be sitting on a trash can peering through the gates.

It turns out the girls were bored at the concert and were being picked up by Morgan's dad. Reb (Morgan's mom) was able to let us in with the two tickets that the girls were using. We could NOT believe it! We were on row 30, or somewhere close to that, and we sat by Reb and her other daughter Maddie, who I absolutely LOVE (she was one of my YW). We had a blast! It was a dream come true! Not only were we at the concert (a lifelong goal), but we didn't have to pay an arm and a leg (we didn't have to pay anything!), and we got to spend time with some good friends that we don't see very often. The concert was AMAZING and UNFORGETTABLE! After the concert we all walked to where our car was parked and drove the Dutson's home. I don't know how we're ever going to give them an adequate thank you. Reb called Scott the next day and offered us tickets to go to a dinner to meet Presient Uribe. I had to work, unfortunately, but Scott was in heaven. It's like our nephew Ben meeting Spiderman.

Wish I had pictures of us squatting on the trash cans outside the concert. And then minutes later we were inside the gates having the time of our lives. Little man has been to his first concert... and it's pretty much the best one he could start out with!

New Calling

YW President

After putting a lot of work into planning the Stake YW Rough Out Camp at Heber Valley, I have now been traded to another team (well... kind of the same team). I was called the day before my birthday to be the new Young Women's President of our ward. I'm really excited and nervous about this calling. I'm grateful to have wonderful counselors and a great organization. But I'm intimidated by these faces I don't know very well and developing a system in a newly-formed ward and Young Women's program. I'm just hoping to get organized and wrap my head around everything before the baby comes in August. I'm so excited and grateful for the calling. As I'm trying to balance the changes happening at work and the changes happening at home, I'm hoping I can balance the changes in my calling and in our ward. Wish me luck! And by the way... I'll take all the advice I can get!

Scott is still serving as Asst. Scout Master and the Deacon Quorum Advisor. I'm so happy we've spent the last three years in the youth programs of the church. We love these kids and love hanging out with them. It's such a tough age, and we've really enjoyed the chance to help them through their challenges with school and friends. We've had an eclectic group of kids, and it's fun to get to know each of them.

Mid May Vacation

New York/Washington DC:

Did you know that we went to New York and Washington DC? We went in mid-May. Scott went over early for work, and I joined him a couple days after my birthday. It was fun to be out there together. Scott served his mission in NY and I hadn't been there in about ten years. We really need to take another trip when we can have more time during the day to meet some friends from his mission and check more off the list. But it was fun to see family. I had the daytime to explore, and then Scott and I met up for the evenings. It was just so nice to be together. I had been home alone for a week before I flew out, and that was a bad deal.

Before I got there, Scott went to the Statue of Liberty with his parents, Margy, and Oliver. He also visited with mission friends and had fun getting to know people in the NY Goldman office. We all went to see "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" with Daniel Radcliffe. I thought it was hillarious. It was so fun to get a good laugh in. I was able to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art twice, the Natural History Museum, walk through an overcast Central Park, walk up and down Lexington Avenue, visit FAO Schwartz, see Rockefeller Center, visit Bloomingdales, have a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity, spend some good time at the Strand, visit Grand Central Station, and discover lots of other adventures on my way. I got a metro pass the first day I was there, and I went nuts. Everything feels so close together, and I loved navigating my way throughout the city. I was thinking about how long its been since I have had so much alone time to just explore. I really enjoyed it, knowing that I won't have that kind of alone time ever again once little man comes along. Scott worked hard at his new office and had a good time meeting co-workers he communicates with daily. We had so much fun exploring in the evening. We went to the Modern Art Museum, out for delicious dinners, and had a lot of fun bookstore shopping and exploring the city.

We took a bus down to Washington DC for a wedding. This is going to have to be another trip in of itself. I've been to Washington DC, but Scott's never been there, and I think he would LOVE it. There's so much history and endless ways to spend your time. I can't wait to go back sine we had such a quick trip... only a day. We spent that day at the DC temple with friends and family, and then made our way down to James Madison's house in Virginia. It was beautiful. The wide open estate was unbelievable. Scott was plotting the whole time about how he could purchase the property. We left at 10ish at night to drive back to NY for early morning flights. Rick was such a good sport to drive everyone where they needed to go, and he had driven through the night and was still going strong! I was very grateful and impressed. While it was a wonderful trip, this is my little note to self. I was just heading into my seventh month of pregnancy, and all the time in the car was not the best idea. I found my first bad veins after being on the plane and in the car so much in such a short period of time. I didn't take stops to stretch out my legs, and maybe that would have made a difference... but I'm going to be extra careful in the future. I was just really nauseous and car sick, but I couldn't sleep because my body doesn't bend in all the ways it used to. I used to be able to squish into any space and knock myself out, but it was just hard to maneuver with this big belly and swollen limbs.

We had such a fun trip, and it was one of our last before little man arrives! We had a blast. Thanks for the pictures I stole from Margy!

No more excuses.

Scott's sim card for his phone is taking the ultimate long vacation... and as a result, we have lost all of our pictures that were on it. Bleh.

So now I'm trying to remember everything I was supposed to write about. That's what I get for letting it all build up and collect.

Little Man:

Well, we're almost 10 weeks away with the little man. He's supposedly weighing about 3 pounds and is about 17 inches. He seems to be right on track with each appointment I have. I'm still feeling really good, which I am so grateful for. I think this pregnancy has been such a blessing. I don't know if I'll be this lucky in the future, so I'm trying really hard to count my blessings now. The worst of it is a sore back at night, but I'm figuring out my system for that. I'm a little embarrassed that I get winded on the way up the stairs. Carrying the groceries up to our apartment, I usually take a little break half way through.

He moves like crazy... nonstop! And I can't get over how weird it is to not have control over your own body. I've always been very in tune with my body, and it's so strange to know that this teeny little human has more say in what's going on than I do. I better get used to that. I love the feeling though. It's fun to see the changes. I know he's getting bigger because I definitely am!

Little man has discovered my rib cage. I wish he hadn't. It's slightly uncomfortable.

I was talking to my cousin and she told me that her friends (about 14 years-old) were talking to her about this poor girl who works at Jolley's who's only 16 and is having a baby. Sarah just started laughing. "Brown hair? Blue eyes? Yep... that's my cousin. She's 24."

I'm asking for it with the braces.

Lindsey,

Remember when you used to blog all the time?

That was before Scott got a fancy phone and now all of our pictures are on his phone instead of on my camera... and I don't know how to retrieve them!!!

And I always feel guilty blogging about current things when I haven't blogged about adventures we had two weeks ago. I think it messes with my head to switch up the order. I'm a very "down the list" kind of girl.

Lists. When I lived in London, I was stressed because I didn't have a ton of time to write in my journal. But of all the times in my life, that was the time that was actually journal-worthy, so I just wrote daily lists of what I did that day instead of expanding on my feelings. (I cringe to think that I filled 37 journals between 7th grade and 12th grade, but managed to complete only 1 documenting all of my college years. And don't even get me started on the lack of journaling since marriage. I've been so lapse in this area that when I opened my mission call on the Colorado River, I felt so compelled to write something down that all I managed to do was jot down a few thoughts on the back of a paper plate. I have that paper plate in a box with my 37 journals. Disgraceful.)

Anyways... I'm not going to make the empty promises. I'm not going to pretend that I'll "catch up" tonight. Maybe I will... maybe I won't (Lindsey Brammer... I always think of you saying that when we were living at Chattham).

Side Note to the Void: How is it possible that my child has been the size of an "egg plant" (according to my little blog ticker) for about 3 weeks in a row now? I'm sure that's inaccurate, because I can promise you he's getting bigger!

Brain Bookmark

The weather in SL has been lovely. I have been taking Scott to work in the morning since he started at the new downtown office, and I find myself wanting to stay outside at 5:30 in the morning because it's bright, light, and warm outside. It makes me want to read on the grass, search for new flowers up Black Mountain, and eat snow cones and frozen yogurt. It really has been so gorgeous and enjoyable.

This is just to save what page I'm on in my brain while I pause from the blog to start to tackle my day.

Blogging:

1. Baby Boy updates/progress/schtuff (Can you believe we're almost 7 months along?)

2. Our trip to NYC and DC

3. New challenges coming up

4. Our serendipitous evening at the stadium... entitled, "Why meeting the Dutsons was the best thing that ever happened to us."

5. Johnny's arrival on FRIDAY!

On to the day. I'll hopefully be back tonight so I don't end up blogging three months behind anymore.

As I Started Thinking About Trips...

...I remembered that we went to Mexico in March! And I never posted pictures! So here's a breeze through that trip so I can post about our last one! We're going backwards here. These sunset pictures are from our sunset sail boat ride on our very last night. I loved it... well most of it. I got sea sick part way through and had to try to lay down. Scott and I had fun carrying on a very interesting conversation with our boat captain, though. I loved the chance to speak spanish regularly. I love when my thoughts come in Spanish before they come in English.

It'll be nice to get these braces off someday. I'm realizing now how they kind of take over my face in pictures.







The boys went fishing one morning (the morning after the tsunami!) while Jen and I slept in and avoided the rocky boat ride. It would have been a little rough on our pregnant bellies. Jen is one month ahead of us in her pregnancy. They are having a little girl.

This was one of the greatest fascinations of the whole trip. How'd you like to live on that boat for a while? How cool would it be to own that? There's a helicopter on board! Scott googled this yacht when we got home and was devising a way to become the owner's best friend.

We had to be creative and find ways to entertain ourselves on the tsunami day because we couldn't go in the water. We visited the new lots in Cabo. The homes were gorgeous and the view was amazing.

On the Tsunami day we also went to a glass-blowing factory. The workers made this cerveza-drinking turtle in about 2 minutes right in front of our eyes!

Snorkeling adventures. This was weird for me to get used to. There's just nothing natural about breathing underwater. It was really throwing me off.

Day One in Cabo... can you tell? We're so so white and my hair is straight! We never got that much sun anyway. We were really diligent sunscreeners after some recent family skin cancer scares. But it was nice to be in the sun, even if we didn't come home wearing the sun.

This one should be blown-up and framed in our baby's room.

There's the hyper-drive record of our trip! We had a blast and were so grateful for a fun, sunny getaway with friends.

Ouch.

Braces. There's a metal factory going on in my mouth.

Loved New York! Oh yeah... I went to New York for a week! Details later.

"Today you are birthed. Ode."

That was Doug's birthday greeting to me yesterday.

***Editor's Note*** I hadn't even noticed that last blog post from Scotty!!! I think we were writing our posts at the same time. How sweet is that!!?? He's my favorite. And I love being his sidekick!!

It was a wonderful day. I took my parents to the airport first thing and then joined Kirsten and family up in Farmington to play my violin in her ward. Andrew was waiting with some pictures he drew for me for my birthday, Ben was waiting with one of his violent-crash-into-you kind of hugs, and SJ was waiting with a smile and her best elephant impression. Kirsten and Nick were so nice to make me my favorite dinner with delicious salmon and homemade cheesecake with amazing fresh strawberries. I remember one year for my birthday I told my dad that all I wanted was a crate of strawberries... and he got them! And I ate them!!!

It was so nice to spend the day with the sobrinos and Kirst and Nick. I spent the evening with my grandparents after that and enjoyed waking up in my grandparents' house to witness grandpa's masterpiece breakfast. It was a birthday filled with family, rest, and fun... but it unfortunately didn't include Scott. A holiday just isn't a holiday without Scotty there to share it. Little man and I have missed him.

It's interesting to me that my birthday came and went. Thank you to friends and family who sent their hello along! I'm 24 and one day old. Kirsten was asking me if I felt older, and I laughed because for the first time in my life, I feel younger! I feel like this birthday I'm feeling more and more overwhelmed, inadequate, and unprepared to handle all the big changes coming up. Maybe this is the true mark of adulthood... the fact that I actually feel like a child. Maybe it's more childish to feel grown up. Maybe coming to grips with the reality of the situation that I'm in over my head is actually a sign that maturity is starting to sink in.

It's been a big weekend though! I kind of can't believe I've gotten through it and that I'm finding time to scribble on my blog a bit. Many updates and announcements to come... but the biggest one is that come a week and a half, we will be greeting Johnny at the airport after two long years apart!!!! I can't wait to see him! And I can't wait to see him see the boys. I think that will be so fun to watch the reunion between Johnny and Andrew. Andrew talks about him all the time and is petrified that Johnny won't remember him. It'll be so fun to have him back. He is definitely the most popular member of our family and very very missed.

Happy Birthday Lindsey!!! (Yesterday)

Lindsey, you are the most wonderful woman in the world. Knowing you is to know happiness, sunshine, smiles and laughter. Being around you is to feel love, kindness and warmth.

Since we have been away from each other over the past week (and during my newest favorite day of the year, the celebration of your birth), I have missed you so much. I miss your companionship, your warm hand, your smiles and sense of humor. The phone just doesn't cut it. You are the greatest sidekick, companion and friend I have ever known!

I celebrate your day of birth with thankfulness that I am a part of your life. Thank you for your endless love. I can't wait to be back together, to be in your hug!

I love you so much!!!

Scott

Help with Girls Camp!!!!

Alright... I've been waiting and waiting for a genius theme for girls camp to just hit me over the side of the head. I'm planning girls camp for the stake this year, and it's a bigger job than I realized!! I'm doing fine on the organizing/logistics part... I just can't seem to find the right theme. I have a couple ideas in mind, but nothing that's sticking out to me. Anyone have any ideas? What are your girls camp themes this year? Or what are some fun ones you've been part of in the past? We have a pretty small group, and we'll be up at Heber Valley. Let me know if you have a stroke of genius. I'll take all the suggestions I can get!

Catching Up!

Today is Thursday. I'm having a hard time understanding that tomorrow is Friday and that an entire weeks has zoomed right by.

Last weekend was a great one. Scott and I both (miraculously) had work off on Friday. So we decided we needed to go skiing. It was a gorgeous, incredible day at Snowbird, and Scott and I had SO MUCH FUN. It was a little hard for me to accept that it would be my last ski of the season (especially since I'm 22 weeks pregnant... whoops). It was also a little hard for me to accept that my husband could out-ski me (he's a snowboarder!). I have to say... skiing badly (aka slowly with exaggerated turns on groomers only) is a lot more difficult and tiring than just relaxing and doing what comes naturally. But I'm not complaining... I'm just happy I made it through the day without feeling sick or taking a fall. Little man loved it. I could feel him wiggling the entire time (This is his third or fourth time on the slopes).







The bad news: we both got ugly goggle tans. Scotty, especially, was fried.

Even with skiing, we were able to get errands done in the evening and feel like we already had a head start on our weekend. We spent the rest of Friday night relaxing in a hammock at Lindsey Park (no it's not named after me... sadly). It was so nice to relax and talk and laugh. It was some badly-needed Scott and Lindsey time.

Scott went climbing Saturday morning with our friend Elliot (I was extremely jealous, but also realistic that I wouldn't be fitting a harness around this belly of mine), and then he spent the rest of Saturday studying and getting a ton of homework done while I worked. It was a fun day of work... but super busy and my feet were killing me. My feet have been killing me a lot lately. We ended the night with a delicious dinner at the Dodo. I love the Dodo. I could eat there every day.

Sunday was EASTER! I love Easter. LOVE Easter. We had set the alarm on Saturday night to wake up at 4:45am so we could attend the sunrise service at Snowbird. But when the alarm went off we mostly just laughed at ourselves and went back to bed. We went to church (YW had a brunch at one of the leader's apartment) and had a wonderful day to worship and learn more about the Savior's Atonement. We drove around Salt Lake taking pictures for a book we're working on. It was fun to just ride around together and swap ideas. We really haven't had a lot of time to just hang out in a while. We spent the rest of the afternoon at my parent's house celebrating, cooking, eating, Easter egg-hunting, and chasing around the little people. It was fun to see my cousin Vanessa, and it was fun to just relax and hang out, play pool, and watch Peter Rabbit with the boys.

Monday came and went. Tuesday I did a TON of baby errands with my mom and sister. it was so great to get so much done, and I went from feeling completely overwhelmed to feeling excited and slightly more prepared. It was nice to have a day off, fun to spend it with my mom, and satisfying to get so much done. I even was able to get a new pair of glasses (my mom needed some and it was buy one get one free)! Scott was so supportive and excited about everything. I feel so lucky to have him. Even with tests this week, he has managed to let me know that he's here for me and will help me with anything I need. I'm so proud of his hard work at school. Wednesday as a study night. I worked until about 8. Scott took a study break to have some dinner with me, and then he studied while I (unexpectedly) passed out on the couch in Scott's baggy hoodie and somehow ended up in my bed. See how great my husband is? He even plugged my phone into the charger.

We both had a really good night sleep except for my middle-of-the-night panic. I was aggravated from a dream I was having about work, and I woke up completely panicked that I couldn't get my ring off my fingers because my fingers were swollen from the heat. I ran to the bathroom to run my fingers under cold water, got myself a drink, and tried to relax and get back to sleep. As I did, I felt the baby in a totally different way! It was so great! The little guy was running laps in my belly. I grabbed Scott's hand and put it on my stomach so he could feel it. We've felt a kick here and there before, but this was a consistent string of kicks, one after another... about 12 total. It was FANTASTIC to feel him so strongly. It was the weirdest thing, almost like when your muscles twitch involuntarily while you're drifting off to sleep. I'm still not showing a ton.. definitely not 22 weeks' worth. But little man popped about two days ago, and I have a significant bump... which is so much fun! I am loving my pregnancy! It helps that I've been blessed with energy and no sickness.

Today Scott and I had dermatology appointments. The whole family is getting check-ups in light of my dad's recent skin cancer scare (in which we were greatly blessed). Scott sailed right through with his mole-less skin, but I had a few things to make note of. They removed the mole beneath my nose (which I affectionately refer to as my "booger mole") to send for testing. I also had an injection into lip to shrink a lump I got my summer in Moab. And then I'm due back 6 months from now to check on a few things after I have the baby. All in all, everything looks good. The only item of concern was the booger mole, and now it's gone! Ha!

And that gets me somewhat caught up! I have so many pictures to post (most are on Scott's phone) of our trip to Mexico, more skiing, Easter, and just hanging around with Scotty... but I'll have to get those up on the blog another time when I'm feeling more tolerant of technology.

Tomorrow's Friday, and then we get to spend Saturday celebrating the wedding of our wonderful friends Eric and Rachel! It'll be so fun to see friends, attend the temple, and take a day to slow down a bit.

Scott just walked in from taking his test! Goodbye blog!!

Fe

The explanation for the sick day: Iron. On Monday my doctor put me on an iron supplement because my iron levels were a little lower that she'd like. So I took the first pill on Tuesday and spent Wednesday losing all the food I had eaten in a week. My pharmacist helped me figure out that the iron was the cause, and all the moms I work with sympathized, sharing their own bad walks around the block with iron. I've got a handle on it now. I'm taking half the pill, and I make sure to take it on a full stomach. No other problems so far. Back to my enjoyable and comfortable pregnancy that I am very grateful for.

Little man decided to make his debut to the world yesterday morning. I woke up, and there he was, popping out and making it clear that there was something going on inside this belly of mine. It's about time! I'm so excited to finally be showing. People are telling me all day about how lucky I am that I'm so tiny... but they don't realize that this is one time in my life when I DON'T WANT to be tiny. I'm over halfway through my pregnancy, and I want proof! Well, I got it yesterday. Yay!

I've been working on about ten projects at once lately, and I'm finally starting to check them off the list. We have de-junked our lives and finally cleaned out the baby's room (which, up until now, has been the "random pile" room). I've cleaned out all the storage closets, and cleared out as many drawers and shelves as I could to make room for the little man and all his "stuff." I have to say, it was an emotional experience to pack up some of my favorite books. I realize that its a bit ridiculous to have twelve Norton Anthologies occupy precious shelf space, but I felt a little guilty boxing them.

But it was worth it, and I'm finally feeling ready to get started on the baby's room. I'm not doing a ton. Everyone keeps asking what the theme for my nursery is. I tell them my theme is "Hand-me-downs." Right now all I can think about is where on earth I'm going to put all the stuff a baby comes with.

5 o' clock Shadow

This is one of the best things I've ever seen. I want to get a baby one for our little guy to wear through the winter!



(make sure to click on the link... the website is just too funny)

By the way... this is my first sick pregnancy day so far. I'm over half-way through... so I'm feeling pretty lucky despite being housebound today. It gave me some time to go through the boxes of baby items Kirsten donated to our charity case. I love my older sister, and I'm feeling much less overwhelmed.

I went to the doctor on Monday and found out that our child was hyperactive and never stopped moving during our ultrasound... hyperactive child sounds about right considering the fact that I'm the child's mother. We had yet another positive report, and I hope it stays that way. I felt the baby move inside me for the first time yesterday (I finally sat still long enough to pay attention to it). Now I can't stop feeling it. It's kind of fun. Our kid is nuts.

Scott and I have been tired and busy lately, but we have had a few adventures over the last week or so. We were lucky enough to be able to go to the Lakers/Jazz game with our friends Beth and Elliot, which was SO much fun! We were in the 8th row, and John Stockton was sitting right behind us. I don't think we'll ever get that lucky again, and we're so grateful to my dad for the tickets. I felt triumphant that Scott cheered for the Jazz, not the Lakers.

We've had lots of late night milk shake and smoothie runs because for some reason my body always wants one of the two. Scott witnessed Toy Story 3 for the first time a couple nights ago, and it's been so fun to just relax together in the evenings. This last Saturday we did a massive apartment purge. We got rid of TONS of stuff and reorganized our storage system so we'll have room for all the doo-dads that come with a baby. Babies sure come with a lot of "stuff." I'm so glad we're having a boy! Girls come with even more "stuff" than boys.

Scott is doing really well in his MBA program. Despite his nervousness before every exam, he sails through them with fantastic grades. I'm so proud of him. He is such a hard worker. I feel so blessed these days and love the feeling of being closer to my Heavenly Father. When I focus on all the reasons I have to be grateful, I find more and more things I am grateful for, and I find that I'm an overall more pleasant person. Funny how that works, huh? Why do I keep needing reminders? Don't you wish you could just learn a lesson once, know it, live it, and never have to re-learn it again? I feel like I'm always climbing the same mountain, forgetting which route to take.

wee hours

I don't think I'm okay with the fact that I've sneaked (yes, it is sneaked, not snuck) out of bed at 4:30 in the morning ravenous for some fruit loops. This has happened before, and I almost never remember the experience in the morning. Usually Scott finds me on the couch and retrieves me, carrying me back up to bed. But I'm going to head back up right now all by myself. And when he tries to remind me that I did this in the morning, I won't remember. But then I'll look at the blog, and I'll see the proof.

Today was a tiring but rewarding day. And we are truly living for the weekend this week. Maybe that's why I can't sleep on a Thursday night... because the prospect of Friday is literally my horizon.

Fortune Cookies (and the Ultrasound)

Since everyone seems to be having girls out there, it'll be fun to throw a boy into the mix! Details later... but I think that was the most important part to put out into the universe.

Tonight's fortune cookies:

Scott- A bold and dashing adventure is soon in your future.
Lindsey- Your household will soon be showered with unexpected blessings. Congratulations.

And then my mom gave me hers:
Eat your fruits and vegetables to strengthen your health.

Thank You Google!

What is with April Fools anyway? I could have gotten on Facebook and announced to the world that I was having twins or something... but I just never got the point. It'd just be more work for me the next day to have to clear up the lie I just told.

I did want to send something funny in Scott's lunch today, but I was way to asleep and spacey this morning to think about it. I don't even know what I packed him. There's nothing in the fridge right now, so I can't figure out what kind of random stuff I shoved in there. I might have put a whole jar of pickles or something.

But this is the best part... the only really good part... of April Fools Day. Google. I love seeing what they come up with every year. And it's so subtle... they don't shove it in your face; they let you drift off their homepage and find it on your own. This year's joke was hilarious! Google Motion. I kind of wish it were real! I love the descriptions, the health warnings, and the Motion Guide. I love the awkward man modeling the motions in the video. Thanks for being the redeeming quality of a pretty weird holiday.