Blessing Day

My beautiful baby boy was blessed today! After a fun-filled time in Idaho for Christmas we trekked back down to Utah Saturday to get ready for the festivities of today. Our trip to Idaho in the middle of a blizzard was not so fun, we pretty much ice skated the whole way there! Then on the way back the roads were not much better. But despite the road conditions and being exhausted we cleaned our house up last night (with the help of Jess' family who were staying with us), and got everything ready.
Calvin slept in this morning which was glorious because I could take a shower and get completely ready. He must have known today was his big day and decided he needed some extra beauty sleep. Anywho, we got to church in time, and while we waited for the Bishop to call Jess and the other priesthood holders up, I was a WRECK! I was so nervous that Calvin was going to cry or have explosive poo all over his adorable sailor suit, or both! But he was such a champ! He didn't make one peep, and Jess said while he was up there before he started and after Calvin was just wide-eyed and was surveying his surroundings.
Afterwards we had a brunch at our house where everyone could hang out. It was so fun, and I was really glad alot of our friends came out. Sadly though not everyone could make it because of the weather and the roads, but those who came made it a great time!
I am so blessed with family and friends! And Jess gave Calvin such an amazing blessing today, I of course was crying the entire time, but everything makes me cry these days! :) Look at me in my sailor suit! Poor baby is going bald!
....at least he didn't cry during the blessing!
The happy family!

Aly, Anny, me, and stacey! Some of my former roommates from Logan!

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Mommy Moments

Everyday I get to experience more and more "mommy" moments. Here are some of my favorites of the hundreds:

*Every morning without fail Calvin wakes up between 5-7 and wants to eat. But I am not ready to get up afterwards and neither is he, so we snuggle in bed together for at least another hour.

* Calvin's coo-ing

*He smiles now, and started laughing two days ago! SO CUTE

*Excorcist like projectile-vomit in my face one time, as well as down my back another..love it

*Anyone who has had baby boys can relate...getting sprayed in the face! So hilarious

*Seeing Jess and Calvin bonding as well, sometimes I think that Jess is more natural at being a parent than I am and I love him so so much for it

*In 3 weeks I have seen so much change in my baby it's insane! I am so excited to see him growing and developing a personality but I don't want my baby to grow!!! :(

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100 things

I did. I didn't.

2. Slept under the stars
1. Started your own blog
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (climbing timpanogas this spring!!)
9. Held a praying mantis love them!!!
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning ugh
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (ive slept on one but not an overnight one!)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping GOOD TIMES!!
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person CANADIAN SIDE IS SO MUCH BETTER
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language ASL still learning too!
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Book of Mormon or Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Dead Sea
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

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I'm 2 weeks old!

I am now 9 lbs 15 oz, and am 22 inches long
I love to make eye contact, especially with Mom and Dad!
I love to sleep 6-8 hours a night and am also a very very good eater!
My eyes are turning very light (we think blue!), and my hair is still very dark!

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Things I Cannot Handle

Yesterday my poor baby Calvin got circumcised. Okay I know most baby boys are, but ususally it's done in the hospital and you don't have to deal with how upset your baby is when it happens. So, we had it done at our pediatrician's office, and I thought that I could handle it, but yeah..I clearly could not!
As they strapped Calvin to the little table I felt the tears welling up in my eyes; he looked so scared and was already crying. I stood up to run out of the room, but couldn't bring myself to leave him there. I knew he was so scared, and no matter how hard it was to watch I was not going to leave him.
So, as they did the procedure I stood next to Jess with tears streaming down my face as I listened to my baby screaming. Once it was over they handed him to me, still crying, and I rocked him until he calmed down.
The rest of the day every time he would wet his diaper he would scream and scream and it would make me sob along with him to see him so upset and in pain. We gave him Children's Tylenol which helped, but basically I am SO glad that yesterday is over!
It's clear that I am already such a Mom..and I love it!

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One Week!

Thanksgiving this year had Jess and I full of so much gratitude. Our little Calvin turned one week on Thanksgiving and we still can't believe that he is in our lives! It's been an interesting week too! There's so much adjustment that is needed to be parents, but luckily we've had my Mom nearby as well as Aunt Aly ( who I'm sure is already Calvin's favorite because she looks just like me!) , and Jess' parents came in twice to help us settle in. Plus we have amazing friends too who are always there to help us with anything!
Calvin is such a blessing to us! He's been such a good baby too, except the first two nights when he woke up every ten minutes! But now we have a little bed that goes in between us in the bed and he sleeps like a champ now! I actually wake him up to feed him throughout the night, and I hate waking him out of his restful slumber but the pediatrician told us not to go over 5 hours without feeding.
Everyone has asked me if it feels weird to have a baby, and it sort of does, but Jess and I feel like we've been waiting for him our entire lives, and now a missing piece of our family is with us. He is such a darling, and the love that I have for him is unmeasurable. And we are grateful that he is a healthy baby too, so many things could have gone wrong, and we are just glad that they didn't.
We gave him his first bath on Thanksgiving, and it did not go over well with him! He was screaming as soon as he was put in the tub, but once he decided that his freshly cleaned arm was wonderful to chew on he was perfectly content.

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Wahoooooo!!!!!!!

so despite my best efforts to avoid the scale I weighed myself last night. To my surprise I already lost 25 pounds!! Holy crap how is that possible?? I think my placenta weighed at least 20 or at least that's what it felt like when it came out, plus I had a pretty hefty child!
Well whatever the reason is, it totally made my day because I was feeling pretty hefty myself gaining 40 pounds over the pregnancy!
Wahooooooooooo!!!!

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Calvin Kingston Butikofer

Early Wednesday morning I finally went into labor! It took me about 4 hours to realize that I was actually having contractions, but once I finally did and Jess helped me time them for an hour, we packed our stuff in the car and headed for the hospital! Little did we know the long day we had ahead of us!
22 hours of labor, with some pretty rough patches, but it was all worth it! My first epidural fell out and stopped working right when my contractions were the absolute worst, so for 3 hours I was in total misery. When they finally gave me my second epidural, it only numbed half my body, so the relief wasn't what I wanted. But thankfully they got me completely numbed by the time it was time to push! After almost 3 hours of pushing, the doctor decided we needed some help, and about 15 mins later with the help of forceps little Calvin Kingston came into the world!
Words can't describe the happiness I felt seeing him for the first time! He was 8 pounds 12 ounces and 20 inches long, (yeah, I can't believe it either!) and totally perfectly healthy! I lost 1000 cc's of blood so was in very rough shape afterwards and the two days after as well, but I am so happy that my beautiful son is finally here! Jess and I could not be happier!!
Calvin Kingston Butikofer
Born 4:41 AM 11/20/08
8 lbs 12 oz. 20 inches

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Excited for the Holidays!

Well...I'm now 5 days late with no sign of being close to labor! I'm trying not to go insane but it's sort of hard not to! I'm sure all you mothers out there can relate, but I sort of got my hopes up about my due date and now that it came and went I am feeling more and more anxious!
Anyways, I am SO excited for the holidays! Thanksgiving is next week and I cannot wait! We are going to have one crowded house this year at my parents but it will be so fun! It will be my parents, Aly, possibly her roommate Shawna, my brother and his family, Jess me and our new addition (yay!!), and a family who our family is best friends with from Philly who's flying out! So, the grand total of people is 18 people!
I always look forward to the holidays and I am getting super excited for them now! I cannot wait for next week and even more cannot wait for Christmas!! yay!!

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Nope..No baby

Well I thought I would write a little update here on what's going on. My due date came and I waved as it passed me by yesterday. Not gonna lie I'm a little depressed! Wednesday at my doctor's appointment they told me I'm still at a 1 for the second week in a row, but am now at least 70% effaced which is good! But since they changed my due date an entire month later at my 20 week appointment..I've already felt like I have been pregnant FOREVER!!
So, I spent the better half of the day today at the hospital. Would have been great if it was actually because I was having the baby,but they needed to do the No Stress Test to make sure the little guy isn't too stressed out in there, and I also had an ultrasound. But labor and delivery was a zoo today! So many babies being born, why can't mine come out??? As I laid on the hospital bed listening to the steady thumping of m son's heartbeat, a woman came in to check in at the desk, and popped out her baby 7 minutes later!! Crazy! I couldn't help but smile as I listened to the cries of the little life coming in the world in the room right next to me and it made me excited for when it's my turn!!!

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nursery artwork

Still no baby..but my official due date is not until Thursday. I am getting very very anxious for him to come out though! So, I'm praying and keeping my fingers crossed that things will happen sooner rather than later!
Anyways, I wanted some cute jungle animal art work for the nursery, but decided to use my drawing skills rather than buy over priced art! They're not perfect, but I love them and I think the personal touch makes all the difference!

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7 days and counting!!

Well folks we've hit the final week stretch!! I cannot believe that 9 months is pretty much over! I am officially 39 weeks and it is exactly 7 days until my due date next Thursday! AHH!! I went to my doctor yesterday for my now weekly check-ups and I am officially at a 1 now! Hopefully things move along and I have him early or on time because I don't know if I can take him being late, I've already felt like I have been pregnant for 2 years!
It's been one heck of a ride, and although the last couple of weeks haven't been the easiest for me with the severe anxiety and panic attacks I have suddenly aquired which are needless to say quite terrifying, I wouldn't take back this experience for anything! And I cannot wait to meet my little nino!! I have had our hospital bags packed now for 2 weeks because I was positive 2 weeks ago that I was going to have him early, but hey better to be safe than sorry! So, whenever he does decide to pop out, we're ready!!!




Boy...I cannot WAIT to bend again!!!

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Halloween '08

This Halloween was so much fun! We didn't celebrate it last year because we were driving from Baltimore to Utah! We actually spent Halloween in Des Moines Iowa, so this year we were ready to do something!! Jess and I love to do couples costumes, and he decided to be Bret Michaels from that trashy dating show that I secretly love Rock of Love, so naturally I decided to be one of his groupies! It made it even funnier that I am pregnant! Jess was hilarious though! He looked scarily so much like Bret Michaels (although a bazillion times cuter!) and would not get out of character for most of the night. He had alot of fun scaring the crap out of the cute little trick or treaters who came to our door that evening!
Our friends Abbie and Nico had a party that we went to and we had so much fun! We ate some yummy food and then there was a little Guitar Hero tournament, and everyone but me and Jess went to a haunted house, (not such a good idea for a woman about to give birth), and Jess and I went to get some scary movies to watch when they returned. We ended up renting "The Strangers" which wasn't all that scary..but still made you jump! So it was such a fun Halloween night and I'm glad we got to do something this year!


Next installment of Rock of Love : Rock the Cradle

Is it bad I secretly think Jess looks hot with eyeliner?
So to stay completely in character Jess rode over to Nico and Abbie's on his beloved bike. I am sad I didn't get a picture of him on it! He said he was screaming Poison songs at the top of his lungs the entire way to their house! The hosts, Abbie a sexy teacher and Nico a nerd

Bill from "Bill and Ted", a pumpkin, a nerd, and Bret

The ladies...plus nico!

Bill and Bret had a guitar hero face-off..Bret was using all his moves!
the Wild Stallion was defeated by the Poison frontman



What a pair!

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Nursery!!

This past Thursday my sister and my good friend who is my neighbor Jenny, as well as Cindy from my ward who is in nursery with me painted the nursery! I was sad I couldn't help but I have to stay away from the fumes for the nino :) I was so incredibly grateful that they did it for me and I'm so happy with the finished product! Jess and I bought a little bit too much paint, so there was a ton left over, so he decided to paint our one bathroom as well!

I love love LOVE the crib we bought! I can't wait until the little guy is actually sleeping in it!
I love Jess so much! He made sure he went and got me a good glider chair because I'm going to be spending alot of time in it! But I made sure he liked it too because although not nearly as much time as I'll be in here, he will be alot too, so I want him to be comfy :)
So the nursery still needs some finishing touches like pictures and what not, but I feel so relieved to have it done! Now we're ready for whenever he decides to come out!

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8 things..I stole this from Steph :)

8 Things

8 things that I am passionate about...
1. Football. I know weird right? But I have always and will always love the game! My Eagles are doing pretty decent as of the moment, they're 3-3! But I love watching games, be it college or NFL, and I love hanging out with friends and eating junk foods and cheering on your favorite team!
2. Photos. I LOVE taking pictures! I'm almost a picture freak, but I know that my kids and their kids will appreciate it years to come!
3. Animals. Jess swears I should have been a zoologist or something, but I love any and all animals! If there is an animal in a movie that dies I'm horribly upset, but if people die and there's blood and gore..meh. Case in point, we went to see I am Legend last year, and when the dog dies I screamed out SO LOUD it was pretty embarassing!
4. Texting. I am an avid texter. Alot of people are amazed by my texting abilities, but I have always rather texted than called people, it's easier!
5. Fitness. I have always been an athlete and very active. So, the past 9 months have been pretty difficult for me to not be working out like I want to. The first few months of my pregnancy I was so sick I lost 12 pounds! In the middle months I actually was pretty good and would go to the gym often, but once I had to give up my beloved running, the gym has sort of lost it's luster to me. I still try to go as often as I can, but these past few weeks I have been too dang tired!! So, you better believe once this little boy is born I'm gonna go into operation lose the baby weight and then some!
6. Salsa. Haha..I know another weird thing to be passionate about, but I love it! I will put salsa on anything and everything!! And the hotter the better! (right elise?)
7. Writing. I keep up a journal frequently because I want my family to have written record of my thoughts and events in my life. I also like to write poetry and children's books! I've been in the works of writing a children's book about our former dog Mr. Higgins, and have been writing a young adult novel too! I'll let you know if anything ever comes of either but it sure is fun!
8. Traveling. I don't care where we go I just love traveling! Like our trip to Star valley, it was only 3 1/2 hours away but it felt like we were a million miles away once we were there! I'm always down for last minute trips to vegas, or anywhere for that matter!

8 words or phrases I use often...
1. Dude
2. You know what I mean?
3. hey!
4. holla
5. I love you
6. ohh snap
7. shiz
8. well..see ya

8 things I want to do before I die...
1. See all my children married in the temple
2. Have a book published
3. Open a B&B (I kept this Steph cuz it's one of my dreams too!)
4. Work at the elephant orphanage in South Africa
5. Serve a service mission for the church
7. Have the freedom to do what we want with our family! No worries
8. Travel the world with Jess

8 things I have learned from my past...
1. It's better to forgive and forget. Grudges hold you down and make you bitter.
2. No matter who comes and goes in your life, your family will always be there. Always.
3. How powerful prayers really are. God is always listening, especially in your lowest and darkest hours of need.
4. Never pass up an opportunity to do something new and exciting! You never know what you might learn and how much fun it really might be.
5. Treat everyone as you would want to be treated. you never know why people act the way they do, or their backgrounds etc. Love everyone.
6. Don't wish for other people's lives, just be grateful for the one you have!
7. Embrace the little bumps that come your way as blessings.
8. Be positive!!

8 places I would love to go or see..
1. Greece
2. Africa
3. Thailand
4. China
5. Italy
6. Australia
7. Vancouver where my birthmom lives, but I don't know if I'll ever have the guts to go see her..
8. All of the temples in the world!!

8 things I currently need or want...
1. To get this baby out of me!!!!!! I now know why women are pregnant for 9 months...it's because by the time you get to 8 months you are so sick of being pregnant that you will do anything to get that baby out!
2. My hair to grow faster! So I donated it this summer, and it's still only to my chin, GROW hair GROW!!
3. To win a bazillion dollars! Ha! A girl can dream right?
4. After I have the baby I really want to go on What Not To Wear. I think I already dress fabulous, but would love to get an entirely new wardrobe!!
5. For Jess to never have to work again. He works harder than anyone I know, and I would love to see him not work anymore!
6. To work for Lonely Planet, you get paid to go on vacations and write about them!
7. To have my Dad get a job closer. He works in Bonanza which is 3 hours away from Orem and he's there M-F every week. Really not fun for anyone :(
8. Another dog. I know, Mr. Higgins was sort of a train wreck, but I want another dog so badly!!

All of my girlfriends on here are tagged!

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Star Valley

Jess and I had the opportunity this weekend to drive up to Star Valley, Wyoming and stay at this amazingly gorgeous cabin! We had so much fun and it was really nice to get away for a few days especially before the baby arrives! Not only was it just nice to get out, but the gorgeous scenery of that valley, and the nice clean fresh air was a definite plus! There were 3 other couples there with us, one that we knew and two that we got to meet, and by the time we left we all felt like old friends!
We ate like kings, and just got to chill and hang out around the cabin. The boys also went rabbit hunting, and shot skeet off the back balcony. Overall it was just a really fun relaxing couple of days and definitely what I needed!

Jess and I at the buffalo ranch our friend Justin's family owns!
The main living room of the cabin, nice cozy fires at night!

The kitchen and dining area
Master bedroom
master bathroom

living room area downstairs

Jess and I went for a really fun Razor ride! We got to see some of the beautiful scenery, and fyi Razors are SO FUN! We totally want one now!

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Free Handbag contest!

There's this contest I found out about for a chance to win a super cute handbag! I of course entered, so you all should too! Heck, who wouldn't want a free handbag? It is super easy to enter! Just go to this website and enter for your chance to win! Good luck :)

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R words

This week alot of R words have impacted my life whether seriously or just humorously. Here is my list I have compiled of them:

Remission: Well, as most of you know my Mom has been doing Chemotherapy as well as going through a stemcell transplant this summer. It was pretty rough for a while, and we all have been praying and fasting and just worrying for months. This past Thursday I took Mom up to the Huntsman center at 6:30 AM to go and see her Doctor so he could give her a diagnosis after all the treatments. I was not looking forward to it, because I was expecting bad news. BUT he gave us the best news of all: Mom is in Remission! There is not a trace of cancer in her body!!! Hallelujah!! Mom and I immediately started crying and hugged, and for once they were tears of pure joy and boy did it feel good! It is so nice to know all the hard times Mom went through this summer were not for nothing!
Realization: So, as it gets closer and closer it is hitting me hard that I am going to be a Mom in less than 6 weeks! Don't get me wrong I'm totally excited! But just to try and fathom that I am really going to be a Mother and have this little life to take care of 24/7 is kind of a crazy feeling! We bought our crib and stroller and car seat this past weekend and are really starting to feel like we're ready!

Rejoice: I was so excited for conference weekend to come! And I was not disappointed! All of the talks in the 4 sessions were amazing, and I was really good and took lots of notes! But the most exciting part of it all for me was the announcement of the 5 new temples! They are all huge blessings, but the Philadelphia and Kansas City temples really hit home for me. In case any of you don't know, I grew up in Philadelphia the first 18 years of my life, so that is home for me. We were in the Washington DC temple district but the saints out there have been praying for a temple as long as I can remember! And my parents moved to Kansas City right after they took me and Aly to college and lived there for about 5 years. The closest temple to Kansas City is St. Louis which is a good 5 hours away, and is actually where I took out my endowments :) But the members there have been longing for a temple, and the membership is huge there! So it will be such a blessing to the saints in Kansas city to have a temple so close. And Rome Italy? How cool is that?? I would love to go and see that one when it's completed!!
Remenisce/Ridiculous: So on Friday night my Dad and I drove up to a wedding reception in Bountiful. Jess is on our company cruise to the Bahamas this weekend, (boo!), so I had nothing else to do and said I'd tag along. Let me give you some background info. The groom is a man named Lew Frasier, he was and is still a member of the ward I grew up in Philadelphia, the Broomall 2 ward. My dad served as one of his counselors in the bishopric right when my family moved to Philly almost 23 years ago, and he was always very sweet to my sister and I. He and his wife Marion were staple quirky characters in our ward. She was the ward chorister, and would always dress to the nines, like full on gloves and big feathery hats you name it! He was always traveling around the world for his job and would send us postcards from islands and countries I had never even heard of! Anyway, Marion died about 3 years ago, and since then Lew fell in love with a single mother in the ward named Penny. They dated and what not for over a year, and he finally popped the question. Ok, so that doesn't sound too weird right? Well...Lew is 84, and Penny 55. Yikes! Talk about age difference! And to the members of our ward it just all is kind of weird.
So, my Dad and I arrive at the wedding and go through the line and chat with some of the other people we knew who came out of the woodwork to see this wedding. As we're sitting down to dinner after the ring ceremony, I turn to my Dad and say "hey, where is Lew's daughter?", because I knew they had one son and one daughter and I had met the son, but the daughter was not in sight. My Dad leans in really close and whispers "See that man in the cowboy hat? That is their daughter. She is now a man." I about choked on my food! WOW totally not expecting that one!!
So it ended up being quite an eventful night, and they truly are in love you could just tell watching them together so it was a very happy event as well :) And it was fun to talk to the people we knew from Philly who came and remenisce about old times!





The Ring ceremony Cutting the cake! My friend Camille and I kept chanting "Smash it! Smash it!" when they fed it to each other, but they didn't to our great disapointment.
My Dad, Me and Annabelle in the middle. She's my Mom's best friend's daughter who is a ballet student at the U!

Annabelle, Camille, and I lookin fierce!

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Baby Bump contest!

Ok, so I entered this contest with a local radio station here for the cutest baby bump! If you win you get the nursery of your dreams, as well as a 3 hour pregnancy photo shoot and a 3 hour newborn photo shoot! Even if I'm a runner up I still get pretty good prizes and some nice money as well! So Please go to this website baby bump and vote for me I'm entry #3!!!!!

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8 weeks to go!

Well I've officially hit my 32 week mark! It's kind of crazy, the past few months have flown by! It's crazy to think that I have 8 weeks until this little man decides to come into the world.

Jess finally came home on Saturday night! He was such a stinker he wouldn't tell me where he was or how much longer he had, so he completely surprised me! I had decided to make him brownies, well more like I really wanted brownies and said they were for him haha! What? Gimme a break I'm pregnant!
So, I had just turned on the oven and the back door flew open. I looked up completely shocked and there was Jess with my FAVORITE orange roses in hand! I was so stunned I didn't have time to react! We hugged for a long time and I was still in complete shock that he was finally here, and he was so excited to see my belly! We haven't seen each other since July 4th so I am pretty huge compared to what he last saw. It has been nothing but pure bliss since he's been home, and now we're getting prepared for our next great adventure that's only 2 months away!

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Joy

Jess comes home today!!!!!!!!!!!! He should be here in a few hours!!

Ohh joy :)

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Book Worm

So I have been reading alot this summer which has been fantastic. I used to be the biggest book worm, but once I went to college I just never had time; I always would rather go play and do things rather than read. So I'm finally getting back to my good habits of reading! I've read alot of book this summer, some good, and some TERRIBLE. One actually gave me nightmares so I could no longer read it. I wanted to be like Joey from that one episode of 'Friends' when he was reading the Shining and got scared so he put it in the freezer, but I decided to just give it away, so to DI it's going!!

My most recent read was a book called "Marley and Me" by John Grogan. I am such a huge dog lover and this book appealed to me as soon as I saw it on the shelf in Target. I'd heard some things about it and I know they're currently filming a movie after it but I wanted to see what it was like for myself. Can I just tell you that I am in LOVE with this dog and never knew him? If you have ever owned a cute pooch ,so much of what this lovably awful dog does in this book will just make you laugh out loud! So I highly recommend this book! I thorougly enjoyed it and it makes me so excited for when Jess and I get our next dog. Obviously we're going to have to wait a while, probably until our son is at least one, but I still can't wait! And although I loved Mr. Higgins, (for those of you who don't know who he was, he was a Pug/Boston Terrier we adopted who was CRAZY. I had to sell him when I got pregnant because I was too afraid of what he would do to a baby!) , we will definitely be researching our next dog alot more before we get one! We want a dog who's going to fit our lifestyle and unfortunately Mr. Higgins just didn't.

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Update

So just to update on the craziness that has been my life of recent.

First of all, my Mom is doing so much better! She had a rough go for a while, and we were all horribly upset when her doctor told her she had to stay in Salt Lake again for the duration of her treatments. So starting the third week in August I booked us a hotel room at the Residence Inn in downtown Salt Lake which was so much nicer than that cave of a place the Marriott turned out to be before. This room actually had a full kitchen, dishwasher, washer/dryer, a kitchen table, and a living room with pull out bed (which is where I slept). So, I mostly went up during the weeks, and Aly came up when she could get off of work, and Dad on the weekends. We were all ready for the long haul.
The treatments did not go as well this time, and Mom got really sick. And by saying really sick, it's actually an understatement, but I'm not going to go into the specifics. We had several very scary nights and Mom got two blessings, one from her Bishop and one from my cousin Melissa's husband Cory. Both were much appreciated and so heartfelt that it brought so much peace into the room, as well as the very prominent spirit letting us know it was going to be alright.
But reguardless, my Mom is such a tough lady. She roughed it out, all the horrible side effects and all, and was actually able to finally come home this past Saturday night!! Her numbers were finally high enough that she could be home and didn't have to be within 15 mins of the hospital, and we all are so grateful.

The weekend she came home I came home a day early because my Dad was there with her, and I wanted to get the house ready and clean, because it was kind of a pig stye, (oops!). I also went to go get her dog Scooter out of the kennel we had boarded him in during the weeks when no one was home. I was so happy to see him, and I brought him home. No sooner had I opened the door and put his food in his bowl and gave him some water did he walk right over to the freshly cleaned carpets and made that sound that all you dog owners out there know quite well: Gaaaaaak!! I didn't even need to turn around to know that he had just puked all over the carpet. But I did anyway, and there he was standing next to a pile of chartreuse colored vomit wagging his tail just pleased as punch with himself. Great. Reguardless, I figured he had had just as bad a week as I had being cooped up in a kennel, so I wasn't mad for long.

But Mom is now home, and we just need to go up to Salt Lake every few days to see her doctors, which is so much better than staying in the hotel room! She's getting better and stronger everyday, so we are all very very optimistic at this point.

I am also so grateful that my summer away from Jess is almost OVER! He flew to Baltimore on Labor day and will be there until next Wednesday, but then he flies back to Kansas and comes home!!!! I never ever ever want to be away from him again..EVER! I have had so many horrible days missing him so badly, and could not count on my fingers how many nights I have cried myself to sleep. But it all worked out miraculously somehow, because I was able to be here and take care of my Mom. I was mostly the only one who had the time to be with her and take care of her, because Dad now works in Bonanza, which is 3 hours away, and Aly has a job and just started school again. So although this summer has been probably one of the hardest of my life, I'm so grateful that everything worked out perfectly. And now I actually have days when Jess will be home and not weeks or months...DAYS!

Me and the baby are also doing quite well. I just hit my 30 week mark..ahh! I'm feeling really great besides getting tired doing the simplest tasks. And I can no longer sleep at night because I cannot get comfortable, but my new best friend is now Tylenol PM..works great. It's fun for me to just lay there and watch my stomach ripple and move with every wiggle, kick, punch, and somersault the little guy does in there! I am simply amazed that I actually am carrying a human inside of me, we women are amazing creatures, and the blessing of being able to carry our children inside astounds me. I am so grateful for this experience and cannot wait for the adventure motherhood will bring in November!

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Hot Mama!

My very talented friend Elise was awesome enough to help me take some pregnancy shots yesterday. I've been feeling kind of well...HUGE lately and it felt really good to feel pretty! Some guy in Salt Lake the other day at the hotel my Mom and I are staying at for the duration of her treatments asked me if I was having twins...sad!! But for the time being I'm just going to embrace my huge-ness and love it! Anyway, Elise took some amazing pictures and we drove all over south Utah county to find cool outdoorsy spots and we found some pretty sweet ones! These are not all of the pics, but some of my favorites!
Corn!!
LOVE those mountains!!
You can't see him, but there was a TINY baby deer about 30 feet from where I stood! So cute

This one is probably one of my absolute favorites :)



Thanks Elise!! You're the best :)

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