All About You

This bumpdate is for you, little girl.

We're almost 3/4 of the way through this little journey and we are 

just so happy that you're still growing and moving non-stop.

I never want to blame bad memory, or the fact that I'll have other kids and other pregnancies crowding my brain as a reason why I can't remember the details of our short and sweet time spent together like this. So here are some answers to questions you might ask me when you become a little one and some details that I want to remember....

Where Were You When You Found Out You Were Pregnant?: 

In the bathroom of our very first apartment. I took the test without telling your Dad first because we'd agreed to wait out the weekend before we found out... but I couldn't wait!

What Was Your First Thought When You Found Out?: 

It wasn't so much a thought as much as disbelief and amazement. And lots of happiness. 

People get kind of funny when something incredible happens, and our reaction was to laugh lots, hug lots, and stare at each other with really big eyes.

Did You Think You Were Pregnant Before You Knew?: 

Yes. I am not a napping person, and I had started to take 2 or 3 hour naps, no problem. 

And shed tears over Wendy's spicy chicken sandwiches on Fast Sunday. 

What Were Some of The First Names You Thought of For Me?: 

Grace, Audrey and Sienna were some that we liked. Now we've got it narrowed down to two and are waiting to meet you before we choose!

When Do I Move Most?: 

When I'm lounging about or taking walking breaks in Target ;) I've heard that you and most other babies spend lots of time sleeping while mom's are up and moving. Which is very thoughtful seeing as walking around and such is becoming quite the chore lately..

Have You Ever Been Scared or Nervous While Pregnant?: 

There was a small period of time where we went what seemed like forever without getting to go see you on an ultrasound or listen to your heart beat. Plus you hadn't started moving very much yet around the time they say is 'average' to feel movement. But when we did get in to the doctor you looked perfect, your heart was strong, and you've been moving like nutso for a few good weeks now. 

Have I Done Anything Funny?: 

Well there was that one time that you were in a yoga pose in my belly for who knows how long. 

You seemed to be very comfortable with having your feet right in front of your face. Silly girl. 

What Do You/ I Crave?: 

You are a spicy food craver! Since being pregnant I've managed to boost up my tolerance of spicy food quiiiiite a bit. You also love big green salads, pineapple, and the occasional steak. I couldn't eat more than a 9 oz. before... but I think I can out-eat your Dad in the red meat department now ;) The craziest thing I have craved was a big juicy pickle and some raspberry lemonade, at the same time. 

Do You Get Sick a Lot?: 

I was very sick for the first 3-4 months, but then I think we started to mellow out a bit and not have to avoid the kitchen so much. (Your Dad did lots of cooking and dishes during those months.)

What's Your Favorite Thing About Being Pregnant?:

You are my most favorite thing. Other than the first few months this has been, I think, a relatively easy pregnancy and I have just had so much fun watching you get big and feeling you move and imagining your little personality. Especially when you move right under where my hand has been resting on my belly- those little high fives (or foot fives...) are pretty incredible. 

Sometimes I catch your Dad staring at my belly and smiling to himself- 

he's so excited to meet you, baby. 

Keep growing, little girl. 

Family and the Fourth

Josh made an observation about my demeanor the other day that has really stuck with me and made me think about how blessed we've been and our current situation.

"You are your happiest self, but all the time."

And I feel very much like my happiest self, all the time.

The last couple of months in Rexburg were rough. They were rough on my body, they were rough on my mind, and they were rough on mine and Josh's relationship. I was on the very sick side for the first trimester of my pregnancy, felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and watched my productivity level go from an average 7.5 to a 3- all while working a very high-demand job and trying to finish the semester to get my degree. 

Eventually it just became a constant spiral of feeling negative all the time- holding myself to standards I couldn't meet, yet working myself into the ground, and constantly worrying, "What am I going to do?" 

Then we got to Minnesota. 

And I began to feel lighter.

I stopped feeling so much pressure and weight, and decided that I could afford to give myself a little bit of a break. And that this short amount of time we have before baby girl gets here is precious- not because of her absence necessarily, but in terms of preparation. I want to make sure I put as much effort as possible into preparing myself for motherhood (as much as you can prepare yourself for something you've never experienced before, and can't really fully anticipate how it will change your life.)

Since being here, one of the things that I feel most grateful for is Josh's family and extended family. 

They are a wonderful group of people who have been so loving and accepting of me, and taught me a lot about what is important in life and in families.

Being able to spend so much time with them, soaking up every ounce of summer, and have so much support has made me appreciate my own family that much more (and miss them like crazy) and look forward to the addition being made to mine and Josh's family. 

It's just happiness really.

And so, here are some pictures of time spent with the family and our super fun 4th of July that we spent with them.

Josh's Grandma, Barbara and Great Grandbaby, Juniper.

Just some fun family time on Sunday at Grandma's after dinner.

The ONLY bad thing about 4th of July was experiencing what it's like to be producing 2x the amount of blood as a normal human being in a state that considers the mosquito to be it's state bird.

6 bites on one foot.

But everything else made up for that!

Swimming, BBQ, fireworks from Wisconsin, homemade ice cream...

And cakes made into the shape of hamburgers.

What's more American than that?

This boy and artillery shells...

I had no idea.

It was a wonderful 4th of July! 

Fun fact: It's our last time celebrating a holiday (that's not labor day) before baby girl is here.

Whaaaat??

Bumpdate- 27 weeks

A longer-than-normal update since I haven't documented in almost a month.

I swear I grew a good 2 inches horizontally in about a week.

Still loving the tunic dress-leggings combo.

My good friend, Andrea, who just had her little boy this past week, recommended a store for baby things called Once Upon A Child. It's like Plato's Closet, but for kids.

And. It. Is. Bad. News. 

Baby Gap clothes and the most adorable other little get ups for 1-6 dollars?! 

Yes, please.

My baby wardrobe went from nearly nonexistent to excessive in about a week.

Don't feel bad about it one bit.

Now I have to share this fun little quirk from my last time at the ultrasound tech.

When my little girl popped up on screen, this is what I saw. 

Yes, those are her feet touching her forehead.

She's just practicing her yoga, it's fine.

I was a little nervous though and asked the technician if it's normal/ safe for her to be positioned like that. 

She assured me it was totally fine.... so, yeah.

How far along? 27 weeks (on Sunday)

Total weight gain/loss: 20 lbs

Maternity clothes: I bought some awesome dark green pants that just have an elastic band and tie at the waist. I have a hard time not reaching for them everyday. I haven't really bought a ton of 'maternity clothes' though- just extra blousy shirts.

Gender: Girl 

Stretch marks: No belly marks... yet!

Sleep: Like a log. But only on my side (lower back has started to sore up real nice) and always woken up in the morning by a pretty rhythmic set of kicks and punches :) 

Most interesting interaction: Two gems from the past few weeks:

- In the Mall of America, after holding the elevator open for a group of very loud rambunctious ladies, the elevator got eerily quiet while it traveled until one of them looks at me and says, "....Pregnant?" 

As I look over my protruding belly, "Well if I'm not there's something really wrong with me." 

- While walking out of my gym a lady at the front desk looked at me and said, "You ready?"

I said "Well yeah, but I'm fine with waiting the 3-ish more months till she gets here." 

Homegirl's eyes seriously bulged. 

As in, 'You mean you're not about two seconds away from delivering right here in this 

Lifetime Fitness lobby?' 

I know, I know. I'm large. Thank you. Now please take care of those big eyes before they jump out of your head.

Best moment of the week: Josh and I won't even fully be awake yet when I start feeling kicks, so I just pull his hand over and rest it on my tummy to watch him wake up to the feeling of her moving. 

Movement: I'm impressed at how I will simultaneously feel a punch/kick on two opposite sides of my belly at the same time. 

Makes me feel best: Getting heavy doses of sunshine.

Hardest task: Holy I can't bend over for the next 3 months. 

Food cravings: Large amounts of everything. Especially Chipotle. Like, for every meal.

Most looking forward to: Really beginning to get our space set up for baby girls arrival. I have big plans for making the most out of our little space!

Most nervous about: Honestly, I have very few nerves right now. I've been hearing more lately about the strain of a newborn on a marriage, so I'm trying to mentally prepare for that and talk with Josh about it.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Like clockwork I have morning sickness ONCE a week. 

Are you showing? Oh yes. 

Belly button: Flat as a pancake.

Happy or Moody: Very happy! Baby girl is healthy, and I'm honestly starting to feel the excitement kick in. Looking at her little clothes every day helps.

Weekly Wisdom: First- always ask for a 3D ultrasound! Second: I've found it to be somewhat rewarding to hold myself to slightly higher expectations than other people hold me to. I have lots of sweet people around me who want to make sure I don't push myself too hard, and I definitely keep it in check but I feel very energized at making choices like walking vs driving to the farmer's market, and pushing myself just a bit further to finish all of the chores for the day. It's good to take it easy and not go past your limits, but don't form a bubble of idleness around yourself. Getting up and moving (waddling) really helps keep up the energy levels.

I feel content with waiting 3 more months, but I'm getting increasingly excited to meet this little one.

I already think she's the greatest.

Little Nothings

Pregnant me cracks herself up. 

In the past 48 hours I have had 4 very significant lapses in judgment and coherence that caused me to spill large amounts of water everywhere. 

1. Josh hands me a cup full of water in the middle of the night to soothe my sore throat- not two seconds after he hands it to me while I'm lying flat in bed, I fall asleep, my hand holding the cup goes limp and the water seeps all over my chest, pillow, back, sheets and hair. I was so disoriented I kind of just started whimpering while Josh ran to get some towels.

2. The very next day I went out in the backyard to sit and lounge on one of the plush patio chairs and read my book. Not a problem, except I forgot that the day before the clouds had opened wide to pour several inches of rain water right into the plushiness of my chair... 

Proceeded to laugh out loud to no one, and go inside to change my pants.

3. Faulty water bottle = face, chest and shirt full of water

Pregnant me forgot the 4th, but I promise it was a doozie. 

Oh my, Friday. You are a beautiful sight. 

The air conditioning has been on the fritz in our home for (coming on) two weeks now and at the same time I am re-learning all about the wonders of humidity. This weekend I just want to be near a body of water as much as humanly possible. 

I think I could actually be a person that doesn't despise humidity, but I'd like to find out perhaps at a time when my body isn't already naturally swelling...

Humidity and all though, I'm so excited for summer. Apart from those couple of holiday months it is my FAVORITE time of year. I hope we take the time to go and explore some of the lakes and bike trails, spend lots of evenings outside, host at least one BBQ, check out the local and city farmers markets, and just enjoy this beautiful time. 

And I'm not gonna lie, I'm weirdly excited to check out the Minnesota State Fair.

Josh has been bragging to me that it's the biggest state fair in the U.S., but frankly I would just be going to check out all the crazy fair-food. I mean, that's everyone's favorite part anyway, right?

I thought so.

Our Friday Night

Josh's mom, Kris has been great at picking up on some of the coolest/ yummiest places around Lakeville. Before we went to a Twins game during our first week in town she found this place called the Smack Shack in downtown Minneapolis where we had the best crab cake sandwiches of ever.

Earlier in the week she told Josh and I about this place called the Olive Grove in Mendota Heights that sells quality balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and other italian goods. 

Um. Yes please.

So we decided to piggy back on Josh's parents night out and join them for dinner and an amazing taste-testing of quality and uniquely flavored oils and vinegars.

Bread and toothpicks were offered as vehicles for the oils and vinegar but I couldn't be bothered. 

Once I saw words like "Peruvian Lime", "Sweet Peach", "and "Black Truffle" I was sipping straight from the little cups. Every flavor was super unique and delicious. 

This fusti above (I learned that's the name for these big beautiful steel canisters) had an 18-year aged balsamic vinegar that was so smooth and sweet I went back for seconds. There was also a delicious 12-year aged balsamic that had just a little more bite to it.

Our favorites:

18-year aged balsamic

Chipotle olive oil

Cinnamon pear white balsamic

Jalapeño balsamic

Mango balsamic

Peruvian Lime olive oil + Mango balsamic combo

I wanted to take all of them home, but we decided on the Mango to add to salad dressings, drizzle on top of salsas and for meat and summer grilling marinades. I can't wait to use it!

Then we headed across the street to mendoberri cafe for some really scrumptious grub.

Yes, that is three photos of the same burger. It was that good.

One thing I realized about outings involving food is that I am the worst at documenting the people!

I tend to kind of make the meals and food the star of the show haha... 

*Note to self to snap more pics of Josh and I in the future*

We really have appreciated the breadth of experiences we've been able to have since moving away from Idaho. Rexburg was a great spring-board for our marriage and we had experiences/ fun times that won't be forgotten, but living in a new area has actually added a new dimension to our relationship. Each of us is happier and more energized every day to get up, go, and try new things. Even taking walks around the neighborhood and the local trails is a sweet, new experience. I wasn't expecting to enjoy Minnesota so much but the people, the cities, cute downtowns and gorgeous farmland are beginning to make it hard not to. 

We've got a good thing going here MN. I think you and I will get a long real nicely.