Just stuff

Just a shout out to Megan Hatch, who I just found out reads this: holla!

Things have been going pretty well around here, no exciting labor or anything yet, but probably pretty soon. Since my last post, some exciting things have happened. The Saturday right after my last post Mom came to Pasadena to help do some things around the apartment we hadn't gotten around to yet. We hung pictures and did some heavy lifting that needed to be done but Rick wouldn't let me help him with. We had fun and capped it off with a trip to Souplantation where my favorite thing was the blueberry muffins, they were soooo yummy. After Mom left Rick and I put the finishing touches on our talks which we gave the next day. Sunday morning Rick and I were both really nervous, and no contractions to keep us away we went to church. I spoke first and did most of the introduction of us as a couple and my talk was about joy. It turned out pretty well, but I ad-libbed a lot and probably sounded a little crazy, but at least I didn't cry. Well, I guess I sounded really cheerful, a guy in the ward told me that I came across as very cheerful today, so I guess that is a good thing. The primary sang a couple songs in between and then it was Rick's turn. He did a really great job speaking about the importance of families all the time, but especially at Christmas. He didn't do such a great job introducing himself because he talked a lot about me, but it was really sweet.

The next day December 15th was very exciting because Holly had her baby, Jack Flanagan that morning. He is so cute and looks a lot like his daddy. The Flanagans are all doing well and are now at home. My mom drove up Tuesday to Utah to be with the Flanagans, and she's been having a ball playing with them and Julie. Our week here in Pasadena was not full of any sort of excitement, Rick went to work and I've just been doing things around the house. I did pack my hospital bag and we installed the car seat, so just a couple more things to get ready. Saturday we went on a date, maybe our last one before the baby. We got some really yummy pizza from a little Italian place in town, which I think we will definitely return to in the future. I was especially surprised I liked Rick's Tomato basil pizza, it was olive oil based, not pizza sauce based, and just topped with a little mozzarella, tomatoes and some fresh basil, it was really good. Then we went and saw a movie. It was really fun just to get out and do something that was not baby related, which most of our dates have been. And as we were driving around we saw more preparations for the Rose parade, there are bleachers set up sporadically up and down Colorado Ave and there are more and more decorations going up. Today has been a good day, with the Christmas presentation during Sacrament meeting and good lessons in gospel doctrine and relief society.

Rick and I have been trying one new recipe a week just to expand our eating horizons. Today we made some apple chicken and it turned out pretty well, maybe next time we'll add some more apples just to kick up the flavor a notch. And I made pumpkin muffins this week, which are so good. I made plain, raisin and chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, and they all turned out well. I got Rick and Ableskeiver pan for Christmas, so I think we might do those this week sometime.

This week will be exciting because Julie is coming down for winter break. I haven't seen her since August, so I'm excited to hang out. And she just wants me to have my baby so she can be the first person to hold both the babies. We'll see how that is going tomorrow at my doctor's appointment. And of course this week is Christmas, which is awesome, but a little weird since our family already celebrated, I'm not exactly sure what we'll do, but I hope it is something great. A lot of people at Church today speculated that we'll have a Christmas baby, which is entirely possible, but I hope doesn't happen, that would stink for poor little William.

Having no topic is a bad topic

So this week I had another doctors appointment, it seems like I've been to a million lately. She checked the baby's heartbeat, gave me tips on how to not have swollen ankles and feet, and just did the normal stuff. All is well with me and the baby, and I'm not in labor yet so I'll see my doc again next week. I also picked up some info on pediatricians, so we'll pick one and have that big step taken. Tuesday we took a labor class at the hospital and it was a good learning experience. We talked about the stages and phases of a normal labor and the symptoms/emotions that come along with each one, and we watched a video where we saw a baby being born. I assumed we were all adults in the class, but about half the people giggled when we were watching the baby actually come out. Rick and I didn't learn a ton of new info, but it was a good class anyway, and the only one available before my due date.

Monday night the bishop called and asked Rick and I to speak this Sunday. It would have been nice to have a little more time to get ready, but the bishop likes to use the second Sunday of the month to have a new family in the ward speak and introduce themselves. However, he didn't give us a topic, and thus far that has been the hardest part of preparing our talks. I think I have finally nailed down speaking about joy, particularly joy in the Christmas season and Christ, but it has kind of also spread out to be joy in just all the things that go on in our family in December, including the baby, Christmas, Rick's birthday, our anniversary and everything that goes along with all of those things. I'm afraid I'm gonna end up telling way too many stories about us and not using enough scripture/doctrine. And I'm either gonna talk very fast and finish early leaving Rick too much time, or just gabbing forever and boring the congregation. Rick just barely thought of a topic, Family, and is having a hard time thinking of what exactly about family he wants to talk about. This is my first talk since being a youth speaker in Redlands and his first talk since his first couple months at BYU. I know I'm gonna end up getting teary because when I'm nervous I get teary and I'm pregnant. I almost hope I go into labor Sunday morning just to miss having to speak.

More Me and More me!

50 things you didn't know about me until you read this...

1.What color is your tooth brush? Orange, Blue and White
2. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Tucking Rick into bed, then answering a spanish question for Kellie
3. What is your favorite candy bar? Twix
4. Have you ever been to a strip club? No way, Jose
5. What is the last thing you said aloud? OK, talk to you later (to my mom on the phone)
6. What is the best ice cream flavor? depends on the day, but right now brownie fudge
7. What is the last thing you had to drink? Water
8. What are you wearing right now? capris, a green t-shirt and my new wedding ring
9. What was the last thing you ate? some baby carrots
10. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No
11. When was the last time you ran? Probably March-ish
12. Who was the last person to send you a message/comment on your blog? Cindy
13. Do you take vitamins daily? mostly, but sometimes I forget
14. Do you go to church every Sunday? yes, unless I'm feeling too sick
15. Do you have a tan? yeah, still have the freaky tan on my ankles from my last beach trip
16. Do you like Chinese food over pizza? I like both, so it depends on the day
17. Do you drink soda with a straw? not usually, but sometimes I do
18. What does your last text message say? It is a special offer from Verizon, I didn't actually read it though
19. Are you someones best friend? Hopefully
20. What are you doing tomorrow? Grocery shopping, ironing, and writing my talk for this Sunday
21. Where is your dad? Redlands, probably in bed right now
22. Look to your left, what do you see?My kitchen table and Christmas wrapping paper
23. What color is your favorite pair of shoes? pink
24. Do you use chap stick? yes, I'm addicted
25. Whats your favorite thing to do in your free time? hang out with Rick
26. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Go in, I'm scared of the drive thru
27. Do you have a dog? No, but we have a lot of cute neighbor dogs, especially Hamlet and Sparticus
28. Last guy you talked on the phone with? Rick
29. Last girl you talked on the phone with? Mom
30. Any fun vacation plans soon? Not right now
31. Do you dye your hair? nope
32. Can you say the alphabet backwards?I tried to once recently, and it took a long time, but I did it
33. Do you have a maid service clean your house? Nope
34. Are you jealous of anyone? Right now, anyone who can sleep without heartburn and who can lay on their back
35. Do you love anyone? Lots of people
36. Do any of your friends have children? yes
37. Do you use the word Hello daily? Most days, I think
38. Do you like cats? They're alright
39. Have you ever been to six flags? Yes
40. How did you get your worse scar? Do stretch marks count? If not, than from stabbing myself
41. What is your favorite smell? Apple cinnamon, or baking goodies
42. What is the last DVD you watched? Disney's Robin Hood
43. Have you ever been to Disney world? Sadly, no
44. What is your favorite number? 7
45. Do you toast your pop tarts? yes, but only the S'mores ones
46. Have you ever waited tables? Yes
47. Where did you have your first kiss? In a car outside the boy's house
48. What should you be doing? Sleeping (I wish)
49. Do you enjoy wasting time blogging? mostly reading other people's blogs
50. Who do you want to tag? anyone who wants to,

Children's Theater Festival

For those of you out there who do not know what Children's Theater Festival (CTF) is, I'll fill you in. At our high school the winter theater production is actually three half hour children's shows directed by students. The student director picks the script, helps design the sets and costumes etc, and picks and directs the cast. Then one Saturday each show is done twice and outside of the theater is a carnival for the kids to play at between shows. It is tons of fun and is pretty much the best show of the year.

It has been a Chatfield tradition since Holly participated in it her freshman year. For me it was always a blast, especially the year I played Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty and made some kids cry because I was so scary (I had to tone it down after that). Holly, Julie, myself and now Carlie have all directed a show our senior year. Holly did Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I did one about a witch's first birthday, Julie did Aladdin and Carlie also did the Three Bears.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go down to Redlands this weekend and see all the CTF shows, including Carlie's . I went with mom, dad, Kellie and Kellie's friend Marshall who brought his (totally awesome) six year old sister Tessa. First we saw Beauty and the Beast, which was pretty good, but definitely pulled most of their script from the Disney movie. The best part, to me, was the fact that a troop of girl scouts sat behind us and made hilarious comments during the show.

Carlie's show was next, and it was really good. Her cast did a great job and I especially just wanted to eat up her Baby Bear, he was so adorable. And it was really interactive with the kids, and the audience did a great job participating. Even though Holly and Carlie directed the same script, you kinda can't compare the two because they were sooo different, each good in their own way. I think Carlie was happy about how it went, even though there were some rough patches along the way.

Last we watched Peter Pan. I'm glad I knew the story before I watched it, because besides the boy who played Peter, I couldn't understand a word. The costumes looked great though. It was a fun day, including watching Tessa eat her cotton candy. I think cotton candy is gross, but watching her enjoy it and in such a messy way almost tempted me to have some myself.

I spent most of the rest of the day in Redlands doing some laundry and just hanging out until the Christmas Parade. Also a long beloved tradition, the parade goes through downtown Redlands and is just fun. We sat with some families from the ward and the parade was awesome. There were cute dogs, cute kids, some awesome horses, awesome cars that were antique and some new (like all the corvettes) and lots of cute floats. I was a little bummed because when RHS marching band walked by I couldn't see Kellie and they weren't even playing. Probably the best part was watching the Mortensen children eat tons of licorice, candy canes, cream puffs and be wacky.

Thanksgiving/Christmas

This is me 36 weeks pregnant

Here are just some baby toys we have, plus the baby monitor Kellie got usHere are the diapers and diaper wipes we have, it looks like a lot to me but mom says that they won't last very long.
Our bassinet
The bouncer seat
Rick testing out the baby carrier we got with the awesome monkey for the Jungle themed room

Cute little clothes hanging up in the closet, with much more where those came from in the drawers of the dresser, we just didn't think we needed to hang up onsies and sleepers.

Well this last week has been action packed. Rick and I drove down Tuesday night to Redlands to spend the holidays with my family. Wednesday we slept in and relaxed for awhile enjoying the rainy weather. It was the first time Rick has experienced true winter in California. I think we maybe even wore coats. He much prefers CA winter to UT winter. We spent the afternoon doing errands around the town. Our biggest errand was a trip to Babies R Us. We've been doing a lot of research and finally picked a carseat and stroller. We also picked up a diaper pail and some more bassinet sheets because my mom said that one set just wouldn't cut it. I'll put up pictures of the carseat etc when we take it out of the box. I'm really excited that we also ordered a glider rocker for the baby's room. It is a cherry wood with beige padding and is super comfy, and is short enough where I can put my back all the way on the chair and still have my feet touch the floor. They didn't have any in stock or in their warehouse, so it'll be almost a month till we get it, but that will be just about when the baby comes, so it is perfect timing.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and it was a fun day. We woke up and watched the Macy's parade and then watched the dog show. It was a great show this year and there were so many cute dogs. And to my (happy) surprise, no poodles. We all had our food assignments and I was in charge of mashed potatoes and yams and Rick had drinks and gravy (and I laughed and said that if Julie had gotten that assignment the gravy would have been the drinks). Dinner was really wonderful, and the stuffing (my favorite) was extra tasty. We then went on our traditional walk and it was really nice. Friday was Christmas eve for our family because we celebrated Christmas early so the girls could have a Christmas before Mom went up to Utah to be with Holly and baby Jack. Mom and Dad did last minute shopping and everyone wrapped their presents. We played an awesome game of croquet which I completely dominated. We also played Apples to Apples which was a lot of fun. To get into the Christmas spirit we watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas, read the story of the nativity in the bible, and read Christmas stories.

Christmas morning was Saturday and we woke up to fun filled stockings with lots of presents and candy. When mom and dad woke up we opened presents. It was a lot of fun and I think most everyone really enjoyed everything they received. It is fun to see Carlie and Kellie be such thoughtful gift givers to each other. Rick and I got fun gifts for each other, and Santa got me Pride and Prejudice on DVD, which means I must have been pretty good. We spent the rest of the day at Oak Glen where we bought apple cider, had a fun picnic, played Frisbee, and fed and pet lots of animals at the petting zoo. I would put up pictures, but they are all on Mom and Dad's camera, so I'll have to get them next time I'm down there which will be this next weekend because it is Children's Theater Festival.

Sunday was church, hanging out and I actually completed a Cryptoquip (which I usually fail at miserably). Today we are back in Pasadena and I had a doctor's appointment. We had another ultra-sound and it was awesome to see his heart beat, watch his lungs in action, and find out that he is super flexible because he had on of his large baby feet near his face. He is about 7 lbs. and 20ish inches. She said everything looked healthy, and she didn't say I am diabetic, which is good. And I'm dilated to 1cm right now. My appointments will now be weekly, which I will hopefully remember. Now here are some pictures.