December

I'm slightly behind on posting. McCoy is 10 weeks old today. On December 5th he had his 2 month well-check appointment. He weighed in at 10 lbs. 10 oz. He was 22 1/4 inches long and his head circumference was 15.5 cm. He is just a little guy but to us he has gotten so big! The doctor says that he is growing really well though. With the chubby cheeks he has gotten I can't imagine that he wouldn't be gaining weight well. We also switched to a different medicine for his reflux. The Axid was helping but the Prevacid is working so much better. I have my baby back finally.

For the last 2 weeks we have been having a hard time napping. Just after his morning feeding he takes a pretty good nap for 2 to 3 hours. The rest of the day is a different story. As long as I'm holding him he will sleep. I will lay him down and within 15-30 minutes he wakes up. I have tried laying him in different places, putting him back to sleep and laying him down again. But each time he does the same thing. Does anyone have any advice? It makes it very hard to get much done during the day. The only time I can do things around the house is when he is playing. Now with that said he has been a champ at sleeping at night. On his usual nights he wakes up 1 or 2 times a night. On Wednesday night he woke up about 7 times and that was really hard for me. Lucky me Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night he has slept the entire night. I lay him down at 9 and he wakes up at 8. It is crazy, but oh so nice. Who knows it might be a faze but I'm loving it!





McCoy loves his bath time. It is a nice end to the day. He has been starting to figure out his hands and arms. While I change his diaper he will sit and stare at his arm and move it around. He has even started to hit his toys on his play mat on purpose. One of his new favorite things to do is suck on his fist. He does it during his entire bath. He enjoys laying on his play mat which has this fun star that flashes different colors and plays music. He loves his bouncy seat which also lights up and plays music but his favorite part is the dog face on it. He is growing up so quickly!



It snowed a lot these last 2 days. I was a little nervous about how Cede would react to the snow. Living in St. George she really hasn't seen much snow and she definitely hasn't had to go out in the snow to go potty. She was a little tentative in the beginning but then she just started running through it. She looked like she was chasing something. We figure that the snow must fly up as she runs so she thinks she really is chasing something. It is so cute to see her come in with her legs and face covered in snow! She also has found a new favorite treat, peanuts. As you can see in the picture she has found someone that will happily give her some!









As you can tell most of my life revolves around McCoy. It is wonderful. I love being a mom and never knew I could love my baby this much. I have been out and gotten most of my Christmas shopping done. Julianne has been a great shopping companion! Jeff has of course been working. He has had a lot to do at work this week and we are happy that he has finished up the presentation he was working on. McCoy lights up the second he sees Jeff. I have to say Jeff is one of his favorite people, Jeff can get him talking! Jeff has also been spending a lot of time wrapping gifts. He is so much better at it than I am. So I label and put a bow on top. I do have to wrap Jeff's presents though. We are very excited for Christmas to be here. I know it won't be very exciting for McCoy this year but it is exciting for us to have McCoy for Christmas this year. He is the best gift we will receive this year. I'm also so happy that we live up north close to all of our family this year. We aren't missing out on family parties because of the weather or work. It is great!

Erickson Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

I tried this on 3 different pictures. One right after he was born and then 2 that were taken around the same time. I used the same pictures for Jeff and me. The one from right after he was born said he looked more like me by 9%-this is a surprise to me because I thought he looked so much like Jeff in the beginning. The next said he looked more like Jeff by 4%. This came back in between and since I love this picture and because I think he looks equally like Jeff and me I decided to use it. What do you think? Does McCoy look more like Jeff or me?

Busy Busy

Things have been busy around here lately. Well I guess it hasn't been necessarily busy but I definitely have one little guy that holds my attention all day. I can't complain though. I love him to pieces.

Here are a few things that have been going on:

My parent's basement is finally finished! They have been waiting months for it to be done and now we are living down there.

Jeff went to St. George the weekend that the basement was finished and picked up our furniture and our other things that we were storing. I'm glad he went because I didn't have many winter clothes and it was beginning to get cold.

McCoy has gotten so big! Just over a week ago we took him to the doctor because I was sure he had reflux. I was correct. We are trying one medication right now but may be changing to a different medication at his 2 month well check this Friday. The medicine has been helping but not completely taking it away. It is very sad to see him in pain. At that appointment he weighed in at 9 lbs. 14 oz. He had gained 14 oz. in just over 2 weeks. He is becoming more alert and talkative every day. He coos constantly and is quite a happy boy, when he isn't in pain.

Of course there was Thanksgiving this last Thursday. We had a great time at Jeff's Dad's house. It was so fun to be able to see the majority of Jeff's siblings. McCoy was able to meet some family members for the first time. He was such a good boy that day, I was so grateful! I wish I had pictures but my camera was dead when I went to get it. Hopefully I'll be able to get some from Angie or Annette. I love Jeff's family. I have always felt completely comfortable around them and they are so much fun!

Friday I didn't go out early to face the crowds. There really wasn't anything that was worth getting up that early for. I did go out later in the day for a few hours to get some things but the crowds were gone by then. The good news is that I don't have much more to get for Christmas. I don't enjoy going out shopping at the malls and things around Christmas because it is so busy so I'm happy to know I only need to make 1 or 2 more trips.

Saturday we spent the day trying to organize our things in the basement. Moving isn't fun, even if it is just from upstairs to downstairs. We also needed to get the house clean for Sunday because...

McCoy was blessed today. It was so wonderful and I will do a whole separate post about it. All I can say is Jeff did a great job! Thanks to all those who were able to make it. I will have pictures of McCoy in his cute blessing outfit, but I have to get them from my sisters.

Here is a cute little video of McCoy and Aunt Ju Ju. She can always get him to talk a lot and smile so much. She is such a great aunt and I don't know what I would do without her. McCoy loves her and she is practically his second mom. He was just beginning to coo really loud instead of the soft little coos and now he can really go crazy. I'll have to try to get another video, it is quite cute. Sorry it is crooked. I'm just now getting this posted (Dec 9th) because I had a hard time getting the video up.

One Month!

"Cool just like daddy"

My baby is a month old! I can't believe how fast time goes by. He is getting so big too. I took him into the doctor on Tuesday because I was afraid he had Thrush, which he does, and he weighed in at 9 lbs. I can't believe he is that big. As for the Thrush, we caught it really early and so it has already cleared up, we just have to continue the medicine for a few more days. Our time with McCoy for the last few weeks has been so fun. He is typically a very happy baby. Not too difficult until he got the thrush but he is already back to normal. He likes to lay on the floor and talk. He tries so hard and it is so cute when he coos. He has been smiling since he was 2 weeks old. He also thinks he is so strong and likes to hold his head up to look around when you hold him. He is a good sleeper so far. He is definitely a binki baby. He recognizes the voices of Mom, Dad, Grandma McGuire, Grandpa McGuire and Aunt Ju Ju. The other day as Grandma was holding him I walked up to say hi to him. The second that he focused on my face I got the biggest smile. That just melts my heart. He definitely loves his dad and gives him lots of smiles. He loves his swing, and I love his swing! Today he found the mirror that is directly above him and he was smiling and talking to himself all morning. We are so grateful to have this little blessing in our lives. We love you McCoy!

Showing how strong he thinks he is, holding up his head.

If you touch him at all he throws his arms out like this.

Smiling at himself in the mirror.

Halloween Weekend

We had a really fun Halloween weekend. On Thursday night we had our ward Halloween party. Jeff and I are part of the activities committee but because of the new little one we didn't take part in planning this activity. It was a hit though. All the kids dressed up and some of the adults did too. Jeff went as Luigi, I went as a devil (not sure that is the best costume for a ward activity at the church, should have thought it through), and McCoy was a chili pepper. They had games in each of the classrooms for the kids to play where they would win a toy or treat for playing. There were glazed donuts and homemade rootbeer for refreshments. It was fun.

On Halloween we had a family party at my parent's house. Even Kris and the family came. It was so fun to have the kids here. First we went out trick-or-treating. This neighborhood reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in. There are so many kids and it's a close-knit neighborhood, we know everyone. I remember going to every house in our neighborhood growing up but the kids only hit a few houses. I guess usually they do a trunk or treat and so this house to house thing is different. When we got home we had dinner, soup in cute pumpkin bread bowls and salad. Ju Ju and I planned some fun games. First we played pumpkin bowling. We had 2-liter bottles lined up as the pins and a pumpkin for the bowling ball. The kids really enjoyed this. Brody wanted to play with the pumpkin all night. I was surprised that he could pick up the pumpkin. Peter was being so funny and kept walking over and hitting down the bottles. Every time we would cheer for the person bowling Peter would throw his arms up and make his "proud" smile. He was very tired and so he was absolutely hilarious. Next we played Halloween bingo. Then a game called Trick-or-Treat. You had to pull a piece of paper out of the pumpkin and you would either have to do a trick to earn your treat or you would get the treat paper. It was so funny. I had to do a somersault, which let me tell you was strange. I don't know the last time I did a somersault and I was dizzy right after. Erica did a cartwheel, even though she is pregnant. Bob walked like a spider. Bracken danced like a fairy, it was hilarious! Dad walked like Frankenstien. Jeff flapped like the wings of a bat. Emma made a scary face. Nate made a silly face. Sadly I don't remember what Kris and Mom did. The kids wanted to play again so we let them draw again a few times. Jake got the flap like the wings of a bat. He ran around and started pretend biting people and yelling "Now you have rabies." I have no idea where that came from, kids are funny. Last we played Pumpkin Toss. We tied a plastic pumpkin around the waist of one spouse and the other had to try to throw as many candy corn in the pumpkin as possible in 1 minute. Brack and Ju one, no surprise. We then went back upstairs for dessert, Spider Oreos, Witches Hats and a Pumpkin shaped cake. All in all it was so fun!

Ju Ju and Bracken-Hicks

Erica-Ballerina Witch, Bob-Biker, Brody-Ninja

Nat-Devil, Jeff-Bull Rider, McCoy-Chili Pepper

Kris-Cat, Jacob-Anakin, Emma-Hannah Montana, Peter-Monster

Mom-Cruella De Vil, Dad-Indiana Jones

Smiley Boy!

I just thought I'd share a few photos of McCoy that we have taken over the last few weeks. Things have gotten into kind of a routine and that has been nice. I have to say that I'm quite spoiled because McCoy gets up only once a night now. Seriously, the other night he slept from 10 to 5. I couldn't believe it. I know that there is a chance that will change so for right now I am definitely loving it. He truly is a good baby. The evenings are a little hard right now. He tends to cluster feed, meaning that he wants to eat frequently in the evening and is kind of fussy until he is fed. Maybe this is why he is sleeping so well at night. He is a very happy boy first thing in the morning and just after he eats. He gives us lots of smiles and they are truly smiles. He smiles as a reaction to me, Jeff, Aunt Ju Ju, Grandma and Grandpa. In fact I can tell now by looking at his face when he is going to give us smiles. I know it seems early but as you can tell in the pictures, it truly happens. I love being a mom. It is nice when Jeff gets home though in the evening to relieve my arms. Also I am spoiled rotten because I have Aunt Ju Ju here all the time and she has been a life saver through my recovery. McCoy already loves her and can recognize her voice. Another good thing is that Cede loves McCoy. She thinks she needs to be by him all the time. Every time I change his diaper she has to come over and give him kisses. A good majority of my day is spent holding the boy and the dog. We are happy that the transition has gone well for her though because she is part of the family. From what we can tell McCoy seems to like Cede too. He just stares and stares at her. It is so cute, a little boy and his dog.

McCoy Jeffrey Erickson

I'm so sorry it has taken so long for me to finally tell about the birth of our little one. Recovery has been hard and I've decided that this being a mom thing isn't for the weak. First of all his name is McCoy Jeffrey Erickson. We had a few names picked out and that one topped the list. Thank goodness he looks like a McCoy.

Now for the story. We were supposed to go in Sunday morning at 6:00 to be induced. Saturday morning I started having contractions but they were far apart. So I went with my mom to Target and Costco. My contractions became closer together. Finally around 5:00 we decided that I should go in since my contractions were 5 minutes apart. They took me and put me on the monitors to watch what was going on. Finally around 8:30 they said they were going to keep me because my contractions were obviously labor contractions so they put me in a room. Jeff had stayed home to make sure things were ready for the baby so he came in at that time. He showed up just after 9:00 as they were giving me my epidural. Yes, I immediately got an epidural while only being dilated to a 3. Around 10:00 they broke my water. About an hour later they came in and started a pitocin drip. They didn't have to increase the pitocin more than twice because my body was taking care of the contractions and dilating alone. We decided to get some sleep since it was going to be a long night. At around 1:30 I started feeling the contractions in my lower back. I pushed the button to give me a little more epidural and nothing was happening. I decided to give it about 20 minutes to see if it would kick in. When it didn't and I started feeling more pain I decided to call the nurse. She paged the anesthesiologist but she was in doing another epidural so it would take 45 min to an hour. I figured I could handle the pain for a while but it started getting worse. Eventually I wasn't numb at all anymore and was feeling the contractions that were coming about every minute and half. I was so upset because I had decided on the epidural so I wouldn't have any pain and now I was experiencing horrible pain. Finally the anesthesiologist came in. She said she was going to give me the strongest stuff she could and left to get some ice so she could check where I was numb and where I wasn't. When she came back in I told her that my legs weren't numb at all. This worried her. Sure enough with the check I was feeling everything. So she turned me over thinking she may have to start a new epidural and found that the tubes had come unhooked. This never happens, the nurse said she wouldn't have even thought to have checked that because it never happens. So the anesthesiologist sterilized everything and got me hooked up again. She gave me two shots of the strongest stuff she could, 2% Lidocaine and stayed around for a while to make sure it got better. I could still feel pressure in my lower back but it was so much better. Just after this they checked me and I was to an 8. When the 2% Lidocaine was wearing off I asked for some more because of course the regular stuff wasn't going to work for me now. After I got another shot I became really worried because I couldn't feel my legs at all. I couldn't wiggle my toes on my left leg. Jeff was going to die because I was in so much pain that I needed the strong stuff and now I was complaining about being too numb. I fell asleep for about an hour then the new nurse came in to check on me. I had a fever so we started me on an antibiotic. Shortly after I was dilated to a 10 and at +2 station. We decided to try a few pushes just so I knew what was coming. The doctor said that if I could stand it we should wait a while longer and try to get to +4 station. I was feeling some pain but I knew that there was a good chance that once he was so low the epidural may not work completely. After about a half hour I decided that I would rather push through the contractions knowing that I could be pushing for a long time since he wasn't all the way down. After about an hour and a half of pushing the nurse said I was almost to +3 station. This was a little sad because I was pushing hard. By this point I was feeling every contraction and wasn't numb anymore, although the epidural was still hooked up. We got the doctor to come in and check me and she said that he wasn't coming down, his head was coning. My pelvic bones had not separated and so he wasn't going to come out. Wish I had known this before being in labor for 18 hours. So she went to consult with a different doctor about a c-section, telling me that most likely that was what we would be doing. I started to cry, not because I was scared but because I was so ready to have the baby out and was happy to be going in for a c-section and asked Jeff to go get my mom. Both my mom and my sister have had to have c-sections so I was completely fine with the decision. We had to wait for the anesthesiologist, who was finishing up an epidural, I know my luck sucks when I really need something. The contractions now were continuous with no break between and I was feeling each. Thank goodness I had the best labor and delivery nurse. Seriously I couldn't have made it without her. She was pushing on my hips and talking me through the breathing. I'm serious, amazing. Finally the anesthesiologist came in and she and the doctor talked to me about everything and I signed all the paperwork needed. I was given some of the strong medication and I was feeling so much better. After they wheeled me into the OR I started to smile because I was feeling so much better. The doctors and nurses commented on how they thought they would never see me smile again after all the pain I had gone through. I was all prepped and they let Jeff come in. Jeff watched the entire c-section. The anesthesiologist kept me notified on what was happening and told me when I would be feeling pressure. She said some women find the pressure to be so uncomfortable it may be painful but really it didn't hurt at all. My c-section of course couldn't be normal because what else had been normal during my delivery? The baby had been pushed so far down and was wedged in my pelvic bones. Sorry to be graphic but the nurse had to push from the bottom as well as the doctor pulling from the top. The nurse couldn't even get a good stand on the floor while she was pushing. They thought they were done but she ended up having to push again but this time the nurse had to use a fist because the finger tips weren't giving enough pressure. Poor McCoy. Jeff said he thought newborns were incredibly fragile until he watched them pull him out of my stomach. It took a moment for him to cry, they said he would eventually and the second he did I started to cry. I was so happy to hear my son and know he was there. They brought him to Jeff and he showed McCoy to me, since I couldn't move my arms. He was so beautiful. There were complications with my uterus because it had thinned with my pushing him down so far so they had to do a few extra tests and things causing my c-section to last forever. Part way through I ended up falling asleep because I was so exhausted.

Jeff left shortly after McCoy was born to take him to the nursery. He said he would stay with me but I told him to go, knowing it could take a while, not knowing it would take that long. My parents and sisters were waiting for us in the labor and delivery room we had been in. Jeff walked right passed them, not realizing he did because he was so interested in holding his boy. They all got to go up to the nursery and hold the baby while they waited for me. I guess he had a horribly coned head. I finally came out of surgery and was so out of it. Unfortunately I lost a lot of blood, more than they like but not enough that I needed a blood transfusion. So I'm still trying to build my red blood cells back, I have horribly pale skin. My family left so that I could get some sleep and they brought my baby to me. It was so good to see him. We were taken to our room where we stayed for the next 4 days.

We are so happy he is here and love him to pieces. I won't lie, the adjustment has been hard. The recovery from the labor and delivery has been hard and then learning how to take care of a newborn has been difficult too. Every day gets better and just looking at my son helps me to remember why it is so worth it.

The other exciting news is that my brother Billy and his wife Jacee had their second baby, a boy on the same day McCoy was born. Jeff and Billy had both said we should just have our babies on the same day since we were being induced just a day apart. Jacee happened to go into labor a day early and had him quickly. So we have two boy cousins with the same birthday. So fun.

Introducing...

This is Natalie's sister Julianne. After a fairly rough ride, I'm happy to announce that Baby Boy Erickson is here!! He was born October 5, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. He was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long! He is absolutely adorable. Mom and baby are doing great!!! Natalie or Jeff will post later with more details and an update! We love him already!

It's time!

The date is set. Yesterday while at my appointment we set a date and time for me to be induced. It just looks like my body is not going to go into labor by itself. Very sad. So tomorrow morning at 6:00 I am going to the hospital to be induced. I would be lying if I said I'm not scared. It is all new to me and I'm a little scared to go into labor and to have a baby. But I'm so excited to meet him and to not be so full of baby. So wish me luck. Jeff and I are officially going to become parents!

Past the Due Date

I went to the doctor today. So obviously yes the baby is still in there. I had an NST because I'm past my due date. They checked my fluid levels and they were 18 which is quite high for being over. My placenta is also in great condition so things are fine for the little one. He is in the perfect position to come out, head down, spine up. In fact his head is so low that as long as I dilate fine I may not have to push much. The nurse midwife was surprised by how low he is. His heart rate did drop a little toward the end of a really long contraction so I had to stay on the monitor extra long but he was fine through all the others. The doctor isn't too concerned about it but they want me to come back on Friday for another NST. I then went to see the nurse midwife because my doctor is out of town. I'm dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. I'm just waiting to go into labor. We'll see what happens in the next few days, hopefully I'll go into labor naturally because I'm not really looking forward to being induced. But obviously I'm fine being induced because he can't stay in there forever. Anyway, that is what is going on with me and the little one. Hopefully within a week we will have some fun pictures of him to post on here. I will most likely have Ju Ju or someone in my family make a post on here as soon as we have him, so you won't be in the dark!

When is the baby coming?

Today I had my appointment with the doctor. I'm 5 days away from my due date but this little guy is not ready to come out, or so my body has decided that he is not ready to come out. I am effaced 80% but not dilated at all. My doctor is going out of town the day after my due date. He has to go to London to testify for the BBC and will be gone for 4 days. We were trying to decide whether or not to induce me before he left but since I'm not progressing it is too dangerous to start me early. So we are waiting. He said I very well could still be pregnant for the next 7 to 10 days. Basically I will see his nurse midwife next week and if things arent' progressing I will be set to be induced at 41 weeks. Now knowing that I'm going to be going over my due date isn't the most exciting thing in the world. However, after watching everything that my sister and her children have gone through with coming so early I just have to remind myself how lucky I am to be having a full term baby. I will most likely get to leave the hospital with my baby a few days after he is born. I can handle 12 more days of pregnancy. My life will change drastically after he gets here so I just figure I'll do a few things I won't be able to do as easily after he arrives. The hardest part for me is how big he may be. If the ultrasounds are correct then he will weigh almost 9 pounds if I deliver at 41 weeks. I'm really hoping they aren't correct because I don't know if I can handle a baby that big. But no thanks to Jeff, he was a mighty large baby. So if anyone has some good ideas on things to do to pass the time let me know.

Mom Must Haves and Advice

Since I have 3 weeks until my due date I've been making sure I have everything I need for the baby to arrive. I was thinking about it and really I'm not sure exactly what I need. So basically I'm asking for advice from moms. What are some things you can't live without when you have a baby or seem to make things easier, things for me or baby? Also any advice is also welcome. This is obviously all new to me so please leave a comment, I can use the help.

Belly update

Okay so I guess it is time to put some updated pictures of my belly. I have been putting this off but I'm supposed to be getting big, right? This first picture is from a couple of weeks ago.

Sadly this past week I started to swell. Things were going so good. I figured that since I was going to be pregnant all summer I would basically be swollen my entire pregnancy so I am very lucky that I will only be swollen for the last 4 weeks. I had Jeff take this picture on Sunday after church and I was definitely swollen after sitting for 3 hours. Not a pretty picture. Things are going well with the pregnancy other than that. Just trying to get everything ready for the boy to arrive. Can't believe how soon he'll be here.

I thought I'd just throw this in here too. Miss Cede hasn't been mentioned much lately so I'll talk a little about her. The other day the neighbors had set up a bunch of water toys and they invited some of the kids from the neighborhood over to play. My mom took Cede on a walk down to the mailbox and back. When they returned my mom told me that Cede was so sad, she wanted to play with the kids. Cede does really like kids but after being mauled for about 5 minutes she is usually done. So I said, it isn't the kids really, it is the water. Cede does not enjoy taking a bath but she loves to attack the water coming from the hose in the backyard. So to make her feel better I took her out back for some fun in the water. She loved every second. She will bark at it in this funny high pitched bark and then try to bite the water. As you can tell from the pictures she definitely is due for a cut, which will be happening on Thursday. I just thought it was so funny how her fur would cover her eyes so she couldn't see. Love this silly dog!

Cute kids!

I just had to post some of these pictures we took recently. It's been so fun to be close to family and have them come to my Mom's to visit.

Kris was able to come a few weeks ago to stay overnight while Nate and Jake were in California. So we had a fun time with Emma and Peter. Kris came up Monday morning and on the way she stopped to get the kids doughnuts. Well needless to say Peter was a mess covered in chocolate doughnut by the time they got here. So he needed a quick bath. We decided to fill up the sink for his bath. He loved it! So here are some fun pictures of the sink bath.


The next morning Ju Ju came over early. I had just gotten up and grabbed Pete out of the play pen since he was awake. We fed him and played with him for a while until Emma woke up. She ate too and then we decided to give them a bath after Pete had a blow out. So once again the camera came out. Kris was one lucky mom that morning because she got to sleep in until 10:00. See it pays off to sleepover at Mom's.
These next pictures are of Brody from this past weekend. There is a cupboard that Brody gets into in the kitchen but we don't mind because there isn't much in it and nothing to break or hurt him. We turned to look at him and he had taken a basket and made it into his seat while he was playing with another basket. It was just too cute! Then as we were talking in the great room we turned around to find Brody climbing into the dog kennel. He was so fast at getting in there but we just knew he wouldn't figure out how to get out. So Bob and I rushed over there to take the top off while Erica snapped a few pictures. We got him out and I put it back together, but he decided that he wanted to try it out again. This time I left the top off so he could play in the dog bed. We always keep it in another room so I guess it was just to interesting to resist.





Let me tell you, these little boys make me so excited to have a little boy of my own!

Fun Filled Weekend

I wrote this back on the 18th but never posted it so I guess it is better late than never.

My fun filled weekend!

Friday I went in for my weekly non-stress test. I just started these 2 weeks ago. On the first one I had 3 small contractions at the beginning but after laying down they went away. I was told to watch these and lay down at home if I start contracting. This last Friday I went in the morning. I hadn't done anything all morning so I was sure things would be great. However, I was contracting the entire time. They were bigger contractions than last time and they never stopped. I told the nurse that yes, I do contract quite often but they aren't painful and I've been trying to take it easy. My doctor was out of the office so she contacted another doctor. She said they don't look like labor contractions so they decided to basically give me the labor precautions and see how I'm doing this coming Friday. I'm just so excited to be 34 weeks! Friday night I ended up taking it easy.

Saturday I had a baby shower. It was so fun. I'm telling you, I am very spoiled. I received many wonderful gifts and it was so fun to have people there to celebrate this baby boy that is coming into our lives. We had a brunch and there was so much yummy food. My mother-in-law Annette brought sweet rolls from Shirley's Bakery in Provo. She did not know this but they are my favorite rolls! The last apartment I lived in, in Provo was a block from the bakery and I'd go by to get some before work. Thanks again everyone for the wonderful gifts! I can't forget to thank my mom and sisters, Julianne, Kristina, and Erica for planning such a great shower.
Rebecca & Abby Delight

Pete thought he was pretty funny by climbing in my present, a baby tub.

After the shower I went shopping with Jeff for a bit then we came home to relax for about an hour. Around 5:30 my parents took us to The Mandarin for dinner for my birthday. This is my all time favorite restaurant and I missed it so much while living in St. George. I don't go there often because of the wait and because Jeff doesn't love Chinese food the way that I do so it was definitely a treat! The 4 of us decided that we should just order some of there egg rolls for take out sometime and eat them at home. We could all fill up just fine on those. Best egg rolls ever! We were happy to come home and find out that we hadn't missed Michael Phelps' race. We stayed up too late waiting to watch the race but it was well worth it.

Sunday was my birthday. I am 25-years-old! I'm getting old. It was nice to have my birthday on a Sunday because the day was so relaxing. Except for the 6-year-olds in Primary. It was our second week being primary teachers and it was a little bit more difficult this week. How do you keep 6-year-old boys attention? We hear lots of stories about going to Lagoon and what movies they have seen. They also enjoy pulling their arms out of their sleeves to stick there fingers through the front of their shirts. I guess it is good training for us since we will be having a boy. My mom made my favorite dinner, beef stroganoff. I'm telling you it is amazing. Jeff and I both ate as much as we could possibly fit in our stomachs because it was so good. Then Bob, Erica, and Brody came over for cake and ice cream. My mom made my favorite cake, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and Jeff made homemade raspberry ice cream. Jeff also was kind enough to paint my toenails for me yesterday. I am to the point where bending over for too long starts to hurt so I used my birthday as an excuse to have him do something he wouldn't otherwise.

My mom insisted on putting all 25 candles on the cake. My dad thought she was crazy!
She took a picture of me after I blew out the candles but it was all smoky from too many candles.

Brody enjoying some cake with his "crazy face."

So overall, it was a wonderful weekend. Now we are just back to the normal week things. I guess it always has to happen.

Update!!!

Wow, I'm pretty lame about keeping up with posts. I'm officially 30 weeks today. Exciting! It is crazy that the baby will be here in 10 weeks. It seems like a ways away but also so close! I don't know that I'm ready yet. So here is an updated picture of the belly. Not my favorite but I didn't feel like doing my hair this morning so this is what I get.

On to baby. I had an ultrasound on the 11th and baby is great. Just a few days before I noticed that the kicking of my bladder had suddenly stopped and come to find out he has decided to turn head down. It is crazy how much more I can feel him kick because his legs are now up high. I can tell that the room in there is getting small because I am feeling all movements. Knees and feet along the front of my tummy are a constant. So far no kicking of the ribs but I still have 10 weeks for that. At the ultrasound he was weighing 2 lbs 7 oz. He is right where he should be. I'm feeling pretty good too. By the end of the day I am uncomfortable and my body starts to ache but I feel that is normal.

As for other things that have been going on. We are pretty boring. A couple of weeks ago I was eating grapes and Jeff decided to see how many he could fit in his gigantic mouth. He ended up with 28 although he tells me he could fit more if I hadn't eaten the rest.

Bill, Jacee and Kenslee came into town for a while. It was really nice to see them and spend some time together. Mostly we just ate and went swimming with them. Kens is so cute! It amazes me how big she gets every time I see her. Kris and the kids came up that week for a few days. We all went swimming over at Bracken's parent's house. They are so nice to let us use their pool!

Kenslee helping me make a cake


Erica, Peter, Ju Ju and Brody

Emma Kate

Our ward split just over a week ago. It was time. The ward had reached 700 members so it was getting a little to large. The fun news is that we were placed in the New ward so my mom is no longer the Relief Society President. The other fun news is that my dad is the new Bishop. I'm just glad that he is just now my Bishop and wasn't when I was in high school! So we are adjusting to having the phone ring off the hook for Relief Society calls to the phone ringing off the hook for Bishop calls. We are happy for him though, he'll be a great Bishop.

That is about all that is going on right now. Hopefully we'll do something fun so I can update this more often. Sorry for the 6 weeks of slacking!