28 Weeks

I've been planning on taking a belly pic, but just haven't had great lighting and/or I've been going from one thing to the next and didn't take the time to take one!

I had to count back from my due date to see how far I am since the weeks in the 20s seem to just kind of mesh together. But I am feeling great! I feel so lucky to feel like a normal person (just with an extra bump)  and keep all my food down :) I haven't had a repeat of heartburn from a couple weeks ago, so I feel happy about that too. I've decided it was some oranges I ate. Too many!

I had an ultrasound last week and thank goodness, my cervix moved away from my placenta (or vice versa, I don't know!) which was the reason we were doing another one. It was so fun to take another look at this guy and the tech said he is 2 lbs. 10 oz. and in the 70%! She showed me he has some hair on his little head and it gets a bit thicker as it gets down by his neck! That was so fun to see. And she verified it's still a boy :) Good thing because Gymboree has taken a good chunk of my money for some cute clearance boy clothes! Everything looked good, the baby is already in the correct position and is healthy and strong.

This past month I have noticed that sleep isn't as restful as before and I know I'm not that big yet, but I still find myself flipping from side to side countless times at night! I know it's typical, but I didn't remember it this early on with the last pregnancy. Isn't it amazing how many things you forget? I feel tired a lot and I'm lucky that I can get a nap in when Ali does and Molly's at preschool from time to time. Justin thinks I should go to bed at 7:30 with the girls. Sometimes I think that's not a bad idea!

I do have to say that I have some serious anxiety about when I am mother to 3 children versus 2. I don't know if it's the fact that I have WAY less patience while I'm pregnant that the girls seem to be giving me a run for my money, but man! I am so nervous that I am going to have to be admitted to a psych ward with a 4 year old, 2 year old and a newborn! Molly will be out of preschool and I'm hoping that I can send the girls outside so they can play in the backyard! My neighbor says I can send them down to her house. I will definitely take her up on it!

I took the glucose/diabetes test yesterday and haven't had results back yet, but hopefully I'm all clear. My mom had it with all her pregnancies, however, I've yet to have it thankfully! I have been going to the gym 3 times a week lately and that has been good. It makes me feel better knowing that I'm getting some exercise when all I want is sugary things! Yikes.

We still aren't really closer on a name. Justin continues to call the baby Jackson and may even have brainwashed Molly to agree with him. I still throw around Caden (Justin likes this one too), Camden, and some others. I guess time will tell.

I bought some flannel from JoAnn's that was 50% off to make a receiving blanket for baby boy. I have washed it and now I can get going on it. I have to say, I have been really bummed with the selection of boy fabric! Especially flannel. There is 3x as much girl stuff! And the girl stuff seems way cuter to me.

Grandpa Watkins

Yesterday my mom's father, Arthur Watkins, or Grandpa Watkins to me, passed away. He was 95! I have been so lucky and blessed to have 2 grandfathers around for so long and for my kids to know them. Grandpa didn't have to suffer and he has been so ready to be with his "sweet little wife" again. I know he is happy to be with her and other loved ones again.

I have many memories of Grandpa and many are with us at the cabin (where these pics are taken). The past several years when you would ask Grandpa how he is, he would reply, "Chipper!" He was always happy and usually had a book in hand or a book around. He enjoyed reading the dictionary and the encyclopedia! He was a professor at BYU for many years and a linguist. I think he spoke 9 languages fluently! He wrote several text books for German and loved learning the origins of words. I remember calling Grandpa for a school assignment asking him about where a word came from and he could tell me right then on the phone. He loved to write poems and was very talented at it. He was a mission president twice for the church! Only a handful of people can say the same. He took 7 of his 8 children on the first mission to Austria and later served in Italy.

One special thing about Grandpa for me is that he called me "Ne-cole" like you'd say it in French. He is the only one who has said it that way and I thought it was so neat! I also inherited my space between my top two teeth from him (which has since been corrected!) and my love of ice cream! Grandpa's motto was there's always room for ice cream! And I completely agree :)

Molly had a cute little relationship with Grandpa. We would go visit him in Orem and she would color for him and play with his toys. He loved to have her sit on his lap. Molly loved to talk to him and tell him things. He would tell us how smart he thought she was! He loved his grandkids and great grandkids. He has over 100 descendants and the numbers keep increasing!

Grandpa was such a great example and we have learned so much from him. We love you Grandpa and will miss you! The funeral is next Saturday in Orem.

watch what you say

I picked up Molly from preschool yesterday and she told me a friend had taught her a new song. Here is what she sang:

"I'm sexy and I know it."

NICE!! Thank you preschool friends!! I had to explain to Molly that I didn't want Ali to learn it so she probably shouldn't sing it! Oh dear.

President's Day

We went up to my sister's and stayed over Sunday night to Monday. Molly had 3 days off of preschool the week before and her friend that lives on our street was sick, so she was in desperate need of playing with some kids!! The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins!

Emery and Ali got to enjoy a tub together :) Justin went skiing with Preston in the morning at Snowbasin and then the rest of us met them for lunch at the lodge.

Justin had a lot of fun and we did get snow on Sunday morning, but the snow wasn't too great by Monday. Oh well, he still had a good time! We brought most of the kids home (Mitt stayed and skiied) and put the little girls down for a nap. When the boys got back from skiing we headed home. Molly was so bummed that we left! She had so much fun and we did too! Thanks Nat and P for letting us come!

Later that night I had my first ever experience with heartburn. Wow, I have a new appreciation for those who get it on a regular basis!! Ouch! I tried taking some tums, but they didn't really make a big difference. I figured in the morning it would be gone, but after breakfast it was back and pretty much lasted all day, going from mild to severe at different times in the day. I know it's pretty common in pregnancy, but up until this point I have been lucky! If you have any tips/tricks for getting rid of it, let me know!!

My sister suggested Zantac and the nurse said I could have it, so I took one last night at dinner and that's what finally stopped it after about 30 min. I took one with my breakfast this morning and I'm kind of crossing my fingers that if I just take that from time to time I will be fine. So far, so good for today.

Learning Patience

I always thought before I got married and had kids that I was a pretty patient person. But things change with marriage and kiddos and your patience is tried again and again and again.

Recently I feel like I've been forced almost to be very patient and it has been a hard thing. This is Justin's last semester and the pressure has been on for him to find a job. At this point roughly half of his class (he thinks) has jobs lined up upon graduation. He has been working as a law clerk for a law firm that he really likes for a little over a year now. A couple of weeks ago Justin finally went to them and asked what the prospects were for him having a job there after he graduates. We had to wait a few days for one answer, then after that answer we had to wait again for another week or so (there are lots of details and a longer story involved, but I won't share that here). I was getting so impatient at having to wait! Our future was sitting on the line it seemed and we knew most likely his best chance for a job was with his current employer since he's had the most experience there and they know him well. He has really enjoyed working there and feels like he fits in well with the other attorneys.

Yesterday Justin was offered a job at his firm! Yay! What felt like months of waiting finally ended in something good. He also has a couple of other leads on jobs right now, so we don't know for sure if he will accept this offer or not, but it feels sooooo nice to at least have one offer on the table! I'm proud of Justin for sacrificing for us and working so hard in school so he can provide for us.

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a fun time celebrating Valentine's Day today. My mom made some yummy homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

The rolls were in the shape of hearts. Very festive! And we had heart shaped marshmallows for our hot chocolate.

My mom made some more Valentine Chex mix for her quilt group.

We were going to make some rice krispy treats with these, but we had so much other candy/sweets around that we will save them for another day.

I even did Molly's hair in a heart shape! Found the tutorial here.

We didn't really have big plans for the night, unless you call me getting a cavity filled big plans!! Justin got me a massage and some gorgeous roses and I gave Justin his 3rd wedding ring. Hopefully 3rd time's a charm, right?! (Thanks to tanga.com I found a nice one for a great price!)

Hope you had a wonderful day! Thanks to my friend, we are going to see Zorro at the Hale Center Theatre this weekend! Yay! That will be our fun date :)

Valentine Chex Mix

If you are looking for a fun and festive snack, you need to try this! SO GOOD!

It's Betty Crocker's Valentine Chex Mix. If you like muddy buddies, you will love this too!

Recipe found here.

valentines decor

This is a side note--I bought some books at Savers yesterday. They were $.69 each. I think I found some good ones. Oh and I got a Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown vhs for a $1. I also found Fancy Nancy, but I read it to Molly and forgot to include it in the picture! Shopping at the thrift store is a great way to expand your personal library! Most of the books I get are in really good condition!

Ok now I can't take credit for the valentine decor because it's my mom's, but I thought you might like to see it. She is into vintage things and made a valentine banner with vintage postcards.

Aren't the postcards cute?!

She has this beautiful hutch where she displays her collectibles. She made the banner pretty simple, but it works because there is so much detail on the postcards.

I love this heart she found at a local consignment store. I believe someone made a bunch and then sells them there.

Here's the whole hutch. She decorates the top seasonally and you can see her antique quilts in the bottom as well.

She also made this cute little sampler that I love.

She bought a frame and framed it herself and hung it up! Very cute! Hope you enjoyed some of my mom's things!

Valentine kids wallet

Molly has been requesting a wallet lately. I found a really cute fat quarter and decided I would make the girls each a wallet with it for Valentine's Day. I used a tutorial from here. It was pretty easy. I kinda forgot about a closure for it, so it just folds. I figure they will put it in a purse or bag anyway, so hopefully their stuff won't fall out.

I used leftover fabric to make the pockets. Molly is obsessed lately with tags that you get from clothing, like when you buy something and it has a tag. She wants to keep them all. She is so funny. She is the biggest pack rat!! And she's turning Ali into one as well. Whenever we go somewhere, they each have a handful of stuff that needs to come too. Sheesh! So I figure she will put her tags in here and I have some stickers with pictures of her that I will make into a little driver's license I think.

And I put a pocket on the back. Originally I thought it could be for coins, but I got lazy and now if they want to put coins in, they just won't be able to flip it upside down!! This was super inexpensive. I think the fat quarter was $1.50 and I had all the other scraps on hand! I hope they like them! Outside fabric is Adorn-It happy hearts.