Garage sales, ultrasound and school.

This past weekend, Todd and I went "garage sale-ing". It was reeeeeally fun and we got some seriously good deals on baby stuff. One of the first houses we went to had the exact high chair I wanted sitting out, ready for someone to buy. I was smart though, I walked right past it. :) By the time we were ready to negotiate a price with the lady we got it down to 25 bucks! I was so happy I thought I might fly. haha I also got a boppy, some baby clothes, socks, mitties and a dishwasher basket for the bottle nipples and binkies. So not only did we get spanking good deals on everything, it was all in great condition and if we keep it that way, we could re-sell it someday too! It was so fun to be able to finally buy for my baby boy. I'm so happy that I can finally call my baby a "he" instead of an "it" haha I love looking at the clothes we have for him and daydreaming about his cute giggle and smile. I am so sappy in love with him already. :) He kicks every day almost all day long. Especially when I lay down or when I eat. I can always feel him, no matter what I am doing. Sometimes I am driving, swimming laps, folding laundry, grocery shopping-It's always going on! He is crazy active! I love it! He's going to keep me busy but I just smile whenever I think about it. So these are the things we got at our garage sale...

This is an Eddie Bauer high chair that I love. My good friend Rachel has one as well and I love the look of it. Todd and I are already talking about either painting or staining the wood and making a new washable seat cover, one with more padding. :)

Here is my Boppy! It is seriously in perfect condition with the packaging and everything. I love that we got this for $10. Such a good deal!

Here are some of the many clothes we bought. I think the clothes all totaled about $5. haha So crazy, I love it. So another thing that I wanted to put on my blog were the pictures from our ultrasound for the babies gender at 19 weeks. It was such an incredible time for me, and Todd of course, but it was an especially monumental moment in my life. I know I have said this more than once already but I have been looking forward to being a mommy for my entire life. Seriously, for as far back as I can rememeber, I have wanted to be a mom. I feel really blessed that now is that time! I am also very blessed to have a wonderful, amazing and supportive husband who loves this baby as much as I do! He is so sweet. I love my Toddy. So here is a picture of all the ultrasound pictures we took home with us. There's a couple of face shots, a hand, an arm, a leg & foot, and of course the gender. :) Little boy Manning. Hopefully we will be solid on a name here soon. I have one that I like to call him now but I'm not totally set on it yet. Probably because Todd hasn't confirmed that it is his favorite. haha I was just telling Todd yesterday at the beach how indecisive I can be and how much I rely on his opinion. Here are the pics!

Todd also got a good shot of me crying while baby boy is waving to us.

It was such a great experience to watch my baby moving around on the little screen. I am really thinking about going to one of these little 4D ultrasound places to watch him some more. They give you a DVD of the baby moving with music on it and some pictures to take home. I didn't want the ultrasound to end so I was a little sad when she wiped the goop off my belly and turned the lights on. :( But I did get to feel baby boy moving around a lot for the next 15-20 minutes, probably trying to find his comfy spot again.

I'm not a morning person...haha I got the first appointment of the day because I knew it would be the longest day of my life if I didn't, and even though it's not my best picture, I still love it. It's a big moment for Todd and I! We just found out that we are going to be parents to a little baby boooooy!!! I'm so excited for him to come! One last thing I wanted to blog about is my school this semester. I have really enjoyed my Philosophy class, my teacher was awesome and I loved learning about all the different types of arguments about life, God and humanity. It was really interesting. I honestly took this class to replace the first one I took. I blamed the teacher for my bad grade, and to be honest, I still do. She was terrible and I should've withdrawn from her class after the first day. She was a quack. Anyway, I replaced the bad grade with a shining new A. :) That'll look a lot nicer on my transcript. I also took a math class, Algebra to be exact. For those of you who really know me, you know that I am not good at math, never have been. It takes me a lot longer to grasp something then it does for say, Todd. haha He gets it the first time and remembers it forever. I worked hard though and studied a lot and got an A! Thank you very much! I cried a little bit when I saw that grade. It was really hard for me and I was pretty nervous about it but it feels so good to know I was rewarded for my stress. haha Todd and Khan academy were big helps with the harder math. I owe it all to them! :) Anyway, I just wanted to rememeber that I actually got an A in math and that it was a very happy day for me!

My first Mothers Day!

This year is going to be filled with a lot of firsts and Mothers Day was one I have looked forward to for many years. I always loved going to church on mothers day and seeing all the beautiful women being honored for their hard work being mom's and couldn't wait for my turn! So this year, I was really looking forward to being able to celebrate the day with my little baby in my belly. Todd was super sweet and bought be a lovely bouquet of flowers and a little tub of this "Tummy honey butter". It is for preventing stretch marks and I looooove it.

I really don't want my body to go down the toilet from having kids, I try to stay physically active, eat healthy and nutriciously for little baby but also for myself. I want to always feel good and part of feeling good is looking good, at least for me it is. You may say that is vain but I like to take care of the body God gave me and I want to look sexy for my husband. haha Todd and I are definitely both on the same page when it comes to keeping our bodies healthy and fit so he supports me and I support him! It's a win-win all around. I also know that because I try to eat more nutricious foods that the baby will be healthy and strong when he comes into the world. I want him to have the best start to his life that he possibly can. Now this doesn't mean that I don't occasionally cave to my cravings or eat an oreo every now and then. haha I'm not perfect and I don't want to seem like I am trying to sound perfect either, that could get old reeeeally fast.

These lovely hydrangeas were my mothers day gift from my very own mom. She is so sweet and always thinking of other people before herself. It's kind of funny because we always tell my mom she is a distracted person but it's only because she really is thinking of how to help everyone around her and how to make everyone else happy. She is a sweetheart and has made life so much fun for Todd and I. She is also a really good example for me when it comes to staying active all throughout life. She is a kick butt tennis player, seriously. She is good. haha And she is also probably one of my best friends. I love to hang out with her and just talk about life and what is going on in each of our lives. She is fun to shop with because she has really good taste. haha She is a great mom and has always been there for me throughout my entire life. When Todd and I were driving home tonight, there was a song on the radio that I have always related to a love song for a man and a woman but when I listened to the lyrics I realized that it was also a love song for a mother and her baby. It's Shania Twain "Forever and Always"

'Cause I'm keeping you forever and for always We will be together all of our days Wanna wake up every morning to your sweet face--always

Seriously?! How cute it that song? It made me cry right away. I want to wake up every morning to my sweet baby boy's face. I want to hold him and love him and spend all of my days with him! And my Toddy bear of course. :) I was just feeling the motherly love and couldn't wait to have my baby here with me.

This is the lovely masterpiece that I created with my mommy's help for Mothers Day. It's gone now. haha Every bite was eaten. I thought it was too rich because I used bittersweet chocolate and I am just a milk chocolate girl but everyone else looooved it so I am happy for them. :) And Anyway, my first mothers day was fantastic. I'm thankful for the oppourtunity I have to be a mama. I'm also thankful for all the awesome women I have in my life as examples, especially my sisters (in-law and not) and my mother-in law. I got the best in-laws in the world. I will probably brag about that fact in a lot of my blog posts so if you become a regular reader, be prepared for that. haha I'm going to try to keep blogging basically from now on. I want to remember these years of my life, Todd and I raising our kids and all the fun things we have in store. :)

It's a BOY!!

So there have been a lot of fun things happening in our life lately. The first and most important item on the list is that we found out the gender of our little one! We are having a little BOY! :) I didn't really care either way so I was just so happy to be able to see my baby kicking and moving around on the ultrasound screen this morning. I ate a little PB&J before I went in and does momma know her baby or what? He was bouncing off the walls. :) He loves food. I swear every time I eat I can feel him moving around. I could also feel him squirming around for 15 minutes afterwards probably trying to get back to his comfy spot, which by the way is his bum nestled up to my bladder. haha No wonder I ALWAYS have to pee. He was so cute and sweet. I just can't wait to have him here in my arms. I love babies and children, no matter whose they are. I love to hold my friends babies and babysit for them. I honestly can't wait for the time when I get to have my own baby 24/7...yes...even if I don't get any sleep. At least the reason will be a baby and not Todd hogging the bed. :) haha So here is a little video of our baby moving on the ultrasound screen. Another cool thing is that my sister found out the day before me. I have had a few people ask me if it bothers me that my sister and I are due on the same day...like she is stealing my thunder or something. I think it's just ridiculous. I look up to my sweet sister so much and being able to have our babies together is such a blessing. I love that she is going through it with me and I love sharing it together on facebook. I have not ONCE thought "Wow, Christy is really stealing my thunder..." Not once. I love being preggers with her. LOVE IT! I also love having a bunch of girlfriends that are preggers too! It's just fun to see everyone's growth and hear all the crazy stories! (In case you didn't know, pregnancy does crazy things to you.) haha Anyway, my sister is on her third baby and she already has two little boys so she reeeeally wanted this one to be a girl, I did for her sake as well. So she had her appointment on the 16th of May and sure enough, it's a GIRL! I'm so happy for her. Her sweet boys (including her husband) will love spoiling and taking care of little Eliza Jane. She will be the cutest little girl and will have the most wonderful mom to set an example for her. I'm just thrilled for my sister and her family. :)

This is Todd holding the picture of the babies little weenie. haha You can't really tell from the picture but when we were in the room with the ultrasound tech, you could totally see the whole package going on. haha It's DEFINITELY a boy. :) Everyone keeps telling me that boys love their mommies so much, so I look forward to that adoration. :) I do have to say though, little boys are so much fun to get dirty with and just make a mess. I know it'll be mine and Todd's favorite part of having a boy first. We'll make mud pie's together! Todd and I both didn't really have a preference but I do know that he will be a good protector for our other kids. I have an awesome big brother who has been really good at being the "protector" for me. We are also really excited for SOCCER! I want my girls to play as well but definitely going to be getting this baby boy into soccer as early as I can. Todd and I both grew up playing soccer and have a love for the game. (Todd is playing FIFA as I type this right now.) haha I kind of want to co-coach the team with Todd as well. I think it would be so fun to have a bunch of wild and crazy kids running around trying to get this ball in a tiny net. I love how kids all herd together at the ball! haha So cute, I'm so excited! He is probably going to be a really good mid-fielder or striker because he has got some major kicks going on! So basically these cute kids below are what I love to see, all gathered around the ball. haha So cute!

The night before the ultrasound, we were over at my parent's house watching American Idol. (5-16-12) I was feeling the baby move a lot so I put Todd's hand on my belly and nothing happened at first but then there were three HUGE kicks that could not be mistaken for anything but baby kicks. It was so awesome. Todd was saying "I felt it! I felt it! I felt it!!" Progressively getting louder. haha It was SO cute. Then after a minute or two he put his hand on my belly again and the baby kicked hard some more! That time I snagged my mom and she got to feel too. Such a special time! I swear the baby was trying to say "I'm here, Daddy! I'm here! I love you!" :) This baby boy loves his Daddy already! Todd still talks to my belly and rubs it, he has actually been really helpful this whole pregnancy and has made me and the baby feel so loved. I don't think this baby could come into a world to parents who loved it anymore than we do. I can't even begin to describe the awesome love I already have for this peanut!

Time for baby Manning #1

Todd and I are pregnant! Well we have been for 4 months. I decided I need to be better about blogging while I am pregnant because I really want to remember all of the wonderful things I have felt and experienced during pregnancy.

The weekend that I found out, I had a big sign that I was definitely pregnant because Todd and I got in a little argument before we went to Cafe Rio for dinner and out of no where I just lost it and started BALLING my eyes out, so much that I couldn't control it. I was literally crying harder than I had in a loooooong time. I felt so stupid that I ran into the bathroom and of course Todd felt horrible so we were both over what we were spatting about in about 2 seconds and he was there to help me out...but I realized there was something seriously wrong with my emotions. I had never felt so vulnerable and out of control of my own body - It was really weird. I actually told Todd I thought I might be pregnant but then dismissed it because I wasn't ready to get another "not pregnant" from that stupid little stick. So we went to dinner at Cafe Rio and ANOTHER sign that I was pregnant. Todd and I always share the salad there because it is ridiculously massive and we could never finish an entire meal there...so when I sat down to eat my half, I scarfed it down so fast and cleaned my plate completely, which I usually don't do either, I usually give the last few bites to Todd. I was so hungry and it tasted like heaven. I thought again, "Hmm, that was weird...maybe I'm pregnant?" But again, just dismissed it for a while until I could take a test.

I found out I was pregnant on February 5th, 2012. Todd and I started trying in December of 2011, we didn't get pregnant the first month so instead of being normal and saying "That is okay, next month..." I decided to be a crazy lady and make myself think it would never happen. I was so stressed out and worried that there might be something wrong with me that I am actually surprised I conceived a baby during that time. haha I waited longer than necessary to take a test because I was so sure it would just say negative and I would just throw it across the room but my sister took a test and hers was positive so she was dying to know what mine would say. I told Todd on Sunday night after we got home from my Mom and Dad's house that I would wait until that next Friday to take the test because I wanted to be SURE that I had missed my period. (Which by the way, I had been counting them wrong my whole life. haha Whoops.) But when I got home that night and Todd was using the computer. I just decided if I was pregnant, it would tell me and I just needed to know so bad. I took a test and I was totally shocked and surprised when I looked at it and it said "Pregnant." My heart was racing and I was on the verge of tears but I decided to keep my cool and do something cute to tell Todd. At the time I was doing a "14 days of Valentine's" for Todd and I had some sparkling cider, a cute little kid book called "You're my little luv bug" and a brand spanking new dslr camera to film it all with. (Although the video got deleted somehow...so sad!) I got the camera going and told Todd to come sit on the couch. I had him read the cute book, which is really a darling little book that I bought for him and not for the baby. haha Funny how it worked out though. So he read the book on video and I handed him the bubbly and told him "We are celebrating!" He was really confused so I handed him the pee stick and it took him a minute to register what the thing even was but once he realized what is was he said, "Are we pregnant?!" and I squealed "YES!" We hugged and kissed and I turned off the camera and then I asked him if he was okay because he seemed a little shy and maybe a little nervous and he said "This is good...we need to have a baby." and I said "Are you reassuring yourself?" haha Needless to say we were both realizing the magnitude of what was happening. I was a little nervous but mostly just thrilled and so excited to be a mommy.

The next day I called to make an appointment with my doctor for February 16th, 2012 at 8:15am (I wrote it all down, it was my first OB appointment and I didn't want to forget anything about it). I saw him when I was six weeks along and he said I seemed to be doing really well. He was impressed with me for being on prenatal vitamins for so long. I guess women don't typically do that? I got on my prenatal vitamins about 6 months before we started trying. I was not about to take any chances with my babies health! So everything was going great. The next week however when I was at a mutual activity for church I started spotting and cramping. I called my sister and her husband, Bryan, talked to me and told me I might be having a miscarriage or I could be just fine. We talked about an ectopic pregnancy and I had no idea what that was so when I looked it up and basically saw that it is a very bad thing, I freaked a little. Todd and I talked about going to the urgent care that night but I just decided to wait until morning and go then. I figured if my body was already trying to get rid of the failed pregnancy then there was nothing I could do anyway. So after a loooong morning in the urgent care with a bunch of tests and an ultrasound I got the good news that I was still pregnant and the baby had a healthy heartbeat. They said my body might have been giving off the symptoms of a period even though there was no way I could've actually had a period. I was so happy to hear that my baby was fine AND had a healthy heartbeat! I got a copy of my ultrasound and loved looking at it and seeing how tiny my little peanut was then.

Around that time, I started to get the nausea everyday, and it came on whenever it wanted to so I decided not to call it morning sickness because sometimes the morning was fine and the afternoon and evening were horrible. In week 8, I woke up one morning and felt like I was going to be sick so I asked Todd to get me some plain cereal to try and take the nausea away but that just ended up coming back up and I couldn't stop throwing up all morning long. It was the first time I had thrown up and I felt like it wasn't morning sickness at all. Thankfully I had an appointment later that day with my doctor and double thankfully my mom was able to pick me up and take me because I was not in any condition to be operating heavy machinery. We went to my doctor's appointment and the lady I saw told me that it was DEFINITELY morning sickness and I was just pregnant. But I was almost positive I had a stomach bug. She gave me a prescription for Zofran. It is basically a drug that takes away the nausea and boy it is a miracle drug. I took it for a couple of weeks until all of my family went through the same exact thing I did and we all deduced that it was a stomach bug. I got off of the Zofran and had to deal with the stinking nausea again but I decided that I didn't need the drugs and I would handle this tough part of the pregnancy without it.

One day I was having a really hard time and I wanted to just take a Zofran pill and feel great but I felt so dumb for even thinking about it and I realized that I hadn't gone to the Lord once to ask for help with the nausea. So I got down on my knees and prayed for help to get through the day and be able to keep a meal down for the babies sake. When I got up off my knees I immediately felt confident that I would be able to keep my food down so I ate it all and I felt so much better, the nausea went away for a time and I just cried because I was so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that cared about my small and simple needs. I texted Todd and told him what had happened and he was really happy about it too.

Over the next few weeks I was really sick morning and night. I only threw up a few more times which is pretty dang good if you ask me. I was sick until the middle of April when I entered my second trimester and then one day it was all gone! It was a glorious day. haha
I guess the most recent things that have happened are baby bubbles and flutters last week. I cried when it happened. I knew it was the baby and then it happened again later in the week when we were road tripping to Utah. I could feel the baby squirming around inside me. Also, Todd thinks it's fun to massage my belly and put his face right up to it and say "Hiiiii babyyyyyy. I love yoooooou babyyyyy." haha So cute and it tickles. He wants the baby to know his voice when it enters the world. :) Seriously, most amazing husband ever.

Also, I had a really awesome dream last night that was actually really vivid. I had a dream that I gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby boy and that he was a good eater but mostly I remember waking up feeling so much love for this little dream baby. I just got out of bed and cried because I am so thankful for this baby inside me and I can't wait to hold him/her in my arms someday. I really don't think I have wanted anything more in my entire life. Even when I was a little girl, I couldn't wait to have a baby of my own someday. Of course I dreamt of having the perfect husband as well, which I obviously got. ;)

Anyway, longest post of my life! This is mostly for me to have but I don't mind if some friends want to read it as well. I am SO thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who always pays attention to my needs and helps me whenever I ask for it. And also for my amazing, incredible and hilarious husband. I have always been so thankful for him in my life but I should really say that I am lucky to have him in my life. I don't know why he thought I was the perfect girl but I am so glad that I married him. He really is so perfect in every way. He is the kindest man and treats me like a queen. Seriously, he does. haha I'm so in love and SO thankful for him in my life. We are very excited to be having this baby and I am so thankful that I am going through this with my sister, Christy. Which by the way, we have the same due date. 10-11-12! Cool due date, eh? I love it! :)
I have the best family and friends too. Such a great support system and so many girlfriends going through all of this with me! I love having tons of pregnant girlfriends! I feel very blessed and lucky to have had a very healthy pregnancy and that I didn't have a miscarriage with this first pregnancy. I know how common they are the first time so I count my blessings and will never take for granted that I have been able to carry this baby. In my patriarchal blessing I was told I would be "blessed with sons and daughters in my home." I can't even describe how much love I have for Heavenly Father and that he would trust me enough to send his precious angel babies to me.

Anyway, I am going to go swim some laps with my girlfriend Rach. That is pretty much the only cardio I get in anymore. haha I should probably work in some more cardio per week but anyway. Until next time!