Why I Shop Alone...

Showered!

We went to Salt Lake this weekend for a couple of baby showers. So much fun...so much work! But all totally worth it. The first party was on Friday night and was hosted by Ryan's aunt and mom. They worked so hard, and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband because everyone just loves him so much that they do all this for he and I! We had so much fun and got such great things.

The food was wonderful. We had German sausages with mustard sauces (Ryan's favorite), lots of salads, and lots of desserts. Yum!
These are the favors. I forgot to snap a pic of what was in the boxes before we tied them all up though! They were chocolate 'porcupines' (the party was animal themed) filled with mousse, and layers of yummy stuff (I didn't actually eat one, so I'm not exactly sure what was in it!)

Gifts. We are so grateful for all the wonderful things we were given. We loved it all. The cradle was Ryan's when he was a baby and his mom is letting us use it! I am working on finding a mesh or more breathable crib bumper since this one is the original and is plastic-covered. But no worries...Ryan's dad assured us that it was NOT painted with lead paint...even 28 years ago. LOL

This rocking horse is HILARIOUS. When you push it's ear, it makes galloping noises and whinies, all while the tail and head move back and forth. It is a 'stay at Grandma's house' toy. :)

This is a bad picture, but I just thought it was funny. As you can see, the whole room is about to be enlightened as to what the heck a "BUMBO" is. Google it. LOL

Baby shower number two was on Saturday afternoon and was a combined shower with my step-aunt Laura who is due just one day after me! What a great idea she had to have it together! We chose 'Rubber Duckies' as our theme and ran with it. Ryan even drew little duck-prints on the sidewalk and steps up to the door. He is an amazing artist, eh?

More ducky prints.

This amazing cake is courtesy of my multi-talented and amazing Aunt Martha. She made our wedding cake, but this one is pretty much my favorite of all time! How much cuter can you get??? The bubbles, the bar of soap, the faucet? Amazing :)

Laura and I got some GREAT and practical gifts! I am so grateful for all who took time to come. Best part? We laughed so hard that I am pretty sure I burned off both the chicken salad sandwiches that I ate! Thanks Mom and Aunt Shirleen for being such lovely hostesses!

After we got the showers out of the way, we were able to spend Sunday with Brian, getting last minute things together for him and seeing him off at the airport. He has to report back to Camp Pendelton in San Diego in the morning and then he leaves for Afghanistan on Wednesday. The primary classes in my mom's ward wrote him letters that we sent with him since he won't be able to get mail for about a month. I peeked at a few of them, and those little children are just so sweet! My favorite one was just a picture of a camel. That's all. Just a camel...with one hump. LOL. But I'm so glad that he'll have those to look at. We are going to miss him a lot, but he is in the Lord's hands and we are grateful for his service to his country. Oh, and we all got our "SKYPE" programs working on our laptops, so hopefully we can talk often!

Favorite Post of the Day...

Went to the doctor this morning (8 am. Way too early. Not doing that next time.). Everything is measuring great (except the scale in the office. I think it is broken. LOL :) and my glucose test was in the normal range, so no gestational diabetes worries. But the highlight of the day has got to be this post by friend of a friend. I've only met Brittany a couple of times, but as she is a very good friend of one of my very good friends, I keep up with her blog. She and her husband are in the process of adopting a little girl after losing their own baby a couple of years ago. I actually don't think it gets better than this. Read it. With tissues.

"It Will Go Away!"

17 Weeks
23 Weeks

28 Weeks

Working while pregnant has really been an interesting experience. People react in so many different ways when I tell them. But the classic had to be little Mary. She is the shortest little lady with beautiful white hair and I've missed her the last few times she has come in. But this last time I was sitting at the front desk when I saw her pull up. I was basically just waiting for the clock to turn to 5 so that I could go home when she came in. And it was the funniest thing. She totally walked right past me and went to one of the other girls to ask her if she could give her a perm. Didn't bother me. I don't like doing perms that much anyway, plus I was getting ready to leave. The other girl said she could, and that she would just be a few minutes. So little Mary walks to the waiting room and sits down, when I walked over and said hi to her while putting away some magazines. She had no idea who I was. Well, long story short, once the other girls told her that it was me, she came up and apologized for not recognizing me, told me congratulations on the baby (she hadn't known before) and proceeded to explain that the reason she didn't recognize me because I have put on so much weight! "But don't worry, dear. It will go away!" Exactly what every woman wants to hear, right??? Yes, I do look at the scale at my checkups! I know precisely how much I've put on and it is not THAT much. But I was paranoid for a few days wondering if that is all people are thinking about me now! I'm ok with it now, and as I was looking at the few pictures I have taken through the pregnancy thus far it IS pretty obvious that a lot of the 'round-ness' has gone to my face. Oh well. "Don't worry, dear. It will go away!" LOL