Holy Big Belly!

So there it is...my big tummy.  I decided to post today because it is Friday.  Why is that significant you may ask...well, the scheduled induction is for Friday, Oct. 28 (they may bump it to thursday, but we'll see.)  That means after today, I only have 3 more Fridays before the Friday of Mommyhood! Ca-razy! It snuck up real fast! He's definitely getting crowded in there, sometimes I feel like I'm about to be knocked over from his kicks.  We're anxious and excited.

All my posts are about this baby...hope it's not boring for anyone.  So I'll add something unrelated--GO BYU!  My parents are in Utah for the game tonight and conference and I wish I could just hop on over to the stadium and watch with them.  ESPN-thank you for showing the game :)

And...We are so excited for General Conference this weekend.  It's always a special weekend to hear the prophet and apostles speak to us.

Oh, and before the Saturday morning session of conference, Steve is competing in a negotiations competition (what is it exactly...ask him, I don't really get it :)) It sounds pretty cool and if he does really well he gets to be part of some cool board thing. So wish him luck for tomorrow!

98th Percentile

Today at my appointment I learned that the little baby inside of me has a rather large head.  Last week he measured in the 86th percentile overall. This week he's in the 70th...all except his head which is in the 98th percentile.  He has a bigger head than 98% of other babies at 35 weeks! The first thing I pictured in my mind was a caricature drawing of our baby. You know what I'm talking about?  The pictures they draw to cartoon yourself and they always draw a teeny tiny little body with a gigantic head.... Kind of like this:

So then I googled "babies with head in 98th percentile" and looked at some images...and they all looked like cute normal looking babies.  So that was a bit of a relief, I don't think he'll have an alien head. But even if he does, I'll love every bit of his little body/big head combo :)  Guess he'll be super smart like his daddy :)

Another Mormon Message

As many of you people know...I love the Mormon Messages.  I watch them all the time.  I watched this one today and it was so profound to me this morning.  I've been reflecting a lot on the men in my life recently and I guess this video emphasized how incredibly grateful I am for the priesthood.  My dad has his cancer scans today and I was thinking of the miracles we've already seen with the priesthood and his cancer experiences.  Jon being a new husband and the new priesthood responsibilities he has with that.  Christian preparing to serve a mission in 2 years.  Steve worthily preparing to be a father in a month.  Our baby with heart problems who will someday hold the priesthood and the progress he's made already which I'm certain has come from priesthood blessings given to me.  Two brothers in law on missions. Many of the elders I taught in the MTC are coming home from their missions and sharing experiences with me.  There are lots of priesthood holders that are a significant part of my life or have at least influenced me in life and I'm so grateful for their faith and trust of the priesthood.  What an awesome blessing we have!  I think Elder Holland says it so perfectly.  I think he's right when he says that the day will come when lightning strikes, so to speak.  And I thank my Heavenly Father for the gift of the priesthood and for the men in my life that have sanctified themselves so they can confidently do the Lord's will in any moment.

Our little man's face

The doctor today got a really good picture of our kid's face :)  He's cute!  

His other eye is covered by his fist.  She kept poking him so he'd move it, which he did for about 2 seconds and then brought it right back up to his face.  Absolutely amazing that there is a child in there!

What do you think?  Does he look like Mommy or Daddy?

Recent Random Happenings

• We got a new desk!  It looks beautiful too, by the way.  Now I feel productive just sitting there. Was it a deal?  Why yes!  We got it for $99 originally $180. We almost bought a dinky one from target for $99...good thing we searched a little longer.
• We made pizza and it was SO good!  Thank you allrecipes.com for your pizza crust recipe!
• Steve and I read a book together.  We got really excited about it too, so every night before bed we'd read for a while.  I highly recommend the book.  It's called "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet".  I enjoyed it.
• We got library cards!
• We played Yahtzee last night and a miracle happened:

I actually got a Yahtzee!!!!!  

And then I got a second Yahtzee!!!

And by golly...I actually got a third Yahtzee!!!  Yup, that's right THREE Yahtzees in a single game.  I think I've only gotten a Yahtzee like one other time in my entire life. 

Steve also played well ;)

•  Steve read Angels and Demons in 3 days....while going to law school.  I don't understand how his brain can handle it... I started the Undaunted the same day and am only on page 45 and I don't have school....  
• We organized all our paper stuff in a file drawer and feel like grown ups now
• We put stuff up on our walls!
• I found out that Bed Bath and Beyond has another store...a BABY store called BuyBuyBaby.  And you can use Bed Bath and Beyond coupons AND giftcards there.  Saving our giftcard money finally paid off we were able to get our carseat/stroller at BuyBuyBaby :)  Plus it's a jogging stroller too. And my sister in law, Nikki, gave me a 20% off coupon...so it was a great deal and it was free!  Kind of free...thank you everyone who gave us giftcards for our wedding. Cool.
• I saw the biggest spider ever as I walked to the metro station.  I wanted to call over all the strangersand have them take a look.   

• I actually watched America's Got Talent and really enjoyed it.  I'm glad that Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. won....that guy is awesome.
• I'm going to start working!  Kind of for my Dad....but more for his office (I feel like less of a moocher if I say for his office).  I'll be trained over the computer and it will be medical records stuff that I can do all the way over here for all the doctors in the office. 
• We started a puzzle that we work on when we watch more episodes of the Dick Van Dyke Show (our favorite)...so far we have the border...that's it :)

And....that's about all the randomness I can think up right now :)  To sum it up---We couldn't be happier!  Life is exciting and we consider each day a new adventure.

I love the way the Lord works!

I went to two of my three doctors this last week and couldn't help but feel so grateful for them.  When we moved here I was a bit scared about finding good doctors and all right in the middle of my pregnancy.  I got connected with the Fetal Heart Coordinator (she's like my new best friend) who has hooked me up with 3 of the best doctors in DC (which pretty much qualifies them for best in the nation.)  These three doctors (OB, Perinatalogist, and Fetal Cardiologist) work together and are brilliant.  They make me feel so comfortable and they explain things so well!  I really believe that part of the Lord's plan in having us come out here to Virginia was to give us access to these amazing doctors and the incredible facilities they have.  It's a blessing!

I am so ready for our little man to come.  I'm at 33, almost 34 weeks now!  That's approaching just around the corner, so close, but still a good solid month ahead of us.  Not to get all cheesy, but it's such an incredible thing to have a little body inside. The doctors said he's a pretty squirmy one, which is not news for me.  He constantly is kickboxing, swimming, stretching, who knows what this kid is doing, but if you watch my tummy for any given 5 minute period, you're guaranteed to see some movement.  It amazes me that there is a child in there, and it amazes me the closeness I feel to him already.  He is a special baby and although I'm a little terrified of certain things, I'm SO anxious to have this child in my arms and a part of my family.

As for his heart update, it's growing.  His valves especially have grown in the last month.  They are catching up to the rest of his heart.  Miracle?  Most definitely!!!  He still has his aorta problem, but that's the easy part to fix :)  The doctor said that we really won't know anything for sure until he's born.  We can't even schedule the surgery till after he's born (we just know somewhere 2-5 days after birth) and the echocardiagram after birth will be the deciding factor.  But as of now, she predicts it won't be as bad as it could be.  I strongly believe it's a result of prayer and fasting!  Thank you everyone for your prayers, it means so much to us.

50 year Honeymoon

Elder Gong last October talked about making the honeymoon last 50 years then to start the second honeymoon after that.  This weekend was so much fun, Steve said it was part of out 50 year honeymoon :)  We didn't even do anything spectacular, but it was so much fun to be together!

Friday I met up with Steve in DC after classes, we had lunch with some of his law friends, then we played around DC.  We spent a little time in the Smithsonian and metroed home.  Later that evening we watched a chick-flick--The Lake House.  I loved it :) 

Saturday was our IKEA adventure. We got some stuff to make our apartment complete and of course ate some swedish meatballs for only $2.99.  We also went to Bed Bath and Beyond, got a steal of a deal, and then checked out baby gear at target (only to buy it cheaper online :)).  We had a good time putting the new furniture together--we love projects like that.

Sunday was wonderful, we went to church and then had dinner with Dave and Nikki and chatted with family on Skype. I love skype!

Monday, we finished building our dresser and bookcase.  It was the last day our pool was opened so we went for a little dip for about 5 minutes then it started pouring rain.  It made it all the more romantic in my mind :)  So we ran back home and got ready for Hallie's birthday party (our niece).  Dave and Nikki asked Steve to perform Hallie's favorite youtube video--The Butterfly Color Song.  So he learned it on the guitar and made some butterflies and we performed it for her.  Haha, she wasn't quite sure what was happening, but we enjoyed ourselves.  I've posted it for your personal enjoyment :)  If you want to hire us for your next birthday party...we charge a bowl of ice cream...that's all!

We ended the evening with updating our budget and a stellar Family Home Evening by Steve himself.

So...nothing out of the ordinary, just spending lots of time together and we loved it.  I am so blessed with an incredible husband!  Although it was regular day to day stuff...we felt like we were honeymooning.  So 10 months gone of our honeymoon and 49 years and 2 months left to go until we get to start honeymoon #2 :)