Saturday, January 17

Spent some time decorating for Valentine's Day today. I have one box of decorations- I barely made a dent in decorating this huge house! I settled for staying in just the kitchen, where the small volume will make a larger impact.

Friday, January 16

This is a picture of me when I was a baby. I wonder if Little Cub will look like me?

Thursday, January 15

Even though the nursery is still under construction, we wanted to do something fun and baby-related. We put together the crib that used to be Sam & Lily's that Grandma Bev gave to Stephen and Kerry and put in the bedding we got for Christmas from John's parents (thanks, guys!)

Wednesday, January 14

John's still home sick from work so he came along to my doctor's appointment. We heard the cub's heartbeat and talked a little bit about the delivery with Dr. Eborn. It was fun to have him there to see what I do at my frequent doctor's visits and to document the experience.

Tuesday, January 13

I had lunch with my friend Emily today at the Capitol. She's the Speaker of the House's assistant. I used to work here last winter and it's fun to visit the old stomping grounds.

Monday, January 12

John worked from home today because he wasn't feeling well. I loved having him around!

Sunday, January 11

I spend a lot of time at my computer- blogging, downloading music, editing photos, reading the news, emailing, paying bills, and recently, Skyping with my family members who live far away. This is me at the end of the day (in my bathrobe) waiting to talk to them. It's an 11 hour time difference, so we often talk in the early morning or late evening.

Saturday, January 10

For Kerry's 30th birthday, Steve arranged for two birthday parties (one on Saturday, one on Sunday) plus a fun date on her actual birthday. I was in charge of dessert, so I made a yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting, a chocolate cake and a cheesecake for the party.

Friday, January 9

I'm loving the library recently. I am reading a ton these days- this is my current stack of books. They range from books for my ward's book club (that I am in charge of organizing) to research about baby stuff and even a children's book that I couldn't resist buying for the cub.

Thursday, January 8

John and I are so grateful to be living in my parents' house while they are abroad for three years. However, taking care of a very large and fairly old house is challenging! Today the furnaces (yep, all three!) were inspected and the main furnace was condemned. That meant we had to buy a new furnace today- a quick tune-up turned into a expensive, 10 hour ordeal.

Wednesday, January 7

We've had 12 storms in Salt Lake in the last month. We got a huge one on Christmas and since then, every few days it's dumped again!

Tuesday, January 6

Sam has been really excited about this baby coming. When he first found out that I was expecting, he went to his mom and told her they needed to get a baby present. They went to the store and he picked everything out on his own- teddy bear, baby socks, bottle, rattle, onesie, bib, baby shampoo and bath toys! He even picked out a bucket to put it all in and decorated it with bows! He gave this to me a few months ago when we first announced that we were expecting. I can't bear to take anything out of the bucket and put it away- I just love looking at it and thinking about what a sweet nephew I have- he's going to be a great big cousin!

Monday, January 5

My nesting instinct has been kicking in like crazy. I really want to get on top of all of the house piles and projects- construction, Christmas, baby- but I especially feel the urge to tackle the baby related projects. It felt so good to fold, organize and put away all the baby clothes we've received so far. The Cub has a lot already! This whole chest of drawers is already full!

Sunday, January 4th

This is what I look like at 28 weeks (7 months) pregnant. Most days I feel great so it's hard for me to realize that I actually look pregnant. When I run into people at the store, I'm always surprised that they can tell I'm expecting. I need to look at this picture to remind myself that it's pretty obvious that there's a baby in there!

Saturday, January 3

Our little cub is getting bigger and stronger all the time. For the first time this week, he's actually kept me awake at night with his kicking. He's really easy to take care of right now, though. I always know where he is and that he's warm, comfortable, safe and well-fed!

Friday, January 2

The big highlight of today was watching the Utes beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Now our team is the only undefeated team in division 1! John and I got to attend the first football game of the season and it was so fun to gather to watch them finish their perfect season (13-0)! It was especially fun to try out Mom and Dad's new Christmas gift- a huge LCD flatscreen TV and brand new entertainment system. Kate, Jeff, Stu, Dave, Breea, Mark, John, Sam, Mom, Dad, and I were all there as the living room Utah cheering section!

Thursday, January 1

We spent New Year's Day working on house projects. Dad's new job in Al Ain came rather quickly and when he and Mom left, there were three rooms under construction. John worked on electrical wiring in the nursery/den and the downstairs "fitness" room. We're looking forward to getting those rooms (plus the new pantry turned laundry room) finished soon.

Wednesday, December 31

Catherine left for the United Arab Emirates today (after weeks of delay.) Richard has been there already for a month! Today was sad- I lost my partner in crime! We used to spend part of every day together! Steve, Kerry, Sam, Lily, and Aunt Barb all came to the airport to bid her Bon Voyage! We then spent the rest of New Year's Eve together playing games, Wii, and hanging out. John spent most of the night working on wiring electrical in the nursery (by his own choice! He loved it!) while the rest of us played games and ate Chinese food. We counted down to "midnight" at ten p.m. for the kids then they went home to bed. John and I welcomed the New Year by Skyping with Richard (it was 11 am his time), then watching the ball drop in Times Square on TV. We loved being at home cozy in our bed when the clock struck midnight (although the years of me climbing up on stage at Port'o'Call to kiss him at 12 were fun, too.)

Tuesday, December 30

Prenatal doctor's appointment today- checking for gestational diabetes. I had to drink this super sweet drink in under 5 minutes before going to the doctor. They drew my blood to check my glucose tolerance. (*Update- my glucose levels came back normal!)

Monday, December 29

Trying to cook more often and eat more healthfully. I love looking at my improvements so far- organic milk, soymilk, and eggs, flaxseed, olive oil and whole wheat flour in my pancakes (from scratch!) today!