Summer 2011

Summer is quickly approaching and plans are being made. We already have a bunch of things planned out and in a way, it's kind of scary because quicker than we know it, it will all fly by and September will be here, which means Anistynn will make her appearance! The good thing is that we will be fairly busy so I dont have a lot of time to think about what labor will be like and my fear of the hospital. Here's what we have lined up for summer so far:

JUNE

- Get furniture set up in the nursery and organize what we already have.

- My cousin Justin's graduation party.

- Babymoon (hopefully - we dont have a set plan yet but we are aiming for at least a weekend trip sometime in June, even if it's just to the beach).

- Father's Day.

- Prenatal yoga classes (I got this sweet deal from LivingSocial where I purchased a month of unlimited yoga classes for $25 at a studio that is just minutes from where I live)!

- Baby check up.

JULY

- Criss Angel book signing in Las Vegas at the Luxor hotel (we're trying to figure out a way to get there and if we can even do it - I've always always wanted to go see his show Believe at the Luxor, and I just found out he's having a signing for his book on July 2nd, so I could meet him too! It's not unrealistic to get there for it because it's not across the country or anything crazy....I'd love to get to go).

- The Fourth of July (probably a family BBQ or something).

- Birthdays: Ryan (my cousin), Tera (my sister), and Lyndon (my dad).

- Seattle (MAYBE - Tony has a car show thing he'd like to go to so we might just make a weekend of it).

- Baby check up.

AUGUST

- Wallowa Lake :D

- Birthdays: MINE (!), Ron (my uncle), Gary (my uncle), and Emma (my cousin).

- Pregnancy class: Childbirth A - Z (will cover pregnancy, labor and delivery, newborn care, breastfeeding, and many other important need to know things. Instead of taking a weekly 2 hour class for like 6 weeks, we are taking the weekend series, so we will go for 3 days, about 6 hours a day).

- Hospital Tour (so I can be more comfortable with what will be happening when I go into labor).

- Baby Shower for Anistynn!

- Finish up any remaining decorating or arranging of the nursery.

- Baby check up.

SEPTEMBER (I'm not going anywhere until baby is born because I dont want to risk going into early labor somewhere far away from my hospital)!

- Car seat will be installed in our car.

- Baby check ups.

- My brother Erik's birthday.

- Arrival of Anistynn! (On or around the 23rd).

And I'm sure more things will come up but that's what we have planned so far. I really cant believe I'm already 6 months along... Holy moly! I'm so ready to be done with being pregnant (I know, I know, I already am done with it haha), but it's also approaching soooo quickly and I cant even believe it! I'm anxious, excited, nervous, and scared to death all at the same time. Never have I had so many mixed emotions over something before. It's really amazing how in touch with my body I have become throughout this whole process. I watch and analyze everything I put in my mouth to eat or drink. I'm way more focused on my weight gain and looks than ever before (which is both good and bad - I've never really had issues with anything before; it's not like I'm obsessed with my looks normally but I've really only ever fluctuated between 5 and 10 pounds throughout my whole life except while I was a kid growing into myself obviously. So it's really strange to have a tummy now and to put on weight consistently for 6 months, soon to be 9 months - I'm just not used to it. I think that's why I'm more physically tired because everything is so new that I'm experiencing - not to mention my body is working overtime inside)! And I'm also already protective. I'm always covering my stomach (or kind of holding it, if you will), rubbing it, and providing a shield over it. I even hold onto it with one hand while I put my pants on! Haha. I dont want to squish her ;) And every twinge, pain, or kick I feel, I stop for a moment and listen to my body telling me if it's normal or if I should be worried.

I just cant wait until I can meet the little girl who's been living in my tummy for the last 6 months - 3 more months to go!

Memorial Day

Today was very productive and relaxing! I'm proud of myself (and Tony, too)! We actually slept in until 11, which was nice. Then we went shopping for groceries. We came back and had lunch while we watched a couple episodes of Friends. Then we went on a random cleaning spree: we cleaned our bedroom, reorganized our storage closet, finished cleaning out the office (which is going to be the nursery), rearranged the garage, did a Goodwill drop off, cleaned the living room, went through our files and threw away anything we didnt need anymore, cleaned the bathrooms, and did all the laundry. Plus we vacuumed upstairs. Whew! But I just love the feeling of a clean house! I'd been needing to reorganize the closet for a bit (it's super organized already, but I had accumulated stuff in the house that needed to go in certain bins in there and then some stuff from the office also needed a place in there too). So that takes a load off. This week Tony will put together the crib and I will organize all of Anistynn's clothes and toys and whatnot that we've gotten so far. 

So, our house is clean and organized, the laundry is done and hung up, there are new sheets on the beds, the place smells fresh and clean, and our cupboards and fridge are stocked full :)

I also want to give a shout out to my good friend, Kalee, who is serving our country right now. Happy Memorial Day!

Horrible Bosses

I really want to see this movie! 

CLICK HERE for more movie posters for this movie!

Jennifer looks absolutely gorgeous in this film! Eat your heart out, Brad Pitt! ;D

Manzanita

Today we went to the beach - Manzanita. Tony had to make a delivery (some cushions for a guy's table and chairs set) so I decided to go with him and we ended up bringing the kids along for a little day trip. We made our way to Nehalem to meet the guy, listening to Lady Gaga's new album, Born This Way, the whole way down. I really love it! It's so diverse. I would say the songs sound cultural and like they're from different decades, yet still Gaga. I really like it because the beats are awesome and it's very dance-like, which I love. My favorite songs are:

- Marry The Night

- Government Hooker

- Judas

- ScheiBe

- Bad Kids

- Heavy Metal Lover

Although, I really do like the album, so it's hard to pick favorites. Tony even likes it as well. He doesnt have a problem with Lady Gaga normally or anything, but he actually wants to listen to it when we get in the car ;)

Anyway, we had a bit of a bump in the road on the way down... Tony got a ticket! He wasnt even aware that the speed changed from 65 MPH to 55 MPH, and he was going 70 MPH. Aaaah! So he got a ticket with a fine of $235! But if he goes to court and gets assigned to take a Traffic Safety Course, then the fine will be greatly reduced and the ticket will be dropped off his Oregon driving record. So after that lovely pit stop, we finally made it to the beach. We met up with the guy, delivered his cushions, and headed back 2 miles to Manzanita. We parked and walked up and down all the little shops. Then we headed down to the beach and hung out for a bit, took lots of pictures, dug our feet in the sand, and....froze to death. It wasnt the prettiest sunniest day (in fact, it rained on the way there and back) and it was overcast and super windy. But at least we got to go! I hadnt been to the coast in quite a while. We ate dinner at Marzano's Pizza Pie, which is a pizza place that my family and I went to a few years back. It was some of the best pizza I've ever had so I knew we had to eat there. Then we grabbed some ice cream for dessert and drove back home. 

 We took the kids back to their house and visited with my parents and them for a few hours. Tony and I ended the day by seeing The Hangover Part II. They had all kinds of security there for it - it was ridiculous! We got carded, ticket-checked multiple times, and our hands had to be stamped. It was really funny but I think I like the first one better overall. Still, we laughed so hard and wore ourselves out, so now we are so ready to crash. Good night!

23 Weeks

23 week update!

Man the weeks seem to be flying by....

Tonight we are gong over to the Clark's house for a taco and movie night (which is something Tony and I do every so often with them). I love it - it's so fun! Mark, Lori, Kalee, and Brandon are like my second family. I've been friends with Kalee for years. Kalee is serving in the military so she is gone (sad SAD days) but we still get together with her parents every so often. I love them! :) It's a nice time to relax a little bit and have nice conversation. 

We might be going to the beach this weekend - for a day trip at least. One of the boxes didnt get delivered at Tony's work and it needs to go to Nehalem. So we will probably go deliver it personally this weekend (perhaps tomorrow) and then just spend the day down there. It would be a fun little day trip. I can read some of our parenting books to Tony (he likes me to read him books whenever we go on road trips). Listen to the new Lady Gaga (which I love, and surprisingly, Tony likes as well). Chat it up. Haha - it will be fun.

Thursday Randomness

Tonight we are going to Racha Thai for dinner to celebrate my cousin Connor's 17th birthday. I cant wait to get the garlic chicken and broccoli. That sounds sooo good! :) 

I want to see The Hangover Part II. And probably Kung Fu Panda 2. *Random fact: Kung Fu Panda was the first movie Tony and I ever saw together AND it was where we had our first kiss. Tony leaned over and kissed me while the credits were rolling :)

In other news, The Oprah Winfrey Show is now officially over. I cant believe she was on for 25 years. I was never a huge fan or anything but I have certainly watched a few episodes over the years. I bawled at her 2 part surprise show where all the celebrities and everyone came to celebrate her. Ridiculous hormones! ;) This makes me think about Ellen - I adore her and I have watched her show religiously since it basically started. The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been on for 8 seasons now. No matter when her show ends, I will bawl my freakin' eyes out. I want Anistynn to be a little dancer - she'll dance to Ellen every day while I have it on (that is my fantasy). How cute and fun that would be! 

Craving of the week: cookie dough ice cream.

Chick Lit

So I've been on a reading kick lately. I'm an avid reader but for a while there, I kind of lapsed on my typical genres. While I was so sick for the first part of my pregnancy, I actually hardly read anything because believe it or not, I really couldnt even do that. It was ridiculous. Then when I started reading again, it was all pregnancy books. I had all different kinds and that's all I was focused on. Well just recently, finally, I got back into my novels again. I started reading what I call Chick Lit - I'm currently reading the Emily Giffin novels. I got all 5 of them at Powell's (which is a bookstore I adore) for $4 a book. For those of you who are not familiar with Emily Giffin, she wrote the book Something Borrowed, which just came out as a movie this past month. I finished that book the day before Tony took me to see the movie (on Mother's Day). I enjoyed the film, but as is with most cases, the book was better in my opinion. I got busy with some other things this last month and just picked up the second novel, Something Blue, yesterday. I'm almost done with it and will finish it tonight. Then it's on to Baby Proof, Love The One You're With, and Heart Of The Matter. Both Something Blue and Baby Proof have been locked into films so we should expect to see those out fairly soon. I enjoy these books because you can understand where each character is coming from. The books deal with real life situations in an honest light. It presents a tough circumstance, where your first instinct is to be appalled...but then you can see where the character is coming from and you feel for them and can totally see it how they're seeing it. I cant wait to move on to the next one. I should clarify that it is not a series - the first two go together - but the others are separate stories entirely. Still. I love when I get into a good reading marathon :)

Adding To The Nursery...

Payday is June 5th and we will be ordering the rest of the furniture for the nursery! We will be getting the matching changing table and dresser to our crib. 

I'd still like to get a small nightstand and a small bookshelf, but they dont have any in the same brand. So I've been looking around at random places but havent been able to find anything I really like yet. If anybody has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it! I know I want it to be somewhat similar to the furniture I will have in there and have the pieces be as close to the coffee color we have currently. So either a coffee or an espresso color.... something like that. I've looked at Pottery Barn Kids, IKEA, and Babies R Us. We'll probably just try Target or somewhere random like that next. 

We will be ordering a glider chair too and this is the one we have picked out. I sat in it and it was sooo comfortable! (It will be in the dark wood, with either the chocolate fabric or the cream fabric - havent decided yet - I feel like chocolate might be an overwhelming color of brown in the room, but I dont know - thoughts?):

We will also be getting the bedding we have chosen for little miss Anistynn. I love it because it looks so elegant and it's not bright pink. I actually didnt think I would want something so girlie..... I always thought I wanted the nursery to be pretty neutral but I just fell in love with this set because it looks so vintage. We will be getting the whole bedding set (fitted sheet, bed skirt, quilt, and bumper - although we will really only be using the fitted sheet, and of course the bed skirt, for a while so there's no extra bedding in there to potentially harm baby). We'll also be getting the window valence, lamp, hanging frames, light switch plate cover, nightlight, changing table pad cover, and mobile. Oh, and the name of this collection is Daniella :)

I really want to spell her name out in wooden letters and put it somewhere in the nursery but I'd rather have them sit on a shelf then hang on the wall. My aunt recommended this great site Craftcuts that sells all types. I love it, although it is a tad on the expensive side. So we're looking into that.... however, Tony would like a project and he likes the idea of cutting and making the letters himself. Then we can create them exactly how we want them.

Again, these are pictures of what we are ordering, but I will post more pics of what the end result is once we're finished putting it together! :)

Double The Fun

Two things:

Lady Gaga released her newest album today: Born This Way. It's already number one. I watched her on The View this morning and if you can look it up and watch it, I suggest you do. She's just such an awesome person. The best part is that I got it for $7 at Borders (thanks to a coupon from my dad and my Borders Rewards Plus card). Yay!

The Bachelorette premieres tonight! Finally, something to fill up my Monday nights ;) This season is Ashley Hebert from last season with Brad. I think she's sweet but I'm intrigued to see what happens this season (as it is undoubtedly the most dramatic season yet), especially with that one douchebag guy, Bentley. Plus, this means pizza tonight! 

A Blessing In Disguise

So did anybody else see Saturday Night Live last night? That was some pretty hilarious stuff! Frankly, I didnt know if I'd be able to make it because I get so tired these days and I usually fall asleep around 10 or 11. I know that still sounds late, but I used to not be able to fall asleep until 2 or sometimes even 4 am! Ridiculous. 

It's insane how this pregnancy is sucking the energy right out of me. I have to say that I feel lame sometimes, compared to what I was like before. I can do 2 loads of laundry and I get exhausted from bending over and reaching up. I walk for 10 minutes and I'm already breathless. I know that sounds so stupid but seriously - that's how it is. There are some parts of this pregnancy that have been amazing - the ultrasounds, hearing the heartbeat, and feeling her kick. Amazing and emotional moments for sure. But honestly, it's mostly been a pain. I was insanely sick for so long. I physically ache and hurt a lot and I'm not even in the 3rd trimester yet. I have a tough time sleeping and I'm so uncomfortable. I dont think I have that "glow" about me that people sometimes say pregnant women have. And I could go on. BUT, I am so so so soooooo thankful that I get to experience this, despite everything. I know of so many women (including my amazing grandmother) who can not have children. I feel for those ladies so much. If I couldnt have kids, I would be devastated. There's something so special about being able to create something so fantastic as a human life between you and the person you love - your other half. I think it's amazing to see parts of both you and your significant other come out in a child. I've known that I've always wanted kid(s) but until I actually got to this point, I didnt realize so many things. Certain things didnt hit me until this actually came about. You always hear everything that is entailed in a pregnancy, delivery, and responsibility and joy in taking care of and raising a child, but you dont really know until you're in it. 

So while I dont think pregnancy suits me like it does some women, I feel so blessed that I get to have this opportunity and say that I experienced carrying someone and bringing life into this world. I give thanks every day of this pregnancy that everything is going so well - I can only hope it remains that way through the whole thing. Wow - I really still cant believe that I'm here, that Tony and I are here together, and in just 3 1/2 months we will have our baby girl!

It's A Pirate's Life For Me

Today was a busy day! We started off the morning at Lia's last volleyball game of the season. She's been doing all overhand serves lately and she's so proud :) After the game, we went to Bento Plus, a Japanese restaurant. Tony finally got the sushi he's been craving and I had some yummy chicken yakisoba. We headed to the Lloyd Center after we ate and shopped a little bit. We spent our Baby Gap gift card we got from Bill & Susan (thanks so much, guys!) and got some really cute things. After wearing ourselves out (or should I say, wearing my pregnant self out with walking the length of the mall), we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I love me some Johnny. It was great, as usual, but a random sound started going off during the middle of the movie. It only lasted about 4 minutes and then we were back on track. Because of the annoyance, they gave everyone free tickets to a movie for next time. Fine by me! :)

 After getting chocolate shakes on the way home, we ended up in the living room watching That's So Raven (yes, you heard me right) on Netflix. The kiddos are spending the night and we'll go to church tomorrow. But we'll be up late because we're watching the season finale of SNL - with Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga!

22 Weeks ~

My 22 week update!

I cant believe I'm over the halfway mark now. Whoa!

Baby Appointment

I had another check up yesterday and I got to hear the heartbeat again. I just love when I can hear her heartbeat because it just reminds me that she's really in there. However, I'm reminded of that quite often because she kicks up a storm almost 24/7! It's actually really reassuring though. I love it. Except maybe at night, when I'm trying to get some sleep.... But then again, that's just preparing me for when she's actually here, I suppose ;)

Everything was great during the check up so I guess I'm right on track. That's always really great for me to hear. My mom took me to the appointment since it was in the morning (Tony usually takes me because we usually plan them in the afternoon) and my sister Karissa came too. I hadnt seen her in a while so it was nice to visit with her. After the appointment, we went to breakfast at Bob's Mill in Clackamas, which is a bakery and restaurant. I got french toast and it was sooo good because the bread was made fresh and it was so fluffy and light. It was nice being able to relax for a little bit with the girls.

Oh, our crib came today! The color of the wood is just beautiful. I cant wait to get it set up this weekend!

Pregnancy Dreams

My dreams during this pregnancy are crazy! Some are super unnerving, some are really happy, and some are really freaky. During the first trimester, I was having all these dreams about losing the baby. Some were pretty horrific, and I would wake up feeling so guilty and ashamed that I could even dream such a thing. It was really nerve wracking to have those kinds of dreams like every night. I notice that I pretty much dream every night now, at least that I can remember. I wake up remembering right away. Once I started to progress further in my pregnancy, my dreams turned to Tony and his absence. He was either gone or leaving. I tend to have the same kind of dream all the time - that he cheats on me and then leaves. He doesnt die or anything like that - it's always him cheating. I either see it or I find out and then he always acts like he doesnt even care - which is SO unlike him. I always wake up feeling absolutely shocked, sad, and sometimes wondering if it actually did happen. Sometimes I'm mad and I have to take a while to come out of it before I can even talk to him. 

The other dreams I've been having lately all involve me getting in a car crash. I'm always the passenger and the airbag pops into my face and stomach. And in every single dream, no matter if they involve Tony or an accident, I'm SO concerned about the baby. Always always always. I'm very aware of it all the time. It's like I'm trying to protect her from everything that could potentially harm her or me. But I have had some good dreams too - most will be just the most random everyday things. They almost dont feel like dreams because they're so normal. Just taking care of the baby, spending time with her, etc. And sometimes she'll be older - the other night she was a teenager! I looked the exact same as I do now, and yet she was a teenager and I was doing stuff with her like a friend would. 

Before we found out what we were having, I would have dreams where I would have a baby in the hospital and name it. I had a few of those dreams - one time it was a boy and the other times were all girls. Once I even dreamed that I had twin girls and I named them Savannah and Jersey. Haha! I was so happy with those names too. Craziness. I love some of the dreams I have and I am horrified by others. I'm a little afraid to fall alseep because I just never know what my mind is going to play out for me next!

I've read that my dreams are totally normal. Women who are pregnant tend to usually have dreams that consist of losing the baby, trying to protect the baby and not being able to, and losing your significant other and being alone. It's your greatest fears that come to light when you're asleep and dreaming. But it's still upsetting when it happens!

Teeny Tiny

Most of you that know me know that I adore things that are little, especially things that are normally big but then downsized. I LOVE tiny salt and pepper shakers. Little tiny baby shoes are adorable, especially brands like Vans or Converse. And tonight, I had a craving for ice cream so Tony and I stopped by Dairy Queen and I wanted a Reese's Blizzard. They had a mini blizzard advertised so I decided to go with that - and it was soooo cute!!!!! Holy moly. It was the perfect amount to not go overboard with either, but still satisfy my craving.

Mommies Out There - I Need YOUR help!!!

I have a task for all you moms out there, if you're up for it: I just registered at a couple of places and was content on what I had chosen. Then a couple of people I know told me otherwise on some of the products and how they didnt really work for them. So I got an idea to ask about a couple things in particular and see who has used them and what their experiences were with them. It's hard to shop and register for things that I have never used before and there are so many different brands to choose from. I have been researching like crazy and reading a ton of reviews on most products but I really appreciate hearing recommendations from people I actually know, as well. I realize that people all differ so there probably wont be something that is completely agreed upon, but your opinion really helps - trust me. So if you're up for it, I'd really appreciate any input you have!!

Products

- Diapers (I know we want to go with Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive in the newborn size because it was highly recommended and they look really great - but she will grow faster than we know and I'd like to hear what brand of diapers you guys like, what size, and why.)

- Bottles (I was going with Avent because it was recommended to me, but I just learned that they have a problem leaking, which isnt good.)

- Breast Pumps (Just general recommendations would be great!)

- Infant Baths / Bath Tubs (I cant seem to find a good one at all....)

- Thermometer (I'd love one of those ones that you can press against their forehead but I dont know how accurately those work...?)

- Baby Monitor (I'm having a tough time with this one because there are so many mixed reviews out there.)

*With both diapers and bottles, I'm planning on getting a few different brands of each to see what works best with Anistynn, because I do know every baby is different. But I'd like to narrow it down to the best brands!

Oh and if anyone knows of a great place to get wooden letters, I'd love to know. I want to spell her name out in her nursery. I've found a lot but not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for letters that are thick enough to sit on a shelf (I'd rather have them on a shelf than hang on the wall).

Thanks in advance!

Baby Girl

I picked out a baby book finally. I have been searching for the perfect one. The thing is, there is no such thing as the perfect one for me haha. I wanted it to be really detailed so I could record a lot of moments, but I also wanted there to be room for pictures. All of them I had seen so far either had one or the other. Plus I wanted the front to be cute too. I eventually want to do a scrapbook but in reality, I know I probably wont have a lot of time to work on it with baby around so I wanted to get a baby book to make it easier right off the bat. So I finally found one I'm happy with. I wanted it now because it includes things I'm going through right now and I might not remember correctly if too much time passes. I really like the one I got because not only is it a cute scrapbooky design, but it has lots of space for pictures, and is really detailed. It will prompt me of things I might not think to record. It's got room for stuff about Tony and I, her name and why we picked it, her family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc), the pregnancy, the ultrasounds, the baby shower, the labor, her birth, her firsts, even her dental records (when her teeth start coming in and falling out). There's also a place for her birth certificate (or copy of), hospital bracelet, hand prints and footprints, birth announcement, newspaper announcement, and even a place to put a lock of hair from her first haircut. There's room to record world events, what was popular at the time, and the prices of certain things when she was born. There are pages for immunizations and growth. There's one page for each month of her first year that asks the same questions, so that you can see how she's growing up and learning. There's holiday and vacation pages. Then there's birthday pages for the first 5 years of her life, with room for a picture and invitation on each. First day of school page and so much more. Oh, and my favorite part - there's a page for both Tony and I to write her a letter - one from mommy and one from daddy. I love it. I cant wait to start filling it out!

Sooo cute, huh? 

Starting Down The Path Of Baby...

I feel good about today! We went to Babies R Us and bought the Graco stroller / car seat travel system we picked out. Here's the one we got:

There's a separate base so that we can keep it strapped in the car, the car seat which is high in safety, and the stroller which the car seat can latch onto and then you can use for years as the child grows. There's cup holders below for baby and above for mommy, a big compartment underneath that can store a diaper bag, and it's easy to fold up with just one click. Plus it's in a cute design! Thanks goes to Irina and Teddy who bought this for us - we really appreciate the kind gesture! 

We also ordered the crib today! We're getting matching furniture for the nursery but we just ordered the crib to start out with today. We got a DaVinci Parker 4-in-1 convertible crib. It turns into 4 different beds as the child grows, so it's great. We got it in coffee because we're doing dark furniture in baby's room. We'll be getting a matching dresser and changing table, too. Here's our crib:

I'm so excited we've started good progress! Like I mentioned in a previous post, we've been blessed by the generosity of family and friends with clothes, toys, books, blankets, and other miscellaneous things already. We'll be ordering the other nursery furniture in the next couple weeks, picking up the bedding, and putting together the last few odds and ends. Once we finish putting the nursery together, I will post pics :) I looooove the bedding we're getting. It's so elegant and I cant wait to show it you! 

Oh, another thing we did today was open a savings account for Anistynn! I really wanted to do this because I think it's really important. We really wanted to have something set up before she was born and we want to put at least something into it each month. Even if it's a small amount one month and large the next, it doesnt matter, just something. That way, we can be more prepared for college or a car or anything important that may come up in her life. We got 3 checks back from taxes so we went and deposited it into a new savings account for her. I feel good that we're getting a head start on this.

21 Weeks!

21 week update!

Tonight will be date night:

Last time we went to Spaghetti Factory with my family, they charged Tony and I for our ticket AND my family's ticket (even though they paid for their own on a separate ticket). When we called the next day, the were very helpful and apologetic and took it off immediately. Yesterday we got a gift certificate in the mail for dinner for 2 on them because of the mistake. Just another reason why I love my Spag Fac! :) So we will be going to dinner and to see Bridesmaids, which looks sooooo hilarious! 

Oh, and Happy Friday the 13th!

Oh, The Plans!

So since I felt that first major kick, she's barely been moving at all! At least that I can feel. It's kind of worrisome. Now I'm used to feeling her flutter around and everything, and she finally gives me a good kick and then nothing. There's still light fluttering going on at night but she's pretty still throughout the day. 

I have an appointment on the 18th. I think it's the first time they will actually measure my tummy since I'm past 20 weeks and finally have a bump! We will also be picking up our previous anatomy ultrasound pictures (remember the blank disc we got??) - so I can finally post them! I also registered for a hospital tour which will help me regain back some of the control I feel I dont have through this whole situation. At least I can see where we need to go, what the rooms will look like (I've seen pictures but not the real thing yet), and where recovery will be. We are scheduled to do that in August, as well as our birthing class, which is called Childbirth A - Z. It will cover pregnancy issues, labor signs, coping techniques for pain, newborn care, breastfeeding, common questions about newborns, how to calm a crying baby, and more. We will be doing a weekend series instead of a weekly series, so it will be 3 days of class for about 6 hours each day. We will get lots of info, that's for sure!! I also want to take an extra class, Infant Safety and CPR. It will be good to refresh and learn anything new. There's one in June and we will probably sign up for that one too. 

I'm also thinking my baby shower will be in August, perhaps on the 20th. Add in Wallowa Lake at the beginning and my birthday on the 6th, plus finishing up anything we need to in preparation for Anistynn, and August is going to be a busy busy month!

Latest Craving

Tootsie Rolls

....yummmmmm.

It's Official!

I felt my first official kick yesterday!! I have been feeling fluttering in my tummy for the last few weeks and it's gotten more intense whenever we had loud music on or when I laid down at night to go to sleep, but I actually felt a kick today. As in, my stomach moved. It was insane! It was easily the most fantastic sensation I have ever felt, while also being scared out of my mind. It was almost alien! I lifted my shirt and saw it happening. I put my hand on my stomach and could feel her. Now maybe Tony will finally be able to feel her too! She only did it for about 20 minutes yesterday and it's back to fluttering today. But I hope she'll do it again soon so Tony can feel! Soooo exciting! I know it's just going to get more intense and real after this as she continues to grow and get even stronger. And I will probably get more uncomfortable as everything progresses haha. But it's all just give and take :)

Lovely Grans

Happy birthday to my wonderful Grandma! She has been the best grandma a girl could have. She's more of a best friend to me and I love her so much! I have so many good memories from my childhood thanks to my grandparents. My grandma and I have a very special bond; I can talk to her about anything - and I mean anything. My grandparent's house is such a special place - I feel so comfortable there and I have so many memories. There are also certain things, certain foods, that I only enjoy there. It's weird but that's just how it is. Specific things and foods just arent the same anywhere else. 

One of my all time favorite things that I have done with my grandma over the years is reading books to her. I have been reading to her for years, all different kinds of books. We could read for hours. We would get glasses of iced tea, go sit in the living room, and break open a book. She always said she loved when I read to her because I could make the story, whatever it was, come alive. Rascal, my dog given to me by my grandparents for my 9th birthday and who also lives with them, would always make his way in and lay down beside us to hear the story too. Just thinking about all those times makes me feel calm and peaceful. I love it.

My grandma is so special to me and I dont know what I'd do without her. I love you, Granny!

Happy Mama's Day!

This morning was intense. I woke up and had to run to the bathroom to throw up. That was just the beginning of a rough morning. It set the tone. I took a shower, then threw up. I put my clothes on and tossed my cookies. I did my hair and make up and oops - I did it again. Ugh. Because of all my sluggishness, we were already a half an hour late to church when I finally got in the car. We made it to the end of the street and I knew I was going to hurl. Luckily, there was a plastic grocery bag in the back of the car and I grabbed it and just let it go. Unfortunately, there was a horrible smell to the bag and that just spurred me on. Ick. Tony drove back to the house, but I didnt want to miss the Mother's day activities. He ran in and grabbed a bowl, just in case. We ran by Walgreens and picked up my prescription of Zofran. I took one and we pulled into church an hour late. But at least we made it! Tony said that Anistynn was just letting me know that she was still in there and that I was definitely going to be a mom! :) 

After church, we went to Cascade Locks to eat lunch at the Charburger, a place my family goes to every year on the way to Wallowa Lake. My mom's side of the family was all there and we lingered and visited for about 3 hours. It was nice and relaxing. Tony and I went to see Something Borrowed (which is a book series I'm currently reading) and then we stopped off at my grandparent's house to wish my grandma a happy mother's day and a happy birthday (which is tomorrow). We also got to visit with David and Christie, some family friends, who were over there visiting as well. After spending a couple hours there, we finally made it back home and are watching Friends until we fall asleep (which will probably be any minute)! 

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there - you have the toughest, yet most rewarding job in the entire world and I admire all of you!

Babies R Us

Tony and I went and did some research at Babies R Us today. We were there for a good few hours, looking at all the different strollers, car seats, and other odds and ends. We were just getting a feeling for more of what we wanted. We didnt buy a single thing - just took a note pad and wrote down what we liked. I'm also registering there so it was good to take a look around at things we wanted and needed. PLUS, they carried the bedding that I found online 2 months ago that I knew I wanted if we ended up having a girl. So that was cool! Soon I'll post pics on the nursery furniture we're ordering and the bedding that we're getting. Then when we actually get it and set it all up, I'll take pictures of our finished project :)

I'm so excited to get started on the nursery because it will give me a project to do! We're changing our office into a nursery. We have a 3 bedroom place (our bedroom, guest room, and office) and since we use our guest room often, we decided to keep that and change out the office. Our office is mainly a storage place (an organized storage place, mind you), and things are just sitting in there. We dont really use it often - so we're going to pack up all our stuff and furniture in the room this week and store it in the garage until we get a bigger place. And then room number 3 will become little Anistynn's room! :)

20 Weeks

My 20 week update!

And She Shall Be Called....

I announced what we were naming our baby girl last week on Facebook, but I realized I havent yet on my blog! So the name we have chosen is (drum roll please).....

Anistynn Grace

And for those of you wondering, YES, the name is pronounced like "Aniston" - as in Jennifer Aniston. When thinking of names for our baby, we had favorites that we'd thought about or discussed in passing within the last few years, but we still made lists. We eventually picked a name for each gender, since we didnt know what it was. We decided on the final names 3 or so months ago. So we were just waiting to find out what we were having so we could give him or her an identity. When we found out we were having a little girl, our name still stuck around - we were firm on it and loved it. We started calling her it right away :)

We wanted something a little different, but we we didnt want to traumatize our child or give them a name that could easily be made fun of or was too hard to spell or pronounce. While perusing names one day, I started thinking about names of things I liked - characters from books and movies, actors, actresses, even names of objects I really liked. Jennifer Aniston is my favorite actress and I started thinking what a cute name her last name would make. I ran it by Tony and he really liked it. I've always like the named Annie, because it is the main character out of one of my favorite book series (Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart). Annie Darling is a sweet, smart, and lively girl who owns a bookstore on an island and is married to Max Darling, who is a hopeless romantic and is a "private detective" at his own business called Confidential Commissions. They always end up being involved in whatever mysteries happen to occur on Broward's Rock (the island they live on - and they live in a tree house!). These books first came out in the 80's and there's at least a new one every year. So I've always liked the name Annie (and it's just so cute and sweet sounding) but I didnt really want to name my child that because it was still a little too common. After thinking of Aniston, I figured we could call her Annie as a nickname if we wanted to. I still liked the name Grace as a middle name and Tony agreed. So we had our name! About 2 weeks before we found out the sex, we were tossing around ideas for a different spelling of the name (because we were going to originally just use Aniston) and Tony came up with Anistynn. I love it - it's so feminine and it will be so pretty. 

So there you have it :) We cannot wait to meet little Anistynn Grace!

May The 4th Be With You

......and so it goes. That's posted everywhere today on Facebook and it has been every year since I've even had a Facebook. I just know that when May 4th rolls around, that's all I'm gonna be seeing ;)

Tony brought me a rose home today. It was very sweet. He also picked up some pregnancy and parenting magazines for me as well. I love when he does little things like that - nothing big, it just lets me know he's thinking about me :)

So I've been experiencing more and more movement in my tummy! I was feeling lots of fluttering, similar to blowing bubbles or popcorn popping, but after the anatomy ultrasound when they pushed all around my belly and I felt her actually kick for the first time, she's been doing it a lot ever since! It's still mainly flutters, but every now and then, I'll get a little harder kick. I'm sure in the coming weeks, it will just grow into more intense feelings, but for now, it's pretty insane to feel that! Funny thing is, she sits still all day long when I'm out and about, but then she starts twirling around and doing goodness knows what else as soon as I lay down to go to sleep at night. She keeps me up tossing and turning for a good hour each night before I finally fall asleep! I just know she's going to be an active little girl - perhaps she'll play sports or will be a dancer. Hey, I'm on board for anything - the more she wants to do, the better! :)

Home Again

After traveling another 5 or so hours today, we finally made it back home to our comfy house. We had loads of mail and we finally got our checks from our taxes, so that was a nice surprise. They will be going directly into our savings :) We unpacked and ate pizza while watching a few episodes of Friends. Now we are laying in bed and Tony is conked out while I'm catching up on some shows: Bethenny Ever After, 16 & Pregnant, and Pregnant In Heels. I'm about to crash out though so good night!

Short But Sweet

So today we left Durango. It was a short but sweet trip. At least we got to come for a little bit! We woke up, packed our bags in the car, said our good byes, and went into town to grab breakfast at the Durango Diner. As it turned out, Teddy and Irina were able to meet for breakfast before we left since they had gotten in from their cruise the night before and we hadnt seen them. It was so nice to have been able to see Irina and thank her for the gifts. After a leisurely breakfast, we ran up to the shop to say hi to Zack before we headed out. After that we got on the road. We drove to Lehi, where we stopped at Alexa's work and visited with her for a little while, which was nice. We stopped at In-N-Out again because I  love it so much and we dont have one here which makes me a sad panda =( We drove a total of about 13 hours until we finally arrived here in Boise. We just checked into another Holiday Inn and I'm about to fall asleep while writing this. I must mention how nice this room is though; very modern and neat. I wish we could stay longer and enjoy it more!

May Day

What a day! I can safely say this felt like Christmas to me. But let me back up a bit.... I was feeling fairly sick this morning with some nausea so I slept in a bit and took a shower while Tony went to church. He brought back some donuts from Doughworks. After we had eaten, we went to Starbucks to meet up with my friend Sheena, where we visited with her for a couple hours. After that, I was getting a little hungry again, so we went to Francisco's again and got kids meals :) After fulfilling our empty tummies, we went back to Bonnie's house to get ready for the BBQ they were having at their house. The Hermesman family came over which consisted of Tony and I, Beth, TJ, Kemper, Bill, Rick, Ivery, Anastasia, Ashlee, and Ted and Bonnie, of course. Teddy and Irina werent there because they were coming back from a cruise and Susan and Tessa were also out of town. A few friends came over and visited for a while as well. As a side note, I must mention that Kemper was hilarious. He couldnt stay away from the stove buttons, the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen, and just random objects around the house. We got such a kick out of him!

Now here's the kicker: it had been blustery all morning but by the time the BBQ rolled around, it was full on snowing. It continued to snow the rest of the day and there was easily 3 inches or more. So we were sitting there eating hamburgers and hot dogs with it dumping snow outside. Insane!! I kind of enjoyed it though because we basically didnt get any snow this year in Oregon so that was my snow :) Irina had sent a bag with Beth to give to me and it had a cute maternity dress for me in it with a couple of adorable onesies too. Beth also gave us a nice and thoughtful gift. And Bill and Susan gave us a gift card to Baby Gap. We are seriously so appreciative of everyone's generosity! So with the family, the food, the gifts, and the snow, it felt like Christmas!

Earlier in the day we had seen a new pizza place in town that wasnt there before so Tony went in to pick up a pepperoni pizza from Fired Up Pizzeria as a late night snack and we munched on that. Time for bed now as we head out in the morning to drive the long way home!