Sunny and 60? Yes, please.

Sunday afternoon was a pregnant girl victory for me.  We went on a hike!  The weather was so perfect and I was dying to be outside and breathe in the fresh air.  We chose a hike that wasn't too steep (the pictures make it look steeper than in actually was- bonus!) and I stopped to rest about 15 times, but it was so worth it.  

 I was actually surprised at how much slower I needed to go. Brian and I have been walking every night, but as soon as we hit an incline, I started just inching along at a snail's pace.  If I would go any faster I would feel out of breathe and would just slow back down again.  Brian was really cute and kept finding flat rocks to sit on and take a break.  No matter what, it felt wonderful to be out walking in nature and I plan on taking more super slow hikes this spring.

Samantha wanted to follow Brian up the boulder but then got really scared when she had to come back down and started whining.

Top things we are looking forward to this week:

1. Find out the gender of the baby early tomorrow morning. Ahhhh I'm so excited to see that little baby on the screen!!  Pretty sure this is going to be me, ha:

2. Portlandia season 4 starts this Thursday and Brian and I are pretty much counting down the days.

3. We just booked our hotel for our Portland trip in a couple of weeks.  Roadtrip!  Oh. yes.

19 Weeks

How far along are you? 19 weeks.  Almost halfway there.  That's crazy and sometimes I want it to slow down.
Feeling: Really good the last month.
Craving: Coffee, but sticking to one cup a day.  Jimmy John's Vito sandwiches.
Aversions: Um... nope!
Gender: We finally get to find out this coming Tuesday!!
Exercise: Still trying to walk every night, even if it's just up and back down our street again.  I went to a new yoga class at my yoga studio and found out that the teacher used to teach the prenatal class there (but they stop offering the class because attendance was always low).  She was the nicest teacher and discreetly gave me pointers throughout the class.  After class, she even stayed after and showed me some great stretches and poses that help with labor- she had practiced yoga throughout her two pregnancies and had some great advice.
Best moments: Feeling the baby move around so much. The movements are getting stronger too- at first it really did feel like little flutter and now it feels like the baby is rolling around in there.  It always moves a lot during my morning biology lecture and I have found myself looking forward to that.  Brian is really excited to be able to feel the baby move and tries to put his hand on my stomach and feel it a lot, even though it's really too early for him to feel the baby on the outside.
Worst moments- HEAD. ACHES.  Also, up until now I thought that pregnancy brain wasn't really a thing, at least for me.  Lately, however, I'm not so sure- I think I tell people the same things over and over lately and I have to rely heavily on my planner every day to keep my schedule straight.

Well, I think the pregnancy sappiness has finally set in.  It started with a text message from my friend Laura.  All it said at the end of a conversation was, "You, my friend, are making a person." Then I got emotional and read that text message like 4 more times throughout the day.  After that, my friend Aly messaged me about a really sweet dream she had about Brian and I having a little baby girl (I wonder if she is right?!) and then I got teary-eyed and read that message multiple times also.  Aly just had a baby girl less than a year ago and we've practically been writing novels back and forth on how to make your own swaddling blankets and baby wraps, feelings during and after pregnancy, and all other baby related tips and tricks. I always look forward to reading those messages so much, along with messages from one of my best friends from Saipan, Kara, who is pregnant at the same time as me.  She is just a little ahead of me and it's really fun to share everything together.

Brian went to Idaho this last weekend to visit his best friend from college, Andy.  They went skiing two days in a row and Brian had such a good time.  This was Brian's second time skiing and he said he's getting better at it and feeling more confident.  He said that the first time around he kind of just launched himself down the hills and didn't really have any control or anything, but it sounds like he's really starting to like it now. 

A couple of weekends ago, we were supposed to go out to eat with our friends Jamie and Taylor, but we totally forgot that the Olympics were starting that night and didn't want to miss the opening ceremony.  We got Thai food instead and stayed in... complete with some figure skating moves with puppy Babz Rhonda in honor of the games.  Let me tell you, Babz loved it.

We ordered from Chanon Thai here in Salt Lake and it was fab

 Little plant on our windowsill trying to catch some sun.

Up they go

Brian took Samantha for a walk up in the mountains last weekend and took this gorgeous shot of the Salt Lake valley.

 Snow dog!  She really hates the summer heat and the winter snow is her favorite.

Jolley's Corner Pharmacy in the Foothill area is one of my very favorite places to go for gifts in Salt Lake.  One side is a pharmacy and the other is a boutique with clothing, gifts, and lots of children's items. They decorate for every holiday and season and they fill their display tables with banners, tulle, and overflowing gift ideas for the upcoming holiday.  The baby stuff is my fave too.  I got my friend's new little baby the sweetest swaddling blanket and crocheted booties there.  She is going to look so sweet swaddled up like a little burrito in her new blanket.

 On a walk this week at our favorite state capitol.

We tried to take a picture with Samantha but she was so excited about her walk that she literally couldn't contain herself. Then I got really mad that she wasn't sitting still for the picture and was like forget it! but then Brian took just one more and this is it. ♥

17 Weeks!

Outside of our church building this morning- Brian and I were both greeters today.
How far along are you?  In the middle of week 17.  The baby can hear my voice now and can also hear music.

Feeling: The nausea is gone (mostly)!! Feeling tired this week but that's because there is a lot going on with going back to school, work, and planning for the baby.  Sleep has been great and I've been sleeping at least 8 hours every night, even if it means going to bed really early.  

Craving:  Where to begin?  Buffalo Wild Wings, chocolate chip pancakes, biscuits and gravy... wow this is sounding so healthy, right?  Also, bi bim bap (we have gone to our favorite Korean restaurant a few times this month already), still Greek yogurt, and pasta. 

Maternity clothes: Started wearing my first pair of maternity jeans this week and they are so much more comfortable than the regular ones I had been wearing unbuttoned.  They are from Old Navy and are skinny jeans with just the short stretchy panel, not the big one that goes over your belly.  I really like them so far.

Aversions: Cafe Rio pork salad... why why??

Best moments: Thinking I've been feeling the baby kick a few times... but I'm not sure if it's the real thing or not.  Buying our stroller and few other things.  Calling Brian from school and telling him what I'm learning about our baby in my human development class.  

Excited about: Finding out if it's a boy or girl- we find out on Valentine's Day!  Brian will get to come to this appointment and see the baby on the bigger sonogram screen.  Also looking forward to spring.  We have been trying to take Samantha for a walk around the capitol building 3-4 nights a week but it's just so cold some nights.  Looking forward to getting exercise in the upcoming spring weather.

We went to Sundance... again!

One of the best things about living in Salt Lake City is that it's just a 30 minute drive to Park City.  Park City has beautiful and enormous Ski Resorts, clean fresh mountain air, lots of shopping and restaurants... and the Sundance Festival once a year!

We go to Sundance with our friends each more mostly to see celebrities, but each year we really give it a strong go and try to get into a movie.  This year we didn't even all make it onto a wait list (despite all our hard efforts!) but we had just as good of a time as if we had actually seen a movie.  I love the feeling of Park City during Sundance.  The streets are packed with people and the restaurants and coffee shops are all super full.  The sun was out this year and while me and my friends were waiting for our husbands and we actually got really warm and had to take off our coats- lovely.

Then the other Brian had to squish into the very back of the car and I couldn't stop laughing and then we lost our husbands for about two hours while they were parking and it was crazy, then everybody was making fun of me because I had to pee like 8 times in 30 minutes.  I couldn't stop laughing during Sundance!

Taking a break

 With Liz and Sarah-  I'm already planning to put a copy of this picture in the baby's nursery because I love it so so much.

 Gorgeous sunshine after lunch.  We went to a little Greek restaurant for lunch with the best falafel salad (I've been craving it ever since and tried to recreate it at Mad Greek.  That was gross and just wasn't the same.)  Also, that night before we left PC we got the best appetizers for dinner at the Wasatch Brew on Main Street.  Fried calamari, chips and queso, coconut shrimp... it's like torture right now because I'm so hungry!

My friend Amanda was asking me if I've been super emotional or sentimental while pregnant.  I've heard lots of pregnant women say that they cry at sweet commercials (that has happened a few times... the Coke commercial with the little baby and then the couple find out they are having another one.  So sweet and funny.) and that they get sentimental thinking about the new baby.  I told Amanda that I mostly feel just kinda generally gushy about Brian while I'm pregnant.  Sometimes when I'm with him and don't feel well I get cranky with him, but other times I keep hugging and kissing him and it really makes him start laughing.  Also, if I'm away from him and hear a sweet song or whatever it makes me cry thinking about how Brian will be a really wonderful dad and how he is such a good husband to me.  I know it's sappy but I want to remember how I felt while pregnant.  I think that once I start feeling the baby kicking, or see a sonogram of it looking more like an actual baby (up until now my sonograms have just shown a little lump with a cute heartbeat) that I will become more sentimental about the baby, but right now it's Brian all the way haha!

So much pizza

Brian and I bought our first two baby items this weekend.  A stroller and a swing!  We have purposely been avoiding buying baby stuff because 1) We have five months to go until the baby gets here, and 2) I knew that if I let myself start buying cute baby things this early I would just want to buy more and more cute baby things forever.

 Right now, we are trying to find some of the bigger, more expensive items on Craigslist and KSL (Utah's version of Craigslist which is pretty great.  There are so many babies in Salt Lake City and you can find so many people selling baby stuff in great condition for super cheap).  We want to buy our crib used (but we're being pretty picky in searching for that- we have a set idea of what we want).  We also found the same stroller that we had registered for at Babies R Us on KSL for less than half the price- so exciting!  The people we bought it from had seriously even cleaned the wheels and spent 20 minutes showing us how to use it and each trick they had learned- they were so sweet and nice.  We will be moving into a bigger space March 1st and then we can start decorating the nursery.

Love these girls- we had a girls night a couple of weekends ago and went out to dinner and a movie.  Spending time with friends means so much to me.  

 Bebe belly getting bigger!  But this was after I had just finished a ton of pizza, pasta, and salad, so looks can kind of be deceiving.

 Our friends had the greatest idea of making homemade pizzas last Monday night and they turned out to be so good.  All of us had just been talking about trying to eat in more, sometimes cook as a group, and save some money on the "restaurant" parts of our budgets each month.  

 Fresh basil is the best pizza topping.  Brian bought a small basil plant at Sprouts right after this but it requires a ton of water and keeps drooping each day.

 See how much Brian and Sarah's dog Kevin loves to wear my infinity scarves?  He always comes up to me and begs me to put one on him, so I have to give in.

Back to School

image via

This week I started school again!  I was way too excited on my first day and texting my friend Laura telling her all about it... nerd.  I'm taking my nursing prerequisites at a community college right now, then hoping to transfer to the University of Utah for a fast track nursing program that they offer to those who have a bachelor's degree in another field of study. 

Another new thing that I'm really enjoying is the women's bible study that I joined at my church.  We meet at my friend Sandy's house, which is actually about a 30 minute drive from my house.  I really don't mind because my friend Amanda and I drive together, switching off each week, and it's such a great time to catch up with her on the drive.  The girls in the study are all just about my age and the number one thing I've noticed so far is how sincere and honest the girls have been while sharing during the study.  It is so inviting and refreshing, and I love having a place where I feel completely free to share my struggles and questions and everything.  I've also loved meeting new people from my church. We are doing a Beth Moore study about the life and character of Jesus and so far it's really good.

Brian gets up at 5am three mornings a week to go to a 6am masters swim class that he loves.  We go to bed the night before a little bit earlier, which has been great the last few months.  He loves to push himself during each class and has said he's noticed himself improving.  I like the muscles he gets at swim class :)  

We are both looking forward to our Oregon trip in March.  I seriously miss the ocean and have am looking forward to spending lots of time on the coast, even though it will be too cold to swim.  Since we are driving, I want to look up some cool places to stop between Salt Lake City and Portland.

Also my friend Anna sent me a list of possible baby names today that consisted of character names from Pretty Little Liars and her own name.  Love it so much.