Baby Dream

So I decided I had to write about a baby dream I had over Thanksgiving because I don't want to forget it!!

So basically, in my dream the baby was kicking and moving. He pressed his foot against my stomach and I could see his little footprint. Of course I was excited so I showed my mom. Then he pressed his hand against my stomach. I showed Scott and told him about the foot. Next thing I knew, he had pressed his foot completely out of my stomach and his whole leg was coming out of the top of my tummy. I was shocked but excited so I started kissing his foot and thinking it was really cute. My mom was like "don't do that! He's not clean!" but he was, he wasn't covered in the belly goo.

So then, he decided to stick his other leg out too! So there I was, walking around with two baby legs dangling out of the top of my stomach. It was really crazy and weird! I woke up thinking about how weird it was and how I had to remember it so I could tell everyone. :-)

That dream, along with the one that Justin Bieber was my OBGYN, have been my only two weird/funny dreams so far. :-)

Thanksgiving week

So now we're back from Thanksgiving and the excitement has worn down. We had a great trip out to visit my parents and family. Jasmine surprised them by showing up with Shayla and Brian. I had a feeling she was going to come. They had told me a few months ago they were all driving out. Then Jasmine made up some stories and stuff to try and convince me otherwise. It worked. But I still had that little piece of me that hoped (and knew) she was coming.

We made lots of pies and way too much food! Of course everything was delicious. My favorite Thanksgiving food is sweet potatoes. You might think that's gross, but you haven't tried them! This particular recipe has lots of butter, sugar and cream mixed in the potatoes, and then they're topped with a pecan/brown sugar mixture. So delicious!! Check out karissaskitchen.blogspot.com for the recipe.

Highlights of the week included building my own jewelry making set, being the Designated Driver on Black Friday morning (3am), attaining an amazing cashmere/wool coat and sexy pair of boots, finding the pair of zebra pumps I've wanted forever and buying them for $16, making pies with my mom and sisters, hanging out with my family, cooking, relaxing, and best of all...

...hearing my dad shriek when he realized Kandi (Shayla's dog) had jumped on the table and had her face buried in one of the buttermilk pies on Wednesday night.

(and of course Scott turned to me and worriedly said "which pie?!") (he specifically requested a lemon meringue that I made and was hoping it was not that one)

So all in all it was a great week. We are so happy Shayla and Jasmine made it home safe. They had to drive back to Utah through very scary snow and ice packed roads all across Wyoming. A normal 15-16 hour drive took them 22 hours. Yikes!! Lots of prayers went up while they were driving.

I had a doctor's appointment today as well. 34 weeks! It's fun to see people's jaws drop when they hear I'm 6 weeks from delivery. Anyway, my doctor is awesome. He is so chill about everything and I'm under the impression that he is totally all about the woman. Whatever she needs or wants she gets. He won't intervene unless it is absolutely necessary. I'm very grateful for the recommendations I got for him and that we're able to have him as our doc. He's great. Next appointment will be an ultrasound! Wahoo! I can't believe we're this close.

Suddenly as excited as I am, I don't feel ready or prepared enough for the baby to come. Yikes! Good thing I have another month. :-)

The post you've all been waiting for...our new addition!

So here it is...finally after a week I'm getting around to posting a picture. This was our early Christmas present this year:

We love it and are very thankful to have another car!!! Wahoo! It's a 2003 Toyota Highlander. We bought it used at a dealership. One owner. Regularly serviced. Amazingly clean and beautiful on the inside. We love it.

Something else I'm really thankful for??....

See it. Love it. Want to sit in it.

My parents surprised us the weekend before Thanksgiving to bring this beauty into our home. It was our "your first baby" gift. I have never sat in a more comfortable chair. And I bet you haven't either. When you come to visit, I'll let you try it out. aMMMazing. :-)

And the things I'm MOST thankful for??...

My most amazing, incredible, hott, wonderful, loving, kind, and awesome husband. 

(and remember when I was hott and tan and had cute blonde hair? next summer that'll be back...)

Our sweet little baby boy that is coming in 6 weeks (or less). We are so excited and already love him tons and can't wait to have him here!! (especially so I can be more comfortable)

What are you thankful for?

wahoo

Kansas City here we come!!!

...in a few hours.

I'm pretty stoked.

And St. Louis is rated #1 most dangerous city in America.

Awesome.

Glad we live in the nice area outside of the city :-)

attitude of gratitude

I have not written because I need to take some pictures and I want to include the pictures with the post. So, this one is going to be completely unrelated to the early Christmas gift. More on that later. :-)

Last night we gave our fireside for the youth in our ward. It was really nerve-wracking to prepare at first! We had no idea what these kids needed to hear or what we should say. Gratitude is such a huge topic that you can go a million ways with, so we definitely did lots of praying. I think everything turned out really well.

We ended up talking about how you only need 4 basic things in life to be really happy: Christ, the gospel, family and prophets. From there we talked about what gratitude is. How to be grateful for people, family, trials, and things. Then we discussed what an attitude of gratitude is. From there we talked about how to cultivate that attitude of gratitude and why it is important. We used lots of quotes from President Monson's recent conference talk. The fireside went really well! We had lots of good comments and input from the youth and the leaders. There definitely was a very special spirit there.

We really enjoyed being with the youth. I want to be called to work in Young Women's so bad! I had a ton of fun interacting with them and talking to a group of girls afterward. It was a really great time. I am SO glad we had to opportunity to do the fireside! It was definitely worth the time and preparation we put into it. :-)

In other news, I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving. I'm so dang excited to see my sisters, Shay and Jasmine, who have been in Utah. It seems like forever since I've seen them! Unfortunately, Landon decided to take off to Florida, so we still won't have the whole family together. Dang. Maybe someday we might get everyone together...who knows when. But, we're still excited. I LOVE Thanksgiving so much! I love the food, the smells, the cooking, the naps, the football, everything. It's gonna be awesome! Only thing this year is no Black Friday spending for us...we already spent our allotment of cash for the year ;-) I can't wait to post a picture!

And this baby keeps getting bigger everyday. Even Scott tells me often that my tummy is growing bigger and the baby is growing bigger. I seriously think the 3rd tri is the time of belly explosion! I have 7 weeks left til the due date, and it's just creeping along. The more I think about it, the longer it takes. Still doesn't feel like the Holiday season yet...it's still too warm!! We had a little cool weather, but today it's back up into the high 60's/low 70's and very humid. It's supposed to storm later today and drop 20 degrees for tomorrow. We'll see what really happens.

I'm praying for at least one good snow storm this year!! I actually really miss the snow...

Early Christmas

Christmas came early for us last night....

Something we've been wanting for awhile...

Something Scott completely shocked me with because I was NOT expecting it this soon...

Something to give us both more freedom (especially me)....

Something that is BIG...

Something that we hope will last us several years...

Something that will save us money (in one specific way)...

Something that is very helpful and useful in many ways...

Can you guess what it is? :-)

I'm SO dang excited!!!

new project?

It's a little blurry from my phone camera, but just imagine a baby in there. :-) love.

I'm feeling a need to start another project now that the baby's room is all complete. I'm not sure what I want to do yet. Something useful. Something valuable. Something on a budget. Something thrifty. Something fun. I have some ideas...

-Start making jewelry.

-Finish putting together the cookbook I'm working on

-Start preparing for the holidays by finding and saving ideas for decorations, activities, traditions, recipes, etc. (holiday planner)

-Make a creative advent calendar for December. Something with more than just days counting off. Something with activities, service projects, meals, etc.

Those are my ideas for now. I got the last two from this blog. I used to know her awhile back in my parents ward. I'm amazed at how creative she is and the cool things she does. Glad I stumbled across her blog!

I can't believe how fast time is flying. I got 8 weeks until our due date. 6 1/2 weeks until we want to have the baby. It's just surreal. Yesterday was a little weird though. I didn't feel great pretty much all day. Kinda on and off crampiness and stomach pains. Not sure if it was something normal, Braxton Hicks, or something to be concerned about. I'm glad we have a Doc appointment today!

And I thought of something last night... Being pregnant has given me a whole new respect and appreciation for my body. I definitely took my body for granted before I got pregnant. Now that it's harder to do things that used to be a breeze, I've realized I should be more grateful for what I have and not always be wanting to change. I'm very excited to have the baby and work hard to get my body back. I've enjoyed being pregnant, but I'm excited to be able to do everything I used to again. So, if you're married and thinking about kids, LOVE your body now! Because it changes alot in 9 months and it's alot harder than you think. Plus, I've heard your body is never the same.

Project Baby Room: Complete!

Here is our baby's room!!

Cost breakdown:

Paint (including blue, green and primer): $30

Supplies (tape, cloths, rollers, can opener, trays, sandpaper): $20

Green lamp shade: $8.50

Lamp stand: $0.50

Picture frames: $0.50

Large picture frame (cut): $1.50

Football sign and wood balls: $10.40

Sports photos: $0.25

Total: $74.00

Since I kept everything so under budget, Scott and I decided we could splurge on the storage shelves I've been dying for. They cost $50 plus tax, and another $25 plus tax for the drawers. Overall the entire project cost around: $150. Which is the original budget Scott gave me.

I absolutely love how it turned out! Not too "baby" or too overwhelming with sports, but really warm and comfortable. It really is perfect for us.

My secret? Shop at thrift stores! It's amazing what you can find for pennies. And use spray paint. That's how we got the frames black and the dresser knobs black, also the lamp stand.

Thoughts at 32 weeks

Here's a couple pictures at 31 weeks and 5 days.

I was trying to get my whole face in. Hard when it's a self portrait. :-)

The normal side view.

And I must include on of the bare belly. No stretch marks yet! And barely a tiny pregnancy line.

So I'm really almost 32 weeks. And it's easier to say the baby is coming in 8 weeks than that I'm 31 and a half weeks. Anyway...

I really want to make sure I have a good record of this pregnancy since it's my first, so I thought it was time to write more of my thoughts, feelings, trials and blessings these past few weeks. This will probably be another long post, but it's another one for me.

I've felt really good this week. Some weeks are really hard, some days suck, some days are absolutely wonderful, and some weeks are just eh. This week has been good. Remember that phase I went through awhile back feeling so huge, ugly, dysfunctional, unattractive, burdened, and just bad? Things have gotten better. Maybe it's because I prayed alot. Maybe it's because I have a great husband. Maybe it's because I have a great family. Maybe it's because I have a great friend who is just barely farther along than me. Maybe it's because I needed my heart softened. Maybe it's because I'm now big enough that I REALLY look pregnant and people talk to me all the time. I don't know what the reason is, but I'm glad I'm over that hill.

The past couple weeks have been really fun pregnant weeks. Yes, I'm getting bigger. No, it's not that fun to be so big. But, I have learned that it's better to look in the mirror, rub my belly and say "aww what a cute baby belly and baby inside!" than to think negatively. I've also realized that I feel much better about myself when I make the effort to dress cute and TRY to look good. Even if I'm not going anywhere. Then I don't feel so frumpy. Scott made a comment a few days ago. He said "maybe you should change clothes before we go..." (why?) "because I don't want you to be a frumpy pregnant girl." I didn't think it was rude at all. He said it in a very loving tone. And it made me realize I don't want to be that frumpy pregnant girl either!!!! It never hurt anyone to wear jeans, a cute shirt and some fun jewelry vs sweats. It also never hurt anyone to dress up a little more dressy than you're used to. It also helps that my prego friend has the CUTEST clothes and always looks awesome when we go play so it gives me motivation to look really cute. And guess what? I feel better about myself!!!!

I have absolutely loved the past couple weeks of baby movement too. I can tell things are getting pretty crowded in there, and I can feel more stretching/rolling actions than jabbing. It's very fun. Plus, I can often tell when he's poking his bum or foot out. I can also tell he's head down now because of the different motions he does. It is so awesome. I really love feeling him wiggle and move inside. I still have yet to experience painful rib kicking. Though, I know his feet are up there and he kicks...just not quite in my rib. I have had the wonderful opportunity to feel a lovely burning sensation in my rib. It feels like someone set my rib ligaments on fire. Or that I got a terrible sunburn on the inside and the sun is blazing down on it. Then oftentimes that pain radiates to my back and my back hurts bad in one spot. I'm going to talk with my chiropractor today and see if there's something she can do to help. It's been very painful and annoying this week. But definitely manageable. I think he may like lodging his foot up there and not kicking, but just pushing on my rib. I'm not sure.

Everything is suddenly getting so real. We have everything we need to bring a baby home at anytime now. The room is completely set up (minus some pictures on the walls), we have a car seat, we got lots of clothes, we have towels for baths, wipes, and tons of blankets. The only thing we need is newborn diapers. But if he came home this week, we would be ready. It's amazing to walk in his room and imagine a little baby filling up all the things we have. I'm so excited. Scott is so excited. I really just can't wait to have him here and take care of him. Don't get me wrong though, I'm definitely nervous too! It's a huge responsibility to take care of a baby. And I'm not really sure what to fully expect. I'm so glad my mom will be here so when we bring him home the first day I'm not totally clueless.

Sometimes being this pregnant and being so close to having a baby is euphoric. I get little bursts of happiness and excitement all the time. I'm nervous for the actual delivery though. I've definitely decided to go 100% natural and use the Bradley Method as a guide and a help. We have some friends in our ward that used the Bradley Method and they talked to us about their whole experience. I am nervous, excited, anxious, terrified, confident. Scott is SO supportive of my decision and he is going to be the best coach. I know he will take such good care of me and he will be so supportive while I'm in labor. I'm doing my best to prepare for it, especially mentally, because I want to be strong and not have to give in to meds. My friend told me someone told her "You would never run a marathon without training and preparing first. It's the same way with natural childbirth." I think it's really true and I think that's great advice. Plus, I'm so stubborn and strong-willed that when people tell me I can't do something I typically say "Oh yeah? Watch me."

So, to wrap up, I'm very excited for this little guy to come into our lives. I cannot believe I'm nearly 32 weeks. In just 4 weeks I'll be full term and he could come anytime after that. I keep praying he will come early for me and for Scott. I have faith that the Lord will bless us and things will happen as they're supposed to. But, that doesn't mean that I pray almost every night for the baby to be early. :-) 8 weeks doesn't seem like very far away!! Especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner.

I feel like I have been very blessed this pregnancy. I am so grateful I haven't been sick and feeling miserable. I couldn't do it. My mom and Scott both pointed out that my body was made to be pregnant. I can't help but agree with them. I think it's a huge blessing because I'm so motherly, I love children, I love serving and I love "playing house." So it just seems right that my body would be made to have babies. Life is good. I'm happy.

go here now. yum!

Go here now.

www.karissaskitchen.blogspot.com

I made the most incredible baked potato soup tonight. Read it. Make it. Love it.

Weekends are oh so fun

I have a couple pictures I want to post, but they're on my phone so I have to hook it up to the computer first.

We had such a fun weekend this past one! On Friday Scott came home and volunteered to join me with some errands I had to run. One of which included buying the 9 cube shelf at Target that I've been dying for. While we were there we passed by a popcorn maker and he was like "you want it? I want it. Let's get it." So we did. I was a little taken aback at first because I've become such a cheapo and I won't buy things unless I've wanted them for several months or if it's a really amazing deal. So I was pleasantly surprised! Then we went home and he made dinner with me, then we put together our sweet shelf and made popcorn and watched a movie. It was perfect. And even more wonderful because he didn't ever mention about studying or needing to study.

Saturday I had a baby shower here. It was SO good! Kathryn put it all together and we invited pretty much my whole ward. I was surprised at how many people came and then how many more at church the next day apologized for missing it! I got some really fun things and had an awesome time chatting with everyone and enjoying it. I LOVE OUR WARD!!!!!!

Later that day at Costco a guy asked if I was having boy or girl. I said boy. He said "Cool. If it was a girl she would be absolutely adorable if she took after you." It was so sweet!

Then we had our good friends over for dinner. We had SO much fun talking and laughing and eating big pieces of chocolate cake. It was awesome. And even more great because we're both having baby boys within a couple weeks of each other! It's been so nice to hang out with her and chat and talk baby and get everything ready. Definitely helps to have a good friend who is experiencing the same things you are! Especially because our hubbies are both at Logan.

Sunday we had church, which is awesome. An amazing lesson in RS about gratitude. It was perfect. Then we went to a different friend's house for dinner. They had their 2nd baby natural using the Bradley Method so it was so good to talk to them about everything. I asked a bunch of questions and I feel even that much better about going natural. It was also great because Scott found a BYU football watching buddy. He's very excited to have a guy to watch football with on Saturdays now.

Last night topped everything off though. We went and got a car seat and a Baby bjorn after school. Scott was SO excited about the Bjorn. He learned how to put it on and got a stuffed animal and put him inside. Then he showed me how to put it on and use it. Then he put it back on himself with the monkey and kept it on. It was SO cute because he kept telling me how you have to be careful with the baby and you can't rip the baby out and the baby can cuddle against your chest. He was also giving the monkey kisses and snuggling it like a baby. While I was making dinner he dressed the monkey up in an outfit we have and came back out with it in the Bjorn. Seriously cutest thing ever.

I think someone is REALLY excited to be a daddy. :-) I can't wait. If he is anything like he was last night with our baby, he's gonna be amazing. I already know he's going to be an amazing dad. He loves our baby so much already. It's crazy cool.

So that was a really fun way to end the day.

This morning I had one of those dreams about an old crush/guy I kinda dated, and Scott was in the dream too. We were married expecting a baby and this other guy was being kinda stalkerish. I woke up thinking how grateful I was to have Scott in my life and to be married to him. I couldn't have asked for a better husband!!!

Best pregnancy comment so far

I don't want to forget this so I thought I'd post it quick. Walking out of the gym an older guy was behind me (50's probably)

"Man, what the heck did you eat last night? It doesn't look like it settled well in your stomach."

-I kinda was like "huh?"

"Was it some sort of Mexican? A burger? It just doesn't look good. What did you eat so I don't eat it?"

-I kinda started laughing cuz I figured out what he was talking about.

"Really, what the heck did you eat last night? Burgers? Fries? Pizza? A burrito? What kind of food does that to your stomach! What the heck was it cuz I don't want that happening to me!!"

"Haha, you know, I don't even know. I keep asking myself that."

And I died laughing. I thought it was clever and quite hilarious. I wish I would've caught on sooner so I could make a witty comeback.

p.s. this is also the edited version to be rated G.

baby realization

Last night as I was drifting off to sleep I had a sudden realization...

When our baby cries when someone else is holding him, guess who they're going to pass him back to?

Me.

AHH!

I guess they might pass him back to Scott, but the mother is usually the more likely candidate. Then I'm gonna have to try and figure out how to calm him down. Oh boy...

And what if I can't calm him down and he keeps screaming while everyone is looking at me expecting him to shush as soon as he's in my arms? Yikes.

I'm a little scurred.

Sometimes at night he moves and kicks and wiggles so much it makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. At least I know he's happy and healthy. :-) Lately he really seems to like stretching out and pushing against my tummy. I've now seen (and felt) a little foot poking out twice. That's fun.

Halloween Dinner

On Halloween night we went to the Dodds' for dinner. In reverse order these are the fun things we had.

Witch hat and Bat cupcakes.

Breadstick bones with marinara

This was a skeleton out of veggies. Note the heart. :-)

Hot dog mummies (really yummy!)

Jack-o-lantern oranges with fruit salad, mummy pizzas, and worms. You can see the edge of the bowl of frog eye salad.

The worms won the best food award. They were made out of jello but put into straws so they looked like worms. The color and texture were almost identical (not that I've ever eaten a worm) so they were pretty spectacular. It was quite a fun dinner!

KC weekend

This was from the ward trunk or treat. I was a speed bump. It's not a very flattering angle for me, and my hair was having a very hard night, but you get the idea.

Once upon a time I painted a room and a dresser.

They look freakin awesome.

Pictures will be coming soon. I promise this time.

This past weekend was another fun one! We went to Overland Park for a baby shower this time. It was very fun to see many people I haven't seen in awhile. I had a great time! And we got some fun little things for the kid.

Later that day mom and I browsed Babies R Us. It's so easy to get overwhelmed there! I didn't buy anything though. Maybe next time. Then we took the boys to Nebraska Furniture Mart. Oh goodness. It was amazing. Mom and I tested out all the rocking chairs and found one we LOVE! Too bad it's $500. :-( The boys tested out every massage chair. We tested a couple after the rocking chairs.

And, we found a rocket lift-off chair. Amazing. It's for elderly people I think, but it was really fun to try out. You basically barely have to bend your knees and put your butt on the seat, then you use a remote control to lower the seat. It goes flat, then all the way reclines, then back to normal then lifts you up and away. Pretty incredible. I must say I was laughing so hard I was crying.

Then we ate at Jose Peppers. My favorite Mexican place EVER. Such a FUN night!!!!

Now I have been working on my project this week. It's coming along amazingly. I love the paint colors we (Scott) picked out. I can't wait til everything is all cleaned, organized and finished! It'll take awhile longer, but that's okay.