Look who I found

This morning I was in Provo getting some blood work done for the baby doctor. (I was asked to do it almost a month and a half ago, and today was the day I finally got it done... slacker!) On my way home I decided to stop at the DI to check a few things out. Yesterday Bob and I went to the American Fork DI to look for a rocking chair, but didn't find anything we liked. Even though I wasn't finding anything I liked online that didn't cost $500 +, I didn't think I would find anything at DI.  I was taking my time around looking for a few specific items I had in mind to decorate, and finally made my way back to the chairs. When I got to the chair section I found this-

Grandpa Hales! I started laughing and wasn't completely surprised to see him there or asleep. My Grandma Hales is a DI professional. She has been going her whole life and can always find the best things. I remember going with her as a child and getting to pick out a couple things each trip. That was at the old Provo DI, where things were much cheaper. My Grandma doesn't like the new(er) DI as much. And as for the sleeping, my Grandpa was known to take his lunch break from work at a nearby park and would nap in his car.

My camera on my phone is broken, so I was pulling out my iPad to take a quick picture when I spotted my Grandma. She had a framed picture in her cart that she was really excited about. I told her I was going to take a picture, and she laughed and told me to to hurry before he woke up. Turns out Grandma had just had some blood work done too, (we compared bandages) and was shopping to make herself feel a little better. What a great example I have in my life!

After seeing my Grandparents, I started looking at the chairs and found a really nice rocking chair. I was so happy, because it was a good quality rocking chair and it wasn't too much. My Grandma gave me her approval and then told me to sit in the chair so no one could take it from me. Now my Grandma knows best when it comes to DI, so I sat myself down for a good 10 minutes. And during that time there were quite a few people eyeing my new find. Luckily my Dad was about to leave work to go to Tooele, so he was able to pick up the large chair and drop it off at our apartment.

This is by far my best purchase at DI. I am going to try to figure out how to make a cushion and then I'll post some pictures.

Golf lessons

My Dad signed all of us girls up for golf lessons this month. The golf pro at Spanish Oaks has been teaching us the ins and outs of golfing.

I am pretty confident that I made that shot! Yes that is my water jug behind me. I am 21 weeks and am constantly drinking water to keep cool.

Ayrika is so fun to golf with, always smiling! 

Our first lesson was at the beginning of the month and we worked on our grip and swing. We hit a bucket of balls on the range with some irons, working on connecting with the ball. By the time all 3 of us were finished with each of our large buckets we had a few blisters to show off. *My Dad says that means we don't work hard enough.

We were told to practice before our next lesson. Ayrika was the only obedient student, Andrea and I were slackers.

Today we had our 2nd lesson and we worked on chipping and putting. Chipping was a challenge for me. I would love to blame it on the belly, but I really can't. I guess this is where I need to go back and practice.

Andrea practicing her putting, she is very serious and takes her time. She'll be the one to beat on the course! 

My dad is planning on taking us to golf 9 holes after each of us go and hit a few buckets of balls. I am afraid there will be a lot of lost balls, frustration, and maybe some tears. Jokes! We aren't that bad, but I am sure there will be lost balls. Thanks Dad! 

Somehow we all decided to wear pink today. I love spending time with these girls, they truly are my best friends.

Gender Reveal Cake

When we had our early ultrasound a couple weeks ago we thought for sure we would announce to everyone the gender. But after it wasn't too clear, we decided to just tell our family until we knew for sure at our next ultrasound. I had already asked my baker friend Laura to make us a cake, so we went with it!

It was Bob's birthday that week and I was bringing the dessert for Sunday dinner that my Mom was making for his birthday. I decided to bring the cake in place of Bob's birthday, and then surprise them with the gender.

The cake was darling, and delicious.  Everyone loved it, even though we confused some people.

It was my fault for not explaining to my family that we were revealing the gender inside of Bob's cake. (We didn't tell my family we were finding out early.) So my parents didn't pay attention at first. But they loved it once they understood! (I am sure they would've known if they ever looked at pinterest!)

Here are some pictures of the cake, along with the boy and girl quilts that I made. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the inside. We are eager to find out if the frosting should stay the inside color or if we need to order another cake!

birds and the bees

On the last day of school (yes that was almost a month ago...) I polled my students on my baby's gender. I had already told my class I was pregnant (after the kids kept getting mad at me for eating in front of them ALL OF THE TIME) but since then, they hadn't brought it up.

The kids started out voting for a girl, if they were a girl. And they voted boy, if they were a boy. But then they caught on and some of them changed their votes. They were all excited at first but were disappointed that I wouldn't find out until later in the summer. I promised them I would email them this summer to let them know.

We were getting ready to sign our yearbooks a few minutes later and the class was all sitting quietly in a circle. One of my smartest students raised his hand, and I called on him. He then told me and the class the following:

"Mrs. Barber, it doesn't matter what the class votes, the only thing that matters is the chromosomes your husband puts in you." --- I about died. Shocked, I replied, "Yes, that is true." And was about to move on when he continued to tell the class that "Bob doesn't get to choose which chromosomes either, so it will be a surprise."

So happy that this smarty pants in my class had had "the talk" with his parents, and that for him, it was one he understood on his terms. This kid is a genius, and reads at a high school level.  Also glad that he announced this to the class on the last day of school so I didn't have to answer any future questions from students or parents... haha!

Our big ultrasound is this Wednesday. Bob won't be able to make it, so we went a couple weeks ago to take a peak at our baby. Unfortunately, baby had it's legs crossed and the gender wasn't confirmed 100%. We will let you know later this week!!!

So what do you think? Boy or girl???? Remember, Bob already decided for us. haha!

Quilts are done!

Remember the quilts I started? Well I sent them off to be quilted, and then I attempted to do my own binding. I was really nervous, but I watched enough youtube videos to help me though it. I am really happy with the way they turned out. They are far from perfect! But I will love wrapping my baby up in a blanket that I made for them.

Baby Boy Barber Quilt

Baby Girl Barber Quilt 

I love them both for different reason. I was really happy with the lady who quilted them. She got them done quickly, and the stitching is beautiful! 

*I really want to make another quilt, but somehow I have to branch out of just using squares. I might need a new pattern! 

Mother's Day

Today was a wonderful day spending time with family. Every Sunday we are lucky to have a home cooked meal made by my Mom. Today, everyone did their part and we put together a feast for Mother's day. My Mom couldn't stay out of the kitchen and had to contribute something. We limited her to steaming the broccoli. I am so grateful for my Mom and the example that she is to me. I hope that one day I can be a mother like her. 

A lot of people have asked after everything that we did, how were we able to get pregnant. With some of my posts at the end of last year, I led you to believe that we were going to move onto IVF. And that was the plan. We left the meeting with the doctor knowing that was our next step. I was ready to spend our savings on getting our baby right then and there. My sweet husband told me a few days later he didn't feel good about it. I was crushed, I had my heart set on a baby and we had been told IVF was our only option. Bob mentioned a miracle baby or maybe going with adoption. So after a few days, I realized I would be ok with starting the adoption process. I told Bob I was going to get the information and we could start working on the paper work. And once again, he told me he didn't feel good about it. I felt as though I was left with no options. He sweetly kept telling me that we would have a miracle. I couldn't accept that a miracle would happen when we had worked so hard for the last 2 years with the doctor in trying to get our miracle. 

I like knowing what the next step is, and being able to work towards it. This was right around Christmas and the first of January. I knew that if we both didn't feel good about our next step, we wouldn't be able to go forward with anything. I told myself I was going to get healthy, get back into my exercise routine, and give up white flour and sugar and all processed foods. (This would be my next step and distraction, until Bob came around to IVF or adoption :) 

After day 28 of my cycle I always take a pregnancy test. If I don't, I start playing mind games. Why am I late? Am I pregnant? And so forth. So on Friday, March 2nd - I was 29 days. I took the test and waited out the time like the last 100 times. But this time, I saw something I had never seen. There was a 2nd line. I panicked, freaked out, started crying, and broke open another test. (I have an unlimited supply.)  While the second test was in process, I ran into the bedroom crying and jumped on the bed to wake Bob up. He was in a panic until he was awake enough to realize what I was saying. What a special morning it was for us. Here was our miracle!!! I am so grateful for my husband who listened to the Spirit and was inspired for us to just wait. I'm sorry to say I was so obsessed and I'd say self absorbed in my trial, that I didn't take the time to listen. 

On my lunch break I ran to the Fertility Center to get my blood drawn. And for the first time ever the sweet lady called me with good news to let me know that I was in fact pregnant. They scheduled me for my first ultrasound a few weeks later. Because we had been working with them for the last year and were figuring out IVF, they let me come back for ultrasounds until week 10, when I was released to my OB. I love everyone who works at the Utah Fertility Center. They were so kind, loving, and I knew that they cared about me and my family. It was a bitter- sweet day when I left after my final appointment with Dr. Foulk. 

Today was a special day in the fact that I could reflect on my journey to becoming a mother. Baby Barber isn't here yet, but I worry about our little baby everyday. I pray for our baby's health and strength and can't wait to see this baby in a few months. 

And here's a glimpse of our little baby tot waving hello to the world. (This is from our last appointment with Dr. Foulk @ 10 weeks, and our baby was moving like crazy.) 

Sewing & quilting kick

Even before finding out I was pregnant, I have been on a baby kick. For the last two years, I have obsessed over the things I would do for our future children. I have bought enough fabric to decorate a million onesies. Earlier in the school year one of my good friends Karie found out she was pregnant. I have loved seeing her belly grow, and for all of her baby updates. Last week we had her baby shower at lunch. It was low key, in the faculty room and at lunch, but it was so much fun. I am sad I didn't take 1 picture, I was too busy eating the food and loving all of her cute gifts to do anything else. I was really excited to give her the gifts that I had made. Obviously I am obsessed with making onesies so I made a few of those. I don't know what it is about them, but it is one of my favorite things to do. A few months ago I found this gem on Karie's pinterest.

I loved the idea, but I am NO PRO when it comes to computers. But I do know how to stitch. So I printed off the information (all but the day of the birth) and took it to my Mom's. My mom is actually the professional stitcher of the family. She helped me piece it together and trace the writing. I'm fairly certain I will be able to do it on my own next time. But being as how important this gift was, I wanted it to be perfect, thus I had my Mom trace it.

I spent the new few days stitching, I forgot how time consuming stitching words is. But all of the time was totally worth the outcome. I am still awaiting the birth of baby Stockton, so the date is missing, and I have yet to get a frame to put it in. So just pretend it's finished!

Our house has horrible lighting, and I am no photographer. I apologize for the poor quality. But I hope you get the idea. I can't wait to make one for my future babe.

On to my next project. Another good friend at school is our librarian Keely. I just love her. She is so easy to talk to and always willing to help me out. Every few months she will bring in another beautiful quilt that she has completed. I've told her a million times that I wanted to start one, but was too nervous. I can hardly sew. I do have a sewing machine and I've tried a few things, but usually my friend Amber has to thread my bobbin. SOOOO embarrassing. Well a couple weeks ago Keely brought all of her quilt patterns to school and let me look through them. She showed me her basic quilts that she had made for her kids. I picked the easiest one and was on my way.

After my doctor appointment the next Monday I stopped at the Corn Wagon in Springville. (In my mind I always call it the CornCob, I think it's a better name... haha.) Let's be honest, I have little fashion/matching sense. I found a charm pack that I loved (according to my directions from Keely), but had no idea what would match as the border. Finally after searching around the store and comparing, I asked the lady cutting fabric if she had any ideas. No more searching for me, I'm all about asking for help. She found the best fabrics for me to choose from. I ended up buying the charm pack and green border. For the 2nd border I'd come back when they had the same fabric from the charm pack in bulk.

I went home and pieced it together. Within 2 days I was finished sewing all of the pieces and border together. I wasn't feeling a drive to Springville so I went to American Quilts (or something like that) on 800 North in Orem. I'll admit I was a little more confident this time. I had my pieced top, and I started looking at materials. I found one I loved, but questioned if it was too busy or if it really even matched. So I found a lady, I know how helpful they are and asked her. When she saw my quilt she asked where I got the charm pack. She told me they had just got theirs in, and all of the employees loved it so much, they didn't think they would be able to put any out in the store. That made my day. I do have good taste!

While I was there I  found a cute kit for a baby boy quilt. It came with everything, so I decided to go with it. Obviously we don't know what we are having, so I need to be prepared for boy or girl. I bought the kit and that weekend, finished both the boy and girl quilt tops. The boy kit came with a blue minky fabric to go on the back. I want to do the same thing with the girl. Who knows where to find good minky that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

So after I just wrote the novel about my first quilting experience, here they are, in their glory. These are my first, so there are a lot of problems. Let's just say Ric Rac is NOT my friend. But I'll get better next time.

Again, sorry for the poor lighting, and horrible pictures. I promise I'll have better pictures when I post the final project. Anyone know someone who does quilting? I'm hoping to have them do the binding also, that scares me.