Miracle Baby

When I got a text from my friend Amber the other night that she might be getting a baby through adoption the next day, I started to cry. You might remember Amber from previous crafting posts. Last fall we started getting together to craft during our spare time. Both of us were having issues with fertility and to help with our sadness and maybe a little anger, we would craft and vent together. Back in May their adoption profile through LDS family services went live. I know that with adoption it can take quite a while to get a baby. So when I found out, I was quite shocked!

Amber and her husband had had their profile up for 2 months when they were contacted by a birth mom who had had her baby earlier in the week. They picked their baby girl up less than 24 hours later. I seriously was on pins and needles until she text me letting me know that they had her, and that she wanted me to come meet her. I was finishing up some onesies and a blanket that I had put together in the last few hours. 

I met them at Amber's parents house where I first met little Olivia. What a little miracle she is and what a blessing, I am so happy for Amber and Jordan! I seriously cry when I think about their story and how they started their family.  From this post, you can see that we made baby girl dresses and matching shoes. Who would've thought that we would both have miracle baby girls to wear them only 1 year later. 

Strollin around the living room

The other week I came home from school to find that our carseat and stroller had arrived. (I love being able to order things online... so nice!) The 2nd surprise was that Bob had put the stroller together and had the carseat attached. He was pushing the stroller around our living room. He was so cute! It was fun to see his excitement for our baby on the way.

He told me that I needed to take it out for a test drive, and I pushed it around our apartment. (Granted, that only took about 40 seconds.) Later while watching TV, he pulled the stroller over by the recliner so he could use the cup holder while he was sitting in his chair. As of right now it is sitting in our nursery, and sometimes I push it around too.

We are getting pretty excited. The plan is to use the basic stroller frame until spring, and then hopefully get a BOB jogging stroller.

SF Rodeo

This year we went to the Rodeo with my family during the week of the 24th. During the last year, the arena in Spanish Fork got a much needed face lift. I have always loved going to the rodeo each year, and for one night claim to be part cowgirl.

I remember in high school, I was nominated for queen of our Harvest ball. This dance was put on by the FFA and there were a few competitions at school that week to determine the queen. One was a roping competition. My good friend Danielle took me to her barn one day during lunch and tried to give me some pointers. She was a good teacher, but needless to say, I wasn't the queen.

I was super nervous about it being hot and unbearable, as it had been quite hot. So I decided to wear a dress. (I figured that I wouldn't be as sweaty.) I got lucky and the evening was quite cool, and by the end I would've been quite comfortable wearing a jacket. My only complaint is that during the 'facelift' they didn't put some padded cushions on the bench. I was dying by the end of the night.

 Without fail, I will always post a picture of myself with squinty eyes!

 We sat by Andrea and Brent, the rest of our family is on the other side of Andrea.

24 weeks pregnant. (I always thought I would be the one who took a million pictures of my growing belly. But somehow in the moment when you are getting bigger and bigger, taking a picture of yourself is the last thing you want to do.)

Working hard for the family

Bob has been working hard around the clock. Not only is he working in Murray for his pharmacy internship, he is doing loads of assignments when he gets home, working on his calling, and lately helping me cross things off the baby list. (He also helps me with the housework.... man I am lucky!)

Yesterday I went shopping with my Mom and sister Ayrika. Ayrika is getting ready to go off to college and needed a few (or a million) things for her apartment. My Mom's mom, Grandma Andrus wanted to get me a dresser/changing table for our baby. So while we were out shopping we found one that we liked and picked it up. So happy Ayrika and Mom were there, since I can't lift anything and the package was over 100 pounds.

When Bob got home from work, I was happy when he agreed to put it together right then. My goal is to have the nursery completely ready before I go back to school in August. Which basically means the end of this month. We have a lot of work days and team meetings before school starts on the 21st. A lot of people have been asking what I was planning to do, and I am going back to work. I love my job and among other things insurance for teachers runs September to September so we would be without insurance if I didn't go back. I am sure I will also be grateful for the distraction these next couple of months before the baby comes!

The nursery is slowly coming along. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I will be able to post the finished product. (Minus the baby, of course!)

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!