Soon To Be Not Just Us

WARNING: extremely sappy post full of photos

Last night Shea and I had a fun date; we went to a couple restaurants in the area and got appetizers to go. Then we bought a couple movies from Hollywood Video's closing sale. When we got home Shea made us some delicious steaks and I made some cupcakes. We warmed our appetizers in the oven and began our dinner and a movie date. Afterwards we sat in bed reflecting on what we thought it was going to be like to be parents. We are both thrilled!

But I can't help but feel a little sad knowing it won’t be just us anymore, it is a bit bittersweet. We began dating a little over 2 ½ years ago. And we have been married for exactly 1 year and 6 months ago today.
We first met when our apartments were put together for our BYUI Family Home Evening Group.

Here is the story of us and our times together:

 This was one of our first Family Home Evening activities together. Notice my arm reaching over to rest on his shoulder :) When my Mom saw this picture she picked Shea out right away as the guy I had been constantly talking about. She told me that we matched very well together, but mind you I assured her we are just friends. "I don't want anything more" I kept saying. I was very determined to not get married anytime soon...

This was our very first date. Right around Halloween we went to the Haunted Mill together. It was very scary and we had a lot of fun. We doubled with my roommate Kass and his roommate Ben. We had become really good friends at this time and were talking constantly. But I still was convinced it was nothing too serious. Poor Shea, I made him work so hard. But in the end it was worth it.

As you can see we here we are happily dating. We were crazy in love at this time. But whenever the "L" word looked like it was nearing I got nervous and ducked under the shelter of a new subject or awkwardly ended the conversation. After much reflecting on what love is and what I was feeling, I had a few experiences that made me confident and excited at the fact that this was LOVE. Finally I got up the courage and I told Shea that I loved him, his comment back was "I love me too", this would have been a really cocky thing to say if it wasn't for the fact that he had just stumbled over his words and quickly stuttered out "I mean I love you too".

This picture was taken before "Guitars Unplugged" a concert at the school. Things really started to come together when I sent him a text after one particularly romantic date that said "I never want this to end, I want to be with you forever." Shea was pretty excited but wasn't quite sure if I knew how serious that could be. So he replied "Do you know what that means?" Haha. And poor Shea had to wait for my reply for a while, because I wasn't quite sure if I did. I went to the temple and prayed and did a lot of thinking. Finally I answered back "Yes I do." Shea was relieved, and suggested we have a serious talk. That is when we decided we wanted to get married! We spent every waking moment together!

Since we decided we were serious, about as serious as you can be, we planned when we would meet each others families. I met Shea's family right at the end of the semester, we took a 4 hour drive up to Nampa (right outside of Boise). We had a lot of fun and the more time we spent together the more we enjoyed the company of one another. Only reassuring our decision to get married.

This picture was taken in the airport right before I got on the plane to go home to Maryland. It was definitely a challenge to keep our eyes dry.  

These are obviously taken when he proposed in Nashville, Tennessee. I had saved some money up to go visit him where he was working during the summer. He got us tickets for dinner and a show on The General Jackson Showboat, a 300-foot Riverboat. It was beautiful. (Although I have always regretted what I was wearing that day.)

 Lunch in Tennessee the day after he proposed. I loved walking around hand in hand flashing my beautiful ring to complete strangers.

Together in Tennessee 

 

Engagement Pictures

At the end of the summer Shea came to visit my family. We did some sight seeing in DC, unfortunately it was about the hottest most humid day of the summer so after about two stops we were both soaked to the bone with sweat and exhausted. But the important thing was we were finally together again.  

This was taken at the airport as we said our goodbyes to my family and headed back to Rexburg for the next semester of school.

Together Forever

 

A few pictures from our fabulous Wedding Day!

Getting ready to go on our Honeymoon

Our first Christmas together!

Working out at the gym after my knee surgery.

Camping together

We love being silly together and making eachother laugh.

Happily Married!

I am so grateful for Shea. He is the most loving and supportive husband in the world. He makes me so happy and tries so hard to make our lives absolutely perfect. It is amazing the strength that he gives me, his spirit is so strong and he is a constant example to me.
As a little side note let me show you how amazing he is: Sundays are hard for me, but Shea provides me with the gentle push I need to get up and go. Recently I have been dreading Sunday as it approaches in the week. In terms of getting dressed I don’t fit in much of anything anymore, so it is a long process to find something to wear. And our church starts at 8:30am, not too fun. And once we are there I feel exhausted, like I just completed a marathon. Don’t get me wrong I love the spirit there and the strong members that are so willing to teach and share. But the hot air of the chapel makes me get a little nauseous and claustrophobic. And I am never more uncomfortable then when I am at church, my back will ache and Mr. Baby will start kicking my ribs and then my legs start to tingle (probably because I am wearing pantyhose when I shouldn’t be). So most times I have to leave for air and a bathroom break a few times. No matter how distracting and annoying I am being (I know I can be pretty unpleasant) Shea is always so sweet and kind trying to make it as enjoyable as possible. Sometimes he will offer to take a short walk with me in between meetings so I can get some feeling in my legs and some cool air. Last week he suggested we sit in the foyer and listen; it was a much better experience because the air was cooler and the couch was more comfortable. I was able to really pay attention to the speakers and their words. I am so appreciative to Shea and his patience with me. And I can’t wait to be done this pregnancy, then I can show him what a good girl in church I can be, I will sit quietly and still and listen intently, he will be so proud.
(Okay so that was a lot longer of a side note then I had intended.)


I love you hubby, and even though I can’t wait for us to be a family of three, I will never forget just being you and me.

Bump Check

I am sure you are all wondering what my bump has been up to lately, well not much. I don't know if this means my belly has done all of its stretching and it won’t be getting much bigger, or if it means that I am going to pop in a few weeks. Your guess is as good as mine. But the bump growth has definitely leveled out, for now. As for Mr. Baby he is growing and enjoying the spot tucked beneath my right rib, which I am sure he will be too big for soon enough.

Mr. Baby's recent developments . . .
 - Not much is changing in baby, except he is adding on valuable weight
 - He is now approaching 5 pounds and 18 inches
 - His senses are continuing to improve
 - His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well
 - He is beginning to develop his own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta

33 weeks

34 weeks

And here is a little pregnancy update in my shoes:

• How far along: 34 weeks
• Total weight gain/loss: +16 pounds
• Maternity clothes: I have one maternity shirt that I loved, I wore it all the time. I recently washed it  and it has a hole, right in the middle of the shirt. Very sad. Now I have none.
• Stretch marks: Not yet, although I can't really see my lower abdomen
• Sleep: 5 nights out of 7 is good right? For the sleep I miss at night I make up for during the day, lots of naps.
• Nausea: Thats right it's back, not in full force, but I definitely have to take the mornings a little easy
• 
  
  Movement: His movements are a little slower and longer, instead of his frequent quick jabs
• 
  
  Food cravings: smoothies sound so good recently
• 
  
  What I miss: bending over... as opposed to awkwardly squatting
• 
  
  What I am enjoying: Shea is cooking more often, partly because I am usually sleeping and being a little lazy :)

6 weeks to go (and I wouldn't object to one or two weeks early)! Recently I have been talking a lot about if he is early, and one day Shea was like "But I don't want him to come early, I want him to cook for the full 40 weeks just in case." I told him next time he can carry the baby for the 9 months (more like ten). Haha. But seriously two weeks early and he will be fine. I just can't wait to be done being pregnant, and be able to give our little boy a squeeze!

I went to a breastfeeding class this past week and everyone there was due before me, not by much. But I was so jealous. If this cartoon is true maybe spending those few hours with them synchronized my pregnancy with theirs, so keep your fingers crossed that I will deliver early :)

32 Weeks and Counting!

Thats right I am now 32 weeks pregnant, thats about 224 days, and only 55 days to go!

I went to see the doctor today and everything is looking good, I am measuring good and his little heartbeat is nice and strong. The doctor warned me that this is the hardest stage and things are going to get very uncomfortable, but it hasn't been too bad yet. He suggested that I keep my focus on the prize, our baby boy. Thats not too hard now, I obsess over him. But fortunately Shea is just as excited as me, and never gets tired about hearing or talking about him. My next appointment is May 5th, which seems so far away and so close to my due date. I can't wait to meet this guy. This weekend we are planning a trip to Boise, we plan on finally getting prepared and buying some of this baby gear that we need. Exciting!

32 weeks and still feeling good!

So every week I read up on our little boys developments, this week I thought I would share:

• 
  
  Baby is weighing in at about 4 pounds and measuring over 17 inches long
• 
  
  Baby sleeps approximately 90 to 95 percent of the day now.
• 
  
  He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.
• 
  
  He is busy blinking, looking around, grabbing things, making faces, and listening to everything around him.
• 
  
  It's all about practice, practice, practice as he hones the skills he'll need to survive and thrive outside the womb, from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking.
• 
  
  He'll likely double his weight in the next eight weeks.
• 
  
  As more and more fat accumulates under baby's skin, he's becoming less transparent and more opaque.
• His skin has become thicker and he continues to become more of a pinkish color.
• 
  
  Baby's movements peak this week. From now on they will change in quantity and quality.
• 
  
  Baby has now developed sensitivity to temperature
• 
  
  At this point baby has blue eyes, depending on their chromosomal disposition, this could easily change after birth.
• 
  
  Most of the wrinkles are disappearing from baby's face
• 
  
  About this time baby will settle into the head-down position in preparation for birth.

Everyone that has been pregnant knows that you constantly get stared at and people make comments all the time. And oh the questions. At first it was kind of fun to talk about all the new exciting stuff, but now it is getting a little old and I am searching for a shirt that could just have the answers written out for me... like this :)

Easter Sunday Surprises!

Last Easter, actually a few weeks before Easter, Shea surprised me with a plane ticket so that I could go home for Easter. He had to work so he couldn't go, and one ticket is much more affordable than two. I was shocked and so excited to see my family. I had been pretty homesick, not to mention that the school semester had been extremely rough for me. I am so lucky to have Shea in my life. I was so sad to leave him and I missed him like crazy the whole time. But I did enjoy the time with my family; they were also surprised and ecstatic to have me home, even if it was just for a short visit. Since I knew Shea would be sad to be without me on Easter I made a little Easter basket of goodies and hid it in the (office) closet, before I left. On Easter morning I called Shea and told him to look in the back of the closet for a little surprise! He loved it and was so excited to have something special for Easter.

This Easter we are together! Yay! So to keep the surprises coming we decided that this year we would make each other Easter baskets filled with goodies. We bought our baskets together and were allotted a certain amount to spend on one another. Then we hid our goodies, on Easter morning we arranged each other’s Easter baskets and put a blanket over top, we then revealed our surprises to one another. It was so fun. I love Shea and am so glad that I can share my life with him.

Later that day we had Easter dinner with Shea’s family. It is so nice to have family close by to spend time with. We are so grateful for them and the support that they give us.

As I reflect on the importance of Easter and remembering the resurrection of our Savior I came across the words given by President Ezra Taft Benson:

“The greatest events of history are those that affect the greatest number of people for the longest periods. By this standard, no event could be more important to individuals or nations than the resurrection of [our Savior]… Nothing is more absolutely universal than the resurrection. Every living being will be resurrected. ‘As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ (1 Cor. 15:22.) Angels appeared and said simply, ‘Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.’ (Luke 24:3–6.) Nothing in history equals that dramatic announcement: ‘He is not here, but is risen.’”

This Easter gives me the chance to remember the strength I have been given. I am so fortunate to have been raised by faithful parents that set me on the path of righteousness. I am grateful to have a husband that is a worthy priesthood holder, who loves me and is supportive of my role in our home. I am blessed with the opportunity to soon become a parent, to this beautiful child inside of me. And of utmost importance I am thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ and the sacrifices he made, and our Heavenly Father who bestows upon me great blessings. I am so happy to have a life filled with so much joy.

Happy Easter!