Baby Shower

At the beginning of May my sweet friend Liz and sister-in-law Rachael were so so kind to throw baby girl and me the cutest baby shower! Every detail was just perfect, the food was even more delicious than it looked (and that is hard to do!), the company was great, and the games were a hit! We were way too spoiled with darling and generous gifts from wonderful friends and family and we couldn't be more grateful. All the cute outfits and things just made me that much more excited to have a girl and I can hardly wait to see her in all her fun new things! I think it will be like playing baby doll all over again. :) Thank you so much to all who came--I wish we'd gotten pictures of everyone, but we forgot to get out the camera til the end! Here are some of the pictures I did get though of the lovely spread.

Me and the hostesses, Liz and Rachael. I can't believe how hard they worked on everything and how wonderful it all turned out! They did such an amazing job. Thank you to them a million times over!

All the fun things!

He's His Daddy's Boy...

Growing Ever Growing

At almost 34 weeks and quite nearly 8 months pregnant,

my view from up high seems to be getting more and more limited these days.

I'm trying to do better at documenting my pregnancy this time around, because once it's over, it really is crazy how hard it is to remember what is was like.

(These are from about 30 weeks along)

We are getting more and more excited for the arrival of this little girl.

Crib's been painted, room is slowly getting organized and maybe even decorated, childbirth classes are being attended,

And the whole family can't stop talking about how we can't wait to meet the little rolly polly wiggle worm living inside my big round belly.

Cal loves giving my bare belly kisses and talks about his baby sister coming all the time. He says he wants to hold her and cuddle her so soft and demonstrates exactly how he'll do it. He will lovingly pat my tummy and say "I love that baby." He loves looking at other people's babies now and just has this look of fascination knowing that one of those is coming to us. I don't think he really understands what this event will actually mean for his life, but he definitely understands what a baby is and that one of them is coming to our family very soon, and she is inside Mom right now just waiting to get big enough.

I can't wait to see the two of them together.

(At 32 weeks pregnant--Cal trying to give his sister kissies)

I am still feeling really great actually. I do get a little more tired as the days go on and the feet are definitely sore by nighttime, but I've been surprised at how good I feel all around--keeping my fingers crossed this keeps up! I am staying busy trying to keep up with the house and all our errands, working on wrapping up photo projects, keeping Cal entertained by getting out and about to our various activities and enjoying the beautiful spring weather, getting the baby's room ready, and making it to the gym to exercise 3 or 4 times a week. I'm trying to take advantage of that as much as possible before the little one arrives and it won't be so easy.

We are also trying to do the best we can to have this baby naturally....that's right...al naturale. Call us crazy (I might be!), but we are actually really excited to give it a shot and I'm hoping it will give us our best chance at not having to have a c-section again. We are hoping for a few less emergencies than the last time around! :) So Dan and I have been busy, busy going to classes, practicing relaxation, and planning for the big day! Dan is awesome and so super supportive. I love him. Last night Cal was sick and I was tired and when he got home from work, he'd brought with him lots of vitamin C packed juice, a movie for Cal, and Chinese & ice cream for me. What a sweetheart.

Only about 6 more weeks to go!

Easter Cheese

Well I couldn't just let these pictures go without posting some because I laugh every time I see them. On Easter Sunday, right after my Mom and Don left (and right before we felt the earthquake shake our house...haha) we made Cal sit on a chair like a good little boy so Mommy could snap a few pictures of him in his Easter get-up, without having to chase him. For once, he decided to actually go along with it and was laughing and giggling and being such a silly little ham. I really sometimes can't get over how many different expressions and movements a kid can do in a matter of about 2 minutes. I love how these show so much of his true personality. He is such a happy, squirmy, little Mr. Silly pants.

Grandma A and Easter!

Easter this year was so fun because not only was it General Conference weekend, but Grandma A and Papa Don came over from AZ for a visit! We always always love when they come and Cal was so excited the entire time they were here. I was missing my Mama and was overdue for a visit! I am so glad they were able to make it over! We watched lots of conference together, visited, and Cal had so much fun playing with his grandparents. 

On Easter Sunday we dyed some eggs while we watched conference. Cal thought it was pretty fun.

He also got to hunt for his basket and was thrilled with his new recorder and playdough set from the Easter Bunny.

Grandma got us all yummy Cookies on stick.

The finished eggs!

And we finally got a new battery for our point and shoot camera!!! So now I can take more little snapshots on the fly....Sometimes, I just want something small and convenient!! Even if I have to sacrifice the quality. Here are some....

My sweet Mama had foot surgery several weeks ago and was still recovering when they came. So she had a big boot on her foot and poor swollen toesies. Cal was pretty fascinated though with her foot and wanted to be just like her. Here he is elevating his foot just like his Grandma A. He got in that position all by himself. :)

Man, does this boy love his Grammie! He couldn't get enough of her loves and probably mauled her to death with wrestles and snuggles. He is so lucky to have such a fun Grandma A! They are two little peas in a pod.

We also worked on putting in a small garden in a corner of the backyard. Cal was SOOO excited to help his Daddy plant and still can't stop talking about his special garden. He kept telling me it needed "water, sunshine, and lots of love". :)

On Saturday night we did a little shopping while the boys were at Priesthood Session and then we hit up BJ's for dinner. Despite the horrible, awful long wait.....it was quite yummy. :) This is Grandma and Cal trying to kill time while we waited by listening to Grandma's iPod together. Cal loved it.

And here is our little family on Easter day.

Thanks so much for visiting Grandma A and Papa Don! We can't wait til we see you again!!

Pre-Easter Family Dinner

A week or two before Easter we got together with Dan's family to celebrate and do a little egg hunt for the Grandkiddos. We made a delicious salad bar potluck at our house and the kids had a blast running around and being together as usual. They were SO excited to hunt for eggs.

Here is Calvin, Michael, Madison, and Alex before the hunt.

Andy and Mel hiding eggs in the backyard

Uncle Steve

The loot....(please excuse the disaster this corner of the yard was in. It has since been weeded, cleaned up, and turned into a garden thanks to my hubby! It was definitely in need of some tlc. :) )

What could be more fun for kids than running around the backyard finding hidden plastic eggs with candy inside?!

Cute little Alex

Dad and CAl

My mother-in-law brought over the most beautiful vase of flowers from her very own yard! They were so beautiful and we enjoyed them all week long. I love having fresh flowers.