17 Weeks

Today has been a GREAT day. Not only did I have my first doctor appointment here in Rexburg and  loved my doctor, but I also felt little baby moves all day! Started early this morning while I was sitting on a bench in the Clark, and continued all day long. Later when I have some pudding and relax on the couch, I'll probably feel some more. 

I'm 17 weeks today, meaning that it's really close to the time when I get to find out the gender! I was hoping that they would do an ultrasound at my appointment today since I'm a new patient, but they didn't. However, Derek came with me and he got to hear the heart beat! That was really cool. It's nice and strong! The medical assistant would find the baby's heart beat and then it would fade because the baby would move away. So she would move the sensor, find a strong heart beat, and the baby would move away again. He/She even kicked at it a couple times! 

But the most exciting news: I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT on MAY 10th TO FIND OUT THE GENDER! 

It's going to be a long two weeks. But, if this little pea keeps moving as much as I felt today, then the wait won't be all that bad.

After my appointment we stopped by Abbie and Adam's to visit for a little bit. Jace climbed on my lap and I told him that I had a baby in my tummy. (The first time I told him this was back in March when my sisters came up for a surprise birthday visit. He kept coming to me and saying, "Hold it?" I kept having to tell him we had to wait. So cute!)

 His eyes got wide, and I said, "That's right! There's a baby in there." Off and on throughout the rest of our visit he would turn to me and touch my stomach and say, "There's a baby in there." 

Delightful Dubrovnik

This post is going to have a very long introduction. But if you will bear with me and read to the end (or you can just skip to the last few paragraphs) I need your opinion!

Two and a half years ago I had two sisters who were both pregnant and about to have their babies. With the excitement of the births of a new nephew and niece, I went online and started looking at baby stuff. Clothes, blankets, swings, diaper bags, etc. In my searching, I stumbled upon the company Petunia Pickle Bottom. I browsed their website and found that they have the CUTEST BAGS EVER. And, from all the reviews that I read online, customers who had purchased their bags loved them and got years and years of use from them.

Now that I am pregnant and anxiously looking forward to having my first baby, I am dying to have a Petunia bag! I've basically been obsessed a huge fan of their products since I first found them two and a half years ago. However, the problem is that they are really quite expensive when it comes to diaper bags. But I want one so badly!! Everyone that has a Petunia bag says that they are one of the must-haves for new moms. So, I have decided that I must have one.

Let me tell you, it took a while to convince Derek that I really did need one. I don't think he has quite bought into the idea 100% yet, but I'm hoping that with time, he will come around.

When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first things that I did was go to the Petunia Pickle Bottom website. I looked at the Boxy Backpacks (the ideal diaper bag, if you were to ask me) and found one that I absolutely LOVE.

This design is called "Delightful Dubrovnik." In case you don't know what Dubrovnik is, it is a city of Croatia located right on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. 

The combination of coral and gray is what gets me. I love it! 

When Derek finally conceded that yes, this bag might be worth it, he asked, "But don't you think you should pick more of a gender-neutral bag in case we have a boy?" 

At first I thought to myself, "Yeah, I probably should." But then I thought, "Wait. Is the diaper bag specifically for the baby, or is it more of a handy and useful accessory for mom to take care of her baby?"

So I guess the whole point of this long post is this: do you think that a diaper bag needs to be gender related, or is it more of an accessory for the mom that can be anything she wants it to be?

Leave me a comment and let me know! Your input will be much appreciated.

P.S. My first doctor appointment here in Rexburg is on Thursday. I'll be 17 weeks on that day, so maybe if they do an ultrasound Derek and I will get to find out the gender!

Exquisite Joy

I've been procrastinating. I have been home since 2:30 this afternoon, and so far all I have done is take my Anatomy & Physiology Test (perfect score, by the way). My thoughts are the main culprit for causing me to procrastinate. I cannot help but think about what a blessing it is to be married to someone who is my best friend, who makes me laugh every single day, and who I love more than I understand. The beauty and great blessing of temple ordinances then hopped onto that train of thought, and it made me smile inside and tear up a little on the outside about how wonderful it is that I get to be with Derek forever. And this tiny little baby will be a part of our eternal family. We will get to be with them forever. 

It's amazing.

So while I was procrastinating, I decided to be creative so that my time wasn't completely unproductive! Thus, I put my energy into making these:

I love this quote. I put this together using a quote from Elder Richard G. Scott. The full quote reads: 

"I know the exquisite joy that comes from an eternal marriage sealed at a temple altar through the holy sealing power. When there is righteousness, a commitment to give of self, obedience to the commandments of God, and the resolve to seek His will in all things together, that joy is unspeakable. I do not have words to express the fulfillment and peace that flow from such a supernal experience, even when there is a temporary interruption of the glory of life together on earth. It is that joy and happiness I want so much for each of you. More importantly, that is what your Father in Heaven wants for you."

This one is all about children. It was inspired, obviously, by my thoughts about this sweet little baby Derek and I will be having in the beginning of October. 

The first half of this is from a quote by Elder Russel M. Nelson. The full quote reads: 

"Do not try to control your children. Instead, listen to them, help them to learn the gospel, inspire them, and lead them toward eternal life. You are God's agents in the care of His children He has entrusted to you. Let His divine influence remain in your hearts as you teach and persuade."

The last half of this is just thoughts that came to my mind. I love that families are forever. And it humbles me that God trusts us enough to send us His precious spirit children for us to raise, and hopefully teach, so that they will be able to make the decisions they need to in order to return to Him again.

I can't wait to meet this little baby! Goodness, I can't even wait until my next appointment! It is next Thursday, and I'm hoping that since I'm a new patient they'll do an ultrasound so I can at least see our little pea! 

It's sweet to think about how much joy will come not only from my marriage, but from the children that we will bring into our family. 

As Elder Scott says, "exquisite joy."

Sewing Success!

I enjoy being creative. I really do! And sewing blankets for friends or new babies in my family is one way in which I feel creative.

My older sister Courtney had her little girl on March 29th. I'm so excited and happy for them! I love seeing the number of nieces and nephews in my family grow. I decided I wanted to make a couple receiving blankets and matching burp cloths for my new niece Piper.
 In the past few years I've made multiple blankets and completed other sewing projects successfully. But these receiving blankets are a little bit... different. I had helped my mom pin a receiving blanket before, and done the decorative stitch around the outside. I should be able to make one on my own, right?

Well, the blankets were made and they worked out. However, I did not sew them correctly. I messed up one thing after another, and eventually had to creatively "fix" them. I got so discouraged at one point that I texted Derek and told him, "If I ever get ambitious and decide that I want to sew clothes for our children, just stop me."

But! Since I'm going to have a baby of my own in six months, my mom decided that she had better show me just how to correctly sew these receiving blankets. And I did it! I sewed my blanket correctly and didn't have to unpick anything! 

The blanket in progress. I've already sewn the two squares together, sewn the corners, and am going over the top with a really cute decorative stitch.

And the finished product! It's folded up a little, of course.

My mom let me pick out fabric to make a receiving blanket for a little girl and fabric to make one for a little boy. Since I don't know what I'm having yet, I'll be prepared and then I can save whichever one I don't use for this baby for another in the coming years.

If I may say so myself, isn't that fabric in the pictures above so cute?! I love, love, LOVE it.

I'm so proud of myself for finishing this project without any mishaps! 

Feels good to finally have some sewing success.

14 Weeks

I am 14 weeks today! This means that I am officially in the second trimester of my pregnancy.

Here's what I experienced in the first trimester:

- No morning sickness. Or any-other-time-of-the-day sickness. I am very lucky to have had it so easy, but I believe I won't know just how lucky unless I do get sick with another pregnancy in the future.

- Tenderness in the... well, it really hurt to give Derek a hug. Let's just leave it at that.

- Tired beyond belief. I am usually tired throughout most of my day due to lack of a proper sleep schedule and doing too much. But I was more tired than I had ever felt before! I took 3-4 hour naps each day in the afternoon and slept just fine at night. (However, I do believe that the tiredness I will feel once the baby is actually here will blow the current tired feeling out of the water.)

- Craving sweet things! ...more than usual. I have a big sweet tooth. I guess you could say that it runs in my family. But in the course of one day I would want (in no particular order): no bake cookies, cinnamon rolls, Hershey's kisses, ice cream, brownies, and a sweet pretzel with caramel sauce. Yeah, it was bad.

And last, but definitely not least...

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT. This symptom hasn't gone away, and I don't think it will! I am so excited to be a mom! I am constantly reading about what is developing this week in this little pea. My thoughts are consumed with "What's it gonna be? Boy or girl?" My family has told me multiple times that they're excited to know "what kind I'm growing".

I'm so happy that I get to be a mom, and am loving pregnancy so far!

P.S.   Derek comes home in 8 days!