33, 39, & Mother's Day

This is a few days late, but I'm finally getting around to posting...

I am 33 Weeks along, and feeling, well, um... big. I'm not uncomfortable yet, and when Ethan kicks my ribs, it still doesn't hurt. I've had a little run in with high blood pressure and swelling, and although my doctor has threatened bed rest at the last two appointments, I still am not on bed rest, just need to rest more and not cram the day so full. At last weeks appointment, my blood pressure was super high and they had me lay down for 10 minutes and then try it again, and it came right down. This week's appointment went better, its still on the high end, but not nearly as high as last week. I've been coming home early from work a few days a week, and trying to kick back and relax as much as I can. I've pretty much given up on young women's activities during the week. I have doc appointments weekly now to watch the blood pressure, the little guy is too small to born quite yet, so we're actively watching it for a few more weeks. But baby Ethan is measuring right on, and he is very active, which we are so grateful that he his doing so well.

My younger sis is 39 weeks along with her 2nd baby, and is patiently waiting for her little angel to get here, I can't believe our family will have 2 new babies in a matter of weeks, so exciting, and man, is my mom going to be busy! We have never taken any pictures of us pregnant together, so before she delivers her baby, we finally took one on Mother's Day.

Mother's Day was a beautiful day out in Vernal. We went to Leon and Gloria Mansfield's homecoming, which was so good, couple missionaries are so cute! We had an amazing dinner up at my mom's house, and then we drove back out to Salt Lake that evening. Tyson gave me the cutest little book called, The Happiest Mommy Ever, and also a Willowtree figurine. It was a great weekend, and kind of fun to "celebrate" Mother's Day.

My Baby's Baby Blanket

This was a busy little weekend, full of projects and things to do... Saturday morning I went over to my boss's house. His wife has an awesome sewing/craft room, and she helped me cut out squares and get Ethan's baby blanket pieced together. I think it turned out really well, lots of fun patterns and colors. The back is the same blue polka dot border, and we're going to tie it at my baby shower out here in the city.

I didn't take any pictures of this, but I made my first attempt of making homemade jam. I made strawberry freezer jam, and it turned out so well, I am thinking about making a bunch now, freezing it, and giving it away at Christmas to neighbors and friends... the strawberries have been heavenly this season, its been the one thing I have truly "craved."

I am officially 32 weeks along, and can't believe how quickly the last 8 months have gone, we are guessing the next 8 weeks will go by too fast as well, but then we'll have our little angel. I have had some swelling in my ankles, and I'm a little afraid of being put on bed rest, but maybe it would be good for me and MAKE me slow down a little... but I'm feeling good, baby is growing and getting stronger each day, we are so excited! Tyson is doing some shelving in the baby's room, and then we are setting up the crib, so fun!

Spring is Here!

Its been another busy few weeks... conference was wonderful, then Easter, the weather could have been a bit better, but we had a fun spending time with family.

Spring has to be one of my favorite seasons, everything is getting greener and so much more beautiful than the barren branches and dirty snow banks, maybe that's why I like Christmas so much, the lights and decorations make everything so much prettier.

Spring also is the season for new life... my sister is due in less than 4 weeks with a little girl, and I have just under 10 weeks until little Ethan is due. I remember in high school, in AP English, all of the poetry units, and the symbology of spring and new life, it was my favorite. I love the little animals being born, the new flowers sprouting from the ground, just the feel of change.

Not to dim away from what I just wrote, but my Great Grandmother Nebeker passed away over the weekend. She would have been 97 this August... she lived a long and very full life. Her husband died almost 26 years ago to the day, so although we will miss her, we always miss our loved ones, she is having the most wonderful reunion with her husband. My sister and I both have felt like she is getting to meet Reese (my sister's little girl, yet to be born) and Ethan first.

Its also coming upon the year mark since Tyson's father passed. A year ago Friday, Tyson and I flew over to Asia. Two years ago, a doctor told me it was going to be very difficult for us to have children. We have felt incredibly blessed to be able to get pregnant, and to have such a smooth and healthy pregnancy. From when the test first showed that pink line, we have felt Tyson's father's spirit so strong, and we know he is attending to our little one. One of the hardest things about Edwin not being here, is that our children won't know their grandfather, but deep down, we know that they already know him...


I have my 30 week appointment today. At the 28 week appointment, I had my blood drawn to be tested for gestational diabetes. That test came back normal, but it showed that I'm anemic, so I've had to load up on iron, but other than that, the little guy is growing each day. We painted the baby's room last week, Tyson is putting new roof on our house this week. The piano is in the baby's room, as the roof is leaking in the front room, once we have a leak free roof, I can get the baby's room put together. Thanks for reading, hope you are all having a fabulous week!

Our New Ride

Well, my worries about all the "baby" stuff fitting, is no longer a worry... We have wanting to get rid of our Subaru for quite a long time now, and Saturday, we decided to go test drive a newer 4 Runner. We both love these cars, but Tyson didn't know if he fit in the newer body style or not. Sure enough, he does! Only, we couldn't get one with a sunroof, that takes 2 inches of headroom out, and leave my hubby's head rubbing the ceiling. So we bought this beauty at a smokin hot price, our poor salesman earned his commission on this one. We are super excited, its just the right height to get carseats in and out... Can't wait!

I also wanted to thank you all for your comments on both the bassinet and carseat/stroller combo questions I had. I really appreciate all of your insight so much! My sister in law gave us a pack in play that has a bassinet insert, and we are going to use that in our bedroom for the first little while. Plus, we do travel quite a bit, and it will be nice to have a pack n' play.

Concerning the carseat/stroller combo. It seems like most of you liked yours. I'm not super stressed about a stroller, but I do want a nice carseat. I figure if it clicks into a stroller, bonus! I've thought about a jogger, but I have crappy old person knees, and running cripples me. I love to speed walk, so I think we'll just kind of wait and see. My neighbor suggested the Graco Safe Seat. It holds a baby up to 30 pounds, and it clicks into most Graco strollers. She found hers at Burlington Coat Factory for a great deal. I've never even been inside that store, but it can't hurt to go try it right?

Also, our boss is taking our company on a cruise in January to the Bahamas as in incentive. I really want a light little stroller for the cruise boat, but babies have to be atleast 6 months old to get on the boat, so if little Ethan isn't born by July 5th, we aren't going anyway I guess :) So for now, we are just playing the stroller thing and traveling to the Bahamas thing by ear...

But thanks again for all of your comments, keep them coming! Hope you all have a great Conference Weekend, I've been looking forward to this for a long time now! Love, Dani

Picture, Update, and another Question

On, Sunday, I'll be 27 weeks! It seems that the little guy growing inside of me just hit a growth spurt, and my belly just popped out. I am no longer an innie, not an outie yet though either...

I've been feeling really good, and since I'm kind of watching my activity levels, the Braxton Hicks haven't really bothered me too much. I kind of had a few stressful days at work, and had three in about 20 minutes, and that scared me, but it hasn't happened again. I'm just trying to take it easy and drink lots of water. The little babe never holds still for a minute, its hard to believe he is so little, I can't imagine how he will fit as he grows and gets bigger ;)

We got to go to the Draper Temple Dedication this last weekend, and it was wonderful. I remember the Vernal Temple Dedication very well, and I saved all of the handouts and my ticket to get in, it was fun to compare the two experiences, and especially to feel the spirit so strongly as a house of God was dedicated. Our YW group is doing baptisms at the Draper Temple on the 8th already.

Tys and I went and looked at carseats/strollers the other night. I love Babies R Us because you can get things off the shelf and push them around the store to see if you like it. We have both thought that we wanted a carseat/stroller combo travel system. Chicco has a pretty cool one:

The carseat has a base for the car, and it clicks into the stroller with great ease, easier than any of the others. Also, the carseat is light, others were pretty heavy without a baby in them. The stroller turns on a dime, and is easy to push. The only thing that really caught us off guard was how big and bulky the stroller is. I couldn't even lift it. Plus, we have a Subaru Legacy, and with this stroller and a pack n' play in the trunk, it would be full. We go out to Vernal about once a month, so this is kind of an issue for me.

What do all of you guys use? I've read tons and tons of reviews, and the Chicco system has great reviews, but from what I've read, most parents buy a more convenient, lighter, and less bulky stroller later anyway. I'd love your opinions, you guys were such great help with the bassinet question.

Thanks for your help, and hope you are doing well, and have a fabulous weekend!

Baby Stuff

I haven't posted in a few weeks, my work and crazy so called life has been super busy, and I now know what its like to feel Braxton Hicks... so far nothing serious, but I can feel what stress does to me...

Two weekends ago, Tys and I joined my parents and my sister, Nikki's family, on a little trip to Mesquite for 3 days. The weather was decent, mid 60's, which was warmer than up here, so I won't complain. My granny lives down there and I don't get to see her too often, its been since Thanksgiving of 07. We had a fun time shopping in St. George, and since sitting in the Casinos isn't really an option, (breathing smoke... yuck!) I just sat out at the pool and read. It was a nice get away, but there really isn't much to do if its not warm enough to swim and you don't gamble :) Tys had fun golfing, but my baby bump just gets in the way at this point :)

Last Saturday, Tyson went golfing most of the day with our boss, so I went with his sister, Tralina, to do a little fabric shopping. I really want to make a valance for the nursery, and my mom wants to do a quilt, and maybe tie it at my baby shower in Vernal. We found some really cute cute stuff!

The two fabrics on the far left are the two I'm thinking of doing the valance in, the stripes on the above the bar, and then the big brown polka dots as the main part of the valance. Then the rest is for the quilt. The blue fabric with polka dots is is really soft and will be the back of the quilt, and then all the rest of the fabrics will be cut up into squares for the front. There was so much to choose from, I can't wait to get started!

I need to get a updated pic of the afore mentioned baby bump... its getting to be more than a bump, and its hard to believe that he is only two pounds at most right now, how do babies fit??? I had an appointment last week, and everything is looking really good, I just need to make my life a little less crazy, the Braxton Hicks don't hurt, they just take my breath away, kind of... my doc said that they can be an indicator of doing too much. Anyway, baby Ethan moves almost all night, and Tys loves to fall asleep with his hands on my belly feeling Ethan kick the night away. It is so cute, Tyson's lights up, and it is adorable. I'll get a picture on here soon... hope you are all doing well!

From This to This

On my last post, I put up a pic of a nursery set we loved... I waited like 2 weeks and when I went to order it, I can't find it anywhere now!!! I've searched the web over, each web site is permanently out of stock or says "page can not be found"

So, the deal is, Tyson loves turtles, and neither of us are the biggest fan of the color blue, I don't know why, but Tyson's favorite color hands down is green, and from what I have looked at, the green sets really draw my attention... so I found this:

So, if you look really hard, there is a turtle on it, along with a monkey (that stands out the most) and a croc and some bug, maybe a dragon fly. We both like the greens and I guess we'll just try and accentuate the turtles.

My mom gave me her JC Penney catalog, and this set was on their website, a four piece set (sheet, comforter, dust ruffle, and bumper) for $169.99. I googled it, and found a six piece set (same set plus a valance and diaper stacker) for $175 at lots of other places, so I went with the six piece set for $5.01 more, plus no shipping.

Then... Saturday night, my sis and I were at the mall, and we parked by Penny's and decided to check out their baby section... there it was, the four piece set for $149.99, marked down to $99.99, and if you spend $100.00 you get $20.00 off, so I could get the four piece set for $80.00 and just return the six piece set I had just ordered online... Well, the online order hasn't even shipped yet, so I was able to cancel my online order and save $95. Even if I decide to order the diaper stacker and a valance separate, I'd be saving quite a bit! I was so excited to find such a smokin' deal! I think I'll make the valance, just take the comforter and match a fabric or two. Designing a valance doesn't overwhelm and scare me to death as much as designing an entire nursery does!

I am now 23 weeks along, and feeling so much better. I'm so thrilled to be able to enjoy this a little more now. I know the next few months will fly by, so we are just working on things little by little. I do have a question for all of you moms out there, we are looking at buying a bassinet, and have been offered a moses basket to use for the first little while... what worked best for you, I'd love to hear some feedback, because I have NO CLUE!