Waiting

We're patiently waiting for this little girl to come. (Is she really that little? Doesn't feel like it!) We're not heading to the hospital or anything (no contractions yet) but I had a doctor's appointment this morning and the doc was quite surprised at how "ready" my body is already. Apparently I'm kinda ahead of the game. So she could come anytime and we're all ready!

I'm especially ready since I had another wonderful baby shower on Saturday. Brenda (Chase's mom) threw a lovely baby shower for us, and so many friends and family came to support. Thank you to all of you who came and a BIG thank you to Brenda. You're the greatest mother-in-law! She's been a busy woman with church, teaching, mothering, grandmothering, and finishing her master's degree. Plus the holidays. Craziness in her life. But she generously made time for us and I'm so thankful! We love you Grandma Fly! My mom was able to come for the baby shower and it was so fun to have her here for the weekend. I love my mama! Thanks for coming...see you soon!

So I guess continue to watch our blog...maybe the next post will be a giddy announcement!

Baby Updates

I'm a bit behind on many things, but I thought I'd at least get a little caught up on the baby stuff. So here are a few pictures:

This is me one week ago. Don't mind the ever-chubbying face. :( But now we're in count-down mode, which is fun. I still feel great and have very few pregnancy complaints. Still love being pregnant and am actually going to be sad when I won't feel her wiggling inside me...but I'll have her wiggling outside of me and I'm sure that will bring me much more happiness.

Just putting this one up so you can compare...taken one month ago.

We finally got the nursery organized and put together. (We moved into our apartment in Boise the end of October and it took us a few weeks to get to the nursery.) Still have some decorating to do and I'll be refinishing the vanity you see as well as a few other things. But her clothes and accessories (there are MANY) are mostly put away. She has some adorable stuff that I can't wait to put her in!

Here's a close-up of the crib with the blanket and dust ruffle my mom and I made.

Back in October my mom and sisters threw me a baby shower in Utah. It was all so wonderful--the friends, the food, and the gifts. Unfortunately we didn't take many pictures, but it was a blast. A giant THANK YOU to Mom, Brittany, & Karli for a wonderful baby shower. I love you!

As far as the baby goes, we're in the final countdown. I'm going to the doctor every week now. We just had another ultrasound (that's a total of 4 ultrasounds...yes, we've loved every one) last Monday because our little girl measured quite big in her previous ultrasound, so the doc wanted to make sure she still wasn't that large. And she wasn't--she's right in the 50th percentile for height and weight. It was fun to see her again...we even got to see some chubby little cheeks. So cute!

We still haven't decided on a name. We thought it was going to be Chloe, but then someone got burned out on it and decided that it was becoming too common. So we began exploring other options and have a few solid leads. I have a feeling it will be a delivery room decision.

Other than that, we're making final preparations for this precious girl and are enjoying the last of our time as just the two of us.

Thank you for all the love and support we've received from so many of you. We love you! And a very special thank you to all of you who gave marvelous advice in response to my HELP WANTED ad. If you think of other stuff, I'm all ears!

HELP!

To all you mothers out there....I NEED HELP!

I have hit panic mode with 6 weeks left in this pregnancy. I'm looking for any and all advice in any and all areas...pre-labor, labor, hospital stay, leaving the hospital, first days at home, sleeping (or not), what to make Chase do for me, etc. :)

Okay, I'm really not panicking (too much) but I would like advice. Any great products I just HAVE to have? Things I MUST do before going to the hospital? While at the hospital? I think you get my drift.

We're on a 6 week countdown! Can't wait!

The Latest

Life continues to change for us. We have left Cascade...and we're not happy about it. We obviously knew it was coming, but it came too fast and we just really loved it there. We loved the scenery and how close we were to fun places. And we especially loved the ward there. Actually, it was a branch, and we really felt like we were one of them. And it always seems like when we get comfortable somewhere and start to make friends that's when we have to pick up and move. Someday we'll stay in one place for a while.
So now we're moving to Boise, which we're excited about. We'll be going down to Utah to get all our stuff out of a storage unit (where it's been sitting for a year and a half) and I'll get to "play house" with it again. I'm excited for that. Chase is still working for the Forest Service and I'll be substitute teaching until the baby comes.
This past Monday was Columbus Day, for those of you who didn't know, and Federal employees get days like that off...thank you, taxpayers. So we took advantage of that and went to some hot springs near where Chase has been working. They're called Rocky Canyon Hot Springs, and they're really cool. Well, they're hot, actually, but they are awesome. They're super pretty and clean and just lovely. Unfortunately, Chase found out last night that they are blowing them up today because whoever built them didn't go through the proper channels. Big bummer.

View from the top. The pools get cooler as you go down and that's the river at the bottom. The road is on the other side of the river so you have to cross the FREEZING, PAINFULLY COLD river to get to them, but it's worth it.

View from the bottom

From across the river

Us chillin in the pools. Don't worry, I got in the coolest one which was cooler than a bathtub...I'm not endangering our child. :)

On our way to the hot springs we stopped so Chase could try a little fishing. No luck with the fish, but we got to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

This is what we woke up to on Conference Sunday...SNOW! It was beautiful (and cold) but melted quickly due to the rain. I'm not quite ready for full-fledged winter, but a little dusting of the white stuff was kinda fun.

And here is my latest pregnancy picture...taken last Saturday. I am now 28 weeks, which is 6 months. So I've now begun my 3rd trimester. I'm still feeling GREAT and continue to love being pregnant. Our baby girl is still quite the acrobat and I love feeling her move and seeing my belly take on strange shapes. So fun. And apparently I look pregnant enough that almost daily total strangers ask me when I'm due. I always tell them "January 2nd" but I really want to say, "You're lucky I'm pregnant, but how would you feel if I said I wasn't pregnant? Don't ask a strange woman that question...it's ALWAYS better to be safe than really, really sorry." But I don't. I just smile and share with them our happy news.

Girl Time

Back in August my mom and sister, Karli, came for a visit. It was SO fun to have them here. We did typical girl stuff....watched movies, ate delicious food, went out to eat, and relaxed. We also sewed. Mom helped me make a blanket for our little girl. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY! Thanks Mom!

My beautiful mom and me

My wonderful sis and me

Baby girl's perfect blanket

The lady folk at the end of the week. Thanks for coming...I miss you guys!

This is for those of you who are not close enough to see my growing belly. It's definitely poking out there! I guess that's how it's supposed to be at 25 weeks!

Movie Star

At our ultrasound we got a few videos of our little girl. I thought that was so fun. So here are a couple of my favorites.

You can see her kind of wiggle and then wave to the camera at the end. So sweet.

In this one you can see that she's got the hiccups, which is kinda sad since they shake her whole body, but also cute to watch.

The Good Stuff

Now that we're officially "private," I feel a bit better about sharing pregnancy and baby stuff on here. Sorry about the hassle of having to sign in or not being able to check out our blog with Reader, etc. (I know the feeling...not my favorite thing in the world) but I've heard about too many weirdos. Hopefully you'll still check up on us from time to time. Let's be honest...it's not as if I post all the time. But I will try to be better. I've got a few things I want to blog about, but we'll start with the best part---OUR BABY! As you all surely know by now, I am pregnant with our first little one--and it will be a darling little girl. I am due January 2nd and we couldn't be more excited. I am now a whopping (almost) 24 weeks, so I'm more than half way! We have had 2 ultrasounds (they couldn't see her spine at the first one, so we got to go back for another) so here are some pictures of our little babe.

Foot

Profile

Her cute (kinda creepy) face...and big round belly

Full body shot

So there you go. I'll get some pregnant pictures up soon...Chase isn't home during the week, and I can't take a picture of myself, so you'll just have to wait. :) But I'm definitely getting nice and round!

I've had a wonderful pregnancy and I love being pregnant. I haven't been sick, I haven't had crazy mood swings (for the most part), nor have I had cravings, unfortunately. I feel this little girl kick/move all the time, especially when I'm in a reclining position. All the more reason for me to relax. :) I love feeling her, and I love that Chase can feel her now. It makes it all so real.

I'll try to keep you updated on our progress, especially for those of you who are far from us. Thank you for all your love! We love and miss you all!