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!

Privatizing

In order to be able to safely and comfortably put up pictures, videos, and information about our upcoming baby, we have decided to take our blog private. So for those of you who are interested in continuing to read my frequent :) blog posts (I promise, it will get better) send me your e mail address and I will add you. This will probably happen in the next week or so! Love you all!

Making Contact

As you all know, we live in the mountains. You also know that the country recently switched from analog TV to digital. That little switch took away the 2 channels we received through a monstrous antenna. We're too cheap to get cable (and we don't really need it) so we decided to try our luck at picking up digital channels. The video below is Chase's attempt at finding that long-lost signal. Or perhaps he was just trying to locate his friends from outer space. Either way, he wasn't successful. But it makes for a good laugh.