Mother's Day.... I know, it's a little late...

     I love the month of May. I feel like I get spoiled rotten. Why? Our anniversary is on the 5th, then Mother's Day, and then my birthday! This year, I was uber spoiled on Mother's Day. My mom flew up for the weekend, and it was heaven having her here! Of course, the girls never left her side, which allowed me to have some time to myself. She played with Ava while Halle and I took naps, and for once I didn't feel guilty taking a nap and leaving Ava awake. Usually she just watches TV, and she actually enjoys having her own "alone" time, but I still feel guilty. But I have to be honest, this pregnancy is kicking my trash, and I have to sleep or else I'm a beast. Anyway, back to Mother's Day.
   Sacrament was wonderful. The speakers talked about mothers in the scriptures, and I really liked that aspect. Not everyone is a mother right now, and some will never become mothers, but we can all follow the examples of those in the scriptures. One talk mentioned how Eve was the first mother to feel sorrow, and the first mother to bury a child. Can you imagine the wife of Noah, and everything she did to help prepare for the flood? Anyways, I really enjoyed it. Then in Relief Society, we had a wonderful little treat. A lady in our ward used to cater, so we asked her to prepare some things for the sisters in our ward. She prepared eclairs, fruit kabobs, strawberries with hazelnut dip, and cracker with meat and cheese. It was just yummy!
     After church, Ava showed me this coupon she got from primary...

  She offered to help me do the dishes. Well, when we got home, she went right to work and helped Grammy do the dishes. It was nice to just sit and relax. It was also cute to watch her wash the dishes. It was one of the best Mother's Day presents ever!

  It was so cute to see Halle scoot over a little stool and start helping. When they were done, there was pools of water everywhere, but I didn't care. Watching my girls do the dishes was well worth it!

     I am so grateful to be a mother. It is hard, exhausted both emotionally and physically, but Ava and Halle bring so much joy to our lives. They are sweet and spicy, tender, compassionate, crazy, loving, and are always doing or saying things to make us laugh. I am also grateful for a wonderful mother. She has been a great example to me, and I couldn't ask for a better mother. I'm also grateful for my mother-in-law. She has raised the most amazing son, and is also a great example to me. 

And She's At It Again...

    Oh, my little Halle. I honestly don't have energy to keep up with her. She climbs on everything, and loves to hang on anything and everything... let's recap on some pics I've already shared...

She was standing on the strap...

She does crazy things in the bathtub...

And she sits like this for fun...

     

She also loves to plank on anything... her most recent planking adventure? On a shopping cart... I was shopping at Target, and turned around for a couple of seconds. When I turned back around, this is what I saw... oh, andsorry the picture isn't the best, it was taken on my cell phone.

But the other night, she did the unthinkable. She loves to sleep on the top bunk, and she loves to do "tricks"... here is her recent trick...

Just remember, it's on the top bunk, and she just loves to dangle her legs over the edge, arch her back, and sit on her head. 

Oh my.

Baby Cash

     I had my first ultrasound and doctor's appointment on Friday. I was super excited to finally get pictures of this little human... it's nice to know that there is actually a baby in there, and that I'm not just going crazy. :) Know what I mean? Here's some pics for your viewing entertainment..

     First off, Ava has been super excited to know that we're going to have a baby soon. She will often come up and rub my tummy and say, "Rub, rub, rub your belly!" and then she'll giggle. It's the sweetest thing. She was also super excited to see pictures of little Baby Cash.  Halle has no clue as to what's going on, and that's ok. I just hope she decides to potty train before the baby gets here.

      Here is Ava and Halle holding my ultra sound pictures. Please note the awesome fake blue hair that they have on. It came from a McDonald's Happy Meal, and now they both pretend they are rockstars.

      This is the baby's profile. You can see the little bump of the nose, and the little stubby arms and legs. I actually found out that I am 2 weeks further along than I thought! I will be 11 weeks this Wednesday, which puts my due date on November 28th. Let me tell you, it's awesome to have 2 weeks shaved off this pregnancy! 

     I love this picture because Baby is looking straight at you. You can see it's little chin and the two little black things are its eyes. It's was just surreal to see this little baby. I've had mixed emotions since the time I found out I was pregnant, and seeing this baby move and its little heart beating just melted my heart. It's a feeling that's indescribable! I'm grateful that I was a little further along with my first ultrasound. With Ava I was only 7 weeks, and I can't remember how far along I was with Halle when I had my first ultrasound, but I do remember that they both looked like little blobs. It was amazing to actually see little details on this baby.

     I am really grateful to be going to the doctors office that I am going to. Several of my friends have recommended them, and the minute I walked in, I felt comfortable. Of course I had a bunch of questions for my doctor, since my last pregnancy was awful. With Halle, I had preeclampsia, and was put on bed rest at 34 weeks, but I also went into labor on my own with her, which means I am at high risk to have another pre-term baby. The doctor and the nurse kept asking me if I was induced early because of the preeclampsia, but I kept telling them I wasn't. I started contracting on my own. Had I been induced, I wouldn't be such high risk... Wonderful, eh? So, my doctor said that it would be wise to start weekly progesterone shots at 16 weeks to help lower the risk of preterm labor. I am also going to have a consultation with a perinatologist (they focus on high-risk pregnancies) to see if they want to monitor me, or have me stay at my regular doctor's office.

     For the past 6 weeks, I have felt like crap. Nothing sounds good, and I have been extremely tired. I haven't cooked or cleaned... I'm doing well if I can do a load of dishes every couple of days and get a load of laundry in once in awhile. My poor kids have been completely entertained by the TV because I don't have the energy to entertain them or take them places. Nate has had to cook dinner a lot, and he's put up with me going out to eat for lunch because I just can't stand making food! I get super sick at night, and get this weird metallic taste in my mouth that just won't go away no matter how much I brush my teeth or chew gum. Gag! I have been super nauseous, but lucky enough to not throw up.

     With my other 2 pregnancies, I didn't take a lot of pictures, and I kind of regret it. Being pregnant is such a miracle, and I never realized just how amazing it was. I just thought of myself as a giant marshmallow, but my body is making a human being! So, in the next month or so, you can expect a profile pic of my little tummy. :)