30 Weeks

I hit 30 weeks as of Wednesday.

Holy cow... what a crazy 30 weeks it has been!

For the past 20 weeks, I have been going to the doctor's every other week for ultrasounds and cervical length checks to make sure my body isn't going into pre-term labor.

I am happy to report that I no longer have to have ultrasounds or cervical length checks because if the baby comes now, the chances of her surviving are excellent.

I still have to go every other week to have my blood pressure checked, and my protein and sugars checked...

However, I had my glucose test last week, and I don't have gestational diabetes (hooray!!) and my bloodwork looks fabulous!

I also only have 4 weeks left of my progesterone shots...

Hallelujah!

Nate is an excellent shot giver....

the needles are big and thick, and the progesterone is a thick oil, and he just sticks it right into my thigh muscle like he's been doing it for a thousand years.

I have to rotate thighs every week, and the shots sting like no other...

I can't sleep on the side that I've gotten the shot on because it stings so bad.

Ava and Halle are interested in my "shops" (as Halle calls them), and they are more than willing to share their Toy Story band-aids with me.

I usually think that self-portraits are silly, but I wanted a shot of my 30 week preggo belly...

so here I am in all my glory!!! Ha!

As of today, I have only gained 18 pounds. Sweet! By this time with Halle, I had already gained about 35-40 lbs, and in 4 short weeks, I gained another 15-20 lbs. So, 18 pounds is a good number for me!

I can definitely tell that A.) this is my 3rd kid and B.) I am older...

There is a reason why women are meant to have babies early in life... it gets tough when you're older!

Holy cow! The aches and pains and constant, and I get Braxton Hicks pretty much every single time I bend over... needless to say, I haven't done a lot of picking up my house.... it's kind of a wreck right now... well, and because we've just moved.... :)

This baby girl is pretty active at night. I usually don't sleep between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. because she likes to move. While going in every other week for an ultra sound has been kind of hectic, I have loved seeing her grow from a little bean to an actual baby.

Baby Girl Cash still doesn't have a name.... Nate and I don't really talk about it. While we don't fight over names, we don't really agree on names... so who knows what she'll be named. Ava wants to name her "Cilla" and was devastated when we told her that wasn't going to be this baby's name. (To make Ava feel better, we named our van Cilla...)

I am so grateful to have had a healthy pregnancy thus far. I feel like I have been in good hands with my doctor, and I have amazing friends who are willing to help me at a moments notice.

Like I've said before, this baby has really tried my faith. My faith has been weak, and there have been times when I have just wanted to give up... but after being stubborn, I finally turned my problems and fears over to the Lord. I know He's heard my prayers, and I have felt an immense amount of comfort and assurance that we'll be taken care of and that this baby will be a blessing in our lives.

Double Baby Shower

     A couple of weekends ago, one of my good friends, Christie, threw me and Jessica a double baby shower! Jessica is actually due any minute with her little girl, Piper, and I only have a couple of months to go (more on that later...) and it was fun to get together with the friends I've made up here. Christie is an event planner, so I knew the shower would be rockin'!

    She made some delicious strawberry shortcake in little push pop containers...

and she made this delicious cake... (darling, isn't it?)

There was more delicious food, but blogger is loading is all sideways, so I didn't post pics of it.

You'll just have to tust me when I say that there was delicious food.

We had about 10-12 ladies show up for the shower, and I am so grateful for every single one of them.

I have met them all through my ward here, and they have become like family.

They showered us with presents, and I feel so blessed!

Here is Christie... she's amazing! She had a baby girl, Savannah, back in June, so we are excited to have Savannah, Piper, and Baby Girl Cash to become friends!! Christie is also my blogging partner over at popsandpodge.com, and she is so creative and talented!

I just love her to pieces!!

The theme of the shower was "Ready to Pop" and for thank you gifts, she made these darling favors that said, "Thanks for Popping By".

And of course, we had to get a picture of the three amigas!! Like I said, Jessica is due any day with her little girl, and I'm taking her son while she's in labor, so I have been on stand-by for the past few days. In turn, she is taking my two girls while I'm in labor. Isn't it amazing how friends become like family?

Since Jess nor I have any family near by, we gotta stick together!

I am so lucky to have these two beautiful ladies in my life. They are literally my best friends up here, and I would be lost without them. I don't think I would enjoy Oregon as much as I have if I didn't have them.

They befriended me immediately, and I am immensely grateful.

I am grateful that this little baby girl got a shower thrown for her.

Christie's philosophy is that every baby deserves a shower, and I love the philosophy!

I never got a shower with Halle, and I felt kind of sad that no one wanted to really welcome her into the world...

and I'm so grateful that Christie threw a shower for us because we have absolutely no baby things for this baby. Before we moved, we sold everything baby related... our crib, changing table, blankets, clothes, bottles, EVERYTHING!! For one, we thought we would have had a little more time before baby #3 came along, and we just didn't have the room for all that extra baby stuff, so we are starting from scratch with this little one!

So, I loved everything I got from the double baby shower!!!

Quick Utah Recap

     Here's just a quick recap of our Utah trip... It went by way too fast and I can't believe it's been a month since we've been there... I wish that time would slow down sometimes... :)

First off, besides family, one of the things we miss the most is the food in Utah.

I'm sure there are delicious restaurants and such here in Oregon,

but we have yet to discover them...

First off, let's talk about Ken's. It's a little sandwich shop in Magna and they make absolutely the best sandwiches ever!!!!! Our favorite is the Turkey Deluxe which comes with turkey, bacon, and avocados...

We missed Ken's so much that we ate there 3 days in a row. Yes... 3 days in a row!!

And Leatherby's is our favorite ice cream place!

I always get Tracy's Peanut Butter Cup, which is smothered in peanut butter and hot fudge.

I love it so much, that when I get ice cream at home, I always melt some peanut butter and put it on my ice cream because it reminds me of this delicious concoction.

Now, let me tell you what's funny. When Nate and I go out, I usually order something different because I love trying new things and Nate usually sticks with the same thing.

However, when it comes to Leatherby's, I always order the same thing, and Nate is the one who ventures out. Crazy! So this time, Nate tried their Cookie Concoction which had a cookie on the bottom and was also smothered in rich, sugary goodness!

We also visited our grandparents.

Renee is Nate's grandma, and we love visiting her!

And we visited my Oma and Opa.

I am so glad that our girls are able to know their great-grandparents.

I think having a relationship with a great-grandparent is something special...

I guess it stems from the fact that I still have my great-grandma alive, and I have been so close with her.

We love our grandparents!

My brothers came down from Boise, and we were able to get a family picture.

My family doesn't do anything special for pictures... we had a bad experience a few years ago (let's just not go into it... ha!) so we just set up a tripod, snap a few pics, and hope that one of them turns out!

This one was my favorite because Collin was messing up my hair, and Nelson had a straw wrapper hanging out of his mouth...

We were also able to have dinner with some of our dear college friends, the Andreasons.

Ava and Lucas are great friends... and it's cute to see the size difference between them.

They're only a few weeks apart in age, but you can clearly see that Ava is a good head taller than he is...

but then again, Nate and I are a good head taller than Lucas' parents.

We love the Andreasons!!

We went shopping at City Creek, which is absolutely stunning, by the way.

My Oma gave Ava and Halle $20 each to spend for their birthdays,

and Halle picked out these hot pink loafers from H&M. She picked them out all by herself, and I have to say that I was mighty impressed with her great taste!

Ava bought a little polka dot purse, and is saving the rest for some high heels. :)

While at City Creek, we touched the fountains. Sadly, we couldn't play in them because of Ava's blessed cast... :(

I was able to get away with my BFF, Andrea. We always go to Cheesecake Factory and I swear we can chit chat the night away!! I love Andrea, and am so glad we are friends. Honestly, she is one of the people I miss the most, and I love talking to her!

We extended our trip for a few days because we found out that my cousin was getting married.

She was actually sealed by my old stake president who used to live across the street from me,

so it was neat to see our old neighbor seal my cousin and her husband.

I love the words of the marriage sealing. There is so much power in the promises made, and the blessings we can receive from being sealed to our loved ones are immeasurable.

While Nate couldn't be at the sealing (he had to fly home a few days before), it made me so grateful that I have him for eternity, and that he picked me to have forever!

After the wedding, there was a reception, and I helped put together the the dessert buffet table. My aunts and my mom also helped out, and we were asked a few times if we catered. :)

We had fun dancing the night away.... :)

One of the last days we were there, my dad drove us up Butterfield Canyon, and we were able to look down over the copper mine...

This was a cool experience because my dad has always taken my brothers and Nate on his little driving excursions, but I 've never gone with him, so it was fun spending some time with him.

On the way up, we saw this crazy caterpillar next... at first, I thought it was a giant spider web, but when we looked closer, there was a bunch of caterpillars gathered in the middle!!

We love Utah, and it was fun to visit, but I have to be honest... it was good to come back to our little apartment and to have a steady routine.

We can't wait until we go back!



Cast Off!

Hallelujah, Ava's freaking cast came off!!! She had it on for 5 weeks, and that was 5 weeks too long for me! Since she's broken her elbow both in the winter and the summer, I can confidently say that I would prefer to have a child with a broken bone during the winter months. Since mid-July, our recreational activities have been severly limited, and it nearly drove all of us crazy! Obviously we couldn't go swimming or to the fountains... but the parks weren't any fun because Ava's arm just go too hot, and she just couldn't play on any of the playgrounds. :( When we got the cast put on, the doctor told us no biking, no scooters, no running, no jumping.... basically Ava couldn't do anything because the risk of her falling and breaking the bone just above the cast was too high... but you know what? I said SCREW IT! She's a kid and I'll take that chance! She can't do a lot of summer activities, I'm not going to harp on her of she's running or riding her scooter!!

So, the Tuesday after we got back from Utah, we headed to the doctor's and got that filthy, stinky, itchy cast off!!

 Ava's little fingers had taken a beating! They were constanly rubbing up against the cast, so the skin on her fingertips was a mess... Thankfully, they've started to heal...

Ava was super brave getting her cast off and getting new x-rays, so we celebrated by going to Wendy's and getting a nice cold frosty... and the day after she got her cast off, we went to the park and played in the fountains!

I cannot tell you how proud of Ava I am. There was one really hot afternoon when the sprinklers came on at our apartments, and Ava was out playing with her friends. All of her friends started running through the sprinklers and kept telling her that it was okay if she got her cast a little wet. But Ava sat off to the side and watched everyone enjoy the nice cool water, and simply told them that she needed to stay away from the water. I walked outside, and noticed her sitting alone, and she told me what was going on, and I got tears in my eyes because she was being so obedient. She knew that her cast couldn't get wet, and she stood up to her friends, even when it meant sitting alone.

She is such a sweet little girl and hardly complained the whole 5 weeks. She is constantly trying to do what's right and to be obedient... oh, how I just love her!

10 Yr Reunion

     One of the reasons we planned our trip to Utah around August was so Nate and I could go to our 10 year high school reunion. I know, most of you are probably thinking that we're lame for wanting to go... well,  hold up. Let me clarify... I wanted to go, Nate didn't care either way. Since Nate and I went to the same high school and graduated the exact same year, I thought it would be fun to go to a high school event together... and just see what is would be like.

We had a good time, but I honestly don't think I would go to another reunion. Shocker, I know! Because of technology, I pretty much stay in touch with who I want to, and at the reunion, people pretty much sat with their same friends from high school. So, if I want to talk to people from my past, I'll probably stick with facebook from now on. :) But it was fun to catch up with a couple of people I haven't talked to in awhile...

These 2 ladies were some of my really good friends... Sarah and Penny. We had some crazy times...

like the time Sarah (who is about 6 ft. 3 in.) decided to walk on our friend's car, and while she was walking on it, he threw it into reverse and she fell face first onto the hood of the car and dented it.... :)

Or like the time we piled about 8 people into my friend's little Geo Storm and drove all over the place...

 And let's not forget all the speeding tickets, dances, and lunch table conversations we had. :)

Oh, to be young and free again.

Eldon has been a good friend of mine since our Sophmore year. We had orchestra together, and I thought he was a thug. I thought he was just taking orchestra as an easy class, and I was shocked to find out that he actually can play the violin, and he's GOOD AT IT!

Later, I introduced Eldon to his wife, Margeaux, who has been my friend since we were about 13 years old... and then we were all in the same ward up in student housing and Margeaux and I started cosmetology school together. We are also expecting babies about a week apart from each other!

Eldon and Nate played football together, so they were already somewhat friends. :) 

But Margeaux and Eldon are some of our nearest and dearest friends...

Sarah, Margeaux, and me!

     All in all, I'm glad we went to the reunion. We had a good time, and laughed and reminisced about the past... but I do have to say that I'm glad Nate and I have ventured out. A lot of people from high school stay in Magna, which is great... but it wasn't for us. I think of the friends we've made through going to school and now up here in Oregon, and I'm glad that we are where we are.