Moving, Birthday, and a Surprise Baby Shower!

LOTS of exciting things have been going on! Life is crazy, and I love it. I am so happy and I feel so blessed each and every day to be where I am in life!

First of all, due to a series of events that I won't get into, Bryant and I ended up moving to Wymount Terrace student housing on March 7! It was a very quick decision and we were EXHAUSTED from moving everything in just two days, but we love our new place! It is also going to be very nice a month from now when we are moving to Alabama, since most everything is already nicely organized and packed in boxes, so we won't have to worry much about packing as we are taking our finals :) We have been in our new place for a week and a half and we couldn't be happier :) It is fun being close to campus again! We get to walk to and from school/work each day (1.5 miles each way! It takes me ~30 minutes to walk to class, but I love the fresh air and exercise!). We also get to see our friends and family more, since we are within a short walk/drive to everyone here in Provo. We can walk to the Creamery on 9th for ice cream (my personal fave!) and we don't have to drive two cars to school every other day. Instead, some days we can walk together to school and every day we get to walk home together :) We love it!

We also just love the precious time we get to spend alone together as a couple. We have missed that so much! Soon we will be moving to Alabama to live with my parents for 3 months (which I am SO excited for!) and then we will have Paisley and be a family of three! So, this is the last month Bryant and I will ever have together just the two of us. We are taking full advantage of every single minute together and loving every single minute of it! I love my sweet husband with all my heart. We are perfect for each other, and I feel SO blessed to have him in my life.

There are some adjustments that we had to make with our move, though. First of all, we live on the second floor, which means that after living in a one floor house for the past year, I have to get used to walking up stairs again! This usually isn't an issue, but my feet have started to get a little swollen and achy at the end of the day. So, after the 1.5 mile walk home from school, those stairs always seem like a huge mountain to climb! Also, we don't have a dishwasher. Now this is a nice luxury that I have always been blessed to have in my life. But, I am realizing that it is just that: a luxury. Not a necessity! Bryant and I are glad it is just the two of us there, so that means we don't go through a lot of dishes. But we are learning to 1) Use as few dishes as possible when cooking 2) share a plate at dinner :) 3) do the dishes immediately, so they don't pile up and make the task seem unmanageable and 4) have fun doing the dishes together side by side :) Another minor inconvenience is the lack of a microwave. Now, this is an interesting one. We could technically buy one, but we are only here for a month so we figure we can manage! But it is rather funny to get all excited to have some leftovers and then think hmm... how am I gonna heat these up? Like when Bryant got all excited to make some nachos for a snack... he put the chips and cheese on a plate and then went "Crap!" haha he had to transfer it all to a cookie sheet to bake in the oven :) So we are having fun improvising by reheating things on the stove the old fashioned way ;) Lastly, we no longer have a washer and dryer at our finger tips! Actually, the complex's laundromat is kind of far away and down a hill, so we drove there last time haha. But I thought it was fun doing our own laundry again like young married college kids!

On another topic, this past Friday was my 21st birthday! It was the best birthday I have ever had! Here is a recap of what I wrote in my journal about my fabulous birthday weekend:

Well, my birthday officially started on Wednesday night when my sweet, awesome, wonderful, perfect husband surprised me with the beautiful pearl and diamond ring I had been wanting! We saw it a few weeks ago while we were at the mall, but after looking at the price tag I knew it was just wishful thinking! But, it was beautiful and SO me. Right when Bryant first saw it he said "Crap!" Haha now I realize that he said that because he knew immediately that that was my ring. It had my name written all over it, especially since my favorite earrings that I wear all the time look just like it. So I guess Bryant knew all along that he would end up buying it for me. What a sweetie :) So while we were waiting for a table at Red Robin the next week with some friends, he snuck out and bought me the ring! Luckily they were having a 25% off sale and gave him a 10% military discount, so it helped a lot with the price. But I was SO SURPRISED! And felt so loved, spoiled, and special. On Wednesday night of my birthday week I stayed home to grade some papers and he went to Springville for a church meeting. On his way back I had asked him to pick up my wedding rings from the jewelers where they had been resized. He got home and I was finishing my last paper, and he handed me a pretty ring box and TOTALLY lied to me ;) He told me that he told the ladies how excited I was to get my rings back after being without them for a few days and so the ladies decided to put them in a pretty box for me. I thought "oh, that's nice of them!" and Bryant went to wash his hands in the kitchen. I opened the box and literally gasped! A beautiful pearl ring with a diamond halo shone back at me! I closed the box and jumped up and gave him lots of hugs and kisses and told him how much I loved him and how shocked and special I felt! In the birthday card he gave me with it it said all the reasons why he was giving it to me: "happy birthday, happy carrying-my-baby, happy army wife, happy i love you, happy you're beautiful, happy thanks for all the sacrifices you made this past year, etc etc. I was filled to the brim, busting with his love. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!! We are so excited to have this ring to pass down to our kids and grandkids some day. It is so beautiful and timeless.

My surprise, spoiling birthday gift from my perfect husband!

It's so beautiful!

We are excited to pass this ring down to future generations. It is so timeless and beautiful!

Then on Thursday we spent most the the day together! After our morning classes, we walked to get Bryant's hair cut and ate our lunches outside in the gorgeous sunshine! (God blessed me with beautiful weather for my birthday!) Then we went to drop my new ring back off at the jewelers to get it resized (unfortunately, I didn't have them size it small enough so it is still too big :/ oh well!) and then we got to take a walk outside and stop back at the house until I had to be back on campus. Then we left campus again after about 2 hours (I had a test to take which I did surprisingly well on! yay! another birthday blessing!) and we just hung out the rest of the night! We ate a yummy dinner and finished setting up our new apartment/packing away some boxes, and studied a little bit and watched some Once Upon a Time (our fave tv show). On Friday I woke up to my great hubby making me breakfast in bed! Delicious sausage egg and cheese sandwiches! I posted my 30 weeks pic on FB for Paisley and posted pics of my ring that Bryant wouldn't let me post until my bday! Then he left to go to class and I got all ready for school. We left school at around 4pm and got to hang out the rest of the day together! I was so exhausted for some reason, so we decided to watch Cars 2 and Bryant let me fall asleep for a bit :) He made me a great shrimp alfredo dinner and we ate and snuggled on the couch together :) Then we walked to the Creamery for some bday ice cream! yum! Then we went to Bryant's football game, which is always fun! They won!

Yummy breakfast in bed!

Saturday morning I woke up on the wrong side of the bed for some reason :( But I tried to chipper up because I knew it was gonna be a great day! I already knew that I was having a surprise party (I had accidentally seen something about it a few weeks ago, and then yesterday a friend's mom spoiled the surprise that it was gonna be this Saturday! oops!) so I knew it was gonna be a fun day! I didn't know what time the party would be or anything about what it would be like though, so I was still excited and knew I would still be very surprised! We walked to the temple and had a great time doing initiatories. Paisley was moving around in my belly like crazy! I think she just liked the Spirit she felt there :) It made em smile. I love the temple. I love being so close and being able to go so often with my husband. After walking home and changing, we went to Cracker Barrel for a yummy lunch of biscuits, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, cinnamon apples, grits, and hash browns! Apparently Bryant was trying to buy us some time before we were supposed to show up at the party, so he drove us to Walmart to walk around…. seriously??!!??? I HATE walmart! I'm sorry to say that my "Wrong side of the bed"ness got the best of me and I was a total terd to him. Poor guy! Then we went to our old neighborhood to bring some cookies to the Kelloggs. Well, I actually thought we were bringing them to the Johnsons so I didn't listen to Bryant when he told me when should bring them to SIs Kellogg. So I walked us over to the Johnsons but they weren't home, so then we went to the Kelloggs instead (which was obviously what was supposed to happen and Bryant knew all along that the Johnsons weren't home! But he didn't argue with me and let me do whatever haha). SO Heather Kellogg opened the door and I started to say "Hey, we just wanted to bring you some cookies to thank you for…." and then everyone jumped out and said SURPRISE!!! I was SO surprised! I wasn't expecting that at all!! I'm pretty sure I let out a scream haha. I was totally red in the face and happily embarrassed as I went around and hugged everyone! My friends from all over were there-- school friends, Alabama friends, church friends, etc. It was wonderful! I had such a fun time! Everything was decorated so cute and there was a TON of yummy sweets to eat! We played some fun games and I opened lots of gifts. I felt so special, loved, and blessed to have such great friends around me. But, more importantly, when I found out that this was all Bryant's idea and that he had orchestrated each step of the process, I just wanted to be alone with him and tell him how much I love him and how special and loved he makes me feel! I just love him so so so much and I am amazed each day that someone so wonderful chose ME of all people! I am so lucky.

(Special thanks to Meghan Kingsford, Eliza Stoker, Cassie Blake, Kelsie Oberender, and Kendall Kingsford for throwing the shower! For very cute pics, visit Meghan's blog!: This Girl Blog)

After the fun surprise shower, we went home for a bit then did some shopping! We ate a delicious dinner at In-N-Out Burger! Then we went and picked up my birthday ring! Then on Sunday, we woke up early and happy for church and had a great day! All of our lessons were wonderful, and I just love my life and I love my family. This was by far the BEST birthday ever and I have, by far, the VERY BEST husband ever!

Weeks 29 & 30!

29 weeks!

30 weeks! A fun landmark to hit on my 21st birthday! :)

Total weight gain/loss: About 22-23ish lbs! Haven't weighed myself in a while, but my belly sure does feel heavy these days!

Maternity clothes? All the time.
 
Stretch marks?  No, thank goodness!
 
Sleep: Just getting up a lot for bathroom and water. I know "they" say not to drink at night (because that just perpetuates the bathroom problem) but I get SO thirsty!

Best moment this week:My wonderful hubby and friends throwing me and Paisley a SURPRISE baby shower!

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach, salsa and guacamole (I am 100% ok with cooked onions now! But still iffy on the raw onions)

Movement: All. The. Time. I love it! She is constantly readjusting her position and it is really fun to watch! Although sometimes lately it hurts! She will kick my insides really hard and I will cringe!

Food cravings:  Mashed potatoes, milkshakes, and salsa!
 
Anything making you queasy or sick: No sirree!!! WOOT WOOT!!


Labor Signs: No :)
 
Belly Button in or out? Looking funnier each day, but still half in/half out!

Wedding rings on or off? I got them sized 1/4 up! So I am wearing them again :) they were getting VERY snug!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :) But sometimes certain things will really hit me (I will write about that soon) and I will cry for my sweet baby. I just love her so much and don't want her to ever struggle with anything in this life! I just wanna put her in a bubble and let her stay perfect! So yeah, maybe a bit emotional at times ;)
 
Looking forward to: holding my precious daughter in my arms!

How far along? 30 weeks!

27 and 28 weeks! This girl has got some weird dreams going on...

First off, let me just say that I am getting VERY antsy. Entering my last trimester has made me super duper impatient and anxious and excited and impatient and crazy and impatient and... did I say impatient? Because I am!

Another new development this last week or so is having "vivid pregnancy dreams." I guess all the excitement and impatience is allowed to fully take over my subconscious as I sleep! The first one I actually had when I was just newly pregnant. As we were laying in bed before falling asleep, Bryant and I talking about my pregnancy. We joked about hoping that we would not be the kind of parents that THINK their baby is the cutest thing on the planet, when in reality their kid is rather.... well, not cute. So cue the dream... I remember dreaming that I had a boy.... with black curly hair... and a full. grown. beard. It was grotesque. But I just thought he was the sun, moon, and stars and wanted to show him off to just about everybody! My friends would wince and try to cover it up with a smile and totally lie to me about "how cute he was." Haha plus he was like superman! He was as tiny as an infant but could like run around and talk about what not. It was weird. Let's just say I am glad I am having a girl! Because WHO KNOWS what our baby boy would've look like! Yikes!

This past week I had two crazy pregnancy dreams, but I can only remember the weirder of the two at the moment. I had a dream that baby Paisley had kicked a hole in my stomach (?) and her little fetus foot was just awkwardly sticking out... so I'm like, "Hey Bryant! Come touch Paisley's foot!" and so he does and we are just thinking it is the most awesome thing ever. But then I start thinking wait... I have a hole in my stomach... this could be a problem, right? So I push her foot back in and head to my OB. I am sitting there in the office TRYING to convince her to sew up this hole in my stomach, but she doesn't seem to think it's a problem. She's all like "Oh how lucky! You can just peek in and see her any time you want! It's like a little window!" and I'm like.. "Um... there's a hole in my stomach." And what was her answer "Well, it's not bleeding and it doesn't look like she can fit through it and get out, so I'd say you are good to go" Are you serious, Doc? "Um, there's a hole in my stomach. What if she sticks her foot out again while I am sleeping and I roll over and accidentally break her foot?..." Haha. I felt super uneasy about it and eventually woke up. No worries, my belly is all good! Paisley is safely tucked away inside :)

HOLD UP! I just remembered my other one! It's your lucky day ;) This one wasn't as weird but iit was very scary for me. It was a super important moment because I this dream is when it finally sort-of hit me that I am going to be a mommy and have a daughter that I am responsible for. A daughter that is mine. Whoa.

So in my dream, we were all at the pool with friends and family like a week after Paisley is born. And I am standing in the shallow end with Paisley, who even though she is a newborn is bigger and more like an infant... but one of my friends asks if she can hold her in the pool and I let her. So I get out of the pool and am sitting on the deck talking to some people, when I look over and my friend is doggy-paddeling in the DEEP END holding my baby! IN THE DEEP END! Then she DROPS PAISLEY and my baby starts sinking! I flipped out and dove in and tried to swim down and grab her, but then I woke up. :(

I woke up very unsettled and very self-reflective. Guys, this is a big deal. I am going to be a mother of one of our Heavenly Father's sweet spirits. He is trusting me to raise her righteously and to protect and guide her through this life. This is a huge responsibility and a huge honor. I still feel so young (I still AM so young). But I cannot express enough gratitude that my Heavenly Father trusts me with His precious little daughter. I promise I will do everything in my power to be the best mommy to her that I can be. The magnitude of the phrase "my daughter" still hasn't fully hit me, and it probably won't for a while even after she is born, but I am grateful for the little bit of understanding this dream gave me.

On a different note, pregnancy is starting to get more and more uncomfortable. I have to go to the bathroom between EVERY CLASS. That's once and hour. I wake up at night all the time too. *Sigh* oh well. I am sleeping much better though. The worst thing is probably the serious Restless Leg Syndrome I have developed. I have always had antsy legs, but it has gotten pretty bad. I did some research and I guess it is pretty common in pregnancy during your third trimester especially. I can't sit through church or a movie and it can be hard to get my legs comfortable at bed time. My nerves just go crazy. I can't really describe it, but it drives me nuts sometimes! One last bit of uncomfort is just my belly getting bigger. When I sit for extended periods, it starts to get kinda hard to breathe and my ribs feel very sore/constricted. I have to push my belly down to get some room for my lungs!

We had our last ultrasound this past Thursday with the NuMom2B study we are doing at the hospital. It was so fun! She is getting so big and is so stinkin' adorable I can hardly stand it! She kicked and punched and sucked her thumb and took some big breaths (drinks?) of amniotic fluid. She is actually folded in half in there, like with her toes up by her nose! So her hands, feet, and head are all cramped in one corner haha but she refused to move when we tried to readjust her to get some better pics, so I guess she is comfortable! Actually, we were poking and prodding her to get her to move her feet for the 3D picture, and she was getting really frustrated with us! She was kicking and punching back, but then she just decided to try a different tactic... she just stopped moving, stuck her thumb in her mouth, rolled over a bit, and slept. Completely ignoring us from that point on. The ultrasound tech laughed and I said "wow, she's a stubborn little thing!" Just like her momma ;) hehe.

The only 3D shot we were able to get because the machine couldn't process the image with her feet and hands all in her face... it kept trying to merge all that information into one facial image, which did NOT look very cute! haha we cannot get enough of her cute button nose and her chubby cheeks!

Hard to see but there is her arm and fist punching my uterus ;)

Her profile, with her foot at the top and her hand in the middle :)

Her folded in half! That's her leg up at the top and her face and the rest of her body at the bottom, with her hand there in the middle.

Here are some pics from weeks 27-28! We cannot WAIT to meet our little angel!

27 weeks along!

28 weeks! SO happy after coming back from our ultrasound :) I look bigger in this pic than I actually am... sorry!

Total weight gain/loss: 21 lbs! Getting heavy!

Maternity clothes? Oh, most definitely. I love them.
 
Stretch marks?  Nope!
 
Sleep: Much better! Minus frequent bathrooms breaks.

Best moment this week: Our last ultrasound...next time we see her she will be in our arms!

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach

Movement: All the time! She is crazy active!

Food cravings:  Mashed potatoes and milkshakes! DELISH!
 
Anything making you queasy or sick:  NO! I think I can eat onions again! I am taking it slow, but I have been eating ranch dressing and other things with dried onions in it that used to bother me, and I have been ok. Then we made pizza and lasagna with tomato sauce that had normal onions in it... and I did not get sick either time! I hope this is a good sign! I am going to start slowly eating things with them. I know I can't handle cooking with them myself yet or having raw onion, but it is a start :):):)


Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Half in, half out! Getting closer every day!

Wedding rings on or off? On, but taking them off this weekend probably.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :) 

Looking forward to: meeting my baby!!

How far along? 28 weeks!