November

    November has been a fun month for us. Closer to the beginning of the month, we had our 21 week ultrasound. That was the anatomy scan, to make sure that baby is growing healthy and developing correctly. He passed with flying colors. I just started feeling him move at the beginning of week 20, and it's not very regular. We were hoping to see him moving all around on the ultrasound, but he's just not a very active guy! We did get to see him yawn which was really cute. We're glad that he's growing on target and is healthy!

    My mom, sister & niece came out for a few weeks near the end of the month. They stayed with us for one weekend of that and up north in Ogden with my mom's family for the rest of the time. When they were down visiting us, one of the things we did was take them to the Provo Recreation Center. My niece Heidi LOVES water, and the rec center has a big kiddie pool area for her to enjoy. She loved splashing and playing in the kiddie area, but loved the foam and bubbles found in the little lazy river more. Every time we went around, when she started to see the bubbly area she'd start yelling "Bubbles!! MORE BUBBLES!!". It was so funny. Since Ryan and I were playing with her while my sister rested, everyone kept telling us how beautiful she is, and that was almost always followed by "But where does she get her red hair??" Apparently two brunettes can't have a redheaded kid in the eyes of the world! Tragic. I guess we shouldn't hope for redheads in our kids, cause no one would believe that they were ours! Anyway, she loved the water so much that when we tried to get her out of the water to leave, she would start to cry. Finally when her lips started having a bluish tint my sister played what she calls the "mean mom card" and made her get out in spite of the tears. We took her home and got her bathed, then hung around the house playing her silly games and dancing to her favorite song, "What Does The Fox Say".

              

 

    For Thanksgiving, Ryan and I drove up to Ogden to stay with my Aunt and spend the time with my mom's family. We had such a great time with them! Thanksgiving was a fun day, starting with setting up the rooms at the church for eating, then a quick volleyball game with the cousins. That is not an easy game to play when pregnant! My hustle sucked! Haha. The food was delicious, and we of course stuffed our faces. It was good to see family that I haven't seen in a long time and catch up with them. We all opted not to do any Black Friday shopping, so we got to enjoy that night just lounging rather than going out to get in lines at the various stores. I don't think that my bladder would have agreed with waiting in long lines, even if I had wanted to go. Which I didn't. So it all worked out!
    On Saturday my sister and I went out to have a "sister date" for breakfast, and I thought that's all it was. When we were finished eating and she asked if we could run a few errands, I figured she was enjoying the quiet time away from Heidi for awhile. Once we got back to my Aunt's house and walked inside, I quickly learned that she was just buying time for everyone to set up a surprise baby shower! It was so sweet of my family to do that! We worked on quilting a blanket that my Aunt & Grandma made, all while enjoying the good company and yummy treats. Then I got to open the presents my family had bought/made for us, which is always fun! Even though I had just seen them all a few days ago, it was nice to be able to catch up and also pick the brains of my aunts & grandma about becoming a mom. I learned a lot through their stories. I'm so grateful for a family that loves me! Below is the finished product! It's the cutest set of animals that my Aunt found, enlarged, and traced onto the fabric so we could end up with such a cute quilt. I'm sure that baby will love it too!

    We were sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially my mom, sister & Heidi since they live so far away. But knowing that we'll see them again in a few months for the baby blessing eases the sadness a little.