our little love.

unfortunately, in the past few weeks we've had a little complication arise in my pregnancy. it isn't anything too alarming as of now, but it needs to be monitored closely until our baby girl arrives. it has been a roller-coaster of emotions for me over the past few weeks as i've been trying to deal with this new aspect of my pregnancy that i never expected. i obviously wish there was absolutely nothing to worry about, but at the same time i am grateful that our baby is healthy and i know things could be much much worse.

 anyways, now that i am reaching the end of the pregnancy it means that i am being monitored very closely with non-stress tests and ultrasounds twice a week. so far, little lady passes her non-stress tests with flying colors and always makes the nurses smile and laugh when she gets the hiccups while hooked up to the fetal heart monitor and we all get to hear them. it also means i get to see her and check on her all the time. i feel like i already know her so well. i know that her tiny hands will always be covering her face when it comes time for an ultrasound and that she puts on the best show if i sneak a cookie for her right before. it also means that my fridge looks like this:

 and that isn't even all of the pictures we have of her. there are more in our bedroom and even more in our office. she continues to grow and change every week and we continue to look forward to her safe arrival (hopefully not too soon!)

so far, she is doing just fine and my issue (low amniotic fluid) doesn't seem to be bothering her, but if you would like to include her in your prayers, i certainly won't stop you. ;)

our little family.

had a really wonderful thanksgiving weekend. we ate a delicious meal (and triumphed over the mashed potatoes we made, thanks to pw) with my family on thursday and then headed to the cabin on friday. we kept warm with our smart wool socks, sweaters and the space heater in our bedroom, we watched a few movies and a lot of sports, the boys cut down a christmas tree, the girls cooked and talked and cooked some more  and we all decorated the christmas tree and made the cabin look festive. it was the perfect way to welcome december.

and thanks to jennie, who took all of these pictures for me, since i was nuts and forgot my camera! there are more cute pictures on her blog.

while my husband is watching football...

i take a nap. sometimes a short one, sometimes a long one, but if it's sunday afternoon and he is watching football, i take a nap.

i watch a movie. preferably a movie he won't watch with me. a good chick flick like "you've got mail" or "julie & julia". i often pick movies that will make me cry & then i close the bedroom door to drown out the sounds of football.

i download music & make new playlists. today it was a christmas playlist with lots of new dreamy tunes and plenty of the classics.

i watch the snow fall outside our windows and wonder if we will be able to drive in it successfully enough to make it to my mother's house for dinner.

i eat my leftover pumpkin cheesecake from the tupperware and feel happy, because it turned out right.

i take a long bubble bath or read a good book. i try to make a list of things i want to cook for dinner that week and occasionly, i blog.

now let me ask you this, dear friends, because i'm running out of ideas...what do you do while your husband is watching football?!

let is snow, let it snow, let it snow!

too bad it's not even snowing outside.

the big blizzard of 2010 was a bit of a letdown, no? i was expecting to be snowed in at the very least, but our driveway is clear and the roads are plowed and it's all very typical utah storm.

regardless, i've been forbidden to go outside and walk around at all today. apparently it's really icy and g slipped twice on our driveway this morning and twice walking into work. since i'm the clumsiest person currently living, he doesn't have much faith in my ability to walk and not fall with this pregnant belly in tow. whatever.

how are you spending this thanksgiving eve? i'm watching julie & julia, cleaning my house for the weekend, going bowling & to dinner and baking a pumpkin cheesecake for tomorrow. i have to get started early tomorrow morning because i'm on team mashed potatoes and green bean cassarole for our thanksgiving feast and those are important side dishes! i've made mashed potatoes a million times before, but never for 20 people, so i'm hoping i don't choke and forget everything i know about making them creamy and dreamy and perfect.

happy thanksgiving eve to you!

thankful for today.

today i am thankful for the blizzard on it's way. i know, people, i am crazy. but i like snow and i like severe weather warnings and i really like being snowed in.

today i am thankful for a warm home full of good food, happy pups, plenty of movies and a pile of soft blankets.

today i am thankful for thoughtful friends who make us laugh, entertain us, support us, love us and even feed us on occasion.

today i am thankful for family and for time to spend with both of ours this week. i am thankful for the people who really know us and love us just the same.

today i am so thankful there is a baby in my tummy.

today i am thankful she woke me up at 4:30am last night with her crazy hiccups that were literally shaking my tummy and her never-ending kicks that almost made me nauseous.

but more than anything, today i am thankful for the guy who was sleeping soundly next to me while all of this went down. i am thankful that when i woke him up after almost 30 minutes of a non-stop party in my stomach that was blowing my mind, he simply rolled over and put his hand on my tummy and then laughed and marveled with me at the mini-earthquake of movement i was feeling. i am thankful he wasn't annoyed that i woke him up and that he was just as entertained by the insane amount of movement as i was.

today i am thankful that he enjoyed it with me while it lasted and then simply said thank you and fell right back asleep, leaving me with another memory that means so much to me.

today i am so thankful for that.

popped.

i remember when i was newly pregnant and not showing, everyone always told me that there would come a time when i would just "pop". this past month, i found out what they were talking about, as evidenced by my belly growth in just a few weeks. it's nice to finally look obviously pregnant instead of just overly full.

these last few weeks of pregnancy have been more stressful than the first 6 months, but i'm still feeling really good overall. i feel lucky that i'm not dealing with any sickness or aches and pains and i'm even sleeping really well again, which is so wonderful.

i'm 28 weeks along as of today and just happy and grateful that our little lady is still cooking, kicking and hiccuping up a storm. we are completely in love with her already. here's to the last trimester of this pregnancy!

living room re-vamp.

i decided i wanted to re-vamp my living room months ago when i sold my old rugs. since then i've been trying to figure out where to go with my new look and how to incorporate some new colors and textures into what i already had. i knew i couldn't afford to buy any new furniture, which meant i had to stick with gold, cream, rust & black, but i really wanted to modernize it a bit by adding some new colors. it took me forever to find a rug i liked and i needed some help from my talented mother to decide how to decorate, but i think i'm almost finished!

i still want to get a coffee table, a few blue pillows for my corner chairs and i need to paint the black 'j' on the wall a different color, but for the most part, i'm happy with it. my style is eclectic & i'm finally coming to terms with that. i like traditional, i like modern, i like vintage, i like it all and i think i'm finally learning how to be happy with my space even though i can't place myself in just one category.

my favorite part of the room are the trinkets that are displayed because each piece means something special to us. i decided to display pieces that were meaningful & get rid of anything that was just taking up space, so i focused on displaying my grandma's artwork, pictures we love, an old vase we got from greg's grandma (who originally owned the home we are in) and a hummel my grandma bennett gave me.

i used to feel like the room didn't match my personality, but just a few new touches and now i feel like it does. hooray!

snow, snow, snow!

 it's snowing outside! i can't wait until the world is coated in beautiful white fluff & this is what i see through my windows. are you guys cursing my name and throwing things at the computer screen right about now? i'm sorry. i know most people think snow is a pain, but this year i just can't wait for winter. i want to head up to the cabin, go for some baby-safe snowmobile rides, drink hot cocoa and watch christmas movies (there, i said it!).

tonight i'm starting off the "holiday season" right with homemade soup in bread bowls and hot cocoa for dessert. today i plan to find some sort of holiday craft i can work on for the next few weeks. i'm not much of a crafter, but momma needs something to keep her occupied until baby girl takes over her life in a few months. if you have any craft recommendations, please do share.

happy november!

my life be like.

just a few of the moments i've captured on my phone recently...

vegas with mi madre.

last week my mom & i snuck away to vegas where i proceeded to take the lamest pictures of my existence! i've posted all 4 of them here for your viewing pleasure. apparently i am only capable of taking pictures of traffic, the sky & my belly from above. lucky you.

besides my lame documentation, we had such a fun few days together. we shopped a ton for my little lady, ate yummy food, watched movies, got mini-makeovers, shared treats and best of all, visited my cousin kassie & her new little baby, jane.

i loved seeing my aunt and cousin and laughing together all afternoon & i don't think i have ever been so anxious to meet my baby as when i was holding jane. she is perfect and made me so excited for my own. it was also wonderful to have some alone time with my mom. i loved getting the giggles with her while trying to fall asleep, navigating traffic, people watching, oohing and ahhing over the same baby outfits at h&m and singing and talking for hours in the car on the way to & from vegas. she really is my very best friend. thanks mom for the fun trip, definitely one i'll always remember.