Well, we discussed and decided that we are going to have our next baby on Tuesday, June 2nd (unless she decides otherwise and comes earlier.) That's only 2 days before I am due anyway, 5 days more than the doctor would make me wait. But there are a few advantages to this particular date. The main one is that it's my mom's birthday. How fun! Also it's a full week after our anniversary. Matt particularly loves that fact. They can remain two seperate occasions.
We were concerned at first if this day would work because my mom has taken a lot of time off lately (partly because my sister just had a baby). She didn't want to take Tuesday and Wednesday off that week. But my soon-to-be sister-in-law kindly volunteered to watch Amy while I am in labor so my mom can work that day. My mom will come right after work and then stay for a few days. So 34 days to go (and counting.) I'm so excited.
Thursday, April 30
Wednesday, April 29
Good News
Ok, so this may not sound like much to you, but it's helping my outlook a lot.
Today I went to the doctor. He told me that with second pregnancies, he's fine with inducing a week early. Just like that. Not for any particular reason that he mentioned. Just because women might not want to be pregnant anymore. (My words, not his. But really, he gave no indication that I would need to be induced, just that he was willing.)
I was thrilled. Granted, it's bad timing for me to be induced a week early because I'm supposed to be leading the choir in stake conference that weekend (at 39 weeks 2 days.) So we'll probably do it early the next week. We're still trying to decide timing. The next Tuesday (June 2nd) is my mom's birthday, and she would LOVE to have her granddaughter share her birthday. I think that would be cool and fun too. But my mom works, and it's harder for her to get off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays than Thursdays. And we'd really like her there to meet her granddaughter and to take care of Amy while I'm in labor.
So we're still trying decide when I should be induced. But it's great to know that I can set my own deadline, and it's not some arbitrary time like 2 weeks after I'm due. So it looks like at most I will be pregnant for 35 more days! (That's sounding shorter than saying a little over a month. I'm going with the way that sounds shortest.) Yay!
Again, I realize if the baby is induced June 2nd, that's only 2 days before my due date anyway. Doesn't sound like that much. But it's the deadline, the LATEST she could be born. No going over for me! Yippee! You moms out there know what I'm talking about!
Today I went to the doctor. He told me that with second pregnancies, he's fine with inducing a week early. Just like that. Not for any particular reason that he mentioned. Just because women might not want to be pregnant anymore. (My words, not his. But really, he gave no indication that I would need to be induced, just that he was willing.)
I was thrilled. Granted, it's bad timing for me to be induced a week early because I'm supposed to be leading the choir in stake conference that weekend (at 39 weeks 2 days.) So we'll probably do it early the next week. We're still trying to decide timing. The next Tuesday (June 2nd) is my mom's birthday, and she would LOVE to have her granddaughter share her birthday. I think that would be cool and fun too. But my mom works, and it's harder for her to get off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays than Thursdays. And we'd really like her there to meet her granddaughter and to take care of Amy while I'm in labor.
So we're still trying decide when I should be induced. But it's great to know that I can set my own deadline, and it's not some arbitrary time like 2 weeks after I'm due. So it looks like at most I will be pregnant for 35 more days! (That's sounding shorter than saying a little over a month. I'm going with the way that sounds shortest.) Yay!
Again, I realize if the baby is induced June 2nd, that's only 2 days before my due date anyway. Doesn't sound like that much. But it's the deadline, the LATEST she could be born. No going over for me! Yippee! You moms out there know what I'm talking about!
Friday, April 24
Update
So I just had the urge to blog about something, but I really don't have anything to say. Boring for all of you.
Every day/ night at nap/ bedtime, whichever parent is putting Amy to bed tells her "Te Amo" (I love you.) We're extremely motivated to always remember to say this to her because she whispers it back to us. It's so cute. For a long time it was just "amo" that she'd say. Then she could do te and amo seperately with one of us prompting her in between. Today for the first time she just said the whole phrase together without me saying anything in between. Just a short pause between words. Matt is bursting his buttons he's so proud of her.
So I'm 34 weeks and 1 day now. Less than 6 to go (at least I hope.) We're all doing fine. I just get uncomfortable and sore a lot. To be expected. Matt's AMAZING at giving me back and foot rubs. I think he does it every day. It epsecially helps me get through church. (I only sit by him in Sunday School, but I'm certainly grateful to be with him then.) So Matt's a little nervous and anxious, feeling like we're not ready for this baby to come. I don't share that feeling. I am excited about the idea of not being pregnant anymore. We're both really excited to meet this little girl. The main thing we are both anxious about is the fact that we still can't decide what to name her. We've thrown lots of different options around. In fact, we call her a different name every week to see how we like it.
Which brings me to an idea I've had for a while. I'm just waiting for the perfect name to hit my ears. Everywhere I see lists of names, I consider them. Most names I decide are not right. A few I'm not sure about. Often, the ones I like Matt doesn't. So... if all of you would kindly leave a comment and leave your current favorite few girls names, that would be wonderful. Who knows what we'll pick. Our criteria are that the name has to sound good with Amy, with the middle name we've picked (for those who know, please don't spoil it), and with our last name, obviously. So I'd like to say we'll give a prize to the winner, but I don't know if we will. Please give us your ideas anyway (even if you just name off your daughters, that works.)
Ok, the blogging urge is passing, and the napping urge is growing bigger and bigger. Ni-night. (Another thing Amy and I say to each other sometimes before bed.)
Every day/ night at nap/ bedtime, whichever parent is putting Amy to bed tells her "Te Amo" (I love you.) We're extremely motivated to always remember to say this to her because she whispers it back to us. It's so cute. For a long time it was just "amo" that she'd say. Then she could do te and amo seperately with one of us prompting her in between. Today for the first time she just said the whole phrase together without me saying anything in between. Just a short pause between words. Matt is bursting his buttons he's so proud of her.
So I'm 34 weeks and 1 day now. Less than 6 to go (at least I hope.) We're all doing fine. I just get uncomfortable and sore a lot. To be expected. Matt's AMAZING at giving me back and foot rubs. I think he does it every day. It epsecially helps me get through church. (I only sit by him in Sunday School, but I'm certainly grateful to be with him then.) So Matt's a little nervous and anxious, feeling like we're not ready for this baby to come. I don't share that feeling. I am excited about the idea of not being pregnant anymore. We're both really excited to meet this little girl. The main thing we are both anxious about is the fact that we still can't decide what to name her. We've thrown lots of different options around. In fact, we call her a different name every week to see how we like it.
Which brings me to an idea I've had for a while. I'm just waiting for the perfect name to hit my ears. Everywhere I see lists of names, I consider them. Most names I decide are not right. A few I'm not sure about. Often, the ones I like Matt doesn't. So... if all of you would kindly leave a comment and leave your current favorite few girls names, that would be wonderful. Who knows what we'll pick. Our criteria are that the name has to sound good with Amy, with the middle name we've picked (for those who know, please don't spoil it), and with our last name, obviously. So I'd like to say we'll give a prize to the winner, but I don't know if we will. Please give us your ideas anyway (even if you just name off your daughters, that works.)
Ok, the blogging urge is passing, and the napping urge is growing bigger and bigger. Ni-night. (Another thing Amy and I say to each other sometimes before bed.)
Monday, April 13
The Easter Basket
This is Amy "looking in her Easter basket." We didn't get her a basket, just a few toys and a treat. So we put them in an old diaper box and put a blanket over it. She tried for a while to get the blanket off.
Amy is showing some of her presents here (and her tongue.) We also gave her a little package of pictures of Jesus. We really want Easter to be Christ-centered with cute animals, eggs, bright colors, presents, and candy being the less emphasized (even if more fun) part. So we decided to include something about Jesus in kids' Easter baskets every year. When we pulled out the pictures and showed Amy the first one, she immediately said, "Jesus." We had no idea that she would recognize him; she hadn't ever seen that picture of Jesus before. I don't think Matt had even ever heard Amy say Jesus before, and I hadn't very many times. We read a book about Jesus with lots of pictures during the Sacrament each week, and I think she either learned who he is from that or from nursery. Either way, we were so pleased (and even a little teary-eyed) that she recognized Him.
And Amy after the chocolate was opened:
Amy is showing some of her presents here (and her tongue.) We also gave her a little package of pictures of Jesus. We really want Easter to be Christ-centered with cute animals, eggs, bright colors, presents, and candy being the less emphasized (even if more fun) part. So we decided to include something about Jesus in kids' Easter baskets every year. When we pulled out the pictures and showed Amy the first one, she immediately said, "Jesus." We had no idea that she would recognize him; she hadn't ever seen that picture of Jesus before. I don't think Matt had even ever heard Amy say Jesus before, and I hadn't very many times. We read a book about Jesus with lots of pictures during the Sacrament each week, and I think she either learned who he is from that or from nursery. Either way, we were so pleased (and even a little teary-eyed) that she recognized Him.
And Amy after the chocolate was opened:
Easter Pictures
Here are our family Easter pictures. I told Matt we needed to take them before church so that Amy wouldn't have time to undo her hairdo. Good thing too. I LOVED Amy's Easter dress and was so excited to have our pictures taken together on Easter. It's just fun. Amy liked her Easter dress too. She was playing with it last night and was upset with me when I took it away so it didn't get dirty. Here are our pics:
I love the back of Amy's hair as shown in this one. It sometimes curls out like that, and I think it's so cute!
This is the best full body shot we got of Amy's dress. There are little flowers on it that you can't see too well. And a ribbon at the top of the skirt part that has a flower and leaf in it. So cute!
This is a picture with Amy's friend, Owen, and his mom, Wendi (my friend.) It was windy outside. Notice Amy's one pigtail sticking out the side. She had changed her hair around a lot during church. Good thing we got the family pictures beforehand.
I love the back of Amy's hair as shown in this one. It sometimes curls out like that, and I think it's so cute!
This is the best full body shot we got of Amy's dress. There are little flowers on it that you can't see too well. And a ribbon at the top of the skirt part that has a flower and leaf in it. So cute!
This is a picture with Amy's friend, Owen, and his mom, Wendi (my friend.) It was windy outside. Notice Amy's one pigtail sticking out the side. She had changed her hair around a lot during church. Good thing we got the family pictures beforehand.
Playing with Rudy
Here's Rudy trying to fill Matt's shoes. (If he wants to be in the bishopric, he can be, but I don't want to fill Matt's shoes.)
Friday, April 10
Amy saying Funny Things
Matt really wanted me to post about some of the things Amy's said recently that are funny. She says and does funny things all the time.
Not long ago, I think we were getting Amy set up to eat. Or something. Something that she was excited about. She was not very patient, and I think I called her antsy pants. (Matt should be posting this. He remembers better than I do.) So Amy said "antsy." It was very cute. She is getting quite expert at repeating words after we say them. She can say most words of one or two syllables if you repeat them a few times for her. And if she wants to. She repeats a lot.
Amy and I spent the night at my mom and dad's last night because Matt is working long hours this week, and my parents are on Spring Break. Last night and this morning my mom and I took Amy to the canal that's on the end of their street to see the duckies. Amy loves duckies in general. We fed the ducks, but whenever I gave Amy the bread, she just ate it. She liked pointing to the ducks over and over, identifying them as ducks and saying "mac mac." To her, that's what a ducky says, and my mom and I agree that it's closer to accurate than quack quack. She loved the ducks and also the birds. I taught her to say bird and tweet tweet although if you ask her what a bird says she's more likely to say mac mac than tweet tweet.
Amy also is starting to make words plural. She never said the letter s at the end of words. I don't remember the word she said the other day, but it clearly had an s at the end. And she is able to say yes now. That's nice.
We love cute Amy!
Not long ago, I think we were getting Amy set up to eat. Or something. Something that she was excited about. She was not very patient, and I think I called her antsy pants. (Matt should be posting this. He remembers better than I do.) So Amy said "antsy." It was very cute. She is getting quite expert at repeating words after we say them. She can say most words of one or two syllables if you repeat them a few times for her. And if she wants to. She repeats a lot.
Amy and I spent the night at my mom and dad's last night because Matt is working long hours this week, and my parents are on Spring Break. Last night and this morning my mom and I took Amy to the canal that's on the end of their street to see the duckies. Amy loves duckies in general. We fed the ducks, but whenever I gave Amy the bread, she just ate it. She liked pointing to the ducks over and over, identifying them as ducks and saying "mac mac." To her, that's what a ducky says, and my mom and I agree that it's closer to accurate than quack quack. She loved the ducks and also the birds. I taught her to say bird and tweet tweet although if you ask her what a bird says she's more likely to say mac mac than tweet tweet.
Amy also is starting to make words plural. She never said the letter s at the end of words. I don't remember the word she said the other day, but it clearly had an s at the end. And she is able to say yes now. That's nice.
We love cute Amy!
Monday, April 6
General Conference Part 2
I didn't plan on that last post being so long. I just get carried away telling stories.
I did want to mention though my favorite talk and some impressions from Conference. Sunday Afternoon I was blown away by fantastic talks from Elder Oaks and Elder Bednar - they're always good - and admittedly felt a little sorry for Elder Gary Stevenson of the seventy for being assigned to speak after them and for speaking about a similar topic as Elder Bednar. That sounded like pressure to me. Then Elder Stevenson gave my very favorite talk of this conference. Forget about pressure; his talk was so great!
He spoke of making your home sacred like the temple. He discussed home and the temple a lot from the point of view of what kind of places they should be. I loved his challenge to go on a virtual tour of our homes and evaluate how we're doing. He talked about what it was like physically, if we had pictures on our wall that invite the Spirit and if we keep it clean and orderly. He talked about whether or not we had places in our home for regular prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. He also talked about the environment of the home - if family members spend meaningful time together and try to get along.
His analogy made it seem easier to figure out what to work on and improve and what we might be doing well. I felt like the things he taught gave meaning to the work I do - since most of my time is spent taking care of my home and my family. By far, more of the things I do are related to home and family than those that are not. And I love that. So I felt like he was really giving great instruction for how to do my job better. I decided I want to listen to his talk every Monday to start off my week with focus on what kind of home I want that week. I'm so excited!
We also discussed in my family common themes from Conference. The temple was discussed quite a bit, and we were encouraged to attend regularly and to seek to get more out of our experiences. There was quite a bit of talk about adversity and the troubles in the world right now and about preparedness. Job was mentioned 3 times on Saturday alone (that I heard), and I thought that was interesting.
I also loved Elder Holland's talk with his powerful testimony of the Savior. He taught clearly that no one is ever truly alone because the Savior is always there and He always understands what we are going through. I think all Christians would be touched to hear his talk and to reflect on the love the Savior has for us. (I'll add the link to the video of his talk when it is added online.)
There were other great talks as well, and admitedly there were some that I pretty much missed. Mostly kids' fault although a little mind wandering is to blame as well. When I was snuggling with Amy I got rather sleepy. That's part of why I am so grateful that we can read/ listen to/ watch them over and over after Conference.
I appreciated the time I got to spend with family (especially getting to be with Matt the whole day Sunday - a rare treat.) I loved the Spirit I felt during Conference and the great instruction we received. I feel that my testimony and my love of the Savior and of my family was strengthened this weekend. What a wonderful feeling!
Anyone else have some Conference favorite thoughts to share?
I did want to mention though my favorite talk and some impressions from Conference. Sunday Afternoon I was blown away by fantastic talks from Elder Oaks and Elder Bednar - they're always good - and admittedly felt a little sorry for Elder Gary Stevenson of the seventy for being assigned to speak after them and for speaking about a similar topic as Elder Bednar. That sounded like pressure to me. Then Elder Stevenson gave my very favorite talk of this conference. Forget about pressure; his talk was so great!
He spoke of making your home sacred like the temple. He discussed home and the temple a lot from the point of view of what kind of places they should be. I loved his challenge to go on a virtual tour of our homes and evaluate how we're doing. He talked about what it was like physically, if we had pictures on our wall that invite the Spirit and if we keep it clean and orderly. He talked about whether or not we had places in our home for regular prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. He also talked about the environment of the home - if family members spend meaningful time together and try to get along.
His analogy made it seem easier to figure out what to work on and improve and what we might be doing well. I felt like the things he taught gave meaning to the work I do - since most of my time is spent taking care of my home and my family. By far, more of the things I do are related to home and family than those that are not. And I love that. So I felt like he was really giving great instruction for how to do my job better. I decided I want to listen to his talk every Monday to start off my week with focus on what kind of home I want that week. I'm so excited!
We also discussed in my family common themes from Conference. The temple was discussed quite a bit, and we were encouraged to attend regularly and to seek to get more out of our experiences. There was quite a bit of talk about adversity and the troubles in the world right now and about preparedness. Job was mentioned 3 times on Saturday alone (that I heard), and I thought that was interesting.
I also loved Elder Holland's talk with his powerful testimony of the Savior. He taught clearly that no one is ever truly alone because the Savior is always there and He always understands what we are going through. I think all Christians would be touched to hear his talk and to reflect on the love the Savior has for us. (I'll add the link to the video of his talk when it is added online.)
There were other great talks as well, and admitedly there were some that I pretty much missed. Mostly kids' fault although a little mind wandering is to blame as well. When I was snuggling with Amy I got rather sleepy. That's part of why I am so grateful that we can read/ listen to/ watch them over and over after Conference.
I appreciated the time I got to spend with family (especially getting to be with Matt the whole day Sunday - a rare treat.) I loved the Spirit I felt during Conference and the great instruction we received. I feel that my testimony and my love of the Savior and of my family was strengthened this weekend. What a wonderful feeling!
Anyone else have some Conference favorite thoughts to share?
General Conference
Many of you like to post after Conference about what you did for the weekend/ how you enjoyed the talks, etc. I haven't seen those posts today, but I want to write one. As usual, I loved General Conference.
I was planning on spending Saturday at my parents' house because Matt had to work Saturday. He realized he didn't have to put in too much time and would just go work in between Conference sessions. So Amy and I stayed to be with him. So instead I spent the morning cleaning to make the house pleasant to watch Conference in. In between sessions, Amy and I ran a few errands. During the second session Amy slept the whole time. That was especially nice because Matt and I just got to watch Conference together, undistracted. We enjoyed very much just being together getting to watch. The morning session really wasn't bad though. Amy ate for a lot of it and watched with us. When she got out of her chair, she played pretty well. Of course, we didn't catch everything that was said because she was playing and requiring some attention, but she really did behave very well.
After that session, we cleaned up the house from the messes we had made eating and playing during the day and packed up our stuff to go to my parents' house. Amy woke up just in time for us to leave. So Matt went off to Priesthood session with my dad and my two brothers, and I got to stay at my mom's with her and my brother's fiance as well as the 3 kids - Amy and my two nephews, James and Finn. The kids let us get away with playing dominoes. It was very fun.
When the men got home, we played more games. We always play games. I love it. Eventually we wall went to bed.
Sunday morning Amy woke me up at 6:30. I didn't really care as I was kind of sick of trying to sleep anyway. I really slept fine most of the night, but it was one of those nights where each time you turn over and kind of wake up, you wonder if it's time to get up because that sounds more comfortable than lying there does anyway. I had left my special pillow at home and was missing it very much. My mom tried to accommodate me which was very sweet. Still I wasn't that comfortable. So when Amy woke up I got up with her. She was all wet from peeing through her diaper and was cold. She doesn't keep blankets on her while she sleeps, and my parents keep their house cold. I felt so bad for her. So I changed her diaper and put her in warm clothes. I tried to get her to snuggle with Matt and me under the covers to warm her up, but she was too restless. So we just went upstairs to hang out and eat breakfast.
Slowly everyone woke up, and we watched Conference all together with games in between. Andy and his boys left for home right before the second session, and Amy went down for a nap about that same time. So we were thinking we'd get another kid-free session. That is until Amy started crying halfway through. Matt went and got her, and she snuggled him and then me. I got comfortable (which she didn't like, but I couldn't hold her sitting up forever - I'm too pregnant) lying down beside her and snuggling her. Before long, she was asleep again.
Sunday afternoon - after Conference - we had our traditional Conference trivia game. My brother, Ryan, and his fiance, Melissa were still over - we drove them home to Provo that night - and participated. We asked questions about the last Conference - we're all supposed to study in between Conferences - and discussed what we enjoyed from this Conference. We also reviewed goals we had made at a special Conference FHE a year ago about studying Conference talks. We recommited and set new goals to study this Conference for the next 6 months. It was a wonderful and motivating discussion. I love to study the Conference talks and find doing so very meaningful.
Finally we headed home about 8:00 last night. It had been a wonderful weekend. I felt close to my family and happy to be with them - especially Matt and Amy. Amy was so well behaved and was delighting all of us with her tricks and charm. She even stayed awake the whole way home talking to us and singing her songs. I was sad to drop her and Matt off at our house to take Ryan and Melissa home because I just couldn't get enough of her. It's fun when I feel that way. She ended up going to bed around 10:00 - 2 hours late - and really never even got fussy. She was plenty tired by then, but she didn't fuss. What an amazing girl! I love her so much! (As a result, we were both kind of tired and slow moving today. Amy went to bed at 6:45 tonight which is way earlier than usual.) What a great weekend!
I was planning on spending Saturday at my parents' house because Matt had to work Saturday. He realized he didn't have to put in too much time and would just go work in between Conference sessions. So Amy and I stayed to be with him. So instead I spent the morning cleaning to make the house pleasant to watch Conference in. In between sessions, Amy and I ran a few errands. During the second session Amy slept the whole time. That was especially nice because Matt and I just got to watch Conference together, undistracted. We enjoyed very much just being together getting to watch. The morning session really wasn't bad though. Amy ate for a lot of it and watched with us. When she got out of her chair, she played pretty well. Of course, we didn't catch everything that was said because she was playing and requiring some attention, but she really did behave very well.
After that session, we cleaned up the house from the messes we had made eating and playing during the day and packed up our stuff to go to my parents' house. Amy woke up just in time for us to leave. So Matt went off to Priesthood session with my dad and my two brothers, and I got to stay at my mom's with her and my brother's fiance as well as the 3 kids - Amy and my two nephews, James and Finn. The kids let us get away with playing dominoes. It was very fun.
When the men got home, we played more games. We always play games. I love it. Eventually we wall went to bed.
Sunday morning Amy woke me up at 6:30. I didn't really care as I was kind of sick of trying to sleep anyway. I really slept fine most of the night, but it was one of those nights where each time you turn over and kind of wake up, you wonder if it's time to get up because that sounds more comfortable than lying there does anyway. I had left my special pillow at home and was missing it very much. My mom tried to accommodate me which was very sweet. Still I wasn't that comfortable. So when Amy woke up I got up with her. She was all wet from peeing through her diaper and was cold. She doesn't keep blankets on her while she sleeps, and my parents keep their house cold. I felt so bad for her. So I changed her diaper and put her in warm clothes. I tried to get her to snuggle with Matt and me under the covers to warm her up, but she was too restless. So we just went upstairs to hang out and eat breakfast.
Slowly everyone woke up, and we watched Conference all together with games in between. Andy and his boys left for home right before the second session, and Amy went down for a nap about that same time. So we were thinking we'd get another kid-free session. That is until Amy started crying halfway through. Matt went and got her, and she snuggled him and then me. I got comfortable (which she didn't like, but I couldn't hold her sitting up forever - I'm too pregnant) lying down beside her and snuggling her. Before long, she was asleep again.
Sunday afternoon - after Conference - we had our traditional Conference trivia game. My brother, Ryan, and his fiance, Melissa were still over - we drove them home to Provo that night - and participated. We asked questions about the last Conference - we're all supposed to study in between Conferences - and discussed what we enjoyed from this Conference. We also reviewed goals we had made at a special Conference FHE a year ago about studying Conference talks. We recommited and set new goals to study this Conference for the next 6 months. It was a wonderful and motivating discussion. I love to study the Conference talks and find doing so very meaningful.
Finally we headed home about 8:00 last night. It had been a wonderful weekend. I felt close to my family and happy to be with them - especially Matt and Amy. Amy was so well behaved and was delighting all of us with her tricks and charm. She even stayed awake the whole way home talking to us and singing her songs. I was sad to drop her and Matt off at our house to take Ryan and Melissa home because I just couldn't get enough of her. It's fun when I feel that way. She ended up going to bed around 10:00 - 2 hours late - and really never even got fussy. She was plenty tired by then, but she didn't fuss. What an amazing girl! I love her so much! (As a result, we were both kind of tired and slow moving today. Amy went to bed at 6:45 tonight which is way earlier than usual.) What a great weekend!
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