3rd Trimester: Ready for the Final Stretch!

I officially began my 3rd trimester a week ago! My belly is growing larger and my baby's acrobatic kicks are getting stronger and occur more frequently than they ever have before. I love sitting on the couch or lying on my bed and watching my stomach move and shift in all sorts of strange positions. Her sporadic kicks make me laugh and giggle, especially when she surprises me by giving me huge POWS when I'm not expecting it.

It's amazing how much my love for my little unborn daughter has grown. I knew I would love my baby, but I did not expect to care for her as much I do. My heart swells with love whenever I feel her move, and I thank Heavenly Father for allowing me to carry such a sweet and innocent life inside of me.

I'm anxious for the final stretch to be over! I can't wait to hold my baby daughter in my arms and see her little tiny face for the first time. I want to smell her, see her, hear her, and play with her little toes as soon as they're ready to come out. I'm anxious to be a mommy, but at the same time, I'm enjoying these last few weeks of pregnancy as well. I feel so much better physically than I did in my first and second trimester. I still get the achy muscles and fatigue spells regularly, but the morning sickness has finally gone, and food continues to taste better as time goes by. It's nice not feeling sick.

I have a lot of work to get done before June comes. My room is definitely not ready for a baby, so I've got a lot of cleaning and organization to do. We need to make room for baby!

I bought this cute little bassinet a couple of days ago.
Isn't it adorable?

Spring Has Come! Or Has it?

I love watching the signs of spring settling in! Daffodils and tulips are making their way out of the ground, buds are showing up on trees, birds are chirping at 7:00 in the morning, temperatures are slowly rising. . . It's all so lovely!

This is what our front yard looked like on the first day of Spring (March 20th):

This is what it looked like on the second day of Spring (March 21st):





And this is what it looked like on the fourth day of Spring (March 23rd):




Yes, those are the daffodils.

Gotta love Utah weather!

My Husband the U2 Fanatic

My husband has been a huge U2 fanatic ever since he was a teenager. I'd say he has owned every U2 album made available to the public at one point of time or another, and he has almost all of U2's songs memorized. He wears U2 t-shirts almost every day to work, and he's always going to u2.com to check up on band updates. He has a membership online as well, and gets discounts for various purchases, including concert tickets for when U2 plays in Salt Lake.


Needless to say, Brad has been ecstatic over U2's newest album, "No Line on the Horizon." As soon as they released the songs online, Brad has been listening to them over and over again and memorizing the lyrics. I've been listening to the new songs, too, of course. I'm not nearly as big of a U2 fan as Brad is, but I have learned to appreciate U2, and I do have my own favorite songs from the band. I've learned that many of U2's songs grow on you over time. My favorites are "Where the Streets Have No Name," "City of Blinding Lights," "Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and their newest song, "Magnificent."


Brad keeps me entertained by his obsessive interest in U2. Sometimes he makes me laugh and I have to tease him about it. Overall, I think it's great that has something he's so interested in. He's obsessed with U2 the same way I'm nuts over animals (and babies, right now). We learn a lot of new things together by being interested in different things. I have come to love and appreciate U2 since we've been married, and he's come to enjoy animals and nature as well. It's all good!

The Highlight of My Day: February 2009

My Favorite Photo of the Month

Something good happens each day. Here's what happened in February:

February 1, 2009: Today I gave my lesson on "Individual Worth" in Young Womens. I was very pleased with the results, and I absolutely loved the topic.

February 2, 2009: Tonight our family went to Jamba Juice for FHE. I loved getting out of the house and spending time with my family while drinking yummy smoothies. Mmmm!

February 3, 2009: Emma is doing a wonderful job reading her AR books! I'm so proud of her!

February 4, 2009: I spent a good part of my day curled up, reading a good book. I've finally made some time to read my "Brisingr" book from the library.

February 5, 2009: I'm learning how to crochet! Tonight I went to the YW activity and learned some basic crochet skills. Brad and I went to Walmart later tonight and bought me some yarn and a crochet needle.

February 6, 2009: I went to my 20 week ultrasound today and found out that Chili Pepper is a GIRL!

February 7, 2009: We had a great turnout at Young Womens basketball practice this morning. I enjoyed watching the girls play.

February 8, 2009: I love snuggling with Scott and Emma in church. They are so sweet and lovable.

February 9, 2009: For FHE tonight we talked about self-esteem and our individual worth. We read a good book called "You are Special," by Max Lucado. Then we went to the library.

February 10, 2009: Today I am grateful for the little blessings and miracles that occur in our lives, even when we don't realize it.

February 11, 2009: Brad and I went to a first time mommy and daddy class at the Intermountain Medical Center. It was a rewarding learning experience, and I enjoyed spending time with my Bradley.

February 12, 2009: My highlight of the day was helping Scott with his science homework tonight. It was nice solving questions together and learning new concepts. I loved spending one-on-one time with him.

February 13, 2009: Brad and I double dated with Bruce and Loralee, and we went to our marriage institute class. The lesson was on the divine roles of men and women. It was a great class!

February 14, 2009: We had a lovely Valentine's Day! Brad made heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, and I made a treasure hunt for Scott and Emma. Brad took Emma on a date and bought roses and chocolates for me and her, and he took Emma to Jamba Juice. We all went to the Draper Temple open house later in the evening.

February 15, 2009: My baby must be an athlete! I am convinced she's either a soccer player or a ninja. My highlight of the day was feeling her move inside me all day long. I've never felt her move so much before.

February 16, 2009: Scott and Emma had their cousins over all day long today. My favorite part of the day was playing the piano and singing with my eldest niece, Lindsey. She loves music and spending time with others.

February 17, 2009: I loved cuddling on the couch with my sweetheart while watching "All Creatures Great and Small." My Bradley is WONDERFUL! :)

February 18, 2009: We sang Happy Birthday to my dad over the phone tonight. He turned 60 today!

February 19, 2009: I taught Emma how to memorize words for her spelling test by making them into a story. She loved it! I'm confident she'll get a 100% on her spelling test.

February 20, 2009: I played a little of Tomb Raider 4 with Scott. It's something he loves doing together with me.

February 21, 2009: The weather was beautiful today. Brad and I took the kids to Wheeler Farm for a Taco Bell picnic lunch. We loved walking around, looking at the animals, and I took lots of photos of Scott and Emma.

February 22, 2009: Tonight we had a dinner at our house for Mom-North. We had the Bruce-clan over as well as Marilyn and James. All the Melchizedek priesthood holders gave Mom a blessing. It was beautiful seeing all of her men standing around her with their hands on her head. What a blessed mother she is.

February 23, 2009: I got my visiting teaching done today! Hooray!

February 24, 2009: Margaret had her surgery today. The best news of the day was hearing that Margaret's doctor believes he got all of the cancer removed.

February 25, 2009: Margaret came home today! She's feeling miserable, but I'm happy she's on her way to recovery.

February 26, 2009: I was nursemaid to Margaret, Brad, and Emma today. It was a very busy day! I was grateful to serve everyone.

February 27, 2009: Brad and I have been watching "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy together. Tonight we watched more of the "Two Towers." I love LOTR!

February 28, 2009: I enjoyed my Saturday time with Bradley. We ran errands together, visited with family, and watched more LOTR.