2013 Christmas Card

23 Weeks

Life at 23 weeks isn't too shabby :)

I had a doctor appointment yesterday, and things are going the way they should. I have officially passed my pre-pregnancy weight now, weighing in at about 147. I'm also measuring right on track for 23 weeks.

I will have one appointment in 4 weeks, and then one the next week, and after that I will start having appointments every 2 weeks! I know I sound like a broken record, but pregnancy has really flown by so far for me. I feel pretty lucky about that.

Kyle officially felt our little guy move on Sunday. We were sitting on the plane, ready to take off and baby started doing some pretty intense movements, and Kyle got to feel him. Speaking of movements... They are becoming more and more pronounced (and I know they will continue to) and it is so fun to feel (and sometimes see!). It is definitely my favorite part of pregnancy thus far.

I've started having some pretty terrible rib pain - which I have researched - and usually that doesn't start up until your 3rd trimester. But I'm nice and short with a short torso so I get that pain early :) My ankles have also started to swell... But that comes with the territory.

Really though, I can't complain. I've really only experienced the regular aches and pains that come along with pregnancy, nothing else major, so I'm blessed in that regard.

We are just getting more and more excited for out little guy to get here. I, for one, can't wait to see what he looks like :)

SoCal 2013

I think I mentioned this a while ago, but last year around this time Kyle decided to register for the Evolution of Psychotherapy conference, that was taking place in December 2013. This is a large conference, where psychologists, social workers, counselors, etc come from around the world to listen to presentations given by some of the biggest names in psychology, and it's only held every 4 years. As Kyle was still a student last year, he was able to get the student rate, which if I remember right got him like $400 off. So we decided it would be a great opportunity for him to go, and we figured we would make a little vacation out of it as well.

I also have a really awesome best friend, named Ayisha, who said she would fly out to spend time with me while Kyle was at his conference. And also, since we have family just 1-2 hours north of LA, we thought we'd visit them as well. So, now you know the background, here's how our days went.

SATURDAY-MONDAY

We left nice and early on a COLD morning, and arrived at LAX around noon. After getting our luggage, rental car, and some lunch (at In N Out, of course) we drove up to Bakersfield to Blaine and Brooke's. We stayed with them through Monday and had a great time being with their little family!

TUESDAY

We got up early and hit the road after eating breakfast and saying our goodbyes. We drove down to Anaheim and checked into our hotel, and then we drove to Ayisha's hotel and picked her up, and we made it to California Adventure around noon.We spent the rest of the day riding rides, eating food, seeing the Aladdin show, and watching World of Color. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of World of Color. It was hard to see (yes, I'm short) and I think I would have like the normal, non Christmasy one better. They were trying really hard to promote Frozen, so that didn't really catch my attention.

WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY

Kyle spent the days in the conference, and Ish and I went to Disneyland! We also both picked up a Disney souvenir - a gray Disneyland sweatshirt for me, and a gray Disneyland shirt for her!

FRIDAY

Kyle spent the day at his conference until about 3:30. Ayisha and I had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and then did a little shopping in an outdoor mall. We found a great store, and we both walked out with a few fun things - even maternity wearable clothes for me! Once Kyle was back we drove to the beach for a few minutes, got dinner at Chik Fil A, and dropped Ayisha off at the airport.

SATURDAY

Kyle only did a few sessions at the conference, and came back to the hotel about 1. We then headed over to experience Disneyland together! It was SO much busy that day than any other day we had gone that week, but we still had fun. We decided to fork out some money to try (and split) a Monte Cristo sandwich, and some Pomme Frites from Cafe Orleans and we are sure glad! They lived up to the hype :) We stayed late to catch Fantasmic! and the fireworks - except the fireworks were cancelled (we assumed because it was windy). So that was a little disappointing, but we still had a great time!

SUNDAY

Kyle spent the  morning at the conference, and I made sure we had packed up everything and checked us out. We drove to the airport, dropped off our rental car, and got on our flight home. After a brief layover in Oakland, we landed in Spokane. We were really glad that the weather had warmed up to 35-40 degrees, as opposed to the 1 degree it was the morning we left. 

We had a great trip, and we know we are so blessed to be able to have gone. I am really excited to go back one day and take our kids there, and witness the magic in their little faces and bodies when the experience Disney for the first time. I'm grateful Kyle and I could go on this "babymoon" of sorts, and that I have an awesome best friend who will buy a plane ticket and miss work to experience Disneyland with me while Kyle was at his conference!

(I also have to say a public thank you to Kyle and Ish for putting up with me basically stopping to use every bathroom in the park, and stopping to sit down much more often than that! The woes of traveling with a pregnant woman....)

21 Weeks

Feeling pretty good this week.

Also, I feel like I look bigger in pictures than I do in real life. 

19 weeks (or less? or more?) to go!

PS: my hair is getting LONG again!

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a great, if low-key, Thanksgiving this year. It was our first away from "home" (I realized it was my first not at my mom's, which is weird to think about) but it was still great! Kyle's mom and dad braved the 12 hour drive to be with us for the holiday, so it was great to still have family around! They arrived on Tuesday night, and left yesterday after sacrament meeting. We ate lots of good food, spent time together, did a little black Friday shopping, and watched BYU football and basketball (of course). We really enjoyed spending time with Evan and Holly, and having visitors :) 

Kyle and I have a lot to be thankful for this year:

A good, steady job for him, 

a healthy baby boy currently residing in my belly,

a great house to live in,

a great ward family,

a California vacation coming up,

wonderful family and friends,

and most of all,

the Gospel.