30 Weeks on My Birthday

I hit 30 weeks on Friday! Apparently these last 7 weeks have gone by pretty fast because Brit reminded me that I was overdue for an update and I thought I had just posted...

All of these pictures loaded backwards but I am too lazy to fix it!

Ryan is the best - he woke up super early on Friday to do all of the dishes...

Drive to the bakery (twice - he didn't know they opened at 7am, not 6am) and pick up cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They were amazing

And then he made me another classic Mann poster, all before I woke up to go to work. He knows how to make a bear happy!

We both then took a half day off and slept for 3 hours, went for a walk, looked at diaper bags (why can't I choose one?!?), went to Mexican for dinner, stopped by Babies r Us to admire the awesome stroller we will soon be getting, got a little YogurtLand for dessert and then crashed on the couch and watched a movie. Just the two of us. It was exactly what I wanted.

Here's the bump.

Ryan's favorite picture of the belly.

Nakey time!

I don't think my stomach can stretch any more! I say that everyday, and my body amazes me everyday with its ability to stretch. My belly button has just started poking out and Ryan thinks its pretty cute.

I have stopped worrying so much about gaining weight because I am continuing to exercise and eat well and my body just do what it want to do. I should have just had that mind set at the beginning:) At my last appointment the midwife said that everything was perfect and normal. Always good to hear. Not much has changed since my last update, besides getting huge and starting to waddle a little while I walk and being able to watch baby boy kick and move around - that part is pretty cool. I feel great and yet again I am grateful for the easy pregnancy I have had so far.

I can't wait for this baby to be here! I still need to sign up for a birthing class....and I need to buy basic things for the babe....and I feel a little unprepared for him, but I've got 10 more weeks, right?!? He is going to be so cute and cuddly and OURS - still can't wrap my mind around that right now. We are so excited to be parents.

23.5 Weeks!

FINALLY an update on the baby and me! I can't believe Sunday was the first day we started documenting my belly growth...but it is my goal to document our life more, so hopefully this won't be the only update.

Anyway.

Let start near the beginning??

8-17 weeks: Nauseous all the time and the only thing that would help was food and putting my feet up. I got so sick of eating! It became a chore, but I had to continue eating to function and continue working. And I never threw up!...Well, I did once...Magic foods for my stomach were Grilled Stuffed Burritos from Taco Bell, fresh crisp salads with cucumbers and tomatoes and meat and Costco dressing, sweet potatoes, chips, fries and oatmeal. Food aversions were mainly sweets - the thought of brownies (once my favorite food) and ice cream would make me queazy. I also couldn't eat eggs some morning or OJ. But food in general didn't sound good. I also started growing a lovely winter coat all over my body. Super duper sexy. Its not too bad, just blonde fuzz, but its all over! And its hilarious! Other than the typical - being nauseous and tired and dizzy and having psycho dreams and feeling crazy and lazy all day, I have had a wonderful pregnancy which I am so grateful for.

17-21 weeks: The nauseous and dizzy stage ended! It was amazing - right when the second semester started it just disappeared. Occasional head aches started kicking in and when I would exercise, afterward it would feel like I got hit in the crotch with a baseball bat from my hips separating. That has been the most bizarre thing to me so far! I could also start to tell the difference between kicks and my bowels. It's so sweet to feel the little kicks and bumps throughout the day.

Holla! Three sexy pregnant ladies at Christmas!

21-23.5 weeks: So far I have gained a total of 21 pounds -officially heavier than Ryan as of this morning. According to all charts, I am way ahead of the game on weight gain :) I know most of it was due to the fact that for 10 weeks all I could do was stuff my face to feel semi-OK, so it is nice to be in control now and slow down so that hopefully I'm not too much over the 25-35 recommended weight gain. Exercise makes me feel so wonderful (besides my hips, still) and I try to go to the gym or speed walk everyday. I don't really crave anything besides milk and Lemon Butter Salmon from Gurus.... My belly button has started to feel like my little guy is poking it from the inside with tooth picks. Yes - Ouch! Pregnancy is so strange. I rotate in between three different elasticity and stretch mark oils daily. I know that there is reeeaaallly nothing I can do to avoid stretch marks, but it makes me feel good knowing that I am doing all that I can do. Up until last week, I could be stubborn enough to not get up in the middle of the night to pee and just hold it... unfortunately my body will not go back to sleep now unless I empty the bladder. Its just once for now! Also, up until last week I could sleep on my back. So sad I have to sleep on my side now but it is much more comfortable on my hips. No linea nigra, just a nice fuzzy belly so far. At my last midwife appointment we had our half-way-ultrasound and they confirmed that indeed, we were having a boy. It was so cute, he was licking his hand! Its so crazy that we could see all of that! They also discovered that my placenta is on the front of my uterus. Which pretty much all means that Ryan won't be able to feel any kicks for another month or two.... but we think he has already felt him... At our appointment, we also found out that our baby boy is totally healthy and growing well AND his head size is average (which I was totally relieved about - I hope he continues to have Ryan's head size and not mine). We were so grateful to hear that I am totally healthy and baby is totally healthy - I worry too much about something going wrong! That's another thing that I have been working on besides eating well and sleeping more, relaxing and being stress free and positive. I can't be sending bad vibes to my baby!

Ryan and I went iceskating a couple of weeks ago with Fred and Holly.... that probably wasn't a good idea, being 22 weeks pregnant...

That skirt makes my belly look nice and full! It was nice being asked at church when I was due and not if I was pregnant or not. Heres the bare belly - just for Ryan.

23 weeks

I plan on continuing to work at the Salon and Multiling until I go into labor. I am the only source of income right now while Ryan is in school, preps for the MCAT AND applies for Medical school and I have found that staying really really busy helps me not stress about the baby too much, so I need to work as long as I can. Hopefully I don't have to stop until my estimated due date - May 26th! I plan on delivering with Midwives in the American Fork hospital (which has a birthing tub AND a bed for dad in each room - yeahya!) and I am planning to deliver medication free. I feel super awesome about everything so far, I love the midwives I have met with and I can't wait to start taking my Hypnobirthing classes.

That's pretty much all I can think of thats happened so far! I am looking forward to having a sweet little boy in my arms the end of May and to finally see what he looks like - we are beyond curious.

beck on feist

How Come You Never Go There (Beck Remix) by Feist

Berkeley Bake Sale

I don't get too political too often and this may not be the appropriate venue but I liked this.

UC Berkeley--
"College Republicans are selling cupcakes priced according to the buyer's race to highlight opposition to a bill they believe would overturn the state's ban on affirmative action in college admissions. Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black are gathering to protest the Republican protest.

That's how a live blog by student reporters at the Daily Cal is describing today's actions at UC Berkeley -- a massive wave of lobbying prompted by dueling views of Senate Bill 185. The bill by Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, would allow California's public universities to use race as a factor in the admissions process, though it would not allow preferences for any racial groups.

Students who support the bill are working the phones on the Berkeley campus, urging people to call Gov. Jerry Brown and ask him to sign it. The Daily Cal reports that Ward Connerly is on campus to help the Berkeley College Republicans oppose the bill with their bake sale, which had advertised that treats would cost $2 for whites, $1.50 for Asians, $1 for Latinos, 75 cents for African Americans and 25 cents for Native Americans."

I think this is super creative. Critics call it racism, and yes it is, but so is affirmative action.

If you live in California I would urge you to call/mail Jerry Brown urging him not to sign this bill. Affirmative action is a mockery of the education system.

new from wilco

Honey Farm

Camila took Heather and the kids and me to a local honey farm one of my first days in Washington. I (and I'm sure everyone else) was extremely hesitant the second I stepped out of the car because the fear of being attacked. Luckily the Bee Keeper was extremely kind, calm, and told us exactly how to avoid being stung the second we got there. Including raising your heart rate and breathing heavily....

He calmed the bees with smoke so everyone could hold them.

Cam and I had to look like dorks the entire times so that bees would not crawl through out hair and sting us. Heather had to wear a hat too, but she looked like a babe!

Walking back to a hive...

Look how cute little Finno is! He loved the Bee Keeper.

Few things I learned at the Bee Farm:

-Bees are attracted to women on prenatal vitamins. Smell of folic acid = fear, fear = ATTACK!!! Pretty much every woman there had to be smoked like crazy!

-The Bee Keeper spends most of his time looking for the Queen Bee in each hive to make sure she is safe.

- Bees collect pollen from whatever is blooming around them (blackberry, clover, wildflower, etc.), there isn't just one type of pollen a honey bee is attracted to.

-After trying several types of honey, Blackberry was the very best.

-Eating local raw honey can help with seasonal allergies.

-The yellow-y liquid that a bee squirted out onto Sully's hand was definitely pee, not honey like the Bee Keeper said it probably was.

All of the kids were super cute and and loved holding the bees and were almost obsessed with tasting the honey. The Bee Keeper was so so kind. After we saw the hives and ate honey right out of one, he sat down all the kids and told them about how God plays a part in making bees and honey. It was really sweet. He gave the kids a honey comb, we all bought honey, took pictures and as we were walking off to our cars the guy yells, "Bye kids! God loves you!" He is the greatest. Thank you Cam for planning a super fun field trip! Can't wait to see everyone again in a couple of weeks!

I Felt Like Our Blog Was Missing a Post Dedicated to Grant Mann And How Awesome He Is...

So here is goes, some of the many reasons why I love Grant Mann and why everyone loves him:

Loves kissing babies. Especially his own. Future politician??

Always making sure the Bug is well hydrated. A good father and family man.

Always deep in thought. Looks like little June got that from him too.....Or they are totally checking out how hot Brit looked that fine day. Who knows?

He is better than anyone I know at sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce. Also in this picture, Ryan captured the moment when he was talking with a little lady bug that he saved from drowning. Natural talent and kind to animals and insects.

There is never a moment when he doesn't look sexy. And He knows it. Confident not cocky.

I love Grant so much. Everyone does. Thank you for being an awesome brother-in-law, even though you do ruin everything.