routine

I'm always fascinated when I learn something nitty gritty about a person's life, especially their daily routine. I love knowing how people live their lives, right down to the shampoo they use and which brand of cereal they prefer. Since the world revolves around me and everyone thinks the exact same way I do, I thought I'd share what an average day looks like for us! You know. To satiate your burning curiosity, or whatever.

(why aren't there sarcastic face emojis?!)

7:00-7:40 - we start the day, making breakfast and Christians lunch. Eat together, read scriptures, enjoy a few minutes before Christian has to leave for the day. (EDIT: I wrote this post awhile back and I'm sad, but also happy to say that this no longer happens. Both of my boys are kind enough to let me stay in bed until about 7:45 these days, which is a good thing because this angry mama bear needs her rest otherwise... RAWR. So I'm now a terrible wife and Christian makes his own lunches. Can't win em all I guess!)

7:41- the worst moment of the day, saying goodbye to dad! Boo work!

7:45- 9:15 - I try to make it to the gym, out on a run or walk most mornings, so this time is usually spent finishing Nash's breakfast, some minor cleaning up, getting ready, etc.

9:15-10:15 - Gym/run/walk. I'm so thankful for the kids club and strollers ha! Anything to keep my little buddy contained for a while so mom can have some "mom time".

10:30ish - Shower and bath for Nash and mom. I don't know why we bother anymore, we are all dripping in sweat by the end of the day living in this inferno ha!

11:00- I usually have an hour to an hour and a half to do some stuff I want, shower, clean, etc. On days we are leaving the house again, I will usually just finish getting ready for the day, read my scriptures, watch a quick show, peruse social media, maybe some minor tidying up.

12:30-1 - Nash is awake! Change diaper, play with toys, make and eat lunch together. Most days I try to get out of the house during this 3 hour stretch between naps. I think we both go stir crazy if we don't. This is sometimes just the grocery store or Costco, but anything helps! I try to make it to Target at least once a week, because of course. I actually really love running errands with my little buddy. He's the best.

3:30-4 - Feed Nash again, and afternoon nap time! Same as the morning, I usually have an hour to hour and a half to do stuff. More cleaning, reading, blogging, tv watching, DIY-ing, etc.

5:30- 6:30 - This is the hardest part of the day for me. Christian doesn't get home until at least 6:30 every night, sometimes later, so we have a while to kill before he comes to rescue us haha. We usually turn on some Michael Buble right after Nash's nap because it puts everything in a much better mood! We play with toys, read books, maybe go out on a walk, and I usually start dinner.

6:30- 8:30 - Dad's home, yay!! We usually feed Nash his dinner, maybe if we're lucky I've also finished making our dinner. Then we get Nash ready for bed, which usually involves a tickle fight of some sort. Nash doesn't win those very easily, in case you're wondering. Then we give him a bottle again, sing songs, and he's down for the night. 

7:30- forever-  MAKE OUT ALL NIGHT LONG.

Okay so that last part isn't true. But a girl can dream right?

the week of all weeks (of all weeks!)

I am long overdue for an update (March and April were like just like "what is LIFE?!"), but we just wrapped up a super great week SO! Here it is!

Our families were in town from Michigan for our official graduation from BYU. I didn't think I'd care all that much about walking, but it was wonderful to have a formal "goodbye" from the university that I came to love so much. Cliche and cheesy be darned, it completely changed my life!

My parents are like "yeah we are smiling lol"

Saturday, we had an early birthday celebration for Nash with everyone in the family, and it was the BEST. Poor baby has been sick and teething for a few weeks now, so he wasn't as happy as I was hoping (he didn't even try to eat his birthday cake!), but it made me so happy to watch all our parents and siblings celebrate him with us. His official birthday is a week from today, and everyone is gone now, so I'm thankful we were able to squeeze that in!

Nash only poses for birthday pictures with his best girlfriend mom of course!

THEN! Christian and I took off to St. George for 3 days as a sort of anniversary trip/celebration of graduating and surviving the first year of parenthood, etc. etc.

It.
Was.
THE BEST.

To the point of being completely delirious with happiness the whole time, obviously.

We've been terrible about having consistent dates WITHOUT Nash. It's happened maybe 6 or 7 times in the last year. Getting 3 whole days with just Christian made me realize how important it is to take time for the two of us. You'd think it would be a obvious, but it's really hard for us to find babysitters since we don't have much close family here in Utah, so we usually just end up going out to dinner and bringing our little crazy octopus along. NO MORE! I have a new found obsession with "Brooke and Christian time" and my goal for the rest of the year is a date just the two of us at least 3 times a month.

Now, who wants to babysit?

why christian is my soul mate: a true story

a little over 3 years ago when we got engaged, and the first time our families met.

If you are super close to either mine or Christian's family, you probably know this story already. BUT. In case you aren't, I just have to tell you what is easily the strangest familial circumstance I've ever heard of in my life. I'm not kidding. I will seriously pay you if you can tell me a weirder story. And with that, here we go.

Christian grew up just outside Detroit Michigan, in a city called Novi. He lived there for about 13 years.
From there, his family moved to Colorado and then to Melbourne Florida, where they were living when we got married.
At that same time, my family was living in Mesa Arizona. A few months into the summer however, my family moved down to Florida as well, about 3 hours South of the Carters. Just by total chance! It worked out amazingly though, because coincidentally Christian and I ALSO ended up in Florida the summer after we got married. One big happy family in the sunshine state, if you can believe it.

This isn't even the craziest part.
Last year, my dad was offered a job in Michigan. Total happenstance.
In which city, you ask?
Why Novi of course! 
And so last summer, my family moved to the same city that my husband grew up in. My brother goes to Christian's old high school. Swims on the same swim team. My family is in the same ward even.

And believe it or not, THIS STILL ISN'T THE CRAZIEST PART.

In January, Christian's dad accepted a new job.
Where at??
NOVI FREAKING MICHIGAN.
So now, our families live in the same town, our brothers go to the same school, hang out on the weekends. OUR MOMS ARE IN THE YOUNG WOMEN'S PRESIDENCY TOGETHER.

I mean, can you even!? It blows my mind when I think about it. It's been the strangest coincidence after coincidence, and I'm starting to believe it's not coincidence at all. In all seriousness, I think this has been a little slice of heaven on earth, demonstrating that it's a great thing Christian and I ended up together.
I mean, can you imagine if we hadn't?
AWKWARD.

is this thing on?

Almost 3 months of radio silence.
WHO AM I?!

In all honesty, the holidays and finishing school and moving and etc. etc. just got way too busy and completely sucked my desire to sit down and write anything. Plus I'm sure I was all "who has time to blog when there are cookies to be eaten?"

But I'm here!
We are alive! Alive and well! Here's a brief update on the Carter fam, in case you care.
(which you obviously do because you are reading this! Gotcha!)

Christian started working full time about mid-way through January. He's doing great work in the financial sector and really enjoying it for the most part. I can't tell you how proud I am of him. At the risk of being an overly gushy wife, I won't go in to too many details, but he's working his tail off and making his superiors very happy. It's still so strange to me when I realize we aren't students anymore. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't loving it. I mean, I miss BYU with a firey passion, but I do NOT miss tests and projects and grades and textbooks and tuition. I'm thinking 6 years was more than enough time to get my fill. Plus, the stay-at-home mom life and I were just meant to be. I'm absolutely loving the days with my number one buddy (Who is almost 10 months old, by the by. WHERE IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING IS THE TIME GOING)

Nash is all "Mom step back, I got this."

Also known as his attitude, every single day ha.

So yeah. Here we are. Just living life in Salt Lake City, doing our thing.
I'm feeling pretty good about life at the moment, quiet and sorta boring as it may be. April and May are going to be a little more exciting (a graduation! family in town! an anniversary! a vacation! a 1st birthday!), and so I'm really wanting to use March as a time to totally charge my batteries and get ready for it all. You know, like a bit of an overhaul for my spiritual, mental and physical health.
As I've thought about it all for the last few days, I've realized it really helps me when I'm writing more, both in my journal and on this silly ol' blog. Old habits totally die hard. Also I guess it's like my one creative outlet, seeing as how I gave up professional singing like 15 years ago when I realized "no Brooke, you will NOT be the next Britney Spears". Ah, to be ten again.

What I'm trying to say is you will probably be seeing.... uh... hearing, a lot more from me in the nearish future.

bad habits

Obviously "not writing stuff" is a bad habit I'm suffering from at the moment. Life's just hung me out to dry the last few weeks, so I'm recouping. Good news though, I'm back on my B Game
(a little less than A Game, but better than F Game!)
so. There's that.

Anyways, I've been thinking a lot lately about my bad habits, because I have a few that drive me crazy. I'm sure Christian could tell you that I've got WAY more bad habits than this (like tickling him which he HATES, but I honestly don't see the problem...), but here are the glaring ones that I've noticed lately. They make me laugh, and you're going to think I'm crazy.

I drink a ton of water. WHAT A BAD HABIT! 
Ha just joking. But because I drink so much, I have to refill my water bottle every hour or so during the day. When I'm at home, I usually turn the faucet on and let it run for 30 seconds or so, to cool down, because I like my water to be freezing. Usually I get distracted while that happens and wind up changing a diaper, or thinking "hey i haven't eaten!" and then start cooking something, or I hop in the shower, or I'm doing my makeup, and before I know it, the sink has been on for literally 20 minutes.

This happens at least once a day, I'm not kidding.

In the same vein, I'm awful about eating food and not finishing it. I can guarantee that there is always some bag of half eaten carrots, or several neglected granola bars in my bag. Last week there were 3 apples in there. THREE! In October, I also found a half eaten granola bar in our pantry that I can only assume I left there because Christian is an adult and finishes his food, and Nash is just like "gimme rice cereal." I have a hard time finishing meals lately too, because I'm usually navigating the circus that is feeding my 6 month old monkey.
I mean baby.
Why then, if I'm not eating, am I not 3 pant sizes smaller than before I got pregnant?
Spoiler alert: it's called donuts. I can definitely finish donuts.

So I guess what I need to learn from these bad habits is it's actually a deeper rooter issue: I don't follow through! I have all these plans like "drink water!" and "eat food!" and then I'm just like "yeah maybe not". And don't even get me started on the cookies I meant to take to our neighbor that somehow ended up disappearing instead...
(I lied. I can finish cookies AND donuts)

I need a life coach or something.

weekend warrior

I have been a total drama queen lately, sorry about that. I just really feel things. A lot. Ha!

So I'm gaining a new appreciation for weekends as this semester progresses and continues to drown us (Christian) in mountains of pointless STUFF. Not like I didn't love them before. Obviously. But they are as good as gold these days.

Last weekend was nothing special, but having so much time together was just the best. Friday night we made pumpkin ravioli with balsamic brown butter sauce for our dining-in date.
Guys. RAVIOLI IS THE WORST THING TO MAKE IN THE WHOLE WORLD. The name of the dish should have tipped me off. The end result was seriously delicious, but I advise against this endeavor unless you have a ravioli mold (we didn't) and a lot of patience (also didn't).

We also went to a birthday party which was fun, but the fun was overshadowed as I saw a little boy fall off a table. I'm being slightly dramatic, but seriously my mom fears about Nash falling off of things are a little out of control right now.
(He's already fallen off the couch and the bed so.... not unwarranted worries!)
Seriously, as a mom, that's the worst thing to witness!

I also tried out an easy, delicious new recipe for our Sunday dinner (I'm such a culinary fiend right now), and it was a hit. I love when that happens.

And church! We survived with flying colors! I actually really enjoyed the whole thing, AND neither one of us got spit up on! Win, win, win.

And can we talk about all the unadulterated time with my number one buddy? I miss him so much when I'm working and schooling during the week. Saturday and Sunday are the best for that reason. I didn't think it was possible before I became a mom, but seriously. He gets cuter every day, and I fall more and more in love each time I look at his sweet face.
And can you blame me?!
Christian and I are the luckiest!

ohhh sundays

I've always loved the Sabbath.
It's great to have an excuse to listen to beautiful music, spend time with people I love, cook lots of good food, and not do homework (that's been my favorite excuse for the last 6 years, if we're being real here!)

Then I had a baby, and my perception of Sundays has changed quite a bit. My morning goes something like:
Head pops off pillow, brain is like:
"Oh no. It's Sunday. IT'S SUNDAY"

Nash is old enough now that he won't sleep through every meeting like he used to. Instead, he misses his morning nap and fusses super loudly unless we are holding him juuuust right. I spend half of relief society feeding him, burping him, changing him, and cleaning up the inevitable 5 spit ups that happen immediately after he's done eating. The rest of relief society is spent running back and forth from my chair to the piano so I can magnify my calling, while simultaneously handing my babe off to a willing woman, praying the whole time whilst fumbling through a song "Please don't start crying. Please don't spit up on her...." Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Sunday school and sacrament meeting are no different. Singing songs, playing with toys, shushing, standing up and down and back up again, and "pass the wipes" and "here's the blanket" and "where's his binky" and the list goes on. And then we rush home from church to feed the baby, attempt to get him down for a nap, and then visit teach and make dinner and bake a treat and call our families and catch our breath somewhere in there.

The crazy thing to me is that I KNOW I'm not alone in this busy Sunday routine. Every parent with a young child or children knows exactly how this is. It's so hard! As I sat in the mother's room yesterday, rocking my boy to sleep for what felt like the tenth time, hot tears of frustration and defeat rolled down my cheeks. I kept thinking "I can't do this every week! I'm not getting anything out of these meetings! I leave church feeling more flustered and disheveled than I did when I came!"

And then I'm reminded of the sweet remark made in the General Women's meeting on Saturday night. It's not so much about making it to each of the meetings on Sunday.
What matters is my faith.
And faith I've definitely got. I know that attempting to make it to church on time, and playing the piano, and singing primary songs to my son while I sit by myself in the hall, and trying to retain at least 5 seconds of spiritual enlightenment, and doing my visiting teaching, and spending time with my family, are the things I should be doing.

And if I have to spend the majority of church sitting in the foyer for the next however many years, well I'll be darned then I'm going to keep doing it! Because through all the frustration and frazzled moments, I know I'm not alone. I know I'm getting the help I need. I love my family, and I love this church, and I know this is all what I should be doing.

girl talk

This is a post about periods. You've been warned.
So, now that that's outta the way...

Mine came back a measly two months after giving birth. What's with all that crap about breastfeeding supposedly keeping it away?! Oh yeah, crap, that's what.

I forgot how much I loved that part of being pregnant. Not only that, but my hormones were just dreamy. I'm WAY better off pregnant in that regard. (Probably that will be a factor in how quickly I want another baby. Just don't tell Christian ;) )

Anyways, you guys. I need to know I'm not alone and I need to get some ideas for how to combat the wretched week and a half before aunt flo arrives. I seriously have the worst PMS in the world. I'm exhausted all the time (and having a baby/being in school/working doesn't help that of course!), I feel like I cry at the drop of a hat, I don't want to do anything that I normally love, I feel neglected by my husband if he's not fawning over me and telling me how awesome I am 24 hours a day, I want to eat ALL THE CANDY, my patience is non-existent, and basically I hate almost every second of the day. Then my period comes and I'm like "WOW! I'm a freaking new woman! I love life! Do all the things!" And then rainbows shoot out of my eyes because seriously, that's how much energy I feel like I gain overnight.

Here's my dilemma: I don't know how to deal with this! I consistently exercise 4-5 times a week (even when I'm PMS-y), I eat pretty healthy (the occasional donuts, candy and soda aside. HEY WE CAN'T ALL BE PERFECT!), I'm trying to get enough sleep, and I'm not on BC because that stuff is just... too much. What are some other things I can do? Magical herbal concoctions? TV shows that will take my mind off the doom and gloom? A comfort food? A pill I'm not taking? Hey, I'll even take a spell at this point. Alas, we don't live in the land of Harry Potter, so that option is probably last on the list.

Am I the only one who deals with this on this level? Hormones are great for some things (winkwink), but they just wreck me sometimes, and I need some sister love and help.

Seriously though. Send chocolate and a Meg Ryan movie stat.

new mom confessions

Another post about being a mother?!
Are you really surprised? ;)

So lately I've been thinking a lot about my insecurities as a new mom. Guys, they are ENDLESS. Especially because I feel like I didn't do, and am still not doing, everything I could have to prepare. Here are some of my confessions, try not too cringe too much!

- I didn't read a single pregnancy or parenting book, and I still haven't. I've perused plenty of websites, but no actual books. I feel sort of guilty about it, but every time I dive too deep in information, it overwhelms me and makes me second guess literally everything I'm doing. I figure my baby is happy and healthy, and Christian and I don't hate each other, so I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing!

- I am currently surviving on a diet coke and one treat a day. That's not ALL I'm eating of course (I'm the queen of healthy dinners, POW!), but I seriously can't survive without the little shot of caffeine and little shot of chocolate. Again, baby is happy and healthy, so who gives right?

- Sometimes, I just have to let my little guy sit and fuss because I can't muster up the energy to be cheerful and help him. I give it about 5 minutes, and then he starts doing something funny and it helps me feel better. Also, I have a stock of hilarious videos of him that I watch when he's making me crazy. It ALWAYS brightens my mood.

- I feel guilty for not having a firm bedtime routine established for Nash. Is it horrible that I don't bathe him and read to him EVERY single night?

- I also feel guilty when Christian wakes up and helps me in the middle of the night (more like 4:30 in the morning, but you know. Still fracking early!). But seriously, I will go crazy if I have to do that on my own!

Honestly I could go on and on with this list, but I'd hate to look any less perfect than I already am ha! So there you have it.

you know you're a mom when...

Firstly, your babies don't always love you.

1. It is perfectly acceptable to have spit up or pee in your hair at some point. It is also acceptable to continue wearing clothes that have been covered in said spit up and/or pee. Not only is this acceptable, but encouraged. Stains are simply a new staple in your wardrobe.
Another load of laundry? Aint nobody got time for that!

2. With great effort, it IS possible to be romantic with your long lost spouse-turned-roommate. Make an effort to hold hands, send sweet texts, and reconnect at the end of the day, even if it's just for 5 minutes. You're in this together, and you both need support from one another.
Baby's finally asleep? Go ahead and make out a little. There's nothing a little kissing can't fix.

3. Try and find a few other friends with babies, because as hard as your childless friends will try to care about how long your baby slept last night, their eyes will glaze over eventually.
And that spitting up story you want to tell them? They'd probably be fine if you didn't.
It's just nice to have a few friends with babies to swap baby stories with, you know?

4. Talking in a baby voice all the time will be your new normal. And you will love it.

5. You will never NOT feel tired. Its gets easier after a few months, but the exhaustion will always be looming. It's harsh, but get used to it as soon as you can and try to live your life as normal.
That's easier said than done of course, and takes a while to adjust to!

6. Everything your child does will be the freaking cutest thing you've ever seen in your whole entire life.
Burps and farts included.

7. As hard as it is, try not to feel guilty for having some "me time". It's necessary, and you will go crazy without it! Make sure it's something you love too, be it exercise, painting your nails, watching your favorite movie, strolling through Target, or all of the above. Plan it out if you need to, but whatever you do, make sure it happens. You deserve it. You squeezed something the size of a melon out of your body, after all!

8. All those reservations you've ever had about poo, boogers, throwup and pee? Yeah kiss those good bye and hone that gag reflex, and fast. Babies are known to dish out all 4 at the same time with little regard to convenience.

9. Postpartum hair loss is no joke. As if birth wasn't cruel enough, just when you feel like you've returned to normal, all your hair starts to fall out and you legitimately feel like Gollum.

Thanks for nothing, hormones.

10. Anyone who looks like they've got it together right after having a baby is pulling one over on you. Behind the perfect hair, the cute clothes, and the flawless smile is a mom who is feeling just as frazzled as you are. Go easy on yourself and enjoy the craziness, because it will pass way too quickly.

all the feelings

One thing I really struggled with at the beginning of our marriage was feeling frustrated about something and not always knowing WHY. Something would happen that would upset me, but it wasn't necessarily that exact moment that upset me. More like... a culmination of moments?
Another thing I really struggled with was being willing to tell Christian why I was upset, once I actually figured it out of course. Confrontation isn't really my thing, and I'm always quick to shove my emotions aside to spare the other party, to a fault. I'm sure this is why I have a hard time knowing why I'm upset sometimes... because I often don't take the time to figure it out myself before I bury it!
Anyways.

I'm lucky I married a man who isn't quick to ignore me when I'm upset. Christian is very good at prodding, eventually getting it out of me. It's something I've had to word very hard on the last few years; pinpointing exactly WHAT has frustrated me (like I said, it's usually a combination of things. SO MANY FEELINGS!), and then being willing to diplomatically explain it to Christian.
That's not always easy to do! Especially if he is the perpetrator! After sorting through your emotions, then you have to express it to this person you can simultaneously love/want to kill to death, without being too unkind or offensive!
Also, sometimes things will happen that make me mad, and it's almost like I need a target (sound familiar to anyone?). So even if Christian isn't the guilty party, I still end up feeling frustrated at him.
Like "Why can't he read my mind and make everything better already?!" 

Being a woman is hard sometimes. There's always a million thoughts parading around our brains, endless comparisons between whatever this and whatever that, often feeling like we fall short in every aspect of life, and let's not even talk about the emotional and hormonal roller coasters we have to endure! It's exhausting trying to sort it all out, and stay sane, which is why I guess it's awesome (AND NEEDED) sometimes to just have a good cry over nothing, binge eat ice cream, and watch totally worthless crap television.
Moose Tracks and the Bachelor are usually my drugs of choice ;)

I'm not really sure why I'm writing this today. I guess I'm just feeling the weight of being... human, I guess? Ha! Just gotta take a load off sometimes, you know?

Am I the only one who struggles with these things? Because so often I feel like my emotions and thoughts are so frayed and scrambled that it's not even worth trying to figure myself out!

welcoming baby nash

I'm currently sitting on our couch, snuggling a sad little baby.
He was circumcised today, which was the WORST for this new mamma.
Speaking of being a mamma, along with this sweet baby on my chest, I've got a mix of spit up, drool and baby tylenol coating my shirt, and it's just the best.
Even the grossest parts of motherhood feel so sweet to me. 
(Read: the poop I got on my hands yesterday. Yes, even that!)

It's been 2 weeks and 2 days since our precious little boy entered the world and already the process is feeling a bit hazy to me. Labor and delivery was such an amazing and precious, albeit painful, experience. And one that is absolutely worth sharing.

I went to the doctor to have my membranes swept on Monday the 5th, 10 days before my due date, around 5pm I was already dilated to about a 3 and 90% effaced, so we were pretty sure the membrane sweeping would really push things along.
At about 6, I was already feeling the onset of contractions. They weren't horrible, but I could definitely tell that they were contractions! We went to the store, came home and ate tacos for dinner, and by 8, things were intensifying. We waited around for about an hour, I don't really remember what we were doing. I think I talked to my mom for a bit while Christian was hurrying to tidy up and pack a bag for the hospital. The way things were going, we were pretty sure we'd have our little guy that night!

By 9ish, my contractions were about 30 seconds long and only a few minutes apart, and we decided it was time to head to the hospital. I was pretty uncomfortable at that point, but it was bearable still.
Oh if I had only known what was to come ha!

Hospital, round 1. Feeling much better than I would in a few hours!

We got to the hospital, they hooked me up to the necessary machines, and proceeded to monitor me for an hour. 2 Friends episodes later, they came back and told me I wasn't progressing fast enough and they had to send me home. We were pretty grouchy about that since I was already dilated and effaced a good amount. Our nurse even told us she knew we'd be back later that night, so who knows why they sent us home but whatever. They gave me a bunch of morphine and phenergan, told me to go home and sleep and that if the contractions stopped, I was in false labor and I'd just need to wait it out. I found out about an hour later that it definitely wasn't false labor!

We got home around 11:30, and by that point the meds had kicked in and I was WAY loopy. I was so sleepy, but the pain was really vamping up so I couldn't relax and embrace the exhaustion very well. I knew we'd be heading back to the hospital in a few hours, so I tried to lay down and fall asleep but at that point, my contractions were only about 2 minutes apart and getting very intense, so sleep was essentially futile. Christian and I laid in bed for a few hours, while he slept and I timed my contractions. By about 1:45, my contractions had been consistent, long and frequent enough that I knew it was go time. I couldn't take the pain anymore, so I got out of bed in an attempt to get ready and leave. WOW the pain was so intense at that point! I don't remember when I started crying, but by the time we were heading out the door, I had been sobbing for a good 30 minutes. I'm sure it was partly because I was so tired, but I have never experienced pain that intense. It was almost unbearable!

Thankfully the drive to the hospital was short, and when we got there, a nice security guard was able to wheel me up to labor and delivery while Christian parked the car. At this point, it was close to 3am. I don't really remember much about getting to the hospital room except for the fact that I was crying again as I changed out of my clothes and kept apologizing to the nurses haha. Labor is so dramatic! Christian was so wonderful through this whole process. He helped me concentrate during the contractions, told me I was doing a good job, and really made the whole thing feel much more manageable. Certainly I couldn't have done it without him!

I finally got settled, they checked me, and I was dilated to a 5 and 100% effaced! They could give me an epidural! I had to wait about 20 minutes, which felt like an eternity of course. The epidural wasn't bad at ALL. It was the local anesthetic they gave me that hurt the most actually ha. For some reason, my right side wouldn't numb at ALL so the doctor had to give me 3 rounds of the epidural. Talk about the most epic knockout of my life. My whole lower body felt like it was levitating by the time the medicine fully kicked in haha. I was so thankful not to feel those contractions anymore!

I also had a fever, which had them worried about the baby of course. So along with the epidural, they had me hooked up to an antibiotic as well. I can't believe how I tired I was at that point! The fever, along with not sleeping, the strain of contracting for so many hours, and the overall stress in general, had me totally wiped. Admittedly, I was worried about how I was going to push a baby out of me when I was already that exhausted haha. 

On my drugs, feeling exhausted, and much much better!

At that point, it was about 4 am and we just had to wait for my body to progress. I was in and out of sleep for a few hours (mostly out, because they had to come check me and rotate me what felt like a million times!). Christian was so great and kept everyone updated via text the whole time, until he finally was able to sleep for about an hour and a half. Around 7, my nurse came back and checked me and said I was dilated to 10! I was going to be able to start pushing!

I bravely (or stupidly? :) ) decided I wanted to see what was going on, so they set up a mirror for me. I'm so glad I did that! It was amazing to see my body progressing like that! Christian stood by one of my legs while my nurse took the other. It was very surreal at that point. Pushing always seemed like such a dramatic event, so to only have 3 of us in the room while I calmly breathed through every push felt much different than I had imagined. It was amazing from the very beginning because I could see his head so quickly! They had been telling me for over a week that he was sitting really low, and they were right!

I was so tired by then that I was falling asleep and having dreams in between pushing intervals haha! I would only sleep for maybe a minute or two, which is so funny to me! Again, labor is so dramatic. After pushing for about an hour and a half while being coached by my sweet husband and darling nurse, little man had descended enough that it was time to get the doctor. Christian said it was like he was suiting up for battle when he came in... putting on his gear with so much precision and all haha. By this point, I was so anxious to keep pushing and get this baby out that things felt like they moved really quickly! Because both the baby and I had a fever, his heart rate was really high and the doctor decided he needed to use forceps to help speed things up. I didn't love the idea, but I knew it would help him be safe so we went ahead. After giving me a quick episiotimy, briefly using the forceps, and tugging nice and hard, little Nash was finally born!!!!

Holding my precious babe for the first time!

Nash Harrison Carter, 8lbs 13oz and 20.5 inches long.

Seeing him for the first time and hearing him cry was so surreal. The whole thing felt almost out of body, partly because I was so exhausted and partly because this little piece of heaven was literally in the room with us! I couldn't believe how much hair he had, how big he was, and how familiar he felt to me. It was so sweet to sit and look at him with Christian for the first time. 

I didn't get to hold him too long because they wanted to get him on an antibiotic fairly quickly. We spent the next 2 days in the hospital recovering and enjoying time together as a new little family. Thankfully my mom had gotten on a plane that morning and she made it from Florida to Utah by that afternoon! It was so fun to see her face when she walked in the room and saw Nash for the first time! I was so thankful to have her and Christian there, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. 

We love you little Nashy Boy and we are so glad you're here!

8 months down, a month to go!

I seriously cannot believe I'm 36 weeks pregnant. 

I remember trudging through that AWFUL first trimester and feeling like: 

"The end will never get here! 

I will be pregnant foreverrrrrrr!"

And now here I sit and I can almost see my due date! AH!

Isn't that how it goes?

Here is the latest update-a-roo, folks. And I'm feeling pretty verbose today, so buckle up.

34 weeks, 

preworkout, 

and looking very tired and very pregnant ha. 

Mostly I just took this picture because LOOK HOW HIGH THIS BABY WAS SITTING

35 weeks.

36 weeks.

Aaaaand we're back to taking classy bathroom pictures.
I definitely feel like he's dropped a little bit, thank goodness!

Weight gain:

My not-really-gaining-weight phase sure ended with a bang. At my last doctor's appointment I was up 19 lbs, with more to come I'm sure!

Also just a comment about pregnancy weight gain... it's funny to me how much I can feel it! Specifically when we go to Body Pump at the gym, and the teacher's like "Okay now do push ups!" I literally can't get through more than like..... 5. Seriously. Imagine a lady 8 months pregnant doing push ups ha! It's really as funny as it sounds.

Sleep: 

Getting much harder, as to be expected! The weight of my belly pulls me awkwardly, and my hips, back and legs ache to where I'm tossing and turning literally all night. Sorry Christian! Also I somehow made it this far into the pregnancy without having to wake up and pee in the middle of the night, but I am no longer enjoying that luxury. Instead I'm up between approximately 2 and 2:15am every single night. It's the weirdest.

Best moment of the week: 

One morning, Christian and I were locked in a tight embrace (because that's the only way to cure my morning grumpiness, but that's another story....), and the baby kicked so hard that it caught Christian by surprise and almost made him jump back haha. This of course led to jokes about ways to torture our future children by being really mushy and romantic with each other, because obviously baby boy is already bothered by it ;)

Weird pregnancy moment: 

Bladder issues. Breathing. Swollen gums. Pregnancy brain. Soreness... everywhere... all the time. The last 6 weeks has majorly kicked up the weird pregnancy stuff! I have to pee literally every 10 minutes, which is pretty inconvenient being in class and all. The baby was also sitting really high for a while, so my lungs feel crushed all the time. Church is still especially uncomfortable for some reason. I can't hardly sing the hymns either, because it takes way too much breath haha. And I've resorted to stealing soft chairs or sitting on the couch in the hall for sacrament meeting. It's whatever.

Also my head doesn't function very well these days. Pregnancy brain is SO SO real. I'm lucky I don't have any tests at the end of this semester, because I'd probably fail them all. It's the one time in my life I'm actually enjoying group projects and papers! Also can we just talk about how bad my hips hurt? Because they literally feel like they are going to crack in half when I sit for too long. And let's not even address the tail bone pain. YIKES. 

Movement: 

This baby gets the hiccups 2-5 times a day, which is super funny and cute to feel. He's also found a favorite spot to sit, which is as far to my right side as he can possible go. My belly is totally lopsided most of the time. He's been especially squirmy over the last few weeks too, which is surprisingly uncomfortable! He sticks his feet right up into my ribs, especially when I'm sitting down or eating. I've also noticed that when he gets really wiggly at night (it's a routine now ha!), I can usually lay on my side and hold my belly and he will totally calm down! I'm hoping that means this boy likes to snuggle, because his mom sure does!

Cravings: 

FOOD. Seriously though, I just want to eat all the time because I always feel starved. Not everything always sounds good, unless it's frozen fruity stuff, or chocolate milk of course. 

I probably need an IV at this point.

Anything making you queasy? 

Thankfully not much. Although, I have felt little twinges over the last few weeks when my stomach is too empty. And I dry heave every time I have to open the dishwasher because that B stinks!! Other than that, we're good ;)

What I'm looking forward to: 

I'm so excited to just hold this little baby and to see what he looks like! Every time I can feel a foot or arm through my belly, it just kills me because I want him to be here already. Looking at baby pictures of Christian is also a favorite past time of mine, and it just makes me die at the possibilities of cuteness our little guy has. I'm glad we are at the tail end of this, it's getting too exciting/uncomfortable for me to wait much longer ha ;)

life by numbers

7 weeks until Christian starts his long awaited internship.
6 episodes of LOST watched since Saturday.
5 weeks until baby Carter is due (!!!!!!!!)
4 diet cokes consumed in the last 7 days.
3 weeks until we move into our new apartment.
2 years of marriage basically in the books.
1 week until school's out.

I'm seriously out of breath just reading through that list, and it's not just because this babe is crushing my poor lungs ;)
I'm overwhelmed by and thrilled about everything we've got coming in the next 2 months! It's just crazy to think about how much our lives are going to change! As of next week, I only have 2 classes left before I can graduate... one of which I'm knocking out this spring. I can't believe I'm finally going to be done! My heart is so full when I think about it all, and that basically deserves a big fat post of its own. You know, "my journey at BYU", or something like that.
One day :)

Also can we just talk about how fast these last few months have gone?!
It's like one day I was 24 weeks pregnant, then I blinked and my due date is RIGHT. HERE.
In the last few days, I've heard of friends delivering 2 and 4 weeks early. It just blows my mind
(slash terrifies me!) 
that that could happen to me. I mean, I could legitimately have this baby in the next few weeks! AH! I'm so so excited for him to get here, but honestly I'd like to keep him cooking as long as possible.
I mean, my mom isn't slated to get here until May 14, so you know. Let's at least wait for grandma!

Life is crazy, isn't it? It's like one day everything is normal and boring and all of the sudden, these huge changes are breathing down your neck and you're like:
"Where the freak did you come from?"
Yeah it's definitely crazy. But the really really good kind of crazy.

on friendship

Disclaimer: My thoughts in this post are far from cohesive. It's just stuff I've been thinking about for a while, and today's the day I'm discussing it. So if I seem like a crazy rambling lady, well..... it's because I am! ;)

photo cred

Does anyone feel like maintaining solid friendships in your 20's is like.... really hard? 
I recently experienced a falling out with a friend who I've known for about 2 1/2 years. Granted it was a strained friendship to begin with for a lot of reasons, but she said some things to me a while ago that really made me think. And now I've got questions that I'm just sort of having a hard time grappling with.

I feel like I've tried really hard to balance my friendships over the years, but man it's really tough sometimes. I've moved around a lot my whole life, and that hasn't changed even in college. And after Christian and I got married, we've moved around even more. In the almost 2 years we've been married, we've lived in 5 different cities, in 4 different states.

Like..... AH. 

Being transient makes things hard.
Admittedly, I can and do go a long time without talking to or seeing a lot of my close friends. I feel like that's okay, because in reality that's the same boat that a lot of them are in.... with the moving a lot, or getting a new job, or being married, or graduating, or having babies or all of the above... you get the idea.
I guess I'm just wondering what the rest of my 20 something friends are doing.
And how you guys feel about this subject.

How are you supposed to maintain close friendships during your ever-changing 20's?
And once you get married? Not to sound like "oh I'm married so I can't have any friends because I'm so obsessed with my husband", because that's not how I feel in the slightest. However, I DO feel like Christian and I are so pressed for time these days that my priority needs to be our relationship. Does this get easier when you are done with school? What about when you have a baby? I feel like life will just keep getting busier and busier and how do you balance friendships with all of it? I desperately want that, but I feel like it's so hard, especially because on top of everything, you/we/people our age, are always faced with moving at least once a year or something like that. I'm a making a mountain out of a molehill here?

Also on a related but sort of unrelated note.... what is the line between loving someone, and being a compassionate caring friend, and giving too much of yourself? This is really hard for me because I feel like I automatically try to give too much, and end up sacrificing and exhausting my mental/emotional capabilities, and taking important energy away from my family and so on. I just don't know where to draw the line between giving, and giving too much I guess.

And then I'm struck with the thought that I deserve good friends who uplift and inspire me (don't we all deserve that?!). So shouldn't I be spending the time to carefully sift through friends during these transient years and pick the ones that I love and want to have around forever?
And I also don't have to make everyone happy, and not everyone has to like me (a hard pill to swallow for this people-pleaser!). 
So why do I spend so much time fretting over things like this?

I have a lot more I could say about this all.
(And a lot more that I've typed out and then deleted ha) 
But I'm worried this could turn into a word vomity, overly saturated post.... if it isn't already there ha! I guess I'm just interested to know everyone's take on friendships at this point in life.
I love you all and I'd love to hear what you think.

#updates

- We made our first big baby purchase... little man officially has a place to sleep!

 #nowwhowantstobuymeanErgo?

- This guy is now a regular at our gym. 

Fun fact: he now has long hair and a beard, and he likes to wear headbands to complete the look. When I first saw him last week, I was like "Wait I know him. Was he on American Idol? Or the Bachelor?"

#embarassingtelevisionhabits

- Found out I can get my bangs trimmed at Aveda for FREE. Where have I been for the last year? That would have saved my from a lot of at-home hack jobs.

#probablygoingtodothiseverytwoweeksnow 

#DIVA

- Tried this on at Target and now I MUST have it. I'm obsessed with cotton maternity dresses.

#whoisn't? 

#don'tmindmeijustswallowedabasketball

#alsothat'snotmyboobpadonthefloorjustsoyouknow

- I'm so freaking tired today I seriously feel like I could die. I left Zumba 30 minutes early (GASP!) because I could hardly pick my feet up off the floor. This is not an exaggeration. When I almost tripped and fell at one point because of the whole not being able to pick my feet up dilema, I was like "I probably should be done". I'm reeeaaallly hoping I'm just sick, and that this isn't the new normal for the next 9 weeks. 

#itprobablyis

#butpleaseblessthati'msickjustincase

#alsopleasepassthedietcoke

#nobutreally

- We went to a prenatal class at the hospital last night. Did you know there is proof that getting an episiotomy is bad for long term health? I didn't. And now I'm even more scared of them than I was before. Also....

#therearealotofpregnantwomeninprovo

#ohwait

#it'sprovo

- The weather is still unbelievable here, and it's making my heart happy beyond words. I'm praying that spring is here to stay.

#Areyousickofthisyet?

#Iam

#THEEND

a cup that runneth over

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”  - Gordon B. Hinckely

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I've mentioned this before, but much of the last year felt just like that old time rail journey. It was delays and sidetracks, lots of smoke and plenty of dust and fiery cinders that burned and burned, and just all around BLAH. It really kicked my teeth in. We had plenty of moments that were sweet and beautiful, but most of the time I found myself teetering on the brink of being unhappy, and just trudging along because things were just plain ol' rough. 

This year started looking like it would feel much the same. When we lost our housing because our landlady decided to move, I was mad for weeks. I felt completely jipped because we had been working so hard and "why did things have to fall apart right as another semester was starting?!"

Fast forward a few months and I'm just beyond grateful for that little "derailing". It's truly been the biggest blessing for Christian and I in so many ways. It's hard living with family again, because we are really ready to just take off and do our own thing and not be tied to anyone because of our living circumstances. I guess Heavenly Father has been very aware of those desires (isn't He always?!), because this weekend we found a place to live come April, and we are absolutely thrilled about it. Then this morning, Christian got news that he was offered an internship at Goldman Sachs this summer, which has basically been his dream for the last year and a half. This internship will mean security, almost guarantee a job after graduation, and guess what else: The freedom to take off and do our own thing as the little Carter family, just like we've been wanting ever since we got married. I have been so overwhelmed by the "beautiful vista" and "thrilling bursts of speed" we've been feeling the last few days, and I'm doing my best to soak it all in and just revel in the happiness. President Hinckely was right when he said that much of life is hard. And even though we've been feeling elated and blessed the last few days, things will certainly start to feel hard again soon. 

(anytime! I'm ready for whatever you want to throw at me, life!)

But right now, I want pour out my soul in deep gratitude, and enjoy the proverbial vistas I feel completely surrounded by. The blessing of a place to live. A good job. A great education. Beautiful weather that just makes my heart sing. A sweet baby boy preparing to join our family. Wonderful friends and family who love us. A darling husband. Health. Happiness. 

Because in the end, the trick really is to thank the Lord for letting us have the ride, despite the dust that can so easily cloud our ability to see the breathtaking beauty behind it all.

a third trimester update

Things are obviously boring around here guys. The 3 pregnancy related pictures on this page are proof of that! Poor Christian has mono and has been sick for over 2 weeks now (I KNOW), so we are taking things easy these days. Watching Sherlock, doing homework, sleeping a lot... you know. Real exciting stuff. 

I hit a milestone this week though!

TRIMESTER THREE!!

We are in the home stretch people! 

How far along? 28 weeks.

Weight gain: Guys, I honestly haven't been to the doctor in forrreevvveerr. Based on the way my body feels though, I'm guessing I'm about 7ish lbs up from my pre-pregnancy weight, which is actually a gain of about 15 lbs because of the vomit-inducing weight loss during the first trimester.

Sleep: I've been waking up a lot more lately, but I attribute that to being sensitive to my sick husband's tossing and turning all night.... poor guy. Still having crazy dreams though!

Best moment of the week: This hasn't been one specific moment, but sometimes little man moves so vigorously that it feels like HE is pulling me around instead of the other way. I think we've got some fun and busy years ahead of us! ;)

Weird pregnancy moment: I haven't had too many of these lately! I guess it's kind of weird to me when people find out I'm 7 months along and comment on how I still look pretty small. I mean, I'm certainly not huge, but I definitely feel very pregnant ha.

Movement: This baby gets the hiccups 2-5 times a day, which is super funny and cute to feel. He's also very fond of flailing every limb at the same time, which I feel in literally every part of my abdomen at one time. It's so strange and sweet and fun, all at once!

Cravings: Thankfully my cravings are still pretty mild. I've been loving cold cereal a lot more than normal lately (but who doesn't love the stuff, am i right?), and I've also been wanting to eat hamburgers like every day. Don't know if that can be attributed to pregnancy though!

Anything making you queasy? Slightly... which disturbs me a bit. If that nausea comes back for this last trimester, I don't know what I'm going to do! 

(Eat a lot of orange chicken, probably)

Gender? Well, a boy. Obviously.

What I'm looking forward to: I'm actually getting really excited about the birth. Not so much for the actual BIRTH, but getting it over with. If I think about it too much, it freaks me out. Can't I just hold my cute little guy without having to squeeze him out of my body first?! I'm also weirdly excited to get a stroller. We've been slow to purchase some of those big ticket items (re: we haven't purchased any of them yet!), and it will be fun to acquire some of that stuff... and even better when there's a little human to use it all! 

up in my grill: a story about personal space

Pregnancy has made me hyper-aware of my personal space, my "bubble" if you will. Even my poor Christian has had to deal with this as I tell him to move over in the middle of the night mmm... probably every time we sleep. That being said, here is a story about the ultimate space invasion that I'm pretty sure even a non-preggie person wouldn't appreciate. Sorry in advance for talking about the gym AGAIN, as well as the extensive use of the word "naked" in this post. You've been warned.

So a little background... on Thursdays and Fridays, I have to shower and get ready at the gym. Long story short, it's just a lot easier than going home. 

And here's the story. Usually I'm the only one in the showers, which is nice because even though I wouldn't care if I had to parade my naked self around in front of a bunch of strangers, it's something I like to avoid if possible. You know. For the people. Anyways, so this morning. Just me in the showers. There were 8 others available. I was seriously in one at the very end of the row. Right as I'm about to shave my legs, I hear the stall next to me open and what do you know. Another naked lady got in the shower. LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO ME. 

Here are the reasons why this was a problem:

(As if I should have to explain this, but apparently I do, so....)

1. The showers are entirely plexiglass, also known as entirely see through. Again... Whatever, you can see me naked stranger, I really don't care. Pregnancy has filled me with reckless *naked* abandon obviously. BUT I DON'T WANT TO LOOK AT ANYONE ELSE'S AWKWARD NUDE BODY. EVER.

2. Does anyone else just relish in their showers? Because I do. I love hot water and I love being clean and I love shutting everything out for just a few minutes every day. Except sometimes I do really wish all that could be wrecked by someone else wanting to take a shower right next to me of course. 

OH. WAIT. 

3. She had a nice tan, except for on her derriere of course. Meaning that even in my peripheral, I was getting a blinding view of a naked bum that starkly contrasted with the rest of her skin. A naked bum that I did NOT sign up to look at for the duration of my supposedly peaceful shower. So there's that.

4. Can we again just discuss the fact that we were both naked and showering literally a foot from each other?! I mean, did she not think this through before she decided to just hop right in next to me?! Or was she just like "Nothing better than communal showers, I wish we had a public bath in the middle of the town square, but this will have to doooooo!"

Of all the awkward.

5. So since I didn't want to look at her, of course I turned my back. Then I realized I wasn't making things better because I was just mooning her. Aaaaand the awkwardness continues.

6. Then again, maybe she did deserve to be mooned a little bit.......

7. THEN we had to get out of the shower, roughly at the same time of course, and proceed to make awkward eye contact for the next 30 minutes while we simultaneously got ready. All I could think was: 

"You have a really white bum."

Of course.

You guys. Am I crazy for being so irritated that she got in the shower right next to me? 

I don't think it would have bothered me even half as much if she had even just had a bathing suit on! But no, she had to go full-on birthday suit and make it as awkward as possible for both of us. 

Lessons learned from this experience: if you are ever faced with the decision 

"Should I, or should I not, get naked and go shower right next to this person for the ensuing 10 minutes?"

THE ANSWER SHOULD ALWAYS BE NO. 

No, you just should NOT do that.

stuff. otherwise known as not much going on over here

I have been feeling the need to just write things, all week long. The problem is, when I sit down to actually do it, my brain turns to a puddle of useless mush, and I end up squeezing out a few lines in my journal and that's about it. 

Maybe I should be grateful I don't have a lot NEEDING to get out at the moment. I think it means life has slowed down a little bit, which I'm really super thankful for. Anyways. Here's some things:

- Christian is in a dinosaurs class right now. Literally. A DINOSAURS CLASS. Unfortunately they don't just talk about Land Before Time and Jurassic Park, like we totally imagined they would. His professor is actually a bit of a nut job, and the class is a bit of a bumski. But still. It's a university class all about dinosaurs HA!

- Totally had to go to the hospital this week. It was the weirdest day ever. I woke up in so so much pain, mostly because I was majorly cramping. And if you've never done the pregnant thing before, cramping is bad when you're this far along. So I called my doc, they ran some tests, blah blah blah, turns out I have a nasty bladder infection (tmi sry!) and I HAVE TO GO TO LABOR AND DELIVERY BECAUSE THIS WILL LIKELY CAUSE PRETERM LABOR AHHHH. So I did, and after about 3 hours and being hooked up to machines, they told me I was slightly dilated (which probably wasn't good), and they put me on meds, and sent me on my way. It was so exhausting. But baby and I are fine so yay!

- I did an ACV rinse on my hair last night, and I could totally smell it on me all morning at the gym. I'm sure the people around me were like "why does this girl smell like feet and/or salad dressing?"

Sorry guys. Beauty regimens, you know?

- In the past week, I've had Old McDonald and Frere Jacques (or Are you Sleeping. Also yes I had to google that spelling. I lost the spelling bee in 6th grade for a reason...anyways) stuck in my head.

Either I'm MAJORLY preparing for this little babe, or I'm just a weirdo who gets nursery rhymes stuck in her head. It's probably both.

- So moving last week was really really tough for a lot of reasons, but so far it's proving to be a big blessing. First, we don't have to babysit which means our home environment feels 1000 times more peaceful than it has in over a year. Second, we get our weekends back, which we desperatley need with our work load right now. Funny how things like that tend to work out!

- LOVED this blog post and this blog post from the Beauty Mark Girls this week. If you've ever had questions about acne or hair volume, they're you're go-to gals!

- Last weekend we saw Captain Phillips and YOU GUYS. 

It was so so so good. Tom Hanks was awesome, as usual, and it was a total nail-biter from start to finish. I highly recommend it!

Also, listen to this because it's EXACTLY what happened in real life and it's crazy.

- Also last weekend, I was able to meet up with my new gal pals/bosses Summer Bellessa and Brooke White, who were in town for ALT Summit. They are so darling. We talked babies and GWG business, and I'm definitely sold on working with them. Social media makes me crazy sometimes, but I'm super thankful for the role it played in getting me this internship... which I landed through instagram, if you can believe that!

- Elder Oaks was at my work today and I almost herniated in excitement. I'm a total General Authority fangirl, it's kind of bad. Although I conversed with President Samuelson for the SECOND TIME yesterday and I was so composed! So maybe I'm doing better. Actually, remember this? Yeah I think I've actually come a long way.

- Aaaand since it wouldn't be a regular blog post without a pregnancy update, here you go.

25 weeks. Almost into trimester three!

Baby is moving ALL THE TIME these days. I'm a little nervous that we've got a very active boy on our hands ha. Also I'm getting bigger and bigger every day, and it's so strange! My belly is starting to get in the way of things, it's getting me a LOT of stares 

(This is Provo! Don't tell me you've never seen a pregnant girl before.)

 and it's definitely making my wardrobe situation interesting. I can't wait to keep growing these next 3 1/2 months, because hopefully that will mean baby boy is chunking up! 

Also picking a name? It's the hardest business ever. And I kind of don't like when people other than family ask me about it because A. I don't want to be judged for the names we like because Blanket is really cute! (Kidding) 

B. I can't even tell you what we like because the list is like 30 names long. So... yeah. 

I'm feeling pretty good, other than being super sore and tired every day but that's sort of a given and it doesn't really bother me much. I'm just truly thankful we are both healthy, and that I've got a loving husband to help me and deal with my craziness. Christian has been such a fun companion through this pregnancy, and we really have been super blessed through this so far. Hospital visits aside :)

And there you have it. Our life isn't much at the moment, but it's quiet and happy and weird and fun, and that's sort of the way I like it.