Birth Story

I realized that I didn't have a written version of Emerson's birth anywhere and thought I should get it down somewhere before I forget details about it.  Consider this another post meant more for journal-keeping than blog-updating, but enjoy nonetheless.

I was due December 19th and was really anxious to have Emerson before Christmas because otherwise my doctor was going to make me wait until after Christmas to be induced.  Yuck.  I just wanted to hold my baby on Christmas and pretty much wasn't willing to wait if I didn't have to.  Luckily, consistent contractions started the night of the 18th; however, they didn't progress much for whole day.  They remained 5-7 minutes apart until the night of the 19th, which was a Sunday.  By then they were painful enough that I really wanted some extra help in the pain management area, so we went to UVRMC to see if they would admit me.  As protocol dictates, they monitored me for an hour and then sent me home since I had no progression.  They did, however, give me a nice dose of morphine before making me leave.  On the way home we stopped and got Del Taco and I was pretty much out of it by the time we got home.  I crashed while the contractions kept on going all night long.  

I woke up at 7 with a lot of pain and strong contractions but called out sick from work and forced myself to go to sleep a little longer to make the time go by more quickly.  At 11 I couldn't sleep any longer, but could hardly get up because of the pain.  I mustered through a hot shower hoping that would help ease the pain but was mostly concentrating on keeping back the tears.  

This was a Monday and happened to be the first day of Will's final's week so he was already at school studying and testing his brains out.  After showering, I got myself dressed in my comfiest, baggiest, least-constrictingest clothes I could find and headed to my mom's house to get some sympathy and pass the time.  I don't really remember what I did there, but by 2pm I was almost in tears because of pain and was just hoping Will would get done early and come home.  I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 4pm to have my 40-week check up.  My mom was planning on taking me since I didn't think driving was a smart idea for me.  At 3:30 I was crying and asking her if we could go early to the appointment and just see if they would send me to the hospital.  By that time, the contractions were so strong that I couldn't walk, talk, or breathe during them so on the way to the appointment we decided to go to the hospital instead.  Tears would spill out with each contraction and the nurse couldn't get me admitted quickly enough.  I just wanted to lay down.  Once I got settled in my room, my mom called Will to update him.  He had just finished his finals for the day and hurried on over to be with us.  I was dilated to a 3 and when they offered to give me the epidural I gladly accepted.  

The anesthesiologist came and by 5pm I was comfortably enjoying labor.  Epidural = best.invention.ever.  I highly recommend getting one.  I'm not one who anxiously takes drugs for every little ailment, but with how slowly my body was progessing, I wanted my epidural as soon as I possible.  

After I got the drugs on board, I got really cold so Will bundled me up.  The doctor came in and gave us a run down of what a "typical" birth is like: one hour of waiting for each centimeter of dilation followed by 2-3 hours of pushing.  He predicted I'd have Emerson around 4am.  Yay.  So I napped for a little bit.  I woke up around 7pm and was dilated to a 5 which was great news.  I was given a small dose of pitocin as well to get things moving along.

Around 8:30 I felt some pressure and was anxious to be checked again by a nurse since I felt like I had progressed more than just a centimeter.  When the nurse came in, she said I was dilated to a 10!  My doctor happened to be at Timpanogos hospital performing a C-section and wouldn't be back for a little while so she wanted to practice pushing with me.  She said that by the time I was ready to really push he would be back to deliver my baby.  After one set of pushes she said that was plenty and that we'd have to wait for the doctor to come since my pushing was so effective.  My mom predicted I'd be a good pusher :)  I was so excited that I wouldn't have to wait until the early morning to deliver.  

After the doctor arrived, we got all set up to have the baby.  A mirror was set up so I could watch and my sister came in to snap photos of the fresh little one.  I pushed for 3 counts of 10 and then rested.  I did this 2 more times and then big baby Emerson was born at 10:10.  The doctor held him up so I could call the sex and then the nurses took him to clean him off.  

Emerson's Apgar scores were great at both the 1 and 5 minutes tests and, because he was healthy, I was allowed to snuggle him and have some skin-to-skin contact before his real cleaning.  I got to nurse him for the first time which was just precious and then he went for his first bath with dad.  

He weighed in at 8 lbs 4oz and measured 20.5 inches in length.  He was definitely bigger than I had anticipated, but was perfect nonetheless.  

We took another day to finally decide on a name for Emerson, but we can truly say that he is an Emerson and his name fits perfectly.  We are so thankful he came without any complications.  

My family all came to see him and stayed until 2am.  I had so much fun seeing my parents and sisters hold him, but seeing Will with Emerson was the best.  He looked such the part of contentedly excited father and there was a glow about him I'll always remember.  

  

He continues to be such an immense joy in our lives and we have so much fun being with him.

*photos courtesy of my sweet sister Jenna who was willing to snap.snap.snap away for us

Sweet

The other day I was driving and saw this adorable couple driving behind me.  They were in an old dinky little pickup truck and had a lawn mower in the back.  I couldn't help but take a picture of them (through my rear-view mirror so as to avoid looking creepy by having to turn around) and was lucky enough to get her mid-smile.  I hope Will & I are as cute as this couple when we eventually age.  

So in the meantime... Will's version

One thing I won’t let my wife buy me: Sporting equipment other than a baseball mitt (thanks hun)

One thing I would love to have, but I probably will never have: a lamborgini

One thing you will never find in my closet: flip flops

One thing I would choose if I were having elective surgery: can they make me taller?

One thing I love about my face: my eyes

One thing that I love to do: competitive sports

One thing I would like to change if I could: The way the constitution is being upheld, or the lack thereof.

One thing I would change as a dad: My free time

One thing I would do if I had unlimited money: give out completely furnished homes to homeless people and set them up with careers. I would help my wife. :)

One thing I that I will not do again: watch a horror movie. I am a chicken.

One thing that I would like to do: go to Europe for a month

One thing I could do without: student loans

One thing I love to smell: shoe stores

One thing I would do if I won the lottery: buy a boat!

One thing that infuriates me: lazy people that expect a free ride

One thing that I love about winter: sticking the truck into 4 wheel drive

One thing I am addicted to: cheeseburgers!!!  ... with a coke

One thing I pray for: health to my little E and my wife

One thing I wish I had: a home of my own

One thing I would do again, regardless of the pain: run a long distance race

One thing that I absolutely hate to do: hold my tongue when people disrespect other people

One thing that is weird about me: maybe a better question is what isn’t weird about me…

One thing that I need help on: grammer and the English language. Throw spelling in there too.

One thing I find most relaxing: having my feet rubbed.

One thing that could get me in trouble: my affinity for puns. Thanks Dad.

One thing that annoys me: people that don’t know how to drive that think they do

One thing I dread; therefore, don’t do very often: losing board games.  hehe

One thing that I have learned, but still sometimes forget: to make sure and be a GOOD example all of the time even when I am alone. Because, really, are we ever alone?!?

I went with the blue, simply because I do not have nice feelings towards the color red.

Microwave

When I was pregnant, I didn't go through a 'nesting phase.'  I didn't have the urge to do anything but sit the couch and do nothing, and sometimes even that was pushing it.  I did, however, want to clean the microwave out before Emerson arrived.  That was pretty much as far as my clean-everything-in-sight-before-this-baby-comes went.  No more.  Well since I couldn't even get off said couch, the microwave did not get cleaned. 

Now that Emerson is 6 months old, I can finally say that I completed that task.  I only did it because I ran across the easybeyondeasiest way to do it: lemon.  I microwaved two lemon halves for two minutes and then wiped down the grime.  Easy peasy.  It took me all of 10 minutes start to finish without having to use any chemical cleaners.  Wahoo. 

There are no before or after pics to save myself from embarrassment.  You'll be fine without them.  Just imagine the dirtiest microwave you've ever seen.  Now times that by 47 and you've got mine.  After the lemon trick, imagine the brand spanken newest microwave you've ever seen and times that by 47 and you've got mine. 

Oh, plus now my microwave smells lemony-fresh and so does my garbage disposal.  Little Emerson just sat and played while I cleaned it - that's how fast it was. 

And just for cuteness' sake:

(He was not in the bathtub while I cleaned the microwave.

This is from a previous night. I am aware of bathtub safety.)

Memorial Day

Memorial Day has never been a day that I've really celebrated much.  To me it has always been a good excuse to have a three-day weekend.  This year that changed, and not because my Grammie and Grampie have recently passed away.  A few days before Memorial Day, I was talking to a friend and he mentioned how he had all these cemeteries to go to and flowers to buy so he could visit all his dead.  Then I got thinking.  Are we supposed to honor all the dead on Memorial Day?  Or do we only honor the military?  What is the meaning and history of Memorial Day?  What I learned from a quick google search surprised me.  Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.  This is different than Veteran's Day in that we honor ALL who have served honorably on Veteran's Day.  


"Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades. Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country.  To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps.'"*


Last year for Memorial Day, Will and I walked through the cemetery and enjoyed seeing all the flowers.  This year though, we decided to go to the program that Orem City put on for Memorial Day.  It was a simple service, but was very meaningful and appropriate for the holiday.  The American flag was raised followed by the reciting of the pledge.  Then all the flags of the military divisions were raised.  After a musical number by a quartet, the military personnel fired a 21-gun salute and Taps was played.  I could hardly get through saying the pledge without getting emotional.  Few things get me choked up to the point where I can't talk, but for some reason reciting the pledge always does.  I wish we had a flag that we could fly as well, but I'll just have to wait until I have a place to put a flag before I get one.  Proper flag etiquette for Memorial Day is to fly the flag at half staff until noon, then fully raise it for the remainder of the day.  


We loved the Memorial Day service and have it on the schedule for next year as well.  Remembering all our ancestors is great throughout the entire year; however, on Memorial Day, hopefully we can honor those who have died serving our country and remember them for their service.


*information came from www.usmemorialday.org

Mother's Day

For my first Mother's Day, we were in Arizona and got to spend some time with Will's mom.  Although we traveled for most of the day, gifts were exchanged in the morning. Patty gave me a cookbook that looks like it has some really great recipes in it.  Kitchen/cooking/anything-to-do-with-food items are always a great choice for gifts and Patty nailed it again.  I can't wait to try some!


When I returned from Arizona, my mom gave me a frame that holds four generations of mothers.  It includes pictures of me and 3 generations back of photos as young mothers.  I love it and have just sat admiring it multiple times since I've received it.   What a beautiful gift.

Will gave me a bejeweled hat - I'd been eying (is that how that's spelled? is that even technically a word?) one at Taipan for a while, but then one time I went in to buy check on it (because I couldn't bring myself to buy it since it wasn't a need), AND IT WAS GONE!  Oh, turkey muffins!  Nooooo!  So then I completely regretted not buying it and wished upon a star that I would have when I could have.  Fast forward to our AZ trip and viola! a hat just like Taipan's for a similar price.  Yessss!  Happy Mother's Day to me.


Will also let me have a trip to a jewelry store in AZ where everything was $2.  What?! (said in the voice of a minion)  Such. A. Find!  And everything was color coordinated in sections so I could go to the section where my wardrobe tends to be and just pick out matching jewelry.  So great.


I decided to give our mothers a framed gift of Emerson's silhouette.  It was super hard to get Emerson to hold still so I could trace his profile- gotcha!  ok, really I just took a picture of his profile, cut it out, then painted it black. Easy peasy. It was such a fun project and turned out so cute.  I might just have to make one for myself now.

In the meantime..

I have lots of pictures to post and words to write about the latest and greatest happenings.  One small problem - most of my pictures are on a photo card in Arizona.  So you'll just have to wait until I get the photos (some of which are adorable and may or may not include E sucking on a blueberry dumdum) before I can completely get some updates posted. 

So in the meantime, enjoy some tidbits about me posted mainly for the sake of keeping a journal via blogging:

One thing I won’t let my husband buy me: nothing - he can buy me anything he wants

One thing I would love to have, but I probably will never have: a million dollars

One thing you will never find in my closet: well a month ago, i would've said skinny jeans, but i caved and bought some and they're actually not that bad.  now that i can't say skinny jeans, i have to say flares/bell bottoms.  suffice it to say i'm particular about my jeans.

One thing I would choose if I were having elective surgery: shrink my nose a smidge, please

One thing I love about my face: my teeth (cue smiling parents)

One thing that I love to do: create - mostly via crafts and cooking

One thing I would like to change if I could: having to pay for tv/internet.  i think this should be free for all.

One thing I would change as a mom: my imagination - i'm horrible when it comes to playing make believe.  i'll definitely have to practice. 

One thing I would do if I had unlimited money: give out completely furnished homes to homeless people and set them up with careers

One thing I that I will not do again: buy Bliss dark chocolate rather than Dove dark chocolate - oh, the terror.

One thing that I would like to do: bungee jump

One thing I could do without: workplace drama - it's prominent where i work and so super annoying

One thing I love to smell: Malt-O-Meal's chocolate hot cereal with butter and sugar in it...mmmm. 

One thing I would do if I won the lottery: buy a boat for Will so I wouldn't have to spend my own $$$ to do so

One thing that infuriates me: spilling hard-earned breast milk.  it's true.  ask Will.  nothing makes me madder.

One thing that I love about winter: the prettiness of fresh-fallen snow, but more so the reality that spring will eventually come

One thing I am addicted to: my boys

One thing I pray for: health to my little E

One thing I wish I had: a decent vacuum that actually sucked stuff up instead of blowing it around on my floor

One thing I would do again, regardless of the pain: braces.  oh, plus also labor and delivery.

One thing that I absolutely hate to do: talk on the phone

One thing that is weird about me: i am a grammar nazi and i may or may not laugh and then correct you if you say something incorrectly.  same goes with spelling.

One thing that I need help on: getting up the desire to do dishes.  seriously, it's bad.  don't tell my mom, but one time mold started growing in a dirty dish.  eww.

One thing I find most relaxing: having my back scratched. literally, not in the "i'll-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine" way.

One thing that could get me in trouble: my pickiness.  it's bound to bite me in the tush eventually. 

One thing that annoys me: people that complain about the weather - you can't change it, so don't whine about it

One thing I dread; therefore, don’t do very often: shop for jeans.  Will usually has to drag me out because I need jeans so badly.  

One thing that I have learned, but still sometimes forget: to enjoy where i am in life instead of wishing for some time in the future

Spring Craftiness

I have been using my domestic skills to make some fun Easter and spring decorations.  It's been fun to find inexpensive items and turn them into cute projects.  The pics aren't good because for most of them I was on the wrong setting and didn't realize it until just now, but here's what I've been up to:

Layered Jelly Bean Vase

(which Someone-who-just-won-Mr.-Fitness-yet-will-remain-nameless likes to eat)

 Homemade PomPom Flowers in Totally Awesome Vase

Framed Easter Eggs

(I don't know where I'm going to put these yet, so here they sit on my couch)

  

My friend Mindi came over to join in the festivities for an evening.  We made chocolate-covered strawberries & colored eggs.  We had a fun time being Easter-y together.

Someone had to be the guinea pig:

The final product:

Here's Emerson just playing while we make the goods:

Mindi & Emerson:

Aren't we a happy bunch:

The other final product:

Mindi was so sweet & brought me some fresh tulips from her garden. It's like my own tulip festival on my table.

Mr. Fitness

Will's program hosted a fitness competition and challenged the students to lose weight, increase their strength and VO2 max, & just improve their overall health.  Will participated, lost over 25 pounds, doubled his strength, and was voted by his peers as Mr. Fitness!  He won a gift certificate to Magelby's and a free massage, plus this super awesome certificate:

Way to go, my handsome Mr. Fitness!

Relief

Oh, life is hard without this little friend of mine:

(breast pump cord)

Mine died recently which was a quick process that included overheating, smelling really bad, and giving off a puff of smoke as a last hurrah.  I've had to use the battery pack instead while waiting for my replacement to come, and it's not fun to rely on batteries, especially when they just go out randomly mid-pump.  Grrr.

The replacement came in the mail yesterday; what a relief.  

Pie Day

On Sunday, we celebrated National Pie Day by enjoying a Chocolate Orange Meringue Pie.  

~yum~

It turned out so well and was absolutely delicious.  My favorite dessert book has done it again.

Call us weirdos

Look!  I'm eating ice cream from the first carton of ice cream we have purchased in our marriage. 

Yes - we bought ice cream this week for the first time.

{insert dropped jaw}

I think that's a little weird, but maybe it's not.  Do you all purchase ice cream on a regular basis?  Neither Will nor I are huge ice cream fans, so this is big for us.  I will never turn down Coldstone's cheesecake ice cream with raspberries and blueberries in it, but that's all I like there, and even Will doesn't usually want any Coldstone.  Are we abnormal?

Pet Peeve

In all the get-to-know-you games that we play that are supposed to be fun but are really just awkward and embarrassing events, I always say that my pet peeve is when I get a peanut M&M that doesn't have a peanut.  That really is a big pet peeve of mine, but it's my default because I can't think of anything better when confronted with the question.

Today I came up with another pet peeve.  I can't stand it when people complain about the not-summery weather while it's still spring.  Don't people know how spring is supposed to go?  Spring is allowed to have moments of weakness which produce drizzles and occasionally even snow.  That's why it's spring - it's neither summer nor winter.  I'm annoyed when people consistently complain every time they even see a raincloud or anything not bright and sunny.  I'm not a fan of winter, in fact, I live for the sun; but I'll patiently wait for summer to arrive instead of wishing away spring. 

Go ahead, Spring.  Rain on.

Latest & Greatest

Sorry for the lack of recent postings.  Pretty much all I do is work and be a mom.  And that's a lot, which is why I haven't had time to post anything.  I have, however, done some cooking and crafting since my energy is back from being pregnant.  I'll post some pictures of my fun Easter craft once it's finished.  Oh, it's so great to have energy!  I've learned a lot in the past couple months.  Here are just a few of the things I've learned:

• how to get more than should be carried in one armload in my arms, ie: diaper bag, breastpump, coat, breakfast, & baby
• how to get 192 diapers for $5.31 (such a good deal!)
• what it's like to lose two of my greatest examples and friends
• how to pump in the car while reading and eating at the same time (not while driving, though)
• what bad meat looks like after smelling it heat up in my a crockpot
• how much fun mothering is and how much one can love although knowing someone for a only few short months

In other news, Will is going to make his way to the other side of the Rockies come September.  His first clinical internship will be in Centennial, CO, and we are super excited.  He will be there for most of September and October practicing at Holly Creek Retirement Community.  What a place! 

Also, Will is working part time at a frozen yogurt store and he gets to bring home some each night that he works.  Oh, it's like the best job ever.  I just don't know how I survived without it before. 

Emerson seems to be growing bigger every day.  He is now starting to roll over and reach for things.  He is so much fun and we can't get enough of him.  It's hard to leave him every day and go to work, but I just have to keep telling to just enjoy each day as it is instead of wishing for the future to come quicker.  I love every minute I get to spend with Emerson.  He is completely the light of our lives.

The Joy of Human Love

How do you sum up one’s life? We try to with biographies, scrapbooks, and media, but none of these can truly capture someone as a whole. How can someone’s ideas, expressions, beliefs, opinions, spirituality, pains, & inner thoughts be gathered and documented together in a way that someone who never knew them would know them completely?

My Grampie died on January 21 and my Grammie followed quickly dying this last Saturday evening. Since they have moved on, I have learned so much about them I never knew while they were alive. Writing this is so weird since I kind of can’t believe they are gone. They have both been such a major part of my life that their deaths haven’t become a reality yet.  Words are beyond inadequate to describe either of their lives, but mention must be made of their greatness.

Grampie was very romantic and would write love letters to his sweetheart every year. One adorable tradition he kept for many years was to hire a quartet to come sing to Grammie on Valentine’s Day. He had beautiful penmanship & was a master card game player, especially of Hearts. He loved his grandchildren and tried the best he knew how to be a good example.  He had a beautiful singing voice and I loved when he would come sing while I played the piano.  Hours upon hours were spent on a fishing boat as well as in the scriptures. Grampie learned to be loyal to those he loved and to the Lord.

How to describe Grammie? One word comes to mind: charity. She treated everyone like they were her own children. Many grew to love her for her sincerity and sweetness. She suffered through more pain than anyone I know and never voiced a word of complaint. When asked how she was doing, she would only respond positively. Grammie never put herself first, and she could always be seen playing with and taking care of her grandchildren regardless of whatever other activity she may have wanted to be a part of. She has always been my hero and was a “tough old bird” to the end. When I grow up, I want to be like my Grammie. 

I’m so thankful she was able to join her sweetheart quickly because she missed him desperately and I have no doubt that he couldn’t wait for her to join him, too.

Here are a couple verses from a new favorite hymn that sum up my feelings nicely:

For the joy of human love,

brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above,

for all gentle thoughts and mild;

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

For thyself, best Gift Divine,

to the world so freely given,

for that great, great love of thine,

peace on earth, and joy in heaven:

Lord of all, to thee we raise

this our hymn of grateful praise.

I can't wait to see you again, Gram & Gramp.

some favorites

i just have to share some of my favorite pics that i've been able to capture with my phone:

it's so crazy how much he changes everyday…

these pictures hardly look like the same baby!

Keep me warm, please

While I was on maternity leave, I decided to use my mom's sewing machine again and make myself a cute scarf. Instructions can be found here if you're interested. I love my new scarf and am so glad it helps keep me warm amidst the freezingness.

Monday was my first day back to work. My boss is so great and will let me work part-time for a couple weeks to ease my way back into the swing of things. I was excited to see everyone at work, but I definitely missed my sweet boy the whole entire time. Sunday night when Emerson was asleep and I was supposed to be sleeping, I was instead wishing I could be holding and snuggling him. I didn't wake him since I needed to sleep, but I sure longed to just cradle him all night long. Anyway, work was fine and I am so grateful to have a job that provides for our needs while we're still in grad school. My mom has offered to take care of Emerson while I'm at work. I couldn't ask for a better daycare option - there isn't anyone else I can think of that I would rather watch him more than my own mom. Isn't she the greatest?!

Also, here's our first official family picture:

(This is my pleated scarf.)

Out with the Old

Ever since I can remember, I've had a 'little pillow' to sleep with on top of my regular-sized pillow.  My sisters have each been given one as well once they were old enough to use pillows.  When I got married, Will would steal my pillow since it was so comfortable to sleep on.  For one of his birthdays, I got him his own and now we both have little pillows.  To make our pillows soft and comfy (and cute, too), my mom would make little pillowcases to fit on them.  Will just got my spare pillowcase since I didn't have a sewing machine to make another one for him.  Well as time has gone on and the pillowcases have been washed, they have worn into pretty much nothing but shredded fabric pieces.  They have gotten to the point where all I have to do is pick up my pillowcase and it gets another tear somewhere.

On this one, the entire length of the seam tore.  At least it made for easy removal.

A few days ago, I used my mom's sewing machine to fashion some new pillowcases for us out of what fabric my mom and I could find.  I realize it's not very masculine (Will was kind enough to point that out to me), but they work and are super comfortable to sleep on.  I also decided to make some corn bags to help keep warm during this frigid winter now that my internal oven no longer resides with me 24/7.  I'm sure Emerson will be getting a little pillow for one of his birthdays someday.  Maybe then I'll splurge and buy some dang cute little boy fabric for him and his dad and keep the girly cases for myself.

Santa Clause

On Christmas day, we braved the cold and the public by taking Emerson on his first outing to see his Great-Grampie in the rehab center. 

While we were there, Santa Clause was going around to all the rooms to wish everyone a Merry Christmas so we stole a picture with him. 

Welcome to the World

Emerson Wade Sykes

12/20/10

8 lbs 4 oz

20.5 in

Time for some pics

Here are some pictures of my prego tummy.  They are more for documentation rather than your enjoyment, but I'm sure you'll get a few laughs from them.

-16 weeks-

-20 weeks-

-24 weeks-

-31 weeks-

-35 weeks-

(this is my "I'm smiling only because you're

taking a picture, but I really wish I could go back to bed instead of work" face)

Clumsy me

After breaking three (yes, 3) of our glasses this past week, Will said to me, "I knew we would have to go to plastic someday, but I thought it would be because of our child, not you."

I wish I could blame this on pregnancy, but this was completely just clumsiness.  Oh well.

Here's the latest family picture, taken just a few days ago.  

Thanks to Jenna for the picture. See her blog for more pics.

Isn't it great that fall is finally arriving?  I've never enjoyed the cooler weather more than I do now with the Little Guy on board.  It's so refreshing and crisp, and it helps my swelling go down :)

In other news, we have narrowed down our baby name list and would like to hear your opinions.  To be honest, we are having trouble finding ways to make fun of the names (which I guess is good), so if you come up with any negative criticism, we want to hear it.  Maybe your ideas will make our job a little easier.  Also, we have put a poll on the side to see which name is your favorite.  We are glad we get the final say, but ideas from others are always nice, right?  

Name possibilities:

Emmett Wade

Emerson Wade

Lincoln Wade

Harrison Wade

Wade is a family name; the other names we just like.  What do you think?

Boy or Girl?

We had our ultrasound this week - and after long debates, we decided to find out what we would be having.  Luckily, our baby was not shy at all.  We are so excited that we'll be having a little boy coming!!  He is adorable and perfect and we can't wait to meet him.  

A profile of our Little Guy

shorted

We have moved - again - and really love our new apartment.  It is perfect for us, especially with a baby coming.  Only one thing has been kind of annoying just a little bit: our microwave shorts out all our kitchen outlets.  


awesome.


So for the time being, our microwave is housed by our laundry room shelf.

update

Will & I got to hear our munchkin's heartbeat the other day!  So much fun. 

For those who were asking, I am due December 19th and am 14 weeks along so far.  I feel great during the daytime, but when evening hits, so does the nausea.  It lasts until I fall asleep at night.  Other than that, I'm feeling fine & loving being pregnant.  

As far as everything else goes: Will likes school, I like work, & we both like the ward. We are having fun spending time with family, catching up with old friends, & making lots of new ones.

Priceless

2 shirts = $55

2 hats = $30

2 watches = $40

The look on your face when you realize there are 

3

people in the picture...

Priceless.