Nursery

 We waited until the last month to put the nursery room together for the baby. I knew that if were to put it together any sooner it would just make time go that much slower! We really didn't pay for anything in the room, and I can't imagine having to! It is all so expensive once you start adding it up. The crib turned out really cute, and I just love it all. We find that it's very peaceful in this room, so we occasionally spend our nights here reading or playing with our kitties. 

As you can see, our kitties love this room too! Sugar and Sasha love the rocking chair, and we find them sleeping there often. Sometimes they even have to share :) Good thing we have plenty of lint rollers and a vacuum!

Baby Showers

So turns out it's been awhile since I've blogged- I'll be catching up on a few things in these next couple blogs- love it! 

I've had a couple of baby showers, the most recent was one my future sis-in-law and current sis-in-law threw for me. It was awesome and I got a lot of great stuff. Here are some pictures:

Crissy Making some seriously delicious cupcakes!

I got so many cute clothes for Emma!

Nicole got me a baby book, so cute!

Love this!

Sugar claimed the changing table that my Mom, Aunt, and G-ma got me

 


























Thanks to everyone who came and gave us such great gifts! I also had a shower that some girls from work gave me, which was great. Matt's work threw him a surprise baby shower, and they somehow got my number at work and contacted me, telling me to come to his work and double surprise him! He didn't even know I was there until he was about ten feet away from me. It was really cute, and we got a lot of really nice stuff from that shower too. We have been so blessed to receive so much for this new little baby!

Birthday and kitties

Matty got me my favorite Spring flowers and a gift card

Sasha smelling the flowers...

Sugar smelling the flowers...

I don't have any cute babies to take pictures of yet, so we tend to take a lot of pictures of our kitties! They are just too cute, it's hard not to! 

I just turned 27, so for my birthday Matty took me out to dinner at Tsunami where we had some yummy, prego-approved sushi. Then we went to Coldstone and I got a pint of my favorite ice-cream (which I ate today, the entire pint...) Matty bought me my favorite spring flowers, that smell sooo good! I was surprised they were in bloom already. He also got me a visa gift card that I can spend anywhere. I have been way too tired this week to even think about shopping, which is pretty sad, even for me. I might try and go out this weekend to find something that will help me feel less pregnant- I know what you're thinking, "good luck" right? Well, it's worth a shot. 

       I just looked at my countdown, and I have 38 days to go! I have tried to stop counting how many weeks prego I am, and just focus on getting through January. I figure if I can make it to the first of February, then I'll be ok and she can come whenever she'd like. I keep telling her that she's welcome to come anytime after 37 weeks. I hope she's listening. 

As I was sitting at work this week, feeling Emma move around and jab my ribs, I had a slight panicked thought... this child, is going to have to come out somehow... um... did I think that through when I got pregnant? Yeah, this should be interesting...

Ryno is always in the sun

Sugar loves sleeping on our clothes, especially the clean ones

Matty and Sugar

6 weeks to go...

 I haven't taken any belly pictures for awhile, so I thought I would take some and put them up before she's out of there! I am 8 months prego (34 weeks) and can't believe she's coming in February. I have definitely started to panic just a bit, because I don't have anything ready besides what family and friends have given us. Matt and I don't even have a hospital "grab and go" bag ready yet! We will get that done soon for sure, just in case she comes early. We have lots of girl clothes already, thanks to my sis in law and sister, and the crib and car seat/stroller are ready, minus the crib bedding. I hope she doesn't come as early as January, because nothing will be ready! I have a couple baby showers this month, so that will help for sure. 

I am also looking for someone who can watch Emma if/when I go back to work. I don't want to take her to daycare, and would much rather prefer to take her to someone's home whom I trust. I am thinking after my maternity leave, I will go back part-time and work 30 hours a week to keep my insurance benefits. I will probably be working Tues/Thurs/Fridays, 10 hour days, or I might work 4 days a week and split up my 30 hours that way. But I am still on the lookout for someone, so if you know of anyone let me know :) I don't know what our financial situation will be, since I won't be working, so I don't think the pay will be awesome- maybe like $10 or $15 a day, but that adds up if it's every month. 

 I reserved a temple date for our sealing! We are getting sealed on March 26th, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I think I am most excited for this, especially since we will have little Emma with us in our arms for the sealing. I love to think that come March, our family will be together forever, even after we leave this earth. I get to be with Matt and all of our children for eternity, and that is such a great blessing! Words can't describe how amazing this will be for our family, I have looked forward to getting sealed to Matt for all eternity ever since we started dating. He is truly the best man a girl could ask for- he is patient, loving, and always takes care of me. Now we will be an eternal family, which is such an important goal to achieve here on earth. 


Matt and I were called to be primary teachers in our ward, and we are pretty excited. We will be teaching the 6 year-old class and start today! I love that the church has made it so easy for teachers these days. We got our teacher's manual, and it lines out the lesson so perfectly, we don't really have to do much besides teach it to the children! There is a perfect flow from one subject to the next, and you can tell it's divine in nature. Today the lesson is on choosing the right, and we can't wait to teach! I know some people get discouraged by being in Primary, or being teachers, but I think it's one of the best callings you can get- to teach God's children of his son, Jesus Christ, and help them to build their own testimonies and watch them grow. Absolutely amazing.



Last but not least, I get my car back tomorrow! If any of you haven't heard, the Tuesday before Christmas, I was hit in my car as I was going through a 4 way stop. Luckily I wasn't hurt at all, the driver hit me as I was almost through the intersection, so my passenger door and tire took the brunt of it. I took it to the shop (his insurance is covering all damages) about a week ago, and they told me it would be ready tomorrow!! Oh, I am so excited. I have had to drive this around for the past week:

 It's not the worst rental in the world, but it's close! The good thing that I can say about this car, is that because it's so heavy, it did really well during the snow storms we just had. I'm not a big fan of two door vehicles, and especially these because the doors are SO heavy, it was hard for my pregnant body to push the door open. I will be happy to return it tomorrow, and get my Mazda back. It seems like my car has been in an accident every year, I am hoping that 2011 will be an accident free year!

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Tree

Another Christmas over, the day goes by so fast! I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas this year. We took some pictures, so I thought I should put them up while I have the motivation :)

 Matt and I opened up one present each on Christmas Eve- I got Matt some Chicago Bear's shirts, and he got me some awesome cook books that I can't wait to use. We watched the movie "Salt" and then went to bed. We wanted to start a family tradition where we watched the same movie every year, but because of poor planning, all the movies we wanted to watch were rented out already. We decided next year that we would start to watch, "Horton Hears a Who" since that's a good family movie and super cute. 

This morning, we woke up and opened all our presents. Matt did really well and got me some great gifts, including yummy chocolates from Cummings Studio Chocolates, my favorite place for candy. He got me some perfume and some great black boots that I've been in desperate need of. I got Matt some sweaters and a new CD player for his car. It was a great Christmas, and now that it's over, I can really focus on getting ready for baby :) 

We relaxed, had some breakfast, and then went over to my Mom's house for Christmas dinner and to hang out with family. We just got home, and I am very tired. I think that equals a good Christmas if you are exhausted by the end of the day.  

We have officially decided on the name Emma Claire, and can't wait for her to get here. Now that Christmas is over, it feels like I just need to get through January, and that doesn't seem so hard... *sigh* I am not a good pregnant person. 

Anyways, here are some pictures plus a few random ones. 

Aaron and Tristan opening their stockings

Cute Jessica in the midst of opening her presents

Sugar is so happy that she can sleep underneath the tree again

Us and all our goodies

The kitties Christmas present. Sugar got dibs, and Ryno is just waiting for his turn...

Sophie

Brandon being a reindeer

Mom's Christmas tree and presents

kid chaos

opening frenze

Shannen, Ben, and Sara

Me and Sugar napping... I love my kitties!

Ryno and Sasha napping with me by my legs. We have the best kitties in the world!

Meyers and Briggs Personality Test

This is my new fascination for the month. I'm not sure if you've heard of this test, but my friend at work introduced me to it, and it's a great way to understand your significant other. It's also really great to help you with any type of relationship you have whether it's friends, parents, or kids. Here is the Wikipedia info on the background of this test:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator 

Here is the link to the test website. It's not the full test, you have to pay $30 bucks for that, but this is about 40 questions and will give you a pretty accurate result. I am an ESTJ personality type.

http://sminds.com/mbti/
(OK the link is not working, just copy and paste it and it should work)

After you take the test, it only gives you your type. You then have to google your type and see your definition. I have found that these websites give really good info:

www.personalitypage.com

www.typelogic.com

Here is my info, if you care to read:

http://www.personalitypage.com/html/ESTJ.html

So Matt and I have a lot in common, but we also do a lot of things differently. Mainly with how we operate in situations- I am a planner, and I like to check everything off my "list" so to speak. Matt is more relaxed in that aspect, and deals with things as they come. When unexpected events happen, it literally throws my universe off it's rotation. I have a hard time not getting stressed out and worried about such things. 

Example: Matt's car registration was due in November, he's had a cracked windshield that we knew we'd have to replace (I expected and planned on that- check), it was about $160 to fix. Easy, I budgeted for it, planned on the money coming out, no biggie. He takes it to get the emissions and inspections done, and turns out his wheel bearing is completely broken, and his front tires are bald. So the car failed inspection, and the guys told him it would be about $300 to fix. Awesome. Universe falling apart. He takes it to get an estimate, and his mechanic tells us it's going to be $285 and we say "ok". I mean, it has to be done, I understand that- they told him they can't believe he drove on it this long without his axle snapping and getting him into a major accident. Still- universe is crumbling. I get another call from Matt, telling me that the mechanic took his wheels off to fix the problem, and found that his brakes are metal on metal and absolutely have to be changed. Serious? So the total is now $420 and I am having a nervous breakdown and my universe has been thrown into the Netherworld. 

Now Matt, on the other hand, is frustrated as well- the situation sucks, that was our Christmas money, we had other plans for that money. He just handles it so much better than I do. I shut myself in and have a hard time getting my thoughts out, and I get really stressed out. Matt understands that it sucks, but is still Matt and can carry on.  He gets worried and stressed when he sees how bad I am handling it. After taking this test, it helped me realize what my weakness' are and the differences between us. Matt is an ESTP type, and the P at the end is what makes all the difference for us. 

This is his info on his type:

http://www.personalitypage.com/html/ESTP_car.html 

It really describes him perfectly, and helps me understand how his brain works and what he is best at. The things that come naturally for me like- planning, remembering things, focus, not getting bored with things, completing tasks- do not come naturally for him. I can't expect him to be that way, and my type even says that I expect everyone to think and act the way that I do about everything (which is so true). Matt is very relaxed and calming, which is something that I struggle with, but his personality helps me to be calm and not worry so much. So we are a very good compliment to each other, but we still have to work on getting around our personality differences. The whole thing is very interesting, and makes a lot of sense. The girl at work has figured out her kids type (she has a 2 year old and a 5 year old) and is able to parent them better because she knows their personality. 


Anyways, I wanted to share this with you in hopes you'll take the test and figure out what your type is. You will be surprised by how accurate it is. I think any way we can be better partners, friends, human beings is a great thing, and we should work on ourselves to be better people to those around us.