Todd's Birthday, Utah, Beard Pics, and Baby Bump!

This past weekend, Todd and I had the opportunity to head up to Utah to see family and to celebrate his birthday! Todd was turning the big 26, so in order to ease the sting of being closer to 30, we had to get out. Just kidding... we just really wanted to see family, and thought that we could have more glorious celebrations in Utah. 

We started our vacation with a nice little fishing outing, followed by a family party at the famous Boondocks! It was such a beautiful day, considering it was February in Utah! Todd unfortunately didn't get lucky with any fishies, but enjoyed getting his toes a little wet. Then, the party that night was so fun! We had a blast with everyone, and ate some delicious barbecue :)

Had to take a selfie "with" my man :)

Aspen gave Todd lots of cuddles

Got to ride the movie/roller coaster thing like 5 times! Todd got a blister on his trigger finger, haha!

This pic of Chad on the ride was pretty priceless.

Ciara and Todd had an epic air hockey battle!

The cute birthday boy!

Lately, I've kind of been feeling like a slacker wife. I wanted more than anything to plan something awesome and special for Todd and I to do together for his birthday, but I couldn't come up with anything! Ever since about month 3, I've been dealing with some hip & back issues. Thanks to PT, they are manageable now, but I'm not really able to do anything active. Considering the fact that active things are Todd's and my favorite things to do together, I really struggled coming up with something. Pretty much all I could come up with was going out to a nice restaurant. So that was reason #1 I felt like a slacker. Reason #2 was that I couldn't come up with a nice, thoughtful gift! I ended up just getting him a bunch of movies, some clothes, and I made these matching shirts. 

Since I was such a slacker, I'm really lucky we got to be with Todd's family to help him have an amazing weekend. Another fun thing the birthday boy got to do, was go snowboarding with his dadman! They had a great time, and even got a little fresh powder! 

They're so cute and covered in snow!

So as you can probably see in the picture above, Todd has been growing his beard out for a few months now. While I love a good "manly" beard to cuddle up to at night, I think I love a smooth face just a TEENY bit more. I was super impressed with how full and bushy it became though. We agreed that he would be allowed to keep it until we went to Utah (to show off to the fam), and then it would be coming off. Since it was a rather historical event, we had to document removal of the beard... and let me be the first to tell you, the phases were pretty hilarious! 

Before

Before

Took down the sides a little

I thought this was a good look, lol

The classic goatee

From the side

Not sure what you call this... except "attractive"

The creeper look!!!!

Another creeper look!!! Hahaha I was dying

AND the Mustache!!!

Mario?

I think this series of pictures is my favorite of all time! I love my Todd, and he looks so good no matter how much, or what style of facial hair he has. I am very happy to be able to put my face against his and snuggle again :)

All in all, we had a wonderful trip! We're so excited we get to move out there in just about a month! We still haven't heard anything new from the school in Pennsylvania, so the plan for now is going to Utah until the NY school starts in September. Hopefully if those plans are to change, we will find out very soon :)

Before bidding my farewell, I will leave you with a belly pic. I have really been growing in the past few weeks, but I'm still much smaller than you'd expect for a practically 7 month pregnant woman! Today I had one of the high school kids guess how far along I was, and she said 2 months! Hahaha, that gave me a good little chuckle. 

Oh, PS! I'm officially in my 3rd trimester! The only difference I've noticed so far, is an increase in my already super annoying heartburn. Joy :)

24 Weeks!

Don't have a whole lot to report for today, except that I am now 24 weeks along! That means I could have the  baby right now, and he could survive!  I find peace of mind in that :) 

So I'm finding that my shirts aren't as loose as I once thought they were... aka... they don't exactly hide the bump as well as I would like. This Thursday at the high school I work at, a few of the kids started finding out that I'm pregnant. I wasn't trying to hide it from them by any means, but I hadn't announced it either. That would just be awkward! So I was worried that kids were going to think that I was just getting fat, which I'm sure a few of them still did.  I work with another tutor who is also pregnant, and about as far along as I am. They had already found out about her, so they probably had pregnancy on the mind, and that's why they started asking about me. Anyway, I'm glad that the ones that asked recognized it as a pregnant belly, not a gaining weight belly! I'm also happy some of them know now, so I dont have to worry about the impossible task of hiding the bump! 

Well, without further adieu... here are the most recent pics!

Just for contrast, here is a pic of the bump in a much looser shirt

This last week, we had to go back to get another ultrasound to check the boy's heart and spine. At the last ultrasound, they couldn't get the view that they needed, so we went back. It took a while for them to see what they needed to, but eventually they did, and he seems to be perfectly healthy! Such a relief :). The appointment was on Thursday (at week 23 and a half), and the measurements they took showed him being 1lb 6oz! Which is a few oz heavier than the pregnancy apps tell me he is even now! So he's a big boy :) Hopefully this just means he'll come a few days earlier than expected, not that I'll be giving birth to a 10lb baby or something :)

So these are a couple of the pics from the last ultrasound.

Since Todd and I are moving in just a few months, we've been trying to refrain from buying too many things for the baby unless it is small (since we'll just have to pack it and move it anyway). So this pretty much means that we end up buying clothes for the little guy. I think he's going to be pretty much set for the whole first year of his life! I just had to share my favorite little outfit that we've found so far. Quicksilver is a brand that Todd likes to wear... and I'm obsessed with the idea of dressing our son as a mini Todd :) Melts my heart. 

Last week, I took on the project of making paintings for the nursery. We were given a super cute bedding set by a lady I work with, and I couldn't find any decor online that would match very well, so I decided to make some myself! Each painting took hours after all of the coats of paint and me being a perfectionist... but I'm super happy with them. The monkey painting was drawn by my most talented hubby, because the drawing part was the hardest for me. 

Thanks to the recommendation of Summer and Chris, we finally checked out Bacchi Burger, which was incredible! So we can check that one off the list! 

In other news... time here in Vegas is winding down. We only have about 2 months left, it's crazy! We've realized that we need to check some things off the bucket list before we head out east for 2 or 3 years! We decided that we're going to have to make one more Cali trip before we leave, and...  that's about all we have planned. If you have any suggestions, let us know! 

That's all I've got! 

Until next time... 

(*I've never known what you say after that...)

Christmas, Baby Shower, and 22 weeks!

Boy, it's been an eventful month! I will try to summarize just the exciting stuff :) 

Just before Christmas I went in to a pregnancy center for an official "anatomy check" of our little man. Since we found out the gender a few weeks early, all they screened for was the gender. Then, at 20 weeks, they wanted to do a thorough check for birth defects and things. So it was kinda cool for us cause we got an extra ultra sound! Extra cool, is that they couldn't see everything that they needed to, so we get to go in again in another 2 weeks! Lucky us :) More money... but still, lucky us :). So here are some of our favorites from the scan:

He smiles!

Little hand :) and I'm pretty sure that's an under shot of his little bottom hehe

Cute little toes

Also, the Saturday before Christmas (the 20th), I think I felt (noticed) kicks for the first time! I was talking to my sister-in-law Summer (who is also pregnant with a boy!) about feeling kicks and what it feels like. Then I decided to make a concentrated effort to try and feel for some kicks. While laying there, I noticed that my lower stomach muscles were twitching. You know when you get a little muscle twitch... it felt like that. I wasn't ready to believe for sure that they were kicks, until it continued, was very inconsistent, and also moved around on my stomach! It took me a few days to confirm that I was really feeling kicks, but it was a very happy realization. It took a while for Todd to be able to feel it, but it was an even happier moment when I got to share the magic with him. I just love having a constant reassurance of our baby's reality! It's still pretty subtle, and he isn't kicking a ton, but it makes every kick even more special. 

Christmas Eve, Todd got off work early, and we got to spend the rest of the day together. Then, we had all of Christmas day to be together too! I really cherish the days (or half days) that I get to spend with him, because usually the only day we have off together is Sunday. Todd and I spoiled each other a little too much... especially considering the fact that a couple of days before Christmas, we splurged and got ourselves an ipad! I think all the money we'll be spending from now on will most likely be for the little guy though, so I'm glad we had one last chance to spoil ourselves. Along with the ipad, my favorite gift this Christmas was a portrait lens that Todd got me for our camera. I just took like 2 pictures to test it out, and this was the result! 

Needless to say... I love my new lens. The other day, Todd and I went on a walk, and I got to take some more pics with it. Mostly pics of my love.

Such a model!

Just playing with depth of 

We also decided to take a tummy pic while we were out. This was just a couple of days ago, so I was just barely 22 weeks here. Still not super huge, but definitely showing some more! I've also been having stomach growing pains, so I think I'm on the verge of exploding soon!

I took the pic below to demonstrate my perspective. I look bigger to myself looking at my toes, than looking at my profile in the mirror :)

Just after Christmas, we got to fly to Eugene to see my family! Todd hadn't been back to Eugene in 2 years, so I we were super excited! Our trip mostly consisted of spending time with family, and eating great food! I sure do miss all of the incredible home town food goodies! 

My mom was so sweet and had planned and threw a baby shower for me! She worked so hard for so long on everything, and I was so so grateful. It was amazing getting to celebrate with everyone from back home that I love. Todd was also such a trooper...there were some in my family who felt strongly that he should attend and take part in the celebration. I assured him that he absolutely did not have to come if he didn't want to. But he came, and was our official photographer. He also played a game with me (a diaper changing race). I love that man so much :). Here are some pics of the festivities!

Blind folded diaper changing!

Todd and I racing! He'll try to convince you differently... but I slayed him haha

Everyone focusing super hard on one of the games

My mom might kill me for posting this pic... but she was so cute directing all of the festivites!

Barb and Todders. Love this pic!

So happy these girls could make it out! I sure miss spending time with them!

The amazing Jenkin ladies

This might be my favorite pic of the day... duck faces!

Haven't seen these gorgeous ladies in ages! Last time I saw Casey, she was still a beehive!

Mommy :)

These are a couple of my mom's super sweet neighbors. I had never met them, but they still came out and even brought an incredible gift. So kind of them!

Some of my oldest and bestest :) I hate being so far from all of my closest friends

Todd and I got to spend an amazing day at the Oregon coast while we were home. Todd had never been, and though it was going to be super cold, we couldn't pass up the opportunity! We even got to bring the best dog in the world along with us, which made the trip all the better. Here are some pics of our many adventures :)

Favorite pic of the trip!

In case you don't get it... Todd + Christine = Baby (or Boy)
We're artists... I know

Best dog evarrrrrr!

my boys

Such a gorgeous day! We were super lucky

Can't go to the coast without going to Mo's!

We tried crabbing for the first time! I'd say we were fairly successful!

We had 4 traps, and each one had 20-50 crabs in it!

We took a few home to cook up and eat. Yummmmmm :)

So, there ya have it! Tons of pics and exciting adventures! In other news... Todd and I made a somewhat groundbreaking decision regarding our future... Even though he made it into PA school at NYIT, we considered having him still take classes and apply to more schools next year. Schools that would be cheaper, and potentially closer to home. However, after much prayer and consideration, we really feel like going to PA school this year is best. So right now that means NYIT, since that is the only school that we have a for sure yes from. However, if we find out he makes it into St. Francis (in Pennsylvania), that is where we will go... The cost of living and tuition is so much cheaper, and the school finishes faster than NYIT. So that's our status for now... still waiting and hoping to hear from St. Francis, but otherwise planning on going to New York in September!

Sorry yet again for such a long update! If you haven't noticed... I'm not so great at being brief :)