27 weeks!

baby is the size of a rutabaga!

How far along: 27 weeks

Total weight gain: 10 pounds. I feel it all catching up to me now!

Maternity clothes: I found an awesome deal on pants, so I officially own 2 pairs! other than that I'm still a strong believer in the old rubberband trick. For Christmas my mother-in-law sent me maternity sweaters and a maternity jacket. I won't freeze this winter now!

Stretch marks: none so far! whew.

Sleep: insomnia has kicked in lately. I'm tired all day but when it's time for bed I just can't sleep.

Miss anything: bending over to put my shoes on without it being a chore! haha

Movement: squirmy little guy. I love it!

Food cravings: food in general. haha

Anything making you queasy or sick: I have moments here and there. I'm afraid I'm going to be one of the women who get sick all over again in the 3rd trimester. I'm trying not to think about it!

Gender: little dude :)

Symptoms: I get pretty bad back pains between my shoulder blades and my legs get a little crampy. I went and got a heating pad and that has helped A TON.

Belly button in or out?oh my heavens. never in my life did I think it was possible but It is so close to popping out. freaks me out.

Wedding ring on or off? still on.

Looking forward to: all my sewing projects!
Fear: my glucose test and the million shots I have to get my next appointment.

It's so weird to think how far I've come. I'm definitely enjoying every second before the big day comes. I'm  feeling big and by the look of these pictures I look it too!  I will admit that I'm already getting to the point where I'm starting to miss my old body and how my clothes used to fit. I just have to remind myself how fast three months go by. We set up our crib last night and moved everything out of the spare bedroom to make room for baby k's stuff. Seeing that crib up and nothing but the baby stuff in that room makes my excited to start all my sewing and decorating!

I haven't forgotten!

Some times I get very bored before I head off to work. . . there are probably a million things I should and could be doing right now, but instead, I'm just playing around with the web cam. I literally work every day until Christmas, including Christmas Eve, so I hope to relax and enjoy every minute I'm not at work.
I've had a few people tell me I'm slacking on the belly photos and catch ups. I haven't forgotten! I'm sorry!  I hope in between work shifts I can take a 25/26 week photo and catch everyone up but it might have to wait until after Christmas. Until then, happy Wednesday!

our first Christmas tree.

I love the feeling our tree gives our home having it lit up in our living room. I'm sad this month is going by so fast, soon it will be time to take it down. I love our little Christmas tree!

tea cup candles

Kristofer and I are going through a bit of a candle craze lately. Partly because we live in an apartment. . . with a cat. . . so  we are always needing to find ways to keep our home smelling fresh and clean. Though there is nothing wrong with the simple glass jars candles usually come in, I wanted to find a way to liven up the candles in our house, without breaking the bank on a ton of decorations. Then I remembered seeing something online a little while ago. Tea cup candles! They are so easy to make and seriously so so cheap.

All you need is:

•  2 tea cups (saucers optional)

- I was so proud when I got my tea cups at the D.I. for 50 cents each! The best part is people usually get rid of their tea cups with matching saucers, so dig around for a minute and you're bound to find a set.

• Soy candle wax

- I just followed the stove top instructions that come on the package. You can also try microwaving it but it really is simple to use the stove.

• Candle wicks 

-I got 3.5 inch. Depending on the size of tea cups you get, you may have to do a little trimming.

• Candle scent

-This was my favorite part. There are so many different scents, it was hard to choose. I ended up choosing Sage and Citrus. I love scents that make it smell like I just cleaned, even though I probably didn't ;)


Directions:
Before you start, you want to make sure you clean your tea cups. After they are cleaned dry them completely. You want to make sure they are room temperature before any wax goes into them.
Place your wicks in the tea cups before preparing the wax and make sure they are placed straight so you can easily pour the wax in. Prepare the wax as directed, adding the scent. Pour wax into tea cups and just like that you're done! It will take 30 minutes to and hour for the wax to harden, depending on the size of cups you chose. Mine took about 45 minutes.

This was probably the fasted and easiest things I've made, not to mention kinda fun! Who knows, I might have to give some of these as Christmas presents.

5 pregnancy symptoms I never expected

1. I sneeze like there is no tomorrow. Ever since I was about 8 weeks I have been constantly sneezing. I wake up with sneezes and it continues throughout the day. I never would have expected this to be a symptom but I guess it's more common than I thought! So weird!

2. Olives, once my favorite finger food, now disgusts me. Ever since I can remember olives were a treat to me. Being little and putting them on my fingers (okay, maybe I still did this until now) were what made olives the best snack food. Now even the sight of olives gross me out, which is truly a shame.

3. If you are easily grossed out, or you feel some things are best left unsaid, don't read this number. I am 100% honest. Chest acne has hit me. Now I've heard of your skin breaking out during pregnancy, but I always imagined having to buy extra face cream and cover up. I never expected it here! I have never had an acne problem, in fact, my face is as clear as can be. So why my chest? I have no freaking clue. All I know is that it better clear up when March rolls around!

4. Oh my ever growing nose! You may be laughing or a little bit confused, but you read right. My. nose. is. growing. It may be something only I notice, maybe not. It's probably something you can easily notice on yourself but no one else can. Either way, if this continues I'm afraid my nose it going to just get wider and wider! What can ya do?

and

5. My alarm is baby kicks. Some of you are probably saying "duh" right now, but when I found out I was pregnant I never thought about the baby kicking. Now, I obviously knew that you feel the baby and everyone brags about how they love feeling those little jabs here and there, but it never crossed my mind that the baby has it's own mind and own schedule in the belly. In other words, baby doesn't care if you want to go to sleep at 10 and he sure as heck doesn't care if you don't want to wake up at 6, 7, 8 AM. He will kick your insides all he wants, and no, you won't sleep through it.

Now, being 23 weeks, I still have 17 weeks for this list to get bigger. But no matter what symptoms come and go during this pregnancy, I love why I have them and would go through anything for this baby. . . . even give up my olives and get a big nose. . . .

babyboy wardrobe wishlist

wardrobe wishlist

22 weeks!

Baby is the size of a papaya!

How far along: 22 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain: last time I weighed myself was just after Thanksgiving dinner but I was almost to my goal weight! 9 pounds gained total.

Maternity clothes: still just a belly band. I should probably invest in some pants soon though. I'm sure they'd be a lot more comfortable.

Sleep: Doing a lot better now. I only wake up once in the early morning.

Miss anything: My feet not hurting so bad after work! They start hurting so easily now.

Movement:He's been moving like crazy lately! He's getting so strong. I love it!

Food cravings: It's strange. I don't have any cravings at all. I haven't since my 1st trimester.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Doing pretty good.

Gender: baby BOY!!!

Symptoms: back is starting to feel the belly weight and feet hurting.

Belly button in or out? half way. I'm really hoping it doesn't end up an outty. At least not until the end.

Wedding ring on or off? it better fit for a long time!

Looking forward to: starting on his nursery soon.
Fear: nothing so far. I'm feeling pretty good.

These last couple weeks have been my favorite so far. Baby boy is moving so much! Kris was able to feel him kick for the first time a couple of days ago. It was amazing being able to share the feeling with him. I love just sitting and feeling him kick and kick. I better enjoy it while it's not uncomfortable, right? 

baby K is a. . . .

Unfortunately, the snow and rain is keeping us cooped up inside so we had to take our announcement pictures in our apartment. Not ideal but that's okay, nothing can put a damper on this day because we're having A BOY! Kristofer never doubted it for a second. I'll admit I started doubting it in the end, but it's finally official! There is no way to explain the excitement I feel! As for the rest of the appointment, everything looks perfect. I can tell this little guy is going to be STUBBORN. The moment we wanted to find out boy or girl he crossed those legs and wouldn't budge for anything. The moment we finally got to see he crossed those legs giving us a small opportunity. I can tell he's going to be a hand full already! I feel so blessed to be this little boys mom and couldn't be more ecstatic!

17 weeks!

  baby is the size of an onion!

How far along: 17 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain: still a little under weight but hopefully by my next appointment I'll be caught up.

Maternity clothes: still going strong. pants still fit pretty well. I did get a belly band for support though.

Stretch marks: nope, and it better stay that way for a long time!

Sleep: I have to sleep with an extra pillow under my leg while I lay on my side. It's hard when you're a belly sleeper.

Miss anything: sushi! It's hard to know I won't have any for a long time.

Movement: I think I've felt tiny flutters in the middle of the night, but nothing to get too excited about.

Food cravings: everything? haha. I'm just super hungry. but nothing in particular.

Anything making you queasy or sick: If I don't have anything to eat I get pretty nauseous. I can't skip any meals.

Gender: we find out November 12!!!

Symptoms: besides being super hungry, nothing really.

Belly button in or out? in 

Wedding ring on or off? it better fit for a long time!

Looking forward to: finding out the gender of course.
Fear: nothing so far. I'm feeling pretty good.

My belly finally popped! I feel a little more confident knowing I look a little more pregnant than chubby. Everything has been pretty easy the last couple weeks. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant. I'm sure that's all about to change when I start feeling baby K kicking and I get much bigger. Right now I'm just enjoying being able to do things with friends and eat everything with the "I'm pregnant!" excuse ;) 

Last bit of summer

This last weekend we were able to take a much needed vacation to Lake Powell. It was nice to enjoy the last bit of warmth since we live in Logan and as you can see from today's snowy surprise, we went just in time! I was AMAZING. It was my first time in Powell and I regret not going sooner. It's beautiful!

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the ridiculously awesome hike we went on. It was a little too dangerous for our camera. Hopefully someone will post some that they have and I can update this a little. Fingers crossed because there are no words for it. You have to see it to understand!

12 weeks!

  (sorry it's a little dark. I had to use the computer camera since my camera is dead)
Baby is the size of a plum!

How far along: 12 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain: i've lost 10 pounds! so, thanks morning sickness?

Maternity clothes:no need yet! my pants are actually a little loose now.

Stretch marks:better not get any for a long while!

Sleep:it's gotten a lot better at night, except for the getting up 5 times to pee. . .

Miss anything:wanting meat. i seriously don't care for it at all.

Movement:still have a bit to go

Food cravings: i'm just barely getting my appetite back, but i really love carrots and for some odd reason peppers! i had some at olive garden in their salad and had to go buy a jar. haha.

Anything making you queasy or sick: the car gets me every time and everyday from 6am until about 10 or 11 am, i feel pretty nauseous.

Gender: still have a while 

Symptoms: plenty of bathroom trips, sickness in mornings

Belly button in or out? in

Wedding ring on or off? it better fit for a long time!

Looking forward to:  getting past this "is she pregnant or is she just getting fat?" stage. haha.
Fear: i'm feeling pretty good right now.

I've been pretty lazy about blogging lately. . . the last month was rough! I was pretty much bed ridden (or couch ridden) for a while feeling the infamous morning sickness, so I just couldn't get myself to even think about something to type! But the good news is, i'm well on my way to trimester 2 and already feeling SO SO SO much better. I now have the energy to get ready and leave the house without dragging my feet. Although my bed time is now much earlier and I'm waking up a little later, I call it an accomplishment. My baby bump is starting so poke out. If I didn't hold my stomach in the picture it would disappear into my shirt and look like I just eat too many doughnuts haha. I can't wait until it looks like I'm pregnant and I don't look like I've just been binging on cake!

  

Anyway ;) Now that I'm feeling a little more energetic I can tell you about my doctors appointment last week! I was so stinkin' nervous. I can't tell you why, I don't even know why. I didn't have a bad feeling, I knew it was all going to go perfectly, but I just couldn't calm down. Maybe it was the excitement of finally getting to see our baby after having to cancel the first one. When we got the the office I timidly walked up to the lady at the front desk and told her my information. After I told her why I was there and who I was there to see, it felt surreal. For a second I questioned myself if I really was there for that! So weird to hear me say it. After waiting for a few minutes they called us back. I got asked all the fun questions about my history, Kristofer's history, got all the info I needed then IT WAS TIME. We headed into the next room to see our baby. Feeling that chilly gel on my stomach snapped me out of my thoughts and the nerves hit my again. For a second I couldn't look! I took a deep breath and moved my hands from my face. Our baby was right there on the screen, jumping all over the place! The heart beat was incredible. Never thought something like that would be one of my favorite sounds. It was nice to know that these nauseous and exhausting days weren't in my head and that they weren't for nothing. Best feeling in the world.

baby k !

one year and counting!

Last week Kristofer and I were able to go to Colorado for our one year anniversary. I've only been there once before two years ago to spend Thanksgiving with Kris' family, so I already new that I loved Colorado and couldn't wait to go during the summer! Despite the long drive, I managed to stay awake for most of the drive (don't listen to what Kris says) which for anyone who has driven more than two hours with me knows I zonk out in the car as soon as I click on my seat belt. This is especially amazing seeing as though most of the drive is through Wyoming. . . . BORING. But at least we got our Taco John's, which makes the drive worth it.

When we finally got to Colorado a couple hours later we ended up at Bingo with Gma! This may make you laugh but let me tell you, BINGO IS ADDICTIVE.  It seriously is so much fun. It sucked me right in. If I could I would be right next to Gma every weekend stamping away at my cards. . . maybe not at many as Gma though ;)

 The next morning Kristofer, Kami, and I headed of to my first tubing adventure. Yes, my first. 21 years old and I had yet to tube a river. It's not that I had never had the chance, things just always didn't work out when my friends would go. I always had to work or was somewhere else at the time. Let me tell ya. . . this water was capital C-O-L-D. But for some reason nobody cared. There were people kayaking, people on the side panning for gold, swimmers, other tubers, and bikers along side. So much fun! 

This weekend was also special because Kami was leaving for Montana for college, So we got to be there for the last big hoorah. Now you think you've been to a family BBQ, but you haven't until you've been to the Gates family BBQ. There was so many different choices to eat, and it wasn't just "burger or hot dog?" Usually being pregnant and hating meat at the moment would get in the way but I grabbed those ribs and chowed down. They were so good. Unfortunately no pictures of the BBQ, but I would count it as a blessing. I wouldn't want you to be jealous. 

 Now for the big one. I got to go to my very first water park! To my fellow Utahns, I just want to let you know before I go on that 7 Peaks is on a water park.  I too was deceived by the wave pool and few slides, but let me tell you, there is more out there! And that "more" is called Water World. So many different slides it's crazy. I loved it! Which is weird to hear me say, I know. Seeing as though I'm not a huge pool girl. But I did love it and I'm so glad my eyes were open. Once again, no pictures. Taking my camera to a water park just makes me nervous.

The next night we were majorly spoiled. Eric, Katrissa, Gpa, and Gma got us a room at Ameristar casino and spa hotel. This hotel was to mother of hotels. It was so nice! When we went to check in they saw that it was our anniversary weekend and upgraded us to the sweet!!! So off we went to the 27 floor looked down the hall one way to see a line of doors and then looked down the other, there stood one single door. . . ours. Oh man. Now, I don't know where this luck came from but after a few minutes calling the front desk confused about out billing they told us they were just going to comp our room for us. This huge expensive room for free?! We decided we better enjoy this since we probably won't be this spoiled again! I'll just let you watch the video. It was amazing.

It was now time for the dreaded drive back home. This time I wasn't too bummed about the long drive home. We had so much fun, we shopped like crazy, and I slept in the best bed ever the night before. I was buckled up and ready to go but then BAM. Morning sickness came at me with no mercy. It seriously hit me like a ton of bricks. Every turn and wind out of that first canyon was torture. I felt every bump and divot in the road. We finally made it to Taco John's (of course) and that restaurant restroom was the best thing I saw for miles. After sitting down and eating a bit, I drank my water and got back in the car. Thank goodness that was over. Road trips and pregnancy do not mix people. They do not mix. When we got home Kristofer's dad was in town and took us out for a quick dinner. It was nice to catch up a bit and talk. It's always nice seeing family when they live so far away, even if it is for a couple hours. Can't wait for the next time everyone can get together.

Anyway, this turned out to be quite long! But that was our anniversary trip. Amazing way to celebrate one year in my opinion :)

6 weeks!

How far along: 6 weeks and 5 days

Total weight gain: pretty much the same so far

Maternity clothes:no need yet!

Stretch marks:better not get any for a long while!

Sleep:constant need for naps

Miss anything:having energy and not feeling slightly sick most of the day!

Movement: soon enough 

Food cravings:salsa, salsa, and more salsa

Anything making you queasy or sick:i have a slight queasy feeling all day but if i don't eat enough it gets a bit worse. so far the only time it hit me hard was in the car.

Gender:still have a while 

Symptoms: hungry, tired, and plenty trips to the bathroom.

Belly button in or out? in 

Wedding ring on or off? better fit for a long time!

Looking forward to: getting a baby belly instead of having this bloated belly!
Fear: something going wrong when i go in for my appointment in two weeks.

Baby is the size of a sweet pea!

This week I really started to feel the pregnancy symptoms.

Morning sickness is starting to creep up, bathroom breaks are more often, and naps are a must.  Cravings also hit me hard this week! Salsa is my new best friend. I can eat it on anything! I don't crave chocolate anymore(weird, i know), in fact it almost tastes bitter to me now. I'm starting to get used to the idea of expecting a little one and I'm getting more and more excited everyday!

1+1=3 !!

For a about a week now I have had some very exciting news on my mind. We are going to have a little one join our home! I have so many feelings going on at once lately it's crazy but we couldn't be more excited! I never realized how many supporters we have in our life and I'm so grateful for every single one of you. Thank you to all of you for the advice and sharing our happiness with us!

our entire month of may.

Wow! I figured since it's been a while since I've posted anything, it's time for a little update! I feel like every time I sat down to post on this thing, something came up! May was quite the busy month for Kristofer and I.

We have been living in our new apartment for about a month now. I absolutely love it. I love the space we have. I love that I have my own bathroom. I love that we are able to walk or ride our bikes where ever we need to go.I love the girls that work in the apartment office. (such sweethearts!)

I know we have been here for a while, but I'll be honest. . . I haven't hung one picture. Now that I live in an apartment where I can do anything I want, including paint the walls!,  I just can't decide what I want to do. I have so many different ideas I just cant settle. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. Maybe you can get me to just go for it! Until then you'll have to wait for pictures. Hopefully that will be soon!

On another note, Travis, Chelsea, Kristofer, and I were able to take a weekend trip down in St. George while Travis and Kris finished their first Olympic Tri!! Kristofer did amazing! Almost made me want to try one myself. . . almost. ;)

 Starting his 6 mile run.

Bringin' home the hardware! woo!

Proud wife :)

After the tri, we had a couple days to relax and enjoy the St. George sun.

We visited the St. George temple. Which is GORGEOUS.

Look at it against the blue sky. Amazing!

On our way home we stopped a little place in the middle of nowhere.

It was a gift shop full of EVERYTHING imaginable. 

Even a petting zoo. Chelsea got a sword, Kristofer got a ring made by the Navajo Indians, and I

got myself some pretty Navajo earrings. 

In front of the mini town they built in front of their gift shop.

 Feeding some of the animals carrots.

The best part is on the way home we got to watch the eclipse.

The only way to see the eclipse was to pile sunglasses on. haha.

Last but not least,

Kristofer parents came to visit!

It's awesome spending time with them. 

Lots of shopping, eating, and talking. 

It's always the best since I love all three of those :)

Not to mention, we always get a lot of good advice. 

Oh, and Oscar is back to stay!

 That was our month in a nutshell.

I'll try and be better at posting!

done and done.

Ladies and gents! 

This is what I got in my mail today. . . my test results!

And. . . . . . I PASSED!

I am officially a CNA. 

I am so relieved and happy.

(Thank you Krissta and Todd. You guys are too good to me.)