And It Begins!

I am officially in maternity pants, at 11 and a half weeks! It was bound to happen sometime, right? Bean is still fairly small (about the size of a plum!) but I am definitely starting to show (to me- I'm sure I'll look back in 28 more weeks and laugh at that statement). I love having a belly, and knowing that there is a little baby in there! I got two pairs of bermuda shorts at Old Navy for $15 a pair, and they're super cute. I've been pretty disappointed with maternity clothes in general, Kohls has nothing and Motherhood is uber expensive. Thank goodness for good ol' Old Navy!

I had my monthly doctor's appointment on Friday. It went great! The heartbeat was 162! We only got to listen to it for a second, but it was absolutely amazing!!! Such a cool thing. I can't wait until I'm a little farther along, then I'm going to order a doppler so I can hear Bean's heartbeat every day. According to an old wive's tale, girls hearts beat faster than boys, and anything over 140 is in the "girl range". We'll just have to see!! :) We have an appointment for our "Anatomy Ultrasound" on July 26th, our SECOND ANNIVERSARY!!! What a blessing that we can do it that day, I can't wait... and I am SOO DARN EXCITED to find out if our little Bean is a boy or a girl... and then, let the shopping begin!!!

I'm finally starting to get past the morning sickness, and am so ready for the "honeymoon trimester" to start. I could use the energy!! All in all, the pregnancy is going great and I am finally starting to enjoy being pregnant, wahoo! :)

It's so fun to document the pregnancy in photos, so here's 11 weeks! :)

Irony

I worked my butt off to make the last talk I gave fabulous. I spent weeks editing, cutting, pasting, outlining, redoing and changing the talk. Finally I got it to a point where I was happy with if. Four minutes over my alloted time slot, but you can't have everything. :)

I was so proud of this talk I'd put together. Two days after I gave it, I got a nice little Facebook message from the ward clerk. (Note to self, remove from friends list, lol) Bishop would like you to give a talk! So either I worked my bum off for good reason and my talk really was stellar, or I totally bombed and he's giving me a re-do. Either way, I have 8 days to compile another talk. I can do it!



Any and all suggestions are welcome!
Galations 5:22-23 "The Fruits of the Spirit"

10 Weeks

Being a first time Mommy, I get emails from 4 different websites each week telling me what our little Bean is up to. The only problem is the range of different information I get! Truthfully, I have no idea if Bean is the size of a prune, kumquat, lime, or possibly a mondo Brazil nut (whatever the heck that is).

Whatever size our Little Bean actually is I do know that he or she is busy growing and making Mommy know that they're in there. None of my pants button anymore (at 10 weeks!!) and I spend most of my mornings in my new "office". I've seriously considered bringing my computer and files and setting up a lean-to in the restroom so I can actually get some work done.

Oh the joys of pregnancy. It's a good thing babies are so darn cute. I know it will be worth it a bazillion fold. I can't wait to meet this little one!! He or she has lots more growing to do, so I'm praying baby stays put, and develops right on track! Until Thanksgiving... then I'm sure I'll be begging to meet Bean.

I feel like I'm actually starting to round out and my belly seems to be pushing up behind my belly button now. Before it sat below and looked funny (to me). I caved and bought maternity pants, and I tell you... I may never wear regular pants again!! Cute pants with elastic waistbands?! Why aren't all pants made like this!? I will certainly be saving them for all occasions involving big meals. No more unbuttoning after too many pieces of homemade apple pie! :) Mmm pie! I think I am going to hunt myself down a piece, and shop online for more maternity pants! (All productivity has gone completely out the window, along with my attention span, lol.)

I Strongly Dislike...

Emergency Rooms




They smell bad.
They are crowded.
They take FOREVER.

Not my favorite place in the world. Not to mention, any time you're in an emergency room... it's usually not for a good reason.

Monday was quite an adventure.

I got a phone call from Matt, "I might be going to the hospital." I proceed to freak out COMPLETELY. He has hurt his knee and EMT's are on their way. He'll call me when he knows what they need to do. No, don't leave work. I hyperventilate for a few minutes, then he calls back, the ambulance is taking him to the hospital. ($$ca-ching!$$)

I got there a little before 4pm, the guaranteed "30-minute wait time" tripled. Then we finally go to go back to a room, or so we thought. Actually Matt got assigned to "Hall Bed A". Not comfortable. More waiting, they come get all of his information. They do x-rays. 3 hours and counting... no pain medication. At least I got to be there to hold his hand when they straitened out his knee. Luckily I still have all of my fingers in tact. The doctor was pleasant, but his exact words were, "I can't really diagnose an injury like this in an emergency room." So they put him in a nifty knee immobilizer, gave him a lovely prescription for Darvocet and sent him packing with a referral to a bone and cartilage specialist. It was after 9 when we finally got home. Poor guy.

Matt had a follow up with the specialist yesterday. No surgery!! YAY! He has some torn cartilage, but it should heal on it's own. As long as he takes anti-inflammatory meds, it should heal within a few weeks and hopefully he can go back to work June 1st.

I wish I'd taken a picture of my sweetheart in "Hall Bed A" so we could have documented the adventure. Although it's an experience I'm sure both of us would soon forget. I have to say, through all the pain he was amazing. Barely complained, and didn't punch the nurse when they had to move his leg. Most impressive.

And the worst part!? 5 hours+ in an emergency room, and nobody would let me hear Bean's heartbeat. Meanies.

The Secret Is Out!

It's time to let the secret out of the bag...

WE'RE EXPECTING!!!

(A baby!)

We are both unbelieveably excited and can't wait to welcome our first baby in December.

I made these tshirts to tell our families!

Both of our families were so excited!

Bean is the first grandbaby for Matt's parents, so they can't wait.

And my Dad will get to have a grandbaby on each knee!

We are so blessed! Baby and I are healthy, although the "morning" sickness is kicking my butt daily. I am just counting down the days until the second trimester. (25!) Hopefully it will get here quickly! We had an ultrasound at 7 weeks. It was absolutely AMAZING to get to see our Little Bean. He or she was snug and happy. If you've never seen ultrasound photos, I know it's hard to understand what you're looking at. But you can get a general idea...

Have you ever seen such a cute blob?

If you look at the picture above really closely (you can click on it and it will get bigger...) you can see our baby's little toes forming.

HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!

Here's the first belly shot! It was the day of the ultrasound:

7 weeks!

And 9 weeks!! (Taken Thursday 5/13)

I can't believe I'm getting a belly already! It's so amazing to watch it grow. I didn't even realize there was such a difference until I saw these two pictures side-by-side!

I'm hoping to be able to blog about the pregnancy and keep everyone updated. We have another appointment on 05/28 and I am so EXCITED to hear the heartbeat!! What a miracle.

The love I have for our sweet baby already is undescribable. I am due December 16h, and I'm praying our sweet Bean gets here before Christmas!! I sure don't want any birthday/holiday sharing!

What a special season to get to celebrate new life, the same time we're celebrating the Savior.

We are blessed, and life is good.

*E*

Anticipation

I feel like Christmas is this weekend. Whenever I think about Saturday, I get butterflies in my tummy and my head starts to spin. It reminds me of the night before I married my sweetheart. I am so excited for the events to come and the domino effect of magical things that is about to start in our lives. Some moments change us forever, and I am so thrilled that I get to be a part of this special time in my sweet hubby's life. What a miraculous time to share with someone. To see them grow and change. It has been a truly heartwrenching ride, and I cannot believe the blessings we have received for making good choices. I am so grateful that I made the choice to marry

Matthew Alexander Alt.

He is the most amazing, wonderful man I've ever met.

Have you ever had one of those conversations that isn't spectacular at the moment, but in hindsight... you look back and tear up at the words that were said? I had a conversation with my Dad a few years ago, just like that. We were talking about my sweet hubby, and we were discussing how fabulous he is. :) My father said, "Matt puts his heart and soul into everything he does. When he learns to believe as you do, I have no doubt in my mind that he will give 110% of everything he has to commit to the cause." How true that statement was. I sit back now and take in my surroundings. I am a blessed woman. I am a lucky girl. I cannot wait to see the things that Matt does in the future. "Oh the places you'll go!" I thank God every day for the blessing of this wonderful man in my life. I am counting down the days until we can enter into the Lord's Holy Temple and be sealed for time and eternity.

Thank you to everyone who has guided him along this journey. So many have been there to pick up my slack when it all seemed to much to bear. Thank you for the encouragement and fellowship. For being an example to me, and to my sweet husband. I am forever in your debt.

"O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above."

Two days and counting...

If I Could Say Anything...

What would I say?

I miss you seems miles away from adequate.

I can't wait to see you again.

Also inadequate, and a long way off.

I suppose what I want her to hear the most, are the things I feel I didn't get a chance to say. So Mom, this is for you...

I appreciate you. Every single time you sacrificed something for yourself so that I could be happy, I noticed, and now I understand why you did it. I miss the time that we got to spend together each afternoon when you picked me up from school. Thank you for not making me ride the bus. Thank you for telling me every day that I was beautiful. I'm starting to realize now that you were right. The values that you instilled in me as a child are invaluable now. I am so grateful for the memories I have of your testimony, and the light you shared with everyone. Each time you asked, "What's wrong?" and I said, "Nothing." I was fibbing, and if I could get back each moment and share every insecurity and fear that I had (and still have)... I would do it in a moment. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know as a teenager, I did my fair share. I've never for a second stopped loving you. There are probably a million times that I didn't take your advice, what I wouldn't give to go back now, with the realization that you are the smartest person I've ever met, and soak up every single bit of advice you gave me. Do you remember the stories you always told? I'm embarrassed to admit that sometimes, I try to tell them and I forget the details. How I wish I'd written them all down. I kept my promise. Mostly, just know that I love you. And I will never forget you. I am looking forward to the day that we get to be together again, and I am doing my best to live right so I can get there. I miss you every day.

I love you more that I can possibly say. I'm sorry if I didn't say it enough when I had the chance.

I know she still knows. Happy Mother's Day Mom.

Pure Happiness

Giggle. Blow Bubbles. Sing into a hairbrush. Lick the beaters. Dance. Eat popsicles. Wear pink. Painted toenails. Snuggle. Animal crackers. Swinging. Puppydog kisses. Friendship. High Heels. Sunshine. Books. Sleep in. Smile. Bake cookies. Sidewalk Chalk. lOvE.