24 Weeks!

I know, I know... it's Tuesday, and on Thursday I'll be 25 weeks. Cut a girl some slack! I'm trying to stay up to date.

Your Pregnancy: Week 24

At about this time the reality of having a baby is definitely setting in (maybe it's the fact that you can't see your toes). Be sure to talk about how you're feeling with your significant other, girlfriends, siblings, parents, doctor, hairdresser, the person sitting next to you on the bus ... whomever! It's totally natural to be freaking out. Voicing your concerns about mommyhood will help you actually get used to the idea.

Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week? Read on ...

What You're Thinking:
"OK, seriously, where are my toes?"

Your Body
Hair growth during pregnancy is another one of those wacky symptoms you didn't expect. And though you may be wondering who's slipping Rogaine into your shampoo bottle, if you're among the lucky ones, you're relishing your new, flowing locks. It's the hair everywhere else that's a little troublesome.

You can thank your pregnancy hormones for your suddenly thick crowning glory. During pregnancy your hair's natural grow-shed cycle slows, leaving you with more hairs on your head at any given time. Now might be a good time to try out for one of those orgasm-in-the-shower shampoo commercials.

Unfortunately, all that hair growth isn't limited to your head. You may start to notice a random hair (or 47) anywhere from your cheeks, back, and belly to your upper lip and chin. If anyone dares to call you Black Beard, they'll totally deserve whatever's coming to them.

The good news is, tweezing, waxing and electrolysis are all generally accepted as safe during pregnancy. The bad news? All of them can hurt like, um ... like waxing. So feel free to skip the Brazilian right now. We promise, your OB isn't going to judge you.

Your Baby
Your baby isn't just sitting around (on your bladder) doing nothing, he's working hard preparing for life outside the womb—perfecting his lungs and packing on the pounds. He'll gain ½ pound this week alone. So that's where the extra poundage is coming from! Other highlights this week:

Things are starting to get a little crowded inside the old womb as baby grows bigger and bigger. Your ribs are probably pining away for the good old days when they didn't have a foot permanently lodged between them. Hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Your baby's ears are fully functional now. And since they are, you may notice that loud noises and sudden movements can startle the little bugger. He's getting used to the everyday sounds inside the womb: the sound of your heart beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling air, the growling of your stomach because your partner promised he'd be right back with that double cheeseburger (or blueberry pie) and he's taking forever! He'll even be able to hear your voice when your partner finally arrives and you ask him where the bleep he's been! So talk nice!

Baby's got a fully developed inner ear now. This means his sense of balance is working and he can tell whether he's hanging upside down or right side up. He can also feel you moving, so go ahead, pop in your favorite tunes and boogie.

Your little Wiener schnitzel is about the length of a foot-long Chicago hot dog and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds.

Your Life
It's time to find and sign up for a child-birthing class. You'll discover the wonders of labor, C-sections, cradle cap, breastfeeding, umbilical care, and all sorts of breathing and pushing techniques. (It's a good thing that your bio and sex-ed classes didn't go into this much detail, or you might never have gotten pregnant in the first place.) Basically, you find out the answers to all your questions and more (yeah, there are some you might not have wanted to know about just yet).
(Thanks babycenter.com!)

**PS. This is my 100th blog post!!!! Yipee!!!!**

Bella Bug Is TWO!!!

I can't believe it! Was it really a year ago that we watched this princess celebrate her first birthday?!

She has gotten so big and grown up in the last year! She is talking (and babbling) up a storm! She is in nursery now and loves playing with the other kids. She is great a sharing, coloring, puzzles and loves snacktime! I love spending time with this sweet little girl.

We had so much fun celebrating her birthday! I spent hours on the decorations (all homade) and totally forgot to take pictures of all of them. I may have to steal them from Jen.

Yummmm! Funfetti & Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing.

The yummy spread.

She didn't know what on earth to do with the candles, but she figured it out!

Yumm, CHOCOLATE!



I think she likes it!

Presents...

Presents...

And more PRESENTS!!!! This girl is going to be one fabulously dressed toddler!!!

I must say... I am looking forward to these hand-me-downs for Bailey!

Thanks to everyone who is a part of Miss Isabelle's life and who shared her special day with us.

Lots of love for Bella Bug!!! xo

Come What May, And Love It

I think each and every one of us has a few moments in life where we glance around, take in everything that is going on or has gone on in our lives and just has to say,

"WHAT THE HECK??!!"

It's been one of those days. I have moments where I say to myself, "Heavenly Father, I'm glad you have this figured out, because I'm so confused. Is this really what you wanted for our family?" I can't imagine that right here right now is the end result of everything Heavenly Father has prepared us for. Thank goodness His sight is eternal. Even when mine simply looks to the end of this day, week, month, year... I know He has something so much better in store.

It's so easy to start feeling sorry for ourselves, even when we have so much! I have a wonderful husband, and a sweet baby girl that I can't wait to meet. Yet family and money issues easily get me down. It's times like this when I'm so grateful for the gospel and wonderful talks like this one from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

What better advice is there? "Come what may, and love it!"

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

What a different world it would be if we could all apply that principle into our lives.

"[One] thing we can do is understand the principle of compensation. The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude."

Learn To Laugh

"I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now, I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today."

That one certainly made me laugh pretty loud. :)

-Next time my family members act nutty, I just need to laugh.

-Next time I worry about the bills, I need to forget the here and now and focus on the eternal.

-Next time I am sad and missing those I've lost, I need to trust in our Father in Heaven and remember the Principle of Compensation. (I really like this one... I should have some MAJOR blessings waiting!!)

It's just one of those days.

I have to tell myself, I CAN DO HARD THINGS.

Come what may and LOVE IT!

23 Weeks!

Whoops, I am so behind on blogging. We haven't been doing anything too exciting in the Alt family the past few weeks. We've spent a few weekends with friends and we finally got to relax last weekend! :) It was a miracle.

We've been doing lots to get ready for Miss Bailey to arrive. We finally registered on Saturday at Babies R Us. We'll hit up Target this weekend and finish up our want/need list. All of the baby product reviews are making my head spin!

This week I've been spending most of my time getting ready for Isabelle's second birthday. It's a ladybug theme, so I think I'll be seeing black and red for weeks to come! Lots of cute homeade decorations and fun things. :) **Anyone else notice that the homeade stuff ends up costing just as much as bought decorations- and take about 50 times more effort? Hmm....**

Miss Bailey is getting big! She's weighing around a pound and a half now, and about the size of a Harry Potter Book. :) She's moving around and kicking like crazy. It's so fun to feel , and now we can see it! I am so excited to be a mommy. I am trying to get used to all of these extra pounds and remind myself that it's all for her. I am sooo going to have to join a gym in January lol.

Lesson Learned

When a craving kicks in... (example: peppermint patties) stay close to the front of the store. Get one or two, then go home! And enjoy them there.

DO NOT wander through the store... you will end up with strawberry fig newtons, chocolate teddy grahams, bananas (thank goodness), blueberry muffins and the "Big Bag" of peppermint patties.

Most likely, you will eat at least half in one sitting, then almost burst into tears when you see the sad pile of empty wrappers. Oh well... at least they were "mini's" right? :)

21 Weeks!

Chances are good you're feeling someone performing a round-off back handspring in your uterus by now. Is there any other feeling this cool? Other highlights this week:

By now your baby looks like a mini-version of what she'll look like when she's born. All her facial features are formed and hair is growing on her head. She's even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck her thumb or yawn. Aww ...

Baby's heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. Ask for a listen at your next prenatal visit! By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen. This may not sound that exciting, but it's good news.

The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your little bean now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to "practice" chowing down. Yes, it sounds gross (as many aspects of pregnancy do), but it's an important step for your baby toward being able to chow down in the real world. Your baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while now, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that she's absorbing small amounts of sugars from it. And let's face it, being able to effectively digest sugar is important at every stage of life.

Your baby now weighs between 10 and 11 ounces and is approximately 7 inches long—the size of a delicious, cold, frothy bottle of root beer. Float anyone?
(http://www.babycenter.com/)

At 21 weeks, I am LOVING pregnancy! There is SO MUCH to do! And as fall approaches quickly my 'to-do' list is getting increasingly LONGER and LONGER.

21 Weeks!

What To Expect, Baby Center & The Bump

Can't seem to agree on how big Baby Girl is this week!

She is somewhere in the vicinity of a bottle of Root Beer, a Carrot, & a Banana :)

She is moving up a storm and I just have to say... I LOVE LOVE LOVE the little baby kicks! The 'quickening' or 'flutters' lasted for all of a week or two, next came the full-blown kicks! Miss B* is quite an active little girl and likes making herself known to Mommy and Daddy!

Matt got to feel her move for the first time last week :) :) It was so special. Now each night he kisses her goodnight and she kicks him in the face. They already have a special bond. :)

We love our little girl!!! If I didn't have SO MUCH to do, I'd say "December can't get here fast enough!" Maybe once we're 'ready'. Are you ever really ready? I'll settle for having a crib mattress. :)

Holy Water!

No, not the song. (Although it's a good one!)

This is how much water I've had to drink today...

In case you can't read that, it says 3L.

Yep, that's right... THREE LITRES!!!

HOLY WATER!
I have a feeling there are quite a few potty dances in my near future.

Story Time...

Just like every good story, this one starts with:

Once upon a time...

there was an ADORABLE boy. He was a bit rough around the edges. But there was something about him that made her head spin and gave her butterflies.

She's still trying to figure out what it was. :)

They met just 2 days after her 21st birthday and one week before his 24th. They have been inseperable ever since.

Before anyone knew it they were engaged.

Cute, sappy, ridiculously in love and engaged.

The day they got married was the best day of their lives (thus far). Just 2 days after her 22nd birthday, and one week before his 25th.

They honeymooned at the Beach.

And began their happily ever after.

They welcomed a darling new niece into their family, and dreamed of the day they'd have one of their own.

They Honeymooned again!!! Hello Florida!

Another fall came and went with their sweet puppy.

Life has a funny way of changing when you least expect it.

One of the biggest blessings anyone could imagine...

The crazy, sweet and wonderful boy got baptized.

Then his sweet new family got to prepare to go to the temple.

Little did they imagine that they would be having a sweet baby girl to bring with them to the temple!

Before they knew it, they were celebrating their second anniversary, preparing to be sealed in the temple... just 2 days after her 24th birthday, and one week before his 27th.

Pretty good story, eh?

I'm so happy to be celebrating another year with my fabulous hubby.

Today is his 27th birthday.

I am so blessed. He is a wonderful man and is already a wonderful Daddy.

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. It's a day to think about him.

Reflect on how much of a blessing he is in my life.

I sure do love you Matty.