Healthy and Content

UPDATE for all the curious: Doc monitored baby's heart rate today. He said he printout should be published in a textbook for what the perfect, happy baby's heart rate should look like! Guess my tummy is nice and comfy for our little guy. Fluid level is at a 7 (ave. is 5). Dialated to 1.5 last Fri and 70% thinned. I am doing awesome. Energy levels are perfectly normal, and sleeping great every night still, going to work everyday still. We aren't feeling as anxious waiting, and are more content now. We'll expect his arrival when he decides to come. Still EXCITED as ever though!

Boppy Body Pillow Testimonial

"Comfy enough for cats!"
Lucky for him we are on opposite sleeping schedules. Jynx's by day, Melina's by night!

"Ask and ye shall receive"
I requested to have a couple really good smelling flowers in my birthing room. I love flowers, love to smell them, and I always relax when smelling them. These are awesome! Spencer is THE IDEAL husband and bestfriend to ever have! He gambled on getting them now, hoping babe would come this weekend...Hopefully they'll last a couple more days.

P.S. The baby countdown ticker is now counting UP, from the baby's "due date"! Doc will give the baby until the 16th to come on his own. Otherwise, that is when we will expect his arrival. Pray baby will want to come naturally...soon...this anticipation is CrAZy!

Zero

Zero days remaining on the baby countdown ticker

Zero baby in my arms

Zero baby to show off to the world...

Guess it's just me and my belly left to show still.

hmmm. Good thing I realize the "due date" is just an estimation date.

He seems pretty content inside; we may not see him until next week!

Guess you'll all just have to keep up the anticipation with us!

Isn't it just crazy fun?!

Little basketball

Is still in there just hangin' out. Awaiting our little bundle of joy, I am really feeling great and in no hurry; and am fine waiting 'till he is ready to come. We were so blessed with many many gifts from friends and family, and we are so grateful for all of the support everyone has given to us. THANK YOU to everyone for your generosity!

about Haiti and a chance to Help

I know there are so many organizations out there that are accepting donations towards the Haitian relief effort - but I have to let anyone I can know about this one. It's called For His Glory Adoption Outreach . My boss is not only the attorney for this office, but he is also the attorney for the Maison des Enfants de Dieu Orphanage in Haiti. His wife is the Medical Director over the orphanage. They visit Haiti mulitple times a year to check on their children, to help adoptive parents meet their future children, and to make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible. They have 2 adoptive children from Haiti in their home. This earthquake seems very real when our office is so closely related to the disaster. At this time, the Government is attempting to evacuate as many children as possible. Our attorney is literally receiving emails hourly with more information about "the orphan airlift." For His Glory Adoption Outreach is one of the orphanges on this list for evacuation. In order to send people down - they need financial contributions to help pay for part of the travel costs for 15+ women to go and pick up 50+ children. The ratios are not in their favor, but they are doing the best they can. Any financial dollar amount would help. Please contribute if you can. I will directly be able to relate where the money is being spent, and hopefully they can bring as many children away from the disaster and chaos as possible. They also need donations for new land, new buildings, and newly orphaned children. And send prayers, because we know those are always helpful.

You can donate here. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG. Thank you in advance.

60" x 41" photo shoot

My talented Sister took us out for a photo shoot this weekend to document my growing size, with only 2 1/2 weeks left! I have loved watching my belly and body grow to accomodate this new little life, and have been very fortunate to have great health throughout. Here are just a few of the many favorites.

Spencer took this last one. I made the cute little shoes in the first pict.

5 Years of Adventure

It has been nothing short of amazing! Wow, what have we not accomplished? 2 homes, 1 kitty, 1 child nearly here. Great jobs, lots of new friends. Exploring 11 National Parks, 9 Countries and 7 States, we have been the most blessed ever. Here's to Eternity!
We would be on some fantastic week-long vacay right now to celebrate...but we sorta made other plans about 9 months ago instead! Guess we'll just have to make up for it later this year.

How to Start a Vacation

Start by eating your favorite dessert. Make sure the T.V. is hooked up and ready to go, lay out the rest of the good stuff for you to eat all weekend long! Then, spend the weekend sleeping in, having fires, watching movies and Lost, eating rootbeer floats, going on a walk, and just hangin' out. We celebrated our anniversary this weekend up at the family cabin in Midway. It was a much needed relaxation from daily life!

the Flying V

I've been seeing a lot of these lately with the weather changing. This is one of my most favorite animal things to watch in nature. I learned about why birds fly in a V at school when I was young, and have always been facinated and love to watch them.

"as each goose flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the birds that follow. by flying in a “v” formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. when a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. it quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.the geese flying in formation honk to encourage those upfront to keep up their speed. when a goose gets sick or wounded, other geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. if it becomes able to fly again, the group catches up with the flock or launches out with another formation.”

In about 2 Months

this cute little bedroom should be occupied. That is pretty crazy for us to think about! Like, a real baby in that crib? What? The room turned out very nice. We painted the tan color when we moved in. We added the trim everywhere (lot's of caulking!), then finished off with a light blue (clear water) for the top half. I think the room is very calming (which matches this babe's personality thus far). We kinda splurged on this 9 piece Argyle bedding set, but I love it! If you know Spencer, you know the Argyle is for Golf. We'll see what little golf decor we can find, but we aren't into putting much on the walls, so they probably won't get too much. Let's just keep this simple, since the whole baby on board experience, I assume, will be just the opposite!

Farr Better treats

Tis the season for yummy treats that only come for the holidays. I think I have found my Top 3 favorites.
1. Farr's Peppermint Stick ice cream*.

Seriously, this stuff is worth finding! It's so creamy and the peppermint has such a better flavor with both red and green candies. Way better than just the red & white stuff you can find anywhere. [I've only seen this special kind at Macey's & WalMart so far]

2. Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses.

It's like the Holiday's in your mouth! I started on these last month. So worth it.

3. Lindt Lindor Truffles.

Can't go wrong with these truffle chocolates, where the meltaway creamy insides are just to die for.

*Last year when I tried this ice cream for the first time, it was love at first taste! It was creamy and delicious and I was instantly hooked. I couldn't wait for the next night to eat it again! The next day came, and I took it out of the freezer to eat it. I opened it up, and the Carton was Full, like I didn't eat any of it. I was baffled. Ok, so next, I had a "blonde" moment, as this is what I thought for the next split second "It [the ice cream] knew I loved it so much that it refilled itself for me!" ...Serious. After I came to my senses, I realized I must've opened the wrong end. So I checked the other end, where I found, to my disappointment, the eaten ice cream. I am obsessed. [P.S. I felt the need to document this story somewhere, for my sake, and to give my posterity a good laugh]

Anyway, I hope you can enjoy some of these Sweet & Delish treats this season, they are 100% worth the extra calories and lb's you may see creep in. I Promise!

Lastly...It's now official...Meowy Christmas!

He can sometimes be uncooperative...hmmm, I wonder why?! I made sure to give him a treat after this one! I'll try for another later when he forgets he was traumatized.

4-Course Meal

by Chef Spencer. Special Guests + a couple hours = a Very Special, Delicious, Gourmet Dinner. The Starter was an Artichoke Dip with bread. Then we had lettuce wedges with a Bleu Cheese dressing (was surprisingly good, turns out none of us really like bleu cheese). For the Main Course came Asparagus with Angel Hair Pasta, Baked Salmon and topped with an Alfredo like sauce with a hint of Lemon...your mouth watering yet! To end the evening, the Chef made Cream Puffs with Strawberries. It was a busy busy couple hours, but it was perfect, down to the presentation of the food and table of flowers. Seriously, I have the most amazing man in my house!

Want a close up of those babies? That's what I thought...and yes, they DID taste as good as they look.

The special guests came for the new happy couple, my baby bro who tied the knot. It was a beautiful day for them. My grandparents live in Arizona, they get cold super easy. My grandpa is wearing one of Mark's jackets that someone gave to him...isn't he Super Stylin'! Representing!

the Bakers

Doesn't Spencer look great in an apron! Spencer made a pumpkin pie, I made an Apple pie (w/our apple tree apples). This day we worked pretty well together. Usually it's 1 or the other in the kitchen, not both, we have pretty different styles. We are working on this! Spencer does great with the cooking, Melina with the baking. (I also just made my apron at Super Saturday! Cute.)

Looks Grown Up

We finally purchased our first real home furnishing item, and we're loving it. We have been using "hand me downs" for everything for our almost 5 yrs of marriage. Nice, since we saved all that money, but it was time to say good-bye to our red couches (they looked awesome in the old house, but not this new one). Everything is from Ashley Furniture, where we have a sweet hook-up. We made that little cat tree for Jynx, to try and keep him off our new stuff...it's working so far. My sister's first comment was "It looks grown up!"

Expelliarmus

We dressed up for our ward "Trunk-or-Treat" and had a good time w/friends there. We had the best decorated trunk, of course! As for Halloween night...we didn't pass out candy, but instead went out...and it was Awesome! (Didn't feel bad, since the kids who would come by our house we already saw at Trunk-or-Treat) We had the restaurant and stores all to ourselves. That's the best evening to have a night out and not have to see all the crowds.

In my Belly

So here are some picts. I saw this idea on another blog, to take a pict each week, wearing the same thing. It was my idea to measure, I like to see when the changes are happening. Not much change the last month except I gained 1 more inch. What's the most interesting, is in the morning I am my regular 36-37 inches, but by night I am a whole 2 inches rounder, the clothes definately feel tighter! All these picts are taken on Friday mornings, so you don't see my full 'large and in charge' yet! I am feeling bigger, but still feel healthy and well.

I started a journal for myself and baby, again to document when changes happen, how I feel physically and mentally at different times, what people say, stuff like that. This is an exerpt of what I wrote about my growing belly: I am about 6 months (24 weeks) along now and you can tell that I am pregnant, and don't just have a chubby stomach! I am loving my cute little round belly. Some of my clothes look even better! I have looked forward to seeing myself with a pregnant belly, and my body is growing well to accomodate you. It's funny, because people now give me a look that says "Oh, you have a pregnant belly now!" Which is then what people voice to me in some way. My friend's husband saw me yesterday and noticed my growing belly and said "Ya know, there's nothing more pretty than seeing a woman pregnant." That was very nice of him. I am mostly getting surprised looks from those who didn't know I was pregnant (acquaintences), or people saying I am now looking pregnant, pointing out the obvious. It is nice to hear genuine comments about my quickly changing looks.

99 days

...until Baby is supposed to come. Um....hello, that is less than 100! Where has the time gone? I am 25 weeks and 6 days along (6 1/2 months); I only have 14 weeks and 1 day to go. Wow! Tis the season for time to rush by even faster now too. I will post some picts of the growing belly soon. I am beginning to start feeling him moving more distinct now. Spencer felt his movement last night for the first time. Sweet.
"I weigh just under 2 lbs and am 14 inches tall; I can respond to noises from outside."

Cruisin the Cold

September 10-18, 2009 we left for Seattle, WA to catch the inside passage Alaskan Cruise. Click on the pictures to enlarge. We were so excited for the fun. We met up with Spencer's old H.S. friend Rachel and her cute little family in Seattle. They were so great and took us to see Mt. Ranier. What an amazing National Park. It's this huge, snowcovered mountain in the middle of the forest. So crazy. We loved Seattle and want to go back for a real vacation. Thanks Rachel, Sterling and Stockton for the great time. CRUISING ALASKA: Day 1: we left Seattle to make our way towards Alaska. We saw our 1 and only sunset this night. It was beautiful! (The flowers I got for $5 at Pike's Place Market in Seattle before we left)

Day 2: Was our first day at sea. No pictures, no need. The boat was rocking so bad, going over 16 foot swells, let's just say that is NOT ideal! Melina threw up 6 times (after everything she ate) and Spencer just did not feel normal either.

Day 3: Our first port, Juneau Alaska. We took a bus tour to Mendenhall Glacier. We wanted to do a little hike here, but Melina wasn't fully recovered from the day before, and it was a little colder than we expected! We walked around the town, then got back on the ship.

Day 4: Our second port, Skagway Alaska. This was our favorite port in Alaska. We had our full energy back and had a beautiful, sunshiny day. We started out on the White Pass Railway tour. It was a bus tour that took us to the top of the railroad, then the railway took us down it's route. It was so interesting to learn about the Gold Rush and all the drama that went on back then! After this we went back and changed to some cooler clothes and did a little hike. It was so green, and being in the fresh air did us some good.

Day 5: The ship took us to a Fjord, which is an inlet, to see a Glacier. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one on the schedule, and not as pretty, we heard. We were in there at 6 a.m. and left there at noon. So the rest of the day was a day at sea. (we did not look forward to 1.5 days at sea). We got some cool pictures, and the glacier was neat, seeing all the broken ice in the ocean, but there was no wildlife.

Day 6: our second Day at Sea. We played it really safe, not wanting to have another awful day at sea. We woke up and made it through breakfast. We found mid-ship where it rocked the least, and parked it there for the day. We took our books and labtop, read and watched a movie. We made it through the day not throwing up, but we still did not feel ideal, and on the brink now and then. See all the fun towel animals our stateroom attendant left us each night.

Day 7: Our last port in Victoria, Canada. Again, we had a beauiful,clear day. Our main event here was to visit the Butchart Gardens. WOW, they are so worth it! We love flowers and landscaping, so it was perfect for us. Even though it was the end of the season, it was still an amazing sight. One day...hopefully our backyard will compare!

Day 8: We ended the cruise at Vancouver, Canada. We wanted to spend the day here, so booked our flight for the next day. We were SO glad we had this extra day. We absolutely loved Vancouver. There is a ton to do, but we figured out a great game plan that allowed us to do a lot, and enjoy what we did. We laughed and lived up the last day of spending with each other on vacation.

In the end, this Alaskan Cruise was a little rough for us. We did not see really any wildlife we expected to see (dolphins, eagles). The mountains were cool, but we have awesome one's here. We had an awesome start in Seattle and end in Vancouver, with some high points in between, but this vacation took a little toll on us. We still love the idea of the cruise, and will go on another, but we'll make sure it's in mostly calm waters...and I'm not pregnant! Enjoy the pictures. You can view these and lots more in our picasa album.

Warnings/Precautions

I received this email from 2 family members now. Usually I don't pass the word along b/c I've heard it before, but I found these to be some very good tips on avoiding danger and keeping ourselves a little bit safer by being aware of what we can do.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!
2. Learned this from a tourist guide. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you....Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy..The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.) DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE..
...If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.
5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side.... If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!
8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird.. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door..'The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.
10. Water scam! If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full ball so that you will go out to investigate and then attack.
Stay alert, keep safe, and look out for your neighbors!

Have fun and Rock Out

Sept 9th we were at the Keith Urban Concert. He just rock's out and shows us why we keep going back to see him every year! (this was my 4th or 5th of his). It was a BLAST!!

Boondocks opened the show for him with their harmonizing bliss. They really are amazing singers, all 4 of them have really great voices of their own, and together produce such a unique, yet fun tune.

Rock out with Keith Urban