32 Weeks

Spring is only a few days away, and it seems Old Man Winter wanted to have one last hoorah.

Symptoms:

Elli is growing rapidly and it's reassuring.

 I now have to hold my belly if I go down stairs... or change positions quickly... or chase Tagg... or move. The belly hold is now for true support.

I spend my days drinking water and eating ice chips and my nights getting rid of said substances instead of sleeping.

But over all I'm starting get a lot of energy back, and though I waddle my way through it, I have even been able to exercise once in while. I know. Pigs are flying and everything. It's a miracle.

I feel very blessed. 

So far I'm feeling better this trimester than both of the previous, and I can't complain about that. :)

Cravings:

Still the dill sunflower seeds and cheese. Cheese Grommit. Cheeeeese.

Anything affiliated with girl scout cookies or oreos is also awesome.

Tagg seems to be understanding a bit more and will randomly come and kiss my belly and then point and say, "Baby Ellwee is in there."

And when I told Boston we have another doctor appointment for Elli this week he jumped up and said, "Do we get to bring her home now?! Is she big enough?!" 

I can't wait to see him with his baby sister. He's such a great big brother to Tagg, it's going to be sweet to see him with Elli. Hopefully seeing Boston excited will help make the transition easier for glued-to-mommy-Tagg.

Aaaannnd,
my sweet sister-in-law (we actually look a lot like real sisters, it's fun) is throwing a shower for Elli this coming week. I was surprised, and I'm SUPER excited and grateful!! I can't wait to celebrate our baby girl with family and friends!

Aaaaaaaaaaand,
for kicks,
the last time I wore this striped tank I thought I had a belly, ha ha.

Tricky Leprechaun

A naughty leprechaun visited our house early St. Patrick's Day morning.

He didn't wipe his feet and got muddy (hmm, or were they chocolatey?) footprints all over the place, even the walls! He made a mess of the boys' toys and got into snacks.
He even nibbled on the sacred girl scout cookies! 

We'll let it slide since he left a cute note made from gold dust and green treats for the boys. 

Silly leprechaun. 

Maybe next year we'll set up a trap to see if we can catch him if he comes again.

We'll Keep Them

While Dev was grilling dinner last night some homeless kids came into our backyard.

We decided to feed them and even allowed them inside for a bath. How generous, I know. 

*ps, who dresses these kids anyhow?

*pps, this picture no where near shows the layers of dirt and grime imbedded in their hair

*ppps, if the amount of flith = the amount of fun, then I'd say they had a fabulous time

How in the world do they get so dirty so fast? Especially with a yard that is 95% grass?

As Dev stripped the boys down and tried to dust them off I told him that this was his chromosomes doing and therefor his fault. 

However, Dev and my brother who was over for dinner know better,

and the evidence proved me wrong...

My sisters and girlfriends and I may have been known to play in the mud any chance we could.

We were tomboys.

I have brought this laundry disaster upon myself.

I wonder what our Elli will be like?

Buckaroo Buddies

Spring is almost here, and trips to the farm are back.

Mr. Sun, you have been missed.

Belated Anniversarcation With The Fam

Remember how we didn't go on our quick little anniversary getaway last month because the kids got sick and we didn't want to leave them overnight while they were puking their guts out?

Oh, you don't remember those details of our super exciting life?

Well, last weekend in the middle of the afternoon I was like, "Yo hubby, let's break this joint."

And he was like, "Sup wifey, that's a rad idea."

And I was like, "You get the snacks and gas and I'll get the kids."

And he was like, "Let's do this."

And we did.

We took a completely last second and really fun overnight trip with the kiddos to St.George and Zion's, and we had such a great time!

It's awesome how even a small trip together can recharge your batteries sometimes.

The boys really had a blast in Zion's. They played in the dirt, found lizards, fed squirrels, and hiked their little legs all over the place. The weather was perfect, Tagg only tried to run off a few times, and we only had to deal with one tantrum (up by the Narrows, so it echoed through the entire park I'm sure). 

Honest to goodness, we had so much fun!

Warning: A ton of pictures follow:

The boys were really excited to be able to break out their flip flops and shorts and head to warmer weather.

They played with legos during the drive and after a while he heard Tagg from the back seat, "Look, I made an 'F'!" 

We looked back, and sure enough, an "F". Haha, cute kid.

They would play in elevators all day if they could. Who knew pushing number buttons was so fun? 

We stopped at the St. George Temple for a bit. The boys get so excited visiting new temples. :) 

The entrance to Zion's is pretty much little boy rock heaven. There are a bunch of little gem and rock shops, so we stopped to let the boys play around and pick out one special rock to keep. 

If you need to know where any of the bathrooms in Zion's are, just ask the prego. She is sure to know. 

70 degrees and this scenery. How could you not have fun? 

The kind gentleman who took this photo was elderly enough that perhaps this really did look clear to him? Ha ha!

As I took this picture Boston was saying, "It's ok little lizard. I'm a very nice boy and will not hurt you."

He is such a great kid. 

I like to call this photo, "The Tantrum Heard 'Round The Park."

I love the gorgeous red rock in the southern half of our state! Can't wait to go back and play again.

31 Weeks

I have reached the stage where, with each step that I take, "Waddle... waddle... waddle..." echos through my mind.

Elli is getting bigger and lower and moving around like crazy. It's fun and a little nuts to look down and watch my belly roll around as she kick boxes. She's been getting the hiccups almost every day, and it's really cute to feel. Her big brothers both go the hiccups a lot too.

I've been feeling amazed at what my body can do lately.

Symptoms:

Chloasma, pregnancy mask, huge dark spots, whateveryoucall them... 

they are getting darker every day. At first they looked like freckles (yay, I love freckles!) but as time goes on it just looks like all I do is lay out on the beach every day (boo, huge splotches!). 

But acne has still subsided for the time being, so it's nice not to be dealing with both.

It's funny to see things on the floor and really take a minute to think about whether or not it would be worth it to squat down and pick it up. Usually it's not worth it. I am a whale, a beached whale who can't bend over.

Toes? I have toes?

Thank goodness for warmer weather and slip ons and flip flops!

Cravings:

 I'm still loving the cheese and spicy things and food in general. 

And I've been craving dill pickle sunflower seeds, the Spitz kind. Mmmm.

Over all, just feeling as grand and huge as a prego can, and feeling blessed.