Top 10 Ways You Know You Stink At Blogging...

10. Your friend says, "So, did you quit blogging?" No... But I can see why you might think that.

9. Your last post was over 6 months ago. 6 months and 7 days to be exact.

8. You were reading a friends blog who said how much she appreciated reading her fellow young mommy bloggers. My friend is currently mid-move with a newborn and a husband out of town on medical rotations. She was talking about how inspiring and uplifting she finds her friends blogs and basically said thank you for sharing. I feel the same way about reading other friends blogs and am not contributing to the upliftment. Let's fix that.

7. You took an awesome trip to Utah and haven't mentioned it. Back in April I went to Utah for a whole week! It was SO fun to see so many friends and family. I got to see Ashley and Brian and visit their darling apartment in Park City. Had delicious Mexican food at this fun place in downtown Park City. Bought them my favorite cherry cordial ice cream and then we visited for a long time after getting home. The next day I slept in and visited my Cappellucci cousins in Bountiful. Laurel and I went shopping for a cute maternity shirt and then we all had dinner and watched a movie/ate ice cream. Kathy got to feel baby boy hiccup and it was SO fun to visit with my cousins! Kathy and I got to go to the amazing Sunshine Cafe for breakfast, then I got to tag along with my cousin Chelsea to a 1-yr old's photo shoot. I've been wanting to get into photography myself - have always LOVED taking pictures - and she showed me the ropes and taught me alot about my camera, how to make cool backdrops, basics with photoshop etc... I went down to BYU to hug Kendall and see Kelsie's freshman dorm. Then I got to meet up with one of my freshmen roommates at Costa Vida - yum! I got to go visit Aubrey, Blair and Brittany and Aubrey and Blair's new house. My sister Katie and bff Renae joined us and we visited for a LONG time. Slumber party at Aubrey's house. Katie and I went to breakfast for all-you-can-eat French Toast and Kneaders. Wouldn't you know I locked the door I wasn't supposed to lock and we were locked out. Insert picture of pregnant woman and sister climbing over the back fence to try and find any window or door that would open. Ended up having to go to Aubrey's work for her extra key. See #6 below. Then cousins Chelsea and Ashlee threw me a baby shower that was TOO CUTE!!! It was airline themed (Justin works for Delta) and every last detail was meticulous in the airline references/color scheme. If anybody wants a cool party - contact Topsy Turvy!!! It was SO FUN to see so many friends and family! My first friend on this planet was there, Jessica Hill, and her mom. Our moms went to pregnancy class together :) There was also a great turnout from Justin's friends, who I now call my own. I'm only sad we can't be out there this Th for Whitney's wedding :( Then Katie and I slumber partied at Chelsea's house, woke up the next morning to some amazing chocolate chip scones, and headed back to the airport. It was an amazing trip that was jam-packed with my favorite Utah foods and favorite Utah people!!!

6. You got maternity pictures taken by the amazing Chelsea Peterson and haven't mentioned it. Chelsea is my cousin and offered to take maternity pictures for me. They turned out WONDERFULLY and I want to be as good as Chelsea is at photography when I grow up. She has such an eye for it and is definitely making a name for herself. Super proud to be related to her!!!

5. You had three baby showers and haven't mentioned them. I mentioned the Utah shower in #7. Then my best friend of over two decades, Ashley Jones (Moote) threw me a shower with her mama in GA. It was a darling Winnie the Pooh theme complete with honeycomb to put on rolls. SO fun to feel loved and showered with gifts. We received so many gifts, we are still so grateful. Then my math department at work threw me a school shower. Again, enormous generosity!! We received the changing table, crip, and play pen we registered for and still had $ leftover to furnish the baby's room. What a blessing!!!

4. Since your last post you found and closed on a home. Back in Jan when we realized how much our rent was going up, we knew we should probably find somewhere else to live so that half Justin's income wasn't housing. After a long time looking, we found one! It was a HUD home (foreclosure) and the process was SO FRUSTRATING for several reasons. I promise that soon we'll do a post just on the house with before/after pictures and more details on buying a home. Long story short, we are homeowners! We were able to do a 15-yr loan and we are SO proud that we can say that!!!

3. Since your last post you decided on a name for your baby that was NOT either of the two names discussed in said post. So this darling little baby came out and did not look like a Mason or a Logan. So we went back to the drawing board and between the two of us came up with Levi Daniel. Definitely fits him. And I feel like it's a good, sturdy, cool name. It did take the whole first day though, so we just called him Little Man and Buddy and Son and stuff until we officially decided on Levi.

2. A baby? Oh yeah, you had a baby. Man, that's a story on its own and one that deserves a decent telling. Long story short, Levi was a week late. We went into the hospital on Thursday night 6/14 to start the induction process. Everyone told me things would be so smooth and that pitocin would just work so great. Levi was born Sunday morning 6/17. I feel cool b/c my cousin Lindsey (L/D nurse) said that my story is the second worse she's ever heard. Are you intruiged? Good. I'll tell you soon.

1. You actually have fun stories of parenthood thus far but haven't shared any of them. And your baby is 3 months old. Levi is just darling and precious and cute. He's a big boy, but his growth seems to be more in the length than the weight. He just started rolling over from stomach to back last week. He's blowing bubbles and actually laughing. He has one big dimple and I think I see another small one. He gives big open-mouthed smiles where you can see his cute little gums. His newborn hair is almost all gone - except for the part that looks like a mullet - and his new soft infant hair is white blonde. It feels like a beanie baby. Levi will sing at you sometimes when you sing to him. He'll take a bottle but doesn't like straight formula. He used to poop or pee on you EVERY SINGLE DIAPER CHANGE. Luckily he grew out of that. He LOVES baths. He pooped all over Justin at his first doctor's appt. Then he did it again 3 days later at his weight check. It was the same nurse and she actually remembered him from 3 days prior. Levi loves music and it can calm him when he's fussy. He loves to be thrown into the air. Sleeping between all his feedings at night - goes to bed by 8pm. His longest stretch on record is 11 1/2 hours. Only happened once. But he'll go about 8 hrs every night and then 3 or 4 hour chunks until about 7:30/8am when he's awake for good. His napping schedule changes daily, it feels, but he takes one long nap each day. What a joy and blessing and delight!

I will try to never have the need to write a top ten list like this again. Hopefully I'll post again soon with pictures and details for all of the above. Yay life!!!!

Badger Update

Thank you all for taking the time to vote for baby's name. Unfortunately mom and dad are still split down the middle, so it will be interesting to see how the name game plays out. Hopefully baby boy look a LOT like Mason so daddy will just forget he ever liked the name Logan ;)

I think I'm starting to realize that life will NEVER slow down. The "slow" weeks fill up just as much as the ones that you knew were going to be busy.

The last few months have been no different. At school I've been doing an after-school program called "Second Chance" for those students who failed first semester. It's a 6 week program, 4 days each week, and we breeze through all the material from first semester and students can test out by getting a 70% on each unit or on a comprehensive final exam. It's a good way for kids who failed b/c they were plain old lazy to be able to pass. But those who failed because they didn't understand it the first time - much harder for them. And frustrating for me. So, that added 90+ minutes to every school day for me. It ended last week and I have thoroughly enjoyed not having that extra obligation after school. Yay!!!

Since November (?) Justin's been doing double-duty at work. He started his new job as an FSM (operational manager for in-flight services at Delta) in October, but then his old corporate communications job had a huge influx of stuff they needed to do and they desperately needed his help. So, he's been working Tues- Thurs at the GO doing corporate communications and then weekends (usually Fri-Sat) back at the domestic base in ATL as an FSM. He's said that he loves his new job as an FSM, and that it's actually been neat to split time. Good change of pace. This month is the last month he'll be splitting time, because he'll be doing flight attendant training (needed for FSMs) starting mid-April. The fun part about that is the classes are supposedly 10 hrs a day, 6 days a week for 10 weeks. His class is scheduled to end June 5. Baby is due June 7. So we pray daily for a healthy full-term baby!!

In other news, Justin was accepted into a mentoring program that Delta does. They had hundreds of applicants and chose 50 to be in the program this year. That's a very cool opportunity that Justin is also enjoying! (If I said anything incorrectly, I'll make sure Justin fixes it soon, I promise).

For Valentine's Day Justin gave me some BEAUTIFUL flowers, took me to a yummy thai restaurant, and gave me a Kindle Touch! The best part: he WON it in a raffle at his gym. Who actually wins stuff in raffles? We can now say that we do!! Then for an early anniversary present he gave me a beautiful, amazing, expensive DSLR camera!!!! We knew we wanted one before baby boy arrived, and we've been saving and talking about one for a long time now. Once I stay home with baby boy I'd love to get more into photography stuff to compliment the video stuff we already do. "Step one: camera" is now checked off the list!

Pregnancy is going well. Baby boy is getting bigger and stronger - he loves flips and swirls and does not like when we poke his cute little butt or foot when he puts them too close to my belly where we can feel him so well. He is very easy to feel when he's moving, and it's entertaining to watch parts of my belly jump or move of their own accord. It's very entertaining to watch and sometimes it almost tickles.

I'm just starting to get uncomfortable - really hot at night (and during 5th period), thirsty, swelling in hands/feet, decrease in sleeping comfort, etc... Belly button is out. We just passed 28 weeks and uterus is measuring 28 cm right on target. Yay! We start going to appointments every 2 weeks now instead of 4. I can't believe we have less than 12 weeks until d-day. Where is the time going?!? Looking at upcoming stuff, I am confident these next 12 weeks will fly by faster than the last. Augh!?!?

We're moving out of our apartment April 3. We have a long saga of house hunting drama. We're still in the middle of a bunch of question marks, so I think I'll save the story for next time when hopefully there's more definite stuff to tell you. But we'll be moving all our stuff into a storage shed and living with my parents for the next few months until we move into the house (or possibly apartment). Fingers crossed we pack everything in an orderly manner so that it's easy to move-in wherever we end up. And that we do so in 2 weeks.

Katie was home this weekend and it was SO good to see her. We felt good that a family member actually had a good experience using one of our buddy passes. It was an action-packed week and unfortunately I think she has all the pictures. I know some are already up on facebook - see them and like them!!

Coming up: Claire's 17th birthday, Hunger Games Premiere (with Justin, Mom, Claire, and some of Claw's homies), filming track events, baby showers for friends, and finishing off our math stuff before Spring Break. Wahoo!!

Posts to look for: San Francisco update (including our "best photo of the trip" competition; Housing update.

What should my name be?

As many of you are aware, for some time Erin and I have been debating on what to name our son. June is quickly approaching and we are still in limbo. We have narrowed the options down to either Logan or Mason. Justin prefers Logan and Erin prefers Mason. We like them both, but are still not really leaning one way or another so we thought we would open it up to all of you to cast your votes and see what you think. Please take the poll and let us know.

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Halfway there!

Happy 20 weeks to us! This was a fun week for us and I wanted to share along the way instead of playing catch-up in 3 months time :) And this update is complete with a picture!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How far along? 20 weeks

Weight Gain: 10 pounds* - adjusted after Friday's doctor's visit (including ONLY 4 pounds over Christmas/New Year's!! My mom's jaw dropped when I told her and she said "but I saw how much you ate!" - yay!!!)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, especially pants!!!! (Shirts and skirts are still too big)

Gender: Boy :)

Movement: Finally started this week!! I was sitting in Sunday School and felt a rumbly in my tumbly that I knew was NOT gas and it was really cool. Since then I've felt baby boy some every day. He's even been felt by Justin, my mom, and Aunt Claire. This is the coolest thing ever and brings a smile to my face every time. I want to shout at my classes "HEY! My baby is moving!" every time he moves or kicks during class but think they'd get tired of that pretty quick...

Sleep: Sleep is still okay as long as I don't get too hot... Thank goodness for fans and a husband who likes them as much as I do. Trying to stop sleeping on my back - is it really that bad for me/baby? :(

Symptoms: None really, just an amazingly working nose!

What I miss: being less emotional? Tears come far too easy over everything.

Cravings: Not as much lately, but for a while there I loved citrus (grapefruit and cuties = heaven) and good ol' hamburgers. Salty things are yummy too. I have not enjoyed sweets as much - they just don't sound appetizing.

Best moment this week: Feeling baby move!

What I am looking forward to: Official 20-week ultrasound tomorrow followed by doctor's appointment. Really excited to see baby again and compare his growth to a month ago. Excited to have the day off with Justin and to do baby stuff!

December 2011

I can't believe December came and went. It was busy and loaded with lots of friends, family, and fun!

I was blessed to see each of my besties over the break, and had only planned on one! Amy showed up at our house to play games and visit in PTC and I was shocked - such a pleasant suprise! When Justin and I flew out to Utah, he had to work the whole day and did so from the SLC base in the airport. So I had arranged with Ashley to spend a few hours together. She pulled up to get me and who was in her car - AMY! Poor thing was stuck trying to make it home to HI for Christmas after her quick GA visit. So we got a quick picture and then left Amy to make her way home. (which, apparently, took another 36+ hours and a purchased plane ticket, poor thing). Then Renae (no pic) was at the ATL airport to pick up her sister Jocelyn & Garrett when we got back from ID. So I got to spend 5 min with her until Joc came along. Yay!

We went to lunch at CPK (yum!), watched the new Mission Impossible movie, did some Christmas shopping, and then I got to spend a little time with my cousin Ashlee, who I haven't seen in almost 3 years!?! I can't believe how big her kids are getting, time just flies too fast.

Then we flew up to Pocatello, ID for our Christmas vacation. We went bowling and Reese loved getting help from her aunts and uncles.

Sam learned that honking noses can be fun, although I'm sure Josh disagrees.

We went to the church on Christmas Eve and played kickball, then realized we'd lost Reese and Sam! Oh where could they be?!?

Blair showed off his double dutch skills...

We played lots of Minute to Win it games and enjoyed the family fueding.

On Christmas Day we sang in Grandma's ward as a family, came home to Huevos Rancheros for lunch, then opened Christmas presents and spent the rest of the day visiting and playing with each other.

I think the highlight of Justin's trip is always how much time he gets to spend with Reese and Sam. We had a WONDERFUL trip and played our guts out, staying up way past our bedtime and I think we went home more tired than we came. It was so fun to visit and catch up and spend time with the Badger Clan. SO glad I ended up with such amazing people as in-laws. I count myself really really lucky!

We returned to GA two days after Christmas. Justin had to go back to work :( But about 90 min after our plane touched down I was on the road with Scott and Kelley headed to Hilton Head to join the rest of my family. We got a few days at the beach and then a few more together at home. It was fun to be all together for the first time since our cruise last year (although we were a lot less tan!). There was (strip) beach 4-square - ask Claire, pool volleyball, board games and movies galor (including one of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - life changingly horrible). Pictures are on facebook so go check them out there (didn't use my camera).

One of the highlights of our Christmas was getting to have a really early ultrasound (Christmas present to ourselves). It was only $50 at our doctors office, and WELL worth it! It was amazing to see our little baby move around so much. He had the hiccups and we got to watch them. Then he rolled over and crossed his legs and all kind of stuff. Claire loves this one b/c he's making The Claw for her.

Look at his brain! And his spine! What a smart, handsome young man already! And his tiny little nose. Awwwww.

Wait... his? Yep, it's a boy! This is a picture from below him - he's kind of sitting on his legs and there in the middle is are his boy parts.

This one's even easier to see his boy part. I was only 15 1/2 weeks when we went in for the ultra-sound, so he was still small enough to stretch out.

This is Justin's favorite - he'd rolled over and looked really comfy and cozy. Justin says he likes it b/c he can imagine a little baby curled up on his shoulder with his little bottom just needing to be patted and his legs tucked up underneath him. For sweetness!

We have our 20-week ultrasound next week, so we should have more pictures. That will be exactly one month after the pictures posted here. I'm interested to see if we'll be able to notice any changes or if our untrained eyes will think he looks the same. I'm most excited to just see him again and get a sneak peek at what's going on in there.

The ultrasound tech said that my placenta is actually on the front, which is no problem but means I won't be able to feel movements until later than most.

Went in for my 18-wk check-up this week and am thrilled that I only gained 4 pounds since my 14-wk check-up. That INCLUDES all the Christmas eating I did (which was a lot). That's 11 pounds total and I am so happy about it! At the check-up the CNM said she was impressed with my abs (well, thank you) and that it'll make labor easier. Justin and I laughed when I got home b/c we both know I haven't exactly been working out for the last long time, including pre-pregnancy.

No real morning sickness. During the first trimester I did have a sensitive gag reflex, especially when I looked at something slimey (used tupperware was the worst) - I had to stop taking leftover for lunch because getting the tupperware home was gag fest. But the hyper-sensitivity has greatly diminished since getting into second trimester.

Cravings: nothing really strong. I have particularly enjoyed/wanted to eat hamburgers and citrus. Definitely more so than normal, but not in a "it's midnight and I need THAT right this instant" kind of way. I do get hungry more often, and when I'm hungry it feels "emergency feed me now" - I eat 3 meals plus two medium snacks every day and that still means that I feel kind of hungry when I go to bed.

Baby bump is definitely there and noticeable. It's nice to finally have maternity clothes to wear, although the shirts are still too big. Maternity pants are my saving grace, however. A huge thank you to my cousin Lindsey and coworker Ashley. Thanks to them I have a mostly stocked maternity wardrobe. I literally only need a few skirts to wear to church/work and I'm completely done. THANK YOU!

Most fun thing: this week I rolled over onto my stomach on my bed and felt kind of uncomfortable. Then I realized it was b/c I didn't fit the way I usually do. Then I realized IT'S MY BABY! I'm thrilled to say that the top of my uterus is now almost to my belly button and you can totally feel it. Grow baby grow!

Lots to look forward to in Jan: 20-wk ultrasound, Britney's wedding, 3-day weekend (although Justin works Sun/Mon but at least he doesn't go in until later = sleeping in and big breakfasts!). Yay!

Oct and Nov 2011

Yep, it's UPDATE TIME! Fingers crossed that 2012 is the year when updates are shorter and more frequent...

Well, October started off AWESOMELY! After trying for a few short months, on 10/3 I peed on a stick and it said "pregnant"! I was a little bit shocked and didn't know what to do, so I woke Justin up and said "I think I'm pregnant" - which woke him up immediately.

As if it would somehow change over the course of the day, I wanted to double check with the remaining supply of at-home tests. Out of the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses, right?!?

For dinner that night, Justin made an amazing "baby" dinner. Baby back ribs, baby carrots, baby red potatos, and we had the baby Simply Lemonades to drink. SO FUN! (And totally his idea).

We went to an improv show with a big group of friends mid-October, including some of the guys from Whose Line Is It Anyway. I don't know the last time I laughed so much. Lots of fun. AWESOME people!

For Thanksgiving this year Justin and I did our own thing and went on a Babymoon Cruise! We were able to find one over the exact amount of time Justin was able to get off work and LOVED it! We were so excited to get on the boat!

Justin loves to wear "old man" outfits to dinner. Thankfully he only took one this time.

Yes, those are our feet. That is the ocean. This is my happy place :)
*sidenote: while we were in the Bahamas, Justin was offered weed by the locals at least 3 times. He wondered what he needed to change about his appearance that would make him look like less of a weed smoker. Suggestions are welcome - haha.

The Promenade had these BEAUTIFUL lights that just hung from the ceiling. They changed colors and were so gorgeous to look at.

We were in Nassau for almost 24 hours, so after everyone had left the boat, we played some put-put after breakfast before hitting the beach. We had a lot of fun (Justin schooled me both times), and this shot I hit the ball really hard, it bounced 79 times down the L-shaped thing and came BACK to exactly where you see it. I am a-ma-zing.

Justin did the same thing, except it wasn't quite as funny b/c it didn't go through the whole entire thing. I think he just bounced it off a rock and straight back. Still, it was funny to laugh right back at him!

The beach in Naussau was WINDY that day!

Yes, that's my Baywatch husband, walking toward ME in the sand. So glad he's mine! :)

Justin took the towel-making class our last day and brought back the towels to show me his new friends. This was my favorite, and I made them pose together.

Then I went on the waterslide, which was COLD by the time the sun was so low. And yet fun. Who ever gets tired of waterslides? (And don't worry, this pregnant lady was very careful and went so slowly that I didn't even glide into the water at the end, it was less of an impact than walking down pool stairs - SO slow)

Our darling wait staff. We heart them, especially for not judging us by the amount that we consumed.

Yay for cruises! Not sure when we'll be able to go again, but we hope it's not too far in the future!

Dear Smoker...

Last week I was sitting in the underground pick-up place at the airport, waiting for my husband who'd gone to get the car to come get me. I was enjoying the beautiful weather, refreshing breeze, and the glory of sitting outside away from most of the traffic and listening to the roar of planes taking off. And playing Sudoku.

You walked up and sat down next to me, looking as ordinary as I, seeming to enjoy the weather as well while waiting for the bus or your ride or whatever it is that you were waiting for. Suddenly, without warning AND WITHOUT EVEN ASKING, you whip out a cigarette, light up, and start puffing away as if you were the only person within a 30 yard radius.

So I got up, dragged all 4 of my bags (briefcase,purse, and 2 roller bags) far enough away to where I couldn't smell you - literally dragging a bag b/c I couldn't carry/roll everything. There was no bench. I sat on the concrete surrounded by bird poop and bugs.

Thank you for being so selfish that you didn't even ask if I minded. Let's not forget that I was there for a full 5 minutes before you arrived. Let's not forget that the air was made sans smoke to begin with. Let's not forget that smoking is actually harmful to others. Let's not forget that NOT EVERYONE SMOKES!!!

I think this is what bothers me most about "tolerance" - you expect me to let you do your thing. And I will. I didn't start shouting or quoting health studies. But why don't you show some respect and tolerance towards the rest of us and let us do our thing. In this case they CANNOT coexist. I don't appreciate you ruining the wonderful outdoors that I was enjoying at the moment. You are selfish and I did not enjoy being subjected to your nasty smoke.

Too bad you'll obviously never understand,
the person whose 10-minute wait was rudely interrupted by your smoking last week