Count Your Blessings

First, I just want to say how grateful I am that things have been going so smoothly for us these last few months. Don't get me wrong, we've had our hard days and struggles, but compared to last year (the terrible second year of dental school) life has been bliss!

My cute family :)

Here's some things I'm especially thankful for:

After totaling our car two Thanksgivings ago, we've been anxious about travelling for the holidays. However, this year it seemed most reasonable for us to drive to visit family rather than fly, so with fervent prayer, we set out on the road for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. A week in advance, the weather predicted snow on the days we needed to drive, but by some miracle, the snow never came, and we've driven on perfect roads the whole time. We are so grateful!

Someone found mommy's chocolate :)

Little Tali Sue, the adorable 8 month old baby I've been nannying, is an angel. Emma loves her too! We have gotten into a routine, and Tali has become like a part of the family. She's with us from 7 AM to 5:30 PM four days a week. On the days she's not there, Emma continually asks for Tali.

She's crawling and pulling herself up now :)

Two weeks before Christmas, Emma suddenly decided she wanted to be completely potty trained! After 6 months of on and off trying, she finally hopped on board. Now she wears panties during the day and tells me when she has to go to the bathroom. She is pretty good about not having accidents, even when we go out. She wears a cloth diaper at night, but usually it's dry in the morning. It's a miracle!

Emma loves her new cloth diapers!

Nate had a really light schedule last quarter, so he was around more to help out, babysit the kids while I went to the doctor, and even cook and clean! The first two weeks of this quarter have been crazier, but overall he's still around a lot more.

I know this is weird for a lot of women, but I actually like being pregnant, especially now that I can feel the baby moving so often. This pregnancy has gone by so quickly, and it's been much easier than I expected. At this point, my few complaints are the pudgy cheeks, terrible memory, and a bit of heart burn. I've been on a low-gluten diet, which has helped a lot with the insatiable hunger and bloating I got when I was pregnant with Emma. I feel pretty normal now, though I do cry easily, stink at board games, and down a lot of tums. It's all worth it because I get to feel my little baby boy squirm around every time a baby cries, or when I lay down or turn on music. He also likes to move when he hears his daddy's voice. I love the bonding I get to have with my baby in the womb. I can't explain it, but it's really special to me.

I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of my calling as a ward missionary. It has been so hard for me, but Nate is a great example and I've really come to love the awesome people I've gotten to work with. We've had a lot of baptisms this year, mostly due to the fantastic missionaries we've had come through our ward.

Christmas:

We got to spend lots of time with family over the Christmas break. It was so fun to watch Emma bond with family members. At my parent's house, she remembered everyone this time and finally opened up to my grandma, who Emma calls Grandma Doc, and my brother Kellen. With my family we went bowling, saw the Hobbit, worked on a 1000 piece puzzle together, played board games, talked endlessly over baby boy names, ate a lot of yummy food (especially ice cream and pie), went to the Temple Square lights with my mom's side of the family, and hung out and relaxed a lot. I got to catch up with Ashley, Brianna and Ariel, my good friends from back home, which was really nice. Nate got to bond with my dad by playing Halo (or killing aliens as they refer to it). Emma just loved seeing everyone, and her favorite game was pretending to be a lion and growling at everyone around. Kellen was especially good at pretending to be terrified of her, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Emma also loved getting to swim in grandma's jacuzzi bathtub and watching Netflix on grandma's tablet. When the snow came, Emma, my sister Kylie, Nate and I bundled up and went outside. Emma immediately decided she didn't like the strange white substance sticking to her fingers! She tried so hard to brush it off and then wanted to go back inside.

Emma found this at the bowling alley :)

Emma doing Doc's hair :)

We had a white Christmas in Utah :)

We got to go to the SLC Aquarium with my friend Ariel and her little boy :)

On Christmas day, Emma opened up everyone's presents including her own. When they were all opened, she cried and asked for more presents to open. We had a delicious breakfast made by the boys, then went to the movie theater as a family.

Grandpa videoing on Christmas morning.
Grandma Doc got to spend Christmas with us this year! :)

Emma was really excited that Santa brought her a new toothbrush :)

Christmas Day

My dad and I :)

Draper lights

Temple Square trip :)

At the Bushman's house, Emma explored every drawer in search of Grandma's makeup. Luckily, Grandma got Emma some of her very own makeup that wasn't quite so messy. Emma helped Grandma wash the dishes almost everyday. She also loved playing with her cousin, Peyton, who is 16 months old. She kept saying, "Peyton come!" and was frustrated when he didn't understand her. She absolutely adores him!

Cousin love :)

Make up!

Early Christmas dinner with the Bushmans.
Emma just wanted to wear her diaper :)

Playing at the park with daddy and Peyton :)

Nate and I got to spend time with Nate's siblings, Shanie and Nick. We also got to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep. One fun thing we did was listen to an audiobook on our drive, which we ended up needing to listen to while we were at the Bushmans because we couldn't put it down! New Year's was fun this year because I got to take a nap before midnight and I woke up just in time to kiss Nate when the ball dropped. It was nice to celebrate the night just Nate and I. It was a good bonding experience.

We didn't think Emma would ever be ready to leave her grandparents, but by the end of three weeks, she kept saying, "Emma's house!" She squealed with delight when we pulled into our apartment complex.

January:

As soon as we got home from our vacation, it hit me that we could have a baby any day now! I'm only a month away from my due date! So I've been playing catch up and trying to figure out everything I need to do before the baby comes.

Double stroller: Check.
Cloth diapers: Half check.
Figuring out where the baby will sleep in our two bedroom apartment: I have no idea. Probably in our room?
Boy clothes: Um...hopefully after my shower this will be a check.
Mental preparation for labor: I think I'm almost there. I'm actually really excited for labor this time around! (No, I'm not crazy! I'll explain this in a later post after the baby is born).
Mental preparation for having a second child: I've had an entire year of practice because I've been nannying, but still not sure I'm ready for the sleep deprivation part.
Getting Emma ready to be a sibling: She loves babies and says she is excited to have a little brother. We'll see how jealous she is though!
Excitement: Check! I can't wait to hold my baby! If only I knew his name!

Anything I'm missing!? Every week I'm stressing over something else! I am a bundle of hurt burn and nerves! Hopefully I can find my happy place by the time the baby comes! Haha pray for us! :)

Emma wearing baby brother's clothes :)

To end on a positive note, I'm so grateful for the awesome friends I've made in Seattle. They've really helped me out a lot this pregnancy. Three of my friends, all of whom are also pregnant, are throwing me a baby shower, which means a lot to me! I know I'm insane, but I'm going to keep nannying Tali even after the baby comes. We really like having Tali around and it's been the prefect way for me to make a little bit of money. I know things are going to be crazy for awhile, but I also know that with the help of our wonderful friends and family, we're going to get through everything okay :) I'm also grateful for the reminder I get every Sunday that I'm not doing this alone. I can always receive help from my Savior, and I know that when times are the hardest, that's when it's easiest to feel Him near. I'm excited to see what the future holds!

Kamie