Giving Thanks

 What a crazy few months we've had!  For Thanksgiving, I decided I am most grateful that my sweet little Finnster is finally feeling better. The poor kid has had a double ear infection for the entire past month. He finally got better after his 3rd antibiotic, but not before his sleeping habits went out the window, along with my sanity. BUT, things are starting to get a little better. One step forward, two steps back, right? I just have to remind myself that a sick baby is not a forecast for the rest of motherhood.

I really am loving being a mom. It's awesome! Very very trying and demanding and exhausting, YES. But SO SO rewarding. There's nothing quite like getting peed on straight in the middle of your forehead during a delirious 2 am diaper change, and then laughing about it with your husband in the morning. Or when your little guy doesn't want anything except to snuggle his momma. I love it. It's so awesome watching him realize things about the world, about himself. And it's so awesome helping him realize those things.

Finn will be turning 9 months old on Sunday. I can't believe it! He is just growing up too too fast. He is 27 inches tall and weighs 17 1/2 pounds. He's a little guy, but his big personality is just bursting to get out of that tiny body! He babbles almost non stop lately. He is officially crawling and has also figured out how to stand up by himself (as long as he has something to pull on). Before we know it he'll be walking and talking. I am so sad to see his baby days go, but it's also exciting to see him get bigger and see his personality develop right before our eyes.

Well, our Thanksgiving was a fun adventure this year. Lynn and I made dinner for our two little families and Tammy. It was fun but exhausting! I managed to mess up both the things I made (as usual; I only make good food when it's only Gideon and Me. I always cave under pressure), but Lynn made some amazing stuffing and a gorgeous/delicious chicken! We had quite a spread. After dinner we all headed up to the Smylie's for some pie and family time. It was fun to see everyone and catch up! The thing I love the most about Thanksgiving is that it ushers in the beginning of the Holiday season. I can't wait to decorate and put up the tree, bake goodies, send out cards, etc. I really had so much to be grateful for this year. I have a wonderful husband who is so good to me and who is such a great Dad. And we have the gospel of Jesus Christ to give us hope, help us love, and make us stronger. We have everything we could ever ask for; all within the walls of our little apartment.

*We also had our family pictures taken in back in October. They turned out SO beautiful, and I usually tear up when I look through them. Special thanks to my awesome brother in law Jared Medley. Click the link to get your family pictures!*

Procrastination

For some reason, when I know there's something I should do, even if it's an easy thing, I tend to avoid it. Example: Blogging. Vacuuming. Returning a shirt to target that's been sitting in the backseat of my car (recently moved to the trunk) for weeks. I really don't know what my problem is but I should really teach myself to get over it. Really. So after I post this . . . I . . .will . . .vacuum.

Christmas was wonderful! We spent Christmas Eve with Jared and Lynn. Lynn made us dinner and I made cheese balls and sugar cookies and we watched it's a wonderful life. Christmas day we headed up to the Smylie's for some family togetherness time. It was such a good holiday. We stayed up way too late, ate way too much and talked until my throat hurt. We loved it. We also managed to get up to Salt Lake to see the lights at temple square. It was FREEZING but the lights were so pretty! New year's came and went, and so far at the top of my new years resolution list is to expel a baby!! Seriously, my list looks like this. . .

Have the baby

Run a 1/2 Marathon (by September)

Birth the baby

Read the Book of Mormon

Get the baby out.

I always dreamed of being pregnant and while I have LOVED so many aspects of it, I admit it's not quite all it's cracked up to be. Today I got caught by surprise with a vomiting spell and it happened on my carpet. ON MY CARPET. Isn't that what people say about their two year old who got sick?!? Not to a grown woman. I have about this much pride left. I have a bum in my left ribs and two feet in my right, and a very hard head on top of my bladder. But I have to say, I love feeling so close to this little boy who will one day think I am such a dorky parent. I love feeling him try to get comfy in there or have the hiccups. I just think my skin might tear open at any moment, so it's a good thing he is coming out soon (hopefully). It really is a mix of emotions. I love knowing he's safe in there but I also just want him to come out so badly. Seven weeks and counting. I am so excited to meet this wild little man!

Also: I was deathly ill all last week and now that I am recovering, I seem to have lost more brain cells. I don't know if this is post sickness brain fog or pregnancy related, but I really am the biggest space case on the planet. So please excuse me if you have a conversation with me and it seems as though I'm not all there.

The temple looked so beautiful with all the trees lit up around it!

A little too frozen for a real smile from either of us . . .

The belly has come in handy for eating on the couch!

32 weeks. Sorry I always post these pictures so late that it's almost time for another. I'm now 33 weeks.

And finally, a picture of my wonderful husband, apron and all. This was on Christmas Eve, helping me cook. He has been such a great help during this pregnancy with stuff, especially in the kitchen! Love you honey.

Everything

It's been quite a long time since I've done any kind of update on here. SO. Here it goes.

We went to Arizona during the first week of December, and I was a slacker and didn't get any pictures. It was a ton of fun though. So nice to just sit around my parents house, watch movies, play with my adorable niece and nephew, eat lots of food, etc. Awesome week. Thanks so much mom and dad for all the hospitality. It really was so wonderful being there.

Gideon finished finals, somehow managing to keep his sanity intact. He had to pull a few all-nighters, literally. Not an ounce of sleep. Poor guy. But I think it's all gonna be worth it to see his grades on Thursday. Now his big project is applying to BYU for the upcoming fall semester. We're crossing our fingers.

This is our apartment after the all nighter. Notice the suit cases still on the living room floor.

We finally got our Christmas tree up last week, and just decorated it this last Sunday. How horrible are we?!? I've never put up Christmas stuff this late, but in a way it's more special having it so close. My sister in law Lynn has had to remind me to finish making my stockings and do my decor. I'm so glad she does otherwise I would maybe have never done it this year!We had to buy some extra lights for the top half, and obviously they're not as bright as the ones on the bottom half. Oh well. And we're still working on the star.

Alas, the reason for all my Christmas procrastination has been partly due to the fact that all I want to do is sit on my couch and eat tums. The heartburn has been insane. If I take a sip of water, heartburn. If I eat ANYTHING, I get heartburn. Even now, just sitting here, I get heartburn. Gideon makes me what we call "the throne" in bed, consisting of a big blanket and about a million pillows behind me to prop me up so I can sleep somewhat comfortably while staying vertical. But I read that the hormone that causes heartburn also causes fetal hair to sprout, so the more heartburn you have, your baby is supposed to have more hair! Also, this little boy has taken up residence under my left rib. His new favorite spot. It's usually his little bum I can feel wedged in there, but sometimes I get a good kick and wow does it feel just great. I'm nervous that he still has to double his weight before he's born, cuz it's starting to feel pretty crowded in there already. Although I am grateful for every little kick or nudge these days. He gave us a scare last week. He is usually SUPER wild in there, but for two days he was so so calm and barely moved, so I had to go into the doctor and get a non-stress test. Pretty much they monitor his heart rate when he moves to make sure he has enough oxygen. Of course, as soon as they strap me up, he goes crazy. He's going to be so dramatic, I can already tell. But I was really relieved to know he's ok in there. Just needed a little attention. But really, overall, I'm feeling pretty good and I think the last few weeks has been the best part of my pregnancy. We just lay in bed at night and watch my belly do the wave while he moves around like crazy. It's so so fun. We are so excited to meet our sweet little guy.

29 weeks. This picture is almost a week old now. Sorry. I had Gideon take these at one in the morning, hence no face.

Also: We still have to name him! Suggestions welcome. So far we are thinking of naming him Finn. The middle name is Adam after my sweet brother who is special needs. So it would look something like . . . Finn Adam Medley. I also like Cash/Cache and a few others. Feel free to offer thoughts; I'll take the ones I like and ignore the ones I don't. Nothing personal. :)

Finally, the last thing to post is that this morning, we woke up to a winter wonderland! So pretty outside. There is about a foot of snow. I'm so excited to have a white Christmas!!

Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas

We have had such a fun week celebrating Halloween around here. Sunday night we put on Hocus Pocus in the background, ate sugar cookies until we thought we'd burst, and carved pumpkins. It was a fun night. Then on Monday we had a little Halloween party up in Salt Lake at Sarah's house with all of the family that lives around here. It was fun to get all dressed up. We all hid in different bedrooms with candy and the little girls came around and "trick or treated" to us each. What a fun night! So good to be with family and just have fun. Not to mention Sarah made some amazing chili and treats for us. Nothing better. But I woke up this morning to a car covered in snow, and I won't deny that I was blasting the Christmas music taking Gideon to school. I love the holidays and I am so excited that it's starting!

Jared and Lynn's pumpkins

Mine and Gideon's pumpkins

Sarah, Lynn, Hannah, Me and Kayla all dressed up

Gideon dressed up as Hiccup from HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. He made the costume with everything from D.I! It turned out so great and the little girls loved it. I was a cat because, well, nothing else really fit.

Easter Weekend

My sexy husband with his easter basket.

Up at conference

My mom requested some new pictures on the blog today. I guess I've been slacking. Here's a little bit of what went on Easter weekend for us. It was a busy and super fun weekend! Friday night was Gideon's mission reunion. It was really fun to meet all of the people he always talks about, and to see some old friends. Ben spent the night Friday, and we headed up all three of us for the afternoon session of conference. It was so fun to be up there! Even though it was freezing, and we barely made it in on time, we loved it! It's always so fun when so many members of the church are all concentrated into one place. (Wait, that's how it is everywhere here. . . ) We were so sad my mom couldn't come up, but since we had an extra ticket, we had our cousin Bryndon come with us. It was so good to see him! Then we spent Saturday evening at the Smylie's. It was so fun to have almost every sibling there. Naomi and Colin came from Idaho, Hannah and Sean came from Bountiful, and Bethany and Tammy even came from Eureka! The girls ate chocolate cake while the boys went to priesthood session, and the rest of the evening was spent eating chips and salsa over Sarah's baby bump while we felt the new baby moving around. So fun. We had tickets for the Sunday morning session also, so we headed back up bright and early the next morning. Hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing was so amazing. It is always so wonderful to be in the same room as those wonderful inspired men who are the mouthpiece of the Lord in modern days. This conference was extra special to me. There were some very special messages shared through the Spirit, and both Gideon and I felt very lucky to be there this last weekend. I am so grateful for the wonderful blessing that Heavenly Father has given us, to have guidance and direction in a world where there is so much confusion. The gospel of Jesus Christ really is the gospel of peace and joy! We ran into some old childhood friends outside the conference center, then headed home for the afternoon session. Gideon and Ben were hangin on for dear life, and they barely made it through the closing prayer. Then I gave Gideon his Easter basket Sunday evening. So that was our first Easter together! Awesome weekend. We love being around so much family and miss everyone who's not here.

Ben . . . during conference. Ha ha

The boys . . . about 2 minutes after the closing prayer

Sugar Cookies . . .

I really want a kitchen aid.
But they were good and people ate them.
Yay.

Our Thanksgiving Adventure

Our Thanksgiving was so great this year!! First of all, our first one TOGETHER. That in itself was awesome. BUT. In addition. . . we had Naomi and Colin's wedding the 24th in Mesa, so we headed down a little early. We stopped in Vegas for a night with the Medley clan. It was so fun! Gideon had never been, so I made sure to show him a good time. Then we all headed to Mesa, and celebrated the wedding with tons of food and family. We thought of it as a way to stretch the belly before thanksgiving. Gideon and I stayed with my parents and after the wedding, the Medley family stopped by for breakfast and some singing, much to Adam's delight. It was so much fun to have both of our families together. So much love! Then to finish off the weekend, a big thanksgiving feast. It was great. We had such a great time with my family too. My parents took us out to dinner and a movie, we swam, watched movies, and slept in. Gideon and I were so sad to come home; we forgot how nice it is to have someone else pay for stuff and not have to worry about anything! Overall the trip was SO MUCH FUN. It was good to see our families and it was nice to be so full! We both gained a couple pounds. And by WE I mean ME. Let's face it people. Gideon? Gain holiday weight? I don't think so. So in conclusion...food + family+tons of sleep + road trip = tons of fun. Happy holidays everybody!

Sorry about all the pics, but here's a little photo tour of our trip.

My foreign boy I found! What a cute one!

The REAL Eiffle Tower. Really.

This year, we are thankful that we have heads.

Watching the Bellagio fountain show. My favorite!

The happy couple. So cute!

The crew at the reception.

I thought this a fitting picture of my husband. We counted 4, yes 4 trips to the food table. That's my man. He even ate the decorative brussel sprouts. raw. yep.

The family's newest up-and-coming photographer. Love ya hannah!

I finally found a good use for all my old high school dance dresses! The girls loved them and they looked GORGEOUS in them too.

Lots of people in a little space.

The beautiful turkey. Nice job mom!

I made a pie!!! And it was good! Take note Naomi. I've improved!

The final product. It was a beautiful thanksgiving. Thanks Mom and Dad!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I was out of town for a few days, in Idaho (pictures soon). Gideon told me he had a surprise waiting for me when I got home. Well, not only did he clean the ENTIRE house for me, which included mopping all the tile (even the entry way), he also stayed up late into the night putting up all the Christmas decor for me! We'll be gone for thanksgiving and he new I really wanted to have a tree up when we got home. I have the very best husband ever!

It was so cute how he set everything up. Some things you could totally tell a guy did it, but it really is so cute and perfect. He even wrapped some fake gifts to look good under the tree. I love this man so much. Can't wait to have a million more Christmases with him.