Top 10: Gifts NOT to give at a baby shower

At the risk of sounding ungrateful ----- and downright rude --- I will continue with this blog!!

10) Toys in boxes that have been opened and are sticky from price tag removal.

9) Gender specific clothes when you don't know the gender

8) Nursery decor (unless you KNOW what the nursery looks like)

7) Unsolicited Advice

6) Books on weight loss

5) Pacifers/bottles not in some type of packaging

4) Stretch mark cream

3) Used, mangy, nappy, dirty bears

2) Outfits re-gifted - especially when those outfits have been given by people in attendance at the shower

1) EXPIRED BABY FORMULA!!!!!!

We didn't get ALL of these gifts - but we did get some.......from one "person"........Thank you for almost giving us the gift of explosive diarrhea. Back 'atchya!!

The pressure is gone.....

We felt a tremendous amount of pressure in naming the baby ......... I mean, a name is super important, and everyone knows you by your name. If your name is too hard to pronounce this will haunt you every day of your life. If your name is too weird people think you are a freak. If your name doesn't "fit" you people are off put by this (think: seinfeld epsiode where the lady has an asian last name but isn't asian and this really disturbs George's mom).

Here are a few quotes that put's EXTRA pressure on one trying to name a child:

* A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character. You ask, What's in a name? I answer, Just about everything you do. ~ Morris Mandel (author, psychologist, & educator)

* The name we give to something shapes our attitude to it - Katherine Patterson (author)

*Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry. - Bill Cosby (comedian)

HOWEVER - we stared the task right in the face and have decided (barring any surprises on the day of HER birth that is!!) -

The name we have chosen is.........DRUM ROLL PLEASE.........

ELLIE: (greek) Noble, exalted, shining light

Also note it ends with a vowel!!

Showers of Blessings!!!

Nov 15: After our SUPER busy weekend we headed to Fort Sumner for a Baby Shower that Justin's mom's best friend, Joan, was the SUPER hostesses for. She recruited 14 other great women from our hometown and threw us a wonderful shower!! It was truly a blessing to see all of the hard work, blood, sweat and tears that went into organizing this project. We want to thank EVERYONE who had a hand in it -from those who organized, came, gave a gift, and even those who simply thought of us on this day - we thank you!!!

We headed to Fort Sumner in time to stop and eat at the Clines Corner Cafe, which we discovered a few weeks back has some great food! Then we headed the rest of the way for the shower.....

Here is a shot of some of the delicious treats!!

The BEAUTIFUL cake!!

Here we are before cutting into the cake - Notice the 6 month pregnant "glow"

Here is a glimpse into some of the gifts:

Super cute!!

Little baby bootie's filled with Cry baby candies!

We got a ton of gifts and drove back with the Explorer packed to the max!!! We headed home and the Tornows had left with the exception of Mike who stayed with us because he had a meeting the following morning. So when we arrived we put him to work unloading all of our goodies. I did manage to get it all organized and in the baby's room (that's about all I worked on for a few days!).

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!

On Fire!!!

Between school, clinicals, and the holidays we have been super swamped! So we have some catching up to do in this blog-o-sphere.

Nov 13: We went to our first Fire Side, which was the Fire Side the BYU football team was hosting the night before their game against UNM. We met the Tornows there and had a really great time. I was a little hesitant to go because I wasn't sure how long it was going to last and sitting for long periods of time really does a number on my bum. We took the risk and went and boy were we blessed. The BYU players sang a few hymns, some of the players shared a talk, and we had great fellowship with our pals.

Two of the talks in particular touched my heart. The first one was by Manase Tonga - who had a bit of trouble at BYU some time back and was placed on academic probation which resulted in him being redshirted in 2008. Subsequently he had to leave the university all together and had to reapply for admission. He shared about this hardship and likened it to quick sand, and shared about the fact that things usually start off small (perhaps undetectable) such as missing one class, sleeping in late a few too many times, then skipping assignments, etc....Such is our life - It's easy to spot the BIG problems rumbling down at us, but its the smaller problems we miss and that we blow off but in the end the snowball effect of it all ends up overwhelming us and taking us down. He mentioned a quote by LaVell Edwards that said (something to the effect of) that the greatest thing in life to have is options. We maintain our options by living righteously and choosing the right. We will all stumble and fall but thankfully we also have a Heavenly Father that loves and forgives us.

The second talk was by Holly Mendenhall who focused on encouraging women to also think about their choices and where those choices can take them through the course of their lives. She also shared about marriage and the hard work it takes to maintain a marriage, which was refreshing to hear someone talk about hardships and the overcoming of them in a marriage. Marriages are not designed to be perfect, however with hard work, love, and dedication to one another they can be great blessings!!


Nov 14: We went to the BYU vs. UNM game and had pretty good seats - The Tornows met us there midway through the game, as their daughter and son had football and soccer games galore over this weekend!!! After the game we all headed to PF Changs for their son's birthday dinner! After that Mike, Justin, myself and two of their kiddos headed to the UNM basketball game. We had an absolute BLAST!! Here are the pics I managed to get:

COSMO!!!

Oh yeah...... BYU won the football game and UNM won the basketball game - Just in case you were wondering ;)

Dear baby....

Now we are at week 28 and you are growing so big and long!! You kick, punch, twirl, spin, rock & roll like mad, but I love every minute of it! We went to see your doctor this week and heard your little heartbeat and she told us about making sure we count your kicks (8 in 2 hours twice a day). I asked her, "Is there such a thing as kicking TOO much" because you kick 8 times in a few minutes much less 2 hours!!! Our favorite time of day is at bedtime when we sit and feel you move - what a wonder you are!!

Here is what the website says about you: Your baby is settling into the proper position for birth, with his head facing downward. Your little work in progress is now about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. She's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means she could be dreaming already. Though her lungs are nearly fully mature your baby still has plenty of growing to do.

Each day that passes we grow more and more excited to meet you, love you, hold you and take care of you. While we know that our lives will forever change, and the way things have been will never be the same again, we are still far more excited at the prospect of how wonderfully you will change us and our lives. So keep up the good work with the growing and moving!! In 12 short weeks (or so.....)we will meet face to tiny face.

Love you forever,

Mommy and Daddy

To come.....

We had a SUPER busy weekend and I have a ton to post and blog about, but that will come this weekend when it is hopefully a little slower!!

Stay tuned!

Dear Baby: On the move

Dear Baby,

This week you are about 26 weeks old and you are about a full two pounds and you measure nine-plus inches. And this week, your eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, start to open. Of course, there's not much to see in there, but if you spot a bright light (or hear a loud noise) near my belly, you may see it and move accordingly. In fact, I feel you moving more and more each day, and now you are so BIG and strong that your dad can feel you move and we can SEE you move! It was quite a surreal experience to look down and see the blip across my tummy that was you!! I, without a single thought, smiled as huge as one could smile at the realization of you. Yes, yes I know that you are real, but to see you move was rather perfect. It made me begin to think about your future - when will you come, what will you look like, what will you be like, will you sleep or cry all day, will you be active or more calm, what will you be when you grow up, and what kind of parents will we be to you????

Thinking about your future made me reflect on your history! Sometimes, it happens less and less the longer your dad and I have been married, but sometimes we get asked how we met. Your dad and I have pretty much always known one another. We grew up in a town of about 1000 people and everyone knew everyone. I distinctly remember, although sometimes your dad denies this, getting an email from him and thinking "Why is this kid writing me?" You see I am just a wee bit older than your dad - just a wee bit! From there I became more aware of him and vice versa I suppose. As we got older we began having more and more things in common, and our bond grew closer, and we were best friends. I was in Graduate school in Austin, TX when your dad and I truly became closer and we would email and instant message one another all day everyday. We could talk for hours without missing a beat! I suppose that is when we truly began "falling" for one another but we were stubborn and naive. There were weekends that I'd make the 10 hour drive home just to see your dad for a few days - just to get to spend a few hours with him, but he swears that he never really understood that I "liked" him. Eventually I finished school, and he moved to Las Cruces to begin his undergraduate program. We were both dating other people, but really pining away for one another - again stubbornness dictated our lives for a few years. I moved to Las Cruces as well, and our friendship continued to grow and we realized that we could not and would not continue our lives without one another. Our other relationships left us void and empty, but when we were together we were happy and alive!! Our separate relationships were ended, and we immediately started dating. I think we had known those many many years earlier that we'd end up together, and that we belonged together. We have been officially together for the past 5 years (almost 6!) but have been together in our hearts for much longer than that.

We decided in 2007 to get married, and officially (well, legally!) begin our lives together!! In May 2009 we found out we were pregnant with you!!! We had been trying for some time to have a family, but I guess God knew the perfect time you needed to come along! In the time that we were trying we loved you even still - before we knew you were real and before you were really coming we loved and wanted you. So you can imagine how excited and full of love and joy we are now that you are real and really here!!! In approximately 14 more weeks, 3 months and 8 days, or 98 days (give or take) you will be here - finally.

Love you forever,
Mommy and daddy