It's been a great 4 years!

It's hard to believe that it has been 4 years since I jumped all in and married my best friend. I remember waking up early and trying on my wedding dress. I remember how nervous and how excited I was that I was getting married. I remember the chaos of getting pictures done, being late to our luncheon, and rushing around trying to get our reception set up before our guests arrived. I remember stopping at Taco Bell on our way to our hotel... and then realizing that Taco Bell probably wasn't the best idea on our wedding night. I remember thinking back on the day without any complaints, and being overwhelmed with the feeling that I had the perfect wedding day. I got to marry the person that I loved most in the world and still love with all my heart!

The past four years have lead us on an adventure that I could have never imagined, and this last year together has been my favorite so far.  We were blessed with the most beautiful little girl and changed from being a family of two to a family of three. We were able to make a couple trips back home to Utah and have some people come out to visit us in Milwaukee. We were able to move into a new (bigger) apartment. We were able to officially reach our half-way mark with Scott's schooling. 

Scott, I love you so much! Thank you for choosing me to spend the rest of forever with. Thank you for sticking by my side through thick and thin. Thank you for always supporting me, believing in me, and encouraging me to be my best self. Thank you for being such a wonderful daddy to Lacey. I can't wait to see what the next year brings us! I love you! Happy Anniversary!

October Craziness

It is crazy to think that October is finally here. I feel like it took forever for October to finally roll around. This is the month! Life is going to change in such a huge way for both Scott and I.

Our little girl is due exactly 3 weeks from today. Which means that she will be here in 4 weeks at the latest. (My doctor said they would induce me at 41 weeks if she doesn't come on her own.) I don't know if I really understand the impact this event is going to have on our lives.

Is this really happening?

The whole becoming a mom thing doesn't feel real. I know that we will be adding a tiny human being to our family, but I don't know if it has really hit me yet. I think being a little uncomfortable all the time has just become the norm for me. I still have moments that I forget that a little baby will be joining us very soon. Things are going to change over night, I will go from growing a human to being a mom. In a few weeks we will be bringing a little baby home from the hospital, one that we get to keep and raise all by ourselves. It just doesn't seem real yet, I feel her moving around in my belly all the time but she won't be there for too much longer, she'll be in my arms. I wonder if it still won't seem real even after she is here.

There are moments when reality sets in a little. It's crazy how many emotions are involved with becoming a mom.

Are we ready for this?

I like to make lists, pretty much any kind of list, to-do lists, shopping lists, lists of my goals, bucket lists... you get the idea. For the last several months I have been making list after list of things we need for the baby, things I want to get done before the baby comes, things I want to sew or make for the baby. This last weekend Scott and I went through our list of things we want/needed for the baby and finished checking off pretty much everything. As far as "stuff" goes I think that we will be ready for the baby to come (as soon as our packages arrive). I feel like this is a pretty big check off of my to-do list.

I was doing really good with the list of chores that I wanted to get done before the baby, but a couple weeks ago I caught a nasty cold bug and it totally wiped out my energy and motivation. Now we are getting down to the wire and my chores list seems like it is never ending. I probably could get through the list fairly quickly if I wasn't pregnant. I never realized how tiring it is to do things when you are 37 weeks along. Bending over, picking things up, moving around just isn't as easy as it once was. Hopefully in the next week or two I will have all of my "deep cleaning" projects done.

The second trimester was such a breeze, I had a lot of energy, my bump didn't get in the way, and I was overly ambitious with projects that I wanted to do for the baby. I finished a quilt for the baby while I was still in my second trimester and even made some matching burp cloths.  I started on the pictures I wanted to do for the nursery, but then the third trimester hit and I am just so exhausted some days. Over the last several weeks I finally finished the pictures for the nursery, now I just need to find the time to hang them up. The last thing on my "to-make" list is a blessing dress. My mom made my blessing dress when I was a baby and I love to sew so I thought it would be fun to make one for my daughter. The closer this girl's due date gets the more I am starting to think that she might just use the same dress I was blessed in. (Once the nursery is done I will post pictures of the quilt and pictures I made)

So we have the stuff, I'm making progress on the cleaning, and most of the nursery projects are done, but emotionally I don't know if I will ever feel ready to be a mom. I feel ready for her to no longer be squishing my insides, I feel ready to dress her up in all cute outfits that were bought for her, I feel ready to kiss her cheeks and cuddle with her, but I don't quite feel ready to take on the responsibility of raising a child. That's a lot of pressure, and it makes me a little nervous just thinking about it. (What if I am terrible at the being a mom thing?)

A little terrified

I guess it doesn't matter how long you have to plan for a baby to join your family, it's a little terrifying and overwhelming sometimes. I really like being able to plan ahead, and keep to a schedule and have everything go my way. We have this due date, but it doesn't really mean anything. The baby could come today, tomorrow, in a few weeks. There isn't really a way to make a "plan" when it comes to having a baby. That scares me, what if I go into labor in the middle of a meeting or  something?

I'm also a little terrified about breast feeding (Maybe TMI?) What if I can't do it? I know that I can always use formula, but for some reason the idea that breast feeding might not work out scares me.

The other thing that freaks me out a little, and maybe it's superficial of me, is the worry about how to lose the baby weight that I have put on. I haven't ever been a super small person, but I was doing really well and lost a bunch of weight right before I got pregnant. I'm really hoping that the people who say breast feeding helps melt away those added pound are correct.

This is so exciting!

Along with all the worries and to-dos we couldn't be more excited. We cannot wait to hold this little girl in our arms. We cannot wait to be her parents, and become a family of three. We are so excited to have a little girl of our own, and hope that we can  raise her right. We can't wait to see her little personality. I can't wait for Scott to learn how to change a diaper (haha). We are so excited to officially have the title of  "mom and dad."We know that there were be bumps in the road and this transition might be rough for a while, but we couldn't be more happy and excited for this little girl to come. Now we just get to wait...

This guy!

Today this guy officially finished his first year of dental school (one year down, three more to go).  At times I have felt like the year dragged on, but looking back I can't believe that we have already been out here for over a year. His second year is supposed to be the hardest of the four years (to add to all the chaos we're having a baby). I couldn't be more proud of Scott and all of his hard work.That’s reason enough for a little celebratory bragging, right?  

Scott’s first year of school has been a busy one (at least the first two semesters were) and he didn’t complain once about how often he had to stay at school to finish studying or to finish a project. He tried his best to make time for the two of us, especially when he was swamped with school stuff. Scott is really good about being optimistic, even when he is feeling overwhelmed with his work load.

Scott is really smart. Scott has picked up quite a few things over the past years (hours and hours of studying). Unlike me he still remembers things that he learned while in school.

Scott is extremely hard working. He goes to school all day and he still takes the time to help out around the house. He does most of the dishes, a lot of the laundry, and has yet to ask me to ever take out the trash.

Scott is really funny, and he makes me laugh quite a bit these days. He always knows how to cheer me up when I have had a long day or when I need a break. He knows when to be silly and when to be serious.

Scott is one of the friendliest people I know. He is always encouraging me to make friends or go out of my way to make sure that others feel included. He is great about making sure everyone is involved in a conversation, which is helpful to me because I’m not a very loud person.

Scott is going to be an amazing Dad. His dad was a great example to him and he is always telling me how he can’t wait for our little girl to get here already so he can show her how much he loves her. Anytime we see our neighbor’s kids he is holding them or playing with them. He is going to be great with our little girl.

Scott is really good at giving foot (leg) rubs. Seriously all I have to do is put my feet somewhere near him and he will start rubbing them. You would think that after over a year he would have given up on rubbing my feet really often, but he hasn’t he still does it on a daily basis. (Sometimes it's only like a 20 sec rub, but hey I won't complain)

Scott always volunteers to drive, which I love. I don't hate driving, but it's nice to know that if we are going somewhere new he will be the one getting lost and not me. 

Scott trusts me enough to cut his hair for him. At first I started cutting his hair to try and save money, but I have really started to enjoy cutting his hair. It is 30 minutes of uninterrupted time for Scott and I to “hang-out”. A couple weeks ago, I even let him cut my hair… it turned out fine and feels so much more healthy.

Scott is my best friend and I couldn't imagine my life without him. He is the best husband a girl could ask for and he is working hard so that we can have a good life. 

Scott – I love you and I couldn’t be more proud of who you are and what you are doing in life. You are amazing and I am so glad that you and I are an “us”. Thank you for being you, and being such a huge part of my life!

Has it really been 3 years?

It’s crazy to think that Scott and I have been married for 3 years. Marrying Scott was the best decision that I have ever made. I cannot even begin to explain how lucky I am to have a guy like Scott to call mine, for eternity. It really has been a wonderful 3 years of marriage. It's crazy how far Scott and I have come since we first met.

Scott and I met a little over 6 ½ years ago, at a service project at BYU. We met all due to a little love triangle between my roommates and his. After meeting him, I never really thought I would see him again. However, the next day Scott was asked to come be my “fill-in” date for the rest of the night because my date bailed early from our group date...and then he came over to fix our internet… and then to study with one of my roommates… and then just to hang out with me. We saw each other every day for 171 days from the day that we met(this meant that there were days that Scott would drive up to bountiful just to see me for a little bit before going back down to Provo)...The rest is history…

These are a few of our favorite memories:               

• On our first date I challenged Scott to a race from his apartment to the creamery across the parking lot. He took off running, tripped halfway to the creamery, rolled a few times, got up and finished the race, all I while I stood there and watched. Instead of getting ice cream at the creamery we left with a few medical supplies and I helped him get all his cuts cleaned up.

• One night we were talking (late into the night) and he was telling me about how he wanted to go to dental school to be a dentist. I said, it’s a good thing you’re going to be a dentist because if our kids… [get my teeth their going to need a dentist in the family] We hadn’t really been dating for very long at the time and I was so embarrassed that I started talking about our future kids.

• Scott loves to talk in his sleep. If I am awake enough to respond I can usually get him to have a full conversation with me. He usually won’t remember anything in the morning. It always happens about an hour after he falls asleep. One of these days I plan to record him.

• Scott and I both love BYU sports. BYU has come out to Wisconsin twice since we moved here (and probably won’t again). Once was for Football, and the other for the NCAA tournament. We lost both games out here, but we both bleed blue and it was great to see them play!

Football

NCAA

• I have bucket list of things that I would like to do before I die. Some of them are more serious than others, but one of the things on my list was to spend $200 on a meal. Scott decided to take me to La Caille up in Salt Lake where we spent a pretty penny to eat. I wish that I had pictures it was definitely a memorable meal.

• Our first ultrasound with this pregnancy was done at 6 weeks. Pretty much the only thing you could see was a little heart flickering. It was amazing and made it seem so much more real that we are going to be parents.

• Our sealing in the temple was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The person who did our ceremony was funny and gave some great advice. I am so grateful that I am able to be sealed to my family for eternity!

• While packing all of our stuff to move Scott decided that we should sell the furniture that I had and that we would just buy new furniture later. His only experience with apartments has been BYU housing (which is usually furnished) and he didn’t realize that we would need to provide our own furniture when we moved. We ended up buying furniture much earlier than Scott would have expected.

• Scott makes me laugh, one night he was trying to explain to me how he got good at staying on his bike (during his mission) while he was stopped at a light. Here is the video of him explaining it to me. It is probably much funnier to me.

These past 3 years have flown by, and have been some of the best years of my life. It’s crazy how much life has changed for the two of us since we tied the knot, and in the next few months it will change even more.  I am so happy being married to Scott and I love him more every day. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.