It's About Time, I Know

Easter was over 3 weeks ago, and it's taken me this long to post pictures. Ah well, who doesn't enjoy an extended holiday?

Before I start the Easter stuff, I'll give a quick update in regards to Alex and I, and my not so uplifting previous post. Alex is doing well and still recovering from his tooth ordeal. He is healing very well, although the pain has persisted quite a bit as his jaw (and everything else involved) is still recouping. The baby and I are doing alright. At least I think we are... I've pretty much been on bed-rest this past week, and have had to take my 'contraction stopping' pills just about every day; I'll be seeing my doctor tomorrow, and I just hope that the labor hasn't progressed. Family and friends have been very helpful and supportive, and we really are deeply grateful for all of that love and support. I'll keep updates coming (for those of you who actually read my blog)!

So here's Mya at Albertson's with the Easter Bunny! She didn't hate him, but she was just slightly uncomfortable (if you can't tell by the look on her face) when I plopped her down next to him and walked off : ). Such a funny girl!

My beautiful girl in her Easter dress. Can you believe she's not even 3 years old?

Mya's Grandma Diane put together an adorable Easter Egg hunt. Here she is in a tree enjoying some of the spoils of the egg hunt!

Here's the picture I got when Alex said "let's laugh at Mommy!" I love my sweet family!!

My darling little buddy

HAPPY EASTER!

Quite the Couple

These last few days have been pretty eventful at our house. I usually prefer things to be uneventful--and now I remember why! In the early part of the week, we found out that Alex needed to have oral surgery right away. They were able to get him in on Thursday. Poor guy--our dentist several years ago in Logan screwed up a root canal, and Alex has been paying for it ever since (by the way, THANKS Dr. Hammond). About a year ago he had the root canal re-done (FUN), but it didn't quite do the trick. So on Thursday, the good dentist here in SLC drilled into his jaw, clamped back his gums (ewww) and did his thing. I'm not sure what exactly that thing was, because anytime Alex explains it to me I automatically go to my 'happy place' in my mind--that stuff is too yucky for me. Anyway, it went well, and hopefully it will save the tooth. He's still on Lortab and a soft food diet, but doing pretty good otherwise!

As for me, we've had a bit of a scare. Yesterday afternoon my braxton-hicks contractions started to feel different.... lower, more painful, and about 3 minutes apart. I went to the hospital for a pre-term labor evaluation, and sure enough--at only 29 weeks pregnant, I'm already 1 cm dilated. The good news is that my body responded well to the terbutaline shots, which stopped the contractions. They sent me home with an Rx of the same stuff, to take as needed, and put me on bed-rest for the time being. I needed one early this morning when I got home from the hospital, but haven't needed once since. I've felt pretty good today. I'm scared. We've definitely felt the prayers offered on our behalf, and we're so thankful for modern medicine as well.

I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow, and I'm really anxious to see what he has to say about everything. A few days ago I thought that having to be on bed-rest would just be awful; but at this point, I'll be truly grateful if that's the worst that happens. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

To sum it up, Alex and I are a little pathetic right now. He still can't talk very well, and I can't really walk much at all (or do anything else besides talk)--so I guess you could say that together, we make a fairly whole person! Sweet little Mya is so precious. I know she's a little bored with Mommy and Daddy being slugs, but she's so helpful and good at playing either on her own, or doing things that we can do with her (reading books, watching movies, etc). What a doll she is! I'll keep everyone posted with what we find out about our baby boy!

"Karissa Mommy, I'm Ready For My Big-Kid Bed Now!"

These were the cute words that I woke up to yesterday (yes, sometimes Mya calls me Karissa, and on extra special occasions she calls me Karissa Mommy : ) !) We've been talking to her lately about her getting a new big-kid bed soon... And here it is!

She had fun putting it together with her Daddy today while I was at work (even if Daddy told me that she wasn't very helpful--how dare he say that? Who has ever heard of a 2 1/2 year old that's not actually helpful, especially with assembly projects!?) The whole time she was saying "this is SO cool!"--Alex tried to catch it on film, but didn't quite get it in time. This little video is still pretty cute though, if I do say so myself!

So Warm...So Beautiful...

My work sent me down to St. George for a day to teach a finance class at an expo. So we decided to make the most of it by turning it into a little vacation! Alex and Mya and I drove down a couple days early, and got to stay at Alex's Grandma's vacant condo down there. Plus, our friends that live in Flagstaff were able to come and stay with us too. They have 2 little boys, and Mya had a blast with her best friends, Jeffrey and Jackson. It was a wonderful trip!! We had some sunny, beautiful days at nearby parks, and one particularly fun day at Zion's National Park.

The trip was great (and I'm officially more in love with our new minivan than I ever have been before)! We came back to Salt Lake to some 'spring' snow--blek! What can I say, I think I'll always be an Arizonian at heart...

DADDY'S GOURMET--Off To A Great Start!

After months of research and preparation, my amazing husband launched his ice cream sales last week! For right now, he is only selling it at the Wing Coop (3971 Wasatch Blvd). There are some other potential locations in the works, so you'll have to stay tuned for updates! Speaking of updates--join the Daddy's Gourmet group on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter!

Alex hosted a launch party at the Wing Coop last week, and we had tons of support from family and friends--and some great Daddy's Gourmet shirts!

Four of Alex's biggest fans!

Alex's brother, Josh, with his two younger boys, Trey and Devin

Alex will be switching his flavors every two weeks. To start out with, he has been selling his Berries 'n Cream, and Chocolate Raspberry Truffle..... yum...

Happiness in a little plastic cup (no, seriously)

Sales are doing great so far. I'm so proud of my sweetheart, and so excited that now other people can enjoy his delicious talents!!! And I'm looking forward to his next flavors--he hasn't decided for sure, but maybe Cookies 'n Cream, Mint Chocolate, or Banana Split... AWESOME

He's A HE (And Is Already So Handsome)!

I am now in my 23rd week of pregnancy, and last week we finally had our '20' week ultrasound. It was wonderful! First, it's a BOY! Sure, it's a little less economical (already being fully stocked with girl's clothes, that is), but we are totally thrilled. Mya is VERY excited too--and since we told her that she's getting a baby brother, she has stopped calling the baby 'Peaches'--so that's a good thing!

Our little guy was very wiggly, and kept hiding his head under my belly button (thus the shadows on his head).

The 3D ultrasounds is so amazing--I can't get over the cool technology that let us see our baby like this!

His cute little profile

And there it is ladies and gentlemen--his little boy part! (I actually wasn't too sure about this shot... but you'll just have to trust me that we saw a couple of much clearer shots of the area--and he's definitely a boy! He was just moving around too much to get a better picture proving it.)

More importantly than knowing the sex (although it is really fun to know, and to call the baby "he" rather than "it"), we learned that he is a very healthy baby so far, and is developing just as he should. All of his organs, limbs, features, etc. measured right on, and we couldn't be happier about it! The due date is still set for July 1st for now. Now we just need a good name... and a bed and some blue stuff....

4 Months? Really??

Lots has happened since Halloween! Lets see, how about a brief re-cap of the past four months...In November of course, there was Thanksgiving. What a wonderful holiday--a day set aside to be with family, and show our gratitude for our many incredible blessings. We had 20+ people come over, including lots of Alex's family, and my mom. We took some family pictures, and had a great time enjoying the most delicious Thanksgiving dinner ever (everyone's cooking was yummy, but I particularly enjoyed my dear husband's INCREDIBLE turkey, plus his homemade pumpkin cheesecake.... mmmm....)

Something that we found out about in early November that we are particularly grateful for is

that we are expecting baby #2! Right now, I'm in my 19th week. So far, the pregnancy has been very 'textbook', which I am so thankful for. I've had the regular, expected symptoms and discomforts, but no problems. I'm starting to feel the little one move around quite a bit, and I'm loving it! We'll find out if Mya will have a baby brother or baby sister in a couple more weeks--so stay posted!

In December, we had a couple of big things happen. First, I quit my job as a Housing Counselor at CDC. I had been there for almost 2 years. It was a great job... but I almost lost my mind and had to get out while I still could! Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Actually, I found another job that just suited what Alex and Mya and I need! A part-time job as an Educator with USU Extension. I started in January, and I'm really enjoying it. I teach classes in the community about housing and finances. It's great! I really miss some of my dear co-workers (pictured below) from CDC. Other than that, I am loving working less hours, and living with much less stress!

The second big thing in December was... you guessed it... Christmas!!!

My favorite holiday ever!

I love the festivity of the lights and music, and the camaraderie that can be felt just about anywhere. It was so much fun shopping for gifts for Mya this year--at age 2 1/2 she is SO excitable, and she loved everything she was given.

Most of all, the Christmas season is a time to reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I can't think of many things better than that! To celebrate this special holiday, Alex and Mya and I packed up our little Subaru to the brim, and we drove down to Arizona! We stayed with my sister, Kara, and had a WONDERFUL time! It was warm outside, we had lots of great family time, yummy food (by that time, the pregnant lady was starting to have a pretty good appetite), and an overall amazing time!

January was cold. The end.

February has started out with a bang. WE BOUGHT A MINI VAN!!! Yes, I am 25 years old, a soon to be mother of 2, and I proudly drive a mini van. We have been talking about it for a little while, especially as our good ol' Nissan has, well, gotten older. And with the approaching addition to our family, it seemed like it was a good time. (Plus, I think that the drive to AZ in our Subaru pushed us over the edge a little--we could neither one bear the thought of another road trip in that dear, small vehicle!) Just a couple days ago, we came across a deal that was just too good to pass up. We found a 2006 Honda Odyssey in great condition, with low miles, that was amazingly within our price range. After lots of research, etc, etc, we bought it. We have been so thrilled with it!!!

Alex's job managing the Wing Coop has been great. He's really able to utilize many of his skills with HR/management, and he enjoys it. Plus, what's even more exciting is that he is on his way to selling his homemade gourmet ice-cream at the Wing Coop! It's been an interesting learning experience to find out what goes into legitimizing ice-cream sales--it's a lot! Alex has been working with the Utah FDA guy to get his approval, plus he's getting all of his licenses lined up that he'll need to vend. He has some AMAZING recipes--so if you like ice-cream, visit the Wing Coop in the coming weeks, and enjoy some of the best ice-cream you've ever had! Oh yeah, they have great wings too. I'm so proud of my talented husband!