That time my in-laws came to town... and babies.

Whew... what a weekend! Where should I begin? I literally got NO homework done but I had a good time doing everything else under the sun (er... rain clouds). This week was full of spontaneous occasions and countless changes of plan.

Spencer's parents came to town and SPOILED us rotten! I got a sweet, sweet vacation from cooking and grocery shopping because the in-laws treated us to some fine cuisine including: all-you-can-eat sushi, Texas Roadhouse, IHOP, Village Inn, El Pollo Loco, California Pizza Kitchen, Applebee's, and a few others. Do Spencer and I deserve this kind of special treatment? Absolutely not. But Kent and DeRue are amazing like that.

For Memorial Day, Kent's parents (who live up in Rexburg, ID) have a family tradition of visiting the local cemetery and planting flowers in front of family gravestones. Spencer and I kept Kent and DeRue company and accompanied them on a very unplanned and impromptu road trip up to the Burg. I hear that Provo was cold and rainy all weekend but I promise you, Rexburg had it worse! It was fun to see the home were my father-in-law grew up and spend some quality time with Spencer's family. I didn't get to see Tuck and Hugh (sorry!) but I tried.... I'll catch them later this summer, I'm sure :). Kent's parents fed us, gave us a great bed to sleep in, and let me play with their dogs and one of their many pianos. That house is like an antique shop... the four of us poured over old pictures and trinkets for hours and never ran out of stuff to look at. It made me wonder what Spencer and I own right now that might still be around when we have our own great-grandchildren.

We went to church in Rexburg as well. It's awesome to realize that the church is the same no matter where you go in the world. It's not that Rexburg is a far-stretch from Provo, but even in Hong Kong and Hawaii and Maine the little things are the same: the way the deacons pass the Sacrament, the way either the organist or chorister will without fail take the hymns dreadfully slow, the way the speakers always start with some joke about how they thought they were off the hook until they got a call from the Bishop, the way people always forget their manuals, etc. It's just cool. It's not just the Gospel that's consistent universally, it's the Church itself as well. Oh, and ward choirs will always be desperate for more members!

Moving on...

Real quickly before I forget, I have to mention my amazing parents. Yesterday was mom's birthday and she turned... older :). Do you know what she did for her birthday? She went visiting teaching. Mom, you're amazing. My dad's not so bad, either... he's off in Afghanistan for the next few weeks and he still takes the time to talk to my mom every day even though I'm sure the phone bill will be nasty-expensive. I love these two:

See? Aren't they cute?!

Moving on again...

I love babies. This weekend, while playing with Kent and DeRue, Spencer and I also had time to visit with Spencer's siblings and our new nephew, Rigby! For those of you who don't know Kirstin and James Norman personally... I have to show you this little piece of perfection:


My apologies to Kirstin... I yoinked this from your facebook page! Rigby was born 6 weeks early on April 12th and as you can see, he's beautiful. I hear from DeRue that this little boy looks JUST like Spencer did when he was a baby and I can't tell you how excited I'd be to have a little boy who was a) just as handsome as his daddy and b) just as cute as this little guy. Spencer and I got to hold Rigby a couple of times this weekend and it's making me even more anxious and ready for Colton to get here. Shoot, I'm already in my third trimester... just one hot summer and one quick internship and he's here! :) In addition, Kent and DeRue booked the same photographer who took Rigby's pictures above to take our little boy's in September. I don't know how she makes cute, perfect babies even cuter but she does.

Speaking of Kent and DeRue... they hooked us up with some cute baby clothes and THIS adorable bedding set whilst they were here:

Um, yeah. It's pretty awesome.

So Spencer and I may not have had a productive Memorial Day Weekend but we had a good one. Because I'm trying to be better about documenting how cute my baby is before he's even born, here's a picture of me this morning in week 28!

Don't ask me how I'm supposed to stretch that sucker out even more in the next two and a half months... it'll take a miracle.

Love you all! Till next time...

Evolution of the belly

First things first... I am NOT a photographer. In fact, I'm not even sure where the charger for my point and shoot digital camera is and I don't think I've seen it within the past 6 months. I hope it's still around the house somewhere!

Luckily, telephones exist. Almost all the pictures that Spencer and I have taken in just over two years of marriage have been on our cell phones. Sad? I know. But I DO have a couple of belly shots that I've taken in front of various mirrors with my cell phone that I'm finally going to post. It's better than nothing, right?

I've been told time and time again how sad it is that I don't have week-by-week pictures of my belly expanding... but I've had a lot of other things on my mind. In reality, I'm just lazy. My attempt to justify my laziness is two-fold: 1) I never get home until AFTER Zumba, Yoga, Cardio, etc. so any attempts that I made earlier in the day to look cute have been dashed to pieces by the time I can take a picture and 2) my photographer, AKA Spencer, doesn't get home from work until 9:30 pm, by which point I'm usually showered and wearing his pajamas. So consider this a disclaimer: almost all these pictures are post-workout and I basically look like a bum.

Either way, I'm THRILLED to show off my bump. I am in love with this little boy. He kicks like crazy and Spencer and I spend time almost every day watching my Buddha belly move around like it has a mind of its own (and I guess it does, right?) So without further ado.... I present the evolution of my ever-expanding midsection:

This was at 11 weeks right after Zumba. The world found out about little man about a week and half later!

This was taken Taylor Building bathroom at 15 weeks. Guess where I was heading? Yup... zumba! My smile was genuine because morning sickness was FINALLY gone.

Same bathroom... same headband... different day later that week.

16 weeks! And I'm not wearing workout clothes! This was the week we found out he was a he.

17 weeks! That's right... we took pictures for 3 consecutive weeks. This was the last week I was able to see my feet while standing.

This was at 19 weeks up in Rexburg for Tuck's AMAZING Senior Recital. My sister is a B-A-B-E.

Yeah... two girls and fetus can fit in James' pants. You can't see anything very well but this was at 22 weeks... and it's also when the outie belly button began!

Whew... 26 weeks. Can you see my outie now?

And this was tonight, post zumba... in the throes of week 27.

I think I'm going to have a big baby :)

Calling all Mommas... and Poppas... and otherwise "knowing" individuals...

It's officially crunch time! Colton Cornett will be here in T-minus 3 months (and hopefully no sooner due to internship requirements) and Spencer and I are so excited! Being pregnant has been a TON of fun, (yes, I DID say fun. My 2nd trimester has helped me completely forget about 1st trimester nasties.) but I can't even begin to imagine how much better life will be once he's finally here.

So here's the deal: Spencer and I are poor. We won't have enough money to do any sort of "theme" for our "nursery" (which as of now consists of a crib in the office) and all I really care about is making sure we have the the essentials. I'll consider it a bonus if any of our furniture matches. I just want a happy baby and I know you don't need a lot of "stuff" for that. I have received advice in the most random places about what baby things are or are not required to get a passing grade in Parenting 101 and I'm asking for yours.

I know every baby is different but I also know there's a lot of crap out there that's purely for convenience or luxury. Yeah... I don't think we'll get any of that unless it's a shower gift. Googling "essential baby stuff" just makes me laugh... and feel more poor. I guarantee our baby will survive without half of those things. Now I ask you: What have you found was a life-saver? What did you get and NEVER use? What do you wish you had? What are some things that people told YOU you would need and you really didn't? What's okay to buy used (because I LOVE me some Craig's List and KSL Classifieds...) and what needs to be new? Hit me with your best practical advice.

We're not planning on buying anything until AFTER any baby showers (the Ward is throwing another girl and me a joint one in a few weeks) because... well... because we truly can't afford to spend money on something we might get for free otherwise. In the meantime, we've been gratefully accepting freebies and hand-me-downs and scouring local garage sales for free or dirt-cheap baby things.

This is what we have so far:
Crib and mattress (thanks, Kent and DeRue!)
Car seat (thanks, tax return!)
Stroller (see above)
A few little outfits (thanks, lots of people!)
Baby monitor (thanks, Jeff & Becca!)
Changing table (it was SUPER cheap. And we needed another dresser anyways. Bonus!)
... and except for a few other little things, that's about it.

We're off to a good start but I'm pretty sure there are some other things we're going to want or need.

So what do you think?

P.S... You're all wonderful and I love you :)