11.11.11

11 is my favorite number, I was born on the 11th (of April) and would have loved to have had my baby on the 11th too (although we all know I'm still not ready for him to be born yet!).
Even though my son wasn't born on the 11th, he'll still be born in the 11th month of 2011 AND I only have 11 days left until my due date!
11.11.11 was a great day! At school, we had a really good Veteran's Day assembly which then turned into a pep assembly and it was great! The Veteran's Day portion had just about every adult in tears! Then at our meeting after school, each speaker was given 11 minutes for their portion of the meeting (unfortunately, not every obeyed the rule).
My sister threw a party to celebrate the day. She had these awesome balloons, we had pizza, donuts, shakes, and played games.

I think the kids are watching Berrie and Jill play The Michael Jackson Experience here (it's a dance game on Wii).


Holding up our 11's.


For some reason, we were on a headstand kick. Neil had been doing them at work that day, I think that may have started the fun. I, obviously, did not attempt to do any headstands, but Neil helped Jeff get going on his.

Relax

This weekend was all about relaxation and trying NOT to stress about getting things ready for the baby.
I asked Kelsey to come over and do a nose waxing party for us because it's been forever since we've done it. Here's Kels, Tay and Jeff. (the reason they have post it notes is so the wax doesn't pull off their mustache hair)

You can't tell very well, but all of us (minus the kiddies) have the wax in our noses here.


Neil and I escaped to Park City for the rest of the weekend for one last little getaway as a DINK couple. We stayed at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley and it was wonderful! (saturday was the only day we took pictures so it looks like we stayed in the same clothes all weekend!)


The weather was way colder than I was expecting but the fireplaces everywhere kept us warm.


We walked up and down main street and did a little shopping


and ate at a couple of really cute and yummy cafes.


We're just waiting for our dinner reservation at the hotel in this picture.


Neil with his awesome chocolate brulee. This was one of the best meals we have ever had- we would HIGHLY recommend eating (and staying) at Stein Eriksen!


We also played some chess, which was very fun and something we had never done together before. This handsome devil beat me though.
The mini-trip was so great and just what we needed! The cold weather, mountains, the hotel and the food made us feel like we were back in Europe- which was just 9 short months ago!
The only thing that wasn't perfect about this weekend was that I started getting a sore throat on Thursday night and by Sunday morning it had turned into a terrible cold!

Neil's Grandpa and Grandma live up in Idaho and Neil and I haven't seen them in YEARS! Luckily, they drove down to Utah to see the family before the weather got snowy and crappy so we were able to see them.

Neil and his Grandpa Roger Johnson.

Pat playing Mario Chess with William and Beck. And that's Grandma Kaye.

Almost the whole family was able to get together to see Grandma and Grandpa.
Hopefully, we'll be able to see them again soon!

School Shower

"What are all these presents? It looks like you're "showering" her with gifts... with little, tiny, baby sized gifts." - Homer Simpson

Monday was a teacher work day since it was the end of first term the previous Friday. My friend Annie thought that would be the perfect day to through a combined baby shower for me, Nicole, and Kacey at work.

Here are some of our awesome co-workers/friends/guests.

Our gift opening stations :)

Opening presents. All these showers made me realize how sweet and generous people are! I'm so lucky to know such great people!!

25 weeks, 27 weeks, and 37 weeks

Bows

Neil's been telling the little boys that he'd shoot bows with them all summer. Well, since it's no longer summer and it was probably the last nice weekend last week, he finally made good on his promise.

He just set up a little target area in our backyard.

Here's Nick

And Max

And I had a few turns too.

Pregnancy Update

How Far Along: 37 Weeks

Size of Baby: 6 lbs, 5 oz. I think he's dropped a little bit lower now because I can actually take a deep breath now!

Maternity Clothes: I hope I can still squeeze into these for a few more weeks- they’re getting a bit snug!

Gender: According to the onesie my Aunt Kathy gave us, he’s a Ladies Man!

Name: My mom’s been calling him Rex lately, which I do think is quite cute, but Neil and I are sticking with “The Baby” for now.

Movement: I actually feel like he’s been moving a little bit less the last couple of weeks and it’s driving me crazy!

Sleep: Not too bad most of the time. Luckily, my need to urinate doesn’t usually wake me up at night- I pee a ton during the day, but I don’t drink quite as much at night so even though I might wake up throughout the night, I’m at least able to stay in my cozy warm bed.

What I Miss: Quickly and easily shaving my legs. Not having to stop and rest because I’m so out of breath after walking up 1 measly flight of stairs. And having a brain/memory. I’m always a forgetful person, but I miss having even half a brain. During this pregnancy, I’ve gone down to no brain at all and I can’t remember ANYTHING! If it’s not written down, it will not get done! I can’t even put a normal sentence together half the time and can’t remember how to do simple things that I’ve done millions of times (i.e. how to upload pictures onto my blog).

Cravings: I can’t think of anything new that I’ve been craving.

Symptoms: I’ve had quite a few pregnancy “symptoms” lately. If I bend over even a little bit after I’ve eaten, my food tries to come back up. My face (and everything else too obviously) is definitely getting rounder. I’m getting quite lazy these days. A lot of times the baby will push really hard on my bladder and make me almost pee my pants! I guess it’s kind of a good thing because it makes me practice kegel exercises! I’ve even gotten heartburn a few times, which I’ve never had in my life!

Weird Things: I’ve gotten really, really clumsy. And I think I’m losing my hearing (actually it’s Neil who thinks that).

Worries: I’m sure hoping that everything on, in, and pertaining to my body will go somewhat back to what it was pre-pregnancy (PS I’d prefer sooner rather than later). I know it will take time and work and discipline, but even with all those things, I know that sometimes bodies are just plain ruined. I’d really like for that not to be the case with me.

Best Moment of the Week(s): This isn’t necessarily the BEST moment, but it’s definitely something to make note of. Exactly at 36 weeks, people started giving me those awesome comments about looking like I’m about to pop, the fact that I’m waddling, asking why I wasn’t at the hospital yet, or just mentioning my overall “hugeness”. At least I didn’t get these throughout my whole pregnancy and it only started happening toward the end.

Appointments This Week: Of course- I’m on the weekly schedule. My doctor says there are no signs that I'll be going into labor anytime too soon. In fact, he asked me how I felt about going to 41 weeks! (I said NOT GOOD!)

What I’m Looking Forward To: Neil and I are going to spend a couple of days up in Deer Valley for some last minute fun and relaxation.

Something I've Learned/Realized: I can’t believe how much crap this child is going to need (or maybe it’s more of how much crap I want him/me to have…) Luckily, we’ve been totally spoiled by our fabulous family and friends!

Pictures:

36 weeks

37 weeks

Halloweenie

This weekend Neil and I went to Annie's Annual Halloween party.
We were planning on being a pregnant nun and a priest, but then my mom (of all people!) mentioned we should be missionaries and since that is a more hilarious, less common, and easier costume, we went with that idea.
(and all this time I thought black was slimming! I guess there's only so much one color can do!)

Nicole, Annie, and me.


Ryan was a ghost (if you couldn't tell).


On Sunday, my family got together at Jill's for Sunday dinner and pumpkin carving.







Some of the results




Jeff had to eat some pumpkin guts, of course.


The rest of the pumpkins. Neil did the Joker and I did the spider. I get sick of carving way too fast so I always pick something really easy!


On Halloween, we went to my parent's house for some Halloween Chili. My mom dressed up as a Hogwarts student wearing the items she bought last October when we went to Harry Potter World.

For the first time ever, we ended up back at our own house handing out candy to our own Trick or Treaters (which isn't nearly as fun as my parents make it seem!)

Christensen Shower

My aunt threw me a shower for the Christensen side of my family. Since it was only 2 days before Halloween, it was Halloween themed and it was awesome!

Some of the cute decorations.

Me and my Grandma GiGi

Me and Berrie

Kathy got me this hilarious onesie.

See how much FUN everyone is having!? It was a great party!

The kids all had a ton of fun too!