Washburn Baby Shower

Last Saturday my sisters-in-law threw me a shower at my house. I had family and a few friends come help me celebrate the soon-to-be birth of our son. I had so much fun talking and catching up with everyone. I had it at my house because there were a few people who hadn't seen my house yet, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to invite them over to see it. My sisters went all out with the food and decor, and everyone seriously spoiled me. The invitations Miriam made were so cute! Everyone was supposed to  bring a diaper bag essential as a gift which I thought was a great idea, so I got lots of the small essentials that I, would have otherwise, had to buy myself like diaper rash creams, toys, clothes, nursing pads, wipes, burp cloths, bibs, towels, and so much more. Plus Grandma Betty made me a baby quilt. It was all so exciting, and I had a great time. A HUGE thanks to my sisters-in-law who put it all together for me. Thank you!!!

Stephen was such a great help too. We took two days to clean the house so everything looked good. He mowed the lawn while my shower was going on and then came inside to fix the crib and put it together. Everyone made comments on how great of a husband he is and I quite agree.

 My old roommates came! Jessica and Amanda

 My good friend Kristina

 Another roommate Rachael

 The goods

 Grandma Betty with Daniel

 Pat with Olivia

 Isabelle was such a great helper!

 Stephen doesn't look like he knows what he's doing

 Love this one! Washburn women

Grandma Betty's quilt

Compliment?

I had an interview with one of the relief society presidency yesterday. Of course we chatted about my pregnancy and how things were going, but she said something to me that I think was a compliment, and I proudly took it as a compliment. She said she couldn't remember how I looked before I got pregnant, and that I actually looked like a mom even though I haven't had him yet. It did make me feel good to think that I have that distinguished "mom" look already.

Mothers do have a "look". You can tell if a woman is a mother or not, and there is something all mothers posess that set them apart--their hands. I call them "mom hands". Growing up I would look at my own mom's hands and dream about the day I would have some of  my own. These hands are very soft looking, some are wrinkly and others are smooth. They have just the right length of nails and they may or may not look a little worn. 

Mothers' hands are so special and unique to each woman and child they care for because those are the hands that first held you and wrapped you in her arms. Those hands wiped away thousands of tears, rocked you to sleep, taught you basics of life--from cleaning and cooking to caring for others, they clapped together to show you how proud she is of your accomplishments. Those hands grabbed you into thousands of hugs and kisses on a bad day or just because she loves you, they helped you up when you fell down, and every once in while spanked your bottom to keep you in line. They tickled, scratched, and rubbed your back and arms because she knows you love that, and made you yummy meals every day. Those hands cuddled you when you were sick, cleaned up your messes, and helped you with homework. They are always there when you need them; those are " mom hands". The list could go on, and even if this mom isn't your mom, but she has "mom hands" they are still comforting, and are always there when you need a pair.

Maple Canyon

After four and half years of being together, Stephen finally took my camping last weekend to Maple Canyon. We went with another couple that we're friends with. I mean we've been camping before with our families, but not just the two of us, so I was overly excited about this trip, and it couldn't have come at a better time. We really needed to get away even for just an overnighter. The campground was packed full and there were only three spots left, so we snagged two that were right across from each other for our friends. We set up camp and we were in charge of cooking dinner so we put together some Door Slammer Dutch oven chicken, potatoes and carrots, and made a s'mores pie for dessert. We played games while we waited for the food, but since this was our first time using a dutch oven by ourselves we didn't quite know what we were doing. We waited an hour and a half for the chicken until we checked it. It was done and ready to eat, but the veggies were still hard and the chicken was just barely done. It was 8:30 by the time we ate dinner, and we were hungry so we couldn't wait any longer. We were all excited for dessert which was also cooked in a dutch oven, but we ended up over cooking it, so our whole dinner was kind of a flop.

We borrowed some camping supplies from Stephen's brother including some cots. Everyone thought I was crazy for going camping at 8 months pregnant, but those cots, holy cow, they were so comfortable I actually slept better on them than on my bed at home. I didn't want to get up in morning; I was so warm and cozy! We had breakfast burritos made by our friends and set out for a hike up the canyon walls. Maple Canyon is world-known for it's canyon walls for rock climbing because instead of a straight cut wall they are cobblestone, so it's perfect for rock climbers and very unique looking. It's beautiful in fall because of all the maple and oak trees that envelope you as they change from green to fiery red, orange and yellow. I was kinda disappointed because we came a few weeks too early to catch the leafy show, but maybe next year. We had a lot of fun hanging out with Seth and Martha and enjoyed the great outdoors.

 Our fire was pretty smokey

 Stephen tried to climb the wall. He didn't get too far

 I love the woods! It's so beautiful

 Seth, Martha, and their dog Bleu

 One of the canyon walls

 I found this cute, fuzzy black and orange caterpillar on our way back to camp.

You can tell we've been camping because I have no make-up on and my face is filthy

Baby Update

I had my second and final ultrasound on Friday. I couldn't wait for this appointment just to see my baby and make sure he was still growing and healthy. My first ultrasound found that the placenta was partially covering the cervix so I had to go back in last week to make sure it had moved and find out whether or not I'd have to have a C-section. Well, we got great news all around. The placenta has moved so its a go for a natural birth, he's still a boy, and he has been growing really well.....a little too well. I'm 31 weeks and he's supposed to be right around 3.5 pounds, but he was measuring at almost 5  pounds! I couldn't believe it; I totally thought I had a small baby, but it sounds like he's going to be a big boy. In fact, from here on out he's supposed be gaining about a half pound a week until he comes. You do the math; let's hope I don't run into problems during delivery because of his size! Good thing I don't have very many newborn outfits because I probably won't be needing them.

I'm on the countdown now and it's all starting to become very real for me trying to imagine what's it'll be like to have to care for a small child on my own; not being able to pass him back to my sister or sisters-in-law for them to take care of. How am I going to get used to getting up several times in the middle of the night to feed, change, and calm him back to sleep? What am I going to do with myself during the day and how to I play with an infant? I already feel silly when I talk to the cat while Stephen is at work. I know my mothering instincts will kick in to high gear when he arrives, but I can't help but wonder. I'm also getting a tiny bit nervous about going into labor to see how I handle it. Having no experience with this is a little daunting, but staying positive is the only thing I can do to make sure I don't give up on at least trying to go natural. Two more months! I can't believe how fast the time has gone.

Tender Moments

For the past week or so I've been complaining to Mom and Becky that the baby has been all up in my ribs and scrunched up on my right side. Well, this position hurts because I can't sit down or bend over if I don't want to feel pain, but last night when Stephen got home from work I came downstairs and asked him if my belly looked a little lopsided. He said yes, but that it wasn't too bad. I complained to him too that the baby wouldn't move out of this position. Later that night I was laying on the couch and Stephen came over and exclaimed, "holy cow, Christine, your belly is really lopsided!" And preceded to laugh at me. I said, "I know and its really uncomfortable." I took the blanket off of me and you could literally see the outline of the baby all balled up on my side, haha, it was the cutest thing ever! He was like a little  three pound jelly bean bulging out my side. I massaged the area to get him to move down in a more comfortable position for my sake. He did move quite easily, but five minutes later he made his way back up to the right side again. He was squirming all night long, and when I got into bed later the bulge was still there. Stephen massaged him down, and again he moved right back to where he was. I guess my right side is his favorite, most comfortable spot! Even though it's uncomfortable for me, I can tolerate it a little better seeing and feeling his little body, and imagining the day I actually get to hold him in my arms.

Harvest Time!

It had been a while since either of us when to check on the garden, so we went out last night to see what was ripe and ready to be picked. We are so excited for our garden this year because last year's was incredibly pathetic. I mean we only got two Hubbard squash, five golf ball-sized potatoes, and a handful of peas. This year, however, has proven to be 100 times more successful; mainly because we changed the location of our garden.

 This is just a hint of what we harvested from the garden and there is a TON more. Even so that we cannot eat it all ourselves, so Stephen has to take a few things to work to give away.

My handsome hubby! Seriously, we were so excited to see all our hard work pay off this year.

Cascade Springs

I am so glad Stephen gets all the federal holidays off. I was really looking forward to the trip we planned for Labor Day on Monday. We went up to the Tiponogos Mountains to Cascade Springs for a hike and a picnic. It didn't quite go the way we had hoped. first of all, being a holiday it was incredibly crowded; like worse than Yellowstone with visitors blocking your views, trying to take pictures before you walked past them, the water level was so low the springs didn't look anything like it did in the photos we saw on the internet. It was hot and humid, Stephen had a stomach ache, and there was a sign that said no picnics allowed. So we walked around the springs as fast as we could just to get out of the crowd and eat lunch somewhere else. I mean it was pretty where we were and I didn't want to waste our whole day and the one hour drive, so we stopped at a campground called Salamander Flatts to eat lunch, take a few pictures and enjoy nature. It really was a beautiful day!

 This snake was the only "nature" we saw on our hike taking a sun bath

 This is supposed to be the "Cascading" Springs, but there was hardly any water flow, but it's still pretty!

 Look at my round belly!

Update

I finally made it to my third trimester! Time has gone by so fast, but slow at the same time. I am to the point where I am done being pregnant and I just want him out of me so I can just breathe. I am to the point where I have to rock back and forth a few times to gain momentum just to get off the couch. I can't sleep at night mainly because of back pain, but also because he punches me in the ribs where it hurts the worst. I find myself waddling a little bit whenever I go out, and I get plenty of stares from people. I have a friend who I started walking with in the mornings and then I do a little workout afterwards. It makes me feel a lot better and more motivated to get things done around the house instead of sitting and watching tv all day.

I also just got done putting the finishing touches on the nursery with the painting and taking carpet out. We still need to install new insulated windows, but his bedroom looks SO cute, especially with the jungle decals we put on the walls. It took Stephen and I two hours to put up the stickers, and afterwards Stephen said it was his favorite room. We painted the walls green (which is really bright, like apple green) with white trim. It took some getting used to, but now that I have some accents in the room it has toned the green down quite a bit and I love it! After moving the rocking chair in there it has become everyone's favorite room--even Toby's. He thinks that is his new chair to lounge on, but he's not even allowed in that room.

After putting a new clutch on the car last month, we found out that we needed new brakes as well......really bad. There was a grinding noise like metal on metal every time we used the brakes, so I took the car in to a few places to get quotes, and find out the problem. We were bid at another $1100 to get the brakes and whatever else needed fixing. We were in disbelief because we didn't have that kind of money; not even close yet the brakes were so bad they were ground down to nothing so we technically didn't have brakes. I had to stop driving the car as much as possible until we could get them fixed. We were in a pickle because we had absolutely no money for them, then a friend that Stephen works with volunteered his whole Saturday to teach Stephen how to change his own brakes. It only cost us $200 instead of $1100. I was in awe of this man who was helping us. He grew up in a mechanics family so he knew what he was doing. I couldn't thank him enough for doing that for us. I tell you, whenever something like this happens we have always been blessed in the biggest way.

Later that night we crashed on the couch in the basement tired from a long, laborious day. We had a ward activity that night that we needed to be at and I had to take dessert. A big thunder storm rolled through and just pounded us with rain. It was coming so fast and hard that within minutes our basement stairwell couldn't drain the water fast enough, so Stephen had to run out there with a snow shovel and shovel out the water because it was over flowing into our basement and saturating our carpet. He was working so fast trying to drain the water, but he just couldn't keep up with it. The water was filling up faster than he could shovel and there was nothing we could do about it. Stephen was soaked all the way through his jacket and clothes, and his shoes were covered in mud and debris. I looked out the widow as he was shoveling and saw this raging waterfall of water coming down the stairs wondering where in the world it was coming from. The storm past within about 30 minutes, so it was short, but devastating to our basement. Come to find out the downspout to our gutter was pouring the water directly down the stairs. That's why we flooded and why Stephen couldn't get a handle on the drain. We had to run to Home Depot to get an extender for the downspout for the next storm. We ended up being really late to our activity and not in a good mood because of it, but at least we are learning how to be successful homeowners!

Stephen and I had a date night last week where we went out to dinner and came home to roast marshmallows for smores in our dirt patch in the back yard. It was kind of a struggle to keep the fire going, but it was fun nonetheless. Just an FYI, I look super fat in these pictures mainly because I'm hunched over, but at least I have the excuse of being pregnant even though you can't tell. I don't even know why I'm posting them on here because they are that bad!

Family Visit

A few weeks ago Joseph and his family took a little vacation down here in Salt Lake. They went to Lagoon the day before coming to see me. I'm really glad they took some time for a visit, especially with Stephen and I being as busy as we were, because I miss my family. We were planning on going to the zoo, but I took them to the Living Water Aquarium instead. The kids loved it! We were there for about two hours and poor Devin was throwing up the whole time so he didn't really get to enjoy it. I felt so bad for him--I pushed his limp body around in the stroller as he just laid there waiting for it to end. Little did I know he would end up in the hospital for a burst appendix later on. Poor boy, but he's doing much better now.

They came to the house for a bit before we left and Peytin kept asking me why my belly was so big, and what what in there, and why we were having a baby, haha. He is such a crack up. He loved to rub my belly and pat it whenever he came near me. Quentin wanted to ride in the car with me to the aquarium and the first thing he asked me was if I would please turn on some church music. I told him I was sorry I didn't have any church music in the car, so I turned the radio off. I have to say Joseph and Trish have some of the most well mannered kids. We got to go out and eat dinner with them before we had to rush off and with our busy schedule later that night. It was such a treat to have them down here for a few hours.

What a cute little family!

After I took this first picture Peytin asked me if he could see the picture to see what he looked like. He saw that he had his hand in front of his face so you couldn't see him, so he asked if I would retake the picture, lol. I waited for Trish and Devin to get back from the bathroom to take the next one. Peytin still put his arm up in the same position, but at least it wasn't in front of his face, haha. He asked to see it again to make sure it was a good picture and he was satisfied with it.