Jimmy is officially on his way home! Yahoo! We can't wait to see him. My mom got here Thursday night. Yesterday we hiked up to Makapuu Lighthouse to see whales...no whales. This morning we woke up to a tsunami warning. Still waiting to see what happens. House is cleaned, sparkling actually. Food is stocked and we are ready for baby, Jimmy, and a tsunami. Wish us luck!

38 Weeks

38 weeks and counting. Baby is moving and kicking hard these days. I feel like I have so much to do before he gets here but I am ready! Today I managed to get all of the carpets cleaned in our house, wash walls, paint a few things for his room and other areas of our house....I have managed to make lasagna, enchiladas and burritos and have them ready to go in the freezer. My car is clean, carseats are clean and I'm pooped. I still have a few walls to wash and when my mom gets here I have some curtains for her to sew (thank heavens for a mom who can do everything!)

Jimmy gets to leave for Hawaii on Sunday and I am so anxious to see him. I can't wait to have our little family back together for a bit. I keep telling baby to stay put until daddy gets here but once he's here baby is free to come anytime!

At 38 weeks I have been feeling some aches and pains. Getting any sleep is a challenge and I am craving chocolate and smoothies/slushies like a mad woman. There's no resting for this momma though. Madeline keeps me hopping and walking and up and down all day long. I'm glad. It keeps me busy and wears me out but at least I'm busy. I've also felt a never ending need to clean and clean and clean. I have felt this need for months now but the feeling is suddenly intensified so I wake up cleaning and go to sleep cleaning...good think Madeline goes right behind me and makes a mess so I always have something to clean!

Speaking of Madeline, today after her nap she came up to me and told me that she needed to go potty and wanted her diaper off. I didn't really expect anything out of it, but because I want her to tell me when she needs to go I humored her and let her sit on the potty. Lo and behold the little stinker went pee on the potty! I was so surprised! She was so excited and did not want to put a diaper back on when she was done. So we got out the pull ups and I called them big girl diapers and she got so excited. I rewarded her with some chocolate and she was and still is pretty proud of herself. I'm pretty proud of her too!

I think Madeline is going to be really excited about having a baby in the house. I think she will be one of those kids you have to watch because she will want to hold baby and crawl in bed with baby all the time. Recently she has been an extra caring little mommy to her dolls. She wraps them up, puts them down for naps, gives them hugs and kisses if they fall, takes them for walks, gives them milk...it's pretty cute.

Well next dr. appointment is tomorrow...we'll see how it goes!

A few more pictures...

Becky sent me a few more pictures

from our trip to Utah in November and I keep

forgetting to add them...so FINALLY, here they are...

way out of order (oh well!)

Madeline's handprints on Grandma and Grandpa's back door.

She loved looking at the quail in the morning.

Showing Grandpa Larry the quail.

Henry, Tommy, Liz, Becky, Meredith, Joanna, Madeline, Missy

Tree Hugger

Before Jimmy left for deployment he taught Madeline how to be a "tree hugger." Now just about everytime she sees a tree she will run up and give it a hug. Her daddy will be so proud.

New Shoes

Madeline got some new shoes...

out of Aunt Nat's closet.

It was pretty funny to watch her try

and turn around. She kept falling

all over the place.

It's amazing how entertained she was

with these shoes. She kept walking

back and forth with her shopping cart.

Love this little girl.

37 Weeks

Had a doctor appointment today. It was good. He checked my blood pressure because last week it was a little high and with the preclamsia I had with Madeline he wanted to be safe. It was good but he still had me do some blood work to be sure. He also checked me and it looks like baby may wait for daddy...YAHOO! The doctor said he could strip my membranes next week but I asked him to wait to give Jimmy as much time as possible.

Right now I am feeling great. Tired, but great. Baby is kicking and moving and jabbing me in the ribs constantly. I really can't wait to meet this little guy and have my guy home for a bit.

My mom is coming on the 25th and Jimmy will get to leave for Hawaii on the 28th. So if Jimmy doesn't make it my mom will be my emergency back up in the delivery room. Everytime I think about my mom or Natalie being in there with me it makes me laugh. I don't know why but it seems comedic to me. I am really hoping that Jimmy makes it for obvious reasons and so that I can keep my composure and not laugh through my delivery. ha ha.

4 Years Ago....

Today when I was talking to Jimmy we remembered that 4 years ago on President's Day was when we first met, "officially."

I remember it like it was yesterday. For those of you who don't know, we met online. We met on the site LDSMingle. I can honestly say it was fate. After dating and feeling like nothing was going anywhere my mom urged me to try out the online scene. I refused, NO WAY! A few days later I had a prompting that I should give it a try....so I did and the rest is history. A friend of Jimmy's (who shall remain unnamed...unless permission is given otherwise...ha ha) was on the site and saw my profile and thought of Jimmy...we give him credit for introducing us. Jimmy joined the site so he could talk to me and shortly after he sent me an email we started talking on the phone.

After our first phone conversation I was super interested. Jimmy is so genuine and just has a way of making you feel special. The second time that we talked he took a risk and invited me to New York to go to the West Point 100th night ball. I of course said yes! My mom wasn't so sure about the idea...but I was a big girl and I was sure. ha ha. My mom was very thankful when she found out that the week before I was to go to New York, Jimmy would be going to St. George to see his parents and I could meet him there.

So for President's Day weekend 4 years ago I headed to St. George to meet Jimmy. It was so not something that I would do. I still can't believe that I did it. We had arranged to meet at a gas station so that we didn't have to meet in front of his family. I can remember freaking out and nervously calling my cousin Wendy when I got there. She kept telling me to leave her on the phone so she could listen in....so funny. Jimmy showed up at the gas station...with his DAD! ha ha! It was so funny. His dad dropped him off and I can remember feeling like two awkward teenagers going on a first date. We then followed his dad back to their house where his mom had a full on dinner waiting for us. I thought it was so sweet and I can remember feeling incredibly awkward and nervous.

Not only did I meet Jimmy for the first time, but I met his dad, his mom, his sister, his brother-in-law, and his niece and nephew. I think I spent more time playing with the kids because I was so nervous...I kept wondering what his family was thinking about this crazy internet girl Jimmy brought home. To top it all off, within minutes of meeting we all sat down for a nice "family" dinner. Ha ha! After dinner we (just me and Jimmy) went to a movie (When a Stranger Calls). He held my hand. Awwwe! I was honestly in heaven. He was as perfect as I thought he was going to be. It was never awkward with him, it was perfect from the beginning. I remember when I went to bed that night my phone kept buzzing with text messages from everyone wanting to know how it was going.

We spent a day at Snow Canyon, went to the art festival with his parents, recorded old records onto cd's. There were so many moments that I thought for sure he would kiss me...for instance, we were in Snow Canyon having so much fun and it started to snow. It was cold. We cuddled a bit in this beautiful place, we were all alone and I thought for sure...kiss is coming...nope....it didn't. Want to know when he kissed me? We were at his parents house...it was Sunday. His parents were in the other room watching t.v. and we were recording the records. This is how sneaky he is. He asked me if I wanted to see his dad's car. His dad has a really cool car. Of course I did. So we went out to the garage. I never saw the car. Ha ha. Sneaky, sneaky.

I never wanted the weekend to end and was so glad I was going to see him the following week in New York. After that weekend....I knew I loved him or was falling in love with him.

I really feel like the luckiest girl. My Jimmy is absolutely wonderful and he makes being married to him a joy. It's not hard at all...being married to Jimmy is the easiest thing in the world and I oh boy am I ever so in love with him and fall more in love with him everyday.

Six months down, only six more to go and he will be home!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

When we were in Utah my sister took some pictures of Madeline for Jimmy. These are just a few of them. I think they turned out so stinkin' cute. She is so animated and I love that she held onto her daddy doll the whole time. I have to admit, I have one beautiful little girl.

Just a little mention about my sister. She does an amazing job, currently she is in Hawaii so if you want someone who is very reasonably priced that will go anywhere you want for family pictures or whatever check her out at www.simplereflectionsphotography.com and give her a call because she is only here for a few more weeks and then you Utah people can take advantage of her talent.

Oh boy do I love him!

Tantalus Drive

On Saturday we drove up Tantalus drive

to the State Park and had a picnic.

We tried to fly a kite...but there wasn't any wind.

I held it for Madeline and we pretended.

(horrible picture of me..swollen legs and all!!)

We played with bubbles.

Madeline really loves bubbles.

Madeline learned how to take pictures with

Aunt Nat's camera.

"say cheese!"

We just had a great afternoon enjoying

the sunshine and laughing together....

We sure are going to miss Aunt Nat when

she leaves.

We even walked out to the overlook.

Madeline was more interested in the walking

than the looking.

I love Hawaii. It's so awesome that it is the

beginning of February and here we

are in shorts and t-shirts picnicing.

It's awesome I tell ya!

Baby Stuff

Since we started putting up the baby stuff,

Madeline has gotten so excited.

She wants to climb in the baby's crib,

or put her doll in the baby's swing.

The other day I put the pack n' play up in our

bedroom for Lucas to sleep in for the first

few weeks and Madeline was so amused by it.

She had to climb in and try it out and

of course Ashes had to join her.

I love so much about this little girl.

I especially love her smile. When she

is happy or excited or thrilled it is

written all over her face.

See what I mean? This picture

cracks me up.

Kisses for Ashes.

Needless to say that getting ready for baby has

been an exciting adventure.

I think Madeline is starting to understand

that we are going to have a baby soon.

She will frequently rub my belly or give

it kisses and tell brother night night.

I can't wait to see how much she loves him

when he actually gets here.

35 Weeks

WHOOOOA BELLY!!!

35 weeks and growing!!!

Here I am at 35 weeks.

Baby is growing and growing and growing.

I am feeling good for the most part.

I have started to get really tired and my feet, legs,

and hands have started to swell.

Nothing like when I was pregnant with Madeline

but there's still time for that.

Lucas is still a kicker. Sometimes I feel like

my belly is bruised because he kicks so hard. I think

we have a soccer player.

At this point I have heartburn no matter what I eat and

I feel like I have to run to the bathroom every 5 seconds.

Isn't it wonderful? YES! I am getting so anxious

to meet this little guy. I am actually 36 weeks today and only

29 more days to go until my due date!

Yahoo!

This next month holds lots of exciting things for us!

Daddy gets to come home for a bit, new baby, and grandma

is coming to visit! We are so excited. Now if only the month

would pass a little more quickly so we could get to the

good stuff!!

Busy Body

Madeline is a busy body.

It seems like she was born that way.

She has always been so curious and just busy.

Lately she will disappear and when I go looking for

her she will be in her room reading her books,

playing with her dolls, in her kitchen, or

reciting the colors of the beads on this box.

I love watching her learn new things.
To me the whole process is just amazing and it

amazes me how much that little mind can soak in.

The past few weeks it seems like she is growing up so fast

and I feel like I need to catch all of the moments and

remember how she says things or the silly things she

does. I wish there was a button to make it all

slow down a bit.

She's such a sweetheart. Just today she climbed in

bed with me at 6 and grabbed my cheeks

with her little hands and gave me a big

good morning kiss.

I love being a mom, it really is the best job ever!