This is how I found Natalie the other night when I checked on her. You can't really tell but she's pressed up against the bars. Maybe she was playing peek-a-boo and fell asleep in the middle of it. I don't usually risk waking her up by taking pics of her sleeping, but in this case I knew she wouldn't see the flash!!
Last week we went to a family reunion on Mark's stepmom's side of the family. So basically, we didn't know anyone but Mark's step-siblings. I had a really good time catching up with all of them and seeing all their kids again. The last time we saw most of them was two years ago, when I was pregnant with Natalie. We all got a kick out of the fact that I look the same as they last saw me. "you haven't changed a bit!" haha. Anyway, it was at Tumbleweed park which I had never been to, and I was quite impressed with it. The weather was beautiful and Natalie had a great time. Here are a few pics.
I just thought this one was cute.
Someone was a smart parent and brought a bucket of toys for the little kids to play with. There were lots of fun outdoor games for the older kids to play, but nothing Natalie could have really done.
She's finally learned to smile on demand. Complete with a nose wrinkle.
Some of the cousins. I was surprised that Natalie was playing among them so comfortably. Usually she's so shy. Maybe it's because Uncle Travis was giving out suckers.
The little twin cousins who fell asleep in the stroller. Couldn't resist this one. So cute! These kids' mom delivered her first baby (twins' older bro) naturally and he was 10lbs!! The doc made her get an epidural for the twins' delivery and she said she hated it and much preferred going natural. Needless to say, she and I had plenty to talk about. :-)I made Chicken in Creamy Pan Sauce for dinner tonight. It was really yummy, and I will make it again. Totally easy with only a few ingredients. I did add garlic to the pan when I cooked the chicken, and doubled the sauce and served it over pasta. Natalie loved it too. And by the way, it did NOT look like the picture. :-)
Here is my 35 week pic. I am getting huge, and I am almost ready for this baby to come out! I still feel pretty good. My only complaints are of the typical end-of-pregnancy woes, namely peeing a lot, lack of sleep, awkwardness of moving around, baby kicking ribs, etc. I am so excited though and I think Natalie will like the baby, once she gets past the initial adjustment of not having all of mommy's attention. 
Here are some random pictures that I have taken with my cell phone that are worth journaling, aka blogging about.
Natalie and her cousin Afton at the mall. This was so cute, I had to get a pic!
Getting a spoon out of the drawer.
Natalie got to play with this little puppy at my friend Rachel's house. She was in heaven.
She learned how to hang from the bar. She looks like such a big girl doing that! I suppose I think that about everything new she does though, haha. And yes, she is wearing a jacket. It actually got cool enough for one for a few days.
Trying on glasses at the optical place while waiting for mommy's glasses to get fixed.
She wanted her pic taken after my belly shot.
Playing at the park.
Brooklyn and Natalie on the swings. Brooklyn is doing the droopy doll over the front of the swing technique.
I took this last week. He had finished his midterms the day before, and was playing with Natalie on the floor of her room. She was hiding in the closet from him and I guess he just layed down and fell asleep! I heard her calling, "dada! dada!" so I went in to see why he wasn't answering and found this. When I showed Natalie that dada had fallen asleep she put her blanket on him and gave him a stuffed duck to play with. I think he slept for 2 hours like this. Poor guy!
I hardly do these because I never remember, but I have a few extra minutes before I leave to pick up my wonderful MIL from the airport, so here goes.
TAG!
5 things on today’s “to do” list:
1. Organize Natalie's drawers
2. Read some of my birthing books/practice relaxing
3. Take a nap
4. Make dinner
5. Go to the park in the early morning before it gets too hot
5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Grapes
2. Ritz crackers w/ cheese
3. Cereal
4. Pretzels
5. Homemade toast (as in homemade bread toasted)
5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off house and move back into it
2. Invest
3. Help family w/ bills
4. Save
5. Save (I know, it's boring)
5 places I have lived:
1. Gilbert
2. Las Vegas
3. California
4. Provo
5. Washington
5 Jobs I have had:
1. Piano/flute teacher
2. BYU custodian
3. BYU catering prep
4. Ad department
5. Mommy
Just leave a comment if you want to claim one. Otherwise they will be on sale this weekend--you're welcome to come and shop! Click here for info.Here is a consumer reports article that illustrates my feelings, beliefs, and thoughts about the birthing process. I have recently discovered that my OB may not feel the same way as I do, and so I'm looking for a possible change in OBs. If anybody knows of a dr (OB/GYN, family practitioner, naturopathic dr, etc) who supports women who want to give birth naturally, please let me know.
I understand that not everyone feels as I do, or have reasons to not have babies this way due to medical circumstances. That's ok with me! I'm just looking for someone for ME, not to impose my birthing feelings on anyone. :-)
Article
Here are a couple of short movies of Natalie lately. The first is of her saying "small" and "big." She says these quite often to describe mostly everything she sees, and she says them in a small and big voice. It's so funny, and I'm glad I caught it on video. The second is of her talking about General Conference.
Today as I was getting out of the shower I hear Natalie saying, "Bah, bah." I look at her and see that she's holding a narrow piece of a magazine ad across her chest saying that it was her bra.
Now, why don't I keep my camera in the bathroom?
"Marm" is how Natalie says "farm." We went to a little farm place for playgroup this past week, and Brooklyn and Melanie came too. It was so fun, and not really that unbearably hot! (Do you like my optimism?) It was probably only 103 or so, nice. Here are some pics.
Waiting to go inside. They liked this giant pumpkin.
Each kid got to choose a pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch...
And decorate them with stickers. Natalie really liked doing it over and over once we got home.
Here we are feeding the cow. Natalie talks about the cow a lot. It was probably one of her favorite parts.
The sweaty girls sitting on the prickly hay. We did splash water on their faces just before this picture, so don't think it's all sweat! It was a little warm. :-)
Sitting on the tractor together.
And the highlight of the trip was the bounce house. Yep, they spent a long time in here (long for a toddler=10-15 mins) You can see on her face what a good time she was having.
Looking out the window of a little kid sized house. This was another favorite.
Here we are on the hayride. We had such fun--I think we were even getting a breeze.
Natalie sporting her new sunglasses we picked up at Hobby Lobby (or "bobby bobby" in Natalie-ese) for $0.30. Good deal! Plus I don't really care if they get lost or broken.
I was watching one of my baby delivery shows and one of the midwives was telling all the pregnant women that healthy moms make healthy babies. So I decided I need to eat more healthy. I did pretty well for a while, but lately I've gotten lazy and am mostly eating carbs and probably a little too much junk food. I saw once on TV that pregnant women crave carbs and this is very true for me. I wanted to include this on my blog so I feel accountable to someone about it. I'm not trying to lose weight (until baby is born of course) but I do want to be healthy and strong to be able to tackle labor and delivery (I'm planning a natural birth again).
Today instead of a bowl of sugary cereal for breakfast I had homemade oatmeal, reliv (vitamin drink), and toast made of homemade whole wheat bread. This kept me full until lunch, amazingly, where I ate a turkey sandwich (I know preg women aren't supposed to eat lunch meat, but I eat it only occasionally which my dr ok'd.) and grapes. I allowed myself one cookie for my one sweet of the day. I snacked on some carrots before dinner, and then dinner was biscuits with creamed tuna gravy with peas. Not the healthiest of dinners, but hey it was quick and I was exhausted.
Anyway, thanks for reading if you made it this far. I think it will be helpful to me to keep a brief journal of my eating so I stay on track with my goal. My plan is this: more fruits and veggies, less empty carbs (like cinnamon toast crunch) and treats.
I feel better already.
