It's a....

GIRL!!

We had an ultrasound today to double check the due date. I was right on, of course, but it was fun anyway to see our little baby. We were surprised to hear it was a girl--we were so sure it would be a boy. Yay! The girls are excited to have a new sister.

Now-to get Mark to love the names I love. mwah hahaha.

Happy list

1. Attending the Lamb of God concert last night. EVMCO, the orchestra/choir that I play in, performed the newest Rob Gardner work. It was utterly amazing. I didn't end up playing for it because there weren't enough flute parts (Rob brought his own flutist). I was ok to listen though. Out of this world. I highly suggest buying the CD. My sister Melanie is in the choir.

2. My kids playing together. Natalie used to be able to stretch out completely on the stairs. I just bought her a new shirt that fits her great and it is size 6X! Anyway, hearing them laugh and squeal together while I can do some mommy time just makes me grin.

3. Cool mornings. Yes, I said the word cool actually referring to the weather. I open the windows and burn my favorite fall candle, pumpkin pie, and pretend that it really is fall. AND get this--cold water comes out of the tap.

4. Going shopping for new clothes. I've been holding back all summer and contributing my lesson money to our general family fund, but I was able to use my August and Sept money for my own purposes and actually bought some clothes!!! Mark just doesn't understand what that does for a woman, particularly me. Especially after holding back for sooooo long.

5. Violin lessons. It's hard but I really love it. I'm always amazed when my fingers remember where to go. Ha.

6. Having energy to cook dinners again. Still need occasional naps, but energy level is definitely improving.

How I'm feeling

So just a little pregnancy update. I am almost 13 weeks, and looking chubby. Gotta love the stage where regular clothes are getting too tight and maternity clothes are too big. All I want to wear are exercise pants. I'm all about comfort during pregnancy.

We are getting an ultrasound in a couple of weeks to date the pregnancy. I have had a couple of quick u/s at the midwife's office just cuz she has a portable machine to check out the baby but it's an old machine and it is not very detailed. So my "real" u/s will be at 15 weeks so hopefully we'll find out the sex! Same thing happened with Hannah and we found out about her at 14w. Then I'll have the real diagnostic one at the regular 18-20w mark.

I have been totally and utterly exhausted. I have stopped exercising and started napping at the same time as Hannah. Hopefully I will be able to start exercising again now that the first trimester is over but so far I haven't felt much of a difference. Other than the fatigue, I feel pretty normal. My same ol' pregnancy symptoms-greasy face/hair, breakouts, heartburn, and the return of a lovely vericose vein I got at the end of the last pregnancy. It's on me bummy so not that fun to sit on hard surfaces for very long. When orchestra starts up again in Oct I will take a pillow to sit on. Still awaiting that lovely time when my leg hair goes all fine and soft. That's my favorite thing besides feeling the baby. :-)

Anyway, on to trimester #2! Bring on the best stage of pregnancy. Oh, I have felt the baby move a couple of times. Can't wait for the kids to feel the kicks!!

I remember when I was preggo for the first time, I thought that it wasn't as interesting or cool for women who were on their second, third, etc pregnancy. But I find myself just as excited. I still read preg websites and books and want to talk about it with people. Wish I could have told myself that back in the day! Any new life is much anticipated and exciting.

Lakeside

Our friends Lucas and Jenny Sheppard invited us to stay at their parents' cabin in Lakeside (by Pinetop-northern AZ) for a few days. We drove straight there after our Snowflake day. Fun was had by all, and the beauty was magnificent. It was so awesome to get out of the heat, enjoy rain, relax around the house with nothing to do, take walks around the neighborhood, and chat with our friends and each other. What a much needed vacation!! Tons of pictures for this one, beware.

The Sheppard twins, Ava and Brynlee. They are Natalie's age and she was thrilled to have them to play with.

My sweeties hanging out on the porch swing.


See the beauty? Behind us, that is. Just wait. There's more.

We even donned jackets, yes, jackets. My girls were like, what are these?

They insisted on wearing the hoods at all times.

Right before she fell off. Guess she's not ready for the big girl swing yet. But the baby one was being used by a dog. As in, the dog was swinging. ha!

Natalie on the tire swing.

Before they really knew what joys could be had from swinging in circles super fast. The smiles got much bigger once they did.

Girls decorated cupcakes out on the porch one lovely evening.

Behold, the beauty. And this is not even edited yet. Can't wait to find time to do some processing!

The dads and their girls. Lucas and Mark have been friends since high school. Or before that. Not sure exactly.

So glad I caught this little shot.

More beauty. Can't wait to do stuff to this one too.

An edited shot.

Another one I enhanced, but only slightly. It really was that green.

I definitely want to do this trip again!!

Snowflake

We went to Snowflake again this year, but just for the Pioneer Day itself. Usually we stay for a few days but it didn't work out this year to do more than one day. We got up there around midday, the girls played in the yard, it rained, we got ice cream (tradition) in the antique shop, and enjoyed the company of our awesome Hatch family!

JD Hayworth (the politician) stopped by Mark's grandparents' house which was interesting and entertaining all at the same time.
Natalie and Afton catching a kid movie.

The favorite part of the yard-the swingset. The girls can't get enough of it. Someday when we have a yard, maybe we should get one.

The ice cream parlor. Hannah didn't like the ice cream because it was so "brrr" according to Hannah.

Nat and Afton waiting for some raindrops. Afton is 4 1/2. Love the height difference! People do usually think Natalie is 5.

Hannah adopted this baby Cinderella doll for the duration of the trip.

Natalie showing her joy of being in Snowflake.

A mommy vacation

Back in June, I took a vacation all by myself to visit friends in Provo, UT. It was sooooo refreshing and relaxing and wonderful and fun and everything I needed. Some highlights:

Visiting my old stomping grounds at BYU. It's been a couple of years since I'd been there but it was still the same ol' wonderful campus.

Hanging out on "the slab" which was a place I had many a study group session in my beloved fine arts building.
The classroom where I had all my flute master classes. Brought back a lot of fond {and not so fond} memories.

Stayed with my dear friend Emily Rosell who is such a beautiful and wonderful person. I miss her.

We also got to see another dear friend Christine and her new baby. He was sooooo cute and made me excited to have another. :-)

We visited, hiked, practiced photography, made cookies, went out to eat, got facials, went to the movies, did a temple session, all without having to figure out what to do with the kids or stop for naps in the middle of the day. So refreshing!