Rodeo Time

Last night we all went to the rodeo. Not too far into it, the sky got really dark and started to pour down rain. We ran for cover under a tree. The guys went and got the van but it stopped raining so we went to the carnival and got some funnel cakes and corn dogs. Then we went back to watch the rest of the rodeo.

I realized something last night about funnel cakes out here that I never noticed in Oklahoma. Out here they give you the option of toppings on your funnel cake. Cinnamon sugar, whipped topping, fruit, chocolate and whatever else I guess. I asked David if he remembered that stuff being offered in OK, he said not that he remembered. Maybe we just never noticed but I'm sure we would have.

They also make fry bread out here and call it scones. Weird.

Anyways, when we went back to the rodeo a steer got hurt. It was sad. I don't like watching the roping shows. I think it's sad how they wrap that rope around their necks and then the cow gets yanked backwards and onto the ground and then get their legs tied up. Seems mean to me. I know they don't get hurt but it's still not nice. I do like the bull riders though.

Well, I guess I'll go and see about getting us ready for the sand dunes. Austin told us last night that no one is allowed to die while we're there. Comforting, right? Hopefully I'll come back with some cool pictures and maybe some video. Stay tuned!

The Rodeo & Sand Dunes

This weekend should be fun. We're going to the sand dunes in St. Anthony. We'll be staying in a hotel in Rexburg, ID. We're leaving early Saturday morning and spending the whole day at the dunes and part of Sunday. We'll have 4 wheelers and bikes. Should be fun. Don't think I'll be riding anything though. Wouldn't want to fall and get hurt or hurt my Avery! Better safe than sorry I think.

Tonight is the Famous Preston Night Rodeo...well, actually tonight until Saturday night. We went last year and it was fun. They have a carnival set up outside of the rodeo too. Lots of sidewalk sales going on today too! I saw some booths that had some cute girl things...debating on whether or not to stop by....

Hope everyone had a good weekend!!

Ouch

Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in years. I don't even remember the last time I went to the dentist. Gross, I know. And not to my surprise, I have some small surface cavities. My first cavities! It was nice to have my teeth cleaned really good! Now it's David's turn! He goes next week. Boy was my mouth sore yesterday :)

I also switched my care to a midwife yesterday. I am SOOOOO excited!! She is so perfect and I'm so thankful I found her! She has 40 years of experience and has attended over 3000 births. I can't wait for November! If all goes well, I'll have the birth experience I want! Yay!

David's doing good and working hard. They've cut his over time back. He's still hoping they'll send him to Hawaii. Other than that, there isn't much to say about us. We're pretty boring.

26 Weeks

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

It seems like it's too early for this but I'm getting to where I feel like I can't breathe :)

Fun Fun!

Last Thursday and Friday, David and Austin got the sod in. Those big rocks on the porch are going to go in the flower bed in front. The house as come such a long way and is looking great! The whole neighborhood likes it too :0) Yesterday the guys painted the bottom of the house and now it looks so white and clean! After they painted we had our first bbq I guess you could call it. David smoked some bratwurst and a pork tenderloin and we had all of (well, not all of but half of) the Brackin's over.


On Saturday we went to this nearby town called Lava. It's a little tourist town. You can float some river there and there's hot springs and a water park and it's got a lot of little shops. It's really small and cute. When we went we got a 4 man tube and Vicki, David, me, Carson and Trace floated the river first while Austin stayed with the baby and took pictures. Trace was sooo cute and such a trooper for going through some of those rapids! When we were done Austin and Vicki traded places and we all went again. It was alot of fun. Then we went and got some Thai food and headed home. It was good fun for cheap and not too far away. This pictures is David and I on the way to Lava.

99 days until Avery comes (give or take)!! I can't believe the count down is now in the double digits!!!

Hallelujah!

I'm coming home! I can't wait!

Doctors--psh

The house is coming along. Last night David and Austin prepared the ground for sod, that's coming on Saturday. And Austin leveled out the gravel for the driveway. The house is coming along!

So in January of 2009 I had my last arteriogram for my AVM and the doc in OK told me that my AVM was gone. Awesome, great news. I've wanted to know what Dr. Adler had to say about it, though. My films should have been sent to him but they weren't. So I can't remember when but I called the hospital and had them resend them. And apparently, they didn't get them...

This last March Dr. Adler's office called wanting to see if I could have an arteriogram done...umm...I already have I said. So I call the hospital in OK and have them send the films AGAIN. This time Dr. Adler's office did get them. I waited a week or so and called to see what Dr. Adler had to say. Well, to keep from writing out this whole long story, we'll just say I FINALLY got an email yesterday from Dr. Adler's head nurse with the results. It's July. Ridiculous. There was mainly an issue because Dr. Adler didn't have my films. Dr. Dodd did, who is Dr. Dodd and why does he have my films? And why can't anyone return a dang phone call?!?! Anyways, Dr. Dodd, whoever he is, says that it is safe to say my AVM is obliterated. That news didn't feel as good as I thought it was going to. I want Dr. Adler to tell me that. Weird, I know.

Speaking of docs. I went yesterday to the OB and I'm closed up all nice and tight. The problems I was having on Sunday could have been due to a number of things. But all is well. Yay!

We're kind of coming to the end of July which means 3 more months and little Avery will be here! Can't stinkin' wait!

Can't Help Myself

I can't stop taking pics of my belly each week. I was originally going to take them like every 4 weeks or so but obviously it's more than that! I don't have a full length mirror so I don't see my belly from the side much. I like to see my belly getting bigger because that means my girl's getting bigger!

This is 25 weeks.

25 Weeks

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Nothing exciting going on around our place. Sunday I had a rough day with back pain, cramping, braxton hicks and pressure. I called the doc yesterday and they said I should have called the on call doc since it's my first pregnancy. I go to the doc today though just to be sure...I'm not sure why though because it's 2 days later and nothing has happened but that why I have insurance, right?

We got the porch steps, sidewalk and back porch poured this weekend and mulch and stuff for the front yard flower beds. I can't wait til the house is finished. It's going to look really nice.

David's getting his over time cut back by an hour each day. That's good and bad!

I can't believe that in 3 more weeks I'll be in my 3rd trimester! I'm trying to not get too excited for November to get here and enjoy these days but I just can't help it haha. I want to meet my baby girl!

Garage Sale!

My neighbor is having a garage sale this morning and when I looked out the window, I saw she had some baby stuff so I went and took a look.

Here's what I got!

That makes swing number two but the other one is big. I figure once the basement is ready to be hung out in, one can stay down there and one can stay upstairs. See, I've got a plan! Plus, I couldn't beat the price.

Cement and Doctors

Nothing exciting going on around here. Not much summer fun, too much work to do. This Saturday we will have cement poured and will have porch steps, a sidewalk that goes from the porch steps to the drive way and a back porch! Woohoo! I'm excited! Then it's grass and painting and gardening!

I went to the doctor today. She said I'm measuring right on schedule. Avery's heart beat was 152...I think. Everything looks good! I've got some aches and pains but apparently that's normal when your uterus is stretched out to the size of a soccer ball and is still growing :0)

The doctor told me today that I need to start thinking about a pediatrician for Avery. Wow. It's so surreal that we're going to be parents and have to think about kid stuff! It's fun though.

Austin and Vicki's new little boy is so tiny. I can't imagine having a baby so tiny! I can't wait to meet Avery and see what she looks like. I hope she's tiny! I got her diaper bag in the mail yesterday. It's so cute but so huge! I knew it was going to be big though. Just more room for me to fill with crap.

That's all I know. Can't wait for November!!!!!

Trouble Sleeping

Lately I haven't been sleeping well. Tonight is no different but maybe worse. It's getting uncomfortable for me to lay in my bed. My belly is uncomfortable tonight. Nothing worrisome I don't believe, just protruding :0) I pulled out the body pillow and had it behind me and the guinea pig under my belly as I laid on my side but my stomach just wasn't feeling it so now I'm here.

David's breathing problem has started acting up again so he's sleeping sitting up next to me on the couch. Poor guy. The allergy pill seems to have kicked in and he's breathing much better and no coughing his lungs up now. I think he needs an inhaler. And according to Dr. Mercola, some more vitamin D. I think he has allergy related asthma but that's my own diagnosis. Go ahead, call me Dr. Irving.

I've been following a blog about a little girl in Texas living life after a bowel transplant. I know several members of her family but don't know this little girl personally. She is 5 years old and her little body is in severe rejection of her bowel. I don't believe this is the first time but it's the worst. She is in the hospital fighting for her life. If they can't save her bowel, the prognosis is very grim. I was sitting here feeling kind of stressed watching David breathe and then I thought about how this isn't really anything. We both have our health, praise God. What that little girl's mom wouldn't do for her to have some minor breathing problem that is remedied by an allergy pill. They are taking this little girl to the brink of death, trying to keep her body from attacking this bowel, in order to try and save her life. The mom's heart is broken. My heart is broken for them. If anyone reading this thinks about it, please say a prayer for little Ashley. She needs it so badly.

On a lighter note, I have been walking a mile in the evenings with a girl who just moved here and goes to church with me. Vicki started walking with us tonight too. Our goal is to step it up and walk further. Thankfully the weather here is so perfect for an evening walk. In fact the weather has been awesome lately for us folk who don't have air conditioners! I'm not looking forward to August though. I better get my AC unit before then!

Hopefully we'll be getting some porch steps this Saturday! Yay!

Ok, that's all for now. Until next time!

24 Weeks--112 Days To Go

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

My First Article of Clothing...

That I have bought for my Avery!!

Love it!

Psalm 139:13-16

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

It's so amazing to know that God saw us before we even existed. God knows everything about Avery already. The power and awesomeness of God is truly amazing. He has knit her together in my womb! She was no accident, God chose us to be her parents and for this I am so thankful. I hope we do Him proud!

Lightning

Earlier this evening we had some rain come through. There was one really bright lightning strike and one REALLY loud thunder and then it started to pour down rain. The lightning hit a tree up the street from us.

This picture below I was trying to take a picture to show how you can see completely through the tree.

This tree is split from top to bottom.

Friday! Yay!

I went for a walk last night. I did a mile around the track and came home. Then I ate a bowl of ice cream, some grapes and a cheese snack thing. Did that defeat the whole purpose of me walking? Well, at least I got my heart pumping :0)

I went and got my hair done today. I love that. I'm not real thrilled about the highlights or lack thereof that she did but at least my gray is gone!

Yesterday Avery was moving around alot. Probably the most I've felt her in a day. She was really flopping around. After I went for a walk she was really active too. I love feeling her move!

I just hit enter and this posted so if you get an email and it's incomplete...sorry!

David was pretty excited yesterday because he got to fabricate and tig weld. Usually he mig welds and does I don't know what else. But yesterday he got done making a couple of things and was taking them to the shipping desk and one of the higher up type guys looked at what David was carrying and said "Did you make those?!" David said "yes" and they guy told David that he just took Ducworks to a whole new level! That's so awesome! Ducworks is building some stuff for a temple that's being built in Hawaii. David's been pushing them to let him go with them to put it together. He's hoping that these things he just built will let them see that he's good at fabricating one off stuff or anything which will in turn make them realize they NEED him to go to Hawaii to help put this stuff together :0) We'll see how it turns out...

Well, that's all for now!

Procrastination: It's What I Do Best

I slept in today. I'm supposed to go for a walk today. And my first thought when I woke up was "it's going to be too warm, should have gotten up earlier." Now, I haven't stepped outside but I doubt it's too warm by now. After I talked myself out of using sleeping in as an excuse, I thought "My ipod's not charged. I can't walk without music." Again, not true. Truth is: I don't want to go walk by myself or at all really. BUT I need exercise. It's good for me and baby, right? David hounds me, wanting me to walk 2-5 miles a day! Ha! Someone cut out a funny comic strip from a newspaper that I would scan in if my printer was hooked up. It shows a picture of a baby that looks like it's on steroids and the dad is standing at the nursery window with someone else and says "All I can say is my wife worked out every day while she was pregnant." David could only wish.

I sat here thinking about procrastination and all of the other things I've been putting off. I should take care of them. Today. We'll see. There's always tomorrow, right?

Diaper Bag

I'm super excited about Avery's new diaper bag I ordered today! It comes with a few accessories too! A few years ago I found a diaper bag that I wanted sooo bad but obviously had no use for it but I remembered the brand. Then a few weekends ago I was in Wendy's and saw this guy carrying this bag. And I thought it looked like it had to be from the same brand. So I looked for it online today and found it! Yay! I think it's super cute :)

23 Week Pictures

Here I am at 23 weeks pregnant!

Clothes make my belly look smaller.

The guys started working on the pontoon again! Woohoo! They got the decking on and started the carpet but ran out of glue.

Can't wait until it's finished!

23 Weeks

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Baby Brackin will be here today! woohoo! I wonder what it is!

I Forgot to Mention...

that David FINALLY got to feel Avery move! Friday night we came home from the lake and I was laying in bed and I could see my belly jumping so I told him to come look. He came over and you could see my belly moving and so he put his hand on there and finally felt her kicking. I don't think he got any real good ones but he finally got to feel it!

We got to share something amazing. That's our baby girl :0)

It. was. so. cool.

Long Weekend! Yay!

We've had a good weekend so far. We hung out at the lake. The guys sailed on Austin's hobie cat...and tipped it...twice. We went out the next day (Saturday) but it was so cold everyone packed up and left. So David grilled burgers and hot dogs for us and Austin's family. Then we went to Logan to a car parade. I guess that's what it's called. After the parade we went over to Malad to watch the firework show there. Malad has no rules on fireworks so you can buy any kind and shoot them off anywhere. So all the guys had to go buy fireworks and we shot them off in Austin's brother's front yard.

Today we've been taking it easy but I think later on David and Austin are FINALLY going to get the deck on the party barge. We can't really go anywhere far since Vicki was due 3 days ago, so they'll work on that. Yay!

I went and bought some maternity pants on Friday. My hand me down ones were just too baggy on me and the elastic part was uncomfortable. The pants I bought are amazing. They have some sort of stretchy material that feels much better. It also doesn't cut into my belly and make me look like I've got two big rolls! Now I look pregnant...kinda.

Counting down the days...

David's Gun

David's new gun is a Russian sniper rifle from the 1940's. It's a Mosin Nagant. It's a 30 caliber. 7.62mm. Whatever all that means :0) David says it's his Nazi killer.

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

Here is our first baby purchase. Avery's little bed. Since the other pack n play was too big we opted for this little thing. I love that it's gender neutral (to be used by future Irving boys...). It's really tiny so it'll fit beside my bed. And of course it travels and we can use it camping or wherever! I love multi-purpose items!

I found this picture on my camera :0) This is proof of David catching baby fish. He'll move on to bigger.

I'm guessing we'll spend the holiday weekend with the big ol' Brackin family at Twin Lakes. It's supposed to be good bass fishing so David wants to get in some fishing time and I like to sit and chat on the beach/camping site they have there. I don't know how much boating I'll do if any. Don't want Avery to get all bounced around!

I mentioned I'm waiting on the tiniest Brackin to arrive but apparently Vicki makes a good home and it doesn't want to come yet.

Hope everyone has a good 4th! I know we will!

A Gun and a Bed

Last night David and I drove down to Clearfield, Utah and picked up his new gun. I don't know anything about guns but it looks good to me. I'll post some pictures of it later. Tonight he's going to shoot it since we got back too late last night.

On the way home we had to stop in Ogden and go to Harbor Freight and Babies R Us. I had a 20% off coupon that was expiring today so I had to use it. I was going to go back and get the pack n play that I wanted with the bassinet attachment but David and I both stood there looking at it and he says "I think it might be too wide for our bedroom" just as I was thinking the exact same thing. So we thought about where we could put it and realized that it's just too big for our little room. It was a little disappointing but we ended up getting this little travel pack n play with a bassinet attachment and it's quite a bit smaller and will fit in our room. It was also around $80 cheaper (plus my coupon!). It will work perfectly for a little bassinet and could be used as a pack n play but it might get too small pretty quick but someone gave me an old pack n play (actually this might be old enough to be a good ol' play pen!) and I figure if we go camping or whatever when she's older and not walking I can use that pen and it can get dirty or whatever. I'll put it together and post pictures of it too! My first baby purchase, other than books!

Avery didn't move much yesterday and hasn't this morning either, which I don't like. I know it's ok though and normal so no worries. I just like knowing she well.

Vicki is due today and I'm still waiting to hear she's in labor :) I can't wait to find out what her baby is!

Alright, here's too a productive day! Cheers!