Festival of Lights

For family night on the 15th, we drove to Spanish Fork for the Festival of Lights. This year I gave Amelia and Ashley the option of getting unbuckled and getting out of their car seats so that they could see the lights better. Amelia took advantage of this but Ashley wanted to stay in her seat. We had the windows rolled down for the first few minutes but it was snowing and windy so we rolled them back up. I wish that I would have taken the opportunity to drive the loop again, but I missed the turn (and it was already past bedtime). But for only $5, I figure that we can do it again before they turn the lights out for the year.

Gingerbread Houses

This year, we had planned to do gingerbread houses on December 7th with my extended family at Linda's house. Well, as I was at my Primary Presidency meeting that morning, Ashley threw up so we kept her home from church. Since she wasn't feeling well, I figured that we probably shouldn't infect the others at the gingerbread party either. Luckily, Tamara offered to come down and get Amelia so that she wouldn't miss out on all the fun that would be taking place. Amelia had a great time decorating a beautiful gingerbread house all by herself, well mostly by herself. Tamara said that her own house suffered a little bit since she was helping Amelia so much, which I really appreciate. That's what Auntie's are for, right? I forgot to take a picture of the house when Amelia first brought it home, so you have to imagine the fence going all the way around the house. The fence is the only thing that I have let them eat because I know that the pretzels are fresh, you take a huge risk eating the other candy. Amelia was determined to use every type of candy available and place some things in odd places, like a dog on the roof. But I love our gingerbread house for the personality and originality that it has. Way to go Amelia!

Disappointment

There is just one word that I can think of that discribes my appointment today...and that is disappointment. Even though this baby is due tomorrow, I have always thought that I would need to be induced since that was the way it was with both Amelia and Ashley. At my appointment today, I found out that the hospital is completely booked for inductions through the end of the year. I have been planning on being induced on the 29th, but apparently there are just a few other women who have that same plan. My only hope now is to either start labor naturally or have some indication from my Non-Stress Test (that I will be doing on Friday) that will bump me to the top of the induction list. Also, if I make it to 41 weeks, which would be New Year's Eve, I will automatically be bumped to the top of the list. I'm really hoping that I don't make it that long. I just wish that I would have thought to be put on this magical induction list last week when I talked about with my midwife.

The only thing this baby is doing is gaining weight and a 10 lb baby is the last thing I need. And if shoveling 6 inches of snow doesn't bring on labor, I don't know what will!

Happy Birthday Guy!

I am really behind on blogging and I am hoping to catch up soon. Guy's birthday was more than a week ago and I have been so crazy busy that I have neglected to post about it. His birthday was on the 9th and we celebrated with a yummy chocolate cake and opening presents. We went out for dinner with my family on the 13th. I figure that the best way to celebrate a birthday is to make it last for as long as possible. The girls and I gave him a new blue shirt to wear to work, gray dress pants, and a new green tie. When I met Guy, I think that he only owned one tie and it was extremely behind the times. His tie collection is looking much better now that we have been married for 6 years. So, Happy Birthday Guy...Even if it is a little bit late.

Guy didn't even get a chance to blow out the candles.

Place your bets!

The time with baby in my belly is coming to a close so I thought that I would follow my cousin Sara and do a litte bit of on-line betting of when the baby will come. Of course, this is all just for bragging rights, which I think would be pretty cool. Before you place your bet, here is a little bit of baby info (past and present) to help you out...or maybe just confuse you more.

Due dates
This baby...aka...Pickle...aka...French Fry...December 24
Ashley...June 18
Amelia...September 14

Actual birthday
French Fry...????
Ashley...June 23
Amelia...September 21

Labor
French Fry...???
Ashley...induced...4 hours
Amelia...induced...12 hours

Weight and Length
French Fry...???
Ashley...9 lbs 5 ozs, 20 inches
Amelia...9 lbs 6 ozs, 21 inches

And don't forget to take a guess on if it will be a boy or a girl.

Mmm...Delicious

Thanksgiving has come and gone and what a lot of fun we had! Festivities started on Wednesday when I went up to West Valley with the girls to make about 40 pies with my mom, my sister, Launi, Megan and Lindsay. I only needed 2 pies to take to dinner in Sterling, but getting together to make pies is a lot more fun than doing it all by yourself.

Thursday morning, we took our time getting ready and finally left the house around 11:30. When we pulled out of the garage and hit the button for the door to go down, it only went down half way and then it went right back up. I thought that something might be blocking the sensor but after a few minutes of struggling, Guy decided to disconnect everything and just pull it down manually. (After fiddling with it on Saturday, Guy thinks that the opener is shot and just needs to be replaced.) We got down to Sterling just before 1:00. Around 2:00, everyone was there and so we finally sat down to eat. For records sake, here is the quick list of everyone that was there...Gary, Gloria, Kevin, Emma, Fernando, Kacey, Natalie, Elena, David, Mindy, Michelle, Sharee, Valerie, Brent, Nathaniel, Rachel, Heather, Gideon, Rebecca, Michelle, Craig, Sarah, Jacob, Brenna, Isaac, Guy, Vicki, Amelia, Ashley, Julie and Jaylee. That's 31 people! What a crowd. After a yummy dinner, we brought out the yummy pies. After just about every bite of food, Ashley would say, "Mmm, delicious." I thought it was so cute. I brought a blueberry and a pineapple pie. And I was really happy to take home most of the pineapple pie because I have really started to love it these last few years. I make it for Guy because it is a low sugar pie, but I think I ate more of it than he did this year.

We got home pretty late on Thursday night and the girls actually let us sleep in on Friday morning which was really nice...except that it was 10:00 by the time that we got up and I felt like half the day was already gone. Tamara came down and we made Christmas card together and then she helped me paint the baby's room. The room has a chair rail so we only put a coat of paint on the top half and then I did a coat on the bottom half on Sunday. I'll post some before and after pics once it is all done. I am really happy with the way it is turning out.

On Sunday night, Michelle and Craig and Issac came to stay the night with us. Their other kids decided to stay with their other cousins in Orem since they are all a little bit closer in age. It was really fun to visit with them since they live in Idaho and we don't get to see them very often. They left to go home this morning but it was fun for them to stay and for Amelia and Ashley to get a little bit of exposure to having a baby in the house. Amelia loved getting toys for Isaac and Ashley was a big helper to feed him a bottle.