::Baby Bump: 8 Months::

Here we are at 8 months! This little bambino is growing like craaaazy! I had to have another ultrasound on Feb 2nd as I had been measuring a lot bigger at my previous few appointments. The ultrasound showed that the little guy was measuring 2 weeks and 1 day bigger than my due date. I was sooooooooooo hoping my doctor would move my due date up two weeks as I originally thought I was due 3 weeks earlier anyways. But at my appointment on Feb 4, my doctor only agreed to move my due date up by TWO days, to April 25th, according to my 20 week ultrasound. She said that the ultrasound at that time is pretty accurate and by this point in my pregnancy, he's most likely just a BIG baby and they don't want to move my due date up too far and risk him not developing all the way. I get that...although I still hope he comes early!! At that same doctor's appt, when my doc did the measuring tape measurement of my uterus, I was measuring around 33 weeks and I was only 28 1/2 weeks at that point, but at my appointment this past Friday (Feb 25th), I was still measuring at 33 weeks, so the little guy's growth is slowing down! Phew....I've been super nervous about having a big baby. Still am actually, since two of my sisters have had over 10 pound babies. Yep, I said TEN pounds! They practically came out toddlers!! :-) Anyways, my doctor did agree to plan for an induction at 39 weeks, which is April 18th, and I'm super happy about that. I'm still going to pray continually that this baby decides to come early on his own but we'll just have to wait and see if that happens or not.

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This pregnancy has definitely been the hardest for me. I'm sure the fact that I'm getting older AND have two kids to deal with now are factors in that...but my body really is just falling apart it seems! My hips and back are so bad that walking, sitting, standing, cartwheels, you name it...are difficult for me. And now I have plantar faschiatis in my right foot which adds a whole other element to my discomfort. I'm really not trying to complain...just trying to document how this pregnancy has been. I'm so grateful for the miracle growing inside me and cannot wait to meet him...I just don't know if my body can go through this again. But, only 7 weeks to go, and I can hold this sweet little guy in my arms and hopefully have my body return to some level of comfort rather than discomfort! Let's hope these next 7 weeks go by QUICKLY!!! :-)

"Old" Friends!!

Today we had the pleasure of having Spencer and Jenny Aston come visit us from Phoenix. Spence is an old mission buddy of Kevin's that we have had so much fun with over the years since they both got home from their missions. And Jenny, his sweet wife, just fit perfectly into the mix when they got married about 3 years after us. They are expecting their first baby in June, a little girl, and so I bribed them with a TON of girl clothes if they would finally come visit us (we haven't seen them since we moved back!!). Anyways, it worked...and not only did we get to spend a fun day with them, I got a little more organized by going through all my girl stuff that both girls had grown out of and I gave it away!! I have so much more storage space now and I feel so liberated!! :-)

It is Spence's birthday on Monday and so we made brownies and Alexa wanted to sing Happy Birthday to him. The girls fell in love with both Spence and Jenny right as soon as they showed up and wouldn't let them out of their sights. It was pretty cute...even Payton, who can be a little standoffish until she gets to know someone, was sitting on Jenny's lap within minutes of their arrival. We sure hope to see more of the Astons and can't wait to meet their baby girl!

~A New 'Do & Party Time~

Alexa has been asking for months to have her hair cut short like mine. This isn't really a huge deal to me as I've cut her hair before, several times in fact, but they've usually been just minor trims, the most being maybe 2-3 inches. But I finally gave in and gave her a good cut. I think we chopped off about 4-5 inches. I should have combed her hair straight in the 'before' picture so you could see how much of a difference it really was. And after her hair curled up on it's own, it looks even shorter! She's adorable any way she wants her hair...and I have to say that I was flattered that she wanted to be like mommy!!

Here are our two cute little love bugs posing after the hair cut!

Later, we got to show off Alexa's new 'do at her cousin, Ainsley's, birthday party! We enjoyed a fun night at Peter Piper Pizza celebrating Ainsley's 5th Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AINSLEY!!

-PlayGroup Fun-

Mmmmmm...cupcakes!!

We sure have enjoyed the little playgroup that Alexa is a part of! She has so much fun with these girls. Today's playgroup was at our house again and so the girls all got to enjoy the cupcakes I decorated as part of my cake class I had last night. Sorry moms if it spoiled their lunches but the girls sure had fun eating them!!

..::Visit from Gramma & Grampa Baker::..

My parents had their annual convention for their business in Vegas this past week and so they decided to come visit us on their way home since they were so close. The last time my mom came to visit, which was right after we moved back to Arizona, I somehow managed to get absolutely NO pictures of her with my girls. I don't know how that happened...but since it did, I made it a top priority to take a LOT of pictures while they were here this time. So beware of picture overload!!

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The first day they were here, we went to McDonald's for lunch since Gramma had promised Alexa we would do that. I did forget my camera the first day (2/16/11) so there are no pictures from then. But the next day, we went to Alexa's dance class. She was so excited to have Gramma come to her class. And Payton thoroughly enjoyed having Gramma around too!! We then went to Panda Express for lunch as Alexa has not stopped talking about the time we went there last year with Gramma. Seriously, every time we pass by Panda, she says "that's where we went with Gramma". That girl has the memory of an elephant!! And then the girls just enjoyed playing with Gramma and Grampa that evening.

On Friday morning, we went to visit Dr. Mortenson at his dental office so my parents could get some x-rays taken. The girls loved going to visit daddy at work and had a great time while Gramma and Grampa were getting x-rays and a quick examination.

I took this picture of Alexa and just loved it!!

Later that day, we ventured to the UofA Bookstore on campus. My dad LOVES bookstores, so we figured this would be a fun outing for him!! And my parents ended up buying us a UofA diaper bag for this baby boy!! Side note: I got pinkeye the night my parents arrived so there aren't many pictures with me in it, and the ones there are...wow, I'm not looking so great without makeup!! :-) After the bookstore, we had to take my parents for some good Mexican food. We went to Mi Niditos in South Tucson and it didn't disappoint! Mmmmm....

On Saturday, we went to Old Tucson Studios. And we had a GREAT time! Kevin and I had never been so it was a first for all of us. There was so much to see and do, we definitely didn't get it all done...but we did enjoy what we were able to do, despite the crazy wind that day that definitely gave it a true Old West feeling!!

The girls loved the train ride!

Things we saw while on the train and while wandering around Old Tucson.

When Kevin came across the Old West dental office, we just had to get a picture!! If you can't see it when you click on the collage, it says "Painless Extraction" on the sign with the big tooth hanging from it....yeah right!! And on the long skinny sign that says "Barber and Dentist", to the right, it says "Tooth Soap for White Dentures". Hahaha...we thought that was funny!! Oh how things have changed in the world of dentistry!! And thank goodness!!

There was a bathhouse right across from the dental office/barber and I thought it made for a cool picture. I just may even get it blown up to put in one of our bathrooms!

In addition to all the old western movie oriented things to see and do at Old Tucson, they had several things for the kiddos...like the train, a carousel and old cars to drive. And you can go as many times as you want with your admission into the studios. I think we lost track of how many times the girls went on the carousel!!

We even ate lunch there, then had ice cream as Alexa conned Gramma & Grampa into buying her some, before heading home. It was a really fun morning!! Thanks Mom and Dad for treating us to the Old West!

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We ended the day by taking my dad to In'N'Out Burger as he had never been. I'm never one to turn down In'N'Out!! And neither are the girls!

My parents came to church with us the next morning and then headed straight to Phoenix to catch their flight home to Canada. We did take some pictures at church with them, but they are on my mom's camera so I'll have to add them once she emails them to me (hint hint Mom!!!). Anyways, it was a great visit and we're glad they came. The girls are already in Gramma & Grampa withdrawal!! Good thing Gramma is coming back in a couple months to help when Baby Boy arrives!!

*Be My Valentine*

What do you think...could the above picture be a future engagement photo????? :-)

If I had anything to say about it (hmm....can we say arranged marriage??), it totally would be !!

I mean seriously, how cute are these two together?? And little Pierson has the best mommy and daddy too...we could totally be family! I wouldn't mind that at all. Camille, let's plan it! :-)

Anyways...we had our fun friends over today to make Valentine sugar cookies! Yummy!! I think the kids had a ton of fun. I know I did!!

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Happy Valentine's Day!!

::Baby Bump: 7 Months::

Yay...we've made it to 7 Months! 28 weeks! Hello 3rd Trimester!! Woot, Woot!

-A Day At The Zoo-

Can I just say how much I LOVE living in Arizona, especially during the winter months???!!! For reals, you wouldn't be able to head to the zoo in January in Canada, at least not without 50 extra layers on!! And even in Kentucky, days at the zoo are few and far between in January. But here, oh lovely Arizona, we can go pretty much anytime we want! We definitely get more out of our zoo membership living somewhere where it is warm all year round!

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So this morning, we headed to the zoo with our good friends, the Cooks. Our kids are almost exactly the same ages and it's just so much fun to hang out with them. We had a good time checkin' out all the zoo animals, even sneaked a peek at the new male lion who came to the zoo not too long ago. And then we headed to the park across the street for a picnic lunch and some play time before heading home! What a fun morning!!

~Weekend Getaway~

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to get away all. by. myself. for four days. The only other times I've spent away from my girls was when I was VERY pregnant with Payton and went on a girls' overnight trip...I think I was gone a total of 18 hours, 12 of those Alexa spent sleeping!! And the other time was last March when Kevin and I flew out here to Arizona to buy a house and we left the girls with our wonderful friends in KY...but it was such a busy, hectic house-buying trip, that it wasn't relaxing at all!! And with baby #3 ready to make his appearance in just a few short months, I was feeling the need to have a break to fill up my energy and sanity tanks before I take on being a mommy to THREE kiddos!! And boy was it wonderful! Traveling without kids is soooooooooooo much more stress free and sleeping, wow...I was actually able to sleep uninterrupted! It was fabulous! It didn't matter that my wonderful friend that I stayed with has 3 kids of her own...they weren't my responsibility and so I just thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was able to go back to Louisville and see some great friends and eat at some of my favorite places and just relax. And to top off an already wonderful getaway, my beautiful friends, Rachael & Waveney, planned a baby shower for me while I was there. I am one lucky lady to have been blessed with some very dear friends! I had a great time and this little guy inside me got spoiled! I am getting so excited to meet him!!! So thank you to ALL my fabulous friends back in Kentucky...I miss you and am so grateful for each of you!

::Baby Bump: 6 Months::

For this month's baby bump update, I thought it'd be fun to post a comparison of how I've looked at 6 months during each of my pregnancies. Apparently, with Alexa, I wasn't too concerned about dressing up for the monthly pictures!! Anyways, we're excited to be at 6 months and REALLY looking forward to these last few months going by VERY quickly!! We're anxious to meet our little man! I actually haven't been feeling to bad this past month. I was going for physical therapy to help my lower back and hips but quit at the beginning of December as I feel it really helped. Let's hope it stays that way!!

--Date Night--

I think we've previously mentioned in a prior post that Kevin's Christmas present was tickets for the UofA Christmas Package basketball games. Well, he already took Alexa on a date...so last night was my turn! When Kevin and I were dating and first married, we went to the basketball games all the time. He was a student and could get cheap tickets!! It's a fun memory for us and so it was fun to do that again, years later!

~Tiny Dancer~

We were wanting to start Alexa in preschool this month, but it just wasn't in our budget at this time...so we opted for a class of some sort. And a couple of her little friends from playgroup have been taking a dance class so we thought that would be a good place to start! She was soooooooo excited!! Here she is all dolled up (we need to get her a little tutu!!) and ready to go!

And we can't forget about baby sister! Payton had to be in a picture too!!

Pretty soon it'll be her turn!!

It was so fun watching Alexa enjoy herself so much. She wasn't shy at all...she went right in and did everything her teacher told her to do. After her class, she said she wished every day could be Thursday so she could go to dance class all the time!! How cute!

Many Faces Of...

ALEXA

This girl!

She was helping us test out our new camera!!

Never a dull moment with this one!

We sure love you Stinks Magee!!

{A Little Project}

Way back in October, I bought this cute little dresser at a yard sale for a whoppin' $5!! It was already stripped and sanded...what a deal! The intent was for it to be Payton's dresser, however, I never got around to doing anything with it. It's just been sitting in the garage, all lonely, for the last 3 months. So I finally had Kevin do something about it!! :-)

]

And now, it'll go in Payton's room but I'm not even sure I'll put any of her stuff in it...I might just leave it empty and then move it into baby boy's room once the time comes!!

I'm quite pleased with the outcome!!

Thanks babe for taking care of my project for me...

and Alexa too, she was a big help to her daddy!!

::HAPPY NEW YEAR::

2011...WOW, can you believe it???

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Kevin and I had seriously waited for sooooo long for 2010 to get here, that it's hard to believe that it's now come and gone! We're very much looking forward to what 2011 brings us, especially this baby boy, but we're still having a hard time believing that 2010 is over. We had a great New Year's Eve though...we totally celebrated in style!! :-) Our fabulous friends, the Gardeas, invited us out for an evening of bowling and pizza! It was Alexa's first time bowling, in fact, it was the first time Kevin and I had gone bowling together too...so it was a night of firsts!! And we had a blast. How could you not? Wonderful friends, a fun activity, cute silly kiddos, sub-par pizza...it's the perfect formula for it!! :-) Then we came home, put those cute kiddos to bed, watched the ball drop in Time Square two hours before the midnight hour hit our time zone and headed to bed!!! We're. That. Cool. Or I'm just. that. pregnant. Maybe a combination of the two...but I just couldn't stay awake.

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Happy New Year everyone...we hope 2011 is full of wonderfulness and fabulousness for you all!!