Last Baby-Free Getaway

Over Memorial weekend, Erik and I went to St. George for our last "getaway" before the baby arrives. It was so relaxing; just what we needed. The trip started out with what else, golf. Erik played nearly 100 holes of golf that weekend and I tagged along for most of it. I know what you're thinking - that's a lot of golf. Thankfully the scenery was beautiful, my book (Baby Wise) kept me semi-occupied, it wasn't too hot, there were cute little rabbits running around everywhere and I got to see Erik hit some great shots.

When we weren't on the golf course, we spent some time with my sister and her family who came up from Vegas. We laid out at the pool, watched the kids play in the water, went to the sprinkler park and by the end of each day, were extremely happy to get back to our king size bed to get some much needed sleep.

I was so glad it wasn't scorchingly hot while we were there because I really wanted to go on a short hike. We decided to hike the Red Cliffs trail which only took a couple of hours. My giant belly and I made it to our destination without any complaints. Well, maybe a few. :) To round out the day, we drove by the temple which I had never seen up close before. It was gorgeous!

Sadly, the getaway came to an end and it was back to work on Tuesday. Hopefully it won't be too long until we can sneak away again.

Unexpected Changes

Erik and I aren't the only one experiencing changes around here. Poor little Khloe has had her favorite seat in the car taken over by a strange, foreign object...my giant belly. She hasn't quite figured out how to adjust to the new surroundings. :)

Progress

It seems like I am finally getting things accomplished around here and it's a good thing because I'm exhausted. The baby's room is finally complete, minus the glider that hasn't arrived yet and of course the cute baby pictures that will be displayed once our little one arrives. I only have 6 weeks left and it's getting a little scary. I can't wait to meet her and see all the joy she brings to our lives, yet I fear the unknown and feel best in our comfortable 2 person + 1 dog life.


The room is done,the diaper bag is packed, and I've settled on a pediatrician (thanks neighbors) but I'm hoping our nameless little girl will stay content in my belly until at least a few days before she's due (June 25th). I need one final baby-free vacation over Memorial Weekend, time to pack my hospital bag, and a few more weeks to help Erik prepare for the huge changes to come. :) Fingers (and legs) are crossed!

Preparations Underway

Only 9 weeks left! I can't believe it! I've been getting emails saying things like "Last Minute Baby Preparation Ideas" and it's kind of starting to scare me a little. I feel so unprepared.

Thankfully, the nursery is starting to come together. We have the crib, dresser, bedding, a few decorations and we finally ordered a glider.One of my favorite things in the nursery is this bucket with stuffed animals. The big white bear was mine when I was a baby and the smaller brown bear was Erik's. I am SO glad our parents kept these for us. They are great reminders of our childhood years.

My belly seems to be in the forefront of the baby preparations. Everytime I go back and look at the prior month's picture, I can't believe how much I've grown. Only 2 more belly pictures to go!

Khloe is even getting in on the action. She tested out our BabyBjiorn Babysitter and based on this picture, I think it will work perfectly. :) Adorable!

Total Randomness

I know this is strange, but I love the sound of lawnmowers. It makes me think of Spring, gorgeous sunny weather, birds chirping, and best of all...the smell of fresh cut grass. Ahhh!

This is a picture of Khloe's food bowl. She's as precise as her mother. :) A line straight down the middle. She decided to save the rest for later. So funny!

Here is an updated (as in last month) preggers pic for my out-of-town sisters. Only 10 weeks to go! YAY!

The Big 3-0

Last month, Erik turned 30 years old. It's funny 'cause 30 no longer seems "old". I could tell he wasn't going to enjoy his birthday too much this year so I wanted to make it extra special. He had been working so hard with the new business we bought and really deserved something cool. The problem was, what is cool?

(Erik at work with an ice cream cake...his favorite.)

I thought about it for weeks and weeks and finally came up with something I thought he would love. There were 3 parts to his present; the first being (drum roll please) a boys only golf trip to California to watch the U.S. Open. It happened to fall the weekend before I am scheduled to have this baby but I figured it'd be okay. He'd go and have fun and not stress about everything. Well, I didn't get the reaction I was hoping for. He didn't think it would be such a good idea and basically told me he wasn't going to go. "What if I went into labor?" he said. I told him, "well then you fly home". :) He was so concerned; I can tell he's going to be such a great Dad. (It's a good thing I didn't really buy the tickets.)

The second part of Erik's birthday gift were tickets to go see Mitt Romney speak at the Salt Palace Convention Center. It wasn't too exciting but was something different and it ending up being very interesting. It was a little change of pace for us that Saturday night.

The last part of Erik's gift was my favorite. Now that we own 3 businesses and are working 10-12 hour days, I knew Erik was going to have a hard time not being able to golf a lot this summer. So I bought what I thought was a solution; his very own putting green. It is gigantic and barely fits on our deck! The coolest part about it is that you can change the slope of the green a million different ways. Now when it's 8pm and too late to go golfing, but it's still light outside, he can go out onto the deck and practice his putting. Or when it's a Sunday afternoon and he's watching a tournament on TV, he can practice on the deck and watch through the window. He's only used it a couple of times because it's still so cold outside, but I think it's a pretty "cool" present.


So, I think my score was 2 for 3 in the end. :) Erik, I hope you enjoyed your birthday, will continue to enjoy your new putting green and for the last time, 30 is not old!

Precious Moments

One of the best things about living in Utah is that we get to spend a lot of time with our families (minus my sisters, unfortunately). Erik's Grandma, Farmor (the Norwegian way of saying your father's mother), lives only a few minutes a way from us and so we get to visit her often. She is 90 years old and a delight to be around.

I love going to her house and playing hymns on her piano while she hums along. It's so peaceful and I can always feel the Spirit. Another time I cherish is watching her interact with Khloe. Khloe runs in her house, wags her little tail and Farmor's face instantly lights up. I'm so glad we have the priveledge of visiting with her often. I will always remember these precious times.

It Just Keeps Growing

One of my favorite things to do is make lists and cross things off. Weird, I know. The only problem is that lately, I cross one thing off and add three more. Not only does my list never get smaller; it gets bigger! A few things I've actually had the pleasure of crossing off my list are:

Install shelves in the garage....check

Clean out cupboards in the kitchen for baby stuff...check

Buy baby bedding...check

Take an updated pregnancy picture for my out-of-town sisters to see...check

Build shelves for my scrapbook supplies...check

Install hardware on all of our cabinets...check

Buy crib and dresser...check

Backup computer...check

Do another blog post...finally check! :)

These are just a few of the projects I've completed and if my math serves me right; even though I've finished these, I've added another 24 items or so to my list. Yikes! Does it ever end?!

Khloe Is Having A....

SISTER!

I had my 20 week ultrasound at the beginning of the month and found out we are having a little baby girl! We are so excited!!!

Erik and I both thought it was going to be a girl, but we were thrown a curve ball when I took a pee test called "Intelli-Gender" (which is supposed to be 82% accurate) and it came out BOY. We were shocked. For about a month, we had wrapped our head around having a boy. We even had a name picked out.

Well, so much for that. We got some great views at the ultrasound and it is definitely going to be a little girl. Erik was upset at first that we wasted $30 but he's gotten over it. How could you be mad after looking at your child's foot for the first time (see below - it's 1" long).
Now the fun really begins. I've finally been able to start buying girl clothes (although Erik wishes I hadn't started) and I can't believe I've finally passed the halfway mark. Only four more months to go!

I Never Thought...

...I would be brought to my knees last Tuesday for 10 hours straight, throwing up every 20 minutes (including blood the last four hours) and would remember the make (Sterling) and model (Bemis) of our toilet...

...I would end up in the Emergency Room after said episode for the first time in my life...and would then be hit with a bad cold and ear infection to round out the week.

Anything else you're going to throw me little baby?

The Journey Begins

Now that you all know I am pregnant, I better start documenting how the journey began.

I finally got Erik on board with the whole baby thing last summer and a couple of days before Halloween, I decided to take a pregnancy test. I couldn't believe it...I was actually pregnant. We've been married for over 6 years now and of course I knew this day would come but it was really strange knowing it was really going to happen.

I bought Erik a little onsie that said "My Daddy is #1" and gave it to him later that day. He just looked at me. "Are you serious" he asked? I told him "yes" and immediately began to cry (happy tears of course). I could tell Erik was shocked. We both thought it would take a long time for us to get pregnant but it happened pretty quickly. Can't you see the excitement in his face? J/K

A few days later, we were at Erik's parents house for Sunday dinner. As a photographer, I wanted to try and catch the moment when we told his family I was pregnant. We told everyone to sit on the couch for a quick family picture. I set the timer and before it went off, Erik said "oh by the way...Tanya's pregnant". They were supposed to freak out right then, but being the good photo subjects they were, they sat there and smiled until the flash went off. They all looked at Erik and thought he was lying and so they turned to me for verification. Of course I started crying and everyone jumped off the couch in excitement. It didn't go perfectly, but that's okay.

Later that night I called my sisters and told them the news and a few days later when my parents were finally home from their mission, we gave them a "welcome home" present with the news inside.

Erik and I are so excited for this new chapter in our life. Although, I'm not to keen on the bodily changes I'm facing. This picture was taken the night we found out....

...and this one was taken December 18th. It's not very fun seeing the scale continue to go up and I know it's only going to get worse.

Ahhh...the joys of pregnancy. :)

Reflections and Anticipation

I can't believe another year is over. 2009 was a fantastic year for Erik and I. My top 10 moments include:

10.Visiting family in Arizona and Erik getting to go to the Sugar Bowl in Louisiana

9. Taking a quick trip to Vegas to visit family and get in some golf

8. Our first mini-trip alone: hiking in Moab

7. Graduating! I finally finished my bachelor's degree and Erik completed his Masters in Finance.

6. Going to New York for the U.S. Open - my anniversary gift to Erik

5. Taking our first BIG trip without family. The Dominican Republic was amazing!

4. Attending my friend's wedding in Seattle and going back "home" for the first time in years.

3. Going to Cabo San Lucas with Erik's family. We had so much fun!

2. Having my parents come home from their mission.

1. Getting PREGNANT!!! Yep, Khloe is going to be a big sister!

2009 brought a lot of travelling and fun times with our families. We have been so blessed and I couldn't have imagined a more exciting year. Obviously, for me the best part of 2009 was finding out that I am pregnant. Here it is, I'm finally announcing it. I am currently 16 weeks (4 months) and we are ecstatic. I'll post more on this venture later. :)

As I begin to think about what 2010 may bring, I get excited, anxious and scared. So much can happen in one year and I know this one will be especially challenging with a new baby and other likely changes to come. My goal this year is to cherish every single day and be the best version of myself. Oh, and I do hope 2010 brings some travelling and fun adventures along the way. ;)

Christmas: Come & Gone

I can't believe Christmas is already over. The holidays go by so fast! Before my family arrived, Erik and I went on a "Christmas Date Night". It was absolutely perfect. We went to dinner at Christopher's and had a delicious meal. (We usually don't like fancy food.) Dinner ended and on our way to the car, we gave our $30 steak leftovers to a homeless man and his dog on the side of the street. He was such a nice man and the dog was adorable. We watched as he opened up the styrofoam container and gave the first bite to his hungry companion. My heart melted!

The Christmas spirit continued throughout the week when my family arrived from out of town. This year my entire family was able to get together for the first time in almost 3 years. Like usual, we started off by taking our annual Santa picture (adults and all).

Later, we made gingerbread houses, went ice skating, watched "Christmas Vacation" and spent hours catching up on old times. I love it when my family can all be together.

Christmas day started bright and early so we could watch all my nieces and nephews open their presents. We sat there for probably an hour watching as they opened present after present. They were so happy and full of joy.

Erik and I hope you and your families had a wonderful Christmas. I can't wait for next year! You never know what it will bring.

We've Been "Elfed"

I know this was the popular thing to do a couple of years ago but I just had to do it again so I could see Khloe as a little elf. Take a look...it's pretty funny. (Pause the music on my sidebar first.)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Excitement

Almost every day I get on my blog to check and see what other people are up to and realize I have got to post something; it's been 2 1/2 weeks! Unfortunately, not much has been going on in our household. So, in an effort to post SOMETHING, I'm going to blog about how much I love Christmas.

Last week I ordered our Christmas cards and to my surprise, they arrived today! A week early! Strangely enough, I love designing our Christmas cards and I hope you enjoy receiving them as well. The Christmas tree will finally be up this weekend and I have finished our "Christmas Activities" list and posted it on our fridge. :) I like to write down everything I plan on doing so that my husband can't complain when I spring something on him like going ice skating or making a gingerbread house with my nieces and nephews. "It is on the list, Honey." HA!

This year, my entire family will be together. It's been a long time since my parents have been on their mission in Bermuda. I can't wait to go sledding, make Norwegian cookies, watch Christmas Vacation, and get Santa pictures taken as a family. Yes, we have all grown up and still get our picture taken with Santa. It's been a tradition in my family and we can't stop until Erik and I have a baby. When that time comes, the adults are finally free. You should see Erik and my two brother-in-laws at the mall waiting in line. They are so miserable and can't wait to get out of there. Thankfully, they tough it out for the sake of tradition.

(Santa Picture - 2008)

Anyway, I hope you and your families are enjoying the Christmas season as much as I am. Only 23 more days to go!