Niece and Nephew

These two:

They kill me. We spent Christmas with my side of the family which means that we got to see my brother and sister-in-law and their two kids (the ones in the photo). Aren't they just so stinkin cute you're gonna die?

My niece is such a sweetie. She's two. When you hold her, if she wants to get down she'll just turn to you and in her tiny, sweet, little voice say, "Down?" No squirming, no screaming, just, "Down?" As if to say, "well, I really would like for you to stop holding me so I can run off and do my own thing, but if that's not convenient for you, then I'm good." Love it!

My nephew is only 2 months old. He's the gruntiest baby I have ever met. It is soooo cute! In that whole week we spent with them there, I think I heard him actually cry only once. Other than that, if he needs something, he just starts grunting away and doing those little baby squirms and stretches. I loved holding him and would keep turning to Chris and saying, "In a few months, we'll have one of these!" (*happy sigh*)

Here's me and my brother making grunty faces with Ted:

See? Isn't he just adorable?

My own Mortality

Saturday, Chris and I were standing in line somewhere and he suddenly reaches over and starts poking around in my hair. I thought I must have had a fuzzy in it or something and he was just pulling it out.

Nope.

Chris found my first gray hair. What?

At first I was like, "Whoa! that's soo cool! I've never had a gray hair before." I've always thought gray hair was dignified, and regal. Not that I have any problem with people dyeing away their grays, I just like the thought of one day having a full head of gray hair.

But then I started feeling all contemplate-y. I'm only 23, and as recently as a year ago, I was mistaken for a 14 year-old because I look so young for my age. Never in my life have I experienced a sign of growing old before. My whole life I've essentially only grown in strength, height, weight, mental ability, stamina, etc. This is the first time that I've seen evidence of my mortality, evidence that my body is going to wear out and die. Sure, that likely won't happen for at least another 50 years, but what an odd sensation it was to encounter that evidence for the first time.

Merrill J Bateman gave an address where he talked about growing old. He said:

The aches and pains of later life teach humility, the meaning of long-suffering, the importance of patience, and an appreciation for the qualities of kindness and love, and they help one learn moderation in all things. It’s interesting. These are the divine attributes. For the faithful, the slow deterioration of the body serves as a refining instrument for the spirit. (emphasis added)

I love that view of growing old. The aging process is not something to be feared (contrary to what the world tells us). The aging process is a gift from God. It is a "refining instrument for the spirit." What a hopeful view of the future. Growing old teaches us divine attributes and helps mold us into becoming more like God, our Father.

For me, that aging process is still quite a ways out there, but I've taken a first step. Chris already has a gray-haired lady for a wife. We're growing old together.

What an exciting thought!

Pregnancy/Baby update

I'm officially to the 3rd Trimester. Woot, woot! A few updates/thoughts on this pregnancy:

• I had a RhoGam shot this week. I'm rh negative and Chris is rh positive, so that means I'll get a shot with every pregnancy. It was a hip shot and the first shot I think I've ever had that wasn't in my arm (apart from when I was a baby, of course). Not a big deal to get, but super important in the long run.
• I failed my one-hour diabetes test and got to take the three-hour version yesterday. It was kind of an adventure, and now I have a sweet bruise on my right arm where the blood draw went a little wonky (the other four were no problem, so my left arm looks fine :). Don't know the results yet, but I know gestational diabetes runs in the family, although my mom didn't have it with any of us kids, so it could go either way really. Anyone know, what do they do for treatment? Is it a watch-what-you-eat kind of thing, or do you have to take insulin or something?
• Baby boy is still a mover and a shaker. Last week I started to be able to feel him poking into my belly. I just felt my tummy one day and went "Whoa. Right here it's hard and not squishy, but over here it feels normal." Totally made my day. 
• My belly is getting bigger, but I'm still sleeping fine and have only slowed down a little. Really, I have been Hugely blessed during this pregnancy because overall I have felt fan-tas-tic. I know many women don't feel good during pregnancy, (my mother was one of them) and so I thank the Lord that I have been blessed this way, and pray that He will comfort every mother who doesn't feel good. You go, Mommas!
• Our friends and family have been so generous. We've been given lots of baby things, especially clothes. I think this kid has more clothes than he can wear up through the 3 month mark. We've also gotten a bouncy seat, a car seat, dressers, loads of diapers, baby shampoo, lotion, board books, baby toys, etc., etc. Thank you to all who have given so lovingly and graciously. It means so much to us!

29 weeks down, 11 to go!

Israel, Israel, God is Calling

I had the opportunity the other day to apply the counsel in this quote. I came across a situation where I could have easily justified "self-righteous" action, and ended up checking my religion at the door, but I decided not to. You know, it felt really good. I had the Spirit with me, and felt an assurance that I had acted well. That kind of feeling is irreplaceable. And I was so grateful for a friend who thanked me afterward for my example, and told me that it had helped them make the right decision too.

That Elder Holland: he sure knows what he's talking about.

Thoughtful mothers

So I have an awesome job where I get to work with awesome people. I teach kids how to play the piano, read music, etc., and their moms or their dads come with them to class every week. I love it because I get to work with kids, see parenting in action, and get to know some incredible parents.

Lots of the moms have been super excited for me and this pregnancy, and get this: two (count 'em... two!) of them have just given me a bag full of cute maternity clothes. How sweet is that? Just out of the goodness of their hearts they thought, "hey, she's a young, probably newly married gal. Maybe she'd like these maternity clothes that I'm not using anymore." Thanks to these two moms, my own mother, and my sister-in-law, I now probably have more maternity clothes than I'll even need. And on top of that, they are cute maternity clothes, so I'm better dressed as a pregnant woman than I was before my belly got big!

Thanks for looking out for me, girls. God bless you and your giving hearts.

P.S. Felt the baby have hiccups two days ago. Holy cuteness, Batman!

Nephew!

I'm officially an aunt twice! My first little nephew was born last week. Mom and baby are doing really well. His name is Theodore, but they're calling him Teddy. Isn't he adorable?

Can't wait to meet him at Christmas!
And I love the look on his face in this photo. It's like he's saying, "What. is. going. on?"

Congrats to my wonderful brother and sister-in-law!

And the results...

(sung to the tune of, "I'm the map!" from Dora the Exporer)

It's a boy, it's a boy,
It's a boy, it's a boy,
It's a BOY!!!!!

We had the ultrasound yesterday and got to see our beautiful little boy. He was dancing and squirming the whole time. The ultrasound person nurse lady was really great and told us all about what she was documenting as she went through. It was sooo cool to see things like his heartbeat (you could actually see the valves pumping!), or his legs move, or his spine curve as he ducked his head. Wow. What a feeling! She also got some really good profile shots that have me in raptures every time I look at them.

Profile shot. Look at those cheeks!

Profile with his arm and hand.

His (left?) leg and foot. See his perfect toes?

Mommy and Daddy are just in heaven. Yay! Yay! Yay!