Family

One of the best things about summer is all the time we get to spend with extended family members. We have been busy with small family reunions, which Matt's family is incredibly good at having every year. Last week we had a Watkins Family get together (Matt's grandma's family), and Monday we had a Page Family party. It is always fun to see extended relatives and what they are up to! Chris and Lisa brought their puppies (Sawyer and Jack) to the Page party, and Sydney had fun pointing at them, or touching them and running away. She knows that they will jump on her so she doesn't get as close as she will to older, more mellow dogs, but she sure loves them anyway.

On Sunday we went up to Smith and Morehouse to eat dinner with my family and my cousins, the Schones. Smith and Morehouse is right by our old family cabin, so it is a special place for us. We had a lot of fun cooking tinfoil dinners, smores, and cobbler, and spending time with eachother. Sydney loved the Schone's dog, going by the river, playing with Jocelyn, and exploring the new surrroundings. We had a chance to walk to our old cabin site, which brought back a lot of memories. We used to go up there several times a summer until my grandpa passed away 14 years ago. It's amazing to think that it's been that long since we used to go there. When my grandpa died, the cabin was given to his brother, and we were no longer able to go anymore. It has been sad for us to not be able to go there, especially because it reminds us of my grandpa. My uncle tore down our cabin and built a new one, so it is a little weird for us, but it was fun to go there and walk around. It started raining, so I didn't get some of the pictures I wanted to take- like the tree that has my parent's initials carved in it- but we are planning on going again in August so hopefully I'll get those pictures then!

No News is Good News

Well, I have been waiting to hear the results from my glucose test...but they only call you if you DO have gestational diabetes, so it has been an anxious week for me, basically waiting to NOT hear from them. AND... I never heard from them!!! So I do not have gestational diabetes this time around! I am excited that I won't have to deal with the extra stress of that. It entails a very strict diet that is pretty hard to follow, not to mention taking your blood 4 times a day, so now I don't have to worry about all of that. The only worry is that I will gain more weight than I want, but oh well. I still have worries that they will call me and tell me my results took extra long, or they lost them, or something, and that I really do have it :) Anyway, other than being really BIG, hot, and always hungry, this pregnancy has been going very well. The baby doesn't kick as hard as Sydney did, I have less heartburn, not as many charlie horses, and am overall feeling pretty good. We still haven't thought of ANYTHING for the baby. I haven't looked at clothes, bedding, thought of names, nothing. We have been so busy with life lately that we haven't done much preparing, but we are finally pretty much settled in our apartment, so maybe life will calm down a little and we can prepare for our baby in 12 weeks! This past weekend we built shelves in our storage closet and got all but 2 boxes put away. The last 2 boxes are just pictures and decorations to hang up, so that's all I have left to do. It has been a lot of hard work and organizing, with the little space, but I'm finally feeling like life is returning back to normal. We are feeling more comfortable with our place, Matt's job, and everything.

We got a new camera, a Nikon D90, and I am trying to learn how to use it... Here are some of my favorite pictures we've taken while we practice and learn about the camera...

4th of July and Glucose Test

We had a great 4th of July weekend! Matt had work off on Friday, so we partied it up! It was really nice... we slept in, went to the zoo, and then to the temple and dinner. My brother Tim went through the temple for the first time, and Matt and I were the witness couple for that session so it was a neat experience. It is always nice to get to the temple and have that spiritual boost!

On Saturday, we slept in again! My brothers and sister slept over on Friday night, so we had french toast for breakfast. Then the rest of my family came over, and we went swimming at our little neighborhood swimming pool. After that, we had a BBQ and went to a Bee's game! The game was really fun, but it went a little long...12 full innings! We ended up losing, which was pretty much fine with us, because we just wanted the game to be over so we could watch the fireworks. The fireworks show was awesome! Sydney thought they were a little too close for comfort...which they were VERY close... we even had ashes and debris falling all over us. My dad took her under the seats, where she couldn't see them, and she was fine. We had watched the Sugarhouse fireworks during the game, which we could see pretty well, and she loved those ones. She called them "pretty-booms."

Tomorrow I get to take the glucose test to see if I have gestational diabetes again... I made sure to have a donut for breakfast today :) just in case. Wish me luck! I now officially have less than 100 days left of this pregnancy. It is flying by, but is getting more uncomfortable by the day... my stomach is very itchy lately! It is weird to imagine having two kids in 3 months...CRAZY!

Goings On

Our new place is still not all put together. It has been a lot of work because we have had to buy things in order to put things away, but it is getting there. I get pretty frustrated when things are messy and have to remind myself that everything will be fine soon enough. We have been struggling to fit all of our stuff in this apartment, but we are enjoying the area, how clean it is, and the cheaper price, so it is worth it.

I am getting very big! People at church keep telling me it must be "getting close." In fact the other day the chorister called my mom to see if I could play the piano in Relief Society, but she wanted to make sure that I wasn't having my baby this week. This has been going on since I was 20 weeks (half way). It's crazy to think that we have about 15 weeks left. It actually has been going by very fast because we've had so much going on. I can't believe I'm in my 3rd trimester! I am starting to get heart burn worse, and my ribs hurt because the baby is always in them. Probably 90% of the time I have my hand up by ribs trying to push the baby down out of them. But other than that, things are going very well! I have another doctor's appointment next week so we'll see updates then.

Yesterday we went to Liberty Land with Chris and Lisa. It was a pretty small place, but had some fun things that we enjoyed doing. Sydney loved the big bouncy slide, mini golfing, the rocket ship, and the merry-go-round! Matt and Chris both enjoyed the go-karts and lasar tag. It was fun to get out and do something different!

We went to the aquarium last month while Matt was at home in the days with us. Sydney loved looking at the "fishies" and putting her hands in the water to try to touch the rays. It was a fun outing!

A few weeks ago we went to dinner with Matt, Jen, and Colton Appel. After we ate, we went to Nordstrom Rack, where they had some fountains outside. Sydney and Colton had a lot of fun running around the water! They have become pretty good friends!

We had a wonderful Father's Day! Sydney made a tie for Matt in nursery that is adorable. It has been fun for Mother's Day and Father's Day this year because Sydney has made us little things, and of course is able to give us hugs and kisses! We are so grateful for Matt! He is a great Father!

We had lunch at a park last week and Sydney really enjoyed playing! She calls swings and slides "wee" and always wants to go on them. It is nice because we have a little play ground outside of our apartment that she likes to play on as well.

Here are some pictures of Sydney being Sydney! She is learning so much, always talking up a storm, and is so much fun! She says "aintoo" (thank you) all the time now! The other day I was busy doing something in the kitchen and Sydney was getting into everything trying to get a drink. I was getting frustrated with her and finally had a second to get her a drink. She said "aintoo" in her sweet little voice and it melted me! I couldn't help but pick her up and give her hugs and kisses. She also says "cheese" when we take pictures of her now, and has the funniest, cheesiest smiles! She sure makes life fun for us!

Playing in a box from moving...

With a shoebox on her head, calling it a hat...

Carrying around a purse...

Wearing Michael's shoes...Sydney loves shoes...

Smelling the flowers...

Swimming...which she calls "water"