41 weeks

41 weeks. Doctor appointment two days ago and I'm 2.5cm dilated. Been feeling super tired. Regular contractions yesterday morning for about an hour, but they slowed for the rest of the day.

My Dr. is okay with me waiting to induce until after 42 weeks, as long as baby and I look fine. They call it "Watchful Waiting"...so I'll go in every two days this week for a fetal non-stress test (NST) to check in on her heart rate to measure blood/oxygen flow during fetal movements and contractions. It's non-invasive. They just strap a couple things around my belly for 20 minutes while the machine charts everything. The NST from today looked great.

My mom's flight has been rescheduled for May 3. Yay! She's been so so helpful with everything. I call her my magical fairy, because the dishes, the laundry & all my clutter magically take care of themselves. It's fabulous. So blessed to have her!

On April 22, we got to hear Elaine Dalton speak at a bi-stake fireside. It was seriously awesome to hear her speak - from the third row, non-the-less! LOVE her!

Naps & crafts...

Treehouse museum... 

 Payday for Bella. 59 dimes for doing her jobs! Go girl! We have a basket we call her "store" where we add toys/crafts to as she finds things at the real store that she wants to work for. She loves it...for now.

Still waiting for Ruby...

Waiting for Ruby..

Happy birthday to my mom on April 17th!

I wasn't feeling well, so she spent most of the day with Bella while I slept. We did enjoy a raspberry cream pie from Kneaders though! DELISH!

Mom and Bella went to the Children's Museum, and right next door is Ogden Temple - which is coming right along!

A sweet friend brought over these yummy homemade cookies and a baby gift. So thoughtful!

Happy Easter!

#becauseofHim I can be happy every day!!

Easter egg dying and belly kissing.

Mall massage chairs. To the amusement of onlookers, I jiggled much.

And Happy Earth Day, April 22nd! 

The earth is pretty awesome...if only we could stop and enjoy it the way children do!

40 weeks

Due date is today. 

80% effaced, maybe 1.5cm dialated as of April 16th. Not too much progress from last week.

Contractions are irregular, but definitely stronger than the Braxton Hicks I started feeling 4 weeks ago. Getting over a cold, feeling much stronger today.

Anxious and excited to meet this girl! 

39 weeks

Baby is still cookin...

Measuring around 8lbs. 

75% effaced, 1cm dialated as of April 9th.

Mom came last week and every cupboard and shelf has been gutted, cleaned and organized. What a great feeling! SOO grateful for mom being here!

Why have I not rode these before??? 

We'd been out all day and I was feelin' it. 

Not sure what I'm doing with my T-Rex claw there. Haha. 

37 Weeks

At last week's appointment, baby measured about 6.5lbs and I saw her tufts of hair in the ultrasound! That was cool.

My jiggling belly is a source of daily entertainment. At church, much to the distraction of those around us, my friend was very vocal about her fascination with her movement - "Ahh! Cool! Gross! Whoa! Weird!" Her reactions were hilarious.

Bella prays at night that we can be a "big family". I asked for some clarification on this "big family" request. All it means is we are having a baby. *Phew* Wouldn't want to destroy a child's faith in prayer by not coming through on the "big family". ha.

She bear hugged my belly today in church and said, "I love you baby Ruby!" We're both quiet fond of this name. She says she picked it, although I recall her original name choice was "Red Lightning".

Funny story. So, I was squatting down on the balls on my feet to get something out of the lower cupboard, and without any time to catch myself, I began tipping backwards. To soften the blow, I opted to fall to my bum first, but momentum (and my zero core strength) just kept pullin' me backwards.

I felt 80 years old as I lie on my back laughing out loud. Bella had to help me back up.

It was one of my finer moments.

 I actually feel really good physically. So blessed! Emotionally, I'm ready. I visualize everything going well, staying calm, and feeling relaxed during labor & delivery. Can't wait!

Ipad Photo Dump

Some great moments begging to be documented:

Seeing the King family was a huge highlight! Such a special family to me.

Oh, and I made a friendship bracelet.

This face makes Grandpa Rowdy laugh for reals... We love facetime!

Hairdo attempt and a belly kiss from sister... 

Sickness found us, and boxes needing a paint job.

Cinnamon rolls brought us silly smiles... 

Bedtime stories...are the best.

Pinata

I love making things.

This project is super easy, but maybe a little time consuming for the perfectionist like myself. Totally worth it though.

With baby coming, I thought I'd get a jump start on Bella's 5th birthday details...

To make a pinata, I found a few tutorials to get the idea, and wa-bam: Pinkie-Pie was born.

She's from the show My Little Pony. We were going to buy one at Walmart for $18, but I figured $3 was a better deal...and I had the time.

Free box, tissue paper, rope, tape, glue, scissors, pencil... Cheap project. Minus the candy.

Bella was a little excited.

Her favorite part was filling it with the spoils. I don't know how I'm going to let the smashing of Pinkie-Pie happen.

This little girl

I can't even explain how much I love this little girl.

She seriously rocks my world. 

Grandma Judy and Isabelle came to town for a few days and we had the best few days together!

Snuggle time is the best. She's my snuggler and actually uses it to bribe me.

I love to watch her be a kid. Her joy brings me joy.

I love these little hands...and those sparkly blue eyes!!