Baby Update: 28 Weeks

We are 28 weeks along and growing well. I am still feeling well. It is sure getting hard to bend over though. The messes just keep growing and I keep putting off cleaning up because it takes so much effort. Hannah is a great helper and has even taken to setting the table for dinner. She will be a great big sister and helper for mom.

Baby's brain is taking on a wrinkled appearance because of its rapid growth. The wrinkles are called convolutions and are normal in fetal development. Most of the lanugo has disappeared at this point and our baby may have a full head of hair by now. He also may be sucking his thumb. I haven't felt any hiccups yet and am anxiously not-awaiting them. Hannah had the hiccups pretty consistently and mostly at night when I was trying to sleep.

Bee Sting

We were playing out on our complex playground today when Hannah had another tramatic first. She got stung by a bee! She came to me crying and holding her face and I found a little stinger stuck in her cheek. Luckily it came right out and we made a baking powder paste and put a bandaid on it and all was much better. The funny thing is, is that Hannah hates bugs! She won't get near them and if they fly at her she will scream. I know that she wasn't even antagonizing the thing. He was just being a stinker and now she will have an even bigger fit when bugs come at her.

Germany Dress

Camille in the Germany dress at 2 1/2 years old. Apparently this was the best picture that they could get out of me that day.

This is the best picture that we could get out of Hannah. She wouldn't hold still!

Getting tickled by Dad.

Changed out of her dress and ready to play.

Grandma Powell saved this dress that they got for me while they were in Germany 24 years ago. It fits Hannah perfectly right now and she looks adorable in it. It's fun to look back and see how alike we look. Hannah will probably keep her blond curls, but this was the lightest that my hair ever got and then it went dark.

New Camera

We purchased a new camara as our old one seemed to be giving out on quality and color. Here is Hannah's happy face and her grumpy face. If you look closely, it looks like her eyes may have a touch of green in them, just like her Momma. She's a Daddy's girl but she has her Mom's eyes.

New Coats

Hannah Loved the hood on this coat.

Hannah loves to put her hands in the pockets. We've had a few close calls with falling down when she has her hands stuck in the pockets.

I have been reorganizing clothes for the upcoming seasons and pulled out Hannah's new coats that I bought for her last year. She was very excited to model them for me and was even more excited when I pulled out the camara. She is definitely our girly-girl when it comes to dressing up and showing off.

To Helena We Go

On Friday night we drove an hour and a half away to Helena, Montana and stayed at the Red Lion Colonial Hotel. We had time when we got there to take a quick dip in the cold pool and a longer dip in the warm hot tub before bed time. Brent took the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test, to get into a graduate program) on Saturday morning and we headed back to Bozeman by noon. It was a fun adventure, but we were all ready for our own beds by the time returned.

Baby Update: 25 weeks

I am 25 weeks along and feeling great. Our baby may weigh two pounds now and is busy growing a bigger brain. His lungs are beginning to make surfactant, which keep the lung tissues from sticking to each other and help protect against infection once baby is born.

Blood!

Hannah skinned her knee for the very first time last week. She's had many falls and bonks, but this was the first time with blood. As you can see, it was pretty bad (ha ha). She was crying hysterically and shaking. Hannah would calm down and then see the blood and freak out again. It was pretty funny. As soon as I put "stuff" and a bandaid on it, she was finally able to calm down.

The Coloring Queen

Hannah LOVES to color! Sadly, she doesn't get crayons because she eats them. We've tried again and again to let her play with them, but, again and again, she eats them. So, Hannah gets pens and only under supervision since she has colored on our leather chair, many articles of clothing, and in her books. Well, yesterday, Hannah was coloring while I was making dinner. I was obviously watching her very closely because she suddenly came to me very proud of her accomplishment of coloring all over her belly! She is a clean freak and was very concerned during bath time that it took some effort to scrub the pen off.

Tagged

I've been tagged again. This time it is about our courtship, engagement and wedding.

1. Where did you meet your husband?
Brent and I met through my roommate in 2000 at Ricks College. Brent and Amy were good friends in high school and when he got home from his mission he came over to see her. We were acquaintances for about three years and then became good friends in 2002 when we were in the same choir.

2. What was the first thing that you said to your husband?
I probably said something like "Hi," and then he and Amy went on with their reunion.

3. Where was your first date?
Brent asked me on our first date in January 2003, a month before the actual event. Knowing him now, this makes total sense because when there is something he really wants to go to, he plans ahead and is excited about it for days before hand. At the time, I thought "Wow... this guy must really like me to ask me on a date a month before hand." We went to a bagpipe concert at BYU-Idaho.

4. Where was your first kiss?
Brent had an opportunity to kiss me in a very romantic spot. We were at a friends house, sitting in front of a cozy fire and having great conversation. We were snuggling and enjoying each other's company and I really wanted him to kiss me. As the evening wore on, he didn't. I was very disappointed. I should have just done like Leah, taken charge of the situation, and done it myself! The next evening, we were sitting in the living room at my house in front of the big window that looks out towards the street, people walking by, with my roommates hard rock music blaring in the background. The moment was not nearly as nice, but that is when Brent chose to kiss me. I was thrilled, of course, but I still make fun of him for missing quite the opportune moment. To his defense, he says that he just wanted to see if he could really resist me. More than you wanted to know... I know, I know.

5. Did you have a long engagement?
We started dating in January and were engaged in April. We got married four months later in July.

6. Where did you get engaged?
Brent proposed to me on April 7th, 2003, my birthday. He told me that he wasn’t going to do it that day because he wanted my birthday to be a separate day and just as special as the day he would propose. He did, however, tell me that we would be going to a very nice restaurant in Idaho Falls called “McDougall’s.” Brent picked me up for dinner, blindfolded me, and drove me to the restaurant. He guided me inside, and downstairs to the eating area where I was seated and he took off the blindfold. I was sitting in front of a beautifully set table. The table was set in front of a lit fireplace and surrounded by trees that had been decorated and lit. There were candles everywhere and flowers on the table. “McDougall’s” turned out to be a friend’s home, and the setting was beautiful. Brent had made up menus, decorated the house, set up music, made dinner, and set up everything for a perfect evening. Brent and I enjoyed a quiet dinner. The flowers had earrings attached to the ribbons, which was one of my birthday presents (and I wore these on our wedding day). At the end of dinner, the waiter brought down the dessert on a tray. Between the two plates of dessert was a small box, which Brent proceeded to take and with it kneel in front of me. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes, of course, and we enjoyed the moment by dancing in the candlelight.

7. Where did you get married?
We got married on July 25th, 2003 in the Salt Lake City, Utah LDS temple. It was a beautiful day. We just celebrated our four year anniversary.

8. How did the reception go?
The reception was held at the "Old Meeting House" in Sandy, Utah. It went very well and it was wonderful to have all of our family and friends there to celebrate with us. We did miss Elder Powell, however, who was only an hour away at the MTC in Provo. I still think that they should have let him out for an hour or two to watch his sister get married!

Sending Elder Powell into the MTC

We also had an open house in Idaho the next weekend. We held it in the Luke's backyard in Teton and it turned out beautifully. Reta worked on the flowers all summer long and it turned out very well. Plus, we were able to open more presents!

The tables at the open house.

Elder Powell was there in spirit and came as a poster board.

More presents!

9. How was the honeymoon?
The honeymoon was short and sweet. We got to stay in The Inn at Temple Square and they gave us a room with a view of the temple. It was fun to be able to look out the window and see the place where we had just gotten married. We stayed there two nights and then opened presents with my parents on Sunday and headed back to Idaho and work on Monday. It was short, but sweet.



Tag! You're it! Corissa, Amy, Melissa, Angie, Kim