Thanks to my Mom for this wonderful day of birth, 24 years ago.
For some reason, I’m appreciating her efforts so much more this year. ;)
PS- I’ve realized today that I’m no longer in my early 20’s. I’ve entered the mid-20’s range. Kind of sad.
Oh well, at least I’ll never be as ancient as my dear old husband. haha :)
xoxo
…are Flowers that are forever in bloom.
I’m so glad you were planted in my garden, Baby Girl.
I Love You.
(and thank-you for letting us disturb your slumber, stick things on you and throw you in baskets and pots to do these silly things that are so much fun for mommy ;)
xoxo
Amelia-Jayne Hastings
Born August 27, 2011
8 lbs, 10 oz
19 1/2 inches
Stay tuned for more on our little babycakes!
xoxo,
the THREE of us
Little Miss Amelia-Jayne is almost here and boy have I been slacking! I meant to keep a record of the belly bump on here, but due to life and laziness, they’ve only made it randomly onto facebook. So for fun’s sake…and to help me remember that at one time I didn’t look like a giant balloon…here’s how our little girl and I grew over the last nine (almost ten) months along with some of the joys of pregnancy!
Note the funny change in surroundings too…this timeline spanned my living room in China, my parent’s front porch and now our home in Vernal.
I was sooo sick for the first 20 weeks. I could barely keep anything down for the first four to five months. I’m not sure if it’s hereditary (my mom was the same way) or if it was a combo of that and simply being in China…but it was not that much fun. We were so happy to get to start a family, but I remember thinking, “I have to do this 3 more times?!?!” around week 10. Lucky for me after 20-25 weeks I only got nauseous (without too many pukes) a few times a week for the rest of the pregnancy. I can’t imagine having 9 months how the first five were! Yeah for food!
-12 Weeks-
-13.5 Weeks-
-14.5 Weeks-
(Thanks for the flowers, J. xoxo)
-16 Weeks (4 Months)-
This week I felt her first kick…and she’s been my little dancer girl ever since!
-19 Weeks and starting to keep it down!-
-23 Weeks-
I started to notice the belly bump comin’ on out!
-26 1/2 Weeks-
No hiding it now….the 20’s and early 30’s were probably the easiest weeks. Energy was up, I could exercise and do Zumba (I hope it gives this little gal natural rhythm!), plus you could tell I was pregnant instead of just chunky. :)
-28 Weeks (7 Months)-
-30 Weeks-
My darling cousin, Susie, had a maternity session with me. She is awesome!
-31 1/2 Weeks-
Felt like an extremely bouncy volleyball was tied to the front of me.
-33.5 Weeks-
Amelia-Jayne’s jabs turned into GIANT movements around this week. You could start to identify little body parts moving the belly in any direction. Watching for these movements became some of our favorite entertainment at night.
-36 Weeks-
Starting to notice that women were right about how uncomfortable the last trimester is…but how exciting it is at the same time too! I’m lucky I wasn’t that uncomfortable until later in the pregnancy, especially with the work of moving in the last 6 weeks and everything. I’ve heard for some it’s the entire last trimester…thank goodness that wasn’t the case! Interestingly enough, I haven’t had very many cravings the entire time (just massive amounts of fruit and water) UNTIL the last 3 weeks. Ever since, I’ve been craving ice cream, otter pops and cereal like crazy. Cereal of choice? Fruit Loops mixed with Frosted Mini Wheats or Blueberry Muffin Tops. Sooo healthy. I used to like All Bran. Go figure.
-38 1/2 Weeks-
Started having some contractions and was dilated to a 2.
Bags were packed and ready to go at any minute…getting antsy to meet our little girl!
-39 Weeks-
Dilated to a 2 1/2, but contractions slowed down.
-39 1/2 Weeks-
Contractions all but disappeared only to be replaced by low low sharp bursts of pain. I got excited when they continued for a couple of hours but then they disappeared again. She must be shy or something… Dilated to a 3 at last appointment.
We’ll see if the next picture is of another bump or of a cute little bambina!
Any predictions?
Personally, I’m hoping it’s of a bambina. :) Only 2 more days left!
xoxo
Around here we eat fruit like we’re never going to see another piece of it’s sweet goodness again. I can’t keep it on the table long enough. This week alone I’ve had to go to Wal-Mart 3 times to get peaches and nectarines…and each time I walk out with at least 20 thinking it will be enough, only to be back in a few days. Remember that 5 gallon bucket of cherries? Yeah, aside from a few friends, we pretty much ate the entire thing ourselves…and no, we don’t get the runs…;) Our yummy habits may become a problem if we don’t start getting our own trees in every variety known to man. And if they could magically become year round producing trees, that would be nice too.
Anyways, today I have 2 delicious things to share with you.
1. Bountiful Baskets. My friend, Tara, introduced them to me when we moved here…and how did I not know about these before? For just 15 buckaroos you get a big basket of fruit and a separate big basket of veggies from a co-op of farmers. The first time I got one I was surprised to find that the cauliflower was from Big-E produce in good ol’ Lompoc, California! Way to make me feel at home my first week here, Big-E. Now I just need to figure out how I can get 2 orders of fruities and one order of veggies…sorry my green friends, we just don’t go through you as fast.
2. Apricot Jam. is. so. good. The week before I moved out here, J’s mom taught me how to make their version of Apricot Jam. I’ve only made plum jam from my parent’s tree at home plus strawberry jam and boy was the prep for Apricot jam easier! Here’s a photo recap:
First, get lots of fruities. These were from our Aunt Angelyn’s tree.
Then, pit them (apricots make this SO easy) and mash them to smithereens.
Heat them up and add sugar.
Next, the fun sticky part…pour hot jam into clean jars, and put a hot lid on each.
Then, notice how much jam gets dripped on your preggo belly while waiting for the jars to “pop” seal.
Lastly, behold your finished work and have a piece of toast!
Next year I want to make some lower sugar versions of jam…not with artificial sugar, just less. Anyone have any good recipes for that sort of thing they want to share? Thanks!!!
xoxo, MJ
Last week we finally were able to close on our little old house. Our house was built in 1948 and is on what I call “Temple Square” in Vernal, because we live one block away from the temple and can see it from most of our North facing windows…THAT is probably one of my favorite things ever. We got it for a steal of a deal and want to renovate it, as renovating an old house and actually living in a house we own are two things we can now cross off our bucket lists! The first things on our to-do list are finding out it’s little quirks from being old and sitting for so long foreclosed (plumbing, critters, what is this hole for?), cleaning up the yard and most definitely putting together the nursery for our babycakes. Here’s a little taste of some of my favorite things now…there’s lots of work to do so I’ll post more pictures as we slowly make progress and work on our projects.
I love the huge windows all throughout the upstairs. They let in so much light and it keeps the whole place cheerful…I’m just going to have to come up with a lot of window treatments to keep out heat and cold…but I’m more than happy to have fun with that. :)
The living room is this huge L shape, so I’m making the lower part of the L into a formal dining room area.
I love that I can see the temple through those windows by the sink. Makes washing dishes not so bad. We do plan on redoing the kitchen someday…the countertops are super short (barely come up to my hips….makes me question how tiny people were back then or if really short people lived there).
I love that someone added on this cute little sunroom-like kitchen nook off of the kitchen.
One of the rooms upstairs was converted to a big laundry room…but we’re keeping it that way and it will double as a sweet mom’s office and craft room! Hooray!
And some of the funniest things in the house left by the previous owners are the paint jobs…they liked their color! So let me introduce you to:
the master bedroom blues…
the Easter egg girl’s room…
and the “Nascar” guest room!
We’re welcoming any and all ideas to top these last paint jobs….go bold or go home. :)
This is a peek at what we’ve fixed so far in the Nursery…from Easter Egg to “Aqua Chiffon”…I think I’m in love.
Anyways, please come stay with us in the Nascar room soon!
xoxo, MJ & J
