36 week ultrasound & nesting

About two weeks ago we got to see our little babe's face once more before we meet him for reals and I just can't stop staring at him. His little chubby, squishy cheeks, nose, and face are going to be kissed more than a million times a day. And don't worry, he was still doing his signature hands in front the face (we're lucky we got a face shot). Needless to say, we are already obsessed with this little guy. 

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I am now 38 weeks which means that we could meet our baby boy any day now. I thought that I would leave my job early so I could relax and enjoy the last moments Cam and I will have together before the baby...but the truth is that, ever since I left, I just can't seem to relax. Everything either needs to be cleaned, laundered, sanitized, organized, decorated, etc. And if it doesn't need any of those I find myself going a little insane trying to find something to do. I think that this is that "burst of energy" that they told us about in our lamaze class, haha! I have embodied the definition of nesting. 

Ironically, amidst this burst of energy, I have also been lacking in the sleep department. I have been forcing myself to not take naps during the day and to stay up a little later than my internal clock is telling me to just so that I can get a full nights sleep. If I don't completely wear myself out during the day, you can expect me to be wide awake around about 5:45am which is not ideal to me. Sleepless nights are definitely helping me adjust to the sleepless nights ahead. I, myself, don't believe me when I say that I used to sleep through ANYTHING. I was actually worried about having a baby because I thought I would never wake up for it but nope! Mother Nature has definitely had her way and changed that completely. I dream of the day that I will be able to sleep on my stomach again. Oh, and if I'm not awake going pee for the 5th time, or just uncomfortable, the thoughts of giving birth also tend to keep me awake. I'm slowly coming to terms with it though. This baby's gotta get here somehow, right?

Besides my little complaints here and there and all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the baby, it has all been so worth it. I feel so lucky with how well this pregnancy has gone and for our healthy baby. He is already the biggest blessing in our lives and I am so ready and so excited at this point.

Let the countdown begin.

this n that

This post has no specific point or reason so brace yourself for randomness.

First of all... work. I had my last day of work at the Campus Store last Friday and it was pretty sad, as you can see by the look on Carrisa's and my face. Of all people (besides Cam, of course) who have gone through this pregnancy with me, Carrisa has probably been my #1 support! She has seen it all and it has definitely brought us closer together. I mean, what else can you expect when you work everyday together only 4 feet away from each other. I guess she didn't really have a choice but to listen to me as I talked her ear off many times. There are actually 5 of us ladies (one is not pictured) due between September and December at the Campus Store so just think of a little pregnancy support group and that's pretty much what we have been. It really has been a blessing and I'm so so sad to go. 

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Last weekend Cam had a wedding to film in Salt Lake, so on our way down we took a tour of the Ogden temple open house. It was truly one of the most beautiful temples I've ever been in. Lots of ArtDeco/Great Gatsby-ish details about it as well as some really unique art on the walls. There were a lot of religious paintings that I had never seen before that were so powerful and beautiful. We went with Cam's parents and snapped this photo after and whoa! That belly. Looks like I'm either extremely pregnant or smuggling basketballs professionally these days...

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I was able to go to the Farmers Market and the DIY Craft Lake City Festival on Saturday with my sister ShaLyse and it was sooo much fun. We didn't snap any photos of the fun art they had at the festival but you better believe we got a photo in front of the popsicle stand Lick'd. You guys.... I've never had a better popsicle in my life. I got Strawberry-Mint Lemonade and ShaLyse got Banana Cream Pie and they were both incredible. My mouth is watering right now. Nothing better. Not pictured: my giant red stain that dripped on my white shirt right after this photo was taken. Pregnant Problems.

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Welp, there ya go. The most random post of the year.

one month left!

This upcoming Tuesday marks exactly one month until my due date!

I feel like these last 8 months have come and gone so quickly. I remember checking my pregnancy app daily in the first trimester and it was like everyday was huge stepping stone and thinking that this pregnancy would last forever but then all of a sudden you have a full-grown baby in your belly that could come out right this minute and be healthy! Pregnancy is definitely a whirlwind in terms of sense of time, emotions, preparations, changes and I strongly feel like it's 9 months for a reason, haha! Cam and I are both so excited to meet this baby boy and have been having so much fun getting ready for him. We have our last ultrasound tomorrow so we'll get to see his little face once more before he comes out to meet us!

Now, time for a little bump date.

How Far Along? 36 weeks
Maternity Clothes? I'm down to about four outfits that I cycle through! haha, I'll be honest. I can't wait to not wear maternity clothes. Dresses have been my best friend this summer.
Sleep? It's a gamble. One night will be amazing and another I'll be pulling an all-nighter. I guess it's all part of getting ready for the baby, right?
Best moment this week? Making nursery/"baby corner" preparations! It's all getting so real.
Weird pregnancy moment? All the comments about my belly from strangers! So many people trying to guess what I'm having and commenting on how I look like I could have the baby any day. That's when you know you're getting close. haha!
Movement? All day, everyday....and night. I don't mind it unless he's stretching his legs out and then it can get real uncomfortable.
Food Cravings? My sweet tooth has been much more apparent these days! I can almost always count on needing a sweet treat after lunch/dinner.
Anything making you queasy? These crazy round ligament pains! They don't make me literally queasy, but I could definitely do without them.
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing his face tomorrow at our ultrasound!

d.i.y. pom-pom mobile

Last time I went to LA to visit my sister Jenna, we visited a store called Yolk. I want to go almost every time I visit her because it's just a fun store and they carry a lot of unique and sometimes quirky items that you wouldn't find in Utah. When we went, I fell in love with a baby mobile there but seeing as how $140 for some pom-poms on string wasn't really in my budget, I just snapped a photo and kind of forgot about it. That is, until we started brainstorming ideas for the baby's nursery (or more like, the baby's corner in our bedroom—oh the joys of a one bedroom apartment!). I found this photo and decided it couldn't be too hard to make... which I was kind of right and kind of wrong about. But I am really proud of how it turned out and, honestly, anyone with a little motivation and time could make this so why not post a little DIY?

Here we go.

Oh, and forgive my crappy iPhone pictures in advance. Thanks!

First off, here is my inspiration photo that I snapped way back at the beginning of this Summer at Yolk.

STEP ONE: Find a variety of colors that you want to use in yarn and cut out a bajillion pom-poms. These may seem daunting but once you get going, it goes by pretty quickly. I used a fork for the mini poms (watch a tutorial here), and then just used my hand for the larger poms (watch tutorial here). Also, I found that a good fullness for the larger poms was about 130 wraps around my hand.

Once you are done with the pom-poms, and you have arranged them just for fun (not a necessary step) move on to...

STEP TWO: For the hoop, I hot-glued two cross-stitch hoops together because the wider the cross-stitch hoop, the more expensive & noone was going to see the actual hoop anyways. 

Then comes the tricky part. Because I wanted a stripe, I pre-measured and cut pieces of yarn and then wrapped them around the hoop individually. If you are planning on saving time, I would not recommend doing this, haha! It probably took the longest time for me. Ribbon or a solid color would definitely be easier. The original was crocheted but, I don't have the skills for that... haha so I just stuck with this and although it's not perfect, I really like the outcome of the stripes.

STEP THREE: There are a lot of steps within this step so I'll try and be clear.

–Measure out 5 segments of rope that will be tied in a knot at the top. We used white cord (can be found in any ribbon section of a fabric store). The cord is thick enough and strong enough to act like robe but just not as stiff, therefore, making it way easier to tie and work with in general. Our segments were 3 ft. 9 inches each leaving 1 foot for above the hoop and approximately 2 feet below and then a little extra for the knot at the top.

Oh, and are you wondering why I keep saying "we"? Well, Cam, as usual, was sucked into helping me with this project and it was a good thing because I can get sloppy with measurements and the minute details but he is super good at being exact so, because of him, this mobile is actually level and looks clean and crisp. Plus, I could never have done some of this stuff with just my two hands.. thank goodness for nice husbands! 

Anyways...back to the point.

–Mark your hoop in equal intervals where you want the five strings to be attached. This part is super important in accuracy so that you can have a level mobile. Our hoop was 12 inches in diameter making the circumference 37.68", putting our strings about 7.7" apart on the hoop (...now do you see why I needed Cam so badly?).

– String the poms that you want on the top foot of the mobile and then hot-glue the cord to the marks you make on the outside of the hoop. (also, pre-mark a foot on your string so that they are all equal).

I was skeptical about hot glue doing the trick for this but it definitely did the job and because we had to adjust a cord or two to make it perfectly level, it was also nice and forgiving.

And FINALLY, String the rest of your pom-poms on the cords below the hoop how you want them, then trim the dangling cords to exactly 2 ft. so they're all even and secure the bottom of the string with a knot/hot-glue to keep the bottom pom from falling off.


So, in the end, I now see why the store version was $140 because this thing is definitely a labor of love. But it turned out so cute and our grand total was only $25 so it was definitely worth it budget-wise too!

Baby's angle...

 Now we just have the rest of the "baby corner" to do and only a month left to do it!

Wish us luck!

baby shower palooza!

Whoa! This summer has just flown by. I hear of women saying pregnancy goes soooo slow but I feel like I just found out yesterday! It has seriously gone by so fast. I can't believe that I am a little over a month away from my due date now! It's all just really surreal to think that this little babe has been growing inside of me for 8 months and that it will eventually pop out to be a baby! haha. I can't wait to meet this lil guy!

As we get everything ready I am getting more and more excited. Which brings me to the point of this post... baby showers!  I could NEVER have even fathomed getting everything ready without the help and support from family and friends. I have been so blessed to have some pretty amazing people in my life who are more than willing to shower this baby with everything he needs and I seriously could not be more grateful. 

I was extremely luck to get four showers this summer & I'll be honest... although the gifts are a pretty big perk, my favorite part of showers is reuniting with some of my favorite people! 

The Peterson gals started my summer off right by throwing me an adorable backyard shower where I got to hang out with all of my college friends! I'm not joking when I say that Meg, Coley and Angie Peterson are the most thoughtful, crafty, talented and sweet human beings to walk the earth.  They even went above and beyond and made baby boy the most adorable quilt.

You know that I had to take an individual shot with everyone so of course I threw together this little Brady Bunch collage of all of us! I just love them all so much, I couldn't just post one!

Madi made it home from her mission just 2 days before this so this was great timing for a shewolf reunion with all the missionaries back!

I couldn't pass up taking a photo with two of my best friends, Jennika and Joni seeing as how it would be the last one before they popped. Now I'm the last one who still has a baby in there and I love this photo and am so glad I have this of all three of us and our bellies!

The next shower was thrown by my sister-in-law Katie, my bff Tay, and their mom Kathy Hen in Idaho. 

Do I need to even describe how great this shower was after seeing those photos? Wedge salad bar, warm homemade bread, lemonade stand, and delicious dessert. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it! 

I didn't get a photo of everyone together but I did get some with Hailey, Tayler & Grey (look at that face!!!), and some with the girls in the family :)

Last, but most definitely not least, was a shower in Utah with my mom's side of the family thrown by my cousins, the Stewart gals. I don't see this side of the family as much as I'd like to so these showers are super fun because it's just a giant party, and if the Creer side knows how to do anything... it's party!

We had homemade Waffle Love (which I've never had before) and it was sooo good. How have I never had it before? mmmmm!

We actually got one with all the Creer cousins (Grandma Floss is blinking, not sleeping...haha!)

And of course, we got one with the mom and mother-in-law!

Not the best photo of me and Grandma, but I'll take what I can get.

Wait.... did I say last? Because I was lying. YOU GUYS! I work at the best place ever and I even got showered by them! There are five pregnant girls working at the Campus Store right now...yes, I said five! Can you believe that? Taylor and I are both due in September so my boss Carrisa threw us such a fun boy/girl themed shower (Taylor is having a girl). 

I cannot even begin to say how grateful I am for the amazing showers that I was able to have for baby boy! They have been such a blessing as we get ready to welcome this little guy and I have never felt so loved! Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful in giving me advice, necessities and love!

it's a...

BOY!!!

We had our gender ultrasound this Monday. I seriously couldn't handle the anticipation. I was so anxious and excited. It was comparable to Christmas eve when I was a kid. Both Cam and I were convinced that it was a girl. Cam was so sure that he made the statement "we don't even need to get an ultrasound"...haha welp, I'm really glad we did because we were so wrong. Our baby is most definitely a boy, if you know what I mean.

It was the coolest experience to see how much the baby has grown since our first appointment. We got to see his beating heart and, my favorite part was that he was even sucking his thumb! I know, I know, I'm probably the only one who thinks he is the cutest thing in the world (I'm already one of those moms...) but I have been showing everyone in sight how cute my teeny tiny baby is. haha! Already in love. So now I'm just gonna show him off even more....

Cute right? haha

How Far Along? 19 weeks
Maternity Clothes? I'm getting closer and closer. I swear my stomach has expanded 3x in just the last week.
Sleep? More pillows, better sleep!
Best moment this week? Finding out we're having a little guy!
Weird pregnancy moment? Feeling more like I have a gut than a baby bump at this moment… haha
Movement? I felt the first kick last Tuesday and haven't stopped feeling them since.. it's my favorite thing ever.
Food Cravings? I had a major doughnut craving the other day... but i had those before I was pregnant soooo…
Anything making you queasy? no, and I love it!
Gender? It's a boy
What I'm looking forward to: buying all the baby stuff I can get my hands on!

Oh baby!

Surprise! I've been really anxious to announce this for a while... like since we got this ultrasound a month ago, haha! I'm sure I've been driving Cam up the wall but I just can't contain my excitement for this babe! I also can't get enough info about it. I don't go a day without googling stuff about babies or looking up exactly what's developing that day or week or staring at the ultrasound of that fig sized baby so peaceful and safe and already so sweet inside my body and how incredible the whole process is! Sorry about that run-on sentence... but I think you get how excited I am. 

Speaking of that ultrasound... here is baby at 12 weeks. Looks like he/she loves to sleep just as much as I do!

I've seen this pregnancy questionnaire on a couple friends blogs throughout their pregnancies and I really like the idea of it so don't mind if I just hop on that bandwagon...

How Far Along? 16 weeks

Maternity Clothes? Not yet but I've been unbuttoning my pants in public places so that might be a good idea…haha!

Sleep? If I'm not waking up to pee I'm waking up out of discomfort. Is it too early for that? haha. I can also take a nap at any time of the day and may or may not have been caught laying my head on my desk here and there to "rest my eyes"... good thing I have a great boss.

Best moment this week? Making the big announcement!!

Weird pregnancy moment? 1. I'm a little more prone to eye watering over really random stuff these days. I have been known to cry for every emotion but now I really cry or almost cry for EVERY emotion. 2. Another weird/embarrassing moment was standing up in class without realizing that my pants were unbuttoned. haha oops! and sorry. I really can't help it at this point. It's gotta happen. 3. Literally feeling like my stomach is stretching and feeling so sore.

Movement? I've read that I could be feeling the baby move by 16 weeks but I can't positively say that I have but I think I have... but I don't know... haha.

Food Cravings? None really quite yet. I'm finally at a happy medium where I don't want to throw up all the time but I don't have any cravings quite yet. It's nice.

Anything making you queasy? It was chicken but I'm slowly warming back up to it.

Gender? I honestly have nooo idea. I don't know if that's a bad or good thing but I'm a pretty bad guesser anyways so I'll just leave it to the Dr.

What I'm looking forward to: Who would have thought I'd ever say I was looking forward to a Dr. appointment? Well I have one tomorrow and I'm pretty excited about it! We don't get to "see" the baby but I'll take a heartbeat :)