Welcome 2013!!

Remember when Y2K was such a big scary thing?? Haha... well HELLO 2013!

This years celebration was a little more mellow than most; we had a nice dinner-in with our dear friends, Kelly & Justin. We BBQ-ed up some yummy t-bones and chicken on the porch in the 10 degree weather while watching Kathy Griffin try to sway the Silver Fox. Justin changed it to Ryan Seacrest-- not sure who is worse!

Jordan and I shared our 2013 New Years Kiss while Baby kicked-in the New Year! 

This was our last New Years celebration as small family of two and we're both so excited for when Baby will make it til midnight with us and toot the horns and bang the pots & pans like I used to do with Grandma! 

2012 has brought a lot of milestones and adventures for us; no doubt this new year will bring many more happy changes! 

Week 24

The first of the new year starts the first of Week 24 for us! 

My chub is getting more solidified and turning from baby chub to hard baby belly! Baby is a lot more active now that 80% of his sleep time is spent in the REM stage. He is more alert and moves about in the mornings and lots at night still. We see the doctor again tomorrow to check his anatomy and make sure everything is in its proper place.

When holding my 1 month old baby niece last week, I was aware of how much she moved and fussed and thought that Baby must be the same as her-- moving around, stretching and yawning. Jordan says Baby is a foot long from head to toe, so no wonder he moves so much, he's gotta stretch and get comfortable from being crammed in  there for so long. I still can't wrap my head around a foot long baby being inside me-- I still feel so small! 

I am right on track with a weight gain of 17 pounds. I'm honestly just waiting to get FATTER!! I can still see my feet, although bending to put my shoes and socks on is getting very hard. I am still working about 50 hours a week so I have lots of aches and pains; Jordan makes fun of me when I can't get up off the floor, but growing a HUMAN is hard work!

Family Portrait

 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! 

Everybody looking at the camera? -Check-Ish. 

Smiles? -Mostly. 

Looks like we got at least one that turned out! 

[Click to enlarge!] 

Christmas

We had a great Christmas with Jordan's family this year! 

His parents and all his siblings came out from California & Canada and we all spent some time at his grandparents cabin up in the snow in Heber Valley. The holidays at work were no different than any other time at work for me... busy, busy, busy! Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any time off,so between work and rushing back and forth to the cabin to spend a night or a half a day-- me and Baby are exhausted! I did have lots of fun though. We rarely make visits to Cali and haven't yet made the trek to Canada, so we see very little of our nieces and nephews; it was great to get to spend some time with them, now that they are old enough to mess with. 

[Jordan's favorite past-time: messing with little kids!]

When everyone came to visit me at work for dinner, our 6 year old nephew Taco said I was 'too fat' and should 'stop eating so much pizza,' his mom blushed and said, "She's pregnant... that's a baby in there!" to which he responded, "Well then your baby needs to stop eating so much pizza!" 

Thanks kid! *Sigh. 

K couldn't remember my name because she was only about 3 the last time I saw her, so she kept calling me "Aunt Jordan," which I thought was just adorable! I was actually amazed at the connection her little 4 year old mind made-- understanding that I was married to her 'Uncle Jordan' and that made me her 'Aunt' so I must just be "Aunt Jordan." Clever little kids! 

The older boys, along with my mother in law joined Jordan and I for midnight mass on Christmas Eve, we couldn't get the car up to the cabin all the way so we had to hike back up to the cabin at 2 in the morning! About a quarter mile, uphill, barefoot in the snow... okay we weren't barefoot, but when we tell the story to our grandkids, one day, we will make the necessary exaggerations! Christmas morning was nice to spend with little ones running around, Jordan and I are excited for the years ahead when that same childrens excitement will be in our home! 

The week was lots of fun, with sledding, BINGO!, Secret Santa exchanges, trampoline parks, good meals and of course tons of candy!

We topped off the week with family portraits... which was... well, eventful- to say the least. There are 5 grandkids under 7 to round up and try to get to look at the camera and smile all at once. To say it was impossible is an understatement! 

Here are a few of the nicer ones that turned out...

Jordan & Amber small family portrait

Siblings Picture

I thought my dress would be really cute and stand out in the pictures, well-- you couldn't miss me that's for sure... 

or US rather!  

WHO WORE IT BETTER?  

*This was NOT planned. My mother-in-law came walking up my stairs before church, ready for family pictures and I was like, "Natalie Hughes!!" She couldn't change because her suitcase was in SLC and I was too lazy to change, so we just went with the twins thing. Oh well...

We both rocked it! 

Baby got Bump!

22 weeks... 

and starting to get CHUBBY! 

So, I thought I was over the morning sickness, but I jumped to conclusions too soon. This last week has been a pretty bad week. I had to pull over on the side of the freeway on my way to work three times this week already because there was no way I was making it to the next exit. [Don't worry mom, I was totally safe about it!] Too graphic? Sorry. I'm still waiting for my pregnancy glow though!

I've just about outgrown my jeans and am on the quest for some thick maternity leggings for winter. 

We heard Baby's heartbeat earlier this week and Doctor says he sounds great! Lately Baby is kicking up a storm! He is very active at night after 9. I don't know how he sleeps all day with me at work and on my feet for hours, but he only starts to wake up on my commute home, then by the time I'm ready for bed he's ready for party! Lets hope this is not indicative of his sleep patterns after birth.

Jordan likes to poke my belly and play with him, so he'll kick back.  

Am I the only one who finds the movements to be weird? All the moms I know say, "Oh isn't it great when you feel Baby move?" I love it because I know he's doing well if he's moving around in there, but it feels so weird! Maybe just first pregnancy experience, but it feels really gassy and just awkward bubble movements like he's trying to escape! Wait till he's big enough that I can see him move my belly, wont that be a trip!

No stretch marks yet [hopefully never!], but I'm still pretty small. Although the nurse said I'm right on track for target weight gain. 13 pounds since I was first weighed at 8 weeks. My mom said, "Oh to be 155 again!" However, I'm still adjusting to the gain. It's mostly been up top, belly and thighs and like I said, I can still fit into most my regular clothes. That belt I'm wearing above is on it's last hole... 

I used to be able to fit 3 holes in on that one! Yikes. 

I'm curious to see how much bigger I'll get. Baby is supposed to start doubling in size over the following weeks. I just thought I'd look more pregnant by now.

 I hope I get a nice big baby bump though! 

Halfway there!

Finally feeling Baby kick!! 

 ****************************

*Started feeling Baby kick earlier last week, it feels very strange, like little 

bubbles of gas moving through me. Still really low, below my pant-line.

*I officially cannot sleep on my stomach anymore... 

*...and some insomnia and late nights are starting since 

Baby is most active after 9pm. 

*Does "Pregnancy Brain" really exist? Because I do sometimes 

feel like I forget little things, I am always losing place of my water at work! 

*People are still saying, "You're so small!" 

But I can't see my feet past my boobs and belly!!

*Craving healthy, crunchy, wheaty cereal all the time. 

And sandwhiches. Mmm. 

*My appetite is growing and so is the variety of food I'm willing to eat.
Had sausage on my pizza the other day at work, but if you catch me eating 

one of those meatballs-- STOP ME! 

*************************

Doctor says Baby has a healthy heartbeat and plenty of movement. Sickness is mostly in the past. I do tire easily and work is tough being on my feet so much, but I'll be cutting back after the holidays. Couldn't feel more blessed!