Goodbye 2009

This has been a pretty hectic year for us. A lot has happened, more so than any other year in my life (if you ask me!) haha it was one of the best years, however with all really good things comes some of the crummiest of times but I guess thats how life works.

I am a fuddy duddy this year as far as new years eve goes... I am wearing an old worn out Sadie Hawkins dance shirt from 2002 that fits quite snuggly over my big belly and inside out pj pants, oh my my shirt is inside out too... not sure how that happened. Dan is playing with his new G1 phone and I am taking a break from updating my new phone I got that has the smallest buttons in the world.

We sure know how to party! Anyway I am waving goodbye to 2009 and excited for everything 2010 will bring!!

January ~ We both started our senior internships

February ~ Valentines day

March ~ Visited AZ for job interviews and celebrated my grandma's 80th birthday
April ~ I "graduated" and we got our endowments out at the Draper Temple
May ~ Dan graduated
June ~ We moved to Az, got Tiny, got Sealed in the SLC Temple and celebrated our 1 year anniversary and I turned 23July ~ found out I was pregnant
August ~ Saw our baby girl for the first time
September ~ Dan turned 23
October ~ found out we were having a girl
November ~ Had the roughest month of the year
December ~ Saw Ava's face and enjoyed our Christmas break

Christmas Date

Yay for Christmas! I am glad we are starting a little early since we only get a 4 day break together. Dan took me out for a surprise dinner at Claim Jumper, way too much food. I think I brought home more food than I ate!

Then we headed over to the Mesa Temple to see the Temple lights. I was in a bit of pain between my stomach feeling like I was carrying a bowling ball and my back hurting from sitting in Dan's car so we made 1 lap around the Temple before I was ready to go home!

Dan and I also decided to open our presents to each other tonight. Dan already opened a video game he got from me and his brother a couple of days ago so we just decided to finish our Christmas to each other. Tonight he opened a new green polo and a bib for Ava. :)

Dan had an extravagant way of wrapping my gift that took me about 10 minutes to find my gifts. He put my little gifts in a HUGE box full of crumpled newspaper! He got Ava a cute pair of footy pj's with sheep on the feet and he got me a pair of little skull candy head phones that I have been wanting! Anyway I love Christmas time and I am so glad I get to spend the next 4 days with Dan!!!

Tiny in a box...

Pug Brother

I so want to get this for Ava...

A Christmas Pug

Well we tried... it failed, but funny none the less!
Happy 8 month birthday to Tiny thou!

She finally kicked Dan!

Sunday was my mom's birthday and also the day Dan finally felt Ava kick! I have been feeling her kick my hand for a few weeks now every so often but she has gotten a lot stronger in the past week! Not to mention at 11:45pm on Saturday I talked Dan into taking me to Wendy's because I really really wanted a burger... bad I know.

So she was going nuts after Wendy's so I went and got Dan (he was watching a movie at midnight) and told him to come try and see if she would kick him. Normally when he tries she stops kicking and moving. I was happy that within a minute or so of laying there and drinking some ice water she kicked him 3 times in a row and he felt it!

I have less than 13 weeks to go now. I feel like I am in my 3rd trimester since my pregnancy will only be 39 weeks and that divides down quite nicely into 3 sets, but technically it doesn't start till Sunday once I hit 27 weeks. I have been feeling really good and haven't been sick since Thanksgiving weekend!

Just for fun... how my belly has changed by the end of each trimester so far! I can't wait to add the 39 week picture at the end of this!

2D & 3D Ultrasound

This first picture is of the TV screen but I can't help myself! I think she is so cute and I adore her little lips and nose!

25 Weeks

I had Dan take this picture tonight. When he showed it to me on the camera I had a little freak out and told him to take another one because there was no way my stomach had gotten that big... he looked at me like "another picture is going to change it?" He humored me and I indeed have a belly this big.

Its okay, I don't know why it surprises me cause I definitely feel it when I am lying down, walking around, sitting... pretty much all the time. Glad we have made it to 25 weeks! We officially have 99 days till delivery day as long as everything goes as planned and she doesn't decide to come earlier. I am praying that we make it to March 15th!

Kempton Family Christmas

Tonight was my mom's family's Christmas party down in Florence, Az. My grandma said there were 81 people there (85 if you count a step cousin and his family that snuck in and out the last 5 minutes during clean up)

Somehow I got wrangled into doing the announcing for the family white elephant exchange. Making a pregnant woman stand for that long is wrong! I ended up making my little cousin get me a chair cause I was dying.

I guess little is not a good word for her anymore! I was 11 when she was born and she is 12 now... 12 and officially taller than me! I am excited that she will be able to be around our baby girl at about the same age I was at when I helped take care of her!

Carley and I

Dan almost got wrangled into being Santa Claus, but something happened, then it was going to be my brother Chris, then that failed and I guess they nominated Brett to be Santa. Brett did an awesome job.

It was fun on the car ride home listening to some of the things the kids wanted for Christmas. Little kids are so cute! One of the kids asked for another horse, and one wanted more cows?! He said one of the little girls asked for a nutcracker!? So cute.

Dan squishing Santa
Brett and Meredith
Harrison and Kirk!

Yay for strollers and car seats

Never thought I would be so excited about a stroller and a car seat! But they are here and it was super easy to put together! I had seen this set in the store but liked it even more when I had it home and could read through the manual and figure out what it can do. It's magical! haha.

There was a tear in the mesh on the basket underneath so we are waiting for 10% back from Babies R Us and the replacement basket from Graco. The price ended up coming back even (actually we saved 5 cents...) The whole system is in my car right now because I wanted to see if it fit alright, and I was too lazy to bring it back in :)

Yay its December

I am so excited that it is December! When I got pregnant I told myself, once I got to the holidays time would just fly by. I cannot believe its been 5 months since we found out I was pregnant and almost 2 months since we found out she's a girl! It has gone by quick.

My morning sickness has finally left me! I no longer feel sick all day long and have only gotten sick 2 times a week for the past 2 weeks from eating out. I always remember people saying their morning sickness would go away at 12 weeks/2nd trimester. For me I guess it was 24 weeks and nearly the 3rd trimester.

Today we get to find out of our very first niece or nephew is indeed a niece or a nephew! Dan's brother Matt and his wife Kandace are due a month after us and I cannot wait to find out if our little girl will be getting a little girl cousin or little boy cousin!!!

Baby Gear

We were not planning on buying any big items for the baby this weekend or even really till January, but some good deals came up that we just couldn't resist! We ordered her stroller, car seat, crib and we found a used pack n play that's in great condition for a steal!

The crib won't get here till the end of January, but that's okay. We ordered it through a really nice little boutique in Mesa. I was really happy we went through this lady because she was so honest with us about the different cribs, she wasn't just trying to "sell" us something. She was genuine about which cribs have caused problems and told us which cribs she won't even order for parents anymore because of safety issues, even though the companies keep selling those styles/cribs! I can't wait to get the crib here and start setting up her room.

It took me forever today to figure out how to set up a pack n play... It was a work out. Shows you how unfit I am! My mom saw the pack n play and was surprised it was used because it looks new. Turns out the pack n play and the travel system we bought are both navy and light blue. Not to mention her bedding is red, yellow and blue. We will put lots of bows and pink on her so she can still be girly!

I'll post pictures of her crib with bedding and also her stroller once they get here! But today my achievement was putting together her pack n play! (ignore the fact that the canopy is so low, I figured out after how to stick it up higher...) It also comes with a changer thing too that sets up on top. :)

Thanks!

I don't know if I have ever had a Thanksgiving where I have been quite as grateful and thankful as I am this year. I remind myself sometimes that moving to Arizona hasn't gone according to the plan I had in my head, but I have to say in a lot of ways its better, even thou it may not always seem like it.

We have a lot of blessings to be thankful for this year and I hope that many family's around the nation are feeling that as well this season. With the increased hard times that people are going through with money, jobs and the economy, I hope it can bring families closer together rather than tear then apart.

I am so thankful for a loving husband who is so sweet to me and for our daughter, who I cannot wait to meet! I am thankful for the gospel in our home, as it has brought a peace to our hearts and faith that we can do all things that may seem impossible! I am also really thankful for a nice 4 day weekend with Daniel. 2 day weekends are never enough!

March 15th

At this morning's appointment, we scheduled our c-section for March 15th! It feels a little strange to know when she will be coming if all goes as planned. But it will also be nice to have her that day because it's the first day of my Mom's spring break, so she will be able to be around that whole week :) It's a week before our due date though, so I get a couple more ultrasounds to make sure she is growing on track and doing well before they deliver her. Less than 4 months now!

Tiny are you mad at me?

Neutered Tiny

We had Tiny neutered on Tuesday. When I called the vet to set up his appointment, I asked how long it would take for him to recover from the surgery... the lady told me 24 hours, so I thought "GREAT!" That's easy enough...

Well we took him in and the surgery was quick and I got to come back later in the day to pick him up and they informed me that he needed to stay calm and not jump and play for about 2 weeks... "WHAT" you expect me to not let my crazy pug play for 2 weeks... What happened to 24 hours!?
To say the least he has been so difficult in the last 3 days, a nightmare of sorts. He hates wearing the cone on his head and is doing his best to try and destroy it. He wakes up anytime between 3:30 and 5 in the morning and is ready to go. I however am not.

I realized this week that my morning sickness is about 10x worse when something stressful is going on and I am not sleeping well. It was bad the week Dan had the flu and its been bad this week with Tiny. I am thankful for everyday that passes since his surgery and am ready for the next week to go by.

20 Weeks

So happy to be at the half way point! Its getting really hard to get out of low chairs and couches and cars. As of my last OB visit on Thursday I am up 4 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I lost weight during my first trimester so I feel like I am up a lot more than 4 but that's what they count.

I still am experiencing morning sickness but I have to remind myself it is better than it was a month ago and a month ago was better than the month before! I can't believe we are already at the start of November! I have a lot of things I need to get done and out of the way quick!

2 years since we got engaged

I cannot believe its been 2 years since we got engaged!? Dan is an amazing husband and I already know he will be a wonderful father! I am so thankful for all the experiences we have gone through together and that we were able to get sealed in June and will now be sealed as a family forever! Means so much to me that I will always have him and our children!October 2007

March 2008

May 2008

August 2008

May 2009

July 2009