32 Weeks

This week marks week 32, yeah!! That means we have 8 more weeks to go before we can finally meet our baby girl, we are very excited for that day to come. I could do without the 100 plus temperatures in Austin, the heat makes it very uncomfortable and as you can see in the picture I have a lot of swelling in my legs and ankles. My feet are always swollen and fat and my toes look like baby sausages, it is getting increasingly difficult to find a comfortable position to sleep, so my nights are spent tossing and turning. Other than those minor complaints I am doing well and am willing to endure for another 8 weeks to deliver a healthy baby girl. Keep an eye on our Blog for more pictures from our trip to Utah including a surprise baby shower my Mom and Sister's threw me while we were in town. Now that we have returned from vacation we hope to make progress on the baby's room and post pictures as well.

New Do's

While we were in Utah Hannah and Jessica had their hair cut, Hannah's is somewhat similar to her last hair cut but this is actually only phase one, she decided when she got home to go a little shorter. I will post a picture of her even shorter haircut a bit later, but for now I thought you might want to see their cute new do's. Jessica had some highlights done as well, I love her with more blonde, Hannah wanted to color her hair darker but I love her natural highlights and said NO! I know I am a party pooper, I am biased but I think they look amazing.

My Little Fisherman

Houston had the chance to go fishing with his Dad and Grandpa while we were in Utah, unfortunately they did not catch any fish but they had fun spending the day together. While the boys went fishing the girls went shopping, I know what a surprise. We had a wonderful time together taking our Mom shopping for her belated Mother's Day gifts.

How Long Does It Take to Get to Utah??

Houston taking a nap in between trips back and forth to the airport, how sweet.

One of a few scrabble games while at the airport, thank goodness for that.

How I felt about being at the airport for the 3rd day in a row "DONE"

What could be better than Amy's Ice Cream after a long day?

We had the opportunity to visit Utah the past two weeks, given the fact that I am VERY pregnant and experience a lot of swelling in my feet if I sit for or walk for long periods of time we decided to fly rather than drive. So how long does it take to get to Utah? Well the answer is it takes around 23 hours to drive and 2 1/2 hours to fly, unless of course you are flying standby in which case it takes 4 days. Allow me to explain, my dad retired from Delta and he still has flight benefits that also benefit us, the kids can travel on buddy passes which is a lot cheaper than buying full price tickets. We wanted to leave on Saturday but Chad had meetings on Monday so we decided that the kids and I would fly standby on Saturday and we purchased Chad a ticket on Frontier to leave Monday night. There are two direct flights a day to Utah the first at 6:23am and the second at 2:10pm, lets just say that the kids and I had several early mornings. On Saturday we were bumped from both flights, on Sunday there were two seats available so I decided to send Jessica and Houston. At the last minute a paying passenger ran up to the gate and Houston lost his seat, Jessica went on to Utah without us. We returned to the airport on Monday, with only one seat left I could only send Hannah as I needed to stay with Houston. Chad had meetings which meant that Houston and I had to spend the entire day at the airport. The pictures above chronicle some of our very long day, thank goodness there is food, and tables and chairs and we had a travel scrabble game. Chad came to the airport to catch his flight at which point he gave me the car and Houston and I headed home with a plan to return to the airport on Tuesday to try again. As of Monday night everyone was in Utah except Houston and I, while it was disappointing Houston was a trooper and did not complain too much. We enjoyed our time together and had fun.

We returned to the airport bright and early on Tuesday morning, HURRAY we finally made it on the morning flight and even had seats in first class. Normally I would say that's not a big deal but after spending 4 days at the airport I was very happy to be in the comforts of first class, have additional leg room, bigger seats and most importantly FOOD! Houston was very excited to finally be going to Utah, to be reunited with our family and to see his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. All went smoothly with our trip up until the last 40 minutes of our flight. I started to feel very nauseous, followed by hot, heart racing, ringing in the ears and knew I was about to pass out. I told Houston that I may pass out and then realized he may not know what to do. I pushed the stewardess call button and told the stewardess what was about to happen, with slurred words I felt myself pass out. It only lasted for a matter of seconds but felt like several minutes, I came too and asked the stewardess if he could get me a cold cloth for my neck. I put the cloth on my neck, took deep breaths and with Houston holding my hand to make sure I was OK began to feel better. One of the passengers sitting in front of me asked a few times if I was OK and even asked if I wanted a blessing. It was very sweet of him to see my need and be willing to offer his help, I found myself feeling a great deal of gratitude for the blessings of the Priesthood. Gratefully I began to feel much better, they asked if there was a Doctor or Nurse on board and unfortunately there was not. The stewardess asked if I needed medical personnel to meet the flight, I told them I was fine and it was not necessary. Before the plane landed the stewardess informed me that the Pilot knew I was expecting and would require me to meet Paramedics when we landed. This situation went from being very scary to being somewhat embarrassing, when we landed they asked all the passengers to stay seated so that paramedics could assist a passenger that is not feeling well. Fortunately they got on the plane quickly, assessed the situation and allowed me to walk to the end of the Jetway and off to the side to be evaluated. They monitored my vital signs and made sure I was OK. Everything checked out, my blood pressure was a little elevated but other than that I was fine. After feeling confident that I was out of danger, and following some instructions to go to the hospital if this occurred again or if I started to have contractions I was allowed to go. This was quite an ordeal and something I hope I never have to go through again, needless to say despite the number of days it took to get there I was very grateful to arrive in Utah and be with my family again.

Another Milestone

I am happy to have reached another important milestone in my pregnancy, I finally passed the 28 week mark and as of Monday June 8th will begin week 29. Only 11 weeks left which does not seem like a lot but I am sure will feel like a lot in the Austin heat and humidity. I had my 28 week appointment on Friday and enjoyed drinking the yummy glucose drink for the gestational diabetes test, had my Rhogham shot because I am RH negative and had the pleasure of having my blood drawn for further thyroid testing. Despite the not so fun part all is going well, my blood pressure was great, the baby's heartbeat was strong, she is moving a lot and my measurement is right on target. The only concern is the swelling I experience in my ankles which seems to be consistent and ongoing. So far my Doctor said there is nothing to worry about and not much I can do about it, it will get worse before it gets better (just what I want to hear). I need to do a better job of resting and elevating my feet when I can, I am hopeful that it will not turn into a problem and I will go to my due date still being able to work. I guess only time will tell. I may not blog for a few weeks, we are going to Utah to visit family for two weeks. We were supposed to leave Saturday June 6th, we are flying stand by with my Dad's flight benefits with Delta. After two trips to the airport on Saturday and one today we were only able to get Jessica on a flight. Hannah, Houston and I are going to try again this afternoon Chad has a ticket to fly out on Monday night and will hopefully meet us there (if the three of us ever make it on a flight). I hope that everyone is enjoying the end of school and the beginning of summer.

Teamwork, and Congratulations to Jessica, Hannah and Houston

The Patriots 2009

Houston and Coach Shawn and Coach Jeff

Hannah modeling her new Letterman jacket

The back says "Lil Full" her sister played Varsity last year and was called "Fuller"

The Superbowl was last Saturday and was the end to the Patriots season, while they lost the game the team had nothing to be ashamed of. They worked hard in every game, their teamwork was amazing, they were supportive of one another, and always cheered their teammates on win or loose, they are all winners in my book. Now that flag football is over it is time to decide if Houston will play tackle football in the fall, I have mixed feelings about it, of course his Dad is all for it and Houston seems to be excited about it as well. Houston is excited that school is over for the summer, he will miss his wonderful teacher Ms. Snyder and his classmates but is ready for a much needed break. He did very well in 3rd grade, he had straight A's and perfect attendance, we are very proud of him.

Hannah is also looking forward to summer and school being out, it will be a busy summer with EFY, Girls Camp, Soccer Camp and Driver's Education (YIKES!). She had a very successful Freshman year maintaining an all A average while playing on the Varsity Soccer team. She also lettered in soccer this year and is now the proud owner of her first Letterman jacket. I may be biased but I think she looks adorable in it. We are so proud of all that Hannah accomplished this year, it was a great start to her High School years.

Jessica completed her first year of College at the University of Utah, she took a few general ed. classes such as math and writing and had a couple of Architecture classes as well. So far she is still very excited about her major and is looking forward to learning more and doing more hands on projects. She did very well and received the honor of being on the Dean's list, we are very proud of her accomplishments and transition into adulthood. She is learning responsibility and working hard, she attends the singles ward, fulfills her calling and is looking forward to going on a Mission. Jessica made the choice to take summer classes at the U to allow her the opportunity to stay home in Texas for the Fall Semester to be here for her sister's birth and to help out. We look forward to having her home from mid August until after Christmas.