The Fentriss Family

Halloween + Pumpkinville

2011-10-28T15:44:00.004-06:00

Alex is ready for Trunk or Treat at church!

Also added some pics from when we went to Pumpkinville, NY.

Buffalo Sabres Hockey Game Sep. 19, 2011

2011-09-19T20:47:00.003-06:00

Dixie and I went to a Sabres preseason game tonight. They won 3-1 against Carolina, and we had lots of fun. Although Alex didn't go, he played at home with his own mini-Sabres stick. He says "hockey," "hockey" all the time, playing with his dadda. Here, he's also decked out in his Cars garb!

Our Summer 2011

2011-09-19T20:38:00.007-06:00

This summer we had lots of fun: we went to Fantasy Island Amusement Park, where Alex got to ride rides and visit animals; we went to our pool here and swam in the sun; and we celebrated Fourth of July by camping out to watch fireworks.

like father-like son

2011-06-07T08:31:00.002-06:00

The Gra-Nanas

2011-06-07T08:07:00.004-06:00

We had a fabulous time with my mom and Cindy a couple of weeks ago. They came up for a weekend and we had so much fun! We went shopping, antiquing, saw Wicked, went to Lake Ontario, went to Niagara Falls and still had time to play games, go to church and relax. I can't believed we packed so much into two days!

Lake Ontario was beautiful but it was very foggy and drizzly the day we went. It created a strange effect that was a little...erie (hah! no pun intended).

Wicked was amazing...the story is wonderful, the music is spectacular and the theater was beautiful. I couldn't capture the grandeur with my little cell phone camera so I stole a picture from google. There are some things that I love about living in a big city.

Florida.

2011-06-07T07:36:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we made a spontaneous little trip to Florida to see Ben's dad. We splashed in the pool (we couldn't keep Alex out!), walked on the beach and little dock, and even visited a little alligator sanctuary where Ben faced his fear and touched an alligator. It was a short trip but we got some much needed sunshine.

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T20:43:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful weekend. We played and ate lots of chocolate and made Alex sit on a creepy bunny's lap.

We also feed the missionaries in our ward every Sunday- including Easter! They are such good sports about my so-so cooking skills. They're really boosting my confidence. I even tried gravy yesterday (albeit it was from a packet. HA!). We all dyed Easter eggs and we sent pictures of the missionaries to their families through my phone.

Alex had a great time eating lots of chocolate and then having a complete meltdown when I took it away. We rarely give him candy and after yesterday's experience, he won't be getting any more any time soon.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I am grateful for such a special holiday and all of the blessings that atonement of Christ brings into my life. HAPPY EASTER!

ps. I also got called and set apart as the 1st counselor in the Young Women's presidency yesterday! Girls camp round 5 here I come!!

Hockey Playoffs

2011-04-14T13:47:00.004-06:00

We are getting ready to watch the hometown Buffalo Sabres game tonight. - Ben and Alex

to Rochester we go!

2011-04-10T11:06:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we packed up the family and headed to Rochester to a J. Ruben Clark Society fireside. The J. Ruben Clark Society is a society for LDS lawyers and law students. New York has a pretty small chapter but we got to meet some other LDS families in the area that were experiencing a lot of the same things we are. Ben did some networking, I did some chatting with the wives and Alex did some climbing and kamikaze diving off the stage!

We have decided that we both really like the city of Rochester and the smaller communities surrounding it. It reminds us both of Richmond. We parked the car and walked around a little town that has the Erie canal running parallel with the main street. There were neat little stores and restaurants that were in restored granaries and silos.

Every time we head towards Rochester we make sure to stop at our favorite burger place- Five Guys! I am happy to say that Alex loved it as much as we did (he also liked dancing to the oldies they played). My mouth is still watering over my cheeseburger that disappeared way too fast.

Once we got to the church building where the fireside was being held we had a few extra minutes so we drove right across the street to a great playground! We discovered Alex is afraid of walking on grass and hates the swing! As the weather gets warmer and we start spending more time outside I'm hoping this problem will resolve itself.

We liked Rochester so much that it has become a potential job hunting location when the time comes. For now, Ben has accepted a summer internship in a human rights office in Rochester. So he will have a little ways to drive two days a week but it's an exciting step in the right direction!

a labor of love

2011-03-14T21:07:00.004-06:00

My very first quilt. It has over 1200 pieces and has taken me a loooong time to get the quilt top pieced. My goal is to finish the hand quilting by the 22nd of this month.

catch up

2011-03-14T20:33:00.003-06:00

Alex had his first day in Nursery two weeks ago. He did great. The day was pretty uneventful (thankfully) other than Alex eating everyone else's snack after he finished his own.
We tried taking some pictures but he was really sad that morning.

We did manage to get one good one at the last minute.

2011-02-28T16:40:00.004-07:00

We built Alex's first fort today. He loved it.

We spent a long time saying "one, two three" and then falling into the mound of pillows. He loved it so much that he's been walking around the house saying "uh, uh, see" and then falling where ever he is, pillows or not. Funny boy.

good morning einstein

2011-02-16T08:02:00.004-07:00

hello again.

2011-02-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends and fellow bloggers have made it their New Year's resolution to update their blog more. And while that wasn't one of my goals, I've been a little inspired to keep up just a little better.
SO, on that note, let me fill you in on our current lives. Ben is in the middle of his second semester of law school. He is doing well and likes it for the most part (yay!). He occasionally tries to explain things he's learning about but it's so beyond my scope of understanding and interest that I literally don't retain a word of what he says. So I can't tell you what he's studying or what he's learning. You'll just have to ask him.
I spend a lot of time at home with Alex but I also work part time at The Gap. Although The Gap isn't a long-term job, it definitely serves its purpose- it gets me out of the house, meeting new people and making a little extra money.
We're also having a lot of fun exploring our new city. We try to find something new to do about every week. So far we've found some great little parts of the city and some not-so-great parts. We've discovered some really yummy restaurants (mmmmm Chinese food...) and some great stores. Ben even went ANTIQUING with me last weekend!! Not only that, but he actually asked me if we could go! It was such a momentous occasion I even brought my camera.

This mall, as well as another one in the area is HUGE. It goes on forever.

Ben did end up buying something for himself! We also got his mom a mother's day present.

Christmas Morning

2010-12-29T10:49:00.002-07:00

We are obviously enjoying our new mini video camera. Are you sick of hearing my voice yet?

I love

2010-12-29T08:26:00.002-07:00

his laugh.
And now you can too.

uh oh

2010-12-07T11:52:00.003-07:00

He fell right into his basket from his chair and decided to just lay there for a while. I had just gotten a new (free) digital video camera in the mail and I didn't realize I was videotaping sideways. It was pretty cute.

a time of firsts.

2010-11-13T08:18:00.005-07:00

After weeks of walking while holding on with one hand and crawling on his hands and feet (not knees) Alex FINALLY took his first steps. We thought the day would never come. Up until now he has been too afraid to move when we let go. So he would stand frozen and slowly lower himself to the floor. We knew he could do it if he would just give it a try and he finally did. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures. After the first few steps he decided that nose diving was the new cool thing to do.

With the season of family pictures coming up we decided it was time for Alex to have his first real haircut. Yes, that's right, we cut off the mullet.

Doesn't he look terrified in this picture? He just sat there with this horrified expression on his face the whole time. The only time he moved was when the hairstylist touched his ears and then he would have a little freak out.

Here are a few pictures from the trim he got from his Auntie Mychael-Ann over the summer and a few more just for fun.

the completed quiet book.

2010-10-26T08:58:00.002-06:00

Although I actually finished Alex's book in time for his birthday (two months ago), I thought it was about time I put some pictures up. There are a lot of great quiet books circulating the blog world. This is a bit of a conglomeration of a few of my favorites and some of my own ideas.
If you haven't already, check out http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/ . I used some of her ideas but not her templates. I wanted to tweak a few things here and there to make it just right.

The outer cover is 12" x 12" and the pages are 11" x 11.5".

I love this page because it's made out of the same fabric that I used for Alex's actual window treatments.

The bear came from an old pacifier clip!

This is Ben's favorite page, of course.

This may be my favorite page. I used an old scrap of silk from a previous project for the water and it gives a great water effect. Most of the fish came from a template from The Purl Bee (http://purlbee.squarespace.com/felt-aquarium-magnets/). However the shark and boat (along with the pizza, window, and bear pages) are from my own templates.

I was a little worried that after all was said and done, Alex wouldn't be too interested. BUT he actually really loves it- especially the fish page. I'm so happy to have it done!!

My New Life

2010-10-21T09:06:00.005-06:00

Have you heard of Stephanie Nielsen? She is an LDS blogger that was in a plane crash a few years ago and survived. Her story is pretty remarkable and the clip is so worth watching.

09.09.09

2010-09-15T17:23:00.004-06:00

Our ONE year old in his ultra messy room.

I wish everyone could know Alex and all of the funny little things he does.
He's such a well behaved baby.
He quietly plays with his toys or reads to himself. He takes two long naps a day and sometimes sleeps in (until 8:30 this morning!) He eats pretty much anything we give him and has the greatest sense of humor I've ever seen in a baby his age.

We think he's a pretty great one year old.

2010-08-19T19:07:00.003-06:00

This kid is funny. And I mean funny.

He loves having his picture taken and poses for the camera if the flash goes off.
He pushes us away when we try to snuggle or hug him.
He screams when we kiss him.
He has a particularly low giggle when he thinks he is doing something naughty.
He thinks its funny when we say no (even though we never laugh).
He loves (LOVES) Mickey Mouse. Seriously. LOVES Mickey Mouse.
He loves books and reads to himself all the time.
He chases Loki around the house (but hates kisses from him too).

He keeps us busy, entertained and laughing all day.

Niagara Falls.

2010-08-19T18:45:00.003-06:00

Things have been crazy the last few weeks but just to catch everyone up...we graduated, packed up our little home in small town Rexburg and moved across country to big city Niagara Falls/Buffalo. Now we're almost done unpacking and getting settled. We are living on Grand Island which is just about 4 miles south of Niagara Falls in the Niagara River. So far, it's been a great little community and our ward has been especially wonderful. The bishop even let us shower at his house for 4 days until our electricity and hot water were turned on.
During our move we had help from Ben's friend, Mike, and my nephew, Jeremy. They were awesome! We couldn't have done it without them and Jeremy is just the GREATEST babysitter of all time. As a small thank you we took them out to eat and to see the falls. And I must say, the falls totally lived up to my expectations.

be kind. rewind.

2010-07-04T17:24:00.006-06:00

With all of the crazy stuff going on lately we have sadly neglected to blog. So to catch everyone up on the last month or so we...

threw Ben a 25th birthday party. Spiderman themed, of course.

In preparation for the party, Alex and I did a little art project. We present Alex's first paintings!

Alex decided the paintbrush looked like a yummy snack just as I was taking the picture.

And he was sooo sad I wouldn't let him ingest liquid plastic.

I also got to take a little trip to San Francisco and saw so many great things. Unfortunately, Ben and Alex had to stay in chilly Rexburg while I walked around sunny California.

I spent a lot of time in Chinatown and ate the BEST Chinese food I've ever had.

My cousin Marisa lives in San Francisco and I was so lucky to get to spend the evening with her!

The whole point of going to San Francisco was to see art, and here's a little sample of what I got to see.

The next post will probably be from Buffalo, NY written by a college graduate!

my happy boy.

2010-05-24T17:09:00.006-06:00

Who can get enough pictures of a laughing baby?

Alex LOVES Loki

And the feeling is mutual (most of the time).

Quiet Book

2010-05-24T16:55:00.004-06:00

For Mother's Day Ben got me a brand new Brother sewing machine which I LOVE. I think about coming home to my Brother all day and go to sleep thinking about what I'm going to sew the next day. Right now I am working on a quiet book for Alex. Most of the pages have been hand sewn but the cover was sewn with my machine (yay!) and I thought it was worthy of a post.

The first page has been my favorite so far. Not because it is all that exciting but because it looks exactly like Alex's actual window. The fabric for the "valance" and curtain is the leftover from the fabric I made Alex's actual window treatments out of. They also pull the same way.

I am very excited to share more pages soon!

It's official.

2010-04-21T19:10:00.007-06:00

We are officially going to Buffalo, New York! Ben will be attending the law school at New York State University at Buffalo.

So far everyone we've told has said something like, "you guys must really love the cold". Well we don't. I've been pretty worried about things like road conditions, getting out to walk our dogs, and overall safety. However, I've found some encouragement from some pictures of Buffalo I found online.

It looks like they keep their roadways nice and plowed.

Walking the dogs looks like it won't be a problem either.

And why should I worry about someone breaking in when they'd have to shovel ten feet of snow just to get to the door?

Overall I think Buffalo is a great fit for us and I really (truly) am very excited to start the next chapter of our lives.

Florida

2010-04-19T20:15:00.003-06:00

Ben, Alex and I spent our week vacation visiting Ben's dad in Florida. We hit the beach, the aquarium and some really good restaurants. Alex liked the aquarium, but he was just a little too young to be captivated. He did like to watch the fish swim right in front of him though.
Alex LOVED the sponge and of course immediately tried to put it in is mouth. ewww.

The alligator vs. Ben (he wouldn't get too close even with the glass separating them).

I love this picture.

We were in a hurry when we got Alex's swim diapers and when we got home we realized that not only were they pink, they also had the little mermaid on them!

The first time the water touched Alex's feet he screamed, but Ben and I love the beach too much to be thwarted by a few tears. We kept dipping him in until he decided he was okay.

pictures of the boy.

2010-03-30T12:57:00.001-06:00

He bounces himself to sleep...

After swimming for the first time...

One day before school we decided to do a quick photo shoot on our front porch...

It was going pretty well until this...

And when we changed him he turned into our little hillbilly...

but what a cute hillbilly...

a few of my favorite things...

2010-03-03T12:08:00.003-07:00

So Ben posted some pictures from Christmas but left out some of my favorites.
There is only one recent one of Alex (sorry grandmas!).

This is from just a few days ago.

Law Schools, Music

2010-02-02T16:45:00.002-07:00

I recently got into the University of South Carolina, making me 6 for 6 with 2 more to hear from!

To celebrate, check out an awesome French band, Phoenix. They recently won a grammy; you've probably heard their song from a certain car commercial.

Here

The Holidays

2010-01-28T14:55:00.004-07:00

Alex's first Christmas

Alex and his cousin Grace

Alex and his aunt Haley at Christmas dinner

Aunt Haley, Alex's Nana

Me and my boy Mike - Christmas Edition

Alex's cousins Noah, Gwen, and Ryan (I may have started this pillow fight. Maybe.)

Alex thinks Uncle Cameron looks nice

Until he tries to eat him!

Alex and me, chillin' Yuletide style

The Fentriss Headquarters with some festive snow

We're buds

Too cute to leave out

This was Halloween (another holiday). Forgot to post it!

More pictures will come (Dixie's take on the Holidays). - Ben

Alex's Experiences with Rice Cereal and The Beach Boys

2010-01-28T14:26:00.005-07:00

(Alex with cousin Jacob)

Alex needs to be sung to constantly. What can I say? He loves music - just like his daddy. If I don't sing "Fly Me to the Moon" to him after I turn the lights out, he'll refuse to go to sleep. Since he was born, Beach Boys' songs have been the most popular with him. Below is our own version of "California Girls":

The California girls are fake with their dyed blond hair and their tans
And the Texas girls, well you'd have to speak Espanol to hold their hands
The New York girls are different and they might come off as mean
And the Idaho girls, I'm going to tell you straight, they'll want your baby at fifteen

So I wish they all could be Virginia girls
I wish they all could be Virginia girls
I wish they all could be Virginia girls

We've started feeding Alex some solids. Here he is eating some rice cereal for the first time a week or so ago.

He likes it. Really.
-Ben

Grandma

2010-01-28T13:59:00.002-07:00

My grandmother passed away recently. She was a smart, great woman who I loved to talk with. Below is a little bit more about her.

MOWBRAY, Joan Copeland Fentriss, of Chesterfield, went to be with her Heavenly Father on January 12, 2010. Joan was born in Long Island, New York on February 7, 1931. She was preceded in death by her parents, Dorothy MacCallum Copeland and Carroll Pray Copeland; her brother, John Copeland; and her grandson, Stephen R. Fentriss Jr. Joan leaves behind to cherish her memory her husband of 31 years, Claude Robert Mowbray; her children, Stephen R. Fentriss (Patty), Laurence C. Fentriss, Cynthia F. Luck (Mike); her daughter-in-law, Cynthia B. Fentriss; her grandchildren, Shelly (Scott), Kristen (Andy), Ben (Dixie), Haley (Cameron) and Megan; her great-grandchildren, Brooke, Julia, Jacob and Alexander; her stepchildren, Glenn Mowbray, Claudia Wilson and Chris Mowbray (Marie); stepgrandchildren, Chad, Ryan, Christa, Steven, Alex and Scott; and her stepgreat-grandchild, Camden. Her family will receive friends 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Bliley's- Chippenham, 6900 Hull Street Rd., where a funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday. Interment will follow at 2 p.m. at Scottsville Cemetery in Scottsville, Va. Joan attended Averett College and the University of Richmond. She was a former vice-president of the Trust Department at Suntrust Bank, from where she retired. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had many devoted friends from her church family. Thank you for your love and support. She was a devoted wife, mom, grandma and great-grandma. She leaves us with many life lessons and treasured memories. Special thanks to the many caregivers, Janet, Louise, Emily, Jenny and many other friends that cared for Joan before and during her illness. In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to either hospice or the Alzheimer's Association to whom the family is very grateful for their support.

The End of a Decade

2009-12-10T11:16:00.012-07:00

If Dixie can blog about Twilight, then I can add my two cents on some good films. As anyone who knows us realizes, we love, love, love movies. Now that the decade is coming to a close, here are, in my opinion, the highlights:

10. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

9. Big Fish

8. Garden State

7. Batman Begins

6. The Prestige

5. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

4. Juno

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

2. Donnie Darko

1. The Dark Knight

Smile for the Camera

2009-12-09T19:36:00.006-07:00

Unfortunately, none of these pictures are current. I promise to get some new ones up soon. Until then...

Alex's baby blessing.

I found Ben and Alex napping on the floor together one afternoon.

Grandma Cindy (or Nana, we aren't sure yet).

Gotta have that naked baby picture. His little bum is so darn cute.

Grandpa Larry, Ben and Alex.

Another acceptance

2009-12-07T19:24:00.002-07:00

The University at Buffalo just accepted me and offered a $5000 scholarship. I'm now 3 for 3, with 5 left. Let the decision process begin!

Very Good News

2009-12-07T12:52:00.004-07:00

As many of you know Ben applied to law schools this fall and we are eagerly waiting to hear from them. This week we got acceptance letters to our two safety schools, Stetson Law- in Tampa, FL and Franklin Pierce Law School in Concord, New Hampshire. Stetson's acceptance letter came with a 10,000$ scholarship offer and just today Ben got another scholarship offer from Franklin Pierce - the Dean's scholarship, for 28,000$ a year! We are still waiting to hear back from University of North Carolina, Penn State, Wake Forest (NC), South Carolina U, Quinnipiac (CT), and Buffalo State. Am I married to a smarty or what?!

Movie Recommend: 500 Days of Summer

2009-11-13T12:25:00.002-07:00

Rarely do we divulge from news about Alex, and why would we want to? Here's a review I wrote for school though - a movie I'd highly recommend. More news on Alex soon enough.

Review: 500 Days of Summer

The romantic comedy is a genre that has been heavily criticized in the last few decades, most critics wondering why the classic brilliance of films like “His Girl Friday” and “The Philadelphia Story” is absent. Ironically, it is “500 Days of Summer”, a romantic comedy that warns in the opening credits that “it is not a love story”, that might rejuvenate the genre.

“500 Days of Summer” examines 21st-Century American love, a love that is a hybrid between romance and the products of the entertainment industry. Tom Hansen (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the pop cultural-guru average joe – a man raised on the unrealistic ideals of love presented by movies and pop songs. Like so many other men growing up in today’s media-centered world, true love is about soul mates and fairytale endings.

Summer (played by Zooey Deschanel) is a 21st-century gal – a product of an emotionally-crippling divorce culture, full of cynicism and bitterness towards love. Summer crushes Tom’s pop song notions of romance, while Tom tries to validate storybook love to the non-converted Summer, claiming, “It’s love, not Santa Claus.” As opposites, Summer and Tom naturally find interest in each other – a romantic comedy cliche. But as the credits forewarned, “it is not a love story;” the cliches end as quickly as Summer and Tom’s relationship, and that’s when things become most intriguing.

Through unconventional story-telling methods, Tom’s 21st-century ideals on love are analyzed. With non-linear storytelling, the tale of Summer and Tom travels back and forth, exploring the initial sparks of romance to the beginning of the breakup. Perhaps most innovative is the way the film reveals Tom’s inner thoughts. A daydream with a song and dance number is played for laughs; a split screen approach, one side of the screen showing Tom’s expectations while the other side shows reality, is more heartbreaking.

The story‘s focus is not Summer, nor Summer and Tom – it’s just Tom. It’s a reflection on the effects of a nation fed unrealistic expectations of love by MTV and Hollywood. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a brilliant up-and-coming actor, is magic as he tours the laughs of a new romance and the soul-harrowing void of loving someone who no longer loves you back. And maybe, in the end, he’s even the optimism that true love isn’t a complete farce, regardless of the heart-breaking “Summers” of the world.

Videos

2009-10-18T19:28:00.005-06:00

Alex's 1st Video Part 1 of 2

Alex's 1st Video Part 2 of 2

Loki (An old video, never before published)

Yummy Apple Cobbler

2009-10-13T13:27:00.000-06:00

Baked to perfection.

maternity photos

2009-09-21T11:12:00.000-06:00

My wonderful friend Sharlee (Tobermanphotography.blogspot.com) took great pictures of me and Ben while I was pregnant. I am so grateful to have good (and talented) friends!

We LOVE Alex

2009-09-15T07:55:00.000-06:00

Alex!

2009-09-11T21:18:00.001-06:00

Here's another pic - my personal favorite. More to come though!

Alexander Fentriss

2009-09-10T15:19:00.000-06:00

Alex was born 9/09/09 at 9:20! He was 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long. With lots of blonde-tipped hair and good health, we're happy to present this cute guy to the world.

We've taken lots of pictures, but here's a quick one taken from my computer. More pictures and info to follow.

-Ben

P.S. - Dixie is my hero; she was great in labor.

2009-08-23T18:35:00.000-06:00

For all you Twi-hards out there (yes you Cindy).

And for everyone that has watched the New Moon trailer one too many times...

2009-08-21T17:45:00.000-06:00

Well the time is getting closer and closer and yet feels SO far away. We went for our usual check up this week and the doctor estimated that the baby would weigh 9-10 lbs if I go full term! Yikes! Apparently I've been measuring quite large for a while. We're hoping that I will go into labor early on my own but I haven't had any contractions (no not even one!!). I am scheduled for an ultrasound to get a more firm estimation of the size and I may have to be induced early.
In the meantime...Ben and I are busy painting, hanging curtains and moving furniture (and I'm doing LOTS of sewing) to finish getting ready for baby Alex to be here. We just recently got a Moby wrap (a baby carrier/sling) and I had Ben try it out since it didn't quite fit me. Loki played the part of baby Alex. He had me laughing pretty hard.

22nd Birthday

2009-07-29T21:03:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I turned 22! I had a wonderful, relaxing day. Ben brought me breakfast in bed and took me to the movies. My mom and dad had flowers delivered to my house and my mother in law sent me a box FULL of wonderful gifts. I included a picture of my favorite one :-)

This was me on my birthday (31 weeks) but now I'm 33 weeks and only getting bigger!

The Best 3 Years

2009-07-29T20:31:00.000-06:00

For our anniversary, we went to New York City. Well, not really New York, New York, but New York, Idaho Falls. We visited Desination's Inn, a hotel full of themes and cheesecake (Dixie was way excited about the prospect of cheesecake). We had a really great time, but pictures are more meaningful than words. Okay, maybe not, but without further ado:

28 big fat weeks

2009-06-24T21:49:00.000-06:00

Although I have enjoyed being pregnant (mostly), I can't wait to have my body back to myself!

Ben's Birthday

2009-06-18T20:38:00.000-06:00

Ben's birthday was yesterday. I think he had a great day. We stayed up until midnight the night before so he could open his presents. I woke up with him that morning and made him pancakes while he got ready for school. When he came home he had his confetti cupcakes with purple frosting, as requested and Little Caeser's Pizza. We also played X-Box together and snuggled with the doggies. Everyone did their best to do whatever Ben wanted all day. He got a ton of phone calls too, which he loved!

Ben wore one of his new shirts from his mom and his new watch from me!

Left for Dead...a zombie game for x-box where fat zombies puke on you and "smoker" zombies strangle you with their tongues. Sounds fun, right?

The Crib

2009-06-18T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ben and I got to set up our crib recently. We did a lot of research and picked one that we really liked. Unfortunately, I didn't get the camera out until all that was left was putting the wheels on. Ben was a great sport and we figured the very confusing directions out together. We love it!!

We had to try it out with the doggies. The "mattress" in the pic is obviously not the one we're keeping in there.

The finished product!

We're having...

2009-05-07T19:22:00.001-06:00

A BOY!!!!!

Unfortunately, both Ben's and my disk drive is broken so we can't put our ultrasound pictures on here quite yet. We are SO excited!!

a few pics...

2009-05-03T19:49:00.000-06:00

So I finally uploaded some pictures. This is me at 19 weeks, but as of today I'm 21 weeks :) Still not very big...

This is my final drawing for advanced figure.

Here is my latest sewing project that left the sewing room COVERED in little bits of terry cloth.

By the way...I feel the need to say that Ben's hair does NOT look like that anymore. I made him cut it.

The Amazing Adventures of Loki and Layla

2009-04-26T13:26:00.000-06:00

When morning comes, an abundance of kisses comes with it. It's not the sweet kisses between a husband and a wife. It's the slobbery licks of Loki, and the half-lick, half-bites of Layla.

We've realized the trick is to keep our eyes shut, even if we're awake. As soon as the dogs see our eyes are open, their tails start wagging like crazy. They know we are awake, and they are ready to play. Loki usually creeps up to my head slowly, whereas Layla pounces on my head.

Waking with Loki and Layla is never the slow, relaxing process I hope for, where I can lay in bed awake for a few minutes. It's a quick, get-out-of-bed-and-into-the-shower or a dog is going to eat your face.

Even if I have to use the bathroom, I sleepwalk to it, with my eyes closed and my arms stretched out like a zombie. We have to keep up the appearance that we are still asleep. It's the only way to keep the dogs sane.

We've had t-shirt weather here until this morning. Dixie planted about a dozen flowers in our garden, and then it snowed overnight. She attempted to save the plant's lives early this morning. Layla helped by eating all the snow off of the petals.

Dixie is amazing as ever. She started to show this week, and her belly grew so fast. It's a good thing because I now know the baby has space in there. She's the most beautiful pregnant woman ever still.

I bought the coolest shirt in the world this weekend. Dixie says I can only wear it around the house, so I have to change into it every day I get home from school.

For those of you unacquainted with the X-Men, that's Gambit - the coolest of the cool. He'll be featured in the Wolverine movie coming out next week. Go see it and support your local mutants.

Well that's all till next time. We should know the sex of the baby soon.

-Ben

good news

2009-03-19T16:17:00.000-06:00

I went shopping for my first maternity clothes this week. I bought two dresses and a pair of jeans. I'm 14 weeks now and still not "showing". Even though I don't look pregnant, none of my jeans or skirts fit over my hips anymore. Today I wore maternity jeans for the first time. I had to fold the big blue band over my hips and they were still falling off. What's a girl to do? Hopefully this awkward stage won't last for long.

I also have to take a moment to brag about school. I had such a high score on my humanities test that my teacher dropped my score from the curve so I wasn't the only person with an A. And last Friday my English teacher told me she wanted to publish my research paper in a journal. This is pretty incredible considering how sick I've been and how little effort I've put into school. Ben was amazed when I told him and said how it's unfair that all I do is come home from school and sleep and hardly ever do any homework. It's true. All I can say is that Heavenly Father sure has blessed me this semester. Now that this semester is coming to a close, I look back and realize how blessed I've been to be able to make it to my classes and get my assignments done with as much ease as I have.

Introducing: The Peanut

2009-02-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

I know, I know.... I'm the worst blogger ever.

So here is a picture of a picture of the peanut. He's upside down.

The doc appt. was on Monday and everything went great. The doctor is a little odd but I'm sure he'll be fine. The only advice he had for all-day morning sickness was Unisom, which I'm happy to report is working most of the time!! YAY!!!! I don't know who is happier, me or Ben. Ben has been amazing through this whole ordeal. He has done all of the laundry, cooking, cleaning and driving! He's been right there with me holding my hair and cleaning up after me and has been INCREDIBLY patient with my complaining (which is no small feat for those of you who know how well I tolerate pain and sickness).

This weekend I'll be 10 weeks and my official due date is September 14th. :)

Christmas!

2008-12-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well, this is our very first blog and we wanted to put some pictures of our Christmas tree up. Even though our house isn't decorated in red and green, it still feels very Christmas-y. We are VERY excited to go home to Va for our Christmas break and have yummy food and fun with our family! Unfortunately, the doggies aren't coming with us this time. We're leaving them with some friends (thanks Nicole and Chase) for a week and in a kennel for a week. We can't wait to see you Virginians! Merry Christmas!