Introducing Kate Nicole Zimmerman

Where to even begin...this is going to be a long post. Just warning you now.

Since my last post my life has been turned upside down in the absolute best way possible. My third trimester of pregnancy really did fly by and drag on all at the same time. I was large and uncomfortable, barely able to sleep at night, aching all over, and pretty much always sweating. However, with every passing day I got even more and more excited to finally meet my sweet baby girl.

My sweet friend Nikki threw me an adorable baby shower at Dear Lizzie at the start of my third trimester and it was so fun to see all my friends. About a month later, Makenna, Phyllis, and Carly threw me a family baby shower that was equally as amazing! I definitely got spoiled!! I sure do have the best friends and family.

At 36 weeks we did a maternity photo shoot that turned out amazing. Aria is the best. I love all the pictures so much. Can't wait to choose a couple to print out for Kate's room.

With week 36 also came my weekly OB/GYN appointments and the opportunity to have my cervix checked for dilation. I was disappointed to find that I was not dilated at all at my first check, but I did still have 4 weeks until my due date so it wasn't that big of a deal.

At my 37 week appointment I still wasn't dilated at all. My mom was not happy about that because she was in town and REALLY wanted the baby to come while she was here. She had another flight scheduled to come out here on Kate's due date, but we both knew that if the baby didn't come before she left, she may not make it back in time for the birth. We had no idea how long my labor would be or how easy it would be for her to change her flight if she needed to. I took some primrose oil pills for a couple days to see if that would help soften my cervix and also tried rubbing some of doterra's clary sage oil on my ankles and belly per instruction of my aunt. None of those remedies can make a baby come before it is ready, they just help get the mom's body ready for labor so the baby CAN come. I figured it was worth a shot since my body have never done anything like childbirth before.

Unfortunately, Aug. 18th came and went and my mom had to fly back to NY since I was clearly not in labor. The next day I had my 38 week appointment and I was still not dilated at all. The doctor told me to mentally prepare for a month more of pregnancy just in case the baby decided to come 2 weeks late...which is quite common for first pregnancies. I was clearly not excited about that idea when I left the doctor's office.

That's when things started to change. On Wednesday night (the 21st) I was up nearly all night with braxton hicks contractions and a horrible cough (that I had already been battling for over 2 weeks). Though I had been having braxton hicks for months, these were much more regular and frequent than they had ever been before. When I woke up the next morning I asked my boss if I could work from home since I was still having so many contractions and my mom told me she had 24 hours of braxton hicks before going into true labor with me.

I got in the shower and thought maybe the baby had finally dropped because she felt a lot lower in my belly. After getting out of the shower I wrapped myself up in my towel and crawled back in bed for a minute to cuddle with Colby. After we both got out of bed I noticed a trail of blood on our sheets. After ruling out any bleeding scabs on Colby, we checked my towel and determined that the blood had indeed come from me. We also noticed a huge wet puddle outside our bathroom door that had no obvious explanation. How my water would have broken without me noticing was a mystery to me, but I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to go visit my doctor's office just to be safe (they tell you to call them if you have more than 6 contractions an hour and I was having about that many...sometimes more).

The painless contractions continued while I was at my appointment but my water was not broken. When the midwife went to check my cervix she could not even reach it because the baby's head had indeed dropped and was totally blocking it. So, I left not knowing whether I had dilated at all since my appointment 2 days prior. By around 6:30 p.m. we went over to a friend's house for dinner and my contractions were even closer together and starting to feel more uncomfortable than they had been my whole pregnancy but I didn't think much of it because they didn't exactly "hurt" yet. By around 8:30 we were still at their house and my contractions were definitely getting more uncomfortable as time passed. I had one every 7 minutes or so and was nearly to the point of calling them painful.

After we got home I decided to start timing my contractions. They were now 5 1/2 minutes apart almost exactly and annoyingly uncomfortable. I told Colby to go to sleep but to mentally prepare himself for a baby just in case I was finally in real labor. I packed our hospital bag just to be safe and took my pillows and computer out to the couch to wait things out. By around 11:00 pm I texted my mom that my contractions were only 5 minutes apart and definitely hurting but I still didn't know whether I was in labor. She started to look for flights but was hesitant to buy before she knew for sure that these weren't still just braxton hicks. Having never been in labor before, I couldn't give her a "for sure," but I told her I was "pretty positive" these weren't just braxton hicks.

As time passed, the contractions started to hurt more and more...and they got closer and closer together. By 3:00 a.m. they were only 3 minutes apart and very painful (though I could still talk through them). I decided to call my midwife to let her know the situation and she told me to go to the hospital and have them check me...worst case scenario they would just send me back home. So, I woke up the husband and told him it was time.

Once we got to the hospital they hooked me up to the fetal heart monitor and contraction monitor and checked my cervix. The nurse made the same comment as my midwife had earlier that morning...the baby's head was SO low and it was difficult to tell. However, she managed to get her hand around the baby's head and determined I was at a 1. At that moment I was relieved that meant I was in real labor and that these contractions were working to open my cervix, but I was discouraged that I was only at a 1...that meant I would probably be sent home and have to endure these contractions for a while longer. They monitored me for an hour to see how I progressed and by the end of the hour I was at a 2. Instead of sending me home at that point, the nurse decided to monitor me for another hour, but this time I was told to walk the halls. It was pretty miserable. Every 2 minutes I had a contraction and they were freezing me in pain at this point. I had to lean against Colby and make him rub my back with each one...but it didn't help much. Not to mention, with every cough I thought my ribs were going to explode. I remember telling Colby I thought maybe they were broken because they hurt so badly when I coughed, but we both agreed that they were probably just strained from the contractions and coughing. I kept cursing the hospital because I just wanted my dang epidural. It was a LONG hour and all I could think about the entire time was that if I didn't progress enough in that hour, they would send me home and I wasn't sure I could handle these contractions for that much longer.

Fortunately, when they checked me at the end of the second hour (now about 5:15 a.m.) I was at a 3, which was progression enough for them to keep me at the hospital and move me to a labor and delivery room. I was SO relieved. About 2 hours after they moved me to my room (and 12 hours after I had gone into labor), the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural. At this point I was dilated to a 5. All fears I had of that needle before going into the hospital were brushed aside with each contraction. At that point I was begging him to stick that huge needle in my back...and it really didn't hurt that much. Shortly after that, my midwife came in to break my water and I was finally able to get about an hour or two of sleep. Unfortunately, it was the only sleep I was able to get in nearly 48 hours. I was worried my body wouldn't be able to have enough strength to push from my lack of energy.

Once the epidural was in my progression started to slow down and I stayed at a 5 for a couple hours. Because of this, the nurse wanted to give me pitocin to help my body get back in the swing of things. I was opposed to the pitocin at first, but then my midwife came in and told me I may not have my baby for another 12 hours if I didn't have at least a tiny bit and she said my mom would probably still make it in time even if I did have some (her flight was getting in at 2:30 p.m.). My lack of energy and my trust in my midwife caused me to succumb and I agreed to let them use the smallest dose for just a little while. In an hour and a half I went from a 5 to an 8. Then, 20 minutes after that the doctor asked me if I wanted to start pushing. I couldn't believe how fast things progressed. Needless to say, my mom didn't make it in time.

I pushed for about 45-50 minutes. Colby held one of my legs as a nurse held the other. It wasn't until they gave me a mirror that I believed them that I was pushing out a baby and not a huge bowel movement from my butt. The mirror helped me focus my pushing as well. The midwife let me feel the baby's head once she was crowning and it was the weirdest thing ever, but so cool. The pain for the last 20 minutes was pretty intense...and I had an epidural! I could feel the stretching and ripping and some very intense pressure. Can't imagine how much pain there must be without medication. Finally the baby's head was out and they were placing my sweetheart on my chest. I don't think I can fully explain the emotions I felt when my child was placed in my arms for the first time. So much joy, concern, relief, and love. I have never felt anything like it. She was finally here and she was perfect. Colby and I have been smitten from the moment we laid eyes on her.

She was born at 1:07 p.m. on August 23rd, 2013. 6 lbs 6 oz and 19 3/4 inches long. A perfect little bundle of joy.

Miss Kate Nicole has captured the hearts of everyone who has met her, and it is no surprise to us. She is perfectly sweet and incredibly adorable. She RARELY cries, and if she does it is for a good reason. I can barely handle her cuteness. Our stay at the hospital was a little rough because poor Kate had low blood sugar and was taken away to be pricked in the heel any time she ate. Fortunately, by Sunday her blood sugar was finally at a normal, healthy level. She did get jaundice though, so we were forced to take her back to the hospital every day for more pricks in the heel until she overcame that.

My recovery from childbirth has definitely been the roughest part of this whole pregnancy/baby experience. Not only am I very sore from the pushing/ripping, but I went through some serious engorgement issues once my milk came in (that lasted 4 days) and my ribs are fractured so I can barely move. We aren't sure when I fractured them since they were hurting during labor...but we think it was probably a combination of expanded ribs from pregnancy, contractions, intense coughing, and pushing out a baby. Fortunately my mom has been here to help me carry around the car seat and keep my house clean. Not sure how I could have possibly survived this past week without her!

Now we are all happy at home and just adjusting to life with a newborn. It came so naturally. We can hardly remember life without her! She is the best thing to ever happen to us, and we couldn't be more in love.

Farewell, Second Trimester

I’m a little mad at myself for letting so much time pass since my last pregnancy update. As a result, this is gonna be a long post. I need to document everything since I’m using this as a journal entry of sorts.

The day we found out our cute baby girl’s gender feels like forever ago! I remember being on cloud nine for days after that first ultrasound :) I had a constant smile plastered on my face and felt overwhelmed with happiness every time I looked at the ultrasound pictures. That lasted about a week and then the fear of not knowing whether my baby was still alive and okay in there set in again. Waiting 4 weeks in between doctor visits to know whether your baby still has a heartbeat is torture. Fortunately, week 17 brought with it the best reassurance of all—baby kicks.

I was home for lunch on March 28^th (meaning I was exactly 17 weeks and 1 day pregnant) and I was determined to feel this baby girl move! I had been told it would feel like a fish swimming around in there or butterflies in my tummy. I had also heard that shining a light on my stomach could cause the baby to move because she could sense light by that time (despite the fact that her eyes were not yet open). So...I sat on my couch very still and proceeded to bug that baby of mine. I grabbed my cell phone, opened my flashlight app, pulled up my shirt, and placed the light directly on my skin. I immediately felt a weird jolt/flutter inside me (I probably scared the poor kid). However, I was still unsure whether that was the baby. So, I decided to move the light around for a few seconds and then sit very still with my hands on my stomach and my legs propped up on our ottoman. After about 3 minutes of waiting I felt three distinct “taps” right where my right pointer finger was laying on my skin. It was the cutest, sweetest thing. After that, I noticed the baby all the time and it has been the most exciting experience ever. Nothing is cooler or weirder than feeling your baby move inside you. My husband finally felt her move when I was about 18 weeks. She was shy for daddy J Now she gets extra excited whenever I start eating. It’s pretty fun.

 With week 18 came a baby bump that was finally visible to more than just me! Though still quite small, it was finally obvious my baby girl was in there. I also started to get some pretty annoying upper back pain at that time from sitting with poor posture in my desk chair at work every day. That pain lasted a few weeks. I also had my anatomy ultrasound this week, but the baby was too stubborn to show us her cute face/head/heart so they told me I would get to have another ultrasound the next time I came in so they could get a better look at her lips and heart to make sure everything was developing normally. So, even though we came out of that appointment with no exciting ultrasound pictures, I was grateful to have another opportunity to see my baby girl!

With week 19 came my worst pregnancy symptom of all. I woke up around 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 4^th with extreme pain on my right side. My first thought was that it was just round ligament pain or something so I tried to roll over and fall back asleep. Unfortunately, no position helped relieve the pain. All of a sudden I felt the need to throw up so I rushed out of bed and into the bathroom. However, nothing came. I stood up, paced back and forth writhing in pain, and then tried sitting down on our couch as I wrestled with the idea of calling my mom and waking up Colby. The only things I knew were that I was pregnant, I had never been in so much pain in my life, and that the pain just kept getting worse as time went on. I finally forced myself to realize this was not some regular pregnancy symptom that would soon go away and I better get help.

I walked back into our bedroom and quietly said “Colby, something’s wrong.” He immediately woke up and jumped out of bed in fear. He rushed to my side and held me as I writhed in pain. I couldn’t even relax in his arms because it hurt so badly. Both of us were nervous something was wrong with the pregnancy and I’ve never seen my husband so concerned. It was pretty sweet, actually.

He drove me to the ER and they immediately gave me some morphine to help with the pain. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much. Once they realized I was still seriously struggling, they gave me another dose and I could finally sit still. Colby laid on the hospital bed with me and just held me. At this point we had no idea what was wrong. After a while they performed an ultrasound and confirmed that everything was okay with our baby girl, which gave me even more relief. I then gave them a urine sample, in which they found blood. That told them it was most likely kidney stones, but since they didn’t see them in the ultrasound (and I couldn’t have a CT due to my pregnancy) they couldn’t give me any “for sure” answers. So, I was sent home with some medicine, pee strainers, and a  packet of information about what to do if my symptoms worsened.

I was fine for the rest of the day so I decided to be brave and go to work the next morning. Not a good idea. For an hour and a half I was okay. Then at 9:45 I felt my side starting to tighten up and get sore…within 15 minutes I was silently crying at my husband’s desk in pain (the benefits of working in the same office building as your husband). He dropped me off at home, but had to go to work so I called my mom and she talked to me for about 2 hours as I had to go through another pain episode without the morphine. I didn’t want to take the medicine the hospital sent me home with because I was scared what something that strong might do to my 19-week old fetus. However, I finally gave in and took one pill after a few hours…unfortunately it didn’t do much. My sister came over to care for me and her husband (fiancé at the time) gave me a blessing. 5.5 hours after the pain started, I was finally able to handle it with the help of a heating pad. Longest day of my life. A few hours after my blessing (around 7:00 pm), I passed the stone.

Weeks 20-22 were filled with wedding festivities for both my brother and sister’s weddings so I was quite distracted with family in town and lots to do. However, everyone got to feel baby girl kick while they were here and I think they were all more excited to see my baby bump than they were to see me ;). This kid is already stealing everyone’s hearts! Around week 22 I started getting Braxton Hicks contractions regularly (I had a few earlier in my pregnancy, but didn’t know that’s what they were). Not really a fan of those. Though they don’t “hurt,” they are quite uncomfortable…especially as my uterus grows. I am also now plagued with leg cramps that hurt so badly they wake me up at night! I have audibly gasped a few times as a result of my calve muscles cramping up while I sleep. Definitely not a fan of those either :).

The baby’s kicks got much stronger around week 23 and I began to notice that when I would lay on my side at night, she would always kick the place where the bed was hitting my belly. Guess she likes her space. If you put a heavy hand or arm on my belly she will kick that spot too. It’s actually quite adorable. I had my second anatomy ultrasound around this time and was told everything looked perfect except for one small thing that showed up in the left ventricle of her heart… I guess they see it all the time, and most of the time it just ends up being feedback from the ultrasound, but they scheduled ANOTHER ultrasound for my next visit so they could take a better look at it. She said if it did end up being an issue, it would just be a very minor one. Unfortunately, the thought that perhaps something (even minor) was wrong with my baby girl left me in tears all day long. It was a rough day. Luckily, I had that third ultrasound a couple days ago and they said her heart is absolutely perfect, so they stressed me out for nothing! I have never been so relieved!

With week 24 came baby hiccups! Cutest ever. My whole belly bounces in rhythm and I can feel it strongest down near my bladder. LOVE the hiccups.

Other symptoms: round ligament pain, nosebleeds, always hungry, nausea without throwing up

I am now 27 weeks and officially in my third trimester. One day less than 3 months to go! Can’t believe I am gonna be a mama so soon. I have so much preparing to do before our home is ready for this wee one. There is definitely no more hiding this baby bump…it just sort of erupted around week 21 and has been getting more and more obvious ever since! And though I was 3 pounds “underweight” at my 18 week appointment, I have now officially gained 20 pounds since the start of my pregnancy…so I’m definitely on track now. Still a little in shock about the numbers I have been seeing on the scale (and I’m a little scared to see how much more I gain in the next 3 months), but it’s good for the baby, so I am just trying to embrace my new, larger self.

How cute are those little legs? She’s so dainty and wonderful. I talk and sing to her all the time and she will kick in response. It’s so cool growing a human inside you. Super weird and super uncomfortable at times, but honestly the most amazing thing in the world. I feel blessed beyond belief. I can’t wait to meet her. 

It's a...........

Pink or blue? Girl or boy? 

Yesterday at 4:00, Colby and I got to go see our baby in an ultrasound for the first time! And it was amazing—I am obsessed! Seeing proof that your baby is growing inside you is the most incredible thing in the world! 

Turns out Baby Zimmerman is a GIRL! And goodness, she is ADORABLE!

I am so happy we finally know the gender so I can stop calling our baby “it” and say “her!” I love her so much already. I haven’t been able to stop smiling since we first saw her up on the screen…and I can’t help but look at our ultrasound pictures about every 10 minutes J

This is a picture of my belly exactly one week ago yesterday (at 14 weeks and 4 days)...it doesn't look much different now so I figured I'd just post this one.

After the ultrasound appointment we ventured off to buy some pink balloons and other props for our little “gender announcement photo shoot.” Buying these cute little booties was by far my favorite part! Especially considering the fact that we could see her cute little feet so vividly during the ultrasound. The picture with her foot in the air is definitely my favorite picture next to her sweet profile. I hope she has enough room in there! Haha. Can’t wait to put these little booties to use!

 Anyway, here are some close-up shots from our photo shoot. Enjoy! We are extremely excited, as you can tell.

It's a GIRL!!!

Farewell, First Trimester

Today marks the start of week 14...which means I am officially in the second trimester. At last! Baby is the size of a lemon this week—about 3 1/2 inches long. 

This means that Baby Zimmerman can now squint, frown, grimace, wiggle toes, pee, and maybe even suck his/her thumb! So adorable. I can't wait to see this little cutie in an ultrasound. I am still feeling about the same as I have felt the past few weeks...though lately I am twice as hungry and I have noticed that the movements of bending forward and slouching do not feel pleasant. When my stomach is squished like that it feels a little achy and breathing is much more difficult. Abnormal? I have no idea. Either way, sitting up straight feels more pleasant so my posture is much improved lately.

I have my next doctor's appointment a week from today, but it will just be to listen to the heartbeat again. However, a week after that I can go in for a free ultrasound to find out the gender! Can't wait to find out if we're having a boy or girl :)

I'm still hardly showing, but if I wear a maxi dress or something tight fitting you can definitely see evidence that there's a baby in there! Here is a picture of me last Thursday at 13 weeks and 4 days:

I love this baby so much already and I have only heard its sweet little heartbeat once. What a blessing being pregnant is! Even with all the nasty symptoms that come along with it, I wouldn't give up this opportunity for anything in the world. It's such a miracle to think that a little human is growing inside me and I can't wait to start feeling the baby's kicks and movements! Exciting things to come in trimester 2 :) Hopefully the next time I post we will be announcing the gender!

Pregnancy: The First 11 Weeks

Yes, it's true—I am 11 weeks pregnant and couldn't be more excited about it! Before I get into detail about how the pregnancy has been so far, let's back up a little... (disclaimer: this post talks about periods and other girly things...boys—beware). Also, sorry about how long this post is...I'm using this as a journal entry of sorts so I wanted to get all the details down :)

First, I should probably mention that I went off the pill back in July and my period only came every two months since then (I skipped it in September and November). We didn't start trying to get pregnant back in July...I just really couldn't handle the pill anymore so we used other methods of birth control.

So, as mentioned in my last post, Colby and I flew to NY for the holidays this year. About a week before we left Utah I started getting cramps and was pretty annoyed because that meant I would most likely be visited by my "favorite" monthly visitor on Christmas eve or Christmas day. However, on December 12th Colby and I had made the decision that we were finally ready to start trying to get pregnant so I was glad the cramps meant my period was coming back. We had a feeling it might take us a while to get pregnant since I had been so irregular. Anyway, the cramps came and went every couple of days (and when I say cramps I mean an achy feeling in my lower stomach/back...no sharp pains). Pretty normal for me about a week before I get my period and I didn't think anything of it. So, we flew to New York (the day before we left I slipped on our icy stairs and fractured my elbow...but that's a story for another time).

While we were home for the holidays I noticed that the cramps were a little stronger than they had been in Utah—but that didn't really phase me either. They usually get really bad the day before I get my period...so at this point I was expecting it to come at any moment. Well, Christmas came and went and no period came. After a week or so of this I started to get suspicious...but pregnancy really didn't even cross my mind yet. So, I turned to my handy medical adviser: google. I think I googled something along the lines of: 8 days of cramps but  no bleeding. (haha, so sorry if this is TMI) I was very surprised to see that a lot of the results said "cramping can be a sign of early pregnancy." Immediately my heart jumped and I hoped so badly that somehow it was true. However, even though we weren't trying yet, my two skipped periods in September and November tricked me into taking some pregnancy tests that were negative so I really tried not to get my hopes up.

I called my two cute sisters over to the computer and secretly showed them the search results. They immediately burst out in giggles and smiles and told me I HAD to get a pregnancy test just to see. So, a few days later when my mom took us to Walmart I snuck away and bought one...not wanting anyone to know I even had it in case it was negative again (my family really wanted us to have a baby...we even got children's books for Christmas before any of us knew!).

After the ball dropped on New Year's Eve we all hung out for about half an hour before everyone started drifting up to their rooms to go to sleep. At this point that pregnancy test had been hiding in my purse all day and I couldn't wait any longer. I snuck upstairs to an empty bathroom, peed on the stick, and then flipped it upside down and put it in the sink where I couldn't see it. After a couple minutes I decided to be brave and see what it said. Yup, pregnant. I literally did a double take I was so surprised! We had JUST started trying and I skipped my period altogether in November. I grabbed that test, rinsed it off and jumped up and down all by myself in the bathroom. I was SO happy and SO excited. Then doubt and fear kicked in and I started to wonder if it was possible for a test to give you a false positive.

So, I put the test in my back pocket and went out into the hallway. Colby passed me and a huge smile erupted on my face but I disguised it with some fake story about how I was laughing at his expression or something. haha. I didn't want anyone to know until I took another test to prove it was true! Not even Colby.

So, around 1:30 a.m. I tried to go to sleep. Needless to say, it was one of the worst night's sleep I've ever had. All I could think about was that positive pregnancy test hiding in my purse. Finally, morning came and I rushed to my purse to grab the second test from the box...turns out there wasn't one in there. I bought a pack that only came with one. Panic set in and I knew I had to run into town to buy another. Fortunately, Colby was still asleep and my family was all downstairs eating breakfast so I snagged my little sister Nicole and told her to come with me to buy another one (she didn't know I had already taken the first one we bought...I told her I wanted to have two before taking any).

So, I ended up buying two more tests. I am a little paranoid, as you can see. No one even knew we left...it was great. When we came back inside I took the second test and sure enough, positive again! At this point I was on cloud nine and I couldn't wait to tell everyone. Though I wanted to tell Colby first, he was in the shower and my sister Lauren was about to leave for the day to go to Palmyra (and Colby and I were flying back to Utah in a few hours). So, I brought her into the laundry room and just showed her a picture of the  positive test on my phone. I think she was just as excited as I was!

Now it was time to break the news to Colby. He was finally out of the shower and in our room packing so I came in to help, pulled two of the tests out of my pocket, and said "Hey, we can't forget to pack these too." Haha...the silly boy stared at them and said "Ugh, did you take one of those while we were here?" (He didn't realize he was looking at used tests and thought that I was hoarding more things from my mom's endless supply of bathroom products). So I said, "Haha, yes...I took both of these." He stared at them for a few more seconds and then realization set in. I wish I could say he was ecstatic and thrilled like I was, but this poor boy was not ready for us to get pregnant as quickly as we did...we both thought it would take us a lot longer. He wasn't mad, he was just in shock and he told me we couldn't tell my family until he got used to the idea. haha. So...we finished packing and went downstairs for lunch.

Finally, it was time for us to leave and Colby agreed it was time to let them in on our news. This video explains the rest better than I can :)



Once we got back to Utah I made an early appointment with the doctor's office so we could try and figure out how far along I was (since you usually determine that by the first day of your last period...the one that I never ended up getting in November). The midwife determined I was about 6 weeks along based on my symptoms.

I started on prenatal vitamins as soon as we got back and waited for morning sickness to hit. Fortunately, it never came. No throwing up at all for this lady! However, I am STARVING all the time and I feel like I'm gonna pass out/throw up every time I feel any sort of hunger pain. I have to be snacking hourly in order to function. I've also been extra tired (I'm in bed by 9 or 9:30 every night) and my chest has been VERY sore...but it has grown a little too, so I'm not complaining ;) The smell of most foods makes me feel nauseous and I gag ALL the time at work. I pee a lot but have troubles with other bowel movements. But, other than that, it has been a pretty easy, breezy 11 weeks. The baby is the size of a lime and I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl!

I had another appointment on February 11th, the day after my 25th birthday. That's when we got to hear the heartbeat and it was the sweetest sound I've ever heard. The next day we posted this picture on Facebook to let the rest of our family/friends know our exciting news. I am so ready to be a mama and I can't wait to meet this little angel inside of me!!

Lately.

As always, it has been far too long since I have updated this blog. Oh well, at least I’m trying.

Here is the reader’s digest update of the past few months:

We celebrated our very first anniversary at the place where we had our very first date, Happy Sumo. We love sushi—and if you know us at all, you know this to be true. Look at the handsome face I got to stare at all through dinner. He’s dreamy.

We also spent the night up at the Peery Hotel in SLC. Fortunately, I didn’t hear the rumors about it being haunted until after we checked out. Look how cute the bathroom was!

Not long after our anniversary, we visited the Sumo again with my cousins, siblings, and their dates. It was a fun time. Love these people :)

Colby and I decided to turn our sumo obsession into something useful, so we learned how to make sushi all on our own. Best. Decision. Ever.

As fall approached I made these amazing pumpkin cookies from a recipe that my friend Shelby was kind enough to share. Another great decision. You can find the recipe here.

Halloween came so I was forced to get crafty and make some Halloween costumes. Colby was a lion and I was a tightrope walker.

My work is awesome and everyone decorated and dressed up—my team was a circus.

My friend Christy and I spent almost 14 hours making a DIY ottoman and bench from two tables we had. Worth it? Yes. Will I ever do it again? Highly doubt it. The tutorial can be found here.

On November 19^th, I got to celebrate the life of my incredible husband. He’s the big 2-5 now. Kind of a big deal. Naturally, we had a sushi party to celebrate. It was pretty dang awesome. We owe a BIG thanks to Jared for being our sushi-chef for the night!!

For Thanksgiving I made my favorite sides: fresh green bean casserole and an Italian sausage, apricot, pecan stuffing. Delicious. The recipes for those are here and here.

Following Thanksgiving came a traditional visit to Temple Square to see the lights. My favorite :)

Then it was off to NY for the holidays!! We loved spending time with my family and celebrating the best time of year. It was truly an amazing two weeks and it was hard to see it come to an end. Not to mention, on my last day home I got the best New Year's gift of all---but I'm saving that for my next post :)