36 Weeks

I meant to put more "belly" pictures up throughout the pregnancy, but this is as good as it's going to get (plus the fact that every time I asked Tim to take pictures, he rolled his eyes and made fun of me).

I really don't have much to complain about; for the most part, I have been healthy, but growing another person is no picnic. Below are my 3 biggest complaints about being pregnant:
3. Clothes. I am getting to a very limited wardrobe. The worst is that your previously long shirts have become belly shirts, but you don't realize it until you 1) look in a mirror and see what you couldn't see due to your growing belly or 2) go outside and feel a cool breeze where your shirt should be.
2. You really do have to go to the bathroom all. the. time. Every time you change positions and often when the baby changes positions. I think we have gone through 3x as much toilet paper in the past 2 months.
1. Rib pain. It started around week 27 and has continued nonstop. I used to be able to push him out of my ribs, but since he has overtaken them since then, my only escape is when I am walking or down on hands and knees. Driving is the worst and I am so grateful I don't have to commute to work in Denver anymore.

The fun things about being pregnant:
3. I don't feel guilty when I don't get a workout in-although nowdays, I could count going up the stairs as a workout by the way it makes me huff and puff.
2. I don't feel guilty about eating a lot. I remember one part in the Lord of the Rings when one of the hobbits asks if they get to eat second breakfast. I pretty much have second breakfast, second lunch, etc...
1. Baby prep. Who wouldn't go through all of the uncomfortable parts of pregnancy, yet enjoy setting this up:
Our crib and bedding set:

Baby boy Larsen thanks Grandma Diney and Grandpa Rod for the beautiful crib.
My favorite part of baby prep so far has been getting his clothes ready. Mindy sent me home with a bunch of boy clothes a few months ago (plus all the gifts we've been given), and I really enjoyed organizing everything.
We're just about ready!!!

Spring Break Trip

Tim is very excited that he is on Spring Break for a week. To celebrate, we wanted to take a "Babymoon," or one last trip with just the two of us. We kind of threw it together last minute, but it was a fun weekend.

We started the trip driving south and ate a picnic lunch at Castle Rock Park in Castle Rock. We stopped in Colorado Springs for a free tour of the Olympic Training Center:
Athletes in the top percentage of their sport are invited to live on the campus, which is sponsored by several non-government businesses. This location houses many of the summer sports including gymnastics, wrestling, and swimming, which were the sports we caught a glimpse of.
This sign holds a countdown until London and Sochi.
We weren't allowed to use flashes, so the pictures aren't the greatest, but I had to take some pictures of the wrestlers for TJ. The bottom left pic is a gymnast.
I am speed skating-not posing in an evolution picture.
After our tour, we continued to Cañon City where we enjoyed swimming at our hotel and ate at a delicious restaurant.

The next morning, we went to the Royal Gorge
The bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the world.
The canyon itself was really pretty.
The bridge was a lot scarier than expected.
There wasn't much holding us up. The surface was all wood but there were cracks between the slats and we could see everything below.
We paused to smile for a picture, but we were both freaked out. The middle of the bridge swayed a little with the wind.
I love this sign.
It would take a pretty long line to fish from here:
The bridge view from below.
Tim and I, unfortunately, ran out of "time" to ride this tram. It's a shame.
We did get to ride the incline rail to the bottom of the canyon.
Tim is excited to someday ride the train that drives through the bottom of the gorge. The picture below is the part of the track that is hanging-only supported from above.We felt much safer beneath the bridge than on top of it.
We headed home soon after, but not without stopping in Manitou Springs for dinner at Rudy's BBQ. It was a great quick trip, and will probably be our last trip with just the two of us for a long time.

More Baby Showers!

I am really lucky to work with some great people. (If I lived closer to Denver, I'd probably choose to work in the office rather than at home.) A few weeks ago, 2 of my best co-worker friends threw me another baby shower! We invited a bunch of girls I work/worked with over the past year and a half and had lots of fun.

Hostesses: Heidi and Karen (Karen doesn't work there anymore, but when she worked with us, we called her our "Den Mother." She is also the one who taught me to knit)

The Decor:

The girls:

I know a lot of people don't like baby shower games, but I like them! Starr was the winner of the "guess the length of my belly" game. (We're holding our yarn measurements)

We all got these cups with babies in ice and the first one to melt the baby free from the ice won.

More measuring and a good belly shot.

And last but not least, gifts. Here are a few of my favorites.

A boppy!

Karen the host/knitter knitted our little guy this adorable sweater. I wish I could show the details because she used different stitches for the neck and arms. It looks professional. The buttons are wooden leaf shapes. I LOVE it!

I know I am being so spoiled with this pregnancy.
Only 6 weeks to go!!!

About to Pop...

My wonderful friends from church threw me an amazing baby shower with such a fun theme!
I said my friends were wonderful, but did I also mention how talented they are? Take a look at this food:


My shower included some friends from the ward.
I was spoiled with gifts (or should I say "showered" with gifts)
I am currently the 2nd counselor in the young womens at church, so a lot of the girls came too!
The said friends
Thanks for such a great baby shower!!!

Phoenix Fun!

I'm in love...

...with my new little niece Katherine Janean Adkins.

She was born on January 5th (3 weeks early), so I had to be patient until I could meet her. I flew out to Phoenix last week for one last trip while I'm still independent to "help" Mindy with the other kids. I mostly just came up with things to do and dragged the kids along with me.

I also drilled Mindy on information to help me be a mommy. She came to help me register at Target and pointed out the pros and cons of things and gave me great insight on what I will need and what I won't.
Compared to 4 kids, having just one seems like a piece of cake. Especially with this little guy running nonstop. I feel bad this is the only picture I got of him, but I realize it is because he was literally, running nonstop:

My one request while I was there was to go to the Children's Museum. Makayla had school, but the rest of us had fun exploring.

Uncle Terry (my dad's brother) and Aunt Marilyn were unexpectedly in town for work, so they came to church with us and spent most of Sunday entertaining the kids. I made sugar cookies we all decorated after dinner!

We also enjoyed the warm (sometimes hot) Phoenix weather by going on walks, playing in the backyard, going to the park, and going on treasure hunts.

I did a lot of preparation for being a mom by holding Katherine. She was so sweet and cuddly. I loved when she was awake and just looking around at everything.

Bruzer likes her too...

I admit I was exhausted last night when I got home, but now that I've had an entire nights sleep, I miss these kids already. I can honestly say I'm MORE excited to have a baby soon.
Thanks for letting me come Mindy and Thomas!