Girls Night Out

These last few weeks have been pretty crazy and I'm not going to lie a little rough. Blake has been working the night shift so he leaves at 10:30 pm and then gets home anywhere from 12:30 to 2 in the afternoon and then tries to get as much sleep as he can until he has to wake up and do it all over again. It has been a rough schedule and during the week I probably only get to see him about 1-2 hours a day..if I am lucky. Needless to say, the weekends have taken on a new meaning..oh wait sometimes he also has to work on Saturdays so Sunday's are officially the best day of the week and yet then I am dreading Monday (or should I say Sunday night at 10:30) so much that I can hardly enjoy it. Put that on top of the pregnancy hormones and it makes for a fun combination. Now if I am ever not happy Blake says, "it's because you're pregnant, right?" Yes, dear. It's because I'm pregnant.

As far as the pregnancy goes, I have been feeling great (besides not being able to sleep because Baby Jackson thinks it's funny to start his acrobatic routine in the middle of the night). To be honest though, I love it. The other night I stayed up for an hour in the middle of the night just watching him kick and punch and move around and the whole time I had the biggest grin on my face. I'm not going to lie I think I started laughing to myself haha Maybe I was delirious but I thought it was so funny. I was just picturing him in there saying, "Mom, let me outta here!" If he is anything like Blake was when he was a little kid then I am going to have my hands full. I hear stories about him as a child Anyways, over the past week I swear he has grown into a monster. I honestly woke up one morning and and was like "whoa, I have a huge belly now!" It literally grew overnight I think. But it has been fun and thanks to my sister in law Brittany I now have a new maternity wardrobe :)

Don't let the cute smile deceive you..he was a wild child. Regardless, I hope our kid gets his looks

22 Weeks...ignore the creeper smile.

Last night, my mother-in-law, Lisa, took us girls to Candlelight Pavilion for dinner and  to see the play Singin' in the Rain. We had SO MUCH FUN! I love hanging out with the girls and we enjoyed eating good food, talking, and just enjoying each others company. The group was me, my mom, Lindsey, Andrea, Lisa, Whitney, and her mom Stacy.The play was really good and the tap dancing was amazing. I think the highlight of the night was the old lady that was sitting in front of us. You would have thought she was watching a show on Broadway. She would laugh at everything and would clap like you wouldn't believe. After every song I would just wait to see her response. I wanted to video tape her so bad but I decided that probably would be very polite. Another highlight was definitely the amazing dessert. I was going to take a picture but it was gone by the time I remember that I wanted to take one. So...sorry. It was a berry sorbet in this amazing shell with fresh berries on top. Honestly...to. die. for. My mom was still talking about it this morning. Anyways, we had a ton of fun and I am so grateful for such wonderful family. I love being with them and it is so much fun to get together and do these fun things.

Singin' In the Rain

I ordered a chicken pastry with mushrooms and peppers inside.

The Girls :)

I'm Halfway there!

Due to popular demand, I officially posting a "belly shot" of my baby bump.  I feel like my belly has grown a TON these past few weeks but I guess that means he is growing which is definitely a good thing :)  Blake is a little nervous that we are going to get a "little guy" aka short.  Anyways.. I am 20 weeks along so for those of you who are familiar with the length of a pregnancy then you know that I am HALFWAY THERE!  I honestly can't wait for him to get here and I am so excited!  I never thought I would say this but..can't it be August already?

20 weeks

This past weekend we got to go out to Ryan and Whitney's ward (which is also my brother Bryan's ward) and we got to go to Liddy's Baby Blessing. It was such a special day and Blake and I both adore Liddy. She is so cute and I can't wait until our little guy and her are old enough to play together.

Jackson Family

Yesterday, I got to watch Tanner, Nathan, and Kira (3 of my nephews/niece) while Brooke went to the doctor for her final check up. She is going to be induced on Tuesday which is also Nathan's birthday so we are all excited for the last Dow boy to get here. While Brooke was gone, w had a blast just hanging out and being goofy. I sure do love being an aunt :)

Kira: isn't she cute?

Hulk Tanner and Ninja Nathan

The Last Few Weeks

We have been pretty busy these last few weeks so I have been a little behind in my blog posts. Not to mention I keep putting it off because I STILL can't find our cord to hook up our camera to the computer so I haven't been able to post any of the new pictures that I have taken. I have decided that I must carry on and not worry about pictures for the moment (although I will find a way to put some on here soon).

A few weekends ago, Blake and all the Jackson boys took a boys trip (they seem to love not inviting the girls ha) and went to Glamis to ride dirt bikes. I have to be honest... I am not the biggest fan of Blake's dirt bike hobby because every time he goes, I am worried he is going to get himself either hurt or killed but he loves it so I let him go and have his fun. He is the type of guy that people love to dare him to do stuff and he will do it just to get a laugh (and he loves to be the center of attention).  So instead of telling me all the crazy things he does, he just says "we had a lot of fun" and I guess it is up to my imagination to think of how he got all his bruises and scrapes that cover his body when he gets home. So since I don't know much about the trip besides "they had a lot of fun" I guess that is all I can tell you about it.

While the boys were gone, us girls (Lisa, Andrea, Whitney, and I) got together on Friday night and went to dinner and a movie. We went to The Corner Bakery and had fun just talking (mostly about babies and kids..does that surprise you) and then we went to the movies and saw "The Adjustment Bureau". It was basically your typical Matt Damon movie and for the most part I liked it. It was just fun to hang out with the girls since we rarely get to do that. We are hoping to be able to do it more often but when you throw kids in the mix it can get a little bit more tricky.

The following weekend we had Keith's 30th Birthday Party. Since it was a surprise party we had a lot of sneaking around to do and I'm sure Keith was getting a little bit frustrated when we started planning out his schedule for him. Nevertheless, it was a huge success and we all had a lot of fun partying 80"s style. There was a DJ and Blake was in his element dancing to the 80's music. Everyone at the party loved Blake and he was the star of the show busting out all his moves. It was pretty funny. One of the highlights had to be the YMCA where my mom made Blake wear a construction hat, Keith put on his police shirt, Kurt wore a fireman hat, and Brett wore a cowboy hat. It was pretty entertaining with all those boys dancing for us. It was so fun to see family and friends that we don't get to see all the time. We had a blast!

We also got to see our good friends Jimmy and Kira and baby Jordan who came down from Utah for their spring break. It has only been a few months since we saw them but it seemed like forever! We had so much fun catching up with them! The boys watched the NCAA tournament while the girls talked baby talk and played with Jordan. She is an adorable baby and Kira even had her cute little toes painted! I loved it! They got baby Jackson a cute little onesie and some burp clothes that Kira made! *I will take a picture to show* It was so good to see them and we can't wait until July when they come down again!

Anyways...I will give you an update about Baby Jackson. By the way, I don't have any other name to call him by since we haven't picked out a name yet so Baby Jackson will have to do. haha I am definitely getting a baby bump and I feel like it is growing everyday! I am pretty sure that in a couple of weeks it will be a full on bump if it keeps growing at this rate. I am 17 1/2 weeks along and I am still feeling pretty good so I have no complaints. I have had to put a hold on buying anymore clothes for this kid because I went a little crazy when I first found out and I decided that I need to hold off or else we are going to be broke if I keep this up. For some reason shopping for a baby is so much more enjoyable than shopping for myself.

Baby Jackson's First Pajamas!

 So when I got home from work today I had this cute little package waiting for me. Of course it was from none other than my best friend Whitney Torgerson! I am so lucky to have such amazing friends and family. Whitney and I have been best friends since 6th grade and she is still living in Provo, UT but hopefully she will be moving down to California soon :) I miss having her around but we still talk on the phone all the time and it is always fun to get a little something in the mail. I was so excited to see what was inside this little package......
  

When I opened it up I found the cutest little pajamas and hats for Baby Jackson! I can't even tell you how excited I was. Not only is it the first outfit I have gotten since I found out we are having a boy but I mean look at how cute those little dog feet are! I was in love. I can't wait till our little guy is here so he can wear it to bed.  Thanks Whit! You are the best!

Mother's Instinct

Yesterday we were hanging out at the Jackson's with Ryan, Whitney, & baby Liddy (who is adorable by the way) and they were wondering when we were going to find out what we were having.  I had figured we were just going to wait until I had my doctor's appointment to find out because Blake is so busy with work and we wouldn't really have any other free weekend for a while (plus I am cheap and didn't know if I really wanted to spend $50 to find out the gender). Blake really wanted to be there when we found out and the only way that could happen was if we went to an ultra sound center. Ryan had talked it up and Blake had his heart set on going so I figured I could splurge just this once.

       
          Baby Liddy

We learned many things during this 20 minute session. The first thing we discovered was that we have a conservative baby. The legs were crossed for most of the time and kept hiding its "secret" as the technician called it. Hopefully that will carry over once it leaves the womb. That will take away a lot of worries :)The second thing we learned is that the mother is always right. I am glad that Blake is learning this early on so he won't question me anymore. My motherly instincts were correct and we are having a BOY! I can't tell you how excited we both are. Blake was doing fist pumps in the office he was so excited. He is one proud Daddy. I am also glad that I get to keep that cute outfit that I bought a couple weeks ago. The Dow side of the family is well-known for boys being dominate so it was only necessary that we carry on the tradition of having the first born be a boy. It is so nice knowing what I am having so now we can really start planning things.I feel like there is so much to do now before things start getting busier and there are so many cute crafts that I am dying to make.  Here are some examples:

This cute baby wipe case. It looks so easy to make and looks adorable.

I love these baby Binky clips. They are a cute accessory but aren't too girly.

There are a couple of other things I would like to make but I would have to learn how to sew first and that most likely won't happen soon so these might have to do. If you have any other ideas PLEASE SHARE! I am always open for new ideas. I can use all the help I can get.

Oh and sorry for being lame with no new pictures. The cord that connects our camera to the computer is somewhere in storage so I can't put up the new pictures. One of these days I will go hunt it down but for now just be patient with me.

The Joys of Pregnancy

Along with the lack of appetite, the nauseousness, the headaches, the never ending stuffy nose, and all the other joys of pregnancy that I have experienced, I have found one that wins the prize for the most annoying (so far, granted I am only 14 weeks). It's the dang hormones! I have never been so emotional in my life and it is driving me (and I'm sure Blake) crazy! It is so bad that it has produced one of my top 5 most embarrassing moments. I am just grateful that no one besides my unknowing husband was around to witness this horrific event. Let me explain.

One night, Blake and I were in bed watching Jersey Shore (our guilty pleasure) on the laptop. We have missed most of the new season and just decided to try to watch an episode that Blake heard was "unreal". Let me just start by saying that I am not a cryer. I don't cry when I am upset, frustrated, hurt, mad, or even slightly sad. In the two and a half years that we have been married, Blake has probably only seen me cry 2-3 times. Well apparently I was really sad because once Sammie announced that she was leaving because she couldn't be in the same house as Ronnie I noticed tears starting to stream down my face. And not just one or two but a flash flood! Yes, you heard me correctly. One of the rare occasions that I cried was when Ronnie and Sammie, people I don't even know and could care less about, broke up for the 100th time. Humitiated, I tried to discreetly wipe the tears from my face without Blake seeing me because I knew that if he did I would never hear the end of it. Luckily, I was able to get away without Blake seeing any signs of tears on my face and I knew that I had dodged a bullet but still, I am probably the only person that has ever cried while watching Jersey Shore which is not something that I am very proud of.

This is not the last of it I am sure. I have had countless other times where I have let things bother me that normally I would just brush off but these dang hormones are out of control! Blake probably thinks that I am going crazy but I swear this is normal, right? Please tell me this is normal and that I am not the only one with emotional issues. It will make me feel a whole lot better.

Rookie Blogger

So after being married for over 2 and a half years, I have decided that I have put off blogging long enough and have decided to jump on the bandwagon with every other married couple I know. Don't get too excited because who knows how good of a blogger I will be but at least it's a start right?

I don't know how these things work but I guess I should start off with a little introduction. Ironically enough, even though we grew up 10 minutes away from each other, Blake and I met while attending BYU in our student ward  . Better yet in our family home evening group. And even better than that..he got my number out of the ward directory. Yes, you heard me right, he didn't even ask me for my number but turned to the ward "menu" to pick out his favorite "dish". OK maybe I am getting a little carried away but I love to give him a hard time about it cause I think it's hilarious if not slightly embarrassing. Blake likes to call us a Zubbie couple. If you don't know what that means then just imagine a typical mormon couple from Utah. Not saying that's a bad thing but sometimes they do things a little bit different than the rest of society. To be honest though, I could have cared less where he got my number cause I was just so dang excited he asked me out. In fact, the first time I saw Blake, I told my roommates I was going to date him. I had the biggest crush on him but was too nervous to go up and talk to him. Yea I know, I am a dork.  It took him a few months to ask me out but once he did we knew it was meant to be.  We were married on July 19, 2008 in the Los Angeles temple and I can honestly say it was the best day of my life. Not only was I sealed for time and all eternity to the man of my dreams but I got to eat good food, dress up like a princess, and party with all the people that I love.

After we were married, we headed back to Utah where we lived for the first 2 and a half years.  I played soccer for BYU and studied Exercise and Wellness while Blake worked at the MTC teaching spanish and studying Construction Management.  We made so many amazing friends while we were there and had so many good memories of our college days.  We miss all our friends like crazy but look forward to keeping in touch.  We took full advantage of the newlywed life and loved our comfy little Riverside Condo that we lived in.

Now we have moved on to the next phase of our lives and let's just say it has been a huge adjustment for us. Blake is working for a company called Hensel Phelps who is based out of Irvine. Currently he is working on a project at LAX and has a fun commute every day (can you sense the sarcasm). It is a miserable drive and it sometimes takes him 2 hours to get home. He is such a hard worker and I am so grateful for his sacrifice and all that he does for me. I honestly have an amazing husband who I am extremely grateful for.  My job isn't quite as exciting but I get to babysit 2 kids everyday after school and it is the perfect job for me at this point since I am pregnant.  I am able to get things done in the morning, go workout, and then pick up the kids in the afternoon and come home and make dinner before Blake gets home (not to mention it gives me some much needed parenting practice). We are currently living with my parents right now and it has been so nice to be able to save up our money so that we can hopefully buy a house soon. We have been so spoiled by both of our parents and we feel so blessed!  We love being able to spend time with our family and love being so close to everyone.

So yeah. I mentioned something about being pregnant. SURPRISE! Yes it is a surprise to all of us, even me but I can't tell you how excited I am to be a mom!  It has honestly been consuming my life! It is all I can think about every day! haha For the first couple of months, I have felt great, (shoot I didn't even know I was pregnant for the first month and a half) but the nauseousness has kicked in a little but nothing too bad.  I haven't thrown up and I am in my last week of the first trimester so I am happy about that.  I haven't had any cravings (besides a Tasty Bagel sandwich) and if anything I have a lack of appetite and I have to force myself to always keep something in my stomach because a lot of the time nothing sounds good.  I had my first doctors appointment and I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat and can I just tell you it was the coolest thing!  I'm sure all mothers feel the same way but it made it all seem real to me that I have something growing inside me.  I thought it was pretty exciting and I was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.  I don't know if I am obsessive (hopefully this is normal) but I am already looking at baby clothes, furniture, anything baby that you can imagine and I am only 13 weeks along. Let's just say it is going to be a long pregnancy.  I do have one confession to make.  I have already bought an outfit even though I don't know what I am having yet.  It was just so dang cute, on sale, and I was just so excited that I couldn't pass it up. What gender, you ask? Well, I think it is a boy and Blake thinks it is a girl because he says all the boys are taken in both of our families (we have 9 nephews and 3 nieces) but I still just have this feeling...so the outfit I got was for a baby Blake. We will have to wait a couple more weeks to find out!

What do you think we are going to have?