18 weeks!

We are 18 weeks and 2 days! Baby is already half a foot and half a pound! Wow! Time flies when you're having fun and really busy! I like pregnancy #2! If I feel this great in my future pregnancies I wouldn't mind having 5 more! I'm so excited to get to China and find a doctor. By that time we'll only have a little over 4 months till the baby comes.
Every day I wonder how Ali is going to handle another baby coming into the family. She is the center of our universe and we like it that way. But I plan on having the two kids be our universe in a few months... I'm just not sure Ali will know what to think about having to share the center of the universe! Luckily she LOVES kids and I'm hoping she'll enjoy having a little playmate. Plus I really hope we meet some fun people in China that she can play with.
I'm so happy that we're having another baby in January! I get so excited thinking about all my children and about them growing up together and the fun things we can do! I'm working on a quiet book right now and I love thinking back on the quiet book that my mom made for us and how much we loved it. It's been fun looking through her quiet book patterns and remembering all those Sundays sitting at church and enjoying all the different pages! I also love dreaming about the holidays and birthdays with my children! I can't wait to see their little faces when they wake up and come down to the Christmas tree to see if Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk! I love the "magical ages"- the ages when children still believe in magic! So cute! Then of course there is the first day of school- and just as fun, the last day of school... soccer practice, piano recitals, etc. (There aren't any whiny or fighting kids when I'm dreaming...that's what dreams are for!)

Welcome to the NEW Ballyhoo!

I'm 17 weeks and 1 day and the news is finally out.... it's a good thing because it's becoming impossible to deny.... most of the "baby belly" is really "cookie belly" for now, but it is beginning to pop! Oh fun!! Can't wait till January!

16 weeks....

I'm 16 weeks already?!! Amazing to think that I'm almost halfway there. The update is that I feel GREAT! I haven't been sick at all which is such a blessing! There was one week when I was really tired and if I didn't get to sleep I felt sick, but that happens even when I'm not pregnant so it's no big deal. I missed the opportunity to do a DNA test during the 1st trimester to find out the gender so we'll have to wait and see. We are moving to China before my doctor plans on doing the 20 week ultrasound so we might not get to know the gender until January 14th-ish when this little sweetie is born. It's illegal in China to find out the gender of your baby. I'm hoping that our doctor will be nice and do the ultrasound early. I'm guessing it's a boy, and I'm basing this guess entirely on the fact that I wasn't nauseous this time.
We broke the news to the Newton grandparents a couple weeks ago when we were in Utah and this week to the Hrncirik grandparents; my mom came into town and then we skyped my dad with the news.
Today I had my first stanger ask if I was pregnant. It was gutsy of her but I liked it! It's good to know that I'm starting to look pregnant, it means that we're progressing! I can't wait to see this little one and squeeze its little baby goodness!

6 weeks!

Sweet Little Baby,
You are still so small but so much is happening and you are already growing so quickly! Your little nose and eyes are forming! And so are your limbs! It's amazing to think that you are becoming the little person we will see in 34 weeks! We hope you are comfy and happy in my belly! We love you and can't wait to see you!
Love,
Mommy + Daddy

I'm still feeling really good this week. I am really tired but I can't tell if I'm more tired than normal or not. Ali is finally getting back to sleeping better after she got sick last month. She only wakes up once from 8 pm to 6 am. So whether I'm more tired or not, it's hard to gauge, but I do know that I am sleeping more soundly. Sometimes Jimmy will hear her before she wakes me up. That has never happened before. It feels nice to be sleeping soundly again... it's been a while. Ali is napping now and Jimmy and I were just talking over breakfast about how it doesn't seem real yet. I think until you hear that little heartbeat you just have to imagine that the baby is growing in you. Either that or the morning sickness hits! We'll see- but I am very happy about it. Could this be a little easier if Ali were almost 2 instead of not quite 1?...maybe. But I wouldn't have it any other way. This is when this little spirit is meant to come into this world and we are so happy to be its parents!

A NEW Ballyhoo!

That's right... we have a NEW reason to celebrate! What a surprise we had this past weekend when we learned that Ali is going to be a big sister! We had decided a few months ago that even though she is still young, we didn't want to waste any time bringing another sweet baby into our family, especially since we didn't know if we would be able to have another baby or not. So each month we waited to see if we would be pregnant and sure enough, on Friday I took a pregnancy test and saw those two little lines! Pregnant! Jimmy was out of town and so I had to wait till Saturday when he got back to tell him the news. Friday night I made a little flip book that said we were having a baby and when I had the chance, I gave him the flip book and watched his face as he read the message. He was so excited; he hugged and kissed me. We are so relieved and happy that we are expecting a new baby! I'm having a hard time not calling "it" a "he". I don't know why, I just keep saying "he"... maybe it's because we already have a girl or maybe it's because it really is a "he"! We'll see! The baby is due in January and we will have to wait till I go to the doctor to find out the exact due date. This is going to be an exciting ride! We'll see how it goes being pregnant with a 7 month old. I'm really hoping I don't get as sick as I did last time. But if I do, it will be a learning and growing experience for me! I can't wait to find out what we're having and especially to see this new little baby!!

October 21st!

Mary Alice came into this world this morning at 12:13 am! She is a beautiful little girl with lots of dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. She is 8 pounds 3 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. She has been nothing but sweet from the moment she was born! She loves to be snuggled! We had great nurses and her baby nurses have been so helpful in teaching me how to nurse. Each time it's getting better and better! Right now she is sleeping in Daddy's arms- all swaddled up and loving life!

Week 39

This is the end of many things, and the beginning of other beautiful things! We are ending that carefree time of marriage that we've been living for the past 2 years, and all the carefree years before that. This is the end of uninterrupted sleep, being able to pack up and leave in 30 seconds or less, quiet days, and many other things that we will soon find out! We are entering a new phase in life. We get to be parents! Which seems so crazy to me! I'm going to be a mom?! My mom is a mom, my sister is a mom- but me? I never really thought this day would ever come! And it's coming- this week! I can't imagine all the beautiful things that will come with the birth of this little girl!

We are going into the hospital on Wednesday morning and hopefully sometime by Thursday (obviously I'm hoping it doesn't take that long!!!) we will be holding our new baby! Words can't express how we feel, or at least my words. We are so excited and grateful that she is coming!

I'll miss this belly! Of course I'd rather have a baby in my arms, but it's a sweet thing to have a baby growing in you. I have so enjoyed bonding with her and feeling her grow and move. I hope that we will get to have this experience again in the (not too distant) future.

Here are some photos of the baby's nursery. I will still be adding a couple finishing touches this week, but the main things are done. It's very PINK and very GIRLY! (Let's hope the ultrasounds were right or it will be one confused boy!)

Maybe I'm crazy and felt like my baby NEEDED a chandelier mobile. Can you believe they don't sell these? I had to buy a mobile, take it apart and string the beads.

Remember this rocker??

Here it is now! It was a lot of work but totally worth it!

One of our favorite things is this picture of the Salt Lake temple with the words "I'm going there someday.." The best part is we already had the frame and we got the picture for free (just the cost of printing at Costco)! We got it from a sweet girl who has a cute blog: http://www.lilluna.com/ She has a lot of other temple pictures for free on her blog! I think it's awesome that she offers these at no cost!

Week 38

Last week I was so sure that the baby was on her way SOON... as in maybe this week soon. Every night, as I was going to bed, I was sure that I would wake up to contractions. But on Wednesday we went to the doctor and he let us know that there is absolutely nothing going on in the dilation station. This was a tiny bit disappointing, but at the same time, really good to know. I have been able to get a lot more done this week without the thought that at the next moment I could be going into labor. It's probably good that I've been able to be a little more active this week because guess what decided to make a comeback after 9 months? My appetite! I have had such little interest in food my whole pregnancy until this week. Now I feel like I could polish off everything in the pantry in one evening. Luckily we only have two more weeks till the baby comes. I think I can keep my appetite at bay for 10 more days.
I am a little less nervous about the birthing process this week. I'm just getting so excited to see her! We sit in the nursery every night and just talk about how exciting it will be to actually have a baby in there with us in two short weeks!

Week 37

We've waited for October to come for so long and it's finally here! I can't believe we only have 3 weeks until we get to see our little girl! Jimmy and I still don't feel like this is real... we really are going to bring a baby home with us soon!
I still feel great! When I compare the discomfort of her being in my belly (which is pretty much zero) with the discomfort of labor (which is NOT zero) I will take the baby in the belly. So am I ready for her to be out? Not really. But if she doesn't come out, I don't get to see her. So then yes, I am ready for her to be out. I'm just excited for labor to start so it can end with a beautiful, sweet baby!
I can tell she is getting ready to be out in the world. She is becoming so aware of what's going on out here. This week, she has started to react to noises. I was at Walmart last night and someone dropped something and she jerked. She does this a couple times a day. Even when I feel like the noise isn't very loud, she'll jump. She is already, in a way, relating to life. I so appreciated conference and all that I learned about children and parenting. I'm so glad that I have guidelines and counsel to use when raising this sweet spirit. I hope I don't mess her up too bad.
Our appointments have all been good these past few weeks. My cervix is soft and the nurse can feel the baby's head. I'm excited to go in this Wednesday and see if I have dilated at all. I'm not counting on it, just curious. The nursery is pretty much finished. Well, I'm always thinking of new touches to add... the longer I wait, the more I think of. I'm sure Jimmy is praying she'll get here soon so I'll stop working on it! The same thing happened when we went ring shopping. The first time we went, I picked out a beautiful ring. A couple months later, we went ring shopping again and I picked out another beautiful ring- only this time it was bigger. Very soon after that, he proposed. I guess he knew what would happen if he kept waiting!
This past week, a great friend took some maternity pictures for me. I wasn't thrilled about posing in my hugeness but it's good to document this fun time. Plus, the photographer was so comfortable to be around and I had another great friend there to help.

This is a picture she took using our camera.

And my personal favorite: one that Jaxie took!

I always feel more comfortable making a face!

Week 36

What an amazing week! It has been so exciting and exhausting! I had a wonderful baby shower on Saturday. (And then after the shower we actually got this beautiful rain! How appropriate!) I know I didn't need to get anything ready for it, but you know how it goes. I did a little too much and ended up with some awesome kankles! But it didn't stop at the kankles! It looked like I got kankles, and then rolled those kankles! It was amazing! I thought they would stay that way for the rest of the pregnancy but they have gone down. It's fun getting to experience that part of pregnancy- looking down and wondering whose body you're looking at!

So back to the baby shower- it was so wonderful! I had 3 Amazing hostesses: My lovely and talented sister, Andrea, Jimmy's amazing aunt, Ruth, and my sweet surrogate grandma, Velma.
They put together such a nice party with delicious food, a gorgeous table and fun games. I was overwhelmed by everyone’s kindness in coming all the way out to the house and for their generous, adorable gifts! Really, I couldn't get over it for the rest of the day! It was so sweet and more than I ever imagined! Jimmy and I are so grateful and humbled!

The next exciting thing is that when I woke up today I could not help but notice that the baby has dropped!! It is SUCH an interesting feeling! My belly feels and looks totally different! I know that there are no guarantees on the timing after the baby drops, but I like to think that it means something GREAT is about to happen!