Boating

This weekend we were able to go boating with Matt's parents and sister. It was lots of fun! Em wasn't too sure about it at first, but before long, she was loving it!

She loved going for boat rides and looking at the ducks in the water and watching everyone (besides me, of course) waterski and wakeboard.

She would get very concerned when people would fall down in the water, and she would yell out, "Better go get him (or her!) and get back in the boat." It was really cute.

Then she really wanted to get in the water. I thought she would hate it because it was cold, but she loved it and would kick her legs and swim and splash.

Here is Matt on the wakeboard.

Em had so much fun that she fell asleep on the way back to the dock. I was shocked! She never falls asleep anywhere except in her bed.

Anyway, it was fun. We love boating...thanks for taking us, Lively fam!

The 30's

I've finally hit the 30+ week mark! We're in the final stretch. If anyone still reads this, you may have noticed I haven't posted much about this pregnancy. I feel like last time, I posted updates and preggo pics and stuff all the time. But this time has been so miserable and I didn't want to complain so I have just tried to refrain from saying anything here.

But every pregnant lady is allowed to complain at least once, right? This pregnancy has been so different from the last one. I have been so sick and tired and hot. I am blowing up like a hot air balloon, and I look disgusting. I don't get to be the cute, round, preggo-bellied pregnant lady like most people. My mom and sister were the same. We just carry our babies differently than most and I am just getting fat and swollen all over and look really gross. (Hence, no preggo pics.) And I feel really gross. My hair is really dry and ugly, my skin is looking awful, and my hands and feet are constantly going numb. I feel like I can't do anything. When I try to be productive and clean or exercise or something, my belly really hurts. And I just get really lonely staying home by myself all day with no friends around here. I was really hoping our new neighborhood would have a playgroup or something for me to be able to meet other moms around here, but no such luck. I am thinking I may try to start one once people's older kids go back to school.

Anyway, enough complaining. I did want to post some positive stuff....our baby boy's latest pics! I fell off my bike a couple of weeks ago and the doc wanted to do another ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok with the little boy. He is doing just fine, and I made the tech check again to make sure he was still a boy. (He is still definitely a boy.)

Even though this has been a really hard pregnancy for me, I have finally started to get excited about having a boy. I know I have always said that being pregnant is a whole lot easier than having a newborn, but I am getting anxious to just get him here, so we can start adjusting to our new life as a family of 4. I am really just ready to move on...I just feel like I'm in limbo right now and I want to start progressing and healing and finding myself again.

I am extremely nervous about what this addition will bring though. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle 2 kids, and I'm afraid about how Emily will react to her baby brother. And I'm definitely not looking forward to not sleeping and nursing for 10 hours a day. But I am looking forward to meeting this little boy and getting rid of these crazy hormones and hopefully start feeling more normal again. I know it's gonna take awhile to adjust but I am ready to start on that path.

We haven't decided on a name yet, but Matt has insisted his middle name be Charles. (That is Matt's middle name, and his dad's middle name.) I like Brandon, Jackson, and Blake. Matt likes Ethan and Brenner (or Brennan). We both like Zachary, so that just might be it unless something else comes up in the next 8 weeks.

I feel like there's so much to do and that we are running out of time. I have absolutely nothing besides a carseat for a boy, so I pretty much have to start from scratch. I'm finally getting excited about fixing his room up. Right now I am liking either a sailboat/nautical theme or a surfer theme. Something like this...

or this....

Of course Matt wants something like this... (He says sailboats and surfers are not manly or tough enough for his boy.)

So we'll have to pick something out soon so we can get it ready. Especially because I'm going to have to make a lot of it since these things are ridiculously expensive. I still don't know what to do about the crib. I'm not ready to move Emily out of hers and I don't want to buy another one. He might just have to sleep in the pack-n-play for awhile until I am ready to move Em into a bed.

Anyway, here's to hoping the next 8 weeks go by fast and that he gets here healthy and I don't go any crazier than I already am.

Kyle's Mission Call

My youngest brother Kyle got his mission call this week. He invited us all over to watch him open it. I was so excited....I have never been able to watch anyone open their call before. (I was gone for when my other brothers got theirs.)

He covered it up and read it line by line. (Very slowly, I might add.) We were all dying in anticipation.

And he's going to....Moscow, Russia!!!!! He leaves on Jan. 2.

This is my favorite picture. It's everyone else huddling together to look at the mission map and booklet.

And then he had to call all the grandparents. I don't know about anyone else, but I was not surprised at all about Russia. I've always pictured him serving in Eastern Europe. And one of those big Russian hats would suit him well.

It was a lot of fun. Opening a mission call is a moment you'll never forget. I can still remember opening mine almost 10 years ago now. I was living in Atlanta at the time, and my roommate hid it from me until my other roommate came home from work. I definitely did not read it line by line, but first I saw the language, then the location, and then the MTC date, and that was about it.

Anyway, congrats to Kyle, he will be a great missionary. And Emmy will sure miss her favorite uncle, but I'm sure she will have fun coloring pictures to send to him.

Done and Done

MATT GRADUATED FROM GRAD SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are done with school FOREVER!!!! (Neither of us need/want doctorates). We are both beyond thrilled about this. One or both of us have been in grad school ever since we got married, and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders. It has been a tough 4 years with one or both of us being in school, but we are DONE! Oh glorious day!

I am so proud of my honey. I know it has been a tough road, but he persisted through it and now he is a master! He shocked me by deciding at the last minute to actually attend his BYU graduation. He did wear his Utah tie though and got a lot of weird looks.

And I am so proud of myself too! (I did read/edit his 140-page thesis multiple times.) I told Matt it was pretty typical of a BYU grad to have a pregnant wife and a 2-year-old at his graduation. Ha!

Here he is walking across the stage to get his diploma.

Emmy would not quit picking her nose for the pictures. Ha!

Here is Matt with his published copy of his thesis. See how the title is 3 lines long? And remember how it was 140 pages? Crazy!

Even though Matt's parents were also sporting their red and white, (they probably never thought they would set foot on BYU's campus before) Matt's dad insisted on getting him a BYU frame for his diploma. It was pretty funny. Em was very intrigued by Matt's tassle.

Anyway, I am so glad this day has finally come. And I am so proud of Matt for working so hard. It's so nice to have this out of the way so we can now focus on other things without this hanging over our heads. On his graduation day, Matt seemed so much more relaxed and light and free than he has in the past 3 years. It was great! Congratulations honey, you did a great job!

County Fair

Last week the County Fair was going on just down from our house so we decided to pay a visit. It was really pretty lame, but they did have a cute little petting zoo.

Em's favorite part was this huge bunny. She practically dove under the bench to pet it and get up close.

They had sheep, goats, ponies, a little tiny cow, the rabbit, a llama, a turtle, a camel, and a kangaroo.

The funniest part was that there was a goat standing on top of the turtle!

On the way home, I may or may not have made Matt drive past 3 snow cone stands looking for a "good one". :)

Emmy's Photo Shoot

My sister Allison took some pictures of Emmy for her 2-year birthday. Here are some of my favorites!

She was being quite the little stinker that day, so I'm glad we got some cute ones! Thanks, Allison.

P.S. The shoes she is wearing in these pictures get the most compliments out of anyone or anything. I think they are stinkin' adorable and apparently lots of strangers at grocery stores and libraries and other public places think so too. And I especially love her outfit...can someone find me one in an adult size? :)

Cabin trip

Last week we headed up to our cabin for a few days in the mountains. It was nice to get away and have people to talk to and someone for Em to play with. Emmy and Rivers had a ball. Here they are picking yellow flowers to give to Grandma.

This was when Rivers was smelling the flowers and Emmy thought he was eating them and said, "Rivers, don't eat the flowers!" It was hilarious!

Then they built some towers out of rocks on these logs. Rivers would knock them down and say, "Oh no! Oh no!" and Emmy would laugh at him.

They thought the big rocks around the fire pit were very interesting. They also had a blast running and flopping themselves on the couch and jumping on the beds and playing cars on the deck.

Em tried her first piece of corn on the cob. I about died laughing watching her eat it, it was so funny. She would just take random bites of the corn all over the cob. She eventually ate about half the cob, but she insisted on doing it herself.

Matt and my brothers and dad practiced their bow hunting skills. Emmy kept wanting to go see the deer so after each round, we'd have to hike over to the target and see the deer. She also loved going for rides on "Kyle's big truck" (the 4-wheeler) and seeing the sheep at Grandma Alta's house and on the road up the canyon.

On Saturday morning, a bunch of us participated in the Skyline 10K at 10K (10,000 feet in elevation) run, which was just down the road from our cabin. I only did the 5K and walked it, but it was HARD! The hardest 5K I've ever done and I was only walking. That elevation really did have an effect. It was such a small race that half of us (not me) won prizes! The funniest part was instead of a gunshot start or a countdown or anything, the starting guy just waved his hat and said go! It was a beautiful course though and they had turkey sausage at the end from the Sanpete County turkey farms. I thought that was funny.

On the way home, we gave Emmy this little bag of chips and she got it all over herself. She looked hilarious. When I was trying to take a picture, she kept saying, "No pictures! No pictures!" Ha!

Anyway, it was a fun time, and we got to stop and see my Great-granny Alta (who is 98). A few months ago she was really sick, and we didn't think she'd make it, but she's bounced right back and was husking corn and getting cookies for Emily.