Pregnancy: 19 Weeks

 It's hard to believe that we are almost halfway through this pregnancy! It has flown by, but also strangely still seems like it is so far away. I'm sure that once the holidays hit, out little guy will be here in no time.

I am still feeling really good, and I feel sooo lucky to say that. I feel much less tired and moody than I did at the beginning of the pregnancy, which I know Eric is very grateful for. I think I may have felt our little guy move the other day, but hopefully will start to feel that more in these next few weeks. I think that is when all of this will start feeling really real. (Can you tell that I am still slightly in denial that all of this is happening?!)

It's hard to distinguish the oh so many different emotions I am feeling as we progress further down this road leading to parenthood. The most overwhelming emotion so far has been that of pure gratitude. There are few things I have ever been more grateful for in my life than bringing this little one into the world and starting a family with the person I love so much.

A feeling of being extremely overwhelmed is definitely a close second to that of being grateful. There are so many things to buy... so many options and reviews to read... and so many decisions to be made. I compiled a list of "baby necessities" at the beginning of my pregnancy, and I feel like that list just keeps growing a growing! If there is one thing that I love though, it is finding good deals on things. While Eric is busy studying, I have spent my nights searching for the cheapest prices on the things we need, and that's been really fun for me and gotten me even more excited for our little guy to come.

My favorite guilty pleasure has been searching for good deals on baby clothes at places like the D.I. and finding good sales. It takes some searching and patience, but I have been surprised at how many things I have been able to find that are either brand new or look barely worn. And you can't beat $1-$2 a pop.

This is such a fun and special time in life, and Eric and I are trying to do all we can to enjoy these last few months of complete freedom before we are hit with this heavy-duty responsibility of parenthood. One thing I know is that I already love this little guy so much, and I couldn't be any more excited to have him join our family.

We're Having a Boy!

I could not be more excited to announce that we are having a boy! Just hearing myself say those words feels a little bit funny. I truly feel so blessed to have this amazing little one come into our lives and did not feel even an ounce of disappointment when I found out we were having a boy, but I think I had to stop myself from panicking a few times the first few days after we found out. As the oldest of five girls in my family growing up, I know how girls work.. But then I realized that I was never really a girly girl. I rarely played with barbies or dolls, I didn't really play dress ups, I played sports every recess with the boys and I enjoyed movies like the 3 Ninjas. Not that I have any idea how little boys really work, but I am beginning to feel more hopeful that with the help of Eric (and a LOT of help from the man upstairs) I will be able to figure this out as I go.

Here's to this new and exciting adventure!

My MBA Hubbie

All set and ready for the first day of business school! We're buckling down and ready for this crazy new adventure to begin!

Deer Valley 2011

We had such a fun opportunity to go up to Deer Valley with my family last weekend. There was an auction for the Young Women in my parent's ward and my dad won the auction for our neighbor's awesome condo in Deer Valley for a week. It was absolutely gorgeous! I loved being up there in the summer time and the weather was totally perfect. Eric and I had school and work during the week, but we were able to go up and enjoy a weekend with everyone and had the best time.

We took a beautiful walk up to the Silver Lake Lodge and hiked up the mountain a little ways. It was so pretty! PS please ignore how translucent my skin looks next to my negro sisters!

Eagle pride haha!

We went up to the Alpine Slide and had so much fun!

Cute Tay

Syd went a little too slow for Erin's liking :)

My dad was getting pretty into it!

We also went on the Alpine Coaster, which was so much fun! It is pretty much a roller coaster that goes down the side of the mountain, through all of the trees and the lovely wilderness. It's a peaceful ride up to the top, and we were all surprised at how fast it was on the way down! Super fun.

Enjoying being one with nature!

A lot of our trip consisted of this- games! This is one of my favorites, Ticket To Ride. If you have not played this, you HAVE to try it! It is seriously so much fun!

On Sunday we went to the brunch and Stein Erickson Lodge, and it was truly one of the most tasty and amazing brunches I have EVER seen. We had so much fun taking trip after trip to each buffet table and just laughing at how full we all were after!

Eric contemplating life and it's meaning.

I am so grateful to have a family that I love so much. My sisters and parents are seriously my best friends (after Eric, of course!), and I treasure all of the time we get to spend with them. Love you guys!

Atlanta! August 2011

We decided to take the small window we had after Eric stopped working and before he started school to visit Aurora. It was so much fun to see this little munchkin and how much she has grown just since February when we were there and saw her last. She started Kindergarten this last week! So crazy. She has grown so much and is still just as cute as ever. It's always so much fun going to visit her- we basically just try to fit as many fun things in a few days as we can. I'm always amazed at the incredible energy levels of a five year old, because I am usually totally exhausted by the end of the day and she is just ready to go, go, go all night!

This trip was more interesting because Aurora's mom warned us she'd been complaining a little of being sick the day before we got her, so we were watching out for that the whole trip. Of course every time we asked her how she was feeling she would say she was fine because she didn't want to stop playing, but she was having a hard time sleeping at night. We gave her lots of children's Tylenol, hoping it would help. By the last night, she was up most of the night crying. Her mom picked her up in the morning and after a visit to the doctor it turns out she had swimmer's ear and strep throat! No wonder she was so miserable!

We still had a blast with this sweet little girl and can't wait to go back and visit again hopefully soon!

Of course, our first and most important stop was to the traditional Chuck-E-Cheeses. Aurora LOVES this place and we always have a blast with the games and rides. Eric and I keep asking each other how long it will be until she is too old to enjoy this place. :) But we will keep taking her there until that day!

Lovin us some Buffalo Wild Wings!

We saw The Smurf's movie in 3D- not my favorite movie, but it was entertaining. We also saw Winnie The Pooh, and we all LOVED that one! A must-see for sure.

Moving.

We are going to be moving in the next couple of weeks to a new apartment in Lehi! I am feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment just thinking about packing boxes and moving our lives away from this quaint little apartment we have grown to love and know as home. Not to mention the amazing ward we are leaving. I am going to miss all of the friends we have made and my young women especially.  I truly love them so much!

We started packing on Saturday and I would say we have about a third of our things in boxes. We are moving to a bigger apartment, which is definitely nice, but I am still trying to get rid of all that is unnecessary so there is less to move. We have to be out of our place by the last weekend in July, and our new apartment will hopefully be ready to be moved into by then. I don't think I ever pictured myself moving to Lehi, but it is the perfect location and right in between the U where I work and BYU where Eric will be commuting to school in less than a month! Wow, that has come fast. He's putting in his last few weeks at work and will be done the first week of August, then comes the transition to becoming a full-time student again. And then I will be bringing in the sole income for the family- ahhh, pressure!!!

So many changes are coming our way, but with them will bring such great opportunity and room to grow. I am truly excited for what our future holds and for the exciting things that lie ahead!

The Best 26th Birthday

Eric made sure that I had a wonderful birthday this year. I worked on my birthday, so Eric woke me up with some delicious strawberry crepes in bed. I felt like I was in a dream because he also serenaded me with his guitar and my favorite songs while I ate. I know, I could barely believe it either. What a stud.

I have such amazing friends. Heather and Melissa planned a fun get together to celebrate my birthday and Melissa made this beautiful cake!

I love my husband.

Such a good day. I'm so grateful to have such an amazing family and friends who I love so much!

Brat Fest 2011

Have you ever been to the world's largest brat fest? I am proud to say that my answer to that questions can now and forever be yes! :) Wisconsin is home to many wonderful things, including Brat Fest which goes on every summer over Memorial Day weekend. They literally sell hundreds of thousands of brats in just a three day period and it is quite the sight to behold. We made it a fun family affair since it was Eric's brother Jeff's birthday, and it was hot and humid but oh so fun!

Mmmmm....

Brewer Game & Night With the Soon-to-be Suttons

I love going to Wisconsin. And what would a trip to Wisconsin be without going to a Brewer game??? We had been planning on going to Milwaukee for Eric's best friend Matt's wedding for over a year, but we were planning on making it a quick trip. We ended up taking a little bit of extra work off so we could drive over and enjoy some extra time with family. We left Friday after work and drove, drove, drove til we made it 24 hours later to the home land. We are really getting the trip down to a science, and believe it or not I actually enjoy it! We take turns driving and sleeping and will occasionally pull over at a truck stop, lay back our seats and catch some zzz's for a few hours. I'm sure the ease and fun of the trip won't quite be the same when we have kids someday, but we will enjoy it until then!

We started the trip off right with a little extra drive to Milwaukee to catch a Brewer vs Giants game at the one and only Miller Park. It was fun to get the chance to spend some time with the soon-to-be newlyweds before all of the wedding madness began. And the Brewers won, which made it that much more enjoyable. :)

Ahhhh.... Miller Park...

Love the racing sausages!

Oh hey Prince... how's it goin Ryan...

Showin my man Ryan some love

Love the mini sausages!

This is Eric in his ideal environment... at a Brewers game sitting next to Matt (and me too, I guess). Gotta love it.

The ultimate Brewers fans. One week before the wedding!

That night we went to see The Toys, Matt and Jen's favorite cover band, and they were awesome! In Milwaukee throughout the summer they have a bunch of festivals/carnivals where they have bands come and play, and it really is such a fun atmosphere!

You can see the fun carnival rides in the background.

Matt is really lovin that Diet Pepsi! :)

The Toys, in the flesh