Camp Out!

Or Camp-in?  Whatever you want to call it, we had a sweet Young Women's 'retreat' a few weeks ago!  We stayed in this adorable cabin up Provo canyon and had a BLAST!  How could it not be awesome with amazing bbqed turkey breast (can I say 'wow'? SO GOOD), camp songs, a 'faith walk', games, testimony meeting, fabulous breakfast, and more!?  Thanks to Matt (and Brother Hines) for being troopers and staying in a tent on the lawn -in the cold- as our protectors :)  And thanks to the ladies and young women for giving up the only bed to the two pregnant women!  

Cute Cabin!

There is always room for one more!

We've got skills :)

The home stretch!

36.5 weeks - wow! I feel like a broken record, always talking about 'time' lately - how it seems like it will creep by and fly by... but really, truly, it is amazing how slowly and yet quickly time is passing! We are so excited for little Mason and we know he will be here so soon!

As you can see, there is definitely a baby in there... and I'm suspecting he'll be a good size! With my Mom's kiddos being mostly in the 8-9 lb range, I'm just trying to prepare myself for what may lie ahead :) As far as the doctor's visits go, everything is checking out a-o-k! No troubles with protein, the blood pressure is fabulous, and swelling isn't an issue either (my ankles will often feel or look puffy by the end of the day... but nothing big). And, if those babycenter and american pregnancy emails are telling the truth, word is that I won't be noticing much of a change in my measurement and weight in these last few weeks? I like the sounds of that! We'll see if the pictures tell otherwise!

The nursery is also just about complete! All I lack at this point is wall decor... which... hopefully I'll get around to doing! If not, I promise to post some pictures soon anyway. Ah, nesting at its finest! I don't think I have much else to report... just that we're excited and anxious! Till next time...

33 weeks! Yay!

Ah, a few days late on the picture again, but hey, better than nothing ! Here I am at 33 weeks(should have been taken at 32 weeks)... as you can see, I'm on the out-n-out as Mason continues growing at a generally rapid pace - he is gaining something like a half a pound a week at this point! I still can't believe how soon he'll be here - and yet not soon enough. :)

So, the other week Matt and I were in Wal-mart together when suddenly he says, "I have a surprise for you... stay here!" and wanders off into isles. I was completely clueless... and usually I am really good at guessing surprises :) Several minutes later he returns triumphantly with a body pillow in tow! He was beaming as he told me that 'everyone' said I needed one so he was insisting I get one. Unfortunately, the Wal-mart pillow had seen its day (it was the only one he could find - and he found it on the floor somewhere... it looked a little rough) so we opted to pick the pillow up another day elsewhere. Well, we finally got one and... I think I need to take a moment to say: I LOVE MY BODY PILLOW! I can't remember the last time I got as much 'good' sleep -- I woke up less than 5 times the first night and only one of those required a trip to the little ladies room (this is quite a feat!). Hallelujah!

Besides sleep-deprivation (which I realize this is just the beginning of many years), I have been feeling really good! I've got the what I'd call 'normal' aches and pains - ribs achy, feet hurting at the end of the day, etc., but all in all it really has been good. I had a check up this past Friday and had a little elevated protein, but not enough to be too worrisome -- just enough to keep an eye on. My blood pressure is still great and no swelling is going on, so we'll keep our fingers crossed that all continues well! Only a few more weeks little guy...

We are continuing to get closer and closer to feeling like we've got what we need to get this operation started -- we just got our stroller and car seat and the crib is on its way! Here is a picture of the 'travel system' (stroller & car seat)... as you can see, Sammy thinks its for him! We also have the painting done and the blinds are ordered! I look forward to posting about the process of the room and showing the finished product!

No title sufficient

Maranda was chatting with someone in our downstairs office today and was wondering who it was - so she clicked on our handy-dandy camera link.  Who expected to catch this shot?  hahahaaha

Derby-it-up

Matt's work hosted their first annual fishing derby 2 weeks ago at Strawberry Reservoir. Although we didn't end up fishing any, we had a lot of fun! Matt got to cook more sausage in one night than he will the rest of his life and we both got some awesome (weird) tan lines! (I still look like I am wearing a shirt.) The weather turned out perfect for the event - blue, sunny skies - things were just wrapping up as a storm blew in. Here are some pictures from the event...

Preggo update!

29.5 weeks...

Well, my picture was over a week late being taken (shoulda been at 28), but hey, at least we got one!  Yeap, that bump is definitely growing!  I really cannot believe how active he is... it is SO comical to watch my stomach flip, flop, roll, tumble, etc.  I guess I'm easily entertained, but I can sit and watch the show for a long time and not get bored :)  

I had a check up this past Friday and everything is still looking perfect - measuring right on, his heartbeat was 144, my blood pressure was good, etc.  So, my next appointment is in 4 weeks - and after that it'll be every 2!  I cannot believe how quickly time is going!

As far as the room comes... it's... coming! Although I was planning on painting some stripes, I am starting to re-think my plan.  Either way, I hope to be done with it by next weekend at the latest - in anticipation of getting our dresser and crib set up!  I love feeling like we're getting our ducks in a row!  I even ordered our stroller the other day and we'll be ordering the car seat in the next week or so.  Hooray!

Other news... I had my first dreadful experience with my ankles swelling... ugh!  However, it was circumstantial, short lived, and nothing to worry about.  When we boarded our plane in Chicago coming home from Tennessee (lay over) I happened to notice my ankles and gasped!  I had CANKLES!  Needless to say, I learned why they recommend flying in your second trimester rather than your third - the flight home was miserable.  My ankles had me worrying, my tailbone was killing me, and my back was a nightmare.  So much for sleeping on the way home!  But, thankfully, with a good nights rest the next night I haven't had another episode since.  

Even bigger news, we're about 99.9% sure we've got our name picked out!  Mason Thomas Spann!   Unfortunately, we don't have some cool story attached to his first name (it was a Jordyn: "Matt!  what about Mason?"  Matt: "hey, I think I like that!"  kind of moment), although the second name carries significance for both sides of our family - my maiden name and the middle name of Matt's Grandfather.  So, unless he comes out looking like a 'Bob' (as Matt says), we'll be holding our little Mason in October :) 

Tennessee-erific!

Flight vouchers that were expiring, a baby on the way, and a love for home = a trip to TN!

Our week in Tennessee brought lots of family, friends, fun, and food! As always, we were running from one place to the next most of the time, but really enjoyed getting to see so many people and share with them our joy of the soon-to-arrive bundle! Matt got his fill of southern food (and white cheese dip) and we even got to have two baby showers while we were home! How fun is that! Even cooler yet, Jared (my brother), his wife Melissa, and two kiddos - Kailyn and Connor - were able to drive up from Orlando while we were there!! It was so much fun to see everyone but it also really made me miss my family... someone needs to rearrange the U.S. and make FL closer to UT :) Can someone work on that? We love and miss you all!