I like pregnancy.

You can tell based on the amount of photos I take of myself.

In all seriousness, though, the thought of having a little person who's half Chris and half me is starting to become very exciting. Duh, it was already exciting, which is why we chose to embark upon this weird and scary and fun journey, but the closer it gets to her arrival, the more real it becomes.

I've chosen the best person in the world to procreate with. Honest. And that alone makes me giddy to get to know this girl who spends her days wedging feet in my ribs.

I complain a lot about pregnancy. I'm uncomfortable. My bladder is weaker (it was already tiny and feeble). I'm a cry baby. It hurts. My ass got large. But really, I only bitch so much because I have an amazing support system and they're always encouraging me to bitch. They say I deserve it. Which I sort of do, I guess.

But the truth is, I am loving this. Way more than I ever imagined I would. My body is an amazing instrument of which I have endless amounts of respect. My baby is already cool (she loves to listen to The Beatles and she's a great kick boxer). My dogs are being less naughty. My husband is helpful, kind and patient. My friends and family are accommodating and spoiling me like there's no tomorrow. It's all just great, and I am happy.

Somewhat human.

I have an appetite. My morning sickness is gone. I'm feeling somewhat human again. For a minute there, I was wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Now, though, I've entered this magical phase of pregnancy that I've heard so many talk about: the second trimester.

I'm six months pregnant, and with the exception of frequent pee trips to the restroom and uncomfortable belly situations while I sleep, I'm feeling amazing. The whole experience leaves me in awe every single day. Feeling her move (it's a girl!), seeing her face during the ultrasound, getting to know her sleep schedule and what music she likes--it's sort of the coolest thing I've ever experienced.

You know when you hear those pregnant women complain about strangers touching their growing stomachs? I'm not one of them. The attention doesn't bother me; in fact, often I grab hands of curious bystanders and place them on my tummy. Feeling her movements is just too amazing not to share. It's a miracle in every sense of the word, and how could I not want to share that miracle with everyone around me?

Funny things happen when you're pregnant. I will write about some of those funny things at some point.

We're having a baby.

Sam and Moose have something to say:

Happy new year.

Love The Ross Family, and Moose (who is still available for adoption, but barely because I really love him a lot and want to keep him).

PS: I designed this. Not that bad, eh? Photoshop: I will learn you.

Can you feel how much I miss you?

Xmas recap.

Confession: I did not get my Christmas tree out this year. This, however, does not mean I didn't have any Christmas spirit. It just means I was tired from all the excitement of life lately. New job, new friends, keeping up on my writing, keeping up on my reading, etc. Some things just took priority over the house decor. It sounds like I'm making excuses...but anyway, no, Christmas was not cancelled at our house. We still listened to the tunes, did the gifts and attended the parties. I would even dare to say it was one of our best Chritsmases to date. There was a lot of love going around. I'm feeling very blessed to have the people I do in my life. A select few close friends who hold my heart, a small (albeit loud) and loving family, an adorably sweet husband, a rambunctious dog. I could go on.

This sparkly flask was a gift from my friend. She knows me well.

Aside from the Oregon trip, Chris got me a few little gems to open on xmas morning, including this scarf (in which I am in love).

My mom got us a heated mattress topper with dual controls and six settings (something I thought would only be used by me, but has gotten a surprising amount of use on Chris's side as well). 

All the gifts were so thoughtful. Lotions, owl trinkets, treats, everything lovely.

I found a little time to make some felt flowers for the little ones (and me). See them here. 

On Christmas morning, we got up to do our service. I'm not sure if I've blogged about it in the past (alas, I am too lazy to look it up) but every year on Thanksgiving or Christmas--and sometimes both--we try to do some volunteer work in the community. The type of work and the places we go vary from year to year. The last few years we have gone up to Hill Air Force Base and helped serve/clean tables at the dining hall. The dining hall is a unique place to be on Christmas morning because it's filled with all kinds of people, many different walks of life. Most are military, alone, stationed here away from their families. Some like to visit. Some like to be alone. Some people bring their entire families for yummy dinner and dessert. There is always an empty table in the corner representing prisoners of war or those who have gone missing in military action. The rose and the empty plate always gets me a little misty-eyed.

Here we are in our chef's hats.

The highlight of the day was when a sweet, old man walked up to my mom and me. He wore a pressed suit, had his hair combed nice and walked with a cane. He grabbed her arm and asked her name. Then he thanked her for working on Christmas. He turned to me, called me by my mom's name, and thanked me for working on Christmas. I'm assuming he was a vet with alzheimer's. What a sweetie.

Next year we're considering doing something a little different. Possibly helping at the Road Home or a battered women's shelter. If anyone has any suggestions for areas of the community that can use a helping hand (in Utah) please let me know. I know there are a lot of nonprofits that need the help year-round, and I'm happy to lend a hand when I can. This is what holidays (and life!) should really be about.

I hope your holidays were as refreshing as ours. xo

Hardware ranch elk.

LIFE UPDATES! It's been a minute since I've blogged about regular life stuff. Today we took lots of pictures at the elk fest in Hyrum at Hardware Ranch, and I had a minute between laundry loads, so I thought why not update about my new job and such?

The DWR (where I now work) organizes a festival with activities and sleigh rides this time annually. This is the time of year when hundreds of Rocky Mountain elk visit the ranch to rest and eat in the meadow. The sleighs are pulled by a team of large-breed draft horses and the drivers explain the ranch's history and elk's behavior. It's such a sweet experience, seeing the huge elk in their natural environment. They don't seem to mind the loads of people on sleighs winding through their herd. They're actually very charming, the little ones with their whining noises when they want to suck milk from mom, and the big bulls perking up, judging us with their intimidating stances.

My new job is going very well. I have always been a wildlife lover (observer, not hunter. though I have no moral objection to hunting.) so it's nice to learn more about the different species and what Utah does to protect them. I'm so happy to be part of that effort. I had been to Hardware Ranch before, but it's been years. I'm glad we got a group together today and went for it. It was such a lovely day fulls of smiles, wildlife and sunshine. Perfect!

With Breanne, bundled up, ready to head out.

Inside the visitor's center at the interactive wildlife display. Breanne and Stormie got super cozy with that taxidermied elk.

LOOK AT THAT CAT BEHIND ME

Chris loved being in a car for four hours with us gals.

Rick, John, Izzy, Liz, Abby, Storm, me, Breanne

(huge elk off in the distance)

The sweet man on the right was our sleigh driver. Super informative and totally polite.

APPROACHING THE HERD

At the end of the day, we went back to my house and Chris made us all hobo dinners on the grill outside. YUM. We also snuggled up with blankies and watched Raising Hope (which is hilarious; netflix it). 

What a great day.

Illusion beach boutique.

My brother and sister in law own a tanning salon in Layton, Illusion Beach. This you probably already knew. BUT. What you may not know is that there is also a lil boutique in there. They have jewelry, bags, scarves, etc. Look at these cute aged turquoise earrings I got there last week. GREAT STOCKING STUFFERS.

I turned 27.

This year's birthday was amazing. It was filled with so much love from the thoughtful people in my life. Chris went all out in organizing a surprise party in my honor. My parents compiled family on my side for a delicious birthday lunch. The best celebration(s) I've had in a long, long time.

There are no photos. I was sort of too busy enjoying myself to remember to stop and take pictures. I'll do my best to paint a picture: cherry vodka, candy, tony's pizza, great company, amazing/thoughtful gifts. Oh! And this adorably delicious cake made by my talented sister in law.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes via Facebook, phone calls and real life. I'm so loved. That sure is nice.

Conversation with grams.

A sad, albeit hilarious convo with my gramma on Facebook.

I thought she had lasagnas; alas, she was talking about a Facebook game she was playing. Totally normal misunderstanding to have with a grandparent.

In memoriam.

Thoughts of Cliff fill my head today. Our sweet, smiling grandpa with a big back and bushy beard.

It's been a whole year. I miss him. I look at his note on our wedding wishing tree at least once a week, when I find myself sitting near it. I've positioned it so it's in the forefront and easy to access. I absolutely love when people ask about my tattoo because it puts a smile on my face immediately--just thinking of him. If I'm in a hurry or in an awkward situation, I simply say "It's a memorial to my late grandfather." If there's time to explain, I talk about how it's Chris's grandfather and how he's very special to me. I explain about the note on the wishing tree and how he was feeling stumped and almost didn't write anything down.  

His spirit lingers and protects; I feel it often. Bless you, Cliff...looking forward to a big bear hug again some day.

Daddy & daughter.

Together..at last!

This is my uncle and his daughter. Winter of Purple Plum Photography captured them perfectly!


My favorite:

Our family photos: by Ciara Richardson.

There are so many reasons why I love Ciara. Not just her photography (which is obviously amazing) but her persona. She does regular giveaways and offers her followers all kinds of incentives. She shares photography tips, camera info, posing advice, etc. She's always willing to help anyone who wants to learn photography or those who take an interest in what she does. Some photographers get secretive about their locations or their styles. Ciara is the opposite. She's soft spoken and just really sweet. I'd only met her once before at another photographer's workshop, but you'd think we were long lost friends. She's easy to talk to. Use her! Family photos, weddings, whatever. She will impress. 

Now, onto the photos! She took our family pictures a couple months ago. I'll be printing and hanging several asap. I liked working with her because she let us be us. A lot of the time she just asked us to interact. It was like a typical Tuesday night, except there was a gal there, with a camera, in the middle of a field. She had artistic visions, but didn't get caught up in them. She let us be involved. Instead of waiting for us to pull a serious face (not our style) she snapped shots of us laughing and being more candid. Instead of posing us, she told us to be comfortable. She was fantastic with Sammy, who at some points was a bit rambunctious.

Here are some of my favorites. See more from our session here!

 

Before the shoot, Ciara asked us to write love letters to one another, but to keep them secret till the shoot. At the very end, she had us open them up and silently read the other's note. We were laughing because both of our notes mentioned something about being a good parent to Sam.

Last but not least, perhaps my favorite in the bunch.

All healed.

It reads backwards and blurry because I used my phone's front-facing camera. It looks good though. I really love it. The placement, the typeface, the size, the thought!

Closeup attempt.

One day I will have better photos that I didn't take myself.

Oh yes, and in case you missed the story, it's here.

Tattoos: Oh I love them.

BUT. THEY HURT up in the armpit area and down near the elbow! Read about and see my new tattoo over on the creative blog.

What does this mean?

Crew did this for a school assignment

It means a lot of things.

1. That my nephew is a tiny genius.
2. That I need to provide him with a business card so he has my number.
3. That he trusts us.
4. That maybe he likes Chris a little more because his name is big and mine is squeezed in at the end.
5. That my mom may be jealous.
6. That he is the most adorable creature on this planet.

A fairy party.

My lil niece Bells turns three this weekend. Last year she had a princess party. This year it was all about the fairies. Her family did a fabulous job decorating.

Purple Plum Photography.

Purple Plum Photography did these photos for us. Remember the xmas card? I think she did just fabulous! Soon these will be hanging on our walls in the form of giant canvases. I love Sam's far-off gazes. He's very contemplative. These photos reflect that.

Grandpa Betten

Grandpa Betten left us on Friday, Oct 15th. I imagined myself writing some amazing eulogy with highlights from his life and stories of my experiences with him; however, tonight all I can do is mourn. I'm filled with a sadness that I can't shake long enough to be optimistic.

He suffered for a while and now his pain is gone—this is solace. And thank god for it. But what about us? He left us unexpectedly at a younger age than what's fair. He was sick, but seemed to be getting better. What about our future children never having a chance to know his captivating personality? It doesn’t feel right that the world is done with him now. The timing's off.

There are hundreds of good things to say about this man, and I will write them all down in time. He deserves that and the life he lived so vivaciously is worthy of being honored.

This is so selfish, I know.

My bella bug turned two.

My niece turned two on Saturday. The princess BBQ party was a blast. Just look at her big smile. Ooh it melts me.

(fancy shmancy photo editing done here.)

Of course I made relevant cake pops, too.