Photos for Mom

My FB status yesterday went something like this, " True love is when your husband disappears in the morning and comes back to surprise you with 30 antique windows and other fun antiques for you to play with" 

My mom read this and demanded I send her pictures ASAP...

and I figured I would put them on the blog because I really thought my husband was so incredibly thoughtful to get these things for me when he saw them on the "free" page of craigslist.

Who ever thought flowers were the sweetest gift has never been given a gift like THIS.

He's the BEST HUSBAND EVER!

Turns out the man who posted the add was a landscaper who had a chunk of land he just dumped things he had collected over time. He was selling his land and needed to get rid of it so Dave was all over that.

Here is the milk container and 1 of 2 white chairs.

also you can see the porch we have started sanding and are getting ready to stain next weekend.

All of the glorious window I plan to paint and hang wreaths on and attach planter boxes on and so much more to sell.

some lumber 

some pallets for good measure

cute sturdy boxes I haven't decided what to do with yet.

oh and he gave me this adorable little baby boy whom I cherish above anything in the whole wide world!

We had a game night date playing ping pong last weekend and Jacob just stood under that table like this and talked most of the night....until he found the glass door and then had a date with himself giggling and high fiving his reflection for an hour.

Here are the pumpkins that came from the hilarious plant that some how appeared from the time we looked at the house to the time we moved in. 

There was a large tree stump we asked them to remove before we moved in, which they did, but then the dirt they filled it in with had pumpkin seeds in it and this grew.

 

When we pulled it out our neighbors across the street came out and cheered. 

It was a good feeling!

Next weekend. We refinish the porch, get rid of the rail road ties in the front yard and find brick for a new retaining wall....and I have 2 photo shoots lined up. 

HA!

We always plan like this and really just get one big thing done and end up playing with these chubby little cheeks the rest of the weekend.

sweet potatoes.....his FAV!

Saturday Market & New Friends

It all started when I got a text this morning from my lovely neighbor telling me I should go around the corner at a little fall antique market that was being held on someone's lawn. When we showed up we recognized it as the house we had been informed the family that originally lived in our house now lives. 

Let me tell you, this house is a dream. 

I made a point to find the owner and introduce our little family and tell her how amazing her house was and that we live in her old house around the corner now. 

We found her in the corner of her little shop selling lavender and she was tickled to hear the news. She went and grabbed her daughter and husband to meet us too.

She raised all of her children in the house we now live in and asked if she could come by and see it with her daughter and visit sometime. 

I think we are going to be good friends. She is wonderful and just look at how heavenly her little market was. 

It took us quite a while to get around the whole market because everyone kept stopping us to stare at Jacob and admire his cute cheeks and compliment his eyes. 

The couple below photo bombed me and then came over and giggled telling me "it's probably going to be the best photo in the bunch" :)

 Yep they have a pretty big front lawn.

Even Dave loved it. It was the perfect Saturday morning.

...have I mentioned I love it here. 

New Adventure

There is something that has been cooking over here that has me all nervous and excited!

I'm starting to branch out with my love for photography and doing some family portraits of some new friends in the area. 

I'm so scared but last night I couldn't sleep because my mind was going 100 miles per minute with ideas 

I'll take that as a great sign. 

If you want to see my new adventures, stay tuned on my photography blog

holthousephotography.blogspot.com

I've got 7 families lined up all ready. 

Wish me luck!

Peoria

Have you ever felt like you were meant to be exactly where you are. 

This morning I realized on my jog with Jacob that this is EXACTLY where I am suppose to be. Here in Peoria with my wonderful healthy joy of a baby, with my incredibly sweet, loving and hardworking husband in our new house that we are making our home. 

It's the little things... 

...like having your neighbor tell you they prayed for a young couple with kids to move in next door and we were an answer to their prayers. And having her be a stay at home mom too. ( who is so fun)

...like having the R.S. counselor call you up your first week in the ward, before they even know me at all and asking me to teach a craft class (they know me so well already lol)

...like meeting moms at the park that live down the street and have baby boys the same age as mine

...like having a feeling of peace day in and day out

...like having boy scouts knock on your door selling tickets to the ice cream social down the street at the fire house and having a blast when you go

...like knowing you live in a place where everyone has a small town mentality...like pride in their local grocery store that just opened and having a volunteer library at the church a block away. Having a neighbor who knows everybody's name and brings you apples from their trees to make apple pies with and tells you to come over anytime because we're neighbors now which makes us family. (so sweet)

...like feeling Heavenly Father loves me and knows me so well that he lead us to this town called Peoria because he knew I would feel like I fit right in. 

These are the thoughts that were going through my head as I jogged with Jacob around my neighborhood this morning.

I'm feeling blessed and looking forward to exploring our new town with my son and all of the adventure we will find & friends we will make.

who

Who wants to blog when you have a adorable baby to be with? NOT ME. Maybe one day far from now I will get around to it...until then I am enjoying every wonderful minute of being with my baby boy! Being a mom brings me more joy than I ever anticipated!

38 weeks

I woke up Friday morning so excited because the day had finally arrived. 

The day we got to see Chubbies on the ultrasound screen again, see how big he was and then make labor plans with our doctor. 

We were sooooooooo excited!!!!

and then the phone rang...it was the doc office saying my doctor wasn't gonig to be in today and would have to reschedule...

First off I don't think doctor's should be able to do this to pregnant women

I immediately started to bawl on the phone and kept saying "sorry. I'm ok, just emotional."

story of my life, right?

haha

We would still get to have our sono, but would have to settle for meeting with a nurse practitioner. 

Luckily my NP is an angel and hilarious and Dave and I were cheered up and laughing through the whole appointment with her and felt just fine about having to wait til next Wednesday to meet with our Doc to make labor plans.

Some good news...

I'm dilated to a 1....better than a 0 right? I'm very excited about that. 

At our sono the baby's estimated weight is 9lbs. 4 oz.

He also scored an 8/8 on his bio test....we are proud parents lol

I left the appointment smiling but still disappointed that I would have to wait til Wednesday.

And when I woke up this morning I would be lying if I didn't say I was mentally out of patients all ready. 

After a morning of sulking and asking Dave to make the fat go away and make my body stop aching....I realized I was being ridiculous.

I've decided to embrace these last few days of having a baby in my belly and want to be as optimistic as possible. 

At the very latest I will be induced next Saturday, that is unless I go into labor or the doc decides we need a C-section sooner. I'm up for waiting for next Saturday, one week of HUGE discomfort is better than weeks of pain after a C in my opinion. 

Dave is really rooting I can deliver vaginally because he wants to see how I deal with pain. lol

All in all we're both so impatient now and ready for baby boy to be in our arms all ready and happy that 

this give Chubbies more time to grow and develope and gives me more time to enjoy the miracle of growing a baby and try and sleep as much as possible. 

36 weeks

I am in a little bit of a state of shock right now. 

I just got home from my sono and doctors appointments and guess what folks....

Chubbies is allready about 8 lbs 8 oz. That's the 99 percentile.

She showed me the pictures of the chart and he is OFF IT.

He's only 36 weeks!

At this point even if the measurements are off a bit he is officially HUGE. 

My doctor started talking planned C-section today. There is no way they are letting me go to 40 weeks. She's thinking at 38 weeks. 

It's just too much of a risk when it comes to baby boy's shoulders to deliver vaginally if they let him get bigger and bigger and bigger...like he's doing. 

I just stared at her and got a HUGe smile. I am so excited of the thought of only having to wait 2 more weeks. 

And at the same time I felt a little like crying. 

Doc's sign off words to me were...."you can go home and tell your husband (who was 10.7 at birth) that he has contributed more than enough to this baby of yours...and that he can carry the next one" 

I burst out laughing. 

I could very well go into labor still before it comes to having to plan a c though. 

I go back to the doc next Friday to check if my body is getting ready for labor and then in 2 weeks for one more sono...after that sono if he's still off the charts then we will plan a c-section for that week.

I'll admit I have often thought a planned C-section would be great...no having to deal with contractions and you know right when baby boy is coming, right??

I've heard mixed things about the recovery.

But I am so afraid of needles and drugs etc. Because I have no experience with any of it really. 

I could not be more happy to have such an awsome doctor though. I love her. She is so on the ball and makes me feel like I can do anything like a champ. 

Other good news is if I have a planned C-section in my 38th week baby boy will be here before all of daddy's exams comes so they will get to spend more quality time together. 

My due date fell directly in the middle of all of his exams....which is AWFUL for dad and me because dad would be tortured to leave and study for them and we would miss him terribly. 

Also my mumsy can schedule her flight out to stay with me and chubbies and not worry about missing a moment. 

I feel good about this!
So excited.

Now I just need to go return any newborn or 0-3 month clothes I have and just get 6 month clothes instead lol

34.5 weeks

My job has ended so I am in full nesting mode. Cleaning, Organizing, reading up and lots and lots of praying that I will be a good mommy. 

It's finally snowing here...and freezing, so I have been trying to get my exercise by walking at the mall and today it was a few laps around target. 

Finding adorable pants for 2.00 at old navy and handsome lil shirts for 1.50 at Target are my reward for walking lol

Since our apartment is so small here in Champaign we have to pack up some things to ship to St.Louis to make room for baby boys bed and swing and a rocker and my mom who is going to come stay with us for a little over a week after he comes. 

I can't believe we only have a few more weeks. 

I can't wait to hold my little baby bubba. 

My favorite thing to do is drink orange juice because it gets chubbies all hyped up and wiggly. I'll drink a glass and then just watch my belly move all over the place from his rolls, kicks and punches. 

I've finally forced myself to take a few naps during the day. I get so tired and have just learned I can't do everything I want to in a day anymore. 

His other Half

If you know my husband, you know he is a cowboy at heart. 

He has been waiting his whole life to get a real pair of cowboy boots. 

He has saved almost every spare penny he's received for the last while for the day he could buy some. 

(Can you tell how happy he is holding those boots?)

I'm happy to report...Dave was such a good boy that Santa brought him some boots.

Dave has now met his other half, he is now complete. 

I didn't think a man could love a pair of shoes so much. 

Or that he could be so stinkin' cute in them.

YEEHAW!

third trimester

THEN...

I was 30 weeks. Had been feeling just great for a while and enjoying my growing baby bump.

NOW...

 I'm 33 weeks....and all of the sudden I feel like I have become pathetic.
If something falls to the ground...it stays on the ground.

It's become extremely hard to get on my shoes and pants....because of the bending over and also because my feet are so so swollen. 

My Belly is just HUGE.

I lose all of my energy so quickly. 

I can't sleep because I'm pretty uncomfortable and chubbies kicks are so strong now they wake me up.

Peeing has become almost an hourly event it feels like. 

and when I get overly tired or hungry the tears just start flowing, which Dave keeps saying is so cute but I think he is just being sweet....like always.

I LOVE BEING PREGNANT!

I just can't get over the fact that Heavenly Father designed a way for a little baby to grow inside of me. 

I feel so so so blessed to have this little man with my in my tummy all day long and am anxious for him to come so I can hold him in my arms and give him kisses all day long.

People are so friendly to pregnant women and just love to come up and talk to me and asked me questions about everything, offer me a seat or drink.

Also I love watching my husband and the seeing the sweet things he does or says to me and our little baby boy. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and sweet father for our son.

We had an ultrasound yesterday at the doctor and we got to see chubbies face. 

Can you see his little nose and cheeks....his fist just below his chin...

I think he's posing like uncle Rico.

Here's what we learned at the doctor.

His head is down...woo hoo

He weighs about 5 lbs. 11 oz.

 (72nd percentile, so as of now he's the perfect size, not overly huge at all like we thought he might be, so hopefully he stays on that path, and I still have weeks to go)

His body is measuring a week ahead of schedule length-wise

Our doctor just kept saying..."everything looks excellent! Which is just what a mom wants to hear. 

Daddy Dave and I stared at his picture all day long yesterday.

We are excited to start setting up his crib and cleaning house so that we are all ready for whenever he might come.

The closer Labor comes for me the calmer I have been about it. I used to be deathly afraid of the pain I knew would be coming...I've been saying lots of prayers that I will be calm and nice during contractions....I really want it to be an enjoyable experience for Dave rather than me being a crazy at him the whole time.

I just have no idea what I'm going to be like.

It's so close now, yet so far.

WE DID IT

WE DID IT!

We survived our first semester of medical school. 

Dave passed all of his classes with flying colors and even got a few Os.

(outstandings)
Shockingly enough I see him more than I did when he was doing his undergrad at BYU.
He loves the knowledge he is gaining and even though a lot of it is over my head I love hearing him tell me all about it. He gets so excited.
He was in classes or studying from 8 am to 8 pm most days. And when it was a week with tests it was usually more.
But he always made time to come home and be with me and chubbies and we always had date night.
He has been so dedicated and hardworking!

I couldn't be more proud of him

and I couldn't be more excited for him to have 3 weeks of freedom to do whatever the heck he wants with himself over christmas break.

He deserves it.
I have been blessed to make lots of good girlfriends whose husbands are students as well and we kept each other company doing crafts and going to the park with their kids and going for walks etc.

The semester went by so quick, we are hopeful that the next 7 semesters will fly by just as fast.

Christmas

My boss asked me yesterday if mormons celebrate Christmas.

This question caught me way off guard and I quickly replied "YES"

and explained that the full name of our church is

The Church of JESUS CHRIST of latter day Saints.

That "mormon" is just a nick name because we believe in the Book of Mormon.

We then talked about missions, where the chapel is in our town and a few other things.

I just want to clarify that I believe in Jesus Christ. I know that he was born in a manger and raised my his earthly parents Mary and Joseph but is the son of God.

He lived his life as an example to all of us.

He suffered for my sins.

The greatest gifts I have ever received and will ever receive are from my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ.

And Christmas is my favorite holiday because I reflect on those gifts and my wonderful Savior's birth.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Dave and I spent our Thanksgiving break in St.Louis with the whole Holt clan. 

There were 13 adults, 16 neices and nephews in one house for one week. 

A recipe for memories.

 Here are some highlights from our week.

 Bon Fires in the clearing.

Watching Grandma & Grandpa give tractor rides all day and night.

Hanging out with our cute nephews and nieces.

Brushing the goats, watching them attack Angie for the banana she brought.

Cage fighting at the Zoo with uncle David.

 Funny faces, cute nieces.

 these just make me laugh 

 hehe haha

 more Zoo pics

Penguins

Dave calling the Bears. haha

Eating at Pappy's...our favorite BBQ place in the country.

Playing Dodgeball and milk jug lacrosse at the church on a rainy day

Making gingerbread houses....well gingerbread mansions really.

Getting makeovers from our wonderful nieces.

 Talent Show. 

Our rendition of rolling in the deep by Adele.

 Breakdancing.

Musicals.

Dancing and singing.

Dave reminding his parents that he is still the baby. 

but one of my favorite parts of the week was each time a little niece or nephew came to me to give Chubbies a hug and talk to him through my belly.
We loved every minute of it. 

I'm so thankful to have married into such a wonderfully large, loving and fun family.

Labor & Delivery Class 1

So tonight Dave and I headed to the hospital to attend our first labor and delivery class. 

Chubbies kicked and punched the whole way through it. 

Our teacher Paula is really funny. She has been working at the hospital delivering babies for 38 years....so she kinda knows what she's talking about and was up for any questions and have really realistic answers. 

She also has no pride lol.

When it came to finding positions to help me deal with labor pains and having Dave coach me through them....We Failed. Dave just kept saying hilarious things in my ear and I spent each 60 second contration trying not to giggle out loud and disturb everyone else's concentration. Oh how I love that man. 

We are also on board for having music playing while I'm giving labor and are going to spend the next few weeks making a killer mix tape. 

The highlight of the evening.....watching my very first birthing video....I'm not going to lie...my mouth was open the whole time. I was a little overwhelmed. But when the lady got to hold her baby for the first time I felt the emotions come over me...I cried the car ride home. 

I'm just so excited for the moment I get to hold my baby boy and am willing to go through anything to get there. 

Chubbies you are so worth it....and so loved. 

At 28 weeks reality is setting in. I'm feeling great. We've settled on a name, but love calling our baby by his nick name ,chubbies, for now, so we'll wait and use his name when he's born. 

I can't believe my 1st two trimesters have all ready come and gone. 

chubby toes

I'm 24 weeks and I have started getting swollen ankles, toes and legs....

I didn't think this would happen so soon.

I thought I had a good month or so til this would happen.

My doctor said I'm just one of those lucky moms.

We can't help but laugh at my chubby little toes.

Lots of elevating going on over here at the Holt House.

October

October was a fun month.

We carved pumpkins and watched a scary movie. Too scary of a movie.

  

We took our punkin' to the pumpkin patch.

(He's growing strong and he's a mover)

Enjoyed the great fall weather.

(These are our awsome poses)

Walked through the apple orchards

decorated a bit...not much

This horribly scary spider decor was sent to us from Dave's mom.

(I hate spiders and swear this one is cursed because spiders keep showing up in our apartment after I hung it.)

We were pretty lame this Halloween and didn't dress up at all. It was quite a shame but with me working and dave in med school we are both equally exhausted and all we wanted was a relaxing night at home on Halloween together. 

Which was WONDERFUL. 

We did buy Chubbies his first cowboy hat that he can wear from 0-12 months.

I'm hoping this is his daily costume lol.

The picture doesn't really do it justice. It's just so small and adorable.

Hope you all had a wonderful October. 

We're thankful to be one month closer to meeting our baby boy.