Baby Shower #1

This past Saturday we had our first baby shower to celebrate our little boy! Yes, I do have to specify that it was our first, because we are having three total. I know, I know, it's a little over the top, but my friends wanted to throw one, Mike's family wanted to throw one, and my family wanted to throw one...so we decided it would be better to divide them up and make everyone happy. Plus, I love parties and now we have 3x the fun! Here are some pictures from the festivities...

Julie and I (She hosted the party)

Betsy, Amber, Julie, Me, Meredith, and Krystal

AMAZING Diaper Cake that my Julie made for me. In case you haven't seen one of these before, each layer is made of rolled up diapers, wrapped with ribbon and decorated with flower, binkies, washcloths, toys, baby medicine, stuffed animals, etc....


Eating yummy fruit, veggies, turkey roll ups, and cream puffs



Presents...

...More Presents ("Frog Prince" hooded towel)...

...and even more Presents! Jocelyn and Tom helped me open the gifts

Rose Ellen and I with our babies...she is due 3 weeks before us with a little girl

Most of the party people

Dashboard Confessional

Here are some pics from the Dashboard Confessional concert I went to back in October. Probably not the best activity to do when you are 5 months pregnant, but it was such a nice break and I had a blast. Mike didn't want to go, so I went with my bro-in-law Jason and friends Thomas and Jon. The only bad part of the night was that around 12:30am after the concert, my tired pregnant body decided it needed some sleep so I left to go home. Should have waited another hour and a half cause the guys stayed and got to meet Chris Carrabba! I don't usually get star struck, but Chris is one celebrity that I would have loved to meet. He is so dreamy and I love his voice! But at least I got to go to the concert...and there is always next time to meet him.

The Gang

Comparing our bellies...I think Thomas wins!

Best Buds

I should really stop drinking...it's bad for the baby! J/K

Jon and I

Me with Chris crooning in the background



All together

CHRIS! and Thomas

Jason, CHRIS, and Jon

Highlights

Life has been very busy lately so updating our blog has been on the back of our minds. Here is a quick recap of what we've been doing the past month...

***Family Service Project***

Every year the Miles Family gets together and we plan a service project to do around the holidays. This year Mike's mom was on the board for the Utah Women's Shelter auction so we decided to decorate and donate a tree. We did a 9' tree with a Snowman theme and it turned out very cute (pictures to come). All the proceeds from auctioning off the trees and other donated items (vacation packages, scuba lessons, spa baskets, etc...) are given to the women's shelter to help abused women and children.

***Baby Sleep Party***

A few weeks ago I went to this "Baby Sleep Party" hosted by one of my friends. It's kind of like a tupperware party, but much more informative. The first part was a class given by this sleep specialist on how to swaddle/soothe your baby and get them to be good sleepers. They actually had some great information that I think will help our baby when he comes. And since it was a "party", the second half was all about buying the products they offer...which I did since lately I have a weakness for baby stuff. :)

***Thanksgiving***

Not my favorite holiday, but was still enjoyable to spend time with family and friends. This year was Mike's parents turn to host and we had all the usual foods plus some. Then Mike's brother broke out the Wii and we didn't see the guys for the rest of the night. (sidenote-it is great to be pregnant during Thanksgiving though, cause you can eat as much pie as you want and not feel guilty about it!)

***Black Friday***

The most dreaded day of the year for those who work in retail! Mike had to be at work at 2:45am and worked 16 hours total that day. He did have a 3 hour break during the afternoon to come home and sleep, but by the end he was still exhausted. And thanks to all his hard work I was able to go shopping that day. :) My sister came over the night before and we got up a 6am to hit all the sales. My best purchase was a really nice microfiber rocker/recliner for when the baby comes that I got for $250 (regularly $400).

***Rise and Shout the Cougars are out...***

Congrats to our wonderful Cougars who once again reigned victorious over Utah! I have to admit that most of the game was pretty boring. Thank goodness we "endured to the end" and kept watching...cause the last five minutes made up for everything.

***Blessed are the little children, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven"

So two weeks ago I got called (again) to be a nursery leader. I actually enjoy the calling and it makes church go by very quickly. On occassion though the kids can drive me a little nuts. Whenever that happens I just remind myself that thank goodness I get to give the kids back at the end of two hours!

'Tis the Season...

Tis the season for uplifting stories and reflections on life. Here's one I found that is really good. Enjoy!

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable Surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr.Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed Hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr.Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.' The text explaining the picture begins, 'The tiny hand of 21-week- old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.' Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw the picture. She said, 'The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person.' Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful.

Anyone have a cure for the Crazys?

So I've heard that when you're pregnant it's the only time you're allowed to be completely crazy and get away with it. Sounds great at first, but what they don't tell you is that it's not actually very fun. People around you (especially those poor husbands) quickly get tired of you being crazy and although they've learned not to say anything (cause whatever they say will set you off), you can see in their eyes that this pregnancy couldn't end fast enough. And the mood swings aren't a barrel of laughs for you either. Going from ecstatic and happy to sad and depressed six times a day can really wear you down. Don't get me wrong-overall pregnancy is a wonderful experience and definately worth it in the end...but it's not without it's moments.

It's a BOY!!!

Last week we had another ultrasound and found out that we're having a baby boy!! He was very active so we got to see him kicking his legs and arms around. He had a little bit of water sitting on his kidneys, but the doctor said it's nothing to worry about and they'll do another ultrasound later to check it. Today marks the halfway point in our pregnancy....20 weeks down, 20 to go!

"The Devil Went Down to Georgia..."

Well I just got back from another week long business trip to Atlanta. And with the way my mood swings are sometimes, Mike was probably thinking of the song above when I left...haha. The retreats I helped out with were a lot of fun and I had a great time chilling with Mike's mom who was out there too. The only bad part was that I got strep throat 3 days before I left. Not fun, and kinda scary for the baby. They put me on antibiotics right away though so I feel much better now and the doctor said the baby is fine. Phew! I'm very glad to be back home with Mike and Tom. And now we are just trying to get back in the swing of life.

Island Park

Here are a few pictures from our vacation to Island Park at the end of August. Mike's parents just bought a quarter share in this AMAZING cabin up there. It is so beautiful and big enough for the whole clan which is nice! Plus Island Park and West Yellowstone have some of everything to keep everyone entertained-fishing, 4 wheeling, rafting, hiking, hot tubbing, and SHOPPING! :) Plus there are so many cool places to go and see wildlife. I didn't get too many pics, but here are some highlights...

Mike and I at dinner...looking very tired after a day of fun

Jeff (with the phone glued to his hand) and Mike enjoying the view from the porch.

Puppies wishing they were outside

"Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting..."

Libbie and Corbin after the IMAX bear show

Bear eating at the Preserve

Mike on one of the 4wheelers


Preparing for our 4wheeler caravan to the kids fishing pond

Grandpa Miles-quite the feisty old man!

Thump-thump...Thump-thump...Thump-thump...

We got to hear Baby's heartbeat today for the first time! We have seen it before on the ultrasounds, but today was the first time we were able to hear it. It was awesome!! I was sooo nervous before we went in but hearing that sound put my fears to rest. I heard from some friends that if the baby's heart rate is faster, then it's a girl and if it's slower, then it's a boy. The nurse said that this theory is actually very acurate. Unfortunately, (even though it was a good thing) our baby's heart rate was right about in the middle. So until our ultrasound next month, we'll just have to keep guessing on the gender.

PROMOTION!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Mike got a promotion at work this past week! He has worked really hard over the past year and is now in charge of his own department (Customer Assistance) at Best Buy. He has such good people skills and is perfect for this new position. Plus, he now gets to make the schedules for each week (which I'm VERY excited about) and there's a pretty good pay raise included which is a nice bonus! Congrats Mike!

Baby Blessing

This past Sunday our new nephew Jed Jeffrey Miles was blessed. Here are some pics of our family together.

The Guest of Honor- 2 1/2 months old

Jed and I

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids

Jed in his blessing outfit

Brooklyn- 8 months old

Grandpa tickling the girls-Libbie and Kelly

Grandpa tickling the boys-Corbin and Bryce

Kelly- almost 6 years old

Thoughts on Daddies

Being pregnant has made me stop and think about all the important things in my life and at the top of list is Mike. He has always been a great husband, but has been especially helpful and tender with me since we found out we're having a baby. In the past few weeks two of our good friends have had newborns and it's been cute to see Mike interact with them. At first he will just poke their cheeks...then come back and slowly touch their feet and hands...then ask to hold them and will just sit there rocking them. I know that he will be such a great father. Moms usually get all the credit, but I think daddies are priceless.

Marriage Milestone

So this week Mike and I bought our FIRST piece of furniture in the three years that we have been married. We have been so blessed up until this point to have generous family members who have either given us or let us borrow every other piece of furniture in our entire house (couches, bedroom set, tables, washer/dryer, etc...) We were so excited though to finally buy something brand new for ourselves! So please excuse the cheesy post as we share this "big" news. :)

Our TV Stand

Candid Camera

Lately I've been trying to keep my camera in my purse so that I'm always prepared for any photo opportunity that may arise. Good thing I had it the other night when we went to Wendy's for dinner with some friends! Here is Mike keeping everyone entertained as usual. :)

BYU Education Week

This year I had the opportunity to go to Education week on BYU campus. I use to go every year as a teenager, but haven't been able to go the past few years. The classes were great and such a spiritual boost. Plus my mom, sister, and Mike's mom all stayed in Provo for the week so we were able to attend a play together and all hang out.

Rachel and I
My mom and sister Rachel

Hamming it up for the camera

Tom and Sookie

So my mom decided that she loved Tom so much, that she had to get a Shih Tzu of her own! She got a cute little girl and named her Sookie. She is quite the ball of energy. Tom was a little wary of her at first, but is slowly warming up every time we visit. This last time, Sookie got so excited to see Tom and started literally bouncing all around him on the floor. After doing this and pawing at Tom for a few minutes, Tom finally started to play and chased her around the room and up and down the stairs. It was very cute. Here are some pics of the two of them together.

We have now passed the 10 1/2 week mark in our pregnancy and everything is going great! With so many past miscarriages, getting to this point has been pretty nerve wracking. We're still not out of the woods yet, but the doctor has monitored me closely and everything continues to look normal. We got another ultrasound yesterday and were suprised at how much baby has grown in the past two weeks. As soon as I can scan the ultrasound into my laptop I'll post the picture. And thank you so much to everyone who has continued to pray for us during this time!

Mike's 24th Birthday

Mike's 24th birthday was this past Sunday! We had to celebrate a week early with his family and the party was a lot of fun. It was the first big event we have had in our new house.

Getting ready to go to church before the party. You can kind of see my short hair in this picture.

Mike pulling a face

Partying with Thomas (Mike's friend) and Jason

Pulling a face...yet again :)

Mike's mom managed to squeeze in a family night lesson during the party. (Debbie, Corbin, Trent, and Mike)

Our neices Libbie (helping with the pioneer family night) and Brooklyn and my sister-in-law Becky.

Opening presents and a kiss from Mom