wee babe update...

this week i had my 12 week appointment with my dr.  it was exciting because they did a screening for down syndrome which means i had an ultra sound and got to see the baby again!! this time it actually looked like a baby! it had a head mouth eyes feet and hands... i also got to hear the heart beat this time... amazing! can't help but have a huge smile on your face hearing something like that.  the ultra sound tech lady was trying to measure a space on the back of the baby's neck... i think measure the fluid there and she couldn't get a good view because the baby was trapped in a nook right by my bladder... so she kept pushing kind hard trying to get the baby to move.. and all the baby did was get the hiccups!! but that was also really fun to watch... to see it jump up and down like that.  here are the pics from that day:

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i think the one with the alien face it totally creepy but the profile shot is soooo sweet!!!!

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here are the updates on the wee babe:

- measure a week ahead of schedule... which i think it will the whole time because i have a super short cycle... so just going off my LMP will put me a week ahead... 

- the baby looks good the measurements this time all looked good... 

- my baby update email that i get every week compared the size of the baby to a kiwi... so chris and i have been calling it kiwi... its better than "it" until we find out the actual sex of the baby... (which will hopefully happen at my next appointment!!)

my prego updates:

- i already look pregnant... my stomach sticks out so far from bloating that i totally look pregnant... which i think is actually fun! 

- i am still nauseous often but have made it through my entire first trimester with out vomiting so i count myself lucky.

- i have started getting really bad headaches in the afternoons but my doctor gave me something for that so hopefully it helps!

- i have fully experienced pregnancy brain where i can't remember what i'm doing or what i'm trying to say... etc... thats annoying.

- this morning i experienced my first dizzy spells... that was hilarious.. i felt like i was trying to walk on a very rocky boat.  had to hold on to everything around me.

- i cry at everything!!!! i can't watch tv with out getting choked up, i can't hear sad stories with out crying, i have seen harry potter twice now and cried fairly hard both times, and tonight we went to Barry Manilow (post about that soon!!) and i totally got choked up with TEARS several times... its embarrassing.  i am singing in church tomorrow and really hope i make it through the song with out crying.

- i am super excited to start feeling the baby... and i have started touching my stomach all the time... not sure what thats about but i catch myself just rubbing my lower belly when i'm standing.

chris and i have also had a good time picking out names... we play the veto game and usually that consists of my coming up with the worst names ever and him taking me seriously and then vetoing them.  we do have a few that we actually really like but until we really know the sex of the babe its hard to think of names... for now we will play the crazy name game and see how much we could ruin the baby's life with just a name... haha like the johny cash song "boy named sue" 

mammoth creek cabin...

for the fourth of july chris and i headed up to mammoth creek with my mom and my siblings to the old family cabin.  my grandpa and his brothers built this cabin a million years ago... now it is owned by my mom's cousin so we rented it for the weekend.  it was so much fun to go back!  we used to go every summer when i was little till i was about 8.  my mom would take all us kids up there with her mom and we would spend a week... and during that week we would play in the river (which is just outside the back door of the cabin) and we would run up the mountain side outside the front door and play in this ancient fort (which still stands) and we would go out to this field to hunt for horny toads and we would visit the lava caves... etc.  

my siblings and i were so excited to go and kept sharing all of our memories from previous trips.  mine of course being the one where my aunt julia took the little kids on a little hike/walk where we ended up across the river from our cabin up on a road... you could totally see us below and she had us all take our shirts off and wave and yell at our moms down below who were in the back yard reading books... 

it was really fun to see the cabin... even though improvements have been made it still looks much the same... 5 bedrooms with a million beds crammed in each one and 2 bathrooms... the front room has the dining table and kitchen and then there is a little den with tv and what not... the favorite place to hang out is the back porch... so fun to sit in a chair and read a book while watching the river and seeing the kids play all over...

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the first day we were there we took a hike to cascade falls... its fascinating as the water is just shooting out of the side of the mountain... it come from the navajo lake above and then eventually the cascade falls goes under ground to become mammoth creek springs... its very cool. the hike was really crowded but still fun and easy (thank goodness) 

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we had a good time playing by the river.. it was way too cold and way too full to actually get in but the little babies had a great time putting their hands in and throwing rocks...

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we also had a hilarious time trying to get a good picture of the three grandkids... as proven below it was impossible but the result of trying was still really funny...

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the next day we visited the lava caves... they are these underground tunnels that are crazy dark... like with out flashlights you cannot see anything... i even felt like i couldn't breathe it was so dark... we made the half mile way through the tunnel and crawled out this tiny hole at the end and were covered in mud... but it was totally worth it and way fun!

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the boys also had a good time climbing on the mountains of lava rock....

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i took our nice camera up with us so chris and i could have a little fun taking nice pictures... i got some really cute ones of my nieces and nephew... they are just so darn cute!

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on the last day chris decided he had to jump in the river... it was very cold and moving fast but he had to do it at least once... our camera has this really neat sports mode that take continuous pictures.. so you get to see the whole movement of chris jumping and and the river pushing him over... it cracks me up when his leg pops up out of the water... he said it wasn't that cold... it feels the same as lake tahoe.. and i said yeah... that means its cold!! 

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on the drive home we took the scenic route to look at cedar breaks... which is breath taking!! 

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the trip overall was amazing and fun and so great to spend all that time with my family and get to share our memories with our spouses ... and it was fun to just be there again... you are so cut off from the world up high in the mountains like that and its really just kinda nice!!

our wee babe...

the beginning of this story isn't super funny or even that interesting:  boy meets girl- they get married- and decided to start a family...  it seemed that simple and really it was EXCEPT that emotionally it was so much more personal than i ever realized...

deciding to have a baby was easy.  i'm 27 and we were both just ready and really wanted to start our family.  i also really wanted to have my first baby here in vegas where i am surrounded by my mom and my family... i'm a total mama's girl and wanted my mommy to be close by. ha!

it was an interesting roller coaster from month to month getting hopes up and then being disappointed... i became so much more sensitive to others around me that were going through the same thing.  i never want to ask "are you pregnant yet?" cause sometimes its just not that easy... and then you have to share your disappointment of not being that month... and then once you are you kinda want to keep it private for a little bit but its hard with everyone asking "are you prego yet?" haha... anyway. when may hit i really had a feeling i was.. but i'm too impatient to wait for the most telling sign... so i took a test... like 6 days early... and it had the faintest of faint positive lines... i didn't even tell chris cause i wasn't sure... i mean i knew it meant i was pregnant but it made me nervous being so faint... so i took one the next day with the same result... i came out and showed chris and he was like... ok?  haha having no idea what the 2 lines meant... i said i thought it meant i was pregnant but he was a little hesitant to get excited... i told my mom and she was the same way... i think its because the line was so faint.  but it was there and i KNEW i was!!! so for the next 4 days i kept taking the test till the last time and it came out with 2 solid dark pink lines... yep positive!!! chris was more excited at this point.  we set out and told our families right from the start... i had wanted to wait and tell the general public till later and really held off as long as possible...

after my first appointment it became much harder to not say anything... i wanted to tell everyone about that tiny heartbeat beating like crazy and getting the real visual confirmation that there was a baby inside me... surreal moment!  well... as time went on we told more and more people and now here we are at 10 weeks and we've let it out.  my family will tell you i have NEVER been able to keep my own secrets... NEVER.  i get too excited and its all i think about and i am usually one to share thoughts... therefore people end up knowing.

we are so excited!!! its funny to think how we are going to fit a little one into our tiny apartment that i have packed full already... but i am willing to pack up lots of stuff to fit a little one into our lives.

how am i feeling??
- i am super bloated and already look pregnant at almost 11 weeks
- i am nauseous all the time... zofran helps a little but not always
- i am sleeping a lot.  i'm not working so when i don't feel good i just sleep.  i dont sleep at night except random 3 hour spurts so i'm usually sleepy in the day
- i haven't puked at all... not once so i count myself lucky and feel i can't complain too much about the nausea since i can still eat (usually)
- i feel as though i have lost my mind. i forget things and get lost in the middle of sentences forgetting what i was saying

that is about it.. i will brag that chris has been amazing through all of this!  he does the dishes... all of them which is a bigger task since we don't have a dishwasher.. and he takes out the trash... and he never complains when i don't make dinner for the 4th night in a row.... he tells me i'm beautiful and to just take it easy.  i'm spoiled and in love.

busy months full of secrets...

its been forever... i know but i have a good reason! we've just been busy... and my mind has been occupied that i haven't thought about blogging :)

in june we took a trip to the san francisco to go to jeff's dental school graduation.  we flew out friday morning so we could baby sit for jeff and stevie so they could go to the big alumni gala party thing... it was fun to play house for the evening... i fed claire and then chris took her for the rest of the night... played with her and read her stories and put her to bed while i had cadence.. fed her and just held her... 5 weeks old and just sweet and tiny.. i never wanted to put her down... and she didn't want to be put down so it worked out perfectly!

on saturday we woke up and took our time getting ready... and then headed out to the beach... by the bridge... and i have no idea what the beach is called... BUT it was really pretty.  sadly we couldn't stay because it was incredibly cold and windy and we were prepared for neither... i was instantly getting an ear ache (which is normal for me in cold wind) but it was a little miserable.. so we drove to this other spot and got some ice cream and got back in the car... we then got the driving tour which was way fun... my kind of tour where i can stay in the car and just look... san fran is a pretty place.

that evening we met up with the rest of the family for dinner... it was really fun to see them all again and to enjoy dinner... the food was really good.  after we went back to the apartment and chatted with jeff and stevie till late... i like talks like that!

sunday we got up and had breakfast at this vegan restaurant where we had oatmeal and french toast and it was all really good! and thank goodness it was quite the walk so we could burn off some calories both ways! sunday afternoon we got ready and went to graduation... it was 2.5 hours.. but for the most part entertaining.. it was interesting to hear where everyone had come from and where they were going...  after graduation we packed up and headed off to the airport.  it was a really good trip and we are so excited for jeff to be done and soon working as a real dentist.

on this trip we also announced to his family that we are expecting our first baby!!! yep thats right! come february we will have our very own little spillers baby! i will blog more on that later... but it was fun telling his family.  i had chris tell his parents.. when his mom arrived he began by apologizing saying sorry for it taking us a couple months but we were pregnant... haha and then after talking to his dad for a minute he just blurted it out.. well... marilyns pregnant! haha both cracked me up...

lost the month of may...

this month has seriously come and gone... all of a sudden its time to change my calender to june and i have no idea what happened to may... the first week of may i got really sick with tonsillitis. my throat was so swollen i could hardly swallow and it got gross and infected.  i spent that whole week asleep on the couch eating popsicles... i never got a fever but man i was wiped out!

right after i got better i started in on my huge project for the month... making a new quilt for our bed... the one we had was just too hot and with summer creeping up on us i just couldn't get my house cold enough to make up for the hot blanket... so i decided to sew one myself... huge project.  i picked a really difficult piece quilt that required 21 pieces per 9x9 square... i was really excited and picked some crazy material... but i'm really happy with the way it turned out.  the pillows i just made with whatever was left over... i don't love the brown ones with stripes... i may change them.... the bed is busy already and they make it worse... so i may figure something else out for those... but overall i LOVE the way it turned out...

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we decided to make it a king size quilt, even though our bed is a queen because in a year we are getting a king... so i didn't want to waste all this time for just a year... i spent about 3 weeks sewing everyday and night just trying to get it done... it was definitely a beast but totally worth it!

we also celebrated amanda's 6th birthday... she asked grandma to make her a Tangled cake.. so my mom created a tower with a little Tangled set sitting inside it... hahaha... when amanda first saw it she was like... "what is that??" until my mom opened it and she saw what was inside... then she was excited.  then she opened presents... my mom gave her the Tangled barbie doll... she was very excited... and she got a very cute little ice cream cone necklace from aunt meesha which was super cute!  and i made her a little quilt with left over material for the one i made for cadence earlier this year... she had seen it and asked me to make her one too.  it is the softest quilt! she was very excited :)  it was a fun birthday.

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this month i have also had fun trying new recipes... not all of them are the greatest... or turn out to be things neither of us really like... but i was really proud of one... it was bbq'd pork chops with sliced cinnamon apples and rhodes rolls... it was delicious!!! i had to take a picture and show how good it was... sadly the pictures dont look that appetizing, but chris' face says it all!!! hahaha

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we have also been really busy working with the youth from church... chris' plays basketball on tuesday nights with the boys and wednesday nights we both have activities with the girls and boys... this week we had a pool party to honor all our graduating seniors... there was swimming and lots of food and tons of talking :)  they also had this game (which i am really trying to convince chris we need to buy) called just dance... here is a sample of the fun and hilariousness!! here is chris and our friend brad hafen dancing... haha (he will be mad at me for posting this as he doesn't even know i was videoing... hehe but it was too funny to not post)

we have also spent our nights watching LOST with our netflix subscription... it is the most confusing show ever!!! nothing is ever explained and we are forever confused with characters coming and going like crazy and un explained story lines all over the place... but we still watch it and have to know what happens... so we will keep watching and spend all our free time till we finish... and then find a new show to become addicted to :)

 

easter... reno... and other obsessions

easter this year was fun... i had been telling chris for a couple weeks what my mom used to do for us kids on easter... she would put together a scripture scavenger hunt with each scripture clue leading to another with a fun easter basket at the end.  i remember one year it having a big white easter hat and some other goodies... so when chris went to bed saturday night i set out hiding the eggs around the house... with the first one sitting on his night stand.  at the end of all the clues there was a easter basket with some candy, socks, a new polo shirt, and some other things he needed. it was so cute when he woke up in the morning and looked over at me with a big smile on his face saying "you hid eggs!"  it was really fun to do that for him... the rest of easter was really nice we just spent it by ourselves and i made dinner and then we packed our suitcases for reno as we were leaving in the morning.

chris had his 2 weeks semester break.  the first week we lazied around the house and he played golf a couple times... rough life i know! then the second week we headed up to reno to visit his family.  we hit the road monday morning and got there at like 4 pm.  the first night we had mini english muffin pizzas a tradition from chris' childhood. we also went for a little drive around and visited the hicks family and their new home where i totally coveted judy's new sewing room!! someday.... i will have that room too!  then on tuesday morning we got up and headed up to lake tahoe to go snow shoeing.  chris' mom does it with her girlfriends all the time and wanted to take us.  i was nervous about being cold and out of shape but it was actually easier than i thought and not that cold!  we had a good time chatting and talking the whole way up to the beautiful view from the top!!

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we also stopped to feed the chickadee birds. we put a little bird seed in our hands and held them out and sure enough they come flying right to us... i was freaked out at first.  they land lightly and peck at the seed so nothing hurts... its just bizarre, but we had a really good time doing it.

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after we drove around reno to visit susan's friend and to take a look at the dentist office jeff will be working at when he graduates in june... i totally fell in love with this part of town... they called it the south west side of town... older homes but really nice with yards.  i could live there!  on wednesday we headed out to washoe valley to have dinner with chris' dad and his girlfriend karon, and chris' sister catherine and baby scarlett.  it was really fun... i got to hold scarlett for an hour while she slept in my arms... so sweet!!! and dinner was really fun.  we had spaghetti and bread and just talked for a long time.  it was all really good company.  on thursday he mostly relaxed and shopped a little and then visited zach, chris' best friend and his wife katelynd who is prego with twins.  i played games with their daughter Addy who is 3.  she has a very fun imagination and loves to tell stories.  she is so cute.  that night chris played basketball with zach and his dad some other church guys... not fun to watch older guys play basketball... they whine and complain too much. but chris looked good :)  on friday we went and saw a movie and walked down by the truckee  river downtown.  that night we went up to lake tahoe with zach and katelynd to this fun hamburger place... then we drove all the way around the lake... beautiful view!  the next morning we packed up the car and picked up katelynd and addy (who we were giving a ride to indian springs)  and headed home.  the trip was really fun and it was awesome to see everyone again.

once i got home i had to jump right into some projects... i really want to start working on my new bed quilt, but i bought a new dresser for chris at the place i obsessively shop at a couple times a week... opportunity village thrift store... and needless to say there is no room for excess furniture in our apartment... soooo i had to redo this dresser now so we could get the old one out... i had gotten the ideas from some other blogs... here is how it started out....

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i began by lightly sanding the whole thing... and then i primed the whole thing... and then i added this texturized wall paper to the sides... the veneer was peeling off on one side and this was an awesome way to cover it up with out too much mess!  after that was dry i painted the whole thing green... the same color i used on the chair a couple weeks ago... after a couple coats i added my favorite antiquing black glaze.  this is what made the wall paper design really stand out and look awesome!! it also just really gives the whole thing and antique feeling and a lot of character.  after that was done i decided to add something to the front cause it was a little flat... so using texturized stucco and a stencil.... i added a design to the bottom 2 drawers... after the stucco dried i painted it green and then glazed it... i put the original nobs back on and voila!!!!  brand new AWESOME dresser... i am soooo excited how this one turned out!!!!!

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i'm bummed chris gets to use it... but oh well... i still have one more desk to redo and i need to find a new nightstand and a new tv stand... but it will be fun whatever they are!!  next i am making a little quilt for my niece amanda and her 6th birthday... she asked me to make her one... and then i am making a quilt for my bed... yep... chris is back in school and i am back at work on all my projects!! busy busy... just how i like it!

  

how i keep busy...

chris and i went out to dinner with a couple of his friends from dental school to celebrate the semester being over... we are now on 2 week break (woo hoo)  but while we were at dinner i kept getting asked "what do you do?"  which is a normal question... its how you get to know people, but i sometimes have a hard time explaining what i do to people who are doing things like working as a high powered exec at a big hotel... or are going to dental school to become dentists and much more... what is my answer?  i'm a house wife.  i keep busy grocery shopping, and cleaning the house, and cooking dinner every night (almost every night... but not this week), and doing laundry and fixing things up around the house.  I go walking with my mom most mornings for 30-60 min.  i visit with my mom often and we often go visit my grandma who is in a home... so i keep busy.  i am also taking a class online.  i also have things i do with the youth of the church every week... etc.  i feel fulfilled in doing these things and someday we will add children to the mix and i will be happy be mom and wife... i guess i just feel insecure about it when talking to those who are on a serious career path.

but... i do love staying home... cause then i get to do crafty stuff!! for example... my sister in law stevie is about to have her 2nd little girl and i decided it would be really fun to sew her a quilt for the baby.  i have never sewn a quilt by myself like this before... i have helped my mom in the past and watched her do it... but not done it by myself... i consulted with my aunt joan first... who is the baby and quilt guru... she makes them often and soooo cute... so i borrowed a book from her chose my pattern and bought the fabric.  it took me a couple days and a huge mess but the finished project turned out pretty cute.

i also decided to sew a little lovey... the tiny blanket... my niece gigi always cuddles with one when she sleeps... i also made a little one for gigi for her 1st birthday and when my 5 year old niece amanda saw it she got all excited and asked if i would make one for her too... luckily i have lots of fabric left so i'm going to make one for her birthday which is the end of may.  

i also worked on a project of something to hang over our bed... it has been an empty space and driving me crazy so... i found these frames at goodwill and decided to paint them... then i found the wood letters at joanns and the giant S from joanns... luckily i get a ton of 50% off coupons to joanns so none of these projects get expensive... anyway... i bought some fabric to cover the giant S and now i have something over our bed!  

in case you don't get it the m is for marilyn and c for chris and s for spillers... haha.  chris asked me why it was cSm and i said cause i sleep on the left side of the bed... it just made more sense to have the M above where i sleep. haha.  i'm actually going to use the same brown fabric (and a couple others) to make a new quilt for our bed... the one we have is too hot especially with summer coming up... 

the last project i did is a little chair i found.  i bought a desk the other day to use as my new vanity... it matches the desk i got from my mom's childhood... way exciting... but i needed a chair for it... when i was at opportunity village thrift store last week i found this super cute little chair and thought it would go perfect!  it reminds me a little of the chair/bench my grandma has used while sitting at her vanity.  i painted it with green paint i had left over from painting my bathroom last year and then put this cool black antiquing glaze over it... the pictures dont do it justice... but it looks way cool... i also had to recover the seat and get new padding... the fabric was on sale at joanns... and vwala! 

i'm sure there will be many more projects to come... as i do like to keep busy and crafting is fun cause it makes your house look better... plus i am addicted to thrift store shopping... seriously.  its a good thing our apartment is tiny or else i be buying furniture all the time!! but for now... i'm only hunting for things we need...