A healthy, growing Elizabeth

Chris and I took Liz to her two-week checkup, her first official doctor's appointment this morning: diagnosis--a healthy baby girl! Her stats:
Head circumference: 38 cm, 90th percentile

Length/height: 21 inches, 75th percentile

Weight: 9 lbs, 1 oz, 75th percentile


I can't believe she's gained a pound and four ounces over a two week period! A little chunk haha. So she's good all around, especially her head ;) I've said she has a big head like her dad--in a good way; that smart brain needs the room! Our doctor was happy to hear she's been sleeping and eating well.

Liz also had to have some blood drawn for some tests. The nurse pricked her tiny heel and had to squeeze blood onto some circles to be sent out for testing. That little spot wasn't cooperating, so the nurse had to prick her OTHER heel, and boy, Liz did not like that one bit. But, her torture was soon over; she ate her lunch and promptly fell asleep as we ran over to campus to get some more of my books for next semester.
The grand total so far for books (for my three classes, worth nine credits): $150. And that's NOT including my history class because my professor hasn't even posted the book list for that class! Argh. I hope she gets to it soon.
Oh yes--Bri and I watched the six hour Pride and Prejudice yesterday--verrrrry good. Colin Firth is an extremely great Mr. Darcy, although I still like Matthew Macfayden better. But the Mrs. Bennet here, wow. Most annoying! All in all, we had a great day!

Another year almost gone

December 28, 2008. w0w. Right after we found out I was pregnant, I remember thinking that December would never arrive (this was back in March). And look where we are today--almost the end of another wonderful year.
Lizzie turned two weeks old yesterday. She's still awesome and still beautiful.

We could literally stare at her for hours, and we would too, if we didn't have other things pressing upon us haha.

My Christmas Eve morning was spent on I-15, driving my mom to the SLC airport at 3:30 am. Thankfully no one is awake at that ghastly hour so we made it in plenty of time. Naturally, I was pulled over by some rent-a-cop (aiport style) once we pulled right up to the Northwest area. Apparently I was going 25 mph in the 10 mph zone, but he just gave me a warning and I just smiled. haha I don't know what it is, but when things like this happen, my outrage often wants to come out in what could be a really bad way, but thankfully, it never does. (Yes, I have been pulled over before. Multiple times. Multiple states--but this is an an entirely different matter ;D.) Either way, I got a warning and then my mom and I proceeded to the counter to send her back East to the good ol' Jerz. I didn't cry like I thought I would, perhaps because I was so tired, but I was sad. My mom cooked, cleaned, laundered, washed, wiped, dried, essentially, she helped in every way possible while she was here. No matter where Chris and I happen to be when Elizabeth is married and ready to have her first baby (in the far, far future, mind you), I will be there. My mom's example to me is first and foremost.
For those of you who don't know my mom personally, or have only met her in brief passing, you are missing out. My mother is one of the most incredible people on this planet, next to my dad and to Chris. It's practically impossible NOT to love her because she is awesome. Bottom line. My mom and I got along fairly well while I was growing up at home, and for that I am thankful. When we did fight, it was always BAD. Really bad. But my mom was always the first to "forgive and forget," and she still does this in any circumstance with anyone. To "forgive and forget" is extremely difficult sometimes, but for me, my mom has never failed in that respect. This lesson, among the thousands of others my mother has taught me, is one I plan to teach my daughter, and the children that follow her. Thank you Mom. :)

We went to West Jordan and spent Christmas Eve, as well as Christmas Day and the day after that, at Grandma and Grandpa Carter's. It was good that we came up on Christmas Eve because the snow on Christmas Day was incredible. It would been extremely rough trying to get up I-15 with the conditions, but we were safe. Our dearest daughter kept us up all night--no exaggeration, she really did--so we were a bit sluggish but we had a wonderful time. We watched the House marathon on USA; House has easily become our new favorite show to catch. My holiday vice this Christmas season was Grandma's peanut brittle; I'm not a huge fan of peanut brittle but Grandma's peanut brittle is amazing. Grandpa made his famous chili; Grandma made her famous everything else, and we made them sausage bake on Christmas morning. Sausage bake is a tradition in the Jett household on Christmas mornings; since we weren't in Jersey we had to make some in Utah! Last Christmas Chris and I made it for his family in Texas, and Valerie made it for her family this Christmas since we weren't there. We've spread sausage bake all over the country! :)
--Sorry, just had to drop this in here: the Eagles are beating the CowGIRLS, 44-3. Blessed day! GO PHILLY! I had to say this because Uncle John (Chris's younger brother) and Aunt Hillary sent Liz a pink, baby-sized, ROMO jersey...enough said. Chris and I decided that if the Cowgirls won, we'd put the jersey on Liz and take a picture. Thankfully it looks like Dallas is going down because I don't think I would put that piece of trash on her hahaha. I'm thankful for the gift as a gesture, but these two knew what they were doing when they sent that jersey to this house! ;)--
All right, Elizabeth is up and hungry--I'll write more soon.
Okay, I'm back. Here are some pictures of Lizzie's first time to church:



Might I add a little vent--how Christmas break is nearly OVER and how school starts in...however many days?!?! So far, we've had the Stapley's over for some Harry Potter (they brought the movies!) AND they brought some fixings for a good dinner, too. Bri and I are planning to sit down this week and watch the entire six-hour version of Pride and Prejudice--because the husbands will be at work and they won't have to be "subjected to such torture." Ha! This vacation can't be over so soon...we just got here!!

Finally Finished!

This semester is over! Happy, happy day. Chris and I went to campus this morning where I dropped off my Spanish 326 final--my last final of the semester, picked up my Jane Austen term paper and criticism notebook, and sold some more books back to the Bookstore (got a whopping $14 for the bunch; three weren't being bought back). We also bought my books for next semester's classes: Anthropology 101, Biology 100, and History 201. Yes, I saved "the best" in terms of classes for last. YEAH RIGHT! haha Just the General Education requirements. All in all, I have completed ALL my English major and Spanish minor classes! And boy, does it feel wonderful.
I can't believe I have ONE semester left of college. ONE! I often feel as if I just arrived to campus, as a little freshman, ready to conquer Physical Science 100 and Book of Mormon 211. Quite the opposite--I have seven semesters of college behind me. Wow. I'm excited for this upcoming semester. I have Anthro and History up at the Salt Lake Center one night a week, and the Bio class is MW 4-5:30. No morning classes! This will be an adventure for sure.

Lizzie is a week old today. A week old! Unbelievable.

Sometimes I feel as if she's been with us for awhile (technically she has been, while she was in my belly), but still. It has been wonderful. She is a complete sweetheart. She isn't a crier or a screamer (unless her poor bottom is exposed to the cold air while her diaper is being changed). She loves her hands--waving them around, chewing on them to let me know she's hungry, punching the air, etc. She hates having her arms swaddled--she will fight the swaddle until her arms are free! It's funny to watch. Lizzie has been sleeping and eating well; her schedule right now has us relaxing during the day and up at night...so we're working on reversing that trend! haha Nah, it's not awfully bad, but still. She loves to smile, while she's awake and while she's asleep. She laughs at her daddy's jokes and loves to snuggle on his chest.

My mom has been the BIGGEST help to us...I don't even want to think about Wednesday when she goes back to Jersey...I'll write a post thanking her later. Bottom line, we have a wonderfully spectacular daughter and we are beyond happy to have her in our family. Mary, Chris, and Elizabeth. Love it!

Well...

I want to write an update so much, but I need to finish (...and to start) this Spanish 326 final. When I finish it, I will write here on the blog. The final may not be finished today, let's be honest. But still. The thought counts!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, LIZZIE KILLION!

Elizabeth Cheronne Killion was born on December 13, 2008 in Provo, Utah at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
She weighed 7 lbs, 13 ozs, and she is 20.5 inches long, and she got a 9 on the Apgar test. Basically, she looks like a mini Chris! She has Mary's dark hair and ears, though.
Mary had a C-section because Lizzie was NOT a fan of contractions at all. Every time Mary contracted, Lizzie's heartrate would dip, causing "variables." She was fine when Mary wasn't contracting, but she created a fuss otherwise!
Mary and Lizzie are both doing very well! Lizzie is taking a rest after her dinner. She had been smacking her lips since she was born so she was ready for some food when the nurse and Chris brought her to Mary.

We are so happy that everything is great and little Lizzie is AMAZING! We thank Heavenly Father for blessing us with this beautiful baby girl.

Hospital Update-She's Almost Here

Hey friends and family, we are in the Hospital.

5:15 AM Mary's water broke. We were sleeping when Mary thought that she felt funny. So she decided to get up to go to the bathroom and WHOOSH, her water broke as soon as she stood up out of bed.

5:55 AM We got to the hospital. We hadn't packed Mary's bag yet, but luckily we had gone out last night and picked up some essentials she would need. We packed her bag and headed around the corner to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

The contractions are about 2-3 min apart

Mary was given an IV a little before 7 am.

8:05am Contractions getting stronger.

8:45am Given Petocin

9:05am contractions are starting to KILLLLLL (Mary's words)

Between 9:30 and 10 AM: Epidural--She's feeling better already.

10:20 AM Catheter put in

11:00 AM: Mary is resting

11:50 AM: Mary is dilated to a 4 and still feeling good; her nurse gave her some more Petocin. Let's see how much more she progresses!

1:50 PM Not much progress. No consistent labor rhythm. Contractions sporadic. Baby's heartbeat dips at some contractions so Mary was put on Oxygen.

2:00 PM: Nurse redid the monitors. One of the new monitors will give the nurses a better reading of how strong the contractions are and the other one is actually attached to the baby's head giving a more accurate reading of the baby's heartbeat to tell the nurses what the baby does not like about the contractions. Contractions are more consistent.

4:50 PM: Very little progress. If there is still no progress the next time around, the nurse will call the doctor to have her come in to assess the situation.

4:58: Nurse came in after she got off the phone with Mary's doctor. The contractions are strong, but the baby is not responding well to the petocin. So, they are turning the petocin off for an hour to see how the baby reacts. Then, in an hour will put her back on and if nothing happens, c-section.

6pm: Mary is taken off Petocin to see what will happen.

6:55 pm: After meeting with her doctor, it is decided that Mary will have a C-section. Now the staff is running around to get everything ready for Lizzie's arrival. I am given a space suit contraption to wear, including booties that slip over my feet.

7:38 pm: A child is born! Welcome, Elizabeth Cheronne!

Chris's stab at the blog #2

The countdown begins. Little Liz will be here any day now. This week will be busy for Mary as she is taking all her finals, hopefully before the baby comes.
As for the past week, Mary went to the doctor's on Tuesday. Everything seems fine. On Friday, she had a presentation in her English class and did very well. The students responded well to it and actually felt intimidated now that they have to go after her presentation. Way to go Mary!!!!!
Also, on Friday, we had my department Christmas party. We went to Tucano's--all you can eat meat. My favorite. Here is Mary and I after dinner.

It was fun to see the coworkers outside of work. The highlight of the dinner is when Pam told the waiter that it was Mike's birthday (it really wasn't). They came out with drums and all to wish him a happy B-day. They made him stand and dance making it an especially funny moment.
Saturday, we went over to the Holden's to watch the SEC Championship game, Florida and Alabama. Florida ended up winning. Later that evening the Lee's and Holden's joined us for my grandparents' church's Christmas party. We got there a little after 7:00. We felt bad because we were getting there about 30 min. , but come to find out we were over an hour late because it started at 6, not 6:30. At least we were able to get some food and catch the tail end of the Christmas program. Mary and I were quite embarrassed, but our friends and grandparents were great sports about it. After the party, we made back to the Holden's to watch Prince Caspian. The Stapley's were able to come to the movie. We missed them while at the Christmas party while they had Steve's company party in Salt Lake. We were glad they were able to make it to the movie. Like Russ said, there was a void when the Stapley's weren't there. The movie was pretty good, but not as good as the first.
Sunday, Mary and I went to Salt Lake to the conference center to watch the Christmas devotional where the First Presidency (the prophet and his two counselors) gave a spiritual message. It was a very nice devotional. The main focus was of course on Christ, but also service. After, we headed over to temple square to look at the beautiful lights.

Well, that is all for this blog. Hopefully, the next blog we will be introducing you to little Lizzie. Thank you all for being great family and friends--we love you!
Some pictures from the week:
Me with a "Texas" doughnut from Macey's--it was huge

We woke up Saturday morning to this a couple houses down from us:

Twelve days, anyone?

Hello everyone!
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday weekend up in West Jordan at Grandma and Grandpa Carter’s house. Thanksgiving Day was great; Uncle Spike, Aunt Andi, Mallory, Joel, and Nick came so we had a full table! As usual, everything tasted great. AND, I was introduced to cranberry relish (had to write about this for you, Bri). My good friend Brianna was telling me about her family’s recipe for cranberry relish and how good it is. The only cranberry anything I’ve ever seen is the goop that comes from the can (I’m not a big fan of it, if you couldn’t tell). And what do you know, Aunt Andi brought a small tub of cranberry relish and let me tell you—it’s great! I really liked it.
We didn’t do too much shopping on Black Friday, but we did go to see Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond movie. At the movie theater in West Jordan, the first showing of a movie is $5, so we decided we would see it. Bottom line—amazing! We really enjoyed it. The movie theater is in the middle of a HUGE shopping complex, and nothing really jumped out to us…except for Carter’s. Carter’s is a children’s store…and we went a little crazy! Let’s just say Lizzie was the beneficiary of this year’s holiday shopping. We got her a lot of cute outfits!
We went out again on Saturday, and we happened to stop by Ross, where we discovered the CUTEST shoes ever: a baby pair of Denver Broncos sneakers!


Needless to say, we had to buy them. If any of you out East happen to see an Eagles pair, send them our way!
While we were here, we put together a five-hundred piece puzzle. Man, those things are challenging! We hadn’t out together a puzzle in years, so it was a lot of fun, and we got it finished before we headed home.


We were invited to Salt Lake for dinner by our friends, the Belliston’s. Michelle used to go to BYU (that’s how Chris and I know her), but she transferred up to the University of Utah after she and Matt got married in the Salt Lake Temple. Now they are both studying music at the U. They are wonderful and we had a great time seeing them. :)
Here I am at thirty-eight weeks. Only twelve more days to go.

W0W. I can’t believe it. Oh yeah—I had my first Braxton-Hicks contractions on Friday night…now I know what they feel like haha. At every appointment, my doctor would ask if I had had any, but my answer was always “no,” and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But now I know. ;)
Hope you have a wonderful week. We’ll talk to you soon!

Lizzie Update

I got an ultrasound this afternoon because my doc STILL couldn't feel the top of the baby's head through my cervix yesterday morning. We needed to know if she was head down like she should be.
And she is! Thank goodness. Lizzie's head is down, her feet are up. Here is one of her feet!

And we are happy. She's estimated to be a little under seven pounds right now. Although her due date is the twelfth of December, I was advised that she could come as early as the eighth or as late as the sixteenth, but the twelfth is still looking likely.
The technician was able to point out some hair on her head! Here is a side profile of her face. I think she has Chris's nose and his head. We shall see!


Her head, arms, and legs are all measuring as they should, all in proportion and everything is growing at the rate it should be. The placenta is where it should be, too (NOT blocking the cervix). The technician asked me if I knew what the baby was, and I told her it's a girl--that's what my doctor in TX told me, so we decided to confirm that again, and sure enough, she's a girl! That is her labia, which we can now see clearly because she's a lot bigger now.


Lastly, my amniotic fluid level is right on target. Not too much, not too little. Lizzie is pressing on my right kidney (apparently; I haven't had ANY back problems to tell me this), so I've been advised to sleep on my left side as much as I can. I find this hilarious because she hates my left side with a passion, so we'll see how that works.
We are happy to know some more specific details about our daughter. I see my doctor again on Tuesday, so we may have some more details about her then. <3

Less than three weeks to go...

Hey family and friends!
Now--don't get all worried; this little girl isn't ours! This is Chris and me with the adorable Emrie Holden. She is a cutie!!

Greetings from Provo. This week has been a whirlwind of activity. It’s unbelievable how daunting the week seems on Monday morning, but by Friday afternoon, you wonder what the heck just happened!
On Monday night, we went to one of my professors’ houses. Professor Cutchins teaches my capstone course for my major (we’re studying Mark Twain and Henry James). He hosted a movie night, where we watched Somewhere in Time, which is loosely based off of A Sense of the Past, one of the last novels written by James. Chris joined me for the first half of the movie, and then Russ picked him up to go play some basketball. The movie wasn’t as long as I had expected (it’s pretty good…for an early eighties movie!) so I drove quickly over to Provo High where the boys were playing.
Russ and Chris were filling in for a friend of Russ’s who couldn’t make it to the game; he had asked Russ to find some extra guys and he called Chris. I get to the gym; the scoreboards aren’t on, so I sat with Adri for awhile—I ended up catching the last bit of the game. The boys came up to us in the stands and informed me that the team they played against were mostly former UVU basketball players…enough said!
On Tuesday morning, I found myself at my doctor’s office for my first cervical checkup—everything is fine and Lizzie won’t be coming relatively soon (I hope)! I’m still pretty quiet in terms of Braxton-Hicks contractions and the like. My next appointment is on Tuesday, and if nothing has changed, I will get an ultrasound just to make sure Lizzie is head down and feet up. I kinda hope I get an ultrasound because I haven’t had one since…July! It would be pretty neat to “see” her so soon before she is actually born! I see the doctor every week from now until Lizzie arrives.
I’m trying very hard to remember the rest of the week, but BYU’s horrid loss to UofU is blocking the happy part of my memory haha. No, really though, it was depressing—we lost 48-24...Max Hall was responsible for all six turnovers: five interceptions and a fumble. Needless to say, Provo is a sad town at the moment. The ONLY good thing we can say about this game is the fact that the Mountain West will have a showing in a BCS bowl this season. We are still going to a bowl game; TCU will likely go to the Vegas Bowl, so we could end up at the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego or the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth (which would be AMAZing). We shall see…
This is me, at thirty-seven weeks. Excuse the hoodie; I didn't feel like taking it off. I am sure you still get the idea!
Well, have a great week—I will keep you updated as always when I get any important information regarding Lizzie or us in general.

Almost time for Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone,
This week flew by so fast--Don't even ask me what happened during the week because I cannot remember. At all. Here are the pictures of some of things we bought at IKEA last week--the net which holds all of Lizzie's animals (so far);
the hamper which we have affectionately named Tony, as he is a turtle;
and the other net which has three tiers--one for her hats, one for her burp cloths, and one for her little mittens and gloves.
Friday night we went to Divine Comedy with the Stapley's--HILARIOUS. We were dying! Many of the skits were downright awesome. The theme was Nickelcade Royale (parody of Casino Royale and James Bond); that skit wasn't as good, but all the skits they performed right before that one were amazing. The Stapley's scored us some Early Passes--we were able to get in before they let everyone else in, so we got really great seats. The Lee's met us at the Wilk when DC ended; after some discussion, we then decided we were going to drive to Springville to visit our former boss (remember, we were all RA's). While we were driving, I remarked to Chris that it felt like we were freshmen again. You know that feeling--it's Friday night, you're looking for something to do because you're not ready to go home...hahah! We eventually found the house, but no one was home. We'll have to try it again soon. ;) We returned to the Lee's apartment to chill (again, we weren't ready for bed) and we got home a little before midnight--we stopped by 7-11 because I wanted hot chocolate haha.
Saturday morning was to be busy for Chris...but we slept in. It's Saturday morning, you know?! We did make it up to campus because I had signed up to help with a Spanish project. This project was HUGE. I don't know how many of you or your spouses have served Spanish-speaking missions...let me explain--the Church is in the process of translating the KJV Bible into Spanish. THIS IS HISTORIC! Remember that Spain, back in the day, was very, very Catholic; the KJV was comissioned by King James, in England--Anglican England. So, Spanish-speaking members of the Church have never had a King James Version of the Bible. But that's all changing! So, on Saturday, the professors and people working on the translation invited all 300-400 level Spanish classes to participate in proofreading and such. SO awesome! I will be able to tell my kids that I helped proofread the KJV of the Bible in Spanish when I was a senior at BYU. How amazing is that?!
BYU played Air Force in Ft. Collins, CO yesterday. Naturally it was broadcast on CS TV, which none of us have. Steve S. was kind enough to offer his work (Pinnacle) as a place where we could watch. He had the game set up in a conference room there! It was verrrrrry nice. And, to add to the greatness, we won 38-24. Next week, we are in SLC to play Utah--that will be the game to see...We all went to Costco afterwards and finally got some food haha. Bri was kind enough to let us use their card. We're getting one soon, not sure when, but we will haha.
I go to the doctor on Tuesday, and I will go to her every week from now on. CRAZY. Crazy. This is me at 36 weeks. Sorry, the picture is a little dark.That's pretty much all I have to say about it. haha!
On Tuesday I have a group presentation for my Bible as Literature class. My rough draft of my ten-page paper on Mark Twain is due on Wednesday. I have to finish reading Emma by Thursday. I meet with my professor to discuss my Mark Twain paper on Friday. Wish me luck!
Have a great week and I will talk to you soon. :D

Getting closer...

I can't believe this semester is coming to a close--the end is visible! It's crazy to think about. I took my last midterm for Spanish on Friday and I take my last midterm for Elang on the 17th. No more tests from there on out (I'm obviously not including finals!). Even though I have no more tests before finals, I have plenty to keep me busy: research papers. Life could be worse though, I'm sure.
I've spoken with my professors and I'm good to go and take my finals during the last week of school; so, moral of this story: PRAY that Lizzie doesn't arrive early because then the plan will be foiled! haha Seriously though--I want her to be a few days late. But, I know she will decide when she'll arrive. I'm thirty-five weeks along; my next appointment is on Nov. 18th. From that week on, I will visit my doc once a week until the big day.
Speaking of babies, Steve and Britney Holden (see posts below for pics of them) welcomed their first daughter on Thursday morning. Her name is Emrie Dawn and they will call her Emmy for short (SO cute)! Now that Britney has had her baby, I'm feeling a tad more nervous because that means I'M NEXT. (:0
What else of note has happened this week?...We attended our second prenatal class on Monday night. We watched the birth/delivery video. Well. Let's just say our eyes have been opened! I knew the delivery wouldn't be all glamorous, but still haha. One couple sitting behind us exclaimed, "This is much more graphic than TLC!!! [A Baby Story]" ;)
My brother Bill--Elder Jett--finally got to Colombia this week! He was supposed to leave on October 20th, but because of some difficulties with visas, he left a little later than expected. But he's there now! He called me from the DFW airport on Tuesday morning to let me know he was safe. His flights to Barranquilla: SLC to DFW, DFW to MIA, MIA to Bogota, then Bogota to Barranquilla after spending the night in the mission home. A long trip, but it was worth it. I'm so excited for him to be there :)
Football news: BYU won, 41-12, over San Diego State. Our last two games are away: @ Air Force, and the ultimate last game, @ Utah. Oh boy!
We went up to West Jordan on Friday night and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Carter. The big extended family Thanksgiving was on Saturday morning, so we figured it would be easier to be up there and go with them, than getting up early to get there (Bountiful) on time. Before we left for the get-together, Chris and I went to the Jordan River temple--beautiful! The family Thanksgiving was fun; there were so many people. (I think there were eighty chairs set up, around tables of course, and let me tell you, there may have been only one or two that were empty. WOW!) I met more of Chris's extended family so that was great.
We stopped by IKEA on the way home--one of the coolest stores ever! We picked up some more things for Lizzie's room: a yellow net to hang on the wall/ceiling for her stuffed animals; a changing pad; a little blue hamper with a turtle for its lid; and a red net, three-tier hanger for whatever we feel like putting there. This girl has a room of style--bright colors and lots of fun (sea) animals.
I'm sorry I don't have any pictures for you this time. But, have a great week and I'll talk to you soon~ check the post below; I wrote it on Thursday. Love you!

Hail Wildwood Catholic...

I don't feel like reading Sense of the Past right now. I hope I don't get quizzed on it tomorrow haha. I found this and thought I would share a bit about my high school days...

1. Did you date someone from your High School? No! All the boys worth dating already had girlfriends. I dated boys from the stake, though it was not as often as I would have liked. We all lived so far away from each other.

2. What kind of car did you drive? A '94 Plymouth Voyager. Her name was Senorita Rosalita. What an awesome van. It could (uncomfortably) hold up to fifteen people--and that happened often!

3. What is your most embarrassing moment in High School? You know...I probably had quite a few. I just don't remember them! I liked to laugh off my embarrassing moments then, and I still do now! Oh--there's one; but I've only ever told Chris. Don't ask me because I won't tell you. ;)

4. Were you a party animal? Nah, not really. I could go crazy at a dance though ;)

5. Were you considered a flirt? OHH YEAH. Oh yeah. Enough said.

6. Were you in band, orchestra or choir? Wildwood Catholic had no band...or orchestra. There was a small choir that sung during masses and other church-related programs, but I am not much of a singer.

7. Were you a nerd? Eh, no. That term probably would've applied to me back in grade school, though!

8. Were you on any varsity teams? I managed the Varsity boys basketball team and the boys baseball team--yeah baby!

9. Did you ever get suspended/expelled? Heck NO!

10. Can you still sing the fight song? ...I remember our Alma Mater song, but I'm fairly certain that WCHS doesn't have a fight song. Crazy!

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Waters. When I had him, I didn't appreciate him as much as I should have. But the man taught me a lot about English and here I am, an English major!

12. Where did you sit for lunch? I sat at one of the round tables by the vending machines with Alex, Ashley, Lauren, Patty, and Sara. GOOD TIMES!

13. School mascot? WILDWOOD CATHOLIC CRUSADERS, BABY!

14. Did you go to homecoming and with who? I did go to homecoming, all four years. The first three years I went with the ladies. Senior year, Alex and I each took a date; she took Chris Reeve from the Medford Ward and I took Pat Flynn, who was a sophomore at the time. My brother asked me, "Why do you have to ask MY friends to homecoming?" haha Pat and I worked together at Pompeo's for a few summers, so we were good friends anyway.

15. If you could go back and do it again would you? Absolutely. I loved high school. I miss it a lot, actually. Every time I go back home, I stop by WCHS and say hello to everyone. It's weird standing in the halls--they seem so small now.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? RAIN. Cold, rainy night. St. Ann's chapel.

17. Where did you go on Senior Skip Day? Good question. We probably went somewhere for a late breakfast...

18. Have you gained weight since then? HAHA. Well, yes; I am eight months pregnant. But before the pregnancy, I gained some weight during my first semester at here at BYU--not quite the freshman fifteen, but enough to notice. I started jogging the next semester and dropped it all--back to high school weight. Then I dropped another ten before/during engagement/newlywed stage. But now...ta-da: pregnancy!

19. Who was your Prom Date? Junior year, I took Taylor Allen from the Woodstown Ward. Theme: Under the Sea. Senior year, I took LJ Sikahema from the Moorestown Ward. Theme: Wonderful Tonight. Great times with the Mormon boys!

20. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reuinion? Oh yes. If we are close by, we'll be there! I think it will be fabulous.

21. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Nothing. I did nothing I regret, so I have no advice to give!

No-what? Oh, No-vember

Hello from rainy Provo! This past week has been awfully warm outside, but we got some relief today in the form of some showers. Once the clouds clear, I'm sure Mt. Timp will have some snow on top of it!
The most memorable thing about this week was the fact that the PHILLIES WON THE WORLD SERIES! 2008 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS! Man, Chris and I were so excited. BEYOND excited. Delirious with joy! Because... I wore all my Phillies gear to school the next day and we also put some of the Phillies decals on the car (thanks, Sikahema's!). We're having some trouble finding Phillies gear out here, but my mom will be able to help us out when she flies out from the East in a few weeks for the baby! (Go to nbcphiladelphia.com/sports/baseball/phillies/ to see more pictures and read the stories!)
BYU won yesterday, 45-42, in Fort Collins, CO vs. Colorado State. The Rams gave us quite a scare, but we were able to pull through. We're still #17 in the polls. School has been absolutely insane. When people ask me when the baby is due, I reply how many weeks I have left, and then I suddenly remember that is how long I have until the end of school to finish two group presentations, three research papers, two more "midterms," etc. Once it's all over, I will be glad that we will have Liz to look forward to. :)
On Wednesday night, we went to a Halloween party hosted by Kevin and Emily Griffin over at Heritage Halls. Chris had the GREAT idea for our costumes: Resident Assistants! We put on khakis, our Residence Life shirts, our nametags, and headed over there. (I had to borrow one of Chris's shirts and tie the extra shirt material behind my back. We U Hall RAs never got our RA shirts, but if I had had one, I still would've had to borrow Chris's because I wouldn't have fit into the other!) We had a fun time, met some other Hall Advisors, and played some hilarious games. AND, we won the Most Adorable Costumes! haha It was great. We didn't have anything planned for Halloween on Friday night, but then the Holden's called us and invited us over to their apartment for some fun. We watched Spiderman 2 and enjoyed the candy! The Holden's dog, Bronco, was Spiderman, so the movie fit the theme appropriately! Steve was the Joker--that was a great costume. He does good Joker impersonations!
I came home from school on Friday afternoon to see a package on our steps. Sweet! I saw that it was from my dear friend Emma (we met our freshman year in DT because we lived right down the hall from each other!). She told me she was going to send me something, but I had forgotten, so this was a nice treat. I get inside, find the scissors, and open the package--I nearly fall off the couch because Emma had sent me a VERA BRADLEY BABY BAG AND MATCHING WALLET! I couldn't believe it! Emma knows me too well--she knows that I am obsessed with Vera Bradley! The two pieces are in Vera Bradley's newest pattern of Mediterranean Blue. Look how gorgeous! I can't wait to put the baby bag and wallet into action. THANK YOU EMMA! :)
This is me, 34 weeks along:
Talk to you soon and have a wonderful week!

The fun never stops!

Hello friends!
This week has, of course, been busy, but it has been full of good times too. On Tuesday night we went to a "Help Your Baby Sleep" seminar were we learned some good strategies and tips for doing just that--helping baby sleep. The seminar was at Babies R'Us; they put on a lot of seminars, so we'll continue to be on the lookout for some more that we can attend.
Wednesday was very busy; I had class all day, and then I got together with my friends Alex, Megan, and Emily--we studied for over two hours for our Bible as Literature midterm. (It was all worth it because the exam was pretty easy!) A little while later was my baby shower! Grandma Carter and Aunt Connie came so that was awesome to see them there. Brianna planned a wonderful shower with lots of goodies; I am so thankful for everything she did! We had a wonderful night--we ladies were laughing the entire time! I got a lot of great things: clothes, blankets, a bather, booties, lotions, toys, etc. Thanks again, Bri :) It was amazing! Here Chris is modeling "Daddy's Survival Apron," made especially for him by Grandma Carter. It comes complete with pockets for emergency numbers, a bottle, diapers, wipes, lotion, and pacifiers!This was Chris's favorite bib for Liz, so naturally I had to get a picture of him with it! I think my Dad would appreciate this bib, too!!*An enormous THANK YOU to the Chaffin's who are going to give us a rocker! They're awesome!
Thursday=Chris's Happy Birthday! My sweet old man turned 27. I bought him a new BYU hoodie for the special occasion. We celebrated with dinner at Los Hermanos, where the waiters and waitresses sung to Chris and even brought him some fried ice cream!
I got to campus early on Friday morning because President and Sister Sikahema and Lana came to town and they graciously treated us students from the stake to breakfast at Scoreboard Grill in the Cougareat. It is ALWAYS wonderful to see the Sikahema's here in Provo and to catch up on NJ news! They brought us Phillies gear--always a joy to support our Phillies! On Friday night, Chris's birthday festivities continued: we gathered the gang together at our apartment for some cake (pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting) and ice cream (pralines and caramel; vanilla). Here Chris is modeling his new Longhorns hoodie (thank you Holden's!) as well as modeling the "Hook 'em Horns" sign:
Making a wish before blowing out the candles!We then rushed off to the Provo Towne Center--we had tickets to see High School Musical 3! As for the movie itself, it was fun! Brought back memories of my own senior year haha, although I never broke out into song spontaneously ;) Really though, good movie! *See the first two before going to this one.
Oh yes--our Relief Society held a "Fantastic Friday" (aka Super Saturday, but on Friday). I made these for Lizzie's room: what do you think? We're going to get a small shelf and place these on top. I painted them to match her bedding :)
We went to the temple on Saturday morning; it was so nice and peaceful (isn't it always?). From the temple, we picked up Bri to come watch the BYU vs. UNLV game at our place because Steve was working. BYU won 42-35...well, we won. ha. We could've done better. Anyways, the Lee's stopped by with some Sonic drinks, which was very nice of them. The Carter's were up from Monroe so we met them at Costco to say hello and to catch up. We wanted to take the Stapley's out as our thank-you for putting together the baby shower. So, Steve finished work and we met at Olive Garden--too busy. So we all drove over to The Old Spaghetti Factory where there was no wait and enjoyed some goooood food. Of course we had to walk through the mall and we ladies got our rings cleaned. :D
Have a wonderful week--talk to you soon!

The calm before the storm

Greetings from Provo, UT!
Some notables from this week:
--I handed in my GRADUATION APPLICATION on Thursday! Oh man, I'm so close to graduation. After this semester, I will be able to taste graduation--I'm sure of it. April 2009, here I come!
--We bought a crib mattress yesterday. Chris was amazingly gracious to put the whole crib ensemble together while I wrote my Jane Austen criticism paper. It looks terrific! Thank you Husband!Look at the detail in the bedding. I had to take a close up so you could see all the sea creatures.
In addition to the mattress, we bought the stroller! It's a Baby Trend Expedition Travel System. We got the big wheels we wanted for maneuverability. That's one more big item crossed off our to-do list. We're still on the hunt for a chair/rocker/glider/whatever you want to call it, that is decently priced.
--On Friday night, the group of us (when I say group, I mean the Killion's, the Holden's, the Stapley's, the Lee's) were treated to a tour of the Haunted Forest in American Fork. David, Steve H.'s cousin, said that since he hadn't bought any of us wedding presents, he would take us to the Haunted Forest. Awesome! We had a great time. Some of the costumes and tricks in there were pretty clever, I must admit. I think my years going through the Haunted House at the Elks Lodge and the Haunted Hay Rides at the beach gave me some experience in not becoming terribly scared (at least that's what I told myself). We then hit up the Cafe Rio in American Fork for some good food.
--Last night brought us some DIVINE COMEDY. SO funny! Divine Comedy is BYU's premier comedy sketch troupe. I've been to a show (or two) every year that I've been here at school and it is always a treat to see them perform. I really laugh when they parody BYU tendencies and the like. Go check them out: www.divinecomedy.net. Here are the couple pictures (sorry Holden's; I forgot to take a picture of you...I thought I did. :(
We then invited everyone over to our place to watch some football and Be Cool. Be Cool holds a special place in the guys' hearts; the boys, especially Steve H. and Chris, quoted it all the time when Chris and I started dating, and I had no idea what they were talking about. Chris and I happened to see it on sale recently, so we bought it and we knew we had to get everyone over so the wives could finally watch it and understand what the husbands had been talking about!
--I'm just over 32 weeks along...drum roll please! Only a little bit of time left before the world becomes a better place :) My mom bought her ticket to Utah this week. She'll be flying in on December 10th!! I'm not exactly smiling in this picture, but you get the idea.


That's all from this side of the U.S. This next week is so busy--I don't know if I will have time to breathe. Luckily, some good things are happening (aka my baby shower!) so I have these good things to look forward to. Have a great week!