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!