Grateful to Be at Week 17

Week 17 Updates:

The little babe and I are at 17 weeks today. Here's a picture taken a couple of days ago. According to the pregnancy bible (AKA What to Expect When You're Expecting), the little spud is about 5 inches and 5 oz this week and can now hear my voice.

I really don't know how to take bump pictures. Everything I try feels awkward. So... Soak up the awkward and rejoice if you're one of those lucky souls who doesn't herp de derp often. ;)

My belly has been VERY sore. There is a lot of stretching going on in there. And I still have a long way to go. Yikes! My belly button is already starting to look a little weird and flat.

My clothes are getting uncomfortable. I am currently pulling a flower child move and boycotting bras. (I know, TMI.) But I haven't burned them or anything, don't worry. 

I love my belly band because I can wear my jeans unzipped when I can't wear by trademark [at least these days] yoga pants.

I have been able to feel little nudges from little tater for a little over a week now. They make me so happy even if they don't feel that different from regular tummy gurgles and bubbles. Logan has even been able to feel it from the outside a couple of times the last few days. 

This year we will be celebrating Hanukkah. ... Ok, not really. We will just be celebrating on Hanukkah because that is when we have our ultrasound! Woop! 

Boy or girl? Logan says a boy or twins. I say a girl.

Cravings lately:

• Pie
• Fried things (Fries, chicken tenders, tater tots...)
• Mashed potatoes
• Yellow food (still)
• MAC N CHEESE
• Hawaiian haystacks

In other news...

We are officially going back to BYU-Idaho in January. Logan's got a full class load and we have an apartment. It is bittersweet, but it feels right. We're happy about this decision.

We took a hatchet to Logan's beloved Giant Atlantic Pumpkin. The seeds are huge and fat! We saved some for planting.

Logan hatched.

Lizzie is here with us for Thanksgiving, and we are as "funkhalt" as ever.

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Don't trample or be trampled scoring deals. Remember to wear your eating pants (or invest in a belly band.) And most importantly, remember how many things we have to be grateful for.

Harvest Widow, Checking Out! Baby, Checking in!

So... I have been seriously neglecting my sweet blog. But, in all fairness, I have been doing something much more important.

I have been laying on the couch. A lot.

And if this doesn't sound important, then you probably haven't seen this picture yet.

That's right. I've been sick and exhausted. Growing a baby is hard work!

I'm in my 14th week, and hoping to be less sick and more energized very soon. It seems like just when I think I am starting to feel human again, I have a very sick day... or 3.

But, we are VERY excited about this little tater coming our way. It was planned for, prayed for, and hoped for, and we couldn't be happier.

You know. Except for the times when I feel the need to cry about laundry... and Christmas traditions... and whatever else my hormones choose to pick on that day. Thank goodness for my patient husband.

I am normally ruled by cravings, but I have mostly been craving:

• Mustard (I even put it on fried eggs once)
• MAC N CHEESE!!!
• Other yellow foods (Especially cheesy things)
• Tomatoes (Including nasty V8 juice)
• Other day-to-day cravings (This week's examples: Crispy chicken tenders, green olives, smoothies, Taco Bell, mustard pretzels...)

Anyways. Enough excuses. Let's get down to business on a couple of updates.


Sad news: Dawn died. :( We had him at our house for a couple of days trying to nurse him back to health, but we found him dead in the shop the next day. Oh, it hurts my heart that he died alone. But, it makes me happy that he knew he was loved and purred much on his last day.

I have never loved a cat before, and I will never love one again.

My guard kitty. May you find many reasons to purr in kitty heaven, Dawn. We miss you.

Potato harvest has come and gone...

I started writing about potato harvest, including Wizard of Oz allusions and explanations galore, but I lost steam once I started feeling very sick and never came back to it. These pictures of weird potatoes and harvest shenanigans will have to suffice.

Harvest life at the cellar looks like this:

I bet you never had a potato gun THIS cool.

Look! It's a duck! No... It's a deer? Nope. It's a potato.

One potato to feed them all.

Harvest life in the field looks like this. 

We went to General Conference in Salt Lake! A first for all 3 of us.

Beet harvest has also come and gone, and not a day too soon! We finished right before the rain and cold got really extreme.

Sugar beets are hideous.

And crazy to harvest when the fields are super muddy.

This picture covers 3 stages of beet harvesting. They grow with leafy tops, then they are scalped (the white things), then a digger comes through and gets them and puts them in trucks.

We were very blessed to have a safe harvest. And I feel especially blessed to have Logan home more often. This harvest widow is checking out for the year! :)

Halloween has even come and gone! Logan got to wear his dream costume.

Introducing:

Dumbledora the Explorer and Gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe.

I wish we'd thought to take a closer picture, but here's what we've got.

We went to a Trunk or Treat party with our church, and everyone tried to find nice ways to say they had NO idea what we were. "Your costumes are so creative... I'm wondering if you can explain them to me."

Most people thought they were funny once they got it. Except for our little primary kids. They couldn't even begin to understand Logan's costume. And didn't I know that the shoe on my head was way too small to match the gum??

Hopefully I will be a more consistent blogger.

Stay happy, and remember to tie down your wheel lines for the winter! (If you read my Farming 101 post, you'll understand even if you are "city folk.")