Pregnant in July

As stated earlier we decided to miss this year's McCulloch reunion to stay close to home since we were one month away from the due date. We sure have been busy though! We've been doing a lot of nesting.. John and I both! Emma on the other hand has picked up a new habit of throwing things.. food, papers, books, clothes, toys, fits.. I really wish she would stop.. maybe next year..

It has been a HOT summer for me. I really don't like sweating this much! But honestly I'm not a crabby person normally and I'm not a crabby pregnant person either... though I have met those.. I really do feel pretty good most of the days and know I could go on and on about the woa's of pregnancy in July- but actually I'm doing pretty good most days. I am soo grateful that the second week of July John put this baby up in our bedroom: A night-saver to say the least!!

However, the following weekend, our only two years old, deep soaking and pretty bathtub managed to crack (it was acrylic and installed poorly.. over styrofoam.. over a jack-hammered hole in the foundation (WHAT!?!)... so we/John tore it all out and I ordered a new one... it's in the garage in the box and we still have a hole in our floor.. so, does anyone know how to properly install a bathtub? We're hoping to learn SOON...

John successfully just completed another summer school class. So he now has more time to work on the bathtub.. but really just wants me to go into labor! (He gets 2 weeks paid paternity leave..) I don't blame him.. Work is the LAST place I've been wanting to go for about a month and a half. (By the way... John only has 4 more classes until he graduates and then it's off to grad school!)

Emma started having some sad seperation anxiety, which made me more emotional and stressed and tired.. She's doing a little better now though. I am only scheduled to work four hours this Wednesday.. I sure hope I don't make it!
Here I am at 36 1/2 weeks pregnant (taken July 18th).. almost term! I now have one of those bellies that always made my jaw drop at how big and far it sticks out..

One of my great friends Jennifer Radcliffe threw me a baby shower on July 24th. It was a lot of fun and turned out great!! I have some great friends at church and wonderful family members. (Nancy was planning on coming, but has to have one of her hips replaced on the 4th in Phoenix, so she really needed to rest and get a lot of things done in Farmington that day to get ready for the surgery.) We got lots of great things and had a fun time! Thanks everyone soo much!!

I loved the cake! Jessica Shaw and her kids made it. :)

We had friends and family write letters to the baby (and we decided to do it for Emma too) to be opened and read at different birthdays throughout their lives.. ages 1-20.. I love it!!

Jenn and I (later that day at a baptism..)
Here's some other things we've been up to this month..

Trying new recipes (grilled zucchini roll):

and using lots of favorite old recipes.. I just may be addicted to bruschetta...especially with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden! Heaven!!

Long Sunday drives to the Sandia Crest, through a cloud! Lot's of Wheel of Time reading on our drives..

Burying Emma Jane in the sandbox

Swimming.. and unfortunately getting sunburned..

Hanging out with Megan for a few minutes here in Albuqueruqe!

Going to the aquarium with Johnathan, Darien and Annie

Practice being a big sister (with a little help from Heath and Berke Tew)


A little pregnancy update: I haven't had any other anatomy ultrasounds so I don't know if the echogenic cardic focus is still there on the baby's heart or if it will affect anything.. hope not..

Emma sweetly gave my belly a big hug the other day and said "My Baby Brutter" .. and she has been pointing out things around the house that are for him and talking about baby brutter! Yay! She will still go through a little shock though I'm sure..

Here I am at 38 1/2 weeks.. I am ten days away from my due date.. I have not been too anxious to have the baby yet (I've had too many cleaning and organizing and crafting projects to do!!!).. but I am defenitly getting there now. I think it's because Emma came ten days early.. so I should get that again, right? He has dropped and I've been having contractions like crazy but on Friday early morning I was only dialated to 1 cm and 50% effaced. When he's ready he'll come.. but I do hope it's closer to today then August 11th..

Happy Birthday America

We celebrated Independence Day weekend at Vallecito at the cabin.. such an awesome weekend! We got there late friday night (July 2nd) and came home on Monday the 5th. Nanny and Grumps met us up there early Saturday afternoon. Of course we always love it there and had a great time!

We brought Emma's rain coat and boots that she had previously gotten from Nancy. Well Emma will never want for shoes.. she got two new pair from Nanny that weekend. She is wearing one of each in this photo.. some awesome faux fur boots and red mary jane squeakers. We loved them! She was squeaking around all weekend.. it was hilarious and great to know when she was wandering off... Emma loved standing out in the rain with her coat and "fishy."

I was 34 1/2 weeks pregnant for the trip.. so here's the whole family! I LOOOVED getting out of the heat. This was our last trip before delivery.. (as I write I am still pregnant...)

Of course we through hundreds of rocks in the lake for dozens of hours.. McCulloch tradition. Emma is still throwing with both hands..
"Happy You".. is what she calls candles on cakes.. and now she calls cake "Happy"... aptly named, I'd say. I brought up this carrot cake and to keep up with Nancy's tradition we lit sparklers and sang Happy Birthday to America. Emma LOVED the sparklers!

Another McCulloch/Rhien tradition is bathing the babies in the sink at the cabin. I guess Max's first bath was in the sink at the cabin. Emma wasn't too sure about it, but Nanny and Grumps were set on getting some pictures and a good bath- so once they gave Emma her "fishy" to wash she loved it. So cute..

We ate lots of good food (thanks Grumps) and played some good darts and cards.. loved it all!!

We didn't get picutes with our camera, but Emma had her first canoe ride. She did great.. and I was able to splash John really well with the oar a couple of times.

You have to see the video of Emma when she first put her shoes on.. she wouldn't stop jumping and I couldn't stop giggling!! Thanks Nanny!!

Almost July..

Emma Jane sure loves Nanny and Grumps... sometimes in her random babbling she'll start talking about Nanny and Grumps and she loves to talk to Nanny on the phone. It's really sweet. :)

I am sooo glad that I was able to go back up to Utah for Grandpa's funeral and I'm really glad most everyone was able to make it too. It was good to see Bob.. but, seriously I have was SOOOO exhausted the day of the funeral.. by 11:00 I was struggling and I just got more and more sleepy. I really don't remember feeling that sleepy with a nap or bedtime being so far away! This is Emma at the funeral luncheon.. too bad I didn't lay down next to her!

I was all caught up on sleep the next day thank goodness! We decided for the last weekend in June we would stay home and take it a little easy... I did some visiting teaching while John started one of my wish lists for this summer.. installing a ceiling fan! (He decided to wait until I was done visiting teaching and running arrends to finish it when he realized Emma Jane had followed him up the stairs to the ceiling!!)
Here is our dining room light (old and ugly.. but still kind of cool.. I may try to sell it on ebay)

And here is our new dining room light and fan! It's the first ceiling fan in our house. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fan. It makes such a difference, especially when I'm cooking or baking or doing dishes which happens A LOT! Thanks John! It only took us three times to get it all together right!

Utah trips.. we love you Jay Proctor!

I am doing a little back tracking still.. The previous post of Emma's two year photo's as I mentioned were taken outside of the Bountiful, Utah temple. We went there for David Frost's sealing on Friday, June 11th. He and John have been good friends since junior high.. maybe elementary.. and he is one of my favorite friend's of John's. We were happy to be able to make if for the sealing. Emma and I stayed outside and took the picutures during the sealing. It was beautiful. Later that night at the reception Emma's reaction to seeing Jessalyn in her wedding dress was so funny. . she was calling her "fishy! fishy!" and was sooo excited! I knew right away that she was talking about The Little Mermaid, who at the end of the movie is wearing her beautiful wedding dress. It's so funny that Emma immediately thought it was her.. she would have a blast at Disney Land!! Jessalyn apparently loved The Little Mermaid too and was happy with the association.. :) Don't you just love her vintage dress and veil? (her whole theme was fabulous!)

We were origianally planning on staying in Northern Utah after the reception and drive home in the morning, but on our way up for the wedding my mom was on her way to Panguitch because Grandpa Proctor was not doing well. He has been sick for a while, but just a few days before a large tumor was found in his stomach and he had fluid in his lungs and was not doing well at all. We were on our way to Panguitch, and almost there, when he started doing a lot worse later at night.. He passed away just about 30 minutes before we got there. I was not too disappointed that we were not there with them when he died, but very grateful we could be there for the family afterwards. He wanted to go home so bad. I guess when asked what he wanted for Father's Day (which was two days away) he said he wanted to go home to his sweetheart. He got his wish. It had been almost two months that Grandma had passed away, and they were ablt to spend thier 74th (!!) wedding anniversary together.. (I think just a few days to a week after he passed away). We stayed for several hours the next day to help Grandma and Grandpa with some cleaning and things at the house so they wouldn't have too much to worry about while getting ready for the funeral. It is amazing how busy and productive Grandpa is! I enjoyed watching him work. :)

I'm really glad we got to spend some time with my mom. I really wish we could see her more so Emma can really know her! (p.s... being so big and pregnant it was soooooo nice in Utah where the weather was wet and rainy and quite cool. I loved it!)

Emma and I came back a few days later for the funeral. John had tests in school and work..

What a great man Jay Proctor is! He has left such a wonderful legacy. Of course we always knew he was a wonderful great-grandfather. He was always so interested in what the kids were doing. He would come and play with us and made videos of us playing and jumping on the trampoline. He would take us as groups or individually on rides with him to check the water meters around the mountains. He would always sing "You Are My Sunshine" on those trips. :) I was able to learn at the funeral that we was always like that with his own kids and grandkids- well of course he was! I guess he was actually envied by SEVERAL of Grandma's and Jay's friends while growing up. It was really hard on Grandma to lose her parents. But of course she knows she'll see him again and that he really was ready to go and wanted to be with Grandma so bad. He would often say that he just wanted to fall asleep and not wake up. :( I'm glad that he didn't have to endure too much physical pain. I am so grateful for my family and the legacy they have given us!!

Amber, the musicially talented woman she is, wrote an arrangement the morning of the funeral for "How Great Thou Art". That is one of my favorite hymns and it was a blessing to be able to sing it for the funeral. My mom, siblings and a few cousins (James Duckett, Jayson Frandsen, Diana Frandsen and Shalee Beckwith) all sang. It actually turned out really good. Grandma liked it so much she requested a repeat for her funeral. We told her okay as long as we had a realllly really long time to practice. :)

"brutter" will be here soon!

I've been talking a lot about the baby in my tummy and the fact that Emma is going to be a big sister and have a baby brother for a couple of months now. She talks about babies ("baby" was her first word actually) and especially the last couple of weeks is really enthralled with my huge belly but has never tried to say brother or even acknowledge that part of it all.. until last night while reading "How to be a Baby, by Me the Big Sister".. I was pointing to the baby saying that was the baby brother and she finally said "brutter"... soo cute! She will be a good big sister I'm sure (after the initial shock and adjustments we will ALL have to make).
I am 36 and a half weeks today and I'm shooting for a July 31st delivery... we'll see how that goes. I am not ready for him to come yet.. but I will be ready by then... I've been drinking the red raspberry leaf tea and just started the Evening Primrose Oil and walking a lot more. I'll make sure I make my oregano and basil infused chicken cacciatore for dinner on the 30th to boost those contractions and I'll be good to go! (all of these things really helped with getting ready for and inducing labor with Emma... but she was also just ready to come.. we'll see how it goes!.. also, at this point I feel I would totally be okay with a later delivery date for sure! I'm not due until August 11th. I just want him to come when he is ready!

Also.. I'm not sure why but Emma has been into EVERYTHING this last week and is jumping off of all the furniture and making serious messes. She hasn't done these things too much at all ever and I think that she is taking this big sister talk seriously and wants to make sure she has a lot of mischievious skills she can teach her baby brother!! I will be outnumbered then too!! I love you little Emma Jane!

Emma Jane turns 2

I decided I wanted to do Emma's turning two photo shoot. These are some of my favorites.. I took these the 11 June 2010 outside of the Bountiful Temple.

Tent Rocks- June 5th

Saturday morning of June 5th, 2010 we slept in a little, then decided it would be a great day for a hike. John decided we should finally go hike Tent Rocks, near Cochiti Lake, NM. We drove up and started our hike at.. 11:00 am. It was HOT!! We realized we had not planned things very well because, who starts a hike that late in the Southwest on a trail with NO shade cover or water in HOT HOT weather.. Also.. being 30 weeks pregnant?!?

The great part was heading up to the very top of the trail and chatting with all the other hikers who started their hike late like us... "if a pregnant lady and a guy carrying a kid and a backpack can do it.. so can we!!" Unfortunately the very top did not have a very good view.. this was the best view.. about 3/4 of the way up:

We let Emma Jane walk part of the hike (until it became painfully slow).. she loved carrying her walking stick and throwing rocks. She's a great little hiker!

Thanks for holding this tree up for us John! You're so strong!!

Amazingly, we passed a LOT of hikers on our way DOWN the trail.. they must have started hiking at between 12 and 1 pm! Crazy! It was a lot of fun over all and we were really glad we went and even made it to the peak. Next time we'll do it in the spring or fall and start a little earlier.

To me this looks like someone got buried from the head to the waist while doing a head stand. what do you think?

We actually haven't done a hike since this weekend, one month ago...