Okay I have realized a few things since blogging last: #1 I'm a horrible blogger because it's been four months and I'm just again trying to sit down and document our life. I seriously need help from the rest of you who are more faithful bloggers than I! #2 I have yet to share some VERY big, VERY happy, VERY blessed news on the blog! It seems like old news now, since sharing it on facebook several months ago and since my belly has clearly given away any secret but, we are so incredibly thrilled to be expecting a baby girl this September!!
Many of you read my very personal blog post about our heartache going through two miscarriages when I posted about it at the beginning of the year. (See the blog post here). Needless to say, finding out we were pregnant again and that things have gone well this time has been such an answer to many tearful prayers. We waited to announce this pregnancy until as late as we could, for obvious reasons, but as every day has passed and things have gone okay unlike the two previous times, it has been such a roller coaster of emotion of worry, fear, but especially gratitude and joy!
I'm sure many people wonder why I decided to open up about such a personal and insanely difficult time in my life, especially now that we're pregnant, and there are so many reasons. One is that I feel strongly that there is not enough discussion or awareness of the private heartaches and sorrows that accompany the process of trying to get pregnant. Infertility and miscarriage are usually carried so silently and we often just assume that the journey of beginning a family is so easy. I hope that others experiencing this trial know that you're not alone and I will always be willing to cry with you, talk with you, and love you if you ever need a friend who understands a part of what you might be going through. The other reason I wanted to share some of our story is that it truly is part of our baby's story. This little girl who will arrive sometime in the next 6 weeks, is truly a gift from God, a little miracle after so much sorrow. I love what President Henry B. Eyring shared, "Joy always comes after sorrow" (full talk here). I know this is true! I love this little girl who is so actively kicking and moving and already makes me laugh! I can't wait to meet her and only hope I can be an adequate mother to the strong and kind heart I know she has!
In case you did miss our cheesy facebook announcement video, here it is in all it's awesomeness:
And no, we are DEFINITELY not moving to any cold and frozen tundra any time soon! :)
More on the baby to come but her due date is September 27th and we cannot wait to become parents to this little babe! Now on to some pictures! We have tried to pack in lots of fun amid a growing baby bump, weird food cravings, lots of bathroom visits, and doctor's appointments. So here's what we've been up to the past few months:
At the end of April we FINALLY conquered New York! Only with the help and fun of the Ludwigs might I add.
Brandon and I had never visited the Big Apple and had been a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out how and what to do and when to go, etc... but with Kristen and Brent's help we had a glorious time in good old NYC!
They are the best people ever!
Time Square was so cool!
My favorite part was just seeing so many sights in person that I've seen on TV or heard about my whole life! We made an awesome NYC spotify mix and had New York songs stuck in our heads the whole weekend. It was great.
We also got to hang out with this little cutie: Aspen!
Central Park lived up to its fame when we got to see this Unicordian Fellow/Fella? Highly entertaining to say the least! #DefineNormal
Bridge pictures were taken and relished as Kristen and I are HUGE Anne of Green Gables fans! (Any other lovers of the ending bridge scene with Gil?)
I also got to see my dearest friend Melanie! We've been friends since Twain Tiger days in 1st grade and I love her so! She's practically a New York native these days and it was glorious to finally see her there!
And Brandon's cousin Jason also lives in New York and met up with us at Central Park. We loved having his expertise and knowledge with us for a few hours!
Brandon was THRILLED to take more pictures by the fountains (I wanted to sing and dance around to songs from Enchanted but tried to refrain myself).
We ended our New York visit by stopping by the stunning New York City Temple! It was so cool to see it in person, right across the street from the ABC studios and Juilliard.
A few weeks later we enjoyed Open Embassy Day in DC! Most of the embassies open up their doors and have some kind of food, entertainment, etc... to showcase their country.
Brandon tried out some Tunisian food! (I passed- the smells alone made my preggo self very queasy).
We also visited the Philippines' embassy and tried out some interesting popsicles and enjoyed some cool dancing!
Across the street, we stopped by the Peru Embassy which had this incredible band playing traditional music while you waited to go inside. We also saw some sweet llamas of course.
Last stop was the Nicaraguan Embassy. I thought this rice art was seriously SO amazing! How do you even do that???
We took some friends to the visitor's center at the DC Temple a few weeks later and enjoyed a gorgeous summer night. (Can you spot my growing baby bump??)
How I love the temple! You can feel the peace there as soon as you park on the grounds!
Brandon's parents came in town in May while Kerry had a work conference.
We enjoyed taking them to the Air Force Memorial,
and the Marine Memorial Museum. Brandon's dad is a retired Marine and it was fun to have him there with us as we toured it again. It's free and such a well done museum on American history through the eyes of the Marines.
Brandon's grandmother, Marie Chlarson, passed away on May 8th and we were so sad to loose her! Brandon flew out for the funeral and was a pallbearer with several other grandsons.
We're so glad we got to visit her in January and know that we will see her again.
Grandma Chlarson was always so kind and gracious! Such a special lady- she left such a great heritage for all her posterity! We will miss her!
Brandon planned a special date for us over Memorial Day weekend:
A little canoeing on Lake Accotink together!
My canoeing skills aren't the greatest but Brandon definitely showed off his canoeing merit badge and kept us afloat no problemo!
I sure love this guy! He never ceases to make me laugh!
We had a SUPER fun visit in June with my cousins Nick and Laurie!
They came with us as we attended the National Spelling Bee- a free event at National Harbor. It was seriously so cool to see it in person while they spelled and filmed it live!
We used pens and napkins to try and spell the words before the kids did and I'll be honest I was pretty proud when I finally got ONE right by pure guessing. Those kids are freakin smart that's all I know! We also saw duel winners get crowned which was awesome. We just pretty much had a blast with Nick and Laurie the whole time.
Also in June, somehow I agreed to go camping!
I'm not a big camper by ANY stretch of the imagination but I do like nature, smores, and the stars. I also hate bugs, not sleeping well, and no/gross bathrooms. But I figured this boy loves it so much that it was now or never so we went down to Prince William Forest one Friday night and tried out East Coast Camping!
Brandon got an awesome fire started, despite having to use very wet wood and serenaded us with some harmonica playing while our tin foil dinners cooked.
And I'm VERY proud to say that I set up the entire tent on my own while Brandon did the fire and dinner! Those 7 years of girls camp finally paid off!
I think I might be crazy for camping while pregnant but we did it! Except for some seriously awful incidents with giant bugs and desperate preggo bathroom runs, we survived and made it back safe and sound!
We've had lots of visitors come through DC this summer and we were delighted to host David and Danielle Sabey for a few nights in June!
David and I have been good friends since high school and Danielle was a dear friend from BYU so it was so fun to get together!
I took off a day from work in June and made a quick trip home for a few days. While I was home my mom and sisters threw me an AMAZING baby shower. More on that to come when I post about our coming baby girl.
The best part about being home is spending time with these little nieces and nephews of mine! I love them so!
Seriously could they get any cuter? I love them so!
Summer isn't summer without going to some Nats games!
That growing baby bump again.... It was fun to go to the game with Brandon's coworkers even though it was a humid and hot night!
Right before the Fourth of July, we visited Brent and Kristen in their new home in Baltimore. Kristen is also expecting and due a week after me!
Preggo best friends!
Brandon thought it would be hilarious to have us face each other to show off the bellies but we couldn't stop laughing. (Also how is that I'm SO much bigger even though I'm only a week ahead... Not fair Kristen!)
We enjoyed a beautiful hike in a park nearby their home.
The fourth of July was a nice relaxing day and despite a rainy afternoon, we enjoyed touring the Pentagon with Steve and the Bahrs and watched the fireworks on the Pentagon lawn (which to be honest was super underwhelming due to some major clouds and smoke blocking our view). But some homemade ice cream sweetened the day of course!
We are getting pretty good at whipping up homemade raspberry oreo ice cream! (Also as if I didn't already love ice cream, being pregnant has just made me even more obsessed than ever. I literally almost cried when we ran out and had no ice cream in the house. Brandon has promised me that this travesty will never happen again.)
We ended July with lots of traveling and family fun. We first went to Atlanta to be together for Brandon's sister, Alie's baby blessing: Kyra Marie!
It was so fun to see Brandon with his little newborn niece! He got some great practice with baby Kyra!
She is sure cute! She'll have a little cousin her age just a few months apart!
We love these little girls!
We flew to Denver next to be together for the biannual Priday Family Reunion and Xander's baptism!
We rented a gorgeous cabin in Breckenridge Colorado and spent a few days together. (Aren't my parents the cutest grandma and grandpa with all their grandkids? One more little girl will join the ranks this fall!)
I had so missed Colorado and enjoyed getting to spend time back in the good old Rocky Mountains!
We celebrated my 26th Birthday while there. (How is that I'm closer to 30 now than 20.... so scary!)
These little cousins are best buddies and it's so darn cute to watch them play together!
Sadie was very intrigued about the baby in my tummy the whole time.
She ended up putting her "Teddy" up her shirt all on her own, so she could have a baby in her belly too! So freakin' cute.
Can't believe how grown up my two oldest nephews are getting! They make me so proud!
Ashton gave Uncle Brandon a ride on his four-wheeler! (Not every day that a 6 year old chauffeurs around his 26 year old uncle!)
We had a family talent show and Brandon and I performed a rousing song of "O Susanna" on the harmonica and xylophone.
Our last day there we rode the free gondola up the mountain and saw a giant moose! (No not me... an actual moose out the window.)
Then we played at a park for a little bit.
Look at that darling smile!
After getting back from the Reunion, we stopped by to see our dear friends Justin and Jessica! Jessica was my roommate at BYU and is such a dear friend of mine. I only get to see her once or twice a year so it was so great to see them for a little bit!
PLEASE move out to the East Coast friends!!
So grateful to be with my parents for a few days! They make coming home so much fun!
Our last day in Denver, we attended Xander's baptism!
Brandon and Sadie are quite the buddies.
So incredibly proud of this stud! He knows so much about the gospel and has read the Book of Mormon twice already (he's only 8 people)! I remember my baptism so fondly and can't believe my oldest nephew is so grown up and making this wonderful decision!
Sadie's little sass and personality just cracks me up.
So grateful to see a stunning Colorado sunset before we left town! I miss those mountain sunsets so much!
We had a great time together!
Whew! Did you make it? There's the quickest wrap up of our summer I could possibly do. More details on the baby, my growing bump, and her nursery as we wait for Baby Girl's arrival in just a few weeks!
