It's a Girl!!!

Today we found out the baby is a girl! We are so happy. It was also the first time we were able to hear her heartbeat. Everything is going so quickly. In the past month, she has grown so much.

Mom and VeeAnn's excursion

Last weekend, my mother and Aunt VeeAnn came out to visit for five days. We had a blast! I never realized how similar VeeAnn and I are; it was pretty funny. Here are a few photos of some of the things we did.

We went to Pike Place Market in Seattle.


These are random. We were trying out some of the many sunglasses at this stand.


This was great. We rode in a horse carriage around Seattle.

Pedicures, of course!!!


All four of us went on the underground tour of Seattle. We learned all about Seattle's sewer history and the money making "sewing circle."


VeeAnn and her new "friends" from the fire celebration. Yes, Seattle celebrates the year their city burned to the ground.


This is the Snoqualmie Fall. It is as tall as the Niagra Falls, but obviously not as wide. Such an amazing view!

We had so much fun. I wish they could have stayed longer.

Alex and I are almost done with our stay in Washington. This Saturday is our last day. On Wednesday, we find out the gender of our baby! Lots of events to look forward to.

Washington and Baby update

Washington:

We have been trying to explore Washington state before we leave in July. Some of the places we've visited include:

Seattle Aquarium- This was fun, but if you've been to the Boston aquarium, this one could be a let down. Most of our time was spent watching the sea otters and seals eat.

Tacoma Glass Museum- I was surprised by how interesting this place is. If you are planning on going, you really need to watch the live glass blowing and listen to some of the facts. This will help you to appreciate the displays. If we would have walked through the displays and then watched the glass blowing, we wouldn't have had as much fun.

Canoeing on Lake Washington- The BYU interns and their spouses got together and went canoeing and then had an outdoor lunch. This was so much fun. Alex and I shared a canoe with Austin, so I got to sit and relax in the middle while they did all the work. Lunch was at the Gas Works park. We are thinking about going there for the 4th of July to see the largest firework show in Seattle.

Camping at Belfair State Park- This is a beautiful place to visit, but you sacrifice a little privacy. The camp sites are very close to one another. We were able to go star gazing, play frizbee, and go wading in the ocean. This was the first time I was in charge of all the packing for a camping trip. I felt like I did a great job, until we started noticing all the things I forgot to bring. This was one of those moments when you really appreciate how great your parents are. My mom wouldn't have forgotten bug spray!

Baby:

Our second prenatal visit was a few weeks ago. Because the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat on the first vist, he reassured me I would definitely hear it at the second visit. I was expecting to hear the baby's heartbeat, and when 5 minutes went by and there was no sound, I was a bit worried. Alex and the nurse kept telling me they're sure everything was okay. I just about cried. The nurse ended up doing an ultrasound just to make sure the baby was fine. The ultrasound showed a healthy and active baby. I was so relieved. Junior has grown so much. His/her legs are so long that they have to be crossed. We could not only see the heartbeat, we saw a face and bones (namely the spine). The docotor said the baby and my uterus are the perfect size and everything looks great. Even though the reason for the surprise ultrasound was a little nerve racking, it was great to see how the baby has grown.

I am starting to show a little. It is so much fun. This is the only time I will ever be so excited to get fat!

We are pregnant!

Friday I had my first prenatal doctor visit. Everything went beautifully. We were able to see the baby's little fingers and toes. Even though we couldn't hear the heart beat, we could see the baby's heart beating through the ultrasound. The baby was very active. It was a little hard to take pictures because he/she kept doing flips. We did get some good pictures so we could have a more accurate due date: December 25th. That's right, we are having a Christmas baby.

Where is the blue sky?

Alex and I have been living outside of Seattle, Washington (Bellevue to be exact) since May 3rd. I knew that it rained a lot in Washington, but I never thought about what that would do to the sky. It is always gray. Only one out of the five days has there been a blue sky. I am really missing the sun.

There are a lot of pluses to living in Washington too. Outside our apartment is a pond that always has ducks and geese. It is very green here, which makes walks extremely pleasant. Overall, we have been having a great time!