My Baby Sprinkle

Had a great weekend, my family all came into town to throw me a baby sprinkle. It was so much fun! Thanks Lesli for all of your hard work, you're the best! She really went all out with the sprinkle theme. We had a chocolate fountain with all kinds of yummy things to dip, cupcake fondue with tons of different sprinkles to add and everything was polka dotted. Everyone had so much fun! By the end you could tell everyone was well sugared up by all of the laughter in the air, it made for a really fun party! Here are a few pics:

The yummy food and my awesome sister:

Cute diaper cake my sis made me:

Some of the guests:

My baby bump (or mountain at this point):

My little Luke enjoyed the chocolate fountain :)

The haul (can't wait to put her in all those cute clothes):

Baby Desmond (#5) Pregnancy Journal

Thursday July 29, 2010

Took a pregnancy test that came out positive today. I am very nervous to be pregnant again after my miscarriage. I don't want to get my hopes up and have them dashed again. For now we are not telling anyone. I am not even going to think about names or anything until I make it past the point when I miscarried last time. Feeling pretty good pregnancy wise. I think I might be going through a little bit of depression though, I don't feel like doing anything. I am very tired and need a nap in the afternoon even if I have slept 9 or mores hours at night.

Monday August 30, 2010

Had my first Dr appointment today with Dr. Ferguson. I am now 9 weeks along. He said everything looks great. The baby is actually measuring a couple of days bigger than my LMP dates show. My due date is April 6th which is Jesus actual birthday. Maybe that is a good sign? Dr. Ferguson says that this baby is already measuring bigger than Jordan did when I miscarried and that there is less than a 5% chance that I will miscarry again. Possibly even less than a 1% chance. Still not telling anyone though, just in case. I was able to see the baby on ultrasound and hear the heartbeat. I am making Dave go to all of my appointments with me this time, it was nice to have him there. After losing my weight I am not showing as early, I just look like I have put a few pounds back on so that makes it easier to not tell. My sister asked me a couple of weeks ago if I was pregnant and I just told her, "haha, I wish" Don't like being dishonest but I just can't get everyone excited (myself included) for now.

Thursday September 2, 2010

I had a dream last night that I had a beautiful healthy baby girl...the beautiful, healthy part is important. I would like to have another girl but I'm not as picky this time as long as the baby is healthy. We named the baby Chleo in my dream. If I have a girl I don't think I can use that name, not my favorite. Plus we already have a cousin named Chloe and that would be too close and confusing, plus I am not supposed to be thinking about names yet. It's getting harder to not be excited even though I am still nervous. I will let myself get excited after my next appointment and then we will tell everyone.

Monday September 27, 2010

I had my 2nd OB appointment today. I have been really nervous lately especially having this appointment on this day. It was one year ago tomorrow that I went in for my 2nd appointment and the baby had died. Todays appointment thankfully went very well. Everything still looks great and Dr. Ferguson said we might be able to tell the gender at my next appointment. We are getting pizza tonight and having a little family pizza party in order to tell the kids the exciting news.

Tuesday September 28, 2010

We told the kids last night as planned. I started by asking the kids what we should be celebrating since we were having a pizza party. They looked at me like I was crazy but came up with a few ideas. They thought it was just because of family home evening. Finally I asked Dave what we should celebrate and he said, "How about if we celebrate the baby that is in Mom's tummy?" The kids all had really surprised looks on their faces and were very excited. While Elaina was saying the family prayer last night she said, "please bless our baby to be safe". I know they are all a little worried but I am pretty sure everything will be fine.

Monday October 25, 2010

I had my 17 week appointment today and we found out it is a GIRL!!! I am so excited. I had to go to ShopKo right after I left to get a prescription filled and I had to buy something pink while I was there. We have been writing down some boy names since those are usually the hardest for us to come up with but I guess now that list might not be necessary. I also found out in the last month that not only am I due on Christ's birthday, I am also due on my Grandma Carter's 90th birthday. I want to give my baby her name as a middle name, I think that would mean a lot to her. Now I have to come up with a name that goes with Fern. Pretty sure we will not be using any other plant names so everyone doesn't think we are hippies!

Tuesday November 9, 2010

Wow! Picking a name is hard business. I have a couple of favorites but I can't get my hubby to agree. He likes them, he just isn't sure that should be her name. He has been trying to come up with some funny names to go with Fern. The best one is Ima Fern. I don't think we will use that. My favorite is Adalyn. I also really like Amarah but Dave says that sounds like an African American name. He isn't sure it would fit with our other kids names. I disagree, I think it is adorable. Some of the other names we have on the list are: Mia, Hannah, Grace, Morgan, Aniyah, Lorraine and Miri. Who knows maybe she will be named something that isn't even on the list. Luke has been so funny lately. He suggested on Sunday that we name the baby Circlebutt (notice that is NOT on the list). He was snuggling with me after he woke up this morning and put his head on my stomach and said, "good morning baby!" He then proceeded to talk to her, poke at her and then insisted I read a story to both of them. It was very sweet. I just hope he likes her as much outside of my belly as he does inside. I have felt the baby move quite a few times already but the kids haven't been able to feel her yet. I am very excited to share that with them, it is a real comfort to feel her and have that assurance that everything is fine. We are going to get some lumber on Thursday so that we can finish a couple of bedrooms in our basement and get a room ready upstairs for the baby. That is exciting to get started, I just hope it is done in time. If not I guess we might have to have a crib in our walk-in closet for a couple of months.

Thursday Jan 20, 2011

Went in for my 29 week appointment today. Got to see the baby on ultrasound (my doctor is awesome and does one for me on every appointment!) She has felt to me like she is sitting sideways but the ultrasound shows her head down and ready to go. This was my last monthly appointment so we go to every 2 weeks and then weekly. Usually that makes it go pretty fast for me so I am glad to be at that point. She is so wiggly lately which is a good thing but I notice she really perks up about 10:30- 11:00 when I am just about ready to turn in for the night. We might have a night owl on our hands. I think we have finally picked a name for her. I think I was holding out on naming her Adalyn just so I could nickname her Ada. I still love that nickname but decided if we went with Dave's current favorite then I could still call her Ada. So her name (most likely) will be Alexandria Fern Desmond. I like it because there are endless possibilities for nicknames and if she just doesn't end up being Ada to me then maybe she will be Alex, Alexa, Andi, Ally, Addie or Dave's favorite little Al (makes me think of the weird next door neighbor on Tool Time so I don't think that will be what I call her!) or we will just call her all of them and really confuse her. Elaina has about 20 nicknames, very few of which contain her name and she is fine so I am sure Ada will be too! Luke has been so cute with this pregnancy, I know he is going to be such a good big brother to her. He has to have cuddle time with me every morning when he wakes up and also after his nap every afternoon. After he cuddles with me he tells me he wants to see the baby (meaning he wants to see my bare belly). He then proceeds to kiss and hug my belly saying, "I love you, Ada" and then sometimes sings to her. His favorite song to sing to her from the start has been Scooby, Scooby Doo, Where are you, but he also sings I am a Child of God to her. It is so sweet :) I love that little boy so much I don't know what I would do without him. It will be interesting to see if her favorite future cartoon is Scooby Doo! All of the kids have had a chance to feel her kick and all rush to me when I tell them she is kicking so that they can feel her. I think I will miss not having that feeling again if she does end up being my last. I will enjoy it for the next couple of months just in case :)

Friday January 21, 2011

Went in today for my yucky glucose test (I am a little late doing this since I am already 29 weeks) . I have been worried lately that I might have it this time since I wasn't showing for so long and then suddenly got huge. Suddenly people who didn't know I was pregnant are asking when I am due. I really hope I don't have it since I am really having a hard time talking myself into eating salad even though that is what I had every day for lunch before I got pregnant. Crossing fingers hoping everything is fine.

Wednesday January 26, 2011

Got a call from Dr. Ferguson's office telling me my glucose was a little on the high side and giving me the option of taking the 3 hour test. I decided I better be on the safe side and do it so I headed there this morning. The test consists of having your blood checked after fasting, drinking a super sweet, gross drink (on an empty stomach) and then having your blood retested ever hour for 3 hours. My arm is very bruised to say the least but I don't think I have gestational diabetes. A little update on the basement situation: I think we will have at least one bedroom done by the time Ada comes. Dave was able to finish the heating, insulation and sheetrocked Luke and Jared's room all last week. It really impressed me that he got all of that done so quickly. I went a couple of weeks ago and got fabric for the baby's bedding but can't seem to motivate myself to work on it. It will be really cute when I am done. I think it would be more motivating if there were a crib set up waiting for cute bedding :) at least that is my excuse for now!

Spring Fever

Here is a snapshot of what we have been busy with this spring:

Baseball for Payton

T-ball for Jared

Pinewood Derby - Payton didn't place this year but I was proud of him, he designed, cut out and painted his car himself. Should have got a picture of it without the drill bit on it. It was so light we had to add a ton of weight. It is a Hershey's chocolate bar. The first race (video) he won by a mile so we thought maybe his car was super fast, unfortunately there were others that were way faster!

Father's and son's outing at the Christensen Ranch

Furniture Projects:
This is a chair I am going to turn into a plant stand

Th is an old footboard and headboard I am going to make into a bench

Some cute stools I am going to paint and re-cover (set of 3 that stack on top of each other)

A Chair I am going to try reupholstering

My glass dining table my design friends helped me paint

The beautiful piano our neighbors gave us. Seriously, the best people live in Bear River, who gives away an antique piano??? It will be more beautiful after we strip the ugly paint and stain it. Can't wait to see what is under all of that nasty tan paint.

We got some of our fruit orchard planted this month (Elberta and RedHaven Peaches, Gala and Fuji apples, and Bartlett and Anjou Pears). Yum! Yum! Can't wait to get fruit off of these babies! We will put in 3 more trees next spring but haven't decided what else to get, any suggestions?

Our garden. I had to take lots of pictures to prove it is weed free. Enjoy it, it probably won't look this good again this year! :)




First garden fresh salad of the season (ok so only the green is from the garden but it counts!) Can't wait to have the cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots from the garden too, why does it have to take so long! I am not a patient person...


Top Rock Flower garden done and perennials planted, annuals still waiting to go in tomorrow:

First project when we get back from California will be the lower rock garden and this little circle one we cut in. There will be a grass walkway between the two flower gardens.


My first attempt at a planter (not bad, huh?):

I need a vacation! Did I mention we are off to California on Friday? Watch out Disneyland and Sea World here we come!!!

Let Me Hold You Longer

I have been really sentimental the last couple of weeks and just wanted to document a few things. It all started while I was reading a book called Rejoice by Karen Kingsbury. There is a poem in the book that goes like this:

Let Me Hold You Longer
by Karen Kingsbury

"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts
First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst.
But one day you will move away and leave to me your past,
And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts.

"The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips...
Last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip...
Last time when you had a binky stuck inside your mouth...
The last time that you crawled across the floor of this old house.

"Last time when you ran to me, still small enough to hold,
Last time when you said you'd marry me when you grew old.
Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from the past,
Would I have held you longer if I'd known they were the last?

"Your last few hours of kindergarten, last days of first grade...
Last at bat in Little League, last colored paper made.
Last time that I tucked you in for one last midday nap...
Last time when you wore your beat-up Green Bay Packers cap.

"Last time that you caught a frog in that old backyard pond...
Last time when you ran barefoot across our fresh-cut lawn.
Silly scattered images to represent your past.
Would I have taken pictures...if I'd known they were the last?

"The last dark night you slipped in bed and slept between us two,
When last I read to you of God or Horton Hears a Who!
Last time that I smelled your hair and prayed after your shower...
Last time that we held devotions in the evening hours.

"The last time you were M.J. in our games of give-and-go...
Last time that you made an angel in the melting snow.
I never even said good-bye to yesterdays long passed
Would I have marked the moments...if I'd known they were the last?

"Last piano lesson, and last soccer goal you kicked...
The last few weeks of middle school, last flowers that you picked.
Last time that you needed me for rides from here to there...
The last time that you spent the night with that old tattered bear.

"Last time that I helped you with a math or spelling test,
Last time when I shouted that your room was still a mess.
Time and life moved quicker, taking pieces of your past.
Would I have stretched to moments...if I'd known they were the last?

"The last time that you needed help with details of a dance...
Last time that you asked me for advice about romance.
Last time that you talked to me about your hopes and dreams.
Last time that you wore a jersey for your high school team.

"I watched you grow and never noticed seasons as they passed.
I wish I could've frozen time, to hold on to your lasts.
For come tomorrow morning life will never be the same.
You'll pledge forever to your girl, and she will take your name.

"And I will watch you, knowing God has blessed you with this day.
I never would have wanted, Luke, to somehow make you stay.
They say a son's a son until he takes for him a wife.
You're grown-up now; it's time to go and start your brand-new life.

"One last hug, one last good-bye, one quick and hurried kiss...
One last time to understand just how much you'll be missed.
I'll watch you leave and think how quickly childhood sped past.
Would I have held on longer...if I'd known it was your last?"

I have had a few of these last moments with Payton already and am just beginning to realize that they are all going to come quicker than I am ready for. We had a mother/son date earlier this month that was really special to me. As the kids big Christmas present this year we decided to give them our time, a weekend away with the parent of their choice. They got to choose the activity; Payton chose to go to Lagoon with me. We spent the night in Layton at the Marriott hotel. We went to dinner that night at The Cracker Barrel and then went to get treats at the dollar store to eat while we watched the Jazz game back at the hotel. In the morning we had breakfast and then swam in the hotel pool for a little while. Then we got ready and headed off to Lagoon. Unfortunately, when we got there it was raining cats and dogs. We decided to go to a movie in Kaysville and hope it cleared up by the time we got out, if not I had told him we would have to go to Lagoon in a couple of weeks because it was just too cold with the rain. Payton was so disappointed; he was trying his best to hold back the tears. I told him to hope for the best and just try to enjoy the movie. We went to see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (very good movie by the way, now I want to read the book!). When we came out of the theater we were met with blinding sunshine. Yea! Payton was so excited when he saw that sunshine he jumped up and down pumping his fists. At Lagoon, I got to hold his hand (and nearly lost all circulation) while he rode a roller-coaster for the first time. I got him to overcome his fear of roller-coasters after that first one and try all of the rest. It did take some talking but by the end of the day he said the roller-coasters were his favorite rides (except the white roller-coaster that we went on first, he will NEVER set foot on it again!). Payton is 9 turning 10 soon and will be spending his last year in Elementary School next year. I feel like this is such a big step in his life. I don't want my little boy to grow up and go to that horrible place they call middle school! I am so proud of the young man he is becoming and pray he will continue to learn and progress and become all that his Heavenly Father has set out for him...I am humbled and grateful for being the woman that was chosen to celebrate his firsts and lasts. I realized as I walked through the park with Payton later in the day and he reached up and held my hand that it might be a last. Pretty soon he will be too big or cool to hold his mother's hand in public. For now I will cherish it....and hope I can hold it a little longer. I love you the mostest eternity, Bubba! Thank you for choosing me to spend your special day with, I will cherish it forever!

Jared gets glasses

Well, my little boy is blind! The poor kid apparently can't see up close or far away. He is now the proud owner of eyeglasses (mom on the other hand cried on the way home from the ophthalmologist, it is kind of sad to me to have a wall of glass between me and my child's beautiful eyes, pathetic I know). He also has to wear an eye patch now to correct his lazy eye. When Jared was 2 his big sissy (then 4) decided to be a big girl and help him out of his highchair. He was a little too heavy for such a small girl and she dropped him. He fell against our brick fireplace surround and cut his eyebrow open. He had such a big gash they had to do 2 layers of stitches. Not long after that, his eye started wandering in and he had to have eye muscle surgery to try to correct it (the doctor said he probably had the tendency toward that but the trauma to the eye made it start). It has been fine for the last 3 years but then about a month ago I noticed it was wandering in a little bit again. I took him in for his 5 year kindergarten checkup at the doctor and when they tried to do the eye test he couldn't see anything with his left eye...the one that had the trauma. Apparently his brain has decided to cut off the connection and he has developed a lazy eye. *sigh* I had NO idea he couldn't see...I feel so bad. He has been a real trooper and has decided the eye patch is not so bad. I did let him get some stickers and let him decorate it. It is very colorful don't you think? I think he looks handsome in his glasses. His brothers and sister think they want glasses now too. I wouldn't wish that on anyone! I hate having to deal with contacts, I guess this way Jared won't know any different...

First month of dates

Dave and I have had soooo much fun on our dates this month. It was actually really fun to plan them but I am glad this month is Dave's :) I like surprises! Here is what we did:

Week 1 was an at home date, we had a friendly pool tournament and Dave won. We both wrote down beforehand what we wanted to win and his was a 20 min back scratch. My arms hurt after 20 min but I made it....I let him win.

Week 2 we went to Logan and played laser tag and then went to dinner at Hamilton's.

Week 3 was an at home date and we played "Kiss me silly" while watching our favorite show "The Office".

Week 4 was our anniversary so I surprised him with a weekend getaway to SL. We stayed at the Marriott, had sushi for the first time (not my favorite but not bad either, I would eat it again but don't know that I will ever crave it), went to a murder mystery dinner show done by Poison Ivy mysteries (really fun, check them out on citydeals.com) on Friday night. Saturday morning we had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel cafe, worked out in the hotel gym, went swimming and hot-tubing at the hotel, went to the Bountiful temple and did sealings and finished up with a late lunch at Olive Garden.

Dating Fools

Dave and I have decided to start dating again. No we are NOT swingers, we will only be dating each other :). A friend of mine told me about an idea she found on a blog that I am going to do and I thought it was worth passing on. Who couldn't use a little more fun in their lives right? Here is the idea: you take money from your tax return (as much as you are comfortable with, Dave and I are going to use our state return for this, consider it investing in your most important asset!) and plan the dates for the entire year by buying gift certificates and put them in envelopes for each month. That way all of your dates are paid for and you don't have the downfall of, "where will we get the money for that?" Also, if you decide to use all or most of the money for just a couple of dates you have to get creative because you are in charge of 6 months worth of dates.


Anyway, when I approached Dave about this he was less than enthusiastic. He is going to do his a little different and just plan a month at a time but still have the money set aside for his 6 months (he says he likes to be more spontaneous, I think he just doesn't like to plan). Personally I don't care as long as he plans them at some point! Hopefully we will be able to have some really fun dates and variety (did I mention how tired I am of dinner and a movie?) Anyway, I thought I would ask all of my creative blogging friends if you have any ideas for great dates? Anything you have done, wish you could do, heard someone else has done? I am also looking for ideas for at-home dates since once a month our date will be after the kids go to bed. Thanks in advance for your help. I will try to blog about our dates and let you all know how it is going. Also, do you all know about www.citydeals.com? I got on there today and purchased nearly $200 of gift certificates for less than $100. They are doing a special right now that if you spend $100 you get an extra 10% off and free shipping. The promo code is 352900 if anyone is interested. Here's to a year of fun with my hubby, I can't wait!