6 months and counting...

So I've made it to my six month mark! Here is a picture of what Jared and I have started affectionately calling my "buddha".

Babycake!

Since Thursday is my last day of work (sad!), a sweet lady that I work with had this cake made for me, and we ate it at our work Christmas party. I thought it was so cute I had to share!

Okay so some of it has been eaten. I didn't think to get a picture before we started eating it. I had to get a close up of the little baby. Look how darling!

I really work with such great people. It's going to be hard to leave!

Be It Ever So Humble...

...There's no tree like ours!

Thanksgiving Party!

It only seemed appropriate to title this post "Thanksgiving Party" because that's exactly what we did. Party. All weekend long.

 It was so fun to have my family up here! I miss them so much, and it's not often that they come to MY neck of the woods. In fact, it was the first time my parents, Caysen, and Kendall have been here since our wedding. It was fun showing them our apartment, taking them to our favorite places to eat, and showing them real snow! I loved that we got to combine and do a big Thanksgiving with the Whittakers AND the Ericksons. It was perfect! Our families have so much fun together!

 The day after Thanksgiving we took the fam up to Island Park to let Caysen do some real sledding. We stopped at Big Springs, and let Cays look at all the huge fish. He loved it. We even saw a little muskrat swimming in the water! It was so cute.

 On the way out of the springs we tied a sled to the back of the car for a little extreme sledding. Caysen, Kendall, Kirsten, and even my dad got to try! What started out as this...

turned into this...!

Don't worry, me and Peanut stayed safe in the trunk of the car and watched. haha.

 Caysen won the award for toughest though, and definitely lasted the longest! He was hilarious! At one point his cheeks were getting super wind burnt, so we had to wrap a scarf around his face, put my sunglasses on him, and pull his beanie down. He was having the time of his life, and even gave a show of no hands!

 Despite all that, when we hit the main road and had to end the sledding, Caysen was mad he couldn't keep going! haha.

Our next stop was Mesa Falls. It was freezing! But the falls looked so cool with all the frozen ice around them!

The holiday really couldn't have gone any better! (except for when Neil, Jareds Dad, tried to teach my sisters about Bunny Bashing.. but thats another story...)

Baby it's Cold Outside!

Well the unthinkable has happened. Snow fell on my California home!! I almost refuse to believe, but it's hard when I log onto Facebook and my entire newsfeed is flooded with photos and comments about this Christmas miracle. The whole town is going nuts! And with good reason, I have never seen snow in the Sacramento area in my entire life!

 The funny thing is that even though I'm always griping and complaning about the the excess of snow we get here in Idaho, I was dying to be in California to see their few inches! Schools there have been cancelled for the past two days, due to the extreme weather conditions. lol. Even though I laugh, Jared and I both agree that we would not want to be driving around the hills amidst all the the 2-wheel drive Mercedes that have never experienced snow in their existences.

Apparently, even my little dog Rufio had a hay day with the snow. He got bundled up in the cute winter sweater I bought him, and frolicked around in excitement. My mom said he kept rolling all around in it, and every time she brought him back in the house, he would scratch at the door to go back out.

This pictures itself is blog-worthy. It cracks me up! Rufio and Caysen sharing the sled! You can just see the excitement in Rufi's tensed little body! And Cays looks like he's having a blast!

The streets were lined with everyone outside their houses, making snowmen or snow angels, having snowball fights, or sledding. It was one giant party!  I am sad I had to miss out.

It's amazing the joy that a little snowfall can bring :-)

16, 17, 19 week pics

16  weeks

17 weeks

19 weeks

Yay for baby BOYS!!

So I realize I am quite behind on updating the blog. There just wasn't time amidst all the wonderful thanksgiving preparation/celebrating with family! (Posts to come!) However, now that I have been home from work sick the past couple days, I've got all the time I need!

For the real important news.... it has been officially confirmed.  Drumroll please... Little P is indeed a BOY! As if I didn't already know it all along. lol. There's no way that little troublemaker inside me could be anything else...
For those of you that need the visual proof, here you go:

He was certainly ready for his debut! We were cracking up because this was the very first image that came to the screen. Butt right up in the air, giving us a great view of what he knew we were wanting to know. The little arrow even points it out for you.

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that this little guy is a wild one. So wild in fact, that we could barely manage to get a still shot of him. We don't have those nice clear pictures that shows the whole baby lying there like others do. We have blurry shots of him being a madman! After a couple of minutes of the ultrasound tech chasing him from left to right, trying to measure his leg, she finally got this shot. Look at those little kickers go.

She kept trying to get a side profile of the baby, but he turned his back and refused to come back over! After lots of prodding, she eventually got a front view. It's a little skeleton looking, but it's cool you can see his little face! Im not sure if those are his knees or his feet down there... probably feet?

We are getting so excited for him to get here! It still seems forever away!

*Fun Fact: His first real distinct little kick was felt while watching Michael Jackson's "This is it" in the theater! I can't remember if it was "Bad" or "Beat It", but either way it seems those little kickers like to dance as well. He is still in the womb and already has an appreciation for good music...

GoLdEn BiRtHdAy

October 24th was my golden birthday! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, it means I turned 24 on the 24th. Pretty special! It only happens once you know. For the special occassion, I got to celebrate with all my sisters! Kendall even came out from California! We partied down all weekend.

On Friday night, we started the weekend off with a bang.We did dinner at Cheesecake Factory ( so delicious!) with my sisters, their roommate Emily, our friends Josh and Natalie, and Jareds sister and her husband (Will and Emily). We had so much fun! I got the most wonderful birthday cake ever, Red Velvet Cheesecake. If you haven't been lucky enough to experience it, it is four layers tall. 2 layers of red velvet cake, with their signature heavenly cheesecake layered in between. As if that isn't good enough, the whole side is layered with curls of white chocolate. *Sigh* Can you imagine anything better? Even though it did end up coming back up that night, it was totally worth every bite.

The next day, I opened my presents from Kendall and Jared to discover they had both unknowingly bought me the exact same thing! It was a little freaky to be honest. Jared got me a pink Snuggie, Scattergories, and a jigsaw puzzle, and Kendall got me a zebra print Snuggie and Bunco! LOL. It cracks me up that neither one of them knew that the other was getting that. What are the odds?! I mean c'mon... snuggies? Seriously?! And even more coincidental, that they BOTH got games to go with it? Hilarious. They both just know me so well... haha.                             

*If you are wondering, this beautiful green afghan is how Jared chose to wrap my birthday presents. lol

My birthday also happened to fall on the big BYU vs. TCU Homecoming game, so we put on our gear, practiced our fight song, and headed down to the Lavelle Edwards Stadium. Apparently the football team didn't get the memo is was my birthday because they really let us down. They didn't play too well and the game was pretty much a wipeout, but we still had fun!

We topped the night off by eating at Five Guys, a place that makes really good burgers, and then me, Jared, and Ken headed back to our Condo for an intense game of Scattergories. Ken fooled us at first by pretending she was all oblivious and didn't know how to play. Then she all the sudden turned up the heat and gave us a run for our money. 

This was one of my favorite blurbs of the night:

"Okay the letter is "O", the category is "Something Black". What did you get?"

Jared: "Oreo"

Cassie: "Onyx"

Kendall:silence... "OPRAH!" (busts up laughing)

That right there is why I love Scattergories, but even more so, why I love playing with Ken. hahaha.

Sunday we went to Church with Kaity and Kris, and then headed up the canyon for a beautiful scenic tour of the fall leaves, and a Whittaker photo shoot. Our first stop on the tour was Bridal Veil Falls, then we headed up to Victoria Park. Here are a few of my favorites:

I call this one the "Whittaker Family Tree"

I fulfilled my Dad's tradition of turning your BirthDAY into a "Birthday WEEKEND". I had a great time, It's definitely one I won't forget.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Today is my mom’s birthday. It has made me think about the huge role that mothers play in our lives, even when they don’t even consciously realize they’re doing it. For example, lately I have found myself wanting to do things a certain way simply because it’s how I have watched my mom do it all my life. It’s just been ingrained into me to follow my mom’s lead.

It’s weird how no matter your age, Mom’s always seem to be able to “fix” everything. I still call my mom when there’s something I need taken care of, or if I have some random question. Pregnancy has made me have a new question for my mom almost daily! Whether it’s “I just went for a run, and now I have cramps in my stomach! Do you think everything’s okay?” to “I just read you’re not supposed to have too much vitamin C, what’s that all about?”, mom always seems to have an answer.

Moms are that best friend you call even when you feel like there is no one else. When you’re feeling low they’re guaranteed to make you feel good about yourself or brighten your day. They know you better than anyone else, and always know the right thing to do. They’re the only people that will give you truly honest advice, and the advice that’s best for you because they care about you more than more than anybody else.

I hope that I will be able to be as good of a mom as my mom has always been to us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

14 weeks

                    Not much to report here. Just giving a visual update. Ta Da!

Airline Peanuts

I am growing. At a fast rate it seems. I was just mulling over the funny little "quirks" that pregnancy has given me, and I realized that it's really quite humorous (if it's not happening to you, that is). I thought I'd share:

• I can't eat tomatoes anymore (i think they taste like blood)
• Onions leave this disgusting, bitter taste in my mouth for 8 hours after I eat them, and therefore I am doomed to continually throw up.
• Honey Bunches of Oats make me vomit instantaneously! I don't know what it is about them! They even sound appetizing so I've tried to eat them on a few different occassions. Unfortunately it always ends up the same way :-(
• I can't even smell fish. Jared cooked it one night for dinner, and I paid for it for like the next two days due to lingering smell.
• I haven't even tried to eat mushrooms, but I know I can't. Just the thought of the texture of them makes me queasy.
• I have issues if I eat anything in the morning other than toast.
• Surprisingly for being the huge sweet tooth that I am, I find myself turning my nose up at dessert pretty often. I honestly didn't think it was possible.
• I loved eating all kinds of nuts when I first got pregnant. I snacked on them all day long. I don't know if I over did it or what, but now if I even look at my leftover can of nuts I feel sick.

Now that I've shared all the things that repulse me, I think the list of things I'm addicted to is just as interesting. lol.

• SLUSHIES!! I can't get enough of them. It can't be a milkshake (too rich), and it can't be snow cone (too dry). It has to be an authentic Slushie. Sonic has become my new favorite place!
• I love love love cheese quesadillas. They're so plain, I know they won't make me sick.
• I crave baked potatoes a lot. Not so much mashed potatoes, or hash browns, or any other form. Just plain baked potato.
• I love popsicles
• I have become a big mexican food buff altogether (which is great for Jared, cause he has always been so now he's stoked).

You gotta love pregnancy. It turns you into a crazy person! I was just telling Jared earlier today how I've been wanting to tackle our sink full of dishes, but everytime I get near, I can smell this sponge that's buried somewhere in there, and it sends me running! Consequently, the dishes are still there. And I just sit and stare at them from a distance as if they are some dangerous animal I don't want to approach.

On a brighter note, today I realized that our little peanut is not so much the size of ONE little peanut anymore. He has matured into a full blown PACK of airline peanuts now! In fact, I think he may even be bigger than this. But either way, P sure is growing!

We are busy working, doing school, and researching places to live down in Provo. It's hard because even though it's stressful, I think we're going to have to wait til it gets closer to really find somewhere. All the places I find now are looking for tenants to move in immediately.

As for the growing belly pic here I am! This is about 13 1/2 weeks. I think I have upgraded from a "pooch" to the full spare tire. The joys of motherhood!

Happy Valley, Here we come!!

It is official!! Jared got accepted to BYU! I am so excited for the move, and to pick out a new place to live... so many fun things in store! I can't wait to be down by family, and restaurants, and real places to shop, I don't know what I am going to do with myself! It's a little nervewracking leaving our jobs, especially with the baby on the way, but I know it will all work out :-) I do have to say that I am not disappointed at all to to be leaving Rexburg just in time for Winter! That is one thing I will gladly pass on!
On a little less happy note, I was just about on the verge of a breakdown at work! I know it's Friday, but it still can't come soon enough! And why do weekends have to be SO short?! With Sunday having obligations and places to be, we get ONE day! One day of peace and sanity, before it starts all over again! It almost makes Saturday hard to enjoy, because you just know once it's over... the cycle starts again. I took my break, cause I had to get out there. My head has been pounding all day (I think I'm grinding my teeth when I sleep again), and on top of it the nausea has returned today. I feel so tired. I wish I could just hideout in the breakroom and sleep. haha. Tape a sign up to the front of my desk that says "Out of Order" or something! lol.

So here is the first belly picture for all interested parties (about 12 weeks). It doesn't look like much but I swear it looks bigger in person! At least it FEELS that way. I can't wait for it to "pop", so I don't just look like I have a pooch in my belly anymore! haha.

 *Update: We have recently shortened Peanut's nickname, and have just begun calling him "P". Can a nickname have a nickname?

GO COUGS!

Friday afternoon, Jared received a call from his brother in law, Will, telling him he had an extra ticket to the BYU Football game the following day. It was last minute, but being the spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants, kind of people we are, we figured, "what the heck?" We had Kaity track me down another ticket, threw our game gear into a bag, and headed down in our trusty Alero. 

We figured we'd make the most of our little one day trip, so Saturday morning we got up and met Kaity and Kirsten at the Nordstrom Rack in Sandy. I decided if Jared got to go to his football game, I get my Rack! haha. Next we headed to lunch at Paradise Cafe. It's always so much fun hanging out with my sisters, I'm so excited to move down to Utah and be closer to them. There's just something about sisters that can't be beat.

Finally it was time for the much awaited football game.  We were lucky enough to experience a cougar tail for the first time (which I would highly recommend). It's basically a foot and a half long maple bar! Yummm. It was fun sitting near Will and his brother (Will is one of those crazy fans that yells at the ref's calls. lol). The girls got to go down to front row after halftime because some friends they knew had some extra seats near them, and Jared and I joined them for the last 10 minutes. The game is so much more fun to watch when you're right down next to the players.

After the game we headed to dinner at Goodwood Barbeque. I knew it was something Jared would appreciate. Our original plan was to head back to Rexburg that night, but by this point we could hardly hold our eyes open (What can I say, we've become lightweights). We decided to head back in the morning instead.

As always with us, there is never a dull moment. On the drive back to Rexburg the following day, we were just about to Idaho Falls when we heard the gas light beep and come on, signaling we were low on fuel. Next thing I know, about two minutes later, Jared is turning the ignition and pulling over to the side of the road! In Jared's defense, our car usually goes a good 20 miles after the light comes on, we don't know why on this occasion we had no warning! haha.

All I DO know, is that we made it to the offramp (luckily), and had to hoof it to the closest gas station (about 400 yards away), buy a gas tank, bring it back to the car, then drive it over to the gas station to fill up! I was still in the clothes I slept in, and had been feeling sick all morning (thanks to Peanut!) so I was like,"you have to be kidding me!" I couldn't help it, as we were walking to the gas station along the desert road in the sun, I said to Jared, "I'm going to tell our kids about the day you refused to stop for gas, then ran us out, and made me walk along the side of the road PREGNANT in the hot sun." hahahah. Poor Jared, it really wasn't his fault! But that didn't make the situation any less humorous! I snuck this pic on the return trip, it was too good to pass up!

Do not be alarmed though, we eventually made it back to Rexburg, safe and sound :-)

What would a weekend trip be without an adventure anyway?

...And they lived happily ever after...

It's amazing to think that we have officially been married for a year and a month now! It seems like just yesterday we stepped off the plane from our honeymoon in Mexico. We have have had such an awesome first year together, filled with lots of trips and memories. It's neat to see how much both of us have grown individually as well as a couple. 
Like clockwork, we received our anniversary "gift" just in time to celebrate. It happened to come in the form of two pink lines... That's right...a BABY! Despite the positive result, I was skeptical so I took another test... and then another one. By that time I figured the results were pretty certain. Any doubts I had left were definitely obliterated by my newfound friend, Morning Sickness. Which is kind enough to be with me morning, afternoon, night, and yes, even when I sleep.
We experienced the first ultrasound a week ago, and finally got to see our little "Peanut" for the first time. (yes, it already has a nickname. haha). It was healthy, perfect size, and had a perfect heartbeat. It was such a neat feeling, it's hard to describe. I have felt the baby inside me for the past few months now, but being able to see it move on the screen in front of me was surreal. I just kept staring at it in awe. It was such a relief when that image showed up on the screen, confirming that there was in fact a healthy baby inside of me, and moreover that it was ONE healthy baby, not two. Haha. (I had a dream a day before I went in for the ultrasound that the doctor heard two heartbeats!)
I tease Jared all the time that he has "sympathy symptoms". He mysteriously seems to share my fatigue, feel "sick", get headaches, and has an increasing appetite. I just attribute it to him being such a good husband. He is taking on my pains for me
:-) lol.
I am so excited for him to be a dad because I know he is going to be a natural at it. He is so good with kids, it amazes me! 
It's about time for me to be getting back to work but we'll keep you posted!