Well, I've hit 30 weeks with pregnancy number two and let's just say that I feel simultaneous relief (to have finally reached the beginning of the end!) and disbelief (because it's hard to imagine another person coming into our family in the next two months!).
We spent the last four days up in Idaho (Sun Valley for a day and a half and Boise area for two and a half days) and had a wonderful time together as a family. Dalin and I stayed in this great Best Western lodge in Ketchum (near Sun Valley) on Tuesday night and were psyched when they gave us a free upgrade to a rather large family room with two big beds, a couch, and mini kitchen for starters. The free continental breakfast we had the next morning was also amazing (Dalin said it was the best one he's been to in a long time) and we liked that we pretty much had the hotel to ourselves.
 |
| Here are some sweet pics I took of Tenley in her baby mirror (which we love) so we can see her cute little face when we drive. |
 |
| Tenley eating fries at our pit stop in Burley |
 |
| A little peek out on our hotel room's porch in Sun Valley. It was snowy there. |
 |
| The best pizza (especially the crust which is my favorite:) I've had in a long time! Smokey Mountain Pizza in Ketchum. |
After Sun Valley, we had so much fun with Dalin's parents and sisters in Boise. With 12 people (that includes Maddox and Tenley), it was the smallest Thanksgiving we had ever been to, but it was actually really nice to be able to see everyone at the table and cleanup seemed a lot quicker. We also did a little bit of Black Friday shopping (side note--I never went Black Friday shopping until about a year or two ago with Dalin's family. I don't think I even really knew what it was until high school. My family didn't really go that I remember), mainly at Target and K-Mart because of the specific deals they had going for toys and a few small electronics.
 |
| Cassie and I set the table. |
 |
| Everyone but me because I volunteered to take the pic |
 |
| Our little family. I am very full and very pregnant here. |
The big thing was getting a new car seat for Tenley. She has been more and more cramped in her old one, plus she'd be getting evicted from it pretty soon anyway and we'd like to have her settled beforehand (we don't want to throw too many changes at her at once when her brother arrives). I had done quite a bit of research, but what it actually came down to was whatever car seat with high customer ratings had the best sale price. Target advertised one in particular--a $260+ car seat for $180. We wanted it. Bad. So we went to Target (which was not as packed as it was last year surprisingly) only to learn the seat we wanted was sold out. :( Bummer. Except then we had a big stroke of good luck when I happened to chase down the Target employee who was apparently the head store manager (or even higher up) because he went right to the car seat aisle with us and said he would give us a deal on whatever car seat we wanted to get.
Slightly taken aback (having none of our research with us) and basically just going off of ratings, appearance, and instinct, we spent a few minutes looking at three car seats which the guy gave us quotes on, on the spot. I think he just made them up. But he gave us somewhere around $80-100 off on a $200-something car seat. All we had to do was go to the front and give his name and the price we agreed on. We didn't think the cashier would believe us but she just got it approved by another manager and we were out of Target faster than we ever thought possible. It was awesome! I'm so glad I waited for that specific employee (though now that I think about it, I wish I had taken him up on his offer to have him help us with any other items we needed--I'm sure we could have gotten some other sweet deals if we had just realized it at the time).
 |
| Tenley's head looks super warped, but the point of this picture is to show how comfy her new car seat is:) |
Besides a little shopping, we spent a good amount of time at Grammy's house (where Thanksgiving was hosted) and she did me a HUGE, wonderful favor of fixing all of my maternity pants! She hemmed three pairs, and completely re-sewed two pairs which were much too loose for my small frame. We used Pinterest as a guide and turned two loose pairs (one basically hippy jeans) into skinny/slim-fit jeans! I love them so much better and am so happy with how they turned out! Now getting dressed won't be such a burden (I was tired of wearing the same pair of maternity jeans over and over just because they were the most comfortable) which is a big deal when doing anything with your pregnant belly feels way more strenuous than usual.
 |
| They fit so much better! It's nice to not feel frumpy when I get dressed and I'm already feeling huge and not so cute. |
We drove home last night (Tenley slept in her new car seat the majority of the trip which is what we had been hoping!) and today, since Dalin has been gone all day working, I've been putting away my Christmas purchases and unpacking our bags (thankfully I managed to pack light for all three of us for once). Also thankfully, I cleaned the house before we left so we came home to dishes done, the kitchen clean, the bed made, and the floor picked up. (The only battle has been having no fresh food to eat today but we'll survive). I've also done some online Christmas shopping for Dalin and paid some bills so I feel pretty good about today.
Back to my pregnancy--my next appointment is this Friday (I'll be 31 weeks by then) and Tenley will have a--very late--15-month appointment (she'll basically be 16 months by then but oh well). I am feeling very well (thank you to everyone who asks me:) and have not had any contractions for a few weeks. I am sleeping pretty badly (but that's partly because of Tenley these last few days--traveling always disrupts her schedule) and I mostly attribute that to back pain, which is definitely most apparent at night.
I can't believe how fast December is going to go (I know it hasn't even started, but we have so many plans, I just know it will)! We have more doctor's and dentist appointments, the Ward Christmas party (a few other Christmas parties), finals for Dalin, and then suddenly we'll be heading back to Idaho to celebrate Christmas. Then comes January, which will just be one long, long month of waiting for our second little person. I still can't believe it! I just can't wait to see him finally and hold him.
Before I bust out the Christmas stuff and change our living room up (again), here are some cute little Thanksgiving-ish displays I had set up. I'll probably leave some of the stuff year round, just spruce things up with a little more red and green:)
 |
| I got that bird cage (which I adore) for $5 from someone at Wymount. It has scented pinecones in it right now. The box beneath it stores Tenley's diapers and wipes for easy changes (without showing off the baby stuff). The basket underneath holds Tenley's winter mittens, hats, headbands, and boots for quick access in case we need to hurry out the door. |
 |
| I got those colorful photo boxes on the left 5 for $10 at Michael's for cute storage. I love them:) The black and white storage boxes with the DVDs and Nintendo controllers are from Ikea (but I've had them for 4 or 5 years). |
Sorry for the lack of belly selfies (unless you hate those, in which case you're welcome)--it's hard to get my belly in the pic anymore! (And Dalin hates taking pictures because I make him take several). I'll try to take one soon! I'm big. Just imagine that. People keep saying I must be almost done and then when I tell them I'm 30 weeks they glance at my belly like how could you possibly get any bigger. I ask myself that same thing, people. Here I am at 29 weeks when I was pregnant with Tenley. I think I'm bigger this time.
Well happy end of November! Here's to shameless Christmas preparations and decorating! (And to only two more months of being pregnant!)
P.S. We got the Graco Milestone All-in-One car seat. I believe it is fairly new on the market but it is SO easy to install and use! I'm so happy with how easy it is to adjust the straps (loosening or tightening them) and with adjusting the height of the seat for your child. I could use it for baby boy with very little difficulty--it would take about a minute to adjust to his size.
