I've had so many fun things happen lately, but just haven't gotten around to blogging about them. I use my blog somewhat as a journal, so I've missed writing on it. So here's a bit of a laundry list of some of the things I want to remember from the past month.
1. Christmas was AWESOME. Bill and I spent it with his family in Henderson and it was just so much fun. We got to go do a few things while we were there. We took a trip down to Nelson, NV to take some pictures with Miriam, my SIL. It's right by the Colorado River, so is very pretty.
We also took a day trip out to Death Valley. I've never been there. It was a pretty fun day, albeit a bit longer than expected. What a cool place, though.
I don't have any pictures of actual Christmas morning or anything else while we were there, but we had a fantastic time with our family and it really was a great vacation. We spent more than two weeks there and it was really nice to relax and rejuvenate a bit before this semester starts, the baby comes, and life gets insane again.
2. Bill's mom and aunts threw me a baby shower at the end of December. They were so generous and seriously spoiled me. This little guy has a serious amount of clothes and blankets and diapers and toys. He is going to be stylin'. :) I really do have fantastic in-laws. I couldn't ask for a better family to have married into.
3. Over New Years Bill and I headed down to Phoenix for a Jones Family Reunion. My family usually only gets together for weddings or funerals and we haven't had so many of those lately so it's been awhile since we've seen everyone. My aunt generously offered to plan and sponsor a 2-day get together and it was fantastic. Several of my siblings weren't able to make it, but most all the Jones cousins made it and we just really enjoyed a couple days of food, games, catching up with each other, and just having a great time. A few highlights:
My brother-in-law Kelly is magic with the kids. He had them all sitting in a circle around him ready to play a game minutes after he arrived.
Playing Kubb with my parents, Bill, and my sister. It's a highly entertaining lawn game Bill made a set of for us this summer when we lived in Henderson.
Bill and my cousin's 3-year old son Gabe chatted for like 20 minutes one day while Gabe told Bill about everything from his toenails to whatever else he could think of. Adorable. Three years from now that will be our own son.
The last event was a family memories session where all my aunts and uncles shared memories of their parents, both of whom are gone now. It was so awesome to hear about my grandparents from their kids' points of view.
4. My little guy is working his way towards actually gracing us with his presence. I've been having braxton-hicks contractions since December, but lately it seems like my body has gotten into gear to make this happen for real. As of my appointment today I am 1 cm dilated, 60% effaced, and the baby's head is at a -1 station. He had a bit of an irregular heartbeat back in December, so I have been doing weekly non-stress tests this month just to make sure all is well. I did one this afternoon for an hour and he passed with flying colors. Seems like he's healthy as can be and will arrive when he so chooses. People keep giving me advice for how to make him come, which I find entertaining, but I think I'll just let him come when he feels like it. Based off of all the kids at the family reunion over New Years, it seems Jones girls do pretty well having babies, so I think I'll be just fine. :) It would have been cool if he came today, 1/11/11, but no such luck. He has definitely dropped.
Me at 36 weeks
Me at 38 weeks last Friday.
5. I'm back in school and enjoying my semester. It's going to be crazy when the baby comes, but this is my last semester of grad school and I'm trying to enjoy it. I don't have definite plans to come back to school and particularly BYU, so even though this is going to be a crazy semester I want it to be great. I have good classes, good jobs (that's right, jobs), and Bill's schedule is great too, so I'm trying to make the most of it.
6. My sister, soon to be sister-in-law, and mom threw me a baby shower on Saturday. It was also fantastic. My family gave me a super generous gift too. The only picture I have for the moment is the super cool method of delivering part of the gift. How cool is having my very own hot air balloon to deliver it in? :)
7. I finally got around to getting my very own purse from my sister's
Etsy shop. It arrived yesterday and I love it! It's a clutch purse with a flap, but it's in this material:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/64487548/handmade-business-card-holder-or-small I can't wait to use it. You have got to go look at her site and buy one of her purses or little card holders or anything else she sells there. She's pretty much amazing and totally self-taught to sew.
I think that's about it for the moment. Maybe the next time I post I'll have a baby to announce. How fun would that be?! :)
