Update on baby!

bryce and i went to the doctor today. had an ultrasound and got to see babies little feet? man im grateful that my placenta is anterior because this little one is a wiggling fool. my doctor found the problem. my exterior cervix is open. my internal cervix is closed and hasnt shortened at all. im not on bedrest but i do need to take it easy and attempt to reduce my stress. this could lead to a bigger problem or this could just be no problem at all. my doctor will check my cervix again in three weeks when we go in for our next ultrasound. hopefully everything will be fine and we will hopefully find out the gender too

Happy Birthday to ME!! (and a scary end to our night)

I don't know if everyone knows this or not but I LOVE LOVE LOVE birthdays! Its the one day to be selfish and have a day all about yourself! I love the outpouring of love, I love the special things, I love the extra love. I just love birthdays!

My age doesn't matter to me at all. Bryce loves joking that I'm old. He's 14 months younger than me. He also knows that age doesn't matter to me so he loves to poke and prod. he's a stinker!

This year I got 3 birthdays parties! Two of them were really a mask for us being able to get people together to tell everyone that we are expecting a baby.

Some of the reactions were awesome and we truly felt loved. Others were less than stellar and left us feeling odd.

Yesterday was my actual birthday. Bryce cooked a yummy dinner, tortellini and homemade alfredo! mmmmm (we have the BEST recipe!) and garlic bread. he baked brownies for dessert! my fav! I'm not big on cake.

Unfortunately baby wasn't a fan of dinner and I was pretty sick and hurting. That didn't stop me from loving my evening with my 2 favorite boys. Bryce and Coen spoiled me! Coen thought I needed candy so he got me swedish fish and sour patch kids. I love how he thinks of the most random things to get me. He was also determined to get me pjs. The boys found some awesomely cozy gray and yellow pj pants. I can't wait to wear them! Bryce found me some long sleeve shirts to wear under scrubs so i don't freeze at school! hooray!

By the end of the night, I was hurting pretty bad... I was really nervous... We ended up waking up Coen and going to the ER at 11pm. I have a follow up appointment today. More to come on that excitement... Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!!

We FINALLY told everyone!!

How wonderful of a weekend it has been!! I am so excited that we have finally told everyone! Here are a few of the best responses!!

Gram : CARLY!! (in her incredibly shrill voice!)

My mom : What took you guys so long? You've been together 3 years?

Emily : Christmas cards my ass! (that's how I got people's addresses! very tricky!)

Brianne (Bryce's sister) : I won the race!!! (we were having a "race" to see who would be the first to have a baby but no one would fess up to who actually wanted to win. Bri is the only one left without a kiddo of her own so she considers herself the winner haha)

Aunt Branden : scream... scream some more... hug me... scream some more... hug me again...

Bryce's Mom : (basically utter shock...) I never thought Bryce would have any!

Melanie : (longest lecture ever!!) You should've told me!! I could've been sworn to secrecy! How have you had all these conversations about me trying to get pregnant and still keep that secret.


This was such a great weekend! I am so happy that our families are so excited! Now to wait til December 20th to find out what we're having!!

13 weeks!

Starting to show! I'm showing much sooner than with Coen, but I'm 8 years older and well a pound or 2 heavier... This is the last week of my 1st trimester and I've gained a pound and a half! I'll take it! My doctor said that is perfectly fine so I'm happy!

Oh and yeah I'm a brunette again... I got bored with the blond! I also wear my hair down quite often...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm thankful that the morning (ALL DAMN DAY!!) sickness has gone away so that I'm able to cook dinner for my family!!

We made everything...

yummy turkey stuffed with lemons, oranges, thyme, rosemary, and garlic! 

mashed potatoes and gravy

yams with marshmellows

fresh rolls

stuffing, the only kind worth eating... Stove Top all the way!

and pumpkin pie with fresh whip cream!

wow everything turned out DELISH! I was highly impressed! Neither Bryce or I had ever made a turkey before! It turned out so yummy and juicy and the gravy was perfect, made from the drippings. I bought jarred gravy just in case the gravy was a bust, but after making it with my Grandma Elaine on Sunday, it turned out perfect... 

It was really nice having Bryce's dad, Bob, over for dinner. He came over early and it was adorable to hear Coen playing with his grandpa. They don't really see each other very often but they had a blast wrestling around. Bob kept throwing him on the couch and Coen was throwing pillows at him. They had a blast. 

I loved being able to tell someone else. We dropped the bomb right before we started eating. Coen was so excited to tell someone! He is just itching to be able to tell everyone! Bob is excited for us. He has 3 grandkids from Bryce's step brother, 2 girls and 1 boy. The boy is just a baby so I think that is why Bob and Coen had so much fun together wrestling around.

3 month doctors visit!!

At school today, my teachers told me that there was a slight possibility that I could find out the gender today! Holy cow! That just made my excitement even more off the charts!

We dropped Coen off at the daycare, he has the day off from school for Turkey Day, and we went to the doctor. Today has been an insane day of getting the announcements done, going to 1 stinking class (the other was cancelled), having a photo shoot with Coen, going to costco to get pics developed, and then a doctors appointment! I had class tonight too but well... at 5pm, I passed out on the couch and didn't wake up until 7:30... class started at 7... so I just skipped it!

We had another ultrasound today... every thing looks great!! Let me remind you of our last ultrasound...

And here is today's ultrasound!!

Can you see it's little face?? I just wish that the doctor had gotten a good pic of the whole body!

This pic isn't as clear but if you imagine from the last ultrasound from today, just picture the babies hand in front of it's face! It was clear as day on the monitor but didn't translate to a pic as well as I'd hope!

This ultrasound was amazing! We got to see all of baby. And it looks human! fully formed and adorably tiny! About the size of a medium shrimp now! While the doctor was doing the ultrasound, she was trying to get the heartbeat and the baby wouldn't hold still! Seriously boogying around! Bryce and I were so excited to see our little one moving around like that!!

Baby's heart beat was 163, a little bit slower than last time but still strong and perfect!

Here is the catch... My due date WAS June 6th... NOW IT IS MAY 30TH!!! Ok I realize that it's only 1 week, but it is MAY! What if baby comes a week early and is literally born on Coen's birthday!?!

Apparently the biggest measurement of our last visit was accurate and I'm further along than expected...

Our next appointment is December 20th and she is hopeful that we'll be able to find out what we're having! I'll be 17 weeks along and typically you can find out between 16-19 weeks!

Announcements are in the mail!!

HOLY COW! THE SECRET IS ALMOST UP!!!

HOLY COW! EVERYONE IS GOING TO FREAK OUT!!!

I couldn't be more relieved!! This secret is 11 months in the making and honestly I'm exhausted by it! I want people to know! I want people to check in on me. I want to tell people about it... I mean I'm sick as a dog, my hip is jacked up, I'm utterly exhausted, I'm behind on EVERYTHING and I just have to tell people that school is bogging me down... which sure school is keeping me busy, but his baby is why everything is so difficult!!

I cannot wait for people to get their announcements! Only some people are getting them. Close family and friends but only the ones who we can't tell in person... Sorry there are just too many people for us to make individual house calls to!

As for our parents, we're telling them all this week!! Bryce's dad is coming over for Thanksgiving dinner so we're going to tell him then. On Friday, we're having a bday party for me (HOORAY!!) at my mom's and we'll tell my side of the family then. We'll also make stops at Bryce's Grandma Lupie's and my Gram's house! On Saturday, Bryce and his mom are throwing me (and Cody and Anthony, 2 of Bryce's brothers) a birthday party at The Pie in Ogden. We'll be telling that side of the family then! I made the most adorable (sorry I have to brag since I typically have ZERO creativity when it comes to arts and crafts!) announcement! The 2 grandma's (my mom and Bryce's) are getting the originals and the announcements that got mailed out are copies of it.

I've been joking with Bryce that because I'm the pregnant one, I'm physically safe, but that he should be prepared to be beaten to a pulp! I know that his mom and Chelsey will be beating him up... Chelsey for sure since he teases and taunts her so badly... And ours moms will probably unleash some frustration because of the fact that they are constantly begging for a grandchild!

WE FINALLY TOLD COEN!!!

He's been begging, praying, pleading, groveling, and has even resorted to bribery... He wants a sibling so incredibly badly! It was so excited to finally tell him. He thinks getting a baby for his birthday is the best present ever! I can't wait to make him a big brother.

He had so many adorable questions... concerned about the baby chewing on his toys... concerned about where the baby would sleep... concerned about well basically everything! I have loved answering his questions tonight...

some of the best questions...

Do I have to change poopy diapers?

Will the baby have to stay in it's room all the time since it can't walk?

Is the baby just swimming around in your blood or what? 

How am I going to lock my room so the baby can't get in?


Here are his votes for the gender and his explanations... he came up with these all on his own...

Twins... one boy and one girl... so he can give the boy his toys when he leaves for college (he watched toy story 3 today and still doesn't understand why a girl got boy toys...) and a girl so he can torture her (he and dad watch WAY too much Phineas and Ferb!) and so we have a flower girl...

Hate to burst his bubble but the doctor was pretty sure that there was only 1 baby in there...

One of his major concerns was that he still get a birthday party and that Derek and Austin (2 friends from school) get invited. I let him know that he would absolutely be getting a birthday party (but in the back of my mind, i thought HELL NO! I'll be 9 months pregnant! hahahaha I promise he'll get a party, but dad may be in charge and mom will just "supervise") 

He is also quite convinced that the baby is going to come out and be an instant playmate... I was hoping that having him see Baby Sadie (our niece) would help him realize that babies are born tiny and don't really do much for quite some time... 

Early Thanksgiving Dinner with Grandma Elaine!

On the 3rd Sunday of every month, my Grandma Elaine has a big family dinner. Not everyone always comes over... We rarely are able to make it... But this month, we did!

Once again I got the typical petition for a grandchild... from my Grandma and from my mom... I'm highly impressed with our ability to keep our mouths shut!!!

Dinner was delicious. I love getting together with that side of my family. I don't get to see any of them very often. Wish more of my cousins had come though. Jon and Bonnie (my uncle and his wife) made the most delish turkey stuffed with lemons and oranges! I'm absolutely stealing this idea because I don't like stuffing in the bird...

Ladies day at craft fairs!!

Hello my name is Carly... I'm 28... and I've never been to a craft fair!! How is this possible in Utah? I'm really not sure!!

Bryce's mom, Camie, invited me and all of the other ladies (sounds weird calling us girls!) in our family to go to craft fairs! Bryce's youngest sister Bri and Bryce's sister in law Chelsey came with us too! It was a blast! However... Do you, who ever is reading this, have any freaking idea how hard it is to go to a craft fair when you're pregnant and NO ONE KNOWS IT!!!

If I had the money and if everyone knew about the baby, I would've come home with everything necessary for babies nursery! We've decided on monkeys for a boy and owls for a girl... I'm just grateful that Chelsey is Baby Sadies mom and I was able to point out all of the cute baby stuff for her! When really I was dying to buy every owl related item for my little one!

It is a good thing that we don't know the gender or it would've been even more difficult!

We had so much fun though! My morning sickness is finally starting to settle down so I didn't get sick after lunch! My hip wasn't hurting too badly even though it was a ton of walking around. I didn't have to go to the bathroom a million times... Honestly I'm stoked that I made it home without the 3 of them cornering me and demanding that I tell them the truth!!

Thank you little peanut for cooperating so we could keep our secret!! Don't worry, only 2 more weeks of secret keeping!!

Thank you even more to Camie for inviting me! I've been in the family for 3 years but this was the first year that I could go! Thank you to Bri and Chelsey for making it a blast and mocking all of the cheesy things with me! I love the family that I'm marrying into!

Why is the room spinning??

Woke up this morning not feeling well. I decided to go to school anyway... bad idea!

by about 10am, right as I got to school, I started getting weak and dizzy. This happened with Coen too so I ate a banana, I ate protein, I drank water, I stretched, I popped my back, I sat down, I stood up, I laid down... I literally did EVERYTHING that would work to correct this problem with Coen. During my pregnancy with Coen, I had a really hard time keeping my potassium levels high enough. So I automatically assumed that was the problem this time.

However after 2 hours and no help and really it was just getting worse, I decided I needed to leave school. I skipped out on my last class and instead went to Lakeview ER... My dr was on lunch so the triage nurse said to just go in especially since I figured that I knew what was wrong. I go to the ER, my blood pressure was kinda all over the place, but no horrible numbers. They did a ton of lab work. They rigged me up to an IV and pumped me full of fluids. Ultimately when my labs came back, there was no discernible cause. My potassium was at the lowest end of normal but was still considered normal. The ER doc said to go home and rest and to come back if the dizziness didn't go away within a few hours.

Well it did, but the weakness didn't. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day!

Still can't walk...

Off to the chiropractor again because I still can't walk. It got better for about a week after my last appointment and then started hurting again... Luckily I found a huge ice pack that I use quite regularly when I'm home and my car has heated seats which double as a heating pad!

Oh and the verdict is that my ligaments have loosened... which shouldn't happen until the 3rd trimester! It's going to be an interesting pregnancy! I might end up like jello by May!