The Next American Idol?

So I know this will probably classify us as nerds, but we're pretty big fans of American Idol around here. We watched almost every episode once they dwindled things down to the top 10 and were avidly cheering on our favorites (Jason's was David Archuleta, Abby's was Brooke White, and mine was David Cook....GO ME!!!!)

Anyway, Abby has turned into quite the little singer herself. We get a kick out of her singing her various songs (some of which we have taught her, some of which she has made up herself!) Tell me what you think.....do you think she has the talent to become the next American Idol?!?!?

Pregnancy Update: Still pregnant!!! The baby is really low in my pelvis now, but still no dilation so who knows. I'm thinking we'll be having a June baby now (a pretty safe bet seeing as there are only 2 days left of May!) I feel really good though, I'm not swollen at all, I'm still working out, so really no complaints. My mom is here for the next week so she is really hoping this baby decides to come before she leaves. I have another appointment on Tuesday and we will probably discuss an induction at that point. Hopefully he will decide to make his grand entrance into this world before then!

Jason's Day!!

In honor of Jason's big birthday (and when I say big, I mean the BIG 3-0,) I have decided to dedicate this post to him and record for all to see 30 things that I love about him. So here goes...

1-He is a wonderful husband and a great father.

2-He knows when I have had a bad day and willingly takes over playing with Abby and making dinner in order to give me a much needed break.

3-He has fabulous taste in women (I had to throw that one in there!)

4-He's a hard worder and knows how to get things done.

5-He provides an excellent living for our family.

6-He's really just a big kid sometimes, getting excited about things like LEGOs, the Hardy Boys, and bubblegum.

7-He makes friends wherever he goes and is super friendly to all he meets (unless you happen to be going under the speed limit when he is driving behind you!)

8-He is a huge assett to his employers. (Warning: Husband Brag Moment...In only 9 months with Citi Group, he has earned the highest ranking that any employee can earn by his manager, he received a raise and a nice bonus, and just last night was honored at a nice dinner for being one of the top employees at the Hagerstown site. I am so proud of him!!)

9-He supports me in all of my crazy ideas (like getting a dog, running a marathon and cloth diapering.)

10-He will be a wonderful role model for our new son.

11-He loves the gospel and studies it everyday.

12-He gives 110% to every calling and I know he will do an excellent job as the new Elders Quorum President in our ward.

13-He makes me laugh everyday.

14-He is very intelligent and I love talking and sharing ideas with him.

15-He gives the best hugs and kisses.

16-He comes from a great family and parents who have raised him to be an excellent man.

17-He is a great cook and somehow can create a delicious meal despite my claims that there is nothing left to eat in the house!

18-He is a great handyman and we both look forward to owning a home again and making it our own.

19-He is a very hands-on kind of dad, playing with Abby, reading her books, giving her horsey rides and of course, changing lots of diapers!

20-He is a wonderful example of honoring his priesthood.

21-He is a fabulous musician and I love when he sings or plays just for me.

22-He respects me and always values my opinions.

23-He values education and loves learning new things.

24-He's a sports FAN-atic, especially when it comes to anything related to BYU athletics.

25-He gets excited over the simple things in life.

26-He stays up to talk to me even though I know he's dead tired and would probably rather be sleeping!

27-He thinks I'm beautiful, even when I'm 9 months pregnant!

28-He is very good looking and I fall more in love with him each day.

29-Despite being a guy, he lets me handle the remote control in our home!

30-He is my best friend and I am so lucky to be able to spend eternity with him.

For these reasons, and a million others, I consider myself very blessed to be Jason's wife. I love you and hope you have a wonderful 30th birthday!!!

Our Not-So-Crazy Lives

Time is really flying by. I can't believe that it is approaching the end of May already (which also means baby time isn't that far off.) There are days when I feel more than ready to have this baby, but other days I realize how different life will be when he comes and I can hold off a bit longer. The midwife on Friday (a different one from the week before) said she didn't think the baby was that big yet...she estimated around 7-7.5 lbs, so who really knows. I guess we'll find out soon. I was actually kind of hoping the baby would come today (May 20th.) Our anniversary is March 20th, Abby's birthday is February 20th so I just thought it would be neat if we had another baby on the 20th of the month. Jason told me we could always hold out hope for June 20th (ummmmm, not so much!!!)

We were able to take Abby to the circus that came into town a few weeks ago and she absolutely loved it. It was kind of lame by circus standards, but Abby still talks about it nearly everyday. One really great thing about being a parent is being justified in doing all of these kid things again (circus, swinging on the swings at the playground, amusement parks, playing with dolls, etc.) It's really fun to revisit childhood again and see everything through Abby's innocent and very excitable eyes!

Ten Reasons Dadra's the Best Mom Abby Could Ask For

Since I have yet to post anything on the blog, I thought it would be appropriate this Mother's day to say how greatful I am to have Dadra for a wife. She does a fantastic job as a monther and Abby couldn't ask for a better one. I am so blessed to have her as my eternal companion.

Here are the Top Ten Reasons that Dadra's the best mom and wife that Abby and I could ask for:

10. When putting Abby to bed, she reads Winnie the Pooh, then the Hardy Boys, then sings I am a Child of God, then.....

9. She'll change any dirty diaper...even the ones that run out the diaper, down the leg, into the shoes and on the floor...of our friends house and still just laugh at it.

8. She is a great example of dedication in her church calling as Relief Society Secretary

7. She's extremely intelligent (and hot)...and passes that on to Abby

6. She's superwoman. She can go to the gym, run 8 miles, come home, fix breakfast, get Abby dressed, do her hair, read her some stories, clean the kitchen, wash another load of dirty diapers, vaccum the home so the realtor can show it, take Abby to the park to see the ducks, come home and fix lunch, teach Abby to sing "I am a Child of God", clean up Abby's mess in the computer room, put Abby down for a nap, straighten up the toy room, put the books back on the bookshelf, create a few scrapbook pages, get Abby up from a nap, give her a snack, fix dinner while listening to Abby beg for some candy, listen to my gabbing about nothing really important, wash dishes, find some houses for us to look at, read Abby some more stories, give her a bath, put her to bed, and still have energy to talk at night!

5. She laughs at the big things and doesn't sweat the small things

4. She makes Daddy look good...even when he's done nothing

3. She can handle kicking, screaming, hitting, punching, biting, and chasing and still want to give Abby lots of hugs and kisses

2. She has a firm testimony of the Gospel, Jesus Christ, and the Plan of Salvation...and she's teaching Abby to have one too

1. Behind her love of the Savior and His gospel, family is the most important thing in her life.

We love you Dadra!

Jason and Abby

Pregnancy Update

Well, here I am in all my 9 months of pregnancy glory!! This pregnancy has actually been a really good one and I can't believe I am almost done. I do seem to get a bit more winded these days and I get overheated pretty easily (thank goodness I won't be pregnant during the middle of the summer), but overall I still feel pretty good. I am still working out at the gym too. I think they are starting to get worried that I will go into labor on the treadmill!! But it feels good to still be exercising.

I had another midwife appointment today and everything looks great. I really enjoy all of the midwives at the practice. They are a whole lot more talkative and informative than my OB/GYN was with Abby. She did mention that they don't want me going much past 40 weeks with this pregnancy. This baby is looking to be about as big as Abby (9 lbs, 4 oz) so they don't want the baby to be too huge. She said if I wanted to , I could be induced any time after 39 weeks. I really don't want to be induced, but I don't want to have an enormous baby either. Hopefully my body will go on its own sooner rather than later. Maybe we need to schedule the induction though, just to get the baby out. Abby decided to come on her own just hours before I was scheduled to be induced with her. I guess she had received her eviction notice and realized there was no point in staying any longer!!

Also, I realized that I never posted Abby's 2-year photos. She was such a ham that day and we got some pretty goofy expressions. She is growing up so fast. I sometimes wish she had a pause button so I could keep her at this stage just a little longer. We are really good buddies and I know she will make a terrific big sister.