Lilly's Little Face and a Weekend with Family

This weekend has brought so many good and wonderful things that I am so excited to share!

On Thursday, Kaleb and I went to the OB and receive great news: Lilly is healthy and right on track at 1 1/2 pounds and growing! The due date is right on and still for September 11th. We are enjoying all her little kicks and punches, too :) After the appointment, we met with the ultrasound technician and were able to get a close-up picture of Lilly's face. That spot on the top of her forehead is the umbilical cord, which happened to be in the way, but we were more than excited to see this little girl's face. We are already so  in love with her :)

Driving to Idaho!

Later in the afternoon we made our trip to Idaho to be with family for Kaleb's brother's high school graduation. The funniest thing is that Kaleb needs sunglasses when he drives, but he doesn't actually own any... So he wears my old ones. Haha!
Friday we helped Kaleb's parents organize and move things around for their upcoming house viewings. With the last child graduating and moving out of the house, Mom and Dad are also moving on and into a little bit of a smaller house. So we enjoyed the little bit of time we were able to give and help them get ready for the showings. We also enjoyed the arrival of more family! Kaleb's brother and sister-in-law joined in the festivities and we welcomed the added craziness :)

Friday also brought my 25-week milestone! Woo! Only 15 weeks until the due date :)

Saturday was the big day: graduation. Kaleb's brother rocked the graduation ceremony in the Boise Bronco Stadium with his awards and honors, as well as his big and bright smile. I've got the say, I married into a very good-looking family (yet, I got the most handsome brother ;)











After the ceremony, we headed over to the Westside Drive-In in Boise and I tried my first ever ice cream potato. If you want some good ice cream (and a fun potato-shaped treat) you've got to try this. This scoop of ice cream is shaped into an Idaho potato and then covered in cocoa powder to give it that "potato look." Then, topped with delicious chocolate syrup and whipped cream. So amazing on a hot day!

This weekend was just the break we needed and also such a fun way to spend time with our family. It is so fun when we all get together and go out and do things. There never is a dull moment in the Kjar family :) I am so lucky to have this family in my life and know that I can be together with them forever because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Sealing Power of the Priesthood.

Cavities and a Haircut

Well, it was a little bit of a different day in the Kjar household since Kaleb didn't go to work in the morning and instead went to the dentist for a fun cavity visit. After serving 2 years in Mexico and practicing "not-so-good" hygiene, Kaleb's teeth took a hit and, although they weren't cavities yet, certainly would become so in the months to follow. Well, it is now the months to follow and Kaleb went in to get his 3 cavities filled.
We have been really lucky to have such a great dentist that really works with our needs. However, when the numbing shot didn't work on one side, the dentist needed to try it again and it worked great in numbing Kaleb's mouth, but it also did a great job at also numbing his left nostril and eye. Needless to say, it was a "fun" experience to watch (at least for me). Due to a slower recovery, Kaleb had the pleasure of skipping out of his afternoon class, of which he wasn't too sad about ;)

Later in the evening, Kaleb and I had the opportunity to be visit taught and go home teaching. Although sometimes it seems like a real hassle to plan into each month, I do secretly enjoy it. We later enjoyed reading a chapter from President Monson's Biography, To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson, where it talked about President Monson's involvement in different general church committees and also his contribution to changing the home teaching program. Although I don't remember them right off the top of my head, President Monson had some very strong opinions about Home Teaching and its importance in showing God that you are willing to help and serve His people. Such a great reminder both for Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching!

The end of the day was welcomed with a new haircut for Kaleb. I learned a while ago how to cut hair from a video on YouTube and found it pretty helpful. I improve each time, but feel confident in my ability to do a basic guy's haircut. I like developing new skills :)

Before bed we packed up and are ready for our weekend trip to Idaho in honor of Kaleb's brother's high school graduation. I love celebrations! Especially when we get to share them with family :)

Freedom & a Little Bit of Blueberry Ice Cream

Today has been a great day of little financial freedom!

We were approved a few weeks ago for a car loan in order to purchase the car we've been leasing, and we finally got everything taken care of! It's so nice to think that we no longer owe anything to the car dealership and are even paying nearly $75 less per month than before! It feels so nice to move forward, learn new things, and save money in the process :)
Money is a special thing that is pretty tight nowadays, so it's so nice to get help from others :)

In the evening, Kaleb and I enjoyed a nice bowl of homemade blueberry ice cream. YUM! We love our ice cream maker and have a fun time trying out new flavors. Maybe we will try out a peanut butter one next time... ;)

Also, I found this quote that I thought was worth sharing :)
I hope our kids will one day look to our example and look forward to the day they also can be married and share memories and cherished time with the one they love.

Remembering Those Who Serve

The Memorial Day holiday began with the oven blazing! We decided to experiment with a new scone recipe: Strawberry Scones. To be honest, these scones weren't our favorite (though they look divine...), but we continue our quest for delicious scone fillings to go with our basic scone dough recipe.

Lovin' this Hotdog from home Depot!

We made a short run to Home Depot later in the morning/afternoon and were surprised with a little barbecue outside the store giving out free hotdogs! We definitely took them up on the food :)
We had a fun time looking around the Home Depot garden section and thinking about how we want to start this new garden of ours. We got a lot of ideas of vegetables and fruits that we want to plant and then walked out of the store with a new shovel, watering can, planting soil, and stones to use for our garden border.
After a few hours of digging up large rocks and picking out as many of the smaller ones we could, we poured in the new soil and stabilized the border around the outside.
We are so excited for the start of this new little garden! New plants to come in the next few weeks :)

After cleaning up from playing in the dirt all morning, Kaleb and I watched Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed and then spent the afternoon walking the grounds of the Evergreen Cemetery in Springville in honor of Memorial Day and the soldiers who fought and continue to fight for our country. This cemetery was a perfect choice as they had a memorial in honor of the holiday. In a square of U.S. flags at the front of the cemetery were benches that had plaques from fallen soldiers who served in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and other services. Kaleb and I walked around the square, reading each plaque, and thinking about the soldiers and their families. After finishing the square, we walked around the rest of the cemetery, looking and reading the different headstones. As we walked, we talked about how great a feeling it is to know of Heavenly Father's plan for us and how there is a life after this mortal journey that allows us to live with the Savior and our families again. We are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives!

We returned home for the evening and enjoyed a delicious dinner of One-Pot Paprika Chicken Thighs. This dinner was so, so, so so good! I highly recommend it. It takes a little bit of time, but it is seriously worth the wait! I cannot wait to eat more of the leftovers tomorrow :)

Today marks another memorable day with my husband, of whom I have fallen in love with over and over again today :)

The Word of God and Zucchini Noodles

I knew it was going to be a fun day when I woke up in the morning the sorest I think I have ever been in my life. I'm talking legs, shoulders, neck, back, the whole works. I could barely move, let alone function normally. I guess that's what I get for spending a few hours weeding the garden...

The Primary Lesson this week was centered around recognizing that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. We had fun planning a lesson with games, reenactments, as well as Gospel concepts that centered around the theme. 

We started with a decoding activity in which the kids attempted to translate section 4 without the key or any help. They realized really quickly that they weren't going to be able to do it. We talked about how some things may seem impossible, just like some of God's commandments may seem difficult to follow. However, with God's help we can accomplish anything. Later in the lesson, we gave them the key and were able to figure out what the writing translated into.

We also wanted to stress the importance of having God's commandments written down. So, starting with one of the kids, we played "telephone" and whispered a message to the first and watched the sentence travel to the last child. Needless to say, the message was not the same once it got to the end. We talked a little about how if we didn't have God's commandments and teachings written down, the messages would get confused and it would be hard to remember them. That's why it was so important for Nephi to return to Jerusalem to retrieve the Brass Plates!

The class ended with a reenactment of the story of Nephi and his brothers returning to Jerusalem to get the Brass Plates from Laban. The kids had a blast and they really loved the activities. All the while, they still remembered why it was important to have the Book of Mormon: because it is the words of God written down. 

Kaleb Slicing the Zucchini

Later in the day, Kaleb and I enjoyed trying out a new meal: Zucchini Noodles with Cilantro Lime Chicken. We were a little nervous at first, but it tasted fantastic! After a few alterations due to preference, this recipe made it into our recipe book. We will definitely enjoy this meal in the future. 

 The rest of the evening was spent with family as we went to Kaleb's brother and sister-in-law's apartment and enjoyed some homemade blueberry cobbler and a few games. It's a great day if you can spend it with family :)

Maternity Clothes. Seriously.

Bananas Foster French Toast

We put away our Cheerios this morning and took out the skillet. French Toast!! We made a delicious recipe for Bananas Foster that I recommend. Seriously. I kind of want to make myself some more just thinking about it right now. Mmmmm....

We spent our morning in the garden right next to the steps of our front door. Living in an apartment, we are limited in our outdoor area... But we got out our gardening tools and spent probably about an hour or two weeding, taking out the rocks, and hand plowing our little plot that we are going to make into our garden. We are so proud of it :) We were able to get most of it done before the rain started coming down, but we will head out again on Monday to finish it up. I'm so excited to plant some tomatoes!

Kaleb told me earlier in the week that he wanted to dedicate Saturday to buying more maternity clothes for me so that I could feel more comfortable. I obviously did not argue. We hit up the mall with the little bit of spending money we've saved and went on our search for good maternity clothes. Payless was the place to be to get comfortable shoes. Seriously. A huge lifesaver for my swelling and uncomfortable feet. I got a pair of flip flops with super squishy soles that provide the perfect amount of cushion and I also snagged a pair of champions that have memory foam on the inside!! I have been wanting a pair of walking shoes and I scored with these ones.
Our next stop took us to Motherhood Maternity. Now, usually these specialty stores mark up the prices because they know that they are the only ones selling their products. However, because of the holiday weekend, we got some great deals and ended up spending much less than expected! Success!! I got a few shirts, a pair of pants and shorts that have that glorious belly band attached, a new dress, and a new bra. Now, I know that this may be TMI, but for my pregnant friends (or those contemplating pregnancy) this is such good information: Buy a bra that fits. Get measured and buy the bra that really fits your pregnant body. That one change has made me feel so much more comfortable! Who knew that I was actually wearing a bra that was 3 sizes too small?!? But really. Get a bra that fits.

On another note...

As we were checking out of Motherhood Maternity, we received a little gift for my being a first time mom (how sweet!) and once we got home and opened it, we realized that it was not just a little gift. This little bag contained a Nuk brand pacifier, multiple coupons with generous offers, and 4 gift cards to other maternity and baby stores. This was the jackpot!! We really were blessed with this gift and, with very little money to spend on our baby, we really appreciated the generosity of the store.

The day ended like many others: ice cream and HOUSE. I just love the days that Kaleb and I can spend together :)

24 Weeks and a Giant Game of Checkers

Well, I've hit 24 weeks of pregnancy and I feel it. My feet have swollen so much that I can only fit into my sandals and sitting straight up is impossible without restricting all air pathways to my lungs. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of perks to pregnancy: Kaleb picks nearly everything up for me, I don't need any excuse for wanting a second dinner or craving a dessert, and I can sleep as much as I want...because I have a little baby growing inside of me. At times, it kind of feels like this weird alien sensation when I feel her moving around. It's so strange! I love it, though.

Work has been really busy for me since I have been directly involved with the physical reorganization of the Information Technology building. I've been drawing up maps to scale and documenting current furniture and new furniture arrangements as well as how many jacks and ethernet connections each area will need due to the reorganization. Basically, a lot of technology stuff. But it's good to be busy :)

Kaleb's attention has been captivated lately with the tearing down of the Widstoe Building on BYU campus. Since he works right next door, he has had front-row seats to the demolition and enjoys telling me all about it. Boys...

Kaleb was in charge of Date Night this week and he was being a little mysterious about it. He moved the couch back and got a large bag of pens, pencils, colored pencils, and bendy straws and began to create a grid with them on the living room floor. Next, he came out with a deck of cards (of which he proceeded to arrange on the grid seemingly randomly) and the box of travel lotions and soaps we've collected throughout our hotel stays. We were going to play a giant game of checkers.
I wish I got a picture of the board! It was so creative as we moved our playing cards like checkers and "kinged" them using bottles of lotion atop the cards. It was fun :)

After I lost this giant game :( we shared a gigantic shaved ice for dessert and returned home and watched The Little Rascals. One of my favorites. I recommend it!

Another successful date night with my handsome man :)

A Day in the Rain...Again

What do you do when most days of the week are filled with rain, rain, rain, and more rain? We eat and watch HOUSE, usually... Yet Kaleb ventured out in the rain. The running study has ended and Kaleb came out of it with some money and a pair of nice running shoes. Great deal! So now he is training for a half marathon that he will be running with two of his brothers in July. So, off he went. If you're a runner like my husband and you need a good half marathon training schedule, his seems to be working pretty well for him.

Running Schedule Courtesy of Hal Higdon

While Kaleb went on his run, I continued with my workout. 160 squats, 19 push-ups (of which I do on my knees), and 50 leg lifts. Man. Those squats burn in my calves!! But this has proved to be a really good workout throughout my pregnancy and doesn't include any "bouncing," which my doctor advised to stay clear of in the second trimester. So no running :(.

Since it was raining for a little bit, however, we mostly stayed inside and I found myself organizing more papers for my classroom. Thus, this mess... But the good news is that I scanned all the papers I wanted to keep onto my Google Drive and now I just have to organize my drive (which is much easier than physical papers...).

Oh! I almost forgot! After his interview last Friday, Kaleb was extended a new job working for the Information Technology department at BYU :) We are very happy!

Overall, life, though extremely normal and seemingly boring, is great, and I love my husband more now than the day I married him. We are the best of friends and it's going to stay that way.

Eternal Marriage and Strawberry Pie

I just read a post on Facebook that really bothered me regarding membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the church's position on marriage. Now, I have a lot of opinions about this, and I could think of a million arguments that I could have written in response to this person, however, I know that it is not my place to argue. In fact, arguing gets people nowhere. However, stating and testifying of your own personal beliefs is not an argument, but a statement of fact of something that you have come to know. So, I just want to take a minute and give my testimony of the sanctity of families and marriage:

From the beginning of the world, at its very creation, God ordained that marriage should be between a man and a woman and that they, together, should raise and nurture children. Today, God's ordination of marriage between a man and a woman is still in effect. I know that it is part of God's plan that we marry someone of the opposite gender and have families that perpetuate into the eternities through the power of the Holy Priesthood of God. I know that families have the ability to be together through eternity and that it is not just "until death do us part." I know that to understand this covenant of marriage is to understand God. I hope and pray that others may also come to realize how important this decision of marriage is and that it is not just a temporary decision for this life, but extends far beyond, and can either hold blessings or consequences because of our actions. I know that this is not just a belief of a church organization, but a commandment from God, irrevocably decreed in Heaven.

Elders Perry, Eyering, and Bishop Gerald Causse at the Vatican

For our scripture study, Kaleb and I studied a talk given by Elder L. Tom Perry in this last General Conference. If you haven't read it, or even just need a refresher, this is an excellent talk that deserves some thought and consideration. If ever there was a doubt over what the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe, this article will dispel all doubt. The talk is entitled Why Marriage and Family Matter--Everywhere in the World.

Spicy Tomato Creamy Sauce

If you love pasta, like me, and are tired of just the regular Prego spaghetti sauce, I highly recommend this Spicy Creamy Tomato Sauce. We tried it out and it was delicious!!! It was super quick to make and is a little more satisfying than just the jarred stuff (though that is good, too).

Dessert was the craving as the evening went on. I usually don't give in to cravings and just find ways to satisfy myself with what we have at home (unwillingly), but lately I've just been giving in. This time, my craving led us to Village Inn where we got a delicious strawberry pie that was worth every penny. I ashamedly admit that, between the two of us, Kaleb and I ate the entire pie within a matter of 2 hours. I wish I could say that I feel bad, or even that I feel a little guilt about how much I ate... But I don't :) I would do it again in a heartbeat! Yes, it's important to be healthy, but in order to be successfully healthy, I personally belief that you sometimes need a slice (or half) of a pie :)

A Toast to the Ordinary

To be honest, I had a tiny internal battle as to whether or not I should write a post today since basically nothing out of the ordinary happened. But then I was thinking about it and I realized that I really owe all of my happiness to the ordinary and everyday pleasures that I engage in each day. So, on that note, here is a toast to the ordinary!

Unfortunately for me, I woke up with a pain in my neck. Literally. I must have slept on it wrong because I couldn't even turn my head to the left at all. This, I found, is largely inconvenient. Especially when you have a job that requires talking and working with customers. However, the pain seemed to let up through the day and I was okay by the time I went to bed. I would consider this a blessing :)

After work, I finally got Lilly's room organized since I piled all of my scrapbook and craft/sewing stuff in there about a week ago. I used my expert organization skills and basically created a puzzle in the closet. Hopefully we don't need to get anything off that top shelf anytime soon...

After finishing off our leftovers of our delicious taco soup for dinner, it took only about an hour before I was starving again. So, my stomach led us to In-N-Out where I indulged my craving with an animal-style cheeseburger. Yum! That is probably my very favorite fast food restaurant. I also consider this a blessing that I have a husband who is willing to stop what he is doing to get food with me. Of course, he usually benefits as well. In this case he scored an animal-style hamburger and fries ;)

Scanner Pro by Readdle

The day ended with Kaleb finishing his homework and laying out his goals for the week while I played around with this new scanner app that I bought for myself so I could scan all the papers I want to keep and organize digitally on my google drive. It works like a charm! And now I don't have a million loose papers floating around with all my teaching and classroom ideas (for the future, of course).

Anyway, here is a toast to the ordinary days that don't seem special or anything, but that help build me into the person, and mom, who I want to become.

Waltzing and a Love Note

I am definitely a romantic. I grew up watching Disney and Chick Flicks and I love the ideas of romance that come from these Hollywood examples. However, my life is better than the movies. Feeling and experiencing real love is much more meaningful and lasting than anything portrayed on film. 

A note from Kaleb

My husband is very aware of my romanticism and has been the cause for many smiles and heart flutters over the past nearly four years that we have known each other. In fact, I was given a little surprise when I opened my lunch and saw a small container of Oreos with a note stuck inside saying, "I love you!!"

It really is the small things that make me smile :)

Our Version of the Southwest Chicken Salad

Before I talk about our Family Home Evening, I really want to put a plug in for this amazing chicken salad that we had for dinner. Now, salads for dinner are usually a no-go since I will usually be starving afterwards, however, this one was fantastic! And filling! (And by "filling" I mean that I didn't feel like eating a burger, fries, and some ice cream right afterwards) The Recipe is called Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Buttermilk Dressing. I did find this recipe through Pinterest, however, we made a few alterations due to preference (like plain yogurt instead of mayonnaise in the dressing). Overall, the salad was worth the time spent. I highly suggest it.

For Family Home Evening, we talked a little bit about the scripture found in Jacob 2:17 which talks about sharing of your substance with others as if they were your family. We had a great discussion about what it means to "share" and what family means and how to treat your family as well as treat those like family. 

With Kaleb in charge, (and without telling me what we were doing...) he proceeded to pull the couches back and tape a box on the living room floor with duct tape. We (meaning Kaleb) were going to learn how to Waltz. I had previously learned how to waltz in high school for part of my casting in Cinderella, however, Kaleb was definitely a beginner. We had fun and were laughing as we watched a "how-to" video and tried it out ourselves. We even looked up a "how-to" on the Tango. Haha! I wish I would have gotten all this on video. 

Although we won't be entering any dance contests in the near future, we had a fun time acting a little silly and being together :)

Miracles and the Lie Monster

Miracle #1: Not only was I feeling alright when i woke up in the morning, but I felt well enough to make it through all of church, including primary!! If that isn't considered a miracle I don't know what is.
We now have two new children in our primary class of five-year-olds, bringing our total to eight kids who are louder and more rambunctious than any group of children I know. If I thought I was worn out before, I really am now at 23 weeks pregnant. Whew!

Kaleb and I realized on Saturday night that we were actually one Primary lesson ahead... Oops! So we tried to come up with a lesson that would really get through to the young kids in our class. After lots of thinking and internet searching we came up with a topic: lying and making poor choices. Oftentimes we need to remind the kids in our class about making better choices and doing things that will help them feel the Spirit in Primary. So naturally, we thought addressing this may be very beneficial to our class.

Lesson Source

The first source we found gave us the idea of the Lie Monster. We basically just told a story of a young child making a poor choice and then lying about it. Because he got away with it the first time, he decided to continue lying, but what he didn't realize was that his poor choices helped the Lie Monster that was following behind him grow!
Then, to incorporate the doctrine of the Gospel, we got an idea from another source that stressed the role of the Savior in helping us make better choices and making us feel better inside. We talked a little about poor choices again and got out a bowl of ice cream. We poured salt on the ice cream and the kids were totally grossed out, but we discussed how sometimes we decide to cover up our poor choices with a lie or another bad choice and commenced to pour chocolate syrup over the salted ice cream. I let the kids smell the ice cream and asked them how they thought it would taste. All of them said it would taste bad, and yet when I asked if they wanted a bite, every single hand shot into the air.

Lesson Source

Some kids got more salted bites than others, but I quite enjoyed their faces. After they took their bites, a took out an empty bowl that was lightly salted in the bottom and we talked about how some choices are easy to make right and wipe away. Then I took another bowl out that had a large mound of salt that we had watered and let dry and harden. It was much harder to get out, but we decided that, with the help of some water, we could wipe the salt right out! So we washed the salt out (outside the church, of course!) and one smart little five-year-old girl indicated how Jesus Christ is just like the water and can help us wash away the bad choices and feelings that we have. Exactly right! 
Miracle #2: We let our class end with everyone eating a cup of ice cream (no salt included ;), and what was more impressive was that they each knew exactly what they learned that day and could tell their parents that they talked about poor choice and how Jesus Christ can help us feel better. Success!! 

Miracle #3: Homemade tortillas and a delicious dinner. With it becoming harder and harder to even bend over, I consider small things (like making dinner) a huge miracle in my life right now. I am blessed that I have the capacity to continue to do the things that I love. Like cooking!

Miracle #4: Sister Mellor, our Primary President, came to our home and let us know that they called a new "permanent substitute" to help us out when needed. Yay!! It can be really difficult for Kaleb in Primary on the days that I feel too weak or sick to make it through all of church, especially with such an energized class... On the days I can make it to Primary, I can help teach. But on those rough days, I will feel much better knowing that we have a teacher that can step in and who knows and can handle our class. This is such a large blessing!!

This has been such a a great Sabbath Day in which I have definitely felt the blessings of God :)

Store Bought vs. Homemade

This will be a pretty short post since we didn't really do too much...

We slept in. Hallelujah!! I don't think I realized how much I needed sleep until I woke up on Saturday morning and I wasn't tired. Talk about a miracle! Seriously.

The day basically consisted of grocery shopping and baking. Every two weeks we do the grocery shopping routine: Costco and Walmart. But, the BEST thing about going to Costco on a Saturday afternoon is the sample tables. YUM! I basically got an entire lunch, including chimichangas, garlic bread, gatorade, pulled pork, and even an oatmeal cookie! I love Costco...

Walmart is actually one of our favorite places to go now, too. A new Walmart just opened up in Spanish Fork and it is a warehouse-style Walmart that is almost just like Costco. One of the other awesome things about Walmart is their Savings Catcher. Certain products that are registered with the Savings Catcher can actually give you money back! If Walmart can find other store competitors that have a lower price on the same product you bought at Walmart, then you will get back the difference! It's so nice. Though we haven't gotten a boatload, we do appreciate the little bit of fun money :)

In fact, while I'm on the subject, there are a lot of phone apps that I personally recommend to help save money, or get some money back, when grocery shopping: Checkout 51, Snap (by Groupon), and ibotta. If you're anything like Kaleb and I (dirt poor) and looking for some extra change, these apps are a good way to do it. Groceries cost a bunch already, why not get some money back?

Cooking up the Granola Bars!

After we got home and put all the groceries away, Kaleb and I tried our hand at making homemade granola bars. It was really fun and an easy recipe, except for one thing... our over likes to over-bake things. It seems lie we have to significantly adjust the baking/cooking time on every recipe to get a good result. Unfortunately, our first round of roasting the oats for the granola bars went a little long and, though not quite burnt, they were a little extra brown. Oops! But we were able to make about 45 homemade granola bars from the recipe at about a fourth of the cost from the store! Pretty good deal, if I must say so :)

In any case, we may try a different recipe next time. But we're learning!! Hmmm.... This post didn't turn out to be as short as I was expecting...

23 Weeks and a Teddy Bear

I've made it to the 23-Week mark of my pregnancy! With the due date coming ever closer, I am so ready to have this little girl in my arms. I'm also ready to be without all these pregnancy side effects, like stretch marks, endless hunger, back pain, headaches, and just not feeling up to par. However, this is all worth it to have our little girl.

Kaleb and I took ourselves to the kitchen and made some delicious homemade tortillas--Cafe Rio style! So, so good. We filled them with a BBQ chicken and avocado mixture and decided that this one is one of our favorite quesadilla recipes. YUM!

 Our date night brought us to the mall and we enjoyed just walking around and daydreaming of all the things that are available to buy that we cannot afford. Haha. It was fun to dream about all of it, though!
We went to Build-A-Bear Workshop and decided to build a bear for Lilly. I've never been to Build-A-Bear, so I quite enjoyed it! We picked the un-stuffed version of the bear we wanted, then we filled it with stuffing to the desired firmness. The worker suggested that we make a wish for our little girl before putting the little heart inside the bear. I actually started to get a little teary-eyed just thinking about all the blessings and wishes I have for her!











After completing the bear and brushing it out, we picked out an outfit, dressed it, and then went to the naming and registration station where we named the bear and, since each has a tracking chip inside, if it is ever lost, the store can track where it is and send it back to the family. Kind of neat! We decided to name this bear Daffodil and call her "Daffy" for short. We thought it would be cute to give Lilly's bear a flower name just like hers :)

At the register, we got a cute little bear house to take Daffy home in as well as two little yellow bows to accessorize with for free! Honestly, I may even use those bows in Lilly's hair... All in all, dinner and date night was a huge success and we came home and relaxed the rest of the night with a fun chick flick: Legally Blonde :)