Happy Heart Day ...

... from the Dickinsons!

Grant, Monica, Eliot, & Baby Zachary

Lots of loves!

29 Again

As my Primary kids would sing, "One year older and wiser too ..." Though I have to say I'm not feeling much "wiser" these days! My brain has been absolutely gone with this pregnancy, to the point that it's so frustrating to me. I've done such silly things lately (just ask my sister-in-law who received an empty envelope from me in the mail, only to receive the real one with a check in it a few days later ... blush!). So I guess I'm at least one year older, but maybe not wiser! But I did have a nice birthday this year. SUPER delish dinner at my in-laws the Sunday before, which made this pregnant lady so happy! Tony Roma's ribs (which you can now buy at Costco ... that could be trouble!), amazing "low fat" (not so much) cheesy potatoes, and red velvet cake for dessert. I will probably blush big time at my next Dr. appt. when the nurse weighs me, but oh well. I did the same thing last time with Eliot, and it was worth the celebrations then, and it was worth the celebrations now!

At La Jolla Groves for my b-day dinner.

So fun to get to go to such a great place with my favorite person in the world!

My favorite part of my birthday was getting to go out to dinner with Grant. We don't tend to eat out too much, so when we do, it's a major occasion for us. We have discovered a new favorite restaurant, La Jolla Groves, in the Riverwoods in Provo. The chef is the same one that used to run Chef's Table, our absolute favorite splurge, but he recently decided to go a little more mainstream and opened up this much more affordable restaurant, much to our delight. You can tell the food is still his -- the sauces, dressings, and seasonings are lick-your-plate good, but I think I might love the atmosphere as much as the food (which says a lot since I'm a food girl!). La Jolla Groves is meant to look like a lemon grove, so there are tons of fake lemon trees with cool lanterns hanging from them. The tables are set with crisp white linens, lemon-yellow napkins, and white dinnerware -- all completely my style. I love it! Their best dish on the menu (we think) is their Stuffed Chicken Crepes, but everything we've tried is yummy. I had Chicken Alfredo this time around -- good, but not as amazing as the crepes. I was envious of Grant's beef tenderloin this time around. One of the best parts, honestly, was the house dressing, a lemon vinaigrette that seriously left me feeling like I'd just had dessert after my first course -- yum!

A dear friend of mine wrote in a birthday card to me that she is so happy for all of the dreams that have come true for me at this point in my life and for all of the blessings coming our way this year. Her thoughts made me reflect on what a good place I'm at in my life right now. I've learned by experience that life is subject to ups and downs and that marriage and parenthood, aging and health, family and personal relationships are all subject to sudden change, so it's a wonderful thing to celebrate when you're in a good place. I try to be genuinely grateful for those moments as they come.

Some of the things I am especially grateful for at this point in my life are (in no particular order):

1. My marriage. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have Grant. I love him dearly.

2. My boys -- my Eliot and my baby Zachary. They are my sunshine and delight!

3. My health, especially right now.

4. Grant's job -- so many of his classmates and others in his field are struggling right now. It's a struggle getting started, but we feel overwhelmed to have been so blessed.

5. My family's health. Glad my boys are doing so well -- all three of them! I'm glad my extended family are doing okay.

6. This pregnancy, a long-awaited, joyous blessing for our family.

7. Having the gospel in my life. I don't know what I would do without the peace and perspective it brings me.

8. Being so close to temples again and to have a recommend. I just renewed it, and as with each time I do, I feel so privileged to have access to the holy, heavenly sanctuary.

9. "Scripture Power" -- I love having access to the scriptures and can testify alongside my Primary kids that "every day I need the power that I get each time I read."

10. Family. I appreciate my parents and siblings and all they have done and continue to do for us. It's a blessing to live close to them again and to have more frequent interactions with them.

11. My sisters. I love them more than they probably realize. I feel such loyalty and love toward them.

12. My calling -- it tests and tries me and keeps me humble, but when I stop and think about it, it makes me so happy. I can't imagine serving anywhere else right now.

13. My home. This morning Eliot asked me if we have a roof on our house, and as I explained to him that we do and because of it, we're safe from the rain and snow, I realized what a blessing it is to have a roof over our heads. My home is a place of great comfort and peace to me. It's where I most want to be.

14. Good books. I am in the middle of one of the most touching and insightful books I have ever read, and I love the influence of good literature on my thoughts and heart.

15. Friends. I love and appreciate my friendships -- the new ones I'm forming, and the ones that have stood the test of time. I have always been blessed by good influences on my life. I feel undeserving sometimes of the love and association I have with such great people.

16. Mountains. The other morning the wind was blowing the fresh snow on the tops of Mount Timpanogos and Y mountain, and there was the most beautiful swirl of white against the deepest blue sky, and I felt so grateful to be back in Utah next to "my mountains."

17. "Hard things." In the book I'm reading, it talks about the connection between the hardest things in life and the best things in life. I am thankful for the struggles I have had that have caused me to lean on the Lord, on my husband, and on my loved ones. I can see how my character has grown as a result, no matter how much I may have complained at the time!

18. Oregon. Now that we're coming up on a year since we graduated and moved from Salem, I think all the time how grateful I am we made the choice to go to school there. It's such a beautiful place with such wonderful people. It left an imprint on our hearts, for sure.

19. Good food. Really, Monica? It's true -- I love the comfort of a delicious meal and the power of bringing people together. Dinner time is probably my favorite time of day. I love to sit down, eat something yummy, and talk with Grant and Eliot. I love the feeling of unity that comes with it. I love planning, shopping for, and preparing meals for my family -- it's one of my favorite things about being a wife and mom.

20. Laughter. I love the many ways that Grant can make me smile, that Eliot makes me giggle on a daily basis, I love watching a show that makes me laugh out loud. I love friends that can laugh with me about our motherhood blunders. I love friends' blogs that provide opportunities to laugh and smile about life in general. I love the sound of loud laughter at family gatherings, and I honestly think the laughter of my child is my favorite sound in the whole world.

I could maybe keep going, but feel content with that list. So many reasons to celebrate ...

Our Little Peanut ...

... is healthy, active, and developing right on track. It's also a ...

BOY!!

We were so relieved to learn Monday that our sweet little one has a healthy heart, brain, organs, spine, etc. He has beautiful long fingers, likes to hold his arms and hands up by his face like a boxer ready to take a jab, and he was not shy at all about showing off his masculinity! He did not, however, let us see much of his cute little face, so we had to schedule another Ultrasound to make sure all is well there. He's our "low rider" and likes to hang out way down low in his Mommy's tummy. Instead of being curled up in a comfortable little ball, he prefers the "hammock" position and likes to swing the day away all stretched out.

The picture above shows a book we bought to announce Eliot to our families, a sweet book written from a grandpa's perspective (Billy Crystal's), telling about all the things he looks forward to doing with his grandchild-to-be. We love it and are happy to have it out to look at and enjoy again. The little baby doll is one my mom bought for me for Christmas along with a gift card for baby needs. She just "happened" to pick up a girl one for my sister who's expecting and a boy one for me. Though we didn't know the genders of either baby at the time, my mom's "predictions" were dead on -- Lil's pretty good that way. Lil also can't help herself from buying more baby necessities like onesies and cute jammies, despite the fact that these babies will be grandbabies #14 and 15 for her and both mommies are pretty well stocked (but can you ever have too many tiny white onesies and adorable, soft jammies?!). We're thankful for Lil's and everyone else's excitement. We can't wait to start preparing for this little guy.

As for names, we're pretty settled on Zachary Bryce, though a final decision and spellings are still up for negotiation -- such is life when one of the parents is a lawyer, I guess -- always room for debate. We chose Zachary because we like it and because of the song "A Baby Just Like You" by John Denver. I was listening to the song a few Christmases back and the name Zachary clicked in my head as one I really liked, especially because of the tender message of the song. It stuck ever since, and with a little convincing, Grant agreed on it (initially, he had some name association issues to get over).

From "A Baby Just Like You" by John Denver:

Oh little angel, shining light
You've set my soul to dreaming
You've given back my joy in life
You' ve filled me with new meaning

A Savior King was born that day
A baby just like you
And as the Magi came with gifts
I've come with my gift too

That peace on earth fills up your time
That brotherhood surrounds you
That you may know the warmth of love
And wrap it all around you

It's just a wish, a dream I'm told
From days when I was young
Merry Christmas little Zachary
Merry Christmas ev'ryone.

"Bryce" we've chosen in honor of my dad:

My father was named for his great-great grandfather, Ebenezer Bryce, who built the Pine Valley Chapel near St. George, Utah, pictured below. The amazing story behind this chapel is that my Great-great-great grandfather didn't know how to build buildings -- he was a ship builder, so this chapel is actually built as a modified upside-down ship. You can go up into the attic and see the "ship's frame" at the top of the building. Cool, huh!

A beautiful painting of the chapel by LDS artist Al Rounds, a gift from my dad to all his girls, hangs in our living room as a reminder of our pioneer ancestry.

My great-great-great grandpa was also the pioneer for whom beautiful Bryce Canyon was named. We think little Zachary Bryce will have quite the heritage to live up to. We hope he'll be creative, strong and resilient like his pioneer grandfather, and smart, kind, and generous like his "Ampy" McEuen.

It's fun to start getting a better sense of this little one and his personality. He seems a bit spunky (the "second" children in the McEuen side of the family tend to be ...). We can't wait to get better pictures of him at our next appointment (hopefully!). None of them were quite post-worthy this time, which was disappointing since we got such beautiful profile shots of Eliot at 20 weeks. Hopefully we'll have something to share at the end of February. We really are just happy to know that he's healthy and progressing as he should. That's really all we can ask for. We're so pleased to welcome another boy into our family. Bring on all the rough and tumble active play -- it's worth it! We love the power of those future priesthood holders, missionaries, and fathers in our home!

As for Eliot, he's a little disappointed he doesn't get to "be like Mike," his cousin who will have a baby sister. Eliot wanted so badly to be just like his twin cousin that after we whispered in his ear that he was having a little brother and told him to tell the news to his eagerly awaiting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, he pulled a fast one and told them it was a sister. :) The idea of a brother is growing on him now, and he practices holding the baby doll gently and teaching it new things. I found him showing the doll how to operate a toy camera today (he covered one of the baby's eyes and instructed it, "just close this eye here, then look with the other eye, and then ... click!"). So sweet. Can't wait to see our Eliot and Zach together!