Preggo Profile

Per your requests, some photos of me and my baby belly!

In all my 30-week glory. At least I'm looking officially pregnant these days instead of just fat.

Don't let the slimming black fool you too much. I just started my last trimester, and I've already gained about as much as I did overall with Eliot ... oops. It's a little frustrating because I've exercised a whole lot more this time around, but, I'll be honest, my huge sweet tooth with this pregnancy might have something to do with the extra pounds! If this kid's a sugar addict, he'll have his mama to blame!

Handsome As Can Be

If I needed proof that my little boy is not my baby anymore, here it is. Eliot is really growing up. He's not my baby, my "toddles," or anything close to it anymore. He is so big, so smart, so tall, and so, so handsome. I love this picture of him.

Oh, How I Love ...

... that my child loves to read. Reading is one of my great passions (though you might not guess it, by how often it gets pushed to the bottom of my list of priorities). On several occasions lately, I have been pleasantly surprised to find Eliot, in those "Oh no, it's too quiet" moments, looking at books. It's fun to hear him repeat stories almost verbatim or to make up his own stories.

I hope Eliot always loves reading. Love of literature is one of the things I would most like to instill in my children. These are moments that make me happy ...

Photography by Eliot ...

Recently, Eliot has decided he loves taking pictures, and often requests to take our picture whenever we get the camera out (which, I'll be honest, isn't that often these days ...). Here are a couple of Eliot's best shots:

A recent portrait of mommy. This pregnant mama appreciates how flattering this picture is -- he avoided the mid section and somehow managed to make my face look skinny. He even caught me on a good hair day. Thank you, Eliot! You can take my picture any time!

Snapshot of Daddy. Excellent job capturing the essence of Dad's height, Eliot. Maybe we'll have to add a childproof camera to Eliot's birthday wish list ... he's quite the budding photographer!

Family

One of the things we have enjoyed most about being back in Utah is being close to family. It's so nice to be able to attend birthday dinners, Sunday get togethers, etc. with our family. We're close with both sides of the family, and love to get to see our parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins on a regular basis. Sometimes the best times are the simple times ...

Eliot and his cousin Cole playing chess.

These active little boys love spending time together.

Cole and Eliot with their "Ga-LYN!" (Aunt Gaylyn). Gaylyn is an elementary school teacher and has a magical influence on children. Needless to say, Eliot L.O.V.E.S. her (sometimes I think he wishes she was his mommy!).

Grant and his dad, just being silly.

"We're Safe."

I had a sweet experience a couple weeks ago, and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Eliot and I were out on some afternoon errands, and just as we pulled into the parking lot at the grocery store, the sprinkling rain turned to pouring rain. Eliot was nervous, and I did my best to juggle him, an umbrella, purse, keys, etc. in my arms as we vacated the car and rushed inside. As we were clinging to each other in our hurry to get in out of the storm, I heard Eliot next to me, whispering, "We're safe. We're safe. We're under the umbrella. We're safe." Almost instantly, his words hit me with a sweet profoundness. It was one of those moments where I felt the weight of my responsibility as a mother. Sometimes I forget what a big role I play in keeping these little ones safe and protected. It's a little overwhelming if I stop and think about it.

But to balance out the heavy responsibility I feel as a mother, the other feeling that struck me from Eliot's sweet self assurance, was that we are in fact safe, that we have protection and safety from the storms of life. I felt a peace and calm in knowing that as much as it's so daunting to raise children in the current climate of our very confused and, well, evil, world, we are safe under our "umbrella" of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Recently I have felt grateful specifically for the protective power of the priesthood. As I was singing to Eliot before a nap this past week, I got to the second verse of "Love is Spoken Here," and found myself getting choked up as I squeaked out, "Mine is a home where every hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood power." I do feel that power in my home, and I am so grateful for its protection. I'm so thankful for Grant for worthily holding and using that priesthood. I'm grateful for his dear father, whom I love and adore, for teaching Grant to use that power with such gentle, quiet strength. I take great comfort in knowing that our little Eliot and Zachary will be able to follow in their father and grandfather's footsteps and bless their own homes with the priesthood.

I don't think I will soon forget, but wanted to record it to make certain I don't, the image of my little boy holding tight to me as I struggled under an umbrella to guide him through a literal storm, most especially because I can't forget his innocent voice whispering near my ear, "We're safe, we're safe." My heart overflows with gratitude for the many blessings of the gospel -- for the priesthood, temples, covenants, eternal families, a living prophet and scriptures to guide us, personal revelation -- all of which allow me to cling to my family amidst the troubled storms of mortality and whisper with reassurance, "We're safe, we're safe."

"Jimmer Time"

Confession: Grant and I have not been the devoted BYU basketball fans that we would have liked to be this year, especially considering the incredible season the Cougs have had, all while we live a short drive away from BYU campus. The Cougars are well positioned for NCAA tournament play, currently ranked #1 ("ish" --depending on which poll you look at!) in Division 1 ball. "True blue" this season or not, we had to get in on some of the action, especially with all the hype about Senior All-American player Jimmer Fredette. Yesterday Grant and I caught the final home game of the season, and it did not disappoint! They shut out Wyoming with a 102-78 win, with Jimmer alone pulling in 38 points!

It was so much fun to be there in person and enjoy all things BYU -- we had creamery ice cream at half time, loved seeing all the little kids in their #32 jerseys, and maybe most fun of all, watching the student section go absolutely nuts! I had forgotten all of the energy and excitement of the college ball scene -- what a blast to get to be there for BYU's final win at home this year! We're thrilled to get to cheer them on throughout March Madness! Rise and shout!

Jimmer putting up a shot. Unfortunately, while we had this view during the first half, Jimmer was a bit "off," at least by Jimmer standards (we were a little nervous when were only up by a point or two at half time), but he and his teammates absolutely smoked the second half!

There he is -- #32 himself! The Jimmer craze was insane to see in person. Every time he even touched the ball the crowd when crazy!

Grant and I were amazed, mystified, blown away, you name it by this performance by the student section during one of the timeouts. Chris Brown's "Forever" (aka the YouTube "JK Wedding Dance") song comes over the loudspeaker and ... you can see for yourself what happens. Amazing. Maybe this happens all over the place and I'm just in the dark? Either way, I couldn't help feeling a bit envious of the students and what a fun season this would be to be a part of BYU athletics ... oh to be young again.

Here's Jimmer making his final speech as part of "Senior night."

He and the other Seniors were truly amazing this year!

Cutting down the net ...

Happy at the end of a very exciting game and hugely successful season! And yes, we did go get our Magleby's cake afterward (a local restaurant gives away slices of their famous chocolate cake whenever BYU scores 80+ points,which they definitely did yesterday!).

The final scoreboard!

March Madness is going to be a lot more exciting for us this year! Unlike some of our friends who attended law school at Duke and Gonzaga, we haven't exactly had a team to follow (unless you've heard of the Willamette Bearcats before, by chance?), so we're thrilled to cheer on the mighty cougars this year.

Baby Face

Here's our little guy, week 25. He cooperated for us this time and showed off his adorable little profile and face. If you look closely, you can see his little fists balled up to the left of his chin/mouth. He was positioned "boxer style" with his hands/arms up in front of his face at both Ultrasounds, so we're getting a little worried he's going to come out swinging! Future prize fighter or not, we are sure in love with this little guy and so glad we finally got to see that cute face!