Week 20

Weeks 18 & 19

Baby Baby

 This is the view that came on the screen right away. Pretty obvious it's a girl. Well, it's obvious once the ultrasound tech explains it...ha. I won't try to explain it here...just trust that it's a girl!

 Here is the profile view. AWWW. She has kind of a big head right now...and she's all curled up in my tummy! We'll get better ultra sound pictures in a few weeks.

This is what the baby looked like at 6 weeks when I had my first ultrasound. Teeny tiny speck of a fetus! She sure has grown in 10 weeks. Now, I'm almost 18 weeks, she's about 5 inches long and about a half a pound. She's roughly the size of a beanie baby : )

Here are some of mine and Clay's baby pictures. Wonder what she'll look like!:

 Baby Kara with older sister, McKenna. awww

 wasn't I cute?!

 Me again

I put mine and Clay's pictures together for a comparison ^

 Cute baby Clay holding his little sister

little stud already playing the piano.

Lately

 Went mini golfing with the hubby and the bro (love the black lights and underwater theme at Trafalga. ha). Kirk moved back to Provo. We've been enjoying seeing him more lately.

 I'm back to my one-a-day photo taking. Often it's just something random like this ^

 I CRAVE string cheese. Hence the giant Costco sized bag ^ I have to limit how many I can eat in a day. It's really the only pregnancy craving that's consistent. Baby will have nice strong bones with all the cheese I eat and the gallons of milk I drink.

My awful sunburn from our yard sale. Poor Kara.

And we're moving Saturday. Mixed emotions. We love Allan very much, even when he's difficult and makes me cry every once in a while and even though we don't have much freedom because we're constantly with him. He really is like family. We'll have to come back and visit him often. We feel so fortunate that we had the opportunity to live with him and take care of him. Not only did we save a lot of money, and enjoy a huge apartment and all the other little perks that came with the deal (like driving his car and keeping his change) but we also learned a lot. I think we'll be much better parents because of this experience. We learned patients and responsibility and how to work together with taking care of someone, etc. etc. Here are a few of my favorite photos of Allan (and his dog, Gus):

30 by 30

Want to know how I'm doing on my list?

1) Have at least two children working on this one...
2) Get a good start on my coffee table book (that I will publish before I'm 50)
3) Be featured on a famous blog/site/magazine/or show check! see here
4) Photograph a birth check! see here
5) Cook a completely new meal every single day for a whole month
6) Cook a gourmet 5-course meal
7) Make a beautiful, yummy, professional looking layered cake with fondant working on this one...see bottom of post for my attempt.
8) Go on a cruise
9) Go to at least 3 countries, continents, or islands I've never been to before going to 2 of the 3 next month
10) Go to at least 3 states I've never been to before
11) Go to NYC
12) Make pottery
13) Meet every person who lives on my street
14) Get in the best shape of my life plans to do this soon after baby is born
15) Read the Old Testament
16) Read Jesus the Christ working on this one...
17) Be comfortable sewing on my own and make several things
18) Get good at doing eyeshadow and actually wear it occasionally working on this one...
19) Scan all of the photos I've been wanting to scan
20) Take a great photo of lightning
21) See the nutcracker
22) See Wicked
23) Visit a farmer's market
24) Go to a rodeo
25) Make a service jar and put something in it every day for at least a year
26) Reupholster a piece of furniture
27) Buy one piece of famous, classic furniture that I'm in love with (ex: Louis XIV Ghost chair by Philippe Starck)
28) See the majority (preferably all) of my best college girl friends almost or every year
29) Hike in Moab, Utah and take an incredible photo there
30) Go to the Manti & St. George LDS temples

Not bad for still being 21, huh?! (I turn 22 in exactly one month!).

Here is my sad attempt at number 7 on my list:

Although it actually did turn out DELICIOUS, it was not what I was going for. The problem was that we (we being my friend Bethany and I) didn't make enough fondant to cover the whole cake...first attempt, remember? So we're going to try it again sometime and make about 3 times as much fondant so we can cover the whole thing plus decorate it. Oh, and as you can see, since we didn't have enough fondant, we just used strips of fondant to put around the side of the cake and then Bethany made little fondant flowers for the top. I won't check this off my list quite yet. I'll make a perfect cake sometime before I'm 30.

 Friend Allison with white hands after kneading the fondant.

Bethany enjoying some of the frosting.

Weeks 16 & 17 & some news!

We were so thrilled to learn recently that our sweet little baby is a GIRL! We can't wait to meet her!

Easter

 love my kitty

 and the bro

 Clay showing off the eggs he found (yes, I made us have an Easter egg hunt)

 Natalie (one of my pretend sisters) and Clay. She sang while he played. They are both amazing.

 Nicole (my other pretend sister) and McKenna : )

 dying eggs

This has been the rainiest spring EVER!