Boy oh boy

In case you haven't heard we are having a baby boy! Here are some shots of him at 21 weeks.  

And finally, the belly pictures you have all been waiting for...

7 weeks and feeling sick, sick, sick.

12 weeks and not looking any bigger in the slightest.

14 weeks and still not showing.

Skip ahead 6 weeks (end of the school year/girls' camp/feeling lame at not gaining weight or showing)...

20 weeks and finally starting to show a little bit.

23 weeks YAY! people actually think I am pregnant now (sorry I forgot which way I faced for the previous pictures)

We are SOOOOOOOOO excited to have a little boy (no names yet)! He has been kicking hard enough for both mom and dad to feel since 16 weeks and yesterday was the first time we could actually SEE some of his movements. I rarely get sick and the 2nd trimester has been leaps and bounds better than the 1st. Some clothes are getting tight, but I still can wear almost everything in my wardrobe. I am very SLOWLY gaining weight, but expect to see that change at the next few visits. However, the doctors are not concerned in the slightest and say that everything is going very well. This week I signed up for a childbirth class (ahhh!) and bought airline tickets for Christmas (hopefully flying with a newborn is not too bad).

In other good news:

-We moved into a fantastic 2 bedroom apartment for only $30 more per month than our 1 bedroom apartment.

-We just passed our 3 year wedding anniversary! Best 3 years ever and we are celebrating late this year (last minute moves are tiring) by going to a National Symphony Orchestra concert.

-Steve's contracting job at DC public schools turned into a full-time regular job with benefits and he has less than a year to graduation.

Beach trip

We finally made a trip to Ocean City, Maryland's most popular beach city. What a nice break, just the two of us!!!

The car ride there took 4 hours thanks to the toll road leading up to the bay bridge:

However, the way back only took 3 hours and we still had the perfect amount of sun, water, and food time to enjoy ourselves and still make it back to play board games with friends at night.

They have a fun boardwalk with plenty of ice cream and greasy beach food!

I love this picture. Later on he got an earful of sand from a wave much bigger than this. We had so much fun in the waves and I haven't laughed so much so hard in a while.

First time in the Atlantic ocean! (we went to Florida for choir tour in high school, but I didn't even stick my feet in when we went to the beach... what a weirdo!!) I am happy to report that it is much warmer than the water in California.

HALF of Steve's ginormous Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Anyone have any recommendations for what to eat at Ocean City? The food was fine, but we weren't super impressed. Thankfully the ice cream made up for it :)

And what would a day at the beach be without a painted statue man collecting money for who knows what?

Overall rating: A

It wasn't nearly as crowded as I had thought, the weather was beautiful, and we will definitely come back again!

Young Women Camp

Young women's camp was wonderful! I had a great time there and felt exhausted when I returned. I was one of two leaders for a group of thirteen 12 year old girls who made smile and laugh all week long. I'm glad for the spiritual boost I got reading and talking about the scriptures with the girls and overall I was really impressed with their strength and courage to stand up for their beliefs in a less than moral world.

So what did we do? 

"Hike"

Swim. Unfortunately there was a storm and our group only got to swim for 10 minutes, but they loved every second of it! Plus we got to shower :)

Knot-tying!

Notes, notes, notes!

Braids, lots of them!

Fires

Tie dye shirts

My two favorites: friends and food

Cheesy skits (actually this one was a Three Little Pigs rap and it was sweet!)

Service projects

Thanks, girls and leaders, for an awesome week!

May visit

Time to catch up on some fun!

During May, my aunt, uncle, and their 3 adorable kids came to visit. We enjoyed, making homemade pizza, eating at Hank's burgers, going to the DC temple visitor's center, celebrating my birthday, visiting museums, swimming at their hotel, having family home evening, playing, watching movies, going to our first Washington Nationals game, and eating at Potbelly's sandwiches. We're glad we were able to spend so much time together despite the fact that Stephen and I both had to work during the week they came.

Birthday visit to the temple grounds

Some of my favorite cousins hanging out in front of the temple. E. (left) was my best little buddy during the trip. She held my hand on the metro and in the city to make sure I didn't get lost, masterfully covered our homadmade pizza with pepperoni, and took some awesome pictures with her disposable camera.

Nationals Game- Thanks, David, for taking us to our first MLB game! Thanks, E. and I. for making Steve and I laugh the whole week long :)

Enjoying our first MLB game! The field and view of the city were really cool, the team was great (even if they lost), and the cinnamon pretzel bites are my new favorite!