It's A Girl!

Woohoo!!! We are soo excited!!! The ultrasound went great. The babe is healthy and everything looked totally normal. And it's definitely a girl! I am thrilled. I can't wait to buy little dresses and learn how to make those fun flower headbands. Soo fun!

At first, her cute little legs were all stretched out...

...but then she pulled them up to her face. Her knees were right up against her nose. Josh was loving it. He keeps saying we're going to have the next Shawn Johnson...but I think he forgets that most babies are that flexible at this age!

Just a Quickie

I don't have time for a long, exciting post, but here's a quick update:

Josh got home safe and sound...despite the Acura nearly overheating about five times.

The meatloaf was a huge hit, and our favorite chocolate mint dessert was equally as good! (or better! if you ask me)

We have had such a blast being together again!!!

We had so much fun on Sunday with the Hawkins family!

We loved hiking and having a little picnic in Big Cottonwood Canyon yesterday...

...and having FHE and a sleepover at my family's house.

The best news of all is that we'll find out the gender of our baby later this afternoon!!!

I'm sure I'll post about it soon!

Really???

Josh will be home tomorrow afternoon and will no doubt be craving a good homecooked meal. I asked him a few weeks ago what he wanted for his first meal home, and suggested pot roast in the crock pot, turkey, lasagna, herb chicken, and lots of other nice options. What did he ask for? Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I've asked him again and again if he still feels like meatloaf, but he hasn't changed his mind. That's what sounds the best to him, so I guess that's what I'll be making. I will admit, we make a pretty mean meatloaf at our house, but meatloaf is still meatloaf. I guess I shouldn't complain, though. My husband is easy to please!

HP

I finished book seven last week...and LOVED it. I wasn't a big fan of the Epilogue, but the book was amazing. Everyone had talked it up so much, but I wasn't disappointed! Great ending!

A Few Changes

I found my grocery shopping list from last week and realized that I'll have to make a few changes when Josh gets home...

GROCERY SHOPPING

These are the weekly staples for me, but I don't think Josh could survive on this! I'll have to get back into the habit of long shopping lists with meat, eggs, dried pasta, and potatoes. With the big bowls of cereal Josh loves I don't think my half-gallon of milk per week will do it!

CLOSET SPACE

It didn't take long for me to take over Josh's empty closet! But before he gets home I guess I'll have to cram my stuff back into my own space. I found out after Josh left that my little closet on the right is about half the size of Josh's closet on the right! How did that happen!? I don't know how I didn't realize it when we were first moving in. I'm definitely going to pull a switch on him!

BED SAPCE

With Josh gone I've gotten into the habit of taking up the whole bed. I sleep diagonally across the whole thing. It's what feels normal now. This is definitely going to be a hard habit to break. I tried sleeping on my regular side of the bed last night, but it only took a few minutes for me to end up diagonally.

Despite the effort it will take to break these habits, I'm so glad to do it! I can't wait to have Josh back. Four days!!! Woohoo!!!

(My posts are beginning to all have the same theme, but I'm sure you'll see more variety once Josh is home).

One Week!

This is my husband, Joshua Taylor Hawkins. You may have forgotten that I am married because for the last ten weeks I have been on my own, but I actually - believe it or not - am married. And in just seven days Josh will be home and my widow days will be over! I cannot wait to have him back. He's had such a great summer working in Newport Beach, but I'm pretty sure he's excited to come home to his little wife. I hope this final week goes by fast!

P.S. I felt the baby move for the first time yesterday. And now I've been feeling it off and on since then. I'm dying! So cute! And a few days after Josh gets home we have the ultrasound appointment to find out the gender of the baby!

Annual Tueller Swim Party

Last Saturday was the second annual swim party and BBQ for the Tueller family...and let's hope this tradition continues for many more years! A family in Dave and Margaret's ward has an amazing pool and they've let us use it for the last two years. It was such a fun time to be with family and to play in the water for hours!

Here's Logan and Marie, getting ready to dive into the pool. I was about the only one who didn't spend the night jumping off the "waterfall". My mom reminded me that it might not be the best thing for a pregnant lady to do. I guess a belly flop wouldn't might be a little alarming to the little baby inside of me. Pregnancy also kept me from the hottub. My only option was to go down the water slide over and over again with Logan and little Troy. But I can't complain. It was a great night. So fun to be with cousins!
Marie and I. Another sister picture to add to the files. Maybe you can see in the picture that my pregnant belly is slowly emerging. This picture doesn't do it justice, though! If the picture was from further away or if I was turned totally sideways you could definitely see it even more!

Baby Names

Curious about the name options Josh and I are considering? If so, check out my brother's blog: "Jae Clarke" on my family links. (I know there's a way to put a link in this post, but I'm not a serious enough blogger to know any fancy tricks like that.) Other suggestions are definitely welcome!

HP Update

After five straight hours of reading last night, I finished Book Five...and loved it. Dumbeldore is the man! I loved the ending. Fred and George have never been cooler! But how about Dolores Umbridge!? Doesn't she get under your skin!? She was making me soo mad. I've never been more angry with a character in a book! I think I'd take Voldemort over Umbridge any day!

Five down, Two long ones to go! I've got to get through these last two books quickly because Josh gets home in three weeks and then school starts...and I never have this much time to read once school begins.