A Few More Pics

So I had my first trimester screening last week. It was so cool to lay there and watch our little one flip and twist around on the mointor. The new technology is crazy! I had no idea you would be able to tell at all but pretty sure we are having a little boy. The Dr made an educated guess and once I saw the screen, it's not hard to agree. I'm not sure if these usually take so long but he was being very ornery with the technician doing the ultrasound. When she needed him to be still he would move and then when she needed him to move, he went into a headstand, curled his legs and would not move. I was coughing and tapping my belly and moving around, but no luck. He is already stubborn like his father...lol :) Such a fun experience.

I'm also starting to feel a little better (knock on wood). I still have some sick days but there are more good ones in between. AND my belly is starting to pop a little. It's strange to wake up in the morning and feel the little bulge. I'm sure it's just going to get a lot weirder as I'm able to start feeling him move inside. One of the pregnant girls I work with showed up with two different shoes on last week because she can't see her feet anymore. They were similar I guess. Hilarious!

They have moved my due date to December 25th - Christmas Day! I'm hoping before or after. I'm still kind of sad he will be so close to Christmas but it just means he gets two parties with presents instead of one right AND I get one cool Christmas present this year! Time to start getting things ready for our little man!!! :)

Surprise!!!!

Ok I just can't hold it in anymore......we are expecting a little one!!!! A little shocking, scary, overwhelming, exciting, fun, etc. Baby Marriott is expected to arrive the first week of January. I am about 9.5 weeks now and let's just say the first few weeks haven't been the funnest of my life (lots of horrible nausea) but we are super excited to start our little family. Ready or not...here comes the pitter patter :)

Here's it's first official pic :)

Our First Year

Yesterday was our one year anniversary! I can't believe it has already been a year! It seems like Josh and I have always been together...weird how that happens. It definately has been a year full of different challenges for us...things that have made us have to rely on each other more and more. I sure do love him and appreciate ALL he does for our family! He really is amazing and I am so grateful for his patience with me.

Lately things have been a little rough for me. I'm not sure if it's because I am getting older or everyone I know is pregnant (ok maybe not everyone, but almost) or I'm just tired of the corporate business world I work in, but I am ready for the next phase of my life! I'm not gonna lie, it's hard sometimes to see friends that are my age or younger who have 2 and 3 kids. Don't get me wrong, I am overwhelmingly happy for them and their families! I swear from the time I was a little girl all I have wanted was to be a mom. I was always around babies as my neices and nephews are so close to the same age as me. I just love them! The girls at work tease me now because they say I need a family because I am too domestic not to have one of my own ;)

We have heard all the advice as well...."you'll never be able to afford kids", "just do it", "things will work out". Maybe that is where my faith lacks. I need more reassurance than that that my babies won't starve! Josh just needs to be a little closer to finishing school I think before we get pregnant....but who knows, anything is possible. We have kind of left it up to fate now ;) I just need to be patient as hard as it is. I know this but on most days when I return home after working with grown men who act like 5 year olds all day, it's REALLY hard! I do know that Heavenly Father sets things up just right for us...I did have to go through some heartache before I found the love of my life so maybe He is just preparing me now to be ready for our little ones. I hope so. If there is one thing the trials in my life have taught me it's that I appreciate things so much more and treasure the things that come after going through the trials. I think that's the point but during the trials ya just don't always see it!

I really love my husband and am grateful for the events that got me here. We definitely have our "moments" and I swear there are days where I feel like I have a kid and not a husband (haha ;), but at the end of the day my favorite place in the whole world is in his arms. We lost Josh's grandma last month and I just get teary-eyed everytime I think about his grandparents love for each other. They really are best friends and are such good examples of what a marriage should be! I hope we can have so many wonderful years together here and I am so grateful to know that we can be together forever! And maybe next year I'll be blogging about a little one in my belly ;)

Our First Anniversay Dinner

Josh's Anniversary gift he made for me. It's a Family Tree....I love it!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.

I must be getting old because the time is really starting to fly by. I have no idea where this year has gone. I am another year older and just feel like the last 5 years have flown by. I know I blocked out a lot of things...for obvious reasons but I'm just realizing that I need to start living a little more than I have been.

Been a crazy few months so I'm gonna try to catch up now...

Halloween was great....Josh and I were Mario and Luigi. We are on the activities committee in our ward and had a big bash! We had a blast!

I turned 27 on November 18th. It was a sad day for me as I thought about where I wanted to be at this point in my life and where I actually am but I know everything happens for a reason and I honestly wouldn't trade anything. I have been so blessed and am so grateful for the sometimes broken road that got me to where I am today. It was a good birthday and I got spoled rotten. JP had a surprise party for me and it was great to have family and friends around! I am so grateful for those in my life who support me and believe in me. That's what keeps me going.

For Thanksgiving Josh, my mom and I drove up to Colorado to Tasha and Jared's house. We had an absolute blast! I sure love those guys! It was a long drive for a short visit but I couldn't take any days off work so we drove straight through the night on the way up and the way back. It was worth it :) It was especially good for me because I really needed the love of the kids. I can't tell you what it means to have 4 kids hug and kiss and wrestle with you on the floor. I think I have always related to kids well because I am the youngest of 7 kids and was often included in the grandchildren category rather than the sibling category. I often sat at the "kids" table and often shared my mom with neices and nephews. I wouldn't trade it at all...actually I prefer it that way. My neices and nephews have been some of my best friends growing up. I am so grateful for them and the unconditional love they give me.

Tasha and I and her friend Anna went shopping on Black Friday and had a great day! It was so nice to have a girl's day and to spend some time together. I'm so grateful for my sisters...they really are the people who know me better than anyone else. I love that I can let my guard completely down around them. There are very few people who get that from me. So so glad we got to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving...it was a great trip!!!

Josh and I went to my oldest nephew's sealing yesterday in the Mesa Temple. What an amazing experience that was! I sure love Ty and really am so proud of all his good decisions he has made in his life. What a great guy and now he has a cute wife and soon will start a cute little family. I am so happy for him and Kelsey and wish them all the happiness in life! It was great to be in the temple with family and also spend time with them outside the temple and at the luncheon and reception. We don't get together near as often as we should...we need to make the time though so our families will know each other.

It's been a great few weeks and now starts the holiday season. I love this time of year!!! Got all my Christmas stuff out last week and it just makes me smile to see the tree and the nativity and all the decorations. There is a lot going on...so many parties and get-togethers but I'm looking forward to spending time with family and friends!

My Second Half

...marathon. Last Saturday I ran my second half marathon. I thought I was doing really great and running a lot faster but I only took about a minute and a half off my last race. That was a little frustrating but the last two miles were uphill and just finishing the race is always an accomplishment for me!

So this race I started to get a little tired and needed some motivation to keep me going. I have had my nephew Nate on my mind a lot lately...I think it's the time of year. I really miss him. So when he popped into my head I just thought about how if he were here, he would call me a wuss if I quit running. I remember when how right after the accident I just really wanted to live. It really hit me that life is so short and I remember wanting to do everything I could because he and so many others do not get to because their lives are cut so short. I just kept chugging along and using "Gator" as my encantation and before I realized it I was farther than I thought :) Love that blue-eyed boy with amazingly long lashes ;)

I'm so so grateful for the gospel in my life and that I know where my family is and that I can see them again if I make the right decisions here. I'm not sure I could take it if I didn't have that knowledge.

Here's some pics:

I guess pictures of me running aren't that exciting...

Our New Addition

No it's not a baby....although it has almost been 9 months ;) It's our new/used car!!!! We love it and we got a smokin deal!

Half Marathon

So today is the first day in two weeks I haven't worked an extra long day...yay! So I thought I would finally post this. I ran my first half marathon on September 19th in Prescott Valley. It was a little tougher than I thought. The course description failed to mention that half the race was on a trail up the side of a mountain but hey what do you do? I beat the goal I had for myself so I was pretty happy. Mile 11-12 was the roughest but after I knew I only had one mile left it was great. It was good to finally run the race and accomplish this goal. My friend Amanda and I are running a second one on October 24th so hopefully with the lower elevation and no mountains (hopefully), we can beat our last times :)

We went up to Prescott Friday night and spent the night in a hotel and our husbands went to the race Saturday morning and cheered us on. I was glad they came. They drove the race course ahead of us and would wait for us to get to them and then drive ahead again. I sure do love my husband and appreciate all his support!

Here's some pics: