Baby Showers!

My cute friends and my amazing mom threw an incredible baby shower for me, as well as a mini-shower for the "roommates". The old group of us girls got together at Allison's condo for brownies & chatting like the good old days. It was great to see everyone! Here are a few pics:
Allison gave me adorable Italian shoes and then two great shirts- one that says i'm gonna grow up to be a tax accountant like mommy and one that says I'm one cute tax deduction- both perfect for the nerdy accountant in me!!

My mom is the most talented hostess I've ever seen- she knows how to plan a completely perfect event!! She spent days getting food and decorations ready for the shower- my favorite was the pink and brown cake that she made. It was her second time ever using fondant and it was incredible!! It looked better than my wedding cake! Pretty sure she could get paid the big bucks if she wanted to!

We had fun cooking some things together- I love doing anything with my mom who has become one of my best friends in the last few years!! She had the perfect idea of making cranberry muffins since they are my very favorite!

The girls in the family- my gorgeous sisters have been so supportive and excited through the pregnancy. I love seeing Alyssa & Cassidy often and just wish Jeanne & Kaitlyn could have been here for the shower! Jeanne has given me advice on a daily basis whenever I start to freak out about some aspect of labor or being a mom- I definitely would be lost without her!!

I love the diaper cake!!

Paul and I snuck a picture in before the shower started- he's been such a support through everything and is so patient with my emotions and my complaining and my tiredness!!

My supportive extended family made a huge effort to come even though some had to drive quite a bit!! My grandma, Aunt Joyce, and cousins Jill, Jennifer, & Kaisi were so fun to have there!! They have all been great examples to me and give me the energy to keep going when I get overwhelmed with the busyness of life!

My cute "roommate" friends! They all helped so much with the shower- the invites, games, decorations, etc. They thought it would be funny to take a pic with each of them touching my belly.

Alyssa & my mom spent hours sewing a darling pink and brown baby blanket- I love it and really appreciate their hard work!! They are so thoughful even though they are both extremely busy!

My mom gave me my blessing dress for Lyla to be blessed in- I'm so grateful that she saved it all this time!

My cousin Megan Sidwar has been a fun friend over the last few years and I've loved watching her cute family grow. It was fun to see her and I appreciated her help at the shower!! Paul's cute aunt Areta drive from Kaysville which was so sweet!! It was so much fun to see her and Paul's great Aunt Areta as well! They are both so supportive!

My mom has such sweet friends in her ward! Emily Hair, Colette Tervort, and Sarah Bradford are a few of the many who have made me feel welcome even though I'm not in the ward any more.

My amazing co-workers!! All of the girls I work with including Katie Rohbock, Candace Lish, and Katie Barnette have become such great friends!! I guess that's what happens when you spend 80+ hours in an office together some weeks!! We did recruiting at BYU together the day of the shower so they were wearing our EY shirts. I couldn't believe that they would go to the effort of coming to the shower- so sweet!! I'm really going to miss them when I'm on maternity leave!

I love the BYU ward we are going to and all of the sweet friends we have made!! These girls are all so amazing and I learn so much from them on a daily basis! I'm really going to be sad when we all separate in the next few months but it gives me hope of the amazing people I will find no matter where Paul and I end up!

Thank you to everyone who helped with the showers and who supported them by coming!! Where would we be in life without friends and family who constantly show their love and support? I have been feeling so grateful for the kindness of those around me and the many thoughtful things people do and say- it makes such a difference!!

33 weeks!

I'm now at 33 weeks and this is a picture of me last week- so 32 weeks. My belly seems to look really funny...is it just me? Does it really look normal? Anyway, not a ton has changed lately. It's so nice to have work so slow- especially because I'm getting more and more tired and sore every day. And I'm pretty sure Lyla has settled right against my bladder because I serious have to take bathroom breaks every 10 minutes!! I wonder when my boss will notice...

Paul was a great sport and took a birthing class with me last weekend. It was Friday night and all day Saturday which was a bummer especially since ESPN Gameday was going on. We learned all about the exciting, scary things that will happen in the next 1.5 months- I hope we're ready! I feel more prepared though and I'm glad we were able to do it.

The most coveted shirt on campus...

It finally happened!! After attending BYU for 3 1/2 years, playing on 35+ intramural teams, and going all out in many lost championship games, Paul got the t-shirt when his men's volleyball team won the tournament!! For those of you familiar with intramurals, you know the significance of these T-shirts. Many times in the last few years, my fellow sideline-sitters and I have discussed how we could get these shirts for the guys so they don't feel so much pressure & disappointment each time they make it to the championship. Now that he finally has reached this point, he'll decide to only play one sport at a time so he can spend more time with me, right? :) Hehe- i'm just kidding. I love going to all of Paul's games and watching him play- especially now that it's hard to imagine moving that fast!! If I tried I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to walk for a month! I thought the shirt was funny so I had to get a closeup of the front and back.

The hardest part of the event was that I was out of town so I missed the biggest game of his intramural career so far!! I was getting update texts from Ashlianne and each one made me more and more excited and devastated that I wasn't there!! Paul was such a good sport though and said it wasn't a big deal, and he wore his shirt when I saw him next so that we could celebrate the victory!

31 weeks!

So, I really feel that someone needs to find a way to slow life down a bit. Can I really be 31 weeks pregnant?? I know I look it but it just doesn't seem real. Here's a picture a few weeks ago at 29 weeks:

And then last week at 30 weeks:

I'm sure I won't feel this way with future pregnancies but right now I'm enjoying being pregnant and I feel I could stay this way for a long time! Of course some things are hard to do (I would never wear socks if Paul wasn't around to help me get them on), my standards of good exercise have been drastically reduced (my 27-minute stationary bike workout today was done at a pace so slow that I would have been going backwards on a regular bike), the most comfortable way to walk is the typical pregnant waddle, and most areas of my body ache or have sharp pain or just feel tired most of the time. But it's so much fun to sit and feel our baby moving around and to think of the future and all that it holds- so all of those things are so worth it! Anyway, life is great and I couldn't ask for anything more!!

Paul's been interviewing for full time positions starting after he graduates in April so we could be living far away in a year!! Any guesses on where we'll end up? Right now I'm thinking somewhere warm...

26 weeks and done with busy season!!

Ok so as always I'm posting pictures a little late- this was me almost 2 weeks ago when I was 26 weeks. How is the time flying by so quickly? Less than 3 months and we'll have an amazing little girl in our family!

Life has been completely out of control lately but as of Tuesday at 5:30 I've finished my last busy season for a very long time!!! After two years with the firm and four terrible busy seasons, I'd have to say that this last one was the worst in many ways. The 80 hour weeks didn't go on for months like they did last spring, but in some ways the stress during the 4-5 weeks of craziness this time was more than I've ever felt before!! I've never seen so many returns have changes on the 14th and 15th and I've never been working as fast as possible at 3:45 on the 15th, feeling like there was no possible way we could finish the return, get it to the client to sign, and then to the post office before closing time. This level of stress definitely isn't healthy and I am so glad it's over. No more coming home just to sign back on and work til midnight, no more Saturdays where there's not even time to workout because i'm working the whole time I'm awake, no more sitting in church on sunday feeling like I'm going to collapse because I'm not working for once and the exhaustion is catching up to me, no more telling Paul that our exciting Friday night date will consist of sitting on the couch working while he finds something to do next to me so we can at least be together...Wow, that all sounds amazing!! Soon the only reason I'll be awake at 3 in the morning is to feed an adorable baby, not to figure out why the partner allocations are off or why the California Sch M-1 won't tie.

Anyway, I'm excited to have my life back. To all those who I have neglected lately: I'm so terribly sorry and I can't wait to have some fun now- so give me a call and let's plan something!!

23 weeks pics

So, this was me over three weeks ago when I was 23 weeks- I definitely have doubled again since then!! This pic is a little scary of me- let's just focus on my belly instead of the weird smile and my big eyes! :)


Here's my favorite picture- Tyson and Alyssa showing their amazement at how huge I am! :) My cute family is so supportive and sweet by helping with anything I need and making sure I feel ok. And Paul's been great- he's even offered to give me a back massage anytime I need it! Doesn't get better than that...

Well, I'd love to write more about the fun pregnancy changes that have been going on lately but my 5 minute break for this 24-hour period is up and I must get back to the hundreds of tax returns that are stacking up for me. Wish me luck!

Pregnancy Pics

Remembering to take pictures is definitely not one of my strengths! I'm used to having my brother Josh or good friend Allison around to be the photographers- so I've gotten used to not worrying about it. I took my camera on all of our trips this summer and didn't take one picture!! Terrible I know- so if anyone reads this and has pics to send us, I really would appreciate it!

Anyway, I have succeeded in getting a few shots showing by growing belly. Here is me at 19 weeks with Jeanne whose belly is getting smaller- Kaitlyn was 3 weeks old at the time of this picture:

I had such a great time visiting the Grossarths. They are so sweet and welcoming whenever i stay with them and I love every second I get with them!

Here is me at 21 weeks:

I've grown a ton in the two weeks since then so I'll have to take another one soon.

For the first 10 days in August we were in VA for Paul's extended family reunion and we had a great time!! I'm trying to get pictures so then I'll tell more details of what we did. We then hurried home and fit in a quick weekend trip to Lake Powell with my family. There were lots of crazy adventures but it was another great trip. More to come later!!