Last week my Joyce, my mother-in-law, threw Eryn, my sis-in-law, a baby shower for our baby boys. They are due 2 days apart and going to be bestest friends! It was great getting to see the family again and both new moms ended up sitting next to the Great Grandmas. I thought that was pretty cool.
Eryn strategically placed presents in front of her belly in all the pictures! Sneaky little lady!!
On Sunday I started feeling a little congested with a sore throat, but thinking it was just a cold I was just going to let it ride. By Tuesday though it was still getting worse and my ears started to itch and hurt, so Wednesday I went to the doctor. It was quite the visit. They did the routine checks, but when she looked at my throat, she said (and I quote) “Oh, yucky!!” Major confidence builder. She also did a throat swab, but after doing the right side, she pulled it out and apologized and said she had to do the left side. But before she did that, I ended up throwing up all over myself. She had set off my gag reflex and thought I was joking when I said was going to throw up. She apologized a million times and sent me home with a prescription for an antibiotic, just in case it’s strep throat or an ear infection.
Kevin thought it would be funny to take a picture of me and baby when I was feeling totally miserable…
And a few days later feeling a little better…
What a funny boy!
On one of the days in Mexico, Kevin and I took an excursion to Chichen Itza, one of the modern 7 Wonders of the World. Our tour guide was very funny and since he was part Mayan he knew so much about the Mayan ruins and took pride in his history. There were pyramids, palaces, temples, ball courts and hundreds of Mexicans trying to sell us their wares. It was about 95 degrees with 100% humidity… it was pretty warm. We both would recommend taking the few hours to see this place if you are ever in the area. 
One of the stops was at a cenote, basically a huge hole that has collected water. It was at least 100 feet to the water surface, then they estimate the depth of the water to be about 150 feet! Needless to say, we had to tread water the whole time. There were also small black fish that wouldn’t move away from the ladder when I tried to get it. Kinda disturbing!
Kevin and I recently visited Mexico with good friends Luke & Stephanie Timmons and Mark & Anne Gould. We were in the Cancun area, more specifically, Riviera Maya which is between Playa Del Carmen and Cancun. It was beautiful and wonderfully relaxing! We arrived on Sunday October 28th and flew home on Sunday November 4th. The pictures we took (which total over 200) don’t do the places we visited much justice, so to get a real idea of what it was like, we’d recommend taking the trip yourselves! It was definitely worth it! 
The hotel pool was huge! It was 3 tiered with small tiled waterfalls connecting them. You could start in one, slide over the waterfalls and end in completely different area. Each pool was probably 75-100 yards long and about 3.5 feet deep. The temperature was also perfect! Us preggos didn’t care so much, but 2 of the 3 pools had a swim up bar. If you look closely, just beyond the pool was the beach. It was great, too much chlorine and you could take a dip in the salt water and lay on the white sand beach. I think this is what Heaven will be like for me.
The group all together on the beach in Isla Mujeres. Isn’t it beautiful!?
Panorama of the beach in Isla Mujeres
The “boys” looking for some waves to fight. Good luck!
Looks like they won that fight! What studly looking men!
The girls soaking up the beauty around us! And maybe a few of the sun’s rays while we are at it! 
On the trolley to our “fancy” dinner night. 3 beautiful women! What lucky guys…
The group finally at dinner at Trabuto. Yummy!
See… still pregnant! I’m about 6 months along at this point.
Beautiful sunset
“And your punishment for trying to make two pregnant women dance!”
Thank you all for voting on when you think Braden will enter this world, but I hope (as the mother) that this little guy is going to side with the majority vote and be early! And for those of you that think he’ll be late, I hope you are wrong! 
Because our sweet little girl licks her feet till they become raw and bleed, Kevin and I thought we’d try to put booties on her, so she couldn’t lick. But as you can see in the video (follow link at the top of this blog), she clearly HATED them! She didn’t want to move, and when she did it was spastic and frankly, hilarious!! We couldn’t stop laughing! We think she has an allergy to something that hits during late fall/early winter. We only had them on for one night and decided that since she was so miserable, we would take them off. But I guess that was enough of an incentive for her to stop licking all together! She’s so scared that we might put them back on that she doesn’t lick! So I guess in a round-about 
way they worked!
Doesn’t she look so sad!
And to all that haven’t heard, being a brunette with a bump is totally in this season! Of course being the fashion addict I am (haha!), I decided to play along.
Actually, I wanted to try something new with my hair and since I have always been blonde, I thought I’d try going a little darker. With all the pregnancy hormones in my body, (and I guess hair) the darker color really took. Normally it wouldn’t have been this dark, but I guess those hormones that make my brain and body go crazy, make hair go crazy too! Fortunately the purple didn’t stick! When the dye was still in, my hair was the color of grape juice! Yikes! Kinda shocking, but I’d have to say, very different from the blonde I was sporting before!
All my thanks go to Shannon Butler, stylist to the gods, or wait, that’s supposed to be Shannon Butler, stylist and child of God! Thanks Shan! Kevin and I both love it!
And then there’s the ever growing bump… Braden keeps practicing his karate on my bladder and ribs. He’s certainly developing a strong kick and punch! I’ll allow it for now, but it’s certainly not going to continue after he enters this world!
Ok, that’s all for now. We are leaving for Cancun on Sunday, so we might be able to post some pictures while we are there, or it might have to wait till after we get home. But either way, keep checking back!
Ok, time for an update! Kevin and I had our most recent doctors visit today and everything looks good! The babies heartbeat was 156 bpm, and I am measuring 1 week ahead of my due date (totally normal). They also set up all my appointments for here through the rest of my pregnancy. The last one we have is January 31st. Both Kevin and I are hoping we don’t have to go to that one! Hoping that the baby will be here by then!
We have decided on a name! So without any extenuating circumstances our son’s name will be Braden. We liked both of the names we had you vote on, but this was the one that we both LOVED! But thanks for all your votes! Maybe baby #2 will be Gabe?
Last month my cousin Meghan moved in with Kevin and me. She is from Kent, just south of Seattle, and was looking for a change of pace and scenery. She started last week at Babies R’ Us. How convenient, huh!? So far everything is going well. She is still looking for a full time job in the animal care field, so if anyone knows anything please let us know!
Last Sunday Kevin and I went to the BSU Nevada football game. And what a game it was! We started by tailgating with our friends Brett and Shannon Butler, Matt Fearey, Joe Raybell, Tim Dykstra and Josh Anderson. It was a great way to get a fun night started. The game was really close and the final score was 69-67 and went into 4 overtimes! I thought my heart was going to stop a few times, or else go into labor!
Next week we leave for Cancun Mexico with Luke and Stephanie Timmons, and Mark and Anne Gould. We are so excited! I’m sure we will have lots of pictures to post when we get home. It will be good to get out of Boise before little Braden comes!
Me at 21 weeks. I thought I’d never actually look pregnant. Well, there it is…
