February. March. April.

I am not even sure where to begin. The last few months have been so busy I haven't even had time to stop and think. February was filled with doctor appointments, getting Ben a new truck, Valentines day, getting our 3D ultrasound, maternity pictures, getting my endowments, and getting ready to move! I happen to be one of the lucky women that had to do the three hour glucose test where I got blood drawn four times and had to sit at the doctors office for three hours. Thankfully I have an amazing mother in law who sat with me the whole time and made the experience easy and quick. We were happy to find out that the test came back great. We also were able to trade Ben's truck in for another one that he loved. My dad was happy working with him doing that and we were happy getting a lower truck payment. Valentines day came and went with dinner, flowers and a big stuffed bear. I told Ben we weren't doing anything for each other because we needed to save money for the move but of course he always has to surprise me with something. :) After Valentines day we got our 3D ultrasound done!

It was the most amazing experience and I was beyond excited for it. We got to watch our beautiful daughter kick and yawn and got some amazing photos of her. I loved being able to see her sweet little lips, nose, chubby cheeks and hair! Michelle and Sarah got to come with us to experience that and it was a wonderful day. The weekend after the ultrasound we had our maternity photos done in Safford by high school seminary teacher, David Palmer. He is a fantastic photographer and I was grateful he was willing to take them for us. I had printed out pictures that I liked so our session was quick and easy.

The photos turned out perfect and I love every one of them! The most special part of February was being able to go through the temple. Getting that temple recommend and being able to go to Safford and go through the Gila Valley Temple with all of my friends and family was an incredible experience. I felt so much joy and I know that Dylan was looking down on me smiling, proud of me. Then to top it all off we found a beautiful house to move into! It is in a wonderful neighborhood and has a great ward. We were thrilled to move in.
 So the beginning of March came and we moved into our new perfect home! I still can't believe we live in such a beautiful home with such a nice neighborhood. I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to start our family here. Our new home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a huge kitchen/living room area, a big backyard and a two car garage. I am going to love staying home with our daughter in this perfect home. Soon after we moved into our new home we celebrated our one year anniversary! We spent the day together and that was all that mattered. I remember when we got married people always said, the first year is the hardest... but if you ask me.. our first year was wonderful! It was not hard at all, we grew and fell more in love each day. What more could I ask for. Ben has given me everything I could ever ask for. The weekend of our anniversary he took me to the temple to be sealed. Now he is mine forever and our children are ours forever. I am so proud of Ben and all the positive changes we have made together. He has made me a better person and has made me the happiest I have ever been. Our sealing was beautiful and we had so many family and friends there supporting us. I felt the love of not only our family and friends here but I also felt the love of my brother and our daughter in heaven. I know they were cheering us on and are happy we made it to the temple. Since we have been sealed we have been to the Mesa temple with my family. What a wonderful feeling it is to be worthy to go to the temple whenever we want.

After all the fantastic experiences and memories that we made we had our last ultrasound where they measured the baby and all that good stuff. Michelle was able to come with us and I honestly didn't know what to expect. I had felt huge and was thinking our little girl was going to measuring above average, but the ultrasound tech told us that she was measuring a few weeks behind and already weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces. I was so confused and upset! I went home and cried because she also moved our due date back to May 8th. I didn't know what to think, so at our next doctors appointment when the doctor said the ultrasound results looked good and everything seems great I was a little relived. She also told us that I was dilated to a 1 and 75 percent effaced. I was happy and excited. I had walked a mile the week before and planned on walking a mile once a week until her due date.
A few days after that my work had a surprise baby shower for me. Ben surprised me by being there and I was shocked at how many gifts and people had come to support me. I have never felt that loved and thankful for my job. I will honestly miss my co workers and consider them friends. March 30th came quick and we had our baby shower that Bens grandma planned. It was beautiful and I had a wonderful time visiting with some of my closest friends and family.  Easter Sunday came and went and we celebrated by painting my belly that morning. It was a blast! Ben got so creative and made it look great! If only I could have kept it painted all day. We had brunch with family and then relaxed the rest of the Sunday. I still laugh looking at my Easter egg belly.

The beginning of April started out with our OB tour at Banner Gateway hospital. We were able to see and discuss labor, delivery, postpartum and the nursery. It was a neat experience and I felt a lot better and less scared. I felt like I knew more of what to expect and I liked that. As we got into the middle of April I got more and more tired of being pregnant. My feet, hands, ankles and face got swollen and my belly got huge! People at work would say things like, "your still here" or "you look like your going to pop!" Sleeping was a joke, I could not get comfortable in any position. So all I did and focused on was getting her out of my belly. Ariel came to see me multiple times in April helped me walk laps and stay as comfortable as possible. Having her company made me less cranky. I am so grateful for her. I got my hospital bag all packed and ready and I went to my doctors appointments every week.