The Nifty Fifty and Bibs

I can't even believe it!

I have 55 days left.

Well, no more than 55 days.

This little angel will be here on June 22nd,

At the LATEST!

I can't believe it!

It has been so fun this last week or so with her getting bigger.

(yes, I might take back that statement in a month,

but for now I am saying it.)

It just makes it all the more real

To feel her push her rump or head or body

(something big and round)

into my side or up to my ribs.

It is so fascinating,

To know that she is growing and growing

And will be here before we know it!

It is fun to watch my belly move in waves

or get REALLY lopsided as she huddles in a corner.

She is so fun already!

This has been one amazing and fun experience.

I love her.

We love her.

Nik is always trying to touch my belly and annoy her

By pushing hard while wiggling his fingers

So he can get her to kick back.

Typical.

haha.

It is fun!

And she usually does kick back,

Now that she is running out of room 

And her dad is crowding her space.

haha...All I can do is laugh.

I love them both!

Soooo so much!

But as I write about her...

AGAIN...

I need to share a conversation I had with my friend,

Melissa,

On Facebook.

I posted a link to ANOTHER blog post on my page and this was our conversation.

Melissa: crankin' out the blog posts lately.

Me: yep! just to make up for when I don't blog enough in the future. =]

Melissa: oh you'll blog....you better!!....show off your baby

Me: I feel like that is all I talk about right now...pregnancy. but i guess...it is a big part of my boring life.  

Well then...it brings me to what Nik and I found

While registering at Target.

We both got a pretty good laugh out of this one!

Well, Melissa, looks like she already IS the star of my blog

And I guess I better keep it that way!!!

=]

You'll see plenty of posts when she is here.

My First Quilt. Her First Quilt.

Yep!

I did it!

I used a sewing machine for the first time

And made a quilt for my Little Jewel.

The only down side to having this quilt for her...

....I wanna wrap her up in it

RIGHT NOW!

I hold it so tight picturing her in the middle.

Agh!

I love it

I love her

I love life!

I took this class at Scrapbooks, Etc.

Love that place!

They have fabric and scrapbook supplies.

It is awesome!

The class was Friday night.

Started at 5pm and lasted until 11:30pm.

Let me tell ya....that went FAST!

When I got to class the instructor explained how to make the quilt.

The first step was to make the X's in the squares to bind all 3 layers

And then to sew the squares into rows and the rows into a blanket.

Well, I am a bit OCD about some things.

Especially permanent things I make.

So I spent the first HOUR drawing X's with a straight edge ruler

Onto the top layer so everything would be perfect.

Little did I know....

....it is much harder for an inexperienced sewer to sew straight lines.

haha.

So that HOUR was wasted.

No straight lines

Whatsoever

But I love it!

I spent an hour or two cutting the fabric

Then from 5-11:30pm sewing.

Went home and showed Nik the unfinished quilt.

I still had some energy and was on a roll...

so I pulled out my machine again and sewed from Midnight to 1am.

After that, Nik and I went to bed.

The next morning I spent 3+hours cutting the edges to make it raggedy.

Washed it a few times...

....and this is what I got!

(and you can't forget the 2+hours I spent trying to pick out the fabric

while my Grandma Allred was ever-so patient with me.

Just a LITTLE indecisive sometimes.)

Look Ma, I can sew!!!

My Little Jewel's first quilt!

I LOVE IT!!!

Front

Back

And then here are some pictures of me the same day.

Haven't had any belly pictures in a while

So I figured it was time.

 31 weeks 3 days.

 Dear Baby Berry,

I hope you love the quilt I made for you.

You dad and I love it.

It was made with you in mind

And I can't wait to wrap you up inside it.

Or to take you to the park and let you play on it.

You are getting so big and time left is getting so small.

I love how you kick and move so much more every day

Even when it hurts me.

You get the hiccups at least once a day

And last night your Gma and Gpa Berry got to feel them

And so did your Auntie Amy.

I know you might not have liked the hiccups all that much

Because sometimes they do hurt

But it was fun to feel each little one.

And it is fun to feel you wrestle around trying to get rid of them.

Your dad gets hiccups bad too,

So you aren't alone in that aspect.

I just want you to know that

I love knowing that you are my little girl and I am your mommy!

That your daddy is so excited to make you laugh

With raspberries on YOUR stomach.

Oh, and can't forget about next Easter.

Gma Berry is excited to have another little one decorating eggs.

Your Uncle Sam and your daddy are good at it.

They can show you are the cool tricks.

And the Easter egg hunt at Nanu's is a BIG DEAL...

....you we will need to get you some good running shoes!

We need to be the first to find the Purple Polka Dotted egg, k?

Then we win!

Just giving you a heads-up on the awesome family you have!

Everyone is so excited to meet you in 8ish short weeks!

Love,

Mom

WEIRD!

Yesterday I had my Glucose testing down at my OB office.
I had the Fruit Punch drink...which tasted just like Hawaiian Punch.
It WAS AWESOME!
I woulda asked for more...but I'm sure all that sugar can't be good for me.
=]
So Dr Beck measured my belly and said everything is still on track
And that I will be going in every 2 weeks now
As opposed to the 5 weeks in between.
So that was crazy!
2 WEEKS?!?!
That is gonna make time fly!
And then he said after 2 of those it will be
Every week!
WHAT?!
And that we will talk about Labor and Delivery.
AGH!
Serious?!
This is actually coming to an end.
I will see our little girl in NO TIME!
It was so weird walking out of there with an appointment scheduled for the beginning of May.
WHOA!
I am so excited.
WE are so excited!
9 weeks and 1 day left...
IF she doesn't come earlier...
Now THAT is weird to think about.
haha.
I mean, 9 weeks isn't that long...
But what if she decides to come in 7 or 8.
Whoa Nelly!

p.s. As I am typing up this post I am eating my lunch.

It is a simple PB&J...those have been so delicious to me lately.

I'm usually not a big fan.

But did you know....I cannot eat the last bite, the corner of the sandwich?

Can't do it.

It is disgusting to me.

Don't know why

But there will always be one small bite left of my sandwich

From the bottom corner,

Usually the bottom right corner.

Just one interesting fact about The Preggo

Although it has been that way my whole life

No matter what type of sandwich it is.

Just sayin.

Baby Names

Nik and I bought a book of baby names and I've had some fun this weekend looking through it.
I have started a list of names that I find in there to be interesting.
We want to have a couple names to choose from when she gets here
But it hasn't been the easiest to agree on any.
Nik seems to like the traditional names
But I would prefer something different so they don't go to class with 2 other "whatevers."
I mean, not off-the-wall different and weird...but not the usuals.
Hope that makes sense.
I never went to school with another Dawna or Donna
But Nik has always had to deal with other Nicks.
So far we have agreed upon one name...
Ayrika
I saw that name from my Stake President's daughter and have loved it ever since.
Her middle name will be
Genette
Just like mine and my mom and grandma.
That will be passed down and we agree on that 100%.
As for the other names...we are still working on more.
But let me share one awesome name that just might trump them all!

Dawnika
(African American)
meaning: dawn

How AWESOME is that?!?!
hahaha.
Ok, we just think it is funny and cute and silly and really...kinda cool
But we won't name our baby girl that.
That would be weird.
Honestly....can YOU do that with your spouse?!?!
Make one real name using both names.

We joke about naming our girl
Nikole
and our boy
Donald
But that is just fun talk.
And whenever we talked about kids in the past we always called them
Our little Nikawna or Dawnik just to be funny.
And then to see our names combined FOR REALS!
hahahahaha.

Honestly....if you can do that with your names...I wanna know about it!

Dawnika Genette Berry.
Has a nice ring to it, eh?!?
haha

A Kid at Heart

Dads are fun, right?!

They like to make their children laugh and giggle.

They like to play around with their children and let that kid in their heart loose.

Well, although Nik hasn't been able to hold his daughter in his arms just yet

Or been able to look at her pretty face

He sure has begun this Fatherly Love.

Saturday morning I was laying in bed just after waking up

And Nik thought it would be funny to play around with his little girl.

See, most times when I feel her kick and tell Nik to get his hand over to feel her

She stops!

He doesn't find that to be very cool.

But she, nonetheless, is like her Father...

...not wanting to put on a show.

If Nik does something or says something funny

And you ask him to do it again for laughs,

He won't.

And guess what...

She does the same thing.

Only some of our family has been able to feel her kick and move

Because of this.

Oh well, only 9.5 weeks and then they can all hold her and feel her kick!

 

Geez, guess I really went off on a tangent there.

Back on topic!

So, Nik wanted to play around with her.

He decided to lean over to the right side of my belly and blow a nice big Raspberry.

After about 2 seconds

I get this nasty big push on my left side,

Exactly opposite from where Nik is making noise.

I take it she didn't like that

And wanted to get as far away from that obnoxious sound as possible.

Man, she pushed as hard as she could.

It WAS kinda funny,

But can you imagine what that could possibly sound like in that big ocean she lives in??

SCARY!

So I push him away as he laughs and we promise not to do it ever again.

Don't wanna scare her before she gets here.

Nik is adorable to her already.

He is so gentle to me and makes sure that I am comfortable

Knowing that she is with me at all times.

He is going to make a great Father.

I am so excited to see him in action!

That little kid in his heart is gonna bust out and go crazy!!

Water. Water. Water.

Wow.

The last 2 weeks have been crazy

From losing our dog

To my sister surprising us from Utah

To being in and out of the hospital

To my parents getting another dog

To me getting the 24hr Flu bug

To having Strep Throat
And now just a horrible feeling like I got hit by a truck.

AGGGGHHH!!!!

How about I start where my last post left off.

Carrot came in from Utah Thursday night and snuck into the house.

Everyone woke up Friday morning and got ready as usual.

I hadn't ventured past the bathroom while getting ready so I hadn't made any sort of discovery yet.

As I walked from my bedroom to the bathroom I heard the piano playing.

It was a beautiful song.

A song I recognized.

A song that my 8 or 12 year old sisters could not be playing.

I stood at the door of the bathroom for a few seconds as I tried to process this information.

I was beginning to think my mom was taking piano lessons again...

but that didn't seem right,

So I walked into the living room and VOILA!

There was Carrot.

I screamed "WHAT THE FLIP!?!"

and then she stopped and gave me a big hug!

What a surprise.

That goofus made us all think she wouldn't be down until after the baby got here.

Silly silly.

So we spent the day together and had a great weekend as well.

We all miss her very much but know she is where she needs to be at this time.

Utah has been good to her.

She gave me and Nik some really cute Onesies she made.

I love to look at them but still can't believe I will soon put my daughter in them.

=]

So that happened Friday through Sunday.

But on Saturday I was having contractions.

I had had some Braxton Hicks contractions here and there...

But never 7 in 30 minutes.

So I called my doctor and she told me to go to Banner Gateway L&D.

Went there and was admitted.

They did some tests and everything was fine.

The baby was still stuck inside and growing beautifully.

What they discovered was that I was very dehydrated.

Dehydrated?!?

Have you SEEN how much water I have been drinking??

I have given up soda and have been drinking my 64+ounces of water each day.

Well apparently I have to double that...and then some!

The nurses gave me a shot to relax my belly and then made me drink water there

Until my body started relaxing.

After being there for a few hours Nik and I were able to go.

But I must say it was pretty cool listening to our Little Girl's heartbeat.

She would even kick the monitor every once in a while because it was cramping her style.

haha

I love her personality and being able to get to know her better every day.

My parents got a new dog.

She is a Sheltie-Pomeranian mix.

She will be a cute and happy addition to the family.

Carrot left for Utah Sunday night 

And then the next day I was down with the Flu.

Tuesday I was feeling LOADS better so I went about my normal day.

Then I woke up this morning with what felt like Strep.

So I went down to the doctor and he said he sees the same thing

And gave me some meds.

YAY!

My throat can start feeling better.

Let's just cut straight to the fun stuff....

THE BABY!

I love it.

I have loved this pregnancy.

Other than the minor side-effects of sleepless nights and 

The inability to tie my own shoes,

This has been fun.

She is getting more and more active. 

When I fold my arms and rest them on my "new shelf"

She likes to kick me all along my forearms,

Asking me KINDLY to move.

It makes me laugh because I will move

and then put my arms back after a few minutes and she will do it again.

One time, just the other day, she was pushing so hard 

I could make the out the outline of her precious little foot.

It melted my little heart!

These next 10 weeks will be fun!

No stretch marks yet (and hopefully never ever)

And I've only gained 16 pounds.

YESSS!!!

I've been going on daily walks with my sisters to their school.

This has just been a wonderful time in my life.

Next week I will be making some things for our Little Jewel.

I will definitely be posting them up here.

I am so excited/nervous/anxious about it all.

And pictures will come

When I can stop being sick.

YUCKERS!

All Dogs Go To Heaven

This post is dedicated to my sister, Caren, my family, and all those whose lives were blessed by this precious little dog.

Kitah: All smiles, all love, and random Happy Piddles.

Her story:
Caren and I were out at Target one night and as we walked from our car to the store we saw a family trying to sell their Rottweilers out of the back of their truck. They were puppies at the time and so cute but we had to decline because they grow up too big and too rough for our liking. We told that to the wife, said our "good lucks" and walked on into Target. As we were coming out of Target the wife approached us again. She said she had a little dog that they just couldn't take care of and they felt the dog needed a better home. She showed us the little female Pomeranian in the back seat and she was as cute as a button! The price they wanted was extremely fair and Caren took her up on the offer.
It was just about 2 years ago last month that she joined our family. Kitah was so pretty and wonderful and sweet. Here are some memories we have of her and that we want to keep in our hearts forever.

Dad, Mom, Baylee, Caren, KITAH, Hannah, Me, and Nik.

One big happy Family!

Every time my mom would go out to get the mail, she would jingle her keys and Kitah would come dashing out of where ever she was to go with her. Kitah had this big grin on her face and would hop down the driveway in excitement. She would walk with my mom to the mailbox and then back home. She knew the routine. Kitah loved getting the mail everyday.

Sometimes if we weren't careful in where we would get her excited (showing her the leash to let her know it is walking time or to tell her it's time to go for a ride), she would piddle right where she was. Happy Piddles? Guess so.

I loved going for walks with her. She was such a happy dog. The moment I would pull out the leash she would do theses little loop-de-loops and flips all over the place. She would get too excited to just sit there and let you hook up the leash. And again, like my previous memory stated, if I wasn't careful where I was when I put the leash on, she would leave Happy Piddles. Going for walks just isn't the same anymore. I miss my walking buddy.

One time she was so excited to go for a walk she did about 20 little loop-de-loops around the kitchen floor. Once I was finally able to get her collar on, she hopped down the driveway and across the street like a little bunny rabbit. She would hop until the leash wouldn't extend any farther. She was so happy!

This one might make me look bad but I have to share it. One day when we were walking she had to go poo. She found these dark rocks and started to get in position. In my head I said "yes, Kitah, right there! Go there." See, I can't bend over too easily and the last thing I wanted to do was bend over and pick up poo...even if it was just a few small droplets. Well....just after she gets into position...she scoots forward, while in position, another 2 feet...onto the sidewalk right in front of the mailbox! agh! Kitah...you were suppose to stay in the rocks. haha. I had a good laugh, especially because she looked so silly scooting around. And just so you know...I did bend over to pick up the poo with my handy dandy baggie!

Just recently Nik and I were home alone and it had been a little while since we had seen Kitah. We looked and looked for her. We even called her name and it took a minute or two and then she finally came out of her hiding spot. I took her outside so she could go do her business and then when we came back inside I left her alone, but with my eye on her, so I could find out where she was hiding. She had found a spot under my parents bed. When I was looking for her I asked Nik for his help because my big belly won't let me bend over too far. He got down on the floor and captured a picture of her little secret hideout. After taking the picture she started to get up and so Nik said "No, Kitah. Stay." But I guess the No was bad enough and she thought she was in trouble. So she got up and came into the living room with us. Silly dog.

Her hiding spot.

This all made sense now as I remember times when she would walk back to my parent's bedroom door and sit there. It was just her and I at home but she would sit at the closed door and sometimes whimper. I didn't realize she wanted in for her secret spot so I would just call her back to the couch and she would hang out with me a little longer.

Nik and Kitah had a love/hate relationship. It was funny because she would sit next to him on the couch and love on him and he would scratch her head but then sometimes she would hate him. Every day when Nik would come home from work, Kitah would hear the car pull up and start barking. We would then open the front door and tell her to "get him!" She would jump out of the house onto the porch, take 2 leaping steps towards him, realize it was The Nik, and run back inside as fast and as quiet as she could. Why she didn't like him, we don't know. It was definitely a love/hate relationship.

Kitah was very good at letting us know whenever someone was at our door. Or rather I should say someone or something. Even if the cat was there or a leaf blowing by that made lots of noise, she would let us know.

Sometimes she would sit at our back sliding door and see a cat go through our backyard. She would get so furious and bark her little head off so much that she would get some air. It was quite comical.

At dinner time she would be allowed to stay out of her kennel until she did the no-no. She would watch us eat and pray for droppings. Sometimes she could smell what we were eating and all the deliciousness and she would not be able to contain herself. She would proceed to pounce up on our leg, which was a big no-no. But it sure was cute. She just wanted a bit of the yummies.

Kitah was the head chef of our kitchen. There was her little spot she sat in at the corner of the fridge and wall as we cooked. She would be able to see all areas of the kitchen in that spot and would monitor our cooking. She would stare up at us and at any little movement or sound she would look straight down on the floor to make sure nothing dropped. I guess it would be better to call her our Little Janitor. She would clean up anything we spilled.

One of my favorite little quirks she had was her sitting habits on the couch. If someone was on the couch she would join them...BUT...she would ONLY sit on the right side of you and would scoot her little bum into the area between your right leg and the couch cushion. Then she would sit there with a big smile on her face. If we would pet her and stop, she would turn around and smile at you and raise her head so you knew what she was getting at. She would love all the attention she could get.
Like just the other day she was at our Grandparent's house with us and I was sitting on one part of the couch, my right side blocked, and my Grandpa was sitting on the opposite side of the couch with his right side available. She jumped up on the couch and I started scratching her head. She loved it but kept inching towards Grandpa. Grandpa wasn't doing anything special, he was just watching tv. I was the one giving her attention but as soon as she got too far out of my reach and I couldn't scratch her anymore she headed straight for the space between Grandpa's right leg and the couch cushion. She sat there as content as she could be, just smiling away at me. Such the character.

Kitah loved going for rides in the car. One day just a week or so ago I wanted to go grab some lunch. It was just me and Kitah at home so I decided to take her with me. I made one big mistake though. I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride. She got so excited and ran outside. There on the front porch she did some little stretches as she had just woken up from her nap. I told her to go potty before getting in the car, she knows what that means, but she just kept stretching. When she stopped stretching again I would tell her to go potty, but she would begin to stretch some more and give me that little look of "don't I look so pretty...now let's go!" After a few minutes of trying I just gave up and let her get in the car, but I told her that if she pee'd in the car, she was in big trouble! hahaha. What was I thinking? Like she could understand that!? The whole ride she had her nose out the window and was soaking up the sun and all the smells she came across. I was afraid she would get too excited and piddle right there on the seat. Luckily, she didn't! We got home and she went to the bathroom right away.

 This was her just after being picked up from the Groomer.

She is out of focus because she wanted to get that pink bow out of her hair

And wouldn't sit still for two seconds.

She had the cutest little strut when she walked. Her tail would be up on her back and she would shake them hips of hers! Because of her gorgeous coat it was almost like she was walking in a pretty dress with a huge petticoat underneath. And she would make the cutest little pitter patter across the wood floor like she had heels on or something. Such a female!

When she was in heat and we would take her on walks, my mom would say she was "leaving her number on the bathroom stalls." I cannot tell you how many times we had to stop so she could sniff around and leave a note. It was so funny!

We love you, Kitah. Although it was difficult to bear I am glad I was able to hold you and try to comfort you as you left for Heaven. You are in a safe spot now. We will see you soon! You will always be a smile in our hearts.
Oh and although this might seem odd...us Allred's very into numbers. Kitah passed away at 12:12pm on 4/4/11.
Way to go out with a sense of humor! (keeps me smiling and all the tears back when I think of it that way.)

May you rest in peace, Kitah.

Your love and smiles and even Happy Piddles

Will be missed in this family.

Have fun up there in Heaven!

It's Not You, It's Me.

I have loved Irony ever since I learned about it my Freshmen year. We learned about it by watching The Princess Bride and breaking apart different scenes. I have a liking for it in a weird way because I feel it is a bit sarcastic. (I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but it does in my head. Hopefully for you, too.)

Let me share a little bit of what happened to me yesterday.

I have been on a Dr. Pepper kick. Can't stop wanting it and craving that sweetness. I just want more and more and heck, our Little Jewel seems to like it too.

Well now that I am in my 3rd Trimester and my weight gain is going to be increasing the most these last 3 months as She grows bigger and bigger...I don't really want to grow bigger and bigger myself.
My doctor said I am a pound or two under what I should be and I thought that was good news for the end...giving me a little bit of a buffer.
Granted, whatever happens is for the baby and my body will do what it needs to in order to provide the best home for her now.

Anywho, I texted Nik yesterday at 10:56am (this is important) that I want his help to keep me from that yummy liquid. No more running to Sonic or Circle K for a quick fix. I told him that if I need the caffeine for a headache (happened a lot in my 1st trimester) because Tylenol doesn't work for me, that I am only allowed a small can of Dr. Pepper. I just don't want my weight gain to increase because of something dumb and avoidable.

Well...at 11:00am I get a text from SONIC! "Today @Sonic $.99 Rt44 Soft Drinks ALL DAY! 3/31 @ part loc."

WTHeck!!! Are you kidding me?!?!
haha...I got quite a good laugh outta that and immediately texted Nik what just happened.

Oh Dr. Pepper...It's not you, it's me.

The End.