Question

So I asked myself, "Is Nutella as great as every one is saying and is it really that awesome on a piece of toast?"

Yes, it really is that great. Especially with a tall glass of milk

Finally!!!

9 weeks

14 weeks

18 weeks

Lucy wanting a picture too

And this is how we announced it to our families 

Gift baskets with a little picture inside (behind the card)

Well I found out that I was pregnant when I was visiting my sister Angie in Alaska. I had a really hard time not telling her. After a year of trying I was just so excited I wanted to tell every one. But I didn't even tell Josh the news until I got home a week later. I rapped up the test and gave it to him for our anniversary. I have to say, Josh was much more excited when he found out about this baby than he was with Lucy. I think Lucy was much too big of a surprise for him. 

We didn't end up telling anyone until I was 18 weeks along (well a couple people in Washington found out before). It was hard to keep it a secret at first but we did it. It was a lot of fun seeing every ones reactions and then telling them how far along I was and the sex of the baby. 

The first 15 weeks of this pregnancy were terrible. For some reason, my body would not let me throw up, I really wish I could have. I'm sure most of you have experienced some sort of sickness where you have been so sick and wanting to die, but then once you threw up there was instant relief. Yeah I never got that relief. I was to the point where I was wondering if being pregnant was worth all of this torture. Every single smell didn't only make me sick but the smells would also put me in a bad mood. So if you can imagine, I was in a bad mood the majority of the first trimester. I couldn't decide whether to wash my hair or keep it dirty because both smells would  literally drive me CRAZY. And the physical sickness wasn't all the problem. I was depressed, rude, never wanting to see anyone and be social. Josh pointed out multiple times that he wanted his wife back. I just wasn't myself. I don't think I was nearly as sick with Lucy. I'm pretty sure with Lucy most of the problem was the job I had at the doctors office.

But all is well again. And now that that's all over and I'm feeling myself again, I am enjoying being pregnant and cant wait to meet the little girly. The sickness was defiantly worth it. 

Lucy has been talking and talking about her baby sister, even before we found out the sex. She is very excited and even thinks she has a baby sister in her belly just like mommy. 

November

The 5k Jingle Bell Fun Run. It was so cold this day, and lots of snow everywhere. Honestly, I know 3 plus miles isn't that far, but I surprised myself and ran the whole thing. Defiantly wont wear my five finger shoes again to run on the ice and snow, way too cold. But it was tons of fun and I hope to do it next year. I did fill a little under dressed in my plain red shirt and blue pants. Almost everyone else was dressed as a Christmas tree, Santa clause, or an elf. 

Lucy and Boston, best friends and future husband and wife:)

wishing

Me and Maria after the run

and of course I needed to add the funny little Lucy doing her odd little things.

This is the best picture I could get of this, but this is her new way of sliding down the slide. Arms out stretched, face flat down, and legs apart. I'm not sure where she picked this up, but its pretty funny to watch. 

and I'm not sure about this one either... but she just lays there while I clean the kitchen or fix dinner. 

and of course, her Metroman cape... I feel like I am always washing hand towels. 

Projects:

I decided to touch up my old dolly crib for Lucy. This was BIG money saver. Here are the before pictures 

And after... a new paint job and new fabric. 

This snowman pinata was a Relief Society project. I couldn't believe how easy this was to make, nothing like the ones I used to make as child, and they were so hard to break open.

 The plan is to break it on Christmas Eve. I'm thinking this might be a new fun family tradition, if all goes well:) 

Lucy's stocking. I'm trying to decided if I like it with or with out the hat. Tell me what you think.

with hat

And... 

I just finished this for Lucy for Christmas. It's a diaper bag for her baby dolls. I have to say it turned out pretty dang good for not having a pattern. I wish I could say that I just pulled the idea out of the air but, truth is I copied the idea from a dolly diaper bag I had as a child.

and I filled it with fun things from Pottery Barn (Down East Home Store). 

There are diapers, wipes, bottles, baby powder, changing pad, and a dolly sling she can carry her baby's around the house with. I am SO excited to give it to her! Hopefully she is just as excited as I am, or more. 

October

We started out the month with fishing. 

This place is beautiful and the river was full of fish...

Lucy was in her own little world, I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself though. 

At the end of the day we came home with zero fish. Although, I was very frustrated that we didn't catch a single fish in a river that was saturated with them, it was still wonderful being able to get out and enjoy the beautiful area. 

I had to post this.

This is Lucy's scratch. But to Lucy it was much more than just a scratch. She had me put a band aid on it, wrap it up, and carry her around the house the entire day. She would not even try to walk on it. She would cry and scream until I came and got her to take her where she needed to go. The next day I finally convinced her to crawl wherever she needed to go, eventually that worked and by noon she was walking on her own again. 

Jump and Bounce, my new favorite place to take Lucy.

 The best is when every time she gets to the bottom of the slide she asks me if she can go again. I love that I found a place during these cold months, that she can run around and get her energy out. 

Pumpkin patch. 

This was a big hit! Plus she got to go with one of her best friends, Boston. 

Maria, who is pregnant, pulling our children through the bumpy dirt path. 

They wouldn't even look at the camera because they were so taken with how many pumpkins there were. 

Halloween:

Lucy went as herself this year, ha ha... Anyway, I'm pretty sure Lucy really wanted to be a super hero this year, mostly because she has me tie hand towels around her like a cape and Megamind is in her top 3 favorite movies. Oh and she carries around this DC comic book that she got in her Cheerios box. I've tossed in the trash a few times but some how it always seem to resurface. So at that, I figure this is probably the last year I will have a say in what she wants to be for Halloween so I might as well choose something sweet and beautiful. 

No they aren't wearing lip stick, that is all natural. 

A lot of good stuff happening w/ the Bowmans.... not really.

Lucy: Test came back and we found out she is Lactose intolerant. She cant drink lactose milk anymore but can eat other food with lactose as long as she takes a Lactate (just a little chew able tablet that helps her body break down lactose). I guess she was having her rectal prolapse because her intestines we trying to brake down the lactose instead of the enzyme her body is suppose to produce but doesn't. 

She also has a hypo thyroid. The endocrinologist tells me that most children with a hypo thyroid are born with it and in most cases, if not caught in time, can cause serious brain damage. But fortunately for Lucy, her thyroid has not affected her in anyway. This is probably because she was not born with a hypo thyroid. I guess her problem is that her immune system is attacking her thyroid so evenualy it will stop working all together. We now have her on a medication, which isn't bad at all really. It has no side effects and tastes like a sweet tart. I just hate the fact that she has to be on it for the rest of her life...

Oh and she keeps carrying around this jar with a bug in it. Sometimes she thinks its dead and gets really sad until she sees it move again. 

Me: Nothing going on. Just trying new meals to cook, reading books, trying to get motivated to work out, playing with Lucy, sleeping with Josh's 40 (gun) on my nightstand waiting for Josh to get home. He usually doesn't get home lately till after 12pm. I am mostly worried that my schizophrenia neighbor will stop taking her meds and brake into my house. I'm pretty sure I've watched too many scary movies... I have a new calling in Cub scouts, the wolf leader, the 8 year old really are so cute. And I absolutely LOVED general conference! 

Josh: Pretty much I never see him. He has been working his butt off with school and one of his internships. When he is home he helps out a lot when he's not doing homework. Sometimes I really hate that he is so much nicer than me. If I were him I would want to watch a movie or relax or for sure go to bed. But instead he helps with the things I should have gotten done way before he gets home... what is he thinking? I guess that's why I love him... not sure why he loves me, but he must:)

Lucy's Biopsy

We finally got Lucy tested. I have been wanting to get her in for a biopsy for quite some time, mostly because she is very under weight and has a rectal prolapse. It was well worth getting it done. The doctor that we took her to was wonderful and answered so many unanswered questions. We found out  that she does have a food allergy, we aren't for sure what food that is yet but the doctor has a pretty good idea that it might be a milk allergy. We will know for sure when the labs come back. She also has a hypo thyroid. 

So... we have her off milk and soy products completely. This has been crazy to get use to and its only been 2 days. But thankfully there are some great products made with coconut milk. If anyone knows of a good cheese that is lactose and soy free PLEASE fill me in. 

 Here are a couple pictures of the day. We weren't allowed to feed her for a long time before the procedure, that was really hard to handle, she kept asking us for cookies and water. It broke my heart. She looked so confused that we wouldn't give her anything. I'm just glad its all over... The most disturbing part of the day was watching Lucy being put to sleep in 30 seconds. Like I said, it was hard to watch.

Waiting for the lidocaine patch to numb her skin, she thought it was fun to play with. 

after the IV, she was pretty much out of it by now. 

sitting with daddy waiting for the doctors

In the waiting room, before everything went down.