~ Merry Christmas to you from us ~

Lisa's Wedding

My younger sister Lisa is now a Johnson. She and Brent had a wonderful temple wedding on Friday night at 5pm. An evening wedding made it a bit of a challenge for pictures but here are the ones that turned out the best. We are all so happy for you Brent and Lisa. You were so handsome and beautiful. Since the weather was so frigid, the temple allowed us to take 2-3 pictures inside. Brent and Lisa endured the below zero temperatures for the rest.

Lisa's dress

Lisa sent these pictures over and I just had to share. She was able to get this dress for a very good price. Yeah! Mom had to do some slight alterations with the sleeves but it's all ready to go.

Also, best wishes to everyone taking finals this week! Especially Brent, Vashti, David, Sara, Daniel, Matthew, Rob, and Becky.

Setbacks and Showers

Earlier this week Brandon convinced me to move up my 6 week post partum doctor appointment because all of the pain I've been feeling. We went yesterday and discovered that my stitches are infected. No wonder it's been so miserable for me to sit down or stand up. I was really beginning to wonder if that much pain was normal. I'm so glad to know that it's not. Thank goodness for modern medicine - I should be (crossin' my fingers) back to normal (again, haha) in less than 10 days.

This past Saturday we (Mom, sister, and I) played hostess for my other sisters bridal shower. We held it in the Relief Society room of the local church and it turned out to be the most ideal spot. She was able to get a lot of practical stuff along with some fun stuff for her new adventure called marriage. She and her hubby Brent will be tying the knot in 8 days. I can't believe it's coming so quickly. Here is a link to their blog if you want to stay up-to-date with them www.beautifulroundofdays.blogspot.com

Love ya Leese.

Beginning to feel normal again

Just a quick update while Peter is sleeping. I am just now beginning to feel like a normal human again. I put on makeup for the first time in a month early this week - LOL. Peter is growing so quickly and I'm trying to enjoy every precious moment. Here are a couple of pictures I took last week.

We had a nice Thanksgiving holiday with the Thomas side. It was fun to take Peter out for a family gathering. He got this darling outfit from my sweet RS President. I am so glad that he actually fit into it. The little munckin is growing so fast that some of his clothes already don't fit. It's totally crazy.

Thankful

It sounds so funny to say, but I am so very thankful to have my normal feet back again. Here is a before and after birth picture of my feet.

I am also so grateful that I'm slowly getting my body back. Here is a picture of me at 38 weeks and a picture of me at two weeks post partum. My body totally amazes me. I didn't think I'd look this good ever again :-)

Peter is doing fantastic. We are both getting more and more into the routine of nursing. Honestly, it has been harder then I thought it would be. I was thinking about how hard it's been this morning and compaired it to having to know the bitter to taste the sweet. I'm glad I've stuck with it. Peter seems to enjoy it too. Here is a picture of him sleeping. He loves to sleep with his arms straight up.

Confessions of a new mother

Wow, motherhood really keeps you busy. I had no idea what I was in for when I signed up for this adventure. Thankfully Peter is a pretty content baby - I know I could have it much worse.

We took Peter to his one week doctor appointment this afternoon. The Doctor was very impressed with Peter's weight. He is a hefty 9 pounds 1 ounce (he's only lost 4 ounces). I guess that is pretty impressive. The Doctor applauded Mom for doing a great job at feeding him. It's been a hard week with lots of pain where I never thought I would have pain before, but I think the worst is behind me now.

Yes, I will sit down and write the birth story for those who are interested. It's a great one and I must do it for Peter's baby book anyway. The hardest part for me was watching Brandon get light headed because of the blood. Poor dude. I also promise to post more pictures soon. Bran has had a HUGE assignment for school this week so I haven't had much computer time.

TTFN.

Baby Thomas is here!

Peter Brandon Thomas decided to make his arrival on November 6th (Thursday) at 4:22 in the morning. We are so glad he is now here! Peter did a great job coming out and Mommy was only at the hospital for 4 hours before he was born. Thanks to an epidural Mom survived the experience.

Peter is a strong, healthy baby. At birth he weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces. Holy Cow! Thank goodness he didn't wait until his due date (7 days later). He is 20.5 inches long and he has the most incredible brown hair and appetite. After 48 hours at the hospital recovering we are now home trying to get back into the swing of things.

Here are some pictures of our little guy in all of his glory. We are both so happy and love him so much.

Tagged by Mari

I am...very, very pregnant
I know...logically this baby must come out sometime
I want...to be a good mom
I have...an amazing husband and family (I love you all!)
I wish...everyone could find happiness
I hate...being clumsy and forgetful
I miss...my brother Kent (who is in Georgia now)
I fear...I won’t be a patient mother
I feel...very warm
I hear...my computer fan humming
I smell...air
I crave...pasta and Bran's garlic and cheese mashed potatoes
I search...the internet for things I don’t know
I wonder...how I can become a better person
I regret...not helping more people
I love...warm baths and sleeping in
I care...about my hubby
I always...try to complete the obligations
I am going...to go to Japan someday
I believe...in a loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

As far as an update, baby hasn't made any moves yet. I think he is quite satisfied where he is at :-)

38 weeks

My 38 week appointment went well this past Wednesday. I got the results back from my Strep B test and they are negative. Yea, one less thing to deal with on delivery day. She checked to see if I was dilated and I was 1.5 and 90% effaced. I guess that's not too bad as far as the effacement goes. It's weird how many new terms you come to know when your pregnant. Here's the most recent picture I've got of myself. I feel big, but I can't tell if the babies dropped or not. What do you think? Brandon took me to the park yesterday and we snapped a few pictures. This is one of my favorites.

It's wedding time

Last weekend my sister Lisa got engaged to the most amazing guy ever (besides Bran, of course). His name is Brent Johnson and he is originally from Washington State, but his parents moved to Alpine while he was in his late teens. He is currently a student BYU majoring in Human Resource Management. Brent makes Lisa so happy and he fits so natually into the family. Hurrah for another boy in the family. We are all looking forward to their day-after-Christmas wedding. Yea!

Lisa has been amazing with the planning. In the week they've been engaged she's figured out the temple, decided on colors, coordinated her wedding cake, booked a photographer for the day of, purchased her wedding dress, found a photographer for bridals, and kept herself sane in the process. You go girl! You are going to be a beautiful bride.

We have reason to rejoice

1) We received our changing table/chest of drawers from JCPenny this week in the mail. Dad and Brandon put it together and it is beautiful! Thank you so much Mom and Dad for helping us! We got the cherry finish in this style.

2) I got my nursing undies in the mail this week. It's funny that I could get so excited about such a simple thing. But I was stressing out about it because I was having hardest time finding my size at the local stores and the baby is almost here.

3) Yesterdays 37 week appointment went well. My Dr. said everything is on schedule and it looks like I will go to 40 weeks.

4) Brandon and I laughed so hard last night when he had to literally pull me out of the car. Our baby is making me so big and round! I hope bigger baby = healthier baby, so I'm happy.

5) The weekend is finally here! Yeah, I need some seriously R&R from a busy, busy work week.

6) My little brother passed the physical training part of boot camp on the very last day possible. I've never prayed so hard for anything in my entire life. My parents are in South Carolina now supporting him and his accomplishment. I am so proud of him.

7) Brandon teaches Gospel Doctrine again this week. Hehehe, I can't wait.

A week in the life of Bran and Lar

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Brandon and I wrote a 1400 word paper about Tort Liability and Regulatory Risk for Brandon's Business Law MBA class. Yeah, sounds like fun huh. The saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" applies to this class. We both hope that we survive the next four weeks of it.


We were rewarded for our hard work though when we got our Graco Stoller/Car Seat combo in the mail. Bran and I worked on putting it together and getting it all installed in the car. I couldn't help but get a picture of Bran with the car seat. It's so amazing that we'll both be parents in just a few short weeks. Will we survive the experience? I guess it's a bit too late to wonder that. We are both looking forward to having our little guy come. Bran is especially looking forward to his two weeks of paid maternity leave (thank you UVU). I'm just looking forward to having my body back.


Every time Brandon and I go to a store we get asked if we've picked a name for our baby. Most of the time I sheepishly say "not yet". It's such a hard decision and I want to make sure we have the right one. We've now narrowed it down to the following names. Which one do you like best? Take the survey on the left.

1. Wesley Brandon Thomas
2. Skyler Brandon Thomas
3. Spencer Brandon Thomas
4. Justin Brandon Thomas
5. James Brandon Thomas
6. Derek Brandon Thomas
7. Eric Brandon Thomas
8. Dustin Brandon Thomas
9. Kevin Brandon Thomas
10. Peter Brandon Thomas
    

Baby Shower #2

Last Wednesday my awesome coworker, Marynika, hosted a work baby shower for me. Since it's just me and her, as far as women go, in our office, I invited a bunch of ladies from the main campus that I worked with 2 years ago. Thank goodness Brandon still works in that same department so they would remember me. It was especially sweet to have two ladies who don't work at the school anymore come. What awesome people I've worked with over the years.

Marynika put together some hilariously fun baby shower games. We got to change a diaper blindfolded (nope, didn't win that game - shoot), try to fill in the missing words for Nursery rhymes, and my very favorite - guess which candy bar is mushed in the baby's diaper. It was so much fun and I laughed and laughed and laughed with all the sweet ladies that came. They were so generous to me and the baby. Once again we got completely spoiled. I'll post pictures once I can convince Brandon to let me have a turn on the desktop (that's were all my pictures are stored).

It's finally done

This weekend Brandon and I put the finishing touches on the mobile I painted for our baby. It is such a relief that it is finally done. It's taken me months and months to do because I didn't inherit my mothers talent of being crafty. With a lot of persistence, some crying (because it isn't perfect), and a lot of help from Brandon, we finally got it hung in the baby's room. What do you think? I can't help but be proud and amazed that it looks so good. You all must come for a visit and see it in person!

As luck would have it

Since being released from Nursery, Brandon and I have both been worried about what our next church callings would be. Especially with the "big black hole" of parenthood looming closer and closer. I was lucky and got called to be the visiting teaching coordinator.

Brandon was also very lucky. He has been so incredibly worried that he would be called to Young Men or Scouting (blah, he distastes both with a passion). But, surprise, surprise - he was called to be a Gospel Doctrine teacher. Today was his first time teaching and it went so well. His dry sense of humor really made his lesson a blast! I feel bad that our baby is coming soon now because I will miss out on so many of his lessons. This picture shows you a bit of what Sunday School was like today (of course with a reverent tone to it).

Baby Shower #1

Last Saturday my sweet SIL's (Allison & Alicia) and MIL (Naomi) hosted a Baby Shower for me. It was so nice to have a chance to visit with friends and family that I rarely get to see. Our baby was totally spoiled rotten. Here are pictures of all the gifts that our baby got. Oh, I can't wait for his arrival so I can start using all of these things. Thank you to everyone who came and spoiled me and the baby!