One Down, Two to Go!

My doctor tells me that only 25% of women have NO morning sickness during their first trimester...well folks, I have somehow managed to be part of the slim statistic! That's right, I officially am into my 2nd trimester! I can't believe how fast time is already going. At this rate April 21st is going to be here before we know it! Here's a picture of me at 14 weeks...my belly may still look small to some, but to me there is QUITE a difference from the flat stomach that I have always been used to:

Some highlights from the first trimester...cravings for food that I haven't wanted in YEARS (i.e. cheeseburgers), feeling hungry all the time, eating more than Travis some of the time (he will tell you MORE than some of the time!), random crying for no particular reason, laughing hysterically at Travis' jokes for minutes at a time, hearing our baby's heartbeat and seeing the first ultrasound, having to pee constantly, bed time being my favorite time of day, and feeling so lucky that I had enough energy to continue with my workouts 3-4 times per week.

So far this pregnancy stuff hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. The toughest part for me has been the weight gain/figure changing aspect of it all. Trust me, I KNOW it's for all the right reasons and I have even come to terms with despite my healthy eating and exercising I WILL gain weight gradually. I guess since I haven't had to worry about sickness I have just had time to worry about that instead.

Today we had my 14 week appointment. Doctor says that everything sounds great. We heard our baby's heartbeat for a second time and I recorded it on my cell phone so that I could listen to it over and over again. It's simply incredible! If you want to hear for yourself click HERE (Hint: The page may take a little time to load and you may need to have Quick Time installed on your computer for it to play for you)

Another GREAT weekend!

This past weekend was Travis' fall break from school. Originally, we were supposed to take a trip with John and Angela either south toMoab, UT or north to Jackson Hole, WY. Unfortunately, neither direction worked out for us, so we decided rather than cancel our highly anticipated vacation that we would have a trip right here in Logan.

John and Angela got here Friday night. We went to dinner then came home and played a couple of rounds of Seinfeld Scene It...the Atwood's kicked butt!

Saturday we slept in, ate a yummy breakfast of whole wheat blueberry pancakes, took the dogs (all 4 of them) for a nice long walk, watched the USC play Notre Dame, then had delicious Mexican food for dinner. After dinner we went to a corn maze that took us nearly 45 minutes to find our way through! It wasn't haunted, but I thought it was creepy enough just as it was!

John and Angela left for home Sunday morning. Since we moved to Logan we don't get to see the Barlow's as much as any of us would like. It was SUCH a great weekend with our friends and even though we didn't go anywhere out of the ordinary we all just had a good time hanging out again!

Best Grandpa and Grandma EVER!

Last weekend we were so excited to have Grandpa and Grandma Haskin here with us as house guests. We have been trying to get them out to see us for some time now and we LOVED having them here. It was so nice to have so much quality time to spend with them.

After they arrived on Friday night we took them to dinner (or rather they took us to dinner) at a local family style diner. After dinner we came back to the house, visited for a while, and then Grandpa and Grandma went to bed early since they had been up early and on the road all day.

Saturday morning I got up early and made everyone blueberry waffles, bacon, and sausage for breakfast. I also got some yummy chicken noodle soup going in the crock pot so that lunch would be ready when we returned from our adventure. We decided that we were going to take them for a ride up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Hardware Ranch.


In the winter time herds of elk migrate to Hardware Ranch where they are fed throughout the winter months. They come back each winter due to limited vegetation for them to feed on naturally at the higher elevations. Although the elk weren't at the ranch yet, we still had a wonderful time looking at the beautiful fall colors in the canyon and visiting with a real life mountain man at the festival that was going on up at the ranch.

Next we went to the Raspberry farm not far from our house in hopes that we weren't too late for some fresh raspberries. Unfortunately, the only raspberries we found were in the decomp pile. Good thing we had much better luck at the pumpkin patch! Grandpa and Grandma helped Travis and I pick out the perfect pumpkins and we also got some fresh apple cider that had been made only a few hours earlier that morning.

We got home later than we planned and had a late lunch. So by dinner time we weren't that hungry. Grandma and I decided that we would make her famous homemade chocolate pudding for dinner with some bread and butter. It was delicious and I am thrilled to know how to make this childhood favorite of mine! Saturday night we stayed up late (until 11:30) watching CSI repeats. Who knew that Grandma loved that show so much?!

Sunday the weather was dreary. We had hoped to take Grandpa and Grandma up another canyon, but seeing as it was SNOWING in the mountains that wasn't going to work. We took it easy most of the day. Grandpa enjoyed watching Animal Planet and Discovery Channel and Grandma helped me with my massive amount of laundry. For lunch we made homemade pizza...YUM!

It cleared off just enough in the afternoon for us to take the dogs across the street to run out some of their energy. Grandpa and Grandma both got a kick out of watching them run after the tennis ball time and time again. They even took some turns throwing the ball with our Chuck-it toy

Grandma and Roxy

Grandpa and Noobie (funny how the ball is on the ground

Funniest quote of the weekend came on the way back from the school. Roxy was visibly exhausted and stopped to take a poo. Grandma says "Well look at that, you ran the crap right out of her!" We all cracked up! :)

Dinner Sunday night was grilled hamburgers, chips, and snickers salad...Grandpa's favorite!

"I might as well polish off the rest of that salad"

After dinner, Travis and Grandma continued the CSI marathon while Grandpa helped me hang some decor in our bathroom. I was QUITE impressed with the agility of this naerly 78-year old!

It was such a GREAT weekend and the only part that I didn't enjoy was telling them good-bye on Monday morning. My grandparents have always been so special to me and I cherish every minute I get to spend with them and every conversation that we have. I have made it part of my weekly routine to call and chat with them to keep up on the latest happenings in all of our lives. I look forward to each time we chat and now I look forward to the next visit!

Our "practice children"

I just don't understand how people can NOT like dogs. We love ours. They are our source of entertainment a lot of the time. I love watching them run and play at the park or going on walks/runs with them. They are just great companions and I am glad that I have them, especially when I am home alone. I am not as good at disciplining our dogs as Travis is. In fact, sometimes he gets upset with me because I laugh when he is trying to discipline them. He tells me that I have to learn not to do that or else our child is going to manipulate us someday! Both of our dogs we rescued from the shelter and we had such great experiences with the two we have that we will DEFINITELY save another dog from the shelter someday.

Roxy REFUSES to look at the camera!

How can you not smile at that face?

They are trying to look sweet and innocent...

Travis and I are hoping that since we had dogs first that our transition into parenthood will be an easy one! :)