January Little Things

In January our weather is absolutely incredible. You couldn't possibly pay me enough to move back to the cold. This month has been filled with photoshoots still--which I love. I've had to force myself to practice a lot which means saying yes to all of these shoots! They have taught me how to catch my mistakes but also be content with my skill level at the moment. I love my camera for so many reasons but mostly because it's still such a mystery to me. So much to learn and figure out...it makes a good challenge.

 ^^^taken before a photoshoot of mine. I just think the desert is beautiful, and I need to photograph it more so I can hang prints up around the house. I have a feeling that these Arizona Cacti will be apart of our life for a while. (also-backlighting is a beast to learn, and one that excites me all at the same time!)

 We have been good little homebodies around here lately. Crew is finally into building and playing with blocks/legos for hours on end. It seriously makes me so happy! Laney on the other hand just teases him by knocking them down. It's so funny to watch. Poor Laney girl still has a hard time going to the bathroom on her own (#2...) so she's been feeling bad lately but I come to her rescue with a suppository! haha So gross...but she is so used to it now, and doesn't even make a peep when I give her one. I think she's sort of grateful for it. I've been giving her more prune juice daily and feeding her healthy foods, but for some reason it doesn't help much. I honestly think that she associates pain with going to the bathroom...so she holds it until she can't anymore. 

Pregnancy has hit me like a ton of bricks the last week or so. I try not to complain about something so beautiful and scarce for some people, but P A I N is the thing that comes to mind when I think about my pregnancy. Maybe it's because I don't have any down time except for at night so all of the running around/standing makes me super sore. The braxton hicks contractions are painful and last all day! I have now officially ran out of maternity clothes that fit me. I thought I bought bigger sizes to last me...but they don't fit. (gaining 40+lbs will do that to ya) The heartburn is the worst it's ever been this time around. Literally all day long. That means our baby will have a lot of hair right? :) Really though--I'm just writing this down so that I can have it to look back on when baby #4 joins us. I am so grateful for this chance to experience all that pregnancy entails! We are just feeling beyond impatient to meet this little one. We are soooo close (4.5 weeks) from meeting this babe but yet so far. And while I am experiencing this...my husband is in the Caribbean...see below.

Rough life this guy has. It must be hard to be able to just pack up and go on a cruise solo for a week. I should give it a try sometime. Really though I am glad he is able to hang out with some guys from work. I'm just afraid he's having too much of a good time! He seriously cracks me up and sometimes is another child of mine :) He will be 26 soon---so I'm hoping with an older age comes a few more gray hairs (literally) and maybe not so many of these trips alone. (I was supposed to go but being nearly 9 months pregnant opted out) He's just lucky I have a hard time saying "no"...oh wait! I did! Miss you sweets! 

Other good things that have happened have been a pedicure with my mother-in-law, a fun trip to the park, cleaning my house so much because I'm afraid it will be messy when the baby comes, and starting up another semester!

 Is it selfish of me to love school so much? The Pathway program makes me laugh and I should take it more seriously because it's the only way I can get into BYU-I online AND keep the cheap tuition. I'll get it done sooner or later and then actually go to school when my kids are all grown. Our Pathway missionaries this semester are gems. I think they are my favorite part of this experience. So wise and so friendly. The Elder is a law professor at ASU and man alive does he just have a way of speaking! I love love love him. I can already tell that I am going to love this semester even though it may be my hardest...with having a baby right in the middle of it. The biggest reason I refuse to take off school until it's done is because I know it will be so hard going back once I take a break. I've got to just plow through. I still don't know what I'll study, I wish I could do something more concrete so I can work when I'm done, but that's not for me quite yet. A Marriage and Family degree looks fun and the Public Health degree looks doable. Either way, I have loved the people I have met along the way. Everyone has such a different story and it's important for me to not have such a narrow view in life. It's good having a life outside from being a mother and wife--those things are of much greater importance, but for me, I also need a change in my routine. 

Looking forward to the rest of January and onto BABY MONTH!!!!