reality. check.

So how did I manage to get through the entire month of May without blogging?  Wow.  I know time seems to be flying by these days... but that's an entire month!  And at this point, an entire month really does make quite a difference in my pregnancy status.  I remember those earlier days, the months seemed to just drag on... and all I wanted was to be another month or two further into this pregnancy.  I know people have told me to "enjoy" this special time, but I don't think I ever reached that point during my pregnancy.  Yes, I have marveled at the simple miracle that it is to "grow" a baby inside my stomach, but I can't wait to meet our little guy and enjoy him in person!  And I know Geoff feels the same way :)  As much as he gets a "kick" out of feeling Jackson move around - constantly - I know he's ready to hold Jackson in his arms... and start prepping him for the life of nonstop adventure that is in his future.  He's already talking about signing Jackson up for dirt bike races at age 4!  And I'm sure that many of you are probably wondering if Geoff is getting a little over-eager... but in all honesty, I'm grateful that Geoff wants to be so involved  - and I'm especially grateful that Geoff wants to get him OUTSIDE to explore and experience all the wonders of nature.  And I know that Geoff would never get our kids into anything that he felt would be too dangerous - as a city girl, I sometimes feel a little out of place or nervous about things that are more-or-less "common" for my country husband, so I've really learned to trust him and his natural instinct when it comes to adventures in the outdoors...  especially because I know that he would do anything to keep me and our family safe.  :)  I'm a lucky, lucky girl...!!

SO. wow. It's Sunday, June 17 - Geoff's first "Father's Day" - and I'm sitting at work.  Surprise, surprise.  But at least being at work sitting in front of a computer for 13+ hours gives me time to blog!  Well, when it's slow at least.  And I do have quite a bit to blog about... so I'll try to keep things brief (if I can even remember all the details -- pregnancy brain has really been taking it's toll on my memory...)

May 13 - My First "Mother's Day"
For Mother's Day weekend, Geoff treated me to a California weekend getaway :)  I had not been to California since November, so I was grateful for the chance I had to see family and friends (and the beach!) one last time before traveling becomes a less "convenient."  It was perfect weather, and while I would have LOVED to just relax at the beach, I really appreciated the chance we had to go around and visit with people that we rarely get to see.  And realistically... I probably would have been sitting at the beach in a t-shirt and shorts... being pregnant does not make me want to run around in a bathing suit whatsoever!  haha.  The best part of our weekend was, of course, spending Mother's Day with my family up at my mom's house in Malibu :) I will say, it was a bit surreal to be celebrating Mother's Day with my mom and then also celebrating the fact that I am going to be a mom (and her a GRANDmom) here quite soon!  Crazy to think that I've actually become an "adult" and now have a little family of my own... but I couldn't be happier or more excited to start on this next little adventure of life's long journey :) And just as soon as it began, our mini-vacation came to an end and we were back home in Utah.  One thing I will say though... living in Utah has spoiled me when it comes to driving... I used to have a certain level of "acceptance" for California traffic, but living away from it for so long has definitely impacted my ability to stay calm when driving 15 miles takes 45 minutes (but that could also have been related to my dear husband's constant vocalization of his frustration with the nightmare that is California freeways)... I will say I was SO happy to land back in SLC and know that my 15 mile drive home from the airport would take about 15 minutes :) 

May 24 - BBQ/"Baby Shower"
For those who know me, I'm sure this won't come as any surprise: I couldn't stomach the idea of having a traditional "Baby Shower" complete with corny games and female "chit-chat", so I talked to Geoff about having a joint/co-ed "party" to celebrate our impending arrival - thankfully he was open to the idea :)  So we decided to have a BBQ at my mom's house in SugarHouse, and invited family and close friends from the area to come and stop by for some food - and it was quite the success :)  I'm not at home with access to my photos, but I will post some soon so that you all can see how it beautifully it turned out -- and a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful mom who (with the help of Pinterest) created one fantastic event to celebrate our baby boy, Jackson :)

June 14 - Birthday SURPRISE!
Birthdays seem to come and go with no real "value" now that I'm getting older (and yes -- 28 is "older" in my book!) so I didn't really have any high expectations for my "big day" - other than maybe a small gift with a card and a cake... but my sneaky little husband definitely surprised me with something that I did NOT see coming.  I thought he had something up his sleeve when he started reminding me at the beginning of the week that my birthday was coming up, but I never could have imagined what he was planning....
Wednesday night, Geoff couldn't shake the smile from his face, telling me that he was SO excited to give me my gift... but he refused to give me any sort of hint as to what it was!  He finally "gave in" and told me that he was keeping the gift at work so I wouldn't go snooping around the house and find it (like I would ever do that!) and he would be bringing it home for me on Thursday.  So... while I was at work on Thursday morning, I was chatting with Geoff online like we always do, and I had no idea what was really happening on the other side of our wireless connection.  I got home that day, and "patiently" waited for my husband to get home from work... and when he finally arrived, he told me that my gift was hidden upstairs -- ?!? -- and I had to go find it!  Say, what?!? Needless to say, I was not enthused with the idea to go searching for my gift... but nothing I did or said would get him to spill the whereabouts of this so-called gift in hiding.  So, I  walked myself upstairs, looked for a bit, and when he decided to come up shortly thereafter, I got distracted and decided to show him some of the new clothes I had purchased for Jackson that day :)  Couldn't have been a more perfect opportunity for Geoff... who then "encouraged" me to do some laundry and wash some of the new baby clothes I had stacked in Jackson's room. When does Geoff ever encourage me to do laundry? I should have picked up on that.... haha.  So I got up to start our ghetto washer (it needs to be filled about half-way before adding clothes) and the following little video clip was taken by my dear, sweet husband to capture the moment:

It was pretty much the BEST surprise ever - and also made me realize that I am getting old! hahaha.  What type of girl gets excited about a new washer and dryer?  Oh, that's right... the married, soon-to-be mom type.  And that would be ME.  Crazy!  But seriously... Geoff is the most adoring husband and he truly does spoil me.  :)  I will say, though, that our old washer and dryer were on their last little bit of life anyways -- they virtually shook the whole house when they were on, and that noise probably wouldn't have done much for a sleeping infant over the next few months!  So I am INCREDIBLY grateful for this gift... and literally, I am excited to do laundry now -- I think I've found reason to do like 5 extra loads over the past couple days (thankfully our new washer is high-efficiency!) and I know that as I continue to put the nursery together I will find more opportunities to use my miracle machines ;)  Like the "Steam Sanitize" option -- I can throw a blanket/stuffed animal into the dryer (yes, the dryer) and it will "sanitize" the item with steam!  Seriously?!  I love modern technology.... and yes, I am a nerd.  Darn proud of it too ;)  Now the pressure is on... Geoff's birthday is June 30 -- how am I supposed to compete with his gift?!  It's just not possible.  So I'm gonna have to get creative... and I know what I'm getting him!  Sorry guys, can't share what it is just yet........but I'll be writing the update soon enough!

June 15 - 34 WEEKS!
And the countdown has begun...!!!  As of today, I am 41 days/5 weeks 6 days from my due date -- and that feels like an eternity at this point.  haha.  Seriously, my body is just exhausted.... and I am just READY for this to be over.  SO, when we went in for our appointment on Friday for our *last* ultrasound (and first since our 20-wk appt) I was THRILLED to find out that Baby Dyer is on overdrive and is measuring almost 2 weeks ahead of schedule (so 36 weeks)!!!!  Our "little" guy is already 5.5 lbs, and that would put him on track to weigh about 8.5 lbs if he went another 6 weeks... but at this rate, who knows -- he just might surprise us with an early delivery sometime mid-July :D  So there it is, folks:  we are on our LAST MONTH... the final stretch... and I just pray that it goes by quickly!!  These last couple weeks have been... long.  ha. haha.  But as much as I "complain" about Jackson's over-activity and desire to find new organs to play kickball with, I truly am grateful that he is healthy and progressing as he should.  So, despite all the wonderful aches and pains and other "joys" of pregnancy, all-in-all I feel blessed that this has been an "uneventful" pregnancy with no major complications - and *hopefully* we will have a beautiful little boy here in the next month or so!  Which means I need to get that nursery finished... yes, I have started it, and it's looking great so far :) but I will leave that update for another blog -- especially because I've written a novel today with this update as it is! 

Thanks all for the love and support!! Until next time... hopefully it won't be after little Jackson James (aka JJ) makes his grand appearance!! ;)