Oh, Christmas Tree

This is what Dan calls "Britany proofing" presents. He wrapped my presents in between two throw pillows so I won't be able to tell what they are. haha. Plus, they're wrapped with duct tape. Such a boy.




Merry Christmas everyone!

Bump

24 weeks

Utah

Yes folks, we are finally in Utah. So far, we have had a lot of fun with Dan's family. Last night we had a girls' night while the boys had a boys' night. That was great. Us girls went to dinner and then to see Harry Potter, while the boys got Baconaters and watched an action flick of some sort. It's a win-win-win for everyone. I can't wait until Sunday because I get to see my entire family. And I mean, the WHOLE family on both sides. Yay!! My aunts are throwing me and my cousin, Jessica, a joint baby shower on Sunday as well that I'm really excited about. It's going to be so much fun.

Sorry, I still don't have a baby bump picture. I'm working on it! I just keep forgetting to take one, but I am 22 weeks now and feeling great. Our little girl is wiggling and kicking like crazy and we're already so in love with her.

Boy or Girl? Emmett or Evelyn?

I got an ultrasound done on Monday and they could tell what the sex of our baby was, but since Dan wasn't there I decided not to let them tell me. So, the nurse wrote it down and sealed it in an envelope. Dan and I decided that we would open it after he took his Board exam as a sort of celebration, and yesterday was the day! We got back from Kansas City after Dan took his 6 hour test, bought some Martinelli's and opened our envelope.












Complete and total shock





And we couldn't be more excited.

Documentation

Dan felt our baby move for the first time on November 29th. It was magical. I think he is finally starting to realize that there is a baby in there and that he's going to be a daddy. We couldn't be happier.

Holidays

This week was a bit of a whirlwind. It was so much fun and I wish it could have lasted longer, but I think that every year. Chris and Blaire spent the night at our place on Saturday night and then went to church with us on Sunday because Dan was giving a talk. It was really nice to have some individual time with them because we don't get to see them very often. After church, the three of us left Dan in Manhattan and headed for Wichita. The rest of the family came on Monday and Wednesday. We played lots of games, ate a ton of turkey (mostly Dan and Chris), and just enjoyed every minute of it. Dan and I got home this morning, just in time for church, and I am already missing everyone. Once a year just isn't enough.

My silly sisters


Elijah playing the Wii with uncle Derek in his underwear


Our fantastic turkey carver, Chris


Eli exhausted his poor uncle Dan


The Thanksgiving table


The whole clan, except for Justin and Melissa. We missed you guys!


The next two days are going to be grueling. On Monday Dan has TWO Radiology quizzes to take that he has been cramming for, and then on Tuesday he takes his Board exam. He's been studying for this test for about six months but still doesn't feel entirely prepared, and who could blame him? He has to know everything about every animal and remember everything he's learned and be able to regurgitate it on this one test. It's daunting to think that his and my future rely solely on this one test. Personally, I think he's going to do great. He's the smartest person I know and the hardest worker, so I'm not too worried.

After Tuesday, things are going to be breezy. Dan will finish up his Radiology rotation and then we will fly to Utah for two weeks to spend some quality time with family. We could not be more excited! I can't wait! However, it's hard to get too excited when the Boards are still looming over you, but once that's over, celebration time baby!

Speaking of babies, I have a doctors appointment in Topeka tomorrow with and ultrasound specialist who is going to tell me EXACTLY how far along I am and when I am due, which is cool I guess. I was hoping Dan would be able to come to this one with me, but alas, vet school strikes again. So, I won't be finding out what our little tyke is until later, meaning next week instead of tomorrow. Dan is given certain vacation times that are spread out throughout his fourth year and we have no control over them, and the first two weeks of December are one of his vacation times. So, while we're in Utah for his vacation we will find out the sex of our baby. Yay! When I know, you'll know. Promise!

I would like to do something special for Dan that is relatively inexpensive to celebrate his being done with Boards on Tuesday. Any ideas?

My Family Is...

Crazy. When we all get together every year it is pure madness, and I love every minute of it. Can I just say, first of all, how lucky I am to have brothers and sisters who chose amazing spouses? I couldn't ask for better brother/sister-in laws. They fit into our crazy mess of a family so well and they just make it even better and more fun. It really is amazing how well we all get along considering how different we all are. This year my mom and dad get us for Thanksgiving, so next week the whole Nelson clan will be in Wichita crammed into my parents' house and I could NOT be more excited! Every time we're all together it is a blast and I look forward to it every year. This year, because it's Dan's fourth year with rotations, he doesn't get hardly any time off. He gets Thanksgiving day and the day after, which is pretty generous for the vet school, so I am going down to Wichita on Sunday without him. Chris and Blaire will be driving down from Utah and are going to stop in Manhattan on the way and pick me up! I can not wait to see them! They're going to go to church with us and everything. I get to show off my big brother! (Can you tell how excited I am yet) Seriously, I'm shaking with anticipation. We are going to eat SO much food, watch a lot of movies, play games, and tease my dad to our hearts content. I can't wait.

Only three more days till I get to see my brother and his fabulous wife!


We can sometimes be serious and sit still, if my mom makes us


I can't wait to see how our little tyke fits into this cute cousin trio!

epic update

I'm done cutting open dead things. I've got to say I have a new appreciation for the wide spectrum of stench that is present on this earth. I'm also studying like crazy for my boards. I take them in two weeks. I've never studied so much for one test. I started about six months ago, and I still feel unprepared. On another note, Britany and I are currently losing the war against the ladybugs in our apartment. They have taken over key strong points in the living room and have proven to be a formidable opponent. Many perished in the battle of the vacuum last week, but their numbers have replenished. I'm considering a treaty if they agree not to advance into the bedroom. I don't think I've fully grasped the concept that I'm going to be a dad. Occasionally I remember that my wife is pregnant, not just sick, and soon I'm going to have a little piecer to take care of. I figure I'll just wing it. If I screw up we can always make more. Time to watch some football! Go BYU and K-State!!!!

16 Weeks

I am now 16 weeks along! Yay! I can't believe how much better I feel. It was like a total 180. Man, am I happy to be in my second trimester! Everything with the little tyke is going great and we're both healthy. So far so good.

For Halloween Dan and I dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera and Christine. Most people didn't really understand what I was, unless I was standing next to Dan, but that's okay. We went to our ward's Halloween party and had a blast. I am actually on the activities committee, so I was doing stuff for the party all week and spent most of Friday at the ward building getting everything together, but it was totally worth it in the end. Everyone had fun and there was lots of spooky games to be had.






Halloween also happens to be Dan's birthday, so happy birthday honey!! Unfortunately, all of my awesome birthday plans were thwarted by the vet school, the activity, and our stake conference. I had this amazing weekend planned out for the two of us to celebrate his birth and Halloween, but none of it happened. Instead, we will have to celebrate next week. I was pretty disappointed and more than a little upset by the change of plans, but what can you do? Life goes on. When we actually get to celebrate, I will take pictures and update. He did get to open presents from his family today and he was so excited about it! It was adorable. Also, I made him a fancy dinner and gave him free reign to pick whatever movies/games/video games he wanted to watch/play today. So, all in all, it wasn't too bad, just not as epic as I had imagined.

Dan is on a MUCH easier rotation now, Necropsy, so he gets home around 5 or before everyday and doesn't have to work weekends. I am LOVING how much time I am able to spend with him. It's been glorious. Other than that, life has been pretty much the same. I can't wait for Thanksgiving!

Thankful

Today and the last couple of days have been really crappy, so instead of focusing on that, I am going to focus on all the things I am thankful for.

- Dan, of course. What would I do without him?
- Tylenol
- Gilmore Girls
- Gatorade
- My mom and dad
- Great friends
- Warm showers
- Fuzzy socks
- Ugg boots
- Wireless internet
- Stretchy pants
- Clean sheets
- Classic romance movies
- The Gospel

A little bit of this.... A little bit of that

Gilmore Girls, check.


Assortment of candies, check.


relaxing in bed while watching Gilmore Girls and eating said candy, check.

Dear Husband

I love you, dearly. But, please, stop treating me like I am made of china or glass. Yes, I am pregnant, but I assure you I am not breakable. Baby is safe inside and no amount of walking, errand running, or cleaning will change that. I appreciate how protective you are, but I would appreciate it if you would tone it down a little. I am perfectly capable of taking care of me and have done so for many, many years. Even though I am pregnant, I am still me. I love you and the fact that you want to take care of me, but not allowing me to do anything only enables my lazy habits. Thank you.

Your loving, devoted, durable wife.

Thinking...is tricky

While we were in Dallas I had great opportunities to talk with Jill and catch up on things. It's really a lot of fun to have a sister that is so much older because that means she's also much wiser and has been through everything I am going/going to go through. She married Kyle when she was 21, and I married Dan when I was 21, so that's kinda fun. She's been married for 10 years and so I really respect her advice and insights. Jill gave me her old maternity clothes, which is awesome, so at least I have a bit of a head start in shirts and capris, but I still have nothing to wear in the winter. Oh well, future Britany can deal with that.

So, as I was talking to Jill it hit me just how differently my life is turning our from the way I planned it. Not in a bad way at all, just totally different. When I was in high school I made a five year plan for myself that consisted of graduating college and either continuing on to graduate school or scoring an amazing job at a publishing house in some major city. I had no intention of getting married until I was at least 26, if at all, and had no real desire to have children. Boy, has that whole thing changed a lot. So here I am with these big dreams and big plans and BAM! here come Dan. The moment I met him I knew he was different and I knew I was going to date him. Dan ruined all my plans and I couldn't be more thankful. Now I know that I want a big family and I want to be a stay at home mom that my kids can rely on. What I've learned from this is that obviously Heavenly Father knows us far better than we know ourselves and if we go forward with faith and do what He has asked of us, we will be so much happier than if we do whatever we want.

Vacation Week: Wednesday-Friday

Wednesday:

We started the day like any other, by sleeping in, eating breakfast and watching a movie, and then we decided to get out and do something. So, first we went

to this Halloween store. We thought it was going to be huge and have lots of costume options, but alas, it was not and did not.


Then, we went to Sublime Chocolates. Delicious. It was a lot of fun to see all the different things they do with chocolate and all the creative concoctions they come up with. Dan bought me a box of chocolates.


After that, we went to dinner with Lianne and Derek and had this GIANT booth all to ourselves. There were many jokes made.


We went back to their apartment and played phase 10, talked, and hung out.


Izzy and Pippin were very excited to have guests.


Then, we went back to Jill and Kyle's and went to bed.


Thursday:

We went to the Dallas temple in the morning. It was wonderful. We walked around the grounds and took pictures for a while afterward.


We went straight from the temple to the Texas State Fair. There may or may not have been some changing action in the car.


This giant cowboy greeted everyone in the entrance to the fair. Literally. It talked. I was a little creeped out.


The fair was a lot of fun. I got to educate Dan on a few Texan traditions and we got some great food. Yum. After that, we had dinner with Jill, Kyle, and Eli at Watters Creek. Eli and Dan love each other and it's really fun to watch them together. After dinner, the boys went home and Jill and I did a little shopping. Pretty amazing day overall.

Friday:

We drove. All day. Back to Wichita. Ugh.

To be....

That's right, ladies and gents. Dan and I are going to try and be The Phantom of the Opera and Christine Daae for Halloween. What are your ideas?

Vacation Week: Tuesday

Today was pretty exciting. We decided to go to the Dallas World Aquarium because Dan loves sharks and it sounded like a lot of fun. However, navigating downtown Dallas proved to be much more trying than we had thought. What should have been a half hour drive turned into an hour and half because we got lost so many times. But, we did finally make it to the Aquarium and had a lot of fun.






Smooch


The Indonesia exhibit was pretty unique. A real Indonesian ladies and gents


we still like each other. Amazing, I know.


Sharks! Okay, even I'm amazed how well this one turned out. Good timing guys.




We ended the day by eating Chili's, watching Wimbledon and playing with Elijah.

Vacation Week: Monday

Remember how Dan promised for my birthday that I could pick anywhere in the Continental United States to go on vacation for a week in September? That's this week! We were going to go somewhere exciting, like Chicago or Boston, but then I got pregnant. Since I am sick periodically we thought it would be kind of a waste of time and money to try and go somewhere far away. What's the good of being in an exciting city and nice hotel if you're feeling sick all day and just want to watch movies? So, instead, we decided to vacation in Dallas and stay with Jill and Kyle. It's perfect because they're gone all day, so we can spend a lot of quality time together and do some tourist stuff if we want to, and then at the end of the day we get to spend some time with family. Perfect. I haven't seen Dan this much at one time since we were at the cabin. So far it has been glorious. Jill and Kyle give us plenty of privacy and we get to just relax.

Today we:
- got some Chicken Express (my fav. YUM)
- watched movies all day and cuddled
- went to the grocery store

What a great start to our vacation. What should we do tomorrow?

Dan the Man

This weekend he:

-helped me do the laundry
-made me breakfast in bed
-made dinner on Sunday
-has been very strict about what I'm eating because I've been sick
-has done the dishes... a lot
-hugged me until I fell asleep
- Loved me unconditionally

I LOVE

Biolage Normalizing Shampoo.

Love, love, love, love. I mentioned a while back how weird my hair has been acting, weird oily spot in the back while the rest was super dry and unmanageable, and until this morning it was still doing all kinds of weird things. I went to get my hair cut (FINALLY) a couple days ago, and my hair dresser suggested I try this, so I bought it yesterday. It's quite pricey, but when you're pregnant and your hair starts doing all kinds of horrible things, it's worth every penny to get back to normal. Ahhhhhhhhh

Trendy

Lianne and Derek are in town for Derek's work, so Lianne and I have been playing all week. Lots of fun! Every time I'm around Lianne, I envy her make-up. I know that sounds weird, but her face and eyes always look stunning and mine are just... blah. So, I am constantly using her make-up while she's here and decided yesterday to get some of my own. Here's the thing though; her make-up is expensive. It works great and when I'm wearing it I feel beautiful, but I cannot afford to spend $100 on make-up. So, here's what I did instead:




Left: MAC Skinfinish Natural Powder Foundation-- $26.00
Right: Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Pressed Powder-- $8.00









Left: MAC Eye Shadow-- $14.50 each. I wanted two different browns
Right: Revlon Colorstay Eye Shadow "In the Buff"-- $6.00







Left: MAC Short Duo Fibre Brush-- $42.00
Not pictured: Almost identical looking brush from Target-- $16.00



Lianne and I were going to drive to Topeka just so I could go buy me some MAC make-up, but I think Dan would have had a heart attack. I have found that these products work just as well for me and I am really loving the way they look. Don't get me wrong, MAC make up is awesome, which is why it's expensive, but if it's out of your price range, like me, and you're looking for something almost as good, I would suggest these.

Surreal Life

Yesterday I went to the doctor, not knowing exactly what to expect, and ended up hearing my baby's heartbeat and getting an ultrasound. It was incredible. I thought that I would document on here what it was like and how I felt so that I don't forget because, honestly, this is as close to a journal as I get. Up until yesterday it has been really hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I am actually having a baby. I mean, sometimes I get nauseous and I'm always tired, but even then it's easy for me to forget that I am actually pregnant and taking care of another human being inside me. Totally weird. So, when I heard the little heartbeat yesterday I was completely overwhelmed. There's really a baby in there! And then, I got to actually see my little tyke on the ultrasound. Nothing really prepares you for that moment when you first see your little guy and know that it's yours, that it's inside you growing, and that you really are having a baby! haha. It was... surreal. Now, I find myself touching my stomach more and just really loving my little lime sized baby. I couldn't believe how overwhelming the feeling of love was when I actually saw our baby on the screen. I can't imagine how much more powerful that feeling will be when we see our kid for the first time in the delivery room. I love our little baby and I wish more than anything in the world that Dan could have been there to share that moment with me. Vet School is a total life ruiner. He was so sad when he found out he wasn't going to be able to be there for the ultrasound, and I honestly don't know what to do to make him feel better. I would've given anything for him to be able to come, but it just isn't possible. So sad. How do I make up for that? How do I cheer him up?

So, our baby is healthy and the pregnancy seems to be going fine, although they did adjust my due date because of the size of the baby. I'm now due in April instead of March. Oh well. Both good months.

Labor Day Pictures