OK Ward Park

The people of Pocatello like to keep secrets from outsiders and newcomers. One of them is how they decide when it's the time to drive like maniacs on the road and when it's time to drive like great-grandma-Ethel on the road. Another secret is this super fun park called OK Ward Park. We didn't learn about this place until we'd been here for a year and a half. Today was a fairly mild day, so Sprout and I took to the park. I brought the camera so I could practice, and I thought I'd share some pictures of my cutie. The first ones are ones I attempted to edit. (Please do not judge harshly - I am new at attempting 'good' pictures and still quite the beginner at editing.)

This one is my absolute favorite from the day. Silly boy.

I really struggled with this one - I couldn't make it look natural or better.
Also, he has this smile on his face EVERY time he comes out of this slide.

The blueness of his eyes was killing me in this shot,
so I decided to focus on them. Lady Slayers is what I call his eyes.

So, a bit of his head might be missing in this shot.

The rest are just pictures of my Sprout playing that I didn't feel up to tinkering with. Isn't he adorable?

Does anybody want to come and play with us? It will be a lot of fun...

The Latest on Baby #2

I am 32 weeks today, and I finally realized just how huge I am. Today I went to tour the birthing facilities at the hospital, and I was there with 5 other women. The guide looked us all over and said we look about right to be expecting New Year's babies. Well, shoot. My baby's not due for another month after New Year's. Then I came home and asked Mr. Mitchell to get a belly picture since it has been awhile. I was looking at the shots he took, and I said, "Holy cow! I look so big!" His soothing response was, "Well, that's how you look right now."

We took this one first, and Mr. Mitchell told me to put my hands down so people can really see how my form is flowing these days. He really said that. I guess 'flowing' at least elicits something elegant, like a waterfall. He could have said something more along the lines of 'your elephantine figure,' but he was wise.

In my flowing, maternal glory.

Little Lady is very active at night and is getting big enough that she wakes me up in the middle of my slumbering. She has a favorite spot to stick her poky little elbow or knee or heel or whatever, and it is permanently tender. Even when she's not there pressing on it I still feel bruised. I don't have pop very often, but when I do it gets her wiggles going. She'll respond sometimes when I'm talking, but she pretty much does what she wants.

My weird, vivid celebrity dreams have begun. I dreamed last night that I was responsible for shaving Bill Murray's chest, and it was not an easy job. The man would not hold still; I was chasing him around Walmart with shaving cream and a razor. I have no idea how I landed the job of Bill Murray's Personal Chest Shaver, but I'm willing to let someone else have it.

The hospital tour today made me a bit anxious since I probably won't be in there again until I'm in a great deal of pain. I believe I got spoiled in Oregon where I was able to have Sprout in a Family Birthing Center. At this hospital I will have to switch rooms after delivery and go from a beautiful, spacious, calming room into a cramped, utilitarian room. I find myself very disappointed in that, and disappointed that the sleeping arrangements for Mr. Mitchell won't be as nice either. I will try and focus on just being grateful that I can have my baby in a hospital where we will both be taken good care of.

Thanksgiving & My Birthday

Each year I keep getting closer to 30. Weird how that works, huh? For my birthday I got spoiled with a 1-hour prenatal massage. I think I need one every day. I got gifts and cards and phone calls and texts from family and ended the day with dinner out. It was lovely. I got enough birthday money to buy my glider. Yay! (Yes, I did take a picture of my empty glider just to show you all.)

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner in Boise with my parents and played a lot of games. The next day we went out and did some Black Friday shopping. It's not something I normally do, but we had a few purchases that needed to be done on a steep discount. The chaos really wasn't that bad, and most people were very pleasant while we were out and about. We got a new camera, and it's going to take some practice for both Mr. Mitchell and myself. Me more so. As my high school photography teacher told me: I'm not very good at photography.

Friday night we were treated to the Botanical Gardens all done up in lights. Sprout loved it, and it was very pretty.

We were thoroughly spoiled by my parents while we were in town with good food, eating out at new places, going to movies, and just enjoying ourselves. We're back home now and trying to get Sprout back on his routine. We just love this little boy.

This year I am incredibly thankful that I have a healthy baby growing in my stomach. Such a contrast from last Thanksgiving where I lost a pregnancy.

Our Wedding - 4 1/2 Years Late

This is completely out of the blue, but I've had our wedding on my mind. My brother-in-law is getting married in a month (Mr. Mitchell will be attending, but unfortunately I cannot), and my mother-in-law requested one of our wedding pictures for her birthday gift. It's definitely put wedding on the mind, and I realized that I never blogged about ours.

Today we have been married for 4 1/2 years, and so I figured maybe I would share a handful of pictures. It would probably be more appropriate to do this on our actual anniversary, but, as I said, wedding on the mind.

Pregame (as Mr. Mitchell calls it):

I flew out to Portland the day before the wedding with one of my bridesmaids and her sister. the rest of my family drove. I got there in time to make sure I knew where everything was located for wedding day prep.

Temple:

We got married in the Portland, OR temple on May 14, 2010. Absolutely beautiful.

Mr. Mitchell's candid-ish family shots:

My family candid shots.( There a LOT more of them, and I think it's because the photographer was drawn to the children.):

Enter Bride & Groom:

Family and Couple pictures (I'm sharing a small bit so that I can share more on our actual anniversary):

(This was the one my mother-in-law ended up selecting for her birthday.)

Portland reception (I gave Mr. Mitchell full reins on this one, and he settled on a very casual steak luncheon):

Boise reception (we hauled our cute little bums over to Boise the very next day):

With hindsight there are a handful of things I would change, but I feel my wedding came together beautifully. I'm definitely sharing more temple pictures on my anniversary: I'm in the groove now.