Bath Time and Cousin Tom

So Clara has decided she loves to take a bath! Here are some adorable pictures that I took of her after she got out the other day. She was just cooing and smiling...unfortunately I haven't been quick enough with the camera to catch a smile yet, but I will keep on trying.

Exactly three weeks after Clara was born, my sister in law Candis had her little boy Thomas Thayne. Up until then everyone kept saying what a Smalley baby Clara was, but seeing her next to Tom really brings out the Ellis side of her I think. They are so adorable!

Here are the proud moms.

...and the proud papas:)

A New Addition...

So here is a summation of my final days of pregnancy....

Yep, that about does it.

Our little Clara came five days late. I was due Friday, the 10th of July, and my doctor said if she didn't come on her own by the 17th, he was going to induce me. So early on the morning of the 15th she decided to come. I woke up around 1am with labor contractions and we got to the hospital by 2:15 (after stopping at McDonalds for a hamburger and chicken nuggets!). By 5:30 am I was complete and was pushing to get her here. A couple hours later she still hadn't arrived and every time I'd push her heart rate would drop. At 10:00 am my doctor came in and said he wasn't happy with how things were progressing and that we needed to get her out now. So four pushes and a pair of forceps later, Clara was born at 10:30 am.

Joe and I always knew that the addition of a baby to our family would be a lot of work. What we weren't prepared for is how much fun it would be. Clara is such a joy to have in our home. We constantly find ourselves in awe of this precious little girl.

We brought Clara home on the 17th of July to her Aunt Erinn, Uncle Spencer, and Grandma Smalley.

Ten days later, on the 25th of July, Shannon and Travis were married in the Timpanogos Temple. It was a beautiful wedding. Shannon looked like a princess. Her colors were plum and silver, and Clara looked adorable in the dress we got her even though it nearly drown her.

The next day, on the 26th, Clara was blessed. We were worried about doing it when she was so little, but we were also worried about passing up an opportunity when we had so many family members in town for the wedding. It worked out all right. Joe did a wonderful job. He had put so much time and thought into preparing for the blessing that it turned out beautifully.

Clara is actually named after my Great-Grandma Evans. She was raised in Malad, Idaho and was an incredible lady. I wrote my senior seminar paper on my Grandma Smalley (Clara was her mother) so I was able to get quite acquainted with this remarkable lady. Here is a quick little snapshot:

"Ilene remembers her mother as a neat and tidy person who, like her grandmother, was never idle. Clara made a different kind of commitment than her mother with the things she chose to busy herself with. Ilene said it was Clara’s resolve to not have her daughters have to wash diapers in the family. There were never lost shoes in the Evans home. Clara taught her children to take care of their things. Everything had its proper place and needed to be put back where it belonged, a trait very similar to the one seen in her grandfather, John Winters Lusk. Clara never told her children to go and do something, but invited them to come and do it with her. She never expected any work from them that she wasn’t willing to do herself. She would frequently turn work time into an enjoyable time to be with her children by singing to them as she worked, or talking to them about different things.
Clara was a small woman, with dark curly hair. Her slender build was a reflection of the work that she dedicated herself to day in and day out. Evan described her as a “pretty little dark haired girl” who was “all business.” There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do. She was shy and quiet in many ways, but she knew what she wanted and would work until she got it."

Another cool thing about Clara's name is that it fits her perfectly. Clara means "clear or bright." Right from the moment she was born she had her eyes wide open and she was just looking around observing things around her. She actually didn't even cry when she was born until they took her away from us. As soon as her daddy went over and started talking to her, she calmed right down and just kept looking around. She is probably the most alert newborn that I have ever seen. She is so engaging and really responds to her surroundings. Like I said before, being a mom is just plain fun.

A couple days after the blessing, all of us flew back to New Jersey and then drove up to my grandparents lakehouse in upstate New York. That was when we finally had some time to relax after all the madness of the summer. My Great-Grandma Benson lives up there, so (how cool is this!) we got to take a 5 generation picture!

My Grandma Benson was so cute. She didn't want to take her eyes off Clara long enough to look up at the camera! It was awesome. At the age of 96 she still has plenty of spitfire!

Clara's cord also fell out up there so we were able to give her her first bath in the kitchen sink where all of us were bathed as babies. She didn't really enjoy the experience as much as we'd hoped.
Now we've been back for a little while and are settling into things a bit more. It has been a wonderful summer.

If you are curious...

We have officially passed the due date. She is biding her sweet time, but we aren't really in any hurry to make her come.
My mom and Spencer came to visit on the 4th of July. I don't thing Spencer actually believes this baby is really going to come...fortunately, as my mother said, it won't be terminal.
Don't worry I promise we will let you know when she makes an appearance.

Time Bomb

So I am sure that everyone gets to the point during pregnancy where they just feel like a walking time bomb. You have no idea when you should start getting that hospital bag ready, how soon is too soon to set up the crib, how far is too far away to go on a vacation....

Joe and I wanted to take one last little trip before this baby comes. We've been working like crazy and so we decided to take a weekend off from all the chaos and just get away. The problem was, we had trouble figuring out dates (every weekend seemed to be filling up so fast!) and where to go (Joe was even uncomfortable going as far as St. George, just in case...). We finally settled on going up to Midway, since it is close, but far enough away to feel like we were going somewhere. We ended up at the Homestead, which I'd loved going to as a kid for fancy dinners on special occasions, but I'd never actually stayed there.

We loved it! We had perfect weather, not too hot, but not too chilly either. Everything was so green, we ate at some wonderful restaurants, and were just able to relax. We even turned our cell phones off for the full two days. It was wonderful!
Then it was time to get back to reality, which was okay. Joe was just glad that while we were up there I didn't go into labor!

A couple fun things have happened since then. Joe's sister Sara came back from her mission the Philippines!

Sorry the picture is a little blurry (Joe was taking the pictures!:). She is so amazing, and worked some miracles for the Lord out there, but we are glad to have her back. Joe made the comment that the family is now "complete" again.

Also, since graduation I have been working 2 jobs (don't ask why, I'm ridiculous....I got two offers). One job is the same job I had through most of college, working for BrainStorm, Inc. developing end-user software training, and also honing my accounting and finance skills (which, at a corporate level were basically at zero - but I am learning a ton!). The other job actually uses my major and minor. I teach English to Korean students that actually live in Korea. All the lessons are via web cam. It is pretty cool, but makes for some interesting hours considering we are 15 hours behind them. As much as I've enjoyed these jobs and appreciate the paychecks, I'm so excited to be a mom. I really can't think of any other job I would rather have. So although I know that this baby is going to bring changes I never could've anticipated, I feel motivated and excited to tackle this role head on.

Well for an update with the wedding plans, Shannon and I found a dress for the baby for the wedding. Shannon's colors are plum and silver, and the dress goes perfectly. I just hope the baby will be able to fit into it; it looks a little big although it is a "newborn" size.

Isn't it adorable? I love it!

Also, I couldn't resist taking a picture of my flowers. With all this rain my gardens are actually looking decent this year. This garden is the one I struggled with the most, and it finally looks like something beautiful is growing. The other gardens have a lot more color and variety, but I was just proud this one is doing well.

Less than one month left until the baby arrives! (Due date is July 10th)

Who would've thought?

So several exciting things have happened in the last month and I decided that it was time to stop relishing the freedom and get my act together. So here's what's been going on in the Ellis household as of late:

1. Shannon is officially engaged. She is marrying a guy she met at BYU named Travis Adams. He is a good guy who is from California and he served his mission in Ogden. I tried finding a picture of her ring that I could post, but nothing could quite do it justice. Suffice it to say it is a ring that only Shannon could wear. All the diamonds in the ring probably equals out to about 4 karats. It is quite the site to behold. I'll see if I can get her to send me a picture that I can post. The big day is on the 25th of July, two weeks after the baby is due. It will be a really exciting summer!

2. Not only did I successfully complete my student teaching, and my ESL practicum, but I graduated! I wasn't really too keen on walking at graduation, but then I devised a plan to get my parents out here for the occasion. Not only was my plan successful, but I got to spend an entire week with both my parents and grandparents. It made the whole event worth it. It has been realistic for me to push aside how much I miss my family whenever I can't be with them. The week that my parents were here however, I just loved having a mom and a dad again. I miss them so much. It was nice having my mom here during a time when I am trying to adapt and prepare for so many physical, mental, and emotional changes in our home. It was so fun to have my dad out here, see him having fun and smiling all the time rather than bending over a laptop most of the time (there was a little bit of that, but not much:)). So, I am still doing everything in my power to get them to move out here. We'll see how that goes, but I think things are working in my favor with Shannon getting married, McKay headed to BYU-I in the fall, and grandchild numero uno due in a little less than nine weeks.

Okay story time. So, I borrowed a black cap and gown from my mom's friend Patty who had graduated from BYU Idaho just the year before. I thought it was a sweet deal because I could slide out of paying the $45 for something that I would only wear once and probably never want to look at again because of haunting maternity memories. The night before graduation I had a nightmare that everyone else was in a blue cap and gown instead of black and that everyone else had green and yellow tassles instead of white ones (nightmares have seemed to be a regular occurance during the latter part of this pregnancy - I just get too darn hot at night!). I woke up all in a panic and then fell back asleep chuckling and feeling relieved that it was just a dream.

The next day we showed up a graduation and sure enough, everyone was in a blue cap and gown instead of black. I guess they'd decided to change it this year (although I have no idea why, that's just what I heard). Anyway, my tassle was the right color, but needless to say I got a few funny stares from people who were wondering what the heck I was doing. Whenever someone would ask about it I just told them they didn't have maternity sizes in the blue.

Despite the color catastrophe they gave me my diploma (or the holder for it) anyway. I was super excited and it will probably now be a new running family joke for the next 20 years of my life. What can I say? I am here to entertain.

3. We got a crib and dresser for the baby!

As a graduation present, my grandfather decided that he wanted to splurge on his first great-granddaughter and get her some bedroom furniture. I was trying to stick on the conservative side in terms of cost. However, because my mom and grandma came along for the trip, we ended up getting something a little more...to my tastes? It is so beautiful!4. We got our gardens all planted!

Yay for planting season. Joe and I both love this time of year! Joe has been so giddy about all the veggies we planted, literally checking on them everynight and investing a great deal of time and effort into the perfect watering system to keep them adequately hydrated. My flowers turned out better than I could've hoped and I'm excited to see the bulbs and seeds my mom and I planted while she was out here come up! What a wonderful time of year!

5. Our little girl is getting bigger and bigger everyday.

After taking these pictures Joe and I were in consensus that they just don't do the belly justice. For some reason it just doesn't look as big as I feel (as is probably only natural).

Well that is about it for now. Life is good. We are very happy and getting more and more excited for the arrival of our little girl every day.

3 more days!

That is right ladies and gentlemen...only three days left of student teaching and then I will be able to graduate on the 23rd and 24th of April! I am so excited! I think the best part is that my parents will be out here for a week staying with us! It will be so nice to have them here!

So a quick update on the last few weeks. A few days after my last post, I was in a car accident. A teenage driver pulled out from a residential road right in front of me. It was pretty scary. All I know is that the baby and I were very protected. I got to take my first ride in an ambulence, which was rather interesting and extremely uncomfortable! Once they determined I didn't have any broken bones they took me up to labor and delivery to monitor the baby and check fluid levels. I was a wreck for several hours because I hadn't felt the baby move after the accident. It was such a relief to be able to hear her heartbeat.

I've been to the doctor several times since then for various things they wanted to check because of the accident, but in the end we are both well. Since the crash I have had an increase in contractions, which at 25 weeks has had the doctor a little worried. I've been ordered to take it easy and I've decided that I really don't know how to do that very well. When I feel well I want to be busy doing the things that need to be done, not sitting around hoping that I have enough energy. So, that has been an adjustment - haha and so much for my new found exercise routine that I was so ecstatic about! Oh well - having a baby that goes full term will be much more worth it than being in shape.

Shortly after the accident Joe and I went out for a treat and got to see Shannon perform in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story - two back-to-back productions that BYU's Theatre Ballet put on. It was wonderful and once again I have to play the bragging sister - Shannon was incredible; literally the best one on that stage.

I love my cute husband who indulges his wife and goes to ballets! He is such a good sport! He even poses for pictures afterward. He is wonderful!

Belly

Well, here are a couple belly pictures. I look funny in them, but oh well. Is it really that obvious that I've never posed for one of these before?

So, what do you think? This is the 21 week picture.

It has been so fun feeling her moving around more and more. She definitely has a little personality. She loves to wiggle. Something that is fun now, is to wake up early in the morning and just feel her move. I've really enjoyed it! Joe is so eager to put his hand on my belly to feel her move whenever I start to giggle that she's moving around a lot. We are so excited to be parents!
Oh, and I feel like I've finally hit my stride with this pregnancy in last two weeks. I have so much more energy than I did before! It is wonderful! I ran a little bit for the first time since October and I was so excited. Joe and I went to the gym and normally I just take it easy, but I was on the treadmill and was feeling good, so I decided to see if I could run a little. It felt so good, and I was really sore the next day, but I can't wait to go again. It has been really hard for me not to run these last five months. Funny how much you come to appreciate activites you didn't really like much as soon as you can't do them anymore!

I thought I would post this picture for fun. Here is Joe wanting to be included in the belly pictures: