Baby Deets

A lot of you wanted the deets about this baby, so to start....we're so happy! I was initially reluctant to do this all over again, but after not getting pregnant for so long...I am ready and can't believe it actually happened. Dave and I both feel so lucky to get one more little person and wish Baby was already here.

Because these things take time, here's what's happened so far...

Baby was initially given the due date of Halloween. Perfect, huh? After a few appointments, however, Baby is measuring a little small. The doc.'s have bumped the date to November 8th. Grr... The good news is that we do C-sections, so baby will probably come about a week or so before then.

At my initial appointment, we couldn't find a heartbeat. Dave didn't make it to that appointment and I was doing my best to keep in my tears. They pulled out the ultrasound, and found that Baby was doing just fine in there. Eesh! In spite of the scare, it was definitely fun getting an early peek and pictures of Baby.***Dave will now be at the rest of my appointments.

Dave has given Baby the name, Orlando (for undisclosed reasons).

Kate, too, has given Baby a lovely name--Ferb. From the get-go, she has insisted that Baby is a boy. Nervous that she may be sorely disappointed, we told her that if it's a girl, she can share a room with the baby (just like Subby and Baby Lucy). Now Baby is definitely a girl! Isn't it amazing how Baby's gender can just change like that?

Kate's also already taking on the role of Big Sister: covering my belly with her blanket (saying it's for baby), singing "Happy Birthday" to the baby, sharing food with me so she can, in turn, share with the baby, etc. It's been so fun watching her.

We had our first appointment with the specialist, Dr. Schimmer, yesterday. He worked with us when I was pregnant with Kate, and we're so glad to get him again. Our appointment was very promising. He was very reassuring that all will go well. We're praying all the time for everything to go as smooth as last time. Our next appointment with him is on my birthday when we we will be well into the 2nd Trimester.

And last, I haven't been sick at all with this pregnancy...not even tired. I have noticed, however, an increased appetite already (and an additional 5 L.B.'s)! Sigh. I guess I'm willing to gain some weight if it means we get one more baby.

I want to kiss your two lips…

Monday night we made our second annual pilgrimage to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. We met up with Ryan, Dren, and the boys and toured the vast landscapes.

The Bloom-o-meter at the ticket booth said 40% so there are still a lot of flowers that need to open up.

Cotton Candy!!

If you’ve never been to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens, it’s really quite amazing to see. It’s a little pricey for what you get, but find a coupon or go with a member and they’ll get you in for half price.

An owl has made a nest on the rocks near the waterfall, it was drawing quite the crowd…

The weather was perfect, and everything looked great in the early evening hours.

Kate and her favorite two boys in the whole world!

Hey…what’s that?

On a side note…this will probably be the last time Ashley has me post on our blog. It was nice while it lasted. --Dave

Crabby

Call me a weirdo, but my favorite part to any trip is room service. I think there is absolutely nothing better than being on vacation and getting breakfast in bed!

On Sunday of our trip, we had little breakfast for the kings. Incredible cream-cheese and strawberry stuffed french toast, topped with a vanilla bean custard filled our bellies, along with eggs, toast, hashbrowns, ham, o.j. and hot cocoa. Nope, the Blackhurst's don't eat light!

After breakfast, it was time for church. It was a really good fast and testimony meeting, reminding me of what church was like outside of Utah, but not necessarily giving me that yearning to go back to it. After church, we checked out of the hotel and stopped by the San Diego temple.

Beautiful and majestic, but then we all knew that.

We drove the rest of the way to Long Beach, where we could be close to the airport for our flight the next morning. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, and might I just say...looks, they can be deceiving! Based off the online pics and four-star rating, I expected much more out of that hotel. Eeghh. Kind of dirty.

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We spent the rest of the day walking around the Long Beach area, and most importantly, going to dinner at my one and only Houston's. Their crab cakes are truly heaven, and their Buttermilk Garlic dressing and traditional salad, well, they're heaven too. Have I mentioned this before? Oh, Houston's. If only you'd set up shop in Utah.

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LGB airport was kind of a nightmare the next morning. The airport (if you've been, you'll know) isn't suited for large crowds and multiple flights. It's small, actually tiny, and made up of several trailers or satellites that serve as the gates. So that morning, there were two flights at once, and the airport was in a real pickle! The check-in lines were LONG, and I think they were terribly understaffed. We were only minutes away from not making our flight. Don't want to diss LGB, though. It's normally quite nice and quaint--nothing like LAX airport.

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Anyway, that's the whole (or the short) of our trip. We definitely made many new happy memories!

Disneyland 2010

I hate to already use "Disneyland 2010" as a post title because I'm not so sure it will be our last visit for 2010; here's hoping..

So we wanted to do a beach day on Saturday of our trip. Due to the overcast weather, and not so-hot temperature, we opted out and went to Disneyland instead. Despite all my negativity-ity, I really do love that park, and taking Kate there has opened a whole new world of excitement for Dave and me.

If you could even see that little girl of ours and how star-stricken she is when she meets the characters...you'd understand why we go there so often.

Pooh and Kate---Cutest picture of the trip!

Another fun moment of the day had nothing to do with characters of the Disney sort, but a character of quite another. We saw Blink-182's Travis Barker (centered and tattooed in the pic below) adding to my list of famous people sightings. And here we are behind Sleeping Beauty's castle. Oh, so fun!

Sea World 2010

It was so fun playing the grown up and taking our little family to one of my childhood favorites--Sea World.

To start off on low note: the Shamu show has changed quite a bit (in a less-fun sort of way). No more humans getting in the water and doing flippy-do's with the whales, no more child getting chosen from the audience to give Shamu a great big hug...but I guess safety first. Still the best show in the park, however.

We filled our day with some fun kiddy-rides.

Watched my very favorite, oh-so squeezy penguins. "Stamped" our first-born

Fed some very funny and loud sea lions some very stinky and dead fishAnd saw a handful of shows.

To end the day, we got our little Build-a-Bear a few accessories to add to her wardrobe:

Spring Break 2010

We were lucky enough to swing another California vacation during Spring Break. What was supposed to be just San Diego, turned into an Anaheim-also trip (is anyone else not surprised)?

So Day One, we arrived in Long Beach, where my heart got its initial wrench of sadness and homesickness. To further my pain (as well as satisfaction), we stopped at a Baja Fresh and sunk our teeth into a Burrito Ultimo. Oh, California...

From there we drove to San Diego and checked out the newly remodeled Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center in Old Town; totally different building and experience. Everything was really neat about it, almost Disneyesque. But judging by her tears when she forced to leave, I'd say Kate liked panning for gold the most.

After Old Town, we checked in at our hotel, the Loews Resort on Coronado Island. Lovely, wonderful, awesome. I think we'll stay there again.

The Room

The View

For dinner that night we ate at an uppity restaurant at the hotel. Food was good, service was SSSSSSSSSSSSSLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW! It was one of those rare times where I wanted dessert, but couldn't stand the thought as to how long I'd have to wait for it. We bypassed the restaurant's dessert, and got a few sweets from the cafe in the lobby and went back to our rooms for bed.

And so Day One ends.

Aren't WE Tricky?

For General Conference Dave's family always meets in between the sessions for a family lunch. This year's food assignment...the fruit tray.

Of course, my darling husband is full of good ideas and thought we should try our hands at edible arranging. I was a true nay-sayer, but Dave forged on. He bought all the fruits, toothpicks, skewers, and baskets needed for the project.

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Sunday morning...no turning back. We started out in our usually kitchen roles (Dave as the chef; me, the souix chef). But once we got going, I sort of took over. Who knew working with food in the kitchen could be so fun? Before we I knew it, the first arrangement was done. Dave was a little bothered by my sudden "interest" in our project, I think, so when it came time to do the second arrangement, I made a little room and let Dave do one too.

Anyway, we impressed all with our skills.

Easter 2010

Easter 2010

Having fun with cousins... Scavenging for eggs... Dying eggs as a family...
Opening the Easter Bunny's surprises...
Discovering Pez dispensors for the very first time...

And trying out a new set of very cool Dora rollerskates (while also wearing some large, but very important, safety gear)...

Our Easter was a good one!