Botanical Gardens

The botanical gardens are amazing. We spent about 4 hours walking around and then ended the day by walking through Piedmont park a little while.

Piedmont Park

Georgia Aquarium

Stephen and I went to the aquarium during Atlanta's museum week and were able to get two tickets for the price of one. We loved the jelly fish and the dolphin show was pretty awesome.

Our 2nd Anniversary

It is so good to be settled into our new apartment here in Atlanta and to finally have Stephen back home! It was a very long 6 weeks being apart but he is home for good now and has a nice long break before starting rotations. Luckily his semester in Florida ended two days before our second anniversary. Since he has been home we have been keeping ourselves busy every day by finishing up the apartment and putting together the nursery. Everything has been falling into place and looking perfect. We really love our home here and we couldn't be happier with the area that we chose to live in. We are close to everything we need and less than a mile from our church and the Temple. Everyone we have met at church have been so kind and our first Sunday we were invited to have dinner at a ward members home. We feel very lucky to have ended up where we are. 

For our anniversary we spent the day continuing to put together baby furniture and cleaning up around the apartment. We also had our first tornado warning which we thought was pretty awesome. We took a short walk through one of the parks near our apartment and enjoyed watching the ducks for a little while. They were pretty disappointed that we didn't have bread for them. Next time we will know to bring some with us. For dinner we decided to go to the melting pot which was so amazing! We spent two and half hours there and had such a good time. Then we came home and watched our wedding video which is always so much fun. One of our goals for every anniversary is to go do temple sealings. Our sealer when we got married hoped that we would still be coming back to do sealings on our 50th anniversary. We went a couple days after our anniversary and it was really special. One sealer in particular who did most of the sealings was such a neat person. He had some really good things to say and sometimes he would just pause after doing a sealing and smile at how happy that particular couple was to finally be sealed for all time and eternity. Going to the temple is such a special experience and I am so glad that our sealer suggested for us to go do sealings at least once a year on our anniversary. It is such a good reminder at the amazing blessings Stephen and I have together forever. 

Baby Boy Peirce - Third Trimester

30 Weeks

March 8, 2015: Our little baby is now almost 3 pounds and almost 16 inches long! So far the third trimester is flying by which is a little scary since there is still lots to do before this little boy comes (like move across the country). I am now 30 weeks and my main discomfort is back pain. Luckily sleeping has still been fine but I have a feeling my back is not going to get much relief until little one decides to come. Last week at the doctors I had my dreaded glucose test which was actually not so bad. I love my sugar and that orange sugar drink actually tasted really good. Baby boy is still measuring perfectly and moving around just as much as always. Stephen and I's favorite part about the third trimester so far is feeling our baby boy. He is getting big enough that we can feel where he is and follow him as he moves his little feet and body. It is so much fun watching him while he is active and moving around. He has also been getting hiccups every day which is kind of fun to notice. I have ten more weeks to go and I have so far gained a 16 pound belly. Probably the most bizarre thing about pregnancy has been the change in my hair. It is now easier to have it curled than to straighten it. I've never been able to hold curls without a gallon of hair spray and a ton of moose. Now I curl it real quick and they stay without any hair product for days. Pregnancy sure does do some funny things to your body. Stephen and I are getting really excited for the next 10 weeks to come and go so we can meet our baby boy.

31 Weeks

March 13 - 20, 2015: Only a little bit has changed in week 31. I can now add leg aches to my back pain discomfort list. Sleeping used to be my favorite part of the day and it probably still is, except that now I can't sleep very well because my legs ache all night from having to sleep on my sides. So I switch from side to side about every hour. Something else new this week is waking up in the middle of the night unable to fall back asleep. I'm not sure if that is because of the pregnancy or the fact that I am moving so soon and trying to get things all taken care of before then. I had my last doctors appointment this week before moving to Atlanta. Baby is still doing just fine and everything looks great. 

32 Weeks

March 21 - 28, 2015: Week 32 is here and I am feeling quite large and uncomfortable. I'll just add hip pain to my back pain and leg ache discomfort list this week. As well as continuing to wake up some nights for 1 to 2 hours unable to fall back asleep. I have noticed keeping my bedroom super cold has seemed to help me sleep a little bit at least. This week I had my baby shower which was so perfect in every way! I loved seeing friends and family and feel so blessed at all the wonderful gifts our little boy got. This is my last week living in Utah before moving to Atlanta. I am getting so excited to have a home again of our own and start this next chapter of our lives. This week I also started packing my hospital bag and picked out babies going home outfit! It might be to big for him though so I have a few backup options.

Flying this baby to Atlanta at 33 Weeks

Week 35

April 15, 2015: I am now in week 35. I was thinking that this just wasn't going to happen to me but sometime between weeks 33 and now my belly button became an outie. It has slowly been disappearing completely so I was surprised one morning to wake up with the top of it poking out but I love it. Baby is still healthy and doing well. It's been a busy couple weeks moving across the country and into our new home. At my last doctors appointment I had actually lost 2 pounds but baby is still measuring right and his heart is strong. The doctor said it can be normal to lose a little bit in the 3rd trimester so all is good. Next week we have another ultrasound and we are so excited to see our little one. If only it was going to see him in person but for now an ultrasound will do just fine. We are getting very anxious to meet baby boy.

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

April 24 - May 1, 2015: I am now 37 weeks and according to my doctor considered full term. That just means that if I were to go into labor at any time now my doctor wouldn't try to stop it. If I had any complaints about being pregnant before now they were nothing because being this far along is definitely the most uncomfortable time. I just want to be able to sleep on my back again and move around. So I am very excited that the end is coming soon. Stephen and I were able to see our baby during an ultrasound last week but it wasn't one of the fancy ultrasounds so we didn't actually see much. Baby boy was 6 pounds 7 ounces and just as healthy as ever. He was also head down like we thought he was. My doctor thinks he won't be much bigger than 7 1/2 pounds when I deliver! We have now finished decorating the nursery, installed the carseat, and have the hospital bags all ready to go when the little guy decides he is ready to come. We have even taken a tour of the hospital and are really happy with everything we saw. At my doctors appointment this week I was 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced. She told us most likely baby won't be making an appearance this week. At this point I have gained just under 20 pounds and so far have no stretch marks which I am so happy about. For now Stephen and I are just enjoying the time off he has from school and trying to see a bit of Atlanta before baby comes!

Last Couple Weeks of March

March has been both a very long month and a pretty difficult one. Stephen has been in Florida for 3 weeks now and it is horrible being apart. the only thing that makes it somewhat ok is knowing that he is doing really well there and enjoying his semester. He was able to work in an obgyn clinic for two weeks and he learned a lot and really enjoyed it. Besides the clinic work he has also been in classes a lot. He is living with a really nice couple close to campus and couldn't have lucked out more with his living situation. His first night there his landlady cooked him a 5 course dinner and has been so generous and kind to him. Another night Jake and Som were there on vacation and took him to dinner. He only has 3 more weeks there and I will be so happy to have him home just in time for our second anniversary!

With it being my last couple weeks in Utah I have made it a priority to visit a lot of my friends to say my goodbyes. It was especially fun seeing most of them at my baby shower and actually having a little bit of time to visit with them. One of my best friends Zandra is moving the same day as me so it was a lot of fun going to her going away party and seeing some people one last time that I wouldn't have otherwise. One of the best nights I've had the last couple weeks was at the Pretty Little Liars finale party one of friends puts on every season. The show ended really poorly but it was way fun to dress up and make guesses for the next season. The best were all the scary dolls all around the room watching it with us. 

As far as packing has gone I gave myself 3 full weeks and packed a little bit every day. It worked out perfectly and there was only one disaster getting everything ready to go. The disaster was when I decided to clean out Stephen's 72 hour kit...and found it full of weevil larva! As soon as we opened the bag it smelled as if there was a dead animal in it but it wasn't until we opened the side pockets and got to the bottom of the bag that we noticed all of the weevils. A few of them sprayed out and got on my pants and I swear in my hair. It was a horrible adventure and I will just say about 90% of that 72 hour kit ended up right in the trash. We were able to salvage some of it though. Loading the moving truck went really smoothly. With the help of some ward members it only took an hour and a half to get it all loaded and ready to go. My dad left a couple days later and is going to meet my mom and I in Atlanta on the 31st. It is officially happening now. Moving to Atlanta in two days!

Peter Rabbit Baby Shower

Saturday was so much fun because I was able to have my baby shower! I have been looking forward to it for months. My mom really went above and beyond to make it completely perfect in every way. I am so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends who care so much about baby and me. The theme for the shower was Peter Rabbit and everything turned out so adorable. It was so much fun having Stephen's mom and sisters come as well as all of my friends, some who I haven't seen in such a long time. I got so many wonderful gifts and feel like such a lucky mommy to be. Stephen and I cannot wait for our little boy to come. Less than 8 weeks now!