Hazel got a new scarf from Nanna Jones for Christmas

It was too cute not to show off

Kangaroo

This is what made Hazel

(and me)

very happy the other day.

It kept her very content while I got things done around the house.

We've also graduated from most newborn size clothing around here.

That's ok though. 

Clothes start getting much cuter in bigger sizes.

She's in kind of an in-between size right now.

She's too big for most of her newborn clothes 

but most 3month sizes don't quite fit just yet

Fancy Pants

We got dressed up fancy for church today

and found out that yellow is a good color on one of us.

This little girl is starting to pack on the chubs giving us more reasons to want to eat her.

We love this little round face.

I'm not even sure why I bother getting her dressed up 

since she just ends up swaddled and sleeping.

Mostly it just makes for cute pictures afterwards.

I think this is our first family picture with the three of us 

It only took six and a half weeks...

I should get better at that

1 month

I can't believe Hazel is already a month old. 

Some days I feel like it shouldn't be that long since she was born.

Other days I feel like we've had her forever.

She's a very easy-going baby.

She's happiest right after she eats

and looks so darn cute all dressed up.

I have a cute baby

Hazel got her pictures taken here

These were taken when she was 9 days old.

Dang she's cute.

3 weeks

My little Hazel girl is 3 weeks old today.

At her last doctor's appointment she still wasn't back up to her birth weight.

And even though she's so little, I feel like she's already getting bigger.

Hazel has been smiling since she was first born but it was only when she was half asleep.

Just yesterday she started actually smiling at us.

It doesn't happen too often but its so cute.

She was super sleepy today.

1 week

My baby is a week old as of yesterday.

As much as I want her to put on some chubs... I also just want her to stay this little forever.

Abbie and Jake also gave Hazel a cute cousin today.

Baby Mary was born this morning.

Hazel and Mary are only 8 days apart.

I think they'll be best friends.

Hazel Fay Jones

Hazel finally made her worldly debut on Wednesday.

We are pretty much smitten by her.

She's 7lbs 4oz of squishy cuddly goodness

She loves to be held which is totally fine by me and everyone that comes to visit.

I think my mom has held her at least once a day.

Briley is a close second.

Ben can't pick her up without telling her how cute she is. 

Hazel's nurse fashioned her this beanie with a bow.

I had awesome nurses for labor and delivery which was nice since I had a long stay.

I'll have to tell the delivery story next.

We love you Hazel Fay.

We're glad you're finally here.

Dear baby,

Today is your due date. 

I've been looking forward to this exact date for many months now.

I'm feeling like you're getting pretty comfortable right where you are though.

I would really like to meet you very soon.

There's nothing to hold you back anymore.

Nana and Grampa are back from Boston.

Your crib is all set up.

Your new clothes are all washed.

You have plenty of diapers and wipes.

I shaved my legs and clipped my toenails today (that wasn't very easy to do)

The fridge has plenty of food.

My hospital bag is packed and ready.

I think it's time.

Your dad is getting very anxious.

Mable has been asking about you for weeks now.

Won't you come so I can finally see you?

We're ready.

Pre-baby--- Pre-semester

Last weekend Ben and I snuck away to California.

It was glorious.

We decided to go the weekend before, booked a hotel, bought too many snacks, and drove off.

It was a short but sweet trip.

We figured it would be our last trip alone before the baby comes in October.

And Ben starts a new semester of school in a few weeks.

We got there Friday evening and played all day Saturday.

We rode a ferry to Balboa Island where we ate lunch

Then we talked as we watched the pretty boats in the harbor

Then we went back to Newport beach and played

Ben convinced me to come into the cold cold water with the huge waves

and I got pummeled.

So we went back and laid on our towels to dry off in the sun.

I dug a hole under my part of the towel so I could lay on my stomach.

It felt so good.

We  took our time coming home the next day by driving down the coast and going through San Diego.

We made a few stops along the way.

The first was to a scenic spot where I fed the fat squirrels out of my hand.

Ben wanted to get closer to the water by the cliff so he made his own way down there.

Then he got scared by a large snake that didn't like him very much

So he came back

When we got back in the car we saw the sign that said this

oops.

Then we stopped in Carlsbad for some yummy danishes

And drove past the San Diego temple. 

It was Sunday so the temple grounds were closed

And made it home just barely in time for Sunday dinner.

The whole trip was short but so very very worth it.

We had a lot of fun.

Got a little sun burned.

And then came back home to reality.

Reality is not as fun as California.

Sneak Peek

Here is a little sneak peek at what the nursery is going to look like for baby girl Jones.

(oh ya, I painted that)

The room is not entirely finished but it won't be too long now.

Just a few minor details left.

Things I didn't know...

About being pregnant...

and some I kind of knew

1.    Leg cramps.

What the heck is that about? 

A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain in my calf. The muscle was so tight and I wasn't even flexing. It hurt SO bad

2.    Heart burn.

Ok, I kind of knew about this one but I didn't even know what heart burn was until I got pregnant. It's a good things Tums taste like giant Smarties.

3.    Everyone LOVES giving pregnancy advice

I guess I should have known this one. People give you advice on what worked for them like all pregnancies are the same... Advice turns into stories about their own pregnancy... Stories turn into two people trying to one-up each other with their worst pregnancy stories... Then within a few minutes you're not even part of the conversation anymore, but you still feel like you have to stand there and listen cause you started the whole conversation just by being pregnant.

4.    People don't look you in the face anymore.

Most conversations I have now are 10% eye contact and 90% eye to belly contact. Its like they want to see if I've gotten any bigger within the time period of our conversation... or maybe they just want to make sure the bump is still there. I'm not really sure.

5.    Touch first... ask second

I've noticed a lot lately that people will touch my belly AND THEN ask if its ok that they touch it. I really don't mind much, just seems a little backwards.

6.    "You're getting so big!"

For most people, this phrase is thought to be a compliment to a pregnant person. What do I say to that? Thank you? I've also heard, "You look so pregnant today." Or, "Wow, you really grew over the weekend."

What is the proper response to things like that? Saying that you've gained weight to any other person would not be a compliment but with the right tone of voice, saying it to a pregnant person suddenly becomes alright. And really, I don't mind it when people say things like that. I've even had one girl at work tell me that she was glad that I finally didn't look like I just had a beer belly anymore... again, it was a compliment... I think.

And now for your viewing pleasure...

Here's a picture of me in the classic "I'm pregnant" pose

I'm 26 weeks along.

That's almost 6 months.

And I'm almost in my third trimester

Bitter-sweet

Last night I played my last softball game for a very long time.

I'm 25 weeks  pregnant now (that's 5 1/2 months!).

Lots of people said I was crazy for playing this long and they might have been right.

I just wanted to play for as long as I could since I know it will be a long time until I'll be able to get back into it.

Last night was actually the first time that I didn't care to play very much.

I'm a lot slower now and trying to run fast is a lot harder carrying half of a little person.

Last week I got knocked over by a large cave women from another team and it was really scary... she was a big girl and did not slow down one bit as she bull dozed right through me.

I'm ok... no worries. The baby is still kicking strong.

I fell onto my back and the ogre did not fall on me.

So considering what happened, I guess I was pretty lucky.

Softball. This is not  "good-bye"

It's more of a "see you later"

Fry's Parking

For quite a few years now I have been parking here at Fry's

For one- I think it's a ridiculous parking sign

Two- it's not even that close of parking

Three- sometimes its the only available spot

And four-I've always "expected" to be a mom

Well now I can legitimately park there.

But I do think they should change the sign to pink for me.
I can't wait to get our nursery ready for a girl.
She'll be born very close to... if not right on Grandma Donna's birthday.
Almost half way there

Furniture

When Grandma Donna passed away a few months ago we inherited a few things from her house.

Some things were good just the way they were.

Like this little orange table

I think its so perfect.

Its not the best picture but I think it's my favorite piece of furniture in the house.

Those are flowers from the funeral. 

The table now holds a tiny globe and some old books.

The other piece of furniture we got was a dresser for Ben.

Not attractive by any means but we needed a place for Ben's clothes.

Our old apartment had built in shelves in the closet so when we moved in our house we were out of luck.

I didn't like the color so I decided to attempt my first furniture remodel.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

Just don't look too closely at the paint job.

Its a chocolate brown with white outlining on the drawers and new hardware.

It wasn't too hard of a project but it did take me a while to complete just cause I got busy with other things after I started.

My next furniture project is a little sewing table from Grandma Donna's as well.

I'm not as motivated to start that one since I'm not really a sewer.

It will be fun though and who knows, maybe I'll learn to sew more than a strait line.

Walter Cron-cat

For one of my Christmas presents this year Ben got me a bag of Kitten Chow and a bag of kitty litter with a note saying that I could get a kitten of my choice. 

A few weeks ago we picked up this little guy.

His name is Walter

He's kind of a trouble-maker

He also really likes to cuddle

And be in everyone's business... like all the time

Walter also loves toys and anything that he can bat around to chase after... like twistie ties and corn pops

He learned how to play fetch too

Sometimes he can be annoying, but for the most part we kind of like him.

So welcome to the family Walter Cron-cat