One tired puppy

Kobe was pretty pooped out after all the excitement these past few days.

A-hunting we did go!!

The family had an awesome time hunting for a Christmas tree this past week. The day was perfect and sunny and there was plenty of snow to make it fun! (and we managed to only get one vehicle stuck....) Even little Banksie had fun exploring the snow that went up to his knees. We found a great tree and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Right Hand Ring

I now own a right hand ring...it just so happens to be my wedding ring! My fingers have begun to shrink due to my pregnancy. It happened to my sister, too. But it's funny because most women's fingers start to swell and they can't wear their wedding rings because they'll get stuck. Lucky for me, my right ring finger is slightly beefier than my left so I can remain legitimately prego for a while longer. :)

Snow Dog!!

he looks a little demonic but the red-eye thing on my computer doesn't work on huge eyes i guess.

So its snowing. And Snowing....Kobe likes the snow, as you can see! He pretends he's a rescue-dog or something because he goes around the backyard and smells the snow. Like he's looking for something. As for me, I like the snow when I'm home. Driving in it is another story. Apparently Orem city had a few budget cuts this year, one of which was the snow-plows because NONE of the roads I traveled were plowed, and the only managed to get to the free-way by this afternoon. This morning was a joke. Anyway, it's pretty and I'm going to invest in an ice-scraper because mine disappeared...I have to make due with a sock (don't know how that got in my car) and a plastic bag. Which is actually a pretty good set-up when there isn't ice.

Today's events

sorry it's a little blurry. my camera is pretty cool and i'm too lazy to fix it.

Today was the most active I've been in a few weeks so I figured I'd let you in on how it went:

Well, after completing a day at work I was walking out to my car and completely wiped out on the grass in the snow! I fell FLAT ON MY BACK and just laid there for second laughing at myself. It was all in slow motion too, I remember saying, "Ohhhhhhhhh Nooooooooooooo!" as I fell. Good news, it was in nice fluffy snow on the grass. And I don't think anyone was in the parking lot with me, although they would've got a good laugh!

I went home and got my doggie to go visit grandpa and nanna. Mostly because I had nothing else to do. Well, on the way he accidentally rolled his window down. It wasn't that cold and I figured he'd be happy for a while so I let it go. But I was in the middle of a conversation with Brian on my phone and not paying much attention. In my head I was thinking, "gosh, its kinda loud. I better roll that window up," and I did. Kobe, however, was still hanging out of it so he pretty much screamed and I started busting up on the phone because I just rolled my poor doggie up in the window! I think mostly it scared him and he fell off the seat but he crawled over to my lap and laid there like he about died. It was sad, but mostly funny.

So I visited with my dad when I got to their house. We had cocoa and talked about stuff and it was nice. I told him about my snow angel dive and rolling up the dog in the window and he thought that was pretty funny. I hung out there for a while, talked with my mom when she came home, and headed home myself.

Then I made cookies!! Actually, I baked them because I made them earlier in the month and froze half the batch in ready-to-cook balls. And they turned out awesome! I put some in bags and now i'm headed to visit teach and give them as gifts to my two comp's.

the end.

6 Months!

I've made it to the six-month mark. Crazy, huh? So I figured I'd honor the day by taking a tummy shot. A little scandalous, I know, but I had on that dang black shirt again--its too hard to see the stomach. But so far, the little dude is doing well. He's kicking more and more and has some serious range. He can now hit me on the front side and my backside at the same time, which is pretty trippy. I've gained weight too so the doctor is happy. As I enter my THIRD trimester I think to myself, "HOLY CRAP!!!" :) that about sums it up.

LexisNexis Christmas Par-tay!

Look at those poker faces...we're pro's. It's a good thing the dealers helped us know how to play!

My company threw it's "End of the Year Celebration" this past week. It was actually really fun. They served a lovely dinner from UVU's upscale restaurant and then we got to "gamble" the night away! They gave us all 1,000 bucks worth of chips and had dealers for Blackjack, Texas hold em, and a Crap's table (is that really how you spell that?) We spent the night with Texas hold em and kolt did pretty well at first, then he lost mostly everything. The people with the most chips at the end (value-wise, of course) got prizes, then the rest of us had the normal raffle drawing. We didn't win anything but It was fun to get dressed up and pretend to know how to play poker.

Christmas Time is Heeeere!

the tree. Oooo-look at all those presents!

the stockings were hung by the stairway with care...
:)

our computer desk is so festive.

We are officially decorated for Christmas. Yesterday, we went and cut our tree with Kolts' family. It was really quite lovely since there was no snow and it was 50 degrees outside. It makes for a lovely walk in the woods.

My Little Herb Garden

Oregano, Chives, Thyme, and Basil before I gave them all a haircut.

As fall turned colder, I brought in most of my herbs from my garden to try my hand at some indoor gardening (the mints didn't pass the cut). It turned out to be easier than outside. No joke. I thought my plants were going to croak with the move indoors since all summer they only grew a little bit (besides the basil which went crazy). Instead, they all are flourishing and are as happy as can be! It's amazing. Seriously. I had to trim them yesterday just because they are all doing so well that they'll grow out of their containers before I can re-plant them back outside. So for all you who fear winter-gardening indoors, don't.

Maybe I just have the touch--hahaha, yeah right, I should include a picture of my Azalea plant that is on the brink of crossing over to the next life. After it's very stylish terracotta pot started molding on my counter, it was moved outside and mostly forgotten. (these plants need to have their soil moist at all times so I should've thought through my pot purchase before hand but no.) There are a few happy leaves left so I transplanted it into a larger facility and I'm keeping a close eye on it. Mostly, its just enjoying the ambiance of the happier plants that surround it. I'm hoping they all coax it back to life, along with it's new plastic (and therefore anti-molding) pot.

My Crazy dog

This is what happened this morning. Kobe woke me up crying in his kennel today, I think he had a claw stuck in his collar...anyway, I let him potty and then brought him up to the bedroom and closed the door while I got ready. After my shower, I came out to wake up Kolt and couldn't find the dog anywhere. Kolt said he didnt' let him back out so then I was really confused because the dog was seriously no where in the room. So Kolt started calling to him and all of the sudden the comforter started to move and Kobe tunneled his way out from the very bottom of the bed! The best part is that he knows he's not supposed to be on the bed and usually just finds a spot on the floor or in the closet to sleep in the mornings. I guess he thought he was pretty sneaky, and in fact he was because he didn't move even a little bit when I was looking for him. It took his dad to get him to appear. It was good for a laugh. Then he had to get off the bed. :)

And this is what happened the day before yesterday--I was drawing myself a bath and while it was filling up, I went into the other room to get my towel and robe. I heard him barking at the bubbles, which is pretty normal, but then I heard a Ker-PLUNK! and no more barking...When I came into the bathroom he was happily enjoying as many bubbles as he could ingest as quickly as possible. So I let him enjoy the bath and figured I could wash him up and then re-draw another bath for me. But when I got around to the new bath, the hot water was all gone. :( so Kobe had a great time and I was left with no bath but one happy pup!

the best part is that the bubble bath was the bed-time bath for babies so when he was done he pretty much looked stoned, he was so relaxed!! hahaha He just stood there and let me dry him off when usually he struggles to get away so he can run up and down the hallway. His eyes were all glazed over and everything. I guess the stuff works. :) At least on dogs.

Here's the other photo. pretty goofy grin on my face...

a slightly better tummy shot.

Tummy Update

view from the top....this is what I'm seeing...yeah.

So I had a better shot of the tummy that makes it a little easier to see but it keeps being really retarded so I'm giving up on it. Anyway, here's a tummy shot update. This is me at 5 1/2 months prego (and a little bit). I have a dr's appointment on Friday this week so that's exciting. Marks another month gone by. But I really am getting bigger...my friend Jenna (who is moving back from NJ!!) and who is only a week behind me is even barely starting to show so there. I'm not so bad. The ladies at work all gave me slaps on the back for not being huge--hahaha it was pretty funny. Usually I get people all mad and disbelieving the fact that I'm pregnant. Kind of a nice change from defending myself to eeeevil nurses and the like.

There you have it. And Taffee, I'm freaking out for you!! I'm soooooo excited for the next two weeks to go by. Baby Nielson's a'comin!! I'm just glad that I get to hold a baby but not actually have to give birth to it yet. I'm still coming to grips with my due date in April. :) Woo-wooooo!

Recipes for Steph

My friend Stephanie at work wanted these recipes so for those of you who already have them, you can ignore this. Or not. Either way, they're tasty!

Candy Cane cookes

3/4 Cup Butter and 1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp almond flavoring
1 tsp vanilla
2-1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp salt
red food coloring

heat oven to 375. Mix well: shortening and butter, sugar, egg, and flavorings. Mix flour and salt and stir in. Divide dough in half, color one half red. Roll two ropes of each color and roll together. (I divide up evenly each color of dough so I know that I'll have equal amounts of both. Also, try to get all the ropes the same size so your cookies end up being the same) Put on ungreased cookie sheet. Curve tops to form the cane shapes. (I sprinkle them now and kinda pat the sprinkles in so they stick) Bake about 9 minutes (mine went longer) until just barely browned. If you make smaller cookies, you'll get more than 12 but I always do them big so that's all I get.

--------------------------------
Honey and Spice Cranberry Sauce

1 (12oz) bag of cranberries
1-3/4 cup apple juice
3/4 cup honey
2 cinnamon sticks (I just sprinkled in a little ground cinnamon)
1 TBS grated orange peel
6 whole cloves
1 bay Leaf
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer until berries burst and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. (I think mine took a little longer but the sauce does thicken). Remove cinnamon sticks, cloves (oo these are fun to fish out!!) and bay leaf. Refrigerate sauce until cold.

makes about 2.5 cups

the lights are up!!

I put up our Christmas lights the other day...which is pretty easy since we only have four bushes out front. But apparently the fuses in one of the strands were a little shaky so they only worked for one night and then wouldn't turn on again. I was pretty bummed because last year I put them up and the socket didn't work at all...but maybe it was the lights then too...But then my awesome hubby thought about switching the fuses and WALLAH!!! They work like champs. My neighbors even commented on them. And Kolt was a little embarrassed because I was the first one on the block to put up lights. So what, they're Thanksgiving lights. Then they can be Christmas lights after Thursday. :)

Frosting cookies with mom

I stopped by my mom's house today and she had several dozen cookies to frost. So I stayed and helped. We tried earlier in the week to find a Thanksgiving-ish cookie cutter but found nothing. So Mike and I got creative and figured out a way to make what she already had into festive things...so a flower became a turkey!! It was awesome. And we frosted them and they are super fun! And the other two are just the left over gobbler-frosting being used up. :)

The Nursery is born

the green was on two walls, this being one of them so it's not super over-powering.

don't mind all the stuff piled in there...

I got the paint on the walls yesterday! I absolutely love the green--its a nice change from the minty-pale yuckiness it was before. Go big or go home....eh? :) No, it wasn't so bad before but its waaaay cooler now!! The green is called "Emerald Isle" or something like that....and the white is, well, just an off-white. My new favorite thing is No-VOC paint (for all those who aren't glued to HGTV that stands for No-Volatile Organic Compounds) so it doesn't smell and its not toxic to the person painting the walls. Baby D appreciated it, I'm sure. It was great and my house didn't reek with that paint smell you usually get. The guy at the paint store said that the only down-side is that the coverage is a bit less but it didn't seem like a huge difference to me. It was even cheaper than the paint we usually get too, but I think it was just because the brand was cheaper. But it's awesome. And I love it. And Kolt is being persuaded to love it too! :) (I may have chosen the green with very little input from him...)

Happy Birthday Kobe!!

Nick-nack, patty wack.....

New vs. Old

Saturday was Kobe's first birthday!! We bought him a new doggie toy and some chewies because he's been chewing on anything he can find thats different... i.e. my glasses, pens, and pretty much anything he can reach on the coffee table. It's like having a dang two year old. Kolt always says it's good practice, but that's until Kobe finds something of his to chew on....then Kobe is the dumb dog. Anyway, Kobe was really excited to get his new red dog--I put them both down side by side and he ran over, smelled the new one, smelled the old one, and paused....and grabbed the new one and ran off! :) hehehe I guess he likes it.

The Half-Way Mark

Yes, friends. I've reached the half-way mark in my pregnancy!! 20 weeks. wow, right? Supposedly my baby boy is the length of a Banana head to toes so that's pretty fun. He's kicking and headbutting like a champ. That's about it for now.

Maybe it's just me...

but does this comic kind of make you a little angry? I mean, the kid is making up all kinds of excuses and the one mom is trying to get him to tell the truth and the other is like, "aww, just forget about it. they're happy now. " I mean, seriously? Maybe it's just me, but I don't really want my child telling me a bunch of bull crap to get out of trouble and then letting him get out of trouble.... it could just be that i'm pregnant and have entered into a grumpy stage...

It's a BOY!!

Well, folks, it's officially a boy! We went and had our first ultrasound on Friday afternoon and the nurse was able to point out a specific part pretty quickly...hehehe We were excited and it was really neat to see what the heck was going on inside of me. Baby D was quite a wiggle worm and the nurse even commented on how much he was moving--she was trying to measure his brain and couldn't get a clear shot for a while. But we got to see his heart pumping and his cute little hands and feet and his round little tummy! I LOVED it. I wish you could do ultrasounds at every appointment without the insurance company screaming bloody murder. It was just another thing that made this pregnancy seem more real. There really is a little person in there. I'm not just getting fat and it's not gas bubbles that keep kicking (and now I know headbutting) me a lot. Yay for Baby D!!

Baby Olivia

Olivia watching Kobe

it looks like we're having an earthquake...not on purpose!

This is the baby I've been watching every week or so for a few hours while my neighbor is away at work. She's the sweetest baby ever! And she never cries, she just plays and loves to watch Kobe. And when she gets tired, she just gets the look--and starts to rub her eyes so you lay her down and she goes to sleep. It's awesome.

Snow Day!!

Ok, so not really a snow day, more like a snowy day...but its the first snow of the year! This was the view from my kitchen window this morning. Kobe was confused, but he remembered he liked to eat snow so after that he was ok with the change. And he's been going in and out all day to try to find the snow again --it melted. In his frustration he decided to eat my glasses, but that's another story. They fared pretty well, just a few bites on them. grrr. Anyway, Kolt managed to slide off the road this morning because my car's tires are completely bald! But I was glad he took the car and not me because he said if it had been me driving, I probably wouldn't have been able to get back on the road. He called worked and told them he was going to work from home, so he did. And I got the jeep.

How we doin'

Um, can I just say that I only have TWO days until the ultrasound?!!?!! And the baby is getting bigger and bigger every day. I'm excited and scared but mostly excited.

Gotta love the Nog

Ahhh, 'tis the season for Egg Nog! And I love it. Kolt does not but that just leaves more for me! Mix it with equal parts milk (none of that sprite garbage going on here---yucky) and you have yourself a lovely treat. And the best part is that I'm trying to pack on the pounds so I have absolutely no hesitation to drink it whenever I want! Woo-woo!!

Happy Halloween!!

The Davies caught the Halloween Spirit! Can you guess who carved which pumpkin? I bet you can't! Actually, truth be told Kolt was a complete party pooper and said he would carve a pumpkin when we have kids to carve pumpkins. So i did them both. But it was fun anyway!!

My patriotic duty

So after a week of procrastination, I finally made it to one of the early voting locations. UVU was the closest to me so that's where I cast my vote for the next president of the U.S. I've never felt so unsatisfied with what I had to vote for in my entire voting career. O well. And I would like to point out that parking was HORRIBLE --UVU has a terrible parking system -- and I had to wait in line way longer than I ever have before, voting on election day. It was awesome. But once I was there I figured I might as well stick it out and get it over with. I am a little relieved to not have that hanging over me. It's done and over with. Dale Schanze almost got my vote for Governor...oh, wait. No he didn't. I wanted to scratch his face off the voting pamphlet but I refrained. And for all those who have moved beyond this great state of Utah, he'd be the one with the SUPER annoying COMPUTER store ads and the same dude who's gone to court for brandishing a hand gun, speeding, and flying his hang-glider next to I-15.

IT'S ALIVE!!

I finally felt my baby move!! I was not so much worried, since it's taken me so long to start gaining weight, but I was getting a little sad...but it moved today at work!! It was kinda freaky but extremely cool. And it kicked (hit??) a few times, chilled, then did it again! woo-woo!!

Pregnancy update: 17 weeks!!

Now Baby D is around 5 ounces (size of a turnip) and 5 inches long!! that's almost half a foot--I know, I'm a genius. Lets hope baby d gets some of that brain power! :) Other than getting taller, baby D is getting harder bones now and apparently is producing sweat glands. Sweetness.

And we're back

so the Hunt was less than successful. Even though we managed to see 5 deer with horns (well, I didn't see them but Kolt sure as heck did) we didn't shoot a single bullet. He's kind of depressed but at the time he thought his little sisters were going to shoot, or he didn't want to shoot pre-maturely and spook it. I saw more deer in town than on the mountain side and I guess that was the situation for most of the hunters. I managed to tag along for most of the 4 days and even overcame my hesitation to, um...use the facilities not actually in the facilities. Consequently, I think I own several mountains in the Fillmore area now. :) Other than that, it was a total bust. Sad day. This is the final day of the hunt and we are praying that someone gets lucky today. The best thing is that after we were hunting for two days straight, we came home and there was a big 4-point (has 4 spikes on both sides of the antlers) right in the driveway, eating apples. Awesome. They wanted to hit it with the truck and tie it up and shoot it in the morning but they weren't quick enough. (man, that last sentence sounded extremely violent!!) but its true. no deer were harmed in the writing of this blog.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaallll alone....

Kolts been gone on a business trip these last few days and its already driving me crazy! I usually handle separation pretty well but i'm usually the one gone so it's easier. Now i'm stuck at home and totally missing him. He went to Albuquerque NM to an indian rez to do some engineering stuff. That's about all I know. He could be gambling away our savings and I wouldn't even know it... hmmmmmm.. jk anyway, he comes home tomorrow late and then leaves super early on saturday morning to hit the deer hunt with the whole fam-damly. I mostly want to go but I seem to have this handicap of having to eat every hour and pee just as often. It's not so conducive to hunting conditions. Imagine this: the family is hunched down, all bearing their deer rifles and decked out in contradicting camo and bright orange....and little ol' me carrying a box of crackers doing the potty dance. Yup. Sweet times right there. I'm still trying to decide if I want to suck it up and go or just stay home with my refrigerator. Mostly I miss Kolt and that's the reason why I'm even having this conversation. sigh.

Pregnancy update: 15 weeks!!

Baby D is now about the size of an apple!! Measuring about 4 inches (head to bum) and weighing in at about 2 1/2 ounces, Baby D is able to move all his/her joints and limbs. And even though the eyelids are still fused shut, the baby will react to light which is kinda cool but probably a little freaky for the baby. Anyway, supposedly we could even see the gender at this point...but we gotta wait another 4 weeks. But this last week went by super fast so the next 4 shouldn't be so bad.

Ode to Banks and Benson

My sweet nephews came to visit with my sister this past week and now they have returned to New Mexico (booooooooooo). I already miss them :( so this is in their honor. I wish I had a picture of my awesome sister...sigh.

Baby D at 14 weeks

Now the size of a lemon, baby D has peeing-abilities and can simultaneously suck his/her thumb. Such a talented little lemon!! :) I went to the doctors on friday and got to hear the heartbeat again--still crazy to hear something ALIVE inside me like Alien vs Predator. Anyway, I got to see my real doctor which was good because he was way more supportive and encouraging than the last lady or even the nurse that took my weight (sad story there) and gave me horrible looks like I was purposely starving my child. she was eeeeeeevil and pretty snooty with the attitude. But my doctor said that the heartbeat was exactly 160 so he thinks it's a little girl. (just for the record that's one professional's vote for boy, one professional's vote for girl...tied game) But I tend to lean towards the girl vote. But my appointment was much better than I expected and pretty much only involved the heartbeat and my doctor telling me to try to eat more food. AND I got to schedule my ultrasound appointment !!! So in 5 weeks (a little less now since it's sunday) I will hopefully be able to find out what we're having!! AHHHHHHH I'm stinking excited and scared all at the same time. November 7th is D-day...Baby D-day that is. :)

Fun with the Nephews

So Carrie and the boys are up for a visit and it's been super fun. Benson is getting way big and Banskie is turning in to quite the character. This picture mostly says it all. He had come and got me to show me the animals on the TV show. I asked him if he wanted to sit with uncle mike and he nodded yes. So he plopped his blankie down on mike, climbed up on the couch, and sat right down on mike's stomach. Then he proceeded to watch "planet earth" from his new seat. It was pretty funny.

Baby update, 13 weeks

Baby D is officially a SHRIMP! Well, at least the size of one. And almost an ounce at this point. I'm actually starting to show a little, but to most of the world I just look fat. I don't mind, though. And besides my best efforts to eat, I've only gained ONE pound since my last dr's appointment, which makes me still FOUR pounds in the negative. I still have a few weeks so hopefully I can make better progress. I won't have to go back to the crazy lady either, so that might be good. My dr seems pretty chill about stuff.

As far as development, Baby D has fingerprints now and his/her head is getting less freakishly huge because the body is catching up.

This is my last week in the first trimester and I'm pretty stoked about moving away from nausea-ville. And I think Kolt is glad too.

the spoils

After battling a HUGE migraine all day, I was able to cut up our melon from Greenriver! I talked Kolt into letting me get a seedless, but it seems that it is not as sweet as the seeded we had on saturday. Nevertheless! It's still pretty good and i'm going to bring some into work so the co-workers can give it a try. We also brought home a Canary Melon (no birds were harmed in the growing/slicing of this melon) but it wasn't as ripe as we thought. Good news, Kolts aunt threw in a second "back-up" melon, just in case. So we're letting that ripen up on the counter and hopefully it will pull through.

Melon Days is upon us

this is the Vetere Melon Stand. True Melon Farmers.

I'm pretty excited for this weekend. It's MELON DAYS!! So we'll be spending Saturday in GreenRiver UT eating as much melon as possible and trying not to get too sunburned. Hopefully we'll be able to bring some home with us to share with the deprived citizens of the north who only wish the GreenRiver melons sold at the stands here were half as good.

Ode to Spaghettio's

Spaghettios are my new favorite food. They seem to be the only thing the last few days that I can eat without a lot of effort. Carrie had her frozen burritos and I have my spaghettio's. I even ate them today at work at 9:30am. They were delicious.

Other than pasteurized pasta, I'd just like to say that I have less than 200 days left in my pregnancy. Which seems like a lot. But its better than before.

Happy Plant

My Grandma gave me this plant because she has an entire forest in her basement. And it's a very happy spider plant. It actually blooms and has been for some time now, like almost a month! It makes me proud when I can keep a plant alive, but it's just exciting when it's healthy enough to bloom!!

total awesomness

So we were talking about political parties at work today and one of my co-workers said he's going to vote for Joad Cressbeckler. So I looked him up. Maybe I won't vote for him but it was definitely worth looking up--
Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain

In Honor of the Day

After reading my sis's blog, I felt like I should pay some tribute to this terrible day. We were there, not NYC but just across the river in Jersey. And I will never forget how it affected everyone. I am grateful for a country where this kind of thing only happens (hopefully) once in a lifetime. I was watching a documentary while I ate lunch (a pretty long process for me these days) and it brought it all back. I too, would like to thank our soldiers Ben and Brian for all that they do to keep us safe.

Baby update-- 11 weeks!!

Yes friends, that means I only have ONE MORE WEEK and I'm at 3 months! Second Trimester, here I come! But as far as the baby is concerned, this is whats happening this week:

Baby D is the size of a fig. Tooth buds are forming and some of the bones are hardening. Apparently Baby D is doing a water ballet but is too small for me to feel anything. Other than that, he/she will soon be able to open and close his/her fists.

So there you have it.