30 Week Check Up

So today I am officially 30 weeks pregnant. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has been going! I will be meeting my little boy in 10 to 11 weeks...maybe earlier if he decides to come early. I had my doctor appointment this morning and everything is going great. I am healthy and the baby has a strong heartbeat and is very active! Here are some of the fun things that have come with my 3rd trimester and other random stuff:

*I have gained a total of 15 pounds in my pregnancy so far...many more pounds to add on.

*Insomnia- don't know if that is what it is but I cannot fall asleep at night & if I do, it is never a deep sleep.

*Baby boy is getting so active. I can feel him moving everywhere. He thinks it is fun to hang out under my ribs and occasionally kick them. It is so exciting to feel him move. Mike loves it too. Especially when you can see my belly move...like he is trying to get out or something.

*Braxton Hicks Contractions-all I can say is weird.

*Feeling my stomach stretch and get tighter.

*Swelling of feet, hands, ankles, legs...you name it

*Feeling starving all the time!

*Major heartburn

*Not being able to go out in public without some random stranger giving me advice or telling me how hard motherhood is. Why is it that when you are engaged or pregnant people feel the need to warn you about all the negative things that happen. I just want to say "Why the heck did you get married or have children if you feel it is so horrible?" I love my marriage and I am pretty sure I am going to love motherhood.

*Been doing a ton of reading about labor, delivery, vaccinations & parenting.

*The need to nest but nowhere and nothing to do it with...getting there though.

*Feeling closer to Mike than I could have ever imagined.

So far even with the not so fun stuff, I have really enjoyed being pregnant and feeling this huge amount of love for my growing baby that I haven't even met yet. It is weird to feel so huge and uncomfortable but at the same time feeling the most beautiful I have ever felt and the most confident I have ever felt in my own skin. I love the way Mike looks at me and the way he talks about how excited he is to be a dad and to have a son. Mike was asking me about my feelings on being pregnant and if it was what I thought it would be and for me it is so much better. I told him that I feel like I might be a little sad after he is born to not have him connected to me. I love feeling him in my tummy and feeling so connected to another human being and never feeling alone. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to hold him and mother him but there is just this special connection that I don't feel like I will get back. It is very mixed emotions. I think about the day that I will hold him in my arms. I think about watching him play sports or watching him play and learn/build things with Mike. I think of him as a teenager, going on dates, having his first heartbreak, the joys and pains that come with growing up. I picture him preparing for a mission and giving his farewell talk at church then serving faithfully and taking a righteous woman to the temple to be married for eternity. I don't know if he will actually do these things or what challenges he might face or the path he might choose but I can't wait to be there for him and to love him no matter what. I don't feel like I can really put my emotions into words so that will have to do.

I will add a picture of my huge belly soon!

Puma's little friend

My Sweet Little Girl

On Sunday Puma would not leave the vent in the kitchen alone. She kept trying to get in it and kept meowing at it. Then she was trying to get in a drawer in the kitchen too. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but then the next morning I was getting Mike's breakfast ready and opened the drawer that Puma had tried to get in the night before and there was mouse poop but no mouse. I quickly realized that this must be why Puma was freaking out Sunday night. We cleaned up the mouse poop and looked for the mouse but still found nothing. That night (this is monday) when Gilbert was taking out the trash from under the sink, the mouse ran out! It ran down the stairs and strait into our room. What are the chances, the mouse goes to our room. The only room that a cat lives in. Well, once again we could not find that darn mouse anywhere! We pulled all our furniture from the walls and found nothing (well, I watched as Mike pulled out all the furniture. After all I am 30 weeks pregnant). So we gave up, Mike moved the furniture back and we went to bed, assuming the mouse was going to come out sometime and that Puma would get it. But there was nothing...until last night (Wednesday night). So at about 3:30am I hear Puma running around the room like a crazy kitty. I shined my cell phone light on her and woke Mike up and told him that it looked like Puma had something in her mouth. He turned on the light and Puma looked up at him and there was nothing in her mouth. I thought, I know what I saw, I am not crazy...or am I? Just then the mouse shoots across the room and Puma goes after it. She caught it and was holding it by the tail in her mouth and I thought great! I told Mike to get the mouse from Puma so she didn't eat it. Just then Puma put it on the ground and started chasing it again. This happened probably 3 or 4 times before Mike and I realized that Puma did not want to mouse to die, she was having the best time ever with her new toy/friend. So I told Mike to get the mouse out of our room, so he waited till Puma had it in her mouth again and then grabbed it from her. Puma seemed pretty sad but luckily the mouse seemed a little shaken up but not hurt. So Mike let it go outside. At least that is what I think he did with it. I went back to bed and Puma came back to bed too. What a crazy night!

Our Anniversary

3 years

For our Anniversary we went to dinner at The Garden (a restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building) with Mike's parents and an Army General. We had so much fun and it was really exciting to meet a General of the US Army. She is one of the most successful women in the Army. I always love meeting women that are so successful. She was so nice and not as intimidating as I thought. We had a great time and dinner was of course delicious! Then Mike and I went off on our own. We went to Fuddruckers and shared a chocolate shake. It was so nice to just visit and relax together. We called it an early night due to the fact that Mike had to work early the next morning but it was a wonderful night. I love just being with Mike. We always have such amazing conversations that are so uplifting. I am grateful for his kind nature and the fact that we can do anything with anyone or just by ourselves and have a good time. I am such a lucky girl!

3 Years Of Happiness & Eternity To Go...

Three years ago today Michael and I were married for all eternity in the San Diego Temple. I can not be more grateful for having Michael in my life. He truly is my best friend and the love of my life. He has taught me so much in the past three years and I look forward to the rest of eternity with him! I feel so blessed that Michael and I will be together forever! I am so excited for our little boy to join us in October. Thank you Michael for the past three years! I am so glad to go through life with you! Love you Sweetheart!

Timp Caves Hike

A couple weeks ago my mom and Aunt Robin came up to Utah to visit. Someone came up with the grand idea to hike up to the Timponogas Caves. (Must have been the abitious Angi or Shawna :) . Anyways, I had never been on that hike and neither had my mom and the info she was given was that is was really easy...so that was the info I was given. Well, to all who is wondering...it is not an easy hike! Especially, if you are six months pregnant, really out of shape and it is the middle of July! I was pretty sure I was going to die before I made it to the top (HeHeHe!). About half way up my mom felt bad for me and tried to get me to turn around and go back but I had to say I made it to the top so we kept going! It was all worth it once we got to the caves. The caves were amazing (not to mention it was about 40 degrees in there)! I am so proud of myself for making it to the top and I am really glad I did...now that it is just a distant memory! I even want to do it again sometime...just not pregnant or on a day that is about 100 degrees!

Almost half way up the mountain

At the Top! Inside the cave
Mom and I in the Cave
On our way down & so happy!!!

Monday Nights with the Mahoneys

Just about every Monday night Ryan and Danielle Mahoney think up something fun to do with a bunch of friends. Here are some pictures of just two of the many times we have done fun things. One week we went to the driving range and another week we did a bar b que and fireworks! We always have a blast! I wish I would have taken pictures the night we had a Wii Mario Kart night. They set up four tvs and Wiis and then synced all the Wiis together so that we could all race eachother. Thanks Ryan and Danielle for always thinking of fun things to do!

My Growing Baby Bump

Time to go back for Straggles

Since being a Lamoureux I have joined in the tradition of reading the newspaper while eating breakfast. Anyways, this morning I came across an article I really liked and wanted to share with my fellow bloggers... It is titled "Time to go back for Straggles". I really liked the way Jerry Johnston wrote his article and I don't feel I could do it justice, which is why he writes for the newspaper and I don't; so here it is:

Time to go back for Stragglers
by Jerry Johnston

Epic stories are forever fresh. They hold up no matter how often we tell them. And with each telling, they reveal new insights.

So it is with the epic journey of the Mormon Pioneers.

New lessons are always being learned from that trek.

But maybe we take one of those "pioneer lessons" a little too much to heart.

It is the lesson of the "forward push."

Some sea creatures must keep moving forward or they die. So it was, I think, with the Mormon Pioneers. Some pushed, some pulled, but if they dawdled they died.

Like the thirsty man in the desert pursuing water, they couldn't afford to lose their focus. Many people had to be buried in tear-soaked shallow graves. Many stragglers who simply couldn't keep going abandoned the march. The pioneers were on a quest. Their motto was "wend your way." Their lives depended on their willingness to put one foot in front of the other.

And that, I think, is where we sometimes go awry.

We often adopt that same "marching to the promised land" attitude.

If a fellow traveler grows weak in spirit or a neighbor falls by the wayside, we tend to sing "press on, press on" and move along.

As Shakespeare would say, we "leave them to heaven." We can't risk being derailed.

But our physical lives are not at risk now.

What's at risk are our spiritual lives.

And a spiritual life demands we do something counter-intuitive. Spirituality demands that we turn around. Pushing on while others struggle is not the answer.

The early pioneers couldn't go back for those who fell by the way.

We can.

Nobody needs to be consigned to a "shallow grave" so the living are preserved.

The living are preserved by keeping people out of those shallow graves.

Today, the Saints need to be the first to stop and the last to leave the scene.

In pioneer days, people could lose their lives if they went back for others.

In our day, we could lose our spiritual lives if we don't.

Too many times, I fear, we prefer the saying "he who hesitates is lost" to the saying "look for the lost sheep."

We use the words "overcome" and "conquer" more than the words "minister" and "heal."

We should remember "the first shall be last and last first" and keep in mind that staying behind to help is the surest way to get ahead.

Our will is not as vital for survival now. But following the will of one greater is.

The Mormon Pioneers were an epic breed. For members of the LDS Church, they will forever be the true "greatest generation."

They trudged West so that you and I could be born and experience life.

Now, perhaps the best way to honor them this July 24th is to lose the lives they gave us in trying to rescue those who have been languishing behind.

My Sweetie-Pies

I just LOVE them! Puma is such a daddy's girl!

Stadium Of Fire

The Stadium of Fire at Lavell Edwards Staduim

The million stairs I walked up to get to our seat.

Cousin Ashlee and her boyfriend Jason climbed the stairs to see me! So Sweet!

SheDaisy! They were awesome!

The Jonas Brothers. The tween girls went CRAZY!

Mike was NOT a fan of the screaming girls! HeHeHe!

We got to go to the Stadium Of Fire at BYU this 4th of July. It was a blast! Our seats were so far! It was a huge hike for me. Especially after walking at least a mile from our car. But they ended up being great seats! They gave us perfect view of the entire field. It was amazing!!! The show was great. SheDaisy performed and than, what all the tween girls were waiting for... The JONAS BROTHERS! I am not really a Jonas Brothers fan but they did put on a good show. I was very impressed by them. And of course SheDaisy was amazing! I am a huge fan of them! The fireworks were crazy! I have never seen so many fireworks at one time before. They were beautiful! On another note, I am truly grateful to be an American! We have so many rights and freedoms that many others don't have. I am eternally grateful to the men and women that serve and have served our country! Thank you so much for your hard work and sacrafice. I also want to thank their families as well. I could not imagine sending a loved one off to somewhere so dangerous. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!