to the lake!

We've got our bags all packed and my toenails are painted for a weekend up at the lake! Tonight we'll drive up to the lake house and meet Zac's family, and spend the next three days boating and eating and boating some more. 

If you'd like to see what we're up to until then, you can follow me on Instagram, @megswen. See you soon!

...

over the weekend.

On Saturday, after not getting up to watch the sunrise together ("Hey Zac, it's 5:30, do you still want to watch the sunrise?" "No." *rolls over*), we went to the Farmers' Market for some produce, and ended up getting a fire grilled pizza from the Fiore pizza truck and the best olive bread we've ever tasted instead. Carbs.

After getting our fill at the Farmers' Market, we drove down to the Home Depot to get a chalkboard to hang up in our kitchen, because if my kitchen isn't the ugliest thing! We spent the afternoon painting the sides, and putting the finishing touches on our gold "S", and then hung everything up to make that wall look like we actually decorated it. I'm really loving it so far. We've decided that we're going to start decorating our apartment now. After more than a year of living here, and a new baby on the way (aka nesting), I'd say it's the perfect time.

For dinner, we made pasta with Giada's vodka sauce (without the vodka, because what Mormon has vodka lying around?) with our olive bread from the Farmers' Market and some mint limeade that we made a few hours earlier. The food was as good as a fancy Italian restaurant, and Zac has been looking up good olive bread recipes ever since. I think it's safe to say that he's obsessed.

When Sunday came around, we woke up early for church, and afterwards, we took a little nap and started making sugar cookies in shapes of woodland animals. The recipe was HUGE, and I was cutting out sugar cookies for a good three hours. And now we have a bunch of sugar cookies that I don't know what to do with. We'll probably give them out by the plateful (let me know if you want some; they're delicious!).

Later that night, in an effort to prolong Sunday as long as we could (we're not fans of Mondays around here), Zac set up a special movie-watching spot for us right in front of the TV while I made some salsa. We ate our salsa and watched Fantastic Mr. Fox until I was too uncomfortable, and then went to bed.

I think every weekend should be like this one. That would be best.

...

23 weeks.

Right after Zac took these pictures, I looked at them and said, "Holy crap, I'm getting huge!" I blame the pizza and root beer earlier this week, because I gained 2 pounds this week, so I'm up a total of 13 pounds now. Oh, and the fact that my baby is one whole pound now, and just one inch shy of a foot long! It's getting so big, and it makes me so excited!

One of the best things about pregnancy is that it makes you stretch your wardrobe. I haven't worn this floral button-down shirt for at least a year, and decided to wear it today, because I was bored of my 5 maternity shirts. It's almost like getting a new shirt! Before I was pregnant, I thought I would be able to wear all my high-waisted skirts, because, I mean, they're high waisted, right?! Now I'm laughing at myself. My waist is totally gone.

This week I've been craving pop (hence the pizza and root beer, and the late-night Cascade Ice run we took last night), popcorn, sweets (cookies, cake, chocolate, etc.), and carbs!!! Before being pregnant, I hated the feeling of being full; I liked to eat until I wasn't hungry anymore, and nothing more. But now I'm like, "Get in my belly!" I love being full, and if I'm full of carbs, that's even better. One night this past week, I woke up at 1:00 in the morning and couldn't fall asleep until about 5:00. I was craving bruschetta like never before, but Zac made me a bowl of cereal after I cried about being so exhausted, and it was wonderful. 

Bending over is on the verge of becoming impossible, and I'm starting to realize what pregnant ladies mean when they say it's uncomfortable. Half of my body is sore, and I can tell that my walking has changed just a little (I'm not saying the word "waddle" just yet, but ya know... I'm getting there). I'm so excited to see what this baby will be like when it's born, because it's still kicking sooooo much! I feel like it's having a dance party in there, because it rarely stops. And I'm even getting to the point where I almost pee my pants when it kicks my bladder. One of these days, I'll have the blessed opportunity to experience peeing my pants while pregnant. I'll let you know how it goes. 

...

pizza & root beer.

All day yesterday, I kept thinking to myself, Ya know what sounds good? Pizza and root beer. But it has to be good root beer, like A&W, or even homemade. And then, when we met each other at home after work, Zac was like, "We should go to Brick Oven and share a pizza and some root beer tonight." And I didn't make so much as a peep about what I had been craving all day. This guy gets me.

So we drove down to zoobie land and shared a garlic chicken pizza with a couple of homemade root beers. And, even better, the root beers were free, with unlimited refills (I drank 3 glasses, thank you very much), because it was Monday night! And it really hit the spot.

This husband of mine and I laughed all through dinner about the stupid phone calls we get at work, and on the way home, I couldn't even sit up straight because I was so full of pizza and root beer, so it was a good night.

...

22 weeks.

This week, my back is killing me! Zac's getting used to hearing, "You can give me a back massage if you want," all day long. And he usually does. :) On the bright side, my skin is slowly going back to normal, and we're starting to actually buy things for when the baby comes. 

The baby is almost a whole pound now, and as big as a papaya! I remember when it was as big as a grape, and it seems like it was just a couple of weeks ago.  And now I'm in the 5th month?! This pregnancy really is just flying by. I'm running out of clothes that fit, but maybe it's just because today is laundry day. I'm growing fond of this yellow belt, and wear it almost everyday.

Baby Swenson has been kicking more and more, and those kicks are getting stronger, too! Zac can usually feel them, unless the baby decides to stop kicking right when Zac puts his hand on my belly (which happens quite often). I think I could feel some hiccups in there this morning; consistant little twitches low in my belly. We discovered that the baby loves Samson by Regina Spektor, and also some Cat Stevens song, too. 

On the fourth of July this last week, when we watched the firework show at Thanksgiving Point, the baby was kicking so much, too. I think it either loved them or hated them. 

So far I've gained a total of 11 pounds, and can still fit into my regular jeans (but only if I use the hair elastic trick), but my shirts are getting too short for me. Time to go shopping! :) This week I'm back to craving popcorn and cinnamon (namely Quaker cinnamon oatmeal cereal). I really can't think of a food that doesn't sound good to me, or a smell that makes me sick, either. 

We signed up for a prenatal class this morning, and that starts in about a month. I think that will help this feel more real. But ever since we got our ultrasound done a couple of weeks ago, Zac has been more involved, and it makes my heart melt watching him talk to our baby. :)

...

the 4th of july.

Early in the morning on the 4th, my mom picked me up with Einstein bagels in her car and we drove to the parade in Provo to watch with Daniel and Erika. It was cloudy out, so the weather was perfect, until about halfway through when it started to get really hot. My mom "brought a little bit of grandpa to the parade" and clapped at everything. We saw a few big balloon floats, and some guys playing the steel drums! Oh how I want to drag my drum set out and play it again...

After about 30 minutes, and covering less than 5 miles to get home, my mom and I dropped some things off at my apartment and went shopping for baby things! Really, it was just yarn so my mom could crochet a little cardigan. We ate lunch at Cafe Rio, and came home so my mom could nap while I got things ready for that night. Zac came home from work a while later (he got off early! Happy 4th of July to us!) and helped me out.

After setting everything up, and making the most delicious cake I've ever made in all my years of baking, we had the rest of the family over for a BBQ outside, complete with homemade root beer, hamburgers and polish dogs (that Zac grilled himself--his first time--and they were delicious!), and homemade citrus watermelon popcicles! It was a blast, and Aiden made a few friends with some people who were using the grill while we ate. I think my belly doubled in size, too. You're welcome, baby Swenson.

After dinner, we played cards, ate cake, and lit some sparklers! It was getting dark by then, so we all drove up to Lehi and watched the firework show at Thanksgiving Point where we almost ended up watching them by ourselves, because we couldn't find Daniel and Erika. This baby must either love or hate fireworks, because it wouldn't stop kicking! It was adorable. My favorite fireworks are the gold ones that sparkle. I ooh'd and aah'd at them, but the one that exploded into the shape of a star was completely amazing, too!

When we got home late at night, I ate another piece of cake and went to bed with my Zac. It was such a fun day, and I loved spending it with my family. Happy Independence Day!

...

happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July! I've been busy making everything red, white, and blue, and I'm getting ready for a BBQ in a few hours, but I hope everyone is having a good fourth with sparklers and hamburgers and festive clothing! Happy fourth!

...