... Indiana!

And finally, we flew from Utah to Detroit to see my parents, brother, and extended family in Indiana/Michigan. We never planned to fly directly there, we were supposed to fly back to New Jersey and drive to Indiana. But with a delayed flight in Salt Lake City which would result in a missed connection, the free upgrade to first class going to Detroit instead sounded great to us! This was Shannon's first time meeting all her new in-laws. Actually, Shannon had LOTS of firsts on this leg of our summer trips; first time flying first class (mine, too), first time to Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, and therefore Chicago (where I lived when I was little), first time seeing fire flies (she's been fascinated by them since), first time eating Dairy Queen ice cream, first time seeing "real live" lilly pads, and more! And since Indiana was always the destination of our summer vacations growing up it was a blast for me to go back. Highlights; seeing parents, Patrick, new cousins, and going for rides in my Uncle Joe's boat!

... Baby Update

And now we're back. Shannon's pregnancy is going well. Shannon's completed 34 weeks now: It's getting so close! Actually, she got what will probably be the last ultrasound last week. I think she (the baby) has already had a botox treatment! Do they actually do fetal botox treatments now-a-days? Well, somehow or another she's got real Angelina Jolie lips already! Even the technician agreed. I don't have the pictures scanned onto my computer this time. I might get them soon. Before the baby comes, though, we'll be moving to a new apartment. It's a 2 bedroom and it's still on the Jersey side of the Hudson! We're excited! We'll have a lot to post in about a month or so, but I can't guarantee much until then. Promise we'll be posting a lot more when we have a little girl to show off. That's what blogging's really for.

A-Z

A-Z

I got tagged by my friend Brittney so here are just a few facts about me. Enjoy! :)

A. Attached or Single: Attached to my wonderful husband Sean and our soon to be baby girl!! :)
B. Best Friend: Sean of course!! But also Britt since our good old softball days, Megan through our Raintree days and definitely my mom!
C. Cake or Pie: Cake all the way.
D. Day of Choice: Saturdays. It's the only day we have to do absolutely nothing :)
E. Essential item: Lotion
F. Favorite Color: I can't even commit to a favorite, so for the time being...Green.
G. Gummy bears or worms: Neither...I hate gummy candies!
H. Hometown: Right now Sean and I live in West New York, NJ but I grew up in Springville.
I. Indulgence(s): Doritos, Dr. Pepper and/or Cherry Coke, SLEEPING!!!!
J. January or July: Definitely July. I hate the cold.
K. Kids: Little 'Baby Girl Reed'...on the way. :)
L. Life is incomplete without: Family and friends
M. Marriage Date: August 16, 2007
N. Number of siblings: 3 sisters and 2 brothers.
O. Oranges or apples: Oranges! I don't like biting into apples. (I agree with Britt)
P. Phobias or Fears: Being hurt and anything creepy/crawly!
Q. Quotes: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
R. Reason to smile: My hubby and baby on the way! And warm weather!!
S. Season of choice: Summer. I love the sun!
T. Tag: Shelly, Amy, Kaycee
U. Unknown fact about me: I have double jointed fingers and I can make my throat blow up like a frog. ;)
V. Very favorite store: Target
W. Worst habit: Watching too much T.V.
X. X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound! It's amazing to see our little girl move around in there and to see the development over the weeks! :)
Y. Your favorite food: I love Italian, Mexican, and Chinese.
Z. Zodiac sign: Capricorn

"It's" a GIRL!!!

Hey everyone! We had our 20 week check up recently and brought home these pics of our new little girl! The last couple of days have been SO fun after having seen our baby again, and especially, to find out that we have a daughter on the way! The doctors said that everything looks good. As for now she weighs about a pound and is measuring about 6 days ahead. She's already fitting in w/ our tall families. We can't wait to see her in August!

A New Addition!

Here's the newest addition to our blog. But we've got news for many of you: Shannon and I are awaiting a new addition to our family, too!!! We"re really just beginning to let the secret out. For those of you here in New York/New Jersey with us it's been no secret that Shannon is pregnant. We knew sickness is normal with pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester. But we think Shannon has been especially sick. There was no chance of hiding it. It made us a little worried for a short time in January, but after a very exciting doctor's visit yesterday we were able to see how much the baby has developed over the past month. It looks human now! And as we watched the ultrasound yesterday we got to see the heart beating, too! That was the best and most unbelievable thing to see! Shannon and I have constantly thought back on that over the last two days. We'll post the 2 ultrasound pics that we've gotten so far for family. I'm sure they're the ones that really want to see them. And for our college friends in disbelief, we'll post them as proof! Oh, and as of the last couple of days Shannon's beginning to show a little, too! Very little, of course, so don't expect too much. But Shannon definitely feels it. We're excited!!!


(The first pic was our first view of our baby about a month ago. Shannon was not even 2 months pregnant yet so you can't really distinguish much. Cute anyway, though, right?!)
(The second one was taken yesterday, at about 11 weeks pregnant. Now you can obviously see the head, you can faintly see a leg or two, and if you look closely you can make out the heart below the jaw, too!)

A Slightly Belated Update

Shannon and I have had so many requests lately for us to update our blog. People can't get enough of us, I guess!?! Hmm? No, don't think that's it. Those requests have a more teasing purpose, it seems, for not having updated it for a while. Even General Authorities are now being quoted to me in order to prompt me to be "technologically competent as are our non-LDS friends".
To the rest of you, here's a new post from me and Shannon; a little belated, but an update-of-sorts nonetheless. We've wanted to get a few pictures up from our honeymoon in Aruba over Christmas break. We loved it! It was such a nice surprise to be able to go there. And we were pleasantly surprised by the country itself, too: no currency, water purification, or food issues for Americans, it was even more beautiful than we expected, and the people were some of the friendliest that we've ever met. Well, maybe it seemed that way because we weren't in New York anymore. Hmm?!?
We loved the diversity of activities that we were able to do there, too. Our favorites were taking a jeep around to the remote part of the island and a snorkel/sail trip.
Oh yeah, while we were there we were also very happy to find a Benihana restaurant on the island! That was a shock. Ever since I took Shannon there in Anchorage last summer we've been on a constant lookout for other excuses to go. A honeymoon is a good one, right? Well, apparently good enough that they even hired her as a cook! It didn't last long, though. Only about 12 seconds in fact. She didn't want to do any airborne egg tricks and egg the customers in the process. But we have those 12 sec. on video! Here they are.