So many milestones! {9 months!}

Anberlin is 9 months old! <3

Anberlin has officially been alive as long as it took me to make her. :) This has been a very eventful 9 months and she has grown up so much. And even though it all happens SO FAST, it's still funny to think that some animals mature by now, and Bay can't even walk yet. Haha.

Well, she may not be able to walk just yet but she is well on her way. This month she excelled at crawling and then learned how to pull herself up on things and stand. She got so good at that, that we had to drop her crib mattress down, even! She hasn't really taken any steps yet but she has stood without holding on to anything a few times. She also climbed up on step all by herself at the townhouse in Vegas. Can my baby stop growing now???

Playing at Hastings.

Obviously this was her first Thanksgiving and it was a very nice day spent with family all watching her crawl around. Then for her Thanksgiving meal she had sweet potato fries, green beans, and some turkey. Most of her meal ended up on the floor for the dogs once she realized that she could drop it for them and they would eat it, but she still tried some new foods and had fun. 

Bay & Anna

Dad making Bay make some noises by bumping under her chin with his finger.

Eating her Thanksgiving dinner!

Our days are still pretty routine. We wake up anywhere between 5-6 now, though, because for some reason she forgot how to sleep in and likes to wake up screaming really early. Then she plays inside until around 9:30, when we give her breakfast and then put her down for a nap. She will usually sleep until 12, or 1 if she is really tired. Then she is up for the rest of the day. Some days she gets a lunch/snack in the afternoon which is usually sweet potato fries or some other finger veggie. Then she spends the day crawling inside the house, outside in the backyard, or trying to get through the doggy door. Haha. I am still nursing her and she gets that 5-6 times a day. We plan to start weaning her after her first birthday.

SO EXCITED.

Not nearly as excited.

Exploring dad's beard.

Baby feet!

Bath time!

Trying to grab the camera.

Helping mom bake cookies!

 In the past week we noticed that she had a new tooth coming in on the top, but it isn't one of her center front teeth. It is one next to it on the left (if you're looking at her). But it looks like her front two are going to follow soon. But she is still a really good teether. We seriously have no idea she has a tooth coming in until we check her gums out because she doesn't really act grumpier than usual. Or many we just have a naturally grumpy baby and can't tell the difference. Haha.

She also has gotten really good at waving in the past few days. At first it started out with moving her arm, but now she can full on open and close both her hands like a normal wave. She loves to wave at everything and she also uses it to let us know when she wants something. She is so smart.

We went out on our first family hiking trip through Sara Park with our friend Kayla, Kenny, and their little boy Roxas. It was so much fun! This was the first time me and Kayle have ever went and obviously toting babies isn't an easy task, but we did it! It was a 2.5 mile hike through the desert, through some rock they call Sara's crack, and then to the lake (and then 2.5 miles back!). I would love to do it again but maybe not go all the way to the lake, haha. It was tiring. When we got home Anberlin took a 3 hour nap. She was pooped. Haha.

Hanging out on Dad's back.

So comfy.

Climbing down the crack.

Passed out!

She was pretty happy after her nap on dad's back.

Our family. <3

We had some ducks get really close to us.

As for our house, we have a walk-through on December 20th, so 16 more days! We probably won't be in the house before Christmas though. It looks like we won't get our keys until December 27th and then we have to paint and move all our things. So hopefully we will be in there before the new year, at least! We are just so excited and ready to be in our own home. These are the latest pictures we got on it though.

Outside

My new kitchen! <3 <3 <3

Master Bathroom

So, I think that covers it for our month. Hopefully next month we will be in our house and getting settled in there. We cannot wait! :)

Love,
Brad, Jenna, & Anberlin

Swollen, but Thankful {27 & 28 weeks!}

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. We went to a friend's house for Thanksgiving and got to see lots of people who we were stationed with in Belgium that we haven't seen in forever. It was a really nice reunion with great food and awesome company. {Thank you Stacey for inviting us to your house!}
I do just want to mention also that we are so thankful to finally have this blessing in our life. It's been a long time coming, but we are still over the moon excited. <3
Since it was a holiday last week, I kind of skipped last weeks blog (please forgive me). But I will make it up today! So let's start with last week....

We had an OB appointment last Tuesday. It was another quick in and out kind of appointment. My belly is at the correct size and Bean's heartbeat is super strong and fast. After we saw the nurse, she reminded me that I had to get labs done. Greeeaaatttt. This wasn't just normal pee in a cup and take some blood kind of lab. This was a lab to test me for gestational diabetes. So I went to the lab (completely unprepared, I should have brought a book) and they handed me this bottle of sugary something or another that I was told to drink in 5 minutes. Luckily, it actually didn't taste that bad, just like flat Sprite. Then after I drank it, I had to wait for an hour until they could draw my blood. I had no cell phone reception and nothing to read. It was a really boring hour. But it's done now and I haven't heard anything back so I am hoping that no news is good news.
Besides our appointment and Thanksgiving, we just enjoyed our long weekend that we both had and did some things around the house. We bought some things on Black Friday and we got our Christmas Tree. I can't believe that tomorrow is December! Whoa.

My belly is getting large and in charge. And by "in charge" I mean, I keep running into things with it. Like if I take a corner too sharp or turn while standing around people. Hahaha. Yeah I have hit it on people and things. Go me!
Info from BabyCenter.com:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

And now on to this week...
We are officially in the THIRD trimester now, which is proof that time is flyyyying by.
Over the weekend we figured out that my wedding ring is officially stuck on my finger. :( We spent most of the weekend trying to figure out how to get it off. We tried soaking it in ice water (brrrr), using butter, olive oil, vasaline, dish soap, hand soap, tugging, pulling, twisting, praying, wrapping dental floss around the swollen part. But yeah, it's not going ANYWHERE. So we are going to go to Zale's and see if they can cut it and repair it for us. If not, we have a friend here who volunteers at the Fire Station that will cut it off for us. I just don't want my hands to get anymore swollen and cause any big problems. Siiiigh. I love my ring.
Bean has been moving around LIKE CRAZY nowadays. I love it. I love every kick and movement. I think it's because she hasn't found my bladder or my ribs yet. Thank you Jesus. Haha. Sometimes I like to play with her and I will push in on my tummy and she will kick back. It's super cute. Brad will sit on the couch with me and put his hand on my belly trying to feel her kicks. But she gets shy around him. I can now even see her move my belly which is realllllly weird. I am cherishing these moments because soon (12 weeks!!!) they will be gone. I really do love being pregnant.

Here is Brad trying to feel her kicks. And Kahlua because she loves sitting on my lap. And my belly button which is still an "innie" because I have the world's deepest belly button. Haha.

Info from BabyCenter.com:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I have also read that she can now smell the things I smell, which I thought was really weird.


Our next OB appointment won't be until closer to Christmas. But I think we get an ultrasound at the next appointment. I hope, I hope, I hope! :) And maybe we will even reveal her initals. But we aren't telling her name until she arrives.


<3 Brad, Jenna, and Bean