Our house… In the middle of the street

As you may or may not have heard already, we bought a house in Eagle Mountain, Utah.

We are so excited and cannot wait!

This process actually came rather quickly to us, and things just fell into place. 

We had been talking about buying a place of our own, for awhile now. 

We knew we had our baby girl coming spring 2014 and that there was just no room in our current location.

Here were our options:

Move out of our current location and rent a larger space.

OR

Stay at our current location & put things in storage rentals & paying a monthly fee.

None of those sounded appealing to us though. They all sounded like a waste of money. 

Friday, November 1st

Message sent.

We decided to talk to our property manager (who also does real estate), and was hoping he'd be able to help us get on our way.

Much to our surprise, our property manager (Steve) messaged us back rather quickly.

(Duh. Of course he will. He wants money!)

He messaged us  back right away, with a list of questions.

First, he asked us if we knew who we wanted to do our home loan through. We didn't.

Boy- was I glad we talked to him. We were't even able to get through the rest of the list of questions let alone anything else.

Our property manager (Steve) messaged us back (again) right away), but this time w/answers to help us get a little bit further in our process.

He gave us two, local, loan officers we could talk to around here and suggested we do that, rather than talk to a bank and or credit union.

Sunday, November 4th

We called Papa Joe (Jake's dad) just to verify that that sounded right.

Having never purchased a home of our own before, we wanted to make sure we were getting the best of the best & not getting jipped.

Not that we didn't trust our current property manager, who would maybe possibly be our real estate agent one day, but we just wanted to make sure.

This was such a big process and such and exciting step in our lives, so we called Papa Joe to verify.

He agreed and thought it sounded like a good idea to call the two suggested loan officers who our property manager (Steve) suggested.

Monday, November 4th

Jake called the two loan officers & left messages w/both of them.

One of them called us back sooner than the other, so we made an appointment w/the one who got back to us first. 

 Naturally.

Tuesday, November 5th

We met w/the loan officer (Scott) to talk about available home loans for us.

I was very excited to say the least.

We brought all the proper paper work he requested and didn't waste any time.

He sat us down and got straight to business. We were pre-qualified right then and there!

He, that night, sent an email to our property manager (Steve) to let him know what we pre- qualified for (dollar amount wise), what our budget would be, and that we were more than ready to start this process.

Steve started searching for properties within our pre-qualified home loan price range and sent the listing to us via email.

Wednesday, November 6th

We received an e-mail w/property listings and pictures.

There were about 30 listings in a relatively close area. I was so excited!

I fell in love w/the first property in the pictured email. 

It was a cute little two story home w/a walk-in closet in the master suite.

A walk-in closet?!?! You had me at walk. 

I can't even step one foot in our current closet.

Jake and I could actually share a closet now?!?!

You mean- he doesn't have to store his clothing in the spare room anymore?!?!

Oh my heck, I was so excited! When could we go look at this property?

That night, we called Steve to set up an appointment to look at this property.

We made it very clear we were interested in it (and one other) because of the price. It was right in our range.

Steve set up an appointment w/us to go look at properties a few days later.

Friday, November 8th

We went house shopping in Eagle Mountain, Utah.

Our property manager offered to pick us up at our apartment and drive us.

We met up at 10am and were told to expect to be gone a few hours.

We told our employers we'd be expected back in the office by 1pm.

Steve had snacks in the car, just in case preggers (me) got hungry, as he knew we'd be out past lunch time.

He handed me a packet (called "the goo") which consisted of all the properties we'd be looking at that day.

ALL the properties we'd be looking at? I thought we were just looking at one or two?

I'm glad he did bring snacks 'cuz at about snack thirty (12 o'clock) we were all getting pretty hungry.

Side note:

Jake and I know what we want.

Not just in life, but in general.

When we go shopping out and about (for whatever) we don't spend time browsing.

(This can be a good and or a bad thing)

I've never been that way, and neither has he.

We go in a store, we get what we want, and leave.

This may or may not come as a surprise to you.

I'm a doer. I like to get things done time efficiently and as painless as possible.

Shopping can be related to food, in this instance.

Jake and I are creatures of habits, as most humans are… Duh.

We find what we like and stick to it.

Every restaurant we go to, we order the same thing. Every time.

Jake gets bored easily and hates shopping.

I repeat: Hate with a capitol "H" folks.

Once we find what we like, we get it. We don't waste time.

Got it?

Okay, back to house shopping...

The firs location didn't go over very well. When we first pulled up, it didn't have great curb appeal.

It was tiny, and by the measuring numbers on "the goo" it was too little house, for too much money.

It was at the very tip top of our price range, and way small.

The only way I was going up in price, is if the house was going up in size.

This one wasn't, but hey- it was the first property so I decided to give it a chance.

Not a very fair one, I'll admit, but a chance none the less.

We went on and looked at other properties.

The second location we looked at, was the two story house we were originally inquiring.

That house was an epic fail.

It was something to keep in mind, but not something we could stay in for more than two years.

It was just too small & had no room to expand.

It also had a town home feel, which we knew we didn't want.

The HOA fee was way too expensive, and our neighbors were a bit too close for comfort.

Besides, there was an empty lot next door, that would soon be starting construction and I didn't want that next to our little girl's nursery.

Too much noise and dust. 

We continued on our house hunt.

Steve drove us to a corner lot that had a beautifully constructed exterior, three-car garage.

This house was still in the process of being built, but was under construction for us to walk around inside and take a look.

We walked in and I was floored. It was huge. Huge!

Steve said this one was probably a bit out of our price range, but that this same builder had a similar, smaller home around the corner & suggested we look at it.

So we did.

Again, I walked in and was floored. This is what I saw:

A beautiful, white, open concept kitchen

This house was already in contract, but there were a few next door that were under construction & available.

The exterior was done on all of them, and the insides were pretty much complete.

So I had to ask- "When will they be ready?" Steve replied, "Before you will."

I thought for sure that meant these were out of our price range.

So we left.

Steve showed us two other properties.

Both had the same floor plan and were built in 1999.

Already I was turned off, just because the homes were over 10 years old.

I knew they'd need work, just by looking at the outside.

We walked in one, and saw it had been recently "renovated;" however, it'd still needed a lot of work.

I'm talking torn up floor boards, paint markings on the carpet, cat pee everywhere, etc.

Yeah, it was that house.

We walked in the other home, and saw what it looked like w/o renovations and knew we were just in too deep already. 

No such luck there.

Steve explained that was all the listings he had available for us that day, and asked what we wanted to do next.

I said I wanted to go back to that feel good house.

So we did.

I walked in the same "already in contract house" and got the same feeling as before.

I couldn't help it guys. I was in love.

They always said when you find "the one" you know.

I knew w/Jake and I knew the feeling was the same w/this house. Seriously.

I walked in and just knew. 

So did Jake.

So we started talking numbers w/Steve and the contractor was actually there w/all his construction workers, working away.

We were able to talk to him about which lots were available and he said one was already further along (plumbing & electrical wise), and that we could take a look at it if we wanted.

So we did.

It was the same floor plan as the "already in contract" house, just flipped.

The exterior was a different color, but I didn't care.

I had found my house and I was done. Bury me right there. 

Steve made it very clear to us that we did not have to make a decision that day.

He told us to go home and think about it and to talk things over.

So we did.

We crunched numbers. We talked to our friends and got advice from our family.

Saturday, November 8th

I drove my sisters out there and showed them around.

They loved it.

Sunday, November 9th

We drove our good friends (Ryan & Ashley) out there and showed them around.

They loved it.

They also just bought a newly-built town home out there and would only be about 10 minutes down the road from us. 

After spending Saturday and Sunday driving people to Eagle Mountain, we made our decision.

Monday, November 11th

We emailed Steve and let him know we were ready to put in an offer on "our house." 

Being that the 11th was Veteran's Day, the builder was not working.

So the offer would have to wait to be submitted on the next day.

That actually worked out for our advantage, which we did not think it would. 

We were originally going to bid a lot larger of an amount, but after careful consideration, we looked things over and came up w/a different number.

Had it not been Veteran's Day, we wouldn't have thought up of this different offer.

We actually found the same lot number from the same builder, right around the corner, and it was like a $5,000 difference.

So we felt comfortable coming down in price.

Why the price difference, you might ask? We don't know and neither does Steve.

The only thing we could think of, was the fact that only the foundation would be poured, and that it would take a lot longer to build the frame and finish the exterior.

We didn't want to wait that long and take that chance; Especially w/the cold winter coming.

If anything, that house should've been more expensive, being that you can custom build it.

You could pick out the exterior, add a bay window in the master bedroom, etc.

All of these things (and more) I wanted to stay away from.

They were all beautiful upgrades, but I didn't want our home loan to be any bigger than it already was. 

Please don't even give me that option.

It just didn't make much sense, and it was only saving us $5,000 so we were okay w/it. 

Tuesday, November 12th

Offer was re constructed w/different numbers.

Steve came over to our apartment, for us to sign on the offer and it was now ready to be submit for the very next morning.

Wednesday, November 13th

Offer was accepted on the home.

Wow! What a relief! I was so excited and thrilled!

The hard part was over.

We went house shopping, found our house, and put in an offer to find out it was accepted.

Jake didn't think the hard part was over though.

In his mind, it had only just begun.

Okay, Carpenters. Get out of my husband's head and start convincing him that this is fun.

Steve's even said it himself!

Monday, November 18th

Steve picked us up (again) after work and drove us out to the builder's office to pick out colors.

We decided on the following:

 A beautiful hard wood floor for our kitchen/dining area.

A light tan color tile/grout for our entry way, bathrooms, and laundry room.

A beautiful, light, granite for our kitchen and bathroom counters 
A dark, macaroni carpet and

last but not least

CABINETS!

I got my beautiful white, crisp and clean cabinets for the kitchen and bathrooms.

Below is a picture of everything we picked out, minus the carpet and tile.
Oops.
(The arrow is pointing to the color grout we picked out for the tile)

Photo taken on my iPhone

I cannot wait for everything to be done, which, by the way, should be within the next couple of weeks.

After Thanksgiving, the builder said we should be able to do a walk through w/him and look at the progress of things.

We're getting so excited and are just anxious now, for our home loan process to actually be complete. It should be 100% done by mid January.

We were told to except to be in the house by the middle/end of January.

I'm just telling myself the beginning of February, just to be safe.

Our loan officer says there isn't any reason why we shouldn't be.

Suh-weet.

Our house is 2,400 sq. ft. total

It has three bedrooms, the laundry room, and two full baths on the main floor.

The house comes w/an unfinished basement, that we will be finishing ourselves later.

The builder finishes the staircase all the way down to the basement.

The staircase down to the basement, is in the direct center of the house, so it's 1,200 sq. ft. on the main floor and in the basement.

We will most likely put a man cave for Jake downstairs, as well as 1-2 bedrooms, a full bath and a nice, open craft room for me!

We are so excited and cannot wait!

We have loved picking out everything so far, and love seeing the progress of our house. 

20 week ultrasound

Yesterday we had our 20 week anatomy ultrasound.

It was supposed to be on Tuesday, but the ultrasound technician was sick.

I was a little bummed they asked us to reschedule, but of course we understood.

And hey- it was only a day's difference right?

I was just so excited to see our little one on the big screen.

The last time we saw her on TV was five weeks ago, when we did our 15 week gender check.

We met w/our doctor two weeks ago, for my 18 week appointment, but no ultrasound then.

At this point, we've had three ultrasounds total and I've loved every one of them.

We had one at 7 weeks.

We had one at 15 weeks.

And now we have one for 20 weeks.

I'm buildin a collection here folks!

I realize others may have more, but we're not talking about anyone but us right now.

Back to our ultrasound appointment…

I was really excited to get in there, to make sure she was still a she.

It might sound weird, I know, but I know of a few people who have found out the gender early, and have been proven wrong later.

15 weeks was pretty early to find out, so I was still hesitant. 

She's definitely still a she. She was a little shy, but we got in there.

My kid? Shy?!?! She can't be mine. There's no way.

If you recall our last ultrasound (at 15 weeks), our little girl had her legs crossed.

Same thing yesterday. She had one leg crossed over the other. 

Just sittin' in there. Chillin.

We had the same, sweet ultrasound technician as last time and she was great. Again.

She looked at the brain at all different angles, and it looked normal.

She looked at the heart chambers at all different angles, and it looked normal.

She looked at any facial features that could be deformed (nose, cleft lip, etc.) and they all looked normal.

I was relived to say the least.

I was happy to see I was doing my part as a mother, and that taking my prenatal every day has helped w/my child's development. 

Every parent wants to hear their child is looking healthy & normal. Every parent.

In the womb or not.

Our little girl was confirmed breach. That is all subject to change though.

Our doctor didn't seem too worried about it & said she'd probably change positions before delivery.

Gosh I hope so. Please don't cut me open and put my insides on my outside. Please!

Our little girl was also confirmed to be completely folded in half!

She was pulling her legs all the way over her head. That crazy!

This top picture shows her doing a toe touch type thing:

(The top picture is her head on the left of the ultrasound & her leg coming up & over almost)

And of course the last picture she has a gang sign she's thrown' us. 

She is very much so an active baby, and the lower part of her body was in the 87th percentile.

Meaning she's very tall and long legged.

Would I expect anything less? My husband is over 6 ft. and I'm 5'8''

I'm just glad I have a long torso to carry her. This will be fun!

We ordered a video of the entire ultrasound we got.

I posted a clip of it on my Instagram and added one of my favorite songs to it as well.
I hope you all are able to see it. It's the cutest thing. 
Her little toe touch in action is the best!

My doctor told me I was measuring ahead.
He's still keeping my due date the same (April 6th), but he said I'm probably close to 22 weeks at this point.
Wahoo! This pregnancy is just flying' by! Two weeks just came & went like nothin' (wink wink)

Banana Bread Recipe

You will need:

3-4 smashed bananas (I used two so you don't taste too much banana) 
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
With a wooden spoon, mix butter & mashed bananas into a large mixing bowl. 
Add all other ingredients and mix well.
Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. 

If you don't have a 4x8 then a 9x5 works just as well (that's what I used). 

Bake for 1 hour and let cool. Enjoy

Preggo Eggo Update- Week 18

How many weeks?: 18 weeks and 2 days.

Size of Baby: A mango (6 inches 8.5 oz) and is 6 inches long. Baby's developing a protective  coating over her skin (called vernix caseosa). It's greasy and white, and will be seen at birth. 

Countdown: 22 weeks left. 145 days to go!

Total weight gain/loss: 

 Maternity Clothes?: Still heck to the yeah. I can still wear a few of my non-maternity shirts (that were really big before pregnancy), but I'm filling them in a lot more now.

Energy Levels: My body is hurting more and more, because my uterus is growing/stretching and the baby is growing (a ton) right now. I'm not sleeping a ton at night, due to all this, so definitely not much of energy (just due to lack of sleep). I go through spurts. Nothing like my first trimester though. That was bad. I'm doing a lot better compared to my first trimester. 

Exercise Habits: A little more walking. We went on a Costco date night, and I forced myself to walk around, even though it hurt. A lot. 

Sleeping?: I always look at my phone (when I wake up in the middle of the night), to see what time it is/how often I'm waking up. I feel like I'm waking up more and more now. I think it's due to the fact that my uterus is growing & my bladder is getting weaker & weaker. I'm not sleeping very much, due to that, and due to my hips hurting. Ouch!

Worst Moment in the past 2 weeks: Last week, spotting. Scared the wazoo out of me! 

Best Moment in the past 2 weeks:  Feeling flutters getting stronger & higher! I'm recognizing them a lot better now, and don't have to hold as still to feel them. 

Miss anything?: Being able to walk normal?

Movement: Yes way! I stuck a flashlight up to my stomach the other night ('cuz I heard if you do that, the baby can sense the light w/o being blinded, and you'll be able to feel movement). She fluttered like crazy after that and I loved it. I was laughing so hard 'cuz it was so funny. Jake was saying I was a bad mom for blinding our baby! Ha! 

Morning Sickness?: Mornings are still really hard for me. I have to drink just a little bit of coke in the morning, and have a little bit of salt (to get me going), then I'm fine. 

Food Cravings: I never thought this would happen in this pregnancy, but it did- I craved dessert, and now that I've had quite a lot of it (mainly ice cream) I can't stop! 

Food Aversions: Spices. I can't eat anything w/a lot of spices. Baby gets confused, and spicy foods give me really bad heart burn, which in turn lead to acid reflex throw up. Meh.

Showing yet?: Baby is nice and high and straight out there. Oh yes. 

Labor signs: None. Thank goodness.

Moods: I get emotional real easy. Like baby clothes? I get teary eyed. It's lame. 

Not Looking Forward to: Not much. There really isn't much I'm not looking forward to. I was dreading stretch marks, but I have this amazing stretch cream, and it's been doing wonders. I really just dread/fear the actual labor/delivery. There are so many uncertainties & things that can go wrong. There- I picked something I'm not looking forward to. 

Looking Forward To: Seeing our little one today. We have our 18 week ultrasound and I cannot be happier to see our little princess again. It's been three weeks since we last saw her little face, and I am just so anxious to see her growth & development. Jake and I are both pretty tall, so I'm excited to see how long her little legs are, and to make sure everything is healthy & normal.

The month of Ashley

We were about 10 years old when we first met... On the soccer field.

We were in the same ward and our elementary school classrooms were right next door to each other.

We had houses in two different neighborhoods, but climbing over a brick wall didn't change that.

There were endless days of painting each others nails, walking over to boys houses, spending days at the mall, and make believing the game of Life was real. 

We moved apart the summer before our 8th grade year & still kept in touch. 

She was in Missouri and I was in California but the distance didn't change our friendship.

We spent countless hours on AOL Instant Message 

(Remember that- Anyone??...) 

and exchanging pictures in the mail.

We reunited again in the glorious state of Utah where we both currently live, and started our hangouts again.

She was there for my wedding day, and I was there for hers.

Meet my childhood best friend, Ashley.

I know there's three people here in this photo.

Obviously one of them is me, in the purple.

Ashley is in the blue and our other good friend (Amanda) is in white. 

The three of us called ourselves The Triple A Club and we were so cool.

Ashley got married October 26th and boy was it sweet.

Let me rewind

When Ashley was single, she had what she called the summer of Ashley.

She did whatever she wanted to do, and went wherever she wanted to go.

The month of October was the month of Ashley. 

It started out with a bridal shower on Saturday, October 12th

Her cousin and I threw it and had so much fun spying on her Pinterest favorites in order to pull it off.

We made her favorite soups and served soups and bread rolls at the shower.

We also had all her favorite desserts like the following:

Stuffed strawberries

Carmel apples w/nuts

Homemade pumpkin cupcakes w/homemade cream cheese frosting

We also served a homemade pumpkin roll (which everyone loved, but isn't pictured)...

All of the banners were hand made that day

and I let her keep one of them for her reception, that said "Falling in Love" on burlap triangles. 

The next weekend was for Ashley and her sweet fiance, Brian.

They both had a very special day at the bountiful LDS Temple and asked Jake and I to be there

Photo taken on my iPhone

Then we had the weekend of all weekends.

The prom of all proms.

Brian and Ashley's wedding day in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple on Saturday, October 26th 

Ashley's hair might be in her face, but I love the way Brian is looking at her here.

You'll have to excuse my pregnant face. It was a long day

Their wedding day was such a warm, sunny, beautiful day in downtown Salt Lake, and Jake and I were so happy to be there.

We've loved seeing Brian & Ashley's relationship grow, and it was just all around nice to be there w/them.

They were w/us when we first got married, and to see them grow and blossom w/us, was really neat.

We loved it and could not be happier for you guys! Here's to the new Mr. and Mrs!!!

See ya in about a week when Amanda comes into town? The Triple A Club reunites!

Gender Reveal

Last week, Jake and I found out the gender of our baby!

Tuesday 10/15/2013 @ 4:15pm

A date which will go down in history. Oh yes. 

Below is a photo of the gender reveal we sent to our families in CA

and some close family friends as well

My sister and I designed them and I made the scratch offs from home.

Super easy. Just soap and water. I got the recipe off google.

Photo taken on my iPhone

I thought for sure the work day would go by so slow. It didn't.

Much to my surprise, the day flew by. Jake and I both thought so.

Weird.

For some reason, that day felt unreal.

Could I really be 15 weeks and 2 days pregnant?

(Yes, I'm still having a hard time comprehending the fact that we're expecting)

The day felt so unreal, I called my doctor's office to confirm the appointment.

What?!! Who does that?!?! (Cough cough- This girl)

I leave work early, and meet Jake at home.

We anxiously get in the car and drive to my doctor's office.

It felt like the world's longest drive.

Not only because I was anxious to get there & know!!!!

...But because I chugged a whole lotta apple juice and had to go!

I thought you had to have a full bladder for an ultrasound.

Did anyone call me and tell me that? No. I just always thought.

Boy was I wrong.

Well, I guess technically I wasn't.

You just don't need to have AS full a bladder, when you're in your 2nd trimester.

I guess it's only when you're in your 1st trimester.

I should've known. I can clearly look down and see my uterus pushing everything up... Whatevs.

Needless to say- I was anxious to get in there for more than the obvious. 

We check in at the front desk and one of my favorite receptionists says

and I quote

"You're just here for the gender check, right?"

I replied, "JUST?!?!"

Who did this lady think she was? Definitely not my favorite anymore.

I guess she just wanted to clarify that I wouldn't be meeting w/the doctor afterwards... Whatevs.

She needs to clarify that. Ha.

I got pulled into the back, to drop off some lab work and have some blood drawn.

I'll have you know, I still have a nice bruise from that. Yeah...

After the lab, the ultrasound technician meets us at the nurses station

and the rest is history!

Not really.

She actually pulled us back right away & got right to business. 

Oh man- This was it. We're goin in!

She sits me back on this nice reclining chair, gives me a little towel, slaps the goo on my speed bump and away she went.

I was nice & relaxed. The lights were off, I had my phone out

and oh yeah- back to what was actually happening...

There was a baby on the screen! This beautiful little face showed itself.

I was in heaven already. I didn't need to know the gender of our baby.

I didn't care. I was just peachy watchin our little one move around!

And boy was that baby movin around!

I apologized to the ultrasound technician for drinking too much apple juice.

In my defense, I heard that helps get the baby movin.

I FEARED the baby would just sit still in one position & not be cooperative.

So, of course I overdo it on the apple juice. I had to right?

Better to be safe than sorry, I always say.

That kid was a bouncin around. Summersaults 'n all.

Weird that I couldn't feel any of it though.

Yet I could clearly see it happening, right in front of me.

Anyway, let's get down to business.

(As if all this nonsense above isn't)

The ultrasound technician was so sweet. You could tell she loved her job.

She really took her time w/us and was just the best.

She made our first experience awesome, to say the least.

She was showing us the baby's arm, the legs...

...Which BTW were crossed...

And I immediately said it must be a girl because they were crossed.

HA. Who was I kidding?!?! I knew it was a boy. From day one.

Before our little one was even conceived.

Mother's instincts right?

Nah. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

The ultrasound technician was trying to get a good shot to show us her parts.

But really, she said she already knew before that

(And yeah- just didn't say anything. I know. rude, huh?!?)

So, she tells us we're having a girl and I was shocked. 

Just shocked! 

I said "It's a girl?!?!"

Bows, pink, and sparkles went running through my head. 

I would've been excited either way.

Neither me nor Jake had a preference.

We just wanted a baby, and that was the honest truth.

Here are the photos we took on the 4th of July before we even got pregnant

Photo taken on my iPhone

Once I knew all our family and close friends had their gender reveals
(or received this picture message shown below)
I decided it was time to wear the gender reveal shirt to work.
This will also be part of my Halloween costume. Whatcha think?
Yeah, I'm pregnant during the Halloween holiday. I'm gonna have fun with it!

Photo taken on my iPhone

I may or may not have already started making her bows/headbands.
Heaven knows I've only just begun.
She needs one for every holiday!... I need lots more made!

Photo taken on my iPhone

Jake and I (of course) had a few boy names picked out, and a few girl names picked out, so we are definitely prepared. 

The two girl names we've decided on, are family names (the middle names at least), and we both feel really good about them.

I will say though, that we are not committing to anything, until we get a good long take at our little princess. 

We want to make sure she looks like the name we chose for her.

We want to make sure she acts like the name we chose for her.

What's in a name?