Halloween!

Jasper wanted to be a werewolf. This was our best attempt! I did the makeup, and both David and I sewed on the fake fur to his shirt. I think he looks pretty scary.








He wanted to go trick or treating at his grandma's house, where apparently they give out the best candy. So off he went and David and I stayed home with Jackson and answered the door to trick or treaters.











And my feet are no longer puffy!

Jackson was FINALLY born!

David and I had our baby, Jackson on Thursday.


9 lbs 14 oz, 22 inches long!

Jack-o-lanterns revealed

Still pregnant. However tonight the hospital should be calling me and giving me my induction time frame for tomorrow. I might have a baby tomorrow! That is pretty awesome.

Here are the jacks, enjoy!

Pumpkin Carving

I'm still pregnant.

Last Friday Jasper and I went to a pumpkin patch.

He makes a nice scarecrow.




Saturday, after he WON his football game 36-8 against Tooele, we all carved some jack-o-lanterns.






His mom joined in on the fun. She hates having her picture taken, but this picture just shows her hands, so I think she won't mind. She was by far the best at gutting the pumpkins. I HATE that part, it really grosses me out for some reason. Its just pumpkin guts, but when scraping out the pumpkin, it almost feels like real guts.



Stay tuned tomorrow for pictures of the finished jacks. I know you will all be waiting with baited breath.

Art by Jasper

I'm still pregnant! Jas has school off today so we are enjoying some Price is Right and Marshmallow Mateys cereal.

Below are some fun pictures Jasper drew recently. I think his picture of me is way too kind! If only my belly were so cute and tiny.

Fun with the scanner

My doctor's appointment went well and I'm still pregnant. I'm dilated to a 1 and I'm scheduled to be induced next Thursday the 23rd. I've been trying to cross my fingers that he'll decide to be born before that, but since I really can't even cross my fingers because they are so fat, he'll most likely be born next week.


I'm having so much fun with the scanner, I'm about to embarrass myself with these pictures, but I don't really care.


I served a mission for my church in Honduras, San Pedro Sula - and in Belize (2000-2001). Belize is small so it is not a mission itself, just an extension of other missions. It was once part of Guatemala, then Honduras, now it is part of El Salvador.

One of the first sisters I met in Honduras when I got there warned me "Sister, just so you know - the blessings of the mission are not physical." Luckily my two older sisters Heather and Becky who had both served missions before me also told me some of the horror stories and I had already resigned myself to gaining 20 lbs from eating tortillas.

But there were other physical yuckiness that I wasn't really prepared for, like flying ants, fleas in your disgusting 3rd world mattress that scarred my legs for years, HEAT, the never ending HEAT and humidity, worms, food that looks back at you while you eat it, etc.

It was definitely very humbling. And sometimes when I see the sister missionaries on Temple Square with their beautiful clothes, hair and make up, none of which I had on my mission, I just have to smile. I would've loved to look like that on my mission, but there was just no way. You can't wear a suit outfit in the middle of Central America - first of all its WAY too hot. Second, its impractical to walk 3 or 4 miles a day in one of those (we had no car or bike - people steal them and dogs chase you). Third, I gained so much weight I didn't fit into any of my cute outfits anyway after a month in the field, so it was down to jumpers and skirts pretty quickly. And there is no point in wearing makeup when it literally melts off of your face 20 minutes after application.

So this was me in the MTC the day my parents dropped me off. Look how cute and naive. I even have the lovely dork dot.





And this is a few days before I went back to Utah (I have better, more painful looking pictures, but they are packed up in boxes and I'm too fat to get them down, plus I will spare you).

It was right after 9/11 and we were at the Belizean airport. I'm the one with the back pack on my lap hiding my tummy. I showed this picture to Jasper, hoping he wouldn't be able to identify me. But he found me right away, and said something like, "you're all shiny like a football player."



I guess I'll make a lame comparison to pregnancy and say that the blessings of being pregnant are not physical. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons!

Fourth Grade Pictures

How cute is Jasper? Very.

These are his fourth grade pictures:



He said the photographer told him to tilt his head, and say "Girls are cute!" but he just said "Cheese" instead, and hopped out of the chair before he could make him say it.

Oh, and still no baby.

Last Appointment

Today is my last Dr. Appointment before I have a baby.

I'm due TOMORROW.

Now that is scary, just like this picture of me at age 12.

Halloween Flashback

Becky and I at the Clinton parade. Becky is cowboy #1 with red bandana, and I'm cowboy #2 with the hat and brown overalls. Our mother loved us so much she gave us matching boy haircuts that year. I'm not even sure this is Halloween. I think its some kind of Cowboy parade. Oh and if you look really carefully I think you can see Heather in the far background with the mullett and red bandana and my dad with a blue Co-op hat and sunglasses.

Still No Baby

Football games in the rain = cold! Jasper had fun because they won, and David always has fun watching him play. I stayed warm with a hot chocolate, blanket and winter coat.


A soundless video of Jasper doing "Husky-jacks":






And still no Baby Bennett. My doctor's appointment on Thursday went much better, and I'm all healthy and so is the baby. But he has no intention of leaving my body any time soon. It can't be comfortable in there, what is he waiting for?


Jasper has been thinking of what to be for Halloween. Here are some of his ideas:

• Grim Reaper




• Indiana Jones




• Toilet Bowl




• Zombie




• Werewolf

David and I tried helping by throwing out ideas. Here were a few of ours:

• Be the tooth fairy! He said "No way, that is something that Todd would do." (His uncle Todd dressed up like a cheerleader a few years ago, I think that is what he means)




• A pumpkin




• A Ghost

He thought these were all lame ideas. Then he comes up with "I know, I could be Michelle! Pregnant Michelle! I'd win the nobel prize for that costume." Yeah, we have no idea why he thinks dressing up like me is nobel prize worthy. Pretty funny.

I'm having fun with the scanner. Here is me as a Punk Rocker circa 1989.

No baby

I'm still pregnant.

This morning Jasper won his game against Granger, we are all psyched!

My pictures from the game won't upload, but now the scanner works, so I found this fun picture of me and my friends in Chicago November/December 2005 (?). This was outside the Cheescake Factory after a day of shopping and sightseeing.

Pregnancy pics

I finally figured out that our printer/scanner has a place where you can upload pictures straight from your memory card - no usb cord necessary (my usb connection is broken on my camera)!


Here are some pregnancy pictures that I know you have all been dying to see:

Lagoon, 6/6/08 - approx 5 months pregnant.

Attempt at self portrait with my camera timer.

7/6/08 - 6 months.

At the family baby shower - cute baby pants!

Taken 8/29/08 - 7 months

These last three were taken today, 9 months pregnant! I think it looks like I stuffed one of those red dodgeballs up my shirt.

And a few fun quotes from Jasper, on my way home from picking him up from school today:

Jasper: Guess what?
Me: What?
Jasper: When I was 2, I had this crazy idea, that you just pooed the baby out. But I only thought that for like two seconds.

Jasper: Guess what?
Me: What?
Jasper: My teacher sometimes tells me that I need to be more silent.
Me: Really? Well I guess you must talk too much or too loudly. You better try harder to be quiet.
Jasper: But I'm soooo good! I'm so good cuz I'm not even slapping people around.

More Doctor's Orders

So my real doctor ordered me home from work. That's right, I'm being forced to stay home, put my feet up and eat bon bons (well maybe not the bon bon part, but I'm taking liberties).

I went to my weekly pregnancy checkup, and had high blood pressure, some protein in my urine and some rapid weight gain. Then my doctor took a look at my feet and shook his head in pity "those are some of the most swollen feet I've ever seen." So I had to get some blood drawn and then I was sent down to Labor and Delivery for a "non-stress test." What in the heck is a non-stress test? Well I had no idea, but it didn't sound like a big deal.

Meanwhile at home Dave was waiting for me to get home so he could leave and go to Ogden with some friends. He'd been planning this outing for a few weeks. After I was told I had to take these tests, I called and told him to go ahead. "It's just a blood test and some kind of stress test thing, it won't take any time I'm sure. I'll be done in time to pick up Jasper from school and take him to practice. It's no big deal, just go, I'll be fine!" So he reluctantly headed up to Ogden.

After the blood draw I made my way downstairs to Labor and Delivery and told them that my doctor had sent me down for a non-stress test. Okay. Then they gave me all these forms to sign. While handing me each form, the check-in lady would say stuff like "If you give birth today, do you want an epidural?" "If you stay and have the baby, do you want the baby to be immunized with the Hepatitis B vaccine?" "If you end up giving birth, who will the baby's pediatrician be?"

Now I started to freak a little.

Me: You realize I'm just here for the non-stress test right?"

Check-in lady: Yes.

Me: Is this a big deal?

Check-in lady: well, not really. We're making sure everything is okay.

Me: What IS a non-stress test?

Check-in lady: We'll attach some monitors to your belly and listen to him, make sure he is okay, check your blood pressure.

Me: Okay. How long does this usually take?

Check-in lady: Well it depends, it could take 20 minutes, or you could stay and give birth. :)

Now really scared, I called Dave back and told him sorry but I had no idea how long it would take and he better come home. So he of course got freaked out too, and turned right around.

Luckily my blood pressure was back to normal and the baby was fine, so they sent me home after monitoring me and baby for about an hour and gave me strict instructions to take it easy and not return to work. The nurse also admired the state of my feet. "I've never seen feet like that before," she said in awe. I admit I am pretty happy to not be at work this very minute.

It sure made everything seem more real. I will be having this baby very soon. Ahh! I need to get my house clean, I need to pack a bag to take to the hospital. I need to finish the baby dresser, plant some fall bulbs, and do some relaxing.

So, what TV series on DVD do you think I should bring to the hospital with me? Chances are I'll be in labor for a few hours or more. What should I watch to make the time fly? Poll to the right.

Oh, and what do you think, when will I have this baby? Comment and leave your guess on his date of arrival, and weight.