Just Killing Time

Baby Girl was due yesterday, but she didn't feel like being born.

To stop feeling sorry for myself, and my huge body


we decided to kill time having fun!




Having fun includes:


Shooting Hoops...




Slipping Slide...

Punching...

Being Big...

Slipping more Slide....

More punching...

Dancing...

Hammocking...

and Watching...

It was a ton of fun.

We topped all the fun off with a movie night - Paul Blart Mall Cop (which I laughed at more than I should have) and 17 again. Both movies were absurd, but we had fun.

One more night as a whale.

I'm being induced tomorrow!

2 weeks left!

Two weeks left of this pregnancy. What better way to celebrate than to head off to the local zoo?

Jasper took off with Jackson and showed him all the cool animals.
Although Jasper might think the zoo is boring lately, he was a good sport and a great big brother to Jacks.






Jackson getting crowded out by another little girl, both anxious to see if they are as big as a gorilla.

(he's not)

Can't pass up the lion drinking fountain!




Or a shoulder ride with Dad!

Overall, the zoo was fun. Especially for Jackson.

It was super hot and I looked for benches in the shade, more than I looked for animals. :)

Really Pregnant

I'm 9 months pregnant. That came fast! I have 3 weeks left and I'm feeling it.

However this pregnancy has been MUCH easier than my first, and I'm not sure if its because I exercised, because its a different sex, because its not my first, or because I'm only working part-time... probably a combination.

Whatever the reason, it has been a good pregnancy, and this little girl moves A LOT.

Jackson and I just finished our last Mom and Tot swimming class a week ago.

I don't know if I'm brave or crazy to have ventured out like this, but Jackson enjoyed it.

Jasper on the other hand did not enjoy his forced swimming lessons, but they are over now too, thank goodness!

Jackson and I ventured out to Classic Waterslides a few weeks ago (they have a great summer pass deal, too great to resist). We had a good time, until Jackson and I got stuck on a waterslide.

He was scared about the slide to begin with. He wouldn't sit on my lap on our way down the slide, so he clung to my neck, and as we rounded a curve I fell onto my back. No big deal except I have no stomach muscles and a baby clinging to my neck! I couldn't sit up for the life of me!

I wiggled and he screamed with his face stuck in the water and me on my back. I cried out to "stop the ride" only to remember it's not a ride that can be stopped. Finally I wiggled my way to a sitting up position and made it down the rest of the slide. Poor Jackson was so horrified that he laid on his towel and refused to budge the rest of our time there, even for candy.

But, I would pay a lot of money to see the whole thing replayed. I know it looked hilarious.

Poor guy!

It's a ...

GIRL!

I'm so excited for dresses and bows. She can like balls and snakes too, as long as she sometimes gets to wear dresses and bows.

We are all super excited.

20 more weeks to go!

What's your vote?

I’m pregnant - 20 weeks.

This Friday, I get to find out what our new baby will be. Boy, or girl.

What’s your vote?

Some facts to consider:

• This pregnancy has been remarkably easier than my first.
• The difference in pregnancies could be because it is a different sex than Jackson,
• or because I have been exercising regularly (as opposed to my sit and get fat exercise method last time).
• the difference could also be because I was just wimpier and whinier before and just thought I had it tough.

Boy or girl, we are very excited!

Tell me what your guess is in the comments below.

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!

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.

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.

Doctor's Orders

I wrote this email to my sister Becky:



On Wed, Sep 24, 2008 at 9:08 AM, Michelle wrote:

Can't breathe. . . Can't walk. . . Puffy.



And she replied:



From: Becky
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 3:52 PM
To: Michelle


Miss Puffy,

Please lie in bed an extra hour and eat bon bons and watch Felicity reruns.

Love, Dr. Becky


Aren't sisters great?