Ella Bay

We are so happy to welcome our sweet baby girl into the world!

Ella Bay Boster

was born Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 3:38 pm

7 lb 12 oz

20 1/2 inches long

We love her SO much. Many more pictures and details to come!

scripture power

James loves going to Primary! A couple of weeks ago, we realized that he needed some scriptures of his very own. He came home from Primary one day and said, "Mommy, when we sing 'Scripture Power' the kids hold up their scriptures." We found him a small Book of Mormon and he was SO excited to take it to Primary. I just happened to walk by the Primary room and peek in as the kids were singing 'Scripture Power' that week, and James was proudly holding up his scriptures! What a cute kid.

Jukie must have been inspired, because about a week later James got a package in the mail from Jukie and Bapa (my parents) at the MTC, who sent him his very own special Book of Mormon and his very own missionary name tags like theirs! Just take a look at our handsome future missionary here -

And because I was just getting some other random pictures off my camera - my boys have been great buddies lately. Here they are "swimming" in James' little wading pool in our backyard. Anything to beat this San Antonio heat!

And a few more pictures of my 38 1/2 weeks belly from a few days ago. Due date is six days away and counting....but I would be happy to head to the hospital any time now! Come on, baby!

All ready for baby!

So, I think I am pretty much ready for this sweet baby to come. I am about 38 1/2 weeks, but feel like our girl will make her appearance any time. I think I'm all ready to go...

• House cleaned - check! (well, let's face it, it's not all cleaned but it's good enough)
• Hospital bag packed - check!
• Baby clothes washed - check!
• Laundry caught up - check! (well except some towels, but ALL of our clothes are clean - it feels great!)
• Baby clothes folded and put away - check!
• Bassinet set up in our room - check!
• Last-minute run to Target for remaining baby essentials - check!
• Some dinners frozen in the freezer - check! (not as much variety/quantity as I'd like, but we won't starve unless we get sick of taco soup or tacos! haha)
• Name picked - check! (we've actually known her name for awhile....I don't think I ever posted it on this blog yet....might as well keep you in suspense for a few more days, eh?)
• Friends lined up to watch James - check! (people are so nice and keep offering, so we have plenty of options - aren't friends the best?)
• Contraction timer app downloaded on iPod - check! (when we were expecting James, my mom was there to help me time and she has this crazy amazing memory for numbers - I figured since she wasn't here to help keep track I'd better find something that could help! haha)
• Hospital test run completed - check! (haha, so this just happened to come about. I called my doctor on Tuesday about a crazy headache and some vision problems, and they sent me to the hospital just in case - we ended up being there in triage all night long for about ten hours while they checked all my vitals and things - everything turned out fine and they ruled out preeclampsia, which is good. While we were there, my contractions actually started up and were getting pretty regular - about 4 every 10 minutes - but they were not yet strong enough to be in actual labor, so they sent us home to sleep. The doctor on call said that he thought our baby would probably be born in the next day or two - so that is today, come on baby!!)

We're getting pretty excited!

My Dad told us we ought to watch this episode of I Love Lucy to get all ready to go to the hospital. Gotta love it! Hopefully my next post will have pictures of our baby! Stay tuned...

three items for your perusal...

1 - the belly, at 35 weeks

2 - the cockroach I just found in our bathroom!

3 - Jonathan's Frankenstein ear - looks like they flapped it off and sewed it back on. Lovely.

Have a nice day!

updates

1 - Jonathan had ear surgery on Friday - his cholesteatoma came back so we had to get it taken care of. We feel so blessed that the surgery went well and that he is recovering so much better than last time. We are also so grateful to all who have helped us out with watching James, Priesthood blessings, and meals. And letting James sit with them at church while I played the organ. It helped immensely!! We have wonderful friends!

Check out this awesome bandage Jonathan gets to wear this week!

2 - We got a quick visit from Uncle Benj!! James was just in heaven. Not only did he get to play with one of his amazing uncles, but there was someone here who would actually pick him up! (Daddy isn't supposed to lift anything for a month, and of course there is my burgeoning belly to consider - poor kid!)

We also got to meet Benj's girl, Brie! We had so much fun meeting her, and James quickly found a new buddy - so cute!

3 - My parents are now going to RUSSIA on their mission! They received a phone call last week three days before their farewell, informing them that their mission call had been changed to the Russia Novosibirsk Mission. I am so proud of them and excited for them! My Dad is going to be a wonderful mission president. 

4 - I am now 34 weeks pregnant! Our baby girl is doing wonderfully. She is a feisty little one and rolls around and kicks like crazy - it is so fun! We are getting so excited for her arrival. Here are a few recent ultrasound pictures - if you look closely you can see her little face and her mouth wide open.

Life is crazy but we are so blessed. 

Getting ready!

Well, I am now 31 weeks pregnant and we are getting so excited to meet our little girl! This pregnancy has gone by so much faster than my first one and I can't believe she's almost here! It has been a great pregnancy and baby looks good and she kicks and moves like crazy. It's so fun to feel her moving around in there and I am so grateful for a healthy pregnancy! I am also so grateful for air conditioning, and I have to admit that I am getting a bit nervous about this whole San Antonio summer thing - seeing that it is not even June yet and we are already consistently in the high 90's (not to mention the humidity). One of my friends told me, "well, you have to experience the pregnancy, and you have  to experience the heat - you might as well get them both over with at the same time!" Yes, I suppose that's a good way to look at it!

Here is a picture of the belly at about 29 weeks...I am feeling huge but everyone keeps telling me how tiny I am!

We are enjoying Jonathan's summer break! He has had this entire month off and we are just living it up and having fun together. He has a fellowship at his school for two months starting next week, and then he'll have all of August off (perfect for helping out with baby!). We just found out that he needs ear surgery again (you know, just to add in some craziness to our summer), so we have that scheduled for the end of June. Apparently he's not supposed to lift anything over five pounds for a month following surgery, so I am happy that my due date is like, almost exactly a month after his surgery! Perfect timing.

So basically, we are trying to get all ready for baby this month before his surgery! Here are my boys, in their "work hats," putting together the baby's bed. James is so excited to meet his little sister!

Proud of My Dad

I just had to share this nice article about my Dad, from the Cottonwood Heights News Journal, May 2011 issue. I am so proud of my parents for serving a mission and know they will be amazing! My Dad is one amazing guy!

New Pajamas & an Anatomy Lesson

One of my very favorite things is a little boy, just out of the bathtub, in new pajamas. Especially this little boy!

He is very into the body lately. Maybe it's because Daddy is studying eyes and the brain a lot. James loves to ask Daddy questions about what he is studying, so Daddy tells him all about it - and James eats it all up, he just loves it!

The other night as I was trying to put him to bed, James just could not stop talking about his body! Here is the little anatomy lesson he gave me (or at least a small sampling...he went on and on and on...)

Mommy, let me tell you what is in your ears. There's like, a straight thing that goes from this ear all the way to the other ear. And then the bugs can go in and out.

Actually, let me tell you what is in your eyes. There's like, flicks. There's like, round things, and eyebrows and stuff.

Actually, let me tell you what is in my foot. [pointing to his toes] There's like little bones, and other little tiny bones. 

Let me tell you what is in your head. There's like bones, and your brain, and things.

Actually, let me tell you what's in here [pointing to his leg and knee] - there's a big bone, and it turns! [pointing at his knee]

Now, I'll tell you what's in YOU!! [pointing at my thigh] There's a bone that's really, really, really, really......[I'm thinking he's going to say how BIG it is]...It's a bone that's really, really, really, REALLY.....it's really tiny.

Mommy, let me tell you what's in your nose. There's like, boogies, and little tiny bones with boogies on them, and things.

apples & snakes

At church yesterday James was looking at this cute illustrated Bible stories book. He was on this page...

...when he said in a loud whisper, "It's fun to get apples from snakes!!"

We love General Conference!

James was so excited for General Conference this time, which was so exciting for us. We love that he was looking forward to listening to the Prophet and having a fun family weekend. I think this boy really enjoys family traditions! In fact, after eating banana bread during the sessions on Saturday, he insisted on Sunday that we had to wait to eat the banana bread until Conference was on. I suppose a tradition is born!

Here is our boy getting all ready to watch Conference from his comfy place.