Remember me?

In response to everyone's very kind emails and voicemails, yes. I am alive. Charles, Wilson, and Tiny are, too. I've just been on kind of a writer's block lately. And the longer I wait, the blockier my writing gets, so I'm just writing to give you all a calm assurance that you are not rid of me yet. Nor can you get rid of me so easily. You'll have to try much harder. 

A few headlines from our day to day existence here in Orem:

1. Charles leaves tomorrow morning for our niece's wedding in CA! I can't believe Charles has a niece that old, but we're both really happy for them, and I can't wait to see the pictures. I can't go because at this point in Tiny's life, travelling so far could become very stressful very fast. And I don't think I can take any time off of work since I'm taking a maternity leave so soon (yay!) so I'm content to stay home and make Willy love me more than he loves Charles. It'll take at least the whole week of Charles' absence to make that happen, though. Charles and Willy are a match made in Heaven. 

2. Tiny wants OUT! She reminds me everyday by sticking her toes between my ribs and break dancing on my bladder. To be honest, most of the time it just makes me laugh. I can already tell she's gonna be fun to hang out with. And that she doesn't have her daddy's tiny hobbit toes. Those toes mean business. They are not to be underestimated. 

3. Still craving pineapple and peaches. Don't get between me and my topical fruit, man. This elefantine woman will bowl you over.

4. It was so nice and sunny for a few days, and then we had a freaking blizzard today. It made me so grumpy that I honked at a reckless driver. I am so anti-honking because you can never tell who it's directed at, and while I'm the world's most cautious and law-abiding driver, I'm always convinced that they're honking at me. And it infuriates me because I don't do anything wrong. But the snow made me so grumpy that I honked HARD at a really reckless, non-blinker using, lane swerving and lane-inventing jerk. I still don't feel bad. He was a jerk. He obviously didn't care about the safety of me or Tiny, because he tried several times to run us into on-coming traffic. Honk if you hate bad drivers.

5. I'm still working at Orem Internal Medicine. Charles is still looking hard for employment, and it's kind of easy to see how the economy has taken a toll on our area. There are not very many jobs to be had. But there should be a migration of students leaving in a week or two, so hopefully they're leaving perfectly good jobs behind for people like us to scoop up. I have to admit it's been really good for our family to have so much time together, and I feel like this time has really been a blessing. We both felt pretty strongly about Charles taking the semester off, but it's becoming a little more stressful every time Tiny threatens to kick her way out of my innards. I'm very grateful for my job, needless to say. 

6. Wilson has taught himself to play fetch. He especially loves things he shouldn't play with, like my ponytail holders and his dad's earphones. But it's so cute that we just indulge him. I love when he runs up to us at six (yes, six) in the morning and drops something into my hand for me to throw. And I don't even wake up at six for Charles. So this is love. 

Look what I can do

Yeah, I've been sooooo naughty, and Ive avoided cameras for the past five months. Since I started looking pregnant, anyway, which I swear was at least a few years ago.Anyway, here are some belly pictures for those who can stomach them. He, he. Stomach the belly pictures. I crack myself up. As you can see from these pictures. I realized that when I button all the buttons that can still reach on my black sweater, I resemble a penguin. 

I think that this probably bodes well for our daughter, since penguins are terribly devoted parents. Don't believe me? Ask Morgan Freeman.

In case you thought we were up to no good

We've actually been very busy lately. Doing very important things, ok?

For one, our family handed down a whole bunch of baby stuff for Tiny Campbell. She now has a swing that can go front to back and side to side. And she has a cradle that was handmade for Charles before he was born. It can swing from side to side, too. I love it. It's bigger than I imagined it would be, too, so I think we'll be able to use it longer than we planned. They even gave us bedding and a mobile to go with it, along with a mobile and crib toy for the crib Tiny will eventually graduate into. 

Charles insisted on setting it all up right away, even though we haven't really cleared a spot in Tiny's room for it all yet. He's a little excited. I kinda like it. I can't believe how blessed we are to have all this stuff handed down to us. 

I finally tried out my sister-in-law's recipe for blueberry bread pudding the other day, because there were fresh blueberries for sale at Target, and it was more than I could resist. I think it turned out pretty, don't you? And more importantly, it was stinking delicious. It just may become a Christmas tradition in our house. 

And finally, to prove to you that we'e been very busy and haven't had any time at all to play, we have a video for your viewing entertainment. 

I love you too

Yeah, I know. I've been a very naughty girl, and I should have updated weeks ago. But there's been so much to say that I'm a little overwhelmed! So I've decided to break it down into list form, just for now, and maybe I'll go back and explain things better later.
1. I am large with child. I dread what I'll look like in four months. And I don't know how much more my poor hips can take.
2. I am loving this pregnancy thing, hip pain and all. It's so worth it whenever I feel the baby move. I have an anterior placenta, which seems to absorb most of the movements, but every now and then I get lucky and get a little reminder that Tiny Campbell is thriving. So worth it.
3. Tiny Campbell is a GIRL!!! a thousand points to me for being right, although I'm not surprised. I'm always right.
4. I'm always right.
5. Santa Claus came late just for my family this year! The reason my family wouldn't tell me anything they got for Christmas was because they hadn't had Christmas yet. They saved it for Emile and Daniel and Charles and me, so we could all celebrate together. That was decided after reading Emile's heart-wrenching post on how homesick she was. I'm going to make her write that every year, because it was so awesome to have Christmas Eve with the whole family! Well, Emile and Daniel had to stay at a hotel because of cat allergies, but we still had the dinner and grab bag together, and the reading and stuff. It was stinking awesome. I love love love Christmas.
6. I love Christmas.
7. Emile's pregnant, too! She only three weeks behind me, due June 21. I'm due June 3. But she's having a boy, so my mom gets the best of both worlds with her first grandchildren. She's coming out to visit when the babies (babies- weird!!!) are born, so we'll each get some personal grandma time. (grandma- weird!)
8. I still love my apartment.
9. My Christmas tree isn't ready to be taken down yet. There are no immediate plans to take it down, either, so stop asking.
10. I cut my hair. I like it. I had to explain to Charles that while he dated and married a girl with long hair, I was never a long hair kind of girl. I'm a short hair girl who just happens to also be an extreme procrastinator.

Also, I've had tons of people ask me what we're naming Tiny Campbell now that we know she's a girl. Her name is Tiny, duh. Actually, we have lots of names that we love, but we want to meet her in person before we decide who she is. For now, though, some of our favorites are Norah, Olivia, Lily, Grace, Liesl, Laurelei, Ruby Eleanor, and Babette.
PS. One of those names is just a joke. Can you guess which one?

Christmas is coming, Tra la tra la!

The sky finally broke and poured snow all over us. Luckily, it was almost all gone by the time we had to leave for 2:00 church. When I woke up this morning and saw the sidewalks covered, I told Charles we were snowed in and not to wake me until spring. He did his best. He thought I was sick, so he didn't wake me up from my nap and was walking out the door to church when I realized it was time to get ready! He would have been mighty lonely without me and my bag full of chocolate chip cookies to keep him company. Today was the Christmas program by the ward choir, and it was so beautiful. I've never heard a better ward choir. I love musical sacrament meetings. I love talks, too, but I love reading the songs along with the singing. Christmas carols are the best. 

And we finally came home and set up our Christmas tree. We've been meaning to do it since before Halloween, but we kept putting it off because we always have something to do, or I'd rather go to bed. But I love our pretty little colored lights. 

There are two new members of our family, just in time for Christmas. Charles' mom has a brand new baby maltese named Boo, and she is a stinking cutie. And my parents just got a baby golden retreiver (my dad's always wanted one of his own) named Grant. I think they've taken to calling him Bozo, though. So now our house is positively crawling with animals. Two cats, two dogs, a guinea pig, and whatever insects Maggie and Cam are working on collecting right now. I can't wait to go home! 

Speaking of animals, Anna (whose nickname is animal) accidentally found my dad's grizzly bear pepper spray and the house had to be evacuated for a few hours for the fumes to clear out. I'm told Lizzy heroically braved the fumes to save my lazy cat Moose from a terrible fate. I wonder how effective that spray can be if it can't even get rid of a moose?

I think I have a tapeworm for a fetus.

I am constantly hungry. And now that most of my food aversions are gone (grilled cheese is still a no-no) I don't even care what I'm eating, as long as I am getting food into my belly. It's become a little ridiculous, with me waking up several times in the night with a very full bladder and an alarmingly empty belly. Every time I wake up and realize I'm going to have to eat something before I can fall asleep again, I'm faced with the same dilemma: what do I have the energy to make and eat that is healthy for Tiny Campbell? I try to choose the healthiest thing I have energy for, but when I only have energy for fruit snacks I don't think the difference between Welch's or Walmart brand makes that much of a difference. This kid's gonna come out looking like Jared before Subway got to him. And I'll still be hungry.
Speaking of, I bought my first maternity pants this week. Scrubs were about the only thing that fit me, and I wasn't about to spend my days off of work in my work uniform, so Charles and I stopped at Target for some much needed jeans. They fit nicely around my tummy, with room to grow, but they're still kind of big around my hips. That's saying something. Up until I met these pants, I was convinced the only thing wider than my hips was a yellow school bus. The long way. But I guess these pants were bigger, and I think that's what's so endearing about them.
Charles bought a new book (ok, I bought it for him) about pregnancy for dads-to-be. I like it alot. It's always telling him to rub lotion on my tummy or do my chores for me. And telling him that it's ok for me to cry if I want, although I don't believe I have since we found out we were with child. He even diagnosed this pain I've been having in my left side, right next to the baby. It's round ligament pain, he says, and he's supposed to make sure I don't make any sudden movements because that's what causes the ligaments to stretch and hurt. I could get used to this. I just wish they wrote books like this for non-pregnant women. I don't want this to end just because I give birth, you know.

Hello, food? It's me, Molly.

I'm baaaaaack! I feel like I'm finally myself again. I love food again, and I have at least enough energy to get me through a workday. For my whole first trimester, I slept through my lunch breaks because food was gross and sleep was good. It still is good, but so is food again.
I had my first real craving today, I think. At least my first weird one. Mashed potatoes, mixed with peas, on whole wheat toast. Sorry to anyone reading this who's still in their first trimester, but it was soooooo satisfying. Charles, who hates peas, was happy for me, but still a little grossed out.
And I think I might be showing today. I'm a little excited about it, but also feeling kind of like I wish I could put it off for a while longer. I know I'm gonna be really sick of my belly by the end. Charles is happy for me that I'm excited, but I think also a little grossed out. He'll be sick of my belly by the end, too, I'm sure.
Tonight he went out and bought me a turkey to cook, because we can never get enough of turkey leftovers. And rye bread. I forgot all about thawing it, so I'm gonna be done cooking it around one in the morning, but that turkey is calling me.
It's good to be back.