Peanut timeline...

December 8th- Found out we were going to have a little baby! I woke up at 5:30am to get ready to head to the Ummels to watch the boys, and I just had a feeling. Don't know why, but I just knew! Took a pregnancy test and SUPRISE it was positive : )

December 27th- Our very first appointment with the Everett Clinic with our OBGYN nurse. Predicted due date was August 3rd 2011.

January 26th- Our first peak at you : ) The very first ultrasound. After taking measurements, the due date changed to August 10th 2011.

March- The beginning of the month was when I first started to feel significant movement from you.

March 9th- Our 2nd trimester ultrasound. You have been cooking in my tummy for 18 weeks now.

April 16th- The first time Daddy got to feel you kick like crazy. He felt at least 20 kicks in a row.

April 25th- Our eyes were opened. We had our 25 week appointment and realized things were not what we were expecting them to be and decided to explore other options.

May 2nd- Met with Darlene Curtis, licensed Midwife at Cascade Midwives and Birthing Center. It was amazing. We had such a great experience and feeling. It was "love at first sight". We felt so at home with everything we heard and saw.

May 29th- First day I experienced Braxton Hicks. My body is getting ready for you Peanut!

June 5th- We went to Edmonds Beach and took AMAZING maternity pictures. You will learn to love the beach Peanut, it is a big part of your dad and my childhood.

June- You became extrememly active. At any given time I can sit and feel you kicking, punching, rolling. I wonder, when do you actually sleep?

June 16th- We moved into our beautiful house!

June 25th- We had the most beautiful Peanut party. A whole party dedicated to you! It was a beautiful baby shower.

July 12th- We were sent to get another ultrasound to verify your position. Your head is down but not quite dropped yet!

July 22nd- Your bag is packed and we are awaiting your arrival!

to be continued.....



Playing catch up...

I know I haven't been staying as updated as I would have liked to but here is a little update on what's been going on since the 4th of July...

For the last 3 weeks we have had a very busy household. Peanut's room is just about done. We haven't done too much as far as decorations go because we figured we could get more detailed after we know if Peanut is a Leonora or a Jaymeson. That's right, you heard it, those are the names. If we have a little girl her name will be Leonora Jeane Bruce. Leonora was the name of my great grandmother, Leonora Longfellow and also my great-great grandmother Leonora Seely. The middle name Jeane comes from both sides of our family. Jeane is for my Aunt (who is also my godmother) Jeane Garrett as well as Justin's grandmother Jean Liebel. Now if Peanut is a boy, his name will be Jaymeson Richard Bruce. Jaymeson is not a family name but a name we really like. Richard is for my Grandfather Richard Joachin Carstensen and also my uncle Richard Howard Carstensen. Both of these men mean alot to me and we would be honored to name our son after them.

37 weeks pregnant.

We just had our 37 week appointment on Tuesday. Everything is looking great. We are on track for a wonderful birth. We have 19 days left to go until Peanut is due! Our original due date was August 3rd so if it wouldn't have changed we would only have 12 days! So crazy to think about. Time sure has flown by quickly.

Some frames I made for Peanuts room : )

This beautiful dresser took me HOURS to put together. I will never order another dresser online lol.

Hard to see but those are more frames I made. Pictures of mommy and daddy for Peanut to see.



Life has also been busy with work and getting situated into the new house. We moved in with only one vehicle but have recently purchased another. Justin picked out a Chevy Blazer and loves it. It's an older one but in great condition and is proving to be a perfect car for work.
I am have finally cut back my hours to only working 3 days a week ( which has only been as of this week ). I am very happy with how long I have worked with how hard it has been. Being on your feet ALL day is exhausting and my days off were being spent resting and therefore never felt like I was caught up. I am now getting 3 sometimes 4 days off in a row and it has been amazing.

I have really been trying to spend LOTS of time with my dogs because I need to make sure that no matter how exhausted I am, they are well taken care of. If I can't spend time with them now, how will they get enough attention when Peanut comes? We have been playing alot of fetch, going on long walks, and just having a great time. Tomorrow they are even going to a Dog Fashion Show : ) They will be participating in it. lol. I am proud of myself for not letting my relationship with my husband, family, dogs, or friends be affected by this pregnancy. I am also happy about how amazing our house looks and the amount of work I am still able to do on it : )



4TH OF JULY

We had an amazing Fourth of July this year. We decided to make this holiday the first celebration in our new home. We invited over the immediate family on both sides and had a BBQ and LOTS of fireworks.

Mom, Julia, Lily and me.. Sitting on the front porch.

Everyone on the front porch.

Sitting on our front lawn, feeling like Buddah : )

Getting ready for the fireworks to start.

The neigbor Taylor and Julia and Lily. They had so much fun playing all night and had lots of fun with their sparklers as well!

Settling in...

This photo was taken on our 2nd night sleeping in our new house. It was such an amazing sunset. This the view from our back yard. On the other side of those trees is the Puget Sound : )

We moved into our house on June 16th and it feels amazing. We are still getting settled in and trying to decide where to put everything but it sure is coming together and looking more like a home every day. After ordering internet right when we moved in, they finally came to hook it up yesterday, so now I won't be lazy with my updates : )

We have even started to put Peanuts room together... We were very spoiled at our baby shower : )

This past Saturday we had the most beautiful baby shower in the world. My mom, sisters and Sarah went above and beyond and made it truely amazing. I don't have many pictures but here are a few to give you an idea of what a beautiful day it was...

Michala and Eugenia made a beautiful diaper cake

It was a full party!

Beautiful flower arrangements

6 weeks to go until the little Peanut is due!!!!!

ONLY 4 DAYS!!! Counting down the hours...

YIPPEEE!!!!

Only four days until we move! We are so excited. I wish I didn't have to go to work today and could just pack, pack, pack. We still have alot of packing to do but we are getting there! I can't believe that in just one week we will be living in our brand new home!

There have been a few more changes since I took this picture. But this was taken about 1 week ago.

LIFE...IS...GOOD : )

We also got back our maternity photos. LOVE THEM! They turned out so amazing. I know that our little Peanut will just love seeing those when he/she gets bigger.



Two hearts = one

Here is a sneak peak at our maternity photos we had taken. We haven't gotten the disk yet but can't wait to see how amazing they all are. I love both of these pictures so much already! 31 weeks pregnant, 9 weeks to go! One reason why I love these pictures so much is because as a kid I grew up going to the Edmonds Beach. It was free, and we had fun. I have so many memories there. Justin and I have also gone there countless times and to have another great memory, like these photos, just adds to how special the place really is. I can't wait to take little Peanut there so he/she can have their own memories.

We move in 9 days : ) Our house is looking so beautiful. Can't wait to really make it our own by the big "move-in".

30 amazing weeks have gone by ... 10 more weeks to go...

Dear Peanut,

We can not wait to meet you. Your mommy and daddy are so excited to have you in their life. We can't wait to touch your little hands and feet; to look into your eyes for the very first time. You are so active and wild inside my tummy and I know you will be strong and healthy. Will you be a baby Leonora Jeane or are you Jaymeson Richard? Whoever you are, we are happy to be your parents and promise to love you unconditionally for your entire life. To think that in just two months we will get to meet the most amazing and lovable baby we could ever ask for. Life is full of suprises and adventures and we can not wait to take you through our journey together.

Love Mom and Dad : )

as time flies by...

June 16th is almost here! We will be moved in to our brand new house June 16th. (17 days from today).
Even though it took longer than we were hoping, the end is here and we couldn't be more excited!

Our fence is being finished, our porch railing is being finished, and then we must landscape!
Our carpet will be put in just days before we move in so there is ZERO chance of ruining it prior to move in.
Other than that, our house is all ready for us!

We "broke ground" on our property June 6th 2010. It has been a long but amazing year. Time has gone by so fast! It has been an epic adventure.

And now only two more months until little Baby Bruce arrives : )

The love of my life...

(This photo was taken Sophomore year homecoming 2002)

Justin Adam Bruce, what a wonderful man : )

I love him so incredibly much. I never thought love could be the way we experience it together. You see romance in movies of being rediculously happy and being swept off your feet. Well that romance is normally found in the first few months, or years. But we are on year 10 and it hasn't changed a bit. I don't know what it is, maybe because we are still young or because we have watched other relationships fail, but we always make sure, every single day, that we show eachother how much we love one another.

I would say that we easily tell eachother we love eachother at least 10 times a day, but probably alot more than that. We say it periodically, and we also say it whenever we say goodbye, whether that is in person or on the phone. Some people may think it's silly but if you love someone why would you ever hesitate or cap the number of times you tell them?

We also call eachother, all the time. If I am at work or Justin is at work we call eachother at least twice while gone, but normally Justin calls me more than that : ) I love hearing from him and telling eachother stories about customers or people we are working with. We always have so much to talk about!

Our connection runs very deep. It would be hard to suprise one another with anything because we always want to tell eachother everything, and the second it happens! lol. I have heard so many stories about special ways women have told their husband they are pregnant, I couldn't even imagine suprising Justin about the baby, the second I found out, he found out, lol.

It is going to be interesting revolving our life around someone else. As much as I am excited to have this little Peanut of ours, it will be hard adjusting to life around Peanut, instead of life around Justin.

I am so lucky to have married such a wonderful man, and an amazing best friend. He makes me laugh harder than anyone in this world. He knows what I like, what I love. He knows how to make me feel so extremely special, all the time. We always have fun together, we love going on new adventures. Life is just amazing.

This past year has been so crazy and hectic and we are still so strong. It hasn't put pressure on us as a couple, or husband and wife for that matter. For the last year we have been building a house, I received a promotion at work, Justins company went out of business, Justin got hired at Boeing, and we are having a baby. If there was ever a time to stress out and lash out at one another, it would be now. But our relationship has just gotten better and better. I have heard a few times now, "If you really want to test a marriage, build a house together", well we are doing just that and it has only made us stronger and closer together.

Someday... I will be able to relax again...

27 weeks pregnant... 13 weeks to go!

Today is the big "wedding day". Along with working full time and building a house, Justin and I are also in a wedding. I am the "Maid of Honor" and Justin is a groomsman.

It has been a very hectic last couple of months but the wedding is finally here. I am so excited to see how this wonderful day turns out. Don't worry, I have a beautiful dress that fits perfectly : ) I actually ordered it two sizes too big and had them alter it last week.

We haven't moved into our house yet. Still not done. Well for the most part it is done but it's all the tiny annoying things that are left. We will be moving in the next couple weeks and I am so excited! We will have about 2 months between when we move and Peanut arrives... AHHH!

I wish I had more time to get everything ready but oh well, what can you do? At least everything wil be new!