Missing Soccer!

I stopped playing soccer after my outdoor season ended in March due to the pregnancy and watching the Women's World Cup is really making me miss it! I probably could have played indoor a little longer than I did, but it is my first pregnancy and last summer I broke my wrist in that league so why take the risk? The outdoor season starts back up again at the end of September and I will be able to start when the second half begins in January! I can't wait to play again and have my husband and little girl on the sidelines! Here is a pic from our last tournament where we got second place! (me standing on the far right)

6 weeks later

After 6 weeks of trying very hard to be patient, Everly's bedding finally arrived. It was custom made from a shop on Etsy called Katie Bug Creativity. It felt like Christmas in July when I was opening that package! I absolutely love how it turned out. It is girly, but not overly so. The fabric is created by designer Joel Dewberry who makes some fantastic prints.

We absolutely love it. It is diffferent than anything you can find in stores right now and that is exactly what we were going for. Can't wait until there is a cute little baby inside this beautiful nursery!

AZ Duststorm

Last night we had a crazy duststorm hit Phoenix. When I first looked outside I thought there was a fire because it looked smoky! Justin went out and got a few pictures because it looked so creepy outside...

4th of July Weekend

Our fourth of July weekend was really great, especially because we really didn't plan anything. It was very nice to have a 3 day weekend where my husband actually had one too. We did some shopping on Saturday and painted a couple of ceramic pieces for Everly's room (will be posted later). Justin got a new suit for the wedding we are attending in NY next month, bought with a coupon of course. We also did some hiking this past weekend with the puppies. They love hiking. Here is a pic from Monday morning's hike with Justin and all 4 dogs!

We really did not have anything planned for 4th of July. After the hike we got a lot of cleaning done, and organized Everly's closet a little better. Justin's sister came over and we had a couple beers in the pool before heading back home to have some brats for dinner with her husband and daughter. It was really yummy, and I must say I enjoyed the leftovers for lunch on Tuesday. Justin's niece, Hailey, brought over some fireworks so before the night was over we headed over to one of the greenbelts in our neighborhood to light them.

 

 

We even had an audience and a grand finale. What would 4th of July be without a little fireworks? Thanks Dinslage Family!

Yay for July!

So glad July is finally here...and not because of the awesome weather we get in AZ in July! There are a lot of things coming up in July, starting with a 3 day weekend with my husband for the 4th of July. I don't think we have had 3 days off together since our wedding/honeymoon. Also, my 25th birthday is on the tenth. Just hearing 25 makes me feel older. My youngest sister turns 16 three days after my birthday and then a week later my brother turns 21.

Lots of baby stuff going on in July as well. I begin my third trimester in July. Yay! Two-thirds of the way there! I also have my glucose test in July to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. We got notified that Everly's bedding has been shipped and we are super excited to receive it. Can't wait to see how it looks in her nursery.

In July, my sister will also be sending out invitations for my baby shower. That means that I have to get on top of getting my list organized and addresses updated so I can give it to her. The shower will be hosted by family and friends on Saturday, August 20th at my friend, Lindsay Hyzer's house. I remember being really excited for my bridal shower because that meant we were really getting close to the wedding date, and likewise, I am really excited for my baby shower because that means we are getting really close to having Everly arrive.

Also, the sooner July comes and goes the sooner we get to August and I have tons of things to look forward to in August!!!!

Everly's Baptism

Yesterday we had a meeting with the director at our parish regarding Everly's baptism. Although Justin is not Catholic, I was raised Catholic, and we were married in the Catholic Church, and therefore, Everly will be baptised Catholic. Next month we will be taking a class to prepare for the baptism and the actual baptism will take place the last Sunday in October during mass at our parish, St. Paul's Catholic Church.



Everly will only be a few weeks old. The plan is for her to wear the Norris family baptism outfit. The outfit is about 90 years old and was originally worn by my mother's uncle, Father John. After him, my grandfather Nick Norris wore it. Then, all 6 of his children wore it, including my mother. Myself, and my 3 sisters also wore the same outfit. My mother's uncle, who originally wore the outfit, was a Catholic Priest and actually baptised my mother and all of her siblings as well as myself and all of my siblings. Although he has passed away, it will be very special to have Everly wear his outfit. 

Everly will have 3 godparents. One will be announced later, because we haven't formally asked that person yet! The other two will be my sister-in-law Carly Dinslage and her husband Mark. We are very close to them and are so happy they accepted our request to be her godparents.

There are a lot of different feelings I have gone through while being pregnant but I have really not felt much of that pressure/nervousness that we are actually going to be parents! That is until now. Planning Everly's baptism really makes me feel like a parent and I hope I end up being a good one!

3D Ultrasound

Yesterday we had a 3D Ultrasound of baby Everly. This was the last time we will get to see pictures of her until she is born. We are trying to be patient, but it is hard. We want her here already! She was moving a lot during the ultrasound and was making lots of little faces and smiles. She also had her feet up by her face for a while. It was funny.

A cute little profile...

Her feet by her face...

A little smile...



We also got some video of her moving around. This one is pretty cute because you can see her moving her mouth. In the beginning the placenta is in the way and it is blurry but it clears up...




Just over 3 more months until we get to meet our little girl!

Bark Busters: Week 1

The Larkins family had a pretty busy Sunday.  We signed up for Bark Busters home dog training, and the pups had their first lesson.  We think our dogs are great but they do have some behaviours that get us a little worried for when Everly comes.  Since it was the first week, it was a three hour session where we pretty much just talked to the trainer for most of it before we got a little hands on.

The first thing we worked on was the doorbell. These guys will go crazy if they hear the doorbell, even on TV.  So we had a little pouch with a chain in it and we would throw it on the floor and give them a growl when they would run up to the door.  It took only about three times before they would stay back and let us open the door freely.  For those who have met our dogs, you know that they will do ANYTHING for food, but with this training we were able to put a piece of cheese on the edge of the couch and they would just stare at it.  We were also able to get them to walk beside us instead of tugging us when we walk them.  They still have a lot of work to do but we have already seen a big difference in them.

After the session, the trainer said that with all that they learned today they will probably be a little tried from using their brains so much.  He couldn't have been more right, here are a couple of pics of them shortly after the trainer left:

We're hoping that by the time we get to bring Everly home, they will be great pups and we won't have to worry about jumping or anything like that.  I'm pretty confident they are on the right track. Bark Busters is a pretty good service, it's a one time fee and it covers all of their training aids, and it is a lifetime guarantee, so if they develop some kind of problem we can't handle in the future they will come back out and help us with it. Even if we move across the country, we can get a local trainer to come to our house and help us!

25 weeks pregnant!

I am now 25 weeks pregnant and Everly is supposedly the size of an eggplant. We have a 3d ultrasound coming up next week so I should have video to post of her inside of me. I am also excited because I was instructed to drink caffeine before the ultrasound so she is moving around a lot. Yay for caffeine! This past week I have really felt more pregnant. I feel like I am really carrying more now and I feel like I waddle like a pregnant woman. Here I am at 25 weeks on a hike with the puppies...

One of the other ways we are preparing for Everly's arrival is by doing some dog training. Right now, the puppies have bad habits that we want to break before she comes home. My sister's dog Barkleigh has done awesome with my nephew Cameron and I want the same thing for my family too. My dogs are super sweet but it is hard to correct bad behaviors when you have two dogs. We are doing some in home dog training tomorrow and I can't wait to see how it goes! 

Updates on baby Cameron

My little nephew Cameron is doing great. He went home Monday night and turned one week old on Thursday. He is an incredibly good baby. He is so sweet and calm. He still has the cutest little chubby cheeks I have ever seen. I can't help but just stare at how perfect he is. Here is Aunt Katy holding him in the hospital

And Uncle Justin...

 Mommy with Grandma kissing him...

and his favorite aunt Kayleigh...

Seeing Cameron makes me even more anxious about the arrival of Everly! I just hope I can remember that not all babies are as easy as Cameron seems to be. Here he is in his sling with mommy...

So cute!

Cameron Rohr: 7.139 lbs/20.5 in.

Today was the day we finally got to meet our newest nephew, Cameron Rohr. He was born at 9:24 this morning after my sister Kim had an emergency c-section. He is so cute. He has dark hair and chubby little cheeks.

Everything seemed to be going well and little Cameron was being so sweet and squirming around. He even ate a little. They were running some tests on him and decided they wanted to do more tests in the NICU. They determined that he was not getting quite enough oxygen on his own and they wanted to monitor him and do some more tests on him so they are keeping him in there for 48 hours. My sister Kim is recovering well from her surgery and we can't wait until Cameron is out and home. His puppy Barkleigh is waiting to meet him! Here is a picture of me holding him and I am sure I will be posting lots more pictures soon!

Also, here is a video of the little squirmer in action...so cute!