Baby's First Photo

Our cute little guy- even in Skeletor black and white he's adorable!

Little Cub, What Are You?

John and I were able to schedule our ultrasound for yesterday morning. We were determined to keep the gender a secret until later that evening, when we had a "Gender Announcement Party" with our family and a few friends. It was hard to not slip throughout the day!

It our pleasure to announce that the ultrasound went well, the baby looks healthy (and very active!), and that we are expecting a BOY!





Knowing the gender makes my baby seem so much more real to me, instead of just some baby that happens to be growing in my womb. It was so fun to see his little arms and legs, check out his cute profile and chubby cheeks, and see him kick and stretch his legs and move his arms. He's a mover and a shaker!




photo source

A little housekeeping

I'm editing some of my archived posts to take out personal information, sorry if the old posts show up in your reader.

A new day

I woke up this morning to freshly falling snow washing the world clean, a perfect accompaniment to my feelings today. I feel renewed, refreshed and hopeful after watching last night's election results. I feel that this will be a new beginning for our nation that we so sorely need.

As I watched Senator John McCain's concession speech, I was teary-eyed. I know how it feels to have worked so hard for something you believe in and to fall short of your goal. I felt that Senator McCain was full of grace and humility last night, something that is rare in politics.

I was also struck by how for the first time in a long time, both candidates were such quality choices. Instead of recent elections when the choice has been between the lesser of two evils, I truly felt that this year the choice was between two good candidates! That is how it should be!

I wanted Senator Obama to win and I am thrilled that he did. I am especially excited that he won 47.87% of the vote here in Salt Lake County, which is unusual in an extremely red state! McCain only beat him by 0.56%!

I was touched by the historic nature of last night. To see people from all walks of life joined together in celebrating Obama's win was very poignant. Like similar landmark moments in our nation's history, I know that I will always remember where I was when I heard that our nation had elected its first African American president.

It is my hope that we can put aside our partisanship for a time and join together in supporting all of our elected officials in bettering our communities and our nation.

VOTE!

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!! John and I are snuggled up at home watching the SNL Presidential Bash 2008! It's a great way to end this campaign season! If you are unsure of where to vote, you can visit this Google Maps link to find your polling location (note, you may want to double check with your state's election's registrar). I voted early and I'm glad to have gotten it done!

photo credit

Austin (long overdue post!)

For Fall Break, Johnny and I decided to head south and visit Madelyn and Cody. We'd never been to Texas before, so we were excited to explore Austin and get a taste for life there!

This is Part I of our trip:

We visited a funky toy shop, the Capitol (which, like our capitol building, is modeled after the one in Washington, D.C.), the Alamo Draft House (an incredible movie theatre), a music shop (where we tried out guitars), and a cowboy boot store. We also had a fun RockBand party where we got to know Codelyn's Austin friends and went to see the millions of bats migrating out from under the bridge in downtown Austin. I didn't take a picture of everywhere we ate, but trust me, it was the main activity on the agenda every day. We love to eat and Madelyn and Cody loved to introduce us to their favorite BBQ and Mexican restuarants (that's pretty much the majority of all places in Austin.)

This is one doodle that can't be undid, home skillet

We test drove our costumes at Liz and Steve's Halloween party on Friday. It was so fun to catch up and see friends we hadn't for a while. It was especially funny to get sidelong glances at my ENORMOUS and FAKE belly. The guys, especially, were reluctant to assume anything, so I got a lot of sincere (albeit confused) congratulations. I spent a lot of the night explaining that I was, indeed, pregnant, but the big, squishy belly I was sporting wasn't real.

Here we are as Juno MacGuff and Paulie Bleeker (I will have to get a full length photo of John- those shorts are REALLY short and he was the one pinning 'em up!)





And here's the movie poster:

Can't stop laughing at the baby arms...

Second try, this is addicting

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Harder than it seems

I saw this badge on Catherine and Christian's blog and just had to try it! It's quite a challenge (especially with pregnant brain!) I'm going to try it again, but I wanted to be truthful and post my first try results.


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Produce section

The little cub is about 5 inches long from crown to rump (who says "rump" these days?) The baby tracking websites compare him/her to a sweet potato or a turnip. I am always laughing at the random food analogies- how is that possibly a good indicator of size? Produce can vary wildly in size. Plus, I'm being given produce that I'm not that familiar with- a kumquat? I mean, really, people. I'm still not showing much yet and I'm still wearing my regular clothes. (I don't have a picture to post because my camera is dead and I can't find the charger, but I will post one soon.) BUT the exciting news is that I felt the baby move for the first time this week! I've been paying extra attention to every little twinge to see if I could notice the little one moving around in there but when I finally felt it, it was unmistakable. It really feels like someone is poking me from the inside out!

I can't believe I'm gonna have one of these...

Sam and Lily have been my little babies for four years and I can't believe I'm having one of my own! I still will love them and think they are the cutest children on earth!

Poelher's got game!

All I can say is, "Wow." I hope I can be half that dynamic and cool when I'm as hugely pregnant as she is... (it's just around the corner for me.)

Ethington Park Jewelry Sale

My wonderfully talented sister, Catherine, is having a jewelry sale this weekend! She is an artist and is incredibly fashionable, so when she began her jewelry business, Ethington Park, I knew she would create stylish, one-of-a-kind pieces!

I have been helping her prepare for this event, so I know first hand that she has a lot of beautiful merchandise- pearl, turquoise, silver, quartz- for affordable prices. I wear her jewelry all the time and always receive compliments! Ethington Park has several beautiful collections for fall and holiday!

Here's the info:

Ethington Park Boutique

Friday, October 17th 6pm-8pm
Saturday, October 18th 10am-3pm


2611 East 1300 South
Salt Lake City
*West Entrance*

Bring your friends!
Sorry, no credit cards.

If you can't make it to the boutique in person, please visit Catherine's Etsy shop, where she has beautiful pieces that you can buy and have sent to your door!

Saying goodbye is the hardest part...

My dad left this morning for his new job in the United Arab Emirates. I won't see him again until the summer. By then, I will have a newborn baby. He's a wonderful dad and an incredible grandpa. I'm so grateful that I have a dad that I love and who loves me and I'm so glad that I can tell him farewell and give him a big hug. But it's still hard to say goodbye, even if it's for just a short time.

I'm it!

Catherine tagged me to list six of my quirks.

1. Even though my house is always often messy, I 9 times out of 10 can find whatever I am (or John is) looking for. (Except for right now, because we're painting in the living room, so that entire room's contents (65% of our belongings) are crammed into the bedroom and kitchen.)

2. I have worked in politics for the last 2 1/2 years, but I'm actually not a very political, policy-wonk kind of person.

3. I am OBSESSED with baby names and have been making baby name lists for years. Now that I'm actually expecting, though, I'm feeling some huge baby naming anxiety.

4. I must go to the bathroom RIGHT before I'm ready to go to sleep. It must be the absolute last thing I do. I can't use the bathroom then read scriptures then talk awhile without feeling like I have to go again! This compulsion has gotten even more annoying now that I have pregnancy bladder and I have to pee every 20 minutes!!

5. I hate having voice mail. The little icon on my phone drives me nuts. (I also hate having unread email.) When I know I missed a call, I listen to the message as soon as possible. Johnny also hates having voice mail, but his solution is to not listen to his messages until his mailbox is full. :)

6. I can't think of a sixth thing, although I'm sure I'm quirky enough to have many more to list!

To rent or Dubai...

photo source Abu Dhabi

Lame title, I know, but let's move on.

My parents are moving back East... waaay East. The Middle East to be precise. And they'll be there for four years. I know, it's a little crazy.

About three weeks ago, my dad was asked to travel to Abu Dhabi, one of the city-states in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai is another city), for a consultation. He evaluated their current higher education system and wrote a report recommending that a director be hired to oversee the creation of a more structured system. The sheik liked the report and my dad and offered him the job. It is a huge honor- a real career topper- and my parents are very excited for this opportunity.

My dad leaves for UAE on October 9th, a mere 10 days away (my mom will join him in November). Of course everyone in my family will miss my parents, but with my crazy pregnancy hormones, I find myself crying over this at least once daily. Seriously, I am a basket case.

Putting my uncontrollable emotions aside, I am so proud of my dad for achieving this awesome pinnacle of his career. And I admire my parents for going on this incredible adventure. We are planning to take a few trips to visit them and see that part of the world and we're really looking forward to it! They will also be back to visit at least once a year- my mom is already planning on coming when the baby is born in March.

We are going to live in their house until they get back which we are grateful for- it will be nice to have a little more room than just our little apartment for when we become a three-person family. We are busy working on house projects before we move over to the main part of the house from the mother-in-law apartment, so if I have been a flaky friend recently, that is why. It is a giant puzzle to figure out where everything and everyone is going to go (Cat & Richard, and my Aunt Barbara are going to keep living here, too.) My life has been turned upside down in the last month (or three if you count the pregnancy).

I would appreciate any words of wisdom for those of you who have had parents far away, especially when you were having a baby. I feel very supported and loved by my siblings, my ward, my friends, and John's wonderful parents, but I know I will be missing my mom and dad a lot.

Face by Kate

My awesome sister-in-law, Kate Lasson, is an incredible make-up artist. Yesterday, she worked on a photo shoot with none other than photographer and blogger Nicole Hill of A Little Sussy fame. Go here to see the beautiful shoot!


You can contact Kate (facebykate@gmail.com) if you are interested in booking her for a consultation or job.

Me with Kate and Anne (my two sisters-from-another-mister)

Me and Kate at the Police concert this summer

A little bit of baby stuff

Thanks everyone for the well wishes and congratulations!

We are so excited and really glad to have the news out there.

I am a little over 12 weeks and we have known for about 8 weeks.

I am due March 27th, 2009.

I have been feeling sick which led me to drop a lot of my classes.

Morning sickness and my crazy 22 hour load were not compatible.

I am finally beginning to feel better and hopefully I have left my nauseated days behind me.

Everyone has been so supportive and wonderful and happy for us.

John's parents are especially excited- this will be their first grandchild and they are thrilled!

We're excited...

... to share some news-









Sam + Lily are going to be big cousins...













...because we're having a baby!











Due March 2009

Protect Our Children Act

Many of you may have seen Oprah's segments regarding child predators today and last week, where she talks about the horrible EPIDEMIC of crimes against children in our country. I became more familiar with this topic and what my state is doing to combat it earlier this year when I worked at the Legislature- but we can and must do more.

The most horrifying, shocking statistic of all is that our law enforcement officials have the resources to go after only 2% of known internet child pornographers. TWO PERCENT! They know where these monsters are and cannot go arrest them!

I urge all of you to contact your senator TODAY to insist that they bring the bill to the floor and vote yes on Senate Bill 1738, the Protect Our Children Act. It is a non-partisan effort sponsored by Senators Hatch and Biden. This bill will:
* Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
* Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
* Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

This bill is coming up for vote in the next few days. You MUST act on this now! It will only take a moment of your time to send a letter, write an email or make a phone call. Go to www.senate.gov to find the contact information for your senator. If you don't know what to write, there is a sample letter on Oprah.com that you can use.

Please let your voice be heard for all the children who need us to speak up for them!

I think I just peed my pants a little bit...

Rest in Peace, Grandpa Bailey

John's grandpa passed away two weeks ago, but with all the craziness of John's appendicitis, I'm just now getting to writing a post about this incredible man.

Loile Julius Bailey was always a gentle, sweet man, even when his mind was slipping away towards the end of his life. I felt close to him, even though I have only known him for a few years, and I thought of him as my Grandpa, too. Now that he has passed away, John and I no longer have any living grandparents. It was so special to be with all of Grandma and Grandpa Bailey's children and grandchildren to celebrate his life and his legacy. President Eyring came to the funeral (his brother is married to John's aunt) and spoke wonderfully comforting words about life after this one, where Grandma and Grandpa are enjoying a happy reunion.

One of the most touching moments of the whole day was watching all the grandsons serve as pallbearers.

NieNie auction- update

Thanks again to all the bidders- your prizes will be going in the mail today.

Tan and the girls-- I still need to hear from you regarding the pearl button necklace. If I haven't heard back by tomorrow, I will contact the second runner up to see if she's interested in donating in exchange for the necklace.

August re-cap

We had a lot of fun during August, and it's been a long time coming to write about it.


We went to the new location of Red Robin A LOT when it first opened. We're always excited when somewhere different to eat opens near us (in this case, literally down the street). One night, we had a cousin date night with Cat, Richard, Christine and Ben.




Our annual ward party was at Sugarhouse park and it was so fun to hang out with our friends and especially to see all the new babies.



We took advantage of Amy and Blake actually living on this continent and Andrea being on break from nursing school and went bowling at the Union. It was like going back in time to our (early) college days.





Our extended family has been growing exponentially in the last few years. It seems like almost all the cousins are in the baby-making mode. Suddenly, infants and toddlers are everywhere you look! I am one of twenty Spencer cousins and it's beginning to be difficult for me to remember all of the great-grandchildren's names! They are really cute, though, and I love seeing all my aunts and uncles surrounded by babies!

My nephew, Sam (at age 4, he's one of the "older" great-grandchildren)



My cousin-in-law, John Wirthlin, and his youngest daughter (they have 3!) Claire



My cousin-in-law, Annie, holding her niece, Sarah.



Jack, with his dad, Joe.



My Uncle Stan, holding Grayson, and my Aunt Yvonne, holding Stone. They have had three new grandbabies in the last year, including their first granddaughter.



Jacob, age 4



Preston, age 3 (his mom is expecting his little brother in January)



Baby Grayson



Baby Stone

Dr. Feel Good

I've decided to take my almost 8 years of college schooling and my self-bestowed honorary doctorate and extend my 'expertise' to the field of medicine. Johnny started having abdominal pain early Monday morning and I encouraged him to go to the emergency room just 18 hours after his symptoms began. Oh, wait, maybe that wasn't a good thing.

Anyway, the emergency room visit turned out to be quite productive. After several hours of tests extending into the wee, dark, cold hours of the morning, the diagnosis was in: APPENDICITIS!!

Long story short, John went into surgery at 8:00 this morning and emerged 90 minutes later minus one swollen and infected appendix.

The nurses, CNAs, and doctors were incredibly nice and helpful and we couldn't have been happier about how the whole experience went except for one problem. The University hospital has two patients per room and John's roommate was a crazy, LOUD, conversational kook! He really was insane! He was totally looped out on medications and wanted to rip off his bandages to show us his 6 inch incision. EW! I felt so bad for his poor nurses- he called them every 10 minutes with irate demands to talk to the doctors, concerns that he wasn't hospitalized (to which his poor nurse replied, "You are already IN THE HOSPITAL), and freaking out on the poor nutritionist who came for his dinner order who happened to have an East Indian accent.

Nutritionist: What would you like for dinner?

Crazy guy: Stay right there, I want to talk to you about something. [Dials nutrition department] I have one of your guys here, hey, what's your name?

Nutritionist: Sunny

Crazy guy: I've got Funny up here and he's totally screwed up my meal.

Nutritionist named Sunny: My name is Sunny.

Crazy guy: Funny? Finny?

Nutritionist: SUNNY!

Then the phone conversation awkwardly ended and Crazy Guy pretended like he hadn't harangued Sunny for the last 15 minutes and asked him to read him the dinner menu again.


After all the drama with Crazy Roomie, we were very happy when the doctor decided to release John early instead of keeping him overnight.

NieNie Day auction results!

Thanks for your generosity! NieNie Day was a huge success all over the internet! I kept getting outbid, which I thrilled me! I can't wait to see how much was raised! I appreciate Catherine donating jewelry and cards- check her blog in the next few weeks for details about her upcoming jewelry sale!

If you are one of the winners, here's what to do next
1) Make your donation to the Nielsen's PayPal account
2) Email me a copy of your PayPal receipt (barbaralynnthornton at gmail dot com) along with your address

Here are the winners:
-Laura won the silver and ceramic necklace for $25.00
-Tan and the Girls won the shell button necklace (although I don't have an email address for you- contact me!) for $30.00
-Lisa won the cards (again, no email address!) for $20.00
-Lacey won the quartz and crystal necklace for $20.00
-Barbara won the turquoise and silver necklace for $15.00
-Lisa won the freshwater pearl bracelet for $30.00

All together, we raised $140.00 for Nie!!! What a wonderful community of support and love! I am so touched!

Nie Nie Day!

For Nie Nie Day, I am auctioning off several pieces of Cat's handcrafted jewelry as well as some lovely handmade cards from both of our collections.

The jewelry pieces I will auction off separately, and the card collection as a whole.

Please be generous! The rules of the auction:

-Please only bid in whole dollar amounts.
-You may bid as many times as you'd like.
-Bidding will be open until Sunday, August 31st, at 12 midnight.
-Once you have won an auction, please send your donation to the Nielsen's using the paypal donation button on the sidebar of this blog. Then email me a copy of your PayPal receipt (barbaralynnthornton at gmail dot com) and I will send you your prize!
***Edited to add: Since PayPal deducts a small fee for each transaction, if you'd rather make a donation in person you can donate to the "Stephanie Nielson Fund" at any Wells Fargo Bank or at any Bank of America under the "Christian and Stephanie Nielson Rehab Fund. Save your receipt and send me a copy.
-All shipping costs will be paid by me.
-PLEASE visit Design Mom's blog for a HUGE list of the other participants!

The reserve for the set of cards is $5.00.



Shell button necklace. Reserve $5.00.



Silver and ceramic necklace. Reserve $5.00.



Quartz and Swarovski crystal necklace. Reserve $8.00.



Freshwater pearl bracelet. Reserve $5.00.



Turquoise and Hill Tribe Silver. Reserve $10.00.

Online Auction for Nie

Tomorrow I am joining in on the good feelings spreading across the internet in behalf of the Nie family. Design Mom had the brilliant idea of holding online auctions to raise money to help pay for Christian and Stephanie's medical bills (which are likely to be in the millions) and help pay for their family's living expenses. Almost a hundred bloggers are participating by holding their own auctions (Anne and Donna already have theirs up) and many more will be opening their pocketbooks to bid for the cause. I hope that you will take the time to visit Design Mom's site tomorrow for a complete list and visit some of the participating blogs- even five or ten dollars from each of us will add up quickly.

I will be auctioning off a set of handmade cards in addition to a few other goodies. Check back tomorrow for more details!

Gratitude... emphasis on the 'tude

I start school tomorrow.

Boo. Yuck.

I will be in class all day and studying all night, forced to go to bed early and get up early, and unable to leisurely approach each day in my pajamas.

Ugh. Blech.

I am SO OVER school and just WANT TO BE DONE ALREADY.

However, instead of feeling sorry for myself and generally having a BAD ATTITUDE, I am focusing on the blessing that receiving a college education is and that I am in a position to even go to school at all. I mean, how ungrateful would I be if I just completely took it for granted and gave into the WHINER inside of me.

(Plus, I am totally aware of the fact that its my OWN DARN FAULT that I am, at age 25 and 3/4, still slogging through my bachelor's degree.)

So, here's to school starting tomorrow!! I don't feel ready, prepared or even excited, but this is my opportunity to rise above my nature and SUCK IT UP.

Tragedy in our community

You may have heard about the terrible plane crash in Arizona, involving Stephanie and Christian Nielsen and Christian's flight instructor, Doug Kinneard. Christian had just earned his pilot's license and often flew with his wife and sometimes his children. His flight teacher passed away from his injuries, and both Christian and Stephanie are seriously burned.

Although strangers to me, I feel so connected to their story. Stephanie Nielsen's father is Representative Steve Clark, whom I worked with at the legislature. Her sister, Courtney, writes a blog that I follow called C Jane Enjoy It and Stephanie herself writes a blog called the NieNie Dialogues. And finally, this family shares my faith. I feel like I know Stephanie and Christian through reading these blogs. I admire this woman and aspire to be like her in her close relationship with her sister(s), her sense of style, her obvious love for her husband, and the way she mothers her children.

I have been keeping them in my prayers and I hope that you will, too. Courtney writes updates on her blog and she has listed many ways that we can come together as a community to help (writing cards or donating money, etc.)- whether we feel a connection through our faith, blogging, motherhood, or just reaching out in compassion and humanity.