Lamb's Canyon

After church last Sunday, we decided to go for a drive up a canyon. We wanted to go somewhere we had never gone, or hadn't been to in a while. We ended up going to Lamb's Canyon. I had never been up there, and Vance hadn't been for years. It is a very narrow canyon and we of course were constantly stopping to take pictures, so cars had to keep squeezing by us. It was very very cold outside so Vance was the only one that got out to take pics. He would get out in a blizzard if it meant getting a good picture! I got out for a couple quick shots and was done. I was freezing! Mason slept all the way up the canyon and woke up on the way down. We kept him in the car since it was sooooo cold. It was absolutely gorgeous though. We usually take a family picture around this time of year, but it was way too cold for it to happen this time. These berries were all over. Me and the baby!

This last weekend the Sandgren's had a get-together at Steph's house. Vance's dad (Dave) was in town and he's been pretty sick lately, so we had a get-well party. It was fun to just get together and eat, relax, and enjoy eachother's company. But most of all, we really hope that Dave gets feeling better. Here are some random pics of us hangin out. After it was dark, Vance took Mason out on the trampoline. He loved it, and so did Mason!! (j/k!) I've never seen Mason laugh so much in such a short amount of time. He had so much fun. Luckily there was one of those net walls around it so he couldn't fall off cause he was running all over and falling down a lot, but he just kept on laughing!!

Baby Update!!

I know I've been posting week by week what is happening with our baby's development, but I have not posted anything personal about my pregnancy at all yet and I am almost at 18 weeks. So here is my little catch-up blog entry! My first appointment was at 8 weeks. My doctor did a quick ultrasound to get a measurement to verify how far along I was. I had my camera with me, so I took a picture of the baby. You can't really see any defining things on the baby, but you can tell that it's a baby! I was able to see the baby pretty well and we could even see the heart beating! It was amazing and it really made everything sink in that we were already going through this again. I was still really shocked at the whole pregnancy thing again, but this made me so excited! It's amazing to see the baby that you'll be holding in your arms in just a few months! The next appointment was at 12 weeks. Since my doctor already got the measurement, he just listened to the heartbeat this time instead of doing an ultrasound again. The heartbeat was good and strong! It was very comforting to know that everything was alright. Until I can feel the baby moving, I just have to go on hoping that everything is fine. Then at 13 weeks, I started bleeding a little bit. SCARY! So I called my doctor and he immediately put me on bedrest until the bleeding stopped. It lasted for 2 days and all seemed fine again. I worked Wednesday night and was probably on my feet too much. This all caused the bleeding to come right back. I was then on very strict bedrest until the following weekend when it had been stopped for a few days (my dr. was afraid of this leading to a miscarriage, so it was very scary for us). I had to have people over to help with Mason and things around the house. Luckily I have an amazing sister and mom that didn't even hesitate to jump in and help out. Julie came over for two days and did my dishes, vacuumed, and much more. Not alone, just helping with Mason. She was my lifesaver! Thanks sooooo much Jules!!! Then my mom came over for a few days after helping with my Grandma and Grandpa every morning. She was a huge help with everything as well. Thanks Mom!!!! During all this bedrest, my doctor had me go in for an ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay and to see if they could tell what might be causing the bleeding. Everything seemed completely normal with the baby (thank goodness) and there was no apparent reason why I was bleeding. Well, the bleeding eventually stopped and I have since returned back to my normal life. I just try to be a little more careful with everything. Luckily I have an awesome boss at work that had no problem with taking my Saturday shift away since it was a little too strenuous for me. The next most exciting thing that happened was at fifteen weeks when I felt the baby move for sure! I thought I had felt it before that, but I wasn't ever positive. Well this time, it was definite. I hurried and grabbed Vance's hand so he could feel it. And sure enough, it started kicking away!! We were both so excited!! It is so comforting to feel it move and know that it's okay. I now feel it move all the time and I LOVE IT!!! Well, my next Dr. appointment was at 16 weeks. He did a heartbeat check and everything was great. I then got my ultrasound appointment scheduled which I cannot wait for!! I also have to get my blood drawn after the ultrasound. Yea. I hate needles. But after having a baby, they don't seem to phase me much. So now I am just counting down the days until Sept 17!

Mark's Birthday

Okay, so I know this is way late to be posting, but I don't care, I figured the Sandgren's might enjoy looking at it! Mark's birthday was clear back in June. We went to a park in West Jordan and had a lot of fun playing a bunch of different games, climbing a tree, swinging on a tire, and just hanging out!

Temple Square Outing

Last weekend, Vance and I had plans to hang out at our friends house. On the way, we stopped at temple square to take some pictures. Mason absolutely loved it. We had fun trying to keep up with him as he ran back and forth between flowers and fountains.

On the way back to the car, we stopped on the Conference Center grounds to take a picture of my belly. I was only 16 weeks at the time, but I look like I'm 25 weeks! My belly has popped already! (Since the pics above are so small on here, I feel they just don't do jutice. But it is one thirty in the morning, so this will have to do!)

17 Weeks

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

16 Weeks

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

A True Miracle

A week from sunday, my family was informed of a true miracle that took place. Mike and Gretchen have been struggling for 6 or 7 years now to have kids and they have done everything in their power and in the doctor's power to make this all happen. They have taken fertility meds for years, Gretchen has had surgeries, they've done artificial insemination many times, and they were just about to finally try invetro fertilization. Gretchen had been giving herself these hormone shots everyday to help her body prepare for this procedure. She then went in for a check up and was told that they needed to bring everything to a hault and get certain other things figured out first. She stopped taking the shots, stopped all the fertility treatments, and they were hoping to start everything back up soon. Well, for some reason Gretchen decided to take a pregnancy test simply because "the thought came to her." She had one at home (probably from all the many she's taken, all with a negative outcome) and took it last Monday night. It was POSITIVE! She called her doctor the next morning and they immediatly got her in for a blood test. It confirmed she was pregnant!! They also told her that her hormone levels were so high that she either was having more than one, or she was pretty far along all ready. They did an ultrasound to find everything out and they discovered she is having one baby and is already 9 weeks along! The entire doctors clinic was waiting outside their door to hear the verdict. They all just stood there in complete shock and amazement that she was really pregnant, and already 9 weeks along. Let me remind you that they had stopped all fertility medicines and so this happened all on it's own. An absolute miracle for their cituation. My family is so excited some of us just cried at the amazing news. It is so much fun being pregnant with her and only being 5 weeks apart. She is due March 23, 2009 and we are all soooo excited!! Congratulations Mike and Gretchen, we are so happy for you!!!

15 Weeks

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl!

14 Weeks

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

13 Weeks

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Terrible Tuesday Turns Terrific!!

Tuesday was a day that I do not want to remember, but I must brag about. Lets just say I have an amamzing husband, and I'll eventually tell you why, but I have to explain first. The whole day, everything was going wrong. I watch a boy named Dylan Monday through Friday and he likes to cry. He's been doing better, but not on Tuesday. It was probably the worst he's ever been, and I've been watching him for almost a year now. He took his morning nap like usual and everything seemed fine. He woke up from that around the same time Mason did from the night (like usual) around 11:00 (yes, Mason sleeps in everyday until atleast 10:30, usually 11:30 - going to bed at 10 and not waking up at all during the night. We're VERY lucky!) So I got both of them changed and let them play for a while. By this time the cat was all hyper, jumping up onto everything, knocking everything over, breaking things, chasing a fly around the house (which she did eventually catch and eat - gross!), and so on. So that was quite frusterating. Then I fed the kids their lunch which neither of them would eat very much of. Everything I tried got denied. I finally gave up. Dylan did not like this idea and decided to let me know by screaming non-stop for a very long time. I tried EVERYTHING to clam him down and make him stop, but he just refused. I gave up and just decided to put him down for his usual afternoon nap before he left, he seemed real tired. He was still screaming. Well, this went on for well over an hour, and I was completely exhausted by now. Pregnancy sure takes everything out of ya! Finally he fell asleep and it is now time for Mason to take his nap. I lay him down and all is fine a dandy. He falls asleep and then all heck breaks loose with Dylan again. He just wakes up screaming, just like before. Wakes Mason up, so he's crying too. I finally get Dylan up and try feeding him his bottle one last time. He was still so tired that he just laid there and tried to drink, finally not cring. Mason falls back asleep. A few minutes later, Dylan's grandparents show up to get him. I had all his stuff ready so I just needed to put him in the car seat. Of course he just starts screaming again. I try to hurry so they don't come in and wake Mason, but they got to the door faster than normal. Mason wakes up, and Dylan leaves. Mason eventually did go back to sleep so I could take a short nap before I had to get up and get ready for work, but first I had to vent. I e-mailed Vance and told him all about everything just so I could get it out of my system. This was his reply: Relax!! Tonight is your night to relax. I will bring home a movie and what ever treats you want. I will massage your back, feet and legs (that is always my request!) and I will either stay home and play with Mason and take care of him, or I will take him somewhere so you can scrapbook or do whatever else you want. If you feel like hitting something the cat is your best bet. Love you. And that is exactly what he did. He brought me home a movie and all the treats he knows I love. He also brought me home a comfy new pair of capris to wear around the house (very important when pregnant!), and a book I've been wanting for a long time. TWILIGHT!!! (I read over half of it yesterday and hope to finish it today. I've never done that before, and I've never finished a book that long before. I'm so excited!!!). He is soooo sweet! I am so grateful to him. He always knows how to make me smile. (I laughed so hard at the cat part. We all know we would never hurt our cat, but it was just a funny and random comment.) Thanks babe!! I love you!!!!