You Put My Heart in Motion

Do you remember that early 90's song by Amy Grant, "...and ever since that day you put my heart in motion. Baby, I realized that there's just no getting over yoooooooooooou." This used to be one of my favorite songs as a kid, and I always thought it was about a baby hahahhaha. So here you go Baby M... this song will be for you.

Our little Gummy Bear has been kicking and punching like I have no nerve endings. I think he may become a ninja or possibly an MMA cage fighter when he grows up. There are a few times that he has kicked or moved so hard that it tickles, and I have literally laughed out loud.

Fun facts...

Cravings:

Still loving spicy and sour foods, and meat with every meal. I have been craving icy things, but nothing in particular or specific but these things always sound good - smoothies, shakes, malts, icees from 7/11 and snow cones.

First Time Kicks:

I have no idea when I really felt him because I couldn't tell if it was him or gas... hahahha. But I know that Gian felt him for the first time when we were in church during sacrament. I think we both thought it was pretty interesting.

Pains:

My feet and back have started to hurt. I now must sleep with pillows to support my belly when I lay on my sides... it is starting to get heavy!!!

Thoughts:

My niece Lily was born and I was lucky enough to be there for her birth. I did not know how emotional it was going to be. It brought me closer to reality than I was expecting, which was a very good thing. I needed to see and be reminded of what it will really be like to have a new born. I have mini panic attacks where I am not sure if I know what I am doing, or if I even know how to do anything. Of course, I am so happy and thrilled for the day to come where I can finally see our little guy, but it has been very humbling to think God really must know what he is doing to trust me with a baby.

Names:

We have our list, but are choosing not to share the name until after the baby is born and we are set on what we will name him.

Nursery:

I have no theme, or idea how I want to decorate it. We just got our changing table this week, and the crib should be coming soon. I have found a bedding I like but it is pretty basic and classic, so it makes decorating much more difficult. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Body Changes:

My belly button has popped out. I feel like it looks like that little thing you put in the turkey to indicate that it is cooked all the way. My wedding ring still fits... so I am happy that I am not swelling up toooo much, yet. Give it a few more weeks, you might see some "fake it till you make it" bling wrapped around my little piggy.

Doctors Say:

My uterus is measuring just on track. His heart beat sounds loud and healthy. Blood pressure is just fine. No gestational diabetes. Everything is good!!!

We have just less then 13 weeks before my due date. It doesn't seem like it couldn't come any faster if I wanted it to, and then I remember... no this timing is perfect. We have just the amount of time to get all the things we need.

... And the Land of the FREEE!!

I know 4th of July was almost two weeks ago, but we have lives people!! I can't just drop everything to update this blog. hahahah Just kidding. I just wasn't sure how I wanted to do this post because there are so many photos. So I thought the best way to do it is to just post the pictures with a brief description and let you enjoy them for yourself. Wahhh laaaaaaaaaaa... enjoy my friendly little blog followers. You are the reason of my very existence... well blog existence that is!

Quick background... we were in Rexburg, Idaho. My sister Brittany and her husband live there with their now 3 kids. Ella is 4yrs old, Hunter is 2yrs old, and Lily is only 9 days old. My parents have a house out there too... it is where our family gets together. It is AWESOME!!!

Since this is where we come together as a family I thought I would make you a little key of family members incase you get lost in these photos. My dad's daughter Sita who is married to Adam came all the way from New York... they have a son Cyrus who is 3 yrs old and a daughter Minna. Kachina who is right below Sita came with her boyfriend Marco. They are living in San Diego. I have a cousin named Jared Ollerton who is married to Melinda and have 4 kids Lauren, Spencer, Leah, and Seth. They live down the street from Brittany. Jared is an anesthesiologist at the hospital.

Ok now you can enjoy the photos...

The beginning of the parade on Saturday morning July 3rd.

It is really hard to tell, but this is a baby horse that came up to us and she was sooooo cute!!!

Some fun cars...

This guy made this blue car himself, neat huh?

We love this grocery store, and how sweet is this float?

Bahahahhaah a pluming company!

This is the "man's trip." They went to Wyoming to get some legit fireworks. My dad loves having all these boys around!!

Lauren, Spencer, Leah, Ella and Hunter having fun in the hot tub.

hahahah Hunty has dinner on his face... look at that cute little boy!

Uncle Gian is throwing the ball to the kids. Look at how excited Ella is to catch the ball!

Sorry the pillar is in the way.

Kachina and Marco

Michael taking Ella and Hunter on a ride

These kids love their dad!

Koko (my mom) playing with Ella and Cyrus

They had such a fun time playing with each other.

Such sweet toys! I wish I had these growing up!

It may look like we started the fireworks early, but the sun stays out until 10pm in Idaho. I am not even kidding. We were doing fireworks until 12am.

It's The Little Things

Over the holiday weekend we went up to Rexburg, ID to see my wonderful loving family (another post to follow). While we were there I was convinced that my sister Brittany would have her baby. And guess what.... she did. Here are pictures and the baby's stats.

Liliana Kathleen Ericksen

July 3, 2010 at 10:03 pm

5lb 14oz and 19.5" long

Cries like a little kitten

Mom and baby are doing great. Brittany went to the hospital around 8:15ish and the baby was there less than two hours. Liliana is literally the smallest little thing I have ever seen, and she was full term, just 5 days early of her due date. I can't wait to spend more time with her and see her personality and watch her grow. She has Ella and Hunter for older siblings and they are sooooooooo cute with teeny weeny Lily. Congrats to Brittany and Mike!! What a cute little family you guys have.

Pregnancy Cravings or Just Weird

I have felt this urge of creativity with food after watching Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. While hungry one night I thought to myself... hmmm how can I make my quesadillas better? I looked in our pantry and remembered we have a bag of Doritos Salsa Verde. I instantly yelled to Gian, "Don't you think these chips would be good inside a quesadilla?" He looked at me with a weird stink eye and said, "No, I definitely think that is a pregnancy thing!" I then again plead my case of why I think it is an ingenious idea. "But you have your melty cheese, your crispy chip, and your soft fresh tortilla. IT IS BRILLIANT!!!"

The conversation ended quiet abruptly because Gian thought it was the hormones talking. To solve this problem I come to you of course. What do you think... weird or good? I need to know the truth and nothing but the truth. Be brutal if you must... I CAN HANDLE IT!!!

Products Worth Sharing

Since my last post some of you were wondering what the hair product Gian got me was. Sorry I did not share it before... I didn't know anyone would care. So with that said I thought I would share some other products that I really like. All of these work really well for me and I look forward to buying them again when I run out.

My sister Brittany showed this product to me about five years ago. It is sooooooooo AWESOME. It is a nail buffer and each side has a specific purpose, and by the time you are done with step 4 your nails will glisten with every flex of light. I get mine at Target, I saw one at Sephora, but I am not sure if they are the same thing. Sorry I don't know the name... but go to Target and you will see it by the nail polish.

HERE IT IS! It is called Serum Nuit by Kerastase. It is all in French so I am not sure what I am reading on the bottle. Just look at the image if you have any questions. You put this product in your dry hair at night and your hair literally absorbs all the nutrients, leaving your hair healthy. I recommend using it several nights through out the week to see the full results. When I was using it consistently, people always asked if I had extensions or if my hair was real. It just gives your hair that moisture and luster it needs.

For skin products I have found that Aveeno's Skin Brightening Daily Scrub work lovely for me. Being pregnant I have developed the beauty of acne! This has been the only thing to help my skin that has a mind of its own. It does not dry out my skin which is always an issue for me, but it does not leave it oily either. Also, there are small little beads that exfoliate your skin very gently, so you do not feel like you have just removed the first 7 layers of your skin.

When I was in the 5th grade my friends mom gave me this Satin Hands by Mary Kay. Ohhh your hands will never be softer. It is a three piece set with thick lotion and exfoliates. Your hands will feel like porcelain.

My favorite mascara are these two. This first one is Clinique's High Impact it gives your eyelashes fulness, and makes them really dramatic. The other one is Channel's Inimitable. I love the length it gives my eyelashes and the brush separates each lash. So there is no way you could love one more then the other.

What product do you love and use? Feel free to share your favorites! I hope that this helps any one who is looking for a product but isn't sure of what direction to go.

Best Birthday EVAAAAAAAAAH!!

Where to start... Well as many of you know June is probably one of the best days of the year, [besides Christmas obviously] because that is when I, McKinley, entered the world and was able to grace every single one of you with my presence. Ahhahahahahah...JUST KIDDING!! I love my birthday. Not because I get gifts, but because it simply makes me really really happy to be alive. My mom was so cute with the way she let us pick out our birthday themes each year, and every time I think of my birthday as a kid I remember all the fun I had with my friends and family. Now getting older it is still just as fun. It is a time to reflect on your life and the many more years to come. Plus being pregnant I think I am beginning to get a glimpse of the joy my mom had when she held me for the first time.

Gian came home from work around 3:30ish and I being a complete mess after cleaning the house was passed out on the bed with greasy hair and glasses still on. I know I am a real fox!!! I heard him come home and with little to no energy I remained in bed. When I heard him not shut the front door I realized that he must have a heavy load. I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANT.... GIFTS! He loved me sooooooooo much he set everything up on the kitchen table. He got my favorite flowers, Peonies... which is a real treat because they are only in season for 3 months out of the year, and I am blessed enough to be born within that small time frame. See, I told you my birthday is amazing! Hahahaha I'm just messing with you. As you can see in the earlier image that he had two gifts nicely wrapped. They looked beautiful. The flowers were by far the prettiest set he has ever given me, and the wrapping... well was too pretty for a man to have done. So I asked him who he had wrap the gifts. His jaw literally dropped and said, "What? I am offended!!! You do not think I could do this on my own?" While his lips started curling with laughter I was sarcastic and said, "Of course not, this looks like Whitney's signature wrapping skills." He confessed and admitted to having Whitney Royal work her magic. Didn't she do a great job? She is so creative.

I opened my gifts and this is what was inside.

Gian has the best memory. A while back this store called Sassy Babies was doing a giveaway and this was the exact bag. I didn't win and he knew how much I wanted this bag. He said he bought it a while ago and was waiting for my birthday to give it to me. The other thing is a hair product that I think is heaven in a bottle. It makes my hair like silk. It is a mask you put on at night and you hair absorbs it so by morning time, it doesn't even look like you had anything in your hair. It is wonderful.

We then left for dinner at Bombay House which is an Indian restaurant in Provo. One of my favorites. It was delicious. After that we went to Brian and Megan Bollard's house (which I covet) and there was a cute decoration that Megan and Whitney made.... it was so cute! I even had a birthday hat! There was also miniature cupcakes from the Cocoa Bean. We played games and stayed until about 1:00am. It was so much fun. Thank you to the Royals and Bollards for making my birthday so much fun.

Also for your liking, a 20 week belly shot! I don't want to know how big I will be at 38 weeks. I feel HUGE already, where else is this baby going to go except outward. I am scared!

Happy Birthday McKinley!

It's McKinley's birthday tomorrow. I got her some stuff. Thanks Whitney for wrapping the presents. Hopefully McKinley likes it all.


I think my wife is pretty hawt.

Church Talk

Duhhh dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.... Our Bishop has made the terrible mistake of asking me to give a talk in church tomorrow. WHY?!? I mean I am willing to do anything to help our ward and church out, but honestly... he must have been confused. I do not do good with giving public talks. I am getting light headed just thinking about it, and I haven't given a talk since I was in middle school. Do you know how many years that is?... BECAUSE I DON'T!!!

I am sure everything will go smoothly. I mean, there are so many children in our ward I doubt anyone will even pay attention. So I am fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine (sarcastic voice). Thank goodness I have Gian. I can take up a lot of time introducing ourselves and about how we met, and how we are in love, and have a baby on the way. Hahaha just kidding!!! Maybe we can prank everyone to believe that Gian is from the Philippines and that I brought him back with me from my service trip. Everyone in our ward already thinks he is from another country anyways. They are always shocked to learn he was born and raised in Vegas, which is actually here in the USA. Hahahah I am not even kidding. If you only knew all the things they ask and say.

Ok keep your fingers crossed for me. I am nervous and only hope I know what I am talking about!

Did You Guess Right?!? Boy or Girl?

Today we had our doctor's appointment. Man, those things are so much fun when you have an ultra sound... not so much when you just look at the scale and pee in a cup, but when you can see the baby and hear the strong heart beat. Lucky for me I have the best doctor in the whole wide world. His name is Ryan Ollerton and he is my cousin, so I get pampered by him and all his staff. I am a snob and say, "We will only see Dr. Ryan Ollerton" with my nose in the air while twirling my hair with my finger. It is so much fun to have family in the medical world because you know you are not just another patient, and you take pride in all of their success too! When I tell people my OB-GYN is Ryan Ollerton, they always brag about how good of a doctor he is and how he delivered their babies and I reply, "Yep... huh... that's my cousin!!!"

Ok, getting back on track... our appointment today was wonderful. Baby weighed in at 8oz right on track for his/her due date. We got to see his/her little face and he/she was opening and closing its mouth which was so neat to see. I can already tell this baby has a cute bum, and the sweetest little hands. You are probably thinking that I get a lot of ultra sounds... that is because I do and that is because my doctor is phenomenal! Like I said, we get spoiled. Maybe you should go to Dr. Ollerton or find a cousin as awesome... all I am saying is don't be jealous. ahhahahahahahhahahah I am just messing with you, I will try to stay more focused as I get to my main point. Because we are only 18 weeks, Dr. Ollerton offered to take a peek for us to see what we are having. How could you deny that privilege?

So of course we agreed and just a few of you suspected it was a girl... you were completely wrong!!! The intelligender was right, we are having a boy! Can you believe it? Of course you can, most of you guessed boy anyway. It was as clear as day. Before Dr. Ollerton could tell us what we were looking at I knew exactly that this thing on the screen was no leg, no arm... it was a male organ that resembled much of a turtle! Another cool fact about Dr. Ollerton is he too served his mission in the Philippines, I don't know what year but I think he is 18 years older than me, so you can do the math. He made an image for Gian's family that read "pagong" which means turtle in Tagalog, indicating that we are having a boy. See, this is why Ryan Ollerton is the best doctor! I am glad you are starting to see my point.

Enjoy this image, you are looking at his bum. We will be getting another ultra sound in about two weeks for our 20 week appointment where they check the heart and brain and other wonderful things.

PS I do not know why it is sideways, I have tried everything. Sorry!!

16 Weeks and Pregnant

Hey guys, guess what! I have a haolepino in my belly. I am a haole (Hawaiian word for white person) and Gian is Filipino, Therefore we have a haolepino (pronounced jalepeno) growing in my belly! Bahhahahahahahahahahahahahha.

OKAAAAAY, here is what all of you have been waiting for...

Is this the McKinley you once knew and remember? Me too... this is at 5 weeks before the hormones morphed my body into this alien shape ball.

And it begins... doesn't it start so early? I don't think people can really tell yet. I think they think I haven't gone to the bathroom in a few days, or maybe ate a large meal. Ohhh no, let me tell you, that it's actually a 5 oz fetus that is the size of a turnip (What is a turnip? That is what my "what to expect" iPhone app says). PS this is 16 weeks exactly.

And lastly this is how I feel, or better choice of words... self perceive my little, alien morphing, baby making machine body looks. Just take away the color green. I feel that hair too!!! Hormones are taking over my body and telling it what to do and what not to do, IT HAS A MIND OF IT'S OWN!!! Ohh and incase you run into me on a bad day/time of day, I think it would be ok to compare my attitude to the Grinch.

Symptoms as of recent:

*Nose congestion

*Clothes not fitting

*Massive growth of the bussom and bottom

*Acne

*Rapid hair and nail growth

*Uncontrollable hunger

*Peeing of the panties in public!

*Light sleeping

*Forgetfulness/ Unintelligent

Cravings:

*Pickles (I am in love with!!!)

*Jalepenos

*Fruit smoothes

*Fatty dairies (ice cream, whole milk, cheese)

*Curry chicken

*Spicy, flavorful foods

*Vinaigrette

*Pepperoncinis