Tuesday, March 29, 2016

My Due Date

My due date was a little bit sad. Of course, like every expectant mother I had secretly hoped I would be celebrating that day with my little babe in my arms. Instead I found that I had made no noticeable progress from the week before. Luckily our baby boy's heartbeat was strong, and he seemed to be doing great. I spent the day walking up and down stairs at the only mall my mom and I hadn't been walking at yet.

(Mall walking is the only walking-to-induce-labor option when you're due in the middle of icy winter)

I thought a lot that day about divine timing, and how all the blessings in my life have come at times that were perfect, even though I may have liked many of them sooner. Knowing that Heavenly Father has perfect knowledge and timing, I trusted that he would have my baby boy come exactly when it would be best.

Before falling asleep that night I wrote the following as part of a little letter to my boy:

"So tonight and every night, when I head to bed, it will be with a prayer of trust and a hope that tomorrow will bring you. One of these days very soon that hope will be fulfilled."




Little did I know that just seven hours later I'd wake up in labor...





These photos are some of the last taken of my bump-taken the day before my due date. I owe so much to my mama. She was such a great friend and always happy to keep me busy enough to not get discouraged that baby boy hadn't come yet. During the weeks before he came we went shopping, mall walking, to lunch, a movie and spent time hanging out in my nursery and picking out things for my boy. I thought she was the best then, but I knew it for sure after all she did for me when Owen came. Moms are just the best, aren't they?

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

The Last of the Bump

At this point my bump is nothing more than a memory-replaced by a darling, chubby, perfect little baby boy. I couldn't move on in my blog though until I finished documenting my bump though. I loved watching my body grow and change throughout my pregnancy. I was blessed with a love for my body and my bump while pregnant. How could I not love my body-knowing the miracle it was performing. 
As much as I loved this bump though, I absolutely love what was growing in it a million times more. 

Twenty-six Weeks


Twenty-seven Weeks

Twenty-eight Weeks

Twenty-nine Weeks

Thirty Weeks

Thirty-one Weeks



Thirty-two Weeks

Thirty-three Weeks



Thirty-four Weeks


Thirty-five Weeks

Thirty-six Weeks

Thirty-seven Weeks

Thirty-eight Weeks


Thirty-nine Weeks
















Monday, January 25, 2016

The Final Countdown


My due date is 10 days away. I really feel like this little boy could show up any time-which would be ok with his mama. Before he comes though I want to take just a few minutes to share a few things about this pregnancy that have been on my mind.

-I love being pregnant. I have been blessed to be fairly healthy throughout this pregnancy, and the excitement of growing a baby has made this a wonderful experience.

-Feeling my baby boy inside me fills me with more happiness than I can express. I've loved that we've been a package deal for the last nine months, that no matter where I was I had one of my very best friends with me.

-Nesting is real, and settling into his little nursery was one of the most fun things about this last trimester. I loved hunting for the bargain furniture, washing his little clothes, and sewing his little mobile. Each little thing I did got me one step closer to him coming, and that made all of it extra special.

-I will miss hearing his heartbeat so frequently-but I'm pretty sure the little grunts, sneezes, cries and babbles will more than make up for it.

-I love this baby more than I thought I could, and I haven't even seen him yet. I'm in awe by the love I can feel for someone I've never even seen.

-As much as I want baby boy to be in my arms, and as uncomfortable as I am at this point in pregnancy, I'm trying my very best to make the most of this stage of my life. These final moments before he comes, and everything changes so drastically. One of my resolutions for this year is to be more present in every moment of my life and to enjoy the stage I'm in. So-as anxious as I am to hold him in my arms, for tonight I'm happy to cuddle up on the couch and feel his kicks inside me.

Showering our Little Boy

The day after Christmas our sweet aunt threw us a little family baby shower. It was a full of all of my favorite things-family time, delicious food, and of course celebrating this little boy! It was such a happy afternoon! Our family took very good care of this little guy, and helped us get so many of the essentials for him. It was a very happy day.



 My dear friend Ashley was in town and was kind enough to come celebrate Baby Boy with us. It was so fun to get to see her and discuss all things baby!

A few weeks later the darling second mom's I grew up with in the Alta Heights ward threw me a another shower. It was so fun to catch up with so many people I grew up with. They spoiled this sweet Baby Boy, and took very good care of me as well. I'm so glad a few of my friends could come too. My only regret is that I didn't take more pictures.



These baby showers reminded me once again how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life. I have so many people who care about me and already love my baby boy so much. It's inspiring and beautiful, and I'm so glad that we get to welcome this boy to a world where there is already so much love for him.

2015 in Review

January: My favorite sister missionary came home, and we all celebrated with a family trip to Disneyland. I fell in love with the Monte Cristo sandwiches, and Nate fell in love with Toy Story Mania. Successful trip all around.

February: We celebrated our first married Valentines day with a delicious home cooked meal, and beautiful flowers. He is so good to me. I repaid him by coming home from work one day and saying "Lets go to Hawaii. Seriously."

March: We celebrated my birthday with Black Sheep Cafe and Cinderella. We celebrated his birthday with free a Grand Slam breakfast and shotgun shooting. We celebrated our first anniversary with great steak, and a trip to the Up house. Obviously we're party animals.

April: We went to Hawaii for the first time. We swam with sea turtles, plenty of fishes and sharks. We both agreed it was the best vacation we'd ever been on.

May: We found out we were going to have a baby. Nothing else seemed to matter.

June: We told our parents and siblings about our baby. Nate got to celebrate his first Fathers Day, and he started an awesome new job.

July: We rocked out to Journey, and got to see our baby for the first time. My grandma passed away and I took an unexpected trip to California to visit family.

August: We told the world about our baby (together) and took work trips (separately).

September: We found out that baby is a BOY. We jumped into all fall activities-football games, driving the Alpine Loop, and Rau Family Fall Fest.

October: We got to attend a beautiful sealing. We carved pumpkins, rode the Sundance Halloween Lift Ride, and gave out candy to trick-or-treaters.

November: We got Nate a BYU license plate. We found a new apartment, and we spent the happiest ten days in Oregon. Nate got offered a full position at his job. Blessings all around.

December: We moved into a new apartment. We moved out of our Sumac home. We assembled baby boys travel system before unpacking anything else, and we celebrated the happiest, snowy Christmas.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

What Are You Doing New Years?

I've been looking forward to 2016 since I found out I was pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I made the most of the rest of 2015, and it was one of the best years of my entire life-but 2016 was always the bright light of the future.

The year I would get to hold my little boy, get to look into his eyes, and learn and grow with him.

I can't believe it is actually here. 2016.

I have big hopes for this year. More than anything though, I hope for lots of happy, peaceful moments with my boys. My resolution this year is to be more present-to take more time to enjoy the little moments by eliminating unnecessary distractions, and savoring the details of my life that bring me the most joy.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be my best year yet.


 New Years Eve dinner with the family.

Our First Utah Christmas

Nate proposed to me on December 13, 2013 and a week later was on a plane headed home for Christmas, and last year we spent Christmas together in Oregon. Which made this Christmas mine and Nate's first Utah Christmas. It was a perfect one. Santa came early to the Rau house so Nate and I woke up early Christmas Eve to see what he brought, and open a few presents from each other. It was a happy, quiet celebration-our last one just the two of us. 


Later we met up with my family for brunch, and spent the afternoon baking and preparing for our big Christmas Eve dinner. That night we headed over to Aunt Debbie's house for the big dinner, but not before putting on our awesome Christmas light necklaces. We had a blast with the London's eating delicious food, playing games, visiting with the wise men, and playing the chimes.








After the party we went back to Mom and Dad's-where opened our annual Christmas jammies. There were even some for our baby boy! We also read the scriptures, and spent some time talking about our Savior.





Christmas morning brought wonderful surprises from Santa, and thoughtful gifts from each other. As always Santa was too good to us, but as happy as I was with what he brought me-I had the most fun looking at what he brought for our baby boy. I've heard that Christmas as a parent is the very best. What I didn't realize is that now, before we even get to see our son, Christmas would be extra special. The whole time was spent thinking about him, and how because of our Savior Jesus Christ he gets to be our son forever. For me, that was the best part of this snowy, perfect Christmas. 



Monday, January 4, 2016

Christmas Fun

Despite being so busy this past December, Nate and I were able to have some fun too. He is a good sport to put off some unpacking and furniture shopping in order to take me out to get my Christmas fix. He really is my favorite person to celebrate this beautiful season with.

Here are just a few of the highlights:


Festival of Trees


Gingerbread House Building and Sugar Cookie Baking



                                                                                       Zoo Lights




Fancy work parties and the Motab Christmas concert



But the real highlight we didn't even have to leave home for-a beautiful, white Christmas.