preoccupation.

my mind is a little preoccupied with baby right now.  that may have something to do with the fact that the braxton hicks contractions (and a few true contractions) have majorly picked up.  or maybe it has something to do with the doctor telling me I could be going to the hospital any minute.  or maybe it's the induction scheduled for late tonight.  regardless, I can't seem to think of anything else.  as such, I have been ruminating on some of my biggest pregnancy pet peeves of the last couple months.  so please allow me the indulgence of sharing with you some of my thoughts.  here are my guidelines for communication with a pregnant person: 

that's it.  I just wanted to share.  thanks for listening to my ranting and raving.

now onto the pictures from the last {nearly} two months. 

made a cute little card for my SIL from this tutorial.  what?  you thought I was actually creative enough to come up with something like that on my own?  no way.

met up with a "pittsburgh" friend and watched our kiddos play together.  I love good friends. 

33 weeks.

DJ's beautiful cousin on her wedding day.  isn't the bouquet lovely?  not as beautiful as her, of course.

the fam comes to visit!  woohoo!  my dad and lafe hadn't been to our place before, so it was fun to introduce them to our life down here.  we started out by taking a trip down to DJ's office...

spent lots of time letting macko play with his aunt and uncle...

drug them along to some church activities (see my "cheap" attempt at a photo booth?  it failed.  I donated it to our ward.  I'll do better next time)...

enjoyed my mom's quirky sense of style coming through on the macko.  I thought her pairing of the striped socks and plaid shorts was... interesting.  but too cute not to capture.  :)

worked on many-a-project...

...and last but not least, took a trip to see the Mesa Temple Pageant.  

it was a wonderful few days that ended far too quickly.  at the end of their trip, my family took off for utah with mack in tow, while I flew out to las vegas.

landed in vegas and shot this beautiful wedding at the las vegas temple...

...and their beautiful ring ceremony and reception at a country club on the outskirts of town.  

(can't resist a good picture of a violinist). 

I'll be honest: shooting a wedding at 35 weeks pregnant was not easy.  from beginning to end, the day was nearly 12 hours, but I was so happy to be a part of their beautiful day, and I'm so glad everything worked out for me to be able to go!

flew up to utah to spend some time with family and pick up mackster.  above is the traditional frandsen family birthday photo.  I love the content and happy look on my dad's face as his grandchildren snitch the candles/whipped cream from the top of his birthday pies. 

happened to be in utah at the same time as one of my best friends who was visiting from D.C.  isn't her little girl just adorable?  she wasn't so sure about me stealing some pictures of her, but it couldn't be avoided.  :)

backyard playtime:

grandpappy and macko.

the "stwaddle jump."

 

got together with another great friend and her cute little girl.  our kiddos played so well together, and even gave goodbye hugs.  look at the size difference between these two.  granted, she's 8 months younger than mack, but they'll be in the same grade!

playing the piano with uncle lafey.

playtime and sleepover with the cousins:

after the kiddos went down, I enjoyed several hours chatting away with my sisters over some yummy raspberry bread pudding, avocado salsa, and brazillian lemonade. 

the grandpatty bunny easter egg hunt:

these kids are so lucky to have such an awesome grandpatty.

shot the dress rehearsal for the biggest show of the year for my high school choir teacher's new program.  he's an amazing teacher, and it really shows in the passion and talent of his kids.

macko showing his airplane excitement.

happy easter, people.

another happy note to this day: it was our five year anniversary.  I can say with complete confidence that I married the perfect guy for me.  he makes me happier than I ever thought possible, he's incredibly sensitive to my needs and feelings, and he is the cutest dad in the whole world.  the past five years have been the best of my life.

we're waiting to celebrate until I'm slightly less pregnant, and more able to get away somewhere...

got together with some of our favorite friends and their little guy.  the tables next to us didn't quite know what hit them.  maybe we're leaving the phase of life when we can take our little family to restaurants... at least for a little while.  we'll see.  :)

back to swim lessons.  the first few days were rough, but that quickly wore off, and mack is loving it.

just my little man and his "bwankie." he loves that thing, and it goes to each bedtime, nap time, snuggle time, and lately it comes in the car almost everywhere we go.  he loves to rub it on his nose while falling asleep, and almost always does it right when he wakes up until he comes our of his sleep fog.  recently, our dryer went out, and I was stuck laying out all our laundry to dry (ugh).  consequently, his blanket ended up smelling a little mildewy (gross).  I tried to take it away and wash it again, but he wouldn't have it.  however, while still in his sleep fog immediately following a nap, he informed his blanket smelled "disgusting."  I laughed, then promptly threw it in the washer for a second round cleaning.  he keeps me in line.

*cell phone pic*

playing in daddy's office while waiting for our weekly lunch.

I debated and debated over whether or not to put up this picture.  no judging, people. 

dropped my phone.  good thing it was insured

 

took a tour of a couple hospitals in the area, and chose one I think will be perfect.  mack was so excited to see all the babies in the "hos-bi-bol," and I got even more excited  to hold this little one in my arms.

berry smoothie time.  mack obviously likes it a little bit.  and with just raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, yogurt, and a little milk, I love that he loves it. 

pre baby hair cut and color

mack helping mommy with laundry.  as he would say, "I'm your best helper!"  and he really is.  he loves to load and unload the dishwasher, helps put away his toys (after mild encouragement), loves to match socks, and gets so excited about washing our car.  as a matter of fact, the other day he even told me how "beautiful" the drive-thru car wash was.  where does he get this stuff?

family pictures for a cute family in the ward.

celebrated mother's day with DJ's family.

37 weeks. 

a tired macko.  he collapsed on dj's shoulder while holding his hand.  cute, no?

speaking of cuteness, he has been saying the funniest things lately.  the other night he was speaking some strange form of gibberish.  the conversation that followed went something like this:

daddy: "what language are you speaking mack?  chinese?  japanese?"

mack: "nope."

daddy: "what language then?"

mack: "nope-a-guese."

...uhhhh, that's the most true statement of the century.  he came out speaking nope-a-guese.  his newborn cry literally sounded like he was saying "uh-uh," and he's been telling us no ever since.  :)

mack and his friend, the reg.

my SIL, carli, and her cute new family-to-be.

a sweet friend threw a shower for me with the girls in the ward.  it consisted of the usual: yummy, yummy food, lots of labor and delivery stories, and the cutest little boy clothes you've ever seen.  everyone was so kind--especially considering the relatively short amount of time we've lived here.

DJ's beautiful sister, Carli and her fiance.  I can only share one of their engagements, because I'm not sure which one they've chosen for their invitation (I know it's not this one), and I don't want to give it away before it's sent out! 

oh, by the way, did I tell you I got a new calling?  I was called to Young Women's the week before general conference.  if you remember Silvia Richard's talk you'll know why it made me cry, laugh, and shrink in fear all at the same time.  if not, let's just say I was a tad bit overwhelmed with a new baby on the way, a husband who works long hours, and a demanding and busy two year old.  but, I am also incredibly excited, and I've loved it so far.  here's to hoping I can remain balanced!

can you see the joy on his face?  swimming lessons are the highlight of his day.

a gift for the girls while they're at girl's camp.  I won't be there (baby jones will only be a couple weeks old), so I sent along something in our "color" in my place. 

the traditional and beloved pre-baby pedicure.  I have to give myself something to look forward to during the last few weeks of pregnancy.  after nine months of pregnancy, I say every girl deserves a good pedicure.  

a birthday party for mack's "cousin."

39 weeks.  I'm sure a full term photo will come with the birth story, but for now, I'm sitting here through some mildly painful contractions every ten minutes or so, and I just can't seem to get myself to get up and take a picture.  not right this second anyway.  

I can't wait to share the nursery with you.  it's complete (with the exception of one project that will have to wait until we've officially decided on a name)  all the pictures are taken, and they're just waiting to be shared.  we'll see if it gets done before we head out for the hospital.  only a few more hours.  I can't believe it.  I have millions of emotions going through me right now.  I'm excited, a little anxious, sad to be leaving behind our one-child phase of life, and... tired.  I think I'll go take a nap and try to get some rest in before the big ordeal that is soon to come.  wish us luck.  can't wait to introduce you to the little man.