The last few days of our trip included a drive to Seattle to see my best friend Tiffany get married. Tiffany and I were roommates our freshman year of college and have been best friends ever since. She is seriously the sister/best friend I always prayed for growing up. I was so grateful that I was able to see her get married.

Most of our trip was spent in my parents motorhome or “BUS” as we called it for Hallie’s sake. I have such great parents who also love Tiffany and were willing to drive across a few states to see her get married. My poor dad-driving all that way! (Let’s just say my mom and I weren’t very helpful in driving the motorhome.) He’s a trooper!

Hallie in the front seat helping grandpa “drive” and talking to her daddy on the cell phone. (Ben had to go back to D.C. to work) We sure missed him!!

Hallie watching Signing Time on the “Bus”. Oh how times have changed! She’s not even 2 yet and she already has a DVD player and headphones!

Hallie getting all cleaned up in the motorhome bathtub.

When we got to Seattle we stayed the night at a beautiful campground. We kept saying how much fun it would be to have a family reunion there. It was so beautiful!

Playing in the water at the camp ground

Helping Grandpa get the “Bus” level so we could cook etc. (She honestly has to help with EVERYTHING!)

The happy couple! It was so great to be there. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I actually planned this pregnancy around the wedding. (They were engaged forever!!)

Funny Story: Tiffany never cries. She is always strong and holds it together. Except… at my wedding. In the Temple she bawled like a baby. Probably more than my mom. As for me… ever since my mission I have been much better at not getting so emotional. As I sat there in the Temple watching the ceremony I held it together and didn’t shed a tear. She did the same. No crying. However, after when I went up and hugged her we both just started bawling like babies. What is it with us and crying at weddings! So much for not smudging her makeup.

At the Temple. She looked stunning! I mean just look at that million dollar necklace!

Later that day at the dinner reception. Hallie was off playing while Grandpa tried to catch up with her.

Cutest picture ever!

The three of us at the dinner reception. It was so perfect!  I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Cool Story: Tiffany and her new husband, Chris, left the dinner in a helicopter. I know crazy! Who does that?! It was a surprise that nobody but her parents knew about. How cool is that!?!

Here is a picture of me at 36 weeks and 2 days pregnant. The countdown has begun!!

And here is Hallie at 22 months exactly.

Ben and I can’t help but laugh out loud when we look at this picture. She is such a copy cat these days.

While we were in Utah we revealed the name of the new little guy that will be joining our family in a few weeks. It took a lot of patience on my mom’s part not to know. Everyday when I would talk to her she would try and trick it out of me. Silly moms!

So drumroll please…………

BENTON KYLE CRANE

I had such a hard time picking a boy name. I seriously lost sleep over it. (Dumb I know!) I decided to pray about it while in the Temple a few months back and I received an answer.  When I told Ben he thought about it for a while and decided that he liked the name but wanted to call the baby Kyle instead of Ben. (He said having 2 Ben’s in the house would be too confusing.)

Ben’s dad’s name is Kyle and we are excited to name our son after him. We want each of our children to be named after someone we love and look/looked up to. We want the names to come from people who are strong examples of living a God centered life, who cherish their family, and serve others. I’m grateful that Ben looks up to his dad in this way.

Some may ask why not just use Kyle as the first name. My answer~ I wanted my first born son to be named after the best man I knew and that is my husband. Ben really is amazing and I am so grateful that my children get him as a dad.  Our growing family couldn’t have asked for a better man in our life. So…. Benton it is!

This past weekend Ben and I took the advice of our Stake President who advised married couples to go on an overnight date without children.  This was the first time we had ever left Hallie. In fact the most time I have ever spent away from her is a 5 hour Temple trip. When we considered going on this trip I knew exactly who I wanted to watch Hallie. Ben’s cousin Melissa lives about 30 minutes from us and she has 3 girls who just adore Hallie. I knew Hallie would be crazy spoiled and not even notice we were gone. I was right! Hallie just played, played, played!!! She never cried or anything! What a relief for me to know she was in good hands and that she was enjoying herself. Thanks again Orton’s you are truly the best!!!!

We stayed at the Historic Powhatan Resort.  This is the main building at the resort. (Not where we actually stayed) They give tours of the mansion and tell ghost stories about how it’s haunted.

This is part of our condo. We were not expecting something so huge and nice. We had two floors with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen with all utensils and needed cooking supplies, washer and dryer, huge jet tub, and living room. And the best part was it was cheaper than a hotel.

The grounds were breathtaking. We were able to walk around and explore in the perfect weather!!

Next we drove to Jamestown and took the Island drive tour. (We are cheap and didn’t want to spend any money for admission tickets to the actual town.) We learned a lot about how the first settlers settled on an Island and then abandoned it when they moved the capitol to Williamsburg. The island is mostly a marsh land now.

Our next stop was Williamsburg. We parked the car this time and got out and walked around. Again we didn’t buy admission tickets so we didn’t see any demonstrations etc. but it was still cool to walk around and see the old town.

After Williamsburg our last stop was Yorktown. This is where the British surrendered to George Washington and the colonists.

It was a wonderful and relaxing trip! I can’t wait until we can do it again in about two years. haha

We have been busy enjoying the warm weather here in Virginia. It has been so nice to go outside and sit on the porch while Hallie writes with sidewalk chalk. Hallie is getting so smart these days. She can say pretty much any word it’s just understanding her that gets a little tricky. Her memory is amazing and she never ceases to amaze me at how demanding she is. I seriously feel like I have two kids already because we have to take care of her baby doll like it is real. (Besides her throwing it down the stairs every now and then.) We feed the baby all it’s meals with a bowl and spoon (plus the occasional bottle), we dress it and then undress it so it can sit on the potty, we put the baby to sleep on it’s belly and cover it with a blanket, and we take the doll everywhere we go. I think she will like her little brother for about one week until she realizes he is sticking around. Even with that said I know she will be a great big sister.

Here is a little taste of our spring/summer fun.

Enjoying a birthday party cupcake with other “older” kids

Playing with bubbles at a birthday party. (Thanks for inviting us Cheata!)

Flying a kite with Daddy.

Just so cute!! And grown up!

BOOM!! I told you I was bigger than that last picture depicted!! haha There is your proof! Ben took this picture last week at 28 weeks but I haven’t had time to post it until now.

Things are still going great with this pregnancy. I started having a little bit of trouble sleeping with my big belly in the way but it’s not as bad as it is going to get so I’m counting my blessings. No more sleeping on my belly or even my back. (Which bites!) I experience cramping a lot but I think it is because I bend over so much and pick up Hallie. Everything is going great with my hypnobirthing and my midwife. I can’t believe I am to the point where I go in for a checkup every two weeks. That is crazy to me!! The baby moves all the time. I used to think he was super calm because he would only move at night when I was going to sleep, but now he is constantly moving. It’s making it more real to me. I finally feel like I’m starting to bond with him and I’m getting excited to meet him.

Two weekends ago we decided to set up Hallie’s big girl bed. I figured it might be the type of thing that would be “the sooner the better” with the transition of the new baby only being three months away (and one of those months will be spent largely in Utah). Hallie didn’t know quite what to think of her “new” bed. At first she loved to play on it, especially since dad told her she could jump on it just like she did mom and dad’s bed.  (She’s our little jumping jellybean!) When it came time to go to sleep, however, she was hesitant and wanted her old bed. (Pack’n’play) That first night Ben convinced her to sleep in her new bed and she slept through the night like an angel. I thought, “Wow that was way easy! What was I worried about? Maybe Ben’s right I stress too much!”

Fast forward to the next few naps and nights…they were a nightmare! Suddenly I HATE the big girl bed and want it brought back downstairs into the basement. Hallie loves playing “Nye,Nye” (night, night) with her and her dolls. She lays down, covers herself up with her “B” (blanket) and then acts like she is going to sleep. (She does the same thing with her baby who is sleeping right next to her.) This lasts all of 60 seconds until she gets up, rearranges things and repeats the whole process.  This goes on and on. Because of this she has had to sleep (much to her protest!)  in her pack’n’play more than her big girl bed. We try to give her the option but when she won’t settle down and go to sleep we decide for her. Her tears have pulled on my heart strings and I have decided to hate the big girl bed!!

With all of that said… after two weeks of tears occasionally we have success. OCCASIONALLY!

She’s so stinkin cute!!!! Butt in the air and head against the wall.

I still don’t like the big girl bed. Bed time and Nap time were so much easier before. However, I know that we have to keep with it because she can’t sleep in her “baby” bed forever. Wish us luck! 🙂

Here are a few of the new recipes I’ve tried recently.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Sweet Potato Pizza

Stacked Burrito Pie

Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Easter Egg Layered Cake

I SWEAR my belly is bigger than this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know if I was doing some serious sucking in or what but I’m telling you my stomach sticks out at least 4 inches further than this picture depicts!!

On a long side note: The shirt I’m wearing is one of the new ones I got from Burlington Coat Factory. I HATE looking for maternity clothes!! My body is so different from anything I find that it gets me depressed and I have been known to cry when trying on maternity pants. However, with that said I swore to myself after I had Hallie that my next pregnancy I would buy more maternity clothes. (We were so flat broke last time that I only bought like 4 things TOTAL) So anyway, this time around I knew I needed to search high and low to get some good clothes so I could feel good about myself. I went to Burlington Coat Factory and low and behold they had several  (4) shirts that fit me and even a pair of shorts. I got all of it for….$60 bucks. For maternity clothes that is steal!!

Like  I said in the last post I dedicated to my 2nd pregnancy- this time around things are so different. I thought about my little Hallie all the time but with this little guy I’m so busy that I have to remind myself to talk to him and enjoy the stage of being pregnant. I’m not able to forget I’m pregnant as often anymore. My belly gets in the way a lot and every time I bend over now I get the sensation to throw up. YUCK!  Hallie still keeps me busier than ever and she still lets her little brother know who’s boss by kicking him and sitting on him all the time!! I swear all of a sudden my stomach is a magnet to her. She is constantly sitting on my belly…which is not comfortable.

At my last midwife appointment I was 9 pounds over my pre pregnancy weight. However… after this past week I’m sure it is much higher than that! The holidays really bring out the sweet tooth in me. My hypnobirthing has been coming along beautifully and I get more excited every day for the birth of my new little guy. (Which is saying a lot if you know my labor story with Hallie!) With hypnobirthing there literally is NO PAIN!!! Yes I will say that again NO PAIN!! When you tense up your uterine muscles can’t naturally do what they need to do. They fight against each other and that causes pain and usually a longer labor. With Hypnobirthing you train yourself to deeply relax so that when surges (contractions) come you let your body do what it needs to do while you are relaxed. It’s not about controlling the pain or checking yourself out mentally so you don’t feel pain. There literally is no pain. Don’t believe me? You should look into it and I will tell you my success story in 3 months. I’m a believer! 🙂

Yesterday my friend Lindsey and I took our kiddos downtown to the Cherry Blossom Festival. It is just another reason why I love spring so much-SO BEAUTIFUL!  It was a nice, yet windy, day and we were able to just go with the flow and relax. (Mind you both of us are pregnant-Lindsey happens to be 36+ weeks)

Hallie being the independent girl that she is. Mom can’t even have her hand on the stroller!!

She LOVES bikes and thinks every one she sees is “Hallie’s”

Lindsey captured this tender spur of the moment kiss. Man I love my little stinker!

Hallie insisted that she throw sticks in the water. (Like 7 of them!)

Cute little Hallie Bug

Hallie and Payson. Payson is 1o months-Hallie is almost 20 months. Notice not much of a size difference.

Hallie and Payson kissing!

Beautiful pictures Lindsey and I managed to take. She’s a much better photographer than I am!!

This is me and Hallie LAST YEAR at the festival. Man how things have changed! She’s so grown up now!