And the Winner Is

There was no question! And we are super super excited! Names we both like: Russell, Cole, Levi, Benjamin Jack. Why we can't agree on a name?  Because Sterling wants a Sterling Aaron Haws Jr.  so I guess we'll let ya know when we come to a compromise! Hopefully this little man likes trains because Sterling LOVES trains, and I think they're cute! Everything looks great and healthy, and I'm even further along-by a little bit- than I thought, so they made my new due date February 19th. Yep, my birthday. Fun stuff!

Today

This is Ruthie playing on the cold rocks at Waterton Lake in Canada. She was having a grand time, as long as we let her eat all the rocks she could manage to stick in her mouth! Its a size 6 mo. hoodie, but I was worried I wouldn't have enough warm clothes for her, so I brought it just in case, along with some other jackets, but I LOVE putting this one on her because really, shouldn't she just wear that color every day? And I can't wear it, it makes me look yellow and sickly, so I LOVE that she looks so good in it.

Mostly right now I am procrastinating doing anything. Sterling called to say that he wasn't coming home for dinner, he was going to study right through so he could come home earlier and get a decent nights sleep...which means my motivation for cooking dinner went pretty much away.

Ruthie is awake from her nap, but happily chatting 'hi' and playing in her crib, so I'm procrastinating getting her until she makes it a bigger priority.

Oh yeah, Ruth can say 'hi' and 'uh-oh' now, and so she does, all the time. At church on Sunday whenever anyone made the most minimal eye contact with her she'd go "HI?" it was hilarious. Pretty sure we were disrupting three benches in front and behind us, but really, you can't take a baby out just for saying hi. She says 'uh-oh' when you look at her when she has a toy, and she'll drop it, and look back at you and say 'uh-oh'!!! It is too funny. She also says it when anything drops, falls, or when she trips.

Ruth is getting too big. Today her hair was in pigtails, and she was walking around with these big-girl shoes on and I was SOOO sad. I want her to stay little forever.

I found this rocking chair on ksl that I want to get SO bad, but I was supposed to be looking for dryers and living room furniture and a desk for Sterling---since that is what we want for our new place. But the rocking chair is so BEAUTIFUL. Sigh.

Ya know that raise my boss gave me? He forgot to change it for this paycheck. Sad.

Countdown to finding out baby's gender: 2 days
Countdown to the mcat: 4 days
Countdown to moving: 6 days

I feel like life is just on hold until this weekend. That's my life.

Chop-chop

 Yes, I realize that picture has already been posted. I had Sterling take pictures of my hair on Sunday so I would have before and after, but somehow they aren't on my camera anymore. So this was the best I could find---which just goes to show, really, how often my hair is up, because I couldn't find pictures with my hair down.

 I've had my hair longer before, but this was pretty long for me. Especially since I had a trim right before the trip to Canada (these pictures) and cut about an inch and a half off. (I just tried to find a picture of it longer, and I found it, but the online scrapbook I use won't let me steal it. Ruff.)
So ANYWAY, what I really really want to do, is a pixie cut. But Sterling wasn't having any of that. So I figured we'd work our way SLOWLY. So I showed my hairdresser a couple pictures, she chopped my ponytail off right at the beginning (why wash extra hair?) and went to town. Only, it wasn't quite short enough.  I told her to keep cutting. The length isn't too much shorter than I normally have, but I have much, much shorter layers. I wanted a shorter cut, but there's a fine line between 'head full of bangs' and short hair. Not a fan of bangs in my eyes. And I LOVE how the front looks, instead of my normal long pieces in the front. It's funny how THICK hair makes a difference, looking at the pictures I brought in, they all had thinner hair, so naturally its going to look a bit different. Next step, getting Sterling to agree to the pixie. Here's why my hair had to go:
-it gets caught in between my shoulder and diaper bag, so annoying
-it is EVERWHERE (the floor, the sink, the seats of the car, my shirt, etc.)
-Ruth still pulls on it, and with another one coming, I'm finished with that
-my hair is really heavy, and lately, being in a bun makes me have a headache, plus my scalp will still hurt from it 2 days later
-you can only do a pony tail at the nape of your neck (to avoid the headaches) so long before you are REALLY done with that hair style
-it takes 20 minutes to blow dry...I don't even allot that much time for hair in the morning, plus while being pregnant, it makes me lightheaded to get that much heat around my head, I have to stop and take breaks
-you have to DO it after all that time spent blow drying, 'nuff said
-I've pretty much been a short-haired girl my entire life, we're just trying to break Sterling into the news nice and slow
-the list is much longer than this, every five seconds yesterday I had a new reason, trust me

Sterling's reaction to the new do "You look EXACTLY like a younger version of your mom!" Why yes, dear, we knew I resembled her quite closely. Remember all the old people in Cardston while we were waiting in line for breakfast that looked at me and said "We'd heard Lorie's family was in town." Yeah, that was me. He did say he liked it. I think he looked a little relieved that I didn't break down and just do the pixie cut. Just you wait, Mr., it's coming. We'll let you get used to this one first. I, on the other hand, LOVE it and am wondering why I waited so long? (forgive the self-portraits, I am not talented like my sister Kayli)

Partying at my brother Derek's (while in Canada)

Myles, Devaney, Tyson, Gideon, Anders, Ashlee(and a couple of Nick's kids and I don't know their names)

I was trying to get an action shot of Anders jumping in. This is the best I could do. The top of his leap.

Ruthie loves trampolines. Hangin' out in the cute outfit Grandma Cindy got her for her 1st birthday.

My Grandpa's Farm

Its Monday. I'm trying to wish away the next week of packing. I can pack in less time than that, but I've discovered doing a few boxes here and there is much easier than taking on a full day of monstrous-packing. So instead of packing right now, I'll post some more pictures of Canada.

The Lake

This is my grandparents house. The Walburgers. My mom was raised here. They had a wood-burning stove, and no inside toilets. And two bedrooms---with nine children(My mom slept in her parents room when she was little, and the boys slept in the living room). My mom is amazing.Also, the extra little addition, that has the stripey outside, was not built until after my mom moved out (or right before?? I can't quite remember).

Old Chief from the barn. Old Chief is that big square mountain. My mom loves it. It is strikingly beautiful.

This is the little island in the lake. My brothers Wyatt and Ethan and I canoed out there a couple different times when I was little. I remember it being COVERED in birds nests and eggs.

See the top to a trailer laying beside the house? My little brother Ethan and I used to crawl inside that through a window, clear out some of the grass, and play for hours inside of it. It was awesome.

I remember playing tag on top of all those hay bales. I also remember my brother catching a frog.

Beautiful, beautiful country. It was fun to be in Canada just to remember what the landscape looks like.

Some Notes

If Sterling wasn't studying all the time I would say "HONEY! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fix the light in the shower, because its really hard to shower in the dark, and Ruthie doesn't like being in her rubbermaid container in the shower in the dark!"

Today I told my boss that I was expecting (mostly because my co-worker already knew and I knew she couldn't keep it a secret) and HE GAVE ME A RAISE!!! Isn't that the best thing ever?!?!?! Not that it wasn't about time, but still. Awesome.

Sterling took his final today for his last summer class. 96% folks. YAY!!! Now we commence into what I have started to call "boot camp" for the mcat for the next two weeks.

We are moving in two weeks. Why??? A lady in our ward we just moved into told us she thought we were awesome (thats pretty much the gist of it) and wanted us to rent out her duplex. We told her it was too pricey and we moved to save money. She called me back before we left for Canada, offered to let us stay there for whatever we are paying now (about a $400 difference) and we checked it out the night before we left. Talk about TWO GARAGES (we only have one car) TWO and a HALF baths, and a BEAUTIFUL kitchen that I am DYING to call my own. Also the fact that it has a dishwasher and a bath tub, and a second bedroom (all of which we currently do not have) and, to put it in Sterling's words, we would be idiots to not move. Especially with another baby on the way. I don't know why the lady in our ward is willing to do this. But I'm not gonna ask twice. Its beautiful. New carpet. New paint. New tile. New countertops. Oh heaven, lets just hope I don't get too spoiled rotten, so that when we move away to medical school with two littles I can manage in another basement, one bedroom apartment :) *Think the apostle who said they had cots for four children in one bedroom while they were at medical school*

I made tortilla soup yesterday. It makes a lot, so I took it to work with me today to share at lunch. Now its all gone and I'm kinda sad about that.

Ruthie is walking like a CHAMP these days. She's even getting the hang of it with her adorable new purple shoes on that are too big.

Ruth LOVES chocolate ice cream. Good thing I bought a gallon instead of a half gallon when I was debating at the store.

I decided grocery shopping at 7 AM is totally the way to go! All the workers are out putting out new, fresh stuff, and they are all happy and willing to help you. Plus, there are no lines. Although the people buying their one small doughnut for breakfast were a little annoyed that I was getting a weeks worth of groceries ahead of them. :)

Sterling takes the mcat in 17 days. YAY!!! Yay because even if he does horrible, and we have to pay to retake it, and its a miserable mess (which it totally won't be, because he is amazing and has studied so incredibly hard this summer) at least it will be over for a few weeks and he can come home at night and snuggle with me.

Did you notice we move in two weeks and Sterling takes the mcat in two weeks? Yeah. That means me, myself, and I is doing ALL the packing. This is the only MAJOR downside to moving to our new, sweet setup.

This summer went by really, REALLY fast and I am quite sad. I'm really sad that my baby is getting big. Walking makes her look like a toddler. Independent. Like she doesn't need me anymore. I want a cuddly little baby back. We'll shrink her so I can have TWO babies. Best plan ever.

For My Siblings Who Couldn't Come

Sterling was SO excited to be in Canada!!!!

 This is for Kayli, Kami, and anyone else who really wanted to be in Canada! I just went through and picked some, but I'll do more posts later!!! We had a blast, and Ruth did GREAT driving!!!

Lots of people at the end of the Cameron Lake hike (it was FREEZING!!!!). This was the first day in Canada, and I was VERY concerned that I had not brought enough warm clothes. We had Ruth in her winter coat.

Jared, Devaney, Tyson, Karlee, Lynnaea, Derek, Brooke, Hondo

Top of Bears Hump

Waterton Lake

Mom said she felt left out that everyone else had pictures of them raising their arms.

Red Rock Canyon. Probably my favorite spot. More pictures to come for sure!

Devaney, Lynnaea, Danica, Gideon, Katelyn, Anders, Ashlee, Myles, Kiersten, Tyson, Maloree

My mom and her siblings. They were being hilarious! Aunt Denise, Aunt Marla, Uncle Gerald, my mom, Uncle Perry. Aunt Jeannette is on a mission.

Old Chief from my grandpa's farm.

Writing on the Stone Park. Katelyn, Danica, Tyson. Mom and Dad came in our vehicle and it was Ruth's WORST time in the car over the whole trip. Poor parents.

Great-Grandma Ruth with Ruthie. Mom has a really good one on her camera.

Sterling, Ruth, Grandma Ruth, Lindsay

Our reunion shirts.

Goggles. The Livingstones had a WONDERFUL time with this. Haahaa.

My dad's siblings. Aunt Darlene, my dad, Uncle Montey, Uncle Dave, Aunt LaVerle, Aunt Judy.

The Rasmussen float at the parade.