April Showers in October and Utah Baby Prep

I spent an extended weekend up in Utah for one last trip before the baby comes because my work scheduled gave me a few days off this week. This allowed me to pick up some items from my sisters (none of whom are having children in the next few years) and spend time with friends and family. After all the rain in LA, it was nice to have showers that included gifts vs. those with just water.

Some of the highlights include:

Fresh REAL ORGANIC EGGS from my parents' hens

Painting my toenails for what will probably be the last time before delivery (I had to be quite the contortionist to finish)

Lunch with my mother-in-law Karen and her girlfriends---which turned out to be a lovely baby shower. Karen had the greatest idea of taking pictures of the gift-giver and the gift to make for nicer memories. My favorite gifts include the diaper cake, cute sheets and blankets that match Liam's bedding set, an adorable Noah's Ark blanket and matching burpcloths, and the cutest little dinosaur pajamas. I think Steven will especially like the dino pjs. Dinosaurs were (and possibly still are) a great favorite of his.

A night out to Garner Village and a movie with The Man Basket Society (sorry, no pictures of this event).

A Garff/Kemp family baby shower from my sister-in-law Catherine. This was an awesome opportunity to get to see much of Steven's and my extended family. My father-in-law, Bill, seemed especially glad to see that his namesake is doing well. All my sisters and sisters-in-law came, along with many of Steven's aunts and cousins (even second cousins!). It was a book-themed shower, which was great, because Steve and I are always reading so we may as well get Liam started early.

Karen made the most perfect blanket---surfing dogs! Also included was the book, "Where the Wild Things Are" with a matching stuffed monster.
Steve's cousins really enjoyed the food (not that I'd blame them...)Karina and Courtney (cousins)
Steve's cousins, Karina, Valerie, and Missy, got me the cutest little jogging outfit for when Liam starts running with me outside the womb. My favorite part about this was that it matches my dog (and hence the stuffed animal that my brother Daniel and his wife Karalee got for me) Catherine picked out the cutest stuffed caterpillar to go with the classic book.Steve's cousin, David Doman, designed a tote bag with this design (which was filled with awesome bear books from his sisters and mom). I also got the cutest little wipe cover made by my sister-in-law, Karalee. It even matches my diaper bag!
I got a lot of other really great items from my sisters and sisters-in-law on the Kemp side, such as diapers/wipes, a baby bjorn, a "baby's first Christmas" outfit, bottles, a smaller diaper bag for short outings, and from my sister Karina, one of my favorite books "Click, Clack, Moo".

We also had a Kemp family get together with almost everyone. It was a ton of fun to see how my nieces and nephews are growing up.

I got to stop by and see my best friend growing up, Annalisa Paul, and her family. I hadn't seen them for probably at least a year because Anna is in Logan and I am in LA. Anna and I used to have crazy activities (Like eating weird foods, trying new activities, or building a snowman in random friends' yards) that we would call our "Adventures" Anna and her mom got Liam the most adorable onesies, one of which has "baby on adventure" printed on the front. Perfect!

I finally feel (mostly) ready for this baby to come. After the showers, I am nearly prepared for feeding, diapering, and putting this little guy to sleep. It's hard to believe that he'll be here in about a month!

The trip worked out really well because Steven had to work insane hours this week (7:30 am to midnight or later) for a job he got as driver/security for the NuSkin convention in LA. It brought in a nice bit of cash that we can use to supplement my maternity leave until Steve starts working full time. Steve probably won't brag about it, but as part of this job, he got to be security for our governor, Arnold, when he was speaking at the convention. How cool is that? My husband, the security for the Termintator!