It's Growing...

Steve took pictures of the belly every week just in case we ever found anything interesting that could be done with them. Since we're STILL WAITING for Baby William to get here, I had plenty of time to create a movie with the pictures so you can see the development of the belly from start to finish. Unfortunately, several weeks of pictures were deleted from the camera so there is a big gap. Luckily, my belly didn't grow that much during that time, so hopefully you don't feel too deprived that they're missing. And if we're really lucky, this will be the last post before you will all get to see baby pictures.

I Passed!!!

That's right, California Bar results were finally released last night. Until about a week ago I had successfully put the Bar Exam out of my mind (no human could possibly survive for 4 months under that kind of suspense). There was one slip a couple of months ago. April and I were watching the movie Yes Man and to my horror I noticed that the airport scene was filmed at the Ontario Convention Center. It all came flooding back to me, but only for a moment. Then last week I started having the nightmares. In some I passed and in some I failed but in most I never got to find out. I was confident when I walked out of the exam in July. However, that confidence slowly drained to about 50% as of yesterday. But then at 6:00 PM it finally all seemed worth it.

8,667 people took the CA Bar last July with a 56.4% pass rate, putting me in the company of a very relieved 4,888. The pass rate for the California Bar usually falls between 30% and 60%. I expected it to break 60% this year because there were so many law students taking the test (law students do better than repeat takers).

If you really want to have fun you can take the very Bar Exam that I took (the California portion anyway) for yourself. The State Bar published it here. I can't think of a more fun-filled way to spend 12 hours.

We're Ready When You Are...

Thank you notes written...check

Baby supplies purchased...check

Stock up for the Apocalypse...check

"Nursery" set up and organized...check

Since we're staying in our 1-bedroom apartment until Steven gets a job, we weren't able to decorate an entire room for Liam, but his little "room" in the corner is all ready to go whenever he is! (which hopefully will be soon, the doctor says his head is engaged and he's ready). BTW, don't worry about the pillows and blankets; they are only there for the pictures and will be removed for safety when our little one arrives ANY DAY NOW.

Kicking the Habit

Today was my last day of Lovenox and asprin (for now).

My hematologist tested my blood levels on Friday and everything looks good. Since the baby is now full term could come at any time, both the hematologist and the OB think it's better to be off the blood thinners until after labor to prevent any possible issues with delivery. Unfortunately, I'm not completely off drugs, since I still have to take a pre-natal and a Folbic tablet (mega-dose of Folic acid + B12). But now my belly won't look like this anymore:

It's also nice to not have to get induced and have the option of an epidural. I did get pretty good at giving shots though, (you'd hate to see some of my earlier bruises, you'd think I'd been beaten or hit by a car) and my doctors all commented on the nice symmetry of the bruising. And it will be nice to let the bruises heal. Not that it I'm suddenly going to start wearing crop tops or bikinis during the next few weeks, but if is going to be massive anyway, it shouldn't also have to look like I've gotten in a fight with my fetus.

Step right up and submit your guesses for the great baby weight tournament*

We are accepting guesses for the birth weight of our first born. Who ever has the closest guess to the actual birth weight will win---the baby! No scratch that. The winner will get the next best thing which is mad respect from WAG (That’s what we’re calling the blog for short now, I know it’s missing the T).

Here are the rules:

1. One guess per person only
2. Guesses must be submitted via comments to this post
3. Your guess must be at least two ounces away from all of guesses posted on the blog before yours
4. A tie means both guessers win
5. The final deadline for all guesses is November 24 or when William is born (which ever comes first)

And now a few facts in the interest of complete information:

If William were born today he would weigh approximately 5 pounds 13 ounces.

When his mother was born she weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces

When I was born I weighed a meager 6 pounds 5 ounces, however my father (and William’s name sake) was born at a whopping 10 pounds.

April and I aren’t in the running because of potential conflicts of interest/favoritism/impropriety (actually now that I think about it I don’t know how we could possibly cheat). But just to let you know where we stand; April’s guess is seven pounds six ounces and my guess is six pounds twelve ounces

May the best man (or woman) win.

*H/t: Dagny, from whom we totally stole this idea.

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!

Babymoon, Take 2

We were supposed to go to NYC for our babymoon, but my OB requested we pick something closer to home and something that would not involve flying (in case I went into early labor). That left us with few options. The one we finally decided on was a weekend trip to Steve's parents' condo in St. George. One, because it was close; two, because it was inexpensive; and three, because it was beautiful after all the rainy weather we'd been having in LA.

It was a lovely, relaxing time. We lazed about the pool, ate out, read and watched tv (we really will get a converter box someday...) and slept to our hearts' content.

Most of our waking hours, (when not watching tv or eating), were spent hiking. Our first night we spent a few hours looking for Anasazi drawings (to no avail), and had a nice sunset hike.

We also spent a hot day hiking and looking for dinosaur tracks.

I would have missed them if it wasn't for Steve and Nike pointing them out to me.

The best part of this hike was watching Kiki and Nike trying to cross the cattle guards. Nike got stuck and just ended up leaping over it, while Kiki finally figured out that there was a crossbeam she could walk on. When Steve tried to get a picture of her face (she got so confused trying to cross), Kiki figured out she could just walk around the side and followed Steve around the easy way. Nike never did figure it out and spent his crossings stuck between the rails and jumping over them.

It was a fun trip. We're sad that we weren't able to go to New York since that is something we've always wanted to do, but also glad for the chance to save money before I take maternity leave.

Plus, we needed all that rest to prepare us for our neighbors' rock ballad karaoke competition at 4 am this morning!

William Blake and Deep Space

I am currently reading Terryl Givens's latest book When Souls Had Wings which is an excellent history and examination of the concept of the pre-mortal existence. The artwork on the cover is from William Blake's The Third Temptation.

I couldn't help but notice that it bears a striking resemblance to this Hubble Telescope photograph of the Eagle Nebula called the Pillars of Creation.

Intrigued by this, I've combined a few more of Blake's creations with images from deep space.

The similarities can probably be explained by coincidence and the ephemeral and luminous quality of Blake's art. But I can't help but wonder if Blake really did see these images in vision as he claimed. Or perhaps he just had really good long distance eyesight.

Dog Tired

Nike was so tired from our strenuous 4-mile "run" yesterday that he slept all through the Sunday morning session of General Conference like this:

Or maybe it was the bath that wore him out?

Either way, he needed both these activities. Look how clean he is! It might be the last time he gets washed before the baby comes because I'm having a hard time manuevering in the tub to get him clean.

He didn't do anything but sleep the rest of the weekend. He didn't look particularly comfortable, but boy was he out! He barely even opened his eyes when I came up to him. It reminds me of when my brothers Albert and Peter used to fall asleep in the closet or in a pile of socks (they always fell asleep in the weirdest positions). Or the time that Arthur fell asleep under the Christmas tree and we had to call the police because we couldn't find him after a 4-hour search.

Also, here's an upated photo of Rita, since we haven't posted any pictures since she was a baby:

She got to play while the dogs were outside drying off after their bath so we snapped a few photos.