Stuff.

Do you ever not blog because you're so behind on updates that you don't know where to begin, and the prospect of reporting on all the things that happened is just too daunting? That's where I've been the last few months. So I've decided to post on just this last week. Call it a fresh start if you will. Who knows, maybe I'll get to all the old stuff later.

This last week has been so much fun. My brother's wedding was on Saturday, so my WHOLE family was here. I believe just between my siblings and their families, plus my parents, we make 30 (I think). 31 if you count my belly. We haven't all been together in a while so there were all kinds of activities and events.

First things first: My belly. This is my new outfit which I was very excited about. I got it for the shower my sister threw for me on August 1st.


Here is a view of some of the decor. Rachel did such a good job. She made these amazing lunches and some very pretty and delectable cupcakes.

As the guests arrived, they made these cute onsies. It's just fabric with an iron on appliqué on the back. You picked an animal, cut it out, and ironed it on a onsie. I have nearly 20 of these now in all different sizes and they are really cute.

I wish I had more pictures of everyone that came, but since the shower was for me, I couldn't really break away to take pictures once people were there. Mom and Rach, send me pics! Anyway, it turned out really fun. Thanks Rachel and also to everyone who helped and attended!

Next big thing, Matt graduated! He is officially done with his undergraduate degree in Business Finance. I am so proud of him. Because he finished his degree during summertime, he decided not to walk, since commencement only happens in the spring. So I decided to plan a few things.

While he was at his last final, I was busy wrapping and preparing this display. The pile includes: a business school tassle, a U of U mug with Snicker's (his favorite), a letter from myself, a new drill, a set of bits, and an invitation to a graduation celebration with friends and family in his honor.

This is right after he walked in the door after his LAST final on Thursday morning. Doesn't he look happy? I had Pomp and Circumstance playing in the background.

This is him playing with his new drill. He has been wanting more tools for a long time and I think he's excited. We went to his parents that night so that he could drill holes through brick and stuff.

The next morning we had family pictures. Sort of. Not quite everyone could be there, but my mom really wanted a picture of all the grandkids together, and they could all come. They also did family groups, so Matt and I got some new pictures of us. Thanks mom for getting the photographer and for providing a delicious brunch afterward.

Don't we look good?

I wasn't paying attention, but Matt was.

And of course all the grandkids. My mom said I could stick my belly in the side of the picture if I wanted, but I declined. Click on it to see a larger view. I love how they're all looking in different directions. And is Anna picking her nose? How do you get 13 kids between 6 weeks and 11 years to all smile at the same time?

Next we have the wedding. Congratulations to Matt and Amanda! (Just a clarification, this is Matt my brother, not to be confused with Matt my husband.) We had a lot of fun, and everything was beautiful. The night before we had a short rehearsal, and then a BBQ in a neighboring canyon.

This is during the rehearsal. Check out the beautiful backdrop for the ceremony.

Cute Anna walking down the aisle.

Ben, you handsome devil.

This is at the family BBQ after the rehearsal. The original Black Family, no spouses or grandchildren. Good looking group. Way to hang on to your hair Josh.

Our row during the actual ceremony.

The Bride and Groom. I wish we had a better shot of this, we were sitting at a funny angle. Matt, I hope you share you pictures with us when you get them.

This is dinner following the ceremony. It was SOOO delicious. We were seated with Rachel and Jeff and it was excellent. Mostly this picture is my family getting food, except for the guy looking at the camera. I have no idea who he is.

Here is another shot of my belly. This dress makes me look rather pregnant.

The happy couple dancing. Amanda, you looked like a super-star.

And here we have the Black family plus spouses. We're all married now.

The whole wedding was beautiful. The food was great. Nate, you gave an awesome toast. Matt my brother, you picked a good wife.

Believe it or not there were also a few other hightlights/family changes during the week (how could we possibly fit more). These included:
1. The blessing of Elijah William Black (Josh and Julie's newest boy)
2. Cleaning out and moving and selling Josh and Julie's house(congrats on getting it done so fast) so they can get to Texas for Josh's new job.
3. Julie's Birthday
4. Watching Rachel's kids so she could enjoy a few days with Jeff
5. Hanging out with Nate and Kelly's kids while they did some house hunting.

To top the week off we had a new arrival on the Cox side of the family.

Welcome the world Emilie!

She arrived Sunday, August 9th, which is also her parents 1st Anniversary.
She weighs 8 lbs 3 oz and both mom and daughter are doing well. We're excited to have a girl cousin already here to greet our baby when she comes in October. Congratulations Brady and Malene!

Wow. What a week! That post took me 3 hours. Hope you enjoy!

It's a Girl!!!

Cute Profile!

So we have several of the 3D pictures, but her head was tucked into my pelvis most of the time so they couldn't get a very good shot of her face. That's why her head looks lumpy. It's not really like that. Also, I'm only 19 weeks, and they said the best 3D pictures are at like 26ish weeks.

This shot was fun, we could see her legs moving. She had her ankles crossed for most of the the ultrasound. Already a lady.

We are so excited!

Every thing looks really healthy. She has all ten fingers and toes, and everything is normal. As always, it was fun to hear her heart beat. I can feel her move a lot of the time now, and I'm starting to show more. I'll post a belly shot soon. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to use pronouns. It feels wierd to call the baby "it" and saying "the baby" every time I refer to "the baby" gets annoying. But now she's a she, and it's so fun to say so!

The Details

Due Date: October 23rd

I am currently 15 weeks along.

I haven't been too sick, although it hits me here and there, mostly just in the morning. I've been so grateful that I haven't had to miss any work, because I hate putting together sub plans.

We are super excited. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a preference for what the gender is. I want a girl. But I will be happy if it's a boy. Matt and I talk about boy names and boy stuff to get me excited about boys. And whenever I look at my nephew Isaac, I wish I had a boy, so I do that a lot.

This is Isaac

Oh my, look at all those rolls.



I can't take it. He's so cute.



Let's not forget about this cute nephew Taylor.



(This is Taylor's evil alternate personality. Taken about thirty seconds later.
If you click on the picture to make it big, it's even better. I had to include it.)


This one's pretty dang cute too!


This nephew on the right is pretty cute too. Oh wait that's my husband.



So is this one. The one the middle. Very handsome.
I feel better about boys all the time.


But what if something like this happens?



Or this!


This one's pretty cute too. Oh wait that's me...
You have to admit, Matt I will probably have beautiful children.

Anyway, I digress. It's just that my nieces and nephews are very adorable. And that's not even all of them.

We're not sure about names yet. We've been talking about Jane, or maybe Ruth since before I was pregnant. We like Arthur, although I don't know if that will happen. I really like Abraham (Abe for short) or Henry, but Matt's not convinced. Boy names are hard. Mostly we like classic names.

I'm starting to show pudge, which is strange for me because I've always been pretty fit. I'm anxious for the baby to show itself.

No cravings really, but I sure like to eat. The frustrating part is that I get ravenously hungry, but then I get full really fast. Then I'm hungry again like an hour later. Whatever.

We heard the heart beat, which was awesome. It made it much more real. Also everything is looking healthy thus far. Thank goodness for that. We'll find out the gender at the end of May, maybe beginning of June. We'll schedule it at the next appointment.

That's about it right now. Mostly we're just waiting for something to happen. 9th months is a long time!

For those of you who haven't heard...

Birthday Weekend

On my actual Birthday, I was really sick with a cold, and luckily Matt actually made plans for the following weekend so it worked out great. On Friday, the 21st, Matt took me to the Opera. I haven't been to the Opera since college and it was awesome. We saw "The Marriage of Figaro", one of Mozart's more famous operas. Contrary to popular belief, not all operas are tragic, and this one is a comedy. It was Matt's first opera (other than seeing my performances in college), and he actually liked it. It was very well done, and I loved get dressed up and spending the night with my sweetie. Oh how I love good music.


The next day, we bought kites for $1 at Wal-Mart and spend the day at Murray Park with Brady and Malene.

The weather was awesome.

Matt took all the pictures while flying his kite.

Brady and Malene.

Last on the List

I finally got sick of looking at that Halloween mug shot and I'm updating my blog! Also, I noticed that I'm last on everyone else's bloglist because it's been almost 4 months... Anyway, here is a quick review of the last few months. Don't worry, it mostly pictures, not a lot of text:

Thanksgiving at the Cox house.

Cox family pictures in the Parkway. (There are some with the whole family, but they weren't on our camera. I'll post more when I have them.)

Matt and Liz

Chrismas Eve at the Hogle Zoo with the Black family. This has been a tradition for many years.

Acting out the Nativity with the Black Family (a few of my nephews as the 3 kings)

Christmas morning and all it's spoils.

Christmas Breakfast at Matt's parents house (it was quite the feast).

Tyler and Ashley Snarr's wedding.

Hanging out with this cutest nephew for a few days while his sister is in the hospital (don't worry, she's doing great now).

Couldn't resist putting this picture in. My husband is an excellent guitarist. He follows me around the house with his guitar and sings to me. I love him. His family all plays too and they jam sometimes.

Unfortunately there we forgot our camera, but Brady and Malene were sealed in this temple in November. P.S. Matt's brother Rick took this picture of the temple. He's pretty good.

Also, I love to bake, and for some reason took a picture of this particular creation. Isn't it pretty?